Cartoon on editorial page of our paper mocking Y2K: It depicts a newspaper headlind printed New Years Day: Large bold letters: Y2K disaster: 5 ATM Machines fail to work properly! power out to over 3 homes in northeast! Terrified residents in dark 7 minutes! Not all library cards recognized! phone rings wrong number! Automatic toilet won't stop flushing! I feel that it will be far different than this.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), December 26, 1999

Answers

What paper? Are you going to keep giving them money?

-- Earl (eshuholm@tstar.net), December 26, 1999.

The press has had exactly ONE goal throughout the past year: Convincing Joe Sixpack to leave his money in the bank. Whatever else J.S. does (starve/freeze in the dark) is not important, as long as his measly funds remain in the bank.

-- but you knew (that@didn't.you), December 26, 1999.

It is really the only ragsheet in town that carry my favorite comic strips, so I have to keep it. I hate their attitude however, they carry articles each day which downplay or mock the Y2K problem. I love peanuts, Garfield, and dagwood to give it up. It is certainly obvious that it is fully controlled because they are very politically correct in all they print. Never the first word against Comrad Klinton.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), December 26, 1999.

I would drop them like a bad habit.

-- Earl (eshuholm@tstar.net), December 26, 1999.

Dear Notforlong,

I hope I'm not the one to break the news to you about Peanuts, but it is going to be retired. Something like Jan 3rd or 4th.

-- (nevergottokicktheb@ll.either), December 26, 1999.

There's two things going on in your paper and in my home and all over the place - and they are both fear related. One is fear of looking like a fool. I'm beginning to understand that this fear is stronger than just about anything else - maybe because it seems more likely than, say, starving to death.

The second one is fear of fear itself. People are constantly talking about panic and hysteria, and yet we see almost no evidence of either one. People hate and fear fear. The very thought of it makes them irrational.

I think it is these two phenomona that are the driving force of the inevitability of Y2K. No matter what you say, no matter how much concrete evidence or logical thinking you may have, these two fears will rule the day.

-- XXXOOO (321@herewego.com), December 26, 1999.

Peanuts author has cancer. End of story.

-- snoopy lover (lucy@not.in), December 26, 1999.

How can we live after "Peanuts?" Yes I read about that, and I am very sorry to see it. I look forward so to that, one of the small bright spots in my life. Now losing Peanuts is to me a real disaster, comparable to losing all sweets in the world. The man really gave us a national treasure of entertainment. All the good ones are dying off and dropping out of our lives. Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, The Duke, and many others that slip my mind. Oh yeah, not to be forgotten is the great Jack Benny, and George Burns. LoL

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), December 26, 1999.

XXXOOO,

I think you hit the nail on the head. Those are certainly the primary responses I get when I engage in "the talk". Folks who start walking away complain of the talk being "scary". I remind the whiners it'll be a lot more scary if you don't have food. sigh.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 26, 1999.

Too right Hokie.

Nobody wants to hear. It's never too late to START, but I think it's far too late to FINISH preps... moot point anyway... they won't hear it.

Almighty God is still sovereign King and Jesus is still Lord. You can take THAT to the bank--but I keep it in my heart!

-- (Kurt.Borzel@gems8.gov.bc.ca), December 26, 1999.

This was a cartoon I mentioned about three weeks ago when it was originally in the Buffalo News (posted a link here, too tired to look for it right now), Tom Toles is picked up Nationally, it aggravated me then and still does. Why would anyone make a mockery of something so grave. Beyond me.

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 26, 1999.

OK, not that tired, here's the original thread:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001zxz

Goodnight all.

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 26, 1999.

I'm sorry that Schultz is ill, but his strip hasn't been funny in many, many years.

When I lived in California people told me that Schultz retired a long time ago, & that he had farmed the strip out to ghost-writers -- who apparently can't write worth a damn. I just assumed that everyone knew that. (But then, I always assumed that everyone knew that Rock Hudson was gay...)

-- yeah I know we're (off@topic.again), December 26, 1999.