From the Washington Post:

During a time of global crisis, climbing death tolls and widespread uncertainty, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been hailed globally for her compassionate handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

She continued to win hearts Monday when she clarified who exactly has made a list of “essential workers.”

“You’ll be pleased to know that we do consider both the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny to be essential workers,” she said, smiling. “But as you can imagine, at this time they’re going to be potentially quite busy at home with their family as well and their own bunnies.”

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern confirms Easter Bunny is classed as an “essential worker” but it might be “difficult for the bunny to get everywhere” in current circumstances.

Tooth fairy also confirmed as an essential worker. pic.twitter.com/Jv6o4t2tkG

— Daniel Rosney (@DanielRosney) April 6, 2020

It's not clear if these essential workers are also deserving of a living wage like all other essential workers, or if trickle-down economics will impact the income of Tooth Faeries across the globe. In my humble opinion, even immortal cryptids deserve fair compensation for their labor.

Tooth fairy and Easter Bunny are ‘essential workers,’ New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern confirms [Jennifer Hassan / Washington Post]

Image: Public Domain via NeedPix Read the rest

In April 2019, the Hard Times (my personal favorite satire site) posted a piece titled, "I Was Brainwashed by the Liberal Media. Then I Saw a Video of a Man Ranting Alone in a Truck."

I Was Brainwashed by the Liberal Media. Then I Saw a Video of a Man Ranting Alone in a Truck https://t.co/Ysk94jjOA3

— The Hard Times (@REALpunknews) April 20, 2019

If you've somehow been fortunate enough to avoid this trend, I can assure you: truck rants are a whole sub-genre unto themselves.

And just the other day, Florida Senator Marco Rubio offered his own contribution to the genre:

Democratic Socialism sounds benign. It’s not. It’s built on Marxism. pic.twitter.com/VoFZlkSIgT

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 24, 2020

Aside from the fact that Rubio was engaged in potential illegal behavior by transmitting data while driving a motor vehicle, his understanding of Marxism is also questionable at best. "At the core of democratic socialism is Marxism," he explains:

At the core of Marxism is this fake offer that if you turn over more of your individual freedom, we're going to provide you security, we're going to provide you free health care, we're going to provide you free education. But the problem is, when they can't deliver on it, or when you're not happy with it, you can't get your freedoms back.

Granted, I haven't read everything that Marx wrote. But in the things I have read, I have yet to find him advocating to "Seize the means of doctor selection." Read the rest

From the early days of the Russian Revolution through the space race and Cold War, a small but dedicated collection of communist UFOlogists believed in and sought out signs of extraterrestrial life, believing that discovery aligned with their goals of raising up the worker. Read the rest

Germy Shoemangler sez, "On the Kraft Music Hall, Harpo plays the clarinet (and blows bubbles out of it), accuses Milton Berle of using cocaine, and holds up seven fingers on one hand when asked how long he's been playing the clarinet. A surreal moment in late '50s TV.

Harpo was over seventy years old when he made this appearance, and he was younger than ever."

It's true: Harpo was always the embodiment of anarchy: funny, relentless, and steadfastly unserious. If I can't honk, I don't want to be a part of your revolution!

Harpo Marx & Milton Berle 1959 Kraft Music Hall

(Thanks, Germy Shoemangler!)

Marxist sociologist David Harvey gave a great presentation analyzing the econopocalypse in Marxist terms at London's Royal Society for the Arts. The talk is animated with high-speed whiteboard doodles from Cognitive Media, a treatment that is really a top notch of augmenting complex lectures (I was so impressed with it, in fact, that I just stumped up for another year's membership at the RSA).

Communism and the financial crisis, cartoon edition

(via Making Light)