Fear itself

Recently our Congressman, Steve King wrote an op-ed piece where he tried to make voters afraid of the Stimulus package currently before the Senate by comparing Obama's strategies to those of FDR. King wants to blame the Great Depression.

"The short-term result of FDR's spending was minimal. Food shortages remained, mil­lions of Americans still lacked jobs and true recovery did not occur. In the long run, FDR's stimulus led to higher tax rates and greater government in­volvement in Americans' lives. "

But tale a glance at this graph from the depression era and the correlation between New Deal policies and prosperity are pretty plain. You don't have to be an economist to see it. Once again, Republicans are pandering in fear and paralysis rather than practical, pragmatic action meant to bring about progress.

Stop listening to the fear-mongering. We need some good old fashioned Relief, Recovery and Reform. King and the national Republicans want to make us scared because they're scared because they were the ones who benefited most from dismantling all the New Deal reforms that Reagan and both Bushes managed to do over the last few decades. Lobbyists, special interest money and the whole culture of corruption were designed to take advantage of the working middle class.

The best thing for our economy would be if President Obama WERE more like FDR. Tell King to go back to school and take a few History and Economics classes.

King embarasses Iowa AGAIN

When Scott McClellan, Bush’s former spokesman, testified before Congress about Bush lying to the American people, Steve King again embarrassed Iowans and made national news with this statement to McClellan:

“Couldn’t you have taken this to the grave with you and done this country a favor?”

If you can’t believe he would actually say something that unpatriotic, watch this clip:

steve-king-r-ia-to-mcclellan-why-couldnt-you-just-shut-up

If you are tired of being embarrassed by Steve King, please, PLEASE vote for Rob Hubler for Iowa's 5th District. At least pay a visit to http://hublercongress.com

Congressman Artur Davis, who serves on the committee with King, reminded King of Teddy Roosevelt’s words:

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

If there was any doubt that the distinctions could be starker between Steve King and Rob Hubler, King’s affinity for embarrassing his constituents at every turn and Rob’s defense of constitutional principles surely erased them.

STEVE KING GIVES NO EXPLANATION FOR NOT SUPPORTING IOWA GUARD...

http://www.hublercongress.com
Press Release: Monday, April 21 2008

Rob Hubler, Democratic candidate for Iowa's Fifth Congressional District, says the incumbent, Steve King, is obligated to elaborate on why he refused to sign a letter asking Congress' Armed Services Committees that the head of the National Guard Bureau become part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. King is the only Iowa lawmaker in Washington whose name is not on the request.

"Now we in the Fifth District can lay claim to having the only member of the state's delegation refuse to support the brave men and women who chose to serve in Iowa's National Guard not to mention overseas in Iraq, Hubler said.

The only statement the incumbent gave for not signing on to the request is his belief that Democrats do not support U.S. troops.

"He has got to do better than just use an extreme talking point that is untrue and worn out," Hubler said." " you want to really represent the people of western Iowa, including those who wear the uniform of our armed forces, you must give a more detailed reason for such an irresponsible decision. And by the way, where is his criticism of fellow Republican lawmakers Tom Latham and Chuck Grassley who understand this is an issue that transcends party lines?"

Furthermore, this is not even an issue over the war in Iraq, it is a policy issue over the inner workings of a government office and making it more efficient," Hubler added. "This is to ensure that Iowa's guardsmen and women have a voice with the other military branches and that they receive the benefits promised to them for enlisting. As the next Representative of Iowa's Fifth District, I will bring Real Representation to those who served or are actively serving our great nation."

Hubler is a Vietnam-era veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Pro-Bono Work

I donated my Steve King Cartoon to a Democratic website dedicated to preventing his re-election; http://www.kingwatch.org/bigotry.html

I don't know about the ethics here, I figure political cartoonists are unavoidably partisan if not mercenary, right? I didn't get any money out of the deal (perhaps a counter-productive move, career-wise) but I was just so outraged by King's comments about Obama, that I'm glad to prostrate my skills for the sake of exposing his dark soul (if he has one)!

Plus, what the heck, it widens my exposure- which has to be good in the long-run.

I swear, Iowans are not as dumb or as racist as this guy!

Rep. Steve King (R) of Iowa's 5th District strike's again!

Last night on the local news, my idiot Congressman ACTUALLY said pretty much just what I wrote above about Barack Obama. I was so incensed that I HAD to draw this cartoon.

For God's SAKE, will somebody PLEASE get this guy out of office! Clarence Hoffman, since you're stepping down from the State Assembly, why don't you challenge this numskull for your party's nomination!?! PLEASE!

Of course, due to plumbing disasters, we're temporally living with my inlaws while our home undergoes repairs, so I am without PhotoShop till I go back to school on Monday, so I'm posting it pretty raw. If I use it for the PRESS for March 20, I'll obviously rework it some- but then the incident will also be 2 weeks old, so who knows if I will or not.

Click here to see more of my cartoons about Steve King

Be sure to visit www.kingwatch.org

Tired of "Chicken Hawks"

War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.
- Thomas Mann

(German novelist and essayist whose early novels—Buddenbrooks (1900), Der Tod in Venedig (1912; Death in Venice), and Der Zauberberg (1924; The Magic Mountain)—earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929.)

I listened to a speech by our Congressman Steve King today at the dedication of our local Veteran's Memorial. To his credit, he drew attention to the nearly 510 service men and women who lose their lives every year during peace time training, who die unheralded as part of the cost of being prepared to defend our freedoms. I liked that part.

Unfortunately, mush of what he said was pretty typical pro-Bush, pro-War propaganda. He contends that you just can't solve some problems by talking and you may as well use your military as long as you have one. He mentioned how scary Iran is and even went so far as to quote Sun Tzu's "the Art of War."

I thought to myself that even heap big macho Republican god Ronald Reagan talked us into better relations with Russia, and Gary Sick, who served on the National Security Council under three presidents contends that Reagan's campaign met secretly to negotiate the release of the American hostages from Iran (but not until January 1980, so that Carter couldn't take credit). Every preschooler and kindergartener knows, to "always use your words, hitting never solves anything.".

Hello??? It's called "militarism," it's what Italy, Japan, and Germany were practicing in the 1930's. Our honored veterans of the "greatest generation" (God bless them) fought and died to defeat this viral, insidious philosophy! It seemed like Congressman King was trying to make himself sound smart by citing historical references. I think he needs to go back to school and brush up a little on both history and philosophy.

Whew! Thanks, now that I've got that out of my system, I can go write a nice, pleasant, innocuous, objective news story about the dedication of the memorial, which really is beautiful, solemn, and moving.

I always believed that America's founding fathers hoped that we would be a nation built on reason and intellect, not military might, like the great European empires that preceded and eventually spawned us. But alas, it looks like, as happens to almost all adolescents when they grow up, we have become our parents- the very thing we once held in such disdain.

This brings me to Thomas Mann's quote. I think of it as an antidote for Sun Tzu (and Machiavelli, for that matter). I think when I finish reading "Cannery Row," maybe I'll try to get my hands on some of his work. This is some of what Wikipedia says about him:

In 1930 Mann gave a public address in Berlin titled "An Appeal to Reason," in which he strongly denounced Nazism and encouraged resistance by the working class. This was followed by numerous essays and lectures in which he attacked the Nazis. At the same time, he expressed increasing sympathy for socialism and communism. In 1933 when the Nazis came to power, Mann and his wife were on holiday in Switzerland. Due to his very vociferous denunciations of Nazi policies, his son Klaus advised him not to return. However, Thomas Mann's books, in contrast to those of his brother Heinrich and his son Klaus, were not amongst the many burnt publicly by Hitler's regime in May 1933; apparently, since he was the literature Nobel laureate for 1929 (see below), they did not dare that so early. Finally in 1936 the Nazis denied officially his German citizenship.

"Images of Disorder", by social critic Michael Harrington in his collection The Accidental Century, is a highly literate account of Mann's political progression from the right to the left.

One last quick aside- at the pancake brunch before the ceremony, one member of the VFW, a retired Air Force General, called me a "reactionary liberal." I wasn't too offended because for one thing, in spite of George H. W. Bush's spin on the word back in 1988, I think that being liberal something to be proud of, even though I'm really pretty moderate to conservative on many issues. And because basically, anyone who writes about politics is reactionary, you're always reacting or responding to something. In this post, I'm reacting to what a dweeb I think my Congressman can be sometimes. The other reason I wasn't too offended, was that what he actually said was, "There's my favorite writer, of course I wish you weren't such a reactionary liberal, but you're still my favorite writer." How can you be offended by something like that? Thanks Doc.

exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth

Ted, here is a little comment about your column this week.

----------
From:
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:50:27 -0500
To: <mpress@longlines.com>
Subject: Mallory column

What exactly is that column suppose to be? Opinion, editorial, news article ? The column in the Oct. 19th

Paper was totally out of line. If it is an opinion column it should be named as such if it is the views of your paper, I am sure you will lose a lot of subscribers, republicans and democrats a like.

A republican with self respect,

At least one reader was very offended by my column that ran Oct 19 that skewered Fifth District Congressman Steve King. I never enjoy having people angry with me or disliking me, so in the tradition of so many American politicians, I’d like to offer a non apologetic apology: I’m sorry if anyone was offended that I so severely criticized Congressman King, but I’m also sorry to have to tell you, that I’m not sorry for criticizing him.

We all have the right to redress our government for grievances, we all have the right to free speech and free press. I’m constantly encouraging readers to submit their own writing, letters, comments, opinions or otherwise for publication. Many of King’s positions, actions, attitudes, and especially things he’s said have grieved me and embarrassed me. I’m sorry if my being offended by him offends any of you. I’m sorry if more people aren’t grieved, embarrassed or offended by King, I think that that either means that they aren’t paying much attention or that they don’t care. I’m also sorry if King hasn’t grieved or embarrassed everyone in our district, because that means he’ll probably get reelected. It’s just a really sorry situation all around.

In 1935, Andrew Hamilton told a New York court that New York Weekly Journal publisher Peter Zenger should not be locked up for criticizing Colonial Governor William Cosby because freedom of the press “is not of small nor private concern nor is it the cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone. No, it may affect every Freeman to deny the liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth.”

I’ve always thought that this was something noble to aspire to; exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth. Granted, I may look at the facts and interpret the “truth” differently than someone else. That should make you think, maybe even rile you up, but it doesn’t have to raise your blood pressure too much or cause you to cancel your subscription.

One should just assume that any newspaper column is an opinion piece and that the opinions are those of the columnist, not of the paper itself or anyone else. Even sports columns, food columns, and humor columns. I wanted to be an editorial cartoonist since I was in sixth grade. That’s probably part of why, when I attended Concordia Teacher’s College, a Church school, I majored in History and Art. You can guess what some of my great passions are; American history and politics, faith and theology, and helping people understand things. If I can do these things with a little humor, all the better.

What’s wonderful about this column is that by promising to talk about “sex, politics, and religion…not necessarily in that order” I’m free to write about political issues, religious issues, and silly or funny things without being restricted to writing in only one of these categories.

I can’t help it if Steve King is a drip who embarrasses me. I suppose that you can’t help it if I’m an over-opinionated left-winger who offends you. I’m sorry that that’s the way things go.

Sorry.