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PROMISES, PROMISES
Sunday, September 13, 2020 (525 reads)

Too many promises

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THE OTHER CONVENTION
Friday, September 04, 2020 (605 reads)

Law and order -- Trump style.

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FOR BIDEN (ON THE WHOLE)
Monday, August 31, 2020 (563 reads)

DEFINITELY FOR BIDEN (MORE OR LESS)

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NOT JUST PUTIN
Thursday, August 20, 2020 (763 reads)

Also the CIA.

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THE PUTIN FACTOR
Monday, August 17, 2020 (806 reads)

Why Trump likes Putin.

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THE DONALD TRUMP IMPERIAL BRIGADE
Sunday, August 02, 2020 (932 reads)

Who were those unidentified federal troops?

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MORE HOAXES
Saturday, July 25, 2020 (1043 reads)

A bad patch for Trump

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RISING CHINA
Monday, July 13, 2020 (1155 reads)

Capitalistic communism

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BACK TO BOLTON
Friday, June 26, 2020 (1314 reads)

Bolton's back

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YOUR PRESIDENT OF LAW AND ORDER
Tuesday, June 09, 2020 (1475 reads)

Race: the big change

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To Your Health!
Monday, May 25, 2020 (1699 reads)

Great health care!

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DR. TRUMP
Monday, May 04, 2020 (1923 reads)

Pharmacist-in-chief

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MORE ON CORONAVIRUS
Tuesday, April 14, 2020 (1976 reads)

Coronavirus here and elsewhere.

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ON CORONAVIRUS
Sunday, March 22, 2020 (2133 reads)

Aka covid 10

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TRUMP'S TWEETS
Friday, February 28, 2020 (2345 reads)

Barr's sad complaint

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THE BRITISH ROYALS
Saturday, February 01, 2020 (2579 reads)

More British royal problems

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DEADLOCK IN ISRAEL
Friday, January 17, 2020 (2434 reads)

Election deadlock in Israel

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BORIS AND BREXIT
Wednesday, December 25, 2019 (2550 reads)

A triumph for Boris: now comes the hard part.

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ACCORDING TO FOX
Monday, November 25, 2019 (2859 reads)

More testimony on impeachment.

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THE PEOPLE, MAYBE
Saturday, November 09, 2019 (3016 reads)

Democracy in trouble.

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"PERFECT"
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 (3627 reads)

Impeachment -- then and now.

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ONE COUNTRY FOUR SYSTEMS
Wednesday, October 09, 2019 (3345 reads)

Hong Kong v China

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Dumb
Saturday, September 21, 2019 (3600 reads)

He says he's really smart.

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WHY THE G7?
Sunday, September 01, 2019 (3952 reads)

Trump v. the G7

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MUELLER SPOKE!!!
Monday, August 12, 2019 (4528 reads)

Another Mueller disappointment.

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GOODBYE THERESA, HELLO BORIS
Monday, August 05, 2019 (4253 reads)

Will Johnson be a Winston or a May?

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RACIST TRUMP?
Tuesday, July 23, 2019 (4347 reads)

Is Donald Trump a racist?

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THE EMBASSADOR REGRETS
Monday, July 15, 2019 (4725 reads)

Farewell, British Ambassador

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DEMOCRATS DEBATING
Saturday, July 06, 2019 (4879 reads)

Too many debaters

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A BETTER TRUMP?
Thursday, June 27, 2019 (4478 reads)

Is a better Trump possible?

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A TIME FOR BILLIONAIRES
Friday, June 07, 2019 (5375 reads)

In America today it's not enough to be a millionaire.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: THAT'S FUNNY?
Saturday, May 18, 2019 (5107 reads)

Laughing all the way to extinction.

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IMPEACH OR ???
Wednesday, May 01, 2019 (5456 reads)

One way or the other.

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ARE WE FULL?
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 (5610 reads)

No, we're not nearly full

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NO COLLUSION?
Sunday, March 31, 2019 (5897 reads)

No collusion? And what about obstruction?

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THE SELLING OF HIGHER ED
Wednesday, March 20, 2019 (6156 reads)

The universities' admissions scam.

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WHO'S NOT LYING?
Friday, March 08, 2019 (6495 reads)

Who, if anyone, is not lying?

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EMERGENCY!!!!
Monday, February 18, 2019 (6181 reads)

What's The Emergency?

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BREXIT BLUES
Saturday, January 19, 2019 (6573 reads)

Almost as bad as us.

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SHUT IT DOWN!
Sunday, December 30, 2018 (6534 reads)

We're shutting down the government
Said Trump it makes me proud.

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MURDER MOST FOUL
Saturday, December 08, 2018 (6370 reads)

The Saudis join the 21st century.

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THE MID-TERMS
Friday, November 16, 2018 (6467 reads)

Definitely a blue wave.

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PITTSBURGH
Thursday, November 01, 2018 (6564 reads)

And now -- the Jews.

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IT'S OVER
Friday, October 12, 2018 (6744 reads)

Kavanaugh's appointed -- was there ever any doubt?

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WHAT A WEEK!
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 (6987 reads)

An incredible week, even by Trump's standard.

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RACISM, BRITISH STYLE
Tuesday, August 21, 2018 (7322 reads)

Both British parties are caught up in charges of racism.

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FARTHER STILL BEYOND SATIRE
Friday, August 10, 2018 (7047 reads)

How do you satirize the already ludicrous?

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"INCREDIBLE"
Sunday, July 22, 2018 (7040 reads)

Putin's "incredible offer."

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TRUMP IN BRITAIN
Sunday, July 15, 2018 (7115 reads)

Trump in Britain was his usual diplomatic self.

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BEYOND SATIRE
Sunday, July 01, 2018 (7733 reads)

Satirizing Trump grows more difficult every day.

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GROUP OF SEVEN (MORE OR LESS)
Sunday, June 10, 2018 (7786 reads)

Should the group of 7 be 8? Or less?

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NEWS OF THE WORLD
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 (7315 reads)

A quick round-up of world news, mostly bad.

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TRUMP-OBAMA: THE LEGACIES
Wednesday, May 16, 2018 (7850 reads)

Trump's agenda: destroy Obama's legacy!

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TRUMP'S RULES
Thursday, May 03, 2018 (5361 reads)

Consistency for Trump is no virtue.

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JUDGING JAMES COMEY
Saturday, April 21, 2018 (7802 reads)

Comey v. Trump -- no end of satire.

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BOLTON
Monday, April 02, 2018 (5922 reads)

OH NO! NOT BOLTON!

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THERE GOES TILLERSON
Thursday, March 15, 2018 (7269 reads)

Almost everyone is feeling sorry for Rex Tillerson

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SHOULD WE TONE DOWN THE SATIRE? 1-18-2011
Friday, February 04, 2011 (27178 reads)

SHOULD WE TONE DOWN THE SATIRE? 1-18-2011

The Arizona shooting has added more and more voices to the demand to restore civility to political discourse. Over and over we hear the demand to stop the vitriolic exchange of insults driven by mutual hostility.

What does this mean for political satire? By definition, satire is hostile and offensive. Even Art Buchwald, whose satire was relatively mellow and genial, said “Satire is malicious”. Holding people up to ridicule is not a friendly act. It doesn’t seem consistent with the proposal to lower the temperature of political discourse. So should satirists now blunt the edge of their wit when commenting on political issues and leaders?