Several American cartoonists have weighed in on the controversial New York Post cartoon comparing whoever wrote the stimulus package to a monkey. Many found the cartoon tasteless, or cited the author's "bad judgment," but the notion that the piece was racist is shared by virtually none of these professionals.Here are their opinions:

"Dozens of cartoonists weighed in on dailycartoonist.com. Some said it was a simpleton move to use the tired metaphor of a monkey to make fun of something -- no matter what it was. One poster wrote, "Wha...?" pointing out that Obama didn't write the stimulus package; lawmakers did."

"The media love arguments about race.

I was thinking of drawing a cartoon with the media frantically rushing to cover the "racist" Delonas cartoon, while Attorney General Eric Holder calmly stands in front of the melee telling Americans how they are "cowardly" in avoiding discussions about race.  I expect we're in for a lot of this for the next four years."

Columbia Journalism Review asked the opinion of several "cartoonists and their editors," most of whom saw it as tasteless, yet not racist.

My best guess, from being a cartoonist and knowing cartoonists, and knowing how they think and work, is that the intention of the cartoonist was not to play off of the invidious cartoon characterizations of African-Americans in the past, but to use the recent news event, in which a chimpanzee was shot, as a topical reference with which to criticize the stimulus bill."

"This is so inside baseball that I didn't get it the minute I looked at it. It's a little bizarre. It's nice to give cartoonist editorial license, but I think this exceeds the taste boundary.

It's not obvious to me that it's racist.

I think it's saying, we don't like the stimulus bill; it's just like a monkey wrote it. I'm African-American, and I can totally see how people are going to take this the wrong way, but as a cartoonist, I think no racial intention was made.

You have to think about how people could misunderstand this, and I can see how people how can misconstrue it. Editorial cartoonists are against censorship of any kind; this one, I think, shows bad judgment.

"I think he really screwed up, but not for a racist reason. It's in bad taste to take an ape that injured a woman."

"It would help if everyone took a deep breath and tried to calm down. You can say it was insensitive or ignorant, but I think a lot of the outrage is manufactured."

"I knew what the guy was trying to say, and I don't remember thinking "racist" at all. He was taking a news event and tying the ludicrous stimulus bill to it, and he was making fun of Congress who drafted this bill."

My father passed away while I was disappeared and I am still distraught thinking that he died without knowing whether I was dead or alive.

Farag's request:

It is my hope that the President will not only establish this commission, but that he will also direct the relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute those who broke American laws in ordering the torture and disappearance of people like me. Truth and justice are not in opposition; both are necessary, and both are the right of all Americans and the victims harmed in their name.

Independent pollsters have found that Hugo Chavez will win today's bid to change the constitution in order to allow him to run again.

My girlfriend is telling me to get off the computer so I have no time to provide links. I can tell you that Dataanalisis and IVAD have him winning by around 8% and double digits.

Chavez has never tampered with an election judging by reaction by international observers in the past. Don't let the right-wing or American mainstream media tell you otherwise if Chavez ends up getting what he wants in today's referendum. The latest campaign (led by the Washington Post) claimst that Chavez is an anti-semite. That is BS and I'm out. Talk to you Monday.