google and politics

i have been accused of worshiping at the altar of google. i don't agree with that, but i do like it a lot. bias specified, i would like to have a one-sided discussion about their current moves that have made a lot of fuss.
first, defying the justice department. what a great advertisement! they get lots of publicity, people who are upset that everyone else of note turned over the information are turning to google as their last stand of hope for privacy, and they get to appear noble in some circles (most importantly, the circle that includes their users). they DON'T WANT the gov. to restrict their searches any more, they make a lot of money from the porn industry, more restrictions mean less money. kids can get access to porn without the internet, they certainly don't need a search engine to get it. hey, guess what!, it's the parent's responsibility to regulate what their children view online, not the gov's. this is not china...
oh what a fabulous segue to topic two, google voluntarily filtering content in china. china is a HUGE market, if google wants to survive against the other search engine/media companies, they need to be in there now. the chinese gov. wouldn't let google grant access willy nilly even if they tried. when the gov. filters results you don't find out that you were being restricted, nothing shows up. when google filters results, you get a note saying 'hey, we filtered this'. that subtle difference can have a huge impact. when people know exactly what is being restricted it creates unrest and google coming to china could be a major step in capitalism taking hold in that country.
so basically, google - keep on keepin on, your service is fantastic and while i really think my idea related to your news service would put you ahead of everyone else, i still like you just the way you are.

political cartoon 8

dang... them is some nice shoes
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

well that's pretty hilarious

so i make a post saying that i was pretty heartless when it came to hurricane victims (since erased because i have transferred that sort of stuff to a different blog)
well i signed up for adsense, and the first ad that appeared on my site, was one asking for donations for hurricane victims
that's pretty funny
and sadly enough, this post probably isn't going to help things
i think i might have to keep an eye out and veto ads like that

previous political cartoons

below are the comics that started my occasional habit of drawing political cartoons
they all take place in early 2004 and as such are comments on the time (imagine that)
it started with an ad in the student newspaper at Purdue U. asking for political cartoon artists to apply
knowing full well that i couldn't draw near well enough to actually get printed in a paper, even with content as fantastic as mine, i went ahead and drew the three required to apply (it's not like i was going to do my hw)
well seeing as i was the only one to apply... they decided to give me a try
being paid for them didn't last long, but i still had fun (not doing hw) and will probably continue to make bad cartoons for a long time

this one was actually drawn for the paper but before i was told not to submit any more, i thought the website doing the talking was stupid so i refrained from giving them any advertising by actually putting their name on the comic
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

this is the last one that i drew for the paper, the editor was still upset that i had too much white space and had also decided that my drawing wasn't magically improving, i had to resubmit it 5 times before they said not to bother any more, by the time the last one came around the drawing was so black with shading you couldn't tell what it was a picture of (if you could before)
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

this is the last one that i drew in pencil because the paper decided pen is the way to go (the editor also decided that i needed to use ALOT less white space so even the pages are shaded a little) i was just annoyed at how pathetic and predictable watching the news was
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

this is the first one that appeared in the paper (The Exponent, W. Lafayette IN), it was my least popular one at the time (but not for a lack of beautiful solar panel detail) one of my friends thought that the probe looking for possible origins for life on earth on mars was a shopping cart....
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

i might have projected a bit of myself into kerry by having his hands in his pockets, but i tell everyone it's because it makes it look like a casual stroll into the state, i was especially cracked up by the roadrunner reference
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

ahhh france.... i modeled the expression on the country's face after a girl i knew in grade school
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

i think this is the first one i drew, as you can see i made sure all my lines were straight and i made good use of contrast, this dedication to detail persisted in all the comics i have drawn since
(c) Mark Scherschel, II

the new improved and much posted blog

as everyone who reads this (me) knows, i havn't updated regularly, and we aren't surprised....
so, the new plan is to try to post a political cartoon every week, some sort of a political/philisophical commentary every other week, and whatever i come across when i come across it
the chances of this happening are slim, but it's a nice thought