In Case Of Emergency, Break Glass

           

    Artist’s Note:

    Theoretically, my political cartoons ought to be able to stand on their own, but due to the formatting of this website, it literally won’t allow me to post an image without any accompanying text.  If I had my druthers, I’d let viewers cull their own interpretations from the images.

   But for the sake of meeting the word limit for a "substantive diary", I’ll do an impromptu riff on the image:

    Glass Gotta Break.

    The Happy Lodgers in this House -- let's call them Harry and Nancy, shall we? -- gaze adoringly at Harry's old championship boxing gloves, from the glory days of his youth.

    Harry and Nancy are good people.  And so are the many neighborly citizens gathered at their window.

    But there are problems within and without this People's House.  Everything in this home is in disrepair, and is a hair's breath away from being condemned.  Perhaps Harry and Nancy, being simply the lodgers, were not the initiators of these problems; all evidence points to the Landlord.  But it's Harry and Nancy who are going to have to confront that Landlord.

    So, while Harry and Nancy are mesmerized by the stateliness of the Boxing Gloves, noting how the dry powder in the leathery creases gives them an oh-so-gritty, authentic sheen, the worried neighbors continue to gather at the window.  At first its just a few fellow citizens, but their numbers are ever increasing.

    Somewhere along the way, Harry and Nancy forgot the context in which the gloves were to be put behind glass; the design for the Emergency Kit slowly morphed into a museum piece.

    But in this House, the very foundational integrity is in jeopardy.  The phones are tapped.  There are rumors that secret prisoners are hidden away in the basement.  The only thing that isn't broken in this House is the glass that's supposed to get broken.

    Glass Gotta Break.

    The criminally negligent Slumlord must be brought up on charges.  And we know from experience that this particular Slumlord and his Management Company will fight the charges by any means at their disposal.

    And the world gathers at the window.

    In one way or another, Glass Gotta Break.
   

        Original Art-work by David Ravenwood.  All Rights Reserved.

•  Strip Jar !

      Just for the record -–

      For those who would say I’m unfairly bashing the Dems, especially in light of what looks like (hopefully) a new dynamic that we’re seeing in the various investigations and hearings, where there seems to be some visible vertebrae protruding from the backs of Dem Leadership, I’ll simply mention that I’d done the original sketch of this political cartoon last summer, back when we were, of course, in the minority...  But I couldn’t bring myself to post it at the time because, even with feeling excruciatingly frustrated about the apparent complicity of the Democrats, I could see how some would just see this as continued cause for discouragement more than anything else.

      But now, ironically, I want to post it because I have a sense of something palpable, that maybe there’s a shift happening.  So I want to know if it’s real.  Are the Dems stepping up to the plate because it’s the right thing to do, or simply because Bushco has shot themselves in the foot so many times and so egregiously at this point, that they’re making it impossible for Dems to let the criminals run out the clock.  

      Curious about what others think....

      ‘Cuz we’re the ones poised at the window of History.

  

  
        Cheers,
                  Dave.

  by Dave the Rave on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 08:43:55 PM PDT

  •  Some have been trying

    to break the glass all along, because it is the right thing to do, Feingold, for example. Others it seems are resisting the glass, because of their constituencies or possibly their financial and PR "managers" in the ring.

    I haven't had much confidence in the herding abilities of the two leaders above, not yet. They are not like Delay the hammer, who lorded over his side with hardcore micromanagement. For that I am glad, though.

    The Democratic congressional leadership needs to exert pressure for unity on these very important issues of war and peace without resorting to Hammerthebugman's tactics. Gloves aren't as bad as hammer's though, right? I think Harry and Nancy need to put on those gloves. I hope you are right that there is a real shift, based on principle as much as opportunity.

    Your artwork is simply amazing Dave.

    by cosmic debris on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:22:10 PM PDT

  •  Hey, shift happens! n/t

    by kafkananda on Tue Mar 20, 2007 at 08:44:51 PM PDT

  •  Dave, this was great!

    And I missed it till I came looking for you this morning...
    Your cartoons are so rich with loaded details!

    Piles of dry powder everywhere, Fox news in the background, a hole in the corner of the ceiling covered with a spider web...  

    It perfect!

    by ilyana on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 06:28:19 AM PDT

    •  Actually, it's not a hole in the corner of the

        ceiling -- if you look close, you can see that it's actually an icon of the now-infamous hooded detainee from Abu Ghraib standing with the electrodes attached to his hands.

         I know Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are not directly responsible for the horrors at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, but this cartoon is about their complicity through denial and passivity.  All this anguish surrounds them, but they avert their eyes.

         Now that they have subpoena power, I hope this whole dynamic has changed.

      by Dave the Rave on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 10:34:54 AM PDT

      •  You're a genius!

        That's so chilling! I just had to tip my head to the right a little, and there he was!(I sometimes have a problem seeing things on the right).

        I hope the dynamic has changed too.. there are signs...

        by ilyana on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 11:40:23 AM PDT

      •  by the by,

        Early this morning I posted a link to this page and copied and pasted your cartoon in a comment on the open thread... to provide folks a sample of your work (if they weren't familiar.)

        by ilyana on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 11:53:28 AM PDT

•  If Harry were younger

  would he go 15 rounds..?  Sometimes it's like he gets a few good rounds in, then sits out a few rounds.

  the whole Nevada debate, his silence until it was clear it had to fail, disturbed me.

  Nancy has been doing much better than I expected, though!

  by decitect on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 08:55:26 PM PDT

  •  Yeah, that's just it --

     They tease by suddenly making noises like they're gonna go to the mattresses, and then duck for cover.

      I don't know what the new dynamic is; I think a lot of folks are happy right now, because we're gaining traction.  But I can't help but think that its simply because, as I'd mentioned, the Bush Crime Family has gotten so utterly brazen that they've finally started shooting themselves in the foot with a critical mass of bullets.

    by Dave the Rave on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:09:20 PM PDT

•  Is the powder in that case

  along with the gloves?

  :)

  by joanneleon on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:20:16 PM PDT

  •  I sort of tried, in the drawing,

      to have little piles of dust in various places, to show the unkempt, sad environment despite the denial of the Happy Couple.

      But the piles of dust could also be seen as the ever-gathering-but-never-used dry powder.

      (it's tricky of course, to draw dust/powder in a little cartoon; I had to make it like tiny mounds of it, lurking around the image....)

    by Dave the Rave on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 10:06:06 PM PDT

    •  As long as it didn't come

      In the mail in an unmarked envelope!

      by Hummingbird on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 01:09:23 AM PDT

•  Great cartoon

  I haven't noticed the optimism you mention.  But your description of the behavorial pattern in your written analysis hasn't been broken yet.  We keep hoping and pushing though.

  by blueoasis on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:36:45 PM PDT

  •  Well I wouldn't even call it

      optimism per se, just a sense that we might be seeing a shift in the dynamic, not because of our Dem leadership, but in spite of it.

    by Dave the Rave on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:53:01 PM PDT

    •  We could certainly use some good news

      so let's hope the gates are crashing at last.

      Thanks again for sharing your talent.  Impressive work.

      by blueoasis on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 11:06:03 PM PDT

•  super cartoon

  It's about the process yes and there's nothing more American than breaking the glass.

  by revm3up on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:43:53 PM PDT

•  yayyyyyyyyyyy dave!!!

  brilliant as always! should i be flattered that you included me in your cartoon? not in the window. i think i am one of those piles of dust.

  by nonnie9999 on Tue Mar 20, 2007 at 12:31:23 AM PDT

  •  You're the third pile of dust on the left --

       I tried to capture your whimsical charm; it's all in the eyes.

       Pfff !  No, you ain't no pile of dust, nonnie -- and if you were, you'd be the classiest, most elegant pile of dust that ever swirled itself into existence !

       It's funny though -- I unconsciously put myself in the window there; I realized it after drawing it -- in the lower left-hand corner, right behind the Pastor Dan priestly guy, there's a goofy dude in some sorta turtle-neck (I'm an artist; it's in my contract to dress the part) who pretty much looks like me (assuming I was younger and handsomer and a cartoon).

    by Dave the Rave on Tue Mar 20, 2007 at 01:28:49 AM PDT