Sunday, September 20, 2026

QOTD -- It Shouldn't Be This Hard

 

"... All right y'all, my name is Abdul El Sayed, and I am running for US Senate because it just shouldn't be this hard. Shouldn't be this hard to afford a 2nd bag of groceries. Shouldn't be this hard to pay your rent or your mortgage. Shouldn't be this hard to afford car insurance. It shouldn't be this hard to see a doctor in the richest, most powerful country in the world, and it shouldn't be this hard to pay your taxes and know that that money is going to be spent on you and your kids to provide schooling and good roads and good bridges instead of dropping bombs on somebody else and their kids and their schools and their bridges. It shouldn't be this hard..." -- Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El Sayed speaking at a town hall in Saginaw, Michigan, yesterday (video and transcript here).  El Sayed's popular pitch has been that "It shouldn't be THIS hard to get by," a message of the tour he's been taking to every corner of the State of Michigan with conviction and energy.  He's in a neck-and-neck race with Malignant Fascist "sock puppet" and recent Florida resident Mike Rogers.  If you can, you can donate to his campaign here.


Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

(Harley Schwadron, caglecartoons.com)

(Mike Konopacki, The Capital Times, Madison, WI)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Mike Peters, grimmy.com)

(Bart van Leeuwen, Oedipoes.com, Netherlands)

(Pedro Molina, Tribune Content Agency)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.substack.com)

(P.C. Vey, 10/23/55 - 09/17/26, R.I.P.)


Sunday Reflection: Awakening The Public Conscience

 



"I intend to do what little one man can do to awaken the public conscience, and in the meantime I am not frightened by your menaces. I am not a giant physically; I shrink from pain and filth and vermin and foul air, like any other man of refinement; also, I freely admit, when I see a line of a hundred policemen with drawn revolvers flung across a street to keep anyone from coming onto private property to hear my feeble voice, I am somewhat disturbed in my nerves. But I have a conscience and a religious faith, and I know that our liberties were not won without suffering, and may be lost again through our cowardice. I intend to do my duty to my country." -- Pulitzer Prize winning author of the groundbreaking expose "The Jungle,", "muckraking'" journalist Upton Sinclair (9/20/1878 - 11/25/1968), from his "Letter to the Louis D. Oaks, Los Angeles Chief of Police "(17 May 1923).  Sinclair was speaking on behalf of free speech rights for the International Workers of the World, reading from the Bill of Rights, when he was arrested by an LAPD officer saying "we'll have none of that Constitution stuff."

Sinclair was also known for his observation, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

(photo: Murray Garrett / Getty Images)

 

Trump Wants His Triumphal Arch To Have Drones, Snipers

 



If this isn't convincing evidence (part infinity) of the Malignant Fascist's dangerous, moronic insanity, we don't don't what it would take:

As he has done with his Gilded Ballroom/ bunker project, the MF is trying to conflate his edifice complex with a nonexistent "national security" issue in the most absurd way possible.  Drones, snipers, "large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage"?!?  WTF is this loon talking about?  This is Bone Spurs' Triumphal Arch, built to overwhelm the Lincoln Memorial and the hallowed Arlington Cemetery, now morphed into a drone launch pad and sniper's nest?!?  Just who will that be used against?  People protesting his attempt to stay in office after January 2029?   Again, WTF.  

"At the strong request of the United States Military" -- sure, Jan.  Who were they? Gen. Buck Turgidson?  Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper? That voice in your head, Gen. Disorder?

We can easily imagine one of his lickspittles giving him a mock- up of the arch with some GI Joe figures on top and rappelling down its sides?  "Pew pew pew! Look, sir, you can say it's a military facility like none other in the world!"  All because the modern world has never seen a more dangerous, deranged moron than the Malignant Fascist.

(Photo:  it could use some drones and snipers dontcha think? / Kylie Cooper, Reuters)


British SNL On Ed Sheeran, Diana Book

 

We're going across the pond for a "Weekend Update" from the British version of "Saturday Night Live," in its second season now (our SNL begins its new season next Saturday, btw).  Hosts Ania Magliano and Paddy Young burn through the Ed Sheeran/ Macklemore/ Robert Kraft free speech kerfuffle before some quick hits on Earl Spencer's new book about his sister, Princess Diana, and Buckingham Palace's response, all in 3:25.  As a side note, Sheeran has issued an apology and has spoken about what happened with his artist cancellations and what his feelings are about Israel, the Palestinians, and Gaza, FWIW.

Saturday, September 19, 2026

QOTD -- Banning The Free Press

 

"The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a 'ban on the free press.'

"The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask. 

"This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office. 

"The WHCA stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO who are being singled out for doing their jobs." -- Jacqui Heinrich, WHCA president, on the Malignant Fascist's latest attack on the free press.  Now let's see if their member organizations have the sack to follow through by boycotting White House press conferences, cancelling the annual "nerd ball" dinner, joining in any lawsuits filed against these press restrictions, etc.  We'll reserve judgement.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Robert Ariail, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC;  context here)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Randy Bish, @bishtoon;  context here)

(Martyn Turner, The Irish Times, Dublin)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Michael de Adder, Globe and Mail, Toronto;  context here)

(Christo Komarnitski, caglecartoons.com, Bulgaria)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Phil Hands, Wisconsin State Journal)

(John Buss, @repeat1968;  context here)

(Emily Flake, The New Yorker)


Skeets Of The Day

 

The Trump - Epstein files coverup:  House recesses to duck vote --


By carrying out Trump's orders and blocking Republican Rep. Thomas Massie's petition forcing action on the Epstein files, Johnson and MAGA loyalists are only pausing the inevitable: soon the America people are going to have irrefutable evidence that Trump is a child rapist. 2/End

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 1:38 PM

 

Operation Epic Quagmire: Saudi airport hit, lying about casualties, war costs--


“.. Large plume of black smoke rises from the fuel storage area at King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 19, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.” REUTERS/Stringer

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) September 19, 2026 at 9:35 AM

 

WAPO is reporting that at least four more service members have died in the war in Iran than DOD is publicly acknowledging. CNN is reporting that the US almost seized a Chinese vessel because AI incorrectly identified it as containing Iranian nuclear material. Clown show.

— Angry (@angrystaffer.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 3:01 PM

 

The world’s most expensive criminal “excursion.” “The U.S. military's price tag for the Iran war has grown to $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to a new estimate provided this week to lawmakers.“

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— Sanho Tree (@sanho.bsky.social) September 19, 2026 at 8:45 AM


Meanwhile, Whiskey Pete Hegseth's focusing on the important stuff -- 


I don’t think “standing at attention” means what they think it means.

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— The Volatile Mermaid (@ohnoshetwitnt.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 8:46 PM


Another attack on the First Amendment by the lawless and corrupt Malignant Fascist --


Trump banning media outlets from the WH over their coverage is unlikely to affect their reporting much, but it is yet another example of how the right wing definition of “free speech” is that they can say what they want and you can say what they want. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) September 19, 2026 at 9:06 AM

 

I'll say it for the thousandth time: No legitimate news organization has any business being in the White House press briefing room. If a source lies to you repeatedly, you stop using that source. Period. The only thing you gain by proximity to this administration is access to propaganda.

— Rex Huppke (@rexhuppke.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 6:51 PM


The MF's Greenland nothing burger "deal" --


Step 1: Slip Trump a copy of the 1951 Defense Agreement, but with the name changed. Step 2: Describe it in the most favorable light possible, since he won't read it anyway. Step 3: Trump goes on "Truth Social" and proclaims himself a genius negotiator.

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— Dan Nexon (@dhnexon.net) September 18, 2026 at 5:31 PM

 

It’s really seems like the US got close to nothing in this Greenland deal, or at least nothing the US cldnt have gotten at the beginning by asking nicely. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/u...

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 11:14 PM


Thousands turn out at Kennedy Center to oppose the MF -- 


For the first time in a while, the Kennedy Center was brimming with life. Thousands of supporters gathered Friday, surrounding as much of the building as they could, in protest of President Trump’s takeover and closure of the venue.

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— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) September 19, 2026 at 7:30 AM


What's Kashyap Patel's FBI up to now? Dating advice to ICE officers that's what -- 


FBI Warns ICE Agents Not to Trust Any Woman Willing to Date Them

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— Gizmodo (@gizmodo.com) September 18, 2026 at 5:50 PM


Much better advice --

 

Let’s please elect adults and not stunted children who are afraid of their abusive father.

— John Sipher (@johnsipher.bsky.social) September 19, 2026 at 8:18 AM


Ed Sheeran tour news -- 


“This is, uh, Jimmy and his songwriting partner, Freddie.” — Ed Sheeran

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) September 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM

 

 

Trump's Greenland Charade

 



Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, but we're not blaming the Danes.  It seems the diapered carny barker Malignant Moron has suddenly announced a "deal" with Denmark and Greenland that he wants us to believe is a total WIN.  Caveat emptor:

Denmark and Greenland on Saturday said any agreement with the United States would not compromise Greenland's sovereignty, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the deal would give Washington "permanent control" over the Arctic island's security, leaving its precise scope unclear.

The U.S., Denmark and Greenland said late on Friday they had entered into an agreement for the U.S. to ‌develop a significant military presence on Greenland, while prohibiting American adversaries from building their own bases on the island.

Key details of the agreement have not been made public, including the degree of U.S. military presence in the self-governed ⁠Danish territory and whether any formal power over foreign policy and resources would be ceded to Washington.

Denmark and Greenland expressed hope that a deal, which is expected to be signed during the United Nations General Assembly next week, would end months of uncertainty triggered by Trump's threats to seize control of Greenland. Parliamentary action is still needed by the governments of Denmark and Greenland before it can be enforced.[snip]

Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted that Washington respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom and accept that Greenland is not for sale.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform late on Friday that under a deal, "the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America."

The deal "gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," he said, adding that no adversary would ever be permitted to have a base or military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments there, without Washington's express written approval...

The Malignant Fascist is desperate for "wins" and to extricate himself from all the brambles he's bumbled into around the world.  With his usual dishonesty, he's likely painting the yet-to-be-signed "deal" as something entirely different from the 1951 security agreement between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland:

A 1951 agreement between the U.S. and Denmark already gave Washington wide latitude to expand military bases and deploy troops to the island, something that NATO diplomats have pointed out with some frustration since the start of the Trump administration. It is not clear how this new agreement changes that agreement which already gave Washington much of what Trump has been demanding.

Spoiler alert:  it likely doesn't change anything, but the MF has probably been convinced by one of his lickspittles that it makes him Emperor of the North.  Denmark, Greenland and NATO are just going along with the charade.  But that's obviously how he has to be dealt with, considering his narcissism, paranoia, and advancing dementia.

Going back to the main article, there's also some healthy skepticism on the other side of the "deal": 

Steffen Nielsen, a 49-year-old sales worker living in Copenhagen, told Reuters: "I think that the U.S. is probably going to get what they could have had the whole time, if they just asked nicely."

"I don't like it," Kaj Jorgensen, an 80-year-old pensioner, also living in Copenhagen, said of the news. "I don't wish the United States to be present anywhere in the Danish Kingdom. I really don't trust Donald Trump."

They've sniffed out what's rotten.

Color us skeptical, too.

(Photo:  Greenlanders express their feelings, Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 17, 2026Evgeniy Maloletka, AP)

 

Ethics Complaint Alleges Boebert Misconduct

 

Colorado's attention-grabbing MAGAt Rep. Lauren "Bobo" Boebert is the subject of an ethics complaint alleging that she engaged in three sexual relationships with staffers, and paid one of the staffers $200,000 in hush money.  From American Muckrakers:

"A sworn ethics complaint filed yesterday with the U.S. House Committee on Ethics alleges that Rep. Lauren Boebert engaged in sexual relationships with three House employees under her direct supervision, in violation of the House rule adopted after the #MeToo reckoning that flatly prohibits Members from sleeping with their own staff.

The complaint, filed by David B. Wheeler of American Muckrakers and supported by exhibits drawn from House payroll records, Federal Election Commission filings, court records, and on-the-record sources, names three current and former senior aides:

Clarice Navarro, Boebert’s District Director from January 2021 to January 2025

Raven Finegan, Boebert’s current District Chief of Staff

Jeffrey Small, Boebert’s Chief of Staff from 2021 to 2025

The centerpiece is the alleged relationship with Ms. Navarro, a former Colorado state representative and Trump USDA appointee who ran Boebert’s district operation for four years."

There're more gory details at the link, all very well documented.  A scandal of this type is not new to Boebert, who was videoed in a Colorado theater in 2023 vaping and fondling her date, and was subsequently asked to leave. 

 

City Island, NYC

 

Comedian Tom Delgado takes us on another light- hearted walking tour of a New York City neighborhood -- this time it's the city's hidden seaside town, City Island.  Quaint village, a fishing harbor, seafood, local characters, and a Nautical Museum are all part of the little, largely unknown gem within view of Manhattan's skyscrapers (when the fog isn't in!). 

Friday, September 18, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Ruben Bolling, gocomics.com)

(Jeff Koterba, caglecartoons.com)

(Kevin Kallaugher, The Economist, UK)

(Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Canada)

(Theo Moudakis, Toronto Star, Canada)

(Benjamin Slyngstad, @slyngstad_cartoons)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Brooke Bourgeois, @b_a_bourgeois)


QOTD: "Europe And Canada Believe In Democracy"

 

An excerpt from former Rep. Adam Kinzinger's Substack piece on Canada's new relationship with the European Union, which was forced by the ignorant, vindictive Malignant Fascist's petty grievances against our great ally to the north:

"This week, in a parliament chamber in Strasbourg, something happened that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stood up to give her annual address, and sitting there as her honored guest was the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney. And she turned to him and said, 'Dear Mark, Europe and Canada believe in democracy, that power does not belong to the strongest, richest and loudest, but to all of us.'

Then she invited Canada to become the first associate member in the history of the European Union.

The chamber rose to its feet. She and Carney exchanged kisses on the cheek. A new alliance, covering trade, defense, technology, and the Arctic, was born.

'Power does not belong to the strongest, richest, and loudest.' President von der Leyen was talking about us. About our country that, until recently, led the free world and was a friend, however imperfect, to our fellow democracies and foe to autocrats worldwide."

When 77 million voters decided to overlook the MF's mental instability, his botching of the COVID pandemic, his criminal convictions, and his attempt to violently overturn the 2020 election and hand him a second term as a virtual dictator, they voted for this disaster and so much more.  The harm to the U.S. economy -- not to mention to our formerly close relations with democracies worldwide -- by the MF's irrational, even treasonous actions will be felt over time.  Mitigating it will require the expulsion of MAGAt lawmakers over the next several election cycles, and even then, the trust and respect we once enjoyed from democracies may be lost for generations.

Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein- Trump files coverup /  post-election discharge petition --


🚨 MAJOR NEWS: Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna say they have now secured commitments for all 218 signatures needed to force a House vote on Epstein Files Transparency Act II.

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— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) September 17, 2026 at 8:22 PM

 

Operation Epic Quagmire / pain at the pump --


Local California pump prices and EGAD the diesel 😳 Transportation costs will now add to inflation woes. Already seeing grocery prices jump.

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— Dr. Joe Krulder (@joekrulder.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 9:14 AM

 

Gasoline grabs headlines, but diesel — the fuel of commerce — is experiencing bigger price gains and building up vulnerabilities for the US economy

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— Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion.bloomberg.com) September 18, 2026 at 5:15 AM

 

"Bananas" Trump, the economically illiterate moron --

 

I usually attribute Trump's bizarre ramblings to either his psychopathic lying or his psychotic delusions, or some combination of the two. But this is just him being an economically illiterate moron.

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— George Conway ⚖️πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ (@gtconway.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 11:43 PM

 

Think of all the money you'd save if you didn't buy food!!!

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— Paul Rosenberg (@paulrosenberg.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 8:34 AM

 

Bipartisan messaging fails --

 

After insisting that Biden bore blame for an international economic crisis caused by a pandemic that unfolded on Trump's watch, Republicans are now trying to persuade voters *not* to blame Trump for a worse crisis he deliberately created through unneeded wars and tariffs. Good luck with that!

— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 9:21 AM

 

look we are too corrupt and ignorant to regulate so it's up to a collection of foppish, pasty sociopaths in overpriced sneakers to hold themselves accountable for killing everyone with monopolized cloud computing

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— Karl Bode (@karlbode.com) September 18, 2026 at 9:46 AM

 

democrats, your political consultants are using their positions to set up their future mid-6 figure lobbying job instead of giving you winning advice

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— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 7:24 AM

 

What he says  πŸ‘  and his sock puppet opponent --

 

Abdul El-Sayed: "When I said with Jesse Watters that I'd rather have good roads and good schools than have a billionaire make a second billion, I know that resonated with a lot of folks who might not agree with everything else I had to say."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 18, 2026 at 7:56 AM

 

While the media might find it fun to do another 500 hours of Piker discourse, it might be fruitful to look at the actual political record of Mike Rogers as a lying war-monger. www.thenation.com/article/poli...

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— Jeet Heer (@jeetheer.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 9:54 AM

 

Hey, Democrats! -- 


THIS πŸ‘‡ HERE.......

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— M Meerkat (@kackbro.bsky.social) September 18, 2026 at 8:18 AM

 

Happy Friday! --

 

#Delft #Delftholland

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— Delft Holland (@stimoo.bsky.social) September 11, 2026 at 2:35 AM

 

 

Weekend Music

 

"Run Away," is a song from Beck's new album, released today, "Ride Lonesome." The video features Japanese actor/ director Tadanobu Asano and was filmed in Tokyo.  Beautiful, melancholy composition.  Hope you enjoy.