The Week in Editorial Cartoons, Part I – BP’s Soup Recipe

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Crossposted at Daily Kos and Docudharma

Note: Due to a deluge of editorial cartoons over the past week or so, I’m going to, time permitting, post Part II of this weekly diary in the next few days.  In addition to some of the issues covered in this edition, I’ll include more cartoons on the floods in Pakistan, the withdrawal of combat U.S. forces in Iraq, and Rupert Murdoch’s $1 million contribution to the GOP.

PLEASE READ THIS: There are another 20-25 editorial cartoons in the comments section of this diary that I posted over at the GOS.  Check ’em out.

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INTRODUCTION

An excellent article in the London Review of Books explains what this massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was all about as it touched many facets of life in this country

The blowout was not only the biggest oil spill in American history by far: it’s a story that touches on everything else – taints everything, like the black glop on sandy beaches, on pelicans, terns, boats, sea turtles, marshlands and dolphins.  It’s about climate change, peak oil, the energy future, the American presidency, about corporate power and the corrosive effect of Big Oil on global politics.  It’s also about technology, geology, biology, oceanography, ornithology, the rich, deeply entrenched cultures of the Gulf, about human health and risk management, about domestic violence, despair, drinking, unemployment, bankruptcy, about British pension funds, the wake-up call to shareholders and the class action suit brought by the New Orleans chef Susan Spicer of the restaurant Bayona because contamination, scarcity or outright loss of the primary ingredients in the region’s cuisine – shrimp, crab, fish and crayfish – is one current and probably continuing outcome of the blowout.

Mary Douglas said that dirt is matter out of place, and petroleum is out of place everywhere above ground.  We design our lives around not seeing it even when we pump it into our cars and burn it, and when we do encounter it, it’s repulsive stuff with a noxious smell, a capacity to cause conflagrations, and a deadly impact.  Nature kindly put a huge amount of the earth’s carbon underground, and we have for the past 200 years been putting it back into the atmosphere faster and faster, even though we now know that this is a project for which words like ‘destructive’ are utterly inadequate.

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(Democrats Make Climate Change Legislation by Andy Singer, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon)

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Ground Zero by Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rogers defends the right of those who are not objecting to the proposed Islamic Center in New York City.  He reminds us that freedom of and from organized religion is one of the bedrock principles upon which this country was founded well over 200 years ago and, demagoguery from the political Right aside, we should not sacrifice our constitutional principles — even when politically convenient to do so

There is an election-year political showdown brewing over the controversial idea of building an Islamic mosque two blocks from ground zero.  Some say it besmirches the memory of the victims of 9/11.  Others say that it is private property and the owners should be free to do with it what they like.  I believe the anger over this mosque is a continuation of post-9/11 thinking that puts security over civil liberties.  Last time I looked, freedom of religion was still protected under the U.S. Constitution.

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Desecration by Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner, Buy this cartoon

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Along with the manufactured mosque “controversy,” a couple of other issues drew a great deal of attention from the editorial cartoonists — the gay marriage ban lifted by a federal judge in California and ridiculous talk of repealing the 14th Amendment, which grants the right of citizenship to anyone born in this country irrespective of their legal status.  I think it is crystal clear to many cartoonists that these three issues are part of a concerted effort by the Republican Party to gin up anti-Democratic sentiments and motivate their base to the polls this coming November.  It’s not much more complicated than that.

For anyone familiar with past diversionary and demonizing tactics by the GOP such as “guns, gods, gays, and abortion,” this is a variation of the same divisive themes.  Will it work in a political sense to the GOP’s advantage?  Not if Democratic leaders and all of us tackle these tactics head-on and not shy away from them

Little Anchor by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see the very large number of reader comments in the Houston Chronicle

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GOP Gay Marriage by Bill Schorr, Los Angeles Daily News, Buy this cartoon

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This is a new Google Group recently formed by LaughingPlanet to assist in efforts to help the 20 million people affected by devastating floods in Pakistan. Anyone who would like to get involved or get alerts when a new HELP PAKISTAN diary is posted, please join the group (it’s very easy to do so) and support this worthwhile effort.  Thanks.

Note: There is an excellent diary by LaughingPlanet atop the Rec List which has many helpful donation links.  Take a look at it.

Aid for Pak Flood by Paresh Nath, Khaleej Times (UAE), Buy this cartoon

Floods in Pakistan by Stephane Peray, The Nation (Bangkok, Thailand), Buy this cartoon

There are about 90 editorial cartoons in this diary and I’ll probably post another 15-20 in the comments section.  I look forward to your comments and observations.  Thanks.

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1. Cartoons of the Week

Oily, Contaminated Shrimp by Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon

Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)

Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)

Afghan Again by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Wikileaks by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Love It Or Leave It by Matt Bors, Comics.com (Idiot Box), see this excellent reader comment on his blog

“Love it or leave it” is the refrain of choice of right-wingers to anyone who questions their liberty abusing, immigrant bashing, gay hating, war mongering, piss on the poor agenda.  I wish they’d take their own advice.

— Bors offering some blunt advice for xenophobic wingnuts

Anchor Babies by Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon

Traditional Marriage by Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A federal judge overturned Proposition 8 in California, much to the dismay of gay marriage bashers everywhere.  Now it will probably wind its way up to the Supreme Court where Prop 8’s Constitutionality will be put to the test.  In my opinion, the right to a same-sex wedding should be protected under the Constitution, not the right to vote for bigoted legislation.

— Rogers goes after those whose bigoted views would deny basic human rights to all Americans

“Gay” Marriage by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see the large number of reader comments in the Houston Chronicle

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2. How Long Will it Takes for the Gulf Coast to Recover?

Crowe is quite concerned about the long-term impact of the oil spill on the economic future of the Gulf Coast

Gulf Seafood/BP’s Image

A new Associated Press poll shows that the public is less disapproving of BP and still fairly gun-shy about Gulf beaches and seafood…

BP can try to disperse the mistrust that has seeped into the public mindset, but it’s going to have to demonstrate its goodwill by turning over whatever documents are needed to investigate the disaster.  Only when everything about the tragedy is out in the open, can the company and the Gulf Coast close the chapter on disaster and move confidently toward renewal…

How do you change a perception that conflicts with the facts?  Perhaps with more rigorous scientific testing and more intense public relations. President Obama did his part by vacationing in the Florida Panhandle and eating the local catch.  Residents along the Gulf can insist on frequent and thorough testing of the harvests, especially of crabs and oysters.  

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(Gulf Shrimp by Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner, Buy this cartoon)

Carbon Capers by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly, Buy this cartoon

Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)

Vic Harville, Stephens Media Group (Little Rock, AR), Buy this cartoon

Steve Breen, Comics.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Patriot Daily, Meteor Blades, and noweasels recently organized a ‘Gulf Recovery Bolgathon’ in which several of us participated over a three-day period.  PD wrote a summary in her excellent diary — Daily Kos to the Climate Change Rescue.  If you missed any of the diaries, they are listed below

This past week was also a new beginning of sorts…of renewed energy, devotion, teamwork and determination that we will move forward together to ensure comprehensive climate legislation, among numerous other environmental issues that are intertwined with issues of economy, jobs, civil rights, national security, human rights, health care, and justice.

As I wrote in my diary as part of the blogathon

Editorial cartoonists evoke a wide range of emotions — laughter, anger, outrage, remorse, disgust, surprise, irony, fear, and sadness, to name a few.  They capture the absurdity of domestic politics better than thousands of written words by op-ed columnists and editors of the most influential newspapers or talking heads on cable television.

Over the past four months since oil first started spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, I have posted hundreds of editorial cartoons covering various aspects of this environmental tragedy.  You can click on my weekly diaries and you’ll find many heart-breaking cartoons which detail the magnitude of the destruction caused by Big Oil.

This diary seeks to look at the developments in the Gulf over the past four months through recent cartoons. From the devastation to wildlife; evasive, dishonest, and callous actions by British Petroleum; the disgraceful attitude displayed by BP’s recently-departed CEO Tony Hayward; and the efforts by the Obama Administration to reimburse Gulf residents (to the extent possible) for their losses.

The “recovery” has just started and may take years, if not decades, to be completed.  If at all.

(Gulf is Resilient by J.D. Crowe, Mobile Register, Buy this cartoon)

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Note: There are about 50 editorial cartoons in this diary from last week — all of them about various aspects of the Gulf Oil Spill.  Take a look at it in case you missed it.

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3. The Mosque “Controversy”: Nationalism Run Amok

Stein gives us an important history lesson and points out that compared to George Washington, the country’s founder, many others like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are sowing seeds of political division from which they hope to personally benefit

No Mosque

On the wall of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island — the oldest synagogue in America — is a letter from President George Washington welcoming the congregation to our shores.  It is a moving document, for it affirms that this new nation, only a few years old,  intends from the beginning to live up to the ideals upon which it was founded.

Washington eloquently states

The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation.  All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.  It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent national gifts. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

Here are the words of Newt Gingrich, welcoming another religious congregation: “Nazis don’t have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust museum in Washington,” and “we would never accept the Japanese putting up a site next to Pearl Harbor.  There is no reason for us to accept a mosque next to the World Trade Center.”

At least he can speak in complete sentences, unlike Sarah Palin, who tweeted her own strident opposition to the mosque with these words: “Doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland?  Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.”

My, how far we’ve come.

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Paul Szep, Comics.com (Huffington Post

The ‘Hallowed’ Ground Around the Former World Trade Center by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Matt Wuerker, Politico

(click link to see cartoon in Wuerker’s archive)

Islamic Centre Near Ground Zero by Stephane Peray, The Nation (Bangkok, Thailand), Buy this cartoon

Tony Auth, Yahoo Comics/Philadelphia Inquirer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

We The Bigoted People by Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News, Buy this cartoon

Ground Zero Mosque by Clay Jones, see reader comments in the Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon

I think I made myself clear a week or so ago on where I stand on the mosque “close” to Ground Zero.  I don’t think it’s a big deal.  So there’s a place of worship two blocks from the site.  If anything, it can be a sort of monument for Muslims who are opposed to the extremists who share their religion.  It’s also a testament to the religious freedom we have in this country…

Years from now we’re going to be studied and historians and readers are going to say “My God, they were stupid and petty.”

We elect our first black president and everyone pretty much freaks out.

— Jones expressing his unhappiness with those trying to politicize this issue

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4. The United States Constitution: An 18th Century Relic or Still Relevant Today?

Lowe blasts those who think that the U.S. Constitution was written to conform to their political beliefs. While its interpretation has been vigorously debates over the centuries, Lowe sees a fair bit of racism in this (improbable) effort to repeal the 14th Amendment and defends the Constitution’s relevance to today’s politics

Changing the Fourteenth Amendment

So is the U.S. Constitution a living document, written and designed to be flexible enough to be interpreted through the prism of the times — thereby remaining current — or is it a strict set of iron rules that we must use to psychoanalyze the minds of the Founding Fathers and divine their intent; a screed frozen in the mindset of the Eighteenth Century?  The tension between these views will persist for as long as the republic lasts, and is at the core of philosophical fights over Supreme Court Justice nominations…

Freedom of religion?  Maybe the government should only be allowed to butt in and restrict it if we’re talking about building a Muslim mosque somewhere.  In fact, a lot of people last week already thought that’s what it meant.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?  Not if you’re gay and want to get married. Besides, that isn’t even in the Constitution, although many Americans don’t know that.

I could go on and on.

14th Amendment by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon

Ben Sargent, Yahoo Comics/Universal Press Syndicate

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Walt Handelsman, Comics.com (Newsday)

Lee Judge, Kansas City Star

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Steve Sack, Comics.com (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Bill Sanders, sanderscartoon.blogspot.com

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)

Jim Morin, Miami Herald

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Anchor Baby by Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is under attack from anti-immigration conservatives.  They want to take away citizenship from babies born in the U.S. by illegal immigrants.  Under this theory, we would need to go back and take away citizenship from everyone who descended from the pilgrims and return the land to the Native Americans. This is a no-win strategy that will surely backfire, especially with Hispanic voters.  I have one thing to say to these xenophobic bozos: Go ahead, make the Democrats’ day!

— Rogers sees this as a losing strategy for the Republican Party and dares them to raise their voices even louder in their call for this constitutional repeal

Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)

Tony Auth, Slate/Philadelphia Inquirer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Jack Ohman, Comics.com (Portland Oregonian)

Jeff Danziger, Yahoo Comics/New York Times Syndicate

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

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5. Proposition 8: It’s a Question of Equal Rights for All

Sorensen has a sarcastic word or two for those who are railing against the federal judge lifting the ban on gay marriage by overturning California’s bigoted Proposition 8

I realize that making fun of bigots’ paradoxical “protect marriage” rhetoric is practically a cliche at this point, but if they keep saying it, I suppose we need to keep mocking it.  In this case, I was set off by a quote in the NYT from an anti-gay marriage attorney who, in response to the judge’s ruling, said “the right of Americans to protect marriage in their state constitutions will ultimately be upheld.”  Things don’t get much more ass-backwards than that.

California Proposition Wait by Steve Greenberg, Freelance Cartoonist (Los Angeles, CA), Buy this cartoon

David Cohen, Asheville Citizen-Times

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Prop 8 Overturned by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Republicans React to Recent News by Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons, Buy this cartoon

Tony Auth, Washington Post/Philadelphia Inquirer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Chan Lowe, Comics.com, see reader comments in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

By giving historical examples, Lowe reaffirms the fact that basic human rights are not negotiable and ought to be extended to all Americans — regardless of sexual orientation

The California Gay Marriage Ruling

My other favorite is that in ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, Judge Vaughn R. Walker noted that our rights under the Constitution ought not to be subject to votes of the people, which might take them away.  This is why they are called “rights,” and why they reside under the purview of the judicial system, not the caprices of society.

He also said that California (and by extension, the rest of the country) had no beneficial interest in banning same-sex marriage, according to findings of fact.  Just because the concept may be repugnant to some on moral or religious grounds is not enough to deny a group of Americans the same rights that others have.

Let us remember that not so long ago, the idea of blacks marrying whites was repugnant to some on moral and religious grounds.  People live and die.  Society progresses.  Perceptions ultimately change.

Human rights do not.

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6. Republican Wingnuttery

Steve Sack, Comics.com (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

David Horsey, see reader comments in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Illiterati by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Lee Judge, Kansas City Star

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Run Newt, Run by Milt Priggee, www.miltpriggee.com (Cagle Cartoons), Buy this cartoon

David Horsey, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

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7. The Economy’s Uncertain Future

Ed Stein, Comics.com

Stein makes a convincing argument that “supply-side economics” should be consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs

Remember supply-side economics and trickle-down theory?  Supply side economics theorized that removing barriers to production with income tax and capital gains tax cuts, along with deregulation, would stimulate production and produce enough consumer spending on cheaper products to more than offset the revenue losses from the tax cuts.  Trickle-down theory postulated that tax cuts for the wealthy and businesses would create more jobs for everyone.  Most of this nation’s tax and regulatory policies have, since the Reagan era, followed this blueprint.  Well, we now have a chart demonstrating how well this has worked over the last 30 years.  Tax cuts for the rich made them richer, and the rest of us got bupkus.  Surprise.

Unemployment by Rob Rogers, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tony Auth, Washington Post/Philadelphia Inquirer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)

Jeff Danziger, New York Times Syndicate

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Kal, The Economist

Stimulus by Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Buy this cartoon

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8. Democratic Nervousness

Tim Eagan, Deep Cover, Buy this cartoon

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9. Afghanistan: What Lies Ahead?

If you were as serious as me … by Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World, see Letters to the Editor in Salon magazine

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Bruce Beattie, Comics.com (Daytona Beach News-Journal)

Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

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10. Social Networking

Sorensen has a few thoughts on social networking sites like Facebook

A little while ago, I was startled to see my Facebook friends popping up on the Washington Post website.  More recently, Facebook has added “like” buttons to individual comments, so you can not only like somebody’s post, but the replies to that post.  Now, I’ve got nothing against positive reinforcement.  I find it encouraging and helpful when people “like” one of my cartoons (which, incidentally, you can do RIGHT NOW on the Slowpoke Facebook page!).  But it’s starting to feel like the internet is getting a bit too interactive.  Every single infinitesimal thing has to be voted upon, commented upon, socially bookmarked, and generally subjected to the fickle whims of the Zeitgeist.

Facebook by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

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11. Final Thoughts

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A Note About the Diary Poll

Crowe highlights the challenges faced by people of the Gulf Coast in rebuilding their lives only five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated their region

President Obama, First Lady Michelle and daughter Sasha in tow on a brief vacation stop, made his fifth visit to the Gulf Coast Saturday and declared it “open for business.”

C’mon in!  The water’s fine.  And the water is fine.  It’s the figurative floating bodies in the water that’s the problem.  We appreciate the president’s visit and his promise to see the Gulf made whole again.  We hope he enjoyed the Gulf’s beauty while also feeling its pain.

We won’t know for a long time just how much damage the BP oil spill has caused the sensitive ecosystem of the powerful Gulf, but we do know that the short term damage to the Gulf Coast economy has been catastrophic.  Gulf tourism is dead. Small businesses are dead or dying. Jobs, lost…

Yes, mysteriously, the water is fine. For now. It’s everything else that’s messed up.

In an excellent diary as part of the Gulf Recovery Blogathon — Gulf Recovery: How To Help — Pam La Pier listed numerous organizational links which are very helpful in encouraging you to assist in a myriad of ways.  

As Pam wrote beautifully, the region could certainly use your help

I have watched with tears in my eyes and pain in my heart as wildlife came out of the ocean covered in oil and struggling for life.  The loss of every one of the creatures who have died in this unparalleled disaster leaves us poorer and sadder.  I have watched as the fishermen and oystermen’s livelihoods have been destroyed and the Gulf Coast way of life decimated.

Below the jump you will find a list of organizations that I have been compiling for months.  Please consider donating or volunteering to help support these organizations who spend their lives trying to help people, wildlife and even family pets recover from disaster.  Thank you.

COMPLETE LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS HERE

I have listed only a few of these organizations helping in recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast.  Please help as much as you can.

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