A great wrong has been righted on this day.
We have made history indeed.
Author: Ruben Bolling
#INJUSTICE
We can argue all we want about the Oscars (TM), Presidential Elections (C), Hot Dog Eating Contests (K) and the like. There is only ONE universally respected yardstick of victory and excellence in a field of competition.
I speak of course of Rankopedia's prestigious "Best Comic Strip Ever" Poll.
And currently, Tom the Dancing Bug is criminally, egregiously and against all standards of fairness and truth, banished to the lowly NUMBER TWO position in that poll.
This can not and will not stand.
If you love justice and all things that are just, I beseech you to vote to remedy this miscarriage. TOGETHER, we can right this wrong.
Gentle Internet Denizens, VOTE for Tom the Dancing Bug as the Best Comic Strip Ever, DEFEAT that comic strip about a hallucinating child and his toy, and BEAT BACK THE TIDE OF #INJUSTICE.
Vote. Vote like the wind.
Haven’t we seen this before?
These comics are from 2006, when the left was furious at the government for unconstitutional invasions of privacy in the name of national security.
So now that leaks prove that these programs have continued under Obama, the left AND the right are furious at the government for the exact same unconstitutional invasions of privacy in the name of national security that no one had any reason to suspect weren't continued under Obama.
Classic Tom the Dancing Bug
This week's Classic Tom the Dancing Bug was requested by INNER HIVE member "Greg." In answer to your question after reading this: I have no idea.
CLICK HERE TO READ.
Membership has its privileges
Among the many fun stunts, exciting giveaways, and extravagent offers that are afforded to members of Tom the Dancing Bug's INNER HIVE: Members (and members only) are choosing the next comics to appear on Tom the Dancing Bug's Classic Page (appears on gocomics.com every Thursday).
All summer, and into the fall, the comics you see there will be comics that were requested by these priviliged readers who put down just a few bucks to get early comics, extra info, jokes, recipes and free stuff.
You still have time (until next Tuesday) to JOIN and make a request, or just join the fun.
SELF-SERVING POST
Many* of you have asked how YOU, the reader of Tom the Dancing Bug Comical Strips, can help this enterprise and ensure it is sustainable.
Well, first and foremost, I urge you to join the prestigious and elite INNER HIVE, a subscription service by which members get early access to each week's comic, as well as extra content, comics and commentary. The enthusiasm members express for their weekly doses of exclusive content has surprised even me. Click here to join!
Secondly, you can make any or all your Amazon purchases by first using the link provided in the right-hand column of this blog's page (or here). Simply by starting your Amazon shopping at that link, you provide a small income to this enterprise, with absolutely no extra cost to yourself.
Tertiarily, you could participate in the Tip Jar — when someone orders me an item from this list, it's always great fun for me, and often helpful as inspiration/research for writing/drawing. Send me an email (tomdbug at gmail dott com) letting me know what you sent and including your mailing address, and I just might send you a thank you note with a sketch. Rattle the Tip Jar here.
I'm greatly appreciative of my readers. Having the attention, and taking the time, of my readers is a privilege, and one that I do not take lightly. It's my job and goal to create comics that you enjoy so much that you will want to share them, discuss them, comment on them, RT them, Like them, and hopefully also do any or all of the three things listed above to help me keep creating them.
Thank you.
YOURS INDEED,
Ruben Bolling
___________
*Seven
Mad as hell in Disney World
To follow up on my previous post, here's a beautiful blog post by superstar Mad Magazine cartoonist Tom Richmond. Tom's is the kind of family every customer at Disney World would insist go to the front of every line. And I really hope that his daughter's experience at Disney World isn't affected by blowback from this Rent-A-Disability scam.
Be Our Guest
A few months ago, I was talking with another dad about our enthusiasm for Disney World generally, and in particular for figuring out how to plan a day minimizing line-waiting time for our families. A third dad said that when he went with his family he chose between two options he'd learned about to deal with long lines at Disney World: An "official" and an "unofficial" tour guide.
I'd heard of the option my friend had ended up choosing: the "official" tour guide. As I understood it, it's called a V.I.P. tour, and you hire a Disney employee to shepherd you around and help with line strategies and FastPasses (it's about $350 per hour, six hour minimum!). But my friend said they actually do more than that. While the Disney guide tries to avoid lines in legitimate ways, when they can't, they just have their friends working at each ride allow the family to cut the line.
I asked what an "unofficial" tour guide is. He paused and sort of sheepishly explained that it's a person who has a "disabled" certificate who you hire to bring your family along as he/she goes to the front of the line due to their disability.
To tell the truth, I put the whole thing out of my mind because I like this friend a lot, and I didn't want to press him on the details of something that shady. (He did end up going with the legitimate option, and I have no idea if he even considered the "unofficial" route.)
But Cory Doctorow and Boing Boing have been on top of the rising publicity this practice has been getting, first with a NY Post article, then with this NBC undercover report actually showing the "disabled" people getting their paying customers into rides ahead of the lines at Disneyland.
By the way, I would never judge or second-guess someone using a disability pass legitimately, because sometime disabilities aren't visible. But I feel that the burden of proof shifts against the Hire-A-Handicap frauds in the NBC video who seem fully capable of standing in line; they are shown walking with no problem, and even jogging up stairs.
Of course all this is fraught with the issues of the growing income disparity we've come to see in America, and the increasing expectation and acceptance that the very wealthy will have a different experience than everyone else, in every activity they choose. And this is true not only for the disability fraud, but also for the V.I.P tour, where wealthy parkgoers are apparently allowed to cut lines with a a few grand and a wink.