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If you were a Russian operative…

Let’s suppose you were a Russian operative who got himself elected to President with the instruction to destroy the country from within.

You’d fire a huge percentage of federal employees for no reason, fill the government with incompetent people whose only qualification is loyalty to you, ignore the rule of law and act as a dictator, raise tariffs and taxes to destroy the economy, do your best to pit Americans against other Americans, threaten to withdraw from NATO, and otherwise alienate the country from all its allies.

Yeah, like that would ever happenLet’s suppose you were a Russian operative who got himself elected to President with the instruction to destroy the country from within.

You’d fire a huge percentage of federal employees for no reason, fill the government with incompetent people whose only qualification is loyalty to you, ignore the rule of law and act as a dictator, raise tariffs and taxes to destroy the economy, do your best to pit Americans against other Americans, threaten to withdraw from NATO, and otherwise alienate the country from all its allies.

Yeah, like that would ever happen.

cartoon by Jeff Darcy
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The goal

Clay Bennett
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So much for that Oath

People who understand the Constitution: “Hey, only Congress can control the budget. The President can’t order things Congress budgeted to not be paid. The President doesn’t get to decide spending issues. It’s in the Constitution!”

Republicans in Congress: “Oh, THIS Constitution that we are currently ripping up in your face?”

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Isn’t this what you voted for?

Jen Sorensen
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No Honeymoon for Trump

When a President takes office, there is a “honeymoon period” where the polls are favorable and everyone is looking forward to the new person in the White House.

Donald Trump is only the second President to enter office with negative poll numbers. The first was (checks notes) Donald Trump.

Trump is the only President (since they started doing these polls) who never reached a 50% approval rating the entire time he was in office. His highest rating was still lower than Obama’s lowest rating.

He lost the popular vote the first time, lost it by even more the second time, and although he won this time, it was with less than 50% of the vote (thanks to third party candidates).

So when Trump people say he has the people’s support, that’s not true. He has never had a majority of Americans supporting him. Never.

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Lying in state

Rob Rogers
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Never given freely

It’s important to remember, as our old pal Gil O’Teen tells us, that rights have never been given freely in the history of this planet. Those in power will do whatever it takes to keep that power.

Mind you, I personally am not in favor of violence to get change unless it is absolutely necessary (like you live in a literal dictatorship and there is no other option). But in a democracy, you should be able to get change with disruptive protests, civil disobedience, lawsuits, and non-violent illegal means (such as whistleblower activities).

It’s also important to remember that our human rights to be treated fairly and justly have always existed. Whenever I hear someone say something like, “Well, men gave women the right to vote,” I reply “If I steal your car and then give it back to you, does that mean I should be congratulated and rewarded for giving it to you?”

So yeah, fight for your rights. It’s the only way you can get them.

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Criminal returns to scene of the crime

Clay Bennett
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Best and Worst Animated Films of 2024

Here we go again!

In the 80s, I started a magazine called “Animato!” that later grew quite large and popular. I got to meet and interview great animators like Chuck Jones and Ralph Bakshi but later sold the magazine, and it went on to even bigger successes until the internet killed all magazines.

So I’m still an animation fan, but it’s basically impossible to see all the films and all the animated TV shows these days unless you’re a full-time animator or animation historian, I guess.

These days, with so much CGI, we can debate what an “animated film” even is, but generally the accepted definition is that the main characters must be animated — not just the monsters or effects. (And “motion capture” doesn’t count.)

So here’s my annual end-of-the-year list of best and worst animated films (based on their Rotten Tomatoes score). Ties are broken by number of reviews, and you have to have at least 10 reviews to make my list.

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (100%)
Look Back (100%)
Flow (97%)
The Wild Robot (97%)
Memoir of a Snail (94%)
Paddington in Peru (93%)
Inside Out 2 (91%)
Transformers One (89%)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (86%)
Ultraman Rising (86%)
The Day the Earth Blew Up (85%)
Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle (75%)
Kung Fu Panda 4 (71%)
That Christmas (66%)
Thelma the Unicorn (63%)
Moana 2 (61%)
Despicable Me 4 (56%)
Saving Bikini Bottom (56%)
Mufasa: The Lion King (55%)
Hitpig! (55%)
The Tiger’s Apprentice (53%)
If (50%)
The Most Precious of Cargoes (50%)
Spellbound (46%)
Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (44%)
The Garfield Movie (37%)
Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate (9%)

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Same as it ever was

Matt Wuerker