Juliajms

Obama's revenge tour. This article makes me happy. I hope he manages to take a few of them down. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/barack-obama-revenge-tour-darrell-issa

The ratings were really good with around 17 million viewers. http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/25/media/walking-dead-ratings-amc-season-seven/index.html Like some other people in the thread I'd like the show to come up with some kind of end game, even if it takes them a few years to get there. At this rate I don't think AMC has any reason to do that though. I imagine keeping production costs down isn't that hard when the cast changes so much.

Yeah, that was a rough one. It kind of felt like watching an hour of torture porn. I'm optimistic this will be a good season in the long run though.

Here's an interesting article on the dangers of a candidate claiming electoral fraud. All I can say is thank god this national nightmare is almost over and our institutions are too strong to be overcome by a wannabe dictator. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/world/americas/donald-trump-rigged-election.html?_r=1

I don't discount what Bernie said but frankly he also acted as if he were entitled to that support which was a bit hypocritical considering he only became a democrat to run for president. If his ideals were so pristine, why not run as an independent, which is what he is. My biggest issue with Sanders was how he discounted huge segments of the democratic base. He called blacks low information voters and really did nothing to appeal to many of the core constituencies of the party, pandering to the white leftist idealists. I'm not discounting his appeal or movement, it's important, and he and his supporters should be proud they got the platform changed. But there are some who will never be placated. And it's those same people who only come out to vote once every 4 years and do absolutely nothing to help or support candidates in midterms when it matters just as much. And then complain when Obama couldn't do what they wanted. I'm not disagreeing with the bulk of what you've said here. All I'm saying is I think questioning the fairness and nature of the party system is a world apart from someone saying that they will win the vote, but the election will be stolen from them. Honest people can disagree about the fairness of the party system. Claiming that the actual election is a rigged event without the slightest evidence (in fact all evidence is to the contrary) is a whole other matter. One thing this election has done is made me realize maybe the establishment isn't always so bad. Do I think having power concentrated in the hands of the few is great, nope. But when that broke down on the Republican side we got a Trump. I shudder to think what would have happened if he had been just a bit more savvy.

One thing Bernie's campaign really opened my eyes to was the toxic strain of white and male privilege running through the left. The horrible gendered attacks on Clinton. The harassment of John Lewis. The Susan Sarandons and their blithe willingness to throw our most vulnerable under the bus just because Bernie lost. It's funny to see some of those people criticize Trump for claiming the process is rigged when Sanders did the same damn thing. I don't agree. Trump is saying there is mass voter fraud and the election is being stolen from him. Bernie was saying the process by which people are chosen as the nominee is rigged. Two totally different issues, imo. The type of rigging that Bernie is talking about is backroom politics, something most people hold their nose and accept as part of the political machine. It seems pretty self evident that back room deals are made to decide who gets the most party support. It's unfortunate, but it doesn't completely undermine the notion of democracy. What Trump is talking about makes us sound like a banana republic and it's incredibly dangerous. Bernie never denied that HRC won by a legitimate vote of the people.

I read an article about blue collar white women turning on Trump. We'll see if it's true, but I wouldn't be that surprised. These are women who are sexually harassed without the option to just "get another job", as one of the Trump boys thought Ivanka would do.

Garland may not be my preferred choice but if the dems take over the senate, I want him to be allowed to serve. I think it would be tacky to pull back his nomination. Would they be pulling back his nomination or does it expire at the end of the term? Some Republicans seem desperate to confirm him in a lame duck session, so it seems like they think it's their last chance, but I don't know how the process works. Probably 20 years ago I would have thought HRC should keep Obama's nomination or renominate him, but not any more, especially not after Trump. Now I think she should shove someone more liberal right down their throats if she can.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/650e7508-9634-36b1-9d6b-fb0bf7f5e581/ss_ayotte-down-8-points-in.html Looks like Ayotte will lose. I wonder if the Dems really could win the Senate? I'm also loving that the Republicans are too disarrayed to vote Garland in while they have the chance.

An article on how children are picking up on the racist rhetoric in this campaign. Ugh. There's a special place in hell for people who infect children with this ***t. http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/10/20/13319366/donald-trump-racism-bigotry-children-bullying-muslim-mexican-black-immigrant

This is one more night were this whole election just feels so unreal to me. I wonder if Hillary is livid underneath it all at being forced to run against this idiot? If nothing else she certainly proved tonight that she has an unshakable demeanor. All of these debates have been beneath her (and all of our) dignity to put up with, but tonight, I'm sure I would have lost my temper when he started with that "nasty woman" nonsense.

Aaron is the gay man's name. I can't remember if the priest is with them. I also can't remember where Enid was at the end of the season. Michonne would definitely be a shock. I can't see her going out that way. I'm going to be really surprised if Maggie's baby makes it into the world alive, but that doesn't mean she has to die in the opening.

I find some of the Wikileaks interesting, but it's not the kind of stuff that's going to change minds, imo. So Bill pressured the FDA to let a dying donor try an experimental cancer drug. I guess I should find that terribly unfair and in a way I do, but aren't people generally compelled to help the people they know if they can? It's hard for me to see that as straight up play for pay. With the Juanita Broderick stuff the leak might have helped the Clintons, if anyone actually cared in the first place. The fact that she signed affidavits saying the allegations are false back in the 90's hurts her credibility. I guess some of the leaks might undermine Hillary's relationships with foreign leaders, but I don't see any terrible scandals here. Not when women are coming out in droves to say Trump assaulted them. The Omaha World Herald endorsed Hillary. I know it doesn't really matter, but it still blows my mind. I want to hug whoever leaked that Trump/Billy Bush tape.

I wasn't accusing you of that. I'm saying I do not feel the need to pretend that, even though we are in desperate circumstances and she is our only hope. I can understand why some people might think this is not the time to be critical, but I'm just always going to be critical of anyone in leadership. That's how my mind works.

Yeah, I know the gore of this show appeals to some people, but for me it's always been about the relationships. One thing this show did really well is find a group of actors that really gels. I believe they care about each other. Watching one of them brutally beaten to death while the other's watch isn't high on my list of must sees.

I'm really looking forward to the premier. They've done a pretty good job of keeping the secret. I'm sure some spoiler site has the info, but I haven't gone looking and I've managed to stay in the dark. I just hope it's not Maggie, even though I'm still pissed at her and Glenn for making themselves vulnerable with a pregnancy. I've given up on Fear The Walking Dead. I wanted to like it for the actors, but I just don't. What really brought it home for me is that I don't care about any of the reunions between the characters. On the original I always care when members of the group find each other. On the new one, it couldn't matter less to me.

Yeah, I hear her surrogates say that all the time, but any career politician can say the same. I guess I'm cynical, but I don't really see any of these people as particularly altruistic. Not that I need them to be, but at this level of politics, it's about power, not public service. Frankly, I think it's kind of refreshing to see this kind of raw ambition in a woman. In her position, I would have retired to a beach town to spend my millions long ago, but she just keeps on trucking. You can be both ambitious and altruistic, and you can find extremes at either end at many points in your life. I think her record since college speaks for itself, both good and bad, and I think it's mostly on balance good. You don't. That's your prerogative. For anyone who hasn't seen it, please watch: Hillary's worked for people her whole adult life. Whatever else you can say about her, she believes in public service. The only thing Trump believes in is himself, and even that is a constant struggle to not be laughed at and overcome doubt. Yeah, I hear her surrogates say that all the time, but any career politician can say the same. I guess I'm cynical, but I don't really see any of these people as particularly altruistic. Not that I need them to be, but at this level of politics, it's about power, not public service. Frankly, I think it's kind of refreshing to see this kind of raw ambition in a woman. In her position, I would have retired to a beach town to spend my millions long ago, but she just keeps on trucking. You can be both ambitious and altruistic, and you can find extremes at either end at many points in your life. I think her record since college speaks for itself, both good and bad, and I think it's mostly on balance good. You don't. That's your prerogative. For anyone who hasn't seen it, please watch: I've never said that. I simply don't think she's above criticism. I don't have to pretend she's perfect to support her overall. That's the beauty of democracy.

Yeah, I hear her surrogates say that all the time, but any career politician can say the same. I guess I'm cynical, but I don't really see any of these people as particularly altruistic. Not that I need them to be, but at this level of politics, it's about power, not public service. Frankly, I think it's kind of refreshing to see this kind of raw ambition in a woman. In her position, I would have retired to a beach town to spend my millions long ago, but she just keeps on trucking.

^ I feel like we've reached maximum levels of despicable. Someone in the thread said they don't know how any non white can vote for Trump, but really, how can anyone? I know there are blue collar white men who think Trump is on their side, but damn, that's just desperate thinking. Why would you think this rich man who has never shown an ounce of empathy for another living creature (that I can recall) would be on your side? I'll be the first to say that Hillary is a member of the elite now, she's talked about it herself. However, at least she has middle class roots, self awareness and has shown compassion and understanding for other people.

This really is a lot like Cosby. There are something like 12 accusers now. By the end of it there's bound to be 20-30. Sure, a couple of them will probably be false, but I'm not even going to worry about which ones. The main point here is when there are this many accusers, they aren't all lying.

I'm glad Randall's bio dad is proving to be a good guy. I'm glad it was his idea to give Randall his own name. I also thought it was touching when he said Randall was conceived in love.

^ President Obama would probably do it the best, since he has such a good sense of humor, but it's beneath his dignity.

Michelle Obama is just skewering Trump Right now. Damn I'm going to miss her.

So it's starting. So far there are two women accusing him. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/donald-trump-new-york-times-allegations-229705

When the top of the ticket spews hate in every direction, I think this is the kind of thing we are going to be seeing more of for awhile. I'm hoping our country can come out stronger in the long term, but in the short term I think it's just going to be ugly. I'm really not looking forward to the wave of misogyny I see coming over the next several years.