Recent Comments

1. 12 days ago on Barney & Clyde

   Nope. They would be like workers in old communist countries in Eastern Europe. Not a great situation indeed, but so much worse than that of about half of Walmart’s workforce, the so-called “working poor”, who have to seek help from private charities or governmental aid? And surely better than that of working homeless, search

   nyt opinion/crisis-working-homeless

   We must neither kill the capitalistic cow nor let it stampede on you (as it’s now happening for so many in US). Just milk it. In a reasonable way.

2. about 1 month ago on Barney & Clyde

   As to the question “Should the losers of the capitalistic rat race be thrown under the juggernaut of a Darwinian economy?” economics or political sciences do not matter at all. What matters is religion. Whether you believe in Jesus or in some ruthless pagan Moloch

3. about 1 month ago on Back to B.C.

   just stop for a moment and think, Peter. Is it really necessary to drag her to the cave?

4. 2 months ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   Calvin, your watch will appear to slow down to a static observer, not to you

5. 2 months ago on Pearls Before Swine

   Of course nobody likes us. We remind them how ugly and fat they are

6. 2 months ago on Pearls Before Swine

   Again, in Italian the equivalent expression is much more animal-friendly. “Guadagnarsi il pane”, that is, to earn oneself the bread.

7. 2 months ago on Pearls Before Swine

   PETA will be glad to know that, in Italian, the equivalent expression is “prendere due piccioni con una fava”. That is, to catch two pigeons (baiting them) with just one fava bean. Not clear what one’s going to do with the pigeons afterwards but, apparently, less murderous. Anyway, why kill birds (wild birds)? Unless, of course, if you are lost in the woods and starving

8. 2 months ago on Doonesbury

   So, nobody has cared yet to explain this punchline to the new generations? In ’72, a famous campaign ad featured a Nixon with a highly mischievous look and the text: “Would YOU buy a used car from this man?”

9. 5 months ago on Fowl Language

   I live on the Ligurian coast. Every winter we used to have 1-2 days of snow. It’s some years that we don’t get even close. But some still have doubts about global warming…

10. 5 months ago on Cul de Sac

    (read 1st part of the reply above)

    robert423elliott confuses “democracy” with “direct democracy” in which all citizens participate in the legislative activity, as in ancient Athens. Impossible now for the huge number of citizens. So USA, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Japan and UK are “representative democracies”, where the people elect their representatives in free and fair elections. True democracies nonetheless.

    the argument by robert423elliott (we pledge allegiance to a Republic, not to a Democracy) is flawed. Republic stands for “state”, while democracy is a possible FORM (the only acceptable) of a state. That is, republic is to democracy as “person” is to “honesty”. I can marry (that is, pledge eternal love to) a person, if she/he is honest. I cannot marry honesty itself. And I claim the right to divorce that person if she/he ceases to be honest. As I claim the right to cease allegiance to my republic if it ceases to be a Democracy

    Rejecting Democracy amounts to advocating a fascist state, or a personal dictatorship like that of Stalin, Castro or Mobutu. Because ideas like civil liberties, free speech, free and fair elections etc. are embedded in the concept of Democracy, much more than in that of Republic. So, claiming that USA are not a Democracy amounts to denying the value of those very ideas which the US Constitution poses as the basis of American society.