Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

White supremacy is terrorism.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Hot air and ill-informed banter

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Second rate reporter says what?

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

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Reader Interactions

142Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    You mentioned baseball, and it IS an open thread, so:

    Atlanta Braves, yeah! We are 11-1 on the season (.917 for you statisticians). Swept three series in a row!!

    (I know I’m going to regret posting this at some point. It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart..)

  3. 3.

    Yutsano

    @SiubhanDuinne: Oh honey. You do realise you just cursed yourselves and will now lose the next 100 over the season. Mariners fan knows of which he speaks.

  4. 4.

    Xantar

    I am so bored with Don Draper cheating on his wife again. This better go some place new.

  7. 7.

    Suffern ACE

    Bah. Sure, everyone “hates” the Yankees, but there’s always the schadenfreude when they flail. If they were the Padres or the Brewers, no one even has that pleasure. You can’t root for them, you can’t hate them, and the pity they inspire prevents and joy at their fans’ expense.

  10. 10.

    Culture of Truth

    Then who is Tyrion, Peter Dinklage?

    Probably Yogi Berra. Underrated, not physically imposing, always around, three time MVP. most World Series rings….

  12. 12.

    Brandon

    I am pretty sure that the Yankees of Westeros are the Targaryen’s. You could even compare the senility of Steinbrenner with their kings. The Lannister’s are not like a team, they are more like A-Rod, which is why people hate them. Self-important unto themselves, think they deserve the call the shots, good at first, but ultimately unsuccessful and will always go to the highest bidder. I think it is a spot on comparison.

  13. 13.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    Come to think of it, maybe the Red Sox are the Baratheons. Clueless, buffoonish, egomaniac, beer-swilling, chicken in the clubhouse eating losers who managed to win the Iron Throne briefly and are rapidly returning to their natural state of brooding self-pity and appeals to strange gods.

  14. 14.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @efgoldman: I think the Red Sox were more of the Greyjoys. Anyway doesn’t Joffery Lannister looks like an young Dick Cheney?

  15. 15.

    Comrade Mary

    NOT EVEN READING THIS THREAD YET but have to wait for the episode to become available within a few hours. Gah!

  16. 16.

    Narcissus

    I guess it’s about time I got around to reading the third book

    Does bad shit stop happening to the cool characters or is that still the thing

  18. 18.

    Culture of Truth

    I don’t the Yanks are any more evil than any other team; arguable less so, since they are willing to spend to get a good team. All I know about Thrones for sure is that Joffrey is an evil force and a petulant baby… Roger Clemens…?

  19. 19.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @efgoldman:

    I thought the Red Sox are the Jukes. Or maybe the Kallicacks. I can never remember which.

    Jukes = criminals
    Kallikaks = mental retardation

    Okay, I’ve set the table, put the fruit on the low-hanging branches, and drawn the concentric circles around the obvious targets.* Over to someone else.

    *Need not be baseball related.**

    **Could be politics related.***

    ***Even Alaska.

  20. 20.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    Honestly, the books are a bit of a shambling mess, but the HBO version doesn’t do much to redeem them. Some good scenes and episodes, but far too much of Little Finger’s Boogie Nights in King’s Landing for my taste. I am also relatively weary of watching the Starks wander haplessly around looking bearded and clueless or pint-sized and punchy. A man could almost cheer for Joffrey when you realize what an utter idiot Sansa is for about the fifth time in five episodes.

  23. 23.

    gogol's wife

    @raven:

    Mr. Selfridge is really growing on me. I’m squeamish about childbirth so haven’t tried Call the Midwife.

  24. 24.

    Alison

    Excuse me, I do not hate Tyrion. The rest of them, sure, but Tyrion’s a fucking boss.

    Who would I be? Hmm. I don’t really fit any of them closely. I’m kind of a mix of a few of the women. I’m not adventurous or daring at all, but I’m not a doormat or meek, and I’ll happily tell people off when they need telling off. Mix together Sansa, Dany and Ygritte? :P

  25. 25.

    dance around in your bones

    Well, I think I’d be Daenerys Targaryen just because I’d get to teach that hot Khal Drogo how to fuck properly, as well as mothering the dragons. Khaleesi!

    Yeah, that’s the ticket!

  27. 27.

    Walker

    I laughed pretty hard with Podrick scene tonight (which is not in the books). But the followers at WinterIsComing were not fans of that scene.

  28. 28.

    Heliopause

    I miss the good old days when you could successfully avoid all the Dune and Tolkien geeks with minimal effort. Nowadays you practically have to be a Maine hermit to maintain some sort of grasp on reality. ironic.

    So what’s the story on these Lannisters? They contend for the Game of Thrones championship every year by mixing homegrown talent with the best paid mercenaries? Somebody fill me in. I have an alcohol-fueled curiosity as to why the political left seems to be attracted to a fantasy universe where none of the stuff we believe in exists.

  29. 29.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    if you were a character in GoT, who would you be?

    I’d *want* to be Arya, but I’d probably actually be Hot Pie.

  35. 35.

    Redshirt

    @Heliopause: Game of Thrones is really a fictional retelling of the actual War of the Roses, so it’s all about Houses versus Houses in contention for the Throne. The lesson is – representative Democracy rules for no other reason than avoiding inheritance issues.

  36. 36.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Watching HGTV, House Hunters, a couple wants a 3 bed 2 bath home on the beach in LA for 550k. Head desk.

  38. 38.

    danielx

    @Narcissus:

    I’ve read all the books (yes, I just outed myself as a complete geek), and so far bad shit hasn’t stopped happening for any of them, with more to come.

    Speaking of bad shit, getting really tired of this all out viral assault – last few mornings I’ve waked up thinking I was all better and by 9, coughing up stuff. At least I’ve gotten past the spaciness and exhaustion, more or less – I commented to someone that people might actually pay good money for the spaciness part if it wasn’t for the sinus congestion and feeling like you’d lose a fight against a healthy three year old.

  39. 39.

    Walker

    @danielx:

    Many people believe that the bad stuff (or at least the main bad thing) in book 5 was a fake out. Because of both the prophecies, and the way the scene was ended.

  40. 40.

    askew

    Who cares about GoT or Mad Men when Veep is premiering tonight? Love the show. Second season looks even better with Veep getting to take on foreign policy issues.

  41. 41.

    dance around in your bones

    @Xecky Gilchrist: Well, I wouldn’t mind being Arya. She’s a tough little cookie!

    Reminds me of a girl I read about in one of the ‘Fairy Books’ – green, blue, I don’t know. But she rode around on a little pony with a knife in her belt, and I SO wanted to be her.

  43. 43.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    The way my sex life is going I might as well be Varys, though I would love to be Petyr Baelish, a Dothraki Khal would be cool too.

  44. 44.

    Omnes Omnibus

    if you were a character in GoT, who would you be?

    Well, Tyrion is easily the coolest character in the story. But I am far too tall and not devious enough. So probably Robb Stark.

  48. 48.

    Josh

    You’re Robert Baratheon—once a warrior, now getting on in years and weight, and chasing after animals that are best left alone.

    Doug is Jaqen H’ghar, faceless man, because he’s always altering his appearance (by changing his full name and by his appearances in various WaPo chats). A case could also be made for Renly, as I’m fairly certain a modern-day Renly would find the phrase “post-punk David Broder” hilarious.

    Mistermix and Anne are tougher, and I can’t come up with as obvious comparison.

  49. 49.

    MikeJ

    if you were a character in GoT, who would you be?

    The uhm, Smiths. Because I never watched it or cared about what the twats who thought they were in charge did. My family was proudly kicked out of more than one country for such thoughts.

  51. 51.

    Damned at Random

    Does anybody remember the name of Robb’s wolf? I remember the rest- Shaggydog, Summer, Ghost,Nymeria nd poor Lady- but Robb’s escapes me.

    Also, I like to think I’m an Arya, but I’m afraid I’m really the crazybitch in the Aerie

  52. 52.

    Comrade Mary

    The site is now serving up ads for troubled teens. See what you get for posting about Joffrey?

  53. 53.

    reality-based

    @Yutsano:

    Yes, and it’s not just baseball that you can jinx

    I was a devoted fan of the Utah Jazz during the Stockton/Malone years. Got my heart broken by the same 12 guys, year after year after year. After year after year after year. Made a bitter woman of me, I tell you. And the ALWAYS started out gangbusters.

    It’s about “the wrath of whatever from high atop the thing.”

  59. 59.

    Morzer

    @Lavocat:

    I don’t mind having my own head in my ass occasionally. It makes talking to Republicans much easier. That said, I draw the line at lubricious dwarfs in my nether regions.

  60. 60.

    Yutsano

    @reality-based: One can, indeed, anger the baseball gods. One can, by extrapolation, assume there are also basketball gods. And said gods can indeed be angered. I’ve learned to keep my fool mouth shut on such occasions.

  65. 65.

    Mike E

    OT question about interest on taxes owed, compounded daily at 3%: If an unpaid remainder of a bill equals $200 and is paid 3 days past the due date, what would be the incurred interest? Hypothetically speaking…

  66. 66.

    DPS

    @Josh:

    Fully agree. I did also think about Sansa for John: the naive character gradually initiated to how the world works.

    Mistermix should be Dolorous Edd, who hasn’t much made it into the TV show.

    I would be the poor bastard who gets executed at the beginning for running away from the Others.

  68. 68.

    Sly

    I know we talked about Hodor the other day, but seriously, if you were a character in GoT, who would you be?

    Tywin Lannister.

    Everyone always wants to be the good guy. I say, if you’re going to live in a world run by ruthless people and ruthless families, might as well be the most ruthless man in the most ruthless family.

    Plus he is arguably the biggest narcissist in the series, and that’s something I’ve always found difficulty in being.

    @Damned at Random:

    Does anybody remember the name of Robb’s wolf? I remember the rest- Shaggydog, Summer, Ghost,Nymeria nd poor Lady- but Robb’s escapes me.

    Grey Wind. Not sure if its ever spoken in the series.

  69. 69.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Morzer: I have only read about it in instructional texts. I was hoping you might report back with a first person account.

  70. 70.

    Morzer

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Could you specify which educational texts those were? Soonergrunt is clearly agog to learn more, despite his carefully calculated pose of revulsion.

  71. 71.

    Morzer

    @Mike E:

    I think it would be $18.55, but don’t take my word for it. I am distracted by Omnes and his burning passion for dwarfs in the nether regions.

  73. 73.

    YellowJournalism

    @Xantar: I’m gonna “Amen” ya on that one. It’s even worse because of who he’s cheating on, the person he’s cheating with and who she’s cheating on, and the fact that it’s always about Don being a WATB over his lady having success an things changing.

  81. 81.

    lol

    @Mike E:

    You’ll probably want to double-check but IIRC, the IRS doesn’t change interest or a penalty if you pay late on a bill of less than $1000. I had a friend that put off filing last year thinking he was getting a refund but it turned out he owed several hundred dollars. I was helping him estimate the penalty and it was apparently nothing. He paid and didn’t hear back from the IRS so I guess it was true.

  82. 82.

    Morzer

    @Suffern ACE:

    I read it as 3% per day, but I hope you are right for Mike’s hypothetical sake. Anyway, at this time of night after a long day at the coal-face, I refuse to guarantee the accuracy of any form of mathematical conjecture.

  84. 84.

    Morzer

    Anyway, on the subject of Game of Thrones, John Cole is clearly Jorah Mormont – a warrior hopelessly in lust with a perpetually unavailable and wonderfully tempting younger woman.

  87. 87.

    Yutsano

    @Mike E: The amount of interest & penalty that will accumulate will be less than a dollar. In fact there is a bit of a grace period (about six weeks) before they get charged, so if you pay just the liability a few days after the due date you should be just fine.

    /IRS agent

    @Mike E: Don’t bother with the extra money. You’ll just get it back as a refund check unless you specifically note that it’s for 2013 taxes.

  88. 88.

    Mike E

    @lol: Thanks for that…the IRS tends to be less bastardish with small fish, and my previous experience with this issue seems to back this up. I will add $20 anyway, they can apply it to next year’s bill! :-p

    ETA I bow to Yutsie’s knowledge, and thanks again!

  92. 92.

    Pinacacci

    …in tax-related news, had an interesting discussion with a friend who was wondering how to get access to her social security “account.” Like, to find out if the money in there was earning interest…picked my jaw off the floor and attempted to explain how SS works. She is 51.

  93. 93.

    Loneoak

    Is Theon’s character arc the biggest GoT plot departure? It sure looks like there will be no Reek for him, which leads me to wonder if Reek is too dark even for HBO.

  96. 96.

    ? Martin

    Yutsy, taxes are in the mail. Payment on it’s way. Pick yourself up something nice. We left off the charitable deductions because we were lazy and didn’t mind paying a bit extra.

  97. 97.

    Phoenician in a time of Romans

    I know we talked about Hodor the other day, but seriously, if you were a character in GoT, who would you be?

    Oh, that’s easy – Doran Martell (minus the gout, preferably).

    You haven’t heard of him? Despite have rulership over the second or third richest of the kingdoms, and an army that makes him a notable player? Despite him laying long-term plans that have him supposedly neutral while seeking to ally with the side that has nuclear weapons dragons?

    You haven’t heard of him? Imagine that…

  99. 99.

    Yutsano

    @? Martin: Ironically enough, I get paid tomorrow. And it’s a three paycheck month so I have some leeway as far as monies are concerned. Plus the house is clean an I haz vanilla scented tea and lemon cookies. Tomorrow will suck, but that can wait until tomorrow.

  100. 100.

    ? Martin

    @Yutsano: Remember that you can only do what you can do. And thanks for doing it while taking all the shit that job entails.

  101. 101.

    ? Martin

    FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A medical examiner says a man who died in the infield during a NASCAR’s NRA 500 race at Texas Motor Speedway shot himself in the head. The event was the first NRA-branded race in NASCAR’s premier series.

    There’s just no…

    I mean… Fuck it.

    Welcome to Costco. I love you.

  102. 102.

    Loneoak

    @KG:

    I suppose that could be the case. A false rescue didn’t happen in the books, right? And Ramsay is cruel, but not all that clever.

  103. 103.

    Redshift

    @Loneoak:

    Is Theon’s character arc the biggest GoT plot departure? It sure looks like there will be no Reek for him, which leads me to wonder if Reek is too dark even for HBO.

    I would be fine with that. I found the whole Reek thing kind of a waste of a character. I can handle beloved characters being unexpectedly killed because it’s intended to be more realistic than a typical fantasy world where “important” people only die for dramatic purposes, but it seems like the only purpose of that whole thing was to establish that even compared to the other (period-appropriate) psychopathic behavior, this guy is really a nutjob. And, I guess, to have a viewpoint character in that camp, which isn’t necessary in the TV version.

  104. 104.

    Loneoak

    @Redshift: Well, Reek did have the literary purpose of embodying soul-crushing shame over betrayal. Theon has to pay somehow.

    But I’m not necessarily disagreeing with your general assessment that it was a waste of a character. There could have been more interesting treatments of the shame that didn’t revolve around total dejection and physical torture.

  105. 105.

    KG

    @Loneoak: There might have been. I just finished A Dance With Dragons and don’t remember that far back. I do know that Ramsey was definitely introduced differently in the book.

    @Redshift: I thought there was more to the story arch than that. Plus, it looks like it may be necessary for a plot point in the Winds of Winter.

  106. 106.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @Pinacacci:

    Like, to find out if the money in there was earning interest

    So we’re so far beyond defined-benefit pensions that people don’t have a clue what they mean.

  108. 108.

    Suffern ACE

    @Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason: where I work, I encounter folks who don’t understand the defined contribution plan (we have a DC separate from the 401(k)) and think that the annual statement is what’s been contributed to social security. I think I’ve had to explain to ten or so odd people over the years that they have a pension.

  109. 109.

    Theobald Smith

    …100 comments in, and nobody has compared Tunch to Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides?

  110. 110.

    Suzanne

    I really need to watch this show. I really need to get a life and do fun things again.

  111. 111.

    patroclus

    The Starks are clearly the Cubs. I would be Jojen Reed. Tyrion is far too likable for anyone to hate – if the Lannisters are the Yankees, then he’s Mickey Mantle or perhaps Billy Martin.

    That Brutus guy can’t shoot an arrow worth shit. But Caesar is a cool Mance Raeder. John is clearly Theon Greyjoy. Doug is Lancel Lannister.

  113. 113.

    JGabriel

    @Sly:

    … if you’re going to live in a world run by ruthless people and ruthless families, might as well be the most ruthless man in the most ruthless family.

    [SPOILER]

    Who’s more ruthless, the patriarch of the most ruthless family, or the son who kills him with a crossbow while he’s taking a shit?

    I’d probably be Tyrion, though I suppose I have some qualities in common with Samwell Tarly, Bran Stark, Jojen Reed, Jorah Mormont, Littlefinger, and Maester Luwin too. So any of them, really.

  114. 114.

    Eric

    Danielx

    I’ve read the books so it doesn’t ruin anything for me, but what is point of being such a collasal dick? Does it make you feel special to ruin it for people who haven’t. What possible purpose is there, do you think it makes you look smart? It doesn’t, it just shows that like millions of other people you read the books.

  118. 118.

    Redshift

    @KG:

    I thought there was more to the story arch than that. Plus, it looks like it may be necessary for a plot point in the Winds of Winter.

    There probably was. I didn’t do any re-reading before reading the most recent book, so it’s been long enough that I can’t really remember much of Theon’s story after Winterfell.

  120. 120.

    Redshift

    @Loneoak:

    Well, Reek did have the literary purpose of embodying soul-crushing shame over betrayal. Theon has to pay somehow.

    Interesting thought. My first reaction was “Shame over betrayal? This is Song of Ice and Fire we’re talking about.” But that’s not entirely right. There’s plenty of betrayal with no shame (or paying any price), but the more interesting (i.e., viewpoint) characters do often suffer quite a bit of shame over it, even if they convinced themselves of their reasons for doing it at the time.

  121. 121.

    Kris Collins

    @Xantar: Have you actually paid any attention to anything that has happened in this show for the last five years?

  122. 122.

    Sly

    @JGabriel:
    And how does the most powerful family in Westeros fair after that incident, hmmm?

    Tywin Lannister may be the black hole at the center of that family’s dysfunction (or, more appropriately, his hatred for his own father is), but you also need a pretty strong gravity well to keep all that fucked-up-edness in from shooting off in every direction.

  123. 123.

    Kris Collins

    @Kris Collins: p Or did you even pay any real attention to tonight’s episode? Don’s affair is no more just about “cheating” on his wife than Pete’s sleazy hook up with the neighbor’s wife is about cheating or love or even sex. I’m not going to waste my time explaining it to people who are not interested, but at least make an effort or just shut up.

  124. 124.

    Radio One

    I did get a sense of Boardwalk Empire deja vu with the latest Mad Men episode closing credits.

  125. 125.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    I’m not sure why, but it’s kind of funny to me that there are three comments about Mad Men on this thread, and they are are numbers 6, 125 and 127.

    ETA: I see there was one at 128 as I was typing :-)

  128. 128.

    Kris Collins

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: I think Cole is trying to be inclusive to the tiny minority of us who are actually interested in Mad Men but as I appear to be the only one who really cares, maybe he should just give it up. Appreciate the thought, though!

  132. 132.

    Lee

    If I could switch genders, Arya without a doubt.

    If not and keep to major characters Bronn (does he count as major?). Maybe even Tyrion.

    Minor character: Barristan Selmy

  133. 133.

    thunderlizard

    John Cole is CLEARLY Greatjohn Umber.

    Swarthy rural a-hole who’s a clutch friend once you gain his respect, and loves alcohol and dogs.

  135. 135.

    Hawes

    I can tell myself I’m Robb Stark all I want, but deep down, I know I’m Ser Jorah Mormont or Maester Luwin. You know the one standing NEXT to the important person? No, not that one. The OTHER one.

    I know when I took The Walking Dead character quiz I came up as Glenn, so that kind of confirms it.

  136. 136.

    sherparick

    @Damned at Random: Grey Wolf

    I note that even Tyrion Lannister hates the Lannisters. There were several great scenes in this show, but the initial small council meeting was terrific, with Tyrion scraping that chair across the floor in the most irritating, finger nails on the black board sound to position his seat opposite his Father, Tywin, as an equal and as an enemy.

    Generally, I like the way the show has departed from the books. It allows me to be surprised by some things and wonder how this will work out.

    I find one great weakness of the books is that Martin can’t self-edit and apparently won’t let anyone else do job (the other weakness is that Martin can’t do what Tolkein managed to do in Chapter 1 of the Fellowship – insert chapter every now and that continues the story, but jumps a span of years).

  137. 137.

    YellowJournalism

    @Kris Collins: I was the one whining about having a Mad Men thread before last week’s episode, but life gets in the way of posting since I won’t post while an episode is on and can’t watch until later in the night.

    I didn’t like the thought of Don cheating again because I was worried we were heading back to Season One and Two territory. I don’t want a rehash of things past, but I admit I loved the dinner conversation/sex scene with Sylvia and how it reminded me of the movie Out of Sight. I also cheered when Pete’s wife told him off, even though I find the “be discreet” attitude to be as sleazy as her husband’s crappy apartment. (Love that the bar is ten times as stocked as the fridge.)

    And I can’t be the only one who just realized at this episode that Don is boning Velma from Scooby Doo. Love her.

  138. 138.

    TheronWare

    Damn, I did not expect Jaime Lannister to lose his bloody hand! I must admit to hoping he could talk his way out of this one as he did display a small spark of humanity in attempting to protect Brienne of Tarth.

  141. 141.

    pacem appellant

    No Doctor Who discussion? What has this blog descended to?

    I thought “Cold War” was OK, not bad, not good though. The CG was silly, especially the spaceship at the end and Scarax’s face. I didn’t like not getting to know the new companion more. There was too little transition from the previous episode (so I guess in that way it’s a good thing because the episode can stand or fall on its own). The almost snog between the Doctor and Clara towards the end made me very suspicious of what Moffet is doing: The doctor doesn’t snog, he’s never been interested in human women as anything other than buddies. Even the 4th doctor barely noticed Romana when she was gorgeous and smart and stole all his thunder.

    A few nags that always occur after doctor who:
    1) How did the Ice Warrior rescue ship get there so fast? (While all Doctor Who aliens have an ansible, not all of them have FTL drives)
    2) Why didn’t they use the cattle prod on Scarax again, since it was so much more effective than soviet-era machine guns (and safer to use on a submarine)
    3) I know that the point of getting rid of the Tardis at the beginning was to make it harder for Clara and the doctor to solve their problem (and it’s getting to be a ridiculous trope that the Tardis disappears right when it’s needed as a convenient escape vehicle), but the doctor must have a remote, and I seem to recall him using it before, to call the Tardis back.
    4) What’s with the Russians laughing at the end? How is the doctor going to get to Antarctica? He’s on a disabled submarine in the North Pole.
    6) I was never clear if the sub was damaged by Scarax or bad navigating. Doesn’t really matter, but I like the idea of the monster-of-the-week being the culprit.

    Now, discuss!

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