It's been a while, so here are three drawings that describe How Things Work. I can't vouch for the accuracy of any of these, as I don't have a clue how anything works. It's all string theory or donut theory or little magic
homunculi pulling levers to me.
The first is The Government. This was for a Dave Barry article in the Post Magazine.
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The next is The Senate, and it was for the New Yorker, back when a group of senators was threatening the "nuclear option". They may be better behaved now.
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The last is Everything Else. It was for a
NYer piece on conspiracies and how they comfort the idiots who believe in them.
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There now, hope it's all clear. I'm working on one on The Economy, so you won't have to worry about that any more.