Community Alliance Welcomes Cartoonist

There is a new cartoonist in town and we at the Community Alliance newspaper are thrilled that he reached out to us to share his talents. It was the paper’s progressive content that caught his eye and led to his contacting us.

Daniel Medina is an internationally published editorial cartoonist with a background in politics and international relations. His cartoons have been published internationally in the Dutch publication, The Cartoon Movement; he is currently the staff political cartoonist for Matt Taibbi’s online publication, TK News; and he is a member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists.

Medina worked as a political operative for nearly a decade and has worked with several nonprofit organizations. He has a master’s in international relations from the Brussels School of International Studies.

Known for his strong leftist takes on current affairs, Medina has gained a following for his topical, often confrontational, takes. His cartoons do not focus on a particular group of people, whether on the right or left of the political spectrum. Rather, the running theme of his work is standing up for the wants and needs of the many over the greed and desires of the few.

  Medina lives in Fresno with his wife and two cats.

The Community Alliance team is looking forward to working with Medina as we help build a progressive movement in support of social, economic and environmental justice.

The Cartoon: Why Are They the Usual Suspects?

In this cartoon, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is in the lineup as one of the usual suspects because one or more members of her team stole Community Alliance newsstands. This is an undisputed fact admitted to by Mims herself.

Following up on the incident, the Community Alliance would like to be compensated for its losses. Moreover, law enforcement needs to acknowledge the value of independent media and the role it plays in a democratic society.

How hard would it be for Mims to say, “Removing and attempting to destroy these newsstands was not our finest moment. The importance of the free press cannot be overstated. With more than 2,500 newspapers in this country shutting down since 2005, we should cherish and do all we can to help the remaining print media thrive.”

It would be nice to take Mims out of the perp lineup, but it appears that she has done nothing to bring justice to this situation. First, Assistant Sheriff Steve McComas told us that because the crime was committed on the sidewalk in front of the Fresno County Jail it was not in the county’s jurisdiction. To add injury to insult, McComas said that this was a personnel issue and they would take care of it internally.

We filed a complaint with the Fresno Police Department, which never contacted us about the incident. The fact the newsstand was in their jurisdiction made no difference in the investigation.

We would like this incident to be handled like any other theft in this city. We have video of who did it and the sheriff admitted to the crime, and we demand equal justice under the law.