And what offends the sensibilities of Mexicans? A cartoon.  American cartoonist Daryl Cagle recently came under fire south of the border after drawing a Mexican flag with a provocative twist. The flag is supposed to feature an eagle perched on a cactus, devouring a snake. In Cagle's rendition, the eagle lies in the center, riddled with bullet holes in a pool of blood. Cagle said his drawing, which went out to more than 800 newspapers around the world and has been published in at least two newspapers in Mexico, was intended to draw attention to the horrible violence in the country.  Instead, the imagery unleashed furious anger.  The Mexican newspaper El Universal, which ran the cartoon, heard complaints from many readers. "It is a shame," said one, "that a patriotic symbol like our flag, which is so beautiful to me, can be mocked by a stupid cartoonist."  Even the Mexican Embassy in Washington, which must not have more important matters to deal with, got into the act.  "I think there are many other ways to graphically protest what's happening in our country," said embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday, adding that "as any democratic society, Mexico respects and defends freedom of speech and freedom of expression, in any way it's manifested, [but] regarding the case of Mr. Cagle's cartoon, we differ on the use he makes of the Mexican flag and the message it conveys."  Dios mio. This whole controversy belongs in the funny pages. As someone who has tried to keep an eye on the drug war since Mexican President Felipe Calderon heroically went to battle against the cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006, I find myself shaking my head now and then.
I realize this might be an imprudent question leading up to September 16 -- Mexican Independence Day -- but what in the world is the matter with Mexico?Here you have a drug war that has caused the