The cartoonists were taken on a tour of the museum and D-Day landings on Thursday. The museum is divided into sections, beginning with the events leading up to World War II. 
I found the area dealing with Germany in the early 30’s especially interesting because it shows how intolerance and fear enabled Nazism to gain power in Germany.
This week I’m attending a cartoon conference in Caen, France with cartoonists from Algeria, Chad, France, Iran, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, and Russia. I’ll be posting photos and updates from the event.
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The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this past Tuesday for Sebelius v Hobby Lobby, one of the cases which brings up the question whether a business can deny its female employees birth control coverage under Obamacare because of the owners’ religious beliefs. As usual, the line for public seating started early. This is the scene Saturday morning:
By Tuesday the line had grown to this:
Only about 100 members of the public are seated for SCOTUS arguments; about another 100 seats are for the press and select choice seats are designated for guests of the Justices. Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom so the majority of Americans never get the opportunity to watch as one of their three branches of government makes important decisions which affect their civil liberties and personal lives.
My take about cameras in the courtroom from the Washington Post’s Post Partisan blog yesterday.
Here’s a good piece by Washington Post blogger Alyssa Rosenberg on the subject of cartoonists being allowed in the court.
Just returned from a quick trip to NYC to attend a gallery opening of the great cartoonist Pat Oliphant. Here’s a few photos:
Oliphant drawing
Ed Sorel & Jeff Danziger
Signe Wilkinson, Tony Auth, Pat Oliphant at reception
Pat likes to play the crabby cartoonist but he’s really a sweetie
I follow British editorial cartoonists and cartooning organizations on twitter so this morning there were several posts about the death of Tony Benn, a revered figure in UK politics. I have to admit I wasn’t aware of the impact he had on British politics. Listen to what he says about democracy and money in politics- and take a look at his ‘Five questions of Power’:
I’m afraid I have to agree with Benn that “It’s questionable whether either in America or Britain we have a democracy” when money is considered speech by the Supreme Court. See questions 2, 3, 4.
