Cartoon Saturday

Off to the races ...

Nearly 200 people are dead and over 400 missing after a tropical storm battered the Philippines; a fraternity chapter in Vermont has been closed after disclosure that the members participated in a survey asking who they would like to rape; a gunman in southern California killed at least two people before shooting himself, and police are still trying to find if there are other victims ... in a related story, an NRA spokesman said guns had nothing to do with it; essayist Christopher Hitchens died at the age of 62; and the Senate may sometime today vote on ... and, perhaps, even approve ... a compromise spending agreement approved by the House that will (for the moment) avoid a government shutdown ... the compromise was reached only after members of Congress realized that they would miss their Christmas vacations if they didn't actually do something vaguely resembling their jobs.

I couldn't make this stuff up.

There really isn't very much about the Tea Party that's funny, but at least it can serve as a starting point for some good cartoons ...

There are some song lyrics out there that I'll never be able quite to figure out, even after reading some explanations ... but which can also make some good cartoons ...

Two riffs on a scene from the movies ...

And ...

As the year comes to a close, we look back at how we - the brave 99% - fared in the ongoing economic turmoil ...

Many companies are looking for lower-cost alternatives to expensive health-care plans for their employees ...

This one goes out to Heidi ...

And this one goes out to my fellow dancers ...

Remember my post about the joys of furniture from Ikea? My nephew Ed back in Pennsylvania sent me this cartoon, which applies ...

And finally, I think I may have found the root of my financial woes ...

It's going to be a moderately busy weekend. We'll be visiting the local shopping center later this morning with about 737,000,000 of our closest friends to pick up some last-minute things, and then this evening we plan to go to the Christmas party at Dance Studio Lioudmila. Tomorrow we'll visit the local grandchildren, then have dinner with one of our friends who is anxious to try out her culinary skills on us. It's all good.

For those of you following the balloting for the Ass Clown of the Year Award to be presented here on December 31st, here are the current standings:

Congress and The GOP are tied for first place at 30 votes each;

Saudi Arabia is a distant second with 14;

The Democratic Party and The Media are tied for third at 10 votes each;

Lindsey Lohan - 5;

Kim Kardashian - 4; and,

The National Rifle Association - 3.

There's still plenty of time to vote, and a lot of eligible candidates. Let your voice ... and your dog's voice ... and the voices in your head ... be heard.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo