Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for July 26, 2011

I guess that means there was already an infestation of lawyers in place by the time Columbus landed.

Title search? What’s a title se… We don’t need no stinking title search. This land belongs to Queen Isabella of Castile. Don’t like sue Her.

Lawyers sprout up like dandelions.

No good deed.

but he will need a good surveyor

The New World didn’t need to be discovered. There were already people here

Actually, if Columbus was that bothered by it, he’d have discovered the place was already under ownership.

The new history of the discovery of America!

The first foreign invaders walked across. My ancestors left a tombstone in Mass for Prince Henry Sinclair’s first knight (Irish) around 1200. The vikings didn’t leave a thing so it’s just their word. Spain and Portugal were smart enough to get the Popes approval beforehand so they got the choice real estate.

It’s a rerun, but it’s still funny!

@ LewreaderThe Vikings did leave proof; the “experts” just refused to believe it possible for anyone before Columbus to have done it until the past few decades.And yeah, there were plenty of people already here (including some of my ancestors). We didn’t have lawyers.

It will take as long as he can rack up billable hours.

You mean land records weren’t computerized yet?? It makes title searches so much faster!

You can see the remains of a Viking settlement in L’anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. (As I’m told EVERY DAY in Newfoundland Tourism TV ads!!)

the wait for the next day’s cartoon took longer than expected, too

When he’s finished with the title search, he can start on the environmental impact statement.

99 out of 100 Lawyers are ruining it for that other one!

Right on!!

Isn’t infestation the proper collective for lawyers?

My ancestors had been in North America for over 12,000 years before Columbus landed in CUBA! Title searches of course came much later, as both Spanish and English claimed the land for royalty— kinda’ like what Boehner wants to do today!

The “New” World was stolen.

The significance of Columbus’ discovery was that the Americas stayed discovered. The original explorers never went back to report it, the Chinese, Jampanese, Polynesians, Carthaginians, Vinkings or whoever else claims to have stumbled upon the landmasses prior didn’t go back to report it either.

Actually, Columbus discoverd the Bahamas first, murdered all the natives (except those he kept for slaves) then moved on to Hispanola, where he murderd all the natives…..

Yep, Lawyers and hookers. The two proffessions as old as dirt.

The Great Nations of Europe had gathered on the shoreThey’d conquered what was behind them and now they wanted more,So they looked to the mighty ocean and took to the Western sea,The Great Nations of Europe in the 16th century.

The Grand Canary Islands first land to which they cameThey slaughtered all the canaries there which gave the land its nameThere were natives there called Guanches, Guanches by the scoreBut bullets, disease, the Portuguese, they weren’t there any more.

Columbus sailed for India, found El Salvador instead,He shook hands with some Indians and soon they all were dead,They got TB and typhoid and athlete’s foot, diphtheria and the flu,‘Scuse me, Great Nations comin’ through!

Balboa found the Pacific, and on the trail one dayHe met some friendly Indians whom he was told were gay,So he had them torn apart by dogs, on religious grounds they say,The Great Nations of Europe were quite holy in their way.

Now they’re gone, they’re gone, they’re really goneYou never seen anyone so goneSome bones hidden in a canyon, some paintings in a caveThey’re no use tryin’ to save them, there’s nothin’ left to save.

Hide your wives and daughters, hide your sons as well,With the Great Nations of Europe, you never can tell..

— Randy Newman

Yes, I have heard of them paying off. A friend of mine had a mixup on the title which caused her to be billed for property tax which was not hers. The title company made good on it.

I work in real estate, so I shared this with a few friends, including a title officer. They all loved it.

If they had done a title search, history would have been a lot more boring.