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(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution)
(Robert Ariall, GoComics.com)
(Steve Breen, Creators.com)
(Michael deAdder, Caglecartoons.com)
(John Deering, Creators.com)
(Tim Campbell, Tribune Content Agency)
(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)
Law professor and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance dissects the attempt by the Trump Justice Department to undermine one of the nation's foremost civil rights organizations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, with an indictment based on a series of lies and distortions. Here are excerpts from Vance's timely and excellent Substack article:
"The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded in 1971 in Montgomery, Alabama, by a lawyer named Morris Dees. His goal was to protect civil rights and combat hate groups. He went about it with precision, using a civil lawsuit to bankrupt and cripple the Ku Klux Klan in 1981, when other approaches, including criminal prosecution, failed to make headway.
So it makes sense that Kash Patel’s FBI would sever all ties with them, which happened last October. Until then, SPLC’s insightful intelligence product on domestic hate groups had been shared with the FBI and was widely viewed as being very helpful. They had access to information other groups, even law enforcement, didn’t have as they committed people and resources to programs like KlanWatch. [snip]
This administration has targeted people and institutions whose philosophies run contrary to its own, even as it has protected and rewarded its allies, disappearing convictions of people like Steve Bannon and January 6 defendants convicted on serious insurrection charges. Indicting the Southern Poverty Law Center sends a message—part of their work involves tracking white supremacists, like some of the people who overran the Capitol on January 6. The Justice Department is going after SPLC on a tenuous theory; at the same time, it’s making sure the kind of people the Center tracks are walking free. The message is: it’s open season, as long as you support the president." (our emphasis)
Professor Vance's article goes through the Justice Department's punitive and dishonest indictment point by point. The SPLC will strongly oppose this attempt to silence them, and we hope other civil rights groups will join them in the fight. Stay tuned.
Operation Epic Epstein Fury: Iran seizes ships, 4-D chess --
Iran's Revolutionary Guard attacks a third ship in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies report. The two ships that were attacked earlier are now are in the force’s custody and being taken to Iran, state television reported.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) April 22, 2026 at 6:12 AM
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I’m sure Trump has put the US in a very strong bargaining position by issuing two ultimatums with hard deadlines only to back down both times after Iran called his bluff. 4-D chess from the cult leader.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Virginia's redistricting a win against the Malignant Fascist's vote rigging efforts --
Last night, Virginia Democrats sent an unmistakable message to the whole party - we want Democrats who will fight fire with fire and push the envelope to stop fascism in its tracks. www.messageboxnews.com/p/what-does-...
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 8:20 AM
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Remember, Democrats have repeatedly advanced measures to ban partisan gerrymandering and Republicans have voted against them time after time. This is the game Republicans wanted to play. OK, then.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 8:41 PM
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Polls looking disastrous for the Malignant Fascist --
AP-NORC poll: Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's overall job performance 30% approve of his handling of the economy 32% approve of Trump's leadership on Iran
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Support for impeaching Trump is at 55%, according to a new Strength In Numbers/ @Verasight.io poll, with 37% of adults opposed. Crucially 1 in 5 of Trump’s own voters support impeachment. Read and share: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-04-22...
— G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris.com) April 22, 2026 at 8:42 AM
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The MF's social media scam not looking good, either --
"Last year, Trump Media took in $3.7 million in revenue and recorded a $712 million net loss."
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 8:29 AM
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Those "tariff rebates" from the MF? Go see our corporate overlords --
Let me get this straight: the illegal tariffs which we all paid for in higher retail prices will now be refunded *to corporations.* So instead of tariff “rebate checks” Trump promised to give taxpayers it’s just another redistribution from consumers to corporate America? Golden age, my ass.
— Tom Schaller (@schaller67.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 8:09 AM
The MF's DOJ indicting the Southern Poverty Law Center in Klan-reminiscent move --
EXCLUSIVE: The SPLC indictment, the Klan history behind it, and the ignominy of Todd Blanche. Another dark day for DOJ. Tonight, at Law Dork:
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 11:38 PM
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1. The central claim in the indictment of SPLC is a lie. The DOJ/FBI accuse SPLC of lying to donors about seeking to “dismantle” extremist groups while secretly funding them. But the funds were used to infiltrate & help law enforcement dismantle these groups. Kash Patel knows this is the truth…
— Tom Joscelyn (@tomjoscelyn.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 7:40 PM
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The MF's betrayal of our Afghan allies is despicable--
Hundreds of Afghan refugees who helped the U.S. fight the Taliban may be sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo after the Trump administration halted their U.S. resettlement, an advocacy group says.
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) April 22, 2026 at 10:00 AM
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Bleachers, the rock band fronted by musician / producer Jack Antonoff, has a great new single out, "The Van." You may have caught them recently when they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Enjoy.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz as the incompetent Malignant Fascist seems to have no answers for resolving the conflict he started, other than his bluster and threats. From Reuters:
"Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway after President Donald Trump called off attacks indefinitely with no sign of peace talks restarting.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Revolutionary Guards had seized two vessels for maritime violations and escorted them to Iranian shores. It was the first time Iran has seized ships since the beginning of the war.
Earlier, a British maritime security agency reported three ships had come under fire."
Meanwhile the MF continues to send out conflicting messages from his social media site. More from Reuters:
"But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral ceasefire extension, Trump also said he would continue the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea. The United States fired on and seized an Iranian cargo vessel on Saturday and boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker on Tuesday in the Indian Ocean.
Iran considers the U.S. blockade an act of war and has said it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global energy crisis, as long as the U.S. blockade continues.
Pakistan, acting as mediator, had cleared out a luxury hotel in the capital Islamabad for last-ditch peace talks on Tuesday, in the hopes of reaching a deal in the final hours before a two-week-old ceasefire expired.
But Iran never confirmed it would attend and a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance never departed Washington, leaving an apparent stalemate in the nearly two-month war with no clear solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz." (our emphasis)
The Iranians are now treating the MF's frequent statements "skeptically", to say the least, as he tries to manage domestic expectations and economic impacts, mostly through puffery and lies about peace talks, ceasefires, and the opening of the Strait.
(photo: Nurphoto | Getty Images)
Today marks the 56th Earth Day, when we commit to protect the planet from decline and destruction. There is almost certainly an event near you, and you can find it and many more resources by going to earthday.org.
The unprecedented assault on the environment launched by the corrupt Malignant Fascist's regime and their allies in the fossil fuel sector has brought the Earth to a precipice. From withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accords to loosening of environmental restrictions on coal, oil and gas, the MF's reactionary governmental policies have no regard for the Earth or future generations, much less our own. Please donate to and actively participate in activities that support protecting the environment, and vote for those who will act to protect the environment.
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
(Michael de Adder, deAdder substack.com)
(Clay Jones, claytoons.com0
(Robert Ariall, GoComics.com)
Operation Epic Epstein Fury: Iranian no show --
So let me get this straight: the U.S. is sending a delegation overseas led by JD Vance to negotiate with Iran… and Iran might not show up? Genius at work.
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) April 21, 2026 at 2:14 AM
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"Trump did this" --
Trump did this 👇🏽
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) April 20, 2026 at 11:43 PM
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Virginia Dems and Independents, get out and vote today --
Virginia votes TODAY on a referendum that would enable Democrats to redraw the congressional map for 2026 in response to new Republican gerrymanders in other states. The map targets 4 of 5 Republicans & aims to elect a 10-1 Dem majority. Interactive map+data: davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...
— Stephen Wolf (@stephenwolf.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 8:16 AM
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Judge Sullivan should have fun with Kashyap Patel's meritless lawsuit against The Atlantic --
NOTED: FBI Director Kash Patel's libel lawsuit against the Atlantic was assigned to Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Clinton appointee in DC. Sullivan won few fans in the MAGA camp with his handling of the case against former DNI Michael Flynn. Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 11:11 PM
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Sorry Tuck, you made your bed. Now lay in it --
Tucker Carlson: “I’ll be tormented for a long time by the fact that I played a role in getting Donald Trump elected. And I want to say that I’m sorry for misleading people.”
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 12:46 AM
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Let's see which journalists boycott the White House Correspondents Dinner "nerd prom" --
CBS News has invited Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller to join them at that execrable dinner, and now, via @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, we learn that CBS’s parent, Paramount, has invited Brendan Carr. Yes, that Brendan Carr. www.status.news/p/brendan-ca...
— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
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Menu for the White House Correspondents' Dinner: / Gulf of America shrimp cocktail / Leni Riefenstahl salad, sanewashed and served with normalized onions / Quisling stew / Quiet Piggy pork roast / Sauvignon Blanc, very blanc, imported from South Africa / Orange sherbet / Let them eat cake
— Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) April 21, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Wajahat Ali gives Whiskey Pete Hegseth's "pastor" a righteous reaming. Loving it! --
It's Time to Drag Pete Hegseth's Bigoted Pastor and Expose Trump's Failed Iran War Pete Hegseth believes he's on a mission from God and supports an American Crusade. His pastor, Doug Wilson, demands Christian domination. Well, I would like to retort. open.substack.com/pub/thelefth...
— Wajahat Ali (@wajali.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 9:42 PM
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Financially and morally bankrupt Alex Jones' "Infowars" now belongs to The Onion. Glorious! --
https://www.theonion.info/
— The Onion (@theonion.com) April 20, 2026 at 1:03 PM
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Before she could be fired, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned after accusations of misconduct, having an affair with a staffer and drinking on the job. From The Guardian:
"The labor secretary and her close aides are currently under investigation by the department’s inspector general over allegations of professional misconduct.
These include claims that Chavez-DeRemer had an affair with a member of her security detail, kept a 'stash' of alcohol in her office and used government resources for personal travel, while her aides allegedly sought to channel grants towards politically connected figures, the New York Times reported in March.
The inspector general is also reviewing material showing Chavez-DeRemer and her top aides and family members routinely sent personal messages and requests to young staff members, another Times report said last week. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband and father exchanged text messages with young female staff members, according to the newspaper.
The scandals did not end there. The secretary’s husband, Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist, was barred from the department’s headquarters after allegations by at least two female staff members that he had sexually assaulted them. The women told department officials that Shawn DeRemer had touched them inappropriately at the department’s building on Constitution Avenue in Washington." (our emphasis)
Her situation is reminiscent of ICE Barbie Noem's, whose "alleged" affair with gutter dweller Cory Lewandowski helped remove her from the Malignant Fascist's cabinet.
In sum, it sounds like some serious family therapy time is in order for this troubled couple, if not public corruption and sexual assault charges. We bid Chavez-DeRemer a heartfelt "buh-bye!"
(photo: Sad! )
Tim "Tim Apple" Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple effective in September, as reported by NPR:
"'I will be transitioning into a new role, leaving the CEO job behind in September and becoming Apple's executive chairman,' Cook, 65, said.
Apple's then-CEO, Steve Jobs, stands on a stage to introduce new colors for the iPod Nano in September 2008. Behind him is an enlarged image of a row of iPod Nanos in seven rainbow colors and gray.
From scrappy startup to tech giant, Apple celebrates its 50th year
Cook added the company's new CEO will be John Ternus, an engineer who has been with Apple for 25 years. According to Apple's web site, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering on several of its products, including iPads and AirPods, Macs, the Apple Watch, and the iPhone."
In a White House conference in the Malignant Fascist's first term, the MF referred to him as "Tim Apple", in a mental lapse so common with him. He was one of several tech oligarchs to attend the MF's inauguration as a sign of things to come. Last August, to curry favor with the narcissistic MF on tariff relief, Cook presented him with a plaque (i.e., a bribe) with a 24 carat gold base in the Oval Office, bending the knee to the deranged MF.
Profile in courage? No. Profile in bribery? Yes. Buh-bye.
(photo: "Now may I have my tariff exemption, sir?" Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Well, this should be good. Bug-eyed MAGA cultist FBI Director Kashyap "Kash" Patel is suing The Atlantic for a well-sourced article about his bizarre habits and excessive drinking. Now that the hack is suing, litigation discovery by The Atlantic's legal team should produce some interesting facts:
"Kash Patel has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, accusing the magazine and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick of defamation over an article that alleged the FBI director has a drinking problem.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, refers to an article published April 17 that claims Patel has a habit of 'excessive drinking and unexplained absences,' among other recurring behavioral patterns.
The suit argues that Fitzpatrick’s reporting is part of an ongoing pattern from The Atlantic to 'damage Director Patel’s reputation and force him from office.'
The Atlantic on Monday defended its reporting.
'We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,' The Atlantic said." (our emphasis)
"Vigoursly defend" signals The Atlantic will "go to the mattresses" with the compromised MAGA cultist FBI Director in terms of the discovery process, which will expose many cases of Kashyap's misbehavior and his abuse of the FBI. Get the popcorn ready.
(photo: Kashyap chugging a beer at the Winter Olympics. "X")
Operation Epic Epstein Fury: peace promises, press hackery, oil up/stocks down --
Trump’s amazing peace deal is going well. A peace deal the likes of which nobody has ever seen. Best peace deal ever. Nobody thought it was possible.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 3:37 PM
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Friday: "trump says Iran deal in a day or two" Two days later: Iran says no to further talks Maybe just maybe it's time for reporters to stop blasting their latest phone chat with trump across the media ecosystem without facts, context AND without a transcript of the call.
— @NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) (@newsjennifer.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 4:19 PM
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The price of oil jumps sharply, and stock futures tumble as traders digest renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the critical Strait of Hormuz.
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) April 20, 2026 at 5:40 AM
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The felonious Malignant Fascist's unprecedented corruption --
SCOOP --> Paramount, Meta, and X are refusing to say what happened to their huge contributions to Trump's presidential library after Sen Elizabeth Warren raised questions about its fund getting dissolved. Ds say tens of millions remain unaccounted for. Details here: newrepublic.com/article/2092...
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 7:30 AM
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NEW: Stories about pardons are often about presidential power. But what about people on the other side of that grace? The Coulson family may never receive millions from a wrongful death lawsuit it won years ago. @jeremykohler.bsky.social
— Charles Ornstein (@charlesornstein.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 8:41 AM
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MF son-in-law Kushner's Saudi cash grab and the media's lack of interest --
Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19): NYT: 5 of 58 WashPost: 1 of 43 WSJ: 0 of 40 AP: 0 of 26 CNN Wire: 0 of 18 NY Post: 0 of 17 Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4 LA Times: 0 of 4 Boston Globe: 0 of 2
— Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 8:57 AM
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The FBI's disgraceful, boozing Kashyap "Kash" Patel is often MIA --
No previous American president, in any era, of any party, would have tolerated a drunken, erratic, absent FBI chief www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 2:14 AM
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The impressive, rising star Sen. Jon Ossoff. Dems, take note of how it's done right --
Ossoff: "How does American politics really work? It's coin operated. Money goes in, favors come out. It's been running on secret money, corporate money, billionaire money ... all of this gave rise to a depraved president who exploits this rot to empower and enrich himself"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 20, 2026 at 12:42 AM
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This is genuinely impressive. Ossoff knows what he is doing.
— James Fallows (@jfallows.bsky.social) April 18, 2026 at 7:48 PM
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Ukraine's impressive drones strike again --
❗️Warriors from #Ukrainian Defense Intelligence launched strikes on 2 Russian large landing ships&a radar system in Russian-occupied Crimea on April 19. These are Yamal (about $80 million) &Nikolay Flichenkov (about $70 million) The destroyed Podlet-k1 radar is about $5 million. Glory!
— Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 3:21 AM
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The MF's new low in the polls. Sad! --
Trump's job rating hits a second-term low as two-thirds of Americans disapprove of his handling of inflation and the Iran war, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll.
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) April 19, 2026 at 9:07 AM
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The Onion delivers with exclusive story --
Trump Escalates Feud With Unclear Adversary By Posting AI Video Of Self Fucking Basketball
— The Onion (@theonion.com) April 18, 2026 at 2:00 PM
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Conover Kennard, writing in Raw Story about the grifting, mentally ill felon the Malignant Fascist's lawsuit against his own IRS for the leak of his tax returns 2018 -2020:
"Donald J. Trump — the guy who spent years screaming 'I’m under audit!' like a broken record while refusing to release his own tax returns — is now suing the IRS for $10 billion (that’s taxpayer money, you guys, our money) because some contractor leaked his returns back in 2018-2020. [snip]
This is perfect after Americans just filed their taxes, since Trump’s leaked returns showed that the overprivileged grifter paid next to nothing in taxes some years, lost a fuck-ton on his 'genius' businesses, and generally made him look less like a billionaire mogul and more like a walking tax-loss harvesting machine."
The super weird MAGA cultist Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will make sure his subordinates at the IRS make his greedy grifter boss happy that he again cheated the tax system, this time by outright theft of taxpayer money rather than bogus tax write-offs.
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Our tech bro overlords are ready to spring a massive amount of AI on us, to their huge financial benefit and our long lasting regret. If you think these arrogant right wing billionaires don't control enough information through "X", Meta and political ads, just wait for their AI tool to go into full swing.
Please consider supporting Tom's work by going here.
FYI folks:
As we've been saying, during the next week, half of the Hackwhackers staff will be away, and the other half will be hosting family and performing other Springtime activities. Consequently, some regular features (e.g., "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," "Across the Universe," multiple daily cartoons) will also be "away," and the volume of posts will be somewhat less than usual. We're fully back the week of April 27.
"Thank you for your attention to this matter."
