Rabble Rall-ser III
Another Ted Rall roundup courtesy of Jim Treacher. Conservative columnist Alan Keyes contributed a column to MSNBC last week suggesting that editorial cartoons such as Rall's recent work shouldn't be covered by the first amendment. The column even includes the shockingly mutually exclusive subhead "Pornography and Patriotism," which heads a section in which Keyes contends that Rall's work is pornographic, not debate or civic discourse. Rall's work pornographic? I've got your pornography right here, Mr. Keyes.

The Association for American Editorial Cartoonists has released a statement in Rall's defense, and in Comicon.com's Splash section, Rall responds to Keyes' commentary via some Comicon reportage:

The SPLASH tracked down Ted Rall in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he is currently on assignment for Gear magazine. Rall told the SPLASH: "Alan Keyes has proven that if you scratch some right-winger there's a fascist lurking underneath. His proposal to submit opinions to government censors smacks of totalitarianism of the highest order; he evidently despises everything that America stands for and would love to see a Nazi-style regime imposed here."

Rall went on to say: "Furthermore, his assertion that my little cartoon is weakening America's resolve regarding the war on terror is laughable to the point of absurdity. First of all, any war effort that could be derailed by a political cartoon probably doesn't have much support to sustain it. Second of all, many Americans -- like me -- see the 'war on terror' for what it is. This isn't about making us safer; it's about scoring a few bucks for Bush's rich friends while making more and more foreigners hate our guts. I doubt there'll be any more 'resolve' for this cynical enterprise than there was for Vietnam once the truth gets out."