Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for January 16, 2018

Just spend holidays with people who belong to the same party as you.

“And next, we’ll tell you about horrible, gruesome things that happened to random people before confirming your most cynical, depressed thoughts with vague statistics that provide no actual useful insight… go ahead, change the channel, the only thing that’ll change is which people get our attention.”

Spending holidays with people that belong to the same party as you isn’t actually always a good idea, because they might take advantage of it to try and get you to do things you might realize aren’t actually the right thing. I know this because back when I was a Republican (and I still consider myself a conservative, just now a contrarian one) I had to deal with some really trashy far-right redneck types every Thanksgiving especially since 2012 in the form of a Drumpf-worshipping cousin and his bad-tempered wife as well as their two children, both of whom are spoiled brats in need of discipline for their misbehavior. It’s just that no matter what I tried to do, my cousin’s wife always yelled and screamed at me to where I had no choice but to cut ties with all of them. In fact, they might now actually lose custody of their kids because their behavior problems have gotten worse, with their daughter in particular being only five years old and yet is already a potty-mouth (sad). So that’s why since 2016 my parents and I have made sure to only do Thanksgiving by ourselves and only with relatives that live an hour or less away.

If only it wasn’t such a successful business model!

That would be a refreshing bit of honesty from at least one cable news network.

Every year, thanks to my family, I spend Thanksgiving on a sunny beach far from them…and I will continue to do so… as long as they keep buying me tickets.

For once, the news media is factual and honest, at least in the comic strips.

Those are some pretty deep scars, Thanksgiving is now forever ruined for me. And I thought it was about the food and of course cranberry sauce.

Why is the TV voice talking about Thanksgiving in the middle of January?

Pig watches FAUX??

Me too.

Sounds like CNN MSNBC ABC CBS NBC AND FOX NEWSTHEY ALL ONLY TELL YOU THEIF TRUTH THE PART OF A,STORY THAT BACKUP THEIR HALF TRUTHS

I’ve always gotten along well enough with demons.

Sadly, this is accurate.

This sums up the problems with media on BOTH sides. Journalists should not take sides or give opinions. Just the facts. Unfortunately that’s no longer true in our modern day media.

Though I have found, like most folk, that discussing religion, politics and sports can be extremely divisive I have – unfortunately – had to add cars to that mix, too. “What?! You didn’t buy a Ford? We’ve always been a Ford family! We looked aside when you married a non-Catholic, but a ‘rice-burner’?! Not even an American make! The horror!” Sigh…

I’ve long suspected that the 24-hour cable news cycle was the death knell of civilization.

I recently spent the New Year’s weekend with family back home in Illinois and had a great time despite the differences in political opinions. We avoided talking politics for the most part.

For those who have read a few history books, the division looks a little like the one we had circa 1850 or so. We know how that one turned out 10 years later.

This is why I get most of my news from international channels, like RT and France24.

If this is true about cable news then it sounds full of baloney.

xxx

SUV2000, please stop shouting and check your English and punctuation instead.

Report only, no opining. The news should be as dry as toast.

This is why I don’t watch the news…

CNN when it was in elementary school:

“Teacher, Donnie just said #&*#$! We're not supposed to say #&#$. #@&#$ is a bad word. He said it, teacher; he said #&*#$. #&*#$ is a bad, bad word, isn’t it, teacher?

Donnie: I did not say that!

CNN: Yes you did! You said #&*#$. People aren't supposed to say #&#$. I heard him say #@&#$, teacher. He said #&*#$; I swear he did. Everybody heard him say #&#$. I heard him say #@&#$. He’s lying when he said he didn’t say #&*#$. I would never say #&#$. He should get in trouble for saying #@&#$. He said #@&*#$, Teacher. I swear he did!

Donnie: Did not.

CNN: Did too! You said #&*#$! You said #&#$. Teacher, he said #@&#$!

(PS I did not vote for our president. But CNN used to be my favorite network. I have given it up. Earthquakes, fires, mass murders — all take the second page now.)

Thanksgiving? Let’s get synched with the calendar, team! Abhor network news. Take local news with a huge dollop of skepticism. Seek out a variety of sources. Or, in case of extreme news-nerves, just skip the news altogether (for most folks, and in the case of most news, it has very little if any direct and manageable impact, unless “water-cooler” chit-chat is important to your lifestyle)….

Hey Pig! Finally dumped the old box TV for a flat screen, eh?

Still shocked that Pastis draws modern thin screen TVs now, instead of the old square block. Would still love to see him draw anything with a wheel.

My dad is an American who watches the news. Hope he doesn’t get demonized!