Obama joker poster artist unmasked: A Kucinich supporter!

**********

When cryptic posters portraying President Obama as the Joker from "Batman" began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities, the question many asked was, Who is behind the image?

Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group or a disgruntled street artist going against the grain?

Nope, it turns out, just a 20-year-old college student from Chicago.

Bored during his winter school break, Firas Alkhateeb, a senior history major at the University of Illinois, crafted the picture of Obama with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe's Photoshop software.

Alkhateeb had been tinkering with the program to improve the looks of photos he had taken on his clunky Kodak camera. The Joker project was his grandest undertaking yet. Using a tutorial he'd found online about how to "Jokerize" portraits, he downloaded the October 23 Time Magazine cover of Obama and began digitally painting over it.

Four or five hours later, he happily had his product.

Obama-joker-time On Jan. 18, Alkhateeb uploaded the image to photo-sharing site Flickr (shown at right). Over the next two months, he amassed just a couple thousand hits, he said.

<snip>

"After Obama was elected, you had all of these people who basically saw him as the second coming of Christ," Alkhateeb said. "From my perspective, there wasn't much substance to him."

"I abstained from voting in November," he wrote in an e-mail. "Living in Illinois, my vote means close to nothing as there was no chance Obama would not win the state." If he had to choose a politician to support, Alkhateeb said, it would be Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

<snip>

**********

More at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/08/obama-joker-artist.html

Why am I not surprised when the people who find an excuse to not vote are the ones complaining the most loudly?

I'd think the folks behind the Batman franchise might like to chat with this thief.

No claim.

Now that they have a name, they have someone to go after. If you think they won't, look at what's happened to people who have been caught by the recording industry sharing songs via peer-to-peer programs. Those individuals have gotten hit with huge verdicts -- in the six figure range -- for sending only three or four songs.

If that's the case then why does Keith Olbmermann have a daily forum on MSNBC?

I doubt this person did that to be "objective".

I have a bridge to sell you.


Here's a test...Have someone who never watches Olbermann tune into just the intro to his program and then ask your friend which way Olbermann leans politically.

I think your friend will nail it on the first guess.

Running a 60 minute left-leaning echo chamber of a show where every guest agrees with your POV is not "objective."

it just the way it is. It hasn't become just another scream fest like so many of the other so-called non-partison shows. If I wanted the rights viewpoint, I would go to faux.

If they can't bring themselves to vote (assuming eligibility and easy access), even if it's a write-in candidate, they can't really complain.

First he has to be expelled. He is inciting violence.

...who realizes that Kucinich is the answer -- regardless of the question.

there is no good won through abstaining from the process. He is an armchair moralist.

Because if you remember the Kucinich of the '70s, all you can do is laugh at that notion.

Kucinich has a lot of fans among people unfamiliar with his '70s self. The hilarious part about this is, they ridicule other people for acting as if OBAMA is the solution to all problems.

they would gladly let a republican win if they thought it would benefit kucinich.

Kucinich supporters are as dangerous to Obama's agenda as the Repukes.

I would say that Kucinich supporters are more dangerous. They espouse FDR socialism. look at single payer. Why, it's as dangerous as Social Security.

At least the Repos understand and respect the natural superiority of the corporation. That makes them far less dangerous than Kucinich supporters to Obama's agenda.

clearly

who doesn't vote like I do is dangerous.

The list is endless, and that's dangero..., well you get the idea.

Ive read your posts before though so i am confident you will have trouble understanding this topic. But hey, at least you seem edgy and cool. If you cant be an intellectual, at least you can act like one.

It's only mildly insulting, and it has a humorous (not hateful) undertone.

The "Bush or Chimp" stuff from 2001 was hilarious and annoyed the faithful endlessly. When they finally became immune, parading those pictures around became less amusing.

to the President's opponents.

EDIT: And it seems to me the only people who are referring to Obama as "the Messiah" or "the second coming of Christ" are the ones who didn't vote for him.

Since they don't like him, they cast it as a cult of personality.

They were pissed at his ability to draw huge crowds, so (McCain, in particular) decided to treat that strength as a weakness.

Which is why I'm confident that they are really just bashing him for their own agenda.

They are the ones that have cornered the market on the 'cult of personality' candidates, and hate anyone that infringes on that territory.

I never heard anyone from the left say Obama was a messiah. It was the right wing wackos who thought Jesus sent bush the lesser down to save us. Those fucking people are crazy.

board during the Primaries.

And, we were his cult followers..turns out Pres Obama has a lot more supporters than his DU ones..and not such a cult afterall. More like the majority of a whole country.

Kind of like McCain.

The kid is a loner. And fortunately, he doesn't vote.

I find the broad accusations against Kucinich supporters to be ridiculous and low as well. Comparing us to McCain supporters? Accusing us of not having the common sense to be upset with what is going on and wanting everyone else to suffer because we are into a "cult of personality"? Awfully broad brush they are using. BTW, this was a lone kid who came up with this idea, one who did not even bother to vote for the guy he claims to support. But they just keep painting with the broad brush while being obnoxious and condescending about it, that's a sure fire way of getting Kucinich supporters to listen to their viewpoint.

in fact I just went back in archives to one such thread..go look yourself..

and here were some of the posts..(I did not include who poster names)

Maybe we all need to take in some air and think about what we say about others?????

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

-I'm worried and I blame Sarah Palin for opening this door

-yes. these are racist sore losers. they believed Rove when he said permanent Republican majority. Now they feel castrated and want to hit something.

-We can't forget the legacy of the right wing - Using the National Guard to kill union organizers
- Creating racist groups that murdered blacks and civil rights workers
- Using the police to beat up and harass gays
- Using the Red Scare to destroy the lives of left-wingers
- Using religion to incite people to murder abortion doctors

The right-wing is capable of being extremely dangerous.

-THE THUGS ARE GOING INSANE

-Right Wing Extremist kill. Yes, I am very nervous.

-Yes. The right wing is implicitly encouraging the most deranged of its followers.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

point made.

I never really thought it was a big deal. Bush also suffered from a lot of caricatures - chimp, Hitler, mullah, etc. Some of them were funny, some of them were stupid.

However, to be fair, I think the DUers were commenting on the way the photo was used by RW nuts, rather than the photo itself. There were several defenders of freedom of expression who took no exception/insult to the drawing.

Regardless, your point is absolutely valid.

and a non-voter to boot (which tells you he didn't work for any of the Kucinich campaigns), but thank you for your editorializing.

...it's only in Latest Breaking News that we're required to use the original headline.

They all hate Dennis, yet Dennis was right about Iraq, and Afghanistan, and Single Payer, and Wall Street bailouts. They hate Dennis because Dennis is right.

Let me share excerpts from some of my personal emails from the Dem primary debates:

"And then in a year from now, I can vote for President Kucinich!" (on obtaining citizenship)

"I matched Kucinich (84%), which make sense for me." (re: political quiz)

"I think Kucinich is the only candidate who has got it right. I match with him as well, I think it was around 85% or so."

"Kucinich actually makes the most sense. I think the way he presents his vision is what America's founding fathers wanted America to be."

But of course, you know me better, so perhaps I'm living in denial and am really a Kucinich-hater. Please tell me more about myself, would love to hear.

its that simple. Your a Kucinich supporter and you do nothing but slam Obama. Seems pretty obvious to everyone outside of spaceship Kucinich. Maybe you should turn on the main screen and lower your shields.

because he's not very helpful when things don't go his way.

...and laughed really hard.

I voted for Obama, campaigned for him, and contributed financially to his campaign. The Obama joker poster is funny. That a bored college kid made it, makes the poster even funnier. Obama is a politician, not a god. Grow up.

just too good to be true, a guy with a funny name attacking another guy
with a funny name which in turn has amassed a legion of racist
fans....color me stupid! :crazy: :spray:

:puke:

Because we know how racist Kucinich supporters tend to be </sarc>

Sounds like a muslin.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

He says he designed the image.

But he did not put the posters up, and he did not put "socialism" on the bottom of the poster.

These just began springing up all over mysteriously?

Not that its that big of a deal.

You can't conquer the enemy if you're divided.

Oh, well. It was a good dream. Now back to reality: a future of Repubs and lower taxes and "you're on your own...for eternity." (drop your $ in the can being passed around for the ins. cos. on your way out the door of life)

when they stand with the right wing religionists against the basic civil rights of my community. If some kid with a tasteless poster is dividing us, what in the hell do you think is the result of the McClurkins and Warrens and the constant 'one man, one woman' blather? Are you under the impression that such things lead to unity among Democrats? When the President praise those who speak openly against equality, against my family, do you really really think that makes for feelings of solidarity?
Think about it. Please.

asshole in a mountain of sour grapes.

What a terrible shame another candidate other than his personal favorite won.

Illinois. Obama's home state. Big Democratic turnout for Obama in Obama's home state. Lots of votes.

That's how it works.

is the Military Industrial complex, I'm going to rethink ... just might vote for Kucinich in 2012.

in the primaries twice before and was crushed mightily both times.

I'm predicting the same outcome if he tries again.

delivered, and never will.

no worse than the others who send pics all over the net with bush with a dick in his mouth or cheney and bush doing it, this was sooooooo overblown, its politics people, rocks are gonna get thrown, people around here need to get some thicker skin!!

more about this idiot.