'And we're trying to mix it up. We're trying to use this as a powerful tool. I told my staff: "I no longer have any encyclopedias, any dictionaries, or any reference materials anywhere in my office, whatsoever, I don't need them. I've stopped using all reference materials because you don't need it. All you need is a search engine.'

This neighbor girl has an old 80's Volkswagen that wasn't running, so I asked her if I could check it out. She said yeah, and then I asked, could I take it to Honolulu if I fixed it. She said that if I could get it running, I could use it the rest of the time I am here. I had to change the alternator belt and jump start it, but the thing ran good for several days. This morning, it died again, but I think it is as simple as a loose wire or a dirty rotor cap. I'll have to check it out later.

"The Boondocks." Aaron McGruder, the young cartoonist who creates "The Boondocks" comic strip, makes a living out of pushing buttons.

Readers tend to either love his work or hate it, depending on whether they think his comic strip characters are providing social/political satiric comic relief or hate-filled commentary.

In last Sunday's Comics section, one "Boondocks" character repeated a German official's recent characterization of President Bush as a modern-day Hitler. The other character replied that even he wouldn't make that comparison, but then tossed out this zinger: "Hitler was democratically elected, wasn't he?"

The strip, reprinted in newspapers around the country, prompted readers to say that this time McGruder had gone too far. I would argue that while this one pushed the limits, it didn't cross the line.

I'm not a "Boondocks" fan. But I am a fan of the First Amendment, which means McGruder has the right to make fun of the president of the United States and to make my life complicated by doing so, which he does --- often.

The controversy over this particular strip was compounded by its running in the Sunday comics pages, which are printed in advance and often are not read by news editors before being distributed. (During the week, "The Boondocks" runs inside the Living section, and editors have, in the past, tweaked its language before publication.)

As my colleague Don Wycliff of the Chicago Tribune responded to Tribune readers' complaints about the same strip, "The Boondocks" is a popular feature with many readers, who find humor, as well as interesting commentary, among its cast of characters.

It is part of a large menu of offerings the newspaper makes available to readers --- and no one is obligated to eat everything on the buffet.


Mike King
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution