Cartoons: let's get this straight

Have our priorities been undermined by Twitter?

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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Or is it just the con man in the White House?

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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Nine months in captivity for many of us.

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Jack Ohman, The Week

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Drugs--where democracy and wanting a better reality intersect for some. What is a drug czar anyway?

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Tom Toles, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: A golf cart run amuck

It looks to me like Trump has little respect for America, considering his merchandising and mixing of profit with presidential functions. Consider his hotels and golf courses.

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Milt Priggee, The Week

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The new rule for White House briefings is NO CAMERAS; the Washington Post reports, No cameras, no live audio and no Sean Spicer: The latest White House press briefing, annotated (June 22, 2017).

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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I dearly love shopping at Amazon, but you have to admit that with all their acquisitions, they're beginning to look a little like Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors.

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Tom Stiglich, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: news-worthy news

Trump's firing Comey was the move that broke my inaction. If you think Trump should go, sign up at Impeach Trump Now.

During the ascension of Trump we've learned a number of things. Such as anyone, including the Democrats, can have a white whale in her/his life.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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The short view (vs. the long view) will eventually bite you in the a**.

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Gary Varvel, The Week

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Trump bears no resemblance to what a good president is/was.

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Steve Benson, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: White House anomalies

So far we've seen a number of events and actions coming from and related to the White House that just don't make sense and/or look fishy.

Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago and their estimated cost are still an unknown, but they look pretty pricey. The sheriff of the local police department says his department has accrued $1.5 million in overtime costs and he thinks the Feds will reimburse him.

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Bill Day, The Week

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Cartoonist Tom Toles suggests that Trump's infrastruction plan includes privatizing national monuments. Seems plausible to me.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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Meanwhile the U.S.S. Carl Vinson may have made an illegal left turn, maybe not.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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For sure, many Trump products for sale were not manufactured in the U.S.

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Chan Lowe, The Week

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In closing, here are some basic truths about the U.S. vs. Korea matter.

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: brutality in the aisle

Just to be clear, United Flight 3411--the one where Dr. David Dao was ejected--was not overbooked (money.cnn.com, usatoday.com, inc.com, and forbes.com). Christine Negroni in the Forbes article says:

On Tuesday, United appeared to acknowledge that this was not technically an overbooked flight. And the reason for that equivocation is also clear. The four airline employees who needed the seats, presented themselves to the gate agent after the flight was boarded. Further, they were not fare-paying passengers, therefore not "booked."

Some argue this parsing of words is irrelevant and that the airline's contract of carriage is meant to be applied more broadly. Not true. Airlines are required to present bumped passengers with the written document explaining their rights. I would not bet on the success of a legal argument that begins, "what the document intended to express."

 So much for legalities, here are some cartoonists' takes on the incident.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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Jack Ohman, The Week

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And, if only...

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Gary Varvel, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: bashing away

Judging from the cartoons currently being shown on The Week's cartoon page, the cartooning world has given way to bashing your political opponent--and anyone else within range. So my selection today is about any topic not directly related to waging political war. This is what I found.

Bill Clinton was misquoted as describing "Obamacare as 'crazy',” according to New York Magazine in 7 Reasons To Stop Freaking Out About Obamacare.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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While Capitalism in the U.S. isn't working particularly well, what with income inequality and favors for the wealthy, Socialism in Venezuela is crashing. It seems everyone is in the same stew and the pot is empty--In a hungry Venezuela, buying too much food can get you arrested.

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Michael Ramirez, The Week

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Rick McKee comments for those of us caught in the political middle.

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Rick McKee, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: in the belly of the beast

To say that we're living in the belly of the beast sounds overly dramatic, but think about it. There's an election reasonable people can do little about; a tyrant decimating his own population; and school systems so underfunded that the teachers have to supply some necessities out of their own pockets. Then there's the U.S. Congress, so ineffectual that when a cartoonist refers to them as creepy clowns, many of us nod in agreement. Sadly, those elected representatives who make an effort to get something worthwhile accomplished are undermined by those that are there for the perks and/or power.

Here are the visuals for today's comments.

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David Fitzsimmons, The Week

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Steve Breen, The Week

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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Joe Heller, 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: 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

Cartoons: open carry

Today's collection looks at our response to the Zika virus threat; VA health-care lines compared to standing in line at Disney World; and Wall Street crime.

It's open carry against mosquitoes now. Consumer Report asks Does 'Natural' Mosquito Repellent Work?

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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VA Secretary McDonald recently compared health-care lines to Disney.

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Gary Varvel, The Week

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News just in: Wall Street Crime: 7 Years, 156 Cases and Few Convictions

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David Horsey, 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: distilled nonsense

The race is on for New Hampshire and today we look at a few editorial comments about that. Also, in the news are 300 plumbers helping the poisoned in Flint and Curvy Barbie.

Seems to me Tom Toles hit the nail squarely with this one. For news on the primaries, pin this to a tab in your browser check Google.

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Tom Toles, The Week

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Hilary vs. Bernie, Trump vs. Cruz--where do you stand?

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Steve Sack, The Week

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This has likely happened to Cruz more than once.

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David Horsey, The Week

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Bad as conditions are in Flint, the plumbers came through. The article notes:

And while Flint residents are focused on access to clean water, a new lawsuit is taking aim at the cost of poisonous water those residents have already paid for.

At least the residents of Flint will get their day in court. Question is: how do you collect from a bankrupt city?

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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How about this headline? Curvy or no, Barbie is still a mean girl. Interesting article. Mattel's sales are up.

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Drew Sheneman, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: rebels with iffy causes

Today's selection of cartoons looks at Charlie Hebdo's special edition; the Oregon occupiers; and Donald Trump vs. Kim Jong-un.

Assuredly I don't want to diminish the horror of the attacks on magazine Charlie Hebdo in January, 2015; the writers and cartoonists didn't deserve a death sentence for being provocative. However, being a provocateur has its price. The New York Post reports Charlie Hebdo marks attack anniversary with scathing special edition with a photo of the edition's front cover; the Washington Post reports Associated Press removes images of God-as-terrorist Charlie Hebdo cover.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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Remember the Bundy standoff in Nevada in 2014 over cattle grazing fees? Now his son and stalwart supporters have occupied a federal building in Oregon. There's more about the situation in Oregon Occupiers to Face Charges When Siege Ends: Sheriff.

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Clay Jones, The Week

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Provocateur Kim Jong-un is scaring everyone. Take a look at this headline: Why even a failed test makes North Korea’s nuclear arsenal scarier. Even scarier than that is D. Trump confronting Kim Jong-un. O.K., maybe a little funny, too.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: Trumped and terrorized

Seems to me Donald Trump's current popularity is due to his talent for saying out loud what many people in America feel but don't have the courage to say. Pretty sad, huh? Today's cartoons look at Trump and terrorism. Also sad is how we're being educated in the language of terrorism: radicalized (also look at the talk page) and suicide belt.

Remember when Trump said that, as President, he would build a wall between the US and Mexico and make Mexico pay for it?

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Mike Luckovich, The Week

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We've progressed from Trump the Petty and Petulant Isolationist to Trump the Terrorist.

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Nate Beeler, The Week

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Meanwhile, 'ISIS' (vs. 'ISIL' vs. 'Islamic State') gloats.

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Walt Handelsman, The Week

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Republicans, especially the Tea Party, have been radicalized for some time now.

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Jack Ohman, The Week

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Meanwhile, Earth bears our misdeeds.

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Mike Keefe, The Week

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I quote Thomas Paine (The Crisis):

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

Terrorism is tyranny from within.


-- Marge