Sunday morning toons: Freedom is many things to many people

  Today's selections have been lovingly hand-selected from the week's political cartoon pages at Slate, Time, Mario Piperni, About.com, and Daryl Cagle:

p3 Picks of the Week:   Mike Luckovich, Clay Jones, Ben Sargent, Tom Toles, Joel Pett, J. D. Crowe, Jimmy Margulies, Steve Sack, and Monte Wolverton.

p3 Best of Show: R. J. Matson.

p3 Award for Best Variation on the “Occupy” Meme: Jerry Holbert. 

p3 Legion of Extreme Merit Award: Adam Zyglis. 

p3 Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Pat Bagley. 

p3 World Toon Review: Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Cam Cardow (Canada), Frederick Deligne (France), and Luo Jie (China).


Ann Telnaes sees a little problem with the current state of the First Amendment.


Mark Fiore looks at the “hard” in the hard science of climate change.


Taiwan's Next Media Animation presents The Student Loan Rap.


Sigh. You may remember a couple of weeks ago, when the p3 Sunday Morning Toons noted that a near-pristine copy of Action Comics #1, June 1938, which had somehow appeared from out of nowhere in someone's shed in California, was predicted to fetch $1 million at auction? Well, guess again.


Tom Tomorrow explores the somewhat-nuanced position of the anti-Occupy crowd.


The K Chronicles gives some thought to how to leave one's mark (even if it's a soot smudge).


Tom the Dancing Bug celebrates the American Dream.


In a touching edition of Red Meat, Bug-eyed Earl tells what he's thankful for.


Portland homeboy Jack Ohman looks at Mitt Romney's holding pattern.


"Freedom is many things to many people:" Several weeks ago, the p3 Sunday Mornign Toons featured three odd little toons from the 1950s on the fundamentals of traditional economics, produced by Warner Bros and underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This week, thanks to long-time p3 correspondent James the Elder, we've got an oddity that's even . . . odder. “Make Mine Freedom” was produced by John Sutherland for Harding College, a socially conservative, church-affiliated school in Searcy, Alabama. The politics of it are a tad dated, and aren't too subtle ("Freedom to work at a job you like?" Haven't heard it put that way before. Bit of a right-to-work spin, you think?). But in fairness they're probably a little more subtle than you might expect from an institution with a list of past lecture-series speakers like this.

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p3 Bonus Toon: Jesse Springer is of two minds about the ouster of UO president Richard Lariviere: a visionary? Or a guy who deliberately antagonized the people he needed?

Test your toon-captioning chops at The New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon contest. (Rules here.)

Sunday morning toons: Obama turns 50, MTV turns 30

And you'll become eligible for Social Security when you turn 108. That and other news from the weekly wide world of political toons.

Today's items have been scientifically selected from the week's political cartoon pages at Slate, Time, Mario Piperni, About.com, and Daryl Cagle:

p3 Picks of the Week: Mike Luckovich, Daryl Cagle, Mike Keefe, Jeff Parker, Jen Sorenson, Mark Streeter, Nate Beeler, Don Wright, and Monte Wolverton.


p3 Best of Show: David Fitzsimmons.

p3 Award for Most Gruesome Toon of the Week: Pat Bagley.

p3 Legion of Honor, with flip-flops: Paul Fell.

p3 Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Steve Kelly.

p3 World Toon Review: Cam Cardow (Canada), Ana von Rebeur (Argentina), Jianping Fan (China), and Petar Pismestrovic (Austria).


Ann Telnaes salutes the Lone Star State, where everything is bigger.


Mark Fiore says, Bipartisanship: it's a bee-yootiful ting. (Hate to see sumtin' happen to it.)


Taiwan's Next Media Animation asks, Why are there no Asian super-heroes? (Plus: why Kato doesn't count.)


I suppose it had to happen eventually; First they were worried about the Teletubbies. Then they were worried about Bert and Ernie (although they may have been right that time; even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then). Now they're worried that Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob Squarepants are filling our children's innocent minds up subversive stuff like energy efficiency.


Tom Tomorrow brings you another case -- or actually the same old case -- from the files of Thomas Friedman, Private Eye. When the Mustache of Understanding is on the case, you know it won't be long until it's cracked.


The K Chronicles says, San Francisco and Los Angeles -- practically the same!


Tom the Dancing Bug brings us another exciting chapter in the eternal adventures of the superhero with omnipotent powers.


At Red Meat Ted Johnson ponders the idea of forgiveness.


The Comic Curmudgeon examines ugly sexual games in Luann and Hi & Lois. (Last week, it was Lois and a guy covered in body art; this week it's a guy with a 70's porn 'stache and hints about of phone sex. Still waters run deep, apparently.)


Portland homeboy Jack Ohman pinpoints the great disconnect.


If you believe in "invisible hands," it's a short step to believing in elves: In 1956, Fritz Freleng directed "Yankee Dood It," the third of three Looney Toons that were underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as a way to teach economics -- in this case introducing mass production to the old story of the shoemaker and the elves. (The title is an otherwise-irrelevant reference to a Red Skelton tag line.)

(Note to Facebook friends: If you're reading this in FB Notes, you'll need to click View Original Post, below, to see the video.)


No p3 Bonus Toon this week: Jesse Springer is still on vacation. But you can browse the archives. Why do doctors and cartoonists all go on vacation in August?


Test your toon-captioning chops at The New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon contest. (Rules here.)

Sunday morning toons: In which we learn a new word

class war·fare n. \klas 'wor-fer\ The socially unacceptable act of pointing out that class warfare is taking place. Original derivation unknown.

Remember: Having the rich and their mouthpieces working 'round the clock to line their pockets with money that used to belong to Americans hanging on in the bottom 50% income bracket isn't class warfare. It's only class warfare if you try to get people to notice that it's happening. 

And with that, let's turn to today's selections, each one hand-crafted and jewel-encrusted by the same people who built Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's third yacht, and drawn from the week's political cartoon pages at Slate, Time, Mario Piperni, About.com, and Daryl Cagle:

p3 Picks of the Week: Mike Luckovich, Charlie Daniel, Joe Heller, Tony Auth, Steve Sack, Walt Handlesman, Nick Anderson, John Darkow, and Monte Wolverton.

p3 Best of Show, with crossed owl feathers: John Cole.

p3 "Truth is Ugly" Award: Nate Beeler.

p3 "Marx Was Right" Medal: R. J. Matson.

p3 Certificate of Harmonic Toon Convergence: Pat Fitzsimmons and Pat Bagley,

p3 World Toon Review: Tecknar Olle (Sweden), Ingrid Rice (Canada), Manny Francisco (Philippines), and Simanca Osmani (Brazil).



Ann Telnaes watches Rick Perry's meltdown on global warming. Mark Fiore interrupts News in a Nutshell for what's really important.



Get yer robot geek on! Somewhere in this montage is every robot you ever saw on TV or in the movies. (Including WALL-E.) Admit it: You saw this image and immediately thought "wallpaper!" -- but for your office, not your phone.



Tom Tomorrow tracks the difficult path of an unlikely friendship.



The K Chronicles presents: Knock, knock!


Tom the Dancing Bug brings you fun facts to know 'n' trade about corporations.



Comic Riffs has the story: Marvel is bringing about an audiobook version of Daredevil comics. (Of course. Think about it.)



Red Meat's Bug-Eyed Earl has girlfriend trouble.


There are no above-average children in Portland homeboy Jack Ohman's latest toon.


Congratulations. You are now qualified to run for president on the Tea Party ticket. Wrapping up our "class warfare" theme for today, here's the third of the 1950s Warner Bros Looney Toons about economics, underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: (The other two in the set are here and here.) "Heir Conditioned" is about inheritance and investment -- and the importance of keeping money you didn't really earn yourself away from the moochers and parasites. (You'll see.) It was written by Warren Foster, voiced by Mel Blanc (and sounds like Daws Butler doing an uncredited job on "Bernie,") and directed by Friz Freleng in 1955. Notice the punch line at the final moment -- is it a call by Sylvester for higher estate taxes?

(Note to Facebook friends: If you're reading this in FB Notes, you'll need to click View Original Post, below, to see the video.)


Return of the p3 Bonus Toon: Yes, Jesse Springer's back from vacation, but with Oregon unemployment stuck at 9.5%, things seem too much like they were before he left. (Click to enlarge.)

Test your toon-captioning skills at The New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon contest. (Rules here.)

Sunday morning toons: Batter-dipped and butter-fried

Here are some things you probably didn't know:

The Iowa straw poll is not a test of political organizing or name recognition; it's a system designed to weed out candidates with poor cardiovascular health by making them eat all that deep-fried gunk.

Standard & Poor determines their credit-worthiness ratings using an elaborate algorithm based on what's in it for them.

Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry once appeared in public with his hair slightly mussed up.

Several prominent conservatives promoting the GOP/religious right's anti-gay agenda are actually straight.

And there is no evidence that American labor unions and MoveOn.org are responsible for the London rioting.

Believe it or not!

Today's selections were drawn from the week's political cartoon pages at Slate, Time, Mario Piperni, About.com, and Daryl Cagle -- then fried in lard, rolled in butter, dipped in corn bread batter, deep fried in corn oil, rolled in butter again, and covered with powdered sugar (with a side of ketchup, mustard, and, of course, butter):

p3 Picks of the Week: Mike Luckovich, John Branch, Mike Peters, Steve Sack, Clay Bennett, Joel Pett, Pat Bagley, Clay Jones, Jeff Danziger, John Darkow, and Monte Wolverton.

p3 Best of Show: Ed Stein.

p3 Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Tony Auth.

p3 Legion of Merit: Pat Bagley.

p3 Certificate of Harmonic Toon Convergence: Paul Zanetti and Mike Keefe.

p3 World Toon Review: Ingrid Rice (Canada), KAL (England), Manny Francisco (Philippines ), Deng Coy Miel (Singapore), and Jeremy Nell (South Africa).


Ann Telnaes is on vacation, but -- just in time for the Rick Perry presidential candidacy -- she left behind a slideshow on religion and politics.


Mark Fiore salutes S&P's proud history of making the right calls at very nearly the right time. Seriously: why would we trust these people with a burnt-out match?


Taiwan's Next Media Animation reports that the next generation of exorcists are being trained right now.


Time to demand Kal-El's birth certificate! Three years ago, p3 fearlessly brought you the story of Captain America, political tool. But now (perhaps via leaks by Marvel oppo researchers?) the story can be told of that other red-and-blue hero who's got a track record of serving Big Government that would make Mitt Romney blush. Sure, it's one thing when Superman climbed in bed with the American government to end World War II in about five hours (even if there was that suspiciously un-American-sounding "war crimes" talk coming out of him near the end). After all, that was war, and everyone understands that we have to put aside small-government ideals in time of war -- just ask the GOP during George W. Bush's presidency.

But get a load of this lost record of the Man of Steel in 1952, encouraging Americans to "get on the welfare wagon!" Yes, the Last Son of Krypton took time out to pitch the virtues of "public and private agencies" that "help to protect the welfare of the community." What's next: Superman in his Fortress of Solitude, penning essays on the virtues of a planned political economy?

And here he again, twelve years later, brazenly fronting for the late JFK's Presidential Council on Physical Fitness. (I remember this issue, by the way. The MacGuffin was Superman rescuing a group of American and European exchange students from an avalanche in the Alps. The European students came through it all just fine, but the wussy, out-of-shape American students were bushed. Kennedy then brings in the Man of Steel to front his physical fitness program -- like George H.W. Bush brought in Conan the Barbarian, decades later. I remember one scene from the story in which Superman challenges a group of young runners to touch his cape, as he stays just out of their reach on the track via his super-speed. These were pre-Jim Croce days, of course.)

It's a right-winger's dream: First Superman renounces his American citizenship; and next he's caught pimping for the welfare state! Now, if only there were evidence he wasn't born in this country . . . !


Superman has the Justice League: But what superhero has the "Super Congress?" This week, Tom Tomorrow brings us another moderately exciting adventure MiddleMan.


And speaking of the amazing stranger from the planet Krypton, this week Keith Knight looks ahead to one thing even Superman -- and some cool casting -- may not be able to fix.


Tom the Dancing Bug reminds us: We're all still damned dirty apes.


Comic Riffs picks the top six cartoons on the latest economic downturn.


Red Meat's Ted Johnson comforts his son.


Portland homeboy Jack Ohman pays tribute to one of the last Republicans who didn't want to trash out the system.


It would be a pleasure to expound this economic phenomenon. As I mentioned last week, Looney Tunes produced three animation shorts underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in the 1950s, designed to teach the fundamentals of economics and mass production (with a dose of worker suspicion and American exceptionalism tossed into the mix). Of course, not everyone seems to have been paying attention, but a lot of kids did, for better or worse. From 1954, directed by Fritz Freleng, here's "By Word of Mouse."

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No p3 Bonus Toon: Jesse Springer is still on vacation.


Test your toon-captioning chops at The New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon contest. (Rules here.)