Who Knew?

Ted Rall, defending his latest outrage against the late President Reagan, drops an interesting political factoid:

"Still, I'm not a knee-jerk left-wing guy," Mr. Rall said. "I am an advocate of the Second Amendment; I don't believe in abortion as birth control; and I was the first to call for Clinton's impeachment. I think that this country has shifted so far over to the right that anyone who is a garden-variety Democrat circa 1972 is painted as a Marxist-Leninist."

Whole story here. While I don't believe Reagan is burning in hell (Suckers! There is no hell!), and I think his slam against Pat Tillman was mean and stupid, I can't really work up much umbrage against Rall as a political bomb-thrower because I know him to be a figure much dearer to my heart: a generally offensive asshole.

I was on some mailing list about daily comic strips back in the mid-'90s, and Rall had a consistent, and consistently funny, habit of doing "Predictions of tomorrow's editorial cartoons" every time some terrible news would break. The one I remember best came on the day TWA 800 crashed off Long Island. The predictions:

1. The tailfin floating in the ocean with a caption: "NEVER AGAIN!"
2. Side-by-side tombstones, one reading "TWA 800" and the other "Confidence in air travel."
3. A line of passengers arriving at the pearly gates. Saint Peter: "Welcome aboard!"

Everybody is so full of shit these days that you can't even admit a thing like that made you laugh before it made you offended. But I'll admit it. In fact, I laughed again just now when I remembered it.

Comments

[blister pack]

I'm with you, chief.

[Western Mark Smith]

There was a bit on the old, old SNL, one of those short films. Little toddlers were dressed in S&M gear while the Doors' version of the Alabama Song churned away in the background. Was it funny? Sort of. It's a structurally weak gag because you couldn't really go anywhere with it beyond the initial shock. But that said, you would never, ever, ever, ever, ever see anything like that today, even on any of the pay networks, never mind the vaste wastes of suck that is SNL. Whither black humor?

[Todd Fletcher]

Black humor has just moved to the web, see the current Onion. "Reagan's Body Dies"

[The Lonewacko Blog]

After Reagan died, one of my first thoughts was to check the reaction from the loony left. I knew that it wouldn't be too long before those at the DU and elsewhere would say stupid things. I also knew righties would call them on it. I was considering collecting leftie statements at others have done, but I decided against it. But, wait, I'm not perfect! I never even thought of Ted whatshisname as a source of stupidity, just things like DU and DailyDross.

[Iguana]

Ahhh, so there are two people who think Rall is funny.

Mark, there still is black humor, but it isn't on SNL (as you point out).

I once heard Bob Saget say this (On HBO, I think):

Hi. This is my wife of 7 years.

That's her age.

[Dan]

But that said, you would never, ever, ever, ever, ever see anything like that today, even on any of the pay networks, never mind the vaste wastes of suck that is SNL. Whither black humor?

You've never watched "South Park".

Note the lack of a question mark in that sentence. Nobody who has seen "South Park" would make a statement like yours. 🙂

Everybody is so full of shit these days that you can't even admit a thing like that made you laugh before it made you offended.

Maybe you had to be there... it didn't sound offensive *or* funny.

Rall's comics are like the left-wing dipshit version of The Family Circus -- usually boring, always predictable, and never funny.

[Mo]

Todd,
What no mention of "Nancy Reagan available at 82?"

[irreverent]

What? You guys haven't heard? Reagan's body is going on tour this summer. It's gonna be bigger than Van Halen and Toby Keith put together.

[TWC]

Dude, the Reagan gag at the Onion was good. The 'Nancy Available' was funny too.

But, when I scrolled down the page to "The Onion In History" and saw the headline:

"Feds Gun Down Nixon Outside Arizona Motel"

Well, I pretty much snorted wine out of my nose all over the monitor.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Maybe you had to be there... it didn't sound offensive *or* funny.

Thanks, but I don't take cues on comedy from a guy who thought "14 dogs from Ohio" was a serious proposal as Kerry's running mate.

[Gary Gunnels]

irreverent,

That reminds me of a movie whose title I've forgotten; the film entails a group of Russian rock musicians dragging the corpse of a fellow band member through gigs in the U.S. Its a fucking hilarious film.

Tim Cavanaugh,

That's a laugh-riot. BTW, if Rall had run a strip where Tillman was killed by friendly fire, that would have been funny. 🙂

[just correcting]

Gary,

Finnish rock musicians, actually. Despite the fact that the name of the film is "Leningrad Cowboys Go America".

And, yes, it is fucking hilarious.

[Jesse Walker]

I third the recommendation. A very funny movie.

[Kraorh]

As much as I appreciate the Onion's updating to reflect Reagan's death, it's too bad that they deleted several of the sidebars that appeared in this week's print edition. The best one they'd had in weeks: "Michael Moore Kicking Self For Not Filming Last 600 Trips To McDonald's."

[david]

How Sad...that Ronald Reagan didn't die in prison, where he belonged for starting an illegal, laughably unjustifiable war against Grenada under false pretenses (the "besieged" medical students later said they were nothing of the sort) and funneling arms to hostages during Iran-Contra.

Oh, and 9/11? That was his. Osama bin Laden and his fellow Afghan "freedom fighters" got their funding, and nasty weapons, from Reagan.

From Rall's site. Sorry, but any attempts at "humor" this piece of sh*t makes are far, far outweighed by his evil nature. And I do mean evil.

[Dan]

Thanks, but I don't take cues on comedy from a guy who thought "14 dogs from Ohio" was a serious proposal as Kerry's running mate

Are you retarded?

The link you just posted was a link to me correcting a poster, Joe Majsterski, who had argued that Bill Clinton really *could* run as Kerry's VP. Yeah, the original suggestion was a joke, but since a few people were giving serious thought to the notion I pointed out that it wasn't actually possible. I made no mention of "14 Dogs from Ohio"; I assume that was just another fuckup on your part? 🙂

I'm not sure what's funnier -- the fact that you were enough of an idiot to think I was taking the McSweeny's article seriously, or the fact that you're enough of an idiot to still think it even after rereading the post.

[david]

How Sad...that Ronald Reagan didn't die in prison, where he belonged for starting an illegal, laughably unjustifiable war against Grenada under false pretenses (the "besieged" medical students later said they were nothing of the sort) and funneling arms to hostages during Iran-Contra. Oh, and 9/11? That was his. Osama bin Laden and his fellow Afghan "freedom fighters" got their funding, and nasty weapons, from Reagan.

From Rall's site. Sorry, but any attempts at "humor" this piece of sh*t makes are far, far outweighed by his evil nature. And I do mean evil.

[Big Ed]

"evil" now that's funny. Simpleton.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Leningrad Cowboys not only is a great movie, but occasioned the one time that the right putdown occured to me at the right time. When I asked the surly clerk at Kim's Video if they had a movie called Leningrad Cowboys Go America he replied (surlily), "Look in directors under Kaurism?ki....It's a terrible movie by the way." And sez me: "I didn't ask for a review, Tarantino, I asked for a movie."

Then I said, "They must have gotten you at the jerk store!"

[Pavel]

Tim, I thought the cartoon was funny.

But then again, I honestly thought your "Headless Nick" post was funny too. Maybe my taste in humor borders on sociopathic.

[ET]

Tim,

I think you're a dick, but I read you anyway.

Same goes for Rall.

[xray]

Dan's posts are like the right-wing dipshit version of The Family Circus -- usually boring, always predictable, and never funny.

[Neb Okla]

Well, at least Rall has more talent than this idiot.

Firstly, it *used* to be legal to carry a concealed handgun "wherever you like", but since the new law (which he dislikes) has passed, you MUST get a permit and you're banned from quite a few places by default - and anywhere there's a sign saying "no guns" as long as it's posted.

Then he throws abortion into the mix (because it's so closely related to concealed handguns?!?) and suggests that pregnant teens will go out and spend $150 and 12 hours on training, plus $45 and 45 days trying to get a license just so they can have their application rejected because it's illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to posess a handgun as a result of Ohio and federal laws.

...so I email the guy and ask if he was aware of this. (I also asked if his criminal record was clean enough to obtain a license and he refused to answer - twice)

He says his 16 year old friend bought a shotgun at Wal-Mart and did herself in.

Bullshit. Federal and Ohio law prohibit the sale of rifles and shotguns to anyone under 18.

...and girls rarely commit suicide with guns anyway. It's not a "pretty" way to go.

[Jose Ortega y Gasset]

I believe Rall supports the Second Amendment, if only to allow people to shoot at SUV owners. Rall reminds me of the firebrand Marxist editor of some obscure college... perpetually angry and utterly irrelevant.

I disagree that a handful of semi-moderate positions make Rall something other than a leftist ideologue. Rall may have been funny once, but quality humor requires a deftness of intellect, a sense of irony, the ability to say outrageous things and provoke laughter, not riots. In my opinion, the social commentary of Chris Rock is far funnier (and more insightful) than that of Ted Rall.

[Stich]

Rall isn't shit compared to Tom Toles or Peter Bagge for that matter. He has about a 1: 100 ratio of hits to misses. He's only slightly funnier than watching a prairie dog with a broken back try to crawl across the highway to avoid the next car.

[dhex]

what i want to know is when they're going to stop blowing the nice old dead man i remember from my childhood and begin showing cartoons again, cause all this casket staring is starting to get bo-oring. did reagan become lenin when nobody was looking?

in all seriousness, i'm sure that when clinton pops off all the people crying EEEEEEVIL over rall + co not blowing mr. reagan's corpse will pop a beer and tell horrible jokes of their own like the hypocritical tardbunnies we all are at times. especially in regards to politics.

[dhex]

i fear anyone who was able to read atlas shrugged, much less in one sitting, much less on bathtub acid. 🙂

[anymouse]

Hey, Big Ed -- name calling, that's great!

[jrdroll]

"garden-variety Democrat circa 1972 is painted as a Marxist-Leninist."
They aren't painted. They just are.

[speedwell]

"i fear anyone who was able to read atlas shrugged, much less in one sitting, much less on bathtub acid. :)"

How 'bout OUT LOUD? My guy likes me to read to him while he works in 3D Studio Max (those renders can be a long, long proposition). AS took about a week and a half.

No, I'm not reading Fountainhead next. Enough is enough.

[Justin Slotman]

My favorite actually funny Rall thing was the mini-feud he had with Art Spiegelman, which used to be online but I can't find it anymore. He drew himself getting run over by Art's SUV. I swear it was funny. Maybe you had to be there.

[Pavel]

Rall's right about at least one thing.

Libertarians really do wear bow ties.

[dhex]

speedwell - that's fucking awful. i used to think my wife reading the faerie queen out loud in middle english was bad...i was always afraid someone would overhear her and think she was having some sort of dorkwadian tolkien explosion. 🙂

[david]

Big Ed, are you referring to me as the "simpleton?"

[kevrob]

Hey! Rall ripped off John Bergstrom!
Copyright infringement!
Sue him!
Sue him to death!

http://www.attackcartoons.com/lmvigilant.GIF
http://www.attackcartoons.com/

Kevin

(Calmer, now.
Taking deep breaths.)

[Tim Cavanaugh]

In my opinion, the social commentary of Chris Rock is far funnier (and more insightful) than that of Ted Rall.

You're not exactly going out on a limb there. The social commentary of Chris Rock is funnier than the work of every other comedian put together.