http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/ A blog from the Sun-Sentinel's editorial cartoonist, Chan Lowe. en Copyright 2009 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:28:41 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss When it comes to corroding people's faith in their leadership, nothing is more effective than rampant corruption. Since our ostensible goal in Afghanistan is to establish a stable, peaceful government, it makes sense that stamping out corruption would be in our best interests. When it's so pervasive, though, where does one even begin? There are fabulous amounts of money washing around in a place that has only known poverty for centuries. It's not that the Afghans are any more corrupt than anyone else. If the opportunity exists, and there's no oversight to speak of, any typical person will take whatever he can. Singapore, I read somewhere, has one of the cleanest governments in the world. As I recall, it's because the prime minister, who is in effect a dictator, decreed that the penalty for corruption by a government official is death. Singapore also has closed-circuit cameras to catch people spitting in elevators, as well as sirens and flashers on vehicles that activate if their drivers exceed the speed limit, so one can go overboard in maintaining public order. Probably the best--and only--way to cure the problem of government corruption in Afghanistan is for us to pack up our loot and go home. In a matter of weeks, there wouldn't be any government left to corrupt.]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/afghanistan_karzai_corruption.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/afghanistan_karzai_corruption.html International Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:28:41 -0500 The hypocrisy is delicious. The same conservatives who passionately promote the sacredness of the constitution--and appointing judges to the federal bench who would interpret it strictly--are now in favor of suspending it out of fear that our constitutional guarantees are nothing but Swiss cheese through which terrorist vermin might escape justice. You can't have it both ways. Either it is the noblest document ever written, or its freedoms should only be applied to lesser crimes in which the outcome isn't so serious. It saddens me that its vocal supporters have so little faith in its effectiveness. As for the argument that terrorists make war on America, and therefore have no right to be tried under our system of presuming innocence until proven guilty: I don't recall anybody saying that Timothy McVeigh should be denied a trial by jury. He made war on America the same as these guys--just ask the loved ones of those unlucky enough to be in the Murrah Federal Building that day. By the way, he was convicted and executed under our supposedly flawed system that bends over backwards to give the accused the benefit of the doubt...so chill. This is about us and who we are as a nation, not about them. If we try them fairly and openly for all the world to see, then the terrorists have lost. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/terror_courts_civil_federal_ne.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/terror_courts_civil_federal_ne.html Barack Obama War on Terror Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:44:13 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. I remember that the news was still buzzing with the Kansas Intelligent Design vote, and I was looking for a way to make the issue relevant to South Floridians. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_viii.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_viii.html Cartoons from 2005 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:32:53 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. As you can see, some things never change. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/post_8.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/post_8.html Cartoons from 2005 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:30:43 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. This cartoon is one of my personal favorites. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_vi.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_vi.html Cartoons from 2005 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:27:55 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. This business of accusing Americans who disagreed with the Bush war policy as unpatriotic displayed the administration at its worst. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_v.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_v.html Cartoons from 2005 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:22:58 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_iv.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_iv.html Cartoons from 2005 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:20:53 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. I drew this right after the Kansas Board of Education voted that "Intelligent Design," which many see as a Trojan horse for getting God into biology classes, would be required in the curriculum of Kansas schools. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_iii.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_iii.html Cartoons from 2005 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:17:50 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. I drew this cartoon right after the news broke that the CIA was secretly holding prisoners overseas so that interrogators could circumvent the constitution. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_ii.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_ii.html Cartoons from 2005 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:13:29 -0500 While I’m away from the blog, I’m posting some cartoons drawn at this same time of year back in 2005. I think you’ll agree that some of the subjects will bring back old, dormant memories, while others could have been drawn for today’s paper. I drew this shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_3.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chan_lowe_encore_cartoon_3.html Cartoons from 2005 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:07:24 -0500 Of all the office walls in all the world, Gov. Charlie's fifteen chummy photos have to show up on Scott Rothstein's. Even our notoriously Teflon-coated governor may have a hard time slithering out of this one, although one of my editorial board colleagues insists that there is virtually nothing that will keep him out of the U.S. Senate seat currently being warmed for him. Still, the double-talking will be fun to watch. While Charlie is probably too dim to be that crooked--and just got burned like everybody else who allegedly fell under Rothstein's spell--photos like these (and this cartoon is based on a real one--Charlie's birthday party) are a potent reinforcement of the kind of simplistic connections that resonate with the average voter. Let's sit back with our popcorn and watch what Marco Rubio makes of all this. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/rothstein_crist_ponzi.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/rothstein_crist_ponzi.html Florida Issues Local South Florida Issues Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:18:17 -0500 One thing Mr. Obama has learned about being president is that nobody ever cuts you an inch of slack. When he went to Denmark to argue Chicago's case for the Olympics, he was criticized for using up all that aviation fuel and coming home empty-handed. Had he not gone, he would have been accused of not doing all he could to help out a great American city. Another example: Now the gay rights movement is upset at him for not going up to Maine and making the pitch against repeal of that state's gay marriage law. They feel that it's just one more in a long string of Obama disappointments related to their cause. They might want to remember that Obama always said he was against gay marriage. He prefers civil unions with all the rights pertaining thereto, to use the dry legalistic phrase. Gays have plenty to be disgruntled about--it looks like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is still in place despite his assurances to the contrary--but Obama's silence on gay marriage should come as no surprise. With so many other irons in the fire, Obama has had to perform some painful triage in order to get his top priorities accomplished. It's hard, understandably, for interest groups to accept that their top priorities may not be his. Maybe this is one of the reasons presidents serve four-year terms, to force a restless public to be patient. If Obama still hasn't delivered by 2012, then those with a grievance have a remedy. I wish them the best of luck with the Republican To Be Named Later. So does Barack Obama, which is probably why he made the political calculation he did. It's cruel, but that's politics. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/swine_flu_vaccine_flu_shots_2.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/swine_flu_vaccine_flu_shots_2.html Barack Obama Medical Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:35 -0500 Politicians’ never-ending grovel for campaign funds can be a treacherous business. You never know when those bucks might suddenly turn radioactive, and give you a nasty burn on the butt. One of the more interesting--yet unsurprising--aspects of the Scott Rothstein affair is how liberally he salted all sides of the political spectrum. Since pols sell themselves relatively cheaply, it’s money well spent to simply stuff some in every available pocket. It’s win-win for the donor, and any losses are but a miniscule cost of doing business. Now the voters are treated to protestations from our all-too-accommodating public servants that he’s so unfamiliar they wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a one-man police lineup, and that they’d return every cent he ever gave them if they just knew who the legitimate recipient might be. With friends like those, he would have been better off staying in Casablanca. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/rothstein.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/rothstein.html Local South Florida Issues Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:19:18 -0500 To quote Sonny Corleone out of context, "It's time to go to the mattresses!" As in: to stuff one's money in, since it doesn't seem like you can trust anybody to invest it for you without ripping you off. Evidently, there are financial investment scams going on all the time, but as long as the economy is strong, the scammers can keep attracting new investors to pay off the old ones. One wag-- I think it was Warren Buffett--said, "It's when the tide is going out that you find out who isn't wearing a bathing suit." As someone whose idea of a wise investment is buying a used car that is less than ten years old, I have to admit to some schadenfreude when I hear of wealthy players who are lured into a scheme with promises of impossible returns in a short period of time. "Invest four million today, and in a year, it'll be worth FIVE! Absolutely no risk! A sure bet!" Maybe it's just that some of us don't have a lot of loose change to go risking it on a venture, no matter how ironclad the guarantees. We're too busy spending it on things like food and electricity. So when somebody takes a massive hit at the hands of a crook, we say that maybe it's some karmic force's way of leveling the playing field when it has gotten too far out of whack. ]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/the_age_of_ponzi.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/the_age_of_ponzi.html Economy Local South Florida Issues Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:44:49 -0500 Even for Florida, where shoddy workmanship is the hallmark of excellence, this is egregious. You move into your beautiful new tract home and discover that the walls make you and your kids sick, tarnish your jewelry, and probably most important of all, screw up the air conditioner. You go to the developer who sold you this elephant, and he's oh so sorry, but to gut the house would cost him $100,000 or more, and to fix all the homes he's built would put him out of business. You hear that Obama will be talking to the Chinese next month about making good on their cheesy product, but you realize that he isn't going to get anywhere with them because for manufacturers to back up their goods, they have to actually care about their reputation for quality. They know as well as you do that you only buy their junk because it's cheap. The feds say maybe they'll free up some HUD money to compensate, but you have to be poor to qualify. A nice Catch-22, because no poor person could have afforded your house. The insurance people say it's a manufacturing defect, not an act of God, so not only isn't it covered, they're going to cancel your sorry a-- for even asking about it. Your only recourse is my nifty little kit, shown here. Get your neighbors to buy one too, and make it a block party. Kids'll love it, and it's great for building neighborhood cohesion.]]> http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chinese_drywall.html http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/11/chinese_drywall.html Florida Issues General Topics International Local South Florida Issues Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:53:58 -0500