The Ted Rall Unemployment Project--Updated III!
I strongly suggest that you make the focus of your email the first panel of the offending cartoon, in which Tillman is quoted by Rall as saying, "Never mind the fine print. Will I get to kill Arabs?" As offensive as the rest of the cartoon is, this is the part that Rall cannot defend, as he puts racist words in Tillman's mouth that Pat never said, never even hinted at. Be polite; remember that the editor will probably be on your side unless you turn him off with anger and profanity. And be sure to specify that you want to see Rall's cartoon pulled permanently from their publication.
Here's a sample email:
I am writing to you today about Ted Rall, a cartoonist who I believe is associated with your publication. In his May 3, 2004 cartoon, Mr Rall depicted Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who quit football to join the Army's Rangers and who was killed in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, as a racist, an "idiot" and a "sap".
Mr Rall certainly has the right to call Mr Tillman an idiot and a sap if he so desires. However, he does not have the right to put racist words in the mouth of Mr Tillman. In the first panel of his cartoon, Rall has Tillman saying, "Never mind the fine print. Will I get to kill Arabs?" Mr Tillman never said those words, or even hinted that was his motivation for enlisting, and it is disgusting and disturbing of Mr Rall to attribute those comments to a young man who can no longer defend himself.
I hope that you can see that Mr Rall is not the kind of cartoonist your publication cares to be associated with in the future.
Recipients:
Universal Press Syndicate:
Lee Salem
lsalem@amuniversal.com
MSNBC:
letters@MSNBC.com
GeneralComments@feedback.msnbc.com
Washington Post:
ombudsman@washpost.com
NY Times:
public@nytimes.com
Update: NY Times replies rather snidely:
As I noted, Mr. Rall's cartoons have not appeared in The Times for at least a month.
As we have many issues to deal with which have appeared in The Times, it would be helpful if in the future if you would make sure The Times has done something which concerns you before writing us about it.
Sincerely,
Arthur Bovino
Office of the Public Editor
The New York Times
Hartford Advocate:
Alistair Highet
ahighet@hartfordadvocate.com
San Jose Mercury News:
Update: San Jose Mercury News says they have not carried Rall for several years.
Los Angeles Times:
letters@latimes.com
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Online email
submission link
Wilmington News-Journal
John H. Taylor
jtaylor@delawareonline.com
San Diego Reader
Online email
submission link
Village Voice
Online email
submission link:
Aspen Times:
mail@aspentimes.com
Newark Star-Ledger
Newark Star-Ledger says they have not run Rall's cartoons in a couple of years (probably since the 9-11 widows strip).
Lexington Herald-Leader
hleditorial@herald-leader.com
Sacramento News & Review
Tom Walsh
tomw@newsreview.com
Tucson Weekly
Jimmy Boegle
jboegle@tucsonweekly.com
Washington City Paper
mail@washcp.com
Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News
John Kirkpatrick
mailto:jkirkpatrick@pnco
Philadelphia Daily News
Online email
submission link
Men's Health Magazine:
Online email
submission link
(Hat tip to
Chris)
If you can find some more places where he's being published and/or emails of contacts, please put them in the comments section.
