Stab in the Dark

I'm not even going to try to describe the rank hypocrisy of the Republicans ramming through a disastrous health care bill without holding a single public or committee hearing, never mind allowing the American people a chance to weigh in on an issue that is critical to all of us. Hypocrisy and the associated total lack of integrity is part of the Republican Party's DNA. They'll literally do anything if it helps advance their hate-filled white supremacist agenda, which includes among other things stripping the most vulnerable of any credible access to affordable, quality health care.

And, of course, there's the Donald, who's apparently only to happy to throw his voters under the bus all in the service of his fragile, bloated ego, so that he can score a "win." So sad, so sad...And will his voters even realize that they've just been had? That for all of their fierce commitment to something or someone who was going to drain the swamp, finally represent their interests and give their concerns a voice that instead they've just had a narcissistic billionaire steal and eat their lunch? Hmmm...I'm guessing the answer would be...no? Oh well, I guess it's just another validation of the political scientists' dictum: we deserve to get the government we elect.

What if the Nazis had won the election? Wait...oh, crap.

I actually had been thinking about using this idea for a cartoon for a few months, and thankfully a recent report about die Trumper's behavior provided me with a perfect opportunity. Evidently, while hosting several journalists from TIME magazine, he showed all the graciousness of a 3-year old (apologies to all 3-year old's) and had the White House staff serve him more, better quality food than all of his guests. To top it off, for dessert, he had them serve him two scoops of ice cream instead of just the one that was served to the guests. Wow...

Combine that with the stead stream of reports of his puerile behavior, moping in the White House and raging at his many television screens when (surprise!) he doesn't get the desired reaction from his knucklehead moves, the latest, of course, being the firing of now former FBI Director James Comey. Finally, there's his never-ending list of man crushes on skull crushing dictators, and voila! A cartoon is born.

Is it over-the-top to imply Trump and his gang are a bunch of fascists, even Nazis? I might have thought that a few days ago, but then I read a great piece in the NY Times in which FDR's then vice-president outlined how a fascist could rise and seize power in the U.S. Of course, fascism is just another permutation of the kind of white supremacy that has governed this country since the first colonist set foot on these shores, so, really, no big shocker there. White folks have been oppressing, subjugating, enslaving, exterminating and otherwise making life a living hell for people of color in this country since then and we've put lipstick on that pig up many times over with whatever pious, self-righteous nonsense oozed out of our backsides. Plus ca change, quoi.

Okay, that's enough rantin' and ravin', here's the 'toon.

No, You're the Meathead

If you're at all like me, you've probably given up trying to keep up with all of the conflicts of interest and general trashing of ethical and political norms since Trump became president. Thank goodness there are good watchdog organizations out there that make it their cause to track and raise public awareness about this kind of stuff. I admit that I'm just plain worn out, but not too worn out to ink another 'toon.

If the Clintons sullied the White House and soiled the sheets of the Lincoln Bedroom, Trump and his spawn have really taken it to another level. They've managed to transform one of our most respected political institutions into a corporate marketing and branding cat house where it's personal AND it's business. Oh! Fugghedaboutit!

Thank goodness the Congressional GOP isn't worried about this sort of thing. One oversight committee chair recused himself only after trying to play Deep Throat and divulging classified information (Nunes), and another announced his retirement after this term and then squashes any calls for subpoenas (Chaffetz).

So...who's the real meathead here?

One Hundred Days of Ineptitude

The Donald and his minions can spin it any way they want, but it's clear to most that his first (much-touted by them as the best ever) 100 days were a colossal, unmitigated flop. Is there really any surprise? Remember, this is a man who was born with a silver spoon born in his pie hole who has gone through life feeling entitled to wreck people's lives and livelihoods. This is the guy who thought he could come in and work his same private sector, corporate mogul mojo and with absolutely no experience in or interest in learning about how the public sector works, make America great again.

And now, thanks to a goodly portion of white Amerikkka, he's now president where he gets to spend another four years...wait for it...feeling entitled to wreck people's lives and livelihoods...PLUS get us into all kinds of wars, military, trade or otherwise. And, as an added bonus, we get to waste four years we can't afford to lose in our effort to slow done the process of climate change. SWEET!

Well, with apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, here's my latest:

MOAB

You know what they say, big bomb...small hands. Look - this was militarily insignificant. ISIS's strength in Afghanistan is waning; the real power to take on is the Taliban, but we can't so we won't. This was just an overpriced (financial and human costs) opportunity to show the world how much destruction he can wreak with his teeny, tiny, itchy trigger finger.

And, yeah. It's another shiny object distraction for the fawning media to pursue instead of the big stories about this illegitimate administration's efforts to take us back to pre-civil rights America where white entitlement reigned supreme in a savage, Darwinist capitalistic experiment gone awry. I lost count of how many reporters/bloviators/etc. made some sort of comment of how this decision made Trump truly presidential. Whaaa? Since when was dropping bombs needlessly for a lost military cause presidential? Bunch of sycophantic boneheads.

Poor Spicey. Mocked mercilessly by Melissa McCarthy and then being asked to repeat, recycle and re-spin the same lies over and over  and over again. I don't actually pity him. He did, after all, sign up for this gig, which speaks volumes to his own moral compass or lack thereof. Oh well. So much for compassion. Have a nice week, Sean. Try explaining why your Boss, die Trumpler, decided not to lift a finger on our man Flynn even though he know a month ago that his national security advisor was illegally playing footsie with the Ruskies, assuring them that soon everything was going to be alright.

Needless to say, Sean, like the underarm deodorant, you stink, man.

So much for the crack efficiency of the private sector. As the NY Times pointed out this morning, The Donald has been so busy pitching paranoid fits that he's neglected to put his cabinet and White House staff together. I'm guessing that there's more to it than that. Since, even self-respecting right wingers are thinking twice on whether or not they would want to serve in the s#!t show that will be his administration, he's really having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find anyone who's willing to jettison their sense of integrity and pitch in and join the Greatest Freak Show on Earth. The dregs he has been left with for major appointments are, with few exceptions, woefully inexperienced, unqualified and in some cases just a few bricks sort of a load (See Exhibit A: Betsy DeVos, explaining why there needs to be guns in schools).

Calling them B-team doesn't even do justice to these clowns and that's probably giving clowns a bad name; hence, this cartoon. Break out the cracker jacks and watch these crackers hijack our country. Yikes.