It’s tomorrow! Tune in 6-9 am East Coast time (check airamericaradio.com for local listings) as I fill in as guest co-host for “Morning Sedition” on the national Air America network. I’ll be co-hosting with Mark Riley as we discuss the Terry Schiavo case, the revolution in Kyrgyzstan and other breaking stories. At 8:30 am, I’ll interview fellow Village Voice/ATTITUDE 1 cartoonist Ward Sutton.

See you then.

A Better Idea

Clueless New York Times centist (sorry for the redundancy!) Tom Friedman used his column to note that he’s shocked! shocked! shocked! at recent revelations that US troops have murdered at least 26 Afghans, Iraqis and other detainees under torture at facilities through Bush’s spreading gulag system. Here’s the money quote:

President Bush just appointed Karen Hughes, his former media adviser, to head up yet another U.S. campaign to improve America’s image in the Arab world. I have a suggestion: Just find out who were the cabinet, C.I.A. and military officers on whose watch these 26 homicides occurred and fire them. That will do more to improve America’s image in the Arab-Muslim world than any ad campaign, which will be useless if this sort of prisoner abuse is shrugged off. Republicans in Congress went into overdrive to protect the sanctity of Terri Schiavo’s life.

Got news for you, big guy. Those 26 homicides occured on the watch of Attorney general Alberto Gonzales, who authored the memos building a legal case for torture, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who requested that they be made even more stringent, and former Texas Governor George W. Bush, who repeatedly signaled that torture was A-OK. Think those guys are going to be fired?

But I have a suggestion of my own, one that might curtail incidents of torture in US custody: Just find out who’s involved with torture of foreign nationals and do what we do–send them to the countries whose nationals they murdered for prosecution. Killed a Jordanian? Off to Jordan you go to await trial. This would be consistent with our insistence on the right to prosecute foreign nationals for crimes against American citizens, and it would prove that we respect foreign countries as much as ourselves.

The School Shooting

Andy writes:

Not to pressure you into becoming a reactionary blogger, but I’m curious
hat you’re thoughts are on the latest school shooting. These things really hit home to me because I remember not too long ago being an geeky high school student alternating between anger and depression. I’m afraid to say it but I feel really sorry for the shooters. I wish I could have told them how pathetic those adults saying “High School is the best time of your life” are. The worst part is, our politicans and most the the teachers come from the cool kid sections of the class. They’ll never understand the problem.

Come to think it it, the current administration treats the world a lot like a high school. I don’t actually believe Bush thinks drilling in the arctic is a good idea. He’s just doing it because he thinks it’s funny pissing geeky liberals off. Maybe it’s the cynical HS survivor talking in me but I bet a significant number of people voted for him because they think hurting little countries in the face of protests is funny. I guess the sad truth is bullies never grow up, we just move away from them.

The only thing that surprises me about school shootings is that they don’t happen every day. Everything about the modern American high school from the jail-like architecture and security checkpoints to the rigid insistence upon following useless textbooks to the cult of the jock is engineered to oppress. And the oppression falls heaviest on the smartest, most bookish kids–who are the most capable of planning mayhem on a large scale.

Aside from what Andy wrote, I wonder: Is bullying learned? Or is it hardwired in our ape brains?

Schiavo Mail

Wait until my cartoons start coming out tomorrow. Until then, here’s an email sampler:

From Steve:

If the media were truly Liberal, the papers would be calling her “brain-dead” instead of “brain-damaged”.

Like I said, wait until my cartoons start coming out…

Tim sets the record straight:

I’m sure you’ll probably be deluged with emails on
this point but in your latest blog you ask “Should Terry be allowed to die?” and state that “The video released by the family does seem to show her reacting to her surroundings.” But Schiavo’s cerebral cortex has been completely destroyed and replaced by spinal fluid. The cerebral cortex is involved in complex brain functions including memory, perceptual awareness, “thinking”, language and consciousness.
There is simply no way for her to be responding to anything around her, and doctors have been quite certain of this for many years now. As for the videosof her supposedly responding to her surroundings,those short clips allegedly omit hours ofunresponsiveness. Whatever noises or movements shemakes are completely random–again, EEG scans of her brain show zero electrical activity in the cerebralcortex. Whoever Terry was is no longer around, and what’s more, she’s never coming back. This is not speculation, it is medical fact.
PS. I enjoy your work tremendously– keep it up.

Andy is, according to everything I’ve read, correct.

Bill brings up an interesting point. The politics of distraction through the personal story are at work here:

It shows how much better conservatives are at getting there issues out then us liberals like you say in “Wake up you’re liberal”. Where’s our collective outrage over Bush’s bankrupcy plan.

Norman proves it’s grandstanding by comparing the action on the Schiavo case with the inaction on the PATRIOT Act (and let’s not forget the August 8, 2001 memo warning Bush of impending Al Qaeda attacks on US soil):

There are some odd complexities about the Schiavo case. Apparently, there is evidence that Ms. Schiavo had been abused, possibly severely, and that could have been the cause, or a cause, of her current condition. If true, although tragic, it is still a matter for law enforcement and the courts.

The thing that pisses me off about the Schiavo case is that Congress has become involved. In meddling with this case, The Pugs have finally made clear that their true role is political theater, not government. They don’t have time to read the patriot act before passing it, and thus our civil liberties into history, but they suddenly have all the time in the world to deal with a case
that is better left to state and local authorities. Yet, the fake president rouseshimself from his fake ranch and his fake brush clearing with fake urgency to take the stage for fake politics, telling a flatlined country to fake off.

(Another) Ted points out that Bush’s pro-life cred ain’t all it’s cracked up to be:

Why are more people not talking about the Texas law that Bush signed while governor in 1999? Under that law, physicians and a hospital ethics committee can decide to remove the feeding tubes of an adult in a vegetative state –even OVER the objections of guardians and relatives. (The law was amended in 2003 to include minors and pediatric patients.) Why hasn’t the case of Wanda Hudson — who recently fought (and lost) to keep her infant son on life support — more publicized?
Astonishing how Bush and Delay can passionately rail against euthanasia and assisted suicide while an infant in Texas just had his tubes pulled out because his mother couldn’t afford to keep him alive. There are other cases pending in Texas. Anyone interested in reading about the bill can just do a google search for “Wanda Hudson and Texas law.” The case was covered in Texas newspapers, but I’ve heard very little of it in the mainstream media. Apparently, neocons are on the side of life so long as the state doesn’t have to pay the bills. What more proof does one need of the shameless hypocrisy of Delay and Bush?

As does Joe:

I concur completely with your thoughts on Terry Schiavo. By all accounts it’s a tragic situation, with both sides needlessly villified. As a parent I can absolutely understand the parents feelings. What disgusts me is the bushmen exploiting the situation as cynically as the way they exploited 9/11. It astounds me how the sanctity of life does not exten to Iraqis in the bushmen’s world view.
I read of the death of a 5 month old baby, Sun Hudson. He was terminally ill and his mother wanted him kept alive but she was too poor to pay for his care. Under the Texas Futile Care law (Signed in 1998 by the Governor of Texas. Whatever became of that guy ? Helluva cheerleader in High School). The poor child might as well have been an Iraqi for all the bushmen cared about him. Here’s a link in case you’re interested. http://www.counterpunch.org/farley03222005.html .
Great cartoon.

And FOR Sean kicks it through the goalposts and out the stadium:

I appreciate your calm and thoughtful words on the Terry Schiavo case in today’s blog entry. What gripes me more than almost anything in this affair is how the Republicans in Congress have latched onto this issue because, as they say, it advances the “culture of life”. Ugh! I wish some daring Democrat had attached a rider to “Terry’s Bill” to also outlaw the Federal Death Penalty. I would love to have seen the right-wingers argue that!

(You also know that if it had been revealed that Terry had ever had an abortion, they’d all have packed up and gone home a long time ago).

And the irony of ironies is that when the Repugs finish refashioning this country to their liking, there will be no more cases like Terry. What has paid for her medical care this past 15 years? A million dollar settlement of a malpractice case; the Repugs want to put caps on those kinds of judgments. And how is her continuing care being paid for now? Medicare, another program that the Repugs want to gut.
Flaming hypocrites!

That’s very true. If Generalissimo El Busho and his minions get the tort reform they want, poor Ms. Schiavo would be limited to maximum damages of $250,000…hardly enough to sustain 15 years of the level of 24-hour care she had been receiving.

The irony is, those who want to let Terry Schiavo die–which was, according to the spouse who is in a position to know, her desire in this situation–care more about her than those who want her live.

Terry Schiavo

I’ve had a few days to think about Terry Schiavo and research the background and legal ramifications. Here, in no particular order, are my thoughts at this time.

Why do Republicans hate Florida state law so much? First they have their pet US Supreme Court take Bush v. Gore in 2000, which as an electoral dispute isn’t under the jurisdiction of a federal court. Now they have Bush fly back from his ersatz Texas ranch to sign a bill that attempts to subvert Florida law again. The law says that Terry’s husband Michael has the legal right to determine whether or not extraordinary means should be undertaken to keep her alive despite her persistent vegetative state. Personally, I lean towards keeping people alive as long as medical science will allow. I would want everything possible done to keep me around as long as thee was a chance, no matter how remote, that I might recover to a significant extent. But I would still trust my wife to make that decision for me a lot more than I would trust a cheesy political hack like Tom DeLay.

Why are people picking on Michael Schiavo? Many right-wingers are attacking him for having acquired a girlfriend a mere two years after his wife slipped into oblivion. Where were they when some 9/11 widows remarried a year after their husbands and wives had died? I remember: the 9/11 widows, they said, were crazy with grief and were therefore justified to behave any way they wanted. Anyone who thought differently was a cur and a traitor. Michael Schiavo, a 26-year-old man whose wife suddenly collapsed in the hallway of their home five years after getting married, surely was just as devastated. In the United States, however, victimhood depends on your political affiliation.

How is that the United States Congress is so concerned with one woman’s life? They were so cavalier, after all, about unleashing the fearsome military strength of the Pentagon on Afghanistan and Iraq, where more than 150,000 innocent people were subsequently killed. Republicans are pro-life, it seems, only when the lives are worth political capital.

Should Terry be allowed to die? I don’t know. The video released by the family does seem to show her reacting to her surroundings. It’s heartbreaking. But I don’t have to decide because her husband, who has the law on his side, already has. If the GOP doesn’t like the law, why don’t they change it? After all, they control all three branches of the federal government and most state legislatures. Surely Jeb Bush could be counted upon to help out. Or is this just another tacky act of political grandstanding to assuage anti-abortion Republicans?

Holiday in Darfur

Chris asks:

Have you ever gotten around to saying anything about the genocide in the Darfur region? Is it worthy of your time?

Of course it is, but no I haven’t. Given how useless the US mainstream media has been on Iraq et al., I’m reserving comment until such a time as I can go over there myself to have an unfiltered look-see. If and when some newspaper or other media organization coughs up the requisite dough (standard cost of war zone reportage, including translator, driver, housing, etc. at ridiculous extortionist rates, is $10,000 for the first week plus $5,000 per week thereafter…and that’s the budget rate), I’ll be jetting off to do some first-person reportage. Who knows? This might be one of those rare instances where the US propaganda mill is telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Then again, maybe not.

Sadly, as many reporters can attest, there’s little interest in funding expeditions like these anymore.

Boring Standard Hate Mail

josestalin@excite.com (!) writes:

hi,
you suck, fag boy. I hope you survive and that no one shoots you in the head at point blank range. that would be unfortunate. i would piss on you’re grave however, if that’s any consolation, queer boy.you would probably enjoy that though. so perhaps someone should shit on you’re unconcious body while you’re still alive and being burned in the face with a blow-torch. have a nice day, and keep up the good work, gay boy.

What’s particularly disconcerting about this sort of email is that I have absolutely no idea what pissed off this guy (yeah, probably a guy). Was it a cartoon? A TV appearance? Grammar envy? That, and the fact that someone would think that it’s OK to write stuff like this to someone. These people are so fucking weird.

On the Other Hand…

It’s not all bad, as Jay writes:L

I think the greatest thing about Generalissimo El Busho is that he looks like a vampire, as well as some kind of banana republic leader.

I also think the work you’re doing is way beyond vital. If I were some kind of philanthropic guy, instead of a retired journalism prof, I’d buy a million copies of your books and have teens give them out at malls, a far better use of their time than enlisting in the military, to go get killed for Halliburton and other Bushco outfits.

Starvation Different Than Hunger

So much misunderstanding across the ideological divide stems from differing understandings of vocabulary. Sherri writes:

Correct me if I am wrong, but that is precisely the time when huge waves of immigrants were arriving from Ireland where a true famine was underway. Yes, poverty in America was brutal in that era, but it was nothing like the mass starvation in Ireland. I think you could have made your point about progressive income taxes without resorting to wild claims that “millions starved” in late 19th century America. Hunger and starvation are not the same thing.

Actually, they are. Or can be. From dictionary.com:

starve  (stärv)
1. To suffer or die from extreme or prolonged lack of food.
2. Informal. To be hungry.
3. To suffer from deprivation.
4. Archaic. To suffer or die from cold.

Some Emails Say It All

It’s great to have an outlet to share this with y’all:

In reading your comments on Marine Captain Frick, I thought I should point out that many of today’s officers do not have degrees when they are commissioned (at least in the Navy and Marine Corps), but are selected from the ranks through special programs such as “Seaman to Admiral”. From what I recall, these individuals were afforded the opportunity to earn their degrees after serving a couple of years as a junior officer. I believe many earned their degrees through “online institutions” such as Phoenix University.
While a few officers were fine and decent people, a good portion of them were of the socially inadequate mold whose viciousness and bullying ways were only superseded by their arrogance and mastery of the fine art of ass kissing. It seemed to me that the ones with degrees from the various service academies and R.O.T.C programs fell into the later group. Typical corporate governance I suppose. In short, there are plenty of educated idiots out there and I would be willing to bet,based on my experience, that a disproportionate number can be found wearing the uniform of this country.
Also worth mentioning is the role that nepotism plays in the officer corps. It is well known in the military that various families have sent generations through Annapolis and the service is managed through an aristocracy. The Executive Officer on my ship was one of these legacy alum and it was pretty apparent that he did not arrive at his position through merit.
The happiest moment of my life was when I received my discharge (honorably) from that insane asylum. I just wish that I had been more knowledgeable about the realities of this society for I would never have even considered that route. I can not understand how we ever won a war given the way the military managed things. My thoughts now about the military are that it is nothing more than a big welfare program for all involved. Yet, if someone were to point out that there are serious problems in a public forum they would be chastised as “unpatriotic” and “traitorous”, most likely by people who elected not to serve, ironically. Your probably aware of this through your Pat Tillman episode. Forget about the military establishment admitting to internal faults either. Remember, it was the media that lost Vietnam, not the reckless, murderous and inept beaurocracy (wink wink). This is why, in my opinion, much needed change will never occur.
Finally, if you have never served and would like some insight into the stupidity of the military sub-culture, I would recommend Joseph Heller’s old classic Catch-22.
Sincerely, A Venting Vet from Michigan

Progressive Taxes for Dummies

Scott writes:

I’ve just read your recent article on Yahoo News titled DEATH BY CONSUMPTION.

In the article you mention the tax rate on the richest as 94% back in the 1950s.

I believe few people understand the progressive-tiered nature of the income tax and simply saying someone was paying 94% is misleading. In fact, people would have paid 94% only on that part of their income above a certain dollar figure.

Please forgive me if I carry on too much. Using an unreal example as I don’t have the actual figures in front of me, if one made $100,000/yr, one would pay 0% on the first $25,000; 20% on your income between $25,000 and $50,000; 25% on income between $50,000 and $75,000; and 30% on anything more than $75,000.

To tell someone I’m in the 30% tax bracket is misleading because many, many people interpret this to mean I’m paying 30% of $100,000 when in fact, I will have paid a total of $18,750 or ~19% of my salary in taxes.

Can you please expand on your statement in this particular article orperhaps write another one explaining how the progressive-tiered income taxworks?

Thank you for your time.

More Rolling Heads

Craig wisely asks:

If Dan Rather lost his job for using a fake source, than shouldn’t local TV station producers also lose their jobs for running those bogus-news “VPR”s the Bush administration is secretly releasing?

Well, yes.

The Stop Sign

Andy sez:

Another question for the Marine Captain:

Why did they have to steal the traffic sign? Are they incapable of copying the Arabic characters in the word “stop” onto a piece of plywood? Is it really necessary for our men to act like common vandals. If you ask me, this captain is a thug.

I wondered about this myself. And if their calligraphy is lacking, couldn’t they hire an Iraqi to write “Stop–US Checkpoint–Slow Down” in Arabic? Or don’t we know any besides Ahmed Chalabi?

Air America Date Change

Actually, I’ll guest co-host “Morning Sedition” on Air America Radio on Friday, March 25.

We’re Looking for a Few IQ Points, Redux

Yesterday’s New York Times contained an op-ed by a former Marine captain about the challenges faced by Marines running checkpoints in US-occupied Iraq. Here you have a captain, a guy who’s presumably fairly well-educated, displaying the kind of idiocy that makes clear that the United States isn’t ready for prime time.

First there’s the description of what happens after his men shoot up a tractor trailer that accelerated towards their checkpoint:

Streams of red tracers poured into the cab, but still the truck hurtled toward us. I was bracing for the impact when the truck jackknifed to a halt 20 feet from our position. All night it sat, smoking, in the road. The next morning, men, women and children from Al Hayy came and danced and cheered around the bodies in the yellow truck. Only then did we know for sure that we hadn’t killed innocent people. There was no satisfaction in making the “right” decision. It was the only decision.

So “men, women and children” from a nearby town came and danced around the smouldering wreckage of the truck and Capt. Fick thinks that he knows “for sure” that the guys he killed were terrorists? Where do we find these guys? Is it any wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are morons? I guess anyone can get into Annapolis these days.

Then there’s this:

The fact is, checkpoint techniques can be taught. My platoon had to learn them on the fly, but that was two years ago. The lessons we and other troops learned should have been institutionalized long ago.

For example, we tried and discarded the three tactics that were used to warn the Italians as they approached the checkpoint: hand and arm signals, warning shots and shooting into the vehicle’s engine block. We found that hand and arm signals were tough to decipher, and subject to different cultural interpretations. Warning shots are hard to hear or see, and frequently only panic the driver they’re intended to warn. Shooting into engine blocks to avoid injuring passengers is Hollywood fantasy. Even my Marine snipers – some of the best marksmen in the world – couldn’t do it consistently.

So we adapted. For example, once while driving through a town, we cut down a traffic sign – a bright, red octagon with the word “stop” written in Arabic – and used it at checkpoints. Who knows how many lives this simple act of theft may have saved? We also learned to shoot off highly visible smoke grenades and brightly colored flares when possible threats approached. We started putting our concertina wire at least two football fields away to give us more reaction time.

Well, duh. Who but an utter idiot wouldn’t know that hand signals vary by nation? Or that shooting at people might cause them to “panic”? Or that bullets might travel through the engine block of a small car? Why on earth would the military even bother to try using procedures that anyone with common sense would know wouldn’t work–in advance?

It’s high time, obviously, for the military to start offering salaries commensurate with, or even much higher than, those paid to civilians. If we’re going to run the rest of the world, after all, we need occupation troops with a few IQ points to rub together.

Take the shooting of the Italian intelligence agent in context:
Our soldiers were not to blame. A speeding car

According to the Italian journalist and the surviving intelligent agent, their car was not speeding and was mocing at about 25 mph. Granted, this part of the story might strike those who have driven in Italy as dubious. Still: why would anyone speed up towards a checkpoint full of triggerhappy soldiers? No one would. The odds that they were speeding is probably about 10 to 1.

coming at a check point within an area where one of the major methods the insurgents use are suicide car bombs will cause a level of alarm in those soldiers manning the check point. The agent failed to make proper prior coordinations with the American unit and he failed to pass through the check point in the proper manner (actually in a manner completely devoid of common sense). I ran traffic control points and check points when I was in Mosul, and the only people who ever sped at the check point were either drunk or intended to due us harm. We never shot at the driver or passenger until the threat was confirmed (we would disable it first), but suicide car bombs were far less frequent then. Hold the agent accountable for his actions…for being a dumb ass.

Maybe. But Mosul is a much, much calmer city than Baghdad from the standpoint of US occupation troops. Could it be that Americans had less reason to be nervous there?

Liberal Elitists

Alex writes:

If liberals are open minded how come they are so adverse to anyone who thinks differently? You are one of many cartoonist happily indulging in group-think. I am a cartoonist myself, a republican and a new yorker. Any input as to why independent thinking is not encouraged by the liberal elite ivy leaguers such as yourself?

That’s so silly it doesn’t merit a response. But I thought you should see the kind of stuff people send me.

Ted Rall on Air America

I’ll be filling in for vacationing “Morning Sedition” co-host Marc Maron on Thursday, March 24, from 6 am to 9 am East Coast time. Check your local listings or livestream the show through airamericaradio.com.

The Terri Sciavo Case

Rick asks:

I don’t recall reading your thoughts on the Terri Schiavo case. Do you have an opinion? I myself have a living will, ordering no dramatic measures be taken in the event of my brain death. (I voted for Bush, so you probably think it’s too late). Schiavo’s parents say she is aware, smiles, and acknowledges contact and even uses some words. They accuse her husband of mis-treatment, and say they are denied proper access to her. They also say she is not allowed therapy, or the use of the outdoors. They make the point that people are arrested for starving a dog, yet they want to allow it against their daughter.
Normally, I would say pull the plug, but with her parents’ statement in mind, I am torn.
What say you, Ted?

This is one of a number of issues where I can’t come down strongly on one side or the other. I oppose euthenasia, largely because of its role leading to the Holocaust. On the other hand, if someone wants to kill herself, who can stop them? In the Schiavo case we really don’t know what happened and what’s true and false. In such cases I prefer to stand back and let the courts take their course.

Whenever I write about an issue where I feel torn, my readers are furious; many hated my column about eminent domain because I refused to take sides. Given the fact that there are so many issues where it’s easy to make the right call–torture, say–I tend to shy away from these. It’s too bad, because it leads many to believe that I only hold extreme positions about every issue, when in truth I only hold strong opinions about the issues I write and draw about. Moderation in the pursuit of interest, after all, is one hell of a vice.

Saddam Capture Faked?

UPI is asking whether the Saddam spiderhole story was just as phony as Bush’s thanksgiving turkey and the staged Saddam statue toppling party:

Ex-Marine Says Public Version of Saddam Capture Fiction

United Press International
03/08/05 – – Rochester NY – – A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated.
Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, of Lebanese descent, was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Medina Wednesday as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army.
“I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced,” Abou Rabeh said.
“We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed,” he said.
He said Saddam himself fired at them with a gun from the window of a room on the second floor. Then they shouted at him in Arabic: “You have to surrender. … There is no point in resisting.”
“Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam’s capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well,” Abou Rabeh said.
Abou Rabeh was interviewed in Lebanon.