I had a busy week with The Economist. I completed the cover for the New Year edition as well as adding an editorial cartoon (see below) and an illustration about Ron Paul. Now it’s time to catch up on my sleep!

I was asked to create the cover for The Economist this week. It was a fun topic to illustrate (taxing the rich). I also had fun creating an autumnal scene… makes me want to paint more landscapes! Also this week… I drew the cartoon (below) on the current crisis in Israeli/Palestinian relations. The next day I flew to Taipei, Taiwan to address the World Congress of the International Press Institute. More on that event to come!

Here’s some recent cartoons from The Economist. The cartoon below I drew while on holiday in Ireland.

Whenever I travel in the world, I carry a portable scanner so that I can never miss a chance to file my cartoons and covers for The Economist. I have drawn and sent my cartoons from such far flung nations as China, Russia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, New Zealand, Italy and France.

Sorry to be so lacklustre at posting this summer… been bogged down with the new 2012 Economist wall calendar ( which looks awesome!).

Here are some recent favorites from The Economist.

I have been watching politics closely for over 30 years now. I find the bitter partisanship and polarization currently on display in the US depressing. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for the country, it a source of great cartoon material….

Greece is currently mired in deep fiscal problems… with serious economic repercussions for other countries around the world.

As a cartoonist commenting on these events, there is a great temptation to use images of ancient Greece as vehicles for your messages.

Here’s two cartoons from The Economist employing such visuals. The first one  is from this week’s edition (above) and the other (below) from earlier in the crisis when Greek officials seemed to be cooking the economic books.

I think there is no doubt that I will not be alone in the community of cartoonists to tap into the rich library of Greek images to help me in future cartoons.

Over my 33 year career I have drawn many nasty oppressive rulers.

Rarely, however, have I had the dubious distinction of drawing two generations of sadistic murderers in one picture. For this week’s edition of The Economist I chose to cover the sad events unfolding in Syria. I have drawn the nation’s past ruler, Hafez Assad many times over the years (see sample below). He was the demon responsible for the quashing of a citizen revolt in 1982 where he killed an estimated 10-30,000 of his own countrymen. Unfortunately, it appears, his sons plan to follow in in boot-steps.

I was sad to learn today of the passing of the great Maryland politician William Donald Schaefer. Schaefer or “Willie Don” as we would know him was a flamboyant, dynamic, zany and utterly unique politician who gave 50 years of his life to public service for the people of Maryland.

I had a strange and wonderful relationship with the Governor. As editorial cartoonist for the Baltimore Sun for 17 years, the Governor’s abundant antics supplied me with ample (read: mountains) of material to draw upon.

He was a great showman and ham who was fond of dressing up in silly outfits and wandering off script. His wacky persona was complimented by rubbery face which had more expressions than Baskin Robbins had flavors.

He also had an incredibly thin skin and didn’t take lightly to criticism… particularly unflattering cartoons.

Thus, I was a feature of many of his public tirades and recipient of poison pen letters inked by the great man himself. We had quite a relationship.

Recently, at a Stoop Storytelling series in Baltimore I had the pleasure of sharing some of his funnier antics I encountered. You can listen to the presentation here.

After his retirement from public service in his Eighties, he and I made amends.

I had been asked to partake in an hour long documentary  by MPT about his career in politics. At a private screening of the film he and I had a chance to visit. I thanked him for his dedication and service to the people of Maryland. He thanked me for finally picking on someone else for a change.

Classic Schaefer.

Despite the decades of cartoon criticism, I am a big fan of Willie Don Schaefer. He was an important and accomplished politician who made Baltimore and Maryland a better place to live for millions of citizens.

As a cartoonist I felt lucky to have such a gift as Governor … And as a citizen I felt incredibly lucky to have a Governor so dedicated as William Donald Schaefer.

The Governor and I had a brief detente in 2000 when he wrote the introduction to my collection of cartoons “Kal Draws the Line” (above)

This is my cartoons I contributed to The Economist this week. You can tell I had some fun with the football cartoon!

Last March I had the opportunity to visit Beirut. There I was able to see up close the impressive redevelopment of Lebanon since the war that devastated the country in the 1980’s. I was also keenly aware of the tensions that currently lie just beneath the surface of this beautiful yet potentially explosive land.

My visit helped inform this cartoon that I drew for this week’s edition of The Economist. There is no question that visiting the Middle East has made me feel more connected to the stories playing out in the region.