The Revelation to Peter

While digging up some articles from 2001, I found this Peter Bagge cartoon set in the faraway year 2006. Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, the Patriot Act had 5-year sunsets, and Gitmo had just received the invoice on its prisoner bunk beds. Prescient? Pessimistic? You decide.

Comments

[crimethink]

It's a funny cartoon, but to call it prescient is to stretch the meaning of the word from here to Afghanistan. None of the stuff he mentioned has actually happened.

[Handsome Dan]

Crimethink is right - I can guarantee no member of the executive branch has yet uttered the words "Until Congress acts, out hands are tied!"

[Lamar]

Prescient, no. But does it stand the test of time? Yes. That cartoon is equally hard hitting now as it was then. The only difference is that we were stupid enough to reelect a C-average president.

[TrickyVic]

I see some truth to the "what now" comment. I'm sure the excuse will go from fighting the war on terror, to preventing terror.

When people try to defend the warrantless wiretap, and new domestic intel activities, they always say "but we are at war". So my question to them has always been this.

Do you think at the end of the war on terror, if that ever happens, they will unplug the NSA taps, and change domestic spy activities to what they were before the war?

An odd look has been the only answer I have yet to receive.

[Don Coyote]

TV: I could imagine the agencies morphing into something that would watch out for the interest of US corporations as the global economy matures.

I think it is one of those "genie out of the bottle" things.

[William Ligiu Ionescu]

I think the basis for saying the cartoon is prescient (creation of war to enrich the few) is found at the below URL:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/northwoods.html

[Terry]

Where in the cartoon does it say the Hussien is still dictator of Iraq?

Lamar given the choice between a "c-average" and an lying F, Kerry, the "c-average" is the better choice.

And what the fuck makes you Lamar think your so goddamed smart?

[Marcvs]

Terry,

I give you 2.0 out of 10.0 for trolling. You need to work on your subtlety. I actually added a point for the misuse of the word "your".

[Shelby]

Lamar,

Yes, instead of re-electing a C-average president we should have ... chucked him out in favor of a NEW C-average president! But one without that annoying MBA.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to vote against all of them. (And never for Badnarik!)

[Jim Walsh]

None of the stuff he mentioned has actually happened.

We still have four and 3/4 months to go in the year...

[val]

Am I the only that thought this was actually a fairly poor cartoon by Reason's standards. I thought it was neither witty nor funny. 'I propose a ban on breathing'?! WTF? Is that supposed to be insightful? Maybe for a 10 yearold. Subtlety would have gone a long way with this one.

[James Kabala]

Terry: Weigel meant that in 2001, Saddam Hussein was still dictator of Iraq.
Anyway, this cartoon is as bad as anything by Garry Trudeau and is the sort of "Bushitler"* stuff that makes people tune out the more measured and rational civil-libertarian arguments that actually deserve a hearing.

*Yes, I am aware that it mentions neither Bush nor Hitler.

[Stevo Darkly]

I lean to the right compared to most regulars here, but I LOLed at the third panel and the first bubble in the fourth panel. Gems.

[Jack]

I laugh every time at "The resolution of 2004 declaring all non-Americans to be part of a terrorist organization clearly wasn't enough." Some of the freaks on LGF, Freep, etc., are 95% of the way to this position (with exceptions allowed for Tony Blair and Benjamin Netanyahu).

[竹地板]

look!
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