Walt Garrison

When I was a kid, I was a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys. My dad was born in Denton Texas and attended a game in the mid 60s shortly after the Cowboys were established. One of my best memories as a kid was when my dad took me and my little brother to Texas Stadium in 1973 to see the Cowboys beat the Rams in the playoffs. My dad could only afford Texas Stadium end zone seats, but they were great--especially since our team scored two TDs in front of us.

Walt Garrison was one of our favorite players and he's a distant relative. He had a mediocre game against the Rams, but that was OK. We got to see him in person...as well as Bob Lilly, Chuck Howley, Lee Roy Jordan....all of our favorite players. Walt was 29 when I saw him play. I was 16. Walt was 6'2" when he graduated from high school and weighed 165. I was 6' 3" and weighed 165 when I graduated from high school. Unfortunately, I had no athletic ability aside from being a fairly good shot at basketball. Walt grew up in Lewisville, about 40 miles south of Denton. Walt's dad was a sharecropper-turned mechanic. My dad grew up poor in a sharecropper family and he became a mechanic, too--after spending 20+ years in the Navy. Ironically, Walt named one of his boys 'Ben,' which is my name and also my dad's name.

My dad gave up cigarettes in the late 60s but then became addicted to Copenhagen, a product produced by the company the Walt Garrison endorsed. It was an awful habit that he could not kick. Right up until he died at the age of 79 he could not give it up. I don't blame Walt, of course. A lot of those Texas country boys grew up with such tobacco. It was a matter of course.

The point of this mini-essay? No point. I happened to come across Walt's autobiography and I just finished it. He was a talented athlete, but also had a lot of luck. Mostly, it underlined the fact that time is going by quickly. The bird of time has but a little way to fly and it is on the wing.

While I'm at it, I thought I'd publish my latest 'End the Fed' cartoon.

It has been a long time since I've posted. Fortunately I have had a LOT of work lately and little time to blog or draw cartoons or play my viola. I have also not had time to work on my paintings, but I have plenty of ideas, paint and canvas awaiting me.

More posts to come once I finish up some commercial art projects. Meanwhile, here is a famous ballad played by my favorite Chopin interpreter.

Chopin Ballad in G Minor

Ron Paul Quotes

PERSONAL & CIVIL LIBERTY

“I'm convinced that you never have to give up liberties to be safe. I think you're less safe when you give up your liberties.” “You wanna get rid of drug crime in this country? Fine, let's just get rid of all the drug laws.”"The federal government has no right to treat all Americans as criminals by spying on their relationship with their doctors, employers, or bankers." “Ideas are very important to the shaping of society. In fact, they are more powerful than bombings or armies or guns. And this is because ideas are capable of spreading without limit. They are behind all the choices we make. They can transform the world in a way that governments and armies cannot. Fighting for liberty with ideas makes more sense to me than fighting with guns or politics or political power. With ideas, we can make real change that lasts.”

TAX & ECONOMY

“One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens would pay nearly half of everything they earn to the government.”

THE WAR ON TERROR & THE PATRIOT ACT

“A citizen walking through the airport today is bombarded with 1984-style propaganda messages that are designed to make us fear some amorphous threat and also be suspicious of others. The government designs these messages to make us feel dependent and heavily lorded over in every aspect of our lives. These messages are becoming ever more pervasive, hitting us even in grocery stores when we are shopping.” 

PRINCIPLES & INTEGRITY

"Unlike my opponents, I'm not running from my voting record. I'm not running from my public statements. I'm not running from my predictions.I'm running on them."

NON-PREEMPTIVE WAR & MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

"When one person can initiate war, by its definition, a republic no longer exists. "“It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking.” “Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms.” "Another term for preventive war is aggressive war - starting wars because someday somebody might do something to us. That is not part of the American tradition. ""Our foolish policy in Iraq invites terrorist attacks against U.S. territory and incites the Islamic fundamentalists against us." 

LIMITED, CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats." "The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people."“When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads.” "Every government, democratic or not, is capable of tyranny. We must understand this if we hope to remain a free people.""I will always vote what I have promised, and always vote the Constitution, as well as I will not vote for one single penny that isn't paid for, because debt is the monster, debt is what's going to eat us up and that is why our economy is on the brink.""I will continue in my uncompromising opposition to appropriations not authorized within the enumerated powers of the Constitution."

NON-PREEMPTIVE WAR & MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

"When one person can initiate war, by its definition, a republic no longer exists. "“It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking.” “Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms.” "Another term for preventive war is aggressive war - starting wars because someday somebody might do something to us. That is not part of the American tradition. ""Our foolish policy in Iraq invites terrorist attacks against U.S. territory and incites the Islamic fundamentalists against us." 

Ron Paul is Doing Great!

Ron Paul is doing great. We can tell by hit pieces such as this:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20111229/OPINION01/712299993

In it we hear pejorative and ad hominem attacks such as:

Ron Paul..."truly dangerous"

(Ron Paul's platform is) "nothing short of nuts"

"...Paul being the favored candidate of the lunatic fringe (see white supremacists, anti-Semites, truthers, etc.)."

"Paul has been consistently spouting this nonsense." 
In other words, we are called racists for supporting Paul and the Constitution. Oh gee...I'd better vote for one of the neo cons so we can continue to start wars we can't afford and blow up innocent people to get people such as Gaddafi. We will support muslim fundamentalists to do it! Why? So we can replace leaders we don't like with radical muslims so we can...defeat the muslim fundamentalists? Yeah, that makes sense. Oh--and let's make sure America is called a battlefield and everyone give up our rights so that 'terrorists' can be whisked away and tortured. FEAR FEAR FEAR! And our own government creates false flags to get us all scared so we can give up more money, lives, liberty AND DIGNITY (groping at airports) to those at the top--you know who I'm referring to--the ones you admire, Mr. McQuaid...the big banksters ripping us all off. The Federal Reserve who has destroyed our middle class and are propping up the corrupt banks. People such as Corzine who outright steal billions of dollars from private accounts.

YOU and your ilk are 'evil nuts,' not us. I have news for you, Mr. BIG SHOT PUBLISHER JOSEPH W. McQUAID, New Hampshire Union Leader, we 'lunatic fringe' care about the Constitution and ending your ridiculous wars including the war on drugs that sends plenty of minorities to prison just because they have the wrong vegetation in their pockets. We are going to vote for Paul and end the cycle of fear they are using to strip us of our rights, our dignity, our money and our jobs just so your banker buddies can make bigger bonuses. And the traitors who are trampling our rights in Congress? THEY are the enemy--not some turbaned-guy in a cave that was sent there by the evil CIA. And what can be more anti-Semite than dropping bombs on Arab children? (Yes, Arabs are Semites, too). Sorry, Mr. Big shot McQuaid, YOU are anti-American, anti-decency and anti-Constitution. YOUR opinions are warped and truly dangerous.

Ben Garrison, a Ron Paul supporter.

"In Memoriam"

The tempo is a little faster than I've heard on other performances, but just as beautiful. Shostakovich is one of my favorite composers because...well, I'll let the music explain it for me.



http://youtu.be/A2El2BPzZ0Y

The Bank of Dad is CLOSED

I drew this today for Father's Day. To all fathers everywhere, there comes a time when one must say NO to their kids when it comes to money. That way the kids come to appreciate the hard work that goes into earning money.

Ron Paul for President!

Ron Paul's fund raiser yesterday was a big success. He raised well over a million bucks in one day. I was a contributor. (A small amount to many perhaps...but I wanted to help regardless).

Why I support Ron Paul:

• He wants to end the Federal Reserve, which is neither federal nor a reserve. It is an institution owned by elite private banks. The same banks that were TBTF and got bailed out so execs involved could get giant bonuses. Debt money is printed and these crony private bankers receive interest via tax money. They use their money to buy out Congress and oppress the people.

• He wants to audit the Federal Reserve. Then we'll know how much money went to international banks.

• He wants to audit Fort Knox. Is there really any gold left there or has it been stolen by Fed cronies?

• He wants to end the wars that benefit money-mad, power-mad banks and select private corporations. He voted AGAINST the war in Iraq.

• He wants to end the ridiculous and expensive 'War on Drugs.'

• He never voted to raise taxes.

• He wants to end taxes on tips, thus helping hard working lower classes everywhere.

• He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

• He has never voted for federal restrictions on gun ownership.

• He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

• He voted against the pernicious Patriot Act.

• He is against the TSA.

• He is for sound money based on gold and silver.

• He wants to cut way back on nanny-state government which has continued to bloat and take away our rights.

• He is pro-Consitution and for restoring the Republic.

http://www.ronpaul2012.com/

The Swan of Tuonela

Here's my latest painting. I took inspiration from the music of Sibelius. Namely, "The Swan of Tuonela." I had my son Ian pose as Lemminkainen. I used some reference for parts of the painting, but most of it was done directly from my imagination.

The painting (24' x 36') was done in oil using traditional methods. That is, a complete sketch transferred onto the canvas. Then a sepia wash. Then the underpainting in black and white to establish values. Then thin coats of color built up slowly until this end result.

The black swan on the Black River sings a sad song. Lemminkainen was sent to kill the swan, but the swan's song was so beautiful he was unable to do so. A Finnish god later punishes Lemminkainen for this transgression and his body was cut up and thrown into the river. His mother later rescues him and sews his body back together. Life is infused into Lemminkainen again with the help of another god and a magic drop of honey.

In Sibelius' music, the swan is represented by the English horn.

Click on image to see larger version.

GREAT SITE FOR ART VIEWING

I came across this yesterday and thought I'd post it on my blog. So I'm posting it on my blog! Get ready to lose a few hours gazing at these masterpieces from long ago...

http://www.wga.hu/index.html

The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism periods (1000-1850), currently containing over 26.000 reproductions. Picture commentaries, artist biographies are available. Guided tours, period music, catalogue, free postcard and other services are provided.

TSA: HANDS OFF!

The TSA is a harbinger of a police state. Choose to get a radiation dose and a detailed nude scan or 'opt out' for an embarrassing grope by a TSA thug? No thank you to both. It's bad enough we have to take our shoes off as well as our belts and shuffle along on dirty airport floors trying to hold up our pants as well as our dignity. TSA has declared war on dignity. Americans need to draw a line here. Chertoff, former 'Department of Homeland Security' head made sure the scanners were bought so he could profit handsomely from the sale. It's time to put him in prison. It's time to tell 'Big Sis' Napolitano that's it's not OK to completely strip human dignity from Americans in the name of fear. It's time to stand up for our fourth amendment.

Here's a cartoon I drew today (click to enlarge) that sums up what's happening. I am trying to develop a GrrrGraphics.com site and that's why the tagline is on the cartoon. I hope to have the site ready soon--it looks like it will be done by this weekend sometime.

Bean Boopers

I was going through boxes of old papers the other day and burning them in the backyard fire pit. I happened to come across this original. I hadn't seen it in many years and I didn't know I still had it. It's one of the few remaining drawings from my childhood. I drew these two cartoon strips (one sheet of paper--part one on the front; part two on the back) when I was in the 6th grade. I had just started drawing and I was interested in cartooning. I named these original characters "Bean Boopers" and drew them off and on until high school.

The drawings (click to enlarge) weren't bad for a kid my age. Some probably will think I don't draw much better now. I actually had a sense of humor way back then, too. Still, I'm considering revamping the Bean Boopers. I think they might make a good kids book or Flash animation. Maybe I could sell Bean Booper magnets!

The March of Tyranny

Lately I've been thinking of a book I read long ago in high school: "A Tale of Two Cities" and the French Revolution. It was the best and worst of times. America is sliding into the worst of times, but we can return to the best again if we wake up and realize who is really lording it over us: The global elite banks (Fed central banks, IMF and their owners who control the debt enslavement money). If little Iceland can toss them out, then so can we.

My cartoon (click to enlarge) shows how the banking and corporate masters (crony capitalist fascists) control both major parties behind the scenes. They keep us distracted with left vs. right while giving us the illusion that voting for one of the other parties will solve things. It won't.

A good article I read this morning on the matter:

http://matterhornassetmanagement.com/2010/08/16/there-will-be-no-double-dip/print/

"...management has achieved a major increase in income and wealth. In 1973, chief executives in the US earned 26 times the median income. Today they earn 300 times. This enormous widening of the gap between the top few percent in society and the masses is morally and socially unacceptable. When the bad times start in earnest, this is likely to lead to major social unrest and violence directed against the privileged."

Until we return to the sound money of the Constitution, gold and silver, this debt slavery serfdom will get worse.


"Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky."

Health Care

Here's my latest cartoon that illustrates how I feel about health care. (click for larger view). To be sure, Americans deserve health care considering all the money we pour into the system. The trouble is, the government is broke and won't cut spending (the military, for example) to pay for it. Instead, we'll be taxed more. We'll face a new, inefficient bureaucratic labyrinth. We'll have more tyranny foisted upon us through the IRS. Eventually we'll be told what we can and what we cant eat, drink and smoke and so forth. We'll be told when to die. There will be long waits for care. The doctors won't be adequately paid.

This is not freedom and as usual, we're being forced to pay for our own slavery.

It's Time to Audit the Federal Reserve

Last year when I still lived in Washington State, I wrote my congressman (Jay Inslee) and both Senators telling them to vote NO to the banker 'too big to fail' bail-out bill that cost us taxpayers trillions of dollars. Even though I and nearly 90 percent of the other letter writers wanted 'NO,' it passed anyway. Now they have the gall to say they're against 'too big to fail' after the bail out bill has proved to be an abysmal failure. None of that money trickled down to the 'small bizshnuss' man as Bush promised. Right now credit is tighter than a snare drum, but Goldman Sach certainly made out well--their stock more than doubled. They also raked in record bonuses while many Americans got pink slips. And now they're offering to loan $500 million to small businesses as a PR gesture. What a pathetic joke. Why are so many GS operatives in key government positions? To change the rules to favor themselves. If this isn't fascism, it's at least cut-throat capitalism. Some call it 'crony capitalism.'

Earlier today I happened to catch Sen. Judd Gregg on CNBC getting visibly angry when questioned about Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve. CNBC and other media outlets routinely support the Fed, Geithner and the status quo. They repeated the Gregg clip throughout the day. In these days of kelpto-corporatocracy, fair reporting gets replaced by naked greed and self-interest.

I'm paraphrasing from memory, but here's what the foolish senator spouted:

"Auditing the Fed is an outrage!" "The Congress can't manage its own fiscal policy, but now they want to manage monetary decisions?" "The Fed needs to maintain it's independence, but they want to unfairly paint it as a dark entity!" "This reminds me of William Jennings 'populism.' "Paul and his supporters just want to beat up on the Fed to get reelected." "It's the Fed's job to keep the dollar sound--and this bill endangers that..."

======

It amazes me how HE thinks people have lost touch with economic reality when its the FED who has bankrupted America more than any other entity--including our spendthrift Congress!

• Auditing the Fed is not an outrage. The Fed's 'independence' has enabled a cabal of private bankers to control our money system--and us. Paul has said it's not about interfering with monetary decisions. It's about finding out where trillions of dollars went--a lot of it to mystery banks overseas!

• It's not a matter of Dems vs. Republicans and it certainly is not about 'populism.' It's about We The People having some say where OUR money goes--the money we must pay for with interest.

• We need the Fed to keep the dollar 'sound?' That was a howler. How can that guy say that with a straight face. Hard to believe he can say that when, after the establishment of that pernicious institution, the dollar has lost 96 percent of its value--and going down!

Gold and silver are the only safe haven against the 'Fed's monetary decisions' and that's why precious metal has been going up.

It amazes me how some people continue to want to cast a cloak of meretricious goodness over these bums. They're worse than bums. They're greedy, money-mad, power-hungry criminals. Yet how many times have we heard talk show hosts like Alan Colms and Bill Maher say "Oh, I'm no economics expert and I don't understand the Fed...we should just let them handle it!" My jaw drops when I hear this. These guys are experts in politics and have opinions on everything under the sun EXCEPT the most important thing--who controls our money? He who controls the money controls the game! That's why Goldman Sachs has so many operatives and lobbyists in government!

It's time for Americans to WAKE UP and see the curtains pulled back on this money system we have. It's BROKEN.

OK, that's enough from me.

RENSE

My 'Ron Paul/Audit the Fed' cartoon made it on Rense.com today!

Here's the cartoon. Click to enlarge. Click on the link to see the 'toon on rense.com

http://www.rense.com/2009halloween/ex.jpg

GRRRGRAPHICS

I came up with this logo yesterday to help tie together my anti-big government tyranny cartoons and graphics. My point here is this: If we do not exercise our Constitutional liberties, we will see them compromised or lost outright. Therefore, it's important for all of us to speak up and speak out using words and pictures.

Also shown here is my latest cartoon and I have many more ideas!

Spokane Timeline

Here's a graphic I did last month for the Spokane Inlander. It took awhile to get paid, but they came through. Yippee! Waiting to get paid for freelance (or not getting paid at all) is a common lament among freelance artists.

Rather than do the traditional timeline left-to-right bar with lines pointing toward copy, photos, logos and graphics, I decided to make it more visually interesting by breaking up the centuries into hills. I had to build in space in the middle for the fold, which I was told was rather deep.

It was a fun project and I wish I could get more assignments like this, but times are tough and jobs are few.

Big Government BS

Here's my latest cartoon. I have lots of ideas but no venue to post 'em. Newspapers won't touch 'em of course. I want to make these free to the public, but I'm not sure how to do that yet.

Click on the cartoons for a larger view. Feel free to use the cartoon however/wherever. Just make sure my signature stays on.

Tyranny Tree

I drew another editorial cartoon today--this time depicting the 'tyranny tree' that has entwined its roots into the nation. Of course people will call me a conspiracy theorist but the CFR really does exist and Hillary admitted to receiving instructions from them (she actually called it the 'mothership'). The Fed system and its onerous income tax system certainly exists (needs to be audited) and the Bilderbergs meet secretly with top political officials. Nearly every president since Kennedy had to have their stamp of approval. So there you have it.

I also colored the 'audit the Fed' cartoon I did earlier. I have more ideas and will draw them and try to get 'em out on the Web. I submitted the black and white version to the local paper in Missoula. Naturally it was rejected.