Francois Hollande's Opus

I wasn't entirely sure about this cartoon initially, but after I worked out some of the dialogue, I felt better. Plus French President Hollande has a really fun face to draw. I'll be looking forward to drawing him again in the future.

The Vikings Clean House

I Could Go For A Slice

Not much to say about this cartoon. It isn't especially ideological or poignant, but I felt compelled to draw it none the less.

Scott Walker: Entrepreneur

It's been a while since I drew any editorial cartoons. I've had some time off this week and thought I would do a toon or two. Then I realized it was Wisconsin's recall primary elections on Tuesday which meant that the official recall election was less than a month away. What better time to start cartooning again. On another note, as of Tuesday, Scott Walker had raised $25 million in campaign contributions 60% of which came from out of state. Legal? Yes. Should it be? No.

New Illustrations

I recently got a somewhat large illustration gig- at least large for me. It was going to be 17 paintings in two weeks which didn't sound terrible at the time. But after all the sketching, revisions, and rigmarole, I really only had a few days to complete all of them. Yes there were several all nighters involved. Enough with the pity party, below are a few of the watercolors that I liked.

Not Army Strong... Perry Strong

Scott Walker's Castle

Wisconsin state Legislature is going to grant Gov. Walker the power to ratchet up the rules on state recalls. Since Walker's one year of immunity is nearing its end, I'd imagine he will go quite out of his way to save his rear end and avoid a recall at all costs. But with the partisan atmosphere in Wisconsin, I don't really know that his actions will have much effect one way or the other.

Congressional Reruns

What can I say about Congress that isn't already communicated with a 12 percent (for the moment) approval rating?

On another note, I thought I would loosely base the guy in the chair off my dad. I haven't ever drawn anyone I knew into an illustration or a cartoon before, so I thought it would be fun. Plus my dad has some intense eyebrows so when he gets upset, you can tell.

Solar-darity

It's sad to say, but there is a good chance that Solyndra's bankruptcy will affect the momentum of green energy and technology. With the 2012 election campaigns coming into full swing, where to allocate our limited federal resources will become a hot issue for candidates. Unfortunately I think Obama and renewable energy will take a big hit on this one.

That Rascally DMV

There's always somebody trying to sell you something.

Cartooning At Last!

With the Wisconsin special recall elections out of the way (minus two Democrat senators on the chopping block next week), it might serve Democrats well to reflect on the results. Only two districts were able to replace their former Republican lawmakers, one short of the three required to make a Democrat majority. This is not surprising as Democrats in this country have developed an innate ability to fail at everything.

There has been a bit of speculation whether the results of the elections are an indication of a nation wide sentiment: public sector unions are destroying the country. At the moment, many American's are popping Dramamine to assist in the tumultuous voyage that has been the economy. A pertinent distraction to be sure. Of course America's nausea may persist, but at the Wisconsinites' Pharmacy(liquor store) there's a more appropriate remedy. Part of me doubts that the elections will phase anyone outside of the Cheesehead state. However, the rigid, partisan divide in Wisconsin is completely in line with the rest of the nation. That, I do believe, will foreshadow the 2012 election season. As per usual, the Republicans' inane rhetoric will trump thoughtful, deliberate, debate just as "Wisconsin Pharmacies" will trump Dramamine, Aspirin, or even mild opiates.

Old Hat

All six actual democrats won in the primaries yesterday. Even though the Wisconsin republicans' fake democrats were a bust, I'm sure they have more dishonest plots in the works before the general elections in August.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/125464393.html

Hamid Karzai Double Take

Exemption for Romney?

I haven't gotten around to coloring this one yet, but his day is coming.

Budget Slashing

The FEMA budget should be one of the safest allotments in the federal budget. It should be. The Obama budget plan does put some cuts in FEMA during a year that has seen numerous calamities, natural disasters, and the like. However, any conservative that blasts this "irresponsible" plan must do one of three things:

1) admit that global warming is in some way affecting the frequency of strong weather occurrences and subsequently depleting FEMA's resources.
2) take a look at the other socially irresponsible budget cuts that they so adamantly cling to.
3) pull their heads out of their asses.

Tijuana Donkey Show

In recent weeks, the political landscape has been strewn with scandals involving lawmakers, a governor, even the French philanderer, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. While many of the acts of inappropriate behavior shouldn’t be advocated, one must wonder if it is at all appropriate for the matters to be discussed on a national level in a manner akin to one of those “donkey shows” in Tijuana that I keep hearing about. It is true that lewd behavior on the part of any politician reflects directly on his or her (but not really her) character. At the same time, however, the thought that our elected and appointed officials should be infallible is one of ignorance and naivety.

But why do they warrant so much of our attention? Former senator Larry Craig had us tapping our feet all the way to hysteria. We impeached Bill Clinton because of a blowjob. Sometimes I really wish these political leaders were afforded the same privacy that us regular folks hold so dear.

Planet of the Blagojevich

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich took the stand in his retrial this week. How is that clown's trial still going on nearly 3 years after his offenses took place?

Corn-acopia

I wonder how often people really question why Iowa's primaries are held before all other states and how the ramifications affect the subsequent elections.