This one began as a cartoon about the "new" scientific method employed by the GOP -- 1. Decide the results you want; 2. Fudge the data; 3. Announce conclusions (see step one) -- and then it morphed into a science fair which put that method into practice. I thought about including a public service announcement for kids saying, "This is your brain. This is your brain on empiricism" with the visual of Satan twirling a brain-kabob over a pit of open flames, but there was no room, and I thought that might be a little stock, as the members of Metallica say in "Some Kind of Monster."

I must confess, as an elementary-school student, I used to get really excited about the science fair. I won a few ribbons, too, though I suspect my success was partly due to my elaborately-illustrated displays.