Humor Times Editorial

Second Go-Around Bound to Be Worse than the First

The second go-around of MAGA mismanagement of our government is a disaster-in-waiting.

Here we go again — *sigh* — the second go-around of MAGA mismanagement of our beloved country.

With this January issue, we figuratively hold our hands over our eyes, peeking through with dread and fear for our nation, as we await the second inauguration of one Donald J. Trump.

Our April issue will be our 33rd anniversary issue, so we’ve been around a while. We’ve seen good presidents, pretty good presidents, bad ones and terrible ones. We’ve strived to lampoon both parties through the years. Sure, we lean left, but we see the value of laughing at ourselves, i.e., liberals. But we simply cannot play the “bothsidesism” game, lending false equivalence where there is none.

That is why we’ve been so critical of Trump and Trumpism, aka MAGA. Because he and it are much worse than anything we’ve seen in the past, and they deserve all the critical scrutiny we can muster, satirically and more earnestly, as in this editorial.

Donald Trump is not a serious president, despite how a slim majority of the 2024 electorate felt. I’m thoroughly convinced that most of those who cast their ballot for this despot-wannabee were ill-informed. If they’d known all the facts, most of them would have voted differently, or not voted at all. 

Such is the nature of our current public discourse: it is polluted with disinformation, deluded fantasy, outright lies and propaganda. So many people get their “news” from social media now, and are being led down an algorithmically-produced rabbit hole. They are firmly ensconced in their respective bubbles, unable to tell truth from fiction. Unaware, even, of other viewpoints. This is how so many were convinced that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump: everything they saw supported him. “Everybody loves him!” they thought, “so how could he have lost?”

And here we are. As a democracy, we face one of our toughest challenges yet: keeping an openly-professed authoritarian from subverting said democracy, by persecuting his detractors,  sabotaging our institutions, subjugating Congress and the courts, and gaining leverage over the media – the latter a goal already accomplished to a frightening degree. 

So, resist we must. And resist we shall, in our own little way, here at the Humor Times (we can use your support – see below). Meanwhile, do what you can in your own way, whether it simply be speaking the truth as you see it, supporting good causes, volunteering or running for local office yourself. Keep up the good fight… and don’t be discouraged!

— James Israel,
Editor, Humor Times

P.S. Surviving as a small print publication is extremely difficult in this day and age. You can help keep the Humor Times strong and vibrant by: giving subscriptions to people you think will like it; donating; and/or by getting a free stack of the paper shipped to you and distributing it locally – to friends, family and coworkers, and in coffee shops around town. To request your stack, email us. Thanks!

James Israel
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