Not saying anything new in this cartoon – I just had this drawing in my sketchbook all week, and I chuckled everytime I looked at it, so allowed myself a little artistic self-indulgence for Sunday’s page.

The menacing rumbling sound coming from Pyongyang? North Koreans’ stomachs.

Sadly, My good friend and spiritual predecessor here at The Journal News died on Monday night. Frank Becerra, 82, was a legend in these parts for his fabulous cartoons, caricatures and illustrations drawn for this paper. Another talented artist here, Chris Brown, described meeting Frank for the first time as like meeting one of “The Yankees” (which if you know Chris, is no small compliment.) Here’s a link to Frank’s story written by Milt Hoffman, (my now retired editorial page editor.)
Despite his reputation though, Frank was one of the kindest, warmest people I have ever met. His generous encouragement when I started drawing cartoons for his alma mater was heartfelt and indescribably valuable. I’ll miss his friendship. It will be too quiet here at this drawing table knowing he won’t be sneaking in to check up on me anymore.
My condolences go out to the Becerra Family as well as to all those who stole some enjoyment from his wonderful work over the years. We all lost a lot last Monday.

We ran this ludicrous piece on our editorial page (by a reverend no less) the other day. Thank goodness we enjoy the good fortune of having a separation of church and state. So many words, so many justifications, so many excuses, and straw man arguments – All cover for wanting to keep others in line and prevent two adult people from voluntarily entering into a solemn, happy public commitment. Which leads me to wonder. Are people born being uncomfortable with homosexuality, or do they choose to be that way.

My wife and I are celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary today and I can’t imagine stopping others from enjoying the same. Over the past few years, we have attended several joyous same-sex weddings, and not once did I sense that the two of us were in the midst of a dark encroaching threat upon our own marital bliss.

The true threat to traditional marriage comes in the form of the reprobates and misfits who, y’know, marry the wrong person.

In order to regain power one day, so they can resume nominating simmering right-wing cranks to the Supreme Court, the GOP has to court the Hispanic vote. In a cynical world Judge Sotomayor’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court could be considered a tip of the hat to the Hispanic vote on the part of Obama.
Even though there is nothing in her considerable judicial record that would indicate she is an ideologue or liberal activist, the welcoming party Republicans have in mind for her would be considered the opposite of courting the Hispanic vote.

Every so often a guy like Dick Cheney comes along, not just to give cartoonists and satirists easy days at the office, but to test the collective tolerance for the pureness of the high principles of our democracy. So like all antagonists he has his place, which is easy to say now that he isn’t in charge of US foreign policy. And his country’s response to his call to fight a war against our founding principles? Thankfully, it appears America has “other priorities.”

If malleable Congressional Democrats’ capitulation to the notion that our maximum security prisons can’t contain ex-Gitmo prisoners is based on reality, then how come we don’t just ship all our violent criminals off to Gitmo? The reason, according to statistics, is not a single prisoner has escaped from a US maximum security (“Super Max”) jail. So what gives, Congressional Dems?

The impending credit card bill is a great step forward in reining in punitively greedy credit card companies. But it’s still a credit card, which my accountant insists falls into the category of “bad debt.” A sneaky little wallet mounted device that goads you into buying shiny cool stuff you can’t afford and don’t need.

Shrill partisans have always gone after Nancy Pelosi as if she were the lost ark, despite the fact that the majority of their ideological adversaries have never seen her as their leader per se. I’ve pretty much shrugged off most Pelosi criticisms because they have always been relatively factless, and trivial. This time however, I think her willingness to make convenient political choices is so transparent as to damage her authority. The current round of Pelosi bashing actually does have merit.