Pat Oliphant for September 22, 2009

This is exactly how it’s done. Pat masterfully points it out for all to see. The little light bulb finally coming on as doofus looks at the guns.

Another blatant attack on the First Amendment.

Let’s see now how the Elite Media is spinning this: 1) You disagree with the President’s Policies, ergo, you’re racist 2) You vocally disagree with the Government policies, ergo you’re a Tim McVey wannabe. 3) You watch Fox News, you agree with Beck and Hannity, you are really evil.

(Fox) News Flash: It’s not working :-)

well, yes there deadhead… “Pat Oliphant masterfully points it out”… but I’ve not seen anyone actually do that on Fox News. Pat Oliphant draws what he sees in his own embellished mind, not what he sees on TV.

Makes sense to me.

Obviously Tommy doesn’t know about Glenn Beck, Shawn Hannity, Greatta Von Uglystick, Shepard Smith, Fox and Friends, and Bill O’Riely.

And that’s only on one station, not counting the ones who are all over the radio waves like Lardass Limbaugh, Michael “Weiner” Savage, and Matt “Gay Guy” Fudge.

Oliphant, satire is one thing, but lies and stupidity is really out of line!

This is disgusting!

Lies and stupidity? “Some people would say” the the comic isn’t all that far from the truth.

Fox’s pundits spread their lies, innuendo, and half truths under the guise of “some people would say”. Sure some would say it. Some people at Fox News just did. Some other people would say it’s utter BS. Still others would say we need to wear tinfoil hats to keep alien radio waves from taking over our thoughts. I don’t need “some people” to tell me what to think.

It appears , to me , Mr . Oliphant couldn’t ” boil ” his idea , down to a single panel .

Rush Limbaugh once compared The Obama agend to al-Qaeda’s agenda.

And if you ask any American….ANY AMerican what should be done with al-Qaeda, what do you think will be their answer?

First I have two question: Why in 21st century America (which as Fox often points out is the Greatest Country in the World) why would someone feel the need to bring a loaded gun to a public meeting where the President is speaking?

Now to my point, if you watch Fox as I do you will hear the following: Obama is a racist and hates white people, he may not even be an American so isn’t really President, he wants to turn America into a socialist state, he wants to destroy health care and set up “Death Panels”, he ( and the Democrats) want to take away our guns!

Now if you have heard all of this, and are at a public meeting where the President (the one who “You Lie”) is speaking more “lies” and you are someone who feels the need to take a loaded gun to a public meeting – What do you think that sort of person might do?

So my second questions is Why do you feel this cartoon is so far out?

We in America need to stop “Attack Politics” and talk, maybe we can be the greatest country in the world.

I have a question for snailhead and the rest of the conservatives attacking this cartoon.

Does this mean the right-wingers are gonna take back all their claims that video games and rock lyrics incite kids to commit acts of violence? I seem to recall them wanting Ice-T’s ‘Cop Killer’ banned right now for that very reason.

We should recall, after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in Israel, all Bibi Netanyahu had to say, was “Who, me?” If only the repercussions of the hate-mongers would come back to them first! But as the Qur’an says, “God is the best of plotters.” He will have the last word.

Seems that Pat has stung a few here.

Can anyone read what Punk is saying? I can’t make it out.

This guy will say anything to make those who care about the Constitution and rule of law look stupid.

When he is in chains from the Bush/Obama/Pelosi/Reed one-worlders, he will wonder, “I thought they would make me a king?”

A blatant attack on the First Amendment, that’s a joke, right? Those of us who remember lynch mobs know what we were seeing at the Palin kill him” rallies, fed and continued by FauxNews/Beck/Limbaugh, et al.

Meanwhile, Where’s Rupert?

Perfect cartoon, this is how it’s being done - a little whisper here - a little whisper there.

Plant the seed, plant as many seeds as you can while the ground is fertile… many will germinate, some will grow.

This is over the top. Is he suggesting that FOX News is encouraging people to assassinate the President?! This is inexcusable. I hope the cartoonist at least admits he went too far.

I don’t want ANY point of view reported. I won’t watch pundits blather on about how the opposition is wrong. I want actual news presented in an unbiased, non-partisan manor. By “real news,” I don’t mean a 24-hour news cycle about some drugged up lip-syncer cutting her hair to avoid a hair analysis drug test.

David, the Fox “News” amalgam didn’t say anything about killing anyone and clearly stated he didn’t advocate violence. He used the same innuendo the Fox pundits have already used. He merely reported. It’s up to the nut job to decide.

@ Churchill - I haven’t watched MSNBC for quite a while, but I remember conservative viewpoints being represented, on many shows. Who do you think are the liberals on Fox?

I watch CNBC all/every day. They have never had two liberals on the same program!! CNBC has the same agenda at FOX [just more expensive suits!!

Turning FOX off is not censorship. It’s just good citizenship!!

@churchill If you only want one point of view reported in the news, move to Venezuala!

1-I suppose you mean Venezuela. 2-Please get your facts straight. More than half of Venezuela TV channels are rabidly against the government, so your comment is totally off the real world.

Actually, I think Church meant MSNBC . I guess they are owned by the same network, but I though CNBC was more of a business network and tended to lean somewhat to the right.

Beautiful!

First, the “attack Politics” seemed fine with folks for the 8 years previous to the current mess we have. From one mess to another. Maybe Olipant should see the similarities between Bush and Obama and the media stances. Where was a similar cartoon of MSNBC during the Bush years?

Second, it is silly of me to ask the last question when I think this is irresponsible no matter who is in office or what the media is or isn’t doing to present commentary like this. But there is a first amendment and he’s certainly should be able to present his views. If only Oliphant would recognize he’s in the same business and under the same Constitution as Fox News.

Amazing how people believe, with no actual factual backup, that our president is a secret muslim/fascist/terrorist loving non-American racist. These same people are just shocked! that anyone in this thread could possibly think that the uber-patriotic Fox Network is not completely and totally NOT inciting emotional responses to healthcare reform. The very idea!!

Sheesh.

Why argue with idiots?

Once again, Pat doesn’t let facts or reality get in the way of a good smear…

Fear suppresses rationality. That is how some pols seek to control us. It also seems to be the strategy for getting viewers, when news resembles entertainment more than fact.

Let’s get real- Fox is pandering, which might be acceptable if it WERE only entertainment. But it’s presented as fact, and people who think it’s real cannot make good decisions based on this blather, and may in fact be incited to do real harm.

Very well done, Pat.

Beck, O’Reilly, Hannity et al urging viewers to “arm yourselves to overthrow this tyranny” cannot be construed as anything but this sort of incitement to violence. This has nothing to do with opposing Obama’s policies. It is about hate.

Oh, and I’m pretty sure the First Amendment does not cover treason.

See for yourself:

Man Carrying An Assault Rifle And Pistol Outside Obama Event:

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/man-carrying-an-assault-rifle-and-pistol-outside-obama-event.php

Churchill - Since I don’t have copies of the news videos I saw I wont argue with you about people bringing loaded guns to the President’s public meeting, but the fact is that people did bring loaded guns to other public meetings on health care. They were filmed and interviewed by all of the news networks, including Fox.

So my question still remains: “Why did they feel the need to bring a loaded gun to a public meeting, and if they are the type of person who feels the need to carry a loaded gun around isn’t there a chance they might use it?”

Is Karl Rove chief editor?

Unless they are extraordinarily stupid, I don’t think any right wing personnality really want Obama assassinated. Think of the backfire!

All they want is ratings

I don’t think Kox wants Obama assassinated, even secretely, but their race for controversy is a very dangerous game. I was born 20 years after Oswald was killed, but I know all it takes is one word too many and one nutcase.

Oliphant’s toon angers some folks because the speaker is revealed as Fox News in the last panel.

So for a moment, imagine the last panel with no words on the departing figure’s back. Notice that all of the words in the first three panels have actually been said, repeatedly.

Oliphant created a kind of story board for how unbalanced individuals can be manipulated to act violently, believing it to be for the greater good. I believe it is indeed possible, especially when the words are as hate-mongering as those said loudly and widely in the last few months. And, like Oliphant, I also believe that those who speak so irresponsibly from positions of leadership bear some responsibility. The world’s greatest leaders understand the obligation to speak responsibly and it is because they assume that mantle of responsibility that their greatness endures throughout history.

Speaker Pelosi’s words got lost in the querulousness over her tears, but what she said was quite reasonable: “I wish we would all curb some of [the harsh rhetoric] with the understanding that some of the people, the ears that it is falling on are not as balanced as the person making the statements might assume.”

Oliphant is obviously pointing the finger at Fox. — it could just as well be pointed at others, and should be, frankly.

Ken Warren:

Carrying a loaded gun does not imply you will use it. Apparently you are unaware of the number of concealed carry permits that have been issued, and the actual number of people carrying without you knowing about it. I have carried for over 34 years, and have never had a need to use it; except once with an encounter with a bear, and then I only shot into the air.

Bringing loaded weapons to a public policy hearing is most likely a form of intimidation and disruption. That assumption is amplified by how badly disruptive people have behaved at these organized town hall meetings.

We really need a catch-all term for the right-wing television / radio / internet / print outlets that continually spread the kind of bleeep Oliphant depicts here. I think he’s using FNC as a sort of shorthand for just that.

I know it is silly to post a comment this late, Oliphant is probably already posting a new cartoon so the odds are that no one will bother to read this, but I am hoping that some of the people who said that they carry guns will come to see if I have left a reply,so this message is for them.

I am sorry that you live in part of America where you feel the need to carry a gun for protection, but I do have to ask “Protection from who” (Or is it whom?)

Based on my own experience I would recommend that if you are going to carry a gun carry one a large caliber one – no 9mm, no assult rifes – M16 and AK 47’s only hit innocent bystanders, and if you going to open up in the streets of America there will be innocent bystanders.

That is why in Vietnam I preferred a M14 over a M16 because you were more likely to hit what you were aiming at, and when you him he went down he stayed down.

I grew up in the mountains where guns were a daily part of life – the Cub Scouts had classes about how to use and carry guns in safety, and the Boy Scouts gave badges for markmanship and hunting. My Dad gave me my first gun, a 22 with a scope, when I was ten. He said to use it for rattle snakes, which were a danger, and rabbits, which were a problem. When I was 13 I got a 30/30 to use against coyotes and wild dogs. What I was taught was “One Shot/One Kill”, get close, don’t just blast away. Guns were a tool not a toy.

Now to remind you of something I am sure you are tired of hearing, even it is true – very, very true.

Guns do not make you safer.

Owning a gun increases your, and your familys, chances of being killed by a gun. I know you are tired of hearing this, but records show that most of the people who are killed with a gun are killed by someone they know.

If you own a gun it is far far more likely that you will shoot a member of you family, or a friend, then someone who is trying to break into your house, or harm you.

I am sorry you feel the need to carry a gun in order to feel secure, but it is a false security.

One last personal note – if you do shoot someone and kill them it will effect you more then you can every imagine.

If you own a guy

It is frustrating trying to read the ‘conversation’ in Oliphant comics. Type needs to be larger and opened up!

It is frustrating trying to read the ‘conversation’ in Oliphant comics. Type needs to be larger and opened up!

This is the truth add in some talk radio to the mix

Uh oh. A census worker was hanged in Kentucky while on the job; “FED” was scrawled across his chest.

He was a teacher who made some extra money doing census work. He was a single father.

Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) has been the most vocal congressperson against the supposed fascist aspect of the census bureau; in her opinion, 2010 is different and much more scary than any other census because our president is Obama.

She has (as have other righties) advocated NOT cooperating w/census workers, and in fact has advocated taking up arms against this government takeover.

Now, Rep Bachmann NEVER explicitly told people to lynch census workers. So I suppose, like the cartoon above tries to get across, the righties on this thread will try to squirm out of the responsibility leaders have in not inciting people.

When FOX, Bachmann, Issa, or any number of “vague threat” naysayers warn people that their elected U.S. president and his “minions” want to take over the known world and enslave regular Americans, they are playing on fears. There will be some fringe people who act on those fears.

Tell me the difference here: Is Al Quaida responsible for terrorist acts? Or – are bombings the work of one lone fringe person only? Is Bin Laden responsible for inciting hate and allowing others to carry out his hatemongering acts? Who is responsible for the 9/11 WTC attack? JUST the hijackers?

Don’t start saying that the Kentucky lyncher acted alone and out of desperation unless you are willing to say that the terrorists in Gitmo should be given the same allowance.

Now tell me, if you will, how the cartoon is not accurate. They leave it up to the individual, but FOX and the republicans KNOW how incendiary this type of thing can be for unstable, frightened people. It’s not journalish, and it isn’t responsible governing.

Sheesh!

Oh, and don’t tell me that the Kentucky patriot/lyncher didn’t kill 3000 people so it doesn’t count as terrorism. The point was to intimidate census workers from doing their job for ideological reasons. At this point, census work has been suspended in the county where the murder took place. I guess the terrorists won! We are not free to practice our daily activities out of fear for our lives. What a patriotic thing!

News item: Bullets in short supply, ‘cuz them dern Democrats is gonna take away our guns.

No pending legislation to do anything like that.

And the world keeps gettin’ goofier and goofier!

Striper, are you sure those were the president’s exact words?

“Obama’s exact words are, “I am to busy with other issues now, new gun laws will be in the future”.”

I’d ask you to provide a link to this exact quote, but I’m not that cruel.

reading this site provides concrete evidence why there is such divisiveness in our country at this time, and how impossible it is right now for people to begin a national dialogue from a basic number of irrefutable facts.

Imagine if a muslime guys said those words in the toon, but about americans.

If the lamestream media even made a half-hearted attempt to do their jobs (journalism, was it?) instead of blindly worshiping Obama and acting like state-run puppets, FOX wouldn’t have such monstrous ratings. Since FOX raises the questions the other guys won’t, they deserve higher ratings.

The Community-Activist-in-Chief is far more dangerous than any lone mentally ill political cartoonist. Obama is a communist, so much so the rest is semantics. Really, what’s the difference between him and a CPUSA member? He’s a central planner who would rather the government run everything, from cars to energy to health care to schools to climate to crops (don’t forget the economy)! He doesn’t know jack about the Constitution or even why it was created. Already he’s got an illegal amount of control over banks and auto companies. The flip side of this tyranny at home is he exudes weakness to America’s enemies and praises or refuses to condemn communist scum like Castro, Chavez or dictators like Quh-daffy.

Obama is an absolute disaster for this country. Anyone who values liberty has everything to worry about as long as these taxocrat thugs are in power. Prepare for a serious clock-cleaning next year, Congress!

For more info, read Mark Levin’s “Liberty and Tyranny.” Over a million copies sold, with no help from the New York Slimes which didn’t review it.

community activist in chief, taxocrat thugs, communist, illegal control, tyranny, scum dictators…oh my!

Danny’s post has it all. Not much to add to that, I guess. I just never thought the United States of America was so fragile, Danny, that a democratic president could bring it down in a few months!

Danny, FNC’s ratings aren’t exactly “monstrous”. They average around 3 million viewers in prime time, which means there are at least 197 million American adults doing something else.

I guess they’re a big fish compared to the other cable news channels, but that’s a rather small pond.

Why are assault weapons necessary? What are you hunting Rhinos? There should be an assault weapon ban. If one can’t make due with handguns and long guns then that’s just too bad.

@Church: I don’t watch much of MSNBC recently, and even less of Fox. I do remember MSNBC having no shortage of Republicans and conservative speakers in debates, though. As for commentators, I think there was Noonan, Muprhy, and at least one other guy whose name I forget - oldish guy, was around in Nixon’s time, every now and then writes about how communism was worse than nazism… I think even Maddow and Olbermann feature him every now and then. There are probably more, but you should ask someone who watches MSNBC more often. As for Fox, I will have to check one of these days… I think I might disagree with your assessment on some of the guys.

@DannyDonkeyDisciple - I will be blunt. If you think Obama is a communist, you don’t know what communism is and what it actually means for a country. It is that simple, sorry. Obama’s more to the right than half of the centrists in Europe - the kind of people who stood with the USA during the Cold war. You may call it communism or however you like, but that does not make it so.

church, the fact that Fox caters to a core audience of a few million does not alter the fact that they cater to them with loudness. Screaming fear and paranoia at people, running lines below the commentary; the lines like “Obama’s coming for your guns”, “black riot narrowly averted in LA”, “IRS now authorized to look thru your phone records?”

My mom has Fox playing on the TV all day long. When she hears about a possible, secret, ACORN funded underground sex trafficker’s lair or some other preposterous FOX story, she worries. She gives money to scams who claim to be tax relief lobbyists but turn out to be political organizations collecting money to re-elect a republican candidate in another state.

So there’s nothing to make up my mind about. As a liberal, it is my opinion that FOX is a very useful republican mouthpiece. They cater to a minority, but they are very popular with that audience. They are loud, too. And they have been caught over and over inciting news stories to make it louder. Not more accurate, just louder.

Loud and Fringe. I don’t see where I have to choose, church.

deadheadzan: Weren’t you asking something along the lines of what this cartoon represents a few days ago? Looks like the cartoonist caught up with you. ;-)

@Churchill: I’m not “the left”. I’m a member of the left and speak only for myself. As I’ve said before, ideologies aren’t monoliths, they’re millions of people with a diversity of opinions.

When you get two different opinions from leftists, “the left” isn’t contradicting itself. You have two people on the same team with differing opinions.

Some among us indeed think FNC is “poisoning minds”. I’m not one of them. I’m of the mind that it’s fans and many of it’s critics give it far more credit for influencing the national debate than it deserves.

E-mail forwards actually have far more influence than all TV news sources put together. No, that’s not a good thing.

Oh, how I miss Herblock! I have met too many people who believe what Fox wants them to hear. I suppose they’d also believe “Pravda”, because it’s the ‘truth”. The dead giveaway is “fair and balanced”. If Fox – the propaganda of its filthy rich owners – were “fair and balanced”, it would NOT have to say so. After I caught the Catholic hierarchy in too many lies and bullying, I left. Therefore, I’ve seen all this blather before. I gave up trying to educate the ignorant a long time ago. I suggest some Robert Kiyosaki, then if they really want to learn, Noah Chomsky. As we Unitarians say, “Question authority”.

Both major political parties believe in questioning authority. The problem is they only question it when the opposition is in power.

How to drive a True Believer (of either stripe) crazy:

“Question authority…BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!”

It might be helpful for folks to read a little history about what it was like in Dallas in November, 1963. The way Kennedy was portrayed in the weeks before he got there was unconscionable. He was accused of making a secret deal with the Communist Party among other things, in a full page ad in a Dallas newspaper. The vocal, sign carrying folks (and I think you know the tenor of the signs I’m referring to) who have shown up at various town meetings around the country, were not shy about speaking out about health insurance reform. I believe some of them said that any changes in the wonderful system we have now would bankrupt the country. Since seeing those scenes on TV, I can’t help but wonder where all these same fiscally concerned citizens were when the war on Iraq was being plotted. Why weren’t they out there expressing their thoughts on a foreign excursion that was not promising that it would be “deficit neutral”. Just wondering …… .

^ The fiscally concerned citizens were swayed by promises of a quick and easy war and the “safety” to come from it.

However, once it became glaringly apparent that the occupation wasn’t being well run, after the emergence of stories of corruption and mismanagement causing billions in unnecessary spending, where were the tea parties demanding that Bush/Cheney stop the hemorrhaging of tax dollars?

That alone leads one to believe that the demonstrations in 2009 are far more about ideology than principle.

Congrats to Oliphant on this one. Since Palin came here doing a campaign speech. and let the audience yell “kill him” and worse, without stopping it, I’ve been totally horrified about the abject irresponsibility the right has shown.

Thanks for this one, it’s exactly what I’d of shown, but I would have sold more advertising space on the back of the coat. It’s more than just Fox.

Again crazy people with guns!

crazy right-wingers can’t take the truth told in this ed. cartoon OIiphant is one of the best.