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Redoing the comics page is one of the things about my time in Features that I recall least fondly.

That said, "Pearls Before Swine" is not funny. It wasn't funny when we looked at it four or five years ago and it hasn't aged well. Yes, now that I have neither responsibility nor a vote on the matter, I don't have to deal with reader reaction to that opinion. So I'm off the hook. But still.

Pearls Before Swine needs to be killed, and I don't mean just letting it fade out while we line up a replacement. I mean right between the eyes, right now. In its place run this text block: WE KILLED "PEARLS BEFORE SWINE" BECAUSE IT WASN'T FUNNY. THIS SPACE WILL REMAIN BLANK UNTIL WE FIND AN APPROPRIATE REPLACEMENT, WHICH, GIVEN THE STATE OF CURRENT AMERICAN CARTOONING, MIGHT TAKE A WHILE.

OK, we might have to edit for space. Still.

Then let's find something funny. Here's a hint: You might want to start with online-only strips. I saw what the syndicates had to offer when I was in Features. By and large, their offerings were swine before which we should not cast the pearls of our readers' attention, and if anything had changed since, I'm sure we'd have heard about it.

Have only seen a couple of strips, but extra points to the creator for christening it with a biblically flavored rhetorical smack to those who DON'T like it...

But Lex, wouldn't I have to put that text block on most of the strips?

Oh Man !
Brings back fond memories - some of the best times I ever had involved women wearing no underwear. What's with these people - they don't want me to view college women vividly displaying emotion when playing basketball, editorial cartoons supposedly offensive to Muslims, flag draped coffins of our war dead being returned to Dover AFB, and now some cartoon character supposedly without her panties - I mean I grew up on Donald Duck running around without britches - I don't recall Daisy ever complaining. Get some spine John - you're running a newspaper!

Holden, you have to be clearer than that. Get some spine and kill it (which would be caving to the offended reader) or get some spine and leave it (which is what we're doing)?

John -
You do know, don't you, that the same GSO outfit that was gutsy enuf to print those controversial editorial cartoons also runs five or six panels of "Pearls Before Swine" each & every week - I don't think killing a supposedly offensive comic strip would have even been a question over there but glad to hear you're gonna keep offending. If you really wanna rid the N&R of offensive material how 'bout starting with that silly blather about serious & competative football being played by any of the four in state ACC schools -

>

Why, yes. Your point being ...?

Low blow, Holden. We never were considering killing the comic strip because it may give offense. Lex has a better standard: it just ain't all that funny. (And as I've said before, it doesn't take courage to decide whether to publish a comic strip.)

John -
If being funny is the criteria for the comic pages how 'bout getting rid of "Judge Parker" - you & I both know that Lex (whoever she is) was offended by "Pearls Before Swine" and thus wants it gone - I'm offended by what you don't print, how about printing the salaries of all Guilford County School employees - start with Terry Grier and continue with the salary each & every school employee, their job description, how many days were they absent last year? How about informing us of how many people are on Elizabeth Dole's staff, the salary and job description of each, what kind of perks do Senate Staffers get? How about the same for those who represent Guilford County in Raleigh? How about the same for some government agencies, how many people work for the IRS, how many days vacation do they get each year, job description, salaries? Get some spine -be a newspaper!

As the current features editor, I can say that Pearls Before Swine has been the most popular addition to the comics page in my tenure. Of any comic we've added, it's gotten the most positive response from readers and the least negative ones.

Humor is, as JR pointed out, a very subjective thing. Any changes made to the comics page generally provoke an outpouring of discontent. With Pearls, there was barely a whisper.

Printing salaries of public employees is your standard for showing a spine, Holden? Your standard's pretty low. What would happen? They'd get mad at us? Given that the bigwigs in public position are already always mad at us, I'm thinking printing their salaries wouldn't be much.

Good Grief John -
Low standards? Give me a break! You're running a newspaper that's printing recipes for Walnut Oat Crusted Halibut & Tomato Soup with Orzo while the Guilford County Public School System is failing at almost every turn in the road. And I've got low standards? How about holding those clowns accountable, how about holding their feet to the fire - publish the salary of each and every administrative school employee, publish their job description, while at the same time, informing your readers of the failings of local public education - I'll bet when your readers realize how much they're paying for the little they're getting educational improvements will be forthcoming and then you folks at the N&R will have contributed to something meaningful - something beyond asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon and comics that aren't funny.

Hey, I'm just happy my local paper is running Tim Rickard's strip now.

And they got rid of Cathy and Mary Worth. Now THAT takes courage.

(And yes, Holden, The Washington Post has a fine food section. Great Home section, too.)

Hey, I'm going back to sleep - I'm happy with fifth graders reading at second grade level and a drop out rate of 30 percent.

I recently discovered the strip "Pearls Before Swine," and enjoy it very much, especially the crocodile fraternity.
And I laughed out loud at the "no underwear" strip.
Mike
Who has been enjoying the comics for 55 years, including Pogo, Opus, and Calvin and Hobbes.

I heard on TV yesterday, April 11 Barack Obama the President candidate saying that he hopes his two tall daughters will go to a college on sport scholarship. I would like to hear that our future Presidents might be Rhodes scholars or that they might want their children, our next generation, to be Rhodes scholars that future of our country belong to the children who will promote physics, chemistry, history more that sport achievements.
I hope that he really did not meant what he said but used the opportunity only to please black community. For whatever reason was, it is bad; he is not honest or really sees our future as the sport arena.
I am a democrat and would not vote for Barack Obama!