Toon: The Wall Street Crisis

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A few thoughts, in no particular order, about the crisis on Wall Street and with our economy in general.

First, how exactly is John McCain planning to clean up the greed on Wall Street that he seems suddenly so concerned about? As I recall, he believes in pretty much total deregulation. So I guess his plan involves using magic mind fairies to suck the greed right out of the heads and hearts of these CEOs!

Also, how can he simultaneously claim that the economy is in crisis but that "the fundamentals are strong"? Or that he and Palin are somehow "proven reformers" of economic greed and corruption?

Next, how could Bush possibly still claim that the economy is just going through a minor short-term adjustment?

Finally, please don't misinterpret this cartoon. There are a lot of people who will be affected by the failures at Lehman Brothers and other financial giants besides just the rich bonus getters. But there really is a double standard-there's no stigma on corporate welfare or corporate bailouts. And it's often the wealthy people who benefit most from those bailouts who turn their nose up the most at a little bit of help for struggling Americans and social spending in general.

So while I am concerned about the effect this will have on the economy and jobs in New York and nationwide... I'm really not crying for those millionaire bonus makers who exploited and inflated the subprime mortgage mess (and the luxury cars they may no longer be able to afford) but didn't get a bailout. And yes, I realize that very few of them are likely to actually end up eating barrel-grilled cockroaches--depends on how long this little economic "adjustment" lasts. But a girl can dream.

Toon: Prisoners of President Palin

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It wasn't until after did this cartoon that I found out Palin had tried to ban the book Daddy's Roommate (A sweet book about a kid with gay dads). So an alternate second line in the first panel might be "Reading Daddy's Roommate to my kids." Also, did you read all about her crazy cronyism in the New York Times Sunday edition (sorry that I can't give you a link, but I read it in print due to my RSI and can't really do any web browsing with my voice dictation software to get the link for you). She's an exact clone of Bush! She's the Taliban! She is so not warm and fuzzy!

you know what makes me mad?

Sarah Palin. And you know what makes me even more mad? Women who say they will vote for McCain because of her. Never mind the fact that if McCain dies we will have a president that doesn't believe in evolution, doesn't support the right to abortion even in cases of rape incest or to preserve the health of the woman (only to save the life of a woman -- maybe), has made it her mission to deny same-sex partners health benefits, doesn't believe global warming is caused by humans... but hey it's okay! It's cute! She's a mommy! An abstinence only "education" promoting mommy who would appoint Roe-overturning justices in a heartbeat, but an adorable mommy just the same!

And yes, I still have the RSI and it's driving me up the wall. And my voice is getting really hoarse from using the voice dictation software. Also, I have not read a blog or an online newspaper in three weeks. That is really weird! I've actually been reading the honest-to-goodness print newspaper edition of the New York Times.

P.S. Don't get me wrong -- it's not like McCain is some big moderate like he pretends to be. He's anti-choice too, and wants us to stay in Iraq for a gazillion years, among other things. He doesn't have to die and leave Palin in charge to bring us a horrible Bush-esque presidency!

Corrected Toon: Vote Palin: She's a Lady!

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Don't get me started on her love for abstinence-only "education" or creationism!
P.S. A helpful reader just notified me that there was a typo in this cartoon--this is the corrected version.

Toon: Vote Palin: She's a Lady!

A helpful reader just notified me that there was a typo in this cartoon--so I've deleted this image. Go to the next post for the corrected cartoon.

testing, testing

Hi folks,

Mikhaela here. No, I still can't type. I've got the RSI, which looks to be carpal tunnel syndrome, or maybe cubital tunnel syndrome, or something similar. I'm actually writing this with voice dictation software, MacSpeech Dictate. I still haven't worked out all the bugs, but I'm getting better at it.

Unfortunately, I can't use PhotoShop with my voice, so Masheka has been coloring my cartoons for me. I'm not checking my e-mail very often, so if you've written to me recently, I probably won't get a chance to respond for a few weeks unless it's urgent (Masheka is checking for me occasionally).

All of that said, how about that extremist Sarah Palin? I really wish it wasn't so hard to write with this damn microphone, or I'd be ranting all over the place about her love for abstinence only miseducation, creationism, and so forth. I will have a cartoon for you tomorrow about her so-called appeal for Hillary voters.

All this talking is giving me a sore throat! Also, the weird elbow braces I have to wear in my sleep are really getting to me.

Until next time,

Mikhaela