DramatistDreamer

Reading these pieces about how children have been ripped away from their families at the border reminds me of the history courses I took where I read pre-Civil War accounts of slave children being ripped away from their families and sold off.

People in the U.S. constantly talk about how that's all in the past and how America is not that kind of country anymore but I see the same brutal tactics being used nearly 200 years later.

BREAKING: Harvey Weinstein emerges from police station smiling, in handcuffs, taken to court to face rape and sex assault charges.

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 25, 2018

I am only painfully aware of how America disregards the plight of certain children.  I was reading a news article about a cold case from the early 1970s in Washington D.C. where a cluster of young Black girls and women were found murdered and how negligent many of the police were in the investigations into their killings. 

At the same time there were two cases of White girls who were killed that got the lionshare of media attention.  I won't tell you which cases were solved and which remain unsolved to this day because I think you can guess that.

In the case of "foreigners" unfortunately many people feel justified in mistreating them, even children. 

Live images of Weinstein surrendering on CBS2 TV.  What a scene.  I think this is in regards to the criminal complaint of Lucia Evans.

On 5/18/2018 at 8:47 PM, Vee said:

That poor woman has had a rough decade.

Indeed she has.

On a lighter note, I'm not sure whether this has been posted here before and unfortunately the audio and the video seem to have fallen out of synch (likely due to some degradation of the video over time) but this is another example how Tom & Margo smoldered in the 80s.

I only wish the complete episode where this scene was taken from existed on You Tube.

16 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

One of the things about the MF case, where does an 80 year old man get the energy,  I ask you?  I just can't imagine rolling out of bed at 80 years old and thinking "today is the day I inspect the interns"! I'm not trying to be funny either, I honestly find it strange that some people don't quit even when they are decrepit.

Eighty is not what it used to be!  I see some 80 year olds that are quite active.  Just today, I saw a news story of a man in his 90s who plays ice hockey twice a week, in addition to playing golf once a week.

Wasn't Cicely Tyson in her 80s when she won the Tony award for Trip to Bountiful?  It depends on the person, I guess.

My grandfather lived to nearly 100 years old and as a farmer, all through his 80s he still got up early and planted, tilled and tended!

Biggest fish caught in match fixing in quite some time: 84th-ranked Nicolas Kicker of Argentina found guilty of match fixing offenses related to challenger tournaments in 2015.

Kicker's punishment is to be determined, but he will be out of the sport as that decision is reached.

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 24, 2018

Yeah, some of the things I'd heard about Morgan Freeman (like @Juliajms, I had forgotten many details) plus some of his statements (about race ironically), never sat right with me. I guess not knowing the full story, it got pushed to the back of my mind.

His fans must be deeply disappointed (I mean, the man once played God!) but my sentiment still stands that this predatory behavior has to be called out, examined and excised and room must be made for people who don't practice this behavior, truly progressive people who promote true equality and the flourishing of talented people who respect their fellow human, in kind. 

The old exploitative system of 'casting couch' dynamics needs to be flushed down and out.

Speaking of things that many of us knew all along...

BREAKING: Investigators say missile that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014 was from Russian military.

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 24, 2018

Only Trumpists and the rest of his fans ever believed that that summit would even happen. 

They won't admit that all that Nobel Prize talk was the height of idiocy. Trump hasn't achieved one gottdamned thing, other than environmental and human degradation for people in the U.S. And he's being praised for his abundance of failure.

The silver lining is the U.S. averts yet another embarrassment on the worldwide stage because surely North Korea (with China advising) would've made a fool out of the Trump administration in Singapore.  

You gotta laugh about the “but everybody behaves like this on set”. No. White men do. White men are the only ones who get away with this [!@#$%^&*]. Ask Isaiah Washington. And imagine any woman on set behaving like Jeffrey Tambor.

— Lexi Alexander ‎ (@Lexialex) May 24, 2018

So is this only happening in Communist countries or what?  I bet Trump won't chastize the Chinese government like he did the Cubans.

US consulate staffer in China has brain injury

Don't forget Bateman's character on Silver Spoons.  It took me several years to divorce him from that character. Maybe the two personas are closer than realized.

I've thought the NFL was sh*t for many years now. This simply validates my opinion.  It will be interesting to see whether the players continue to be treated like chattel. 

Or will they finally realize that without them there is no league, there are no games, no money will be made?

Usually I take  P.O.V.s even those disseminated by media, with a grain of salt but to see a tweet from Judy Woodruff from the PBS Newshour did grab my attention.

former Dir of National Intelligence James Clapper says he's personally concluded Russians not only influenced but DECIDED outcome of 2016 election: "80 thousand votes in 3 states" @NewsHour tonight

— Judy Woodruff (@JudyWoodruff) May 23, 2018

By the way, Harley Davidson used their tax cut to buy back stock.

Rick Pence, worker at closing Harley-Davidson plant: "When the tax cut finally rolled down to us, I got about $16, $17 more a week. But now Harley's giving me one heck of a tax cut because I won't have no income at all next year and my tax will be zero." #inners pic.twitter.com/MaYaahVxyN

— All In w/Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) May 23, 2018

1 hour ago, Juliajms said:

Some people seem to be enjoying it, but I haven't watched in about a month.  I just have no motivation to watch and I cut the cable cord, so I can't just let the episodes pile up on my DVD anymore.  A DC based soap would be just the thing right now.

I can't remember the last time I watched B&B, like six months ago, I was at my Mom's, watched a few minutes, shrugged and walked away. My mother, who is now retired, had it on in the background, in between phone calls and her other activities.

I cut the cord a few years ago now. I have an indoor antenna but I really want to put one outside as I've learned an antenna placed outdoors gets better signals since it doesn't have to deal with walls and building materials, etc.  I don't intend to buy a high-priced antenna though, no way!

Stacey Abrams wins the Georgia Democratic primary for governor.

I use a very thorough Ad Blocker so I don't see any of it, fortunately.

As sick as I am of the Kushners in general, I must admit this feud between the two patriarchs gets my attention from time to time.

My sympathies are with the people of Journal Square who have no say in how their area is being transformed.

Someone described the 'blood feud' between Charles and Murray Kushner as being akin to "bad television" but honestly, The Young & the Restless would be so lucky to have this as one of their storylines--it would be an improvement over the junk they currently pass off as story plot.

In Jersey City, It’s Kushner vs. Kushner in a Race to Develop

Forget Y&R, if someone were to reboot Capitol with a cast of characters that included politicians and two D.C. based developers, who also happened to be brothers, who collaborate, then compete for influence and connections, that reboot would usurp Y&R for #1. 

How ironic would it be if a rebooted Capitol could get better ratings than the Bold and the Beautiful? 

Looks like there will be another investigation of Mario Batali on the horizon. 

Mario Batali Said to Face Second Sexual Assault Investigation

*P.S. A Wish List item--but a thumbnail preview would make these links even more effective.

Surely no one's surprised by this.  Looks like the Trump administration is in CYA mode.

BREAKING: Trump says Singapore summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un `may not work out for June 12,' suggests potential delay.

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 22, 2018

People were being assaulted during Trump's campaign rallies and apparently that wasn't enough for many people to see that he was unfit for office. That was a violation of norms as well. 

No surprise that other members of the Trump administration are employing the same tactic.

When all is said and done, there will be other members of the same press who will try to diminish the aggressive actions of these goons as has happened so often in the past with the Trump campaign and administration.

Clearly, there is no line that can't be crossed, no transgression large enough for there to be serious and lasting consequences in regards to this current administration.

This was all deemed electable behavior in 2015-16 and I don't expect a change now.

“Additionally, the Associated Press said in a story that one of its reporters, denied entry, was grabbed by security guards and forcibly shoved out of the building after asking to speak to an EPA public affairs person.” https://t.co/2I7o5s2ROj

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 22, 2018

Interesting read written by an Obama administration acting solicitor general and law professor on how Mueller (via Rosenstein) can overrule a Justice Department policy of not indicting a sitting president.

Neal Katyal: Can’t Indict a President? That Could Hurt Trump

Forgot to mention this earlier but, regarding that article about 'Bernie's Army', it should be noted that although they endorsed Stacey Abrams, she's not "their" candidate.

No doubt, Our Revolution's endorsement of Abrams is an attempt to try to "correct" the Sanders campaign's blatant underestimation of Black voters (which verged on being downright disparaging) during the last Democratic primary. 

Politico seems to want to yoke Abrams to Our Revolution, which is a bit disingenuous  (but hey, it is Politico, after all).

Abrams is not the preferred candidate of the establishment wing of Democratic party (the other Stacey...Evans is) and the 'party of Bernie' will be damned if they ever agree on anything that the establishment party endorses, hence, another reason to flock to Abrams but she is really a candidate that has been picking up endorsements from various directions, including from Emily's List, which, by the way, has endorsed many establishment candidates.

It's somewhat irritating that Politico tries to create a neat little narrative by chucking Abrams in with the Bernie Army but again, it's Politico so can we truly be surprised?