Today's cartoon doesn't fit on my website but here's how it looks like on the front page of today's Hamilton Spectator. They say there's no chance of the Predators coming to Hamilton. I still feel there's a little dance at play between team owners right now and this city could very well end up seeing the team move here. Hamilton still could get an NHL team and hell will freeze over. One thing is accurate about this cartoon, NHL head Gary Bettman will do what ever he can to keep hockey from expanding in Canada.

Here's a wider version of the cartoon:

Over 200 people attended the event on Saturday June 23rd to honour the life of Shiragha Rahimi, celebrate his cartoons, and raise funds for the post-secondary education of the seven children he left behind when he was killed in a car accident in January. Early estimates suggest the event raised over $10,000.

Several Canadian Editorial Cartoonists presented their work to the crowds, several others attended just to show their support.

Clockwise from the top left, 2 photos of Brian Gable of the Globe & Mail; 3 of Terry (aka Aislin) Mosher of the Montreal Gazette (the centre photo with Hamide Rahimi, Shiragha's daughter); Iranian cartoonist Nik Kowsar - also the great photographer who took these pictures; Roy Carless, dean of Canadian Editorial Cartooning; Patrick Corrigan from the Toronto Star; a beaming me, Graeme MacKay; and Sue Dewar from the Ottawa Sun.

Here's me doing my slideshow presentation, a selection of cartoons where I complain about things and complain about other people who are complaining. They say television adds 50lbs to you. In this widescreen version the size of me is pretty accurate. Here's a Hamilton Spectator video of the Rahimi Event

Donations are welcome at any TD Canada Trust, and listed for Branch 346, Account 6312464.

Irate Roman Catholics sound off here:

Steve Dunn writes:

You forgot one item in your intended insult to our Pope and Roman Catholics in your June 21 'cartoon in the Spec. An arrow Sign pointing to 'Heaven' in the direction the Pope was driving would be the right message.

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Here's one I happened to come across which was printed in the News-Advertiser in Durham Region Ontario under the headline "No reason to mock driving commandments":

To the editor:

I started reading the Friday, June 22 issue of the News Advertiser, and after the front page, I went, as usual, to the editorial page. I was surprised to see the cartoon entitled, 'THE VATICAN ISSUES SAFE DRIVING COMMANDMENTS- WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS'.

This cartoon equates sexual abuse cases to moral value beliefs of the Catholic Church -- contraception and same sex marriage -- and throws in the issue of women priests.

How can you make this comparison and attack the beliefs of so many of your readers? Why compare the horrors of sexual abuse to a stance against contraception and same sex marriage and the tradition of not allowing women priests?

I am extremely offended by the cartoon and feel that your paper is promoting anti-Catholicism, if not hatred of Catholics and what they believe and hatred of the Catholic Church.

Have you read the Safe Driving Commandments? Which ones are you against? In brief, are you against: 1, do not kill; 2, do no harm; 3, be courteous; 4, be charitable; 5, do not dominate others with a car; 6, drive only when fit; 7, support victims' families; 8, promote forgiveness; 9, protect the vulnerable; or 10, feel responsible for others? Which of these deserve your paper's ridicule and derision?

Maybe you should publish these commandments in detail like other papers have done and support them instead of ridiculing them.

Larry Noonan
Pickering

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Dear Editor,

The Spectator’s penchant for anti-Catholic cartoons (July 12), articles (July 11) and letters (July 14) exposes just how ignorant and irresponsible the media has become.

Contrary to letter writer Joseph Leo it is not "arrogance" but "love" that allows the Pope and Catholics to assert their faith as the one true religion. The Catholic Church is the only church today that can be traced directly back to Christ, The Messianic King, whose coming was foretold in Jewish Scripture. All other Christian denominations are thus "defective" in the sense (and to the degree) that they have arbitrarily chosen to sever themselves from Catholic belief. This radical decentralization of truth which has expressed itself over the years in various forms and Christian denominations such as Protestantism and Anglicanism means not a turning toward Christ but a turning toward oneself, that is, the people. The biblical concept "people of God" thus becomes "we are the people", a movement that no longer groups itself around the traditional laws but simply go off on their own. This is how the Soviet Union began, i.e. with a "people’s democracy" that was simply a lie. While other Christian bodies can play a role in bringing people to salvation, it is in the Catholic Church that the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth.

Though there are rays of truth in other religions, the "fullness" of truth resides in the Catholic Church. Hence, it is an act of charity for Catholics to pray for others so that they too may come to a full realization of the truth. To think otherwise would be to embrace the hypocritical doctrine of moral relativism that says all religions are equal even though they all contradict one another. This is the prevalent mentality of modern man. It is the nihilistic rationale behind our culture of death which champions anti-life causes that include homosexuality, embryonic stem cell research, abortion, contraceptives and divorce. Ironically such people who keep their lives for themselves, end up losing it out of fear of giving it away. The Catholic Church in contrast reaches out to all - it breathes the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Sincerely,
Paul Kokoski

Green Party leader Elizabeth May sat down with us at the Spectator today. Her meeting with us was brief, so my sketch of her was quick:

Up 'til now I've only drawn her a few times: here, here, and here.

It's been a while since I've done one of these cartoon process thingys. This one was inspired by the work of the great James Gillray. I created one similar to the 18th century style when I drew on the ongoing negotiations over the Caledonia standoff.