DramatistDreamer

About that list that the NYT claims to have obtained from Mueller, there is a dissenting opinion from a man who was once on Nixon's legal team.

I have little doubt these questions were drafted by Trump’s attorney(s) based on conversations with the special counsel’s ofc (SCO) and should not be read as the questions the SCO has prepared for, and passed to, Trump’s attys. There is a big difference. https://t.co/PxoYIUvtZE

— John Dean (@JohnWDean) May 1, 2018

1 hour ago, Juliajms said:

If it wasn't clear, I was being sarcastic.

It was more about the tone of the article that made it seem as though Trump now 'owns'  Merkel somehow.  Just this morning I read about how Merkel, Marcron and May met over the weekend to discuss possible retaliatory measures against the U.S. should the new tariffs take effect. Those exemptions are due to expire soon, according to what I've read.

On another note, supposedly WH Chief of Staff John Kelly called Trump an idiot (again) but wasn't it part of Kelly's job to get the idiot to gather himself and get some discipline?

JUST IN: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly called President Trump an 'idiot' and said he had to be 'saved from himself'

(Via NBC News)

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) April 30, 2018

Merkel, who has her own challenges at home, likely wants the path of least resistance with Trump/U.S.  She can't waste time fighting small battles with Trump. It is unlikely that she'll ever consider Trump an actual "friend" in the true sense of the word, but she is a pragmatist, if nothing else.

Speaking of cases where the media colluded to put a good face on the worst of humanity, this memorial museum on lynching is really causing a reckoning that is now reaching the media.

A Lynching Memorial Forces a Reckoning for a Nation, and a Newspaper

“We proliferated that idea of white supremacy,” said Mr. Krift, who has been the executive editor for nearly two years.

While the media et al. are whining about the WHCD:

The Justice Department quietly removed the section headed "need for a free press" from its guidelines https://t.co/UPX0mvyfdH

— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) April 29, 2018

Elizabeth Hubbard looks younger than Paolo Seganti here. 

Looking good @PaoloSeganti & Elizabeth Hubbard an@MarthaByrne10 I see you in the #mirror pic.twitter.com/JrjeVyjIx8

— DaThestaJacobsdeBok (@JolandaDaThesta) April 27, 2018

Michelle Wolf is, as they say in today's parlance, "Savage"!  That was R-A-W but anyone who has ever seen her comedy routine should've known what they'd be up for.  To quote Wolf "Should've done your research". 

Sarah Sanders Huckabee was a small part of that monologue, from what I saw. I'm not sure why people decided to focus their attention on a bit that was about a minute and a half.

Are people seriously getting their noses out of joint about a comedian's monologue?  In the long run, how much impact will Wolf's monologue truly have?  Do most people even remember Minhaj's monologue from last year?

I guess it beats talking about the real problems that this country has (and soon will be facing due to poor governance) but okay.

And then there's this, which truly stood out to me, in addition to the roast of the media:

*whispers* The real reason so many are big mad at Michelle Wolf is that she accurately called out complicity in oppression & did so in a way that means other white women can't ignore her or pretend innocence.

— Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) April 29, 2018

ICYMI: Another fire at a Trump tower building, this time in Azerbaijan.  

Breaking: Video shows that Trump Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan is on fire for the second time today. pic.twitter.com/uSW52YGjeu

— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) April 28, 2018

Hopefully You Tube has posted the WHCD speech as they did last year with Hasan Minhaj.

On 4/27/2018 at 10:33 AM, JaneAusten said:

This is one example at least right now of the US backing out in some capacity of foreign involvement around the world and it having a hopefully positive impact. In this case it was accidental as 45 is such a fool and incompetent, it forced the South and North Koreans to take the lead.  This is far from over and I don't believe North Korea will denuclearize, but it's a good step. And yes IMO China will ultimately be the biggest capitalistic beneficiary of this. The fear of course is continued human rights abuses and that spreading compared to the reverse, but time will tell.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/world/asia/north-korea-south-kim-jong-un.html

I have a few colleagues from Grad school who turned out to be good friends and two, in particular, were born and raised in Korea (the South, they don't called it South Korea, by the way...just Korea) and at least one of them, although born about two decades after the Korean War, blames the U.S. for the war never coming to an official end as well as the two sides of the peninsula never being reunited.

I think this coming together of the two Koreas will feel more legitimate if the present U.S. administration stays away, or at least doesn't enter until the very end, when things have been solidified between the North and South.

I just read that a spokesman from Iran's ministry said that the U.S. was "unqualified" to broker detente between the North and South Korea and I'd have to agree, which I must admit, I agree with--at least this present administration. Trump himself changes his mind like the weather, which does not lend itself to fostering any kind of trust.  Also, diplomatically, this current administration has not gotten anything accomplished, those are just the facts.

@adrnyc  Seriously though, I think part of the problem is that the actors suddenly became 'in demand' due to their popularity in the roles, which happened a lot in the '80s.  Remember soaps were still considered an incubator of acting talent.

No doubt, it must have presented a challenge to the show when so many of your key actors are being requested to audition for various primetime TV shows and/or movies but goes to show how really good scripts and productions can be a showcase for talented actors.

It seems that between 1987-1989/90 ATWT lost a bevy of their young talent who got opportunities to go elsewhere.  This has happened in previous years but many of the actors they lost after '86 were Emmy nominated or awarded actors who went on to be characters in well-known movies and TV shows.

Finn Carter had opportunities to do other things and so did Scott Bryce.

**Okay, I just briefly looked at Finn Carter's Wikipedia page, trying to clarify some things and just saw that she is distantly related to Gabourey Sidibe.  I'd like to know that story behind that!

Is Magnus back with Stan?

👀👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/66d9eJIR2n

— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) April 27, 2018

Please, Craig and Sierra were the couple that got away, how much actual time did they have as a couple together before they got separated??

I remember watching Anacostia episodes specifically to see Elizabeth Hubbard with Martha Walsh onscreen.  It's nice to see them together but it doesn't take away the sting of seeing the lack of acknowledgement of classic soaps by entities like the Daytime Emmys post cancellation.  I mean, does anyone beside ardent soap fans even mention Another World anymore?

I guess the Daytime Emmys will be live-streamed again this year?

Marsha Warfield can probably speak to the emotions of many in the business who either consciously or unconsciously enabled Cosby over decades.

I'm seeing on social media that many are angry that they feel stripped of a show that was either a part of their childhoods or a touchstone in their lives.  I guess I have already worked through those emotions last year and now I'm just weary of those thoughts emotions and it's more of a sad resignation that The Cosby Show is now tainted for me (as Malcolm Jamal Warner once intimated) especially when I remember the time I was able to read the Pilot script as a grad student and the joy and admiration that I felt pouring over those pages of dialogue and actions that were written with such precision, any actor reciting those words never needed to add or subtract a single word-- everything was on the page!

Then I remember that writers wrote those words, it wasn't as if Bill Cosby wrote the scripts and I can appreciate the hard work of the crew and cast and think that all have likely long ago moved onto other jobs many years ago.  I doubt that they need any reference to The Cosby Show to get their next job, although it is a big career highlight to have to leave off a resume (and honestly I wouldn't leave it off).

Something that a lot of people may not be able to understand--the work on the page is different from the work on the screen.  It is unlikely that I'll be able to watch the stories unfolding on the screen but I can appreciate the work, at least the excellent technical work that got it there.

Okay, I'll admit, I laughed at this.

If Ronny Jackson is run out of DC, I hope the last thing he yells from the moving car is Trump’s actual weight.

— shauna (@goldengateblond) April 26, 2018

3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I don't think Trump planned for Jackson to be used this way or to be humiliated - I think he actually believed the guy would be confirmed - but so much of the rest of this feels like a setup to me, from other involved parties. 

Seems like the only reason Jackson survived thus far was likely due to his relatively understated position within the administration.

I know people who work for the VA and it is a sprawling organization and from where I notice, VA Affairs is a very high-profile office.  No doubt, head of VA Affairs is one of the highest profile cabinet positions, especially since the two recent wars (Iraq, Afghanistan).

Jackson's bid was likely doomed from the start with his lack of administrative experience but the added level of scrutiny for such a high-level, high-profile position makes me think that there was no way he'd ever be confirmed. 

Only someone as dense as Trump believed Jackson would ever have had a chance.

1 hour ago, dragonflies said:

 

I can't watch reprehensible people ply their trade, which is why I also cannot watch Roseanne.

That's why I said "would be predators". 

I can't include a man who still got elected despite bragging about grabbing women's genitals or shooting someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue.

It's good that I haven't been watching this week because I'd be severely disappointed  in the tennis.

What's going on this week with Stuttgart though?  Sloane got slaughtered in that match against CoCo and I heard she got booed.  Did anyone see it?  I always knew she was inconsistent but she only won 1 game in the entire match?  Yikes!

I'm seeing there has been a rash of retirements today.  This is looking like the ATP. 

Just saw the news and Wow! I hope that the victims feel some measure of justice.  The entire thing leaves me feeling sad.  

Maybe this will be a deterrent for any would be predators to realize that they can/will have to face the consequences for their crimes. 

Harvey Weinstein now needs to be prosecuted with the same level of gusto as with Cosby.

One of the reasons why I do still read the NYT (albeit sporadically these days).

A Lynching Memorial Is Opening. The Country Has Never Seen Anything Like It.

Having just learned the meaning of the term "hot mess" I feel comfortable applying it to Trump's nominee to head the VA.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) April 25, 2018

That scatterbrain former surgeon plans on raising rents for low income residents receiving HUD assistants.  This comes on the heels of that big tax break for the wealthy.  America is one giant sunken place right now.

Presumably the 90 days is for DHS to explain why they believe DACA to be unlawful, so the onus is now on DHS to come up with an explanation for their position because their stance right now, basically makes no sense.

Jaws (1975) pic.twitter.com/zkNU9eEXt9

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) April 24, 2018

Perhaps he was drinking when he declared Trump to be healthy?

BREAKING: The Senate has said that it is delaying Wednesday's confirmation hearing for Trump's VA nominee Ronny Jackson, after allegations have come out that he may have over-prescribed medications and had been drinking on the job.

Another highly qualified Trump nominee!

— Ed Krassenstein 💎 (@EdKrassen) April 24, 2018

Although this interview was done last year, I've never seen it.  Kind of nice that he keeps in touch with Tamara Tunie (Jessica), Brian Bloom (Dusty) and Finn Carter (Sierra), who he had great onscreen chemistry with.

ATWT/OLTL Alum Scott Bryce Talks About His Time on Daytime Soap Operas, His Role on 'The Good Fight' and Much More!

Wasn't born yet but this is the 50th anniversary of Columbia University's Student protests.  In the past week or so, there has been a (belated) acknowledgement of the valuable role that the Black students played in the protests.

Mark Rudd, president of the student organization wrote an Op-Ed piece that pretty much states that the contributions of the Black students were minimized, even though it was these students that were the most disciplined (many had parents who were active participants in the civil rights movement) and it was their actions that were the most effective.

How Columbia’s Student Uprising of 1968 Was Sparked by a Segregated Gym

@VeeMost people in the Trump administration, or connected to the Trump administration use shell companies to cover their unethical business maneuvers.  See: Scott Pruitt.