Stantis's latest Tribune cartoon takes a potholeshot at the sorry condition of our Illinois roads:
Cartoonists, a sub-species of journalists that exist in perpetuum behind-deadline, typically troll the headlines for ideas. The cartoon no doubt was inspired by a recent GooGoo report covered, among others, by the Daily Herald:
Chicago Tribune, 04/30/2010
Report: State's road are among worstIn and of itself, the cartoon is not so bad -- however compare it with this Stantis cartoon:
Stantis and/or the Tribune are justifiably upset over the condition of our roads and justifiably upset over our tax burden. However one doesn't have to be a quantum mechanic to understand that the two ideas, when combined, equal a zero-sum game. You can't pay for one without stealing from the other -- we have to put up with either shoddy roads or higher taxes.
Chicago Tribune, 10/09/2009
Perhaps Stantis/Tribune expects the Federal government to fix our roads, free of charge. If so, then what's up with this Stantis cartoon?
From an editorial perspective, the Chicago Tribune is appealing to readers who have difficulty combining 1 + 1 and coming up with 2. Which, no surprise, coincides with the Tribune's recent hard turn to the right in the editorial pages. It's a given that old media, like the home delivered newspaper, is an endangered species on the verge of extinction. People that prefer their news hand-delivered to their front porch every morning, probably have difficulty extracting news from new media sources, like the Internet. Your LakeCountyEye speculates that this is the same demographic that identifies with the Tea Party. The demographic that wants to take our country back -- the same country envisioned by our Founding Fathers, one that once gave us free goods and services (like drivable roads) without asking us to pay for any of it.
Chicago Tribune, 03/01/2010
2 comments:
Wonder what percentage of Trib readers also watch Fox News.
I'm happy to say I canceled my Trib subscription back in 2004 (when they endorsed Bush again) & haven't missed it yet.
I don’t follow the gentleman. I must say that some of the best, most perceptive “pokes” came from political cartoons I saw, both on the left and the right. Why don’t you guys at LakeCountyEye start a political cartoon contest? We suggest the idea and you choose the best one. Here is my entry: Reagan starts out with a $.8 Trillion deficit and turns it into $2, Bush (1) turns it into $3, Clinton keeps it at $3 & gets a current account surplus his last year, Bush (W) turns the deficit into $8 Trillion. The GOP plank labeled “The Party of Fiscal Conservatism” breaks under the strain. I want the prize that includes a can of old teabags.
Post a Comment