DramatistDreamer

Florida, why do you continually play such a big part in elections that produce such people?!

I don't want another CEO or businessman ever running for POTUS. Ever. Perhaps, it is alright to have a cabinet position but not POTUS. Ever. Anytime the U.S. has chosen a businessman for the position, it's been an unmitigated disaster. I think Yang has some points on automation and jobs but I still think his answer is too simplistic. I do think, Universal Basic Income could be a temporary solution to help people who inevitably fall through the cracks whenever the country transitions into another industrial shift but it most countries who try it, only have it temporarily. I'm not sure how it can be made sustainable on a permanent basis but as a temporary "patch" for people of working age, especially people who are chronically un and under-employed, I think it could actually be a viable idea. That would definitely need to be factored into any Universal Basic Income plan. Color, gender and age discrimination all work negatively against job applicants, it's not just about automation. I do agree that he tends to over-simplify aspects, he could benefit from talking to grassroots and community organizations who have studied these issues on a granular level to gain more nuance. I don't even pay attention to his following, really, although I've noticed a few that I've seen seem to have gone quiet lately. Maybe those are just a few of his POC women followers.

It's coming around again.

Seriously, I wasn't. I do think that some people hope that the Americans will view this as some type of 'new normal' (like the neverending quest to make Trump appear 'presidential'). Signs show that Trump has already changed the presidency, of course, in all the worst ways. Will his successor be able to change and redirect that? One never knows...

Well, I wouldn't call record-breaking turnover restoring normalcy and stability but I guess it's become "normal" for the Trump White House.

I guess I missed this one. Shrugs.

Wasn't the White House just touting their problem-solving "deal" earlier today? Trump administration stays losing on foreign policy and diplomacy. Especially since they have no clue about either.

Didn't it just come out? I haven't had a chance to read it at all. As an aside/heads-up, I'm starting to hear some rumors about Jeff Goldblum.

I agree with you Jane. Cummings' legacy is about so much more than this impeachment proceedings or what that cretin in the White House did or said. Let's give the man his proper due by recognizing his decades in public service and what he meant to his community and to this nation.

Ming-Na remembers the late great Raul Julia.

Last night there was a storm and once I got up in the middle of the night, I really couldn't get back to sleep. The rain lashed, the wind whipped the leaves (and anything not secured) around making various clacks and thud noises. Then this morning I wake up to the news of the unexpected passing of Rep. Elijah Cummings. Today seems as if it will be a challenging day. R.I.P. Mr. Cummings.

Between Trump's obvious meltdown and open deterioration in mental faculties and even Bernie's heart attack, I'm beginning to seriously wonder whether age is become more of a factor in the 2020 Presidential race. It just seems unavoidable at this point.

Yikes.

Trump is going to have no marbles left by Christmastime. Check the side glance he gets. I can't believe anybody voted for this buffoon.

Speaking of singers and singing on ATWT, I recently read that Emmy Rossum (Phantom of The Opera, Shameless) played the first Abigail Williams/Snyder on the show. I don't remember this but again, I was on and off with the show in the 90s. The dates listed for her are confusing, depending on the source. Does anyone know what dates she was on the show, exactly? Or better yet, are there any clips of her as Abigail uploaded on YouTube?

When I read an article about this, I thought it was some odd satire but sadly, I see that it really happened. Bizarre to have a man in the WH who behaves as if he believes that he is always on the set of some reality television show.

Why was Tulsi Gabbard even still there?! Tom Steyer is simply taking up space to continue his vanity campaign when I believe he could be far more effective tackling some critical issue from his base, like the fact that legitimate, very active voters in Ohio are being kicked off the voter rolls, or even agitating the impeachment issue on his own, as he did in the past before he decided to launch this campaign. I hope that the number of candidates is whittled down by the next debate and that other broadcasters besides CNN and NBC will provide the debate platform going forward. I suspect PBS will come in later once they know they can have a more constructive, focused debate with fewer candidates. I was able to watch via CNN's website, although I don't subscribe to cable but these debates need to be more accessible to even those without Internet access (believe it or not, there are still people out there who don't have reliable access) or cable. And CNN always seems to neglect the very same set of questions each and every time they conduct these debates.

This!

That was before I was born, perhaps someone knowledgeable about Kim's early history can answer that specific question. I have seen episodes from a few years late in '79 and she was definitely not singing. I even think that at one point, in the very early 1980s, when she was married to Nick Andropoulous, they were running a Greek restaurant together in the episodes that I saw. I also remember Kim doing some "volunteer-ish" type of work, helping Barbara and Lisa out at the boutique for a costume ball, etc. I think until the mid '80s, Kim was a kind of floater, not really deep in any one specific career. I also remember that, around '86, there was a bit of a power struggle between Bob and Kim over her desire to work outside of the home. Bob thought she should've been satisfied with being a wife and mother and Kim wanted a career. When Lucinda, with John's approval (plotting with John who wanted full custody of Andy and thought a job would distract Kim, making her vulnerable in any custody battle) decided to offer a plum position hosting a talk show on WOAK, it proved to be an offer that Kim couldn't resist. The most I remember was that wedding reception duet between Bob and Kim and we heard Kim's recorded voice during the stalking/Doug Cummings murder mystery.

You're probably right. It's been so long ago that I don't remember the details but the Chelsea character seemed out of place with the Reardons to me. Chelsea seemed closer to a Southern belle in the midst of the Midwestern working-middle class Reardsons. Just didn't fit.

I'm not sure whether you mean characters who sing or singers who appear on the show but I don't entirely agree with you. ATWT did fairly well with (very) sparingly use of singing in the 1980s. Whitney Houston & Jermaine Jackson launched a hit while on the show and future Tony award winner Tonya Pinkins sang some beautiful solos while on the show as Heather Dalton. Even the thriller mystery surrounding Kim Hughes (Kathryn Hays) that used her backstory as a lounge singer as a the means to get into a stalking then murder/mystery story was done incredibly well. I think that the show used it more effectively in the 1980s which was the right thing to do for the world of the show but became heavy handed in the next decade.

Ugh.

Oh, I remember Chelsea Reardon singing on GL. It seemed very odd and out of place then too.