I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles; my constituents don’t know how to read, but they can’t help seeing them damned pictures. — William M. Tweed, 1875 This NBC poll result was quoted here before, but, then, Tweed’s comment about Thomas Nast has also been quoted and misquoted many places many times. A […]
Joe Heller manages to capture the two major topics this year: A divided country and fireworks. I know which one bothers me more, but I’m capable of considering two things at a time. Juxtaposition of the Day (Jeff Koterba) (Edison Lee – KFS) Not sure why Edison finds his results disappointing. I think purple […]
It is unfortunate that the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal coincides with the current political crisis, but we’ve added “-gate” to every bump in the road for the past half century, and both scandals involve the White House, so the popular linkage was likely inevitable. But Matt Wuerker (Politico) demonstrates how different the world […]
Rabbits Against Magic (AMS) offers an all-too-realistic view of the non-floral May Day in our current days of stubborn selfishness, and I might well have paired it as a Juxtaposition of the Day with … Today’s Non Sequitur (AMS), which reminds us that we are living in Lotto Nation, where everyone expects to suddenly […]
Speaking, as we were yesterday, of brilliant women of the past, this Pearls Before Swine (AMS) calls to mind Madame de Staël‘s quote “To know all is to forgive all.” I’d agree that, if you can see both sides of an issue, it’s easier to be generous in judging, and it’s as true today as […]
(Historical note: When Gen. Stark said “Live free or die, boys. Death is not the worst of evils,” he was calling for sacrifice, not selfishness.) Stuart Carlson (AMS) offers about as clear a picture of the status quo as you’re apt to find, granted that I only blog once a day and Dear Leader’s […]
The classic political cartoon from the disputed election of 1876 is this Joseph Keppler piece in which NY Senator Roscoe Conking is seen blessing, in a Satanic sense, the union of Rutherford B. Hayes with Columbia, the symbol of the nation. Since I’m working the polls today and don’t have time to post a contemporary […]
Let Us Review Obituary cartoons are often cloying, unimaginative and sometimes foolishly off-target, but they are also a necessary way to help a cartoonist’s community mourn. Sometimes, however, they rise above, and Thomas Nast’s piece mourning the death of James Garfield is an example: The Statue of Liberty was so new as to not yet […]
Loretta Lockhorn speaks wisdom, and, certainly, on a Monday morning, we can step back from current events for a bit. As long as we check back once in a while to see what’s going on. Every 10 minutes should be enough. When I used to visit high schools to talk about political cartoons, I’d […]
Kevin Siers offers the most iconic cartoon on this day, when editorial writers and editorial cartoonists have been called upon to voice their support and concern for the free press. A few editor’s notes of my own: I decided ahead of time that I would feature six cartoons from however many came across my desk, […]
The Star-Ledger is reporting that for a third straight year, the legendary Thomas Nast will not be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame after a few politicians and the Ancient Order of the Hibernians publicly objected to Nast’s anti-Irish and anti-Catholic views of his day. From the Star-Ledger: The main reason Nast went […]
Earlier this month an Irish-Catholic fraternal group objected to the nomination of Thomas Nast to the New Jersey Hall of Fame due to Nast’s anti-Catholic cartoons of the era. The opposition has gained a bit of traction with the addition of two State Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo (D) and David Rible (R). From NewJersey.com: “One cannot […]