DRW50

I'm glad Jimmy is still doing well. Illinois is a mess: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/10/illinois-debt-deficit-budget-election-239384

I'm not sure but I think she may have disagreed with what they were doing with the character.

So I see that we are helping Duterte even after he repeatedly told us to GTFO. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40231605 He and Trump really do have a lot in common...other than popularity.

All I could ever think about when watching that was Marj Dusay's overacting and the hilarious scene of Dylan walking across a table. This was around the time I'd heavily reduced my viewing as it no longer felt like the GL I loved.

Oh I forgot to say earlier that Rupert Murdoch apparently stormed out of a party (or somewhere) when he heard of the exit poll. Between this and his sons having to do so much cleaning up at Faux News I don't think his last years have gone the way he expected.

The problem is a lot of people even outside of that base will likely believe it's all just media nonsense or is good for Trump. The longer this drags on the more people will just be numb to it. This is why having parties that actually care about this country is important, as they will take action even if the public doesn't care. But the one in charge simply does not give a damn. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/08/james-comey-hearing-republicans-239312?lo=ap_e1

Yes, he was on both shows. I don't know if Marland would have had any input on the Beth and Philip story. He did write Jarod Ross' Philip out so they were obviously planning on aging him, but I think the rest was probably Long's idea.

Oddly enough I've heard some compare the current situation to Major's last years as PM, as he too had battles with Europe and was propped up by an Irish party (Ulster Unionist). I saw someone say it took years for Major to get there, while it's only taken May months. You might enjoy some Labour ads from around that time: (the first one has a lot of flashing light)

I don't think they are, and that was going on with May even before she imploded (with criticism of her for liking to buy nice clothes when no one would have said the same about a man wearing expensive shoes and an expensive suit), although I think if she'd been able to be competent they would have overlooked some of the usual hostility toward a woman who isn't happy and smiley enough. Blair usually likes to pop his head in to seem statesmanlike and also because I think he resents that people who pretty openly dislike him and what he stands for now run Labour, but you're right, he does have other Apparently the DUP are climate change deniers - I can't see the UK pulling out of Paris, but I do worry a bit... Anyway, this made me laugh: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/09/lord-buckethead/

A lot of fans agree with you but the Ken George Jones/Jill and Barry/Delia saga is one of the only stories I enjoy on the show at this time. Sadly it all goes to pot again soon soon enough.

Thatcher wasn't likeable, but she had the Falklands for her second election, the "winter of discontent" after years of Labour rule and years of strikes and power cuts for her first, and the Labour Party constantly tearing itself apart throughout the '80s. I don't think it's as big an issue for them as it is for us, but it was a big selling point for Tony Blair, and one of the things used as a cudgel against Gordon Brown (he was ridiculed for being too stern, for "forcing" himself to smile). It was one of the things that pushed Nick Clegg to prominence in 2010 as an alternative to Brown and David Cameron. It's one of the reasons the press over there work so hard to make Labour leaders seem like complete fools everyone should jeer. I think that it was May seeming weak, rather than "stable" or "strong (you can't call yourself that when you repeatedly change your mind on major promises), but I'd say likeability was a factor as well.

It's good to see them having more gay stories and not needing to pair all the gay or bi men together. What do you think of this story? Does it make sense to you?

There was some talk about whether Johnson would have a leadership challenge and for a while the idea of him challenging her or becoming the new PM was doing well in betting. Apparently that isn't going to happen as she is sticking around, and the talk I read was that if she didn't, Home Secretary Amber Rudd would have taken her place, but I have a feeling Johnson will be back in a major role sooner rather than later. I could see Trump hurting May somewhat but she was doing much better in polls only two months ago and Trump wasn't any more liked then. I think her biggest problem is that she just isn't likeable or charismatic. Corbyn was - is - seen as a bumbler but is more likeable. It was also a Trump situation in that May and the Conservatives focused constantly on attacking Corbyn and talking about how if he was let into power he'd be a danger, would help terrorists, etc. As happened with Trump here, the constant negative campaigning (and the heavy negative press coverage, which Trump didn't get here) made him seem better compared to what he was supposed to be. May also ran a campaign on what she was pushing as reality. Corbyn was running on what he sees as reality. His ideas were seen by many as just handing out money, but some parts of them, like the free tuition, were very popular. May, by contrast, did things like bluntly tell a nurse talking about how she hadn't had a wage increase since 2009 that "there is no magic money tree," and she also pushed this plan that was anathema to the Tory voter base: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/21/theresa-may-under-pressure-over-dementia-tax-social-care-shakeup This likely helped to hurt the Tories in England. They benefited from Scotland's big party (SNP) being obsessed with wanting another independence referendum to break away from England. They just had one a few years ago and lost, and it was very divisive to the point where even many Scottish people didn't want another one this quickly. Their leader also attacked Labour's Scottish leader to try to make sure the votes would stay with the SNP. And the Tory Scottish leader is apparently very well-liked and seen as a very good campaigner, unlike May. As a result, the SNP lost dozens of seats in Scotland and about 12 of those went to the Tories, shoring them up. Considering how Scotland hated the Tories due to Thatcher, it's a real turnaround. The other thing that hurt the Tories is that the young, who never show up to vote, actually did show up this time around, either because of May's policies or because of Brexit or because they like Corbyn. Either way, it made a difference in a number of seats. The main change for May is that she isn't going to be able to get the break from the EU that she wanted...she will now have to likely negotiate more and capitulate. She will also have to work with a very socially conservative and economically liberal Irish party, the DUP. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/09/dup-will-demand-prop-theresa-may/ I've heard people say things like a loss is still a loss, ha ha Corbyn and Labour...there are a lot of things about Corbyn that I think are a liability (especially the behavior of some of his supporters), but it can't be underestimated just how much of a gift Labour got with this election, because it helped them stave off a fade into electoral irrelevance and eternal backbiting. And I doubt they would have done as well as they did without Corbyn, at least in this election. I just wonder if there will be a stampede from Tony Blair and friends to make the party theirs again now that there will probably be another election sooner rather than later.

If the exit polls are accurate (and they often are not of course) there will be a long night ahead for the Tories as it looks like they will be getting a hung Parliament.

The times the show tried to push a big rivalry between them are the times I tuned out.

Too hard and too soft. KDP really did make her own character from scratch, although it helped that she worked well with Robin Strasser and Pamela Peyton-Wright.

Everything will make him look bad. The problem is none of it will matter.

I saw someone saying that while Comey and Russia are the headlines, the House is going to be voting on a bill that would gut more of Obama's protections on financial matters. More and more I feel like the GOP must be pleased on some level that Russia really is acting as a smokescreen for everything these days.

The most saddening part in that first article is how many say they expect it. This is how Republicans win, along with the cheating and the manipulating and having media control - people either take what they get from them, or they blame the failures on Democrats. I wish I could believe the Democrats up high have any ability to harness or to make up a minimum amount of ground in the midterms.

And this is why I never could go along with the idea that it was a good thing that this stuff passed the House because it would not go anywhere and would just hurt Republicans.

Bethenny looks awful in that clip - a dried prune. I find her exhausting to watch...when I even manage it.

Marcy left the industry altogether and is married to a minister or something.

A warm welcome in New Zealand. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/06/rex-tillerson-gets-frosty-welcome-in-new-zealand-complete-with-single-finger-salutes