Cartoon: Obama Does Orwell in Oslo

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I wasn't planning to do two "Obama is a Mean Old Warmonger" cartoons in a row but come on... accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo with a speech about how war IS peace? Dude was asking for it...

Cartoon: Urge to Surge 2: Afghanistan!

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This is a sequel to my Iraq Surge cartoon from 2007. Just because Obama sounds so calm and reasonable (and can pronounce nuclear) doesn't make the victims of his bloody endless war any less dead or tortured.

As I was sketching this cartoon Sunday I got a comment from a reader wondering why I hadn't expressed my irritation with Obama lately. I told him it was mostly out of disappointment/avoidance, but this surge thing most certainly required comment.

Cartoon: The Health Reform Debate

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Drew this a few weeks ago after my parents encountered some unpleasant characters with Obama-Hitler signs at a town hall. If I had drawn more recently he'd be toting a bunch of machine guns.

Toon: Barack Obama, Fierce Advocate of LGBT Rights!

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Disappointed, yes. Surprised? Not really.

For more angry venting, you must watch and/or read the bad-ass speech my pal Jaclyn Friedman gave at the Boston Dyke March on this topic. A sampling:

That Presidential Proclamation? It would sure sound sweeter if it were backed up by actual action to end discrimination against gay, lesbian, bi and trans Americans willing to DIE in service of our country's military whims. And it would be more than a little helpful if Obama would stop caving to the religious right and start condemning marriage discrimination, instead of defending it like he did today.

Of course, marriage rights themselves would be a lot less important if quality, competent health care was available to every person in this country regardless of marital status, income, age, race, sexual orientation or gender identity. But who needs universal health care when you've got a shiny proclamation that proves the president knows we exist? He likes us! He really likes us.

Even the HRC is getting feisty about Obama's odd—Clintonian, even!—interpretation of "fierce advocacy."

P.S. Rachel Maddow is so rocking this topic:

Toon: Indefinitive

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I was going to call this cartoon "change I don't want to believe" but Masheka wisely counseled me otherwise. Seriously though, I really wish I hadn't had to draw this (in the sense that I wish Obama hadn't made the awful decisions that led me to draw this.)

Re: Obama's change of heart

On the bright side, at least all those indefinite detainees won't have to worry about the release of embarrassing photos! But seriously: WTF?!

Toon: Historic Day

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You get the idea.

Toon: Rick Warren is a CUTER Kind of HATER!

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Aw, don't you just want to pinch his bigoted cheeks?!

Masheka and I went to the Light Up the Night for Equality March/Rally this weekend in Manhattan--it was supposed to be a silent candle-lit vigil for the couples in California who lost marriage equality rights, but it ended up being a much more lively and angry chanting type of thing, with lots of "Hey hey! Ho ho! Rick Warren has go to go!" and "2! 4! 6! 8! Separation of Church and State!" and so forth. Very cold but our anger kept us warm.

For more on Warren, see the Rachel Maddow video I linked to earlier, and this excellent piece in the LA Times by Katha Pollitt.

Also, this cartoon and this issue relate closely to my "The Milk Effect" cartoon, particularly to the line "Fuck tolerance for the intolerant."

Update: Laura Kiritsy, my editor at Bay Windows also alerted me to Derrick Jackson's "Obama's Bad Judgment on Warren". Here's a great quote that relates to my cartoon:

Warren waxed, "Now here's an interesting thing. There are about 2 percent of Americans, are homosexual or gay, lesbian people. We should not let 2 percent of the population determine, to change a definition of marriage that has been supported by every single culture and every single religion for 5,000 years. This is not even just a Christian issue, it's a humanitarian, a human issue."

A humanitarian issue! Like what? The corruption catastrophe in Zimbabwe? An earthquake in China? Hurricane Katrina? You have to be kidding. Invoking such imagery sunk Warren down into the pits with the late Jerry Falwell, who claimed that divesting from apartheid South Africa was inhumane. "Disinvestment will bring unemployment, unrest, anger and bloodshed," Falwell said.

Rachel Maddow on Obama Throwing Gays Under the Bus...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I'm really glad I'm not going to the inauguration anymore (though it might have been nice to do some protesting). I'm saddened and enraged and I'm not listening to one more word of that lying fake's goddamn audiobook.

Obama had the GALL to defend his choice of a hateful fundamentalist bigot who compares being gay to pedophilia and bestiality by talking about "diversity", "inclusivity" and "the magic of this country" or some nonsense. Really? REALLY? It's MAGICAL and INCLUSIVE to give a prominent role in your inaugural ceremony to a hatemongering misogynist bigot? This quote is priceless--and scary, as he indicates that the makeup of his inaugural is a foreshadowing of how he plans to govern:

That's part of the magic of this country, is that we are diverse and noisy and opinionated,” he added. “That's the spirit in which, you know, we have put together what I think will be a terrific inauguration. And that's, hopefully, going to be a spirit that carries over into my administration.”

Rick Warren doesn't just have nice little opinions he shares in a nice respectful way. Rick Warren was a MAJOR force in a successful campaign to discriminate against millions of Americans (Prop 8, obviously).

Also, Obama has the gall to claim he's still a "fierce" advocate of gay equality--apparently extending to allowing a gay marching band to participate in the festivities.

Where was his inclusivity and magic and diversity and fierce advocacy when he decided NOT to appoint any openly LGBT people to a cabinet or staff post in his administration?

Are any of you still full of Obama hopes and dreams? Hell, he hasn't even STARTED yet and I'm already sick to my stomach with Clinton deja vu.

Hate is not magical. Much much more analysis, links and so forth on this topic on Pam's House Blend.

Hope and change, my ass.

Rick Warren... WTF?

Seriously, WTF? Is Obama determined to disillusion ALL of the progressives who helped elect him before he even takes freakin' office?

Um...

OK, I am really trying. I am trying to give Obama the benefit of the doubt. I am really trying to remember how much I totally hate and despise everything about Bush, and how he is so hateful and evil that I should still feel positive and excited about Obama's election no matter what. I'm looking at the adorable photos of the Obama family and clinging to Obama's mentions of FDR and trying not to cringe too much when he mentions Reagan in a positive light. I'm even listening to the audiobook of Dreams from My Father.

But it's hard, people! Especially when Obama is appointing center-right misogynist racist deregulation-happy asshats like Larry Summers to cabinet posts... and when he promises to KEEP Bush's Defense Secretary?! I have to admit I was kinda hoping that by "bipartisan" he meant "I'll throw the GOP a small bit of something every now and then" not "I'll keep the guy running Bush's illegal and unjust wars." What happened to Mr. Supposedly Anti-War?

I've also read that instead of getting rid of Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy right away, he might just let them expire eventually. WTF?!

So yeah... um... let me go get that audiobook again!

Extreme Makeover: Conservative Pundit Edition

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This isn't any particular conservative pundit, just a composite general depiction of the amazing whiplash so many of the nastiest Obama-bashers went through the day after the election. Didn't last long, did it?

Awesome Matt Bors cartoon...

This cartoon is just awesome.

Toon: The Dream and the Nightmare

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Yes, I cried during Obama's speech. I actually also got up and danced around the room at 11 when CNN called the election. I'm sure I'll be jaded and cynical about the whole thing in no time, but I was definitely pinching myself in thrilled disbelief that night, and I even wore a sparkly sequined blue skirt and red sweater the next day (for real).

By the way, this is of course the same couple I drew reacting to Obama's likely nomination back in June. They were pretty psyched at the time about the possibility of marriage equality in California, but that dream is now deferred (hell, STOLEN), thanks to the efforts of some well-funded bigots.

P.S. No, Obama's election does NOT prove that racism is dead. And I'm kinda annoyed with the editorial cartoonists who never draw anyone of color in their cartoons EVER unless the cartoon is about race who are suddenly drawing touchy-feely multicultural cartoons where black parents tell their kids that they too can grow up to be president, etc. Seriously--if you only ever draw white people as the "everyday" Americans reacting to the news, you're just part of the freakin' problem. Also, I just don't want to see a single other editorial cartoon involving the goddamn Lincoln memorial.

Toon: McCain's Remaining Supporters

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The KKK garb is a slight exaggeration, but most of those shouted epithets are of course from actual Palin or McCain rallies.

Toon: John McCain, Master of the Town Hall Debate

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I thought Obama did a pretty bangup job of (a) pointing out that the GOP got us into this nasty deregulated mess and (b) actually speaking to the concerns of voters--the economy, health care, jobs, etc.

Whereas McCain just kept rambling on about overhead projectors and Joe Lieberman or something.

That said--I sure do miss John Edwards. Obama kept talking about the middle class, and McCain sort of mentioned "middle income" folks, but whatever happened to caring about people who aren't even "lucky" enough to have a home to lose?

Toon: Obama Defends His Patriotism...

...and takes a big old step to the center, Clinton-style. Yuck. As a big fan of the separation of church and state, his proposal to expand Bush's government funding for faith-based programs has me particularly pissed off. After the Bush years, I want LESS religion in my politics, not more, thank you very much!

Obama does say he won't allow govt-funded religious groups to discriminate based on religion in hiring. But he says nothing about sexual orientation or other non-federally-protected categories. I really hope he's not ok with funding organizations like the Salvation Army that outright refuse to hire gay folks.

I told you I was finding all his change talk a lot harder to believe in. Blech.

Before anyone freaks out on me: calm down, I'm not saying there's no damn difference between Obama and McCain. McCain is a horrible right-wing conservative, and nothing is going to stop me from voting for Obama. And I hope to hell he wins. I just wish I was voting for a real progressive, not a pandering free-trade-loving "bipartisan" Clintonian centrist.

P.S. The sad thing is, I didn't think I'd ever have to draw an Obama-critical cartoon (except for the one I did a while back about how none of the candidates but Kucinich supported marriage equality). And I certainly do plan to spend most of my ink this election season going after McCain. But I was just SO MAD listening to the way Obama was talking this week that I couldn't hold back.

Change I'm Finding Harder to Believe In

I knew that whole optimism over Obama thing couldn't last. What's with this falling all over himself to be as centrist as possible these days? Supporting FISA? Speaking out for the death penalty? WHAT?! Why Barack, why? Yes, I know I'm unfashionably late to the Obama disillusionment party, but I've been a bit too busy being interviewed by BBC Radio 4 (seriously!) and other such excitement to update you all on my political grumpiness.

Toon: And now for a brief moment of sunshine...

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Longtime readers may find this hard to believe, but when I heard Obama would be the nominee, I TOTALLY had a brief moment of optimism... which was only compounded when I heard California had gone for marriage equality and that New York Governor David Paterson had decreed that California/Canada/Massachusetts marriages would be legal in New York.

Seriously, I was upbeat and smiling and dancing around my apartment for nearly a MINUTE before I remembered that the economy is collapsing, the planet is warming and we're all DOOMED.

Also, I like drawing (and wearing) stripes and spirals. That is all.

Toon: Primary Fever

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More like Primary Fatigue. Really, all I do want to talk about is Battlestar Galactica. I don't want to hear any more of Hillary trying to prove what a bomb-hungry hawk she is, or Obama going out of his way to sing the praises of bipartisanship (otherwise known as "letting Republicans have their way"). Nor do I want to hear anything any more of those gazillion weird racist smears and internet rumors going around about him. And I especially do NOT care about flag pins.