I pity the poor billionaire,
Who wishes the poor folks stay home.
He thinks that they all should just vote for him,
And then they should leave him alone.
Life is a banquet…at least if you are a billionaire…
Be the bear!
Bob T Panda
I can’t help it. I’m a Scorpio. We hold grudges. And when you get a Scorpio artist/writer/cartoonist with the power to make fun of those who have wronged them and never apologized, well, then! Then we have an excellent story line for some ‘toons, should, for example, they decide to run for president as an independent candidate.
What WERE you thinking?
Be the bear!
Bob T Panda
Pinky: or mebbee he is a ROLL model.
Bubba: dat’s not funny!
Ping Ping: Ping!!!!
Note to Bubba: never listen to Pinky
Panda On!
Bob T Panda
To those in the know: Pins have been ordered! Huzzah!
It’s important every year, but this year it is so important all I can do is try to not think about how important it is or I would hide under the blankets eating frosting.
It’s extra important this year because:
Through gerrymandering and voter suppression, the GOP seeks to prevent likely Democratic voters from voting.
The lies being spread by our so called “president” get more outlandish every day, and they are specifically designed to keep the status quo in power.
In order to provide checks on you know who, we need at least one house of Congress to turn Democratic since the current republican Congress is handing you know who everything his heart desires, and then some.
Really GOP, is it so hard to tell the truth? Is it so hard to act in the best interests of the people you serve? When you started to block sensible ideas, just because they were proposed by the Democrats, rather than that you disagreed with them, you lost any respect I had for you. When you got behind a “president” whose actions are so antithetical to your so called Christian values, you lost your credibility. When you equate a church shooting with a disrupted dinner, you lost your soul. And could you guys quit lying and trying to take our healthcare and social security?
Seriously, don’t forget to vote!
Panda On and VOTE for crying out loud!
Bob T Panda
I hope everyone who had either a primary election or a special election in your state/district went and voted. It is important that everyone who can vote does. Yes, I meant everyone. If you have to cheat to win an election, well, then it’s not really winning, is it?
Things are about as real as they can get.
Oh. Yeah. We did. Well, you should vote anyway, ‘kay?
I have…um…stepped away from the computer for a few weeks to have a confab with my panda cousins in China. (More about that later.) I’m pretty sure that it is safe to assume that there has been a national nightmare or three in my absence.
Over the past 10 months I’ve done a lot of pondering, and one of the questions that I have been pondering is this: If the internet with such plentiful and easy access to information, had existed in the 1930’s would Hitler have come to power, so easily? I started asking myself that on November 9th, thinking that surely, with everything happening in full view, surely democracy could not be overturned so easily.
I don’t know what to do, besides draw more pandas.
When, oh when, will this be over?
I’m really hoping that I’ll wake up soon.
Panda On,
Bob T Panda
You know the saying, “The Personal is Political?” You can add to that “All Art is Political” because making art, at it’s core is a political act, no matter your subject matter. Some might even say subversive. If you don’t believe me, look up the paintings of Artimesia Ghentileschi and tell me these paintings don’t make a powerful political statement.
Not that I am putting panda satire, or even my serious paintings in the same technical class as Ghentileschi. But you know…just to make the point…
In celebration of our temporary victory on retaining healthcare for the many that gained access to it through the Affordable Care Act, I thought I’d share some of our more political ‘toons in this Friday’s round up. Is it too much to hope that the R’s and D’s will now work together and make access to healthcare better and more affordable? I’m such an optimist.
Are you now, or have you ever been a panda?
Pinky’s career as a spokes panda and icon begins, with a different president.
It is too much to BEAR!
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Today is a good day to be the bear.
Just don’t call Bob a loser. He feels bad enough already.
“You are all Losers!” – Mittens the Cat
Pinky is beginning to look positively presidential!
“This is not a loser tail!!!!!”
Poof!
Is it just my imagination or does Mittens look even more crazed than before?
I have to say, it’s a little frightening to see how close the satire comes to what has actually been happening. Stay tuned, folks. I think the bumpy ride is far from over.
Panda On!
Bob T Panda
In recent years I have maintained a somewhat strict policy as regarding those awards that other bloggers hand out to recognize their compatriots in the bloggosphere. And that policy is this: DON’T DO IT!!!! But recently, someone who obviously did not know this policy gave me one of those darn awards. Being the bear that I am, I’m making an exception on my zero tolerance policy for a special reason. I’ve known Becky, over at Dark Food to Die For, since she was a teenager. I know her sister. I know her parents. I know all their dogs. I know the dogs they had before they had these dogs.
Because, after all, pandas are pretty neat!
The other reason I have decided to accept this award, if maybe not complying with ALL the requirements is this: Becky is smart, talented, and creative. She’s worked hard to perfect several creative careers in a world where the rules of engagement keep changing, and yet she keeps going. Plus she’s cute as a bug, like the rest of the members of her family. So, go check at her blog at Dark Food to Die For. Who knows what you may be inspired to do in your kitchen?
But before I comply with some of the rules, (because pandas are rebels, you know) Here is today’s panda-toon, because I know you are going, okay…can we dispense with the warm fuzzy memories of you and your little friends and get on with some panda satire?????
“Be yourself – Everyone else is already taken”
-Oscar Wilde
The Portrait of Dorian Grey is probably the most parodied trope in literature, probably because it’s so irresistible. My favorite is in The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde, which I have read countless times. Go read it. I’ll still be here.
Okay, so back to this award thingie.
Rule #1: Acknowledge the blogger that inflicted bestowed this award on you. Thanks a bunch Becky…no really! Check!
Rule #2: Answer the 7 questions that they have provided for you: Okay, here goes:
Pandas are no stranger to winning awards!
So before I get around to naming names, here are my seven questions:
So, before I list the blogs that I am saddling with all these things to do bestowing this award and my admiration upon, let me just say that any of these bloggers may not wish to participate in the whole award thingie, and that’s fine by me. I just want to recognize some of the blogs that I read regularly and think that you might enjoy them too.
https://vsomethingspeaks.wordpress.com/ Vicky is a fellow pandaholic that found me through Pandas International. We’ve been working on a project together for a while, and while it is as yet unrealized, I hope it will be published someday.
https://wronghands1.com John Atkinson writes hilarious one panel comics that are smart, funny, with puns that make you groan in admiration. He follow my blog early on, which is how I discovered his comics. I don’t know if he still checks in on the pandas, but I think he’s one of the best cartoonists working today. He really doesn’t need this award, because he has lots of people following him, but I just wanted to say, “You’re swell, John!” Plus he’s Canadian and…um…I might need to go there.
http://www.savagechickens.com is another really widely read comic, with chickens, and sometimes cats, doing funny, snarky things. I love these ‘toons.
http://justoutsidetheboxcartoon.com/apples-and-oranges/ Another last minute I just remembered addition. I knew there was someone else I wanted to include on this post! Good thing I was checking my email! More smart, funny stuff from the land on the other side of the globe!
http://theartofnotgettingpublished.blogspot.com One of the things I love about this blog and blogger, is that like me, she’s one of the no longer a spring chicken who is trying to get traditionally published in the kid-lit arena. I also like that she is smart and funny and…um…politically on the same side of the fence as I am. So sue me. Wait, don’t! Because she has a responsible grown-up job, she doesn’t always blog on a regular schedule, but I’m always excited to see one of her posts in my email box and always read it.
https://booksaroundthetable.wordpress.com This blog is the forum for five writers and/or illustrators of books for children. It’s always interesting and has shown me some great art as well. Not to mention I learned that I could go see original drawings from Winnie the Pooh at the Victoria and Albert Museum, from a series of posts here.
http://mynameisyeh.com Okay, Molly Yeh definitely does NOT need my endorsement, and with her schedule certainly does not have time to answer my dumb questions. But I have a serious fan girl crush on her and her life, (not in a creepy way, of course) or maybe it’s just all the CAKES she bakes and takes photos of for her blog. I’m not really sure how I first stumbled on her blog, but if you are a fan of food blogs and goshwejusthavesuchafunlifeandlook!here’saCAKE!!! kind of photos, you will fall in love with Molly and her blog. Did I mention CAKE? She also has a new cookbook out, with recipes that I can actually make and also liberal use of the “F” word, which may be a first for any cookbook I have ever seen. And oh yeah, CAKE!!!! You know how pandas feel about cake.
The Four Panda Kindergarteners of the Apandalypse!
Well, I think that’s it for me and this whole award thing. Just don’t do it again.
Panda On
Bob T Panda
If you want to be where the action is the day after THE DAY AFTER, be sure to join one of the Women’s Marches that will taking place around the country. And yes, I put the phrase The Day After in scary SHOUTYCAPS/ all bold typing in reference to one of those post apocalyptic movies about the end of the world. The pandas are planning to march and I hope you will too. We are having a local march in Langley and I plan to attend. Maybe we’ll all go out for coffee and cuppycakes after. It’s shaping up to be that kind of week.
Whats a protest without pandas?
Panda On!
Bob T Panda
I’d like to thank writer Deborah Underwood for coming up with the term “SHOUTYCAPS” to describe the feeling you get when someone writes in all capital letters. That’s why they pay her the big bucks. (Actually, hardly any writers for children make big bucks, so if you are looking for some really fun books for kids in your life, do check out her books at your local bookstore or on her website! She and her cat will thank you!)
So…. we’re not going to wake up from this, are we? As I listen to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, it becomes increasingly clear that I am NOT hallucinating, experiences with mind altering drugs in the ’70’s notwithstanding. (Um…Chas, don’t mention this to mom, okay?) So, if you thought November was depressing (despite it being my birthday season) just wait till you experience January 20th!
Can I open my eyes yet?
Interestingly (well, to me, anyway) I wrote this BEFORE the intelligence report was released last week. Just saying. The prognosticatory potential of pandas is prodigious!!!!
I will panda on till they lock me up!
Bob T Panda
And may I say, the next books on my to buy list are the graphic novel series March, the real life story of Congressman John Lewis. I’ve been wanting to read these for a while, but his current example of speaking out according to his convictions gives me hope.