Hi Everyone. I woke at 12:22 last night. But I got up at 1 am and started making posts and doing things. So I just finished the asshat yesterday news posts. So now before I answer the comments … and I love comments everyone sends to me, I have to make a red sauce. Ron promised to make me a grand lasagna if I make the sauce. So with ear buds in, off I go to make the sauce. Hugs and loves to everyone. Remember that I really care for everyone. Add any questions or comments in the comments and I will reply there. Hugs.
If you criticize the dear leader of the maga cult then you are forever an enemy. Death to the nonbelievers. This is why the current republicans and maga is very much a cult. Hugs.
This is great. The tRump world crowed about this citizen of Greenland who praised tRump’s plan to take over Greenland. Yet the truth did come out … He was a tRump loving fanboy violent felon drug dealer prison escapee. Hugs.
For months, Meta has been restricting content with LGBTQ-related hashtags from search and discovery under its “sensitive content” policy aimed at restricting “sexually suggestive content.”
Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags including #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #pansexial, #transwomen, #Tgirl, #Tboy, #Tgirlsarebeautiful, #bisexualpride, #lesbianpride, and dozens of others were hidden for any users who had their sensitive content filter turned on. Teenagers have the sensitive content filter turned on by default.
When teen users attempted to search LGBTQ terms they were shown a blank page and a prompt from Meta to review the platform’s “sensitive content” restrictions, which discuss why the app hides “sexually explicit” content.
Meta reversed the restrictions on LGBTQ search terms after User Mag reached out for comment, saying that it was in error. “These search terms and hashtags were mistakenly restricted,” a Meta spokesperson said. “It’s important to us that all communities feel safe and welcome on Meta apps, and we do not consider LGBTQ+ terms to be sensitive under our policies.”
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Under mounting pressure from lawmakers and amidst a moral panic about young people’s social media use, last year, Meta introduced a new set of “sensitive content” restrictions across Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, aimed at teenagers. “We will start to hide more types of content for teens on Instagram and Facebook,” the company said at the time.
In September, Meta doubled down, forcing users under the age of 18 to use “Instagram Teen Accounts,” a setting which could only be reversed by a parent or guardian. The goal of this change, in Meta’s words, was to “limit … the content [teenagers] see, and help ensure their time is well spent.”
These changes quickly resulted in LGBTQ+ content getting restricted across Meta apps. Meanwhile, heterosexual content, tradwife content, and content featuring straight cisgender couples (even those engaged in romantic activities) has flourished.
“Meta categorizing LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content’ is an alarming example of censorship that should concern everyone,” said Leanna Garfield, social media safety program manager at GLAAD.
Some LGBTQ teenagers and content creators attempted to sound the alarm about the issue, but their posts failed to get traction. For years, LGBTQ creators on Instagram have suffered shadow bans and had their content labeled as “non-recommendable.” The restrictions on searches, however, are more recent, coming into effect in the past few months. Meta said it was investigating to find out when the error began.
“A responsible and inclusive company would not build an algorithm that classifies some LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content,’ hiding helpful and age-appropriate content from young people by default,” a spokesperson for GLAAD said. “Regardless of if this was an unintended error, Meta should… test significant product updates before launch.”
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Several LGBQT teenagers I spoke to said that they weren’t even aware of the sensitive content restrictions, but said that they struggled to find other LGBTQ young people to connect with through Instagram.
“For many LGBTQ people, especially youth, platforms like Instagram are crucial for self-discovery, community building, and accessing supportive information,” Garfield said. “By limiting access to LGBTQ content, Instagram may be inadvertently contributing to the isolation and marginalization of LGBTQ users.”
The downranking and hiding of LGBTQ+ content comes as LGBTQ rights across the country are under attack.
On December 4th, the Supreme Court heard a major case on banning healthcare for trans youth. Trump has pledged to roll back protections for LGBTQ students, and right wing groups like the Heritage Foundation are working together with Democrats to dismantle civil liberties and restrict young people from accessing social media under dangerous proposed legislation such as the very poorly named Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
KOSA co-sponsor Rep. Marsha Blackburn claimed that it’s essential to restrict teens access to social media to “protect minor children from the transgender [sic] in this culture and that influence.”
One of the most prominent voices pushing legislation like KOSA and boosting policies like Meta’s sensitive content restrictions is NYU Stern School of Business professor Jonathan Haidt, whose dubious book, The Anxious Generation falsely ties social media use to teen mental health issues in order to push a moral panic about kids and technology use. This moral panic is then used to justify harmful laws that restrict speech and civil liberties online, and do immense harm to marginalized LGBTQ youth.
“Meta categorizing LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content’ is an alarming example of censorship that should concern everyone”
Mark Zuckerberg recently dined at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and is seeking an “active role” in Trump tech policy as the two are “now warming to each other,” according to The Guardian.
The increased censorship of LGBTQ content online is already having devastating effects on young people. For queer teens who rely on social media to connect with their peers and find support, these policies are cutting off vital access to community and representation.
“Meta should not only stop suppressing LGBTQ content in this way, it should also clarify how and why [this error occurred],” said Garfield.
User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To support my work, become a free or paid subscriber. I could not do this work without your support.
Wow! This has taken a long time. I had hoped to do it every day. But I have been at this since 4 am and it is now 12 pm when I am finishing it. I love sharing the horrible shit the right wing thinks, the things the cult wants to do. If everyone likes these posts so they can choose what to read or ignore let me know. If no one wants them then I am wasting 8 hours of my life. Love and hugs to all. PS. On the other side even with my issues I am feeling a lot more energized. It seems I go one 24 hour period with no sleep and then sleep nearly 12 hours … and repeat. Love all of you, really feel good right now.
But please let me know what you feel of these posts. Do they keep you informed? Do they help? As to if I listen yes, I have decided to post the meme post twice a week because the majority of the few responces I got implied they were too many in each post. So the one I have now worked on for several days will be posted tomorrow morning and since only one person said they cared about the day, I will now try to do them on Wednesday and Sunday. However the voting is still open if I get a new majority of people who feel a different day is better for them. Again as always, loves and hugs. Scottie
Trump supporter crashes his car while speeding in the snow, screaming about Trump, and blasting "maga music". He was livestreaming WHILE DRIVING 💀 pic.twitter.com/uOinMINwa2
White male bosses, black / brown low level employees without a chance of promotion. White women secretaries / assistants. In other words, 1950 to 1960.
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Kat Kerr declares that people who stole the election will “hang on meat hooks in hell right next to Hitler.” Kat Kerr says 150-foot angels will kill her critics. Kat Kerr says a talking scroll in heaven will soon prove the “legality” that Trump is still president. Kat Kerr says she heard God “laughing loudly” at Biden’s fake electoral college count. Kat Kerr says Jesus took her to a football game in heaven where he always wins at every sport. Kat Kerr says Jesus personally gave her the commission to draw a portrait of God and that she touched God’s hair while visiting heaven to create the drawing. Kat Kerr personally dispatches 1000 “special ops angels” to ensure Trump is reelected. Kat Kerr assigns 100 million angels to guard the Republican convention. Kat Kerr claims God destroyed the Bahamas with a hurricane due to all the underground sex trafficking tunnels. Kat Kerr claims she saw angels bombarding Trump protesters to drive out their “demonic infections.” Kat Kerr claims she waved at the blond angels guarding the tomb of Jesus. Kat Kerr claims she met Whitney Houston in heaven. Kat Kerr claims the GOP secretly won the 2018 House midterms by pretending to be Democrats. Kat Kerr claims all the aborted babies in heaven had a dance party after Kavanaugh was sworn in. Kat Kerr claims God has a rainbow colored pet unicorn. Kat Kerr claims she met Jesus in person and he was totally hot. Kat Kerr clams that once you reach heaven, Jesus personally throws you a dance party in his mansion and serves you the delicious desserts he baked himself. Kat Kerry claims God personally told her the results of the next five presidential elections. Kat Kerr “takes authority” over volcanoes, hurricanes, and wildfires in the name of Jesus, failing to stop each event.
Trump’s plan redirects even more wealth to top 5%. It shifts the tax burden onto everyday Americans to fund tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy. It increases inequality. Removing tax on tips is a symbolic gesture to appease MAGAs while they're sold out to the top 5%.… pic.twitter.com/noGH4Mp3fI
Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of Donald Trump’s white nationalist insurrection, when he called MAGA terrorists to come to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory over him.
Trump lost the 2020 election fair and square.
Trump is the first president to refuse a peaceful transfer of power. He refused to cooperate with Biden’s transition team, a courtesy President Barack Obama extended in 2016 and after Trump’s victory last November (gag), President Biden extended to him as well. Both Democratic presidents hosted President-Elect (sic) Trump in the White House.
Trump ordered his MAGAts to attempt the insurrection after failing to overturn the election through court challenges, installing fake electors, calling election officials to intimidate them into giving him extra votes that didn’t exist, and even having his goons harass and intimidate election workers.
Trump’s white nationalist terrorists assaulted at least 174 Capitol Police officers on January 6, 2021, with 15 hospitalized. There was one death from a stroke and four suicides afterward. They also caused over $30 million in damages which Trump should pay for.
Two of the terrorists died from natural causes, one died from a drug overdose, and another, Ashley Babbit, died from a gunshot wound.
Over 1,500 were arrested, including Donald Trump. This nation has forgotten about the insurrection and has returned Trump to the presidency (sic). After January 20, Donald Trump plans to pardon all of the white nationalist terrorists who attacked our nation.
These people were looking to murder Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. Now, they will be rewarded.
I had a Lyft driver on New Year’s Eve ask me why I don’t support Donald Trump and I answered, “Because I love my country.” The elderly white driver (surprise) replied, “Donald Trump does too.” I have a serious inability to tolerate bullshit and I probably got a one-star rating from him after I replied to his response, “Donald Trump does too.” Thankfully, he made his dumbass ignorant comment near the end of the ride, where a guy ambushed me with Jesus pamphlets. I went straight from Trump freak to Jesus freak. I was glad I was getting out of town.
That’s our country for you today. Half this nation believes Donald Trump was right to send white nationalist terrorists to attack the Capitol to make him an unelected dictator or they don’t care.
Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn’t just want to ignore January 6, but she wants to make it a national holiday. Hey, we’ll all get a day off. MTG is also concerned that a snowstorm tomorrow will “disrupt” Trump’s certification. That’s rich.
Speaker-hanging-by-a-thread Mike Johnson doesn’t want to investigate January 6 but investigate the investigators. The new Department of Justice under Donald Trump and Pam Bondi will be looking to prosecute people like Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the J6 Committee, and former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, who co-chaired the committee. The DOJ may also be weaponized against people like Special Counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and even President Joe Biden.
Other Republicans encouraged J6, attempted to dox Speaker Pelosi’s location, gave them pre-insurrection tours, and later called the attackers “protesters” and “tourists.” Goons gotta goon.
On January 6, some will celebrate. I will encourage you to remember that our incoming president (sic) is a terrorist and a national security threat.
Two days that will make me sick to my stomach this month is tomorrow, January 6, and January 20.
I’m gonna get drunk.
Creative note: Both of my proofers had disgusted reactions to this cartoon which is exactly what I was going for. Also, I hate layers in Procreate. This cartoon has nearly 40 of them. I would usually just write “pardon” over and over again, but I thought the placement would work better with the layers, but that’s just as much of a PITA to me as lettering. My layer-loving friend and colleague Phil Hands should be happy.
Mike Johnson of Louisiana was reelected today (Jan. 3) to lead the U.S. House of Representatives. During his acceptance remarks a bit later, he read what he called a prayer from Thomas Jefferson. But Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation call it a “spurious quotation,” adding it’s unlikely Jefferson actually wrote or delivered it. Johnson has a history of using fake quotes to advance his belief that the U.S. should be a “Christian nation.”
“I offered one that is quite familiar to historians and probably many of us,” he said about the prayer, which he noted the program described as one Jefferson recited every day during his presidency and each day afterward until he died.
“I wanted to share it with you here at the end of my remarks not as a prayer per se right now but as really a reminder of what our third president and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence thought was so important that it should be a daily recitation,” Johnson added.
We have no evidence that this prayer was written or delivered by Thomas Jefferson. It appears in the 1928 United States Book of Common Prayer, and was first suggested for inclusion in a report published in 1919.
Interestingly, although we can find no evidence that this prayer has a presidential source, it was used by a subsequent president in a public speech. Several months after his 1930 Thanksgiving Day Address as Governor of New York, it was pointed out that Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech bore a striking resemblance to the very same prayer discussed above.
Ultimately, it seems unlikely that Jefferson would have composed or delivered a public prayer of this sort. He considered religion a private matter, and when asked to recommend a national day of fasting and prayer, replied, “I consider the government of the US. as interdicted by the constitution from intermedling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises.”
As usual, fake historian David Barton is behind this.
Right Wing Watch has relentlessly exposed Barton’s countless lies about about the Founding Fathers, perhaps most notably his claim that the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are taken virtually verbatim from scripture.
Dear Speaker Johnson, Please don't make stuff up. The prayer that you read in the House Chamber today was not written by Thomas Jefferson and your claim that he recited it "every day" is false. Please use credible sources, not your discredited pal David Barton. See…
This is as good a time as any to pitch Telling Jefferson Lies, a podcast about the bad history produced by David Barton and other Christian nationalists. This incident will be a part of season two coming up. https://t.co/hYYE9Qaa1b
— Warren Throckmorton – Telling Jefferson Lies (@wthrockmorton) January 4, 2025
— Warren Throckmorton – Telling Jefferson Lies (@wthrockmorton) January 4, 2025
To be clear, I object to his false attribution of the prayer to Jefferson – part of the endless Christian nationalist campaign to remake Jefferson into a devout Christian when he was actually an enlightenment era freethinker who thought religion should remain private and out of… https://t.co/OHLBEDt57Y
Sheeeeesh. Thomas Jefferson, whose “Jefferson Bible” removed all the supernatural happenings and “miracles,” from the text, made it clear that he did not believe in the divinity of Christ. He titled his work “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” and made a copy for himself, although he never published it. Mike Johnson, David Barton, and other Christians who try to impose Christian piety on Thomas Jefferson are very much mistaken, or simply lying. Jefferson was a Deist, not a Christian.
Cold is the winter day, misty and dark: The sunless sky with faded gleams is rent: And patches of thin snow outlying, mark The landscape with a drear disfigurement.
The trees their mournful branches lift aloft: The oak with knotty twigs is full of trust, With bud-thronged bough the cherry in the croft; The chestnut holds her gluey knops upthrust.
No birds sing, but the starling chaps his bill And chatters mockingly; the newborn lambs Within their strawbuilt fold beneath the hill Answer with plaintive cry their bleating dams.
Their voices melt in welcome dreams of spring, Green grass and leafy trees and sunny skies: My fancy decks the woods, the thrushes sing, Meadows are gay, bees hum and scents arise.
And God the Maker doth my heart grow bold To praise wintry works not understood, Who all the worlds and ages doth behold, Evil and good as one, and all as good.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on January 4, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.
“Democracy dies in darkness” is a phrase popularized by Washington Post investigative reporter Bob Woodward who used it in an article about government secrecy. After billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post and Donald Trump assumed the presidency (sic), it became the newspaper’s first slogan in its 140-year history. Today, democracy is dying.
When Bezos purchased the paper, many felt he was saving the Post and journalism. He stood out of the way and allowed his journalists to defend democracy because there is no democracy without journalism.
After Trump lost the 2020 election by being soundly and squarely defeated by Joe Biden, the Post started to get a little flaky. It laid off and bought out prominent journalists. It started running whimsical New Yorker-like cartoons by Edith Pritchett on its opinion page. It hired right-wing Nixon/Reagan lover Michael Ramirez to draw political cartoons for its opinion page. It refused to make an endorsement in the 2024 election. but it still had Ann.
Herblock Award, Pulitzer Prize, and Rueben Award-winning political cartoonist Ann Telnaes had been freelancing for the Post for years. She was freelancing for the Post when the excellent Tom Toles retired in 2020. The Post promised to hire a full-time cartoonist to replace Toles who had replaced the legendary Herblock. Many felt the Post would hire Ann full-time as she was the most qualified and deserving. But the Post backtracked (lied) and didn’t hire a staffer. Instead, they brought in a freelancer who worked from Canada.
No offense to Michael de Adder, but this is the legendary Washington Post. The person filling Herblock’s spot should be expected to live in Washington, DC, or at the very least, the United States. I believe political cartoons are better if the person drawing them is actually affected by the issues he or she is drawing about. Ann was living in Washington at the time.
For the past few decades, Ann has been one of the best political cartoonists in the world. The Washington Post never fully respected that, and they disrespected her again this week.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, The Post has been flaky. Bezos issued statements before election day about having high expectations from a second Trump administration. Never mind that Donald Trump has attacked the Post, calling it the “Amazon” Washington Post. Never mind that Trump continues to call journalists the “enemy of the American people.” Never mind that Trump calls legitimate news “fake news” while pushing lies over and over again. Never mind that Trump sues journalism outlets for reporting facts about him. Never mind that Trump threatens and wants to do away with the basic tenets of democracy.
After the election, Bezos and other tech billionaires started dumping money into Trump’s “inauguration” fund with many, such as Bezos, making treks to MAGA-Lardo to kiss Trump’s ass.
As the owner of Amazon, which has government contracts, and with the threat of Elon Musk in a position to make cuts to government spending, it’s in Bezos’ financial interest, or so he believes, to play up to Donald Trump. Jeff Bezos had dinner with Trump, probably sitting in the same spot as all the white nationalists who had dinner with Trump at MAGA-Lardo. Trump was launching a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register for a poll while Bezos was sitting at MAGA-Lardo chomping on his Cobb salad.
This week, Ann drew a cartoon that depicted the billionaires groveling to Trump, and among them was Jeff Bezos. Guess what her editor did with that cartoon? He killed it. Guess what Ann did. She quit.
That’s right. Ann Telnaes got up and quit working for the most prominent publication for political cartoonists. In her substack piece, Why I’m Quitting The Washington Post, Ann, who has been with the Post since 2008, writes, “In all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.”
Ann called the spiking of the cartoon a “gamechanger,” that was “dangerous for a free press.”
She’s correct. When newspaper owners are afraid of presidents to the point they start killing critical political cartoons, a free press is in danger. Bezos and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong both killed editorials endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president over Trump. Why? Because it was bad for business.
Ann’s editor, David Shipley, called her a liar for her “interpretation of events and said in a statement, “Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force,” Mr. Shipley said in the statement, “My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition.”
As a political cartoonist who’s worked with editors, I smell bullshit. In my experience, editors LOVE it when cartoons coincide with editorials. Now, these are columns but still, they typically like it when they run together or close together. Shipley says one of those columns had already been published and the second is scheduled for publication. Since one of those hasn’t been published yet, then he should have given deference to Ann’s cartoon, that is if he’s not lying. Ann is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Why would he kill her piece for something else?
Shipley said he respects Ann but he clearly doesn’t.
Trump spent his entire campaign promising to weaponize the Justice Department to go after his enemies. Look at his nominees to lead the DOJ. First, it was Matt Gaetz and now it’s Pam Bondi. His pick to lead the FBI is Kash Patel. These are goons.
Ann took a principled stand that will cost her financially. I can’t think of an outlet that would hire her and pay more than the Post. It may have hurt her professionally as I can’t think of an outlet that would hire her and be more prominent than the Post. But she’s established that she’s a badass.
The last time something like this happened was when the Pittsburgh Gazette fired Rob Rogers for refusing to stop criticizing Donald Trump. His replacement was goosestepping Steve Kelley (who was later quietly let go). Someone should tell the Post that Steve’s available, who’s probably already FedEx’ed his resume.
I drew a cartoon in 2015 when Ted Cruz attacked Ann which provoked thousands of death threats and threats of other despicable things I won’t mention here.
I drew a cartoon in 2019 that featured the firing of Rogers. When Rogers was fired, Michael Cavna, who wrote about cartoon issues did a piece about that. He’s not there anymore to write about Ann’s departure.
I drew a cartoon in 2023 about McClatchy laying off three Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonists on the same day.
Scottie's Playtime 