Tennessee

Uppity in Tennessee

If Republican voter suppression laws aren’t effective enough, they’ll just expel the people black voters elect. That’s what they’re doing in Tennessee.

Three members of the Tennessee legislature protested in the well of the House, demanding tougher gun laws in the wake of the March 7 shooting at Covenant School in Nashville that killed six. They interrupted the legislative session chanting, “No action, no peace.” They were found in violation of House rules of decorum and procedure. Their ID access to the capitol building was revoked and two of them were stripped of their committee assignments.

Two of the protesting members are young black men and one is an older white woman. Two of them were expelled from the legislature last night. Guess which two.

Justin Pearson and Justin Jones (no relation to me, I think) were kicked out of the legislature despite being duly-elected members. Now, about 200,000 Tennesseans, mostly black, are without representation in the state House. Gloria Johnson survived an attempt to expel her by one vote. She credited her survival to the color of her skin.

Tennessee Republicans suck at protecting their citizens from gun violence, but are great at saving them from Critical Race Theory, drag queens, and uppity-elected black men.

One Republican compared their protest to the January 6 insurrection and said it was worse. Republicans who actually aided that insurrection have NOT been expelled and are still in Congress proposing more insurrections. Some of them even got promoted to more prestigious committees despite being supporters of terrorists and despite being lunatics and morons.

Republicans also claim that prosecuting Donald Trump for breaking many many oh so many laws is political and an attempt to keep him from being president. Yet, here they are expelling black Democrats members AFTER they’ve been elected.

And, the only way Tennessee Republicans had the number of votes to do this is because of gerrymandering. Sure, Tennessee is a red state that Trump won with 60 percent of the vote in 2020, but Republicans control the House by three-quarters. Tennessee is red, but not as red as the House.

Republicans would rather expel elected black members of the legislature than do anything about school shootings, and from a previous ban they installed, it won’t be included in future school textbooks.

So what now for the two who have been expelled? They can run for their seats again in special elections. Their districts may even appoint them to temporarily fill their own vacancies. I hope they do that. I hope no Democrat runs against them in their primaries. I want to see these two young men back in the Tennessee legislature to show Republicans that they can not defy the will of the people.

This was a strict party-line vote. Only Republicans voted to expel these Democrats. This was entirely partisan. When one party starts removing duly-elected members of an opposing party, it’s fascism. And in this case, it’s also racism.

On Justin Pearson’s first day in the House, he wore a dashiki to honor his African heritage which he said that without, he never would have accomplished becoming a member of the state legislature. One of his Republican colleagues took to the floor to denounce the dashiki being worn in the House.

So, did they expel Pearson for the dashiki? Of course not. They expelled him and Justine Jones for being black.

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

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Tennessee Drag

Republicans aren’t worried about our nation being attacked by Russia through our elections. They’re not worried about white nationalist terrorists who try to overturn an election and install a fascist Oompa Loompa as a dictator. They’re not worried about school shootings of which there have been at least seven of this year (96 mass shootings in total over the past two months). What they are afraid of are drag queens.

Over the past several months, Republicans have been on a warpath for drag queens. What did drag queens do? Did they engage in an information campaign to elect a racist lying pussy-grabbing grifting moron to the presidency? No, Russia did that. Did they commit an insurrection by attacking Congress and try to install the losing candidate? No, white nationalist MAGAts did that. Did they spend months lying and feeding mistrust in our democratic elections to the entire nation, saying that Trump won when he lost? No, Fox News did that. Did they steal classified documents and store them in the basement of a country club then obstruct justice and lie to the National Archives and Justice Department about it? No, Donald Trump did that. Did drag queens inflict this nation with Nickelback, Bryan Adams, Justin Beiber, and Avril Lavigne? No, Canada did that. Did a drag queen pad his resume and lie about everything on it in order to win an election to Congress? Well, yeah…one of them did that. But everything else, they’re innocent of.

Hell, they’re not even responsible for other plagues on this nation such as the Kars-4-Kids commercial or that other one that sings “I have a structured settlement but I need cash now.” The only phone number I have memorized is 877 cash now.

The truth is, drag queens haven’t hurt anyone but if you listen to Republicans, they’re an incarnate evil. Several states are attempting to pass laws limiting drag shows and Tennessee is about to become the first.

“Thinking about the children,” the yee-haw fuckers that Tennessee calls Republican state legislators passed a bill that nearly bans drag shows. Passed along party lines and referring to drag shows as “adult cabaret performances,” Republicans have basically banned drag shows on public property and made it a crime to perform in drag before a child.

State Senator Jack Johnson, whose name means masturbating a penis, said, “I am carrying the legislation to protect children from being exposed to sexually explicit drag shows that are inappropriate for minor audiences. It is similar to laws that prohibit children from going to a strip club.” But not all drag shows are sexually explicit. They’re usually exaggerated and silly, which Governor Bill Lee, who’s promised to sign the bill, should know…since he once dressed in…wait for it, yeah you see it coming…here it is…drag.

Back when he was in college, Governor Lee dressed in drag. A spokesgoon for Ms. Lee, I mean, Mr. Lee, said drag shows are “obscene sexualized entertainment” while what the governor was doing is “lighthearted school traditions.”

Hypocrisy is a Republican tradition.

But if drag shows are sexual and obscene and Republican college students in wings and dresses are lighthearted, then what was it when Rudy Giuliani dressed in drag so Donald Trump could hit on him?

I can not fathom any drag performance being as awkward and disturbing as Donald Trump sticking his face between Rudy Giuliani’s fake boobies and giving a big sniff. Yikes! My concern is that it was in public where children may have been present. Even adults shouldn’t be exposed to Trump motorboating Giuliani.

There are at least 14 yee-haw states looking to restrict or outright ban drag shows. In addition to Tennessee, there are legislative efforts being made in the red states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida, Texas, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Arizona, Afghanistan, Montana, and South Carolina. Guess how many fucknut red states are pushing legislation to protect schools from mass shootings?

If Republicans really care about children being exposed to inappropriate sexualized explicitness stuff, then they should outlaw children being taken to Hooters. Hooters is to strip clubs what Maxim Magazine is to Playboy, but with chicken wings. I took my son to Hooters on his 18th birthday because it’s my job as his father to embarrass him as much as possible, but you don’t take young kids to Hooters…except people do. They have a kids menu. On that menu are chicken tenders, sliders, buffalo shrimp, and boneless chicken wings. Now, there’s the outrage.

Forget drag shows. Tennessee Republicans should ban boneless chicken wings because they’re NOT chicken wings. That’s dishonest advertising. While they’re at it, they should ban burrito bowls and taco bowls because they’re not burritos or tacos. They’re bowls. I’m still mixed on whether or not hot dogs are sandwiches.

Republicans are also outraged about Drag Queen story hour, which isn’t that widespread but it’s not sexual or obscene at all, unless you think a guy in a dress is obscene. The biggest threat to Republicans from Drag Queen Story Hour is that it teaches kids to be tolerant and not to grow up and become homophobic Republican assholes.

Republicans behind the legislative efforts to ban drag shows say they’re not banning anything, but that’s a lie too. It’s a First Amendment violation. Let’s say you are a guy and you want to wear a dress. You’re gay or even a performer, you just choose to wear a dress. These states are outlawing that. They are telling you what you can and can’t wear in public. Wait for the first public protest against this bill in Tennessee where all the protesters are dudes in dresses. They won’t be performing but they will be breaking state laws.

Here’s how they should protest: Perform a public drag show and when the cops show up, tell them you’re female. Make them look. But maybe Tennessee will create a penis patrol unit (haha, unit) of the state police.

I believe in freedom. I believe in America. And if a man wants to wear a dress, I believe he shouldn’t be persecuted for it, whether by hate groups or the government (often the same thing). Every man should be free to wear a dress. Every man should be free to accessorize. Every man should be free to work it…just like Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

Fun fact: I’ll be in Tennessee for a few days in a couple of weeks. I plan to wear pants.

Music note: I listened to Queen and honestly, that’s just a coincidence.

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.

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Burning Down The Maus

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Maus is a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman about the Holocaust. It’s very dark and disturbing, you know because it’s about the Holocaust. A proxy for the author is a mouse who interviews his mouse father about his experience in the Holocaust. The Nazis are depicted as cats. The McMinn County School board in Tennessee has pulled the book from the eighth-grade curriculum because they believe either eighth-graders are too young to learn about the Holocaust, they want to protect Nazis because 60 percent of the country are Trumpers, or they’re all cat people.

Trip advisors advise that the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. is fine for 12-year-olds, though there are parts of the museum that has been determined safe for ages as young as eight. I think kids in the eighth grade would be fine with learning about the Holocaust from Maus. In fact, I think that’s an excellent way to start being educated on the subject. Besides, kids in the eighth grade have the internet. They all have smartphones…OK, maybe not in Hooterville, Tennessee, but I bet they at least have Animal Planet and they’ve seen how giraffes jump on top of each other. I bet half of them have seen Inglourious Basterds. If they can handle giraffe sex and Brad Pitt bashing Nazis’ brains in with baseball bats, then they can handle Maus.

Can the school board in Tennessee at least appreciate the irony of banning books about people who banned books? Hello? Is anyone home?

The Tennesse troglodytes aren’t the only thuglicans running amuck. Neil Young has been standing on his principles for decades, long before Joe Rogan realized he could turn a failed acting career into a successful racist conspiracy-theory-spreading podcast career. And now, the troglodytes have canceled Neil Young in favor of Joe Rogan.

Many years ago, Mr. Young wrote a song called “Southern Man” which covered racism in the southern United States. The song was so strong that it pissed off Lynyrd Skynyrd who wrote the greatest answer song in music history, “Sweet Home, Alabama.” Funny enough, there was never a feud between Young and Skynyrd. They had fun taking shots at each other but were actually friends and fans of each others’ music. Lynyrd Skynyrd defended the south, but also wrote their share of anti-racism songs, and at least one anti-gun song. I digress. The point is, Neil Young has principles.

Now, Spotify is singing it doesn’t need Mr. Young around anyhow, because Old Neil put her down.

Neil Young demanded that Spotify remove his music from their service unless they removed Joe Rogan’s racist and ignorant podcast, which Spotify had just signed to an exclusive multi-gazongo million-dollar deal. Rogan’s podcast is wildly popular and might be the number-one podcast in the nation, and in close competition with Steve Bannon’s among racists. Neil Young has written great music for decades and has influenced bands like Pearl Jam, but it’s not like the kids are buying his albums anymore. C’mon, he’s 76. So, guess which one Spotify picked.

Despite moving poisonous content from its platform in the past, Spotify chose to stick with Rogan and his racist conspiracy theories. Did you catch the show earlier this week when white Joe Rogan led a rant explaining what does and does not define a black person? According to Rogan, they can only come from the “deepest and darkest” places of Africa. But yeah, Spotify kicked Mr. Young to the curb. But so what? Give us some more of those Rogan explanations why African Americans aren’t black people, Spotify. That’s good stuff (this is heavy sarcasm, slow kids).

Of course, all the cancel-culture whining mofos are in euphoria over this. They’re still pissed off at Mr. Young for denigrating racists in “Southern Man.”

I’m a casual fan of Neil Young’s music. I’m a bigger fan of the person he is. I was in a band once that played a pretty good version of “Down by the River” and I was in another band that played a crappy version of “Rocking in the Free World.” I love a lot of his music, most of all, “Harvest Moon,” which I covered all by myself on acoustic guitar. Neil Young kicks ass. I just realized that I’m not a casual fan of his music. I’m a huge fan. And being a sloppy guitar player, I should be.

Neil Young has what we’re lacking in this nation. Principles, ethics, and dignity. He stood his ground and lost money. Spotify traded in its principles for profit and in the process, contributed so much ignorance and poison to the nation. And who said the Swedes can’t be capitalists? Ban books? We need to bring in more books that are disturbing and educational. We need more education, not less. There are too many Joe Rogans out there and not enough Neil Youngs. Hey, have the Tennessee goons banned Neil Young’s “Southern Man” yet?

I hope Spotify will remember that a cartoonist man don’t need them around anyhow.

Music Note: It was Neil Young. Duh.

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.

Watch me draw:

Gatlinburg Wildfires

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Parts of the South are currently suffering from record droughts and wildfires are burning in every southeastern state. Wildfires in Gatlinburg and surrounding communities in eastern Tennessee has damaged hundreds of buildings and forced thousands to evacuate their homes overnight. More than 14,000 people have evacuated Gatlinburg alone.

A big cause for all of this is Climate Change. Drier summers lead to more fires. Ignoring and denying Climate Change doesn’t work as the world literally will burn around you.

Conservatives love to point at snowfall and cold winters as proof Climate Change isn’t real and it’s all a big hoax. Republican senator Jim Inhofe is actually the ranking member of the Senate committee for the environment. This knucklehead once threw a snowball on the senate floor to prove Climate Change doesn’t exist. I challenge Senator Inhofe to take a snowball to Gatlinburg this week and give it a toss there.

Our planet has gone through ages of discovering and enlightenment. I’m concerned that we’re entering one in this nation that’s an age of denial and stupidity.  Stupidity has lobbyists.

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