Pages

Saturday, December 31, 2016

cartoon: Good-bye, 2016

Sorry, Folks, I was finishing a project and posting cartoons on Friday slipped my aging mind. When I looked at the cartoons available online, I realized no loss--it's Trump again and little else (except bashing Obama--still). Cartoonist Drew Sheneman pretty much sums it up for me.
***
image: cartoon by Drew Sheneman
Drew Sheneman, The Week
***

-- Marge


Friday, December 23, 2016

Cartoons: Christmas turmoil

Today I'm looking at some not-so-sweet aspects of Christmas.

***
image: cartoon by Walt Handelsman
Walt Handelsman, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Pat Bagley
Pat Bagley, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Gary Varvel
Gary Varvel, The Week
***

May you find what you want this Christmas. Or, at the least, what you need.


-- Marge


Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Winter Solstice 2016

This celebrates the Winter Solstice. In Alaska this day is particularly welcome because it marks the yearly point at which the days begin to lengthen and we can see the beginning of release from the dark of winter.
***
***

Best wishes for a glorious holiday season,

-- Marge


Friday, December 16, 2016

Friday, December 09, 2016

Cartoons: of tweets and tyrants

Silly me, I thought when the election was over Trump would fade away and I wouldn't have to look at his cartoony orange hair any more. So guess I'll have to bite the bullet and follow the Big Man more. What got me most about Trump this week was the news that he will continue as President to be Executive Producer of "The Celebrity Apprentice."

Yes, Trump has been named Person of the Year by Time Magazine; no, it's not more fake news. The Washington Post has this to say about it: Donald Trump is (finally) named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’.
***
image: cartoon by RJ Matson
RJ Matson, The Week
***

This is just wishful thinking.
***
image: cartoon by David Fitzsimmons
David Fitzsimmons, The Week
***

A thumbs up to the Kellogg Company for saying last week that "ads for its brands would no longer appear on Breitbart." This is quoted from an article in the New Yorker about Breitbart's response. Has the former Executive Chair of Breitbart really been designated by Trump as his chief strategist in the White House? Answer: Yes.
***
image: cartoon by Steve Sack
Steve Sack, The Week
***

I ran across a large volume of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, published in 1835, this week. He spoke of the "tyranny of the majority," a concept the founding fathers understood well. It's ironic that
The Electoral College was created for two reasons. The first purpose was to create a buffer between population and the selection of a President. The second as part of the structure of the government that gave extra power to the smaller states. (Marc Schulman, History Central)
and the Electoral College is what put Trump in office. This article at Vox is to me most illuminating: "The people’s tyrant: what Plato can teach us about Donald Trump."

-- Marge


Friday, December 02, 2016

Cartoon: bless me, Lord, I'm a liberal elite

Since the war on D. Trump still wages on, just one cartoon today. The term 'liberal elite' is being bandied about with abandon lately, so I checked into it and found this really interesting video of Kurt Anderson, a writer who has been watching Trump and Hillary for a long time. Kurt Andersen and E. Graydon Carter founded and edited Spy, a somewhat political, mostly satirical magazine that "specialized in intelligent, thoroughly researched, irreverent pieces targeting the American media, entertainment industries and making fun of high society." You might find look at its covers interesting, too.
***
image: cartoon by Steve Kelley
Steve Kelley, The Week
***

-- Marge


Friday, November 25, 2016

Cartoons: then they came for me

This week's selection of cartoons is a mixed bag, each one picked because it said something to me personally.

This one made me laugh.
***
image: cartoon by Drew Sheneman
Drew Sheneman, The Week
***

This one made me feel like crying.
***
image: cartoon by Pat Bagley
Pat Bagley, The Week
***

This one made me snicker (Here's a sample of The Onion).
***
image: cartoon by John Darkow
John Darkow, The Week
***

And this one captured my current apprehension.
***
image: cartoon by Tom Toles
Tom Toles, The Week
***

-- Marge


Friday, November 18, 2016

Cartoons: draining the swamp

The newspaper called The Hill "has the largest circulation of any Capitol Hill publication, with more than 24,000 print readers (Wikipedia)." It has been labelled by some as conservative--see its Wikipedia Talk Page. At any rate it recently published an article about Trump's "now famous pledge to 'Drain the Swamp' of unethical practices in our nation’s capital." The article describes an existing tool for keeping the swamp clean that is little used, "America’s unknown government watchdogs in the Inspector General community."
By law, they are nonpartisan and apolitical and cannot be hired or fired without legislative checks and balances, or at least 2/3rds vote of their oversight board. They combine both investigative and auditing capabilities, and unlike law enforcement agencies who merely investigate crimes for potential prosecution(s); IGs also identify wasteful or unethical practices and make corrective action plans to assure that a policy or procedure didn’t somehow contribute to waste, fraud, or abuse.
... Currently, a shocking 11 out of the 36 Inspectors General appointees in the federal government remain vacant or in an interim status, some for over a thousand days due to a failure for the white house to appoint and/or the senate to confirm a nominee.
This is largely due to the IG community languishing in obscurity, since they have to remain apolitical and impartial, they get no media attention. This obscurity hinders public knowledge that Inspectors General have been trying to “Drain the Swamp” for [sic] throughout their respective existence.

The question today: Will Trump's swamp be any better?
***
image: cartoon by Pat Bagley
Pat Bagley, The Week
***

Where is there room in our government for White Racists?
***

image: cartoon by Drew Sheneman
Drew Sheneman, The Week
***

In conclusion--
***
image: cartoon by Chan Lowe
Chan Lowe, The Week
***

And so the war continues.

-- Marge


Friday, November 11, 2016

Cartoons: it's definitely over

Here are three cartoons looking at the aftermath of the 2016 election.

As you know, while Hillary got the most votes, Trump got the most electoral votes. There's talk of ending the Electoral College system, but do you really think that a government controlled by Republicans, who used the electoral votes so well to their advantage, will do anything to end it? Don't even get me started on Republican gerrymandering; in my view that's voter fraud. Meanwhile, the GOP is just as dysfunctional as it was before the election, so let them stew in their own juices. Let us non-Republicans vow to speak out when needed.

***
image: cartoon by Chan Lowe
Chan Lowe, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Marshall Ramsey
Marshall Ramsey, The Week

***
image: cartoon by David Horsey
David Horsey, The Week

***


-- Marge


Friday, October 28, 2016

Cartoons: it's all in who's looking at it

Here are some viewpoints you may or may not find laughable.

Many news sources are reporting the demise of ObamaCare, despite its success in some states. The insurance companies are one of the parties contributing to its demise. (In case the print is too small to read, here's what it says: "We're pulling out of the ObamaCare marketplace. We can't continue to sell insurance to the poor if they're going to insist on using it.")
***
image: cartoon by Drew Sheneman
Drew Sheneman, The Week
***

Here's a sweet headline from MarketWatch: Your baby monitor may have contributed to last week’s massive internet hack.
***
image: cartoon by Dan Wasserman
Dan Wasserman, The Week
***

For all the worry about funding another war in the Middle East, we've already funded one right here in America.
***
image: cartoon by Joe Heller
Joe Heller, The Week
***

-- Marge




Friday, October 21, 2016

Cartoons: the truth is out there -- somewhere

During this week--Wikileaks news just keeps comin'; it's beginning to look like conspiracy theorists rule the day; an informal poll recognizes that we all, that's 100%, want this election to be over; and MetLife fired Charlie Brown.

Between Russians trying to hack our confidence in the election process, Wikileaks trying to discredit Clinton; and undercover video stings (see The hacking, leaking, undercover election), what's a voter to do?
***
image: cartoon by Glenn McCoy
Glenn McCoy, The Week
***

The Washington Post Magazine reports that this is The Conspiracy Theorists’ Election. On the 40th anniversary of the Moon Landing (July 16,1969), Time Magazine looked at 10 of the most enduring conspiracy theories.
***
image: cartoon by Drew Sheneman
Drew Sheneman, The Week
***

I'm guessing we all agree on one thing:
***
image: cartoon by Tom Toles
Tom Toles, The Week
***

And MetLife fired Charlie Brown...
***
image: cartoon by Steve Breen
Steve Breen, The Week
***

A-a-nd I've been wondering: if Trump doesn't accept that he lost the election, what 's he gonna do? Show up at the White House with a moving van? Take the podium at the Inaugural? Crash a Joint Chiefs of Staff national security meeting? Just sayin'.

-- Marge




Friday, October 14, 2016

Cartoons: grope this

This week's batch of cartoons has three about politics and one about Samsung's flaming Galaxy Note 7.

Since the second presidential debate featured Donald's "locker room talk," be warned. Here's a transcript.
***
image: cartoon by Bob Gorrell
Bob Gorrell, The Week
***

As a woman, this is how I plan to handle Donald's loose talk. There's a word for his communication problems; it's 'logorrhoea,' or diarrhea of the mouth. I'm not saying anything about the accusations of sexual misconduct, enough has already been said.
***
image: cartoon by John Deering
John Deering, The Week
***

Making lemonade from a lemon... Here's a video about why the Samsung catches fire.
***
image: cartoon by Jack Ohman
Jack Ohman, The Week
***

Funny, but I was thinking about this the other day.
***
image: cartoon by Tom Toles
Tom Toles, The Week
***

-- Marge


Friday, October 07, 2016

Cartoons: bashing away

Judging from the cartoons currently being shown on The Week's cartoon page, the cartooning world has given way to bashing your political opponent--and anyone else within range. So my selection today is about any topic not directly related to waging political war. This is what I found.

Bill Clinton was misquoted as describing "Obamacare as 'crazy',” according to New York Magazine in 7 Reasons To Stop Freaking Out About Obamacare.
***
image: cartoon by Nate Beeler
Nate Beeler, The Week
***

While Capitalism in the U.S. isn't working particularly well, what with income inequality and favors for the wealthy, Socialism in Venezuela is crashing. It seems everyone is in the same stew and the pot is empty--In a hungry Venezuela, buying too much food can get you arrested.
***
image: cartoon by Michael Ramirez
Michael Ramirez, The Week
***

Rick McKee comments for those of us caught in the political middle.
***
image: cartoon by Rick McKee
Rick McKee, The Week
***

-- Marge


Friday, September 30, 2016

Cartoons: litigation time

Today I'm taking a glance at JASTA, the recent legislation that allows 9/11 victims to sue foreign states for injury, death, or damages; and at Wells Fargo, the dastardly swindler of unsuspecting customers.

Since the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, aka the 9/11 law, passed, why not use it to sue Congress for inaction on gun legislation? The litigants would have to prove Congress is a foreign state--not that hard. Just sayin'.
***
image: cartoon by Clay Jones
Clay Jones, The Week
***

Seems to me Wells Fargo is not that different from any other U.S. bank. They just got caught.
***
image: cartoon by Steve Sack
Steve Sack, The Week
***

--Marge


Friday, September 23, 2016

Cartoons: laughing on the outside

Today's cartoons find a little humor in some dark news, except the last one--no humor there, just truth.  Seems to me, Randall Enos' cartoon about Snowden is editorial cartooning at its best.

***
image: cartoon by Steve Sack
Steve Sack, TheWeek
***
image: cartoon by Dan Wasserman
Dan Wasserman, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Randall Enos
Randall Enos, The Week
***

--Marge


Friday, September 16, 2016

Cartoons: in the belly of the beast

To say that we're living in the belly of the beast sounds overly dramatic, but think about it. There's an election reasonable people can do little about; a tyrant decimating his own population; and school systems so underfunded that the teachers have to supply some necessities out of their own pockets. Then there's the U.S. Congress, so ineffectual that when a cartoonist refers to them as creepy clowns, many of us nod in agreement. Sadly, those elected representatives who make an effort to get something worthwhile accomplished are undermined by those that are there for the perks and/or power.

Here are the visuals for today's comments.
***
image: cartoon by David Fitzsimmons
David Fitzsimmons, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Steve Breen
Steve Breen, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Nate Beeler
Nate Beeler, The Week
***
image: cartoon by Joe Heller
Joe Heller, The Week
***

-- Marge


Friday, September 09, 2016

Cartoons: Fair and balanced?

Today I'm looking at Fox News, the U.S.'s Republican-dominated Congress, and the view that many voters have of this presidential election.

The dust appears to be settling at Fox News according to this article in The Week Magazine:
Roger Ailes is gone. So is Greta Van Susteren. Megyn Kelly is rumored to possibly be on the move. Gretchen Carlson settled her sexual harassment charges against Ailes for a cool $20 million. And then there's Gabriel Sherman's bombshell report for New York magazine about Ailes' 20-year reign at Fox News. All of this has spawned obsessive speculation about the future of America's No. 1 cable news channel.
But I doubt that "fair and balanced," which used to be the objective of responsible journalism, will ever describe this news channel--its brand of "conservative messaging" is/was too popular.
***
image: cartoon by Scott Stantis
Scott Stantis, The Week
***

The U.S. Congress left the concept of fair and balanced behind some time ago. Now it's mostly Republican. See the Wikipedia entry for the 114th United States Congress for some good graphics showing the numbers of Republicans vs. Democrats. With Trump running as a Republican, Congress may find itself in a bind.
***
image: cartoon by RJ Matson
RJ Matson, The Week
*** 

Meanwhile many voters feel betrayed.
***
image: cartoon by Bob Englehart
Bob Englehart, The Week
***

-- Marge