CSotD: Strips get up to date
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I’m getting burned out on editorial cartoons, mostly because they aren’t saying much that’s new or important anymore.
JD Crowe has the right to publicize the nitwits of spring break because it took pleas from several sources to get his governor to shut down Alabama’s beaches and get rid of spring break crowds.
Parenthetically, I’d be bummed if I lived there because a solitary walk on the beach with my pup might be — pardon the expression — just what the doctor ordered.
But I guess it’s better to close them down entirely than to try to write a law regulating the crowds.
And the kids can go next door to Mississippi, where the governor is urging people to stay home, but — nudge-nudge-wink-wink — leaving the beaches open.
I’d rather have to find a new place to walk in solitude than have a bunch of braindead nitwits come collect the virus and bring it back home to wherever.
Howsoever, there’s a difference between cartooning about it in places where it’s a local issue and using the matter for a “Get Off My Lawn!” attack on “Today’s Young People (Damn Their Hides).”
The group that goes to Spring Break has always been the same, and those aren’t the kids who went south to help register black voters in the early 60s, they aren’t the kids who lobbied to lower the voting age in the 70s and they aren’t the kids today who agitate for responsible climate approaches or sensible gun laws.
Dwelling on the Spring Break Gang is as much slandering a generation as “OK Boomer,” and just about as clever.
But Crowe gets not only a pass but a tip of the hat, because his beaches were genuinely involved.
And John Cole found new ground to plow after Dear Leader had the nerve to brag about donating his salary to HHS.
It’s not just that, as Vox points out, he’s been exploiting his position for personal profit, though that’s true. It’s the hypocrisy in his having attacked Obama for golfing and promising he’d be working too hard, combined with his “executive time” up in his bedroom watching TV and ignoring his briefing materials, plus the way he blows off Camp David in favor of trips to his resorts where he charges full rates for his entourage.
Cole’s piece is well done: The outsized golf bag, the overburdened caddy and the casual attempt at “generosity” make for a worthy commentary.
And a personal thank you to Jeff Koterba for commentary on a news story I’d missed.
Now, if they owe you, it still makes sense to file soon, but, then again, if they owe you, you should have filed as soon as your W-4s arrived in January.
But I’ve been tamping down my cash flow to be able to pay the IRS on April 15 and then pay off my remaining credit card debt this summer, before I retire. Flipping those around makes a lot of sense, since Uncle Sam won’t charge interest and Uncle Moneybags will.
And let me add this: I don’t see a conspiracy in the fact that the change in filing date didn’t come across my news feed. What I see is that there were a lot of other things that deserved coverage, and it ended up taking a back seat.
Which I mention because those who saw a deep dark establishment conspiracy when their candidate wasn’t on Page One every morning are now loudly assuming that a candidate who quietly takes a knee with the game out of reach isn’t on the field at all.
Now how about some funnies?
Okay, a little more about news coverage.
I don’t know what sort of lead time Barney & Clyde employs, but this strip comes on the heels of a story the strip’s home paper, the Washington Post, ran with this promo, and that started off with 600 words on how people were worried about catching the virus by petting other people’s dogs, and then, two-thirds of the way through, finally quoted someone who actually knew what the hell they were talking about:
(B)ased on available evidence, there’s little reason to avoid petting, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. …
“We’re not overly concerned about people contracting covid-19 through contact with dogs and cats,” said Gail Golab, the AVMA’s chief veterinary officer.
Environmental contamination via surfaces appears to be a secondary route of transmission, and “the virus survives best on smooth surfaces, such as countertops and doorknobs,” Golab said. “Porous materials, such as pet fur, tend to absorb and trap pathogens, making it harder to contract them through touch.”
And then closed with more from lay people about how scary, scary it is to pet dogs.
What is scary is when the comic strips are doing a better job than the newsroom.
Juxtaposition of the Day
So here’s a pair of downers, and they make an excellent juxtaposition because, while Wiley exaggerates for comic effect, when I come to Jump Start, well, yeah, I wouldn’t be all that surprised, even if someone were selling sanitizer squirts for a buck a shot, and I’m not all that surprised by what really is happening.
Including the fact that most people are taking it seriously.
Juxtaposition of the Day #2
(Macanudo)
On the other hand, there’s a difference between taking it seriously and taking it too seriously.
It’s not surprising to have Macanudo offer a bit of whimsical surrealism, but it’s a nice combo with today’s A&J to remind us that, amid all this concern, the world is still a pretty nice place.
This sort of moment often makes me think of Abbie Hoffman screaming “Where’s your social consciousness?” and then breaking into giggles, because he’s right. Taking a moment to dig the sunset or pet a dog doesn’t mean you aren’t taking things seriously.
I’d even argue the opposite: That a person who shuts out the good things in life is perhaps getting a little too much pleasure from wallowing in crisis.
I’m lookin’ at YOU, Lemont Brown.
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