(click on images to enlarge)
(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)
(Jeff Koterba, caglecartoons.com)
(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)
(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)
(R.J. Matson, CQ/Roll Call)
(Clay Jones, claytoonz.substack.com)
(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)
(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ)
(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)
(Asher Perlman, @asherperlman)
Salon.com's wonderful Amanda Marcotte has some thoughts on clownish, butched-up TV pundit turned Secretary of War Defense "Whisky Pete" Hegseth and his transparent persona as a "tough guy," now that we're in a real war with a serious adversary:
"Hegseth’s Saturday morning cartoon idea of manhood, though, has impressed other men of similar persuasions. One is podcaster Joe Rogan, who praised Hegseth last fall, crowing that there was 'no more identity politics' and whining about 'guys in dresses' in the military. In December, the head of Hegseth’s church’s denomination, Doug Wilson, celebrated the secretary as a counterweight to “men with a My-Little-Pony fetish.” Last year the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh applauded Hegseth for supposedly sticking it to “nagging” women who insist that gender does not disqualify them to serve in the military.
As long as Hegseth keeps his chest-thumping and pull-up contests in the land of make-believe, these men are happy. Like their hero, the only masculine strength they seem interested in is the kind performed for cameras, far away from real-world challenges that might easily defeat their self-image as the mightiest of men. Hegseth, however, had to ruin it all by leading the U.S. into a real war with Iran. Unlike the imaginary wars conducted in right-wing rhetoric, which are won by yelling 'no homo,' real wars are hard. They require planning, foresight and smart people, including women and minorities, to win — and even then, only if you’re quite lucky. War is not for clowns and fake tough guys." (our emphasis)
Clowns and fake tough guys are what we have now in political positions throughout the Government, epitomized by the draft-dodging, makeup-wearing, senile felon currently staining the White House. If this were peacetime, it would be merely laughable, but war is serious business best not left to fools like the Malignant Fascist and his loudmouth, chest-thumping Pentagon chief.
(photos: Cadet Bone Spurs and Whiskey Pete, not so macho)
Operation Epic Epstein Fury / costs and benefits --
My thoughts are with the loved ones of the U.S. service members who were killed or injured during the KC-135 refueling mission in Iraq. Their deaths bring the total number of Americans lost since the war began to eleven. Their sacrifice is a solemn reminder of the true cost of war.
— Congressman Eugene Vindman (@repvindman.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 10:26 AM
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Trump will depart to Palm Beach for the weekend to spend time at his private club and participate in a fundraiser. This is the second weekend in a row Trump has gone golfing as he risks the lives of American service members.
— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 10:35 AM
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If it costs 300 million Americans more to go about their daily lives, but 250 thousand already-rich oil executives and investors get to experience another boom—this is good for the economy.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 8:48 AM
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It’s almost like Putin and Netanyahu control our foreign policy.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 10:03 AM
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— Veterans Against Trump (@vetsat.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 10:12 AM
The Trump regime's overwrought propaganda and plans for the media --
"President Trump will hit the home run, score the touchdown and win the marathon. He will bring home the bacon AND fry it up in a pan. He will bring in the funk, he will kick out the jams. And I assure you -- he will, he will rock you."
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 9:22 AM
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Two things here. One, you don't sit there and whine about media coverage and headlines if things are going well. Two, the administration is just outright saying that they fully expect Ellison to use CNN to be a Trumpist propaganda organ.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 8:29 AM
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Guardians of our nation's top secrets? --
Details… meidasnews.com/news/trump-o...
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 10:25 AM
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But Russia gets them for free.
— thyroid-2303.bsky.social (@thyroid-2303.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 10:28 AM
The state of play on DHS funding --
In 24 hours, Republicans have blocked FIVE attempts from Democrats to fund TSA, FEMA, our cyber defenses, & Coast Guard while talks continue to rein in ICE & Border Patrol. Republicans are holding TSA agents' paychecks hostage so they can give more $ to ICE, with no reforms.
— Senator Patty Murray (@murray.senate.gov) March 12, 2026 at 1:57 PM
The hell you say!? --
You know what we're not griping about enough? That Donald Trump's face is going to be on U.S. currency—on $1 coins—later this year. This will be the first time a living president has appeared solo on a coin, and one of the very few times a living individual has ever been on U.S. coinage.
— Adam Keiper (@adamkeiper.com) March 13, 2026 at 12:02 AM
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No deal with the devil needed (Happy Friday the 13th!) --
"What was my value proposition here? With Trump slathering everything with gold paint and turning ICE into a super-charged federal employment program for neo-nazi gun nuts, what am I gaining now on paper that I’m not getting regardless when that bile-hearted bastard keels over?"
— McSweeney's (@mcsweeneys.net) March 10, 2026 at 10:00 PM
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Bruce Springsteen covers legendary Pogues singer/ songwriter Shane MacGowan's wistful and beautiful "A Rainy Night in Soho," the first single from the all- star tribute album to MacGowan, "20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan" (out in November 2026). Other artists contributing to the album include Tom Wait, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Steve Earle, Primal Scream, and a host of Irish and British artists. MacGowan died at the age of 65 on November 30, 2023. The album name comes from MacGowan himself, and the song is dedicated to his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke. It seemed like a fitting choice heading into St. Patrick's Day weekend.
Master strategist Malignant Fascist and his team of rivals clowns bungled into war with Iran with minimal consideration for one teensy-weensy complication:
The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Pause for a moment and let that sink in. Continuing:
President Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration, the sources said.
While key officials from the Departments of Energy and Treasury were present for some of the official planning meetings about the operation before it started, sources said, the agency analysis and forecasts that would be integral elements of the decision-making process in past administrations were secondary considerations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have been key players throughout the planning and execution stages of the conflict, the sources acknowledged. But Trump’s preference of leaning on a tight circle of close advisers in his national security decision making had the effect of sidelining interagency debate over the potential economic fallout if Iran were to respond to US-Israeli strikes by closing the strait.
And now it may be weeks before the administration’s efforts to alleviate the intensifying economic fallout take hold, officials said Thursday, including high-risk naval escorts of oil tankers through the strait that the Pentagon believes are currently too dangerous to conduct. The president, meanwhile, has continued to downplay the tumult in energy markets.
The reality in the strait has left diplomatic counterparts, former US economic and energy officials and industry executives who spoke with CNN in a state of confusion and disbelief...
Disbelief ... at the incompetence, you say? Haven't they been tracking the careers of the Malignant Fascist and "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth over there? Could there have been reason to doubt the chops of former hedge fund manager Bessent and fracking company CEO Wright in knowing fuck-all about the Middle East and the history of conflicts in the region on oil stability? Apparently not.
Luckily, the MF's mentor, war criminal Vladimir Putin, is here to help:
The United States on Thursday temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil that is currently at sea, allowing it to be shipped to buyers around the world as the Trump administration scrambles to contain energy prices that have been soaring because of the war in Iran.
The exemptions, which were issued by the Treasury Department, will be in place until April 11. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimated that freeing Russian oil could add hundreds of millions of barrels of crude to global markets, curbing prices that have been hovering near $100 per barrel as a result of the Iran conflict.
The decision was a significant turning point in America’s effort to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Russia has faced punishing sanctions from the United States and the rest of the Group of 7 advanced economies since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Those sanctions have included a price cap on Russian oil and a crackdown on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of unmarked vessels that oil exporters have used to evade sanctions...
So the Operation Epic Epstein Fury shitshow widens its scope in a (completely unforseen!) way to further damage American interests and national security (and continue to fund Putin's assault on Ukraine). A perfect storm of stupid.
Stephen Colbert did his usual brilliant satire in last night's show, covering developments in the incompetent Malignant Fascist's war of choice on Iran ("we won" but "have to continue"), the crazed MF's trip to "Keen-tucky," Whiskey Pete Hegseth's vanity, and more. Tune in.
The Malignant Fascist and his team of rivals clowns continue to be on top of things:
Oil prices touched $100 a barrel and U.S. stocks skidded amid worries of a protracted disruption to oil markets.
Brent crude futures jumped 9.2% after President Trump said stopping the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons was a higher priority than oil prices. It was the largest one-day jump for Brent since May 2020 and the first time it has closed above $100 since 2022.
The Dow industrials slid 739 points, or 1.6%, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.5% and the Nasdaq composite falling 1.8%.
Hopes of quickly restoring the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz are dimming, with Iran's new leader vowing to keep the key oil route closed and seven ships struck over the past day. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. Navy wasn’t yet ready to escort tankers through the waterway, but that he expected this to happen by the end of March.
Also adding to concerns: A report from Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency that Iran-backed groups could shut a crossing that controls traffic for vessels accessing the Suez Canal via the Red Sea.
Also Thursday, the International Energy Agency slashed its forecast for oil-supply growth this year, and said the war in the Middle East was fueling the biggest disruption of global energy markets ever... (our emphasis)
(click on images to enlarge)
(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)
(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Luo Jie, China Daily, PRC)
(Ben Jennings, The Guardian, UK)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)
(Bob Enlehart, caglecartoons.com)
(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)
(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Pedro Molina, Tribune Content Agency)
(R.J. Matson, CQ/ Roll Call)
(Banx, @banxcartoons, UK)
Operation Epic Epstein Fury: Iran's message to America, gas prices, winning hearts and minds, etc. --
BREAKING: The usually snarky White House account has not responded to Iran’s attacks on social media! Thank you for your attention to this matter!
— God (@thegodshow.com) March 12, 2026 at 12:25 AM
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The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner.bsky.social) March 11, 2026 at 9:34 PM
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Exclusive: US intelligence says Iran government is not at risk of collapse, say sources reut.rs/4rnENQ7
— Reuters (@reuters.com) March 11, 2026 at 10:30 PM
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Trump, this morning: "The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) March 12, 2026 at 9:23 AM
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Dismay as ancient heritage sites across Iran damaged in US-Israel bombing
— The Guardian (@theguardian.com) March 12, 2026 at 6:20 AM
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finally someone with the gravitas of fdr and churchhill's wartime addresses. we shall fight on the seas, we shall fight on the shores, we shall dance like nobody's watching.
— Oliver Willis (@owillis.bsky.social) March 11, 2026 at 8:14 PM
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Whiskey Pete Hegseth has his priorities straight. Lights, camera..... --
Hegseth should spend a little less time worrying about how he looks in photos and a little more time fixing the fucking disaster he has created in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
— Chris Murphy (@chrismurphyct.bsky.social) March 11, 2026 at 5:39 PM
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Nutcase tech geeks are a major threat to our democracy, part infinity --
Turning the world over to madmen. That is what is happening. Madmen.
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) March 12, 2026 at 10:41 AM
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So much for a new generation of leadership --
Love the guy but Christ, 85?
— Helen Kennedy (@helenkennedy.com) March 12, 2026 at 11:02 AM
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Texas polls looking good, but it's a long way to November. Your vote is the real poll --
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) March 12, 2026 at 9:25 AM
The Malignant Fascist's unending corruption, Presidential library edition --
Big Tech and Big Media donated some $63 million to a Trump-aligned nonprofit that was set up to help finance Trump's presidential library. Now the nonprofit has disappeared and with it the money. Three guesses on where it's gone. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
— Tim Karr (@timkarr.bsky.social) March 12, 2026 at 6:42 AM
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Melanoma Melanie Melania's new competition. Is the Ambassador to Mongolia position filled? --
Alina Habba divorced her husband and moved two blocks away from Mar-a-Lago. The photo below shows a man who’s calculating exactly how much Cialis he can ingest before triggering a myocardial infarction.
— 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@sundaedivine.lol) March 11, 2026 at 8:59 AM
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"... You might think that presidential pardons for scammers, money launderers and outright crooks are unrelated to the ill-advised war on Iran. But corruption is a key feature of a billionaire-installed regime, and corruption and incompetence go hand in hand.
...[T]he vast wealth of tech billionaires has made many of them unconcerned with the little people’s lives — and deeply unpatriotic. If Americans are being brutalized and murdered by rogue ICE agents…well, that’s not their problem. If the Justice Department and the FBI are totally subverted and operate as Trump’s enforcers, they know that vindictive, unlawful tactics will never touch their lives. If Republican budget cuts decimate rural hospitals and deprive hundreds of thousands of health insurance…well, they have their own private doctors and clinics. If Trump starts an ill-conceived war that doubles the price of oil…well, they can certainly afford the higher gasoline bills for their limousines and yachts. And it won’t be their kids hunkered down in a bunker in the Middle East.
"So if you want to understand how this country has degenerated to such a state, how we can be spending nearly $2 billion a day attacking Iran without a clear endgame in sight, while children go without healthcare, nursing homes are understaffed because their workers have been deported, home electricity bills skyrocket due to data centers, consider who benefits and who isn’t hurt.
"This is a billionaire’s war, waged at everyone else’s expense." -- Nobel economist Paul Krugman, in his eponymous Substack, concluding an excellent explainer on Operation Epic Epstein Fury he titles "The Billionaires' War." The Musks, Ellisons, Zuckerbergs, Bezos', and all the other "deeply unpatriotic" billionaires supporting the Malignant Fascist's regime for their own corrupt self-interest have much to account for, as they surely must, but only if we get the kind of Democrats we've called "junkyard dogs" in power to pursue justice.
Since the corrupt and demented Malignant Fascist returned to the Oval Office, his family has raked in money from businesses and foreign governments that want to do business with their daddy's regime. The latest crooked enterprise involves his sons Don Jr. and Eric interest in a drone manufacturing business.n The Guardian has the report:
"A golf club company backed by the sons of Donald Trump is merging with drone manufacturer Powerus in a deal designed to take the drone technology company public.
The merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings is the latest in Eric and Donald Trump Jr’s growing investments in the drone sector, following last month’s $1.5bn tie-up between Israeli drone maker Xtend and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings. Drones have become a major procurement priority for the Pentagon and are widely used in Ukraine, where dense air defense systems near the frontlines limit the deployment of conventional aircraft."
War drones are certainly a growing industry, thanks in large part to their daddy's war of choice on Iran and threats of war elsewhere. nIt's as if they will get richer if he starts more wars (Cuba? Greenland? etc.). The report continues:
"Powerus, which was formed in 2025 by Andrew Fox, makes heavy-lift drones that can carry industrial payloads up to 675kg. The company also offers services to transform existing staffed boats into remotely operated or fully autonomous vessels.
Fox is expected to serve as chief executive officer and chair of the combined company, Aureus said in an SEC filing.
In connection with the planned merger, Aureus has engaged Dominari Securities to help raise about $9m in financing.
Dominari counts both Trump brothers among its shareholders, with roughly 6% stake each."
The company is expected to bid on large, lucrative drone contracts from the Pentagon. You can be certain that their proposals will lean on the fact that the skeevy Trump brothers are backing the company. From bitcoins to drones, there's nothing that this greedy, nepotistic and corrupt family won't try in profiting from while the Malignant Fascist is in the Oval Office.
(image: Brian Snyder / Reuters)
Following on the heels of news of "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth's luxury spending spree at the Pentagon, it's being reported that recently defenestrated "Border Barbie" Noem spent millions of taxpayer dollars on custom-painted ICEmobiles that aren't being used:
After spending millions of taxpayer dollars on a fleet of new vehicles with Donald Trump-inspired paint jobs, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly don’t want to drive them.
Last summer, a slick promotional video captured a Ford Raptor pickup truck and GMC Yukon SUV rolling around Washington, D.C., with music from DaBaby playing over close-up images of navy blue paint jobs with red-and-white racing stripes and a gold seal.
The words “defend the homeland” appear on the side, and “President Donald J. Trump” is printed in gold on a rear window.
Homeland Security’s preview of its new fleet — with paint jobs designed to look like the president’s private jet — cost more than $700,000. The government ultimately spent more than $2 million buying up hundreds of new cars with custom wraps, according to contracts reviewed by The Independent.
But officers don’t want them, according to The Washington Examiner.
“ICE has never had marked vehicles,” one person familiar with the purchases told the outlet. “In talking to people, they’re like, ‘We don’t want to use these, we can’t.'”
Another said it’s “ridiculous” to drive marked cars because “you don’t want to advertise what you’re doing.”
“We’re just hiding them in a parking garage somewhere because we don’t want to drive them,” the person reportedly told the outlet. “Who wants to drive the marked vehicles?”
Roughly 25 newly delivered ICE vehicles are sitting at an immigration detention facility in California, unused, according to the Examiner. [snip]
One contract for a pair of high-performance Mustang GT Fastback coupes was “an immediate request by the White House,” according to another federal procurement document reviewed by The Independent.
Another no-bid contract awarded $2.25 million to a company owned by a prolific Republican donor, whose firm supplied 25 Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs. The contract, skirting a competitive bid process, was awarded to the company because of an “unusual and compelling urgency.” [snip]
The purchases were reportedly directed by now-former ICE deputy director Madison Sheahan, who left the agency to run for a congressional seat in Ohio.
Sheahan was among several top DHS officials to leave the agency in recent months; last week, the president fired Secretary Kristi Noem, who is stepping down March 31, and Noem’s top deputy Tricia McLaughlin left the agency last month.
ICE leadership is now trying to amend open orders for new cars and trucks to leave out the pain jobs, according to the Examiner... (our emphasis)
A $225 million inside job pr campaign starring Noem apparently got her fired; then there's that multi-million dollar taxpayer funded flying love nest she shared with her married boyfriend. Now we have another sketchy no-bid contract for a Republican donor's company to supply the ICEmobiles that can't be used (maybe a silver lining). It goes without saying that, in any other administration, both this and the "Whiskey Pete" spending spree -- while Americans are struggling in the MF's economy -- would be top news stories for days if not weeks -- but, wait, there's that Operation Epic Epstein Fury taking up all the oxygen.
This is a smash-and-grab, pay-to-play, "Epstein class" regime of morons, crooks, grifters, and self-dealers (all in the cult leader's image!) of world-historic caliber whose only interest in government is to sate themselves at the public trough. We can only wonder, for now, what other grand thefts and misuse of tax dollars have been and are being committed by them.
BONUS: Here's what their idea of a competent scourge of waste, fraud, and abuse is.
(Photo: they forgot the clown horn; one of the Trumpy ICEmobiles / DHS)
(click on images to enlarge)
(Michael de Adder, The Contrarian, Canada)
(Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Canada)
(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)
(R.J. Matson, CQ/ Roll Call)
(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)
(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)
(Jen Sorensen, gocomics.com)
(Adam Douglas Thompson, The New Yorker)
We'll continue to monitor and periodically report on the Department of Homeland Security's (ICE/ Border Patrol) deadly toll from their violent immigration dragnets and inhumane detention centers, and ask...
When and how will justice come for the victims of the Malignant Fascist's domestic terrorist organization DHS (ICE and Border Patrol)?
Where is justice for ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who murdered Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7?
Where is justice for BP agent Jesus Ochoa and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, who murdered Alex Pretti om Minneapolis on January 24?
We know their names well. But how about those who died in ICE custody like Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres (died January 5 in ICE detention in Texas), Geraldo Lunas Campos (died January 3 in ICE custody in Texas), Víctor Manuel Díaz (died January 14 in ICE custody in Texas), Parady La (died January 9 in ICE custody in Pennsylvania), Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz (died January 6 in ICE custody in California), and Heber Sánchez Domínguez (died January 14 in ICE custody in Georgia)? Read the circumstances of their deaths at the link above and ask yourself, "Why haven't those responsible for these deaths been brought to justice?"
Without justice, there can be no peace.
UPDATE: As of March 10, 23 people have died in ICE custody since October, more than the entire previous fiscal year and the highest in two decades.
(Photo: one of the "lucky ones" who wasn't murdered; U.S. citizen Aliya Rahman being dragged out of her car by ICE agents on January 13, 2026 / Mostafa Bassim / Anadolu via Getty Images)
