There was a political blog that was an offshoot of Daily Kos. It was called Caucus99%. Caucus99% was started by a group of former Kos members who were either disenchanted with mainstream Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and tired of either watching or experiencing the policy that Kos had of banning people who expressed support for the more left wing progressive side of the party. I joined Caucus99%. It went well until anti vax postings became a thing during COVID, to the point that the owner let those discussions have their own portion of the postings. It went further than that. Anyone who argued against the JFK Jr. side of things (like me) was pushed to the corner and verbally attacked. The owner of the site did nothing about it and eventually started banning the pro vax people. In the meantime more posts were becoming pro-Tulsi Gabbard and anti-Ukraine (pro- Putin). I was basically watching the MAGA portion of our politics take over a formerly left wing progressive site. So I would agree that JFK Jr is not just some lone wolf howling at the moon. His minions have been infiltrating our national dialogue for a long time.
Mary, I read the New York Times story and I’m increasingly troubled by the whole arc of what I will call – just for the sake of brevity –
anti-vaxxing becoming a political signpost. Thank you for the way you examined that dynamic and the broader issues. your newsletter has opened up my mind to nuances on this scary dynamic. I am alarmed by the way the whole thing is going, but I see it more clearly after having read what you what.
This morning at about 3:30 as I was trying to fall asleep, I kept thinking about this issue, I finally decided to create a cartoon to help me get some of the angst out of my system. During the past six months or so I’ve worked with ChatGPT to create almost 200 cartoons that comment on the Trump administration. The ideas are mine and I sometimes have to work through 10 and 15 iterations of the idea to get it the way I want. I’ve never posted even one of these cartoons on a social media platform. Never done more than send them to a few people that I respect and who have similar views on things. Why am I telling you all this even? I’m beginning to wonder myself. Okay, I know why I’m telling you this – I’d like you to see the cartoon that I just mentioned. The one that that came together a little bit after 4 this morning. I don’t expect or want you to share it with your subscribers. But I would love you to see it. Is it where is there a way I can get it to you?
Have you ever submitted any of your cartoons to The New Yorker? Robert Reich posts his cartoons on his Substack, so it’s certainly possible for you to create one for those of us who love cartoons depicting the folly of this Administration. I’ll look for your name.
Hi, Debigail. I’m very grateful that you took the time to respond and offer the suggestion. I read Robert Reich’s newsletters every day. So I get to see the cartoon contest that he runs. He’s good and they’re fun.
For the past month, I’ve been working toward doing what you suggested – starting a Substack. Should be online next week. I finished the masthead design a couple of days ago. I’ve got about 175 cartoons (and counting) to post. And I’ll add every new one, of course. I’m a pretty good artist, but I’m a lot more productive giving the directions to ChatGPT and refining its execution till I’m happy with each image. Hope you’ll enjoy what you see.
Everyone should heed Bobby Brainworm when he says "no one should take medical advice from him". Amen to that.
There was a political blog that was an offshoot of Daily Kos. It was called Caucus99%. Caucus99% was started by a group of former Kos members who were either disenchanted with mainstream Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and tired of either watching or experiencing the policy that Kos had of banning people who expressed support for the more left wing progressive side of the party. I joined Caucus99%. It went well until anti vax postings became a thing during COVID, to the point that the owner let those discussions have their own portion of the postings. It went further than that. Anyone who argued against the JFK Jr. side of things (like me) was pushed to the corner and verbally attacked. The owner of the site did nothing about it and eventually started banning the pro vax people. In the meantime more posts were becoming pro-Tulsi Gabbard and anti-Ukraine (pro- Putin). I was basically watching the MAGA portion of our politics take over a formerly left wing progressive site. So I would agree that JFK Jr is not just some lone wolf howling at the moon. His minions have been infiltrating our national dialogue for a long time.
Mary, I read the New York Times story and I’m increasingly troubled by the whole arc of what I will call – just for the sake of brevity –
anti-vaxxing becoming a political signpost. Thank you for the way you examined that dynamic and the broader issues. your newsletter has opened up my mind to nuances on this scary dynamic. I am alarmed by the way the whole thing is going, but I see it more clearly after having read what you what.
This morning at about 3:30 as I was trying to fall asleep, I kept thinking about this issue, I finally decided to create a cartoon to help me get some of the angst out of my system. During the past six months or so I’ve worked with ChatGPT to create almost 200 cartoons that comment on the Trump administration. The ideas are mine and I sometimes have to work through 10 and 15 iterations of the idea to get it the way I want. I’ve never posted even one of these cartoons on a social media platform. Never done more than send them to a few people that I respect and who have similar views on things. Why am I telling you all this even? I’m beginning to wonder myself. Okay, I know why I’m telling you this – I’d like you to see the cartoon that I just mentioned. The one that that came together a little bit after 4 this morning. I don’t expect or want you to share it with your subscribers. But I would love you to see it. Is it where is there a way I can get it to you?
Have you ever submitted any of your cartoons to The New Yorker? Robert Reich posts his cartoons on his Substack, so it’s certainly possible for you to create one for those of us who love cartoons depicting the folly of this Administration. I’ll look for your name.
Hi, Debigail. I’m very grateful that you took the time to respond and offer the suggestion. I read Robert Reich’s newsletters every day. So I get to see the cartoon contest that he runs. He’s good and they’re fun.
For the past month, I’ve been working toward doing what you suggested – starting a Substack. Should be online next week. I finished the masthead design a couple of days ago. I’ve got about 175 cartoons (and counting) to post. And I’ll add every new one, of course. I’m a pretty good artist, but I’m a lot more productive giving the directions to ChatGPT and refining its execution till I’m happy with each image. Hope you’ll enjoy what you see.