THE WEEK IN EDITORIAL CARTOONS
This weekly diary takes a look at the past week's important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.
When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:
- Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?
- Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?
- Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?
The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist's message.
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John Cole, Scranton Times-Tribune, Buy this cartoon
PLEASE READ THIS: Because of the length of this weekly diary, sometimes Daily Kos reacts negatively -- isn't it always MB's fault? :-) -- and makes the Rec Button (and other stuff that you usually find in the upper right corner) disappear. Don't worry if that happens. Just scroll to the bottom of the diary past the last diary comment and you'll see the Rec Button there.
Note: As usual, I have to post this diary section-by-section. Feel free to leave your comments and I'll respond after I have finished posting the complete diary.
I'll update as I go along. Thanks.
Final Update: The complete diary is now posted. Four cartoons about wingnuts would not fit into the diary and I posted them in the comments section.
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John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
TOP TEN BP EXCUSES -- from 'The Late Show With David Letterman'
(See the video on YouTube)
- The Gulf of Mexico was overdue for its 3,000-mile oil change.
- We promise we’ll get around to it by Labor Day.
- Relax, it’s only leaking 210,000 gallons a day.
- Giving everyone a free BP travel mug.
- Louisiana hasn’t had a disaster in 5 years.
- Guy from Goldman Sachs said it would make money.
- Blame FEMA.
- Did you hear Ricky Martin’s gay?
- Blame Toyota.
- Honestly, we’re so reckless — surprised it took this long
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon
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DAILY KOS ENVIRONMENT-RELATED DIARIES
Read the latest eKos Earthship for any recent green diaries that you may have missed and check the weekly schedule for Eco-series diaries in coming days. You can also join DK Greenroots, a Google Group where all sorts of discussion and planning takes place before you actually see the end result in diaries.
(image from eKos)
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A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
British Petroleum -- Here to Help You by Monte Wolverton,
Cagle Cartoons, Buy this cartoon
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Most large multinational corporations have sophisticated public relations staff whose job it is to present (and control) their company's image in the best possible light to its shareholders and the general public. Given the sheer magnitude of this environmental disaster along the Gulf Coast, it is fair to say that many of the editorial cartoonists simply rejected any and all claims made by British Petroleum.
Read this really interesting interview by a former oil executive in the Washington Post -- Shell's former CEO explains why we hate oil companies
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Jack Ohman, Comics.com (Portland Oregonian)
Rand Justice For All by Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke, Buy this cartoon
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Eugene Robinson writes that there is a good lesson in humility for the Republican Party in last Tuesday's primary elections and one they should pay close attention to
The stunning result should telegraph two warnings to Republicans. The first is a reminder that while voters' ardor toward the Democratic Party might have cooled, this has not led to a passionate embrace of the GOP. There's a splash-back effect from unceasing attacks against the evil empire known as Washington: Voters notice that Republicans live there, too.
The second warning is that the Tea Party movement does not intend to become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party. Strategists who hoped to use the movement's energy and passion as weapons against the Democrats in the fall should realize that many Tea Party types see the GOP as fundamentally no different.
What does any of this mean for November? The Democrats should still expect to lose seats in both houses. But this week, the GOP lost a special House election that it should have won -- if conditions for the party are really as favorable as the leadership says, that is. And the Tea Party movement, after thwarting the Democrats' best-laid plans in Massachusetts, did the same for Republicans in Kentucky.
The GOP shouldn't measure the drapes in the Capitol just yet.
Tim Eagan, Deep Cover, Buy this cartoon
Most of the cartoons in this diary deal with the oil catastrophe in the Gulf and some interesting observations about the Tea Party with regards to last week's primary elections. I'll probably post another 15-20 cartoons in the comments section.
Hope you enjoy the diary. Thanks.
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1. CARTOONS OF THE WEEK
Rand Paul on the Civil Rights Act by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL
Rand Paul for Senate by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Bob Englehart, see reader comments in the Hartford Courant, Buy this cartoon
Ed Stein, Comics.com (formerly of the Rocky Mountain News)
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Stein notes on his blog: The first photos of birds covered with oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak have been released, and I couldn’t help being reminded of the sad fate of another bird unable to escape an oily fate.
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Gulf Water by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon
Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL
McCain's Brain by Dan Wasserman, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Boston Globe
Shoving Bank Reform by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Buy this cartoon
Regulating Wall Street by Patrick Chappatte, Le Temps (Switzerland), Buy this cartoon
The 2010 Campaign by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Bruce Beattie, Comics.com (Daytona Beach News-Journal)
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2. Loony Tea Party Libertarians
John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
Tea Party! by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
The Tea Party made some noise in last Tuesday's primary in Kentucky. They say they are here to take back the government. I'm not sure it was theirs to begin with. Hey, Tea Partiers, you can't fix all the complicated problems in this country by simply hating the government. You need more of a plan than that.
link
Drew Sheneman, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Newark Star-Ledger
We are now starting to witness the practical application of power from the tea party folks. Their movement has moved past the shouting protests and ridiculous hats bedazzled with tea bags and moved into the real world of politics where primaries are won and lost. And in case you hadn't noticed, they are really angry...with everybody.
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Lighting a Fire by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle
Stuart Carlson, Washington Post (Universal Press Syndicate)
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)
Mark Streeter, Savannah Morning News, Buy this cartoon
Pat Oliphant, Washington Post (Universal Press Syndicate)
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Tea Party Clout by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon
R.J. Matson, Roll Call, Buy this cartoon
Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Matt Davies, Comics.com, see reader comments in the New York Journal News
Libertarians and Civil Rights by Jim Day, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Buy this cartoon
Tony Auth, Washington Post (Philadelphia Inquirer)
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Rand Paul Tea Party by Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com, Buy this cartoon
The Rabble Rouser by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
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3. An Ecological Disaster That BP Simply Can't Explain Away
Chan Lowe, Comics.com (South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Lowe has a simple message to go along with the above cartoon
There really isn’t much more to say, except that after more than two centuries, the British finally avenged Cornwallis’ defeat at Yorktown...with compound interest.
Rand Paul and Civil Rights by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Rand Paul didn't waste any time getting into hot water after his primary victory in Kentucky. The Tea Party candidate said the Civil Rights Act was flawed and he criticized Obama for blaming the oil spill on BP. He said it was un-American. Maybe it's just me, but I think un-American is when you want to go back to the days before the Civil Rights Act.
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R.J. Matson, New York Observer, Buy this cartoon
Paul Szep, Comics.com (Huffington Post)
Steve Kelley, Comics.com (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
New Uses For the Gulf of Mexico by Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke, Buy this cartoon
I've noticed a tendency among wingnuts to respond to cartoons like this one and last week's (about pre-polluted babies), with accusations that I just want to go back to the stone age. I marvel at this quaintly simplistic, binary way of thinking. As if any suggestion that we apply more reason and caution to how we do things means I want to return to a purely agrarian lifestyle living off my own yams. It must be nice to live in a world where everything fits into a neat little box.
link
Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon
Bill Day, Comics.com (Memphis Commercial-Appeal)
Vic Harville, Stephens Media Group (Little Rock, AR), Buy this cartoon
Epic Fail by Nick Anderson, Comics.com (Houston Chronicle)
(click on link to enlarge cartoon)
Steve Kelley, Comics.com (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Walt Handelsman, Comics.com (Newsday)
Bruce Plante, see reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon
Chan Lowe, Comics.com (South Florida Sun-Sentinel
This is beginning to look a lot like the Wall Street bailout all over again: the privatization of profit and the socialization of risk.
BP has been making a big sanctimonious stink about how it’s going to pay for the entire cleanup, as well it should...
So, absent making BP and related villains pony up, who will that leave to make us all whole again?
Us, of course.
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Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon
Stuart Carlson, Washington Post (Universal Press Syndicate)
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Robert Ariail, Comics.com (formerly of The State, SC)
Blame!!!Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon
Yeah, Halliburton, Trans Ocean and BP are all playing the blame game. I find it kinda ironic it occured in the halls of Congress, where everybody blames everyone else. Ask anyone in Congress who’s responsible for the huge deficit, the economy, global warming, Lady Gaga, etc.
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Matt Wuerker, Politico
(click link to enlarge cartoon, it's in Wuerker's archives)
Robert Ariail, Comics.com (formerly of The State, SC)
R.J. Matson, New York Observer, Buy this cartoon
Oily Birds and Lawyers by J.D. Crowe, read Crowe's blog entry in the Mobile Register, Buy this cartoon
Fantasy Land by Matt Bors, Comics.com (Idiot Box). Bors writes on his blog: Man, too bad Obama isn’t that radical nut Glenn Beck thinks he is.
Obama and M.P.G. standards by Mike Thompson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Detroit Free Press
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Is the Obama Administration doing better than its predecessor in reducing this country's addiction to fossil fuels? Yes, says Thompson, but it can do a lot better by adopting tougher fuel efficiency standards.
Such measures are a far better alternative to fighting periodic foreign wars to maintain continued access to oil. Moreover, the disastrous situation in the Gulf of Mexico calls for taking bolder measures now and not delay the inevitable.
If not now, when?
President Obama has announced plans to speed up by four years the deadline for automakers to hit the 35.5 M.P.G. standard. For anyone who’s watched video of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and is now convinced that America desperately needs to curb its oil addiction, Obama’s announcement is reason to cheer. But cheer softly. As Free Press reporter Justin Hyde pointed out last week, "The 35.5-m.p.g. target is misleading, as it includes credits and cuts in greenhouse emissions not accomplished with changes in engines. Automakers are expected to hit 32.7 m.p.g. in 2020."
This year, Obama has announced that he wants to extend emissions rules through 2025 and set new standards for mega trucks. It’s tempting to say that Obama’s plans are a case of better late than never for this country. But with some experts saying that the oil geyser in the Gulf may not be plugged until August and with America fighting wars for oil, you have to think sooner would have been better.
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4. Crazy Wingnuts and Their Republican Enablers
Bristol Palin Takes it on the Road by Chan Lowe, Comics.com, see reader comments in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Back during the 2008 presidential campaign, when Sarah Palin and her family were introduced to America in all their homespun glory, I couldn’t help but imagine what the Republican spin machine would have done had Joe Biden’s daughter been the one to get pregnant out of wedlock as a teenager.
Because it was Sarah Palin’s daughter, however, the pregnancy became a celebration of life and an affirmation, somehow, of the emblematic American family.
Hypocrisy is a commodity that has never been in short supply in American politics. The latest, most titillating case is that of U.S. Congressman Mark Souder of Indiana, a fierce protector of traditional family values (with all the usual anti-gay riffs), who just resigned from office.
Not only did he have sex with a staffer, but he even sat for a video interview with her touting the virtues of abstinence. He probably feels that his guilt is mitigated because, unlike Rev. George Rekers, he sinned with a woman. After all, people have standards.
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Signe Wilkinson, Comics.com (Philadelphia Daily News)
Don Wright, Comics.com (Tribune Media Services)
Abell Smith, Fighting Words
(click link to enlarge cartoon)
Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)
Steve Breen, Comics.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Arizona State Line by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
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5. Elena Kagan: Smooth Sailing Ahead?
Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)
Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News, Buy this cartoon
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6. The Democrats and Lessons for November 2010: The Year of Living Angrily
Uh-Oh by Ed Stein, Comics.com (formerly of the Rocky Mountain News), see reader comments on Stein's blog
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Stein makes an important point on his blog. Should voters reward the Republican Party at the polls this coming November? When it was forced to give up political power in 2008, the judgment rendered against it was quite harsh. The GOP left this country in one of its most perilous positions in decades. With two wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan; the economy in shambles once the financial system (nearly) collapsed; wealth and income inequality on the rise; individual constitutional liberties under attack; and rationalism and science relegated to a poor second behind religious faith, it is hard for Stein (as it is probably for most sane voters) to comprehend why the Democratic Party needs to be on the political defensive. But that's what most pundits believe, i.e., given the fact that a President's party historically loses seats in Midterm Elections, the Democrats have no choice but to play defense in an anti-incumbent year. But, after last Tuesday's primary results, is there any indication that the same ineffectual and corrupt Republican Party is poised to make substantial gains in November? Most of the trends to-date suggest otherwise, provided the Democratic candidates run vigorous, confident campaigns
The first round of primaries confirms that an anti-incumbent fervor, in part a result of the poor economy and inflamed by Tea Party rhetoric, is gripping the electorate. A word of caution here: turnout at primaries tends to be low, and the results don’t always reflect the broader mood of the voters. Rainy weather may have doomed Arlen Specter as much as a disgruntled electorate. Still, incumbents look to have a rough road come November, even as the economy strengthens. How much Congress changes, and what effect that will have on Obama’s agenda, remains to be seen. Even with the economic downturn, I still can’t quite fathom how the public mood has shifted so dramatically in a little over a year.
Have we forgotten which party was in charge when the economy tanked? Is a policy of total obstruction the way forward? Are we really ready to put these guys back in power -– or worse –- replace them with Tea Party lunatics? I guess we’ll find out in a few months.
Robert Ariail, Comics.com (formerly with The State, SC)
Magic Ballot Theory by Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Arlen Specter was a victim of the anti-Washington message sent by voters in Pennsylvania's primary on Tuesday. Despite switching parties last year, the Republican/Democratic Senator lost to the little-known Joe Sestak. Now I can only wonder if Specter will pull a Lieberman and run as an independent.
Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon
Matt Davies, Comics.com (New York Journal News)
Walt Handelsman, Comics.com (Newsday)
Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)
Paul Szep, Comics.com (Huffington Post)
Walt Handelsman, Comics.com (Newsday)
John Sherffius, Comics.com (Boulder Daily Camera)
Dana Summers, Comics.com (Orlando Sentinel)
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7. The Economy: Riding a Horse With No Name
Obama's November Strategy by Mike Thompson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Detroit Free Press
(Note: watch the original Monty Python video that prompted this wonderful cartoon)
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Politics can be a rather unforgiving business. Voters have a very short memory and few, if any, will give the Democratic Party any credit for avoiding a full-blown economic depression. One of the important signs that the economy is revving up and consumer confidence is on the upswing is evident in an uptick in consumer spending, which traditionally accounts for almost 70% of Gross Domestic Product.
Seeing not enough such evidence -- and adopting a "Show-me" posture from one of the states (Michigan) hardest hit by economic sluggishness -- Thompson is not yet convinced that the Democrats can use an improving economy to victory in the November 2010 Elections.
Even so, last week's primary elections and other tangible signs (as Kos pointed out in a front page post earlier today) have to encourage the Obama Administration that the tide may finally be turning in their favor.
It's been a hard, long slog for the economy
According the slew of post-election analysis pieces I’ve read, President Barack Obama has devised a two-pronged strategy heading into the November elections: Attack the Republicans, and tout the economic recovery. The only problem is that America’s not in the recovery stage, we’re in the we’ve-managed-to-staunch-the-bleeding-after-the-Bush-disaster stage. When Obama took office the country was losing 800,000 jobs per month. Last month, while the unemployment rate was up slightly, employment grew by 290,000 new jobs, a number inflated by the hiring of census workers. In other words, the Obama stimulus saved the patient, but hospital discharge papers won’t be issued any time soon.
A number of recent stories claim that the almost, but not quite recovery isn’t being fueled by average Americans -- who are still in debt and standing in unemployment lines. Rather, the recent meager economic up tick is due to corporate executives blowing their bonuses and the uber rich splurging their winnings from Bush economics. And even more depressing is news that Americans whose mortgages are underwater have simply stopped paying their home loans and are spending that money instead. Hardly a cause for celebration.
Obama inherited a colossal mess and needs to reverse the damage from three decades of conservative economics. (Hint to Obama: it’s impossible to reverse the damage from such policies by emulating them). Things are going to have to get a whole lot better before he can lead Democrats to victory in November beneath the banner of an economic recovery.
Matt Davies, Comics.com, see reader comments in the New York Journal News
Potemkin Villages by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle
European Economy by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon
Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)
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8. What is the Miss USA Contest All About?
Miss USA and Pole Dancing by Mike Thompson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Detroit Free Press
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Calling a spade a spade, Thompson sees the hypocrisy plainly obvious in beauty contests and is definitely not a fan of faux controversies
Here's a way to rid ourselves of the annual post-Miss USA pageant controversy: Let's all just finally come out and admit that the competition is about sex. Or, more specifically, sex appeal.
Shortly after being crowned Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih found herself in the middle of a controversy over photos of her taken at a 2007 pole dancing contest. Fakih, who represented Michigan at the pageant, was scantily clothed in the photos, but her attire was no more revealing than the official photos of her released by the competition.
Nobody watches beauty contests for the talent competition and nobody tunes in to be enlightened by the contestants' observations about the importance of world peace during the question and answer session. Beauty pageants are about sex appeal. If women wish to participate and people actually chose to tune in, that's their business. The rest of us can abandon the laughable notion that contestants should meet some lofty moral standard if they wish to compete in what amounts to a soft porn show.
Let's just stop pretending that these contests are something that they’re not.
Taylor Jones, El Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico), Buy this cartoon
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9. Number of Friends on Facebook: A New Measure of Success?
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)
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10. Sports Talk: Is LeBron James Staying in Cleveland or Leaving for Greener Pastures
Drew Litton, Comics.com (Drewlitton.com), read Litton's blog entry on LeBron James
Santana and HGH by Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner, Buy this cartoon
Drew Litton, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)
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11. Final Thoughts
Did you see the final episode of the television series Lost? If so, what did you think of it?
Lost by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
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A Note About the Diary Poll
Steve Sack, Comics.com (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
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I have a gut feeling that the Tea Party will not have as much of an impact in the Congressional Elections in November 2010. I could be wrong but I just see too much unchannelled anger and weird ideas among this group. It's not as if the Republican establishment is fully embracing this cast of characters.
Could they, instead, be a help to the Democratic Party by nominating candidates who simply cannot win in the General Election? I'd like to hear your thoughts as this could determine who controls Congress after the elections.
Don't forget to take the poll.
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Crossposted at Docudharma
