About myself ... My name is David Ano. I am a graphic designer/illustrator working at a local alternative newspaper. I dream of being a comic artist or writer, however being a father of five children takes up most my time.

About this journal/blog ... When I started, I used this LJ to post illustrations and comics. I still do from time to time, but less frequency. I then started using this journal as a personal diary. My daughter was in the hospital, our house burned down, I lost my job. It was a very hectic time. The problem is there are some people who only read my lj because I was an artist. So when crisis died down, I tried to make less diary posts (or moved the more wordy ones to another journal). More illustrations came back. Then in 2008 the elections came and I started getting editorial. I started getting my political comments on all sorts of NPR call-in shows. As the elections ended and many of the people who I voted for went into office, I had less to complain about. In 2009, my wife gave birth to our fourth daughter and I was also unemployed for most the year. I stopped paying the internet bill and stopped posting as much. In 2010, I got an awesome new job that I like to post about it. I am making political posts again. And every once in a while i still post an illustration.

Common Tags

Diary/Journal Entries

Illustrations and Comics

News/Editoral

Reviews

Also check out my old website a http://webpages.charter.net/davidano/ that has my old comics, my design portfolio and other stuff.

This is an amazing video. More people should watch it.

What is up with all these Mac OS cats? Will they ever have an Mac OS 11,or will just keep on adding decimal points? "I am now using OS 10.23.72.8.12.6"??? I don't know a Jaguar from a Panther. They had Lion, but now it is Mountain Lion ... what is next, Sea Lion?



I am so curmudgeonly ... I am going over rants about them software companies and their updates!!!! "We have updated our software so you can't use your old computers anymore ... we have updated our computers so you can't use your old software anymore ..." I am sorry ... I just can't afford to update every damn month. None of these updates are actually necessary, nothing important has changed other than: now the windows are more "jell-like", now they are more "metallic". B'ah! get your damn updates off my lawn!!!



Also uninstall Java or else stray cats will enter your computer and eat your cheeseburgers!

I don't tend to make personal updates much anymore. I have another journal that I dump my psychological ramblings. Although, I should at least say something here. I am alive, but not quite well.

Been going to a lot of doctor appointments recently. My blood pressure is way too high, as well as my cholesterol. I am "mildly depressed". They are also testing me for sleep disorders, and possibly sleep apnea. Stress is causing a lot of my physical problems, but now that I have learned of this, I only feel more stressed.

Work has been stressful. I am not sure what else I should say about that in a public post.

Kids are back to school after winter break. Everybody was sick during their vacation. Clara was in the Emergency Room all Christmas Day because she was dehydrated from throwing up so much. Wren went to the Urgent Care with an ear2 infection and got antibiotics. Everybody is doing better now.

The landlord says he intends to sell the house we are renting from him in about 3 years. Sydney is calling up a debt solution non-profit to improve our credit. We are going to start a rent with option to buy that will put aside 20% down in three years. Then we will get a mortgage so we can buy the house ourselves.

I saw the final proofs to BAM Too!. So, it has taken four years from when we all talked about doing a sequel to the first BAM! The Big Ass Mini-comic. We have made a LOT of mistakes and had a lot of fights along the way. After one delay after another. It is finally done. Now it just needs to be sent to the printers. I got to say ... it looks like an AWESOME book! I am not sure how to feel about it. It has been like a dream this whole time. Holding BAM Too! in my hands will be like waking up and finding the feather on my bedside table.

So I guess that is it for now.

LANSING - The Republicans in the Michigan legislature have passed a bill today that would allow hospitals, nursing homes or any other health care center to deny services that run contrary to the religious teachings or conscious of its leaders. This so-called conscience objection bill would open the doors for healthcare providers, insurance companies and employers to disallow healthcare services to anyone they find objectionable, such as LGBT people and women seeking family planning services including birth control and abortions.

Sign the petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/michigan-state-legislature-stop-senate-bill-975-religious-liberty-and-conscience-protection-act-2

   
Sponsor: Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH9]   New Cosponsor: Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA14]

Most people do not know that was the Republican lead Congress that passed the "Gramm–Leach–Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999" that went on to cause the U.S. financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the Global financial crisis of 2008-2009. With the passage of this Act, it repealed Glass-Steagall act of 1932 .... this allowed commercial banks, investment banks, securities firms, and insurance companies were allowed to consolidate and went on to create sub-prime mortgage loans and new financial products such as the securitization of loan obligations of various sorts and credit default swaps that later became know as toxic assets. While we have done much to recover from the recession, we need to do more to make sure it does not happen again. That is why we need your support the H.R. 1489: Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2011 that is still referred to the house committee.

Go to http://www.change.org/petitions/pass-the-return-to-prudent-banking-act-and-restore-glass-steagall

Confused about all the proposals? Don't know how to vote in the non-partisan races?



Now you can vote with confidence with 4 easy steps.




STEP 1: go to michigan.gov/vote


enter in your information.


As well as getting your sample ballot for you to study, this site also shows where you go to vote.

STEP 2: Print your sample ballot



STEP 3: Refer Michigan Progressive Voter Guide
The Michigan Progressive Voter Guide has Endorsements from several Labor, Environmental, LGBT and Women's Groups to help make your choice. Endorsements cover, Presidential, National, State and Local races, down to your local school board.



or go online to mivoterguide.com



STEP 4: Check, highlight, circle or otherwise mark which candidates and proposals you choose. 



Then take your notes to the polling occasion! Volia!

Something that has been driving me crazy this election year ... I keep hearing about how Republicans call themselves “job creators” while at the same breath they tell us how they are going to cut spending. This is a huge contradiction that never gets addressed.

None of these Republicans are job creators. Do you know how to create a job? I do. You hire somebody and then you pay them.

The government does this either through direct jobs or through contract. Just think about all the people cities and states pay. Accountants, administrators, attorneys, bookkeepers, building inspectors, city managers, clerks, community health workers, fire fighters, forensics, human resources, jail guards, janitors, judges, landscaping, librarians, municipal airport operators, museums, park and forestry operations and maintenance, police officers, public transit drivers, road construction and repair, senior center workers, street light electricians, teachers and principals, trash pick-up, water department ... etc. This also does not mention funding for scientific and medical research and dare I say social services (but I will get back to that in a moment).

The problem is, Republicans “create jobs” by cutting taxes on corporations and millionaires while firing government workers or contractors.

Excuse me, but how does giving millionaires and billionaires tax cuts create jobs??? It is not like they do not already have the money to create jobs so before the tax cuts. These are money hoarders. You give a millionaire more money, it will just line his own pockets. If person had a million cats, we would call them crazy. If a person had a million ears of corn when there was a food shortage, we would be outraged. However when we have a financial crisis, the poor and the middle class are get the cuts and have to make the sacrifices while the millionaires are still getting richer.

The problem is, Republicans always talk about "wasting our tax dollars" ... As if the Mayor is using the city budget to buy expensive shoes or to order pizza every night. The wasteful spending as they call is already going to jobs. When you cut the school’s budget, teachers get laid off. Republicans like Paul Ryan want to cut, unemployment, welfare, and medicare programs. However, if the government gives money to human services, that money does NOT line the pocket of poor people. That money goes right back to the people and business. When benefits get sent to the poor, it goes straight back out to pay for bills, rent, food, medicine, diapers and other needs. Local business benefit from DHS cash assistance. That will simulate the economy more than any tax cut. If you cut social services the whole community will suffer.

When are people going to realize that Republicans are robbing from the poor and giving to the rich???

Three steps to boost investor confidence - Market Place Commentary

Is our financial system any safer than it was in 2008? The JPMorgan, multi-billion dollar "London Whale" trading debacle and the rigging of the LIBOR market by traders -- suggest not.

Big financial institutions are bigger than ever -- and every bit as reckless and dangerous as before. We need to rein in these "too big to fail" behemoths before they take down the economy again.

Step one is to put the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 out of its misery. The act is more than 2,300 pages -- and it's complicated, weak, compromised, riddled with loopholes.

Step two is to immediately replace the bill with the Glass-Steagall Act. It was written in 1933 and it's just 37 pages long. It separated banks that accepted deposits backed by the FDIC from investment banks. It blocked Wall Street traders from speculating in the capital market casino with government-insured money.

Glass-Steagall worked for some 60 years until it was repealed in 1999. It's simple, it's pro-competition and pro-capitalism. Best of all, if it was restored, it would slash the odds of another taxpayer-funded bail out.

Paul Volcker, the legendary former Fed chairman, is a fan. He wanted to bring Glass-Steagall back after the global financial crisis. The administration and Congress ignored him. But now the law is winning support from some unlikely quarters. Sandy Weill was a hyper-aggressive dealmaker who built Citigroup in a megabank. He pushed hard for the repeal of Glass-Steagall. But now, he supports its return.

So, step three is to put Volcker in charge of making the dream of a new Glass-Steagall act a reality. Three decades ago, Volcker broke the back of inflation -- refusing to bend in his mission, despite fierce opposition. Unleash the tough-minded Volcker on the banks. He's exactly what the American taxpayer needs.
---------
Chris Farrell is the Marketplace economics editor.

I have been arguing this point for years now ... the financial industry got us into this global crisis in the first place. It is about time we do something to prevent it happening again.

So ... this last couple of months have been CRAZY. I will try to keep it short, but a lot of stuff has been happening.

• Wren Alise Ano was born. The hospital misspells name and now she birth certificate and social security card says Wren Alisa Ano. Error will cost us $40 to fix.

• The day after Wren is born, I realize I really do need to install her infant car seat. I move Clara’s children’s car seat over to make room. In the process of installing both seats, I herniate my disc again. Eventually I end up in ER not being able to walk. Good news, those seats are in there very tight and are not going anywhere.

• Wren developed a bad reflux and also cannot digest proteins. This makes her completely miserable and sick and we have to go through a series of different formulas. After seeing an allergist, Wren is on Neocate, a non-milk, non-soy formula that we have to order through the pharmacy (very expensive). She is also on Zantac for her reflux.

• I got sent to a Physical Therapist that decided that she was not going to Physical Therapy as the doctor ordered, but acupuncture/pressure and chiropractic procedures. Instead of doing anything for my back, she rubs my temples, pokes my hand with her pen and jams her hands into my shoulder. Tells me I herniated my disc because I have bad posture and not to go to bed with cold feet. I leave the office worse than I did before I entered. I make a request for new Physical Therapist , but that request takes four weeks. In the meantime, I am trying to do all my stretches that I used to do back when I injured my disc the first time in 2005.

• During this time, we are suppose to be moving. Last day at old house was suppose to be March 31st, but we just finished today (April 10th). Despite doctors orders, I pack, lift, and clean. We also have to pay the old landlord by the day to buy extra time.

• Our new house is a two story, four bedroom house with basement and garage. It has drinkable water from the faucets (that says more about the old house), central air condition, a large kitchen with a gas stove and a electric dishwasher. It has three bathrooms (two more than our old house) and it is cheaper rent per month and it is closer to work.

• Reacting to the chaos of a new baby and moving, Clara has been reverting in her behavior. After getting through “the terrible two’s” without being a terrible ... NOW she is. Every night has become a fight with her.

• The crazy neighbor at our old house decided to start stealing our lawn chairs, bird feeder and other items. We recovered most, but he insists he has nothing to do with why our stuff appears in his yard. Then, in the middle of the night he started to yell at us, swearing at us, telling us to leave. Police say that there is not much they can do without aggravating the situation, the best thing is to just get the heck out of that place.

* One of our bird got out of the cage at the old house while we were at the new house. Crazy neighbor informs us that our front door was open and he closed it for us (not without taking a look at inside enough to chat up our neighbors on other side about how much our house was a mess (imagine a house full of boxes and plastic bags a mess). Bird was never found.

• One of our cats died. Months ago, George Bailey got sick and we took to the vet. The vet did not know what the problem was, but gave him antibiotics and he got better. Then recently he got sick again, so we put him on antibiotics and he gets better again. Then we find him dead in the middle of the floor.

• That same day our oldest cat, Buster, had a really bad asthma attack and almost dies. Buster makes it through the night, but has stroke-like symptoms and has trouble walking. By the end of the week he had made a full recovery.

• Our third cat, “Kitty” (we never named her, because if we did, we would have to keep her ... and that was three years ago) decides that she does not know what is going on with the other cats, but she is NOT going in that cat carrier to move her to the new house and scratches my arms to bits.

• Summer, Abigail, and Emily are all doing well at their new schools. The twins have separate teachers for the first time. Summer is learning her times tables and Japanese.

• Work is busy, going to get busier very soon.

Wow, that was a lot and I am sure I am forgetting something.

Wren Alisa Ano, at 5lbs 15 oz, was born at 11:19am, February 16th, 2012.

I am sitting home on my couch enjoying our winter break, reading one of the many books I was given for Christmas. I am reading one those big fancy collections of graphic fiction. I do not get past the introduction because it already has pissed me off. It says that "cartooning is a relatively young art form."

What the heck? Where did this concept come from. As if comics were invented by The Yellow Kid. The Yellow Kid was NOT the first comic, nor was it even the first printed comic ... heck, it was not even the first color comic.

Scott McCloud defines comics as "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer." Do you realize that includes the oldest recorded art form in Earth's known history ... cave paintings.

Why is this myth of comics or cartooning being a NEW art form being perpetuated???

(This is in regards to Michigan House Bill 4770. See more at http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=50639)

Dear Governor Synder,

Just imagine for a second, that instead "gay" this bill said "black". Would it be legal or even moral to have a law that said that "black" people could not get married? That "black" people are not allowed to share their health benefits with their partners? That "black" people are not allowed to visit or have any say if their partner was in the hospital? That it was okay for any landlord to discriminate "black" people from getting housing? That it was okay for any business to fire without cause, just because the employee was "black"? Would it justified if you saw a "black" person on the street and beat them to a bloody pulp and say that it was your protected religious speech? Or perhaps we should ban all "black" people from serving in the military?

The sad thing is, our country used to discriminate against black people. However, we have moved beyond such antiquated practices ... or have we? The Michigan legal system may have made it legal to discriminate against gays, but is that right? Gay rights are human rights! They do not want any other treatment that you or I get. Nobody in their right mind chooses to be gay. To be treated like a second case citizens. To have their rights taken away from them. To live in fear. There have been many studies saying that homosexuality is genetic at least can be related biologically one way or another. There is no definitive answer yet, so how can we say for certain that it is a choice one way or another? But to say it is legal to discriminate against gays ... why not women, or short people, or fat people, or redheads, or people with green eyes, or people in their forties, or perhaps just people with big noses?

Michigan House Bill 4770 is a bad bill because it is simply discrimination. That is why I ask you to veto the bill!

Sincerely,
David Ano
Whitmore Lake, MI 48189

P.S. to readers: If you agree with the above statement, go here to sign the petition: http://signon.org/sign/vote-against-public-employee?source=s.fwd&r_by=1488825

Turning 35 this month, I feel so old as the younger generation's technology has just blasted into the future. What upsets me when I hear the news that next year music companies are going to stop making CDs.

I mean I do not even have an iPod or iAnything. I want a CD! I am also old enough to remember when computers were unreliable and you always had to back everything up two or three times over. I have had enough of my old computers die on me having all my work lost on the hard drive. I do not want to lose all my music if I have a problem with my hard drive or misplace one of those tiny iPods (that I do not even have).

I like going to stores and buying music and going to one of the listening stations. I do not like downing music off the internet. I do not want my files "in the cloud". And am I the only one who misses vinyl records? I like the feeling of holding a vinyl record and putting it on the record player and putting the needle down and listening to music. I also miss that popping scratchy sounds you get from vinyl. Okay, I have upgraded to CDs for quality and all (and the fact that nobody makes records anymore) but still, it is an album I hold in my hand, place in the CD play and then listen to. It is something I own. Something I can touch. How can people own ones and zeros flouting in cyberspace? I put my music on my computer or "in the cloud" I do not own it anymore.

What next, are they going to stop printing books? I do not want to buy a Kindle or Nook, nor do I have the money for it either.

And get off my yard!

You know ... I would like to think of myself as a feminist. I hate how society objectifies women. I blame the media with TV, movies and especially advertising. I am not against using sex to sell things, as long as is a product that involves that. Using sex to sell underwear makes sense. This product will make you look and feel sexy. Mens cologne is stretching it a bit, but I can see where they are coming from. But beer and cars, I am sorry what is the product you are selling. Focus on the car, not the woman! Fabric softener??? Are you f-ing kidding me? Honestly, why do we have to try to make women so sexy. This halloween I noticed something. You search for men's costumes for a police officer, fireman, or referee and see what you find:

but look for those same costumes for women and you will only find sexy police officer, sexy fireman, or sexy referee

What do you see ... short skirts (or hot pants), and lots of cleavage. I am not against women wanting to look attractive or dress sexy if it makes them feel good. There is a time and place for it. But it is the point that women feel that they HAVE to dress that way to have worth. It should not have to be that way.

On Monday, I had only four signatures and was feeling kind of down. How was I going to get this ball rolling? It seems like it is starting to roll on it's own. I checked today and found I got 41 signatures. Good start for somebody who has never started a petition before. But there is still much more that needs to be done.

I hear there are bunch of "Occupy ___" and "Make Wall Street Pay" protests happening this weekend. If you are planning on attending one of these events, can you contact me please? I would love to get the word out at one of these events.
david dot ano at gmail dot com

oh ... if you have not signed yet, please do at
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-us-senate-repeal-the-gramm-leach-bliley-act

Are you unhappy about the economy? Were you better off financially 12 years then you are today? Are you tired of the Banks making profits while you suffer? Do you want to stop the the recession from dipping again? Before we can fix the economy, we need to know how it broke in the first place. Repeal the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act!


http://www.change.org/petitions/the-us-senate-repeal-the-gramm-leach-bliley-act

An open letter to Senator Levin, Senator Stabenow, and Representative Rogers,

The "Occupy" movements are all over the nation and the news. They are not going away. The people are speaking that we are unhappy with the way the government has run the economy. But the Occupy movements do not have a strong message. Because the general public does not understand why we are where we are today.

Most people do not know that was the Republican lead Congress that passed the "Gramm–Leach–Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999" that went on to cause the U.S. financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the Global financial crisis of 2008-2009. With the passage of this Act, commercial banks, investment banks, securities firms, and insurance companies were allowed to consolidate and went on to create sub-prime mortgage loans and new financial products such as the securitization of loan obligations of various sorts and credit default swaps that later became know as toxic assets.

The point here is, Wall Street is proven it is not going to regulate itself. They are not going to make any positive change without the government enforcing sound financial policies. Before we ask how we can improve our economy, we have to ask what cause the problem in the first place. That is why I am asking you to repeal the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Sincerely,
David Ano


Okay ... I sent this to my Congressmen. Now it is your turn!

Sign the petition at:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-us-senate-repeal-the-gramm-leach-bliley-act

Find your US House Representative:
http://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP=

Find your US Sentor:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

CHESTER 5000 is currently on sale at Top Shelf.
$14.95 $11.25 (US)

I pre-ordered this book a long time ago. With rave reviews from Alan Moore, Rich Stevens, Lucy Knisley, The AV Club, The Comics Journal, Comics Worth Reading and others ... I wonder what I can say that has not been said before. This was a book enjoyed by both myself and my wife. It ground breaking book that shows that erotic comics can been well written and beautifully illustrated. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Long-term unemployment for Michigan hits record high
The state’s unemployed are staying unemployed for longer, despite a dropping unemployment rate, a state agency announced Wednesday. READ MORE

Michigan Legislature approves cap on welfare
The state Legislature on Wednesday passed a 48-month lifetime limit on welfare benefits expected to cast more than 11,000 families off the welfare rolls on Oct. 1 — including more than 29,700 children, according to state officials.READ MORE

The people who go to DHS are not these "lazy welfare mommas" as the Republican try to sell you. These people used to work, but have been laid off and there are just NO jobs out there. The solution is not finding lower paying jobs, because we already did that years ago and those jobs are gone now too. Even McDonald's is not hiring, nor would they because you are "over-qualified". Nobody wants to hire somebody and then lose them when the economy gets better.

Life on welfare is miserable and you would do anything to get off it if you could manage to feed your own family. Cash assistance barely pays for anything. You cannot pay rent on DHS cash assistance ... it just helps with some basic human needs.

I want to make another point. We are not "wasting our tax dollars" by giving it to unemployment and welfare programs. It is not like this money is being put into the savings account of the poor. This money goes right back to the people and business. When benefits get sent to the poor, it goes straight back out to pay for bills, food, medicine, diapers and other needs. Local business benefit from DHS cash assistance.

Instead you have a Governor that is cutting on schools, local governments and the poor and giving it back to big corporations. He has repealed consumer protection laws. He has set up emergency financial manager law that makes it legal to arbitrarily break union contacts and fire elected officials.

If you cut taxes on big corporations, what will they do with that money? Will the invest it to help grow our economy? Will they spend it on bills and food for the living breathing people of our community? No ... it is going into the pockets and savings accounts of their CEOs and stock holders.

Sooner or later the voters are going to realize that the Republicans who were voted into office on the promises of creating jobs not only have not created any jobs, but have made the economy even worse in Michigan.