Newspaper cartoon draws wrath in Iredell (County NC-Flag Draped Coffins)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/10388461.htm

Iredell County commissioners approved a resolution denouncing an editorial cartoon that one commission member said was derogatory to soldiers fighting in Iraq and their families.

The cartoon, which appeared Dec. 1 in the Statesville Record & Landmark, depicted flag-draped coffins, with the caption, "I'll be home for Christmas."

The resolution, introduced by commissioner Steve Johnson, passed unanimously.

"I am not altogether pleased with the way our soldiers and their families were treated in this cartoon," Johnson said.

[4_Legs_Good]

1. You have a resolution because you're "not altogether pleased"???

That's rediculous. You should be at least LIVID if not OUTRAGED before you start passing resolutions denouncing stuff.

david

[qanda]

2. It is what it is...

The people in this country cannot handle the truth.

[oneighty]

3. Denounce away.

Reality sucks.

180

[matt819]

12. Reality-based life

180, you got it right, and these nutters can't seem to deal with it.

[Streetdoc270]

4. well I'm

not pleased with the way our soldiers and their families are treeted by this administration. When do we get a resolution aginst that...

[bluedonkey]

5. go ahead and denounce

a CARTOON and while you're at it,denounce the WAR,too.I'm very displeased with that.
My,my aren't we sensitive!It's ok to kill thousands but just don't show me the corpses!WTF is wrong with these people?Don't they realize how twisted they are?

[saigon68]

20. MAYBE THEY SHOULD SHOW THIS (graphic)

MAYBE THEY SHOULD SHOW THIS (graphic)



A common type of injury associated with roadside improvised explosive device run over by a
Humvee.


or this ????




Damage-control laparotomy with temporary abdominal closure —— serially closed at WRAMC
to prevent long-term ventral hernia and need for skin grafting.

[billyoc]

24. Or just show the pricetag for an up-armor kit,

next to the price tag for 4 coffins, 'cause you KNOW that's where we're at with this thing.

Some things never change.

[Griffy]

28. no uparmor.. cost them feul $$ .. cheap bastards nt

[bluestateguy]

6. You bet it's disrespectful

It's disrespectful because it's the truthful depiction of a horrific and irrational policy choice made by this Administration.

[tandot]

7. Some people can't handle the truth

Sorry, that the truth hurts. How many families have to spend Christmas mourning their dead loved ones?

These f*cking hypocrites can't hide the truth. This is what they voted for: Flag- draped coffins ... soldiers dying for a complete unnecessary war.

[Cha]

8. What a bunch of ignorant

twits! The truth insults them so they're going to "denounce" it.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. All my thoughts were stated in the posts that followed the original post.

To be outraged by the cartoon, and not the war that inspired it is the ultimate of hypocrisy!!!!!
To quote an idiot...but in this case it is appropriate...
I AM OUTRAGED AT THE OUTRAGE!!"

[Straight Shooter]

10. Not enough coffins in the toon

It's missing about 80 of 'em. Let them get outraged and denounce that.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. CAn you just imagine their reaction if they saw some ACTUAL photos

of what was really going on in Iraq??????? OMIGOD... Reality really sucks!!!

[nickshepDEM]

13. I think its sad that we even have a

situation were a cartoon like this can be thought up. On the other hand, I think the main stream media should get ahold of this to OPEN PEOPLES eyes.

[berni_mccoy]

14. Angels and Devils

"So the way he sees it, if you're frightened of dying and holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all." -- the character Louis from the movie "Jacob's Ladder"

[dweller]

16. excellent flick...due a rewatch soon.

Peace.
dp

[yorkiemommie1]

15. idiotic indignation

this cartoon isn't what is treating the soldiers and families badly!

I went and registered on their site so I could write and back Markstein up.

[GoldenOldie]

38. It's called the Babs Bush Mentality

It's ok for them to die but they don't want to have to look or think about what they have done in his name.

After all Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. All is supposed to be "Merry and Bright." Depicting flag drapped coffins is a real downer to these good "christian" folk.

[Dem2theMax]

17. Sounds like it's time to DU some people. Here are the email addresses:

Have some fun. :evilgrin:

Statesville Record & Landmark Homepage:

http://www.statesville.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=SRL/Page/SRL_FrontPage&c=Page&cid=1035488815325&tacodalogin=no

Their article on the cartoon:

http://www.statesville.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=SRL%2FMGArticle%2FSRL_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031779586719&path=%21frontpage

Publisher: Tim Dearman
[e-mail]

(R&L publisher Tim Dearman suggested there are much more important issues in the county that need addressing.“Now that commissioners have resolved the easy issues that require no money, no courage and no thought, I hope they will begin doing the job they were elected to do, including getting our children out of classroom trailers,” he said).


Editor: Michael Fuhrman
[e-mail]


And of course, the Iredell County Board of Commissioners.
http://www.co.iredell.nc.us/welcome.asp

And to save you a lot of time, their individual email addresses:

C. Douglas Madison Jr. - Chairman (Republican)
[e-mail]

R. Godfrey Williams - Vice Chairman (Republican)
(Although Commissioner Godfrey Williams had  not seen the cartoon, he said he voted for the resolution because of the need to support the families of soldiers serving overseas).
[e-mail]

Stephen D. Johnson - Chairman (Republican)
(Introduced a resolution denouncing the paper for running a cartoon that he says was derogatory to the soldiers fighting in Iraq and their families).
[e-mail]

Marvin Norman - Commissioner (Republican)
[e-mail]
 
Sara Haire Tice - Commissioner (Republican)
[e-mail]

Forgot one bit of info:

Iredell County Government Center
Post Office Box 788
(200 South Center Street)
Statesville, NC 28687
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

And a suggestion. Why not email or snail mail them some REAL pictures of Iraq? I think they deserve it. Don't you?

[Bouncy Ball]

18. How are the troops being portrayed badly?

I strongly suspect they "denounced it" (oh no, I bet the cartoonist is just shaking in his boots! Free publicity!) because they don't like the fact that it calls attention to the fact that US servicemembers are STILL DYING IN IRAQ.

Bastards.

[saigon68]

19. SCREW THOSE ASS HOLES

HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU HAVE AN ELECTION IN A COUNTRY WHEN YOU CAN NOT EVEN CLEAN UP THE CORPSES OF THE PEOPLE YOU MURDER---- BEFORE THE DOGS START TO FEAST ON THE RAG-HEADS DEAD BODIES ????????????



Standing by his humvee last week in northern Fallujah, marine Lance Corporal Will Lathrop of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit said, "The problem has gotten bad enough that there's actually an order for this," referring to a command issued recently to deal with Fallujah's feral animals.

Rock-n-roll played loudly from one of the vehicle's radios as marines just outside the base walls fired off several more shots at flashes of fur among the piles of rubble.

It was a good day for this self-described "goon squad" -- a dozen or so black plastic trash bags heavy with dead animals were dumped unceremoniously in the back of a truck.

[Pastiche423]

21. In keeping w/reality...

Sad to admit I graduated from South Iredell HS.

[William Bloode]

26. Sad to admitt.....

I live a scarce 10 miles from Iredell county, in a small town called Claremont.

Man i am surrounded by fools :(

[Crunchy Frog]

22. I'm not altogether pleased with the way soldiers and

their families are being treated by this government. But I guess it's much easier to scapegoat a cartoon than it is to actually provide for their needs, or question our policies.

[jwirr]

23. I am not altogether satisfied with

the way our soldiers and their families are treated in this war!

[iamjoy]

25. Cartoons Aren't Always Funny

I suppose if you didn't realize this, the cartoon would seem incredibly insensitive and disrespectful of our troops. But some cartoons are supposed to make you think, not laugh.

Hey, what about all the "cartoons" comparing Kerry to bin Laden? Or the ones mocking his Vietnam service?
I wasn't altogether pleased with those.

[NCN007]

27. its wrong

Imagine seeing this cartoon after your loved one is killed in Iraq. It doesnt matter which side you are on, to use the dead bodies of soldiers being returned home to make political statements is simply not something you do.

[NYC Liberal]

29. Yes, let's just not remind anyone what's happening,

and maybe they'll forget all about it.

[Misunderestimator]

33. And to hide the dead bodies of soldiers being returned home ...

to avoid notice of one's crimes and to squash dissent is simply not something that should be done either.

This cartoon tells a very simple truth. I don't see any dead bodies. I see coffins of nameless, faceless soldiers. Ask Lila Lipscomb whether she would be offended by this cartoon.

[blondeatlast]

36. Disrespect is not allowing the American people to grieve over our own

dying over there.

Hiding the coffins of our sons and daughters is disrespect of all of us.

When I see one of those flag-draped coffins, I say a little prayer every time. My mom taught me to do that during Vietnam, to deal with the horror I felt.
I was not even 10 back then.

Perhaps the families should be asked, before offering their sons and daughters to this greedy war, "If the worst happens, would you want the American people to see your son/daughter/father/mother/wife/husband's coffin to be saluted by the American people?"

[NCN007]

37. I never said we should hide the coffins

I said using them to make sarcastic political statements as the comic stip has done is wrong. People should be aware of the human cost of war, but that doesnt mean you have to rub it in their faces.

[blondeatlast]

40. I see no sarcasm, only truth. As I stated before, that's a WWII song,

about the longings and loneliness of soldiers at the front.

Sadly, there will be soldiers who will make it back for Christmas, in coffins or horrendously injured.

I think the cartoonist makes a subtle, but painful point.

[FlaGranny]

39. I disagree completely. As a mother who has

lost a child, but NOT to war. Every single thing you see and hear and every thought that enters your head reminds you of the child you lost. Every TV program where a child appears, or a son or daughter, or a mother, etc., reminds you. Every kid you see with the same color hair. In other words EVERYTHING. On the other hand, this cartoon says just what it says - kids in Iraq are coming home for Christmas - in coffins. We need to be reminded of that every single minute of every single day. It's too bad, but these folks just don't want to be reminded of the dead kids.

[Voltaire99]

30. Send the county commissioners to Iraq.

They want this war so badly?

Let the motherfuckers fight it themselves.

[xchrom]

31. words fail me

thses commissioners are living in fantasy land.

[LynnTheDem]

32. It isn't the TORTURE...it's the PHOTOS.

It's not the WAR...it's the CARTOON.

[Mari333]

34. The truth hurts....cant live with your head in the sand forever

this military stepmom says right on to that cartoon.

[blondeatlast]

35. What could be MORE respectful? Sheesh...

That song was written in WW2 about just the sort of thing pictured in the cartoon.

My mom can't hear that song without sobbing a little, she remembers all her 4 brothers being "over there" very well.

[TalkingDog]

41. I'm From this County...

And let me tell you...Steve Johnson is a complete idiot. A Republican wet-dream.

He once held up the budget for the entire county one year because the health department had a 400.00 line item for free condoms to give to people with AIDS. He said that free condoms would promote immoral sex acts and sex outside of marriage. So for about a week we had no budget resolution.

Finally, the health department caves and says they won't use that money for condoms. (Of course they just got a grant from somewhere for the condoms...republicans are SUCH IDIOTS!!!)

The owner of the paper, Tim Dearman, is a 'Puglican too. His whole take on the vote fraud issue was basically: Get over it. And they haven't really addressed it at all.

Fuhrman, the editor, tries. He's an out-of-towner, so he's a little more liberal. His editorials started out on small town political corruption, but he's being worn down,as week after week they get a little tamer.

Kick ass on the whole rest of them, but appeal to Fuhrman's sense of fairness and balance. He will listen. How do you think the cartoon got into the paper in the first place?

Jeeze, the things we get recognition for. But know their is an enclave of us 'libruls' here. Working for social and political change.