Cartoon for October 29
We stood by and watched as an illegitimate coup leader seized power in 2000, reversing the results of the presidential elections. We sat on our asses after 9/11 as he waged war against countries that had not attacked us and rewarded those that had. We farted around as he stole the key state of Ohio in 2004, and by extension the whole election. We’ve done nothing about the USA-Patriot Act, the habeas corpus-ending Military Commissions Act, the destruction and neglect of New Orleans by Katrina, Guantanamo, extraordinary renditions and legal torture.
Tell me again: How exactly do we qualify as “the land of the free and the brave”?
Click on the cartoon to make it bigger.
Tedrall's Blog 
October 29, 2007 at 5:48 pm |
Ronald Reagan’s great lie during his chance at screwing up the country has come true, only the Welfare Queens are all in Congress. The Zero Profiles in Courage of 2007 began with a lying ‘C student’ (explain how a university admits a ‘C’ student into a post-graduate program), George W. Bush, giving the go-ahead to the rest of the country to settle for, to push for, the lowest bar, to make incompetence the default standard for leadership in America, because, heh heh, George did it! You know George, the man who was born on third base and believes he hit a home run. Trickle down quickly became trickle on. Not only is America covered with Bush’s piss, he’s still humping our collective leg while Bush’s treasonous parents wander around mumbling, “Hub? Wha’? Did the government checks come in on time?”
October 29, 2007 at 8:28 pm |
You sound angry Ted. I too have been angry, now I only have a deep pain in my heart. It was the realization that this really isn’t the land that’s either “free” or “brave”, but a confederation of bullies, cowards, the greedy, the lazy, and the ignorant.
Whether it was the bushes or clintons or whoever, the outcome would’ve been/will be the same. It’s not our leaders who are responsible, it’s all of us…myself included I’m ashamed to say.
October 29, 2007 at 11:56 pm |
Anonymous 1: Does it bother you just as much, then, that a lying C student who dropped out of law school and divinity school was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
October 30, 2007 at 1:10 am |
No one could have been more pessimistic than Francis Scott Key when he wrote this zinger into that old, english drinking song we call our national anthem:
“Oh say, does that star spangled banner yet wave for the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
No.
But we can’t really blame ourselves. I don’t hear anybody admitting it, but the constitution failed. It was not specific enough on too many points. It also did not give enough enforcement power for threats to the balance of power. Multinational corporations had already been around for a millenia when the constitution was being drafted. Still, the drafters could not forsee that people with money would turn the US into their tool. Power to regulate them was given to individual states (wah wah wah).
October 30, 2007 at 2:34 pm |
Hey, Ted. You missed one, at least. I more than get the point that the citizenry don’t have time to be bothered as Bushco takes the train off the tracks, but at least give a nod to Sibel Edmonds. Maybe she’ll give you an interview, now that she’s a candidate for rendition.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5197
October 30, 2007 at 3:04 pm |
The Brave? They were the guys massacring all them Indians back then.
The Free? The guys who paid the brave for their work.
October 30, 2007 at 3:10 pm |
What’s the small print on the PROFILES book? I guess I’ll wait to see it in my local indy paper, which DOES run Ted’s work!!!
October 30, 2007 at 10:09 pm |
I can say with shame that I am not one of the brave. I frequently posted semi-political posts in the Politics section on Craigslist. I posted these in such a way that I thought my identity was protected. Turns out it was not and I was subsequently threatened (in fact the guy has sent me some death threats via email) and my job was threatened. I have a 7 month old son and a wife and mortgage and no security. I need my job and since it is semi-public in nature, I cannot afford an attack such as this. Even this post takes a certain amount of bravery for me, but not what I want. I should just stand up and say here I am and this is what I believe. I can’t and that is the real shame. I feel like a black balled screenwriter right now. This isn’t my America. This is Cohn’s America. Too bad. And I am sorry to all of you braver people that I don’t have the guts to have my name and my family dragged through the dirt. I am so ashamed right now.
October 30, 2007 at 11:32 pm |
A reader gets used to Bush apologists and dittoheads pulling “well, look what your guy did” out of their ass as an excuse for the crimes of George W. Bush and his illegal, corrupt, criminal regime. We all live in the same shit in America, but the Bush ass-kissers actually believe they are different, that the mountain of shit that is coming downhill from Bush’s incompetence and criminal acts will not touch them. Hoo Haa! The rats began abandoning the Bush ship of fools the past two years. Didn’t anyone notice? It will be interesting to see and hear the turnarounds Limbaugh and Coulter make when they finally count their foul earnings and decide it’s safe to run with the money. Bush may not be the only C student, but he’s the current war criminal and traitor in the Oval Office. Too bad the Bush lovers allowed their guy to steal the White House. But they’ll continue to blame Bill Clinton while stealing from FDR and Harry Truman. It’s sufficient to let the Bush apologists know how ignorant they are, especially when they haven’t been stampeding to their local recruitment offices to support Bush and the troops.
October 31, 2007 at 4:44 am |
You libs have had Congress since January and you haven’t done squat. Eventually you need to stop pissing and moaning about 2000 and moveon(.org). BTW why is it we no longer hear anything about stolen elections and voter fraud since the libs won?
October 31, 2007 at 10:35 am |
Arthur Silber would like to nominate Andrew Meyer as an American hero for he did Break the Goddamned Rules (http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2007/10/break-goddamned-rules.html). For that, Andrew Meyer was broken. He may never resist again, but he did resist once.
I think we all should realise that we live in occupied countries (USA, Australia, UK, etc). The occupation forces are the rich elite (aka Capitalists aka International Bankers). The forces of occupation are the police and the right-wing thugs. The collaborators include the MSM, the Democrats, the GOP, and all those who want to play safe.
We must learn to think and live as insurgents. There is no other way to keep one’s honour in these times. The ways of resisting will change from day to day, and even hour to hour.
I don’t think I will be very proud of what I have to do to survive these times. There will be many acts of cowardice and silence for every act of courage. I will be broken once, or even twice. Can I go on? I don’t know.
One advantage of a blank book is that anyone write in it. The smallest mark is noticed.
October 31, 2007 at 1:55 pm |
we’re the land of the free and the home of the brave, Ted, because people like you galvanize us with your child-like, factually-deficient rants.
George Bush is not President only in some parallel universe that’s of no importance to this one– the one where you and our ilk brood. Until you begin to play by the rules of reality, you will be what you are: a disenfranchised misfit, a poor illustrator, and a failed opportunist.
October 31, 2007 at 3:57 pm |
edward: another master
October 31, 2007 at 4:00 pm |
“You libs have had Congress since January”
[canned laughter]
Edward is a true master
November 5, 2007 at 3:59 pm |
I haven’t read your column that closely in the last couple years – now you say Bush stole Ohio in 2004. Geez – that’s a different tune that you were singing in 2004. Gimme a break — if you look at the 2004 election and the credible accusations of voting fraud, the most likely incidents of it affecting outcomes were in Pennyslvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – all states that barely went Democratic.