Thursday, June 22, 2017

What's Up? Topic #23; entries 6/17 - 11/17



Anything can be posted here! We'll talk about politics, some sports (football, basketball, & tennis), Movies, & TV! Posts framed w/ "***" are from other contributors! - ( - Closed - ) -



Current NewsGrigor Dimitrov wins the YEC Final over David Goffin in 3! - 11/29/17

100 comments:

  1. ***TRUMP'S LIES:

    Many Americans have become accustomed to President Trump’s lies. ...So we have catalogued nearly every outright lie he has told publicly since taking the oath of office.

    Jan. 21 “I wasn't a fan of Iraq. I didn't want to go into Iraq.” (He was for an invasion before he was against it.)

    Jan. 21 “A reporter for Time Mag — and I have been on their cover 14 or 15 X's. I think we have the all-X rec. in the history of Time Mag.” (Trump was on the cover 11 X's & Nixon appeared 55 X's.)

    Jan. 23 “Btw 3 M & 5 M illegal votes caused me to lose the pop. vote.” (There's no evidence of illegal voting.)

    Jan. 25 “Now, the audience was the biggest ever. But this crowd was massive. Look how far back it goes. This crowd was massive.” (Off. aerial photos show Obama's '09 Inaug. was much more heavily attended.)

    Jan. 25 “Take a look @ the Pew reports (which show voter fraud.)” (The report never mentioned voter fraud.)

    Jan. 25 “You had millions of people that now aren't insured anymore.” (The real @ is < than 1 M, according to the Urban Inst.)

    Jan. 25 “So, look, when President Obama was there 2 wks ago making a speech, very nice speech. Two people were shot & killed during his speech. You can't have that.” (There were no gun homicide victims in Chgo that day.)

    Jan. 26 “We've taken in tens of thousands of people. We know nothing about them. They can say they vet them. They didn't vet them. They have no papers. How can you vet somebody when you don't know anything about them and you have no papers? How do you vet them? You can't.” (Vetting lasts up to 2 yrs.)

    Jan. 26 “I cut off hundreds of millions of $$ off one particular plane, hundreds of millions of dollars in a short period of X. It wasn't like I spent, like, wks, hrs, < than hrs, & many, many hundreds of millions of $$. And the plane's going to be better.” (Most of the cuts were already planned.)

    Jan. 28 “The coverage about me in the NY X's & the WAPO has been so false and angry that the X's actually apologized to its dwindling subscribers and readers.” (It never apologized.)

    Jan. 29 “The Cuban-Amers, I got 84% of that vote.” (There is no support for this.)

    Jan. 30 “Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained & held for ??ing. Big problems @ airports were caused by Delta computer outage” (At least 746 people were detained and processed, and the Delta outage happened 2 days later.)***

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  2. ***More Trump LIEs:

    Feb. 3 “Prof. anarchists, thugs & paid protesters are proving the pt of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” (No evidence of paid protesters.)

    Feb. 4 “After being forced to apologize for its bad and inaccurate coverage of me after winning the election, the FAKE NEWS NY X's is still lost!” (It never apol.)

    Feb. 5 “We had 109 people out of hundreds of thousands of travelers and all we did was vet those people very, very carefully.” (About 60K people were affected.)

    Feb. 6 “I have already saved more than $700 M when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35.” (Much of the price drop was projected before Trump took office.)

    Feb. 6 “It's gotten to a pt where it is not = being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it.” (Terrorism has been reported on in detail.)

    Feb. 6 “And the previous admin. allowed it to happen b/c we shouldn't have been in Iraq, but we shouldn't have gotten out the way we got out. It created a vacuum, ISIS was formed.” (ISIS has existed since '04.)

    Feb. 9 Sen. Richard Blumenthal “now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?” (The Gorsuch comments were later corroborated.)

    Feb. 10 “IDK about it. I haven’t seen it. What report is that?” (Trump knew about Flynn's actions for wks.)

    Feb. 16 “We got 306 b/c people came out and voted like they've never seen before so that's the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest Elec. College win since Ronald Reagan.” (H.W. Bush, Clinton & Obama all won bigger margins in the EC.)

    Feb. 16 “Walmart announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the US just this yr b/c of our various plans and initiatives.” (The jobs are a result of its investment plans announced in Oct.'16.)

    Feb. 16 “When WikiLeaks, which I had nothing to do w/, comes out and happens to give, they’re not giving classified info.” (Not always. They have released classified info in the past.)

    Feb. 16 “We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban. But we had a bad court. Got a bad decision.” (The rollout was chaotic.)

    Feb. 18 “And there was no way to vet those people. There was no docum. There was no nothing.” (Refugees receive multiple background checks, taking up to 2 yrs.)

    Feb. 18 “You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?” (Trump implied there was a terror attack in Sweden, but there was no such attack.)

    Feb. 24 “BTW, you folks are in here — this place is packed, there are lines that go back 6 blocks.” (There was no evidence of long lines.)

    Feb. 24 “ICE came and endorsed me.” (Only its union did.)

    Feb. 24 “Obamacare covers very few people — and remember, deduct from the # all of the people that had great health care that they loved that was taken away from them — it was taken away from them.” (Obamacare increased coverage by a net of about 20 M.)

    Feb. 27 “Since Obamacare went into effect, nearly 1/2 of the insurers are stopped and have stopped from participating in the Obamacare exchanges.” (Many fewer pulled out.)

    ...

    Feb. 28 “And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that.” (NATO countries agreed to meet defense spending requirements in '14.)

    Feb. 28 “The E.P.A.’s regulators were putting people out of jobs by the hundreds of thousands.” (There's no evidence that the Waters of the US rule caused severe job losses.)

    Feb. 28 “We have begun to drain the swamp of gov't corruption by imposing a 5-yr ban on lobbying by Exec. Branch offs.” (They can't lobby their former agency, but can still become lobbyists.)***

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  3. More Trump LIEs2:

    Mar. 3 “It's so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet.” (Paperwork for the last 2 candidates was still not submitted to the Senate.)

    Mar. 4 “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” (There's no evidence of a wiretap.)

    Mar. 7 “122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Admin. from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!” (113 of them were released by President W. Bush.)

    ...

    Mar. 13 “First of all, it covers very few people.” (About 20 M people gained insur. under Obamacare.)

    Mar. 17 “I was in Tenn. — I was just telling the folks — and half of the state has no insurance company, and the other half is going to lose them.” (There's at least 1 insurer in every Tenn. county.)

    ...

    Mar. 22 “NATO, obsolete, b/c it doesn’t cover terrorism. They fixed that.” (It has fought terrorism since the 80s.)

    Mar. 31 “We have a lot of plants going up now in Mich. that were never going t/b there if I — if I didn’t win this election, those plants would never = think about going back. They were gone.” (These investments were already planned.)

    ...

    Apr. 11 “I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late. I had already beaten all the senators and all the govs, and I didn’t know Steve.” (He knew Steve Bannon since 2011.)

    Apr. 12 “You can't do it faster, b/c they're obstructing. They're obstructionists. So I have people — 100s of people that we're trying to get thru. I mean you have — you see the backlog. We can't get them thru.” (At this pt, he had not nominated anyone for 100s of positions.)

    Apr. 12 “The NY X's said the word wiretapped in the headline of the 1st edition. Then they took it out of there fast when they realized.” (There were 2 headlines, but neither were altered.)

    Apr. 12 “Mosul was supposed to last for a wk and now they’ve been fighting it for many months and so many more people died.” (The campaign was expected to take months.)

    Apr. 18 “The fake media goes, ‘Donald Trump changed his stance on China.’ I haven’t changed my stance.” (He did.)

    Apr. 27 “I want to help our miners while the Dems are blocking their healthcare.” (The bill to extend health benefits for certain coal miners was introduced by a Dem & was co-sponsored by mostly Dems.)

    Apr. 28 “The trade deficit w/ Mex. is close to $70 B, = w/ Canada it’s $17 B trade deficit w/ Canada.” (The U.S. had an $8.1 B trade sur+, not deficit, w/ Canada in '16.)

    Apr. 28 “She's running vs someone who's going to raise your taxes to the sky, destroy your health care, and he's for open borders — lots of crime.” (Those are not Jon Ossoff's positions.)

    Apr. 29 “As you know, I've been a big critic of China, and I've been talking about currency manipulation for a long X. But I have to tell you that during the election, #1, they stopped.” (China stopped yrs ago.)

    Apr. 29 “I think our side's been proven very strongly. And everybody's talking about it.” (There's still no evidence Trump's phones were tapped.)***

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  4. ***Trump LIEs cont.:

    May 1 “Well, we are protecting pre-existing conditions. And it'll be every good — bit as good on pre-existing conditions as Obamacare.” (The bill weakens protections for people w/ pre-ex. cons.)
    ...

    May 4 “We’re the highest-taxed nation in the world.” (We're not.)

    May 4 “Nobody cares about my tax return except for the reporters.” (Polls show most Americans do care.)

    May 8 “But when I did his show, which by the way was very highly rated. It was high — highest rating. The highest rating he’s ever had.” (Colbert's “Late Show” debut had nearly 2 M more viewers.)

    May 8 “Director Clapper reiterated what everybody, including the fake media already knows- there is ‘no evidence’ of collusion w/ Russia and Trump.” (Clapper only said he wasn't aware of an investigation.)

    May 12 “Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.” (The F.B.I. was investigating before the election.)

    May 26 “Just arrived in Italy for the G7. Trip has been very successful. We made and saved the USA many billions of dollars and millions of jobs.” (He's referencing an arms deal that's not enacted and other apparent deals that weren't announced on the trip.)

    June 1 “China will be allowed to build hundreds of add'l coal plants. So, we can’t build the plants, but they can, according to this agreement. India will be allowed to double its coal production by 2020.” (The agreement doesn’t allow or disallow building coal plants.)

    June 1 “I’ve just returned from a trip overseas where we concluded nearly $350 billion of military and economic development for the United States, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.” (Trump’s figures are inflated and premature.)

    June 4 “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’” (The mayor was specifically talking about the enlarged police presence on the streets.)

    June 5 “The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.” (Trump signed this version of the travel ban, not the Justice Depart.)

    June 21 “They all say it's 'nonbinding.' Like hell it's nonbinding.” (The Paris climate agreement is nonbinding — and Trump said so in his speech announcing the withdrawal.)

    June 21 “Right now, we are one of the highest-taxed nations in the world.” (We're not.)

    - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/23/opinion/trumps-lies.html -

    Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 14h

    MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! - (Only in his diluted mind.)***

    The standards have fallen so far for electing someone, I can see a serial killer getting a future nomination! Reps would say, "at least he stands for something!" Trump alone has lowered the bar so far, Charles Manson might toss his hat into the ring in 2020! Heaven knows the competence is comparable; maybe a bit higher w/ Manson!

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  5. Big surprise, Reps putting off vote on HC today! Senators are going to the WH this afternoon to waste more X w/ Trump knowing this is going nowhere! McConnell's standing up there w/ other Senators repeatedly saying Obamacare is failing! Ok! NOW WHAT? Reps are in complete charge of the WH & all of Congress! The Dems don't = have the power to obstruct as Trump continually keeps saying which is complete BS! They found out a long X ago, it was a lot easier to bitch & say "NO" to everything Obama asked, but now that they're in charge, they don't seem to have a clue and it's pathetic; not them, but the supporters that think nothing of this chaos! If Pelosi & Reed were in charge, all kinds of legis. whb passed by now; the current Congress has done nothing! They have a big ol' "goose egg" in their win column! Remember Trump said we w/b so tired of winning! Winning what; embarrassment & shame?

    ***You're right. The word "winning" has become a byword for "failure." The Trump admin. has done nothing so far of any importance & I don't expect that to change anyX soon.
    ---

    All Reps in The House & Senate unanimously campaigned on &/or voted for 'repeal & replace,' so how can they become pro-Obamacare party? It's unimaginable. They all said 'House-Senate-Presidency' means no more Obamacare. They were all unanimous on this issue! Now they'll become pro-Obamacare party?
    ---

    This HC battle doesn't seem to have an end in sight let alone a happy ending. I suppose it's too much to hope there w/b an interim policy in place for those who're in dire need while the whole thing is being dragged out. - I think eventually they will repeal Obamacare. Their loyalty is always for the party, not for the people. The reason they are pushing it out is that their constituents may not reelect them in '18 if they pass this bill in its current form.
    ---

    8 yrs gone by, & all the GOP cares about is a "Repeal & Replace" trophy bill they can mount on their legis. wall of shame.

    8 yrs gone by, & the GOP comes up w/ House & Senate bills that are < popular than Obamacare, covering far fewer people for >er out-of-pocket costs.

    8 yrs gone by, & mod. GOP senators who can't hide behind Gerrymandered House districts won't touch this bill b/c it's too draconian.

    8 yrs gone by, & far-right GOP senators won't touch this bill b/c it's not draconian enough.

    8 yrs gone by, & it appears the Senate m/b the place where "Repeal & Replace" may finally die.

    We can only hope.
    ---

    ...A long way to go & there aren't the votes in the Senate to pass it @ this pt. I doubt Susan Collins will vote for any bill.***

    ...There are so many other hurdles before this thing can possibly hit Trump's "little desk!" '18 is just around the corner & you just can't take away a benefit like this! It was what Reps feared would happen which is why instead of fixing it while in power, they'd rather repeal the whole thing! ...A new Rep. president w/ a Rep. Congress & they can't get ANYTHING done!

    ***Trump's terrible for the working class. - His 1 & only sensible aim was the rapprochement w/ Russia, but he simply lacks the strength of character to carry it out.***

    But they're mainly the knuckleheads that put him in contention to win the Presidency! The same people who cheered his constant refrain of "Obamacare's a disaster & on day 1 of my admin., Reps will repeal it!" Months later, they can't pass anything but a "CR" to keep the gov't running! Hilarious for all concerned IMO! Hillary's kicking back & has t/b amused by the current state of affairs! If she had won, McConnell & Ryan whb given all kinds of cover by just blaming her! NOW what are they going to do? The honeymoon's over & absolutely nothing's gotten done; NOTHING!

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  6. ***Hilarious! Reps are saying Dems won't work w/ them hoping to spread the blame.***

    Poor Reps got all they wanted; the presidency, all of Congress, a cons. SC, a majority of the governorships, & most of the State Houses! Now WHAT? Ya got it & now don't know what to do w/ it! Been listening to BS of repeal/replace the ACA for 8 yrs w/ 60+ pieces of legis. to do so & now The Senate's as limp as day old pasta! Those same Gov's toeing the party line up to now are beggin' Trump not to cut the subsidies they get from Obamacare! IDK how they can work w/ Dems after demonizing them for all this X, making it seem like it s/b all or nothing! We're all going to lose w/ this game playing on both sides!

    ***The ACA is failing b/c it was never workable from the beginning as written by the Dems who refused to include or consult Reps. All Reps have to do is leave it alone & watch the results which were predicted before it = became law. ...***

    W/ your kind of winning, you guys might as well stay in bed! You have all this power & can't do a thing w/ it! You have the biggest megaphone in Trump's MOUTH & y'all can't get a damned thing done! You've passed ZERO pieces of meaningful legis.; NO ACA REPEAL, no tax cuts, no infrastructure bills, & watching our dignity & respectability "circle the drain!"

    ***Trump on another Twitter rant vs "MJ!"***

    Trump lowers the office = more going after Mika Brzezinski in a TWEET commenting on her "low IQ" & "bleeding from the face due to a facelift!" This man is so disturbed to waste X w/ this nonsense instead of dealing w/ matters @ hand like HC legis.! Of course the reason he doesn't is b/c he's not able! He wouldn't know WTF he's talking about!

    ***To borrow some words from CNN - "vile" "repulsive." OMG!! He's so immature & ignorant. He can't defend his lies w/o making personal attacks. Flipping back & forth, I haven't = seen anything on MSNBC about this. I wonder if Joe & Mika w/b there tomorrow morning or if they w/b off for a long holiday weekend. ...Does he think any of his wives married him for his looks?***

    = on FNC, the ladies of "Out#'d" were disgusted & let Trump have it! It also makes Melania look hypocritical concerning "cyber-bullying!" Of course Gov. Huckabee toed the line and poo-poo'd it all & meekly said Trump should find other ways to show his displeasure w/ the MSM! His daughter, who's the WH Press Secr. would probably catch HELL if he were any stronger in his condemnation!

    ***I can't stop thinking and feeling sick about the fact that this is the president of the United States. He's like a 12 yo bully or a frat guy or something. Who was stupid enough to vote for this POS; esp. women? Rachel & Lawrence are going to have smoke coming out of their ears tonight, = if they wanted to talk about HC.
    ---

    Trump is so embarrassing on a basic human disgust level, but Pence's stances & politics is just as embarrassing & harmful & he'll get away w/ more b/c "moderates" & regular people who don't normally pay attn. to politics wouldn't have that initial disgust instinct that they have w/ Trump. And just t/b petty, but a big part of a reason I think Pence stuck by Trump thru thick & thin is b/c he took a gamble & won. I would hate for him to hit an = >er jackpot.
    ---

    He's such an embarrassment to all of us. How can the Reps not do anything to stop him? They just ignore such outbursts when @ least some of them need to tell him to stop acting like a spoiled brat & start acting like a president. Being president of a country is one of the toughest jobs & those who cannot handle the pressure need to step down. W/ Tweets like these it's obvious that Trump has serious mental issues. ...It is our image abroad & our well being internally we're talking about.***

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  7. ***Well I'd say Murray has a few things going for him despite his weaker FH & serve. He's one of the best returners the game has ever seen, esp. vs big servers. He's also excellent @ retrieving & has a great BH, both slice & drive. He's a very tactically smart player.***

    Until it doesn't work & he's so run down, he can barely win games! Nole's closed him out @ love or a breadstick sev. X's w/ Andy's tongue draggin' the court! That super-defensive way he likes to play has really cost him; esp. @ the FO last season going 5 grueling sets vs players barely in the top 100! The way he took that 1st set vs Nole, I thought he was in trouble, but eventual Murray cooled off & only showed a lit'l bit of fight breaking Nole the 1st X he served for the match & completing his NOLE-Slam!

    ***No argument from me. You can't just retrieve all day & not get tired. You need an offensive game as well. I'm shocked Lendl hasn't worked w/ him more on taking the initiative & dictating pts w/ winners.
    ---

    If Murray was that much >er, he would have won more. Hewitt also had an = H2H w/ Agassi, who was a later bloomer than Sampras & highly ranked up until his retirement. Agassi himself has said (@ the X) that Hewitt was a heck of a player.
    ===

    Exactly a yr ago, Djokovic held all 4 major trophies. After being destroyed by Thiem @ the FO, he now has none. ...Djokovic last yr became the 1st man since Laver in '69 to hold all 4 GS titles @ the same X. But he's barely a shadow of the world-beater of '16-17, dropping 7 of 31 matches this season. “I’m not playing @ my best & I’m aware of that. But I’ve got to stay + about myself & my game,” he said. ...“I know that things change: I’m 30, not 20 & I have to adjust to that. Things evolve each yr & you have to adjust & get the best out of yourself.”
    ===

    The John McEnroe-Serena Wms Thing - He said that if she was on the men's circuit, she'd be ranked about 700. He was being generous. - I don't understand why you're arguing against the obvious here? Men and women are built differently. This shouldn't be news to a doctor.***

    You guys aren't taking into consideration the ladies' tour uses a lighter/smaller tennis ball to speed up shots; the guys a heavier ball marginally larger! Either w/b a detriment to a woman playing a man! Women trying to hit winners w/ a heavier ball or withstanding the onslaught of a guy using their lighter offering would allow guy to run her to death? It's a ridiculous notion; esp. in today's game! = when the sport moved a lot slower, the consistency of the men would always wear down a woman; SORRY!

    ***Fiero, do you have a link to anything that supports that. I find this suspect. I'm pretty sure they use the same tennis balls.

    Updated: I stand corrected...There are approximately 70,000 tennis balls used each yr @ the USO. ...men use diff. balls than women during their GS tilts.

    According to the USTA, the balls — manufactured by Wilson — are identical in every respect except for the yellow felt coating. “Men & women use the same ball in terms of size, pressure & design,” according to a USTA statement. “The sole diff. is that the men compete w/ an extra-duty felt ball while the women compete using a regular-duty felt ball.”

    But this slight difference can have huge effects on speed & ball action, experts says.

    Doubles specialist Bob Bryan uses both balls regularly at the Open, playing in men’s events and mixed doubles, where the women’s balls are also used.

    “They (the men) would probably hit the serve 175 mph if they were using that (women’s) ball.”

    ...“I guess that’s the answer: They want the women’s game t/b a little bit faster,” he says.***

    I played for well over 30 yrs; there's a difference! If playing on a fast court & I wanted to slow down the action, I used the heavy-felt balls! On clay, when the game can slow down, I used the lighter "regular felt" ball to speed up play!

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  8. ***I think Nole should try to win the FO again for a double CGS.***

    Nole still has a real chance w/ other recs like Double CGS & the most Masters! It was a lot easier w/ the ladies; =ly spread over 50 yrs w/ Court, Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Seles, Hingis, S. Wms, & Henin! Each taking their turn being the best of their era; Navratilova far & away the best IMO w/ 167 singles & 177 dubs' titles!

    ***Which is >er, Laver's CYGS or Novak's Fiscal Yr GS? - Laver's '69 GS started on Jan 20 in AO & ended on Sep 9 in USO, over a period of 7+ months & on TWO surfaces (grass & clay). AO '69 had just 54 players & Laver only needed to play 5 matches there.

    Novak's '15-16 GS - He won 28 matches total. To me, Novak's GS is >er, more matches won over longer period of X & on more types of surface.
    ---

    ...Novak was way too invested in winning RG & when it finally happened, he just pulled the plug. I think he chd it last yr & probably may have also gone on to win USO for a NCYGS (Novak Cal. Yr GS). The 2 yrs that I thought he could get a CYGS - '12 & '16 - he was relatively underwhelming albeit w/ still very strong results as such. Chd it in '11; think Nadal was sort of feeling hunted by Novak then & MAY have lost to him @ RG but for Lord Fedr spoiling it.
    ---

    ...the one thing I want to say is I truly believe that a Cal. Slam isn't any more impressive than the rest. ...CYGS is 1 of a kind & there are 3 NCYGS. But all 4 combos are =ly difficult IMO. All of them require 28 BO5 wins in a row.
    ---

    If it's easier now to accomplish, which I think it is, then I don't think it's important if your 4 Slams in a row have the Channel Slam or not. IMO Borg's 3 ChSl's are clearly a more impressive feat than the ones Fedal have accomplished & any new potential one, just like Agassi's CS's more impressive than the other ones that happened after it. Unfortunately for Novak, he didn't win RG a bit earlier in his career. ...
    ---

    ITA, Nole winning Eastbourne can only be good for him going forward, but it just shows where his game & confidence is @. There's no way he plays this tourney if he was anywhere near his normal self.***

    He'd have t/b a mental midget not to understand where he is after being unable to defend anything except a minor event in Qatar this season! I'm still SMH on the fall; only taking Canada since completing Nole-Slam! He's made plenty of finals, but hasn't really looked like winning since last spring! I saw a significant drop = before the FO, winning Madrid over Murray taking a last min. invite from Tiriac! We have to keep believing he'll find the right system to get his game somewhere near what it was a yr ago!

    ***The Greatest Female Tennis Player of All X - No doubt S. Wms.***

    A little doubt has t/b expressed w/ another player who has 344 titles in S/D, won 6 majors in a row, owned grass & indoor comps, in the top 10 for 20 yrs, & 7 as #1!

    ***Only the singles slams matter. One can choose to play doubles together w/ singles, & the other can choose to play for 25 yrs instead of 20. Slams are the =izer.***

    W/ the #'s that extreme, we'd have t/b a mental midgets to think all that record c/b ignored! What was ridiculous were the people who instantly determined Nadal was the GOAT b/c he owned Fed! It didn't seem to matter to them that Rafa has only 1 AO, 2 Wimbledons, & 2 USO w/ 10 FO's compared to Fed's 12 wins alone @ the 2 biggies, Wimb/USO! = John McEnroe was on that bandwagon til recently! Navratilova still rules the rec. book, just like Fed regardless of where people want to place her on the ATG list!

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  9. ***In which era did Helen Moody play? How many GS singles titles did she win?***

    Not enough to make me care! If people want to discount Court who straddled the am. & Open eras w/ a CYGS & was queen in her day, why would Moody's name come up? Moody was only invoked due to her Wimbledon rec. being surpassed or tied by BJK & Navratilova respectively! One by one, players were regarded "greater;" Evert, Navratilova, Graf, S. Williams! So forgive us who really don't regard Moody as influential; more in line w/ Lenglen who dominated, nary losing a set, much < a match! The >est today loses to a doubles' specialist when going for a CYGS 2 yrs ago! You have to say the level of athleticism's obviously superior to past eras!

    ***Agree w/ Fiero - can't really put Helen Wills Moody above Margaret Court. ...maybe a tad unfair, as there never really was the impact of a split pro/am tour in the women's game like there was in the men's. Court was indisputably the best player of her era.

    Steffi Graf was always the GOAT for me, until Serena won her last major. It's close, but I'd edge toward Serena now.

    1. S. Williams
    2. S. Graf
    3. M. Navratilova
    4. C. Evert
    5. M. Court

    ...I don't think anyone else warrants serious consid.***

    1) Fed - 18 majors, CGS, 300+ wks @ #1, 7 Wimbl. & 5 str. USO's
    2) Nadal - Won 10 FO's, 15 majors & OGCGS (OG in singl. & dubs)
    3) Laver - 2 CYGS (1 am. 1 pro) - should have more majors (11) but for am. rules
    4) Sampras - Held #1 ranking 6 yrs & won 7 Wimbl., 5 USO's, 2 AO's
    5) Djokovic - Won Nole-Slam, 6 AO's, 12 majors, 5 YEC's, more TBD
    6) B. Borg - Won 5 str. Wimbl. & 6 FO's (4 str.)
    7) Agassi - OGCGS includ. 8 majors & OG in singles
    8) Lendl - 8 majors & won 94 titles includ. 3 USO, 3 FO's, & 5 YEC's
    9) Connors - Won 107 titles includ. 5 USO on 3 surfaces, 2 Wimbls., 1 AO
    10) McEnroe - Won 7 majors includ. 3 Str. USO's, 4 overall - 3 Wimbl.
    11) Emerson - Hon. mention winning 12 majors - (pre-Open era)

    ***Obviously talking all-X's problematic, b/c it's impossible to truly compare Wilding to Laver to Nadal. ...Greatness can only ever be relative to what the field is; we can't penalize them either - we can only compare them relative to their own eras.

    ...Chronological order:

    10 Greatest of All Time
    Tony Wilding
    Bill Tilden
    Pancho Gonzales
    Ken Rosewall
    Rod Laver
    B. Borg/J. McEnroe
    Pete Sampras
    Roger Federer
    Rafael Nadal
    Novak Djokovic

    Honorable mentions to Lendl, Connors, Josiah Ritchie, Laurence Doherty, Riggs, & sev. others
    ---

    1. Laver
    2. Federer
    3. Rosewall
    4. Nadal
    5. Sampras
    6. Djokovic
    7. Lendl
    8. Borg
    9. McEnroe
    10. Connors

    I'd be happy ranking Lendl, Borg, & Mac in any order, but ahead of Connors & below Novak.

    Agassi w/b next, then a drop to Newcombe, Becker, Edberg, Wilander, Murray, Vilas, Nastase, Ashe, & Courier to round out the top 20.

    If Roger wins 2 more Slams, he passes Laver. They're already a close 1-2, but Laver's overall record & dominance is still >er.

    Nadal may deserve t/b ahead of Rosewall, but his record is marred by inconsistency as it shows up in his relative low wks @ #1. But if he wins another Slam this yr &'s YE #1, I'd push him past Muscles. Novak also has a chance of surpassing Pete & Rosewall, but needs to bounce back in a big way. If I were to + Gonzales to this list, he'd be btw Fed & Rosewall.***

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  10. ***Why did the players retire? Did they give a reason?"***

    ......Some like Raonic & Nishikori are constantly WD'ing before they = hit an event, but being in the top 10 don't feel compelled to push it by playing hurt! Lower ranked players will go ahead trying to compete, fully aware they aren't physically or in the self-diag of Tomic aren't mentally "fit!" By showing up & losing in the 1st Rd, they still acquire ATP ranking pts & of course a lot of $$! Fed thought seriously of making a rule to give injured players the pts & $$ so they'll give up their spot in a draw!

    ***Then what does Kyrgios have against the viewers & those people in the stands?***

    Besides being very young, no one likes t/b bothered w/ obnoxious fans! ...I wish I knew why people acted as if Kyrgios is the only 1 out there acting boorishly? Back in my day tennis considered a gentlemen's sport w/ just a handful of real jerks on the tour; Nastase, McEnroe, Connors, & Becker! ...Heaven knows today Nadal has been stealing matches for yrs in so many diff. ways!

    ***The #1 ranked player is still always the best player in the game (at least usually!). We only have computerized rankings from '73 to the present, but there were still consensus #1 players going back ..."TB" have rankings going back to 1877.

    I'm going to use Tennis Base's rankings, which I assembled into a chart for every player that was #1 @ least once. Let's position a pt. sys. like so:

    #11-20 ranking: 1 pt.
    #6-10 ranking: 3 pts
    #3-5 ranking: 5 pts
    #2 ranking: 10 pts
    #1 ranking: 20 pts

    The pt system is arbitrary, but I think is decent for weighing dominance. According to this system, here are some of the 20 greatest players of all X:

    1. 301 Tilden
    2. 202 Laver
    3t. 185 Gonzales
    3t. 185 Rosewall
    5. 165 Federer
    6. 164 Wilding
    7. 150 Ritchie
    8. 137 Sampras
    9t. 131 Doherty
    9t. 131 Connors
    11. 128 Nadal
    12t. 126 Lendl
    12t. 126 Djokor
    14. 117 McEnroe
    ...
    17t. 101 Borg

    No system's w/o flaws. A few things emerge:

    1) Look @ how far Tilden's ahead of the field. He's the Babe Ruth of tennis. He was #1 13 X's. Laver had 8, Gonzales & Wilding w/ 7 each, then Doherty, Sampras, & Federer have 5.

    2) Josiah Ritchie? Perfect ex. of a great player who's forgotten b/c he didn't win any Slams. He was still a terrific player who won tons of tourneys.

    3) Interesting how Lendl & Novak are tied right now. Of course Novak isn't done yet & will pass Ivan this yr.

    4) If Rafa finishes #1 or #2 this yr, he passes Sampras.

    5) ...Borg was #1 3 X's, #2 3 X's, #3-5 twice, & #11-20 once. Riggs was #1 3 X's, #2 twice, #3-5 3 X's, #6-10 once, & #11-20 3 X's. So they both were the best player 3 yrs, w/ Borg having a slightly more top-heavy distrib. after.***

    The rankings were a bit of a joke back then in the 70's! Whenever I think of poor G. Vilas, taking 2 majors in '77, winning well over 100 matches, but was still relegated to an "also-ran" when Borg & Connors ruled the day! He was the 3rd or 4th wheel of that era like Lendl in the 80's w/ Borg/McEnroe/Connors & Djokovic now w/ Fedal!

    ***True, Fiero. 'TB' has Connors only #1 twice in the 70s, although once again the 80s. They actually have Jimmy #5 in '75, w/ Ashe #1. Vilas gets '77 & Borg '78, but Jimmy gets it back in '82 when he won 2 Slams. Anyhow, Lendl was easily the best overall player for the 2nd half of the 80s.

    You're also selling Novak short, presumably b/c you're unhappy w/ his results over the last yr. Novak wrestled the crown away from peak Rafa in '11 & was the best overall player--not an "also-ran"--from '11 to mid-'16. Anyhow, 'TB' is close to the ATP rankings, but w/ a few diffs. ...players as #1:

    '75: Ashe
    '77: Vilas
    '78: Borg
    '82: Connors
    '91: Courier
    '98: Rios***

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  11. ***...I think you can use slam counts as a big factor in the modern era as the majors are the benchmark, but < so back in the day.***

    Back "in the day," it seemed like the whole season revolved around the summer w/ Wimbledon & The US Open! The FO was really an afterthought, mainly put on a pedestal by So. Am. & Euro clay specialist! The AO wasn't = on the radar, not usual to have 6-8 QF-ists from "down under" back in the 70's! It really was all about the "2 Biggies" & the rest was used for bragging rights, under the table $$, enhancement of endorsements, etc.! The Masters Series being created in '90 along w/ the est. of the new ATP elevated the tourney's just below a major; esp. when the champ had to win BO5 finals! That made it harder than what's happening now w/ the hording of titles by Fedalovic! Before Sampras, no 1 really thought about getting anywhere near the record of Emerson! Laver, then Borg the Open Era royalty! They were the tennis Gawds until Sampras came along! We were so desperate to see history made, we ignored the fact he never = made a FO final! After this latest gen., Sampras has fallen from the apparent GOAT w/ 14 Majors to barely holding his place in the top 6; Borg still given more credit for his short-lived career!

    ***...The Masters Series has made it harder now than it was then for the hording of titles. "Back in the day" everyone played whatever they liked & met each other < frequently. I've always been astonished that the Borg-McEnroe H2H is 7-7. And they're considered a great rivalry.***

    The FO was bouncing around the networks; totally taped delayed until '84 w/ McEnroe/Lendl IIRC! There were also X tours if you remember; ITF, WCT, & the GP Series! - I still seem to remember seeing the last set of Wilander over Vilas in '82 FO on CBS! It went to NBC after that I guess! The women continued t/b delayed until noon here in Chicago so I usually knew who won before it came on! Those '85 & '86 finals killed me allowing Evert back in the winning circle of majors after being owned for yrs by Navratilova in the mid 80's!

    ***I'd rank Borg ahead of Lendl & Connors, = if every single statistical system I've seen ranks him below them. Actually, late last yr. I did an Open Era top 20 blog for "TF," & I had Borg ranked just behind Rafa, Pete & Novak, & just ahead of Lendl, McEnroe, & Connors.***

    = w/ 4 extra FO's, I'd still put Borg ahead of Nadal due to his ability to leave the comfort of his best surface in Paris & w/ no tourney warmup, won 5 str. Wimbledons! Fedal's managed it 3 X's btw them, = w/ the homogenized courts! The imbalance continues in the rankings w/ Nadal woefully behind others @ #1 & no YEC's! He has a chance @ #1 = though dom. by Fed so far this season! In fact, I'd still place Rafa behind Nole w/ 3 < majors, but makes up for it w/ Masters 1000 dominance, being #1 more consistently, & owning X YEC's!

    ***I got some flack for ranking Novak >er than Rafa, so I hear you. ...If he can get to 200+ wks @ #1 & @ least 1 YEC, + another Slam or 2 off clay, I think he's right there in the inner circle w/ Roger (+ Laver & Muscles) in terms of career <ness.
    ---

    My initial reaction to the idea that Borg & Lendl c/b put on a similar level was to shudder. But on reflection I guess a case c/b made for it. ...Lendl dominated, he's the prototypical modern player. His game is far more translatable into this era than Borg's w/b I suspect. The man was in more slam finals than probably anyone other than the Big 3, & he wasn't losing to patsies. His 94 titles are phenomenal.***

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  12. ***...I still contend that FO was very much a thing in the US, no matter how Fiero remembers it.***

    You have to agree the FO has always been about the "Men's Singles" title! It was esp. prominent back in the 70's b/c of Borg, Vilas, Panatta, & Nastase! Only 2 US R-ups in Gottfried & Solomon! You had Evert winning a couple titles on the ladies' side before skipping a yr or 2 to play WTT w/ the other stars of the day; BJK leading the way w/ Goolagong, Navratilova, Wade! It started being won by players barely in the top 10 & how highly regarded can you take an event; sorta like those lean yrs "down under?" ...The following season w/ 5 set classic of Lendl/McEnroe being played live made it golden!

    ***On what basis are you giving Lendl the edge on stats?

    Borg obviously has the edge in Slams, 11 to 8 - also win % (but that's largely due to retiring early). But in almost every other way, Lendl's resume is superior. Consider:

    *94 to 64 titles, or +30 titles for Lendl
    *35 to 28 big titles, or +7 big titles for Lendl
    *270 to 109 wks @ #1, or +161 wks for Lendl

    It really is a classic case of >er peak (Borg) vs. >er longevity (Lendl), but Lendl's peak was also very high. I also think Lendl played in a harder era; his prime overlapping sev. gens of greats in their prime yrs. Borg had to face a Connors & Vilas on one side, McEnroe/Lendl on the other, but Lendl had to face Connors/Vilas, Borg/McEnroe, but also Wilander/Edberg/Becker & Agassi/Courier/Sampras.

    Again, my pt isn't to say def. that Lendl was >er than Borg, but they're a lot closer than historical memory & surface stats tell us. I go back & forth on it, but my last "official" list written for TF late last yr had Borg ahead of Lendl. But my main pt, again, is that I think they c/b spoken of in the same breath.***

    I felt the same way about Nadal & Djokovic; Rafa w/ a few extra majors, but woefully behind Nole in other statistics including titles, wks @ #1, & ability to defend off "dirt!" As Brit may have commiserated w/ me that Nole's past yr has really hurt the argument, but he still has X to recover; just as he did after '13!

    ***...Is it safe to say the Madrid clay is faster than this? If this is what grass tennis has become, screw this.***

    This is why Borg's a legend & so revered by people in the know of tennis! The man was playing w/ a wood racket that had no real feel since the string tension made it a pane of glass! I experimented w/ it for a season & you're always compensating to give your shots more air due to the ball taking off "fairly dead!" Borg also had to deal w/ grass that was lightning quick, choppy, & gave big servers a distinct advantage! He had to survive many like Tanner, Vijay Armitraj, & Dibley! Then there were the S & V specialist like McEnroe, Nastase, & Gerulaitis to overcome! He wound up owning the most relentless baseliner of his era, Connors in semis & finals! Borg had to defeat these people multiple times in terrible grass conditions, but survived making up his own immortality by winning 5 in a row; playing 6 finals str.!

    ***You made me nostalgic. Some of my earliest tennis memories are Bjorn Borg fan-girling in '77 or so. ...I was someone who liked Pete so it didn't bother me that much, but man, there were a lot of snippy tennis purists who crapped all over the courts being too fast.***

    Borg's 1st "Channel Slam" was in '78 after he skipped FO in '77 to allow his good buddy Vilas to have that bone! He completed the FO/SW19 combo 2 more X's in '79 & '80! It's still a rare feat since most great players seem to have a tough X winning in Paris! Connors & Sampras never played a final, McEnroe, Edberg, and others were always 1 match short! Yeah, the matches c/b boring, but it all depended on the players! Nothing was more entertaining than Gerulaitis & Borg in the '80 semi, going 5 gloriously long sets!

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  13. ***... ...It's not really that shocking un< Roger loses the final @ SW19.***

    This is so freakin' sad; as I've been saying for yrs, "the tour's pretty pathetic to allow this to continue yr after yr!" It's amazing that Fed will probably increase what I thought was a set # @ 17 (now 18)! He'll probably take over the #1 ranking soon after & has no real reason to = think of retiring, though I've begged for it! The "gutless tour" has other emotions bubbling w/i me! I'm so disappointed by the "next gen" that have arrived in some respects, but when it really counts in the majors, they're all no shows! The vets still rule w/ an avg. age that's well over 30! That's reminiscent of my era when top players weren't run out of the sport so early! It wasn't uncommon to have mostly guys in their 30's w/ the only young bloods @ the top being Connors, Borg, & m/b Vilas! IMD the tour was played by men, not boys! There's been a renaissance it seems w/ vets proving "we're not done!" I congratulate Berdych, Cilic, Queerey, & of course the oldest of them all Federer!

    ***How can you be so disappointed @ the gut< ones when all but 1 of the "Big 4" is out? 1:4 chance of a new Wimbledon champ.***

    If one of these "also-rans" wins & breaks up the party of the "Big 4," then I'll be impressed! ...I'm praying for ANYONE else; Cilic could have the bookends of W/USO to really end his career on a high! Many vets win 1 @ the end like Gomez over Agassi in '90 @ 30 y.o.!

    ***All 3 of the pretenders have decent wins over the "Big 4" @ the business end of a Major, including Berdych & Cilic over Fed. There's still a chance. This is what you've been asking for.***

    So I'm just imagining all these yrs of 4 guys owning the tour w/ few & far btw wins outside that group? Del Po, Cilic, & Wawrinka the only players who seem to have = broken thru @ least once! Stan has more ability than 2 of the Big 4, but his brain isn't ready for the strain of consistent excellence! He can blow Nole off the court in Paris in the middle of the >est run since Laver in '69, but lose in the 1st Rd to some "LL" in a 250! You just can't do that! Berdych might get that 1 upset of Roger @ Wimbl. or Rafa "down under" a few yrs ago, but along w/ Ferrer, he's been the biggest waste of talent! ...Let's just say I won't be surprised Roger goes ahead & finishes up this '06-Redux!

    ***I think you hugely underest. the talent diff. btw the B3 @ least & the field. And Murray's a huge talent. Stan has a high ceiling & a big bttm; IMWTO. The sad loss to the comp. is Del Po to injury. Berdych & Ferrer have actually maximized their talents, IMO. Their games are solid, but uninspiring & their weapons have flaws. Same w/ Cilic, who's more like Stan, vis-a-vis "ceiling." They haven't failed to capitalize b/c they're spine<, but b/c they're <er-lights. ...If they could have, they would have. But the vast majority of them have been pushing a large boulder up an unconquerable hill. Once in a while someone else forces their way thru that window of op., but the B4 have kept it pretty narrow or firmly shut. The window is cracked now, but Fed's still waiting to slam it on someone's knuckles.***

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  14. ***Sampras>Borg - so while I see Borg in the poll options, @ least Sampras s/b included. Sampras is clearly surpassed by Fed & Borg's mostly a ?? of "could have, should have afterwards" so IMO either/both are in the poll, or neither.
    ---

    Agree that Sampras belongs on the list. The man who won comfortably the most in the era of the quickest tennis there has ever been deserves an incredible amount of credit, but Borg's not a case of would've should've! He dominated Wimbl. like Fed did & RG like Nadal did, & did it @ the same X. He did it at a X when they required completely diff. skill sets. ...4 finals there is magical enough considering his other accomplishments. Throw in the 2 Masters victories when that tourn. was hot shit & played on the ever fast carpet. Borg's abilities to dominate the fast & the slow are w/o = in the entire history of the game. No Rosewall & Laver, no Becker/Lendl, no Fedal; just Borg.
    ---

    The best all around tennis players I witnessed play @ their peaks were Fed, Nadal, & Borg. They could dom. on certain surfaces like no other & were always in the mix in their least fave (Fed - clay, Nadal - Grass, Borg - HC's). Then you can throw in a mix of Sampras, Djokovic, & Agassi & that w/b my "Greatest" list of modern era players.

    Samoras never seemed to dom. matches & it wasn't always clear he was the best player on the court someX's, but he'd still end up winning. - Right now I'd vote for Fed as GOAT, & I'm not sure it's a close debate.
    ---

    Yes, ridiculous to exclude Sampras from any Goat list. 14 slams, 7-0 in Wimbledon finals. IMO, peak Sampras vs. peak Fed on any Slam surface other than clay, including current Wimbl. grass; Sampras wins the majority. His serve would carry him thru those TB'. - Amongst the male players, Djokovic, Laver, & Budge are specially mentioned & separated from the others for their achievement of holding all 4 major titles @ the same X in roll of honour. Along w/ a few female players such as Navratilova, Graf, Wms, Connolly, Court.
    ---

    ...it still doesn't mean that Fed wasn't close to holding all 4 Slams simul.. And it doesn't mean that Nole's >er than Fed either; 19>12.
    ===

    ...Oh, Nole's subsequent op c/b vs Berdych - never mind.***

    How many X's does a shocker happen though? Nole owns a few players like Del Po, Berdych, Cilic, & Ferrer, then all of a sudden they step up & bite him in an important moment! Djoker has a clear advantage over Murray & Wawrinka, but they've thwarted him in major finals about as much as any top player! That's why I set them above players of past eras since the draws are so tough; the seedings protecting the top echelon to #32 in majors! In my day #17 could play #9 in the 1st Rd of the USO! McEnroe was taken out by Annacone in '86! The Masters' Finals going to BO3 also helps their winning ways today! Fedalovicray have so benefitted from these protections & are running away w/ the recordbks! I just can't see anyone in the near future able to muster the kind of excel. needed to overcome THEse GOAT's!

    ***Cilic looked overwhelmed by the occasion. ...Obviously, Nadal & Djokovic are more complete than Cilic, but so is Fed, & that's why he has 19, Nadal 15, & Djokovic 12 slams. They have won a lot b/c they all have the ability to adapt.***

    ...That's nothing new when it comes to Wimbledon; the "pomp & circum." makes it easy t/b overwhelmed to win in an upset! Esp. in this era, one of the "Big 4" will continue to own the tour & no 1 s/b surprised that Cilic wasn't up to the challenge! ...Cilic has all the ability in the world & I knew it wasn't worth waking up early to see! That 6-1 2nd set tells you all you need to know! It doesn't take a psychic to see where this is going as "ATP TOUR of '06" Redux continues!

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  15. ...I laugh when Trump & his peeps accuse others of being dishonest! They should look in the mirror and look deeper into their own wretched souls; if they have any!

    ***Give a specific example of an illegal act he has committed that c/b verified while president.***

    That "act" having to do with "profiting" while president; doubling fees @ his golf courses, sending people to his hotel down the street from the WH, & plenty of other ways improperly ingratiated by people currying favor! ...we see Trump selling off the majesty of the POTUS! The Trump boys already bragged about how much Chinese & Russian $$ flows thru them! ...After Trump, where should we go the next X; a reformed serial killer?

    ***Unfortunately getting "dirt" on one's opp. is just the nature of the beast known as politics. - Unfortunately getting it from foreign, hostile entities is a little diff. & then of course lying your ass off about it is = worse.***

    The smoking gun is the evidence of these political hacks in the WH beng caught LYING about = meeting Russians! What about that?

    ***...Say it again; "What Trump / Russian scandal?"***

    It's infuriating to see the sycophants of Trump who refuse to = relent to anything being wrong! Not sure Jared & Don Jr. know what it means to LIE on an Int'l scale! ...These BOYS are in trouble & I'm not sure Trump can get away w/ just pardoning indiscriminately after all the kvethin' in the past from Reps over Clinton's back in 2000 before he left office!

    ***Imagine if Hillary was president & Chelsea did exactly what Butthead Jr did. Think of what Hannity & the Trump whores w/b screaming?***

    ...Since the election I've said to myself & friends, "Hillary dodged a fk'n bullet!" If the country was spiraling out of worldwide favor like this under her leadership, Rep's hair w/b on fire! ...The sticks & torches are out for these impotent pieces of SHIT in Congress who asked t/b given total control for yrs, undermining Obamacare w/ repeal legis. 60+ X's, & talked down the economy!

    Trump still says he "inherited a mess!" ...They can't seem to stay on message, constantly stepping on their own + news cycle, turning it into comedic fodder! Reps own it from coast to coast, all of Congress, & now the presidency & they can't get a single thing done!

    It's gotten so bad they brag about a "stolen" SC appt & reversing all of Obama's EO's! Too bad I'll be long gone before it's written what a joke this admin. turned into! It w/b funny if it weren't so tragic!

    ***Are people really this excited about the prospect of President Pence?***

    I know I'm not! Status QUO w/b cool for the next 3+ yrs w/ this feckless president & Congress! What a joke these people are after begging the American people to give them the power to do their will & NOT one piece of legis. has been passed in 6 months! We will actually get a chance to see a party "shut the gov't down" on their own! It's bad enough when blamed when not in power, but for this to occur b/c they might not be able to raise the "debt ceiling" in a X-ly fashion & pass a budget this fall! They're incompetent hacks who've shown they do >er as "the oppo" just to say NO to everything! Actual governing is hard work & these a-holes just aren't up to the task! If Pelosi was in charge, 50 Bills whb passed by now! She's famous for passing 200+ pieces in a single Congress while Ryan's sitting there w/ his thumb up his ass unable to control his caucus! "Well people; this is what you wanted! I hope you enjoy it!"

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  16. ***Anyone who thinks McConnell & Ryan are going to stop w/ gutting Medicaid had better pay attn. Soc. Sec. & Medicare are next.***

    A smarter group of people would try to fix The ACA instead of undermining & hoping it fails! Now that it's part of the Nat'l entitlement consciousness, Reps are stuck & they still don't know what to do! They're screwed either way; repeal the ACA & most of the country will club them to death! Their base won't be satisfied w/ anything short of complete repeal due to the constant haranguing by them making it seem like something good taking away an entitlement! ...Now they're going back on their promise allowing Obama's tax hikes to pay for it!

    ***WH budget "tanks" - The CBO said Thurs. that Trump’s 1st budget plan would not elim. the deficit over 10 yrs or expand the economy @ all by '21, ...

    ...The WH asserted the gov't would have a budget sur+ in '27 if its policies were enacted, bringing in more $$ thru rev. than it spent. That's a gap of more than $700 B in just 1 yr btw the CBO & WH. ...***

    ...Trump's a FK'n lie! He does it so much, it's excused by his stooges! They're propping him up when he shb exposed as a nut yrs ago! I blame his family above all, but they wanted power! Now that they have it, they had >er run! The LAW w/b on them soon for all kinds of impropriety! Jared might end up in the same cell as his father held 10 yrs ago!

    ***This is a truly bad idea:

    In a closed-door GOP conference meeting Fri. morning, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said all 12 appropr's bills w/b finished in comm. by the end of next wk. Starting Mon., leadership will begin a tent. whip ct on whether lawmakers would vote for a package before the Aug. recess that combines all of those bills into one $1 T gov't funding bill. ...

    ...And it get’s = worse:

    Perhaps more worrisome: The bill might fail on the floor, which would provoke another flood of damaging headlines about the GOP’s deep divisions & inability to govern…

    …That’s why GOP leaders want the conf. to commit to passing the final bill — whatever it looks like — before they move down this path. McCarthy asked members to read the various spending bills over the weekend & be ready to give leadership feedback next wk.

    ...They want their members to spend the weekend reading 12 massive appropriations bills & then commit to a vote on all of them regardless of what m/b introduced during the amendment process.

    ...They’ll be asked to give up all their leverage on the front-end, basically ensuring that they have no say. And all for a bill that may not = pass the House let alone become the law.

    Even mod. leader Dent of Penns. is acting like he’s not getting enough O2 to his brain:

    ...He knows that this is all theater but he’s signing up for it anyway = though he knows that in the end the cons won’t be there to vote for their own spending bills. And when that happens, Ryan has to rip it all up & go crawling to Pelosi to avoid a gov't shutdown.

    In the end, all that is accomp. is a demonstration of ineptitude & lack of unity combined w/ dozens of damaging roll call votes. This is what passes for strategy w/ the Reps as they do everything they can think to delay the moment when they have to ask the Dems to help them govern.

    - http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/07/14/house-leadership-plans-dumbest-theater-ever/ - ***

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  17. Donald Trump Jr. releases email chain on his Russian meeting

    - http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/politics/trump-jr-russia-lawyer-emails/ -
    ---

    ...Why can't the people who attended that meeting or were involved in arranging it agree to meet & answer all ??'s so this issue c/b resolved & gov't can get back to work?***

    Trump's like any other pol; "never admit to anything = if it c/b proved!" This is why there's been this "drip, drip, drip" when it comes to this drama w/ the Russians! All concerned think they can weather the storm by undermining the MSM, making excuses by surrogates, deflecting by invoking Hillary's emails, & in gen. acting like Putin; "I'm right & everyone else is wrong!" Trump got away w/ those bullying tactics back in NY, but this is The BIG X & the Int'l media isn't going to let him get away w/ this! I think he's maxed out the stupidity of his followers & they should start ??ing his behavior & his campaign!
    ====

    Most people w/ $$ tend t/b cons. Reps living the life out in the suburbs! It's sorta duplicitous that many of these women of the franchise who seem so liberal like LVP probably vote "R!" My own college roommate kept that to himself for 27 yrs! He's a Mensa member, spoke fluent German way back when, took Russian as a freshman, seems liberal, & BTW is gay, but like most cons. Reps votes vs his own interest! Did he live thru that Jihad vs gay marriage back in '04? The last 10 years have been a strain since the lines of demarcation are deep in this country! This isn't just about a diff. of op.; character & morality come into play w/ both sides smearing the other!

    ***It's fascinating to hear explanations from trumpanzees- voting against their own self-interest, voting to have people they love brutalized, = killed. ...They're obsessed by all things superficial, & t/b fair, they probably have no idea they voted for a charlatan - they simply want t/b on the side of "the wealthy." Many aren't wealthy enough to benefit from gigantic tax breaks in the trumpkill bill, i.e.; they just don't know it yet.
    ---

    So what, it's rigged? Of course Reps wanted Cruz or Rubio or Jeb or Kasich over Trump.***

    It's only cheating if Dems do something wrong! The double standards are piling up w/ these people! IDK how they can keep it all str.? Trump's acceptability has lowered the bar so much, what's next "a reformed serial killer?" After what's been excused w/ nauseating deflections to Hillary, I'm glad I won't be around to see the next incarnations of Reps & who they support!

    ***White House kicks off 'Made in America' week***

    What a bunch of idiots! Supporting some asshole who's hoodwinked them w/ "America First" slogan, but @ the same X well knowing the only thing Trump's produced in this country is the BS that comes out of his mouth! His furniture, suits, ties, & everything else is cheaply made somewhere in Mexico, Istanbul, China, & other far away places so he c/b this obvious hypocrite that's getting away w/ murder!

    ***IDK why things were held up, but I find it despicable that the recruits' skills are used to keep the US safe & now they're facing the threat of deportation.***

    That's the American way going back to the beginning! The Pilgrims would have expired that 1st winter back in the 17th century if not for the Native American Indians! Their reward was systematic genocide still going on! Then there were the Asian & Mexican Americans who helped build the train tracks across the country, but wasn't accepted & thought of as being "different!" Do we really have to reminded of Japanese Interment Camps; slavery? Why are we surprised our country selected a nut to run things who's doing exactly what they want done? We need to stop being so shocked at ANYTHING that happens these days!

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  18. Trump continues to put himself in this pos. of being a liar!

    ***...Were you this concerned when Obama kept blaming Bush thru his admin.?***

    Well if you consider "W" leaving office after starting/leaving 2 wars, an economy in collapse, the stock market cratering, unemployment soaring, & the auto industry about to go under costing = more job, I think it was justified in Obama mentioning the previous occupant of WH! Trump & the country was fortunate that Obama left the country in great shape = though he says "I inherited a mess!" Hmmm, I think most would love to inherit a thriving economy on a mild trajectory that is still going up 1% or so a yr, a record DOW, low unemployment, & believe it or not a "health care" system in place, but waiting for a few fixes! If not for Reps beating the law w/ a club, it w/b working fine, but the relentless haranguing of the ACA makes all concerned nervous, esp. insurance providers! That's why rates are going up exponentially; constantly being undermined by small minded & empty headed cons!

    ***I'd like to beat Bernie w/ a pole, if you know what I mean.***

    Yeah, Bernie & that other woman running hurt Clinton; Sanders early during the primaries & Stein on election night! We're talking mere 1000's of votes being the diff.! I still say as much as she could have saved us from this troglodyte, Hillary dodged a bullet! Congress would still be as dysfunctional, but they would have had her to legitimately beat on & blame! The people in the country aren't very bright; broad daylight news & we still do stupid shit! Look who we have running the whole show; Reps from coast to coast! They have the power to do anything & @ this X are paralyzed due to their leader being under siege! Nothing's going to change anyX soon & they're destined t/b on pace to not pass a legitimately large piece of legis. in the 1st year of this term! They own it! "Do nothing Congress" will take on a whole new meaning & definition after this! Trump outside of being possibly Impeached, will end up being only a placeholder on the list of Presidents! "Thanks so much Donald!" Poetic justice has Jane Sanders under scrutiny for some shady loan dealings involving a defunct school she was running!
    ---

    The MSM is reporting Trump & his people are looking into possibility of him pardoning his kids & himself! What a mess! At the same X they're looking into trying to discredit Mueller! They need to look in the mirror someX before they die! What a collection of reprobates!

    ***He's looking for a way to fire Mueller to protect himself. He may fire Sessions so he can appoint a new AG who'll fire Mueller. This pardon business is a 'just in case' thing. I am afraid he's going to use his presidential powers to protect himself. It seems a POTUS cannot be indicted. I hope he will long enough t/b indicted b/c some day he will not be POTUS- either in '21 or '25.
    ---

    ...The most important diff. btw the parties on HC m/b that the Dems had a vision that they were thoroughly committed to & were astonishingly courageous in effecting. No one had more to lose from sticking w/ the forced march toward passage of Obamacare than Nancy Pelosi, & yet no one was as devoted to the cause. If she becomes speaker again in '19 after Reps—disunited, selfish & fearful—have whiffed on repealing her handiwork, it w/b the sweetest revenge.***

    The Big LIE undermining the ACA is from the "right" saying it was "rammed" thru Congress w/ lit'l debate & no contributions from Reps! ALL lies; Obama went on an extensive speaking tour, gave countless press conferences, hosted town halls, & Republicans got all kinds of input/amendments = though none voted for the bill! The only reason the ACA is on life support is b/c Reps are choking off the oxygen hose! It's an entitlement they wanted to eliminate & it's "too late baby!"

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  19. ***The Secret Service Just Contradicted Trump Lawyer’s Defense of the Russia Meeting

    - http://secondnexus.com/technology-and-innovation/secret-service-just-contradicted-trump-lawyers-defense-russia-meeting/ -
    ---

    - http://washingtonjournal.com/2017/07/23/trump-just-begged-republicans-protect-russia-investigation-twitter-tantrum/ -

    Trump Just Begged For Reps To “Protect” Him From Russia Investigation In Twitter Tantrum***

    Only someone as disturbed as Trump would expect support or help from anyone! He attacks = when not justified! Running ads vs Reps doesn't help & attacking the media calling it fake news when they're just reporting back what he said or Tweeted! So who's making "fake news?"

    ***Wow! This guy's really out to make history. The 1st president t/b able to pardon himself & then impeach himself! Could he then indict himself? Imprison himself? Sentence himself? And when finally released...exile himself? ...***

    A lot of this everyday "Breaking News" would trickle away to nothing if Trump would STFU! He fuels this stuff; esp. when he sends his mouthpieces out to contradict or t/b made liars by him w/i mins! No one in the WW has any reliability or credibility! Did everyone see Trump pass on the Presidential Seal to Kushner for his press conference? Well that pipe dream s/b history after he testifies later this wk! The self-entitlement of these people is only matched by their hypocrisy to continue going after the Clintons! All of these people are truly "bent!"

    ***It would help if there was some actual evidence presented.***

    Funny I said the same thing to Reps who had the long knives out for the Clintons early & often! After what they did trying to derail the Clinton & Obama admin. w/ their never-ending "accusing of something," it's just desserts Trump is being harangued legitimately w/ a Rep. Congress that can't really help him that much! Sooner or later they'll have to cut him lose he's such an embarrassment to their party & the country! Since Trump instigated the "Birther movement" & berated Obama w/ it for 5 yrs, his whining will fall on deaf ears! "Cry me a river!" Russia's like Benghazi except Hillary never had this much going vs her = w/ the entire Rep. party in sociopathic synchronization in their talking pts!

    ***Today's one of those days that I find very discouraging. First, Trump's Boy Scout speech that was apparently a very fine example of authoritarian propaganda, & then McCain's return for the health care vote. And everyone seems to continue to get away w/ it & there's hardly anyone in the Rep. Party who's got some spine and/or m/b starts to think about their constituents.***

    Was the Inaugural speech any better? I heard it was truly one of the most divisive speeches ever given! Typical Trump talking about building walls, dealing w/ illegals, & saying nothing about bringing the country together after such a horrible & disgusting election campaign!

    ***I'm considering trying to start posting more threads on non-pol current events.***

    I know the feeling & see that it's really just like "banging" my head on the ground to try & talk intelligently about politics seeing it's becoming more & more obscene & divisive each election cycle! Reps have all the power now & haven't gotten "one thing done" in all these months! Trump embarrasses himself & the country bloviating about how much he's accomplished in comparison "to the greats!" So far he's only placed Lincoln ahead of himself! There's a chance he believes he's doing more than GOD! Give him X!

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  20. ***...If Fed gets to 20 w/ the USO or someX next yr, I think I'd write off = Rafa's chances of overtaking him.
    ---

    The McEnroe bros said they had heard Nole was not playing the US HC swing. - ...Since when was the USO Nole's fave slam? Surely his 6 @ AO trumps his 2 USO's.***

    Well The USO does have more of his fantastic wins & horrific losses, but making the SF's again & again unlike the other "Big 4!" Who can forget him saving X MP's vs Fed in cons. USO SF's? Nole really has been the most consistent over the last 10 yrs & remained in the top 3 all this X making major final after final!

    ***...After the beautiful yr in '12, '13 turned out t/b a disaster & Fed suffered more & more painful losses in '14 W, '15 W, '15 USO's. ...

    ...Federer was widely considered the greatest player ever to play the game from '09 Wimbl. when he broke the slam rec. @ the X, but this status doesn't hold on forever if he stayed still & others moved up. Nadal & Djokovic always there to push him. His GOATness was challenged sev. X by those ATGs, but every X they came closer, Fed has reached new heights of his career to make sure he's on the top & they're far distant. We should thank Nadal b/c w/o him it's hard for Fed to keep his motivation for that long. Once the golden era's finally gone, the next great gen. will frustrate to know how high the mountain they have to climb.
    ---

    Agassi was a more dangerous returner vs big servers, but gave away many pts due to his game's high risk nature, while Djokovic is more consistent.***

    If Chang was the returner GOAT, the prognosticators are going to go w/ the more glamorous Agassi! It's sorta like the masses outside of the game thought Agassi was "the man" & not giving any credit to Sampras b/c no milti-M $$ campaign making him a household name w/o winning a anything! It took Agassi almost 10 yrs to earn the credit he'd been getting since his "crib days!"

    ***Chang had >er stats majority of X. ...6/10 yrs had >er stats for him. Yet USA bias says Aggasi GOAT!
    ---

    1. I agree w/ your pt about many tourneys being on grass & thus Laver's CYGS was easier those days.

    2. However, I disagree ...Laver was successful in the pro circuit & was also successful when pros were allowed to play in regular slams.***

    Like any era, you can only play vs the comp. & conditions offered & available @ the X! It's a bit ridiculous to try & fault Laver for either pros being barred from major events until the end of '68 or the fact 3 of the 4 majors were played on grass! That's about as ridiculous to blame the current "Big 4" for the overuse of homogenized courts & being protected w/ 32 seeds! ...IMO Rafa's the weakest of the 4 w/ so many issues over the yrs w/ his consistency! Roger the only player so far who's maxed out his abilities!

    ***I'm no Rafa-fan, but Rafa the weakest of the Top 4?? Seriously? Andy Murray anyone?

    Speaking of the overall X spent on & off the court guy! No top player I know has been as absent from the tour! To this day Rafa's been unable to defend a title off the clay surface! ...He barely competes w/ Borg in being #1 who played 1/2 as long & didn't go "down under" but maybe once! Murray's done the best he could seeing as Fedalovic just happened t/b standing in his way since the beginning! He's truly been the "Vitas Gerulaitis" of this era in most people's opinion, but playing that def. game, he maxed it out & has a few majors for his troubles! He's done more than most w/ the kinds of obstacles in his way! Lendl, like Djokovic was the perennial #3 behind Borg/McEnroe & McEnroe/Connors = though he accomplished about the same if not >! Ivan still got 2 Wimbledons & a USO out of the guy!

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  21. ***...At the least, I do include Moody in the "herd of GOATesses" - along w/ Court, Evert, Navritilova, Graf, & Serena. To me those 6 are clearly above everyone else. We can quibble in what order they s/b placed, but I don't think there's a good argument that they aren't the 6 greatest female tennis players of all X. W/ the men, the list is slightly < distinct & maybe a bit larger, but there are still about 10-12 players who are GOAT candidates, w/ everyone else in the next tier out. And = though I think there's a valid argument that an Andy Murray is now a >er player than was, i.e., a Bill Tilden, I don't think we can say that Andy is a >er player than Tilden, historically speaking.***

    I can't tell you how many X's I've had to revisit this topic, from Laver being the consumate and consensus GOAT w/ his 2 CYGS; 1 as an Am. in '62 & another as a pro in '69 to Federer's rebirth winning #18 & #19! Borg came along performing like no other in pro history taking 5 str. Wimbledons & 6 of 8 FO's w/ rationalizing going on to change who was thought of as "the best!" It was settled until Sampras came along breaking the men's records! We were so set on making history & proclaiming him the GOAT, we overlooked he hadn't = played a FO final! After this latest crop of greats, Fedalovic have pushed Pete below Laver & Borg = though he has 14 majors! At least Borg played in 4 USO finals; the 1 slam he was never able to snag! I give more credit to Borg due to such a short window accomp. so much! Roger's the man = though 2 players have owned him for the most part over the yrs in major events! He has turned the clock back & taken over rivalry w/ Nadal, but's still woefully behind in the H2H! OTTH, this is how I remember it:

    '70's - Laver led the way over Borg = though Emerson held a rec. 12 majors to Laver's 11!

    '80's - Laver still owned it over Borg w/ Lendl coming up fast w/ a ton of accomps,!

    '90's - Laver still revered, but Sampras started coming on strong taking 7 Wimbl. & 5 USO's

    '00's - Sampras owned it, but Fed has a stretch in the mid decade like no other winning 3 of 4 majors 3 X's! He becomes the definitive GOAT w/ Nadal closely behind!

    '10's - Fed extends his lead over the rest of the field in the history of the game, w/ the only comp/ left is to see who's #2! Right now it's btw 3 players, Nadal, Djokovic, & Sampras!

    ***...I would go w/ Navratilova as the GOAT. # of slams not just in singles, dominance, a partner in the >est rivalry tennis has seen. I mean... think about it, had Evert not been there she would probably have 30 singles titles & we wouldn't = be debating this!***

    I always thought she lost some of those single's finals due to overplaying; singles, dubs, & MxD when possible! She was too successful @ all of them so it wasn't usual for her to play 2 or 3 X's a day; esp. closing in on the finals! Funny, I still remember having to wait until the recordbk in '86 to find out if she won the Inaugural MxD event @ The Lipton Int'l of '85! That was the 1st X I remember her winning all 3 events in Delray Beach! It was considered the 5th major @ the X!

    ***That's a fair pt!***

    I don't think people remember or realize how dominate Navratilova was @ the X from '82-86! In '83 it was about winning games vs her, least of all sets! I overslept a lit'l & missed the 1st set of her defeat of Jaeger @ '83 Wimbl.! It was over in 13 min. w/o a loss of a game! That would be about the X for 2 games w/ Azarenka & Sharapova!

    ***Yes I agree. That's why I think she's hand down the GOAT; if I'm going to call anyone the GOAT that is. I find comparing across sexes no more absurd than across distant eras.***

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  22. ***Federer: slam ct leader, wks @ #1, YE #1, 8 Wimbl. titles
    - Nadal: H2H lead in slam finals vs his other 2 rivals, 10 RG titles
    - Djokovic: Held all 4 slams @ the same X, leads overall H2H vs his 2 rivals, will prob. end his career @ or very close to the top of the wks @ #1 & YE #1

    All this shows is that there's no GOAT; all 3 can have arguments made for & vs them. ...the most successful player in 'x' stat & another's the most successful player in 'y' stat.

    A good example is:

    Fed: Lost more slam finals to his 2 >est rivals than he won & is behind in the overall H2H (t/b considered GOAT, you have t/b >er when it matters than your 2 biggest rivals)

    Nadal: Didn't go consistently deep in slams as the other 2 (if you want t/b considered GOAT, you have t/b a consistent contender @ all slams that you compete)

    Djokovic: Overall slam ct is still the weakness in his resume (...by the X he's done, he'll have won more, but we'll have to wait & see - but as of now, you can't be the GOAT when 2 of your major rivals are ahead of you on the overal slam title ct)
    ---

    I think what makes Fedalovic unique though is that they'll most likely end up filling the 1st 3 spots on the all X slam list. Being the most succesful players in history & having played vs each other directly means that it's tough not to do what I did & pt out that not 1 has completely dom. the other 2 in all areas of the game which makes it tough to annoint 1 single GOAT. It's much easier to judge say, Sampras & Borg on stats alone e.g. b/c they didn't play each other. Fed's no doubt in front on the major stats in the game @ the moment, but if all of them retire in the top 3 spots, then it does bring other factors into it b/c they all played @ the same X. It doesn't happen much in sport @ all that the >est 3 in history played @ the same X vs each other.
    ---

    Played Murray heaps though & he's around their level (not Davydenko).***

    ...True enough when it comes to winning 1 YEC & select Masters, they were comparable to some extent up to the end of last season! Davydenko wasn't in X major finals, much < winning any, & he never came close to being #1! I understand where you're coming from, but w/ Nole's collapse after the FO, Murray was allowed to accum. 500's to overtake him & become #1! That shouldn't have happened! It seems that if Nole had won just 1 more match anywhere after the USO, he probably would have retained #1 up to the AO! That changed history so much ...couldn't defend his YEC coming down to 1 match determining the YE #1! Davy never got a sniff of #1 except being relentlessly beaten by them!

    ***Categories in which Andy's not in the league of the other "B4"

    Wins:-
    Federer - 1111
    Nadal - 852
    Djokovic - 783
    Murray - 655

    Titles:-
    Federer - 93
    Nadal - 73
    Djokovic - 68
    Murray - 45

    Wks @ #1:-
    Federer - 302
    Djokovic - 223
    Nadal - 141
    Murray - 38

    GS Finals
    Federer - 29
    Nadal - 22
    Djokovic - 21
    Murray - 11

    GS Titles:-
    Federer - 19
    Nadal - 15
    Djokovic - 12
    Murray - 3

    Combined H2H:-
    Nadal - 64-47 (57.6%)
    Djokovic - 74-57 (56.5%)
    Federer - 50-57 (46.7%)
    Murray - 29-56 (34.1%)

    W/ the exception of match wins (prob. the < meaningful of these) the >est gap in every 1 of these categories' BTW whoever is in 3rd place & Murray. You could throw the Masters 1000s in there too & it'd be > of the same (Titles - 30/30/26/14. Finals - 45/44/44/21).

    The only categories in which he really has records comparable to the others is # of slam QF's & SF's he has made & that consistency is what elevates him above guys like Wawrinka & Del Potro & everybody else, but it's not really enough to put him in league w/ these other 3, esp. given he's still last on those metrics too (Andy 21SF/30QF, Rafa 25SF/31 QF, Novak 31SF/39QF, Roger 42SF/50QF)***

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  23. ***...Have the Reps literally stated their goal is to erase Obama's legacy?***

    Sorta like when those jerks said, "we will make Obama a one term president?" That was unprecedented @ the X! If not bigoted & racists, IDK what is for those animals on the "right!" Trump is systematically overturning every EO issued by Obama!

    ***A lot of Trump voters pardoned him for some of the nasty things he said b/c they never expected it to affect them. ...A lot of workers in the U.S. are hurting & they need the truth & not Trump & his empty promises.***

    Reps like t/b lied to; seen it all my life! Since I was a kid, it has always been about "tax cuts" in their minds! It's a MONTRA! Every X they get their way, they run the economy & gov't into the ground! Reps are the def. of insanity thinking another result will occur doing the same stupid thing! Bush 41 called it voodoo economics in '80, but jumped on board to become President in '88! "Supply-siders" have blown it since the 20's when they had just as much power across the country & we saw what happened! The Great Depression was almost outdone by Bush 43 w/ the collapse of everything when we were actually paying down "the debt" under Clinton! I thought we were on our way, but Gore was such a weak candidate, blew it, & didn't fight for that recount in FLA! Not sure we'll recover this X; Trump has lowered the standard for elected officials! ...They HATE the liberal agenda & would rather go back to a X more comfortable for them; m/b Jurassic! Thankfully I'm old & won't have to see the final residual affects of this last election!

    ***Trump is obsessed w/ Obama & has been for over 8 yrs. It's like his rant @ the Boy Scouts event. Obama wasn't there! "I'm more popular than Obama." Spicey's declaration that the inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's. I think he's more obsessed than Congress although they used that meme to get themselves elected.***

    Trump has exposed himself as 1 of the great bigots w/ his Jihad on Obama! Nothing has been spared in disparaging this man, from his citizenship & patriotism to his religious beliefs & intellect! ...BO was the President of the Harvard Law Review while Trump can barely read his teleprompter! You know how past Presidents have this bond of being in an exclusive club? I'm not sure Trump will make the grade after all's said & done! The man is VILE & when I hear of friends supporting him, I have to reflect on = knowing these people!

    Some of these supporters can deflect anything said or done by Trump! It usually involves that playground tactic of comparing Clinton or Obama to what's up w/ Trump as being worse! That's their "get out of jail free card" in all these poor, pathetic people's heads since they're so jealous of their success! = w/ all their obstructions & constant whinging for investigations over trivial matters, 42, Hillary, & 45 got a lot done & w/b talked about for yrs to come! Dems have always been in the lead when it comes to "great change" while Reps are by def. static in their thinking! Before he died, the Prince of Darkness & lifelong con., Bob Novak said, "they haven't had an original idea since they freed the slaves!" I'll never forget that 1 piece of honesty from someone I couldn't stomach going back to "Crossfire" days of the early 80's when Pat Buchanan left to do comm. for Reagan!

    My BF & roommate from college kept it to himself that he was a Rep. until '05 when we started talking politics! It was so hard for him to criticize "W" & I've been in shock ever since! Known this person since '77, spoke fluent German, studied Russian, is a Mensa member for Gawd-sake, but is a Trump supporter! We haven't seen each other in yrs = though we text periodically!

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  24. ***It's a troll site for dumb libs apparently.***

    ...If Trump would STFU, he wouldn't make as much news, but like all pinheaded cons., he's got to talk about shit = when not asked! Idiots like him volunteer their own destruction; started 'early on' accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower! The MSM was off & running all due to HIS OWN BIG MOUTH & he continues to fuel the flames unable to control his worst instincts to fight back instead of letting issues take their course!

    ***...Economic growth helps, but there are still many other factors.***

    Clinton left the country w/ a sur+, low unemployment, a DOW that had more than doubled, & a Nat'l Debt which was scheduled t/b elim. in 10 yrs! Gore stunk as a candidate, cons. eviscerating him daily, & the weak-minded Troglodytes of the country threw us into a crisis in 2000 as well! It didn't take long for the country to go to shit, but as always we're the def. of "insanity;" hoping another result will occur w/ the same antiquated beliefs that threw us in a depression after the "Roaring 20's!" We cut our own throats w/ puritan actions, sabotaging our own economy w/ Prohibition! Now Trump & his stooges are going after immigrants, shutting down the borders, & trying to make it a crime to report LEAKS from their own sieve of the WW! We're in trouble again! It's only a matter of X when this all blows up; notwithstanding the delusions of Trump saying "nothing to see here!"

    ***Trump won't be running for office for 4 yrs, if then, & Reps aren't going to vote for Dems in other elections j/b they aren't happy w/ Trump. They'll still turn out & vote for Reps, b/c that's what they do; w/ or w/o Trump.***

    ...and what does that say about them since Reps do run it all; from coast to coast! They still can't get a damn thing done! This is unprecedented incompetence w/ a new Prez, a so called united Congress, & a cons. SC; what good has it done them or us? What a joke! Looking forward to being entertained seeing it all crumble around them; ALL THIS SUCCESS! Flynn's in serious trouble taking $$ from foreign powers & Manafort w/b the next domino to fall! Get out your popcorn people!

    ***Trump has apparently threatened to fire Gen. Nicholson b/c the war in Afghanistan has not yet been won.***

    Funny, Trump said he knew more than the generals! Why did he give "carte blanche?" No wonder this mess is still going on after 15+ yrs; total incompetence in the military! Obama should have just snatched those guys out there & let the place go under! What good has it done us blowing $$ on this crap when our roads, bridges, antiquated infrastructure, & schools are crumbling & could use just a fraction of what's being wasted over there?

    ***Russia, Russia! What gets me about that, is why can't some people understand that it's not nec. about 'collusion.' I have a hard X believing many
    of the people under the microscope right now actually colluded w/ the Russians to do harm to the US.***

    If they ALL go down in flames, I'll just have 1 word for all the hypocrites wondering why 1 subject dominated their consciousness so much; BENGHAZI! Reps slobbered, bitched, & moaned about it for over 4 yrs w/ nothing in mind other than to embarrass Hillary & now people have the nerve to complain about being investigated over something truly legit like Russia colluding w/ a moron t/b President? Laughable! Thanks; I needed that!

    ***I'm 1 that was not happy about what went down w/ Benghazi. That Amb. should have gotten the asst. he needed. And the situation shb looked @ harder before someone got on TV & blamed a video. I agree, though, the whole deal w/ Russia seeking an "in" via a weak candidate & his staffers is beyond that. I'm not too certain about it yet to call it collusion. I want to see what Mueller and his team trot out to the Grand Jury & see the evidence.***

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  25. ***16 lawyers who donated to Hillary Clinton; guess we won't have to guess if there w/b political bias in this 'investigations.'***

    Cry me a river! Did you complain when committee after committee run by a Rep. Congress relentlessly investigated Benghazi for 4 yrs & counting? To this day I'm still wondering wtf'n crime c/b in the emptyheaded cons. mind? They wasted $$'s on that & of course more on the Clinton invest. that got them nothing! ...Love someone like Gingrich & McConnell talking about fidelity & family when they're on 2nd or 3rd marriages while the Clintons have been together since college! It's too frustrating to deal w/ people like that, so continue to play the VICTIM! To defend this current behavior, you're as complicit as any of them! Have a good X dragging the institutions of our country into the ground w/ this lowering of standards now acceptable by a good # of you!

    ***Trump going after Clinton is a sign of weakness, not strength. What other President in recent yrs went after the pol. rival he defeated w/ this much vehement passion? ...despite having majorities in both the House & the Senate. They have blocked him from making recess appts. His staff is in utter disarray, & I don't see Gen. Kelly stopping the weird behavior of his boss.***

    It's so sad to see & hear supposedly intelligent people making excuses or trying to justify the insanity going on in DC! It has never been this dysfunctional where 1 party runs it all, but haven't been able to accomplish 1 thing so far! Attacking Hillary as a deflection only makes the situation look more desperate; esp. invoking cabinet of Obama like Sec. Rice, thinking that'll change the narrative on Trump's Russia drama! Let's say The Justice Dept. indicts Hilary & every1 else; THEN WHAT? Does that save Don Jr. & Jared K. from being prosecuted for perjury? Flynn & Manafort w/b the 1st to fall! Can't wait for it ALL to blow up fast so we can get on w/ it! We might as well start printing Prez Pence on docs; heaven forfend!

    ***...Trump going hammer & tong after hammer & sickle, Mueller has crossed Trump’s Red Line, using X grand juries & issuing subpoenas in a comprehensive inquiry covering not only possible campaign collusion, but also business dealings by Trump & his assocs w/ Russia. The Times reported Friday that Mueller’s investigators had asked the WH for docs related to Michael Flynn.

    A WH adviser muses how scary Mueller’s dream team is, & how Jared Kushner s/b nervous. Every X Mueller +s a legal celeb to his crew, the music gets cued for an “Ocean’s 11” or “Dirty Dozen” array of talent. One lawyer helped destroy the NYC mafia; another helped bring down Nixon; another tackled Enron; others are experts on foreign bribery & witness-flipping.

    ...Mueller is taken seriously as Mr. Clean Marine, a Rep. willing to stand on principle = vs other Reps, as when he & James Comey resisted W. on warrant< wiretapping. Mueller's seen as incorruptible, so his conclusions will most likely be seen as unimpeachable. Trump does not yet seem to fathom that Mueller is empowered in a way no one else is to look at all sorts of things.
    ---

    Appearing on "Fox & Friends" on Frid. morn., WE FNC host Pirro warned that, should prosecutors indict a Trump family member on criminal charges, there w/b hell to pay w/ the American public. Addressing reports that at least one grand jury is investigating Trump & his assocs., the former prosecutor excitedly stated that it probably is concerning to Trump that he is being persecuted. ...Pirro went on to add, “I was a prosecutor for 32 yrs, you can indict a ham sandwich.***

    Not sure how this woman became a pros. & judge = for a cons. TV news network! She's been slurpin' Trump for a while like Eric Bolling who's been suspended for sexual harassment! She hasn't found anything objectionable that I've seen or heard about Trump and his admin.!

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  26. ***Personally, I think Pence's possible presidential run is an attempt to sabotage his boss & speed his departure from office. - Pence is a snake who lies = more easily than Trump. I don't trust him for a sec. & wouldn't be surprised if he were part of the leaks that are undermining Trump.***

    Pence is trying to avoid the friction of the press actually musing about him taking over before Trump's term is over! Insulting them and making no friends is the reason nothing's passed in all these months! A Rep. President w/ a Rep. Congress & they can't do anything right! ...It's a shame, but @ the same X good for all concerned they're so incompetent & feckless!

    ***Thank you, Obama, for handing Trump a strong economy & 4% unemployment.***

    That's the only reason the country hasn't imploded already! Obama left a nicely set table = though Trump bitched about everything going to HELL in a handbasket! This Troglodyte has been the luckiest politician in the history of the planet! People forget when Obama took over, the country was "on the verge!" He never has gotten any credit from Reps & they'll continue to gamble w/ our prosperity unfortunately, but it's our fault! We don't like prosperity; from Clinton to "W" is all you have to remember! Going from a thriving economy & peace to 2 wars & economic collapse! Who's fault is that; us maybe?

    ***Same hate rant...diff. day...***

    Same stupid lack of acceptance of the truth! It's pathetic & painful knowing we have so many empty-headed losers voting into office all of these Rep. party liars! They promised to repeal & replace Obamacare; FAILURE! They wanted to use those saved funds to give tax brks to the wealthy; FAILURE! The budget for the next fiscal yr is going t/b in limbo since these geniuses left for vacation knowing the "Debt Ceiling" bill needs t/b passed! They know they'll have the same debates btw themselves "on the right," but won't be able to blame it on Obama since their psycho BOY is sitting in the Oval Office! You're such winners; getting tired of it yet? I'm still waiting for the experience!

    ***...You may be giving Trump more credit than he deserves. It strikes me that he bullies people b/c (1) he doesn't know what else to do & (2) he makes himself feel >er by putting other people down.***

    He's already lost what strength he had being voted in as president! Trump tried running the country by bullying people w/ his childhood tactics & it's only made him more impotent! His own party members don't have respect for him and openly speak ill of his logic, lack of patience, & incapability to think things thru before vomiting out his nonsense! Other countries are looking elsewhere for support & alliances! People are musing these days over "ignoring" Trump if he gives an order too stupid to follow! That's unprecedented weakness IMO!

    ***The trouble is that while Trump can't declare war, he can call for nuclear missiles t/b launched.

    - http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/real-story-football-follows-president-everywhere-180952779/ -***

    I was about to say! You see how he blitzed Syria w/o approval! There was no real damage & due to warnings, no loss of life, but we wasted tons of missiles for his lit'l show of strength! Syria was able to open the bombed airfield the next day w/ minimal damage to equipment! He can't declare war, but has access to some pretty strong hardware & he'll use it if he thinks he will get some credit! The man is all about winning no matter what the cost to others!

    ***When Trump was reviewing our nuclear arsenal & bragging about it, pity he didn't pay attention to the 72nd ann. of Hiroshima & Nagaskai which was this wk (6th & 9th) & understand exactly what happened w/ 2 relatively small bombs.***

    But you forgot, his granddaddy told him all about it 35 yrs ago! According to Trump, he's quite aware already!

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  27. There s/b more shake-ups coming in the WW! The CEO of Merck just resigned from Trump's business council after his < than thoughtful comments on Charlottesville! Frump hit him back on his way out though; "Merck has more X to lower the prices on his product ripoff!" Who would work = a moment for such an animal?

    ***Quite a few are still working for that heart< buffoon who can't condemn evil acts in clear terms.***

    Trump couldn't condemn his supporters from the Alt-Right Sat., but catching flack about his weak response concerning death & rioting in Charlottesville, he came out just now to give an obviously prepared remark on his teleprompter! Too bad he had to start by talking about how great the economy is w/ low unemployment & how a million jobs have been created since he's become president! So pathetic! He just wasted his X & this isn't going away! The ??s will still be thrown @ Reps as soon as they come out of their HOLES!

    ***Breaking News: The WH is " stunned" the prez went rogue. In other words more unhinged than usual.***

    If this doesn't finish him, IDK what will!? This is so obscene to see unfolding; predictable, but still obscene to see it happening in RT! It's just unbelievable the self-immolation & the relent< support by some w/ no shame!

    ***B/c the lit'l petal is so sensitive, apparently he gets a folder twice a day of good news stories about himself.

    - http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/donald-trump-is-given-a-folder-full-of-positive-news-about-himself-twice-a-day/news-story/4f0ed0bae992586a31f39be47f4bd604 -

    If this is true, then lit'l wonder why he's so full of himself.***

    Sounds like NERO or Caligula; needing reaffirmation like any tyrant in the annals of history!

    ***Again, you are approaching this with the advantage of hindsight, while I'm trying not to speculate on a hypothetical Hillary Clinton presidency.***

    I've been saying for wks, Hillary dodged a freakin' bullet! The Congress would have still been dysfunctional & lit'l to nothing would have gotten done! Of course McConnell & Ryan would blame her alone, not being able to control their own majorities! What she could have spared us from is the embarrassment of having a Troglodyte attempting to play "president!" He's failed @ every turn to represent the position w/ integrity, purpose, & any kind of honor! She would have some gravitas & w/ Bill charming them, the respect of the country w/b secured for a lot longer than 5 min.! Hillary also would have selected a couple SC Justices & changed the direction of the courts for 30 yrs or >! Trump's next huge test is if he relents to his baser instincts & cuts those payments to supplement Obamacare next wk! What a mess w/ potential for an avalanche of more around the corner since Mueller is still working quietly behind the scenes! I wonder is Trump musing about his slogan of "lock her up?" How ironic; don't you all think?

    ***The talking pts. are well rehearsed & used @ the drop of a hat.***

    That's all Reps are good @; TALKING! Actual legis. & running the country is over their heads & has been for yrs! They didn't expect Trump to win & were poised t/b the same obstructionist A-holes during Hillary's admin.! Too bad for them & the world this Troglodyte won & they've found themselves help< & clue<; unable to pass any piece of legis.! ...Steve Bannon's been fired, but as long as Trump's in the OVAL Office, we're still going t/b "whistling Dixie" until he's removed or resigns!

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  28. IDK how we can get past the humiliation & embarrassment of electing such a creature to anything, much < Prez! We see he's exposed himself for the bigot & racist animal he is & it's causing rifts w/ family & friends! ...I guess intelligence has lit'l to nothing to do w/ 'common sense!'

    ***Morality too. One c/b intelligent, but lacking in basic moral principles.***

    Who thought Trump would be moral?

    ***Every X 1 of the GOP says "Stronger Toether," I'm reminded that that was Hillary's slogan. If that's what they wanted, they should have voted for her. And it's a doggone fact that her slogan was far more accurate & telling than that lit'l 'Make America Great Again' farce.***

    Talk to white women! Supposed it was them that made the diff. in her losing! "Why do women hate other women?" I've yet to receive a substantial answer or reason outside of petty jealousy! They hate other smart women, women who are more attractive, the others who may dress better, or been more lucky in marriage! I would think those things s/b celevbrated instead of punished the way they did by electing a caveman to the Oval Office!

    ***Except it wasn't. It was white people, both men & women. And, if you look at the breakdown, white men voted for Trump in >er #'s than white women. ...While people write stupid articles about how it's all the women's fault & ignore all the other factors.***

    White male voters have always been idiots going for the cons! There was no way those cavemen were voting for Hillary so you can drop that argument right now! It was all on the women as far as I'm concerned! The same people who kvetch about a lack of representation, but having more than 50% of the votes, elect & re-elect these Rep. a-holes who threaten Planned Parenthood relentlessly! The same people who heard how abusive Trump was to women as a misogynist pig, they still voted for him over her! I hope they're all proud of themselves b/c it supposedly came down to 70,000 votes over 3 working class states! I've given up & will laugh in their faces when Trump undermines them = more in the future playing this political game w/ "abortion!"

    ***...It's sad for our country that the criminal & mean-spirited opp. vs Hillary helped elect Trump (& yes, that includes James Comey's unnec. Letter to Congress about innocuous & previously scrutinized emails). By this point, & = before this pt, enough has been more than enough when it comes to the damage Trump is doing to our country & to the world. I haven't been following much of the Trump circus that closely. It's all so inane & insanely depressing. I just caught up w/ some of the sad news today.***

    I was more morose that night in Nov! I didn't watch the news for 2 months thru the Inaugural! ...W/ all the other drama going on, people have forgotten about the Russian investigation which was an aim of this admin., but they didn't want to replace it w/ "Game Of Thrown" antics going on for the world to see t/b simultaneously amused & horrified while Reps back every play until recently! They must all see their pol lives flashing before their very eyes! This is unprecedented stuff; open defiance by the military to the Comm.-In-Chief, the party of the majority in both houses & unable to pass anything, then finally truly historic obstruction, Maj. Leader leaves a skel. crew to keep Congress in session to prevent recess appts & restricting his authority to have Mueller fired! This is real entertainment now & I now watch from "Morning Joe" thru "The 11Th Hr w/ Brian Wm.!" I lived thru Watergate where it was headline news for 2 months in '73, but it was never anything like this! I don't want to sound like there's any pleasure over seeing this circus, but the only other emotion is outrage; so I'm struggling w/ a happy median!

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  29. When it comes to a "war of attrition," I'd def. go w/ Nadal & Djokovic as evidenced by their epic battle @ '12 AO! Roger's style allows him to "hang in" long matches, but if stubborn thinking he can win from the baseline, banging away w/ Nadovic, he's going to come up short! He has t/b more off. & take it to them; ala recent AO final! I couldn't watch those FO matches he lost b/c of Nadal's act & Federer unwilling to go for broke; instead hanging back! If passed occas. @ the net, so be it; trying to slug it out from the baseline vs any of the top players will end in a loss; esp. now in his waning yrs, though very successful! It's all going to end sooner or later; look @ Nole! We really aren't sure he'll come back yet, but that very well chb it w/ such a serious decline in his results after completing his Nole-Slam last season! Winning a '1000 event' in over a yr. c/b done by slugs outside the top 10! I think he has something left & hope he comes back strong!

    ***We'll finally have @ least a young gun in final, a brace of fresh air in 2017's season***

    ...Disappointed that Thiem isn't keeping up w/ Sasha, but he has more game which may take longer to harness!

    ***S/b an interesting match btw Shapovalov\Zverev. If Zverev wins I think he's probably got a 50/50 chance vs Roger tmrw. Roger told Brad Gilbert on ESPN that he hadn't = practiced since Wimbledon. ...It sounds like a last min. decision to play. So his "practice" has been 4 matches - & the rust has been evident. ...his serving has been spotty.***

    We can only hope, just to brk up the lock of the "Big 4" owning most major events the last 10+ yrs!

    ***I'm hoping to watch Shapovalov & Zverev for yrs to come.***

    ...Kei & Milos are broken down old men before their X & Thiem needs more X t/b a seasoned pro b/c he has so much more talent & selection of shot/tactic! Sasha's coming along nicely & ahead of schedule by winning Rome over a fatigued & injured Nole who's taking off the rest of the season! I wonder where his ranking will go w/ all that X off? He needs the brk since he hasn't been the same since winning his Nole-slam last season taking the FO!

    ***I know Milos has had an un= season, but that feels like a harsh judgment. He s/b able to seize his other opps to shine, w/o perhaps ever becoming a steady star player.***

    Well having duel citizenship, I c/b brutal to players on both side of the border! I said the same of Andy Roddick when he made his move to the top! It lasted about 5 mins, but it's quite fair to judge him for his limitations & inability to get over that hump! In Roddick's case it was more to do w/ a significantly >er player, but that Wimbledon loss in '09 just emphasized what I'm talking about! That match was his for the taking, = Federer said so, & it came down to one butchered high BH volley in that 2nd set TB where Roddick had X set pts to go up 2 sets to love! Roger was interviewed later & felt the exact same way that it whb probably impossible for him to come back & win w/ how well Andy was serving; in fact only dropping serve @ the very end of the 5th, going down 16-14! That was gutlessness on his part & I'm willing to say the same about Milos b/c of his falling short when victory shb in hand on X occasions! Shapovalov has already outclassed him = w/ his wild game! He's finished off a couple top players in his short career when Milos & others have not! "The Big 4" still seem to own this era, but that crack made by Milos, Kei, Thiem, & Zverev seems t/b getting a lit'l >er thank GAWD! Heaven knows gifted players like Dimitrov has disappointed all his fans; all that game & has done lit'l to nothing! BTW, born St. Johns, Newfld. due to dad being in the USAF!

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  30. ***Kyrgios dom. the best player in the world last night in Cinci 6-2,7-5. Nadal tried his very best, but was out of his league vs the A+ game of the erratic, but spectacular Aussie. Nadal came out guns blazing & grunting from the very 1st ball, but was quickly broken by Kyrgios.

    Kyrgios has shown that he esp. loves playing the top titans of tennis. When he plays Fedalovic, he has a diff. intensity level compared to when he plays regular randon ATP players.

    Kyrgios was flying all over the court last night, unleashing aces and winners off both wings all over the court. It was near unbelievable to see Nadal look like a guy ranked about #45. He looked help< @ X's, chasing & netting shots b/c Nick’s shots were simply on a diff. warp speed.

    ...Nick was sending a very clear message; “I'm toying w/ the best player in the world.” Nadal had t/b burning up inside, but he contained his frustrations. Nadal lost the 1st set 2-6. No way was he gonna let this cocky whippersnapper insult him in this manner.

    Nadal raised his level & had a BP early, but failed to convert. Nick raised his level too. When Kyrgios is playing fully inspired, trying to prove something, he's nearly unstoppable. He was emotionally locked in from the get-go, shouting come-ons & exhortations to himself thru the entire match.

    ...Playing the best brings out his very best. And that kind of special genius was worth seeing for all the inexplicable tank performances.

    Though Nadal fought back to save MP & broke Nick for 5-6 – erupting 1 of his huge fist pumps to announce his raging intensity & hunger to destroy his formidable adversary – Nadal blundered in the following service game w/ mediocre play. Nadal was broken easily to squander the match 2 & 5.

    If Kyrgios can sustain this level of intensity & concentration, the USO w/b his. But then again, who knows which Nick Kyrgios will show up if he has to play 1st RD vs Ryan Harrison or Lukas Lacko on court 17 @ 11 am?***

    Kyrgios was toying w/ Nadal & Ferrer it seemed to me! He wasn't going all out in some of those rallies where he was just hitting an easy BH CC & deciding to play their game @ X's! When in trouble or truly needing the pt, he was there w/ a big serve or FH to take over or win the pt outright! The only silly stuff to me are those drop-shots so telegraphed that = a short Ferrer chased them down for winners! This is the Kyrgios that can dominate Nole who was already spiraling down! He should take this final, but ya never know! Grigor could rise to the occasion since this is both their 1st Masters' final! I'm sure they want to join their next-gen rival Sasha Z!

    ***Kyrgios maybe was toying w/ his own shadow playing vs the "ghost" of Nadal & later a guy a lot older. ...the match was very tied & tough for both & just Kyrgios' serve was his "lifesaver"***

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  31. ***The Real Housewives Of The OC - 1 of 2***

    ...Shannon & Tamra deserve t/b punished if they can't move on! While they're so PO'd w/ Vicki, both these bitches start every conversation w/ anyone who'll listen how much they hate Vicki! Shannon did it w/ 2 people she didn't = know; Lydia & Peggy! Both were put off w/ her! Vicki was nowhere t/b seen! "Look in the freakin' mirror someX when talking about" 'being mean' w/ an 'inability to move on'!" What a nerve! I already said Peggy's family never met Shannon, but her phone call alone exhausted them! The woman's a crank & she needs serious psychological help!

    ***It doesn't really matter if they don't talk to her when they spend every scene talking about her. The entire season revolves around Vicki and the everyone's thoughts about her.***

    It truly is pathetic! They say they don't care, but talk about Vicki every chance they get! It just makes no sense! I hope when they see themselves later, they'll shake their heads in shame over their own stupidity giving Vicki the whole season! She's all powerful you know & is punishing Shannon by putting weight on her & passing a rumor that's been buzzing around for yrs threatens the marriage of Tamra! Who knew an insurance salesman had that much influence over people?! lol!
    ---

    The inference was there; "this is Vicki's fault I'm a beast!" How many X's does she have to express it? Shannon's performed the same spiel many X's to perfect strangers like Lydia, Peggy, her trainers, her psychic, & the waitresses taking her food & drink orders!

    ***I think its admirable you w/b able to forgive & forget someone who did this to you. ...Tamra can be both a horrible mother & a victim of a liar.***

    Vicki didn't do anything to them! All she asked for them to do is accept the man she was dating! Am I missing something? If anything's hurt it's their so called feelings! There's nothing for me to forgive; it's her life & hating on this woman when all of them have something t/b embarrassed about just makes no sense after all this X! They're being paid to interact, but they're too busy judging one another's past actions! ...esp. trash like Tamra who can't = have a decent relationship w/ her children b/c they're so dysfunctional!

    ***Tamra gets along fine w/ 3 of her 4 kids, so I tend to think both Tamra & Sidney (w/ Simon) are @ fault. - Fraudulent = perpetrating a cancer scam on a highly rated reality show & trying to make $ of holistic 'cures'.***

    ...& Tamra about KILLED them all w/ her reckless driving of that RV! I wouldn't forget about that when pain starts hitting Vicki in her old age! They were so concerned about her no one checked on her! "Thanks friends!"

    ***That is true! V could have sued T for that, but then she would lose her orange. They aren't friends so S & M not visiting isn't something that I thought was weird. - I still find it so odd that Lydia and Peggy are on Vicki's side.
    ---

    Tamra got cocky driving that dune buggy & she admitted to it.***

    It's called making their own assessment of a situation instead of putting any credence in video tape editing & the vile accusations leveled by those 2 shrews, S & T! I can respect that instead of some idiot who believes whatever is told to them & can't make up their minds for themselves!

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  32. ***The Real Housewives Of The OC - 2 of 2***

    ***Jill Zarin was fired for making up a fake storyline, her "fight" w/ Bethenny. She told Andy her idea & he advised her NOT to do it. She did it anyway & was fired.***

    I loved that Jill got fired for that made up drama! Her last shots w/ Bethenny meeting in the restaurant, along w/ the interview on WWHL that we heard Jill taped & tried to sell are worth watching again & again as she tries to explain her wretched behavior!

    I don't care who's responsible, Ryan's still a mess & Tamra can forget any future awards for "mother of the yr.!"

    Tamra's very fortunate people weren't seriously hurt & that she wasn't sued; esp. living in Cali where they could have cleaned up by taking her & Bravo to court! I'm not litigious, but I know people's hearts! I worked as a law clerk & found that most lawsuits are btw family members & so called friends!

    ***It was an accident, Tamra got cocky, but she didn't do anything intentionally to cause the roll over. - Shannon and Tamra have some pretty funny natural moments.***

    S & T w/ some funny natural moments? Ok! It just gets a lit'lold & tiring to see the same scene being played out w/ them! Shannon's going to kvetch about how she looks, then why she's in that condition; inferring it's all on Vicki! Then she wants to do something about it, but in the restaurants she's ordering booze & beef tenderloin! ...Kelly and Vicki will always have that accident to hang over Tamra's head & with all the other drama going on in her life, she's overwhelmed and is trying to distance herself form them in some way! The only reason she's befriending Kelly is to try & undermine her friendship w/ Vicki, not to mention avoid her wrath! Kelly can take her like no one else & she knows it! Continuing this feud w/ Vicki after a couple yrs only makes them look juvenile!

    ***Peggy's so annoying w/ her "me no understand" bullshit. It's not like she is newly immigrated.***

    Ever thought being a traditional married Armenian wife she never got out much early on; esp. when raising her kids? I try not to assume too much w/ such a short window of viewing their lives! I'll give them more X to reveal themselves before assuming the worst!

    ***Peggy & her family came to this country when she was 1 yo. Ahe grew up here, went to school & got married here! IMO, this is nothing more than an act she's trying to pull off on us, but she sucks at acting! LOL, her brother has no "accent."***

    I know, she's the devil in disguise! The others broads are no saints! They were born here; what's they're excuses for being "them?"

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  33. *==The Real HW of the OC==*

    ***I have always found baby showers t/b particularly boring. Same w/ bridal.***

    I guess I must be "one of a kind" b/c I refuse t/b roped into any kind of ceremony! I'll give someone a certificate or gift before or after, but I refuse to sit around so everyone can "eww" & "awww" over something as normal as breathing! Been to 3 weddings; mom's 2nd, sister's, & brother's 1st! Same w/ funerals; have t/b under duress to go! Put down 2 dads & some old lady I didn't = know when my grandm dragged me there @ 6! People hate doing these things, but they continue to do it for "so called respect" I guess of a loved one! ...Work was enough t/b responsible to for all those yrs; my spare X is my own!

    ***You are hilariously honest & I so agree w/ you. I've stopped going to funerals. Too draining for me & I'm too old to have any type of drainage. I certainly get what you're saying.***
    ===

    *==The Real HW's Of NY==*

    ***I like Dorinda this season. She was humble enough to admit her issues to Bethenny & make things right.***

    Poor Dorinda needs to move on from these sloppy bitches! She's nicer than I whb if they pulled = 1/2 that stuff in my home! It's like these animals are rocks stars getting stinking drunk, then trashing their rooms! I'm still losing my mind over Carole starting that fire! WTF's wrong w/ her? As long as I've been alive & having X fireplaces, only 1 was permissible to use & I didn't! I didn't want to take a chance of that smoke backing into my apt.! I would have kicked all those bitches out then, but = then that wasn't enough! We had LuAnn & Ramona making fun of the BD cake! Who goes into someone's home acting like this? I was taught @ a very young age about being gracious & not being a pain in the arse to my host! OTOH, I wait on my guest like a servant! I don't allow them to lift a finger! Carole of all people I would have thought would ASK 1st; mon Dieu! Sonja w/b another person who would never step foot in my place again; opening that bag & putting on those pajama! OMG, they whh to call the cops to arrest me for murder! It's my show place & for a dog to poop on my carpeting w/b the end for good! I think Ramona just stepped over it & assumed Dorinda would deal w/ it! Am I crazy? I just can't imagining knowing animals like these women!

    ***No...you're not crazy...these women have no class & are basically like street rats. They make a scene @ any restaurant they go to...cursing, yelling, complaining about the food & are = worse when they're guests at someone's home. Ramona's the worst IMO. She has trashed (verbally) everyone's home that she's been invited to. For someone who supposedly came from nothing, she certainly puts on airs like she was born into the Vanderbilt family. But = the Vanderbilts would reserve critical comments until they got back to their own home. She's low class Bourgeois trash. Sonja was married to John Morgan, great grandson of JP Morgan & is a direct descendant of John Adams for heaven's sake...talk about old $$ & manners! She should have acquired & retained some semblance of proper behavior & decorum while she was a part of the Blue Blood crowd for awhile. Instead, she mostly acts like a drunken idiot who likes to brag about her so called jet set friends. LuAnn is a big phony...all her BS the 1st few seasons she was on about manners and etiquette, = writing book on etiquette & she is falling down drunk in the bushes in Mexico...real classy.

    I think Dorinda is pretty solid. When she drinks too much she c/b obnoxious & belligerent which is problematic in social situations like restaurants or parties. She's kind of an angry drunk. But she's a good hostess & goes out of her way to make her guests feel comfortable & apprec. something I would have trouble doing w/ these women.***

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  34. ***...Actually Trump doesn't have the ability to understand & apprec. the arts.***

    Apprec. the arts? If you ask the guy what was the last book, the old reliable Bible more than likely w/b it! It's been said he can't = be made to read his daily sec. briefings! What an idiot!

    ***...I worked for yrs in research w/ many Asians & = tho they had been here for yrs getting their masters - they still didn't know nor understand the way we view things in the US. They may have a lit'l more command of the English - but they still said many inapprop. things inadvertently. I apprec. your opinion - but I have life experience & know how hard it's for many foreigners to understand the way we look @ things.***

    ...Regarding US nuances & the lack of understanding is happening all the X; most of the X right under our very noses! W/o bringing up the drama going on now due to Charlottesville, culturally we're still very divided & we think nothing of it! I remember taking a consultant assignment for a BANK in SF @ their data center downtown! They had the best of the best, but it was like the UN "on the bridge" where all the action went down! I have good hearing, but I'd have people repeat themselves over and over b/c I couldn't understand them! One woman was from the Philippines, lived in her own lit'l neighborhood of other immigrants & though living in the States for over 30 yrs,  you would have thought she was right off the boat! We do isolate ourselves culturally, by class, & economic standing, & that won't change anyX soon; esp. since it looks as if we're "stepping back" instead of going forward!

    ***Hell, my husband is British & been in the US for 10 yrs & HE still gets confused.***

    I can hardly blame foreigners for being lost w/ how we've bastardized our language & culture! I'm old so I can say how offended I am w/ the lowering of standards; falling so far in some respects! When I lived out in Cal., I was sorta horrified to hear that Oakland was about to relent & allow "Ebonics" t/b recognized as some kind of official language of Afro-Am! I SMH & thought 'that can't be real,' but it was in the newspapers someX in the mid 90's! Not sure how it was implemented = though I had a 6 month assignment there! It was heavily derided by Black leaders, but the city thought it would help the kids in some way to further than edu.! It was always easy for me to say "why aren't parents preparing their kids for school >er?" = if not educated & able to help w/ the homework, they should still do as much as possible to acclimate them to pub. institutions! They need t/b clothed, fed well, be well behaved & respectful, then made to see how important education is to their futures! Unfortunately nothing's instilled in some to make them apprec. & treasure the exp. so those are the types who become disrupters & bullies! "Thanks rotten parents!"

    ***Language & culture are living things though. They naturally evolve. It isn't just an American thing either. The English that was spoken in the Middle Ages isn't the same English that was spoken in the 1900s. The slang of the 1800s isn't the slang of today. Idioms & dialects exist all over the world w/i every region, = w/i micro-regions. Language patterns change base on many diff. factors; new words evolve & people = adopt other language's words into their own lexicon mean a meaning is >er conveyed.  It only makes sense for people who are not native speakers of a language  not t/b up on the diff. idioms & cultural movements of that language or its people. There s/b no neg. connotation to that on the part of the speakers of the language or the 1's who don't understand it.***

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  35. ***AZ law allows people to carry firearms, un< posted- "no weapons of any kind are allowed."***

    This hypocrisy lives on; remembering some asses w/ 'carry permits' were @ an Obama function! ...That's why our kids are such morons w/ misrepresentations of facts! It's like "who you gonna believe; me or your lying eyes?"

    ***AZ reps asked Trump to cancel his Phoenix rally. Of course he won't, but there w/b lots of protesters here today to 'greet' him.***

    ...I salute his choice to boycott the Ken. Center event since the honorees were none too thrilled about being in the same room w/ him! It was almost a "no brainer" which qualifies Trump w/o a doubt since that thing on his shoulders has t/b filled w/ helium!

    ***What do people think sbd about Afghanistan? Just WD all US military personnel? What about the Taliban? Is there a containment sort of strategy that could keep terrorists from re-grouping there to threaten other countries? Every alternative seems bad to me.***

    If we're going to banish some of our armed forces "in perpetuity" t/b that country's back up police, we s/b informed it! Pols are afraid of WD'ing troops signaling failure after their grandiose speeches of "winning" & "victory" when I SMH from the beginning calling it yet another "Viet Nam!" It wasn't enough to see the Russians waste their X & resources back in the 80's, we had to get in on the fun spending $$ for what IDK! It's a no win situation, but w/ POL. BLUSTER, it was used to beat each other over the head to determine who c/b stronger (or reck< IMO) over the situation! We can't expect anything good w/ this admin. @ the helm!

    ***I don't like the perpetual war & leaving our troops there indef. I'm not convinced that is the only way to contain the Taliban. If they can't operate in 1 country, they'll grow in another. We can't be the sole protectors of The whole world. I'm not sure that Trump has a strategy here. The war may make him look strong & he c/b using it as a distraction from other issues that are hurting him.***

    You're kidding right? Of course he's using this to distract from his current troubles! The thing is, it only takes it off the front page! The investigations are still going on behind the scenes, so it's only a matter of X when it all comes to the fore! -...That's why "Mil. Intel." is an oxymoron; truly a contradiction in terms, sorta like "Peacekeeper Missile!"

    ***If what was done had been "successful," would we be engaged now or asking these ??'s?***

    I'll still never get over the hypocrisy & dishonesty of conflicts abroad! It's all about the optics, but while they're screaming about giving a few $$ to "The ARTS," most here think nothing of blowing $Trl.s in "Middle East" intrigue where concepts of Democracy is anathema to them! I don't blame 'em, but I do make us culpable in fueling these conflicts when they've been @ WAR for gens! SomeX's there's just nothing we can do! If people are starving in the streets, go to it, but lobbing missiles into neighborhoods doesn't make us look any >er than the Soviets, China, or N. Korea! We may try to delude ourselves, but I've been watching this crap for 50 yrs when Nixon sent Israel a "care package" in the middle of their war/defense back in the 70's! That made sense, lit'l else does; esp. when we've been discovered to being complicit in some of the heinous acts perpetrated in the name of Democracy! Do I really need to go into our own retched history of support for tyrants & other anarchists like Saddam, Gaddafi, & the Shah of Iran? Our hands will never be clean!

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  36. ***Is Zverev '17 the new Djoker '07? An up-&-coming rising star making breakthru wins on the big stage & = taking out Roger Federer. Sounds like we're talking about '07, the yr before the 12-X GS champion made his mark, but this yr, a new face is gracing the tennis courts on the world stage. Alexander Zverev.

    Zverev, the 20 yo German 1st made splashes @ St. Petersburg, defeating 2-X GS champion Wawrinka in the final & #9 Berdych in the SF. Since then, he's defeated numerous Top-10 players & lived up to his hype when he defeated 12-X GS champion Djokovic in the Rome '17 final. After that, he made his mark again when he defeated the great Roger Federer in the Can. Open final, winning his 2nd Masters title of the yr & guaranteeing himself a spot in the Top 10 @ the EOTY.

    This performance reminds many of Djokovic only a decade prior. Djokovic, another 20 yo still had to make his mark on tennis. He did so in '07 when he won the Adelaide Open before the AO, where he made it to the 4th Rd. Djokovic really produced results immediately following Melbourne, reaching the final of IW's, only losing out to the World #2 @ the X, Nadal. After that impressive showing, Djokovic took it = further w/ a stunning perf. in Miami, beating Nadal en route to the title.

    After a slightly < impressive clay & grass season, w/ many SF's & QF's, Djokovic returned to his preferred surface- HC. He immed. won the Can. Open by beating Fedal en route to his 2nd Masters title of the yr. Djokovic only took this as further motivation, reaching the USO finals & losing to Fed in the finals.

    Now, I see great parallels btw the 2 young guns so far.

    Djokovic & Zverev both won 2 Masters @ 20, beating Fed in 1 Fnl.
    Djokovic & Zverev both cracked the top 10 @ 20 yo.
    Djokovic & Zverev both had > than 5 wins vs the top 10 @ 20 yo.
    Djokovic & Zverev both won the Can. Open for their 2nd Masters.

    However, Zverev still falls short in some departs-

    Zverev has never reached the QF's of a slam. Djokovic had reached 2 SF's & a QF by the X he won his 2nd Masters.

    Zverev never beat the World #1 & #2 en route to a title. Djokor did in Montreal.
    Zverev has yet to dom. his gen, Djokovic was schooling Murray = in the beginning, doing so both X's he won a Masters in '07.

    I think '17 w/b a similar yr for Zverev as it was for Djokovic, but Djokovic was ahead in the slams. Comparing their slam results, I est. we see Zverev reach the SF of the USO this yr & the SF/F of the AO. He may win his 1st slam in '18.
    ---

    Zverev has the results like Djoko did in '07

    Zverev's the hottest thing in tennis in a long X - which isn't nec. saying much.

    The difference is... I took 1 look @ Djokovic & thought, "This guy is the goods." I don't claim to have foreseen what Djokovic has gone on to accomplish, but it wouldn't have shocked me to hear it that he would... he was an outstanding talent, by any standard, w/i any strength of field & in any X period.

    Zverev... he's good, but he's no Djokovic. The '07-08 versions of Fedal that Djoko was cutting his teeth on... would probably have chewed Zverev up.

    If '07 Djoko were here now or Zverev now was in '07... we'd only notice Djokovic as the one w/ great potential, Zverev w/b a, "yeah, he ain't bad either" case.***

    Very nice! Thanks!

    ***I can understand the comparison, but talent-wise I don't think Zverev measures up. Back then, Nole had to compete w/ 2 ATG @ their peak (Fedal) which helped him become the player we know today. Zverev doesn't have to contend w/ that, = though the same 2 ATG are still on tour, they're nowhere near as dom. as before. Would "'07 Djokovic" handle current Fedal >er than Zverev did this yr? I think so.***

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  37. = if someone like Clinton or Obama have successful Presidencies, we're talked into "going back" to the good old days! That past's rearing it's ugly head now w/ racial strife, a country torn asunder, & a pot. financial crisis! ...That doesn't say a lot for us & our own responsibility in repeating this cycle again & again! How many X's does it have to happen before we totally turn our backs on these cons psychos? Where's McConnell, Ryan, Hatch, & all the other sycophants? "Speak up!"

    ***...I doubt that most of the people who are attempting to plan whatever "strategy" they have in mind,have educated themselves about the cultural restrictions/tribal nature of life in Afghanistan.
    ---

    You do? What else do you suppose the U.S. military has been doing for the last 16 yrs besides undewater backet-weaving?***

    That's why "Military Intelligence" is an oxymoron; truly a contradiction in terms, sorta like "Peacekeeper Missile!"

    ***Thursday, Oct. 11, '07: G. W. Bush (high pt for per. Jan. 20, '01 - Jan. 20, '09)
    Dow Jones Ind. Avg (DJIA) Close: 14,198.10
    Tues., Jan. 20, '09: GWB
    Dow ( DJIA ) Close: 7,949.09 (- 6,249.01)***

    Reps only want to take credit for highs in the DOW, lows in unemployment, & quick strikes w/ our armed forces! Unfortunately, their real records deal w/ the worst of it! Any success they've ever achieved has been undermined or ends up being a loser for them due to overreach! They can't take failures like Katrina, the economy, & wars started & have a way of passing the buck w/ deflections that make no sense! Anything they've complained about w/ Clinton & Obama are miniscule compared to the colossal catastrophes of "W" & now Trump! Listening to the "Liar-In-Chief" won't be fun for anyone due to his lack of credibility; but what else is new?

    ***Those US ship collisions smack of ill-prepared vessels & crew, which is not on Trump; its the Admiral. There was also a ship that went aground & one that hit a fishing boat.***

    You say it isn't Trump's fault; maybe not, but he/you can't take credit for anything good happening either like the economy, jobs, & the DOW! He's done nothing that should warrant him taking credit so I'll give you "it's not on him personally for an unprecedented # of ships colliding or running aground under his leadership!"

    ***Trump had the women who had accused Bill of sexual harassment @ a debate, & he wanted them to sit on the front row so that Hillary would have to pass just in front of them. The judges refused his request for that. What a classy guy!***

    Hey, it worked and "white women" in particular voted for the guy over their fellow "woman-in-arms!" I have to say I wasn't very surprised after all was said & done! I continue to ask, but never get a good answer to "why women hate other women?!" They complain about a lack of representation, but w/ the major voting block, continue to put male idiots in positions of power over a "sister!" I won't ever listen to that BS after this past Nov. when they had a chance to change their futures forever "& they blew it!" "Good luck girls; Trump & the other cons will make your freakin' life HELL for the foreseeable future!"

    ***Normally women like other women more than men, and in fact men like women more than men, in gen. That is b/c women are naturally < aggr.& more nurturing. It's a basic aspect of their DNA. But Hillary is < nurturing & > aggr. than any other man or woman I know; except maybe Ann Coulter. If she had been president instead of just Secr. of State, how many more wars would we have been involved in? She may have felt a need to over compensate or something, but that is still no excuse. She was the least electable candidate I ever saw. Even Goldwater was < of a hawk.***

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  38. ***I think there's something to the 6 hr work day. I mentally chk out every day around 3:00 myself.***

    What about people who don't wake up until lunch? I worked w/ computers & was just a facilitator, so my day was "baby sitting" & making sure the integrity of our database was preserved! Most others who are pushing paper should feel fortunate they aren't digging ditches! I know I felt fortunate & never complained about my job w/o leaving! I had that control & others should have empowered themselves or STFU!

    ***Robert Mueller Makes Move That Suggests He’s Going After Mike Pence Also: Spec. Counsel Mueller's closing in on Trump from so many angles it’s hard to keep track. It’s only a matter of X before Trump's removed from office. The only ?? is whether or not Mike Pence will go down w/ him & from the looks of it, he will. - Hmmm...that would mean Paul Ryan?***

    ...Reps asked for all this power w/ leadership from coast to coast & @ this X "nothing's being accomp.!" It's pathetic, sad, & disappointing for all concerned regardless of party!

    ***...I do not find Hillary aggressive, I find her assertive.***

    Oh I understand where you're coming from & totally agree, but I'm talking about women who seem inherently jealous, suspicious, & have a distinct animus to other women & undermine them @ every turn! How many X's have you read or seen a program where sisters are fighting over the same man or a daughter found t/b having relations w/ a stepfather? That has lit'l to do w/ someone being aggressive or assertive; more about "wanting what another woman has" or has a dislike for reasons outside of a believed slight! You know what I'm talking about! Been around women who outwardly show distain for other women having nothing to do w/ their ambition!

    ***I've known them as well. I've had a couple backstabbing women in my life, but not for a very long X. I don't see that as aggression or assertiveness, but a lack of sisterhood & certainly a lack of self confidence; not knowing yourself & lack of compassion for your gender. Not healthy. Peeps! - If you want an assertive woman who sticks to her guns in the face of opposition, support Nikki Haley when she runs for President.***

    I'd consider it over any other sleazebag Rep! Only the Sec. of Defense & Haley have seemed to have any real independence & aren't as beholden! She speaks her mind outside of the ravings of Trump & Mattis actually didn't relent & kiss his ring on command like the rest of his lower cabinet! I've = lost respect for Tillerson who I thought would have said "fk this" after being undermined so many X's by this clown in the WH! It's doubtful I'll live long enough to forgive all the disgusting comments & beliefs of the Rep. Party as it is constituted; esp. w/ how they treated the previous occupant of 1600! We have laws vs treating dogs so poorly; BELIEVE IT!

    ***Overall, 54% of women voted for Clinton, much >er than the 42% of women who voted for Trump.***

    Who are those disturbed 42% that heard about his misogyny & inherent disrespect for Mexicans & Muslims in the past? It's not like he was trying to hide what a pig he'd been over yrs! He = said something about punishing women who allow abortions on their person! He wanted to stop illegal & legal immigration of Muslims! He told Blacks, "what do you have to lose?!" He was cornered by interviews & was made to say what he truly meant & it wound up not hurting him in the least! I'm old & gave up on how incompetent we've been in choosing leadership, so it's something others will have to deal w/; I'm retired & couldn't care <! If the young don't seem to care, why should I? Let them be led by a bigoted, racist, misogynist pig! More power to you all!

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  39. ***Countries in Europe had already set up a system of labor on farms. They did not need to import slaves
    Slaves were used in the New World in the "Americas'
    Slaves were used in large scale agriculture ...Plantations

    NOTE:
    Somerset v Stewart (1772) A judgement of the English Court of King's Bench in 1772 which held that chattel slavery was unsupported by the common law in England & Wales.

    THE SOUTH IGNORED...

    COUNTRIES - Stopped doing business in the "SLAVE TRADING":
    Denmark...1792 - abolishes transatl. slave Trade
    UK........1807 - Britain abolishes the slave trade
    USA ......1808 - US passes legis. banning the slave trade
    Sweden....1813 - Sweden bans slave trading
    Netherl's.1814 - Netherl's bans slave trading
    France....1817 - France bans slave trading
    Portugal..1819 - Portugal abolishes slave trade north of the equator
    Brazil....1851 - Brazil abolishes slave trading

    COUNTRIES directing their Colonies to stop using slavery

    Spain......1811 - abolishes slavery in their colonies
    UK.........1833 - abolishes slavery in the 'remaining' 'British Colonies"
    Denmark....1846 - abolishes slavery & emanc. of slaves in Danish West Indies, abolishing slavery

    Portugal...1858 - abolishes/frees slavery in its colonies
    Netherl's..1861 - abolishes/frees slavery in Dutch Caribbean colonies

    ====

    Emancipation:

    Denmark..1846 emanci. of slaves in Danish West Indies colonies, abolishing slavery

    USA......1862 emanci. of slaves w/ effect from Jan. 1, 1863

    ====

    You can't throw out a dumb argument that the continent of Europe is part of the big picture of slavery

    The 'New World" = Colonies = agriculture = lack of settlers = slaves.***

    Thank you! We've always had quite a few cretins: esp. in the SOUTH who'll continue t/b a bit slow; about 40-50 yrs is my guess!

    ***You want to elaborate on that Skokie march back in the 70's?***

    ...The Nazi's just wanted to make a statement where it would invoke the most controversy! If officials & families of Skokie had just ignored them, they whh their march & no 1 would have shown up except the group! ...Families were torn asunder & the ACLU needed to recover; losing a lot of support for a while!

    ***Perhaps the ACLU's more clever than you think. ...Trump = fired Steve Bannon over it.
    ---

    Ana Navarro is on CNN right now & she's schooling the Trump supporter! - I love me some Ana Navarro & a cons. I am NOT!***

    The sycophants who are accepting of anything "Trump" are easier to school since they sound insane! Kellyanne Conway was banned from "Morning Joe" due to her ridiculous defense & I think the same thing was told to ex-Rep. Jack Kingston on CNN prime X programming! Jeffrey Lord was finally shown the door after giving a NAZI salute! There are count< losers who'll go on these shows & embarrass themselves & human-kind to make it seem like Trump's just an ordinary guy & we shouldn't take seriously some of the more extreme things said or done!

    ***While the running of our country is continuing to fall completely apart, I barely have any words ...! Jared Kushner has no Int'l diplomacy exper.!

    Another video on CNN showed former Dir. of Nat'l Intel., James Clapper, professing worry over Trump having access to nuclear codes w/ no failsafe back-up for the Dumpster suddenly throwing a temper tantrum & deciding to bomb N. Korea to get back @ Kim Jung-un for some perceived slight. Will this presidency ultimately end up w/ legis. limiting the powers of the presidency b/c idiot Amer. willingly voted for & elected a misogynist nut case w/ no governing exper. over a competent female former Sen. & Secr. of State!?***

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  40. ***...It puts Pence into the Presidency. I guess that's a +.***

    You're assuming Pence isn't complicit in some of these Russian behind the scene antics! He's just not as obvious a liar as his boss!

    ***...ETA: Pelosi for President in '19.***

    Reps have been working on her as much as Hillary! They hate eff., smart women which is why I have lit'l sympathy for those idiots who support misogynist pigs on the "right!" Supporting a party that has such ideological contempt for them just makes no sense; esp. when they went for Trump over Hillary! ...but we've shown en masse, we have a huge coll. of fk'n idiots!

    ***Trump supporters who aren't white supremacists are fools. Take your pick.***

    That's one of the few true adj.; VICTIM! Trump perpetuates it by explaining away all his ills; from "fake news" to worldwide conspiracies led by Hillary, Pelosi, & Michelle O! ...Nicki Haley's permitted t/b a strong, independent woman, but that new Senator from Cal, Kamala Harris was "getting a might uppity" & old fucks like AG Sessions can snap back @ her w/ all the venom he can muster when her ??s get a lit'l tough! Anyone who supports creatures like that deserve what they get!

    ***Hillary being a < than perfect candidate means squat. So was Trump. He was = < perfect than she was so you can't explain a majority of both white men & women voting for Trump. Only sexism & bias favoring men can truly explain it. ...It's not surprising that creeps can get away w/ serious, = violent crimes w/ the sanction of juries if a guy like Trump c/b preferred by a majority of white voters over Hillary. What woman's going to stand a chance when placed on trial? If it turns out well for 1 she got very lucky.***

    My take on it is "a pox on both their houses," but Dems don't seem to hurt the people or country as much! Trump made all kinds of promises he knew he couldn't keep & his supporters knew it! They didn't care; it was all about jerks who wanted to see change = if it was to the detriment of them & all concerned! Dems' biggest problem is giving too much credit to the intel. & common sense of the majority, while Reps never underest. the gullibility & stupidity of their supporters! They always find a way to sink to new depths, actually trying to take away a benefit that we've been trying to get thru Congress for 100 yrs; Nat'l health! Why as the leader of the free world have we taken so long to get there, then have a-holes rationalize how we don't need it & drive up the cost of medical care? Constantly making it something "uncertain" only weakens it b/c insurers need to know that things won't be cut! ...We have it so good compared to other countries, but all we do is kvetch, usually to the tune of the "rightwing" cons. trying to take us back 50 yrs instead of moving into the future! "GOOD LUCK youngsters!"

    ***Almost no one voted for Trump b/c of racist beliefs & neither Trump nor 99.99% of his supporters had anything to do w/ Charlottesville.***

    ...IMO it can't be explained how a swath of people can = listen to someone who lies to them w/ every breath taken! He admits to being a slime-bag in his treatment of women on Nat'l TV & radio, brags about financial success as fictitious as his hair color, & is now systematical undermining the trappings of the presidency! ...Being an old FK myself, I checked out a long X ago & will just kick back & be entertained as he turns over every institution in his quest to elim. any remains of the Obama's Presidency!

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  41. ***Your hero Hillary Clinton sold 20% of US uranium rights to Russia & you're PO'd that someone like Trump knew tried to make a buck off a hotel?***

    Some people are the sorriest WINNERS ever! Trump won, but all he & his ridiculous sycophants do is kvetch about Hillary & Obama! It's more than a lit'l pathetic!

    ***The only facts of anything happening are 304 - 227 last NOV. Yours is speculation un< you have proof.***

    Well if you want to live "the lie" from Trump, this was the biggest elect. victory since Reagan! According to the head knucklehead, if not for all those illegal votes, he would have won the popular tally as well! He & so many of you guys are so FOS! You won, but haven't gotten "anything" done! Harp on being the least effective President in 100 yrs & you'd be saying something meaningful!

    ***That was & still is one of the easiest Trump lies to prove. His cult still claims he won by the largest margins ever, = though the margins for both of Obama's & Bush's were larger.
    ---

    Why not investigate the Clinton Foundation windfall after Hillary made it easy for the Russians to purchase a uranium site?***

    Foundation? FNC & Trump kvetch so much, I thought the CGI was shut down! Y'all must love seeing people suffer around the world! "Lets bitch about this org. that feeds, helps shelter, & provides medicines to poor & impoverished people all over the world!" Reps will go down in history as true P.O.S.; IDK how low on the evolutionary scale! I know they disgust me!

    ***Houston Is Drowning—In Its Freedom From Regulations***

    Any mention the "poetic justice" or Karma of Texas senators voting against aid to Sandy victims 5 yrs ago? I wonder will they apprec. Congress slow-walking bills to fund Houston restoration to it's previous glory like they did NJ? That Rep. Congress was ready to shut the gov't down to screw over Obama! How'll Trump & his cabinet deal w/ this catastrophe along w/ raising the "debt ceiling" & the Korean intrigued they've set themselves up to fail due to their own ineptitude in foreign affairs?

    ***Yes, the left has politicized & exalted over the poetic justice.... Some = called it Karma. Think all the innocent people who have been traumatized & lost everything are signing the praises of poetic justice? Think the victims of Superstorm Sandy are?***

    You would know about political cheap shots! That's all cons and Reps know how to do! If Obama was President, I could see Trump & the "right" going nuts over every aspect of what's already happened the last several months; from lobbing missiles at Syrian air field thru this ridiculous tour of The Trumps in Houston! Not like I care, but his cheerleading is so dry and reminiscent of a Trump rally; he's getting off on just being seen! Spare me the victimhood!

    ***...There's no guarantee that bureaucrats in Houston whd a >er job than the (alleged) lack of regulation, which certainly did no worse a job than the regulators did in New Orleans & indeed, many parts of NJ & NY impacted by Sandy.***

    ...There's nowhere for inundation of that much water; so streets will turn into rivers w/ this kind of unprecedented rainfall! Our country has been on notice for decades about infrastructure needs, antiquated plumbing & power grids! We w/b in serious trouble if we don't start dealing w/ this stuff when it's more affordable now! Waiting only increases the cost later when it all begins to crumble!

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  42. ***I'm going t/b really shocked if Trump is removed from office. I don't think they will get enough data, ever, to cause resignation or impeachment. That's a pipe dream.***

    Reps aren't going to kick him to the curb if they have him on videotape conspiring! The worst that will happen is some kind of censure & they'll keep him under chk by limiting the stupidity! His own cabinet is speaking up & not parroting Trump! Congress is doing their own thing protecting the investigation & keeping him from employing "recess appts! If he tries to get someone to fire Mueller, he'll just be rehired by the Senate! Trump's not going to totally get away w/ this, but they won't boot him un< something more egregious happens! Not sure how bad it c/b when he actually admits to "obstruction of justice" when he fired Comey for allowing the Russia invest. into Flynn to continue! Funny how Hillary never got a sniff of the WH, but she keeps coming up in these a-holes' mouths for some reason! It's not enough she lost, they want to prosecute & persecute her to death! They won't be happy until she's 6 ft under; that's so obvious! She's nowhere in the spotlight, but Trump & other jerks mention her every single day! Idiotic! Now they're bitchin' about her book deal! When do these people grow up & move on?

    ***The discouraging part was pointing out that historically there have been big swings btw now & the midterms & his approval rating could go back up.***

    That doesn't say much about the people of this country if this animal has even a 1/3 of the populous in his corner!

    ***Houston's built on clay which doesn't absorb water as quickly as soil. I would imagine that would also be a factor. There are lots of factors involved. - 50 IN. OF RAIN IN 4 DAYS didn't help.***

    ...& told they had nowhere for the water to run off when there's a deluge! Cali had the same problem! When they had a ton of rainfall, it didn't take care of their drought b/c of no place to store it! This s/b part of planning, but as usual forethought is something foreign to the officials of this country! We're so far behind in work on infrastructure than any other western nation who have "high speed" rails, import/export facilities up to date, nuclear plants up to code, & certainly ahead concerning Nat'l health care! We need to catch up w/ so many other civilized areas of the world!

    ***Kamala Harris comes out in support of Medicare-for-all bill; co-sponsoring w/ Bernie.***

    She m/b the Dems next nominee; very professional & making a name for herself early like Obama! After Trump's tenure, will the country bounce back to sanity & take her on, but continue to wallow in the muck w/ the Rep. Party & their divisive type of politics? = cons are saying Trump isn't being inclusive & bringing the country together!

    ***Are they ready for an Afro-American woman as Potus? I have my doubts since they didn't want to elect a highly qualified white woman.***

    This country's famous for their extremes! "W" did such a rotten job, Obama was elected! I didn't think it possible until it happened! Trump's such a sleazebag, the Dems s/b able to put up a serial killer to win, but you just never know anymore! The supporters of the Prez are still in his corner believing the MSM's just making him look bad! It doesn't seem to matter the garbage is coming right out of his mouth, there m/b outside forces undermining his admin.!

    ***Yeah. Pathetic isn't it? If they knew old 45 t/b a serial killer who only used 45 caliber guns to murder 45 victims, they'd still adore him. Something is really wrong here. I feel like banging my head against the wall...45 X's!***

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  43. ***That relief bill was stuffed w/ pork. THAT's the reason some voted no on it, not b/c they didn't want to help Sandy victims. Relief bills should contain relief bucks & not a damn thing else.***

    That was exaggerated for political purposes! That $$ was for the region, not just NJ! After all was said & done, it didn't bother me since it kept a lot more $$ out of Christie's hands since to this day he hasn't been responsible w/ what was given him! He played games w/ the locals & of course you remember him punishing a mayor who wouldn't endorse him by shutting down that entry way to the GW Bridge! It worked out for me anyway = if he did put his constituents in danger w/ that reckless act for wk in Sept. '13! It cost him a lot more than his reputation! He was on the way to being the low class pig in charge instead of Trump in DC! "Thanks Christie! You would have been more dangerous than Trump since your IQ is just a lit'l above his at cretin!"

    ***Impeachment's a due process. You know after Mueller submits his report to Congress, they'll still likely do their own investigation during process.***

    If this had been Clinton, the articles of impeachment whb drawn up already! Reps look really bad trying to protect this sleaze, but they don't have much choice! He'll taint them for yrs to come! I'd just assume the idiot stay in office & gets nothing done! Pence m/b more a danger since he's such a true hardcore cons! He was one to vote down the Sandy aid yrs ago so he looks just about as ridiculous as Trump visiting TX, shaking hands, & clearing debris left behind by the floods! Where was he in 2012-13? Christie's having a good X pointing out the hypocrisies of Cruz & his ilk who continue to lie about the pork being as much as 2/3's of the $$ requested by the region! It was for more than NJ & he had to know this!

    ***You're right. Of course Reps would have impeached clinton already & she'd have a trial in the Senate to defend herself. I don't thInk any Dem Senators would have voted to remove Clinton, but a dozen or more Rep. Senators may vote to remove Trump. It c/b assumed Collins, Sasse, Flake, McCain, & Murmowski are guaranteed yes votes for conviction already.
    ---

    It w/b very difficult for the Secret Service to do their jobs when Trump will just stay @ his properties anyway. It m/b >er to pass a more generally applicable bill, prohibiting the gov't from purchasing either goods, services, or properties from any current or future president, VP, or any of their immediate families. We should not have to have laws like this, but as in forums, it is hard to enforce unwritten rules that rely on the assumption that all members of the administration will behave like decent people. Trump has taught us all a lot, I am sad to say.***

    Yeah, but we're not quite bright enough to remember & act on it! Memories are shot & t/b in this position just shows a true lack of intelligence after seeing & hearing Trump throughout the '16 campaign! It's not like he hid anything; letting it all hang out that he was a Neanderthal that was going to use the presidency to increase his BRAND! "Bravo people! Just what we needed @ this crucial X w/ the economy, Korea, climate change, & the Nat'l debt!"

    ***The DOJ confirms that there's no evidence that supports Trump's accusation that Obama wire-tapped Trump Tower.***

    It was a ridiculous accusation "off the cuff" Trump didn't think would blow up on him! He thought he could continue saying nonsensical things not realizing as President everything's taken seriously & an investigation was launched! He started all his troubles from day one due to a lack of self control! Those TWEETS are just about official since they come from him & he has to realize acting like a "mean girl" just throwing out silly insults and accusations only makes him look worse than he already has been found t/b; a true CLOWN!

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  44. ***...I think everybody should shut up about Melania's shoes.***

    Why give Melania a break? Did losers "on the right" give Hillary a break = when she was 1st Lady! Fk 'em all! She lost last Nov. & they're still bitchin'! Spare me the victimhood! If Trump wasn't such an asshole, I might sympathize, but you guys obviously forgot how he talked about women during his campaign; = dragged Cruz's wife into the convo! Get over it!

    ***If it was petty & sexist for them to do it, it's petty & sexist for anyone else to do it too.***

    What's petty? The bitch went to a flood zone in HEELS! It's a fact; get over it! It's so easy to say grow up for the Dems, but Reps are such huge a-holes about anything & everything! It's one of the reasons Dems have been losing so much; thinking it's >er to stay above the frail while cons. wallow in the sewer! They alone are dragging political discord to such depths!

    ***Will criticizing Melania's shoes make it >er or worse that Reps attacked Hillary Clinton? I do agree that the hypocrisy is so annoying, but I think we have diff. hypocrisies in mind.***

    I'd rather have MSM pt. out something stupid like shoes than to get as personal as cons. get to make their pt. about liberals! What's more offensive; pointing out someone's shoes or calling Chelsea funny looking when she was 14? Pols "on the right" are disgusting pigs & I wouldn't support one to save my own life! You guys outdid yourselves by electing a troglodyte which makes my hands shake! So please, spare me a lesson on being a grown-up; we're being led by a 12 yo. if he's intelligently = that mature!

    ***Some people may see the shoes as a simple fashion choice, but to me they represent the vast divide btw the haves & have nots in this country. Wearing $600 Manolo Blahnik pumps in the rain when they are going to get trashed is not 'of the people' @ a moment when so many people just lost everything. That's a week's worth of wages for the average person just on her feet and there she was wearing them like a pair of throwaway dime store flip flops.***

    Thank you! I couldn't have said it >er myself! ...If a Dem pulled = a 10th of what's been going on, impeachment articles would have been written "yesterday!" They're still bitchin' about Bill & Loretta Lynch's meeting on a plane from over a yr ago! Emails come up concerning Hillary & Comey coming to his conclusions early! They just won't let that family alone & I think it's pathetic! They live in the past just like everyone else! Whenever Trump's called a liar, they hark back to "...& Obama said you could keep your doctor!" That wasn't a lie, it was a mistake! Saying "my win was >er than anyone except maybe Raegan" is a colossal lie! What a tool! My eyes just glaze over in such frustration b/c of this insanity!

    ***...You don't take your $$ & shove it in other people's faces when they have just lost everything.***

    I think we're wasting our X! Some are just plain hope<! Like Trump said, he could shoot someone on 5th Ave. & his "clones" wouldn't see anything wrong w/ it! One of these days it'll sink in something's really wrong w/ a huge segment of our populous! They just can't see the forest for the trees, but if it's someone they want to vilify, nothing's off limit; wives, kids, heritage, race, religion! I still get a lot of exercise SMH over the degradation of all we hold dear!

    ***...I hated this sort of petty, stupid crap when it was directed @ the Obamas; I don't find it any more appealing now.***

    Which is why Trump won't get any breaks from me! He's petty, petulant, vindictive, & just an evil FK IMO! He's still trying to undermine Obama's presidency by reversing every EO, = ones that shouldn't be touched like the Paris Accord, DACA, etc.!

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  45. ***Sasha was seeded 4th in Montreal, but he was seeded 5th in DC a tourney in which Fedal did not participate.***

    Players have been dropping like flies the last 2 yrs; overplaying, overtraining, & constantly kvetching about being tired! No one's making them chase all that $$ & ATP pts! Nole's gone for the rest of the season, but's still in the top 5! We also forgot about Stan who just left to have surgery & w/b out for the rest of the season! Murray's deciding wk to wk if he's playing! I just can't remember so many top players out @ the same X!

    ***Not saying RF's a bad loser, but why would it be a big deal if he did lose sorely once in a blue moon or eclipse?***

    ...I don't think any of the top players have been as gracious as Djokovic! People like Rafa barely shake your hand & storms off so quickly, some arriving late would wonder who lost!

    ***Fed would happily give up all his USO titles in exchange for The 10th Wimbledon. - He'd have 3 < slams lmao; what's wrong w/ you?***

    People used to ?? just about the same w/ Rafa; "would he trade a couple FO's for another Wimbledon or USO?!" I doubt any would ever think in such terms un< they were totally missing one of the majors like Lendl w/o a Wimbledon, Borg w/o a USO, etc.! They excelled @ other venues, but only got sniffs of completing the CGS; Borg more in need since he wasn't = playing "down under!" He was the reason they moved the event to the end of the season to entice him to sign up if perchance he finally took Flushing!

    ***No, the target now is to win 10 titles @ one slam. Rafa's now going for a dozen RG titles.***

    Navratilova was the 1st I can remember in the Open Era w/ a real chance over 20 yrs ago @ '94 Wimbl.; somehow summoning everything she had left to arrive in the final vs Conchita Martinez! I didn't have a lot of hope since CM had pretty much dom. the old lady; esp. on clay! It was a wonder Martina took that middle set b/c the serve just had nothing on it & CM just angled them off for outright winners; esp. in the end when Navratilova ran out of gas! It was her 1st "swan song" playing 1 last major singles' final on "home court," Wimbl.! She retired, but came back 6 yrs later to acquire more doubles titles completing her "Box Set" @ '03 AO & closing out her pro career w/ a USO MD title just a month short of her 50th BD! No one'll come close to finishing up on such a high @ such an adv. age again! She matched or outlasted them all including Court, BJK, Wade, Goolagong, Evert, Graf, Seles, Sabatini, & Mandlikova!

    ***Fed was horrendous during set 1 vs Tiafoe. I'm afraid Kyrgios will beat him. Terrible draw for Fed this yr.***

    You're assuming both will make it to their appointed Rd! These players are breaking down & can go out anyX IMO! That was awful last night from what lit'l I saw of Roger! Either he's gotten too old & tired or he's injured! Everyone's having health issues of some sort! The seasons too long & these $$ & fame HO's can't take it easy & play judiciously when they have the options to do so w/ their seniority on the tour!

    ***This is all true. However, their not meeting @ the USO is not entirely Rafa's doing. Nor can it be claimed that Fed has been clearly superior to Rafa @ Flushing since 2010. ...The obvious exhibits are the 2 astonishing choke jobs in '10 & '11 SFs when Roger was 1 pt away 4 X's. The other exhibits are Rafa's runs in '10, '11, & '13; twice beating Novak in the final. That's the #1 HC player who also owned him @ X's.***

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  46. ***IIRC Feli Lopez got married to his long-X GF in '15 just before Cincy.***

    Men & women were probably throwing themselves @ his feet! Lopez is one hot specimen! It's hard to keep saying no; = if married to a childhood sweetheart or in this case a model! ...Alba said Feliciano had 200 mistresses w/ photos & docu. proof! The marriage only lasted 11 months!

    ***Seems that Rafa's op., Daniel's legs are gone.***

    He played yesterday which gives Nadal that lit'l bit of an advantage since he played on X under the roof 2 days ago like Federer! ...This is why the USO's on the bttm of my list of majors! It's been a joke as long as I can remember!

    ***...Pouille would have much t/b disgusted w/ himself for not staying focused & taking advantage of the situation in this loss to Schwartman. But Pouille's a bit of a head case.***

    He's French; most are >er than the air space in their heads! Monfils, Tsonga, & Gasquet should have won a lot more than they did over such long careers! I thought Pouille was = >er after he defeated Nadal last yr in 5, but he's been a real disappointment; sorta like Grigor! Too many options & can't get their minds to stay on the task @ hand!

    ***This tournament is a complete disaster. The bttm 1/2's a complete joke w/ no exciting players left (Shapovalov was the + highlight, but he's out). The top 1/2 leaves my hopes w/ Del Potro. The situation is dire indeed.***

    It happens someX's; more spoiled w/ the era of this "Big 4" which always gave us something to watch on final's day! It used to happen a lot more often! I still remember '83 Wimbl. where the bttm 1/2 was tough w/ McEnroe & Lendl & the top was decimated leaving us w/ Chris Lewis from NZ to try & salvage that last day of the fortnight! It truly was a disaster IMO! It was worse than any of those other finals w/ the likes of Pioline & Phillippoussis! It cheapens the wins just a lit'l! Nole never got that accommodation always going vs the other "Big 4" invariable! Fedal have had a lit'l more assistance w/ the likes of patsies like Ferrer, Berdych, & Soderling! I still say Roger should buy something nice for Robin; m/b a house back in Sweden! That '09 FO was a gift to him; turnabout's fair play!

    ***Fed's path is, on paper, harder, as an inspired del Potro is a threat to everyone. However, he'll pay some physical price and that may cost him any real chance on the match. Nadal's match is in fact quite tricky, it has a great deal of similarity to both matches he lost at Montreal and Cincinnati. His usual slow start may cost him much more this X if Rublev simply keeps pounding (and connecting) w/o fear.***

    OMG, Nadal's been given one patsy after another! Tricky? Please! Why would a Next-Gen threaten him after such an easy path of qualifiers & a LL! The runs of Fedal & Wimbledon & now the USO have just been pathetically easy; dropping sets only thru their own incompetence! It really doesn't say much about the tour to have these old geezers still running the show! I know everyone w/b amped if they meet in the semi, but I think it's killing the sport! The "also-rans" are breaking down as evidenced by so many top players either WD'ing early, retiring mid-match, or losing like slugs! I didn't watch Thiem, but to see that score w/ a lead just proves my point! These guys may never get there; sorta like Dimitrov, Kei, & Milos! I got so excited by Sasha winning of late, but as usual my hopes for a new champion were dashed rather early! It's going t/b hard watching the rest except maybe Hingis in the doubles & MD's; that's more of the story for me if you want to hear about a seasoned VET accomplishing so much after retiring twice!

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  47. ***Querrey-Anderson on now in the QF.***

    The draw decimated before the tourney = began!

    ***...Is it really the courts though? Seems more also a ?? of racket development & balls? I still think its fine. ...Attacking players still are very succesfull. Heck Fed is about to win 3/4 slams @ age 42! I've seen Rublev play, Shapovalov, Del Potro. All very exciting players that are getting far into the tourney.
    ---

    It's a bit too attritional mate. Which is precisely what increases the risk of injury. They need to correct this in my view. You do have a point about rackets & balls. It just m/b the case that they started slowing the courts @ just the X that racket tech. was catching up w/ court speed. We'll never know, but some rebalancing would make the sport < attritional. I'd definitely argue against doing too much; just a little tweaking.
    ---

    I'm very happy actually to not see that Fedal again after Roger taken out by Del Po. I had enough for a lifeX.***

    You & me both! I've always thought Martina Navratilova was the GOAT; esp. taking 6 majors in a row, w/ winning streaks that will never be broken!, but by '93 = I was tiring of her! By '94 she was dropping early Rd matches & only made the Wimbl. final due to early upsets by everyone else like Graf in the 1st Rd to Lori McNeil! Seles had been stabbed the yr before, but it didn't open it up for Martina who hadn't = played a major final since '91 USO! I was all for her playing dubs until she dropped, but she was embarrassing herself in singles! It'll happen to Roger & I think he should get out now on top w/ those 2 major wins I never saw coming! He's secured his GOAT'don b/c I don't think Nadal has the wheels to acquire 5 more majors @ his age! He won't pull a Fed @ 35 I don't think!

    ***It's funny. I s/b shocked, but I'm not. If it wasn't for his Laver Cup commitments I would say he should just shut down the yr. Roger got lucky @ Wimbl. That was a burglary. The level we saw in the 1st quarter of the yr has not been seen since. We all have to admit that. The only ?? I have is...
    'are we ever going to see it again?' The man still has a slam or 2 in him, but he's just added to the plot lines for '18. We already have...

    * How will Novak, Stan & Murray come back?
    * How will Shapo & Zverev progress?

    Now we have...

    * Was early 2017 the last time we'll ever see TMF?

    Coz this guy is just Roger...
    ---

    When Rafa wins this joke of a USO, Roger w/b dumb not to pack it in for the yr. He'd be down over 1800 pts so he'd basically need to win Shanghai, Basel, & YEC just to come close. = if Rafa somehow loses to Del Po I wouldn't mind seeing Roger think ahead for once & rest for the yr, but I doubt he would do that.

    ...Fed's going to have to aim for #20 @ Wimbledon next yr. He's still underachieved a bit there & underachieved a ton in USO; the latter has become his personal house of horrors really.
    ---

    Sloane took it to Vee in that SF match. In response, Vee brought it back & then w/ some more firepower, but Sloane's defense was almost like Novak or young Rafa; indestructible.***

    I only watched it periodically, but I think most players are too defensive! They hit a great shot making their opp. scramble, but stay back 10 yds behind the baseline allowing a weak squash-shot to stay in the pt! I grew up when it was nec. to finish off pts @ the net instead of trying to outlast or wait for an error! I would think Sloane got defensive in that 2nd set hoping Venus would give her the match & she barely made it thru in 3! I'm so glad Stephens knocked out the old lady who has no life and should move on to something else! Now Venus can go see her new niece!

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  48. Love it that Trump's in the same situation where N. Korea keeps crossing "his" red lines which he loved to chide Obama for so often! If he'd STFU just for a few days, this stuff would probably die down, but he keeps fueling it trying to take credit whenever nothing does happen! Now we have X hydrogen bomb tests in the last few months which is > than occurred during the entire tenure of Obama, but again we just sit & watch!
    ===

    ***Regarding Trump ending DACA, what I'm reading is saying that the 6 month delay is to allow Congress to act, which supposedly means to pass some kind of DACA-like law. My ?? is this: If Congress is somehow able to pass it, would Trump turn around & veto it? NPR interviewed some Rep. congressman (from CA, I think) who suggested that DACA & funding for the border wall s/b tied together legislatively.***

    Well that's not gonna happen! Can you say "gov't shutdown?" That w/b unprecedented since Reps are in complete control of the WH & Congress! In the past it was those a-holes filibustering budgets & raising of the "debt ceiling," now they're about to cut their own throats by trying to play politics w/ our credit rating which was almost destroyed over 5 yrs ago by these same trolls!

    ***They caused this situation by being unwilling to work w/ President Obama on the DACA issue yrs ago; forcing him to use an EO to help the young people in ??.***

    Thank you! They didn't want Obama to have anything he could crow about so it was worth it to these animals t/b put in this position when it shb dealt w/ yrs ago! They've bitched about it long enough, but as usual they haven't been able to do anything about it; no repeal/replace of the ACA, no border wall, no tax reform, etc.! The "Keystone Cops" of the Rep Party should feel quite proud of themselves I guess! Trump's so desperate to make it seem like he's doing his job, he's bragging about systematically reversing every EO of Obama's! I wouldn't be bragging, but Trump's no normal human being!

    ***Trump has backed himself into another legis. corner. His threat to not raise the debt ceiling & approve budgets un< he got his billion $$ wall (that Mex.'s going to pay) & let the gov't shut down would also mean all those bribes going to TX & likely to FLA wouldn't happen. Repealing DACA is going to impact business which is going to impact moderate business leaning Rep. Letting Congress handle it means it's not going to happen either since the GOP is essentially split themselves & the Democrats won't agree to the stupid wall.***

    It's not like Trump didn't say he would do it, but people this affects actually voted for him! One woman bragged about supporting him, but w/i 2 wks, her husband was rounded up like others to deport! She obviously wasn't thinking this thru; maybe being a bitch who wouldn't support another woman if you paid her!

    ***It just seems mean that a gov't would go back on a commitment made to these young people concerning DACA.***

    Please; Trump and Reps are in charge! Integrity has been lost w/ these people decades ago! The last X I believe they showed any character was dealing w/ Nixon & Watergate for obvious reasons! They just don't give a damn anymore! Party is more important to them!

    ***One thing that we are seeing is that the problem of gridlock in Congress wasn't that the power was divided, it was the disfunction of the Rep. Party, since now they hold everything & still can't act on their own agenda.***

    The GOP's more fractured than the Dems. That's become abundantly clear w/ their majority status. The Alt-Right & the Moderate GOP are almost as far apart as the GOP & the Dems. The US is becoming a multi-party system by default. The problem is we're not a parliamentary gov't where these X political parties can find a way to function.***

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  49. ***I think Obama has taken the tack of minimizing his race in order to succeed. Since, whenever he did bring up race at all, many people who supported him got hysterical, I can see why he did that. And he did do things to help POC overcome systemic racism -- we know this b/c we see Trump dismantling them like crazy!
    I actually think the only people who can really dismantle white privilege are white people. We own this problem, not POC.***

    If Obama had raised a finger to say or help any Blacks w/ anything special, half the country would have flipped out! W/ Reps it was a no-win situation; heaven knows Trump implored "what would it hurt" to give him a chance? Now we know!

    ***I could give a cat's butthole about "perception" of white priviledge. It's not a perception, as others have pointed out, White privilege is a FACT. The fact that this country, its institutions, it's policies, & its laws were created to enable & empower white str. men & to exploit poc. @Louis - you still grew up in a system/gov't that was created to give YOU an advantage over me.***

    That may be true, but I've found women are the most responsible for it since they don't back each other to make change! All you need to do is remember back in Nov. finding out later, white, uneducated women went w/ Trump over Hillary! They are the majority, so who else can be blamed for that white privilege not = close to being obsolete in a country where the minority is taking over decade by decade?

    ***In Regards To DACA, what S/B The Priority?***

    A president made a promise to these "Dreamers!" All Congress had to do was ratify his EO by doing their damn job & passing a bill! They were too concerned about screwing him over, not giving a damn about precedent! How soon they forget Reagan forgave "immigrants" & Carter gave amnesty to "draft dodger!" Obama was perfectly w/i his rights to pass that temp. fix! The problem was w/ Congress who knew what they needed to do, but they're so dysfunctional they can't do much of anything w/ their majorities in both HOUSES! It's pathetic, but what else c/b said about these Neanderthals "on the right!" Not like I have much sympathy for us since we've given Reps total control! I just wonder when these losers will stop blaming everything on our downfall!

    ***I find it interesting, as an aside, that Rush Lim.'s no longer considered politically relevant on USMB.***

    He has no credibility & Trump's more obnoxious than him so his voice isn't heard as much! He used to get all kinds of play w/ the MSM, but I rarely hear anything of him since he's lost a ton of that weight! I just can't imagine paying him "any mind" w/ his airhead type of logic & sense of entitlement to kick innocent children out of our country!

    ***I live in Fla; politics don't mean crap when a disaster like a hurricane is coming.***

    It shouldn't, but it always does in the end! All you have to do is go back a few yrs when Reps were balking @ giving aid to Sandy victims! A-Holes like Cruz made up some story about "pork," then others like Pence talked about balancing it all out w/ cuts somewhere else! Politics always w/b involved w/ these tragedies or disasters; just making sure they don't look culpable! Dems are always ready to sign off so this is all on Reps IMO!

    ***No, Obummer had no right to pass that EO. It was unconstitutional.***

    Go back to school goober! If it was so illegal, why wasn't it overturned yrs ago? Get a conscience while you're at it!

    ***It wasn't overturned b/c nobody w/ $$ paid lawyers to do so. It isn't automatic. Lots of laws are out there that are illegal that haven't been overturned simply b/c they haven't been applied to a person willing to pay the lawyers to fight them.***

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  50. ***The Many Netanyahu Scandals: The 1st indictment in a series of scandals threatening the future of PM Benjamin Netanyahu appears imminent.

    AG Avichai Mendelblit is expected to bring fraud charges against Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli leader for unlawfully accepting 400,000 shekels ($111,850) in goods. She's suspected of ordering catered chef’s meals for the PM’s official residence in defiance of regulations. She's denied the allegations, instead blaming the former chief caretaker of the PM’s residence, Meni Naftali for the inflated expenses that were discovered. But police reportedly have evidence that the practice began before Naftali assumed his position at the official residence & continued after he left.

    The driving force behind a new grassroots movement aimed @ toppling Netanyahu, Naftali has already sued the PM’s wife for treating him & other household staff abusively. He won the case & prevailed in an appeal.

    New details have also been revealed in recent days in 2 other cases connected to the PM. “Case 3000,” also known as the “Submarine Affair,” involves allegs of bribery in a more-than-billion-$$ submarine deal btw Israel & Germany. On Sunday, Netanyahu’s former bureau chief David Sharan was detained on suspicions of taking bribes in the case.

    “Case 2000” involves allegations that Netanyahu tried to strike a deal that would have provided him w/ + coverage in Israel’s 2nd largest newspaper in exchange for hurting its freebie rival, Israel Hayom. ...

    ...Case 1000 - This investigation involves allegations that Netanyahu, his wife Sara and their son Yair received lavish gifts from 2 wealthy businessmen:

    Israeli-born Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan & Aussie billionaire James Packer. Netanyahu & his wife Sara allegedly received regular shipments of expensive cigars & champagne worth 100's of thousands of shekels from Milchan. It has also been reported that Milchan bought Netanyahu’s wife an expensive piece of jewelry. Netanyahu has insisted these gifts were nothing more than tokens of friendship & no favors were provided to Milchan in return. Packer has allegedly lavished gifts on Netanyahu’s son Yair, including free flights & hotel rooms. Netanyahu, his wife and son – along w/ Milchan & Packer have all been ??'d by police in the case. Netanyahu was named a suspect in this case last month. The PM’s bureau has responded that the allegations are “unfounded.”

    Case 2000 - This probe involves allegations that Netanyahu was willing to sell out Israel Hayom to obtain favorable coverage in ...

    Last month, a former Netanyahu aide signed an agreement to serve as state’s witness in this case. In exchange for testifying against Netanyahu, American-born Ari Harow, the PM’s former chief of staff, will avoid jail X in a separate case. Some of the conversations btw Netanyahu & Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes were recorded on Harow’s smartphone, which was confiscated by police while they were investigating the other case against him. Harow is believed to have been intensely involved in the negotiations btw Netanyahu & Mozes. His agreement to testify against Netanyahu, therefore, greatly strengthens the possibility of an indictment in this case.

    Netanyahu has long claimed that he was not serious about the offer to Mozes & was simply trying to test the publisher. According to a recent Channel Two report broadcast, Adelson told Israeli police investigators that Netanyahu had tried to persuade him to WD plans for weekend supplements @ Israel Hayom. That would indicate that Netanyahu was indeed intent upon reaching a deal w/ Mozes. Netanyahu was named a suspect in the case as well last month. The PM’s bureau has responded that the allegations are “unfounded.”***

    We can do the same w/ his "corrupt twin," Donald Trump; from his wife on down I'm sure! It's only a matter of X! The Russian connection is heating up & I'm not sure how the family can avoid scrutiny using the office of the presidency to profit personally!

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  51. ***It's heartening when a crook is finally brought to justice. Exposing Netanyahu is almost as satisfying to me as Nixon's was. It w/b left to history to give Reagan his due disdain.***

    Still waiting! Reps pontificate about how great he was when he was really a placeholder & puppet w/ a strong, crooked staff! People forget 252 people from his admin. were either indicted, convicted, or run out of office, but the reverence's there w/ these "TH's" on TV! Hard to believe 4 officials of Texas voted against flood aid for their own state!

    ***And 2 FLA Congressmen voted against relief for Irma: "GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz & Ted Yoho stuck to their principles of fiscal conservatism despite calls from fellow FLA lawmakers to support the bill." - - This can probably be done to anyone if institutions like the media & deep state want to.***

    Reps have written the campaign ads for their opposition! What a bunch of idiots! You say principled, I say disturbed when tragedies hit like this in cons. wks! - If they're guilty of this type of behavior, I say have @ it! They're public servants, not Kings, Queens, Princes, etc.!

    ***Israeli's politics are too much for me to handle.***

    I just thought it humorous & apropos that Netanyahu backed Trump in our election who's also in a lot of trouble! Like-minded a-holes stick together like rats & roaches! I guess that's why to this day Trump has yet to criticize his good bud Putin in Russia! He kicked out over 700 of our people, but said lit'l to nothing about it; actually thanked him saying "we didn't need them" & Putin's "saving us money!" What a troll & all the people who think this is ok are just as culpable!

    ***The aftermath's always a political battle, but before it gets here we sort of put all that stuff on the back burner & concern ourselves w/ helping each other live thru it. Our Rep. state gov't is currently spending $$ like crazy b/c they know the price of their normal everyday neglect is much too high for their future political career.
    ---

    It is important to recognize that white women are still subject to discriminatory/oppressive treatment as women w/i our own class or milieu. We continue t/b sexually objectified (& raped on college campuses), we still make something like 76 cents on the male $$, & working women gen. carry more housework/childcare burdens than working men.

    J/b we may not experience it on the same level as "women of color" or immigrants doesn't mean that it does not exist or does not matter. Dividing women has always been an effective means of keeping us 'in our place.'***

    Women divide themselves! I keep asking the same ??, but never seem to get the answer; "why do women hate other women?" They fk each other's BF or husband; sisters, mother/daughters, BFF's! It means nothing when they want something or someone! I guess I shouldn't have ever been surprised when white women decided to go w/ the male chauvinist pig over Hillary! I'll never let them forget it whenever they bitch about a lack of representation!

    ***Yes, there is a correlation btw education & income, but I don't think that it's b/c everyone w/ a college degree is nec. smarter than everyone else. I think it's largely b/c of the way our society thinks.***

    When I was back in HS many decades ago, I was in a "World Geography" class where I learned about India's "caste" system! I thought it appalling @ the X; esp. hearing the low end being described as Dravidians or "Untouchables!" Lit'l did I know we're in the same predicament, but we just don't talk about it! Educ. helps, but there are people who still believe in a "class system!" All you have to do is look @ some of the more exclus. private schools where "like" minded people of a >er status like to keep themselves separate from the rest of us stupid, unwashed masses!

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  52. ***Hingis hooked up w/ Coco after dumping Sania for a while. What happened? Is it that Coco said that she wanted to focus on singles or is it that Martina figured out that Coco's stupid & dumped her.***

    Hingis doesn't suffer fools well! Chan said all the right things after they won Hingis' 25th GS title! Hingis took MxD w/ Jamie Murray yesterday; her 7th! I still remember when she was originally on the tour & could play w/ anyone winning majors; = a "double fault" machine in Anna K.! Kornikova began mouthing off & Martina dumped her like a bad habit! She may play for another 10+ yrs @ this rate trying to outdo Navratilova who finally retired after her USO MxD victory in '06 w/ Bryan just a month short of her 50th BD! "Congrat Martina; you're the best!"

    ***I've been sweating for many yrs as Roger has underachieved a lot since age 28. There was light @ the end of the tunnel coming into summer HC. ...20-15 would be game over, GOAT sealed. Now he still has work to do as 19 is great now, but m/b 2nd rate in 2 yrs if he stands still.***

    Look @ the record; 30 is usually the end for top players! Isolated incidences of brilliance is the only thing that have saved some from wasting their X after that like Connors back in '82 & '83, Sampras in '02; now Fed this season approaching 40!

    ***None of those guys are Fed & it's getting clear that w/ nutrition & evolution, athletes in most sports can play well into their 30's. - Roger has not won the USO for the last 9 yrs in a row. ...Considering Roger's supposed t/b a top talent in HC play, this is a long streak & so can say he underachieved.
    ---

    That changed = this yr. Roger has won 3, I think, post-30, & Rafa has just won his 2nd. If Djokovic comes back strong, he'll be looking for more than 1 more, & he has only 1 more Major as a 30-yo. Also Wawrinka has 2 post-30, I think. - Roger @ USO is definitely an underachiever. ...and he should've won more than 5. Losing 2 str. semis from MP's up, losing to DP somehow, getting walloped in '12 by Berd. '15 final vs. Nole was pretty weak too, esp. since Novak isn't good in NYC usually.***

    It all balances out it seems to me! Rafa has his 10 FO's, but the rest of the majors, he's been lacking! Fed had 2 nice runs @ the biggest tourneys of the season with 2 "5 in a rows" @ Wimbl. & The USO! His luck may have run out & it began dribbling in his waning yrs; waited 2, then 5 yrs before winning something significant! I think Fed's deal w/ the Devil may have transferred to Nadal who I never saw as #1 again! To me it just proves how gutless the rest of the tour has been to let these aging greats still own them!

    ***Personally, I do not think it is an underachievement @ all honestly. I mean I would've understood if he only won 1 or maybe 3 USO's, but to win 5 (which is tied most in the Open Era) & reach 7 finals is not an underachievement = for Federer's standards. If you want to talk about underachievement @ the USO, I would say Djokovic has underachieved considering the fact he was probably the best HC player from '11-'16.
    ---

    7 USO's is a lot. Fed lost to only quality players. He can't win everything.
    ---

    ...If he had just retired or has been a shell of himself just hanging around in the circuit, it is a diff. story. He has been an elite player for the most part of the next 9 as well, but he still did not win USO = once. I also agree that Novak winning < USO's than Rafa is a travesty.***

    Nole just got beat; same w/ Lendl who played 8 str. finals winning only 3 in a row! He was the best HC player @ the X, but by USO, he was probably exhausted due to the way he plays the game; same w/ Rafa! Borg never got much of a sniff = when it was on clay! He just had bad luck, injuries, & other X's he got beat! It happens! That's why they play the match thru & wait for the end of the tourney! You just never know = w/ the faves!

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  53. ***...It's the only way to accurately compare greats from the past, pre '75 where there was no comp. rankings, to the modern day greats. To just look @ wks @ #1 & saddle all those greats w/ a 0 is unfair to them & completely misleading.***

    I instantly thought of Nole & Andy last season! Djokovic wins the 1st 2 majors; "down under" & in Paris! He completes his Nole-Slam, drops early Rd match @ Wimbl. &'s in the final of USO, but still drops out of #1 spot by the YEC final! That makes lit'l to no sense since Murray took only Wimbl.! He loaded up on 500's, 2 other major finals, & snatched YE #1 ranking, holding it winning nothing due to injury! They really need to do something about that!

    ***If you think Murray didn't deserve YE #1, then you also think that he doesn't deserve many of his wks @ #1. ...
    ---

    ...Seedings & rankings et al are on a sliding window. We can't do this w/ other sports, b/c they have longer off-seasons & the winner gets some kind of trophy & title, e.g. "Premier league winners '16," & in team sports you have lots of trades that happen btw seasons, changing the team composition, etc.
    ---

    Very few players failed to finish YE #1 despite winning 2 Majors in a yr (altho this is likely to happen to Fed this yr). So, a world in which Fed has 75 more wks @ #1 & no YE #1s likely consists of him mostly winning 1 Major every yr & having large stretches of wks where he's ranked #1, but no yr in which he finished the YE ranked #1.***

    We also need to take note of the benefit of finishing YE #1 where there are wks of a "dead period" btw the end of the season & the 1st Major event "down under!"

    ***You need majors & other tourneys to get pts, but the discussion is whether there is special importance to being #1 on Dec 31st, vs a diff. day? I say no. ...
    ---

    But holding the #1 for a stretch of wks in a given yr is a 52-wk accomp. over the prior 52 wks & only partly reflects the current CY. So I agree that if we are talking about CY's, the players who finishes YE #1 had the most impressive tenure @ the top. I'm saying that it's arbitrary & that they shouldn't be given preference over any other 52-wk period in tennis. Finishing YE #1 @ the end of a yr & that being your only wk @ #1 does not show any longer a period of dominance than becoming #1 @ any other pt in a CY & that being your only wk @ #1.
    ---

    ...IDK why Novak can't have a strong comeback next yr @ 30-31. That said, there are things we just don't know about Novak's struggles - to what degree it's psychological vs. physical, & whether or not he can overcome them. He's a very, very gifted tennis player, so on the surface of things there's no reason to think he can't bounce back to @ least top 3 form.***

    Some things m/b mental, but I think most of this downturn is physical! Unlike the other Big 4, Nole played thru injury & continued winning! His style of play had t/b hard on his body & he just endured it thru Wimbl. this yr! IDK how people can forget his level of excellence thru '15; not only winning, but actually being in final after final! "Also-rans" & other 2nd tier players who aren't accustomed to winning have the same problem; winning 1 wk, then going out to a qualifier the next! Look @ Stan; wins majors over Rafa & Nole, but can fall to some nobody in a 250 event subsequently! We've been terribly spoiled by this group @ the top & are ready to move on in seconds if they're upset in just 2 tourneys! It happened a lot more in the past where no one was unbeatable; = Borg! He was as close as you could get to perfection = though playing w/ a wood racket & string tension no one today could hope to master! We need to just sit back & let things happen & stop making up ridiculous conclusions about players!

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  54. ***I can't stand the dreadful Pro-Trump ad put out by the Rep. Nat'l Committee. It credits Trump w/ "accomplishments" which are not his!***

    The only thing Trump has accomplished is lowering the standards for the Presidency for all X! If it isn't spelled out that it's improper behavior, he ignores the conflict or standard & goes that extra mile t/b one of the most disgusting of reprobates! No other president in history would try & run a business, invite Russian spies into the Oval Office, or compliment a dangerous & evil enemy of our country like Putin!

    ***Why would Ivanka do this?

    - http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/news/economy/yellen-ivanka-trump-breakfast/index.html -***

    She has to explain to her stupid father why this woman is so important to the Fed! I just hope there wasn't some underlying motive trying to undercut Yellen for cause to justify not re-nominating her! This definitely doesn't make any of them look good; esp. Trump! If Chelsea Clinton attended meetings & had brkfst like that w/ Fed officials, the "right-wing" nuts w/b flying into rages! The hypocrisy's mind-numbing!

    ***Reps will never cross Trump = if he's proven t/b 100% guilty. We would all like to see the due process followed & the right actions taken, but to them it could j/b a meaningless thing. In the end they'll support DT & throw the country into great jeopardy. If they had integrity, we would have seen it by now. Yesterday Rachel Maddow spoke about the mountain of lies - by Trump, Sessions, Flynn, Trump Jr., Kushner... & yet nobody from their party expresses disgust & distress over it. Trump'll never be impeached as long as the Congress has a Rep. majority.***

    The Trump admin. LIES have flowed so much, people have ceased caring IMO! That was how the man got elected! Pointing out a Trump lie is like trying to count snowflakes & telling them apart w/ the diff. btw them!

    ***Using the word "racism" sets an awful lot of people's backs up. I don't think there's a way to approach these discussions but head on.***

    It's historic guilt; more our Nazi shame that continued long after civil rights legis. was passed in the 60's! We can't have a serious discussion on race in this country to this day w/o someone being offended they're being lumped in w/ bigots, white supremacists, racists, & other bad actors! It's been decades, but I can still see a chair flying across the stage @ a Geraldo Rivera show where he got his face all busted up trying to have a discussion! Obama, Clinton, & = "W" can give a speech, but tempers always seem to flair if there's a real dialogue going on; the resentment palpable due to past injustices! Both sides have their own agenda, logic, & sense of history concerning the subject & I'm just not sure when we'll get over it! Heaven knows you have so called competent people like Ann Coulter who will give her side by making it the Dems fault instead of laying the blame on Reps due to their actions of unsympathetic attitude on the subject! It's all about liberals keeping Blacks & other minorities down & giving them an excuse to fail! It's hard to just let something like that slide w/o infuriating all races & that's how we keep the animus going!

    ***Hillary's book is out, but so is Katie Tur's about covering the Trump campaign.

    - - Here's a telling vignette from it.

    - http://ijr.com/the-response/2017/09/972969-trump-grabbed-kissed-katy-tur-without-asking-watch-trump-brag/ -***

    I haven't read it, but I'm sure she felt threatened by that animal in the Oval Office pointing her out to his rabid crowd j/b she's exposed his BS! The man is vile & justice can't come soon enough IMO! He's the epitome of a banana republic dictator, not a President IMO! Hard to blame him when so many others are complicit in his rise to power!

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  55. ***So what do people think of this new business of Trump & the Dems supposedly making deals? I'm very wary.***

    I'm sure Pelosi & Schumer are being careful, but they'll try to get as much out of him before his party rebels! I wish the MSM would stop using terms like "the Dems rolled him!" We know the guy's like a petulant child &'ll screw over all concerned to get his ego back in chk! There are quite a few things Reps can do w/o the Dems so they need to flex as much influence & power they can muster over retaining DACA, no building of a border wall, & tax reform!

    ***For the 1st X in gens, a president's party that controls Congress refuses to pass any bills he wants b/c of extreme personal hatred for them! Trump does like t/b seen doing stuff. Like everyone has pointed out, if he did nothing w/ his inheritance he'd be richer than he is now. So he's back to doing stuff & working w/ Dems which is fine b/c strangely they have come to grips w/ him being president. Reps like Ryan & McConnell hate him so much & don't understand why he won the primary that they only do Russia investigations.***

    I would say they're only pursuing those investigations to some extent, but they aren't putting the kibosh on them either! You have a few isolated & corrupt members like Nunes who're trying to obstruct & undermine witnesses, but he'll be gone soon enough! Like you said, it's amazing that they control it all, but can't seem to get a damn thing done b/c of their own character flaws & an unwillingness to compromise!

    ***1. The Reps are in disarray, so it makes sense for the Dems to seize the day.
    - 2. Trump's, AFAICS, a lousy negotiator, so they might actually come out ahead.
    - 3. Trump's as reliable as broken clock & takes no responsiblity for anything, so the Dems should expect him to change his mind often & blame them for everything that goes wrong or displeases his base.

    - 4. The Dems need to take a lesson from the Reps & understand that making a deal w/ the Devil means accepting a lot of baggage--& that it isn't always or = often worth it.

    So.....I can't see not taking advantage of the opening, but man, what a minefield.
    ---

    I think it benefits the Dems t/b seen as willing to work w/ the President. Despite our era of hyper-partisanship, I think a lot of voters don't like the gridlock.***

    I keep hearing that being invoked all the X, but I've seen Reps systematically take over the country in state & Federal offices! OUR corrupt society has been rewarding their treachery for 2+ decades now; allowing Reps to ?? the integrity of the vote, the 4th Estate (MSM), & the populous itself! When we allow someone to say & do things like Trump, we have no one to blame but ourselves!

    ***Watching Clinton on Rachel Maddow's show I could have cried thinking "what if."***

    The problem is Hillary still whb under siege from all sides! Instead of the incompetence of Congress being self-evident, all blame whb heaped on her when bills didn't get passed! She lost last Nov., but Trump can't help invoking her name almost every single day! FNC is no >er; nothing more than Trump's publicist @ this pt & shamelessly attack her & = Chelsea today since Hillary's book mentioned something about Ivanka s/b held responsible things! I agree w/ the book; women shouldn't be forgiven for not voting for her! = if they didn't like her, another woman was on the ballot, but they went w/ the male chauvinist pig who speaks so disparagingly about them, but obviously they don't give a damn! Seems like my own assumption has t/b right; "women hate women!" It's unfathomable to see this happening in the 21 Century!

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  56. ***Pence is nec. for 25th Amend. ...***

    People s/b just as leary of Pence; probably a lot more dangerous! He isn't that much more intelligent, but his conservatism is just SOUTH of Jerry Falwell! Remember how he almost lost the NCAA HQ when Gov. b/c of some silly "LGBT" discrimination legis. he supported! Companies were set to all move out of Ind. if he hadn't backed off! He also voted against the Dream Act while in Congress! If he wants t/b a Christian cons., more power to him, but he shouldn't allow it to affect people who aren't!

    ***Harvard Dean rescinds Chelsea Manning’s visiting fellow invitation, calling it a ‘mistake’

    - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/09/14/former-cia-directors-shun-harvard-after-the-school-invites-chelsea-manning-to-campus/?utm_term=.218de160dc53 -***

    There was no mistake except in believing Trump & his asinine Admin. would mind their own damn business & allow freedom of speech; = from someone they consider a traitor! Trump's been enough of a traitor, opening his big yap & blabbing about things he hears in Intel! No one more a traitor than Flynn who lied about his assoc. w/ Russia & Turkey, collecting over a $1M; "oh I forgot about that on my 'vetting' forms!" Idiots!

    ***Manning still gets to speak, he just won't be honored because he's a traitor. How would you like Flynn to be honored? Betcha wouldn't like it.***

    Flynn can speak wherever he wants, but the big diff. is that slime profited illegally off his position! He's in serious trouble along w/ his right-hand man; his son! Both w/b deposed by Mueller & I can't see any way of them getting out of it; either jail or a willingness to rat out people all the way up the chain to Trump! Chelsea was in prison for quite a while & paid her debt to society!

    ***Thank you Fiero. Personally I'm still very interested to hear what Manning has to say. Whatever else you may think about her, she's pretty unique.***

    Right-wingers are afraid of what m/b said justifying what she did! It was probably the biggest thing that disappointed me about Obama; endorsed "whistle-blowing" while campaigning, but went "tooth and nail" after any that exposed his secrets! He was a good enough president, more honest than most, but in the end he was just a politician who acted accordingly!

    This is all a smokescreen for people to deflect what's really happening; TRUMP & his admin. are in serious trouble! Mueller's on the case & he's deposed many of these people who should have a lot to say un< they want to go to jail! All bases are being covered to make sure these worms don't jump off the hook; actually coordinating w/ NY Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman to eliminate a possibility of Trump "pardoning" these slime-balls! Manafort & Kushner are going to have to spill their guts if they want to save themselves! = w/ a Republican Congress, their transgressions against the law have already sunk them! Both have had dealing w/ Russians they never disclosed & it's all going to blow up in Trump's face! This makes Watergate look like a summer shower in comparison to corruption residing in the WW @ this moment!

    ***The only thing Mueller is going to find is some contradictory testimony to the "secret" Grand Jury impaneled w/ swamp rats from the Swamp.***

    You are fooling yourself! It's quite evident a # of these people didn't make "mandatory" disclosures; "Oh I forgot" won't wash! Flynn is more culpable b/c he was in the Obama admin. before being fired! Trump was warned by Obama, the Intel society, & the FBI that Flynn was subject to blackmail due to his ties to Russia & Turkey; actually working for them to open a nuclear power plant of all things! How in the HELL do you forget over a million dollars being paid to you! WAKE UP & smell the fukin' coffee! These swamp-rats are not going to get away w/ this; = w/ a Fed pardon!

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  57. ***The California State Assembly has passed a bill that requires all presidential candidates to release their tax returns.

    - http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/350789-california-legislature-passes-bill-requiring-presidential-candidates-to -

    I wish all states would pass similar bills, but I know they won't. Congress should pass it before 2020, but they won't either.***

    We wouldn't have to go thru all this if rational people only paid more attention how "unqualified" & what a pathological liar Trump proved t/b from the start! If Hillary or any other person acted, said such offensive things, & thumbed their noses at normal political protocol, they whb run out of society not just politics! Women didn't seem to care he was a misogynist pig who openly spoke disparagingly about them! There were minorities who supported him when he called Mexicans rapists & drug dealers! We have no one else to blame but ourselves! He put it all there for the press to inform us, but a huge mass of folks just didn't care! That's on us w/o a doubt!

    ***The takeaway from all this is that Ann Coulter shows she believes the media's account of this rather than Trump's.***

    Personally I think anyone who believes "anything" Trump says is disturbed or in complete denial after all the LIES he's spewed over the yrs! When it comes to honesty, that word never s/b used in conjunction w/ this admin.! Trump isn't the only one in the crosshairs of the special prosecutor; = Pence is in jeopardy! Friends have asked who's in the line of succession after both of them & I had to tell them since it really looks as if both m/b ousted! I believe Speaker Ryan would probably get it & if he says no, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Orrin Hatch w/b the 3rd person in line! It's a no-win situation for all concerned!

    ***...I mourn for my nation. I think we're done as a democratic republic, slain by the the internet.***

    People just don't see how dangerous the X's have become w/ outside influences making choices for us! It's a shame & I'm glad I'm old & won't have to worry about it much longer! I saw the slide w/ "W" & it's only gotten worse it seems w/ cons. media, FB treachery, & unethical slime-bags like Flynn & Manafort who don't seem to care either as long as they make $$!

    ***Trump Is Ready to Sell Out His Base

    - https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-15/trump-is-ready-to-sell-out-his-base -

    The most cursory eval. of Donald J. Trump as a candidate revealed to us that he felt no need for small-minded consistency btw his words & his actions. If it later proved convenient to back out of his promises, he’d do it in a New Jersey min.

    ...We shouldn’t be surprised. The 1st yr of a presidency is the yr for bold action, but the man whose core credo is “I deal, therefore I am” has achieved … one Supr. Ct. conf., a handful of EO's, & a reputation as perhaps the most incompetent manager ever to hold the presidency.

    ...Which is to say, Dems will offer a “heads I win, tails you lose” deal: a substantive easing of immigration restrictions, covered by some tough-sounding fig leaf that Reps can point to when angry voters quiz them about it. Exactly the sort of deal, Trump voters solemnly informed me, that a President Rubio, Kasich or Cruz was sure to press for. The sort of deal that made it imperative to vote for Donald Trump.***

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  58. ...what a pathological liar Trump proved t/b from the start...! There were minorities who supported him when he called Mexicans rapists & drug dealers! ...It's on us w/o a doubt!

    ***And members of other minority groups didn't seem to mind the fact that he refused to rent to them as a landlord in the 70's following in his daddy's footsteps. I always wonder how his 'Blacks for Trump' sign-carriers feel about that fact every X I see them standing behind him while cheering him on. Good grief people, what are we teaching our children about dignity & pride? What are we telling them about respect for self & others? What?***

    People I know just figured they were paid well; sorta like those losers when he announced! He supposed gave them $50 & a T-Shirt to stand around cheering on his every stupid comment! Few have real integrity these days; more concerned about having the latest smartphone! Idiots!

    ***Today's Fire (red MAGA caps burning!) & Today's Fury (GOP leadership burning!)***

    He has to bluster after faulting Obama for yrs for being weak! Reps/Cons in gen. thought him t/b an appeaser & never gave him credit for bringing respectability back to the States after "W" squandered it all w/ his own ineptitude! Now we're back in the "Stone Age" w/ another Neanderthal! Why won't we learn our lesson? Trump has set this country back 50 yrs & he hasn't even seriously done much but "mouth off!" As president that's all it takes! Foreign leaders have learned to just ignore him & all his BS! Heaven knows he's pushing a conflict w/ N. Korea by just yappin' away like a child on a playground; it's pathetic, but no more so than the clowns that think "it's all good!"

    ***The temper of Donald Trump:

    When Donald Trump found out that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, the President went off.

    - http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/politics/donald-trump-temper/index.html -

    I swear this guy isn't only weird & not wonderful he's also dangerous. He always blames others for whatever he brought about by his own behavior or statements. He refuses to take any blame for any mistake he makes & strikes out @ people when angry w/o any thought about what he's doing. He's a war waiting to happen. He claims his 1st job is to protect Americans so if that the case the best thing he could do is resign!***

    All of Trump's troubles are self-inflicted wounds w/o = reading the article! If he had kept his big yap closed, a lot of this wouldn't have been found out for yrs! Accusing Obama of wiretapping his "Tower" during the campaign got the ball rolling w/ investigations & w/ huge leaps found how corrupt his admin. has been since before they took residency in the West Wing! The man doesn't seem to realize, when a president speaks, people are listening! We are, but foreign gov'ts aren't anymore seeing him as a buffoon!

    He lost any possible credibility @ his Inauguration w/ such a hateful speech of divisiveness that it was inevitable we w/b in this predicament of a Constitutional crisis unseen in American history! There's a real possibility of both Trump & Pence being run out of office due to their lies & corrupt acts! I'm not looking forward to this b/c it's going to get real ugly! Putin did a real job on us, actually tainting FB for all X as well!

    ***Are people of your color being gunned down in the streets by cops? St Louis cop just found innocent for cold blooded murder. Happens all the X. Wake the fuck up.
    ---

    No, but plenty of white folks get beaten up, or worse, when they venture too far into "black owned areas."***

    Black owned? What a joke! Society push minorities into small, crowded areas to make themselves feel safe, then bitch about it when some WHITE guy ventures thru & gets hurt! These people just can't win!

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  59. ***W/o the 20M illegals living here, there w/b < jobs in the USA...< homes built to own or to rent, < cars sold & made, < food grown & harvested, < teachers needed, < med. facilities needed, < clothes sold, < of everything for the 20M living here. WHEN America was great, it was b/c our pop. was GROWING leaps & bounds yr after yr which made our economy grow almost by default. Americans have stopped having kids @ the rate we once did & the pols ignored illegal immigration for decades b/c we needed more people to keep the GDP increasing.***

    Some idiot pols are always stoking those flames bitchin' about jobs being taken away! The fact is our economy w/b hurt if we deported all of them! People forget they do pay taxes, probably don't get the benefits of it, & more than likely doing the jobs we won't do! People need to grow the FK up & stop scapegoating others to make themselves victims! Feeling >er acting like assholes doesn't last long! If they're too stupid to do >er & get a decent job in this economy, who's fault is that really?

    ***Actually, in both instances, the Dems won the popular vote.***

    Who cares how it happens! It just proves Reps' "Southern Strategy" continues to work & they seem to have a lock on those Troglodytes in 'Red States!' The only X they seem to break in there "lock step" is when a "hillbilly" like them is in the race; Carter & B. Clinton come to mind! I'm just disgusted & have no HOPE that it'll change = after they've made this huge mistake last yr!

    ***I care about how it happens. If 'W' & Trump (esp. Trump) had won the popular vote, we w/b a lot worse off as a nation -- morally, intellectually, many ways.
    ---

    If we want to avoid this sort of thing we need to have a society that isn't so "pro-life." Much of the support for ??able politicians comes from "pro-lifers." The abortion controversy needs t/b resolved to reduce the political dichotomy in this country & make it more politically stable. It divides the country into antagonistic factions of about 50 % on each side. I know this b/c I have cons friends who are very "pro-life." Their views on that topic make it extremely unlikely they would support anybody but an anti-choice Rep. They consider pro-choicers like Hillary t/b horrible people.***

    I wish I was more patient in my old age & could be more forgiving of "stupidity" & ignorance, but I don't & won't! I've been listening to this BS since '74 & it sets us back again & again! I always think the next election cycle will bring maturity & progressive thought in those 50% & it just never seems to happen! = electing Obama didn't bring these people into the 21 Century; more about their own guilt maybe!

    Belying his election, they still acted like "morons," banging on Planned Parenthood; making up stories of abortions going @ a clip of 97% when it was the exact op. in their clinics @ 3% of their services! They are very important in some areas where the only medical facility in a town is PPP! They don't care that the majority of their work goes into cancer screening & the like!

    That's why I'm not so understanding, b/c they're willing to lie "en masse" about est. facts & makes the whole country look bad! Neanderthals like Jesse Helms when alive would rather close the only hospital in some African country if anyone = discussed abortions there! It was obscene & from then on I had lit'l to no respect for Reps! They cater to the lowest common denominator to hold power! I wouldn't pull the lever for one to save my own life!

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  60. ***To paraphrase the FLOTUS ..."The presidency does not define who you are, it exposes who you are." - Melania just might want to 'borrow' that one from Michelle also.***

    Can you believe that? Trump hates Obama so much, but then he rips off his wife's words! Normally that's the end of someone's pol. career! Look @ Biden who's still trying to live down his plagiarism from 30 yrs ago! The only reason he's still in the limelight is b/c he's a nice guy!
    ===

    ***This documentary about Laci/Scott's PO'n me off. ...I skimmed Twitter the other day & the vast majority of the people now seem to think he's innocent. Some of these people are the VERY same people who wanted dead themselves.***

    I probably won't watch for that very reason! = if he were as guilty as HELL, this guy seemed t/b railroaded! It happens enough to minorities, but it didn't make me feel any better that he was white! I followed it and it just made no sense that they could convict this guy w/ such flimsy evidence! It was more to do w/ "outrage!" It was a sad day in Cali jurisprudence! I lived there for 11+ yrs & had to live thru McMartin travesty, Rodney King, & of course OJ! Glad I moved back East! I've loved "Law & Order" franchise & injustices happened all the X! If the cops set their sights on you, you just m/b toast! How many people can prove much of anything w/ the way we live apart from family & friends? "Where were you June 7th @ 8 o'clock?" Alone @ home w/b a normal response! Lucky I live in a tower w/ cameras & security so it w/b tough to frame me! lol!

    ***When this was consuming the media yrs ago, I refused t/b drug down the path of forming an opinion based on the media & so many Americans who swore Scott Peterson was guilty long before any evidence was presented. Now, watching this series I'm truly appalled that Scott was ever brought up on charges. As anyone who's watched this series can see, there's absolutely NO EVIDENCE he killed Laci. I believe his conviction s/b overturned. He should also be compensated for the yrs he's been incarcerated. I wonder if Scott is involved w/ any organization like "The Innocence Project." If he's not, he s/b. To anyone who's on this thread that does not believe that hard evidence s/b avail. to convict, think back to the Salem witch trials. Think about if you or a family member was in a similar situation & you were brought up on charges for murder w/o a shread of evidence. Really, our judicial system works in theory — it's back in the dark ages where it comes to the actual process. Emotions need t/b thrown into the trash, esp. when being tried for a capital crime like murder. I suspect A&E & the folks who produced this series felt compelled to bring the actual facts of this case to the public consciousness. I'm so glad you did, b/c if I formed an opinion based on the media's take, I'd be just as guilty as the Modesto police dept. and the prosecution for indicting & convicting Scott Peterson. Seeing the clips of the various newspeople (I refuse to call them journalists - they don't deserve that respectful title) really infuriates me. I truly hope that this series will compell SOMEONE to do what they can to help Scott.
    ---

    This Laci Petersen series has me really rethinking what I thought I knew about the case. I don't remember reading about the dog being brought home, dragging a leash. That alone tells me that there's more to this story than the media frenzy put forth. The only thing that still has me wondering is how her body ended up in the area where Scott went fishing, but I'm sure they'll come up w/ something to counter that. It's fascinating. If the cops want you, they'll get you - no matter what. = if we don't agree that he did or didn't do it, we can all agree on one thing: Nancy Grace is an evil cunt.***

    Amen & hallelujah to that!

    ReplyDelete
  61. ***To paraphrase the FLOTUS ..."The presidency does not define who you are, it exposes who you are." - Melania just might want to 'borrow' that one from Michelle also.***

    Can you believe that? Trump hates Obama so much, but then he rips off his wife's words! Normally that's the end of someone's pol. career! Look @ Biden who's still trying to live down his plagiarism from 30 yrs ago! The only reason he's still in the limelight is b/c he's a nice guy!
    ===

    ***This documentary about Laci/Scott's PO'n me off. ...I skimmed Twitter the other day & the vast majority of the people now seem to think he's innocent. Some of these people are the VERY same people who wanted dead themselves.***

    I probably won't watch for that very reason! = if he were as guilty as HELL, this guy seemed t/b railroaded! It happens enough to minorities, but it didn't make me feel any better that he was white! I followed it and it just made no sense that they could convict this guy w/ such flimsy evidence! It was more to do w/ "outrage!" It was a sad day in Cali jurisprudence! I lived there for 11+ yrs & had to live thru McMartin travesty, Rodney King, & of course OJ! Glad I moved back East! I've loved "Law & Order" franchise & injustices happened all the X! If the cops set their sights on you, you just m/b toast! How many people can prove much of anything w/ the way we live apart from family & friends? "Where were you June 7th @ 8 o'clock?" Alone @ home w/b a normal response! Lucky I live in a tower w/ cameras & security so it w/b tough to frame me! lol!

    ***When this was consuming the media yrs ago, I refused t/b drug down the path of forming an opinion based on the media & so many Americans who swore Scott Peterson was guilty long before any evidence was presented. Now, watching this series I'm truly appalled that Scott was ever brought up on charges. As anyone who's watched this series can see, there's absolutely NO EVIDENCE he killed Laci. I believe his conviction s/b overturned. He should also be compensated for the yrs he's been incarcerated. I wonder if Scott is involved w/ any organization like "The Innocence Project." If he's not, he s/b.

    To anyone who's on this thread that does not believe that hard evidence s/b avail. to convict, think back to the Salem witch trials. Think about if you or a family member was in a similar situation & you were brought up on charges for murder w/o a shread of evidence. Really, our judicial system works in theory — it's back in the dark ages where it comes to the actual process. Emotions need t/b thrown into the trash, esp. when being tried for a capital crime like murder. I suspect A&E & the folks who produced this series felt compelled to bring the actual facts of this case to the public consciousness. I'm so glad you did, b/c if I formed an opinion based on the media's take, I'd be just as guilty as the Modesto police dept. and the prosecution for indicting & convicting Scott Peterson. Seeing the clips of the various newspeople (I refuse to call them journalists - they don't deserve that respectful title) really infuriates me. I truly hope that this series will compell SOMEONE to do what they can to help Scott.
    ---

    This Laci Petersen series has me really rethinking what I thought I knew about the case. I don't remember reading about the dog being brought home, dragging a leash. That alone tells me that there's more to this story than the media frenzy put forth. The only thing that still has me wondering is how her body ended up in the area where Scott went fishing, but I'm sure they'll come up w/ something to counter that. It's fascinating. If the cops want you, they'll get you - no matter what. = if we don't agree that he did or didn't do it, we can all agree on one thing: Nancy Grace is an evil cunt.***

    Amen & hallelujah to that!

    ReplyDelete
  62. ***Just got an email from AZ Dem that McCain flipped. He reluctantly agreed to vote for the repeal. Shame on him! It's over for millions of Americans.***

    He's gutless when it counts a lot of the X! People always like him being this "rebel," but it's only 1/2 the timeX; other X's he's falling in line = during the stupid periods of threatening our credit rating "shutting down the gov't!" When he campaigns back in AZ, he acts & talks just like Trump! Those old FK's just love him being this troll w/ no real standards, but weaves back & forth w/ the wind just like any other Pol!

    ***I'm afraid that the Reps will somehow pass the ACA repeal. They are not giving up, ever. If they could erase Obama's name in history as our president, they will do it.***

    I've seen it happen on both sides! In Chgo we had one of those inexplicable race results when Jane Byrne won back in '79! It wasn't so w/ me since she was able to use weather vs the sitting mayor; a bore by the name of Michael Bilandic! He wasn't really elected due to Daley dying in office 2 years before! We had a terrible winter; Xmas Eve & NY Eve we got a 1-2 punch of a blizzard, followed by subzero WC's!

    There was not a lot that c/b done, but Byrne was out there "w/ the people" commiserating w/ them; "what a shame!" Trying to get "from under," she played it to the hilt that the current admin. was corrupt & shady! My mom worked in City Hall and knew her to be a drunk and incompetent, but people went with her anyway just to get back at the Dem. Machine! She took over & ran things into the ground while others tried to fix what was done to budgets & the like! She wound up losing to a Black guy of all things in 4 yrs; such a parallel w/ Obama! Harold Wash'ton won 2 terms, but then he died in office! It became a zoo again; entertaining the entire METRO area! To this day they're still trying to wipe her name from the recordbks; = stuff she created like "Taste Of Chicago!"

    I lived in the suburbs, but the next morning after the circus of choosing the next mayor thru the City Council, everyone was dragging due to watching it into the wee hours of the night! As they say, the more things seem to change, the more they stay the same! Trump was retaliation of the gridlock Obama presided over which is rewarding Reps for being total a-hole obstructionists! There's no real way for me to ever get over taking on such a Troglodyte; esp. seeing it was women that helped him the most! Idiots!

    ***Mueller also obtained a search warrant for Paul Manafort's home, had Fed. agents execute it (& picked the lock!); later telling Manafort that he w/b indicted.***

    Paul is toast! If a judge'll sign a warrant like that for a citizen like him, it has to be something very serious! We're talking hardcore criminals who deal in drugs & death normally! This just isn't supposed to happen to someone of his stature! I think it has to do w/ recordings made due to Manafort being on the FBI's watch list w/ his dealings abroad! FISO warrant was issued going back to '14 & Trump was stupid enough to continue talking to the man when all concerned shk he was under surveillance! Some Rep. on TV last night tried to make out Trump was right about his TOWER being bugged since Manafort had an apt. there! Their rationale is so screw up & desperate @ X's! Trump said Obama personally bugged the place during the campaign! Mueller will "turn him" for sure; too old to take the rap alone! Trump s/b afraid; very afraid! Add Flynn & his crooked son to the mix, Trump s/b crying like a baby @ night wishing he had kept his stupid ass back in NY! I want him & his whole fk'n family to pay for turning the world upside down w/ their BS! He's been so evil w/ so many people complicit in that evil, all need to pay a serious price! Mueller looks to be going for the jugular!

    ReplyDelete
  63. ***Sore loser Hillary may still contest the election***

    Why should Hillary do Trump any favors? He keeps invoking her name everyday & as of this weekend re-Tweeted that silly picture of him hitting her w/ a golf ball! He's probably the most grace< winner of all X!

    ***The bitch can't = control her mouth or emotions, much < the inquiry.***

    Look in the mirror! Your boy TRUMPster cries more than anyone; always on the attack if anyone makes a comment about him he doesn't like! He embarrasses himself by insulting everyone who crosses him w/ demeaning & childish nicknames, so spare me the victimhood!

    ***Lots of people in my family w/ college degrees voted for Trump. They believe Trump's a good Christian man b/c he says so.***

    OMG, I'm so sorry! I learned a long X ago, intelligence or a lack thereof made lit'l to no diff. in this aberrant period in our history! ...I know exactly how you feel! You expect better of people you associate w/ & c/b so disillusioned & disappointed w/ them! I've felt alone & surrounded by ignorance all my life making it easy for me to wr./off anyone! I have lit'l to no expectations for people as a group to do the right thing un< it's something catastrophic like those hurricanes, the earthquake in Mexico, and other natural disasters! But = then, our smartest and brightest can "mess up!"

    ***...What has Trump done that's autocratic that Obama & Bush didn't do?***

    You're kidding right? Only a banana republic dictator would continue to go after the person they beat in a political race! Some might think j/b Hillary's succeeded in life & work, > than most I might +, she s/b able to 'take it!' Who in their right mind would say to this day "she s/b locked up," investigate her >, &'s still kvetchin' about her emails? The man is all about his authority & expects people to heed any edict he Tweets out as if it s/b law! I'm pretty sure Obama & Clinton have spoken very well of and deeply respect the persons they succeeded! Trump has done the exact opp., trying to wipe out the very existence of Obama! You're preposterous!

    ***I'd like to see the dipshit call one of these guys an SOB to his face & w/o a SS detail to protect him. Sadly he's a chickenshit as well as a diphsit.***

    He's also gutless! He only fires @ people from a distance! He can't take confrontation & usually has his minions do his dirty work! That crap w/ the TV show saying "you're fired" has never been done in real life! He sends someone or a letter to dismiss people! He = did it to Comey while he was 3000 miles away instead of looking him in the eyes & telling him how he feels! He's a coward, a racist, bigot, & misogynist pig! Anyone who defends that is either disturbed or just like him appreciating his narrow-mindedness!

    ***Trump has been a racist from his earliest days. There's not = a ?? @ this pt.***

    Tell me about! Kind of hard to believe there are people out there in gov't service, CEO's of Fortune 500 Co., & others who seem to think they can get away w/ defending this guy! IMO, it's guilt by assoc. if they = talk to the guy! He's too ignorant to acknowledge as president! The only good thing about him being there is that nothing will get done! Been in office since Jan. & has signed nothing but EO's; of which Reps faulted Obama profusely!

    ReplyDelete
  64. ***I'm also a bit worried about Murkowski & the repeal vote of the ACA.***

    She's not going to vote to pass that thing! Only Rand Paul has the guts to say "no" ahead of X! ...They can't look much worse after 7+ yrs & about 60 votes when Obama was President, knowing he would veto it! They're gutless & used this issue to gain power! Now that they have Congress & the Presidency, they're as impotent as ever & getting nothing done!

    ***...IDK what to expect from Murkowski. The fact that she has stated that she's undecided when a bill will clearly harm so many people makes me think that I may have overestimated her. It's not just Alaskans who'll suffer.
    ---

    The whole pt of the bill is to punish the states that took the Medicare expansion & reward the states that didn't, + kill Medicare from what I can see. ...Both Murkowski & McCain are saying things like that. I think this means that they have decided to vote "Yes" for whatever reason & are floating their justifications to see what kind of pushback they get.
    ---

    ...America's tired of all you stupid Dem losers. Your only motto is steal from the working man; give our hard earned $$ to you lazy bums.***

    That is such BS; esp. from some HILLBILLY from the SOUTH bitchin' about being overtaxed when the facts are they don't pay shit b/c they don't make that much! Besides that the FED ends up sending those red states back more $$ than they send so spare me the victimhood you A-hole!

    ***...I'm pretty sure President Trump was talking to the rally attendees, not directly to team owners when he said what he said.***

    Well maybe as the President, he s/b more judicious w/ the stupid things he says! It hasn't been a yr, but he's managed to alienate just about everyone but the nitwits who love his banter! I thought "W" was bad, but Trump takes the freakin' cake! ...Talk about bought & paid for; still hasn't said anything against Russia after the evidence to their interference in our election process! Funny how we've joked about a Manchurian candidate; who would have thought he'd be home grown like this!

    ***If I were a Trump supporter, I would be wishing that Hillary was president just so I didn't have to wake up every day to new examples of idiocy that I'd have to strain to defend.
    ---

    He has really gone over the deep end. I guess he does not feel good about himself. Also Mueller is coming.***

    A sane person would probably try to keep a low profile, but he's so insecure & out of control, he's digging the grave for not only himself, but his family & everyone attached to him! I certainly wouldn't hire anyone assoc. w/ this clown!

    ***If Trump were sane, Comey w/b FBI Dir.***

    Truly, all of Trump's troubles are self-inflicted! I'm sure > than one person warned him about a lot of the stuff he's in trouble w/; esp. the firing of Comey! I'm just shocked Sessions acted as a responsible AG & recused himself so quickly from anything involving the Russians! I'm sure he was surprised when Mueller was hired by another responsible person which has tipped Trump over the edge thinking "is no one loyal to me?" They started early in the admin. saying "he's not a pol & didn't know any >er" & we should give him a break! If he'd STFU it might have happened, but he keeps just "digging!" The hole is big enough for his whole fuckin' family & I w/b so glad to see them all go down!

    ReplyDelete
  65. ***The strident love of Obamacare by Reps is obvious.***

    It seems t/b the case that the insolvency & precipitous increases in healthcare is due to Reps constantly undermining the law! If they would STFU & maybe tweak it a lit'l, everything w/b fine! Like most Reps, it's more important to wipe out the actual existence of Obama & his admin.! What kills me is these stupid people say "I hate OBAMAcare, but leave my HC alone" not realizing it's 1 & the same! In KY, they love Kynect, but have lit'l to no idea it's part of the ACA which gave them HC! It's so frustrating to see this drag on, but why should anyone be surprised?

    ***Reps like Lamar Alexander are proposing billions more $$ for Obamacare. But how many billions of $$'ll make Obamacare perfect?***

    The costs would stabilize & probably go down if we were all on the same page! It's the individual states that makes insurance go up due to their laws that stop them from competing outside of their states! Pols have been paid off w/ campaign contribs to stop interstate comp. so again, that's all on us!

    ***The President should have thought about that before he opened his fat mouth.***

    You're kidding right? Thinking? When has this fool ever thought something thru before mouthing off or Tweeting? Was he thinking when he said there are good people on both sides of Charlottesville? Was he thinking rationally when he provoked the ire of N. Korea? Do I really need to go on? He's a idiot, but duly elected by a great # of people who obviously wanted this chaos, knowing he has no self-control &'s an inveterate & pathological LIAR!

    ***...Some did, but many didn't use violence. Either way we condemned them all. And yes, I personally condemn ANYONE who is a part of Antifa.***

    People here & those idiots on FNC trying to equate Antifa to anything are whistling DIXIE as far I'm concerned! A woman was killed by animals in Charlottesville so = musing about =ty is so delusional! Isolated instances should not be = brought up un< you want to tar & feather TRUMP who encourages violence on his protesters & the news media he doesn't like!

    ***ONE moron killed someone. He will pay w/ his life; be it in prison or w/ the hangman. If you want to TRULY do something for your fellow black men, go to Chgo & STOP THE FK'n MADNESS. I've gone to inner cities as a speaker to try to help troubled youth. I've = spoken in public schools on the issues. Granted I'm far too old to do so now & be taken as relevant by today's youth, but I DID MY PART.***

    Already here! There's just not a lot that c/b done w/ people who have had nothing; bad schools, lack of jobs, & parents who were too young @ the X having kids! It's a recipe for disaster! At least it's contained b/c heaven knows I can travel around w/ lit'l to no trouble no matter what X of the day or night! ...When I moved to Cal. for a few yrs. & they were kvetchin' about 100 murders 1 yr. in Sacto due to drug trafficking & the like, I had to muse & say to myself, "idiots; that's a good weekend in Chgo!" People like Trump bitch about such things, but you know in his heart he loves it! It c/b used as a political issue & @ the same X enjoy Blacks are killing 1 another! I salute you since I'm an old geezer as well who did what I could when younger! Take care & live long!

    ReplyDelete
  66. ...It was the same thing in TX; on video how the cop lied about Sandra Bland's behavior to his supervisor, but's arrested anyway! While jailed, she's found dead in her cell over a minor traffic offence of not signaling a change of lanes! That's tragic since she was moving there to work only to get snuffed out!

    ***...and not principles anymore? Or is it something else? It can't be just racism - there's always been racism ...***

    Principles? Everyone knows >er than to use such a word when it comes to the Trump Admin.! More people have resigned, including the DEA Dir.! Rachel Maddow says Mueller may start interviewing WH staff as early as this wk! These guys have t/b truthful, so they have lit'l to no choice but to get outta there if they don't want to get run over by this train that's headed right @ the "Orange One!" It's nauseating to see & hear some who'll defend this guys right t/b boorish, a racist, & a misogynist pig, who couldn't care < about the rule of law! He truly believes he s/b able to get away w/ murder! He's going to drag the gov't down, his family, & leave us in more than tatters! ...and he's talking about the NFL over a disaster area that is Puerto Rico! Why a battalion hasn't been sent; parachuted in if need be to deal w/ this is unfathomable situation seeing as they have nothing; shortages of water, no power, totally flooded! I know that = trying not to see how bad it is! But Trump's worrying about the NFL & if they're saluting the flag enough!

    ***I know that whataboutery is the only defense for the Trumpian mess, but he promised to drain the swamp, not bring the swamp w/ him. If there were excesses in previous admins, they can't be used as a defense when they were supposed t/b used as ex. of how Trump changed the game in his admin. - What happened to 1st Amendment rights?***

    It flew out the window when these "greedy bastards" started openly receiving payments in Rubbles! We were manipulated & this needs t/b checked out & m/b prevented from happening again! We know it probably won't do any good, but FB, TWTr, & others need t/b put on notice, "the 1st Amend" ends @ X's w/ the water! Taking foreign monies can wind up being traitorous & Zuck's in the hot seat for it right now!

    ***If Americans really valued democracy they'd dump the EC. Shd it gens ago.***

    There was a method to their madness when the EC was created way back when! Our problem is how the country's truly been divided & Balkanized since the Civil War and hasn't changed in over 150 yrs! The political parties exacerbate & encourage that div. which keeps it going; some more despicably than the other! In some respects I'd be able to see the problem if I lived in the South or a state so small, their pop. wouldn't change the direction of an election if you gave them credit for double or triple! I do resent a state like Cal. still has only 2 Senators when their vote doesn't count for more than RI's who barely fills a neighborhood! It all depends on where you live to consider having the EC or not! So far it's worked, but 2000 & '16 will live on in infamy that's for sure!

    ***Wonder if that $51k check of Price is gonna go thru?***

    If he wants to work again ANYWHERE! You're only as good as your word & Price's voracity has already been annihilated due to scandal of stocks he held dealing w/ health care! A Rep. Congress pushed him thru confirmation so no one s/b surprised this hypocrite would rear his ugly head! He saw the perks that other cabinet members were availing themselves & figured he was entitled! After haranguing Pelosi for her travel as "Speaker," it was only Karma he's losing it all under the circumstances he criticized in her!

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  67. ***...The high ball to the 1-hander tactic is as old as X memorial. ...We know Nadal did that vs Fed.***

    I can still hear BJK saying 'about a high ball,' "back in the day playing w/ a wood racket you couldn't crack an egg!" There was a "battle of the sexes" where V. Wade had to play Borg! She hung back near the fences dealing w/ him! Her only other recourse was to take the ball in the air & come into net which she did successfully, but just not enough; losing set 6-3! She had the advantage of being able to use the doubles lines & was able to run him quite a bit to his amusement! You never saw Borg smile that much on court, but he thought it funny! In another match E. Goolagong beat I. Nastase! He didn't take it seriously; just went to his knees to kiss her hand @ the net! Those were the days when tennis was fun & I miss it so much!

    ***I remember watching those matches. It was fun. Incidentally Goolagong trailed Nastase 3-5 before winning 7-5 if memory serves. I think Nastase joked about being exhausted being run around so much.***

    IDK why, but I just get so "verklempt" thinking about those days & the special events they created for entertainment purposes; the 11 wks of WITC was the best back in the 70's! I haven't particularly cared much for watching tennis since Hingis & Henin retired! The "Big 4" contributed to my ennui b/c of them taking just about every major event for over 10 yrs! ...Nastase was like death to J. Connors who he owned when he had his mind in his game!

    ***It's awesome what Hingis is still able to perform. She's "only" 36 (turns 37 soon) so she still might win a couple tourneys. She has been very dominant & impressively good; esp. in doubles lately. And winning 2 mixed GS titles back to back isn't too shabby either. Best doubles/mixed player since Navratilova, no doubt. To bad she didn't win that FO vs Steffi...otherwise she'd have all GS titles.
    ---

    Next gen. in Australia are pretty good, but "terribly talented" is an overstatement. Nick barely defeated Darcis in 5 & lost to Goffin in 4 in DC TIE. Overall this is not @ par to a future great. There's a lot of expectations on his shoulders & he has not delivered so far.***

    Nick "rolled" Nadal just a month ago; so he has the weapons! He just needs to become more consistent & keep his head on str.! One of the major problems for most, if not all Next Gens is that; & of course their bodies breaking down w/ the effort it takes to play tennis these days! In the old days, you just didn't have all this happening w/ w/drawals, extended absences, & people working the system to save their rankings! There was a lit'l of it w/ the ladies due to them being allowed to join the tour too soon; Jaeger & Austin the poster kids for such abuse! ...hence the Capriati Rule in '90! It's obscene to see this happening w/ all the $$ floating around w/ a willingness to do anything to get their piece of the pie! The Vets are lit'l >er; constantly kvetchin' about how long the season is, but continue to extend play w/ their votes creating more events; not = counting those ridiculous contracts to play in Asia on those team events in the off season!

    ***If Fed could sit out Slams & Master Series to recover and refuel, why would he play an exo for $$ when he really needs to rest now?***

    Regard< of the reason, I've been ragging on the tour for yrs saying the same thing! These people kvetch about the long season & how brutal play has become on their bodies, but if they can make $$, "they're there!" My eyes just roll when the Next Gen players are WD or default in the middle of matches; = @ the majors! Back in the day, few played all the events = though they weren't making as much $$! ...Win a few events & you're set for life; the tourney & the subsequent endorsements prove it!

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  68. ***Novak has a chance of repeating his '12-14 run, but I don't think he can repeat his '11 or '15 season any more.***

    I would never bring up '15; a rec. season set that none of these New Gen'rs have a chance of achieving! It's 1 thing to win 3 majors, but to + 6 Masters & be in all 8 finals played is just unattainable in this lifeX or the next! That season will set him apart from Fedal & just about every other great besides Laver who won the CYGS twice; regard< if he never takes another major title!

    ***I went to see Borg v McEnroe yesterday & I wasn't impressed. Most of the storylines were a figment of someone's imagination. ...= the casting was a bit off. ...the guy who played Mac's dad was a dead ringer. If they do one on Fedal, & long before 30 yrs have passed, I hope they do a much >er job.
    ---

    The H2H just gives Novak the edge, 26-24. However, since '11, Novak has had 2 cons. 7 winning streaks & a '4 in a row' vs Nadal. That's about 20 wins to 7 in Novak's favor since '11. I think that means Novak pretty much OWNS Nadal. I can't think of any other winning streaks that big by 1 top 5 player over another top 5 player in the last 20 years. I'll never forget that '11 Wimbl. final. ...In a lot of cases, pro tennis is a game of matchups, & Nadal doesn't matchup well @ all w/ Novak.
    ---

    'Own' is a strong word. However, since '11, aside the summer of '13, Djokovic pretty much owned Nadal on HC. If Djokovic finds his motivation again in '18, it w/b a really hard X for Nadal. - ...Djokovic actually allowed Nadal to show his worthiness for GOAT. ...Nadal could easily have capitulated & quit like Borg did vs McEnroe arriving in his prime, but Nadal, although losing many smaller matches to Djokovic, found a way to keep winning big ones.
    ---

    '06: 1-0 Nadal
    '07: 5-2 Nadal
    '08: 4-2 Nadal
    '09: 4-3 Nadal
    '10: 2-0 Nadal
    '11: 6-0 Djokovic
    '12: 3-1 Nadal
    '13: 3-3 (Nadal wins both matches @ Majors)
    '14: 2-1 Djokovic (Nadal wins their 1 match @ a Major)
    '15: 4-0 Djokovic
    '16: 2-0 Djokovic
    '17: 1-0 Nadal​

    Djokovic was clearly >er than Nadal during 2 periods which were also the best of his career: '11 & '15-16. Coincidentally, '15-16 was the worst period of Nadal's career. Outside of those 3 yrs, Nadal has "won" the H2H 7/9 yrs, w/ the exceptions being (1) '13, where they split the H2H & Nadal won their 2 matches @ Majors; & (2) '14 where Djokovic won 2/3 matches, but Nadal won their FO final.

    Djokovic has the 26-24 H2H lead due to his 12-0 rec. vs Nadal in '11 & '15-16 (24-14 Nadal otherwise), & Nadal has the 9-4 lead @ Majors. I don't think this is a matter of it being a good matchup for Djokovic or a bad matchup for Nadal. These are 2 great players w/ a rivalry that has ebbed & flowed. It's flowed in Nadal's direction for longer periods of X, but it's flowed w/ more intensity in Djokovic's direction for the 2 periods he dom. That's why he has the slight H2H lead.
    ---

    As for the AO '09, it is what it is. It's all part of the incredible story. The way the Fedal story has emerged couldn't have been foreseen. It's such an amazing thing to have happened to tennis & no one was consciously looking to repeat the Borg/McEnroe thing, which in essence centers around the '80 Wimbl. TB that went 18/16.***

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  69. ***Would Djokovic have won Wimbl. '14, Wimbl. '15 & the USO '15 if Fed wasn't over the hill? ...
    ---

    ...You had Sampras @ 3 & Borg @ 4. While I get moving Nadal & Djokovic up, I'm unclear as to how Borg moved over Sampras!? OK, everyone is allowed to change their mind.***

    It's ironic Sampras' dropping like a stone due to being propped up by us in '02! That finish was hardly impressive winning a USO over his pigeon; Agassi! ...I was just as culpable giving him a pass w/o = playing a FO final!

    ***The top 20 players @ the X Sampras was playing were way >er than right now btw.***

    Not sure players from 20 yrs ago could hang w/ the stars of today! The one thing we can say is there were more winners of majors & Masters events! At any given X, Wimbl. or the USO could have 10-12 players who owned @ least 1 major! Today we're lucky if we can manage 6!

    ***Thru '60, Hoad had edge on Rosewall hth on grass & clay, but not indoor. After '60, Hoad's game declined & had a poor hth vs both Ken & Gonzales.***

    ...& owned Laver for a while! I haven't read much about HOAD in yrs, but from what lit'l I do remember, he took out "The Rocket" their 1st 7 or 8 matches! He was no longer as serious about the game after coming w/i a match of completing his Slam in '59! I thought he had some sort of health issue, got married, had kids, & joined the armed forces of some kind!

    ***Hoad became a Nat'l hero w/ his performance in the '53 DC final, a few wks later he did his army service in New Guinea. While there he had major health issues, ...In '55 he suffered from back pain, & ...In early '57 took some months off for treatment, was in an upper body cast for 6 wks, & then had about 12 months of pain-free play. Trained hard in '62 to play vs Laver & won 13 or 14 str. matches vs Laver.
    ---

    The other thing is that it really was only in the Sampras era onward, when Pete made a conscious effort to surpass Roy Emerson's 12 Major total that winning X # of Majors became THE measuring stick. Borg never had a burning desire to + more Majors by going to the AO once he lost the USO every yr.

    - The Current surface alignment of 1 grass, 1 red clay, & 2 HC Majors has been around since '88. Again pretty much the Sampras Era. To + just another of the "what if" scenarios, If Pete had played the AO on grass, who knows how many Majors he would have ended up winning. (Fed has played in the "homogenized" Major surfaces era, I don't think it's good or bad, just that he adapted to what was needed.)

    - Laver & Borg had the most extreme surfaces to win on (Wimbl. & the FO) @ the same X.

    - > than his 14 Majors, I think Sampras biggest scalp is the 6 yrs of YE #1.

    - If Nadal ends this yr #1, then he's relatively close enough to Sampras on that stat (4 to 6) where the Major totals (16 to 14).would trump, but only just IMO...

    - I dunno, GOAT seems more a resume thing, diff. for me to "betting $$" on who you would want to stake your life on to win a match for you on any given day.

    - On clay, it's hands down Rafa, whether he's the GOAT or not.
    - Grass, it's a tossup to me on Sampras or Fed.
    - HC's I would give the nod to Djokovic.
    - Indoor Carpet P. Gonzales.
    ---

    I agree w/ a lot of this. In fact I've said the same myself. Slam totals are a relatively new construct. It's unfair to judge players who didn't care much about acquiring large #'s of them vs this new modern standard. Not sure I would give the nod to Novak on HC. Slow HC's m/b, but = then 1 could argue a bit. The most prolific winner of HC slams' Fed. It's not = close. And winning @ Flushing 5 yrs in a row is a feat that may not be matched for a long X.***

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  70. ***+Top 10 FH all X
    +GOAT BH (shared w/ Agassi)
    +GOAT ROS
    +Solid Serve for a guy his height (his serve is WAY >er than Andy or Nadal's)
    +Top 2 Movement all X (Nadal's prob. #1 @ his peak)

    And Novak may not be a natural @ the net, but he's more willing to go to the net than most of the pro tour...I just wish he'd fix his OH. Plenty of weapons here... He's def. not a counter-puncher. He dictates rallies from the get go off either wing looking to run his opp. side to side until he gets any easy angle. J/b a player is < agressive in terms of shotmaking than Federer, that doesn't make them a counter-puncher. Djoker's an agressive baseliner. He only plays D when he's lost the upperhand in the rally. Murray's an upgraded Ferrer.
    ---

    = being harsh & taking away the titles of Best Ever in a Category, Djokovic still has:

    - Top 10ish All X FH w/ rare depth, consistency & accuracy.
    - Top 2 All X BH (He's literally Exh. A for how every coach teaches how to hit a BH)
    - Top 2 All X ROS
    - Top 5 All X Court Coverage / Movement. (IMO 2nd only to Rafa, argument for Borg)
    - Top 5? All X Stamina

    Those are just the things he does that are in the conversation of historically great attributes. Relative to the current tour he also has:

    - around a B+ level serve; a 2nd serve that doesn't lend itself to being attacked.
    - Elite mental toughness.
    - Damn good baseline drop shot.
    - Freaking awful OH.

    Super mystery how he wins so much. Gotta work on those weapons.
    ---

    I agree that Djokovic has a lot of major weapons, not the least of which is his mobility. He may, or may not have a top 10 FH. It's a major weapon in any event. ...Categories for you to consider:

    - BH: (in + to Agassi), Edberg, Connors, Laver, Rosewall, Budge (Safin too erratic; Nalbandian wasn't a major champ)
    - Return: Agassi, Connors, Laver, Rosewall, & Budge
    - Movement: Borg
    - Mental toughness: Borg
    ---

    I'll give you 15 tennis players & you give your own judge how many GS they would win if they born in SAME YEAR.

    - Let's say they are born in '85.

    AO 15 candidates:
    (Sampras, Agassi, Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Courier, Safin, Edberg, Becker, Lendl, McEnroe, Wilander, Connors, Kriek, Vilas)

    - Who will win slams in '03-17 period. And let's presume that surface is mix btw 80's, 90's, 00's & 10's.

    Roland Garross 15 cand.:
    (Lendl, Wawrinka, Federer, Wilander, Nadal, Djokovic, Kuerten, Ferrero, Vilas, Bruguera, Moya, Agassi, Borg, Muster, Courier)

    Wimbledon 15 cand.:
    (Ivanisevic, Edberg, Becker, Djokovic, Nadal, Agassi, Sampras, Hewitt, Murray, Krajicek, McEnroe, Borg, Stich, Connors, Federer)

    US Open 15 cand.:
    (Lendl, McEnroe, Becker, Federer, Nadal, Safin, Vilas, Djokovic, Connors, Agassi, Rafter, Hewitt, Wilander, Edberg, Nastase)***

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  71. ***...Fact is that Wembley was an acknowledged pro major (also Coubertin French Pro)!***

    I never heard of those pro-slams until much later! If Bud Collins or Vic Braeden didn't bring it up, the tennis fans were in the dark! The tennis mags didn't really go into either & I was a subscriber of "Tennis Mag." for @ least 30 yrs! I collected the recordbk published every Feb.! I actually had to wait until '86 to see if Martina won all 3 events @ the '85 Lipton Int'l! She did BTW; partnering w/ Fernandez & Gunthardt in those limited occasions of MxD!

    ***I never understand how a 4-man c/b a major, not sensible.***

    If they were the best, it made about as much sense as the Wimbledon Champ. only needing to play the final until '22!

    ***Ken only reached 4 Wimbl. finals. At 35 he took Newcombe, 10 yrs his jr. & grass ct. specialist to 5 sets before he lost. ...In reality, his only bad loss in a Wimbledon final was vs Connors @ age 39.8. ...Again, I never said Ken was The GOAT. Just out of curiosity, how many Wimbledons do you think Roger, Sampras, Connors, McEnroe or Borg would have won had they been barred from playing there btw ages 22-33?
    ---

    The '67 Wimbl. Pro was a legit. Champ. So 5 finals for Ken, but only played well in one of them; '56. The '59 White City Tourn. of Chps was a pro major according to Kramer, who was the boss.... Kramer's major pro tourns were L.A. Masters, Forest Hills, White City, & Kooyong, which is how the pro tour was set up in the late 50's.
    ---

    -Tier 1: Federer, Nadal, Sampras, Djokovic, Borg, Laver, Rosewall
    -Tier 2: Emmerson, Connors, Lendl, Agassi, McEnroe, Newcombe
    -Tier 3: Becker, Edberg, Wilander, Vilas, Courier
    ---

    Hey, how about 4 tiers? Logically, the tiers should expand in #'s the further down you go...this list is on grass.

    -Tier 1: Hoad, Gonzales, Laver, Federer
    -Tier 2: Vines, Budge, Kramer, Sampras, Borg, Newcombe, McEnroe, Rosewall, Sedgman
    -Tier 3: Smith, Nastase, Ashe, Becker, Edberg, Lendl, Trabert, Tilden, Williams, McLaughlin
    -Tier 4: Riggs, Segura, Cochet, Lacoste, Nadal, Djokovic, Cash, Fraser, Emerson, Johnston, Krajicek, Santana, Gimeno, Murray

    A work in progress....***

    It's just real hard to place players like Ashe, Nastase, & = Becker who were tenuous #1's IMO who really didn't dom. their eras in the least! ...For the tennis historian in all of us, you can't have enough tiers due to many of these players accomplishing something others will never achieve!

    ***I would place the greats of the game into the following tiers:

    Tier 1: Federer, Laver, Nadal, Sampras, Gonzales, Novak Djokovic, Rosewall, Borg, Tilden

    Tier 2: Budge, Lendl, Connors, Kramer, Vines, Perry, Agassi, Cochet, McEnroe, Lacoste, Newcombe

    Tier 3: Doherty, Wilding, Johnston, Borotra, Nuesslein, Hoad, Sedgman, Trabert, Wilander, Edberg, Becker***

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  72. ***...The Lutz is hard for me b/c that edge change can come so late. Often there's ft-wk into the flip which helps.***

    I instantly thought of '95 Euros where Bonaly was performing! She came around the ice 1/2-way thru the program & was doing some ft-work, speeding up & it was like "is she going to do a LUTZ?" She did!
    ---

    So Nathan Succeeds from "The King of Quads," Tim Goebel to being the "Lord of Quads?" I forgot about the boot sit. @ Worlds! I just thought he peaked too soon winning Nat'ls, then "4 Cont." going away after a great SP!
    ---

    ...The ladies have regressed from what lit'l I've seen of them! You used to get a quad outta one of the ladies, now the triple axel seems t/b lost w/ Asada!

    ***Since when have the ladies been reg. doing quads? I must have missed that era.***

    You had sev. female skaters who @ least practiced it & threw it into program if they felt they needed it! From Surya to Sasha to Miki Ondo; quads were @ least talked about in the ladies' event they skated!

    ***You literally named the only 3 skaters who have attempted quad jumps in the women's div., Sasha lit. only once in comp., Surya 4 or 5 X's in the early '90s, & Miki's were 15-20 yrs later. That's like saying the 80s was the era of men's quads b/c 3 people were attempting them. ...
    ---

    Right, = when Surya, Miki, & Sasha spoke about quads, nobody really took that to mean the ladies all of a sudden were going to have a quad revolution, esp. w/ how quickly those 3 skaters abandoned any further quad attempts after their initial tries. +, Sasha was never close to landing one in comp. like the 1 X she tried it & I don't think people believed she really had one.
    ---

    Yes! Eldredge's toe-loops often looked like Salchows to me. It was the really late change of foot w/ instant pick-in that made them feel like Salchows.***

    It was one hideous attempt; probably only completed once! The others had him crashing to the ice; including '98 Nat'ls qualif. for the Olympics! I was personally "all-in" w/ Michael Weiss & his quad Lutz attempt, but he barely 2-footed it! ...Eldridge could have spattered his brains all over the ice & in back of the ambulance be proclaimed "the winner!" Nat'ls are shady all over the world, but the USA takes it to new heights w/ drama & intrigue going on when it comes to forming a World Team!

    ***Not a major podium per se, but Sarah did beat Michelle & Irina to win '01 Skate Canada. That turned out t/b the exact same podium for SLC. Of all her major competitors (Lulu, Tara, Maria, Irina & Sasha), I just have to respect Irina the most. Say all you want about her style & judging bias, but she was most resilient & was w/ Michelle @ or near the top for the longest ('96 - '05) despite breaks during that period. Lulu was wonderful, but she & Michelle only really went H2H in '95 & '96, Tara only '97 & '98, Maria only '99 & '00, Sasha only '02 - '05; she only started beating Michelle when she became injured circa '04.***

    I loved the dom./fav. that went to Irina = though I'm American! There was just something about MK that was so "self-entitled;" needing t/b taken down a peg! Irina had her # there for a few yrs from '00 doing 3/3's & "judge satisfying" routines that brought the crowds to their feet! I stayed up all night to catch '01 GWG's in Austr.! Since it was an Olympic yr w/ '02 SLC soon, the skaters featured their new "SP's!" I loved Irina's, "Serenade!"

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  73. ***...Slo-mo vid of all the single jumps:

    - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqGcZ6WBZnY -

    1. Salchow - edge jump; takes off from a back inside edge. [note the scooping motion of the free leg; it acts as assist]
    2. Toe loop - toe pick jump; takes off from a back outside edge.
    3. Loop - edge jump; takes of from a back outside edge; no assist of any kind

    4. Flip - toe pick jump; takes off from a back inside edge.
    5. Lutz - toe pick jump; takes off from a back outside edge

    6. Axel - edge jump; takes off from a forward outside edge; the only jump that does so.***
    ===

    ***Everyone likes Rafa but Fed & Djokers fans; + that POS Rosol.***

    ...The ebb & flow concerning "The Greatest" issue still rages! In my day it was settled w/ Laver since he owned 2 CYGS's, then Sampras overtook Emerson making him "top dog!"

    We've all waged war w/ the latest incarnate of tennis gods in Fedalovic! Nole still has a chance to come back & make more of a mark though! People thought Roger was done & it was only a matter of X when Nadal would supplant him @ the top! Roger winning 2 more majors has put that in ??! Every X I thinks it's "a done deal," things change!

    ***Good stuff Fiero, Rafa's Waterloo has been AO. He squandered '13,'14 & '17.***

    Nole gave Rafa life in '12 after choking away 4th set in a TB & going down a brk in the 5th! ...Nole life & the win that went 5:53! - ...Plenty of players have all kinds of ability & past results prove it, but it just doesn't seem to mean much w/ the few stars of this era who've ruled like no other rivals in the Open Era! I'm sure there were plenty of decades where a select few won everything, but these are tough X's w/ more travel, tourneys, commitments, expectations, etc.! I'm still looking forward to a new guard & each X I think it's about to happen, here's Fedal @ the top AGAIN! ...It looks t/b coming down to the YEC for #1!

    ***I get that. On any given Sunday those other guys might get a win. I'm just surprised about what you said b/c you actually seem t/b saying that those guys are as good as Fedal?***

    ***The 3 biggest advantages Nadal had over Fed are either gone or changed direction.

    - 1. Fed's BH's not nec. >er or more good looking than in the past, but it's certainly more consistent & < prone to cracking.

    - 2. Nadal's superiority in the physical duels from the baseline is not what it once was due to him aging & losing that bit of speed & flexibility.

    - 3. Very important, Fed declined majorly on clay so that Nadal is not the only one who beats him there, but a whole lot of diff. players. Or, >er yet for the h2h, Fed takes out the clay tourneys from the equation by not playing any on his worst surface & Nadal's best. As a result, Fed's not played on clay predominantly like during the most part of their rivalry, but on HC's, fast HC's, & indoors where Fed's just superior to Nadal.

    - 4. Momentum & mental aspect are w/ Fed now as he plays w/o any worries vs Nadal. Nadal seems to doubt himself.

    What happens now is only proof that who wins btw Fedal is largely dependant on the surface they play. If they played most of their games on grass & fast HC's, there's no doubt Fed would have a + h2h over Nadal. Nadal has superiority over Fed on clay & slow HC.
    ---

    This yr they have played 3 X's on low bouncing courts. So has anything changed? One win at IW's I don't think is enough evidence. Miami has always negated Nadal FH due to humidity. Nadal winning the USO means nothing has changed. When the ball bounces high Nadal wins if he plays well. When ball bounces lower Fed wins. Djokovic the one who can upset both in their favored conditions.***

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  74. ***...You also have to take into account how much Nadal beat Fed on clay those early yrs, which got into his head, maybe costing him some HC wins as well. So it's not suprising at all that Fed has the edge on HC's contrary to what some people may think. Now having said that, there are also some crucial things in '17 that = make Fed have more of an edge vs Nadal on HC's:

    - 1.Nadal's in good HC form and yet Fed started beating him one match after another. This mhg into Nadal's head, similar to how it got in Fed's when Nadal was beating him on clay so much.

    - 2.Federer's serve is better than ever. The serve is very important on HC's, esp. fast HC's.

    - 3.Federer's taking the ball earlier than ever, taking a ton of X away from opps. Nadal looks like he can get to almost any ball vs some opps, but vs Fed he seems slow & late. Fed takes the ball so early that Nadal barely hits it & almost doesn't = start moving back to the middle of the court when the ball already goes to the opposite corner.

    Considering all these factors it's not suprising Fed has a big edge vs Nadal on HC's if fit & in form. The victory in Shanghai over Nadal in str. tells the story.
    ---

    Break it down & you'll find that Fed has changed his game more than Nadal has declined:

    * Racket specs
    * More solid BH
    * Further mixed game w/ more intelligent approach play to the net
    * < BH slice on ROS & more TS aggression
    * Improved serve
    * Better mental state, < pressure

    It's not just Nadal struggling vs this Fed - the whole field is!
    ---

    Going back to pts & rankings, ...interesting stat:

    - Rafa: 65-10 on the yr (87%). 10465 pts, or 139.5 pts per match.
    - Roger: 44-4 on the yr (92%). 8505 pts, or 177.2 pts per match.

    Both have played great, but Roger has been significantly more eff. when he's played. He's just way behind b/c he's played 27 fewer matches. If he had played just 11 more matches @ the same rate of success, he w/b tied w/ Rafa. Given that some of those matches would have had t/b clay, he probably would need 13-15 t/b tied & would likely be around 90%.

    Roger's path to YE #1 w/b something like this:

    *Rafa opts out of Basel, Roger wins it. 10465 - 9005 (-1460)
    *Rafa goes out in the SF of Paris, Roger wins it. 10825 - 10005 (-820)
    *Rafa goes out in the SF of WTF, Roger wins it w/o losing. 11425 - 11505 (+80)

    So basically Roger would have t/b perfect for his remaining 3 tourneys AND Rafa skip Basel (or get upset early) AND not reach the finals of Paris AND not reach the finals of WTF. There are other variations possible--esp. if Rafa either skips or goes out early in Paris--but they're all along the same lines. The bottom line is that Roger HAS TO win the WTF & Rafa has to play relatively poorly & not win anything & prob. skip @ least one tourney.
    ---

    Will Nadal ever beat Fed again? I think AO final was really his best chance to beat him. Since then Federer just dominates over him = >er than Djokovic ever did. Right now Nadal is just a paper world #1 w/ Fed being the best player in the world. As sad as it is to say, I must admit it. If there are Nadal fans who can't admit it, then they don't understand much in tennis.
    ---

    Federer is 7-6 after turning 30. Things should have continued for Nadal winning 5 in a row last X including a few on HC. If Nadal can't beat Roger now, he's not beating him barring injury. I think they meet WTF this yr, but could see 0 meetings in '18. Their 4 meetings so far have been 3 Finals & a R16. Those Final's meetings are largely due to their seeding & lack of field:

    - No Novak
    - No Murray
    - No Wawrinka

    - Zverev, Rublev, Shapo all not yet ready. So next yr unl< they meet in the Final of 1 of the 3 big events start of season they might never meet. Then you have '19-20 which should definitely have Zverev & Shapovalov taking over.***

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  75. ***Congress missed the deadline to renew CHIP & 10 states are predicted to run out of $$ by the end of the yr.***

    Rep. love to invent programs, but don't want to pay for them! Being fiscally responsible under their leadership must drive these people insane trying to defend the BS! It's like Trump's tax cuts he swears doesn't benefit him or anyone in the top bracket! He's literally making all his party LIE for him!

    ***I'll have to learn more about Kasich if his candidacy becomes more active again for Prez.***

    I think he only sounds moderate & sensible due to the insane machinations of the "Orange One!" When Kasich was in DC, he voted down the line w/ the Rep. leadership; same w/ McCain! If they step outside the box 1 X, all of a sudden they're mavericks or mods who bring rational thought to their party! BS; they shut down the gov't & threatened the credit rating of the country along w/ the rest of them in the past! ...Kennedy didn't help Carter in '80, Reagan torpedo'd Ford in '76, & Pat Buchanan did no favor for "King George" in '92! Trump has some hardcore support that don't mind the corruption; just love seeing him thumb his nose @ the estab.! We're near 100% w/ the workforce & most are able to get a job if they want one! There can't be an expansion of the economy if we're clicking along just fine! W/ the economy growing about 2%, kvetchin' about it makes no sense compared to the rest of the world who are truly struggling!

    ***...So Kasich, & other Reps have to try & tell which way the wind is blowing & which faction of the party to hitch his lit'l wagon. ...It's all going to come down to which people decide to actually get out & vote next yr. If the Dems decide to stay home or those who "don't like any of them" stay home, there's no telling what's going to happen. I never used to believe that there was a real danger of this gov't actually crashing, but I don't think that any more.***

    I'm terribly disillusioned by the Dems the last few election cycles! It's not like they're >er than any other party, but they'll never be as malicious! They'll always fight for what's right, but only to a pt! They've been put on defense so long, they're actually weak; losing race after race across the country where there's a sea of "red!" (no pun intended) I'm ready to cut them off & stop sending them $$ to flush down a rat hole being overpowered by dirty tricks from the "right!" Schumer probably won't be that much of a sucker, but he's just one man! The rest need to get an education how to deal w/ a party who's willing to say & do anything to acquire & retain power! Obama did well, but it was only for himself! The party floundered & he couldn't get out there like Bill to help a candidate! Not sure where we're going politically; esp. if you look @ the craziness occurring around the world!

    ***Rubio snuck in an amendment to a must-pass budget bill that eliminated funding for HC risk corridors. Premiums rising? It's not b/c of the ACA, it's due to sabotage like Rubios' stunt.***

    It's the sabotage of the entire Rep party's the reason the ACA has wound up costing more! When you undermine & make things shaky & unsure, the insurance companies w/b jittery & hold back in some way! Reps knew if they supported & backed this legis., it w/b a landmark & another kudo for the Dems! They want it to collapse so they can say "see, we knew what we were talking about!" They looked like fools trying to take HC from people last wk & they still sound foolish lamenting the failure! McCain, Collins, & Paul saved the party from themselves! There w/b a tidal wave to destroy them by the Dems, MSM, & of course their own constituents who depend on the ACA now!

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  76. ...Trump's alienated himself so much, I'm not sure any past Prez would want t/b seen w/ him! He w/b the 1st on the outside looking in due to his constant finger-pting & bloviating about his accomplishments notw/standing his incompetence!

    ***I think the President Obama fake certificate one is actually a statement that could have opened him up for a libel suit. ...***

    Well Obama's a lot >er person than most & wouldn't want t/b involved w/ Trump any more than nec.! He gave Trump the WH tour & tried to warn him about Flynn, but we see how the "orange one" rolls! He's systematically trying to wipe out any trace of Obama, directly going after all his accomplishments, EO's, & standing! Trump's going to do it his way; no matter how corrupt it looks & winds up t/b! I'm wondering will Obama or = the other past Prez's "pass on" making app. w/ him since he has lit'l to nothing good to say about them? Heaven knows after The Birther movement went on for yrs, I w/b telling Trump to "sit on it & rotate!"

    ***I need all seriousness, is there anyone that Trump has not offended?***

    That's been the plan since day one; an = opp. bigot! He's overwhelmed the MSM w/ his BS, deflecting from the corruption of his admin. & the facts that "nothing's been done" this yr! This is a honeymoon period where anything chb passed under his leadership, but = w/ a Rep. Congress, they've been impotent & ineffectual! It's a wonder the country's held together so well; more having to do w/ how stable things were left by Obama! If Trump had come into power w/ the economy ready to implode as it was in '09, we wouldn't have survived this knucklehead!

    ***The papers aren't lying; his boss is. If Kelly says that he's not frustrated by Trump's Tweets, he's either lying or a fool; & I doubt he's a fool.***

    Kelly wouldn't be the 1st t/b made into a liar trying to cover for his boss' incompetence! Sarah Huckabee-Sanders is supposed t/b so religious & honest, but she's lying thru her teeth everyday she stands there explaining away something Trump said or Tweeted!

    ***This is what makes Trump's lying pathological. He didn't = have to mention Obama, but he did anyway, & lied. The man simply cannot stop himself. It's an +iction. - Do you = think he knows hes lying or is it so pathological that he doesn't know & believes his own dumb shit?***

    When called on his BS, Trump backs off of it saying something like "someone told me or I heard it somewhere!" Hard to believe that's the state of affairs for the world that this a-hole flippantly says stuff & he just doesn't take it seriously when hopelessly wrong or just plain lying!

    ***- "Reagan took yrs to cut taxes." Actually, it was in his in 1st yr.
    - "McConnel & he are close buddies." Not according to Bannon.
    - "Past presidents didn’t call/write families of falllen soldiers." Altho it took Trumpovitch 12 days, all former presidents did. Too busy playing golf.

    - "It’s been est. no collusion. No it hasn’t." Everything pts the other way.

    - "Says he already has the votes for a bill on HC" that hasn’t = been drafted yet.***

    It just came to mind what Trump did at debate w/ Hillary! He had to of paid those so called "victims" of Bill to attend & make a spectacle of themselves! It's a shame they thought themselves noble in thwarting Hillary, but actually sliced their own throats when all's said & done w/ Trump & his disgusting legacy of misogyny!

    ***It's a testament to the power of sexism that so many white voters preferred Trump to Hillary. White women who find themselves in trouble w/ the law shouldn't be surprised if they encounter the same sort of sexism & don't receive fair treatment.***

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  77. ***It doesn't matter what Ms. Clinton says in her interviews. It doesn't make Trump any < of a pervert. He's filth, he knows it, & the rest of us know it. ...***

    I'll take an unconscious Hillary over an supposedly "alert" Trump any day! If she spoke in her sleep, it w/b a lot more coherent than Trump wide awake greeting a head of state! He's an embarrassment that we'll have to deal w/ a lot longer than I thought since Reps care more about party than the welfare of the country & world! The bar just keeps getting lowered everyday & I'm wondering what they'll possibly be able to kvetch about a future Dem Pres. after Trump's unprecedented & disgusting behavior as C.-I.-C.?

    ***Whatever Sessions decides to say he says & takes his chances it keeps his daddy from bitch slapping him. I don't agree w/ the guy on race or pretty much anything going to sexual orientation or choice, but I did think he was a patriot.***

    I guess I m/b a very small person b/c I can't & won't separate the 2! If someone's a bigot, racist, misogynist pig, I can't speak @ his wake being his apologist b/c he served dinner to the home< on Thxgv'! Sessions has been a despicable human being going back decades! He was loathsome then & he's still loathsome! IDK why people are tiptoeing around it; "top cop of the US is a felon!" ...Ask the black folks in his district what they think of your patriot!

    ***It was Trump who brought up Kelly's son. No one else mentioned it before the orange moron did. As for Cong. Wilson listening to the call - I don't blame Mrs. Johnson @ all. Seriously, is there anyone who does not want & get witnesses to this asshole's words?
    ---

    Kelly just bitch-slapped that Congress-bitch into a new galaxy.***

    Kelly just embarrassed himself by doing that trying to cover for his boss! I'm disgusted ...but then to drag everyone else thru the mud was despicable; blaming Wilson & the media! If his boss wasn't such a despicable animal he wouldn't be put into these positions!

    ***...Trump is incapable of ad libbing empathy.***

    I just heard a lot of this chb avoided if Trump had taken his job seriously & reported on Niger in a Xly fashion! The defense dept. gave him an announcement of the loss of these 4 guys, but Trump spent the entire X pounding Obama, Hillary, & the NFL! I keep asking what would Trump have to do for his sycophants to finally throw up their hands? So far anything he does is cool; IT'S ALL FAKE NEWS ANYWAY!

    That's only a small part of it! This Niger thing is going to blow up like Benghazi if what I hear is correct! It all begins & ends w/ country of Chad, our closest ally in the region, but Trump put them on the travel ban list anyway! He alienated them & they pulled their support out of Niger! This appears t/b one of the reason that ambush occurred; more incompetence by this admin.!

    ***The Orange President fucked up; again. He's never going to stop fucking up. The President's word is no good, while these are: the widows word, and her mother's word; of course the Congresswoman's.***

    Lucky there were witnesses b/c Trump w/b calling Johnson/(the woman) a liar! This Congresswoman isn't going to help deflect another indignity heap on the rest the country has to bear! It's a shame Trump brought Kelly into this whole thing, actually dragging him down into this sewer The West Wing is wallowing in! I whb all sympathetic until he had to malign Wilson just to make Trump feel more like a man = though he's showing himself t/b a mere petulant lit'l boy! When he folds his arms & juts that chin out, that's the epitome of a lit'l Lord Fontleroy who's just spoiled & accustomed to people just accepting his BS by the spoon-full w/o complaining! He got away w/ it for decades, but as President he's going t/b called out!

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  78. I think Raonic's the latest player to voice concern about the length of the season! I also read an article showing why it wouldn't matter if they shortened the season! They'd just try to get the same # of events played anyway b/c we're talking about big $$! Some tourneys like Shanghai are willing to pay extra t/b a part of the tour! Let's face it, no matter what they do, the players will find a way to make it just as detrimental as before; if not worse!

    ***Novak will look in perfect condition when he comes back. Still plenty of X. He's looking to win again.***

    Djokovic still winning the decade starting '11! Out of a possible 28 majors, 7 YEC's, & YE #1's, & = out of the game indefinitely, he still leads the "Big 4" w/ 11 majors, 4 YEC's, & 4 YE #1's! W/ Federer's surge this season, he's finally making a mark after taking a lone Wimbl. title in '12! He's caught up w/ Murray & Wawrinka @ 3 majors, but lags way behind Nadal who's coveting 7!

    ***Nadal's NOT going to skip the WTF un< he's got YE #1 locked down. He wants it too badly. And = if he does have it locked down - he'll still want to win the YEC b/c he's got a bagel beside that title. Name one other great champion in the modern era who has never won the WTF? I can't come up w/ anybody...Djokovic, Sampras, Agassi, Borg, McEnroe, Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Connors, Nastase, Vilas; = Hewitt, Smith, Murray, Kuerten won it. Nadal? ZERO. I doubt he'll ever have a >er chance to win it than he does this yr. He has no Djokovic to worry about & Roger w/b in the other group. Zverev'll probably play the Next-Gen finals the weekend before & s/b tired. Other than that, who's there for Nadal to lose to besides Roger?
    ---

    GOAT lists have to offer clear parameters as to what they're based on. They c/b nebulous, w/ "greatness" being more a gut feeling, but they should state so.

    The only thing I dislike is when GOAT lists are almost entirely based on Slam counts. This is problematic & just plain ignorant for a # of reasons, perhaps most clearly explained on comparing Emerson (12 GS) to Laver (11 GS). A modern comparison of how much better Laver was than Emerson w/b something like Fed vs. Hewitt or m/b, if we're kind, Djokovic vs. Murray. In other words, an entirely diff. level of player. If Laver hadn't gone pro he'd probably have 20+ GS titles, & Emerson < than 5.***

    But Laver did go pro & that's that! Winning majors has always been the standard & in my day it was all about Wimbledon & The USO! If not for Sampras & his late run to break men's record held by Emerson w/ 12, we would have had to wait until Fedalovic to come along! Pete separated himself from Borg, Agassi, Connors, McEnroe, & Lendl which brought back the men's record to mean something since it was an OPEN record unlike Emerson's Pre-Open! All the majors are still tiered, but they're the most = as they've ever been in the history of the game!

    ***Here's a list of players who are most underrated by GOAT list makers, mainly b/c they're so biased towards GS titles:

    - 1. Pancho Gonzales - 2 Slams, but 12 Pro Slams - played pro for 18 yrs; beat a 19-yo Connors @ age 43!

    - 2. Ken Rosewall - "only" 8 GS, but 15 Pro Slams - so the highest "major" count in tennis history @ 23. Longest span-winning range of 20 yrs!

    - 3. Lew Hoad - Super high peak, but marred by injuries. Was comparable to Laver & Rosewall in talent level; the Marat Safin of his era

    - 4. Tony Wilding - Died @ age 31 after being the best player in the sport for a decade. Pretty much forgotten, but the best player of the pre-Tilden era

    - 5. Ilie Nastase - Not quite a true great, but closer to Becker/Edberg than he is to other 2-Slam winners

    Those are the guys that came to mind.***

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  79. ***I think Jack Kramer's the most underrated.

    - http://www.steveflink.com/2017/04/30/remembering-jack-kramer/ -***

    Not by me! In my day the game centered around Kramer wood racket produced by Wilson, Fila clothing worn by Borg, & the tennis shoes endorsed by Stan Smith! Everything else was just happenstance including the boom of the 70's! As much as I acknowledge these products, I never bought any of it! I went thru rackets, shoes, & clothes like you wouldn't believe! I stopped counting rackets @ 60 in wood, metal, fiberglass, & composites! Whatever racket played w/ by folks, more than likely I tried it out @ least!

    ***Overall I think Rosewall is historically underrated b/c of the "Slam Title Fallacy." He's definitely top 10 IMB. In fact, the only 3 players I'm comfortable saying were >er are the "Three Rs": Rod, Roger, & Rafa. Ken's in the mix for #4 along w/ Tilden, Gonzales, Sampras, & Novak.***

    Never cared for Rosewall, but he's right up w/ the best = w/ only a "sliced" BH! He beat Laver in those 2 WCT Chp. finals that's supposedly some of the finest tennis ever played! ...I'd have to rate Sampras over Novak = though he owns all 4 majors; those 7 Wimbl. & 5 USO's truly set Pete apart from a lot of these past greats!

    ***In case anyone's wondering why the Laver Cup came into existence, it's b/c the current players are trying to help Laver financially. Those who played b4 the Open Era didn’t earn the kind of $$ today’s pros do. Fed et al pushed for the Laver Cup as a way to give back.***

    ...I think the players = had to help out Borg who just had some awful luck in business! He s/b sitting pretty, but the biggest fall IMO is Becker! He owned Germany, but ended up needing that job as coach of Nole! I seem to remember besides the controversial personal life, businesswise he must have really screwed up! So many wanted t/b in the aura of this kid way back when! Some who are more conspiratorial might think Tiriac took more than his share; hence him being the 1st tennis billionaire!

    ***IDK that lot of players helped out Borg financially - just McEnroe. A lot of them from that era were hurting financially themselves. Only a few guys really made a decent amt. of $$ & have fairly well-off lives these days. The thing w/ Borg wasn't just that he had bad business dealings, but b/c he retired @ 25 he just didn't have that extra 4-6 yrs of income @ the top level that most players had. And non-tennis endorsement deals weren't really that big a deal in his heyday. That probably started around '80-81 as McEnroe ascended to the throne. Of course it went to a whole other level w/ Agassi, but b/c he retired so early Borg missed out. And also, he split w/ his long-X girlfriend around the X he retired & I seem to remember there was a payout involved in that split that was a significant chunk of his $$.***

    OMG, don't remind me! The worst I heard had to do w/ Roscoe Tanner! He was a mess who got caught up in fraud & passing bad checks! A boat was involved & his mugshot was a far fall from his clean-cut hillbilly good looks of Lookout Mountain Tenn.!

    ***Frances Tiafoe is currently sitting @ #9 to make it into YEC & I'd love to see him go.***

    The exp. w/b valuable as long as he's not crushed; mere fodder for his group to beat up on ending his yr 0-3! = his >ers has had to overcome that humiliation; Nadal @ the top of the list in '09! That was one horrible season for him; Soderling ended his FO run, his parents broke up, he was seriously injured (of course), annihilated @ the USO by Del Po 2, 2, & 2 semi's, then abused in straights in his group @ the YEC! ...It's hard since so many players are out of the game injured & to measure the "also-rans" w/ the tour devastated like this!

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  80. ***I always thought that Hewitt & Nadal looked very suspect @ X's. Hewitt @ '02 Wimbl. seemed to have some skin troubles & it looked a whole lot like acne which is a common symptom of steroid use. ...On top of it all, Fed & his mononucleosis along w/ an obvious drop in form in '08 looked suspect. So does his resurrection this yr; Nadal's as well. All in all, if they all dope, ATP & WTA probably play along & help them thru. ...***

    I don't agree w/ a lot of this, but it w/b naïve to believe any sport is totally clean! Tennis players never went thru such multi-metamorphosis in the past! Either you lost weight training >er or you finally decided to get off beer to lose the gut! Now muscle mass, extreme training, & heaven knows chemical help whether legal or banned, there always w/b some who feel entitled or a serious need to go above & beyond to get where they want t/b in their respective sports!

    ***Federer's '06 as YE #1 is often thought as of the best season ever, along w/ Laver's '69 & Djokovic's '15.

    - Fed finishes '17 w/ clearly the >est season ever for a YE #2.

    - Fed finished '15 w/ clearly the >est season for a YE #3.
    ---

    YE #1: Clearly goes to Federer - going to exclude Laver here b/c it's just not comparable. +, Laver had "only" a 59-7 w/l as far as I know.

    - Feds '06 was >er than Djokovic '15 for 3 reasons:

    - 1st reason:
    Federer won 12/17, reached 16 finals
    Djokovic won 11/16, reached 15 finals

    - 2nd reason:
    Federer had a 92-5 w/l
    Djokovic had a 82-6 w/l

    - 3rd reason:
    4 out of 5 losses by Fed were vs prime Nadal on clay - the 5th loss vs young Murray.
    And those matches (esp. vs Nadal) were all really close.

    The only + on Djokovics is winning 2 Masters 1000 instead of other titles.
    ---

    I think I'd take Borg in '77 as the best YE #3 ever. 76-7 record. 11 titles. Won Wimbl. 2-1 vs #1 Connors. 3-0 vs #2 Vilas. - No doubt that Mac's '84 is one of the best YE #1 seasons ever & >er than his '79 season. His '79 season, where he finished YE #3, is one of the best YE #3 seasons ever.***

    He was a definitive #3 who was much too young & inexperienced to usurp the stature of Borg or Connors, but a nice effort winning his 1st USO over Gerulaitus! The only person "more so" is Djokovic w/ Fedal blocking his path to >ness! He has everything else; 12 majors, 30 Masters, X YE #1's, seasonal majesty ('11 & '15), & of course something unattainable IMO w/ the next crop of players, his Nole-Slam ('15 Wbl-'16 FO)!

    ***I'm not sure that I'd say he was a definitive #3. Borg was no doubt #1 that yr. Connors, however, was #2 w/ a 79-12 rec. & 8 titles, making the SF of the FO, Wimbl., USO, & Masters. McEnroe was #3 w/ a 91-14 rec. & 10 titles, includ. the USO & WCT Finals. McEnroe-Connors H2H was 2-2 that yr, w/ McEnroe str. setting Connors in B05 matches @ the SF of the USO & WCT Finals & Connors str. setting Mac in B03 matches @ the SF of Las Vegas & the Pepsi GS. I think Mac had a pretty good case for #2 that yr.***

    The rankings were a bit of a joke back then! Vilas won 2 majors in '77 & was barely #2, some thinking #3 behind Connors & Borg! Vilas hurt himself IMO by playing the B Tour; esp. that summer before the USO winning smaller clay events in Orange, Louisville, & Columbus! Those were the Monday night finals he won over players like Gottfried, Dibbs, & Tanner! He had the longest winning streak (53), winning 7 str. titles, finishing the season 130-15! Hard to forget #'s like that, but Vilas is lit'l more than a footnote since Borg owned him! Vilas' fans probably still protesting after all these yrs of '77 slight!

    ***You've got such a good memory Fiero!***

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  81. ***The YEC can decide who's YE #1.***

    ...I've felt the same since watching my 1st back in '74 in Australia; Vilas over Nastase! ...IMO it didn't become really comp. until '79 or '80! A rules change has tried to elim. some controversies; actually offering $$ for each match won, but there are still detrimental aspect to the event!

    ***...I think Nadal needs to change sev. tactics - including coming to the net more. But we all know that Nadal, like Roger, is stubborn. At this point I just think Roger's got a lot more variety in his game & can play in diff. ways & make more adjustments during the match. Nadal just doesn't have as much variety...***

    I surfed by Nadal's match yesterday & it appeared he attacked the net more! Easier to say & do w/ a lower ranked player like Cuevas, but he still dropped a set! Now he's WD w/ a knee injury seeing he doesn't need the tourney to retain the #1 ranking! I just can't remember a X when so many top players are not just WD, they're "out" for significant amounts of X going months! ...Agassi's prob. the only player I can think of that had some serious surgery on his wrist & got back to #1! Now it's routine to take off, have some work done, & come back @ leisure to own the tour again!

    ***...The game is waaaaay more physical. These guys are crazy fast. We might try to tell ourselves that guys back in the day played like this, but they really didn't. I remember watching Lendl play @ Wimbledon in the mid 80s and he was whacking the ball w/ his forehand like you wouldn't believe. But what I've seen Roger, Rafa & Novak do routinely is simply on another level. ...So don't be shocked that people's bodies are breaking down now. This is happening despite the superior conditioning of the modern day player b/c they have t/b quick stronger & fitter than ever before.***

    ...Back then tennis was more chess-like w/ strategy & really thinking thru a pt; sorta like the newly retired Hingis! She couldn't hit the ball as hard as the Wms' so she had to outthink them! Mind< aggression just isn't entertaining & I'd much rather skip video of the "ball scratching," underwear tugging, toweling off, & challenging of so many calls!

    ***...I have to tell you when old man Fed goes, it w/b a huge loss. Right now men's tennis is becoming too attritional. I actually think that if they sped up the courts it would help a lot. I think that new racquet tech makes serve returning a bit easier than before so it's < likely t/b just an ace-fest anymore.***

    ...I think Nole's been having niggling shoulder problems for a yr & when you don't get those free pts, it puts more pressure on other aspects of the game! Been there; done that! ...Change is hard; esp. when so successful doing it another way! We'll have to see if Fedal can sustain this in '18 & what the return of Djokrayrinka brings!

    ***Un< someone pulls out of London, JMDP won't be playing there. He'll probably be an alt. there. The last remaining spot goes to PCB un< Isner or Sock wins Bercy outright, in which case the winner of Bercy will get the last spot.***

    It's amazing how that happens, but this is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel w/ so many players out w/ injuries! ...This is just unfathomable the draw w/b so depleted! JMDP is my "dark horse" to still make it! Not sure Nadal wants to go yet again to walk away w/o a trophy! That court is fast & he'll be tired & limping around on that knee! Not sure he could = make it thru this weak a field!

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  82. Karma finally caught up w/ ex-Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly; being exposed for the sexual predator we've known for almost 15 yrs! The real shame is we find out FNC resigned a contract w/ him earlier this yr knowing he had settled a lawsuit w/ Lis Wiehl for $32 M! WHAT? These hypocritical slimeballs are falling 1 by 1, starting w/ Roger Ailes last yr! Sean Hannity s/b going down; if not for harassment, for just being a cons. dick!

    - https://hotair.com/archives/2017/10/22/mind-boggling-32-million-bill-oreilly-sexual-harassment-settlement/ -

    ***One of the Trump lackeys w/b arrested next wk, m/b = more than one. When somebody has a habit of hiring criminals, you have to ?? whether the person doing the hiring is a criminal himself. Also, Mueller's probably probing Trump's finances. He'll find lots of criminal activity in there.***

    Using Hillary to deflect this news of charges filed proves "all concerned knew Mueller was coming for them!" Everyone knows it's all BS & invoking her name only placates Trump's lame base! Hillary w/b 100 yrs old & "the hate machine" still w/b chugging along; just beating on the her until she's dead & gone it seems! The Clinton derangement syndrome was diagnosed 20+ yrs ago!

    ***It's the same as their bogeyman George Soros. I once had to deal w/ cons telling me he was a Nazi prison camp guard (Soros was 8; family were persecuted Jews). The misinfo campaign has no bounds***

    These people "on the right" are just so disgusting! They were lost for over 40 yrs until they finally took back the Senate in the 80's! Their "victimhood" is legendary w/ them whining to this day talking about the MSM in the tank for the Dems! It didn't matter that Whitewater & Benghazi was fanned for yrs, spending all kinds of X & $$ getting nothing out of it but embarrassment! The Reps own it from Coast to Coast so they really should stop bitchin'! If things go in the tank, it s/b on them! They should have no excuses, but we know >er! They're still blaming the Dems for positions not filled in the Trump Admin. when there have been few to no noms! WTF wants to work for Trump?

    ***W/ Manafort indicted & arrested, Trump w/b impeached & removed by the end of the year. This all moves to Congress now. Ryan will decide to impeach & remove Trump.***

    It w/b nice, but Reps are already rallying around Trump! I'm sorta appalled by how they've acquiesced to this slimeball so abruptly! Flake & Corker came out against him & the other Senators have fallen in line like lemmings all of a sudden! IDK why I s/b surprised; truly sinking into the sewer going on 30 yrs w/ the 1st "Willie Horton" Ads!

    ***I think it's very clear that Trump values Kushner more than, say, his own sons.***

    Don Jr's a real bonehead! He was the one bragging about being awash in Russian $$ last yr! Kuscher's smart enough to stay out of the limelight & you never hear him talking like a TRUMP embellishing his resume or business acumen!

    ***I still think that Don Jr is a bigger problem for Trump b/c he's in the family business. Don Jr having to testify & having his business records accessed would likely be a disaster for Trump for many reasons. I think there's a reason that Trump stepped in & wrote Don Jr statement a few months back too - he doesn't nec. have the confidence in his own son to handle it when things get bigly.

    Kushner's in the WH in part for the reason you say - he values him more, but from a business standpt. But if push comes to shove, I think Trump will put his children 1st and gladly let Kushner be the fall guy. He can distance himself from a son in law who does not share his name; entirely diff. if one of his own - his namesake no < - goes down.***

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  83. ***That's another way of looking @ it:

    - https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/925002230348107781 -

    "It boils down to this: the President of the US had as his campaign manager an alleged foreign agent who was allegedly laundering millions."

    Since he watches FOX News all day, perhaps hearing "stay off Twitter" w/ the Mueller indictments on no < than 4 diff. programs finally got thru to him?***

    I think Trump's so narrow-minded when it comes to taking in info, if he's being impeached, it won't sink in until he has a discussion w/ his "Fox & Friends" buddies! I really believe it's gotten that bad w/ him! He s/b squirming in his chair instead of trying to mislead "himself" that no collusion has been proved! He better start fabricating his defense to ??s to come!

    ***This has already been alluded to, but it is most likely his lawyers told him to STFU for his own good. His Tweets c/b self-incriminating w/ respect to Mueller's investigation.***

    I call it "obstruction" w/ the commenting on Twitter; pretty much sending messages to the other guilty parties ....!

    ***Papadapoulus pled guilty to trying (but failing) to collude as far as I can tell. Whether what he did is considered collusion by itself is probably a gray area. But we now have 2 members of the Trump campaign who tried to set up collusion w/ Russia. ...***

    But for wks now, Trump defenders have been saying over & over that "collusion" isn't illegal! That's the new standard that's being pushed to the limit all the X in every aspect of this admin! If Obama or Clinton tried any of this stuff, the calls for impeachment w/b echoing thru the halls of Congress!

    ***All day depositions by Congress & Mueller of major gov't officials trying to get info on Trump on Russia. If Trump wasn’t president you wouldn’t have this & they could focus on important issues like terror.***

    Like when Trump's focus was going after Jamelle Hill, ridiculing NFL players, & playing golf instead of dealing w/ "important issues like terror?"

    ***And the more I learn about Paul Manafort, w/ his X passports, burner phones, & willingness to represent any Dictator For Life however brutal, the more he reminds me of this:

    - https://www.amazon.com/Tee-Time-Berzerkistan-Doonesbury-Book-ebook/dp/B004I8VGU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509550982&sr=8-1&keywords=Tee+time+in+Berzerkistan -***

    But if you listen to Trump & his lackeys, they barely know Manafort! He just passed thru the campaign quite briefly, "made a few suggestions, & kept on moving in his business we don't = know anything about!"

    ***Trump knew/knows exactly who Manafort was/is. Why else would Trump recruit him? Trump's biggest problem is that he thinks everyone is as dumb as he is. -

    According to Trump, "I inherited a mess!" It's lucky for us Obama left things in such good shape! Could you imagine Trump trying to deal w/ how "W" left the country? We were in dire straights w/ an economic collapse exacerbated by the backbiting & juvenile antics of Reps! Shutting down the gov't costing us another $20 B can't be forgotten by me anyway! I just wonder when it'll all go to shit b/c we are destined to repeat their mistakes; tax cuts, more de-reg, etc.! I'm just so glad I'm old & won't have to deal w/ the repercussions of this huge mistake taking on this psycho as President!

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  84. ***So... a white guy shoots nearly 600 people in Las Vegas & it's not the X to talk about gun control. But an immigrant drives into a crowd, & it's the X to attack Muslims, immigration policies, & the justice system. Thru the latter, the checks & balances which make up the US democracy.

    - ETA: http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/01/politics/trump-nyc-attack-las-vegas-reaction/index.html -

    When did Reagan become a Dem?***

    That's the most hilarious part of any discussion w/ Reps! They love to invoke the man's name, but if he ran today, Reagan w/b run out of the party it's become so extreme on that side of the aisle!

    ***M/b. ...I'd assume that Trump has no idea what exactly the Diversity Visa Lottery actually is or what it purpose was. Appplications have declined, too, BTW. Before Trump =. For 2 yrs in a row ('14 & '15), there were so few appls that they had an add'l drawing.***

    So what's Trump bitchin' about? Typical; hasn't a clue what he's talking about! Probably saw the headline on Breitbart News & reflexively had to give a jab to the Dems! Besides, "they're being such obstructionists in Congress" stopping his "agenda!" What agenda, trying to wipe Obama out of the history of the office?

    ***Trump’s presidency isn’t going well, his approval rating is @ historic lows, his agenda is stalled in Congress, & the Mueller invest. is methodically dissecting his admin. piece by piece. Now Trump & his team prefer to roll back the clock & pretend it’s still '16 – when they were having fun & choosing to focus on their one win...that of defeating Hillary Clinton. Trump also continues to tweet about her regularly – 7 X's last month – reminding people that he believes, among other things, that Clinton lost the debates in '16, & blaming her for everything from his stalled agenda to ISIS to the weather.***

    But what does Trump have to do to justify condemnation on his supporters? He's been in a full on assault of the Justice Dept., Sessions, the FBI, & the Special Counsel, Mueller! He's supposed to stay clear of conflicts, but as far as I'm concerned he's obstructing justice which s/b +ed onto the charges Trump faces! Anyone who excuses this behavior deserves any admonitions that come their way! The outrage was plentiful w/ just suppositions vs Clinton & Obama, but there have been 3 indictments & a guilty plea taken so far! There's something there or so much of the news wouldn't be so full of it! How do you ignore what's happening?

    ***I don’t think you do ignore what’s happening. I think that you push for a gov't & legal system that's able to hold someone like Trump accountable. That seems t/b happening to an extent. Some of his proposals have been blocked by the House, some by courts, & other actions are being investigated by grand jury.

    You need to accept that people voted for Trump & you look at why that happened on a societal level. What are the key demographics of his supporters? Why did they feel alienated by dem. policy? Why did they buy into a narrative that scapegoated immigrants & what c/b done to stop that happening again? ...***

    I just have a problem w/ the massive hypocrisy! We're supposed to respect Trump & the choices people made, but Obama had to deal w/ being undermined everyday by that animal! The President was supposed to come up w/ a birth cert., his college transcripts, & friends to let the world know he wasn't some kind of Manchurian candidate that cropped up out of the ground mysteriously! BTW Trump looks more like one sucking up to Putin & the Russians everyday! To date, he hasn't spoken disparagingly about them w/ all this evidence of collusion & sabotaging '16 elections!

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  85. ***...Perhaps Roger's absolute peak was over, but his "prime yrs" were pretty long, & probably ended more like '12. Sure, he had a drop in '08 due in part to Nadal's reaching his own peak, but you have argued the mono. He bounced back pretty well in '09, @ least given a window due to Nadal's injuries. You also have to count the rise of Djokovic in there. ...Now his prime gets stretched out to '12 = though he didn't win a slam from '10 AO - Wimbl. '12. Are you also willing to say Rafa's prime stretched to '17? AO '10 was 18 out of 19 finals & 23 str. SF's & then he started regularly losing before the semis starting @ RG '10. We wondered whether he'd ever win another slam b/c he has regressed from the start of '08.
    ---

    ...Certainly the mono didn't help, but @ Wimbl. his issue was that Rafa was in his head & Fed was timid & weak most of that match. '09-10 AO was a strong recovery, but still not the same as '04-07. I'd say Fed's peak was '04-07 while his prime m/b stretched to '10 AO. I never said he was out of his prime in '08; was just a very weak season for him no doubt. He didn't = win an MS event, lost badly to Blake @ Olymp. & didn't = make the SF @ YEC. Bad yr @ slams & a total no show outside of slams.
    ---

    Roger played only 4 ATP 1000 events this yr, but he made the finals of all 4 & won 3 of them. Amazing hit ratio.***

    ...It s/b a wild '18 after a rather mundane '06 Redux w/ Nadal & Federer "splitting the spoils!" ...we did get some new winners of "1000's" w/ Sasha & Grigor sharing 3! That's more of the Masters going to players outside the "Big 4" in over a decade!

    ***Sock winning Paris is the 3rd major event this yr. where the winner didn't have to beat anyone inside the Top 15 (Cincy, USO, Paris). If this keeps up pretty soon the quality of the men's tour is going t/b as shitty as the women's.***

    You're kidding? Baby Fed is still "head & shoulders" above a player like Sock = w/ his mental flaws! He's > than a mindlessly aggr. player & has all the shots! Sock's a serve & FH alone; not much else! His type of play can't be sustained! As soon as he goes vs an elite player who isn't impressed by his power, he won't do much >er than his brethren w/ the same deficiencies; Querrey, Harrison, Isner! ...There are levels that exist & Sock just ain't "there" yet!

    ***Milan is like a glorified Jrs. tourney. ...***

    The scoring changes made giving any credit for winning the event prohibitive! I think we need some rule changes, but that's extreme w/ TB's at 3 all & NO-Ad scoring! You're barely warmed up, then almost halfway out the door! I think Rafa would have to retire b/c he'd never win another match!

    ***I can't see how this NextGen thing will ever really take off. Every player there w/b doing everything they can to qualifier for the big thing. It's going t/b a losers consolation type of thing. Call me a reactionary, but I don't like a lot of the rule changes they're trying to make either. Why people constantly think that changes need t/b made I'll never understand.***

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  86. ...It'll be nice to the Next Gen. event later; esp. this new format! What are the X's/length of the matches going 4 or 5? Normally we're talking 3-4+ hrs; esp. w/ Nadal or Djokovic! Eliminating some of the bouncing of the ball before the serve alone should cut an hr off of it!

    ***Three matches today went "5 sets." Two took just over 2 hrs, & one about 10 mins under 2 hrs. It's speedier, but I'm not in favor of changing the grown-up tourneys to that format for the sake of brevity.
    ---

    Zverev has been #3 in the Race rankings for awhile, but just reached it in the actual rankings.***

    And he's a legit #3 IMO = w/ all the injuries since he won 2 Masters! Things mhb diff. w/ Nole, Andy, Kei, Milos, & Stan, but that's how the cookie crumbles!

    ***That is exactly it. Roger & Rafa also had yrs when injuries affected them & they fell thru the cracks, but look how they rebounded. Now the jury's still out regarding Nole & Andy if they'll recover & + when & by how much. They might never be the same as before. - It's still a puzzle for me how Thiem is now ranked #4 after all the crappy results he has compiled on HC this yr. That just shows how weak the others were.***

    Nothing gives more evidence of how weak & lame the tour has shown itself t/b by having Fedal @ the top again after a decade! That's pre-Open era dynastics that shouldn't happen! It mhb tough for past greats to sustain = a few yrs of supremacy, but it's been a walk in the park for these 2 broken down athletes to continue to lead the way after taking huge breaks to recover from injury & en nui of such long & successful careers! Most players have burned out a lot sooner w/ the lone aberration being Connors who re-assumed #1 late, but not this late in his career! This is embarrassing in so many ways; sorta like S. Wms being able to handle these kids well into her 30's & was pregnant @ the time winning AO earlier this yr!

    ***Come on, give me a break. These 2 aren't just best players of today, but best of the era. So, that's not the real evidence that the tour's weak (although I agree that the tour is weak).***

    It's not like they're unbeatable! How many X's have we seen "the also-rans" of the tour fumble @ the end not able to finish off these greats? Fedal have come back from the dead more than a few X's b/c the "best of the rest" are just plain "gut loss; doesn't count WTF. But he also went slightly deeper in big tourneys overall - he reached the 4R of 3 Slams, SF of RG, & also reached the QF or >er @ 4 Masters. But just one title this yr vs. 4 last yr & 3 the yr before.

    ***Has Thiem maxed out? Maybe - hard to say. His game shows flashes of a >er level, but most players don't improve significantly after 24. That said, I still think he's got some Masters titles in him, and maybe a RG trophy.
    ---

    Federer's rec. of 8 Wimbls. may never be broken. Sampras definitely thought no player would pass his 7 WB titles.***

    Sampras unachieved @ Wimbledon IMO! Like Edberg who was another one of the most gifted of grass ct players, he also had growing pains & it took Stefan 5 yrs to win his 1st! Pete didn't win his 1st until '93; his last slam win being his 1st @ USO in '90 eviscerating Agassi in strts! The upsets made lit'l sense btw those 2 majors! That was a long X coming, then of course he was unlucky enough to come up against his "foil," Richard Krajicek in the QF's of Wimbl. '96 breaking up a possible 8 in a row! He's always been a thorn in Pete's side for some reason = though he was "all serve & a crosscourt FH!" He just overpowered Sampras on HC, indoors, & of course their lone grass meeting in '96 en route to victory over Mal Washington in the final!

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  87. ***...This is reminiscent of Kwan not wanting to do anything but Skate America, but then she accidentally qualified for the GPF anyway.***

    I never knew Kwan had an aversion to going abroad! As far as I can remember she skated both SA & SC & qualified for the final @ least a 1/2 dozen X's; going down to Slutskaya! It was a tougher event back then w/ 3 programs performed; 1 SP & 2 LP's! The skaters usually used the previous season's program due to that extra performance needed to win the gold! This was my fave event for that reason! I guess the skaters thought it was stupid & they finally dropped a LP!

    ***Ladies & gentlemen, presenting the 1 & only person who misses the 2 LP GP "super final" format. - It was incredibly stupid. We usually saw repeat LP's that skaters had the season or 2 before, & it was clear it had barely been trained (excep. Kwan's "Miraculous Mandarin" & Slutskaya's "Don Quixote" actually being debuted @ the event). At one pt, the event schedule was also SP & LP1 both in 1 day, w/ about 6 hrs inbtwn IIRC. And the 'Super Final' where it was 1 vs 2 & 3 vs 4 - skaters were limited to only those positions = if the skater in 4th place going in happened to have the best skate that night. Def. 1 of the worst ISU ideas ever.***

    Well I usually liked the programs from the prev. season of the top skaters! Come on; we're talking an extra 4-5 min. on the ice! Figure skaters are accustomed to being abused; esp. @ the Olympics where it's 1 "command performance" after another! They were actually traveling over the diff. islands in Japan when the event was set in Nagano in '98! It seemed like every X I surfed, the skaters were performing again; not repeats of the telecast! Have we forgotten "Qfying?" At Worlds that performance can determine if you = skate in the event! Exhbs. c/b just as stressful if not more b/c they're holding back on the "tech" to stay upright, but accidents will happen = on the simplest of elements! An extra LP shouldn't be that big a deal!

    ***The diff. @ the Olympics is that the skaters usually have a day inbtwn their events. This switched w/ Sochi IIRC, but in the past, there had (almost) always been a day inbtwn the SP & LP's. ...A LOT of the performances in the LP1 & LP2 were way below any decent standard. OTOH, it did create the battle btw Yagudin & Plushenko b4 the '02 Olymp. & that was 1 of the most exciting & intense free skate broadcasts I've ever seen. But it was bad > than it was good.***

    I remember that! Malinina along w/ other skaters tended t/b undermarked @ X's! Tech. she surpassed Kwan, but they just couldn't give it to her! Fig. skating w/b an absolute criminal enterprise until the human element is elim.! I thought shady scoring would stop w/ this new system, but it's still as corrupt! I was looking forward to Evgeny cleaning up that "Circ" performance @ the Olympics, but he switched to Carmen which is 1 of my least fave since so many people have done it in all the skating disciplines! Mishon gave Carmen to Yagudin yrs. ago taking World Bronze medal in '97 IIRC!

    ***JW mentioned that Rippon was going for a 3F+3L. Is that true? I've never seen that jump combo from him. He could theoretically do a 3F+3L & then do a 2A in place of the solo 3L, increasing his BV from a 2L to a 2A overall. Alternately, he has a fine lutz. Why not repeat the 3Z instead of the 3F & gain an extra pt or so?***

    Watching vid on YouTube Rippon stayed w/i himself & I'm proud enough for him that he got thru the program unscathed! There were some shaky landings, but he stayed on his feet & I'll probably save the performance when it repeats later! Bravo!

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  88. ***Report: Woman Says Roy Moore Initiated Sexual Activity When She Was 14

    - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/report-woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-activity-when-she-n819426 -

    More than a dozen Rep. senators on Thurs. urged Roy Moore, the party's candidate for Senate in AL, to drop out of the race if the Wash'ton Post's report that a woman accused him forcing her into a sexual encounter in '79, when she was 14, is true.

    In a statement from his campaign, Moore, now 70, vehemently denied the allegations, calling them "a base< political attack" & "the very definition of fake news & intentional defamation." ...***

    The Reps are scrambling & will probably have to back the Dem. in AL in next month's special election to fill seat opened when Sessions accepted AG spot in the Trump Admin.!

    ***You gotta remember...these people take their cues from the Bible. The Bible doesn't give a shit how old the girl is before marrying her off to an older man. So they see nothing wrong w/ what Moore did b/c of their religious beliefs.
    ---

    ...People are supposed t/b sexually aggressive animals.***

    You & I have diff. levels of acceptance when it comes to human behavior! He's grown; they're kids! The inequity of it all makes it criminal IMO; esp. since this loser's been a judge in the past! Who's he to make decisions about other people's bad behavior?

    ***Moore's always been a scumbag.***

    You say that like it's something new! In AL, the list of "scumbags" is end<! They never take responsibility for their actions & won't ever leave a job voluntarily! Look @ the stories behind the AL's Speaker, Gov., & Sen. Strong who's being replaced! ...My mom's from Montgomery; I wouldn't fly over it!

    ***My post was very much tongue in cheek!***

    Gotcha! The thing is there are cons making excuses or willing to give Moore the benefit of the doubt! Sean Hannity said something to the effect on the radio today; "there was an 18 y.o. & a 17 y.o., then there's talk of a 14 y.o., though consensual.....there's no way to tell!" For Bill Clinton you'd think Hannity was in the room w/ Kathleen Wiley vouching for the woman! FNC's disgusting, but like a train-wreck, it's hard to look away! These people are such carnival barkers that some think are great thinkers & are the only honest media that's telling the truth! The last 10 yrs have seen them slide into the sewer! They're a mere shell of the network I started watching in '97!

    ***Well, sheeit, fellers...he was just a good ole boy til he found religion & the right woman to lead him onto the path of righteousness. - Yeah, I don't believe this, either.***

    Our moral compass was a bit wobbly yrs ago, but it was totally destroyed, shatter, & eviscerated in the last major elections of '16! It's not like anyone s/b surprised by anything a Rep. will say & do now seeing as they're ready to protect an old letch over the story of a 14 yo girl! Trump has set us back decades!

    ***Had they had this dirt on him when he was running against Strange, Strange would have won.***

    I don't think Moore would have been hurt early or late w/ this info! These people in AL just don't seem to give a shit if their "good ol' boy" is dirty or not; as long as he's one on them! The last Gov. hung on w/ all kinds of scandal & it was Sen. Strange who assisted as the AG in him staying in office another yr or so! Hard to believe Reps always pt @ IL & Chgo in particular when the real "soap operas" are going on "down SOUTH!"

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  89. ***The TV media's lame. They loved Trump b/c he gave them gossip to dish.***

    ...That's been my major problem w/ the pol. parties; Dems who overest. the intel. & common sense of the American people & the Reps who never underest. their gullibility! The media are being so manipulated it's hard to feel sorry for any of us!

    ***I feel like we are just looking for someone to blame. If so, let's blame those responsible: Trump & the racists / Reps who supported him & who helped create a situation that no one knows how to deal w/. Trump wants you to blame the media that's a big part of his implicit strategy which is working incredibly well. Read the Margaret Sullivan piece. Discrediting the media is part of the work of bringing everything down that Bannon has been trying to make happen.
    ---

    In this country we believe in innocence until proven guilty. All I see is a woman conveniently coming up at the most optimal time after 40 yrs to accuse Moore of inappr. behavior.***

    I feel sorry for people desperate enough to take the word of a slug like Moore over a victim back when she was 14! It hurts my heart & soul watching people bend into pretzels to give him every benefit of the doubt w/ a story backed by 30 sources including dates, people, & places going back almost 40 yrs! It's sick to think this woman would put herself thru this for political reasons! She gains nothing but ridicule from her neighbors; esp. since she's a Rep. who voted for Moore in the past!

    Reps have conditioned themselves thru their decades of victimhood when "out in the wilderness" for 40+ yrs since this was a Dem. country! It seems to me, they've systematically tried to punish us for accepting the legis. they hate like Soc. Sec., Med., Obamacare, & of course the one thing that hurts their inner being, "civil rights!" They've devolved = lower than I thought possible taking a prosperous economy & turning it into shit before they leave to bankrupt the country; '88, '08, & w/ losses yesterday in the DOW, w/o a doubt '20 if Trump = makes it that far! More credit s/b given to Obama for leaving things in such good order, Trump has been able to sit on this thumbs watching TV where absolutely nothing's gotten passed of substance!

    ***... by electing a pedo to the US Senate! - I agree, that w/b awesome. On Reddit, the Trump fans call themselves "pedes." I shit you not.***

    Reps lost their empathy, conscience, & morality yrs ago! It's all about the party now!

    ***...Do you have a source to show the Wash'ton Post sat on the Edwards & Clinton stories?***

    I've been listening to this BS about the MSM giving the Clintons & all Dems "a pass" for decades! It's part of the pathology of Rep. imbeciles to make us believe they've been victimized by all concerned which is why their lives are so diff. when it comes to electing their officials! It doesn't matter that they own it all, you would think there's voter suppression out there keeping "right-wingers" from getting to the polls & the MSM is undermining all their candidates to make them look bad! So full of shit; I just can't take it! They gonna brag about their stolen SC Justice seat, rolling back all of Obama's EO's, etc.? That just shouldn't cut it, = for the troglodytes who actually believe these guys could get the job done!

    ***It’s the most incompetent bunch of crazies I’ve ever seen.***

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  90. ***'17 has been a delicious yr for all the Murray haters.***

    Just predictable! I've been saying for yrs Murray will wind up in a wheelchair due to that stupid defensive way of playing the game! It's like he decided he needed t/b able to "outlast" the "Big 3," but unfortunately, he plays that same style in early Rds, going BO3 or BO5 unnecess. w/ players not = ranked in the top 50! OTTH, the epitome of what I'm talking about was last season in Paris! From the 1st Rd Murray had to come back "from the dead" to overcome players that aren't in the same stratosphere as the "Big 4!" Right on schedule, after scaring Nole & me w/ a blistering 1st set, he faded as the match went on! Like Rafa, he gets into these long battles that c/b avoided by cutting off some of those epically long pts, games, & sets no matter what kind of satisfaction he gets out of doing otherwise!
    ---

    I always thought Chris Evert hung on for yrs longer due to her rivalry w/ Martina & she didn't want t/b surpassed by her! ...still inched ahead of Evert in the end!

    ***18 majors apiece ;) Graf surpassed them both, nothing Evert could do about that.***

    Only in the majors! Navratilova dwarfs her w/ records that are unattainable these days; 6 majors in a row, 167 singl., 177 Dubs, "a Box Set" completed @ '03 AO, & wrapped up her career taking '06 USO MxD w/ Bryan just a month short of her 50th BD! No one's going to have a finish like that!

    ***I wouldn't say those rec. are "unobtainable." They are unobtainable in the sense none of today's young 'uns are good enough, but if another player of Navratilova's quality appeared, I don't see why she couldn't dominate like that. She was in a diff. league to today's ball bashers who can't string wins together for 2 cons. tourneys.
    ---

    ***...But, Sampras was also aging by the X Roger beat him.***

    Sampras was well past it by that X! He hadn't won a tourn. since 2000 Wimbl., actually taken out of the 2nd Rd by a Swiss player by the name of Bastl the following yr in '02! If not for that finish & boinking of his career pigeon Agassi in the final of the USO in '02, those last 2 yrs whb a total waste of X!

    ***Hey no one wants to talk about that - another Swiss player took Sampras out of Wimbl. long before Fed did b/c that ruins the fairy tale that many fans love to hold on to forever.***

    Well it w/b a fairytale to think Sampras was unbeatable! That was far from the case w/ quite a few stars still in the running = @ his best in the mid 90's! Before then there was still McEnroe, Lendl, Connors, & others from that era before his compatriot rivals came of age in Courier, Chang, & Agassi! Out of the box, Sampras had a couple of players that gave him fits; Krajicek & Ulrich of all people! Richard you could understand just overpowering him, but I never saw Pete's 2 or 3 losses to Ulrich since they were early in the tourneys so I have no idea what the deal was w/ that! I have to raise my hand saying I was one of many who were ready to anoint Sampras as the GOAT w/o = playing a FO final w/ Laver having 2 CYGS; pre & post Open era! Hard to believe 3 players (Fedalovic) showed up to outdo just about anything he did & about obliterated his accomplishments!

    ***Sampras was very tired @ '96 Wimbl. He had to play a few 5 setters B2B @ FO that yr & it took a lot out of him. OTOT, he was really heartbroken after losing the SF to Kafelnikov. ...All these elements played a big part in Sampras' mind that yr & Krajicek was a tough opp. @ Wimbl. whose game too was well suited on grass. But a fresh and determined Sampras still would have won, but it wasn't meant t/b b/c of those circum. Djokovic hasn't passed Sampras yet in terms of winning Slams, but he'll probably to do it too.***

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  91. ***Fed does love the game, but he'd hate it very much if Nadal breaks his rec. as soon as he retires.
    ---

    Fed was #2 in '14 & prob. >er than Murray & the 2nd best player in '15 as well.***

    Roger has been terribly unlucky to have 2 players that have his # for the most part! He's come back strong to dominate Rafa, but how long do you think he can keep this up?

    ***Djokovic has only had his # in the last few yrs. - In what universe does Djokovic have Fed's #?***

    Just going by the consensus wins; Roger has the one of note stopping Nole's run of match wins in '11 @ RG, while Djokovic's accomp. dwarf Fed from those 2 classic 5 setters @ the USO coming back from the dead in '10 & '11, the 2 Wimbl. finals, the AO SF, & of course the USO final 2 yrs ago! Nole owned both Fedal for a X w/ Roger snatched a win here & there on a fast HC like Cinci!

    ***Fed had Djokovic's # until that blasted USO '10. Everything changed in that one match. Fed did get a signature win or 2 over him afterward, but it was never the same. The dynamic had shifted. Djokovic owned Fed badly & denied him B2B Wimbl. - Roger's career rec. vs top 10 players is absolutely ridiculous.***

    But isn't Nole's = more so; actually surpassing Borg for a X! He set a rec. of defeating 35 or so top 10 players a 2 yrs ago! Fed's the best, Nadal had his X owning him, & Nole has rec. that surpasses them both! This has been some X t/b around watching tennis! I always thought the 90's were the most comp. w/ so many major winners! At any given X you would have 10-12 GS winners in a tourn. from Gomez upsetting Agassi to take FO in '90 to Kafelnikov's AO win in '99!

    ***IDK that you can praise these top 4 as the best & then decry the weakness of their opp. as complete folders. - Allowing top players to dodge X MP's is not limited to just those players. Fed has done it the most; vs Safin '05 AO, vs Nadal '06 Rome, vs Delpo '09 USO, vs Djokovic '10, '11 USO just OTTH. No other top player has blown so many big matches. For a while I thought Fed m/b close to a bit of a choker. Don't think Nadal has ever done that @ that level, & Novak mhh 1, but no more.
    ---

    - '05 - Nadal pulled out w/ an injured foot, I believe this was career threatening & he had to have special shoes since

    - '08 - Nadal blamed knee soreness & fatigue - he did retire vs Davydenko in Paris '08

    - '12 - Nadal skipped 1/2 the yr & not just the YEC

    - '14 - Nadal had appendicitis & had surgery to remove it around the X of the WTF

    - '16 - Nadal ended his season @ the end of Oct. due to recurring wrist problems

    - '17 - Nadal has as we know WD after his 1st match due to knee issues

    Nadal unfortunately has a pattern of injuries, esp. since '12. Maybe this yr & '08 he could have played thru the pain, but w/ a chronic condition it's >er to avoid aggravating it surely. I'm no fan of the guy, but I don't think he's just been ducking the event. Guy needs to stand closer to the baseline & not really on his legs so much. I find it ridiculous that he returns serve from so deep on a HC. Guy plays 80 matches a yr like that no wonder he's breaking down by Nov. - not to mention the foot issue which compounds this.***

    ...The game just moves so much faster today & you can't just power thru b/c of $$! Back in the day, below the top 2 or 3 that garnered $200,000+, they're lucky to break $100,000; the FO had the top payout @ $42,500 just 40 yrs ago! When the WCT was gasping for air in the 80's, it was really something to get $50,000 winning an event, then $100,000! ...Having so much, it's a wonder if passion is enough to get the best to stay well past their 30th BD!

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  92. ***It's quite something really to look back on Bill Clinton & think about how diff. that w/b today in the climate that started after Bill Cosby went down. The funniest thing is remembering that whole chain of events & how Newt had to resign, then Livingston went down from his own sleaziness revealed. But the last guy standing who outlasted them all was Denny Hassert. He's one who has been revealed t/b the most truly evil.***

    Bill stands above them all; his detractors caught up in their own hypocritical sleaziness! You got Gingrich, Livingston, & Hastert; let's not forget Cunningham, Foley, Barr, & so many others condemning Bill from their homes in sewers either going to jail or run out of office! Bill's a statesman that's showered w/ applause anywhere he goes in the world! McConnell might get boo'd back in Kentucky!

    ***Where is the evidence vs Moore? We have DNA on Bubba Clinton!
    ---

    Yes, we have proof that an adult woman willingly gave him a BJ. An adult woman who went to Wash'ton w/ just that intention, stating herself she was taking her 'kneepads' w/ her.

    That means we have proof that he violated numerous federal laws on sexual harassment in the workplace.

    There is no law vs 2 consulting adults having a sexual relationship in the workplace. She was not harrassed, not taken advantage of. She went after him.***

    Laura Ingraham still slithering in the sewer invoking Bill Clinton sev. X's, then had Juanita Broderick on her show tonight! I try to give her the benefit of the doubt when being so partisan, but she's just delusional & malicious now! What will Reps do when Hillary & Bill pass on? Will they dig up their bodies! Maybe harass Chelsea & her family to give them some kind of pleasure being absolute A-Holes! I don't think people bring up 911 to blame "W" like some of us could, but they will beat up on Bill 18 yrs out of office! Says a lot about his detractors than the target of their disgusting ire!

    ***Apparently, Trump's ignoring the opinions of his own experts:

    - http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/11/11/trump-putin-election-meddling-smerconish-sot.cnn -

    S/b grounds for impeachment, based on treason.***

    People don't know the 1/2 of it! Trump's nominating unqualified superior court judges! I think I heard the last one got thru committee on a partisan vote = though he's 36, passed the bar 10 yrs ago, hasn't tried a case, & is currently a blogger! Reps s/b ashamed of themselves, but they have no shame! I'm so glad I'm old & won't have to deal w/ the repercussions of the "not so temporary" insanity of this country! Good luck!

    ***This is so dangerous! He keeps appointing people that have no expertise needed to do the job- just like himself. Disgusting.
    ---

    So you really think that the Dems in the Senate would rather embarrass the Rep. Party by seating Moore than risk their political futures just to embarrass the Rep. Party? ...I'm wondering if you know how seriously Dems take sexual harassment?***

    It's total deflection from Reps to think Dems would put up w/ that "animal" more than nec.! They're looking in the freakin' mirror imagining the worst of us; believe it! They do deserve that albatross t/b hanging around there necks b/c it's the support of "their" electorate that's put them in this position of expelling a new member moments after being sworn in! No one deserves it more than McConnell; the slime!

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  93. ***Menendez looks guilty to me. - Agreed. I'm amazed the GOP majority hasn't moved to expel him from the Senate, esp. since doing so before now would have netted another GOP Senator @ least for a lit'l while.
    ---

    He hasn't been convicted yet.***

    In Rep. "pea brains" it's just a formality! They'll go to the mat for a child molester, but to get another seat under their belt in NJ, heaven knows how far they'd go! The skies the limit w/ these a-holes! They own all of gov't & still can't get a damn thing done! They're incompetent, hypocritical slime that prove everyday what I think of them! Trump leads the way where the sewer's no long the true depth of these people!

    ***The media is saturated w/ this story b/c rightwingers are spending a lot of air X defending Moore.
    ---

    Menendez is being held accountable, there isn't much to report for now.***

    That's hardly +able; Menendez on trial & Moore heading to the Senate b/c his disgusting electorate don't care what he's about as long as he has an "R" behind his name! They want Moore over a Dem. who "tried & convicted" KKK members! As long as these people behave like this, they'll still dwell very low on the evolutionary scale as far as I'm concerned! They haven't changed a lick since I was a kid of the 60's! I'll die w/ the SOUTH being one, continuously RED area of hypocrisy, bigotry, & hate! It's hard to feel sorry for them since it's women who have a real chance to make change, but they'd rather things stay the same! Screw 'em!

    ***But they haven't come after Menendez yet. If they do/did it before Christie is gone, Christie could appoint a Repub. The new Gov. will appoint a Dem if he gets booted keeping the Senate @ 51-48.***

    I still watch FNC = w/ their one track producing of lies & hypocrisy! Menendez & Hillary are @ the top of every program! = when someone sneaks in the truth about Fusion GPS, idiots like Hannity just laughs it off & persists in his vendetta vs the Clintons! They've mused about Christie being able to fill that seat not understanding Menendez's still a Senator until expelled from Congress & that takes X! Christie w/b a distant "fat" & disgusting memory by then! His polls are worse than the Dems! They hate his guts in NJ!

    ***...I'd argue that this whole reckoning of sexual harassment vs high profile people would have never happened if Hillary whb elected.***

    Nothing more sleazy than those women from Bill's past sitting @ Hillary debate w/ the Orange One! I feel sorry for those pathetic broads that they would allow themselves t/b used like pawns; later to really cost the country & the world more than likely! I hope it was worth giving up all their self-respect to look so pathetic after all these yrs t/b used again by a pathological liar & serial harasser of women! IDIOTS!

    ***YEAH!! Those lying tramps & sluts! How dare they?! They should shut up & fade into obscurity. They aren't like the noble & poor victims that are accusing Moore.***

    That's right; STFU & let it go! Clinton's a President & no matter what they do or say, it'll always boomerang back on them! They aren't 1/2 as noble as the CHILDREN victimized by Moore; you're damn right! You want to go "tit for tat," m/b we can snatch GHW Bush out of that wheelchair for being grabby & disgusting w/ his "jokes!" You really want to start up some retributive shit like that?

    ***...And Trump's not a sexual predator. There's as much evidence that Trump's a sexual predator as there's that Clinton & Moore are. I think all 3 are.***

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  94. ***...You can't recover a senate seat even if the charges are unfounded, and she has nothing to sue her for. Her step son claims she's lying & someone's paying her. - None of which has squat to do w/ 7 other women who have also come forward.***

    Amen & hallelujah to that! If there's one lit'l discrepancy, that means it's all a lie & fake news to these poor deluded souls! It's a damn shame there's this need to undermine all institutions to try & make themselves feel more credible in an issue! They've turned the whole thing into a cesspool of lies & unreliable reporting where alternative facts s/b accepted w/o ??! The bar has been lowered so far, what legit. criticism is disqualifying after Trump & Moore? What's next, a reformed serial killer for President? Maybe Manson can get his act together for a run in '20! Heaven knows I'm sure he'd get some support from somewhere in this country!

    ***SomeX's in life; Morality dictates you set aside political idolatry. Moore & Franken are those occasions.
    ---

    It's astounding to see all of these media lefties come out today & say Clinton should have resigned back in the day.***

    Not just media lefties; Sen. Gillibrand has thrown the Clintons "under a bus!" Her biggest benefactors, who literally put her in that Senate seat has turned her backs on them! It was a gratuitous comment from her today & according to Doug Shoen on FNC who worked for the Clintons said, "there's a special place in HELL for people like her!"

    ***Anyway, good that Sen. Gillibrand conscience came clean. He should have resigned.***

    The American people disagreed & punished Reps for = trying to remove Bill from office for doing the exact things they were doing in Congress; hence some being run out of office like Gingrich, Barr, & Livingston! Funny there's no one making an issue of Sen. Vitter who was on a madam's list back in LA. & DC! He held onto his seat & never got a whiff of his brethren wanting him gone! Hypocrites! Nothing new!

    ***Not a fan of Gingrich & his political sins. Who & what is Barr known for? Livingston I somewhat have heard of .. some former Rep. from Louisiana who hung around brothels & underage sex.***

    Barr was one of the leading hypocrites vs Clinton, admonishing him for his depravity, infidelity, etc., etc., etc.! He was busted crossing state lines w/ his bimbo to get an abortion! He was a bible thumper who ranted daily about being Pro-Life! I guess it a legit. stance un< caught doing what others do! Livingston was t/b the next Speaker, but he was caught & confessed to his infidelities! I think Hustler Mag Owner Larry Flynt put a bounty out there for info on Rep. Congressmen & it paid off! Many wives called begging the man not to expose their husbands! They didn't deserve the consideration, but Flynt pulled back & only exposed a handful who were the leading impeachers!

    ***Franken should stay. Sick & tired of this prudish fucking country attacking all sexual behavior. WTF has happened to liberals in this country that we can't accept some sexual behavior anymore? We use to promote this stuff & call the other people prudes!

    We ain't talking about rape, but this was known 11 fucking yrs ago & the women also understood that it was going to happen. This should not destroy Franken's life. If it does then what Trump did better be impeachable.***

    It's the "me too" era where large swatches of people like t/b joined together as a common victim! Hard to believe some of this stuff is held onto for yrs! I can't condone bad behavior, but not all these stories are comparable! Moore in Alabama's a lot worse than Franken's act! His heartfelt apology was accepted & everyone should just move on! He's much too valuable trying to get to the bottom of Trump's crooked admin.!

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  95. ***...M/b you're too embarrassed to admit the accusers you listed as "victims" were LYING about Moore? You like to throw out base< accusations, but run like a lit'l girl when they're proven t/b false.
    ---

    I DO know that there isn't a shred of evidence to support their stories. The only physical evidence was produced by notorious fraud Gloria Allred - a pile of shit....***

    Yep, that's the ticket; just stay in complete denial like Trump! It worked for him!

    ***No, denial is how I just showed you the proof of 3 of the accusers lying & you still insist they are telling the truth.***

    And how do you explain the other accusers; not to mention Moore being "banned" from local Mall b/c of him being a nuisance to the young girls? I suppose the conspiracy to undermine him began 40 yrs ago knowing this moment would come? More TRUMP theorists @ work y'all!

    ***So, you're admitting the 3 I mentioned are lying?***

    No genius, I'm saying regard< if they're lying, there are plenty of other accusers; including him calling the school initiating a date w/ a HS'r & another grown woman being pawed in his law office by Moore using his services having to deal w/ a custody issue! EVERYBODY can't be lying; which is a joke considering Trump's the biggest liar of all X! It's been tabulated, this jackarse makes @ least 5 or 6 false statements per day, either out of his filthy mouth or on Twitter! His press conferences are a complete joke & only exposes how lit'l he knows about the job he was hired to do!

    ***And I guess you also think it's fine for Franken to take advantage of her & stick his tongue down her throat b/c she agreed to do the kiss (not knowing what he was planning to do)? You're a real piece of work, aren't you?***

    Like you really care about women as a whole! Yeah, right! The list of sleazebags who're cons. hypocrites is long! Unfortunately after seeing Trump slide by, the standards are so low, I'm not shocked you support creatures like Moore! "BRAVO!"

    ***Jones continues to show leads in most of the polls coming out - & in the couple where Moore shows a lead, his lead is drastically reduced from where it was. Jones is raising a huge amount of $$ & @ least 1 Rep. Senator (I think Flake) is calling for people to vote for Jones. So Moore's sinking fast.***

    I'll believe it after it's all over! It's been found people lie to pollsters! Who wants to admit to voting for a pedophiliac? It was the same w/ Trump; the masses kept it to themselves!

    ***...Clinton was low level public defender w/ no choice but to do her job concerning that rapist she got off.***

    It just shows how low these people will go! I'm surprised they haven't gone back to see if Bill was reliable on his paper route back in Ark.! I gave up on Reps & cons 20 yrs ago! There's this entitlement in their psyche to think only they can do the job & keep things in check when the exact opposite has been the case since Reagan! They inflate the deficits & Nat'l Debt they bitch about the most, have no compunction to cut taxes & start wars @ the same X, try to take away entitlements like Soc. Sec. & Medicare, & love to de-reg the economy allowing corp. to run wild & endanger our well being! We're clicking on all cylinders, w/ unemployment the lowest it's been in my lifeX, but some are saying we can do >er! Those are the ones we have to worry about b/c when it all goes to shit, they'll pass the buck like they always do & the vicious cycle continues unabated b/c of our short memories!

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  96. ***The Constitution gives the Senate the power to expel a member. Article 1, Section 5.***

    I don't want the lowlife Moore, but McConnell doesn't have a leg to stand on! Anything this guy did before coming to Congress doesn't entitle censorship or expulsion! If we start doing that, all of Congress w/b out on their ass! Their opps just have to keep digging no matter how many yrs they have to go back! It's a vicious cycle we're not ready to handle! That's why things take decades to change! It was just yesterday Clinton was being impeached for doing the exact same thing members of Congress were doing; probably worse since there have been stories of "Congressional pages" being involved!

    ***...Why did it take Trump 18 days to fire Flynn when Sally Yates warned him he c/b blackmailed by Putin.***

    The naysayers who prefer fake news can't acknowledge those facts! They just look @ it as "more Obama supporters undermining the current admin.!" It doesn't matter that Obama actually tried to warn Trump before taking office, but the man's destined t/b impeached overstepping every boundary set up over 200+ yrs of our nation! It's hard to believe Reps would allow the leader of their party to cavort w/ Putin like some old pal that s/b trusted w/ all our secrets! Russian agents in the WW & nary a peep out of the hierarchy of the Rep. Party! Now they're going t/b assoc. w/ child molestation when Moore arrives w/ the full support of Trump & his stooges!

    ***...If it’s your implication that Flynn has been turned & it’s only a matter of X for Trump.
    ---

    ...While I do think Flynn made a deal, I have no evidence or strong reason to believe it's going to seal Trump's fate. It's possible he's merely protecting himself from a jail sentence, or his son from same. But, we do have reason to believe that Trump m/b implicated, somehow by Flynn, as these deals are gen. used to "fry bigger fish." Now what part of ANY of that could you POSSIBLY disagree w/?***

    IDK where all the doubt is that Trump's in serious trouble here? Obama tried to warn him about Flynn before he took office! We can see he gives a FK trying to reverse every piece of legis. & EO's that has Obama's name on it! He's a disgusting animal that w/b found t/b treasonous & more than likely conspired w/ Russia! "KEEP WEARING THE BLINDERS PEOPLE!"

    ***Reversing every EO Obama issued is one of the main reasons I like Trump. - Can you quote this "warning" that Obama supposedly gave Trump?***

    I can't educate "stupid!"

    ***Of course you like being able to shoot hibernating bears. Obama prevented it. Trump reversed it.

    - Of course you like Big Coal polluting our rivers & streams. Obama prevented it. Trump reversed it.

    - Of course you like Trump getting rid of regs safeguards on Wall St. preventing another '08 financial collapse.

    - Obama held Wall St. accountable. Trump took off the regulations making a major recession more likely.

    - Of course you like Trump now permitting endangered elephant species t/b killed for their parts after Obama was smart enough to protect them.

    - The outcry here was so severe the 'idiot-in-chief' had to reconsider this blunder.

    - I could go on all day of Trump’s obsession to get rid of all the good things Obama did.

    - Trump knows Obama was a much more beloved president than he'll ever be. He’s as jealous & petty as Hell over it.
    ---

    ...Telling Lester Holt he fired Comey “b/c of the Russian thing” is EXACTLY admitting obstruction of justice. ...after Bob Mueller lowers the boom on your 'criminal-in-chief' I suspect you won’t be around here much any more to take your beatings; your much deserved beatings.***

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  97. ***When Sexual Assault Victims Are Charged W/ Lying

    - - https://tinyurl.com/y9wgzndo - -

    The women accusing Moore of sexual misconduct have faced doubt & derision. Other women, who have alleged sexual assault or harassment by powerful men in Hollywood, Silicon Valley & elsewhere, have become targets for online abuse or had their careers threatened. Harvey Weinstein went so far as to hire ex-Mossad ops to investigate the personal history of the actress Rose McGowan, to discourage her from publicly accusing him of rape.

    There are many reasons for women to think twice about reporting sexual assault. But 1 potential consequence looms esp. large: They may also be prosecuted.

    ...In Marie’s case, and with some of the other cases, the victims hadn’t acted the way the police thought a victim should act. Their affect seemed off, or they declined help from an advocate, or they looked away instead of making eye contact. As a result, their stories became suspect.***

    What about the dynamic of women not believing women? Heaven knows Trump's stooges like Kellyanne Conway all but endorsed Moore on the grounds of the WH; totally in opp. of the "Hatch Act!" She's told Alabamians to not believe the women from their own state! Rules were made t/b broken by this group! The bar's been set so low I'm not sure how any Rep. can vilify a Dem when they've been so accepting of this bigoted, racist animal in the WH!

    ***In our current environment of almost =ly divided gov't, the 5 most powerful positions in US gov't are the President, the Speaker, the Senate Maj. Leader, the Senatie Min. Leader, & the House Min. Leader. It is a sad state of affairs that the most competent individual of the 5 is Paul Ryan - a man from another century who needs t/b locked up in a think tank. But he at least is civil, and understands how gov't should work.***

    How civil were these a-holes when Obama was President? How many X's did he ask to meet to hammer out details only t/b put off & ignored; someX's not = calling him back for hrs? I won't listen to any bellyaching by Reps after they treated the 1st Black President like some ne'redowell who wasn't entitled to sit in his chair! Fk them & all their bigoted ancestors! These people ??ed his citizenship, religion, & patriotism! They can all go to HELL as far as I'm concerned!

    ***Trump insulted Sen. Elizabeth Warren once again by calling her "Pocahontas." But this X, it was where he did it that makes it = more disgusting; @ an event honoring Native American Vets @ the WH.

    - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-calls-warren-pocahontas-event-honoring-native-americans-n824266 -
    ---

    ...I'd certainly not insult any race or ethnicity of Americans. And for the President of the U.S. to do so is an absolute travesty. Somehow or other we simply must remove this moron from office.***

    Were we as thoughtful when Obama was being disrespected, undermined, & called filthy names? I doubt it; it's the Rep. way to be fuk'n hypocrites! Trump will bitch about being vilified & obstructed by the Dems when that's all Reps did Obama's entire 8 yrs in office! Screw them all!

    ***McConnell and Ryan got trolled. How embarrassing for them for Pelosi & Schumer to blow off meeting w/ them & Trump!***

    They did enough of this to Obama; it's called KARMA! Bout X the Dems started giving back the shit!

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  98. ***It's not Moore's supporters that'll decide the election. It's the 100's of 1000's of good Reps that can see right from wrong. - They'll hold their nose & vote Rep.***

    Quite admirable I guess if you live down "SOUTH!" We have independent minds in the North! We can vote for a good Rep. as well as Dems! Voting in a block like lemmings is getting our country nowhere when we remain so divided where politics is making < sense; it's all about the PARTY w/ some of you guys! Reps run all the shit from "coast to coast," own DC w/ Congress & the presidency, but still can't get a damn thing done! ALL they want to do is take away Nat'l Health, undermine Soc. Sec. & Medicare, & lower taxes for them & their highfalutin friends! ..."Millennials; you're screwed! You don't seem to care about the direction of the country & you're allowing old FK's like McConnell & Trump determine your destiny long after they're dead & buried!"

    ***I'm really hoping Luther Strange comes forward & asks Reps to vote for Lee Busby. Say 'screw it' to all of the dirty factions w/i the GOP, but mostly the carpetbagging Bannonites who did the most to set back Alabama 50 yrs.***

    Sorry, but Ala. set itself back 50 yrs! Please! These people don't want to proceed into the 21st century! They'd rather hark back to the good ol' days of segregation, inequality, & maybe a lynching party on the weekends for entertainment! Anybody who gives me that "new SOUTH" BS I laugh in their faces every X I think of how these HICKS are constantly trying to curtail free voting! Fk those people & all their damn ancestors! They're getting what they asked for; a child molester to represent them in the Senate! "BRAVO dirt-bags; keep up the good work!"

    ***Our President seems clue< on how to deal w/ other leaders.***

    Try clueless about everything! Been in office all yr & has gotten lit'l to nothing done! I was so afraid he would do the normal things a president does like initiating an infrastructure program to deal w/ roads, bridges, & electric grids! NOTHING! He decides to go after the big stuff like reforming HC & building that stupid wall we don't need! As a result, no major piece of legis. has been signed & none on the way! He keeps touting something is coming, but it never materializes! It's frustrating to see, but it's >er than him actually accomplishing something! "Just stay crazy, simple, & stupid DON!"

    ***Trumptards are stupid enough for almost anything... & I can't help it that your boy is a Russian tool.***

    SO much for the "Art of the Deal" when the gov't shuts down next month! Reps own it all & they can't get shit done! How incompetent do you have t/b as a party to allow something like this the 1st yr of a new president? Really crazy stuff going on w/ these losers!

    ***Well, no normal person would have insulted & lied about the people he needed to make a deal. So of course the orange lunatic insulted & lied about the people he needed to make a deal. We already know Donald didn't write the "Art Of The Deal." I'm pretty sure he never read it either.***

    I won't = bother engaging anyone who thinks things are running smoothly & nothing's wrong w/ the leadership of both parties! Anyone who thinks the Dems just "obstruct" while Reps are classy & do their job are TOTALLY FOS! That's all they did during the Obama yrs; obstruct, threaten the credit rating of the country, & shut the gov't down while Cruz read "Green Eggs & Ham" during his filibuster! So screw you people who try to put all this shit on Dems talking about obstruction! Truly FK off!

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  99. ***Roger's 36, not 56. Yes, a reduced sched. I understand, but avoiding clay altogether? Makes no sense for a pro tennis player let alone 1 of the GOAT's.***

    Roger may get thru today's new blood, but it's getting harder & harder to do; dropping more sets! He has a easier X w/ people closer to his era; often str.-setting players like Murray, Cilic, Berdych, Ferrer, & = Nadal of late! I just can't see an upside in going to Paris, much < the Masters leading up to it which are just as tough as any major these days! Wins aren't as automatic! The tour will finally decide "enough" & send the old guy packin'! I'd hate for Roger to go the way of Rosewall w/ lit'l shame; just hanging on into his 40's, dropping out of the top 20!

    ***Roger's stellar season:

    Really strikes me - 91.2 Win %. There's only been 22 player seasons w/ a winning percentage of 90% or higher in the Open Era. Fed's '17 is #20 on that list. Murray's '16, @ 89.66%, is #23.

    Fed also owns 4 of those seasons. Here's how they break down.

    5 - Lendl ('82, '85-87,'89)
    4 - Borg ('77-80), Federer ('04-06,'17)
    3 - Connors ('74,'76,'78)
    2 - Djokovic ('11,'15)
    1 - Laver ('69), Vilas ('77), McEnroe ('84 - highest ever @ 96.47%), Nadal ('13)

    Most notably, Federer snared 2 more GS titles, bringing his total to 19. So w/ that, we give you a look @ the top 19 things Fed accomp. in '17, courtesy the ATP Tour & the ESPN Stats & Info team:

    1. Won Halle for the 9th X, joining Nadal as the only men in the Open era to win that many titles @ any single tourn.

    2. One of 3 men in the Open era age 30 or older to win X majors in the same yr ('69 Laver & '17 Nadal).

    3. Became the oldest player to finish in top 2 of the ATP Rankings since its inception in '73.

    4. Won 7 titles, his most since capturing 8 in '07.

    5. Went 7-1 in finals after going only 12-13 from '13-16.

    6. Reached 95 career titles, passing Lendl for the 2nd most in the Open era (Connors, 109).

    7. Went 14-2 vs top-10 opps this season, his best such winning % since going 18-0 in '04.

    8. His 52-5 match rec. was the best winning % (.912) among all ATP players.

    9. Won 50+ matches in a season for the 14th X, 2nd most in the Open era to Connors (15).

    10. At the AO, became the oldest man, @ 35, to win a GS title since Rosewall won the '72 event Down Under @ 37 yo. Fed was 5 months older when he went on to win Wimbledon in July.

    11. In Melbourne, Fed became the 4th man in the Open era to beat 4 top-10 seeds in 1 GS -- the 1st player to do this since Wilander @ the '82 FO.

    12. Beat Nadal in the AO final, the 1st X in his career Fed got the best of his rival @ a major away from Wimbl.

    13. Became the oldest player to win Wimbledon in the Open era @ 35 yrs, 11 mos, 9 days.

    14. Joined Bjorn Borg ('76) as the only men in the Open era to win Wimbl. w/o dropping a set.

    15. At Wimbl, joined Nadal as the only men to earn 8 or more GS titles @ a single major (Rafa, 10 titles @ FO).

    16. Went 4-0 vs Nadal this season after coming into '17 w/ only a career 11-23 rec. vs the Spaniard.

    17. At 35, the oldest player to complete the Sunshine Double by winning IW's & Miami in the same season.

    18. Reached his record 14th ATP WTF's SF before falling to Goffin on Sat.***

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  100. Athletes always seem to stay too long; Connors, McEnroe, Becker, Evert, & so many others embarrassing themselves @ the end of their careers! It really can change the destinies of other athletes when old X'rs who are just hanging on decide to take up a spot j/b "they used t/b great!" In FS it was Kwan & Eldridge! In baseball & basketball it's quite common; usually just a "$$-grab!" Y'all are right; Borg was the only one to leave the game @ the top! M/b that's why I feel that way!

    ***In baseball it's usually b/c stars are given long-term contracts & end up declining mid-way thru.

    ...Should Hewitt have retired 10 yrs ago? Should Wilander have retired in '89; McEnroe in '86?

    ...I don't think it tarnishes anything. It may not + to their >ness, but it doesn't subtract either. I don't think Roger will play yrs @ a journeyman level like Wilander did & others that you mention to varying degrees. I suspect he'll play as long as he thinks he has a reasonable chance of winning a GS. Maybe there w/b a yr or so of denial, but not more than that. I think also given that he has the experience of sticking it out & then winning again, he'll have a sense of when he no longer has a chance of winning a big one.***

    I took my own advice ... totally giving it up in '01 @ 44 after playing MxD w/ the family!
    ---

    ...We all incorrectly call each major event "a slam" & it's not! Timnz hit it on the head w/ the players & dates, the AO minor league until Lendl, Edberg, & Wilander made it a regular stop for them starting in '83; the women 2 yrs before w/ Navratilova, Mandlikova, & Evert making it a regular stop in '80! Moving the date from beginning of the season to the end was to entice Borg in the late 70's! ...It became = in stature to the other majors IMO!

    ...Wimbledon & the FO will always be ahead of the other 2 IMO; run well, have great histories, & have a huge legacy w/ a couple of GOATs! You have @ Wimbl. alone Martina's 9, Roger's 8, Sampras' 7, & Borg's 5 in a row capped w/ McEnroe contest going 5 in '80! The FO has Evert's 7 titles & leading the way, Rafa's 10, & Borg's 6!

    ***Sounds a bit strange considering the success Aussie players have had @ other Slams.**

    I feel for Aussies seeing as they haven't = had much except a few finalist since Edmondson won over Newcombe back in '76! I don't think they've had a finalist since the days of Rafter! What happened to Aussie tennis; went the way of Harry Hopman? He was the creator of champions I guess!

    ***After Edmondson's win in '76, only Cash ('87-8) & Hewitt ('05) have made the finals of the home Slam. Recent Aussie players have tended to do >er @ other Slams eg. Wimbledon & USO (Cash, Rafter, Hewitt). In '10, Stosur became the 1st Aussie woman to make a Slam final since '80 (Turnbull @ the AO), but that was @ the FO!
    ---

    This basically--also "majors" doesn't quite cut it either, as the "majors" have changed over the yrs, or @ least some of them. During the Pro Tour, the Pro Slams were definitely "majors" (they are counted on resumes), although they weren't GS tourneys. And during the 70's/very beginning of the 80's, the AO wasn't considered a major, although the Masters & Dallas WCT were. Currently, we've got 5 majors, ie the 4 GS tourneys & the WTF, & this may still change in the future; the 4 GS really seem set.***

    I know I didn't take that talk of Madrid becoming a major seriously! It's moved, changed surfaces, & the draw levels has changed over the yrs!

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