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?

Review of Attitude 2

The San Diego Union-Tribune‘s review of ATTITUDE 2 kicks ass!

Speaking of which, the Cartooning Gala of the Year is nearly at hand! An incredible 15 of the ATTITUDE cartoonists will attend and sign at the April 29th fundraiser for the New York Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City.

Meet:

Scott Bateman

Emily Flake (“Lulu Eightball”)

Tim Krieder (“The Pain—When Will It End?”)

Peter Kuper (“Eye of the Beholder”)

Stephen Notley (“Bob the Angry Flower”)

Ted Rall (“Search and Destroy”)

David Rees (“Get Your War On”)

Mikhaela Reid (“The Boiling Point”)

Mickey Siporin

Jen Sorensen (“Slowpoke”)

Ward Sutton (“Schlock ‘N’ Roll”)

Neil Swaab (“Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles”)

Tom Tomorrow (“This Modern World”)

Tak Toyoshima (“Secret Asian Man”)

Jason Yungbluth (“Deep Fried”)

Time: 7 – 9 pm

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2004

Place: Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art

594 Broadway, south of Houston Street

Manhattan

By subway:

6 to Bleecker St or Spring St,

N, R, W to Prince St,

B, D, F, V, to B’way-Lafayette St

See you there!

“President Bush”?

“When they elected Bush president,” The New York Times began an editorial the other day. Air America, house organ of the Democratic Leadership Council, regularly refers to “President Bush.”

Just a reminder: That man is not our president. He is still an illegal imposter, with no right to present himself to be reelected to an office he was appointed to by a rogue Supreme Court. Gore won the popular vote as well as the electoral vote. Gore won Florida by an ample margin, as anyone who has studied the issue is well aware. For the Times and Air America, two voices that ought to know better, to refer to Bush as president is an insult to our constitution and the 42 legitimately elected men who came to power by popular acclaim.

Book Tour; Speaking Engagements

My publishers and I are currently putting together an itinerary for this summer’s in-store signings and attendant speaking gigs to promote my new book WAKE UP, YOU’RE LIBERAL. So if you, a cool store and/or a local group/college/whatever is interested in having me come to your city, now’s the time to speak up. Priority will go to people who arrange events in advance, are capable of doing efficient promotion and to cities where my cartoons or columns appear in a local publication (without the latter, turnout tends to be too small to make the event worthwhile for everybody concerned).

I’m at chet@rall.com if you’re interested.

What a Difference a Year Makes

From today’s Associated Press report from Baghdad:

U.S. Halts Attacks on Fallujah, Retakes Kut

By Alistair Lyon, Reuters

BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 9) – Bloody turmoil reigned in Iraq on Friday, the first anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s fall, with Sunni and Shiite rebels battling U.S.-led forces and holding three Japanese and other foreign hostages.

U.S administrator Paul Bremer said U.S. forces had unilaterally suspended operations in the Sunni town of Fallujah at midday after this week’s crackdown on guerrillas.

He said the ceasefire would allow humanitarian access and what would be unprecedented talks with insurgents. About 10 bodies lay in the streets of the town west of Baghdad after heavy overnight fighting, witnesses said.

This week’s bloodshed, engulfing the hitherto quiescent Shiite south as well as the bastions of Sunni insurgency in central Iraq, has shown how far the United States is from securing the country whose dictator it toppled on April 9, 2003.

Insurgents attacked a U.S. fuel convoy west of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least nine people, witnesses said.

A Reuters photographer at the scene said he saw bodies burning inside the vehicles on fire near Abu Ghraib. He said the convoy included U.S. military vehicles and fuel tankers.

U.S. DECLARES TRUCE

Bremer announced the Fallujah ceasefire after five days of street fighting in which up to 300 Iraqis have been reported killed and U.S. Marines have also taken casualties.

“As of noon today coalition forces have initiated a unilateral suspension of offensive operations in Fallujah to allow for a meeting between members of the Governing Council, the local Muslim leadership and the leadership of anti-coalition forces,” Bremer told reporters.

He did not say how long the ceasefire would last, though an Iraqi politician said it had would go on for 24 hours.

Fallujah residents heard U.S. warplanes and a loud explosion an hour after the ceasefire, but it was not possible to confirm whether there had been a U.S. air strike.

The Marines launched “Operation Iron Resolve” after last week’s killing and mutilation of four U.S. private security guards showed the depth of anti-American feeling in Fallujah.

Earlier on Friday, U.S.-led troops retook the eastern town of Kut two days after Ukrainian forces withdrew after clashes with Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The cleric’s office was in ruins after it was hit by U.S. fire.

Sadr’s followers launched an uprising this week, battling U.S.-led forces in Shiite areas across Iraq. One Ukrainian soldier was killed this week in the fighting in Kut.

Shiite militiamen still control the center of the shrine city of Najaf, where Sadr is thought to be holed up.

In the shrine city of Karbala, overnight clashes between Shiite fighters and Polish and Bulgarian troops killed 15 Iraqis, and six Iranian pilgrims were shot dead near a Polish checkpoint between Babel and Karbala, police said.

The violence erupted as Shiite pilgrims thronged Karbala for Arbain, a religious occasion that climaxes this weekend.

A major international oil conference due to take place in the southern city of Basra later this month was cancelled indefinitely because of security concerns.

NO JUBILATION THIS YEAR

In Baghdad, new razor wire barriers blocked main streets around Firdaws Square where U.S. Marines and Iraqis dragged down Saddam’s statue a year ago. An Iraqi vehicle with a loudspeaker warned people in Arabic to stay away from the square.

It was not clear if the measures were meant to foil possible anniversary protests against the U.S.-led occupation.

Tanks, with names like Beastly Boy, Bladerunner, Blitzkrieg and Bloodlust stencilled on their cannon barrels, guarded nearby hotels used by foreign contractors and journalists.

Posters of Sadr fluttered on a green sculpture symbolizing a new Iraq erected on the plinth where Saddam’s statue once stood.

Where are all of the neoconservative assholes who shouted us down last year? What about their idiotic ex-liberal apologists, like Chris Hitchens? Both groups of bastards have brought us to this.

Actually, I Sorta Lied

At the risk of sounding like Condi, “Return of Terror Widow!” did come out yesterday–but only to client newspapers. It goes online Monday.