The look on Elspeth's face in the third panel makes me giggle. One rarely knows when they're going to be smacked, and even if they do know they usually aren't ready for it. I believe the surprise usually has more impact than any pain which may result from the action. Unless you get smacked with something like a brick or a baseball bat anyway... pain is definitely more prominent then.

And while this isn't super recent, President Obama has made a "historic" nomination of Sonja Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Funny how everything he seems to do is "historic". Also funny how President Obama chooses the most unqualified and unreliable people for positions of importance in the U.S. government. If you want to know more about it, consult a search engine... the information is quite available to those who seek it. Now, what to do about this particular nomination? Well, if you are against her being a justice as I am, let your representatives in Congress know. Inform representatives in other states as well. The more vocal we, the followers of the U.S. Constitution, become, the more impact we can make.