1219: Charleston

We need to do better. It doesn't matter if this is a conservative issue, liberal issues, Republican issue, Democratic issue, race issue, police issue, mental health issue, what matters is that it is an issue. We cannot use the argument we always use. If bad people want a gun, they can get a gun but what we can do is make sure that bad people who don't have guns don't get them. But that's not going to happen. On December 14, 2012, we agreed that gun violence is okay no matter who it happens to.

Charleston is just the most recent shooting, as of this writing. Dylann Roof, who often claimed that blacks were "taking over", supported racial segregation and supported pre-Apartheid South Africa and the government of Rhodesia, went into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, to attend a Bible study. He sat for nearly an hour participating in the study before pulling out a gun and saying "I have to do this". Roof killed nine people and was brought in, unlike several non-murdering black people lately, alive.

Roof chose the Emanuel A.M.E. Church due to its role in African-American history. The church was founded in 1816 by former members of other churches when the discrimination became too much. Having an all-black church was, for all intents and purposes at the time, illegal and the church was raided several times. In 1822, co-founder Denmark Vesey was implicated in a slave revolt plot and was executed, the church being burned down. In 1834, all-black churches were officially outlawed so the congregants met in secret. The church was also the center of the civil rights movements of the 1960s. If you can't see that this was a racially motivated shooting, then why did the shooter admit that he wanted to start a civil war, that he wanted to start a race war? Everything he has said and worn comes straight from white supremacist websites.

I understand why we aren't talking about the racism that persists in our country. It's hard to talk about because then our prejudices come to the surface and we'd have to confront those. Why we are fine with people--human beings--being routinely killed by police or gunned down because we view them as a threat is beyond me. Racism is not behind us. No amount of African American Presidents is going to end racism. Racism will end when society acknowledges the issues and works to end it. We can't just say that all people are equal and have it be so. A few years of progress cannot erase centuries of inhumane treatment.

This should be something we can work together to fix but people need to want to fix it and unfortunately, it just seems like there aren't enough of those people around. Let's put an end to this. No more innocent victims. No more grieving families. Let's do better.

President Palin--Ha! Alliteration

Here's how I feel about Palin running for President in 2012.  If she runs, and wins she can no longer "write" books, host reality shows, appear on Fox News or do all the things she does now.  When you are President, you are President--you can not waste time yakking with Bill O'Reilly about how the country is being run nor will you have the time to yak with Bill O'Reilly about how the country is being run.  I don't think she could do it.

Editorial Comics Review (12/11/09)

by Gary Varvel 12/10/09

Am I the only one tired of the Democrats goal to pass ANY health care bill and the Republicans goal to reject ANY health care bill? Why should people who can't afford health insurance be punished? I don't understand this. And no one has given me a good excuse aside from either not wanting government interference (which Medicare is by the way) or not wanting to raise the debt. Those are two of the flimsiest excuses I have ever heard. Why am I being punished with possible bankruptcy and/or death because I can't afford $300 a month for health insurance or because my employer doesn't offer benefits to me? Come on, I'm waiting for an answer.

by Bill Day 12/8/09

I don't really care that Obama got the Nobel. I even wrote an earlier blog about it which elicited some complaints. What I was trying to describe was the fact that people on the right take this whole thing way too seriously. If you don't think President Obama deserved the Nobel then fine. The decision is out of our hands and even if Obama rejected the award, it would still be his. The Nobel Committee wouldn't give it to someone else.

But onto the matter of this comic. I do see the irony--everyone does--but even without the troop surge it would be ironic because Obama was going to be the president to pull us out of Afghanistan and Iraq, neither of which has even come close to being realized. There's really nothing more I can add here except this.

by Steve Breen 12/9/09

Who said there'd be public funding for abortions? I'm sorry but if an abortion is medically necessary (such as in the case of ectopic pregnancy or if giving birth would be detrimental to the baby and/or mother) it should be covered. Abortion has never, and shouldn't be, an easy way to get out of being a parent. People who choose abortion for whatever reason typically have thought long and hard about making this decision. They have to live with their decision and the guilt of it for the rest of their lives. Abortion isn't cheap so it's not something someone can do every eight months just because they don't a baby. If someone chooses to have an abortion, you can guarantee that they have thought about it in depth, did the research and came to the conclusion that would benefit everyone involved. And if anyone doesn't believe that, you live in your own fantasy world and I feel sorry for you.

by Steve Sack 12/9/09

This is how I typically feel. When snow falls, people forget how to drive. They either drive the same or they drive too cautiously. They never find the happy medium. And the people in trucks and SUVs who feel they are safe because they are in trucks or SUVs are just the worst.

by Jeff Stahler 12/11/09

There were like, three comics that talked about iPhone apps or apps in general. I've had my cell phone for almost three years now and I plan on keeping it until it plan stops working. Also, I don't need my phone to do all that crap. Make calls, take pictures, play music and maybe a mapping/GPS feature but that's all I need. That's honestly all anyone needs.

What's with the hat that kid's wearing?

by Mike Keefe 12/10/09

Here is a link to an article associated with this cartoon. I don't understand what the issue is. Colorado State University banned guns from it's campus. Good. Why in the hell do students need to bring guns onto campus anyway? I'm sure the uproar has something to do with infringing on our 2nd amendment rights but I do agree that you never quite know when King George III will return from the grave and demand taxes on our tea again.

Hunting is the only reason you need a gun. Let the comments begin....