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: Like it or not

Today's mix looks at the GOP's (possible) dawning self-awareness, Applesauce, and Facebook's new 'Like' buttons.

Republican self-destruction is fun to watch, but bad for us all (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post).

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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Apple Goes to Court, and F.B.I. Presses Congress to Settle iPhone Privacy Fight (New York Times). Also, The Morning Download: Encryption App Gains Popularity Amid Apple Privacy Battle (Wall Street Journal).

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John Cole, The Week

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Then there's Facebook...

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: only the 2016 GOP presidential race is funny (and that not so much)

Today's comments include Bernie Sanders on climate change and terrorism, ISIS, a no-Syrians policy in America, innocent Muslim bystanders, and the 2012 vs. 2015 presidential races.

While some scoff, Bernie has a good point and doubles down on [the] climate change-terrorism link in a CBS news piece, which reported:

"If we are going to see an increase in drought, in flood, and extreme weather disturbances as a result of climate change, what that means is that people all over the world are going to be fighting over limited natural resources," the Vermont senator said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," elaborating on an argument he made during the CBS News Democratic debate Saturday night. "If there is not enough water, if there is not enough land to grow your crops, then you're going to see migrations of people fighting over land that will sustain them. And that will lead to international conflict."

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Chip Bok, The Week

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I must admit it feels good to reduce ISIS to cockroaches.

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David Horsey, The Week

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The New York Times reports: G.O.P. Governors Vow to Close Doors to Syrian Refugees. I take exception to the word 'prudent' in the video; sounds like doublespeak to me.

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Jack Ohman, The Week

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Molenbeek, a Muslim community in Belgium, is where Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected architect of the Paris attacks, lived. The residents of  Molenbeek are telling us, 'We are not terrorists'.

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Chan Lowe, The Week

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I keep wondering, if I were to vote for a Republican candidate, who could I possibly vote for?

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John Cole, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: pretending to be pure

Hypocrisy is an ugly word and even uglier to see in action, but we're seeing a lot of it lately.

O.K. Cuban leaders do not have a clean record when it comes to human rights; but, thanks to America's response to 9/11, neither do we.  See Gitmo.

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John Cole, The Week

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Do you think the Republican Party will ever rejoin humanity?

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Tom Toles, The Week

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Shame on you, Atlanta teachers. What if you catch your students cheating?

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Rick McKee, The Week

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Now that April 15th, aka Tax Day in the U.S., is over, we can laugh.

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Marshall Ramsey, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Cruz news and a robin

So...Cruz is running for president. Why am I not surprised.

It looks like cartoonist John Cole doesn't like him much.

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John Cole, The Week

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Cruz, a Tea Party guy, does have a history with the Republican Party.

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John Cole, The Week

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The media is ecstatic.

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Rick McKee, The Week

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And, finally, a robin for spring, such as it is (NOAA: Departure of average temperature from normal [in degrees F], Feb 2015).

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Gary Markstein, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Obama, Republicans, China, and Ted Cruz

Again, today's cartoons are an assortment of what caught my eye. The last cartoon made me guffaw.

Obama's Plan to overhaul of the nation’s immigration enforcement system may allow millions of immigrants to stay and work in U.S. says the New York Times. The Republicans are not pleased.

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John Cole, The Week

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China and the United States agreed on Wednesday to new limits on carbon emissions starting in 2025, but there is little agreement on cybersecurity.

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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Top Republicans slammed the carbon emissions agreement.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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If emissions aren't brought under control, this may happen.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Meanwhile, Ted Cruz will give us the recipe for net neutrality today in Austin at Capital Factory.

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Cameron Cardow, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: sour drops for Halloween

For today, here are some cartoons playing on the Halloween theme and some that caught my attention.

The GOP base may be alive, but is it aware?

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John Cole, The Week

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According to the Wikipedia article on low information voters:

Some low-information voters' views are more moderate than those of high-information voters, they are less likely to vote, and are looking for a candidate they find personally appealing. They tend to be swing voters, and they tend to vote split-ticket more than well-informed voters do, researchers say because they lack a coherent ideology.

Seems to me this Wikipedia article sounds biased. Voting a split-ticket may be a good thing; it might help to break up some of the partisanship in Washington.

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David Fitzsimmons, The Week

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A hazmat suit is a costume, too, just a hopefully well-functioning one.

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RJ Matson, The Week

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Creationists aren't going to like this one.

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Chan Lowe, The Week

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This cartoon depicts its environment beautifully well. But it begs the question: does anyone have faith in the reality television genre?

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Rick McKee, The Week

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--Marge

Cartoons: know your enemy

On average I'm currently receiving daily 2 to 4 spam emails from the Democratic Party, 2 to 3 spam emails from my state Senator Mark Begich, and the odd spam email from candidates in other states (Sheldon Whitehouse, really?). Most of them because I subscribed to Obama's Organizing for America, his grassroots campaign. Begich got my email address from a petition. If I contributed the minimum at each email, I'd be spending somewhere near $1000.00 a month. None of these organizations allow you to unsubscribe. Needless to say all of these emails go to the trash on arrival.

But the Democrats, in my view, are still preferable to the Republicans. Here are some cartoons poking fun at both.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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Dan Wasserman, The Week

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Tom Toles, The Week

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And then there's Fox News pushing Ebola fear.

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John Cole, The Week

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It's enough to make one want to opt out completely.

-- Marge

Cartoons: quaking, hedging, fleeing, and shooting

Reporters have a wealth of news to give us this week, sad to say.

The number of earthquakes is up in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, gas producers in Pennsylvania quake at proposed taxes.

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John Cole, The Week

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The CDC keeps losing (or misplacing) infectious toxins.

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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Violence in Chicago may be somewhat comparable to that in Central America.

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Scott Stantis, The Week

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The Mideast, specifically Palestine-Israel, appears to be imploding.  This opinion in Al Jazeera asks if Hamas provokes Israel to attack Gaza.

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Dana Summers, The Week

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Russia is proving deadly, as well. Hopefully, this will not be the final result.

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David Fitzsimmons, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Carry a big Sharpie

Among the perpetual reports of unwelcome news: Iraq is back again. For extensive coverage, check out NBC's "Iraq Turmoil" page. As you have probably heard, ISIS is the new enemy. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross' article "Why Iraq's jihadists just keep on coming back meaner" is a good read on the topic.

Today's political cartoons aren't particularly funny (my apologies), but they do offer some good insights.

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Dana Summers, US News

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John Cole, The Week

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Walt Handelsman, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Canary in a coal mine

Drew Sheneman, The Week

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Big news this week is Big Coal.  The EPA has proposed a rule to cut emissions; read all about it in "Everything you need to know about the EPA’s proposed rule on coal plants." Here's an excerpt:

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed a rule designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants by as much as 30 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. The regulation has prompted heavy lobbying from industry and environmental groups, and the ensuing battle promises to become, as the Natural Resources Defense Council Climate Director Peter Altman put it, “the Super Bowl of climate politics.”

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John Cole, The Week

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Of course, the Republicans have a lot to say about it (and anything the Obama administration proposes or does).  Here are a couple of cartoonists' views.

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Walt Handelsman, The Week

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Jack Ohman, The Week

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Meanwhile, we ordinary folk are left wonderin'.

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Chip Bok, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: airport security, national security, and the VA waiting list

If you're a traveler and have been cleared by security, don't walk back through the exit lane or you'll be arrested.  The Washington Times tells the whole story, here's part:

Thousands of travelers were left in delayed mode when a passenger walked into a secured area of Detroit Metropolitan Airport without first receiving a proper security check.

The passenger, who was taking a connecting flight, had already been cleared in the departure area of the airport, NBC News reported. But he then walked back through an exit lane and returned to the secured side without going through the security check again, airport agents said, NBC News reported.

Here's a cartoon riff on airport security.

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John Trevor, Cagle

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Daryl Cagle, Cagle

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David Horsey, US News

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Also in the news is this, "White House mistakenly identifies CIA chief in Afghanistan."

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John Cole, The Week

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Lastly, here's a copy of the VA waiting list:

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Gary Varvel, The Week

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-- Marge