Thursday Cartoons: Manling
Posted: May 8, 2025 Filed under: just because 23 Comments
Wow, things are really getting bad out there. So I’m just posting cartoons today…
Be safe out there, this is an open thread.
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OK, this is funny:
via: Michael GibsonCEO | Former Special Forces – Norm Therapy® is our revolutionary treatment for over 28 abuses including PTSD & Suicide Prevention. Visit AbuseRefuge.Org our 501 (c)(3) and NormTherapy.com | Combat Veteran
Was the Trump Assassination Attempt Staged? Let’s Talk About What No One Else Will.
When a former president, at the time, was nearly assassinated; shot at a public rally, narrowly surviving a bullet that supposedly “grazed” his head, every investigative body in the country should’ve swung into action. Yet months later, the silence is deafening. I’ve checked everywhere and no real updates.
We know everything about Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing a healthcare CEO: his past, his habits, his motives. Yet when it comes to Thomas Matthew Crooks, the young man said to have fired at Donald Trump, we know next to nothing. No manifesto. No meaningful motive. No public autopsy. No transparent forensic report. Not a single detailed update from the FBI, the Secret Service, or local authorities.
Instead, we were given a photo of Trump with a bloodied ear and a raised fist, turned into campaign merch within hours. A miraculous near-death moment became a rebranding machine. Sympathy soared. Legal scrutiny faded. Donations surged. And just like that, Trump was reborn as a martyr-hero.
Ask yourself: how does a supposed assassin infiltrate Secret Service perimeters, climb multiple rooftops, fire at a former president, and still no thorough explanation makes it to the public? No footage. No real-time updates. No leaks. Nothing.
In history, authoritarian figures have faked attempts on their lives to rally the public and crush dissent. Are we witnessing the same playbook?
We don’t need conspiracy theories. We need answers. And we deserve to ask: What really happened in Butler, Pennsylvania?
Even in this photo there exist suspicions. The Secret Service are trained to protect the president and shield him by pushing his head down and completely covering him and immediately getting him out of the impact area. Trump actually told them to stop for photos throughout the ordeal and they never covered him completely. None of us should’ve been able to even see Trump after the first bullets were fired. Yet, this was a photo op it seems.
Why didn’t the Secret Service provide a human shield for Trump? Trump should not have been visible after the first shots and whisked away without any photo ops or defiant fists. It looked staged to me. Some innocent man died that day and Trump got back into good graces with the nation as a martyr who no one could touch. And where are all the medical reports? I have 1,000 more questions don’t you? Recently Trump released the Kennedy assassination files. He should release his own files now. Maybe he doesn’t release them because there aren’t any? Let’s find out!
I still think something is not right about this whole thing.
White smoke!
Robert Prevost becomes first North American pope
Conclave elects cardinal who spent 30 years as missionary as new pope
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/08/robert-prevost-new-pope-conclave/
Maybe some hope for not another completely misogynistic reign? Plus he spent most of his time in Peru.
“Although he kept a low profile in Rome, he was part of one of the most significant reforms undertaken by Francis: adding three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope.”
Although I don’t recall a Leon being very enlightened.
Pope Leon XIV
i guess a few in modern times.
Yes, some Popes named Leo are generally considered good or positive figures in Church history. Pope Leo XIII is known for his forward-thinking approach to social issues and his efforts to reconcile religion with modern life. Pope Leo IX is recognized as a saint for his work in reforming the church and his opposition to simony and clerical marriage.
AI Google
https://bsky.app/profile/sethabramson.bsky.social/post/3loogbfrl322x
“The first American Pope, Leo XIV, has just been elected. Prevost, from Chicago, is deemed to be in the mold of Pope Francis—a progressive. Yes, this is real.”
Feeling more relieved.
He holds the migrant position as Francis and isn’t a Trump supporter. Good !!!
oh that is good to hear, not a trumper
He isn’t. Laura Loomer called him Communist Pope like Francis. I’ll send you her ugly tweet with her ugly face on it
joyannreid
Well this should be interesting… per the
@nytimes the new Pope Leo is a Chicago native who has lived his life mostly outside the U.S. , even becoming a citizen of Peru. On the upside, he mirrors Pope Francis in focusing on care for the poor and immigrants. On the downside he has faced familiar criticism over his handling of priests accused of sexual abuse. Let’s see how this goes…
The choice of a new pope is always political. I remember how the first Polish pope empowered the Polish people and helped bring down the Soviet regime. How many divisions does the first American pope have?
B.
Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of “killing” children with USAID cuts
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/08/bill-gates-foundation-elon-musk-doge
Axios
https://bac823b0156d8b14e32d2e6eeff823e9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-44/html/container.html
1 hour ago –Politics & PolicyBill Gates accuses Elon Musk of “killing” children with USAID cuts
Bill Gates ratcheted up his feud with Elon Musk on Thursday, saying the former DOGE head was “killing” children through USAID cuts.
Why it matters: The two billionaires have sparred since 2022, but Gates’ comments to the Financial Times escalated his charges against the Tesla founder, who was instrumental in gutting the world’s largest humanitarian organization.
Driving the news: Gates vowed to give away “virtually all” of his wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next two decades, he announced Thursday.
What they’re saying: Gates said that the USAID cuts abandoned food and medicines in warehouses and threatened the resurgence of diseases like HIV and polio.
it’s true
This is a good sign. I am desperate for hope and I am seeing it in the new pope. In him, we can have a strong ally against the fascist in chief and his fake Catholic VP. Pope Francis did what he could to help us but his health was failing.
B.
Me too…and sorry if it is taking me a bit to get these comments out of pending. I’m a bit busy today.
Pope Leo XIV has publicly criticized VP Vance on moral and religious grounds several times in the past few months, calling Vance “wrong” about Church teachings on love for example. This should get interesting.
B.
Pope Leo has been a staunch public critic of Trump for the last decade. Expect that to continue.
In the new pope’s first message to the world today, he said:
”God loves us. God loves you all. And EVIL will not prevail.”
I have no doubt the entire world knows to what he was referring.
B.
I’m so relieved plus he’s my age. That means he likely has a long life and can hopefully bring a lot of good progress to the vision of the church. We’re still stripping all church assets here in New Orleans to pay the the huge fines for the pedophile priests. There is a lot of healing there to be done. People are sad about their Parish Church being sold off to be a performance center or an art gallery. It’s rather sad. Good to read you!!!!