Memphis, and law enforcement in other cities, are bracing for unrest after the bodycam footage of the arrest and beating of Tyre Nichols is released in the coming days, or perhaps hours.
Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old black man who was pulled over for what police claim was reckless driving. According to their report, there was a confrontation after the stop, then he fled on foot, and then there was another confrontation that required an ambulance to be called for Tyre, who then died three days later.
The Memphis Police Department and city government are expecting protests but are hoping their handling of the situation will prevent violence.
This is a black lives matter incident, but the five police officers involved are all black. All five officers have been fired instead of being placed on paid leave. All five are under investigation as are other officers. Perhaps the only failing here is that the cops haven’t been arrested yet. A non-cop would have been charged for beating someone to death by now.
Can we trust police to investigate their own? Too often, we see district attorneys put together grand juries to investigate police only to never bring charges. Fortunately, the Justice Department will conduct a civil rights investigation because surely, Tyre Nichols’ civil rights were denied. There will also be a state investigation.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said, “Those five officers and others failed our community. This is not just a professional failing, this is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual.”
She also addressed the coming reaction to the release of the video saying, “I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand action and results. But we need to ensure our community is safe in this process. None of this is a calling card for inciting violence or destruction on our community or against our citizens.”
She has described the video as “heinous, reckless and inhumane” and said, “When the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves.”
What is it about cop culture, whether the officers are black or white, that makes them beat a black man to death?
Creative note: One of my proofers didn’t think this cartoon worked because Tyre Nichols was stopped for reckless driving, not walking. She also had an issue that it didn’t occur on Beale Street. And then I questioned that myself before deciding “walking” and “Beale” are metaphors which cartoonists deal with every day. But, I could still be wrong and I’ll find out as more readers see this cartoon.
Music note: I hate the song “Walking in Memphis.” I lived near Memphis when the song came out and heard it constantly. The song was released in 1991 while the NFL was expanding its league…and Memphis was one of the hopeful cities. Memphis got a preseason game as part of the experience. The two teams were The Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Oilers. Memphis did not get an expansion team but coincidentally, they did get the Oilers for a season while they waited for their digs to be built in Nashville, which was NOT one of the cities competing for an expansion franchise at that time but got the Oilers which became the Tennessee Titans. Another one of the failed expansion cities was St. Louis which got the Rams, for about three decades at least. But during this expansion game in Memphis, snippets of Memphis music was played between downs. Naturally, there was a lot of Elvis (the team was going to be the Memphis Hound Dogs) but there was also “Walking in Memphis.” I also heard it both times I was in the Memphis airport last November. I never need to hear that song again so no. I did not listen to “Walking in Memphis” while drawing today. I listened to Weezer. However, I did look up the lyrics just to be sure…and yeah, I already knew them. I wonder if Memphians hate that song as much as I do.
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
The nation was shocked with the conviction of police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Shocked because normally, cops get away with killing unarmed black men. Prosecutors will often say, “Nothing to see here,” and work diligently to protect police, which is what happened in Ferguson over the cop killing of Michael Brown and Cleveland over the cop killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. In both of those cases, prosecutors put together grand juries that refused to indict the cops. Grand juries typically do what a prosecutor wants. If there’s no indictment, it’s because the prosecutor didn’t want one. Too often when it comes to cops killing an unarmed black man, district attorneys act more like defense lawyers than prosecutors. It’s what they often refer to in the south as the good-ole-boy network. Good-ole boys take care of good-ole boys.
After Chauvin was convicted as a murderer, a lot of white liberals referenced George Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” and told the nation that finally, black men can breathe. Conservatives used the conviction as to argue that racism if finally over so let’s just stop talking about it. In North Carolina, it’s back to business as usual.
George Floyd’s murderer was convicted in Minnesota. Floyd’s family received justice. Andrew Brown was killed by multiple cops in North Carolina where the laws are designed to protect cops. Even videos of the shooting can’t be released without a judge’s order. In this case, the judge has stonewalled. The good-ole-boy network is strong in North Carolina.
From the scant footage we have been allowed to see, a speeding pickup truck full of Pasquotank County cops piled in the back armed with assault rifles looks more like a planned hit than it does policing. A pickup truck full of white men with weapons on the way to a black guy’s house resembles something from the 1960s in the deep south.
I have never seen a pickup truck with cops riding in the open back. Is this how they police in North Carolina? Were there any “yee-haws” during this ride? Usually in the deep south, the back of a pickup truck is reserved for dogs, kids, and the occasional mother-in-law.
Seven cops were placed on temporary leave during the investigation of Brown’s killing. Two resigned and one retired, but the department claims the resignations and retirement are not connected to the shooting. Were these moves by the individual cops to preserve their pensions?
Brown was shot five times while in his car with the fatal shot being to the back of his head. The back of his head. The cop who killed him was behind him.
There are over two hours of footage but the Brown family has only seen about 18 minutes. At first, they were only allowed to view 20 seconds. Why can’t the family view the entire two hours? It makes me believe there’s something there that would hurt the cops’ and the district attorney’s case.
An attorney for the Brown family says the first shots were while Brown’s car was stationary (in case you’re a Republican, that means it wasn’t moving). A second attorney for the family says the footage did not show Brown initiating contact between his car and the deputies.
The district attorney says the first shots didn’t occur until the car was moving and causing “contact” with the officers, although none of the officers was wounded. Yesterday, District Attorney Andrew Womble announced that the deputies who shot Brown were “justified” in using deadly force and would not be charged criminally. “The facts of this case”, said Womble, “clearly illustrate the officers who used deadly force on Andrew Brown Jr. did so reasonably and only when a violent felon used a deadly weapon to place their lives in danger”
The DA is doing a horrible job of appearing impartial. Note how he had to describe Brown as a “violent felon”? It’s like during the Chauvin trial when conservatives engaged in a campaign of smearing George Floyd. This district attorney is working with the police. In fact, his office is in the police station. The conflict of interest here stinks worse than that vinegar-based BBQ they peddle in North Carolina.
The incident began when a bunch of cops in a speeding pickup truck attempted to serve search and arrest warrants on a non-violent drug charge. The arrest warrant was for possession with intent to sell “approximately three grams of cocaine.” After killing Brown, the cops failed to find any drugs on him, his property, or inside the car.
The Justice Department is conducting an investigation to see if any federal laws were violated by police in violating Brown’s civil rights. It seems like Brown had a right not to get shot in the back of the head by cops.
North Carolina’s justice system is reminding us the struggle for equality remains and that an unfair and racist system remains, especially in the deep south. The good-ole-boy system of cops, district attorneys, and judges is alive and well.
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: I have Three copies of my book in stock, which I’m selling for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.
Donald Trump gave an interview to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that made even her eyes bulge out at times.
As is usual for a Trump interview, he rambled incoherently, spread a conspiracy theory or two, exhibited tone-deafness, exhibited a touch of racism, praised himself, attacked his opponents and the media, lied, and said a bunch of stupid shit…and yeah. He said a bunch of stupid shit.
Ya’ know, when Ross Perot talked about black helicopters in 1992, it derailed his presidential aspirations. Just saying.
But other than talking about “thugs on planes” either coming to Washington, or going from Washington (Trump couldn’t make up his mind), he attempted to justify police shooting unarmed black men.
Let’s be clear on one thing. Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back while he was unarmed. Conservatives and assorted fucknuts keep saying he had a knife, or he was going for a knife, or he was dreaming about a knife, or he started rapping, “Life is a knife like slicing through the strife…” I don’t know. But he was unarmed. And let me remind you, he was shot seven times in the back. The guy could have had a bazooka and I don’t think the cops needed to shoot him seven times…in the back.
Donald Trump went to Kenosha, where nobody wanted him, and used it as a background to claim systemic racism doesn’t exist. Again. Seven times in the back. Also, white kid shoots three people and the same police force waves him off and drives right on by. Also during his stop in Kenosha, he didn’t mention Jacob Blake’s name once. So, if he didn’t go to Kenosha to work on race issues, why did he go? I’m surprised he didn’t start shooting paint balls at black people.
But the real crazy was during the interview. If you can make Laura Ingraham give a holy-fucking-shit-this-is-balls expression, you’ve accomplished quite a feat.
Trump was talking to Ingraham about how cops are “under siege” in this country. Maybe because, I don’t know, they keep killing unarmed black men. Donald Trump explained why cops kill unarmed black men. He said, “They can do 10,000 great acts, which is what they do, and one bad apple or a choker — you know, a choker. They choke.”
He continued. “They choke just like in a golf tournament. They miss a 3-foot putt.” Ingraham tried to save him. Instead of coming right out and saying, “please stop saying stupid shit,” she tried to give his next answer for him. She didn’t ask. She stated, “You’re not comparing it to golf, because of course that’s what the media would say.”
Trump dug himself in deeper and answered, “I’m saying people choke. People choke. And people are bad people. You have both. You have some bad people and you have…they choke.”
Question: Which is worse? Comparing police brutality and murders of unarmed black men to a golfer missing a putt, or the comparison to choking after it was the choking of George Floyd that began this summer of protest against police violence against black Americans?
Also, if they “choke,” then wouldn’t they miss while shooting at unarmed black men? Republicans, even their cartoonists, really suck with metaphors and analogies.
Donald Trump is tone-deaf. Frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t mistakenly, or purposely, in place of “bad apples,” used the term “black apples” yet.
We need a president who can understand a crisis. Not just identify a few “bad apples” and make a shitty golf analogy. And I don’t think this is asking too much, but also not spread crazy-ass QAnon bullshit.
There is systemic racism. It’s very real and it’s proven on video on a daily basis. The bad apples are the result of the problem, not the cause.
Donald Trump isn’t just a bad apple. He’s rotten and he’s choking our country.
Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first. But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performer busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box.
After murder charges were brought against Garrett Rolfe, the former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, a black man, twice in the back, a number of Atlanta Police officers called in sick Wednesday night just before a shift change in protest of a cop being held accountable. Or maybe it’s over the TV show “Cops” being canceled.
Also, Devin Brosnan, the officer who stood on Brooks’ arm after the shooting, has been charged with aggravated assault.
The officers responded to a call claiming Brooks had fallen asleep at the wheel while parked in a Wendy’s drive-through. After initially cooperating with the police, Brooks resisted and a scuffle ensued. Brooks was able to obtain one of the cop’s tasers and fled. As he was running, he was shot in the back by Rolfe who then kicked his body as it lay on the pavement. Brosnan stood on his arm.
It’s kind of hard to cry self-defense when you shoot someone in the back. It’s also hard to claim self-defense when the man had a taser and you had guns. The police claim a taser is a lethal weapon. If that’s the case, then why are they carrying them? If I’m wrong about this let me know, but I believe if Brooks had successfully shot one of the officers with the taser, then he couldn’t have used it again on the other cop.
The International Brotherhood of Police Officers said it’s not a “blue flu,” as in a cop strike. A spokesman said, “What it actually is is officers protesting that they’ve had enough and they don’t want to deal with it any longer.”
Really? The police have had enough? If the ATL police want to talk to a group who’s had enough and don’t want to deal with it any longer, they should talk to their black community. Actually, all they need to do is listen which is what cops and most Republicans in this nation have failed to do.
Black Americans are sick and tired of systemic racism and the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police. And when a cop is charged, the police have “had enough?”
When the two ATL cops were charged, they were given a deadline to turn themselves in. Had enough yet?
They were not arrested at the scene of the killing. Had enough yet?
It took prosecutors nearly a week to charge the cops. Had enough yet?
It also took nearly a week to charge the four cops in Minneapolis. Had enough yet?
The only way for a cop to even be investigated after the killing of an unarmed black man is if it was caught on tape. Had enough yet?
There’s a lot of debate over whether the police should have let Brooks walk home or even given him a breathalyzer. But let’s pick it up at the scuffle. Sure, at that point, Brooks should have been charged and taken to jail. Surely when he did grab the taser and fled, he resisted arrest and had assaulted police officers. He was in the wrong. But that’s not enough to kill the guy.
Whenever this kind of stuff happens, the police and conservatives try to show how the black guy killed was in the wrong as that makes it right to murder him. They take it to the point where they try to dehumanize the person like in the case of George Floyd. If you listen to Fox News, Floyd was a giant monster who probably destroyed Tokyo in the past. But, committing crimes and serving time in the past doesn’t justify killing someone for a traffic offense, or passing counterfeit bills, or selling loose cigarettes, or walking down the street, or falling asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru.
Police are not perfect people, but like airline pilots, they need to be damn near perfect while on the job. The police should be emotionally balanced enough to keep their temper in check when dealing with suspects who don’t want to cooperate. Nobody wants to go to jail. The police should expect a few people to react harshly. I understand it’s not a job picking cherries, but two cops should be able to handle one guy resisting arrest without killing him. Also, that guy had just woken up. Why couldn’t they have handled that situation?
After police refused to go to work Wednesday night, many of them who did refused to show up to any calls except those requesting backup or went radio-silent. In Georgia, many state employees who are considered “essential” are legally prohibited from walking out on the job. Yet, every Atlanta cop will receive a $500 bonus from a police foundation to boost their morale.
The police are really depressed over people not being happy with police killing unarmed black men. The cops are protesting being held accountable for their actions.
Cops take an oath to “protect and serve” but I guess there’s a clause allowing an exception when their blue panties get in a bunch.
Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first.
But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performing busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box.
The reason Donald Trump is NOT my president isn’t that I don’t like him or disagree with his politics. George W. Bush was my president and I didn’t like him. Donald Trump is not my president because he’s not a president.
Donald Trump hasn’t taken one moment to be presidential. I found it funny that he and his campaign promised he would be presidential after he was inaugurated which was an acknowledgment he wasn’t presidential and instead was behaving like an immature narcissistic toddler with major insecurity issues because his parents didn’t love him. On top of not being presidential, Donald Trump doesn’t even pretend he wants my support. He caters to the most racist and vile of America. He also caters to the most stupid.
Say what you will about George W. Bush and his lie to get us to invade Iraq, but even he didn’t push the lie that Iraq funded al Qaida or attacked us on 9/11. Make no mistake, that lie was spread by others and the Bush administration didn’t do anything to kill it. In fact, they went out of their way to avoid it with Dick Cheney going so far as to say he could see why some Americans would believe Iraq attacked us on 9/11, without saying whether it was true or not. They were bastards but even those bastards didn’t want to be on the record pushing baseless conspiracy theories. Being a person of low moral fiber and void of ethics and principles entirely, Donald Trump has no qualms about spreading bullshit.
Donald Trump has spread a lot of bullshit. Some more harmful than others. His first act as president (sic) was to send Sean Spicer out to lie about crowd sizes. While that lie and the ones about illegal voters might make you roll your eyes, his conspiracy theories about Obama wiretapping Trump Tower and the FBI engaging in a deep state coup only helps Russia. His attacks on Joe Scarborough being a murderer is sickening. And like after each of these stupid attacks, you think he can’t get any worse knowing full well he will. He did.
Yesterday, he tweeted a conspiracy theory that Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old man Buffalo police shoved to the ground during a protest was really an “antifa agent provocateur.” Yup. Donald Trump, who was probably inspecting the bunker behind the new fence and soldiers surrounding the White House when he sent that tweet, was pushing a conspiracy theory that originated on the dark web.
Donald Trump got the conspiracy theory from One America News. Even when Sean Hannity pushed the Seth Rich conspiracy theory, it was on his stupid opinion show and not part of an actual news story on Fox News. OAN, just like your crazy tinfoil-hat wearing uncle who lives in your grandmother’s attic you’re forced to see every Thanksgiving, does not know the difference between propaganda and news. That explains why Donald Trump watches it.
Trump tweeted, “Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”
Previously, ONA pushed a conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was an effort by Bill Gates, George Soros, China, the Deep State in population control. What’s more fucked up than that is the President (sic) of the United States watches it. Of course, this is the same guy who thought the National Enquirer should have won a Pulitzer Prize and its chief should become the publisher of The New York Times.
The reporter who pushed this story on OANN is a Russian who has also worked for Sputnik, a Kremlin-controlled news outlet. Sputnik is just one of Russia’s weapons used to attack American elections. OANN is not a legitimate news organization which explains why they actually have a reporter at White House press briefings who is often called on by Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany to ask questions like, “Is it alarming that major media players, just to oppose you, are consistently siding with foreign state propaganda, Islamic radicals, and Latin gangs and cartels? And they work right here at the White House with direct access to you and your team?” Scooch over, Hannity. There’s a new burrower for Trump’s sphincter.
Where did OANN get this stupid conspiracy theory? You’ll be glad to know it’s not from 4chan or Qanon. Nope. It’s from Conservative Treehouse, the new 4chan. It’s still a home for tiki-torch Nazis wearing that racist frog symbol on their T-shirts.
Spreading this shit is dangerous. I bet you believe antifa is instigating riots and most protests aren’t peaceful. Republicans are pushing that shit despite there not being any facts to base it on. Now, the fucknuts will believe a victim of police brutality was an agent of antifa while not realizing there is no antifa organization. The real irony here is that every single one of these pushers of conspiracy theories, including Donald Trump, are “useful idiots” for Russia and are acting as…wait for it…agent provocateurs.
As usual, very few Republicans condemned Donald Trump’s tweet. Mitt Romney called it “shocking” while the rest of the Republican Senate pretended they hadn’t seen it. Cowards.
Yesterday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “President Trump did a tweet today that surprises me — even after all the tweets that he has done.”
Cuomo added, “What do you think, it was staged? You think the blood coming out of his head was staged? Is that what you’re saying? You saw his head hit the pavement, you see blood on the pavement. He should apologize for that tweet, because it is wholly unacceptable. Show some decency, show some humanity… you’re the president of the United States.”
The only thing I disagree with Governor Cuomo on is that he called Donald Trump “President Trump.”
Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first.
But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performing busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box.
This cartoon should ignite a lot of debate on social media over the next few days.
A lot of Black Lives Matter protesters are calling for defunding the nation’s police departments. There’s a lot of talk about what that means exactly and concerns Donald Trump and Republicans will milk it for the 2020 presidential campaign. Guess what. They’re already doing that.
It doesn’t really matter what the facts are for Donald Trump and Republicans to take something, fill it full of lies, and run with it. Remember how President Obama was going to take all our guns? Do you remember President Obama actually taking our guns? During the 2018 midterm elections, Trump and Republicans ran on the message the Democratic Party wanted to abolish ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). That did not work, the Democrats took the House, and we still have ICE. A lot of Republican voters probably thought Nancy Pelosi was coming to take their ice makers and we’d have to go back to trays.
Republicans and Trump gaslight and lie on a political issue? Remember, this is the same party that ran on saving Obamacare in 2018. Donald Trump also claimed George Soros was funding Central American caravans to “invade” our southern border and he even admitted he had no facts to base this claim.
Donald Trump stated yesterday that we’re not going to defund the police despite the fact he actually doesn’t have much of a say in it. Funding your local police department is mostly from your local government. But, the federal government can create laws restructuring and regulating police departments which is exactly what this nation needs.
While people argue most cops are good and the bads ones are just a few…the rotten apples have rotted police culture. While you can argue it was just a couple of cops who pushed the elderly man in Buffalo, there were multiple who walked past the man without offering any assistance. Then, it was an official statement from the department that the old man tripped and fell on his own despite there being video evidence contrary to that. Then, after two of the cops were punished, 52 of their colleagues resigned from their task force in protest of cops being held accountable. That is a culture that doesn’t need restructuring. It needs to be eliminated. Do we have to defund police to eliminate that rotten cop culture?
When the Minnesota State Police arrested a black CNN journalist who was only doing his job, reporting, they later issued an official statement saying they released him after verifying his credentials. The arrest was actually caught on tape with the reporter, Omar Jimenez showing the cops his…wait for it…credentials. The camera recording him and the microphone in his hand were also helpful clues, but hey, you never know when rioters will grab fake cameras and microphones to loot a Hardees. But the point is, at a moment when the public is protesting police, and the police need to rebuild trust, the entire department lied. Cops lie. They lie to cover their ass. They lie to cover each other’s asses. They lie to nail your ass.
It’s also extremely difficult to prosecute police not to mention how hard it is to get a cop to arrest a cop. As it’s been noted and obvious to everyone except police and Republicans, the only way to get the ball rolling to prosecute a cop is to catch a cop breaking the law on tape. How many days did it take for the police to arrest and charge George Floyd’s killer? How many more days to charge his accomplices? The police record almost everything they do (they’re supposed to anyway), but we have yet to see the police’s tape from the George Floyd case.
So what does it mean to defund the police? Does it mean to cut their funding, restructure the department, or to actually eliminate the entire department?
In Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed, it means getting rid of the entire department. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
The group MPD150, which says it is “working towards a police-free Minneapolis,” argues that defunding would be more about “strategically reallocating resources, funding, and responsibility away from police and toward community-based models of safety, support, and prevention.” So, who ya’ gonna call if someone breaks in? Ghostbusters? What if all the NRA gun nuts who took one shooting class start acting as vigilantes when they’re not marching about how much they need haircuts? You saw what happened when those two white right-wing racists in Georgia tried a citizens arrest on Ahmaud Arbery.
The main problem is the slogan, “Defund the police.” “Restructure the police department and reallocate resources to more proper agencies” just isn’t as catchy, even if liberals are more capable than Republicans with handling chants longer than three syllables.
Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Karen Bass, said she’s not in favor of eliminating police departments, but cities and states need to look at how they’re spending their resources and probably invest more in their communities. She said, “Maybe this is an opportunity to re-envision public safety.”
Right now, there is momentum to restructure the nation’s police forces. Everyone knows, even Republicans, that the nation’s police forces are corrupt. Yes, they are corrupt. When you have just one bad cop on a force and the entire department allows him to stay, you have a corrupt police force. If 19 good cops cover for one bad cop, you have 20 bad cops. In case you’re a Republican, 19 + 1 = 20.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would move funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services, but he didn’t say how. In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti vowed to cut as much as $150 million that was part of a planned increase in the police department’s budget.
Trump is using this to help portray himself as the “law and order” candidate, despite being the same guy who calls FBI agents “human scum,” attacks law enforcement agents who investigate suspected Russian spies, ruined the lives and careers of agents for his political ambitions and petty insecurities, and has literally broken the law by asking for foreign governments to help his reelection campaign. Yes, he did all that.
Plus, the guy promising us he’s the “law and order” candidate is a huge racist. Sheriff Buford T. Justice wouldn’t want to be aligned with this guy. Yes, the nation’s police unions, who create super PACs for Republicans, are totally in bed with Donald Trump, who told police they shouldn’t be “too nice” when arresting brown suspects. Donald Trump has literally encouraged police to engage in police brutality. How did the police in attendance react? They laughed and applauded. Again, cop culture is corrupt.
The LAPD union representative said, “Cutting the LAPD budget means longer responses to 911 emergency calls, officers calling for back-up won’t get it, and rape, murder, and assault investigations won’t occur or will take forever to initiate, let alone complete.” So basically, the cops will respond slower to the neighborhoods they don’t patrol anyway and suspects will be prosecuted almost as slowly as bad cops are prosecuted.
As we know from history, the Democratic Party’s biggest obstacle to winning a presidential election is the Democratic Party. The Democrats will defeat themselves before Donald Trump will. Right now, it looks like Joe Biden, who said he’s against defunding the police, is on his way to a historic landslide in the presidential election. And, the Democratic Party only has to defeat a stupid racist who lost over 40 million jobs, over 100,000 lives, and the nation’s respect and credibility on the international stage. So, yeah…Democrats should be terrified.
I know the socialist Democrats are passionate to the point they don’t really care about winning elections. You want change and you want it now, damn the politics of it. But you need the politics to get what you want. It’s like saying, “Fuck it, I’m voting third party” then not understanding why you don’t see any liberal change after getting Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Should we defund the police? Yes, to a point. Should we eliminate police departments? No, but we should tear them apart and rebuild. But before we can do any of that, we have to get rid of Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. What I don’t understand is why that is so hard for the Bernie Bros to understand. It’s like a four-syllable chant to Republicans…or math. They can’t do it.
Before we can restructure the Po-Po, we have to get rid of the orange Ho-Ho.
Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first.
But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performing busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box.
Racists don’t like it when racism is pointed out. They don’t like being told racism is a problem. They don’t like being told it’s something we need to work on. Racists want to believe everything is fine and no pun intended honky dory.
I once had a racist tell me that racism had been eradicated in the business world because Herman Cain was an executive for Godfather’s Pizza. It’s like saying racism doesn’t exist in the NFL anymore because there are 3 black coaches out of 32 or racism is gone from the entire nation because we elected a black president. Racists want everyone to be quiet about racism so they can continue to be racists without being hassled about it.
Donald Trump is not pleased. Why? Because Donald Trump is a racist. Donald Trump has taken a side in race relations and that is the racist white side. You know, the Republican side. The Black Lives Matter movement is spreading across this nation in large cities and small towns alike. It has gone international. Donald Trump is very much opposed to it and has even tweeted a letter calling protesters, not rioters or looters, but protesters, “terrorists.” The president (sic) of the United States wants to call in the military to stomp out peaceful protests and even gassed peaceful protesters in front of the White House so he could walk across the street with a photo-op.
Kaleigh McEneny, the White House spokesgoon who swore during her first press briefing that she would NEVER lie to us, said teargas was NOT used against the protesters. She said this despite it being live on TV and later the Park Police, who initially said it wasn’t teargas, came out and said, “OK…it was teargas.” Where’s McEnany’s retraction and apology for lying and breaking her promise? Adviser Kellyanne Conway actually said the photo-op wasn’t a photo-op, but she has a long track record of lying to us.
Mayor Bowser said, “We want to call attention today to making sure our nation is more fair and more just and that black lives and that black humanity matter in our nation.” Well, Donald Trump can’t agree with that. Then, she had a green street sign
Black Lives Matter Plaza” affixed to a street lamp right outside St. John’s Church, where Donald Trump can surely see in case he wants to stage another photo-op there. But, if he misses that, perhaps he’ll see “Black Lives Matter” on the street leading to his front door.
Trump responded by complaining that the mayor keeps asking “us” for “handouts.” Handouts? Apparently, Trump doesn’t realize Washington, D.C. is a part of the United States and it’s the federal government’s job to partially fund the district, especially since the federal government won’t allow the district to have Congressional representation. Yet, citizens of the district must pay federal taxes despite not being able to be represented in Congress. Republicans who scream about taxation without representation are afraid the district would be represented by the Democratic Party. Trump also complained about the district’s budget and ignoring how much he has raised the federal debt for tax cuts for corporations, trust-fund babies, and rich assholes.
Black Lives Matter and the American Civil Liberties Union have both sued the Trump administration, specifically Trump and Attorney General William Barr for teargassing peaceful protesters so he could have his photo-op. Let’s hear Kayleigh McEneny defend Trump on this. William Barr defended the teargassing by saying the president (sic) has the right to walk across the street. That’s true but he doesn’t have the right to teargas people for a photo-op. Nobody was stopping him from walking across the street. Next time, try it without the teargas.
Bowser also ticked off Trump by sending him a letter demanding he withdraws military personnel and federal law enforcement from the district. She’s also concerned about unidentified law enforcement patrolling the streets. Yeah, what’s up with that? Goons for Trump?
Donald Trump doesn’t get it. He’s the type to respond to someone saying, “Black lives matter” with “All lives matter.” Donald Trump doesn’t get that the reason we never said “All lives matter” is that we never had to.
Donald Trump is a racist and he’s probably an illiterate one at that. Someone can read “Black lives matter” to him but they’re not going to be able to understand it for him.
Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first.
But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performing busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box.
The police of this nation and their defenders point out the unfairness of labeling all cops as racist or profiling black males. But what is true is that there is a culture of profiling, brutality, and racism among the nation’s police.
This is proven by the Plain View Project. The PVP examined the public profiles of police officers from eight jurisdictions since 2017 and their findings were published last Saturday in Injustice Watch and BuzzFeed News. What they found goes beyond disturbing.
The project found thousands of posts and memes that were racist, conspiratorial, and expressing a desire to use tasers and deadly force on suspects.
A captain in the Philadephia Police Department shared a meme featuring Sammy Davis Jr. with the caption, “Instead of hands up don’t shoot, how about pull your pants up don’t loot!” A comment from another Philly cop about a young black male accused of shooting an elderly woman called for a firing squad.
One meme shared by an officer showed a police dog baring its teeth, with superimposed text that read, “I hope you run, he likes fast food.”
A cop in York, Pennsylvania posted on Facebook, “Too bad this MF didn’t resist and meet a very violent and painful demise. Would have saved the taxpayers a LOT of money,” regarding a black male suspected of killing a detective.
The project matched about 14,400 listed officers to public Facebook profiles.
The Phoenix Police Department says they’re going to look into the matter. St. Louis claims they’re looking into it as well. Other departments examined are in Dallas; Denison, Tex.; and Twin Falls, Idaho; and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
The Philadelphia department has placed 72 cops on desk duty, pulling them off the streets while an investigation is being conducted. Perhaps every police department in the nation should be conducting a continuous effort to monitor all officers’ social media posts. Every cop in the country should have his social media posts looked at. If they find cop brutality hilarious, then they shouldn’t be a cop.
The project’s founder, Emily Baker-White said three major trends emerged in the posts she and her colleagues collected: posts that seemed to endorse violence by officers or members of the public, posts that appeared to show bias against minority groups, and dehumanizing language that referred to protesters or people of color as “animals” or “savages.”
She also said, “One of the most disheartening things in the posts we saw are the comments under them. Some of them are by citizens, and some are by police officers. There’s very much a pile-on culture, where someone may say something violent and the folks under that will ramp it up and say something even more violent or discriminatory. The feedback loop there has led a lot of people to lean into their worst instincts.”
The Phoenix Police Union is upset over the investigation and accusing it of an anti-cop bias. He highlighted how Phoenix police have used Facebook to raise money for charity and left out posts like the one by Officer Joshua Ankert who congratulated George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin for walking after dark while being black, the day after his trial and thanked him for “cleaning up our community one thug at a time.”
In Phoenix, 73% of the city’s 2,937 police force is white, while 19% is Hispanic, in a city that is 43% Hispanic. With 42% of the city being white, the police department is not representative of its citizens. That may be where the problem begins in all communities.
Another Phoenix cop, Rueben Carver III posted, “It’s a good day for a choke hold.” No, Officer Rueben, it’s a good day to fire some racist cops.
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!!!
Conservatives are livid and up in arms over the way Roger Stone was arrested last month.
According to Stone, 29 FBI agents and U.S. Marshals were used in the pre-dawn raid to arrest Trump’s longtime adviser last month in Miami. Since this was conducted during Trump’s government shutdown, several of the agents volunteered for the assignment. Who wouldn’t want to arrest a guy with a Nixon tattoo on his back?
Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano called it “Gestapo-like.” Senator and southern dandy Lindsey Graham sent a letter to the FBI demanding they justify their tactics. Sean Hannity wailed about the injustice.
Former Sheriff and pardoned criminal Joe Arpaio decried the use of armored vehicles, even though he once sent one piloted by Steven Seagal to bust a cockfighting ring. Seagal used the footage for a TV show and was later sued by the accused for killing his puppy during the raid. These conservatives are really hard on dogs.
Donald Trump, who once said police should bang criminals’ heads against the top of squad cars as they’re being placed in the back seats, was also upset.
Conservatives claim Stone was not a flight risk, doesn’t own a gun, and isn’t a danger to society. How can law enforcement be confident he’s not a gun owner or a flight risk? How can they be sure he wouldn’t destroy evidence? As for that “danger to society” thing; anyone who helps Russia install a national security risk like Donald Trump into the presidency is a danger to society.
Roger Stone compared his treatment to that of Osama bin Laden, who in case you don’t remember, is now dead and is lying at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. He also compared it to the arrests of El Chapo and Pablo Escobar. El Chapo is currently in prison and on trial, and Escobar, like bin Laden, is dead. The fact that Roger Stone is able to walk freely on the streets right now, breathe air, and issue stupid statements proves his treatment wasn’t anything like bin Laden’s, Escobar’s, or El Chapo.
Stone also said the agents terrified his wife and dogs. I wonder if Seal Team 6 traumatized bin laden’s dogs during their raid. It is nice that animal welfare is now a concern for Roger Stone, who once gave the Wicked Witch warning to a colleague against testifying against him and Trump, promising to get him and his little dog too.
They also complained that CNN was there to film the arrest and accused the FBI of tipping off the network. CNN says they were watching Stone’s home which is very believable as everyone, including Stone, was publicly expecting him to be arrested soon.
Stone is upset he wasn’t able to conveniently schedule his arrest, because rich white guys should be allowed the courtesy to choose how they’re arrested.
This outrage is very selective. Did any of these critics of the FBI defend Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, or the hundreds of other public cases of police brutality against unarmed black men? Did they defend Trayvon Martin who was stalked for wearing a hoodie shortly before he was shot and killed by a wannabe vigilante?
It’s like how they’re upset over the descriptions the MAGA hat-wearing Catholic Covington kids received from the press and celebrities. One of them has hired a lawyer and is threatening to sue a list of news outlets and celebrities for libel, which conservatives are cheering. This is being applauded by the same conservative news outlets that accused David Hogg and other survivors of the Parkland shooting of being “crisis actors.”
Conservatives are so good at selective outrage; they should put in a bottle and market it. I’m sure it tastes like Kool-Aid.
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!!!
One Milwaukee police officer was suspended 15 days for tasing NBA player Sterling Brown. Another received ten days, and a third received two. What do you want to bet that next season a player in the NFL will receive a longer suspension for kneeling in protest of police violence?
A police officer confronted Brown January 26, around 2:30 AM because his car was straddling two handicapped parking spaces in an empty lot at a Walgreens in Milwaukee. He called for backup and at least three more police cars arrive. After asking Brown questions the police tased him. Later, the police decided not to charge Brown.
The police department claimed Brown was confrontational, but they changed their story after releasing the video captured from an officer’s body camera. It took them four months to review the tape and release it to the public.
Did it take them four months to see they were wrong? No. It took them four months to decide how to take responsibility for their actions. This brings the question; how can we trust the police’s account when there’s not a recording?
Critics of kneeling athletes lie about the reason they’re protesting. The same people ignore the reason for the protests, which is police brutality toward black Americans. Donald Trump, as president has attacked black athletes, questioned their patriotism, has called for their firing while calling them “sons of bitches,” and said maybe they shouldn’t be in this country. Regarding the Sterling Brown situation and too many like it to mention, he’s been silent. But he does tweet on a daily basis about the perceived injustices he receives.
Maybe the people who don’t care that all Americans aren’t being treated equally shouldn’t be in this country.
The Milwaukee Bucks have supported Brown over this arrest. Brown is suing the police department and said he chose to speak up about the incident on behalf of Laquan McDonald, Stephon Clark and others in the black community who have died in encounters with police. With this campaign, Brown has an opportunity to be the most valuable player on and off the court.
No one should be tased, handcuffed, and arrested over what should have amounted to a parking ticket.
In his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech in 1968, Martin Luther King said, “Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights.” He was assassinated the very next day. Our president, who will never say anything close to the magnificence or bravery of King’s words, says people who protest for rights shouldn’t be in this country.
This is exactly why protests should continue.
Watch me draw.
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