Ted Rall

Cartoonist Ted Rall has important information for you. He can explain why your twentysomething daughter got straight A's in college and then took a job in a warehouse, packing crates. He knows why that bright young guy at the office went surfing instead of to work--until he got fired. He understands why Jerry Seinfeld isn't funny to members of Generation X: "It's nihilistic boomer humor. Jerry's gotta be 40 at least."

Once again, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck buys his cop's story about a police shooting of an unarmed civilian, even though the Police Commission doesn't. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Fat and happy? You must be an American How to fight a cigarette tax: Start with $40 million ... For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .  

Ted Rall, war reporter, is just back from the Afghan front--a place as nonexistent as his reporting credentials, he says. "Anywhere in Afghanistan is arguably the front. It's any bend in the road, it constantly changes, it could easily be called The Side or The Back." Rall has never covered a war before, nor has he ever worked as a reporter.

A coalition of community groups, labor unions and conservationists is trying to protect funding for Los Angeles city parks, which have been hit hard by budget cuts. Here are some alternatives: reverse psychology, reverse #Occupy, benign neglect. ALSO: Is illegal immigration passé? Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Goldberg: The false modesty of 'nerds' For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .

Gov. Jerry Brown wants California lawmakers to "man up" and make billions in cuts to state services. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons No more 'Dad, it's Charles Manson' calls Step aside and let New York and California decide the presidency For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .

A science teacher at an intermediate school in Oxnard was fired after students claimed to have seen her in a porn movie. No one asked why children were watching porn movies. ALSO: Clear the tracks, Beverly Hills Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Doctor finds the G spot -- in Poland For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .

Once again, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck buys his cop's story about a police shooting of an unarmed civilian, even though the Police Commission doesn't. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Fat and happy? You must be an American How to fight a cigarette tax: Start with $40 million ... For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .  

U.S. Border Patrol agents are asking Mexican and Central American TV stations to help discourage illegal immigration. Will bad PR about the United States do the trick? Actually, simply reporting the news should do the trick. ALSO: Immigration: Leave it to the feds Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Feds reach out to Latin American media to warn of border dangers For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .    

A coalition of community groups, labor unions and conservationists is trying to protect funding for Los Angeles city parks, which have been hit hard by budget cuts. Here are some alternatives: reverse psychology, reverse #Occupy, benign neglect. ALSO: Is illegal immigration passé? Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Goldberg: The false modesty of 'nerds' For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .

Editorial cartoonist Jeff Danziger re-envisions IRS Form 1040, just in time for the April 17 filing deadline. Click on the image below to see it at full size. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Daum: The radical message of 'Girls' Reading between the lines of Obama's tax return

A science teacher at an intermediate school in Oxnard was fired after students claimed to have seen her in a porn movie. No one asked why children were watching porn movies. ALSO: Clear the tracks, Beverly Hills Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Doctor finds the G spot -- in Poland For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .

Gov. Jerry Brown wants California lawmakers to "man up" and make billions in cuts to state services. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons No more 'Dad, it's Charles Manson' calls Step aside and let New York and California decide the presidency For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .

Editorial cartoonist Jeff Danziger re-envisions IRS Form 1040, just in time for the April 17 filing deadline. Click on the image below to see it at full size. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Daum: The radical message of 'Girls' Reading between the lines of Obama's tax return

U.S. Border Patrol agents are asking Mexican and Central American TV stations to help discourage illegal immigration. Will bad PR about the United States do the trick? Actually, simply reporting the news should do the trick. ALSO: Immigration: Leave it to the feds Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Feds reach out to Latin American media to warn of border dangers For more from Ted Rall, visit tedrall.com or follow him on Twitter: @TedRall .    

Postal Service heroes Re "Recalling first-class kindness," Opinion, Dec. 21 Ben Kamin's article about the U.S. Postal Service brought back pleasant memories. In the 1950s my future husband was in Air Force basic training in San Antonio. I would wait for our postman "Mac" every day; most days I was rewarded with a letter. One day as he walked by our house he called out "Nope, not today. " He was two houses down before he came back with my letter. He thought it was the funniest practical joke.

There's a reason caricature is called the ungentlemanly art: It's downright rude. If there's a lower road than lampooning someone's physical features in pursuit of a political posture, please tell me so I can travel it. After a while, a president can be reduced to just one or two features: Richard Nixon's unibrow and ski-jump nose, Ronald Reagan's wavy pompadour, Jimmy Carter's teeth. Editorial cartoonists long ago settled on our various Dubya depictions.

There's a reason caricature is called the ungentlemanly art: It's downright rude. If there's a lower road than lampooning someone's physical features in pursuit of a political posture, please tell me so I can travel it. After a while, a president can be reduced to just one or two features: Richard Nixon's unibrow and ski-jump nose, Ronald Reagan's wavy pompadour, Jimmy Carter's teeth. Editorial cartoonists long ago settled on our various Dubya depictions.

A bill in the California Legislature would open jury duty to noncitizen legal residents, a risky experiment in fundamental U.S. law. The Assembly last week passed a bill that immediately drew nationwide attention - for all the wrong reasons. There goes that wacky Golden State again! Assembly Bill 1401, which now goes to the state Senate, would allow noncitizens who are legal residents to serve on juries. If this becomes law, California will be the only state that opens its jury pool to noncitizens.

Ted Rall, war reporter, is just back from the Afghan front--a place as nonexistent as his reporting credentials, he says. "Anywhere in Afghanistan is arguably the front. It's any bend in the road, it constantly changes, it could easily be called The Side or The Back." Rall has never covered a war before, nor has he ever worked as a reporter.

Would you chuck that luxury trip for one that goes beyond reckless extremes--and makes no promise to bring you back alive? A trip that leaves sanity, sanitation, and edible food behind? If so, you're Ted Rall's kind of gal or guy: "Totally nuts."