Everything Auld Is New Again

I robbed Mike Peterson of 1923 Christmas cartoons last week, so I'll let him have the year-end ones — except for this one that has nothing to do with New Year's Eve, but presages a certain meme:

"'Twixt Love and Duty" by Sam Armstrong in Tacoma News Tribune, Dec. 31, 1923

Instead, it's time for your humble scribbler's annual review of my favorites of my own work from the rapidly fading year. And as long as we're mimicking memes...

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Former Senator from Wisconsin Herb Kohl passed away this week, so I have to acknowledge his career here before the year is up.

in UWM Post, Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 20, 1988

I featured my home state Senator in only a few cartoons over the years, starting in 1988 during his first run for the seat of retiring Bill Proxmire. There were occasional rumors about the lifelong bachelor's sexuality, and I drew referencing that — once — for the LGBTQ press. 

But for the most part, he only appeared as one senator among others in my cartoons — sometimes with a basketball to make sure that Wisconsin readers would recognize the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. I might just as well have alluded to his grocery or department stores instead.

Curiously, I never had occasion to draw him for the Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee in the nine years that I drew editorial cartoons there. Even when the week's editorial was about the Milwaukee Bucks, the focus was on the stadium board or local government or the players' union. I drew more cartoons for the Beej about our other Senator, Russ Feingold.

That's because Senator Kohl wasn't one to crave the limelight as much as some other politicians. Yet he worked hard on behalf of the state, and put more skin in the game than most team owners do when it came to keeping the Bucks in his hometown. 

Kohl may be the last politician here to gain popularity across the political spectrum. After a modest but respectable victory over then State Senate Majority Leader Susan Engeleiter in 1988, he carried all but nine Wisconsin counties in 1994, and all but eight in 2000. In his last reelection campaign, in 2006, he won each and every county in the state.

For a billionaire, he had the common touch, and kept in touch with his constituents from day one and then some. This was the first year since 1988 that Mr. Kohl did not send my dad a Christmas card.*

Vayanuach b’shalom, Mr. Kohl.

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* I stand corrected: Dad did receive a holiday card from Senator Kohl this year.

Q Toon: Apology Intercepted

Anyone who lives with a cat, or has visited someone who does, will know where I'm coming from.

It seems that ex-NFL coach, current NBC Sports commentator Tony Dungy tweeted and deleted a wisecrack repeating the popular right-wing fiction that there is are school districts somewhere in the U.S. that have installed litter boxes in school restrooms for the benefit of students who identify as cats.

It's a dog whistle slur against transgender and queer youth, so activists pounced on Dungy as if he were a laser pointer dot on the floor.

Dungy's apology must have gotten deleted along with his original tweet, but he had a screengrab of it to post in a later tweet explaining that the people continuing attacks against him must not have seen it.

This past week I posted a tweet that I subsequently deleted. I issued an apology but not everyone saw it. So I am reposting my apology here. As a Christian I want to be a force for love to everyone. A force for healing and reconciliation-not for animosity. pic.twitter.com/esew5wjUyD

We can debate whether or not this is another example of transpeople who can't take a joke; given the rise in murders and legislative assaults against transgender people in the past several years, one can understand how that community might have a diminished sense of humor.

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Sitting down to prepare for this week's cartoons, I whipped off a hasty caricature of Mr. Dungy in my sketchbook that I was rather pleased with.

The meme cat took a few more tries.

Q Toon: The Eve of Distraction

The Tampa Tribune recently quoted former NFL coach Tony Dungy as saying that he would not have drafted openly gay defensive lineman Michael Sam. "I wouldn't have taken him. Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it. It’s not going to be totally smooth … things will happen."

Dungy had been less concerned about dealing with less than totally smooth things happening with Michael Vick's return to the NFL after he had served his sentence on dog fighting charges; ESPN describes Dungy as a "mentor" to the rehabilitated quarterback.

After facing some criticism for apparently worrying more about having a gay player on his hypothetical football team than a convicted felon (see Drew Litton's cartoon here), Dungy issued an apology, stating that he has always believed that Michael Sam deserves the same chance to play in the NFL as any straight dude.

"What I was asked about was my philosophy of drafting, a philosophy that was developed over the years, which was to minimize distractions for my teams.
"I do not believe Michael's sexual orientation will be a distraction to his teammates or his organization. I do, however, believe that the media attention that comes with it will be a distraction. Unfortunately we are all seeing this play out now, and I feel badly that my remarks played a role in the distraction."

Later, Dungy appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, where he eventually said, "I would want to wish [Sam] the best and let him know I have no bitterness or animosity to him, even though I don't agree with his lifestyle. I love him and I wish him the best and I'd love to say that to him."

For his part, Michael Sam has taken the high road, telling ESPN that he respects Dungy, and thinks Dungy is entitled to his opinion, but "Thank God he wasn't the St. Louis Rams coach."