In This Family, They Show How Wholesome They Are By Othering Members Who Don't Conform!

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Officer 444.

And the awful joke about the woman who murdered her kids is a relief because it puts an end to the antisemitism.

For now.

A Confirmation Muir Has Never Read 'Oliver Twist'.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because A Woman in the Web.

So, this is the next week and a half, eh? Muir whining and begging for more money while insisting, no, no, that's not what he's doing.

...

Oh, boy, that's going to be tiresome.

The Mystery Business(TM) Era; Part 15: A New, MORE Inferior Sort Of Leftist.

 By 2006, both the political situation and Muir's strip had changed.  As noted before, Muir had painted the opposition to the Iraq War as a bunch of shiftless, cowardly hippies during the War's buildup--after the quick fall of Saddam's government, he went to ignoring them outright, clearly feeling that the matter was over and he had won. However, the opposition to the War didn't stop and instead broadened, especially as toppling Saddam did not in fact lead to a speedy peace, but instead to a violent insurgency and lengthy occupation. Now, as noted last time, Muir's response to what was actually happening in Iraq was a mixture of studiously ignoring it, and actively gaslighting about it, all while whining about how the press/Democrats/people were misleading the public and being unpatriotic and stuff. But that still left him a more visible, militant Left to deal with than the sort of genteel establishment liberalism represented by Jan. Muir could see the need for another Left character.

And of course, there were other issues with Jan--while she was still allowed moments of her previous feckless idiocy to show what Muir imagined was the liberal viewpoint, her relationship with Damon moved her firmly into one of the good ones, a person Muir imagined was only kept from seeing the transcendent truth by sentimentality, habit, and of course, the evil Leftist conspiracy to lead good young women like her astray. While she hadn't moved completely to her Fox Liberal role yet of showing the audience just how wretched the Democrats were by having this liberal staring agog at their perfidy, she was already making moves in that direction. And of course, both these moves had another source that we'll talk about in the future when we talk about a... certain aspects of the strip, and how it stood at this time. (Let's put a pin in that one, all right?)

Now, the fact was Muir didn't mind this, because he'd clearly had a lot of fun with his vision of the anti-war Left during the buildup, people he enjoyed punching even more than the Democrats. That undifferentiated blob of stupid hippies started showing up again, and then in 2006, a couple were shown praising themselves for booing Hillary Clinton, allowing Muir to bash both her and them simultaneously. A couple strips later, and "Sky" explains that she's going to go visit her in Florida, one of the few clear references to the setting at this point.

And boom. Like that, Sam suddenly had a younger sibling. (That Sam had never mentioned such a sibling previously or the fact that, initially, Sam and her sister had in the vicinity of twenty years between them were just part of the shoddy construction.) Skye--she gained the 'e' on her third appearance--was that mass of dirty hippie peaceniks concentrated into one character. Written to be as obnoxious as possible, she was lazy, perennially unemployed, viciously self-righteous, in essence, every form of sheer awfulness that Muir imagined when he imagined a leftist. She willfully sponges off her sister, a complete parasite. Indeed, Skye isn't going to have any sort of discernible job for years, just floating around and being "left". She's rude, childish, and egotistical. Of course, so is the rest of Muir's cast, but Muir doesn't realize that, he thinks they're quirky and lovable. Another thing that will be come clear very quickly is that Skye's bluntness means she frequently puts her arguments rather forcibly, making the supposedly right-thinking cast look even worse. But again, Muir doesn't notice that. He simply assumes he's built a loser, and that the audience will respond as expected.

And so, his new straw leftist in hand, Muir waits for the Democrats' inevitable defeat in 2006 so he can chuckle about them thinking all this criticism of the glorious war was a good idea.

The Democrats win control of Congress. Muir is irritated, but still convinced that it's all just a temporary disturbance. And that will produce... well, a lot. Oh, such a lot.

So, Does He Like Rubio, Or Does He Not Like Rubio?

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Secret of Treasure Island.

Rubio these days reminds of that famous bit in A Man for All Seasons, where More comments to Richard Rich, the man who's perjured himself to help destroy More for a fairly insubstantial reward, that he could at least understand a man selling his soul for the world, but selling it for Wales baffles him. The man's given up every scrap of dignity he had--which to be fair was not much--to be Trump's gofer.

And when it is done, he will watch the cult that he's doing it for splinter into pieces, while those like him find themselves likely paying a greater price than the fool they've done it all for.

The Astonishing Thing Is Muir Thinks She's MORE Likable Now.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Mysterious Pilot.

"Also, I was created by a creepy cartoonist who started wanting to hatefuck me, so he just changed my politics to turn me into someone he'd find less objectionable."

"YES, THIS IS CLEARLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CALIFORNIA RIGHT NOW!"

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Don Daredevil Rides Again.

It's kind of fascinating that he jumps onto the Swalwell story well after it's fallen to the wayside, and crows triumphantly about the state of California Democrats right as the governor's race starts seeing solid front-runners emerge. But then coming in a day late and a dollar short while screaming about bright futures that don't happen has been Muir's calling card for decades now, hasn't it?

Just So Much... Ugh.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The James Brothers of Missouri.

...

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There's a voice in my mind going 'And into this strip, the Dork Lord poured all his misogyny, all his lust, and all his simultaneous hatred of and abasement before wealth and power.'

It sounds like Cate Blanchett, so that's cool.

See, It's Okay, Because She's Virtual...

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because G-Men Never Forget.

Ahh, yes, Muir doing the bit where he mixes being sleazy with being self-righteous. Never gets old.

Well, He's Certainly Dealing With Issues. Of A Sort.

 It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Burn 'Em Up Barnes.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again--the extent to which Muir has checked out is breathtaking. We get strip after strip of him just whining about how powerless he is, in a Republican trifecta, because nothing is working, and so he has to go extra-heavy on the conspiracy to keep the reality that everything he wants is shit from breaking through.  

Jackie Gleason Sarcastically Saying "Har De Har Har."

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Hurricane Express.

There is something so wearisome in this pretense of wit, in Muir trying to pretend he isn't saying what he's saying, and imagining he's getting away with it.

What Could It All Mean?

 It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Shadow of the Eagle.

While this all could be Muir starting out one of his patented about-faces, I think Skye is about to tell her daughter that it's too early to tell, can't separate the wheat from the chaff yet, etc.

I just don't think he's ready to move on yet.

Somehow, The Magitech Is Only Getting Lamer.

 It's the Day's Day of Days! Because King of the Wild.

The reminder that Muir watches things like Star Trek without comprehending them is looking quite pointed now.

Youdacrooks, Wedagoodies, Youdacrooks, Wedagoodies...

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The King of the Kongo.

It's just extra-amusing that this blatant bullshit where Muir tries to insist that the crook was the hero and the hero was the crook happens shortly after a Texas State Senate seat deep in Trump country flips.

Keep yelling Muir. It will make you feel better.

I'm Just Going To Sit Here Stunned For A Moment.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Fatal Warning.

...It's the projection that gets you, Muir imagining he's just being a witty guy telling it like it is when he's being... well, this.

Overhunting Coupled With Cyclic Population Patterns. Oh, Wait, That Wasn't Supposed To Be Answered.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Vultures of the Sea.

I even have the misfortune to know just what he's referencing here, and this strip still leaves me somewhat puzzled.

Well, except for the eternal tendency of Muir's in-universe media endeavors to work through this strange sort of cargo cult fashion, Muir having the cast just do a rough version of media things, and somehow, it works until Muir gets bored with it.

Finding New And More Awful Ways To Insist He's Not Actually What He Is.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because she wants to be loved by you, and only you.

There's always something wretched when we get another look at Muir's awful brainless, virtueless Christianity. And using it to announce that he isn't an antisemite because Jesus...

Ugh.

The Only Thing Better Than Misogyny To Muir's Mind Is Misogyny Mixed With Racism And Classism!

 It's the Day's Day of Days! Because They Can Only Hang You Once.

Jesus fucking Christ.

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Remember, folks, if you're poor, Black, and speak with a dialect, it's a sign of how inferior you are.

As opposed to White folk with dialects, who are of course, good and virtuous.

Also, the poor are inferior and deserve to starve. Doing this won't have any negative repercussions at all. It can't! How can society need people who aren't well-to-do? How? 

The Sharp Mind That Runs This Thing On Constant Handouts From Wealthy Friends!

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Women, Politics, & Murder.

Sometimes it's underlined that Muir made Skye worse when decided to fix her and make her a Right Winger.

And she was pretty horrible before that.

Eva's Going To Devolve Into Abstract Shapes In Response To This.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Girl with the Silver Eyes.

In my mind, Skye has become some grotesque creature whose appearance destroys sanity and that's why we haven't seen her for two strips in which she has been talking with her own daughter.

Not Creepy At All.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Lady in the Lake (1943).

...

This is just sad.