Leftycartoons

The Ten Stupidest Objections to the Occupy Wall Street Movement

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
Panel 1 Large lettering says “The Ten Stupidest Objections to the Occupy Wall Street Movement” In the lower right-hand corner of the panel, a self-portrait of the cartoonist, a fat guy with long dark hair, says: I’ve heard or read all these myself! Panel 2 Furious-looking yelling man in polo shirt: Folks in third-world countries are EVEN POORER, so poor people in AMERICA should be GRATEFUL and SHUT UP! Panel 3 Balding man at laptop: If they don’t have an official media spokesperson, how can we take them seriously? Panel 4 Angry yelling woman: They criticize corporations, but use SMART PHONES made by CORPORATIONS! HYPOCRITES! Same woman, added as an afterthought: And they wear clothes! Panel 5 Person with long hair in a ponytail, shrugging and looking confused: Shouldn’t they protest in WASHINGTON instead? That’s where the people in CHARGE are, right? Panel 6 Angry man with giant head and a necktie: THEY’RE HIPPIES! HIPPIES SUCK! I HATE GODDAMNED HIPPIES! Panel 7 Concerned looking woman with long wavy hair that I was happy with how the drawing came out: Why aren’t they wearing NECKTIES, like civil rights marchers fifty years ago? Panel 8 Angry, strict-looking man wearing a vest and with his shirt buttoned all the way up: There was a bad statistic on a hand-lettered sign! That’s PROOF these people are liars! Panel 9 Smiling woman in striped shirt who looks as if she thinks she’s making a really telling point: Why aren’t these people at JOBS instead of protesting? HUH? Why not? Huh? Panel 10 Paranoid man in a trenchcoat with the collar turned up, standing against a brick wall, whispering something confidential: “Occupy Wall Street” is OBAMA setting up the country for riots! Panel 11 A yelling man with a huge open mouth, whose face fills up virtually all of the panel: A movement that FAILS to compress its entire meaning into a simple SOUNDBITE is DOOMED! DOOOOOMED!

Spoiler Inside

Posted in Uncategorized |

Spoiler Inside
The cartoon features a lot of small panels, all featuring a single fat figure (some larger, some less large). The panels cascade and pile up on a final large image at the bottom of the strip. CAPTION AT TOP: WHEN I GET THIN… DUDE IN TIE: Then people will appreciate me. ENTHUSED WOMAN: Then I’ll write my novel. PERSON IN GLASSES: Then I’ll have the lover I deserve. DISTANT WOMAN: Then I’ll go dancing. WOMAN IN ZIG ZAG SHIRT: Then I’ll buy some nice clothes. GUY WITH BACK TURNED: Then I won’t be so shy. BALDING MAN: Then I’ll deserve to have a lover. WOMAN READING NEWSPAPER: Then I’ll look for a better job. MAN LOOKING IN MIRROR: Then I’ll like myself. (There are several panels at the bottom which we can’t see all of, due to other panels piled on top of them, but we can see little bits of characters and dialog, all starting with the word “then”). The bottom of the strip shows a person with long dark hair, arms on hips, facing a wall (and away from the viewer) and glaring. There’s a big window, but the person isn’t looking out the window. PERSON (in thought balloons): Then! Then! Then!

Top Ten Ways Teachers’ Unions Caused The Economic Crisis

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
Panel one TITLE: Top Ten Ways Teacher’s Unions Caused the Economic Crisis (note: the words “teacher’s unions” are in a dripping blood font). GRINNING DUDE IN SUIT WHO IS WEARING A FAKE HALO: Brought to you by the coalition of completely innocent bankers! Panel two BALDING DUDE IN SUIT, WITH PEDANTIC ATTITUDE: Maybe bankers wouldn’t destroy the economy if SOMEBODY had done a better job teaching them addition! Panel three DUDE IN SPORTS SHIRT: Two words: SUMMER VACATIONS. Panel four GRINNING WOMAN HOLDING BIBLE: If teachers allowed prayer in class and didn’t teach evolution, GOD wouldn’t have FORSAKEN THE ECONOMY! Panel five MAN SITTING ON HUGE PILE OF MONEY: Teacher pay sucks MILLIONS from the economy that could otherwise be spent in more PRODUCTIVE sectors of the economy. Like finance! Panel six YET ANOTHER BALDING DUDE WITH A NECKTIE, SCREAMING AND GESTURING WILDLY: UNIONS ARE EEEVIILLLL!! BOOGA BOOOGA! Panel seven SMILING WOMAN WITH NICE HAIR: When we just GIVE children an education, we kill their instinct for the FREE MARKET! First graders need more skin in the game! Panel eight MAN IN KLAN OUTFIT: Teachers unions support DEMOCRATS, democrats support giving MORTGAGES to BLACK PEOPLE, loaning BLACKS money DESTROYS the ECONOMY. Isn’t that obvious? Panel nine RICH DUDE STANDING IN FRONT OF MANSION: If unions didn’t lower PRODUCTIVITY, we BANKERS wouldn’t have to sell worthless sub-prime mortgages just to squeak out a meager living! Panel ten Image shows two young people, looking angry, and wearing Hogwarts uniforms. GIRL: After Voldemort killed Lily and James Potter, his NEXT STEP was forming a TEACHERS’ UNION! BOY: What a louse! Panel eleven GRINNING, POWERFUL-LOOKING DUDE IN SUIT: If no one was teaching MATH, we wouldn’t even KNOW there WAS an economic crisis. Problem SOLVED!

Spoiler Inside

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Spoiler Inside
Panel 1: A woman, two small children, and a man dressed like an evil landlord from a silent movie (including curly mustache) are standing atop a precariously balanced wedge of land. The underpinnings of the land have been dug out until they’re basically nonexistent. The woman is yelling in panic, the evil man is grinning and holding a shovel. WOMAN: SOMEBODY HELP US! This GREEDY BANKER undermined our ECONOMY and it’s about to COLLAPSE! Panel 2: A male superhero with a “G” in a superman-like chest design flies through the skies, somewhat startling a bird. SUPERHERO: As the GOVERMENT, I can’t just WATCH this happen… I must TAKE ACTION! TO THE RESCUE! Panel 3: With a determined expression, the superhero kicks out the remaining foundation, and the two children, the woman, and the evil man go tumbling towards the ground. Panel 4: The superhero flies through the skies, smiling, carrying the grinning evil man gently in his arms. EVIL MAN: My hero!

The End Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
First panel: We see a deep pit. Climbing out of the pit, using a rope and anchor, are three cartoon letters, each with arms and legs: “L,” “G,” and “B.” L: Almost there… Almost free of this horrible HOLE of DISCRIMINATION! Second panel: The three letters have climbed out of the pit, and are dancing and celebrating. LG & B (speaking together): We MADE IT! “Don’t ask don’t tell” is GONE! Third Panel: The shot has moved down to the bottom of the pit; the top of the panel is now above the top of the panel. There, still holding onto the rope and climbing, is a cartoon letter “T.” Word balloon from above the top of the panel: Thank goodness that’s over! Now we can rest! Another word balloon from above: YAY! T: Um… GUYS?

Spoiler Inside

Don’t get me wrong — I’m thrilled about the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We should celebrate. But we shouldn’t forget that the work ain’t done.

Transgender American Veteran’s Association (TAVA) president Monica Helms wrote:

On this day of celebration, TAVA has one request for all of those who will be cheering and partying. We ask that everyone take a moment of silence to acknowledge that the fight is not over. A moment of silence for all of those trans people who will still face discharge when being outed.

Take a moment to remember the trans people who gave their lives in silence to protect this country. TAVA stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in celebrating this historical day. All we ask is for them to stand in solidarity with the trans community in our struggle to end ALL discrimination in the US military. The fight is not over.

Posted in LGBT cartoons |

The Modern Sisyphus

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
PANEL 1 The first panel has a close-up of a Black person’s hands pushing a boulder uphill. The title of the strip, “Modern Sisyphus,” is written on the boulder. PANEL 2 We see a black woman, wearing casual office clothing, pushing a boulder uphill. A few yards above her, at the top of the hill, a white man stands listening with his arms crossed. WOMAN: I realize that you never owned slaves or raped anyone. I’m talking about systematic racism and sexism, okay? PANEL 3 The woman has pushed the boulder to almost the very top of the hill. WOMAN: Yes, I’m qualified to be in my job… No, I don’t hate white men… No, sexism and racism didn’t end thirty years ago… PANEL 4 The woman has lost her grip on the boulder and watches, appalled, as it quickly rolls back down the hill. The man walks away, disappearing off the right side of the panel. MAN: If you just stopped focusing on these things, you’d be happier… I gotta go now. PANEL 5 The woman stands looking down the hill in the direction the boulder went, slumped a little. PANEL 6 Still slumped a little, the woman tiredly walks downhill. WOMAN: Sigh…

Spoiler Inside

Posted in Anti-racist cartoons, Feminist cartoons |

How Democracy Works

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
The cartoon has three panels. Each panel shows a crowd of milling citizens, who vary in sex, race, and age, yelling up to a giant white man wearing a suit and tie. The giant’s head is far distant from the citizens, and he gives no sign of hearing what they’re saying. PANEL 1 GIANT: I’m PROUD I’ve been elected to represent the great people of this region! CROWD1: I’ve been unemployed for six months! CROWD2: How come the banks get help… PANEL 2 From offpanel, a giant hand hands the giant white man a giant bundle of cash. GIANT: I promise I’ll — Pardon me a moment. THANKS, Eric. CROWD1: Medical costs keep going up… CROWD2: In jail for a joint… Panel 3 The giant resumes speaking while he pockets the bundle of cash. GIANT: I PROMISE I’ll ALWAYS listen to the voices of ORDINARY CITIZENS! CROWD1: Tuition has doubled… CROWD2: Unemployed for ten months… CAPTION (Running across the strip, under all three panels): HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS

Spoiler Inside

Quoting a paper by Martin Gilens (pdf link):

Using an original data set of almost 2,000 survey questions on proposed policy changes between 1981 and 2002, I find a moderately strong relationship between what the public wants and what the government does, albeit with a strong bias toward the status quo. But I also find that when Americans with different income levels differ in their policy preferences, actual policy outcomes strongly reflect the preferences of the most affluent but bear little relationship to the preferences of poor or middle income Americans.

In the table above, the dark line represents the opinions of the highest-earning 10% of Americans. The further to the right the dark line goes, the more that top 10% wants a policy change to happen. And the further towards the top the dark line goes, the more likely it is that politicians will make the desired policy change happen. As you can see, the more the top 10% want a change, the more likely it is to happen.

The gray line represents the opinions of the lowest-earning 10% of Americans. As you can see, it’s completely irrelevant what they (er, we?) think. Politicians couldn’t care less. Gilens also has a similar graph showing that politicians barely listen any more to middle-class Americans than they do to poor Americans.

(See also, this essay by political scientist Larry Bartels.)

Posted in Economic cartoons, Elections |

The Economic Policy Rainbow (Republican Edition)

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
Panel 1 Angry middle-management white man: Government has gotten too damn big. That’s why I want to cut taxes. Panel 2 Anxious-looking white man: Unemployment is going down! That could create inflationary pressure! And the cure is tax cuts. Panel 3 Preppy looking white guy: The Federal deficit is unsustainable! That’s why I support major tax cuts! White guy with mohawk: Wouldn’t tax cuts make the deficit bigger? Preppy guy again: Math has a liberal bias. Panel 4 Wide-eyed white woman: People with incomes above a quarter million face too great a burden! It’s inhuman! We must lower income taxes! (We can pay for it by defunding Medicaid.) Panel 5 Grinning white man in suit: Unemployment is high! If we slash taxes, then unemployment will definitely go down to 3%. Like it did under George Bush! Panel 6 Yelling white man in disco suit: Fashion has inexplicably changed since my youth! We need tax cuts! CAPTION UNDER WHOLE CARTOON: The Economic Policy Rainbow (Republican Edition)

Spoiler Inside

Posted in Economic cartoons |

The Wage Gap And Women’s Choices

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
The scene: Two women talk. One wears a black skirt, the other has a ponytail. Panel one BLACK SKIRT: the WAGE GAP has nothing to do with SEXISM! women are paid less because they make different CHOICES. Panel two BLACK SKIRT: HAVING A FAMILY, for example. many women take time off from work to take care of children or elderly relatives… Panel three BLACK SKIRT: so women work less. or work part-time. or need more flexible jobs. and as a result, they get paid less. but what does that have to do with SEXISM? Panel four PONYTAIL: couldn’t MEN do half of that unpaid work? BLACK SKIRT: that’s CRAZY TALK! Panel four, tiny subpanel in the corner PONYTAIL: okay, i’ll let someone ELSE raise my kids. BLACK SKIRT: what kind of LOUSY mother does THAT?

Spoiler Inside

Posted in Economic cartoons, Feminist cartoons |

Health Care and Freedom

Cartoon by admin

Spoiler Inside
The scene: A woman in casual business wear addresses the reader directly. Panel one Woman: i’m TRAPPED in my job, because my kid is sick, and if i change jobs there goes my health insurance! Panel two Woman: i have a great idea for a business start-up — the kind of thing that could change my life! but i’m TRAPPED in my job because of the health insurance. Panel three Woman: the job recently forced me to relocate to IDAHO. i HATE living in idaho! i miss my family. but i’m trapped in my job because… well, you know. Panel four Woman: my boss assigns me unpaid overtime and makes inappropriate comments… but i can’t tell him to SHOVE it, because i’m TRAPPED. Panel five Woman: so my friend tells me that to solve all these problems, i should support single-payer health care. and i said to her, ARE YOU NUTS? Panel six Woman: once the government gets involved in health care, we won’t be FREE!

Spoiler Inside

Posted in Health care |

The Ten Stupidest Objections to the Occupy Wall Street Movement

When I Get Thin…

Top Ten Ways Teachers’ Unions Caused The Economic Crisis

Government To The Rescue!

The End Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

The Modern Sisyphus

How Democracy Works

The Economic Policy Rainbow (Republican Edition)

The Wage Gap And Women’s Choices

Health Care and Freedom

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