1 You assume people are being intellectually honest about word-power to begin with, not using it as an excuse to get in a free shot, or get that "money for nuthin' stuff" we all are looking for. Words aren't magic. They never were. Words never hurt me. They were either true or they weren't. The betrayal behind some words sometimes hurt me. But that is a personal story, and a hurt that could never be inflicted by a stranger. This said, Michael Richards is still an idiot. He proved it by trying to drag all white people into his argument(offense) and defense, and tried to draw parallels between what he did and the fight against terrorism. Every comic knows to say "I don't bother you when you're working! Did I ever try to slap the cocks out of your mouth when you're trying to pay the rent? Do I tell them that the health department is looking for you?" Stick with the classics.

2 But no comic wants to used any other guy's lines. They are a lonely, independent, and generally hostile breed. The trick is to use one's twisted anger to make others laugh. There is an art to using that twistedness to good effect: to channel one's assholism without truly BEING an asshole. That's why I prefer Jay Leno to David Letterman: I sense that he's a nice guy. He doesn't take the gloves off too often. But I'll bet he did when he was working clubs. He had to, or he wouldn't have survived in that environment.

3 Michael Richards now OWNS "Shut up! Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f**king fork up your ass,” that's for sure... I agree with you in general, by the way. I don't know about any comic being a nice guy, though. They all teeter pretty close to the edge of sanity, Leno included. Ask any stand-up Leno worked with about getting through to him now. Or about his rivalry with Letterman. Nicer-than-Letterman isn't hard to do, I've been told.

4 I wouldn't know: Attila the Hub knew him in his own standup days, but it wouldn't occur to him to call Leno out of the blue. He generally lets other people call him--or if someone else needs to be called, he lets his agent handle it.