Infest the Waters: A Blog About Design, Life and Making Stuff

Earlier this month, I lost my shit over Mitt Romney’s binders full of women comment.  I literally couldn’t stop laughing about it.  For days.  I lived off of the tumblr for several days, and I liked the Binders Full of Women Facebook page.  Because, you know, that comment was hilarious.  And it so completely encapsulated how out of touch with women Romney is.

So I had fully intended to make binders full of women the subject of this month’s illustration.  But then a couple of weeks passed, and for as funny as the concept of binders full of women still is, it’s become a little overplayed, and then something else happened–Hurricane Sandy.  I was really fortunate here in Philadelphia, as my power didn’t go out, my basement stayed dry, my neighborhood didn’t flood, and there’s no wind damage on my street (although the trees are looking a little more bare).  But I have a bunch of friends in New Jersey and New York, and my heart goes out to them, as I know Sandy was far less kind to them.

Which brings me to this month’s illustration.

In my mind, there are many reasons to vote for President Obama and against Mitt Romney, including Romney’s support of a congressman who refer to rape as “God’s will,” his fuzzy tax math, his utter disdain for 47% of the American people, his foreign relations incompetence, and his disrespect for the civil rights of all Americans.  But after the events of the past two and a half days, how anyone can vote for a man who wants to dismantle the Federal Emergency Managment Agency (FEMA) and send its responsibilities to the increasingly bankrupt states baffles me.  Especially when, in the past several years, as extreme weather has increased, it’s become obvious how important FEMA is.  Futhermore, it makes me think those people who plan to vote for Romney are either completely lacking compassion for their fellow humans or are just outright assholes.

So here we go–this month’s illustration.  Because it’s clear now how much good old Mittens loves FEMA, I thought I’d pay homage to one of the other targets of his planned draconian budget cuts while giving a nod to the events of the past couple of days (since we all know Sesame Street was set somewhere in NYC).

So to all my NY and NJ friends, I’m sending you lots of good energy over the next few weeks and months as the clean-up and rebuilding begins.  And to the rest of the country, please, realize what’s at stake this election.  Don’t prove yourselves to be a bunch of assholes next Tuesday.