The ground doesn't appear to be the only thing thawing out recently, both here in America and around the world.
The news stories we've been featuring here and talking about elsewhere have been catching not just our eyes and ears, but the attention of a great number of people.
There have been stories that have made our heads spin - like the Supreme Court ruling that the Westboro Baptist "Church" (or any group like them) can demonstrate at military funerals. There have also been stories that burn us up - like the continuing attack on workers by people who have no idea what the history of labor really is.
Some of these stories have gotten a number of you and more than a few other Americans riled up across the country.
That's good.
We think that some of these stories SHOULD be getting your attention, making you get off your backside, grab your coat, and getting you to become active in your community, no matter how old you are. Get involved! Be passionate! Be informed! Be educated!!
These are all blessings that Americans often take for granted that we so often forget not everyone in the world has.
In fact, most people don't have the same experience we do.
We're not saying "America is the best place in the world, for everyone!" It IS a great place - and we're all generally happy we live here. It works well for all of us.
However, things could be so much worse for our staff, our friends, our families - even you who are reading this right now.
We could live in the squalor of refugee camps in Somalia - or in the prison camps of China.
We could all be stuck in North Korea. As citizens.
We could be living in the earthquake shattered shell of Christchurch, New Zealand - or in the earthquake and tsunami affected areas of Japan.
We could be pinned down in the drug cartel battleground regions of Mexico - or we could be in the true war zones of Afghanistan or Pakistan.
But we're not. [Most of us, anyway. For those serving overseas? Thank you.]
We're not saying the stories we tell you daily through cartoons or commentaries aren't important. They are, and if they weren't, we wouldn't place so much focus on them.
That being said, things could be so much worse - for most of you reading this and for us as well. So this weekend, we hope you take a moment to count your blessings and be grateful for what you have.
Come Monday, were sure we'll have more stories of dumb people doing stupid and/or evil things. The list never seems to end.
Think of it as job security for your Daily Felltoon staff.
