Cartoons: We the *rich* People...

Senate Republicans have once again asserted their right to be naysayers: "Senate Republicans block Obama bid to hike minimum wage." The debate about raising the minimum wage pushes the point that an increase in the wage will cost jobs.  The North Carolina Policy Watch (NC Policy Watch) has published a comparison of changes in employment levels between states that have increased the minimum wage and those that have not. Generally "...States that raised minimum wage experiencing faster job growth."

These cartoonists have some valuable insights into Republicans, Obama, and the minimum wage controversy.

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Chan Lowe, US News

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Milt Priggee, Cagle

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Milt Priggee, Cagle

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Steve Sack, Cagle

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Republicans, the Koch brothers, and hope

It's pretty clear that the Republicans have no real concept of what's on the minds of the majority of Americans.

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Dan Wasserman, US News

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What's on the minds of the Koch brothers is pretty clear:  control.

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Mike Luckovich, The Week

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Jeff Danziger, Huffington Post

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Matt Wuerker, about.com

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Meanwhile hope for a balanced and responsive political system dies.

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Paul Combs, US News

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And on the horizon there's this:  "The CIA likes to write its own rules, but spying on Congress crosses a new line."

-- Marge

Humor: Stock market drama

On Monday, the "Dow Jones industrial average topped 16,000 for the first time ever" reported CNN Money. Considering how the stock market affected the world economy in 2008, I'm not impressed, neither is Jack Ohman:

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Jack Ohman, NYSE vs Unemployment, US News

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As Will Rogers said in December, 1929 (more quotes are here) --

I tell 'em that this Country is bigger than Wall Street, and if they don't believe it, I show 'em the map.

Seems to me, Republicans and Wall Street go hand in hand.  For a zany alternate view of Republicanism, take a look a College Humor's video, "The Mad (Republican) Tea Party:"

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In his radio broadcast in 1931, "Bacon and Beans and Limousines," Will Rogers noted,

So here we are in a country with more wheat and more corn and more money in the bank, more cotton, more everything in the world—there’s not a product that you can name that we haven't got more of it than any other country ever had on the face of the earth—and yet we’ve got people starving. We'll hold the distinction of being the only nation in the history of the world that ever went to the poor house in an automobile. The potter's fields are lined with granaries full of grain. Now if there ain't something cockeyed in an arrangement like that then this microphone here in front of me is—well, it's a cuspidor, that's all.

In closing, here's one from About.com's Political Humor:

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BTW, there's a handsome book about Will Rogers, titled The Quotable Will Rogers, by Joseph H. Carter at Google Books. You can buy a copy if you like.

-- Marge

Shhh. They may be listening...

Editorial cartoonists are having a field day with the news that the NSA has a hush-hush court order to collect Verizon call records (theGuardian).  So without further ado, let's take a look.  All of the cartoons below were found at The Week, except for the last one, which was published at U.S. News.

Michael Ramirez, "Finally An Answer:"
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Chis Britt, "Unwanted Assistance:"
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Drew Sheneman, "Exception to the Rule:"
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Dana Summers, "Taking Out the Opposition:"
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Steve Benson, "N-S-A!:"
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Have you stopped to consider lately how much we've allowed the Al-Qaeda attacks to influence life in America?  Our collective/political reactions have eroded the legal (habeus corpus, fourth amendment) underpinnings of American society and intruded on our personal (airport security, surveillance) lives.  Sure there be terrorists, but can't we get our fear under control?
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-- Marge

This Friday's poke -- Where is Will Rogers when you need him?

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.  -- Will Rogers

Wiley Post came to mind the other day, and with him Will Rogers; they both died in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1935.  Will Rogers was an American humorist who captured the hearts of the American public.  Though I didn't walk the earth while he was alive, pieces of his routines were still being shown up to 20 years later in theaters.  Here's a brief history of Will, posted at Neils Stuff!.

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The Will Rogers quotes shown here were found at Brainy Quote.

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Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

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I wanted to show you the sweet folksiness of Will, but the closest I can get is this impersonation by Lance Brown.

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There is, of coarse, a site commemorating Will Rogers.

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About all I can say for the United States Senate is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation.

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Here's one last quote:

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Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.

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-- Marge

Friday: Funniest Political Memes

Today, while looking for a topic, these political memes at About.com popped up, published under the heading Funniest Political Memes Ever. They are funny.  Daniel Kurtzman is the political humor guide at About.  Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the creator of each meme, but in some cases the image identifies its source. 

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And t-t-that's all, Folks.

--Marge

Some sharp humor

Being in the mood for some humor I went trolling for political cartoons.  Here are some I found.

RJ Matson in the 99% category:

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David Fitzsimmons: 

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Daryl Cagle: "Newspaper Shakeup Down Under"

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Mark Fiore on YouTube, "Either Way" (he also has a blog with animated cartoons):

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Hope you enjoyed this little foray into political humor.

-- Marge