Tidbits-July 23: Reader Comments: World Cup, Trump Booed Heard Round the World; ICE Killings; AOC Should Run; GOP: More Money for Pentagon To Fight Communism in US; Israel Issue Flips; Diarrhea Outbreak; Testosterone Army; Save Queens College Jobs

Reader Comments: World Cup and Trump Booed Heard Round the World; ICE Killings; AOC Should Run; GOP Wants More Money for Pentagon to Fight Communism in U.S.; Israel Issue Flips; Worst Diarrhea Outbreak; Testosterone Army; Save Queens College Jobs;

Portside
Printer friendly  
Tidbits - Reader Comments, Announcements and cartoons - July 23, 2026 | Portside

 

Announcements:


.




.

Penalty Kick - The Golden Boot  --  Cartoon by Daniel Boris




Daniel Boris
July 20, 2026
danboriscreates
 



 

ICE Kills  --  Cartoon and Commentary by Felipe Galindo/Feggo



The human cost of ICE’s expanded enforcement is measured in lives. Since January 2025, at least 10 people have been fatally shot during immigration enforcement operations.
 


 


[Felipe Galindo/Feggo creates humorous art in a variety of media, including cartoons, illustrations, animations, fine art & public art. His work is exhibited and published worldwide, including in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Narrative and MAD. Awards include United Nations Correspondents Association; Aydın Doğan Competition, Turkey; Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NYC; Puffin Foundation; Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance; Zagreb International Competition; Porto Cartoon Festival, Portugal; New York Foundation for the Arts; International Latino Book Awards; Knnoke-Heist Humor Festival, Belgium; National Association of Latino Arts and Culture; Cambridge Latino Film Festival; Latino Public Broadcasting; New York Council for the Arts Media Arts Award and US/Mexico Fund for Culture Grant.]


Check out all installments in the OppArt series.  

If you like this article, please sign up for Snapshot, Portside's daily summary.

(One summary e-mail a day, you can change anytime, and Portside is always free.)




 

Re: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Should Run for President
 

I think she would make a fabulous president! I see here taking over where FDR left off. He relented from time to time where she would be more willing to stand firm and build on the progressive ideal. My fear is that the Democratic establishment would not be willing to fight for her. Their influence is waning but not fast enough and they still have a lot of real power. And I would not yet underestimate the power of American misogyny. It had an effect on Kamala but honestly I think AOC an really fire up the 18-34 demographic and if they all voted, she would be a shoe-in. She will have to deal with the corporate elites and AIPAC.

Alan Richrod
Posted on Portside's Facebook page


     =====

AOC must serve at least one term as a senator before she runs for president. Being a Representative and a woman are serious strikes against her.

Nora Lapin
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Nora Lapin:  how long did Sweet Potato Hitler serve before running for President?

Robert Laite
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

No, she should not. Ro Khanna is much more qualified and he should run.

Alan Hart
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

She would make a fantastic candidate.

Ray Markey
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Re: Johnson Says Pentagon Needs More Money for ‘Fighting Communism on Our Own Shores’
 

Johnson's comments are dangerous.

Daniel McCusker
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

He is totally dangerous and orchestrating a coup

Danny Williams
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Re: The Israel Issue Flips
 

Via Portside https://portside.org/2026-07-22/israel-issue-flips & The American Prospect https://www.facebook.com/TheAmericanProspect comes Robert Kuttner’s https://www.facebook.com/RobertKuttner essay on how opinion about Israel has shifted. Now majorities of voters call the Israeli government war on Gaza “genocide” and oppose more arms for it. I’m saddened by the shift in political winds even though I agree with the majorities. My own congress member, Yvette Clarke, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010999729356 voted to keep sending bombs to Bibi as did Hakeem Jeffries. https://www.facebook.com/hakeem.jeffries I guess I will oppose their re-nominations in 2028. Link in the comments, damnit.

Daniel Millstone
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Danny, all this proves is that there has been a massive and successful campaign to present a devastating war against an enemy that is thoroughly embedded in civilian structures, fights without wearing uniforms and uses child soldiers, as an unjustified and genocidal war against the civilian population of Gaza. That it has been successful doesn’t mean that it is true.

Stan Nadel
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Stan Nadel:  As you know, we disagree on the merits on this. Of course you are correct that the fact that support for Israel has ebbed, doesn’t demonstrate the underlying correctness or incorrectness of the position (any more than when a majority supported the actions of the Israeli government). But I think you should consider the possibility that those of us opposed to the actions of Bibi et al. are not the victims of a vast propaganda campaign.

Daniel Millstone
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Re: How Donald Trump Created the Worst Diarrhea Outbreak This Century
 

That noise you hear while Trump speaks is not applause.

Ethan Young
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Lettuce Us Feed You More of This  --  Cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz

 



Lalo Alcaraz
July 21, 2026
Post on Facebook
 




 

Stephen Miller  --  Cartoon and Commentary by Ann Telnaes

 


A key player in Trump's inner circle



I know Trump’s speech last Thursday got the most attention but watch this hate-filled diatribe by his deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller. Do listen all the way to the end because it’s fascinating (in a frightening way) how he gets more agitated when attacking “liberals” appearances and their personal motivations. And note that he was appearing at a summit Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted. Remember that when the news media portray Rubio as a sane option during the run-up to the 2028 presidential election

Ann Telnaes
July 19, 2026
Open Windows- Ann Telnaes
 




 

Re: The ICC Scares Trumpworld. Good.
 

Matt Ford's piece from The New Republic, "The ICC Scares Trumpworld. Good." expresses near-global consensus for ICC justice in the wake of numerous decisions made by the Trump administration, particularly concerning genocidal threats and actions, ostensibly to that end.

As Ford lays out, it will be challenging. But it is too commonly viewed that Trump's crimes do not equal those Justice Jackson sought to punish at Nuremberg. Trump 47's most recent warring endeavors are not the only genocidal efforts for which guilt should be assigned. Consider that of knowingly assisting Israel's IDF, despite its now evident genocidal behavior in Gaza. As well, Trump sanctioned DOGE's abrupt termination of most USAID funding, knowing that without other means of outside support in place, millions would famish from undernourishment. By now, over 700,000 are estimated to have died, mostly children--whose paid-for supplies thousands were purposefully denied by US authority.

Given SCOTUS' "Get Out of Jail Free" card to presidents, a fourth option to Teflon Don's future may give hope: After Trump and Hegseth bankrupt the "Department of War", its unpaid troops too testosterone-deprived to storm the Capital, Canada will be in a great position to invade the US and serve justice that Trump and those under him will not be able to evade. Even should Trump, his family, and Cabinet suddenly depart by air, the price on their heads will soon ground them.

Natalia Kuzmyn
Vancouver Island




 

Re: Tall Ships Bring a Warning for American Democracy
 

I still have clippings from our demonstrations against the Pinochet dictatorship when the Esmeralda arrived in San Francisco.

Karen Lee Wald




 

Re: D&D Players Raise Millions in Real-Life Campaign Against ‘Corporate Elite’

(posting on Portside Labor)
 

Also via Portside and The Guardian, Los Angeles DSA raises money by holding a Dungeons & Dragons event (I didn’t even know D&D games could raise money. Did you?). Five of its six candidates won or advanced to the general election.

Daniel Millstone
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Re: This Man’s Life Work Could End Homelessness – and Trump Is Doing All He Can To Stop It
 

There is clear evidence that this guy is a criminal and trying to upset the balance. Of power by claiming that housing is a human right.

Precluding but even more not addressing the need to profit off people's misery! Dangerous.

Grace




 

High T  --  Cartoon and Commentary by Nick Anderson

 



America used to win wars with logistics, training, intelligence and overwhelming industrial capacity. Silly us. Apparently all we really needed was another syringe.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that military personnel over 30 will receive annual testosterone screenings, with hormone replacement therapy available for those who qualify. He even unveiled the slogan: the “High-T Department of War.” It’s comforting to know that after centuries of military strategy, we’ve finally identified the secret weapon: injectable masculinity.

At this rate, I assume the Pentagon’s next procurement request will include protein powder, pre-workout supplements and a line of official government-issued “No Days Off” tank tops.

Don’t misunderstand me. Testosterone deficiency is a legitimate medical condition, just as high blood pressure, diabetes and poor vision are legitimate medical conditions. When patients have symptoms and physicians determine treatment is appropriate, hormone therapy can dramatically improve quality of life. That’s medicine. But medicine has an annoying habit of being boring.

Politics, on the other hand, demands mythology. And on today’s right, testosterone has been elevated from hormone to holy water. It’s no longer simply something produced by the endocrine system. It’s become a personality trait, a political philosophy and apparently now a national security strategy.

Once upon a time, politicians accused opponents of lacking courage. Now they accuse them of lacking T. Somehow we’ve arrived at a moment where foreign policy sounds like an infomercial hosted by a guy wearing mirrored sunglasses inside a supplement store.

“Feeling tired? Weak? Unable to invade three countries before lunch? Ask your doctor about testosterone replacement therapy.”

The irony is almost too perfect. This is the same political movement that regularly warns Americans about Big Pharma, experimental medicine and government involvement in health care. Yet inject the words “testosterone” and “manliness” into the conversation and suddenly Washington can’t write checks fast enough.

Apparently government-funded hormone therapy is socialism, unless it makes you manlier.

This fits perfectly into the right’s increasingly strange fascination with testosterone. What was once a hormone discussed in doctors’ offices has been transformed into a political virtue, a personality trait and, apparently, a national security strategy. Today, “low-T” is the preferred insult, influencers peddle miracle pills promising everything from bigger biceps to better sex lives, and the administration boasts about the president’s testosterone levels as though they belong on the White House website alongside unemployment and inflation. Somewhere, endocrinologists are wondering how their specialty got drafted into the culture wars.

What fascinates me isn’t the policy itself as much as the fantasy behind it. Somewhere along the line, a segment of American politics became convinced that every problem stems from insufficient masculinity. Young men aren’t struggling because housing is expensive, wages lag behind inflation, social isolation is rising, obesity is increasing, sleep is terrible, and social media has rewired everyone’s brains.

No. The real problem, we’re told, is that Chad’s testosterone is 427 instead of 612. Inject enough T into the bloodstream and suddenly the economy fixes itself, families reunite, China trembles and Iran apologizes. It’s less public policy than Marvel origin story.

Of course, real endocrinologists keep spoiling the fun by pointing out that testosterone replacement isn’t magic. It doesn’t make you twenty-five again. It doesn’t automatically produce courage, discipline or leadership. It doesn’t transform mediocre decisions into brilliant ones. It doesn’t even help if the underlying problem is obesity, diabetes, sleep apnea or chronic stress, all conditions that often lower testosterone in the first place.

Reality is terribly inconvenient. But reality has never been especially fashionable. We’re living through an era in which every complicated problem apparently deserves a absurdly simple answer. Public health? Beef tallow. Education? Patriotic curriculum. Economic anxiety? Tariffs. Military readiness? Bigger syringes.

It’s politics by action movie montage. What comes next? Mandatory bench presses before Cabinet meetings? Congressional hearings on creatine? A Pentagon budget line item for government-issued protein shaker bottles? Perhaps every briefing will begin with a quick flex. Instead of medals for valor, commanders can hand out coupons for free injections.

The military has always tried to build stronger soldiers. That’s nothing new. But strength has traditionally meant discipline under pressure, competence under fire, endurance, judgment and teamwork. Those qualities are harder to measure than hormone levels. They’re certainly harder to package into a viral social media clip. A syringe makes better television.

Unfortunately, wars have an irritating tendency to care less about testosterone than logistics, planning and whether your supply chain actually works.

History is filled with armies overflowing with swagger that discovered, often painfully, that bravado isn’t body armor.

Nick Anderson
July 20, 2026
Pen Strokes
 




 

I won’t be taking advice from Dr. Hegseth  --  Cartoon by Benjamin Slyngstad

 



Benjamin Slyngstad
July 16, 2026
Slyngstad Cartoons
 




 

2026 Elections - GOP Defense  --  Cartoon by Clay Bennett

 



Clay Bennett
July 12, 2026
Chattanooga Times Free Press
 




 

Re: New 'Little House' Remake Will Inspire You To Rewatch the '70s TV Series

(posting on Portside Culture)
 

I'm a little confused why Portside Culture would publish this review.  Here is an AI summary of the books when queried for racism and right wing philosophy.  Are the TV series free of these characterizations?  I haven't watched either the 1970s or the currently running versions.

The Little House on the Prairie books feature deeply problematic, racist depictions of Indigenous peoples and Black Americans. While they do not conform to modern political definitions of the organized "Right," they strongly promote historical right-leaning pioneer ideologies, such as unchecked American individualism, rugged self-reliance, and the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.

Elinore Krell
Baltimore MD




 

Rally - Save Queens College Jobs - New York - July 27  (Professional Staff Congress - CUNY)

 


 

Photo credit: Paul Frangipane / PSC CUNY


Towards the end of the spring semester, budgets for Queens College departments were slashed, leading many College Assistants (CAs) and Non-Teaching Adjuncts (NTAs) to lose their positions and resulting in loss of hours (and benefits) for many others.

Queens College is now cutting departmental adjunct budgets by 25% or more!

If the cuts stand, PSC members will lose their employment (and benefits).  That is reason enough to push back hard. But it also means needed classes will not run, leaving students with no choice to go elsewhere, which will then lead to more cuts.

We will not let this happen without a fight!

Join the Queens College PSC chapter and PSC members from across CUNY for a rally outside CUNY Trustees Chair Bill Thompson’s office at 100 Wall St on Monday, July 27th at 4:30PM.


For more information click here