Free Republic

Google "Great American Political Cartoonists" and you will undoubtedly find the late Herbert Block (aka "Herblock") of The Washington Post, (Paul) Conrad of the Los Angeles Times, Michael Ramirez of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and several other cartoonists whose work, if not their names, are familiar to newspaper readers. One name that will take more than a cursory search to find is Wayne Stayskal, for many years a cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune, later the Tampa Tribune and syndicated worldwide. Wayne passed away Tuesday morning. He was 87. The most likely reason his name is not among the "famous" is...

When the sh*t hit the fan over the New York Post cartoon that some insist is depicting President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee, The Wall Street Journal – among many other MSM outlets – helpfully informed readers that “[m]onkeys have been used historically in pejorative portrayals of black people.” Someone should have informed the MSM that blacks are not alone in having been given the monkey business. In the late 19th century British and American cartoonists routinely depicted the Irish as monkeys or apes – as did historians and scientists ... Given this country’s virulent and shameful history of anti-Irish...

Since we have been on a Thomas Nast tear lately, it is only right and fitting that we should return to him at Christmas, as he is more or less the inventor of our Santa Claus.Surprisingly, Nast's very first depiction of Santa Claus was a piece of political propaganda, done at the request of President Lincoln himself. Lincoln thought a drawing showing Santa Claus in the Union camp would boost the North's morale and demoralize the South. It is reported to have accomplished both of these goals.Shocking, isn't it? Our one party media's delicate sensibilities would not stand for such...

FINDING the perfect gift has long been a national pastime. But the celebration of Christmas, and the culture of gift giving that accompanies the holiday, have changed significantly in America over the years. Economic and social pressures have transformed how, and with whom, we celebrate Christmas, altering it from a holiday that was at times illegal, or limited to adult parties, or a gift-giving child-centered extravaganza like today's. There are several popular misconceptions about the origins of the American version of the holiday. To start, Christmas was actually suppressed in New England's colonial days. The Puritans found no affirmative command...