Frieda
Posted on June 9, 2016 by David M Willis

334 thoughts on “Frieda”

  1. AnvilPro

    Those glasses aren’t nearly thick enough

    1. Durandal_1707

      And Frieda doesn’t even have naturally curly hair.

      1. AnvilPro

        Robin is already down 2, I look forward to seeing her bounce back from these huge set backs.

        1. Doctor_Who

          Robin: “Know what always bounces back? These gazongas!”

          Let’s hope she keeps comments like that to herself in this universe, or her rep as the family values candidate is going down the tubes.

        2. Orion Fury

          SP Quote? Or just a case of Beam Me Up, Scotty?

        3. Doctor_Who

          Not a direct quote perhaps, but she was always bragging about the quality of her chest matter.

          Random example.

        4. xtravisage

          I can’t click that link

        5. Robin

          i have a feeling Robin would say “huge honkers” :^)

      2. rick

        I see what you did there…o

        1. Durandal_1707

          I’m really kind of surprised that no one else got it.

    2. Willoughby Chase

      They arent horney enough either.

  2. Mr. Mendo

    The strip is getting Shortpacked-a-riffic all up in here! ^_^

    1. Ana Chronistic

      Unpaid interns are free, right??

      (dangit lost track of time in my Steam library)

      1. Jay Eff

        They weren’t actually free.
        It’s just that their barcodes weren’t scanning when Frieda picked them up from the Intern Store…

      2. Rebecca

        I appreciate the explanation. Good to know that you’re okay. 😉

    2. Rebecca

      I’m so excited. I like Dumbing of Age, but being the jerk that I am I find myself usually whispering to myself, “Still not Shortpacked!”

    3. Willoughby Chase

      When two worlds collide! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csxBQLG4-3Q

      Ah, the Inspirals!

  3. Andr3wtime

    BROS BROS BROS BROS

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      DE SANBROS

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      I prefer to think of them as Quinn’s wannabe-boyfriends from Daria.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Joey, Jeffy and…Justin?

        (Jaimie)

        1. magicallady

          i thought the third guys name was johnny

        2. Shaunock

          Pretty sure at least one needs to be “Chad”

      2. vlademir1

        Why do these random comments that remind me it’s been ages since I stopped in on PPMB and make me feel guilty for that fact seem to come in bunches?

    3. magicallady

      BROS BROS BROS BROS BROS BROS BROS BROS BROS BRO? BRO BRO~! BROS BROS BROS

      1. Tacos

        Say it long enough and it doesn’t sound like it’s a real word anymore.

      2. lejwocky

        FRANGINS FRANGINS FRANGINS
        TOUT DES FRANGINS

        1. DarkoNeko

          Ça rend moins bien, je trouve.

        2. dralou

          Mmmm, je trouve que ça sonne plus amical, moins “fratrie de mâââââles”. I… actually like it better that way.

        3. Hno

          surtout grammaticalement.

        4. WolfLann

          Exactement.
          C’est TOUS pas TOUT.
          Comme dans la chanson des mousquetaires:

          Avec nous, venez croiser le fer.
          Les méchants vont mordre la pousière.
          Sous le signe des Mousquetaires,
          On est TOUS des frèèèèèères

        5. WolfLann

          Ouais ca sonne bizarre a haute voix.
          Quoique BROS sonne pas vraiment mieux répété trop souvent.
          Ça doit être l’age qui me rattrape 😛

      3. -Sentinel-

        http://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/bro/

      4. Orion Fury

        Bro.

      5. Needfuldoer

        BROS! BROS! BROS! BROS! BROS!

        1. StClair

          *raises hand*
          that was me, yes.

    4. Deanatay

      At least they’re not saying ‘brah’. I HATE that.

      Or ‘bruh’. I mean, what’s that mean, anyway?

      Dude.

      1. Darchias

        Bro is supposedly a shortened version of the word, ‘brother’. However, most American accents (all I believe, but I’m not 100% sure) pronounce brother as ‘bruh-ther’ or ‘bruh-tha’. ‘Bruh’, therefore, is a slightly MORE accurate shortening of the word ‘brother’.

      2. Darchias

        Also, ‘brah’ is ‘bro’ with a Southern California accent.

      3. rectilinearpropagation

        “Bruh” is “bro” with a certain tone/inflection, usually of WTF but can also be annoyance.

        “I spent the rent on 50 liters of ice cream.”
        “Bruh”

        See also, this face https://www.google.com/search?q=bruh&oq=bruh&aqs=chrome..69i57j0j5j0.3004j0j4&client=ms-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=DX9sCzAuphv2QM%3A

        Urban Dictionary says it’s just a greeting. They are wrong.

  4. Doctor_Who

    Aw jeez. These guys always used to set my teeth on edge in Shortpacked.

  5. carl320

    Bros, Bros, Bros!

    1. inqntrol

      You could say they are a Broforce.

      1. Tacos

        Bro-Force! Bro-On!

    2. Finley

      “Bro?”

      “Bro.”

      “BRO!!!”

      “Brooooo.”

      “Well, since you put it that way…”

      1. Deanatay

        “Dude.”
        “Dude!”
        “Dude…”
        “DUDE!!”
        “Dude! DUDE.”
        “… Okay, good point.”

        -Actual quote from “BASEketball”

    3. Willoughby Chase

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvQTTA9raJU

      BROS!

  6. Raibean

    How many of them are named Reagan

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      They went and grabbed ol’ Ronnie
      He’s not the only one, saying
      It’s A Mistake      …

  7. Mr. Random

    …. Are we sure these are different people?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Maybe it’s one person moving very fast.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Timeshifted echoes caused by Robin’s latent superspeed powers.

      2. DarkoNeko

        It’s the result of a cloning experiment, 20 years ago.

      3. Tacos

        After a certain age, Bros spontaneously subdivide. Like amoeba.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          After the IP rights revert.

        2. AgentKeen

          Don’t Transformers bud in certain continuities?

        3. Orion Fury

          I don’t think we talk about that. I think the fandom has mixed feelings on BM.

        4. Tacos

          I think I recall budding coming from the G2 comics.

        5. Orion Fury

          Huh, never read those. I was casual till BW. Think I’ve forgotten most stuff though, enough to barely be called casual now. Though if I had money, I’d be all over the Combiners line. They’re the Transformers I wanted 25+ years ago.

  8. Wheelpath

    One of us! One of us! One of us!

    1. SundaesChild

      Do you think they’re cognizant of how bad they’ve got it?

      1. BenRG

        Politics of all stripes and wings tends to bring with it complimentary blinders and critical thinking bypasses.

        1. Clif

          Yep. Could you help get the word out by making a small donation?

  9. Bicycle Bill

    She’s definitely a Republican.

    1. Anon

      Politician*
      If you think Democrats pay all of their interns, you’re kidding yourself.

      1. -Sentinel-

        But I think only Republicans talk about trickle-down economics.

        1. Bicycle Bill

          Exactly.  In the Republican lexicon, “trickle-down” is the euphemism for “pissed on”.

        2. Anon

          Ah, yes that is true. If that’s what they were referring to, then they are most likely republicans. Although it was fairly obvious, based on past conversations.

        3. Dana

          Everybody loves talking about trickle-down economics. The parties differentiate themselves by whether it’s the cause or source of all the world’s problems.

        4. Dana

          Oops, misstated that. Cure or cause. I guess my political leanings are showing.

        5. Orion Fury

          I’m gonna hazard a guess and assume commenters here lean left on average. What with the support of equality and what have you.

        6. Cerberus

          Curse reality’s well-known liberal bias!

        7. Orion Fury

          And then you have the inverse, of course.

        8. Amazi-Stool

          Actually (according to Robin) it’s “the cause of — and solution to– all our problems.“

    2. BenRG

      Frieda’s comment about Ross’s rampage affecting Robin’s numbers is the clincher for that, IMO. I can’t see a Democrat representative being hurt politically by a gun crime incident on campus.

      1. MM

        Also, if you go back to the strips where she was introduced, the map of her constituents makes it pretty clear she’s a Republican. That, and Leslie’s admission she voted for “the white guy.”

    3. AriBerri

      I always just assumed Republican bc she reminds me of Sarah Palin

      1. thejeff

        Robin came first.

  10. Kkiten

    She has some sympathy for unpaid interns, so she’s not completely a politician yet.

  11. TheGrammarLegionary

    Gee, I seem to remember Robin deeply regretting the last time she pushed back on Manley…

  12. toki

    are those the BROS! BROS! BROS! dudes from QC?

    1. Zane

      They’re from Shortpacked.

    2. Cephalo the Pod

      No, they come from Shortpacked, I’m sure of it. They’re the guys who keep calling people arrogant.

    3. Sheason

      http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1862

      Doesn’t look like it.

      1. Orion Fury

        But they don’t have matching clothes, hair, hairstyles, height. Probably other things as well. But I do believe Bros are a multiverse constant, so perhaps they just ended up different there.

  13. Bicycle Bill

    So why would you tag the interns by name, but not the aide?

    1. JessWitt

      ‘Cause Word of Willis.

    2. MatthewTheLucky

      The interns are established Shortpacked characters, like Ethan, Amber, or Ryu.

      1. Gigafreak

        I mean, I think the aide was, too, but never received a name.

        That said, Manley was basically “exactly Robin except opposite gender” in Shortpacked, so I wonder what he’s like in this universe.

  14. Doom Shepherd

    My first thought flashed to the “Adam Ruins Everything” that pointed out that most internships are actually illegal. I wonder if this will go there.

    1. Some1

      I love how even Robin feels weird about not paying the interns.

    2. Orion Fury

      Looking forward to the next season. The ‘Ruins Death’ episode was a good one.

  15. Dean

    Three guys is not an army, Frieda.

    1. JessWitt

      More like a squad actually.

      1. EvilMidnightLurker

        Get two ladies and it’s a sentai.

        1. Orion Fury

          Is there a term for a female version of a Bro, or is Bro gender neutral?

        2. MatthewTheLucky

          Sis.

        3. Orion Fury

          Is there a plural form, or does it count for both?

        4. MatthewTheLucky

          Sib?

        5. Heavensrun

          Sisses.

        6. Disloyal Subject

          I’d say it’s gender neutral. There’s some girls I call bro who I’d never call sis, and vice versa.

        7. DSL

          Closest I’ve heard is Bongos, with a z or maybe two z’s in place of an s, but I think you’re only allowed to call yourself, or your own group of “bongoezz,” that.

        8. Gigafreak

          Hilarity, thy name is “Autofilter.”

        9. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Robin is the Leader, Frieda is the Lancer, Aide is the Chick. Taylor is the Big Guy, Tyler is the Smart Guy, and Dawson is the Sixth Ranger.

        10. Kamino Neko

          A significant number of Super Sentai teams only have one girl. The majority, I’d wager, but I don’t really want to go through 40 seasons and confirm. Two is more common now than it used to be, but even the one that set the pattern in North America only had one girl in Japan (TigerRanger was a boy. Named Boi.) Also, 3 is a perfectly acceptable team size. (A quick glance through the pictures of the teams on the Ranger Wiki suggests 4 man-1 woman is the single most common set up, followed by 3 man-2 woman, and 2 man-1 woman. Teams larger than five are usually a 3-2 with dudes added later in the season.)

  16. Mav

    Ugh, i have so many feelings about unpaid internships. Good thing in NYS more companies are paying their interns.

    There’s definitely value in volunteering, but part to full time work with no pay? grown people have bills to pay. Hell, some teenagers have bills to pay.

    1. Leorale

      I have only one feeling about unpaid internships, and it’s that they’re terrible.

      1. Doctor_Who

        I lucked out and managed to get a paid one. Didn’t pay MUCH mind you, but at least while I was crashing on my cousin’s couch I could chip in for pizza.

      2. Mav

        I was in an interview when I was on summer vacation in college and dude was shocked when I made a similar comment to yours (I know, mistake #1 in an interview). In head I was like, “you see this phone I answered your call with? You think phone service drops outta the sky??”

        I picked up my wings and flew to interview instead of taking the train lol

        Too many people assume since you’re young and in school or just out of school that your parents are paying for everything, for some reason

        1. Cerberus

          Unpaid internships feel like the touchdown in the quest to see how little companies can value secretarial services and office management staff.

        2. Mav

          And it’s nuts that as a society we tend to idolize wealthy people, especially celebrities and companies and let them get away with any and everything.

          But the minute a poor person expresses desire to make more money or even be paid at all or get benefits, that’s a Terrible Thing and how dare you, “don’t you know money corrupts people?”

        3. Disloyal Subject

          I don’t think I’ve heard that one before, but I don’t doubt that people say it.
          I wonder how often it earns them an assault.

        4. Nightsbridge

          You’ve heard something like it before, one way or another. Ever heard, ‘money can’t buy happiness?’

        5. Dean

          I’d like the opportunity to find out for myself, is all.

        6. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          It can’t, but it makes misery much more comfortable.

        7. John

          Money can’t buy happiness, but no money can’t buy anything.

        8. Orion Fury

          I wonder what they’d consider FGs and safeties. I bet the extra two points is [Insert I’m Gonna Stop There Before I Say Something REALLY Offensive Joke].

        9. Cerberus

          Part-time independent Contractors?

    2. Needfuldoer

      But they’ll pay you “in experience”!

      Bootstrapping experience to get your foot in the door is the worst Catch-22. Nobody will interview you without experience, but you can’t get experience without a job. It took me two years to get a job in my field, even with several years of retail experience under my belt. (Then again the economy actually was down the tubes back then. Now they just use that as an excuse.)

    3. Willoughby Chase

      There was some fuss about unpaid internships for students in London. Only a rich kid can afford to take on these internships, because only they could do a job with no pay and live in London.

      1. DonDueed

        From the employers’ perspective, that wasn’t a bug, it was a feature. Your unpaid worker was also sure to be of the “right sort”.

        1. thejeff

          Exactly. It’s a class filter.
          If you can afford to work without pay as an investment in your future career, you’ll do better in the long run.

        2. Willoughby Chase

          In the UK, that’s accentuated by the Eton-Oxford-Cambridge stranglehold.

          Funfact: if a kid from a poor area (usually defined as someone who gets school meals from the state) does manage to make it to Oxbridge and get a 1st, they will end up earning less than the richer, more well-connected members of their cohort.

      2. monkyvirus

        Well they’re also actually illegal in the UK and people have successfully fought for back pay. Most people can’t afford an unpaid internship anywhere.

  17. Cattleprod

    Thanks to the sliding time scale, this strip will theoretically be taking place at a point in time where human cloning will be commonplace. Just saying.

  18. Nono

    Manley? That sounds really famil-

    OH RIGHT THE dude that Robin banged in Shortpacked!.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Manly!

  19. tim gueguen

    How would the Questionable Content Bros react to these guys?

    1. GuruBuckaroo

      I can’t say for sure, but I imagine they would say something along the lines of “Bros Bros Bros!”

      1. Bagge

        They would be at it all day

        1. Tualha

          Like a bro-ken record.

  20. JessWitt

    Oh sure the unpaid bros get tags but not the loyal aide. *grumble* j/k

    1. Auroki

      the aide will earn his name when he fixes his tie~ He is not nearly name worthy enough to be a good aide to our congress woman while looking unprofessional~!

  21. Lan

    Shit now I’m worried. Frieda reminds me of my dad’s family. We don’t talk to my dad’s family anymore.

    1. DarkoNeko

      Let’s be honest, she looks a lot like Mary.

      1. Rukduk

        Ten bucks says they’re cousins*.

        *Really half-sisters but they don’t know and the family doesn’t talk about it.

      2. Needfuldoer

        I think she looks like a taller Dina, mostly because of the hairstyle.

      3. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        Aw fuck, she’s related isn’t she?

      4. Tobias

        I’d say Mary’s her Evil Twin, but so far Frieda hasn’t demonstrated herself to be much of a Good Twin except when compared to Mary…

        Religious Twin and Political Twin?

  22. newllend(henryvolt)

    Hmmmm I’m just going to leave this here and call it a night: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S35X8lGxGPI

  23. Some1

    hmmm Frieda is only one letter away from Frieza…

    1. Leorale

      It’s a real name! Her parents probably like art.

      1. Some1

        Isn’t that Frida?

        1. Leorale

          Yep, she was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón.
          Okay so her parents would have to really like art.

        2. inqntrol

          Still doesn’t beat Picasso’s full name.

        3. Orion Fury

          What about Dot’s?

      2. skdk

        actually Frida is a very common name in scandinavia

    2. Willoughby Chase

      Frieda was DH Lawrence’s wife.

  24. Tenzhi

    Let Frieda ring!

    1. carl320

      Now I have that song in my head lol

  25. Undrave

    That’s some nice absolute territory that Robin is rocking there…

  26. Kris

    So aide doesn’t get his name in the tags but interchangeable unpaid interns I’m sure no one cares about do?….Yeah that seems right.

    1. Regalli

      The difference with the interns (at least as far as I can tell) is that they used to be characters (… so to speak anyway) back in Shortpacked as a minor annoying customer dude and his interchangeable clones guys. So they came in having names before they were completely interchangeable and can therefore be slotted back in, whereas Kyle didn’t up until now and now it’s become a joke.

      (That said, there are some minor DoA-original background characters who do have names, like Asma. So Kyle not having a name is very much the joke now.)

      1. John

        Asma’s name has still not actually been established in the comic proper.

    2. Showler

      Willis has two babies, not an unpaid intern to go back and change previous tags.

      1. Orion Fury

        They think that Comic Sans is a good typeface. Clearly they can’t handle the responsibility.

      2. David M Willis

        Changing tags retroactively is easy. You can edit the tag itself from the dashboard end and all appearances of the tag on the site are altered.

    3. DarkoNeko

      Oh noes, the author did something I don’t agree with !

    4. Orion Fury

      And good lord, the art style evolution, too.

    5. Tualha

      The bros are unpaid, so Robin has to at least pretend to show a little appreciation for their work. Kyle is paid, and also probably pursuing this as his career, so she can dump on him as much as she likes and she probably does.

      1. Willoughby Chase

        No no no no no.

        Sad to say it, but people generally only appreciate expensive things and that includes humans.

      2. Amazi-Stool

        So it was Robin who put the name of the Bros in the tag list?

    6. Willoughby Chase

      I thought giving the clones names was the start of good running joke.

    7. skdk

      i dont see why so many people disagree with you

      1. Kris

        I was just pointing it out because I thought it was funny. Like the aide gets so little respect even unpaid interns get treated better in the tags. Maybe I was wrong?

        1. Kamino Neko

          No, you’re right…that is clearly the joke, and it’s amusing.

  27. Regalli

    THE CLONES HAVE RETURNED!

    And oh hey I forgot she was running against Manley.

  28. Shiro

    Robin obtained ARMY OF UNPAID BROS!

    1. Jay Eff

      And not just any Bros– They’re the “WOOO BROS!”

  29. Cephalo the Pod

    Wait, Frieda? Seriously? That one-shot lady from Shortpacked’s final year?

    …Oh, apparently she also showed up in Shortpacked’s second year as well.

    1. Regalli

      Shortpacked customers: The gift that keeps on giving when you need one-offs and don’t feel like designing a new jerk.

      1. JessWitt

        I’m still holding out for the last wave of SP! workers to cameo some time.

        1. Orion Fury

          What about the common customers?

        2. JessWitt

          I’m open to that as well but they’re hard to recall.

        3. Orion Fury

          They did tend to be one-dimensional. Perhaps customers that Becky would have to deal with in a future job? Though at this rate it’ll be years before that happens, unless he does another time-skip, which I think I read he’s trying to avoid. I am looking forward to any of the holiday themed months. Though he may be dreading Halloween for any characters that would dress up.

        4. Tacos

          I wonder, has Buckets o’ Blood guy appeared?

        5. Jason

          Yep! He creeped on Amber in an early strip.

        6. Disloyal Subject

          Yeah, he wanted to sit next to Amber in CS. She decided to take the chance that the next guy was less creepy. He’s probably got a tag.

        7. John

          Yep.

  30. Rosaline

    Frieda looks to me like an unholy combination of Dina and Mary. Couldn’t say why.

    1. Moose

      So I’m not the only one to see a resemblance.

    2. Doctor_Who

      I think she looks like female Ethan.

    3. Spidergirl

      Well I suppose we now have a new contender for worst fusion ever

    4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Maybe Roz isn’t the only one with an embarrassing older sister…

    5. Tenn

      Yep yep. *nods*

  31. maxyai

    There are a lot of things going on here that I have no clue about because I was not a Shortpacked wonkie.

  32. Teddae

    BRO.

    i thought she would be running against Sydney Yus in this universe…guess not.

  33. Tacos

    I wonder how many comments we’ll have of people just saying, “bro”…

    1. Doctor_Who

      DAB

    2. Some1

      as of typing this the word Bro has been said 43 times. More updates to come later

      1. Orion Fury

        I got 63 now.

    3. inqntrol

      “Soggies may rule!”…Oops, wrong comic.

    4. Willoughby Chase

      BRO

    5. Tenn

      Orb.

  34. Woobie

    I’m Dawson, this is my brother Tyler, and this is my other brother Tyler.

    1. Dean

      Cool Newhart reference, bro.

  35. Reltzik

    That’s not plaid on their shirts.

    That’s bar codes.

    And they didn’t scan.

    (Cue two people who get that joke.)

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      Oh god, Willis was just setting up that comment, wasn’t he.

  36. magicallady

    did the bros all shop at abercrombie and fitch?

  37. Spidergirl

    Jesus Christ those interns look exactly like my little brother.

  38. Van Jealous

    This arc is starting to remind of a Richard Lester movie!

  39. Yossarianduck

    Bros For DeSanto.
    DeSanBros.

  40. brionl

    At first I thought Frieda said she was in charge of student outrage…

  41. Liam

    i’m sensing a “BROS BROS BROS” crossover from Questionable Content, lol

    1. Jupiterror

      same

  42. Pyrpyr

    GUUUUUUUUUUUYS
    WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE MARY
    O____________________________O

  43. Mr Ak

    I come for the character development, but I *stay* for the subtle socio-political commentary.

    1. Orion Fury

      Don’t we all?

      1. Disloyal Subject

        I mostly come for the character development. Especially moments of suffering and/or wrath.

    2. Mr Ak

      Sorry, I fear I may have inadvertently underplayed the irony intended by “subtle”.

      (Not that I disagree, mind.)

  44. ESM

    Is Frieda Mary’s mom? They look rather similar

    1. ESM

      By which I mean not similar, since Mary has short brown hair. I must be thinking of someone else.

      1. The Gentleman Mummy

        I find it really ironic you’re commenting on this webcomic with that avatar.

  45. Darwin

    Are these guys clones? Or identical triplets (as insane as that idea is)? Is Frieda manufacturing fratboy supporters in the biology lab?

    1. Disloyal Subject

      The middle one has a paler skintone and thinner jaw. The guy on the left also seems slightly paler and more heavyset than the fellow on the right.

      1. Darwin

        That could be shading and also random mutation among the cloned zygotes, as well as differences in nutrition/weather exposure. After all, identical twins seldom look completely identical beyond childhood. C’mon, lemme have this one sci-fi element in my realistic comic.

  46. Jupiterror

    BROS BROS BROS

  47. Phildog

    Funny, but technically she does have to pay them. You can’t just have people work for free, yes, even in an internship. There are rules. Internships are only free if it functions as on the job training where the boss does not directly benefit from training you. What she is doing is SUPER illegal, and if her employees sued they would probably win.

    Your employer can’t just decide not to pay you. That’s wage theft and it is very much illegal. Many unpaid interns have sued for back pay and gotten awarded a settlement. If this is you I encourage you to seek legal council for proper restitution.

    1. Petra

      Well, I mean, I did an unpaid internship at a wildlife rehab center that literally could not afford to pay us. Which works because our bosses weren’t directly benefitting, I guess? But it wasn’t something I felt taken advantage of on, because it was basically volunteer work with college credit at the end.

    2. Cerberus

      You’d be surprised how many “super illegal” things American businesses get away with these days.

      1. Orion Fury

        What about how many things American Government get away with these days?

        1. Cerberus

          Just as “super illegal”, just as scot free.

        2. BenRG

          When you’ve reached the point where your peer group physically own all three branches of government and are always sure to be able to find a large number of thugs to enforce your will, then ‘super illegal’ becomes a hypothetical consideration rather than an actual state of being.

        3. StClair

          Rex non potest peccare, “the king can do no wrong.”

          Or, as rephrased late last century by Nixon, “When the President does it, that means it’s not illegal.”

      2. Tualha

        Would anyone be surprised at that anymore?

    3. WingedBeast

      Technically, yeah she does.

      But, she can get away with not for a few reasons.

      1. Most interns don’t know their rights

      2. Many that do know their rights don’t protect them because they’re trying to get hired and, well, suing companies doesn’t seem like a good selling point.

      3. These guys are obviously believers. They believe in the goal. They’re in it to gain credibility in right wing politics and to gain status. They’re likely not challenging the employers enough to really ask that question.

      4. I’m guessing they’re students with their meal-plans paid for and not exactly hurting for the money that they’re due.

    4. Lin

      Political campaigns call them “intern volunteers.” Because ALL campaigns have 501(c)4 registrations, they can classify them as volunteers and not pay them. If you call something an internship, there are guidelines around what you have to do to not pay them (must have educational opportunities attached, they must not be displacing paid workers [try proving that one], and they should be getting college credit). In the US, you can indeed not pay people for internships as long as you are a non-profit or governmental organization and classify them as volunteers.

  48. Reltzik

    I’ve heard enough about how (and whether) trickle-down economics works.

    I want to hear some theories about tickle-down economics instead.

    1. JessWitt

      That sounds like a porn parody of Mad Money.

    2. Cerberus

      Trickle-down economics is the least subtle euphemism for “we’ll pee on you”, I’ve ever heard in my life.

      1. Reltzik

        The wealth will trickle down in a shower of gold!

      2. BenRG

        It works on the assumption that the super-rich will stimulate the economy by hiring people and buying stuff instead of, say, living in a gilded palace swimming in Olympic-sized pools filled with gold coins. I’m not sure that it is a safe assumption. Oh, they need servants and things but I don’t think that they ever do enough of that to really stimulate the wider economy.

        1. Willoughby Chase

          Automation and overseas outsourcing screws those ideas up.

          Automation will screw everyone up eventually.

        2. StClair

          The Industrial Revolution never really stopped, it just changes speeds now and then.

        3. Willoughby Chase

          Yep.

          I’ve spent a good chunk of my “career” automating things humans once did. Whether I’m part of the problem or the solution remains to be seen.

        4. StClair

          We reaaaaaaly need to work on the “what will humans do (and how will they live) when there’s nothing left for them to do” thing.

        5. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          The “living in a gilded palace swimming in Olympic-sized pools filled with gold coins” isn’t the problem as much, since at least you employ miners, minters, and construction workers. The problem is the rest of their money which they want to invest in something that will return a good profit. But there aren’t enough good investments, so they end up making bad ones, which eventually crash when their badness can no longer be denied.

        6. Reltzik

          Economists actually rank rates of return for how much giving money to various people and/or programs will stimulate the economy. The best rate of return policy-wise is education. For people, giving it to the lower class gives the best rate of return, for the simple reason that people living paycheck to paycheck will put it into the economy immediately rather than banking it.

        7. The Gorram Batguy

          As I understand it, I think the big part of the idea is that they invest their money in starting and expanding businesses, which makes them more money (assuming they succeed) but also creates jobs for large numbers of other people. Under this model, trickle down economics works very well. If, however, they invest that money overseas, or horde it, then the country’s economy is not helped.

        8. Charles Phipps

          Trickle down economics has some validity, actually, but there’s two points which need to be remembered:

          1. It’s a trickle, not a river.

          2. The trickle ended up being outsourced to even more trickly countries.

    3. Orion Fury

      And that made me think of Elmo trying to explain Economics. I shuddered.

    4. WingedBeast

      The thinking of supply side economics is this, if you release the business owners from taxation, they will take the extra money and invest it in new factories, in new stores, in shipping facilities, etc. This will result in employment.

      Basically, you buy from the wealthiest and that money trickles down through a system of employment, to the poor. Hence “trickle down economics.”

      Keynsian economics operates on the notion that, in a boom and bust economy, you can raise taxes in boom times and, during busts, when private industry isn’t hiring, you can have the government use the available manpower to build public works projects (say, an interstate travel system or the Hoover Dam), thus cutting the bust-time and making sure the economy still has a consumer base with an income. This can be used to make sure that dips in the economy don’t become extended recessions or even a new Great Depression.

      I think the fact that the New Deal and the Highway Interstate System got us out of and kept us out of the Great Depression and Bush’s tax cuts got us into the Great Recession gives a clear siting on which one works best.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Trickle-down sounds nice in theory, but much like true communism, it relies on people not being selfish pricks, and that’s a losing bet.

        1. WingedBeast

          Arguably, it relies upon fewer people not being selfish pricks or short-sighted with regards to the consequences of their actions. On the other hand, it does specify business owners for that requirement. And, not to speak ill of business owners, that’s not a selection pressure for selflessness.

        2. DonDueed

          Especially since, legally and “ethically”, business managers are responsible to their shareholders rather than society at large. So they tend to operate their businesses to maximize short-term profits (as demanded by the shareholders) rather than considering the long-term health of the economy or their employees’ concerns. In other words, the benefits generally only trickle down to the shareholders.

        3. Crumplepunch

          Here’s the elementary error; companies don’t actually invest more in their businesses when they have more money. They only spend money if they stand to make money. The only circumstance in which a company will invest in greater production is if demand for their product increases. Failure to grasp this point has caused the world a lot of economic trouble.

        4. thomas wrobel

          The poor, statistically, spend more of their income then the rich.
          ergo, its a error to think the rich are the “job creators”

          Giving the poor more disposable income will result in more money circulating quicker (as that group will spend more of it).

        5. thejeff

          It’s a question of what’s wrong with the economy at the given moment. We’re currently (still) in a demand crunch. In that situation, you’re definitely right: more money to the poor stimulates demand since they can buy stuff and the economy improves.

          It’s possible to be in a supply crunch – where there is demand, but money/resources aren’t available to expand production to meet it. That requires different policies. The 70s oil shock was essentially that on a large scale.

        6. Willoughby Chase

          If you go back far enough in history, then the trickle-down does seem to have some traction.

          For example, when the rich were the ONLY ones doing the spending, and the spending was into the local economy, then trickle-down does make sense.

          However, more money (and more tax) can be gained by selling to the masses. The masses do need to get paid, though.

          The great myopia of the Reagan era was exactly that. The Laffer curve and trickle down were great levers to suck money away from the poor and to the rich. Cut wages, and have really cheap loans so that the poor could think themselves rich.

          Of course everyone was cutting their own throats. Which is where 2008 came in.

      2. Willoughby Chase

        (I’m not an economist or an economics student) I’m guessing Keynes never really factored exporting whole factories abroad or offshore tax-havens and complete freedom of capital into his thinking.

        In a closed or controlled system, Keynes’s theory works very well. When the rich are allowed to “export capital”, then it begins to leak.

        I’m a pleb so I don’t understand the attitude behind offshoring their money. Sure, they pay no tax on it but it loses it’s value as capital just sitting there doing nothing.

    5. Mr Ak

      We should tickle down, but punch up. Makes sense, I guess? Not everyone likes to be tickled, and I think a punch in response to unrequested tickling is at least arguably reasonable and proportionate force.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Maybe a jab, but crosses and heavier punches are probably best held in reserve… unless the tickler goes for the ribs, then they’re fair game.

  49. AgentKeen

    It really is the return of Shortpacked!.

  50. Willoughby Chase

    Nice joke abt trickle-down economics and unpaid interns.

    1. Tualha

      Trickle-down economics and unpaid internships, summarized in one sentence:

      They break our legs, and we say “thank you” when they offer us crutches.

  51. drs

    Nice to see Robin reacting to ‘unpaid’. Still wondering what party she’s in. The real district is currently R but has bounced between D and R.

    Is Robin wearing stocking, zettai ryouki style? Between that and her colors I’m suddenly thinking “Tohsaka Rin.” I wouldn’t vote for someone based on that, but it sure would get my attention.

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      R, because trickle-down economics and “family values”.

      1. Reltzik

        Maybe a blue dog democrat. Or facing a blue dog democrat. Her opponent’s doing the family value thing too, otherwise he wouldn’t be using Roz’s tape against her.

        1. DinaWho

          Leslie voted for her opponent, so I’d guess Robin’s an R here. Even if she was a Blue Dog, I don’t think Leslie would have voted for her (likely a good bit MORE conservative) R opponent in that case.

        2. Whammy

          As someone working on a PhD in political science and as a result is drowning in papers on ideology of Congress members, I can assure you there pretty much aren’t Blue Dog Democrats anymore. The parties are pretty well sorted on ideology:

          http://voteview.com/political_polarization_2015.html

          And here’s a graph showing distribution of ideology in the current Congress from:

          https://i2.wp.com/k7moa.com/images/png/Hou114_Smoothed_Histogram.png

          https://voteviewblog.com/category/114th-congress/

          Granted, yeah, there’s variation, but even the most conservative Democrat is more liberal than the most liberal conservative.

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Needs more twin-tails.

  52. Orion Fury

    Well, I do suppose she does look smarter. but if we’re going to apply that trope, arguably we could continue and dock her for what appears to be a pencil miniskirt and thigh-high boots.

    I think she has the Bro vote though.

  53. Annie

    *sniff* Does anyone else smell hypocrisy?

    1. Reltzik

      It’s hard to distinguish that particular stench from the general reek of American politics.

  54. Zaidyer

    Calling it now: Frieda is Mary’s sister. Unlike Mary however, she satiates her need to command and control people with politics.
    She may or may not enjoy blasting contemporary christian music at maximum volume, over and over, which is why Mary is so hellbent on achieving silence. Not that I’d know anything about what that’s like, ha ha…

  55. Bagge

    Bro-cenomics!!!

    1. Disloyal Subject

      …Cenomics?

    2. Reltzik

      This is properly pronounced as “broken-omics”.

      1. Heavensrun

        It’s layered.

  56. BenRG

    It suddenly occurs to me that Robin is Republican.

    We are also reminded that politics, at every level, is inherently exploitative.

  57. Falcon

    Robin Desanto is doing a great cosplay of Sarah Palin.

    1. Mindset

      You don’t say…

  58. Larkle

    I live in Kansas. Can confirm that the trickle down effect does not work. Governor decided hey, let’s do that. Don’t even have budget for school for public school this year now. -.-

  59. LimeSheep

    i didnt even know there were paid internships until like a couple years ago honestly

  60. bryy

    Wait, it’s only been a WEEK?

    1. Bagge

      AND that was with a time skip.

      1. Willoughby Chase

        “If I could turn back time ….”

  61. Willoughby Chase

    It occurs to me that Robin is bi in this universe as well. If she’s running on a Republican “family values” ticket, this maybe a wee bit of a problem.

    1. Bagge

      Nah, what are the odds that a hot gender studies teacher will seduce her in the middle of her election campaign?

      1. Willoughby Chase

        Risking her career for hot sex … hijinks will ensue!

      2. BenRG

        If Willis is planning to go that way, it will be interesting to see whether Robin’s political career survives. I can’t see the right-wing segment of the GOP tolerating it but, conversely, if she’s previously been a populist rightist in rhetorical and voting terms, then the Democrats might consider her a bit toxic too.

  62. Makkabee

    I dub these interns “Moe,” “Larry,” and “Curly.”

    1. Bicycle Bill

      “I’m Larry; this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.”

    2. Durandal_1707

      Naturally curly in Frieda’s case.

  63. Justin Time

    Wait, when did Roz release a sex tape?

    1. Joey245

      In-universe: A couple of weeks ago, early in the school year.

      Out-of-universe: A long, long time ago, in a storyline far away…

    2. Bagge

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/05-media-rumble/newspaper/

  64. BenRG

    I can’t decide whether Frieda looking so much like Mary is a coincidence or not. Maybe she’s her big sister or even her mother?

    If she is a relative and has a degree of power (maybe a GOP campaign officer or even a Bloomington town councillor) then it could… complicate the current collision between Mary and Carla. The issue could become politicised with Robin demanding Mary and that the girls of the dorm be ‘protected’ from the pervert pretending to be a woman in their midst, hoping that leading a moralistic cavalry charge will boost her poll numbers.

    I’m thinking of the film ‘The President’ where the President falls for an environmentalist campaigner from very much the other end of the political spectrum. Will Robin and Leslie’s eyes meet across the stage in the debating hall or in an ill-tempered Town Hall? Could this turn out to be a redemption story for Robin?

    1. TheHorseCouncil

      Oh my glob I was worried i was the only one who saw the resemblance. Was about to ask if we’d met Mary’s parents yet…..

    2. DonDueed

      If you’re referring to the film “The American President”, they were not at all of opposite ends of the spectrum. The President was a liberal Democrat, but had done a lot of compromising for practical reasons (i.e. to get bills passed) and to undercut his political foes. The relationship with the environmentalist motivated him to return to his core principles (on the issue of gun control, IIRC).

  65. Heather

    Wait half a tick- isn’t ‘Manley’ (the offscreen political opponent) the person Robin had a sex vid with during her cadbury binge in the shortpacked universe?
    …
    Awkward.

    1. BenRG

      All I can say is: Thank heaven for non-communicative parallel universes!

      1. Charles Phipps

        Manley seemed like a nice guy. It’s just Robin cheated on her partner. Or wait, is Manley awful because Robin was affected by toxic amounts of sugar at the time? Did he know? It’s weird I’m actually interested in the answer.

  66. TrueVCU

    I was waiting for Robin to be like “I fucking love this country” *sheds single tear*

  67. Charles Phipps

    Frieda can’t be Mary’s relative, she’s smiling.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      She’s the family outcast for that.

    2. Heavensrun

      Yeah, but she’s smiling while being terrible. Mary smiles when she’s being terrible, too.

  68. JBento

    I loathe everyone in today’s strip. It’s really quite amazing.

  69. Bawkbagawk

    I guess Milo wont be invited to this campus any time soon.

  70. Charles Phipps

    It is to my considerable horror that Robin would actually make an excellent Trump VP.

  71. MrSpkr

    “The Woo Bros” sounds like a decent name for a boy band.

    1. Sam

      “The Wooing Bros” sounds like a name for boy band from 18th century.

      1. BenRG

        Or the favourite swing/vocal harmony band of a character in the Fallout universe.

  72. Charles Phipps

    That will be an interesting situation for Robin. She can claim family values and so on but the whole Toedad incident is about a man using a gun to kidnap his daughter for gay deprogramming. There’s literally no way Robin can parrot the party line without looking like (and being) a monster. It would also kill any Leslie possibilities.

    1. Charles Phipps

      There should be some kind of horrifiying contempt emoji or meme beside the deprogramming line.

    2. JBento

      If Carol’s response to the incident hasn’t convinced you that there’s no horrible action fundies won’t excuse to protect one of their own or attack “teh gheys,” you should store that cute faith you have in the human race somewhere safe for when we return to La Porte and go to church. I predict another series of strips where Willis preemptively disables comments.

      1. JBento

        *somewhere safe for PROTECTION when we return

        Gaaah, curse the lack of an Edit feature!

      2. Charles Phipps

        Actually, my concern is ROBIN’S moral event horizon being crossed. Is she actually a bad enough person to say this isn’t the fault of homophobia or gun freedom? I’m curious.

        1. John

          She doesn’t seem happy about the idea of employing slave labor, so maybe there’s still hope for her.

      3. thejeff

        Some Fundies will, but I doubt they’re a majority, even in Robin’s district. She’s got to walk a fine line on this one – not driving off the fundies or those horrified by Toedad.

  73. Guairdean Beatha

    Begun the clone wars have. The automatic “Wooo” tells me they only have one brain between them.

  74. CaptainBatson

    Her opponent’s Jake Manley? Well, that’s a good choice.

  75. Potatamoto

    Finally, Manley’s arrogance will be his undoing. He was warned!

  76. Craig

    Is anyone else vaugely reminded of the three kevins from Daria?

  77. Sir Robin

    Is Frieda a returning character? She looks familiar

  78. Spencer

    It’s weird to think how many people are assuming Robin is just totally just going to do the worst thing imaginable.

    She’s a gladhandling sleaze, probably even moreso here because she lacks the wackiness that Shortpacked! ran on, but it’s still Robin. She’s a selfish, shortsighted jerk, but she still means well by her loved ones. That her immediate reaction is to be a little shocked at the idea of not paying her interns, she clearly hasn’t gone full-Trump.

    1. JBento

      I might be misremembering, but I didn’t get “means well by her loved ones” from her interaction with Roz so much as “how can I use this person as leverage for my campaign.”

      She also campaigns on a platform of “family values” (and we all know what THAT translates to) and, if her opponent is gaining ground on “that whole gun thing,” it pretty much implies she’s for free gun access.

      So maybe she doesn’t call Mexicans rapists and thieves, but, personally, I set my bar for “this person’s fiery death would leave the world a better place” a little higher than that.

      I am also undecided on whether her shock means “gosh, how can we not pay these people for their work?” or “we don’t pay them? And they work anyways? Dumbasses!,” but I can be persuaded either way.

      1. JBento

        The lack of an edit function will be the death of me yet.

        Saying “it’s okay guys, Robin isn’t as bad as Trump” is like saying “I don’t know why you’re all so against Trump, it’s not like he’s HITLER.”

      2. Spencer

        Robin’s kind of inextricably tied to Shortpacked!, so I’m basing a lot of my opinion on her character here from that. She was a selfish buffoon but finding out she hurt someone kind of sent her on a crash course to fix things.

        I’m pretty sure this Robin’s just a blowhard who says whatever she wants to get some political power. I doubt she actually believes or cares about anything she says outside of saying it to curry power with her largely white, straight audience, considering she’s a Hispanic bisexual woman who got married to another lady in the Walkyverse.

        1. JBento

          I would like you to reread that second paragraph of yours, and then tell me how that makes it any better. “Sure, she makes and supports shitty laws who fuck people’s lives, but it’s not like she BELIEVES in them.”

        2. Spencer

          I just have a really hard time thinking Shortpacked!’s foremost wacky screwball is suddenly going to go Full Trump.

        3. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          She’s a fucking *LGBT family values republican*; being absolute bigoted vermin against your own people for power is water well under the bridge.

        4. JBento

          I fear I’m not getting my point across.

          I’m not saying Robin is going to go full Trump. I’m saying that you’d need to climb not only a couple of steps, but the whole Infinite Staircase to get from “full Trump” to “acceptable,” and, at least currently, Robin is a long ways from the latter.

          From the news that cross the Atlantic, I understand how the last decade might have left you Americans with low expectations from your politicians, but ffs, people, if you don’t start setting standards, they’re not going to do it for you.

    2. Commodore Jeep-Eep

      She’s a LGBT family values repub; of course she’s human garbage.

  79. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    Who’s tasking bets that Mary come in contact with them and will use this for a chance at revenge on Carla and all the other trans women in the state?

    1. JBento

      See Cerberus’s comment either earlier today or yesterday (I forget) on how she’s afraid Robin would support a bathroom law.

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        It’s only a highly edited version of events away from happening – Robin is a family values LGBT republican – kicking us GSMs – especially the red-headed stepchild bringing up the rear – is not something she shows any fucking compunctions in.

        1. Cerberus

          According to Willis, she’s not going the full Cruz on that one… That said, I imagine she’s still going to give us some choice moments to go bug-eye over. I suspect Mary’s church may be more involved in her attempt at escalation unless that ends up being a red herring.

        2. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          Where?

  80. Arianod

    Oh no, they can produce them industrially now D:

  81. Robin

    Wow, a coupla months ago was the ten year anniversary of congresswoman DeSanto!

  82. Charles Phipps

    Oh God, I can’t believe I missed one of the joke. “The army of UNPAID [college-age] interns will be reminding college students why your ECONOMIC VISION will benefit them.’

  83. CThunder

    “trickle down”, I hate that sad term used for economic growth. This is one of my biggest pet peeves since I lived through that era of B. S.

  84. Onion

    Is anyone gonna mention how much Freida looks like a tall version of Dina, or am I missing something?

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