Hey, Libya

I'm glad we're finally doing comics about the airstrike on Libya. While I understand why we are doing it (I heard something about a "no-fly zone" but I am assuming we caved under pressure for people here and other countries who feel something needs to be done since it is obvious Gaddhafi is not going to step down of his own accord) I don't condone it. We are not the world's policemen and we've been acting like it since George W. Bush came into power, however, I do slightly blame Clinton since we did airstrike Iraq toward the end of his term.

I don't understand why we have to continue to be in Libya.  Couldn't we just drop a few bombs, damage a few of Gaddhafi's things, kill some innocent people then have Obama go on TV and say "if Gaddhafi doesn't step down there will be more of the same"? Sigh, I probably just don't understand war.

45 Park Place

Let's see. While dismantling the Constitution to the United States is fun and all, it's becoming the norm from people on the Republican side of the line. The last couple of weeks or so it's been because of a "mosque" that is being planned "at" the World Trade Center. Firstly, it's not a mosque--it's a community center that will have basketball courts, a culinary school and a prayer center but it is not a mosque. Secondly, "at" the World Trade Center is also misleading. As you can see here. The main issue that I have is all the people saying that they can't build it that close to the former World Trade Center. Yes, they can. It is private property that they purchased fair and square. The First Amendment guarantees that everyone in the country can practice whatever religion they want and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that the States treat everyone the same.

Newt Gingrich wrote in a blog post: "They ignore the fact that more than 100 mosques already exist in New York City. Meanwhile, there are no churches or synagogues in all of Saudi Arabia. In fact no Christian or Jew can even enter Mecca." Dear Newt, do you know why Saudi Arabia has no churches or synagogues? Because it is against the law there to practice any other religion in Saudi Arabia. As for Christians and Jews not being able to enter Mecca, well, it's kind of the same thing as a Catholic priest not being able to marry. Sure, it sounds kind of stupid but it's part of the religion so why can't we respect that?

Timothy McVeigh--who blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building back in 1995--was Catholic so clearly we should ban the building of Catholic churches near that memorial. If, for some reason, this community center is not built and somehow the case goes to the Supreme Court and they deny its construction then it is a blow to our First Amendment rights. Which means, if that happens I will start protesting the building and expansion of all churches in my area.

How about instead of using the First Amendment to harm some innocent Muslims, we figure out a way to shut down the Westboro Baptist Church? I'm sure it would be a better use of our time and hatred.

Editorial Comics Review (2/5/10)

So the Kansas legislation is working harder than they ever have before. I can't remember them working this hard before. So what are they working on? Well, in an effort to help the Kansas citizens, who are being inundated with growing unemployment, lack of new jobs and school districts not being able to get paid, the legislation have taken up the daring tack of banning K2, a legal smoking herb that supposedly mimics the effect of marijuana, and creating a state-wide smoking ban that basically overrides any local smoking ban already in place.

So instead of dealing with the big problems the Kansas legislation is wasting time banning a legal substance, screwing over cities with an already effective smoking ban in place and avoiding the problems that are actually hurting our state. I've made my voting decisions for state offices for 2010 and 2012 and it's not going to be the people in power right now. Anyhoo, now onto the comics.

by Rob Rogers 1/31/10

I have still not donated money. What more can we do? We have stuff over here we need to focus on. It's horrible what's going on down there but there is only so much we can do--we can donate money until the buffalo poops but it's up to Haiti to use that money to fix their country.

by Jerry Holbert 2/4/10

Have you noticed that whenever Republicans find a new "golden boy" they immediately consider running him for president? Bobby Jindal was looking pretty good until that exorcism thing and looking like a bellboy in a fancy hotel during the Republican response to Obama's address to Congress. So did Sarah Palin until people realized that she's an airhead and causes more embarrassment for the party. Scott Brown's looking good right now because he was elected to fill a Kennedy's seathole. Who will be the next "golden boy"? I'm sure we'll find out in November 2010 when several Senatorial and gubernatorial elections take place.

by Jerry Holbert 2/2/10

Gee, who knew that it cost money to run a country that is ass-deep in war, having to pay into proven failed systems such as Social Security and Medicare, have to spend money on both commerce and the economy because those are where we're hurting pretty hard but just the normal amount of money we spend just to actually run the country.

For you idiots out there who are complaining about how the country is being run, if you feel that you can run it better or reduce spending then I am sure they would love to hear from you.

by Henry Payne 2/3/10

Henry Payne sure loves to draw cars. I think that if this happened to an American car, we would not be hearing about it as much but the fact that it's a foreign car so soon after the cash for clunkers thing, of course the jerks that are our news media are going to grab this story and run with it.

Cars are recalled all the time for many reasons and if a car is recalled then you can get the problem fixed at no cost to you. I'm sure people are more upset that the recall was for something that could potentially kill people just like the Ford/Firestone tire recall. Toyota is fixing the problem and I'm sure it won't happen again. Can we just move on?

Editorial Comics Review (1/22/10)

by Marshall Ramsey 1/21/10

I think Democrats would be more popular right now if instead of trying to work out a way for everyone to be happy, they just got stuff done. Say what you will about them but when Republicans are in power, they get crap done--popular and unpopular, they get it done and they don't look back. Democrats need to do that or they will lose in 2012.

by Matt Bors 1/18/10

This made me chuckle because that sounds exactly like something the military would do. I had a friend who was in the military years upon years ago (before he had come out of the closet) and he was dishonorably discharged because he happened to be near a gay pride parade. He wasn't watching it, he wasn't participating in it, he was near it. I think he was in the military before DADT but it really shows that nothing has really changed.

by Jeff Stahler 1/16/10

I will admit that I haven't donated any money to go to Haiti and I honestly don't plan to. Our country as a whole is sending money and I pay my taxes so I feel that that is my donation. It may sound mean and crass but it's true. I get so tired of America being the hero of any and every country that needs help. The United State is sending $100 million in aid to Haiti while the United Kingdom is only sending $32 million--not even half of what we send. Why do we do this when others countries don't even come close to matching us. We have problems over here that could use that $100 million.

by Rob Rogers 1/17/10

Jay Leno is a dick. He should've just sat back and waited the two years to see how Conan did and did monthly comedy specials but apparently there was something in his contract about being able to be a huge dick so he went ahead and did that.

Obama's approval rating, right now, is only at 56% so more than half of the people in this country still approve of what he's doing. Granted, it's slipping but no president would ever step down just because they are unpopular (George W. Bush got as low at 25% and he showed no signs of quitting). Also, I don't think Leno is as popular as this cartoon hints, nor is he qualified.

by Signe Wilkenson 1/22/10

The Supreme Court, in their infinite waning wisdom, voted 5-4 that corporations can donate unlimited amounts of money to the election candidate of their choice meaning that if AIG wants candidate Kieron Legosmith to be president, then AIG can give Legosmith billions of dollar to make the dream he's had since four months ago come true. The Supreme Court actually said that corporations deserve the same free speech given to citizens. And of course, Republicans celebrated, saying it was a victory for voter's rights while Democrats jeered that it was just a win for Big Money.

I'm not surprised anymore by the big stuff Republicans do like lie ("There's was no attack on American soil while George W. Bush was in charge") but it's the little things like this that make me wonder why there are still so many Republicans out there. It's obvious they are hurting our country but no one wants to stop them. Most of the Republicans I know are very religious but I know that there are Republicans who are like me and are in their mid to late 20s. Why are they Republican? I really want to know.

by Chris Britt 1/19/10
Yeah, Haiti made a deal with the devil which is why the earthquake happened. I just hope that Satan keeps all of his promises and lets the Haitians go blind by Christmas.

Rush Limbaugh is a huge jerk so nothing he says really surprises me but Pat Robertson, a man of God and religion, continues to say stupid and baffling stuff. Does he think about what he's saying before he says it? He's stopped being a man of God years ago and is now emerging as a racist preacher.

Editorial Comics Review (1/1/10)

Welcome to a brand new year and a whole new set of problems for our world. Luckily, new problems have the decency to stay away until the 10th or so so let's all enjoy it while we can.

by Michael Ramirez 12/30/09

I think the whole Detroit terrorist thing is being blown out of proportion. I feel the reason security sucks at the airport is because TSA is the stupidest department ever created and the people who work for them are your average people. Average people, after awhile, tend to start slacking off. "Now wait a minute," you might say. "The post office also hires regular people and they do just fine." And they do. But the post office works because the post office is for regular people. Security at airports needs to be handled by security firms hired by the airports and the airlines, not the government that way when/if something does happen, there is a layer of accountability. The way it's set up now it's a circle of blaming: airport blames security, security blames government, government blames security so security blames airport. By using an accredited security firm hired by the airport or airline, we know who to blame if this happens again.

by Rob Rogers 1/1/10

It's only a decade of terror because we made it a decade of terror. We could not watch any speech made by President Bush or nearly any Republican without them evoking 9/11 or alluding to it at some point. Riddle me this, stuff is blown up all the time in the Middle East (Israel and Palestine in particular) but when something blows up there, they immediately rebuild as a way to say "You may have blown us up but we are still here". Now look at the World Trade Center site. It's still a hole! It's tangled up in a mass of red tape caused by the Port Authority and lack of funds. But I guess it's your right to walk around scared of every Arab you see walking down the street and fearing that your small town of 60 in Nebraska is Ground Zero in the next 9/11-type attack but I won't. I have more important things to do.

by Matt Bors 12/28/09

I was reading through the government's recovery.gov website and one of the jobs the stimulus kept was half a job. Half a job? Really? Anyway, I'm not completely blaming Obama (although I did at least have a job while Bush was president) but I do blame him for not being tougher on all of this. Yeah, road and bridge projects are great but I am not qualified for construction jobs nor is anyone else I know. Sure, I could probably do it but when that project was done, I'd be laid off because I wouldn't be a good enough worker. In the 1940s, for a WPA project, Kansas made a whole set of books about their ghost towns (the Dead Town List). Why can't stuff like that be funded or something similar where histories of states and towns are preserved. I know a couple museums around here that could use some money to help catalog stuff.

by Marshall Ramsey 12/31/09

And thus we say good-bye to 2009, one of the worst years I have ever been around. I am more upset about the economy and the lay offs than I am about H1N1 but I understand what Ramsey is saying. Happy New Year everyone. Hope this decade is better than the last.

Editorial Comics Review (12/18/09)

Here is more editorial cartoons for you to read and get pissed off about what's going on in our world. I, for one, am ashamed.
by Rob Rogers 12/17/09

You know what I have loved about President Bush being out of office? I haven't had to see him on TV. Sure, I had to deal with Dick Cheney for a few months a while ago but he soon learned that no cares what a vice president has to say. Bush has had the good sense to stay away from the media. Here's hoping that lasts.

While I do know that people want to know President Bush's rationale about invading Iraq, I really don't. They gave us excuse after excuse about why we invaded and none of that has panned out. I can justify Afghanistan but never Iraq and I don't want to hear another lie come out of that man's smarky mouth.

(Th)ink by Keith Knight 12/16/09

And with this, the jokes about Tiger Woods have worn themselves out. Once again, we're just learning that athletes are not special but that they are human. You put a human on a pedestal and sooner or later, they are going to fall. And every time this happens, we never learn, we continue placing people on those pedestals and then get angry and take shots at them when they fall.

This kind of stuff happens so often that I am amazed that people continue putting athletes and movie stars in hero categories. Sure, I have my heroes but I don't place them on a pedestal and worship them like a god, mainly because I don't want to see my gods fall.

by Robert Ariail 12/18/09

Does Joe Lieberman ever plan on running for public office again? He's not helping out anyone from what I can tell. I knew the public option was off the table (which is mainly what WE THE PEOPLE want) but I didn't know there was a Medicare expansion part in the bill. And I guess, if you don't get insurance then the government can fine you. That makes sense. Force people who can't afford health insurance to get health insurance or fine them money they can't afford. Makes perfect sense to me.

I don't see why this health care bill is so hard to figure out. Why can't there be a public option? Why can't the health insurance companies be held accountable? Why can't we fucking expand Medicare to everybody who wants it? Our current health care system punishes those who cannot pay and doesn't have insurance, if this bill passes it will continue to punish those that cannot pay and essentially rewards the insurance companies. Creating a health bill that works for everyone was possible if our Senators would quit listening to the insurance companies, Fox News pundits and moronic constituents who don't even know what's going on.

by Marshall Ramsey 12/18/09

When did Al Gore become evil?

You have scientists around the world along with hundreds of other people saying that global warming is real, you would think you could just give them the benefit of the doubt. I reading the online comments of my local newspaper and one of the commentators said that his "father was a paleontologist for over 40 years" and that "he's laughing at all you global warning idiots". O...k...so global warming is just a huge global conspiracy aimed to do...what? What's in it for the scientists and other people who believe? Do they think this is their chance for their 15-minutes of fame? They think scaring people into recycling will get them famous and not, say, curing cancer? While I can typically see both sides of an issue when presented to me (in a direct, non-yelly format), I cannot see the other side of this issue. Even if global warming isn't true, what's the worst that can happen? We lose our dependency on foreign oil, we recycle more, reduce our carbon footprint and save a polar bear or two.

by Drew Litton 12/17/09

"Because he has some family issues he has to deal with." Why was that so hard? Is this going back to my "hero" rant earlier? You don't have to tell your child that Tiger put his wood into other women that weren't his wife. God, the way we coddle our children these days is disturbing.