Juliajms

Especially since whichever Democrat wins, they are going have to do a hell of a lot of compromising to get anything at all done. The best thing Hillary Clinton said to rebut Bernie for me was "I'm not going to raise your taxes to pay for Donald Trump's kid's to go to college". Thank you. Still, it doesn't matter because no one is getting free college through. At best one of them might get increased grants for poor kids. That's as likely to be Bernie as HRC, imo.

I think any one of the Republican's will be tougher than Bernie. Bernie basically gave Hillary a pass on the email. Hell, he ran an ad defending her against Trump's sexism in Iowa. Christie is not the only mean person in this race. Not by a long shot. Trump would have a lot to say about the past scandals as he already has. Sure, people are always coming for the Clinton's, but that's because the Clinton's keep giving them things to come after. They don't get a pass just because they've always got a scandal of some kind brewing. It gets old even for those of us who are on their side. Personally, one of the things I've appreciated about no drama Obama is not wondering what craziness I was going to wake up to every morning.

This part is for damn sure. I was reading that the elite democrats kind of weeded the field for HRC by encouraging some of the interested parties to "wait their turn" and I'm starting to wonder if that did more harm than good. Is Michael Bloomberg thinking of running as an independent? If so, I really hope he thinks better of it.

You make a good point about the crazy talk Marco Rubio engages in. I wonder who benefits from his downfall, if he really is falling down. When I read debate twitter it was full of people thrilled with Rubio calling abortion a human rights issue instead of a social issue. Even though I think Marco is a nutty extremist I can't really take joy in this situation because when I look at the Republican field one is as bad as the next. Meanwhile, someone asked me who I was voting for the other day and I had to admit I don't think it matters much. I'd be happy with either HRC or Sanders. Also, when it comes to nuking or even carpet bombing the Middle East, I wish someone would call these guys on their whole right to life shtick. Half a million children under the age of 5 have died because of our gulf wars and these guys want to blow up the civilian population over there again. Some people just won't learn.

Thought you might enjoy this one Carl. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/can-marco-rubio-reboot-after-robot-gaffe

^ I can't argue with that. Also, Jeb has absolutely no charisma, imo.

I feel a little sorry for him, his politics aside he is probably under great personal pressure to win. Yeah, Jeb just seemed befuddled when Trump started to rise, it was kind of sad to watch his confusion. Not that I blame him, I find it inexplicable myself.

I agree. The media is just trying to drum up some drama. Maybe it was slightly more confrontational than their other debates, but it was nothing like the Republican debates. Sanders and Clinton are basically civil with each other which is refreshing. I feel like that he isn't hitting below the belt the way he could. Hell, he even ran that ad in Iowa kind of defending her against Trump's nastiness. I figure HRC is bound to win and I don't look forward to how ugly the debates between her and the Republican nominee are going to be. I'm sure she can handle herself, but I dread it.

I agree that Jeb should just call it a day. I start to feel sorry for him, but then I remind myself that he feels entitled to win because two members of his family very wealthy family were already President.

About the time Rubio said a 10 year old rape victim shouldn't be allowed an abortion, he became as extreme as Cruz in my book. Rubio doesn't give me the creeps the way Cruz does, but that just makes him all the more dangerous. I'm pretty please that Carly Fiorina is a non entity. She deserves all the dust she's being paid right now.

I'm watching Cruz's speech. He might as well just give up politics and become a televangelist. That's what he really wants to be. I figure this tradition of letting Iowa go first has to change before too long, although the state it's not 99% white. More Latinos are coming to this region all the time. It's not representative though, I'll agree with that. Either way, It should just go by region and rotate every election cycle. Or whatever some smart person comes up with, but there isn't much reason to give so much spotlight to Iowa and NH. I do sort of like seeing these politicians pressing flesh with the rabble though. It's obvious they all hate it. trump is actually a germaphobe who hates to shake hands, so it has to be killing him. Bill Clinton is the last one I actually believe didn't want to run screaming into the night.

Which Republican doesn't hate women, lgbt and minorities though? Sure, they'll take a successful guy like Carson and tell us why that means it's all just a matter of hard work, but that's the extent of that. I'm also not so sure Trump is over. Cruz didn't exactly win in a landslide and Iowa is Christian fundamentalist heaven. He's not going to get such a sweet set up in NH. Not that it matters. If I had to vote for one on them, I'd be hard pressed to choose which is the lesser evil.

Ted Cruz wins with his Duck Dynasty lead in calling gay marriage evil. I guess we just have to believe this doesn't matter. I just hope to god the democrat wins the general election. Also I keep forgetting that Rubio and Cruz are Latinos. It's really a strange phenomenon. I unconsciously process them as white. I wonder if I'm the only one.

I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone in a burka before and I've lived in some big cities. I know almost nothing about Muslims, so I have no idea if most of them are pro burka. The more I see of Ted Cruz the more I dislike him. He's so arrogant, my god. He rubs me the wrong way more than anyone else in this race. Marco Rubio is much more likable to me (Sorry Carl). It clear this isn't his time though. People keep saying Ted Cruz is the smartest guy in the room. I guess he and Ben Carson must be pretty smart to be where they are in life, but some of the things that come out of their mouths make me wonder how that's possible. HRC, Chelsea and Charlotte were in Council Bluffs today, which is really close to where I live. My husband tells the story of how Bill Clinton won over a very hostile Omaha crowd when he was campaigning. HRC just doesn't seem to have the same touch. I'm not sure that matters though. It's a different time and the lines between Democrats and Republicans are pretty hard and bitter these days.

Not only are Trump's immigration policies disgusting, but he wants to kill the families of terrorists. Are we really going to be the country that executes children for their parents crimes? That's insanity. Here is an interesting poll on the percent of people who won't vote for certain demographics. Third paragraph from the bottom. I was pretty surprised that 40% simply won't vote for Muslim or that over 25% wouldn't vote for a gay person. http://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-10-in-us-less-likely-to-vote-for-a-jew-for-president/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I could see how someone could like both. I actually know a gun toting arch-republican who loves Bernie and can't stop posting on facebook about both. His message is always pick Trump or pick Bernie, but pick someone not in the system. Their economic speeches do occasionally overlap. This is actually Doug Davidson's (Paul, Y&R's) position too. He thinks they are the only honest ones. It's mind blowing to me, but to each their own.

Yes. I try not to compare anyone to Hitler, but the way he had that Muslim lady thrown out of his rally was sick. Then the time a Hispanic man has beaten up by his followers and he said maybe the guy deserved it. If you're on the watch for scapegoating you can see that Trump is definitely using that tactic. Here's an interesting article on why people are still failing to go after Trump. I think it's pretty much spot on. http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/why-does-everyone-still-treat-donald-trump-kid-gloves

I've changed my mind and I'm going to vote for Bernie, even though I live in Nebraska so voting is basically pointless for me. I don't think Bernie is weak. He's just an idealist. I don't see him beating Hillary in the primary. Still, he's the one candidate that doesn't seem to completely revile the poor among us. I'll give him my protest vote. People (particularly some Republicans) seem to be in deep denial about Trump even as the polls seem to show him winning. He's even doing fairly well in national polls when they show how various Republicans would do against HRC. I'm really concerned that some terrible perfect storm is going to occur and Trump or Cruz is going to take this thing. I'm not sure who scares me more. Trump is the better politician and a lot of people just don't seem to care that he's playing to the worst of people's fears. He's the exact opposite of what any leader should be, right or left aside.

I like Tom Payne. He was in the ill fated HBO show "Luck" playing a jockey. It's hard to imagine him as a bad ass.

A link that won't try to kill your computer. Last sentence. http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/07/hbo-deadwood-movie-happening

I just saw an article on Deadline saying that HBO is in talks for seasons 7 and 8, which is interesting since I thought the show runners were firm about stopping at 7 seasons. I would post the link, but my computer is acting funny since I visited that site.

I can't believe this show has been on 13 season. So weird to think I was in my 20s when it started. Generally, I can't watch procedures. Still, I've found this show comforting over the years. I used to marathon it when I was feeling depressed just to have familiar voices in the background.

I think the pace has slowed because the more he writes the more there is to keep track of. He's built a complex world and he has the type of fans who will spot even the smallest inconsistencies. Every sentence he writes needs to be checked against thousands of other pages of material. Plus he's old and plus writing books isn't like producing widgets. It's really odd to me to see people turn on this guy the way they have. I'm not talking about TPOS so much as the sheer number of "fans" out there spewing pure hate at the very person who created this series they claim to love so much. As far as spoiler go, I'm not worried. I have a pretty good idea of how things are going to end. Beyond that, it'll probably be 10 years before the last book comes out, if it ever does. I doubt it's going to be that much like the show. GRRM is notorious for changing things. Hell, the show will be a faded memory to me by then anyway.

He was taking a long time writing books long before HBO ever came along. I feel sorry for the guy. He's under a lot of pressure. That blog post was pretty sad. It's not like these books are easy to write. There are so many details, it must take ages to make sure that he's keeping things consistent, even with assistants to help keep things straight. I'm sure the HBO deal didn't help, but it took forever for A Feast for Crows to come out and that was pre HBO. In a perfect world, the series would just be starting now, but it's just not that serious in the end.

I won't disagree. Anyone who thinks a little girl who is raped shouldn't be allowed an abortion is a pso, imo. I'd still pick Rubio over Trump though. Is Trump a legitimate contender? I don't know how anyone can say he isn't, although some of the Republicans in my life are still trying to deny it. He's as much of a contender as Jeb or Rubio, that much is certain. I agree he probably can't win the general election, but again, that really depends on what happens in the country. People are drawn to authoritarian types during times of trouble. Right now, the media is still building Trump up with any luck they'll soon start knocking him down. What really shocks me is the awe in the voice of certain CNN anchors when they talk about him (I'm looking at you Wolf Blitzer). Maybe it's the rating they're in awe of. IDK, but I find it disturbing.