This is what a whiny police state looks like [Ted Rall cartoon]

[bemildred]

http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/11/this-is-what-a-whiny-police-state-looks-like-ted-rall-cartoon.html

[pacalo]

1. Here's the cartoon...

Police at UC Davis, who casually pepper-sprayed sitting protesters as glibly as an exterminator killing bugs, claim to have been frightened and encircled.

[lob1]

3. K&R. That's great.

[lonestarnot]

2. K & R!

[bertman]

4. Ted Rall is a firebrand. Heard him speak at Stop the Machine. REC. nt

[bemildred]

5. He is very good at the proper application of ridicule where it is most needed. nt

[provis99]

6. so he's switched from mocking dead soldiers?

[Raster]

7. I don't believe I've seen a Ted Rall cartoon where he is specifically mocking dead soldiers.

Do you have one?

[Shampoobra]

8. Yes he has. Six years ago...

...he admitted his errors:

"I wish all this stuff had come to light immediately after Tillman's death--hell, immediately after his enlistment. It would have saved countless lives, both of American servicemen who joined the military after being inspired by him and the Iraqis and Afghans they and their comrades dispatched in the name of the World Trade Center. But it's too late for that. As for me, this episode serves as an important reminder that you can't always judge a book by its red, white and blue cover. And it redoubles the tragedy of his death, since it sounds like we lost one hell of an interesting human being in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan."

http://www.rall.com/2005/10/pat-tillman-redux-lot-of-people-have.html

[bertman]

9. Thanks for posting that bit shampoobra. I don't remember the mocking incident but,

as a veteran of the Vietnam war I was initially very skeptical of the claims of great heroism lavished upon the former pro football player, Pat Tillman. Not because I didn't think he was a brave and honorable man but because of the way our military/government propagandize everything and wave the flag of blind patriotism to cover up any blemishes or embellish any act for the enhancement of our American-warriors-as-gods mentality.

Of course, after the initial propaganda coverup began to unravel, I and many others came to appreciate the courage of Pat Tillman--and not just for his actions in the field, but for his standing up for what he thought was right.

In the case of Ted Rall, his publicly admitting that his initial judgment was wrong speaks volumes about the man.

Another thing to remember about the timing of the death of Pat Tillman is that it was preceded by the Army's orgiastic propaganda stage show about the rescue of Jessica Lynch. After that sorry episode, we had every right to be skeptical of anything that came out of the military propaganda machine.

[Raster]

10. And we still have every right to be skeptical of ANYTHING that comes out of the military....

...propaganda machine -- it's only purpose to further enrich the American Military Industrial Complex.

[OwnedByFerrets]

11. +1