Original art by Mark Valentine
It’s hard to talk politics…
Somebody will not like you forever. And what you can get away with saying among friends is different than the things you might say around strangers.
For example, never make your political opinion obvious in a business setting.
You could lose a sale or a promotion. You might even get sued,
Unless of course you’re a political cartoonist.
Political cartoonists can go way over every line. The Charlie Hebdo cartoonist feared for his life and he sparked violence all over the world.
The satirical rag turned a profit for the first time in its history after a few people died at the hands of Islamic Extremists. Thus by all measurements, the cartoon was a success.
The Kansas City Star has Lee Judge.
He’s not brave enough to go after the beheading, human burning child molesters of ISIS, but he does equate the Republican Party to them.
Is this cartoon appropriate?
The problem with referring to Republicans as a group that commits ISIS level crimes is multifaceted. First, Republicans do not behead people or burn them or kidnap children to be sold into slavery.
Second, Lee Judge is too cowardly to make the Kansas City Star any money.
If the Star wants Charlie Hebdo level money, they need a cartoonist that’s brave enough to become an assassin’s target.
And they need a staff brave enough to go to work even though they know they may be killed. Without that kind of commitment to insult, the KC Star is destined to continue its decline into irrelevance.
That’s easy. Go after the anti-abortiontards.
Little thin skinned Mark? Extremist is a word not limited to religion or terrorism. There are liberal extremists out there as well. I think the act by Brownback reversing Sebelius’ protection for the LGBT community was an act of extremism but I don’t doubt that Sam is a patriotic American and is doing what he honestly thinks is best for the State. I don’t take this cartoon to mean that Judge is insinuating that republicans are kidnapping and beheading anyone. Geez, the guy is a cartoonist. I’ve seen cartoonists in the Star taking shots at the O man but guessing that’s ok with you. Grow a sense of humor, Mark. I can laugh at my side in cartoons, you should try it. If this was in the form of an editorial then fire away. But a cartoon ???
An editorial cartoon at that, eh?
Going after the low-hanging fruit of a national impact rather than the Mare and Shitty Council, P&L subsidies, TGR’s residency FUBAR.
Too costly to give benefits to veterans, claiming Family Values while ditching wives during cancer or via press conference, all sound like a group of people posing as Men of God while using religious writings that suit their needs to defend their actions.
Fundamentalism is built on hate rather than love.
I’m not thin skinned. I am not even a Republican. I see this as Judge picking on the mentally challenged while a bigger target is standing right there…but he takes a cheap shot on a dim wit. I guess that is why he and his bosses have less respect than they did in the past. You must admit, it is a cheap shot.
Funny that you think reversing a court decision is equal to burning someone alive. But you still see yourself as a fair minded guy, right?
I just don’t take a cartoonist seriously.
I guess you are not a Muslim
Now, Mark…referring to the GOP as mentally challenged (while certainly understandable) somewhat undercuts your faux outrage. A more apt approach might have been to refer to the gentleman as a zealot. It has the advantage of also being closer to the truth.
As to your overall point, the Star of late has become more of a hyper-local concern; management made the decision to focus on Kansas City and environs, leaving the rest of the world to be covered by adults.
Stomper, considering the overwhelming Liberal Bias of the Main Stream News, here is a small, small example (BTW, denying the Liberal Bias of the MSM, ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, The LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, etc. etc. means this discussion is over. The 4th estate is so deep in the bag for Obama and Democrats, that scrambling for cover after every faux pas by the administration should be an Olympic Event where all the judges hand out “10’s” for every effort, the criteria, of course, would be Liberal bias.), I think Mark is as fed up with the biased coverage from our local fish wrap as are many others.
http://www.mrc.org/media-bias-101/journalists-admitting-liberal-bias-part-one
The Liberal bias in the KC Star is so salient, so strident, that any news item which in ANY way, could or should relate to politics, MUST be called into question. At some point, you have to quit trusting the traffic reports. The Star’s Progressive, apparatchik slant, in my opinion, calls into question the veracity of every story it reports.
Center, middle of the road folks, must look askance at stories on the New Airport, the Streetcar, the increasing taxes for sewers and the P&L etc. etc. just to name a few, that, in my opinion, should be reported with NO bias.
Not just folks who are conservative, but folks in general, who actually might agree with the biased political reporting from the Star, at some point, will take any and all reporting from the Star with a grain of salt, as they try to figure in the possible political variables that the Star is so cellularly aligned with. The agenda, the “Narrative” colors and mitigates the veracity of the news in the Star and reduces it’s role in the city to that of a political cheerleader and agent of the Left. While this works well in local elections and validates the mostly Democratic majority in this city, it in no way enhances the credibility of our local newspaper of record and in fact, is the exact reason, why, in my opinion, the Star is a moribund and necrotic vehicle that deserves to replaced by more honest, if biased publications who assume no pretense of indifference.
That evolution, in place now, lets citizens see the facts as presented from all sources, then make decisions based on all the information available.
The Star, in fact, may understand that now, as they have cast their fate with the Left, while pretending, as long as possible, to be a relevant, unbiased news organization in order to enhance their credibility with those with only a cursory interest in the news. Ride it out to the end…
Mrc.org – you’ve found one the extremists’ hideouts!
Good going!
The political cartoons are considered to be editorials
Judge’s editorials are essentially, name calling with some exceptions. That would be in lock step with the editorial board at the Star, whose bias is again, blatant.
Here, in today’s Star, are some of Judge’s “best” according to that Editorial Board.
http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/lee-judge/article5293890.html
The problem with most of Judge’s cartoons is that they are pretty predictable in their nature and they tend to be pretty juvenile-looking like something I would do. I need to see more maturity and complexity in them.
Well it is good that only about 15 people read the Star anymore. I bet if that was the “Democratic Party Headquarters” it would not “just be a cartoon” and would be taken seriously by some.
>lee judge
>predictable
I prefer the work of “Zyklon” Ben Garrison. A pretty funny story of libel vs satire if anyone is interested in looking down that rabbit hole.
I agree that extremists everywhere should be offended for how they are being portrayed in that cartoon. Shameful.
I thought all ideas and expression were embraced in America. That we accepted the views of all. Even “extremists”. I respect all views. Gays, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Left-Wingers, Right-Wingers, Hawks, Doves. I’m confident in my own sexuality, religion, political affiliation. I’m about inclusion, not exclusion. I only draw the line at freedom. More freedom is ALWAYS better. This is why we were designed as a union of independent states. That is until the 14th Amendment, and the supremacy clause. You see with 50 states and the pure size of America there is a place for all views. This was the beauty of what the founders designed. But with the 14th Amendment came forced uniformity and entrenched division. The dillution of our individual cultures and beliefs over the last 150 years is culminating in a new culture of hate, a brother v brother attitude, a win at all costs mindset, and a nation divided upon itself.
Great comments, ILA. While I don’t completely agree with your view of how the 14th Amendment brought with it forced uniformity and entrenched division, I see your point and won’t argue it. Your mention of the Supremacy Clause however is a different issue. What we now refer to as the Supremacy Clause was actually a part of the original document, ” the beauty of what the founders designed”. If you have a problem with the Supremacy Clause then you think the original document was flawed a bit.
You are right, Stomper. Thank you for pointing that out. While my sentence made sense to me, re-reading it I see how it could be misinterpreted.
Just to clarify what I intended was: “That is until the 14th Amendment, joined with the existing Supremacy Clause redefined the relationship between persons, states, and the federal government. I particularly meant the Priveliges and Immunities Clause.
Even though the Slaughter-House cases effectively nullified this clause, the national mindset that followed the Civil War took a decidedly different turn from the mindset before the war. I wasn’t trying to speak to the legal grounds, I’m no lawyer, Mr. Sutherland would be better suited to speak to that. I was speaking to the national mindset on State’s Rights that has incrementally shifted since the Civil War, and the 14th Amendment in particular.
So thank you for pointing out my error!
The problem is that the Star’s cartoonist is not exactly an original thinker. No matter what the topic, everybody knows what his take on it is going to be. You don’t even need to look at it. There are never any surprises. There are no nuances or clever little unexpected details. Pedestrian nastiness posturing as wit, and apparently the powers-that-be at the paper don’t know the difference.
Good point, Lydia
you old farts should just not read the star.
It gets you all worked up and you’re going to have a heart attack.
If you don’t like wha’ts’ in the paper…DON’T FREAKING READ IT.
You’ve got faux news to fill you day with liesand anger.
Why let the liberal star ruin your day.
Thank You ILA. Civil discourse is KCC at it’s best.
I agree with you that the amendments during Reconstruction pushed the path against States Rights as a result of the national mindset at the time. While I’m more of a Madison guy as opposed to a Jefferson guy, as far as the two camps at the Constitutional Convention, the States Rights perspective is an important one and serves to balance and focus our national conversation.
Thanks again, ILA. Your comments always seem well expressed and well supported IMHO.
Same old liberal garbage. KC Star died years ago.
Perhaps what the article points out is that news media is supposed to be unbiassed in its treatment of news, and we’d like to see balance and fairness in the journalistic staff. In short, it’s not going to happen, but every once in while, the underdogs get to slap the biassed silly. The issue happened in Bozeman, MT in the 1990s. During a legislative session, the local newspaper allowed a Democratic House member to exceed its word standards in an editorial against a proposal, while refusing to publish an editorial with fewer words in support of the Governor’s proposal. In a Republican newsletter, both editorials were published in full, with the newspaper’s response. The newspaper was angry. They were caught, and there was direct proof of the bias. They demanded to know the circulation of the newletter, which turned out to be a quarter of the newspaper’s circulation, and it included the newspaper’s publisher. To this day, the editors know the name of the author of the letter to the editor, and there is a heathy respect for the newletter. It cost them about 10% of their circulation in one fell swoop. The is still a liberal bias, but the rules for editorials are enforced dilligently for everyone.
Stomper: The author was a two term President of the Big Sky Pachyderm Club, and the local newspaper was going to skip the last meeting of the Club, until they discovered the last meeting included the sitting Governor, a sitting US Senator, and the state’s only Congressman. The Pachyderm Club received an apology from the editorial staff.
Thanks for the mention CFP. First off, I agree with you that it would be ideal if the news media was unbiased and if journalistic staffs would strive for balance and fairness but that train left the station years ago. No matter what your political perspective or what your positional stance 0n any issue, moderate or extreme, it doesn’t take much effort to find a media source that supports your view.
You will get no argument from me that the Star is liberal. However they do throw some occasional scraps from Charlie Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg, and others from the national scene. I also enjoy reading the letters to the editor. Today’s “editorial” cartoon was certainly not on Lee Judge’s side of the aisle but still made me laugh. But again, I am not going to say the Star is unbiased.
My only point was that on a personal level, written or spoken editorial statements get my attention. The only bar I hold for cartoons is to make me smile. I don’t take them too seriously. Sorry.
Judge needs to stick to baseball.
Judge doesn’t know anything about baseball either.