Cartoon Saturday

Welcome to the last Cartoon Saturday of 2013 ...

Credit and debit card data for millions of people was lost when criminals hacked the databases at the Target store chain; in a thoughtful year-end gift, Congress failed to extend unemployment benefits to the long-time jobless; Mikhail Kalashnikov, the Russian gun designer whose simple and reliable AK-47 automatic rifle became the weapon of choice for many national armies and guerrillas around the world, died and was buried in a new heroes' cemetery in Russia; a federal judge in New York has ruled that the collection of domestic telephone data exposed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is lawful, rejecting a challenge to the program by the American Civil Liberties Union; and in Jacksonville, Florida, five teenagers were arrested after a 600-person brawl broke out in a movie theater parking lot on Christmas night when a group of teens tried to storm the theater’s doors without purchasing tickets.

Time's a-wasting - let's get to the cartoons. Heaven knows you need them.

Last month we had a Cartoon Saturday with a dog theme; this week, our theme cartoon selection gives equal time to cats, in honor of all my crazy cat lady friends* ...

A couple of riffs on the sub-theme of hotels for cats ...

and ...

Cats are well-known for their selection of territory to claim for their own ...

and ...

Cats and dogs see the world differently, even in the way they choose to empty their digital trash ...

And cats sometimes need motivational help, too ...

So much for cats. In other cartoon news, if you're one of those people who may lose unemployment benefits with the new year, or if you're faced with the need to take out a loan from a coldheartedly unsympathetic bank, you may appreciate this take on truth in lending ...

This is how I plan to approach the new year ...

All the news, all the time ...

And finally for this week, a look at why some members of the animal world are better at math than others ...

And so we say goodbye to another edition of Cartoon Saturday - the last of 2013. I hope you all had a good Christmas (or equivalent holiday) and are getting ready to face the challenges of what promises to be an ... um ... interesting new year.  Don't worry, though ... ol' Bilbo will be here to help you get through it. And he hopes you will return the favor.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Yes, Andrea, I'm talking to you. And to Gwen, and Brenda**, and all the rest of you.

** Brenda is my friend from work who discovered, while racing out the door late for work one morning, that her cat had left a ... uh ... deposit in her uniform hat. She discovered this just late enough to need a new shampoo and get to work even later than planned. This is another reason why I don't much like cats.