I think Sunday has previously been “Funday”, but the joy of having two days of the week that rhyme with “Funday” is that it’s a moveable feast

People often say that the funniest jokes or cartoons or movies are funny partly because there is a large dose of truth in them. That’s certainly the case with this cartoon a friend of mine posted on Facebook.

If you’ve been following The Soapbox, The 15th Station or The View from Down Here — or all three — you will be aware of the controversy around President Barack Obama’s health care legislation and in particular who should have to pay for the contraception and sterilisation procedures of women. Originally, every employee other than a house of worship would have had to pay for it. Then, last month, the President said the insurance companies would have to pay if a religious institution like a Catholic hospital or university felt paying for it directly was a violation of religious freedom. That hasn’t satisfied the bishops, though. But it seems like, from the administration’s perspective, it’s a case of “We fixed it, so there’s nothing left to fix.”

On a related note, there has been some major controversy in Afghanistan over the burning of copies of the Koran, which was done either accidentally or intentionally, depending on who you choose to believe. Whatever the specifics, President Obama and countless other senior US officials have been apologising profusely ever since, especially in the wake of violent protests and the killing of some US military personnel.

Now, I don’t want to belittle the lives of the men killed in service of their country, but there does seem to be a double standard in play in terms of to whom one should apologise for offending religious sensibilities. Catholics aren’t protesting the health mandate outside the White House and chanting hateful insults, nor threatening or carrying out violence.

Either way, this cartoon seems to sum up the feelings of a lot of people.