(noon. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Crossposted at Daily Kos
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PLEASE READ THIS: For those of you who can’t get enough of editorial cartoons, there are another 45-50 cartoons and videos (including interviews with two editorial cartoonists) in this diary that I posted over at the GOS.
Take a look at it. Thanks.
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Signe Wilkinson, Comics.com (Philadelphia Daily News)
Oil Addiction by Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner, Buy this cartoon
A Tradition of Sacrifice by Tim Eagan, Deep Cover, Buy this cartoon
Transparency by Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons, Buy this cartoon
Climate Bill by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Oily Independence by J.D. Crowe, Mobile Register, Buy this cartoon
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INTRODUCTION
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The sheer enormity of this environmental disaster was brought into sharp focus in a personal way by this beautifully-written diary last week by blueocean. While I first saw it in ‘Diary Rescue’ — by which time it was too late to tip or recommend — I was really impressed by her honest and frank style of writing. If you can, please take a look at the diary.
It is interesting how people along the ideological spectrum react differently to the oil spill. While many liberals have increased calls for the Obama Administration to invest more in alternative sources of energy, wingnuts like Rush Limbaugh have tried to pin the blame on the administration and its allies in the environmental movement.
J.D. Crowe of the Mobile Register in Alabama takes Limbaugh to task for spreading lies and demagoguing this issue
The Sacrifice
Who’s to blame for the oil spill disaster in the Gulf? The quick and easy answer is BP. The ugly, uneasy answer is us. You and me…
The GOP’s de facto fire-breather Rush Limbaugh, always a patriot, was quick to blame an environmentalist whack-job for blowing up the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. He now says that “Obama needs photos of oily pelicans” to further his green agenda. Like this environmental and economical disaster is in any shape or form a positive for the president or this country. How absurd. If anything, it is an unlikely albatross around this progressive president’s neck.
Maybe the likes of Rush and co. should do live broadcasts from the Gulf and help raise funds for real families suffering from the oil spill disaster instead of standing on the sidelines and blowing kisses to the oil companies. Just a thought.
Truth is, we’re all to blame. The beautiful Gulf of Mexico is being sacrificed to quench our thirst for oil. The dying baby dolphin carried to shore by a tourist last week in Pensacola serves as a gripping real-life reminder of this sacrifice.
The Gulf is our gift to thee, almighty S-U-V.
David Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote on his blog that Republicans are beholden to corporate interests and that there is plenty of available evidence
Republicans, the Corporate Cult
There is more than a century of proof that big corporations do not always have the best interests of American citizens in mind. There is a long litany of rivers that have been polluted, forests that have been ravaged, air that has been fouled, wildlife that has been killed and human beings who have been sickened by corporate disregard for the common welfare. And, just in the last ten years, thanks to businesses like Enron, Worldcom, Washington Mutual, Goldman Sachs and a host of others, we have been shown that unmonitored capitalism inevitably devolves into a kind of piracy that can devastate the national economy.
And yet, despite these undeniable examples, Republicans continue to defend corporate interests over the public interest and undermine reasonable regulation with fevered rhetoric about big, bad government.
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John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
Over the past couple of weeks since I last wrote this diary, Republicans have taken a beating at the hands of the editorial cartoonists. From being portrayed as callous to the plight of the unemployed and underemployed by refusing to extend unemployment benefits for millions of people as Meteor Blades detailed it in a front page post earlier today; acting indifferently to regulating Wall Street; defending British Petroleum at any costs when its actions are indefensible; and in a ongoing soap opera, its Chairman of the Republican National Committee yet again making a fool of himself by implying that contrary to evidence, George W. Bush really didn’t start the War in Afghanistan.
Despite its blatant lies and wall-to-wall opposition to the Obama Agenda, there is only one dominant issue in my opinion that will determine the outcome of this November’s Elections as it overshadows everything else: the level of unemployment. While it is fair to constructively criticize the Obama Administration for additional steps it still could take to further reduce the level of despair around the country, it is a problem he inherited from the Bush Administration. In any economic recovery — strong or feeble — sadly increased employment is a lagging indicator.
Are the Republicans doing anything to reduce the level of unemployment? Not only are they not suggesting productive policies which might suggest solutions to the problem at hand, they are actively blocking the extension of unemployment benefits. Over the past year and a half, has the GOP proposed any sane policies to make progress on a host of issues including Climate Change, the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or stimulating the economy? Not one that I can think of.
Not one!
As consumer spending constitutes about 70% of U.S. GDP (higher than other developed countries), a sensible economic policy would dictate that putting money in the pockets of average, cash-strapped workers ought to stimulate the economy. Is the GOP proposing better, alternative policies? No. In fact, ask yourself this question: what exactly has the Republican Party done lately for this country?
Not one damn thing in recent years that I can think about.
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Matt Bors, Comics.com (Idiot Box)
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Unemployment Solved by Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke, Buy this cartoon:: ::
Jen Sorensen writes that wingnuts could use a few lessons in basic economics
Sharron Angle is far from the only fruit loop when it comes to unemployment benefits. Most of the Republicans and Democrat Ben Nelson have been sucked into the cruelty cult. Paul Krugman’s Monday column was, coincidentally, a perfect companion piece to the strip. Is it really too much to ask that people running for office understand basic economics? Like, at the very least, that there are way fewer jobs right now than there are people looking? If you can’t grasp that, you should be in remedial math, not in the halls of Congress.
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John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
Unlike during the tense decades of the Soviet-American Cold War, spying has lost its cache with the public. It’s an open secret that most countries spy on each other, with most espionage today being of an economic nature. With spying considered to be one of the world’s oldest professions, editorial cartoonists had a great deal of fun portraying the recently-apprehended Russian agents as ‘spies’ although all of them were charged only as unregistered “foreign agents” and sent back home in a spy swap.
Many of the cartoonists drew these agents as comic book characters Natasha and Boris from the 1960’s cartoon show Rocky and Bullwinkle
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World Cup Final by Stephane Peray, The Nationa (Bangkok, Thailand), Buy this cartoon
Not only did German prognosticator extraordinaire ‘Paul the Octopus’ predict Spain’s victory in the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, so did Meena the Parakeet in Malaysia. Spain (at 4:1 odds, favored to win it all) beat the Netherlands (5th favorite at 10:1) 1-0 in overtime to win its first ever World Cup. Only seven other countries (Brazil, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, France, and England) have been cup winners in the 80-year history of the competition since 1930.
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In other news, editorial cartoonists spent a fair bit of time on graphically commenting on Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States; the Federal lawsuit against the State of Arizona over a draconian immigration law set to go into effect by the end of this month; bizarre statements by a variety of wingnuts; Beatle Ringo Starr turning 70 years old; LeBron James’ recent decision to sign with the the NBA’s Miami Heat; Larry King’s departure from CNN after 25 years; and paying their tributes to the late U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV).
I hope you enjoy the 90 or so editorial cartoons in the diary. I’ll post another 30 (or more) cartoons in the comments section on issues I could not include in the diary text due to length limitations. Thanks.
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1. Cartoons of the Week
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Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Lebron James TV Special by RJ Matson, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Buy this cartoon
LeBron Sweepstakes by Bruce Plante, see reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon
The Supremos by Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News, Buy this cartoon
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
Obama Anger by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)I can’t believe how the anti-Obama faction out there is blaming him for everything. The war in Afghanistan, the oil spill, the recession … what’s next, the heartbreak of psoriasis?
— Rogers writing on his blog about the absurdity of Republican criticism of President Obama
Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)
Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)
Lloyd Dangle, Troubletown, Buy this cartoon
Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)
Suspicious by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle
Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)
Mark Streeter, Savannah Morning News, Buy this cartoon
SOS from Gulf by Petar Pismestrovic, Kleine Zeitung (Austria), Buy this cartoon
Finally by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
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2. Awash in Oil Along the Gulf Coast
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Deepwater Drilling by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Matt Wuerker, Politico
(click link to enlarge cartoon in Wuerker’s archives)
Tony Auth, Philadelphia Inquirer
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Jack Ohman, Comics.com (Portland Oregonian)
Protecting Slick by Jeff Parker, Florida Today, Buy this cartoon
The Oil Spill and Our independence by Mike Thompson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Detroit Free PressFor all the one-world government conspiracy theories and worry that the United Nations will lead to the loss of America’s sovereignty, it turns out that the real threat to our independence is economic, not political, and comes not in the form of government, but in the form of a giant multinational corporation.
— Thompson writing on his blog to illustrate how we, as a nation, are beholden to large corporations who feed our huge appetite for fossil fuels
Worst Movies by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), see Rogers’ entry on his blog which explains this cartoon
BP Cleanup Crew by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon
Matt Wuerker, Politico
(click link to enlarge cartoon in Wuerker’s archives)
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3. Will the GOP Cave re: Extension of Unemployment Benefits?
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Thompson offers scathing words to describe the GOP’s bankrupt ideology that promotes (more) tax cuts and deregulation of industry — one that drove this country into a ditch in the first place
Exactly what planet have Republicans been living on for the past few years? In May, unemployment benefits began to expire for more than one million Americans. The response of Senate Republicans has been to repeatedly stymie attempts to pass a benefits extension, hanging unemployed Americans out to dry… Senate Republicans claim to have found religion on deficit reduction — never mind all that spending like drunken sailors stuff during the years they ran Congress and the White House…
This is not to let Democrats off the hook. A number of Democrats, scared senseless about the November election, have joined ranks with the Republicans.
America has done almost everything Republicans have wanted. Tax cuts? According to USA Today, Americans are paying the lowest taxes since the 1950s. Deregulation? We’ve deregulated everything from Wall St. to offshore oil drilling. And now that Republicans’ principles lay in a giant smoldering heap, they punish the unemployed for the failure of their party’s ideology, and have the audacity to complain how much others are spending to clean up their party’s mess.
Congressional Fireworks by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
USS GOP by Bill Sanders, Freelance Cartoonist
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Unemployment Benefits by John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Stuart Carlson, Universal Press Syndicate
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
U.S. Jobless Living the Highlife by Bruce Plante, see the large number of reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon
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4. Immigration Reform: Move Over, Arizona
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Stein has a few ideas that he considers to be far better than those offered by the State of Arizona in resolving the thorny issue of Immigration Reform
What ties us in knots nationally is a disconnect between rhetoric and reality. When we reduce the issues to jingoistic sound bites, we get nowhere. I love “What part of illegal don’t you understand?” To which I reply, “What part of illegal is illegal immigration? Illegal like mass murder, or illegal like a parking ticket? We do tend to treat those two differently. Then there’s the “amnesty” word, the one that brings the whole debate to a halt. Look, we are simply not going to deport 11 million, or 15 or 17, or whatever the number is, folks who at one time entered the country illegally. Not possible, so eliminate that as an option. Letting those who have been here for a long time, worked, kept out of trouble, paid taxes, have a path to citizenship seems appropriate to me, but the opponents can’t get the amnesty word out of their heads. A proposal is now being floated to allow a sort of limbo instead — a permanent green card allowing them to live here, but never become citizens. What a terrible idea! Remember the riots in Paris a few years ago? Permanent workers from other countries unable to fully participate in French life because they could never become citizens. Is that what we want?
Then again, even that appalling idea is better than what Arizona came up with.
Busted by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
AZ Immigration Law Challenged by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon
Bill Day, Memphis Commercial-Appeal, Buy this cartoon
Feds vs Arizona by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoons
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5. The Adventures of Chairman Mike Steele… and Other Republican Wingnut Ideas
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Dan Wasserman, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Boston Globe
Ben Sargent, Universal Press Syndicate
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Run RNC by John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Steve Sack, Comics.com (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
David Cohen, Asheville Citizen Times
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Michael Steele Hangs on as RNC Chairman by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)
Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)
Tancredo at Large by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon, read this article to see what Tom Tancredo said about President Barack Obama
Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)
Mark Kirk: Experienced Educator by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL), read this story in which Kirk lied about once being a teacher
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6. Are Certain Members of the U.S. Supreme Court in Love With Guns?
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Stein is furious about the Supreme Court’s rather selective interpretation of the United States Constitution
The New York Times noted that in the four months the Supreme Court has debated overturning the Chicago gun ban, 10,000 Americans have died as a result of gun violence. In another bold foray into judicial activism, the Roberts Five has imposed its preferences on the Constitution, blithely ignoring half of the Second Amendment. The full amendment reads, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” How does an unaffiliated bunch of armed citizens, packing whatever weaponry they can get their hands on, constitute a well-regulated militia? Well, never mind, the originalists on the Court have decided to ignore the original text in this case and apply only the second half of the amendment, concocting an individual right where none clearly and plainly exists.
I’ll be the first to admit that localized gun control laws don’t work particularly well, mainly because it’s far to easy, say in Chicago, to leave the city and purchase an arsenal elsewhere. The NRA, along with its allies in Congress and in local governments, has been spectacularly effective in preventing a rational system of gun control to take root in this country, and the result is a nation awash in gun violence. Worse, as the available weaponry becomes more and more sophisticated and lethal, police are losing the arms race to criminals, who find it far too easy to acquire whatever they want.
None of this seems to matter to this court, which has an agenda and will find a way to bend the meaning of the Constitution to suit its liking. Let’s see, it’s taken me about four hours to draw this cartoon and write this blog. That means about fourteen people died from gunshot wounds while I was sitting at my desk. What a country!
7. Elena Kagan: Sailing Towards Confirmation
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Justice Thurgood Marshall to GOP by David Cohen, Asheville Citizen Times
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
David Horsey, see reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
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8. Financial Reform: Does it Have Any Teeth?
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Thompson expresses his disgust with the level of influence corporate lobbyists have over lawmakers of both parties and isn’t impressed with the outcome
Financial Reform Bill
If this is how Congress and President Obama punish Wall Street, I’d hate to see how they’d reward the financial thugs who tanked our economy…
Wall Street nearly sent America off the financial cliff and only an emergency of infusion of taxpayer cash staved off another Great Depression. The life of every American was touched by the ravenous greed of Wall Street; people lost their jobs, lost their homes, and lost their life savings. People have committed suicide over the effects of this greed. Yet nearly two years after the crash, this is the best Congress and Obama can come up with?
This pathetic excuse for a reform bill should settle any questions about who’s running our country.
Jack Ohman, Comics.com (Portland Oregonian)
Boehner, Dr. Quack! by Bill Sanders, Freelance Cartoonist
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Ed Stein, Comics.com (formerly of the Rocky Mountain News), see reader comments on Stein’s blog:: ::
Stein is quite sure as who is really calling the shots behind the scenes in Washington, D.C…. lawmakers supposedly working on behalf of average Americans or lobbyists trying to protect the interests of corporations, many of whom benefited from large subsidies and bailouts after the 2008 financial meltdown. It isn’t the lawmakers!
The one most important thing that almost everyone agreed that financial reform HAD to do was to break up the “too big to fail” banks, so that we taxpayers wouldn’t be forced to bail them out again if Wall Street continued its reckless ways. So, of course, that was the one thing the financial reform bill nearing the vote in Congress fails to do. I keep thinking that the members of Congress cannot possibly care even less about the people they supposedly serve (us, not the banks), but they keep surprising me with how much sway the lobbyists have over them. One would have thought that the current recession, now in its 30th month with no sign of ending, would have emboldened our representatives in Washington sufficiently to actually break with their corporate masters on this one issue, but it wasn’t to be.
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9. Spies Amongst Us
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Given the myriad of policy problems confronting the country, Thompson wonders as to why any country would want to steal America’s secrets
Russian Spy Ring
An F.B.I investigation has led to the arrest of 10 people who are charged with spying for Russia. As the New York Times reported, the objective of the agents was a “patient scheme to penetrate what one coded message called American “policy making circles.” Presumably, the intent was to steal information about U.S. policies.
Which policies would those be? How to get hopelessly mired in two wars, one of which was launched for illegitimate reasons? How to be robbed blind by financial titans and then respond with a laughably inept reform bill? How to stomp on the unemployed ala Republicans by repeatedly killing an unemployment benefit extension? How to “drill, baby drill” and create a colossal ecological disaster? How to destroy your manufacturing base and ship millions of jobs overseas?
During the Cold War, Russian spies would routinely steal intelligence about our policies and incorporate that information into their own plans. However, Russia is now a marginal friend of America and I wouldn’t wish America’s policies on our worst enemy.
Russian Spy Swap by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
Russian Spies Return Home by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon
Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon
David Horsey, See reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Walt Handelsman, Comics.com (Newsday)
Spy vs Spy by Cam Cardow, Ottawa Citizen, Buy this cartoon
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10. Afghanistan: General David Petraeus Takes Over
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Lowe asks the following questions: Can General Petraeus bring stability and order to Afghanistan? Or, is he setting the stage for an “honorable” withdrawal of American forces from that country?
Chef Petraeus’ Busy Kitchen
David Petraeus may be a bigger hero than most of us realize. Here’s a guy who doesn’t just salute and say, “Yessir!” when called upon by his commander-in-chief, but he does so knowing there’s a good chance that in the end, he may be associated with the failure of the longest war in our history…
While reason would indicate that we might as well abandon our effort now as a year from now, politics does not. Obama cannot afford to be known as the man who “lost Afghanistan,” which is the way he would be cynically portrayed by those who secretly agree the situation is hopeless, but would hasten to profit in the short run from that very hopelessness.
It will be up to General Petraeus, the most respected man in uniform, to tell us that we did our best, and that we’re leaving the place better than we found it.
And for that, he’ll deserve yet another ribbon on that chestful of fruit salad
Gen. Petraeus’ Strategy by Paresh Nath, Khaleej Times (UAE), Buy this cartoon
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11. Final Thoughts
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A Note About the Diary Poll
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Stein is under no illusions if the GOP has the country’s best interests at heart
Obama Wouldn’t Have Done This for You
I’ve been accused of blindly blaming the Republican Party for too many things. But this is one even my most conservative friends agree on. Both parties have always agreed to extend unemployment benefits during recessions. It makes economic sense, and it’s the most humane thing government can do when its citizens are economically stressed. First of all, the money goes immediately into circulation — it gets spent, both alleviating the pain of the unemployed, and acting as an economic stimulus to the broader economy. This Republican Party, though, either can’t understand the benefits, or more likely, is quite willing to inflict untold pain on the people of this country if it sees an electoral benefit. The economy will get worse, Obama will be blamed, and the Republicans will reap the gains in November. Never mind the suffering. The cynicism is staggering, and shameful.
Some of the rhetoric is beyond belief. The new talking point is that extending unemployment benefits will only discourage people from looking for jobs. Oh, we lazy Americans. Fifteen million of us thrown out of work since the recession began, and we just don’t want to go back on the job because of those cushy benefits. Unemployment is our fault. And there are all those high-paying jobs out there just going begging because Obama is too generous with our tax money. Give me a break!
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Former Vermont Governor, presidential candidate, and DNC Chairman Howard Dean said last week on MSNBC that President Obama’s new, more aggressive criticism of the Republican Party is on target. While Dean expressed a few reservations about the effectiveness of the HCR law enacted earlier this year, the prompt closing of Guantanamo Prison, and the impact of Financial Services Reform, he put the blame squarely on the GOP for obstructing progress and endorsed it as a “brilliant new campaign” by the Democratic Party. He also reiterated that healthcare benefits would eventually be felt by the public at large. Whatever the level of discontent or dissatisfaction might be amongst progressives of all stripes, the upcoming election is — as most elections are — under our political system, one of choosing between the two parties.
Why would anyone think of rewarding the Republicans for doing nothing?
I urge you to keep that in mind as you approach the upcoming elections.
And, remember to vote in the diary poll.
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Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:: ::
Rogers writes on his blog that Republicans are doing what they do best: obstruct!
Republican Logic
The Republicans are at it again. They’re using their twisted logic to defend their anti-Obama actions. This time it is about extending jobless benefits. Most economists say the benefits will aid in the recovery. Not if the GOP has anything to say about it. In their eyes the recovery only helps Obama. Some GOP members have even said that jobless benefits encourage the jobless not to look for work. Hmmm. Yeah … kinda like the way the November elections encourage the GOP not to do any real work!
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Also crossposted at Docudharma
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Author
… our ever-increasing dependence on fossil fuels?
Gulf Scream by J.D. Crowe, see reader comments in
the Mobile Register, Buy this cartoon
Bruce Beattie, Comics.com (Daytona Beach News-Journal)
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Crowe writes of the stress being experienced by the residents of the Gulf Coast
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Tips and the like here. Thanks.
Author
Altie Cartoonist Matt Bors has teamed up with journalist David Axe to write this book, available at amazon.com.
Author
Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon
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Jones wonders if Mel Gibson should be sent to Mexico
Author
… for promoting this diary.
Here’s an interview with Editorial Cartoonist Pat Bagley of the Salt Lake Tribune. In it, he refers to drawing cartoons in conservative Utah comparable to being Davy Crockett at the Alamo, his drawing style, controversies surrounding his cartoons, and other challenges confronting him.
Over the past year or so, I have become a huge fan of Bagley. He covers issues unlike few other editorial cartoonists
The Natasha and Boris cartoon. I loved the Moose and Squirrel.
But the Cervantes take on the World Cup..Priceless.