Riddle me this: when is a cartoonist as shallow and one dimensional as his own creations? When his name is Ted Rall. The San Antonio Express-News ran a short story covering a convention being held in Texas that is serving as a gathering place for some of the nation's increasingly fewer political cartoonists. Rall has been chosen as the president of this seemingly ever more irrelevant organization and apparently the Express-News found his glee at this nation's ills to be interesting copy.

Naturally, the Express-News gave us the Rallian set up for today's "ills":

An unpopular war, a shaky economy, the prospect of a border fence, a delicate climate seemingly seeking revenge this summer, soaring food and fuel prices, and a potentially polarizing presidential election -- it all adds up to a gloomy forecast for most Americans.

All these claims are, of course, liberal shibboleths and lack any context. Merely the mouthing of these topics is enough for the media to say "see, it's all going to hell."

But, then we get to Rall's outrageous comments.

“These are more interesting times than I've ever seen. Chronicling the possible end of a great empire is far more interesting than peace and prosperity,” said Rall, whose syndicated cartoons raise eyebrows across the country. “The country is bankrupt, we're losing two wars and there's no end in sight, the Constitution is nearly gutted and we're one vote away on the Supreme Court from fascism.

"Facist" courts, eh?

I wonder what rulings he'd like to see that would reverse that supposed "fascism," don't you? After all, what most extreme leftists think equals "fascism" rarely actually resembles it.

Maybe Rall would like to see free infanticide, yet forced "national health care" that would see the elderly refused service (just like it does in other nations that have national health care) because they are too old?

Maybe he'd love to see terrorists getting treated like common criminals so that they can roam freely in our society planing their next terror attack while they await their "day in court"?

Maybe the end of free choice in education by the banning of homeschooling would be a salve to Ted Rall?

Maybe the end of our right to self-protection is his druthers?

What ever his definition of a country free of "fascism," he seems to like it the way it is, anyway. Like most vultures, bad times are good for him.

“These are great times for me, not the country.”

Actually, anything good for this country Rall would find to be "bad times" if his past works can be used as a yard stick by which to measure his discontent.

We are very familiar with what Ted Rall thinks is "good." Rall has depicted Condi Rice in racist terms and made of her a slut sleeping around with powerful international figures, he has called all our troops "idiots," he has depicted our soldiers as suicide bombers. In fact Rall has viciously attacked our military over and over again showing his hatred for them in uncounted ways.

Naturally, even as each hate filled cartoon is foisted on the public reveals otherwise, Rall doesn't consider himself to be "cynical."

“To be a political cartoonist, deep down in your heart, you have to think it's possible for people to change.”

Ah, the vaunted "change." But to what? That is the true question and from his past works one cannot help but imagine that Rall wants us to change, alright. Into Europe.

Personally, I'm rooting for conditions in the country to continue to irk Ted Rall. After all, if he is against it, it is probably a good thing.

(H/T NewsBuster reader Doug Reniker)

(Photo Credit: thatotherpaper.com)