Washington is all up in arms about the circumstances of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s rescue and the debates about whether he was a deserter and his father’s actions are again dredging up the type of bigotry we saw in the aftermath of 911. I don’t know why some talking heads are so surprised when soldiers become disillusioned after 13 years of war and witnessing stuff like this (#5).
It’s obvious that the Obama administration’s explanations about the Bergdahl rescue so far have been confusing and politically motivated but the loudest criticism about how the 5 high-ranking Taliban leaders being exchanged for Bergdahl’s release affects America’s security just makes me shake my head. I don’t remember hearing this much concern about our security when we were waging wars based on trumped up or nonexistence intelligence and creating international criticism and condemnation. Remember the French newspaper headline “We are all Americans now”? We quickly managed to lose worldwide sympathy and support by our subsequent actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. We won’t regain that or our moral standing for generations.
Category: politics
25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre
1989 Newsweek cover
Humor’s Edge opening -2004
My exhibition at the Library of Congress opened ten years ago today.
You won’t find a more dedicated group who understand and value editorial cartoons than the people in the Prints and Photographs division at the Library of Congress. They’re incredibly knowledgeable about the art form and its role in American history and are devoted to preserving and protecting the original art. To have the Library of Congress interested in adding my work to their collection was an amazing honor and an experience I’ll forever treasure.
Jeremy Adamson, Chief of Prints and Photographs
Harry Katz and Martha Kennedy, Exhibition Co-Curators
Sara Duke, Assistant Curator
Humor’s Edge flyer
President Obama Afghanistan statement
President Obama is scheduled to announce today that combat operations in Afghanistan will be over at the end of 2014. That 13 year war (and don’t forget Iraq) was certainly worth it, wasn’t it?
Frontline: United States of Secrets
If you’re not completely appalled by the actions of the Bush administration (& inaction by Obama) after watching the part 1 of Frontline’s United States of Secrets, you’re comatose. The hubris of people like former NSA director Michael Hayden and Vice President Cheney’s former legal counsel David Addington is jaw-dropping and the treatment of longtime NSA employees turned whistleblowers absolutely chilling.
Calder, Lautrec, and Feiffer
One of the things I love best about living in Washington DC is the ability to just take a short walk down to the Mall and see the latest museum exhibition. My favorite ones (so far) were the Alexander Calder and Toulouse Lautrec exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art and the Jules Feiffer one at the Library of Congress.
Calder exhibition flyer
Lautrec exhibition flyer
Feiffer exhibition flyer
Do as I say, not as I do
It never ceases to amaze me when people from the GW Bush administration offer their thoughts about current political events, completely oblivious to the irony of their words today with their role getting us into the Iraq War. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and most members of the Cheney Family seem to do this on a regular basis…
From the archives (2006)
Climate change fry-up
(click image for Washington Post animation)
Time for an atheist justice on the Supreme Court
I’ve mentioned this here before that I’m a firm believer in the Separation of Church and State. Not because of my religious beliefs or non-beliefs but because I think Separation of Church and State is the best way to ensure that all Americans have the freedom to worship (or not) without intimidation or threats.
I think the Court is missing the point about allowing prayer in government institutions when using the “coercion” argument. The issue isn’t whether or not the actual prayer praises or denigrates a particular faith- it’s whether there should be any prayers at all before a public town council meeting. How about a moment of silence? One could recite the Lord’s Prayer, offer praise to Allah, or just mentally go over your grocery list. I myself would welcome a moment of silence before having to listen to politicians start blabbering.
Supreme Court pushes Church & State closer together
Just a few minutes ago the Supreme Court ruled that the town of Greece didn’t violate the Constitution by opening their council meetings with a Christian prayer. More on this later but here’s a related cartoon from 2001:
World Press Freedom Day 2014
Today is World Press Freedom Day. When I do cartoons about the media I tend to concentrate on the American one and it’s usually to criticize (see previous post). However, there are many journalists throughout the world who are willing to put their lives in danger on a regular basis because they believe in what they do. A free press is indispensable for a free society; it must be protected.
The White House Correspondents Dinner
The annual inappropriate schmoozefest, also known as the White House Correspondents dinner takes place this Saturday. The whole idea of journalists yucking it up with politicians at fancy Washington events only confirms what most Americans think- that the Media is elitist and not interested in holding government leaders accountable. Rem Rieder from the American Journalism Review has criticized this event for years; here’s his piece from 2012.
Here’s a link to Stephen Colbert’s 2006 speech which ruffled the Washington Media’s feathers.