Sunday "Big Bird, Little Bird" Funnies

That time a cartoon preempted the Cuban Missile Crisis

In his column looking back at past interviews, veteran journalist A. Craig Copetas remembers a time when The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends offered an alternative version of US-Soviet history.

Support a disappearing craft and give a Christmas gift subscription to your loved ones from your favorite cartoonist(s).

The Friyay Wrangle from Far Left Texas

It looks to be another glorious fall weekend in Texas, so put down your phone and close your laptop and get out of doors for some quality vitamin D, an adult beverage, some meat on a stick at a festival, or whatever floats your boat.

Bun B, 8th Wonder Brewery and several popular Houston food trucks will be raising funds this weekend for those greatly affected by the tragedy at #Astroworld Festival. #HouNews #Khou11https://t.co/1ZsAiOm6TO

— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) November 10, 2021

I've rounded up the usual suspects -- Texans behaving very, very badly -- for your leisure reading.

Dan Patrick says you can’t rely on the wind to blow or the sun being out pic.twitter.com/pCqokkyckd

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 11, 2021

Allen West, a conservative primary challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott, could face a misdemeanor assault charge after he swiped at a fellow traveler at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport last week and tore off the man’s mask. https://t.co/5ZYn3jUJay

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) November 12, 2021

Thread, in case you missed it:@GovAbbott and the Republican #txlege cut tuition assistance for Guard members by 54% while increasing $300 million for an unnecessary border mission. https://t.co/nNZ9ZYfuWK

— Gabrien Gregory (@GabrienGregory) November 10, 2021

I had never heard of porn being in Texas schools until this month, almost 7 years into Greg Abbott's Governorship. Did this happen on his watch? There sure wasn't porn in the school library when I was in Texas public school and Ann Richards was Governor. https://t.co/YbDvnydMcf

— Holt Lackey (@HoltMLackey) November 10, 2021

“@GovAbbott is basically creating a road map for any authoritarian ruler of any state to co-opt the criminal legal system and target it at perceived political enemies. It’s bone-chilling.” #txlege https://t.co/TgFzFcDniu

— Justin Miller (@by_jmiller) November 10, 2021

.@GovAbbott says Texas is repurposing empty shipping containers for a makeshift Mexico border wall https://t.co/AUfSNpJ18S via @YahooNews TXLege

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) November 10, 2021

cw: threatening language
These unrepentant threat-makers take their cues from Abbott and the legislature, who are trying to undermine secure elections. Our state leaders should be supporting election administrators, not encouraging their harassers. https://t.co/acoScl6s0q

— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) November 11, 2021

https://t.co/o9gZVU45UT

— TheSadTruth💙 (@ReportsDaNews) November 11, 2021

Angry Customer Throws Soup in Texas Restaurant Manager’s Face https://t.co/8JW3Ws8lWp

— RWLatstetter (@latstetter) November 11, 2021

pic.twitter.com/WnYKEO1w6x

— blmmammo (@blmmammo) November 7, 2021

At what point do we recognize & acknowledge we have a huge mental health crisis happening now in this country? https://t.co/bjKlkGvWR3

— ♿🕊️ 🙌 💉 Vaccines Are Healthcare (@LeftwardSwing) November 7, 2021

UPDATE: the situation with JFK Jr. Truthers at Dealey Plaza has, believe it or not, taken an even more bizarre turn. They've now gathered into a single line and are one by one approaching a man with a bird on his shoulder who appears to be giving them individual directions. pic.twitter.com/tgDReOM4c5

— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) November 6, 2021

Maybe you prefer your news about our Lone Star lunatics with a little less snark and more calmly-delivered facts.  Here you go.

Some leading causes of death in the State of Texas
5. Homicide: 1,653
4. Drug overdose deaths: 2,989
3. Firearm deaths: 3,583
2. Accidents: 10,763
1. Deaths from COVID19 vaccine refusal since June 1, 2021 even though vaccines widely available: 21,000

— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) November 11, 2021

Unvaccinated Texans 45x more likely to test positive for COVID, 40x more likely to die, according to new health department study https://t.co/5etVl3uCoP

— KVUE News (@KVUE) November 9, 2021

Winter is coming: As Texans fear future blackouts, regulators work to ease concerns via @nikigriswold & @karinakling https://t.co/M0gFoydSc6
Backdrop: new UT/@TexasTribune Poll shows lack of confidence in what state leaders have done so far. https://t.co/DYV1036fCn #txlege pic.twitter.com/GpCMORo2jw

— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) November 11, 2021

The worst blackout in Texas. Millions lost power. Hundreds died. THE DISCONNECT tells the #TexasPowerGrid story: how it became #deregulated, how it failed, and what could be done to fix it. Exceptional storytelling, @KUT at its best. @MoseBuchele https://t.co/EZQHLPrJ9u pic.twitter.com/IjQPd2lODq

— Robin Berghaus (@RobinPBerghaus) November 8, 2021

First Black high school principal in Texas town ousted over allegations he pushed critical race theory https://t.co/KIrzdXtbIp

— Laredo Morning Times (@lmtnews) November 10, 2021

"What has happened is so many places have sold so many copies because now people want to see what all the hubbub is. They get it and they write to me and they're almost disappointed because there's no big thing that they were looking for." pic.twitter.com/GZtY4eHCc1

— Chron (@chron) November 10, 2021

Truck drivers say ‘rolling coal’ is for ‘idiots,’ but emissions cheating is a bigger Texas problem https://t.co/Fsb1K0dEie

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) November 8, 2021

I'll take that as my segue to the climate headlines.

let me get this straight -Padre Island -Big Shell and Mustang Island are now oil fields? I never expected to have this much loss from psychopaths calling themselves career politicians. If you’re from Texas you know how sad this is...not to mention another food source elimination pic.twitter.com/QnzTpluEUE

— Pamela (@pamelamosquito) November 11, 2021

Environmental activists got a win this week: the Dallas City Council denied the application for a concrete batch plant in West Dallas that has been operating illegally for months. https://t.co/briMyP1iiC

— D Magazine (@DMagazine) November 11, 2021

Well, that does it. Time to move. | Climate change making Texas allergies worse faster than anywhere in U.S.
https://t.co/UI57soUvNt#Texas #climatechange #allergies #achoo #godbless

— San Antonio Review (@SanAntoReview) November 11, 2021

The Midland Reporter-Telegram says that illegal air pollution in the state dropped 54% in 2020 compared to '19, due in no small part to the pandemic.  (Most experts are already reporting that this decline will be short-lived.)  Charles Pierce of Esquire, only half-jokingly, says that Texas has probably outlawed the phrase 'environmental racism'.

Some legal updates, and the criminal and social justice/injustice news.

A federal judge has ruled that Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial ban on mask mandates in the state was contrary to federal law, tossing it out and allowing schools across the state to require masks if they choose.https://t.co/U2dq6VQ8tz

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) November 11, 2021

Conservative Supreme Court justices express skepticism over a Texas death row inmate’s request for a chaplain be allowed to pray out loud and touch him during his execution. https://t.co/lbjY1eBJuQ

— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) November 10, 2021

Johnson & Johnson is using the Texas two-step "in a very, very blatant way" to dump billions in liability from its racist, cancer-causing baby powder business from the company's books, @RepKatiePorter explains to @kalihollowayftw https://t.co/JouxlT4wio

— Harry Siegel (@harrysiegel) November 2, 2021

ICYMI: Once Again, Delta-8 THC Is Back on Controlled Substance List in Texas

https://t.co/7lKRImbmA5

— Dallas Observer (@Dallas_Observer) November 12, 2021

UPDATE: An 18-year-old has been arrested and charged with arson in connection to a fire at Congregation Beth Israel that caused $25,000 in damage. https://t.co/sKsdCMNpfx

— KVUE News (@KVUE) November 11, 2021

Thread. Another teenager was killed by the cash bail system in Houston. He was 19, had an IQ of 62, and weighed 98 pounds. He had never been arrested before, and the DA and the judges put him in a cage because he couldn't pay a couple thousand dollars. His story is important.

— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) November 5, 2021

In this essay, @JenniferToon4 writes about the mental and emotional abuse that incarcerated women experience. "The constant barrage of insults, the belittling, the daily microaggressions from prison staff ... Every day, invisible wounds to the spirit." https://t.co/rm7Apm1Omd

— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) November 10, 2021

After a six-week investigation, the Waller County District Attorney leveled a suite of charges at the teenage motorist for running over six cyclistshttps://t.co/Zbn1EtP9S8

— Chron (@chron) November 8, 2021

Stop spreading unfounded rumors about the Travis Scott concert, says police chief who spread unfounded rumor about the Travis Scott concert:https://t.co/ZtoJ7gpY7Z #hounews

— John Tedesco (@John_Tedesco) November 10, 2021

#ASTROWORLDFest #ACAB #HouNews https://t.co/6pQJGkn5zF

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) November 11, 2021

I'll save the politics and elections updates for tomorrow or Monday.  Here's a couple of media updates, and one soother.

Pioneering Houston alternative media outlet sold to mysterious owner https://t.co/EPcSQDIOJM

— CultureMap Houston (@culturemap) November 9, 2021

Texas is diminished tonight. Jewett is a little town of about 1200 people that lies about 50 miles northeast of College Station. Today its 136-year-old newspaper printed for the final time. You can read, and download in a .pdf, the final edition here: https://t.co/4CFsJM8fgE

— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) November 11, 2021

Best story in the newspaper today? Someone lost the mother-in-law’s bird in the Cracker Barrel parking lot. #galvnews pic.twitter.com/7nAMgqRj2H

— John Wayne Ferguson (@JohnWFerguson) November 11, 2021

Terlingua is undoubtedly one of Texas' most famous ghost towns. However, there are many other once-bustling communities scattered across the state.

Here are the stories of four of Texas’ lesser-known ghost towns. https://t.co/oPs1njuGyy

— Texas Highways Magazine (@TexasHighways) November 6, 2021