Drumroll…
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- April
- 29
I started yesterday with high expectations. I was sure I could add something salient, creative and intelligent to the Swine Flu discussion. I went through many sketches/thoughts/ideas until, suddenly, it was 4:30PM and the best I had was the cartoon above, which is to be honest, so-so in my opinion. I’ll let you into a little professional secret though..I consider almost all my cartoons to be so-so. The notion that “today will be different” is what keeps me coming back to my drawing board.
So with that, I will now return to my drawing board. Today will be different.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am by Matt Davies.
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As simplistic as the instruction to “wash your hands” seems many people, even those who profess to be educated, don’t do so often enough. Next time you’re in a public rest room, watch how many people use the facilities and leave without hand washing. It will amaze you. .
I have no statistics, but I suspect the numbers are even higher in lesser educated locales. I shudder to think where the guy who picks the lettuce in my salad goes to the bathroom…UGH!
That’s one of the things that creeps me out when we dine out. I try not to think about it, though
Ok Matt, I got one for you. How about two pigs sharing lipstick. Obama is standing next to them saying “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” You can have that idea, free of charge.
Sadly people are being pressured to rename the flu becuase they are worried about it harming sales of pork (sort of like climate change scientists being pressured to deny reality due to pressure from “elected” officials beholden to the fossil fuel industries). The fact is all these flus come from farming animals for meat (bird flus, swine, etc). If we just stopped farming animals for meat we could avoid these pandemics altogether, saving the 30,000 who die yearly and the 50 million plus who will die when a pandemic strikes (like he 1918 pandemic, which this new one is very similar to).
So a good idea for the cartoon might have been something to do with the pressure to deny the cause of this problem in the same of more profits, like we do with every other problem.
We need to ship gallons of Purell to all affected areas.
I just heard that Obama refuses to close the Mexican border. Isn’t this where the flu is coming from? I realize
that people are bringing it back from Mexico but much of
it is coming in from illegal aliens who come here and are not screened. TB was once a dead disease in this country and is now sky rocketing upward again thanks to unscreened illegals. People are being advised not to travel to Mexico so what is he waiting for? At least close the border until this flu is under control and then re open it. I’m glad he has no problem putting American lives in danger just like George W. did with the war and his open border policy. Obama reminds me more and more of Bush in this manner everyday. :change we need now” Indeed. What a moron!!!!
Note to Bulldog: Go to a mirror and repeat the last three words of your comment above.
@Bulldog –
“I realize that people are bringing it back from Mexico but much of
it is coming in from illegal aliens who come here and are not screened.”
Say what? – Bulldog, Can you show your evidence for that statement?
No need to get nasty McGriff. You’re like the left wing
Sean Hannity. You’ll defend anything this guy does just as Hannity used to do for that jerk Bush.
Matt it’s well documented that illegals bring disease into this country because they don’t get screened. This flu is
no different. Are you really going to tell me that there isn’t an illegal Mexican who hasn’t brought this into the United States? come on now. Do you and McGriff really think we shouldn’t close the borders as a precaution. Maybe we
shouldn’t screen air line passengers anymore either for
potential threats. I’m glad though that you and McGriff don’t have a problem with other peoples lives being at stake. How nice of you.
Bulldog
Every day, newscasters tell us the flu was probably brought back by ‘spring-breakers’. Yeah, US college students who crossed the border INTO Mexico & back.
But is every human being responsible for the acts of every other human being? I doubt it.
Let’s face reality, guys, life is horrible for many of us much of the time. Tragedy is a reality check. It strikes the unthinkking among us reminding us we can’t prevent it. Humans like to think we can control the course of life for all creatures & for the planet as well. It’s a miserable fact
to my mindthat we’re hopeless/helpless until faced with impending disaster. A flu; a hurricane; a republican president.Instead of pointing fingers, I intend to wash mine.
Bulldog,
We know that all humans spread illness. I was just concerned that your overt unfriendliness towards humans of mexican descent was allowing you to distort the data on the swine flu scare. For the record – as of this post – not a single “illegal alien” has been recorded in the US with swine flu. Your claim that “much of it is coming from “illegal aliens” is speculative, not factual.
Matt your statement of unfriendliness towards people of
Mexican descent is not correct. It just so happens this flu
is coming from Mexico and we share a border. That’s all!!!
If there are signs of it comimg from Canada we should close that border too until we get a grip on this thing. The reason not a single “illegal alien” has been recorded in the US with this flu is because they are undocumented and
and if they come forward fear deportation. I don’t know Matt, am i pushing the panic button to quickly on this Swine Flu? I’d like to think better safe than sorry. It’s amazing how people don’t see that unless it affects them personally.
Well said Matt!
Matt Davies,
Don’t know what you mean by,
“The notion that “today will be different” is what keeps me coming back to my drawing board.
So with that, I will now return to my drawing board. Today will be different.”
Matt. Are you serious that you doubt your own work that much? If you weren’t so good, think we’d all be using our precious time writing like this? From 1 fan, I’m very, very cautious about posting to blogs. Look how often I do it w/yours.
Deb,
I appreciate your question. Many years ago, I enjoyed the privilege of a wine infused dinner with a dear old friend, the late Jeff MacNelly. (For anyone reading this who doesn’t know – Jeff MacNelly was one of the most talented and influential political cartoonists of the 20th Century.)
We chatted into the wee hours about all kinds of stuff, but the thing that stuck with me was when he said that the moment you think you are good, the moment you are satisfied with what it is you are trying to create, you have become mediocre. It really stuck with me, because I think he was right. It is also part of why I have a thick skin for criticism – Nothing negative thrown at me is even close to my own scathing self-criticism.
Don’t get me wrong, though. It’s not that I don’t like and enjoy what I create – I just always want to it to be better. Probably not a bad philosophy for life in general.
Hope that clarifies and makes some sense of my earlier statement.