Yearly Archives: 2015

Matt Taibbi believes that an election dominated by Donald Trump is an election that's really about race…and I did get e-mails from a couple of Trump supporters who seem to think (happily) that the slogan on his cap actually means, "Make America White Again." As usual, I think Taibbi overstates his case but his case is not fundamentally wrong.

This guy…

Walter Palmer, the Minneapolis dentist who killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, has resurfaced and granted what he says will be his one and only interview. Dr. Palmer, as you know, has been the target of much vitriol. Regarding the amount of it directed at his friends and family, he says, "…I don't understand that level of humanity to come after people not involved at all."

He's right that that's wrong. But like you, I couldn't help but read that line statement and think, "I don't understand that level of humanity to think it's sport and a matter of great pride to go out and kill an animal like that."

I believe Dr. Palmer is the victim — and I'm not using that word in a sympathetic way here — of a sudden change in public opinion. People like him go out and hunt and kill and stuff animals all the time. Things about this particular kill — Cecil's age and fame and protected status and such — made a lot of people decide that killing any animal like this was kind of repulsive and that maybe there was something wrong with a person who would do it.

Dr. Palmer may well be right that it was entirely legal. The interview suggests no charges or extradition are in his future. But he's wrong if he thinks Big Game Hunting hasn't suffered a severe wounding in the court of public opinion.

It's interesting to me how values and views change. I remember when smoking was cool and even admirable. Or when wearing fur coats made of real fur was attractive and glamorous. Or when public drunkenness was a lot funnier than it is today. At some point, much of the world began looking at those things in a different way and now, a lot of people who do smoke are ashamed of it and a lot fewer fur coats are sold or worn and there's no new Foster Brooks out there. I think hunting — all hunting for recreation — is joining that list.

My friend Roger thinks it's some form of imposed Political Correctness. I see it as people changing their minds the same way they get sick of certain kinds of TV shows or music or styles of clothing. McDonald's hasn't changed but a lot of people are deciding it isn't their kind of place anymore.  That happens.

The interviewers apparently didn't ask Dr. Palmer if he intends to display the mounted head of Cecil among other trophies of which he is or was very proud. I'm guessing he won't…and that in the years to come, he'll be less proud of those others. And while he may keep all those dead animal heads on his wall and regard them with pride, I'd bet a lot of other hunters won't. I think an arrow has been shot into that "sport" and we can all just track it for a while and watch it die a slow, painful death.

Just before bed last night, I wrote a post here about actress Judy Carne who, several newspapers were saying, had passed away at the age of 76.  I awoke this morning to messages that some sources are now saying the announcement was a hoax and that Ms. Carne is still with us.  I dunno which it is so I've taken down the post until this thing gets settled.  Sorry if I contributed to her premature burial and I'm sure pleased that she might still be around.

I came across this quote on a political site that I thought was worth putting up here. It's from Steve Schmidt, who was one of the main guys behind John McCain's campaign in 2008. He was on a show and he was asked to explain why Donald Trump was doing so well and he replied…

We're at the moment in time when there's a severability between conservatism and issues. Conservatism is now expressed as an emotional sentiment. That sentiment is contempt and anger.

I don't think that's true of everyone but I think it's true of some people. The anti-immigrant thing especially seems to be driving some folks. A few months ago — and I forgot to mention this here — I was behind a fellow in line at the CVS Pharmacy and I sure hope he was there for something that calms rage.

He was carrying on and on about how it used to be that when you called Customer Service at some company, you spoke to someone in America and now you find yourself talking to someone in the Philippines or India or somewhere else. He seemed to think that this has something to do with immigration and foreigners taking our jobs.

And he seemed unable to respond when I pointed out to him that that's just American business finding a way to increase profits by employing cheaper labor. He's in favor of lifting all restrictions that get in the way of the Free Market and companies making as much money as possible.

No real discussion was possible on this point because the guy was just angry…it didn't matter at what, though if it could be at foreigners and people who weren't Caucasian, so much the better. (I don't like that kind of outsourcing but for another reason. Customer Service folks in other countries rarely seem sufficiently trained, nor do they usually have much power or even the ability to re-route your call to another department. About all they're allowed to do is to apologize to you that you're having problems.)

The fellow wasn't wearing a Trump button at the time. But it wouldn't surprise me if he is now.

One of the last surviving performers in Our Gang (aka The Little Rascals) and one of the last surviving actors from silent movies has died. Jean Darling had just turned 93 when she passed a few days ago in Germany. She had been living there the last few years after moving from Ireland, which had been her home since 1974.

Unlike a lot of child stars, Jean had a very active career after her initial stardom. She had film roles after Our Gang. She appeared on Broadway in several shows including the original production of Carousel. She worked in radio and had her own television programs in the fifties. And for many years after, she was a popular radio performer in Ireland and a prolific author of mystery stories for most of the popular mystery magazines.

Born Dorothy Jean LeVake, she first appeared in Hal Roach's kid gang comedies in 1927 when she was five but she'd been on the screen before that, reportedly making her film debut at the age of six months. She appeared in 46 silent Our Gang shorts and six talkies before going off to do other movie work, including roles for the Roach studios. (Among others, she was in the Laurel and Hardy feature, Babes in Toyland.)

We mourn her passing but we also mourn the passing of a couple of eras. It won't be long before every single person who ever appeared in silent movies is gone. I have heard film historians argue over the precise numbers but we have between twelve and eighteen silent film actors still alive, the youngest of whom is probably Our Gang's Dickie Moore, who is 89.

There are actually around 35 Our Gang performers still alive, though that number includes several who merely had bit parts in one or two of the shorts. I'm not sure which one had the most appearances…maybe Robert Blake (yes, that Robert Blake). He was in forty of the shorts. Most of those who are alive were in the sound Our Gang films which were made until 1944. Jean was one of the last four performers — all women — who appeared in the silent Our Gang shorts. And now there are three…

Today is the birthday of my best friend in the male division, Sergio Aragonés. Sergio is, of course, responsible for the clever cartoons which adorn the mastheads on this website. This is his main line of work and the one which I'm sure brings him most of his fame and popularity. When he has time between drawing me sitting at my computer, he has been known to draw a comic book called Groo the Wanderer and many, many other things. He also seems to have done something for MAD and whatever it is, he's been doing it for them since the Kennedy Administration.

I have known this man since either late 1968 or early 1969. During that time, I have known him to be funny and serious, happy and sad, calm and angry, up and down, left and right, to and fro, horizontal and vertical, and even back and forth. Especially back and forth.

But I have never known him to be mean and I have never known him to be dishonest. If he's been sneaking around at night and mistreating small animals and helpless old ladies, he's kept a darn good secret of it. Since he always seems to be able to do the impossible, I wouldn't put it past him.

Jason Abbruzzese calls John Oliver "America's social justice warrior" and discusses how Oliver's Last Week Tonight show is good at turning the spotlight on outrages that haven't yet gotten enough people outraged. Have I mentioned how much I love this program?

Because on a hot day, there's nothing like a nice, warm Diet 7-Up.

There are petitions out there to have Jon Stewart host one of the presidential debates, preferably a Republican one. As much as I admire Mr. Stewart and already miss him on the air, I don't think that's a good idea. The debate's supposed to be about the candidates and that one would wind up being primarily about Stewart. All the moderator is supposed to do is ask good questions and then jump in if anyone filibusters or goes over their time or anything.

I would love to see him have a back-and-forth dialogue with some of those candidates about the issues but that's not what a moderator's supposed to do…and can't with ninety-six people or however many they'll have on stage.

I also don't think Republican candidates should have the "out" they often employ when they can't answer basic questions or answer them poorly. They complain the questioner was asking things designed to make them look bad. If some of them bitched about Fox Newscasters doing that, what would they say about one of the nation's most prominent Liberals? He'd ask them if they were ready to start and they'd call it a "gotcha" question.

In China, when a driver hits a pedestrian in the street, what do they do? Why, they back up and run them over again to make sure the person they hit is killed, of course! At least, that's what this article says.

Here's a brief walkthrough of the Jack Kirby Art Exhibit out at Cal State Northridge. It was shot by Kevin Shaw at the opening reception last Saturday evening and along with the nifty drawings, you'll also see — among many, many others — Jack's daughter Lisa, Bruce Timm, Len Wein, Buzz Dixon, Paul Power, Steve Sherman and me. The exhibit is there through October 10 and if you want to go see it, you want to consult this page as to where and when you can do that. It is, as Jack was and still is, very impressive…

Here's the latest back-and-forth between myself and Cedric Hohnstadt (who, by the way, has a website full of fine drawings here). I don't believe I've ever met Cedric but over the years, he's sent me some of the most thoughtful and civil disagreements with things I've posted here. One of my natural prejudices against someone like Kim Davis who believes —

Hold on. I just got a call from a woman who said she's calling from the "Windows Technical Department with regard to my computer." I said to her, "No, you're not from the Windows Technical Department. You're a scam artist who wants my passwords and credit card numbers" and she hung up. Anyway, where was I?

Oh, right: As I was saying, Ms. Davis seems to believe she has God whispering in her ear so she could not possibly be wrong about any of this. There's no point even talking with people like that. I like talking with people who don't try to end discussions that way and I appreciate folks like Cedric. Here's his latest and my replies…

Thanks very much for taking time to respond to my email on your blog. I really appreciate your civility and you always make me think. Please take my comments in the friendliest and most respectful way possible.

First, you wrote, "You're not supposed to 'compromise' when people receive equal rights." This actually brings up an important question: Just where exactly do our rights come from? Are they bestowed upon us by human governments? If so, those same governments can take them away. Also, any such rights would be fluid and temporary, not transcendent and absolute. Or are our rights "endowed by our Creator" as the Declaration of Independence states? If so, then our rights have a clear religious aspect to them. How you answer that question will affect how you view the gay marriage issue.

I don't think our rights are bestowed on us by anyone. I think they come automatically from being human beings with brains and you become one of those whether you believe in a divine creator or not.

I once had a big argument with a fiercely-proselytizing evangelical-type who argued that if you don't believe in the Ten Commandments, you don't believe killing is wrong. My position is that you don't have to believe in any religion to know killing is wrong. Atheists know it just as much as those who swarm to church on Sundays.

It's kind of hard-wired into rational thinking at birth. We have common sense about lots of things that aren't taught to us by any authoritative power, be it government or religion. Did anyone have to teach you to fall in love at the right (or even the wrong) moments?

Second, you made an analogy to segregation in the civil rights era. I find it interesting that many of the same people who praised Martin Luther King Jr. for his civil disobedience (and rightly so), and who praised mayors and governors for issuing gay marriage licenses before they were legal, are now the same people who say to Kim Davis, "The law is the law." Personally I believe people should be slow to engage in civil disobedience, and be prepared to accept the consequences if they do (which Davis has done). I'm not 100% sure I agree with her stance, but I also think that many of her critics have forfeited the right to condemn her for not having a strict regard for the law.

I think there's quite a gap between Martin Luther King Jr. and Kim Davis. Dr. King was not a government employee demanding to remain in his job and collect a paycheck while not doing what his job required him to do. Ms. Davis is like someone who seeks conscientious objector status in the Army but still wants to be in the Army and be paid for being in the Army but to be allowed to pick and choose which orders she will and will not follow.

If you don't want to follow orders, you shouldn't be in the army. And if you don't want to enforce the rules of issuing marriage licenses, you shouldn't be in the job where you're supposed to issue marriage licenses.

If Ms. Davis wanted to lead marches and engage in the kind of civil disobedience Dr. King employed…well, I'd think she was advancing a bigoted, wrongheaded and futile cause but I wouldn't think she didn't have the right to do that. What she can't do is do it from her position of responsibility within the government and use that position to deny licenses to people she thinks should not have them.

It's interesting to note the number of prominent opponents of Gay Marriage who are not on her side over this — folks like Rod Dreher or Charles C.W. Cooke. I don't agree with those guys on very much — and not even about all aspects of this matter — but they and many other conservatives think it's wrong for a government official to do what she says God told her to do.

Back to Cedric once again…

Finally, you made a side comment about the Bible teaching that people should be executed for working on the Sabbath or not staying virgins until marriage. This is based on a common misconception. There are actually three types of laws in the Old Testament: Civil laws (i.e., capital punishment), religious laws, and moral laws. The civil and religious laws were intended only for the nation of Israel and only for a set period of time. It is only the moral laws that are applicable to all people everywhere. Bible critics mix these up all the time and it's a straw man.

Bible advocates mix them up all the time, too. That's my point. Way too many people in this world reach into that book, yank out a passage they can claim supports their position and then say, "See? That's the final word on the subject direct from God. It's settled!" Believe me. I've spent way too much of my life being lectured by people who believed that a position, however stupid, becomes inarguable once it's buttressed by some Bible quote that may or may not mean what they say it does. If your position makes sense, you ought to be able to explain why without that.

Opponents of abortion often cite Deuteronomy 30:19 as guidance as to when life begins. Others say that ain't what that passage is talking about. I don't even pretend to have an opinion on that. I just note that there is not total agreement on it; that most issues which are controversial when you don't involve the Bible are still controversial when you do. That's one reason why we don't base our laws in this country on this kind of thing. Another, of course, is that we have no national religion, a decision of our Founding Fathers that I believe is part of the genius of America.

Sorry for the long email. I'm not saying I 100% agree with how Davis has handled this (maybe she should have resigned?), but throwing people in jail for defending what has traditionally been the normal view of marriage feels like, well, like bullying. This liberal atheist says it better than I could. Even though we disagree, I really appreciate your friendly and respectful attitude. I've tried to reply in kind.

And I hope I have, as well. The atheist on that video has a point that there is some incivility directed at people who have not yet come to grips with or who still oppose Gay Marriage. Personally, I don't like any incivility but I don't think the scale has come close to balancing, given all the incivility that has been directed at gays being called evil and pedophiles and subhuman and so on. That's without even getting into actual harm done to them (murders, gay bashing, denial of civil rights, job discrimination, etc.) over the years — and it's not like all that has suddenly stopped or that past damages have been undone.

I have a great confidence that we are moving in the right direction in all this, however painful some of the steps may be. I believe we will see the day when people who once predicted equal rights for gays would doom mankind and end civilization as we know it will be saying, "What do you mean? I was never against gays getting married." But there will always be incivility associated with this, just as we still have incivility stemming from past incivility about racial issues that some might regard as settled. We can't always stop it among others. We can just try to cool things down and to not to contribute to the hostility. Thanks, Cedric.

The Souplantation chain (aka in some areas, Sweet Tomatoes) is serving their Classic Creamy Tomato Soup for the first two weeks of September. This, as longtime readers of this here blog are too aware, is my favorite soup but owing to a few disappointing visits earlier this year, Souplantations are no longer among my favorite places to dine. I'll probably get over to the one near me to see if they've improved and to have some of that fine soup but I go without the enthusiasm I've shown in the past for the chain. Hope to get them back on my faves list because I used to like 'em a lot.

Happy b'day (not to be confused with a bidet) to my friend since 1970, Scott Shaw!  Scott is not only a fine cartoonist but a fine person and I hope today he has a fine birthday and more of his fine recovery.  He's had some medical concerns lately but I visited him in the hospital recently and came away buoyed by his spirit and determination to heal.  I have no doubt he will and he'll be back Quick Drawing with us at conventions and doing all the things he does so well.  I look forward to all that happening sooner rather than later.