DramatistDreamer

Speaking of the mess going down here, Sally Yates got asked many basic, sometimes irrelevant and misleading questions and handled them all well.

After all this time of trying to blame Pres. Obama

Genie wasn't messing around today. She may as well as said 'I'm not leaving this court until I've brought this b*tch to heel'. What I saw of the match seemed to be a slugfest!

Is that even possible for the WH to do though (try to get a hearing cancelled)? I thought Congress, mainly the Senate arranges these types of hearings. I guess the WH technically could try to abuse their power and exert pressure somehow but I've really never heard of an instance where it was done. Maybe during the Nixon era? There is a livestream for the hearing for anyone interested in trying to watch. http://www.politico.com/livestream-watch-live-politico-streaming

No problem @Wales2004 My family hails from Jamaica and Cuba (fortunately, I've been able to spend time on both islands) so I'm well versed in how people are being marginalized. I also know that Jamaicans can and do practice 'colourism' as do Black Americans here in the U.S. Still, that is ostracizing (intraracial) versus the virulent racism (interracial) , the differences are quite stark. @GMac Also no, problem We're here to help each other (at least that's what I believe) even if it is virtually. Just saw this and boy, if it's true this is truly incredible! Or is it incredulous?

That sounds horrifying @GMac! I'm glad you made it through! It was a crime what happened to you, hopefully there is enough enlightenment that someone in your position now could feel that they could report it and be taken seriously. I have been to London since my days as a student and fortunately that hasn't happened again, although I've experienced catcalls, etc. what many women experience when they walk, particularly alone on streets, still unfortunate but at least I feel a bit more empowered to manage the situation. I had forgotten what happened to me that evening for many years until that former colleague recounted what happened to her on the Paris Metro. I don't think acknowledging the seriousness of a problem and expressing hurt or disappointment is being overly sensitive. I think not acknowledging it and glossing over the severity of it has ensured that these problems continue to exist and affect people. We need to deal honestly with what happens globally (of course, it's not just in Europe, that's a given). If we air it out in the open, acknowledge it, then that's the first step toward solving the issue. Laughing it off certainly won't help.

Um, one of my former colleagues was physically assaulted in Paris and called an ethnic slur slur in French. That is quite blatant and it it anything but minor. I myself as a student in London, had a rando white British guy literally grab me by force and fortunately one of my flatmates pulled the guy away from me and started yelling at the guy. Another of my flatmates, a Bangladeshi guy was followed and intimidated by two White guys while he was walking home one night. They literally surrounded him two, one on each side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him- speeding up their pace as he sped up his pace. I had one or two odd incidents in Spain but mostly men getting fresh, nothing like a someone I knew-she was called a "junglebunny" by someone using a very casual tone. These are real incidents and not examples of being hypersensitive. I'm glad you can laugh at what happened to you but it's not the same for others.

From friends of color who have had less than positive experiences during their visits to France, I do know that there are many problems that are similar to problems that exist in the U.K. and the U.S. but I applaud the fact that the French did not fall for the fake news and hacking attempts that many in the U.S. were bamboozled by (readily, if you ask me). I did read that many in the banlieu felt that nothing would change no matter who was in office but I am relieved that enough people voted to give a firm shove against fascism. In terms of the awful AHCA, the even the GOP in the Senate realizes that the House version is totally unacceptable, so they are crafting their own version. If the Senate comes up with a bill that leaves millions off being insured, it will also tank. The House vote did on the AHCA indeed raise millions for dollars for the Democrats!! Hopefully that gets leveraged into some lost GOP seats in 2018. Onto a different topic:

The French certainly don't have voter suppression to contend with as happens here.

"France may have 99 problems (racism/marginalization in the banliues, for instance) but voting for fascism ain't one". -- JayZ maybe right now.

This is why I get so irritated at people who complained about "identity politics" lost the election for the Democrats-- it was obviously nothing more than a tool to get women and minorities to 'shut up' about issues that are actually important. It was so successful in muffling people, now it is being more effectively weaponized to shut minorities out of the electoral process. Now watch it became as effective a silencing tool as accusing someone of 'playing the Race Card' has been.

Agreed!

On social media, I've noticed the same i.d./handles tweeting out the same derogatory stuff about Macron over and over again. Fortunately, the French media is taking the threat a lot more seriously than the U.S. media did last year.

If this is how the GOP runs their townhalls, no wonder they're hiding out from their constituents. GOP rep: ‘Nobody dies because they don’t have access to healthcare’

Is Pepe the Spanish guru still there though? Welp, from the looks of that Amor y Paz vehicle, looks like Pepe is still in the Djokovic camp.

So the FCC is actually devoting time to investigate Stephen Colbert's on air anti-Trump rant? That's a worthwhile use of government resources. FCC to investigate, 'take appropriate action' on Colbert’s Trump rant

I saw the one where she comes down the stairs and says "I can walk again!" and the guy responds "Go back to your room, Susan Lucci".

While the opoid epidemic rages,particularly in the Midwest and the suburbs nationally, the Trump WH has decided to eliminate the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Yes, because the House version won't pass muster in the Senate.

Reading posts about pre-existing conditions and this one made me so sad to read. A lot of people feel particularly vulnerable right at this moment in a way that many cannot understand. I'm out of words reading this one in particular. Let's hope that this clusterf*ck AHCA dies completely on the Senate floor.

Tennis has been full of surprises this year. Speculation and rumors that certain things would happen (e.g. Serena's pregnancy) abounded but just when you are convinced it will never happen, it does! Here's another example. Apparently, Djokovic let his entire team go!! I want to find the winning spark on the court again

I just spoke to my Mother who was furious. I had to reminder that this is not over since the bill has to be voted on in the Senate. She has calmed down a bit but still angry.

The Orangeface-in-Chief is not even in Washington D.C., he's in NYC where he hopes to physically (if nothing else) distance himself from this clusterf*ck.

When I was in London in the 90s, some South Asians still referred to themselves as Black, although that was changing.