It's going to be easier for T.T. to connect with regular people.

Ain't it educational living in "interesting times?"

It's starting to sound like 1920's era Soviet propaganda against the soon to be purged kulak farmers and their evil capitalism. All kidding aside this is the same tone achieved by the Great Leap Forward, in China in the late 1950's.

In case you were worried that your humor was blurry.

Fact: Tom Tomorrow brushes his teeth after every meal!

Fact: Chairman Mao *also* brushed his teeth after every meal!

Therefore: Tom Tomorrow is the reincarnation of Chairman Mao!

Wake up people! Can't you see the evidence in front of you?

Apparently people aren't getting it:

Attacking W.'s bail-outs isn't an attack on capitalism. It's an attack on W.'s peculiar form of socialism.

Yes, W. is a socialist! He believes in big, generous safety nets! He believes in helping out people when they get into bad financial straits! He's full of compassion! He'd never think of talking about "responsibility" or anything like that to someone who's going through a rough patch!

The only trouble is that his socialism and compassion are only for the wealthy and powerful.

jfriesne -

actually, chairman mao didnt brush his teeth. he thought a simple tea rinse was enough...one of his more charming traits

incidentally, to the topic at hand, this kind of humor resonates when a society's social contract is under stress, and our Dear Leader 43 has been leaning heavily.

while mao did a lot of terrible things, there is no question that the country he inherited was an absolute mess and there was a very serious breakdown in any sort of social cohesion - the glitter of shanghai versus abject poverty in the countryside. Mao's actions were surely the wrong solution, but that doesn't mean the problem wasn't real.

Most non-political experts expect the bill to be closer to a trillion dollars. BOHICA!

How on earth do you know so much about Chairman Mao's oral hygiene habits? And, more importantly, WHY?

For one thing, you could look at a picture of him later in life, his teeth blackened and rotted. For another, you could also have read any number of things on him, including the recent biography Mao: The Unknown Story (which I did). It's actually fairly common knowledge.

James T. Kirk's letter is disturbing. He is essentially trying to paint anyone who does not like the way our country's finances work nowadays as a radical violent Communist. I realize that is the point, just as how many right wingers like to paint anyone who gets involved in the Obama campaign as a fascist riding a Hitler-like wave, but seriously now. Just because our country is "capitalist" does not mean it has to be this way.

bzzzzt wrong again, loser. You see enemies everywhere, which is precisely my point. Sure I understand it's a comic strip. Do you? I'm not so sure. You DO KNOW that it's a little more nuanced than that, don't you?

For instance, genius, no one is seriously suggesting that we do away with all regulation everywhere. That's just bread and circuses for people like you to scream about. No, the issue is that some people want regulation that benefits THEM.

It's like the tards who yell "Well if you're going to let homeowners sink then you have to let the banks fail too...waaaah waaaah !" Really? Can I implode the phone company too and the hospital down the road because you can't pay your bill? THAT would be awesome.

And for the record, yes, the placard nonsense that routinely screams that the 'real' problem is capitalism REALLY DOES reflect the same tone as early era Soviet agitprop. Pick up a book, read it, find something out. I hear they have this thing called 'the web'. Or are the Obamanauts so inbred here they can't tolerate anything that deviated from the Blessed Doctrine of TT, Glenn Greenwald and the rest of Salon who tell you what to think?

"And for the record, yes, the placard nonsense that routinely screams that the 'real' problem is capitalism REALLY DOES reflect the same tone as early era Soviet agitprop."

And of course that's exactly what everyone is saying, esp Salon and TT. Capitalism is dee eeeevil! Only fools such as yourself reduce the arguments of the other side to that.

TT's comic is all about the failure of the particular brand of current American capitalism to realize that the pied piper to pay down the road gets bigger and bigger as we push off our massive debt to tomorrow.

Capitalism is a game for adults, and it doesn't look like we fit the bill these days. (and our kids will just foot it)

As long as we're doing comic characters today, how about this one:

"WHAT A MAROON!"

I thought his teeth were that color because, if you eat enough human flesh, the stain never goes away?

...that the NeoCons are CAPITALISTS?

Dear God! These people hand out gifties (bought with your tax money) like Santa on crystal meth! No-bid contracts, huge bailouts, sweetheart deals by the sleighload, record federal expenditure and debt, the list is endless.

All this largess is made possible by an anti-capitalist, government dictated money supply, and Stalinist-style control of the banking system. Can anyone seriously say that the Federal Reserve isn't Economic Central Planning, deluxe version?

As for significant regulatory reform, or committment to free trade, that's a knee-slapper! The Cheney-Bush machine isn't interested in freeing the market or saving the oppressed taxpayer, UNLESS he makes more than $250,000 a year. The laws that hamstring small business - that favor WALMART style market hegemony over local businesses are still in place, and will be for the forseeable future.

The Cheney-Bush Reign (It was not an administration in any sense) was about destroying small business in favor of corporate domination of markets, handing out government money to supporters, and controlling the rate of inflation by Central Planning at the Fed to prop up the stock market (whoopsie! that's not working anymore!) so that the consequences of their spree would fall well after they were out of town and in the soft jobs their corporate masters had prepared for them.

And that's ALL its ever been about.