Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for October 29, 2023

For a moment, I thought they were representing Luxembourg.

Apparently, political arguments are a pain in the Texas.

sadly though it is the two coasts fighting th middle..:

When even the guy that makes pillows is causing political strife, you know there’s a problem.

Yup that’s about right

Let me put in a bad word for partisan primary elections, which attract almost exclusively the regulars, activists, foot soldiers, loyalists, militants, zealots, and fanatics in each party, resulting in the Democrats mainly preferring their leftmost contenders and the Republicans mainly preferring their rightmost contenders, so by the time the general election rolls around, the sensible majority in the moderate middle is understandably disgusted at the choices they have to make.

The solution to this is obvious and has been known for decades: Do away with the partisan primaries altogether, let anyone who can gather enuf signatures on a nominating petition run in the general election, and use preferential balloting (AKA instant-runoff voting AKA ranked-choice voting) to sort out the results. Under test cases, this approach almost always eliminated the extremists in the early going, resulting in elections of candidates who were at least acceptable to both sides and much favored by the centrists.

Yeah, that’s the solution that’s known to work. The problem — as with obscene amounts of big dark money in politicking — is that the only people in a position to do anything about it are the very ones who’ve been successful under the status quo. It’s an uphill fight to get them to budge, but it’s one worth fighting. Those who fight may lose; those who do not fight have already lost.

It isn’t like they’d be paying for the beer…

I hear you only rent beer.

Sadly, it’s not an easy East/West split, like the North/South split of the Civil War.

Is the internet still going berserk over the gay Budweiser ad? Come on guys, let’s at least go berserk over something that has consequences to people.

I wish that Texas would leave already.

Nailed it. Too bad they had to resort to “performance art” to explain the costume.

A country divided over the most trivial, insignificant topics. It’s no wonder we can’t get ANYTHING done.

Yes and you seem to be representing the leftist coast

I’m a Canadian, getting the popcorn ready, to watch the Civil War develop.

If you get outraged to the point of taking a high powered rifle and shooting cans of beer all because a brewery made one specialty can for a transperson, you really shouldn’t be drinking adult beverages or owning a firearm.

I wish we could all work together again!

Should have offered them a can of Coca-Cola instead

We are no longer headed this direction. We are now there!

We could do a similar one in the Good Ol’ UK of GB & NI, but we’d need two more people. At least.

Maybe the next Civil War will be fought to bring back civility.

I miss the good old days when PBS was a “comic” strip replete with HUMOR that made us laugh. The comics were a respite from the depressing news of the day.

Now Pastis gives us CNN/FOX news commentaries. Gloom, despair and agony on us!

Would not be surprised if Pastis sends Pig and Guard Duck to Gaza next week to mine that comic gold. I’m sure we’ll all laugh until we cry.

Yep. Sad, but true

This is not a political piece.

Yep, we’re the divided states of America

That about sums it up, Mr. Pastis. “sigh”

ya, of what’s left of it.

Guess our country really is divided.

Beer: it is not just for breakfast anymore!

If only businesses could stick to business and keep to themselves about politics…

The “Tastes Great” vs “Less Filling” Debate Lives On. Dilly! Dilly!

it’s the D.S.A. now. the Divided States of Acirema.

If we are not careful, this will be a reality, and that worries me greatly.

They could have been referring to either A-B (InBev) or Coors (Molson).

Well done, Stephan.

The division is intentional. It started with Newt Gingrich (google “Language: A Key Mechanism of Control”), was increased by ending media monopoly laws and giving Rupert Murdoch an American TV station, Citizens United (which legalized bribery and corrupted the whole system), and is now being supported by foreign nations who want to hurt America and who spread divisive propaganda to do it. Stoking outrage makes them money, and makes them stronger.

If you’re drinking American beer, that’s your first mistake

The good old US of A in the colors of Luxembourg.

nailed it. hope steph’s home safely.

Out of all the issues that divide us Pastis chose beer.

Just like Sgt. Yemana would say on the show Barney Miller…”Very well put”

I need to know what kind of music the owner of the beer company listens to, oh, and the guy who puts the beer in the can. Wait, what about the company that makes the can and the company that mines the ore that makes the aluminum…

Yes, the farthest extremes of this country. Most of us just want to live in peace.

Should have gotten more candy, Rat, that would have kept those guys together.

Rat doesn’t say what brand of beer it is. Everyone assumes that it’s Bud Light. ;-D

Why holidays should be a break from the world’s nonsense.

Why the Dutch flag?

and the capitalist oligarchs laugh all the way to the (offshore) bank

It’s still daylight, he’s run out of candy but he still has beer?

I guess the drug conviction was overturned. Nice on Mr. Pastis

So the ‘Merican Red Necks got upset with Bud Light for using a trans spokesperson and issued a boycott. It worked, sales of Bud Light plummeted!!! Now the most popular beer in ’Merica is Mexican. Ummm. . . . Y’All aren’t too keen on thinking about consequences are ya?

Did he have all of his “safe” Covid vaccines? Isn’t it strange that since the Covid vaccines have been given, so many young, healthy, athletic, people are just falling over dead? I’m sure they come up with “justifiable” reasons, but something is not right.

It’s a split that goes through the center of the heart over Jesus.

Yup, same as most huge profit enterprises expect a pat on the back when they “donate” to far left and far right interests and Congress positive influencers. And demand their employees give to united-way. That’s just my opinion, I may be wrong.

I’m happy about the unwarranted back lash over Bud Light. That’s my plan old ordinary everyday “Mowing the lawn Beer”. The price has dropped significantly!!! Hey… Maybe that dude who thinks he’s a girl should endorse big oil company’s? How bout All products in the U.S? That could end inflation!!!

The irony that, except for California, the left side of the map would actually be preferred by a lot of the right …

“On November 18, 2008, the hostile takeover was completed, and the parent corporation was renamed Anheuser-Busch InBev; Anheuser-Busch became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new corporation. On October 10, 2016, a $100 billion merger between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller closed. The new company is trading as NewbelcoSABMiller.” I was told workers are no longer allowed to “taste” beer while they work.

Clearly they represent the Republican party, what with their disagreements and all that.

Why do they have the Dutch flag as a costume?

Too true. But it needed about a dozen people sharing the costume until they all started fighting. Then it would be properly shredded.

This a job for Duct Tape!

No.

This is job for Needle and Thread!

No.

Let’s face it: this nation is divided and not in the mood to yield anything just for “unity”….