SHARE crapper…

On September 1st, 2017 – precisely one month before the mass shooting in Las Vegas on October 1st, 2017 – South Carolina representative Jeff Duncan introduced the laughably-titled “Sportsmen’s Heritage And Recreational Enhancement Act”, (a.k.a. the “SHARE Act”), claiming its purpose is:

To provide for the preservation of sportsmen’s heritage and enhance recreation opportunities on Federal land, and for other purposes.

Yeah, right.

Before I get too far along with my diatribe, I’ll pause for a few minutes and give the reader a chance to scan this ridiculous piece of crap, er, uh, I meant, bill. I’ve inserted a link to the bill’s text right here. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Alrighty then, let’s get started…

Heritage? My apologies Mr. Duncan, but I’m having a really hard time applying the terms ‘heritage’ and ‘recreational enhancement’ to your misguided efforts to relax existing restrictions/prohibitions on so-called “firearm silencers” and armor-piercing ammunition already on the books. Let’s face it, you’re a paid shill of the NRA and just doing their bidding.

You want to reduce the risk of hearing loss for those intrepid souls out stalking Bugs this fall? How’s about askin’ Elmer to wear some f*cking ear muffs? Help me understand – exactly – how armor-piercing ammunition is going to “enhance” the experience for anyone out tromping around in the woods? Tell me now, is Bambi sportin’ a DuPont™ Kevlar® vest these days? Somehow, I doubt it – she lacks opposing digits!

OK, so what’s Mr. Duncan’s pathetic bill really about? In short, it’s all about 88.8 guns per 100 people in the United States, (a whopping 62% increase over Yemen, the country in second place on the list, with 54.8 guns per 100 people, and a population of approximately 27.5M, according to 2016 estimates), and the bazillions of dollars spent to get there. Preserving heritage? No! Preserving revenue streams? Yes!

With roughly 5% of the world’s population, U.S. citizens own somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the world’s firearms in private possession. Why? Well, it seems Americans love, love, love, just love ‘dem guns. Listen, I get it, I just don’t happen to agree with it – gun ownership is codified in the Bill of Rights; it’s literally woven into the cultural DNA of this country – and past efforts to restrict this particular right have been effectively squelched for decades by what can only be described as an overly-enthusiastic gun lobby.

…and now I fear future efforts will continue to be squelched, despite renewed outrage over the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history. I shouldn’t even have to say this, (because it’s so self-evident), but Americans have way, way, way too many guns!

Knee Full of Things…

…with profound apologies to Stephen King. ;-)

My, oh my, where to begin? …do I start with the Idiot-in-Chief™ lobbing casual, (albeit existential), threats at the leader of North Korea last week? …or how about his incoherent tirade on Friday night while addressing yet another gathering of those deplorable-types, (this time in Alabama), while stumping for Luther Strange? …or maybe the bashing of professional basketball players who decline White House invitations and professional football players for their silent – but oh-so-symbolic – protests at games? …and what about the Trump administration’s “Ugh, we just can’t seem to get it [alt]-right.” – and now revised – travel ban? Meanwhile, not a peep, (or tweet), about the devastation – or much-needed aid – in Puerto Rico. Sad.

Aw, heck, let’s just do ’em all!

Blaine Harden penned an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times this weekend offering what he referred to as a remedial history lesson on North Korea. In short, Harden suggests the president* stop behaving like a schoolyard bully and take the long view when deciding how to deal with “rocket man”.

Wait a minute, isn’t the election over? Apparently our Campaigner-in-Chief™ doesn’t think so. On Friday night, while speaking to his adoring fans in Alabama, he launched into yet another rambling screed targeting perceived enemies far and wide, including professional basketball and football players who ‘take a knee’ while the national anthem is played at games. Yes, really.

Reaction? New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow claims the president* is a racist, while fellow New York Times columnist Peter Baker laments the divisive rhetoric spewing forth from the White House. I’m on board with these two guys.

Lastly, as we head into the final week of September, The Washington Post reports a revised travel ban is being readied for implementation. But first, a quick recap to catch everyone up:

We start the year with “OK, so let’s ban immigration from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen and Syria – oh, right, no refugees either…” Then, in March, we get “…uh, let’s remove Iraq from the list…” And now, in September, it’s “…uh, let’s add Chad, North Korea and Venezuela to the list, but remove Sudan from the list…”

An excerpt from the Washington Post article with details:

The new rules vary per country, barring entry into the United States of immigrants and non-immigrants from Chad, Libya and Yemen, on business, tourist or business-tourist visas. It bars entry of Iranian citizens, as immigrants or non-immigrants, but provides an exception for Iranian students, provided they receive extra screening. The proclamation bars immigrants and non-immigrants from North Korea and Syria. It bars immigration by citizens of Somalia. Under the order, a range of Venezuelan government officials and their immediate family members are barred from entering on business or tourism visas.

Sure, the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is gut-wrenching, but isn’t there still an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan? Why were the restrictions originally targeting Iraq relaxed back in March? Oh, right, it’s all about the oil… …and the bazillions of dollars we’ve spent bombing the sh*t out of – then attempting to stabilize – it!

What a clusterf*ck. Nuclear annihilation. Rampant nationalism. Electoral interference. The Cheeto-in-Chief™ itchin’ to holler “…you’re fired!” …and Pennywise – yikes!

…is it any wonder we’ve got grown men dropping to their knees?

UN-fit-for-office

Well, it looks like the Coward-in-Chief™ decided sabre-rattling was in order on Monday, but not before donning, (sorry, I couldn’t resist), his Tw*tter-in-Chief™ helmet – or is that his hair – for another incoherent rant over the weekend…

Meanwhile, the entire New York Times Editorial Board bemoaned the stark contrast between warmongers and peacemakers, the Wall Street Journal feigned impartiality with their report, and – thankfully – the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne Jr. crafted a timely opinion piece which shines a bright light on the infantile behavior of said Coward-in-Chief™ before the UN this past Monday.

Look, we all know Kim Jong Un is mentally unstable and routinely demonstrates the maturity level of an impaired teenager, but that certainly doesn’t justify our very own mentally-challenged head of state to follow suit with his own tirade! :-(

Sunday:
Illustration: Barry Blitt

Monday:
Illustration: Edward Sorel

Tuesday:
Illustration: Andre Carrilho

Wow, you’ve got to wonder what Friday will bring…

A link to Barry Blitt’s illustration in .PDF format here.
A link to Andre Carrilho’s illustration in .PDF format here.
A link to Edward Sorel’s illustration in .PDF format here.

Tw*tter-in-Chief™

I swear to God, that sad, little doucheb*g camping in the White House has simply got to go…

Alrighty, Kara Alaimo pretty much nailed it in her opinion piece on Sunday; there is absolutely no reason for this miserable excuse for a president* – who happens to be explicitly endorsing violence against women – to spend even another minute at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

A link to .PDF version of today’s poster here.

Coward-in-Chief™

I think the editorial board at the New York Times summed it up best, by pointing out we’ve got a Coward-in-Chief™ quivering in the shadows at the White House…

Yep, the Flounder-in-Chief™ has flip-flopped on the thorny issue of DACA more than once, or twice, or thrice, or…

According to the Washington Post, the administration’s fundamental misunderstanding of DACA shouldn’t surprise anyone either – yet another perverse over-simplification followed by a destructive, far-reaching pronouncement, only to be followed by a whiny admission of “…waaaaaah, it’s hard…” months later and finally another one-eighty in terms of policy.

Mixed messages abound – again typical of the idiot brigade hunkered down in the West Wing… Sad.

…and a couple of my favorite quotes from the NYT article I referenced at the very beginning of this post:

President Trump didn’t even have the guts to do the job himself.

…true ‘dat. I wonder if he even has male genitalia…

This wouldn’t be a concern if Congress had done its job and passed the Dream Act…

Yeah, uh, like that was going to happen…

A link to a .PDF version of today’s poster here.