Bob Englehart's View - Hartford Courant Editorial Political Cartoons - Courant.com

5/15/2013-Vigilante Government

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:05:00 GMT

What is it with second terms? I'm beginning to think that maybe the president should be term-limited to one six-year stint in the White House. Something happens to human beings when they are granted the power a president of the United States has. His first term is devoted to being re-elected, so everything is moderated, but when the pres has nothing to lose in a second term, the potential for bigger trouble than usual brews every day.

5/14/2013-Munch Munch Munch

By Bob Englehart — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:50:00 GMT

It's clear what the Republicans are up to. They know that Hillary Clinton will most likely be the next Democratic candidate to be president of the United States and the only way to stop her is to destroy her credibility, reputation and professionalism. Hillary has already accepted responsibility in her role as Secretary of State for the Benghazi attack that killed our diplomats. What more do they want? Total destruction.

5/12/2013-Happy Mother's Day

By Bob Englehart — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:29:00 GMT

I think I'm sensitive to mothers in the Army this year because I work across the street from the Connecticut State Armory. I see a lot of women in desert camo going back and forth to Dunkin Donuts. I'm noticing more women than in the past. It's apparent the bad economy the last few years has driven women to the armed forces as a way to support their families. And yes, there are already women in the front lines of America's wars.

5/10/2013-How Much?

By Bob Englehart — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:59:00 GMT

It's all a game. Hospitals charge whatever they can and take whatever they can from the insurance companies, Medicaid and Medicare. I thought it was funny in The Courant's story about varying hospital bills that a hospital CEO had no idea how her institution came up with the prices it charges. My cartoon is closer to the truth than even I imagined.

5/9/2013-Burial At Sea Again

By Bob Englehart — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:14:00 GMT

I wonder if there are Muslim extremists out there in the ocean trying to find Osama bin Laden's body. There must be. Those people are crazy and I'd put nothing past them. Certainly there are people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and all the other stans who are working a scam for believers. Hey, people in California are still looking for Bigfoot.

5/8/2013-Good Times At City Hall

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 07 May 2013 20:02:00 GMT

The CEO of Yahoo is right. There's something to be said for being in the office with your fellow employees. I had an entirely different cartoon in mind for today when a staffer came up to me and said, "Are you going to draw a cartoon about Mayor Caviar?" Even as I was telling him I hadn't planned on it, today's cartoon was forming in my mind.

5/7/2013-NRA Convention

By Bob Englehart — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:04:00 GMT

When I draw Wayne Lapierre, he always comes away looking like a loathsome swine with a dollop of Adolph Hitler in there. I think that's very unfair. To swine. Of course one can never be unfair to Hitler.

5/5/2013-No Mo Gitmo

By Bob Englehart — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:24:00 GMT

Guantanamo. It's another name for purgatory. It's unreasonable to expect the prisoners there to remain for life, so it would seem to be common sense to move them to secure facilities in America. Have trials for each of them and return the guilty to a supermax prison and set the innocent free to return to their home countries. Unfortunately, there's no common sense when it comes to terrorism.

5/3/2013-Centerfold

By Bob Englehart — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:06:00 GMT

Why would People magazine pay for Gov. Malloy's trip to the White House Correspondents Dinner in the first place? I'm looking at past issues. Is his wife having a baby? Has he invented something that will make our lives easier? Is he getting a divorce? Has he been called the sexiest man alive? Is he one of the 100 most beautiful? Is he hanging around with Justin Bieber? Are they doing a story on the governor's private world? Has he died? Has he been naughty? Has he vanished without a trace? Is he starring in a Twilight movie? Is he gay? Has he lost 100 pounds? Has someone been murdered at the state house? Has he had a tragic accident?

5/2/2013-What Are The Odds?

By Bob Englehart — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:04:00 GMT

I've never been a fan of gambling on games of chance. I'll gamble with my time and my life, but I won't gamble with my money. First of all, I'm not good at it. I can't remember odds or which cards have been played and I'm not a good bluffer. I have about a thousand "tells." Secondly, games of chance are rigged. The house never loses. I've always thought that being a gambler was a sucker's life, although I know people who make money at it and are quite good, especially with card games.

5/1/2013-Best Selling Jersey

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:07:00 GMT

Frankly, I'll be happy when we get past the "First (fill in the blank) to (fill in the blank)" in history. First gay, woman, African American, lesbian, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, etc. etc. et-freakin'-cetera! This is the 21st Century, for crying out loud. Aren't we over this? That's a rhetorical question; I know the answer. All I had to do was look at the front page of The Courant Tuesday morning to see that the Jason Collins story took up most of the page. I'm a sucker for a big splash.

4/30/2013-Rubbish

By Bob Englehart — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:05:00 GMT

This is kind of like watching a baseball player his whole career, from minor leagues to the majors and into retirement. Here's what I mean. I've seen the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority go from idea on paper to fruition to what? Retirement? Out of business? I like the whole idea of re-purposing and recycling, although I'll be the first to admit it's a pain in the neck. I did cartoons about it when it first came about. I was happy enough with the old way of throwing cans and bottles in the garbage. I didn't think about what happened to it after that.

4/28/2013-Another Warning

By Bob Englehart — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:34:00 GMT

President Obama has threatened Syria a total of seven times now using the "red line" metaphor. It means that if Syria crosses an imaginary red line in the sand, Obama will...will...will what? Be angry? Clearly, Bashar Assad is not frightened by the president's rhetoric. Could it be the president is sounding like a parent who threatens his child with punishment but never follows through?

4/24/2013-She Changed Her Mind

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:49:00 GMT

The New Haven mayoral race just got interesting. State Sen. Toni Harp just announced her candidacy after months of demurring. She already looks like the person who can fill the shoes of John DeStefano, former mayor-for-life until he announced he was retiring. She already represents about half of the city from her Senate seat in Hartford and now she seems ready to handle the whole town. I think she'll be a cinch, although New Haven's gain will be Connecticut's loss. She's one of those hard-working, honest state lawmakers of which we need more.

4/23/2013-A Sighting In D.C.

By Bob Englehart — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:34:00 GMT

I've thought about this for a long time. I didn't come to this opinion lightly, or overnight. I've cogitated, examined and researched this information. I have come to the conclusion that Congress is a bunch of blockheads. They're not the sweet kind of blockheads like in Peanuts. They're the stupid, ignorant kind like you see in rush hour traffic.

4/21/2013-When Will We Ever Learn

By Bob Englehart — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:15:00 GMT

"Our thoughts and prayers are with..." I'm hearing that way too often these days. As the population of the Earth grows, the number of evil, demented and just plain psychotic people will grow with it. Religious extremism, wars over resources, power struggles, and the paranoia that goes with it all adds up to a very inhospitable planet for human beings and frankly, for all animals.

4/19/2013-Another WTF Moment

By Bob Englehart — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:51:00 GMT

I knew this would happen. Our Congress is beyond shameful. Even if any substantive gun control measure would've passed the Senate, it would've died in the House. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it legislatively in Connecticut. All our representatives get it.

4/18/2013-Ready! Set! Fish!

By Bob Englehart — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:58:00 GMT

The fisherman's thought balloon says it all. I'm not a fly fisherman and I haven't fished for trout in many years. I fish for pan fish like sunnies, perch, blue gill, crappie and largemouth bass with a spinning rod and a rubber worm, minnows or worms. My grandparents taught me how to still fish with a bamboo pole, a worm, a hook and a red and white bobber. I taught myself the rest, but I haven't done much fishing since I took up golf.

4/17/2013-Boston Will Heal

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:03:00 GMT

A pressure cooker. That's what the Boston Marathon bomb was made of. Something as domestic and peaceful as a pressure cooker can be turned into a dangerous killing device. Certainly, the cynical gun owners will demand we outlaw pressure cookers as a joke, but you know what, gunslinger? Your license to carry wouldn't have helped Monday. Your gun collection locked away in your gun safe at home would not have helped you on the streets of Boston. You good guys with guns need to shoot bad guys with guns. The bad guy in Boston probably had a cellphone.

4/16/2013-Sound Familiar?

By Bob Englehart — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:07:00 GMT

Kim Jong Un reminds me of one of those gun nuts who pounds his chest and threatens any make-believe criminal with instant annihilation. Is he a madman? No, he's a calculating little punk dictator who'd be living in his parent's basement if he lived in the United States.

4/14/2013-Obama's Budget

By Bob Englehart — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:36:00 GMT

I was reading about gangs and the president's budget when I came up with this idea for a cartoon.

4/12/2013-Not Enough

By Bob Englehart — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:24:00 GMT

This is all a load. Twenty-six innocent children and educators killed and this is what we get, limited background checks? That's it? I'll bet if 26 Congressmen had been killed we'd be debating an entirely different law. Apparently the attempted murder of Rep. Gabby Giffords wasn't enough.

4/10/2013-Annette Funicello

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:35:00 GMT

When I was 11 years old, I had a crush on Annette, as did most of the boys in my 6th grade class. One day, I had a brilliant idea. My hormones were just starting to percolate and so was my blossoming adult imagination. My mother would let me babysit for my younger brother occasionally, but she didn't pay very well. I came up with a scheme to make more money. I told my friend Terry about it and he was enthusiastic.

CONGRATULATIONS, UCONN ... AGAIN!

By Bob Englehart — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

4/9/2013-Margaret Thatcher

By Bob Englehart — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:03:00 GMT

What do you do if you're an editorial cartoonist who likes to draw memorial cartoons and Margaret Thatcher and Annette Funicello die on the same day? Well, I learned of Thatcher, a former world leader, first and started drawing her cartoon, so I'll have to pass on Annette for today, but I'll be writing about her in the future. Let's just say she was instrumental in my development as an artist and leave it at that for now.