Mike Beckom for March 23, 2023

thought this was a Beckom toon about Democrats ’till I saw the labels

Brief flash of “compassionate conservatism” for (White) Ukrainian children. Meanwhile, in Texas…

Much the same sort of costume worn by those who think American History should be “sanitized for their convenience.”

I’ve posted this before and I’ll most like post it again in the future:

“Conservatism, then, is not a commitment to limited government and liberty – or a wariness of change, a belief in evolutionary reform, or a politics of virtue. These may be byproducts of conservatism, one or more of its historically specific and ever-changing modes of expression. But they are not it animating purpose. Neither is conservatism a makeshift fusion of catalysts, Christians, and warriors, for that fusion is impelled by a more element force – the opposition to the liberation of men and women from the fetters of their superiors, particularly in the private sphere. Such a view might seem miles away from the libertarian defense of the free market, with its celebration of the atomistic autonomous individual. But it is not. When the libertarian looks out upon society, he does not see isolated individuals; he sees private, often hierarchical groups, where a father governs his family and an owner his employees… the conservative position stems from a genuine conviction that a world thus emancipated will be ugly, brutish, base, and dull. It will lack the excellence of a world where the better man commands the worse… Each in his own way subscribes to this typical statement, from the nineteenth century, of the conservative creed: To obey a real superior… is one of the most important of all virtues – a virtue absolutely essential to the attainment of anything great and lasting.” The Righteous Mind by Corey Robin

trump is a small psychopath (separating parents and children at the border) and putin is a big psychopath.

Then Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a president, ed by Bandy Lee.

Well done, Mike!

I hear Putin was inspired by Republicans’ legislative changes that reduce child labor restraints.

Interesting contrast. Zelenskyy will go down as, arguably, the greatest leader of the 21st century and one of the top leaders in history. Putin has reduced his historical role to that of Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Polpot, etc.

Unfortunately, this tactic is as old as war’s history. The janissaries of the Ottoman Empire as an example. Some of my wife’s Latvian kin were removed under Stalin’s orders post WWII. Just another brutal reminder for many of what war really is.

The very definition of “War Crimes”. From Uncle Vlad, the very definition of a war criminal. Are the gallows at Nuremberg still working?

Thank you for today’s thoughtful and appropriate cartoon.