War

Putin-Approved Targets

Russia claims that Ukraine attacked the Kremlin overnight with two drones in an assassination attempt on the life of President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine says it did not do it as they don’t have enough weaponry to even defend itself, less enough to attack a target 0ver 530 miles from Ukraine’s border (I research).

Russia has released footage of what appears to be a drone attack on the Kremlin, with one explosion. Russia says there are no casualties.

There have been other attacks inside Russia over the past few months. On Wednesday, a fuel depot caught fire in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, reportedly caused by a drone attack. Two freight trains were derailed in Bryansk Region, near the border with Ukraine, on Monday and Tuesday, in separate but identical incidents. The local governor said improvised explosive devices were to blame. Russia-installed officials in occupied Crimea claimed Ukrainian drones were responsible for an attack on another fuel storage facility over the weekend.

But if Ukraine is not responsible for these attacks, then who is? Maybe Russia. On April 21, Russia accidentally bombed one of its own cities, Bolgorod, near the Ukrainian border.

No matter who took this shot at the Kremlin, it’s a huge embarrassment for Russia. Anti-aircraft systems have been spotted on top of Moscow rooftops over the past year, surrounding what may be key targets like the Defense Ministry and the Kremlin. If a drone hit the Kremlin with a missile, then Russia’s air defense system is a failure. This attack sends the message to Russia’s enemies to keep trying.

“Kremlin” means “fortress inside a city.” The Kremlin complex includes five palaces, four cathedrals and is enclosed within a wall with towers. One of the palaces is the residence of the Russian president. What does it say about Russia’s ability to wage its illegal war on Ukraine when it can’t even protect its “fortress inside a city?”

Now, Russia is promising revenge on Ukraine for this…after they illegally invaded Ukraine which they have justified with lies about Nazis, and after spending over a year murdering civilians by dropping bombs and missiles on schools, apartments, nursing homes, playgrounds, hospitals, daycares, etc, etc.

Even though Vladimir Putin is a liar on the same level as Donald Trump giving an interview on Newsmax about his cognitive abilities, I’m not totally ruling out that Ukraine might be responsible for this attack. And if they are, good for them.

Music note: I didn’t listen to anything while drawing today (too much news to watch while drawing), but the Foo Fighters’ “Alone and Easy Target” is the music in the TikTok timelapse video for this.

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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State News Fake News

I quoted an everyday ordinary man-on-the-Moscow-streets in yesterday’s blog who refuses to believe Russia has committed war crimes in Bucha, and probably anywhere else. He said, “If this is not fake, my brain refuses to accept it.” Since he lives in Russia, the news he has access to probably won’t ever tell him it’s not fake. This is a person, like a Hannity viewer, who’d rather be obliviously happy and ignorant.

Russia has blocked hundreds of news and social media sites on the internet. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are blocked. Russia blocked Ukrainian news sites before the war and then crafted new legislation making it a crime to report any news the government deems fake, which is like having Kellyann Conway determine facts from “alternative” facts.

The government is also airing propaganda and lies on their state media news stations and online. Russian news consumers are being told the massacre in Bucha is staged, which is something Alex Jones would say about a school shooting. Russian state media is claiming the dead bodies are just actors, which is something Marjorie Taylor Greene would say about kids in a school shooting. Being able to find a location of an upcoming crisis to act in is a pretty amazing skill.

Chinese-owned TikTok has blocked 95 percent of posts by Russian users, citing the “fake news” law, but I guess for shits-and-giggles, it’s also blocked posts from  French President Emmanuel Macron and the United Nations. Fortunately, TikTok has not blocked my account yet so my 158 followers will not be deprived of my 30-second drawing videos set to music. You’re welcome, America.

If Russians want to discover the horrors their president is having inflicted upon the citizens of Ukraine, they have to resort to VPNs and the dark web. A VPN is a virtual private network that connects through a secondary remote server that has fewer security controls and restrictions. Usually, these are in other countries like Lithuania. A lot of people, like me 30 minutes ago, aren’t aware of VPNs, or tech-savvy enough to download and install one, or willing/able to pay for them. I know there are a lot of readers in the U.S. who refuse to pay for news and complain loudly about firewalls at The New York Times and the Washington Post. I can believe there are a lot of Russians who’ll refuse to pay extra to discover their president is murdering civilians in Bucha. I pay for four news outlets and for at least half of last week, they were all obsessed with the slappy Oscars.

The dark web is where Americans usually go to plan terrorist attacks and spread conspiracy theories about deep-state Democrats using pizza parlors to sex traffic babies. You see a lot of Pepe the Frog on the dark web but it’s a place where Russians will try to learn real news, but will probably only get into a debate over whether Chris Rock did or didn’t know Jada has alopecia.

Russians are good people. There are millions of them opposed to this war. But they’re not getting information about it because Vladimir Putin doesn’t want them to hear the truth…or to see the images of the horror he’s created.

They don’t see the wreckage of bombed hospitals and schools, or the charred skeletons left behind in Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kherson, Zhytomyr, and Bucha. In Russia, you can only hear what Putin wants you to hear about the war…except you can’t say “war.” Since early March, it’s been illegal to call the war a “war,” or describe it as an “attack” or “invasion,” and doing so can get you 15 years in a Russian prison.

What Russians are being told by their state news is that Russia is defending them from Ukrainian Nazis.

We don’t have state TV in the west. The BBC and NPR are government-funded, but government has zero control over the content. In Russia, State media is controlled and edited by the state. Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network are not controlled by a right-wing government, but they have chosen to use our guaranteed freedom of the press to act like they are. We don’t have state TV. We have Trump TV.

While Russians don’t have a choice in being ignorant about the war or buried in bullshit propaganda, many in the west have chosen to be ignorant about the war and disseminate propaganda. If you’re on Truth Social, or when they finally let you in, search hashtags for “Putin,” “War,” “Russia,” “Ukraine,” or “Bucha.” Warning: You will probably need a shower afterward.

I actually talked to someone in Russia last week who told me she didn’t know what was happening in Ukraine but knew what she was being told is a lie. She asked me not to tell her because she was actually afraid of what she’d learn. Russians know they’re being lied to and it’s horrible to find out you’re governed by liars and war criminals. Sure, we have our own experience with that, but we don’t have to support the liars and war criminals.

I hope there are people in Russia who can see my cartoons. I also hope my cartoons do a better job of exposing them to reality and the truth than they’ve done convincing MAGAts on Truth Social and other platforms.

Music note: I listened to about half of Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” album while crosshatching and coloring today’s cartoon.

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:

Blame Putin

This entire war is Vladimir Putin’s fault. It’s not the fault of Ukraine. It’s not the fault of NATO. It’s not the fault of Bananarama. And it’s not the fault of President Joe Biden. Yet, conservatives keep trying to latch on to a way to blame President Biden, and they keep coming up empty.

The first reason they have that it’s Biden’s fault is that Biden is president. I mean, it’s nice they’re acknowledging he’s the legitimate president, but that’s not a reason to blame him. You hear the goons say this never happened while Trump was president, which is true. But what would have happened if Trump had won reelection would have been the destruction of NATO, a North Korean invasion of South Korea, and Putin going on a larger land grab in Europe than just in Ukraine. For god’s sake, Trump was lobbying to get Putin back into the G7, which Obama had him removed from. The reason Putin didn’t invade Ukraine while Trump was president is that he didn’t have to.

They also say this happened because Biden is weak and Putin only respects strength. But how exactly is Biden weak? It’s Biden’s leadership that’s organized 99 percent of the world to unify and sanction Putin, his cronies, and Russia. Biden has crippled Russia’s economy.

If Biden’s weak on Putin, then what the hell was Trump to Putin? Biden has been tough and has issued criticism on him repeatedly. Trump has NEVER said a bad word about Putin. In fact, when other people say bad things about Putin, Trump defends him. Trump defended Putin when Bill O’Reilly called him a “murderer.” Trump defended Putin when our government says he meddled in our election. While standing next to Putin, Trump took his side over American intelligence’s accusation that Putin tampered with our election. Right before this war began, Trump called Putin a “genius.” Trump has yet to say one bad thing about Putin since this war began nearly two weeks ago. Donald Trump even tried to give Vladimir Putin a free penthouse back in 2016.
The goons may be right in that Putin doesn’t respect weakness as he never respected Trump.

Some Republicans say Biden hasn’t done enough for Ukraine, yet Biden has increased military weaponry to that nation without ever holding it up in a quid-pro-quo for political dirt on an opponent. Unlike Donald Trump, President Biden has not extorted President Volodymyr Zelensky.

My question to the president’s critics is: What would you have done better? What would Trump have done better? What wrong move has Biden taken? You can’t point out anything that would improve this situation. Oh, you would ban Russian oil from being imported into the United States? Sure, and right after that, you’d blame President Biden for increased gas prices, which is actually an international problem.

When you claim Vladimir Putin would have behaved differently if Trump was in office at this time, how do you know? When did you become experts on Vladimir Putin? There are diplomats and foreign policy experts who’ve been studying Putin for decades who can’t tell you what he’s going to do next. Putin can’t tell you what Putin is going to do next. But I know what Trump would have done. Trump would give Putin everything he’s ever asked for.

Vladimir Putin is a liar. He’s not a man of his word. He doesn’t have any clue what he’s doing. He’s not even sure what his objective is. And after years of being accused of being savvy, smart, manipulative, and a genius, we’ve discovered over the span of less than two weeks that Vladimir Putin is a worse military strategist than Saddam Hussein.

Vladimir Putin is also a murderer and a war criminal. This is an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation. This war has killed thousands of innocent civilians, including children. He’s targetting civilians intentionally. He’s destroying Ukraine for his ego and to save face. And you want to blame someone else?

The blame here lies entirely on Vladimir Putin. Don’t you dare take that away from him.

Music Note: My random player started on Eddie Money and I just let it keep rolling for a while. An Eddie Money/Heart concert was my very first one if you don’t count the times my mother took me as a child to see an Elvis impersonator or Charlie Pride.

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:

A Trumpian Oath

cjones01162020

Remember when people protesting war or American involvement in the Middle East would chant, “No blood for oil?” How quaint, right? Now, Donald Trump might ask, “How much oil?”

When you serve in the U.S. military, you go without question. You obey orders. And you serve your Commander in Chief, no matter if you like, love, or loathe him. No matter if he’s a veteran himself or a draft dodger. Now, it doesn’t even matter if your Commander in Chief is a bone-spur citing draft dodger who feuds with Gold Star families and P.O.W.’s while claiming they’re not heroes. Now, it doesn’t matter if your Commander in Chief is selling your ass to the highest bidder.

When you’re a parent and you watch your kid go into the military, while hoping they serve with dignity and pray for their safety, you also hope their Commander in Chief has good judgment that places their lives in danger. You hope their Commander is worthy of being their Commander in Chief. You hope their Commander in Chief isn’t a treasonous and corrupt dumbass.

During the presidential campaign of 2016, Donald Trump, who is now our Commander in Chief (sic) decried George W. Bush for not taking all of Iraq’s oil, demonstrating a serious lack of understanding the purpose of our military.

After calling for pulling troops out of Syria, Donald Trump as Commander in Chief (sic) changed his mind and allowed a few to remain to “protect the oil.”

Donald Trump has demanded that South Korea pay more, not just a larger share of defense cost, but to the U.S. for American troops to stay in that nation. Or what? As Commander in Chief (sic), he’ll pull them out?

Now, Donald Trump is boasting that he, as Commander in Chief (sic), got Saudi Arabia, a very repressive nation that is not a democracy or one that shares any of our values, to pay $1 billion for the increased troops he’s sending to that nation.

Talking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News, because he’s afraid of real journalists and news outlets, Trump said he told Saudi Arabia, “Listen, you’re a very rich country. You want more troops? I’m going to send them to you, but you’ve got to pay us. They’re paying us. They’ve already deposited $1 billion in the bank.”

Of course, nobody knows which bank that is or has accounted for that statement. It may be as whimsical as Trump’s “four embassies” comment. Also, we need to see Trump’s taxes and other financial statements because, how do we know he’s not getting some of that money? This is Donald Trump we’re talking about here. He’s corrupt.

If you’re a parent of a service member, do you honestly trust that your kid’s life isn’t on the line for Donald Trump’s pocketbook? Do you trust this man isn’t using your child as his own personal mercenary? It’s not like any of his kids are putting their asses on the line.

Whether it’s personal or not, the United States military is not to be used as mercenaries. Donald Trump is not worthy of being Commander in Chief. No blood for oil? How about, no blood for Trump?

Unfortunately, Donald Trump is Commander in Chief. And that’s just sick.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

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Drones Are Expensive

cjones06242019

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.

Watch Me Draw.

A Sinking Argument

cjones06182019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are you ready to do it again?

Be Complicit

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

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch Me Draw.