My copy of Lewser! just arrived and I am looking forward to savoring it. I've learned from Yuge! and #Sad that this can't be read all at once, and is taken best in small doses -- I suppose that reflects the way it was written. Let's hope that after Nov. 3, all the Trump material is history. 

I learned everything I know about late 20th century America from my dad's Doonesbury books. Thank you, GBT!

Yesterday's strip was one of the greatest of all time. I don't usually post strips to social media, but I did this one and it got a lot of attention.

The strip this morning, concluding with the little boy asking if he has to be a racist, perfectly summarizes a recent op-ed I wrote about the dangers of inheriting your political party from your parents. 

When drawing the prez, wouldn’t it be more realistic if you showed his always-dilated eyes? He looks too sane the way you draw him. 

Secret Service protection in prison! What a concept. He'll need it, too. But I bet what really happens is that he files a zillion lawsuits the day after the election contesting the results, and makes a deal to drop them in return for a pardon. Sorta like Nixon but different. Just as well, I guess; armed Secret Service agents in a prison would be asking for trouble (from inmates jumping the agents to steal their guns, I mean, not that the agents themselves would go wild).

GBT is at his best when he does broad, non-partisan, cultural commentary. Sunday's banter (between a "healthy" B.D. and "messed up" Ray) is a fine example of "walking in the other's shoes." They know each other's damage far too well to get a lot of insight from Chris Rock's broad thought experiment. Still, I'd say with different men (on opposite sides of the racial divide), reversing the dialog would be better.

On the other hand, Ray does look good.

B.D. and Ray today is sweet. Thanks.

Given Ray's propensity to "abuse a variety of substances," and B.D.'s former decision to "lay off the beer" after he heard Sam say she was afraid of him, I sure am hoping that's soda pop they're drinking. Recovery doesn't take Sundays off, and it doesn't stop requiring vigilance, no matter how many years into the journey. 

Today's 45-years-ago FLASHBACK strip, from July 29, 1975, seems very appropriate for right now.

Yes, the Gestetner was a mimeograph machine, unlike the one used for B.D.'s diploma. Funny how the topic of antedeluvian printing technology is bringing all us old people out of the woodwork! Never mind the political stuff, what we really care about is mimeograph vs. hectograph. Good riddance to both of them, although Kids These Days™ don't get the satisfaction of doing something physical to make the copies happen.

Yeah, forget about The Washed-Out Bridges of Madison County. Boopsie's legacy to this day remains "third girl in shower" from Porky's 4. Sad. 

Interesting commentary on Hollywood in today's Sunday strip about Boopsie doing online cameos for a living. Her client sees his illusory erotic fantasy in a "darkened theater" reaching out from his adolescence to wish him a happy birthday and blow him a kiss, while the actress is still under the illusion that he was impressed by her acting talent.

Here in Canada we used Gestetners to make copies. My Mom used to type up the stencil for her school newsletter, smooth it on the drum and then crank out the pages. She hated it because it was so messy, leaving smudges and weird creases on the paper.

How come the FLASHBACKS page isn't working? I need my daily fix!

It wasn't till the '60s that I realized the attraction of re-filling the Ditto machine. It was a gateway to Sharpie sniffing. 

Since the admin tool for our SITE NEWS feature is down, I thought I'd weigh in here with a link to GBT's recent interview with WaPo's Michael Cavna: 

Garry Trudeau Is Spoofing The Trump Presidency By Treating It As "A Hostile Takeover"

Enjoy!

As a sixth-grader in the NYC school system, I was the officially designated Captain of the Rexograph Squad at PS 67 in the Bronx. The Rexograph machine, which sat next to the mimeograph machine in a little room outside the school office, was a spirit duplicating device that did in fact produce documents with purple print. You could adjust the intensity of the color by changing how much of the spirit fluid came out of the reservoir. Too much fluid and the machine would flood and leak all over the floor. 

Thought I'd be the first to explain the difference between a purple Ditto and a black Mimeograph, having spun the handles of both machines many hundreds of times (I'm past 90). Surprised and happy to see that many preceded me. Must be the time difference between East and West…