humortimes--2020-09-24--How the Right is Rigging Elections

How the Right is Rigging Elections

Today , the Right is rigging elections in a coordinated , methodical , richly funded scheme .
Is it really so hard ?
Voting , I mean — smooth democratic elections with all citizens able to easily cast their ballots and with every ballot fairly counted .
Is that too much for people to ask ?
After all , the mechanisms for assuring universal suffrage are well known , and the logistics are not exactly rocket science .
Speaking of which , modern technologies could be our friend here — helping us vote by mail , or even by email @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did back in 1997 when he became the first astronaut to upload a secure email ballot from space to Mission Control in Houston , which passed it to his local election officials .
Hello … if astronauts can express their democratic choices while whizzing around Earth , shouldn ’ t the rest of us be able to have our say in neighborhood polling places or , if we choose , from our own homes ?
Of course — that ’ s democracy .
But it ’ s one thing to have voting rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exercise those rights .
Today , the Right is rigging elections .
In a coordinated , methodical , richly funded scheme , corporate-minded and right-wing candidates are being “ elected ” not by winning votes but by preventing votes .
One of the GOP ’ s tried-and-true vote-suppression techniques is deploying squads of partisan muscle into non-white , immigrant and other Democratic-leaning neighborhoods and precincts .
These “ poll watchers ” single out voters they view as “ suspicious ” and accuse them of trying to vote illegally .
They aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , cameras , arm bands , etc.
, to pose as official ballot police , they literally pull people out of line to loudly demand proof of eligibility .
It ’ s ugly and frighteningly autocratic … and yet legal in many states .
And it ’ s going to be bigger than ever this November because its one legal restriction has been lifted .
Back in 1982 , Republican thuggishness had gotten so out of hand that a federal judge imposed a consent decree to stop some of the crudest intimidation methods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s support , that ban was withdrawn in 2018 , and this year ’ s presidential election will be the first in four decades to allow no-holds-barred voter intimidation .
The national GOP has been recruiting and training up to 50,000 partisans to confront voters in 15 key states !
Adding to the mayhem , True the Vote , a manic fringe group of Trumpeteers , is signing up a freelance militia that includes off-duty police officers and veterans to enforce “ ballot security ” in communities of color .
The group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting of Republican operatives : “ You get some Seals in those polls and they ’ re going to say , ‘ No , no … this is how we ’ re going to play this show.
” Don ’ t want Black people to vote ?
Or tribal members on reservations ?
Or students on campus ?
Simple : Eliminate their polling places .
Or just slash the budgets for voting machines , poll workers and early voting in their precincts , creating punishingly long lines and waits .
COVID-19 can turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s June primary , for example , poll closures and machine malfunctions created seven-hour waits for many Black citizens to vote .
We were puzzled over President Trump ’ s crazed hostility toward the U.S .
Postal Service .
But now we see why : USPS workers could securely handle our ballots in the coming election , making it easier and safer for America to vote .
But that would increase turnout and democracy — two things Trump hates .
Vote by mail totally discombobulates Donald .
Desperate to save himself from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bipartisan congressional provision in March that ensured America ’ s crucial mail service would survive the pandemic and installed one of his rich funders as postmaster general in May .
Louis DeJoy ’ s first action was to sabotage timely mail delivery by drastically cutting postal workers ’ hours and then removing mail-sorting machines and street-side letter boxes .
Thus , America ’ s globally admired mail system is being wrecked by an unhinged president determined to keep you and me from using it to vote .
The Sightline Institute has state-by-state resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in voting in your state .
Check out its website at SightLine.org/VoteByMail2020 .

Today, the Right is rigging elections in a coordinated, methodical, richly funded scheme.
Is it really so hard? Voting, I mean — smooth democratic elections with all citizens able to easily cast their ballots and with every ballot fairly counted. Is that too much for people to ask?
After all, the mechanisms for assuring universal suffrage are well known, and the logistics are not exactly rocket science. Speaking of which, modern technologies could be our friend here — helping us vote by mail, or even by email. That’s what David Wolf did back in 1997 when he became the first astronaut to upload a secure email ballot from space to Mission Control in Houston, which passed it to his local election officials. Hello … if astronauts can express their democratic choices while whizzing around Earth, shouldn’t the rest of us be able to have our say in neighborhood polling places or, if we choose, from our own homes?
Of course — that’s democracy. But it’s one thing to have voting rights and quite another to be able to exercise those rights. Today, the Right is rigging elections. In a coordinated, methodical, richly funded scheme, corporate-minded and right-wing candidates are being “elected” not by winning votes but by preventing votes.
One of the GOP’s tried-and-true vote-suppression techniques is deploying squads of partisan muscle into non-white, immigrant and other Democratic-leaning neighborhoods and precincts. These “poll watchers” single out voters they view as “suspicious” and accuse them of trying to vote illegally. They aren’t subtle. Sometimes packing guns, badges, cameras, arm bands, etc., to pose as official ballot police, they literally pull people out of line to loudly demand proof of eligibility. It’s ugly and frighteningly autocratic … and yet legal in many states.
And it’s going to be bigger than ever this November because its one legal restriction has been lifted. Back in 1982, Republican thuggishness had gotten so out of hand that a federal judge imposed a consent decree to stop some of the crudest intimidation methods. But, with the Trump campaign’s support, that ban was withdrawn in 2018, and this year’s presidential election will be the first in four decades to allow no-holds-barred voter intimidation.
The national GOP has been recruiting and training up to 50,000 partisans to confront voters in 15 key states! Adding to the mayhem, True the Vote, a manic fringe group of Trumpeteers, is signing up a freelance militia that includes off-duty police officers and veterans to enforce “ballot security” in communities of color. The group leader explained the scheme at a February meeting of Republican operatives: “You get some Seals in those polls and they’re going to say, ‘No, no … this is how we’re going to play this show.”
Don’t want Black people to vote? Or tribal members on reservations? Or students on campus? Simple: Eliminate their polling places. Or just slash the budgets for voting machines, poll workers and early voting in their precincts, creating punishingly long lines and waits. COVID-19 can turn this systemic disenfranchisement lethal. In Georgia’s June primary, for example, poll closures and machine malfunctions created seven-hour waits for many Black citizens to vote.
We were puzzled over President Trump’s crazed hostility toward the U.S. Postal Service. But now we see why: USPS workers could securely handle our ballots in the coming election, making it easier and safer for America to vote. But that would increase turnout and democracy — two things Trump hates.
Vote by mail totally discombobulates Donald. Desperate to save himself from letter carriers, he personally killed a bipartisan congressional provision in March that ensured America’s crucial mail service would survive the pandemic and installed one of his rich funders as postmaster general in May. Louis DeJoy’s first action was to sabotage timely mail delivery by drastically cutting postal workers’ hours and then removing mail-sorting machines and street-side letter boxes. Thus, America’s globally admired mail system is being wrecked by an unhinged president determined to keep you and me from using it to vote.
The Sightline Institute has state-by-state resources for what you can do to protect mail-in voting in your state. Check out its website at SightLine.org/VoteByMail2020.


humortimes--2020-09-24--New Comedy Web Series is a Humor Times Spinoff: ‘The Jerry Duncan Show’

A new comedy web series is coming to a YouTube channel near you — a spinoff of the popular Humor Times spoof talk radio column !
The Jerry Duncan Show begins taping Thursday , Sept 26th : putting Broadway and television actors back to work !
Based on Dean B. Kaner ’ s hit off-Broadway play of the same name , The Jerry Duncan Show , a new comedic political web series will begin streaming on YouTube in late October .
The acclaimed NYC run was met with praise and was unable to finish due the COVID-19 pandemic .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ column in the Humor Times .
The series follows Jerry Duncan , a popular , nationally syndicated radio talk show host who interviews politicians , celebrities , and more from his basement in Alaska .
Now middle-aged , Jerry grew up an only child whose mother , Maggie is still trying to ruin his life..even though she died years prior , according to doctors , ” by yelling her lungs out until her heart failed.
” Jerry is a middle-aged , bombastic , arrogant , self-absorbed radio host and at the same time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same apartment for 12 years with no exit ramp in sight .
The Jerry Duncan Show will be directed by Broadway veteran Nick Corely , known for his work as associate director for Burn This and Plaza Suite , as well as his career on the stage in You Can ’ t Take It With You , Drood , Mary Poppins , and She Loves Me .
Kaner , the IRNE nominated creator/writer of the series and off-Broadway stage incarnation is known for his work nationwide as a writer and producer on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gone and The Boys of Winter .
The show will feature a cast of Broadway actors as well as film and television personalities .
Popular New York stand-up comic/actor Josh Hyman as Jerry Duncan ( Men Are From Mars , Women…Venus Live ! )
one-man U.S. National Tour , Drunk Shakespeare off Broadway ) .
Also appearing will be Drama Desk Award nominee Matthew Arkin ( Sunshine Boys , Dinner with Friends , Losing Louis ) , Molly Erdman as Elizabeth Warren , Jeff McCarthy ( Zorba , Urinetown , Side Show , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Joe Biden , Lauren Molina ( Sweeney Todd , Rock of Ages , founder of Broadway band The Skivvies ) as Ginger , June Rachelson Ospa as the voice of Maggie , Maria Peyramaure as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Bart Shatto ( War Paint , The Civil War , Dracula , Hands on a Hardbody ) as Donald Trump , and Eliza Skinner ( The Late Late Show w/James Corden , Adam Ruins Everything , Take My Wife ) as Sarah Palin .
The series will feature cinematography direction by Rod Weber and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Duncan Show will be produced by Kaner , and cast members Shatto and Ospa ( the latter of whom served as a producer for Broadway ’ s Godspell and A Christmas Story ) , and is crowdfunding to continue producing the series.The show will debut this fall with a goal to inject humor in the lives of the public in time for what ’ s to be one of the most heated political races in the country ’ s history and to keep members of the entertainment community active , sharing their work @

A new comedy web series is coming to a YouTube channel near you — a spinoff of the popular Humor Times spoof talk radio column!
The Jerry Duncan Show begins taping Thursday, Sept 26th: putting Broadway and television actors back to work!
Based on Dean B. Kaner’s hit off-Broadway play of the same name, The Jerry Duncan Show, a new comedic political web series will begin streaming on YouTube in late October. The acclaimed NYC run was met with praise and was unable to finish due the COVID-19 pandemic. The play itself was based on the popular column in the Humor Times.
The series follows Jerry Duncan, a popular, nationally syndicated radio talk show host who interviews politicians, celebrities, and more from his basement in Alaska. Now middle-aged, Jerry grew up an only child whose mother, Maggie is still trying to ruin his life..even though she died years prior, according to doctors,”by yelling her lungs out until her heart failed.” Jerry is a middle-aged, bombastic, arrogant, self-absorbed radio host and at the same time an insecure nebbish who has lived in the same apartment for 12 years with no exit ramp in sight.
The Jerry Duncan Show will be directed by Broadway veteran Nick Corely, known for his work as associate director for Burn This and Plaza Suite, as well as his career on the stage in You Can’t Take It With You, Drood, Mary Poppins, and She Loves Me. Kaner, the IRNE nominated creator/writer of the series and off-Broadway stage incarnation is known for his work nationwide as a writer and producer on pieces such as Before We’re Gone and The Boys of Winter.
The show will feature a cast of Broadway actors as well as film and television personalities. Popular New York stand-up comic/actor Josh Hyman as Jerry Duncan (Men Are From Mars, Women…Venus Live!) one-man U.S. National Tour, Drunk Shakespeare off Broadway). Also appearing will be Drama Desk Award nominee Matthew Arkin (Sunshine Boys, Dinner with Friends, Losing Louis), Molly Erdman as Elizabeth Warren, Jeff McCarthy (Zorba, Urinetown, Side Show, Beauty and the Beast, Chicago) as Joe Biden, Lauren Molina (Sweeney Todd, Rock of Ages, founder of Broadway band The Skivvies) as Ginger, June Rachelson Ospa as the voice of Maggie, Maria Peyramaure as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bart Shatto (War Paint, The Civil War, Dracula, Hands on a Hardbody) as Donald Trump, and Eliza Skinner (The Late Late Show w/James Corden, Adam Ruins Everything, Take My Wife) as Sarah Palin.
The series will feature cinematography direction by Rod Weber and publicity by Ellis Gage. The Jerry Duncan Show will be produced by Kaner, and cast members Shatto and Ospa (the latter of whom served as a producer for Broadway’s Godspell and A Christmas Story), and is crowdfunding to continue producing the series.The show will debut this fall with a goal to inject humor in the lives of the public in time for what’s to be one of the most heated political races in the country’s history and to keep members of the entertainment community active, sharing their work.
Teaser: “The Jerry Duncan Show – The Lean Mean Gaffe Machine”
You may contribute to The Jerry Duncan Show on their GoFundMe page here.


humortimes--2020-09-28--Ripping the Headlines Today, 9/28/20

Ripping the Headlines Today, 9/28/20

Making fun of the headlines today , so you don ’ t have to The news doesn ’ t need to be complicated and confusing ; that ’ s what any new release from Microsoft is for .
And , as in the case with anything from Microsoft , to keep the news from worrying our pretty little heads over , remember something new and equally indecipherable will come out soon : Really all you need to do is follow one simple rule : barely pay attention and jump to conclusions .
So , here are some headlines today and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s you she ’ s talking to , Belieberers !
Mexico finds 2 tons of marijuana in the ocean Now , that ’ s my kind of sea weed .
Is Trump broke ?
New report details decades of President ’ s taxes and financial failures Turns out , Melania stayed in the marriage so she didn ’ t have to pay Donald spousal support !
Stassi Schroeder breaks her silence after being fired from ‘ Vanderpump Rules ’ And , says “ would you like fries with that burger ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bested Nixon : Understanding power Hey , Joe Biden , first thing you should do as President is put Woodward ’ s phone number on call blocking .
Mike Bloomberg raises $ 16 million to allow former felons to vote in Florida … and there ’ re way more sofas and chairs to tip over to find money in where that came from .
Lindsey Graham signals support for confirming a Supreme Court nominee this year , flip flopping on his position four years ago Y ’ got ta wonder how many pool @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that cabana closet ?
While Meghan McCain says she ’ s for her favorite person… herself !
8 Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba found in water supply … hurry , send in Ted Cruz , so it will die of starvation .
Prince Andrew spent £16,000 of taxpayer money on private flight to watch The Open golf Can we just be happy it wasn ’ t to a Girl Scout Jamboree ?
Two separate pilots on two different flights reported seeing a man in with a jetpack flying 3,000 feet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigating While Snoop Dogg says “ big deal , ” he ’ s been seen higher over L.A many times , and without a jet pack .
Trump administration stuck with 66 million doses of near-unusable chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine Damn , there are going to be a lot of pissed off kids come Halloween .
… looks like Trump has lost interest in Covid-19 , now if it was Covid-16… but looked like it was Covid-20 …

Making fun of the headlines today, so you don’t have to
The news doesn’t need to be complicated and confusing; that’s what any new release from Microsoft is for. And, as in the case with anything from Microsoft, to keep the news from worrying our pretty little heads over, remember something new and equally indecipherable will come out soon:
Really all you need to do is follow one simple rule: barely pay attention and jump to conclusions. So, here are some headlines today and my first thoughts:
Selena Gomez demands Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg shut down ‘hate speech’ groups
Yes, that’s you she’s talking to, Belieberers!
Mexico finds 2 tons of marijuana in the ocean
Now, that’s my kind of sea weed.
Is Trump broke? New report details decades of President’s taxes and financial failures
Turns out, Melania stayed in the marriage so she didn’t have to pay Donald spousal support!
Stassi Schroeder breaks her silence after being fired from ‘Vanderpump Rules’
And, says “would you like fries with that burger?”
Woodward bested Trump the same way he bested Nixon: Understanding power
Hey, Joe Biden, first thing you should do as President is put Woodward’s phone number on call blocking.
Mike Bloomberg raises $16 million to allow former felons to vote in Florida
… and there’re way more sofas and chairs to tip over to find money in where that came from.
Lindsey Graham signals support for confirming a Supreme Court nominee this year, flip flopping on his position four years ago
Y’gotta wonder how many pool boys Lindsey’s got hidden in that cabana closet?
Happy 73rd birthday, Steven King
Steven King is 73? Now, that’s scary.
Cindy McCain is endorsing Joe Biden,
While Meghan McCain says she’s for her favorite person… herself!
8 Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba found in water supply
… hurry, send in Ted Cruz, so it will die of starvation.
Prince Andrew spent £16,000 of taxpayer money on private flight to watch The Open golf
Can we just be happy it wasn’t to a Girl Scout Jamboree?
Two separate pilots on two different flights reported seeing a man in with a jetpack flying 3,000 feet in air over Los Angeles; FBI investigating
While Snoop Dogg says “big deal,” he’s been seen higher over L.A many times, and without a jet pack.
Trump administration stuck with 66 million doses of near-unusable chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine
Damn, there are going to be a lot of pissed off kids come Halloween.
Trump: Covid-19 affects “virtually nobody”
… looks like Trump has lost interest in Covid-19, now if it was Covid-16… but looked like it was Covid-20 …


humortimes--2020-09-28--The Jerry Duncan Show Interviews an Alaskan Sled Dog Musher

Wherein our intrepid talk radio show host interviews Jackson Riley , a sled dog musher from Wasilla , Alaska .
Live from under a rock in your backyard , it ’ s The Jerry Duncan Show .
Good morning listeners nationwide .
Is it a good morning ?
Yes , it is .
Today on the show my guest is Jackson Riley , a sled dog musher from Wasilla , Alaska .
It ’ s so cold today , there ’ s an icicle hanging from my nose .
I actually saw a politician having hands in his own pocket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ musher does .
Sure .
We direct a team of Huskies in a marathon race .
I do the big Iditarod Trail with 16 dogs .
Over 1,000 miles of snow and ice .
How can you tell if you have a stupid dog ?
It chases Sarah Palin .
For some reason they ’ re attracted to each other .
I always wondered .
What are the four best years of an Alaskan ’ s life ?
Third grade .
My teacher told us to follow our dreams .
But she wouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Go figure .
I ’ m from Alaska .
I didn ’ t spend four years in third grade .
You bet .
It was kindergarten .
My teacher told me it was perfectly normal to accidentally poop in my pants .
I told her that some kids come to school to sit and think .
But I come here to shit and stink .
How much have you earned this year racing dogs ?
About $ 5,000 .
It ’ s not my real job .
I ’ m a bartender @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bartender serve the snake ?
Because she couldn ’ t hold her beer .
Okay .
Let me try another one .
A giraffe walks into a bar .
The bartender says , ” What ’ s with the long face ?
” Do you know what a long face is ?
I need a drink after this interview is over .
Do you have any suggestions ?
Rum and Coke .
I like the drink because my relationship with whiskey is on the rocks .
You should know , Duncan .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pertroleum , wildlife .
Speakin of wildlife , I met this sexy girl at a bar who lived with her folks .
She gave me her number and said call her .
Of course .
She said , “ Come on over , there ’ s nobody home.
” So I went over there .
Nobody was home .
I guess that ’ s why you do dog races .
It ’ s your social life .
Not exactly .
I ’ m campaigning for Joe Biden .
What ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Donald Trump speech ?
When Biden is speaking , you wonder if he ’ s had a stroke .
When Trump is speaking , you wonder if you had a stroke .
See you tomorrow .

Wherein our intrepid talk radio show host interviews Jackson Riley, a sled dog musher from Wasilla, Alaska.
ANNOUNCER
Live from under a rock in your backyard, it’s The Jerry Duncan Show.
JERRY
Good morning listeners nationwide. Is it a good morning? Yes, it is. Today on the show my guest is Jackson Riley, a sled dog musher from Wasilla, Alaska.
JERRY
Good morning, Jackson.
JACKSON
It’s so cold today, there’s an icicle hanging from my nose. I actually saw a politician having hands in his own pocket.
JERRY
Tell our audience what a dog musher does.
JACKSON
Sure. We direct a team of Huskies in a marathon race. I do the big Iditarod Trail with 16 dogs. Over 1,000 miles of snow and ice.
JERRY
How can you tell if you have a stupid dog?
JACKSON
It chases Sarah Palin. For some reason they’re attracted to each other.
JERRY
I always wondered. What are the four best years of an Alaskan’s life?
JACKSON
Third grade. My teacher told us to follow our dreams. But she wouldn’t let us sleep in class. Go figure.
JERRY
I’m from Alaska. I didn’t spend four years in third grade.
JACKSON
You’re lucky.
JERRY
You bet. It was kindergarten. My teacher told me it was perfectly normal to accidentally poop in my pants. I told her that some kids come to school to sit and think. But I come here to shit and stink.
JERRY
How much have you earned this year racing dogs?
JACKSON
About $5,000. It’s not my real job. I’m a bartender.
JERRY
Jackson. Why didn’t the bartender serve the snake?
JACKSON
Dunno.
JERRY
Because she couldn’t hold her beer.
JACKSON
I don’t get it.
JERRY
Okay. Let me try another one. A giraffe walks into a bar. The bartender says,”What’s with the long face?”
JACKSON
Hmmm. Give me a few minutes.
JERRY
Do you know what a long face is?
JACKSON
Yah. But what’s a giraffe?
JERRY
I need a drink after this interview is over. Do you have any suggestions?
JACKSON
Rum and Coke. I like the drink because my relationship with whiskey is on the rocks.
JERRY
What’s special about Alaska?
JACKSON
You should know, Duncan. We have tourism, mining, timber, pertroleum, wildlife. Speakin of wildlife, I met this sexy girl at a bar who lived with her folks. She gave me her number and said call her.
JERRY
Did you?
JACKSON
Of course. She said, “Come on over, there’s nobody home.” So I went over there. Nobody was home.
JERRY
I guess that’s why you do dog races. It’s your social life.
JACKSON
Not exactly. I’m campaigning for Joe Biden.
JERRY
What’s the difference between a Joe Biden speech and a Donald Trump speech?
JACKSON
Dunno.
JERRY
When Biden is speaking, you wonder if he’s had a stroke. When Trump is speaking, you wonder if you had a stroke. See you tomorrow.


humortimes--2020-09-28--This is Your Brain on Aphorisms: Russian Interfearance is Scary

… we have a small favor to ask .
More and more people are reading the Humor Times , but advertising revenues for internet sites everywhere keep falling .
And unlike so many other websites , we have not put up a paywall -- we want to keep this much-loved ( and much-needed ! )
political humor free , if possible !
So you can see why we need to ask for your help .
The Humor Times ' unique content takes a lot of time and effort to produce ... but we do it because we believe uncompromising political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days .
If everyone who reads and likes our website helps fund it , we can continue to help people laugh at the news , rather than cry about it !
For as little as $ 1 , you can support the Humor Times – and it only takes a minute .
Thank you !
Or , please consider becoming a Sustaining Supporter via our Patreon Page , contributing a certain amount each month .
You can do it for as long or as short a time as you like .
It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !

Russian Interfearance: Don’t let a Russian con “troll” your opinion.
To Russia Under Mister Putin.
Red Don in the morning, patriots take warning.
Trump: Defending tyranny while defunding democracy.
He’s gotta license he doesn’t want you to know.
The last thing we need is four moron years!
There’s a smart reason for intelligence.
NATOgether we stand, divided we fall.
Careful! The prelude to mass destruction has often been mass distraction.
Gridlock: Democracy inaction.
Republicans no compassion.
Don’t be so selfie-ish!
The filthy rich cash-cower in the darkness.
Greed doesn’t care what it costs.
“High priests” of big business only cry for more sacrifices.
We herd immunity is their final solution.
With forethought Thor fought.
Love unites what hate divides.
Deaf to all tyrants!
It’s absolutely priceless to be free.


humortimes--2020-09-28--Movie Review: ‘The Glorias’

Movie Review: ‘The Glorias’

Timing is everything .
The Glorias couldn ’ t get a better-scheduled release than now , just a month before an unbelievably crucial presidential election .
Hell was breaking loose in America when Gloria Steinem first came on the political scene , although maybe not with as much hell as now .
That , of course , is due to almost four years of Trump and the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg .
In late 2020 , American females have had enough .
So , they are rightfully and loudly shouting : “ I ’ ve had enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him out !
” ( Put smiley meme here . )
Whichever gender you claim for yourself .
director Julie Taymor ( Frida ) has come to our rescue .
The Glorias is a looking back , re-cap for me ; but for heaven ’ s sake , just think how many will watch this Steinem bio-pic , then score for themselves an illuminating lesson with important information on our history of the late Sixties , and when ratification of the ERA ( Equal Rights Amendment ) died on the vine in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used near the end of this picture .
Up until that point , The Glorias is a movie with interesting and curious forays into sort of what I ’ d call : magical realism .
The title of the film hints at it .
There are moments when four separate females , riding together on a bus , are talking among themselves about the trajectory of Steinem ’ s life .
All four are her : Julianne Moore , the 40 and over Gloria ; Alicia Vikander , the 20 to 40 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gloria ; and Ryan Kira Armstrong as the girl Gloria .
( I trust Steinem would not take umbrage at my calling her a “ girl ” as the script calls for the character to be under the age of 10 . )
The likeness of Steinem is maintained well among the four ; and there ’ s more authenticity , since Moore and Vikander have nailed Steinem ’ s distinctive adult voice inflections and speaking patterns .
For those who clearly recall the Sixties , more historical figures are shown : Bette @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is Barbara Jordan ; Monica Sanchez does Dolores Huerta ; Lorraine Toussaint plays Florynce Kennedy : Janelle Manáe is Dorothy Pittman Hughes and notice Kimberly Guerrero as Wilma Mankiller , the first woman to become Chief of the Cherokee Nation .
Should some of these names seem unfamiliar , take a trip to The Google .
Something I felt that was skimmed-over a bit tracking the path Gloria took through the years is… her love life .
It ’ s indicated that Steinem became pregnant with a boy friend when at college ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was , nor even a likeness of him on the screen .
A brief phone call covers it all .
That she was pregnant once is significant to the career of Ms. Gloria Steinem , since she ’ s publicly said she didn ’ t marry her college friend , nor did she give birth… but had an abortion .
My sole difficulty with this is that the script gives only a modicum of fact dealing with that part the Steinem bio , while other points are scrupulously related… most of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are they than men in her life ?
Becoming a partner to David Bale is briefly related .
Unfortunately Mr. Bale died not long after they became a couple .
By the way , David Bale is the father of film actor , Christian Bale .
He may never refers to Gloria Steinem as his step-mother , but the not so germane connection is there .
My attitude toward the brevity on men in her life makes me wonder even more why the detail about her once being a Playboy Bunny in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Could it be to emphasize the fact she was a “ babe ” back in the day ?
Or maybe it ’ s because Gloria suggested Playboy Bunnies should unionize against Hef ?
( Another smiley would go well here . )
Surprisingly , a long-not-seen-actor pops up in an excellent supporting role .
His name ( ? )
… Timothy Hutton .
He does Gloria ’ s father , Leo Steinem .
Wow , the script has Father Steinem as a real character , if you get my meaning .
No doubt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guessing .
It ’ s a good role for Hutton , who ’ s not been in front of a camera , to my knowledge , for a while .
Glad he ’ s back and aged well .
An aside I must add to all this is about the character Wilma Mankiller , who was an associate of Gloria ’ s .
As I spent a good deal of time in Tulsa , OK , I was pleased to learn new things about this amazing woman , once the Chief of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tahlequah , OK in the extreme eastern part of the state .
One scene has Gloria in that region contacting Wilma .
It ’ s not clear exactly where Steinem is in this scene until the other person she ’ s chatting with says he bought a Coney Island hot dog in Tulsa .
I personally know about those Coney Island hot dogs .
Yes , with a dash of mustard , they are terribly scrumptious .
Given the political push of today , The Glorias might add just enough extra emphasis for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the second decade of the 21 st century .
The gals certainly couldn ’ t be more stoked for such a move… including some guys I know .

“The Glorias” – a film review by Gary Chew
Timing is everything. The Glorias couldn’t get a better-scheduled release than now, just a month before an unbelievably crucial presidential election. Hell was breaking loose in America when Gloria Steinem first came on the political scene, although maybe not with as much hell as now. That, of course, is due to almost four years of Trump and the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. In late 2020, American females have had enough . So, they are rightfully and loudly shouting: “I’ve had enough ” whenever they cease chanting “Vote him out!” (Put smiley meme here.)
Whichever gender you claim for yourself. director Julie Taymor (Frida) has come to our rescue. The Glorias is a looking back, re-cap for me; but for heaven’s sake, just think how many will watch this Steinem bio-pic, then score for themselves an illuminating lesson with important information on our history of the late Sixties, and when ratification of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) died on the vine in the early Seventies.
News footage is judiciously used near the end of this picture. Up until that point, The Glorias is a movie with interesting and curious forays into sort of what I’d call: magical realism. The title of the film hints at it. There are moments when four separate females, riding together on a bus, are talking among themselves about the trajectory of Steinem’s life. All four are her: Julianne Moore, the 40 and over Gloria; Alicia Vikander, the 20 to 40 years Gloria; Lulu Wilson, the teenage Gloria; and Ryan Kira Armstrong as the girl Gloria. (I trust Steinem would not take umbrage at my calling her a “girl” as the script calls for the character to be under the age of 10.) The likeness of Steinem is maintained well among the four; and there’s more authenticity, since Moore and Vikander have nailed Steinem’s distinctive adult voice inflections and speaking patterns.
For those who clearly recall the Sixties, more historical figures are shown: Bette Midler plays Bella Abzug; Margo Moorer is Barbara Jordan; Monica Sanchez does Dolores Huerta; Lorraine Toussaint plays Florynce Kennedy: Janelle Manáe is Dorothy Pittman Hughes and notice Kimberly Guerrero as Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to become Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Should some of these names seem unfamiliar, take a trip to The Google.
Something I felt that was skimmed-over a bit tracking the path Gloria took through the years is… her love life. It’s indicated that Steinem became pregnant with a boy friend when at college; but, neither a peep about who he was, nor even a likeness of him on the screen. A brief phone call covers it all. That she was pregnant once is significant to the career of Ms. Gloria Steinem, since she’s publicly said she didn’t marry her college friend, nor did she give birth… but had an abortion. My sole difficulty with this is that the script gives only a modicum of fact dealing with that part the Steinem bio, while other points are scrupulously related… most of them important. But how much more important are they than men in her life? Becoming a partner to David Bale is briefly related. Unfortunately Mr. Bale died not long after they became a couple. By the way, David Bale is the father of film actor, Christian Bale. He may never refers to Gloria Steinem as his step-mother, but the not so germane connection is there.
My attitude toward the brevity on men in her life makes me wonder even more why the detail about her once being a Playboy Bunny in New York City comes into sharp focus. Could it be to emphasize the fact she was a “babe” back in the day? Or maybe it’s because Gloria suggested Playboy Bunnies should unionize against Hef? (Another smiley would go well here.)
Surprisingly, a long-not-seen-actor pops up in an excellent supporting role. His name(?)… Timothy Hutton. He does Gloria’s father, Leo Steinem. Wow, the script has Father Steinem as a real character, if you get my meaning. No doubt that he was, I’m guessing. It’s a good role for Hutton, who’s not been in front of a camera, to my knowledge, for a while. Glad he’s back and aged well.
An aside I must add to all this is about the character Wilma Mankiller, who was an associate of Gloria’s. As I spent a good deal of time in Tulsa, OK, I was pleased to learn new things about this amazing woman, once the Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller was born at Tahlequah, OK in the extreme eastern part of the state. One scene has Gloria in that region contacting Wilma. It’s not clear exactly where Steinem is in this scene until the other person she’s chatting with says he bought a Coney Island hot dog in Tulsa. I personally know about those Coney Island hot dogs. Yes, with a dash of mustard, they are terribly scrumptious.
Given the political push of today, The Glorias might add just enough extra emphasis for a rebound to ratify the ERA in the second decade of the 21 st century. The gals certainly couldn’t be more stoked for such a move… including some guys I know.


humortimes--2020-09-29--The Swamp: Creeps Crawling in the District of Corruption – a Book Review

“ The Swamp ” eBook is now available on Amazon .
Finding this book was like stumbling upon hidden treasure .
The Swamp : Creeps Crawling in the District of Corruption , authored by newspaper opinion/editorial writer and meme artist , Regi Taylor , is a colorful 36-page ebook on Amazon , $ 7.99 , that uses clever satirical images to present a humorous political punch delivered with incisive sardonic wit .
The cover instantly tells you that Donald Trump and his fellow swamp crawlers are the subject .
I chuckled at the images as I perused the pages , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually not funny .
The Swamp chronicles historically significant events related to Trump ’ s presidency preserved as captioned , graphic images like snapshots , amusingly recorded epic , nuanced antics that may otherwise have been forever lost in the voluminous haze of Trump ’ s salacious Oval Office scandals .
This book might be particularly attractive to millennials and Gen Zers who are very used to consuming information in clips , sound bites and 280 characters , but all generations will find it to be a compelling , entertaining read .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it documents blatant episodes of the bemusing preoccupation Donald Trump and associates have , blindly lusting for authoritarian power , while provoking armed racial and civil violence , wrecking the economy , compromising America ’ s world standing , and sacrificing millions to COVID-19 .
Future generations may refer to this book as an historical reference faster than they might consult Wall Street Journal archives in an attempt to comprehend these provocative , strident times under Donald Trump , because The Swamp ’ s hilarious memes ( some featured in a gallery on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hyper-self-indulgence , pettiness and ignorance , flaws that preclude him from success as president .
Think of each page of The Swamp : Creeps Crawling in the District of Corruption as a puzzle piece of Trump ’ s warped Administration and you ’ ll come away with a cogent grasp of why The Donald ’ s four years have been an utter failure .
Despite the farcical genre he chose to convey his message on the screw-ups and perversions of Trump and his co-conspirators , Regi Taylor has taken his subject @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidenced by his stinging rebuke of Trumpism in the book ’ s introduction .
Taylor offers an even more harsh lambast of Trump et al in the foreword to this book which is published on Amazon.com , laying bare the agenda Donald Trump and his legions are pursuing within the context of America ’ s white supremacist legacy .
Mr. Taylor also has a line of t-shirts , mugs , etc , with some of his memes printed on them .
Check out his DC C.R.A.P .
( Donald Chump ’ s Contemporary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on this website , and visit his store .
Here ’ s an infomercial Mr. Taylor created for his DC C.R.A.P .
memes :

“The Swamp” eBook is now available on Amazon.
Finding this book was like stumbling upon hidden treasure. The Swamp: Creeps Crawling in the District of Corruption, authored by newspaper opinion/editorial writer and meme artist, Regi Taylor, is a colorful 36-page ebook on Amazon, $7.99, that uses clever satirical images to present a humorous political punch delivered with incisive sardonic wit.
The cover instantly tells you that Donald Trump and his fellow swamp crawlers are the subject. I chuckled at the images as I perused the pages, but realized the terrible reality highlighted is actually not funny.
The Swamp chronicles historically significant events related to Trump’s presidency preserved as captioned, graphic images like snapshots, amusingly recorded epic, nuanced antics that may otherwise have been forever lost in the voluminous haze of Trump’s salacious Oval Office scandals.
This book might be particularly attractive to millennials and Gen Zers who are very used to consuming information in clips, sound bites and 280 characters, but all generations will find it to be a compelling, entertaining read.
The Swamp could become a popular collectible because it documents blatant episodes of the bemusing preoccupation Donald Trump and associates have, blindly lusting for authoritarian power, while provoking armed racial and civil violence, wrecking the economy, compromising America’s world standing, and sacrificing millions to COVID-19.
Future generations may refer to this book as an historical reference faster than they might consult Wall Street Journal archives in an attempt to comprehend these provocative, strident times under Donald Trump, because The Swamp’s hilarious memes (some featured in a gallery on this site here) effectively unmask Trump’s hyper-self-indulgence, pettiness and ignorance, flaws that preclude him from success as president.
Think of each page of The Swamp: Creeps Crawling in the District of Corruption as a puzzle piece of Trump’s warped Administration and you’ll come away with a cogent grasp of why The Donald’s four years have been an utter failure.
Despite the farcical genre he chose to convey his message on the screw-ups and perversions of Trump and his co-conspirators, Regi Taylor has taken his subject matter very seriously in The Swamp, evidenced by his stinging rebuke of Trumpism in the book’s introduction.
Taylor offers an even more harsh lambast of Trump et al in the foreword to this book which is published on Amazon.com, laying bare the agenda Donald Trump and his legions are pursuing within the context of America’s white supremacist legacy.
Mr. Taylor also has a line of t-shirts, mugs, etc, with some of his memes printed on them. Check out his DC C.R.A.P. (Donald Chump’s Contemporary Reality Absurdly Packaged) memes gallery here on this website, and visit his store.
Here’s an infomercial Mr. Taylor created for his DC C.R.A.P. memes:


humortimes--2020-10-03--Why I, Donald Trump, Tanked at the 2020 Presidential Debates: Top 10

Finally a mea culpa from our humble president on why he tanked at the 2020 Presidential Debates – but only 10 .
Besides being gaseous from 6 Cheese Whoppers & 6 Diet Cokes , Trump went on at the Presidential Debates anyway .
Little did we know that on that very night he found out he was Lactose Intolerant !
That said , here ’ s Donald Trump ’ s Top 10 for television ’ s most embarrassing Show of Shows !
9 .
I WAS PISSED – I PAID SEAN HANNITY TO MODERATE & FRICKEN CHRIS WALLACE SHOWED UP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ WHY I ’ M UNDER AUDIT – I STAPLED INSTEAD OF CLIPPED !
7 .
MELANIA REFUSED PRE-DEBATE SEX & HAD TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS !
Sorry about that !
6 .
I WAS WORRIED I WOULD BLURT OUT MY DEUTSCHE BANK PASSWORD !
5 .
I WAS THIS CLOSE IN PROVING BIDEN WASN ’ T BORN IN SCRANTON !
4 .
I HAD BEDHEAD WHEN I WOKE UP & COULDN ’ T REACH STORMY DANIELS TO FIX IT !
3 .
I MIXED HYDROXYCHLORIQUINE WITH MY METAMUCIL & FELT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 Reason I had a bad Debate Night… I HAD ‘ THE PROUD BOYS ’ OVER FOR TEA THE NIGHT BEFORE & THEY EXPECTED BEER & SHOOTERS !

Finally a mea culpa from our humble president on why he tanked at the 2020 Presidential Debates – but only 10.
Besides being gaseous from 6 Cheese Whoppers & 6 Diet Cokes, Trump went on at the Presidential Debates anyway. Little did we know that on that very night he found out he was Lactose Intolerant!
That said, here’s Donald Trump’s Top 10 for television’s most embarrassing Show of Shows!
10. I WAS HYPNOTIZED BY JOE BIDEN’S TIE!
9. I WAS PISSED – I PAID SEAN HANNITY TO MODERATE & FRICKEN CHRIS WALLACE SHOWED UP!
8. I JUST FIGURED OUT WHY I’M UNDER AUDIT – I STAPLED INSTEAD OF CLIPPED!
7. MELANIA REFUSED PRE-DEBATE SEX & HAD TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS!
Sorry about that!
6. I WAS WORRIED I WOULD BLURT OUT MY DEUTSCHE BANK PASSWORD!
5. I WAS THIS CLOSE IN PROVING BIDEN WASN’T BORN IN SCRANTON!
4. I HAD BEDHEAD WHEN I WOKE UP & COULDN’T REACH STORMY DANIELS TO FIX IT!
3. I MIXED HYDROXYCHLORIQUINE WITH MY METAMUCIL & FELT LIKE CRAP!
2. COACHES RUDY GIULIANI & CHRIS CHRISTIE SAID, “JUST BE YOURSELF”!
And, the #1 Reason I had a bad Debate Night…
I HAD ‘THE PROUD BOYS’ OVER FOR TEA THE NIGHT BEFORE & THEY EXPECTED BEER & SHOOTERS!


humortimes--2020-10-03--This is Your Brain on Aphorisms: Big Orange Tax Evader

A big orange tax evader is taking US for a ride !
Your tax returns to haunt you .
Of @ @ @ @ @ news .
You are , after all , the world ’ s biggest FAKE !
@ @ @ @ @ , but you can ’ t hide the truth .
What Fox news viewers will @ @ @ @ @ day , and in every way , we ’ re getting bitter and bitter .
@ @ @ @ @ past .
Democracy is a free for all .
A safe coronavirus solution should be @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s too much vanity in sanity .
Why let sleeping dogs lie ?
@ @ @ @ @ and make them tell the truth !
Skeptics laugh all the way to debunk .
@ @ @ @ @

A big orange tax evader is taking US for a ride!
Under Trump, IRS stands for I Resist Scrutiny.
Your tax returns to haunt you.
Of course it’s fake news. You are, after all, the world’s biggest FAKE!
Trump: Debaiting debase.
You can run your mouth, but you can’t hide the truth.
The tea party believes incompetence.
Trump supporters “fan” his flames.
What Fox news viewers will believe is unreal!
Every day, and in every way, we’re getting bitter and bitter.
This improper tea condemned.
Never take backwards from the past.
Democracy is a free for all.
A safe coronavirus solution should be vaccine and not herd.
There’s too much vanity in sanity.
Why let sleeping dogs lie? I say wake them up and make them tell the truth!
Skeptics laugh all the way to debunk.
More lessons lessen morons.
Diplomacy a different point of view.
I here you there.


humortimes--2020-10-03--Trump’s Rule of Lies and Partisan Judges

Trump ’ s lies and tactics are worthy of the sleaziest of tinpot dictators from the banana republics of old , as he continues to install partisan judges .
Shortly after taking office , President Donald Trump puffed himself up in full Trumpian pomposity to proclaim to us rubes : “ We will honor the American people with the truth , and nothing else.
” Well , “ nothing else ” … unless you count a record-shattering number of more than 20,000 documented lies that this huckster has uttered in only three-and-a-half years , making dishonesty the cornerstone of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spewing a furious torrent of lies , insisting that a tsunami of voter fraud is about to hit our land and deny him reelection .
He practically shrieks like Chicken Little , claiming that Democrats are meeting in secret cabals across America to pervert millions of ballots and steal the White House from him ( as though it ’ s one of his personal properties ) .
Of course , as every investigation has concluded — including ones run by Republican partisans — the only widespread voter fraud in our country is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But what ’ s really at work here is that The Donald is in a cold panic about losing , so his only hope is to do two things : First , use the fraud bugaboo as an excuse to restrict voting in precincts that vote for Democrats , and , second , delegitimize a Democratic win in advance by creating the myth that his loss could only be caused by hordes of illegal voters .
Thus , we ’ re seeing an egomaniacal incumbent who ’ s so weak and nefarious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are actually spending untold millions of dollars in a disgraceful effort to try to keep American voters from casting ballots .
Their tactics are worthy of the sleaziest of tinpot dictators from the banana republics of old .
For example , they ’ ve simply closed the neighborhood voting places in thousands of Democratic areas , forcing people to scramble to get to the polls , and they ’ ve monkeyed with our nation ’ s postal service in a crude effort to restrict mail-in voting .
Then , William Barr , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general , even tried to boost the trickster ’ s chances by ludicrously suggesting it might not be illegal for his backers to vote twice !
So now , nearly four years after promising he ’ d tell us nothing but the truth , the fabricator in chief declared this year that he ’ s entitled to reelection because “ Unlike so many who came before me , I keep my promises.
” Obviously , that ’ s his fattest lie yet .
How extreme and needlessly nasty is the Republican Party ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ask the good people of Florida .
This was one of only three states with an antiquated law permanently taking away the voting rights of felons — even after they ’ d completed their punishment .
In 2018 , though , a whopping 64 % of Floridians voted for a state constitutional amendment that finally struck this malicious bit of legal ugliness from the books , thus offering public grace to the redeemed .
At last , about a million people who ’ d served their time would have their political personhood restored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here came a raving gaggle of Republican operatives rushing to court to slam the door once more on the rights of discharged felons .
Led by Ron DeSantis , Florida ’ s right-wing goose of a governor , the GOP demanded that an appeals court of federal partisan judges overrule the 2018 landmark vote by the people .
Formerly incarcerated citizens are not entitled to vote , squawked these vindictive ballot suppressors , unless and until they ’ ve paid off the full amount of court costs and fees they were assessed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are asserting that money — even a few hundred dollars — must trump social justice , human decency and political rights .
They knew , of course , that most people coming out of Florida ’ s prisons are indigent and unable to pony up a thousand bucks or so .
Even if ex-felons are regularly making payments to clear the debt , the Republican repressors say tough luck — no vote until every penny is paid .
It ’ s a flagrant case of rigging the system to steal the votes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic policies and candidates .
It also amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax , made more intolerable by applying it to one class of citizens ( largely people of color ) specifically to disenfranchise them .
The court ’ s six-judge Republican majority ( five appointed by Trump ) cynically defied the U.S. Constitution and the Florida electorate just weeks before November ’ s presidential election , effectively incarcerating some 774,000 potential voters in a partisan debtor ’ s prison .
Yet , these people ’ s battle for justice goes on .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida Rights Restoration Coalition website .

Trump’s lies and tactics are worthy of the sleaziest of tinpot dictators from the banana republics of old, as he continues to install partisan judges.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump puffed himself up in full Trumpian pomposity to proclaim to us rubes: “We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.”
Well, “nothing else” … unless you count a record-shattering number of more than 20,000 documented lies that this huckster has uttered in only three-and-a-half years, making dishonesty the cornerstone of his corrupt administration. He’s now spewing a furious torrent of lies, insisting that a tsunami of voter fraud is about to hit our land and deny him reelection. He practically shrieks like Chicken Little, claiming that Democrats are meeting in secret cabals across America to pervert millions of ballots and steal the White House from him (as though it’s one of his personal properties).
Of course, as every investigation has concluded — including ones run by Republican partisans — the only widespread voter fraud in our country is the GOP fraud that voter fraud is rampant. But what’s really at work here is that The Donald is in a cold panic about losing, so his only hope is to do two things: First, use the fraud bugaboo as an excuse to restrict voting in precincts that vote for Democrats, and, second, delegitimize a Democratic win in advance by creating the myth that his loss could only be caused by hordes of illegal voters.
Thus, we’re seeing an egomaniacal incumbent who’s so weak and nefarious that he and his obsequious political party are actually spending untold millions of dollars in a disgraceful effort to try to keep American voters from casting ballots. Their tactics are worthy of the sleaziest of tinpot dictators from the banana republics of old. For example, they’ve simply closed the neighborhood voting places in thousands of Democratic areas, forcing people to scramble to get to the polls, and they’ve monkeyed with our nation’s postal service in a crude effort to restrict mail-in voting. Then, William Barr, Trump’s pathetic toady of an attorney general, even tried to boost the trickster’s chances by ludicrously suggesting it might not be illegal for his backers to vote twice!
So now, nearly four years after promising he’d tell us nothing but the truth, the fabricator in chief declared this year that he’s entitled to reelection because “Unlike so many who came before me, I keep my promises.” Obviously, that’s his fattest lie yet.
How extreme and needlessly nasty is the Republican Party’s massive campaign to thwart democracy? Ask the good people of Florida.
This was one of only three states with an antiquated law permanently taking away the voting rights of felons — even after they’d completed their punishment. In 2018, though, a whopping 64% of Floridians voted for a state constitutional amendment that finally struck this malicious bit of legal ugliness from the books, thus offering public grace to the redeemed. At last, about a million people who’d served their time would have their political personhood restored.
But — look out! — here came a raving gaggle of Republican operatives rushing to court to slam the door once more on the rights of discharged felons. Led by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s right-wing goose of a governor, the GOP demanded that an appeals court of federal partisan judges overrule the 2018 landmark vote by the people. Formerly incarcerated citizens are not entitled to vote, squawked these vindictive ballot suppressors, unless and until they’ve paid off the full amount of court costs and fees they were assessed.
Yes, once again, Republican leaders are asserting that money — even a few hundred dollars — must trump social justice, human decency and political rights. They knew, of course, that most people coming out of Florida’s prisons are indigent and unable to pony up a thousand bucks or so. Even if ex-felons are regularly making payments to clear the debt, the Republican repressors say tough luck — no vote until every penny is paid.
It’s a flagrant case of rigging the system to steal the votes of a low-income constituency generally inclined to support Democratic policies and candidates. It also amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax, made more intolerable by applying it to one class of citizens (largely people of color) specifically to disenfranchise them.
The court’s six-judge Republican majority (five appointed by Trump) cynically defied the U.S. Constitution and the Florida electorate just weeks before November’s presidential election, effectively incarcerating some 774,000 potential voters in a partisan debtor’s prison. Yet, these people’s battle for justice goes on. To stay connected, go to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition website.


humortimes--2020-10-04--White House Tax Service

White House Tax Service

We ’ re the White House Tax Service and we ’ ve got the answers to your tax filing questions .
The deadline for filing your 2020 income tax return isn ’ t until next April but it ’ s never too early to start preparing now .
We ’ re the White House Tax Service and we ’ ve got the answers to your tax filing questions : I ’ m a successful small businessman and I voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 because he promised a big tax break .
So far , I ’ m still paying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not Mr. Trump ’ s ; it ’ s clearly yours .
If you had signed on with us , you would have been realizing huge tax savings and , even in the best of years , paying no more than $ 750 .
I used to deduct significant charitable contributions on my income tax but now the IRS says I have to back up all those claims with receipts .
What can I do ?
You ’ re absolutely right but there ’ s no cause for concern .
Simply create your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can you issue your own receipts , you can also channel all kinds of financial transactions through your foundation as charitable contributions .
( HANDY HINT : Set up a straw bidder at auction to buy a portrait of yourself with foundation funds . )
I ’ ve gone over my return with a fine tooth comb looking for additional deductions but I can ’ t seem to come up with any more .
Any suggestions ?
Have you considered hair care expenses ?
If you host a reality TV show or even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occasionally refer to your hair , you should be able to write off such expenses .
And don ’ t forget to claim them for family members as well .
For the first time ever , I ’ m being audited by the IRS and I ’ m terrified .
What should I do ?
Don ’ t worry ; you should actually be thankful you ’ re being audited .
Audits take years and seldom amount to very much .
On the other hand , they provide a handy excuse to not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats should start nosing around .
Every year for years I ’ ve received a sizable refund from the IRS .
This year , it looks like I ’ m going to owe them a big amount .
What the heck happened ?
It sounds like you probably ran a successful business with a sizable profit .
Generally , we don ’ t recommend that approach .
Instead , we suggest you borrow as much money as you can and then run your business into the ground .
I know that sounds counterintuitive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ ve racked up a huge loss , you can carry it forward and apply it against any gains for years to come .
I ’ ve been playing the loss-carry-forward game for years now but it looks like I may have reached my limit .
Try as I might , I can ’ t seem to find banks willing to loan me any more money .
Any advice ?
No need to restrict yourself to domestic banks ; foreign banks are also willing to lend you money especially when you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to your eyeballs .
Rather than swallow a huge loss , they ’ re usually willing to loan you even more no matter how risky your business is .
I ’ ve run out of banks both foreign and domestic which will loan me money to keep my business afloat .
I ’ m already on the verge of bankruptcy and not sure what to do .
Bankruptcy is always an option especially if you structure your companies such that they don ’ t have access to your personal assets .
If that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered non-bank lenders ?
Think outside the legal box and start fishing for financial assistance anywhere from Azerbaijan to the UAE .
By the way , we ’ ve heard good things about Russia and China .

We’re the White House Tax Service and we’ve got the answers to your tax filing questions.
The deadline for filing your 2020 income tax return isn’t until next April but it’s never too early to start preparing now. We’re the White House Tax Service and we’ve got the answers to your tax filing questions:
I’m a successful small businessman and I voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 because he promised a big tax break. So far, I’m still paying five-figure tax bills.
The fault is not Mr. Trump’s; it’s clearly yours. If you had signed on with us, you would have been realizing huge tax savings and, even in the best of years, paying no more than $750.
I used to deduct significant charitable contributions on my income tax but now the IRS says I have to back up all those claims with receipts. What can I do?
You’re absolutely right but there’s no cause for concern. Simply create your own charitable foundation. Then not only can you issue your own receipts, you can also channel all kinds of financial transactions through your foundation as charitable contributions. (HANDY HINT: Set up a straw bidder at auction to buy a portrait of yourself with foundation funds.)
I’ve gone over my return with a fine tooth comb looking for additional deductions but I can’t seem to come up with any more. Any suggestions?
Have you considered hair care expenses? If you host a reality TV show or even if you just make public appearances and occasionally refer to your hair, you should be able to write off such expenses. And don’t forget to claim them for family members as well.
For the first time ever, I’m being audited by the IRS and I’m terrified. What should I do?
Don’t worry; you should actually be thankful you’re being audited. Audits take years and seldom amount to very much. On the other hand, they provide a handy excuse to not release your tax returns if some busybody Democrats should start nosing around.
Every year for years I’ve received a sizable refund from the IRS. This year, it looks like I’m going to owe them a big amount. What the heck happened?
It sounds like you probably ran a successful business with a sizable profit. Generally, we don’t recommend that approach. Instead, we suggest you borrow as much money as you can and then run your business into the ground. I know that sounds counterintuitive (if not un-American) but once you’ve racked up a huge loss, you can carry it forward and apply it against any gains for years to come.
I’ve been playing the loss-carry-forward game for years now but it looks like I may have reached my limit. Try as I might, I can’t seem to find banks willing to loan me any more money. Any advice?
No need to restrict yourself to domestic banks; foreign banks are also willing to lend you money especially when you’re already in hock to them up to your eyeballs. Rather than swallow a huge loss, they’re usually willing to loan you even more no matter how risky your business is.
I’ve run out of banks both foreign and domestic which will loan me money to keep my business afloat. I’m already on the verge of bankruptcy and not sure what to do.
Bankruptcy is always an option especially if you structure your companies such that they don’t have access to your personal assets. If that’s not possible, have you considered non-bank lenders? Think outside the legal box and start fishing for financial assistance anywhere from Azerbaijan to the UAE. By the way, we’ve heard good things about Russia and China.


humortimes--2020-10-04--Funnies Farrago: Pioneering Cartoonist Jackie Ormes

Jackie Ormes : The first professional black woman cartoonist in the U.S. Google has a Doodle every day .
I didn ’ t know this .
A Google Doodle , it sez here , is a special , temporary alteration of the logo on Google ’ s homepages intended to commemorate holidays , events , achievements , and notable historical figures .
Google got September off to a good start by highlighting a cartoonist in its Doodle for September 1 .
Not only was the Doodle about a cartoonist , it was also drawn by a cartoonist .
And both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are Black !
The occasion that prompted this happy coincidental , said Sarah Cascone at artnet.com , is the 75th anniversary of Jackie Ormes ’ longest-running cartoon , Patty-Jo ‘ n ’ Ginger , first published on September 1 , 1945 .
The single-panel cartoon , which featured the precocious insight of Ginger ’ s young sister Patty-Jo , ran for 11 years and inspired an unusual toy doll from Terri Lee : it was the first American Black doll to have an extensive line of clothes , and it eschewed common racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lines in the cartoon , including a few scathing comments on the evil of racism .
Ormes also did a Sunday comic strip , Torchy Brown in Heartbeats , which ran for many of the same years Patty-Jo ‘ n ’ Ginger ran .
To design its homepage Google Doodle tribute to Ormes , Google tapped Philadelphia-based artist Liz Montague ( who probably is the first Black woman cartoonist to make it into prestigious The New Yorker ; no one can say for sure because the race and other identities of a New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the magazine or recorded anywhere .
But no one today remembers seeing any Black women cartoonists around in years past . )
“ I drew a lot of inspiration from Jackie ’ s illustration style , such as the lines she uses as well as her compositions and layouts , ” Montague told Google .
“ Jackie is a huge inspiration for me… The illustrations are immaculate , the humor is witty , the social criticism is bitingly accurate—her work is just the total package .
She is why I create cartoons as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing it .
Jackie is a genius and paved the way for so many of us as a pioneer in the cartoon and illustration world.
” … “ Her work was unique and wholly unprecedented .
Not only were her lead characters female , they were strong , elegant , intelligent , urbane , opinionated , and witty and often leading extremely glamorous and cultured lives , ” Josphine Liptrott wrote of Ormes in a brief online biography for the Heroine Collective .
“ They challenged the derogatory caricatures of Black people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared in comics at that time.
” For more about Jackie Ormes , we can consult a book-length biography , Jackie Ormes : The First African American Woman Cartoonist ( 264 8.5×11-inch pages , some in color ; U. of Mich. Press 2008 hardcover , $ 35 ) by Nancy Goldstein .
Ormes ( 1911-1985 ) , whose maiden name was Zelda Mavin Jackson , was dubbed “ Jackie ” early in life , an invocation of her last name by relatives of the stepfather she acquired when her mother married again following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , of her biological father , William Winfield Jackson .
And when in 1931 Jackie married Earl Clark Ormes , a man seven years her senior , the neophyte cartoonist ’ s re-christening was complete .
When Earl died 45 years later , they were still married , but by then , Jackie had worked in weekly African American newspapers , starting at the Pittsburgh Courier and then at the Chicago Defender , as a reporter and writer .
And she had also produced a string of cartoon features , to wit— : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 1938 : Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem , a weekly comic strip in daily format August 19 , 1950 – September 18 , 1954 : Torchy returns in Torchy Brown in Heartbeats , a Sunday adventure comic strip in color The latter was often accompanied by Torchy ’ s Togs , a half-page panel in which Torchy appeared as a paper-doll with an impressive wardrobe clustered around her , demurely attired in her undies or a swimsuit—she was , in short , a pin-up ( and she bore a remarkable resemblance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pittsburgh Courier , for which Ormes produced her most remembered cartoon features , had fourteen regional editions , and the Pittsburgh edition distributed Patty-Jo ‘ n ’ Ginger and Torchy to all of them .
In other words , Ormes was syndicated nationally albeit not on the scale of , say , King Features .
Ormes was , Liptrott says , “ the only Black female cartoonist to have been syndicated in the U.S. until the 1990s.
” Most Black newspapers of the time were vehicles of social uplift , dedicated to championing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests , and Ormes ’ cartooning was devoted to the same project .
“ The newspaper industry of mid-20th century America offered precious few opportunities for women , still less for women of color , ” Liptrott observed .
“ This made Jackie Ormes ’ achievement as a successful Black female cartoonist all the more remarkable .
“ Her work was unique and wholly unprecedented , ” Liptrott went on .
“ Not only were her lead characters female , they were strong , elegant , intelligent , urbane , opinionated and witty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives.
” The Goldstein Ormes biography , to which the author was prompted by her interest in dolls , becoming diverted when she learned that the first “ Negro ” doll , Ormes ’ Patty-Jo , was based upon the cartoon character , is the shortest part of the book—about 90 pages of text , plus a 23-page chapter about Jackie ’ s doll-making career .
Most of the remainder of the volume reprints healthy samples of Ormes ’ panel cartoons and strips , many not seen since their initial publication in Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time , we have a good idea of just how , for instance , Torchy Brown ’ s 1950s incarnation was different than her initial appearance in the 1930s .
The latter was a humorous continuity about a small-town girl venturing into the big city ; the former , a serious adventure strip , in which Torchy is menaced more than once by would-be rapists .
Unhappily , the reproduction of Ormes ’ work is sometimes problematic : Goldstein had to use microfilm for the Dixie strips , Candy , and many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also found 25 Patt-Jo originals and included those .
Heartbeats , reproduced from tearsheets , is all in color , 19 pages of it , the longest stretch I ’ ve ever seen of the strip for which Jackie Ormes is most remembered .
But it was in Patty-Jo and Ginger that the cartoonist often took a stand on many of the controversial political and cultural issues of the day , speaking openly and critically about racism , the arms build-up , and current foreign policy and in favor of voter awareness and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mainstream newspapers , ” Goldstein notes , “ all done by a Black woman.
” Although Jackie was fair-skinned enough to pass for white , she was much too dedicated to African American causes to abandon her birthright .
The section reprinting Patty-Jo and Ginger is the longest in the book , 44 pages with two cartoons to a page , each extensively annotated by Goldstein , who explains the social and political context of the comedy .
Having never beheld this feature before , I was intrigued by its unusual rhetoric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 or 9 , gets all the lines , often speaking out against racism or some other societal hang-up , while her older sister , Ginger , a statuesque beauty , never talks at all : she is just there , standing or posturing in ways that display her admirable figure or her high fashion frocks .
Ginger , in other words , is a pin-up , Ormes ’ canny come-on that seduced readers , female ( for the fashions ) as well as male ( for the sex appeal ) , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on them .
So successful was Jackie at this maneuver and so outspoken on liberal issues such as racial equity and the folly of American foreign policy both in the cartoon and in activist organizations that she was investigated by Edgar Hoover ’ s FBI , and Goldstein presents the evidence : one of the appendices of the book consists of excerpts from Ormes ’ FBI file , including paraphrases of Jackie ’ s testimony when questioned about her involvement with so-called Communist front groups : “ Ormes pointed out that being a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberal she could clearly see where she might be misled by the programs of front groups without necessarily seeing the underlying objectives of such organizations.
” She also said she thought the Communist movement was somewhat innocuous , “ constituting no apparent threat to the continued existence of this country ’ s form of Government.
” Although Jackie Ormes worked in daily journalism , she was a member of the elite Black social set in Chicago for most of her adult life .
Her childhood was spent in Monongahela , Pennsylvania , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Pittsburgh , but she moved to the Windy City in 1938 , when the “ Chicago Renaissance ” in Black culture was surfacing in the wake of the dissipating “ Harlem Renaissance ” in New York .
Bronzeville , South Side Chicago , reportedly was “ the largest Negro city in the world ” after Harlem .
Jackie ’ s husband had started in banking in Pittsburgh , but the Depression elbowed him out of that occupation , and in Chicago , he became manager of the DuSable Hotel , known for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years there , he took a similar position at the Sutherland Hotel , one of the classiest in the area , where all the visiting Black dignitaries bunked when in town .
In Pittsburgh , Jackie numbered Lena Horne and Billy Eckstine among her friends ; in Chicago , possibly Duke Ellington and Count Basie .
Her feisty demeanor and professional success in almost every endeavor masked a tragedy Jackie suffered early in life when her only child , a daughter named Jacqueline , died in 1936 .
Goldstein writes : “ Treatments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1930s , and at the age of three-and-a-half , Jacqueline died while cradled in her mother ’ s arms .
According to her sister Delores , Jackie was determined not to bear more children or to go through heartache like that again .
She was always to keep her sorrow to herself , never speaking about Jacqueline , except once to tell Delores , ‘ I will never lose my empty arms.
’ ” Despite its seeming brevity , this book is excellent , a revealing and thoroughly documented glimpse into African @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist mores of the era , and the professional and personal life of a little-known but oft-celebrated figure in the history of American cartooning .
Goldstein is scholarly without being pedantic , performing extensive research into the existing record of Ormes ’ oeuvre and interviewing the cartoonist ’ s surviving relatives , who , upon learning of Goldstein ’ s interest , shared family stories , newspaper clippings , and photographs .
“ At a time when America ’ s media depicted the Black population in a generally derogatory way , Jackie Ormes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stereotypes and provided bright and brilliant role models in her work , ” said Liptrott .
“ She was an inspiration , a trailblazer and an incredible agent of change.
” And Goldstein ’ s book , in bringing to light the work and achievements of this Black female cartoonist , supplies the reasons for Liptrott ’ s assessment .

Jackie Ormes: The first professional black woman cartoonist in the U.S.
Google has a Doodle every day. I didn’t know this. A Google Doodle, it sez here, is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. Google got September off to a good start by highlighting a cartoonist in its Doodle for September 1. Not only was the Doodle about a cartoonist, it was also drawn by a cartoonist. And both cartoonists are women. And both women are Black!
The occasion that prompted this happy coincidental, said Sarah Cascone at artnet.com, is the 75th anniversary of Jackie Ormes’ longest-running cartoon, Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger, first published on September 1, 1945. The single-panel cartoon, which featured the precocious insight of Ginger’s young sister Patty-Jo, ran for 11 years and inspired an unusual toy doll from Terri Lee: it was the first American Black doll to have an extensive line of clothes, and it eschewed common racial stereotypes.
Patty-Joe gets all the good lines in the cartoon, including a few scathing comments on the evil of racism. Ormes also did a Sunday comic strip, Torchy Brown in Heartbeats, which ran for many of the same years Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger ran.
To design its homepage Google Doodle tribute to Ormes, Google tapped Philadelphia-based artist Liz Montague (who probably is the first Black woman cartoonist to make it into prestigious The New Yorker; no one can say for sure because the race and other identities of a New Yorker cartoonist is not systematically solicited by the magazine or recorded anywhere. But no one today remembers seeing any Black women cartoonists around in years past.)
“I drew a lot of inspiration from Jackie’s illustration style, such as the lines she uses as well as her compositions and layouts,” Montague told Google.
“Jackie is a huge inspiration for me… The illustrations are immaculate, the humor is witty, the social criticism is bitingly accurate—her work is just the total package. She is why I create cartoons as social justice and why I feel valid doing it. Jackie is a genius and paved the way for so many of us as a pioneer in the cartoon and illustration world.” …
“Her work was unique and wholly unprecedented. Not only were her lead characters female, they were strong, elegant, intelligent, urbane, opinionated, and witty and often leading extremely glamorous and cultured lives,” Josphine Liptrott wrote of Ormes in a brief online biography for the Heroine Collective. “They challenged the derogatory caricatures of Black people, and especially Black women, which usually appeared in comics at that time.”
For more about Jackie Ormes, we can consult a book-length biography, Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist (264 8.5×11-inch pages, some in color; U. of Mich. Press 2008 hardcover, $35) by Nancy Goldstein.
Ormes (1911-1985), whose maiden name was Zelda Mavin Jackson, was dubbed “Jackie” early in life, an invocation of her last name by relatives of the stepfather she acquired when her mother married again following the death, in an auto accident, of her biological father, William Winfield Jackson. And when in 1931 Jackie married Earl Clark Ormes, a man seven years her senior, the neophyte cartoonist’s re-christening was complete. When Earl died 45 years later, they were still married, but by then, Jackie had worked in weekly African American newspapers, starting at the Pittsburgh Courier and then at the Chicago Defender, as a reporter and writer. And she had also produced a string of cartoon features, to wit—:
May 1, 1937 – April 30, 1938: Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem, a weekly comic strip in daily format
March 24 – July 21, 1945: Candy, a panel cartoon about a wise-cracking housemaid
September 1, 1945 – September 22, 1956: Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger, another panel cartoon, her longest running
August 19, 1950 – September 18, 1954: Torchy returns in Torchy Brown in Heartbeats, a Sunday adventure comic strip in color
The latter was often accompanied by Torchy’s Togs, a half-page panel in which Torchy appeared as a paper-doll with an impressive wardrobe clustered around her, demurely attired in her undies or a swimsuit—she was, in short, a pin-up (and she bore a remarkable resemblance to her diminutive creator).
The Pittsburgh Courier, for which Ormes produced her most remembered cartoon features, had fourteen regional editions, and the Pittsburgh edition distributed Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger and Torchy to all of them. In other words, Ormes was syndicated nationally albeit not on the scale of, say, King Features. Ormes was, Liptrott says, “the only Black female cartoonist to have been syndicated in the U.S. until the 1990s.”
Most Black newspapers of the time were vehicles of social uplift, dedicated to championing Black citizens’ causes and advocating their interests, and Ormes’ cartooning was devoted to the same project.
“The newspaper industry of mid-20th century America offered precious few opportunities for women, still less for women of color,” Liptrott observed. “This made Jackie Ormes’ achievement as a successful Black female cartoonist all the more remarkable.
“Her work was unique and wholly unprecedented,” Liptrott went on. “Not only were her lead characters female, they were strong, elegant, intelligent, urbane, opinionated and witty and often leading extremely glamorous and cultured lives.”
The Goldstein Ormes biography, to which the author was prompted by her interest in dolls, becoming diverted when she learned that the first “Negro” doll, Ormes’ Patty-Jo, was based upon the cartoon character, is the shortest part of the book—about 90 pages of text, plus a 23-page chapter about Jackie’s doll-making career.
Most of the remainder of the volume reprints healthy samples of Ormes’ panel cartoons and strips, many not seen since their initial publication in Black newspapers—enough of each that, for the first time, we have a good idea of just how, for instance, Torchy Brown’s 1950s incarnation was different than her initial appearance in the 1930s. The latter was a humorous continuity about a small-town girl venturing into the big city; the former, a serious adventure strip, in which Torchy is menaced more than once by would-be rapists.
Unhappily, the reproduction of Ormes’ work is sometimes problematic: Goldstein had to use microfilm for the Dixie strips, Candy, and many of the Patty-Jo panels, but she also found 25 Patt-Jo originals and included those.
Heartbeats, reproduced from tearsheets, is all in color, 19 pages of it, the longest stretch I’ve ever seen of the strip for which Jackie Ormes is most remembered.
But it was in Patty-Jo and Ginger that the cartoonist often took a stand on many of the controversial political and cultural issues of the day, speaking openly and critically about racism, the arms build-up, and current foreign policy and in favor of voter awareness and feminist concerns—“stuff hardly seen in the mainstream newspapers,” Goldstein notes, “all done by a Black woman.”
Although Jackie was fair-skinned enough to pass for white, she was much too dedicated to African American causes to abandon her birthright.
The section reprinting Patty-Jo and Ginger is the longest in the book, 44 pages with two cartoons to a page, each extensively annotated by Goldstein, who explains the social and political context of the comedy. Having never beheld this feature before, I was intrigued by its unusual rhetoric.
Patty-Jo, a girl of about 8 or 9, gets all the lines, often speaking out against racism or some other societal hang-up, while her older sister, Ginger, a statuesque beauty, never talks at all: she is just there, standing or posturing in ways that display her admirable figure or her high fashion frocks. Ginger, in other words, is a pin-up, Ormes’ canny come-on that seduced readers, female (for the fashions) as well as male (for the sex appeal), so Patty-Jo could lay short socially conscious sermons on them.
So successful was Jackie at this maneuver and so outspoken on liberal issues such as racial equity and the folly of American foreign policy both in the cartoon and in activist organizations that she was investigated by Edgar Hoover’s FBI, and Goldstein presents the evidence: one of the appendices of the book consists of excerpts from Ormes’ FBI file, including paraphrases of Jackie’s testimony when questioned about her involvement with so-called Communist front groups:
“Ormes pointed out that being a member of a minority group and a liberal she could clearly see where she might be misled by the programs of front groups without necessarily seeing the underlying objectives of such organizations.”
She also said she thought the Communist movement was somewhat innocuous, “constituting no apparent threat to the continued existence of this country’s form of Government.”
Although Jackie Ormes worked in daily journalism, she was a member of the elite Black social set in Chicago for most of her adult life. Her childhood was spent in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and she lived and worked for seven years in Pittsburgh, but she moved to the Windy City in 1938, when the “Chicago Renaissance” in Black culture was surfacing in the wake of the dissipating “Harlem Renaissance” in New York.
Bronzeville, South Side Chicago, reportedly was “the largest Negro city in the world” after Harlem. Jackie’s husband had started in banking in Pittsburgh, but the Depression elbowed him out of that occupation, and in Chicago, he became manager of the DuSable Hotel, known for its Black celebrity clientele. After ten years there, he took a similar position at the Sutherland Hotel, one of the classiest in the area, where all the visiting Black dignitaries bunked when in town.
In Pittsburgh, Jackie numbered Lena Horne and Billy Eckstine among her friends; in Chicago, possibly Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Her feisty demeanor and professional success in almost every endeavor masked a tragedy Jackie suffered early in life when her only child, a daughter named Jacqueline, died in 1936. Goldstein writes:
“Treatments for childhood cancers were not advanced in the 1930s, and at the age of three-and-a-half, Jacqueline died while cradled in her mother’s arms. According to her sister Delores, Jackie was determined not to bear more children or to go through heartache like that again. She was always to keep her sorrow to herself, never speaking about Jacqueline, except once to tell Delores, ‘I will never lose my empty arms.’”
Despite its seeming brevity, this book is excellent, a revealing and thoroughly documented glimpse into African American life of the times, the racist mores of the era, and the professional and personal life of a little-known but oft-celebrated figure in the history of American cartooning. Goldstein is scholarly without being pedantic, performing extensive research into the existing record of Ormes’ oeuvre and interviewing the cartoonist’s surviving relatives, who, upon learning of Goldstein’s interest, shared family stories, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
“At a time when America’s media depicted the Black population in a generally derogatory way, Jackie Ormes challenged the status quo, flouted the stereotypes and provided bright and brilliant role models in her work,” said Liptrott. “She was an inspiration, a trailblazer and an incredible agent of change.”
And Goldstein’s book, in bringing to light the work and achievements of this Black female cartoonist, supplies the reasons for Liptrott’s assessment.


The Ballot Counters

Trump announced that he would be naming Mazars USA , the same company that prepares the Trump Organization tax returns , as the official ballot counters .
Disclaimer : Please be aware that all information in this article is provided with no guarantee of completeness , accuracy , timeliness , or humor .
President Trump has been making his opposition to mail-in voting a major theme in the 2020 election .
He insists that it will lead to widespread fraud .
Trump has also asserted that the results won ’ t be known on election night because so many Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to the pandemic and it will take a lot of time to count them all .
“ You won ’ t know the election results for weeks , months , maybe years after .
Maybe you ’ ll never know the election outcome unless I take decisive action , ” he claimed .
There appears to be little that the President can do to stop states from allowing people to mail in their ballots , but he has developed a plan to speed up the counting of them .
Yesterday , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stunned reporters by announcing that he would be signing an executive order naming the accounting firm , Mazars USA LLP , as the official ballot counters for all mail-in votes .
Mazars USA has been in the news lately as they are the accounting firm that has been preparing the Trump Organization tax returns that the failing New York Times has recently reported on .
“ We will be using Mazars , ” the president declared , “ because they said very strongly and powerfully that they can do a beautiful count .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ That I can tell you .
They are accountants so they obviously are not people that you want to socialize with ( ZZZZZ ) , but they know how to count things .
Mazars has big , beautiful numbers and they also have unbelievably beautiful small numbers as you have seen on my tax returns.
” “ They will be counting the ballots including some of the Black , LGBT , and Muslim ones and even many submitted by the Hispanics who love me by the way.
” Trump then explained that even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing the tallying , he will have the figures audited by another accounting firm to further ensure that the election results are accurate and free of fraud .
Trump said that he hadn ’ t decided on the audit firm although he was adamant that it would not be Ernest & Young who tabulates the voting for the Emmy Awards .
“ Those awards are rigged because The Apprentice didn ’ t win .
I should have gotten an Emmy , ” he cried .
Trump went on to state that , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be released while they were under audit .
He estimates that the audit should be completed by no later than November 2024 .
Later , in an unrelated statement , Trump announced that he would bypass the Senate confirmation process and sign another executive order naming Amy Farrah Fowler to the Supreme Court .
She is very smart and is , in fact , a Roads Scholar having traveled extensively throughout our great country .
Trump explained that not having a law degree was not a liability for her and that her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump said it would be helpful to have someone on the Supreme Court who understands why he behaves the way he does and that he has an incredibly big brain .
We ’ ll see what happens .

Trump announced that he would be naming Mazars USA, the same company that prepares the Trump Organization tax returns, as the official ballot counters.
Disclaimer: Please be aware that all information in this article is provided with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness, or humor.
President Trump has been making his opposition to mail-in voting a major theme in the 2020 election. He insists that it will lead to widespread fraud. Trump has also asserted that the results won’t be known on election night because so many Americans will opt to send in their ballot due to the pandemic and it will take a lot of time to count them all. “You won’t know the election results for weeks, months, maybe years after. Maybe you’ll never know the election outcome unless I take decisive action,” he claimed.
There appears to be little that the President can do to stop states from allowing people to mail in their ballots, but he has developed a plan to speed up the counting of them.
Yesterday, in a hastily called news conference, Trump stunned reporters by announcing that he would be signing an executive order naming the accounting firm, Mazars USA LLP, as the official ballot counters for all mail-in votes. Mazars USA has been in the news lately as they are the accounting firm that has been preparing the Trump Organization tax returns that the failing New York Times has recently reported on.
“We will be using Mazars,” the president declared, “because they said very strongly and powerfully that they can do a beautiful count. And they are fast ballot counters. That I can tell you. They are accountants so they obviously are not people that you want to socialize with (ZZZZZ), but they know how to count things. Mazars has big, beautiful numbers and they also have unbelievably beautiful small numbers as you have seen on my tax returns.”
“They will be counting the ballots including some of the Black, LGBT, and Muslim ones and even many submitted by the Hispanics who love me by the way.”
Trump then explained that even with a big-league accounting firm like Mazars doing the tallying, he will have the figures audited by another accounting firm to further ensure that the election results are accurate and free of fraud. Trump said that he hadn’t decided on the audit firm although he was adamant that it would not be Ernest & Young who tabulates the voting for the Emmy Awards. “Those awards are rigged because The Apprentice didn’t win. I should have gotten an Emmy,” he cried. Trump went on to state that, of course, the election results couldn’t be released while they were under audit. He estimates that the audit should be completed by no later than November 2024.
Later, in an unrelated statement, Trump announced that he would bypass the Senate confirmation process and sign another executive order naming Amy Farrah Fowler to the Supreme Court. She is very smart and is, in fact, a Roads Scholar having traveled extensively throughout our great country. Trump explained that not having a law degree was not a liability for her and that her knowledge of neuroscience would come in handy. Trump said it would be helpful to have someone on the Supreme Court who understands why he behaves the way he does and that he has an incredibly big brain.
We’ll see what happens.