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!

Florida gay adoption ban ruled unconstitutional!

FINALLY. Of course, that doesn't help kids or prospective adoptive or foster parents suffering under Arkansas' newly-approved ban, but still. I hope Anita Bryant is crying.

If you haven't seen them before, you might want to check out a few of my adoption-related cartoons, including one specifically about the Florida ban: "Operation Heterosexual Freedom", "Stop Republican Adoption" and "The Saved Children" (a reference to Ms. Bryant's bigoted so-called "Save the Children" campaign).

Toon: The Blame Game

Click to enlarge

I'll have more thoughts on Proposition 8 and all of this divide-and-conquer bullshit later.

In the meantime, Barry has three excellent roundups of links/posts/articles about the awful "blame black folks" meme and the nasty "black people are all homophobes" meme or the ridiculous "there's a black vs. gay war" meme: "If you call me a faggot, I will call you a...", "Two more posts on blaming the brown," and "Prop 8: The Rush To Blame The Brown People."

Extreme Makeover: Conservative Pundit Edition

Click to enlarge

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.

Event: Slideshow at SUNY Binghamton 11/8 @ 9:30 pm!

I realize this is late-notice, but if you happen to be a student at SUNY Binghamton or live near the campus, come check out our action-packed cartoon slideshow tomorrow!

Toon: The Dream and the Nightmare

Click to enlarge

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.

Death Cab For Sarah Palin Animation By Ted Rall

My Cartoonist With Attitude extraordinaire pal Ted Rall has been making some awesome forays into animation, and here is his second piece. Yes, that is my sad attempt to do the voice of Sarah Palin (I'm no Tina Fey, and I wish I had tried harder to do the accent, but cut me some slack). Aside from my voice, the animation and the cartoon itself are very cool!

The End of the Bush Era

Click to enlarge

So long and thanks for all the sh*#!

I know many of my fellow cartoonists are just going to go ahead and assume an Obama win, but I can't say I have such confidence!

Of course, this cartoon could become obsolete too if Bush declared a mysterious state of emergency and called off the election tomorrow.

Washington Post Comics Blog Election Roundup...

Washington Post comics blogger Michael Cavna has a fun roundup of cartoonists' election predictions, including mine and Masheka's.

By the way, how nervous are you about the election?

I am so on edge, it's not even funny. I won't be able to breathe properly until it's all over. EEEEEK! I have visions of rigged voting machines and disenfranchised voters dancing in my head...

Happy Post Halloween

Click to enlarge

I went as Kara Thrace, aka "Starbuck", from Battlestar Galactica (the bestest show ever, though I have been developing a major addiction to The Wire on DVD lately). Masheka went as Deputy S. Jones from Reno 911 (which we never really watch much, but people have been mistaking him for Cedric Yarbrough, the actor who plays Jones, for years).

I look nothing like Katee Sackhoff, so I had to put in contact lenses (itchy) and get a short blond wig (double itchy, and I had so much hair of my own underneath it was all puffed up like a beehive!). But options for women with long brown hair and glasses are limited, unless you want to be Tina Fey, Lisa, Loeb, Daria, or (ugh!) Sarah Palin.

I have to say sewing is just as much fun as cartooning. And there was a whole lotta sewing going on for this Halloween—I sewed brown stripes and epaulets and pockets onto some Dickies-brand workwear to make Masheka's costume, and I added buckles and suede shoulder patches to make my BDUs army jacket + pants into the Battlestar Colonial BDUs or whatnot (I realize that's hard to tell from the pix, but I swear!). I also chewed on a cigar to be more like Starbuck, and it was gross.

Accessories were also key: I got a Battlestar Galactica patch and dogtags, and Masheka had a real working walkie-talkie radio with a shoulder mic.

We went to New York's Halloween parade and had a great time--tons of people kept yelling "Reno!" at Masheka, and he even got compliments from some actual police officers.

Here are some more fun photos:

And this is what we look like in our civvies for comparison (except my hair is its natural brown now):