We're broke, and satirist Will Durst thinks it's high time we started acting like it.

David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star

You don’t need me to tell you that this country is broke. Not just broke. Flat busted. Un-flush. Tapped to the max. No bread or cabbage or scratch to speak of. Moolah-less. Holes in our pockets. Fresh out of chump change. Sans simoleons. Hands sparkling clean of any filthy lucre. Moths flying out of our wallets. Lots of red numbers. Flinching from the whistle of the wind over our empty piggy banks. Got us a dearth of dead presidents is what we got.

So it’s high time we start acting like it. As has been pointed out by pundits and politicians o’plenty, the guvmint needs to do what normal ‘Merican families do when they run into desperate straits: pretend nothing is going on while we watch reality TV shows and drink lots of beer. No, no, no. Tried that. Didn’t work.

First off, we got to stop handing over money to rogue nations that simply use it to buy guns they then turn on us. If we insist on helping these toads out, we should eliminate the middleman and furnish the guns direct. We can buy in much bigger bulk than they, procuring them cheaper, saving bundles of cash. And we taxpayers keep the kickbacks instead of the politicians. Win-win.

Secondly, we should take advantage of this Arab Spring democracy movement. Provides the perfect cover to lay off some of our underperforming dictators. Isn’t it about time we co-opted a new generation of despots? Since they’d be junior journeymen oppressors, they should cost less. Like major corporations lay off expensive senior executives, we’ll replace our pricey aging tyrants.

Bob Englehart / Hartford Courant

But we all know it’s not enough to make a few minor cuts in the budget; we also have to work on increasing revenue. And I don’t mean selling off ancient public institutions like various national monuments or Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Their resale values ain’t what they used to be. Although it might help to seasonally adjust the bottom line.

We need to think outside the box. Direct Research and Development to produce and sell something that every American needs. Like an anti-SARS serum. The deal is, we engineer and market the antidote now, then fashion a huge penicillin-resistant SARS scare later, and have the FDA-approved shot or salve or cream or clear or whatever available at your local pharmacy in time for cold and flu season? Tie-Ming. Not just a city in China.

John Darkow / Columbia Daily Tribune

Doesn’t have to be SARS. Could be anything. If SARS is too scary for the squeamish, lay down a few well-placed rumors of rampaging, mutant Killer Carnivorous Snails From France and change the product to Fast Acting Snail Repellent. Same formula. Different packaging. Then ratchet up the panic with a bunch of infomercials. You know: news stories. Fox. CNN. Bloomberg. Create an imaginary vacuum and fill it. Worked for the Tea Party.

Even if it does eventually come out the whole event was manufactured, the residual damage would be minimal. What’s the worst that could happen? People lose faith in their elected leaders? Oh, no. Not that. The government is already lying to us on a regular basis; the least we can do is figure out how to make some money off of it. Got to ask ourselves: What would Microsoft do?

Wall Street is tumbling today on the news that unemployment claims made an unexpectedly sharp jump last week, the largest rise in a month. At this point, neither political party seems to have new ideas or the willingness to work together to come up with a plan to get America back to work.

What do cartoonists think of all this? Check out our new Continued Unemployment cartoon slideshow to find out.

Nate Beeler / Washington Examiner, PoliticalCartoons.com

Terrible wildfires continue to burn throughout Arizona and New Mexico. The Wallow fire, Arizona's largest fire to date, alone has burned over 500,000 acres and destroyed 36 properties. Federal authorities have said humans started the blaze, while Arizona Senator John McCain and Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever blame illegal immigrants for the fires.

Click here to view our Terrible Wildfires cartoon slideshow

David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star, PoliticalCartoons.com

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Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman has entered the crowded field of Republicans seeking to oust President Obama, saying that America needs “more than hope” as he formally announced his candidacy today.

No cartoonist knows Huntsman better than our man in Utah, Pat Bagley, the brilliant long-time staffer at the Salt Lake Tribune. Bagley is a lefty cartoonist fighting against all odds in a heavily-conservative state where the Mormon church holds sway.

With Huntsman entering the race, now the GOP has two Morman candidates to chose from. Will Huntsman's religion hurt him among conservative voters?

Certainly Huntsman won’t be winning a Tony Award for his announcement…

For a Republican party interested in the best possible candidate, the future can be a bit uncertain…

Will Huntsman’s role as President Obama’s ambassador to China hurt his conservative street cred?

If not that, maybe his support of Civil Unions might upset conservative voters…

Satirist and Raging Moderate Will Durst weighs in on the entire GOP Presidential field:

CNN hosted the first GOP debate of the year that involved actual candidates, and some clear winners did emerge — the 99.99 percent of the American people who neglected to watch it. But for the 16 of us who did, the strategy of the combatants was more obvious than a wooly mammoth skeleton in a stairwell. Bash Obama. Take a breath, bash again. And repeat.

Dave Granlund / PoliticalCartoons.com

Every time the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, spoke, he circumvented the actual question and relentlessly whipped into a monotonous failure of leadership mantra like a broken hand puppet. To the point where he needs be careful to keep a respectful distance from the phrase or distracted voters might think it reflects him. Romney? Yeah, he’s the failure guy.

You could say that Obama’s Failure has been the chosen Republican tactic. You could also say that water is an effective medium for whale migrations. Repeatedly claiming his abject non-success to be their number-one priority, the Party of Lincoln facilitated much executive stumbling by tripping the president at every step of every way since day one. If Obstructionism were an Olympic Sport, these guys would have more gold around their necks than Mr. T.

The purpose of the loyal opposition is to oppose, but lately Republicans act like they’d rather the economy sink like a diesel engine in a swimming pool than Obama be given credit for a scintilla of its comeback.

The contestants then proved their bona fides by competing to see who most disliked the president. Oh yeah, well, I really really hate him. I hate him worse than chigger mites. Responsible for all evil worldwide throughout history and into perpetuity.

Joe Heller / Green Bay Press-Gazette, PoliticalCartoons.com

Amongst themselves however, it was a veritable love fest as the dais genuflected at Ronald Reagan’s altar, strictly honoring his 11th Commandment, Thou shall not speak ill of other Republicans. Mouths were clamped shut tighter than Bernie Madoff’s credit line in Vegas.

Tim Pawlenty failed to modify his boring as porridge reputation, shrinking from repeating his previous day’s charge that the president patterned his health care overhaul on Romney’s Massachusetts plan. To which the Mittmeister responded, The president is going to eat those words. Whoa, dude. Tough talk. Obviously trying to nail down those NASCAR Dads early.

We did learn that Herman Cain, the only black guy in New Hampshire, doesn’t believe Sharia law belongs in American courtrooms. Good. Neither do poisonous blowfish darts. Newt Gingrich’s upbeat approach was to fix the word depression in people’s minds while boasting he’d save $100 billion by not paying crooks. So apparently, he opposes oil and ethanol subsidies and plans to suspend Congressional salaries.

R.J. Matson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch, PoliticalCartoons.com

Michele Bachmann might have said something other than “Obama Care! Obama Care! Obama Care!” But if she did it was unintelligible. Rick Santorum continues to be all about the zygotes. And Ron Paul has something to say about the Federal Reserve, darn it, but nobody, not even his fellow panelists, is interested. Conspicuously absent were solution-based ideas. The shortage approached Soviet bread-line standards.

The nomination seekers all dazedly echoed the Reagan hive-mind, calling for more tax cuts and further deregulation, which back in the day was characterized by George Herbert Walker Bush as “Voodoo Economics.” In the depths of the crises we find ourselves, doubling down on what got us here seems to go way beyond Voodoo. These wizards are practicing sorcery. More dark magic from yesteryear. Where’s Dumbledore when you need him?

Will Durst is a political comedian and columnist for Cagle Cartoons Inc. Read more of Durst's columns here.

Cartoon by Zapiro

Our good friend from South Africa, cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (who goes by the pen name “Zapiro”) has found himself in hot water once again over a recent cartoon he drew showing South African President Jacob Zuma preparing to “rape” a woman labeled “Free Speech”.

In the cartoon for the Mail & Guardian newspaper (pictured on the right), Zuma is shown unbuckling his belt, while African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Gwede Mantashe holds a woman depicting press freedom. Lady Justice is also drawn, and shouts: “Fight, sister, fight!!”

It draws parallels with a controversial cartoon Zapiro drew back in 2008, depicting Zuma, complete with trademark shower-head, unbuckling his belt as he prepares to rape the figurative Lady Justice. Zapiro and the Sunday Times where the cartoon appeared are currently being sued by the government for 5 million Rand (about $730,000).

“Careful thought was given to it,” Zapiro said of the most recent cartoon. “I discussed it with the editor (Nic Dawes) as I always do when a cartoon has the potential to be explosive.”

“We are disgusted by the cartoon,” ANC spokesperson Brian Sokutu told the Mail & Guardian. “We believe in the freedom of the press and freedom of expression and we can’t stop people expressing their opinion. It is the [cartoon's] depiction more than the message.”

What do you think? Is the cartoon fair, or does it cross the line? Comment below and let us know.

Satirist and Raging Moderate Will Durst weighs in on everyone's favorite Twitter addict:

Trust me. I really wanted to avoid the groin-tweeting thing altogether, but you might as well try to avert your eyes from a bullfight in a bowling alley. To the average civilian, the subject must seem riper than a three-week-old banana for major mocking and scoffing and taunting. Slam-dunking from a step-ladder. The problem is: How do you parody a parody?

Daryl Cagle / msnbc.com, PoliticalCartoons.com

Unfortunately, the unfortunately named Anthony Weiner is the only game in town, sucking all the oxygen out of the newsroom. For instance, it’s almost impossible to discover the subject of Sarah Palin’s newest Revisionist History Lesson. Did Abraham Lincoln declare war on the French to sabotage tort reform? Even the resignation of Newt Gingrich’s entire campaign staff went relatively unnoticed. Apparently their love of their country is just too strong.

And the whole brouhaha is the New York Democrat’s own damn fault. There wouldn’t have been half the outcry if his name wasn’t a synonym for sausage. After all, the choice of pronunciation is his. Could have taken a page out of John Boehner’s playbook. Of course, boner-baner is way different than wiener-whiner. Whiner is still a lousy name for a politician. Appropriate perhaps, especially for a Democrat, but lousy nonetheless. It’s one of those rock-and-a-hard-place deals. But he could have gone bold: “Yes, its spelled W-E-I-N-E-R, but we pronounce it… Schultz.”

Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune, PoliticalCartoons.com

His singular consolation has to be his parents didn’t add to his misery by christening him Richard. Or Harry. It’s Anthony. Tony Weiner. Which sounds like a high-class hot dog. Or, the cartoon mascot in that animated short we saw in fifth-grade health class about the reproductive system. “Hi, Kids! I’m Tony Wiener. Ready for a fast ride down the fallopian tube? Okay! Hard hats on? Let’s go.”

Congressman Weiner (and boy, isn’t that turning out to be generically redundant) first lied about his unique approach to junk mail, but after allegations piled up like parking tickets on an abandoned VW Van in a white zone, he broke down and was frank about his franking. At long last, he finally could say with certitude that the crotch in question was indeed his.

The Brett Favre wannabe admitted sexting six different women he met online, including a porn star, who reported that he tried to get her to lie about their relationship, but she refused. Pretty sad when the porn industry exhibits higher standards of integrity than Congress. But that’s old news.

John Cole / Scranton Times-Tribune, PoliticalCartoons.com

So far, Weiner has resisted all calls to step down, which ironically has the Democratic leadership muttering unprintable imprecations under their breath. But the guy didn’t break any laws. He’s just a lout. And you can’t force members of Congress to resign for being an oaf or you’d never be able to assemble a quorum. Besides, I’d be surprised if Harry Reid knows what a Twitter is.

To say that expressions of party support have been scarce is similar to noting that few Episcopal ministers sport flamboyantly inked dragon neck tattoos. Not even good friend Bill Clinton has spoken out in defense of his fellow serial womanizer. Bill Clinton, who officiated at Weiner’s wedding. And doesn’t that explain a lot. Amongst other accomplishments we can now add to the former president’s resume — carrier. Typhoid Bubba.

Will Durst is a political comedian and columnist for Cagle Cartoons Inc. Read more of Durst's columns here.