Posted on 02/03/2006 8:30:23 PM PST by infoguy
In an especially contentious exchange on this evening's Hannity and Colmes (Friday February 3, 2006), cantankerous cartoonist Ted Rall, a guest on the program, unbelievably declared, "We do not owe our liberties to the military." The topic was the recent Washington Post cartoon by Tom Toles that has outraged many. The cartoon prompted a letter to the editor (linked at Michelle Malkin) from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who tagged the the work as "beyond tasteless." Needless to say, Rall (who himself has created bigoted trash in the past) defended Toles' cruel piece. Here's the relevant exchange (audiotape on file, emphasis mine):
SEAN HANNITY: Here's what you're missing. The reason that you have the right to be mean, and you were mean to this guy [killed in Afghanistan, former NFL star Pat] Tillman, who gave up a football contract to save his country. The reason you have the right to be mean in your cartoons, and Toles has a right to mean and insensitive in his cartoons, is because of people like this (Sean holds up the WaPo cartoon) that literally put their lives on the line so you have the right for free expression. And you insult them and use them as props so you can make your left-wing political points.
RALL: Sean, you could not possibly be more wrong about the nature of this country. We do not owe our liberties to the military. We owe them to the Constitution. We have civilian rule in the United States --
HANNITY: The military preserves the Constitution. They put their lives on the line so that you have free speech. You do owe them.
RALL: The military doesn't give us free speech.
HANNITY: Yes, they do.
RALL: Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers gave us free speech.
HANNITY: No. Because if they don't defend that Constitution, you don't have the right to be so wrong in your cartoons!
"We do not owe our liberties to our military"?? I'm sure George Washington would have had a few things to say about that, not to mention the generations of heroic young men who fought and died to protect and defend our precious liberties.
It was simply another pathetic display by Ted Rall. How ungrateful this man is. What a disgrace.
By the way, if Rall's comments weren't sad enough, co-host Alan Colmes claimed that the Joint Chiefs' letter to the Washington Post was "intimidating" and that there was a "chill of intimidation that goes right down the spine of the First Amendment." Puh-leeze, Alan.
I saw the exchange. Ted Rall was disgusting.
That piece of sh*t doesn't deserve the air he breathes.
I saw that. A classic liberal idiot. Yeah we won our independence from England because of our great writing skills and we were such great debaters. LOL!
Don't get too worked up. The more he's on TV making an ass of himself and his window-licking ilk, the better it is for our side.
WITHOUT security and enforcement of laws via the military/police, there IS no "constitution" to uphold.
Yep.
Hannity allowing that scumbag on his show was his first mistake. Ignore that bottom dwelling leftists is the best medicine
He's either very very very very very very very very stupid, or a liar in the worst degree.
Watch your language!!
You forgot North Korea......that would be FIRST on my list.
The founding fathers were the military essentially.
This SOB is beyond hope.
HANNITY: Yes, they do.
RALL: Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers gave us free speech.
HANNITY: No. Because if they don't defend that Constitution, you don't have the right to be so wrong in your cartoons!
Somebody might just want to ask this idiot if he had ever heard of something called the REVOLUTIONARY WAR!
The military had nothing to do with that? Somebody needs to bring to Rall's attention that had we NOT WON the Revolutionary War, there would never have been a Constitution, since Madison, Jefferson, Washington, and all the rest would have been hanged as traitors and seditionists. Hey Ted! Did you know that what is now America began as British Colonies?
This guy's stupidity is really stunning!
Mark
Freedom of speech is a two Way Street of ideas, not everyone is going to agree with you all of the time.
This is what these two mental midgets and any other liberal must learn. Not every German agree with Hitler but were afraid to speak out, now these jokers and their liberal co-whores want the same type of power as the Nazi dictator.
No one is calling for censorship; they are being told that it was in bad taste. Now they are having a hissy fit like a child in a grocery store not getting candy at the checkout aisle...Maybe it’s time their Mommy showed them some tough-love...It isn't all about them.
I vote BOTH.
I believed you fixed it correctly!
Sorry.
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