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War, Peace and the Spirit of Christmas

‘Tis the season to be jolly – but it hasn’t always been so jolly. There is a dramatic history of battles at Christmas time.

Not just the skirmishes that pop up at our family’s Christmas dinner table when a crazy MAGA uncle drops a bomb about the “Biden Crime Family” as he passes the potatoes. And not the phony “War on Christmas” that conservatives have been claiming for years that liberals are waging on Christianity. There’s been genuine, yuletide warfare. Like the terrible wars we have now between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas.

A quick Google search shows that wars seem to heat up or cool down at Christmas.

George Washington famously celebrated Christmas in 1776 by sneaking across the Delaware river to defeat the “Hessians,” the soldiers from Germany that Britain hired to help them lose the Revolutionary War.

On Christmas Day in 1831 about 60,000 slaves in Jamaica bravely went on a non-violent strike against their British oppressors, demanding freedom and wages. It ended badly for the slaves – 500 were killed or executed in the ensuing violence. But the brutal way the Brits treated the rebels is said to have influenced Britain’s decision to abolish slavery within its global empire.

Christmas time was also a popular time for acts of war in the 20th century.

The bloodiest battle ever fought during Christmas began Dec. 23, 1916, in Riga, Latvia, when Russian and German troops collided.

A horrible example of how awful trench warfare was, 60,000 Russians and 6,000 Germans died in a battle that achieved nothing for either side and ultimately helped bring on the Russian Revolution.

And who with a Netflix account can ever forget Christmas 1944, when Hitler launched his famous last gasp – the surprise counter-attack in Belgium that became known as “The Battle of the Bulge”?

Christmas isn’t always a good time for war, though. Every once in a while it’s a good time for peace.

For example, the War of 1812 ended in a truce as the USA and Great Britain signed “The Treaty of Ghent” on Christmas Eve in 1814.

On Christmas Eve in 1914, when World War I was still young, German and Allied soldiers on the Western Front held a spontaneous armistice that we’ll probably never see again.

In what became famous as “The Christmas Truce,” they walked to the middle of “No Man’s Land,” shook hands, sang carols and even exchanged gifts before going back to slaughtering each other a few days later.

Even Richard Nixon and Fidel Castro used Christmas as an excuse for doing something nice.

In 1972 Nixon called a 36-hour halt to a major bombing campaign over North Vietnam. And in 1998 Cuba’s most famous atheist, Fidel Castro, “celebrated” the birth of Baby Jesus by ending the ban on the holiday he had instituted 30 years earlier.

China has also changed its communist mind about Christmas, which was once banned by Mao and Co.. Under modern China’s later, somewhat less-dictatorial leaders, Christmas has made a comeback as a useful gift-giving holiday and economic booster.

Elsewhere, Christmas celebrations are still against the law in joyless places like North Korea, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Celebrations of Christmas were illegal in Saudi Arabia until recent years when the murderous Saudi Prince Muhammad Bin Salman loosened the Christmas reigns.

After the English Civil War, the British Parliament passed a ban on Christmas. A 1647 law, championed by conservative Puritans, forced stores to remain open on Christmas and punished people for attending Christmas services and celebrations. The next time a MAGA relative brings up the “War on Christmas,” be sure to remind him of Oliver Cromwell and his Christmas-banning, right-wing, conservative buddies. Conservatives have short memories at the dinner table.

There’s nothing like spending an afternoon on Google to put me into the wartime Christmas spirit. Now I’m mad.

Daryl Cagle is the publisher of Cagle.com and owner of CagleCartoons.com, a syndicate that distributes editorial cartoons and columns to over 500 subscribing newspapers.

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WAR AND CHAOS – TOP TEN CARTOONS OF THE WEEK

A week ago, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 Israelis and igniting a new conflict in a region long torn by war and bloodshed. Meanwhile, back here in the U.S., Republicans remain unable to elect a Speaker of the House, which could impact our country’s ability to aid Israel, among other things.

All that to say it was a busy week for cartoonists, who also targeted their pens on the over-inflated price of housing and President Joe Biden’s sudden change of heart on Trump’s border wall.

Here are our top ten most reprinted cartoons of the week:

#1. John Darkow

 

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#2. John Darkow

 

#3. Chris Weyant

 

#4. Dave Whamond

 

#5. Adam Zyglis

 

#6. Jeff Koterba

 

#7. Pat Bagley

 

#8. Rick McKee

 

#9. Dave Granlund

 

#10. Dave Whamond

 

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Twitter Trouble: Top Ten Cartoons of the Week

There’s been a lot of talk about people being disengaged from politics this election cycle, and this week’s most popular cartoons seems to back that up.

Despite midterm elections that saw Republicans struggle and Donald Trump put himself back into the spotlight, editors seemed more interested in Elon Musk and the chaos he’s created at Twitter. Between the issues at Twitter and layoffs at Amazon, it wasn’t the best week for some of the world’s top tech giants.

I also enjoyed Dave Whamond’s cartoon about a changing of the guard at Starbucks, from pumpkin spike lattes to eggnog lattes, which is probably a lot more relevant to people than how large the Republican majority will be in the House.

Here are our top ten most reprinted cartoons of the week:

#1. Monte Wolverton, Cagle.com

 

#2. Dave Granlund, Cagle.com

 

#3. John Darkow, Columbia Missourian

 

#4. Jeff Koterba, Cagle.com

 

#5. Dave Granlund, Cagle.com

 

#6. John Darkow, Columbia Missourian

 

#7. Randall Enos, Cagle.com

 

#8. Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News

 

#9. Dave Whamond, Cagle.com

 

#10. Dick Wright, Cagle.com


Our weekly Top Ten is now a newspaper column!  Subscribing editors can find it at CagleCartoons.com with download links to grab the cartoons in high resolution.

Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!

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The Red Wave!

That “Red Wave” wasn’t much of a wave.  Here’s what the CagleCartoonists think about the Red Wave.

Joe Heller

 

Randall Enos

 

Dave Whamond

 

Dave Granlund

 

Jeff Koterba

 

Chris Weyant

 

Rivers

 

Christo Komarnitski

 

R. J. Matson


Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!

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Jeff Koterba Explains his Cartoon at our Exhibition

Jeff Koterba's "Big Lie Bat Cave" cartoon in the Donkeys and Elephants exhibition at the Salon in St Just le Martel, France. Donald Trump, elephants, bats, cave, election, denial, big lie,Republicans, Donald Trump
Jeff Koterba’s “Big Lie Bat Cave” cartoon in the Donkeys and Elephants exhibition at the Salon in St Just le Martel, France

We had two lovely exhibitions at the “International Center“, Press Cartoons museum in St Just le Martel, France this year. One of the shows was about Donkeys and Elephants.

Some people talk about cartooning being an international language, but it isn’t, a great example of cartoons that don’t cross borders are American donkey and elephant cartoons, which make no sense to foreign audiences. Our exhibit in France was curated by cartoons historian Olivier Auvray, who invited six cartoonists in our group to show their best donkey/elephant cartoons, which were presented with explanations –even with the explanations, the cartoons seemed seemed pretty difficult for the French fans to comprehend.

Here’s a video that Olivier took, of our cartoonist, Jeff Koterba, explaining his GOP Elephant Batcave cartoon to some French fans at the exhibition.

See CagleCartoonist Ed Wexler explaining his cartoon at our exhibition in France.


Our weekly Top Ten is now a newspaper column!  Subscribing editors can find it at CagleCartoons.com with download links to grab the cartoons in high resolution.

Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!

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Back to School – Top Ten Cartoons of the Week

Kids are returning to school, and cartoonists sharpened their pencils this week on the many issues districts across the country face, whether it’s a shortage of teachers or out-of-control supply costs due to inflation.

There was also that FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Largo residence in Florida. While editors reprinted a number of our cartoons on the incident, just one cartoon featuring Trump made it onto our top ten list. Editors don’t like running Trump cartoons nearly as much as cartoonists love drawing them.

Here are our top ten most reprinted cartoons of the week:

#1. Jeff Koterba, Cagle.com

#2. John Cole, Scranton Times-Tribune

 

#3. John Darkow, Columbia Missouran

 

#4. Dave Granlund, Cagle.com

 

#5. Dave Whamond, Cagle.com

 

#6. Rivers, Cagle.com

 

#7. John Darkow, Columbia Missouran

 

#8. Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News

 

#9. Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News

 

#10. Dave Whamond, Cagle.com

 


Our weekly Top Ten is now a newspaper column!  Subscribing editors can find it at CagleCartoons.com with download links to grab the cartoons in high resolution.

Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!

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The Masks are Off: Top Ten Cartoons of the Week

COVID-19 was on the minds of cartoonists this week, after a federal judge overruled the Biden administration’s mask mandate on airplanes.

Cartoonists had a smorgasbord of topics to play with, including Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, the right-wing attack on Disney, and a shortage of airline pilots creating havoc nationwide. It’s always something.

And here are the Top Ten …

#1

Chris Weyant took the #1 most reprinted spot.

#2

Dave Granlund took second place.

#3

Monte Wolverton took third place with his first of two cartoons on the list.

#4

Randall Enos nabbed 4th place.

#5

Monte Wolverton claims the five-spot with his second of two cartoons in theTop Ten.

#6

John Darkow came in sixth.

#7

Dick Wright nabs seventh place.

#8

Adam Zyglis took 8th place.

#9

Adam Zyglis takes 9th place too!

#10

Rick McKee wraps it up at number ten.


Our weekly Top Ten is now a newspaper column!  Subscribing editors can find it at CagleCartoons.com with download links to grab the cartoons in high resolution.

Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!

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Top Ten Cartoons of the Week – January 8th, 2022

Here are our most reprinted cartoons of the week ending  January 8th, 2022. Congratulations to Jeff Koterba had a fantastic week taking the #1, #2 and #3 cartoons of the week! I’ve never seen that happen before!  Jeff was also our most reprinted cartoonist of the week, overall. And kudos to John Cole who has two cartoons in the Top Ten!

Just about half of America’s daily, paid circulation newspapers (around 700 papers) subscribe to CagleCartoons.com. These are the cartoons that editors picked last week.


Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you!  Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers sink too, and along with them, our Cagle.com site.

The world needs political cartoonists more now than ever. Please consider supporting Cagle.com and visit Cagle.com/heroes.

#1

Jeff Koterba took the #1 spot.

#2

Jeff Koterba also took second place.

#3

Jeff Koterba took third place too – I’m impressed!

#4

John Cole took 4th place with his first of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

#5

John Cole also claims the five-spot.

#6

Steve Sack came in sixth.

#7

Dave Granlund nabs seventh place.

#8

Daryl Cagle (that’s me) took 8th place.

#9

Bob Englehart takes 9th place.

#10

Dick Wright wraps it up at number ten!


Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!


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Top Ten Cartoons of the Week – December 25th, 2021

Here are our most reprinted cartoons of the week ending  December 25th, 2021.  Merry Christmas!

Chris Weyant took the #1 top position. The overall most reprinted cartoonist of the week was Dick Wright.  Nine of the Top Ten cartoons had holiday themes, seven about Christmas and two early cartoons about New Years.

Just about half of America’s daily, paid circulation newspapers (around 700 papers) subscribe to CagleCartoons.com. These are the cartoons that editors picked last week.


Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you!  Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers sink too, and along with them, our Cagle.com site.

The world needs political cartoonists more now than ever. Please consider supporting Cagle.com and visit Cagle.com/heroes.

#1

Chris Weyant took the #1 spot.

#2

Bruce Plante placed second with his first of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

#3

Dave Whamond nabbed third place with his first of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

#4

Rivers took 4th place with second of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

#5

Ed Wexler claims the five-spot.

#6

Dave Granlund came in sixth with his second of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

#7

Rick McKee nabs seventh place with first of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

#8

Dick Wright took 8th place with his second cartoon in the Top Ten.

#9

Jeff Koterba takes 9th place.

#9

Guy Parsons wraps it up at number ten (but really a tie for #9) with a New Years cartoon!


Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!


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Top Ten Cartoons of the Week – August 14th, 2021

Here are our most reprinted cartoons of the week ending  August 14th, 2021. Congratulations to Dave Whamond and Dave Granlund who tied for the first place with the most reprinted cartoon of the week.  And special kudos to Jeff Koterba and Dave Whamond for having two cartoons each in the Top Ten.

For the first time ever, we have a five way tie for 5th place, between Jeff Koterba, Rivers, Dave Fitzsimmons, Gary McCoy and Dave Whamond– What are the chances of that happening? Congrats to Bruce Plante and Rick McKee too!

Just about half of America’s daily, paid circulation newspapers (around 700 papers) subscribe to CagleCartoons.com. These are the cartoons that editors picked last week.


Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you!  Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers sink too, and along with them, our Cagle.com site.

The world needs political cartoonists more now than ever. Please consider supporting Cagle.com and visit Cagle.com/heroes.

#1

Dave Whamond‘s cartoon tied for most popular with editors last week!

 

#1

Dave Granlund also tied for the top spot!

#3

Jeff Koterba takes third place with his first of two cartoons on in Top Ten.

#4

Rick McKee claims fourth place.

#5

Jeff Koterba takes the five spot with his second Top Ten cartoon this week.

#5

Rivers also ties for 5th place.

#5

Dave Fitzsimmons nabs the five spot too.

#5

Gary McCoy is also tied for 5th place.

#5

Dave Whamond takes fifth place also in our crazy tie – with his second cartoon in the Top Ten.

#10

Bruce Plante is in tenth place.


Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!


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Top Ten Cartoons of the Week – June 26, 2021

Here are our most reprinted cartoons of the week ending  June 26th, 2021.

This was a great week for Jeff Koterba, who took the #1 spot by a big margin and has an impressive three cartoons in the Top Ten. Jeff was also the most reprinted cartoonist of the week overall.

And congrats to Dick Wright, Steve Sack and Dave Whamond who each have two cartoons in the Top Ten. And kudos to Dave Granlund who also made the list after an unbelievable performance last week.

Just about half of America’s daily, paid circulation newspapers (around 700 papers) subscribe to CagleCartoons.com. These are the cartoons that editors picked last week.


Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you!  Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers sink too, and along with them, our Cagle.com site.

The world needs political cartoonists more now than ever. Please consider supporting Cagle.com and visit Cagle.com/heroes.

#1

Jeff Koterba‘s cartoon was most popular with editors last week!

 

#2

Dave Whamond takes second place with his first of two cartoons in the Top Ten.

 

#3

Jeff Koterba wins third place with his second of an incredible THREE cartoons in the Top Ten.

 

#4

Dick Wright claims fourth place with his first of two cartoons on the most reprinted list.

 

#5

Jeff Koterba takes the five spot with his THIRD cartoon in the Top Ten this week.

 

#6

Dick Wright takes sixth place with his second cartoon on the list.

 

#7

Steve Sack nabs seventh place with his first of two cartoons on the list.

 

#8

Dave Granlund takes eighth place following his dominant performance last week.

 

#9

Steve Sack takes ninth place with his second cartoon in the Top Ten.

 

#10

Dave Whamond places his second cartoon on the list at number ten.


Want to get EVERY new CagleCartoon from our 62 syndicated newspaper editorial cartoonists, in your email box every day? Just become a Cagle.com HERO and you get the exclusive daily emails of ALL THE CARTOONS!  See all the cartoons before the newspapers print them and never miss a cartoon!