Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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June 8, 2026

Assembled

by David M Willis on February 15, 2023 at 12:01 am
  • 03 – Joementum
└ Tags: dorothy, walky

Discussion (154) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    February 15, 2023 at 12:02 am | #

    she and Leslie could make a club… sandwich… board… club…

    • True Survivor
      True Survivor
      February 15, 2023 at 12:21 am | #

      Wow, great memory.

      Also, sandwich club. I get it – that’s good.

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    February 15, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    Disappointingly, the Nuclear Football is not what gave NFL SuperPro his powers.

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 15, 2023 at 2:51 am | #

      It hasn’t been called the nuclear football in an age. I say that without knowing what the current phrase is or the current code euphemism for the president.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 15, 2023 at 3:12 am | #

        The name nuclear football evolved out of operation dropkick, but in any case (case – get it) it contains the gold codes or whatever they’re calling them nowadays.

        • Mark
          Mark
          February 15, 2023 at 7:09 pm | #

          Would that be “go codes”?

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        February 15, 2023 at 8:48 am | #

        I’m not sure it was ever officially the nuclear football. It was more of a nickname than a codename and it’s still in fairly common use as such.

  3. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    February 15, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    all the presidential M&Ms you can eat

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      February 15, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

      Presidents get the original tan ones and blue. It’s a perk.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        February 15, 2023 at 2:20 am | #

        Some administrations will reject the green ones.

        • Pilgrim
          Pilgrim
          February 15, 2023 at 6:23 am | #

          That depends upon what shoes they’re wearing.

  4. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    February 15, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    Social climbing is nothing compared to revenge. Dorothy should know this. She wants to be president.

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      February 15, 2023 at 12:06 am | #

      If living well is the best revenge, then social climbing is a valid weapon of choice.

    • Nono
      Nono
      February 15, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

      Maybe she should watch Scandal.

      (I have never watched an episode of Scandal.)

      • cbwroses
        cbwroses
        February 15, 2023 at 1:00 am | #

        I don’t think Dorothy can handle the various murders, spying, and coverups.

        Raidah definitely can.

    • khn0
      khn0
      February 15, 2023 at 9:41 am | #

      social climbing is basically the art of climbing on the shoulders of others. Either you do it with their benediction and support, or crushing them under your feet.

  5. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    February 15, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    The Future’s So BRIGHT, I Gotta Wear SHADES!

    • True Survivor
      True Survivor
      February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

      Especially if you let random staffers touch the nuclear football.

      Great song though – it made me happy in high school.

      • True Survivor
        True Survivor
        February 15, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

        In case that makes me sound old, I found it on the local channel that plays music for my dad’s generation.

        • StClair
          StClair
          February 15, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

          So you deflect by making me feel old. nice.

          (I also remember it from high school… the first time.)

      • The Wellerman
        The Wellerman
        February 15, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

        What is a nuclear football? Is this another human meme thing I missed?

        • ktbear
          ktbear
          February 15, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

          AKA the keys to nuclear armageddon.

        • UrsulaDavina
          UrsulaDavina
          February 15, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

          It’s a suitcase that allows the President of the US to authorize a nuclear strike when they are not a fixed command post

        • not someone else
          not someone else
          February 15, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

          There’s this briefcase with the nuclear codes that famously gets yoinked around by someone near the President, handcuffed to their wrist. It’s called the nuclear football.

          • Slartibeast Button, BIA
            Slartibeast Button, BIA
            February 15, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

            As I recall, it mainly contains a loose-leaf book of SIOP (Single Integrated Operating Plan) options that the President can choose, ranging, I’d speculate, from “fire a nuke as a warning shot” to “try to completely destroy the enemy nation.” It also contains password codes that prove that “this is really the President sending this”.

            I think there is or was also a credit card sized thing the President can keep in their wallet with such password codes.

            • Masumi
              Masumi
              February 15, 2023 at 12:43 am | #

              Considering how prone I am to forgetting my wallet places, I would not be able to sleep having such a card in there XD

              • Slartibeast Button, BIA
                Slartibeast Button, BIA
                February 15, 2023 at 12:48 am | #

                I think there was so controversy about what happened to it when Reagan was shot.

              • Dean
                Dean
                February 15, 2023 at 12:52 am | #

                I’m fairly sure the President doesn’t carry a wallet. I mean, what would he need it for?

                • Slartibeast Button, BIA
                  Slartibeast Button, BIA
                  February 15, 2023 at 12:57 am | #

                  I recall a bit in that movie with Michael Douglas as the President who wants to send flowers to a woman and has to ask his secretary where his credit cards are. Because obviously that isn’t a legit government expense. (In storage at his home in Iowa or something.)

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              February 15, 2023 at 8:52 am | #

              It’s all classified, but it’s also assumed to include some kind of secure communications gear these days.

        • True Survivor
          True Survivor
          February 15, 2023 at 12:18 am | #

          It is the (unofficial, I am pretty sure) for the device carried by an accompanying secret service office whenever the president is away from a designated command center. It allows the president to authorize a nuclear strike. There is technically more than one, as the VP also gets one in case the President is compromised and I’m pretty sure they have back ups in case of tech issues – etc.

          You’d hate not to be able to wipe out all life on Earth just because Windows is updating for the tenth time that day. Though, maybe that’s why they’d feel like wiping out Earth…. tech support is a nightmare.

          • Slartibeast Button, BIA
            Slartibeast Button, BIA
            February 15, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

            Quibble, a military officer assigned to the job, not a Secret Service agent, I think.

            • Wizard
              Wizard
              February 15, 2023 at 10:40 am | #

              Correct.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            February 15, 2023 at 8:54 am | #

            Yes, there is a 3rd for backup. Normally kept at the White House.

            Last seen at Biden’s inauguration, since Trump wasn’t there. Trump carried one to Mar-a-Lago, while the 3rd one was brought with Biden to the Inauguration. At noon, the codes were changed. The old ones deactivated and the new ones activated.

      • Wizard
        Wizard
        February 15, 2023 at 10:38 am | #

        Ironically enough, the seemingly upbeat song was actually inspired by the threat of nuclear war. The guy who’s doing good in all his classes is studying nuclear science, and will presumably go on to build bigger and better bombs. There was originally a third verse that made this a lot more explicit, but it was cut from both the album and single versions.

  6. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    February 15, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    A roundabout way of warning Walky about Raidah’s motives

  7. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    February 15, 2023 at 12:06 am | #

    “the nuclear football”… is that what kids call it these days ? 😀

  8. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    February 15, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

    Oof. I know Walky doesn’t know it, but he’s rubbing what has to be some serious salt in Dorothy’s wound.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

      Those wounds are salty enough already!

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      February 15, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

      This whole storyline has been “Watch Dorothy quietly die inside”.

      • GholaHalleck
        GholaHalleck
        February 15, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

        It’s been fun watching all the people who she thinks she has to mother, showing their maturity and self reliance now that she’s given up on her dream after the first real hurdle presents itself.

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        February 15, 2023 at 12:41 am | #

        Prediction: She’s going to start externalizing that trauma.

  9. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    February 15, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

    No, she don’t have any other wagon to go.
    Only you, Walky. That’s why she choose to enter the same elevator with you, smartass.

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      February 15, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

      I think Walky means Dorothy is a better prospect for Raidah to hitch to than he is. She’s an excellent student (Yale accepted until further notice) and wants to get into politics. What is Walky compared to that? A hot guy with a twitter comic he may or may not have forgotten about.

      • Nono
        Nono
        February 15, 2023 at 12:20 am | #

        Might be because Walky’s parents seem vaguely important (well we don’t know what they do, but Linda is connected to the Dean).

        It depends on how far Raidah wants to go, but sometimes making lots of little connections is more important than the one big one.

        • Wizard
          Wizard
          February 15, 2023 at 10:43 am | #

          Kind of a “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” thing. A whole lot of yesterday’s rising stars are today’s flameouts. If you choose the wrong one, you’re probably going down with them.

          • Mark
            Mark
            February 15, 2023 at 7:12 pm | #

            “And all the stars
            that never were
            are parkin’ cars and pumpin’ gas.”

  10. chuckroast
    chuckroast
    February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    She miss himb.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      February 15, 2023 at 3:57 am | #

      Maybe she’ll realize she never had to break up with him, because he wasn’t the problem.

      • zee
        zee
        February 15, 2023 at 12:20 pm | #

        I don’t think she ever framed him as the problem? She initiated the break bc she realized SHE was getting distracted and her grades were slipping, and then after violating the terms of the break she broke things off all together bc she realized SHE was tugging him around and it wasn’t fair.

        I think she thoroughly identified herself as the problem

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          February 15, 2023 at 2:30 pm | #

          She wants to be President, and until quite recently thought she could do it just by ticking all the boxes and providing the “obvious”, pragmatic, altruistic solutions. She pinned her entire self-image on that goal, to the point where she’s willing to sacrifice anything she cares about in the short- to medium-term to reach it.

          It wasn’t that Walky was a stifling distraction, he was just taking away time she could use to buckle down and try even harder; because surely all she has to do is try harder and success will come her way.

          That’s her problem.

    • Moonie
      Moonie
      February 15, 2023 at 5:55 pm | #

      You missed the “o” in “himbo”

  11. shrub
    shrub
    February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    Panel 4. The look you get when you realise the people you think are your peers don’t think the same about you

    • Mark
      Mark
      February 15, 2023 at 6:49 am | #

      Perhaps. What I saw is that Dorothy is taking Walky’s question seriously, and getting hints of a surprising answer that she doesn’t like. Or several distinct disturbing answers, which could all be true together.

      I think she’s going to keep picking at that question.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 15, 2023 at 11:05 am | #

        I just like the fact that she’s considering Walky’s suggestion in the last panel.

  12. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    … so this isn’t so much about networking with Walky as it’s about second-hand networking with Linda, amiright?

  13. Slartibeast Button, BIA
    Slartibeast Button, BIA
    February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    Sorry, I’m behind, who is the “better wagon”?

    • Axel
      Axel
      February 15, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

      He means Dotty. Why (Raidah) sniff up my ass, when you (Dotty) have a better wagon.

      • Moon
        Moon
        February 15, 2023 at 12:27 am | #

        But that doesn’t link up with the dialogue in panel 5, which is Walky pivoting the conversation to be about Dorothy’s *lack* of connections (which incidentally reads as pretty salty to me).

        • v.gay.person
          v.gay.person
          February 15, 2023 at 12:46 am | #

          He still thinks she has the potential of being a powerful person as future-president (and that that makes her a better wagon), not quite realising the issue isn’t that Dorothy /isn’t/ putting herself out there (when that’s a lot of what she’s doing) when the issue is that she doesn’t already hold any social capital of interest to Raidah.

          Kinda like the whole “You too can be a millionaire cos this twenty something dude built his own business empire” when he started with a loan from his parents. But with social capital.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          February 15, 2023 at 9:04 am | #

          I suspect Dorothy’s taking it the way you are, but I think Walky just means that Raidah doesn’t realize it because Dorothy isn’t putting herself out there enough.

        • BOOSTER SHOT
          BOOSTER SHOT
          February 15, 2023 at 10:14 am | #

          It does link up. That’s why he’s talking about Dorothy’s connections. He’s asking why Raidah is sniffing his ass when Dorothy is a better star to hitch herself to. And the only explanation Walky can come up with is that Raidah just isn’t aware enough of Dorothy. Because obviously, if she was, she’d be going after her instead of dumb ol barely passing Math him.

          • Archieve
            Archieve
            February 15, 2023 at 6:57 pm | #

            There is some truth to that, Dorothy hasn’t done much outside helping her own friend group and even that has mostly been limited to Joyce, Walky and Becky. Dorothy intense study schedule has definitely come at the cost of her social networking.

  14. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    February 15, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    If I didn’t know any better I would totally think Walky just said Dorothy has a nice ass in a roundabout way.

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      February 15, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

      Either that or you finally progressed to stage 2 butts disease 😛

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      February 15, 2023 at 12:37 am | #

      By “roundabout”, do you mean it’s about how her ass is round?

      • The Wellerman
        The Wellerman
        February 15, 2023 at 12:42 am | #

        I think he means the song that plays at the end of the “To Br Continued” meme 😛

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        February 15, 2023 at 3:59 am | #

        They mean mountains come out of the sky and they stand there.

  15. newlland(Henryvolt)
    newlland(Henryvolt)
    February 15, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    Dorothy does realize she still has credibility despite not going to an ivy league school right? Yale isn’t the end all be all.

    • C.T. Phipps
      C.T. Phipps
      February 15, 2023 at 12:19 am | #

      I mean she’s crashed and burned herself deliberately.

  16. Derek
    Derek
    February 15, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    I feel like this is a USA government reference, what’s a nuclear football? what’s kompromat?

    • anon
      anon
      February 15, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

      i have no idea, there is that ‘big red button’ which is apparently a nuke?? but i doubt there’s a literal one versus a ton of paperwork and red tape but never heard it as a football euphemism before

    • UrsulaDavina
      UrsulaDavina
      February 15, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

      It’s a briefcase that allows the US President to authorize a nuclear strike when away from fixed command centers.

      • Derek
        Derek
        February 15, 2023 at 12:56 am | #

        How is it that I knew that Roger Fisher suggested to have these nuclear codes implanted in the chest of a volunteer; so when a president wanted to use them, they’d literally have to go go through someone (killing them in the process) to get the codes but I didn’t know about nuclear football?

        learning USA politics through internet osmosis sure is weird

        • Jamie
          Jamie
          February 15, 2023 at 5:26 pm | #

          It’s not really US politics so much as it’s US military protocol. It’s just that the US military happens to be headed by a civilian politician.

    • Kavonde
      Kavonde
      February 15, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

      The nuclear football is a briefcase that a member of the President’s Secret Service detail is supposed to always be carrying, cuffed to his wrist. It allows the President to authorize a nuclear strike. Kompromat is material that can be used to blackmail someone.

    • True Survivor
      True Survivor
      February 15, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

      The nuclear football is the (unofficial, I think) term for the device carried by a Secret Service operative which accompanies the president at all times which allows the president to order a nuclear strike. There is technically more than one as the VP also has one in case the President is compromised.

      Kompromat is a term for compromising information that can be used to discredit, manipulate, or blackmail somebody, often for political purposes.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      February 15, 2023 at 12:40 am | #

      There’s been a lot of headlines recently about former presidents and vice presidents being discovered to have lots of classified materials (I don’t think explicitly kompromat, but it might have included kompromat) in their private residences and offices, when strict rules that are supposed to keep track of classified documents say This Isn’t Allowed. (A lot of it seems to have just been aides mistakenly packing the wrong folder into the wrong box when it came time to move out of the White House, so it isn’t 100% nefarious.)

      • shanunu
        shanunu
        February 15, 2023 at 4:45 am | #

        I doubt it is very much nefarious, but to my knowledge stuff is supposed to be color coded based on how confidential it is, so I do wonder how stuff gets left behind when it is noticeably a “dont leave this behind” color

        • morleuca
          morleuca
          February 15, 2023 at 5:28 am | #

          For the same reason I’m unpacking boxes with a roll of toilet paper, a single sock, a handful of lego, a snack bag of doritos, an unfinished chainmail project, a stack of old World of Darkness books, and a bunch of kitchen utensils in them. Too much to pack and no time left to sort oreven pay attention to what you are doing.

        • Jmacq1
          Jmacq1
          February 15, 2023 at 7:35 am | #

          Those color-coded coversheets get lost pretty easily, especially with top-level officials where folks don’t want to “waste their time” by having them have to flip an extra “useless” page while going through the material.

          There is of course redundancy…text markings at the top and bottom of each page and at the beginning of paragraphs that contain classified information, but chances are folks aren’t reading everything when they’re throwing it in boxes and clearing out offices in a short timespan.

          Regarding recent events it’s worth mentioning that the outgoing President receives a lot of direct support from the National Archives when clearing out their workspaces to try to find all this stuff and make sure it’s properly secured. However, outgoing Vice Presidents do not receive that same level of support so it’s a lot more likely for things to fall through the cracks with them.

    • vulcanodon
      vulcanodon
      February 15, 2023 at 6:54 am | #

      Nuclear Football is a briefcase full of electronics that travels around with the president and provides launch capability for nukes. Kompromat is a Russian word that amounts to having dirty secrets on someone, so you can control them.

    • Jamie
      Jamie
      February 15, 2023 at 5:28 pm | #

      Think about that scene in Iron Man 2 on the race track. The thing Happy is carrying around is a reference to the nuclear football. (They actually literally refer to it as a football.)

  17. anon
    anon
    February 15, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    i mean idk if dorothy’s family is well off, but someone unironically wanting to be future president, i can totally imagine ppl riding their coat tails

    “At the risk bragging, one of the things I’m best at is riding coattails. Behind every successful man is me, smiling and taking partial credit.”

    • Axel
      Axel
      February 15, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

      idk, my response would probably be “that person has delusions of grandeur or is really self obsessed if they want to and think they can do that.” (not that that doesn’t also describe actual presidents, but I mean to say I wouldn’t want to be around them, nor believe in them enough to think riding their coattails would get me anywhere. especially someone in college.)

      (I know dorothy isn’t this. this isn’t dorothy flaming)

  18. UrsulaDavina
    UrsulaDavina
    February 15, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    Can some one remind what Walky’s specfic use is? Even Walky is having a difficult time determining what it is.
    With Raidah It’s like implementing 3d chess strategies when the game is checkers.

    • Mr. Random
      Mr. Random
      February 15, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

      His name

      • BarerMender
        BarerMender
        February 15, 2023 at 1:21 am | #

        Also, she thinks he’s cute.

        • Mr. Random
          Mr. Random
          February 15, 2023 at 2:09 pm | #

          True, but she’s smart.
          She wouldn’t want to be friends with someone solely for their looks, it’d give her no social benefit unless she plans to launch him as a missile to snag someone else into their social circle.
          My main guess is that she became aware of him for his looks, but wants him in the group because of his name.

    • shrub
      shrub
      February 15, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

      The only thing I can think is because of his link with Billie, there’s absolutely no other reason for her to be interested in Walky and Lucy

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      February 15, 2023 at 12:18 am | #

      It’s specifically this:

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/04-dont-stop-billie-ving/kept/

      Sarah once said she liked the group she was walking with. Walky was part of that group. Taking him away hurts Sarah (maybe) and that’s enough for Raidah. Also Walky was magically very hot that day, so you know, maybe she wants a taste too. That’s a theory going around.

      • cbwroses
        cbwroses
        February 15, 2023 at 1:06 am | #

        I agree it is specifically to remove Sarah’s friends.
        And Joyce’s friends.
        That’s how Billieken Skywalker became Darth Jennifer.

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/05-this-was-halloween/realestate/

        • Holly
          Holly
          February 15, 2023 at 6:17 am | #

          Well now this strip makes me wonder if Char was dating Carl at the time and Raidah booted her from the social group in favour of Billie and started dating Carl. Maybe not, but I wouldn’t put it past her.

          • Archieve
            Archieve
            February 15, 2023 at 6:51 pm | #

            Either that or Char got herself in hot water so saying something offensive to the wrong person, her most memorable trait was saying awful stuff to and about people.

    • GholaHalleck
      GholaHalleck
      February 15, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

      Walky leads her to his parents who are apparently well off, and tied up with either the school, or the government, I forget which.

      He’s an in-road to more powerful lackeys and like minded people.

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        February 15, 2023 at 12:30 am | #

        This is what I don’t get. Are the Walkertons actually wealthy and connected? Mom was once married to the dean, but how far can you really take that? Their best connection is Jennifer, which Raidah already has. They seem to live comfortably, but we don’t even know what Linda and Charles do.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      February 15, 2023 at 12:28 am | #

      Didn’t Walky’s mom used to Bone the dean? Which is a very unromantic way to put it, which is why I said it like that.

    • zee
      zee
      February 15, 2023 at 12:26 pm | #

      His parents are rich and his mom used to be married to the dean, and it seems the divorce was pretty amicable. Idk if she knows that last part but 1, Billie could have told her, 2, i could see her googling names to see who has good connections

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        February 15, 2023 at 2:38 pm | #

        Did I miss a bonus strip that established that the Walkertons were rich? I mean Sal had to buy a used 3ds with saved up gift cards. Meanwhile Jennifer just has a credit card cause her parents give her money instead of attention.

        • Doopyboop
          Doopyboop
          February 15, 2023 at 3:48 pm | #

          Sal is also the unfavorite kid and Sal is also such an independent character that I don’t think she’d want her mom to buy her a 3DS. I don’t think she realized she wanted one until she got a chance to play Danny’s. I wouldn’t peg the Walkerton’s as wealthy either, but I do think they’re on the upper side of middle class, and maybe moreso have connections, which Raidah would view as useful.

          • Archieve
            Archieve
            February 15, 2023 at 6:46 pm | #

            I’m still not convinced they have any connections besides Linda’s ex husband and radiah has a parent who she said can terminate Sarah’s scholarship if they wanted so im not sure what advantage a connection with the deans ex wife could bring her that her own family can’t.

  19. Suet
    Suet
    February 15, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

    Being a social climber also means that people like Walky would be stepped on to get up the social ladder, if successful. Not before a round of gratuitous pandering anway, hoo hoo.

    Walky, en garde. Dorothy, get some strings, and don’t set the launch code as 00000000.

    • UrsulaDavina
      UrsulaDavina
      February 15, 2023 at 1:31 am | #

      It’s better then 12345 that’s a combo some idiot would have on their luggage.

      • zee
        zee
        February 15, 2023 at 12:28 pm | #

        …I’d that a bad guys reference? I’m sorry i just watched that movie last night and it’s at the front of my mind

        • thakoru
          thakoru
          February 15, 2023 at 7:18 pm | #

          I’m pretty sure it’s from Spaceballs.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      February 15, 2023 at 2:04 am | #

      For many years the USAF *did* have the nuke passwords set to “0000000000.” No, really.

      • UrsulaDavina
        UrsulaDavina
        February 15, 2023 at 2:33 am | #

        It seems dumb but actually it kind of makes sense given the ability to launch quickly is essential part of nuclear deterrence and you have to launch missiles at the site. Still all you need is a Dr Strangelove situation and then it’s doomsday which actually the protocol in Dr.Strangelove was an actual protocol. Wow how did the human race not die during the cold war.

        • Clif
          Clif
          February 15, 2023 at 3:17 am | #

          During the Cuban Missile Crisis only share unlikely dumb luck let us muddle through.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 15, 2023 at 3:38 am | #

        * sheer unlikely dumb luck

        Speaking of the early days with obvious numeric codes, nukes were constructed so that before they could be armed multiple people would have to enter and turn their special keys and only then could it be launched. But when one scared the bejesus out of everyone by arming itself there was a through review. Turned out that if you didn’t have someone and their key available you could bypass it by connecting the two ends of the switch with a paperclip. So the old system was replaced with something a lot more sophisticated and secure. And then we intentionally leaked the tech to the Russians so that their systems would be more secure as well.

        Why no, I can’t prove any of this.

      • vulcanodon
        vulcanodon
        February 15, 2023 at 6:34 am | #

        I always assumed the password would be something like 173467321476c32789777643t732v73117888732476789764376

      • Mark
        Mark
        February 15, 2023 at 6:41 am | #

        Well, come on, who would actually believe they could have set it to all zeros? It’s certainly not the first thing anyone would try, or the hundredth. This could actually be clever.

        • thakoru
          thakoru
          February 15, 2023 at 7:19 pm | #

          Unless you’re just brute forcing it, in which case it’s the first number you’ll try.

  20. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    February 15, 2023 at 12:26 am | #

    I think that, among other things, Dorothy misses Walky because he’s got tremendous faith in her. Even Joyce doesn’t think Dorothy will be president as much as Walky does.

    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/02-i-was-a-teenage-churchmouse/sharedmoment/

    Walky doesn’t have any doubt she can do it, even while she’s experiencing a lot of self-doubt, herself.

    • cbwroses
      cbwroses
      February 15, 2023 at 12:51 am | #

      I was just thinking that he still has such faith in her becoming president.

  21. Slartibeast Button, BIA
    Slartibeast Button, BIA
    February 15, 2023 at 12:30 am | #

    Maybe she wants Walky around because having hot guys hanging out with you enhances your status?

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      February 15, 2023 at 12:35 am | #

      That’s probably also why she keeps Asher and Jennifer around. She’s keeping all the Hotties to herself.

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        February 15, 2023 at 12:41 am | #

        Indiana Strategic Hotness Reserve?

  22. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    February 15, 2023 at 12:34 am | #

    Listen just make sure she doesn’t start social climbing you.

    • Sajuuk-Khar
      Sajuuk-Khar
      February 15, 2023 at 1:11 am | #

      Fucking co-signed. I don’t want to see Raidah climb on anyone.

      • zee
        zee
        February 15, 2023 at 12:30 pm | #

        I’m sure she’d be pretty cute if she got her hair tousled. Or at least let it fall forward a little

  23. Masumi
    Masumi
    February 15, 2023 at 12:50 am | #

    Aw man, I dig how these two support and believe in each other. And share their insecurities. Despite all the difficult emotions floating around.

  24. Sajuuk-Khar
    Sajuuk-Khar
    February 15, 2023 at 1:09 am | #

    Walky Reminds Dotty of the Good Times Until She Snaps and Blows Him In the Elevator: A Dumbing of Age Pornographique

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      February 15, 2023 at 1:18 am | #

      It’ll be in cartoon slow motion like the fight between Goku and Frieza in Dragon Ball Z 🤣🤣🤣

      • Sajuuk-Khar
        Sajuuk-Khar
        February 15, 2023 at 8:42 am | #

        Yes.

    • Zaxares
      Zaxares
      February 15, 2023 at 6:35 am | #

      And then Joyce walks in the elevator. >:O

      • Sajuuk-Khar
        Sajuuk-Khar
        February 15, 2023 at 8:43 am | #

        That’s the immediate sequel, Joe and Joyce Walk Into An Elevator And The World’s Most Awkward Foursome Ensues: Another Dumbing of Age Pornographique

  25. BBCC
    BBCC
    February 15, 2023 at 1:28 am | #

    It warms my heart that Walky continues to believe in Dorothy when she no longer believes in herself.

  26. Axel
    Axel
    February 15, 2023 at 2:49 am | #

    This is going to be a hard conversation for Dorothy; one of the first things about loving him that she explained was him believing in her (especially contrasted to Danny thinking she’ll give it up), and saying stuff like “when Dorothy’s president I’ll…”

    • Alex
      Alex
      February 15, 2023 at 1:04 pm | #

      What conversation?

      • Axel
        Axel
        February 16, 2023 at 3:37 am | #

        the current one? or at least, the aftermath of the current one (pretending we haven’t already read the next page by now)

    • Archieve
      Archieve
      February 15, 2023 at 6:41 pm | #

      Last term Walky was telling to Joe before class about how his future self would brag about getting with the President as students.

      • Axel
        Axel
        February 16, 2023 at 3:37 am | #

        yes thanks. it was linked above
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/02-i-was-a-teenage-churchmouse/sharedmoment/

  27. Risky
    Risky
    February 15, 2023 at 3:48 am | #

    Maybe you are just the link she needs to ensnare Dorothy, Walkerton boy.

  28. Sean Smith
    Sean Smith
    February 15, 2023 at 4:22 am | #

    This is how Dorothy gets invited to breakfast isn’t it?

    • Masumi
      Masumi
      February 15, 2023 at 5:13 am | #

      Ouch no please no

  29. no name
    no name
    February 15, 2023 at 5:57 am | #

    Doug from house of cards be like

    • BOOSTER SHOT
      BOOSTER SHOT
      February 15, 2023 at 10:17 am | #

      Uh oh. So who’s getting murdered on the oval office carpet in the final strip, and who is doing the murdering? I’m sad that Joyce will have to be killed off-screen in between the penultimate and ultimate storylines.

  30. Sombrero
    Sombrero
    February 15, 2023 at 6:06 am | #

    You read it here first: social climbing is overrated. Joe climbing is much better.

  31. vulcanodon
    vulcanodon
    February 15, 2023 at 6:31 am | #

    I’ve worked for a guy who is a self-described career climber. And he’s a good guy, really, but blind spots about the status quo he always reflexively defends.

  32. Daibhid C
    Daibhid C
    February 15, 2023 at 7:28 am | #

    Dorothy’s sad because all her college friends are people she actually likes, rather than people who want to use her but who she can use in turn, and who she would have been prepared to drop instantly when the letter arrived from Yale.

    Dorothy has issues.

    • Archieve
      Archieve
      February 15, 2023 at 7:06 pm | #

      The problem is she gravitates towards people who could use her help in some way and who are honest like herself. I don’t think people like Radiah were even on Dorothy’s radar until the Jacob incident.

  33. morleuca
    morleuca
    February 15, 2023 at 7:49 am | #

    So is Lucy going to see them talking and the obvious emotional connection they have and start the timer on either over-aggressively pushing Walky to commit faster than he wants to, or to having a freak out on Dorothy for perceived boyfriend thieving?

    • zee
      zee
      February 15, 2023 at 12:31 pm | #

      I don’t think she cares about Dorothy, just Billie

  34. The Oracle
    The Oracle
    February 15, 2023 at 7:50 am | #

    Dorothy, just fuck him in the lobby. That’ll solve everything.

  35. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    February 15, 2023 at 8:06 am | #

    Dorothy says “Having something Raiders finds useful” with a certain understanding which bypasses Walky, at least for now.

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      February 15, 2023 at 8:08 am | #

      Autocorrect to Raiders? Huh. I distinctly remember typing Roughriders.

  36. Gbz
    Gbz
    February 15, 2023 at 8:57 am | #

    I’m not sure I’d want to be invited to breakfast because I was useful as opposed to, liked.

  37. Taffy
    Taffy
    February 15, 2023 at 9:43 am | #

    “This” is ultimately just some people going to a place and eating some stuff. There’s not really a bigger picture to it.

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 15, 2023 at 11:13 am | #

      The bigger picture is Raidah walking to class in front of Sarah with all the people that used to be her friends .

      Except Joyce for reasons.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        February 15, 2023 at 11:15 am | #

        I’m sure Sarah’s gonna care a lot.

      • zee
        zee
        February 15, 2023 at 12:33 pm | #

        Well Sarah never liked Billie, at all. And i think the only connection she has with walky and Lucy are being the only black kids in the friend group (minus sal)

  38. nightshade
    nightshade
    February 15, 2023 at 1:28 pm | #

    president dorothy with chief of staff becky lol

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      February 15, 2023 at 5:23 pm | #

      Press Secretary Rebecca MacIntyre would be a hit.

  39. Archieve
    Archieve
    February 15, 2023 at 6:35 pm | #

    Don’t worry Dorothy, I’m sure Radiah will try to turn you against Sarah and Joyce eventually.

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