Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

You cannot shame the shameless.

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

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

He really is that stupid.

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

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The willow is too close to the house.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

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

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

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Reader Interactions

110Comments

  1. 1.

    SRW1

    Virtually all the beef is in the Cro – Mex game. Hope it stays halfways civil. Won’t dare a prediction.

    ETA: The Mexicans appear to have brought some Aztek warriors. Somebody sighted the Illyrian pirates?

  3. 3.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    The Croatians look as thought they are, on average, six inches taller than the Mexicans.

  4. 4.

    Morzer

    I once had a beautiful Mexican girlfriend, so, go El Tri!

    Cameroon, I fear, is going to suffer today.

  5. 5.

    scav

    Query. But wouldn’t all the honor / whatever it is / in play for the Brazil – Cameroon match possibly make for an interesting game, even if less important for advancing? Well, except for the Cameroon part, although they’ve definitely something to prove I would think.

  8. 8.

    Amir Khalid

    You know, a Cameroon win over Brazil could have interesting repercussions …

    Just thinking aloud.

  13. 13.

    scav

    @Morzer: Well, finding Bimbo brand futbal cards in the local grocery caused me to have no end of a public-snort-meltdown event and caused me to buy twinkie equivalents for the sheer joy of it all, so MX it is. Not quite the same.

  15. 15.

    Origuy

    @scav: Are those the Bimbo twinkies with the strawberry flavored filling? I have to stay away from the Bimbo section in the supermercado.

  17. 17.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    Great pass by Luis Gustavo, or maybe Paulino great goal by Neymar.

  18. 18.

    mali muso

    woohoo! Just talked a colleague into taking a few of our vacation hours over lunch on Thursday to go watch the US-Germany match at a local pub. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. I wanna believe we can tie or at least not lose by too much. But the soccer gods are fickle. Who knows what they have in the cards….

  20. 20.

    Punchy

    Croatians remind me of a peoples of whom I would not want to fuck with. I sense the Mexys sense this as well. We’ll be staring at a nil-nil final here today.

  23. 23.

    scav

    @Origuy: Probably. Don’t remember the strawberry, but I was pretty busy being otherwise amused. Have been sometimes tempted by other offerings of the white bear.

    ETA, Cameroooooon!

  26. 26.

    burnspbesq

    Klinsmann got in a nice little zinger in a media availability today. He was asked about the possibility of something Gijon-esque on Thursday, and said, “The US always goes for the win. Otherwise Mexico wouldn’t be here.”

    Ba-da-BING!

  33. 33.

    scav

    It is getting rather complerlicated in parallax or whatever it is where supposed to be maintaining here.

  34. 34.

    SRW1

    That could have been a red card, but then the ref probably gave a bit of a rebate for his error in the initiation of the counter attack.

  36. 36.

    Amir Khalid

    @burnspbesq:
    A Schande von Gijon style deal between the US and Germany would be a very stupid thing to do. FIFA will not want to be seen as soft on corruption (he said innocently).

  41. 41.

    Cacti

    It’s hard to decide whether Hulk or Fred has been worse for Brazil in group play.

    Neymar has 4 of the 5 team goals.

    If the other two don’t figure out what they’re doing on the pitch, another quarterfinal exit is likely in the future of the Selecao.

  45. 45.

    Amir Khalid

    The Brazilian defence is all over the place. It’s not beyond Cameroon to equalise again.

  47. 47.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @SRW1: In the 2002 WC USA against Mexico, he tried to decerebrate Cobi Jones and in a qualifier he simply slammed into Tim Howard, both got red cards. If you type his name into YouTube’s search function, the words red card pop up.

  48. 48.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @SRW1: In the 2002 WC USA against Mexico, he tried to decerebrate Cobi Jones and in a qualifier he simply slammed into Tim Howard, both got red cards. If you type his name into YouTube’s search function, the words red card pop up.

  50. 50.

    burnspbesq

    @Amir Khalid:

    Collusion not required. In antitrust law, it’s called “conscious parallelism.” Both sides know what’s in their interest. And they have a built-in excuse here: “of course we went for the win. We would much rather play Russia or Algeria in the round of 16 than Belgium. We just couldn’t get it done.”

  52. 52.

    Morzer

    @Amir Khalid:

    There have been hints that Mexico-Croatia might yet turn into a brawl, so you might want to keep that hammer handy, Thor Khalid.

  53. 53.

    Stan Gable

    @burnspbesq:

    Both sides know what’s in their interest.

    Yeah, the coaches don’t have to say or do anything. All 22 players on the field will instinctively know to not do anything that risks a cheap counterattack. They’ll all play under the (correct) impression that they are playing as though it’s 1-0.

  54. 54.

    scav

    Does Amir have two three types of hammers rather like Eros gold silver and steel arrows? The smiting hammer v sowing confusion hammer v. the joyous mayhem hammer? or???

    ETA smites wrong number for the sheer meta of it all. Go Mozer!

  56. 56.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @Cacti: Hulk, none that I’m aware of, remember, he was injured. Fred has been teased a bit, but as they’re doing well, not too much. Fred scored as I wrote this, by the way.

    Fred is actually from my wife’s city of birth (Teofilo Otoni, MG) and her family knows his.

  57. 57.

    Belafon

    According to Newmax, the US has been cooling since the 30s. News to me, and even if it were somehow true, they’ve missed the point of “Global” Warming.

  58. 58.

    Amir Khalid

    @burnspbesq:
    As I recall, the 1982 Schande didn’t involve pre-arranged collusion between West Germany and Austria, either. None that could be proved, at any rate, even though both teams plainly stopped competing after the one goal was scored. (I had the bad luck to be watching that match live on TV.) But we’re in a post-Schande world, and two teams in cahoots like that would have to disguise their cahooting much better.

  59. 59.

    burnspbesq

    @Stan Gable:

    If you enjoy watching offenses patiently try to pick the lock on massed defenses, USA-Germany will be just what you’ve been waiting for.

  61. 61.

    Morzer

    @Amir Khalid:

    I am pretty sure that whichever of Mexico or Croatia goes through, their countrymen won’t give a cahoot about what it took to achieve it.

  63. 63.

    Stan Gable

    @burnspbesq:

    If you enjoy watching offenses patiently try to pick the lock on massed defenses, USA-Germany will be just what you’ve been waiting for.

    I’m used to seeing one team hammering away at the other team’s defense in that scenario, but less sure I’ve seen games where both teams are playing mass defenses and sending token attackers forward. Nigeria v Iran maybe?

  68. 68.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    Was that the second handball the Croatia got away with?

  70. 70.

    JCJ

    @Amir Khalid:
    I was watching that game as well. I was going to Universität Hamburg and had been to a couple of matches of HSV and developed a big interest in football. I always wondered if West Germany losing to Italia in the final was revenge of the soccer gods. So I ask, oh great soccer deity, was that indeed a smiting done in punishment of that horrific 1-0 game of patty cake?

  72. 72.

    Amir Khalid

    @JCJ:
    No, alas. Had I been the deity in charge at die Schande, I would have had both sides rack up a massive amount of accidental own goals, followed by Germany losing their first knockout match by an own goal, and Turkey winning the World Cup.

  77. 77.

    scav

    MX! Gladder than I would have expected. Bieeeemmmmmboooooo!

    ETA: But, in this WC? Down to the final peep.

  78. 78.

    SRW1

    I hope the Croats can hold their self-control together for the remainder of the game. There were already some omnious signs of frustration getting the better of them.

  82. 82.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I picked a good time to start watching this game. 3 goals in about 15 minutes. Go Mexico!

  85. 85.

    Onkel Fritze

    YES! Now let’s have one more or one for Cameroon, and we’ll get to see Holland-Brazil in the next round.

  91. 91.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: Dunno, the VA is promising. Hearing loss is very difficult to get but tinnitus seems much easier. I had a basic intake physical today following my usual stellar blood work Friday. There is an audiologist at the mini-clinic here and it will take a few weeks to get in. If I do get a disability rating for the tinnitus then the hearing aids are free.

  93. 93.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @⚽️ Martin: Only if they score two more goals. Brazil right now has a plus five goal differential and Mexico plus four. If they are even on differential, then it’s total goal scored.

  100. 100.

    SRW1

    It appears that the prognostications have a hard time keeping up with developments on the ground.

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Onkel Fritze: I had an uncle who worked for a time in copper (?) mines in Arizona; he used to tell stories about huge Croat with whom he work. One day someone referred to him as a Serb and he went after the guy with a sledge hammer; luckily, he was tackled before he got to the guy.

  103. 103.

    Amir Khalid

    I didn’t realise this before, but Cameroon keeper Charles Itandje is the Liverpool FC player who got thrown out of the club a few years ago for clowning around at a solemn moment in the Hillsborough memorial service.

  106. 106.

    MattR

    @burnspbesq:

    Both sides know what’s in their interest. And they have a built-in excuse here: “of course we went for the win. We would much rather play Russia or Algeria in the round of 16 than Belgium. We just couldn’t get it done.”

    It is tough to look ahead that far, but IMO the bigger difference will be in the quarterfinals. The second place team will be slotted to face Argentina (assuming they win their 2nd round game against Ecuador or the Swiss) while the first place team will be looking at France (with a possibility of Ecuador, Switzerland, Nigeria or Iran). I am aware that I am jinxing the US and have pretty much guaranteed that France will beat the US if they end up meeting :)

  107. 107.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Comrade Luke: Serbs during the break-up of Yugoslavia, Croats during WWII, and so on going back through the years. One group always behaves a little more barbarously than the other, thus stoking the fire for revenge in the future.

  109. 109.

    Calouste

    @MattR:

    France is going to win their group, their goal difference is massive. Ecuador has to win by at least 4 goals to get past them, Switzerland has to win by 8 or 9 minus the number that Ecuador win by.

  110. 110.

    MattR

    @Calouste: Thanks. Had not looked too closely at that group. All the more reason why winning the group is a decent incentive. I would rather face Belgium and then France rather than Algeria/Russia and then Argentina.

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