Black Friday shoppers face off in a simmering confrontation as they line up for an electronics store in Tysons, VA, to open. The young crowd, while wearing masks, is packed in like sardines, just asking for a dose of COVID-19 as they yak at each other.
(photo: Hannah McKay / Reuters)
(click on images to enlarge)
(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
(Rick McKee, Counterpoint)
(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)
(Dave Brown, The Independent, London)
(Napoleon Ham, La Tribuna, Honduras)
(Bart van Leeuwen, caglecartoons.com)
(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)
(Dave Granlund, davegranlund.com)
(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)
(David Horsey, Seattle Times)
(Peter Brookes, The Times, London)
(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)
(Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters)
We've touched on the multiple ways that neo-fascist demagogue and bitter election loser Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump is tacitly acknowledging his decisive defeat by fouling up everything he can on the way out the White (Supremacist) House door. From court appointments, to reckless troop withdrawals, to degrading the environment and more, he's creating messes for his successor to clean up, and he's apparently gotten help now from abroad.
Friday's assassination of Iran's leading nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh east of Tehran was a blow to Iran's nuclear weapons program, which was given a new lease on life when Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement. Although Israel has not claimed responsibility, they are the prime suspect, given the reach and skill of their intelligence agency Mossad and their fierce opposition to Iran. The action will set back any attempts by President-elect Joe Biden and our European allies to calm tensions and perhaps restart negotiations over Iran's nuclear weapons program. Many see Israel's far-right Prime Minister and Trumpist Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's likely motives at play in the attack:
"More recently, speculation has risen that Netanyahu has pushed the Trump administration to strike against Iran’s nuclear assets before Biden’s inauguration.
In a column posted early Saturday, [Israeli journalist Yossi] Melman said the loss of Fakhrizadeh is unlikely to derail Iran’s progress in producing enriched uranium, while at the same time ramping up tensions and making Biden’s diplomatic hurdles more difficult to overcome.
'The messages from Netanyahu and Trump could be interpreted as warmongering against the backdrop of Trump losing the presidential election this month,' Melman wrote in the Israeli daily Haaratz.
If Israel’s involvement in the killing should be confirmed, the action could seen as a 'deliberate attempt to exacerbate the situation, which is already extremely tense amid reports that Trump has considered bombing Iran as a parting gesture before he leaves the White House.'” (our emphasis)
Last weekend's meeting between Netanyahu, Saudi despot Mohammed bin "Bone Saw" Salman, and the corrupt and incompetent Secretary of State Mike "Pom Pom" Pompeo adds more intrigue to the plot. The timing of the strike, in the context of Bomb Bomb's closeness to Trump, gives the President-elect a major national security crisis right out of the gate. "Allies" are not supposed to salt the earth for their friends.
(photo: Fars News Agency via AP)
The loser Trump campaign and the bug-eyed Wisconsin Republican Party recently demanded a recount, only of the state's heavily Democratic Milwaukee and Dane counties, in another attempt to disenfranchise Democratic voters. They paid $3 million upfront for the recount, which has to be completed by Tuesday, December 1, in order for the state's vote to be certified.
Well, one of the jurisdictions has completed the recount, and the results?
Milwaukee County concludes its recount of the presidential election -- one of two counties where Trump sought a recount in Wisconsin. The results: Biden's lead, currently at about 20,000 statewide, grew by 132 votes.
— Rosalind Helderman (@PostRoz) November 27, 2020
In other words,
With the $3 million the Trump campaign spent on recounts split between two counties, this would amount to the Trump campaign spending $11,363 per vote *added* to Biden https://t.co/mLD0GnDws5
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) November 27, 2020
Once again, to paraphrase the old saying, fools and their money are soon parted.
We eagerly await Dane County's recount to see how much more the loser Trump campaign paid to add more Biden votes to the total.
As we eagerly await the booting of malignant wannabe autocrat Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump from the White (Supremacist) House at noon on January 20, 2021, we need to look forward to the establishment of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.
Fortunately, an historically accurate vision of such a library is already here. Here are some screenshots of the effort (click on images to enlarge):
The Wall of Criminality
Tax Evasion 101
Criminal Records Room
(click on images to enlarge)
(Matt Davies, Newsday)
(Scott Stantis, Counterpoint)
(Michael de Adder, deadder.net)
(Peter Brookes, The Times, London)
(Steve Benson, gocomics.com)
(Mort Gerberg, @mortgerberg)
(Patrick Chappatte, Le Temps, Switzerland)
(Stuart Carlson, gocomics.com)
(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com)
(Tim Campbell, Washington Post Writers Group)
(Robert Ariail, gocomics.com)
(Rob Rogers, robrogers.com)
(Marc Murphy, Louisville Courier-Journal, KY)
... But it's how the deranged, malignant narcissist thinks it works --
This is not how it works https://t.co/u3BQvFZwk9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 27, 2020
What timing...His Holiness Pope Francis has an op-ed in the New York Times today. https://t.co/iRQFlqvYfX pic.twitter.com/Av5Tchau12
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 26, 2020
yesterday we learned that the pope is less of a religious zealot than our Supreme Court. This seems like an important and disturbing data point.
— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) November 27, 2020
Tiny Desk Man (more here) --
Maybe if you behave yourself, stop lying to undermine a fair election & start thinking of what's good for the country instead of whining about how unfairly you are treated, you'll be invited to sit at the big boy's table. #DiaperDon pic.twitter.com/nnNOoOI1gl
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) November 27, 2020
Holy shit, #DiaperDon!
HOLY SHITTY DIAPERS -- #DiaperDon is trending because the President of the United States actually wears diapers.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) November 27, 2020
And has done so for a long time. WOW. https://t.co/sbwviJlzTw
Media enablers --
Much of the media was playing along with that effort until Trump got impeached over it, covering it in amoral fashion as a political strategy story about Trump’s devious and effective fixer Rudy Giuliani, and his brilliant strategy for neutralizing hapless Joe Biden.
— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) November 26, 2020
Let's do it --
Can’t we just hurry this along and throw Trump out in the street now?
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) November 27, 2020
Another one goes down in flames:
President Donald Trump’s campaign suffered yet another humiliating loss in its efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election — and this time it came at the hands of one of the president’s own appointees.
In a ruling released on Friday, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas shot down the campaign’s appeal of its Pennsylvania lawsuit seeking to nullify the state’s entire election results.
In his ruling, Bibas chastised the Trump campaign not only for failing to present evidence, but for failing to even make specific allegations of voter fraud.
“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Bibas wrote. “Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
The Elite Strike Force strikes out again.
O.K. Today would be Jimi Hendrix's 78th birthday, so of course we're not going to miss an opportunity to play our favorite recording of his, Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower," from the "Electric Ladyland" album. Hendrix's version of the song was released six months after Dylan's version, and was ranked in the top 50 of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone in 2004 -- so we're not alone in our admiration. Hope you enjoy.
We've posted before about the national security threat posed by sociopathic narcissist and Russian asset Donald "Tovarich" Trump once he's booted from office. He possesses all the classic elements of someone who's ripe for compromise: financial need and excessive debt, sympathies with a hostile foreign power, and a grudge against America by being resoundingly denied a second term. It's not inconceivable that a con man like Trump might trade national security information he's been privy to for money, particularly lots of it to retire his massive personal debts coming due in the coming few years.
We're also seeing the flip side of that being discussed, namely the review of transcripts of Trump's phone calls with foreign leaders, especially the ones with America's decline as their goal. The infamous secret classified server in the White (Supremacist) House that Trump and his lackeys used to hide sensitive conversations with foreign adversaries will be inherited by the Biden Administration at noon on January 20, 2021:
"A person close to the Biden transition team told CNN that no decisions have been made about how these sensitive materials will be handled when the President-elect takes office on January 20, and that it's likely they will maintain the Trump administration's close hold on such information, at least at first, until they are settled in and Jake Sullivan, Biden's pick for national security adviser, can assess their information security needs.
A senior US official said that the Biden team will be given access to a secret server containing sensitive information related to President Donald Trump's more controversial conversations with foreign leaders on a need-to-know basis and the Trump administration is prepared to share any information that they deem to be relevant to their future decision-making process." (our emphasis)
We shouldn't have to remind anyone that the "need-to-know basis" is meaningless when Trump's still in office. He and his counsel won't share compromising transcripts comparable to the Ukrainian extortion call that led to his impeachment. It's a given that he'd rather violate fairly weak Federal records management laws and destroy the records than make public any potentially treasonous statements or deals with foreign adversaries. As a service to the American people and to history, the Biden Administration needs to err on the side of disclosure when it comes to the Trump regime's dealings when they're in a position to do so.
BONUS: More on why Trump shouldn't be trusted with secrets post-Presidency.
A fool and his money are soon parted:
A major contributor to a group backing President Donald Trump’s fight to overturn the presidential election sued to recover $2.5 million in donations after the campaign failed in several court cases and was unable to prove any fraud.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas by North Carolina venture capitalist Fred Eshelman argued that the nonprofit group True the Vote promised to keep him informed of how his millions were being used in what was pitched as a strong case against alleged election fraud. Instead, the suit alleged, he was fed “vague responses, platitudes and empty promises of follow-up” that never occurred.
He was kept in the dark when weak cases filed in Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania were voluntarily withdrawn in a decision the investor claimed was made in “concert with counsel for the Trump campaign,” the suit said. [snip]
A fed-up Eshelman last week ordered True the Vote in an email to immediately wire back his contribution. When the organization failed to comply, he filed the lawsuit.
Eshelman is a major Trump backer who has twice donated the maximum allowable individual contribution of $2,700 to Trump’s campaign, as well as a $100,000 contribution to the Trump Victory PAC, according to records.
So, not only is he a sucker for not discerning an insanely bogus fraud scam, but he helped bankroll Mango Mussolini's loser campaign to the tune of $102,700. If you're looking to invest, make sure you don't take any advice from Fred.
From Tuesday, actually --
For four years, I spoke out vigorously against Donald Trump’s craven dishonesty, corrupt pursuit of personal interests, & trampling of our democratic principles. After serving over three decades in national security, I felt compelled to condemn Trump’s depravity & incompetence.
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 24, 2020
My outspokenness has brought criticism, retaliation by the Trump Administration, & threats by those blinded by Trump’s demagoguery.
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 24, 2020
Yes, it is unusual for a former CIA Director to speak out, but when an autocrat descended upon the White House, silence was not an option for me.
I now plan to ignore Trump. I leave his fate to our judicial system, his infamy to history, & his legacy to a trash heap. The national security team of P-E Biden and VP-E Harris has numerous challenges ahead of it & wise national security policies merit strong bipartisan support.
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 24, 2020
Please have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving, so that you can celebrate safe and healthy future Thanksgivings.
Light posting today as we observe the holiday.
This video by The Lincoln Project is a fitting tribute to those heroes among us that we should be especially thankful for:
BONUS:
