Veteran, controversial comedian George Carlin died of heart failure yesterday. He was 71.

Carlin was an unabashed liberal, critic of organized religion and occasional movie star (he appeared in Dogma and Scary Movie 3). He was also known, and appreciated, for pointing out flaws in the logic of conservatives.

For example, when asked about Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Carlin told the Associated Press:

"On that Super Bowl broadcast of Janet Jackson's, there was also a commercial about a four-hour erection. A lot of people were saying about Janet Jackson, 'How do I explain to my kids? We're a little family, we watched it together ...' And, well, what did you say about the other thing?"

The astute, humorous observer is survived by wife Sally Wade and daughter Kelly Carlin McCall.