2011-11-12

An eight-panel SMBC comic, drawn as a tall vertical strip, with a banner reading "WASHINGTON D.C. -- EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY." Two men in dark suits stand in a dim room. The first, with a mustache, angrily declares he will not let the other's bill pass, saying the founding fathers would be spinning in their graves. The second man calmly replies "Precisely" and leads him to a chamber where rows of spinning dynamos glow. He explains that dynamos have been attached to the heads and feet of all the founders -- the more they spin, the more power is generated. He says Americans believe their power comes from coal and oil, but those ran out decades ago; instead, every time a right is violated, an illegal war is started, or an unfair tax is levied, the country survives another year. The first man, now wearing a hat, sheepishly says "So... about that bill." The final panel shows a newspaper headline: "NICARAGUA INVADED! Energy prices plummet." Votey panel: a cartoonist hunched over his drawing board laughs to himself, thinking "Hehe. People love Nicaraguan occupation humor!"