Raw

North Korea continues to make wild threats this week, some of which are actually comical. Combined with the not-so-subtle threats are missile and nuclear bomb tests. What's that? We can't hear you! La, la, la, la, la...

In other news this week, Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean, in a move to show solidarity with the Inuit people, slaughtered a seal and ate a piece of the heart -- raw. Yeck!

In a caged match, I'll take Michaëlle Jean over Kim Jong Il. She's apparently a real tiger, whereas he just seems to talk a lot of smack. 

Remedial Math

Jim Flaherty, Canada's Finance Minister, was out by $50 billion in his budget deficit estimate, which has led to Liberal critics demanding his resignation (oh, gee, who could have predicted that?)

I like this cartoon much better than yesterday's. It's sharper and the caricature is much better. The key to capturing Flaherty is that he has a flat and fat head with generous eyebrows. Get that shape right, combined with very thin lips and you have a Jim Flaherty cartoon. 

Deficit Cliff

This is the cartoon you draw when it's your wife's birthday and you have about a million other things to do. That's not really an excuse, it's just a reality of having life's circumstances crowd out the stuff you get paid for. And so it is for me these days, as the father of am eight-year-old and the person who just happens to be at home to take care of the domestic chores. All cartoonists face those challenges, but the trick is to carve out enough time to create the next masterpiece. 

The truth of the matter is most of the work is done in my head, otherwise known as the concept. Concepts are easier if you know your subject matter, actually have an opinion and sometimes the wishy-washiness of some topics are glaringly apparent. It is hard for the people who live with a cartoonist to acknowledge the fact that, while sitting in front of a TV, surfing the Internet, reading, drinking coffee in the sunny backyard, that he or she is actually fully engaged in work. To the outsider, it looks like we're just laying around, but the fact is it takes serious mental energy to pull this off everyday. 

OK, you can all stop laughing at that last statement. 

I am become Death

I still vividly recall the first time I won the National Newspaper Award in 1990 for my work in 1989. I had been nominated three years in a row and I was finally on top of the world. Heck, the Regina Leader Post even posted a big banner in the newsroom upon my return which read "BEST IN THE COUNTRY". I was the cat's pajamas and was thoroughly enjoying basking in my fifteen minutes of fame. As a maritime cartoonist observed, I was a "rock star". Well, I was in those years.

Contrast that to this past Monday, my first day back after winning the NNA on Friday night. Instead of a banner, my day was quietly spent picking up the gifts our new family puppy was leaving behind. Instead of newspapers and media outlets calling me for interviews, I received the warm wishes of Facebook friends (frankly, I prefer that anyway). Such is the life of someone who works from a home office.

What stood out the most from my 1990 experience was the fear that all eyes were upon me and I better start living up to the high expectations. So, that first day I drew a cartoon of Brian Mulroney, Michael Wilson, John Crosbie in a sewer, reading the polls while dressed like Ninja turtles. Admittedly, it was unremarkable as a cartoon, but it stands out because I remember the tension I felt while drawing it. The first cartoon is always the hardest after winning such a prestigious award.

In this regard, Monday was no different. I had the same desire to produce something worthy of an award winner and to my surprise, I actually drew a decent cartoon that even I like.

Yes, I've drawn similar cartoons in the past, but I really enjoyed this one. The image of Uncle Sam in a western saloon with Kim Jong Il barging through the saloon doors while quoting Robert Oppenheimer's "I am become Death..." after the first detonation of the atomic bomb, was just too rich not to do.

Kim Jong Il is a ready-made cartoon. For such a tough day back, it was like manna from heaven.

Grace Period

Typical of Canada, the U.S. sets a policy and we're an hour behind setting the same one. This time, the choir was singing a "get-tough-with-the-credit-card-companies" song and the Canadian government was singing from the same hymnal as the one Obama had ordained. 

For Canada, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a 21-day grace period before banks could charge interest rates. Personally, I liked the song better when Obama sung it an hour earlier. When our government sings, it has a strange echo. 

One thing Flaherty didn't touch was putting a cap on interest rates, which is a debatable measure. One one hand, I agree with free enterprise and on the other hand, I think banks are greedy predators that could use a little governing. 

Speaking of echoing, this cartoon echoes one of my favorite earlier cartoons from the second year of my editorial cartooning career. 

Notice that our collective boat has no paddles. 

Victoria

It was the worst-case scenario everyone was dreading -- that little eight-year-old Tori Stafford was not only abducted, but murdered, as well. One can only imagine the absolute anguish the family feels, as the rest of us, who were hoping for the best, feel deeply saddened and grieve right along side. 

It was all I could think about yesterday when I drew this. The other news items just seemed so trivial. 

Tax Return

It's good to be a former Prime Minister of Canada. Not only does Revenue Canada give you deferred payments of half of what you earned six years ago, they don't penalize you, or send tax hounds to make sure they get the full amount owed. I think I'll try that too and see how it goes. So far, we found out from the Oliphant Commission, that Mr. Mulroney admitted to accepting cash payments of $225,000 from Mr. Schreiber, shoving them into a safety deposit box for six years and only paying on half of what he owed. Nice.

I think what we really have discovered here is that democracy in this country is a sham. I know I wrote this before and I'll write it again; there is a way the rich and powerful are treated versus the way people without status are treated. If you needed evidence for this accusation, look no further than how Mulroney was able to escape paying.

By the way, if there are any Revenue Canada people reading this, I have $225,000 in cash sitting in a safety deposit box that I earned in 2003. I plan to declare it, but am waiting for the right moment.

Wait for the SWAT team to descend upon my house. Should be any moment now. Oops, got to go answer the door bell...

Boomerang

Apparently negative ad campaigns work, otherwise what would be the point of producing them? However, I think that, with everything, timing is everything and I'm not convinced the Tories have managed to do that. My guess is that they are trying to take away the momentum that Michael Ignatieff might have gained after the Liberal convention, known as the post-convention bounce, but the ads seem a little too heavy-handed considering we're just getting to to know the guy. It's not like he has 666 written on his forehead (although the eyebrows make me wonder.)

And as for mud-slinging, Harper better be careful. I'm sure the Liberals have a bucket full of mud with Harper's name on it. 

Cool Spring

Canada is known for cold weather, but the spring of 2009 has been one of the cooler ones in recent memory. My guess that it has something to so with the lowest sunspot activity since 1928, leading some to speculate about a mini-ice age.

Wait a minute, weren't we just waxing on about global warming?

Tied Laces

From the average hockey fan's perspective, it seems counterproductive for the NHL and Gary Bettman to block Jim Balsillie's bid to bring the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton -- a place that could easily support a hockey franchise and create more interest in a region of Canada that is already hockey crazy. 

But they are. It would really be nice if, instead of isolating a guy who could be a legitimate ally in expanding the NHL's profile, they could work with him. It's a novel idea, I know, but they are essentially on the same team. 

Or are they? 

Sad Story

A continuation from yesterday's cartoon. While the former Prime looked haggard at times, he's taken took every opportunity in his testimony to go for the sympathy card, including using real tears. Now, while I'm not a complete hardened cynic (yet), I have been led down the "cry for me" rose bush once too often and well, I get suspicious.

Brian Mulroney is a politicians' politician, in that he is extremely gifted as a communicator and has a very warm personality. Taking that into account and given past history, you can never trust what really comes out of his mouth.

And now a little song, dedicated to Brian Mulroney. 

Captain Muldoon

Judging from the televised images of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at the Oliphant inquiry, he looked like he would have liked to have just dematerialized to another dimension. His eyes seemed dull and his facial coloring was slightly pale as he recounted old stories from his past glory years. I don't think I am the only person who feels like this inquiry is an enormous waste of time, resources and energy. Seeing images of man who is clearly drained from this experience just reinforced my opinion. 

Regardless of what you think of Brian Mulroney, I think he was a great Prime Minister and a great Canadian. Did he screw up? You bet. Was he guilty of patronage, hypocrisy and questionable judgement? Yes, yes and yes. 

Honestly though, what's the point of dragging the man through all this? The outcome is already clear. 

Protestor

There are two sides to this cartoon. On one hand, you have the apathetic and self-absorbed Canadian who is somewhat annoyed that he is being inconvenienced. On the other hand, you have the Tamil protestor, who clearing being annoying by protesting in front of the TV. Both have legitimate issues. 

I don't think we Canadians are heartless slobs, but like most societies we have lives that keep us busy and sometimes too busy to take notice of the world that is suffering around us -- and there is a lot of suffering these days. What is reportedly happening in Sri Lanka should be a concern to the Canadian government and there definitely needs to be some top-end communication from our elected officials. 

That said, it is highly inappropriate of Tamil protestors to get in the face of Canadians by going outside the law to get their message heard. It was inappropriate and dangerous for the protestors to shut down the Gardener Expressway in downtown Toronto and such actions will only infuriate the very people they want on their side -- those inactive hockey-watching Canadians. 

Pension

It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that General Motors may not be able to avoid bankruptcy for much longer. Unfortunately, this means the thousands of people who depend on GM for an income are going to be affected one way, or another and in particular, retired auto workers. 

Back 'in the day', landing a job at GM, or one of the other car makers, was a dream-come-true for people who wanted a high-paying job right out of high school. Basically, if you got in, you received a very high salary, the best benefits and a guaranteed income until they sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" at your funeral. 

Ah, yes... the American dream on steroids. It was so good that places like Oakville, Ontario, became predominantly upper middle-class enclaves with idealistic tree-lined streets and quiet suburbs. 

Those day are gone, sorry to say. The world has changed and we just suffered the worse economic collapse since the 1930s. For many people, this is the end of the dream. 

Enter pensioners. They never imagined a day like this, where the golden goose companies that provided all the luxuries they could ever imagine would collapse in such a dramatic way. Now the very pensions that they were "entitled" to are at risk. 

They say the Big Three were too big to fail. In reality, they were too big not to fail. 

The Enforcer

Gary Bettman often appears to act outside the interests of the NHL. Such is the case of him opposing Jim Balsillie's quest to bring the Phoenix Coyotes to an unserved market of southern Ontario. The market is there, Canadians are behind it and Jim Balsillie has the resources to pull it off. There is no legitimate reason why Bettman should appose it, but he does and now it's personal.

Since he's painted himself into a corner, you can be guaranteed he'll go to the mat in trying to defend his decision. Meanwhile, Balsillie has gone for and received overwhelming grassroots support for bringing the bankrupt team to Canada. He's also been pitting other team owners against Bettman, as well as promised to name the rink after the Gretzkys. He's apparently no slouch at marketing and forming alliances. 

Personally, I think it's time for Bettman to step down. He's already disliked by many NHL supporters and this will reinforce the growing opinion that the man has no business running the league.

Hi-Tech Mom

Technology has so permeated our lives that it effects how we interact with everyone, including loved ones. All you have to do is sign up for a Facebook account to see how this works, but Facebook was so 2008. Now it's Twitter, which will be replaced by something else next year. 

My mother would have loved Facebook and she'd probably have followed me on Twitter. Moms are neat that way. So, if you're reading this and your mom is still with us, take time to tell her how much she means to you.

You won't have her forever. 

Pakistan's Nukes

Pakistan reassures us that their nukes are safe. Meanwhile, the war in Afghanistan rages on because Pakistan is unable to deal with the insurgents on their side of the border, who use it as a safe haven from which to launch their attacks on allied troops. I'm not sure how well we should all be sleeping right now. 

Uprising

I am old enough to remember a time when not every new virus had the alleged potential of turning into a pandemic and farm animals were just farm animals. Now we have Mad Cow Disease, Swine and Avian Flu, not to mention salmonella, listeriosis and E. Coli in the food chain. Could someone tell me what happened? I don't remember these issues hitting the headlines as often as they do today.

I say it's a plot, although the motivation seems less clear to me than the accusation. Someone will say that it's the way we process food now and I'd argue we've been processing food for decades. Someone else will point out that we're due for a pandemic and that the H1N1 poses a threat because of the animal-to-human transmission. I'd counter with we've always had animals in contact with humans and that conditions in Asia were just as bad 500, or even 50 years ago, as they are today. None of this really makes sense. 

And it's not like we're the only species getting nailed. Not many news outlets are reporting this, but bats are experiencing a black plague of their own with millions of them showing up dead. Not too long ago, we had the disappearance of honey bees. If you dislike bats, I have bad news for you: Wait until all those billions of insects they eat end up going after your food. This is not good. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go rent Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." At least I know the ending. 

Typo

It's funny where the genesis of a cartoon idea begins from. In this case, it came from two events: The first involving a story about the Washington Nationals baseball team that had their team jersey misspelled to read "Natinals" and the second involved a phishing spam I received that read I could have a huge "200.000.00" refund if I provided them with my "DRIVERS LINSENSE." Both are hysterically funny and well, since the newest plague wannabe can't get any respect, it seemed like a natural fit. 

Natural fit, get it? And you wonder why I get paid the big bucks. 

Crash

It's always a good time to tell people you cared just before you meet your demise.