Fox News really is like a town drunk: Mock what they say on the merits, not the political bent.

Mel's line comparing Fox to "getting your news from the town drunk" was the best ever! Laughed so hard I choked on my morning tea. I'm okay now, but still laughing.

If Roland Hedley is like Geraldo Rivera, is it asking too much for Mel or one of the other soldiers to break his nose?

GBT's gift is that he is able to so sincerely capture the point of view of so many fictitious individuals who are not so fictitious. Today's interview between Roland and Melissa is a prime example. I know GBT has never been a chopper pilot, or a chopper mechanic, or a Fox News reporter, so I as an artist of another sort (but unquestionably an artist) am still left in awe of what it is that inspires GBT. His Muses are da shizzle, for rizzle. Don't print this just because I'm gushing, print it because it's true.

Wikipedia has no mention of GBT having a military career; so how is it he can be so right on with today's strip, and the rest of the war(s) coverage? I would have been proud to have him as part of my flight crew.

The takeaway from the current sequence is that this whole question of whether wars are "won or lost" is BS, but how many of your readers would admit that that question is BS when applied to Vietnam? It seems pretty clear to me that we lost Vietnam. You can't have that cake and eat it, too: you can't say we lost Vietnam if you try to rationalize away the validity of such judgments. The fact is, wars are won and lost. We might not be able to see it right now, but just because a certain segment of the media goes out of its way to depict the war in a certain light doesn't mean that history won't eventually assign a victor, and it's just as dishonest to pretend that won't happen.

Hey Roland, I can tell you. The war in Afghanistan has succeeded. Bin Laden is at the bottom of the sea. Mission accomplished, for real this time.

I once knew a Marine who became a pilot in no small part because it looked like they were having way too much fun. While I don't know that he'd agree that nearly getting shot down over Iraq constituted good times, I do believe he holds to the philosphy that what doesn't kill you makes for a good story. Last I heard he was flying for the Blue Angels.

I get a really sick feeling in my stomach every time Roland opens his mouth. So bleepin' real. I want to smack him.

Yippee! Flashback Heaven. Forty years ago today sees the first appearance of one of the most important long-term characters in the strip -- Walden Puddle!

I remember working my way up into the PAO (Public Affairs Office, Tonkin Gulf, VietNam). From that auspicious view, I covered the war, and our efforts. My takeaway? War is hellish lying bullshit. We feed our finest young people into one end of the grinder, add millions in hardware, and get shiny aluminum coffins out the other end. I hate to admit it, but I was a whore for an air conditioner. I never went back to writing. The Muse was forever tainted by Mars. Did I say tainted? The Muse looked like that movie where the pig blood is dumped on the Prom Queen. You just never see it with that clarity again. This flashback stuff, in a comic strip, is likely the most accurate reporting we're ever gonna get.

Roland is a mix of Sam Donaldson on his worst day, and Geraldo on his best day. Annoying...

Go Mel go! Give Roland the takedown every other soldier he interviewed wished they could give him!

I have read Doonesbury from the first strip, but have always found Roland Hedley to be a depressing character. He perfectly sums up all that is wrong with the media these days. So bravo, Mr Trudeau, for creating such a monster. But sometimes I wish you hadn't.

At least in my country, in the real world of journalism -- which I happen to inhabit -- it's the Rolands who get jobs, and the Ricks are left to blog and get scarce or no compensation at all.

What's with the Xmas tree in April?

The last panel of today's strip: That's Roland "still clueless after all these years" Hedley in a nutshell. I am still offended that he holds a job and Bick (sorry, Rick) does not.

Thank you so much for posting the full concert video of The Band on your website today. One of my biggest regrets in life is going to be that I never went to one of Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles. He lived only about 10 miles from me, practically a neighbor. It would have been so easy to go, yet I thought I'd always have the chance, so I waited. Now it's too late. Levon Helm was unique, a gift from the universe, and now he's been taken back.

Today's SAYWHAT? quote from Bishop Jenky brings to mind Godwin's Law, and this commentary upon it: "It is generally accepted that whoever is the first to play the 'Hitler card' has lost the argument as well as any trace of respect, as having to resort to comparing your adversary to the most infamous mass-murdering dictator in history generally means you've run out of better arguments." 

This week's comic takes me back to Don Martin from Mad Magazine. Throw in a "Thwap!" or "FLOOT THWIP THOP KLOP" (man unfolding beach umbrella) and the mood will be complete.