Cartoons: the political pendulum in action

The defeat of Alabama's Roy Moore may be somewhat stale news now, but these cartoonists' takes on it are still timely and noteworthy.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Steve Sack, The Week

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Tom Toles, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: tiki torches and swastikas

As if you haven't had enough already, here are some more comments on the fray in Charlottesville.

This one made me laugh.

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Chip Bok, The Week

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Here's a primer for would-be neo-Nazis.

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David Horsey, The Week

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And a little history lesson--it won't hurt, I promise.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Lost in translation

Today I'm looking at Mitch McConnell's Health Care Folly; a reminder of what's on the GOP's plate (since they rule the U.S. government now, however ineffectively) and Trump's Russian connection(s).

This cartoon by David Horsey is, to me, priceless.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Do I see fear in the Senate and House leaders' faces? The one in the middle is clueless.

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Chip Bok, The Week

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From what I see here on the sidelines, Trump is doing everything he can to quell investigation of his alleged Russian connections.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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Especially since he sat talking privately with Putin for an hour, using a Russian translator.

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Clay Jones, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: voices of America

Mostly having avoided showing comments about Trump, because enough is already being said, I couldn't resist this one.

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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This one made me laugh; haven't done that at a cartoon in quite a while. However, the subject matter is NOT laughable. Recently I've been receiving emails from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) urging me to call my Alaska representative in the Senate Lisa Murkowski. I've tried that before--she's not listening. [edited 4:54p AKDT]

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Tom Toles, The Week

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My friend Scott, a normally sensible person, quotes this guy and nothing will change Scott's mind. My take is--the less people feel that they have control of their lives. the more they turn to conspiracy theories.

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David Horsey, The Week

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--Marge

Cartoon: Trump's first 100 days

This post is late because I'm so tired from watching the news to see if Trump does something truly stupid and I should prepare to flee. Actually this statement is an alternative fact, but I figure if the POTUS can do it, so can I.

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David Horsey, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: above all corporations must PROFIT

Now that we're in full bow-to-the-billionaires mode; and corporations have finally taken over the U.S. government, bending it to their wills, what's the punchline? I keep thinking of Max Headroom's dystopia. But for a taste of the full scope of dystopian societies in fiction, take a look at Wikipedia's lists.

So much for Trump's promises of more jobs. According to the New York Times, the Coal Mining Jobs Trump Would Bring Back No Longer Exist.

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David Horsey, The Week

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I don't think this is the 50 shades of gray that people wanted to see.

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David Fitzsimmons, The Week

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Don't forget that corporate image is very important, even when the public doesn't know certain legging-wearing people are associated with the company (until the stewards draw attention to them). And what about that leg room?

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Steve Kelley, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: White House Yard Sale and States' Rights

While many are mourning a 'reasonable' and 'predictable' presidency, the current challenges may herald the birth of states' rights movements not centered on holding fast to outmoded values (mostly Southern), such as segregation and other forms of bigotry. The venerable Nation, a publication that dates back to 1865, published recently "West Coast Politicians Are Fighting Back Against Donald Trump," stating

This could become the largest resistance movement to federal policy in more than a century.

The Washington Times wrote "California discovers states’ rights."

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David Horsey, The Week

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Nordstrom's, headquartered in Seattle, has dropped Ivanka Trump's fashion label; and the stock market has responded. Trump is furious.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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So will we soon see yard sales on the White House lawn offering Donald's and Ivanka's goods for sale? It's possible, but not if a congressional ethics review is, well, ethical.

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Mike Luckovich, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: next, the impeachment

No doubt some (the protesters) are saying Trump's Inauguration was a success and some (his supporters) are saying it was spoiled by the protesters. At any rate he's been sworn in and the CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) says he's now eligible for impeachment.

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Gary Varvel, The Week

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Setting up the Inaugural ball appears to have been difficult, with a number of performers declining to appear. Here's what NPR has to say about it: For The Inauguration, Trump's Music Picks Look A Lot Like Richard Nixon's.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Those of us on the sidelines may be feeling like a great shadow has fallen across America.

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John Cole, The Week

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And the threat of Russian interference still hangs in the air.

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RJ Matson, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Americans ARE watching

Something very interesting happened this week--Americans altered the course of GOP congressmen. On January 3rd there was this headline: With No Warning, House Republicans Vote to Gut Independent Ethics Office. Then American voters reacted: Amid Ethics Office Debacle, Googling Congress Members Spiked. Sort Of. Then, Under fire, Republicans back off vote on House ethics changes. Here's a small collection of some cartoonists' takes on the ethics situation.

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Mike Luckovich, The Week

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Jack Ohman, The Week

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John Darkow, The Week

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Meanwhile, North Korea's "supreme leader Kim Jong Un warned that the nation was in the "final stage" of preparations to test an intercontinental ballistic missile." The Atlantic has this article, How to Stop a Nuclear Missile, in the technology section.

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Chris Britt, The Week

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As a reminder (as if one is needed), here's David Horsey's summary of American politics.

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David Horsey, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: it's definitely over

Here are three cartoons looking at the aftermath of the 2016 election.

As you know, while Hillary got the most votes, Trump got the most electoral votes. There's talk of ending the Electoral College system, but do you really think that a government controlled by Republicans, who used the electoral votes so well to their advantage, will do anything to end it? Don't even get me started on Republican gerrymandering; in my view that's voter fraud. Meanwhile, the GOP is just as dysfunctional as it was before the election, so let them stew in their own juices. Let us non-Republicans vow to speak out when needed.

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Chan Lowe, The Week

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Marshall Ramsey, The Week

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David Horsey, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Zika, academic testing, and Trump (again)

The 2016 Summer Olympics start today with the lighting of the cauldron by someone not Pelé. Here's cartoonist Nate Beeler's take on the event.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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And school starts soon. Cartoonist Marshall Ramsey calls it "testing." Former venture capitalist and education philanthropist Ted Dintersmith and Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (whew!) Tony Wagner co-wrote an article about academic testing and what it does not accomplish: Opinion: America desperately needs to redefine ‘college and career ready'. Is it old-fashioned or misguided to wonder what happened to learning for the sake of learning?

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Marshall Ramsey, The Week

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Then there's Trump...again. This time he's insulted the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq. Trump claims to have sacrificed as much as the Khan family did; the twitter-verse weighed-in.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Meanwhile, Paul Ryan, Republican Speaker of the House, responds.

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Mike Luckovich, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Bernie-love lives on, despite the DNC

Apparently Julian Assange of Wikileaks doesn't want Hillary to win either (see link below). More disturbing is the suspicion that Russia is trying to influence the 2016 election. The New York Times reports "Spy Agency Consensus Grows That Russia Hacked D.N.C." To say nothing of the hit on my misplaced trust in the democratic process.

The cartoons below tell the story of the convention, mostly from a pro-Bernie viewpoint. Hat's off to cartoonists David Horsey and Drew Sheneman, both beautifully on-topic.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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David Horsey, The Week

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Steve Sack, The Week

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John Deering, The Week

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: putting Benghazi to rest

We have two topics today--the House Benghazi Report of 2016 and Brexit.

In the case of the report: House Benghazi Report Finds No New Evidence of Wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton. According to this reference, expenses to produce the report over a period greater than 2 years are estimated to be more than $7 million. Here's how some cartoonists view it.

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Pat Bagley, The Week

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John Darkow, The Week

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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At least 62% of Scots want to remain in the European Union; The Guardian asks, Can Scotland remain in the EU after Brexit?  The Telegraph reports on where the EU referendum won and lost, saying Northern Ireland, Scotland and London only areas not to vote for Brexit. Here's some humor to go along with the news.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Marian Kamensky, The Week

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--Marge

Cartoons: thwip, thwack and ping

Today I'm riffing on the US's do-nothing Congress, the NRA, the GOP's victimhood (they earned it), and internet trolls.

Nate Beeler at the Columbus Dispatch makes a subtle comment on U.S. gun control. A copy is available for sale at Cagle's Political Cartoons.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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Steve Sack at the Star Tribune makes it clear that the NRA is a carrion-eating buzzard feeding the Congressional pigeons. A copy is available for sale at Cagle's Political Cartoons.

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Steve Sack, The Week

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Independent cartoonist Chan Lowe at Tribune Content Agency brings up a good point about the GOP.

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Chan Lowe, The Week

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David Horsey at the Los Angeles Times defines troll for us. He can also be found at Tribune Content Agency.

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David Horsey, The Week

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-- Marge