Popular Posts 2010 at Dennys Global Politics

Check out some stellar political cartoons chronicling social issues and politics throughout the year, news analysis and opinion.

From Denny:  What a list of news that happened this year! Whew! Sometimes the news and politics were as toxic as the weather - and we all felt like we needed government issue gas masks. Take a look at some of the highlights:



Haiti earthquake

Volcanic eruptions in Iceland and Indonesia

BP Oil Spill Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (my backyard in Louisiana)

Floods around the world

North Korea threatening to launch nukes

Finally getting the beginnings of a national health bill reform in America - which needs a lot of tinkering to perfect

Another woman appointed to the Supreme Court - not before the GOP humiliated her publicly and drug her through the mud for not being Christian enough - she's Jewish.

WikiLeaks documents released about the Afghan War

Unemployment high around the world like in America and the world economy floundering

Obama's popularity up and down, according to which fool he is listening to as the It Advisor Of The Moment.

The Republicans marching goose step as The Party of No Conscience, No Sense and Don't Care About the Middle Class





Popular Posts 2009 at Dennys Global Politics

See Cartoons by Cartoon by John Trever - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

New Years: Funny Quotes, Resolutions Tips, Poems



Poll: Most Admired People For 2010



Arrested WikiLeaks Founder Signs Tell All $1.3 Million Book Deal



Funny Life and Christmas Cartoons - 25 Dec 2010



GOP Grinch Refuse Healthcare to 911 Responders, Dems Say YES to Pass Bill



72 Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 20 Dec 2010



What Is The Truth About Unemployment In America?



Gordon Brown Book: 9 Big Banks Manipulating World Economy - Check out the crooked world of global banking.















WikiLeaks, Obama Tax Cuts, Political Humor - 12 Dec 2010 - More Santa and WikiLeaks cartoons for fun.



Sellout Obama and Bush Tax Cuts Firestorm Angers America



World Politics: Funny WikiLeaks Cartoons



Political Cartoons: American and World Politics - 4 Dec 2010



Obama Presidency: Dead On Arrival in 2012?

Political Discourse American Style: Cartoons - 17 Jan 2011

Check out the gun cartoons and how cartoonists view political discourse in America.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords





From Denny:  At the moment, most politicians seem to have gotten the message that the public is not happy with the toxic political atmosphere.  Now will someone please inform the media to also tone it down?



There are calls to gun reform in America and it's about time.  How comforting is it to know that your neighbor owns 20 assault weapons and high capacity gun clips among other "goodies"?  Hunters don't require assault weapons they just need a rifle.  Taking an assault weapon to a deer hunt is like taking dynamite to a fishing party.



Why does America continue to allow Big Business and the National Rifle Association to own our politicians, compromising our everyday safety?  The NRA and Big Business are in The Business of Selling Fear in order to make billions of dollars annually, talk about depraved indifference.  The NRA and Big Business have repeatedly fought any kind of gun reform, especially in the area of selling to the mentally ill.  There should be psychological profile tests people have to take before being allowed to own guns - and periodic retesting every year or so.



There should be a national limit as to how many guns a person can own or sell.  As it is there is a brisk trade of Americans buying guns and reselling them to the million man army of drug cartels in Mexico.  Those guns are used to kill thousands of innocent Mexican citizens, police and military opposing the drug cartels.  Now those same guns are coming back over our border states and killing our police and citizens.  When will it end?  When will anyone stir up the political will and courage to address this insanity?







American style of toxic political discourse that has been going on for 30 years now, reaching a crescendo when Rep. Giffords was shot in the head at a public open-air political meeting with her constituents:

Democrat, Rep. Giffords, Shot In Head At Rally By Crazed Gunman Attack: 6 Dead

Poisonous politics from the Republicans have come to this - shooting the good politicians and innocent bystanders.

From Denny: Sadly, today a Democratic Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head by a crazed gunman at a political rally in Tucson, Arizona. She was there to listen to her constituents about their concerns before returning to Washington. It was democratic politics at it's best. She was the accessible politician where the people could personally talk to her, not having to wade through a maze of aides.



She is in critical condition, after surgery, and the next 24 hours will tell. So far she is responding well to commands which indicates there is little or no swelling of her brain - and that's good news.

Clueless New House GOP Act Like Bozos On First Day

First day on the job and the House GOP do not know how to do their job.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

From Denny:  Talk about bizarre political theater. Today the Republicans took over for their first day as Majority Party in the House. What did they do? They wasted your tax dollars and mine by spending the day reading aloud the Constitution. Can you believe it? We taxpayers give them free health care for which they begrudge the rest of us. We taxpayers give them an outrageous $168,000 a year salary for a part-time job. They have the nerve to waste our money, our time - and insult our intelligence - by reading the Constitution aloud like a bunch of fourth graders in a bad readers reading class.

GOP Grinch Refuse Healthcare to 911 Responders, Dems Say YES to Pass Bill

Saying yes to American heroes from 911. They deserve proper health care and our respect and compassion in their last days.

From Denny: If this isn't the Hall of Shame for America and the world. Especially the financial sector like Wall Street which was the intended target of the terrorists who did absolutely nothing for the 911 responders who rescued. gave aid comfort and closure to countless thousands and their families in America and around the world.



Jon Stewart sat down with four responders who are all dying of heart-lung diseases and various cancers because of the horrific toxic exposure. It was President Bush and his administration that declared the air quality to be safe for rescuers. Yet now we find these same courageous people to be dying slowly from exposure from the Twin Towers devastated site.  Where is former President Bush now when these 911 responders need him?  Answer: silent.

What Is The Truth About Unemployment In America?

Check out the status of unemployment across America and how high the figure is for the long term unemployed.

From Denny: The reality is that the recent tax cuts bill that was signed by President Obama on Friday only reinstates and extends unemployment insurance to about one million people. That's it.



The 99ers



Remember all those who have been unemployed for so long - past the two year mark and many for as long as four years - now called The 99ers because they exhausted their 99 weeks of available benefits? There are literally millions of them, perhaps as many as seven million by now.  Every month there are an additional two million added to their roles. Though the statistics are sketchy and infrequent it's believed The 99ers make up at least 10 percent of the unemployed.



Most 99ers over age 50 



Never mind that most of The 99ers are older Baby Boomers, there are those under age 45, many are well past age 50. They have paid unemployment insurance from their paychecks every month, every year, for decades. Now, in their time of need, their own government and politicians turn a deaf ear to them. How long before you, a relative or someone close to you enters their unhappy ranks? And we wonder why we see so much violence on the news every night, as a larger and larger segment of American society grows more desperate?



Economists seem to think maybe the economy is turning around because of the number of initial unemployment claims have trended downward by 400,000 this past month. Let's hope they are correct on their judgment call because this economy has already shed eight million jobs during this so-called "recession."

Crazy Week of American Politics Cartoons - 18 Dec 2010

What a political week. Now check out how the cartoonists lampooned it all.

From Denny: Obama hitchhiking off President Bill Clinton's popularity to pull his fanny out of the fire on this disliked Bush Tax Cuts extension. The White House and a recent poll tried to claim that 70 percent of Americans approved of the tax cuts plan when just last week they disapproved by 70 percent. When you read the poll you find that Independents are two-thirds former Republicans and two-thirds of them wanted the plan along with an overwhelming majority of Republicans. Democrats were against the plan by 54 percent. What broke down inside the polls is that Republicans and Independents don't give a rat's butt about the unemployed and did not want unemployment benefits extensions. What they wanted were tax cuts extensions for the rich. Democrats wanted the opposite - in favor of unemployment benefits vs. against the tax cuts for the rich:

The International Spy poem - Libations Monday 13 Dec 2010

Step into the world of the spy and witness the effect they have upon the people they meet - until one day they meet someone who poignantly affects them. A true story from my travels - and childhood.

















The International Spy





A strange man sat down to talk

Acting like a best friend

His way was too familiar

He stirred a distant memory



Words he spoke stepped careful

Thoughts he said trotted calculated

Attitude sailed smooth, controlling



Clutching analytical mental paper

He placed me under his microscope

Probing for easy weaknesses

Character flaws to his advantage















Confident I had no strengths, too sure

The top dress of a spy is arrogance

Flattery he carried in his pocket

Revealing more about him than me



An aging man, shadow of a vibrant self

He talked on oblivious to my notice

Curious about my hotel choice in Europe

He inquired as to my reasoning for it















The days of the microscopic life flew

Back into my mind from childhood

Where I had grow up in this ugly world

Of the intelligence community gone bad



Cruel insensitive people studied children

And wives like we were things not people

Most cared not about us, a few felt pangs

Of terrible guilt for their meanest wrongs



I knew exactly what I had in front of me

As I vacationed in Europe for culture

When I was studied as a child I studied them

People are as interesting as they can be cruel















I considered what to say and measured my words

Knowing all would be recorded as infinite detail

This man was not here for what he presumed

Following up on a CIA child to recruit and destroy



What he never calculated was decades had passed

Training in all manners of wisdom was mine

So I let him engage to watch it all unfold and

He drank 8 shots of whiskey a glass as show















He drank all night, the bar owner glanced at me

I motioned to pour on and the old man drank

Like a lot of spies he learned how to drink

And sober up no matter how much he drank



Observe a sleepiness and then a head jerk

His eyes and speech would clear and sober again

He had mastered his body’s reaction

But still his emotional heart was raw















He was angry I would not match his drinks

Angry he could not intimidate nor bully

I spent the night repeating “No, thanks”

A woman waiting patiently for his real story



The questions he asked gave me information

I returned his questions with questions

Answering his while I led through the labyrinth

He had methodically constructed to trap me















He talked for hours long into the night

He worked hard to unbalance me

So I let him see my anger at his kind

I let him know the damage he had done



I unloaded condemnation and judgment

And the fury in his eyes threw daggers

As he watched his speech, I stood firm

Hurling words to pierce his hard heart



He had stepped into a hornet’s nest

And tried to calm and redirect but there

Was no going back, his words stumbled

As he tried to regain control never owned















I left him to ponder his inner fool that night

He showed up early the next morning

Humbler, still tenacious to fulfill his mission

Intervening, the awareness finally jumped him



It was never about me that night

He met himself reflected in my eyes

He was at the end of his long life

And now he realized why it had always







Felt











Wrong

















Denny Lyon

Copyright 4 Dec 2010

All Rights Reserved







*** For more poetry check out my poetry blog: Poems From A Spiritual Heart





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Photo Credits



Man's face in shadow photo by Derrick T @ flickr



Walking on a cobblestone street photo by loop_oh @ flickr



Woman's face in shadow photo by shazwan @ flickr



Bar photo by beerbybart @ flickr



Old man and whiskey photo by graywolfx47 @ flickr (a recovering alcoholic)



Clock photo by ~Duncan~ @ flickr



Fork in shadow photo by (matt) @ flickr



Tree in shadow photo by hapal @ flickr

Sellout Obama and Bush Tax Cuts Firestorm Angers America

Obama continues to bully a bad tax plan down the throats of America.





 





President refuses to caucus with his own Democrats, stiff-arms them



From Denny: President Obama continues to refuse to caucus with his own Democratic Party. How illogical and insane is this? Answer: very. For some reason this President has adopted a President Nixon autocratic condescending leadership style of which the Democrats are now thoroughly in revolt.



Black Caucus refuses to support the President



Even the African-American caucus does not support him on this Bush Tax Cuts plan he tried to ram down every one's throat. Obama never consulted with any of his own party but rather this plan just suddenly appeared out of thin air via Obama and his senior advisers who met solely with Republican leadership. Increasingly, the Democratic leadership is abandoning Obama on key issues - like national security.



Democrats part ways with Obama 



Here's how the Democratic leadership have gone their own way on current legislation up for vote:

Funny Lite: Roundup of Late Night Jokes and Videos - 8 Dec 2010

Check out how the comedians view WikiLeaks and Santa.

From Denny:  WikiLeaks has permeated the world culture - even with comedians. After all, the political and diplomatic spheres are already known for "leaks" so why shouldn't everything else not be "on the table"? From Santa to a Nigerian corrupt government trying to arrest one of America's corrupt politicians, Cheney, the news has been profitable for American comedians ready to tell us a joke - that also happens to be the truth.

Friday Lite: Best Of Funny TSA Cartoons - 26 Nov 2010

Check out what America is thinking about those TSA Pat Downs supposedly guarding us against terrorism.

From Denny: Ready to laugh? The cartoonists have had a field day with the missteps of our government and especially the TSA public insensitivity promoting their idiot policies. Americans are growing more and more uncomfortable and angry about these policies.



Just this month the Pilots Association declared the airport scanners as unsafe and got exemptions for their pilots and airline crews to completely bypass security checkpoints. Our government leaders also do not have to be subjected to the security protocols either. So now passengers have to wonder a lot more than about the people riding next to them. They have to wonder about whether or not the pilot, the crew and government leaders were compromised by terrorists.



Yeah, and these are the Bozos who are determining our national security. Sweet, huh? What kind of reasoning is this? If the airport scanners are unhealthy and unsafe then no one should be going through them.  Meanwhile, the nation's cartoonists are lampooning these idiot decisions and arrogant promotions of this unsafe technology - knowing there is someone is the shadows making wads of cash from the sale of these airport scanners to the government.  Big Business continues to run wild, unchecked by any restraints of reason or common sense.



The truth is that the TSA has never succeeded in catching any of the terrorists. Who did? Ordinary citizens keeping their eyes open and their minds thinking. Just to mention a couple of news items: The shoe bomber was stopped by a quick-thinking passenger who foiled the plot - as the airline attendant was still questioning the man while he attempted to strike the bomb. A street vendor in New York City spotted the suspicious van loaded with a bomb in front of Toys 'R' Us store for children and called police. The list goes on.



The TSA policies are literally overkill and violate civil rights and public health.  The only tested and proven most effective method of airport security is to get serious about proper profiling like the Israelis employ.  They manage to do it without racial profiling.  There is no reason we cannot do the same.



France got rid of their backscatter airport scanners because of public outrage and concern over public health.  They installed scanners that employ radio waves to detect if anyone needs additional screening.  These scanners do not threaten your health nor invade your personal privacy.  Why can't America employ these machines instead of the invasive radiating ones?



Check out how the TSA and the airport security checks are quickly becoming part of the national culture for humorists:





TSA touchy feely security screening:













































































































































































































































































And my all time favorites of the TSA-"Thanks"-giving season:























*** Bozo Sapien Photo by I'm Fantastic @ flickr





*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!



*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:



*** Check out Holiday Recipes From Dennys Food and Recipes



The Social Poets - news, politics

The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology

Visual Insights - photos, art, music

Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy

Best Spiritual Posts - my own best as well as links to other spiritual posts from all viewpoints

Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry

The Healing Waters - health news

Dennys People Watching - people in the news

Dennys Food and Recipes

Dennys Funny Quotes - humor