Controversy and Comics of 9/11

There are many ways to remember and signify the anniversary of the sordid attack of 9/11.  Joe Wos, of the Toonseum in Pittsburgh, has utilized his passion for comic arts to present a display of cartoon features that ran in response to the attacks. By the looks of the Toonseum press release this has been quite an organizational effort.

I, for one, am intrigued and already find it bringing the “never forget” thought to the forefront of my mind. Read the Toonseum media release here to find out more and learn about the panel discussion in connection with the event.

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Press Release
TOONSEUM
945 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15222

Too Soon?: A Cartoon Retrospective of 9/11

An exhibition featuring comic strip and editorial cartoon reflections on and responses to 9/11.
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, marks the 10th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history. It was also marks a day of remarkable bravery and courage. In honor of the occasion, the major comic syndicates have rallied their cartoonists to dedicate their strips on that day to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.

All the participating comic strips will also be appearing in the September 11th, 2011 Sunday comics pages across the country. These iconic strips, all illustrating the Remembering 9/11 theme, demonstrate a wide range of response from patriotic to deeply emotional.
With the help of King Features, The ToonSeum in Pittsburgh, along with the Newseum in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City, and the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco will host special exhibits featuring the cartoonists’ commemorative works.  Each museum will have a different selection of 15 original strips from Beetle Bailey to Mutts.

The ToonSeum will expand upon this exhibit by displaying editorial cartoons that ran shortly after 9-11. These powerful and sometimes controversial pieces were created by editorial cartoonists from the three areas hit by the terrorists: New York, Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh (Shanksville, flight 93). Garry Trudeau of Doonesbury fame and alternative cartoonist Ted Rall represent New York, Matt Wuerker of Politico represents Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cartoonist Rob Rogers represents the Pittsburgh area.
The exhibition will run from September 10th-September 25th.

As part of the exhibition the ToonSeum will also present a panel discussion on September 9th, entitled “Too Soon?: Humor, Art and Media in a Post-9/11 World.”

The panel will discuss the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the effect it had on humor, art and the media. Everyone from artists to comedians to cartoonists struggled to find their way in the days and weeks following the devastating and tragic events of 9/11. Was it OK to laugh? Was it OK to criticize those in power? Or was it too soon?
The panelists include former Warhol director Tom Sokolowski, WDVE Morning Show host Jimmy Krenn, nationally-syndicated alternative cartoonist Ted Rall, and nationally-syndicated Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers.
The panel will be moderated by Chris Potter, editor of The Pittsburgh City Paper

Panel will take place September 9th, 7pm at Bricolage Theater.
Event is free to attend by donations are welcome and reservations are encouraged. Tickets at www.toosoon.eventbrite.com
The Exhibition and panel are made possible through the generous support of the R K Mellon Foundation.

September 9th, 2011, 7 PM
Bricolage Theater
937 Liberty Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Exhibit Preview
September 9th, 2011, 5pm-7pm
ToonSeum
945 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

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Simply Put- The Toonseum, once again, presents us with a unique way to blend life, memories and comic art.

How Hungry Are We?

If you are reading this, you  might be hungry.

Please read the following, from Adam MacGregor of Just Harvest, and find out how you can help yourself or others who find themselves unable to feed their families right now by visiting the Just Harvest Website. The US is a mess and we need to help one another and ensure that those we elect understand the needs of their communities.

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Nearly One in Four of Allegheny County’s Households with Children Report Inability to Afford Enough Food

Newly released report shows that region’s rate of hunger follows national trend

Across the four congressional districts in Allegheny County, nearly 25 percent of families with children have reported that they have not been able to afford needed food over the past year, according to a report released yesterday by the Washington D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

 

The report, titled Food Hardship in America, separately examines food hardship rates – the inability to afford enough food – for households with children and without children nationally and in every state, every Congressional District and 100 of the country’s largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas.  The full report is available at the following link: http://frac.org/pdf/aug2011_food_hardship_report_children.pdf

 

The analysis shows that food hardship rates are very high both for households with children and for households without children. Nationally over 2009 – 2010, the food hardship rate for households without children was 14.9 percent, and it was 23.4 percent for families with children.

 

Allegheny County comprises Congressional districts 4, 12, 14 and 18. The average rate of food hardship among households with children the districts is 21 percent, ranging from 17.5 percent in District 18 (Tim Murphy) to 25.4 percent in District 14 (Michael Doyle), which includes the city of Pittsburgh.

 

Tara Marks, Co-Director of Just Harvest (a Southside-based nonprofit that has been working since 1986 to eliminate hunger and poverty in our region) noted that the FRAC report’s findings illustrates the disproportionate, devastating effect that the recession has had upon low-income families.  And, it serves to underscore the gravity of the task facing the newly formed Debt-Reduction Super-committee, of which Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey is a member.

 

“As advocates for poor people in our region, we hope that Senator Toomey will take these numbers into consideration in the inevitable discussion over whether to cut funding to essential public safety-net programs like SNAP [the Supplemental nutritional assistance program, formerly known as ‘food stamps’] or TANF [temporary assistance to needy families],” said Marks.  “Programs that protect the poorest and most vulnerable Americans must remain off the bargaining table in these debt-reduction proceedings.”

 

Yesterday’s report is part of FRAC’s ongoing Food Hardship in America series, which analyzes data that were collected by Gallup and provided to FRAC.  The data were gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, which has interviewed more than one million households since January 2008.  FRAC has analyzed responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” 

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Simply Put- How hungry are we?

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