Cartoons: litigation time

Today I'm taking a glance at JASTA, the recent legislation that allows 9/11 victims to sue foreign states for injury, death, or damages; and at Wells Fargo, the dastardly swindler of unsuspecting customers.

Since the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, aka the 9/11 law, passed, why not use it to sue Congress for inaction on gun legislation? The litigants would have to prove Congress is a foreign state--not that hard. Just sayin'.

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Clay Jones, The Week

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Seems to me Wells Fargo is not that different from any other U.S. bank. They just got caught.

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Steve Sack, The Week

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--Marge

Cartoons: Fair and balanced?

Today I'm looking at Fox News, the U.S.'s Republican-dominated Congress, and the view that many voters have of this presidential election.

The dust appears to be settling at Fox News according to this article in The Week Magazine:

Roger Ailes is gone. So is Greta Van Susteren. Megyn Kelly is rumored to possibly be on the move. Gretchen Carlson settled her sexual harassment charges against Ailes for a cool $20 million. And then there's Gabriel Sherman's bombshell report for New York magazine about Ailes' 20-year reign at Fox News. All of this has spawned obsessive speculation about the future of America's No. 1 cable news channel.

But I doubt that "fair and balanced," which used to be the objective of responsible journalism, will ever describe this news channel--its brand of "conservative messaging" is/was too popular.

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Scott Stantis, The Week

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The U.S. Congress left the concept of fair and balanced behind some time ago. Now it's mostly Republican. See the Wikipedia entry for the 114th United States Congress for some good graphics showing the numbers of Republicans vs. Democrats. With Trump running as a Republican, Congress may find itself in a bind.

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RJ Matson, The Week

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Meanwhile many voters feel betrayed.

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Bob Englehart, The Week

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-- Marge

Cartoons: rabid Republicans

Recently I heard that President Obama may be impeached over the Benghazi "coverup."  I also heard that Congress passed a piece of legislation overnight to free up flights for home (CNN report).  Quoting Federal News Radio --

 The bill passed late Thursday without even a roll call vote, and House officials indicated it likely would be brought up for quick approval there.

Under the legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration would gain authority to transfer up to $253 million from accounts that are flush into other programs, to "prevent reduced operations and staffing" through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.

In addition to restoring full staffing by controllers, Senate officials said the available funds should be ample enough to prevent the closure of small airport towers around the country. The FAA has said it will shut the facilities as it makes its share of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts - known as the sequester - that took effect last month at numerous government agencies.

The Senate acted as the FAA said there had been at least 863 flights delayed on Wednesday "attributable to staffing reductions resulting from the furlough."

There's information on "Why the GOP Might Impeach Obama..." in this Bloomberg article; note that they've called for his impeachment 14 times now (Salon).   An opinion piece by Brad Bannon notes that Republicans Are Losing the American Culture War. 

Although contributing to the partisanship and vitriol rampant in Washington is not something I prefer to do, I definitely think some cartoons are in order.  All of the cartoons in today's post were found at U. S. News, the cartoon section.

-- Marge

Friday cartoons: Congress loves the NRA

Congress also loves the health-care-industrial complex, which has spent $5.36 billion lobbying since 1998, compared to the defense and aerospace industries at $1.53 billion and oil and gas interests at $1.3 billion (Steven Brill, "Bitter Pill," Time Magazine, March 4, 2013).  But today we looking at the love affair between Congress and the NRA, which spent $2.98 million in 2012 on lobbying, $2.90 in 2011, and has spent $1.45+ million on contributions (OpenSecrets.org).  If you estimate an average of $2 million per year, the NRA has spent $2.8 billion on lobbying from 1998 through 2012.

So, without more ado, let's have a rueful laugh on the U.S. Congress.

From political humor at About.com by Pat Bagley (slow connection):

From TheWeek by David Horsey:

Also from TheWeek by Chan Lowe:

From U.S. News (political cartoons, April 19, 2013) by Walt Handelsman:

From Creators.com by Steve Benson:

The almighty dollar still rules.

-- Marge

Cartoons aimed at Congress

After starting, then rejecting the topics of budget sequestration (see "the sequester," fiscal cliff) and Obama's drone policies (too much vitriol), I finally settled on cartoons aimed at Congress.  This august body seems to want and need it.  All of the cartoons below are from U.S.News & World Report's site, the Congress cartoons category, and there are plenty more.

Drew Sheneman, "Where Agendas Go To Die"

Steve Breen, "According to a recent popularity poll (no joke)"

Chan Lowe, "Flu Season"

David Horsey, "The Road block"

Matt Davies, "Negotiating Table"

Jack Ohman, "We've avoided the fiscal cliff..."

What do you think it will take for Congress to get its act together?

-- Marge

[NOTE: finger-pointing icon from Free Icons, web design & web graphics]