COVID-19 Cartoons, Memes, and Shenanigans Part 2

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[klein_roeschen]

Translation: Hm? I was just crowded with 100 other people in front of the ice cream parlor

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[Smash!]

 

Translation:

[Kids] Us all: How long does it take [until the lockdown is over]?

[Parents] Federal Council: Until we‘re there!

 

Background: Every kid in Switzerland hates hiking, especially in the Mountains. This exchange is typical on a hike when the kids keep asking how long it takes until the next rest stop and the parents losing their patience and just answer with „until we‘re there!“

 

[mention]klein_roeschen [/mention] I love Ruthe!

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"Butt Bulb"

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This is a bonus cartoon I drew today. For some reason, bonus cartoons usually happen on Tuesdays.

Right when I thought of this idea, I cracked up laughing. If I can make myself laugh, hey. Of course, that could also mean I’m truly demented and been shut in too long. But, while sketching out the template for this, I realized we’re talking about two different types of bulbs.

When Donald Trump was talking about bulbs that make him look orange, he was talking about LED bulbs. When he was talking about bulbs helping fight the coronavirus, he was talking about UV bulbs. LED bulbs do have some UV but they’re not identified as UV bulbs. I thought this was still funny enough for me to say, “So what” and continue along with it. But I figured if one of the three people I bounced it off of said I shouldn’t do it, then I wouldn’t do it.

They all said go. One of them was horrified but she still said go.

Here’s another funny thing: I got an email this morning from one of my clients asking if I could do some cartoons that are not on Donald Trump.

During this pandemic, I’m offering my cartoon service for free to newspapers and other news outlets. Several are taking advantage of this with some even telling me they probably won’t become paid subscribers when this is over. That doesn’t bother me as it comes with the territory.

I received the email this morning after today’s Damn Yankees cartoon went out. The editor explained they’re in a red state and his readers can’t handle Trump cartoons. Those weren’t his exact words, but you get it. I do feel kinda bad if he can’t use any of my cartoons because there are so many on Trump. The next one’s probably going to be on Trump too.

I even got one email from a staffer of a different publication after his editor took me up on my offer. He wrote, “My editor will never use any of your cartoons. He’s a right-winger. This place sucks.”

I do want to make my clients happy. I do want to give them cartoons on a variety of subjects. I realize I draw a LOT of cartoons on Trump. And, I’m not really that fond of drawing Donald Trump. Also, it’s not that these editors are pro-Trump themselves. They tend to be editors of smaller papers in an industry that’s been struggling for over two decades. By the time I was leaving The Free Lance-Star in 2012, ANY reader complaint got a personal ass-kissing phone call from the editor. The editor who wrote me the email this morning is a really nice guy who I know isn’t a Trump sycophant. He’s looking out for his business. I don’t get mad at these editors and publishers. Another thing is, I can’t tell an editor I know his community better than him. I also can’t tell him to run my work despite it being a threat to his business and maybe even his own personal safety.

But here’s the thing, kids: I gave up a while back worrying about how often I draw Donald Trump. I have lost clients because of Trump and my being too liberal. I have editors reply to my solicitations with hostility. To my political cartoonist colleagues, have you ever been called a “libtard” by a newspaper editor? I have.

Last year, Canadian cartoonist Michael de Adder (who does incredible work), claimed he lost his contract with the Brunswick News, where he was their featured cartoonist for 17 years, because of a cartoon he drew on Donald Trump he never even submitted to that newspaper. While he received international attention for this, it’s really a lot more common than the press made it out to be…which they should be aware of because they’re the press. Dropped for a cartoon criticizing Donald Trump? Please. That’s a Wednesday for me.

I’ve had editors and other people tell me that I would have more clients if I was middle of the road or even a right-winger. I even had a few suggest I draw right-wing and left-wing cartoons. They don’t get it. While it’s true I would have more clients this is about me being me and as irreverent and weird as possible. It’s about being honest. It’s also about having fun. What’s the point of drawing boring political cartoons?

I was with Creators Syndicate for 12 years and they were great to me, but I didn’t make enough money to survive without a job (I had just been laid off). I decided to start my own syndicate and not share the money. But, while doing that I decided since I didn’t work for a newspaper anymore, I was going to do whatever the hell I wanted. I was going to have as much control over my work as possible. So, financial hits don’t dictate how I do my cartoons. I will lose money to keep my soul.

There are times where I decided to do something that’s not on Trump out of concern that I’ve done too many recently. It’s also a good break for me. But I’ve mostly stopped worrying about that. During this time, and I don’t just mean during the pandemic, covering this specific president (sic) is extremely important. My work will not be dictated by a bunch of readers afraid of reading real news. Why should I cater to an audience for whom racism is not a deal-breaker? Why should I worry about what people think who support such a vile president (sic)?

Anyway, what’s really funny is that after complaining that I draw too many Trump cartoons, they got this one.

 

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"Where's Mike Pence?"

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Where’s Mike Pence been? Yesterday, he was at the Mayo Clinic.

Pence, who leads the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force visited the clinic yesterday and violated their policy that everyone who enters has to wear a face mask. He also violated the guidelines of the…wait for it…White House’s Coronavirus Task Force. Is there really a task force or is it just as empty a gesture as Pence’s photo-op yesterday at the Mayo Clinic?

Why didn’t Pence wear a face mask? Does he think he’s better than everyone else? In a photo where he’s talking to doctors, staffers, and patients, he’s the only person not wearing a mask. Did he not wear one because Donald Trump doesn’t? Once, when Donald Trump moved a glass of water from the table to the floor, Pence quickly followed and did the exact same thing. Pence, who interrupts his own lies to praise the “leadership” of Donald Trump will one day have his photo in dictionaries for “sycophant.”

In a tweet, the Mayo Clinic said Pence and his staff were aware of the policy before they entered. That tweet has since been deleted.

Mike Pence defended his position with mind-boggling stupidity in an extremely pompous statement exhibiting his disrespect to the clinic and indifference to the seriousness of the situation. Mike Pence and Donald Trump have an extremely hard time faking empathy.

Pence said, “I didn’t wear a mask because President Trump doesn’t wear a mask, and I need to follow suit and appear like a tough guy as well. Wearing a mask will just undercut our argument to reopen the nation, which we’ve issued contradicting statements for, but yet our base is totally rabid about. Plus, Jesus will save me from the coronavirus…thanks to the leadership of President Trump. Also, there’s still a chance the coronavirus is a Democratic hoax, unlike gay cooties.”

OK, he didn’t actually say any of that except for the part about gay cooties. His reason for not wearing a mask is that he’s regularly tested and said, “Since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you.”

Yeah, just make sure you say it and don’t spray it, Mike.

There’s a lot to dissect here. First, with a free tip: If you enter a room full of doctors, doctors of such high standing that they work for the Mayo freaking Clinic, and they’re all wearing masks, put on a fucking mask, you selfish sycophantic moron. When you watch the movie Outbreak, you don’t see Dustin Hoffman maskless and petting the monkey. You don’t want to end up like Kevin Spacey, either the one in the movie or reality.

But the first thing that occurred to me and many others is…you don’t wear the mask over your eyes. I know, they’re Republicans and IF they do happen to be smart enough to know you wear the mask over your nose and mouth and NOT your eyeballs, they’re not intelligent enough to say something stupid like they didn’t wear a mask because they wanted to look people in the eye. When that future dictionary comes out, they can use the same photo for Pence under “Dumbass.”

While not wearing a mask to look people in the eyes is stupid, it’s outright dangerous to enter a medical facility without one.

Mike Pence defends himself by saying he’s “regularly tested.” Maybe his stupidity has been caused by the cotton swab being pushed too far up his nostril. But, while Pence is regularly tested, that doesn’t mean you’re immune. It doesn’t mean you can’t catch it between the test and entering the clinic…or at one of those stupid White House press conferences where everyone’s standing shoulder to shoulder and sharing one microphone. It also doesn’t mean you can’t catch it while crawling up Donald Trump’s ass.

Republicans are in a rush to open the nation back up for business because this economy is destroying Donald Trump’s reelection bid. Not wearing a mask in a photo-op hurts the argument that the virus will just disappear because if more people follow Trump and Pence’s lead, they won’t wear masks and the resurgence of the virus will be much stronger and quicker. Guess what happens then? We close the nation again and probably just in time for the November election. I bet Vice-President Elizabeth Warren will wear a mask.

Everyone needs to wear a mask when they go out. They also need to practice social distancing. Pence is doing neither in the photo. By not wearing a mask, Mike Pence endangered the entire clinic and not just any clinic. He endangered the Mayo Clinic.

CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, said, “When you get a negative test, that is a point in time.”

Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist who treated former vice president Richard B. Cheney, told CNN Pence’s actions were “so wrong, so tone-deaf.” He said, “The vice president wouldn’t disrespect a synagogue and not wear a skull cap when he walked into a temple or he wouldn’t refuse to remove his shoes when he walked into a mosque. Hospitals are our new holy places and he’s completely disrespecting the sacrifice that the nurses and the docs and the staff in hospitals make by not wearing a mask. What is he saying to them?” I don’t know, Pence might enter a synagogue without a skull cap or a mosque without…wait. Pence wouldn’t enter a mosque anymore than he’d visit the Tenderloin. Actually, that’s when he’d wear a mask.

What Mike Pence is saying to the staff at the Mayo Clinic is that he doesn’t give a fuck. Mike Pence promotes himself as a Christian and Jesus freak while serving a man who boasts about grabbing women by their “pussies.” He serves a man who’s cheated on all three of his wives and paid off porn stars and Playmates through dummy corporations. He serves a man who can’t say a sentence without a lie in it. Mike Pence ignores the Ten Commandments in favor of Trump’s Commandments. He is a phony and he’ll sell anything and anyone out for his ambitions. That includes his phony principles and the safety of everyone at the Mayo Clinic.

While Mike Pence may be looking them in their eyes saying “thank you,” the lack of a mask says, “I don’t really care about you, your patients, or all the work and sacrifices you’ve put in fighting this virus and saving lies.” What Mike Pence told the entire nation is, “I really don’t care, do you?”

Anand Swaminathan, a doctor, tweeted, “Not wearing a mask isn’t about being brave. It’s about being pompous, arrogant + self-absorbed. It’s anti-science. The mask isn’t to protect you. It’s to protect everyone else from you, VP. It’s clearly showing that he doesn’t care about anyone else.”

Do Mike Pence and Donald Trump believe people don’t need protection from them? Because guess what. This entire nation needs protection from Trump/Pence.

 

[Ozlsn]

This made me laugh much too much.

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[Ozlsn]

I am still holding out hope for one running festival to go ahead...

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