DramatistDreamer

Last night I was watching my local/regional news broadcast and they played clips from a Trump speech (presumably the one where he stands where loads up garbage serve as his backdrop, how apropos!) and Trump boasted that he was going to bring in millions of manufacturing jobs. Excuse me but millions??! Not hundreds, or thousands or even tens of thousands but millions? Why is there no fact-checking the way that other candidates have had their claims fact-checked? I swear, one of the news anchors could barely suppress a sigh and an eye-roll. Seriously though, are the media going to leave it to only print news media and bloggers to challenge each outrageous claim that Trump makes as well as his casual use of careless language and throwaway remarks? What a sad state!

Great anecdote @DRW50 and yes she does have great taste as this was definitely one of the very last good eras that the show had. The nice thing is that a lot of the cast recognized her too. It still grates at how underappreciated ATWT was compared to a number of its peers. Kathryn Hays should already have a Lifetime Emmy to make up for all the times she was overlooked and Colleen Zenk in her heyday could go toe to toe with Erica Kane in the badass department, especially in the mid 80s-early 90s. Not to mentioned Elizabeth Hubbard never winning for her role as Lucinda Walsh.

Why doesn't he go make himself useful. I'm sure he can find a place at the Carter Center... I CANNOT STAND George Will. I can't stress that enough. I don't know what it means that he's left the stinking carcass that is the Republican party. I suppose he'll try to infiltrate some Tea Party chapter somewhere. As I watched the Leave campaign votes gain a considerable lead earlier in the week, I knew that Cameron's days left as Prime Minister were few. He called the referendum to try to quelch a schism that was within squabbling factions of his Conservative party. He didn't need to call this referendum, he chose to gamble and he lost. Knowing what I know about about British politics and how it's Parliamentary system, I felt there was no way he'd be able to stay on.

Crossovers would've been effective in the 80s, even the early 90s when both GL and Y&R were must watch but ironically neither show's producers would've wanted to do this feeling that it would've disrupted their stories and they didn't need it anyway. The crossover between ATWT and Y&R was pointless and ridiculous and it was clear that it was done out of necessity, at least where ATWT was concerned. I know people thought CLB returning to ATWT as Michael Baldwin was cute but I thought this was equally pointless and ridiculous. They should've just allowed him to briefly reprise his Kurt McColl character, the way Eileen Davidson was allowed to reprise her role of Ashley Abbott even when she was still contracted to Days.

There is definitely still hostility to people from the former British colonies but it is a lot harder to kick out actual British citizens and legal residents. And yep, I'm not sure how people were convinced that these EU immigrants were stealing jobs when it has been proven that many British weren't going for these jobs due to their low wages. Yes, some rich Russian oligarchs and wealthy Saudis were driving up the price of real estate in London to rates that were basically unaffordable to middle class and working class people but the funny thing is that these wealthy people barely live in these apartments, they pretty much use these properties as investments and another way to shield their money from their native countries, the same thing happens in cities like New York. Brexit won't fix that. Already promises have been broken by the Leave Campaign. Nigel Farage was forced to admit that the money that will supposedly be saved as a result of not going to the EU-there is no guarantee that it will go the National Health Service, which was one of the primary reasons stated by people voting to Leave. No surprise there is also a petition calling for a 2nd EU referendum. There are over 2 million signatures: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36629324

The immigrants of which the U.K. speaks consists of immigrants from countries like Poland, Romania that tend to have lower wages and perceived limited opportunity even Spain, Italy and Greece where the economies are struggling and people tend to leave just to find work. The jobs in cafes and as servers in restaurants are the jobs where you're likely to find immigrants from other European countries. Those are considered low-wage by most British residents and citizens but for a person coming from Greece or Romania where jobs may be scarce, or in Poland where wages are lower, then these jobs are a step up. Then add in the hysteria about refugees coming from Syria and Iraq (even though the majority of refugees have expressed a clear desire to go to Germany and some have gone to Nordic countries like Denmark, Norway and Sweden that tend to have more generous social-welfare programs). This is what they mean by immigrants- they are from other European countries. As for immigrants and 2nd/3rd generation from those former British colonies, a surprising number voted in favor of Leave- I admit, I was surprised when I heard this as I am from an immigrant family from one of those former British colonies. Here is one example.

And now the stories of Brexit remorse come flooding in: If you think this person is the only one, you'd be very wrong. And now the EU wants GB to basically pack up their [!@#$%^&*] and put everything in a box to the left as they want the U.K. exit done like yesterday now.

In terms of Brexit, please remember that the vote was split along age and education factors. The older tended to vote to Leave, while the younger voted to Remain. The higher educated tended to vote to Remain, those with less formal education voted to Leave Don't compare it to our Presidential elections, it's more akin to what happens in our Congressional elections where the older voters tend to hold sway as they show up in droves, more than younger people who tend to offer a more reliable turnout in Presidential but not Congressional elections. The shock ascendancy of the Republicans takeover of the House in 2010 and then in 2014 tipping the balance in the Senate is a more apt example to compare to Brexit. Except in Brexit, the turnout was pretty good for the younger population but not enough to hold sway over the older voters. Yes, the Leave campaign appealed to many xenophobes but I agree with @DRW50, that it was not just about anti-immigration, it was about fear of not having enough say vs. Brussels and Germany and it was about not trusting Cameron's words as he also represents the damaging effects of austerity, that he championed so thoroughly. Scotland is reconsidering their place with Great Britain as we speak. Part of the decision to stay with Great Britain was built on GB promoting their ties to the EU and the stability it offered for Scots. With that being stripped away, I think the Scottish have good cause to have a 2nd look at that referendum and whether it holds water. Scottish representatives and MPs are already contending that Scotland's future is with the EU. I think there will be a lot of unintended consequences as a result of this referendum that Cameron didn't truly need to call (it was a purely political gamble, which he lost), hence the resignation.

Wonder what the Berniebros and #NeverHillary sect will think of this? Uh, was that a low-key endorsement? Actually on CBS this morning, Bernie double-talked his way out of formally endorsing HRC, though he claims the two camps are in dialogue. Whatevs.

David Cameron's position has to be in peril now. He's the one who called for this referendum in the first place to try to silence the more Euro-skeptical wing of his party. He took a gamble, it did not pay off. The reality is that this divide has been building for years. Many Brits have been convinced (with lots of erroneous information courtesy of tabloids like the Sun) over decades that they are carrying most of the financial load for the EU. They felt that Brussels and Germany wielded too much power over decision-making, then again many of the countries in the EU also feel that Brussels and Germany wield too much influence over decision-making for the bloc. Add in the xenophia, blaming immigrants for taking jobs in sandwich shops and servers in restaurants (low wage jobs that Brits generally do not like) and you appeal to many different aspects of the disaffected. Now Britain, like the U.S. should be looking at why wages are stagnant and so low, rather than raising the wage to appeal to the average Brit. Nevermind the fact that the Leave campaign never gave any specifics on how they plan to regulate immigration. Boris Johnson is a boor of an individual but Cameron is not well liked either. His austerity measures, which are generally regarded as a failure, caused a lot of disenchantment, disillusionment and even pain in some segments of the population. Cameron, who represents a certain elitist symbol, who is seen as removed from the struggles of everyday British citizens was definitely not a good spokesman for the Remain campaign. I've already heard that Scotland (who overwhelmingly voted to Remain) is re-examining its referendum to stay with Great Britain. Sinn Fein is already proposing the possibility of a reunified Ireland (N. Ireland had also mostly voted to Remain). Japan has stopped trading due to the financial chaos that has ensued. Uncertain times, to say the least.

Dani Vallverdu is now working with Juan Martín del Potro. That could be a good fit. @Soapsuds, I thought you might like to see this:

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) leads a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives to protest lack of action on voting re: the gun reform bills. Rep. John Lewis Stages Sit-In to Demand Gun Control Vote Since cameras were shut off early on during the sit-in, someone is using Periscope and it's being streamed on C-SPAN. House Democrats on Gun Legislation Protest

A slightly more detailed look into Trump's cash-strapped campaign. Donald Trump Starts Summer Push With Crippling Money Deficit

So Trump has spent $0 on ads since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee? http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-trailguide-clinton-outspending-trump-23-million-1466369566-htmlstory.html

You may not like this @Soapsuds, but Thiem is already in Mallorca, playing in an exhibition. Personally, I think he should be resting but I think that exo money can be hard to resist. Hopefully Thiem doesn't head down that Primrose Pliskova path of overplaying.

Mary Carillo is saying what everybody's already thinking. Why TC allows Gimelstob to comment on Isner matches is beyond me, I know he no longer coaches but maybe give him a cooling off period- then again, I don't expect TC to do what it has never done when he was Isner's coach, which would've been to avoid conflicts of interest, something tennis revels in. Both CoCo and Thiem lost. I was actually looking forward to seeing Thiem vs. Zverev. I was equally looking forward to Keys vs. CoCo.

I read that most networks cut away about 15 minutes in, when they realized it wasn't a concession speech. At this point, I do think it's going to take Sanders some time to pull away entirely from the notion of Presidential politics, it's just a shame that he's unable to make the transition away in a timely manner, as it makes him look as if what strength and momentum he had, is going to have to be forcibly removed from his grasp, and that's currently what is happening. Exhibit A is Raúl Grijalva, who was one of Sanders' most ardent supporters, pulling away and publicly endorsing Clinton. Some article/op-ed that I read surmised that Sanders' ability to set an agenda for the party is losing steam because of his insistence to pretend as if he didn't get 3 million votes less than HRC and that had he conceded in a dignified manner already, he would've had more of a basis to help set the overall agenda but not at this point as he desperately clings. I'm not ready to say that he no longer has any influence, I think he still has some, but I do believe that it becomes more possible with each passing day. My thoughts go out to the children, husband and loved ones of Jo Cox. I hope that Britain resists the vortex of fear, antipathy and enmity that it seems to be tangling with, not just in terms of the Leave/Remain but the issues that surround it. Come to think of it, I hope the same for America (North, South, Central, etc).

Unfortunately, many right-wingers in Europe have latched themselves onto the Brexit vs. Remain divide on the side of Brexit. These right wingers have been around for years spewing anti-immigrant vitriol and parties like UKIP had been rebuffed by voters in the U.K. but found new life with this latest campaign. I was just reading how many death threats many female MPs get by e-mail and social media only to be told that they are overreacting to what are usually online threats. This is tragic event illustrates why threats need to be considered with caution and not dismissed. Today, I just kept thinking about the threats to female politicians worldwide and that, in the U.S., how fortunate Gabby Giffords is to be alive after what happened to her. I dislike how this tragedy is being used by people claiming that gun control doesn't work. Nobody said that it would prevent every single gun death but does that mean that we shouldn't even try? Even taking down gun deaths by a small percentage makes the effort worth it. Do we really want to be comparing gun deaths in the U.K. to the U.S.? There's no comparison, the carnage in the U.S. far outweighs all other industrialized countries. As for Bernie, he's already missed so many Senate votes and meetings that I have very low expectations of him. The truth that his fans/supporters must acknowledge is that Bernie has always been about Vermont issues first and only Vermont, even if it affects neighboring states like Newtown, CT, Bernie doesn't care because it doesn't affect Vermont. My problem with Bernie's presidential politics is that he mistakenly believed that what was good for Vermont was automatically good for the rest of the country and shame on anybody else for not agreeing with this. I was not surprised that he was a no-show. He only participates with the Democrats when it serves his purpose.

Senate Democrats are holding a fillibuster over gun control reform LIVE: http://livestream.com/accounts/300260/events/4963928

I have to come clean and admit, I'm not really a fan of Aga, period. I think she was playing well enough (and a lot) when others were injured and/or stagnant in their games (or in the case of other players, inconsistent). I'm not even sure how she keeps getting the WTA fan favorite vote year after year. CoCo has been very confident lately and she just won a tournament in the Netherlands on grass. I only saw a few points of her match vs. Aga here and there but it seems like she really exposed Aga's weaknesses and her lack of power, also it was Aga's first tournament back so it was the worst of all possible of scenarios to face someone like CoCo with a big serve and brimming with confidence. Sometimes Aga is able to frustrate opponents simply by getting as many balls back as possible and slicing her opponents to death but CoCo wasn't having any of it! CoCo played with aggression, not allowing Aga to play her usual cat and mouse game.

Serena doesn't need her serve to be as good or better than John's serve- she's successful at what she does in her field, John is not. I would actually posit that Karlovic is a better mover than Isner, especially laterally- they both have pretty poor return games though. I only saw a few minutes of Kei's match yesterday and most of it was him with the trainer so I'm not surprised. In fact, I'm surprised when Kei can get through the latter stages of a tournament healthy! Yes, I heard Thiem won again, is this is 30-something victory in a row? He has transitioned to grace very nicely. I've heard people expressing that their only concern is that he might play too much a la Pliskova and be too weary when the big tournaments come but he did very well at the French and he seems healthy. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Belinda Bencic seems retired from her match today, it looks like she may still be having back issues. She's so young to be having these types of problems. I admit, it's kinda mean but I laughed when I saw this

Interesting Op-Ed piece which likens Bernie's version of progressive politics to the Windows 95 version and says that Elizabeth Warren is a progressive much more in keeping with the current times: Sanders, the Windows 95 of Progressive Politics? I've thought this for quite some time, while also believing that he has had moments of delusion where he thought/hoped he could actually handle the job. The more crazy he sounds the more his rabid base of supporters propel him forward. Maybe some of his rabid base secretly wish to destroy the current GOP, thinking they can re-make it in their own hateful image or perhaps people who are angry with/betrayed by the GOP and want to hit the party where it would really hurt? I can't decipher such warped thinking but as long as Trump shuffles back to his penthouse and stays far from the White House, I admit, I don't really care.

I'm not surprised that Verdasco won either, but it's funny that it comes on the heels of Stan hiring Richard Krajicek to help him on grass. I guess Richard can't work miracles. Milos also hired John McEnroe to help his grass court game. It may be too soon to see any results but he struggled against Kyrgios in his match today. The match was suspended due to darkness with he and Nick splitting sets. Muguruza (last year's Wimbledon finalist) lost her first round match at the inaugural Mallorca Open, a grass court tournament on her home soil of Spain. I have a feeling that she may pull an Angie Kerber and disappear (results wise) for several weeks after winning her maiden major title at the French.

I remember when Murray, after a win, wrote on the camera lens "Marriage Works" well some have been looking at Berdych and joking that "Marriage Doesn't Work" for everybody. Speaking of marriages that don't work, apparently there are reports that Feliciano Lopez's marriage is coming to an end slightly less than a year after he tied the knot. I'm not sure what to say about this. Grigor may be losing every match in town but I saw recently new pictures of him and Nicole Scherzinger wrapped around each other so perhaps his heart is still elsewhere? I saw a few clips of Baghdatis vs. Berdych and Marcos is looking very trim! It would be nice if he could keep his current state of fitness. I'd sooner believe in the possibility of Berdych losing to Baghdatis than of Dimitrov losing to Janko Tipsarevic! For what it's worth, Stan lost too, to Fernando Verdasco-- make of that what you will!

So, apparently this has been happening on Twitter