(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Crossposted at Daily Kos and Docudharma
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PLEASE READ THIS: There’s another 25 or so cartoons in the comments section of this diary that I posted over at Daily Kos.
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SPECIAL REQUEST – Enter a drawing to win one of Sara R’s quilts
For many years now on Daily Kos, there are a number of community members who work extremely hard every single day to not only foster the idea of community but, also, to actively promote it. The Community Quilt Project, KosAbility, Morning Feature, Top Comments, Diary Rescue, Overnight News Digest, High Impact Diaries, Pooties and Woozles, Black Kos, IGNT, Indians 101, and many, many others regular features are kept alive by dedicated people who give generously of themselves, without ever asking anything in return. They do so for your daily reading pleasure and in the process, educate and enlighten all of us on a wide variety of political and policy issues.
Two of my favorite Kossacks — Sara R and navajo — who’ve worked hard to develop communities on Daily Kos have teamed up for a worthwhile cause to benefit the Indigenous Democratic Network. For those of you have followed this weekly diary and supported it actively since April 2009, here’s a simple request: PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY TO THE INDN.
Thank you.
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pictured are Sara R (top left) and Meteor Blades with navajo at the Netroots Nation 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada
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INTRODUCTION
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Climate Change has been foremost on the minds of many of the editorial cartoonists. From flat out obstructionism of the Republican Party to the pervasive influence of old energy industry lobbyists to the timidity of many Democratic Senators, the issue is currently stalled in the United States Senate.
Lowe offers his reasons as to why this legislation is proving to be a very difficult nut to crack. Paraphrasing the late Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir, Lowe says that only when most people love their children more — and thus their future well-being — than paying higher energy costs in the short-term, will enough Americans be convinced of the threats posed by this most important of issues
Ultimately, cost is the siren song of the global warming hoax argument. Never forget the old Nixonian admonition, “Follow the money.” If there weren’t financial interests involved, there would be no point in arguing the issue. After all, alternative energy development and environmental stewardship — something that benefits us all — go hand in hand. If you need proof, look at the Gulf.
Oil companies fear the specter of alternative energy sources, which is why they fund so many studies showing that man has nothing to do with climate change, and why they pay so many members of congress to swallow the results of those studies whole.
Average people are predisposed to sing along with that choir, because the hoax argument plays to their fears about higher costs for everything, and possible loss of jobs. Unfortunately, we live in the now, not the future, and right now, some of us in our myopia see nothing but hardship ahead if we follow the green road.
There’s a flip side to this argument, which is that until we find out for sure what is responsible for climate change, it might be prudent to pretend that man is the cause.
Ah, fuggedaboudit. Let the future worry about itself.
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Steve Sack, Comics.com (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
I would highly recommend Seneca Doane‘s recent diary – The Predictable Attacks on Vaughn Walker — which analyzed the federal judge’s decision to reverse California’s bigoted law. The law prohibited same-sex marriages and was deemed to be discriminatory towards members of the GLBT community
Walker writes about sex discrimination versus sexual orientation discrimination at some length, but I think he misses the point. Sexual orientation discrimination is sexual discrimination. Robert could marry Charles if he were Roberta. Roberta could marry Charlene if she were Robert. Each of them, if homosexual, is denied the right to marry the particular object of their love because of their own gender. So I say that intermediate scrutiny applies (and suffices.)
Second, we’re beating around the bush here. For many of the proponents of Prop 8, opposing gay marriage may not even be a matter of animus per se. Instead, it’s the belief that “this is what God wants us to do,” coupled often with the Pat Robertson view that “if we don’t do what God wants, God will punish our nation.”
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Tim Eagan, Deep Cover, Buy this cartoon
Another Kossack, LI Mike, had a column published recently in the Southampton Press in which he analyzed the mindset of teabaggers and other wingnuts on the political Right.
He exposes their hypocrisy in a well-written article
What Is The Tea Party Really Saying?
It’s been about a year since the Tea Party exploded on the political scene. Since then, I’ve tried to understand what exactly it is that they are trying to say to us.
This much I understand: The Tea Party is angry over deficit spending, big government and taxes. Regarding the deficit, what took them so long to rise up and complain? In 2002, Dick Cheney boasted, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.” Accordingly, the Bush administration proceeded to prove that deficits didn’t matter to them. The unfunded Medicare Part D Drug Program, two unfunded wars-Iraq and Afghanistan-and massive tax cuts for the rich blew a huge hole in the budget surplus bequeathed to them by the Clinton administration, while simultaneously growing the size of government. Better to wait for a Democratic administration to complain about all this red ink.
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Immigration Anchorites by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Wingnuts invoke the United States Constitution when it suits their myopic thinking and bigoted ideas. Most editorial cartoonists are not easily fooled. Among a number of other issues to which they devoted a lot of graphical ink and lent their considerable talents to include the aftermath of the Gulf Oil spill; the perceived damage by documents leaked by Wikileaks; lessons learned from the Shirley Sherrod Affair; and the sensitive issue of Immigration Reform.
There are about 95 editorial cartoons in this diary and I’ll probably post another 20-30 in the comments section. Comments, observations, and suggestions are encouraged. Thanks.
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1. Cartoons of the Week
Persistent Unemployment David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon
Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)
Raising Arizona by Bruce Plante, see the large number of reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon
Refudiate by Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteSarah Palin made up a word and then compared herself to William Shakespeare. No, I am not making this up. She used the word “refudiate” and then, after being told it wasn’t a word, claimed that English is a living language. She tweeted, “Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!” To be or not to be? You Betcha!
— Rogers implies that Sarah Palin was definitely not an English major in college and that English might even be — not unlike George W. Bush — her second language. Wonder how good she is at her first language
Gay Marriage by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Prop Infinity by Steve Greenberg, VCReporter (Ventura, CA), Buy this cartoon
Last Responder by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)The first responders to the 9/11 tragedy are sick. They put their lives at risk to save others and now they need help from the government. A 9/11 health bill failed in Congress because of partisan bickering. Republicans voted against it. Nice response, GOP!
— Rogers implies that when it really matters, time and again the Republican Party fails a group of people in need of government help
First Responders by Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Buy this cartoon
Fox and Sherrod by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon
You Racist by Matt Bors, Comics.com (Idiot Box), see reader comments on Bors’ blog
Martyn Turner, Irish Times (Ireland), Buy this cartoon
Lloyd Dangle, Troubletown, Buy this cartoon
Tony Hayward’s Message in a Bottle by Iain Green, The Scotsman (Scotland), Buy this cartoon
BP’s Bad Ink Spill by J.D. Crowe, Mobile Register, Buy this cartoon
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2. What Lies Ahead in Our Energy Future?
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Thomson mocks Rush Limbaugh for insisting that improvements in technology will not and cannot reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This stance by the likes of Limbaugh also highlights a split between those in the GOP who are all-too-enamored with unfettered capitalism, tax cuts, corporate welfare, and the magic of the invisible hand in the “free market” versus those “status quo” conservatives terrified of change, particularly social change hastened by new advances.
Why do many social conservatives insist on being technological Luddites when evidence of progress is all around them to see in their daily lives?
The Chevy Volt, President Obama and Rush Limbaugh
Electric cars are a boondoggle according to Rush Limbaugh – “nothing more than an expensive way to promote the environmentalist agenda,” as Politico.com summarized Limbaugh’s views on such vehicles. Rush has singled out the Chevy Volt, a car he claims has limited technology and a steep price tag. Limbaugh seems unable to grasp the fact that over time technology improves and becomes far more affordable. The first cell phone, for example, cost $4,000, weighed two pounds and could only go 30 minutes on a charge, according to msnbc.com. Nowadays, cell phones weigh just ounces and are given out for free by service providers.
I’ll bet that back in the 1980s, before he was famous, Rush probably marveled at the brick-sized cell phone used by Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Geckko in the movie “Wall Street.” Rush probably pulled out his three-pound, first-generation handheld calculator, did the math, and concluded that only rich Wall St. titans like Gekko could ever hope to afford big, cumbersome cell phone technology.
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
Tar Balls by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader
Gulf Coast Vacations Patrick Chappatte, International Herald Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Rick McKee, Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, GA), Buy this cartoon:: ::
Editorial cartoonist Tom Toles of the Washington Post wrote scathingly about Climate Change denialists and the disingenuous tactics they use to discredit opponents
How long could I go before twisting this hot summer weather into some screed about climate change? Apparently only this long. Deniers never tire of this game: when it’s cold in the winter, that’s “evidence” about climate trends, and when it’s warm in the winter, they say “If this is climate change, I’ll take it!”. So why should I be any different? But there IS a difference. For deniers it’s all a big game of scoring cheap points.
For everyone else, the climate debate has been for decades now about the degree of conclusiveness of the evidence, measured against the practicalities of reducing carbon output. Now, the evidence is massively supportive (the scientists’ e-mail “conspiracy” has been debunked, please be aware). But because the pro-carbon people are still unprepared to reduce carbon in ANY meaningful way, they are cornered into a position where they have to argue that there is NO compelling evidence. And so that is the position they take.
So let me be the first to haul out the heavy artillery of WWII analogies on this issue and call the climate legislation obstructionists the Neville Chamberlains of the planet. We have SUV’s in our time. If there is a current issue on which people are absolutely discrediting themselves, in a way that current science and future calamities will hold them accountable for, this is it. “If this is responsibility, I’ll take it!” Well, you’ve got it.
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3. The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: Religious Tolerance and Compassion
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Lowe offers a sensible solution to the building of the mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. It is one devoid of emotion, bigotry, fear, and based on constitutional principle and the long-cherished American tradition of religious tolerance
First, it will take a leap of clear thinking on the part of some of us, but we should not confuse the religion of Islam with the motivations of the 9/11 terrorists. To hold all Muslims responsible for the attack on the twin towers is no different from holding all Roman Catholics responsible for the terrorist acts of the Irish Republican Army in Ulster.
Second, those who will build this mosque are Americans. As Americans, they feel the hurt and anger just as deeply as the rest of us. There is an argument that American Muslims, in addition, feel a sense of betrayal that a belief system they cherish was perverted and used as an excuse for an inexcusable act of violence. We must not forget that there were innocent Muslim victims, as well, in the towers when they were hit.
Maybe it’s best to approach this as a test of our will as a people. We can never prevent all terrorist attacks, but we can prevent a terrorist victory by exercising our own strength of character. Let the mosque be built, and let us embrace it. By doing so, we will show the world that we refuse to give up the principles of freedom upon which this nation was based, even in the face of direct attack.
Other peoples will take notice, and the terrorists, while having achieved a tactical objective nine years ago, will have lost the war.
Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Signe Wilkinson, Comics.com (Philadelphia Daily News)
Drew Sheneman, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Newark Star-Ledger
Ground Zero by Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News, Buy this cartoon
Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)
Insult to Ground Zero by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
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4. California’s Prop 8/LBGT Rights: Equality Now, Equality Tomorrow, Equality Forever!
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Thompson is aghast at the insensitivity shown by many of the political Right who seem to not only have no compassion for members of the LBGT community but often display outright hostility towards those who are not sexually straight.
History is the ultimate judge, Thompson points out, and such draconian views will not be favorably looked upon decades from now
Gay Marriage Ban Overturned
Let’s hope that with a federal judge striking down California’s ban on same sex marriage, American can finally exit a “what on earth were they thinking?” era. There have been many such eras throughout American history: The era of slavery, the era of genocide carried out against Native Americans, the era of antagonism toward women’s suffrage, and the era of opposition to civil rights for African Americans. All such eras have one thing in common: Future generations of Americans look back in amazement and disgust, wondering what on earth were people thinking when they advocated enslaving human beings, the slaughter of indigenous peoples, denying women the right to vote, or depriving black Americans their Constitutional rights.
Years from now, those who’ve fought so tirelessly against allowing gay Americans equal rights will be regarded with equal disdain.
Rex Babin, Sacramento Bee, Buy this cartoon
John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
Tony Auth, Slate/Philadelphia Inquirer
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
The Wedding Cake by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Tom Toles, Slate/Washington Post
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Matt Davies, New York State Journal
Bruce Beattie, Comics.com (Daytona Beach News Journal)
Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)
Mark Streeter, Savannah Morning News, Buy this cartoon
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5. Shirley Sherrod: of Racists and Racism
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Stein is at a loss for words as to why the Obama Administration ignored recent racial history in its response in the Shirley Sherrod Affair. Ever since Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy was introduced in American politics over four decades ago, race-baiting has been a persisent theme (sometimes under the radar) in the Republican Party.
Let’s hope the administration learned its costly lesson: don’t be cowed by racists; instead, confront them directly
The far right understands all too well how easy it is to whip up white resentment with a black man in the oval office, and shamelessly looks for ways to fan those flames. It’s sad and despicable, but we should be used to that by now. What’s almost as sad is how easy it was to spook the folks who should be standing firm against such disgusting behavior, and how badly they reacted.
Given the events of the recent past, we can look for the Breitbarts of the world to continue their high-tech lynchings. So much for post-racial America.
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
Obama Administration Throws Shirley Sherrod Under the Bus by Chris Btitt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)
Bloggers Rule, too! by Bruce Plante, see the large number of reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon
Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)
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6. The Economy: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
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Stein thinks that he has the perfect solution to combat chronic long-term unemployment in the country: get rid of all illegal aliens and maintain the Bush tax cuts. As the rich get richer, Trickle-down economics will work its miracles and, lo and behold, all kinds of benefits will trickle down to the rest of us!
It’s the Jobs, Stupid
Jobs is the number one issue for Americans, according to recent polling. Ever anxious to help, I am proposing a solution to the vexing problem of persistent unemployment. Even better, my resolution includes ending illegal immigration AND extending tax cuts, all in one elegant package!
Owership Society is Trickledown Economics Renamed by Andy Singer, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon
Jim Morin, Miami Herald
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Pressing Problem by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle
David Horsey, see reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)
Eat Your Vegetables by Tom Toles, Washington Post
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
Stuart Carlson, Slate/Universal Press Syndicate
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
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7. Immigration Reform: Who Stays, Who Goes?
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Lowe points out that Immigration Reform is a very touchy issue and whatever compromise is eventually reached, it will be unsatisfying to most proponents and opponents alike. There seems to be no acceptable middle ground in sight
At the same time, we would build a crenellated Great Wall of America across our southern border, with embrasures every dozen feet or so, that would afford a clear field of fire for the crossbowmen to keep the barbarian hordes at bay.
Of course, we’d all have to eat off paper plates because no dishes would get washed, and we’d need machetes just to get through our front lawns. Fruit and vegetables? An ounce of Beluga caviar would be cheaper than a chicken Caesar salad.
While it might offend the moral sticklers if a way were found to legalize (some would say, “reward”) those already here, it’s probably the only realistic solution in the long run. But reason is trumped by emotion when it comes to getting people to pull out their checkbooks.
Henry Payne, Comics.com (Detroit News)
Crosswords by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon
Arizona Law Struck Down by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon
Judge Blocks Enforcement of Arizona’s Immigration Law by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
Arizona Immigration Law by Bob Englehart, Hartford Courant, Buy this cartoonI think a balanced and even-handed approach is the only thing that will work, which eliminates the suggestions from the insane right wing. I’d like to see a path to citizenship for the 11 million now here, increased penalties for employers of illegals, and secure borders not only with Mexico, but with Canada, too, if it’s shown that it’s a four-lane highway for terrorists.
— Englehart proposes what might be a workable solution
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8. Republican, Tea Party, and Wingnut Doings
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Thompson thinks that the Tea Party is potentially trouble for the GOP in the November Elections — provided Democratic candidates can exploit this division. That’s a big if!
Tea Party candidates on the Michigan ballot?
On the one hand, it has to be Michigan Democrats who are behind the effort to get counterfeit Tea Party candidates on the state ballot this November, thereby siphoning votes away from Republicans. It’s a master political stroke; it’s a sophisticated and imaginative move that will cause the Republican’s attack dog to bite its master. It demonstrates savvy, along with a keen understanding of how the game of politics is played.
On the other hand, these are Democrats I’m talking about.
Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon
David Cohen, Asheville Citizen-Times
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Paul Szep, Comics.com
Sparky Predicts: Bogus Wingnut Scandals of the Future by Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World, see Letters to the Editor in Salon magazine
Glenn Beck Going Blind by Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com, Buy this cartoon
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9. Motivating the Democrats for the November Elections
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Matt Wuerker, Politico
(click link to enlarge cartoon
in Wuerker’s July archives)
Gay Marriages by Bruce Plante, see reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon
The Bozos of the 2010 Campaign by David Horsey, see reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
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10. Final Thoughts
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A Note About the Diary Poll
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Do you always vote in off-year Congressional elections? If so, when was the first time you cast your vote in a presidential or non-presidential year election? Has it always been for Democratic Party candidates? I don’t have to point out that this is a very important election and I hope you will try to persuade as many acquaintances, friends, and family members as possible to support Democratic candidates.
Every day on these pages you read diaries with many members of this community trying to persuade you to not only vote but also encourage others to do the same. I hope you will consider one more appeal that I received this past Friday, August 6th, the 45th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
(Republican Strategy for November by Jimmy Margulies,
New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon)
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I received an email yesterday from a man who I’ve written about before
As a young man and Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), John Lewis was in the trenches with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the difficult years of the Civil Rights Movement. Beaten, humiliated, and imprisoned for his beliefs, Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) persisted, endured, and ultimately prevailed over his oppressors. As one of the truly inspirational leaders of the country, his is a story of the triumph of quiet courage and morality over institutional racism and injustice. His struggles and sacrifices have made this a better country.
A man of impeccable political integrity and uncommon decency, Congressman Lewis recounted the struggle to achieve voting rights for all Americans in his email
Then SNCC leader, now Congressman John Lewis led the first Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights on March 7, 1965, when 600 marchers were attacked by police in riot gear, who fractured Lewis’ skull on a day remembered as Bloody Sunday. Before going to the hospital, Lewis appeared before television cameras demanding intervention by President Johnson, who, eight days later, appeared before a joint session of Congress to demand passage of the Voting Rights Act. It was passed Aug. 3, 1965. photo/caption credit: San Francisco Bay View:: ::
On March 7th, 1965, 600 of us lined up to walk from Selma to Montgomery, to march for voting rights.
When we tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River, we were met by state troopers. They attacked us with tear gas, bullwhips, and nightsticks.
It became known as Bloody Sunday, and the national outcry over the brutality that day led to the enactment, exactly 45 years ago today, of the Voting Rights Act.
The progress we’ve made since then is remarkable.
But the expansion of voting rights for millions did not happen overnight. It was the product of a continued struggle, by many people, over many years.
And just as change did not come easily then, it does not come easily now…
When I was a child, I tasted the bitter fruits of racial discrimination — and I did not like it.
That was what spurred me to act. In those early days, we sacrificed our very selves for our rights as Americans. But we never gave up.
And now barriers that kept an entire people from full participation in this country have been removed.
No longer are people who look like me met with violence when we register to vote.
No longer is the idea that an African American could become president just a dream.
We live in a better world, a better country.
But our work is not complete. We cannot wait for someone else to make change.
We must all do it. You must do it. I must do it.
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Election Winners by Larry Wright, Detroit News, Buy this cartoon
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Ed Stein, Comics.com (formerly of the Rocky Mountain News)
Stein explains why revelations about the War in Afghanistan have not proved to be as damaging as one might have suspected: the troops stationed in Afghanistan already know about the uphill struggle they are engaged in
Afghan Crossroads by Paresh Nath, Khaleej Times (UAE), Buy this cartoon
Steve Breen, Comics.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Wikileaks by Matt Bors, Comics.com (Idiot Box), see reader comments on Bors’ blog
Afghanistrategy by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon
Author
Bob Sheppard by Bob Englehart, Hartford Courant, Buy this cartoon
Bob Sheppard, who died last month, was the long-time public address announcer for the New York Yankees baseball team (1951-2007) and also the New York football Giants (1956-2006). His achievements included
Englehart remembers Sheppard from a memorable and sad day in 1999
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A-Rod Hits 600th Home Run by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon
Brett Favre Retirement by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
‘Hogs Night Out’ includes (left to right) Guard Russ Grimm, Guard Fred Dean, Tackle George “Head Hog” Starke, Guard Mark May, Tackle Joe Jacoby, Tight End Don “The Dutchman” Warren, Center Jeff Bostic, and (sitting) Tight End Rick “Doc” Walker, photo credit: Skins Bandwagon/Washington Post
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Left Guard Russ Grimm of the famed offensive line of the 1980’s Washington Redskins was inducted yesterday in the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. Along with his colorful teammates, Grimm provided lots of thrills during the glory days of the Redskins. Thanks for memories, Russ!
How good a football player was Grimm?
excellent as always!