Cross Carrier Chuck / 45,000 Mile Cross Service

Cross Carrier Chuck

I had a completely different cartoon in progress for today, but put that aside once I caught a photo in our local Pioneer Press of Cross Carrier Chuck crossing an intersection on Tuesday in Fresno, California. I doubt Chuck has ever had a cartoon drawn about him before. Here it is.

Thanks to Canadian singer/songwriter Frank Trainor for adding the faithmouse link to his blog.

God Bless The Peace Activists

Military of the United States - Wikipedia

I've been making some minor changes to Faith as of late. Her nose is now an eclipse instead of a soft edged triangle, and her eyebrows have pretty much disappeared beneath her oversized bow.

It's taken seven years to get the character to this point. That's still much faster than an iceberg, if an iceberg had its own web cartoon.

Faith circa 2000 or so.

The Apology Of Joshua Heldreth

A cartoon I should have drawn some time ago. I intended to use Joshua's actual letter in the image, but it didn't reproduce very well at a smaller size. I compromised by reproducing part of the letter in a font called Kidprint. The original 'apology' (which also serves as an excellent Christian apologetic) can be viewed at this LifeSite article from last August.

C. S. Lupus

William Scott Conway writes "For those that might be interested, I've added a blog entry that may be enlightening to anyone who's ever wondered if our favorite inkling would have enjoyed Star Wars. "


William Scott Conway also writes on behalf of all die-hard Lewis fans to inquire what I'm planning to do to Jack, now that he knows I'm working on a Lewis toon or two. I hope the above non-malevolent sketch puts his mind at ease.

Lupus because C.S., frightened of the 'son' and living in an underground hollow, will later transform into Paul from Saul.

Stop The ACLU Blogburst / Looking For A Plaintiff

Looking for lawsuit plaintiff against prayer at grad ceremony -WorldNet Daily

Looking for a plaintiff every day
Looking for a plaintiff every way, I've been
Looking for a plaintiff it's all mine
Looking for a plaintiff and working over time, work out...

Updated version of the cartoon posted this morning.

Here are some of senior Jessica Reed's offending statements, which both the ACLU and to some extent the cowed Jonesboro Public School District believes are worthy of censure-

"I'm here to tell you that God is someone, that he is amazing. He will love you through everything. He will praise you when you are down. All you have to do is give your heart to Him. "

Horrendous. But wait, there's more-

" And before we leave, I want to give you that opportunity. In the closing moments of this service, if you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, here's your chance.."

I don't know if any students or parents in the audience came forward, but Jessica Reed certainly did. Young people remain idealistic and brash, despite when groups like the ACLU threaten to beat them down with a legal stick.

Jessica's speech was covered by the 'free expression' clause of the First Amendment, or should have been. Free speech is by nature offensive. The misinterpretation and misuse of the 'establishment clause' (constructs both) promoted by groups such as the ACLU has created large expression free zones in our culture, and a subsequent loss of freedom. The fact that the ACLU has to go begging for an offending party in this case demonstrates that the organization is serving the interests of no one but themselves.

Thanks to Riddlz's for posting a Thanksgiving Day toon on his Formed Reborn Transformed Now Renewed. Nixatron has added faithmouse as a link, and the High School Ministry of Immanuel Baptist has both added the RSS feed and somehow gotten the darn thing to display an image. Student and fellow MN Blogroller Chris Meirose at Because I Said So has given the cartoon a much appreciated ballyhoo.

Happy Eucharist!

Eucharist is derived from a Greek word which means thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving, Pilgrims

I just noticed this was posted in Foster G's Myspace board so what the heck. It's last year's toon but still appropriate, and, it's an actual Thanksgiving toon. As I mentioned in the previous post a new turkey day toon will arrive over the weekend. In the meantime to those turkeys still trying to kill us, cheers.

Spinner

Click for larger image. Even larger image.

Sorry this took so long to complete. My wife has this odd idea that I should do things with her on Thanksgiving. I actually do have a Thanksgiving Day toon in progess, which I'll continue to plod away on and of course finish after the holiday is over. It should still be nice to look at over the weekend.

Thanks to Homeschooler Patricia and her Patricia's Polywog Creek Porch for picking up a Neverborn toon as a sidebar graphic and linking to the site. By osmosis the same toon found it's way to Mama Bug's site as well. Toy Doll selects the Canadian Mounties as her heroes.

The Paper Doll Muses Yahoo Group has posted a link to the paper doll series from last year. Really cool to have the characters on a paper doll site. Shane at The High Places has posted a link to a previous toon along with the observation that it strikes a bit too close to home.

Spinner Detail

Detail from cartoon in progress.

Stop The ACLU Blogburst / Chaplain Catodanno

Completed version of the toon first posted as a black and white on the last Sunday Funnies at Stop The ACLU. A follow up to this toon is in progress and will be posted later tomorrow (Tuesday).

I frequently receive subject suggestions for new cartoons, which are usually more appropriate to the cultural milieu than the ones I decide to embark upon. William Scott Conway from Christian Board.com and Clive Sinclair Lewis, In The Wardrobe writes 'This might be an interesting thing for you to do a cartoon on. What would Faithmouse have to say about a liberal instructing the Christian church on how to show love'? Jack Melanson of Jesus Christ Garments suggests 'I sure would like to see a cartoon about the British hierarchy of the
Roman Catholic church declaring parts of the bible to be untrue'. A great idea as well, and from the Times Online article referred to by Jack I discovered this very intriguing bit of information-

A Christian charity is sending a film about the Christmas story to every primary school in Britain after hearing of a young boy who asked his teacher why Mary and Joseph had named their baby after a swear word.

Now, that's a cartoon.

To William I offer this Bob Geldorf toon I drew during Live Aid. To Jack I emailed these thoughts-

That's a great idea, Jack. I missed the story, so thanks.
Catholics in Great Britain have caught the same disorder the Anglicans have long suffered from. Faith means trust in that which those not in the spirit find utterly impossible to believe, and that faith is in turn a gift from God. These faithless religious pronounce the cross moot, which is why church attendance is so dismal in Britain. As a Catholic I know that scripture is true; the difference I might have with Protestants on the validity of scripture is that some parts of the Bible may be considered teaching stories, poetry or prose, but all books are true and equally significant. Viewing scripture as revelation or as the record of revelation is comparable to the difference between considering a biography of a historical figure or a novel about a great literary one; I know Christ is real and so do you, but this is a gift and it's a product of that gift that we can afford to give the benefit of the doubt to those who seem to do a better job than we at following the example of Christ the literary figure than Christ the savior of the world. However, even the most faithless of theologians (who are only acting their faith in the first place since it springs primarily from themselves) must admit that the 'plays' the thing. When you start to pick and choose what you can accept from scripture, you destroy the spiritual significance of the timeline of Christ, which is the true 'story' of scripture. The Bible is the living record of the need for, promise of, and the first coming of Christ. When you merit as useless that which you decide you can't use, you create a secular document and faith, which I suppose is the intention. Catholics, most of us at least, are better than that.

A Distant Thunder

Click illustration for larger image. Even larger image.
A Distant Thunder

Director and writer Jonathan Flora contacted me a month or so ago by way of Steven Stone at Renew America; the result is the illustration above. Mr. Flora is a well known Hollywood director and producer. A Distant Thunder, staring his wife Deborah Flora, is his own personal project.

Besides making for a riveting 35 minute short, ADT is also a memorable presentation of the medical facts surrounding partial birth abortion.

One of the aspects I admire about Mr. Flora's film is his depiction of a life that wasn't lived, at least not here on earth. God is kind, no matter what the naysayers may claim, and is good to every soul. If heaven is good far beyond what man can imagine, then we can imagine that God gives every life the fulfillment He had originally intended.

This post can also be found at Pro-life blogs.

Tuesday's cartoon featuring the newly introduced Chaplain Catodanno has already been posted at Stop The ACLU. I'm grateful that Jay kept the hotlink so I could update the image. The final version will be the subject of tomorrow's post.

Army brat Rmebrat has posted Randor's toon with a hearty recommendation at her Stumble Upon site. Mystery poster at the Cyber TLC (the girl group) forum has presented the Neverborn stamp toon (God bless Left Eye). Alexa from Singapore at her Birth Story has posted the illustration above.

Republicans Refuse To Give Bruce Springsteen His Glory Days, Thank God.

An older cartoon, but after reading this story I just had to repost it. The Evil Republicans who refused Mr. Asbury Park his day in the sun and politely deferred elucidating why may have had these recent Springsteen lyrics in mind....

American Skin (41 Shots)

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots and we'll take that ride
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
Lena gets her son ready for school
She says now on these streets Charles
You got to understand the rules
Promise me if an officer stops you'll always be polite
Never ever run away and promise momma you'll keep your hands in sight
Cause is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life
It ain't no secret
It ain't no secret
The secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

-repeat, ad nauseum....


The subject of this song wouldn't put up his hands when confronted, reaches into his back pocket and tries furiously to pull something out, and a bunch of frightened cops shoot him at close range in a contained space in self defense. Springsteen gets an award from the NAACP, and upset members of the NYPD refuse to work his Madison Square Garden concert in protest.

A special commission found the officers not guilty. Is it possible, Bruce, that they were ...not guilty? Or is it just another conspiracy by the man....

No time to write songs about the officers who are regularly slain in the line of duty protecting ours and Springsteen's rear end. Or perhaps he just felt artistically compelled to append his super sensitive 911 album, which managed to avoid any reference to the fact that the many police officers, firefighters and military personnel who turned up Missing that day were murdered by foreign terrorists on our soil. Sort of like putting out an album commemorating the victims of Pearl Harbor and deciding not to mention WWII.

Why is justice so sorely demanded for the victim of an accident, but not for those intentionally murdered? The answer may be discovered by considering what Springsteen views as intent. The NYPD must be racist; terrorists must want peace. Really.

A year after this 'anti-war' celebrity campaigns hard to defeat the fellow who actually did something about 911, Democratic reps from his home state nominate him for an award.

Who's being partisan?

A Distant Thunder, In Progress #3

Click illustration for larger image. Even larger image.
A Distant Thunder

I'm sailing this off to the affiliates in two acts: today as the almost completed cartoon, and tomorrow as the final toon following a few additions.

Thanks to Roxanne Palmer, editoral cartoonist for Brown University's Brown Daily Herald for the encouraging email and link on her Oh, Fishsticks! Roxanne is a talented toonist with an elegant style (I like this one regarding States' Rights). Editorial cartoonists belong to an exclusive tribe all politics notwithstanding, so I'm flattered by the kind thoughts and the link and will certainly return the favor.

This forum at Into the Wardrobe::A C.S. Lewis Site has a discussion regarding the Narnia/Penguin toon from a few days ago. Indian Forever at his Xanga site has posted the J/F toon from last week. Yes, we're still suffering old hippies' revenge after teeing off on John Lennon and burning all those Beatles records back in 1966.

Oh, and by the way John...

Chaplain Catodanno, In Progress

First draft of a toon introducing Chaplain Catodanno, after the 'Grunt Padre'-the revered Vietnam War Catholic Chaplain Father Vincent Capodanno.

What I like about this panel is the photograph of Father Capodanno, images of whom seem to be somewhat rare. I was able to lighten this photo I found of the padre leading services in the field, which reveals quite a bit of detail.

Not sure when I'll be able to return to this cartoon but I'm happy to have given it a start. Chaplain Capodanno will also appear this weekend in the 'Sunday Funnies' post on Stop The ACLU.

Catholics In The Military - Catholicmil.org

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe/March Of The Penguins cartoon

Between Emperors
Click cartoon for larger image. Even larger image.

Thanks to Jean at Catholic Fire, who's posted a slightly earlier version of this cartoon.

As usual I've waylaid everything I was working on to attack a nagging notion I had a few weeks ago. My apologies to those waiting on various promised toons.

If you follow faithmouse you may have noticed that it includes both inked cartoons and pencil drawn illustrations, with both techniques incorporated now and then in a single image. I don't think I've ever posted a completely pencil drawn cartoon before. Besides the additions of gradients and snowflakes added in Photoshop, the characters seen above are just the pencil sketches I erase after inking, only a bit more developed. Can't say I won't repeat the experiment. It's a chore crafting an ink line to recapture the variation naturally created from pencil pressure or speed. Usually when I sketch I do so with emotion or exhaustion. Drawing is similar to eating when hungry, only the paper is the mouth and your pencil the fork. Inking (at least the way I've done it) is simply the process of trying not to completely drain the life out of what you've already drawn.

I think I'll toss out all of my inking markers. Pencils are cheaper!

Thanks to Amy Ridenour for adding faithmouse to her personal blogroll. Mrs. Ridenour is the President and Chairman of The National Center for Public Policy Research. I'm encouraged by the thoughtful women who have taken to the cartoon, many of whom represent the conservative side of various television news debates. Charmaine Yoest recently appeared opposite the very sad and lost Heidi Fleiss on a segment about legalized prostitution on Rita Crosby's Live and Direct on MSNBC. Lori Byrd of Polipundit represented the blogging community recently on CNN's On The Story. Stacy Harp of Mind and Media and Writing Right spoke at the first GodBlogCon; I imagine it won't be long before she's speaking before a television camera if she hasn't done so already. It's hard to keep up on the recent adventures of these very influential bloggers and others whom I'm sure I've overlooked in this post. I wonder; how do they find the time to drop in on an obscure and failed cartoon? Anyway, I'm flattered.

A Distant Thunder, In Progress #2

Okay, here's a better interpretation in progress of Jonathan Flora's A Distant Thunder, to which I'll devote a longer blog post when the image is completed.

An illustration such as this, which is meant to both stand on it's own and also reference back to a different piece of art (in this case, Jonathan's) works best when it develops the outer edge of a theme, rather than serving as an echo of what has already been stated. Jazz musician Bill Frisell recorded his lovely The Sweetest Punch at the same time that Burt Bacharah and Elvis Costello collaborated on Painted From Memory, working independently but from the same sheet music. The result was an album which expanded the 'universe' of the original. Those familiar with the highway mural project during the Los Angeles Olympics can take that as another example.

It helps when the original inspiration possesses magnitude. In this case the power belongs to Mr. Flora's film, which is itself an artistic reaction to the great personal devastation caused by abortion; specifically the horror of partial birth abortion.

In Memoriam: Dallas Police Officer Brian Jackson

"Earlier this year, Officer Jackson traveled to Rhode Island to represent the Dallas Police Department at the funeral of a Providence detective who was shot and killed while interviewing a suspect at the police station." -from the Dallas Morning News story Comrades Mourn Officer Ending His Shift

The Officer Down Memorial Page - Detective Sergeant James Allen

Toon delayed from this morning...thanks for coming back to see it.

ACLU Flashlight

This toon may appear today on the Sunday Funnies post at Stop The ACLU. I think.

I've rethought the A Distant Thunder toon which I previewed Saturday, so the completed toon won't be posted until Tuesday. I have a completely different illustration in progress, which came to me after I asked God to put a better idea in my head, which He did. My head is empty much of the time so it's not as if He was in danger of knocking anything over.

Discovered the hub for the Minnesota Organization of Blogs, which is either new or something I should have known existed. Stumbled across a much appreciated hearty plug for faithmouse on Wired For Faith. Someone at an unknown thread on DeafMadness posted a recent Neverborn toon. Very nice of you, whoever you are. Recent post also at Jesus Christ Forums.

A Distant Thunder, In Progress #1

Fraud Loves Lawsuits

Fraud Fits (Boptist Church of Bunnies not pictured)

Free Republic Thread - Phelps & WBC to protest Soldier's Funeral - 11/11 in Hudson, WI Free Republic

OPERATION HERO is spreading word of a planned picket by Westboro Baptist Church during the funeral services for Army Spc. Benjamin A. Smith. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church will be picketing during the funeral service for Army Spc. Smith on Friday, November 11 in Hudson, WI. This anti-Troops/anti-war "liberal" hate group will be protesting at 10 am outside the church, located at 920 3rd Street.
Please show your support for this hero!
-from the Free Republic Thread

Thanks to California High School Conservative, The Western Alliance and Catholic Fire for showing yesterday's toon. I can't think of a worthier cause, perhaps other than warning mourning families and friends leaving a deceased service members funeral on Veteran's Day not to lose their cool when they see signs such as these waiting for them outside-



Thanks to Corrupted Lust for posting a Neverborn toon on her homepage, as well as to Brute for displaying the four slain Canadian Mounties toon somewhere in the mysterious recesses of this Everquest Online Adventures forum.

Apostate High

Super Size Me!

Yesterday's high winds which roared through Minnesota knocked one of our trees into a neighbor's house. Thankfully the damage was confined to the tree. The break happened neatly along a line of holes excavated by a woodpecker, which seemed to have perforated the tree and enabled the wind to rip the top of the Boxwood from the bottom like a check from a checkbook. As a result, yesterday's cartoon was delayed by tree. Perfect excuse to play with chainsaw.

Thanks to fellow artist (with a degree in Medical illustration from MIT) Father John Sistare Jr. at his Padregio Not So Quiet Catholic Corner for displaying today's toon and linking to faithmouse. Thanks also to Pro Life Blogs, which has created a post around the toon.

A hat tip to Freeper HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity for inspiring the dialogue in the cartoon with his act of charity observation. 'Helping others not to do wrong' doesn't enjoy the favorable PR of 'helping others to do right', but is equally an act of mercy and rarely complimented as such.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part 3, Section 2, Chapter1, Paragraph 2270-2275
ABORTION

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.

From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.71

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.72
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.73

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.
This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.
Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.74
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves.
Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.75

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.
The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life.
"A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,"76 "by the very commission of the offense,"77 and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.78
The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy.
Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority.
These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin.
Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."79



"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law.
When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined....
As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."80

2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual....
It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."81

2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival."82
"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."83
"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities.
Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity"84 which are unique and unrepeatable."

Thanks to World Wide Revival for including faithmouse on their page of Christian cartoons.

Pro-death Nunsense

Pro-life student expelled by Catholic school
-Renew America

Katelyn's Blog - Stand Up And Speak Out

Ambassadors Not Welcome

Christian Band Denied Opportunity To Perform
Wright State University's The Guardian

The band which was first approved and then denied by the school is named The Ambassadors, as you might have guessed from the blog post title.

Thanks to NoSoup4u for posting a recent Neverborn toon at this Brainerd Dispatch forum. Vale posts an overlooked Kerry toon in this forum at ToonZone along with the admonition that's 'nothing's preachier than faithmouse'.

I received this very kind email from Norm and Loni at Journaling Though The Valley-

I tried to leave a comment on your blog, to tell you your post touched us, that you would bring up about the choking game, and about our son. Thank you. It means a lot to keep Matthew remembered, but most of all bring more and more awareness to this horrible game that can touch any home. And, I thank you for your gift of laughter. We need it even in our grief.

No, thank you. Ron and Loni included in their email one of the most impressive keyboard character creations I've ever seen-

¸...¸ __/ /\____ ____
,·´º o`·,/__/ _/\_ //____/```)¨(´´´ l±±±±
¸,.-·²°´ ¸,.-·~·~·-.,¸ `°²·-. :º°
As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:15

That's just wow.

Just noticed this post for a week or so ago by fellow MOB blogroller Heavyhanded at Heavy-Handed Politics who displayed a toon created last Dad's day from a photo of fellow Minnesotan and Blackhawk helicopter pilot Randor (currently stationed in Iraq) with son.

Jay at Stop The ACLU has asked me to contribute a weekly toon to his regular Sunday Funnies post. Can do!

Ambassadors toon in progress

While you're waiting for the toon, check out today's A Few of FR's Finest thread entitled A Fantasy from the Left...(or they just won't let it go) Kerry WON!!!

While you're in a Kerry sort of mood, feel free to peruse my gallery of anti-Kerry toons, which features my infamous DevilCat Gives John Kerry Debating Advice And Then Enjoys A Culver's Butterburger cartoon, and the toon documenting the scripture faux pas I discovered in a John Kerry campaign speech (long since corrected) posted on JohnKerry.com.

Blue Prayer

Prayer Anime Toon

Simple transitional animation made from two panels of a cartoon in progress.

I'm still editing the most recent Garrison Squealer toon, including making a color version, which I'll post later this evening. Not sure what the cartoon for Monday will be....

Subsidizing The Smiter

Not very long ago I raised my head and realized I was drawing red cartoons in a blue state. For a satirist, especially one focusing frequently on the foibles of the left, the local inspirations are many and the opportunities delicious. Therefore many more Minnesotan based toons are on the table. The underlying subject matter is I believe universal enough for everyone to enjoy. Even if you're from Wisconsin.

So, why am I picking on the host of A Prairie Home Companion-

Mr. Keillor is not shy about employing scripture to make a political point. It's well know that he quotes the Bible a lot, something he has done numerous times in his books, columns and articles, in addition to on his radio program. He gets a free pass from the left for doing so, while similar referencing from the right is regularly pummelled as further evidence of the erosion of the Berlin Wall tween church and state. As Jay Nordlinger states in his definitive 1999 National Review article "He has also spent years cultivating his resentment of the religious- minded, whom he skewers at every opportunity (which are numerous)."

Online leftists lazily pointing to faithmouse as the ugliest example they can find of a bad marriage between politics and religion should first peek beneath their own covers. That finger they hear thumping on the Bible sure isn't mine. My last use of scripture was in this pro-prayer cartoon; I can't recall the time before that. I have too much respect for and fear of misusing scripture to employ it as anything more than an encouragement to do good. Mr. Keillor wields scripture to smite his political enemies, and how.

All of this would be darn ignorable if those being smited weren't subsidizing the smiter. Mr. Keillor claims that only 2% of public monies currently underwrites his show, yet that number has been much larger in the past. 2%+ times 31 years has paid for quite a bit of publicly funded anti-Christian conservative religious expression. At the same time Mr. Keillor claims a lack of political content on his show (I believe what he meant to say was 'less') he uses the website associated with his program to knock Christians he does not like. As a general rule these are Christians who would prefer that families keep more of their own earnings and the government grab less. These greedy Christian conservative families would be more than happy to retain control of an additional 2% of their own money. This would include public resources mandated to the careers of droning moralists who complain about the cruelty and stinginess of their benefactors.

Until public grants for the arts are subject to that most undignified and democratic of tests- a poll- they remain culturally invalid. They do not reflect the tastes, disposition, or interests of the public which they feign to represent and serve. At worse, they steal resources from a much wider and capable artistic community, and discourage the development and promotion of actual beauty.

We live in a culture where exhibitions of the works of past masters who actually knew how to draw and paint are regularly sold out at art museums, but where the installation of new realistic works depicting anything, much less recent heroes (a noble and traditional use of the arts meant to encourage a current generation to even greater feats) are nonexistent. Instead we are treated to ugly and meaningless nonrepresentational forms, a long running installation of nonsense meant to wean the general public from reliance upon absolutes. Those accepting the scam are much poorer for the experience. This is why you can find Thomas Kincaide paintings on air fresheners at Wal-Mart, and why magazine with attractive celebrities on their covers sell at checkout. Contrary to condescending definition, commoners aren't too backward to appreciate the finer things in life, or too crude to choose the steak over the tunafish sandwich. People long to own beautiful things and will embrace the beauty within their grasp.

This longing for a graceful society is what Mr. Keillor exploits in his shows for much baser aims; its actual recognition and celebration has become a ghost in his current writings, which continue to dwell in the petty. Mr. Keillor's simple Northwesterners with their primitive understanding of God, quaint folksy customs, and uncanny ability to tell stories and sing are the Mr. Bojangles of the American Left.

Thanks to Loni at Journaling Through The Valley for adding a faithmouse graphic link to her site. Loni and family lost a son to the choking game. Her site disseminates information regarding such and consoles families coping with similar tragedies. I'm proud to have some presence there.

I posted this comment on Druid's Fiacharrey's The Sacred Grove, in response to analysis of two past cartoons-

Thanks for the post, Fiacharrey.

In the panel of the first cartoon, fellow Catholic John Paul II is tending to his own garden (the church), but the job is unfinished. In the second panel Pope Benedict XVI is completing the job. The machines represent willingness to use stronger Papal authority. As you can see from the trees in the distance, the yard is finely cultivated. Even nature has become art. The neighbor may not like the noise and commotion, but it's not only Pope Benedict's right; it's his responsibility to tend to neglect on his side of the fence. All he's doing is improving the quality of the neighborhood for everyone to enjoy.

The character in the cartoon is Ms. StarMole. She's reading a copy of the Relativist Times, which features a photo of Terri Schindler Schiavo. The back cover of the magazine has a photo of an aborted child taken from the Priests for Life site.

The second cartoon is from an earlier series; it's part of a storyline and shouldn't be taken out of context. As you can see from the copy of the Hollywood Reporter, the drink, the cigarette and the Paris Hiltonesque dog named 'Petri', Ms. StarMole is a rather shallow, faddish and decidedly unhealthy liberal who is reading a book which helps her to feel open minded. Ms. StarMole isn't a Pagan; she's a radical atheist and sometimes activist judge. As I've explained to a few Pagans who I've traded emails with in the past, she doesn't represent Pagans (an honorable group which C.S. Lewis thought of as the perfect pre-Christians). She doesn't represent anyone but herself.

However, I think the sub-point is relevant and worthy of reflection-if God is nature (as opposed to the Judeo/Christian view that God created nature, and is separate from creation) where do you go theologically when nature does terrible things to people? I believe the terrible conclusion you must draw is that God is mad at or is punishing humanity, which isn't the case. A worldview which sees nature as God would naturally argue for a policy of non-interference. The Judeo-Christian view is that God want man to both subdue all the world and to act as its good steward.

God bless, and thanks for taking an interest in my work

Squealing, Established 1969

Click image above for larger toon, or view our super large family version.

A Prarie Home Companion debuted (by name if not format) on Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and except for a two year hiatus has been on the public dole ever since.

Not a bad toon, could be better. I plan on fiddling with the image over the weekend, so if you post the toon please check back on Monday for the newer version.

Free Republic Thread - Empty victory for a hollow man
-how Norm Coleman sold his soul for a Senate Seat, by Garrison Keillor

Partial Truth

One of my much belated Mind and Media promo pieces, in cartoon form and in progress. Soon after agreeing to write Christian product reviews for long time faithmouse friend Stacy Harp I realized after receiving a small library in the mail that I hated writing reviews. Drawing cartoons in much more fun.

My payment for promoting this book is the book itself. The book in the cartoon is my own personal copy, retrieved from the bathroom hamper and scanned. This is what it would look like if my characters worked for a Christian/Conservative version of the New York Times Book Review, in an alternate universe and covering all the material the NYTimes pointedly ignores.

Thanks to eclectic and entertaining aggregator Samantha Burns at The Crazy Rants Of Samantha Burns for adding faithmouse to her blogroll. I'll merrily return the favor.

I'll have the next Garrison Squealer toon posted today by high noon, Minnesota time.

Professor Ferret, and a few friends

The Halloween toon has been updated and can be eyeballed in a previous post below. Thanks to critic Bromwell at Moms Who Think for inspiring the new tagline. On the updating feed is our regular Catholic toon, which was posted to the blog yesterday in addition to Catacombers.

The theme of the A Few of Free Republic's Finest thread for today is nonpartisan bonding between dogs and squirrels. Beautiful homespun graphics by DollyCali and friends.

Thanks to Sturm Ruger for the plug on this Right Nation board, which notes the lack of conservative toons on Yahoo Comics.

'Name Calling, The Liberal's Greatest Weapon' post

Browell, The Official MWT Boytoy posts this is today's Mother's Who Think thread entitled 'Name Calling, the liberal's greatest weapon'-

right, so the cartoon is supposed to show the disparity between a culture that hands out free candy to healthy children and yet we ignore the needy children in darfur? that's great, so who does the "professor ferret" represent? our government, our republican run government, that is ignoring the crisis in darfur to wage a useless war in iraq? it's highly doubtful that your superior insight would extend that deep, rather i'm sure "professor ferret" is an evil liberal who doesn't donate to causes, like all liberals, because all professors are liberals in our liberal run college campuses!truly the veil has been lifted from mine eyes, savior lacey.see, you make no point in your cartoon. there is not one obvious political point in there. it's simply partisan fodder for you and others to proudly display on your sites with a "see, we're much better than the liberals, we draw cartoons about their 'hypocrisy'."congratulations on once again confounding all normal thinking, logical people with with your convoluted illogical pap.

To which I reply, to this and previous commentary-

Thanks for the comments, and the constructive criticism.
I do a slow burn on many of my cartoons; I'll start and finish them sometimes months later. Whatever the proper procedure or expectations are for editorial cartoons, I don't care. I simply draw what please me because, as I alluded to by the links which I sent Boytoy earlier, I also consider the toon to be art. This probably comes from years working as an illustrator/portrait painter and my dislike of cartoon 'gags'.
I understand most people know what my political/theological views already are, so when I produce a toon like this, which is non-political and meant to be conscience jarring, critics on the left won't give the cartoon an ounce of anything positive because they suspect that the bogeyman must be them. I assure you, there are no liberal bogeymen in this toon. If you suspect this toon actually does the opposite of what my intention was, by inadvertently exposing the guns versus butter hypocrisies of the Evil Bush Regime, then by all means, pass it around.
I'll spend a little time making changes to the toon, and I'll post it later today to see what you might think of it then.
God bless, Dan

Christ's Feat

Larger versions of this illustration can be viewed here and here. The updated and completed version of the Timothy A. Bear 'crasino' toon partly posted on Tuesday can be viewed in the previous blogpost below.

Regular visitors to faithmouse may be surprised to find themselves at what looks like my blog. In fact, this is my blog, with links to all the galleries and other information previously exclusive to the HTML site gathered in. I think it works fine, but if you find any problems with the new format please let me know.

Chris and I picked up an outdoor plaster Madonna from St. Nicholas' yesterday. We now have a two foot Mary and a five foot St. Francis of Assisi overlooking the same birdbath. Considering the challenges facing the world's bird population, I'm sure they'll accept blessings in all proportions.

Purged by Snopes, and yet another toon in progress

Now that's a lot of irons in my fire. With a headstart on so many different toons I should be able to post a good amount of work this week.

Sorry to say that Snopes has backtracked and deleted the commentary I've left in their forum, including all the responses to my comments by other members. They've also deleted a recent extensive thread about one of my cartoons and redirected switcheroos I've posted to the original images referenced, including this one-

Yahoo has a cache of the previous version of the thread, which you can compare with the current version. To Snopes credit they still have this thread noticing Blackbear (holy smokes, July?) and this one complimenting me for a decent Christian glurg-toon. For a site which prides itself on exposing myths and chronicling truth, they've reinvented quite a bit of history, which includes erasing all evidence that I was trying to communicate with them.

I've hesitated to comment about this because I thought it might sound like I'm complaining, which I'm not (sort of). I have nothing personal against Snopes; I've commented in this blog in the past about leaving comments on their board (which were always civil; I have a reputation for never 'flaming' anyone, no matter what they might say about the cartoon) so I imagine in time someone else might notice the changes as well. I came across some very intelligent observations regarding my cartoon posed in their forum, which I thought merited a response. Also, while sharply critical in some cases, their threads were largely free of outright invective (no one was swearing at the cartoonist, which is always appreciated).

I've tried yet a third time to register with Snopes to answer questions, and yet again no success. It's a free country, God bless America. Guess I'll expound to the cat, and confine any questions about the cartoon to this blog.

Don't think Ann Rice is encountering similar experiences at AngelQueen.