Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for May 06, 2011

Duke will have a monopoly!

OK wait. Is it just me or is panel 3 backwards?

It’s just you.

jumbobrain: it’s not really backward, they’re just looking at the two head-on. Since they’re in silhouette, though, it gives the impression that we’re looking at the backs of their heads, which would indeed be backwards.

It IS backwards; look at the smoke. The back of their heads is also quite appropriate….

The smoke has changed direction of flow.. hasn’t it. I think it’s a head on view.

No strongman would ever take over a new third world democracy. Ask the CIA.

There’s a difference between science fiction and Scientology?

There is no Arab democracy in existence, and to expect the “Arab Spring” to give rise to one is unrealistic. Arabs have no chance for freedom as long as they allow themselves to be guided by the cancerous cult of Islam.

Actually sandfan, they might do very well if they followed true Islam and not the distorted version touted by the extremists. Sort of like what happens with Christianity. We need more people emulating Jesus instead of just mouthing words of praise, honor and worship. Not just in human terms but even according to the Bible, action speaks much louder than words.

sandfan - you are being a tad obnoxious/zenophobic if you are just an Islam-hater. But if you view all religions as cults then I would say that is not hate speech - just a decent perspective.

The Koran mentions Jesus more often than Mohamed…true Muslims must do as Jesus says………………

I watched five emerging dirtbags taking part in the Republican debate last night.

WaitingMan, I just spit my morning coffee!

“Even according to the Bible, action speaks much louder than words.” Especially in the Bible—as when Ehud killed the fat king of the Moabites (who were terrorizing Israel; see Judges 3).

The Israelites sent Ehud with tribute (blackmail) to Eglon. After paying the tribute, Ehud said “I have a secret message for you, O king,” and Eglon sent his attendants from the room so he could hear the message.

“As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew from his right thigh the sword he had concealed, and plunged it into the king’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed over it.”

Ehud locked the doors and made his escape by way of the upper porch. “After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors locked. They said, ‘He must be relieving himself in the inner room,’ and so they waited to the point of embarrassment.”

Bin Laden’s followers are still waiting for photos of his stinking corpse, or until he’s done “relieving himself.” Talk about dirtbags!

No more to be trusted than Hamas, the CIA, or the ISI. As far as international relations go, we’re still in Hobbes’s state of nature, where “everyone is at war with everyone else.” You try to keep peace by waging calculated war while keeping your Seals prepared for ten years.

Obama understands this, and that’s why they gave the Nobel to him instead of to one of our dreaming christlibs—those sheep who think we should offer up our throats to the wolf instead of killing him.

Ps. @ Chikuku and Habogee (below)

In panel #1 Earl is sitting to Duke’s left, so panel #3 can’t be a mirror view. In # 3 we must be looking at them through the windshield (note in each panel the paired lines to indicate glass) or from the front seat—unless GT means to confuse us.

And he very well may. In the first panel, GT makes the smoke blow in front of Duke (towards the side window) and in the third it passes behind his head. That’s why jumbobrain (above) calls the panel“backwards”

The impossible panel #3 may be an instance of cartoon perspective: GT’s signature ploy to make us half-aware that we’re being tricked. (Notice he has us traveling alongside the Mall, passing the Capitol and the Washington Monument in the background. Their chauffeur is probably driving us over to K Street.)

Cartoonists are not to be trusted, either.

Susan, usually 4 to six weeks….

“OK wait. Is it just me or is panel 3 backwards?”

Look carefully and you will see that this is the view from the driver’s rear view mirror. Neither of these guys is driving, they are in the back being driven.

I can’t believe the comments on this strip. They are lucid and well thought out. They are almost as interesting to read as the comic itself, which after the deaths of Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes is almost the only one worth reading. Anybody else have any suggestions for comics that are funny and make you think?

Actually, if it were the view from the rear view mirror, panel 3 would be backwards. When you look in a mirror, Duke would be on the right side of the mirror, because he is on the right side of the the car itself.

Panel 3 would be the view if the driver looked over his/her shoulder to the back seat.

^ The3 reading/map light does not appear in panel 3.

I must give credit to the cartoonist, who most assuredly did not do this by accident. Must have been bored with things always being consistent, so flipped a panel or 2. And look at all the intelligent analysis this generated!

Larry, Not Much!!!

I heard that the deadline for Doonsbury is two weeks; so we have one more week of outdated material before the “current events” start after next week.