…for the New Soul kickstarter fundraiser. Here’s a couple of more sketches I’ve done so far:
Category: society
Something new for me
Just about a year ago Michael Fry (Co-creator, Over the Hedge comic strip) contacted me and asked if I would be interested in storyboarding his newest project, a live action/animated short called New Soul. For a while I had been thinking about branching out beyond my animated editorial cartoons for the Washington Post, so of course I enthusiastically said yes. Larry Miller (Best in Show, The Nutty Professor) plays Advisor #51 and from what I’ve seen of the rough cut, it’s just a wonderful little gem of a film. Watch the trailer here at the Kickstarter campaign page. There’s only 48 more hours to go on this fundraiser!
Concept art for New Soul
The reality of our health care system
So, the last two animations I’ve done have dealt with conservatives talking nonsense about the healthcare situation in the US. This one was actual nonsense coming from a well-known voice of nonsensical talk and the other one, from a former VP who is peddling a book about his life-long healthcare experiences and obtaining a new heart.
I’m getting to the point where I feel like throwing something at my TV because of the current debate over whether or not people should be able to keep their current health care insurance plans in light of the Obamacare website fiasco. Conservatives are yelling about government forcing people to give up their current insurance plans, the talking heads are obsessing about how some people will end up paying more for their new health care insurance plans, and the House leadership is planning a bill called “Keep your Health Plan Act”. On the last one, they conveniently left out the operative word: insurance. We are just skimming the surface on a health care system which is complicated,ineffective and incredibly expensive- all because we refuse to discuss what is fundamentally wrong with how we provide health care. There are so many other systems in the world we could learn from but all it takes is one uninformed politician or talking head to scream “socialism” and it effectively shuts down any meaningful discussion.
I’ve mentioned this book before, but I’m going to again- 
Go buy it. It’s excellent and will open your eyes. I wish it was required reading for every member of Congress.
Veteran’s Day 2013
Virginia Gubernatorial Race- Election Day
It’s Election Day in Virginia. The republicans have managed yet again to offer the voters a candidate out of touch with so many Americans, especially women. Ken Cuccinelli, a staunch anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, social far-right gubernatorial candidate for the GOP is still behind Terry McAullife, but the numbers are tightening.
*UPDATE: Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe wins, but it was a tighter race than most predicted.
A candy corn bird for Halloween
Drones and civilian deaths
I’m just shaking my head…
“Actually, IDGAS how many. Killing potential enemies is messy”
That was a facebook comment in response to my current animation about human rights groups challenging the Obama Administration over the number of civilian deaths due to drone strikes. Ok, so even if one can’t feel simple human compassion for the deaths of non-Americans, I can’t understand how these people don’t see the impact these strikes have on our standing in the international community. Seems like it would just make the job of “killing potential enemies” harder.
The World of Justice Scalia
Here’s a well-informed Supreme Court Justice of the United States. According to a New York Magazine article, Justice Scalia only reads The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times. He admits he gets most of his news from talk radio and his favorite host is Bill Bennett.
*update: Be sure to read Justice Scalia’s answer to why he became an avid hunter. Scalia recounts when his grandfather and namesake Antonino became too old to go out into the woods, he would sit on the back porch and shoot rabbits who ventured out in the vegetable garden. When the interviewer suggests this isn’t a very sporting way to hunt, Scalia excuses it because his grandfather was 85 at the time. I wonder if Justice Scalia will be metaphorically shooting defenseless things from the Court bench in his old age…
*update #2: “… the only heroic opinion I ever issued— was my statement refusing to recuse”, Justice Scalia said of his decision not to recuse himself from the case which involved former Vice-president Cheney, his hunting buddy. If I can find the cartoon I did about that case, I’ll post it soon.
Found it! From 2004:
Supreme Court back in session
It’s the first day of the Supreme Court’s 2013 term. Head over to SCOTUSblog to read about what’s coming up.
International March for Elephants
I know that people’s attentions will be on the government shutdown and horrible shooting yesterday, but there’s a very worthwhile march happening today in Washington, DC to highlight the plight of elephants. Ivory belongs to the elephants.
House vote on Obamacare scheduled for Friday
If you went to the trouble of counting, there’s 42. That’s how many times the GOP leadership has held a vote to repeal/de-fund/kill the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Animation link
Another mass shooting- this time in Washington, DC
Another mass shooting in the United States. If I sound weary, it’s because I am. Although it’s early and details about the shooter are still emerging, the common ingredients are all there: easy access to guns, previous gun-related arrests, the powerful gun lobby, mental illness, and violent video games. Here’s a graphic reflecting who commits these mass shootings from Mother Jones:
I guess they forgot to include a graphic showing the male/female ratio.