DramatistDreamer

Despite that clever clapback that Time threw at Trump, the magazine is still slated to be acquired Koch brothers owned Meredith Corporation.

Also, speaking of clapbacks, I hear Susan Sarandon is getting dragged (but what else is new?) for some interview she did recently. I don't intend of reading it because Sarandon makes me tired.

Speaking of Generals,

and he's an Independent with "staunchly conservative views".

If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life. Until now it was not possible for me to conceive of an American President capable of such an outrageous assault on truth, a free press or the first amendment.

— Gen Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) November 26, 2017

19 minutes ago, Khan said:

I am SO over General Kelly.  He's proven himself to be as scummy as the rest.

I don't even know why folks placed their hopes in Gen. Kelly in the first place. Had he done anything in his history that would justify people placing their faith in him?

7 hours ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

Apparently, Tom Arnold (yes, Roseanne's ex) claims to have Trump assault tape...

 

https://movieweb.com/trump-elevator-assault-tape-video-tom-arnold/

Yeah, that's a bit of an old story now.  If he had a conscience, he would've released it ages ago but alas...

Well, post 1990s Y&R, if you were a Black male who was not considered a "safe" and palatable (i.e. neither threatening in sexuality or too excitable a personality) character, it was unlikely that you'd last very long.

No surprises here.

Tillerson's State Department has fired or demoted most African American and Latino diplomats: report https://t.co/07UpUhp7qh pic.twitter.com/IOtMqpYRIO

— The Hill (@thehill) November 25, 2017

@JaneAusten Great summary. Very succinctly put!

1 hour ago, JaneAusten said:

From the beginning China was always going to be the big winner. They now have sole control over the Asian trade market and all they needed to do to get Trump flattering them was to flatter him with red carpets, ketchup on a steak, and releasing 3 kids and allowing him to take credit, a move they were likely to do anyway as shoplifting even in China is a minor crime. They have sweated nothing over North Korea either.

 

Amidst all this the EU is standing by Ireland and is forcing the UK to have all of the border issues between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK settled in the next 10 days when trade negotiations I believe were planned to be started and now there is talk of a snap election being called in Ireland due to the alleged scandal there. A new election would undermine the Brexit negotiations as it would likely take Ireland months to form a coalition governing body. Perhaps that is the motive behind the current scandal that surfaced with their current Tanaiste(similar out our VP) is more chaos to upset the entire process.

 

All of this with lower consumer confidence numbers in the UK. With all this and the positive press Corbyn is now getting, I feel like the UK is topsy turvy.

Which is why, as belligerent as I think LaVar Ball is, the idea that Trump wa the sole reason for the release of those college basketball players is nonsense. Most China experts were quick to say foreigners suspected of minor offenses were generally deported. I think people are confusing China with North Korea.

Russia's economy is too busy struggling so China is likely the country that is benefiting the most from the power vacuum left by the U.S. absconding from a leadership role.

Also, it's weird that people are talking about Great Britain but not Ireland which is experiencing a very chaotic political quagmire right now which will likely heighten as the clock ticks toward Brexit.

5 minutes ago, Khan said:

 

Exactly.  But, most of the other stuff you've mentioned is beyond his cognitive abilities, if you know what I'm saying?  Plus, like you suggested, he's employing diversionary tactics to keep the focus off (what else) Russia.  So, that's why, with all the crises exploding right now in all sectors of our government, he's treating us to lies about magazine covers and feuds with people like LeVar Burton.

Poor LeVar Burton having to fend off all those Trumpist fools coming at him on his social media account.

I bet he wanted to tell some of them to go take a look, read a book, while striding off a short pier.

So there have been multiple incidents of catastrophic events in the military (the three missing naval personnel near Japan's coastal waters is the latest example),

There are dueling chiefs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one appointed by the outgoing director, Richard Cordray, Ms. English--in accordance with Dodd-Frank, and one appointed by Trump-- Mick Mulvaney who has been opposed to the CFPB and seeks its demise.

Experienced diplomats have been leaving en masse since January, leaving a "hollowed out" State Department.

Yet all Trump can tweet about is the lie that he turned down Time's Person of the Year? (which makes me wonder whether he's using diversion tactics, perhaps knowing of an upcoming indictment/series of indictments?)

In any case, the look on the U.S. is not a good one as the U.S. becomes more and more of a laughingstock on a daily basis.

7 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

but Lavar Ball isn't exactly Mr. Maturity himself. It was his son who disgraced his team, his school and his country by being stupid and shoplifting in CHINA. Mr. Ball is also widely disliked in the NBA, where his other son plays. I swear, my young nephews have more maturity than these guys.

The point wasn't about LaVar Ball (who is an opportunist, at best).

The point is about how Trump specifically targets Black athletes/sports journalists specifically to feud with when there have also been prominent White sports personalities that have also criticized him (e.g. Gregg Popovich, who has openly and repeatedly criticized Trump).

He has never said one thing back to Popovich, as he has never said anything to Eminem.

He specifically chooses to criticize how "ungrateful" those S.O.B. Black NFL athletes are, which is the language he has extended in his "feud" with Ball (who I am sure is happy to keep it going, no doubt, to extend his '15 minutes' to build his "brand").

My point is that Trump is signalling his racist base that he is going after those minorities that they all feel have gotten "benefits" at the expense of the White working class.

It's called "dog whistle" politics.

Also, the president of the f*cking United States of America feuding with a military widow (civilian), NFL players (private citizens) and the father of basketball players (also private citizen)-- what in HELL is this madness?? (also, do you notice a pattern now?)

It's beyond crass and I fear, we're at the point where people have already normalized this behavior (despite claims to the contrary).

I don't care what a private citizen wants to say that doesn't affect me.  I care what the president is saying on a public platform, because he supposedly represents the people of this country-- not LaVar Ball.

By the way, CHIP still hasn't been renewed. Many children will lose healthcare soon as quite a few states are running out of money.  Where is this so-called "President" doing about that?

Oh, he's too busy feuding f*cking LaVar Ball!!

*Also, show me a White person who a private citizen, in other words, is not in government who Trump is feuding with, especially this hard with this much vitriol.

I'll wait.

Because the corruption of the Trump administration does not take a holiday.

Flynn's lawyers end communication with Trump team, signaling cooperation with Mueller: NY Times

This thanksgiving greeting deserves a read.

Uma Thurman's Thanksgiving message is 🔥 https://t.co/hanBPTayTo pic.twitter.com/mtR1R5eMR1

— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) November 23, 2017

Another truth, Trump just affirmed that the concept of MAGA is built on racist bile.

Quite an interesting tweet for Trump to reply to. pic.twitter.com/2NURLGdvvI

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 23, 2017

9 hours ago, Eric83 said:

I wish I had taken a cue from you. Some things just are not meant to be photographed. 

Still avoiding it, I read "around" it, reading only enough to get some details of the story while still avoiding any images-- because who needs to see that?!

Those three UCLA basketball players acted stupidly in China (I still don't know why they did it) but-

LaVar was right https://t.co/GicP16Vd50 pic.twitter.com/oxfTBNLV7k

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 23, 2017

1 hour ago, amybrickwallace said:

That's sadder than any story on a soap opera. 😢

She said that she had attempted to 'connect' with him at least twice and found him distant, and seemed a lone(ly) figure and she hoped that in his final years (which he spent in Argentina) that he had found some people to connect with and that he didn't spend his last years being as alone as he seemed when she met him.

Throughout the episode, Hoffman discovered how turbulent Herrera's family line had been and it gave her a bit more clarity on why her father may have been what she had described as possibly insecure, stemming from a distrust of others.

It was a very fascinating episode because there were some family rumors that turned out to be true.

Someone should tell Colleen Zenk that she makes an appearance in the episode in a photo still and a video clip. There is a clip of Larry Bryggman (the back of him anyway) and one of Elizabeth Hubbard also.

I wonder whether PBS had to ask permission of PGP to get those film clips? Or could they have bypassed PGP and gone straight to CBS?

I'm watching Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. on the PBS website and the latest episode features Tea Leoni (Madam Secretary) and Gaby Hoffman (Transparent).

I had forgotten this piece of information (I read an article about it years ago) but Gaby  Hoffman was especially interested in research the genealogy of her father's side of the family.

When they showed a photograph, revealing her father's identity, I gasped momentarily before remembering that I had known this information for years!

They even showed a clip of him in several scenes from As The World Turns and Hoffman talks about the one "family portrait" she had was of her mother holding her, while her sister stood behind the T.V. where a scene from As The World Turns played out on screen with her father since the only time she ever saw him other than in family court was when he was on the T.V.

Yes, her father was Anthony Herrera (James Stenbeck) which she half-joked about his bad guy persona and surviving being 'killed off' multiple times.

^At least someone has stopped blaming "identity politics" for Trump, most with eyes to see saw through that phony narrative fast.

I shouldn't be laughing at this but...I couldn't stop laughing at this. This is the same hotel that the Trump spawn barely evaded an indictment over.

Add Trump Soho to the lists. pic.twitter.com/BrWkRqpRbC

— Peter Truong (@peter_truong88) November 22, 2017

17 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

I think it's pretty clear I was speaking in terms of sexual ethics. I have no idea if he even used his phone for any of this and it's frankly the last thing I care about when our government is awash with predators.

I'd be fine if no one mentioned it ever but since he himself has referred to it as a selfie, it's not that much of an assumption to think he sent the nude photo using his phone.  

As I said in my original post, I'm avoiding looking at the photo because I don't want to see it. Unfortunately, in 2017 there are other scandals other than the ones about predators.

Kushner who is tied up in several #TrumpRussia investigations asked a friend “Do you think they’ll get the president?”
Trump predictably is trying to get Kushner and Ivanka to leave DC.

Trump is great at throwing people under the bus after they commit the crimes for him pic.twitter.com/xtKvOA5V4V

— Olga_Lautman NYC ✨ (@olgaNYC1211) November 22, 2017

1 hour ago, Juliajms said:

As far as I can see this guy did nothing wrong.  Well, maybe he exercised bad judgement in letting a partner snap a pic. Still,  he didn't rape, assault, grab or harass any woman, man or child, so he doesn't deserve to be lumped in with all these predators we're dealing with right now.

I didn't say he was a predator but if his phone's bills are expensed by his office, i.e. paid for by taxpayers, then yes, he would be doing something wrong.

Texas Rep. Joe Barton's name is trending on social media and I just know it's scandal related because...2017. 

From what I've briefly read, there are some nude pictures of his body part involved. I'm afraid to click on any related article or link for fear, I'll see something and will lose my appetite for the next 48 Hours.

2 hours ago, Khan said:

 

On top of that, I just read that PBS and Bloomberg will no longer distribute his show.  IOW, Charlie Rose's career is over.

 

This is all starting to remind me of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" and the recurring, off-stage sound of trees being chopped down and cleared ("the sound of a string breaking," as it's written in one translation) as the family who owns the orchard realizes (or doesn't realize) their entire way of life is disappearing.  Whenever another notable gets exposed as a sexual predator, it's like hearing another string break.

 

ETA: I'm hearing that CBS is looking to Oprah to fill Rose's chair on "CBS This Morning," if only temporarily.

What a great analogy!  The theater person in me loves this!

ICYMI

CBS News confirms that Don Jr. met with Kremlin ally Alexander Torshin at an NRA event in May 2016. https://t.co/BJMxVDQQSz

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 21, 2017

They claimed that the 16 player draw will make early rounds more competitive, which was already the case on the Women's side. 

I've also become used to the 32 seed draw.

CoCo tweeted that the players weren't consulted and it seems that she doesn't like the penalty for taking more than the allotted time on/after the warm up.

1 hour ago, ChitHappens said:

She wrote so much about Queen in her new book, SugarPimp forgot to mention this?!  

Is she going to claim that Max forgot to warn her to click the link?

I wonder if the tennis press will try to make excuses for her again so they can return to "business as usual" trying to promote her.

It will be interesting to see who writes/investigates more on this and who tries to tamp down the story.

Hey Tennis Fans,

Have you all heard that the Majors are returning to a 16 player draw? There are a host of other rules (etc, shot clock) that will be in effect next year.

Thoughts?