You don’t have to be a genius to know that if you give a bully your lunch money, he’s just going to bully you for your lunch money again the next day.
You don’t handle a bully by giving in to his demands. It only encourages him to continue bullying, you and others. You’re telling him that his bullying is successful.
So shame on the College Board for giving into the bullying of Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis is a bully. He’s bullied Mickey Mouse. He’s a bully to educators. He’s a bully to anyone he deems is a liberal or “woke.” We’ve even seen him bully high school students, scolding them for wearing face masks and jabbing his pointy sticky finger at them. Right now, DeSantis is planning to ban state universities from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in hopes that they will “wither on the vine” without funding.
Florida rejected an AP African American course, claiming it was indoctrinating, political, and woke. The College Board says it didn’t revise the program because of this, but yeah. Just look at what was removed, lessons on Black Lives Matter and on reparations for the harms of slavery and racial discrimination, as well as suggested readings from left-leaning notables such as scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, an architect of critical race theory.
Joshua Myers, an associate professor of Africana studies at Howard University, said, “This was pure cowardice. and it shows how far liberals will go to confront the creeping fascism in this country. And that’s not very far at all.” Myers is listed as an adviser to the AP course framework.
David Blight, a history professor at Yale University and author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on Frederick Douglass, said he withdrew an endorsement of the course plan on Wednesday after he heard about the revisions. He said “I thought, ‘No, no, wait a minute.'” Blight did not participate in the course development, but he said he wants answers. “This is all a matter of academic freedom.”
It’s funny that the people who claim they’re about freedom, such as Ron DeSantis, are quick to deprive it from people who don’t look like them. It’s like their support of free speech, yet Desantis tries to regulate it with his anti-woke law. DeSantis says “Florida is where woke goes to die,” but how do you ban a viewpoint?
The AP African American course is being tried out in about 60 high schools and will be available nationwide by 2024. But in what form? Other yee-haw states are now considering following DeSantis’ actions, states such as Arkansas which in its wisdom made Sarah Huckabee Sanders its governor, who’s seeking to be a bully in her own right.
Bullying is what Republicans do. Look at Kevin McCarthy trying to bully President Biden over the debt ceiling while he can’t come up with any specifics. He’s just bullying for the sake of bullying.
There’s another thing we know about bullies. They’re all cowards. Usually, all you gotta do is pop one in the nose and they go away. Bullies can only dish it out, but they can’t take it. When a bully challenges you to a fight, the only recourse is to kick its ass.
Creative note: I’m in Indianapolis. I wrote another version of this cartoon two weeks ago but put it aside for other ideas on the subject. But after reading about the College Board’s revisions, I thought of how to re-do the idea during my three flights and two layovers yesterday.
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.
Did you know that more than 30 states have laws allowing school districts to arm teachers? Naturally, giving guns to teachers is a Republican idea, like banning doors.
It’s not a great idea to arm teachers. Some states require over 150 hours of firearm training before a school employee can carry a gun to school, but places like Ohio only require 20. And, a lot of these school districts don’t notify parents that teachers can carry guns or which teachers are actually doing so.
Over the past year, we heard all this bullshit about parental rights and how they should set the curriculum. Let’s get rid of Critical Race Theory. Let’s ban controversial books. Don’t say “gay.” But, Republicans don’t want you to know that your child’s teacher has a Sig Sauer in her book bag. Some parents in Ohio learned their kids’ teacher had a gun in her purse when one of her students pulled it out and pointed it at another student.
If more guns in school are what we need to combat school shootings, then by Republican logic, we should put more Critical Race Theory and gays in school.
Giving teachers, coaches, bus drivers, and lunch ladies guns is a horrible idea. It won’t deter mass shooters as most are willing to die. Cafeteria casserole would be more of a deterrent to mass shooters than teachers with guns (remember school casseroles? Yuck). And if cops are like the ones in Uvalde, why should a teacher be willing to engage a shooter when the cops won’t? On top of all that, when the cops do enter, how are they supposed to be able to tell the difference between the bad guy with a gun and the good guy with the gun?
The rest of the world is dismayed by our gun culture. We are the only developed nation with this problem. And our solutions are always more guns. In case you haven’t noticed, the more-guns strategy isn’t working.
The best way to get rid of gun violence is to get rid of guns. Republicans claim that would never work but we have actual proof it does. It only hasn’t worked here because we haven’t done it here.
We need to ban home ownership of assault rifles. Owning an assault rifle should be like owning a horse when you don’t have room on your property for a horse. If you live in a city and own a horse, you pay a stable to house your horse. You don’t take the horse home. You go to the stable to ride your horse, brush his mane, give him an apple, then you go home without your horse…but he’s still there. It should be like that with assault rifles. They should all be licensed and stored at gun ranges. And, there should be training and licensing involved to own a gun. Nobody actually needs an Uzi or an AR-15 for home security. You just don’t.
If we can legislate that people with mental problems can’t own a gun, despite it not being covered in the Constitution, then we can legislate licensing to own a gun. After all, the Second Amendment does say “well-regulated.” It’s time we start regulating.
Allowing teachers to carry guns is an idea approved by the industry that sells guns. That industry is symbiotic with the National Rifle Association…which is a branch of the Republican Party.
As Middle Age Riot on Instagram recently posted, “Republicans think it’s a good idea to give teachers less money, more students, fewer books, fewer resources, more parents in the classroom, more standardized tests, more scrutiny, more pressure, and a gun.”
Teachers and other school employees should not be required to engage mass shooters. Teachers should be required to teach. If Republicans love guns so much, let them engage mass shooters.
Music Note: I started listening to music after the lettering was completed and listened to Verbena, Taylor Swift, Them Crooked Vultures, and the Barenaked Ladies (not that “One Week” song. Ugh).
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.
Ted Cruz went to Harvard and Princeton. He was a debate champion. With that in mind, I’m not ready to classify him as a moron despite the fact he says moronic things. While I’m not sure he’s a moron, stupid, or an idiot, I know for sure he’s a lot of other things.
Ted Cruz is condescending. He’s a coward. He’s sniveling. He’ll say anything to appease the base. He’s disloyal. He’s sanctimonious. He’s icky and creepy. He’s a sonofabitch. He’s a horrible and vile excuse for a human being. He’s the shit slime washes off to get clean. Ted Cruz sucks.
One reason Ted Cruz may say a lot of stupid things is because he’s not in a position to say anything intelligent. There are no intelligent reasons for not creating tougher gun laws. The only arguments against are stupid.
While most Republicans and assorted MAGAts are blaming mental health, video games, Critical Race Theory, Wokeness, cancel culture, socialism, and whatever the hell else they can concoct, Ted Cruz has decided instead of banning guns, we should ban doors.
Seriously.
OK. I change my mind. He’s a moron. Only a moron would say something that stupid. And Ted didn’t say this off the cuff. He wasn’t riffing. He made this proposal during his speech at the NRA’s latest gun orgy in Houston, where it probably went over very well. I bet that convention hall had more than one door in it.
Also, if we ban doors, then Ted can make sure trans people are using the correct public bathrooms. Plus, banning The Doors will prevent Jim Morrison from ever exposing his thingy at a concert ever again. Why do think they called him the Lizard King? Dammit…Ted Cruz wanted that nickname. Heidi said “no.”
Ted’s brilliant idea is to ban all doors in schools except one and station an armed guard there constantly. But, aren’t Republicans in favor of decreasing funding for schools? What happens if a shooter shows up and shoots the armed guard? What happens if there’s a fire and there’s only one door for the children to escape? Will Ted say, “at least they weren’t killed by a gun, so don’t blame guns”?
Maybe we should make the one door like a doggy door so only the kids can crawl in. What about the teachers? We’ll just fire them. They’re overpaid and all they want to do is teach our kids Critical Race Theory and gay math. The kids will be fine without them and we can just have the parents decide the curriculum. What if a dwarf mass shooter shows up and can fit inside the doggy door? Let’s make guns with fat triggers or something so they’ll be dwarf-proof. What if dingos crawl through the door and eat the babies? I got it! let’s just give all the kids guns. We’ll start making guns with tiny triggers. Crap. I forgot about the dwarfs.
Maybe we should ban schools and force everyone to be home-schooled. I actually saw this argument in a conservative cartoon. But don’t most homes have two doors?
What’s dumber than Ted Cruz’s idea to ban doors is that we haven’t enacted tougher gun laws since Sandy Hook. People like Ted Cruz would rather find any solution, no matter how stupid, than face the fact guns are the problem.
This is a gun problem. It’s not mental health, video games, wokeness, socialism, cancel culture, Critical Race Theory, or Mickey Mouse. The reason we have so many mass shootings while other nations don’t is because of guns…and a lot of stupid senators.
Ted also wants to “harden” elementary schools. Personally, I think we should keep pedophiles away from elemenatary schools.
Music Note: After all the lettering, I turned on the music to listen to while drawing grass. It took a while and I listened to Cowboy Junkies, the Cranberries, The Hives, Coheed and Cambria, Hole, and some other stuff I can’t remember now.
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.
This is not a fight between rational people who follow science and want to protect children and Republican troglodytes who are against science, mask mandates, vaccines, and villainize scientists and educators.
Chicago Teachers Union voted to return to remote learning this week, shutting down public schools and sending over 330,000 students back to remote learning. This also sent hundreds of thousands of parents scrambling to balance between being a parent and their full-time jobs.
In Florida, they battle over mask mandates in schools and mandating vaccines. This is not the case.
In Chicago, over 90 percent of public school teachers are vaccinated. Even with the omicron variant spreading through the nation, those fully vaxxed are very unlikely to be hospitalized if they catch COVID. Chicago’s public schools require indoor masking and are also distributing high-quality N95 masks in its schools. The federal government has given public schools over $200 billion to make them safe.
Shutting down schools and going to remote learning was the right thing to do in 2020 and parts of 2021, but it had a damaging effect on our children. We can not take school away from them again, especially since we don’t have to.
Cases in children are rising, but while 830,000 people have died from COVID in this country, only about 1,000 of them have been children.
I think our first reaction when it comes to protecting kids is to shut down schools. I also think a liberal’s first reaction is to shut them down when they hear a teachers union make that call. And tribalists are quick to argue for their side’s position before they do any reading on the issue. but read on this. Talk to an actual teacher instead of the teachers’ unions.
The science still says to keep kids in schools.
Creative note: Sorry for the short blog but my power is out again and I’m trying to preserve battery life on my devices. I also have my CNN deadline today, so I may be moving my work to a Dunks or a Starbucks. This latest outage doesn’t make any fucking sense and I’m pissed. The rest of my neighborhood has power. I also didn’t fully charge my phone before going to bed last night. Dominion Energy, this is bullshit.
Music note: My power is out so I didn’t listen to any music while drawing this cartoon as I was trying to save battery power on all my devices.
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 18 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.
To be fair, no public schools in Texas are teaching that the Holocaust is a hoax. They only tried to teach that the Holocaust is a hoax.
During a training session in a North Texas school district on what books should be in classrooms and libraries, one administration official said they should have books on opposing views on the Holocaust. Gina Peddy, executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District, said that if there are going to be books on the Holocaust, then they need to follow a new Texas law mandating (thought they outlawed mandates) educators to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues.
Peddy is on a recording telling teachers and administrators, “Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979, and make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”
So, in Texas the Holocaust is “widely debated” and “controversial?” Also, since the Holocaust is fact, how are there opposing views to a fact? And, if the Holocaust is a viewpoint, then the opposing viewpoint is that it never happened? Seriously, Texas…why are you the Taliban?
A few years ago, I was invited to submit a cartoon on Donald Trump to an international contest. Stupid me didn’t look into it and went ahead and sent a cartoon. Only after I placed in the contest did I discover it was conducted by the Iranian government that had previously used a cartoon contest to promote Holocaust denial. I rejected the award along with my fellow American colleague Ed Wexler, who was also snookered into submitting. My point is, now I have to watch out for contests from Iran and Texas. Hey, do you remember when Texas had a Draw-Muhammad contest?
But just like not every Republican is a racist Trump cultist sycophant (there are at least two who are not), not everyone in Texas is a Holocaust denier (I’m looking at Nick Anderson). When Peddy brought up the mandate to have Holocaust denial bullshit in schools, one teacher asked, “How do you oppose the Holocaust?” She probably meant, how does somebody deny the Holocaust happened? I mean, we all oppose the Holocaust, right? Well, maybe not Gina Peddy. She replied to the question, “Believe me, that’s come up.” Where? Where the hell does Peddy hang out that holocaust denial comes up?
The law signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott was to prevent Critical Race Theory and anything “gay” being taught in public schools, or if something slipped through (like it’s wrong to set trans people on fire), then the school needed opposing lessons. Last year, a fourth-grade student brought home a book from Johnson Elementary (in the Peddy district) titled “This Book is Anti-Racist.” Well, the kid’s parents didn’t think anti-racism should be taught to their child and they complained. The school removed the book and planned to give the teacher a tongue lashing until someone pointed out that lashing with your tongue might be gay.
So, what is an appropriate age to teach anti-racism? In Texas, it’s probably never. Look at Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz. They ain’t learned nothing yet except how to gaslight. If the letter of the new law is followed, there needs to be opposing education to the racist border wall these fucknuts want built. It needs to be taught that it’s racist, useless, and too damn expensive. Hopefully, Ted doesn’t bail to Cancun, ironically, in Mexico, during the lesson. If anything should be learned here, if dumbass Ted Cruz can figure out how to get over a wall, then immigrants aren’t going to have any problems with it.
Meanwhile, the teacher with the anti-racism book was scolded and disciplined. And the administrator who proposed teaching Holocaust denial, they probably gave her a gift card to Applebee’s. What they should do is send her to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.
But here’s the thing, kids: If you’re not teaching about systemic racism in this nation, or even that the Civil War was fought over slavery, isn’t that like teaching Holocaust denial…or at the very least, not teaching it happened at all? Texas standards adopted in 2010 teach that slavery was among the third causes of the Civil War. Pat Hardy, a Republican member of the State Board of Education, said slavery was a “side issue” of the Civil War. He said the war was over “states’ rights.” Someone please teach Mr. Hardy that in Texas’ Declaration of Secession from the United States mentioned slavery as the cause, not once, not twice, not even three times, but 21 one freaking times. It was also mentioned as the cause in the declarations from South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Also, the vice president of the Confederacy, Alexander Stevens, said the only cause of secession was slavery. He said, “The general opinion of the men of that day [Revolutionary Period] was, that, somehow or other, in the order of Providence, the institution [slavery] would be evanescent and pass away […] Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.”
Read the part again that states, “Our new government is founded.” If you’re a Texas Republican, read it three times. If you’re Ted Cruz, have someone read it to you.
Despite the availability and access to the fact the Civil War was over slavery, a 2015 McClatchy-Marist poll said 42 percent of Americans say it wasn’t. And, 37 percent of Americans say slavery shouldn’t be taught in schools as the reason for the Civil War. So in addition to Holocaust denial in this nation, we have slavery denial and people want that shit taught. And how bad is Holocaust denial…or even ignorance?
In September, 2020, a study commissioned by Jewish Material Claims AgainstGermany, found that one in ten people under the age of 40 had never heard the word “Holocaust.” Oh, it gets worse. The study found that 63 percent didn’t know six million Jews were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Over half the respondents thought the number Jews murdered was under two million. Over half also couldn’t name one concentration camp despite there being over 40,000 of them. I can’t name all 40,000, but I can name at least one.
The survey also found that seven percent don’t know if the Holocaust happened, three percent say it never happened, and 11 percent believe Jews caused the Holocaust.
This survey proves the Holocaust should be taught in schools and fourth grade is probably not too early. While we’re on the Holocaust, we do need to teach more about black history and systemic racism. If these kids and young adults are that ignorant of the Holocaust, then how ignorant are they on racism? Black kids will eventually learn about systemic racism as they experience it because it’s still here. White kids will have the privilege of never knowing if they don’t want to know.
The Holocaust isn’t ignored in schools in places like Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and probably in Afghanistan, if the new Taliban government plans to have schools. They’re actively teaching Holocaust denial. Now, a school administrator in Texas is literally proposing that Holocaust denial be taught in her state. A Texas school administrator wants Texas to implement anti-Semitic curriculums. Texas has already approved books that label slaves as “immigrants” and “workers.” Maybe there’s one that’ll call them “prisoners with jobs.”
Texas quickly hit the brakes on the proposal to teach Holocaust denial, but for how long? Texas is already teaching ignorance in its schools. It also makes you wonder what’s being taught in Texas’ private schools. Did White Jesus fight at the Alamo? “Hand me another round of ammo, Santa. These Mexicans are really good at getting over this wall!”
Texas Republicans have been pushing extremism in their state. The governor has banned vaccine mandates. They’re anti-face masks. They’ve outlawed abortion. Eventually, they’ll probably bring back scarlet letters and force women to wear hijabs. Texas Republicans have earned the nickname “Texas Taliban.” And when you start teaching Holocaust denial, it’s not a nickname anymore.
You are the Texas Taliban.
Now, if we start rumors Holocaust denial is being taught in schools, like there are rumors Critical Race Theory is being taught even though it’s not, will parents start bum-rushing school board meetings demanding that they stop?
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 FOUR 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 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.
Whining about mask mandates is a first-world problem. The debate over vaccines is a first-world problem. People in a lot of other nations can’t debate vaccines because they don’t have access to them. Here in this country, we have the privilege of faux outrage. We have access to vaccines to refuse to take. If we didn’t have the vaccines, Republicans would have to go back to screaming about Critical Race Theory and whether or not Mr. Potato Head has a ding-dong.
White Republican males have to be the most persecuted people in the history of persecuted people. They even claim that teaching about other people’s persecution is persecuting them.
Conservatives are screaming about mask mandates in schools. They refer to masks as muzzles which only demonstrates their stupidity. They’re attacking scientists, doctors, and educators because they’re trying to save lives. The fact is, face masks do save lives. Anyone who is willing to expose their child to the coronavirus for their partisan politics should have child protective services called on them.
Meanwhile in Afghanistan, women don’t have the luxury of debating covering their faces. In Afghanistan, mandatory means mandatory. Here, you can at least opt out with a doctor’s note. Even places that require vaccinations will give you an out if you have proof of a recent negative covid test. There are no excuses in Afghanistan. Women in Afghanistan have been beaten for not covering up. When people start beating you for not wearing a face mask at Walmart, let me know.
The real irony is that the people in the United States protesting mask mandates and vaccines while shouting about freedom are closer aligned to the Taliban than they are to democracy. MAGA and the Taliban are both cults.
While our failure in Afghanistan is an international embarrassment, so is the refusal to be vaccinated in this nation. It’s a huge embarrassment to the world that so many Americans refuse to protect their children in service to their cult.
Being outraged over having to wear a face mask is a first-world problem. Your being a whiny little…baby…is a luxury.
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: here are SIX 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 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.
claytoonz 