Saturday, August 22, 2026

QOTD -- Trump Hates The Troops & They Notice

 

"... The least surprising observation you can make about Trump is that he is an asshole and a cheapskate. Still, the president’s Iranian misadventure has fully exposed both his ineptitude as commander in chief and the consequences of this lack of care for military members and their families. As conditions on U.S. ships erode, the administration is finding itself in a media war with the concerned families of troops deployed to the region. Stockpiles of vital munitions are being burned through at an alarming rate. And for some reason, Trump has picked this moment to order a bizarre retrofitting of U.S. aircraft carriers, demanding that they be kitted out with obsolete steam catapults. (TNR contributor Brynn Tannehill has the lore drop you need if you’ve been confused by this story.)

"Public opinion about the war in Iran has been consistently awful for Trump, whose overall approval hit a low of 33 percent this week. As Parsi reports, those who are stuck on the front lines of this folly are not likely to disabuse their fellow Americans of this being anything but FUBAR. As one service member told him: “What people in the media don’t understand when they compare past conflicts to this one, is this operation has no morale behind it. That makes a world of difference to service members deployed to undesirable locations indefinitely.” Parsi thinks that the only thing left to do now is to “simply end” the war. But Trump is knee-deep in this big muddy, and there truly is no end in sight." -- Jason Linkins at The New Republic Substack, on "Trump Hates the Troops. The Troops Are Taking Notice."  The narcissistic-sociopath-in-chief can't let go for the same reason he can't let go when he loses an election, a court case, a business deal, etc.  His vastly overinflated sense of himself and of his place in history, his bubble-thin ego, his band of sycophants keeping that bubble constantly inflated with the breath of bullshit, his deep ignorance, means he will only continue a course through the kind of catastrophe only someone with his unique combination of failings can bungle into and not be able to leave. The servicemembers on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and their families offered a stark reminder of the Malignant Fascist's incompetence and sociopathy in the most clear way possible when he said that they had been on deployment "not nearly long enough."  He hates, and disrespects, the troops all right.


Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)

(Chris Britt, Creators.com)

(Mike Stanfill, ragingpencils.com)

(Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News)

(Dennis Goris, @dennisgoris)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Banx, @banxcartoons, UK)



Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Epic Quagmire: bluff fails --


This might get underreported but take note. The USA has threatened to unleash economic hell of those who trade with Iran. The Chinese just called the US bluff. If the USA meekly accepts the Chinese rebuke (which it probably will), the US is acknowledging how weak it is. www.cnn.com/2026/08/21/w...

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— Phillips OBrien (@phillipspobrien.bsky.social) August 22, 2026 at 2:05 AM


The Malignant Fascist's insane comment about the bond market -- 


Addled Trump threatens to use the military on bond traders. bsky.app/profile/acyn...

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 5:28 PM

 

Some mix of a Simpsons ep or a post-war absurdist novel in which the fading insane King declares war on clouds. and yet hardly anyone notices today because this stuff happens two or three times a week.

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 11:33 PM


The MF's failing economy and more tariff nonsense -- 


The Trump economy: $40tn debt, 6.7% mortgages and $5 diesel ft.trib.al/yjvQxNr

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— Financial Times (@financialtimes.com) August 22, 2026 at 12:58 AM

 

Trump imposes crushing new taxes on American consumers & businesses - compounding the toll of his failed unprovoked war with Iran by escalating his failed unprovoked trade war with our longtime staunchest ally and trade partner, and advancing global disorder. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/w...

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— Philip Gourevitch (@pgourevitch.bsky.social) August 22, 2026 at 7:21 AM


The MF's war on ranchers, a constituent group of his, and mystery meat --

 

MYSTERY MEAT: Trump says he struck a deal to flood the U.S. with cheaper foreign beef. There’s just one problem: He refuses to tell Americans which countries the beef is coming from. And U.S. ranchers are furious.

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— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) August 21, 2026 at 6:24 PM

 

This would be a very funny way for RFK to break with Trump.

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— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 9:05 PM


Speaking of Bobby Brainworm, quack medical expert -- 


A quack ringtone interrupted RFK Jr. during a speech about autism.

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— Republicans Against Trumpism (@rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 6:02 PM


Another frivolous lawsuit by the MF aimed at stifling exposure of his failures -- 


Talk about a snowflake. Trump suing a think tank for a report he doesn’t like. Nobody would have likely read the thing prior to his whiny lawsuit. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/u...

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— John Sipher (@johnsipher.bsky.social) August 22, 2026 at 8:38 AM


Zuck's day of reckoning arriving --

 

California's Meta trial reveals Zuckerberg's corporate policies of deceit, misrepresentation and willful blindness to policies that harm small children. What a monster. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

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— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) August 22, 2026 at 7:33 AM


Billboards tell the story across the country -- 


Home of the Brave put up 300 new billboards across 16 states as part of a new $1 Million extension to our Sticker Shock Summer Campaign! All summer long, Sticker Shock Summer has been educating Americans on the real cost of the Trump administration's policies.

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— Home of the Brave (@ofthebraveusa.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 4:45 PM


License plate doesn't lie --

 



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— π”Έπ•žπ•“π•–π•£ π”»π•’π•¨π•Ÿ (@amberdawn1116.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 1:58 PM

 

 

 

"They're Ignoring The President Of The United States"




The delusional and narcissistic Malignant Fascist has alienated friends, encouraged our adversaries, and made a fool of himself with his idiotic tariffs and his failed war against Iran.  We're more isolated than ever in the world thanks to his ignorance and recklessness.  David Graham, writing in The Atlantic, notes that the world is used to his bullshit and posturing, and is choosing to ignore him:

"One of Donald Trump’s current favorite riffs is to contrast how (in his opinion) the United States was seen under his predecessor, Joe Biden, and how it’s seen now.

"They didn’t respect us two years ago. They laughed at us. NATO laughed at us. Everybody laughed at us,' Trump said at a summit in Turkey with allies last month. 'They don’t laugh anymore. There’s no more laughing.'

He’s right. It’s worse than laughing—they’re ignoring the president of the United States altogether. Trump styles himself as an heir to Theodore Roosevelt, but where Roosevelt said that America should speak softly and carry a big stick, Trump speaks loudly and carries a small one. Roosevelt’s bully pulpit has been reduced to a bullshit pulpit. [snip]

Trump’s credibility has been undercut by his own capriciousness. Back then, he was threatening Oman over any negotiations that would imperil the neutrality of the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, however, he posted a graphic on Truth Social that declared the strait a “NEW U.S. Territory.” (He’d previously said that he would soon declare it U.S. territory.) American annexation of an international waterway would represent a major shift in maritime legal precedent and require an enormous U.S.-military presence, but everyone knew that the pronouncement was nonsense. Trump has no means of controlling the strait, and The Washington Post reports that the Defense Department is actually considering a reduced regional footprint. Trump has also repeatedly promised that a deal with Iran is near completion, but after multiple false starts, these announcements fool only the markets." (our emphasis)

Fooling the markets, and his gullible low information cult, is what it's all about for the MF. He's been described as having the instincts of a "day trader," not focused on the long term strategy, but just getting through one news cycle / Wall Street opening after another.  He's announced an impending peace "deal" dozens of time, and nothing but humiliation.  You can't say that about President Biden, who strengthened our alliances and didn't appease our adversaries. 

(photo: Keep yelling, no one believes you)

 

Trump's Mid-Term Message: Save Me From Impeachment!

 



“I’m going to be impeached. They’re going to impeach me. They have no idea why.” -- the narcissistic dolt Malignant Fascist, yesterday in Myrtle Beach, SC, campaigning for Huckleberry Graham's unqualified sister for U.S. Senate, making a desperate argument to keep the House and Senate out of Democrats' hands.  

First of all, stop threatening us with a good time!  But, actually we do know why you could be impeached, Dementia Don. Here's a starter list:

  1. Committing illegal war and humanitarian crimes

  2. Unconstitutionally usurping Congress’s power to declare war

  3. Committing treason by levying war against the United States, individual states, and their people

  4. Committing treason and abusing his power by inciting violence, including murder, in Minnesota and covering up the execution of Minnesota civilians by ICE agents

  5. Calling for the execution of Members of Congress

  6. Abusing the power of his office to unlawfully maintain political power

  7. Unconstitutionally operating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol as unaccountable federal police forces to violate civil liberties in furtherance of Trump’s personal and political goals

  8. Illegally kidnapping, detaining, and removing U.S. residents, migrants, and asylum-seekers, including to foreign prisons

  9. Unconstitutionally and systemically violating the First Amendment

  10. Unconstitutionally usurping Congress’s powers

  11. Defying court orders, threatening judges, and unconstitutionally usurping judicial authority

  12. Abusing investigatory and prosecutorial powers

  13. Abusing his power to remove nonpartisan civil servants, punish perceived adversaries, and reshape federal agencies

  14. Engaging in unlawful extortion to co-opt law firms, the media, and private industry

  15. Engaging in corruption for his own and his close associates’ personal enrichment

  16. Co-opting and dismantling independent government oversight of businesses, government institutions, and law enforcement

  17. Imposing unlawful tariffs

  18. Receiving foreign and domestic emoluments

  19. Unconstitutionally usurping state and local authority

  20. Abusing the emergency power

  21. Abusing the pardon power

  22. Abusing his power to undermine public health and safety

  23. Abusing his power in order to deprive the American public of accurate political, historic, scientific, and medical information

  24. Unlawfully aggregating and disseminating private data, in violation of individual privacy and liberty rights

  25. Depriving citizens of their birthright citizenship

  26. Blocking efforts to secure U.S. elections

  27. Engaging in unlawful, corrupt practices during the 2024 presidential campaign

Good enough? Though we doubt if Democrats will begin their control of either house with a fruitless effort to get a conviction in a Senate where 67 votes are needed for conviction. Investigations? Yes. Impeachment? Warranted (see above), but not likely. Conviction? Not with this Republican Party/cult!

(Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP) 

 

LA's Most Famous House

 

You know you've seen it in movies and tv shows.  It's the iconic mid-century California modern Stahl House, designed by architect Pierre Koenig, and here's your chance to find out about it's design and construction, see the view of LA, and look around.  The Stahl family wants to keep the house accessible to people wanting to experience it, so you can tour it in person.

Friday, August 21, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)

(Bob Englehart, caglecartoons.com)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Ruben Bolling, gocomics.com)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

(John Branch, King Features)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Nick Anderson, The Contrarian)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Tom Toro, @yaleclimateconnections)


QOTD: Trump's Great News For China

 



Troy Farah, writing in Salon.com, about the gift to China and North Korea from the mentally ill narcissist Malignant Fascist, in the form of our naval retreat from the Pacific, and reducing our military exercises with South Korea as a result of  the MF's petty spite:

"Donald Trump’s war against Iran is going so well that the U.S. is now yanking the USS George Washington from the western Pacific to relieve the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln, which is stationed off the Iranian coast in the Northern Arabian Sea. 

The move is significant on both fronts. While the switch will be a godsend to the weary sailors aboard the Lincoln, who have faced deteriorating living conditions and reported suicide attempts during their historic deployment of over 260 days and counting, the Washington was the Navy’s last aircraft carrier stationed in Asia. Its exit represents a remarkable abdication of American military power in the region. [snip]

This is all great news for China, which has already dispatched its top envoy to South Korea, seemingly to fill the void Trump is creating. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with Korean President Lee Jae Myung to discuss North Korea and global issues, creating an “unusually favorable moment for Beijing,” according to Han Lin, China country director at the Asia Group, who spoke to Bloomberg. [snip]

Beijing has watched closely as the U.S. and Russia, in its invasion of Ukraine, have damaged their economies, weakened their militaries and destroyed their global reputations while still losing the wars they started. No one wants to say that risk of a Taiwan invasion is completely gone, but China’s motivation to do so is likely pretty low. Why invade some place if you basically already control it? Just keep doing nothing and keep winning."  (our emphasis)

If our adversaries had designed a Manchurian Candidate to undermine America and destroy it's influence abroad, they couldn't have come up with a better one that the MF represents himself.  

(photo: the MF's body language says it all)

 

Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Epic Fail / our national security risk is in the White House --


Great job from the president yesterday, basically telling Iran "yes, you should get a nuke ASAP, so you can get the same treatment I give my friends in North Korea." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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— Tom Nichols (@radiofreetom.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 1:02 PM

 

Co-President Natalie's "love letters" and strange, sick obsession --

 

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman says that letters sent by Natalie Harp to Donald Trump “alarmed” the Secret Service.

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— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 6:55 AM

 

This letter has everything: fear, devotion, self-abasement, sleep deprivation, and a desperate need for approval. The only thing missing is a lock of hair taped to the bottom.

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— π•Šπ•¦π•Ÿπ••π•’π•– 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@sundaedivine.lol) August 21, 2026 at 7:49 AM

 

Apart from being cringe-worthy, the letters that this fruit loop has sent to Trump is the correspondence from someone with psychological problems that should be concerning. And if the unprincipled, despicable Trump is taking advantage of this vulnerable weirdo, would anyone be surprised?

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— petercott.bsky.social (@petercott.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 1:18 AM

 

The "U.S.S. Donald Trump" reactions --

 

The fucking audacity Doris “Dorie” Miller was a Black mess attendant in a segregated Navy who grabbed an anti-aircraft gun he had NEVER been trained to use and fought back during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a war hero. Trump’s 1/ A draft dodger 2/ Started a war that we’re losing

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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) August 21, 2026 at 1:26 AM


A Black war hero's family denounced President Donald Trump's reported move to rename the USS Doris Miller.

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— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) August 21, 2026 at 1:00 AM

 

The next president is going to need a Department of Detrumpification.

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— David Corn (@davidcorn.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 7:42 AM

 

Trump's "bullshitocracy" --

 

Welcome to the bullshitocracy. My latest. www.thedailybeast.com/the-only-tru...

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— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 5:31 PM

 

Another Netanyahu bomb --


Another costly, humiliating loss for AIPAC whose primary dark $ strategy has bombed, showing its lack of influence and benefiting the least Netanyahu friendly candidates, alienating most Dems. If this was the scam to make Israel entirely partisan and benefit MAGA it will keep at it. Let’s see

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— Jen Rubin (@jenrubin.bsky.social) August 21, 2026 at 5:06 AM

 

We trust the people of Ireland know what to do --

 

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg is said to be “looking forward to spending time in Ireland” after purchasing a castle in Co Waterford. A spokesperson said “Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland". jrnl.ie/7136325

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— The Journal (@thejournal.ie) August 20, 2026 at 4:43 AM

 

Reminder --

 

Seems like yesterday.

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— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 5:21 AM

 

Korean missiles hitting Kyiv as Trump calls Kim Jong-Un his friend

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— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu) August 19, 2026 at 6:07 PM

 

Cheers!  (Happy Friday!) --

 

Cheers to $4 gas!

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— Brent Terhune (@brentterhune.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 6:57 PM

 

 

Weekend Music

 

Liverpool's Echo & The Bunneymen have been making music since the early 80's, when new wave music was peaking in the UK and America.  Through a series of lineup changes and a hiatus, two of the band's original members -- lead guitarist Will Sergeant and vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Ian McCulloch -- have been the steady core of the group.  They have an album coming out next month, "Apples for Isaac," and have released this single, "The Light That Surrounds You," which we hope you'll enjoy.


Chance Of Flipping The Senate Improving


An analysis by the Cook Political Report shows several seats occupied by incumbent Republican Senators and open due to retirement have moved from "lean" status to "toss up".  The Senate races in Maine (Troy Jackson), Alaska (Mary Petola), and Ohio (Sherrod Brown) are now toss ups, while the open seats in Texas and Michigan are also toss ups, where Dems James Talarico and Abdul el-Sayed are running for seats where incumbents retired or were primaried out.  If you want to donate to any or all of the campaigns, ActBlue has a directory that you can use.

Check out the Cook Report's interactive map at this link, but always remember that the only poll that counts is your vote. 

 

U.S.S. Donald Trump?? Never!

 



Slapping the narcissistic sociopath's Malignant Fascist's name on everything is reaching new lows with this especially egregious report:

The US Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier under construction that was set to honor a Black sailor hailed for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, three sources familiar with internal discussions told CNN.

During President Donald Trump’s first term, the Navy announced that the Ford-class carrier would be called the USS Doris Miller, recognizing an enlisted sailor who helped defend US forces from Japan’s attack.

It’s unclear what the Navy is seeking to change the name of the carrier to, though two of the sources said there have been internal conversations about renaming it to honor Trump. It would be an unprecedented move to name an aircraft carrier after a sitting president.

The Navy is looking instead to rename another warship after Miller, according to one of the sources, and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for military valor. The final authorization for the award is up to Congress and approval from Trump.

Thomas Bledsoe, Miller’s great-nephew, said Miller’s family had not been informed of the change or the renewed effort to award his great-uncle with the Medal of Honor. The family has been working to get him the Medal of Honor “for years,” Bledsoe said, and called the Navy’s move to recommend the honor “very positive.” [snip]

The effort to rename the USS Doris Miller has been underway since earlier this year, the sources said. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and his office have also been looking into updating the official guidance for how ships should be named and specifying who they can be named after, including presidents, two of the sources said.

Amid conversations over the ship’s name, the Navy has effectively stopped referring to the ship as the USS Doris Miller internally and is only calling it by its hull number, CVN-81, one of the sources said. A recent White House executive order on shipbuilding also referred to the ship only as CVN-81, tasking the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy to report back with a plan to replace the ship’s electromagnetic aircraft launch system with steam and hydraulic systems.

Here's why the honor belongs to Doris Miller, and not to the sick, racist, draft-dodging, servicemember- maligning, fraudster and sexual abuser Malignant Fascist:

Former Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly announced the new carrier’s name in honor of Miller in January 2020, during a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ceremony in Pearl Harbor.

“Dorie Miller was the son of a sharecropper,” Modly, a Trump nominee who had Navy leadership positions from 2017 to 2020, said at the ceremony, according to a Navy release. “And, he was an American sailor – so designated by the uniform that he wore — the same uniform all sailors wore, and still wear, regardless of race, ethnic background, or political persuasion.”

Doris “Dorie” Miller, from Waco, Texas, enlisted in the US Navy in 1939, according to the National Museum of the Pacific War. On the day of Japan’s attack, Miller — a Mess Attendant Third Class at the time — was retrieving laundry when bombs began falling on the US fleet. Mess attendant was one of the only jobs in the Navy open to Black men, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs. Damage by Japan’s attack kept him from returning to his assigned battle station. 

Miller proceeded to aid his wounded commanding officer, and then, despite having received no training on the system, took control of an anti-aircraft gun and opened fire on the Japanese aircraft.

“Although untrained,” the VA’s website says, “he laid down effective fire and stopped firing when he ran out of ammunition and the ship began to sink. Even then, he persisted in helping his fellow sailors to safety until he finally made his way to shore.”

Miller was famously portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor.

In 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz presented Miller with the Navy Cross, and he was then sent out on a War Bond tour with several white service members, “making him the first African American allowed on the speaking tour,” according to the VA. Roughly a year later, Miller was killed during the Battle of Makin when his ship was hit by a Japanese submarine’s torpedo.

There's more at the link.

The person responsible for the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln crew's dire condition should have an aircraft carrier named for him?  The person who holds the lives of servicemembers past and present in contempt (remember him calling the fallen "suckers" and "losers"?) should have an aircraft named for him?  Would there be a greater insult to them or to anyone who ever wore the uniform of the United States military?  

Every monument to his vanity, everywhere he has his name defacing an edifice -- everywhere the name of the Malignant Fascist appears it must be erased and and every building or structure he built must be demolished as a fitting end to the most rancid era in American history, sooner rather than later.

(Image:  proposed USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), via US Navy)


Thursday, August 20, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Steve Sack, stevesacksubstack.com)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Randy Bish, @bishtoon)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

(Bruce Plante, caglecartoons.com)

(John Cole, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

(Jonathan Brown, caglecartoons.com)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Matt Reuter, The New Yorker)


QOTD -- Fantasies

 

"... Trump, then, is at war with the world he has made. Alex Bruesewitz, working busily with the White House trolls, now churns out videos of Trump to prop up his image as the alpha male. Trump is the towering leader of 'Guardians of the World' with jets and warships bombing Iran; Trump is the 'Cosmic Commander: A New Era Begins Among the Stars'; Trump is a swashbuckler seizing an Iranian ship, crying, 'It’s Our Oil Tanker Now!'; Trump is a superhero with a red Superman cape rescuing George Washington falling off Mount Rushmore; Trump is dignified standing next to John F. Kennedy in front of the White House; Trump is Vegas Elvis in a rhinestone jumpsuit unbuttoned to display his muscled chest.

"The Iranians, for their part, have produced viral, AI-generated videos to portray Trump as a petulant and impotent Lego character. The Iranian Trump figure naps at the Resolute Desk, frantically launches missiles to hide his name in the Epstein files, and sweats playing dice in a casino. The Iranian portrayal of the little plastic toy is far more realistic than the White House fantasies..." --  Sidney Blumenthal / The New Republic Substack, writing on "Two Years Ago, They Revered Trump; Now, They Ridicule and Revile Him."  The AI slop that's generated for the MAGAt faithful to reassure them that the Malignant Fascist is still on his game (and aging backwards!) and is seen as the hero of mankind is playing to a much-diminished audience in a demographic that he could always count on:  the "manosphere" of self-deluded "alpha males" and incels (think "Proud Boys").  That's toxic for any would-be dictator / strongman, but with the MF's plummeting polls and the increasingly mocking and derisive zeitgeist, it's approaching fatal.