As many of you mentioned in the comments, my previous cartoon was based on the globe scene from “The Great Dictator”. Putting aside that Trump couldn’t possibly be that athletic, I chose to base my multi-panel cartoon on that scene because I was looking for a concept which illustrated Trump’s need to project that he’s the big guy, the leader of the free world who summons all the other little countries. All the theater and pageantry the White House put on the last several days had everything to do with Trump’s narcissism and desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
If you haven’t seen the Charlie Chaplin film and that brilliant scene, I encourage you to do so. Chaplin was prescient in his urgent warning to the world about Hitler and the Nazi ideology. I wish we could see what he would have created for our situation today.
D.C. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office instructs federal prosecutors not to press felony charges against people openly carrying shotguns and rifles in the Capital.
Trump-Approved African American History by Clay Jones
Donald Trump wants to make the nation as stupid and racist as he is Read on Substack
On Tuesday, Donald Trump posted on ShitSocial, “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future. We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made.”
That doesn’t sound good. What he’s doing to the universities and the government in his efforts to eliminate “woke” is destroying our institutions, historical culture, and progress in anti-discrimination.
Trump is a champion of discrimination. These edicts he’s sending out daily sound like crap you’d hear from a dictator. Our history is being rewritten by the dumbest kid in the classroom. Even his social media posts prove he’s a moron. Typically, bigots are morons.
Trump is choosing Kennedy Center honorees and trying to influence what universities teach. He’s choosing what information is documented and archived by our military. They’re removing anything that honors gay, Black, Latino, and female. They had a hissy fit over the name “Enola Gay.” They even removed Harvey Milk’s name from a ship.
Trump’s ordering the Smithsonian to get rid of anything that’s “woke.” Naturally, they’re getting rid of whatever they believe is woke because wokeness is a good thing.
I’m not on the talking point that Trump is dying, but he can’t be healthy. We’ve seen photos of Trump with food from McDonald’s, KFC, and even a taco bowl, but when’s the last time you saw a pic of him with a salad? You would think he’d at least do a photo-op with one. I don’t like to wish death on anyone. I think it’s kinda tacky, even for a piece of crap like Trump, and I’m afraid it might bounce back onto me.
A couple of days ago, Trump called into Fox News, because he’s the kind of guy with lots of time on his hands (it’s not like he has an important job or anything), and said his motivation for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, other than a Nobel Peace Prize, is to win a spot in Heaven. There’s a LOT to pack in here.
Trump called and said, “I want to try and get to heaven, if possible,” he explained. “I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.” (snip-MORE, also great)
PS: Suppose South Park is making Trump nervous, with all the Satan in his bed stuff? Also, repealing the OBBB will help him a lot more than meddling in other countries’s business. -A)
Yeah, me, neither. Also! I am not, and never was, a KISS fan. I always thought they were bubble gum. Needless to say, I enjoy Clay Jones’s commentary re KISS!
I’m a KISS fan, to an extent. When I was in the 4th or 5th grade, a friend introduced me to KISS, and I was hooked. I had posters and albums. I wanted to be Ace Frehley and started playing guitar. I was obsessed with KISS. Other than my guitar obsession (I’m still obsessed), all that was over by the time I hit the 8th grade. With a bit more maturity, I had become more interested in not just the current music of the time, like Van Halen, but another friend had introduced me to The Beatles, and I think I discovered the Rolling Stones on my own. I started paying attention to my mom’s music and got into CCR.
A few years later, I was walking through the music department of K-Mart, and saw the album cover for KISS’s latest album, Lick It Up, and learned that they had a couple of replacement members and had taken the makeup off. This was huge news in KISS world, but I was out of the KISS ARMY (that was the fan club) by that point.
And that’s the thing about KISS. Their audience was mostly little boys, such as myself. While KISS looked like a dangerous rock and roll band, at least at the beginning, they had become more of a marketing product than a rock and roll band. In addition to the posters I had, KISS were marketing lunch boxes, action figures, trading cards, bed sheets, pillows, comic books, and even had made a TV movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, which might be the worst TV movie ever.
KISS may have been serious about their music, but they weren’t taken seriously, which is difficult to obtain when each member is face-painted like a clown. The Insane Clown Posse is probably more respected. And while there are some gems in their catalog, most of their songs actually sucked. KISS chased trends. They started as a rock band striving to be on Led Zeppelin’s level, but they didn’t have the songwriting chops or musicianship, despite Ace Frehley being a badass (when he was sober enough to play on the albums, and didn’t force the band to use a hidden replacement for his lead guitar playing). KISS went from trying to be the next Beatles to producing a disco track, to chasing hair metal in the 80s, to writing songs with Michael Bolton and Bryan Adams, to making a grunge album. Critics didn’t like them, and they never made the cover of Rolling Stone during their prime (but did make it decades later for an article that was mostly retrospective).
They were more noted for their theatrics, fire-breathing, blood-spitting, and smoke pouring out of Frehley’s guitar than for their music.
Most musicians in respected rock bands are invited to play on other artists’ albums, such as Bob Seger, members of Fleetwood Mac, Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and every member of The Eagles. Even members of Cheap Trick got invites, and even lured Beatles producer George Martin to produce their albums. But I can’t think of a member of KISS who has ever played on another artist’s album. After leaving KISS, Ace Frehley called John Waite (the Missing You guy) to see if he’d like to start a band with him, and never got a return call. And Ace was the most successful solo artist to come out of the band (though his last album was embarrassing). Peter Criss’ albums are unlistenable.
Gene Simmons was not a good songwriter (sample lyric: “Let me put my log into your fire”), and his bass playing is still mocked today (they often used a hidden replacement, or Paul and Ace would play bass on the songs they wrote). Paul Stanley had an operatic voice (that didn’t have a natural sound), but he tried too hard to show it off, and his guitar playing and songwriting were cheesy. Peter Criss was more of a jazz drummer than a heavy rock guy like John Bonham of Zeppelin, and he had timing issues, but his voice had an amazing sound, especially considering that he was tone deaf. Ace Frehley, who is unfortunately a racist who used to get drunk and bang on his Jewish bandmates’ hotel room doors dressed as a Nazi (really. They used to call him RACE Frehley), inspired millions with his guitar playing, but his skills decreased due to his laziness and addictions. By hiring studio musicians to pretend to be Criss, Frehley, and Simmons on their albums and hiding it from the fans, KISS didn’t even take themselves seriously.
KISS was never a great band. So why are they the first to be honored by Donald Trump since he made himself the head of the Kennedy Center? Because Trump has no culture (ketchup on burnt steaks), and he has the maturity of a 12-year-old boy.
Trump will be hosting the ceremony for these “honors,” which will be interesting. People will probably tune in because folks love a good train wreck.
Each member of KISS expressed how honored and humbled they are for receiving these “honors,” but boys…being “honored” by Donald Trump isn’t really an honor.
That’s another difference between KISS and bands taken seriously. Musicians sue Trump to stop playing their music at his rallies.
And, yes. KISS has a song glorifying pedophilia. Gene Simmons wrote it. I had to adjust the lyrics for space, but those cited in the cartoon say,
“I don’t usually say things like this to girls your age, But when I saw you coming out of the school that day, That day I knew, I knew, I’ve got to have you, I’ve got to have you.”
Even as a kid, I thought it was weird that Gene only saw Christine because he was hanging outside her school. (snip-MORE)
The Trump regime sent a letter to the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday, requesting/demanding a “comprehensive internal review” of eight of its museums to bring the organization in line with Trump’s cultural directives ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations
The letter reads, This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.
The museums are the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
What will these reviews determine? That the African American History Museum is too Black? This is more fascism.
The letter also stated, “Within 120 days, museums should begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions across placards, wall didactics, digital displays, and other public-facing materials.”
The beatings will continue until morale improves. (snip-you bet there’s MORE)
The news media keep referring to Trump’s law & order agenda, which sets off my irony antenna. How about also mentioning in this coverage that Trump is a convicted felon and seditious ex-president who violated his sacred oath of office?
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Deep State Sandwich by Clay Jones
And this is why we can’t have $5-dollar foot longs anymore. Read on Substack
One of the editors who receives my cartoons wrote me today saying that he didn’t understand this cartoon, and would wait for the blog to explain it. Then he followed that with, “Hey, did you hear about the WNBA dildo throwers? Dude…
Anyhoos… Cops in Washington, DC have arrested a man who viciously attacked Border Patrol…with a Subway footlong sandwich. Maybe, if he had just thrown a 6-incher, there wouldn’t have been any ruckus over it, and Pam Bondi would have only charged him with a misdemeanor or would have been given a simple citation.
Baghdad wasn’t filled with violent insurgents until the US military invaded in 2003. It wasn’t long after the occupation of Iraq began that the terrorists showed up to kill Yankee devils, and I’m not talking about the Red Sox. Now, people who wanted to kill Americans didn’t have to travel so far.
W and Cheney promised a quick war, and they were right in that Saddam’s military was defeated in short order, but they ignored us when we told them the real fight would come after. Remember when they claimed we would be “greeted as liberators?” Yeah.
And you can say that cops weren’t being assaulted with sandwiches before Trump ordered the federalization of Washington, DC. Federalizing DC has not been greeted with warmth. It’s been greeted with derision and Subway sandwiches. I hope it wasn’t an Italian BMT. Those are my favorites. Remember the crab salad sub? What happened to those?
On Wednesday night, around 11 p.m., a man approached several Border Patrol officers in Washington, DC, in front of a Subway sandwich shop. Sean Charles Dun, the sandwich guy, reportedly called the heavily armed officers “fucking fascists,” yelling, “I don’t want you in my city!” before hurling a wrapped Subway sandwich at the chest of a Border Patrol cop, which bounced off his riot gear harmlessly. Kash Patel, a joke of an FBI director (this doesn’t help), shared a video of the incident. Dunn was later caught, “I did it. I threw a sandwich.”
The video is hilarious as you watch several cops chase a sandwich-throwing man in a pink shirt down the street. I get the whole chasing thing when they had a free sandwich. Maybe it was chicken teriyaki. You bastard!
Attorney General (ha!), Pam Bondi said, “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ.” That’s not a joke. She literally tweeted that. J6 was a little harmless protest, and the real danger is these deep-state sandwich fuckers. First, they sex traffic babies out of the basement of a DC pizza parlor, and now they’re throwing sandwiches at federal law enforcement. (snip-but wait, there’s MORE!)
DC is so crime-ridden, that the top federal official is a 34-count felon Read on Substack
Despite the nation’s capital being at a 30-year low in crime, Donald Trump has now federalized it, installing 800 National Guard troops to patrol the city because a former DOGE guy (white dude) got slapped around by some kids.
Fun fact: National Guardsmen are NOT cops. They have not been trained in police work. What authority do they have?
During a rambling and slurry 80-minute press conference while flanked by goons such as Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel, and Jeannine Pirro (it gets worse as you go down the line), Trump talked about sending the military into other cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Baltimore. All cities with Black mayors.
This is going to be like Star Wars, where stormtroopers are stopping citizens on the streets, demanding to see their IDs.
During his rant, Trump said, “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.” It’s illegal to be homeless now? Is it illegal to be young?
Every time I copy and paste one of Trump’s quotes, Grammarly loses its shit. I think it wants to scream at me, “THAT’S NOT HOW WORDS WORK!” (snip, and there’s MORE)
Today on GoComics, a very ignorant and vile person claimed “leftists” are in favor of forever wars. That pissed me off. I wasn’t pissed because he insulted us, or that he called us “leftists,” and not even that he’s wrong. He uses “leftists,” as though he’s describing Daniel Ortega and Sandinistas. If you think there’s a comparison between Daniel Ortega and today’s Democratic Party, then you should talk to my friend Pedro Molina. I guess “liberal” isn’t scary enough for the MAGAts anymore. What pissed me off is that because of his ignorance and inability to understand our position, he took it upon himself to assign one for us.
It’s not just him. This is a talking point, and I hate talking points. Yeah, both sides have them, but while liberals will use them out of convenience, MAGAts use them out of ignorance and laziness. It saves them time and effort from actually researching. All MAGA cartoonists would prefer to use talking points rather than understand an issue. It’s also a cover for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Besides all that, MAGA talking points are always bullshit.
I’m anti-war. I had a battle every day with my editor at The Free Lance-Star because I wouldn’t draw cartoons supporting the invasion of Iraq. If I’m not going to support an illegal invasion by my country, then why would I support one by Russia?
The idiots who claim we support forever wars support the guy who started the war in Ukraine. After Putin illegally invaded Ukraine over a flimsy excuse about Nazis, Donald Trump called him a “genius” for it. I wonder if Trump thinks he’s a genius for invading DC on a flimsy excuse that Big Balls was attacked.
Supporting Ukraine, that nation that did not start this war, and its right to defend itself from a much stronger aggressor does not mean I want the war to last forever. Supporting arming Ukraine for it to defend itself from an invading force stealing its land and killing its people doesn’t mean I want the war to last forever. Anyone who believes that is a lazy idiot. Speaking of lazy idiots…
Trump and Putin will sit down tomorrow in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trump is already prepared to reward Putin for his illegal invasion. Trump is proposing that Russia be gifted portions of Ukraine, which won’t be good enough for Putin. Putin wants the entire nation. If Trump were around in World War II, he would have given Hitler Poland. (snip; of course there is MORE)
When’s the last time we heard from Sarah Palin? Read on Substack
The last time Trump and Putin held a summit, the two “presidents” met privately with only their translators present. Trump had a Russian translator, and Putin had one who could translate English and Word Salad. After the private confab, Trump took the translators’ notes, and some say he ate them, which is why he always travels with ketchup. Then they held a joint press conference where Putin didn’t have to deny that he meddled in the 2016 election, because Trump did it for him. During the summit, Putin gave Trump a soccer ball to give to his son and future serial killer, Barron, and Trump gave Putin his balls.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 for war crimes, but just like Benjamin Netanyahu, he’ll visit the United States without any worries of Trump arresting him. Trump is too busy arresting black teenagers in the District anyway.
The major issue in this summit is ending the war, or at least obtaining a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but they’re doing this without the involvement of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump has done this before, making a deal with the Taliban for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, without involving the government of that nation at the time. Don’t expect a peace deal to come out of this.
Maybe on the side, they’ll negotiate a new Trump Tower for Moscow. I mean, Trump negotiated business deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE last time he was in the Middle East. Now I think that’s really going to happen. Maybe Putin will give him a used plane nobody else wants.
What will come out of it will be Donald Trump appeasing Putin and further embarrassing the United States in front of the world. Trump has already embarrassed us by choosing Alaska for the summit.
The US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, which Russia has regretted ever since. Holding the summit in who-knows-where in Alaska gives Putin a nod that borders can change and land can be bought, sold, and conquered. Will Putin ask Trump to give Alaska back? Maybe he’ll convince TACO that it would be a historic deal. Or maybe Trump will trade Alaska for an Eskimo pie.
And no, we don’t know where in Alaska this summit is going to be planned. Will it be in Fairbanks, Juneau, or Anchorage? If it’s held in Sitka, it’ll be a huge gift to Putin, as that city was where the ceremony was held for Russia’s transfer of Alaska to America. Now, I think it’s going to be held in Sitka. (snip-MORE)
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Trump and his NFP hold a news conference by Ann Telnaes
The autocrat in chief announces his takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department Read on Substack
about the day, or my mood, or maybe even the moon phase (full at around 2:30 tomorrow morning,) but I LOL’d at this top one. I’m including a few others for a little more fun.
(For me, it’s my watch. I even bought a simpler one so I wouldn’t obsess, but I’ve found a way to obsess, anyway. sigh 😄 🏃 It just now buzzed me, so I gotta go do my 10 at 10!)
Here’s to people staying off Democrats’s necks as they fight this in the same fashion. Gerrymandering hurts my heart; I live in a state gerrymandered to just barely inside the law. I don’t like it for any state no matter the majority, but. If one’s gonna do it, they all ought to.
Of course, if we had instant runoff voting and no parties, this wouldn’t be a thing. Everyone would have someone to vote For. And we’d be a democratic republic today. -A
What do Republicans cheat at more, golf or elections? It’s a tough call. But cheating at one of those things means that they’ll cheat at the other.
Republicans in Texas are trying to reshape their congressional districts, even though it’s not the time redistricting is normally done. Usually, that’s shortly after the results of the census are published (which is once a decade), and states redistrict according to the new population size, and to fit with possible changes, such as new districts or losing them.
During the last census, Texas picked up two congressional seats because its population grew during the 2010s. Since the Texas legislature is controlled by Republicans, they were able to draw up the district maps. Naturally, they redraw them to favor Republicans. It’s not like they would do it honestly. They’re Republicans.
This is called gerrymandering, and Texas is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation. Wisconsin is number one.
Texas now has 38 congressional districts, with 25 of them going to Republicans, 12 going to Democrats, and one is currently vacant. But even after winning a huge majority after gerrymandering, 25 congressional seats are not enough for Texas Republicans, so they want to redraw the lines again in their favor.
Texas will be blue someday, or at least a swing state. The best way to keep people from sending Democrats to Congress is to take away Democratic candidates. After gerrymandering, voters are not choosing the candidate. The candidates are choosing the voters. It’s horrible, rotten, unfair, and neither party should do it. But Republicans don’t care if they cheat.
After Joe Biden won the presidency in 2020 in what experts say was the most secure election in American history, Republicans cried foul and set out to change election laws in every state. In Georgia, for example, where Biden won in 2020, and Blue areas are growing, Republicans changed voting laws, and Trump won over Kamala Harris in 2024 by just 2.20 percent. In Texas, they focused on changing the laws, not for every district, just the districts that had a majority of Black voters. They tried to make it as hard as hell to vote in Houston.
Republicans said all these changes were for election “integrity.” But how much integrity do you have when you make it illegal to give an old lady a bottle of water while she’s waiting in line for nine hours in the Georgia heat? It’s a fact that when fewer people vote, Republicans win.
The 2024 election, which Trump “won,” had fewer voters than in 2020, when Biden won. (snip-MORE)
Scottie's Playtime 