DramatistDreamer

Very interesting article by Kurt Eichenwald talking about how one of his articles was twisted by Russian propandist media and eventually cited by Trump (he also cited the wrong source) to try to keep the Benghazi controversy alive. Eichenwald also explores motives for why Russia would want to put out misinformation and why Trump would be using falsified information from a Russian proganda media arm. DEAR DONALD TRUMP AND VLADIMIR PUTIN, I AM NOT SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL

A highly noteworthy article asking why there is virtually no in-depth exploration of Hillary's supporters. Efforts to explain Donald Trump’s base have left Hillary Clinton supporters on the back burner

Someone GIFed Al Roker's expression when the Today Show announced Billy Bush's suspension. It looks like "I Told You So" face for sure.

@JaneAusten, I heard the same exact thing being discussed on a morning newsmagazine show earlier today. The concensus is that HRC also won last night's debate- some polls giving her a wide margin, others a narrower one. Trump's 2005 comments on women have done some damage, also his apparent lack of contrition did not come across well to women, in particular, but many men also found the comments to be distasteful. A few athletes actually took to social media to criticize Trump's use of the phrase 'locker room' talk, as an excuse. They argued that this type of talk was outside the main of what is considered normal behavior and would only considered acceptable by sexual predators etc. I sometimes livestream news broadcasts from different parts of the world and clicked on one from Japan and one of the first things discussed was Trump's "lewd" remarks about women. Yesterday, the BBC also used the word "lewd" referring to Trump's words. This is the image that the U.S. is now projecting around the world.

The #MuslimReportStuff memes are flowing on Twitter and so are comments on this video:

Trump back to rambling. Many are talking about his stalking of Clinton onstage, standing too close to her. I'm hearing words like menacing being used. Women won't like this.

Billy Bush Suspended From “Today” Show After “Lewd Comments” With Trump and there's this: Trump, companies accused of mistreating women in at least 20 lawsuits

Grigor didn't beat Murray. He needed to hold serve and attack Murray's 2nd serve (Murray's service stats today were dreadful yet Dimitrov still failed to capitalize) but Grigor could do neither today. Lost serve, broke Murray to get to a Tiebreak (which was promising) but when it matter most, lost serve in the tiebreak.

One would've thought that the David Duke set, the white supremacists and the neo-Nazis would've been enough to turn this group of but I guess this is what it took. Sigh. The GOP’s Jewish Donors Are Abandoning Trump

It really is like rats fleeing a sinking ship but my guess self-preservation and trying to curb the contagion down the ballot is priority for Republicans right now. I wonder whether there were any last minute changes made in regards to tonight's debate? It's town hall style right? Am I to assume all the questions have been culled by now or will there be a few more questions reflecting recent events? As I've said before, I only really look at polls once the debates have taken place, so I'll be keeping an eye out for what happens tonight as well as the aftermath.

I just think it's odd and off-putting that this story was the only one that convinced certain corners of the GOP that Trump should step down. Not the dozens of other horrendous things he has said, not his terrible comments about Mexicans, the disabled, Blacks, veterans, etc. Most likely the image was of White women because it's obvious that other groups were not going to engender any decisive denunciations.

So between Tic Tac denouncing Trump's statements only weeks after Skittles denounced his son's statements, I wonder which candy will be part of some offensive and ugly Trump statement or analogy?

Regardless of whether anyone would admit, they all got used to Federer absorbing the spotlight and the pressure. He was the face of tennis and as much as Djokovic seemed to complain, now that Roger is not around, he suddenly wants to shrink away. Hmph. Stan seemed like he was just fine with Roger being away but not longterm and he doesn't seem to like being the #1 Swiss maybe because there is now a bit too much hometown attention (particularly the press) on him. Yes, Grigor seems to be enjoying his tennis again (by the way, he and Nicole still appear to be an item) and he even managed to get in a mild zinger about his ex Maria too then followed it up by a diplomatic comment to soften his remarks.

Yeah, he may very well feel uninspired, there's no Roger to beat up on. Perhaps I'm being petty but I'm believing that talk that marital discord has taken a toll. Time for one of these other Top 10ers to step up and take full advantage. Men's Tennis could do with that change.

This story is snowballing faster than an avalance in the Alps. Make-up artist who sued Donald Trump in 1997 harassment case says ‘p---y’ grabbing is ‘exactly what he did to me’

Just saw some of this footage and all I can say is, although I am not surprised, I am totally repulsed.

Pence's "That Mexican Thing" comment is coming back to haunt him. Internet explodes after Mike Pence tells Tim Kaine he 'whipped out that Mexican thing again' This is an anti-endorsement, if ever I've seen one.

Bill as a SCOTUS would probably not fly since it was well known that he skipped a lot of his law school classes at Yale Law school to attend political meetings and rallies. The public service and the political will always be Bill's bread and butter. Both HRC and Obama seem more suited to the SCOTUS, HRC being far more engaged in policy, down to the minute details and Obama very engaged in the Constitution and its everyday application. Also, I couldn't imagine Bill being sequestered as the SCOTUS often is, he likes to engage with the people, "press the flesh", so to speak.

As for the debate, I haven't seen it yet but I really wish people would stop complaining that something that actually addresses issues is "boring." Politics is not a reality show and thinking of it as such is part of the reason we're in this insane position. Agreed. The last time a VP debate was Must-See-TV, we had this hot mess: I'm fine with a ho-hum debate. I thought the Joe Biden, Paul Ryan debate had a mix of actual substantive issues but of course, Joe Biden can't help but be fairly entertaining at times. I erased the Palin/Biden debate from my memory. It wasn't substantive. Joe was too busy trying to be a gentleman and held back and Sarah Palin was too busy winking or whatever she was doing. Given Palin's disastrous interview with Katie Couric, I had very low expectations, not so with this debate since neither Kaine nor Pence could ever be considered as new to the Beltway. For me, Kaine and Pence didn't offer anything substantive but that's simply my opinion. I will say this, I saw a lot of reports wondering whether Kaine was 'born to be mild' or whether he could be the 'attack dog' some in the press claimed he needed to be (I disagree with them, Hillary doesn't need an attack dog). Kaine showed that he has no problem going on the offensive so maybe the jokes about him being someone's doting, overeager stepdad should stop now. I'm guessing Conservatives felt relieve because Pence should them that there was at least one sane person on the Republican ticket. One so-called undecided voter (are there really any undecided voters at this point??) pointed out that although he appeared stable, Pence is not the one running for President though. At this point, I'm not sure if any moderator can keep the debate flowing on an even keel. Maybe the ones that have been selected this time around are too close to MSM, that already have their narratives that they want to continue. Maybe choosing a journalist that is not connected to the American MSM? Are there any U.S./American journalists at the BBC or CBC? Someone from the U.S. who is well versed in U.S. politics but not too intimate with all the news outlets here?

No problem @marceline, I didn't mean to come off as cavalier but I guess early in the morning, my initial post may have come off dismissive, which was not my intent. Having sat up and watched this debate, I was hoping that there would be more probing questions and responses. I think I have to just accept the fact that we're at this point in our politics where debates will resemble verbal jousting or one candidate constantly making funny faces while the other person speaks. The last couple of President election cycles, it seemed as if the conversations and topics were so much more substantive, now 'looking President' seems to have taken on more importance than actually answering questions about policy. I definitely feel your frustration. I know that the MSM definitely has a large role in framing the context and circumstances in which these debates are taking place but I also wonder what the general public's role is in all this- in terms of the tone? In other political news, Governor of NY Andrew Cuomo is now being tangentially implicated in the Bridgegate Scandal. Cuomo ordered halt to Bridgegate probe after talks with Christie, former Port Authority executive says One of Christie's former aides had already accused Christie of knowing about the bridge closing, albeit after the fact and doing nothing about it. Between this and the possibility of a gas hike in NJ, I think Christie is done once his term is up.

When I mean boring, I mean this debate was in no way illuminating. It didn't offer any new insights that we hadn't already grasped from the Presidential debate. I'm not looking for gaffes or 'gotcha' moments, nor am I looking for sniping. What I was looking for, this debate simply did not offer and that was new insight into either the Presidential candidates themselves from their running mates (which, at this point was going to be near impossible, given the saturation of think pieces) or some new insight on the VP candidates on their actual take on policy- this debate offered none of that. For example, no one asked about the water contamination in many of our American cities. Pence has a soil contamination issue unfolding in Indiana and that wasn't asked. In fact, no one asks about the lower income people of this country in any of these debates thus far. I heard some people complaining that there was no word on LGBTQ issues. This is my opinion but this debate was barren of insight. I didn't see it addressing any issues, just VPs parroting their running mates views, and in Pence's case, dodging them.

A milquetoast debate at best where it whiny and lying versus overly-aggressive. Winners in this debate?! Boredom and redundancy won the night. I highly doubt that either VP candidate moved the needle for their running mate.

So apparently Trump fans were pissed that they stayed up to 3am for nothing? LOL. Really, this is their biggest concern? That they were pinning hopes on an egotistical media whore who has long lost any credibility he once had and not the socio-path they're supporting? M'kay.

Paul Krugman wrote an Op-Ed reminding people to not let people like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell off the hook when they try to get amnesia about their excuse-making and complicity in regard to Trump. Ryan at best, has offered light reprimands in response to some of Trump's worst remarks The New Yorker had an article that stated that although Trump's tax returns clearly show what a bad businessman he is, it is a reminder of what a great con man he is.

I just saw this on You Tube and came here to see whether anyone had placed this video in the thread and it was already done. Did anyone else's ears perk up when the narrator mentioned 10 million viewers??! Oh how times have changed. It also dawned on me that back then, very few, if any of the soap opera master headwriters were even based in L.A./Burbank, most wrote far away from 'Television City'.