Family Circus: Mommy! Jeffy and PJ keep bringing out the clothes from your bedroom closet!

This cartoon is hilarious because Jeffy's teaching PJ how to be a fucking idiot.

Cathy: I'm showing too much skin!!

This comic is horrifying hilarious because Cathy is trying on swimsuits.

Boodocks: That's left-wing, radical-hippie-communist thinkin', Ribbon.

Today's Boondocks rerun is impressive in how accurately it recreates the Barack Obama-Dick Cheney almost-sort-of-kind-of-face-off yesterday. Except for the capitulation at the end, fortunately.

Family Circus: This is neat party we're havin', mommy! Is everybody staying for lunch?

This cartoon is hilarious because Jeffy is a fucking idiot.

Blondie: What's the price?

This comic would make a lot more sense if smaller cars actually cost more than bigger cars. But why let honesty get in the way of a lame punchline?

In the Bleachers: Bench-clearing brawl!!

Oh, these modern sports stars with their greed and their violence. I know, it's so funny.

But let's stop laughing for a minute and try to think through the logic in this cartoon. The author is apparently upset that sports teams build stadiums with taxpayer money. I'm upset with that too! Teams totally shouldn't do that!

It is, however, the teams that are building the stadiums, not the players. The players are just employed by the teams. Therefore, the teams, not the players, are saving money at the expense of the taxpayers.

Moreover, were the players to return their bonus money, they would be returning it to the teams, not the taxpayers. And so the result would be that the teams would save even more money, at the expense of both their employees and the taxpayers. The point being, this cartoon is very stupid, as is the popular mode of thought that led to it.

But oh, look. On top of all that, it's acting as a metaphor for the current banking crisis and bailouts. Why that makes it, um, even stupider?

Family Circus:...the my mommy said to daddy, "We'll get rid of all the junk around this place."

Poor Dolly. She doesn't yet realize that Thel was talking, in part, about her.

Mutts: Sea turtles are perhaps the most endangered species on the planet!!!

Mutts has a tendency to run these message strips that don't bother with anything except the message. It's an annoying habit. Because while I like Mutts, I dislike propaganda, even when I agree with it. There must have been some way to make this (absolutely true and worthwhile!) point without resorting to artless haranguing.

Family Tree: Your daughter has, um, sprung a pair.

Oh, Twig. If you want to be in Blondie, you still have some growing to do.

Family Circus: Here comes a customer, Mommy! Are we open for business?

And so Bill and Thel have decided to sell PJ at a yard sale. Seems to me they could get more money on the Internet, but I guess they're desperate and don't have time for a complicated transaction.

They'll probably listen to offers for the other kids, too. And maybe for Barfy, but it would have to blow them away, because, goddamn it, they really love that dog.