DramatistDreamer

Wow, and I've been missing this BHM homage all this time?!

Trump had gotten through life never taking responsibility for the consequences of any of his actions. Did people actually think he would start taking ownership now?? Did Trump ever publicly express condolences for this? We know the father refused to meet with him, so he couldn't have expressed condolences to the entire family privately. Speaking of blaming others for Trump's actions, there was a reason why Obama never tried to execucte that raid Yemen.

Just last week, I read an article about how Russia no longer sees Trump's White House as being capable of carrying out Russia's agenda- so Russian media has gone from daily, glowing coverage of Trump to practically non-existent coverage where Russian media barely mentions Trump's existence. Russia Looks to Exploit White House ‘Turbulence,’ Analysts Say This is how many in the Kremlin speak of Trump, according to Kremlin insiders. “They think he is unstable, that he can be manipulated, that he is authoritarian and a person without a team,” Alexei A. Venediktov, the editor in chief of Echo of Moscow." “They are all telling each other that this is great, he created this turbulence inside, as we wanted, and now he is focused on his domestic problems and we have more freedom to maneuver,” Mr. Venediktov said. “Let them deal with their own problems. There, not in Ukraine. There, not in the Middle East. There, not in NATO. This is the state of mind right now.” I also find it interesting that even the Russians are concerned with the longterm effects of the instability of the Trump administration (despite their glee at profiting in the short term). “It is important for Russia that America does its job in foreign policy,” If there is nobody to do that job, it might not be good for us, either.” - Alexey Chesnakov, a periodic Kremlin political adviser and the director of the Center for Current Politics, a trend analysis group in Moscow. “It would be better for us to have a predictable partner,” Mr. Markov said. “An unpredictable one is dangerous.”

Kudos to the person(s) who put this together.

Your two favorites are playing. Kidding but I hear Isner is frustrated. He lost the first set to Johnson.

It's been effective enough in getting some Berniebros to stand down. I've noticed that the two have been presenting a united front since the conclusion of the DNC Chair race. It's certainly better than the contention and open hostility of the Democratic primary several months ago- we all saw what result came of that.

There is some good news on the voter registration (aka, fight against voter suppression) front. Apparently, the number of states that have bills that will expand access to voting/voter registration outnumber those states that seek to restrict voting. Voting Laws Roundup 2017

With all those folks screaming about Benghazi, the silence is deafening in regards to this disastrous raid. A thorough investigation needs to be done on this.

We're not all obsessed like you @Soapsuds!

There was lots of nipple talk. I didn't notice but then again, I only got to see about a set worth of the match in total.

Two stories of how the new administration's immigration policies are complicating how people perceive immigrants and migrants (in the U.S. and abroad) and how the U.S. regards them. After Kansas Shootings, Indians Are Wary of Coming to U.S. He’s a Local Pillar in a Trump Town. Now He Could Be Deported.

Gabby Giffords chided several Senators and Representatives when she commented that two days after she'd been shot, her office was open to constituents.

I didn't get to see all of the Thiem/Carreno-Busta final but Thiem's wet T-shirt/kit seemed to be the topic of a lot of discussion. All of a sudden Acapulco is the place to be! The tournament organizers must be thrilled at this unexpected bonanza of top 10ers but I'm thinking that the guys who normally compete here may not be thrilled at the possibility of their prospects to win or get further in the tournament being diminished in a matter of days.

There was definitely a time when Margo, who angrily assumed that Tom and Barbara had had a one night stand, leaned on Hal. At first it seemed as if she was on the path to using Hal to get over Tom but even before it was revealed that Barbara lied and staged the "affair", Margo decided that she was still in love with Tom and decided to forgive him for the one night stand that they mistakenly thought he had. At this particular time, it appeared that Margo cared for Hal while Hal's feelings for Margo seemed more intense. When Tom left and didn't return from D.C. (i.e. when Marx left the role), it seems clear that Marland decided to revisit Margo and Hal and intensify those feelings on both sides. I agree that had Marx stayed in the role, there would be no need to revisit Hal and Margo. Most likely the conflict between Tom and Margo would've remained the miscarriage fallout and perhaps Tom working long hours as D.A. and Margo working long hours with Hal on the Stenbeck case, with awkward interactions between all three (given their history). Maybe there might've been a hint of closer bonds between Margo and Hal as Margo put distance between herself and Tom immediately after the miscarriage, which might have caused more friction between Tom and Hal regarding overstepped boundaries but I suspect Marland might have sent Margo and Tom to couples therapy (he was big into therapy and analysis) and they would've worked it out. Had Marx stayed, I seriously doubt Marland would've written Margo and Hal having and affair, let alone a baby together (it wouldn't have been believeable), given the heat that HBS and GM had together (sexual orientation, be damned!). Marland must've known that Marx was leaving when he started to write the Margo/Hal affair. I do wonder whether Marland always intended for Tom to be recast? I know that the strike interfered with many things so the TL gets confused a little.

Just ridiculous.

Despite having to sometimes sidestep the trolls, I look forward to the thoughtful discussions we have on this board, especially this political thread. It is surprising that on a board that is ostensibly know for discussion of serial drama aka soaps, there is this gem of a political discussion thread where open, profound and sometimes humorous back and forth can be had. If only there were more people in positions of power who gave as much thought, weight and consideration to their actions as most of the posters on this board, what a world it would be! Speaking of people I wish would give consideration and weight to consequences of their actions (but we know it's never gonna happen) if only for the sake of people like these. Slain SEAL’s dad wants answers: ‘Don’t hide behind my son’s death’

This just seems to be a classic miscalculation by a young, lesser experienced player. I've seen it so many times: a younger player expends so much emotional energy and adrenaline in the first set while the more experience player digs in for a 2nd set fight, which sometimes rattles the less experienced player and by the 2nd set's end, the younger player either starts getting nervous at the prospect of actually getting their best result to date, or they experience an unwinding of all that energy and adrenaline from the first set. By the 3rd set, mental fatigue has set in, and they have so little left that the brain practically shuts down and the less experienced player has very little left. Also, it probably breaks the spirit of the player to see that their opponent (in this case Carreno-Busta) seems to just be getting started. I expect Ruud will learn from this. In any case, once he gets over the disappointment of that 3rd set bagel, he will appreciate how well he performed this week.

Thin-skinned Trump won't be attending the White House Correspondents Dinner. Then there's this.

The kicker is when she asks others to 'walk a mile in' her shoes but did she think to do the same before Election Day? She's asking people to have empathy for her anxiety now but did she think about the anxiety others had who thought this man would be be a bad idea for a potus? The entire thing is just sad and will continue to be sad for so many people now.

I probably won't post anymore of these because there are too many of these stories but here goes another one... She voted for Trump. Now she fears losing the Obamacare plan that saved her life

I've stated this before but the entire Josh reformed man situation never sat right with me. It was as if everyone should overlook his rape of Iva because it was 'in the past', meanwhile Iva was left to 'deal with it' and struggle in silence. On the one hand, it was interesting to see a show like ATWT deal with a character who had committed such a repulsive act in a way that doesn't isolate him or kill him off in the way that soaps traditionally did but as much as Marland may have believed the writing was sensitive to Iva's plight (and later, it was), at that time, it seemed to be written more from Josh's perspective, to make him look more sympathetic. I thought Frost was really good in that role and Betsy was made to defend Josh in a way that looking back now, annoys me but the biggest problem that Betsy had at the time that Frost happened to be playing the role was the lack of romantic chemistry with most of her male counterparts. I don't blame that on Frost, I liked her as Betsy. I think the character was kind of in a romantic slump for most of her run. The writing wasn't really there for her. ATWT had a lot of talent and many stories to choose to focus on and unfortunately some characters got lost in the shuffle and I believe that Betsy was one of those characters.

Muhammad Ali Jr. revealed that he was detained for two hours on a returning flight from Jamaica after being asked "Are you a Muslim?" A spokesman/lawyer stated that they are in the process of finding out how many others have been asked this question as they believe that it is profiling. They can add Olympic medallist Ibtihaj Muhammad to that list as she also had something similar happen to her recently. The lawyer for Ali Jr. stated that they are surveying others and if they find that there is a sizeable enough number they would be looking to file a federal lawsuit.