Cartoon Saturday

It's about time we ended this &$#@! month ...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ignited a storm of controversy when he asked Queen Elizabeth II to suspend Parliament, limiting time for debate on his efforts to carry out his Brexit plans; the US launched a cyber attack against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in order to cripple its efforts to attack shipping in the Persian Gulf; the Justice Department Inspector General issued a report stating that former FBI Director James Comey violated FBI policies in his handling of memos documenting private conversations with Der Furor; the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to cut back on the regulation of methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change - a move actually opposed by many industries; and hurricane Dorian continued its march toward Florida after largely sparing already-battered Puerto Rico.

As Agnes and I get ready to leave for our vacation, I thought some cartoons about vacation and travel might be appropriate for today ...

It's a good plan for a long flight ...

Try to look on the bright side ...

You get what you pay for ...

This way, yes ...

You never know what the trade-offs are for the low fare ...

Been there, done that ...

At this point it hardly matters, does it? ... 

We don't need those just on airplanes ...

Redneck carry-on ...

It's a matter of degree, and I don't know there are many ...

Have a good day and enjoy your weekend! More thoughts tomorrow, on Poetry Sunday.

Bilbo

The On-Crack Ass Clown for August, 2019

August is one of those months in which, because of the structure of the calendar, there are three available Fridays for the presentation of ass clown awards. This is a good thing, because in this particular August, the number of potential ass clown dishonorees is larger than usual*, from Der Furor (for suggesting the use of nuclear weapons for hurricane prevention**) to ... well ... lots of others, including the person we selected as

The On-Crack Ass Clown for August, 2019

and the award goes to

James Denardo

Mr Denardo, a resident of Stamford, Connecticut, was arrested by local police earlier this month after he tested his newly-purchased guns by shooting into a park where children were playing softball. According to Stamford Police Captain Richard Conklin, Denardo told the arresting officers that “he wanted to see how they [his new two-shot Derringer and 9mm Beretta] worked.” In the aftermath of the incident, a police representative said that Mr Denardo's pistol permit had been revoked and his guns and ammunition confiscated.

Although able to afford the two weapons, Mr Denardo was unable to post bond and remains in jail.

It should be noted that Mr Denardo purchased his new toys legally, exercising his Second Amendment right to pack heat with the smallest possible number of restrictions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the On-Crack Ass Clown for August, 2019, is Mr James Denardo, truly a high-caliber individual.

Have a good day. See you tomorrow for the final Cartoon Saturday of August ... more thoughts then.

Bilbo 

* Although, with the presidential campaign season picking up steam, we can expect a steady increase in the number.

** It really is a shame that he's no longer eligible for the award, because this would have made him a hands-down winner.

Musical Sunday

One of my musical heroes is Jimmy Buffett, whose songs tend to talk directly to me ... especially this one ...

"I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead." Sing it, Jimmy!

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts later.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

If ever there was a week we needed Cartoon Saturday, this is it.

Der Furor cancelled a planned trip to Denmark after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called his proposal to purchase Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, "absurd;" uncontrolled wildfires, apparently deliberately set, are ravaging huge areas of the Brazilian rain forest; the Department of Justice office sent its employees, including immigration judges, a daily news briefing that included a link to a blog featuring racial and anti-Semitic slurs; the administration is considering a new project that would identify links between mental health and violent behavior, as an attempt to focus responses to gun violence on mental health rather than the availability and power of guns; and in Louisiana, a US citizen of Latin descent was arrested and held on suspicion of immigration violations despite having a drivers license, US passport, and valid social security card because, Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies told him, every Hispanic person was automatically held for a immigration review.

Since everyone in the country nowadays from Der Furor on down seems to exist in a state ranging from simmering anger to towering rage, I thought a collection of cartoons about anger would be appropriate ...

It's one way to measure progress ...

Somebody needs some additional sessions ...

I'm not sure I'd want anything cooked by a chef that angry ...

Those phones are expensive; perhaps that's another reason to control one's temper ...

Remember the scene in the movie "Alien" in which the alien's blood nearly ate through the hull of the Nostromo? I think some people nowadays have blood like that ...

Well, yes, that would do it ...

As an anger control measure, it can't hurt ...

And in this corner ...

Uh, oh ...

Well, WHAT?? ...

And that's it for this week's collection of topical cartoons. Don't get mad at me ... I just find them and share them.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when we mellow out on Musical Sunday with Jimmy Buffett. 

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

Here we go again ...

Well, yes, nowadays ...

One's definition of an emergency changes with age ...

Only newlyweds tend to order P4 ...

Well, I suppose it might be ...

From Germany. The sign reads, "Today we are filming the beautiful sights of your community. Please remain indoors. Thanks for your cooperation." 

I'm not sure that was the best choice of prize for the occasion, but nobody asked me ...

Unfortunate headline and photo juxtaposition ...

Well, things are different nowadays ...

I guess at least one of those charges ought to stick ...

I'd say, "maybe" ...

And that's our last collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage for August. Don't worry, though ... we've got lots more coming in September.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday ... more thoughts then. 

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

I think this ought to be the official poem of Der Furor's era ...

Questionnaire

by Wendell Berry

How much poison are you willing
to eat for the success of the free
market and global trade? Please
name your preferred poisons.

For the sake of goodness, how much
evil are you willing to do?
Fill in the following blanks
with the names of your favorite
evils and acts of hatred.

What sacrifices are you prepared
to make for culture and civilization?
Please list the monuments, shrines,
and works of art you would
most willingly destroy

In the name of patriotism and
the flag, how much of our beloved
land are you willing to desecrate?
List in the following spaces
the mountains, rivers, towns, farms
you could most readily do without.

State briefly the ideas, ideals, or hopes,
the energy sources, the kinds of security;
for which you would kill a child.
Name, please, the children whom
you would be willing to kill.


Think well before you answer.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

I don't want to say, "what next?" because some idiot will do it ...

A nuclear contamination scare spread in Europe this week after an apparent nuclear-powered cruise missile being tested by the Russian military exploded, killing several scientists; Israel, egged on by Der Furor, denied entry to two Muslim members of the United States Congress; General Electric shares plunged whistleblower accused GE of using accounting tricks to mask the extent of its financial problems and called it “a bigger fraud than Enron;" a man with an "extensive" criminal history was arrested after shooting and wounding six Philadelphia police officers during an hours-long standoff; and in (where else?) Florida, a woman who pulled a small alligator from her yoga pants during a traffic stop and illegally possessed numerous other wild animals has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to four charges.

We've had at least three recent mass murders committed by people armed with guns, followed by the usual pious invocation of thoughts and prayers and the solemn admonition that "it's too soon to discuss limits on gun purchase and ownership." As well as the insistence on the absolute sanctity of the Second Amendment. This week, a collection of cartoons about guns.

If you go back far enough, you can always find something to blame for violence other than weapons themselves ...

It happens ... frequently enough ...

If you're not quick on the uptake, you can be quick on the draw ...

The next innovation in personal weaponry ...

Some people just feel naked without their penile substitute ...

Does it make sense to impose the same, or greater, ID requirements on over-the-counter drugs as on semiautomatic weapons? ...

It makes sense to carry both, nowadays ...

So riddle me this, Batman ... why does a hunter need a 30-round banana clip (or a hundred round drum magazine), hmm? ...

I've heard the same thing ...

The Founders obviously foresaw the importance of personal ownership of military-grade weaponry, so why question it? ...

I'll quit now because I don't want to be a big bore; nevertheless, you expect me to shell out a certain caliber of humor ... not just bullet points.

Have a good day and a great weekend. Be sure to buy those kevlar backpacks for your school-age children ... it's an essential item of school preparedness in the land of the Almighty Gun.

More thoughts tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday returns.

Bilbo

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for August, 2019

There are so many ass clowns in the political arena nowadays that we often lose sight of the fact that there are plenty of them running loose (and, sadly, breeding) in other realms of endeavor. And so it is with our latest dishonoree - the award for

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for August, 2019

is presented to

Dmitriy Andreychenko 

A few days after a gunman murdered 22 people at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, Dmitriy Andreychenco demonstrated staggeringly bad judgment and total idiocy by deciding to test his sacred Second Amendment right to bear arms by donning body armor, carrying a rifle and a handgun, and sauntering into a Wal-Mart store in Springfield, Missouri to "test whether Walmart would honor his constitutional right to bear arms." He filmed his jaunt through the store on his cell phone.

Predictably, the sight of an armed man wearing body armor in a Walmart just days after the El Paso massacre caused consternation among other shoppers, who fled the store in terror. Andreychenco was arrested without incident after being stopped by "an armed off-duty firefighter" in the store and has been charged with "making a terrorist threat in the second degree," a felony offense punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Wal-Mart has also said that Andreychenco is no longer welcome in its stores. Duh. Andreychenco's wife and sister had both told him his proposed armed shopping expedition was a bad idea, and his wife referred to him as an "immature boy."

Since 2017, Missouri has not required persons 19 years of age or older to obtain a permit to carry a firearm, either openly or concealed. Nor, evidently, does it require such persons to demonstrate the maturity and common sense one would hope to be shown by persons who wish to own and openly carry deadly weapons. 

The actions of Dmitriy Andreychenco are a shining example of the worst excesses of the gun culture that makes America an increasingly dangerous place, and earn him a truly righteous designation as this month's Left-Cheek Ass Clown.

I wonder if the NRA will be paying his legal fees, or if they're still working on finding a safe house for Wayne LaPierre.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

I'd be careful playing this too loudly, especially if you're at work or in the presence of children. The language is ... salty ... but the sentiment is wonderful ...

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend, no matter what you're tired of.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Agnes and I are enjoying our annual visit to Chincoteague Island, and so the usual bad news summary will not appear this week. You're welcome.

In honor of the way you're able to see Cartoon Saturday each week, how about a collection of cartoons about the Internet?

It's been around longer than you may realize ...

Everything has to start someplace ...

Ah-HAH!! I knew it! ...

The well-dressed Trumpo-American has one of these to go with his bright red MAGA hat ...

We know who rules the electronic jungle ...

The escape ...

Say it isn't so!! ...

Turnabout is fair play ...

Good Gawd! It can't be!! ...

Trolls haven't always lived under bridges or on Twitter ...

Have a good day and a great weekend, online or off. More thoughts tomorrow, on Musical Sunday ... see you then.

Bilbo