Terror 'toonist

Dept. of gallows humor
By CLIF GARBODEN  |  August 20, 2008

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Earlier this month, syndicated cartoonist Matt Bors, whose “Idiot Box” panels often enliven this site, found a new fan in none other than Salim Hamdan, the man tried and convicted at the US detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for once having been Osama Bin Laden’s driver. Somebody had e-mailed a recent Bors cartoon lampooning the show trial to Hamdan’s lawyer, who had it translated for the defendant, who, in turn, relayed his compliments to the artist.

“At first I was excited. . . .” blogged Bors. “[M]y comics actually made it past their defenses on to the land where iguanas have more rights than humans.”

Then he realized that, like Hamdan, he could easily be judged by the company he kept. “With the flimsy standards of evidence preferred by the Bush administration, does this mean I could be tried in a military tribunal for giving aid and comforting humor to the enemy?” he asked.

It’s okay, Matt, we’ll send art supplies to your cell.

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