I think we were lied into Iraq, definitely. But that is sperate from saying the US caused 9/11 and brought down the towers in a controlled demolition. One should always question government and authority, but not to the point of believing in things that simply aren't true. A lot of otherwise reasonable people believe 9/11 was an "inside job" even though I see that line as being thoroughly debunked. Most of them haven't spent much time analyzing it, they just think the coincidences are suspicious and that Bush is so evil he must be behind it. I think they are wrong, but the people I'm lambasting are these die hard truthers who call in radio shows, troll blogs, and are obsessed with it to the point of it being a religious movement. Also, I never said they were evil, just stupid.

There are definitely issues with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and where funding might come from. I know sections of te 9/11 report regarding Saudi Arabia was redacted by the White House. But that's different from saying the actively participated in the attack.

Cory, do you mind if i publish some of your e-mail on my blog and my response to it? I'll leave your name out unless you would like to be identified.

Matt

The Wildfires Were An Inside Job!

I've been talking about the 9/11 so-called truth movement lately and how they have grown increasingly irritating as time goes on and all their claims have been answered or debunked. (for all my liberal friends reading this who buy into it, please order this issue of skeptic magazine). Hurricane Katrina gave birth to the claim the the levy was blown up so capitalists could build condos in the 9th ward (I guess gentrification wasn't working) so I figured this would spawn some crapola as well. I was right.

About five minutes after news of the wildfires broke, every political ideologue in the country seemed to have their mind made up about what caused it--Global Warming, environmentalists, Mexicans, and Al Qaeda (as suggested by FOX, naturally.)

The next morning, Randi Rhodes, the top Liberal radio host in the country, went on air with an opening monologue accusing Blackwater of orchestrating the fires so they could build their base in the desert. She offered no proof. I guess she really is our answer to Rush Limbaugh. Is proof needed for anything anymore or is it just the person that more forcefully declares themselves to be true that gets to win?

The character in the comic is a thinly veiled Alex Jones, who has turned into somewhat of a shrill, pudgy messiah over the last few years for the conspiracy left and militia movement right alike.

He's put together a new "documentary" called Endgame, which basically connects everything that ever was-- Darwin, Hitler, Science, The Roman Empire, International Bankers, the UN and god knows what else--into an allegedly coherent expose:

For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology.

Hot Damn! He blew the lid off of a thousand year old conspiracy and wasn't killed. I guess taking out Jones is more risky than killing JFK or demolishing the towers.

Happy Halloween

Truly the best holiday--it's non-religious, non-governmental and exists purely for fun unless you are a Pagan and believe in magic. Fact: Halloween was boring before cable television introduced horror movie marathons. It's also the only time of the year I can watch a show about "paranormal investigators" staying in a house without becoming apoplectic.

I carved a Jack-O-Lantern for the first time in years the other night and it was about the most fun ever. If you come to the house with this out front you will receive a yet to be determined candy.

Here it is with the lights on.

Cultural Histories

Hopefully you can still enjoy this comic even if you aren't aware of this horrible publishing trend. Cultural Histories are worthwhile when they address useful topics like the History of African-American Resistance or theater. But recently the trend has jumped the shark--unless you are someone who wants to read a 350 page book on the Cultural History of Salt, Impotence, Farting, Crying, Fear, Popeye, Virgins, and the Penis.

Also, check out Jen Sorensen's cartoon this week. Being trained in graphic design, I nearly vomited when I saw the anti-terrorism logo the government made. It looks like the secretary at the office drew it on a napkin. Note to the CIA: I will redesign this logo completely free so terrorists do not laugh at us.

Not For Gays

Sean Hannity has a dating service. It's called Hannidate.

The place where people of like conservative minds can come together to meet... It's fun, interactive, safe and anonymous - until you decide to take it further.

Sounds steamy. I could only look at one profile before I had to stop.

I aspire to be a good wife to my husband and show my love and respect for the Lord Jesus Christ by sharing His blessings with the wolrd(sic). I want to have nine beautiful babies and a white wedding before I turn 21. I dream that the perfect husband will walk into my life any day now.

It's just my opinion, but that's not exactly info you should release before the first date. Wait, do the nine babies come before or after the wedding? How's your appearance, by the way? Are you hot?

My fellow parishoners tell me that my eyes sparkle from my love of the Lord.

oh.

The Marlboro Journal Of Medicine 3

Dr. Alan Blum and I worked together again to create a comic on Marlboro, this time focusing on their new research facility. We had planned to do three of these from the outset--the previous two are here and here.

It ran last Sunday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Opinion section. The text below, written by Blum accompanied the piece.

This week in Minneapolis, 3,000 public-health experts will attend the biennial National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Since the release of the landmark 1964 Surgeon General's report, considerable progress has been made in reducing the prevalence of smoking among adults -- from more than 40 percent to 21 percent (20 percent in Minnesota) -- through educational campaigns in the mass media and through the passage of clean-indoor-air laws (the first of which was authored by Minnesota state Rep. Phyllis Kahn in 1975). Yet nearly 50 million Americans still smoke, and cigarettes remain the leading preventable cause of lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema. Most worrisome is that the decline in smoking among high-school students has leveled off at 22 percent. One wrenching controversy that attendees at this week's conference will debate is whether the tobacco industry is indeed on the wane or is still up to its old tricks. Dr. Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, teamed up with cartoonist Matt Bors to create this view of one company's attempt to soften its image.

Human Shields

Funding for the War is coming up again. Republicans will no doubt accuse anyone who opposes it as wanting Al Qaeda to slowly torture a pregnant war widow. It's one of the simpler comics I've done and a response to the endless cartoons like this one I've seen repeatedly over the last two weeks.

No Sense Of Irony

“The socialist paradise is a tropical gulag."

George W. Bush speaking about Cuba, an island where he detains and tortures people indefinitely without charge.

Campaign Swag

This is my 300th cartoon. The Obama "got hope?" sticker is real. And Mitt Romney does have a mitt, but it's a baseball mitt.

This week in Minneapolis, 3,000 public-health experts will attend the biennial National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Since the release of the landmark 1964 Surgeon General's report, considerable progress has been made in reducing the prevalence of smoking among adults -- from more than 40 percent to 21 percent (20 percent in Minnesota) -- through educational campaigns in the mass media and through the passage of clean-indoor-air laws (the first of which was authored by Minnesota state Rep. Phyllis Kahn in 1975). Yet nearly 50 million Americans still smoke, and cigarettes remain the leading preventable cause of lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema. Most worrisome is that the decline in smoking among high-school students has leveled off at 22 percent. One wrenching controversy that attendees at this week's conference will debate is whether the tobacco industry is indeed on the wane or is still up to its old tricks. Dr. Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, teamed up with cartoonist Matt Bors to create this view of one company's attempt to soften its image.

Dr. Alan Blum can be reached at ablum@cchs.ua.edu.

The Funny Ones

After about a year and half of subscribing to the New Yorker

Lunatics.

Check out the video of Bill Maher going off on some 9/11 "truthers" that infiltrated his audience and wouldn't let his show proceed. Apparently yelling shit about building 7 over and over makes you right. Since their views are not founded in reality, they have to do this to get attention in the media (if only real religions were treated like this we'd be in good shape).

I love Maher's show and have seen him combat these loons a few times--usually members of the panel.

I saw some so-called truthers yesterday when I was out and about in Portland. They were waving signs about 9/11 being an inside job. The most mind-blowing part was that cars were constantly honking to show support. Their misunderstanding of what happened that day has turned into a true religious movement.

When you are shouting and waving a cardboard sign on a street corner--regardless of what you are advocating--it's time to reevaluate your belief system.

Lunatics.

9/11 conspiracy theorists

Child Soldiers

Conservatives decried the use of children in the debate over SCHIP and launched a smear campaign against the toddlers. So I wondered if they would oppose the use of child soldiers in ads about ending the use of child soldiers.

I usually don't react well to politicians using children. But the whole debate over SCHIP is about children. How can we discuss it without mentioning the real life stories of kids who might have died without help?

Quiet Reflection

Overriding the Governor's veto, the Illinois state legislature has mandated a moment of silence at the beginning of every school day. It will be interesting to see how it plays out since the law doesn't mention prayer or religion specifically. It's a "neutral" silence. You can pray of course. Or you can think about girls or Nintendo. They say there is no intention--just silence. They simply love moments of silence.

“Our children deserve . . . a moment of silence,” said Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago). She said it would enable students to “listen to the rustling of leaves, to listen to the chirping of a bird, to listen to the tip-tap of a kid walking."

hmm. If kids are walking with a "tip-tap" down the hall, they aren't doing a good job of observing a moment of silence. Supporters even seized on recent school shootings to help their cause, claiming kids need more peace of mind.

This isn't the most egregious transgression of the separation of church and state to ever happen but I find their need to enshrine prayer time into law law dangerous and unconstitutional. Christians with a persecution complex will always claim secularists are trying to take prayer out of schools. They don't seem to understand that you can pray in schools. Pray before lunch. Pray before class. Pray all day and ignore your work. It's just not going to be part of the curriculum.

I like this point by Kate Sheppard:

If I were religious, this would probably annoy me even more; mandating observance of your faith seems pretty contrary to the idea of faith. Shouldn't it be a personal choice, made by individuals or families, practiced on your own time? And if you feel that you need to observe your religion in school, you can go to a religious school. But I guess I'm forgetting just what sort of religious person would want to pass this law in the first place.

Exactly. Why the need for Big Mommy Government to tell you it's time to talk with Jesus. Can't individuals decide this on their own without some nanny state bureaucrat mandating it by law?

Cackle

Call it a caterwaul, call it a bray, call it what you will, the sound the Democratic front-runner makes when she performs the actions of mirth are now a part of the political conversation.

So declares Slate. The good news is that soon the media will run out body parts and mannerism of Hillary Clinton and analyze her political positions. Not long after serious media outlets inquired about her cleavage, everyone--from the Daily Show to the New York Times--was talking about her laugh.

Sponsor A Cartoonist, Receive Original Art!

SPECIAL OFFER!
The offer has been taken up.

John Bolton, the former UN Ambassador who is insane, is coming to Portland and I need you to help me see him. He will be debating Lee Hamilton (of the Baker/Hamilton Iraq Study Group Report) on foreign policy November 7th.

For $75 you can send me to this debate. In return I will report back on the event with a comic that will be sent out to all my papers through my syndicate and I will mail you the original artwork (details below).

This man is a cartoonist's dream--he looks awesome and is totally insane. Below are some photo realistic portraits I've drawn of him in the past.

This has has the potential for comedy gold folks. Not only is Bolton a gem by himself, but I promise to try and give him a print of this comic. Also, I suspect 9/11 "truthers" will be there in full force to protest Lee Hamilton, who also served on the 9/11 commission.

Why am I doing it this way? Well, I want to go and think it will be fun to do a cartoon about. The event costs $25 dollars to attend and I'm poor now that I bought a shiny new computer. This way I can make a little money and offer someone an original for rock bottom price.

I won't go to draw a cartoon unless someone takes up the offer.

What you get:

• An original piece of artwork at half the rate I would normally sell it. I draw my cartoons on 8.5 x 11 bristol board and hand letter them. the artwork itself measures approximately 7.5 x 10.5and will look great framed.
• tearsheets of the comic in print in the newspapers that run it.
• An investment! Since I sell artwork starting at $125, your artwork will instantly appreciate! The plan is to do political cartoons for decades to come. Surely, after I become a famous reality TV star, my artwork will be a highly desired commodity.
  

please e-mail me if you are interested: idiotbox---at---mattbors--dot-- com

Wide Stance

A follow up to my earlier cartoon about Men's Room sex, it looks like the Minneapolis airport will spend $25,000 to lower the dividers in two bathrooms (one of them being the famous one Larry Craig used) to prevent footsie between commuting lawmakers and gay prostitutes.

Seems to me you could save a lot of money and time by simply having a airport security guard pop in there from time to time. Will longer dividers really prevent hook up in the stalls? People could communicate through knocking morse code or even speaking English.

Warluster

Norman Podhoretz is the "godfather" of neoconservative thought and author of World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism. Giuliani has added him as his campaign foreign policy adviser.

Podhoretz recently said, "Well, if we were to bomb the Iranians as I hope and pray we will, we’ll unleash a wave of anti-Americanism all over the world that will make the anti-Americanism we’ve experienced so far look like a lovefest."

Nuff said.

Black GOP Voters

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The top GOP candidates--Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, and McCain -- failed to show up to the Sept 27th All American Presidential Forum organized by Tavis Smiley at Morgan State University, citing "scheduling conflicts."

I'm not surprised the candidates didn't show up to the debate in front of the African-American community. I'm surprised that the African-American community was sitting in the audience waiting for them to show up.

Our Brave Senate

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Following the Right-Wing's fake outrage over the MoveOn.org "Betray Us" ad, the Democrats decided to fake some outrage themselves and show they were more troop-loving than the other side by wasting an entire week denouncing Rush Limbaugh's "Phony Soldiers" comment.

Harry Reid wrote a letter to pressure Clear Channel into apologizing for these statements. Apparently, he thinks the role of the Senate is to decide what is offensive to soldiers and condemn speech from the floor. Reid wanted to see if Republicans would be consistent and condemn Rush. But unlike the numerous Dems who voted to condemn MoveOn.org, not one Republican signed on.

He forgot that only Democrats piss their pants when a non-binding resolution is introduced to condemn people who say something controversial. They actually fired back with a resolution supporting Rush's über troop-loving statements throughout the years.

Whenever the Democratic party tries to out-Republican the Republicans they lose horribly.

I'm Back!

So I ended up getting a new laptop last week and did manage to recover most of my data from the old computer. I just got Dreamweaver today so I can finally update my website.

Here's a comic from Monday. I'll be updating more comics throughout next week as I catch up on coloring them.

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This is just a little joke that popped into my head when I heard of Jenna Bush's new book. The subject of "Ana's Story" is 17 years old, which puts her in utero when Jenna's grandfather invade her country.

Banned Books

Thought I'd pop in real quick to let you know about a new multi-page comic I did for the ACLU, First They Came For the Books!

This week is Banned Books Week, so go check it out. Amazingly, people still try to ban books in this country. If you are interested in more info, check out the American Library Association.

Read previous comics I've done for the ACLU here.

Shit.

Greetings from a blessed Internet cafe!

My computer appears to have bit the dust. Along with all of the projects and comics I've done recently and every contact I've ever made. I'm fucked and will probably be shelling a few thousand out for a new computer this week. I'll be drawing my cartoons and scanning them in wherever I can until things are fixed.

I won't be able to post here or update my website for the indefinite future. Until I come back, read my comics at comics.com.

LS-CHIP

click to enlarge

War Is Boring

Check out the latest War Is Boring strip here.