A reader writes:

The Gary McCoy thing cracks me up. If you search “Gary McCoy cartoons” on google now, your post about him is like #5, which is clear evidence of his popularity.

You’re welcome, Gary.

I’d hate for this to get lost in the comments of a four month old post, but cartoonist Gary McCoy commented last night on a rejected cartoon I did about his work, and I thought it was worth sharing with all of you.

First, from the Top Rejects of September 2011:

9. This sketch is a response to this trash from one of the worst cartoonists in the country.

And here’s Gary’s response (with my comments):

Hey Nealy,

He spells almost as well as he cartoons.

I didn’t know I was one of the worst cartoonists in the country.

No one likes to be the one who delivers bad news.

Sorry, I’ll return my Reuben division awards to the National Cartoonists Society ASAP.

At first I thought “Ooh yes, good idea,” but then I realized he might be attempting sarcasm. That’s the problem with Gary McCoy — it’s hard to tell when he’s making a joke.

Your stuff is clearly superior. Tell me, in what local grocery stores can I find fliers containing more of your dandy work?

I guess he makes a good point; unlike my work, you can apparently find Gary McCoy cartoons in grocery stores (I’m going to take his word for it. I don’t think I’ve ever been leaving the house like “Well, I’m off to the grocery store — just need to pick up some editorial cartoons!”). Other things you can find in grocery stores: toilet paper; kitty litter; suppositories. Other things commonly referenced in the same sentence as fecal matter. Other things funnier and more societally valuable than Gary McCoy cartoons.

Long time fan,
gary mccoy

I think he’s trying the jokes again.

Here’s the deal. It’s unfortunate that Gary’s feelings were hurt to the point where he had to come here and try to prove a point by rubbing his resume in my face. But the guy made money off creating a cartoon that mocked the severity of a hurricane that killed more than 50 people, left many more homeless, and caused nearly $8 billion in damage.

I don’t care about your hurt feelings, Gary.

I used to do a radio show on 90.3 KRNU called “You are So Beautiful, Beautiful Robot.” It has nothing to do with editorial cartoons, but a friend of mine uploaded the two hours of the show for me, so I now have them available online if you’d care to download them and get festive.

These are from December 22, 2005. I’m not really sure if Christmas music has come a long way since then or not. If memory serves, this show includes about five different versions of “Last Christmas.”

Hour 1

Hour 2

Enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who came out last night for the opening of Put That In Your Pipeline and Smoke It. The turnout was great and I got to meet a lot of new people and see some old faces. If you weren’t able to make it, or if you did make it and you want to come back, the cartoons will be up throughout November. And if you do go, please be sure to thank The Sydney for hosting!

Some specific highlights:

I wonder how many “dotted pathway to Heaven” cartoons we’ll see on the syndicates tomorrow.

UPDATE: The answer is at least two.

I’m having an art show this Thursday at The Sydney at 60th & Maple in Omaha. It’s all editorial cartoons about the KeystoneXL pipeline — some Lincoln Journal Star cartoons, some BoldNebraska cartoons, and some rejects brought to life!

The event is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. this Thursday, November 10th. The Sydney is a bar, but they’re allowing people of all ages to attend from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Now that the Journal Star has freed me from their ethical restrictions, I’m sharing half the proceeds with Save Our Sandhills, a coalition of various groups that have united to protect Nebraska’s natural resources from the pipeline.

So come on down! And if you could be so kind as to RSVP on the Facebook event page I’d appreciate it, as I need to know how much snacks I should prepare.

In the Lincoln Journal Star, reporter Algis Laukaitis quoted Governor Dave Heineman summarizing a closed-door meeting of midwest governors:

OMAHA — Fearing a repeat of the flood devastation that occurred this year along the Missouri River, governors from five states asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday to take a pre-emptive and unprecedented step and lower the level of Garrison Dam in North Dakota this fall.

[…]

“The No. 1 priority we are all concerned about is flood control,” said Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, who hosted a meeting of governors at the Gallup Campus in Omaha on Monday.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer didn’t attend, instead phoning in by conference call. Heineman clearly didn’t realize that Schweitzer had allowed reporters to sit in on his end of the conversation, because it turns out Heineman is lying about what happened.

From the Associated Press:

Schweitzer, who allowed reporters in his office for what was expected to be a private meeting, phoned into the Omaha conference in which governors from Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota took part. […] The host, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, clashed several times with Schweitzer during the meeting.

Afterward, Heineman told reporters in Omaha who were not allowed into the meeting that “the No. 1 thing we all agree to is flood control.”

There was no unanimity on that topic during the meeting, however, after Schweitzer strongly challenged the notion of it as a priority.

One can only speculate as to why — the appearance that he accomplished something in the meeting he called, maybe? — but Heineman just flat-out lied about what happened in his failed attempt at a closed-door meeting. Via his staff, he had no comment on the discrepancy.

The arguments between Schweitzer and Heineman seemed to be pretty weird. As reported in North Dakota’s Plains Daily:

…a disagreement between Schweitzer and Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman erupted over the sharing of information and Schweitzer’s attendance at the meetings. Schweitzer, who has a background in soil science, indicated that he was the most qualified of the governors to comment on flooding issues and wanted to make a Power Point presentation to the meeting. Schweitzer alleged that the other governors weren’t “getting good information” and “weren’t basing their information on the latest data.”

Because of this Schweitzer said he “didn’t see much sense to the meeting.”

“If you show up you could bring that damn data with you and share it with us,” said Heineman who later added the meeting site did not have the capability for Power Point presentations.

“Don’t you have electricity?” Schweitzer asked.

That’s our governor!

Continuing along with yesterday and the day before, except this batch isn’t really all that late!

9. This sketch is a response to this trash from one of the worst cartoonists in the country.

8.

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