The Freedom Exchange Online

George Carlin died yesterday around 6:00 pm (PST) at St. John’s Hospital, Santa Monica after being admitted for chest pain. It’s always sad when someone as brilliant and insightful as George Carlin passes.

Just five days ago Carlin was notified he was this years recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

“In his lengthy career as a comedian, writer, and actor, George Carlin has not only made us laugh, but he makes us think,” Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen Schwarzmann said in the announcement of the award. “His influence on the next generation of comics has been far-reaching.”

Will Manly, a reporter for the Hays Daily News and The Stir has a little gem circulating the States via email titled Dear Barack: You’re wrong about small towns. I have reprinted it at the bottom of this article, but first my response.

Will Manly is wrong about small towns.

Mr. Manly may believe he is from a small town, but Hays Kansas prefers to think it’s a city. From their web site: “Hays Kansas is the largest city in Northwest Kansas at the crossroads of Interstate 70 and US Highway 183. This city, which has approximately 20,000 residents, was incorporated in 1885. Hays is a growing city with excellent opportunities.” (emphasis mine)

Recently received this email:

Bar Room Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten
comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it
would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

There was never a justification for invading Iraq. No wmd’s, Saddam Hussein had no part in 911, Al Queda was not using Iraq as a staging ground for attacks against the US or our allies. George Bush decided to go to war and that was that.

After five years and hundreds of thousands dead the war still goes on. It needs to stop. Now.

They held the coronation
Up in Washington
Gallant balls and celebration
If you’re connected, son
I tried to tell myself
It’s only four more years
But it’s the changes in between
That are feeding my fears

My good friend from Generation Cobweb recently ran across a site and shared it with me. Then he asked me how he could exchange links with said site. So I looked and found out you can’t. I am tired of sites that won’t exchange links and even more tired of the great god google that encourages it. So I wrote the following:

Sirs,

when a friend told me about your site I was immediately interested. I agree it is time to clean up corruption and anyone who makes the effort is a good public citizen. However as a netizen I find your site sadly lacking and way short of my humble expectations. I could find no outside links at all on your site. That is contrary to the spirit of the web and your stated mission.