David Baldinger - Cartoonist & Photographer

The theme was "Monster"

After much aggravation and hair pulling I finally seem to have my webcam working.  Since I am completely broke, I couldn’t afford any commercial software to upload to my website.  I was able to use a system called “WW.Cam” that uploaded to a commercial site but many of the other cams were of freaks and pervs.  I didn’t want anyone coming to my site to click on a link and find themselves staring at some idiot “yankee his wankee.” Yuck!  Luckily, I found a rather simple freeware program called “ Yawcam .”  My first attempts were failures.  For some reason Yahoo’s ftp kept stopping my uploads after a couple of minutes. I gave up on it for a couple of days and now, it seems to be working smoothly. My webcam sucks but it only cost $13.  Now it is possible to watch me accomplish absolutely nothing throughout the course of a normal day. The new web site is slowly coming together.  I’ve been spending a lot of time...

A reporter from the New York Post called me the other day.  Apparently some of my cartoons were entered in a contest sponsored by Iran about the “Line of freedom of expression” in America and “why should the Palestinian people pay for the Holocaust”.  I did send some cartoons to the IranCartoon website but just as an exchange between other cartoonists.  I can’t claim that my “entries” were falsely submitted since it is mostly my fault and the fault of miscommunication.  I’m not in the same league with the Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig who had a cartoon of his submitted by a third party (*see links below).  The reporter seemed determined to lead my answers around to making it appear that I somehow support the Iranian regime or agree with the anti-Holocaust statements coming from Iran.  Give me a break.  This reporter couldn’t grasp the idea that not all of the cartoons on IranCartoon have something to do with p...

This morsel of wisdom from a Yahoo message board regarding the free tuition of low income students at Stanford . Subj: Poor shouldn't be in college By: megan_e_lowry megan_e_lowry's Yahoo! profile Date: 03/16/06 11:09 am Our society doesn't stand to gain a thing, and stands to suffer a great deal, by educating those from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds to enter the professions. Once such persons become attornies, judges, professors or legislators, their bristling resentment and low class attitudes effect the formation of public policy.Public discourse ought not to be conducted in the grammer of Da Hood or the local trailer park. That fact that it so frequently is, however, explains in large measure the Dumbing Down of American culture. Is this a hoot or what? I just had to post this. I wonder how many of our fellow citizens "think" the same way? Most of the posts made assumptions that Stanford was somehow lowering standards. Obviously, if you come from low i...

BBC NEWS | Americas | Top US evangelist targets Islam You just gotta shake your head and groan every time Pat Robertson opens his mouth. His enlightened comments about Islam stinks of total hypocrisy. Here is an experiment--insert radical Christians everywhere Robertson says "radical Muslims" or "Islam" and you will see what I mean. 1. On his live television programme, The 700 Club, he said radical Islamists were inspired by "demonic power". 2. Mr Robertson said the pictures (of rioting Muslim protestors) "just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it's motivated by demonic power. It is satanic and it's time we recognize what we're dealing with". 3. He went on to say that "Islam is not a religion of peace", and "the goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen whether you like it or not, is world domination". (So then, Pat, what is the goal of ...

I am posting this because I believe it should be read by as many people as possible. The American press should feel absolute shame and disgust with themselves for being such compliant boobs for the Bush Administration. Way to go Helen. I wish I could have seen you make McClellan squirm--something worms like him do quite often. Truthout Friday 10 March 2006 Of all the unhappy trends I have witnessed - conservative swings on television networks, dwindling newspaper circulation, the jailing of reporters and "spin" - nothing is more troubling to me than the obsequious press during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. They lapped up everything the Pentagon and White House could dish out - no questions asked. Reporters and editors like to think of themselves as watchdogs for the public good. But in recent years both individual reporters and their ever-growing corporate ownership have defaulted on that role. Ted Stannard, an academic and former UPI correspondent, put it this...

Truthfully, I am sick of thinking about politics and the problems Bush has created for the US. I drew this nice kitty cartoon today. I also avoided doing anything to it on the computer. It's nice to have something real left over.

Tom Toles always gets his point across with his simple cartooning style.

Happiness Is A Warm Cat , originally uploaded by davidbdr . You could never tell from the blissful sleep of Kupkake that she is a real terror during the day. Her favorite game is to run sideways and all arched up through the apartment like a Halloween cat trying to look all menacing. It's funny as Hell. She wakes me up every morning sniffing my eye with her cold, wet nose. I've got to be careful though. If only my face is sticking out from under the covers, it freaks her out and she smacks me. I still have scratches down the side of my face. I looked like a rapist there for a while!

Today's news is that Jack Wild, the child actor who played Billy on H.R. Pufnstuf has died of cancer. He was only 53 years old. How can that be? Was it really that long ago that I hid from the world on Saturday mornings while losing myself into the colorful Pufnstuf world? Witchiepoo and Orson were my favorite characters. I must admit that I detested Freddy the magic flute and hoped it would be beaten to death on a rock. I can only be thankful for the influence of shows like Pufnstuf. I know the characters, the sets and the colors became part of my cartoonist's mind. So long Jack. Say hello to Witchiepoo for me. I'm sticking with Peter Pan and refusing to grow up. Nothing good ever comes from it. Jack Wild 1952-2006

I set up a MySpace account just so I could access information of various people as I find the need. I don't remember my teenage years being like what I see portrayed on these angst-ridden profiles strewn about MySpace like debris from an overturned garbage truck. Maybe it's because the Internet and computer culture didn't exist when I was that age. I find the silly attempts by these children and child-adults to appear all pouty, dark and sexy hysterical. Everyone looks like they are trying to emulate some awful music video fashion mistake. Boys, girls and all the in-betweens have too much makeup and jewelry attached to their anorexic bodies--the gay gym boys excluded of course. I am surprised at how many teen boys consider themselves gay. I suppose, in some ways, a social networking site like this is good because it helps everyone find others like themselves. The bad aspect is the phoney, plastic, shallow reality that is created among users. They are trying to live o...

From MoveOn: This evening, the Associated Press released secret transcripts and video footage showing President Bush being personally briefed the day before Hurricane Katrina hit land. The predictions he heard were shockingly precise and accurate—including the failure of the levees. He knew exactly what was coming. The article is a smoking gun on Bush's unpardonable failure to keep us safe. In just a few hours, the White House will be filling the airwaves with spin, so it's important to reach out right now to pass on the straight story to family and friends. If each of us acts, we can directly reach millions of people before morning. The full AP article is attached below. Can you help get the word out to at least 5 friends? You can forward on this note or follow the link below: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1508_video At the August 28th briefing, the president was told exactly what to expect: * The chief scientist of the National Hurricane Center warned that a major levee breach...

This is my cartoon version of Ahmmed Ghaib. He asked me to do one since he did a couple of me. I'm not that great at caricature but he seems to like it. There is a collection of his cartoons on ArabCartoon but the site appears to be down at the moment. His Yahoo Messenger icon changes and occasionally he has a small photo of his son, Fahad. A more adorable little boy I have never seen. His photo made me think of all the less fortunate Iraqi children who are being maimed and killed every day. I don't know how Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney can sleep at night knowing that innocent people are dying because of their policies. They can't possible have the slightest bit of conscience between them. I hope they are enjoying their pampered, wealthy, greed filled lives. I also hope there is a special Hell just for people like them. Can we hope they get what Hitler got in Adam Sandler's Little Nicky--a pineapple up the ass top first!