Ralphie and Friends 6: "Laissez-Fur"

Did ya' miss me, folks? I did not post this 'Toon last Sunday because.. Well because of a lot of things. I have this one now, though, and a few promising ones on deck.


Despite what you may have heard, America does not have a strictly "Free Market" economy. It's a bit more complicated than that...

...And Shar-Peis ARE adorable, as are American Mutts.

Ralphie and Friends 5: "Political Whiplash"

This Week's Sunday Cartoon (The first one to appear on Sunday) is entitled "Political Whiplash", and is a Commentary on the Schizophrenic nature of Primary Politics, as they segue into General Election Politics.

George Herbert Walker Bush Famously referred to Reagan's economic policies as "Voodoo Economics". A few months later he was out on the trail stumping to get Reagan elected High Voodoo Priest and Shaman-in-Chief.

Pat Buchanan then challenged Bush. "They're all in on it, the insider game, the establishment game -- this is what we're running against." a bit later, he was speaking at the Republican National Convention, telling everybody to vote Bush to the position of Backroom-Establishment-Insider-in-Chief.

Even in the 2004 contest, when Democrats were sickeningly united in their efforts to elect ABB (Anybody But Bush), Edwards called Kerry an "Insider",and mocked his proposal for a committe to study harmful trade agreements, saying,"What you're going to say to a family that's lost their job because of bad trade agreements is, 'Don't worry, we've got a Washington committee that's studying this for you.'" Then, like magic, Edwards' name appeared on bumper stickers everywhere, right behind Kerry's.

Ralphie and Friends 2: "Remodelpublicans"

This Week's Cartoon is entitled "Remodelpublicans", and is a tribute to both the fact that the Republican Party seems to be experiencing a bit of a "Rebuilding Year" to use a popular sportscaster term, and, yes, the fact that their nominee is set to be the oldest man ever to hold the office.

I hesitate to do the "ageism" thing, because most other discriminatory "ism"'s (Racism, Sexism, Chauvinism, Capitalism, etc..) are bad, but I figure Ageism is not in the same category as those others, because we are all actively striving to become old people one day.

Think about it. Every time you eat your vegetables, take your vitamins, and avoid stepping in front of speeding trucks, you are actively trying to become an older person. So if you really hate old people so much, why the whole "life-preservation" thing?

I will never know what it is to be a Woman, or a Black Man, or an Asian, Native American, Hispanic, or Homosexual. (No matter what some people may say about me!) But I am hoping every day to someday be an old person. An old healthy person.

And when I get there I hope for two things. I hope that I will still be able to somewhat lucidly discuss the relevant issues of the time, and I hope that I will have a sense of humor about how old I am. John McCain, whatever else you may think about him, scores well on both points.

The more politically savvy among you will get the joke about the revolving door.

And I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge getting my inspiration from this Mike Luckovich Cartoon