Poetry Sunday

Because it's Valentine's Day weekend, I thought we'd stick with the "love" theme and look for a good poem on the topic. There are, of course, countless thousands of poems on the topic of love and romance, and it's not easy to single out one particular one, but I've gone for a somewhat unusual choice, the lyrics to this marvelous song by Leonard Cohen ... you can watch the video here.

Dance Me to the End of Love

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin 

Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in 

Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the end of love 

Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone 

Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon 

Show me slowly what I only know the limits of 

Oh dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the wedding now, oh dance me on and on 

Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long 

We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the children who are asking to be born 

Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn 

Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin 

Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in 

Touch me with your naked hand, touch me with your glove 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the end of love 

Dance me to the end of love

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Love is in short supply in this country nowadays. Do your part to keep it from being sacrificed on the altar of angry nativism.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

As Dorothy Parker would have asked, "What fresh Hell is this?" ...

The airport at El Paso, Texas, was shut down briefly on Wednesday as Border Patrol agents used a laser weapon to shoot down a suspected drug cartel drone that may actually have been a mylar party balloon; Attorney General Pam Bondi "testified" before the House Judiciary Committee in a performance marked with insults directed at committee Democrats and evasion of difficult questions, and referred to a printed list of Epstein File documents searched by Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal - a stunning abuse of personal privacy; in an executive order signed this week, Der Furor directed the Department of Defense to arrange long-term purchase agreements with coal-fired power plants and prioritize the “preservation and strategic utilization” of “coal-based energy assets;” North Korean "Supreme Leader" Kim Jong Un appears to be grooming his daughter Kim Ju Ae as his successor to lead the Hermit Kingdom; and the prize for Best Headline of the Week goes to this CBS News report: "CBP Officer Faces Federal Charges over Allegations He Harbored an Unauthorized Immigrant Who Was Also His Girlfriend and Niece."

Today is Valentine's Day, and so what could be more appropriate than a collection of cartoons about love and marriage?

Priorities are important ...

Awwww ...

It does sometimes work out that way ...

How to know if it's the real thing ...

Love in the modern era ...

The bell rings, and ...

As a degree-holding linguist, I approve this cartoon ...

The birds and the bees are now the tiks and the toks ...

Busted! ...

There's certainly no love in the current administration, but we can still make fun of it ...

Happy Valentine's Day! You may now kiss your beloved.

Have a good day and a great weekend with those you love. Or, at least, tolerate.

More thoughts tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday looks at great and timely lyrics by Leonard Cohen. See you then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

Tomorrow is Valentine's day, and so it's only reasonable that today we feature a collection of signs and ads that relate to the day. Caveat emptor ...

Yeah, she'll love it ...

This was actually a Mothers' Day ad, but it probably applies to Valentine's Day, too ...

In case your Valentine needs to get rid of any incriminating DNA or unfortunate stains ...

Can you hear me, now? ...

Cleanup on the relationship aisle ...

In case your Valentine is your cat ...

It's nice to give some Valentine's gift advice to the clueless ...

If the affordable, reliable trash service didn't get her excited ...

I guess he also handles things like prenups, separations, and divorces ...

I don't even know where to begin ...

And that's it for our Valentine's Day Eve collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage. Go forth and impress your Valentine!

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for a Cartoon Saturday salute to love and romance in honor of Valentine's Day. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

My new favorite musical group is the Piedmont Raging Grannies, who have a great collection of funny and satirical songs. If you haven't heard "Hey, Mr Tangerine Man," head right over to You Tube and check it out. In the meantime, their twist on the old tune "Button Up Your Overcoat" speaks directly to us old fogies ...

Have a good day, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and listen to the grannies ... they've been around the block a few times.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Well, if you thought February would be better than January, the joke's on you ...

In a monolog on a conservative podcast this week, Der Furor advocated the unconstitutional nationalization of elections, and Republicans taking control of elections in at least 15 unnamed states; Der Furor announced that he will close the Kennedy Center for two years to "renovate" the facility, possibly a reaction to tanking ticket sales following his takeover of the once-prestigious cultural location; billionaire owner of the Washington Post Jeff Bezos has gutted the once-great national paper, firing more than 300 reporters and staff members; Der Furor told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that he would be willing to unfreeze $16 billion in funding for a major infrastructure project in New York if Schumer would agree to rename New York's Penn Station and Washington's Dulles Airport after him; and in Stoughton, Wisconsin, police used a drone to capture a serial defecator in the act ... the perpetrator, a 46-year-old woman, was charged with indecent conduct and offered a position as manager of Der Furor's social media accounts.

This week, a collection of cartoons about GPS and direction apps ... the salvation (mostly) of those of us who are directionally challenged.

I have one of those ...

I wish I'd had one of those back in the day ...

It must be in downtown Pittsburgh ...

Uh, oh ... should have been more specific ...

GPS in the pioneer days ...

X marks the spot, usually ...

I think this model is going to be sold in the US this year ...

This one's a little dated, but still funny ...

Yep ...

It makes you one with the road ...

And that's it for this week's GPS-themed Cartoon Saturday - hope I didn't lead you astray.

Have a good day and a great weekend, and stay as warm as you can. Come back tomorrow for Musical Sunday and a visit to the Piedmont Raging Grannies ... see you then.

Bilbo

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2026

Earlier this week we presented an out-of-cycle Ass Clown Special Award - the first of 2026 - to the Arc de Trump. Today, we present the first regularly-scheduled Ass Clown Award for February to an individual who has, somehow, flown under our radar before now. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, with the traditional flatulent blare of trumpets and shower of confetti made from shredded evidence, we present the award for 

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2026

to

White House Deputy Chief of Staff

Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller is probably the most powerful and influential unelected individual in a position with responsibility for shaping national policy. He is the driving force behind implementation of many of the administration's most extreme actions, in particular its extremely aggressive and violent anti-immigrant program. 

He described the president in a CNN interview as having "plenary authority" under the law ... "plenary authority," or "plenary power," in case you didn't know, refers to the absolute, unchecked power of a king or dictator. 

As Der Furor grows increasingly incoherent and emotionally unstable, Miller exerts more and more authority through him, a Rasputin providing the brain and intellectual discipline his tsar lacks. As journalist Judith Levine has commented, "Where [Der Furor] has no guiding principles, Miller is a resolute ideologue of white, western supremacy and a tactician of final solutions."

The disastrous, violent federal overreach in Minnesota is a direct result of Miller's demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials make a minimum of 3,000 immigration arrests a day, nearly ten times the daily number in the previous year. He demands daily updates on the hiring of new ICE agents, on detention capacity, the numbers of deportation flights, and the number of border crossings. He has described the Democratic Party as a “domestic extremist organization,” and told CNN's Jake Tapper that “We are a superpower, and under [Der Furor], we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower.” 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2026, is White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a man whose actions and philosophies make him easy to lampoon

but dangerous to ignore in a nation supposedly guided by the Constitution and the rule of law.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for a Cartoon Saturday look at the world of GPS. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Ass Clown Special Award

In a year like this one (it's only February, for gawd's sake), in which ass clowns are springing up like mushrooms after a warm rain, I'm surprised that I haven't yet felt the need to present an out-of-cycle Ass Clown Special Award. Well, that ends today ... and with a somewhat unusual awardee.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, today we present an

Ass Clown Special Award

to

The Arc de Trump

Not satisfied with adding his name to the Kennedy Center ahead of that of President John F. Kennedy, to whom the Center is a memorial, razing the East Wing of the White House to build a gigantic ballroom, and gilding the Oval Office into a Wal-Mart Versailles, Der Furor has announced plans to erect a gigantic triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. 

The largest version of the garish arch, the one preferred by Der Furor and immediately nicknamed the "Arc de Trump" by many observers, would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, being more than twice its height and interrupting the line of sight between Arlington Cemetery and the memorial ... 

According to a White House spokesperson, 

“The Arch is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world. President Trump’s bold vision will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and be felt by generations to come. His successes will continue to give the greatest Nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves.”

As to how the arch will be financed, well, nobody quite knows. Der Furor has suggested that so much money has been donated by his sycophants and rich cronies for his White House ballroom vanity project that the leftover funds would pay for the arch. And if you believe that, I have many acres of prime Florida swamp real estate you may want to buy.

At a time when most Americans are concerned about the cost of groceries, the cost of healthcare, and the out-of-control violence of an unregulated immigration enforcement army, their president's "bold vision" is focused on a new ballroom and a triumphal arch twice as high as the French one*.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, this Ass Clown Special Award is presented to the Arc de Trump, the last thing the nation needs.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* The Arc de Triomphe is 164 feet high.

 

Poetry Sunday

A warning, however early, is only useful if you pay attention to it.

The Problem with Early Warnings

by Charles Rafferty

People don't like to leave a party 

unless the house is actually 

on fire. Even then, if the flames 

are far enough away 

to be pretty, they'll finish 

their drink, take one more pass 

at the hors d'oeuvres.

How things happen has always been 

unclear. Hurricanes begin 

in a place where no one lives.

Agents of the government start 

to wear masks. Fascism is 

a word my neighbors won't use 

yet. They are following

the law, they say, and the sirens 

are coming for someone else.

Have a good day and pay attention. Those sirens are getting closer.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Cold enough for you?

Outspoken Minnesota Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall event by a man who sprayed her with vinegar; Der Furor's FBI raided a secure Georgia warehouse and seized records from the 2020 presidential election - the latest frantic attempt by Der Furor to prove his fever dream that he won that election; Senate Democrats and the White House agreed late Thursday to fund most federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year fund und the Homeland Security Department for two weeks while negotiations continue over DHS reforms demanded by Democrats; the "Justice" Department released about 3 million new pages of redacted Epstein files - including thousands of videos and photos - more than a month after it was legally required to do so; and in France, lawmakers unanimously approved a bill to end the notion of “marital duty,” clarifying that cohabitation does not oblige spouses to have sex.

This week, for no particular reason other than I haven't had a good pun fight on my Facebook page for a while, a collection of cartoons featuring awful puns ... 

So is Der Furor, given his over-gilding of the White House ...

I hope he has good insurance ...

Orange you glad he'll be protected?

Just to clarify terms ...

Ain't that the icing on the cake?

I hear it's got real tsar power behind it ...

Oh, the poe boy ...

You really need to read the packaging carefully ...

Republicans have lost the other one ...

Line 'em up!

Have a good day and a great weekend. Stay warm. More thoughts coming tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday addresses the problem with early warnings. See you then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

 

As we slip and slide our frozen way toward the end of an endless month, let's have one last laugh at the expense of the editors and sign painters.

Cause and effect? ...

Oops. Sorry ...

When it's time to stop digging ...

I think that's an excellent response to an emergency ...

Economists get a blinding flash of the obvious ...

Sexual identity issues transcend species ...

Ouch ...

Must have been a cook-off ...

Thanks to Mike for this one ... the sign painter sure has it down ... uh ... pat.

Schrödinger's Dumpster ...

And that's it for the last collection of Great Moments for January - I hope it gave you something to smile at at the end of a month with little to smile about.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday and a collection of cartoons featuring awful puns. More thoughts them.

Bilbo