Makers And Takers

There are two different stories today, about two different political bullies, who both really showed us their true selves this week - Mitt Romney and Rahm Immanuel. While you might think these two men have nothing in common, other than their overpriced suits and their overinflated egos, you'd be wrong.

In the case of Immanuel, the Chicago teachers' strike has been a brutal rebuttal to the Mayor's constant attacks on Chicago educators. In Immanuel's latest bullying attempt on Monday, he went to court to try and force teachers back to work before their union members had a chance to review the new contract details. The court rebuffed the Mayor soundly, though the Court does expect the Teachers Union to vote today.

As we touched on last week, the teacher strike wasn't about money. It was about professional concerns, like class size and effective evaluation. Simply pinning teacher evaluation to standardized test results, as Immanuel wanted, helps neither the kids nor the educators.

Rahm Immanuel's biggest failure was in underestimating the bond between Chicago's parents and those people who educate their kids. It's obvious that Immanuel and the Chicago School board thought they knew better than the professionals in the classroom and the parents of those students how they should be educated. When polled, more than 55% of voters in Chicago backed the teachers - including two-thirds of parents with kids in public school. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Chicago voters blamed either the school board or the Mayor - but not the teachers - for the failures that have led to the strike.

In the case of Mitt Romney, he has no one to blame but himself for the speech he gave which may have put the final nail in the coffin of his political career.

That speech, leaked to journalist David Corn, contains video of Mr. Romney speaking at a private Republican fundraiser earlier this year. In his address, Romney contemputously identifies 47% of Americans, saying "[they] believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." Romney finishes his screed by saying, "[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

In saying this, Romney displays his complete adoption of the 'makers & takers' theory from the extremist libertarian right. Romney's comments also completely blow away any strain of more compassionate conservatism. Those that believe if they could just reach that 47% of Americans with the message conservatives believe in, they might be able to change the minds of the non-conservatives have no place in Mr. Romney's vision, as his attitude is obvious: "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives" - so why even try?

For the record, Jim Messina, the Obama for America campaign manager gave a pitch-perfect reply to Romney's heartless video, simply saying "It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation.”

What both Mitt Romney and Rahm Immanuel have in common should be clear by now. Both appear to think they know better then those they serve, and neither man seems to feel humbled about his position. Rather, both men seem to display a 'divine right' kind of arrogance, as though they deserve the opportunities that have come their way, and if others didn't catch the same luck? Well, screw them.

If there truly are 'makers and takers" in America, it's clear exactly which category both Mitt Romney and Rahm Immanuel fall into: that of failed takers.

Screaming At Giants Doesn't Work

While there may be a thread that ties together all of today's different major events, there isn't necessarily some kind of worldwide conspiracy. There is a pattern though, one of working together - or refusing to.

To start with, today marks the one year anniversary of the Occupy Movement. They began by shutting down parts of Wall Street, and in the process yanked the national discussion away from the unserious discussion of debt and towards the serious and significant awareness of income inequality.

Today, while income inequality is still on the increase, the Occupy movement has effectively faded as a political force, as journalist Joe Nocera noted this weekend. Unlike the Tea Party, Nocera comments, the Occupiers refused to "engage with the larger world" on its terms. The Tea Party may have sold out to wealthy corporatists like the Koch Brothers, but "Two years ago, 87 new Tea Party-elected candidates showed up in Washington. Much as you or I may not like it, they have largely succeeded throwing sand in the wheels of government. That was their goal."

While there are more Occupy protests scheduled in various U.S. cities today, including New York - where the NYPD already appears to have begun using questionable methods to target protest leaders - Nocera's point is still valid. As a political force, Occupy has moved a message, but not the policies behind the message.

In another major event today, while overseas protests galvanized by an offensive anti-Islamic movie made in America appeared to be dying down over the weekend, it now appears Islamic extremists are attempting to fan the flames once again. While the protests were made to appear much bigger than they really were by multiple media outlets desperate for ratings, the fact is there are some extremist elements in places like Libya that insist democratic ideals like free speech are incompatible with their particular faction of religion. For all the bluster and pictures on television, the fact remains that the extremist Christian who created the film, and the extremist Muslims who are protesting in the streets, won't likely have any more significant effect on the policies of major nations than the Occupy movement has had in implementing it's policies in the U.S.

The third major event today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It seems somewhat odd that the holiday most Jews associate with forgiveness is happening just as the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is attempting to push the United States and other Western powers into attacking Iran - a nation Mr. Netanyahu can't seem to forgive, on any level. While we hope that Mr. Netanyahu is wise enough not to start World War III, we think it's likely that his bluster is much like that of the other groups we've mentioned today: anger and invective without any thoughtful, serious, long-term effort to make things better.

In all three cases, the groups raising the alarms are not getting what they want, when they want it. The chances for them to make things better only get smaller over time because the antagonists aren't actually working within the systems. From the Occupiers, to the angry religious extremists, to the Prime Minister of Israel, they've all simply yelling at a giant who refuses to hear them.

The solution to each issue isn't an extremist refusal to negotiate. The solution is to work within the system, accept a just and fair compromise, and enforce it firmly. Speaking softly and carrying a big stick really can wake up those who might otherwise ignore you.

Friday Funday: Mickey Mousing Around

This has not exactly been a quiet week in the newsmedia. It began with the first teacher's strike in 25 years in Chicago. Then Mitt Romney decided to pour gas on the political fires flaring up in the Middle East. Finally, after far too long on the sidelines, the Fed got off its collective backside and began to help kick the economy back into gear. With all the drama, we're incredibly glad to be getting out of town for the weekend - and we hope you have a chance to join us.

For more years than we can easily remember, when mid-September hits, as many of our staff members as possible pack up our gear and head to The Middle of Nowhere, Missouri - better known to many cartoonists as Marceline, Missouri, the site of the annual Disney Hometown Toonfest.

For those Daily Felltoon readers who may be unaware, the real source of Disney magic is not in Southern California or Central Florida, no matter how many millions the House of Mouse has spent to convince you otherwise.

The real-life place where Walt Disney got so much of his inspiration for the many worlds he drew, wrote about, and created is in the Midwest, in the small town of Marceline, Missouri - the town where Walt Disney grew up.

As some of the Disney Hometown Toonfest's oldest sponsors, we're proud that once again Paul Fell Cartoons and the North Central Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) can help promote this great event. If you're anywhere in the Midwest this weekend, we highly recommend you take the scenic drive, and join us.

This year's crop of professional cartoonists and presenters includes a rogue's gallery of some of our closest friends and chapter members.

Paul Coker Jr., one of the original "Mad" magazine staffers and an illustrator for Rankin-Bass for many years, will be giving an amazing presentation. So will legendary animator, cartoonist - and North Central Chapter member - Kelly McNutt, just off a recent trip to the beach.

Freelance illustrator and cartoonist Buck Jones, who's worked for everyone from Allied Insurance to Team Red Bull will also be giving a symposium on his more than twenty years of great work. Finally, Chris Payne, better known to many as C.F. Payne, legendary illustrator for Time, Readers Digest, The Atlantic Monthly and many more publications, will round out the headlining artists.

For us, Toonfest is more than just a great time to get together with other professionals in the cartooning and illustrations part of the media business.

Sure - there will be parades, contests and events for both adults and kids, and a cartooning gallery with work from some of the nation's best cartoonists. But that's just the stuff on the schedule.

It's also a way to celebrate the coming of autumn, a chance to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones, and see the work of great cartoonists we're proud to share our broader media field with.

We know things in world news haven't exactly been slow lately, and chances are good that things in your corner of the known universe haven't exactly been slow either. Still, if you have a chance this weekend, get away somewhere like Marceline, where you can push away your worries and hang out with some cartoonists - even for just a day.

We can guarantee; it'll help you draw a whole new perspective on life.