CSotD: A Pocketful of Juxtapositions
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The Nvidia thing is a very big deal, or it will be if it gets decent coverage. It involves a great deal of detail but not a great amount of complexity, so that if the press digs in, it could have at least Iran/Contra level impact. Both these cartoons are on the right track, but perhaps not at the right point in time.
Kelley has a solid gag, but the issue isn’t at the top of most people’s awareness yet, so this is too vague, and there was no decent way to bring Nvidia into it. I really like having the guy talking to a broker, particularly because the disastrous effect of the scandal on Nvidia’s stock price is getting major attention from the stock-trading class. I hope things progress to where, in a week or two, the general public would get it. (Newspaper editors have the option of holding on to this one until that point.)
Day rings the warning bell, and we need that. The national-security aspect has to be raised in order to prevent this from becoming a titillating but short-lived story about a rich guy caught with his pants down. But, again, I think it’s premature, and not everyone seeing it would know the situation well enough to get his point.
After all, we already know — or should know — that Trump has agreed to sell high-tech chips to China. The story is in the “why?” and, like Kelley’s piece, this would be better once the story has been out in the marketplace a little more.
Nvidia Juxtaposition #2
The point of the story is not titillation, but, then again, you have to get the people into the tent before you can tell them what they need to hear. What can’t happen is to have the story center on Jensen Huang instead of on Chips for China, and at first blush, it looks as if the heavy-duty political bloggers are on the national security issue while the traditional media are focused on the O.P.P. issue. (How many brothers out there know just what I’m getting at?)
There is crossover, with national security bleeding into the sexy coverage, and that has to continue. The good news on that front is that Republican House members are on the verge of subpoenaing Huang to testify. He wanted to send a representative; they’re not buying it. I don’t think this one will disappear in the food-fight/crossover as Democrats take their new seats.
Meanwhile, Brown and Darkow capture the public’s attention and let some of the air out of Huang by depicting him as a fool for having been caught in a honeypot trap. That may not be entirely fair, since given the stakes involved, it’s likely Beijing assigned a smooth operator for the gig, but, then again, “Keep Your Damn Pants On” is a good rule generally, and many a career has ended in the boudoir.
Juxtaposition of the Day #3
Point of view sure does make a difference, doesn’t it? If you weren’t familiar with both cartoonists, you might think they were on the same page, and, granted, Bok has been moderating his views lately. But I don’t think he approves of those guillotines, while I’m pretty sure Pett is looking forward to the construction project that will unfold on Capitol Hill in two months.
It’s been interesting to hear the discussion among Democrats, with some saying, “Now, now, let’s not be vengeful,” while others sound like Pirate Jenny:
And they’re chainin’ up people and bringin’ them to me
Askin’ me, “Kill them now or later?”
Askin’ me, “Kill them now or later?”
Noon by the clock and so still on the dock
You can hear a foghorn miles away
In that quiet of death, I’ll say
“Right now”
And they pile up the bodies and I’ll say
“That’ll learn you”Juxtaposition of the Day #4
Varvel is just wrong, and, IMHO, he even gets the color of the uniform wrong, though, granted, Massie is from Kentucky. But preserving the nation is an issue for blue uniforms and, as it happens, Kentucky provided more Union than Confederate generals.
More to the point, however, Massie’s attempt to impeach Hegseth didn’t blow up in his face. It fizzled. And the fizzle, as Milbrath illustrates it, was one of those Sharpie interventions, like changing the path of a hurricane. As she and others point out, if all the Democrats had shown up and voted, the measure would have passed.
Or perhaps a few Republicans might have broken ranks, if the vote had been held after Hegseth took his giggling band of nitwits to that disgraceful photo op at the Tomb of the Unknown.
In any case, it ain’t over ’til it’s over, and the measure can be reintroduced when the new Congress is seated in January. Massie won’t be there, but there will be no lack of volunteers in the House to take up the initial task, while with 55, perhaps 56, Democrats in the Senate, that goal of a two-thirds vote to convict is even less distant than it would be now.
Juxtaposition of the Day #5
Luckovich pays a well-deserved tribute to Stacy Abrams, who has indeed brought forth a bumper crop of young, energetic Georgia minority women, and it’s not clear that the word “minority” will retain its meaning when a majority of voters are supporting this transformation.
It’s going to be interesting to see where Abrams herself turns up in the next few years, as the effects of the blue tsunami extend into 2028. Rather a pity that Jon Osoff is also from Georgia, as he may be seeking a running mate; certainly an all-Georgian ticket is hugely impractical. But whoever lands in the White House will be assembling a cabinet and there aren’t a lot of people from the Democratic side of the aisle who are any smarter or well-spoken than Abrams.
But Atlanta has been a magnet for young, smart, energetic Black Americans for some time. The real surprise is over in Mississippi, where electing a Black senator feels like the lifting of a curse.
Emmett and Medgar would be so pleased.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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