Midterm Cartoons

I thought of a couple cartoon ideas in light of the midterm elections.

Here's the one that ended up in the paper today:


And here's one I drew but didn't fit on the opinion page (that's what a blog is for!):

The Athletic Career of Senator Arlen Specter

First, Republican Senator Arlen Specter fears losing votes from a state becoming more and more liberal, so he switches to the Democratic Party.

Then, leading up to this year's Democratic primary elections in Pennsylvania, Specter fears losing to Joe Sestak.

Finally, Specter loses. I guess his master plan backfired...

Oh, and I promised to identify the senators in last week's cartoon (for anyone who was wondering).


Magician with top hat and rabbit: Senator Harry Reid
Juggling clown: Senator Patrick Leahy
On the high wire: Senator Orrin Hatch

Who is Elena Kagan?

Today's J Squared column:

The honorable judge?

I did something a little bit different in this column. I presented a list of facts without passing any judgment or taking any side. Honestly, I don't want to rally around Elena Kagan simply because President Obama picked her. So I'm in the process of deciding one way or the other about Kagan, and I wrote my article that way. (I think I also wanted a break from argumentative responses to my articles.)

Here's a cartoon to go with it:


Can you guess who's in the circus? Kudos to anyone who can name the three Senators in the ring. (Hint: two are Democrats, and two are on the Senate Judiciary Committee.) If no one has any guesses (or if nobody reads my blog), I'll post the answers next week.

And, does Kagan remind you of anyone? Or is it just me?




















Doesn't Kagan look like the kid from Two and a Half Men?

Other Highlights from April 29, 2010

For today's paper I also wrote some high praise for the BYU women's rugby team:

Y women's rugby team sticks to faith

It was nice to write about some positive news. There's never enough of that. (Although, The New York Times put the whole event in a pretty negative light. I'll be honest, I've always liked The New York Times but right now they are down a couple notches for me.)

And, here is my latest cartoon for the opinion page:

And, in case you aren't aware of what's going on in the Nevada Senate race, here's Stephen Colbert to explain it:

Colbert Report - InDecision 2010 Midterm Elections - Sue Lowden

And, to check out the rest of the page (there are some interesting letters to the editor), click here and go to page 3.

My First Rant

My first column of the semester was meant to be an introduction of sorts. Today, the political commentary begins.

Another aspect of this Arizona immigration law is the question of whether or not Arizona is taking too much control over what is under the jurisdiction of the federal government. I couldn't get it to fit in today's column for the paper, but I'll put a couple thoughts here:

"Tea partiers claim the government has trampled over their civil liberties one too many times and demand the federal government to take a step back. Are they hoping the vacancy left by the national government will then be consumed beyond capacity by the states? Do they want Arizona and other states to legally define the appearance of an American citizen or legal resident?"

Now, a paragraph with the opposite point of view (which I also agree with):

"Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said the states are the 'laboratories of democracy.' Innovative solutions to national problems can be tested and experimented with at the local level. Maybe the federal government should step aside and let Arizona try a few things and see what happens."

Oh, and I also drew a cartoon about this. I didn't put it in the paper because, well, even though it's a better-known issue than the Nevada Senate race, my cartoon with Sue Lowden and Senator Harry Reid at the doctor's office is funnier. But here's a little something for all you Arizona State fans:

Winners of the 6th Daily Universe Caption Contest!

The results* of the 6th Daily Universe Caption Contest:
Well, thanks to the overseeing eye of the BYU administration, we actually had to eliminate a few of the already low supply of caption contest entries due to the recent resurgence of administrative censorship.

Here's the original winner before it was axed by the "thought police":

"Oh, doom, did Elder Christofferson just say 'social justice'?" - Parker Brown, Eagar, Ariz.

Here are the ones that were fit to print:

First place:"Yeah, my HDTV stays on the Fox News channel." - Kyle Pulsipher, Mesquite, Nev.

Second place:"I hope Brother Reid is watching." - Doug Vanderwerken, Scotia, N.Y.
*(page 3)

Steve Jobs in 2010 (February 4, 2010)

Can you name the three Democrats on the left?
(check your answers below)
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From left to right: Senator Chris Dodd from Connecticut, Senator Harry Reid from Nevada, and Governor David Paterson.

Senator Dodd was one of the Democratic senators who announced his retirement around New Year's Day, but the Democrats are actually happy he's gone because he was probably going to lose reelection anyway because of his "poor political standing," and they would rather replace him with a different Democrat.

Governor Paterson was discouraged by the White House from running for a real term as governor (after filling in for Eliot Spitzer after he resigned) because they determined he wasn't likely to keep the Democrats' hold on the New York governorship.

And Harry Reid? Well, he was already losing popularity before his thoughtless gaffe. It seems like Nevada and the rest of the United States are tired of grumpy ol' Mr. Wilson leading Senate Democrats. As my friend Bert van Uitert would say, he's a "hack."

Connecting the State of the Union speech and the iPad speech was obvious to a lot of people. Which do you think infused more hope into the nation?