Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for September 29, 2024

When the Government trusts the pharmaceuticals to test their own drugs, what do you expect?

It’s like an argument about whether choice A or choice A is better.

You’re better off just doing your Michigan J. Frog routine on someone else, Rat.

Rat is being very sensible, huh?

As I will always say to RAT all the time, stop trying to mess stuff up, dude!!!! Dan aka…F***ing rabble rouser!!!!

The song of Ice see you and Fire the lobbyists.

I have begun to notice the Peanuts style brick wall for conversations between adult human characters. Maybe if they leaned on it correctly Rat would let them talk.

I agree with rat, no major contributors that demand favors

If you think politicians are corrupt now, wait ‘till they get to spend taxpayer’s money on their own campaigns.

Give the power to the people: Problems solved!

-Public election fund-Strict campaign seasons only a few months before the election-Instant runoff voting-Ban politicians from being able to buy stocks-Actually have inspections instead of letting the company do it themselves

Not “no one”, Rat, but the Supremes don’t want to hear it.

so, publicly financed usually means government controlled. I can’t see how that could POSSIBLY go wrong.

It would be really hard to regulate elections given the corrupt SCOTUS, but I think the best thing about other countries may well be the short elections. Not just the money, but how long can be regulated.

But a funny joke about regulated elections. One clever scammer got a bunch of patsies to run in the governor’s election. He thus had about 25 candidates, and each candidate got a square on the public advertising boards for the election. His idea was to sell the advertising space from all of his patsy candidates. The numbers actually made sense and he could have made a pretty good profit, but he didn’t have enough salespeople and failed to sell enough ads and wound up losing money on the scam. (During the election I was wondering what all the blank space was about and why other boards had lots of repeated ads that didn’t seem to be related to the election. I found out about the scam a couple of weeks later.)

With publicly financed elections those bribes would stay 100% with the politicians, no ad cost involved.

If Dems win the Senate, time to eliminate the filibuster at least where it concerns political contributions, and pass a law that reverses Citizens United.

Set to the tune OF…..

Side effects may include Death….O well….

If you want to get illegal campaign contributions just start selling $100,000 watches.

Wow did all you people miss the point !

The government is the problem. It takes from the taxpayers and gives to “preferred” companies. Abolish non-military spending and the problem will vanish.

It’s a shame, because Rat’s song sounds like it would rocket up the charts.

Let the politicians politic……..Something needs to be done about how the news is warped as presented by the media. A media that sits comfortably behind our right to freedom of speech, yet harms our integrity as a nation.

Agree with Rat. These solutions aren’t perfect – Britain’s elections are short, publicly funded things, and, well, Brexit – but it’s a start.

The Supreme Court made it legal to bribe legislators because they wanted it to be legal to bribe JUDGES.

This time I agree with Ratt 100%.

“Round and round.

What goes around, comes around.

I’ll tell you why, why, why.”

Sorry, soon as I wrote Rat, it became Ratt and the song stuck in my head.

Money equals Speech!

What? No comment on the suggest public funding of elections? I’m with Rat!

My concern with publicly financed elections is that in would amp the power of PACs and other private political agencies. You can’t stop them because of the first amendment. I would rather see a requirement that they have to list their donors. Everyone should be required to put their name with their opinion.

You’re a Commie Liberal without conviction

You’re a Commie Liberal who doesn’t know

How to sell a contradiction

Kamala Kamala Kamala Chameleon

You come now go

You come now go

© Cackle Club Enterprises

Timing, Rat. You gotta work on your timing.

He needs to sign about election advertising cycles NEVER being this long. Exhausting!

I appreciate some of the discussion but don’t lose sight of the strip…money by private organizations (like big pharma) causes representation to be influenced which can be counter to the benefit of the public at large.

Should have rhymed corrections with elections.

maybe it’s the timing. :J

Publicly funded campaigns would be a mostly symbolic solution. Direct donations aren’t that much, the “independent” PACs are where the big bucks go, family and friends get hired by various companies and foundations, publishers pay big advances for books that go straight into the remainders stacks shortly after their release, and retired politicians go on speaking tours for huge honorariums.

For real change, eliminate closed primaries and boost turnout by imposing a tax on any eligible voter who doesn’t cast a ballot. It still won’t be perfect, but it should water down the power of big money a little.

That’s the problem these days…no one wants to listen

Socialism? Let’s ask all the Happy Scandinavians about it? BTY. Medicare usually pays 10 to 15% of the stated price for each procedure,

This is not a government for the people.

I want to hear Rat’s song.

We are a little like the drunk searching for his keys under the street light…

One of the few times that I find Rat reasonable.

Sing away my friend, sing loud and strong……

You mean republicans won’t allow bills that 93% of real Americans want to pass, republicans keep drug prices high and won’t allow any gun laws to pass. There is a simple solution to that, don’t vote for lying, sexist, racist, gun loving republican insurrectionists who want to turn the USA into their Confederate plantation with a dictator.

When we were in England, my Mother had to visit the emergency room. We were seen immediately, possibly because she was older and they weren’t sure what was wrong with her. We asked for the bill, explaining that we were Americans and didn’t qualify for the free medical care. They replied that they didn’t have any forms for making out a bill, no one who would know how to make out the form if they had one and anyway everyone who was getting paid was busy taking care of sick people.On the other hand, when my son needed surgery for his cancer, he had to wait six weeks for the doctor to have an opening in his schedule. And, later, his treatments were postponed because the insurance company was deciding whether to pay for them. This was the president of the Midwestern Prostate Ontological group being dictated to by a pencil pusher who probably never graduated from college. That was in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America.We pay more for medical care than anyone else on earth and it’s not because we are paying for actual medical care. We are spending money to support a huge insurance industry with money that then isn’t available to provide for patient care.

Preach it, Brother Rat! I have been singing that song (with, alas, similar results) for decades.

Rat ain’t wrong.

I can not think of one thing that we can get 90% of us to agree on……

It’s true, chlorine is the COVID pandemic cure … six feet under.

The solution IS NOT to get government involved. The problem is that the government is too big and controlling. It becomes necessary for people and corporations to funnel huge amounts of money to politicians, bureaucrats and campaigns in order to protect their interests. Less government means less bribery and attempts to influence those who run the government.

Every law that attempts to control what people can do increases the corruption, especially laws intended to deal with corruption.

I’m one of the scores of millions who want to see Rat sing “Behind Closed Doors”…said doors on a vault 5 storeys underground!!

Rat is on it for once.

or the gas companies to be truthful about methane leaks- or ‘clean coal’..

‘If you want money out of politics, get politics out of money’ – George F. Will

One of my favorite panels from Tom Tomorrow was someone making the observation that rich AND poor both have equal access to buy politicians and influence

Yep, greed is a big problem, but I have a feeling government-financed government elections would just bring a whole new set of problems, too. The problem isn’t the system, the problem is the people. All the people.

I’m listening Rat XXX

Does anyone remember when this “comic” strip was funny? More crocs, less liberal California BS.

In the seventh panel the bald guy says "*We’re* trying to have a serious discussion . . . " But looking at the other odd-numbered panels, his companion never says a word. So more of a monologue.

then maybe do it in the privacy of your own home?!?

I’m surprised that Rat is against corruption. You’d think he would be participating.

Rat is right. Donations are bribes.

Should we trust The Government to finance elections for The Government? Am I the only one who sees a conflict of interest?

The first step should be to dis-establish the Republicrats.

Way to miss the point!

Give the candidates a monthly allowance. Any donations over that are refunded. They can pick corporate sponsorship or private donations of under $100 each. They have to display the corporate logo prominently at every rally and on all election materials, including ballots.

Rat is 100 percent correct!

Want to get money out of politics? Restrict the government to what it is Constitutionally authorized to do. If there is nothing to sell, there won’t be any buyers.

yup… got that right!

Publicly financed elections is the king of stupid ideas

When government funds the elections, the elected will still be just as bribable AND you’ll just have people more invested in keeping that sort of big government around.

What is to stop two rogue Cincinnati agents from choosing who gets funding and who does not?

This strip is absolutely brilliant!!!

Publicly financed elections? That’s Socalism! Government telling me how to spend my money! :)

Yeah, have the politicians control the funding of political campaigns.

That’ll work out just like you would expect — if you’re even the least be sensible.