Sunday, July 20, 2025

"After Awhile, Pedophile" Funnies


See, I already did the first half.


Too many toons to choose from, some overlapping themes, like the Epstein files starring as Frankenstein's monster, for instance (not included here).


Trump's War on Knowledge received additional funding and weaponry from Congress, and the bombing campaign intensified. Elmo briefly went rogue as an alt-right QAnon MAGA stooge but was rescued and deprogrammed. The Sesame Street gang pissed off -- and gearing up to fight back, I hope -- as opposed to another picture of them mourning Big Bird's head on a platter suits my mood.


Yeah, we're all getting flooded out, and nobody in charge is gonna save us.
Maybe we'll have better choices next year. A Quinnipiac poll from this past week reveals that 49% of Americans 'would consider' (loaded question) voting for a third party. No, not that one.
Reality distortion? Fascist fatigue? Or a brief moment of clarity?
Colbert lost me years ago with his neoliberal evolution, but CBS taking a hard right turn and calling it business, not personal just doesn't wash.


Still have SuperTrump toons to get to.

RIP Bob Stein.

Sunday, July 13, 2025

'The River Ran Cold as ICE over Biblical Grounds' Funnies


Sometimes the toons just can't be funny given the state of current events. This isn't one of those weeks. The wheels certainly came off for Trump and his cabinet of sycophants, but the gas tank also exploded and the airbags blew up in their faces. And as awful as it has been for Central Texas campers, migrant families, and the Americans who love them, the cartoonists cracked wise at the expense of our hapless, corrupt officials in all the ways they richly deserved.

If you’re brought to tears by images of waterlogged stuffies and want to know who is to blame for the deadly Hill Country floods, Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t want to hear it. “That's the word choice of losers," Abbott said when asked by a reporter who was responsible for the devastation. As our governor tells it, the July 4th flood was less a preventable tragedy and more a fumbled play under the Friday night lights. “Know this, every football team makes mistakes,” he said. “The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame.’” So dry those eyes and rub some dirt on it. Coach Abbott is here to focus on results -- just don’t expect him to review the game tape.


Beck has got this. An anthem for Gov. Greg.

The forces of evil in a Bozo nightmare
Ban all the music with a phony gas chamber
'Cause one's got a weasel and the other's got a flag
One's on the pole, shove the other in the bag
With the rerun shows and the cocaine nose job
The daytime crap with the folksinger slop
He hung himself with a guitar string
A slab of turkey neck and it's hangin' from a pigeon wing

Gotta get right if you can't relate
Trade the cash for the beef, for the body, for the hate
And my time is a piece of wax fallin' on a termite
That's chokin' on the splinters

Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?
(Get crazy with the Cheeze Whiz)


Adam Zyglis drew death threats from MAGA for this one, above.


Kristi the Gnome has proven incapable of doing her job. Clay Jones does a masterful takedown of her shortcomings, but beyond the hilarity of her vacuous incapability is the fact that Texans calling for help in the wake of the flood couldn’t find any.
The City of Angels is under siege from an ICE storm. Brad managed several related toons and even worked Lalo Alcaraz in, but somehow overlooked the travesty in his own barrio.
Who would Jesus deport? Worse question: Who would deport Jesus? Why, Christian conservative Republicans, of course. Zionists would just bomb the concentration camp where He had fled.
King T has decreed that no one shall speak of his former best friend and pedophile, but unlike the files that have *allegedly* gone missing from AG Bondi's desk, that topic isn't going to be censored.
Ken Paxton is getting a D-I-V-O-R-C-E. It's bitter. Not their split; the reaction from MAGA toward state Senator Angela, whom they deem a saboteur of his US Senate bid against John Cornhen. Try to imagine being so radicalized that you think K-Pax becoming USAG would be bad because it makes Corn Dog's path to re-election easier.
And the Texas Lege reconvenes in short order to take up a few pressing concerns, like a bathroom bill, redistricting urban Democrats further out of power, and (maybe) outlawing cannabis gummies. Ban Patrick is undoubtedly stressed out about having to kneel to the Fumbling QB.
Elon seems serious about a third party. I'd settle for a second one.
Ted Rall (commentary, no cartoon):

In this two-party system, a third party should begin by running as a second party. Seventy percent of the 76,902 elections held in the United States are uncontested, meaning that the number of candidates on the ballot is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. Whether it's for state senate, city council or county coroner, unchallenged incumbents always win.

Seventy-eight percent of law enforcement elections have one candidate on the ballot.

So if reform/progress is still possible via elections -- a tenuous prospect on its best day -- people who care about that need to shift into high gear. You know, as with the climate crisis, building independent media, and a handful of other things.
Two obits, cartoonist Steve Benson and ...

Sunday, July 06, 2025

"See You Later, Alligator" Toons


The unspeakable tragedy of the Central Texas flooding unfolds an ongoing horror visited on the girls of Camp Mystic, the holiday RV community, the rescuers performing recovery, and the friends, families, and their grieving support network this morning.


The blame game is fully engaged; I'll avoid editorializing on that for this post. Some of the toons gathered over the past week just aren't very humorous. Like this one from Clay Jones, for example.
I wasn't really vibing the freedom or liberty or independence from tyranny on Friday before the rains came. The 'No Kings 2.0' protest in H-Town was ... well, read all about it.


From the article: "As a Democrat in Texas, I'm accustomed to my candidate losing. I'm a very good loser ..." Ted Rall, once again, speaking for me.
July 4th will see the second “No Kings” protests across the U.S. against Trump and his haughty style of governance. Once again, the soft American Left forgets the lessons of the 1960s and indulges in a performative series of demonstrations with no chance of striking fear in the hearts of the ruling class. Effective protest movements are sustained, happening frequently -- even daily -- while inconveniencing and terrorizing the rich and powerful with the fear that nonviolence might give way to real disruption. Gathering every few weeks, on a Saturday or national holiday when businesses and government offices are closed, while promising to remain peaceful, is a sad misdirection of organization and energy that ought instead to be directed into building a real Left opposition.

C'mon, Ted; the "Left", as defined by the corporate media and MAGA, seems to do a fine job of mobilizing against the actual left every time it rises.
Yeah, something the home of the brave something. So I hope you were careful if you shot off your fireworks. Somebody -- your smartphone, your smart teevee -- is always listening, you know.
I did promise alligators.

And crocodiles. Jeff and Lauren have departed Venice for their honeymoon, but let's all do whatever we can to not let them detach from reality and enjoy it.


Google it. And one shark.
One Big Beautiful Boomer-Buster (dropped on Medicaid, not Iran).

Saying so long to a few history makers.

Sunday, June 29, 2025

"Who's your Daddy, who's your Mamdani" Funnies

News items, for those having trouble keeping up (or have tuned out):

There's some (gallows) humor to be found here!
"Gallows" in this case refers not only to the Constitution, the federal courts, the rule of law, etc. but also to the Democratic Party. Brad's on vacation again -- he did manage some toons today, usual 'Orange Man bad' stuff -- but I'm here to remind you that just a few weeks ago he declared how important it was that Trump be impeached again. Read the comments there.


Michelle is doing her best, but this is a lost cause, in Texas and beyond. To be clear, the aggressive pushback against Zohran Mamdani suggests that perhaps the myriad problems of rich wyt pipo need extra emphasis from Democrats. And a skosh more Zionism.


Yes, I hear the plaintive wails already; all this isn't entirely the fault of the incompetent Washington Democrats.



Obits.


Wrapping today with some laughs, hopefully.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

"Two Weaks Notice" Toons


Not feeling the chuckles today. Had to rebuild this post early this morning after several cartoons suddenly became irrelevant.
Carlos Latuff does not miss.

As with last week, I may post some of the Funnies about ICE and Juneteenth and Pride and other topics that I deleted from this one. If I feel like it.

Monday, June 16, 2025

Signs and Scenes from 'No Kings'


Back in the Aughts, when I was a Democrat, I participated happily in marches and protests like yesterday's. I went to Crawford and Camp Casey. In 2011 I marched in downtown Houston during the Occupy uprising. (I spoke with corporate media at both events but my remarks were left out of their reports.) I felt empowered and enthused by doing so. There was no social media at that time so we bloggers made the news happen, swelling our heads with our perceived influence.

We sincerely felt like we had the power to change the world. History reminds us we had little sway. Yesterday's events were cathartic for participants and most observers, but after twenty years of evidence, these actions not only don't move the needle but actually create an atmosphere for worsening the problems for which we demand redress.

George W. Bush bombed Iraq and got re-elected. Annise Parker had the cops sweep Occupy out of the Houston park because the Bayou City Art Festival was looming on the calendar. Texas Progressive Chode Kuffner is still posting how much he likes her. This is your latest clue that voting for Ds or Rs isn't solving anything. So if you got out in the heat and exercised your 1A rights yesterday, enjoy the feels, but if you saw Ukraine flags or signs like this one ...


... be clear about what happens next.


Point made, enjoy the views.


Update: Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters thinks Trump's birthday parade "could have used some drag queens".

Sunday, June 15, 2025

"Raining on His Parade" Funnies

Was it just a week ago ...
That seemed like a big deal at the time, didn't it. Over the past seven days, several brand new shitshows blew up. With limited commentary from me and marginally in chronological order...

"I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg." -- Trump

He meant that sarcastically, but he stumbled right into the truth.
When Padilla interrupted Noem during her press conference to try to ask a question, the DHS secretary had just said that her agents were in Los Angeles "to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed on this country."

Might collate some No Kings protest photos and signs later if I feel like it.