I actually previewed this editorial cartoon on Google Plus on Friday.  It was well received due to the timing and my predictive nature on Thursday night when I drew this that the Facebook IPO would be less than stellar.   Poor Mark Zuckerberg has to do a facepalm instead of promoting his facebook.  Though none of us should feel sorry for them as all the pre IPO stock holders will cash out for bookoo bucks.   Besides Mark got to marry his college sweetheart over the weekend and since he knew her before he was rich, you know she wasn’t in it for the money.  Congrats to the couple.

Charity Challenge Update

Week 3 Breakdown:

$10 for Using ME in their Cartoon -

• James et al at Obscure Gents

$1 for ever new follower on Google Plus at http://googleplus.beartoons.com

584 NEW FOLLOWERS in a week.

Which puts us way the hell over my goal of $1000 to those charities.  Thank you thank you.  I maxed out for the first time in 4 years.  However…

I know there are a couple cartoonists who expressed interest in still doing a Bearman Cameo this month so for anyone else that does, I will donate the $10 to Crayons to Computers.  Also there is still time to donate to Crayons to Computers in honor of Bearman Cartoons.  Remember I will match those donations.

Today’s editorial cartoon is inspired by Time Magazines cover story on what is known as Attachment Parenting and the controversial cover photo.  Here it is in case you missed it (Click image for a Time Q&A with the mom)

I guess this image has caused some controversy both from the side who think letting your almost 4 year old still breastfeed and the attachment parenting advocates who think that this does not show the nurturing aspects of the practice.  Forbes Magazine has a great round up of different articles on the subject.

So what are your thoughts??  Good idea, bad?  How long should a kid sleep in the same bed as their parents and/or breastfeed in your opinion?

Happy Mothers Day…in that honor I’ll share with you this ditty I posted on G+

Charity Challenge Update

Week 2 Breakdown:

$10 for Using ME in their Cartoon -

• Warren Frantz at Off Season Comic

$10 Blog about the Challenge

• Bo Lumpkin at Gatorhead
• Rachael Black at Yoyodine
• Red at Momma’s Money Matters
• Robert at Refrigerator Magnate
• George Ford at Addanac City
• Jande at Aedre’s Firefly

$5 Adding me to Blog Roll or Adding Banner

• Soma at Somkritya
• Cha at Dontchawannadream
• Sandee at Comedy Plus

$1 for ever new follower on Google Plus at http://googleplus.beartoons.com

359 NEW FOLLOWERS in a week.

Which gives us a week 2 total of ………$444 and a grand total of $926…Holy Crap I almost hit the goal.

PLUS:

I had 2 people donate money to Crayons2Computers in honor of Bearman Cartoons

Liz Krane - $25

Red – $25

So I will be matching those and last week’s donations with $105 of my own at the end of the month

Please let me know if I missed anyone and if you want to get involved click on the image below.

Story by Dan Soto.  Another ToonMZ parody exclusive.  What happens when Richie Rich gets older and fat?  Probably this.

Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

At the behest of key Republican Senators, Richie Rich, the world’s richest kid, flew to Capitol Hill yesterday to testify before the Senate on behalf of the 1%. With his best friend, his dog, Dollar, sitting faithfully beside him, Richie adamantly defended the 1%.

“I made my money the old fashioned way” he exclaimed in his unmistakable high-pitched voice. “I inherited it!” He went on to explain, “These 99%-ers have no idea how hard it was on me growing up with the unlimited amount of money I had at my disposal. I’ve earned the right to be proud of my 1% status. That’s something you 99%-ers will never, ever understand. Right, dollar?”

After the Senate hearing, Richie flew all Senators and staff members to Disney World in Paris for fun, games and dinner with Mickey and Minnie.

With today’s editorial cartoon, I have no doubts that a conservative would never vote for Obama to spite Romney.  However it is true that many conservative groups are calling on him to move to the right or lose their support.  So isn’t that really the same thing?  Tony Perkins (no not the actor), of the conservative group Family Research Council said this:  “And so if the party is moving in a different direction, we are not going there.  The only reason there was an alignment with Rick Santorum from our constituency is because Rick embraced the ideas, the policies and the principles that our organization and our constituency believes in…If they don’t, they’re not going to get the unbridled enthusiastic support that Rick Santorum enjoys.”

So maybe they don’t vote for Obama but more likely just don’t vote.  If you have choice between supporting a guy who agrees with 50% of your beliefs versus one that supports 0% (obvious exaggeration), wouldn’t the logical thing to do is try to get something out of it?  Or do you enjoy bitching about the country for another 4 years?  I guess I will never understand the mindset of the far left/right.

On a different but not necessarily lighter note, I did a caricature tribute to Dick Clark this week.  New Years Eve won’t be the same without you (and please no Mayan jokes…I have heard them in every form the last week. haha)

So my last politically inspired cartoon poked fun at the Republicans so now it is the Democrats turn.  Time and time again I see Democrats invoking the spirit of Ronald Reagan to shame Republicans into agreeing with their policies.  Somehow Reagan has turned from representing all things evil with Conservatives to the voice of an elder (albeit deceased) elder statesman.

Recently President Barack Obama invoked a quote from Reagan to defend the Buffet Rule (a plan to up the tax on the rich) calling Reagan (gasp) “a socialist” compared to the ‘Republicans of today.  At the same time he said “Trickle Down Economics” didn’t work…a phrase that was the basis of the Reagan plan.

The difference is how they are looking to go about it.  Obama wants to raise tax on the über rich…something the majority of Americans will get behind simply because it doesn’t affect them.  However, what Reagan wanted to do was similar to all Republican platforms generally and fight to reduce taxes.  I am not one of those people that clamors for tax deductions.  I think they are a necessary part of living in an advanced society.  However, I hate it when my tax money is wasted because of politics that both sides tend to partake in.

AND, I agree with Reagan that the key isn’t to just raise taxes on the rich.  It is to remove all the tax loopholes that seem to be available to the rich such that people like Warren Buffet pays less as a percent of income than his secretary.  Hilarious that Buffet will make that point but still take advantage of those loopholes himself.  Simplify the tax code, get rid of the loopholes that seem to pop up and we won’t need to worry so much about whose taxes should be raised or not.

Today’s editorial cartoon is for all the parents of precious children who have ruined Easter Egg Hunts for the rest of the world.  From Georgia to Colorado, Easter Egg Hunts, a tradition for Christian children on Easter, have been cancelled due to helicopter parents.

Seems some parents feel the need to make sure their kids win at any cost including jumping into the fray, knocking down other kids, just to make sure their precious child get an egg.  Sure there were probably some over aggressive kids that should have been reigned in by their parents but that shouldn’t result in chaos on what should be a kids event.

Want to make sure your kid walks away with an egg or two.  If they start coming back empty handed, drop a few eggs you brought near your feet and exclaim “oh look you missed one”  Or better yet, teach your kid how to deal with and overcome disappointment.

When I started this site 5-6 years ago, I expected it to be a hit within a year, have a book deal within 18 months and have Hollywood calling to option my work within three years.  Guess what, none of that happened.  And if my parents hadn’t taught me how to deal with disappointment, I would be curled up in a fetal position in the corner instead of posting this gem.

Dr Benjamin Spock never thought of this motherly advice when he was writing his parenting books in the 40′s.  But celebrity moms are always on the cusp of what is cool and hip when it comes to child raising.  First it was the trend to name your kid Apple, Apricot or anything else no one else ever has just to be original.   Now in the past week there is news of both January Jones and Alicia Silverstone showcasing their own tips.

January Jones revealed that she has her placenta dehydrated and crushed into pills that she took which she said helped her recover faster from childbirth.  According to an Inforum article that discussed her decision it stated:

In some cultures, it is commonplace to consume the afterbirth. While placenta encapsulation is not FDA-approved in the U.S., the practice has become more popular as midwifery and home births continue to rise in this country.

Research has shown that the afterbirth is indeed a nutrient-packed pouch, and it has been touted as a way to prevent post-partum depression and promote a fast recovery after pregnancy. There is no hard evidence that humans benefit from consuming it, though.

Also this past week, Alicia Silverstone revealed on her website that she has been feeding son Bear Blu bird style by chewing up food and then feeding him directly in the mouth.  This video has gone viral.

So fess up female BEARMANiacs, something you would do yourself or are you kinda ooked by either?

And the Caption Contest Winner is – ME!! And all of you who agreed with me that cats getting attention on social media is the bane of existence for someone posting something they actually spent time on.

And the inspiration was this picture of our cats, playing on the ipad with their favorite app Games for Cats.

Former Governor and current GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney turned 65 this week proclaiming that he would not enroll for Social Security payments or Medicare.

For those unfamiliar, AARP is an organization in the States that has huge interest group focusing on those above 50 on age related issues.  It was formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons.  Historically in the U.S. the retirement age has been 65 though you can get your AARP card which offers discounts on travel, restaurants etc long before that age.  In fact I knew a 30 year old once who had her card.  I guess all you need to do is send in your money and boom, there it is.

Oh and Denny’s is a national chain of restaurants that specializes in breakfast food.

Tim Burton is remaking Frankenweenie.  Frankenweenie was originally a  short film that he did in 1984.  Well he is updating it to a full length feature film.

Image: Wired Magazine

I am sorry but that has to be the most unfortunate name for a movie.  Somehow I would have thought that an adult film would be named that.