DramatistDreamer

I came back to see that there were like 3 TB sets that had been played! Thiem Europe takes it!

It can be difficult to ignore at times (unless you BLOCK) but I liken it to going up against the Taliban in Afghanistan-- the Taliban's intention is not to 'win' war against countries like the U.S., USSR, U.K., etc-- the intention is to keep these big countries entangled in war 'til kingdom come', meanwhile the people, in those big countries, so caught up in 'perpetual war' in the Middle East, allow their own societies to decay (global economic crises, Brexit, Trump, upswing of neo fascism and neo-nazism, alt-right, etc). When the Taliban can entangle the mighty U.S. in a ground war for over a decade, that is victory enough for them. What makes it easier for me to ignore on this particular board is that trolls like #1 Troll often have no intelligent points to make, use dubious source material as supposed proof, and repeat the same garbage talking points repeatedly. It's an obvious waste of time and not worth responding directly to, however tempting.

Good move because it's not worth risking good mental health by subjecting yourself to the same nonsense over and over.

In this thread? Yes ma'am. New tricks but the same result- ain't nobody got time for that!

I heard that about watching on TV but I'm live-streaming it and it looks good! (*shrugs*) It probably looks great for the people in the stands at the O2. I'm pretty sure your boy Thiem would not have wanted this Cup to be in Australia, you know he plays a tournament every 5 minutes, he's probably signed up for one right after Laver Cup.

Well, I do like the black courts, LOL. Isner, Querrey and Sock are all there so I'm not sure what other Americans you mean? Donaldson? Taylor Fritz? Maybe they don't have as good agents as Tiafoe has, LOL. For what it's worth, Tiafoe did alright for a rookie, absent a few poor decisions, he did a lot better against Cilic than some would have predicted. Cilic loves Tiebreaks, he usually rocks them-- just ask Jo Wilfried. EDT: Yes, because it is named after Laver, it would have been fitting to have the inaugural Cup in Australia but my guess is...the travel would be an issue since this is in the middle of the European indoor hard court season and many of these guys won't want to take a 16 hours flight back to Europe from Australia. The other thing is that this is Roger Federer's "baby". He conceived this and his agent/representation organized this tournament, so I think Roger probably wanted it in Europe, given the travel schedule for the rest of the year for the majority of the players, travelling to Australia would have exhausted these guys. Also, in terms of why Frances is there, honestly, I think Roger Federer might have wanted Frances there, after Juan Martin pulled out. Federer is probably more aware than most of the need of a diverse looking group. Also, Federer considers himself of having links to Africa, through his South African mother. He knows that Frances is of African heritage by way of his Sierra Leonean parents, once del Potro withdrew, he probably wanted Frances to come onboard.

They can change their usernames but they're still BLOCKED, glad I don't see the nonsense. Guess what? #DotardTrump is trending across social media so I guess what many of us thought could never happen a year ago, has happened...people are actually agreeing with Kim Jong-un on something! All the proposed ACA replacement bills are garbage and all but the most dimwitted of the lot knows it. So those trolls can continue to post in feeble attempts to re-write history, they are merely showing their imbecility, like their Jim Jones-ish leader.

With these crazy mofos in charge of the U.S. and N.K., and with Trump's loose lips and big mouth, I guess we'd better prepare for more missile tests from North Korea. Kim vows to consider hardline response to US Speaking of crazy mofos, these GOP fools would rather see people die than admit that their ACA replacement bills are trash. All eleventy-billion of them.

Like I was telling someone a week or so ago, when they're not running for anything, they sometimes start speaking truths (here and there).

The 2017 Women's final ratings do not surprise me. There was more interest than the two previous years, particularly in the U.S. market, since these were two Americans, fresh-faced and photogenic yet outside of tennis, all but completely unknown. Sloane's comeback narrative didn't really have much time to 'catch fire' since the media was pretty fixated on Sharapova and Sloane was pretty much 'flying under the radar' which honestly, likely helped her since there weren't a lot of eyes (and pressure) on her as she advanced round by round. Good for Sloane (and especially her bank account) but mixed blessings for tennis, IMO as they were able to capitalize somewhat but not in the way they capitalized when the Williams Sisters won their first major titles. Also, it didn't help that the final was so lackluster in quality. It's possible that viewers came but didn't stay watching.

Who didn't know that this was going to happen? He should've waited until after the Sept. 30th deadline for the GOP simple majority vote on the replacement bill had passed but, you know...Bernie. The Republican National Committee Is Weaponizing Bernie Sanders’ Single-Payer Plan

In addition to this nonsense, he referred to "Nambia" as being an African country. Every day, at some point, I'm forced to remember that people actually voted for this guy. SMDH.

No surprises there, since a lot of people thought the result was a foregone conclusion after the SFs. I saw people tweeting congratulations to Rafa for winning USO after he beat Juan Martín in the semis!

Hm.

MAGAhahaha!

Sadly, that's what happens when people elect an undisciplined fool.

Bingo! The timing is definitely calculated as they've realized for some time now that their time is running out. The GOP's kill efforts will lose their procedural protections by the end of next week-meaning they won't be able to shove their dog of a replacement bill through by a simple majority vote. After that, it becomes all but impossible to shove their nonsense through. So yes, the timing was indeed highly calculated.

I don't see much MSM media attention going to Hillary at all, I think they are desperately trying to ignore her right now. Her book signings and the stories of people camping out to be first in line for them, is almost a grass-roots effort that exists despite the obvious discomfort of media to highlight anything she does at this time. Bernie seems to dip in and out of the spotlight. The Universal coverage effort had a moment that has already seemingly receded into the background...for now. There's always a next time. Right now, Trumpists seem to be bracing and doling out recriminations against the Obama administration (or trying to) in preparation for furthering their "witchhunt" story. They seem to be ignoring the fact that Manafort has been under investigation since at least 2014 before he began to manage the Trump campaign. I guess they are determined not to let facts get in the way of a good ole fashion attempt at crafting a story of perceived victimization. This is an interesting video. I admit, it made me feel tense, in some sections but I guess some modest attempts are being made at comity, which is rare these days.

I've heard stories on this board about Frank Runyeon's ego but honestly, ATWT could have used a well-written story about Steve's release from prison 20 years later and what would he do, in terms of mending fences with his family? I would've pretended that entire Dani/Craig trash had never happened (which would be easy for me since I had taken a break from watching and didn't see any of it) or was some fever dream of Steve's while he was in prison, sick from contaminated water or hallucinating from a prison hunger-strike over conditions in the prison. Written with consideration, it could've been a compelling story. Also, I wouldn't have expected Runyeon to have the same ego after so many years of having been off the show and no longer being considered a pivotal character. That scene between Sierra and Lily and then the scene Sierra and a broken Lucinda were intense on a level that soaps don't do anymore. Even when it was revealed that Lily and Sierra were not blood related, their phone conversation showed how much of a bond had truly been formed between the two-- especially as Sierra advises Lily against making the same mistake she did by running away and not facing the hurt head-on. It's actually a small miracle that Sierra was able to forgive Lucinda for trying to doom Sierra and Craig's relationship. Oh, the interesting triad (or triangle) of Lisa, Bob and Kim! Hey, it worked though and just as important, it put them all in the same room for that all important phone call from Tom. That's efficient storytelling.

I know I haven't watched The View in years but guys, come on, everybody knows that Page Six is part of the New York Post, a right leaning gossip rag owned by Rupert Murdoch. Consider the source. I remember the days that The New York Post used to call my house begging me to subscribe to their trashy newspaper. "No thanks, I can't stand your paper", I promptly informed them and hung up. Anyone who believes that Murdoch and his paper doesn't have an agenda here, is flying blind.

The NextGen finals will be experimenting with complete electric line-calling, meaning no lines-people at all. 'HAWK-EYE LIVE' SET TO LAUNCH AT NEXT GEN ATP FINALS

Yeah, I think it's a valid argument but like @Juliajms I want to hear the thoughts of people in advocacy. I've never called another state myself but I wonder whether lots of people did during the last healthcare replacement bill attempt and whether that was effective in helping to tank the attempt (or not). Speaking of health, there's an article (I admit, I have yet to read it) whose headline mentions that insurers are now restricting less addictive painkillers due to costs. Very concerning especially seeing how much of the country currently battles an opiod epidemic.

Came across this thread and wonder what you all think of what he's saying? Valid argument or not?