As we mentioned earlier this week, we are indeed taking a few days away from publication for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. There WILL be new cartoons next week, so we'll publish a special pre-Thanksgiving edition next week on Wednesday - including the annual Thanksgiving cartoon, and Paul's Iowa-Nebraska Prediction toon.
For the most part, we're thankful to have a chance to take a break next week. The year, so far, has been anything but slow, both for the personal lives of our staff members, and for the subjects we've covered.
Thursday's Occupy march on Manhattan was a perfect example of how the subjects we've covered this year have grown, changed, and evolved in unexpected ways.
The Republican Presidential nomination trail hasn't been what we thought it would be either. To say it's been colorful is an understatement; in many ways, it's been more like a circus.
The economic roller coaster that the world has been strapped into has also been a wild ride for us as members of the media, while the rapid fire change of governments throughout Europe and the Middle East this year has left most news gatherers scrambling to keep up.
Many of the subjects we've been been covering this year aren't likely to reach a conclusion before the new year. Most of the 2012 political races haven't even really started yet - and if you think Wall Street and the big banks are done trying to stick you with hidden charges, think again. The Keystone pipeline issue is also far from settled, and we highly doubt the battle over taxes and deficits will be solved by the supercommittee before next Wednesday.
On a personal note, this year, our staff has visited members of the military with other cartoonists, moved cross-country at least three times, and learned to chase a toddler around, all in multiple locales in the U.S.
In short, it's been a generally positive year for the Daily Felltoon group, one that has given us a great deal to be thankful for.
Next week, whether you're celebrating with a group of friends or with family at home, or if you're going on the road to a distant celebration, we hope that you continue to count The Daily Felltoon as one of the things you're thankful for.
We're certainly thankful for your continued readership.
Enjoy the week - and have a happy Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Root Of The Problem
Over a week ago now, the sordid and horrible story of former Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky and the kids that he is charged with sexually assaulting, blasted its way into the headlines. While we've mentioned it a few times, we'd hoped that by now, the facts of the case would have come further into focus, so that we could discuss this incredibly hurtful, shameful, twisted and far-reaching subject with a better knowledge of the facts.
After a little more than a week, we can't hold our silence on this issue any longer. Those individuals at Penn State who were aware of what was going on already held their own silence on this issue for years.
The allegations in the indictment are appalling enough - and you may read the indictment yourself, if you wish, though be prepared, as the content is explicit. What's been more appalling in this story, however, are the new discoveries every day, each more shocking and horrible in its own way than the one before.
Did you know the incidents with Sandusky appear to go back to the 1990s - but that similar incidents are being alleged at Penn State as far back as the 1970s? Did you know that a major market radio sportstalker published and discussed the story back in April of this year - and the major national media did nothing with it? Even the previous conduct of Sandusky's lawyer, on the issue of sex with minors, is appalling.
There are more details coming out every day, and the rumors associated with this story are even worse. Furthermore, the rumors not only appear to be spreading in all directions, but an astounding number of them appear to be panning out as true, upon further investigation.
What burrows into our hearts and minds most about this entire story isn't what happened to the kids, surprisingly - though that tears us up and sickens us greatly.
No, the worst part, to us, is that time and time and time again, adults failed to stand up, to step up, to do whatever it took to stop what was going on.
As we mentioned yesterday, we're certain the motivations for some of those who knew and did nothing were centered around protecting the brand of Penn State - including and especially the money their football team provides to the school and the community of State College, Pennsylvania.
In the broad experience of our staff, we've worked with college teams, major politicians, and major corporations in industries from drug manufacturing to retail. We're well aware how far reaching and endemic some forms of corruption are today - especially when dealing with a fiscal situation of the magnitude involved at Penn State.
At the heart of this entire disaster seems to be the nearly pathological need for those involved to remain silent, not to dig up any more trouble, not to stop the growth of the problem.
There is far too much of that kind of thing going on in our society today.
Sometimes, even when it comes to those that others consider legends and heroes, we simply have to be willing cut them off at the knees, if that's what it takes to do the right thing.
Allowing this kind of cancer to grow to this size is simply inexcusable.
After a little more than a week, we can't hold our silence on this issue any longer. Those individuals at Penn State who were aware of what was going on already held their own silence on this issue for years.
The allegations in the indictment are appalling enough - and you may read the indictment yourself, if you wish, though be prepared, as the content is explicit. What's been more appalling in this story, however, are the new discoveries every day, each more shocking and horrible in its own way than the one before.
Did you know the incidents with Sandusky appear to go back to the 1990s - but that similar incidents are being alleged at Penn State as far back as the 1970s? Did you know that a major market radio sportstalker published and discussed the story back in April of this year - and the major national media did nothing with it? Even the previous conduct of Sandusky's lawyer, on the issue of sex with minors, is appalling.
There are more details coming out every day, and the rumors associated with this story are even worse. Furthermore, the rumors not only appear to be spreading in all directions, but an astounding number of them appear to be panning out as true, upon further investigation.
What burrows into our hearts and minds most about this entire story isn't what happened to the kids, surprisingly - though that tears us up and sickens us greatly.
No, the worst part, to us, is that time and time and time again, adults failed to stand up, to step up, to do whatever it took to stop what was going on.
As we mentioned yesterday, we're certain the motivations for some of those who knew and did nothing were centered around protecting the brand of Penn State - including and especially the money their football team provides to the school and the community of State College, Pennsylvania.
In the broad experience of our staff, we've worked with college teams, major politicians, and major corporations in industries from drug manufacturing to retail. We're well aware how far reaching and endemic some forms of corruption are today - especially when dealing with a fiscal situation of the magnitude involved at Penn State.
At the heart of this entire disaster seems to be the nearly pathological need for those involved to remain silent, not to dig up any more trouble, not to stop the growth of the problem.
There is far too much of that kind of thing going on in our society today.
Sometimes, even when it comes to those that others consider legends and heroes, we simply have to be willing cut them off at the knees, if that's what it takes to do the right thing.
Allowing this kind of cancer to grow to this size is simply inexcusable.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Clearing The Court
Since it's Wednesday, and we're preparing for a holiday vacation next week, we thought we'd shoot from the top of the key, as they say in basketball, and tie multiple stories together today with one we've barely mentioned: the NBA lockout.
At first glance, these stories and the NBA lockout may seem to have little in common. From the coordinated attacks by city officials across the country on the Occupy movement, to the supercommittee meetings in DC, to the ongoing Penn State abuse disaster, to the NBA lockout, there is a common thread tying them all together - and it isn't just money.
It seems the battle between players and team owners right now is a third-grade game of whack-a-mole between multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires. To some degree, that characterization isn't completely wrong. NBA athletes usually make large sums, and owners make even more.
What the argument boils down to, though, isn't just a simple labor dispute between the team owners and the workers who actually do the work.
The problem the NBA is looking at is similar to what the supercommittee faces. In the supercommittee, the problem is that one side thinks those who have a significant amount of money should pay just a bit more in taxes, so that our entire country can benefit. The other side thinks those who have more should keep what they have - and to hell with those who already have too little.
In the NBA, the issue at hand is revenue sharing - both between the players and between teams. Every team must have a full roster and a full bench, and every team must have a full schedule of games to play. Some teams - like the L.A. Lakers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics - almost always make a lot of money. Meanwhile, some teams don't make as much, like the Indiana Pacers or Denver Nuggets. Without all the players and teams in the league, though, everyone loses.
However, some players and some owners aren't willing to share - much like most of the Republicans on the supercommittee.
There's another similarity, too. Like the not-so-secretly coordinated attacks on lawful and peaceful Occupy protesters that happened in many cities on Monday night, the team and league owners also appear to have been working together behind the scenes, while the players played by the rules and bargained through their union.
When league president David Stern issued an ultimatum, thinking the league would force the hand of the players' union, the union disbanded - allowing the players to attack the league and teams individually through their own lawsuits. Now the league is far more likely to have to fend off many smaller, individual legal assaults that can potentially do more damage. Think of guerrilla warfare instead of traditional fighting, where those who have must protect what they see as theirs from many different directions, instead of from a single enemy.
At Penn State, it now appears that current Assistant Coach Mike McQueary did stop the alleged rape of a ten year old boy by then Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky - but Penn State officials appear to have done nothing when McQueary told them. They were protecting what was their brand.
In a similar way, NBA players are more worried about their own individual brands, just as the team owners are worried about their brands. Both groups are worried more about their own interests, over all the other people in their communities who will be affected by an NBA season that doesn't look like it's going to happen.
If you can't figure it out, the single thread that ties all these things together is selfishness, at a level that would make any pro in any industry look like an amateur.
Maybe it would be better if there were a pro league for those who are blindly selfish - though we're not sure we could bring ourselves to watch that, either.
At first glance, these stories and the NBA lockout may seem to have little in common. From the coordinated attacks by city officials across the country on the Occupy movement, to the supercommittee meetings in DC, to the ongoing Penn State abuse disaster, to the NBA lockout, there is a common thread tying them all together - and it isn't just money.
It seems the battle between players and team owners right now is a third-grade game of whack-a-mole between multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires. To some degree, that characterization isn't completely wrong. NBA athletes usually make large sums, and owners make even more.
What the argument boils down to, though, isn't just a simple labor dispute between the team owners and the workers who actually do the work.
The problem the NBA is looking at is similar to what the supercommittee faces. In the supercommittee, the problem is that one side thinks those who have a significant amount of money should pay just a bit more in taxes, so that our entire country can benefit. The other side thinks those who have more should keep what they have - and to hell with those who already have too little.
In the NBA, the issue at hand is revenue sharing - both between the players and between teams. Every team must have a full roster and a full bench, and every team must have a full schedule of games to play. Some teams - like the L.A. Lakers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics - almost always make a lot of money. Meanwhile, some teams don't make as much, like the Indiana Pacers or Denver Nuggets. Without all the players and teams in the league, though, everyone loses.
However, some players and some owners aren't willing to share - much like most of the Republicans on the supercommittee.
There's another similarity, too. Like the not-so-secretly coordinated attacks on lawful and peaceful Occupy protesters that happened in many cities on Monday night, the team and league owners also appear to have been working together behind the scenes, while the players played by the rules and bargained through their union.
When league president David Stern issued an ultimatum, thinking the league would force the hand of the players' union, the union disbanded - allowing the players to attack the league and teams individually through their own lawsuits. Now the league is far more likely to have to fend off many smaller, individual legal assaults that can potentially do more damage. Think of guerrilla warfare instead of traditional fighting, where those who have must protect what they see as theirs from many different directions, instead of from a single enemy.
At Penn State, it now appears that current Assistant Coach Mike McQueary did stop the alleged rape of a ten year old boy by then Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky - but Penn State officials appear to have done nothing when McQueary told them. They were protecting what was their brand.
In a similar way, NBA players are more worried about their own individual brands, just as the team owners are worried about their brands. Both groups are worried more about their own interests, over all the other people in their communities who will be affected by an NBA season that doesn't look like it's going to happen.
If you can't figure it out, the single thread that ties all these things together is selfishness, at a level that would make any pro in any industry look like an amateur.
Maybe it would be better if there were a pro league for those who are blindly selfish - though we're not sure we could bring ourselves to watch that, either.
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