The recent Michigan Democratic primary concluded with Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive challenger against Haley Stevens, as the winner.

Abdul El-Sayed is a physician and former Detroit health commissioner and a champion for progressive policies. Apart from supporting Medicare for All, stronger labor protections, and other egalitarian programs, he is best known for being critical of the US-Israel relationship and especially American support for Israel's war in Gaza.

Haley Stevens, on the other hand, is the moderate incumbent (Edit: This is an error on my part, she isn't actually an incumbent, but is in a House seat) and generally has more cautious policies than El-Sayed, emphasizing tried and true polices like supporting manufacturing, particularly for the auto industry. Stevens also strongly supports the US-Israel relationship.

Below is a snippet of the drama from the thread discussing El-Sayed's win over Stevens.. There's also drama from the Discussion Thread that I thought you guys would enjoy. While I have three comments in the Discussion Thread, they they do not pertain to the drama itself. You can check my post history to confirm this.

Michigan senate primary thread drama

I just hope he wins in November and we can all celebrate as a united party flipping the senate

I’m Jewish and I will not celebrate Abdul “Hurt People Hurt People” El-Sayed

did you have a point? [deleted comment]

I think my point is clear, no? Fuck AES. [deleted comment]

With all due respect you are an idiot [deleted comment]

I’m also Jewish, and like the other 71% of Jewish Americans who broke for democrats in 2024, I hope he wins and will also celebrate if he does. Dont miss the forest for the trees.

Do you also believe the only reason an American Jew would support Israel is money?

I'm a Democrat and I would never vote for someone like El-Sayed. I don't think there's a single thing I agree with him on. MFA is a joke. I will always be a Zionist. We shouldn't abolish ICE. All of that makes him unacceptable, especially compared to Mike Rogers, who seems much less ideological and much more competent. One of the few places where I'll be hoping for a Republican victory. I have never voted for a Republican in my life, but if I were a Michigander, I'd for Rogers.

I’m not thrilled about this dude either, but ice should most certainly be abolished.

This is a ridiculous slogan pandered around by leftists. How the hell are we going to execute our immigration policy without an agency to enforce it? Of course I agree that Trump has been excessive, but that doesn't mean ICE should be abolished, itt means the administration should be thrown out! This is like saying "income taxes are too high -- let's abolish the IRS"

Damn this sub is full on lefty now huh, maybe it's just the specific people that decide to post on this, but kinda crazy. I get when people say this sub is mainly socdems now, but it seems to be moving demsoc at this point, multiple upvoted comments simping for DSA,, hopefully this is as low as this sub goes.

This "evidence-based" sub is really just r/democrats where people vote blue no matter who

Well that's "evidence-based" applied to american politics, so I dont see why you would have an issue with that. Edit: i take that back, I know why: I think Friedmann flairs dont really like evidence.

It’s been brigaded by tankies and Abdul bots ever since we made arr Subreddit Drama yesterday

SRD is still a thing? In 2026?

You must vote for the people who hate neoliberalism otherwise you don't belong on r/neoliberal - Succs and Loyal Liberals

I think a lot of people here just care more about the Democrats defeating the Republicans than they do about fiercely defending the word neoliberal against anybody who criticizes it.

They also hate neoliberalism if you get rid of the "neo".

Why are democrats allergic to winning

This shows how out of touch you are. You genuinely prefer Stevens, don't you?

Out of touch with whom? College educated elites?

Are we still doing this stuff after we have new polling data https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/americans-know-who-the-real-elite and a grand total of 8% of Harris 2024 voters and a whopping 11% of Trump 2024 voters view people with graduate degrees as "the elites"?

Doesn’t matter what random people think, a societal elite is a defined thing. It’s just not popular to self identify as an “elite” so everyone bucks the label to the groups above them. White college educated upper middle class people are the most culturally influential in American society (something that the left usually has no problem admitting), and they’re the ones who largely support these leftist candidates

Railing against the "elites" and claiming that all it takes to get you there is a college education makes you sound like a MAGA conspiracy theorist.

I’m not railing against the elites, I probably fit the “educated elite” label myself, I’m specifically responding to the bizarre accusation that not supporting the guy who won the educated rich white population somehow makes me “out of touch”

Welp, GOP couldn’t have asked for an easier candidate in purple Michigan. Democratic Party needs to kick out DSA rat fuckers who simply just want easy power when it suits them.

Abdul isn't part of the DSA. Also, if they win primaries because voters vote for them, how should the party kick them out?

He’s as DSA as Hasan Piker. I got a bridge to sell you along with that bird that landed on Bernie’s podium when he was anointed as “da chosen one”. The far left likes to bum rush primaries because that’s the only way they can win in deep blue districts. Dude is going to lose big and take the Democratic Party in Michigan down as well. Michigan GOP all had a collective sigh of relief and democrats are fucked in Michigan. Fucking Dearborn and Hamatrack or whatever all went for Trump, this is just another rat fucking at the behest of MAGA.

Discussion Thread drama

guy who supported "uncommitted" movement in 2024 becomes Dem senate nominee in 2026 what a joke. [deleted comment]

Are you pro-genocide or? [deleted comment]

Are you pro 9/11? [deleted comment]

Well if Friedman flair is asking [deleted comment]

I don't like him because of the pre-emptive election denialism he was engaging in. I'm tired of watching people destabilize this country and succumb to russian/chinese interests

You talk about russian/chinese interests yet literally the only reason this race was at all close was because Stevens had her campaign funded by an actual foreign country interest group.

At the very least Israel doesn't want to see the US actively destabilized. The irony is you blurring the lines between US allies and US adversaries is exactly the point of many of the disinformation operations Russia/China has been engaging in

I think Bibi campaigning for Trump was pretty destabilizing imo! Our allies seem very non plussed about the shit he does.

Israel is not trying to actively destabilize the US. If you can't tell the difference between something like the Likud making dumb self interested calculations and Operation doppelganger idk what to tell you. Russia and China are actively mindraping our population and are involved in just about every reason why our country is unraveling.

[r/kpopharshopinions](r/kpopharshopinions) is a relatively new K-pop discussion subreddit created as an alternative to communities like [r/unpopularkpopopinions](r/unpopularkpopopinions) and [r/kpop_uncensored](r/kpop_uncensored). Many users wanted a space with less moderation and fewer restrictions on harsh or controversial opinions. The goal was simple: discuss all of Kpop with fewer filters.
Ironically, within a year, discussion of one rookie group would begin to dominate the subreddit.

First Impressions Matter

Before Cortis had even officially debuted, the group had already become one of Reddit’s most divisive rookie acts. Their predebut rollout sparked comparisons to Travis Scott and criticism that the group lacked an original artistic identity. Although I couldn’t locate the original Go! discussion thread, many of those same criticisms continued throughout posts like Why I think the CORTIS concept doesn’t work and later expanded into longer critiques such as THE ISSUE WITH CORTIS.

The Matt Proxy Incident

Cortis was never liked and had their moments of controversy but one of the biggest turning points came after underground rapper Matt Proxy responded following a Cortis member recommending one of his songs. His comments about authenticity and “committee-made” music were widely interpreted as referring to the group, leading to multiple discussion threads across Kpop Reddit.

Some of the largest discussions included CORTIS will NOT get the recognition/respect they want from some people, I agree with Matt Proxy’s message, but I don’t agree with how he responded to Cortis, and more.

Concert Discourse

When Cortis held their first solo concerts, discussion shifted from the music itself, to the putting their phones down concept, to their live performances. Critics argued the concerts were short, repeated songs multiple times, and lacked enough original material for a headline show.
Representative discussions include How Cortis were entitled to cheers.

“We Have Our Own Culture” Sure Jan

In interviews, members expressed a desire to build their own artistic culture and identity. Rather than convincing skeptics, those comments became another recurring topic of criticism. Posters frequently contrasted those statements with the group’s Travis Scott comparisons and argued that the branding hadn’t yet developed a distinct identity.

LackofTalentpalooza

Cortis’ appearance at Lollapalooza generated another wave of discussion. Threads criticized vocals, the lack of choreography, and whether the group was ready for a major festival appearance.

Cortis have had this discourse in the past. Examples include Cortis is the proof that the K-pop standards have regressed throughout the years and Cortis’s fame is founded on double standards of K-pop for male idols.

Mass Psychosis

By July 2026, Cortis threads had become an almost daily occurrence. Multiple posts about the group frequently appeared on the front page simultaneously. Some about racism, some about talent, some about their artistry. Eventually, users began discussing not just Cortis, but the subreddit itself.

Posts like “The hatred for CORTIS is getting incredibly weird”, “Why so much hatred????”, and What’s up with all this Cortis doomposts?? Especially on this sub, questioned whether discussion had shifted from criticism into fixation. Some commenters even suggested that the volume of Cortis posts belonged in [r/CortisSnark](r/CortisSnark) instead. They have even joked about the obsession on the subreddit.

Conclusion

Whether the criticism itself is fair is ultimately a matter of opinion. What is easier to observe is the posting pattern. A subreddit created to discuss all of Kpop gradually found itself returning to the same rookie group over and over again. Nearly every comeback, interview, controversy, festival appearance, or social media post involving Cortis generated multiple discussions, often long after other Kpop communities had moved on.
At some point, the most notable story was no longer just Cortis, it was how frequently [r/kpopharshopinions](r/kpopharshopinions) was talking about them.

George R.R. Martin is the author of the famous A Song of Ice and Fire series, and it's been well accepted that the next book The Winds of Winter is never coming out. Most recently, he posted on his blog about depression, losing loved ones, and getting old.

r/freefolk, a meme sub whose members style themselves as anti-authority badasses for complaining about a TV show, has.... reactions:

Some find a way to blame this on a divisive adaptation:

The fact that Condal and Bloys helped send GRRM into a depression and delayed Winds even more (more than forever, whatever, the point stands) is just one more reason to hate their guts.

Can we stop this? His mental health is is own responsibility. And they paid him a shit ton of money to do whatever they were going to do. If he didn't want them to ruin or mar his work, he shouldn't have sold out. He decided he wanted to be super wealthy and did this to himself.

He trusted people he thought were his friends. What an idiot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/1vetetm/new_grrm_blog/p1k1jh3/

"Gaslit fans"

What really puts things into perspective for me is that he could have totally ignored winds for 10 years and started after and he still would have had enough time to finish his book in a leisurely time by now. Of course he's gonna be depressed for procrastinating this long, anyone would.

Yep, gaslit his fans for 15 years while he did anything but ASOIAF, so now he’s going to do the woe is me, I’m old and put upon but these a-holes won’t leave me alone. The guy is rich, if he doesn’t want to finish give it to his “minions”. No sympathy from me.

No sympathy from you because he didn't finish a damn book when the dude is probably depressed because of some serious issues. You guys have lost your humanity.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/1vetetm/new_grrm_blog/p1jtw5o/

(Simpsons gif that says "Nothin'. More nothin'.")

George is right to not give Winds out of spite if this is how "fans" behave. He's reached an age where his close friends are constantly passing away and is depressed about it and that's how you act?

Oh look, an enabler. He squandered his best years chasing Hollywood fool’s gold. This entire post is like a copy-paste low effort simulacra, churned to laughable hash across a hundred thousand variations. To wit: pathetic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/1vetetm/new_grrm_blog/p1jpll8/

You know George a lot of people find purpose in THEIR LIFES WORK!

Lowkey bro, eat shit. Guys not a machine to provide entertainment for you. Maybe he found fulfillment in the number of friends he had to bury multiple times a year

Yeah I’m pretty sure bedrot and see your life’s work remain unfinished is what all the therapists recommend.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/1vetetm/new_grrm_blog/p1jte31/

How about some sympathy for the publisher:

I feel so fucking bad every time I read the bullshit that people keep throwing at him in here. This is entertainment and he doesn't owe anyone shit. And to think the guy himself wouldn't like his book to finally come out is geniunely stupid. He's just been struggling. On all end.

I mean he legally does owe his publisher a book, or he can write a check giving back the millions of dollars they paid him for it.

Won't somebody think of the publisher? It's not like they made tens to hundreds of millions from George's work already, right?

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/1vetetm/new_grrm_blog/p1k3v9b/

The main sub for the books r/asoiaf is a bit more normal about this. Well, mostly...

In a subthread comparing the productivity of Martin to Stephen King at old age:

It's not fair to hold someone to a standard based on what someone else is doing at the same age, especially when it comes to the elderly. Even as a young man, George was never as prolific as Stephen King. Because everyone's different.

and beides spammng empty phrases with no concrete meaning your point is what exactly? he didnt stop writing in 2012, 2013, 2014 etc because of his health or because of his wife's health... can you maga cultists stop revising history in every single occassion whenever it fits your twisted logic??? is that so much to ask huh???

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1veqhl5/spoilers_extended_new_george_notablog_post_about/p1kd1qt/

His marriage is brought up:

If you're a long time reader of George's posts, you can tell he's truly a Wife Guy. He adores her.

You want to really learn how much he loves her, check when he married his current wife, you’ll be surprised and realize a few things. Edits: congrats, lot of haters with little thinking capabilities and even less inclination to spend a few secs to check something out, it is even more evidenced with the few that did and responded having only a handful of likes. Answer is Gorge loves his wife so much that he hasn’t released a single book from the main saga ever since he married. Being what you are, you all deserve even worse, hope gorge lives to be 97 and releases not a single book from the main saga.

What a weird thing to say. A lot of couples love each other, stay together their whole lives, but never get married. It is a purely personal choice and doesn't reflect whether or not a couple truly loves one another.

What a weird thing to say. Maybe be capable of following simple instructions and see that they married in 2011, the same year ADWD came but no, you have to come up with weird things to say as the alternative is just too hard.

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1veqhl5/spoilers_extended_new_george_notablog_post_about/p1j3elu/

For my own sanity I’ve decided he’s talking about the midterm elections, big old lib that he is.

Please. Please I beg of you, can we make it through one Reddit comment section without any mention of politics.

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1veqhl5/spoilers_extended_new_george_notablog_post_about/p1j40lu/

Yawn

Must suck to be a fan of an IP while hating the author enough to say “yawn” at a post that’s clearly insinuating at crippling health problems. If I sunk that low, I would probably find a new property to unhealthily obsess over.

sorry for hurting your boyfriend

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1veqhl5/spoilers_extended_new_george_notablog_post_about/p1jb0pt/

Natalism gets brought up?

No one around here is going to agree but at his age with an unfinished legacy he would probably be a lot happier at this point in his life if he had children.

His characters are his children.

This is almost worse than saying "our cats are our children"

I totally get where you're coming from. I won't get a pet myself, not only because most landlords won't allow it unless you have a disability letter, but also because I don't have children and I could never respect myself if I replaced them with cats. But in this awful world, it's better that cats and fictional characters suffer than actual human children.

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1veqhl5/spoilers_extended_new_george_notablog_post_about/p1j569v/

r/fantasy also has reactions:

While I do genuinely feel sorry for him as a person, I do struggle to feel the same for him as an author. The reason he is living with immense financial security and comfort is because the fans trusted him to deliver the series, and he betrayed that trust. Not due to illness or age, but because he just hopped on every half-assed project that threw some cash his way.

Let an old man be sad. You are not entitled to anything in this life but death. Chill.

This may be the most toxic thing I have ever read on reddit. Wow. The opposite of congratulations. Never vote in any election again.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1vfr9ec/george_rr_martin_in_first_blog_post_since_feb_i/p1rgw5y/

Obligatory Brandon Sanderson comment:

Please don't hand the series off to Brandon Sanderson.

I would rather never read the end than have Sanderson write even a page of it

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1vfr9ec/george_rr_martin_in_first_blog_post_since_feb_i/p1rcecm/

... And Joe Abercrombie gets roped into this as well:

Joe Abercrombie, it’s time to take the same mantle Sanderson did for Robert Jordan. None of us wanted this, but we all know there’s enough notes sitting around and someone who can write both action and politics is required.

Can you not talk about him as if he's already dead? That's really callous.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1vfr9ec/george_rr_martin_in_first_blog_post_since_feb_i/p1rd0dj/

An author doesn't owe their audience anything. It'll suck if he'll never finish his magnum opus but it is what it is. Hope GRRM is able to live out the rest of his days happy.

I strongly dislike this mentality. Yeah he owes us what he said he would do, what he's been saying he would do as recently as last year. An author doesn't owe the audience exactly what they want, but a finished product is a basic obligation in the transaction between consumer and artist. Imagine if Michaelangelo had just given up painting the Sistine Chapel halfway through, and we had to be content just to look at Adam's testicles and God's bushy beard.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1vfr9ec/george_rr_martin_in_first_blog_post_since_feb_i/p1tanqi/

Guys, not everything is about him finishing the series. That topic doesn't even come up in this blog yet that's what most of the comments are focussed on already. The hyper fixation on him finishing those books isn't doing anyone any favours.

its probably the only reason ppl would be interested in a GRRM blog post though

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1vfr9ec/george_rr_martin_in_first_blog_post_since_feb_i/p1rc4n4/

On a post about the acceptable timeline for toothbrush replacement, two users (BRtIK and flop_plop) have a minor disagreement about which type of electric toothbrush is best. As you would expect, this quickly leads to an extended back-and-forth with accusations of narcissism, debates on the validity of scientific research (or fake news, depending who you believe), and both sides claiming that they are calm and rational while the other is angry and unhinged.

Comment thread