Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for November 27, 2012

Still 30 minutes early in my time zone, if Daylight Savings was still in force.

BD’s had his issues too. It’s just that with his family and his home he’s got a better support system with his family. And apparently he has more money.

No comedy there folks.

but a bit of humor for those of us who have arrived at the right time but on the wrong day. or vice versa.

Looks like Ray needs a Time Management class.

Reruns this week, from at least a couple of years ago, methinks. And yet, as apt today as ever. BTW I love GT’s wry humor, even under the blackest (no pun intended, srsly) of circumstances.

This set of strips reminds me of my own son, an Afghanistan vet who’s finally acknowledged & worked w/the worst of his PTSD & has been able to get a good job, (along w/well-earned perks from being in the Army) & even buy a house!

Way to go, my boy! And likewise, all the other vets who have clawed their way to some semblance of normalcy. (Actually he’s done a better job his mom, i.e. yours truly)

DT, just to let you know, I am not advocating letting illegals in to take up all of our jobs, only that we need a better immigration policy.

I was going to say “rerun”, too.

Trudeau has a special talent for dealing with issues of race. Witness his depiction of the issues that touch on race. Or could be interpreted in terms of race.

Example: today’s strip. Too many Americans would think that Ray’s problem results from his race, that Blacks (Ray) are Dumber than whites (BD). But Trudeau’s depiction of their past history together makes that interpretation stupid. BD has had his issues that could make some think that he’s stupid.

But neither one is stupid. Trudeau has clearly shown that the deficits both vets dealt with resulted from President W. Bush’s ill-conceived, ill-timed, unjustified, hurt-Iraqis, hurt-Americans, war in Iraq.

In that war Ray saved BD’s life. Now BD, in his bumbling, good-hearted way, is trying to repay him. Of course, such a debt can never be repaid. But BD can try. And he is. And his strategy is working! Ray’s getting better.

BD himself is a changed man, he’s changed in the same way that some pretty ornery people have been changed by religion into some pretty nice people.

Thus the basis for today’s gentle humor — the punch line reminds us that we’re all a bit like Ray. We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. But Ray’s problem results from his PTSD and related issues.

As “the ragin’ Cajun” (Democrat James Carville) could rightly say, “It’s the war, stupid!”

DT—-I did not intend to be divisive. However I did intend to show the dichotomy that exists on many jobs. The immigrants, illegal or not, are working their butts off and the locals are acting entitled and priviledged(sp). I also worked in construction for many years. A trampoline accident ended that. When I worked, drug abuse, on and around the jobsite, was rampant. Drinking was also. Although, there were many of us who did not do the crazy stuff while working. We did more work and made more money. Where the incident I described yesterday occurred was in a “Right-to-work” state. All workers are subcontractors except for site management and a few laborers. Perhaps it was libelous, though I didn’t name places or people. Maybe a bit of division is needed to get people to thinking. Perhaps an illustration, such as mine, will provide food for thought. But it is my personal experience that people today are incredibly self-centered and arrogant about their, real or imagined, importance. By the way, I’m white.

Is their employer-management disobeying our U.S. laws designed to protect workers? Or are we returning to the kind of management-labor conditions that have ruined the Mexican economy?

Beware of admiring illegal-immagrant labor to the point of worship. Many if not most of them are desperate people who have been forced by near-starvation conditions in nations south of our border to leave their families (unprotected) and brave the terrible conditions getting into this country. (There may be a Darwinian, survival-of-the-fittest illustration here.)

But this country — in stark, terrible contrast to Mexico — has become great largely because of the Protestant work ethic and personal-responsibility ethic.

Never underestimate the American people. Never badmouth them. Never support law-breaking. Not in any way whatsoever.

We have to deal with issues, not politicize them.

Look at the way Wal-Mart, for instance, is right-now exploiting laboring people, both illegals and legals. Do we want a nation of slave laborers, with a tiny tiny one-percent-of-one-percent elite of multi-billionairs riding on the back of the great mass of exploited people, digging in the sharpened spurs, and NO MIDDLE CLASS at all? An elite that owns our entire governmental apparatus — legislators (both state and national), executives (both governors and President), judiciary (both state and federal Supreme Court that selected W. Bush to be President over popular election winner Al Gore).

How does the elite class “own” the government. By paying for election campaigns. By having their lobbyists write the legislation FOR the legislators. Witness Grover Norquist. Witness Big Pharmaceutical’s ongoing torpedoing of healthcare reform process. You can’t do your elected job as a Constitutional Congressperson if you’re suffocating in Grover Norquist’s filthy pocket.

I believe that Bronco Bama is doing his best. But he’s not perfect either. And he can’t do it without our help.

Is that what YOU want, lurker?

Did anyone see what the brilliant military analyst Thomas Ricks had to say on Fox News yesterday? When asked to weigh in on the Benghazi attack, “I think Benghazi was generally hyped by this network especially.” Scott: “When you have 4 people dead for the first time in more than 30 years, how do you call that hype?” Ricks asked, “How many security contractors were killed in Iraq?” Scott, “I don’t know.” Ricks, “No. Nobody does because nobody cared.We know that several hundred died but there was never an official count done of the number security officers killed in Iraq. So when I see this focus on what was essentially a small fire fight. I have covered a lot of fire fights, I know it can be very difficult if not impossible to find out what happened sometimes.The emphasis on Benghazi has been extremely political only because Fox was operating as a wing of the Republican party.”And then the interview abruptly ended…

Later, a Fox News staffer told Ricks that he was “rude” following the interview… Rude? In what way? He was asked his opinion and he said in a very matter of fact way, what it was. Thomas Ricks is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, extremely respected.

@Dylan Thomas – Veterans from all different wars and eras have suffered at the hands of the government, Bush is not and was not the problem. Americans fail to think about the military and actually want to do away with it, unless the wolf is at the door. Check out this article:www.gleamingedge.com/mirrors/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

Sometimes we as Americans should stand together. Over the years, I heard many Democrats support our Republican president (in the past) during war time and when we were attacked (as in 9/11 and other times). In terms of our folks overseas being attacked, I think we should as Americans be standing together with our President. President Obama had no intention of anyone being killed in Benghazi, for heaven’s sake. The President and Secretary of State want to have an effective foreign policy as well as the safety and security of our people overseas to be taken care of and have been actively trying to achieve both of those goals. When several hundred marines were killed in Beirut on Reagan’s watch, no one blamed Reagan. President Obama is owed the same courtesy.

Again, It’s a poverty issue. The poor, no matter race, work at the stoop labor just to feed themselves and their families.America used to be a place where you could work, save, start a small business or buy and sell houses or invest on the ground floor. Those were the main ways to riches and open to most. Please note that these ways, small business, real estate and the stock market have been systematically crashed and slowly closed to most. Small business is engulfed with tax and regulation nightmares. the stock market is held up by the giant funds and individual investors get common stocks and get cheated by stock splits. Day trading is the only way and it gets severely depleted by selling and buying fees. Real Estate has only recovered moderately in a few markets. Folks that bought in at the top are going under even now. And banks charge ridiculous fees on savings and checking accounts CDs and money markets. IRAs are being steadily reduced by mismanagement of funds or lack of management.

Almost all of this came from 20 years of buying and selling debt by the banks and financial “giants” and by insurance companies (part owners in the banks) providing false ratings and false “insurance” in investments. All giving bonuses to the CEOs for their “good work” in increasing profits. While CEOs often took interchangeable seats in common cos. of the “evil empire”

The idea has always been to create debt, more debt, sell it and enrich the sellers while the majority go further into the red. It floundered when Bush took out a credit card from the Bank of China.

I repeat all this since almost half the country seems not to have noticed or cared that these practices have been condoned by both parties and were super enhanced by the Bush mistake. That Obama kept some of the previous advisors was a mistake he now must regret. Goldman Sachs management had no place near a political office, let alone in charge of the “recovery” funding.

All this created a steadily waning middle class and more grist for the underemployment lines.

Illegals came in through the farms, most of which are owned, directly or indirectly by big business interests or are accountable to them. Farms have more tax benefits than most businesses and insurance against any natural failures, all provided by the government. A single act of removing some of them as punitive measures would have stopped illegals. They are here because their employers break the law, not just them. Yes, they work cheap, but if you want to keep food costs down, cut out the stock market and middle men at the Farm Bureau so you pay actual costs instead of the bloated costs run up by “investors” (Usually the co.s themselves running up costs the same way the oil co.s do)

I grew up working on the local farms. it’s twelve hours a day easy and they used to pay minimum wage (sometimes a penny a bale for baling hay instead, much to my father’s ire) when it was a $1.00 an hour and still seem to think that would be fair. but it’s the insurance costs that have them crying and the worker’s comp ( which is designed for them, actually, to keep workers from suing them in REAL court.). they would rather scare Juan into suffering than pay John and the insurance co.s for his work.

Illegals are now here to stay. legalize them, make the co.s pay them a decent wage, tax that wage and start a real recovery of both the economy AND Social security.

Bush took us to a war in Iraq which was not warranted. This was a problem. A really big problem. After 9/11, we could understand the war in Afghanistan, but not the one in Iraq. Saddam Hussein didn’t like W’s daddy. That is not a reason to go to war.

Well, the republicans forced a meeting with Susan Rice, and true to form, they’re still not happy. I can’t even stand to listen to their whining anymore. Obama needs to pick her and stand behind her until they cave. But I’m not optimistic…

Some people say that John Kerry would be a better choice than Susan Rice as SOS anyway. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes? It is hard to tell.

I don’t think Susan Rice is the best possible nominee to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State for a number of reasons.

Although she is brilliant, a woman and a black (known in the halls of power as a “twofer” = “two for one”, meaning that being a black and a woman in one person is considered a plus in terms of pleasing voting constituencies), she’s also a hothead and not very nice to those in the Administration who disagree with her.

(I have read in the news that she was “giving the finger” to others, say, in Cabinet meetings, but I just googled for the back-up article and couldn’t find it.)

At any rate, she may have already sunk her own lifeboat politically now anyway. Maybe Bronco Bama would be better off (politically) by selecting John Kerry. But he’s a powerful Senator from Massachusetts, and to fill his seat there would have to be another bruising special election in that State.

What about Big Dawg Bubba? I know, I know, he wouldn’t take the job.

I don’t know who would replace John Kerry in the Senate, but surely they could find another Democrat in Massachusetts…

Yeah, I don’t think Bill Clinton would go along with being SOS.

Maybe Tom Menino, mayor of Boston, could replace John Kerry. Or Representative Jim McGovern? I dunno I don’t really live in that area but I know they have lots of Democrats in Massachusetts…

Below are the first three grafs of an article from DefenseNews re Susan Rice as a possible replacement for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton<p<http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121127/DEFREG02/311270004/GOP-Senator-Says-He-8217-ll-Block-Rice-Secretary-State?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

………………………………………………………………………………….

GOP Senator Says He’ll Block Rice as Secretary of State

Unsatisfied by Susan Rice’s comments during a closed-door Nov. 27 meeting on Capitol Hill, one GOP senator says he “absolutely” would block any White House move to make her America’s next chief diplomat.

Defense News asked Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., minutes after the meeting whether he would place a hold on Rice’s nomination if President Barack Obama formally nominates her to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Oh, absolutely,” an animated Graham shot back. “I would place a hold on anybody who wanted to be promoted to any job who had a role in the Benghazi situation.”

Under upper chamber rules, any senator can place a hold on any executive branch nomination for just about any reason.

You are being ironic, right?

pretty sure this is a rerun of a previous week’s strip

A) Scott Brown is still popular in Mass and would undoubtedly run again, and possibly win against a local pol;B) freeholder, that isn’t a rational human being, it’s a computer programmmed to post that same nonsense and then leave, You’ll get no response;and C) A hold is not a filibuster. It is placed by one Senator and can’t be appealed. You just have to bribe or shame him/her until they lift it.

Go back to sleep Corzak.

Want to see something funny, first it was the Iranians now look who got punked by the Onion. They’re more embarrassing to governments than WikiLeaks.

“… the Republicans can stop everything. It is scandalous.”

Ah dunno, NG49. But read the following article from WAPO. Sounds like Bama’s puttin’ da heat on Dem. Sen. majority leader Harry Reid ta git som’n DONE inna Senate gosh darn it all to heck!

Harry Reid puts his finger on the ‘nuclear option’ button

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/harry-reid-puts-his-finger-on-the-nuclear-option-button/2012/11/27/2c9a61f0-38ca-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_blog.html

U.S. CONGRESS: Reid v. McConnell, Pelosi v. Boehner

Don’t you love farce? My fault, I fear.I thought that you’d want what I want, sorry, my dear.But where are the clowns, send in the clowns.Don’t bother, they’re here.

—Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”

To me one of the funniest things in this whole political bollux re the political season is this:

Goppers can no longer claim — since W. daze — that anyone and everyone opposed to them is UNAMERICAN, UNPATRIOTIC, COMMIE PINKO, RAGHEAD LUVVIN, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum.