The Spies of Life

Showing a surprising lack of foresight, our Founding Fathers somehow forgot to add language to the Constitution which would make it easy-peasy for future governments to crush anyone who criticizes their flagrant abuses of power. 

But showing creativity and initiative that, frankly, seems lacking from most other programs, the Biden administration is looking into the possibility of paying private companies (with your money) to have them spy on you in ways which are entirely illegal for our police and intelligence agencies to do. 

Oh sure, they say they'd only use these tools to go after really dangerous extremists like people who question the fiscal sanity of setting six trillion dollars on fire, or people who regularly attempt to overthrow the government by voting for non-Democrats, and those loathsome scoundrels who dare to talk about such things with their friends under the belief that "Freedom of Speech" still offers protection.

Sadly, if not terrifyingly, this isn't the first attempt by a Biden-related administration to spy on (and harass) ordinary citizens in explicitly fascistic ways.  Recall (as we always do) Obama's Stasi-inspired "Flag@Whitehouse.gov" program and its parasitic twin "Attack Watch"...

FROM THE VAULT: GESTAPOBAMA (2009)

  
 So it's come to this. An office in the White House set up specifically so people can turn in their friends and neighbors who are suspected of thoughtcrime against Obama (and if you don't know what "thoughtcrime" is, go read "1984" right now, before it disappears from the shelves!) 

Who is being paid to read these emails, and by what authority? Once the names are collected...what next? Audits? Threats? A burlap bag over the head? Or maybe just a note in your "permanent record" about how much healthcare you should or shouldn't get... Keep in mind that this is the President who praised the run-up to the Iranian "election" for its "robust debate." Is that what you're trying to encourage with this program, Mr President? "Robust debate?" And will you follow the Iranian model for silencing critics who "could have calibrated their words better?" 

And say, what about that catchy address: "Flag@Whitehouse.Gov" Flag? FLAG?! If this isn't the most obscene defilement of the flag in our history, we don't know what is. Meanwhile, it's safe to assume that people will have a lot of mischievous fun with that address; not just reporting suspected conservatives, but also cranky neighbors, ex-spouses, schoolteachers, your a**hole boss, the person who turned you down for a date...the list goes on and on.

Why not just address the mail to ScrewAnyoneYouWant@Whitehouse.Gov? 

FROM THE VAULT: HOLD de MAYO (5/5/2010)

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! Today marks the festive occasion when Mexicans (and on Cinco de Mayo, aren't we all Mexicans?) celebrate what Wikipedia calls an "unexpected victory over the French" in 1862. Although how a victory over the French could be "unexpected" is a good question for another day. 

Cinco de Mayo is traditionally celebrated with guns fired into the air, ambulance runs to the hospital when victims are hit by falling bullets, mariachi music, margaritas, and a game in which children get treats and treasures by beating the daylights out of a hanging figure called a pinata (which, roughly translated, means "taxpayer"). 

So enjoy the holiday - but please, don't make too much noise! You might wake the immigration officials in Washington from their long, long siesta.

 

Remember: lick the salt, toss down a shot of tequila, bite a lime, and THEN beat your head on the wall.

FROM THE VAULT: NATIONAL CARTOONISTS DAY (5/6/2016)

National Cartoonist Day is held annually on May 5th so that cartoonists, those lonely outcasts, can make believe that everyone is drinking and partying in their honor rather than because every watering hole with a liquor license is serving half-priced margaritas on Cinco de Mayo.

Unsurprisingly, here at Hope n' Change we hold cartoonists past and present in the very highest of regards. And we're talking about actual ink-stained wretches here, rather than simple pixel-pasters like ourselves.  Genuine artists who are in it for the love of what they do - because there's surprisingly little money to be had, especially as print goes the way of the Dodo (a large bird upon which the natives of Mauritius once tattooed cartoons).

We won't list our heroes here as there are way too many of them and we wouldn't want to leave anyone out. But we will give special recognition to the cartoonist who introduced us to so many others, and inspired us as no one else could: our own father, who passed away in 2006 on National Cartoonists Day. We love and miss you deeply, Pa, and are grateful that you can still make us laugh with cartoons like this one...