In an interview with Public Notice, David Roberts characterizes politics in the United States with an expression from the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes": "Everybody on the right knows that they’re playing Calvinball here." While I am amused at how "Calvinball" has come to refer to situations in which political actors keep "moving the goalposts" (to switch expressions), Calvinball in the comic is not about changing rules in bad faith. It's great fun: one day when he was about ten, my son Miles and I even played it a few times, making up new rules every few seconds, laughing continually, and collapsing in exhaustion after five minutes or so each round. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 16 February 2026)