DramatistDreamer

You know what? I think I clicked on just after that on court coaching incident that you just described @ChitHappens because I heard vague conversation about on court coaching, etc. but the volume was turned down so low that I guess I didn't really pick up the details, but I found it interesting that the commentator was talking about OCC even though play had already resumed in the match.

Hmm.

Instead, I heard some tennis journos b*tching about Wang not officially qualifying for Zhuhai, yet getting into the tournament as an alternate LL type, etc.

I just kinda laughed and shrugged it off because I was kind of low-key gleeful that Muguruza got bageled.

2 minutes ago, ChitHappens said:

 

Are you talking about the match against Wang?  2 consecutive matches with her bad behavior.  I guess it's not all Sam, huh?

I saw very little of the semifinal.  You mean there was another incident??!  I haven't heard of anything today. What happened?

Just now, Soapsuds said:

I never thought it was Sam. I knew she was trouble when she got rid of Conchita Martinez probably her best coach ever and who helped improve her game and won a major. I just raised my hands and thought this bitch is stupid...LOL

Muguruza seems to be a very domineering personality and when anyone tries to even the power dynamic with her, she pitches a fit.  She should try to go coachless for awhile.  If she keeps this up, she may have little choice.

19 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

I caught the first set and it was tight but wasn't able to see the second set. I am just glad Thiem did well and got to the semis and took out horrible Trumpster Jack Sock and his groupies....Mike Bryan and John Isner. John Isner screaming and yelling and standing up after Jack won a point was so annoying to watch. Thank goodness Thiem shut him down and now Jack ranks #105....LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

I think Khachanov has a chance to win it all. I haven't been impressed with Roger or Joker during this tournament run. 

 

 

That was horrible. I use to be a Mugu fan but I am quickly disliking her a lot.

I've been lukewarm on Garbiñe for quite some time now but I was most annoyed at how muted the criticism has been toward her tantrums. 

Even though I hate on court coaching (and not-so-secretly hope this incident plays against it), Muguruza handled herself terribly in that situation.  She and Sumyk seem to have this weird, almost unseemly co-dependent relationship.  It seems to cross over the line of a player chirping at her coach.  

A lot of people were grateful to Thiem for taking out Jack.  Last year when Sock won, I didn't really care one way or the other but he shouldn't be able to flop his way to the SFs when he did bupkis in singles this year.

It's cool to see Khachanov emerge, and it would be equally cool to see him emerge with the trophy tomorrow. 

Wow, Karen Khachanov ran through Thiem like a hot knife through butter!

None of the people who run the major Hollywood studios can be called liberal by any stretch of the imagination. 

Having some vocal actors and a few directors and some writers, who also happen to be liberal doesn't constitute an entire industry being that way. The people with actual power to greenlight a movie or a series are almost always conservative and it has been this way going back to the days of MGM and Louis B. Mayer.

Many people look at actors and think that they run the industry.  They don't.

We've actually discussed this topic in the Movies and Music Thread and lately, also in the Hollywood Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment thread in the Off-Topic Section.

Despite, the ruling in Georgia, I see the voter suppression handbook is still at work in some states.

Breaking: judge just ruled against @aclukansas suit to add another polling place in Dodge City, KS. So there will be 1 polling place for 13,000 voters, outside of town, 1 mile from bus stop, in a town that is 61% Hispanic. Happening at same time Kris Kobach in dead heat for gov

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) November 2, 2018

None of the episodes uploaded to YouTube actually show Anton, although he has been mentioned a number of times.

I'm glad you posted this @Khan so I didn't have to.  

The actual document, which is stored in 'the cloud' is available with a quick online search.  With each L that Trump Inc. takes, it draws even sharper focus on his haste to try to reshape the courts.

On that same episode of House Of Cards, Robert Newman (Josh Lewis, GL) appears. 

Who says Robin Wright is trying to escape being associated with anything soap opera?

Beth Chamberlain (Beth Raines, GL) appears in the final season of House Of Cards on Netflix. 

1 hour ago, Juliajms said:

I do.  It's the televangelist kind.  Where the guy on TV is getting grannies and rubes to send him their social security checks, while he buys private planes and hookers.

I've forgotten that this type of style has now permeated the pulpit.  I never expected a twenty-something year old man would be taken in by the kind of philosophy that Jimmy Swaggart promoted.

Why so expensive? Did the side-piece go on the trip too?

Melania Trump spent one day in Cairo and the hotel bill was $95,050, according to federal spending records reported on by Quartz.

A spokeswoman says Trump was in Cairo for six hours and didn't actually spend the night at the hotel. https://t.co/XJuwIM5zcJ

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 2, 2018

This sounds like some much needed good news.

Breaking news: A federal judge ordered Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp to guarantee people flagged as non-citizens through Georgia's "exact match" system can vote in the 2018 election. https://t.co/9Lmw1rR4gH

Here is how they can vote: pic.twitter.com/eHircRO07x

— Sam Levine (@srl) November 2, 2018

19 minutes ago, Khan said:

From the article:

 

No one cared about us until Trump.

 

That's just it; they DID care and they still do care.  (Certainly, they care(d) more than Trump ever will.)  But the problem was that the solutions they were offering, you didn't want to hear.  You wanted to hear exactly what Trump told you: "the world is just fine, nothing is changing, just keep making your popcorn and we'll take care of the rest."  It's the equivalent of daddy coming into your bedroom after you've had a nightmare and telling you there are no monsters hiding under your bed or in your closet.  However, in this case, the monsters are very much real, and they are no longer hiding.

 

Thanks, DD, for the article!  

Yeah, there were a few lines that I read from a few of the people that cause me to roll my eyes.   Also, the guy that said that he was conflicted because although he disagreed with Trump's stance on immigration, he believes Trump is a man of God .  I couldn't help but think that this guy really needed to get out of his bubble.  Trump may be a lot of things but a devout Christian is NOT one of them.  I was raised in church, have relatives who have done missionary work and I don't recognize Trump's brand of Christianity.

WTA needs to just go on ahead and get rid of OCC.  It might be helping a few players, but in general, it's pointless.

Peak on-coart coaching.

"I don't feel [!@#$%^&*]"
"I try bla, bla, bla..."

"Are [!@#$%^&*] done bothering me with the camera?"#Muguruza #WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/l5jjcn8RVQ

— Ardeal (@UnArdeal) November 2, 2018

It's been about eight years since I've watched an entire episode of anything on cable news but all I have to say is, never underestimate the calculus that goes into having an intelligent, engaging host who doesn't pander to the soundbyte.

I have to put in a mention to the highly under-rated PBS Newshour that has been doing longform broadcast journalism for decades.  I've watched them since I was a tweenager (Charlayne Hunter-Gault initially reeled me in).  These days I admit, I don't watch as faithfully (I don't watch as much TV period) and that Brooks and Shields segment has to be the weakest part of their broadcast (thankfully, it's usually only once a week).

I wasn't going to read this NYT article but I saw the first picture and excerpt and, it's not as bad as I thought it would be and it turned out to be a somewhat interesting read, particularly the young woman who states her feeling that the evangelicals have done immense harm to marginalized communities.  There are some real conflicts going on within the evangelical community and just as I have suspected, it goes along demographics like age and ethnicity/race primarily.  

‘God Is Going to Have to Forgive Me’: Young Evangelicals Speak Out

OMG. I have been seeing this story on the news and I had no idea the sisters were Saudi.  The thread is quite chilling.

“Their mother told detectives the day before the bodies were discovered, she received a call from an official at the Saudi Arabian Embassy, ordering the family to leave the U.S. because her daughters had applied for political asylum, New York police said” https://t.co/kK0zjmtNry https://t.co/1LPev1GXjo

— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) October 31, 2018

I'm just so tired.

GOP Rep. Mark Sanford: Haitian babies born in US don’t deserve birthrights because they are not ‘former slaves’ https://t.co/oZzTXzBYPM

— Raw Story (@RawStory) October 31, 2018

Fed Cup Final line up

CZE
Kvitova
Pliskova
Strycova
Siniakova.

USA
Collins
Kenin
Riske
Melichar

Ouch.

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 31, 2018

The thread about Wohl approaching those financial firm for seed money and a bunch of perks was pretty funny too.

Case in point for Trump being some sort of odd Pied Piper for the corrupt and/or criminally-minded:

I know it's a busy news day, but this is remarkable via @eilperin @jdawsey1: a probe into the conduct of the Interior Secretary has been referred to DOJ for possible criminal investigation https://t.co/PkHOvLguMW

— Matea Gold (@mateagold) October 30, 2018

OMG people should read Jane Mayer's Twitter feed about Wohl!  It's quite something. They actually used a picture of Christoph Waltz, lol!

Odd. Jacob Wohl says he doesn't know nuttin' about Surefire Intelligence, the firm tied to the bizarre Mueller allegations. Take a look at the photos below of Mathhew Cohen, head of 'Surefire,' and of Jacob Wohl. pic.twitter.com/Q1rAW4wkPO

— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) October 30, 2018

Surefire Intelligence's "Financial Investigator" in Zurich is Christoph Waltz. What a great hire! pic.twitter.com/Leu1KLe0XC

— Aric Toler (@AricToler) October 30, 2018

It's not that I expected the challenge to birthright citizenship to succeed but I did expect him/them to try it.  

What I'm marveling at is the sheer frequency of these criminal operations.  It's as if Trump were the "Pied Piper" of underhanded/criminal operations to subvert the government.  They all are flocking his administration.

Also, I'm bracing for those tax cuts to bite the economy.  Trump is only good at making money for himself by gaming the system and short-changing people.  He's no good at creating equity for others.

7 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

Yes. I see people saying that white liberals are the only ones surprised by this, but I don't believe it.  I do think that other people have wrapped their heads around it faster because they've been here before in a sense. I find I just can't adjust to were we are.  It feels deeply unreal to me.  That so many people have fallen for it is incredible to me.

Mostly, I expected things like the challenge to birthright citizenship and harassment of ethnic minorities, racist incidents, etc., programs cut that help marginalized and low-income communities to happen but these bizarre events, like the one unfolding today is something that I still marvel at. 

This operation by Surefire Intelligence just feels like something lifted from the idea for a disregarded Kafka novel, or an idea that Ray Bradbury might have thrown away as being too preposterous to get published.

And I didn't even post the story published by The Daily Beast.

Absolutely wild.  All these GOP operatives who are trying to frame Mueller while simultaneously seeking to diminish the #MeToo movement.  The women were the ones who were approached by this man and they reported this.  So yes, do believe the women because they refused to perpetrate a fraud.

NEW: Another woman, @jentaub, was contacted on October 22 by a man claiming to work for Surefire Intelligence, who offered to pay her to discuss her "past encounters" with Mueller. (She's never met Mueller.) Story has been updated: https://t.co/D84d2d82Nl

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 30, 2018

I didn't know who this Jacob Wohl person was until today but it seems like he's in for a spot of trouble with the FBI.

New from me + @brandyzadrozny + @tom_winter:

A company called “Surefire Intelligence” has ties to this Mueller smear.

Jacob Wohl denied having ties to Surefire.

Surefire’s official phone number redirects to a voicemail box registered to Jacob's mom.https://t.co/aVPzVDjGR4

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 30, 2018

Bizarre, surreal and incredibly messy 'Merica.

13 days ago I received this tip alleging an attempt to pay off women to make up accusations of sexual misconduct against Special Counsel Bob Mueller. Other reporters received the same email. Now the Special Counsel's office is telling us they've referred the matter to the FBI pic.twitter.com/oqh4Fnel5u

— Yashar Ali (@yashar) October 30, 2018

This started w/ a person claiming to be 'Lorraine' emailing that 'she' worked with Mueller at a law firm in 1974. The law firm she named, Pillsbury, says no Lorraine worked in its S.F. office with Mueller in the 1970's. That's a fact. The rest seems fishier than a tuna sandwich.

— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) October 30, 2018

People are also talking about this HRC tweet from two years ago.  What a bizarre, surreal situation this country has found itself in.

FACT: She warned us.

2 years and 6 months ago... https://t.co/6GqqnDMs6R

— UnsilentMajority (@The_UnSilent_) October 30, 2018

8 minutes ago, Khan said:

Did I miss something (again)?  Who is "they," and what did they attempt to do to my baby daddy, Robert Mueller?

This thread moves at a furious pace these days but I posted this tweet this morning.  I can't see the original tweet but if you click the link, it'll probably take you to the original post where the reporter's tweet is embedded.