The Funny Papers

Michael de Adder, Dennis Goris, JD Crowe, Lalo Alcaraz, Jack Ohman, Ruben L. Oppenheimer, Gary Huck, Jesse Duquette, Nick Anderson, Max Espinoza, Ann Telnaes, Pedro X Molina

The Funny Papers

#IStandWithAnn Pedro X Molina

#IStandWithAnn JD Crowe

#IStandWithAnn Jack Ohman

#IStandWithAnn Barry Blitt

#IStandWithAnn Daniel Murphy

Kevin Necessary, Mike Luckovich, Dave Whamond, Phil Hands, Darrin Bell, Andy Marlette, Gary Huck, Walt Handelsman, Lalo Alcaraz, Dennis Goris, Nick Anderson, Michael de Adder, Clay Bennett, Pedro X Molina,

The Funny Papers:Ann Telnaes Resigns

Last week Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes announced she had resigned from The Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish that cartoon upo there depicting billionaire Post owner Jeff Bezos on bended knee in front of President-elect Felon:

“I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.”

The cartoon depicts Bezos, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI chief Sam Altman on their knees, handing over bags of cash to a statue of The Felon next to a lipstick-holding Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and bowing Mickey Mouse. Telnaes said the cartoon “criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect,” satirizing “these men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to Mar-a-lago.”

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists [AAEC] condemned The Post’s decision, accusing the newspaper of “craven censorship” and “political cowardice":

“Editorial cartooning is the tip of the spear in opinion, and the Post’s cowering further soils their once-stellar reputation for standing up and speaking truth to power. We weep for the loss of this once great newspaper.”

 The AAEC then called on other cartoonists to finish Telnaes’ sketch and post it online in a show of solidarity.

After resigning, though, Ann Telnaes created another cartoon and here it is:

Bobservations

Sometimes it’s just a simple giggle, like last night as we sat watching the news before going to bed, and Carlos said:

“You might think I’m crazy—”

“I always do.”

And then he proceeds to tell me how he feels Tuxedo in the house, and Tuxedo trying to climb onto his chair, and I said:

“That’s not crazy at all.”

This is a Tuxedo from way back in April 2009:

“Yup, that's how it's done!”

That was always the best way to find him, stretched out in the sun enjoying himself.

The flowers are blooming, the trees are leafing out, the days are growing longer, and so I dug my Spring Ensemble from the closet.

Dear Republicans: Please stop acting like arming teachers is the answer when you don’t even trust them to pick out books for your children or teach actual history to your children.

A Wisconsin teacher had asked kids to sing a Miley Cyrus song, but school administrators say it’s too controversial for elementary school because the song, “Rainbowland,” a duet between Cyrus and Dolly Parton features the line:

“Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise … where we’re free to be exactly who we are.”

So controversial.

James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, will stand trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the four deaths their son caused in a November 2021 school shooting.

Good.

I pissed off two people today by calling them hipsters. Apparently the politically correct term is conjoined twins.

Yeah, I know, I’m gonna burn in Hell …

In Utah, a parent has grown Frustrated by the books being removed from school libraries and says there’s one book that hasn’t been challenged, but perhaps should be. So they submitted a request for the district to review the Bible for inappropriate content like:

“Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide. You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.”

Pornography, right?

When you go to vote from now on through forever, pleased remember that the very next day after three children were shot dead in a Nashville school, Republicans turned to Congress still wearing their assault weapons pins in lieu of the American flag pins.

If that doesn’t sicken you, you have no soul.

The show Minx first appeared on HBOMax but wasn’t renewed after it’s first season, so Starz picked it up. It’s about a woman trying to start a feminist magazine in the early 70s and being coerced into adding nude men to increase circulation. After the first episode aired, my thought was: “I have never seen so many penises at one time in my life;” and I’ve seen a lotta dick, just sayin’. And the first two centerfolds were quite hot, though they both used the prosthetic penis in their full nude scenes, so I’ll just give their names—Taylor Zakhar Perez, left, and Nate Crnkovich, right—and faces, and their rather  nice asses, then ask the age old question: Which One Would You Hit?

It Couldn't Happen Here In America?

As I told Carlos over breakfast yesterday, I can find a showtune to fit every mood, occasion, or story, and after reading this particular news item, the song ‘Something Bad,’ from Wicked, instantly sprang to mind:

“Oh, Miss Elphaba, the things one hears these days

Dreadful things
I've heard of an Ox, a professor from Quox
No longer permitted to teach
Who has lost all powers of speech
And an owl in Munchkin Rock
A vicar with a thriving flock
Forbidden to preach
Now he only can screech
Only rumors, but still enough to give pause
To anyone with paws
Something bad is happening in Oz.”

But the something bad is happening in America …

Summer Boismier, a teacher in Norman, Oklahoma, has resigned her position after being reprimanded for placing the Brooklyn Libraries QR code in her classroom. That code allows people everywhere the ability to download and read the books banned in this country by our public school system. In addition to the QR code, Boismier placed butcher paper over her classroom bookshelves with the words "Books the state doesn't want you to read":

"I saw this as an opportunity for my kids who were seeing their stories hidden to skirt that directive. Nowhere in my directives did it say we can't put a QR code on a wall."

But a parent complained that Boismier was talking about politics in class :::gasp::: and she was reprimanded because Oklahoma's new law, House Bill 1775, says a teacher may not teach anything that makes a student feel uncomfortable on the basis of their race or sex. But Boismier was talking about books, and not even specific books, just banned books.

And in America today speaking of banned books can cause you to lose your job..

Wes Moody, a Norman Public School [NPS] spokesperson, said the issue did not center around the QR code, though he did not specify what the real issue was, though he claims Boismier made "personal political statements" and made a "political display" in the classroom. I imagine that was the "Books the state doesn't want you to read” sign  which is, in fact, the truth.

Enter State education secretary Ryan Walters, clearly a rightwingnut loon, who first said Boismier was fired—she was not—and then backtracked on that, but claimed that by sharing that QR code, Boismier provided pornographic material to her students. And for that lie, he wants her teaching certificate revoked, which the Department of Education says would be the first teaching certificate revocation of its kind in that state. But Ryan Walters wants to make sure that Summer Boismier cannot teach anywhere in this country because she gave her students access to book he deems unacceptable.

“There is no place for a teacher with a liberal political agenda in the classroom. Ms. Boismier’s providing access to banned and pornographic material to students is unacceptable and we must ensure she doesn’t go to another district and do the same thing.”

Now, wait a moment; doesn’t that sound political, if Walters is suggesting only rightwing conservatives teach in public schools? In America is speech only free is it fits the narrow-minded narrative of conservatives?

And while Ryan Walters is a vile human being, even more disgusting is GOP state Senator Rob Standridge, co-author of HB 1775, who says Boismier should be criminally prosecuted for sharing the QR code because book sharing is a crime in America in 2022.

The district, in its statement about Boismier's resignation, said some colleagues shared her concerns about HB 1775:

"Like many educators the teacher has concerns regarding censorship and book removal by the Oklahoma state legislature. However, as has always been our expectation, we want our classrooms to be places where ALL students feel welcome."

How are ALL students welcomed if you remove books about LGBTQ+ American? How are young people of color made to feel welcome when history is scrubbed of the indignities their ancestors suffered?

Linda E. Johnson, president and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library, says the library will continue to support teachers like Summer Boismier:

"The democratic principles on which both our nation and public libraries were founded include the right of every individual to seek information from all points of view. Brooklyn Public Library stands firmly with Summer Boismier and all who champion free expression, intellectual freedom, and the right to read."

And on the upside, a small upside, Heather Hall, owner of Green Feather Book Company in Norman, Oklahoma is stepping up by giving away free T-shirts to NPS students with the QR code to the Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned Project:

"A teacher should not be held responsible for anything at a public library, even if she was the one who made the library more accessible to the students."

Hall believes the shirts don't violate Oklahoma law because students, not teachers, will be wearing them, and NPS spokesperson Wes Moody agreed that, under the school district's dress code, students will be allowed to wear the T-shirts; and Hall added:

"I really hope [the shirts empower the] administration to be brave, to stand up for education, for public education, for the open and free exchange of ideas, and for the hard conversations. As parents, we always have to have the hard conversations, and for us, with the way public education has evolved, sometimes those conversations have to happen in public schools. and as long as they're respectful of all walks of life and all views, I think that it's important to allow kids to have these conversations, particularly around literature."

It couldn't happen here in Oz America

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The Funny Papers

Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Marc Murphy, Walt Handelsman, JD Crowe, David Horsey, Pat Bagley, Bill Day, RJ Matson, Darrin Bell, Michael de Adder, Drew Sheneman, Mike Smith, Kevin Siers, Clay Bennett,