This is Historic Times » healthcare

Fall Street

deephurting — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:04:19 +0000

I developed this cartoon following the see-sawing stock market earlier in the week. I wanted to do something with the Depression-era cliche of the ruined investor jumping from a building, but since it seemed corporate stocks were bound to weather the debt-ceiling storm better than the average American, I also wanted to show a character symbolizing average Americans bearing most of the burden.

I have to admit I wasn’t totally happy using Uncle Sam in this cartoon, because I feel like I’ve been resorting to that too often, lately. I did sketch some alternatives, but I didn’t like how they looked, and decided none of them would be quite as clear as the more well-known character. What do you think? Does this get the idea across well?

Tortoise Wins by a Hair!

deephurting — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Here’s my cartoon on the historic healthcare reform vote which occurred a few days ago. This was among my more positive ideas for commentary on the subject.

Some readers may recognize the title as a reference to this classic Bob Clampett cartoon.

Also, I want to thank everybody who donated money to me recently, since I brought it up in the previous post. Pretty sure this means I’ll be able to pay my rent next month!

If Y’Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

deephurting — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:32:15 +0000

As you may have heard, conservative talk-radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh was hospitalized on December 31st after experiencing chest pains. He was taken care of quickly and expertly, and naturally seized on the opportunity to declare that his situation was proof there is “not one thing wrong with the American healthcare system” and “it is working just fine.” Apparently, Limbaugh doesn’t understand the difference between himself–a millionaire who lives an opulent, oxycodone-fueled lifestyle when he’s not making fun of people with Parkinson’s disease–and America’s 47+ million uninsured.

I’m forced to come to one of two conclusions here–Limbaugh’s either extraordinarily stupid, or he’s generously offering to pay the hospital bills of those uninsured. In the spirit of Christmas, let’s assume the latter, and if you get sick or injure yourself and can’t afford the bill, send it to Rush! After all, I’m sure he’d rather pay it for you than be wr-wr-wrong!

By the way, I should mention that this cartoon was held up for at least a day by me knowing what I wanted to say with it, but not knowing how to frame it. I was certain I needed to have Limbaugh addressing somebody in the cartoon besides the audience, but I wasn’t sure whom.

Luckily, I got some unexpected help from Quentin Tarantino, or at least his movie, Inglourious Basterds. I figured research topics related to Conservative talk-radio broadcasters included Nazis, so I gave Basterds another watch, and the scene in which British Lt. Archie Hicox comments that Bridget von Hammersmark needs somebody around to light her cigarette inspired me to have Limbaugh making his comment to his doctor while the doctor is given the demeaning and counterintuitive task of lighting his cigar.

After that, the only issue that remained was how to fit everything I wanted in the space nicely, but again Tarantino came to the rescue–a shot in the scene immediately following the Mexican Standoff reminded me that I could just tilt the whole composition to dramatic effect, as I’ve sometimes done in the past.

So, if QT or anybody who knows him happens to be reading, I’d like to say thanks for the help!

Donkey Kongress

deephurting — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:22:11 +0000

Knuckle-Dragging Neanderthals

deephurting — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:56:17 +0000

This cartoon refers to two separate topics–the first being the discovery of the oldest-known human ancestor. Nicknamed “Ardi,” the specimen dates back 4.4 million years, making her over a million years older than Lucy. Ardi was first discovered in 1994, but anthropologists announced her existence to the world last week.

The second topic is, again, healthcare reform and its opposition, especially those who oppose government-covered healthcare, even though the US is pretty much the only so-called “first world” nation that doesn’t have it. This puts us dead last in the developed world for healthcare availability, and yet some people are fighting passionately to retain our status in this area as a bunch of losers!

The title for the cartoon is taken from Representative Alan Grayson’s remark comparing the opposition in Congress to “knuckle-dragging neanderthals,”, though I recognize Ardi neither walked on her knuckles, according to scientists, nor was she a neanderthal.

More Actual Quotes

deephurting — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:32:42 +0000

The title of this cartoon references another one I drew over three years ago. I just added it to my archive, so here’s a link to it for those interested.

With luck, I’ll be able to upload more old cartoons soon!

This Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You

deephurting — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:05:13 +0000

I’d actually prepared a different gag in anticipation of Obama’s speech, and even though it was really good, if I do say so myself, I didn’t think it was appropriate as a response. So instead, I came up with this.

The fourth panel took a ridiculous amount of time to pencil–I spent something like two hours trying to get the kid’s face to look right. I still don’t think I quite succeeded.

I would post sketches of the other idea, but I expect I’ll be able to use it for a finished cartoon in the very near future, when the time is right.

What Does Barack Obama Look Like!?

deephurting — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:24:36 +0000

Only the Strong

deephurting — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:19:48 +0000

This really isn’t one of my better cartoons.

My initial idea referenced the scene from the beginning of the movie where babies that were deemed insufficiently healthy (and thus a potential liability to society) were thrown off a cliff. I recognized that most people probably wouldn’t recognize that specific scene, so I thought maybe I could reference a more iconic and memorable one while still making that connection. I don’t know if I was successful–while this does still communicate the barest surface details of the topic (Republicans circulating absurdly exaggerated rumors about how Obama’s health plan will doom the elderly and Trig Palin to destruction), the deeper connection doesn’t really seem to come through very clearly, if at all.

Checkers

deephurting — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:36:31 +0000

Today is my sister’s birthday. Happy birthday to her!