SlowpokeBlog

My cousin the reservist, who served in the Persian Gulf War and completed a tour of duty in Iraq, is being sent back to Iraq yet again.

Here's an example of the lengths I go to to bring you people accurate cartoons. I had read on TPM about Florida state Representative Bob Allen's offer to pay a cop $20 for a blowjob, but they were unclear on whether Allen wanted to give or receive said oral favor. Now, this detail was extremely important for my purposes, so after several minutes of arduous Googling, I came across the pertinent information here, on Allen's arrest report. It clearly states his intention was to service the cop. Oh, by the way, Allen was also McCain's Florida campaign co-chair.

(I just now found a newer post on TPM about the police report... oh well!)

The Klingon reference owes to the fact that Mr. Slowpoke and I have been watching all the original Star Treks on DVD lately. You know what I really like about Star Trek? That they actually tried to titillate the ladies by showing Captain Kirk with his shirt off and/or torn in every other episode. It's so refreshing to have gratuitous skin aimed at us for a change!

Many of you have asked about signed copies, thanks. I'm afraid I can't offer direct ordering like I did for my previous books (which, incidentally, make fine holiday gifts and are still available here). While those were distributed through Alternative Comics, they were technically self-published. This time around, you'll need to go through a bookseller, but I promise to set up a way for you to get the books signed. Probably I'll have you send your copy to me, and Paypal a few bucks to cover postage. It's a little clunky, but should get the job done.

As I've said before, I need to get decent pre-orders on Amazon to get the book ball rolling properly, so if you've been enjoying my cartoons for free on this site, please consider getting a copy. Right now, Amazon is offering the book at 20% off for $11.16, and if you order now you get 5% off of that, which according to my math is $10.60. Why, if it was any cheaper, I'd be giving YOU money!

Also, it's going to be awesome.

I wanted to do a strip supporting the screenwriters' strike, but found it difficult to improve upon their own humorous videos, of which I've seen many. So I had right-wing think tank workers go on strike instead. Both groups deal in fiction, so why not?

I must say, Rudy Giuliani is fun to draw. He's basically a skull with extra-long teeth. I need to make everything even longer and pointier next time. I sure hope he doesn't become President, but if he does, at least we cartoonists will have a good time.

The third panel is a reference to a highly-entertaining debate that's been going on in the New York Times op-ed pages. Paul Krugman has been writing about the Republicans' "southern strategy" of using racism to win elections; one such example was Ronald Reagan kicking off his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where three civil rights workers were murdered. David Brooks wrote a fairly ridiculous piece making all kinds of excuses for Reagan, though even he couldn't completely rationalize away Reagan's defense of "states rights" in reference to education, which was a clear appeal to segregationists. Krugman and Bob Herbert then fired back. This is probably a good jumping-in point if you want to read more. Anyway, that's David Brooks in the third panel. Incidentally, I have seen Brooks in real life, and can tell you he is shorter, fatter, and balder than he looks on TV.

The two wingnuts picketing alongside Mr. Perkins came out looking like George Will and Judith Miller. That wasn't my conscious intention; it's weird how that happens sometimes.

...or does this CNN ad make Wolf Blitzer look like Colonel Sanders?

Brian in Oregon asks:

I need some social commentary from a trusted source: Would an ironic mustache now be a post-ironic mustache since the ironic mustache trend has run its course? Could a person make a statement about ironic mustaches at this point by growing an ironic ironic mustache? A satirically ironic mustache? Or should it have been a satiric mustache to begin with? How soon is too soon to ironically note the passing of a once ironically resuscitated whimsical fashion choice? Should we nominate Burt Reynolds's mustache for president in a fit of ironic nostalgia?

My response:

Dear Brian,

You pose an interesting question. Theoretically, it is possible to grow a post-ironic mustache mocking the played-out trend of ironic mustaches. Putting the post-ironic mustache into practice is problematic, however, since it would be difficult to distinguish it from the merely ironic, hipster-trash incarnation. I suggest establishing a special code -- such as dyeing the mustache, trimming it a certain way, or installing a special transmitter -- that indicates its all-encompassing, post-ironic status.

Hope this helps,
Jen

It has almost become banal at this point to criticize the Democrats in Congress for their fecklessness, but what can you do? To their credit, they have done a few things, like raise the minimum wage, embarrass the Bushies with S-CHIP (even though it was vetoed), and pass the Ledbetter Act in the House and Fair Pay Restoration Act in the Senate to overturn that beastly Supreme Court decision on sex discrimination. Often these efforts go underreported, while foreign policy dominates the headlines.

I also understand that being a politician isn't as easy as it looks, that people on all sides are constantly heaping scorn on you for things beyond your control. The fact that Code Pink has been harassing Nancy Pelosi at her home for months only makes me empathize with Pelosi. Juvenile behavior like that isn't helping anybody.

But the Dems' constant caving on anything related to terrorism or war, including most recently the Mukasey nomination, reveals a lack of principle and a lack of discipline. Are they going to be afraid of the Republicans' calling them "weak on terror" forever? When does the buck stop? They're going to be smeared no matter what they do, so they may as well go on the offensive. It's not like they'd be going against public opinion.

Remember Jeff Gannon, the former male prostitute (a.k.a. "Bulldog") who somehow got security clearance to join the White House press corps as a "reporter" for a GOP website? Perhaps this cartoon will refresh your memory. Anyway, I was doing some fact-checking for my book, and found out Gannon was seated at the head table of a National Press Club function with Lynne and Dick Cheney last month.

The event was in honor of Lynne's new book; Gannon also has a book featured by the Press Club, which may or may not explain his presence at the table. Still, it's pretty remarkable that the Cheneys would appear with a guy who reportedly charged 200 bucks an hour for hot military stud action and posted pictures of himself peeing on the internet. (Not literally peeing ON the internet -- you know what I mean.)

Someone posted a video on Youtube; Gannon gets introduced about two minutes in.



Some more background on the event here.

The Times had an article yesterday about Bush's unsurprising tendency to meet with families of fallen soldiers that support him, while avoiding the families (such as one from my hometown of Lancaster, Pa.) that question the war.

Kevin Graves of the Northern California town of Discovery Bay waited two hours during a South Lawn picnic to tell Mr. Bush “it was an honor for my son to serve under you as commander in chief.” Amy Galvez of Salt Lake City told Mr. Bush that “as a mom who lost a son in this war, it’s easier for me to handle because I believe you are sincere.”

One gets the sense that having their illusions shattered would be too horrible for them to bear.

...makes my "If Screenwriters Were Stars" cartoon more timely than it was when it first ran several months ago. Any Writers Guild people out there, feel free to use it in your campaign!

This week's installment is a little meditation on the shriveling dollar.

As if Americans needed any less incentive to travel abroad, the weak dollar is making visits to many countries prohibitively expensive. The exchange rate was plenty bad when I went to Ireland this summer (six or seven dollars for a pint of Guinness!) and it's only gotten worse since then. Soon travel to Europe could be another exclusive province of the rich. I like to think of it as the Bush Travel Tax. "No dolce vita in Florence for you, sucker! You're going to Disneyland!"

That's the actual name of the umbrella company that makes Cargill beef, pork, and turkey products, currently recalling a million pounds of beef.

Do you think they see the comedy in that name? I'm guessing not.