7/4/12 - Editorial: Independance Day #236

Benjamin Franklin is often quoted as saying:
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty
to purchase a little Temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

1776-2012: 236 Years of Freedom and Justice for All
Today we celebrate Independence Day - what does that mean to you?

Are we as free today as our forefather's were on that joyous day 236 years ago? Do we (you and I) work to make our country stronger, braver, with greater justice and even more freedom?

Have we (collectively as a society, and individually as citizens) preserved what some of our fathers, mothers, grandparents, great-grandparents, and on back - have DIED to protect and establish?

For those of us who have never been called to serve our country in time of need - how do we give back? Is this a time of need?

How do we continue and improve on the legacy of being a citizen in what is arguably, still the greatest country in the world (no offense to all our brothers and sisters across the planet - but this is still the place I CHOOSE to call home)? So once you realize how much we all have and the sense of gratitude washes over you, you start to wonder: how do we give back?

http://www.foundingfatherquotes.com/

4/25/12 - Higher Education Bubble - Has It Already Burst?

This sensationalized MSNBC news graphic comes as the result of a Georgetown University study -  to read more see this online story: http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2012/04/23/the-13-most-useless-majors-from-philosophy-to-journalism.html#slide1
Thanks to new Facebook friend and fellow artist, Francis Vallejo, for posting about this.

This attitude is indicative of the current mindset that capitalism will solve all our problems and meet our every need. Absolute nonsense. Okay, I am editorializing here.

So is there an educational bubble just like there was in real estate? Has it already burst? Are college degrees over valued? They are definitively overpriced.

Check out this post form all the way back in 2007 - Gannon Beck was on to it then. Open source education!
http://www.lexkyccg.blogspot.com/2007/11/110407-excellent-autodactic-posts-and.html

01/14/10 - Editorial Cartoons Haitian Earthquake

Daryl Cagle's excellent site:

http://blog.cagle.com/news/2010/01/13/live-blog-haiti-cartoons/

Some selected cartoons about the disaster in Haiti:

Helicopters - Cartoon by Daryl Cagle - msnbc.com

Helping Hand - Cartoon by Steve Breen - San Diego Union-Tribune

Voodoo Spike - Cartoon by John Cole - The Scranton Times-Tribune

Pat Robertson - Cartoon by Bruce Plante - The Tulsa World

This last is one is for real: see the link to the video:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robertson-blames-haiti-earthquake-pact-devil

They don't make 'em like they use to.

As I said to Jon (and for the sake of laziness, I'll just copy/paste it), I re-read my TPB of the collected Dark Phoenix Saga, and I feel just as happy as I did in 5th grade when I read the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Sagas and watched the cartoon episodes based on them. Marvel just doesn't write stories like that anymore! They just rehash the cash cow muties and super powers in convoluted harlequin-esque stories. I use to love Wolverine, but I am SOOO freakin sick of him now. But Phoenix is and shall always be my favorite Marvel character. A primal cosmic entity that was love, life, evil, and death all in one; but above all, she was passion itself. And she just wanted to be free to enjoy it.

"Mainstream" comics today have just lost that kind of storytelling quality they use to have. I turned to Japanese comics because, like Ken said, they have stories from and for all walks of life. As for American comics, I stick to indie titles, like Blue Monday, Hopeless Savages, and mostly OniPress and Slave Labor titles because they're different. I think that's kind of sad given how much I use to adore the X-Men titles. I tried reading some newer issues and I had no idea what was going on. Everything was so convoluted. All the characters I did manage to recognize when referred by name were so different that I just found it distasteful. I know change is good in alot of aspects, but sometimes that change gets skewed in favor of making money, you know..? It's kind of sad, really.