That Was Then

As it became apparent that the depression was more than a temporary downturn, President Hoover appointed Edward Bernays to his three-member presidential Emergency Committee for Employment.

"It was really a public relations committee," Bernays recalled. Hoover's refusal to countenance "socialist" ideas such as social security and public works programs left the committee with few options. "We encouraged various ways of spreading employment: through reduced daily and weekly schedules, shorter shifts, alternating shifts and rotation of days off...We urged employers to find personnel willing to go on furlough without pay; to disclose duplication of wage earners in the same family, as a measure of spreading wages; to maintain lists for preferential employment and to determine the adequacy of part-time wages." In the end, however, Edward Bernays realized, "These efforts were all ineffective. Particularly unsound was the share-the-work idea, which put the onus of sacrifice on the shoulders of the wage earner instead of the employer."

Advertisers and businesses offered empty slogans such as "Be patriotic and spend money," "Spend ten cents more each day and help drive hard times away," or "Help the jobless by doing your Christmas shopping now." As the economy careened into deeper and deeper trouble, newspapers resorted to desperate cheerleading. "Optimism Gains as U.S. Speeds Jobless Relief," read one headline. "Hoover's Drive to Aid Jobless Shows Results," read another. "President Declares Voluntary Cooperation of Industry Will Solve Problems."

Edward Bernays joined Hoover's doomed campaign for reeelction. He helped line up experts to sing Hoover's praises, including a pair of Yale economists who predicted the economy was now on a "sound foundation" and "the run of the dollar had been stopped." He formed a "Non-Partisan Fact-Finding Committee" which issued a poll showing Hoover trouncing his opponent, Roosevelt. Outside the circle of businessmen and their sycophants, however, no one believed a word of it.

The election of Roosevelt brought new experts into power, with new and grandiose ideas about what could and should be done to secure the general welfare. For Hoover and the old guard, it was the end of an era and everything that they believed in, but for Edward Bernays and the propaganda industry, business was booming like never before.

This Is Now

As it became apparent that the recession was more than a temporary downturn, President Bush appointed Karl Rove to his three-member presidential Emergency Committee for Employment.

"It was really a public relations committee, " Rove recalled. Bush’s refusal to countenance "socialist" ideas such as social security and public works programs left the committee with few options. "We encouraged various ways of spreading employment: through reduced daily and weekly schedules, shorter shifts, alternating shifts and rotation of days off...We urged employers to find personnel willing to go on furlough without pay; to disclose duplication of wage earners in the same family, as a measure of spreading wages; to maintain lists for preferential employment and to determine the adequacy of part-time wages." In the end, however, Karl Rove realized, "These efforts were all ineffective. Particularly unsound was the share-the-work idea, which put the onus of sacrifice on the shoulders of the wage earner instead of the employer."

Advertisers and businesses offered empty slogans such as "Be patriotic and spend money," "Spend ten cents more each day and help drive hard times away," or "Help the jobless by doing your Christmas shopping now." As the economy careened into deeper and deeper trouble, newspapers resorted to desperate cheerleading. "Optimism Gains as U.S. Speeds Jobless Relief," read one headline. "Bush's Drive to Aid Jobless Shows Results," read another. "President Declares Voluntary Cooperation of Industry Will Solve Problems."

Karl Rove joined Bush’s doomed campaign for reeelction. He helped line up experts to sing Bush’s praises, including a pair of Yale economists who predicted the economy was now on a "sound foundation" and "the run of the dollar had been stopped." He formed a "Non-Partisan Fact-Finding Committee" which issued a poll showing Bush trouncing his opponent, any Democratic contender. Outside the circle of businessmen and their sycophants, however, no one believed a word of it.

The election of any Democratic contender brought new experts into power, with new and grandiose ideas about what could and should be done to secure the general welfare. For Bush and the old guard, it was the end of an era and everything that they believed in, but for Karl Rove and the propaganda industry, business was booming like never before.

Taken from this book, pages 51,52.

About the cartoonist:
Matt Wuerker is a freelance cartoonist/illustrator whose work appears in magazines and newspapers across the country. His new book,"The Madness of King George: The Ingenious Insanity of our most 'Misunderestimated' President" done with writer Michael K. Smith, will be out in December from Common Courage Press.

Warning Label:

LIMBAUGH:
A malodored, highly addictive substance affecting most particularly the ignorant, upon whom it causes irrational rage, frothing of the mouth and paranoia.

Tests conducted over the past several have shown that Limbaugh's performance is enhanced when combined with Hillbilly Heroin. The combination elicits unwarranted symapathy and pitiful excuses from its victims.

Gonna get some sand in my shoes

Give me your noodle-armed, your poor,
your huddled surfers yearning to ride free,
the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the tanned, tempest-tossed to me.
I trim my board inside the green room.

Looking for WMDs and Osama Bin Laden

Words of wisdom from the guy who beat up Barney

"My initial response was to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized that I had no character."
-- Charles Barkley

Funniest straight line in decades

Surrounded by 600 US troops (armed) - including one with a hand grenade, ready to drop into the spider hole:
"I am Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, and I am willing to negotiate."

Negotiate what, torture-boy? Jeez, what hole did he just crawl out of?

From the way he looks - and the way his mud hut looks - I'd say he's a prime candidate for "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."


Now, can we please go back to rooting out terrorists? Kabul is 1417.7664639521615 miles East (+1*10' north)

What a bargain!

Hundreds of American lives.
Hundreds more "coalition" lives.
Thousands of lives of the people we were supposed to be saving.
Thousands upon thousands maimed.
Billions of dollars.
Credibility, alliances, and respect around the world.
A nation divided (by "a uniter, not a divider")
and much more.....

What did WE get for it?
We got the guy who DID NOT have anything to do with 9/11, Al-Queada, or WMDs.

What a bargain!
At least we're universally loved in Iraq and the rest of the Mid East.

Why the economy won't REALLY improve soon

Dozens of images and demotivating thoughts

"Words words words, I'm so sick of words" -- Eliza Doolittle

My life is my message.
-- Mohandas Gandhi

Are you paying attention, Mr. Limbaugh?

" 'Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. ... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up,' Limbaugh said on his short-lived television show on Oct. 5, 1995."

"During the same show, he commented that the statistics that show blacks go to prison more often than whites for the same drug offenses only illustrate that 'too many whites are getting away with drug use.' "
CBS News

Which one just got caught in a spiderhole?