Brian McFadden

The Founding Fetus Society

This entry was posted in comics and tagged abortion courts fascism Federal Courts Federalist Society on by
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I have an exclusive comic in last month’s In These Times magazine, and it’s now online here, along with colleagues you probably know from The Nib. I just finished another for the upcoming issue. I’ll post a link here as soon as it’s online.

This is obviously about the Federalist Society’s takeover of the courts. Something that has already happened and the only “reasonable” solution the Democrats will endorse is “wait for them all to die in 30-50 years.” Not great!

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Kennedy/Brain Worm

This entry was posted in comics and tagged 2024 election antivax food RFK Jr. vaccinations on by
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It was reported this week that in a deposition, RFK Jr. claimed a brain parasite (and mercury poisoning) limited his ability to pay alimony. This is the kind of sound medical reasoning you’d expect from one of the most prominent anti-vaxxers who has encouraged the current resurgence of formerly preventable diseases, and stopped COVID vaccine uptake right when it needed to be ramped up.

As a third party candidate, RFK Jr.’s filling in the weirdo/crank void left by the late Lyndon LaRouche. If Kennedy can somehow siphon enough votes in the few counties that matter electorally to flip the result, that’s more of an indictment on the Democrats’ failure to run up huge margins in what should be the THIRD layup election against Trump. Especially when the alleged “spoiler” candidate is a literal quack with brain worms.

I wish there were viable third, fourth, etc. parties in this country. That could result in more parliamentary-style coalition building in Congress. They’d have to start running for offices lower on the ticket than president though, and none of these vanity presidential campaigns seem interested in doing anything like real political work.

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Supreme Court Fortune-Telling

This entry was posted in comics and tagged Amy Coney Barrett Brett Kavanaugh Federalist Society Harlan Crow Leonard Leo Nina Totenberg Samuel Alito SCOTUS on by
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The Supreme Court is going to do more bad things this session. Lots of people whose careers depend on covering the court will pretend the outcomes aren’t predictable, telegraphed, outcomes from the right-wing majority, but the results of complicated legal reasonings only law-knowers can understand.

This court sucks, has been wreaking havoc on the nation for the better part of a quarter century, and until the Democrats actually try mitigating the power the courts have accumulated, the rest of the century’s not looking any better. But don’t be uncivil about it. The important thing is that they’re all friends.

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A Conversation with the Boot on Your Face

This entry was posted in comics and tagged free speech Gaza higher education Israel police police brutality protest on by
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Protests against Israel’s siege/ethnic cleansing/genocide of Gaza have been happening as soon as it was clear Palestinians were facing collective punishment for Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack. Even as Israel’s war crimes escalated, proponents of a ceasefire have been largely ignored by those in power and people who can only perceive events through their implications on the presidential election.

Until this week, when Columbia University’s administration sent the cops to remove its encampment of student protestors. This delighted reactionaries and spawned solidarity protests on campuses throughout the country, which face crackdowns of their own. The semester ends in a couple weeks. Administrators could’ve just waited the students out, but chose to escalate, just like the country the students were protesting in the first place.

For the past seven months, commenting on Biden’s enabling of Israel’s actions was met with a chorus of “Trump would be worse!” Of course he would be, and he’d send more troops to bust kids’ skulls even harder. But doing or saying nothing today out of fear of something worse happening means fascism’s already here. And being quiet won’t make it go away.

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More Rejected Courtroom Sketches

This entry was posted in comics and tagged 2024 election Donald Trump Judge Merchan on by
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Trump’s criminal trial has begun with jury selection, and first reports were kind of funny, as far as Trump news goes. Falling asleep, having to hear the mean things potential jurors said about him on social media, and an aide bringing printouts of good news to improve his mood, etc.

Then the media started reporting every identifying detail of the potential jurors, who were quickly identified by Trump’s goon troops. This led to at least one quitting for safety concerns. And just a couple hours later, Trump was posting stuff on social media about the jurors, violating a gag order.

Previous contempt of court charges against him had led to nothing but minor fines, so he’ll keep doing it. Until one of the judges in all these trials wants to be the one to put a former/candidate-for president in jail, these farces will continue all year long!

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Nostalgia Movie Marathon

This entry was posted in comics and tagged climate change entertainment media movies on by
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It’s summer blockbuster season already, and even I saw Dune Part 2 in a theater; my first time in one since before the pandemic. Most of the trailers were variations on existing properties. More than the usual beating intellectual properties to death, there’s a trend of maudlin revivals that take themselves way too seriously. If it’s not in one already, the next Ghostbusters movie will reveal Slimer (AKA Onionhead) has a tragic backstory that it’s the ghost of a child who died from a famine and that’s why it loves hot dogs so much.

There are lots of good movies still being made, but this is the season for garbage. I like garbage too! But not as much as I love to complain.

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Budget Spring Books

This entry was posted in comics and tagged artificial intelligence book bans books censorship Federalist Society James Carville SCOTUS on by
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I returned to the fake books bit because the James Carville idea wouldn’t get out of my head. His face is on fundraising texts and he still pops up on the news, so I kept trying to write a whole comic about that skeleton man. Especially one where he’s offering advice from the early ’90s, while Ross Perot is Mr. Magooing his way in the background doing the real work. That is a 32+ year-old idea that even I shouldn’t remember. (I was 12 during that election.)

And by putting him in one panel, I spared the world multiple panels of extreme gross-ups.

I’m going to be in northern New England for Monday’s eclipse, so hopefully that’ll give me a chance to tear through my own pile of real books … if I don’t burn my retinas off.

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NBC’s Pundit Search

This entry was posted in comics and tagged 2024 election coup Lee Atwater media NBC Republicans on by
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NBC hired former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel for a few minutes before rescinding the offer after employees and viewers voiced their disgust with having a coup-enabler on TV to lie about another election. The problem they and every other news outlet has is that there are no more mainstream Republicans who oppose doing another coup.

So they either have to point this out, or pretend the guy who’s been at the top of the Republican ticket for nearly a decade now is some weird aberration, instead of the standard-bearer of America’s fascist party. Presenting the fiction probably makes selling ads a lot easier.

Only a little more than six months for NBC and the rest of the media to figure out that both-sides-ing fascism won’t save them.

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