Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for May 23, 2010
Transcript:
Earl: Gotta say, Dad, I'm a little nervous about this presentation... but then I think of our product, and I"m like, hey, it's all good! Duke: Excellency, here's your problem - everyone's rooting for the rebels. The more you suppress them, the more they're viewed as freedom-loving folk heroes. You're losing the perspective battle. You need to redefine them. We're recommending that from now on, you only refer to them as the "Berzerki Taliban"! Dictator: The Berzerki Taliban? Earl: Think about it, sir. The Taliban are violent Muslim extremists - the worst brand on earth! Dictator: Brilliant. I don't know how you guys come up with this stuff. Earl: Well, sir, my dad and I are public relations pros... Dictator: Say, do you think it matters that the rebels are Jewish? Earl: Yes. Dictator: Thought it might. Duke: Okay, then how about the Berzerki Talmud? It just has to sound bad.
ksoskins over 14 years ago
Oh no, this strip is going to launch another infinite set of theological arguments and biblical quotes! I’m sure that there will be learned discussions about the Talmud from the usual suspects.
Lyons Group, Inc. over 14 years ago
@Horace: Quite.
puddleglum1066 over 14 years ago
Sheik: relax. GT’s Sunday strips usually aren’t tied into the current dailies, because many papers only carry Doonesbury on Sunday. Look at the Sunday strips for May, and you’ll see they’re not directly linked into the preceding or following weeks.
Alabama Al over 14 years ago
Although a murderous sociopathic thug, we tend to forget that Trff Bmzklfrpz, a.k.a: “Excellency”, is also pretty sharp. Neat the way Excellency first built up Duke and Earl with a complement and then jerked the rug under them with his little observation.
Of course, it goes to illustrate just how much research Duke and Earl actually performs that they overlooked a small detail like the ethnicity of the rebels.
pksampso over 14 years ago
Um, Josh? This is a comic strip, not a political manifesto. Cojones do not and should not come into it.
peter0423 over 14 years ago
pksampso, for some people, everything is about cojones. “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
heeyuk over 14 years ago
Debating learned discussion about a comic strip. Perfect.
jeffiekins over 14 years ago
OF COURSE cojones come into it! It’s a POLITICAL comic strip, or at least it used to be. (Confession: I’ve been reading it for over 25 years.) That’s why so many papers moved it to the Editorial page from the Comics page.
Since the Big O became president, it took GT approximately forever to start to remove the kid gloves, and he still has them only halfway off.
One of the erstwhile hallmarks of GT’s humor was his willingness (or eagerness) to poke pins into the President’s balloon of authority and competence. That’s been sadly (almost completely) lacking since the last election.
James Taranto has an interesting theory that the press’ general hesitancy to engage BO like a regular President is contributing to the hubris that seems likely to be the cause of his downfall.
3hourtour Premium Member over 14 years ago
..it’s better without the last two panels…
freeholder1 over 14 years ago
Time to throw some Tala-mud in their faces!
Catholics all week, Jews on Sunday? They will work for us that day. I know. I Protest-ant too much.
Briss-tling with controversy.
I suspect GT didn’t remove the kid gloves cause he may feel like the piling on from the right needs a little yeast to leaven the bread, Jeffie. Maybe he also felt we needed to wait and see if the left can repair the mess the “wrong” left them. (Biblical reference for Sheik’s sake. I’ll find a Koran reference to please him sometime.) Also GT has a famous wife , too, so he can relate.
Very hilarious, GT.
poohbear8192 over 14 years ago
It’s getting harder and harder for me to see anything funny about what these two (three) slime-balls do.
attyush over 14 years ago
There must be a point here, or maybe it is funny. Oh wait…this is GT in 21st century. Never mind.
cdhaley over 14 years ago
@freeholder
Both Jesus and Paul adapt the proverb, “A little yeast leavens the whole lump.” But where Jesus (Matt. 13) compares the yeast to the Kingdom of Heaven, Paul applies it to the sexual swingers in his Corinthian congregation (1 Cor. 5) and to the Judaizers trying to corrupt his flock in Galatia (Gal. 5).
Which of these diametrically opposed leavening effects–the healing or the corrupting–did you mean to impute to GT’s political satire?
Alabama Al over 14 years ago
It what happens to every message board I’ve seen that isn’t closely monitored and edited – the Crazies eventually take over. Why should the Doonesbury board be any different?
lindz.coop Premium Member over 14 years ago
As I said in a post earlier this week – GT manages to insult everyone eventually. That’s why it’s so much fun. Better learn to laugh at yourself if you want to read this comic.
attyush over 14 years ago
lindz.coop said, “As I said in a post earlier this week – GT manages to insult everyone eventually.”
I am very sure GT would disagree with you that he insults people. But you are right. GT’s strips these days are reduced to hurling out insults. And that’s why it’s no longer funny.
cdhaley over 14 years ago
I’d agree that GT appears to have abandoned the obvious political targets from decades past. Maybe he wanted to give legs to Obama’s promise of bipartisan leadership. Whatever his motives, GT has replaced his vital slapstick with a more reflective, bemused kind of satire.
Nowadays, instead of making us laugh at the improbable, GT invites us to weep at actual absurdity. For example, this strip mocking Duke and Earl trenches rather close upon Obama’s troubles in bringing Karzai to heel.
GT has extended his political satire to political allegory. He’s not as funny as he was, but his bite is more telling.
AKHenderson Premium Member over 14 years ago
How about Berzerki Diamond Merchants? It worked well for Al Sharpton.
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/06/20/sharpton/print.html
Ushindi over 14 years ago
I think I’ll go mock some spiritual beliefs…
poohbear8192 over 14 years ago
Non-theism is my spiritual belief.
JP Steve Premium Member over 14 years ago
If there can be “Russian Mafia” why can’t there be Jewish Taliban?
pbarnrob over 14 years ago
airjordaner (from about 3 hours ago) just flagged. They don’t learn, do they?
AVOID www.jordaner.com and www.bccboots.com…
Take the ‘Boulder Pledge’ – don’t do any business with spammers, ever!
3hourtour Premium Member over 14 years ago
…this strip is as good as it ever has been..just a great comic..
lewisbower over 14 years ago
When I was young I wanted GT for president. As my hair grew thin I wanted him tarred and feathered Now I want him back Come on GT, you haven.t got a rise out of me in a while.
jpharris over 14 years ago
Will today’s strip be available today? Still reading yesterday’s…
BrianCrook over 14 years ago
Yeah, where’s today’s strip?
Lew, I’m glad that you re-appreciate DOONESBURY. It is, with CALVIN & HOBBES, one of the two greatest American comic strips in the last fifty years.
Dragoncat over 14 years ago
Don’t you just love how the smallest detail can make the greatest significance?
sgmoo over 14 years ago
Are there any radical extremist Jews that GT needs to watch out for?