American Politics At Home And Why Nothing Ever Gets Done

This drawing is a bit late for the Friday Drawing for a Reader (see the Blogger Bomb #2 for an explanation), but it’s here all the same.

I’ve overheard the above conversation many times, probably because we don’t typically get married based on political preferences, or one’s political disposition changes over time. Either way, reader Bill’s point about Oregon’s one Democrat and one Republican Senator canceling each other out is a direct reflection of this couch talk on the home front.

Perhaps we should get Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden together in a little counseling chat. Of course, my preference would be to change the color of Gordon to blue, but you can’t always get what you want.

History Lesson: Political Cartoonist Joseph Keppler (1838-1894)

The following is a quick and dirty history lesson on political cartoonist, Joseph Keppler (1838-1894). My goal with each history lesson is to expose my readers, as well as myself, to other political cartoonists that have gone before, and perhaps pique interest in their work. I am by no means an expert.

Joseph Keppler was born in Vienna in 1838 and emigrated to the United States in 1867 where he joined his father in Missouri. Having received his training in Vienna, he quickly found success in the US developing a weekly German publication, Puck. He would also develop an English version of this magazine a year later, but for a long time, the English version kept alive only from the profits of the German publication.

Joseph Keppler worked in a lithographic style, and perfected the process of developing highly refined drawings within this medium.

The following list of links provides additional information on Joseph Keppler.

• A great on-line resource of Keppler’s political cartoons
• A Lesson Plan for Incorporating Political Cartoon History in the Classroom
• A Concise History of Joseph Keppler

Image: “As Natural As Life - Patching Up the Republican Jumbo for 1888″ This cartoon was published in response to the new Republican strategy after suffering defeat in 1884. Read More.