Tart Monkeys

My take on Roger Ailes and Steve Bannon.

Trumpian Worldview

This comic criticizes what I see as the tendacy of Trump supporters to be hysterical even though things are objectively fairly good.

Just tonight I argued with a relative, asking them what about Obama is so bad, 4.9% unemployment, 20 million people insured, or 16 million jobs created.

This comic is also loosely based on an incident that occurred at my store on Black Friday. A woman came in with her face all bloodied and it turned out he had just hit her head on her car running from a man who wasn't even out to do anything to her. Black Friday is nowhere near as violent as the media portrays it, and the fact that people thought there was a fight inspired this comic.

Merry Christmas

Here is a Christmas themed issue for Christmas. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

Swamp Report: Rex Tillerson

This is my take on Rex Tillerson. Next week the Swamp Report will be taking a week off, but the comic that is uploaded in its place will still be about members of the Trump Administration.

Playing Opposum

Given the probable negative impact Trump's election will have on abortion rights, here is one supporting a woman's right to chose.

Quick

This one was one of the first I wrote, but it is also light on substance so I have saved it until now. Just a comic saying that the deluge of vehement insults will continue.

Swamp Report: Jeff Sessions

Tonight I am continuing with a bit I debuted a few weeks ago called the Swamp Report. These will be focused on an incoming member of the Trump Administration and will post on Thursdays for the duration of the filibuster.

Tonight's is about Jeff Sessions. My main beef with him is detailed in the comic. Sessions hates drugs, which signals to me that he would continue the disastrous War on Drugs rather than the treatment focused approach that we need. He also supports torture, which is dangerous. It further tells me that Sessions will continue the militarization of police and that we should expect him to do little about police brutality.

His past racist comments also alarm, but as Joe Biden said, people do change. I'm willing to give him a chance. Still, those statements, if they reflect Sessions' current thinking are alarming. So too, is Sessions seeming contempt to dissidence.

In short, Jeff Sessions worries me.

Next week on the Swamp Report, will be a report about Rex Tillerson.

More Advice for Trump...

This is a sequel to my first advice for Trump script. It of course, covers the Taiwan controversy. I also am disgusted, but not surprised at how Trump still makes angry rants on Twitter now that's he's the President Elect.

It is significant to me because many people I know seem to think Trump has become more presidential after his election. I hear the first stage of grief is denial.

Not News

This issue is, of course, about the epidemic of fake news which permeated this election cycle.

Come back Tuesday for more of the Trump filibuster.

Terracotta Warriors

Tonight's comic hits out at Trump for another disturbing aspect of his ideology. That is his complete hostility towards the press and Freedom of Speech.

Come back Sunday for more of the filibuster.

Adivce for Trump

This comic pokes fun at some basic things Trump has said that are stupid.

Grab em' by the...

This comic concerns one of Donald Trump's most infamous statements. It also pokes fun at Trump claiming he will bring back American jobs.

Yes, this was written before Trump struck a deal with Carrier to keep 1,000 jobs in the US. I decided to still release it though, since those thousand are a drop in the bucket compared to all the jobs Trump would need to secure to keep his promises.

In production notes, this comic had me make models for both Dayton's Wife and Damon.

Swamp Report

(Sorry for the lateness of the update, I forget that I do three a week for the time being.)

This issue pokes fun at the Hamilton controversy. It also pokes fun at our own lead time. We have never been that good at being topical, although, at this point, right now, the issue is that Trump is such an all encompassing target, it is hard to chose what to knock him for.

I have certain reservations about releasing a comic which is just making fun of a guy. I actually wrote a comic featuring John Boehner during Rick’s original run. It mocks Boehner for crying and I opted against making it. Still, with Trump, he’s just such a twit about things that I feel obligated to mock him. If you shit all over freedom of speech, I’m going to poke fun at your VP’s resting bitch face.

From a production standpoint, this was a big issue. Not only did I get to make the 3D model of Jimmy, but I got to further experiment with how the costumes in the comic will look. This comic exposed some pitfalls I have to work out in the process. Rick, the Cryptozoologist is much more technically challenging and demanding than Con Nachzehrer.

From a story perspective, this will also mark the beginnings of Lillian showing off her talent. I mentioned that I wanted to do some Feminist strips. Part of that is having stronger female characters, and I thought it would be fun to further develop Lillian as a Cryptozoologist. Rick being hostile to others having ideas is also a dig at myself. I tend to be tyrannical about my writing. Though, I am trying to be better.

I feel like my tyranny strained my friendships with both Dustin and Stephen, and it just isn’t worth it. Besides, they both made very important contributions to our comics when we were collaborating.

The final note is that I changed the credits in this issue. I simply put that the art was made in DAZ Studio. I don’t really create the art so much as manipulate it. I pay for the 3D models I use. I apologize to any of the 3D artists for the previous issues where this wasn’t properly credited. I wasn’t quite sure how to phrase the credit.

Come back Sunday for more of the Trump Filibuster.

The Worst Impacts of Climate Change...

This issue is about Climate Change. As I said previously, this is another disastrous aspect of Trumpism. In fact, on election night I posited to friends that Climate Change was the biggest tragedy of this entire election.

Unlike some of the other issues we face, Climate Change must be addressed now, and the impacts will be nigh impossible to reverse. This comic was actually the first one I wrote in the wake of the election. On November 9^th I texted this to Dustin. It was much like the 2014 midterms when I proposed to bring Rick back. Vociferations were only to be a backup for when Rick could not be produced.

The main reason I held this comic back is because it was technically challenging. With all the teddy bears, I had hoped that it would be one Dustin would tackle. It would have been much easier for him than for me in DAZ. One positive aspect of me working in DAZ and Blender is that I get to experience all the hell I put Dustin through with my scripts over the years. My ideas are expensive and cheap. In my head of course, these things cost nothing.

Another challenging aspect of this issue is that it marks the first time that someone dresses up in a costume. I don’t think I’ve quite nailed the art of doing this, but I think it is a good first step. Even though the costume is nothing like I wanted, I like how it turned out.

Tune in Thursday for more of the Trump filibuster.

I've found Jesus!

This issue is about both Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and his stance on Muslims. Donald Trump’s appeal to Xenophobia is appalling. It stirs up hate crimes and energizes the Alternative Right, even if Donald Trump is now trying to condemn them.

Xenophobia is completely self defeating. It energizes Muslim extremists, and, for Hispanics, it sows resentment in a growing Demographic. Not to mention that the people Donald Trump are vilifying are just a scapegoat and an easy sounding solution to our problems.

With this, I have criticized almost every major aspect of Trumpism. I still have to criticize Trump’s stance on Climate Change, and trust me, that is coming. I plan to have a comic for every single Donald Trump policy position, and possibly every single crooked person Donald Trump puts in his administration. That is part of the reason I wanted to do the filibuster. Trump’s policies are so bad that they deserve a rebuttal. They deserve one sooner rather than later.

In production notes, doing the Beast of Bodmin Kid was a challenge. I was really worried about creating his character. I am disappointed that it didn’t turn out closer to the way he appears when Dustin draws him. I like the Beast of Bodmin Kid, and I can’t imagine no having him in the comic. Overall, I am happy with how he turned out.

I actually did the Beast of Bodmin Kid before I did Dayton or Lillian just because I was so nervous about creating his look. Like I said though, I am happy with how he turned out. I also feel like doing the Beast of Bodmin Kid was a practice run for doing the other costumes which will appear in the comic. I feel much better about doing those models now that I have done the Beast of Bodmin Kid.

This set is the exterior school from Con Nachzehrer. I figured that it could double as a church. The van is new.

Come back Tuesday for more of the Donald Trump Filibuster.

Bad Metaphor

Tonight’s issue brings up another important aspect of Trumpism, which is Sexism. Trumpism is basically all the crappiest isms rolled into one tidy package.

I mentioned the sexual assault comments Trump made, and women posting their reaction to it specially because it blew me away. I knew that we have some problems with sexual assault in our country, but I had no idea it was so pervasive. The fact that it is really disgusts me, and this attitude towards women is something we as a society should roundly reject.

I spend a lot of time with conservatives. Many of my friends are conservative. Just last week I was at the bar with one of my conservative buddies and he starting talking about how guys today are too sensitive. He talked about how a man shouldn’t be open with his feelings. Almost all of my conservative buddies supported Ted Cruz and I have heard them espouse many conservative viewpoints. I mention this because I have never heard anything from them resembling Donald Trump’s “locker room talk”. Not once. The things Donald Trump has said are completely unacceptable. Not just his pussy grabbing comment. It is also unacceptable when he suggests that women who experience workplace harassment should just toughen up.

I am planning for this to be the first of several comics which are against sexism and pro Feminist. I find myself at a weird place. My views have evolved considerably since 2012, when Rick, the Crytozoologist ended its first run. While I fully support equality, I find it hard to label myself a Feminist. I see my relation to Feminism as I see my relation to the Democratic Party. I am on the same side politically as the Democratic Party, but my ideas don’t sync up enough to them for me to feel comfortable labeling myself a Democrat. At the same time, I find myself swinging for the Democrats quite a bit. I criticize the adversaries of Democrats more often than I criticize them. My criticism towards Democrats is more friendly. I also openly voted for Hillary Clinton. I let all my conservative friends know who I planned to vote for. I feel the same way about Feminism.

Where I disagree with some Feminists is on things like chivalry. I open doors for women, actually, I open doors for men, too. If someone is carrying something heavy, I open the door for them. I think chivalry should be expanded, not done away with. If we are going to change something, it should be changed to make it more kind.

On the subject of changing things to be more kind, I’d like to mention the double standard for male leaders and female ones. Many people have pointed out that if a male leader acts aggressive, he’s just taking command, whereas a female leader is being a bitch. That’s true, and its bullshit. I think, however, that the answer to that conundrum is just to condemn the male leaders as well. I don’t know when it became a favorable attribute to be a tyrant, but it should stop. It is part of a creeping authoritarian strain of thought which is infecting our society, and that we should do away with it. My ideal leader is firm, quiet, competent, calm, and fair.

I remember when Sarah Palin was selected as John McCain’s running mate. I asked my mother, a die hard Feminist, if she thought it was horrible that finally a woman had gotten onto a major party’s ticket for president only for it to be Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin acts just as ridiculous as a male politician. Hillary Clinton exhibited some of the same difficulties wielding power as men always have. Women aren’t inherently nicer than men, they just haven’t historically had opportunities to be horrible. (Although I can name a few examples of that of the top of my head.) The problem is that human beings in general are terrible when you give them power over others. We have to fix that, which means changing the thinking for both male and female leaders.

The other thing I would fault some Feminists for is denying gender exists. I do believe gender is more complicated than the traditional binary way of measuring it, but it does exist. There is scientific evidence for the fact that gender exists. The biology between men and women functions in different ways. I don’t think in the long run those differences are great enough to prevent either gender from achieving something of which the other is capable. Much more important than any inherent abilities we possess is the choices we make in life. I’m sure many women can beat men in a fight just by virtue of the fact that they exercise and take good care of their bodies.

I’ll probably make some comics about these things in the future. I will continue to lambaste Donald Trump for his sexist words, and more importantly, his sexist policies. For now, the important thing is that I oppose what he said. I think it is bullshit that half of our population has to put up with such nonsense from the other half.

In production notes, I made the models for Dayton and Lillian for this comic. I also made the backyard of Dayton’s House. I imagine Dayton doing a lot of things outdoors, so this will be a major set. Doing these models was not nearly as hard as doing the Rick, John, and their house.

Come back Sunday for more of our Filibuster against the election of Donald Trump.

Awkward Meetings

Here is another issue in our Trump filibuster. The premise is very simple, so I won’t spend much time on that.

I will however, detail some production notes. This is the first issue of Rick, the Cryptozoologist to be done in DAZ Studio and Blender. That also makes it the first issue I have done entirely on my own. I’ve always been ambivalent about doing this. I didn’t want to do this comic without Dustin because he had invested so much in it.

Dustin is working on new art for the comic, but he has two kids and is busier than me. I will just be helping him on weeks when he is too busy for the comic. From now on, Vociferations will officially become just Rick, the Cryptozoologist.

This issue was challenging. I made an entirely new set and it took much longer than I planned. This set is very detailed. I usually would have just done a room, but this time I did the entire house. I figure we will be spending a lot of time in this house, so I put a lot of detail into it. Bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, the dining room, a garage, a basement, and the whole yard. I will have fun with this set.

I also recently built a new computer, so I had to redo my settings and render this comic a few times.

Come back Thursday, Thanksgiving night for our next comic in the Filibuster.

Unspoken Rule....

The filibuster continues. As I said last week, given Trump's appeal to xenophobia, I put a heavy emphasis on race. I also tried to do some comics on sexism, these are coming.

The filibuster will continue on Tuesday and Thursday. These both may be released a little later than usual, maybe even early morning the next day.

Nicknames

(Sorry this is a bit late. I actually had this done Tuesday but did not think of it because I get home from work late on Thursdays. The Thursday update may be more like a early Friday Morning one.)

This is the second update of my Donald Trump Filibuster. I wanted to get this one out early because it gives Trump the nickname I intend to use to refer to him by.

A Jive Turkey is someone who talks a big game but never delivers, so it seems like it fits.

Additionally, because Donald Trump's campaign focused so much on xenophobia, I wanted to highlight the racial aspect of his campaign. I am also saddened by the disillusionment I have seen in minorities since the election. I want to express solidarity and express the fact that I do not agree with Donald Trump's xenophobia.

I also think that it is good that Trump condemns violence against minorities, but I would caution that it isn't enough. He also hired Steve Bannon who makes racist comments. There are also those in Trump's adminstration who brushed aside Bannon's comments by joking, "He can't be that antisemetic, he worked as a banker and in Hollywood."

That strikes me as remarkably tone deaf. That strikes me as a massive red flag. The problem is also how Trump and his advisors don't realize how policies like Stop and Frisk are racist.

Coming back to the premise of the comic, they are all around jive turkeys.

Filibuster

I have a big announcement tonight. In light of the Donald Trump election victory, this comic will be changing to a three comics a week release schedule. This is not a permanent change. This is a filibuster to protest against Donald Trump. I’m not sure how long this will go on, being a filibuster, it will go on for as long as I can sustain it. The schedule will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

This is my favorite sort of comic to make, because it calls out both sides. Ok, I don’t support these protests. I just think you have to respect the outcome of the election, and that the proper response is engage in grassroots organizing. The proper response is to win the next election and the one after.

I don’t blame the FBI as much as I blame the Democrats for running a poor campaign. They didn’t reach out to working class whites.

I also think we should save the protests for when Stop and Frisk is rolled out on a national basis, or when Donald Trump violates the constitution.

On the other hand, I don’t like that these protests are being called riots. They have been largely peaceful and I think that the conservative reaction to them shows how dissent is viewed by a portion of the population. These people have every right to protest.

 

This is the return of Rick, the Cryptozoologist. Rick is going to be posting a lot. There’s not much of a point here, just a statement that I intend to carry out the filibuster.

This Sucks...

This is my response to the election of Donald Trump. You can bet that Vociferations will be posted weekly, permanently. I am bitterly disappointed in the outcome of this election. I am disappointed precisely because I believe that this vote was a vote for the America of yesterday and not the America of tomorrow. Despite this, I do respect Trump’s talent in accomplishing his win. As a believer in Democracy, I respect the outcome of elections. This is what the American people wanted, and so be it.

I remind myself that I hold common ground with the President Elect on trade, on certain business matters, infrastructure. I do begrudgingly wish Donald Trump luck because come January he will be my president, and I wish the country to do well.

That said, in a Democratic government, the right to vote is but one right we possess. Included in our rights is the right of free speech, the right to criticize the government and our people. A fundamental aspect of our Democracy in my mind is also a deeply held skepticism of those in authority. I expressed my desire a little over twenty four hours ago to lay criticisms on Hillary Clinton should she win. This isn’t a partisan issue for me. That’s why I also chose to criticize Donald Trump tonight in what is sure to be one of the many times I will criticize him before and during his term in office.

I speak tonight as a member of the minority who does not wish to be oppressed or railroaded by the majority. I would point out that our system was designed to give a voice not only to those who win elections but also to those who lose them.

Rock the Vote

I decided to post this comic early in order to encourage my fellow citizens in the United States to get out and vote. Consider it also my apology for missing a few updates recently.

(A note, I intend to update another comic next week. Next week I will announce whether or not the once weekly schedule will continue through the Inauguration, or whether Vociferations will return to being biweekly.

I am tempted to continue the weekly schedule regardless of the outcome of the election. If, God forbid, Trump should win, well, I’d want to continue lambasting him. If Clinton wins, I’d like to get back to talking about progressive issues I actually care about. I aim to be more neutral and talk about ideas. I try and criticize both parties. I’d like to return to that mission statement. One of the biggest tragedies of this election is that with Trump, the American people got cheated out of a real conversation about issues.

I was pondering making Vociferations weekly and wanted to use the elections as a pretext to test the idea. I set a very unrealistic schedule with my first Webcomic and never made my deadlines, so I am very cautious with my schedules now. Perhaps too much so. With Con Nachzehrer’s future up in the air, I am more ambivalent about making Vociferations weekly though. Updates to come on the schedule.)

I oppose all attempts to make voting more difficult, and I support measures to make it easier, like automatic registration. Honestly, I think I’m starting to come around to the idea that voting should be mandatory. Either you vote, or you have to do your civic duty by completing community service.

I don’t think politicians would worry so much about turnout(one way or another) if elections were entirely meaningless. I don’t think politicians would gerrymander districts to such an extent if elections didn’t matter. Regardless of your choice, go out and vote. Enjoy that we live in a Republic.

Dental Conspiracy

This issue is about Climate Change, because, as many liberals have noted, Climate Change is not getting near the attention it deserves in this campaign for being such a big issue.

This idea came to me because of a conversation I had a few weeks ago about Halloween candy. Someone mentioned giving out healthy treats and the entire room was pretty much against it. Someone cracked a joke about it probably being Michelle Obama. (Incidentally, I looked it up and the Obamas did give out candy for Halloween, with Barack Obama even telling the kids not to listen to the First Lady on healthy eating for the night.)

This got me thinking about the issue as a liberal one. After seeing news stories about people giving out healthy alternatives to candy, I hit upon the idea for this comic.

Personally I gave out candy, and handfuls of it at that. I’m a bad example because I ate so much of the candy I gave out I had to run to the store and buy more to have enough, but I think indulging for one night is fine. The real issue is making sure you have a healthy diet in general. About five years ago, I stopped drinking soda entirely and I lost a ton of weight.

Anyway, Happy Halloween everyone, even if it is a day late.

Cheap Country

I do think that our government is dysfunctional. This is a trait I share with many conservatives. I pin the reasons for that on different things, however. Partly, I think the trouble is that we're too cheap to actually pay our taxes.

Part of the reason I support the government, at least to a greater extent than conservatives do, is because I like the infrastructure it provides. I like public education and of course, I support a safety net and public healthcare. I think the government is probably the best tool for these things, because each citizen ostensibly has a stake in it.

I just think that the government doesn't work if we don't put in the effort or cough up the money to pay for it, and that's where we are lacking as a society.

Don't waste your vote.

This is a double post tonight, to compensate for the fact that I did not post last week. The reason for this is because my computer broke down.

The first of tonight's comics concerns Gary Johnson. I sought to criticize him because I believe voting third party does not fix any problems in our Republic. I would like to see a system in which third parties can be competitive, but the way the system is built, it isn't possible right now. We would have to enact more systemic changes to make that effective. I would propose abolishing the electoral college first, since three way battles are more likely to prevent any candidate from winning an outright majority and thus send the election to the House of Representatives.

I do have problems with Gary Johnson. The fact that he didn't know what Aleppo was or the fact that he couldn't name a foreign leader troubles me. The fact that Johnson also said that Climate Change should be ignored because the sun will engulf the Earth is also troubling. Still, I have a certain softness in my heart for Libertarians. I used to consider myself a Libertarian.

I still hold many of the same views now as I did back then. I like Libertarians on social issues. I agree with them on many, but not all foreign policy positions. I would like to see a less aggressive United States, but one that still provides some leadership. I eventually came to disagree with the Libertarian stance on regulations, however. I disagree with them on the ability of the market to correct itself. I also disagree with their views on State Rights, and I think certain things should be provided by the government for all citizens like healthcare and education. I believe in some welfare programs.

More important than my disagreements with Libertarians, however, are my disagreements with Donald Trump. He would be a horrible president, and we must vote for Hillary Clinton to prevent him from taking office.

As for the other comic. This is my defense of voting. It was always my observation that old conservative men were the ones who encouraged me to vote. It seems like a conservative, patriotic thing. It also seems like these people always get what they want.

Does voting always guarantee we get what we want? Of course not. Should it be our only means of redress? Of course not. No right alone is enough to create a Democracy. That's why we have many rights. We can protest, we can use our Free Speech rights, our right of privacy, but don't forget our right to vote. The issues we face are too great to leave aside any tool with have at our disposal. We should hit our nation's problems with every right we have.

October Surprise

I have missed two updates, and so this is my October Surprise: I am back, and I will be posting a new Vociferation each week until the election.

I apologize for my absence. I have just moved. Getting Internet at my new place was more complicated than I wanted it to be. I made it even more complicated via the quirks of my personality. I have been stressed out over my move and my decision to end the site. I would like to continue my creative endeavours and I am unsure how to do so. I just know that the site does not work.

I have been proud in three years of Con Nachzehrer and three years of Rick, the Cryptozoologist that I only missed a few updates. Never by more than a day. Alas, all streaks end, and I let things get the better of me this time. With all that said, I ready to get back to work.

This is another comic against Trump. Unlike many Sanders supporters, I do not view this election as pointless. Hillary Clinton is flawed, yes that is true. I would rather see her go against Gary Johnson, Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein, or even Mike Pence. That is not the reality however.

Either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be our next president. Donald Trump is a con man and we cannot afford to have him be president.  This is the easiest decision I have ever had going into a general election.

Love the Foreigner

This comic is weird in that it mocks religion and invokes it's teachings. I admire the precept in Judaism of Love for the Stranger. I was first exposed to the concept in an op-ed about Springfield, MO's proposed religious freedom ordinance.

The ordinance passed which made discrimination based upon sexual orientation legal again within the city. A Jewish resident of our town penned an op-ed expressing opposition to the  ordinance on the grounds the it violated the rule of love for the stranger. I chose an alternate translation here for obvious reasons.

I don't necessarily have a problem with people believing in religions. I don't care for how religion is sometimes twisted by evil men. I identify more with liberal religious adherents than I do with conservative ones. Of course, as I am a secular liberal.

I also like the moral teachings of the Bible, but I will freely admit that I focus upon the parts I see as promoting empathy and tolerance rather than the parts I see as outdated or corrupted.

Dump Trump

This is another anti Trump comic. I just find his comment disgusting. As mentioned in the comic, I find the defense of his comment disgusting.

Never Trump

Here is another comic bashing Trump. I agree with everything his critics have said about him. Donald Trump is unqualified to be president and he has gone beyond the pale in terms of what he says.

I can't believe Donald Trump is even a contender for the office of President of the United States. Especially after his Russia remark.

I've been an amateur satirist online for eight years and in all that time I've avoided endorsing any candidate. I'm sure my positions make clear who I voted for, and I make no bones about being a liberal. Still, I try to distance myself from the individual candidates to instead focus on ideas.

With Trump though, I am breaking my rule. I am with her. I will vote for Hillary Clinton and even though she is not nearly as progressive as I would like, even though she supports empire, I won't regret it. Hillary Clinton is at least qualified to hold office, and Trump is nothing more than a racist Neo Fascist.

We all need to vote in November and vote against Trump.

Entitlements

This issue is about the criticism of Liberal Millennials by older Americans. I just think it is an unfair criticism of liberals for the above mentioned reasons.

As far as Millennials go, and I am one, I don't think we're going to reinvent the world, but I also don't think we're going to end it either. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. For what it's worth, I used to think my parent's generation sucked, but I mostly feel the same way about them.

Dallas

This is an extra issue. I decided to post it because the attacks in Dallas struck a chord with me. I have supported Black Lives Matter in the past and I believe it is important for all people to unequivocally condemn acts of violence. This is particularly true when the violence is allegedly carried out for an ideology a person believes in. I think it is evidence of the great integrity of Black Lives Matter that they swiftly condemned the police killings.

I was quick after Dylann Roof committed his attack in Charleston to call it an act of terrorism. That same label must also apply to Micah Xavier Johnson. What happened in Dallas was an act of terrorism and a hate crime. I cannot pretend to understand that I know what it is like to be the subject of racial profiling. I am aware, however, of the circumstances which fuel the protests and the discontent of minorities around the country. Police violence is a problem and a problem that must be solved. Yet I know emphatically that acts of terrorism and cold blooded murder are not the answer.

Joe Walsh received a great deal of flack for his tweet in reaction to Dallas, it was as follows, “3 Dallas Cops Killed, 7 wounded. This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming for you.” The criticism of Walsh following his tweet is warranted and I wholeheartedly agree that it was a profoundly idiotic thing to say. Regardless, it was be wise to analyze the meaning of such words. Anyone foolhardy enough to endorse violence as a viable political strategy only need look to this aforementioned tweet. This is what violence provokes, not capitulation but more hatred. Hatred rising to meet hatred which can only mean more gridlock and crackdowns on dissent. This is the only fruit violence can bring to bear.

In my comic, I compared Micah Xavier Johnson to Dylann Roof and Omar Mateen. This is perhaps a controversial comparison given that the three men would likely hate each other if they ever had the opportunity to share a room. In spite of this I made the comparison because of the thing that unites these three terrorists. No matter what they believed they were fighting for, what they truly represent is the belief that it is acceptable to murder those who disagree with you. That it is acceptable to respond to political disagreement with bigotry, violence, and hatred. No moral cause is righteous enough that it exonerates it's adherents of wrongdoing.

Obviously Omar Mateen is another matter, but I can't help but suspect that Micah Xavier Johnson and Dylann Roof are products of our toxic political climate. That they are in part enabled by our refusal to understand one another and our acceptance of petty conspiracy theories of our political opponents. This election season has seen open bigotry and violence erupt at political rallies. I can't help but believe that our polarized politics plays a role.

These kinds of things belong in America's past, not it's future, and an America where political rallies entail violence, and an America where one can be gunned down for their race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or political affiliation is not an America in which I'd like to live.

Lets talk about Guns

This issue tackles both Conservative and Liberal approaches to gun control. I decided to do this comic because I believe the gun control debate in America is too simplistic and emotionally charged for anything productive to be done on this issue.

I am more liberal on the issue of guns. I support increased background checks, closing loopholes in the existing law, and I lean towards banning high capacity magazines. I can also find some common ground with conservatives that improving our mental health system is a solution we should look at to solve gun violence. I do think, however, that the mentally ill must not be further stigmatized and that we should be mindful that it is hard to construct a profile of these people.

On the conservative side, the thing I take perhaps the most issue with is the idea that merely arming the populace will stop all gun violence. There was an armed school resource officer at Columbine. There was an armed guard at Pulse. Civilians stopping criminals from committing gun violence have a mixed record.

Soldiers are not just made by placing a gun into an 18 year old kid's hand. They must go through basic training. The accuracy of cops diminishes in a fire fight.  It doesn't seem that most of these armed civilians have a training on guns.

On the flip side, I do have some concerns about the proposals of liberals violating the civil liberties of US citizens. The idea that we will deny the right of those on the terrorist watch list to get guns is troubling to me.

There is no oversight or transparency on these lists. There are no checks and balances. There should be a way to challenge one's status on the list. I think there should be some sort of court that oversees such requests.

Liberals have pointed out that the process can be made more transparent and they are correct. If that is the case, however, these lists need to be improved before a vote is held and liberals are not doing that. They are trying to pass legislation using these terrorist lists as they currently exist.

To me, this is the worst legacy of the War on Terror. We are depriving people of freedom. To do so is necessary at times, and our constitution acknowledges this, which is why we have the concept of Due Process. Due Process has not been applied in any meaningful manner for any of the measures in the War on Terror. Sure, the government must take steps to stop terrorists. It must conduct surveillance on them, detain them, and yes, take steps to remove their access to weapons.

The trouble is that we must have safeguards to prevent law abiding citizens from having their civil liberties wrongfully taken. We know that governments are prone to abusing their authority. That is the very founding premise of our Republic. Besides that, or government has a terrible track record of dealing with dissent in a manner that is consistent with our founding principles.

Bringing it back to the idea of criticizing both liberals and conservatives, I think that this debate is so simple that it contributes to the fact that we overlook issues of civil liberties. The debate is framed in such a black and white manner that it is impossible to consider whether one side or the other's plan is fair and just. Whether or not one side or the other's plan has proper safeguards for law abiding citizens.

It should not be about right or wrong. There are fair ways to implement liberal values and conservative values. The are also unfair ways to implement both. Each side should focus on compromise and whether or not the other side is living up to Democratic ideals rather than trying to demonize liberalism or conservatism as inherently right or wrong.

More plastic than fish

Another comic about Climate Change, appropriate as Summer just began a few days ago.

Bureaucratic Inefficiency

I decided to do an issue on torture because the candidate of a major party supports it and because a large portion of Americans support it.

To me, if someone is not by the simple moral argument that it is wrong and should never be done, then they should be swayed by the simple fact that scientific evidence suggests that evidence obtained via torture is unreliable. I don't think it is a matter of whether or not the other person deserves it, it is a matter of whether or not any human being has a right to inflict that kind of pain and suffering upon another. I believe no human being has that right.

I also think it is sadly typical of the government to pursue such a self defeating strategy.

Meaningless

This is the first of what I plan to be many comics this year intended to promote the idea of voting. I'd be the first to admit that our system is flawed, but I do think voting makes a difference.

Anyway, this is my first point on the subject. If elections are so meaningless, why is the 1% so frightened by their possible outcomes to pour billions of dollars into them?

War Crimes

This is another shot at Donald Trump. I really dislike the man. This one is also supposed to make the point that Donald Trump is so extreme that he makes others look less extreme by contrast.

In my opinion Neoconservatives are already extreme. They already propose policies which violate international law and various norms regarding war. I think the War on Terror already has enough extreme thought and now Donald Trump is just the most extreme manifestation of all the nasty things the War on Terror has stirred up.

He's like the Neocons, only without thinking that he is in any way benevolent.

There is No Evidence that Trans Men are Sexually Assualting Women in Bathrooms...

As stated above and in the comic, there is no evidence that Transgendered individuals are taking advantage of being able to use the same bathroom as women to sexually assault them. I find this entire movement by the religious right to be infuriating for that specific reason.

I've watched on the sidelines as this debate has been waged on Facebook. As I have noted before, I live in a conservative part of the country. I find it vexing that even faced with the fact that virtually no bathroom sexual assaults occur this way, the religious right continues to go on.

I watched from the sidelines of a debate where a woman argued that she does not believe in statistics. That the statistics don't matter and it is naive to trust people. I'd rather be naive than so arrogant as to believe my own judgement trumps empirical evidence. It isn't naive if there is no evidence to suggest this is a problem whatsoever.

People also throw out that it might not happen, but do we really want grown men peeing next to little girls? What about grown men peeing next to little boys? Little boys can also be victimized by sexual predators and I don't see anyone suggesting we should prohibit them from using the same bathroom as any adult merely because there is a possibility as sexual assault could occur.

The lack of reliance on evidence only furthers my view that this is simple prejudice. People don't want transgendered people in the restroom with them because it makes them feel uncomfortable, which for me is not a good enough excuse. I also find it interesting that back in Jim Crow days, the same arguments that African Americans could rape white women were used to justify segregation.

I read an article while conducting research for this comic which posited that this was the only way for the Christian Right to rollback the gains made by the LGBT community. They pointed out that the Christian Right was on the ropes before they made this about trans men possibly raping their women. To me this is a moral panic, a red scare, a witch hunt, and nothing more.

Black Out

A simple comic criticizing Donald Trump.

Lets All Measure Dicks

This comic is aimed at Donald Trump. I have done one comic on him previously and I intend to do many more as the general election draws nearer.

I abhor almost everything Donald Trump has said. Beyond that, he incites violence and thus has earned my condemnation. I don't support anyone rushing him while he's speaking on stage, but I think in any fair society Trump wouldn't get a single vote.

Trump would have lost by now and lost badly. Afterwards he would retire to a life of waiting tables for the remainder of his days.

Certified Political Expert

This week I decided to take on the controversy of the FBI asking Apple to create a backdoor in their software to open up the phone of the San Bernardino shooter.

I am staunchly opposed to this action because my understanding of the situation is that if a tech company creates a backdoor for the government, any government and any cyber criminal will be able to use it. I think the FBI has good intentions here, but they are wrong. I think they lack a fundamental understanding of the consequences of creating such a backdoor. The idea that the FBI can ask for the information on just one phone suggests they don't understand the ramifications of what they ask for.

I also don't entirely buy that it is just one phone. The FBI is clearly trying to bring this to court, to congress, in order to set a precedent. Privacy is an important right and we should not throw it away for a little added security.

Climate Metal and Apathy

This week's Vociferation deals with Climate Change. Scientists have linked Zika to it, and this astonishes me. Add that to the long list of impacts of Climate Change. It is shocking and unexpected, at least to me, that Zika would arise from Climate Change. It seems like this is just the ominous prelude to even worse crises which will arise should humanity not change it's course.

This is the comic I updated two weeks ago which I never posted about on this blog. It has to do with the Oscars controversy.

For the record, I do think it would be better if the Oscars promoted more diversity, and I am mindful that my own comics have their issues there. Still, it disheartens me to see so much stock placed in industries with so little practical impact on our world while people completely ignore politics.

Often times, if am in a group setting debating a political point, someone will interject that they are not a very political person and laugh about the absurdity of caring about the outcome of elections. It bothers me and I would rather hear people shrug off entertainment controversies in the same manner.

We've seen major studios cave to consumer demand. They've brought back TV shows and changed the tone of movies. To me, that is people power in action. I wish we as a culture could direct some of that energy to our political system which is in desperate need of repair. 

Bill of Privileges

This issue talks about Republican Voter ID laws. I chose this topic because of the proximity of this release to Martin Luther King Day. I find it interesting that the struggle of just a couple of generations ago: the right to vote, is one of our most neglected freedoms in our current political culture.

I did a lot of research into Voter Rights Laws for this issue. I actually came away from the research with some respect for the other side. Where they lost me, however, is in how these laws target only a fraction of voter fraud cases.

I remember reading through an article reading a politician’s response to a question about why these laws don't target absentee voting. This is a form of voting which brings with it many more cases of fraud. The fraud which is a small problem to begin with. The politician answered something like, "We don't want to place that undue burden on disabled voters."

My first thought was, "Why would we want to place that burden on any voter? Why would we want to place that burden especially when that voter is likely to be elderly, a minority, or a young person?" Why place that burden on someone when the risk to our Republic is much greater than any benefit? That's why I oppose Voter ID laws.

I also worked in the line about a Bill of Privileges because that seems to be the prevailing philosophy after 9/11. That there are things more valuable to us than liberty, rule of law, or integrity. It also occurred to me as I was updating this, that this strain of thinking in American politics is not something new. It emerges from time to time throughout history in many guises. Often times, in our history it emerges to suppress the rights of minorities and the disenfranchised.

I am very much against this line of thinking.

It makes me roll my eyes to see the Bundys on my Newsfeed again...

For this issue I decided to criticize the white supremacist terrorists who are occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building. I did this one late and was not sure what to satirize. I was going to go with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but Ammon Bundy was too tempting.

I don't like these white supremacist assholes. I think it is astounding the level of delusion they must possess to not realize what it means to stage a peaceful protest. It astounds me that Ammon Bundy can claim to be peaceful when he is making an implicit threat of violence by going into a building armed and occupying it. I sincerely hope there isn't a single judge in the entire country that would allow this kind of defense to hold up in court.

The irony is that many of these militia folks would shoot an armed man for a lot less than these terrorists have done. To me, Ammon Bundy calling himself peaceful is like a man holding a gun to another man's head and robbing him, then claiming he hasn't threatening to shoot the other man. It is just ridiculous.

I also don't see how you can compare what Ammon Bundy is doing to Black Lives Matter or any other kind of peaceful protest.

The joke I was tempted to make in this issue, but didn't, was that it is good to be white in this country. If these protesters were any other race, they would be shot for less.