Cartoon Saturday

I don't think any of us will be sorry to see this misbegotten year depart ... 

As controversy over the development and influence of artificial intelligence grows, the New York Times has sued the firm OpenAI and Microsoft Corporation for using its articles without permission or compensation to train chatbots; Second Amendment zealots across the country are lowering their Gadsden Flags to half-mast in memory of weapons designer Gaston Glock, who died this past Wednesday at the age of 96 ... perversely enough, from natural causes rather than gunfire; drivers of electric cars in Philadelphia are angry because the city government is monopolizing the city's limited number of public charging stations to charge city-owned vehicles; Republicans in Colorado have, unsurprisingly, appealed the state's supreme court ruling that Donald Trump was ineligible to run for president to the US Supreme Court; and in (where else?) Florida, a woman was arrested on Christmas Eve and charged with beating her boyfriend with a Christmas tree over his alleged infidelity. 

For our last Cartoon Saturday of the year, I've decided to go with a collection of cartoons about magicians. After all, what sort of person do we need to pull the nation out of its political and social doldrums? As Will Rogers once said - "We shouldn’t elect a President. We should elect a magician."

I wonder who might have made those calls ...

It probably made the dry cleaner's day more interesting ...

Why the Mafia doesn't hire magicians ...

Unintended consequences ...

Planning ahead ...

A magician isn't necessarily the best person for kitchen prep work ...

It's a sad day ...

I think there's a winner here ...

This is how I leave the house, too ...

Some jars just don't want to open, no matter what ...

And that's it for our last Cartoon Saturday of 2023 ... I hope these weekly compilations have helped you get through the trials and tribulations of a weird year, and prepare you for an even weirder year to come.

Have a good day, enjoy your weekend, and be very careful as you plan for the coming New Year's Eve celebrations - I want to see you all back here on January 1st, safe and healthy, if hung over.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

P.S. - Here are the current top five vote-getters in the 2023 Ass Clown of the Year contest. Time's running out before the digital ballot box closes tomorrow night at midnight - you still have time to cast additional votes, so get cracking and make sure your voice is heard ...

The Republican Party/GOP - 515

MAGAts - 403

Rudy Giuliani - 400

Moms for Liberty - 291

Greg Abbott - 199

and Kanye West is still in last place with 1 lonely vote.

Bilbo