Cartoon Saturday - Special Edition

Yes, I know today is Wednesday, but I feel the need to have another Cartoon Saturday Special Edition (the second this year) in derisive recognition of the garish, self-promotional "triumphal arch" Der Furor wants to erect in front of Arlington National Cemetery. It's a useless, gaudy, overly-expensive, and utterly unnecessary blot on the landscape and a waste of money that could be used for much better purposes in service to the American people.

It's not just my opinion ... let's bring on the Cartoons -

The Epstein Files are a common theme for the design ...

A servile GOP Congress and a rigidly conservative Supreme Court majority are two of the main supporting columns - 

It represents the crushing burden of this regime ...

How about you ... do you get immunity from tax audits and a memorial arch? 

Yes, it's important to put the accent on the correct syllable ...

Well, it definitely would celebrate a triumph over all these things ...

If Der Furor could have his way, I'm sure this would be a top design contender. He'd want more gold, but the giant mouth would be a masterful monument ...

There are a number of other, less traditional design options available ...

Given Der Furor's emphasis on monetizing his office, this would be a likely option. Don't ask where the coins removed from the fountains end up ...

If you can't have a victory over Iran, you can have a victory over something else ...

In case you didn't pick up on the subtle signals, I'm opposed to the arch ... and you should be, too.

Have a good day. As you get ready for the midterm election and the 2028 presidential pageant, think carefully about what your leaders choose to spend your tax money on.

More thoughts tomorrow, when I calm down enough to enjoy the peace and quiet of Thursday Trees. See you then.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday - Special Edition

Cartoon Saturday is still four days off, but I have a good collection of special cartoons I need to use while they're hot and topical, and so ...

Welcome to the Special Edition of Cartoon Saturday! Today's theme: the Navy Der Furor wants. Here we go ...

A brief summary of the features of the new DF-Class battleship ...

  

Since Der Furor wants to refit the Navy's aircraft carriers to use steam catapults rather than the newer electromagnetic launch system (at a cost of billions of dollars, of course), this will probably be the next logical step ...

In Der Furor's new Navy, Cabinet officers won't be the only figureheads ...

Killing two birds with one very expensive stone - the DF-Class Ballroom Battleship ...

Since nobody knows more about both construction and naval architecture than Der Furor (just ask him), this looks like a reasonable hybrid design ...

I don't think this one will ever get built, because there's not enough gold on it ...

It's got a great figurehead, if nothing else ...

Plenty of gold, plus a distinctive command center for when battles get ... hairy ...

The advantage of this design is that it combines vast amounts of gold with maximum name placement ...

Another variation on the figurehead from the third image above. The ship needs more gold, though ...

The rhinestones are a nice touch, and might even help with attracting pirates who can be blown out of the water for good videos to show at Pentagon briefings ... 

I think this version is cute, but won't be adopted for two reasons: neither enough gold nor enough huge, intimidating-looking guns ...

This version's interesting because it combines maximum gold with what appear to be masts for sails to augment the coal-fired engines ...

Not a bad design, but they could have put a lot more gold in that empty hull space ...

Der Furor is also an expert on the design of aircraft carriers (just ask him). He'll like this one as long as the tower is in the right place. The golden aircraft are a nice touch, as is the obligatory giant placement of his name ...

Here's another version of the carrier. Not quite enough gold on the hull, but it does include both DF's name and the number 47, which we all know has mystical symbolism for him. It has the gold aircraft, too ...

So, what do you think? Which designs will appeal most to Der Furor's sense of gaudy, over-gilded "style?" Of course, no matter which design is picked, it'll need to be funded ... so it looks like the sailors will be eating that crummy food for a long time.

Have a good day. Consider the future of your military when you decide who to vote for in November ... and especially in 2028.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday, Special Edition

Cartoon Saturday is one of my longest-running theme posts, and ranks as the most popular by total number of readers and comments. I usually try to have a particular theme for the cartoons each week, drawing from the many thousands of cartoons in my collection, sorted by subject matter. 

By far, the largest folder in the collection is devoted to Der Furor, MAGA, and their assault on our history, values, national standing, and international image. Today, I'm running a special, out-of-cycle edition of Cartoon Saturday dedicated to Der Furor ... because it's good to laugh when you can't cry.

Let's begin with a classic summary of Der Furor's overall effect on our government and our lives ...

Der Furor is a master of using the law as a bludgeon against his enemies and a shield against personal accountability ...

Variations on the TACO presidency ...

The performance appraisal with the boss didn't go well ...

But ... but ... but her e-mails!! ...

'Ya think? ...

I tend to agree ...

It's easier to whisper sweet nothings in your beloved's ear in a big car with lots of privacy ...

The whining, sneering sound of the man's voice is the political equivalent of nails on a blackboard* - it's wonderful to be where you don't have to listen to it ...

It's not easy to be a translator in this administration ...

And that's it for this special edition of Cartoon Saturday. The cartoonists have an easy and critical job drawing attention to the most corrupt and incompetent administration in our history ... and given that the competition includes figures like James Buchanan and George W. Bush, that's saying something.

Have a good day and a good week. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* I understand that this allusion is probably lost on more recent generations of students. Too bad.

Not Cartoon Saturday, I'm Afraid

Good Morning!

Unfortunately, I will not be posting Cartoon Saturday today because my Mac died of terminal cancer of the hard drive, and until I get it back from repair (later this morning) and am able to restore my system from the backup, I'm dead in the digital water. This post is coming to you from Agnes's PC, from which I cannot access any of my data files.

I'll start restoring the system from the backup as soon as I get it home and hooked up ... with any luck, I should be back up and running by sometime tomorrow, at which time I will post a late edition of Cartoon Saturday.

Thanks for your patience. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Have a good day ... more thoughts once my beloved Mac is back on line.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday - Special Thanksgiving Edition

Well, last week's Cartoon Saturday was posted on Friday, and this week's Cartoon Saturday will appear, as usual, on Saturday ... but there are just too many good Thanksgiving-themed cartoons out there to pass up. Therefore, we will do not one, but two Cartoon Saturdays this week. I don't think anyone will complain, given the general condition of the world.

Let's just skip all the peripheral stuff and cut right to the chase ...

I always wondered what that "free-range" expression meant, other than an excuse to tack on a few extra dollars per pound ...

How the GOP celebrates Thanksgiving ...

Hmmm ...

Everything may not be what it seems ...

It's a serious question ...

Perhaps he knows something you don't ...

Planning ahead for the holiday ...

Well, that's another way to celebrate ...

And finally, a question I've often asked myself ... except that in the last few years, I start asking it just after the Fourth of July ...

And there you have it - Bilbo's cartoon tribute to the greatest American holiday. Well, it's my favorite holiday, anyhow. Tomorrow we'll talk about why that's the case. For now, if you're traveling for the holiday, please be safe. If I'm going to lose any readers, I'd prefer it was because you didn't like the blog, and not because you had a tragic accident*.

Have a good day. Be safe and thankful. More Thanksgiving ruminations tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Just step away from that turkey fryer and nobody will get hurt.

Cartoon Sat ... uh ... Friday

As I warned you yesterday, Agnes and I will be away for the weekend, and so I decided to move Cartoon Saturday up by a day so that you won't miss your weekly cartoon fix. Heaven knows we all need it ...

A section of a bridge in Green Bay, Wisconsin, sank two feet into the earth below, causing the roadway to dip and the bridge to be closed, snarling traffic; GOP Windbag-in-Chief Ted Cruz wasted more than 21 hours of Congress's and the nation's time in a useless speech highlighted by his reading of Dr Seuss's classic children's story Green Eggs and Ham; UK aviation authorities have accused both pilots of a Virgin Atlantic Airbus of sleeping during a transatlantic flight; murderous lunatics of the al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab slaughtered more than 65 people and injured nearly 200 more in an attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya; and a report by the National Security Agency's inspector general documents about a dozen incidents in which NSA employees used their high-tech spy equipment to snoop on their lovers.

Boy, do we need the cartoons this week! ...

There are a lot of good cartoons out there about cavemen, and here are a few of them as our theme collection for the week ...

Even cave artists had to deal with critics* ...

I've been on hold for hundreds of thousands of years, too ... or at least it's seemed like it ...

I've been in clubs where this is not as funny as you might think ...

Today, we have Facebook. Back then, they had ... uh ... Facewall ...

I think this one is a classic ...

Moving away from the topic of cavemen, what happens when you need more cowbell, but don't have it? ...

Worried about the various 3-letter intelligence agencies secretly spying on you? Would this be better? ...

There are Holocaust deniers, climate change deniers, birthers, The-CIA-Actually-Carried-Out-9/11 Nuts, and conspiracy theorists of all sorts. How about this one? ...

GOP science ...

And finally for this week, it's such an obvious joke, but I've never seen it before ...

And there you have it ... September's last Cartoon Saturday, a whole day early. No need to thank me - I know you needed it.

Have a good day and a great weekend. The next post will either be on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning, depending on when we get back. I'll look forward to seeing you then.

Bilbo

* There's a great scene about this early in the classic Mel Brooks film, History of the World, Part 1.