Many years ago I learned how to engage in reflective listening with people. So helpful.
Party seeking
Trumpets
My apologies for horning in…
Talking animals
No enemies here. Let’s try not to take these conventions too seriously, how ’bout it folks?
Refreshment Rights
Call the National Refill Association.
Orlan-doh
My apologies for being cynical, but this is what I see. The Trump camp appears to be guiltier than Team Hillary at this point but that’s probably only because he’s behind in the polls. It’s sad but not at all surprising.
Here’s an old Whiteouts about guns:
And another one from last fall about our inability to find the political will to overcome the money and influence of the NRA:
I don’t have the citation for this handy but about 80% of the American people favor bans on assault weapons and expanded background checks. And I’m sure the percentage is similar for prohibiting those on a terror watch list from purchasing weapons.
Contact your reps and make your voice heard. These steps won’t solve the problem–it’s way more complex than that. But they can begin to make a difference while still allowing those who want guns to have them for sport, hunting and protection.
Alright. That’s enough.
June 7, 2016
I’ll still vote for Bernie. Or maybe that laughing Chewbacca mom.
Algorithms
I use the apple news app on my iPhone and iPad. When setting it up I just picked a few sources that were fairly closely related. After a few weeks I realized that I was only reading one side of the story(ies) and how limiting that was. I added in more diverse voices and eliminated a few of the original ones. Much better, though sometimes off-putting to my sensibilities.
The Interwebs are smart. They quickly learn what (and who) we like and dislike, what pages we visit, what ads we click so that the algorithms can keep a steady diet of pleasing-to-us content coming our way. That way, we’ll keep consuming their sites and adding to the visits that enable them to charge advertisers more money. There is no incentive for them to challenge our patterns with content that might drive us away. They want to make us “happy.”
It’s a subtle form of mind control. It keeps us grinning stupidly at our screens and hardens our hearts to perspectives that are outside the ruts we’ve become so used to traveling.
And it contributes to the polarized, Us vs. Them world in which we live. No news flash there.
So try reading or watching something different. You don’t have to start with Rachel Maddow or Rush Limbaugh…just try to get into the center a little bit more. It will ultimately help us all.
May 4, 2016
The image massaging is already underway, I’m sure.
April 26, 2016
Pleased with how this turned out. I did a couple of versions of this cartoon before wrestling it into its present form. In my experience it is getting more and more difficult to find people who have any kind of independent vision. It doesn’t help that our choices for “leadership” are so limited or that the system is so skewed that only those with vast economic resources and a willingness to play the game can legitimately participate. Sorry. I have to fight to keep my Cynical Shades in the drawer.
White Outs 