Darth Fluffy

He has a large presence, he's notable in anything he's in. A bit of a ham really, not in a bad way. Otherwise, making My Name Is Bruce would have made no sense, he had to already be a trope.

Hmm, I was thinking CGI, but a Muppet Steve would be awesome.

While I agree overall, not all immigrants, illegal or otherwise, are refugees. In the US, thinking about immigrants is biased by an awareness of immigrants, particularly Mexican, coming into the US undocumented to work, because the pay is much better than in Mexico. A shallow but pervasive point of view is that all immigrants, particularly Hispanic, are this; to the point that the longest term European dwellers in the US Southwest are in some sense perceived as this, 'We were here before you were' not withstanding. (Don't get me started on how Native Americans are treated.) There is also some fear of rare bad actors from belligerent nations sneaking in to do harm. The rare sneaking in has actually happened, the notable cases of terrorism, such as 9/11, were here legally. There are legitimate concerns about a reasonable level off assimilation, perhaps often taken too far. If I understand correctly, in Europe, teen Islamic refuge offspring sometimes molest and rape host country girls who in their mind 'dress like sluts'. If you are going to be a refuge, it seems that being a good guest and not harming your host would be in order, no? Oddly, Jews seem to catch much of the harm throughout history, in spite of for the most part being good citizens. In the WWII era, finding a place to flee to that would accept Jews was problematic. Many died waiting for approval to immigrate. I recall that the US turned away a ship full. By the Darwin criteria, she made the right decision. You are here to discuss it. Doing everything by the book, you might not be. I think there is much to be said for this as the ultimate arbiter. Back to this; language can be weaponized, and often is, especially if you don't want people to think about a matter clearly. I wouldn't say the people in Sweden that didn't want Jews to immigrate were exactly wrong; both concerns were valid (not saying correct). It comes down to what matters; if you value lives, you look past those issues. Your grandmother may have done everyone a favor by taking it out of their hands. Plausible deniability and your family was still safe. Well, more or less safe. Did you know that war crimes during WWII are still being prosecuted? In the remaining cases, it is often a race to prosecute before the elderly accused passes away.

Pretty sure none of the above would pass out. Then again, Ashley may not know that, and it is happening within her imagination, so . . . If Ashley learns to do magic, she's going to be a loose cannon, isn't she?

No Brisco County Jr. nor Ash?

If it wasn't for the comment text, I would not have known it was Steve. All the three eyed crystalline turtle frogs in the comic look alike to me. The big question is, of course, "Who plays Steve in the live action EGS film?" My first thought was Will Ferrell, or maybe Seth Rogan, but I think Bill Hader or Steve Carell would be a better casting, maybe Michael Myers. While Will or Seth or Jim Carry could pull off the other-worldliness of Steve, Steve does not come off as frantic nor stoned. I think Bill Hader or Steve Carell could do the detached demeanor. An odd choice that could work is Willie Nelson. While perpetually baked, like Seth, he seems to handle it without affecting his demeanor, and he can come across sage-like. John Astin, the original Gomez Addams on TV, could work, but he's in his 90s; still 'active' but maybe not up to the role? It's a shame Fred Gwynne has passed. His judge from My Cousin Vinnie has the right vibes. Hmm, Bruce Campbell would be good at this. I think he would also own it. Or maybe go off in a different direction and cast a loud female comedian. several come to mind, but I'm not seeing one that clearly fits the role. Ideas? ("Yes. Shut up, and never mention this again.")

He also looks interested. I suspect he wants to meet Tedd.

In fairness to O.H., you are putting much thought into this. The G.O.P. is fragmented, no longer the Republican Party I recall. A minority have stayed true to the goals they espoused decades ago, and they don't like Trump; they are called RINOs today. I have lived under some of these, and we have survived as a nation. I would not vote for Mitt Romney, but he would have been a decent president, and we would not have huge ethical issues tearing our nation apart. Then there are a crop of believers in the MAGA rhetoric, who buy the BS, but at least have some semblance of reason. You seem to be in this group; you want to dialog and find out more. Kudos. (I call MAGA BS because it is pure marketing. Which America are they calling great? The America of the Prohibition era? When organized crime gained a huge foothold in our culture? The America of the Great Depression, when millions were jobless, fat cats raped the land, and scandal followed scandal? The America that climbed out of that pit under one of the most reviled presidents of our history, who gave people government jobs so they could feed their families? (They did impressive work, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a testament to their efforts.) The America who under that same lefty president went full on Antifa and helped kick Nazi butt? ("I'm sure there were good people on both sides." - really, Mr. Dump?) The America who lynched decorated black veterans for wearing a uniform as they returned home? The America who recovered under a moderate centrist former commander of American forces, and ushered in an era of growth as veterans returned to the work force? The America that *** began *** tackling racial issues? It is good to have high hopes for our nation, but it is best not to approach it from a fantasy history. I prefer the phrase, "The audacity of hope" to the phrase "Make America great again".) Then there are the current GOP leaders, some jaded politicians who care more for power and short term politics than the health of the country they allegedly serve, some nefarious opportunists who have snookered their electorate, and some actual loony toons stage performers who may not offer much, butf good God, can they put on a stage show. All then fueled by yet another segment online, foreign actors who aid and abet in order to tear our system down. I'll give the fourth class this, their virulence is effective. They've made more progress damaging our government than any other faction has in over a century. Back to your point: IIRC, the change under Trump was that a family could no longer reside in the US while the case was adjudicated. The process takes months or years. People already awaiting adjudication were deported. New ones could not enter. Refugee camps appeared on the Mexican side, a situation Mexico was not ready nor equipped to handle. Mind you, while this is happening money is being diverted from adjudication to enforcement and fence building. Slowing the process down. Because this was never really about improving the process, it was about pandering to people's fears. Then they started grabbing kids and putting them in cages, separating them from their parents. Because hard hearted cruelty is not enough, let us descend into an absurdist realm. This raises the issue in my mind, "Are these idiots even human?" Let us not forget the 'Dreamers'. Yes, they are technically immigrants; brought to this country as young children, they were not actually born here. Is the fact that this is the only culture they know relevant to their fate? According to MAGA, it is not. Deport them back to a place they don't know which speaks a language they may not speak. (I have to admit, immigrants are indeed much of the problem. If the damn Native American's had adopted a more effective immigration control policy we wouldn't have much of the issues we have today . . . Oh, is that what MAGA is getting at? Remove all the immigrants that came since 1492 and the problems go away? OK, they may have a point . . .) <Sigh> Don, you are trying to be sensible about this. Look at the history of our immigration policies, and how racist and discriminatory they have been, and still are. Or not even immigration policies; you can be born on US soil, be fully a US citizen by birth, in a demographic that contributes disproportionately to manning our military, and still be denied the right to vote in national elections because of racist legislation that was passed in the early 1900s. Sadly, we are not unique in any of this; everyone has many skeletons in the closet. Apologies, I just realized we are posting this discussion in the wrong thread., Let us please move to the political thread if you want to continue.

NP Comic for Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023 We are not getting nekkid!

I don't doubt that. I don't think many of the voters in the US could pass the citizen test. My understanding is it is fair, but comprehensive, and covers a lot of ground. And tests have been abused here as well, used to keep dark skinned folks from exercising their rights as citizens.

Comic for Monday, Oct 2, 2023 Edward seems to have some massive self doubts. It's like Tedd is a stranger to him.

The Wise Ass is not wrong.

It didn't seem like anyone wanted it. But Nanase's otherworldly dark eyes and laser glare seem a bit much. Bear in mind, Tedd would be cool with 'just among us girls'. Or perhaps giving her adequate fur prior to the test.

Meh, we all have some doubts and make some mistakes with our kids. Edward has been close to Tedd for the entirety of Tedd's life. Edward trusted him enough when he was much younger to work with the Uryuom tech. I don't see this disconnect as justified by the narrative.

I'm shocked! Trump had a strategy?

"Is wooden bear! Honors our liberation!"

Down for the Count . . .

Do the big empty wooden horse next.

"The computer monitor shows a continuously updating (50 fps) image of Explorer twenty seconds in the future."

Basic summary: Kevin is obsolescent. Can he learn? I suspect his hubris would be his undoing, but hey, this is fantasy.

Comic for Friday, Sep 29, 2023 (From the commentary): Two nickels does not buy much any more. Back in the day, it was a local phone call or some time in the parking meter. My dad said that long ago, he used to get into movies for a nickel. Maybe we've never seen Elliot's true nature. What if Elliot's default form is from another comic? Would Dan need to get permission to draw it? What if he's Calvin? What if he's Hobbes? What if he's Cathy! Oh, Noes! He could be Peppermint Patty, athletic and clueless . . . Ashley would be Snoopy, I think; lives in her own fantasy world.

NP Comic for Thursday, Sep 28, 2023 Holy Carp!

Diane Feinstein has passed away.

How does Tedd happen to have a bat lying around the house? He does not seem the type to have a plethora of sports equipment.

'Gone off the deep end' covers the current MAGA crop of the GOP. They are disconnected from reality, quite literally, intentionally. Actual Republicans are now RINOs. No one with a shred of sanity has any worth in the current GOP, again, quite literally. And how are they going to MAGA? By burning it down? Of course they want to impeach Joe Biden. Didn't the Democrats want to impeach the Dumpster Fire? Tit for tat. Deserving it is irrelevant. Joe Biden is objectively one of our better presidents. He's not great, but he is reliably a positive force, focused on things they should care about, infrastructure issues. He has a track record of working with the GOP, and scads of experience. Yes, he is old; so was Saint Ronny, and so is Mango Mayhem (Lock Him Up!). Yes, at times he is a bit clumsy, so was the Eagle Scout (Gerald Ford) and the Orange Idiot. Give Joe points, at least he can still ride a bike. Can The Orangutan do that? (He belongs in a cage.) We play this game regularly in the US, playing chicken with funding the government; and this year is will likely be worse than many. The GOP has a vested interest in screwing things up, because it always reflects on the incumbent, in spite of their intransigence. They also want to cut funding for some of his programs, like supporting Ukraine.