"In the five years since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center — when hijackers flew two planes into the twin towers, killing more than 2,700 people — New York has made a stirring recovery. Lower Manhattan shows signs of economic renewal and is once again a trendy place to dine; real estate values citywide have soared; the stock market has strengthened; new construction is booming; the overall crime rate is down; ticket sales on Broadway have hit an all-time high; and tourists are flooding the city in record numbers." The Los Angeles Times

Quite optimistic sounding, but the article actually pertains to how anxiety ridden New Yorkers are 5 years after the attack. The excerpt above stuck out when I read it since it goes against the daily mantra that things will never return to the nice and carefree days before September 11, 2001, and that in order to exist in this day and age we have to live in fear while always looking behind our backs.

Has 9/11 really changed the world as much as we've been led to believe? Are we cowering in our basements waiting for the next terrorist attack to occur? Have our liberties been curtailed that much by paraniod governments? Have our economies crumbled in the aftermath of September 11th? I suppose if we're connected to anyone who was killed in the 9/11 attacks life did change for some. Those of the Islamic faith must feel the impact and inconvenience everytime they pass through airport security. While there were economic consequences which put airlines out of business and put a dent in travel immediately after 9/11 our day to day activities really didn't change at all.

We still eat out at restaurants, fill our gas tanks with ridiculously priced fuel and we still do all the normal daily things we did 5 years and a day ago. The attack on America was a huge event and its memories will always remain with us for years to come. Are we feeling as fearful as critics are suggesting we are as something orchestrated by the Bush administration? I don't think so.

There's an excerpt of Michael Moore's movie Bowling for Columbine (and you know how much I love Michael Moore) which I think is very nice observation. Its examination of America's culture of fear as a root cause of gun violence also extends to the higher levels of office. America's need to have something to be scared of has essentially been the bedrock of its strength since its earliest colonial days. Michael Moore gives an entertaining chronicle of things which have scared the bejezus out of Americans for the past 230 years.

I don't think it's just an American thing. Most countries need to fear something in order to keep itself together. Canada has feared the U.S. in the past and continues to do so today. Not too long ago, we were shaking alongside the U.S. and the so called "free world" waiting for the day we'd all be annihilated by Soviet nuclear weapons in the 1980's. My 9/11 occured in the 5th grade when my music teacher decided to reveal the existence of nuclear weapons pointed at every city in North America. It was the early 1980's, and that revelation alone freaked me out for years.

No doubt a lot of fifth graders became freaked out 5 years ago today. But like my own introduction to fear of nukes everyone from every generation enters the culture of fear sometime in their lives. 9/11, as horrible and surreal as the film footage and images freaks us all out is just another moment of collosal human tragedy and fear which is repeated over and over and over through the centuries. Something is bound to push the events of 9/11 from our collective memory. Maybe that's what's so worrisome. 

Ontario's Premier, Dalton McGuinty, goes to work everyday wearing a uniform. Dark pants, a white shirt (usually), and a red tie...(always Liberal red and always loosened). Sleeves always rolled up. It proclaims to the people, "hey, I'm in charge, but I'm going to be comfortable while I work very hard at this job." It may also declare, "hey, yeah, I'm Premier, you don't have to be scared of me, I'm not Mike Harris afterall."

Accordingly, I depict him with his Premier's costume in editorial cartoons. The transformation is chronicled in my Dalton McGuinty Gallery.

The forefather of Ontario's jacketless, loosened red tie, rolled-up-sleeves appearance was the last Liberal Party Premier of the province (1985-1990), David Peterson, shown here in this official Queen's Park portrait:

Here is the former Premier of Ontario in a recent photograph:

Letter:

Re: Editorial cartoon (Sept. 7)

I was disgusted with the depiction by your editorial cartoonist of Joanna Chapman. To reduce this woman's valiant efforts at demanding honesty and fairness in the public arena to a monkey on the mayor's back is ludicrous and a travesty of justice.

Graeme Mackay should visit Chapman's book shop in Dundas to discover how far off the mark is his caricature of a beautiful and elegant lady, whose innate shyness and modesty belie the strength of purpose within.

If Chapman was an axe murderer, perhaps one could excuse the lack of artistic talent displayed by the perpetrator of her portrait. But do we really want our culture heroes, especially those who show more sheer guts and integrity and purposeful action than the rest of the 99.999 per cent of us, to be so brutally misrepresented? Shame.

— Robert Nielsen, Stoney Creek

* * * * * Update November 27, 2006 * * * * *

More commentary on Joanna Chapman vs. Larry DiIanni including a letter from Ms. Chapman herself.

R.I.P.

Steve Irwin -- The Crocodile Hunter

Everyone knew who he was, and everyone is as equally shocked to know that the Crocodile Hunter is now dead after becoming the victim of a stingray's zap to his heart during a filming session over the weekend. And yeah, the photo above is from that time when Steve Irwin decided to introduce his baby son to a crocodile.

Having seen the grief expressed by the Australian Prime Minister and the rumors that a state funeral is being planned I was curious to see how the editorial cartoonists down-under are covering this event. Here's what I found:

Peter Nicholson - The Australian

Jon Kudelka

Paul Zanetti

Paul Zanetti

Sean Leahy -- Courier Mail (Brisbane)

...and finally a pearly gates cartoon which isn't drawn by an American:

...expect to see lots more crocodile tear cartoons here.

I was in the awkward situation of commenting on Steve Irwin's death or marking the passing of Mark Graham, a Canadian soldier who was killed while serving in Afghanistan, and who happens to be Hamilton's first casualty of the war. I chose to draw on the latter.

Saturday's appearance of the above editorial cartoon coincided on a particularly brutal weekend which saw the deaths of 5 Canadian soldiers fighting alongside NATO troops in Afghanistan. Predictably, calls are again being made to get our troops out of the war and bring them back home. The loudest voice comes from Jack Layton who has seized the political opportunity to play the peace dove in this debate. You'd think following the overwhelming condemnation of his position in weekend editorials, columns, military circles, and even within his own caucus, Layton would refine his opposition and (while the word is still flying around) 'nuance' his words a little more keeping in mind Canada's international obligations and long term strategy for defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan. The debate about Canada's role in Afghanistan was settled months ago when Parliament voted to extend our mission there. And do we really need to be reminded on a daily basis why we're in Afghanistan in the first place? Does Layton seriously see Canada sitting down and discussing a peace settlement with the Taliban over a cup of tea? Maybe...as I suggested back in April:

Today's cartoon was the amalgamation of two previous cartoons. One is of the former Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, portrayed as a SeaKing helicopter, and another of Jack Layton who mixed politics and the deaths of homeless people during the 2004 federal election by blaming Paul Martin. Layton seems to have a good track record of twisting any sort of tragedy or misfortune just to make he and his party look good.