Is this not the best three minute rant in recorded US History?

[howaboutme]

George Carlin is my all time hero for the honest will and ability to say such truth succinctly in 180 seconds.

Most of our gutless multi-termed politicians have never said this much truth in their entire terms of office. When you analyze what he said and what it means it should be turned into a major case study and discussion in all universities, but it won't. Some say Carlin was lucky he lived as long as he did after stating these words in front of millions. Comedy always works best to effectively project a message ala SNL. RIP GC.

The YouTube version is best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

===============================================================================================================

But if not available, here is the actual text.

“There’s a reason why education sucks and it’s the same reason why it will never, ever, ever, ever be fixed. It’s never gonna get any better – don’t look for it – be happy with what you got. Because the owners of this country don’t want that – I’m talking about the real owners now – the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians.

“Politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice… YOU DON’T. You have no choice. You have owners. THEY OWN YOU… THEY OWN EVERYTHING. They own all the important land, they own and control the corporations, they’ve long since bought and paid for the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets, and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all the news and information you get to hear. THEY GOT YOU BY THE BALLS.

“They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves, and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they’re getting ****ed by a system that threw them overboard thirty ****in’ years ago. They don’t want that.

“You know what they want? They want obedient workers. OBEDIENT WORKERS. People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly ****ier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime, and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it.

“And now they’re coming for your social security money. They want your ****in’ retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it ALL from you – sooner or later – cuz they own this ****in place. It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long, beating you over the head with their media, telling you what to believe, what to think, and what to buy…

“The table is tilted, folks. The game is rigged. And nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care… Good, honest, hard-working people – white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on – Good, honest, hard-working people continue – and these are people of modest means – continue to elect these rich ****-suckers who don’t give a **** about them. They don’t give a **** about you. They don’t give a **** about you. They don’t CARE about you – AT ALL! AT ALL! AT ALL!

“And nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. That’s what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big Red, White and Blue **** thats being jammed up their ass**** every day. Because the owners of this country know the truth. It’s called the American Dream – because you have to be asleep to believe it… ”

[Mojambo]

1. Not a doubt in my mind. n/t

[Xipe Totec]

4. Nor mine

I've been saying this, but not as succinctly.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, howaboutme.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. George Carlin's wit and intelligence were like a really hot, sharp knife slicing thru butter....

Clean, crisp and right to the point.
His ability with words is till unmatched by anyone else in his profession.

[AnArmyVeteran]

43. I saw him a long time ago and loved his sharp wit and brutal honesty. What a guy...

[panader0]

5. I had to bookmark this

[deutsey]

6. The same thing George Harrison said about Lennon applies here to Carlin:

"You said it all though not many had ears."

[madfloridian]

7. Righteous rant.

What he said. :)

[daleanime]

8. Could we run this as an ad....

this fall?:evilgrin:

[mistertrickster]

9. One guy "got it." I am convinced that this is what the tea baggers are really mad

about except that they're too stupid to know it.

It'd be interesting to see how this would play in front of a tea bag crowd.

[deutsey]

12. Mark Twain was very similar

He's become "Disneyfied", imo. Read Twain's anti-imperialist writings and his late writings on religion.

[freebrew]

31. One book..

The Mysterious Stranger.
Twain said it all in that one.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

71. And Letters from the Earth.

Skewering Christianity.

[howaboutme]

15. I agree.

I think what really scares these elitist "owners" is an informed populace that is thoughtful enough to discuss issues, knowledgeable enough to make a point, refuses to accept and believe their highly paid media BS, no longer kowtows to their misinformation bit stream and refuses to vote Party line.

The media uses the liberal versus conservative thing as a binary wedge issue to divide us and manipulate us. I am starting to doubt the honesty of all politicians and don't buy into their BS. I'm thinking of making the partisan break and going totally independent. I'll contribute to politicians I support, but they had better be working for the economic interests of the USA and most Americans first.

[Raster]

25. The last President of the United States that was not "owned" was Jimmy Carter.

They couldn't assassinate him like they did Kennedy, so "the Machine" ordered an "under-the-radar" Armed Forces mutiny, the Machine politicians cut deals to exacerbate the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Petroleum Mafia ordered the oil taps closed to create the gasoline "crisis".

George Carlin was 100% ON THE MONEY!

[BeFree]

26. You and Carlin, Raster. You and Carlin.

[Lena inRI]

39. Excellent point, Raster. . .

. . .and you got me thinking this:

1--Who would Carlin say were the owners who couldn't own Carter?

2--Since Carlin died June 22, 2008, who would he say "owns" Obama if he were performing today?

For his answer to both of these questions, I bet he would say there are a few characters that keep on resurfacing their ugly souls from the depths of their underworld kingdom. . .GHWB and Kissinger.

How does that sound to you. . .like something Carlin would say? Maybe in private and not on a stage?

C A R L I N C A N D O R :

When GWB couldn't get Social Security money for Wall Street, Obama and he got treasury $ as bail outs for them, per order of the owners.

Just wait and see, before Obama's out, he'll privatize Social Security. . .it's all part of the owners' Five Year Plan.

You name it, policy and decisions have been made by the owners. . .the likes of GHWB. . .since November 22, 1963.






http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101603545.html

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/oVb0c_ADFc8/Obama+Holds+Forum+Community+Service+Hosted/nT9ls9ncF-D

:smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke:

[ima_sinnic]

59. yes, I also recently posted that Social Security is the Holy Grail, and

Obama's going to get it for them.

Also note the deep Bill Clinton-GHWB alliance of the past 10 years or so.

[bvar22]

64. It is not GHWB.

The REAL owners are the people that GHWB reports to.
The same people that the G8-20 conference people report back to.
The REAL owners sit in board rooms and do NOT appear in public.
GHWB is only one of their puppets.

[Riverman]

44. Perfect!

Wide Awake and aware! There are millions of folks among us who are ready to take the kind of action shown at the BofA exec's house in Wash. D.C. Just takes a few to have the courage to take the lead and show the way. George Carlin has been one of my heroes for a long time and miss his accurate analysis of how things are going with the Class War!

[howaboutme]

77. October Surprise

Carter wanted to reduce dependence on foreign oil, reduce our interests from the Middle East, and the Arab oil. That led "them" to connive with the Iranians on a method that would get him marginalized and out of office before he could benefit the citizens of the USA. The entire deal including Iran Contra was minimized and sensationalized depending on agenda of the media. I agree Carter was a good President that put the USA first, but in certain circles that makes a bad POTUS.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/russianreport1980.html

[mistertrickster]

37. I'm coming to that horrifying conclusion too. Especially since we voted for Obama and elected

Rahm Emanuel.

I mean this is ridiculous. "Hope & Change" my ass. This is gov't that is only slightly less working for the rich than before.

[Hosnon]

62. Yep. The teabaggers smell something but don't quite know what it is.

Of course and as usual, the powers that be must keep the populists on the left away from the populists on the right. And they've pretty much succeeded: the teabag movement has been wholly co-opted by the establishment.

[robertpaulsen]

67. Way to put it. The Teabaggers are the Mr. Jones of the 21st century.

You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say 'Who is that man?'
You try so hard but you don't understand
just what you will say when you get home
because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?
You raise up your head and you ask 'Is this where it is?'
and somebody points to you and says 'It's his'
and you say 'what's mine?' and somebody else says 'well what is?'
and you say 'Oh my god am I here all alone?'
but something is happening and you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?
You hand in your ticket and you go watch the geek
who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak
and says 'How does it feel to be such a freak?'
and you say 'impossible' as he hands you a bone
and something is happening here but you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?
You have many contacts among the lumberjacks
to get you facts when someone attacks your imagination
but nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect
you to all give a check to tax-deductible charity organizations
Ah you've been with the professors and they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read, it's well known
But something is happening here and you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?
Well the sword-swallower he comes up to you and then he kneels
He crosses himself and then he clicks his high heels
and without further notice he asks you how it feels
and he says 'Here is your throat back, thanks for the loan'
And you know something is happening but you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?
Now you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word 'now'
and you say 'for what reason?' and he says 'how'
And you say 'what does this mean?' and he screams back 'You're a cow'
'Give me some milk or else go home'
And you know something's happening but you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?
Well you walk into the room like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket and your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law against you coming around
You should be made to wear earphones
Cause something is happening and you don't know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones?

[howaboutme]

73. Bingo

I've felt it for years, and still believe that the frustration in America is because most of us know and feel we're being bent over and screwed royally, yet there is no one and no media that will ever come to the rescue. Remember the days when a whistle blowing public official or citizen that wanted protection would go to the press. Today it would get you nothing or worse.

We are on our own. An unconsolidated noncorporate media from 30 or more years ago might have ferreted out the corruption and truth. Our media today is in partnership with government, Wall Street, politicians and corporate USA. They are in cahoots just as Carlin said they were.

We know it and feel it and groups like the Tea Party that reacted have been hijacked too. The public is manipulated by the elite just like a symphony orchestra. There is a general lack of cynicism and sophistication that allows the shrewdness of the media and the politicians to have our attention deflected from those where it should be focused. Instead they pull the strings and our anger goes towards our peers. They control us by pitting conservatives against liberals. They lead us around by the nose and soon we'll be surfs instead of citizens. We already have the over class and caste system, but many don't yet know it.

[Duer 157099]

10. KnR for the Awesomeness that is Carlin n/t

[TorchTheWitch]

11. Carlin has a lot like this...

YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS - George Carlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWiBt-pqp0E&feature=related

George Carlin - We Like War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDkhzHQO7jY&feature=related

GEORGE CARLIN on Homelessness and Golf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbSRCjG-VLk&feature=related

and lots of other good stuff.

[howaboutme]

13. I miss him - nt

He was a breath of fresh air in a world of misinformation and propaganda.

[TorchTheWitch]

17. so do I

My favorite comedian since I was a kid. The ultimate no bullshit straight talker.

[donheld]

20. and I as well.

[femrap]

14. He is right on!

They don't give a shit about the working people of this nation. I just try to stay away of the willfully ignorant as much as possible....and buy as little from the Corporate Assholes as possible.

I miss George. RIP, sweetie!

[rhett o rick]

16. k&r. love GC

[tomp]

18. it really is undeniably true...

...but try telling about 75% of du. many intelligent people just don't get it.

[Mist]

19. George left us too early. We could use more like him. nt

[loudsue]

21. Blessings on that man's soul.

He nailed it every time. :grouphug:

[Bonobo]

22. Frank Zappa, another one who could see through the veils, would have agreed 100%.

I miss both of their voices.

Also Hunter S. Thompson, Howard Zinn, Kurt Vonnegut and many others.

[underseasurveyor]

23. I would have gotten on my knees in front of that man.........

I am not worthy, I am not worthy oh Wise Master Carlin.

God I miss having him around.

YES great rant thanks :-)

[chillspike]

24. yes, it is the best

i have it on my blogtv account profile page. great rant!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

27. so smart. His clear light of awareness points to what's wrong.

We need to think what would be the opposite, the good that we want to accomplish instead?.........., and then take whatever action we can (even if it's just small!), individually AND together.

[Echo In Light]

28. K/R !!!

[BonnieJW]

29. It's no wonder he died of a heart attack.

That kind of passionate bitterness will do it to you. That's why we have to channel our passionate bitterness into positive action.

[Echo In Light]

30. Carlin had a life-long relationship w/various drugs, too

...and I think his coke habit likely contributed to his various heart troubles, which began long, long before his passing

[Auggie]

38. He had a history of heart disease -- three heart attacks in the late '70s.

wiki:

Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing regularly in 1976, when his career appeared to be at its height. For the next five years, he rarely appeared to perform stand-up, although it was at this time he began doing specials for HBO as part of its On Location series. His first two HBO specials aired in 1977 and 1978. It was later revealed that Carlin had suffered the first of three nonfatal heart attacks during this layoff period.

LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Carlin

I've heard that we was pretty quiet / introverted off stage too -- plus, a really nice guy.

[nashville_brook]

42. i can't imagine a more positive use of Carlin's passionate bitterness, than to be Carlin

he didn't die b/c of his passion -- he died b/c of genes and being old -- same as the rest of us will.

only, he died knowing he told the truth and made people think en masse. i'd be quite happy with that lot.

[cliffordu]

32. K&R. Carlin is the best........

[JimWis]

33. K&R

[madmax]

34. k & r

[ooglymoogly]

35. If you want to see the best Carlin rant; Watch the

movie "Zeitgeist The Movie" Its free http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

[liberation]

48. That movie has nothing to do with Carlin...

[ooglymoogly]

49. Sorry wrong link

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331# Carlin gives a spellbinding lead in to the movie....after a lot of clanging and visuals. The link posted does not have that lead in. The Carlin bit begins after 5 (5:50)) minutes into the lead in that is not included in the remastered version that I mistakenly linked to.

[ooglymoogly]

51. Sorry wrong link

this is the correct link. There is a rather long few minutes of clanging pictorial lead in then Carlin's excellent rant.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331#

Calin's rant comes almost 6 minutes into the lead in to the film.....this is the old version and not in the remastered version which I mistakenly linked to. The bit begins at 5:50 into this version. that's 5:50 cant get that to print right....its five minutes 50 seconds.

[Echo In Light]

54. Carlin on 9/11: "They never investigate themselves in this country."

Exactly

[PSzymeczek]

66. Carlin's rant doesn't start until 6 minutes, 50 seconds.

It's available elsewhere and better without the music.

[ooglymoogly]

36. kr nt

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

40. Someone should put this to music ...

It could be our new national anthem.

At least for non-corporate Americans.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

41. Forgot to add link ..

This is to a website to teach us critical thinking, you can join or takr advantage of the free articles.

Just look under the Library/Articles link.

http://www.criticalthinking.org/

[tilsammans]

45. Keepin' it kicked!

:kick:

[LiberalLovinLug]

46. Great to hear this again

In a nut shell

[Fire1]

47. THE most dead on, on point, slam dunk rant in history!! n/t

[TatonkaJames]

50. I've been spouting about this since the 70's

When deregulation became the rage in Washington in the 70's I smelled the tide of
corruption and the "dumbing down" of America then.
Over the past decade it has not only increased but is more apparent now when I see
cuts in education being made first when state workers in NJ are allowed to retire at
full pension and stay on the job collecting huge salaries which is double dipping.
cronyism at it's best. Instead of forcing them to retire and hiring the unemployed who need
the job, they allow this corruption to continue.
Hiring a new worker at a starting salary half of what the retiree is making would save money
to keep teachers that are needed.
And it's time to get rid of tenure. There are teachers using their same methods and plans of
teaching for decades which do not hold the interest of kids who need to be stimulated to learn
these days.
There's so much more to it I can go into but it all comes down to what G.C. said. We are screwed.

[howaboutme]

76. On teaching I agree

When it comes to teaching it is time to demand incrementally improved results and eliminate the excuses. Yes the problem can be parents that don't give a damn, and it can be students too, and it can be lack of funds for books, but that is all a given. We have too much staff in schools and not enough instruction.

If teachers can't get continually improving results then they need a new line of work. The excuses are crutches and they need thrown away.

[ljm2002]

52. Love George Carlin...

...HATE having to scroll horizontally to read it.

Please, for future reference, don't include the wide line of dashes =======. If you want to include some to delimit the text, just do 5 or so: =====. It's enough of a visual clue for the excerpted material. I can't read anything that goes that far off the side of the screen nor am I willing to cut and paste it just so I can read it.

[howaboutme]

74. Thanks, will remember that - nt

[DesertFlower]

53. he's absolutely right.

[Webster Green]

55. Yes it is!

And I don't even need to go to the link or read the whole post. Classic. I've watched it quite a few times. :thumbsup:

[bullwinkle428]

56. OUCH!!! The truth can be very painful, indeed! K&R.

[Autonomy]

57. Bullshit

If "They" don't want you to "know", then how the hell does George Carlin know they don't want you to know? Nah, he's like everyone else who thinks they have this whole thing figured out and everyone else is just a dupe. He was stuck in an unenlightened, narrow, provincial, temporal worldview... he thought his map was the territory...

I, on the other hand, actually do have it all figured out. Get this: George Carlin is a dupe who is working for "Them" by instilling cynicism and apathy disguised as "comedy"!

Isn't I sew smaht? :)

[Prof Lester]

58. Up to NOW it was impossible to deal with the 4000 scumbags..

of which George speaks. BUT now the irony is their own tame stooges in government have actually given the power to deal with them bastards. How so you say? Up to now the various laws of the supposedly democratic liberal state actually protected the oligarchs. Which is why George says in the beginning forget about change, it will never come. Such is NOT the case today. These fools have torn down the very walls (the legal walls) that were protecting them. Having the "judges in your pocket" only matters when the formalities of a liberal democratic state are in position. Owning all the lawyers equally only works when the same formalities exist. When they DON'T exist, as today, it's absolutely easy for government so inclined to say "Fuck you, rich parasites.. we declare you to be.. ECONOMIC TERRORISTS. And like all terrorists.. you will be dealt with as such."

Up to now, even in the admittedly remote possibility that a government got in that was inclined to put these big thieves in their place, they wouldn't be able to because of the complex laws and the protections afforded by the sacred US Constitution. BUT now.. no. There is no protection for anyone. AND that includes the 4000 rich bastards that own everything. Get it? The government has the keys to the biggest, toughest military in the world. The rich have the money.. but the government has the so say to turn the military loose on them IF THEY WANTED TO. And now there's no laws that would necessarily stop it. The Constitution? Bush and Cheney ripped it up. Habeas Corpus? An ancient fossil. The legal system? Does not apply to those the government says are "terrorists". You see how easy it would be?

[Echo In Light]

61. Too many obedient Cons have a bigger problem w/you pointing that out than they do with...

... the abuses of power, and motivations/potentials for further abuse of power

[Rex]

60. Carlin was a national treasure, he always said what was going on

and didn't give you any bullshit. Just the truth and it was dam funny sometimes.

[Stuart G]

63. K and R...This should be permanently up at the top of DU...yea..permanently..

[conspirator]

65. bigus kickus n/t

[Celtic Merlin]

68. I've been calling myself a "Carlinist" for a very long time.

The bit you posted here is one of the many reasons why I take that title.

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[Mojeoux]

69. Bart: "Dad, Lisa's Making me think of BOTH sides again!" n/t

[Mojeoux]

70. "The American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it." George Carlin!

How great that this guy is documented for all time.

We are blessed/lucky to be able to access his thoughts, brilliant, amazingly syncopated, concise and

always funny.

[G_j]

72. K&R

[gmoney]

75. I think his "Religion is Bullshit" rant is better... but it runs 10 minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o