George Carlin.
I saw him for the first time about 3-4 months ago at Jesse Auditorium here in Columbia, but I've been an ardent fan of his for probably 12 or more years. George Carlin was the funniest man I ever heard, period. Joe went out and bought like 5 of his cd's one day and we would throw one in on a road trip and pretty much die laughing the entire way: The airline safety lecture, the death penalty, political correctness, Golf, feminism, baseball vs. football, throwing people off, politics, war, the sanctity of life, environmentalism, and yes, the sanctity of life. Nothing was taboo for him and there was no subject he didn't have the audacity to broach. His sardonic, irreverent point of view was sometimes tenfold more refreshing than the empty platitudes of those who spent careers discussing these topics.
I always said that of all the people across the entire spectrum of celebrity (TV journalism included), there was no person I agreed with more on a socio-political level than George Carlin. Though never quite sure what that says about me, I always proudly state that.
Carlin is one that'll be missed greatly.
