Six times a week or so, I pass by the pier where Kathryn Steinle was killed.  Never did I think that beautiful spot would become such fertile ground for campaign demagoguery.  Donald Trump has found the perfectly-timed tragedy that kinda sorta supports his racist message.  The senseless killing of Steinle in San Francisco by a five-times-deported felon from Mexico has unfortunately become a central part of the current presidential campaign.

Yes, there are some real screw-ups that allowed the alleged killer to freely wander the streets of San Francisco and the city sanctuary policy definitely needs to be clarified, but where is the outrage about gun violence in the United States that happens day in and day out?  I don’t seem to remember Donald Trump issuing any statements about the person I saw dying on the sidewalk a few years ago after getting shot outside a burrito shop.  There should really be a thirty-day waiting period for political opportunism.

There are so many important issues involved in this awful case of random gun violence, I hope it doesn’t remain solely an applause line in a Donald campaign speech.  As awful as he seems to be, I have yet to hear of any previous violent crimes committed by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez.  (He seems more like a pitiful paint-huffing drug addict to me than one of Trump’s Mexican drug cartel mobsters.)  Are we prepared to deport every immigrant here illegally for a $20 marijuana deal or repeated non-violent drug offenses?  And let’s not forget, the sanctuary city policies are in place so local policing can be more effective and catch bad guys.  We all want to catch bad guys, right?  You can help the victim’s family by contributing to their crowd-funding campaign— and be sure to dig deeper into the links behind the cartoon.

It seems only fitting to use Antonin Scalia’s own words for a poetry slam, since the justice’s snarky dissents are filled with so many poetic gems.  The Affordable Care Act victory was followed quickly by the same-sex marriage win, and Scalia’s dissents have become increasingly irate and colorful.

Turns out, trying to bring health insurance to millions of people in the United States is not illegal and neither is letting two people who love each other get married.  Go figure.  Once the fulminating conservatives cool off, hopefully health insurance and marriage will become boring again and we’ll look back on this and laugh.  

Though Scalia had some wins this Supreme Court term, it’s fascinating to see how unhinged he becomes in his dissenting opinions.  Amazingly, he even dissented while concurring!  As a cartoonist, I love this guy.  As a citizen, not so much.  Enjoy your Obamacare, go get married no matter who you love and be sure to enjoy the sputtering frustration of Scalia.  Oh, and check out the stories behind this cartoon!

If only racism and gun-toting white supremacists would disappear with the removal of the Stars and Bars from government grounds and major retailers.  I’m happy to see the bandwagon of politicians who used to support the display of the Confederate flag getting bigger every day.  Some of these guys were using the “heritage” defense of the flag just last week, then calling for its removal this week.  

Thanks to the none-too-brave Nikki Haley, Republicans are tripping over themselves to defuse this potentially damaging campaign issue.  (Never mind that the current Majority Whip in the United States House of Representatives has his own history of hanging out with white supremacists and he seems to be doing just fine.)  Unfortunately, the racist past and present of the United States will be haunting us for a long time to come, but at least we won’t be able to buy a Confederate flag at Walmart.  (These are still on sale, however.)  Enjoy the cartoon, feel free to help the victims and the community most impacted by this tragedy.  And, as usual, be sure to check out the news behind the cartoon.