ICE as the New Vigilante Men

Cartoon and musical commentary from Dylan, Sptringsteen, Cooder and, of course, Woody.

Greg Mitchell has authored more than a dozen books (see most of them here) and directed four recent PBS films, including the current “The Atomic Bowl.” Subscribing to this newsletter is still FREE—so if you want to help fund, maybe purchase one of those books, thanks. Or recommend this Substack to a friend!

Jimmy and Stephen both opened with focus on the Minneapolis murder.

Meanwhile:

Federal Agents Shoot 2 During Traffic Stop in Portland, Ore.

I wonder if Mike Lupica’s prediction from yesterday is proving true yet: “At the rate things are going, by Friday morning the government will be saying that Renee Nicole Good is the one who pulled a gun.”

Andy Borowitz joked if J.D. Vance, when he said that the victim was far “left,” did he really mean that the federal agent shot her from left side of car? Probably not.

Norm Ornstein, former well-connected Republican:

We are in a police state. The notion expressed by Trump, Vance and Noem that there is absolute immunity for a cold blooded murder if it’s carried out by one of their agents is the final straw. If we do not turn this around, we are done for as a free society and a decent country.

Paul Krugman:

Sending armed, masked, poorly trained, masked and out-of-control armed thugs into blue cities is, in effect, a war on Americans, just as January 6^thwas a war on American institutions. In effect, Trump would rather savage his own people than be held accountable for his actions. So in Trump’s mind, Renee Nicole Good’s murder is at most collateral damage….

Then there’s this to worry about:

Russia Appears to Use Nuclear-Capable Missile in Ukraine

The song of the moment has to be Woody’s genius “Vigilante Man” from 1940, which fits so well the new ICE age. Perhaps you’ve never heard the original, recorded in one take:

Ry Cooder live with epic version:

Bruce also live:

Dylan (you may have heard about him and Woody), here with Ry and Van Dyke Parks.

From Tunes to Toons

Telnaes:

Bramhall:

Luckovich:

Goris:

de Adder:

Bennett:

Davies:

Anderson:

Photo Finish

If you need a Moment of Zen: “Huntington Gardens, near Pasadena”