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Over the past year and a half, Barack Obama has made it clear that he will happily tolerate Russia building missile installations, Iran building atomic reactors, and North Korea building nuclear weapons. But in his first real show of presidential resolve and outrage, the president has declared that he will not tolerate Israel building apartments in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, Obama met behind closed doors with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. No photos were taken of the world leaders together because of the acrimony, and Obama eventually walked out of the meeting to eat dinner alone...leaving word that he could be contacted when the insulted Israeli Prime Minister was ready to cave on building housing within Israel's own borders. Instead, the Israeli delegation left the Whitehouse because of concerns that their private discussions were being covertly listened to.
According to one Israeli newspaper, “The Prime Minister leaves America disgraced, isolated and altogether weaker than when he came.”
The troubling breach of relations between the U.S. and Israel is unprecedented and, to many, absolutely inexplicable. After all, Israel is the only pro-America democracy in the Middle East and...
Oh wait. We just figured out the problem.
Obama wasn't ready to be a politician in a big chair. If the last year and a half wasn't any indication, then his associations should have tipped you off, and if that still failed, then his completely asinine foreign policy can't fail to seal the deal. Why can't we impeach him again? Oh yeah, Democratic majority.
ReplyDeleteyep - 1) pro-American 2) Democracy
ReplyDeleteThat would pretty well sum up his issue w/ Israel.
Well, that and all the JOOOOOOOOOOOOS...
Our president just chastised an ally with the same arrogance and spite he has chastised evil corporations, insurance companies, doctors, police officers doing their sworn duty, FOX news, etc. etc. etc. Whether it's a democratic (in the true sense) ally or a democratic product of our great republic, he scolds. To countries and religions that want to do us harm, he apologizes. This pattern is being repeated over and over again. When something big happens, will the mainstream media have the integrity to connect the dots? I'm afraid I know the answer.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous- "Connecting the dots" is what it's all about. And here at Hope n' Change, we sincerely wish that the dots would at least occasionally suggest that this president supports traditional American allies, beliefs, and values. But so far, it isn't happening.
ReplyDeleteGood Point Mike Huckabee: Obama Should Be Worried About Bombs Being Built in Iran, Not Bedrooms in Jerusalem
ReplyDeleteLess goverment intervention would also mean no more $$$ to Isreal. We send them a LOT of money every year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_aid_to_Israel.gif)
ReplyDeleteMaybe these monies could pay for obamacare?
We cannot afford to lose Israel as our ally....but the sleeper-Muslim in the White House (that is actually quite awake now) is doing everything he can do destroy our country, from the inside AND the outside. WOW.
ReplyDeleteSince when does reducing stock photos to monochrome in PhotoShop count as "cartooning"?
ReplyDeleteMashuren- Glad you asked! Cartooning consists of two distinct disciplines: writing and drawing. If you look at many of the most popular syndicated strips, you'll see that they have two names attached - one for the writer and one for the artist. Both are cartoonists.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, an argument can be made that writing is the more important half of the equation. No one will accuse "Dilbert" or "Pearls Before Swine" of having great artwork - but the brilliant writing makes these cartoons shine.
At "Hope n' Change," we make no secret (how could we?) of using stock art for most of our images. A variety of techniques are used to give the art a "unified" look - but it still boils down to stock art.
The reason is partially pragmatic; I can't draw particularly well (okay, better than Scott Adams). But the choice was also made for creative reasons. The president's original "Hope and Change" campaign was simplistic and two dimensional (and dare we say "black and white")...and using a "retro" 50's look creates an ironic counterpoint to Obama's rhetoric about his desire to discard traditional American values.
Selecting and assembling those images into narrative form actually takes some artistic sense. And by adding a script that is relevant, thought-provoking, and hopefully funny...voila! A real cartoon is born.
So in other words, you're too lazy to learn to draw, but that's okay, because you have an endless supply of e-mail forwards from the Clinton administration that you can recycle into "jokes" to illustrate your absurd talking points. Gotcha.
ReplyDeleteGee, Mashuren, I prefer him using clip art to having to deduce the subtlety of stick figures. No one said you had to like it, or find it amusing. I'm sure if you cared to have a 'reasoned' conversation about the "absurdity" of any point he's making, Stilton or others would be happy to discuss.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, name calling and poo flinging don't speak well of reasoning skills, nor do they impress.
Please do have as nice a day as possible, if not here, somewhere else.
Pete(Detroit)- Thanks for the defense, although we're still trying to figure out what "e-mail forwards from the Clinton administration" even means. Have we secretly got Bill and Hillary on staff?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Mashuren or anyone else can debate the talking points here - we encourage it, as long as the discussions stay civil.
Stilton, personally I think your strips are hilarious, thoughtful, and on target. I can't remember reading one and thinking "Huh?". Great art doesn't have to be hand-drawn - look at Andy Warhol ...
ReplyDeleteGee, Marshuren, Rolling Stone Magazine thought David Rees "Get Your War On" comics was worthy of being in every issue, and I'm sure all the "dudes" thought it was pretty cool. You know, the one with the clipart. He retired the strip when Obama was elected - his work was done, and obviously, Stilton's began.
ReplyDelete"From a technical standpoint the strips are very crude, being assembled from about a dozen simple clip art pictures of office workers (with a few exceptions, most notably Voltron) that recur continually, often in the same strip. Almost all are in red on a white background. Owing to a heavy emphasis on dialogue there is almost no action."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Your_War_On
Greentangent & Alan- Thanks to both of you for the nice words and well-reasoned opinions. It's readers like you who remind me why I invest the time on this site!
ReplyDeleteFrankly, Marshuren failed to get under my skin...the things he was "accusing" me of are things I've freely discussed here, and in other forums.
And let me give an additional shout out to Max Cannon's "Red Meat" strip as an early inspiration. Like "Get Your War On," Cannon uses the same clip art type images over and over, but the writing makes it hilarious.
Yeah, but you're a LOT funnier than 'Red Meat' typically is...
ReplyDelete((-'pb