Michael Ramirez by Michael Ramirez
- August 25, 2009
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Marshall Ramsey by Marshall RamseyAbout Michael Ramirez
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Ramirez combines an encyclopedic knowledge of the news with a captivating drawing style to create consistently outstanding editorial cartoons.
"Editorial cartoons should be smart and substantive, provocative and informative. They should stir passions and deep emotions. Editorial cartoons should be the catalyst for thought, and frankly speaking, if you can make politicians think, that is an accomplishment in itself."
© 2009 Michael Ramirez - All Rights Reserved.
Comments (45) Jump to Comments Form
Obamascares said, 2 months ago
No people who smash airplanes into buildings and kill thousands of innocent men, women, and children are terrorists. Remember?
rikoshayrabbit said, 2 months ago
The “official” story from our government was that we were attacked by a couple of dozen Saudis on September 11th. Why did we go to war against Iraq? Shouldn’t we have invaded Saudi Arabia and gone after the “terrorists”? Another question… if you are dropping bombs, from airplanes, on villages filled with innocent civilians, would that categorize you as a terrorist?
oldlegodad
said,
2 months ago
rabbit, no. Means you missed or that the brave bad guys hid with the women and children. Sh¡t happens in war get over it.
nomad2112 said, 2 months ago
Spot on Ramirez ! ! !
dtroutma said, 2 months ago
As noted earlier, legal interrogation got information out of Yemen BEFORE 9/11, and it was ignored. Those giving the orders after, were the problem.
Yes, by nationality, we certainly should have bombed Riyad, not Kabul, or Baghdad.
rikoshayrabbit said, 2 months ago
Wow, oldle, you truly believe America can do no harm… fascinating…
Joseph W Grant said, 2 months ago
Unfair art.
Our entire country is suffering because we violated International Law - we tortured prisoners.
Criminals caused 9/11 - criminal Saudi Arabians funded by Saudi Arabians - and like fools Bush & Co., tight friends with the Saudi royal family, went to war against Afghanistan and followed it up by invading Iraq. One released prisoner was a 12-year-old boy who, under duress (torture) confessed to throwing a grenade. This child was held, and abused, for six years. Finally a judge, looking at the evidence against the kid, said, “Release him at once.” It has taken over six years to even discover that innocent people were arrested.
I love tough editorial art, but twisted editorial art that is misrepresenting the facts, can do harm.
HOWGOZIT said, 2 months ago
Why do Canadian posters have so much disdain for USA?
4uk4ata said, 2 months ago
“No people who smash airplanes into buildings and kill thousands of innocent men, women, and children are terrorists. Remember?”
Yep, they are terrorists. They are also dead.
Here is putting it simply: the people who break the US laws are criminals. Torture is against the US law. Criminals should be prosecuted and, IF found guilty, punished.
johnking said, 2 months ago
Hey Rabbit, people who drop bombs on civilians are terrorists? Okay, so that must mean you recognize Obama’s actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan establish the great peacemaker as a terrorist. I recognize it, but leftist hypocrites never will.
DrCanuck said, 2 months ago
HOWGOZIT said: “Why do Canadian posters have so much disdain for USA?”
DrCanuck retorts: Figure it out.
petergrt said, 2 months ago
Ramirez scores yet again - right on!!!
And, as I said in another post, the Democrats never miss a chance to castrate the CIA.
The fact that the CIA missed many important calls of late, was precisely because the Democrats have all but destroyed it in the wake of Watergate, indeed they wanted it abolished after we won the Cold War.
HUMPHRIES
said,
2 months ago
quiet a few crawling out from under the rocks today.
rikoshayrabbit said, 2 months ago
Bingo!, JohnKing, this Obama fellow hasn’t changed the course of America’s death march across the planet. We kill whomever we want, whenever, and we have a domestic propaganda machine that is unrivaled by any other in history. We just experienced eight years of a stuttering illiterate moron who did exactly as he was told. Now we have an eloquent, gracious academic, who does exactly as he’s told. And who’s telling him is the corporations who profit from war. There are leftist, and rightist hypocrites, and plenty of hypocrisy for all to wallow in. I am particularly astounded by oldlegodad’s reasoning, implying that America is ALWAYS right. It was just a few days ago that William Calley himself apologized for the massacre at My Lai. I wonder if oldlegodad winced at Calley’s weakness and lack of resolve by admitting, that maybe, there were mistakes made in that tiny Vietnamese village that day.
charliekane said, 2 months ago
Taxi to the Dark Side, pertinent flick.
oldlegodad
said,
2 months ago
Collateral damage as a result of engaging and enemy is tough Sh¡t. Deplorable, but it happens. W.T.Sherman .said it best.
What Cally and the hyped troops did was murder. He actually got off light to CYA the chain of command.
dtroutma said, 2 months ago
“Why do Canadian posters have so much disdain for USA?”
Why do right-wingers have such low expectations for the USA?
Palestino said, 2 months ago
Ramirez :creative in drawing (period).
striper77 said, 2 months ago
Dtroutma stated Why do right-wingers have such low expectations for the USA?
The conservative side has high expectations for the USA. They are taking the high road. It is the left that is taking the easy road. It is the left that has the democrats, public school, media and Hollywood pushing their liberal agenda.
It is their groups that are destroying the country along with the carrier welfare participants, gang members, people such as yourself and people that belong to these groups:
NEA, NAACP, ACLU, GREEN PEACE, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, UNITED WAY, NGLTF, NAMBLA, BRADY CAMPAIGN, Rainbow Coalition, Liberal Arts Endowment, Civil Marriage Collaborative , Don’t Amend.com, Entre Hermanos , Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Gill Foundation, GLAAD, GLSEN , Green Party of Seattle, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Rainbow Center of Pierce County, Stonewall Democrats of Washington, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, PFLAG, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, GLBT Bar Association of Washington, NOW, etc.
d_legendary1 said, 2 months ago
So basically anyone who is or believes in civil rights, gays, minorities, people of other religious beliefs, women, enviornmentalist, teachers, the sick, and people who came from humble beginings and made it big are basically destroying this country? That means that the only people who are doing right in this country are red necks, corporations, and the NRA. Yeah its good to be on the right…
johnking said, 2 months ago
Well, Rabbit, at least your leftism doesn’t make you a toady of Obama.
But, he’s gracious? I haven’t noticed a smidgeon of generosity or grace about the pretentious jerk. Anyway, your leftism shows thru in your determination to demonize corporations,
who almost surely have had little to say about our foreign policy. But hey, the “merchants of death” b.s. always is
good for some high dudgeon.
dtroutma said, 2 months ago
WOW!!! Stripy hates the BOY SCOUTS, and GIRL SCOUTS ! Those commies who get funds from United Way! BTW, under Reagan, federal employees were forbidden to give through payroll deduction to planned parenthood and several other groups which were pulled from under the banner of United Way.
Either lose your acronym rants, or at least find out who they are.
crunkbot said, 2 months ago
striper77 sees homos EVERYwhere…
especially in his dreams.
Obamascares said, 2 months ago
Planned Parenthood
Talk about an oxymoron…
One PP clinic averages about 50 to 80 abortions a week. The ultra liberals always use the excuse we can’t let women suffer babies born from incest or rape.
At 50 to 80 deaths a weeks how many of a percentage of that is from rape and incest?
AND, considering that PP charges between $1000 and $2000 an abortion. I doubt they need contributions from the United Way.
HOWGOZIT said, 2 months ago
Typical lefties–answer a question with a question!
striper77 said, 2 months ago
dtroutma,
The boy scouts are a great organization. They are secular but the only one that stands firm with conservative values.
As far as the United Way goes they are some decent groups that receive support through it. You see the football players endorsing after school care for lower class kids, youth camps, help for women and children in need etc.
However did you know when anyone gives to the general fund for the United Way it ends up going to non good Samaritan groups such as planned parenthood.
I found this out first hand when I was in the military and after wards from people that had government jobs. It is a double edged sword for the conservatives.
fennec said, 2 months ago
Howie, that’s called the Socratic method of education…
Loco80 said, 2 months ago
Mr. Ricochet Rabbit, I used to watch Magilla Gorilla too. Didn’t like it much.
As far as dropping bombs on villages of innocent civilians goes, if the US had done that, the war on terror would have been over in 60 days, much like WW II was ended. However, Bush and his administration tried to eliminate “collarteral damage” and only used strategic missiles against enemies who hid behind the skirts and children of the general populace. I must agree with this policy of sparing as many innocent lives as possible. As in any hostage situation, you give as much room as you can to save innocents. This , however, would allow an avenue of escape, such as to Afganistan. Is the tradeoff worth it? There has been no more attacks on the mainland, so that is good news, but there has been plenty of attacks on Americans abroad. Should we have obliterated them when we had the chance? I think not! Only time, and future actions, will tell what the answer was. Unfortunately, by then it will be to late to matter.
DrCanuck said, 2 months ago
I knew Socrates. Socrates was a friend of mine….
Actually, the Socratic method is more like asking a series of questions of someone who claims to know something until it becomes apparent to all that the claimant has no idea of what he’s talking about.
‘Cept no one here will ever defend their positions. They quickly run away, change the subject, or call me names. Rather frustrating.
rikoshayrabbit said, 2 months ago
Here’s what I’m getting from you guys. You love and worship death. You think if America continues the never ending death march, then America will be stronger. And SAFER! There is no reflection, no examination, no pondering whatsoever if the never ending American bombardment is effective. Obviously, it isn’t. America is more hated and reviled than any republic on the face of the earth. We support military bases and place armed personnel in over 100 countries. This is the classic recipe for how every empire has crumbled. Who will come out ahead? The arms dealers and the corporations. They don’t care if America exists or not. And actually, it doesn’t. We’ve got cameras on every street corner, our phones and computers are tapped, we are not allowed to own anything! From Senate Resolution no. 62, April 24, 1933… “The ultimate ownership of all property is in the State; individual so-called “ownership” is only by virtue of Government, i.e., law, and amounting to mere user; and use must be in accordance with law and subordinate to the necessities of the State.” Isn’t that lovely? Slaves aren’t allowed to own anything, you know that. Welcome to America… “Land of the Fee… Home of Behave.”
omQ R
said,
2 months ago
Oldlegodad said:
Collateral damage as a result of engaging and enemy is tough Sh¡t.
You’ll find that the terrorist plotters who slam planes into buildings and send suicide bombers into crowds think the same.
You’re on their level.
Loco80 said:
Is the tradeoff worth it? There has been no more attacks on the mainland, so that is good news
Isn’t it easy to balance the scales of your safety when the lives in question are those of worthless 3rd worlders?
After September the 11th, ‘01, I heard many wail and ask, and read headlines, ”Why do they hate us so much?”
Did you ever find out in between the bombings of their countries,interference in & manipulation of their countries’ policies, unequal trade and corrupting of their politicians?
petergrt said, 2 months ago
“Collateral damage as a result of engaging and enemy is tough Sh¡t.
You’ll find that the terrorist plotters who slam planes into buildings and send suicide bombers into crowds think the same.”
That is a brilliant observation!
Remind us though what is the ‘primary damage’ in either case? Or it doesn’t matter …
fennec said, 2 months ago
Revenge is not a healthy psychological state. It has the tendency to destroy the vengeful individual as thoroughly as that person destroys the object of his vengence. Just my opinion, but informed by personal experience.
johnking said, 2 months ago
Loco & omQR, get real. Who is more adept at imposing unequal trade than OPEC countries, whose victim we are.
(We wouldn’t be were it not for our moronic green ideologues.)No country can be “manipulated” except with its own complicity. The 9-11 terrorists never used the excuse that they were causing collateral damage, for the killing of innocent civilians and destruction of property was precisely and openly what they wanted. In Iraq, there is no evidence we have intended to kill civilians, whatever the folly of the war and tactical errors. But when you want to demonize America, any argument will suffice.
omQ R
said,
2 months ago
Johnking/Petergrt/Loco/Oldlego et al: What I had find offensive about the term Collateral Damage is the casualness of the expression to denote the loss of innocent civilians. A euphemism to cover its stench, to make it more palatable, to dehumanise the victims.
It’s a whitewash of a word. It is deplorable.
I equate it with the slamming of planes into buildings, suicide bombings in crowds which holds no regard whatsoever to innocent lives lost in order to achieve their aims. The primary aim of terrorists is to cause terror. The West’s retaliation often is terror.
I see no difference and nor do the families & compatriots of collateral damage.
Johnking said:
In Iraq, there is no evidence we have intended to kill civilians
Iraqi lives are 2nd rate at best. We do not count their casualties; mercenaries are not held to account for the deaths of innocents; if any court martials are held, the sanctions are light or slaps on the wrists; there is ample evidence not enough care is taken to avoid civilian deaths which leads one to believe that even though is no intention to kill them, there is very little care at avoiding their deaths. Especially when we use dehumanising euphemisms to describe their deaths.
believecommonsense
said,
2 months ago
Ramirez obviously does not believe we are a country of laws … perhaps he should consider relocating to some other country ruled by military junta … seems like he would be happier
johnking said, 2 months ago
So, Peace-at-any-Pricers, America was the moral equivalent of Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire. That indiscriminate bombing and the A-bombs were war crimes doesn’t make moral equivalency any the less nonsensical.
HUMPHRIES
said,
2 months ago
No johnking, “America” is a place where cranks like you can rant and rave and be recognized for what they are.
Michigander said, 2 months ago
I thought that terrorists are more than happy to die for their causes; so why bother with torture and interrogation? Just kill’em.
omQ R
said,
2 months ago
Michigander said:
so why bother with torture and interrogation? Just kill’em.
Well, there is this annoying thing called a “fair trial” which is one of the things that the West likes to tell everyone on this planet they’re all about. Otherwise it just makes the West look like hypocrites. We don’t want that, now do we?
Oh, we don’t care? Ah well, then we may as well accept that the asymmetric warfare we’re dealing with, where all adversaries don’t care too much for human rights, is here to stay.
HOWGOZIT said, 2 months ago
No fennec–it is just Canuck professor skirting the question; nothing to do with Socrates.
petergrt said, 2 months ago
There is no presumption of innocence on a battlefield of war.
Never in a history of warfare, was there such a great effort made to limit civilian, or ‘collateral’ casualties than in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Indeed, it is precisely because of that effort - to limit such collateral damage, that we have suffered such high casualties, as soldiers were sent to fight door to door in many instances.
Faluza is a perfect example. In wars past, that ‘city’ would not, and should not survive - as it should have been leveled, after its occupants were given a few hours to vacate. But our marines have battled door to door, against a cowardly enemy hiding behind a woman’s skirt, and the likes.
Clinton wars had very limited American casualty because he only lobed a few bombs here and there - well Serbia got a bit more than a few.
omQ R
said,
2 months ago
petergrt said: ”Never in a history of warfare, was there such a great effort made to limit civilian, or ‘collateral’ casualties than in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The families of the thousands of Iraqi & Afghan victims are just a whiney lot I guess. They really should be acknowledging “well, they tried their best and we’re ungrateful”. Shame on them!
Gen. Tommy Franks: ”You know we don’t do body counts.”
March, 2002 -Afghanistan.
Interesting you choose Fallujah as your example of the great efforts to avoid civilian casualties. I’m guessing you refering to the 1st battle, Operation Vigilant Resolve which was in response to the killing of the four mercenaries.
The final battle, Operation Phantom Fury, by US & UK forces to regain control of Fallujah a few months later practically levelled it.
”It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.”
-An American major after destroying the Vietnamese village Ben Tre
Except Fallujah was originally a city of 300000.
Both battles had civilian casualties even though up to 90% of the inhabitants had fled before the 2nd battle. Fallujah is also important in that the use of white phospherus and cluster bombs was criticised.
I suppose you’ve only read sanitised accounts of both.
”How the West values civilian lives in Iraq”: ->click here
I don’t understand the Clinton reference, I’m not partisan in your internal politics so attempting to show which president was crappier than the other means nothing to me.
petergrt said, 2 months ago
So what is your point? That our war effort was not ‘surgical’ enough? Is there an example of a more ‘careful’ war?
I understand that America has had only crappy presidents - until 0bama that is.
omQ R
said,
2 months ago
petergrt asks: So what is your point? That our war effort was not ‘surgical’ enough?
The Afghan war itself was ill conceived and incompetently carried out. The war in Iraq should not even have been started.
And also asks: Is there an example of a *more ‘careful’ war?
Wars are generally stupid and care is never taken into account, which is why there is war.
Again, insulting your presidents means nothing to me.