Cartoon Saturday

It's been a long week, but it's finally over ...

An earthquake in southwestern China has killed about 80 people ... a tragedy, but better than the usual Chinese earthquake toll, which tends to be measured in the tens of thousands; the government of famously peaceable and tolerant Canada has severed diplomatic relations with famously belligerent and intolerant Iran; the Democrats have wrapped up their presidential nominating convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, having proved themselves nearly as adept at misrepresentation of facts and the application of unwarranted gloss to bad news as the Republicans; a suicide bomber has killed four people and wounded five others, including several children, near the Kabul headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force ... and the Taliban claimed "credit" for the carnage; and the Tablet Wars are heating up as Amazon introduces a new tablet device to compete with the toweringly successful Apple iPad.

Time marches on relentlessly, and it's time to deploy the cartoons in our mental defense ...

We lead off with the usual terrible pun cartoon ...

and follow it up with a few riffs on the "Hello, Dali!"* theme ...

and ...

Putting a different color on the theme of current popular "literature" ...

With a tip of the hat to my friend and co-worker Brenda, who does amazing things with all sorts of cameras ...

Who doesn't love dogs? And tablet computers? ...

Sometimes, I think the Big Guy may have the right idea ...

There are some people out there with relatively bizarre ideas on human history ... but at least they tend to be blissful in their own world ...

Strictly speaking, this one isn't a cartoon, but it does point out an interesting suspicion I've long held ...

And finally, in case you were wondering how evolutionary theory can explain the existence of lawyers (and their closely-related cousins, politicians) ...

And there you have it - Cartoon Saturday for the first full week of September. There are 59 days of lies, distortions, and disgusting attack ads remaining until the election, 108 days until Christmas, and 219 days until your 2012 federal income taxes are due.

There are also ten days remaining until my vacation starts ... not that I'm counting or anything.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* With apologies to Jerry Herman and Carol Channing.