As we all know, Congress voted to cancel Donald Trump's declaration of a border emergency and Trump has vetoed that cancellation. So the will of the Congress — not to mention the American people if the polls are to be believed — is being overridden. I'd write an essay here on why this is so troubling but William Saletan has penned a much better one than I could muster.

I'll just add that what's so distressing about this is the total lack of principle involved here…unless you think "I've gotta save my political ass" is a principle. Anyone think the Senators and Congressfolks who sided with Trump on this one would have supported Obama or Clinton if they'd done the same thing? Of course not. The laws don't apply to our guy.

Each A.M. these days, I awake to the latest news stories that don't make Donald Trump look good. In the last twenty-four hours, we've had new evidence that a pardon was dangled before Michael Cohen to maybe get him to clam up, sentencing for Paul Manafort, new indictments of Paul Manafort, misquoting of the judge in the Manafort case who didn't actually say there was no proof of Russian collusion, and doubts about the sworn testimony of former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, plus we're still learning more about this "Mar-a-Lago massage parlor mogul" who was allegedly selling access to Trump and his aides.

That last matter all alone would have some raising the specter of impeachment for any other president…but with Trump, it's like "Add it to the pile." And I'm probably leaving a couple of things out or there's been a new one since I checked the news ten minutes ago.

This constant drip of accusations and revelations can't be pleasing anyone. If you dislike Trump, it's more evidence of his criminal (or sometimes, just plain stupid) doings, coupled with the frustration that they don't seem to be moving him towards the exit doors, at least not yet. If you like Trump, it's one more thing — followed by one more thing and one more thing and one more thing — that's hard to defend. And you've probably figured out by now that this is never going to stop. Every single day this man is in office, and even after he leaves, there's going to be at least one more of these.

My friends who like Trump seem to like him mainly because he isn't Hillary Clinton or someone with her policies. I don't get that they really think he's a good man, an honest man, a brilliant businessguy, a great negotiator — any of those — though they might tell a pollster otherwise. None of them think he's read one of those Bibles he keeps signing as if he were its author. None of them think he's read it or cares about any principle taught in its pages. They just like the direction in which he seems to be steering the country and deep down wish there was someone at the wheel who didn't make so many gaffes, didn't say so many things that are provably false, hadn't talked about grabbing women and moving on them like a bitch, etc.

For the time though, we're all just stuck with him. In that sense, I guess he's bringing us together. It's mainly to fight but at least we're together.

I don't think they make the "Shout Elmo" toy anymore, which is a shame. When I saw this commercial, all I could think of is that if I knew an adult with a small child and I wanted to make that adult's life a living hell and drive them to the point of self-immolation, all I'd have to do is give one of these to the kid…

Terry Barrett writes…

I know almost nothing about comic books and you seem to know everything about comic books. Can you explain why there's a movie with a character named Captain Marvel and another movie called Shazam! about a character named Captain Marvel?

I can. In 1939, a company called Fawcett Publishing introduced a super-hero by that name as a quick response to debut of Superman. That Captain Marvel was created by a writer named Bill Parker and drawn by artist C.C. Beck. He was a young orphan boy named Billy Batson who could turn into the adult hero Captain Marvel by shouting the magic word, "Shazam!" The comic was a huge success with sales that sometimes dwarfed those of Superman…and so the firm that owned Superman — the company we now know as DC Comics — sued over the similarities.

The lawsuit dragged on into the fifties. By that point, sales of Captain Marvel comics had declined and the folks at Fawcett were less interested in keeping their hero alive than in ridding themselves of the lawsuit and the attendant legal fees. They settled outta-court with DC, paying a reported $400,000 and getting out of the comic book business. They later got back in but did not revive the Good Captain because they'd agreed never to publish him again without DC's consent.

In 1966, a small publisher named Myron Fass realized the name "Captain Marvel" was up for grabs. It still had a certain amount of fame and since the hottest thing on the comic racks was the new Marvel line, he figured it might be a commercial title for a new hero. He commissioned Carl Burgos (who had once upon a time created the Human Torch) to create a brand-new Captain Marvel, totally unlike the Fawcett version.

This one was an android from another world who could fly and order his arms and legs to split from his body by yelling "Split!" If it sounds like a stupid idea for a comic, it was.

Martin Goodman, who then owned Marvel, was pretty unhappy about this infringement on the use of the word "Marvel." He got his lawyers busy and he also gave the order for his company to quickly come up with a new Captain Marvel which they began publishing. There was another of those outta-court settlements and the Myron Fass version went away.  In fact, Fass never published color comic books again, publishing just about everything else, including gory black-and-white horror comics in magazine form.

Marvel's Captain Marvel debuted in 1967 shortly before the Fass version went away. This one also was totally unlike the Fawcett hero. His first story was done by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, though others were apparently involved in its development. It quickly became one of those comics that was handed around from writer to writer and artist to artist (never a good sign) with frequent revamps and format changes — some successful for a time, some not. There were many points where it probably would have been canceled had not Marvel's lawyers recommended keeping a book called Captain Marvel in print to preserve the company's claim on the title.

They had all the more reason to protect it in 1973 when, based on a suggestion from Jack Kirby, DC made an arrangement with Fawcett. The old Billy Batson Captain Marvel was revived as a DC comic…but since it couldn't be called Captain Marvel, they named the comic Shazam! and in a sub-title, noted that it featured a hero named Captain Marvel. DC later bought out every interest Fawcett had in the property.

Both Captains Marvel have appeared intermittently, not always to acceptable sales, and both have undergone changes as various creative teams attempted to find something that readers would support for a while.   DC has changed the name of their Captain Marvel to Shazam but the old name pops up now and then.  Marvel's C.M. has changed more over the years with the name passing to protagonists of different races and genders. That's a long explanation that you don't need and it's one I have no interest in wading through. Perhaps the current movie versions will each establish one particular version for an extended period.

Anyway, that's how come Marvel has a comic book called Captain Marvel featuring a character named Captain Marvel, and DC has a comic book called Shazam! featuring a character that is officially referred to as Shazam but sometimes Captain Marvel. Which is all you really wanted to know, right?

• Paul Manafort just got an additional 43 months in prison…so that's 7.5 years total. Think how long he'd be serving if he hadn't led a blameless life.

• I'm shocked to hear the Rite-Aid drug store chain is eliminating 400 jobs. I've been in dozens of Rite-Aid outlets and I would never have dreamed they had 400 employees.

No sooner am I back from one convention then I'm packing for another. March 29, 30 and 31, I'll be down at the Anaheim Convention Center for this year's WonderCon Anaheim…and so, if you have a lick of sense, will you. This is always an excellent gathering with plenty to see, plenty to do, plenty to buy and plenty of panels hosted by Yours Truly.

The whole schedule can be inspected at this link. Following is the list of what I'm doing…and you'll notice that there's one panel that I'm on but not moderating and that it's scheduled opposite another panel which I'm moderating in another room. I can't wait to see how I'm going to manage that either. Also, the listing below adds in the names of a few panelists who were confirmed too late to get into the online schedule. What's here is right.

Friday, 3/29/19 at 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM in Room 208
The Mark, Sergio and Probably Tom Show
The folks who bring you Groo the Wanderer explain why they haven't brought you Groo the Wanderer lately and they discuss when and where you will see the Mindless Mendicant again in your local comic shop. Join the award-winning team of WonderCon Special Guests Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés as they speak and answer questions about their work, together and apart in comics, plus the hardest-working man in comics — Tom Luth, who colors Groo — will be along to reveal what it's like to spend every waking minute of the day coloring crowd scenes.

Friday, 3/29/19 at 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM in Room 213AB
Bob Clampett's Beany & Cecil: A 70th Anniversary Celebration
On February 28, 1949, the great director of Warner Brothers cartoons, Bob Clampett, segued into television with the debut of Time for Beany, the first great kids show to also attract an adult audience. Originally a puppet show featuring the voices of the legendary Daws Butler and Stan Freberg, it won one of the first Emmy Awards and later became one of the most popular animated programs of all time. Bob's own kids, Ruth Clampett and Robert Clampett, Jr., present memories and rare video from this TV classic along with moderator Mark Evanier.

Friday, 3/29/19 at 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM in Room 208
What's the Point?
Why can't a banana just be a banana? Why can't stories simply be about what happens to characters, instead of needing to express some deeper meaning? To help hash this out, come see moderator Lee Nordling (two-time Eisner Award nominee), industry legend Marv Wolfman (after Stan Lee, the creator of more characters produced for film and TV than any other comics creator), writer-editor Barbara Randall Kesel (Star Wars, Hellboy, Alien: Genocide), and writer Mark Evanier (Garfield & Friends, Groo the Wanderer).

Friday, 3/29/19 at 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM in Room 300B
Writing for Animation
Have you ever wanted to write cartoons for a living? If so, you'll want to listen to a panel of folks who have actually done it and done a lot of it. Come and hear from Moderator Mark Evanier (The Garfield Show, Thundarr The Barbarian), John Semper (Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Static Shock), Julien Magnat (The Garfield Show, Ben 10) and Shaene M. Siders (Niko and the Sword of Life, Woody Woodpecker).

Saturday, 3/30/19 at 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM, in Room North 200B
Quick Draw!
By now, you've probably heard of this fast 'n' funny competition where some of the speediest cartoonists on the globe cross Sharpies in a test of who can draw the funniest idea in the least amount of time. Your Quick Draw Quizmaster Mark Evanier throws the challenges at Sergio Aragonés (MAD Magazine, Groo the Wanderer), Scott Shaw! (The Flintstones, The Simpsons) and Tom Richmond (MAD's Star Caricaturist). See which one emerges victorious. (Spoiler Alert: Usually, the big winner at these competitions is the audience.)

Saturday, 3/30/19 at 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM in Room North 200B
Cartoon Voices
Once again, your moderator Mark Evanier brings together a team of experts in the art of speaking for animated characters, interviews them and has them demonstrate what they do. The panel this time includes Jon Bailey (Transformers: Combiner Wars, Bumblebee), Phil LaMarr (Futurama, Samurai Jack), Alicyn Packard (Tom & Jerry, Poppy Cat), Rachel Butera (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Jim Meskimen (Avengers Assemble!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and maybe a surprise or two.

Sunday, 3/31/19 at 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM in Room 300B
Cover Story
Some say the most important part of any comic book is the cover. If that's so, we need to talk more about cover designs…and talk we will with these acclaimed cover creators: Greg Capullo (Batman, Spawn), Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman For All Seasons) and Jen Bartel (Blackbird, Black Panther). Your moderator as usual is Mark Evanier.

Sunday, 3/31/19 at 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM in Room 211
Jack Kirby Tribute
Every year at every con, Mark Evanier moderates a panel about the man many call the most important creative talent ever in comics. Discussing the late, great Jack Kirby this year will be former Kirby assistant Steve Sherman, Tom King (Mister Miracle, Batman), Tom Kraft from the The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center, John Morrow (publisher of The Jack Kirby Collector) and Paul S. Levine, attorney for the Rosalind Kirby Trust.

Badges and hotel rooms for WonderCon are still available, though I wouldn't count on both of those things being true for very long. If you wanna be a part of it, all the info you need is on the con website along with lots more useful information about the event. I should be around all three days but as is my custom, I refuse to let them give me a table or to sit behind one for very long. See you there if you're there!

Hal Blaine died the other day at the age of 90. He was a featured member of "The Wrecking Crew," that group of studio musicians who played on everyone's records or in sessions for motion picture scores and TV themes. Blaine was a drummer and to many, he was The Drummer.

Here's a montage of songs where his artful percussion skills were heard. This doubtlessly represents way less than 1% of all he did but perhaps you'll recognize a tune or two. Thanks to Shelly Goldstein for suggesting this…

It's being kinda announced that soon there will be an announcement of another revival of The Music Man, this one to star Hugh Jackman. Boy, I want to see that. Hope they don't change the ending and have Marian the Librarian run away from him.

You may have heard that a battle is raging between the Writers Guild of America and many of the agencies that represent their members. This article by Steven Zeitchik does a good job of explaining the issue but if you're too lazy to click, here's the one-line summary: A lot of agencies that are supposed to get jobs for their clients are less interested in doing that then they are in putting together deals where the agency assumes a producer's role and collects on the entire revenues of the show or movie.

There is no question that this goes on. It has as long as I've been in the field which is since around 1975 and it was not new then. It's one of those things that wasn't a big issue when only a few agencies were doing it but it's become so prevalent now that it's creating problems. I have no opinion on what can or should be done about it.

There are writers who have done very well being part of packages. Your agent represents your interests but also represents the project on which you work…most of the stars and/or producers and/or directors, etc. That can be fine up to a point, that point being when your interests diverge with those of the others involved in the venture. Your agent can't really fight for you against his other clients, some of whom make way more money for him than you do.

I haven't had an agent in something like fifteen or twenty years. My old one, who was terrific, got out of the business and I was working too steadily to get around to finding someone else. I've had a couple of good lawyers who could handle what I needed. Every now and then, I meet an agent and we talk about representation but I haven't found quite what I'm not-that-actively looking for.

About ten or twelve years ago, I was talking with a producer who was then talking to the Academy of Motion Pictures about producing the Oscar telecast. We got to discussing the show and how it might be improved and I guess he was impressed with some of my thoughts and also with my general knowledge of films. He said, "If I do the show — and it's possible but not probable I will — I'd like to have you aboard as one of the writers." I thought that might be nice.

A week or three later, someone else was announced as the producer and I got a call from the guy who was now not going to fill that position. He said, "Have your agent call them and tell them I was going to hire you." Well, I didn't have an agent but a few days later, I met with one who had called and asked me to come in and talk about him maybe representing me. (By the way, I always find this kind of meeting very enlightening. I've learned an awful lot about show business by talking with people who wanted to represent me but with whom I would never in a million years sign.)

The agent talked to me about his wonderful client list of not only writers but also directors and producers, and how he had a cooperative arrangement with a leading actors agency that repped some very big stars. The modus operandi he was touting was that I would bring him spec screenplays I'd written and also properties (like comic books) that I controlled and he would put together packages involving a director client of his, a producer client of his, stars from the actors' agency and perhaps other personnel. Then he would sell the whole project to a studio or network or someone with himself as an Executive Producer. I had seen this business model before many times.

I mentioned to him about how maybe I'd like to write on the Academy Awards and I told him what I just told you. Then I asked, "Could you make the call and maybe get me set up there?" And I swear to you, he replied —

"Why in the world would I do something like that?"

So there's a perfect example of why the W.G.A. and the agencies are feuding. How it will end, I have no idea.

I was always a fan of this music video by Eytan and The Embassy…

…so I really liked this parody version by someone — maybe even some of the same people involved in the original…

Nancy Pelosi says she is not interested in impeaching Donald Trump. Maybe she means that or maybe it's just political strategy…an area in which she has a fair amount of expertise.

You might decide to say that now because you're not going to do it until we hear from Robert Mueller and maybe some of the agencies and states that are investigating Trump. If their reports aren't devastating, you're probably not going to impeach even over what's already quite provable. And if further reports are devastating…well, you'll seem more reasonable and a tad less political if you then say, "Well, as you know, early in March, I went on record as not supporting impeachment but all these new revelations make it a necessity."

Or you might just think it would serve Democrats better to run against Trump in 2020 as opposed to certain scandal-free alternatives who might emerge were he to be removed from office. In any case, Pelosi sure won't lose any support she has now if she changes her position later.

Friends keep asking me if I think Trump oughta be impeached. I have two answers, one being that if he is, it shouldn't be now. It should wait until more comes out. I don't believe even his most vociferous supporters would bet there won't be more scandals or that none of the current ones will stick. I also think that those supporters would have been screaming for impeachment for some time now if a Democratic president had half the accusations that have engulfed Mr. Trump.

My favorite place in Los Angeles to consume beef — Wolfgang's Steakhouse on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills — closed as of last night. Its owner Wolfgang Zwiener operates many other Wolfgang's Steakhouses in many other cities and says he's searching for another spot in town here. I'm skeptical because in the past when a favorite eatery of mine closed and its proprietors said they'd reopen soon in another location, that never happened. We can only hope this time will be an exception.

One bright spot, though: Nate N' Al's Delicatessen will move into that piece of real estate. Nate N' Al's is located on the other side of the same block and they have to vacate their spot of many, many years because the building's being demo'ed soon. So there will at least be a great restaurant at Wolfgang's old address. It'll just be one serving the best potato salad in Los Angeles instead of one with the best Porterhouse steaks.

Meanwhile, there's a battle going on to save Tom Bergin's, an 83-year-old Irish pub/restaurant in my neighborhood. I don't care a lot about this one because I don't drink, don't like being around drinkers and because — thanks to Tom Bergin's and one other nearby Irish pub — we could usually expect one real nasty traffic accident in the area every St. Patrick's Day. The food at Tom Bergin's (which I did partake of a few times) was innocuous and I think they closed that part of the operation.

What makes this interesting is that fans of the establishment are fighting to have the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission declare it a historic cultural monument which must not be razed or significantly altered. You know, like the statue of Jubilation T. Cornpone in the center square in Dogpatch.

Many people are fighting for Tom Bergin's to be so designated. Who's against it? The owners of Tom Bergin's.

I'm all for preserving history most of the time but sometimes, it just doesn't seem practical. Tom Bergin's closed a few years ago and it reopened when the current owners acquired it to save it because they loved it. They couldn't make a go of it and now they want to unload the business and expect it will be much harder to do so — i.e., they'll get less money — if it has historic cultural monument status.

It seems to me like a business which a lot of people loved but not enough to go there often and spend money. That's the way to preserve a business: Go there and spend money. Of course, I tried that with Wolfgang's and there apparently weren't enough of us.

I refer to a lot of people on this blog as my friends…and they are. I have a lot of friends, which is an easy thing to have when you like almost everyone you meet. But one of my best friends is a fine writer named Alan Brennert. Alan has written a lot of comics and a lot of television and he's currently putting most of his skills to fine use as a novelist. His most recent one — which I admit I haven't read yet — is called Daughter of Moloka'i and nothing Alan's written has been any less than magnificent.

Recently as part of a book tour, he sat for a long interview about the new book, his earlier books and all the other things he's done. His interviewer was George R.R. Martin who's a pretty good interviewer — a field he might explore since obviously, that Game of Thrones thing of his doesn't have any kind of following. The chat runs 72 minutes and will teach you a lot about writing. If it motivates you to obtain a copy of Alan's new novel, here's a link to order…

Made it back without too much traffic. I wound up doing ten panels at the San Diego Comic Fest. That includes a very nice memorial for our friend Batton Lash. When it was my turn, I made the point that we didn't really have to get up and talk about what a great guy he was because everyone in the room already knew that. Still, there were some wise perceptions and insights…and a whole lotta affection.

Among the folks I spent time with down there: Mike Royer, Allen Bellman, Steve Rude, Buzz Dixon, Scott Shaw!, Jackie Estrada, Bob Foster, Trina Robbins, Steve Leialoha, Arlen Schumer, Pete Von Sholly, Dave Clark, Phil Geiger, Mike Friedrich, Lee Marrs, Gene Henderson, Mike Towry, Matt Dunford, Dennis Mallonee, Barbara Kesel, Chris Ryall, Tony Benedict, Stan Sakai, Tom Luth, William Stout, Shannon Wheeler, Robert Clampett Jr., Ruth Clampett and who am I leaving out? Many names.

A point I should make before I go to sleep: If you're upset that comic conventions are too crowded and don't have enough about comics, there's a simple solution to that: Go to smaller conventions. There are plenty of them out there and they'd love to have you. And now I'm going to post a video and then go to sleep. Nighty-night.