Mike Pompeo

Coups For Dummies

cjones11142020

On November 10, 2016, President Obama hosted President-elect (sic) Donald Trump in the White House. Vice-President Joe Biden hosted vice-president elect (sic) Mike Pence in the VP residence. First Lady Michelle Obama gave a White House tour to Melania Trump. Today, it’s November 11, 2020, and instead of inviting the future president of the United States to the White House, Donald Trump is hiding inside his bunker in denial he lost. What makes this even worse is that he has enablers. These enablers are helping Donald Trump thwart democracy.

Republicans are pointing out that Democrats whined about the 2016 election. This is true. I whined. I didn’t like the results. I still don’t like it. But while I said the election was tampered with and Russia meddled, I never said any ballots were fraudulent. No Democrats opposed the transition of power. Today, the Trump administration is not allowing a transfer of power.

The Trump Administration could still pursue legal challenges over the election while allowing the process of a transition to happen. That would be in the best interest of the nation. Instead, offices are not being created for the transition, funds aren’t being released, and the next president isn’t even being given security briefings. These were all acts afforded to Donald Trump when he was the incoming president (sic).

The United States condemns leaders of other nations who refuse to leave office and give up power after losing fair elections. Now, our leader (sic) is refusing to give up power and is hiding inside his palace sending his minions out to help him stage a coup. Donald Trump has not been seen since last Thursday.

Mitch McConnell is supporting Trump’s legal challenges even though there isn’t any evidence of massive voter fraud. Lindsey Graham is telling Trump not to concede. McConnell and Graham both won their Senate elections last week but neither one of these two men refused their opponent’s concessions.

Ted Cruz says allowing the media to declare the winner is not how we do it in America. Except, he was more than happy to accept the media’s declaration of a winner in 2016. He was more than happy to accept their declaration in 2018 when he won reelection to the Senate.

When asked if he had congratulated President-Elect Joe Biden yet, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, whose state went for Biden, said he doesn’t have anything to congratulate Biden for.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said, “We have got to allow our courts to hear these allegations of voting irregularities by the president.” You may as well allow the courts to hear allegations of lizard people running our government too because you have just as much evidence of that as you do of voter fraud.

North Carolina’s Thom Tillis was finally declared the winner of his race yesterday and he said about the presidential election, “Every vote legally cast must be counted.” Who says they shouldn’t? Who says they haven’t been counted? Guess what. Tillis didn’t stop his opponent from conceding saying, “Every legal vote must be counted” bullshit.

Isn’t it fucked up that right after you elect someone, that they make a pronouncement against democracy and fair elections?

Attorney General William Barr is releasing the Justice Department’s legal hounds to fight Trump’s loss in the courts. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani is holding press conferences outside dildo shops claiming the election was stolen from Trump.

It’s funny Democrats stole the election for Biden while simultaneously losing the Senate and seats in the House. It’s also funny that it hasn’t occurred to any of these Republicans claiming fraudulent ballots, that they also have their names on those “fraudulent” ballots. If we’re going to wipe out who won the election, that should also mean we wipe out all those Republican victories. Should we wipe out McConnell’s, Graham’s, and Tillis’ victories?

Each government department is being told to prepare their budgets for next year as though the administration will still be operating. As if they’re still going to be in town and not all applying at Fox News at the same time. And Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, the nation’s top diplomat has said there will be a “smooth transition…to a SECOND Trump administration.”

What the fuck? The top diplomat or the world’s leading democracy is telling the world we don’t obey election results anymore. Pompeo said the eletion has not been decided. It has LITERALLY been decided.

Can you imagine the outrage if instead of conceding the election the day after, Hillary Clinton had refused to admit defeat, mounted legal challenged, and claimed the election had been stolen? Can you imagine if instead of inviting Trump to the White House, President Obama had refused to release transition funding?

In Michigan, Trump beat Clinton by 10,704 votes in 2016. In 2020 in Michigan, Biden beat Trump by over 146,000 (and still counting). In case you’re a Republican, 146,000 is greater than 10,000.

In Pennsylvania, Trump beat Clinton by 46,765. In 2020 in Pennsylvania, Biden beat Trump by over 48,000 (and still counting). In case you’re a Republican, 48,000 is more than 46,000. Now, Trump is suing to overturn the election in Pennsylvania.

As the counting continues, Biden is heading for a 306 electoral vote win. That’s the exact same amount Trump won with in 2016. How are they going to win the presidency by overturning one state without any actual evidence of election fraud? They would need to overturn more than one state. Maybe they can do it in Georgia where the two GOP senators are calling for their own Republican Secretary of State to resign because they don’t like that his count shows Donald Trump is losing.

This is banana republic type shit here, people. This is a coup attempt. Maybe people like Pompeo are just trying to appease Trump for now. Maybe Pompeo is a coward. He wants to appease Trump’s base for when he runs for the Senate in Kansas or even for the presidency in 2024, if Trump doesn’t. Or maybe, he’s afraid of being fired two months before he’s scheduled to lose his job. Trump is already lashing out and firing people.

Maybe people like Mitch McConnell, John Kennedy (not the good one), Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Thom Tillis, and Ted Cruz are all just big, fat ass kissers. Or…they’re trying to steal an election and are engaging in a coup.

I predicted before the election that Joe Biden would win…but I did not predict he’d take the White House because I was afraid the Republicans would try to steal the election. Even before the election, Trump said the only way he could lose was if there was corruption and voter fraud. Boy, did I call it or did I call it?

We know this about Trump supporters: They are all cowards. They have made their party into one of a cult. They put one man before their nation. They are putting one man before democracy. They don’t care if they turn our democracy into a dictatorship.

The Trump administration will NOT legally continue, but the resistance must.

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Secretary Spanky

cjones02032020

Mary Louise Kelly, the reporter for National Public Radio who Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently having a temper tantrum over, wrote a column for The New York Times that explains how she’s bothered by something more than our nation’s top diplomat calling her a liar.

Kelly wrote, “Journalists don’t sit down with senior government officials in the service of scoring political points. We do it in the service of asking tough questions, on behalf of our fellow citizens. And then sharing the answers — or lack thereof — with the world.”

It was the lack thereof she got from our Secretary of State.

When asked how we would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Pompeo’s answer was, “We’ll stop them.” In case you’re a Republican, that’s not an answer to her question. But what really ticked Pompeo off were her questions regarding Ukraine and the State Department’s treatment of our former ambassador to that nation, Marie Yovanovitch.

In case you’re just tuning in (you know, if you’re a Republican), Donald Trump sent his goon, Rudy Giuliani, who engaged his own goons into a campaign to discredit and destroy Yovanovitch. We’ve learned since that the goons may have even stalked Yovanovitch and put her life in danger. Pompeo, the man responsible for the safety of our ambassadors, did nothing.

For over a year, Trump’s goons went after Yovanovitch. When asked if he owed her an apology, Pompeo replied to Kelly that he’s defended all our ambassadors. Again, not answering her question. And that’s ultimately what pissed Pompeo, who is now officially a Trump goon, off.

Pompeo told Kelly that “nobody in America cares about Ukraine” and then challenged her to find that nation on an unmarked map. She did. He screamed and cursed at her, which she reported. While not denying her account, he went public with a snowflake tirade that she lied to him, twice, and that their exchange was to be off the record and she promised to only ask questions about Iran. Kelly released emails she exchanged with Pompeo’s staff which don’t just back her up but prove Pompeo is a liar.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Pompeo is a liar because he works for Donald Trump. It also shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s bullying women (a journalist and an ambassador) and demonstrating just how thin-skinned he is by banning NPR from his plane on an upcoming trip to Ukraine. And it also shouldn’t be a surprise that Donald Trump praised Pompeo for the “job” he did on her.

Donald Trump, who was caught on a recording to “take her out” in regards to Yovanovitch and who told the president of Ukraine that “things were going to happen to her,” compliment Pompeo for his riff with the NPR reporter.

During a photo-op with another corrupt leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said to Pompeo, “That’s impressive. That was very impressive. That reporter couldn’t have done too good a job on you yesterday. I think you did a good job on her, actually.” Naturally, Trump is ignoring the fact Pompeo was caught lying and was internationally embarrassed. But you know how it is with Trump’s minions. They’re only performing for an audience of one. All that matters to them is that a mean girl asked mean questions. Does anyone need a hug?

Freedom of the press is guaranteed in our Constitution. It’s so important, it comes before that right to own guns thing. Our president and secretary of state should be championing all of our freedoms, not just the selective ones that appeal to their racist fucknut base. As it turns out, Kelly has more trouble with our top diplomat than she did with Iran’s who she also interviewed just a few days before.

Instead of championing that freedom, our State Department is telling the world they’ll shut up journalists who challenge them. We’ll shut them up by banning them from coverage. We’ll shut them up by defunding NPR. Nations like Turkey, who imprisons journalists, and Saudi Arabia, who murders journalists, is paying attention.

Cruelty and being vile to people is what Trump and his supporters consider humorous in this era. The entire room, except for the press who were present, laughed at Trump’s comments and praise for Pompeo’s bullying. I don’t see the humor in it. Where was the punchline?

Everyone in that room, including Trump and Pompeo should read Kelly’s column today. They should especially take note of this passage: “There is a reason that freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution. There is a reason it matters that people in positions of power — people charged with steering the foreign policy of entire nations — be held to account. The stakes are too high for their impulses and decisions not to be examined in as thoughtful and rigorous an interview as is possible.”

They should read it twice. Three times if they have to. Trump and Pompeo could read it a hundred times and still not understand that they are to be held accountable.

Donald Trump’s He-Man Women Hater Club may not like it, but girls are allowed to ask them questions.

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Bigger Than Ukraine

cjones01302020

I don’t believe the press is infallible. They make mistakes. Usually, when I have an issue with a LEGITIMATE news outlet (something Trump cultists can’t differentiate from propaganda sites), it’s over how, what, and how much they cover a topic. I don’t really see actual news organizations lying. That said, I believe in a free press and my confidence in them is extremely high. I trust experienced reporters because I’m very familiar with the high standards to which they hold themselves.

So, when it’s between a version offered by a reporter for National Public Radio with nearly 30 years of journalism versus a version offered by any member of the Trump administration, or any Republican for that matter, I’m going with the journalist. There is a huge difference between a journalist and a politician lying. The journalist loses her job.

I truly believe Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would have difficulty finding his ass with both hands. The man is oblivious to facts and reality. Did he not think a journalist would be able to back up her story with notes? Does he not understand how email works? Did he really think it’d be believable that a world-traveled national correspondent for NPR who is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard and holds a master’s degree in European Studies from Cambridge University wouldn’t be able to find Ukraine on a map? Did he think she’d fail his little test because he tried it on Donald Trump during that entire Greenland fiasco?

Mike Pompeo agreed to do an interview with Mary Louise Kelly of NPR. She corresponded with his staff before the interview where they tried to limit her questions to Iran, but in emails between Kelly and Pompeo’s press aide, Katie Martin, Kelly made her intentions clear that she would question Pompeo on other subjects besides Iran. Martin wrote in one response, “Totally understand you want to ask other topics but just hoping . . . we can stick to that topic for a healthy portion of the interview.” That is NOT an agreement that questions on Ukraine won’t be asked or that anything is off the record.

Mike Pompeo got upset during the interview after being asked if he owed an apology to Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine that Trump ousted after Rudy Giuliani and associated goons conducted a smear campaign against that might have included stalking. He never did answer the question.

Pompeo berated her with profanity asking, “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” After Pompeo stormed out, an aide asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo’s private living room at the State Department without a recorder. Then, Pompeo ordered an aide to produce an unmarked map (why do they have those?) and proceeded to challenge Kelly to find Ukraine. I for one would LOVE to challenge every Republican fucknut to find Ukraine on an unmarked map. Hell, I’d settle for them finding Ohio.

Pompeo issued a long statement saying, “NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly lied to me, twice. First, last month, in setting up our interview and, then again yesterday, in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record. “It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency. This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration. It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity.”

He summed up with, “It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine.”

Trump later joined in by replying, “A very good question” to a tweet by conservative radio and Fox News host Mark Levin in which Levin asked, “Why does NPR still exist? We have thousands of radio stations in the U.S. Plus Satellite radio. Podcasts. Why are we paying for this big-government, Democrat Party propaganda operation.” Facts and reality have a liberal bias.

Personally, I find it very difficult to believe that not only couldn’t Kelly locate Ukraine on a map, but also landed on the wrong continent.

This is classic Trump bullying of a female and journalist. It’s what they do. They lie and then they snowflake out and get butthurt and cry after being busted in the lie. Pompeo’s statement only confirmed Kelly was telling the truth about his outrage. And it’s laughable for any member of the Trump administration, less enough one who refuses to apologize after Trump’s goons stalked one of his ambassadors, to question a journalist’s integrity.

Pompeo’s problem is that he works for the Trump administration. The only people who will believe him over Kelly are in the cult. We know who the liars are.

Anyone who believes Mike Pompeo over Mary Louise Kelly has their head up their ass.

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You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

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Stalking Yovanovitch

cjones01212020

Lev Parnas, the hired goon who’s an associate of Rudy Giuliani and whom Donald Trump doesn’t know despite being in dozens of photos with, revealed through text messages with a Republican congressional candidate (this just gets better by the minute) that there were plans to stalk Marie Yovanovitch while she was serving as ambassador to Ukraine.

The Trump team, specifically Rudy Giuliani, was conducting a smear campaign to get rid of Yovanovitch. During one phone call with the president of Ukraine, Trump said that Yovanovitch was going to “go through some things.” The text messages released by the House Intelligence Committee reveal that Parnas and his friend, Robert Hyde,” were, trying to get her to “go through some things,” discussing stalking and perhaps making something else happen to her when Hyde wrote, “They are willing to help if we/you would like a price,” and “Guess you can do anything in the Ukraine with money.”

Hyde also referred to Yovanovitch as a “bitch” in multiple texts, once writing, “can’t believe Trumo hasn’t fired this b—h. I’ll get right in that.” I don’t know why he referred to Trump as “Trumo” or if that’s just a typo. He also texted about Yovanovitch’s location and the state of her security. He also said we need to “get that bitch out” and “fuck that bitch.” He later said he was just being playful because calling a woman “bitch” is funny and humorous to Republicans. Hyde is the kind of guy who makes tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to GOP candidates while falling behind on child support payments.

This should really help Robert Hyde with the “get the bitch” demographic.

Now, Ukraine is investigating this as they feel a responsibility for a foreign ambassador’s safety. This is NOT the investigation Donald Trump wanted that nation to announce.

I am glad Ukraine cares about Yovanovitch’s safety because our Secretary of State and State Department, under the Trump regime, does not. Neither the State Department nor Mike Pompeo has issued any statements regarding this.

We killed a foreign general after one of our embassies was demonstrated against. Donald Trump cited an “imminent attack” on four as justification for assassinating the general. But someone threatens one of our ambassadors and we hear nothing?

The Ukrainian government issued a statement saying, “the published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state.” Where’s the statement from Mike Pompeo regarding an ambassador’s safety?

Ukraine also asked the FBI for assistance in investigating the Russian hacking of Burisma, the gas company Hunter Biden worked for. Isn’t it funny that Russia seems to be getting involved on the side of Donald Trump?

Morale is low at the State Department. Probably because its leader refuses to express any concern for the safety of its employees. Perhaps he’s afraid of angering Trump by expressing that he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump, with Giuliani and her stalker, has smeared. This is another example proving that all our government agencies are only working in the personal interest of Donald Trump.

And for that matter, I haven’t heard any Republicans express concern for our ambassador. I’ve heard a bunch of them, Kellyanne Conway, for example, say Lev Parnas is unreliable because he’s indicted and just trying to help his case by cooperating, but no concern about threats against a United States ambassador. What happened to patriotism? What happened to putting nation before Trump? What happened? Do you know who else should be expressing concern for the safety of a United States ambassador? Donald fucking Trump, the president (sic) of the United States of America. The new normal is that nobody’s pointed that out yet except me, a cartoonist.

Republicans have done nothing over the past three years except excel at being horrible, vile, disgusting creatures. And because all of this is a result of electing Donald Trump, we need to get that bitch out.

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You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

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A Trumpian Supper

cjones11242019

Yesterday, Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the European Union, testified that he followed Donald Trump’s orders to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden and that other top officials knew.

There is no argument that Donald Trump wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and promote the debunked conspiracy theory that it was that nation and not Russia that meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s request is in the so-called transcript of his call with Ukraine and he’s made public statements wanting China to investigate the Bidens. It’s also a fact that asking a foreign nation to help your political campaign is illegal, even before you get to a “quid pro quo,” bribery or extortion.

Trump’s supporters argue that he’s concerned about corruption in Ukraine and he was concerned about sending tax dollars to a corrupt nation. If he’s concerned about corruption in Ukraine, then why did he ask Ukraine to investigate his political opponent? Wouldn’t Ukraine be too corrupt for that? As for the money, he approved it. It was approved by a bipartisan vote in Congress and signed by Donald Trump. If he was concerned about Ukraine being too corrupt to receive American money, then why did he approve it? The fact is, he was withholding it as bribery. He never asked Ukraine about corruption. He only asked about the Bidens. As it was revealed yesterday, Ukraine knew they hadn’t received the money.

Sondland testified that he followed the directions of Rudy Giuliani. Republicans will now try to throw Giuliani under the bus. Unfortunately, Giuliani has been all over television stating how he was in Ukraine working for Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the so-called transcript has Trump asking Ukraine’s president to talk to Rudy Giuliani. The evidence is there that Trump sent Giuliani to run a “drug deal” in Ukraine.

Ambassador Sondland said Trump doesn’t care about Ukraine, and that he only cares about the “big stuff” in that nation. Not big stuff like war with Russia, but big stuff like investigating Joe Biden. Yesterday, Sondland said others were “in the loop.” He was talking about White House Chief-of-Staff Mick Mulvaney (who’s admitted there was a quid pro quo), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo )who’s too much of a coward to defend his staff from Donald Trump), Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Vice-President Mike Pence.

Republicans like Jim Jordan argue that Ukraine got their money so there isn’t a crime. If you rob a bank then return the money, there is still a crime. The Trump administration gave Ukraine the money only AFTER Congress started looking into the whistleblower complaint. Ukraine also wanted an Oval Office meeting for Zelensky. He still hasn’t received that.

Trump has asked a foreign nation to assist his campaign. He used taxpayer money to extort Ukraine. He’s obstructed justice by not allowing his people, like Mulvaney, Perry, Pence, Pompeo, and John Bolton to testify. He’s intimidated and harassed witnesses, even while they’re testifying. Republicans don’t believe Trump’s offenses amount to being worthy of impeachment, yet they impeached Bill Clinton over a blowjob.

If election meddling, bribery, extortion, obstruction, and witness tampering aren’t impeachable offenses, then what is?

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You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

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The Magic Mikes

cjones10212019

Maybe I’m just naive and don’t understand diplomacy or foreign policy, but it seems to me if you’re going to have a successful ceasefire, then both sides have to agree on the definition of “ceasefire.”

Donald Trump, the self-described “stable genius” and “great negotiator” with “unmatched wisdom,” sent sycophant Mike One and sycophant Mike Two to Turkey to negotiate an agreement with President Recep Erdogan to stop killing Kurds. Pompeo and Pence emerged after a nine-hour negotiation with Erdogan that Turkey has agreed to stop killing Kurds for five days to give them time to leave a 20-mile “safe zone,” and that the Kurds must surrender their heavy weaponry and fortifications. What the Kurds get out of this is that they have five days to run before Turkey shoots them in the back while they’re running.

Reuters is reporting that the border is calm at this time, but within the first 24 hours, shelling and airstrikes against the Kurds continued. Erdogan blamed the Kurds though independent reporters and observers reported airstrikes and shelling coming from Turkey. But, Donald Trump backed Erdogan in blaming the Kurds. In fact, despite the “tough guy” letter Trump sent to Erdogan, he’s adopted the Turkish tyrant’s language when talking about the Kurds.

Erdogan has described the Kurds as terrorists and Trump has parroted that Turkey is fighting terrorism in Syria. Erdogan has claimed ISIS prisoners are being released intentionally by the Kurds, and Trump has echoed that. Erdogan claims the PKK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party, is a greater threat than Isis. Right on cue, Trump has made the same claim.

He’s taking Vladimir Putin’s talking points also in saying Russia is fighting ISIS when in reality, they’ve spent most of their time in Syria fighting rebels, often backed by the U.S., who are fighting Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad. This is Trump’s defense of giving Russia more clout in the Middle East while reducing the United States’. As Nancy Pelosi told him to this face earlier this week, “all roads lead to Putin.”

Trump started the Turkish invasion by pulling U.S. forces out of Syria on a whim after a phone call with Erdogan. Within hours, Turkey was invading Syria and targeting Kurdish fighters previously supported by the U.S. Donald Trump believes he’s solved a crisis he created.

The groups fighting in Syria now are Assad’s forces, the Kurds, Turkey, Russia, and Iran. Trump’s pullout is a win for each of them except the Kurds. At one of his hate rallies in Texas, Trump compared the fight to kids in a schoolyard and said, “Sometimes you have to let them fight a little while.” He also said he had given the Turks and Kurds a lesson in “tough love.” Hopefully, it didn’t involve a copy of Forbes Magazine with Ivanka on the cover which he’ll have to pay hush money to keep silent about later. Trump also claimed the Kurds are “very happy about the way things are going” and that the U.S. has “taken control of the oil in the Middle East.” Nobody understands what he meant by any of that.

Kids in a schoolyard fighting can’t be compared to an actual war where lives are lost and a refugee crisis is created. If the Kurds are “happy,” they’re not aware of it yet. And the oil, what the fuck? Trump’s comments are further evidence he needs to be removed from office.

Right now, every nation that wants to take advantage of the United States, friends and foes, needs to negotiate with Donald Trump. His negotiations with North Korea gave the U.S. nothing in return for legitimizing Kim’s regime and a cease in U.S. military preparedness on the Korean peninsula. His negotiations with Nancy Pelosi got him nothing when he started with something. His deal with Erdogan has given Turkey, Russia, and Iran everything, and even Assad a little something, but nothing for the Kurds or the U.S. If Iran was smart, they’d renegotiate the nuclear agreement with Trump, get clearance to build nuclear weapons, and maybe get a few Trump condos thrown into the deal.

Donald Trump is an idiot and he sent two idiots, Mike and Mike, to Turkey to wash Erdogan’s car. My question is, what else of Erdogan’s did they wash?

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You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

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The Impeachment Blues

cjones10092019

Yesterday, a screenshot circulated on Facebook of a tweet attributed to Monica Lewinsky stating she would “take one for the team” and do to Donald Trump what she did to Bill Clinton in the Oval Office as “that’s the only thing that can convince Republicans to impeach.”

If you saw the tweet, shared it, liked, commented, or cheered Monica on, I hate to burst your bubble. It’s fake. She did not create that tweet. But it does create an interesting discussion.

What would convince Republicans to impeach Donald Trump? How far are they willing to go to debase themselves and lose all dignity for a horrible troglodyte such as Trump?

Lewinsky was probably the first victim of cyberbullying and it was her fake friend who convinced her to preserve the “evidence” on the blue dress, and not take it to the dry cleaners. Monica wanted to wear the dress to a family function and her “friend,” Linda Tripp, who was secretly recording her, manipulated her into keeping the dress by telling Lewinsky it made her look “really fat” and she shouldn’t wear it again in public.

Later, the dress was turned in as evidence which proved Bill Clinton had lied about his relationship with her. It seems kinda crazy twenty years later that the dress was even sent to a lab to prove a president was lying about receiving oral sex in an investigation that started over a 1970s land deal. For that lie, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives impeached Bill Clinton. Of course, the Republicans had to go through three Speakers before they could finally land one to preside over the impeachment who hadn’t also committed adultery. Years later, we discovered the Speaker they settled on was a pedophile. Ya’ gotta love Republicans, right?

Just like the blue dress incriminated Bill Clinton of lying about a personal matter, there’s incriminating evidence that should impeach Donald Trump.

The summary of Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine incriminates him of asking a foreign nation to meddle in our election. It also shows there was a quid pro quo, not that it’s needed. Texts messages from U.S. diplomats show there was a quid pro quo in Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. Rudy Giuliani incriminates himself and Trump every time he opens his horrid mouth. Now, there are records incriminating Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Vice President Mike Pence in this scheme. On top of all that, Trump has publicly called for other nations to help him in the next election and has bullied the whistleblower. In case you’re a Republican, both of those acts are illegal.

But back to the fake Monica tweet. The joke in the tweet is that oral sex is the only thing that will convince Republicans to impeach Donald Trump. I don’t believe that. They’ve ignored all the accusations of sexual assault, which numbers around 20. They’ve ignored him asking Russia to help his campaign. They’ve ignored his lies and conspiracy theories. They’ve ignored his racism and bullying when they’re not joining in. They’ve ignored his obstruction. They’re ignoring his taking money from the military for his stupid, racist wall. Why would anyone think a little Oval Office action would hurt Trump?

Edwin Edwards was governor of Louisiana for 16 years, but not all at once. The voters would elect him, toss him out, elect him again, toss him out, etc. It did help that the last time he won, his opponent was a Grand Wizard. During that last race in 1992, there were bumper stickers reading, “Vote for the crook. It’s important.” Edwards was a crook but he had a strong base of support. But even he had limitations which he acknowledged when he famously said, “The only way I can lose is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.” Louisiana might be the best state for political cartoonists.

While being caught with a live boy would have ruined Edwards, it probably wouldn’t hurt Donald Trump. Not with these Republican sycophants and the evangelicals who for some reason believe Trump is a God-fearing Christian. They’d probably say, “Jesus wanted him to have that boy.”

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a few of the Republicans serving today who were around during the Clinton impeachment.

Lindsey Graham took impeachment seriously in 1999. He said, “You don’t even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this constitutional republic if this body determines that your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role.” He also said, “Impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeaching is about restoring honor and integrity to the office. Today, his integrity has him saying, “Impeachment over this? What a nothing (non-quid pro quo) burger.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had a tough time with Bill Clinton’s lying. In 1999, he said, “The president would seek a win at any cost if it meant lying to the American people. If it meant lying to his cabinet.” Today, “If this is the launching point for the House Democrats impeachment process, they’ve already overplayed their hand.”

Newt Gingrich was a champion of impeaching Clinton and cried in 1998 about the “level of disrespect and decadence that should appall every American.” Today, he says that Democrats are pandering to “partisan extremes.”

In 1999, Republicans were sending dresses to labs searching for semen. Today, half of them can’t bother to read a five-page summary of a transcript.

Republicans have debased and degraded themselves far more than Monica Lewinsky could ever imagine. At least in Monica’s case, she was a naive, young girl who was taken advantage of by a smooth-talking president of the United States. But her actions never allowed Clinton to destroy the nation. These Republicans know exactly what they’re doing as they’re turning their party into a cult and sacrificing our nation because they’re afraid of Trump’s base. And you know they aren’t swayed because Donald Trump is a smooth talker.

Pompeo, Barr, Giuliani, and Pence have each traded in their reputations, dignity and self-respect for Donald Trump. They have sold their souls to this conman. They’ve lost more by their actions than they ever could have merely by wearing blue dresses in the Oval Office.

At some point, I hope they discover the bad taste in their mouths.

Creative Notes: One of my proofreaders looked at several of my rough ideas Thursday night and said about this one, “I didn’t really get the one about the guys in blue. Handmaid’s Tale?” And about ten minutes later, she messaged me with, “Oh my god!” My girlfriend, Amanda, got it immediately. But then again, she is weird enough to be dating a political cartoonist.

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As I noted in a previous cartoon, these are perilous times for political cartoonists. But you can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print).I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

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A Sinking Argument

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In 1898, the USS Maine was sunk in Havana Harbor (if you’re a conservative, Havana is in Cuba). It was sunk in February of that year. By April, we were at war with Spain. At that time, Spain was a world power whose strength was dwindling. But, they still held territories from their days of conquest. When the war was over, Spanish Empire was no more and the United States was a world power taking possession of Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The war only lasted ten weeks and none of the fighting was in the U.S. or Spain.

The sinking of the Maine was a contributing factor for the U.S. to go to war with Spain. The public wasn’t enthusiastic about war until the Maine was sunk. Newspapers at the time, operating with less journalistic integrity than they do now, published on front pages the rallying cry, “Remember the Maine! To Hell with Spain!” And to this day, we don’t know what sunk the ship. But quite frankly, wouldn’t Spain had rather sunk a ship that didn’t rhyme with “Spain?”

There has never been any proof the Spaniards sunk The Maine. In 1974, a U.S. naval investigation agreed with the theory that the sinking happened because the ship’s magazines had been ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker. Spain never even got a “my bad.”

In 1915 during World War I (which nobody was calling “World War I” at the time), the ocean liner Lusitania was sunk by Germany off the coast of Ireland. Germany was waging submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had initiated a naval blockade of Germany. Propaganda was spread by both sides, but the tide of public opinion internationally went against Germany, which was easy because they’re German. While the ship was carrying civilian passengers, including many Americans, Germany argued that it was also carrying ammunition for the war. The sinking helped instigate America’s entry into World War I (in case you’re a Trump cultist, we entered on the side of the British, not the Germans), which before had been very unpopular in the U.S. Most Americans couldn’t see how the fight in Europe was any business of the United States. Most historians still can’t find any genuine reason for the U.S. to have been in World War I.

The UK denied that the ship carried ammunition but decades later, issued a warning to divers stating the equivalent of, “hey, be careful. There are ammunitions down there.”

In 1964, the U.S. Navy and North Vietnamese Navy had one or two skirmishes in the Gulf of Tonkin. One or two? Yes, because to this day, we’re not sure. But whatever happened in the Gulf led the U.S. to become way more involved in the Vietnam War.

Three North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the destroyer, USS Maddox. Four North Vietnamese sailors were killed, six wounded, with damages to each torpedo boat. One American aircraft was damaged and a single bullet hole was discovered in the ship. The U.S. later claimed there was a second attack but the only evidence found have been ghost radar images. The U.S. Navy described ghost images as a naval battle.

What happened next was Congress giving President Lyndon Johnson authority to assist any Southeast Asian nation who was being threatened by communist aggression. Lyndon later used this to justify escalating the war. Full details of the Tonkin incident were kept from the public and later, many involved claimed the Maddox was used to instigate North Vietnam to attack it in order to justify the U.S. going to war.

In 2003, the U.S. led an international coalition in an invasion of Iraq based on the lie that they had weapons of mass destruction and a nuclear program. In case you’re a Republican, No. They did not have weapons of mass destruction and their nuclear program was about as advanced as my microwave oven. I have to state that because people like John Bolton, our current National Security Adviser, still argues the case for invading Iraq.

There were also lies that Iraq was involved in 9/11 with a majority of Americans holding that belief. What was ignored by American politicians and the public was that Iraq never attacked the United States.

Ultimately, over 4,000 American soldiers were killed with an estimated 100,000 plus Iraqi civilian deaths. We overthrew Saddam Hussein and Iraq became a “democracy.” Iraq also became a nation full of insurgents. And even though the Iraqi Army was demolished, the government destroyed, and George W. Bush declaring “mission accomplished,” the war continued for nearly nine years. We created a power vacuum in Iraq and created ISIS. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney made a terrorist rock star out of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Are you ready to do it again?

Be Complicit

What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you. 
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!! 

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