It seems logical that Santa would visit the unemployment office AFTER Christmas, of course, but those pesky editors just aren’t in the mood to buy Santa Claus anything after Christmas Day – I guess they think the cartoon should be half price! This year, with over 10% unemployed (as Obama confirmed  in the oh so casual before Christmas White House Special that Oprah did, that has already aired twice – yeah, it’s over 10%.) seems like unemployment is any time of the year. There’s a good chance many Santas didn’t get to work this year at all, so I hope this makes sense both before and after Christmas.

Yikes, unemployment went up to 12.5% in California, the Los Angeles Times said!

California still has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, yes, and its unemployment rate is a whopping 4.5 percentage points higher than it was in October 2008. But the job gains are a significant part of a trend that’s seen the pace of job loss slow as the economy pulled itself back together again.

What the hell do they mean?

California actually added 25,700 jobs in October, making this the first month since April of 2008 that the state has gained jobs.

Truly, sometimes I think they just rearrange facts at the Times to have something new to say.

Anyway, I added 3 elves to this particular Santa, so we know he’s the real one, and I’m sure he worked this year. Didn’t I get some Christmas cards, and don’t I have a new monitor coming real soon?! Could not resist having one of the elves holding a new Christmas toy – perhaps an iPhone, or – wait a second- wouldn’t it make more sense if it were a BLACKBERRY?  Ho ho ho.

Cartoon caption: “But it says here you have 350 years experience in overnight delivery…” at the Unemployment Office.

I must say, I had a lot of fun fooling around with a rough bumbling Photoshop brush for the background, and even for Santa’s suit. The colors are exactly what I was hoping for.

More cartoons:

1. Santa is unemployed and may need Prozac.
2. Graduation chuckles for the undereducated crowd.

Anyway, back to Christmas! I’ve been studying what the layout is of the White House, trying to see the furniture properly, which apparently changes with each new King and Queen. The Christmas tree shown on Oprah’s special took days to decorate, with dozens of volunteers. It was beautiful. I guess it stuck in my mind,  and that’s how this Christmas tree popped out.

Did President Obama really do a lot at the Copenhagen Climate talks? Besidess show up, I mean?

CNN talks about the importance of rainforests and REDD:

The U.N.’s REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) program is a collaboration between the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Environmental (UNEP) and Development (UNDP) programs.

The idea is straightforward; If the function of rainforests — capturing carbon, water catchment, weather regulators and biodiversity — is recognized their value will rise.

The WashPost said, with unusual optimism:

That almost happened. The fact that it didn’t may pose a slight glitch, but is unlikely to halt the proliferation of such projects around the world.

Well, I have no idea if those projects will work, so I put my 2 cents in, with my very own Christmas tree ghost. Yes, I know there many not be many conifers or pines in rainforests (although I believe there may be a rainforest in Oregon, in which case there may be some there.), but that doesn’t matter, because this tree cares about all trees. He’s a good tree.

Cartoon Caption: “I’m the ghost of Christmas trees past. Why didn’t you win the rainforests measure, Mr. Softhead?”

Can I tell you how much “Mr. Softhead” makes me laugh? I don’t think I ever heard the word, but I keep a thesaurus right by my thinking cap. :!

More cartoons:

1. Santa was laid off. AGAIN.
2. Santa is unemployed and may need Prozac.

The President-Elect Chia Pet cartoon, © D.Barstow 2009.

Kind of self-explanatory. A satisfying Christmas gift or Election Celebration centerpiece. Available only for a limited time, for only $1000, and is sure to sell out this Christmas [or Inaugural] season. (On TV it’s limited, only while the chia pet ads last. Available longer right here, on this cartoon blog. )

An enterprising Josh Madison set up a Chia Pet Diary, with pictures for each day, so you can see it grow. (He has a cow. I’m the only one who has the President-Elect Chia Pet.)

Here is savontv.com, also interested in chia pets:

Q: Why are Chia items only sold during the holiday season?

A: Chia Pets and Chia Heads are handmade pottery items. It takes an entire year to produce enough Pets and Heads for one holiday season.

Who believes this, raise your hand? Oh well, it’s okay to believe in Santa, so why not handmade Chia Pets. And Joseph Enterprises actually owns and makes Chia Pets, but they don’t believe in the internet, nor in websites – they’ve been around for what, 20 years? And no website!!! -, so no linky here.

Not Time Magazine‘s Cartoon of the Week, AGAIN. Do they not get festive? Or is it the idea of Barack Obama with an afro? Go dig in the dirt, Time. 

* It’s now halfway into January, and for some reason a lot of people are looking for this right now. Maybe I should offer this for sale on Etsy. Stay tuned.

Here we go, I noticed that after I wrote this and drew my cartoon, Ad Age got into the game and wrote about the real Chia Pet Company, Joseph Enterprises, designing an Obama chia pet now! I thought they were saying it as a joke. I wrote to Ad Age, and said, uh, did you check Google? I made this up first! The editor there said I was right! Their article on Dec 23 is now subscribe only, but  apparently there is now a real Obama chia pet being sold. I will get 50%, or $500 from each one, so buy one, buy them all.

**And yet another update. Soon after I wrote that above, I found that Joseph Enterprises FINALLY started their own website (without, apparently enough money to hire a real web designer. Eww!) I called them. I asked them when they started to design the Obama chia pet, since they didn’t even have a website up until the end of January! They said they began sometime after the election to make sketches.

Hmm. My cartoon was up and on Google, and the top search on December 21. There was no mention of this ANYWHERE on Google before my cartoon went up. I am very suspicious.

UPDATE: 2009

They got pulled from some Walmart stores – just a couple of states – for consumer complaints that it was r-a-c-i-s-t. I hate PuffPost (for reasons explained elsewhere, but mainly for their fascist, niggardly, abusive policy of never paying for content and yet raking in money), never read it when I have a choice of news sources, but chose to comment this one time there.

I invented the Obama Chia Pet. http://thecartoons.net/2008/12/21/the-barack-obama-chia-pet/ It was on my blog before it ever appeared anywhere, and even before the Chia Pet Company had a website! Did they steal the idea from me? Apparently.

However, I’m a political cartoonist for Slate, so I can continue to draw many other political figures as plants.

What, you think I’m going to give evil Huffington Post  my good comment without promoting myself? Hah.

More cartoons:

1. Farewell to Lost cartoon.
2. Dancing With the Stars leeches off of The Bachelor. Thanks, ABC.

"But it says here you have 350 years experience in overnight delivery." © D. Barstow 2009, All Rights Reserved.

I decorated my blog for Christmas! But does Santa seem depressed to you? Maybe it’s because we can’t see his rosy cheeks and red nose.

(There is a cartoonist that we all know, not naming no names, who draws her character only from the back! I can’t remember if any character in the panel has a face, but the main one has only hair. She said it’s because she can’t draw faces, but also because it lets Everywoman identify with her. Well, I guess so… As it happens, this cartoonist has connected with many pharmaceutical companies, so she’s doing well financially. Perhaps I can claim Santa has rosacea, and this will be my start to fame and fortune.)

Anyway, Santa is too good for the Post Office, but not savvy in applying for state unemployment. Anyone want to help him out?

Love this drawing!  It ran in a very happy paper with a happy editor this month.

More cartoons:

1. Santa was laid off. AGAIN.
2. Limited Calorie diets make monkeys cranky.

"The Three Wise Men All Chip In for a Nice Satellite Dish" ©D.Barstow

“The Three Wise Men All Chip In for a Nice Satellite Dish”

Assignment for Illustration Friday: Wise. (I wasn’t in Slate yet, but could have used this there, too.) Owl? Too obvious. Wise, as in smartass? Too snarky.

So I went with the wisest of the wise, and I’m ready to start Christmas early, too!

Hey, maybe I should make this up as a card for Cafe Press! Or not. I’m loving the colors here. I don’t know whether the clothes are quite correct. Costumers needed on the set!

As far as the right hand on the first wise man, it’s backwards. But that meant good luck in the olden days.

More cartoons:

1. Obama sends a Valentine’s Day Card to the GOP.
2. Halloween party for liberals who worry.