DT has NO control over his alter ego, a/k/a the 3d grade bully ~ if he feels anyone has slighted him in any way about anything, his first/only response is to immediately "get even" ~

Some background: at one time, DT and Mark Cuban were "friends" ~ in fact, DT dangled him as a possible VP running mate ~ Cuban's reaction was to say something like: "that'll never happen" ~ fast forward: next thing you know, Cuban was openly ridiculing Trump publicly everywhere and really hit a DT nerve by claiming DT was not releasing his tax returns because he was lying about his massive wealth ~

Fast forward again: Mark Cuban became a strong supporter of Hillary, both financially and by continuing to publicly ridicule DT regularly ~ sometime yesterday, I read that Cuban was crowing about snagging front row center seats to Monday's debate, and Hillary's campaign verified that ~ this morning, one of the first things I read was that that tidbit sent DT into another Twitter rage, claiming he was going to invite Gennifer Flowers [of "Bill Clinton affairs fame"] to sit next to Cuban ~ now I'm reading Flowers has accepted that invite ~

So ... here's MY take: [for those of us more restrained] I see Monday's debate as being one big dog-and-pony show ~ and [for those of us less restrained] I see Monday's debate as being a BIG circle jerk ~

Sooz

Debate or Gong Show?

Ok, so Mark Cuban will be front and center for HRC at the debate. Trump has invited Gennifer Flowers to support him there as "retaliation".

From Hubby: That's like Hillary inviting Steven Hawking and Trump inviting Peewee Herman in response.

Sheesh. What a circus.

roseanne, your hubby is a very clever man ~

With your permission, I'd like to move this post into the "debate" thread where there are a couple of prior posts on "Cuban vs. Flowers" ~

Sooz

Of course! You have my permission to move any of my posts at any time ad infinitum. Just zip me an email to let me know, so that I don't think I've gone crazy(crazier?) when I can't find it.

No doubt "fact checking" is difficult in real time ~ but this is, at best, troubling to me ~ ~ Sooz

Debate commission director balks at real-time fact checking
09/26/16 08:40 AM—Updated 09/26/16 09:12 AM
By Steve Benen

Heading into the first presidential debate tonight, Donald Trump and his campaign team have made it quite clear they don’t want moderator Lester Holt to do any fact checking during the event. That’s not exactly surprising: the Republican nominee has an unfortunate habit of lying, and it’d be embarrassing for Trump if his falsehoods were exposed in real time.

But outside of Republican circles, many are concerned that if moderators overlook obvious whoppers, and allow the debates to turn into literal “he said, she said” disputes, the public won’t actually learn anything.

Janet Brown, the Commission on Presidential Debates’ executive director, talked to CNN’s Brian Stelter yesterday about the broader dispute, and she seemed to come down firmly on Trump’s side.


I’m not entirely clear what Brown meant when she drew a distinction between “big” and “little” facts, but it’s her comment about the unemployment rate that seemed especially problematic.

There are, to be sure, a vast number of issues on which subjectivity is part of the debate. The truth can have nuance and be heavily dependent on context and specific details. If a moderator, or the director of the debate commission, feels hesitant about weighing in on issues in which the facts aren’t 100% clear, it’s understandable.

But consider Janet Brown’s chosen example: the unemployment rate. It’s probably the worst example she could have come up with.

Let’s say Donald Trump tells voters tonight that the nation’s unemployment rate is 40%, at which point Hillary Clinton pushes back and says it’s actually 4.9%. By Brown’s reasoning, an independent journalist – who knows the truth – should say nothing because the candidates may have different “sources.”

Except, that doesn’t make any sense. The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is responsible for determining the unemployment rate, and according to the BLS, it’s 4.9%.

It’s objective, not subjective. There’s quantifiable evidence. There’s only one source for the data. It’s exactly the sort of thing that lends itself to the easiest and most defensible form of fact-checking.

If pointing out facts this obvious is a bridge too far for the executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, candidates are effectively being told they can say literally anything without fear of pushback during the event.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/debate-commission-director-balks-real-time-fact-checking

Won't be long before you will be able to change the line in the Star Spangled Banner to "...oer' the land of the fact free...."

I have 2 confessions: [1] I thought the post title below was just snarky, which is why I read it, but it's a very serious read, and [2] I was contemplating having a glass of wine [or a bottle!] before I try to watch this debate tonight ~ ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating information in the original ~ Sooz

WARNING: Drinking every time Trump lies during the debate could lead to alcohol poisoning and death
David Ferguson / 26 Sep 2016 at 11:33 ET

Many of you, no doubt, will be playing drinking games tonight during the 90 commercial-free minutes of the presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. We at the Raw Story Stomach Pump Incident Prevention Desk would like to warn you that if you’re planning on drinking every time Trump tells a lie, you could be seriously endangering your health and even risking your life.

Donald Trump lies at a historically unprecedented rate. According to Politico, the Republican candidate’s strangely small — but very loud — mouth hole spewed lies at a rate of one every three minutes and 15 seconds during a five day period between Sep. 15 and Sep. 20.

As U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned last year ahead of the Republican primary debates, debate watchers who drink every time a lie is told at the debate could put themselves on a fast track to alcohol poisoning.

“We are anticipating record levels of alcohol poisoning Thursday night all across the country, as Americans engage in drinking games while they watch the debate,” said Murthy in 2015. “We can’t impress enough on people about the danger of mixing alcohol and watching the GOP debates, especially with the field the Republicans are giving us this year.”

Toxicologist Dr. Lawrence Goldfarb of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the safe limit for alcohol consumption for an adult male is no more than four units per day. For women, the limit is three. A “unit” of alcohol equals around “12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.”

However, if viewers of Monday night’s presidential debate are taking shots or drinking every three minutes and fifteen seconds — or more often if Trump marks the occasion of the first debate by being even more mendacious than usual — they could quickly find themselves dangerously intoxicated and at risk of alcohol poisoning.

Alcohol poisoning can turn deadly. According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of alcohol poisoning include confusion, vomiting, seizures, slow breathing (less than eight breaths a minute), irregular breathing (a gap of more than 10 seconds between breaths), blue-tinged skin or pale skin, low body temperature (hypothermia), and unconsciousness from which the drinker can’t be awakened.

If you or someone you are watching the debate with begins to exhibit signs of alcohol poisoning, seek medical attention. If the person is vomiting, try to keep them upright. Do NOT leave a person with alcohol poisoning alone.

“(A)lcohol poisoning affects the way the gag reflex works,” said the Mayo Clinic. “Someone with alcohol poisoning may choke on his or her own vomit and not be able to breathe. While waiting for help, don’t try to make the person vomit because he or she could choke.”

It is important to ascertain whether the person is vomiting due to excess alcohol consumption or merely reacting sensibly to the spectacle of our democracy being turned into a cross between reality TV and the film Idiocracy. These two reactions can appear very similar, so it is important to remain vigilant and alert.

Complications of alcohol poisoning include:

Choking. Alcohol may cause vomiting. Because it depresses your gag reflex, this increases the risk of choking on vomit if you’ve passed out.
Stopping breathing. Accidentally inhaling vomit into your lungs can lead to a dangerous or fatal interruption of breathing (asphyxiation).
Severe dehydration. Vomiting can result in severe dehydration, leading to dangerously low blood pressure and fast heart rate.
Seizures. Your blood sugar level may drop low enough to cause seizures.
Hypothermia. Your body temperature may drop so low that it leads to cardiac arrest.
Irregular heartbeat. Alcohol poisoning can cause the heart to beat irregularly or even stop.
Brain damage. Heavy drinking may cause irreversible brain damage.
Death. Any of the issues above can lead to death.

So let’s keep it safe out there, kids. Maybe you should modify the rules of your game so that you drink every time Trump says something wise or reasonable. Of course, the danger presented by that course of action could be that you find yourself stone cold sober at the debate’s end.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/warning-drinking-every-time-trump-lies-during-the-debate-could-lead-to-alcohol-poisoning-and-death/

Death. Any of the issues above can lead to death

So can many of Trump's policies, especially if you happen to be a member of the American military.

this is a really important moment for Clinton. the race is currently a dead heat.

macroscopic wrote:

this is a really important moment for Clinton. the race is currently a dead heat.

No matter what happens, Trump is going to win the debates. The bar for him is set so low that a snake would have to climb over it and set so high for Hillary that Superman couldn't get over it. In general all The Donald has to do is show-up and breathe while Hillary has to display the wisdom of Solomon coupled with the veracity of George Washington and his cheery tree (ignoring the fact the George was a lying, traitorous, murdering slave owner).

as you know, i don't share your cynicism. i would be a bit surprised if Clinton did not get a bounce.

then again, i also think that Trump has more to gain. in other words, at best, Clinton could expect maybe 4% bounce. if she got it, imo, the election would be OVER. it took Trump 8 weeks to come back from his last 8% deficit.

but Trump might get an 8% bounce. not likely, but possible. and if so, Clinton would have a very difficult time getting back in this one.

like i say, this is a big moment for both of them.

Clinton needs to change the voters' perception.

Eighteen of 20 of CNN's panel of undecided voters said they thought Hillary had won the debate. I would agree with them but, at the same time, think Trump did good enough....maybe even better than that....to bring those voters who really dislike her into his fold. Polls over the next few days will tell us.

I will admit his facial expressions when Hillary was speaking did him no good. Absolutely low class and definitely not "presidential".

i think he did well for about 30-45 mins. however, as the debate went on, Clinton got more confident, and Trump got more flustered.

i agree with jim on this- it was not a knockout blow, but it was good enough for Clinton.

one final thing, for those not aware: the first debate tends to be more impactful than all other debates combined, so this was a good night for Clinton, and a bad one for Trump, for that reason. we'll see where it goes from here, but it will probably be something external that changes things from here on out (not debate related).

When is the next debate?

The only VP debate is scheduled for next week on October 4 ~

The 2d Hillary/DT debate is scheduled for October 9 and will be a "town hall" format [questions from audience] ~

The 3d/final Hillary/DT debate is scheduled for October 19 ~

Sooz