May 11, 1973 Charges against former Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg (including conspiracy, espionage and larceny) for his role in the release of The Pentagon Papers (a comprehensive classified study of the origins and conduct of the Vietnam War) were dismissed. Judge William M. Byrne cited government misconduct, including attempts to bribe him with an appointment as FBI Director, and previously undisclosed wiretaps of Ellsberg. His compatriot, Tony Russo, a former RAND Corporation analyst, was also released. Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers a book review Daniel Ellsberg’s website
May 11, 1975 80,000 turned out in New York City’s Central Park to celebrate the end of the Vietnam War.
I apologize for the lateness of today’s blog, but I had three deadlines today. I’ll explain further in a future blog.
We have the first American pope, and to add to that, he’s from Chicago. How cool is that? I think Chicago all by itself spites Trump, but a pope who’s criticized the administration for its policies on immigration is a nice plus. Also, Pope Leo XIV is against the death penalty, racism (Trump is a racist), and understands that Climate Change is a real thing and not a “hoax” created by China.
One of the first things I was curious about with our Chicago pope was if he is a Cubs fan. The Chicago Cubs posted on their famous marquee above Addison Street at Wrigley Field that Pope Leo is a Cubs fan. They got it wrong. So did some cartoonists.
Henry Payne is already an idiot. That’s not new news. Randy Bish rushed to judgment.
But it didn’t matter to him because he just made a simple swap when he found out he was wrong.
Sorry, Randy, but this is generic cartooning. Plus, nobody should listen to you about Chicago. You’re from Pittsburgh.
What else is from Pittsburgh is this shit.
What is it? It’s ketchup. There’s nothing special about this ketchup. It’s just regular shitty Heinz ketchup, but the company was trying to trick Chicagoans to fuck up their hot dogs with it. It didn’t work, and Eater.com let them know it.
I’m sure the Pope would agree that it’s sacrilege to put ketchup on a hot dog, but since he’s the Pope, he would probably forgive you, but I won’t. How dare you put ketchup on a hot dog? What are you? Five?
I used to have a theory that people who love ketchup had mothers who couldn’t cook. I developed this theory because my ex-wife LOVED ketchup, and her mother could not cook. I hope she doesn’t read this because she’s very nice and my son’s grandmother. My father-in-law, may he rest in peace, made the best fried pork chops I’ve ever had.
I think there are only four acceptable reasons for using ketchup, and they are, for crinkle-cut fries, very bad fries, meatloaf, and if you’re five. I kid, I kid. I know some of you love your ketchup, and none of us is perfect. For example, Donald Trump LOVES ketchup. Let that sink in.
What I learned about Chicago pizza is that most Chicagoans eat more tavern-style than deep dish. Chicagoans like deep dish, but it’s more for special occasions and when they have visitors. Deep dish is more for tourists. I don’t really get deep dish, and I don’t even think it should be considered a pizza.
Do you remember Pizza Rat’s first trip to Chicago last year? He tried the deep dish.
Not a fan.
Today’s cartoon put me in the mood for tavern-style tonight, and Pizza Hut has it as a special. When I picked it up, the manager apologized because they had accidentally cut it into triangles instead of squares. A lot of Chicagoans would not stand for that, but I’m tolerant. I thought of Pope Leo, and I forgave them…this time.
Shout-out and dedication: I dedicate this cartoon to Greg Zaborniak, who introduced me to Old Style beer and tavern-style Chicago pizza last year during the Democratic convention. Thank you again, Greg.
Creative note: I didn’t know what I was going to draw today, and I also had a deadline for the Advance. And then, one of my clients contacted me wanting a cartoon on a local issue, and they wanted it today. So, I was facing three deadlines with zero ideas. But they came to me, one by one, and I knocked ‘em all down.
I deserved that pizza.
There’s a version of this cartoon without Pizza Rat. I didn’t include him because not everyone who will see this cartoon will be a regular reader of mine, and they might think the rat is an aspersion on Catholicism. So I sent it to my clients without Peezy. But then, a reader changed my mind because he thought it was a bigger sin to include a pizza without Pizza Rat. I figured I was going to hear more howls about missing Peezy than I’d hear from angry Catholics. The version at GoComics may not feature Peezy because sometimes a new file won’t override the existing file. I did resend the Peezy version to my clients, but they’ll use the one they want, and maybe not even care.
May 10, 1857 The Sepoy Rebellion was triggered in Meerut, India, when native troops (known as Sepoys, which also designated a rank equivalent to private) turned on their British officers.It was the first instance of armed resistance against colonial rule. Indians constituted 96% of the 300,000-man British Army.Loading the Lee-Enfield Rifled Musket assigned to the Sepoys involved biting the end of a cartridge greased in a combination of pig fat and beef tallow. “Attack of the Mutineers,” a British illustration of the Sepoy Rebellion The former is haraam (forbidden) under Islamic law, the latter offensive to Hindus who consider the cow as aghanya (that which may not be slaughtered). When the Sepoys, including both Hindu and Muslim Indians, became aware of this, some refused to load their weapons. Mangal Pandey, a soldier in the Army shot his commander for forcing the Indian troops to use the controversial rifles. When others were charged with mutiny for refusing, Sepoys turned on their officers and released the imprisoned soldiers. The rebellion is now considered the first Indian war for independence. More on the rebellion
May 10, 1967 Army Captain Howard Levy, a physician, was imprisoned three years for refusing to train U.S. Special Forces soldiers for Vietnam. He refused an order to perform the training as he considered it a violation of his medical ethics. “The United States is wrong in being involved in the Viet Nam War. I would refuse to go to Viet Nam if ordered to do so. I don’t see why any colored soldier would go to Viet Nam: they should refuse to go to Viet Nam and if sent should refuse to fight because they are discriminated against and denied their freedom in the United States, and they are sacrificed and discriminated against in Viet Nam by being given all the hazardous duty and they are suffering the majority of casualties.” – From the Supreme Court case, Parker, Warden, et al. v. Levy.
May 10, 1968 Peace talks began in Paris between the U.S. and North Vietnam with businessman, former New York governor, ambassador and cabinet secretary W. Averell Harriman representing the United States. Former Foreign Minister Xuan Thuy, heading the North Vietnamese delegation, immediately demanded cessation of U.S. bombing.
May 10, 1972 Jane Briggs Hart, the wife of Senator Philip A. Hart (D-Michigan), informed the Internal Revenue Service that she wouldn’t pay some of her taxes; instead, she deposited her quarterly estimated tax of $6,200 in a special bank account. She wrote: “I cannot contribute one more dollar toward the purchase of more bombs and bullets.” Jane Briggs Hart More about Jane Briggs Hart
May 10, 1980 A federal judge in Salt Lake City, Utah, found the U.S. government negligent for its above-ground testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada from 1951 to 1962. The land of the Nevada Test Site is scarred with craters from nuclear testing.
May 10, 1994 Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president. He had won the country’s first election in which all South Africans could vote, regardless of race. Mandela had spent nearly three decades imprisoned for his part in the struggle to attain political and civil rights for black and colored citizens. This ended more than three centuries of white rule, beginning with the Dutch in 1652. Biography of Nelson Mandela South African chronology
May 9, 1967 In April, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali had refused induction into the U.S. Army based on his religious convictions.He claimed, “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” On this day, following his indictment by 24 hours, he was stripped of his title and his license to fight by the World Boxing Association. In June, a court found him guilty of draft evasion, fined him $10,000, and sentenced him to five years in prison. He remained free, pending numerous appeals, but was still barred from fighting for three years. Muhammad Ali refuses Army induction Remembering Muhammad Ali’s act of defiance
May 9, 1969 The New York Times revealed the United States had been secretly bombing Cambodia—officially a noncombatant, neutral country—during the Vietnam War.
May 9, 1970 Five days after the Kent State killings [see May 4, 1970], 100,000 marched in Washington, D.C. against the Vietnam War. On the same day, about 600 Canadian protesters defaced the Peace Arch at the U.S.-Canadian border in Blaine, Washington.
May 9, 1979 At least 18 demonstrators were killed and many wounded after police opened fire on anti-government protesters outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. CBS reporter: “The police continued to fire as bodies piled up on the cathedral steps” More (including graphic video) on the cathedral bloodbath
May 9, 1996 In San Salvador six soldiers were arrested in the slaying of Catholic church workers from the U.S.
Dueling Substacks about the new Pope, one from Charlotte Clymer, one from The Alt Media (language alert); both inoffensively readable by those who frequent here. Well, the language thing maybe. Snippets, not full pieces.
An American for Pope and a Great Choice by Charlotte Clymer
Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost has just been elected the 267th Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church, taking the name Leo XIV.
He was only made a cardinal in 2023 and was serving as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, or overseeing the selection of new bishops. Prior to that was a long pastoral career in Peru. He speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German.
Goodness gracious, y’all, I could not have been more wrong in my prediction for the new pope. I never thought the cardinal electors would select an American. To say I’m stunned would be an understatement.
However, for the record, I did humor his chances in my prediction:
For example, there’s a (very unlikely) scenario in which someone like Cardinal Robert Prevost is elected: a compromise candidate who’s broadly considered safe and palatable between both ends of the ideological spectrum. But there are other cardinals that fit this and Prevost could be in 20+ years.
Okay, so, here are my initial thoughts:
This is a great choice, and I’m quite happy.
Folks need to understand that any choice for the new pope was going to be nominally anti-LGBTQ in a number of ways. What’s important is compassion and openness toward LGBTQ folks, and I’m optimistic that Pope Leo XIV will continue that direction pursued by Pope Francis. (snip-MORE)
We might have that second question wrong. But thanks to twitter, we know the answer to the first one. And while we doubt the new pope really hates Vance, it’s nice to know he at least disagrees with the ass-kissing couch-fuck.
Before he became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, Robert Prevost was on twitter. And it was there that he wrote “JD Vance is wrong,” posting a story that was a rebuke of Vance’s hateful beliefs. It was on twitter that he suggested he wants to battle climate change and believes that Black lives matter and subtweeted about Trump laughing at Kilmar Garcia. Thanks to twitter, we know the new pope is nothing like the new president. https://embed.bsky.app/embed/did:plc:5xeqzwhqcwnczcb62wv3da7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3loohb33sps2i?id=5706215191635626
The new pope is an American. And there’s nothing more American than thinking JD Vance is a douchebag. (snip-MORE, and you can see the bluesky bit on the page)
May 8, 1882 The American Peace Society was established when the peace societies of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania merged to become a national organization. Currently based in Boston, the merged organization was a result of the leadership of William Ladd, an advocate of a “Congress and High Court of Nations” for solving international disputes. William Ladd, one of the founders of the American Peace Society American Peace Society
May 8, 1933 Mohandas Gandhi began a 21-day fast to support political rights for the Dalit (or untouchables) whom he called Harijans, the children of God. He had been jailed by the British to interfere with his movement to end colonial control of India. He was released the day after he began his personal purification because the colonial authorities were afraid he might die in prison. Gandhi And His Fasts
May 8, 1962 An estimated 9,000,000 people in Belgium participated in a ten-minute work stoppage to protest nuclear weapons.
May 8, 1971 Nguyen Thi Co immolated herself in protest of the Vietnam War, as did Thich Nu Tinh Nhuan later that month.
May 8, 1984 Presbyterian minister Reverend Benjamin Weir was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon, while out walking with his wife, Carol. Members of Islamic Jihad (later known as Hezbollah), a terrorist group in Lebanon, held Weir for sixteen months—twelve of them in solitary confinement—along with six other Americans who were released later, including journalist Terry Anderson. Before the kidnapping, Weir had spent nearly three decades in Lebanon as a Christian missionary and teacher at the Near East School of Theology. In his various positions in the Presbyterian church since his release, Weir was a voice for reconciliation and tolerance. Reverend Benjamin Weir
May 7, 1954 The battle at Vietnam’s Dien Bien Phu ended after 55 days with Viet Minh insurgents overrunning French colonial forces, and forcing their surrender. An agreement for complete French withdrawal was negotiated within two months in Geneva, Switzerland. The battle began in March, when a force of 40,000 Vietnamese troops armed with heavy artillery surrounded 15,000 French soldiers holding the French position under siege. The Viet Minh guerrillas had been fighting a long and bloody war against French colonial control of Vietnam since 1946. French prisoners being marched by Viet Minh out of Dien Bien Phu, May 7, 1954
May 7, 1955 The Reverend George Lee, one of the first black people registered to vote in Humphreys County, Mississippi, and who used his pulpit and his printing press to urge others to vote, was murdered in his hometown of Belzoni. Rev George Lee The county sheriff had initially refused to accept Reverend Lee’s poll tax (a tax collected before someone was allowed to vote, which became unconstitutional in 1964), but he was later allowed to vote after contacting federal authorities. That, and the subsequent registration of 92 other negro citizens he helped register, angered some white residents of the county. His assailants were never caught, and Reverend Lee is considered the first martyr of the civil rights movement. More on Reverend Lee
May 7, 1984 American veterans of the Vietnam War reached a $180-million out-of-court settlement with seven chemical companies in a class-action suit relating to use of the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam. The veterans charged they had suffered injury and illness from exposure to the defoliant used widely in the war to eliminate jungle cover for Vietnamese forces opposing the U.S. military presence. Book review about the ongoing effects of Agent Orange
May 7, 1996 15,000 protesters demonstrated against the import of French nuclear waste to Gorleben, Germany. Water cannons were used to disperse the crowd.
May 6, 1916 Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman started the No Conscription League in the U.S. to discourage young men from registering for the draft which had passed Congress the previous month. This was prior to American troops’ being sent to Europe in what is known as World War I. Read the No-Conscription League Manifesto
May 6, 1944 Mohandas Gandhi, due to declining health, was released from his last imprisonment in India, having spent 2,338 days in jail during his lifetime.
May 6, 1954 Two American pilots and most of their crew died flying ammunition supply missions to French colonial troops under siege by Vietnamese insurgent troops under General Vo Nguyen Giap. James “Earthquake McGoon” McGovern and Wallace Buford became the first U.S. aviators to die in Vietnam. Pres. Dwight Eisenhower had not wanted to commit the U.S. military to Vietnam so shortly after the end of the war in Korea, so McGovern and Buford were working for an organization contracted by the CIA.
May 6, 1970 U.S. Senate hearings began on ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Similar amendments had been introduced in every Congress since 1923. Writer and editor Gloria Steinem testified: “During twelve years of working for a living, I’ve experienced much of the legal and social discrimination reserved for women in this country. I have been refused service in public restaurants, ordered out of public gathering places, and turned away from apartment rentals, all for the clearly stated, sole reason that I am a woman.” Gloria Steinem in 1970 Steinem’s full testimony more ERA history
May 6, 1973 14 cities across France saw demonstrations against their country’s nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean.
May 6, 1979 125,000 rallied in Washington, D.C. to oppose nuclear power.
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