I'm more on Goerge Carlin's side with all of this.
But then again he was a great comedian and will be missed. That entire story Ira post, though true, was just comedy. George had a way of putting his material in a very logical manner, all of his stuff made great sence and made you laugh.
Any comedian that is any good can make you think and thats what all of these people did. I'm not saying what they said isn't right, it does make you think about things, but remember they are comedians and that is there job, to tell people things that make them laugh and think.