It’s a Blog Mitzvah!

I realized the other day that February 17, 2007 was the very first post on Hysterical Raisins. Those were the pre-Photoshop days of The Raisin, and the MS Paint image is embarrassing when I look at it today. So, kids, in honor of The Raisin’s 13th birthday (its blog mitzvah!), I thought I would recreate and update the very first poster. I couldn’t find the same image, but I did find the cover of the DVD box.

Original DVD cover

(Pictured: Bill Barr, Jared Kushner, Kellyanne Conway, Twitler, Stephen Miller, Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump)

Just when you thought the Barr couldn’t get any lower

From Vox:

For anyone concerned that President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr are politicizing the criminal justice system, Friday afternoon has been a real roller coaster.

First, news broke that Justice Department prosecutors had closed one politically controversial case, a lengthy criminal investigation into former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, without bringing any charges. McCabe had been under scrutiny for potentially lying to internal investigators about his role in leaks concerning an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation — though many wondered whether the investigation was truly about pursuing someone President Trump had deemed an enemy.

Original movie poster

Here we go loop de loo!

From Newsweek:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been sent a letter from Joseph Bondy, attorney to Lev Parnas, urging McConnell to allow his client to testify at the ongoing Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

…snip…

“For the past several months we have diligently pursued an opportunity for Mr. Parnas to provide complete and truthful testimony to the Government and Congress regarding Mr. Parnas’s activities in connection with the efforts of President Trump to secure concessions from Ukraine, in exchange for American aid,” the letter continued.

Original DVD cover

MAGAzine Guide for Impeachment Week 2

Hey kids, here’s a Raisin public service announcement. Here’s some info on Impeachment, Week 2.

Original magazine cover

Click on image for larger version

Breaking News, Literally

From DAILY BEAST:

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith, a frequent target of President Trump’s attacks, is stepping down, the network confirmed Friday.

“Recently I asked the company to allow me to leave FOX News and begin a new chapter. After requesting that I stay, they graciously obliged. The opportunities afforded this guy from small town Mississippi have been many,” Smith said in a statement.

Nope, don’t think so! There’s another reason why Shep got the axe.

Original DVD cover

Well, here’s another nice mess he’s gotten us into!

From The Guardian:

An effort in recent months by Donald Trump to rewrite the history of the 2016 US presidential election and set up a 2020 re-election victory was more geographically sprawling and reliant on the day-to-day participation of top cabinet members than previously reported, it emerged on Monday.

William Barr, the attorney general, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, collectively participated in contacts between Trump and leaders of at least four foreign countries, according to multiple reports.

Original DVD cover

Whistleblowing past the graveyard

From CBS News:

Washington — President Trump moved on Wednesday to stave off the most serious threat to his presidency yet, releasing a summary of a conversation with the president of Ukraine that’s at the center of an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats. In a series of public appearances, Mr. Trump argued the summary cleared him of wrongdoing, despite it showing he repeatedly urged the Ukrainian president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, his potential Democratic rival.

Original comic book cover

Biden Their Time

From Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post:

It’s long past time that media outlets stop hyping the story line that former vice president Joe Biden did something untoward regarding Ukraine. Last week New York Times reporter Ken Vogel called Ukraine a “significant liability” for Biden and teased that “there is a story here.” Vogel added: “We’ve told some of it. There is more to be told. We are going to continue to sort of pull that back.”

In fact, there never was any “liability” whatsoever and the “more to be told” has turned out to be “nothing to be told.” When it came time to put the facts in print, Vogel reported: “As The New York Times reported this spring, no evidence has surfaced that the former vice president intentionally tried to help his son by pressing for the prosecutor’s dismissal. In fact, some of the vice president’s former associates said he never did anything to deter other efforts to go after the oligarch, Mykola Zlochevsky.” Vogel omits mention that the spring report came under a misleading headline and that the admission there was no “there there” only came after paragraph upon paragraph suggesting Biden had some kind of problem.

At any rate, the jig is up, and it’s time for reporters without any proof to cease attempting to convert this into a Biden scandal.

Original DVD cover