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Ed Stein Rocky Mountain News Sep 24, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

Fighting Words: 9/22/08 Cartoon...

"A Self-Explanatory Cartoon"...


Alternate title: "Four Years of Bleeding Ears?"
Alternate title #2: "The Voice of Pa[l]in"...


OK, this one sucks... but my creative tank was on "E" this week.

A lot of people have been telling me that they think Sarah Palin's voice is so annoying that it will soon start causing them to experience seizures. Mostly women... in case anyone wants to accuse me of being sexist...

More on the Palin image...

Stuff for this week's 'toon:

• This cracks me up:
  

  Robert Kagan, a foreign policy adviser to McCain, derided criticisms of Palin as elitist.
  “I don’t take this elite foreign policy view that only this anointed class knows everything about the world," he said. "I’m not generally impressed that they are better judges of American foreign policy experience than those who have Palin’s experience.”
  One top conservative foreign policy wonk who declined to be named said he believed some of the questions surrounding Palin’s experience are sexist.

  So many things to say here... but most of them would be better saved for another cartoon. Stay tuned...
  
  
• Juan Cole:
  

  She knows nothing about how Iran is run, or about Pakistan, or about al-Qaeda, and even is ignorant of the Bush doctrine of preemptive warfare. It was a shockingly bad performance.__She had the hubris to suggest that her lack of knowledge and experience is a virtue. Why Americans, practical people, would fall for this line is beyond me. Would you want your car to be worked on by an inexperienced and ignorant mechanic? Would you want a plumber messing around with your pipes who did not know his way around wrenches?

• Don Hazen:
  

  And who is left out of the idyllic, nonexistent vision of "America" so adored by conservatives? Huge numbers of Americans: city dwellers, people of color (who represent 26 percent of eligible voters -- but that's not important to Republicans. As the Washington Post reported, the Republican convention was the whitest in 40 years), homosexuals, millions of creative people whose lifestyles are not in the Palin world view, and of course single people, particularly single women.

  
  ...and he makes this hilarious point earlier:
  

  The biggest blow to the idyllic scene was the small fact that her teenage daughter was pregnant and was going to get herself married to the guy right away, even if he doesn't want kids and prefers to be "fuckin' chillin," according to his MySpace page.

  
  
• David Talbot:
  

  "Her campaign locked her in a closet during the governor's race in 2006 -- and they're doing the same thing now," said one longtime Democratic consultant here, who like many others asked to remain anonymous because "it's a small state and Sarah takes names and numbers."
  "They're setting a trap for the country," he continued. "Keep her away from the press, while they set up these phony 'tests' for her. The first test was her speech before the Republican convention. They spread all this nervous chatter about her -- is she ready for prime time, can she pull it off?

  
  
  

Fighting Words: 9/15/08 Cartoon...

"The Joy of Painting With John McCain"...



You may also notice that I've changed the title design, both on the cartoon and on the website pages. I was getting a little tired of the old one, and also I've been seeing that Copperplate font EVERYWHERE these days... businesses, advertisements, websites, television, stadiums (it's the font plastered all over the Seahawks' stadium)...

Pre-toon

This week's 'toon is done and up on the AAEC site (link below). I haven't yet posted it on my site as I'm finishing up the animation and a couple other little things...

(click here to view)

Abell Smith Eat the State! Sep 16, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

I had my Sunday knocked out watching the Seahawks lose in embarrassing fashion at Qwest Field. Beautiful day weather-wise, though (probably one of our last of the summer), that could not be spent inside...

More on Palin, RNC...

A couple of things for this week's 'toon:

• A typically outstanding piece by George Lakoff:
  

  [T]he Palin nomination changes the game. The initial response has been to try to keep the focus on external realities, the "issues," and differences on the issues. But the Palin nomination is not basically about external realities and what Democrats call "issues," but about the symbolic mechanisms of the political mind -- the worldviews, frames, metaphors, cultural narratives, and stereotypes. The Republicans can't win on realities.
  ...
  Just arguing the realities, the issues, the hard truths should be enough in times this bad, but the political mind and its response to symbolism cannot be ignored. The initial Democratic response to Palin -- the response based on realities alone -- indicates that many Democrats have not learned the lessons of the Reagan and Bush years.

• Paul Krugman:
  

  [F]undamentalist Christians are sincerely dismayed by Roe v. Wade and evolution in the curriculum. What struck me as I watched the convention speeches, however, is how much of the anger on the right is based not on the claim that Democrats have done bad things, but on the perception — generally based on no evidence whatsoever — that Democrats look down their noses at regular people.
  Thus Mr. Giuliani asserted that Wasilla, Alaska, isn’t “flashy enough” for Mr. Obama, who never said any such thing. And Ms. Palin asserted that Democrats “look down” on small-town mayors — again, without any evidence.
  What the G.O.P. is selling, in other words, is the pure politics of resentment; you’re supposed to vote Republican to stick it to an elite that thinks it’s better than you.

Fighting Words: 9/8/08 Cartoon...

"Memories of the 2008 Republican Pep Rally"...

Huh?!

Obviously, I've got very little in common with Chuck Asay ideologically, but I've always respected his cartooning style, and it's hard to begrudge another cartoonist his or her own editorial slant...



However, I would like to ask him just what the heck he's trying to say with this cartoon:

(click here to view)

Chuck Asay Creators Syndicate Inc. Sep 5, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

Call for complaints...

I've been getting a few reports that the Flash versions of my recent comics aren't working right for some people. If you're having problems (or even if they work perfectly for you), please send me an email at nomind (at) fightingwordscomics.com and give me an earful...

Really... it's the only way I'll learn...

More on Conventions...

No Moron post for this week's 'toon on the media and the DNC... cuz... well... I don't feel like it.

However, here are some videos from the RNC that totally blew me away... it's highly probable that you've seen some of these already:

• I first saw the video of Amy Goodman getting arrested for being a journalist when Jen linked to it. Here's another one from after her release. Glenn Greenwald also has a ton of video links.
  
  Yeah, thank God the cops were able to subdue that frightening menace to public safety, Amy Goodman (who can't weigh more than 100 pounds). She was about to go Godzilla on that street! Amy Goodman SMASH!!!
  
  The fact of the matter is that this is about as egregious a violation of the First Amendment as you will ever see caught on video. One would hope the St. Paul police department will be facing some serious legal consequences.


• This is close to the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Fox News is now officially something out of a Paul Verhoeven movie. They apparently just don't care that they have completely turned into a giant parody of themselves.
  


• Here's a video of Rage at the RNC, doing Bulls On Parade and Killing in the Name Of (without instruments).

Damn!

As with Katrina, I was pretty much glued to the television over the weekend watching hurricane coverage. I just realized that DirectTV has been airing coverage by WDSU, which is the local NBC affiliate in N.O. So all this time, I could've been watching people who actually care about giving out substantive information on what is happening to their region, instead of relentlessly forcing the "story" angle down our throats...

Mainly, though, I could've spared myself the pain of watching cringe-worthy anchoring by CNN's Rick Sanchez and MSNBC's Dan Abrams.

Fighting Words: 9/1/08

"The Li'l TV Journalist Kit!"...

Hurricane coverage...

First really shitty moment of the coverage:

CNN just cut off the president of Plaquemines Parish, who is on the scene fighting a levee breach south of New Orleans (with peoples' homes at risk), to go to Laura Bush speaking at the Republican Convention...


Are you kidding me?


...and HOLY SHIT. They just did it again for Cindy McCain!

Evacuation Shocker...

Who would've guessed that the private contractor who played such a huge part in screwing up the Katrina evacuation, a busing company called Landstar Systems, would now fail to fulfill its contract to supply buses for a Gustav evacuation!

And, what an incredible surprise that Landstar is politically connected to the Bush administration! Who could've predicted that such people wouldn't really give a shit about the citizens of New Orleans!

I'm shocked! SHOCKED, I tell you!

Holy Crap!

News... overload...

Too... many... cartoon... ideas....



Of course, the only one of these stories that really matters in the immediate future is Gustav. Whether or not it hits New Orleans directly, NOLA is predicting it will be a Cat 4 before it hits land. Perhaps we could finally all agree that global warming might have something to do with it, considering our shores are getting hit by monster 100-year storms about every 3 years now?

Just a thought...

Slowpoke at the DNC...

If you're reading this blog right now... dude, get off the internet and turn on the convention! Actually, better yet, turn on the TV (don't forget to mute the talking heads), stay on the internet, and go to CWA-er Jen Sorensen's live-blog from the festivities. She's got some great observations...

More on Revisiting Katrina and... uh-oh...

By itself, of course, John McCain's "houses" gaffe is pretty meaningless. It's just another "gotcha" moment that the media loves. I saw a figure somewhere that Theresa Heinz-Kerry is actually worth five times what Cindy McCain is worth... and, as you may recall, we heard a little bit about that one too. What makes this one important is that it reminds (or should remind) everyone about that crazy little thing known as right-wing economic philosophy, of which John McCain is a dutiful follower. You know, that little school of thought that says "greed is good" and dreams of an American plutocracy where 99% of us simply exist to enhance the wealth of the super-rich. And three years later, Katrina is still the issue that exposes Republican economic policy for what it is... a scam.

However, all that really matters at the moment is that there's another hurricane headed into the Gulf with an ominous projected path. Cross your fingers and toes that everybody has learned their lesson... I just saw the embattled Ray Nagin on CNN, who is about to leave the Dem convention to head back to N.O. He didn't blow me away with his optimism...

Articles and stuff for this week's 'toon:

• On Katrina: Oxfam has released a report that "reveals how little progress has been made."
  
  From a NOLA resident:
  

  We normally work a 40-hour workweek, and we go home, and we take a couple of days off, and we go about our business. And that's not the way Katrina has left us all. It was seven days a week, 24 hours a day down here. And people don't understand or appreciate the fact that we're not back. We won't be back for 10 years.

  
  FactCheck.org:
  

  McCain was asked by a New Orleans reporter why he voted twice against an independent commission to investigate the government’s failings before and after Hurricane Katrina, and he incorrectly stated that he had "voted for every investigation." McCain actually voted twice, in 2005 and 2006, to defeat a Democratic amendment that would have set up an independent commission along the lines of the 9/11 Commission. At the time of the second vote, members of both parties were complaining that the White House was refusing requests by Senate investigators for information.

  
  Progressive Media USA:
  

  Friday, September 16, 2005: "Deficit Hawk" McCain was skeptical of federally-funded reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, yet he insisted his tax cuts for the wealthy are more important than reducing the deficit.
  ...According to The New Leader, "An objection of a different sort was raised by Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who is pondering a run for the Presidency in 2008. He maintains conservatives want to "do whatever is necessary to address this national disaster." Then he adds: "We also have to be concerned about future generations of Americans. We're going to end up with the highest deficit, probably, in the history of this country." [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/17/05]
  ...During an appearance on ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked McCain, "If Congress does not give you the spending cuts you say you can get, will you hold off on signing the tax cuts?" McCain said, "No, of course not, because we want to increase people's taxes during a recession?"

  
  What... a... piece... of... shit.
  
  
• On the McCain economic plan: a great column from Paul Krugman.
  
  Also Think Progress:
  

  ...McCain is running a campaign of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. He recently defined rich as earning $5 million or more and doesn’t know how many houses he owns, and at the same time, McCain is proposing a tax policy that primarily benefits the rich. In fact, under his proposal, McCain himself would receive a $300,000 tax cut, while middle class Americans would receive only a few hundred.

• On the more humorous topic of McCain's houses, Matthew Yglesias has a list of some of the many amenities offered at one of McCain's more luxurious Phoenix condos. See also two great YouTube clips here and here.
  

Fighting Words: 8/25/08 Cartoon...

"The Fabulous Lifestyle of John McCain!"...

More on McCain Foreign Policy...

For this week's 'toon, I was gonna do something in advance of Obama's VP choice and the Dem convention, but I decided to let the events play out first. My prediction is Obama will pick Bayh... because that's the one that would piss off his base the most and possibly lose the election for him. That seems to be the Obama campaign's standard operating procedure up to this point.

By the way, the joke in the last frame is a reference to obnoxious people who like to quote lines in movies before the characters on the screen actually have a chance to say them. I have a buddy who loves to do this, especially with Dumb and Dumber... hence, "kick his ass, Seabass." Not saying he's like Dubya or anything, but it's still pretty obnoxious...

Articles n' stuff:

• McCain's pearls of wisdom on the Russia/Georgia conflict:
  

  "In the 21st Century, nations don’t invade other nations."

  "[The Georgia-Russia war is] the first serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War.”

  Dan Eggen and Robert Barnes:
  

  McCain and his aides say his tough rhetoric on the Georgia crisis, along with his personal familiarity with the region, underscores the foreign policy expertise he would bring to the White House.

  Really, if you're harboring any thoughts at all about voting for McCain, for the love of God watch this compilation of his finest moments on the campaign trail.
  
  
• Paul Rosenberg on McCain "fanning the flames" with the Russia situation:
  

  Because the neocon adventure in Iraq has turned out so disasterously, most people fail to appreciate that Iraq was supposed to be a cakewalk, and that the neocon's real primary targets are China and Russia. Although not strictly a neocon-his attitudes derive more from the imperialist naval doctrine that animated the birth of America's "Great White Fleet" 100 years ago-McCain has been a neocon darling since 1999-2000 campaign, when he was their favorite far more than George W. Bush.

• Robert Parry:
  

  ...the larger reality should be clear: McCain is a hard-line neoconservative who buys into Bush’s “preemptive war” theories abroad and his concept of an all-powerful “unitary executive” at home.
  From McCain’s pre-Iraq invasion speeches to his campaign’s recent embrace of Bush’s imperial presidency, American voters should realize that if they choose John McCain, they will be locking in at least four more years of war with much of the Islamic world while selling out the Founders’ vision of a democratic Republic where no one is above the law.

• Another McCain "senior moment" on Iraq:
  

  In a dramatic error yesterday, John McCain told Katie Couric that it’s “just a matter of history” that Bush’s “surge” policy “began the Anbar awakening.” That, of course, is backwards.
  Today, thanks to some efforts by the Obama campaign, the media started picking up on McCain’s bizarre confusion on his signature national security issue, most notably with coverage from the AP and CNN.
  As of this earlier afternoon, the best the McCain campaign could come up with was this: “Democrats can debate whether the awakening would have survived without the surge … but that is nothing more than a transparent effort to minimize the role of our commanders and our troops in defeating the enemy.”
  Got that? If you think 2006 came before 2007, you’re somehow showing disrespect for the troops.

Fighting Words: 8/18/08 Cartoon...

"Advancements in Psychopathology, Cont."...

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