The title is a reference to an aphorism that’s often mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain: “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.”

Like many people, I found myself reading a lot of analysis, and squinting at blurry videos, after the murders of Renee Good and, just eighteen days later, Alex Pretti. Both were shot to death by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents while multiple people recorded it on video. In both cases, the Federal government baldly lied about what had happened, vilifying both victims as attempted murderers who were stopped just in time by heroic agents acting in self-defense.

The brazenness of the lying was, in the way, the most shocking part. If this is how much they lie when they know there are multiple videos, how much do they lie when there are no recordings to contradict them? (Renee Good and Alex Pretti aren’t the only people killed by DHS agents this year, but as far as I know none of the other deaths were so thoroughly filmed.)

I don’t remember why I started reading about Jonathan Daniels. But I began fixating on the similarities between his murder and Pretti’s. I wouldn’t say nothing’s changed since 1965, but too much remains tragically the same.

The end of this strip troubles me a bit. I believe that when we die, we cease to exist, except in the memories and thoughts of people still living. So I went back and forth a bit on the final panel, which can be easily read as implying I believe in an afterlife.

But I do take comfort imagining Alex Pretti and Jonathan Daniels meeting, as impossible as that is, and finding a lot to talk about. I know that’s just my imagination, but if others take comfort from believing these two heroes are in Heaven, that’s fine with me.

I couldn’t find any good photographs of Arthur Gamble as he would have appeared in 1965, so his face is almost entirely made up. And I didn’t bother looking up the faces of Pretti’s murderers, since I’d decided to draw them masked. The other four caricatures here – Bovino, Coleman, Daniels and Pretti – are my best attempts, as limited as they are. I hope I did them justice.

This is obviously a motivated judgement on my part, but I searched out photos I found that both Pretti and Daniels had great smiles – not toothpaste commercial smiles, but welcoming smiles that made me wish I’d been friends with them.

Bovino’s face wasn’t as beloved by me, but I did find him fascinating to draw.

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has six panels. A caption at the top says “History, Rhyming.”

PANEL 1

A close up of someone’s hand lying limply on the ground, in sepia tones.

CAPTION: August 20, 1965: Civil rights activist Jonathan Daniels put himself between a deputy sheriff and the black teen the deputy was attacking. The deputy shot Daniels to death.

PANEL 2

A close up of a gloved hand lying limply on snowy pavement, a cell phone lying nearby. Drawn in blue tones.

CAPTION: January 24 2026: Anti-fascist activist Alex Pretti put himself between border protection agents and the woman the agents were attacking. The agents shot Pretti to death.

PANEL 3

This panel is divided in two, sepia on the left and blues on the right. On the sepia side, a man inn a suit sneers. On the right side, a man in a border patrol uniform sneers.

BOTH (in unison): He was intended to commit a massacre!

CAPTION (sepia side): Arthur Gamble: Corrupt prosecutor who threw the case.

CAPTION (blue side): Gregory Bovino: Border Patrol Commander.

PANEL 4

Another panel divided into sepia and blue sides. On the sepia side is a cheerful middle-aged man in a suit. On the right side are two masked Border Patrol agents.

ALL THREE (unison): I was in fear for my life!

CAPTION (sepia side): Tom Coleman, Daniels’ murderer.

CAPTION (blue side): Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez, Pretti’s murderers.

PANEL 5

On the sepia side, three people with 1960s haircuts are angrily yelling. On the blue side, same thing except with current-day hair and clothes.

ALL (unison): If he hadn’t put himself where he didn’t belong he’d still be alive! Cops have to make split-second judgements! Law! Order! Bark bark bark bark woof!

CAPTION: Boot-licking stooges.

PANEL 6

In a clearing, surrounded by grass, trees, and shrubs, two men talk to each other. The men are distant from us. One, dressed in black and wearing a clerical collar, is identified as “Jonathan Daniels, 1939-1965.” The other, wearing a comfy looking winter jacket and baggy jeans, is identified as “Alex Pretti, 1989-2026.”

CHICKEN FAT WATCH

“Chicken fat” is obscure cartoonists’ lingo for little details hidden in the art. I drew almost no chicken fat here – the tone of the strip felt wrong for it – but in panel five, two of the modern day people are wearing MAGA hats that say “Make America Dicks Again.” One man’s t-shirt shows a teddy bear saying “FU.”

History, Rhyming | Patreon

ICE agents are the worst people in the world. If you’re a good person and you’re working for ICE, you don’t really exist, because all the good people have resigned by now.

In Maine, an ICE agent told a woman filming him in public – which is entirely legal to do – “we have a nice little database, and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”

In Minneapolis, days after an ICE agent publicly murdered Renee Good, agents were referring to Good’s death to threaten civilians. “Listen, have y’all not learned from the past couple of days? Have you not learned?”

Garret Grass reports that “Overall, CBP’s arrest and misconduct rate is FIVE TIMES higher than other federal law enforcement agencies — and, in fact, if you look over the last decade, the arrest rate of CBP officers and Border Patrol agents (.5%) has been HIGHER than the arrest rate of undocumented immigrants in the United States (.4%).”

Brookings wrote about “reports of ICE using excessive force, such as in the case of Julio Sosa-Celis, and of U.S. citizens being arrested or detained based on their accent or appearance, including Native Americans.”

On January 20, a 5-year-old with a pending asylum case was apprehended by ICE as he arrived home from preschool. School officials say he was used “as bait” to attempt to arrest other family members and members of his community.

ICE agents are some of the worst people, and that’s not an accident.

ICE is deliberately trying to attract the worst people in the country, by using white nationalist dog whistles in recruitment ads. For instance, they’ve posted ads using the slogan “We’ll Have Our Home Again,” a quote from a white nationalist anthem.

Since 2020, the song has been circulated on the messaging app Telegram almost exclusively by accounts linked to far-right extremists, according to analysis by Open Measures, a research firm that specializes in online extremism.

With lyrics about replacement by foreigners, Beirich says the song is only popular in white nationalist spaces. “This is the kind of thing that I can’t find to be a mistake,” she said.

ICE has also famously lowered “the bar for recruits, including reduced training, slower background checks, and lower physical abilities… Some ICE recruits reached the training academy before fingerprinting, drug tests or background checks were completed.”

Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell commented on ICE recruitment:

With this kind of campaign, they feel like they’re going on the internet and basically just saying, “Hey, if you want to pick up a gun and start shoving people around, you want to join us.”

No wonder ICE has been killing people – thirty two people in 2025, and they’re on track to kill many more than that in 2026.

Most of the drawing in this one is basic – mostly just a guy talking straight to the camera – although I hope it’s good. The last panel was the most fun to draw, just because there’s so much more going on there. And – as far as chicken fat goes – I’m very pleased with my little “summary of everything popular on YouTube” at the bottom of panel three. Frank Young did a terrific job with the colors, despite my giving him zero guidance. (It’s so handy to work with a colorist who gets my cultural references).

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has four panels.

PANEL 1

A middle-aged man in a button-up shirt points directly at us, contempt on his face. He’s standing in a park.

MAN: You! Yeah, you! Face it – you’re a loser.

PANEL 2

The man continues berating us.

MAN: You’ve never accomplished much of anything, and you never will, because you’ve got nothing to contribute.

PANEL 3

We’re looking at a hand holding a smartphone; on the phone’s screen, the man continues his rant.

MAN: But you still think you’re better than most people. Especially the dark skinned ones. You’re basically a piece of shit and you want to hurt people.

PANEL 4

We switch scenes to a cluttered living room. Two women are relaxing on the sofa, one with her feet up on the other’s lap. The second woman is looking at her smartphone.

WOMAN 1: What on earth are you watching?

WOMAN 2: New ICE recruitment ad.

PHONE: Well, have I got a job for YOU!

CHICKEN FAT WATCH

“Chicken fat” is long-dead cartoonists’ slang for what the kids now call “Easter eggs.”

Panel two: In the hollow of a tree is a human skull. Through the eyeholes, we can see a bird sitting inside the skull.

And on the ground, an evil bunny glares and smokes a cig.

Panel three: Thumbnails of other videos are below the main image. The other videos are named “CATS,” “puppies,” “BOOBS,” “SPORTS!,” and “RAGE.”

Panel four: There are two framed pictures of the wall, one of a giant worm wearing a polo shirt, the other of the title character from the 1990s cartoon “Daria.”

The cat snoozing on the sofa is wearing glasses.

The first woman has a tattoo of an octopus with a mohawk, and also a snake winding around her arm.

The book on her lap says “BOOK TITLE, by Author Name.”

The second woman has a tattoo of Harold from Harold and the Purple Crayon. She’s wearing a t-shirt with the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” planet logo.

One coffee mug on the table has a picture of an apple with a worm hole. The other mug has a picture of a worm looking puzzled (I think it’s looking for its apple).

A book on the coffee table is entitled “GREG: Like God, but taller” by “A Horne,” a reference to the UK TV show “Taskmaster.”

Wanted | Patreon