319 Comments
User's avatar
Andy Borowitz's avatar

Good morning, everyone!

ISOequanimity's avatar

Good morning! I’m still chuckling over yesterday’s imaginary epitaphs. My inner imp (who has a mind of her own and bursts forth without warning) decided to go with limericks. If there are other inner imps out there, I’d love to see what they come up with. It’s fun!

It’s a cowardly despot who tries

To lie about each of his lies

Truth and facts are as dim

As those enamored of him

May the decent among us arise!

ISOequanimity's avatar

There once was a man filled with hate

When cruelty was reframed as “great”

But the true art of the con

Was a gut-punch to Don

When St. Peter judged his eternal fate.

Golden Rule's avatar

2 most excellent limerick. You have a real talent & I mean that sincerely. Perhaps you could launch a limerick substack.

Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

And for those who wish to try crafting a limerick, I suggest the following guide: Let's assume that you want to end the final line with the word "Trump". For the first 2 lines, go to the internet to find words that rhyme with "Trump" and then make up your sentences. English is loaded with such words; the first letters of the alphabet include "bump" and "dump" and you have many more "ump" rhymes available. Then you have freedom to craft the 2nd and 3rd lines and to end up with "Trump" at the end.

And try to mind the rhythm. One of my favorites is,

A wondrous bird is the pelican.

His mouth can hold more than his belly can.

He can hold in his beak,

enough food for a week.

I'm damned how the Hell he can.

Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

Sorry. Correction: The last line should read, "I'm damned to know how the Hell he can." in order to maintain the rhythm.

Gunnar Jensen's avatar

Awesome - thanks for that tip! (I've already become an accidental apprentice with alliteration -- creating limericks may add to the fun!)

Susan Stone's avatar

I'd recognize that Ogden Nash limerick anywhere. Thanks for reminding me about it.

David A L's avatar

Don't forget "chump"

Judy Tuwaletstiwa's avatar

what a wonderful deconstruction of how to create a limerick. inspiring. thank you. will spend time today, off and on, exploring words that rhyme with trump...also words that rhyme with schmuck.

Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

"Schmuck"? Good luck with THAT! I need to explain that the diminutive of schmuck is "schmeckel", (Heckle is a possible rhyming word). And it is the destination for surgery for Jewish boys at 8 days of age. It is technically called a "sub-total schmeckectomy"!

Judith Green's avatar

I can see why this is a fave - tho the "correction" below makes it perfect!

Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

I agree. They both fit the design requirements for a true limerick. The first 2 lines must end with words that rhyme with one another. Then the 3rd and 4th lines must also end with words that rhyme with one another (but not with lines 1 and 2). Finally, the last line, which should be a clever punchline, must end with a word that rhymes with the first and second lines. Well done, folks!

ISOequanimity's avatar

🙏 Thank you for your kind and generous comments!

Kandy Brown's avatar

I love limericks! Definitely we should do this!

Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

Many of the best limericks are sexual - some very sexual. I don't think these are printable in the Times. I recall a "Roger the Lodger" series. (Let's see if this relatively moderate one passes.)

There once was a girl from Cape Cod,

Who thought babies came from God.

But it wasn't the Almighty,

Who pulled up her nighty,

It was Roger the Lodger by God.

Laura Allen-Simpson's avatar

OK, ISOequanimity, you're inspiring me . . .

On days when I can't take more sorrow, it's

Too much and he's just gone too far, oh it's

Then I scroll through my in-box

Past the crimes of the spin jocks

And seek out a column from Borowitz

Katy Forcillo's avatar

Oh you clever folks.

Hugh Jarce's avatar

Also brilliant.

Lisa Botwinick's avatar

How about writing something about Pam Bondi? She made a fool of herself yesterday!

John Townsend's avatar

An attorney general named Pam

is really quite the ham.

She speaks off the hoof,

is really a goof.

Wish we could tell her to "scram"!

Judith Green's avatar

4th line - is spoiled and aloof ?

ISOequanimity's avatar

Love this! Can’t wait for her to scram!

M.E. Lawrence's avatar

Gazing at her notes,

Snarling irrelevancies,

Sophomore mean girl.

SUZANNE Marie McAdam's avatar

You have to admire someone who can say "Mr.Trump is

the most transparent president in history" with a straight

face. Not easy.

Lisa Botwinick's avatar

Yes! She testified to Congress and she ignored the Epstein abused women and wouldn’t apologize and look at them! Complete meanness!

John Townsend's avatar

Pam Bondi does endeavor

to be oh so clever.

At each meeting

her intelligence is fleeting.

Her stupidity goes on forever!

Wendy Tucker's avatar

Did she ever. I am so so eager to hear what Andy has to say about Bimbo Bondi.

Lisa Botwinick's avatar

Yes, please Andy, write something about Bashful, (she didn't even look at the survivors) (perhaps she was sexually abused!) Bimbo, Bondi! I'm trying to think of another B word but nothing comes to mind right now!

Susan Stone's avatar

Both of your limericks are fabulous. I've never been able to write limericks, so I admire your talent.

Sharon C Storm's avatar

Excellent! I love limericks, but I’m not talented in that direction.

ISOequanimity's avatar

I’ll bet you are talented! Give it a try? Much more fun than haiku, imho.

Jean Jacoby's avatar

Greetings and salutations! Just as I'm despairing that we pretty much live in a shit country, the grand jury refuses to indict a bunch of courageous and truly patriotic Americans. It's a lesson to me that one must never give up hope. And then Bad Bunny did his thing, and MAGA freaks out and rages incoherently to no avail since the NFL is just trying to make a buck after all--and that's as American as apple pie and redlining.

Chris Politzki's avatar

Love “American as apple pie and redlining!” Took me a minute, but then it hit me. So true.

Pradnya Sikand's avatar

Cheers Andy ! and Santé! Happy and hilarious start to my day! 😂💕

Mike A's avatar

Love your new tagline: "Independent and Bezos-free" 😁😍

Wis's avatar

Good morning, Andy!

So, question: if we citizens see Hegseth belligerent, slurring, disheveled and mascara running down his face, once he passes out, may we make a citizen’s arrest and quietly roll him to the nearest ICE detention facility, ring the bell and leave him there?

Susan Stone's avatar

I love the way you think Wis! I'd be willing to help with the rolling.

John Townsend's avatar

--and the trolling!

JeannieLaKT's avatar

Usually I wouldn’t mock someone with an alcohol problem, but in this case it is spot on! And he’s gotta go!

Andy Borowitz's avatar

He needs help. He does NOT need to run the nation’s largest military.

Wendy Tucker's avatar

You are far more kind and generous than I am, Andy. I don't want to help him. He doesn't deserve help. He needs to be shut away in a place where he is subdued and restrained and powerless. He has ruined too many lives.

T L Mills's avatar

Usually people with alcohol problems aren't appointed (and approved by the Senate!) to such positions of prominence and power, so there is that.

Floofie Snapz Back!'s avatar

In this case, there is a there there. And it is THAT.

Robin S's avatar

Bezos. Another toxin which should be removed from things we use every day. Like parabens and pfas. Thanks for starting the trend.

Annette's avatar

Good morning, and thank you for Mark Kelly's PSA on over-serving Kegsbreath. My recommendation was that an alcohol monitor be put on him when he was sworn in. But here we are, blowing up boats in the Caribbean, having a Department of War (for God's sake, nothing says peaceful like a Department of War), and shutting down airspace in El Paso, TX, for ten days, I mean 8 hours. "Nothing to see here, folks, go about your day."

Candy C's avatar

Good morning, Andy! Thank you for the chuckle this morning.

J Cheng's avatar

I wish this was true

Floofie Snapz Back!'s avatar

Apropos, this just in from the NYT:

Judge Temporarily Blocks Hegseth from Punishing Kelly for Video

Judge Richard J. Leon found that attempts to discipline Mark Kelly for a video that warned against following illegal orders would violate the senator’s First Amendment rights.

Jessie Lendennie's avatar

Andy, thank you so much for helping us laugh at the absurdity!!

Katherine James's avatar

And to you, fearless leader!

Mary Gilbert's avatar

On target, sir. Just brilliant.

Michael Bowe's avatar

Absolutely hilarious!

Wendy Tucker's avatar

GOOD MORNING TO YOU, DEAR ANDY!!!!!! You gladden my heart and maketh my day. I believe I speak for many.

Al Gorythm's avatar

In a world full of Pete Hegseths, be a Mark Kelly.

ISOequanimity's avatar

🙏 Amen! Sen Tammy Duckworth summed it up for me: “Pete Hegseth is a f*cking liar.” https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-pete-hegseth-needs-to-resign-in-disgrace

Mary Greenwald's avatar

And Duckworth did not cave to Donnie. She gave a resounding NO to this Regime's Secretaries running our country into the ground. She went to the hearings and gave them hell.

Babydoc's avatar

Agree with you, in sprit, Tammy. I think Hegseth, like his compatriot Kennedy, have brains that are so damaged by alcohol (and in Kennedy’s case, heroin), that they don’t have enough brain cells existing to lie. Imagine that: an alcoholic in charge of the vast US military, and an HHS secretary wrecking the vast US medical research machine. And then discouraging vaccinations. Now there are close to 1,000 cases of measles in S Carolina. The witch in the (original with Judy Garland) was right: “What a world! What a word!”

Elizabeth Block's avatar

I was astonished when Dr. Oz, of all people, came out in favour of the measles vaccine.

Babydoc's avatar

I was too. But really, it’s the 1st thing he’s done, since becoming director of CMS, that has true benefit. Do you think his statement will make any difference in immunization rates? With the cuts to Medicaid, many rural areas will see the closure of hospitals, because the majority of their patients are Medicaid. This is a medical catastrophe. “Dr” Oz is in charge of Medicaid, but not one word from him over concern for the people who will lose their hospitals, as well as their Medicaid clinics.

Linda's avatar

Too little, too late.

Wendy Tucker's avatar

Maybe he'd been eating brain healthy vegetables from his charcuterie board. Keep it up, Mehmet.

Judy Tuwaletstiwa's avatar

i can hardly wait for her to hold a cabinet position in the next presidency. she is amazing.

Leslie's avatar

Never saw still beyond mind boggling nothing ever came of this. But it was the beginning of the glaring obviousness that Incompetent in Chief appointed a cabinet of same.

ISOequanimity's avatar

Nothing ever came of it FOR NOW. Those two words sustain me.

Sibyl White's avatar

You win the Borowitz peace of work prize.

Sibyl White's avatar

I’m trying to reply to “in a world of Pete Hegseths, be a Mark Kelly.”

Elaine Young's avatar

Mark is the Man in 28

Chris Politzki's avatar

That’s what I’m saying! Mark Kelly for President!

Hugh Jarce's avatar

Good call. How about Jim Hines?

Wendy Tucker's avatar

YES. And Gaby as Secretary of Defense (State would require too much traveling; she needs to be close to home).

Sibyl White's avatar

You win the Borowitz peace of work prize.

Mary Greenwald's avatar

Nah. Kelly approved of most of Donnie's Cabinet,. He is a MAGA DEMOCRAT.

Kim D's avatar

I believe he approved of about 1/3 of Trump's nominations. He opposed many of them, including Hegseth, Bondi, RFKJ and Gabbard, for example. Anyway, it's not about Republicans vs Democrats anymore. It's about Democracy vs Fascism.

I'll take a principled Republican over a Fascist any day.

Wendy Tucker's avatar

Well said. There were educated and intelligent Republicans. I'm thinking.....I'm thinking....

Al Gorythm's avatar

Thanks for expressing your glands.

Tina Stein's avatar

Bottom line: Kelly’s record shows occasional bipartisan votes but not broad approval of most of Trump’s Cabinet. His yes votes were a minority among Democrats and far from a majority of all nominations.

But disappointed to hear he voted yes on any of them.

Leslie's avatar

Seriously? Giant demerit!

Sean M Carlin's avatar

Maybe they can name a drink after Mark Kelly. It would be something Happy Hour Hegseth could try. It is also known as LIQUID COURAGE.

Sarah McAuliffe-Bellin's avatar

I think bartenders should refuse to serve Whiskey Pete on GP. Good start to the day Andy. Thanks

Tirzah Mason's avatar

You must definitely refuse any orders he places from Signal.

Glenn Ebo Perry's avatar

In classic cartoons, drunks always hiccuped and their musical motif was “How Dry I Am”. Drunks were unfeelingly portrayed as bums.

Now, they are cabinet members.

Barkeeps:

If Pete Hegseth gets your eye, and he crooks his little pinkie,

And his eyeballs are capsizing

And his breath is really stinky,

Serve him no more ethanol.

Tell him that you’ve made Last Call.

Cause he’s stupid when he’s sober,

Which he seldom is at all.

Elizabeth Block's avatar

Drunks in movies, on stage, on TV are funny. Drunks in real life are annoying and boring. They may think the booze makes them wittier. Nope.

Susan Kice's avatar

Glenn, Hegseth is stupid all of the time!

Marmo's avatar

But, Susan Kice, when he's drunk there's at least an understandable reason for his stupidity.

Susie's avatar

Thank you. My laughter may continue on for a few hours.

Heather E. Cole's avatar

Atta boy, Andy!

Linda Mitchell, KCMO's avatar

We could always drive the warmongering frat boy cosplaying as DOD chief absolutely bonkers by launching bunches and bunches of mylar party balloons wherever Border Patrol, ICE, and the other military folks are messing with civilians. Who's in? DOD is currently at war with he FAA. What could go wrong?!

Michael Bowe's avatar

Environment says no.

Paul Ehrenzeller's avatar

So there are space lasers after all, but they are goyem?

Floofie Snapz Back!'s avatar

As one of them thar goyem, I resemble that!

Linda Mitchell, KCMO's avatar

Well, as the cap I have from Dissent Pins says about the Secret Jewish Space Laser Corps, Mazel Tough! And it would be the adjectival form: goyishe. BTW the JSLC has a Goyem Division if you want to be identified as such. Really: Dissent pins actually has an entire line of JSPC stuff.

Carol Ring's avatar

I chuckled out loud when I read this one. I don't know how Andy Borowitz can come up with goodies every day. They are original and brilliant!!!

Wendy Tucker's avatar

I'm imagining Andy, just sitting at a desk or in front of tv -- PBS, MS-NOW, CNN and even Fox (in order to add to stockpile of idiocy.) Dogs at his side....family close by... He won't be there long....he'll suddenly clap his hands together and shout, 'YOWZAH'. Then he'll begin to write what gladdens our hearts.

Lucy Conner's avatar

😆🤣😂 Thank you for making this subscriber who's recovering from surgery Lol! As usual, its a great way to begin the day!! ❤️

Susan Fernbach's avatar

Speedy healing, Lucy! Hope the LOL wasn’t painful

Suzanne Ryan's avatar

Bravo!

Lawrence Gottlieb's avatar

Excellent!!! Let the actual men give the fucking orders; Now, please give us your thoughts

on party doll Pam's explosive performance as Karen, the Walmart shopper from Hell at yesterday's 'hearing.'

Jan Fabiyi's avatar

Her retorts always reminds me of an incredibly sullen, petulant teenager when being reamed out for staying out past her curfew.

Leslie's avatar

It's the same as Ice Ice Barbie's at her hearing. SNL did a parody. I'm rooting for Wierd Al to do a new parody of Vanilla Ice song w her.

Karen the WM shopper from Hell 😂

They all just continue to demonstrate what clown car is too small to accommodate all of them. It's now a Bafoon Bus.

Wendy Tucker's avatar

Love 'party doll.'

Weezie P's avatar

Another great one, Andy. Thanks!

Irna Gadd's avatar

So funny, and such a great idea! Way to go, Andy!!

Steve Benko's avatar

"Now thish really ish shedoucheish - er, shedishishish - conshpirishy," cried the Defense Secretary into his glass.

Shannon Kincaid's avatar

Brilliant, as per yuzh! Morning, Andy!