Toon: Pet Peeve au Poivre

Allow me to chime in to the tintinnabulation of the Trump-Harris Debate Cartoons.

If there is a God, future historians will look back upon Corrupt Former President Donald Trump's clinging — doggedly — to the false allegation that Haitian immigrants have been killing and eating the household pets of Springfield, Ohio, as the moment that Trumpism died.

It's a lie told by Trump's running mate, J.D. Bowman Hamel Vance, picked up from some racist Ohioan's social media spewage, repeated from the rumors told about Vietnamese refugees in the 1970's, hearkening back to the old wives' tales slandering Chinese immigrants in the 1800's.

Given that history, it's probably overly optimistic to hope that keeping such a racist trope alive will bring about an end to Trumpism — which, after all, thrives on that sort of bilious excreta.

The Springfield angle to the story apparently grew out of the nativist uproar after an unlicensed driver from Springfield's Haitian immigrant community collided his minivan into a school bus last year, causing the death of an 11-year-old white boy. White Springfielders demanded that their city council stop any more Haitian refugees from coming to their town, and spread horror tales demonizing the Haitians already there.

At the city’s Haitian Community Help and Support Center on Wednesday, Rose-Thamar Joseph said many of the roughly 15,000 immigrants who arrived in the past few years were drawn by good jobs and the city’s relative affordability. But a rising sense of unease has crept in as longtime residents increasingly bristle at newcomers taking jobs at factories, driving up housing costs, worsening traffic and straining city services.

To their credit, the bereaved parents of that 11-year-old boy have spoken out against politicians and rabble-rousers exploiting their tragedy to stoke fear and hatred. The Father, Nathan Clark, went so far as to tell a city hall forum that he would rather his son had been killed by a 60-year-old white man, because "if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone."

“This needs to stop now. [Politicians] can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis and even untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members,” Clark said. “However, they are not allowed, nor have they ever been allowed, to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio. I will listen to them one more time — to hear their apologies.”

✍

By the way, those Haitian immigrants are not in Springfield illegally, and Trump did not actually call them "illegals" in that part of the debate. But he has devoted much of his political career to making "illegal" into an noun, synonymous with "immigrant."

As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Trump's 34 felony convictions make him an "illegal." And, as I told a Trump loyalist a while back, "You may be comfortable voting for an illegal. I'm not."

Q Toon: Throwing Shade

VisitFlorida.com quietly deleted the LGBTQ+ page from its tourism website last month. Visit Florida®, a public-private organization that receives some state funding, has made no comment about axing the LGBTQ+ Travel section, but it's apparently all in keeping with the state's Don't Say Gay mandate.

The state's vociferously antigay governor claims no credit for Visit Florida's cowardly move, but is pleased nevertheless:

When asked about the change on the Visit Florida website, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said he was made aware of it after the fact, but celebrated its push away from identity politics. He noted, “We’re not going to be segregating people by these different characteristics… that’s just now how we’re operating.” 

DeSantis' explanation doesn't bode well for Black and Hispanic travelers, Travel pages for whom have yet to be scrubbed from VisitFlorida.com. But don't expect an announcement ahead of time when that happens.

Outside of Florida, more LGBTQ-friendly politicians have taken the opportunity to welcome tourists to their states. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the U.S.A.'s first openly gay elected governor, posted to Facebook:

Hello gay tourists! Since Florida doesn’t want you, come on over to explore what Colorado has to offer!

In Colorado, we really don’t care about who you date we just appreciate you supporting our economy and spending money in our great stores and restaurants. And you’ll have a gay old time!”

EnjoyIllinois wooed the LGBTQ+ buck with:

Lack of love in the Sunshine State?

Come to Illinois

Plan your LGBTQIA adventure. Take notes, Florida.”

Anthony Anthony, a Chief Marketing Officer for Connecticut's Office of Tourism so nice they named him twice, echoed Colorado and Illinois in a press release:

"We want to send a strong message to everyone, particularly to those in Florida — and across the country — who may feel their needs and identities are being sidelined, to know that in Connecticut you will always find acceptance.

"Here, diversity is celebrated, and we remain committed to ensuring everyone who visits or lives here feels valued, respected, and free to be yourself."

It is, however, unlikely that Florida withdrawing the welcome mat from LGBTQ+ visitors will dissuade many queer folk from heading to the Sunshine State. I've never been to Key West, but I understand that there is nothing quite like it in Minnesota. Besides, a boycott would only harm the very LGBTQ+ business owners who have staked their fortunes to attracting fellow travelers with disposable income.

The very business owners who might just want to reconsider their support for the public-private management of Visit Florida®.

This Week's Sneak Peek

 You thought I was going to give this guy a pass?

On a totally unrelated matter:

I heard from a teacher in Georgia after last week's mass shooting at Apalachee High School that her school had received a bomb threat. Students and staff were told to evacuate the building.

Then the school administrators told teachers to go back in and search for anything that might be a bomb.

Think about that for a moment.

Clearly the school administrators didn't.

Think of your children's school teachers, and think back on any of your own. How many of them had any training in explosives detection? How many of them would be able to find a bomb hidden who knows where in a school building without setting it off?

Well, that's Miss Othmar all over.

When Jack Met Dick

As you may have heard, there's a presidential debate coming up next week between Vice President Kamala Harris and convicted felon Donald Joffrey Trump; so today's Graphical History Tour travels back to September 26, 1960 and the granddaddy of all presidential debates.

"We Have Temporarily Lost Our Picture" by Joseph Parrish in Chicago Tribune, Sept. 27, 1960

The televised debate between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon was precedent-setting. Never before had rival presidential nominees of the two major parties shared a stage face-to-face, answering the same questions and each other.

"News Item" by Vaughn Shoemaker in Chicago Daily News, Sept. 27, 1960

What about the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, I hear you asking. Or maybe it's just the voices in my head. Either way, yes, a series of debates pitted Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas against each other in their race for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois in 1858, but were not repeated when the two vied for the presidency two years later. 

According to contemporary newspaper accounts, 12,000 attended their first debate at Ottawa, 16,000 to 18,000 in Galesburg, 15,000 in Freeport, 12,000 in Quincy, and 5,000 to 10,000 at the last debate in Alton. Given that hyperbole was not unknown in reporting of the time, Vaughn Shoemaker's head count is probably just as valid as any of the others.

"You Were Simply Wonderful" by Gib Crockett in Washington Star, Sept. 28, 1960

Neither Kennedy nor Nixon delivered any memorable zingers, stumbled into major gaffes, or weaved around aimlessly between child care, tariffs, Marco Rubio and the U.S. being a failing nation at their debate. The Louisville Courier-Journal judged that Nixon "had the more flexible and resonant voice of the two," and that Kennedy "often spoke too rapidly" but "seemed less self-conscious than Nixon." A voter interviewed by the Chicago Tribune said that "Nixon made out a bit stronger case, but I got a better impression of Kennedy than I'd had before this show."

"T-V for Victory" by Jesse Taylor Cargill for Central Press Assn., ca. Sept. 30, 1960

On the other hand, the New York Daily News complained that the debate was "a weak and wishy washy piece of history. Both candidates, we thought, overdid the Alphonse-Gaston politeness." The Sacramento Bee agreed, calling it "more of a polite parlor tete a tete than a debate" and griping, "Kennedy and Nixon stipulated there would be no personalities in the debate. The result was like tossing away half the case for Kennedy." 

"The Winner" by Roy Justus in Minneapolis Star, Sept. 28, 1960

What stuck in the collective memory had more to do with appearances than who made the stronger case for himself. I've heard that television viewers thought that Kennedy "won" the debate, whereas radio listeners tended to find Nixon the winner (which may reflect the age of the respective audiences, too).

Nixon's five-o'clock shadow was only one factor for those who judged by appearances; after all, Herblock had been drawing Nixon with darkened chin and jowls for years. Both candidates declined CBS's offer of make-up; Kennedy's slight suntan photographed well anyway, but Nixon was recovering from a bout of flu that rendered him pale and sweaty. Perhaps more significantly in the Age of Television, whereas Kennedy spoke directly to the camera, Nixon faced the off-camera debate moderators when answering their questions.

"Tongue Smoke" by Frank Miller in Des Moines Register, Sept. 28, 1960

Television being a fairly young medium at the time, several editorial cartoonists drew less inspiration from what the candidates said than where they said it. Frank Miller's cartoon references the number one most popular TV series on the tube in 1960.

"I'm Not Satisfied" by Richard Q. Yardley in Baltimore Sun, Sept. 27, 1960

Still, there were a few cartoonists who dove into the specifics of the debate. Nixon, of course, promised that his policies would continue the post-war economic growth the nation had experienced during (most of) the Eisenhower administration. Kennedy promised that he could do better.

I guess Nikita Khruschev and Mao Zedong are peeking from behind the wall in Yardley's cartoon as an acknowledgement that although this first debate centered on domestic issues, foreign policy would be the focus of a future debate between the candidates.

"The Debate—American Style and Russian" by Carey Orr in Chicago Tribune, Sept. 29, 1960

Carey Orr couldn't wait, taking the occasion to remind his readers that the U.S.S.R. had brutally suppressed an anti-Soviet rebellion in Hungary four summers earlier.

Bill Mauldin in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept. 28, 1960

Bill Mauldin highlighted promises by both candidates to replace Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson. Benson's opposition to price supports and government agriculture subsidies won him few friends among farmers, who you might expect would be a key constituency of the Department of Agriculture. As a cleric on the Mormon Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, moreover, his appointment had been opposed by the American Council of Churches, which viewed his church as a anti-Christian cult. (Some of them had the same opinion of Kennedy's Roman Catholic faith.)

Benson had served as Secretary of Agriculture for all eight years of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency, however, so it was extremely unlikely that he would continue in the post beyond January, 1961 in any event.

"Critic" by Bill Sanders in Greensboro (NC) Daily News, Sept. 28, 1960

And that takes care of the Cartoons About Substance. Bill Sanders returns us to the historical significance of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates appearing together on the telly.

"Don't All Come at Once" by Franklin Morse in Los Angeles Mirror, Sept. 27, 1960

I was surprised to find that some cartoonists didn't bother to draw about the Kennedy-Nixon debate at all that week. There was, however, plenty of other material for a cartoonist to work with.

The United Nations General Assembly was held that week, witnessing Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khruschev pounding his shoe on the podium and calling for the firing of U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. Third World leaders denounced Western colonialism; the harangue by Fidel Castro, barely into his second year as Prime Minister of Cuba, lasted four-hours.

Meanwhile, the space exploration program of the U.S. was struggling to catch up to that of the U.S.S.R. No manned space flights had taken place yet — just dogged, monkeyed, moused, rabbited, and fruit flied ones. Russia was first to send satellites into Earth orbit and probes to the moon; the U.S. had experienced mixed success with both efforts.

"What Are You Fellows Arguing About" by Hugh Haynie in Louisville Courier-Journal, Sept. 27, 1960

And, of course, there was baseball for anyone bored by national, global, and extraterrestrial affairs.

"What Do You Suppose Happened After the Debate Went Off the Air" by Frank Interlandi for Register and Tribune Syndicate, Sept. 27, 1960

Nixon and Kennedy met for three more debates before the election, on October 7, 13, and 21.

After that, there would be a 16-year hiatus, including two more Nixon election campaigns, before candidates for president would meet for another debate.

Q Toon: MAGA Max and Leo the Lib Revisited

I didn't have enough space in a four-panel cartoon for Leo to wrap up his screed by saying that Trump is a 34-time convicted felon utterly without any redeeming social qualities, whose whim-based responses to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Oh, and that he led the first attempt to overthrow the United States government since the British burned the White House in 212 years ago.

Max and Leo debuted in my cartoon about a politically mismatched duo undergoing couples counseling earlier this summer. Today's cartoon officially makes them recurring characters, so something's got to be keeping them together.

The sex must be great. Or at least the cooking.

The way we have all separated ourselves into our mutually exclusive political echo chambers, finding a real couple like Max and Leo might be next to impossible. Liberals and conservatives keep to separate news channels, late night comedians, social media, houses of worship, and fried chicken outlets. They even have their very own mutually exclusive dating sites now, both gay and straight.

Opposites attract only in romantic comedies. And The Lockhorns.

And don't argue with me about James Carville and Mary Matalin, or George and Kellyanne Conway.

Those aren't real people.

They’re cartoons.

This Week's Sneak Peek

This panel may look familiar if you've been following my humble blog for at least the summer. Maybe not if you were among the sudden spike of visitors looking at last week's Harley-Davidson cartoon.

Since the publications currently running my cartoons publish either bi-weekly or monthly, it's not easy for me to maintain running characters. Most of my past characters have gone by the wayside: Democratic Congressman Luke Warmish got tossed out of office in the Gingrich Wave of 1994; his Republican counterpart Charles Snollygoster IV probably got primaried by a Tea Bagger in the 2010's. Podcasters Buzz and Killer didn't last, only partly because I didn't like how much Buzz resembled a gay gym rat version of Zippy the Pinhead. (Besides, there was less and less for him to be cheerful about during the Corrupt Donald Berzelius Trump administration.)

I've been thinking that Million Moms Cat Lady ought to make a reappearance. She ought to be a fan of Hillbilly Vanilli Vance, though, and I haven't decided what she makes of him now.

Bread and Poseurs, Bread and Poseurs

All aboard the Graphical History Tour! Our destination today is Labor Day weekend, 1924.

"Boss of the World Today" by Dorman H. Smith for Newspaper Enterprise Assn., August 30, 1924

Labor Day had been an official U.S. holiday since 1894, although I suspect it would have come as news to American workers in the 1920's that they were "boss of the world." 

Dorman Smith may have been looking at things from the perspective of the U.S. workforce being less affected by the lingering aftermath of the Great War than their European counterparts. But in this Republican-dominated era, organized labor was under assault by determined anti-union industries and their allies in state and federal government.

"One Must Push and One Must Pull" by Jesse Taylor Cargill in Sacramento Bee, September 1, 1924

Coming a little closer to the mark, Jesse Cargill at least gets it half right.

"The Cyclone Center" by Roy James in St. Louis Star, September 2, 1924

Labor Day weekend was marred by a new flare-up of violence in the strife-prone mining town of Herrin, Illinois, described by the Chicago Tribune as the "sanguinary center of Bloody Williamson County." The site of a massacre when striking miners attacked strike-breaking workers in 1922, the ensuing years saw a deadly feud between a reckless, Klan-backed prohibition enforcer named S. Glenn Young came to town and was met by anti-Klan folks who appreciated a drink or two after work.

"In Williamson County" by Roy James in St. Louis Star, September 3, 1924

Violence flared up again on August 30 started after charges were dismissed against the Shelton brothers, accused of the murder in February of Constable Caesar Cagle, a Klansman. In spite of the inevitable hostilities boiling under the surface, Sheriff George Galligan, backed by deputies and others, went to the garage owned by J.H. Smith, a known Klan headquarters, in an attempt to take possession of a car. The car had been held there for months because the Klan accused its owner of shooting at Young during an earlier riot. 

In the shooting that ensued Sheriff Galligan's confrontation with Smith and his Klan buddies, a deputy sheriff, a court bailiff, four Klansmen, and one man described as a by-stander were killed. Adjt. Gen. Carlos E. Black immediately mobilized the Illinois National Guard to restore order in the town.

"Open the Gate" by O.C. Chopin in San Francisco Examiner, ca. August 27, 1924

One of organized labor's goals in 1924 was passage and ratification of a constitutional amendment banning child labor. Supreme Court rulings in 1918 and 1922 ruled that federal laws regulating goods produced by children under 14 and 16 were unconstitutional. The House of Representatives approved the amendment on April 26, 1924, and the Senate followed suit on June 2, 1924 to send it to the states.

"They Can Stop Him" by Harry Murphy for Star Company, September 2, 1924

Opposed by business groups, the only state to have ratified the amendment by this point was Arkansas. California, Arizona and Wisconsin would follow in 1925, but the effort stalled out in the 1930's after only 28 of the necessary 36 states had approved ratification.

Since there was no time limit set on the amendment by Congress, it could still be ratified (it would need ratification by 38 states now that Alaska and Hawai'i have joined the union); but the earlier Supreme Court decisions were overruled in 1941. Still, renewed interest by some Republican-ruled states in authorizing child labor might render the issue un-moot again.

"His Day" by Tom Foley in Minneapolis Daily Star, September 1, 1294

Returning to 1924: the Child Labor Amendment was a key plank in the presidential platform of Progressive Party candidate Robert LaFollette — to whom cartoonist Tom Foley dedicated the entire holiday.

"The Hypnotist" by John T. McCutcheon in Chicago Tribune, September 3, 1924

Cartoonists who favored the established political parties were not so easily enthused. LaFollette's campaign and its appeal to Labor were ridiculed by his erstwhile fellow Republicans ...

"Have a Bite" by J.P. Alley in Memphis Commercial Appeal, August 30, 1924

... and also by Democrats. 

Both accused him of being a stooge for the Communists, despite his being roundly condemned by them as well.

"Until He Bursts" by K.A. Suvanto in Daily Worker, Chicago, August 23, 1924

All three major candidates courted the American proletariat on Labor Day. The Republicans countered their candidate's strike-breaking record by touting the current prosperity and their "full dinner pail." The Democrats sent vice presidential nominee Charles Bryan out to reassure workers that the candidate at the top of his ticket would represent the working class in spite of his Wall Street background.

"The Day after His Holiday" by Clifford Berryman in Washington Evening Star, September 2, 1924

And then the holiday was over, and the candidates moved on to other issues.