DramatistDreamer

Gutted for Venus, she really had a chance to take the match in the third and backed off, for some inexplicable reason. Congratulations to Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys. The U.S. women have truly made their mark this U.S. Open. If I had 2 slams in one year, you wouldn't be able to blast me out of there! If I made two slam finals in one year, you wouldn't be able to blast me outta there!

"Birth Tourists" from Russia staying in Trump properties. Trump once accused 'many' Chinese of having "anchor babies" in the U.S. but never mentioned Russians. Go figure. Russians Flock to Trump Properties to Give Birth to U.S. Citizens

Will you. look. at. that. Rodrigo Duterte’s son is accused of involvement with massive drug deal

Okay, this an article about the goings-on at Rotten Tomatoes, the movie review site but there is a OLTL mention. Attacked by Rotten Tomatoes

Yes, he did on the Debt Ceiling- a measure to keep the government "running" until December. And he made the deal with...wait for it...Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi! The already fractured and continually fracturing GOP, (if you believe the newspapers) are POed at Trump. Bannon is plotting from his cave in D.C. to launch an autumn "war" within the GOP. Add to all this, some Republicans in Congress have signed onto a bill to dismantle gerrymandering (which the Republicans have largely benefited from for the past 12-15 years now), citing the need to 'protect the Republic, not Republicans'). Its. all. happening.

Speaking of trolls...Facebook is copping to just how much advertising dollars these fake FB accounts were spending to promote misleading political ads. Fake Russian Facebook Accounts Bought $100,000 in Political Ads Honestly, there's not much to laugh about these days, but even I have to chuckle at all these instances of Trump undermining his own party's efforts. Jeff Sessions (AKA Evil Keebler elf) makes what he believes to be a definitive statement that DACA is a matter for Congress alone and no president has the authority to change/determine immigration policy. Hours later, Trump tweets out a threat that if Congress doesn't act that he will "revisit" the issue. Uh, so much for the party line that it isn't the president's biz.

Proud to be living in one of these states that will be suing Trump over DACA rollback. 15 states, DC sue Trump administration over ending DACA

You have Al Roker out here trying to convince people to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh, who apparently has decided to use his radio show to claim that Hurricane Irma is hype and only affecting areas where Latinos live anyway. Meanwhile, we have yet to hear definitively from anyone on the island of Barbuda since the eye of Irma passed over the entire tiny island yet the media skips over this because Barbuda is not Florida. In what world has this vile behavior become acceptable? I can hardly stand it!

If you're a woman and you voted for Trump, you need to hang your head in shame.

Apparently, his character, which never appeared in the animated film and is a newly written character, has now become a lightning (or is it lightening? ) rod for controversy.

A utter lack of a complete education and proper civic engagement is the biggest problem, IMO. I'm continually disappointed by people who wave the flag but don't truly know U.S. history, let alone world history. People who scream about China, yet cannot find it on a map. People who believe Africa is a country. What people say and how people vote often contradict themselves. We found that out in this election. I'm not sure how trustworthy polls are, TBH. On a phone poll, people will say what they think sounds good but the votes that they make in their state elections reflect their true desires. This is one reason that I really don't take people's words as genuine anymore. When you live in a world where the president of the United States' words no longer hold any value, how are you supposed to regard the value of anyone's word?

Let's be clear on something, the vast majority of immigrants both legal and undocumented, give a whole lot more than they get. I don't know whether anyone here on this board personally knows undocumented people but I do and I'll give you an example of my point. When my mother used to be a landlord and rented out apartments, she had a family who had a few members who were undocumented for a time. Each member worked very hard, even the kids who went to school and held jobs and saved money and were eventually able to open their own business. They were never late on rent. They weren't leasing property out from under anyone, the space had sat available for several months (probably at least a year). They became reasonably success (nowhere near rich) eventually were able to employ one or two employees who were not family and eventually were able to buy their own home. The children graduated, married have their own lives. This is not to insult anyone but of all the tenants that my Mother had during her years as a landlord, the tenants she had the least amount of trouble with? Immigrants by far. The tenants that she had to evict? All U.S. citizens by birth. The final eviction was so much money lost that it convinced her to sell the property and just focus on getting a single family house. My Mother, an immigrant herself, does have a tilted view of America because of this. I've tried to convince her not to paint Americans with a broad brush but when you are reminded with Confederate statues of this country's reliance on slave labor and exploitation to build its wealth, it becomes increasingly hard to convince someone who has been exploited that it is any other way. Perception really does matter and the U.S. is cast in an extremely negative light now in many people's eyes. *Also, in terms of who waits in line and who exploits immigration loopholes, the other day, I posted an article about Ukrainian migrants who are getting in claiming to be refugees, who by their own admission are not in danger but are here for economic reasons but because of an age old Soviet-era rule that allows Eastern European Christians to migrate to the U.S. as refugees. The Ukrainian refugees' waiting period and vetting period is, on average, about a year or more shorter than Syrian and Iraqi refugees who can wait up to four years of vetting before they are allowed to migrate to the U.S. I don't blame the Ukrainian refugees for wanting to come but even they are aware that they are exploiting a loophole in U.S. immigration policy. Why isn't this a talking point in the news media? I suspect, it's because they are not brown.

America will make exceptions when it suits them, I guess. They could care less about fairness. Case and point.

I've been out all morning so I am out of the loop. What was this announcement that Jeff Sessions made? The GOP's version of "governing" sure looks like constant scrambling with no perceivable concrete plan, at least to me. Maybe they should change their mascot from an elephant to a headless chicken running around in circles. I know that is an awful image but so is their style of governing.

The White House's own Gordon Gekko. You don't have to read the entire article, just look at that list, it's insanity! (actually, do read the article, it's not long and it gives context). The Insane Gifts Saudi Arabia Gave President Trump

The joke is on the American taxpayer who will have to pay for this $hit. I've never seen a more frivolous wasteful administration.

Maybe Flavia sat him down for a warning?

@Khan Thank you for posting it as I had wondered the same when I read about this yesterday. The unfortunate thing is Americans no longer seem to bat an eye at all of Trump's lies. It's almost as if lying has now become the status quo simply because Trump does it. I am disgusted.

Yes, the North Korean government tests every leader but they do so in a way specific to how they think they can best get to each administration. They knew continually poking at the Obama administration wouldn't work because Obama had discipline and would not react to them every time- hence, they at least restricted themselves to one or less, per year. Trump already has six and it hasn't even been one full year! To the people in the back, When I say that the North Koreans are now provoking the U.S. in way specific to Trump, it's because when you look at the history of their missile tests, in less than a year, they've already had six missile tests! 6!!! That is not "unpresidented" as Trump would say, it's "UNPRECEDENTED" as normal people would say! Six missile tests is almost more than during Obama's entire two terms in office!! And during Obama's terms, a few of those tests were failures. So far, we cannot say the same for this year. Also, the Chinese have stepped up their trade with North Korea. The Chinese weren't warm nor fuzzy with the Obama administration, but at least they took time to chide, scold even occasionally warn North Korea. Now, they seem to turn their admonitions on the U.S., and why? Because Trump derided them as "currency manipulators" before he even got into office. Good luck with getting China to do anything but tread water while waiting for a different administration to work with- preferably one that doesn't brand them before meeting with them. According to the blog of the Guardian newspaper, Russia also vehemently opposes Trump's rhetoric on North Korea and have said so, publicly. The Russians, it seems, only regard Trump as a fool, not a usefool fool. They now look for ways to openly oppose him on the public stage. Personally, I'm waiting on the kompromat to start coming.

Speaking of Trump and those who support him, this is insane. Sunnyside building decorated with Nazi propaganda, Jim Crow images terrifies neighbors The follow-up on this story is that this man has been arrested and police swept out the guns out of his apartment but tenants are still fearful that he will make bail and return.

Let's see if Russia releases some Trump themed kompromat. They don't seem very enamored of him of late.

Novella Nelson who played Detective Roy Franklin's mother has died. She was also a Broadway veteran who consistently worked in films over the decades. She originally majored in biochemistry but during a speech class, she was asked to perform in a play and decided to switch her major to theater. A great choice that yielded enjoyment for audiences down the road. Broadway Vet and Acclaimed Actress Novella Nelson Dies at 77

About whether or not it matters whether it was Hillary in the WH, I actually do believe it matters who is in the Oval office. You don't think Kim Jong-un doesn't register Trump's threats to "unleash fire and fury" as a challenge to more nuclear tests? Does anyone think that Obama would've used language like that? For all the criticism of Hillary, I don't believe she would use such intentionally provocative language at a critical juncture. Kim certainly tried Obama in '09 early in his presidency but really didn't get much of a reaction because Obama actually exercised executive discretion. Trump has not. There is a reason that NK is performing more "tests" during Trump's first term than the presidents who preceded him, just as there is a reason why Al Qaeda decided to strike the U.S. during W.'s term and not Clinton. These warmongers know who to provoke-- other warmongers and unstable heads of state who may respond in kind. And as a result of all these "tests", NK is causing earthquakes on the Korean peninsula--possibly a looming man-made disaster in the making as if the threat of nuclear implosion isn't enough to worry about. God, the day I agree with Ted Cruz on anything, even one sole statement. Perhaps the end of the world is nigh... Cruz: ‘I Wouldn’t Speak’ About North Korea Threats The Way Trump Does

Was he the guy with the pornstache? Must have been the Burt Reynolds effect. Coming out of the 70s into the early 80s, that thick mustachioed look must've been all the rage back then.

An ICYMI, Kenya's Supreme Court nullified their recent election results and have ruled that a new election must take place within 60 days. By the way, fake news also loomed large during their campaign season. Kenya Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Election Also FYI. Remember how the Trump administration has moved to weaken the EPA considerably.