MythTickle by Justin Thompson for April 30, 2010

Whoa, topical! (way to rub it in)

Oh, he’ll be all right–as long as he doesn’t do a no-no!

Actually, he’ll be fine as long as he’s not wearing his CInco de Mayo costume.

He’ll tough it out……….I hope!

Just what profile is Boody going to fall under in Arizona? With his luck they’ll think he’s just an oversized albino Gila monster.

Arizona: now that’s hell!

This was hilarious. Well done, JT.

i don’t think arizona would undertand the message!!! tom.

Nabu-With all due respect - please remember that this is a comic and

LIGHTEN UP !!!!!!!!

Deep Breaths ,Nab. Just repeat “Its only a comic strip”. Now have a Jellybaby and you’ll be O.K. (whispering) Its alright.

Actually, If you ‘breathe wrong’ in Mexico you go to jail faster than you can blink.

Allons-y, TheDOCTOR1andOnly. :)

Awesome joke, Justin. But then, I have a sense of humor.

lol Love this. Awesome. And Nabu … get a life.

It’s not awesome it’s very sad. What part of Illegal don’t people get? Laws are being broken those who break them should not be rewarded. Arizona shouldn’t have had to pass that law in the first place. The federal government should have secured our borders 60 years ago when this problem started instead of listening to lobbyists for businesses that liked the cheap tax free labor. Kudos to Arizona for having the balls to do what the Feds are too cowardly to attempt, defend their borders and territory. Also what TheDOCTORthe1andOnly said is very true. Americans in Mexico get no help or leniency they don’t care what our diplomats say they throw the book at us (many times on false or trumped up charges) and send us to prison. Sending Mexicans that are here illegally back to Mexico is tame by comparison.

There are many things wrong with what Nabu says, but I’ll just comment on this: “With almost half of the population of Mexico currently residing in the U.S. illegally, it’s not a laughing matter. (6 million on average each year from 2000 to 2009.) ”

Mexico has a population of about 110 million. It’s not possible that 50-60 million have half-emptied Mexico by coming to the U.S. I suspect that Nabu has mistaken the 6 million average number as cumulative across 10 years, when in fact most of those people are being counted over and over each year. Six million in the U.S. I can believe, not 60.

@legaleagle48 i also live in arizona, and unlike you, i agree that if your illegal and break the law, then you should be deported. maybe you should actually read the bill before you comment on it. i’ll wager you haven’t and have just been listening to what people tell you.

Listen, scrappy, I read a history book every now and then, so I don’t have to read the bill to know that randomly asking someone to “Show me your papers, please” is what we fought a world war (and a cold war) to get rid of – and for a very good reason!

And I’ve also read some of the paranoid, hate-mongering, white-supremacist propaganda that the proponents of this bill spewed prior to its lamentable passage. Again, read a history book or two; we’re just a few steps away from re-enacting Kristallnacht at this rate.

Nope. Until you sandblast Emma Lazarus’s poem from off the base of the Statue of Liberty, I’m on her side:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Remember, the Berlin Wall kept people IN more than it shut people OUT.

um…, Nabuquduriuzhur, before you get all incensed, please note, he’s not making a comment on illegals at all, he’s making the comment that Arizona is requiring papers on anyone who is not ‘white’ and obviously American. They are engaging in racial profiling, for whatever reason. The strip is not a comment on the presence of illegals but the radical reaction to them. Geez. and comics make those kinds of social commentary all the time. It’s their PLACE, ala the Court Jesters of old.

Theft is illegal because you take someone’s property.

Murder is illegal because you take someone’s life.

Illegal immigration is illegal because you – take up space, I guess.

I find it hard to get upset about it. Most of the problems with illegal immigration can be solved by making it legal.

Justin, thank you for a laugh out loud funny timely political reference. I hope that the flame war in these comments doesn’t teach you the lesson that so many learn to just stick to “safe” topics.

I do have my opinions about the political issue, but rather than pour more gasoline on the fire here, I’ll think about ranting in my own blog, and hope that Mythtickle continues to make me smile on a regular basis.

They estimate ca. 500,000 illegals currently in AZ, with a total population of about 6 - 6.5 million. If they carry out the law by randomly stopping every thirteenth person (or dragon), regardless of appearance, I’ll have less heartburn over it.

Wasn’t expecting that! Nice!

Meh, what’s the underworld without a little flame-war? I had a feeling this might garner some extra comments so I placed this harmless little missive on a Friday. Now we’ve got the whole weekend to enjoy together. :) I could have gone much further with this issue and clearly took a side but nah. The joke’s the thing. Any snarky looks or political attitude from the ladies in the strip would only have distracted from the joke and believe me, they wanted to. But I directed them to just be more worried about their dear dead dragon than anything else. That’s what really matters to them. So a special extra-sized stuffed critter for LadyThornewood and Burgundy2 who both correctly hit the nail right on the cabeza.

Thanks to everyone.

Heh, I liked it Justin… Very topical and kinda funny. Like any over reaction that people come up with to solve a problem

And before I get flamed, I am one of those people who say “deport the bastards and let Honest Americans work for less than minimum wage!” Ok - we wouldn’t but then again, we won’t know what deporting illegals would do to the economy until we try, now do we?

Wonderful, Justin!

Nab, 68% of the crimes in Arizona are committed by whites; another 30% (app.) are by African Americans, and a tiny proportion by illegal immigrants AND other minorities. (Quoting my wife, who read someone’s report on her investigation into FBI files)

Now, what if you’re a legal American of Mexican descent, maybe from four generations back? No papers, and you look foreign. If you get stopped, you’re Effed.

If an illegal immigrant is caught committing a crime, yes, s/he should be dealt with according to the law. However, those illegals who are not breaking the laws of Arizona (and aren’t being hassled) are paying rent, buying food, and paying the various sales taxes on their purchases.

But that’s a problem for your lawmakers; me, I just love the cartoon. Thanks again, Justin!!

Great strip, Justin! Wonderfully unexpected.

Unius linguae uniusque moris regnum imbecille et fragile est.

All things considered, I’ll go with Avalon, where the only papers you have to produce are a few bucks to pay for that tasty pint.

As we can’t keep them apart, let’s just join the two countries together, the United States of America and the United States of Mexico. http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/decentralization/English/CaseStudies/mexico.html We’ll call it the United States.

LOL! I enjoy this strip so much.

Justin - I really like the description of the various underworlds (Annwn for me, thanks, unless I can get chosen for Asgard). I totally was not expecting that punchline, and it rocks (on many levels, no pun intended)!

(Well, pun intended maybe a little…)

Legal Eagle,

Read the text of the law, It says law enforcement may not exceed “TITLE 8 UNITED STATES CODE” (Federal law concerning immigration). It also says the officer can only ask about status after ‘LEGAL CONTACT’ and the person cannot produce valid ID (AZ ID, Tribal ID, any valid ID issued by any state, vaild ID/VISA issued by US Government). It also states that a policeman can’t use race, color or national origin except as allowed under the AZ & US constitution.

Besides, if you are here illegally you aren’t going be there long enough to let the cops check your ID, you’re going to run which will do more to arrouse a cops interest in you than what it would be if you were hanging out with your homies.

So your comment about white sheets and swastika patches was out of line. The AZ policemen will be enforcing FEDERAL LAW within the borders of Arizona, which US authorities seem incapable or unwilling to enforce.

I have no problem with immigration. My wife is an immigrant, but she came here LEGALLY, paid the fees, waited her turn and played by the rules. These illegal immigrants and getting all these freebies is an insult to her and all who did it right.

Casey: Where are the freebies, please? I presume that an illegal immigrant would be unable to collect welfare or social security in any US state; they might be able to live the high life at a soup kitchen or food bank. Remember, too, that many illegals are working for well below the minimum wage (assuming Arizona has one).

In some cases, supremely unethical employers will have an illegal work for almost a month, then a few days before the promised first pay cheque, will tip off immigration officials and help get the person deported, thus saving said employer a month’s wages.

Perhaps all the illegals who get that treatment should band together for a class action suit.

If Boody doesn’t have papers, then he’ll never be able to take Best In Show at the Westminster Dragon Show.

@Saskfan Re: Freebies

You’re almost certainly correct about social security, if only because nearly all illegal immigrant use fake Social Security numbers when applying for jobs. You might also be correct about welfare, although that tends to be an entitlement benefit. Welfare fraud, both for cash benefits and non-cash benefits such as food stamps, is a concern with illegal immigrants. The smugglers who bring them over may require them to apply fraudently, in order to pay the smugglers’ fees.

However, the Supreme Court, in Plyer vs. Doe has ruled that, in most cases, states cannot prohibit the children of illegal immigrants for receiving a free public education, even if the children are also illegal immigrants. (This may have changed due to later rulings or changes in federal law. I confess, I haven’t kept up with the field.) Federal rules also require emergency rooms to admit and treat any one who comes to their door, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status.

Free education and free health care - those sound like a couple pretty good freebies to me.

I’ve heard stories of employers doing as you suggest - employing illegal aliens then turning over to the INS just before their payday. Frankly, I regard them as urban legends unless supported by references. First, my understanding is that illegal immigrants are usually still paying off their smugglers with their first few paychecks. The smugglers wouldn’t take kindly to being stiffed, and they’d probably blame the employer. Second, people talk to each other back home - “Don’t work at Jones & Sons Farms - they cheat you”. The word would get around pretty fast. Third, the people at INS aren’t stupid. “You know, that’s the sixth set of illegal immigrants Jones Farms has tipped us off to this year. Maybe we should pay them a visit and take a close look at their books.”

“”Free education and free health care - those sound like a couple pretty good freebies to me.””

Yeah, imagine that. If everybody in the world had free health care and free education, then we probably wouldn’t worry so dang much about borders. We should be taking care of each other.

I love you!