This Cartoonist is the Greatest

Not only is Michael Ramirez a fantastic cartoonist, but he's also a very nice guy.

I had the pleasure of meeting him some years ago in Memphis, when he was with the Commercial Appeal. A mutual friend of ours, knowing my "right-wingedness," had told me a number of times I needed to meet him, and several times we were at the same parties or bars, but we just kept missing each other.

Fortunately, right before I moved, I was playing with a band at a local dive and Michael showed up. He entertained my wife and our friends by drawing some funny little doodles while I played, and we had a great chat during the band's break. He was very complimentary of my harmonica playing, so I gave him one of my harps, with a note about how nice it was to meet him on its included instruction sheet. I told him we were moving, but that we'd frame some of his doodles to remember him. He insisted on something better, telling us to get our new address to him through our mutual friend.

Well, he lost our address after our friend had given it to him the first time. But he remembered us, asked for it again, and a few months after we got settled a very nice print of one of his cartoons showed up in our mail. It's now framed over our bar, appropriately enough!

There's been ample commentary about the dearth of conservative editorial cartoonists in the MSM. Say what you will about the Los Angeles Times, but they've had Mr. Ramirez on staff for years now. So because he's so accomplished that he's not just a great conservative cartoonist, but a great cartoonist, period -- and because he's a great guy -- Michael becomes our first non-print link at the right.