Toon: New Year’s Resolutions For Our New Economy!

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This is a little poke at the columns and articles and such that have been praising our crappy economy for making Americans rethink their consumerism and remember "what really matters", etc. Not that I'm not all for an anti-consumerist wakeup call, but... is that really what's happening?

This cartoon was particularly inspired by a ridiculous piece in The New York Times that speculated that some New Yorkers decided to travel to the Hamptons instead of the Caribbean as a way of "cutting back" for Christmas. (actual quote "Somehow, the Long Island chill would have to be made as alluring a holiday destination as the isles of the Caribbean.")

Yes, maybe some middle-class and upper-middle-class people who still have jobs will learn to cut back and stop blowing through credit like crazy... Maybe these lucky folks will spend less than they earn, spend more time with their families. Maybe they'll "make do" with a mere luxury weekend in the freaking Hamptons...

Meanwhile, people on the margins will be making do with a weekend at the homeless shelter.

My Dark Confession, brought to you by Bitch magazine

FYI, I've got a one-page color autobiographical piece in the new Noir issue of Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture magazine, on newsstands now! I drew it for a special color comics section called "My Dark Confession," and it's about my struggles with OCD and such.

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?

Toon: The Milk Effect

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I told you I liked that movie. Seriously, go see it. And in case you're confused by the Anita Bryant pie reference, here's the YouTube:

Prop 8, the musical

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

In case you haven't seen this yet. With Margaret Cho, Maya Rudolph, Neal Patrick Harris, and more!

Of course, the silly idea that LGBT rights should be fought for because they're good for the economy is pretty F-ed up (justice is justice and rights are rights), but I don't think it's meant seriously here.

_ is not the new black and other thoughts from Holly at Feministe

My carpal tunnel problems keep my blogosphere browsing time to a minimum, but I wanted to highlight two recentish posts by Holly over at Feministe: What's in a Name?" (regarding some good news for transgender folks seeking name changes in New York State) and Really? The last? Really? (about the Advocate's awful "Gay is the New Black" cover).

By the way, the good news about name changes is due to the hard work of the excellent Sylvia Rivera Law Project, in case you're looking for worthy causes for year-end donations.

Belated Transgender Day of Remembrance Post

The annual Transgender Day of Remembrance was November 20, but rather than just apologize for my belatedness, I think it's fair to say that we should remember those murdered in hatred and bigotry every damn day. Here's last year's cartoon:

Milk!

Run, do not stroll or amble, to your local MILK-showing theatre. It'll give you a serious urge to march in the streets. SO good. Then go rent the equally awesome Oscar-winning 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk.

To those of you who've already seen either or both films, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Bailout Hilarity

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Ha ha ha ha we totally like kept all your money and didn't lend it to you and you lost your jobs ha ha!

Oh wait, that's not funny at all.

Story Time With Senator Shelby!

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I drew this last week when the bailout was expected to fail and the lead advocate of that failure was Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama--home to plants for several foreign auto makers.

So yeah, I do support an auto bailout, if it actually involves a radical retooling of what the domestic auto makers make and do. Sure, the leaders of the Big Three are a bunch of morons, but why should so many millions of workers have to suffer for their sins? And stop blaming the unions! Grrr!!!