Every Sunday WhoWhatWhy cartoonist and Image Editor DonkeyHotey and Politics Editor Klaus Marre bring you insightful, sometimes controversial, and always thought-provoking commentary and opinion. Here are some of our favorites pieces from this year.
The outstanding work of our Images Department, which is headed by an artist who goes by the nom de guerre of “DonkeyHotey,” is the main reason why WhoWhatWhy has such a unique and engaging look.
We are very proud of our daily panoramas and other images, which add a visual dimension to nearly all of our stories. In order to provide another outlet for the unbound creativity of that department and its editor, we decided to run a weekly cartoon in 2017 and supplement it with a sharp-tongued and (hopefully) witty text.
Overall, we are very pleased with this experiment. As the below sampling of some of our favorites shows, we hit Democrats and Republicans alike, and addressed many of the topics most dear to our hearts, such as the systemic voter suppression plaguing US democracy.
Drug Testing Welfare: Giving Those in Need the Finger, Not a Helping Hand
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Congress rolled back Obama era protections against suspicionless drug testing. The targets of these programs are always those less fortunate and not the people making millions off the government.
Vigilance Is Needed to Fight Net Neutrality Rollback
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Overshadowed by the never-ending stream of news generated by President Donald Trump, the FCC began the process of overturning Obama-era net neutrality rules. It’s time to pay attention!
Hillary Clinton, Please Exit Stage Left
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As long as Hillary Clinton keeps talking about the 2016 election, Democrats won’t be able to focus on 2018. She should take the difficult step out of the spotlight.
Lack of a Vision for America Is Hurting Democrats
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Just Being Against Trump Won’t Win Elections
If Democrats want to start winning elections again, simply counting on resentment of Donald Trump won’t be enough. They need new leaders and a bold vision that appeals to all Americans.
Is the Separation Between Church and State About to Crumble?
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The Supreme Court is one of the safeguards the Founding Fathers put in place to ensure the separation of church and state. But what happens when the bench is stacked with religious zealots?
Does Truth Still Matter?
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It’s not news that politicians lie. When they get caught, there normally is a political price to pay. Donald Trump seems to be bucking that trend, as his supporters don’t seem to know or care that he plays fast and loose with the truth.
Evangelicals and the GOP — An Unholy Alliance
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What do Donald Trump and evangelicals have in common? Everything and nothing. Evangelicals are some of his most loyal supporters. But to those with only a passing familiarity with the New Testament, that’s a religious mystery.
GOP State Officials Are the Real Threat to Democracy
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Georgia is the latest victim of Republican state officials trying to suppress votes. Who will stop them? And do they win either way?
Misplaced American Healthcare Exceptionalism
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Is US healthcare really the envy of the world? Statistics and the average American’s pocketbook tell a different story.
Want to Support the Troops? Stop Sending Them to Die in Meaningless Wars
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US leaders love to proclaim their full-throated support for the troops. Yet these same leaders never seem to miss an opportunity to send them to defend “American values” where they are not under attack. The toll on the lives of these young men and women and their families is devastating.
Veterans Continue to Pay Long After Serving
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While the cost of the War on Terror in terms of taxpayer funds is enormous, it’s US veterans who are paying the highest price.
GOP ‘Tax Reform’: A Caricature Becomes Reality
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It’s easy to make fun of the GOP as a party that helps billionaires at the expense of everybody else. But the Republican tax bill shows that the joke is on regular Americans while the rich will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Photo credit for all images above: DonkeyHotey / WhoWhatWhy (CC BY-SA 2.0) See complete attribution on the editorial pages for each image.
The cartoon above was created by DonkeyHotey for WhoWhatWhy from these images: Donald Trump caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Anthony Scaramucci caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Steve Bannon caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Sebastian Gorka caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY-SA 2.0), Sean Spicer caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Reince Priebus caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Paul Manafort caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Michael Flynn caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), Omarosa Manigault caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), body (U.S. Department of State / Flickr), champaign (Marco Verch / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), rug (Obama Library), hall (Roman Boed / Flickr – CC BY 2.0), banner (OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay) and confetti (Gellinger / Pixabay).