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Dale Martin, Cartoonist

@smearysoapbox.bsky.social
136 followers 166 following 264 posts

Artist. Writer. Reader. Publisher. Caretaker of WATUSI the TALKING DOG. I've been handcrafting comics since 1985, & don't see any reason to stop now! Blog: smearysoapboxpress.com Webcomic: watusithetalkingdog.com Newsletter: smearysoapbox.eo.page/signup

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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Another month that blew by too fast for my tastes! Here's a (mostly) new Watusi comic to end your September with... watusithetalkingdog.com/2026/09/30/w...
watusithetalkingdog.com
“Written in the stars”
« Previous    Next » Did September rush by as fast for you as it did for me? It’s been a blur, but I did manage to finish a new Watusi digest (#46, for those of you keeping tra…
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
American singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land is Your Land.” The words on his guitar are testament to why the Nazis stifled art—and why Donald Trump tries to silence comics. The arts are not just entertainment when they challenge those in power.
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404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
EXCLUSIVE: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Investigation by @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A few of my drawings from last night's "Stage & Sketch" (life drawing sessions led by Shelda Edwards every 2nd Thursday) at the Dixon. Felicity Fox modeled in her mermaid attire - great poses!
Pencil and marker portrait of model. You can't tell if from this, but she's dressed in mermaid attire.Pencil and marker drawing of a seated model, back to the artist. She's dressed in mermaid attire.Pencil and marker drawing of a lounging model dressed in mermaid attire.2026 schedule for Dixon Gallery & Garden's "Stage & Sketch" life drawing program - held the second Thursday of every month, 6-8 pm
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Unintentionally reread Groo the Wanderer #39 (1988). Forgot the cover? In the wrong pile? Either way, I loved it, since this was the story where Groo finally clicked for me (as a reader w/ no interest in sword & sorcery/barbarian genres). It may have been the creator cameos that sealed the deal...
Panels from Groo the Wanderer #39, drawn by Sergio Aragones. Villagers decry the state of things, saying "it is only a matter of time before the wine merchants and gamblers move in! In the next panel, we see them arriving, in the form of caricatured versions of the comic's creators.
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Reposted by Dale Martin, Cartoonist
Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
4 panel comic

Panel 1:
A post from “kavishj9611” that reads: 

“All the people who are anti-Al or want to slow Al progress, I have one question:
If Al disappeared tomorrow, could you still get through an entire workday without ChatGPT, Claude, or any other
Al tool?
Imagine Al was suddenly banned.
Would you actually be willing to give it up?”

Panel 2:
And Orange Guy and a Pink Guy are standing in a room that has two pipes in it. Both pipes are pumping raw sewage into the room. The characters are waist deep in it.
Orange Guy says smugly “Ok Mr “I don’t want to be in a room that’s filling up with raw sewage” let me ask you this”

Panel 3:
The sewage has reached their chests. Pink Guy is gagging. Orange Guy smugly continues “If all this sewage disappeared right now, could you get through the day without it?”

Panel 4:
The sewage is almost up to their eyeballs. Orange Guys says “Look at that shit floating past your face. Are you willing to give that up?”
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
For those of you who celebrate (or mourn), "happy" Black Tot Day! smearysoapboxpress.wordpress.com/2026/07/31/l...
smearysoapboxpress.wordpress.com
Celebrate Black Tot Day the “Lush Life” way!
From time to time, I’ve been making one-page cartoons celebrating my love of cocktail culture in a series I’m calling “The Lush Life”. Since I’ve recently had a lot of…
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Been out of the studio too much this summer, but here's a (mostly) new Watusi comic for you...
In a black and white comic strip by Dale Martin, Watusi, a talking dog, is feeling under the weather. Was it something he ate? (A thought balloon pictures him eating heartily from a garbage can) ... or is it something that's eating him? Vigorous skritch skratch scratching dislodges an arachnid from behind his ear. It's a tick (a sickly tick)!! They both accuse the other of making them ill. The tick runs away, holding its uneasy blood-filled stomach, asking Watusi "Did you know your blood tastes like GARBAGE?!?" and goes to eat elsewhere. The cartoon ends with lettering that says "And so it goes..." Although maybe Dale should have ended it “And so it SPREADS…”, given this summer's cyclospora news! Remember to wash your hands. And check for ticks, while you’re at it!
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Chris Schweizer @ NCAF & NYCC @schweizercomics.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Only two day left on the Kickstarter campaign for OUTLAW'S APPRENTICE: BROKEN BLADE. If you're wanting extras, this is your chance to get them! www.kickstarter.com/projects/sch...
Sketch of some (not all! there are a bunch of digital goodies, too, as well as a civic one, and another civic one on the horizon) of the stretch goal goodies that people backing the kickstarter will receive with the book: A fold-out bird's eye view map of Cedarcrest, a cutaway illustration of the castle, coloring pages, a bookmark, a keychain, stickers, and a field book.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
This is an incredibly generous stretch goal! I've supported "Outlaw Apprentice"; please consider doing so, too-- Chris's thorough world-building is amazing & his line work is gorgeous! Really looking forward to this one!
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
American history thread worth the read!
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Picked up this little gem from @mawproductions.bsky.social at last weekend's Memphis Libraries Comic Con. Love the cover by @damarcoarts.bsky.social & @kevinmule.bsky.social's fun story; a little disappointed it wasn't traditional coloring book size, tho. Still, made for fun #LunchtimeReading!
"The Adventure of Jinn" coloring comic book cover art by Damarco Randle ...  a furry blue baby dragon (?) is mystified by the cartoon mule, dog, and duck that seem to be emerging from the television screen.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
A new month means a new FREE download from my Ko-fi shop! This month it's Watusi #45, in which the talking dog has to stop "The Sinister Scheme of Sourpuss"! Get it at ko-fi.com/s/ae7f4a1128
Dale Martin's cover art to Watusi the Talking Dog #45: a brightly colored lemon-shaped cat head hovers overhead (as the sun), while Watusi asks "who, me?" when he's charged with stopping "The Sinister Scheme of Sourpuss"!
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Doug Savage @savagechickens.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Psychic Cat. www.patreon.com/posts/psychi...
title: PSYCHIC CAT*
A confused chicken watches as Psychic Cat looks into the crystal ball and thinks "I see you... feeding me dinner..." 
*same prediction every time.
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Nan ☮️ @naninaz76.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
It's been quite a while since I was actually excited by a #FCBD issue, but the Fort Psycho preview issue was definitely worth tracking down! Really looking forward to what @brihurtt.bsky.social & @mattkindt.bsky.social have coming our way in August! #LunchtimeReading
Cover art to the Mind MGMT/Fort Psycho FCBD special, with artwork by Brian Hurtt (purple armored gunman on a bright pink background) and Matt Kindt (talking head comic book panels on a faded newsprint tone)
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Tomb Heintjes @hogansalley.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
May 5, 1895, is generally accepted as the newspaper debut of the Yellow Kid (he'd already appeared in magazines) and thus the wellspring from which American newspaper cartooning flowed. For this reason, May 5 is sometimes referred to as National Cartoonists Day, so happy NCD to those who observe!
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Comics in the Spooky Age 🧛‍♂️🧟‍♀️🎃 @comicsinthega.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Today is the birthday of cartoonist Floyd Gottfredson (May 5, 1905-July 22, 1986), most known for his work on the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip from 1930 to 1975. One of the greatest.
A color photo of Gottfredson holding a bound collection of his work.His painting "Mickey Mouse and the Seven Ghosts," which also features Goofy and Donald Duck as ghost hunters.The first volume of a collected series of his strips, "Race to Death Valley."
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Get a jump on your #FCBD and download these sampler comics I put together with KC's own @mikensullivan.bsky.social to showcase our comics "Watusi the Talking Dog" (me) & "There's Something Happening in Crawford, KS" (Mike). Get both issues (FREE-for-ALL!) at ko-fi.com/smearysoapbo...
Free-For-All! issues #1 &2. A pair of comic book covers, featuring art from Dale Martin ("Watusi the Talking Dog") and Mike Sullivan ("There's Something Happening in Crawford, KS")
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Rick Veitch's suppressed "Swamp Thing meets Jesus" issue (from 1989) finally sees print ... and it's really good. Period ads and letter column (which is actually an essay by Steve Bissette about the history of this issue) make for satisfying #LunchtimeReading.
Cover art to "Swamp Thing 1989" #1 by Rick Veitch. This issue (from 2026) was originally scheduled to be printed in 1989, but the publisher (DC Comics) got cold feet because it depicted Jesus, and pulled its publication.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Here's a teaser for my new Watusi comic. Click through to www.watusithetalkingdog.com or ko-fi.com/smearysoapbo... for more of this kind of stellar writing...
A cartoon dog is rustling through a flower bush of pansies, asking "What kind of flower likes to tell jokes?"; he answers himself with a real groaner: "a PUN-sy!"
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Come visit me at 490 Prescott for this year's East Buntyn Artwalk!
Art booth at the 2026 East Buntyn ArtwalkArt booth at the 2026 East Buntyn Artwalk
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Rep. Mark Pocan @pocan.house.gov · 23/04/2026
Everyone should be talking about this. While we never seem to have enough money for Americans here at home, Trump proposed a war budget that’s higher than the next 35 countries combined. You read that right: 35 countries, including our allies.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Fingers crossed for good weather! East Buntyn ArtWalk is my favorite spring festival, whether as artist _or_ shopper. It's scheduled for Saturday, April 25, & always lives up to its tagline ("Outdoor galleries. Outright cool.") .... FREE and open to all 11-4!
Map of Memphis' East Buntyn neighborhood, spotlighting their 2026 Artwalk. Pointers noting location of the Artwalk HQ & artist location.Festival booth for artist Dale Martin, Oct. 2024. Adorned with colorful prints.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Check out this linked article about the lettering in Pogo, too: kleinletters.com/Blog/walt-ke...
kleinletters.com
Walt Kelly, George Ward, Henry Shikuma and POGO - Todd's Blog
Todd Klein looks at the brilliant lettering on the Pogo newspaper strip by Walt Kelly and his two assistants.
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Futurism @futurism.com · 09/04/2026
This is catastrophic.
trib.al
Analysis Finds That Google's AI Overviews Are Providing Misinformation at a Scale Possibly Unprecedented in the History of Human Civilization
A new analysis commissioned by The New York Times suggests that Google's AI Overviews are wrong an astonishing percentage of the time.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Sketchbookin'
A page from Dale Martin's sketchbook, featuring Watusi the Talking Dog in various situations: running, lifting a boulder, strangled by a slimy monster. Photographed with tools used to draw it: .7 automatic pencil, Pigma Micron 05, Jinhao fountain pen No. 9019, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen Big Brush, & Pentel Presto! jumbo correction pen.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
This Saturday has things that deserve your time & energy more ... but if you find yourself in Bartlett, stop by the Bartlett Book Bonanza & say hi! I’m excited to be part of their roster of 60 local authors! This FREE event also features vendors & a food truck; 1-4 on Sat., 3/28 at 5868 Stage Rd.
Flier promoting Bartlett Public Library's Book Bonanza, March 28, 2026 from 1-4 at the Venue at Bartlett Station, 5868 Stage Rd., Bartlett, TN 38134
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
It's been a while, so here's a teaser for the new Watusi comic. Click through to www.watusithetalkingdog.com or ko-fi.com/smearysoapbo... for the full experience...
Black and white drawing of a "PLOOSH" sound effect, with water spraying out all around it.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
To celebrate @bobcorby.bsky.social 's SPACE (Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo) coming this weekend, I'm making this lovely jam collection from 2005's event available for FREE - download it at ko-fi.com/smearysoapbo...
Cover art to "20 From 920", a jam comic collection from 2005. Blue-green cover stock, with single panels from some of the issue's contributors.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
I had a couple of drawings I really liked from last night's "Stage & Sketch" at the Dixon. These life drawing sessions led by Shelda Edwards are now monthly! (every 2nd Thursday)
pencil and marker drawing of a seated model, back to the artist. Her dark hair cascades down her back.2026 schedule for Dixon Gallery & Garden's "Stage & Sketch" life drawing program - held the second Thursday of every month, 6-8 pm
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Reposted by Dale Martin, Cartoonist
Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Every once in a while, I throw research queries into AI to test it against what I know. It fabricated a quote and attributed it to a DEA official in Colorado. When I called it out, it apologized for the "imprecision." I pushed back again and this was the response. Wild.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
This long-awaited bio was great #LunchtimeReading for a lifelong Aparo fan like myself! Since I was sold w/o even reading the solicitation for it, the 16-page checklist of his work was a surprise bonus! Nicely done, Eric Nolen-Weathington, Jim Amash, & @twomorrows.bsky.social
Cover art to "Jim Aparo : Brave & bold artist", his 2026 biography. Artwork by Jim Aparo, inked by Mike DeCarlo. The artist sits at his drawing board, while a silhouetted Batman looks down at him.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Imagine a world where Americans were smarter and didn’t applaud when reactionary idiot Ronald Reagan made a show out of removing the solar panels Jimmy Carter had installed on the White House. We wouldn’t now have to worry about affording to fill gas tanks next month.
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Tomb Heintjes @hogansalley.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
In "Peanuts," Snoopy first appeared in his astronaut persona on March 8, 1969. (It was a few months before the first manned moon landing that July. Charles Schulz was a big fan of NASA and space exploration.) Here's that strip and the ensuing dailies:
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Rainy Saturday morning ... so a great time to draw at Crosstown Concourse with with Memphis Urban Sketchers! Was attracted to the signage at Memphis Teacher Residency, even if I didn't end up drawing most of it!
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Joshua W. Cotter @joshuawcotter.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Make Art (1/4)
A rabbit in overalls and a goat in pants are sitting on the ground drawing pictures. The rabbit is saying “ART POSES A THREAT TO CORPORATOLRATIC SYSTEMS BECAUSE A PURPOSE OF ART IS TO REMIND THE INDIVIDUAL OF THEIR INHERENT AUTONOMY.”, the goat adds “THEIR HUMANITY.”
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Wendy O'Rourke @wendyo.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Watercolor Study for the Lora Totino Villa, Turin by Ettore Sottsass (1951)
This watercolor depicts Sottsass's conceptual design for Villa Lora Totino in Turin, blending modernist curves with the landscape.
Image: Ettore Sottsass by Philippe Thomé, Phaidon
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Kurt Busiek @kurtbusiek.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
The answer to the question, "Which is more important in comics, the writing or the art?," by the way, is "Whichever is being worked on at the moment." No half-assing the job and letting the other guy pick up your slack, buster. Even if the other guy is you.
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Sophie Labelle @assignedmale.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
No particular reason.
4 frame comic. First frame shows a set of keys, second shows the store Gummi with a banner reading, in German : Stamm und Bassermann / früher Gummi Weil. Third frame shows passersby looking at smashed storefront windows. Fourth shows a tweet by US homeland security that reads : Want affordable housing? Help report illegal aliens in your area. Call 866-DHS-2-ICE. If you are an illegal alien, you can take control of your departure using DHS.gov/cbphome . text reads :
according to the Berlin
Jewish museum, the nazi term
"aryanization" referred to
"the process of expropriation
or confiscating Jewish people's
property [businesses, stores,
homes, land, etc] and handing it
over to non-jewish ("aryan," in
Nazi usage) individuals or
companies, or to the state."
in his book "Holocaust justice,"
Shoah historian michael bazyler
estimates that between $230
and $320 billions (in 2005 u.s.
dollars) in properties were
stolen from Jews across
Europe in the different waves
of aryanization.
the first wave, starting in
1933, involved heavy pressure
on Jewish people to sell their
properties to non-jewish people
at a fraction of the price. after
the pogroms of November 1938
("Kristallnacht"), jewish owners
were outright evicted
and dispossessed. 
thinking about this today
for no particular reason.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
A lot of people have been sharing their appreciation for the late Sal Buscema. Here's mine: smearysoapboxpress.wordpress.com/2026/01/29/i...
smearysoapboxpress.wordpress.com
Influence & inspiration: Sal Buscema
Earlier this week I learned that Sal Buscema died, just days short of what would have been his 90th birthday. He was a dynamo of an artist, producing some of my favorite comics from my early years …
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Wayno® @wayno.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Doctor's Orders ••• Other unintentionally timely cartoons are at ComicsKingdom.com/Bizarro ••• @comicskingdom.bsky.social
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Same. He was THE Hulk artist that hooked me on the character from my first issue, and gave the series a consistency for a good 8 years after that! His work never felt as refined as his brother's did, but I found it a lot more FUN because of that!
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Better late than never, here are my favorite reads from 2025: smearysoapboxpress.wordpress.com/2026/01/20/r...
smearysoapboxpress.wordpress.com
Recommended reads from 2025
I’m not just an artist and a writer, I’m also a reader, and here are a few of my favorite reads from 2025. Some were newly published, some were ones I only discovered last year, and som…
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Read the thread, too, if you aren't familiar with Franklin's introduction... and even if you are, it's still a good story.
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Steve Cohen @repcohen.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Dr. King taught that injustice is measured by how those in power treat people with the least protection. On this MLK Day, that test is clear. Targeting vulnerable families with raids and deportations, responding to protest with deadly violence, and attacking health care and SNAP is a moral failure.
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Ty Templeton @tytempleton.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Sometimes they're funnies, sometimes they're fundamentals. YAY!
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention. The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
ms.now
Opinion | I'm a Minneapolis sociologist who studies violence. Here's how ICE observers are helping.
Research into how violence occurs shows that disapproval from the people around you can help reduce it.
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Dale Martin, Cartoonist @smearysoapbox.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Good job, MN Cartoonist! Reminder: all the warrant stuff at the bottom is 4th Amendment fact!!
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Coliseum of Comics @coliseumofcomics.com · 12/01/2026
On this day sixty years ago, the Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward debuted on ABC Television.
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