The New York Times

Schmuck Amuck

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It’s weird how Republicans claim they love the United States Constitution, refer to themselves as “constitutionalists,” yet hate press freedom and do everything in their power to destroy it. The Supreme Court has affirmed the right to a free press time and time again, yet Republicans like Donald Trump have argued to limit press freedom, if not outright destroy it.

Donald Trump once said “It’s frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever they want to write. People should look into it.” Trump believes a free press is disgusting. The man who told more than 25,000 lies as president has often referred to legitimate news outlets as “fake news” and has called journalists the “enemies of the American people.” Fascists hate a free press and they’re the ones “looking into it.”

If you want to know what press coverage is like in a nation that doesn’t have a free press, take a look at the questions the state media in China have been asking during the Olympics. While western reporters ask about Peng Shui and why it took six weeks for Kamila Valieva’s positive drug tests to come to light, Chinese reporters were asking about the athletes’ favorite dishes and how many roast ducks would be served.

China’s press questioning Chinese government officials is like watching Donald Trump being interviewed by a goon from Fox News. How many roast ducks has Donald Trump tried to flush down a toilet?

But it’s not because of libel that Sarah Palin’s image is in the toilet. The reason Sarah Palin’s image and reputation are in the toilet is that she’s an idiot and a raging lunatic.

Sarah Palin sued The New York Times for defamation but failed to prove her case. The Supreme Court set a standard in 1964 in New York Times v. Sullivan that public figures, which Sarah Palin is, have to prove “actual malice.” A public figure must prove a defamatory statement was made “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” 

Reporters and news outlets make mistakes all the time. The most reliable news outlets in the world make mistakes, and then they own them, issue corrections, and do not cover them up. A news outlet is NOT supposed to report something they know is false, like Fox News did when they reported that those attacking the Capitol building were Antifa, Democrats, and the FBI and when they reported Dominion voting machines were corrupted.

Palin claims her reputation was damaged by the Times editorial bearing the headline “America’s Lethal Politics” that incorrectly linked her to a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that nearly killed then-U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords.

The Times quickly published a correction saying “no such link was established” and the editor then in charge of that section, James Bennet, issued a public apology.

Palin failed to prove the Times knowingly published false information. Her case was initially thrown out in 2017, but a three-judge panel of a federal appellate court in Manhattan reinstated it in 2019 saying the judge should have given Palin’s team more time to obtain emails and other evidence that might help their case.

The judge dismissed her suit while the jury was deliberating. The jury did come back with a ruling in favor of the Times.

Palin didn’t just fail to prove the Times knowingly published false information, but she also failed to explain how she was damaged. During the trial, she didn’t want footage of her Masked Singer performance to be shown as she was afraid it’d cause “unfair prejudice and confusion” in the jury. Unfortunately for Sarah Palin, the public has been prejudiced about her being a moron long before her Masked Singer appearance because she is a moron.

Palin probably expected to lose and just wanted to establish a narrative that the Times was sloppy and you can’t trust a free press. It joins the constant attacks from Donald Trump. She probably didn’t lose any money in this suit as it was probably bankrolled by billionaire goons. She had the same lawyers who argued Hulk Hogan’s invasion of privacy lawsuit that bankrupted Gawker (who published a video of Hulk Hogan having sex with a friend’s wife), which was funded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, a….wait for it…Donald Trump supporter. Thiel was seeking revenge on Gawker for outing him as gay. So, who bankrolled Palin’s lawsuit against the Times? Also, whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on your wife? How does a person get over that?

Press freedom lives another day…for now. An appeal by Palin would have to go through at least one more court before it could reach the Supreme Court, but if it gets there, things can get dicey for American journalism. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has expressed interest in revisiting the Sullivan case and Clarence Thomas has outright stated he would vote against upholding that landmark decision. Can those two goons get three more justices to go along with them to destroy press freedom…thus freedom of speech?

Here’s the thing, kids: Press freedom doesn’t belong to liberals or conservatives. It belongs to everyone. Free speech is a Constitutional right and if you try to kill it because someone said something you don’t like, you’re not just killing it for your enemies. You’ll be killing it for yourself.

But then again, people like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are dumbasses.

And in Sarah Palin’s case, she’s just Daffy.

Creative note: The second panel of this cartoon is based on Duck Amuck, an animated Merrie Melodies short written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. In the cartoon, Daffy Duck is being tormented by his animator (spoiler alert) who is revealed at the end to be Bugs Bunny. Much like Bugs, I too am a stinker.

Music Note: Today’s tooning tunes were from The Killers, The Ting Tings, The Shins, and Silverchair.

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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An Incalculable Loss

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During Memorial Day weekend, while the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus was nearing 100,000, and after he had called for the reopening of the nation’s churches, Donald Trump was playing golf. In fact, he hit the course that he owns in Virginia, twice. Quite frankly, I’m surprised he felt confident enough about his safety to play in Virginia since we can’t “protect our potatoes.” He also kinda looks like a giant sweet potato where the sweetness was substituted with racism.

The New York Times ran a front-page Sunday listing the victims of the coronavirus. Of course, they couldn’t all fit on the front page so it continued to the inside pages.

Donald Trump criticized President Obama for playing golf during the Ebola crisis. That crisis killed two people. Donald Trump promised during the 2016 election that he would be “too busy” to play golf. As it turns out now, he’s played more in three and a half years than Obama did in eight. He defended his golf playing last weekend in a rambling rant saying the media was making it sound like a “mortal sin” that he was going outside and  getting a “little exercise.” I’ve played golf. I don’t think it’s that much exercise to ride around in a golf cart. He doesn’t even walk to the green. He parks on it.

And then, Trump went on to attack President Obama for playing golf…after he had played golf. About the media’s scrutiny, Trump tweeted, “I knew this would happen!” Well, he should have known it was going to happen because he spent years attacking Obama for playing golf. What Donald Trump seems to miss was the criticism wasn’t over him playing golf. It was over him playing golf during this pandemic and as the death toll soared near 100,000. It’s hard to read between the lines if you’re incapable of even reading the lines.

About that death toll: During his golf-laden weekend at his own resort (where he got to once again charge the Secret Service for golf cart rentals), Trump spread a conspiracy theory accusing a TV news host of murder. He retweeted tweets that made fun of Nancy Pelosi’s “dentures,” that made cracks about Georgia’s Stacey Abrams “hitting every buffet” in that state,” and that called Hillary Clinton a “skank.” Do you know how many of Trump’s tweets mentioned the victims of the coronavirus? None. All his tweets were about him, skanks, Polident, and buffets. Do you remember when Trump promised after he was elected he’d be presidential? Trust me. He made that promise.

One of my colleagues, Steve Brodner, issued a challenge for American political cartoonists to draw Donald Trump teeing off on the front page of The New York Times. This is my offering.

I saw a Facebook post by a conservative MAGAt cartoonist who questioned this campaign. He wrote, “Can’t believe so many cartoonists doing someone else’s lame idea.” That guy kinda retired from drawing political cartoons, but that makes sense since he doesn’t get it’s not about one person’s lame idea. It’s a protest where the message is strengthened and made louder by the numbers involved. He gets there’s strength in numbers, right? He’s heard Trump’s lies about crowd sizes. I guess leaving a one-sentence criticism was a lot easier than actually thinking up and doing one defending his orange messiah.

I don’t know how large this campaign will become. So far, I’ve seen about 20 of these and you can see a bunch of them here at Steve’s Facebook page (again. Cartoonists. Get a website). There are some really great ones in that batch and I’m not referring to mine because my cartoon isn’t included.

I created the cartoon just for the social media campaign. I didn’t put a lot of thought into it. Afterward, I realized some of my clients might like it (one has already ran it) so I sent it to them. And since I didn’t realize it could be its own free-standing cartoon while I was doing it, I didn’t make a video of it. Sorry.

And since not everyone who reads me here follows me on social media, I figured I should go ahead and blog it.

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. 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

New Book: Tales From the Trumpster Fire

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Did You NAZI The News?

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Donald Trump demands complete and total loyalty. He believes any attacks on him are attacks on America because he’s America. He doesn’t want independent thought in the Republican Party, deeming those who criticize him as “Never Trumpers” and “human scum.” It’s as if not being a member of his cult takes away the critic’s credibility. The truth is, there are still people who respect the office and hate to see a racist, narcissistic, sexist, sophomoric, dumbass destroy it and all our cherished institutions.

In demanding loyalty, Donald Trump believes the press should only report favorably about him. Recently, he’s taken issue with Fox News. After the network reported a fact, Trump tweeted, “There’s something going on at Fox News.” He totally lost his shit when Fox published a poll showing a majority of American voters think he should be impeached. Trump lashed out in another tweet, saying, “Whoever their pollster is, they suck.” He complained that Fox is much different than it used to be in the “good old days.” I’m assuming the “good old days” when it was run by sexual harassers and assaulters. At least he still has Hannity, Tucker, Jeanine, and the morning gaggle of buttpoodles, Fox & Friends.

Trump really hates legitimate news outlets. He banned CNN’s Jim Acosta from the White House until a court ruled he can’t ban reporters. He’s labeled that network as “fake news,” along with several others. He’s screamed at and bullied reporters, especially if they’re black and female. He refers to The Washington Post as the “Amazon Washington Post,” and has sought to punish Amazon by having federal agencies not grant government contracts to the company. He calls his hometown paper The “failing” New York Times. He’s accused journalists and publications of “treason,” and he’s talked about taking away the First Amendment which protects a free press.

Now, Trump has ordered the White House to cancel its subscriptions to the Times and the Post because of their factual reporting. He ordered other government agencies to follow suit and terminate their subscriptions as well.

Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association said, “Pretending to ignore the work of a free press won’t make the news go away or stop reporters from informing the public and holding those in power accountable.”

John Kennedy got fed up with the coverage by The New York Herald Tribune and ordered that it not be delivered to the White House. A Republican congressman said, “It might be well to remind President Kennedy that on Jan. 20, 1961, he was inaugurated as president, not coronated as king.” It was revealed years later that while the subscription was canceled, Kennedy had “bootleg” copies brought to the White House until he eventually restored the subscription.

Retired four-star general Barry McCaffrey compared Trump to Mussolini and said, “The White House Trump statement telling the entire Federal Government to terminate subscriptions to the NYT and Wash Post is a watershed moment in national history. No room for HUMOROUS media coverage. This is deadly serious. This is Mussolini.”

I’m fine with Trump not reading real news. In case you’re a Republican, there is no such thing as “fake news.” If it’s fake, then it’s not news. Donald Trump, upon insisting on only reading lies and conspiracy theories, is a fake president.

But it’s in his best interest to read the Times and the Post, as they’re the two best newspapers in the country. If he doesn’t read them, how will he know how the impeachment process is really going? How will he know when he’s been impeached?

Trump’s move is further proof that we need a strong, independent, free press exposing the truth now more than ever. It was a newspaper, The Washington Post, that took down President Richard Nixon.

The Washington Post’s motto is, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” But one can argue, it’s been dark at the White House for a while now. It takes a stupid president to choose to remain ignorant.

Support the cartoonist.

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

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

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The Times Chickens Out

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The New York Times is probably the best newspaper in the United States, if not the entire world, but they have never respected editorial cartoons or cartoonists. While they have reprinted syndicated cartoons (I know this because they’ve reprinted mine), they have never employed a staff cartoonist, and for this, they are quite proud.

However, their international edition has made use of them for years, using syndicated cartoons and hiring cartoonist Patrick Chappatte. Now, after running a cartoon a month and a half ago that drew condemnation for antiSemitism, the Times has decided to stop running political cartoons entirely.

The Times would never ditch opinion columns over one offending columnist, which proves their disrespect for cartoons.

This news gained widespread attention after Chappatte, who did NOT draw the offending cartoon, published a blog post about the Times’ decision. Previously, the Times dropped using syndicated cartoons after the controversy and scolded the editor who approved it. Now, all cartoons have to go from every edition.

Chappatte points out that this isn’t just a slight upon making funny pictures, but a serious danger for all of journalism. He writes, “I’m afraid this is not just about cartoons, but about journalism and opinion in general. We are in a world where moralistic mobs gather on social media and rise like a storm, falling upon newsrooms in an overwhelming blow. This requires immediate counter-measures by publishers, leaving no room for ponderation or meaningful discussions.”

Joining those moralistic mobs on social media to condemn the “antiSemitic” cartoon were conservative cartoonists, who leap at any opportunity to attack the “failing” and “fake news” New York Times. In regards to the Times ending all political cartoons, they’re silent.

Ann Telnaes, one of two Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists employed by The Washington Post, called the Times “feeble” in a Twitter post. She also wrote, “Every online newspaper ought to have a link to its editorial cartoonists’ work on the homepage. In a sea of words, readers gravitate toward an editorial cartoon.”

My friend Ann is absolutely correct and her suggestion makes the most sense for online news outlets, which means none of them are doing it.

While I was in Raleigh two weeks ago, hanging out with several political cartoonists celebrating the life of one of our own, news came in that Gatehouse, a corporation that eats newspapers, was laying off three cartoonists in their chain. There are fewer online papers with cartoonists to highlight on their homepage. These are homepages that are less interesting.

Even more mind-boggling for me is the that not one online news publication, like The Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Vice News, Slate, Salon, Vox, etc, are employing a staff cartoonist, or even hiring a freelancer.

Readers do gravitate toward editorial cartoons. Why aren’t news outlets utilizing a feature that would draw in more readers, repeat readers, reader comments, and audience engagement? If nothing else, they should employ one just for the opportunity to win a Pulitzer Prize.

While not respecting cartoonists, news outlets do respect Pulitzers. In fact, The New York Times actually won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for…wait for it…EDITORIAL CARTOONS. The award was given to the Times for the work of two freelancers who created a graphic series for the newspaper. The Times has no use for cartoons except to pick up prestigious journalism awards from their work. Since the Times refuses to use cartoons, does this mean they’ll refuse to enter their graphics into the Pulitzer’s cartoon category?

Newspapers have been laying off cartoonists for at least two decades. There were over 150 cartoonists employed when I got into the business in 1990. Today, there’s probably less than 30. You have a better chance of becoming an NFL quarterback than of becoming an employed political cartoonist in an American newspaper.

Today, cartoonists are having to create new outlets for their work and revenue. Many are using Patreon to help generate income from reader support. I have the link below asking readers to help out if they’re willing and able. I and many others are creating new outlets for our work.

Cartoonist Matt Bors created The Nib, a daily online publication that focuses on political cartoons and graphic journalism. Rob Rogers, who was fired after 30 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for refusing to stop drawing cartoons critical of Donald Trump, is one of the brains behind Counterpoint, another online publication for political cartoons. My own endeavors to survive without a position at a daily newspaper was to create this blog, this syndicate, and gain, by accident, a new outlet for cartoons, CNN‘s weekly opinion newsletter.

The New York Times does great journalism which may be more important today than ever before. Likewise, it’s more important today than ever before to offer the best commentary, not just on Trump and threats he poses, but on all current events. The Times has abandoned one of the best forms of commentary.

What can we do? You can email the Times at editorial@nytimes.com. If you do have a subscription and decide to cancel, tell them you’re going to subscribe to The Post because they employ TWO political cartoonists.

Lastly, tweet this cartoon AT The Times. If their notifications keep annoying them over a cartoon, maybe it’ll show them how much of an impact a cartoon can have.

And maybe then they’ll start to respect political cartoons.

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!!! 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

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The Heart Of Trump

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Donald Trump doesn’t have to win the election to carry an exclusive title. He’s already First Jerk. Maybe First Ogre would be more appropriate. He’s proving himself to be a heartless, insecure human being. He can’t handle criticism and he insults people. He tweets with the reckless abandon of a teenage girl. I know this because I have nieces.

Trump has a routine. He says something horrible and then he claims he didn’t say it. He mentioned Megyn Kelly bleeding out of her whatever and then claims it didn’t mean what everyone knows it means. He calls Carly Fiorina ugly and says he wasn’t talking about her appearance. He makes fun of a reporter’s physical disability, physically mocking him, then says he’s misunderstood and that he was unaware the reporter was handicapped, even though he’s met the reporter and claims he has the world’s best memory.

Trump, like most of the GOP candidates, is a horrible person. He has attacked individuals, Hispanics, African Americans, Gays, Women and now the disabled. Lovely.

If Trump wants people to stop calling him out for being a jerk, then he should stop being a jerk. The same for lying. Stop lying. In general, Donald Trump should stop being an asshole.

Other non-related news:

My last cartoon got a lot of hits. My site says the it was shared on Facebook over 4,000 times and that counter isn’t accurate so it’s probably a lot more. It’s a good day when my site has 500 views. Saturday it had close to 4,000 and Sunday it had over 11,000. Twitter has been nice to me also. So to everyone who visits this site and shares my cartoons, thank you very much.

I like the cartoon. I think it’s very good. But I realize that one reason it went over so well is because it was the only cartoon on the shooting at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs. It had two days to hog the limelight all by itself. There will be a flood of them Monday which I’m looking forward to reading.

Again, Thank you.

Did you like this cartoon? Want to help a cartoonist make a living? Look to the right of this page and make a donation through Paypal. I need to buy pens, paper, sandwiches, and dog food. The starving cartoonist and his Beagle appreciates it. If you’ve donated in the past, THANK YOU!!!

The Gray Lady

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I was telling my favorite buddy about my idea for this cartoon. He liked the idea but his only confusion was the “Gray Lady” part. When you receive any criticism you have to be honest and ask yourself the question “does this actually work?”. Is the criticism valid? Usually when an idea is criticized there is at least some truth to the criticism. Creators can be very defensive. I know I can be. After I put my ego aside I can focus on the question and I will either rework the idea, trash it, or totally ignore the concern. This time I decided to throw caution to the wind and go with the idea as I originally intended.

Ya’ see, “Gray Lady” is the nickname for The New York Times. Maybe only news heads like myself will know that. Either way, I think it still works because Hillary is old (haha) which means she’s kinda gray.

Background for dummies:

The New York Times totally messed up a story about Hillary Clinton’s emails by making it look like she did something illegal when there isn’t any proof. That was some National Inquirer type coverage. Meanwhile some crazy private group distributed a heavily edited video to make it look like Planned Parenthood has been selling aborted baby body parts so they can buy Lamborghinis.

It doesn’t matter that either story is fake. Conservatives are clinging to them like the holy gospel. So yeah. I figured if the Times wanted to slander Hillary then I’d go to town with the cartoon. I’m just surprised she hasn’t been accused of clubbing baby seals yet.

I want to thank my friend Hilary for copy editing this cartoon. No, not the presidential candidate Hillary. Hilary (with one L) told me where the hyphen goes and that it’s “Gray Lady” and not “Grey Lady.” I know it was “Gray” over “Grey” but I wanted to double check with someone I trust.

Another note: Drawing the text for The New York Times was a total be-yotch. Most cartoonists would just take an image and plant that crap on a file in Photoshop. But I’m Clay Jones and I don’t play like that. It’s all Sharpie, Bic, card stock paper, sweat, blood, grime, organic and analog here at Claytoonz HQ, baby (except for coloring in Photoshop shut up).