Aug 29 2009
CIA torture meets town hall meeting. With all the fuss over the
investigation into the CIA interrogation techniques, I tried to picture
the worst kind of torture imaginable.
For some reason I kept picturing those town hall meetings. What would
happen to the war on terror if the CIA had a weapon like the
anti-government wacko who verbally assaulted Arlen Specter? Maybe we'd
have bin Laden by now.
Dick Cheney, a man who believes in waterboarding, is mad about the
Justice Department probe into alleged abusive interrogation techniques
by CIA agents. Cheney called the investigation an "outrageous political act." That must mean we are on the right track.
For more torture cartoons, check out my previous blog called Totally Tubular Torture.
Aug 27 2009
As part of my 25th anniversary as an editorial cartoonist, every week I
will be highlighting cartoons I drew on the same day and month in
another year. Here are a random selection of cartoons published on August 27th.
This first cartoon was drawn when the economy was tanking back in 1992. George H. W. Bush was too busy talking up the importance of "family values" to notice how many people were hurting.
Remember the film Wag the Dog? In the movie, a political spin doctor and a hollywood producer team up to cover up a presidential sex scandal by fabricating a war. Hmmm. Nothing like that could ever happen in real life, could it? In 1998, Yeltsin was having his own troubles with his cabinet. It made for a nice metaphor.
Speaking of movies, in my local comic strip, Brewed On Grant, I recounted some of the movies made in Pittsburgh. This ran in 2003. For a larger image, CLICK HERE.
Also from 2003, on the editorial page, I drew this cartoon about kids going back to school. Oh, wait, I mean I drew this cartoon about getting back to the things that really matter.
Aug 27 2009
Ted Kennedy, who some called the "Lion of the Senate", worked harder for the American people than anyone I can think of. My favorite Ted Kennedy quote is from a speech he gave on September 14, 1960.
What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?"
If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who
is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and
who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that
kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks
ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid
reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their
health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights,
and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through
the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if
that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a
"Liberal."
Aug 20 2009
I am tired of everybody griping and moaning over whether or not Brett Favre retires! Leave the guy alone. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback has certainly earned the right to change his mind if he wants to. Why do people think he owes it to them to make a decision and stick with it? Just because he's a pro athlete? Come on! Who wouldn't want to continue his or her career (especially if it was their passion) if they could. Would you let others tell you when it's time to quit? No. So, quit yer bellyachin' and let Favre be Favre!
Aug 13 2009
As part of my 25th anniversary as an editorial cartoonist, every week I
will be highlighting cartoons I drew on the same day and month in
another year. Here are a random selection of cartoons published on August 13th.
Who are these townsfolk with their pitchforks and torches storming town hall meetings across the country? They stand up and scream poisonous lies about Obama's health care plan, accusing him of everything from "death panels" to instituting "Soviet-style" government. Who are these idiots? These must be the same people who believed Obama was a Muslim. You don't have to prove you are not an idiot to have a say in this glorious democracy, and as much as it pains me to say it, I would defend their right to say what they feel. I would also defend my own right to call them idiots. We're in this together. I'm with stupid.
Here is a cartoon that ran today about the health care debate. Below it is a cartoon I drew in 1994 when Clinton was struggling with his own health reform naysayers.
It always amazes me how much we promote peace in the world, while at the same time providing everyone with the latest weapons. This cartoon was drawn in 1991.
In 2006 they were still cracking down on liquids at the airports. Many coffee drinkers, myself included, found this to be barbaric.
In 2000, many people worried that George W. Bush would make the same
mistake as his father when picking a vice-presidential running mate. Dubya overcompensated the other way.
Aug 11 2009
I don't often get the opportunity to draw people naked in my cartoons ... and that's probably a good thing. Especially since there aren't a lot of politicians I would want to imagine naked. That said, every now and then a naked cartoon makes me laugh. In today's paper, I drew a hippie celebrating Woodstock's 40th anniversary by shedding all of his inhibition. He is met with some trepidation by a world 40 years removed from that Summer of Love.
Back in 2005, when Saddam had an unfortunate photo-op in his tighty whities, the old fig leaf strategy came in handy.
In 1998, in the midst of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, I drew this Clinton cartoon.
Speaking of the Summer of Love, fifteen years ago I drew this cartoon about the Woodstock '94 concert. It still makes me laugh.
Not all of my naked cartoons have made it into the paper. Here are a few that were killed because of taste. Both are about the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Looking back, I can kind of see the reason they were killed, especially the boil cartoon. Yuck!
Sometimes it's just a matter of degrees and a small change can be made. When Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were killed, it gave some cover to the Naked Emperor's flimsy war rationale. The first sketch, however, proved too distasteful for the editors (it looked like Bush was wiping himself with Uday's face). I covered Bush up a little more and all was fine.
Aug 11 2009
One of the most disturbing aspects of the recent LA Fitness shooting was the shooter's apparent hatred of women. It would be easy to say Sodini was an aberration, but that wouldn't be an honest assessment. We live in a world where we are bombarded with imagery that is offensive and/or demeaning to women. We glorify sexism and violence against women in TV, films, music and video games. We as a society should be appalled and outraged by our own complacency. Sadly, we are not.
Aug 07 2009
Sadly, western Pennsylvania has been the scene of too many shootings of late. In April, Richard Poplawski opened fire on police. Here is my blog post about that. Now, George Sodini walks into LA Fitness and begins shooting. This doesn't even count the number of random shootings here that don't make the national news. Turns out both Sodini and the VA Tech shooter got their guns from the same online supplier.
It is hard to know what to say in the midst of a tragedy like this. Below is the cartoon I drew about this latest shooting. Sadly, it will probably won't be the last one I draw on this subject.
Aug 05 2009
Here are some random cartoons published on August 5th.
In the summer of 2001, George W. Bush chose Robert Mueller to head the FBI. Mueller was supposed to restore public confidence
in an agency plagued by high-profile mistakes. Needless to say, even more mistakes would come to light after 9/11. Bush was also pushing faith-based initiatives as a way to achieve less government involvement in people's lives.
In 2003, the Catholic Church came out publicly against gay marriage. The Boston pedophile priest scandal was still causing waves.
In 2004, George W. Bush promised to create new jobs ... but he was too busy creating enemies in the Muslim world.
Aug 04 2009
As part of my 25th anniversary as an editorial cartoonist, every week I
will be highlighting cartoons I drew on the same day and month in
another year. Here are a random selection of cartoons published on August 4th.
The first cartoon was drawn in 1989, the 20th anniversary of Woodstock. Now it's the 40th. Wow. I hope nobody is still naked! The second cartoon was done a decade later. August is always the start of Steelers training camp. The names of the players may have changed since 1999, but the faces of the fans are the same. And finally, who could forget the summer of Monica-gate. This cartoon was one of many drawn in 1998 about the investigation into Bill Clinton's affair with the intern.
