He’s dead, as it turns out. I heard the news oh boy on Wayne Resnick, KFI. I always try to catch him each week, but this time I only listened about half an hour before I realized all the TV stations might run the President’s announcement, too, and so they did.

I’m glad they caught that SOB, but at the same time, I honestly don’t feel glee knowing that the Navy Seals set it up like an assassination. I mean, what do you call it when they target someone in particular and shoot to kill? That’s not war, it’s like illegal capital punishment.

And now we find out all the facts, like hiding behind one of his wives, and his being armed, are false. Some kind of mess there, for sure. Daily Caller talks about some of these conflicting accounts.

My first reaction to the announcement of his assassination, in spite of my personal problems swirling around me now, was to make a joke about it on Facebook, and turns out a lot of people liked it. So I’ve turned it into a cartoon. (cartoon after the break)

Osama cartoon about how his death affects single women - is he good marriage material?

Notes on art: one of the best ways to start experimenting in art is to have something happen by mistake. In this case, I just swooshed a bunch of color on the floor, thinking about the pine floor of a bar. Then I used a purply wound color for the background area. I also colored the TV a pale blue in other versions, but didn’t have time to do it here. (I’m going to try this cartoon out in Psychology Today tomorrow. They’re a rather conservative crowd (not in politics, in humor), so I’m not sure how this cartoon will go over there!)

Cartoon caption: Girls Night Out, with 3 women at a bar. One says, Okay, but let’s be honest, girls. Now there’s also one less available man around. Behind them is a TV with the news of Osama’s death.

Ann Coulter says her dog knows more about Arabs than Obama does. I thought she was going to say, knew more about how Osama died – like dogs have better noses, etc.

Image via Wikipedia- a Navy Seal posing

Speaking of Psychology Today, this writer says when we misspeak and say Obama, when we mean to say Osama, that’s meaningless. I’m not so sure. I’ve been doing it myself, and hear announcers say it, too.  Well, at least no one is talking about his birth certificate this week.

No related posts.

obama cartoon on sotu address

I like a tech-y, green President. But what about what he didn’t talk about, or made little jokeys about?

He pointed out people who were shot, but didn’t mention his thoughts on gun control. He made a joke about his health care bill, but is that really funny? I think it’s sad that he has to keep pushing it, and look what the newest ruling against the health bill started: trouble ahead, my friend. And many of us still hate the whole thing!

He did encourage businesses to hire…after all the big bailouts went to the big guys last year, with no trickle down at all.

Well, Obama delivered a cheerful message to a crowd wearing ribbons. But I expect flowers and candy with the pretty card.

Something futuristic and dramatic to make Obama happy. Image via Wikipedia

Cartoon caption: STATE OF THE UNION:  Obama says, higher education, clean energy, faster internet. SUBTEXT OF STATE OF THE UNION: Obama’s subconcious says, What guns? I’ll defend Obamacare to the death! I HOPE they find jobs!

Kind of fooled around in Photoshop for the second panel, to try to make Obama’s figure paler and more ghost-like. Now I think I should have just kept it as the  ink outline.

More cartoons:

1. Obama sends a Valentine’s Day Card to the GOP.
2. Memorial Day cartoon.

chandra levy trial cartoon by mike lester

Caption: Jury convicts Ingmar Guandique, illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member, of murdering Chandra Levy.

Mike Lester has a super-casual style, quite the opposite of old time editorial cartoons! This take on the Chandra Levy trial is a pretty straightforward idea, but I included it because I agreed with it. :) For one thing, I love trials and murders, and the Opinion pages rarely cover them. More importantly, this cartoon is about the media, which totally ignores important details in stories they cover, if they think it might “taint” the piece.

I remember when I first moved to Los Angeles, I was confused when the LA Times never reported the complete story about criminals or crimes. Was it an illegal alien or gang who did the deed? Wasn’t that, alone, enough to arrest someone? Never! Even when they were indicted, important info about the bad people was kept out of the papers. Mike points out here that Ingmar Guandique, the killer was indeed here illegally (and was already guilty of other crimes).

Chandra lost her life, Gary Condit lost his career. Yet the media, by and large, lets criminals keep their secrets and whitewashes the facts.

obama care cartoon by eric allie

Caption of Obama and Nancy Pelosi looking at Obamacare: We should have spent more time on the birth announcement.

I laughed out loud at this cartoon by Eric Allie on Obamacare! Something about the octopus in the baby carriage…He includes recognizable sketches of Obama and Pelosi staring at their little darling, too! There’s an Uncle Sam running in the corner, a rather tired old symbol, but his bug eyes and running legs are amusing. (Secret PS: I admire Eric for not drawing all 8 legs on the octopus (sorry, no link now, explained below), as I did. He’s carefree!)

dangerous north korea cartoon by paresh nath - naval exercise

Caption: The US and South Korea circle around the shark of North Korea with a big stick.

Let’s get serious, now, less fluff and more danger. And another Uncle Sam, but he carries a big stick, like certain states.

I don’t know if South Korea is really bff with the US, but certainly North Korea is on its own. South Korea wants a strong Navy, and that makes North Korea skittish. Very clever use of Kim Jong Il’s strange pouffy hair as a shark fin! Paresh titles this cartoon Naval Exercise, but I would call it every other country’s idea of America as surfer dudes on water skis.

Most political cartoonists, especially overseas ones, don’t use straight dialogue, and so they’re sometimes forced to add labels. The labels in this cartoon are unobtrusive and clear, and they don’t detract from the amusing and striking drawing, so good enough. I like the monarch floating in the water, too. Will a big stick work to keep him underwater?

Thanks to Cagle Cartoons for all good work from these guys!

My own recent cartoons:

In case you missed it, my DADT cartoon was picked as one of the best cartoons of the year for Slate. (Sorry, no link now. Uclick Gocomics threw away 2 years of my cartoons on Slate, Gocomics and Yahoo News when they kicked me out.)

don't ask don't tell cartoon

Okay, so it’s the last one in the list. Whatever, right?!

I also did this snazzy cartoon on Miss Sarah Palin. (Sorry, no link now. Uclick Gocomics threw away 2 years of my cartoons on Slate, Gocomics and Yahoo News when they kicked me out.)

cartoon of liberals making fun of sarah palin

It has 28 comments so far on Gocomics. (Sorry, no link now. Uclick Gocomics threw away 2 years of my cartoons on Slate, Gocomics and Yahoo News when they kicked me out.)

Related article on examiner.com:

• Cartoons on Obamacare, the media, and North Korea’s dangerous games. (examiner.com)

More cartoons:

1. Does North Korea have a target painted on our face?

Paul Conrad, whose fiercely confrontational editorial cartoons made him one of the leading political provocateurs of the second half of the 20th century and who helped push the Los Angeles Times to national prominence, has died. He was 86.

“When it comes to editorial cartooning, I am unabashedly biased: Paul Conrad was simply the best ever,” Times Editor Russ Stanton said Saturday.

He was great, that’s for sure. He won an amazing 3 Pulitzers. He was an exceptionally wonderful cartoonist, and I can’t imagine why the liberal loving Times let him go – he never got a venue as good as that again. Of course, Russ Stanton wasn’t editor when Paul Conrad was the cartoonist there, and none have been hired under your watch, Russ. So your experience is like, nil. (Side note: The LA Times is 4th biggest in circulation, but has fewer editorial cartoons than at least the 100 biggest papers in the country!)

Conrad was on Gocomics with me in Editorial cartoons – quite impressive and inspirational to me. I don’t look at the other cartoons all that much, but when I was doing my LA Times cartoons roundups here a few weeks ago he had one that caught my eye:

paul conrad cartoon of Obama as Nixon

I just checked, and Conrad is no longer on Gocomics – I don’t know whether they dropped it when he died, or whether Tribune dropped them, but I believe this is the last cartoon they used of his, so I’m glad I saved it.

Love the inky messiness. I know that’s Nixon’s famous victory? gesture, but I don’t know why Obama is doing it. Maybe it  hooked up to a news item a while ago.

I met Conrad a few times, as we were both in the Impolitic gallery in Santa Monica, CA. I wasn’t doing political cartoons at the time, but of course I knew his work – one of the few editorial cartoonists I ever read, with his bold, yet minimal drawings and wry humor. He was sort of egotistical and not very friendly at the parties; so, not a people person, at least at parties. He always had a crowd around him, however.

Paul Conrad via LA Times via Huntington Library ITVS

Paul at work. He kept drawing even during the parties (which were pretty damn great).

Your work was stand-out, Paul. Good job.

More cartoons:

1. Complete list of all Political Cartoons through 2011!
2. Giving out vaccines for Halloween.

The LA Times had a little item on this that had me laughing so hard I had to investigate further. (Why do I even bother to search latimes.com for the article? Man, their website STILL sucks for search.)

From Lehigh Times:

A game called “Alien Attack” at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Big Time celebration in Roseto encouraged players to shoot darts at the head and heart of an image of a suited black man holding a health care bill and wearing a presidential seal.

obama carnival fair game from lehigh times

Irvin L. Good Jr., president of Hellertown-based Goodtime Amusements, said it wasn’t supposed to be Obama.

“We’re not interpreting it as Obama. The name of the game is ‘Alien Leader.’ If you’re offended, that’s fine, we duly note that.”

Don’t you love it?!

Our Lady pastor the Rev. Jim Prior said:

“We’re used to this kind of bigotry and prejudice, and we abhor it but it’s the way of the world,” Prior said. “Even the Divine Father himself is vilified in today’s culture.”

Oh, my gah, this priest is comparing Obama to God!! And WAY to change the subject, Rev. Prior!

The Morning Call had more. The Secret Service is investigating now, and Good changed his tune:

“I guess we made an error in judgment, and we apologize for that,” said Good, who has had the game for about six weeks. “I voted for the man. It wasn’t meant to be him. If they took it that way, we apologize.”

Players paid $1 per shot, or $5 for six shots, to fire foam darts at targets on his head and heart. Those who hit their mark won a stuffed animal.

The White House issued a statement Wednesday through spokeswoman Moira Mack saying it disapproves of using the president’s name and likeness for commercial purposes. The longstanding policy precedes Obama.

Federal law prohibits anyone from knowingly displaying any print or likeness of the presidential seal. Violators can face a fine and up to six months in prison. The U.S attorney’s office in Philadelphia declined to comment on the matter.

I agree that making fun of the Presidential office in any way dilutes the importance of the office, and of our country. Even if it’s Obama. What retards. (I’m not Jennifer Aniston, so I can say it.)

But I still laughed at everyone’s incredible obliviousness.

More cartoons:

1. Obama won Nobel Peace Prize in spite of himself.
2. Barack Obama has a dream, too.