DramatistDreamer

Having Kat steal an ugly leprechaun figurine from a store as a reaction to racism made absolutely no sense to me but I applaud Nia Long for really trying to sell that limply written monologue. Not sure that I believe that Jenna wouldn't know that putting raw eggs in a "cream" without a hint of preservative or refrigeration would spoil. I did find myself liking Nadine without any rational explanation as to why, other than the skill and talent of Jean Carol and some empathetic writing. There were still things to like about the show although, it was obvious how apparent a shift was in the presentation. Also, I'm going to go out on a limb but I actually think that Vincent Irizarry and Barbara Crampton had genuine chemistry here (I know, shocker!) and I kind of appreciate the fact that Nick is not really that likeable of a person because it would've been easy to characterize him as some charismatic prince and emerging scion of the Spaulding clan but, for whatever reason, TPTB decided not to go there. And Julie as a vixen would've worked perfectly but we know the character won't be long for the canvas.

It is a strange legacy of Ebola that the countries that got hit the hardest will likely fare the best in case of coronavirus. It's interesting that Senegal is working on a faster test, hopefully the results will be more even more reliable because the last thing people need is a test that leaves unwieldy margins for error, no matter how fast it works. Latin America, specifically a colossus like Mexico, being so cavalier with pandemic protocols is worrying. And Venezuela is already engaged in a life and death struggle with their healthcare systems and just basic attainment of food and medicine, so I hope by some miracle the people still left behind there can avert disaster. It's strange that this article completely omits the Caribbean, which has been, for the most part, implementing strategies that are being cited as successful right now. Cuba, problematic politically though it may be, has some of the best trained doctors in the world (I know this from personal experience) has been deploying their doctors to some neighboring islands to assist healthcare systems. Jamaica (which has recently gotten plaudits from the W.H.O. for what they've been doing in relation to coronavirus) is one of those neighboring islands. As much as I've been reading the papers, I'm surprised that we're not hearing much about Puerto Rico these days, other than the fact that they had some cases recently.

I think the WTA has also frozen their rankings and thank God for small graces because without it, Venus would likely drop right out of the Top 100. 😪

Didn't anybody tag @reallyhateskateonlost? That was the first person I thought of when I read this.

This article analyzes the possible reasons behind Japan posting among the smallest infection rates in the world. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-coronavirus-explosion-was-expected-in-japan-where-is-it/ar-BB11oZnp

I've mentioned the locusts besetting the African continent months ago, but the attention is rarely, if ever on Africa unless it affects U.S. military. No shade. And if we see more images of foolhardy spring breakers frolicking on beaches, we're liable to see these numbers go up and the age range of younger people expand.

Sounds like Bernie had something of a McCain moment with that response to Raju.

Kasi Lemmons (Nella Franklin #2, ATWT) directed the series about Madame CJ Walker entitled "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker". She is the woman with the blonde locs, seated in the front row, wearing pink.

Tennis is off until early June.

Over and over and over.

This has been clarified, I see. I was the one who said that I wasn't really bothering much with primary season since I was certain that by the time it was my region's time to vote (The Acela Primaries), the whole thing would be pretty much over anyway. I've remained somewhat engaged but not as much as last time but if coronavirus doesn't bring everything to a halt, my prediction may indeed pan out.

As much as I would like things to be as though Trump never took the oath of office, no amount of wishing can make it so. Nonetheless-

The Internet in the U.S. is slow and poor quality because the corporate behemoths have done diddly squat to do anything but the most superficial of improvements for at least the last 15 years. When smaller companies ruled the roost, they tended to be more nimble and there was more competition among them, therefore fees remained competitive (and relatively low) and advancements in technology happened frequently. Now, we're told constantly about the advancements of 5G (whenever that gets to most consumers) but VOIP has degraded and WiFi is still insecure and prone to problems. It doesn't surprise me that when put to the test, most people believe that Internet in the U.S. will fail.

Sounds like an apt title to me, lol.

As I have gleaned from what I've read SARS and MERS were/are more deadly than COVID-19 but COVID-19 is more contagious than either of those diseases. This Op-Ed has a bleak lede (I'm still in the midst of reading, so the content may prove even bleaker) but I suspect this pandemic is not only showing up all the deficiencies apparent in our socio-economic systems but it also has shown that on a global scale, governments, and to a certain extent people (who run corporations especially) have been prioritizing the absolute wrong things-i.e. profit over people, and this, coupled with the pandemic will be the undoing of our respective economies. It's not just about the lack of a social safety net, it is about placing more value over corporations than people. I've said for years now that not every business should be in operation and people often regard what I say as though I am saying something deeply offensive. What I've always meant is that if you have a business and you claim you can't afford to pay your employees a salary that is regarded as a living wage and cannot give them proper benefits, then you ought not to be in business. When the worst of the global financial crisis/recession happened as a result of the mortgage/loan crisis, many people wagged their fingers at many people who had lost their homes and said "well, if those people bought too much house and couldn't afford it, then they deserved to lose it!" Nevermind the aspect of mortgage companies and banks committing outright fraud with "liars loans", changing information on loan applications without knowledge or consent of the prospective homeowner and just approving loans for risky mortgages knowing full-well that they shouldn't have. Well, now I'm reading about "zombie companies" and "zombie corporations" that are existing on debt alone and will have to shut down, leaving employees (much of whom were already living hand to mouth) without any prospects. Why does America allow this kind of malfeasance in corporations and business but punishes it in an instant with people, (most of whom were not 'flippers') who wanted a house to live in? Now we see municipal governments scrambling to provide housing for homeless populations because the homeless, clustered together in areas (e.g. Skid Row), it is feared, will spread the coronavirus even deeper into the population. How and why was it acceptable to have large homeless populations in the first place? If these municipal governments are actually putting in place directives to place the homeless in unused buildings and hotels, does that mean that these populations could have been housed all along and the only difference is that there now exists a will to do it? Anyway, here's the link to the Op-Ed This Is How the Coronavirus Will Destroy the Economy Another thing I wonder is, why is it that cleaners and custodians get the worst pay when they obviously have some of the most important jobs? These jobs are also on the front lines and employees should be well trained, well paid and well protected by they are not? Could we have stanched the spread if our countries, businesses, institutions had more regard for cleanliness and the people employed to clean our facilities and public spaces?

If this wasn't what people were envisioning when Fanta Fascist first declared his intent to run, it means people were just determined not to pay any attention to his known (and documented) history of hubris.

Maybe he should've used some disinfecting wipes before he sat down in that chair to get that lapdance. Hey, if there was a sign that read "No Sex or Lysol in the Champagne Room", Bernard might have missed this.

Having a ticket of two 70-somethings is just not sustainable, imo. It's already been done. Biden may be regarded as a "safe" choice by many but there has to be some hint of pushing progress somewhere if Dems want to ensure that people actually go out to vote in a general election. Even though I voted for her, from the beginning, I had the distinct impression Tim Kaine as HRC's VP might not be enough of an inducement to get vast swaths of the electorate to the polls. I can't say that was definitive because...voter suppresion...but I noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm (among many around me) toward that ticket when Kaine was named as a running mate. Enthusiasm still counts for something. Something that Obama definitely had going for him is that he was a unique candidate with a unique backstory and even though he faced criticism during his campaign, he was very hard to pin down, despite the best efforts to pin things on him, ideologically and otherwise.

This is not easy to gauge at the moment but if he doesn't choose a woman and/or POC as his running mate, I think he could be in for trouble with the most loyal voters of the Democratic base. With the severe disappointment over the suspension of Kamala Harris' campaign and then Elizabeth Warren's campaign (although Warren's campaign is a bit more complicated since she actually got to the primaries but didn't get many delegates during the process), there was a sense that two old white guys took all the oxygen in the room and I don't think just having say a woman as AG is going to cut it, from what I've been hearing when I talk to friends and relatives of mine, people want to feel as though they have a 'seat at the table' where power is concerned. President Obama was very astute in his realization that, as a relatively young black man, he needed some type of a balance, if only to pacify skittish Dems who might have thought he was a big risk to bet on. Biden needs that balance for different reasons, namely his advanced age, his propensity to utter gaffes and to remember things the way they never were, as you pointed out--all aspects that have made Dems skittish about him. Biden needs a sharp mind to back him. He also needs someone representative of his base. If Obama needed a Biden, clearly Biden needs an Obama-type this time around. Live by the market, die by the market. It's what he deserves.

Trump must be thinking "All that lying and bullsh*t on Friday for nothing!" I think this means that 90-100% of the financial gains made under Trump have disappeared (like he claimed the coronavirus would have by now). If the polls are accurate-