This Modern World-Retirement is for losers! (+25 ways to disguise taste of cat food) By Tom Tomorrow

[kpete]

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/comics/this_modern_w...

[LWolf]

1. Chuckles nails it again.

Is there a cuddly, stuffed Chuckles? Or an action figure? There ought to be; he's D.C.'s mascot, after all.

[NJmaverick]

4. A strawman would have been a more honest depiction instead of smearing

a perfectly innocent woodchuck

[mikelgb]

9. Yeah a strawman would have been more sensible.

[TransitJohn]

104. Thanks for the smile.

Good one.

[asdjrocky]

21. No one knows a strawman quite like you, right?

Right?

[NJmaverick]

24. Yup, I can spot them from a mile away

[asdjrocky]

30. Sure, that's what I meant.

Whatever gets you through the night.

[d_b]

90. +juan

[YOY]

32. Oh Mav!

(Cue 70s sitcom happy ending theme)

[asdjrocky]

58. Dude, lol. nt

[YOY]

59. ...

[asdjrocky]

83. Hate that kid.

Didn't work for The Brady Bunch, what made them think it would work for Family Ties?

[YOY]

87. Yeah well same for Scrappy Doo really.

Except my theory is that Scooby is all about weed and Scrappy came on board when cocaine was becoming all the rage...

Think about it

Scooby: Hungry all the time, paranoid, easy to laugh, loves his buddies. Scooby (and Shaggy) was baked and loving it. (The ghosts...well maybe it was laced with something...maybe it was the scooby snacks and a drop or two of LSD)

Scrappy: Big head, Big Nose, tiny body, not afraid of anyone and is prone to bouts of unnecessary and foolish aggression. TOTAL COKEHEAD.

No one likes a cokehead.

[Ignis]

99. It's...scary...how far you've thought that one through.

[YOY]

102. Hey...we've all known cokeheads. It's not a matter of time to think about it.

It's just putting a one and one together from back in the day.

Like figuring out Bert and Ernie are most likely gay and Oscar is most likely homeless...then there's the fact that nobody really ever dies in GI Joe...despite the fact that it's a show about a military unit fighting a shadowy terroristic organization.

Speaking of GI Joe...think about all the money they had to get from the US Taxpayer. The USS Flag alone comes in at a billion dollars. Now throw in the tanks and planes and what not and include the blue and red laser rifles...Shit....They've even all got unique uniforms...ca'ching!

Lockheed Martin made dope bucks on the GI Joe inititive...

[Ignis]

105. Cokeheads & GI Joe -- That was the '80s!

But can this magic formula explain away the Raygun years?

[YOY]

144. No. No it can not.

But I do think someone was putting money into GI Joe to re-invigorate the toy line for the purpose of re-popularizing the military to the American youth. The comic book series. The cartoon. The toys. Even when they went away they never really went away. They come back in various incarnations including the movie.

I'm quite sure that certain films (Top Gun...gawd I hate that fucking movie...it's just so ridiculous) have the same financial backing for the same reasons.

Very tinfoil hat I know...

Hey...wait a minnit! What was Tom Cruise's call-sign in Top Gun? I just cannot remember?

[asdjrocky]

101. Okay, this is kind of a painful topic, so bare with me.

Scooby fucking ruined cartoons for me, and ghosts. I was happy on a steady diet of Speed Racer, a little Warner Bros for some distraction and even an occasional Road Runner. After watching a few episodes of this show, all animation was deemed fake and not worthy of my eyes.

But Scooby? To that sir, I say Ruh-roh with a responding fist to the podium. I refutiate Scooby and all his snacks. Lost all hope for the actual existence of ghosts and the show totally turned me off to friendly old caretakers. Actually, on reflection, that second part might not have been so bad.

On the Scooby being a stoner and Scrappy a cokehead? For sure, and I'm totally stealing that.

[YOY]

103. It's yours brother.

Take it and run. Only comedy routine I've ever seen about the duo was Eddy Izzard...and he was all about their cowardice being celebrated.

[Ignis]

108. Izzard says, "Shaggy and Scooby? lnternational credit card!"

It's in Dress to Kill, I think.

[Lorien]

76. And just what makes Mr. Tomorrow's arguments "strawman arguments" exactly?

point by point, please.

[Foo Fighter]

112. Crickets... n/t

[Ignis]

126. You mean "strawman" isn't simply a magic word said to end unpleasant discussions?

Ruh-roh!

[YOY]

142. That Scooby Doo thing is catching!

But really...let's think about the Scrappy Doo type character addition to a well loved shows format or even the addition of such a character to a social grouping.

Shows up at the end of things and steals the show by means of writing and not popularity. Writers gotta focus on the new little scrappy and precocious character's attitude to present new wacky adventures. The new character's that and there was nothing wrong with the old character save the inability of the writers to understand the viewers and convey to the viewers can accept the passage of time and the effects of aging and experience and work with that.

In lieu of good writing they put in a child or childlike character.

Cousin Oliver/Growing Pains/Family Ties/Cosby Show all did the same.

Fascinating to examine in real life the addition of a character like that to the social dynamic and if in real life it could kill a social grouping.

Also did you ever notice that when Scrappy showed up the "Ghosts" became "real" as opposed to the guy in a rubber mask that the old Scooby conveyed. What poor writing. I mean the occasional "REAL GHOST!!!" is kind of cool...but with the Scooby Scrappy transition they went straight from always fake to always real. NOT GOOD WRITING.

Then of course there's the writing out of Fred and Velma (Daphne stays in as the trademark "eye candy") and the horrible addition of a second "Scrappy" by the name of "Flim Flam" in perhaps the worst cartoon of the 80's "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo." All killed the franchise for years until recently.

[Enthusiast]

85. Chuckles rules! nt

[doc03]

2. Call me a loser, this beats the hell out of going

to the steel mill every day exposing myself to every carcinogen known to man day after day.

[NJmaverick]

3. If Tom Tomorrow was honest about things, he would have used a strawman

rather than a woodchuck

[QC]

13. What a sensible observation! n/t

[jgraz]

18. It just makes sense to be sensible

[racaulk]

28. Makes sensible sense to me!

[YOY]

33. I don't sense any lack of sensible sense about that!

n/t

[Ignis]

38. Stop Making Sense!

[YOY]

41. Same as it ever was... :makes incremental chopping motion on forearm:

n/t

[Ignis]

"You may say to yourself, my god, what have I done?"

[YOY]

52. But would Chuckles? Only if it makes sense!

n/t

[Spheric]

53. I sense sensibility here.

[Ignis]

54. Ah, but how much sense would incense a sensible censor?

[Spheric]

68. Did you mean...

How much sense would incense a sensible censor if a sensible censor could be incensed?

[Ignis]

73. Oh, but surely a sensible censor could never be incensed!

He would be both Fair: and Balanced:

[hay rick]

88. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?

A sensible amount.

[Enthusiast]

86. I love sense. nt

[Ignis]

127. And I love sensibility.

Don't stop now, we're halfway to a novel!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

40. After careful consideration...

...I'm considering your Chuckles avatar may be more accurate than everybody else's.

Due to the direction it's facing.

[jgraz]

42. I like it

it makes it look like he's saying the things in my posts.

[Ignis]

43. Oh, good catch.

[jgraz]

49. Oh, I just got that.

[Ignis]

51. Chuckles is Right!

And getting righter every day!

[laughingliberal]

98. Sensibly right! nt

[QC]

143. Sensible people truly know the value of sense. n/t

[Smashcut]

44. Not just sensible...incrementally pragmatically sensible!

[jgraz]

57. Well, it wouldn't make sense to be senselessly sensible.

[JHB]

16. If the Debt Commission were honest about things...

...Social Security would be very clearly and publicly declared "off the table".

[jgraz]

19. Well, if they were honest about things...

Defense cuts and raising taxes on the rich would be very clearly and publicly declared "off the table" -- since that was the obvious ground rule going into this fraudulent exercise.

[JHB]

27. That's when we're getting into "honest about stated purpose & goals" vs....

..."honest about their actual workings".

[jgraz]

34. Since both are equally likely...

[Mithreal]

45. It's sensible to be sensible to the sensible.

[Name removed]

78. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Jakes Progress]

122. Gee, what a sensible sense sentence that is.

Actually, Tom couldn't get a straw man, the Obama-is-so-dreamy group on DU had taken them all.

[NJmaverick]

140. You made a mistake

It appears that you meant to say the people who live in the real world and evaluate the President on realistic standards group

[Jakes Progress]

163. Sorry. It's been your mistake for a long time now.

You have no idea of the real world.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

135. Please elaborate. Who is the cartoonist misrepresenting, and how? -nt

[NJmaverick]

141. The cartoonist is living in a fantasy world and has constantly misrepresented those

of us living in the real world.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

151. That post says precisely nothing. -nt

[Ignis]

152. Just like those mean guys Voltaire, Swift, and Twain, eh?

Someone should give those satirists a stern talking to for misrepresenting reality--or "art" as they snidely call it. I think we all know where that sort of thing leads...

[spoony]

156. Toodle-ooo! nt

[badgerpup]

5. K & R n/t

[meegbear]

6. My! What a sensible post!

[reformist2]

10. You've seen the iphone4 vs evo video, I take it. :)

[meegbear]

11. I don't think so ...

Link?

[XOKCowboy]

12. Here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg

[meegbear]

23. BWAH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[IndianaGreen]

70. LMAO

That rocks!

[Robeson]

72. That is classic.

[asdjrocky]

84. So freaking funny.

I saw one of these today, I'm an i-phone 3G user, and my next phone is this one for sure. The camera alone is amazing.

[donco6]

93. That's so funny, I had an aneurysm.

I'm dead now. It fucking killed me. Now my dogs are homeless.

[reformist2]

114. I don't care! I need an iPhone 4!!!

I want the one with the bigger GBs.

[donco6]

137. I got the HeeBee GBs. n/t

[Ignis]

116. ^^^ Finally done laughing. That was seven shades of awesome!

"It can grant up to three wishes!"

[L0oniX]

148. ROTFLOL

[onehandle]

149. 'Well, it could be caused by Google's shitty programming.' (EVO's shortcomings by same person)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOtC9QfXac

[gratuitous]

7. Yes Social Security has to prove its solvency into infinity

It is subject to a “review” by a bunch of people who aren’t dependent on it, and who are really more interested in how to curtail the most successful government program ever. Generations of older Americans have been kept out of poverty thanks to Social Security, so clearly it must continually justify its existence.

Meanwhile, the defense budget balloons even in peace-time, with very little scrutiny whatsoever. How long can we continue to spend more than a billion dollars a day on a standing military force, for weapons we don’t need, and to maintain armaments and bases all over the world? Curiously, that drain on the Treasury is never looked at seriously, and surely wouldn’t be subject to review by a commission of peaceniks, hippies and other folks hostile to a bloated defense and its overbilling contractors. We need to be sensible! Xe needs fat, cost-plus no-bid contracts; citizens don't need money to live month to month.

[Mimosa]

60. Eloquent. And true. A BILLION DOLLARS A DAY for war...

But screw the elderly.

[Foo Fighter]

118. Ah, but the defense budget is a sacred cow.

It can never be questioned. It can only be expanded, not reduced. After all, reducing it would imply that one is weak on terrorism and hey, we can't have that.

No, better to cut SS to the bone and eventually eliminate it. After all, it primarily serves the poor and working class so what the hell use is it?

Hmmm...a DoD commission made up of peaceniks, hippies, etc. That's the most sensible thing I've heard in a long time.

[mikelgb]

8. Chuckles! You're back. And more sensible than ever!

[Eyerish]

14. Ooooo... they snazzed Chuckles up...

Gave him a fancy red bow tie.
I think we'll be seeing more of him....

[Ignis]

37. Chuckles is pragmatically sliding closer to Tucker Carlson every day.

"Lie down with dogs," and all that.

[nashville_brook]

81. it's the woodchuck way.

[Ignis]

89. Have to get them while they're young, you know.

Before they don the tie:

[spoony]

155. "pragmatically sliding" ... You're killin' me!

LOL

[Ignis]

157. Well, it's only sensible to slide to the Right!

After all, don't you want to WIN?!?

[Ignis]

15. "We can afford endless wars and trillion-dollar bailouts--"

"--But Social Security will break us!"



You said it, Tom.

[HughBeaumont]

17. I'm glad SOMEone says it.

This is the U.S., the absolutely SENSIBLE country where you have the privilege of working ridiculously HARD and long for luxuries like . .. a roof . .. or health care . . . or food . . . or education . . . or retirement . . .

Your golden years should be YOURS, not some goddamned retail company's. Corporate America is NOT entitled to cradle-to-grave wage-slavery.

I envy ANYONE who is able to retire. I would travel my ass off. Hike. Drive. Write books. Compose. Do what you WANT to do. Do what you would have done, had you not had the fruitless cubicle treadmill forced upon you. Even with meticulous planning, one cannot time stock markets well enough to avoid a catastrophic bite in the nest egg, thanks to the permanently installed Friedman economic crapcake that our business leaders still think is the best way of doing things. Right now, it's probably up to a financial miracle if any of us aren't going to die at our desks.

I've seen people die at their job. I cannot do it.

[Ignis]

55. I used to wonder why they call them "the Golden Years."

Now I realize it's because they piss on you and tell you it's raining.

[laughingliberal]

96. +1 nt

[asdjrocky]

20. Where would we be without Chuckles? nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. Woodchucks love catfood...for other people.

[Mithreal]

47. +1

[AngryOldDem]

25. Nails it.

"You'll be in the vanguard, you fabulous trendsetter, you!" That's right -- make people LIKE and even WANT the shit sandwich they are being force-fed.

[Foo Fighter]

119. Thank you, sir! May I have another? n/t

[Starry Messenger]

26. k & r

Oh Chuckles, your little paws are so sensible!

[BuelahWitch]

29. I am *sensibly* kicking this thread!

Already rec'd!

[bullwinkle428]

31. Wishing I could give 500 recs for Chuckles' appearance alone!

[xchrom]

35. a sensible recommend for chuckles! nt

[Uncle Joe]

36. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[MisterP]

39. here's a potential ad: "Sharon Angle despises the Dem members of the Catfood Commission. Do YOU want

to be like Angle?! Support the Commission."

[IndianaGreen]

63. Erskine Bowles is an avowed enemy of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

A letter "D" is meaningless! What counts is what policies a person supports.

[Foo Fighter]

120. No, no, no! You have it all wrong!

It's party over policy! Policies and principles don't matter one damn bit. The only thing that matters is the letter behind a person's name. C'mon now. Get with the program!

[Spheric]

46. K&R Chuckles rules!

That's all I got.

[Mithreal]

48. What kind of wine goes best with cat food? Chuckles would know.

[Ignis]

66. May I suggest the Fat Bastard Chardonnay, sir?

Oh, I thought you wanted a wine for the Catfood Commission itself!

We certainly can't recommend any wines for you smelly proles! Off you go!

[Mithreal]

164. Does it come in a box?

[sabrina 1]

50. Lol, Chuckles forgot to tell us how Billionaire Cat Commissioners

Pete Peterson, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson would never think of retiring either!

[Foo Fighter]

121. Well, obviously their work here isn't done yet.

After all, those pesky senior citizens are still stealing money that rightfully belongs to the top .01%. Peterson, Bowles, and Simpson won't stop until this egregious problem in an obviously faulty program is corrected.

[laughingliberal]

147. We should be so grateful we have Chuckles to show us the way! The top .01% are being oppressed

Selfish seniors wanting to eat are robbing the oligarchs of their precious profits!

[Liberal_in_LA]

56. awesome

[Mimosa]

61. K&R a masterpiece!!!

Chuckles is so sensible!

[IndianaGreen]

62. K&R

Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson are avowed enemies of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

On edit:

Forgot the kick!

[Eyerish]

64. K&R n/t

[Mr. Mustard]

65. Working until your 70 usually makes cents

[Edweird]

67. K&R for Chuckles.

[Yuugal]

69. Chuckles I want to have your baby!

[ck4829]

71. K&R

[Gin Blossom]

74. If only the immature left-wing progressives

Could grow up and heed the wise words of the Woodchuck Of Sense!

[Jim Sagle]

91. Is that like the Moustache of Understanding?

[Joe Bacon]

115. I got to steal that picture

I didn't realize that Tommy was auditioning for the new "Beany & Cecil" show

[Gin Blossom]

131. Now that you point it out, why yes it is!

Talk about some serious sensibleness! What was the "Friedman Time Unit" again, was it 6 months?

I hate be a killjoy though and point out this has obviously been photo-shopped. With all the energy that amount of Understanding produces the propeller would be spinning so fast as to be invisible to the naked eye.

[Jim Sagle]

136. In actuality the Mighty Wind of Globalism is what keeps that propellor spinning so fast.

Or at least that's what a Tunisian cabdriver told him on his way to a flight to Brussels.

[Lorien]

75. Such a sensible, pragmatic, "real world" woodchuck!

Chuckles truly understands the pragmatic pragmatism and sensible sense it takes to make the grubby political compromises often needed to govern effectively. Compromise BEFORE the compromising begins! Yay Chuckles!

[Lilith Velkor]

77. Rock that bow tie, Chuckles!

[myrna minx]

79. This is rather pragmatic and sensible. Thanks Chuckles!

[datasuspect]

80. is it possible?

a woodchuck saves the democratic party?

[asdjrocky]

82. A woodchuck would..

If he could.

[Fumesucker]

92. A sensible and pragmatic K&R..

[technotwit]

100. And let's not forget...

we need to repeal minimum wage! Why should we limit how little people make? Many people are embarrassed to work for minimum wage, so let's eliminate it, so more people can work.

It's the sensible thing to do!

-Chuckles
BigCorp UnLimited LLC
"Serving ourselves to serve YOU better!!"

[pa28]

94. Chuckles looks really dashing in his new bow tie.

Maybe next time he'll explain why compromise is for Democrats only or the value of incrementalism. He's got so much to teach us.

[donco6]

95. It's the perfect blend of practicality and whimsy.

It still holds your collar together, but with panache!

[laughingliberal]

97. What would we do without Chuckles to show us the sensible way for sensible seniors?

Rec

[scarletwoman]

106. I'm so ashamed. I used to think it would be cool to retire.

You know: no more setting the alarm clock, no more daily commute, no more worrying if the boss thought I was working hard enough.

I used to think, yeah, go to bed when I'm tired, get up when I feel rested, putter around the house, take off and travel somewhere if I want to, wear comfortable clothes, catch up on all the books I'd like to read, do some arts and crafts -- stuff like that.

Now I realize how very unsensible all those ideas were. I can't believe what a selfish fool I've been.

I'm so sorry. I only hope America will forgive me for trying to destroy her.


sw

[liquid diamond]

107. Alright. Help me out here. In the last cartoon this character

appeared in he supposedly represented the "centrists" (defined as those that don't want the republican party indirectly aided by liberal bitching). But now he appears to be a right winger. How is that consistent?

[TBF]

109. Maybe there's not so much difference

between a "centrist" and "right winger"

just a thought...

[Lorien]

111. +1. nt

[Starry Messenger]

117. Zing!

[Foo Fighter]

123. Oh c'mon now. There's a huge difference.

"Centrist" has 8 letters and starts with a "c." "Right winger" has, well, a bunch more letters and starts with an "r." Plus it has a space!! That's a pretty big difference, what with the space and all.

Policy-wise, yeah, not so much. No difference there.

[YOY]

124. Sure there is! One at least pretends to feel empathy.

n.t.

[liquid diamond]

134. Well actually centrists are the ones that determine who wins

elections. They can be reasoned with and persuaded unlike right wingers and the fringe left who are hunkered down in their positions. I find that to be a significant difference, but hey, funny cartoon.

[YOY]

139. They sure do!!! Especially the caring "centrists" who act just like right wingers!

Yes indeed...funny funny funny funny funny funny funny funny funny cartoon!

Damn that "fringe" left and their CRAZY ideas about non-privatized education and social security! They're CRAZY fringists! CRAZY!!! CRAZY I SAY!!!

They have no idea how to be sensible...and pragmatic...like "centrists".

[liquid diamond]

145. Which side is losing out here? n/t

[YOY]

146. The not sensible side of course!

n/t

[Zhade]

168. Working-class and poor Americans.

NT!

[liquid diamond]

133. I call bullshit, but if that is your opinion, fine.

[scarletwoman]

110. It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma. (nt)

[Ignis]

128. ...Wrapped in a pizza, wrapped in a pancake, and deep fried!

[donco6]

138. Yeah, that's what we've been wondering for quite a while now. n/t

[Dinger]

113. K & R, Again (nt)

[peace frog]

125. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

[Ignis]

130. Now there's a bow tie that's seen some sensible times!

In Sarasota, for example.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

129. NEW AVATAR time! Now with BOWTIE!

With right-facing option just for you, jgraz. EDIT: respecting DU's size limits.

[jgraz]

132. Thanks, I already got mine

feel free to use it sensibly.

[Ignis]

165. Nice work!

It's only sensible to have a variety of pragmatic icons available.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

166. The invisible hand of the market at work, baby!

There is plenty of choice in woodchuck avatars. therefore everything must be privatized! It's the sensible thing to do.

[Ignis]

169. An unregulated free market is the only sensible solution to scarcity.

[deutsey]

150. Hey, Fancy Feast actually looks kind of tasty.

[haele]

159. Sheba is better - and smells halfway decent.

Back when I only had two fur-babies and could afford to buy them at PetSmart, they used to have "pate's" of venison, duck, lobster, shrimp, and lamb as well as the standard beef/chicken/turkey/fish mixes, too.

Haele

[deutsey]

161. Thanks...I'm sure I'll be checking it out the closer I get to retirement age

[Ignis]

160. God, you Fancy-Feast-eating Elitist Liberals make me sick!

Why can't you eat the 5/$1 store brand like a Real American?!? Go back to RUSSIA!

[HughBeaumont]

153. I kind of figured out why Chuckles is so loathsome and kickable:

I used to have a boss that looks just like him.

[Ignis]

158. Just one?

Man, you lucked out!

[TheKentuckian]

154. That Chuckles is the truth!

[FooshIt]

162. retirment should start earlier not later

not everyone has an easy job like CEO

[Zhade]

167. I am always amazed at how readily Tomorrow utterly destroys conservative thinking.

Ironically, he's doing the kind of work DU was founded to do, yet he gets derided by empty-headed fact-lacking douchebags.

He's awesome.