Unhinged We Stand

Worth noting, as another week of horrifying revelations of torture in American gulags in Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba and here in der Homeland, is an interesting comparison.

Escaped hostage Thomas Hamill reports having been well treated, fed and “watered” throughout his captivity by Iraqi insurgents. At no time was he tortured; except for the captivity itself–admittedly terrifying–he was just fine.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch, despite spun Pentagon reports at the time, has also repeatedly said she was well treated, even given medical care in priority to Iraqis, by Iraqi doctors in a hospital during the war.

In other words, our treatment of POWs compares unfavorably with that given kidnapping victims and prisoners of both Saddam Hussein and the current Iraqi resistance movement.

[Start singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” now.]

Cool Mail

I received some great email from readers during last week’s Tillman hubbub, and wanted to share it with you. Here’s a small sample of the more than 4,000 positive emails I ultimately received. These people deserve anonymity from the right-wing blogger freaks, and so they shall have it from me.

I just read through your selection of emails concerning the death of Mr. Pat Tillman.

My thoughts on his death mirrored what you described in your cartoon even before reading what you had created. My opinion at the time was that the right wing morons and mainstream press, including ESPN would make this idiot out to be the greatest hero since Audie Murphy. And they did, while totally ignoring the 700 or more other soldiers killed in the Middle East. To top it all off when Nightline dicided to honor the soldiers Ted Koppel was made out to be a traitor!

Having read some of the thought provoking missives from your fellow countrymen; who make up roughly 50% of the population, I find that I am more worried about Bush and his followers than I am of any terrorist. The odds of Bin Laden or some other Arab striking me is quite remote, but the odds of Bush and his crew causing great harm to my freedom and my way of life is exactly at 50%, plus or minus 3%.

Keep up the good work.

Yo Ted! I’ve seen you on Bill Maher’s HBO show, and I have enjoyed your

work on the (Washington DC) City Paper for years. Great stuff, always!

The writing is vicious (like I like it) and funny as hell, and your

drawing style is raw, but stylized, and I dig it immensely.

I was just checking out your blog, and the emails you’ve gotten from

the angry right-wingers. Some of those are hilarious, or WOULD be, if

they weren’t so scary! How can people be so freakin’ misguided? I am no

Noam Chomsky, but I am somewhat literate and educated. These people, on

the other hand, are just out of their minds!

Is this how life is going to be in Bush’s “post-9/11-era”, life in

complete and utter denial, an absolute refusal to even GLANCE at what

is really going on? Thanks so much, Ted, for having the nerve, the

guts, the balls to speak up!

We know you are getting a lot of heat for the Tillman cartoon, but please know that some of us understand the purpose of political commentary and completely agree that the HERO label now means nothing. From the thinking half of the American public, keep up the good work!

Thank you for saying what many of us know and try to say, but can’t, due to

censorship. In particular, your column of May 4, 2004 was excellent. In

fact, America HAS committed genocide, but the American people have been

indoctrinated into dismissing as “Marxist lies” any and all evidence of

American war crimes.

Keep up the good work, Ted.

I think you cartoon about Tillman was disturbingly accurate. Keep up the

good work.

Air America Follow-up

Air America, the almost left-of-center radio network originally meant to challenge the hegemony of the right on AM, is in trouble. This from the AP:

Air America Radio Chairman Resigns

Fri May 7, 1:06 PM ET

By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK – The chairman and vice chairman of Air America Radio have resigned, dealing the latest setback to the fledgling liberal radio network headlined by comedian and author Al Franken.

The departures of Evan Cohen and his investment partner Rex Sorensen came just one week after the company said that co-founder Mark Walsh had stepped down as CEO to take a smaller role at the company. Last week the company also said it had forced out David Logan as head of programming.

Cohen declined to discuss the reasons for his departure Friday but confirmed that he was stepping down both as chairman and as a member of the company’s board. News of the departures, which occurred Thursday, was first reported in the Chicago Tribune.

Cohen also said Sorensen was leaving the company’s board. He declined to say what he and Sorensen planned to do with their stakes in the venture. Jon Sinton, president of the company, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The continued management turmoil marked the latest growing pains for Air America Radio, which launched on March 31 with a slate of left-leaning political satire and current affairs commentary.

Just two weeks after the network went on the air, a dispute with a business partner led to the network’s signal being pulled from stations in Chicago and Los Angeles. The signal was later restored in Chicago, but the company said it was looking for a new business partner there.

In addition to Franken’s show, which is dubbed “The O’Franken Factor” in a jab at Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, the network also carries shows hosted by Janeane Garofalo (news), Florida radio personality Randi Rhodes and Lizz Winstead, a co-creator of “The Daily Show.”

As something of a pioneer of leftie talk radio (on KFI Los Angeles from 1998 to 2000, and then again during the fall of 2001), I’ve taken more of an interest in most in what I feel to be a much needed idea and, if carried out correctly, a potentially profitable business. I’ve spent the last few weeks listening to Air America pretty much every day, and I think I know what ails them.

First and foremost, the central conceit of using comedy to counter right-wing vitriol doesn’t work. When I started on KFI, I wanted to do comedy bits too, and I did have segments–Brooklyn Traffic with Dave Eggers (for a station in L.A.), the San Francisco Fog Report with Jesse Kalisher, Cinema is Dead with Cole Smithey, Wade Hamilton’s Celebrity Watch with Ruben Bolling–but I quickly learned that on radio humor is the icing on the cake, not the main meal. People listen to feel informed, to hear ideas and arguments they can use at work the next day around the water cooler. You don’t get that stuff on Air America.

Second, most of the hosts have no talk radio experience. It’s embarrassing beyond belief for a talent the caliber of Al Franken to have to have a co-host to push the buttons and issue formatics (“This is the O’Franken Factor…”). Franken should have gone it alone after training at small station somewhere first.

Third, Air America is reacting to what the Republicans and the right does and says. They don’t set their own agenda. Successful political talk requires men and women who, were they appointed president by a rogue Supreme Court, would already have a list of policies to enforce and cabinet members to appoint. You don’t get that sense on Air America.

Finally, the editorial content is mushy. A few days ago, I heard Franken try to defend John Kerry on charges of waffling. Look, Kerry IS a waffler. It goes back to Vietnam, when he tried to be a war hero AND a peacenik, a game he’s still playing. My old program director David Hall, who has forgotten more about talk radio than I’ll ever know, used to harp on credibility. A host without credibility won’t be listened to. Anyone who tries to defend Kerry as a man of integrity is kidding himself but nobody else.

It sounds like AA is reshuffling its management. That’s good, if it leads to a clean sweep on the programming side. The only host I’d keep is Randi Rhodes, a veteran of San Francisco talk radio. I’d hire hosts ranging from radical left to centrist Democrat, all with balls out personnas and credible arguments to defend their points of view. And I’d lose the whole Comedy Central thing. It sucks and it’s boring.

Hannity & Colmes

For those who are interested, I’ll be discussing the Pat Tillman cartoon tonight on Fox News in the 9 o’clock hour, on the show “Hannity & Colmes.”

Also, thanks to the thousands of you who wrote to express your support and condemn the right-wing hatred. If the conservative base is represented by the reprehensible curs I heard from during the last few days, there’s hope for the future. The future, after all, belongs to those who can spell.

Hate Mail

My mail is mostly running pro right now, but I’d like to give the curious a peek at what typical correspondence from right-wing pro-war Republicans looks like: inarticulate, unable to speak English properly (and these are the folks who criticize immigrants!), violent, illogical. If we are defined by our enemies, I am proud to be disliked be the likes of these “Americans”:

From kmdg2@yahoo.com:

Sleep tight. I’m coming to kill you.

From matthew@intouchone.com:

Fuck you you anti American son of a bitch. Get the fuck out of my country now! Call me you bitch if you have the balls to withstand justified criticism for your less than respectful comments about Mr. Tilman. You suck and I hope crowds chase your liberal ass out of this country. Give me a number to call you you fucking pussy ass cunt.

Matthew

602.XXX.XXXX

PS: Fuck you and leave my country BITCH

From cmiele@bglco.com:

Making fun of a man who gave him life defending the freedoms you live under!

You fucking cocksucker!

Cameron S. Miele | Senior Associate

BROWN GIBBONS LANG & COMPANY | INVESTMENT BANKERS

From brookshirelarry@hotmail.com:

Your a nim com poot and and idiot!

Larry Brookshire who served his county while you ran off to Canada or sit you fat ass behind a desk!

Larry Brookshire

From erslo@comcast.net:

You are one fucked up piece of shit. I hope someone blows your head off, you filthy cocksucker.

Fortunately assholes like you don’t live long.

FUCK YOU!

From jfeick@sc.rr.com:

Wow what dick, it is fine to say that you don?t agree with the president but to call a hero like Sgt Tillman an idiot that is just uncalled for. I am going to take a guess that you have never served in the military and that you don?t what it is like to be fired at. You are a piece of shit and Mr. O?Reily was right when you should be ashamed of what you did to Tillman. I hope you burn in hell.

From a cowardly remailer:

Ted has a small Penis. He plays with it all day long. Thats funny isnt it?

From rlm@havilandtelco.com:

This man and many others have died so you can have YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH SO YOU CAN DRAW SHIT LIKE THIS.I BET YOUR PARENTS ARE REAL PROUD OF THE JOB YOU DO! IF YOU HAVE KIDS DO THEY GO TO SCHOOL AND HAVE TO DEFEND YOUR NAME OR DO THEY THINK YOUR A DICK LIKE MOST PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY . THANKS AMERICA FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BECAUSE I TO AS A VETERAN HAVE THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.GOD BLESS PAT TILLMAN

From rancher@kans.com:

You sir are a left wing scallywag. How dare you insult an American hero like Tillman. I want to tell you something! I did not believe in the viet Nam war, but went anyway. Because it was the proper thing to do for me ,my parents, and you, you little fuck!!!! You have had a very good life I under stand! So how about start paying those people back that you so disagree with. Perhaps they know the truth, that there are factions who want to blow away your life as you know it… Please think!

If you wish to reply my name is: Carroll Jungel see E-address above

From brianroou@i-mnet.com:

Hey you punk, Rall, I’d love to see you make fun of Pat Tillman in front of

his Ranger buddies, or any military member for that matter. I’ll bet you

wouldn’t be able to pen another cartoon like that, you total leftie loser.

Brian Roou

From NY1962@webtv.net:

idiot. sap.

From DLFul0531@aol.com:

The Tillman piece was disgusting. Have you considered moving to another country? China might be nice.

DLF

From lburchf@adelphia.net:

You are an insensitive, f&%$#@ idiot who doesn’t deserve to live in the USA. You are someone who cowards behind your cartoons instead of standing up and supporting your country’s fallen………..whether or not you believe in the war, Pat Tillman died for you.

From jpresley@post.harvard.edu:

I hope the syndicate fires you.

From bhahn777@yahoo.com (note: I have never appeared on Chris Matthews’ show):

Ted Rall,

You are a fucking idiot. I saw you on Chris Mathews and you are a flaming Gay liberal communist. I do not care about your email guidelines.This is a threat. If you ever show your scawny GAY communist ass in San Jose, CA you won’t live to regret it. What you said about Pat Tillman is way past offensive. I worked in the same office as his father for several years and was very upset with his death. You, on the other hand think it is a joke that Pat Tillman or anyone of thousands of soldiers would put their life on the line to save your scrawny, GAY, communist ass from another terrorist attack. Pat Tillman was a hero and died a hero. However, you will die as a coward, liberal, GAY, communist. I doubt if any law enforcement officer in the USA would come to your defense if someone was cramming a Cadilac(made in the USA) up your ass. Like the New York fire fighter said at the 9/11 memorial concert. I live in San Jose, CA and if you know where to find me.

From mayj@ncr.disa.mil:

You are a LOSER! Ted Rall makes me sick! The same military that protects

your ass, he has the nerve to criticize! You need to move out of this

country! Leave! If you hate this country so much, move to Yemen! Your on

Pat Tillman was disgusting. Why don’t you take your panzie ass and join

the military?! You wouln’t last, you big baby! You have never served this

country in any capacity, have you? You are jerk. A simple liberal idiot!

You make me puke!

Ted, do us all a favor and LEAVE! Move to another country pal, and see how

you like it there. To never serve this country, and have the audacity to

criticize somebody who gave their life for this country is despicable!

You make me puke! I can I can tell you of another 1.5 million you make sick

in our armed forces!

Oh, and come on down to Ft Benning, Ft Bragg, Ft Carson, Camp Lejuene, or

any other military base, and write this article! Stand out in front of the

base and read it, you dickhead! We would love to kick your spindly ass!

It is losers like you that need to move to another country, you idiot! You

hate our Government, but, you love the money you make writing stupid comic

articles that mean NOTHING! LOSER!

LTC Jeffrey May

From omelekie2@hotmail.com:

I recently saw your strip regarding Pat Tillman. I get that you are against

the war but do not degrade the name of a hero. You are an ASSHOLE!!!!!!!

From gmfalls@hagemeyerna.com:

A$$hole..how dare you critisize Pat Tillman..it’s people like him that give

you your right to spoof.

From Jsheridan5@aol.com:

Good thing those American War Criminals are on the front lines defending your right to be an obnoxious twit.

I do hope you meet a couple of Marines in a dark alley

From foxsb@verizon.net:

Fooled you….you are an arrogant Bastard desrespecting Tillman the way you did….but of course you probably didn’t have anyone die that you knew in the 9/11 attacks did you…I hope you get what is coming to you bastard

From marty@teamsavage.tv:

If I ever see you in person I will kick your ass.

Tell the authorities you spineless weasel.

Your arrogance is inversely proportionate

to your lack of intelligence

From bbmesq@earthlink.net:

Ted Rall – dead man walking . . . .

From rjohns9797@sbcglobal.net:

United States Attorney General John Ashcroft

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

Re: Witness to Treason against the United States

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

I have witnessed an act of Treason against the United States of America as defined in the Constitution of the United States, Art. III, Section 3, which states “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”

The meaning of Article III, Section 3 cannot be interpreted any other way except that Treason is clearly defined as:

1.) going to war against the United States

or

2.) giving aid and comfort to the enemies of

the United States.

To be convicted of treason, the accused must either

a.) confess to treason

or

b.) be accused of treason by two direct witnesses

of the act of treason.

The act of Treason which I, and millions of other Americans have witnessed was committed on 11 November 2003 by a United States citizen identified as Mr. Ted Rall, a native of the State of Massachusetts upon which United States citizenship was acquired by birthright.

On 11 November 2003, Mr. Rall committed an Act of Treason with the publication of statements clearly giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States and encouraging those enemies to take up arms against the military forces of the United States currently occupying the nation of Iraq. Mr. Rall’s Treason was aided and abetted by a business entity identified as Universal Press Syndicate…

Mr. Attorney General, I strongly urge you to seek an indictment charging the above parties with the crime of Treason, and to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. I further urge you to seek a court injunction to immediately prohibit further original publication of such articles by the parties above which are in violation of the United States Constitution Article III, Section 3.

I ask also that the individual identified as Mr. Ted Rall be immediately classified as a potential security risk with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Transportation Security Administration and that he be subject to additional screening should he seek to travel upon any commercial aircraft within the confines of the United States.

Respectfully Submitted

From mreese@sdcoe.k12.ca.us:

Well, Ive always considered you a commie, now you have proved it.

Eat Shit traitor.

From dlowry@saanet.com:

You should be put in prison, one for not being willing to serve your country and then have the audacity to critize those who do.

You don’t belong in America. You have no idea of civility and when it is appropriate or how to be appropriate when expressing your views. You are a shame to this country.

David Lowry

From News6809@aol.com:

Rall you are the king of scum, I know if there is a hell you will def be there suffering like you made Pat tillmans family suffer. I hope you are No 1 when the next terrorist attack comes Have a Great day scumbag If I ever see you I will gladly spit in your face !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s Out Today!

My lovely author’s copies of my long-awaited book WAKE UP, YOU’RE LIBERAL: HOW WE CAN TAKE AMERICA BACK FROM THE RIGHT, arrived at Ted Rall HQ this very day. And what beautiful tomes they are, too–thick, nice print, great cover, definitely the best looking and most ambitious book I’ve done so far. At 336 pages of all prose, with an introduction by none other than George S. McGovern, no home should be without this attempt to fix what’s ailing the American left ideologically, tactically and otherwise!

More on Tillman

This post will be my last word on my cartoon about Pat Tillman. Having read more than 6,000 emails about it, a number of random thoughts cross my mind.

First and foremost, this country is in the throes of a militarism that is frightening. Militarism is an ideology that sees war not as a means to an end, but rather as a self-perpetuating purpose in and of itself. The excitement of the waving flags, the sense of common purpose, the thrill of risking lives–ours and our fellow citizens’–in a grand crusade to expand our nation’s influence, avenge some slight, whatever.

Even what passes for the “left” in this country insists that we “support our troops.” Why? Because during Vietnam, some veterans reported having been insulted as “baby killers.” These stories are largely fictional, but whatever–let’s take them at their word. What irony! Vietnam vets, many of whom were drafted, were insulted. Now our army is 100% volunteer–and we’re not allowed to point out that picking up a gun and shooting people they tell you to shoot is a choice.

Others on the left point out that poor people from rural areas with high unemployment see joining the military as a means of overcoming economic disadvantage. At a starting salary of $12,000, however, your average private would do better taking a job at McDonald’s, where the pay is the same and nobody’s shooting at you.

Obviously the lion’s share of the blame for our current atmosphere of warmongering based on lies must be placed on the disgusting creature named George W. Bush as well as his demented greedhead cronies in the Administration. After that comes the media, which lionizes people like Tillman because they gave up everything–money, a bright future, even their life!–to serve their coun–well, to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Tillman fought first in Iraq, then Afghanistan.) It’s the same sales pitch used by Hezbollah and Hamas to recruit suicide bombers: die for the greater good. Except these wars are not good. They’re not defending us from terrorists; they’re recruiting them. And the 9/11 terror attacks remain utterly unavenged.

Even so it’s time for Americans to start boycotting the military. If there hadn’t been a spike in recruitment after 9/11, the Pentagon would not have had the ability to wage war in Iraq, where even now they are so shorthanded that they sent for another 47,000 troops. The last thing anyone should do with their life is sign it away as a blank check to George W. Bush–a man who did everything in his power to dodge the draft when he had his chance to fight in Vietnam, a war that he supported as long as other guys were doing the dying.

I’ve been asked what I would have done, as president, after 9/11. I’ve written about this extensively, in books and essays, but to summarize:

I would have leaned on Egypt, which receives $2 billion annually in US foreign aid, to track down the masterminds of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. IJ is the group that killed Anwar Sadat, and all 19 hijackers were members. They were also all Egyptian–the 15 “Saudis” merely held Saudi passports. I would have demanded that those leaders be prosecuted for mass murder on 9/11.

Regime change, if necessary, should have focused on Saudi Arabia, which funded the attacks, and Pakistan, which is–contrary to media myth–Al Qaeda HQ. General Musharraf’s ISI intelligence agency created the Taliban and spread militant anti-American Wahhabiism throughout South and Central Asia. Get rid of him, and you eliminate funding for the camps in Afghanistan, a nation that was before 9/11 nothing more than a back lot for Pakistan’s misdeeds.

There’s more–much, much more–but as I said, I’ve written about all this before and I am seriously tired.

Pat Tillman died for nothing. He may have been an admirable person in many respects–we’re all complicated–but he made a terrible decision by joining Bush’s mercenary military after 9/11. If someone dies because they screw up behind the wheel of their car, it’s a tragic accident. It’s awful and we’re sad–but it ain’t heroism, folks.

Heroism? That’s pretty damned rare. Shooting at people for pay, unless you’re defending your country, surely ain’t that particular bird. And America has never been endangered by Iraq or Afghanistan. North Korea, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand…

Pat Tillman

Today’s cartoon is getting a lot of coverage from right-wing media outlets as well as more legitimate ones like Editor & Publisher. As is often the case in these situations, it’s impossible to reply to each email individually, so I’ll just say what I have to say here.

My cartoon is a reaction to the extraordinary lionizing of Mr. Tillman as a national hero. First of all, the media’s decision to genuflect to a cult of death is terrifyingly similar to the cult of Palestinian suicide bombers in the Middle East and the glorious coverage given by the Japanese during World War II to fallen kamikaze fighters. Nowhere has this excessive praise for the act of voluntary death been more extreme than in Mr. Tillman’s case.

The purpose of a political cartoon is to stimulate discussion, and there was no discussion about America’s post-9/11 death cult.

Second, Mr. Tillman served an evil president and an evil cause. Anyone with an open mind after 9/11 could easily have learned the truth, that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq occured instead of a war on terror, not as part of one. A person who planned to risk his life in combat should reasonably be expected to dig a little deeper rather than to fall for Bush’s transparent lies. We all judge each other, and while Tillman’s decision to sacrifice millions of dollars for his beliefs is admirable, his belief that killing the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan had something to do with defending America was not. At best, Tillman was foolish and misguided.

Finally, it’s time for troops who signed up post-9/11 to take a little personal responsibility. It’s one thing for a career soldier to go where the politicians tell him or her to go, but quite another to join the military when the “president” is an illegal usurper occupying the White House, he’s an out-of-control warmonger using the deaths in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania to promote a partisan political agenda and his wars are nothing more than grabs for control of oil and gas resources and pipeline routes. Liberals tend to let volunteer soldiers off the hook, but let’s not forget the hard, cold truth:

If no one had enlisted after 9/11, we wouldn’t be fighting these immoral wars based on lies and greed now.

Update as of Tuesday: I’ll be the lead on tonight’s O’Reilly Factor, on Fox News, 8 pm Eastern time.

Last Night

Yesterday’s ATTITUDE 2 gala at New York’s Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art rocked! The joint was jumping with cartoonists and their fans, artwork was tastefully displayed for all to enjoy and even the complimentary cheese cubes were well worth savoring. Thanks to the fine people at MoCCA for pulling off an exceptional event, and especially to the artists who traveled from far-flung places to be there.

Militant Moderate Attacks Again

Few exercises in reading are quite as irritating as reading Nicholas Kristoff’s opinion columns in the New York Times. The dude’s smart, insightful and brave–he recently traveled to Sudan to cover the bloody civil war there–but his efforts at walking the line of moderation under Bushite occupation (a time when no patriotic American should hold moderate opinions) are growing increasingly tedious.

The latest case study: yesterday’s column, wherein he decries, of all things, the habit that liberals supposedly have of mocking Born Again Christian fundamentalists. I don’t know which lefties he’s been hanging out with, but my pals don’t hate Christians–we don’t give them much thought at all, actually. Maybe it’s a New York thing. In this town, people who think they talk to God mutter, dribbling spittle as they ambulate through subway cars asking for money, and they’re best avoided.

Still, I can’t resist poking fun as Kristoff’s close:

It’s always easy to point out the intolerance of others. What’s harder is to practice inclusiveness oneself. And bigotry toward people based on their faith is just as repugnant as bigotry toward people based on their sexuality.

No, of course it isn’t. You see, faith is a matter of personal choice. Sexual orientation isn’t. If you can’t judge someone based on their decisions, what can you judge them on?