DramatistDreamer

Apparently, Taylor Fritz and his wife had a son. Rising Tennis Star Taylor Fritz and His Wife Announce The Arrival Of Son Jordan

I've avoided most clips, gifs and any coverage or pre-inauguration concerts and I don't have on even a tv or online stream of anything at the moment but I yesterday, someone on social media posted a picture comparing 2009 pre-inaugural concert crowds to yesterday and in 2009, it was wall-to-wall people, meanwhile 2017, yesterday, was particularly sparse. Anyhoo, this article shows that although, the failure to close Guantánamo was technically a broken campaign promise, the Obama administration undertook a carefully thought out, very methodical, case-by-case approach to placing the prisoners in other places, most of the prisoners could not be repatriated and the administration had to find other countries willing to take them, while the prisoners themselves had to agree to go (a few wouldn't) to those countries. President Obama inherited 242 detainees from the Bush administration. The Obama administration will leave 41 detainees to the Trump administration. Obama Transfers 4 From Guantánamo, Leaving 41 There as Term Ends

Tomorrow is going to be a catch up on the things that didn't get done during the week and then Netflix kind of day.

One of the most depressing aspects of all. And you're right, they didn't treat it as a joke when clearly profits were at stake. They were invested in skewing coverage to make one candidate look like a bete noir and the other to look like a normal person.

I look at it two ways, If I weren't able to joke, I probably would have tried to pop open a vein by now, that is not a joke, by the way. If only the people with power, the Les Moonves types, the media outlets that have the world's ear had taken this seriously instead of looking to late night comics and social media for cues on how to report the news. That is an aspect of wagging the dog that I hadn't seen before. I really do see it differently when a handful of folks on a messageboard may tell a joke to try to cheer themselves up and a whole entire media empire not reporting facts, or choosing to air one side's 'dirty laundry' all the way back 25-30+ years but not her opponents very 'dirty laundry'. To be honest, I had been feeling sentimental mostly but today, but I've been trying to shield my heart from what is going to take place by noon tomorrow. Today has been kind of a dreary day, I'm a bit stressed and sleep deprived and as I was watching a livestream of the morning news, a wave of sadness hit me as I saw a commercial for network inaugural coverage (which I won't be watching). Hours later sadness clings to me still. I don't like the feeling. I try not to think of how it will feel tomorrow but sometimes trying to think of a little humor in the midst of a stomach churning, bitter, sad feeling is the only alternative one can grasp. Out of regard for others though, if I feel like saying something sarcastic or something resembling gallows humor, I will definitely refrain from posting it here.

Elijah Cummings: ‘If the public knew what Congress knows’ they would boycott the inauguration too

So far, it is being claimed that Trump will eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Justice's 25 Violence Against Women grant programs. Now news that this student loan collector, Navient, cheated millions of borrowers. The Consumer Protection Bureau, which Republicans have been trying to eliminate, were the ones who alerted the DOJ about Navient. But oh, well, Trump/GOP will eliminate grant money for anti-violence against women initiatives, arts funding and protections for consumers but he's going to make America great again and it will magically be fabulous!

Before I went to bed last night I had the impression that Djokovic might be in trouble. I guess Istomin and his coach (who also happens to be his Mother) may have taken notes from the matches that Nolé played (and lost) against Jiri Vesely and Sam Querrey last year.

So Anonymous issued a threat claiming that Trump would regret the next 4 years? WTH were they during the campaign? Always a day late and a dollar short. Well, HRC was my Senator when I lived in NY and I'll just say there is a reason why she won NY over Trump who is a NYer by birth. When she first announced her bid to run for Senate, many people were skeptical. Many in upstate areas referred to her derisively as a 'carpetbagger'. Words that were often used during her presidential run like "arrogant" were used to describe her even back then, until Hillary started canvassing the state on a "Listening Tour" going to rural, suburban, exurban as well as NYC. She eventually won many skeptical upstaters over and impressed cynical city dwellers alike. Similarly, her debate skills (although a bit less refined) encompassed her getting her point across, while allowing her Republican opponent Rick Lazio (a whole lot more photogenic than Trump) trip over his own words. When she won the Senate seat, people again assumed things about her-- that she was going to be utterly combative with Republicans, instead she was known to "put her head down and go to work" with colleagues on passing actual common-sense legislation. It amazes me though that those old stereotypes and assumptions came back to haunt her in her Presidential bids. The first time, you could understand it- she faced a highly charismatic, once in a lifetime type candidate but this time she was clearly the better prospect but many voters preferred a compulsive liar with tons of conflicts of interests and likely, hidden/dark, links to white supremacists, a history of discrimination, lawsuits everywhere he goes and connections to crooks to that woman.

So there is a deeper investigation than what was initially hinted at--specifically regarding the possibility of money having changed hands between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump

I guess he and Ryan Harrison will now have time to be seat fillers at the inauguration on Friday.

Didn't John Isner lose too? I wasn't awake to see the match but I saw that he lost, I think, in 5 sets.

A NYT review of Embeds a webseries starring Max Ehrich. What 'Embeds' Gets Right and Wrong

After watching that news conference, I had a lump in my throat and a feeling in the pit of my stomach. On one hand, I feel relief that Obama made it through the Presidency with a highly respectable list of achievements and that he will not be subjected to hateful ire from various corners of the country (and world). Many people have prayed for the safety of him and his family because we know all too well the hate that is out there. That anxious feeling that I sometimes have can have some time to subside thankfully. On the other hand, Quo Vadis, America? So much uncertainy right now. Had the country been handed over to and administration that seemed competent, perhaps I would feel better about what is to come post inauguration day. I guess we'll have to look to the people who lived through the Nixon years for some advice on how to cope. ETA. Some people on Twitter are complaining that Trump's twitter account is running ads on their Twitter feed about the free inauguration tickets. These people are definitely NOT Trump supporters and are pretty irritated that this is popping up on their timelines. I haven't seen it myself but I know at least 2 people who did. They both think it's pathetic and weird.

Well, other tennis fans, not me, calculated that conception definitely occurred before they got married and yeah, I heard the words shotgun wedding being bandied about but I make no judgements on that. Maybe they truly believe they're in love, who knows? I still think that's so young to get married. I've come to understand that Taylor's family is wealthy so they may not place a high premium on education. Some families, especially when the wealth is inherited, don't place much value on higher education when it's assumed that the kids will go into the family business. In my family, had I tried to tell my family that I wasn't going to college, I probably would have returnws home to find my bags packed.

Horrifying.

So DeVos is non-committal on whether she would commit to preserving public education funding and said she would not stand up for students with disabilities. SMH. What a disastrous pick for anyone who has a child in public education or has special needs.

Blind item coming through...!

Don't put yourself down, everyone finds her/his own way at her/his own pace. When you feel renewed and ready, you'll be up to the new challenges. You shouldn't think less of yourself...I certainly don't. As much as I know I consume news (more than the average person perhaps), I know that sometimes I read as quickly to get through it because some of these proposed changes are just stomach churning. A few times it's been 'one and done' reading the newspaper because I have to try to preserve my spirit. We all do what we must. We're human and we're facing something unprecedented (not unpresidented).

The shade, LOL.

That douche always wants to make a story about him. He needs to sod off. This won't get anywhere but one of Trump's sexual assault accusers is suing for defamation. Sex assault accuser Summer Zervos sues ‘liar and misogynist’ Donald Trump for defamation I've never heard of PEOTUS who is days away from taking the oath of office with being involoved in so many lawsuits. And still hasn't shown his taxes! How utterly disgraceful.

I guess she feels she has nothing to lose since she already got dragged for her flop-tastic performance as Nina Simone. In fact, another movie she was in flopped over the weekend. In fact, most of her movies outside of Star Trek tend to flop, she should probably do something about that. After all, she's no Meryl Streep.

Without hack-proof software, I don't see that being available in every state. Especially after the shenanigans in this election.

True, but sadly, midterm election numbers tend to dip among almost all groups, with except of senior citizens. If they would make Election Day a holiday, perhaps they would have larger numbers showing up more consistently. There are people whose polling places are too far removed from them and there are people who must be at work before polls open and cannot get time away to go vote. If the polls are still open after work, the prospect of waiting on a long line may not appeal to someone who is already tired from a 10 hour shift. Despite the attention to early voting states, most places only have one designated day to vote and it is on a weekday.