Friday, July 22, 2005

Toon 7/22/05 and stuff




First off, molto grazie...
-to Anglican Priest and Reverend Daniel Sparks for posting the recent 'Ten Commandments' cartoon on his Miserere Mei blog
-to Chilli at The 522 for posting the recent Neverborn 'Delivery Refused' cartoon
-and to Westminster Theological Seminary student J.D. Foster for posting the 'Pope Benedict XVI On The Riding Tractor' toon of last April 'for all of you who have accused me of getting soft in my conservatism and Calvinism'. Nice to be used as evidence of right wing virility.

I was shocked today to see that Democratic Underground had generated a thousand or so views of my 'Vote Christ/Bush/Cheney' cartoon from last year; shocked because the cartoon features pink Faith before her skin whitening treatments, tail reduction surgery and breast implants. Faith doesn't want that picture passed around anymore than she would want her high school photograph plastered on a billboard outside her wedding reception. Therefore today's cartoon replaces Daily71.jpg, and because I'm feeling magnanimous I've included Christ above my choice for both major tickets in 08. No matter the outcome that's how I truly hope it could be. Christ; merciful, kind, patient and just, deserves to reclaim the top spots. If you listen to the rhetoric from the left, from Howard Dean to Sojourners, from Hillary to George Soros, they all heartily agree, or claim to agree. Of course, the Christ they preach may be nothing more than a front for a regurgitation of Liberation Marxist Theology, a failed philosophy even the ultra-poor of Latin America have abandoned but which seems to be enjoying a vogue amongst those who both own a Che T-Shirt and attend reunions of the Jesus Seminar.

Therefore the inclusion should offend no one. Both sides, claiming Christ, can cooperate to form a complete portrait of the cross, even though the result may be somewhat skewered. We'll fix things up later. Maybe.

I receive an email-

As a gay-rights supporting liberal heathen animated carcass of a human being, I wanted to ask you what you thought about the Karl Rove issue; do you think that he should be punished justly, as any other act of treason should be, or should he stay in office because he devised the well-thought out and justified Iraqi war (which by the way, was a stunning success, it's only lead to 25000 civilian deaths, and that's nothing compared to world war II, right?) or should he be ignored by the media because Glorious Leader Bush has nominated a generic white man judge to fill the spot of someone who was a prototype in her field?
Yours truly, "Hellbound"


To which I writ-

Thanks for the email, Hellbound. If I tried to integrate the current Rove story into the cartoon I suspect it would lead to exactly the same dead end as the 'Delay' hullabaloo before it, and the 'Blair Memo' issue before that one, and the one before that, and that, all of which have blown away after being revealed to be nothing more than belly button lint. The fact that all these crisis have lead to nothing might indeed make for a good cartoon; I can certainly think of a few good ones. I also try not to chase a story if the entirety of the media seems to be doing the same thing; however, if I think I have some sort of 'Christian' angle to add to a conversation I will, although I many times discover that my idea wasn't quite as Christian as I first thought. Thank goodness Faithmouse is only a cartoon.

My main interest in commenting upon the war is to encourage our troops to have faith in God. Christ affords us the basis of true personal liberty, for which He paid the ultimate price (even Bono agrees with me on this one). He's the yardstick I measure everything against (Christ, not Bono). It's true that many service personnel are fans of the cartoon, and I imagine it's because they are encouraged by the message of support. Whether or not you and I would ever agree on the war(s), or even agree on the veracity of your numbers (which no matter pales in comparison with the number of civilians killed in World War II, the alternative to no-War being a world subjugated under the heel of a mad, racist tyrant, something an enslaved Europe didn't want either) our countrymen fighting today for a freer and safer world deserve to know that they are being prayed for by people who view conflict as having both an earthly and spiritual dimension. We pray for their spiritual as well as their physical safety. We even pray for those trying to kill us. That they stop trying to kill us is our foremost prayer.

As for Judge Roberts, he's won praise from the left, right, and middle. Basing the choice of a Supreme Court justice solely upon sex would be sexist, or upon skin color, racist. However, as the President may very well have the opportunity to pick two or even more Supreme Court justices, you may still get your wish for an additional non-white or non-male Justice. So, cheer up! All is not lost.

As for your being 'gay-rights' supporting, you may be interested in my character of Gaybear, who is both a Christian homosexual and a bear. The Faithmouse gang accepts Gaybear for who he is, without beating him around the head with a Bible on any occasion. He appears in a number of cartoons which have absolutely nothing to do with his sexuality; he's just a member of the tribe. The reason they accept him is because he loves Christ more than his own life; the spiritual more than the carnal. I know of many Christian homosexuals in the church who have the same attitude and are personally encouraged by the character. The point here is that everyone no matter how they view themselves can have a personal relationship with Christ. I recommend that you consider the number of Christian and very politically Right web sites who support the cartoon and who are also able to accept the inclusion of the character. If someone's being intolerant, Gaybear demonstrates that it's not the vast and powerful faithmouse media empire.

Again, I hate to admit this, but Faithmouse is just a cartoon. It's just an extended art project, for heaven's sake. It's meant as entertainment, more for myself than anyone else. I don't think anyone should get their socks twisted in a knot over it.

Your email though is typical of many I receive from people who seems to be reacting only to tag lines and not content.

Are you sure you have the right cartoon?

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