Bors Blog
Archive for January, 2008
Madrassa Veterans for Truth
The muslim smear about Obama is so widespread in this country it had to be addressed in the recent debate in South Carolina.
Here’s the first comic about the Madrassa Veterans I did back when the fake story first broke. It looks like it stuck and we can all look forward to right-wing conspiracy websites telling us the “truth” about Barack Hussein Obama for rest of his political life.
Loofa Man’s New Low
Bill O’Reilly is a disgusting piece of shit.
He started attacking John Edwards for mentioning the inconvenient fact that there are 200,000 homeless vets in this country. Talking with Ed Shultz, he said that there aren’t “that many” and offered to get any homeless vet off the street if only someone could only find one.
Clearly the remarks of a completely out of touch elitist demagogue.
After being roundly criticized and rebuked, he’s now trying to backtrack in the only way he knows how: by lying. Media Matters has the video of him switching the debate entirely:
Certainly there are homeless veterans, but it’s not because of the economy. It’s mostly because of addiction and mental illness, something politicians can do little about. But if Edwards admits the truth, it takes away the class warfare issue, which is his only issue.
He’s right about the addiction and mental illness, or course, but no one is saying otherwise. (he never mentions physical disabilities for some reason). Edwards never said they are where they are because of the economy–he regularly talks about the lack of comprehensive mental health care and veterans services.
But according to him, Edwards is “demagoging” because this is “something politicians can do little about.” He’s completely wrong. It’s just his rabid right-wing brain recoils in horror at the actual solution: homeless services, affordable housing, job programs, increased services for veterans, and drug and alcohol treatment are proven to help people off the streets (especially if they can be reached early on in the process) and get them back on their feet.
On the same program Bill said, “I am living proof that you can start with very little and prosper economically if you work hard and keep it honest.” If you don’t end up a millionaire, it must be your fault.
Those of us capable of feeling empathy for other human beings understand that were our circumstances different–a runaway from an abusive household or a mentally battered veteran of war–we could be freezing on the street begging for the change of a passerby who denies that we even exist.
When Bad Policies Collide
It bears repeating every now and then: It’s 2008 and we kick people out of the army for being gay.
We also torture people using methods from the Spanish Inquisition on people who haven’t even been charged with a crime.
Line of the week
On Larry King Live last night
KING: You worked with him on “Brokeback Mountain,” right?BRAGMAN: I did.
KING: How did he approach that role?
He certainly was not gay.
Great question, Larry. It opens the door to another baffling mystery: how could he play The Joker given the fact that he isn’t a psychopathic killer who wears clown makeup. Truly the sign of a great actor.
Change!
Change. Maybe you’ve heard about it.
And why must McCain put “my friends” at the beginning and end of every sentence?
Site Problems
I had to switch over to a better server to deal with the increased traffic I’ve been getting. The site won’t be going down anymore.
I’m having trouble getting the blog stuff worked out so bear with me on that.
Update: Looks like everything is fixed. The blog archives even magically started working again. Please let me know if anything is fishy with the site.
Scary Fans
This letter was sent to the Cleveland Free Times and addressed to me.
The LAW: Supreme Court Case. State of Texas vs. (2) Guys. The Supreme Court has stated that “sodomy” or “oral sequence” is NOT in the purview of the government and the government should not be involved with (2) consenting adult males (age 18 & older) in their private space such as a house/condo/apt./trailer/motel room/hotel room/lodge/tent/add on to a truck as long as this does not become a public nuisance & it is private among adult males. That’s the law! Now, some states might say, We will not obey this “law” and cause all kinds of problems for the “gay males” in our jurisdiction &/or the booty freaks who are not gay males rather passive males that other males seek for sex …
Many years ago I dated a young man whose family was from Tajikistan. We didn’t cornhole, but we did kiss and rub our things together & after we left the restaurant this young man – damn near beautiful put his arm around me and hugged me walking down the street! And another young man from Tajikistan wants me to cornhole him (hard & often). …
Labeling: It Bugs The Shit Out Of Me
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Dick Locher
Chicago Tribune Jan 19, 2008 |
I get that daily papers want all their readers to get the comics so there’s pressure to make it very clear by putting big badges on people with their names. But if a man who is on the “campaign trail” standing at a lectern with an American flag behind him talking about his opponents is not recognizable as a generic candidate then you shouldn’t be allowed to read the paper. I also think it’s insulting to assume your readers to be that dumb.
Update: As Kevin Allman notes in the comments, “He also misspelled “campaign” as “campaiagn,” and “collision” as “collison” — two out of 25 words in the whole cartoon.”
Television and Strikes
I’ve talked to a few friends and neighbors about the writer’s strike and found even very liberal people wishing it was over for a very trivial reason: they simply want their shows back on tv. People feel entitled to it. And besides, we’re not talking about poor factory workers–these are bigshot writers.
As someone who makes their living through media (as a freelancer) I’m directly affected and deeply concerned by the lack of value media companies have placed on content as they switch over to “new media.” This strike is important and their demands are not outrageous.
I’ve heard people say that they needed to go back on the air to save the shows so they would be there when the strike is over. This is a kind of circular argument. Of course the shows are in trouble–it’s the point. One could just as easily point out that shows can’t exist without writers (strikes exist to make this painfully clear to those at the top). As for the argument that the dispute doesn’t affect these shows–it does. They’re part of a union.
Another defense is that this is primary season and not a good time for these shows (Colbert and Stewart) to be off the air. That others would have soon lost their jobs. And that, you know, it’s been a while, and they made their point. The point of a strike–the last resort unions have for leverage–is to put pressure on employers. You want them to be inconvenienced. If you’re successful, you can get them to negotiate in good faith.
The fact that a lot of this kind of language seems like outdated griping and we should all go along and get along is really a testament to how much unions achieved in the first part of the 20th century. The level of comfort we’ve attained in our work week and labor conditions were not the result of asking nicely.
I don’t even watch their shows regularly, but I tuned in the other night and found them doing some humor about the strike and being very ironic and showing some reluctance about being on the air. It made me feel a little uneasy. As we joked in our press release, they can’t be let off simply because they are funny and we like their show. I agree with Rall’s point here:
2. They’re talking a lot on the air about unionism and the strike. While that’s very meta, it doesn’t wash. The best way to make sure the corporate bosses feel the pinch would have been to stay off the air.
What if all the shows are “forced” back on the air, like Colbert and Stewart, or deals are made with them all? Where would this strike be? No one said it was going to be easy.
There are numerous shades of gray that can be applied to how difficult there decision was, but when it comes down to it, I see it like this: they are WGA members, there was no deal for them to go back on air and they clearly have written material. Therefore, they should not be back on the air. They should be out on the sidewalk.
I’m getting very polarized reactions to my comic already. Some very supportive and amused, some very unhappy comedy central fans. I’ll probably do a post about some of the reactions in the next two days.
Press Release
January 16, 2008
CARTOONISTS DECLARE JIHAD ON COMEDY CENTRAL SCABS
Syndicated political cartoonists Ted Rall and Matt Bors will issue cartoons ridiculing two figures generally revered by liberals for their political humor: Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” and Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report.”
Despite not making a deal with the striking Writers Guild of America, Stewart and Colbert have returned to their shows–without writers –in a move that has generated little to no criticism from the liberal press.
Rall and Bors, who write and draw all their own material and are not members of the Writers Guild, decided to team up and deliver a one-two punch, with each of them taking on one of the Comedy Central hosts in cartoons issued by their respective syndicates on the night of Thursday, January 17. The cartoons will also be available at their websites www.tedrall.com and www.mattbors.com
“One naturally hesitates before unleashing the fearsome power of Rall and Bors,” said Bors and Rall, “but the stakes are too high, the issues too important, the hypocrisy too hypocritical for us to just put down our pens and tune in to their union-busting, albeit highly amusing, programs.”
Rall’s cartoon imagines rough and tumble union members from 1938 traveling through a wormhole to encounter Jon Stewart, whom they identify as a “scab.” The comic ends with Stewart being carried away on a stretcher after being violently beaten. “Stewart’s wry, vaguely left-of-center wit fails to register with the visitors from a more straightforward time,” Rall writes in the comic.
“Progressives shouldn’t let these scabs off the hook, no matter how hilarious they are,” said Rall. “The War on Snarkism starts now!”
Bors’ comic deals with Colbert in a parody of his popular segment “The Wørd.” This time the word is “Scab” with Colbert remarking, “Writers may be able to hang out all day on their air conditioned sidewalks, but I have a mouth to feed, folks!” while the screen informs us of his ego’s lunch break demands. It’s something you could almost imagine Colbert saying, with Bors turning the faux-right wing persona back on the host.
“They have no integrity, no morals, and no guts,” Bors huffed. “They’re funny, sure, but not ha-ha funny. Not after this.”
Ted Rall’s cartoons are distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, while Matt Bors’ work is distributed through United Feature Syndicate. They each draw three cartoons a week.
Neither Rall nor Bors will be available for appearances on either of the shows while the strike remains in effect. “We’d rather fight in Bush’s wars than cross a picket line,” they said in unison.
