Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for November 05, 2012

Please, just let it be over!

No need to apologize. We just like to know you’re ok.

…and now you know the rest of the story.The election will come later.

Voters confused by Sandy.

Yeah, why would any sane person take anything to the once-supreme justasses?

i reminded of this guy at work that came to work with 100 degree fever, malaise, persistent coughing, etc…he had the flu. didn’t last the day, forced to go home, and later found out that he was hospitalized for the flu. lesson is if you are sick, stay home.

Poor Joanie. She needs help and she will probably not be able to stay with the fun at campaign HQ… The election will soon be over, but her pain will last a bit longer.

News flash— McCaskill 51% Akin 36%

There is also a Libertarian candidate in Missouri who is getting 8% of the vote. I hear Warren is up by 5% in her US Senate race against Brown.

I hope Joanie already voted herself…

Yes, it is good to know that you are ok. People do have lives, so can’t always post…

most fascinating to watch people in Fla standing line to vote. do they actually think they have the “right” to vote. this is America, people. unless you vote the “Right” way, forget it.

at least it is not summer/hot/ down in Fla. Do those people actually think the powers that be will allow voting to matter? lol. most fascinating. we all know the vote counters/owners will decide who wins and loses.if need be go to the Supremes to get their “way.” lol. now we can see what Central America/banana republics are like. course if you lived in La. you knew this all along. lol good ole banana republics. the rich 1% and the rest. lol flyover country at its’ best.

i mean, the nerve of these people. they actually think voting matters. only in America are there such illusions.

Just like the Mayans predicted… the election will end on December 21st, 2012!!!!

It’s OK, people. We’ve finalized the morphine routes from Afghanistan, the routes have been franchised, it’s hitting Mexico’s ports as we speak on its way here now…you’ll be anesthetized to the new forms of government very soon. You won’t need schools or better roads any more.

Now you know why the conservatives weren’t just after oil.

SO, the guy with the orange hair in the last panel is a doctor???

A couple of weeks ago I took some dear friends to the airport as they departed for a long tour of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco and felt just a bit jealous at how lucky they were. Just think — going places where there was not a single US political advert to be seen and no US political news to be found unless it was actively sought out! For their sake I hope that when they come back next week the whole mess will truly be over.

Is it Wednesday yet? Please?

OK, now this arc has lost its last shred of reality. Other than that Joanie would clearly have scheduled the hip for after the election (and it was scheduled, not emergent, because we discussed it months ago), the doctor wouldn’t have colluded on her early release, and wouldn’t have sent her w/o pain meds. As a friend of mine said, you have to stay on top of the pain, not try to reduce it after it’s full-blown. Now she’s a liability for the campaign, not an asset. Better to stay in bed and make calls.

With all the problems facing the US, especially the impending “fiscal cliff” and a split Congress, if all you can come up with is “Mitt the Twit R’money,”you’re not exactly adding substance to a discussion. Better you address the “democratic deficit” in a system that discourages parties other than the established GOP and Democrats (sorry, Greens and Libertarians) and the antiquated Electoral College but that would be too much work. Much easier to call a presidential candidate a “twit.”

I have heard more talk lately of future elections happening on the Internet. We aren’t there yet, since there would be too many problems with hackers. You could still get a print out of your vote, hence a paper trail. People are doing everything else online these days, so why not? Do you really think that the voting machine people are squeaky clean? It would mean no more standing in line, a nightmare for many right now. 8 hours in line if you are elderly? With young kids? Disabled? Need to get to work? Have a life outside of waiting at a polling place?

I agree that voting should be a priority. It just needs to be easier for people, NOT HARDER!

I was wondering how Joanie got to where she is, what with the recent surgery and all. Now I know.

I always believe that when someone tries to persuade me that there’s no point to voting, if I don’t, he’ll vote for me..dook," if all you can come up with is “Mitt the Twit R’money,”you’re not exactly adding substance to a discussion."No, we can come up with more, but your side doesn’t seem to understand anything more complicated than name-calling. Whenever I’ve tried to address the issues, like the BUSH deficit, republicans just resort to insults and epithets, so why bother?

Most estimates I’ve seen say any R-R budget MIGHT be in balance by 2040. As for the current deficit, there is a very interesting graph that can be found on the Internets showing that if you factor out all the Bush stuff that wasn’t paid for (2 wars, 2 tax cuts, Medicare Part D), the budget is essentially balanced now. And the other fact that apparently no-one dare mention is four years of republicans digging in their heels every inch of the way, and then blaming Obama for not “bringing them together” with the Democrats.

Your Avatar is mesmerizing! Best I’ve ever seen.

The Obama campaign have got to have a close eye on the swing states: Florida— R Gov. Rick Scott, Ohio - R Gov. John Kasich, Virginia- R Gov. Robert McDonnell, Wisconsin— R Gov. Scott Walker. It shouldn’t matter who the top lawmaker is but we can’t afford to forget what happened in Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004!

Sorry I have lines drawn through the words in the above post.

True that DT.

Of course, a lot of people mention it on blogs, but as far as the campaign goes, it’s officially a secret. I guess it wouldn’t look good to acknowledge obstructionism that couldn’t be overcome.

Joanie should still be in recovery in hospital. She should be in bed with legs elevated by pillows and taking pain meds to relieve pain and swelling. Hospitals aren’t prisons but she needs help from the experts at this point…or she could be in rehab by now or at home, depending on timeline and individual. It seemed that the time passed as represented in the strip was just a day after surgery, which is really too fast.

Alex and Rick need to step up and tell Brad to chill out a little…

I have to say (been reading D’bury since the 60’s, really, and almost never post anything unless I HAVE to say it): it’s HILARIOUS to see how people take Joanie’s medical condition and treatment seriously here. This strip has NEVER been very firmly grounded in reality, and if you think it is, I hope we’re never driving on the same highway…

I think GT does a decent job of reflecting the general idea of what is going on in our culture for the most part. He is showing how concerned and dedicated Joanie is more than what would realistically happen after hip replacement surgery. Sometimes things may have to be a little exaggerated in order to make a point in a comic strip with only so much room each day in order to make that point. I have also noticed that some cartoonists are starting to go with animation these days (since they tend to be available electronically, not just on paper), which may help, but I don’t see GT changing to a 3D medium after all these years. I have been a dedicated reader of Doonesbury for many years too.

I see on TV that there are extremely long lines in both Florida and Ohio for early voting… Maybe the voter suppression has caused a backlash. Maybe folks have decided that if their right to vote is to be taken away then they better actually get out and vote… Meanwhile, there has to be a better way than 3-4 hour lines in Ohio and 8-9 hour lines in Florida!

Long lines are a good sign for Democrats simply because there are more Democrats than Republicans.

Looks like they are allowing people to vote by email or fax in New Jersey due to storm aftermath problems.

Trudeau’s cynicism is getting very tiring. Joanie used to be one of the most interesting characters. Now she is just tired and sad.

No one likes long lines, Democrat or Republican. However, one can easily see that long lines in general favor Democrats, since Democrats outnumber Republicans.

In Canada, we have very simple elections. We have separate elections for federal, provincial, and local representatives (we don’t vote for judges, sheriffs or dog catchers!). Each candidate is allowed to have his or her delegate (scrutineer) present at the poll and at the counting of the votes after the polls close. Scrutineers are allowed to check to make sure the ballot boxes are empty as voting begins and may be present as the ballot boxes are opened. Questionable ballots may be challenged but scrutineers are not allowed to touch the ballots. Our system also allows non-traditional parties to run candidates. Oh yes, no business or labout union is allowed to make donations to amy political party and individuals are only allowed to donate $1100 per year.

“Here we read all about how voting isn’t worth the effort, etc., etc., from those who seem to be too lazy …”

Heck in Kalifornia I’m looking forward to killing the death penalty (prop 34), reforming 3 strikes (prop 36), sticking it to the Koch Bros, NO/YES ($11 mil on prop 32 & 30) & flirting with a 3rd party candidate, again.

The 3rd Prez Johnson would be a charm, and would make a great photo-op with the Major League champs at the WH.

Quick, more morphine.

WALK to the polls. I HAVE TO WALK????

Like neo cons haven’t been crying how they are a minority uncared for by the press? That’s been YOUR game, kid. America has gone wrong because neos are in the minority and god loves them. another cliche from your gang.

No, merely the effects on the environment their greed has perpetuated.

Long lines that vote democrat, yes. Long lines at the funeral parlor are more Republican territory.

Making us different from the “uncivilized” where the leader has to prove himself in battle. Colin Powell one great military leader backs Obama. Food for any undecided thought.

Yeah, we’ll need passports out of the Apocalypse.

My daughter is in law school, too.

I live in one of the “reddest states” in the country. We’re considered as Republican as Republican can be. Up until the last week there were no presidential ads on our local TV at all. But of late we’ve been inundated by Pro-Romney Super Pac ads, During a station break for Jeopardy, I just saw three consecutive pro-Mitt ads paid for by three different Super Pacs. They must have so much money to spend they can afford to waste it here instead of one of the so called swing states.

I’m sorry, dook, I reread your post and realize it was neutral. I’m used to republicans calling people names while complaining of being called names. Then they never have any kind of argument, just invective.

The poor folks of NJ can’t catch a break. I hear they had an earthquake today. And we can’t tell jokes about it being caused by Chris Christie jogging because he is on our side now.

At least people in NJ are being allowed to vote by Internet or fax. Of course, they have many of their polling places without electricity or under water so I don’t know if they had much choice.

Tomorrow is the big day and it looks like Joanie will miss it, poor thing.

Re: the comic — As expected — anyone have a poppy?

Don’t worry my leftist friends. This will be a rout. BO will go down before midnight tomorrow. Romney will get at least 300 electoral votes and the only states that will have vote count (read as fraud) problems are blue anyway.

‘Makes you wonder if being nasty and calling names is really the only thing they can come up with to support the lockstep Tribalism.’Absolutely! You have put into words what I couldn’t.As for the draft lottery, that was one of the few things Nixon did that I agreed with. My number was 333. Funny how after all these years something like that sticks with you.