Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for December 09, 2014

The Soviets were great believers in press freedom.

The stereotype is that the Russians tend to be trigger happy and are prone to overkill. Operating in close proximity to the Soviet military. What’s the worst that can happen?

Make sure to bring back a blanket or a hound.

You shoot down ONE passenger plane and everybody equates you to KAL-007

I knew a reporter who would shove to the front of a line at an airline counter, waving her press pass and screaming, “Press! I need to get through!” When her newspaper went under a few years ago, I wondered if she was going to use her pass to get to the front of line at the unemployment office.

And for something completely different, I bring you, “Krocodil.”

Substitute “American” for “Soviet” or “Russian” and you have the situation that is Afghanistan today. Nothing changes there except the players.

I always thought that this was his comment on the “great” CBS anchor at that time-Dan Rather-who did exactly what is portrayed in the comic above. I have always thought that Roland was based on Dan Rather.I was quite amused when Rather made his Afghanistan reports, like he was filming far behind enemy lines-with his all american crew. Rolands remark, Hell they won’t bother you, your press, makes me think of reports from Rather over the years, and his arrogance when he was in the WH pool

And because of that, he lost his cool and fell right into the trap that Bush’s handlers had set for him.Rather was not a shining example of a journalist, unlike his predecessor.

@DavidHuieGreenTrudeau agreed with you regarding the the Soviets trying to take over the world.

I still believe the invasion showed how weak and insecure the Soviet Union actually was, an empire rotting away from the inside.

“I still believe the invasion showed how weak and insecure the Soviet Union actually was, an empire rotting away from the inside.”.No disagreement here in concept since it was both a bureaucracy and thugocracy, existing solely by willingness to steal and kill. They only survived by conquering and looting others because they didn’t understand how to invest and develop their vast natural resources of people and land and minerals. .This doesn’t make a cornered beast safer to be around and they were monsters from the get-go, slaughtering tens of millions of their own people without qualms.

Of course I was referring to the Soviet, then Russian satire newspaper…..