DRW50

@Vee This is some of what I was talking about with the media hype over the Al Smith dinner. It just disgusts me. This is what our media wants and I never know how many people will fall for it. Oh Trump was so funny, even Democrats laughed! Where was Kamala Harris, why wasn't she supporting the Catholics, on and on and on.

Everything with the betting markets seems false. I do think there's been real movement toward Trump, as it seems to be hitting almost every poll, Harris has changed her campaign decisions quite a bit in the last few weeks, and the early voting numbers in places like Virginia, NC, etc. aren't good (although some may just be a natural reversion from 2020), but the only reason these betting markets get so much prominence now is to create a narrative. Even with the blowback, I am glad she skipped the dinner, in large part for the reasons you mentioned. Dolan seems like trash anyway. One of the problems is a lot of people who vote for the amendment are likely still going to vote Republican - I read an article about how this seems to be happening in Arizona. (I'm not saying the amendments still aren't important - sorry if that comes across) I would disagree with that many people being undecided - I think it's probably closer to 4-5%, and unfortunately many who say they are undecided seem to end up leaning toward Trump. That's what seemed to happen in 2016 and 2020, and his approval ratings are higher than ever now. Some glimpses of the flyers Musk is spreading in swing states. If you are getting any of the propaganda the media is spreading about how he's a great guy who was just mistreated by Biden, it is probably just the beginning of his bootlickers trying to clean up after him and all the money he's costing them.

I would have killed Kristina over Alexis or Sam, although the optics would have been awful and we'd get more Sonny woe.

They were saying it at the dinner. It's being used to go at her for being anti-Catholic, with even the supposedly liberal host Gaffigan going in on her about not being there. And led to the inevitable "she lost the day" articles. I don't think it's going to be a deal-breaker, but it annoys me because of all the double standards where she does what people wanted her to do (more rallies) and still the spin is of how she failed because she didn't go along with "civility" at a dinner run by predator enablers. And the optics of various Democrats applauding or laughing with Trump put me off as well, because how can you call someone a threat to democracy when you're doing all that? It just causes even more of the people who are easily sucked into saying both sides are the same to nod along. The early voting numbers haven't been very good so far in a number of states (whether this is just because 2020 was an anomaly due to many Republicans refusing to early vote or a sign that he's overperforming polls again, I don't know), so maybe some like Schumer have gotten the same vibes and decided to let him have his moment, but the whole thing was a grotesquerie to me, as much or more than in 2016, a reminder of how many in power and the media still want to live in 2000. And the type of thing that seems to go around more easily than the clips of his decay or his no-shows because of the easy pickings of, "He was there doing a standup routine (bigoted screed) and she wasn't."

Dismaying to see the Al Smith dinner, which was one of those low moments in 2016 where you were reminded the "normal" or "civil" Presidential campaigns the media so craves was gone for good, back in the news now. Dismaying because the pattern continues of Harris being attacked if she doesn't do rallies and focuses on media yet is attacked when she does rallies instead of a media opportunity. Seeing so many go on about the anti-Catholic and disastrous decision Harris made not attending this trap and how she is the new Walter Mondale (the last to skip this event) just reminds how she can't win in the eyes of many journalists. Trump was also his repulsive self, utterly cheap and coarse. Seeing Chuck Schumer squirm and try to force a grin as Trump tore him apart and as the audience laughed and applauded every hateful word he said just makes me all the more wary of how many major Democrats may be about him winning and they just don't want to say it. I also have no use for Jim Gaffigan shilling for that event, on top of his hackiness on SNL. Here is a good article about Bill Clinton going out to campaign again. I know the party has had issues with his era actions, but he's a first-rate surrogate. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/17/after-low-profile-bill-clinton-steps-back-stage-surrogate-harris/

Sherry Coben Dies: Creator Of 'Kate & Allie' Was 71 (deadline.com) I never knew she wrote for Ryan's Hope.

I would say Kelly (which would be ironic) but maybe the Blair recast? I could see her in contention as Blair.

I wonder what he would have done (maybe the Tracy/Cody pairing).

This does seem more likely. They seem to just want to stall out beats of the Sasha and Cody story in any way they can (I know they had no choice to stall some of the paternity reveal with Mac but they likely would have for a while anyway).

All these years later seeing Luke sitting as the lord of the Q mansion still makes me queasy.

Clearly he took that Anna recast as hard as fans did.

I wonder if they thought there were too many brunettes in the Dingle family. I have no real interest in watching but from what I've read she seems like generic trash the "good" Dingles can look down on. A waste of time. Tina was one of the most nuanced members of the family.

The last I'd heard of OR-5 was complaints about the Democratic candidate (this was a month or two ago) - glad to hear they may win. So many, including myself, thought Democrats were going to be routed in the House in 2022. Cindy Axne and others will always be what might have beens. Hopefully at least one Iowa seat can turn back this year as it feels odd with the state being such a wipeout.

Maybe they could say her mother is Cheryl... I saw some fans on Twitter talking about how little this makes sense with Sasha's backstory about a dead mother and grandmother, how Holly was in town several times when Sasha was there and never interacted with her even when Sasha was going through hell, how Sasha used her hair for DNA to help Cody and it came back as a negative for any relation, etc. So unless this is a fantastic story I'm not sure it is worth all the retcons, especially as Holly won't be around long (she never is). I'm not sure if there's any longtime character on GH where I feel for their fans as much as I do with Holly. (I guess there's Rick Webber, but the Chris Robinson version of that character always seemed kind of like a prick anyway)

I wonder if this will just be angst for Sasha and Cody where Holly thinks she's Robert's daughter but she isn't. If not it would be ironic if keeping a paternity secret caused him and those around him a great deal of emotional distress, only for another paternity secret, a much more devastating one, to be hanging around the entire time. If they do break them up I wonder what they would do with the characters. It's a shame they will never try with Cody/Tracy.

They lost something special when they didn't at least try. I remember how odd it felt watching Bryan Buffington hanging around Rebecca Budig's visibly older (and dull as hell) Michelle. I know The Four Musketeers wouldn't have been the same anyway with Grant Aleksander leaving in late '84, but it's still remarkable how little interest the show had in a dynamic that was loved by a number of viewers. They split up both couples quickly and move all four into different corners. I wonder if this was not a decision Long agreed with (even though she was writer at the time) as she seemed to try to bring them together again when she returned as headwriter.

I do wonder why Vance is finally being honest with the Trump party line now. Either they think they're going to win big, or they know they're going to rig it.

This is insane.

I didn't mind some of the '90s teen stories - I was probably one of the few who was interested in the Hart/Julie relationship, and Bridget/David/Kat was a great group - but they seem to lose their way after that point. Just very generic. Most of the '80s teen groups, aside from Beth/Mindy/Rick/Philip (which wasn't even a group for very long before being torn apart and only having short reunions down the line - not even a full year), also seem bland, and hurt by trying to force couples. Harley and Alan-Michael get by because of the appeal of the actors. The soaps have backed off severely on showcasing younger characters in the last decade, but the unfortunate side effect has been writing older characters as if they are in their teens or twenties. We started seeing this in the '00s with Victor Newman, Erica Kane, or Adam Chandler still marrying over and over, or Erica still planning to conquer Hollywood at age 65, or on GL, Reva still finding new true loves and having a baby when she was near menopause. Regarding platonic friendships, I did like that Reva was allowed to have them with Buzz and Philip (when the show remembered in later years), but that wasn't enough.

David Plouffe's tweet seemed so oddly defensive that I was not sure how the interview went, so I'm glad if it was received well. I do think her legal background makes her more at home in confrontational interviews than friendly outlets (and some like Colbert have odd vibes that flare up even in friendly settings), even if it's a double-edged sword to go on Faux (if she's trying to appeal to Republican voters, some may respect her move, while others may just side with Baier and think she wasn't subservient enough).

Carly is central, but beyond Sonny and Jason, that doesn't help very much. Even her knockoff daughter doesn't feel as prominent as she was. I think if that is his strongest tie he'll be lucky to last to Christmas, unless Van is content with just popping up every so often the way Terri and Brad do.

Another NYMag snob keening over any whispers against "the paper of record."

TIME Magazine showing just why Kamala Harris was right to avoid them. I've been wary of that magazine since an article they had about how gay youth were lost and broken (written by a man who a few years later became an ex-gay activist), and this was the last time they had any relevance:

Trump is lucky that thanks to decades of free media and the whole machismo facade, a lot of people seem to shrug this stupidity off. Harris campaign struggles in Pennsylvania and Michigan (a number of people have pointed out the usual agendas in these types of pieces - and one of the Michigan politicians complaining is tied to Kwame Kilpatrick). https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/16/kamala-harris-pennsylvania-campaign-drama-00183844 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/us/detroit-harris-trump-michigan.html