I was a guest on this week’s WHYY First to talk about my thoughts on the 10-year anniversary since 9/11, and the cartoon I drew for Newsworks.org:

Check out my column here.

Watch the full episode. See more First.

Last week, New Jersey Democrats were unable to override 39 items cut out of the state’s budget though Governor Chris Christie’s line-item veto. The governor vetoed some bills outright, including one that would have imposed a “millionaire’s tax.”

Other items vetoed out of the budget included funding for legal programs for the poor at Rutgers and Seton Hall, $1.5 million for staff at the state commission for the blind, $6 million to help low-income families afford day care in the morning and after school and during the summer and $7 million to help those near but not under the federal poverty level afford expensive AIDS medications.

He also used his line-item veto to block funding in the state budget for clinics like Planned Parenthood that provide family-planning services.

Here’s what the Courier-Post had to say:

In using the line-item veto to cross out dozens of specific appropriations — a few large, but mostly small — primarily for services that help the poor, the sick, those with disabilities and others in need, Christie may have balanced the budget on his terms, but he also hurt people. He has to know that.

Personally, I think this will all blow-up in the governor’s face, and New Jersey remains a fairly progressive state, especially on social issues. But for a man who is interested in the national spotlight, these cuts are the perfect launching pad.

John Cole, of the Scranton Times-Tribune, decided to focus on the media’s obsession with the case, juxtaposed with what might be considered more important news…

Caricaturist Taylor Jones wanted to show us what he sees as the two sides of Casey Anthony…

While Green Bay Press-Gazette cartoonist Joe Heller explored what O.J. might think of the verdict…

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie proposed a series of changes last week that would revamp tenure for teachers and significantly alter how they are paid. The devils are in the details to be sure, but I think instead of uniform opposition by Democrats and the NJEA, both sides should work together to figure out how to get and retain the best teachers for our kids.

I agree with the Asbury Park Press, which wrote in an editorial that Christie’s tenure criteria need uniformity, and that his current proposal seems to be a recipe for chaos:

Under Christie’s new proposal, hundreds of highly political local school boards would determine standards for teachers. How is that going to work and how it can it possibly be fair? It won’t and it can’t be.

Christie can be abrasive (again last week he called NJEA lobbyists “bullies and thugs”) but that doesn’t mean the idea of revamping teacher tenure isn’t worth considering.

Today, Legislative Hall in Dover is packed as the State Senate prepares to vote on a bill that would offer legal recognition same-sex couples in Delaware.

Obviously, I think civil unions are a step up from the status-quo of outright discrimination against gay couples, but I would prefer they be allowed to get married just like everyone else. Here’s my cartoon from The News Journal a couple of weeks back (quick plug: don’t miss this Sunday’s cartoon on Delaware possibly legalizing medical marijuana):

Here are some previous cartoons I’ve drawn on the subject of gay marriage. Honestly, I don’t understand why it’s such a controversial subject, especially for those conservatives who rail against the government’s involvement in our lives.

And lest you think I’m some sort-of partisan o the subject, I think President Obama has done as much to help the cause of gay marriage as George W. Bush:

Do we put too much pressure on our kids? Here’s a funny take.

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From the immensely-funny Jim Benton:

The Asbury Park Press reports that cash-strapped municipalities have doubled — in some cases tripled — the number of traffic and parking tickets issued in a bla­tant grab for money.

Nearly half of the new tickets were issued in towns that in­stalled automated red-light cameras, which we all know are tinkered with to shorten the time between the yellow and red lights.

The good news is when politicians campaign in the upcoming election, they won’t count these sort-of increased fees as “tax increases,” even though it’s still money coming right out of our wallet.

New Jersey police and firefighters protested at the Statehouse on Saturday to show support to their Wisconsin brothers, and to send a message to Gov. Chris Christie that they aren’t the enemy.

While that may be true, New Jersey is not Wisconsin, and too often we read about public safety workers retiring with a $200,000+ sick time payout and a pension bloated by years of overtime abuse.

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