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Bait and Switch


© August J. Pollak

Pena also said that if Riddle’s bill passes without the exception “With things as they are today, her bill will see a large segment of the Texas population in prison.” A spokesperson for Riddle claims that the exception was to avoid “stifling the economic engine” in Texas. Have these people become completely unaware of their own hypocrisy?

But never mind all that — let’s go bash Obama and gays!

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19 Comments

  1. Jeff wrote:

    I quote Calvin and Hobbes: “It’s not denial. I’m just very selective about the reality I choose to accept.” As long as the GOP can simply ignore their own use of undocumented workers, they have no problem prosecuting others for actions that they themselves are engaged in.

    And if this bill does pass with the exemption, how long will it take before every other position filled by an undocumented worker is listed as “household employee” or “yard worker”?

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 8:49 am | Permalink
  2. russell wrote:

    That bill is DOA. Hell, most bills are DOA in Texas, even when the state ain’t broke. They got another couple of months to get a budget done and they aren’t even close. Dunno why non-Texans care, we KNOW our state government is a joke.

    And yes, the Repubs completely screwed things here on their own. Many adjectives stick, but “conservative” shouldn’t be one of them. They are plain nuts.

    Geez the cartoons on here suck lately. Sorry IK, but they really do…

    Russell in BubbaLand

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 7:08 pm | Permalink
  3. Iron Knee wrote:

    So Russell, if you see any cartoons you like better, let me know about them. My email address is here: https://www.politicalirony.com/submit-item/

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 7:58 pm | Permalink
  4. russell wrote:

    politicalcartoons.com or ANYTHING by Tom Toles.

    Some of the selection may be editorial, but lately it seems they are just disassociative, over-the-top rants rather than comments on topical events.

    I enjoy political cartoons regardless of who gets slammed. But these aren’t even clever.

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 9:01 pm | Permalink
  5. russell wrote:

    Well, OK. The Davies cartoon last Saturday was very good.

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 9:04 pm | Permalink
  6. Iron Knee wrote:

    Ah! I see. You only want to see comics that *you* like. I’m not sure I can make everyone happy like that. I’ve always found it interesting that some people absolutely hate the Late Night Political Humor (especially Leno since he stole back the Tonight show from Conan), but for others it is their favorite part of this blog. As they say, there is no accounting for taste.

    I will admit that the comics that I’ve been seeing lately have not been my favorites either, but even extensive searching has not turned up better ones. Even Tom Toles — who is one of my favorite cartoonists — has been a little off lately. But a few months ago, there were tons of good comics. I’m sure they will get better again.

    But seriously, if you see *specific* comics that you think are good, send them to me.

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 9:57 pm | Permalink
  7. C.S.Strowbridge wrote:

    “Even Tom Toles — who is one of my favorite cartoonists — has been a little off lately.”

    I think it’s because the crazy has become stale.

    And I’m serious there.

    Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 4:21 am | Permalink
  8. Iron Knee wrote:

    I think it is more likely that the craziness has become so bad and there is so much of it that we don’t want to hear about it anymore. Denial is not just a river in Egypt anymore.

    Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 5:06 pm | Permalink
  9. C.S.Strowbridge wrote:

    “I think it is more likely that the craziness has become so bad and there is so much of it that we don’t want to hear about it anymore.”

    That’s the other option. And it’s especially true with this artist, as you can tell if you’ve read his blog a long time.

    What used to be so crazy it would get you kicked out the Republican party is now accepted mainstream thought.

    Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 5:56 pm | Permalink
  10. Patricia wrote:

    Maybe we should try a variation on that old conservative bug-a-boo “flouride in the water” will turn us into commies. We could update it and put Prozac in the water — who knows — it might help – – – 😀

    Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 11:27 pm | Permalink
  11. starluna wrote:

    Patricia – there is actually Prozac (and other medications – including birth control hormones) in the water discharged from our wastewater treatment plants. As of yet, it hasn’t turned up in water supplies (to my knowledge). But given the way the water cycle works, eventually it should.

    And the anti-fluoride people still exist. They always have a table at every local anti-toxics conference I go to.

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 8:29 am | Permalink
  12. PatriotSGT wrote:

    Starluna – Sewage to tap water has been in use in the US, California specifically since 2007, see this article.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/us/27conserve.html?_r=1

    The same process also supplies about 40% of El Paso’s water and even Fairfax, VA gets about 5% of it’s water from this method. http://www.slate.com/id/2182758/

    Bottoms Up

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 11:11 am | Permalink
  13. Iron Knee wrote:

    PSgt, that’s a separate issue. ALL waste water gets recycled into drinking water — eventually. The only question is whether it is done by nature (filtering through the earth) or more directly using things like reverse osmosis.

    The issue that Starluna brought up is that we are taking so many drugs like Prozac that they are showing up in sizable quantities in our waste water, which we are dumping into our streams. So I guess we have wildlife — fish, duck, otters, etc. — on Prozac.

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 12:00 pm | Permalink
  14. PatriotSGT wrote:

    Well, as I understand they use the same treatment process in recycled water as our waste water. It then is used for non-potable things such as agriculture and such and yes some pumped back into rivers and oceans. The recycle process just adds a few more filterings and then lets it sit usually underground for 30 days or so and then it goes to the tap. I first heard about it because people were concerned with exactly what Starluna said about birth control meds, psych drugs, etc. in their drinking water.

    Although, it would explain why the geese I ride by don’t seem bothered by the cars and casually stroll across the street. Or the deer who only look up momentarily as I walk by while they continue feasting on my wifes garden.

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 12:48 pm | Permalink
  15. starluna wrote:

    PatriotSgt – well, suicidal ideation is a well known side effect of many psych drugs. That might explain the geese. 😀

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:42 pm | Permalink
  16. russell wrote:

    Back to the cartoon. The first two panels imply that bills filed in Texas matter. In the best year 99% don’t get out of committee. The authors just file bills so they can claim they filed a bill. The 1% that do make it out of committee come out at midnight and get voted before lunch the next day. THAT’s the joke!

    But the last cartoon panel doesn’t follow from anything. Just seems bizarrely non sequitur…

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 7:03 pm | Permalink
  17. Iron Knee wrote:

    Yeah, that was kinda the point of the comic. As you put it, the real bills come out at midnight and get voted on quietly, while everyone is distracted by that kind of bizarre non sequitur that the “news” feeds us.

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 7:06 pm | Permalink
  18. Patricia wrote:

    I was aware of Prozac in drinking water problems, but was being ironic. Obviously, my solution (no pun intended) won’t work, since the Prozac is already there and political party extremists are all at each others throats! (As a quasi-extremist myself, it hasn’t help calm me when I hear the political news either!)

    Friday, March 11, 2011 at 7:51 pm | Permalink
  19. PatriotSGT wrote:

    Patricia – perhaps you and the other political extremists aren’t getting your recommended 8 glasses of water per day. Now you know why the gov’t recommends that number. 🙂

    Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 8:53 am | Permalink