I do a fair amount of editing, and had to write to say how much I love today's strip. I am going to print that one out to remind me, on days when it seems to be a slog to get through documents (mine are normally reports and course materials, nothing as exciting as Jeff's book), how much difference good editing can make.

Now that's a story line! The Red Rascal and his hot red-haired editor, the smoldering tension as they fight the resurgent Taliban and other enemies of the Free World, a stolen kiss, a moment of desire, the love born out of danger, the spawn of The Red Rascal and what's her name...

Time for an online presence for the Red Rascal! A Red Rascal blog would ensure another revenue stream for Jeff, allow Zipper to join the franchise, and give the boys another chance at a botched love triangle!

Surely, those aren't Drones in that last panel!

When I was pregnant with my first, there was something about tacos. I couldn't even look at them for the next three years!

These two are the Lucy and Ricky Ricardo of the 21st Century.

Do red-eyed rogues threaten our shores? No worries; she's on the job. Alas, she meets her enemy, and it is she: the green-eyed monster writ large. Oh, the humanity. What a world.

Anyone who has had a pregnant wife understands immediately Alex's thinking (and Toggle's look of worry). The only two questions are: What else will Alex irrationally worry about? And how will Toggle respond?

Whoa. Where did the ugly jealousy come from, Alex? Did you think every female singer he'd work with would have a big mole, like Aaron Neville? Leo's a great guy who adores you and is going to be a loving father to your kids. Don't screw this up!

Alex's continuing neuroticism never ceases to amaze me. Her delusions are just as pervasive as Jeff's, and seem to stem from the same general sense of inadequacy. While he diverts that into escapist fantasies, she projects it into fear and worry.

I wonder if Jeff will be eligible for the new medal that is being considered for drone controllers. From his exploits he just might be. Only it would have to be given to him at a secret ceremony at Langley, since he was not in the military services.

Even if Alex slips up and tells Jeff and Rick something classified our ever vigilant Trudeau is there with the black marker to cover it up. He has to be careful -- he's most likely on the to-be-watched list. If I hold my screen up to the sun maybe I will see the words under the black ink.

Might Alex be one to help the world? Very likely. Would she knowingly submit herself to harming it? Doubtful. She may be a little impetuously self-serving, but it's hard to see how one could infer deep moral deficiency in her character. Jeff? Totally different. He'd have anybody's guts for garters.

I was at that meeting! Well, it was an Indian software engineer, not Alex, and it was VeriSign, not DARPA, but she said, "XXXX XX XXX XXXXXX XXXXXX," too! It was my job to write it up for XXXX XX XXXXXXX and some of our other clients to explain to them how to issue One-Time Password tokens to customers. According to the NDA I signed, XX XXXXX XX X XXXXXXXX XX XXXX XXX XXXX.

Okay. So how can I get a Magic Decoder Ring?

When Alex is asked to come up with something at DARPA that will help the world, she'll jump right on board because she's, you know, "good people." What happens when the DARPA people ask her to help put together some device whose sole real purpose is to kill, maim, and terrorize as the American Empire expands? Will she tap her chest with her hand and say, "What could I do? I have children. My family needs a paycheck. I was only following orders! If I didn't do it, someone else would!" Perhaps this is why I dislike her character (and Jeff's) so much. Neither shows any genuine moral maturity. She's a very clever child who will easily be duped into helping to make the world just a tiny bit more totalitarian. But don't tell her that. She's "good people."

Re KUDOS: The NRA's "hit list" of people and organizations that defy them reads like a roster of the most intelligent, the most philanthropic, and the most caring of Americans. I would be proud to be on that list!

Lazy Presidents? Neither Bush nor Obama were lazy. It shows a lack of understanding to think that a President is ever truly on vacation. Just because he isn't in the White House doesn't mean that he isn't running the country, having meetings with staff, etc. They just switch locations for a few weeks and get a change of scenery. But they are always in charge and on the job 24/7 no matter where they are.

Not only did ARPA (later called DARPA) create the first operational packet switching network that would eventually grow and host the Internet, but Senator Al Gore initiated legislation that built it into the public communications backbone he nicknamed the Information Superhighway. It was congressman Dick Armey who faxed press releases the next day after Gore's statement in a (successful) attempt to turn Gore's well deserved credit into public ridicule. (“If the vice president created the Internet, then I created the interstate highway system.”) The partisan press corps cemented the misquoted version of Gore's claims into the collective consciousness of the nation during an election year.

People always quote Dick Armey, and few ever correct him by adding the truth that Gore DID provide the government support for bringing the internet to the public, which is to say that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet." The Internet probably would not resemble the one we know without Gore's successful legislation and championing in the halls of congress. I'm sure Alex would speak up and set the record straight, but since she's meeting with DARPA and doesn't have time to, I'll do it.

I know there are a lot of Jeff-haters out there, but I'd like to acknowledge that he's at least trying to be cordial to Alex despite their strained past. "Brilliant" as she may be, Alex hasn't really figured out how to communicate with those she dislikes without stooping to their level (e.g "Uncle Stupidhead"). Extend the olive branch already!