Juliajms

Yeah, whatever. He was cute as can be playing peek a boo with his little nephew. I think he's just a shy kid and I very much doubt he has autism, but even if he does that's for the professionals to deal with, not arm chair diagnosticians like Rosie O'Donald.

It amazes me that people still have this kind of trust in the system. In a way, it's sort of comforting, but I could never trust the police in that way.

A lot of people would take W back because he wasn't a mean spirited bully. He did a huge amount of damage to the people and especially children of the middle east though. Something close to half a million children are dead due to our wars over there. Trump says "they hate us", well some of them do and not without damn good reason. So while stupid never feels as dangerous as pure evil, sometimes it is. In fact that's how I feel about a lot of the people that got Trump elected.

I think that's exactly what it's like. I certainly agree that Michelle was never going to win with some people. Her looks were torn apart in ways that were just shameful. The racism and misogyny was rampant.

A month's mortgage! Seems like it had to cost a lot more than that. If not, she got a hell of a bargain and I won't argue with the cost. There are so many things we can drag Trump for, but I don't think he's ever given the impression that he's anything other than a billionaire and that he glories in a gilded lifestyle (literally! Check out the changes to the oval office).

Meanwhile he would have been the most famous person to preform.

Same here. I hope you enjoy your day at the movies.

I don't think there is anything wrong with gallows humor. I've had at least one uncontrollable laughing fit since Trump was elected. People cope in different ways. I know it's hard. I'm going to hide in fiction until Monday.

Hillary got on board with free tuition though. It wasn't an idea I was sure could work, but she went with it. The same with a $15 minimum wage, when she originally wanted $12. I'm not sure how many Bernie supporters really refused to vote for Hillary, but for the ones who did, I just don't understand the thinking. Well, except for the Bernie Bros. I understand that thinking all too well.

Same here, but then I remind myself that there are a lot of uneducated people in this country. It's easy to forget that once everyone you know has a college degree (I'm talking about myself here, not you). Then I think back to the people I grew up with and it all makes sense again. Not only are some of these people tragically uneducated, but there are a lot of people who simply aren't that smart. Half the population has an IQ under 100. Add that to the fact that many of them are struggling to put food on the table and it's no wonder they have no idea what's going on.

^ I hear you on the leadership front. So many of our politicians want kids in Christian schools being taught a specific dogma, which makes me sick. I think people have the right to send their kids to those schools if they want to, but it's not the job of the public to fund it. Also, to change some of the problems in the public school system you have to tackle the problems some of these kids have at home. If they don't have a stable home life,enough food to eat, healthcare and parental support, how can you expect good performance? The government could do a lot more to help at risk kids, but the Republicans will be blocking that for the foreseeable future.

That sounds good, but changing the public school system enough to equal a good private education doesn't seem very realistic to me. In some places it's all teachers can do to maintain order in the classroom, never mind teach to high standards. I don't in any way agree with vouchers or any public money going to private education, but I don't think there is a lot parents can do take make bad school systems good (better, maybe in some cases). I'm not saying all public schools are bad either, it very much depends on where you live. Either way change takes a lot of time, effort and money and you can't force elected officials to prioritize something they don't.

Working the system and doing what you have to do to survive. There are going to be a lot of people who have no choice but to do the same, including cancer and transplant patients.

That's not cheating the system. How many times has the orange menace declared bankruptcy?

I really don't know much about what she actually leaked, so I can't say what I think of this. I feel the same about Snowden. When the chips are down I don't really know if I think what he did was wrong because I haven't looked into it deeply enough.

For sure, because none of us know when we are going to come down with a catastrophic or chronic illness. I guess all we can do is hope that people will get fed up and vote differently next time.

Healthcare is going to spiral out of control, no doubt. People who are healthy will go to plans that have high deductibles. Young people without families will go back to not buying insurance, which leads to high premiums as the healthy bow out of the system until they need emergency care. There will be a lot less of the kind of preventative care that cuts healthcare costs overall. I'm really sad for the poor and the chronically ill.

I think that's true and what kills me is that at least two of the other extreme candidates were Latino. I think that Trump did a great job at "racial priming". Something I didn't even know existed until this election, but from my perspective it's all a big con. People who are already adults will always have white privilege to some extent. The education you received, the career you have are already a part of that. It won't change in the lifetime of these older people who are so worried about it. Before long a lot of them will be on social security and even Paul Ryan won't screw with it for those close to retirement (probably). So many of these manufacturing jobs that were lost would have benefited Latinos more going forward, just by the nature of demographics. It's a shame that it's not going to work out that way, but I agree it's never coming back. As other people have mentioned automation is going to screw a lot of people going forward. I feel bad for all the kids out there who just aren't academically inclined. There are going to be a lot of people stuck in low level service jobs, until those go away too, I suppose. For kids coming up they will be socialized under a new reality. It's going to be the only thing they know. All I hope for my own children is a meritocracy where everyone gets a chance to develop their ability. Yes, that's still a far off ideal, but I hope to see us get closer to that once these dark years are over.

I do think it's possible some of Trump's supporters will turn on him once things get bad enough. His approval ratings are already disastrously low. We're going to pay a terrible price for it, but I do think his election is waking people up (including myself).

Yeah, but I think there is reason to fear who will replace him. Israel's left is in more disarray then ours is. And I do find I somewhat ironic that Democrats are supporting Palestine. Try being gay or a woman in Gaza. Try stepping out of line and you'll find yourself being dragged to death behind a motorcycle or hung. I do agree that occupations are always going to be a stain on the occupying force. Humans who have absolute power over others always abuse it, but a "free Palestine" is going to be a hell hole too. Also, anyone who thinks the terrorism will end is dreaming. Still, I'm rooting for a two state solution to happen as soon as possible. Let the chips fall where they may. I guess that's easy to say when you don't live there though.

Ugh. We're going to have to get used to watching our country go backwards for at least four years.

^ I actually think the way Ivanka talks about her relationship with her father is incredibly sad. She actually brags about the fact that he always took her calls when she was a little girl, as if that's something special. No sense that he was the who had the responsibility to keep in touch with her. The whole family basically says that she is the favorite because she was the one who made the effort to keep the relationship going when she was a child. Baron always looks like such a sad little boy. All of this must be a nightmare for him. At least Melania seems like a good mother.

President Obama giving Joe Biden the Presidential medal of Freedom.

You aren't. Everyone needs to see the real life effect this has on individuals.

Like Jane says, there is some hope that Ohio will create it's own exchange. I'll be rooting for that to happen.