CSotD: Picking up the pieces

This is a “Where do I begin?” day, because I have a file full of worthwhile cartoons, including a new one by Lee Judge (KFS).

In his latest substack, Kareem admits that, when he was young and naive, he thought voters were eager to learn about issues and make intelligent choices. But as he grew older, he realized that people vote by loyalties, not by understanding issues, and, further, that they like it that way.

He’s got more to say about it, and he’s always worth reading.

But the GOP is not hatching a cunning plan, and perhaps what they have is better than a cunning plan because it doesn’t require anyone cunning to operate it.

As David Horsey notes, the result is an electorate that is not concerned about things that could change the world and that, instead, fixates on whatever silly nonsense is most easily processed, particularly if it involves sexual issues.

Which, Rob Rogers points out, is not to say that these irrelevancies are simply plucked out of the air. They are actively promoted in order to affirm the aforementioned loyalties without having to educate people on difficult issues.

Bearing in mind, O Best Beloved, that there was once a time when political parties met to draft a platform and then selected a candidate who would advance those ideas in an election.

We decried this process, accusing them of meeting in smoky backrooms, and now, instead, the most popular candidates are chosen in primaries, and the days of having an actual, coherent platform are lost to history. I think the Democrats still cobble together some sort of Potemkin Platform, but the GOP hasn’t bothered in years.

It’s like deciding who the star of your next movie will be and then writing the script based on who you hired. Which sometimes works in Hollywood but not so well in Washington.

I’m having a little trouble following this one. As Patrick Chappatte notes, Joe Biden referred to Xi Jinping as a dictator, and it was immediately declared another of old Joe’s typical gaffes, though nobody explained to my satisfaction what was gaffey about it.

If Ronald Reagan had said it, they’d have carried him around the room on their shoulders.

I hardly know what to make of a world in which Michael Ramirez (Creators) comes to the defense of Joe Biden while everyone else scatters for cover.

I can hardly wait to see how they divide up whatever is happening in Russia right now between Putin and his hired gun. Though I do recall a few Westerns where the greedy ranch owner hires a gunslinger who eventually takes up the cause of the dirt farmers instead.

I don’t think that’s what’s happening in Russia right now.

I also think Clay Bennett (CTFP), much as I love his draftsmanship and most of his insights, is getting ahead of things with this one. It was unfortunate that Aileen Cannon drew the short straw and ended up the presiding judge in this case, but she hasn’t fouled things up yet.

For one thing, having been severely slapped down on her previous effort, there’s a good chance she’ll be doubly cautious this time around, in which case she might prove a better judge than someone with nothing to prove.

The other is that, to return to the Western theme, Jack Smith seems like either Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name or like David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine, and, either way, you can only push him around for so long.

Let’s hope. We’ll see.

If all else fails, Drew Sheneman reminds us of a possible solution: We could run a GoFundMe to buy a Supreme Court Justice and appeal the decision.

The success of the fundraiser would be key: It might not take more than a fishing trip to simply overturn a few exclusions of evidence, but the price of reversing a double-jeopardy situation would likely have to also include significant donations to spouses.

Freedom is not free, and justice costs even more than that.

Now watch me switch both topics and levels of gloom! Taylor Swift is coming — well, going — to Australia, and First Dog on the Moon is both excited and wishing ticket sales weren’t such a corrupt operation.

But who better to obsess over it with than the leading pop advocate for honest ticket sales? She may not be able to fix things for this concert, but she’s still young and so are her fans.

And as First Dog says, people are allowed to just enjoy things. One of my young reporters went to a Taylor Swift concert a few years back and her write-up made it sound like a whole lot of fun.

Fun is good. We like fun. It’s fun.

Last week’s Tank McNamara (AMS) story arc was a real downer.

Baseball used to be fun. When we’d visit Boston or New York or Philly, we’d go to a game. It didn’t matter who was playing, in part because the game was fun anyway and in part because my little brother had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the players.

It was like going to the game with Red Barber.

Which made watching a pitchers’ duel exciting, because, thanks to Tony, we knew what was going on and could enjoy the nuances as well as those moments when Yastrzemski or Richardson made a play to preserve the shut out.

And, of course, the recurring question of whether you put in a pinch hitter for someone who was having a hot day on the mound but couldn’t connect from the batter’s box.

Yes, I’m still pissed about the designated hitter. It’s like the ghost runners we had on the sandlot if we only rounded up enough kids for two half-teams.

Which I guess they’re kind of bringing to the major leagues as a tie-breaker. I wish I were kidding.

You want more scoring? Here’s my proposal: Cut the teams down to six men on a side. Remove the outfielders and don’t let anyone line up beyond the skin of the infield.

Then, if someone hits one over their heads, they have to chase it. Yay! More scoring!

Did I ever mention that my mom and Mark Harris were buddies in grade school? When he died, they scattered his ashes on the playground ballfield back in Mount Vernon.

Henry Wiggen would puke if he saw how they’ve changed the game into Major League Tegwar.