RIP Tim Russert - Memorial Political Cartoon

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge

Does Agent Orange Work On Mice?

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeJohn McCain alerted us that he is computer illiterate. That is fine, there is no law stating one must know how to use a computer, my Grandmother can't use a computer - she never really cared to learn. Kos has some reflections from an Atrios post... Technology now infects every corner of our lives, from cell phones to computers to the internet. It has given us access to the worlds' libraries, empowering us with direct access to information. It has connected us with people all over this country and world, dramatically redefining what the word "community" means. It is dramatically reshaping entire sectors of our economy -- from the nation's thriving tech sector, to legacy sectors like publishing, music, motion picture, medicine, and retail. And how many workplaces remain without computers? How can a candidate who admits he is stuck in the 20th century lead a country in the 21st, when he lacks even the most basic understanding of how this brave new century operates? He doesn't know how people interact and communicate. He doesn't know have the faintest idea of how they work. And this from the guy who once chaired the commerce committee! Is it any wonder that McCain has been completely unable to adapt to the rigors of a 21st century campaign, in which YouTube and blogs can instantaneously expose every single one of his myriad flip flops and capture every one of his ghastly grins? Technology touches every aspect of my life. My day job is running an ad agency - an interactive ad agency. It pays the bills and provides for my family. My work load (after drawing a tad of daily political insanity) is a whirl of Twitter, Second Life, email, BlackBerry iPhone, Google Maps, feeds, YouTube, Skype, IM - Hell, it seems everything I own has to boot and negotiate a network before I can use it. I also run a charity, Books For Soldiers, that is 100% dependent on web communications. Soldiers hit the website, the order goes into the database and a volunteer with the book on their shelves sends it to the soldier. All of that, save for the actual shipping, takes place on the web. Does anyone think the web will be less influential in the future? Will we be less networked (providing Bush doesn't nuke the planet) and less communicative in the next four years? I doubt it (but I don't doubt Bush's itchy nuke finger). I have two clients with Clicks and Mortar businesses (retail store with an eCommerce solution) who are considering closing their retail store and just staying with their eCommerce website. I think as gas prices continue to rise, we will see more of this in the future - let UPS bring it to the doorstep. Yes, shipping charges will increase, but who wants to drive all around town looking for something when gas reaches $5 a gallon? Some areas have already hit that mark. So when McCain says he is computer illiterate, I see that as an immediate disqualifier for the office of President. If he doesn't have a good grasp on economics, then his computer illiteracy will seal the doom of his Administration and, unfortunately, our nation will continue to suffer the idiocy of the Right. If you do not understand the web, you cannot possibly make any good decisions about fiscal policy. Barack Obama is my age. We are the first generation that was raised on software. Our first exposure may have been in the form of a PONG machine or a Commodore 64 - maybe we rubbed elbows in the computer lab while slaving over an Apple ][. I remember when I started poking data into.... oh, never mind. The point is, we were the first to be raised on software. And it seems Obama has kept up with his use of technology. While on the road, he stays in touch with his family by using web chat. That makes me comfortable. So when Obama hears eBay was down for an hour, he will understand the multi-million dollar impact that has on small businesses. This is not an age thing. There are plenty of senior citizens who are very web savvy. It is a competency thing. I wouldn't want anyone as President that never used a phone either. Phones and the web are both vital for daily life in America and the rest of the world. McCain is simply compromised, incompetent and will never understand the saying, "you will take my laptop when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers." SPECIAL REQUEST FOR TCD FANS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). You can read the Chronicle article here and please add your thoughts to the comments if you wish. If anything, put in a good word for Darren and Candorville. I am submitting Town Called Dobson to the paper for their consideration. They seem to have given great weight to receiving 200 messages considering Candorville. I am asking TCD fans to try to surpass that amount. (I get more than that many hate mails a day, surely fans can do better?) This is not a race between Darren and I, it is a hope that more progressive strips can be represented in the printed press of America. So if you read the San Francisco Chronicle or live in the Bay Area (Google Analytics tell me there are a lot of you), please send your kind comments (or naked, straining outrage) to David Wiegand at his published addresses below. If you are a subscriber, cut out your mailing label and staple it to a TCD strip and include it in your letter. candorcomment@sfchronicle.com or David Wiegand Executive Datebook Editor The San Francisco Chronicle 901 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94103

Pledging for Dark Lord Cheney

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeMcCain has been chanting about how he is not McSame, not running for Bush's third term, and he is not a GOP sycophant. No one in the reality-based community believes a word of all of this. What do we have as proof you might wonder? Well, here is some straight talk from Mr. Maverick himself: At a July 15 appearance in Michigan, McCain dampened the speculation by calling Cheney “one of the most capable, experienced, intelligent and steady vice presidents this country has ever had. [...] Asked whether he’d be interested in Cheney had the vice president not already have served under Bush for two terms, McCain said: “I don’t know if I would want him as vice president. He and I have the same strengths. But to serve in other capacities? Hell, yeah.” What cabinet posts would McCain appoint Cheney to? My guess would be in an area where Cheney could have maximum effect - where he has performed overwhelmingly in the GOP's favor. Secretary of Energy? Secretary of Defense? Whatever position McCain would appoint Cheney to, it would be a position where Cheney could make his office more powerful than any VP McCain could possibly select. SPECIAL REQUEST FOR TCD FANS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). You can read the Chronicle article here and please add your thoughts to the comments if you wish. If anything, put in a good word for Darren and Candorville. I am submitting Town Called Dobson to the paper for their consideration. They seem to have given great weight to receiving 200 messages considering Candorville. I am asking TCD fans to try to surpass that amount. (I get more than that many hate mails a day, surely fans can do better?) This is not a race between Darren and I, it is a hope that more progressive strips can be represented in the printed press of America. So if you read the San Francisco Chronicle or live in the Bay Area (Google Analytics tell me there are a lot of you), please send your kind comments (or naked, straining outrage) to David Wiegand at his published addresses below. If you are a subscriber, cut out your mailing label and staple it to a TCD strip and include it in your letter. candorcomment@sfchronicle.com or David Wiegand Executive Datebook Editor The San Francisco Chronicle 901 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94103

When will Neo-Cons ever take a marketing class?

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThe Neo-cons have been on the "scary black man" meme for some time now and show no signs of letting up. Fox News' anchor, E.D. Hill, started yapping about Michelle and Barack Obama's dap and called it a "terrorist fist jab." From the LA Times: The anchor never explained the origin of the term, which she read off the teleprompter as part of a written intro to the segment, according to a network executive familiar with the situation. The phrase apparently came from a simple reader comment posted on an article on the conservative website Human Events that accused Michelle Obama of being un-American and employing “'Hezbollah' style fist-jabbing.” Sean Hannity prattles on and on about "secret Muslim," "Obama's radical past," and "most liberal man in the Senate." I wonder how Ted Kennedy feels about losing that title to Obama? I am sure he has larger fish to fry these days. (Get well Ted!) One marketing lesson the GOP seems to have forgotten, is that if the marketing message stays the same, it looses its power. You have to mix it up but all they have on Obama is his skin, hence we will be saturated, I predict, with "Scary Black Man" for months to come. SPECIAL REQUEST FOR TCD FANS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). You can read the Chronicle article here and please add your thoughts to the comments if you wish. If anything, put in a good word for Darren and Candorville. I am submitting Town Called Dobson to the paper for their consideration. They seem to have given great weight to receiving 200 messages considering Candorville. I am asking TCD fans to try to surpass that amount. (I get more than that many hate mails a day, surely fans can do better?) This is not a race between Darren and I, it is a hope that more progressive strips can be represented in the printed press of America. So if you read the San Francisco Chronicle or live in the Bay Area (Google Analytics tell me there are a lot of you), please send your kind comments (or naked, straining outrage) to David Wiegand at his published addresses below. If you are a subscriber, cut out your mailing label and staple it to a TCD strip and include it in your letter. candorcomment@sfchronicle.com or David Wiegand Executive Datebook Editor The San Francisco Chronicle 901 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94103

John McCain's Friend Phil Gramm

The topic below was originally posted on my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal. With the drama of the Obama/Clinton race finally over we can focus on the sharp contrasting platforms and personalities of Barack Obama and John McCain. An old cliché is that we can judge people by the company they keep. McCain’s camp has vigorously tried to scare people about Obama’s associations. Well, if you’re a hard working wage earner consider John McCain’s friend Phil Gramm. In 1996, John McCain endorsed former Texas Senator Phil Gramm’s quest for the presidency. As a Senator, Gramm was the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and worked hard to promote the interests of banks and credit card companies at the expense of wage earners and small business entrepreneurs. Gramm is currently one of five campaign co-chairs for John McCain. One can surmise that Gramm, who fancies himself an expert on economics, will have a major influence and perhaps a senior position in a McCain administration. Gramm was also an advocate of undermining the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) that mandated depository banks to contribute housing and small business loans in poorer communities to help people join the middle class. During the 1990s, the CRA under President Bill Clinton was actually enforced and helped raise the standard of living of people who needed it most. Instead, John McCain's friend preferred to deregulate the financial services industry and promote predatory lending practices that enriched the wealthy at the expense of working people. Gramm is a classic practitioner of class warfare waged from the top. Furthermore, elitists have even scapegoated the CRA about the current mortgage housing crisis and look upon Phil Gramm as their ally on the inside. To learn more about the CRA and how it is being scapegoated, listen to my recent podcast interview with economist Jared Bernstein by clicking here. Today, Phil Gramm is the vice chairman of a U.S. division of Zurich-based financial powerhouse UBS and as Newsweek reports: “UBS has recently written off huge losses in subprime-mortgage-based securities, and last week liberal bloggers noted that Gramm was a registered UBS lobbyist on mortgage-securities issues until at least December 2007. NEWSWEEK has learned that UBS is also currently the focus of congressional and Justice Department investigations into schemes that allegedly enabled wealthy Americans to evade income taxes by stashing their money in overseas havens, according to several law-enforcement and banking officials in both the United States and Europe, who all asked for anonymity when discussing ongoing investigations. In April, UBS withdrew Gramm's lobbying registration, but one of his former congressional aides, John Savercool, is still registered to lobby legislators for UBS on numerous issues, including a bill cosponsored by Sen. Barack Obama that would crack down on foreign tax havens. ‘UBS is treating these investigations with the utmost seriousness and has committed substantial resources to cooperate,’ a UBS spokesman told NEWSWEEK, adding that Gramm was deregistered as a lobbyist because he spends less than 20 percent of his time on such activity. Hazelbaker said the McCain campaign ‘will not comment on the details … of ongoing investigations and legal charges not yet proved in court.’” As a liberal blogger, I am especially proud how Newsweek acknowledged that, “last week liberal bloggers noted that Gramm was a registered UBS lobbyist on mortgage-securities issues until at least December 2007.” We liberal bloggers must remain vigilant in the pursuit of truth and relentlessly remind people of what John McCain and his supporters are really about. McCain will try to portray himself as a maverick reformer and change agent. Facts are stubborn things though as Ronald Reagan used to stay. McCain’s longtime relationship with Phil Gramm suggests that a McCain presidency would represent more corporatism and class warfare waged from the top.