The New Boston Tea Party

Oh, so it turned out the Boston cartoon I thought wasn't going to be published, was published today in The Daily Iowan. I thought it was going to be old news before today, since now the news isn't so much catching Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, but how he is being criminally charged. But I'm grateful that The Daily Iowan put it in the paper anyway.

For more on this cartoon, click here.

I only now realized that I forgot to put my signature on this one. Oh well.

A Little Busy Right Now

Here's a cartoon in The Daily Iowan that combines the tragedies in Boston and West, TX, and North Korea:

This week has been fascinating from a journalist's point of view, and I've been watching the Boston story especially. Of course, it's also been horrific. I can't even imagine what Bostonians are going through right now. I don't think I've ever had the feeling that I'm only safe if I'm locked up in my home, and even then I might be in danger. I don't think I've ever experienced that terror.

Here are a couple of awesome Boston tributes that were spread around this week:

In Tuesday's New Yorker magazine

On The Colbert Report, on Tuesday

I did another Boston cartoon earlier this week, but for some reason The Daily Iowan didn't publish it. Good thing I have a blog to publish it on!

In case you need some explaining: that's Paul Revere outside the Old North Church, pausing on his famous Midnight Ride, to take in the sadness.

Political cartoons aren't always funny or sarcastic. Occasionally, a cartoonist takes the opportunity to portray the community's emotions and sorrow, or recognizes history and heroes. I've noticed cartoons like that on the anniversary of September 11, or on Veteran's Day. I've never done that before - any tragedy over the years has always been when I wasn't currently drawing cartoons. (The Newtown school shooting was on the last day of final exams last December, so I was done drawing cartoons for The Daily Iowan for the semester.) So this was my first time trying out a serious cartoon. I thought it turned out pretty well, but for whatever reason it didn't end up in the paper.

I'm doing just one more week of Daily Iowan cartoons, so stay tuned!

Terrible Twos

In today's Daily Iowan. (In case you can't tell, President Obama is talking to is Park Geun-hye, the president of South Korea.)

Drone On

The news is a little old, but I appreciate that The Daily Iowan published my Rand Paul filibuster cartoon anyway.

This one was fun to make. I found a transcript of Sen. Paul's filibuster, copied and pasted a page of it into a Word document and made it fill the page without any margins. I drew the cartoon on another piece of paper, cut it out, and glued it on top of the transcript. When I scanned it, it looked like it was all on one piece of paper.

The filibuster, naturally, makes me think of one of my all-time favorite movies: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Nowadays, the filibuster has become more mechanical, but Sen. Paul returned to the romanticism by actually standing up and talking for hours.

The pun of this cartoon was too good to pass up. But really, this filibuster seemed to be a noble cause. First, I didn't believe that President Obama could attack Americans on American soil with drones. Then, Attorney General Eric Holder responded to the inquiry by saying: "It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States."

And, I didn't believe that President Obama actually would target Americans with drone attacks, even if he could. But then I read somewhere a hypothetical question, "What if President Lyndon Johnson or President Nixon had drones at their disposal during the college campus protests and riots?" That made me realize that at least plausibly there might be some use for drones on American soil.

Anyway, maybe we should all be rest assured by Eric Holder's response to the filibuster.

Happy Oscar Weekend!

It's Oscar weekend, everybody.

Two of the leading movies for Oscar nominations seem to show different sides of the Obama presidency.

This cartoon didn't turn out quite as well as I hoped. In the letters of "Zero Dark Thirty," that's supposed to be a predator drone and someone being waterboarded. It's kind of hard to tell. And, I know there's a famous waterboarding scene in "Zero Dark Thirty," but the more timely story with President Obama is the predator drones. I don't know if there's anything with predator drones in "Zero Dark Thirty," so it might not be exactly accurate to combine current events with the events of the movie.

But, even if that isn't all clear in the cartoon, I think it still works. If nothing else, it associates President Obama with getting Osama bin Laden. Which might not be a strong criticism, but at least it's logical.

Please turn your cell phones ON

Another week, another selection of stories in The Daily Herald.

Why wi-fi? Because theatre is hot spot for 'Rings of the Tree'

This play is doing I've never heard of before: it actually encourages you to keep your cell phone on. The play utilizes QR codes and links and online videos to give audiences a whole new level of interactivity. Pretty cool.

It's also interesting that all this cutting-edge technology is being used with a story set in the Victorian era. But, the playwright and one of the producers hinted that the technology may have more to do with the story than you might think...

Courtesy of Imminent Catharsis Media

'Big Band Night' explores music and war themes of the 1940s

It's Big Band Night again at BYU. I've never been, but it seems like a really fun and important event.

And, the briefs:

Arts Briefs: Windmills and pirouettes

Sound Briefs: Calling all singers

Perfect Date: For you and your tweet-heart

And the Sound Hot Ticket isn't online, but it's a brief about the Oak Ridge Boys.

Some missions causing RMs to change political beliefs

Ah, one of the crown jewels of my journalism portfolio. (Although I wish there was a better headline. :S )

Some missions causing RMs to change political beliefs

This was the story I was maybe the most interested and motivated by out of all the stories I've ever done. I credit a lot of my personal political ideology to my mission, and it was fun to hear stories from other returned missionaries with similar experiences.

Thank you to everyone who was interviewed or otherwise contributed to this story!

I pestered my sources to send me photos, and I got a total of 10 photos. But of course, the newspaper can only use one. But, my blog has plenty of space! Here are the photos that were sent to me, and the suggested captions I wrote for them (some of the suggested captions are repetitive, just because it's meant to give enough information for the copy desk editors to write their own captions):

From Rob Charlesworth:

(the one that was actually in the paper)

Rob Charlesworth, who served in the Australia Adelaide Mission from 2007 to 2009, meets with some musical Australian Aborigines who were performing outside his apartment. Charlesworth, like many returned missionaries, came home from Australia with stronger political beliefs than he had left with.

Rob Charlesworth, who served in the Australia Adelaide Mission from 2007 to 2009, poses with friends from Thailand who he met in Australia. Charlesworth, like many returned missionaries, came home from Australia with stronger political beliefs than he had left with.

Rob Charlesworth, who served in the Australia Adelaide Mission from 2007 to 2009, smiles with his companion and a newly baptized family originally from Sudan. Charlesworth, like many returned missionaries, came home from Australia with stronger political beliefs than he had left with.

Rob Charlesworth, who served in the Australia Adelaide Mission from 2007 to 2009, smiles with his companion and a new convert, Michael from New Zealand. Charlesworth, like many returned missionaries, came home from Australia with stronger political beliefs than he had left with.

From Jamie Bowen:

Jamie Bowen and his companion pose with window washers on the 12th floor of the Garden Center in Cordoba, Argentina, the site of the Argentina Cordoba Mission office. Bowen was a registered Republican before his mission, but after returning home voted for Barack Obama for president in 2008.

Jamie Bowen imitates a giant Jesucristo statue in Chilecito, Argentina, as a missionary in the Argentina Cordoba Mission. Bowen is one of many LDS missionaries who comes home not only different in testimony and maturity, but in political ideology.

Blake Hardison (front row, fifth from right) and Jamie Bowen (front row, sixth from right) smile for the camera on their first day as a missionaries in the Argentina Cordoba Mission, in 2006. Hardison and Bowen both experienced changes in their political ideologies as a result of their two years representing the LDS Church in Argentina.

Jamie Bowen (back row, second from left) and Blake Hardison (back row, second from right) gather with other missionaries after their last zone conference together before returning home from the Argentina Cordoba Mission. Although Bowen and Hardison served in the same mission, their political ideologies were influenced differently. Bowen came home more economically liberal, while Hardison became a determined economic conservative.

From Rebecca van Uitert:

(one caption for both photos):
In 1998, Rebecca van Uitert was a young and enthusiastic supporter of Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, a senator who went on to vote for a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border (top photo, far right). But after serving among immigrants in California as an LDS missionary (botton photo, left), van Uitert's views were changed. She is now on the liberal side of the illegal immigration debate, working as an immigration lawyer in Chicago. Van Uitert is one of many returned missionaries who have different political ideologies after spending two years or 18 months in a place and culture far from home.

Signing Off

Here it is, my very last J Squared column as Issues & Ideas editor for The Daily Universe:

Another proclamation on the family - 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord'

This is another of my personal, emotional and fairly preachy viewpoints, which I thought made it a good one to end on. It's a touching shout out to my wife and soon-to-be born daughter too.

(The only thing I'm a little worried about is any adverse reaction that may come from high school friends who I know support gay rights and same-sex marriage. I don't mean to offend, and I definitely don't mean to turn gay rights supporters into enemies. Politically, I can understand both sides of the argument over same-sex marriage. But I admit to being completely one-sided on the issue, for reasons that make sense spiritually but maybe not politically. I don't apologize for my view, but I do apologize if I made it sound harsh in this viewpoint.)

Here's the "Red Families vs. Blue Families" page on Amazon.com, if you want to find out more about the book.

I found out about the book in the first place from this Slate Political Gabfest podcast. If you want to hear the discussion on "Red Families vs. Blue Families, fast forward to the 28 minutes and 47 seconds mark.

And here's a New York Times editorial on the subject.

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There were a lot of interesting letters to the editor this time around, and I tried to include as many as I can. They aren't in the archives of the Daily Universe website yet, but click here and go to page 3.

My favorite was a response to last Thursday's J Squared about the LDS Church in Iraq. In addition to many antagonistic emails and blog post comments, I have received quite a few compliments about my work on the opinion page. But this was the first one that came in the form of a letter to the editor, so it was the first one I could actually publish in the Universe.

You can read it here, or right here:

His influence in everything

I really appreciated the recent viewpoint
titled “Operation Iraqi Spiritual Freedom:
LDS Church makes it to the Middle East.” My
husband is an active duty member of the United
States Navy and is currently deployed overseas.
Recently, I encountered a fellow student who was
quick to let me know my husband is a sinner and
not in the Lord’s favor for being a member of the
military. This, in her opinion, proves he does
not love his fellow men as the Anti-Nephi-Lehis
from the Book of Mormon did. She wanted me
to be sure to understand my loving, strong and
amazing spouse could only be doing the work of
Satan.
My husband and I, however, believe our Heav-
enly Father has His hand and influence in ev-
erything, including war. My husband has been
to areas devastated by hatred and anger, but he
has seen how the light of Christ is slowly filling
these areas with hope. People who never would
have had the chance to know about their Savior
are able to gather around faithful soldiers (who
are in fact keeping temple covenants and not do-
ing the work of Satan) to hear their testimonies,
to feel comfort and to learn about Christ.
So thank you Brother Despain for shedding
light on this long war (and the faithful soldiers
who are fighting it) and proving our Heavenly
Father is truly mindful of all of His children and
can have a strong positive influence even in the
midst of a terrible war.

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And, the big news: I'll be a sports editor in the fall!!!

I got the job, and I'm super excited. Like I talked about on July 29, there are some great things about the opinion page and some great things about being a sports editor. I am really looking forward to working with 321 reporters and sharing what I know about good writing, helping to plan front page packages on sports, and getting paid to pay attention to sports. Not too bad.

My fellow sports editor is David "Sparky" Mortimer, already quite a celebrity in the sports journalism world. Long before writing about sports as a COMMS 321 student, and even long before coming to BYU, he was the official sports correspondent for David Letterman. Check it out:



Until then, I'm helping to cover BYU's Education Week. I get to go to a couple classes a day for free, and write about them for the paper. It will be fun to do some good old fashioned reporting again.

Into the Four Corners of the Earth

I came across a story in Mormon Times that was very interesting for any member of the LDS Church. It turns out the LDS Church does have an official presence in Iraq.

Former district president in Iraq reflects on unique calling

And a couple other stories about it:

Military district in Iraq will be 'big difference'
Guy's story: Preston man tells of time in Iraq
Working for freedom - BYU-Idaho's Hollingsworth returns from year-long mission in Iraq

So in today's column I basically passed on the story, with a little bit about the little bit I know and feel about the Iraq War.

Here's my column:

Operation Iraqi Spiritual Freedom - LDS Church makes it to the Middle East*

And, a cartoon. Erin and I have been enjoying the Discovery Channel's Shark Week for the first time. And of course I found an obvious correlation with the BP oil spill.


* Go to page 3.

Cajun Ingenuity

Here it is, the column I've been meaning to write for a long time:

'Cajun ingenuity' - A real leader in war against BP oil spill

Billy Nungesser has just been very impressive to me as I've watched him on my Anderson Cooper 360° podcasts.

And, as it turns out, I wasn't the first one to come up with the idea:

Louisianan Becomes Face of Anger on Spill

Dispatches from the oil spill

I recently realized I need to make a correction. Earlier on this blog, and also in today's J Squared column, I identified Joe Barton as a senator. He actually isn't a senator, but a U.S. Representative. I apologize for getting those mixed up and not double-checking myself.

Also, briefly, I want to reply to a comment made on The Daily Universe website about my column on Gen. Stanley McChrystal. (If you want to read the comment, you can go here and look at the bottom of the page.)

I typed up a reply to the comment and submitted it, but in case it doesn't end up on the website, I'll include one here. I hope that 'chollan' (the username of whoever made the comment) finds my response here or on the DU website.

Of course Gen. Stanley McChrystal was punished for his contempt of a ranking official and sedition, not profanity. Of course his insubordination is the more serious issue. I know the profanity was only a secondary problem. If you read the column again, you will see that I talked about both the insubordination and the profanity, but I never claimed that McChrystal was fired just because he used the "F" word a few times. It was because he was "ornery, arrogant, insubordinate and skeptical." If it seemed like I made the profanity a bigger issue, I apologize.

And, my one-sentence bio that I write at the end of every column is just meant to be amusing. I'm sorry you didn't think it was funny.

For Those About to Rock, You'd Better Clear Your Desk

So, I was going to put together a J Squared column on Billy Nungesser, my new favorite Louisianan. But then, General Stanley McChrystal became big news. Even though I wasn't especially involved with or passionate about the subject, it turns out I had a lot to say.

Not McChrystal clear

We'll have to save Nungesser for later.

And, a cartoon:


With the BP oil spill mess, a lot of people blame President Barack Obama, a lot blame the MMS, some blame Dick Cheney* ... but everyone can agree that Tony Hayward and BP can be considered bad guys. Which is why Senator Joe Barton got in trouble for sympathizing with them.

So, I thought of other wronged folks the senator may feel like feeling sorry for...

From left to right: Sen. Barton, Hayward, McChrystal, a member of the Algeria soccer team (who the U.S. beat on the way to placing first in Group C for the 2010 World Cup) and Saddam Hussein.

(Of course, by no means am I trying to make Algeria out to be an enemy. Just a friendly opponent in a sports competition. Don't get nervous just because he's standing next to Saddam.)

But what is perhaps the part of today's page getting the most attention is a viewpoint by Jade McDowell. Jade and I are both from The Dalles, and we went to seminary and high school together. Now, both of us have joined forces to give some Dallesian influence to The Daily Universe. Jade is one step ahead of me in the BYU journalism program; she was an editor during winter semester and just finished an internship in New York City.

Anyway, she wrote a few words about her encounters with homelessness in the big city:

A plea for the homeless

Her story is very touching, personal and moving. I hope you enjoy it.

*Jump to 1:35 on this video.

Pick One (January 7, 2010)

Two events meshed together:

1) Arenas controversy in the spotlight
2) The Long War: Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and more ahead

New Year's Resolutions (January 5, 2010)

If at first you don't succeed...