27bored

I don't think Republicans have cornered the market on demonizing intelligence. As a matter of fact, I think both parties get a lot of mileage on political ignorance. One of the reasons I'm loathe to talk about politics with either side is because I usually have to spend too much time "prosecuting a case" instead of simply sharing my opinion. After having to tell people "facts are facts" and "that's not actually what was said" and "hang on, let me bring up Google so I can show...", I start checking out entirely. Again, this happens on both sides. Abortion is not a federal issue. Each state is free to pass its own policy on abortion, and many of these state-level referendums have passed. I didn't ask but I think the pronouns thing is mostly a "one band one sound" issue. Meaning, I've heard seen liberals kind of roll their eyes at the pronouns in people's bios because it signals that you're One Of Those People. When it comes to national elections, I think Democrats have to learn how to play to the center and part of doing that is by telling the radical lefties to turn it down for awhile.

Without getting too meta here, I did want to weigh-in on this topic as well. And again, in this election post-mortem I have to admit something that I know isn't going to win me any brownie points with my ideological side, but I've found it to be true to a big extent: The Left can be way more difficult to deal with than the Right a lot of the time, and in many ways it's easier to be a liberal Democrat around a bunch of Republicans than vice versa. See, I think this is mostly an NYC/LA/DC talking point. Where you have people who moved from one of the flyover states to the Big City either for college or for work, and you're surrounded by all these smart, progressive, college-educated people whom you just click with. Talking about and shooting the shit about politics is easy because you're mostly on the same page with most issues. But then, when you go back home during the holidays, you're confronted with the fact that 1) your extended family and many people in your hometown did not go to college**, 2) loyally watch FOX News (or keep it on in the background, kind of like how people do with MSNBC), and 3) they're just as game to spout talking points and can't see why any reasonable person wouldn't see it their way. And believe it or not, you can sort of get out of practice with conversing with these people because they're not part of your social circle and you can mostly avoid them online by either blocking or avoiding certain outlets. At most you may just have to hold the phone while your mom or dad rambles on about hating Democrats or "Wokeness" or whatever, but that's...kind of what you wind up doing with your parents on many topics you're not trying to talk about. So it's not a big deal. Thanksgiving dinner? Christmas dinner? Different story. After a few triggered holidays, you start looking for excuses to either not go home or try to find any way to avoid talking about politics. I think those of us on the Left don't realize how condescending we can come across at times. It's not that there's anything intrinsically condescending about progressive ideology, it's the way progressives present their ideas that we wind up co-opting as our general disposition. We can understand how Uncle Frank who is just loud and wrong about stuff can be irritating, right? Yeah, there's a Big City Liberal condescension that's also pretty annoying. Time they hear an opinion they don't like, they turn into Jon Stewart and Bill Maher with the clapback. And you have to remember that what might fly on an "entertainment show" or cable news panel doesn't necessarily work around the kitchen table. And I think one of the reasons Trump made such in-roads with virtually every demographic is not because he's such a great man, but because so many people have been alienated over 1-2 issues that don't track with the Democrats' platform. I have a friend (who's a Democrat) who posted a several weeks before the election that liberals need to 1) remove their pronouns from their bios/work correspondence (unless you're trans), 2) stop talking about reproductive rights as if it's a federal issue, 3) do not even entertain the idea of "family-friendly drag shows, and 4) stop calling people who want to deport illegal immigrants "xenophobes", and he got raked over the coals. His point was that these things make us look more "fringe" than we can afford going into an important election. I'd forgotten he even said that until I saw stories about AOC dropping the pronouns from her Twitter/X bio after the election. I still believe what I believe, but I have to be honest, I've softened a bit to the right-wing people in my life and in general. In my experience it's way easier to converse with them, debate, and disagree without getting yelled at, cursed at, name-called or blocked/banned. Usually when I'm faced with that type of reaction, it's one of the handful of times I pipe up about dissenting with the left (whom I mostly agree with). Go figure. **btw: I wanted to mention that I wasn't emphasizing going to college as a way to talk down about anybody from an intellectual standpoint. I'm just saying you meet different people, you get exposed to different points or view and ideologies, and you learn to think critically (and hopefully how to form a cogent argument) in college. You come to learn to expect and respect that trait in others...not realizing there's a whole world of people who don't.

I wouldn't call that "sane-washing". When you've gone in on someone for the better part of a decade, eventually there will be diminishing returns. And some of this boils down to the "I'm rubber and you're glue"/"speck of dust versus a stake" thing. The press writ large still did more complaining about Trump than they ever have about Biden, but to whatever extent they talked about Biden's gaffes, that was likely them gently nudging Democrats to get Joe to drop out before it was too late.

I wanted to respond to this (again) in light of the recent story that came out where Biden's staffers said as early as Spring 2021 Biden would have "good days" and "bad days" where he would sometimes have to cancel meetings or engagements. Mind you (the general "you"), this was only a few months after he got elected. I know we were in the middle of a pandemic, but it's clear Joe was already in mental decline in 2020. The media gamely covered for him for years up until his abysmal debate performance, and not only did he want to stay in the race, he says he thinks he would've won. I mean, Trump's win is starting to look more and more like karma. The media has archived every fib, exaggeration, non-factual, and bit of puffery about Trump for a decade. But when it was time for them to keep it real about Biden, large swaths of the media seemed to take apply the code of omerta.

See this is what I'm talking about. There's more than one way to skin a cat. There's more than one way to do the things you stated without looking directly responsible, and when you have most of the media and academia and Hollywood in your back pocket, it's easy to look above board. But my point with that statement was that, Democrats can talk a good game but when they have to, they have no problem being cravenly opportunistic. It's not really an indictment unless you're under the impression that Dems Good/Republicans Bad at all times. Democrats like power, they'll do whatever they can to hold on to it, they'll tell smiling lies, and they'll step on whomever they have to to get and keep power. I have "no evidence" he was lying?? He, and his surrogates, said repeatedly that he would not pardon Hunter, but then he did. Whether some people just believe he changed his mind is their own business; I think he was clearly lying when he denied he would. We don't have to play Lie Detector because at the end of the day, he said wasn't going to do something but then wound up doing it. To many people, Democrat and Republican alike, that calls into question Biden's integrity. From a political standpoint, it makes it hard for the same Democrats who believed Joe to then run the same morality play against Trump and Republicans. The next time Trump has says something untrue, are Democrats going to let it slide as a Senior Moment, a change of heart, or make some other excuse, or are they just going to shriek that he's a liar over and over again? Again: that's the spin the Democrats are running with, but it's simply not true. The judge who presided over Hunter's case even spoke out against Joe rewriting history. Like I said, I don't believe Joe ever had any intention on Hunter going to prison and he's always had the power to pardon him irrespective of his claims not to have any intention of doing so. But what actually happened was Republicans were looking into Hunter's foreign dealings and possibly kicking back money to Joe that he obtained from foreign countries. The DOJ was under pressure to investigate him, so they figured they would charge him with something relatively minor...just to quell interest and shut people up. They planned on giving him a sweetheart plea deal for the gun form and tried to tack the very serious and legitimately criminal tax charges he was facing on the plea. The judge called out the DOJ on it and would not sign the plea deal as the tax charges were not even before him. That's why he even went to trial in the first place...because the DOJ tried playing fast-and-loose and got their hand slapped. At the end of the day, Hunter did lie on the gun form about using drugs, and he averred that he had withheld over a million dollars in taxes to fund his lifestyle. This wasn't some made-up right-wing rumor; he literally admitted to doing it. So this idea that Hunter is being treated like the redheaded stepchild by the law is and always has been bullshit. Uh huh. It's like I keep saying: Democrats can't saying Democrats are better than Republicans even when they do the same thing Republicans do. No, that just makes them the other side of the same coin. All I'm saying is stop moral preening about people being above the law or someone being a threat to democracy. It's easy to say that when your ass, or the ass of someone you like, isn't in the hot seat. Hillary, Joe Biden, Mike Pence, and Donald Trump all were found to have had classified documents in their private possession. The only person facing any kind of charges over it is Trump. "Well that's because they cooperated!" Aside from the fact that that's not true for Hillary, nor is that a legitimate legal defense for actually mishandling classified information, no, it's because Trump is the only person seen as a political threat. When it comes to the law, what somebody else did is irrelevant. I mean, this is stuff you learn in elementary school. You can't excuse away breaking the rules because somebody else did it. So when those charges fail to move anybody who likes Trump, nobody should be surprised or upset or outraged. Because again, if it was your guy, they would do the same exact thing.

Here's my two cents on the Hunter Biden pardon: Not to get meta, but I said in this very thread a few weeks ago right after the election that one piece of advice I have for Democrats is to "develop a respect for whataboutism". I said because while nobody likes an immoral person, everybody hates a hypocrite. Democrats keep thinking because they have large swaths of the media in their back pocket that they can argue and explain away everything and the truth of the matter is, they can't. Because fewer and fewer people are actually buying it. There's a reason for the age-old phrases "when you seek revenge, you better dig two graves" and "when you point your finger at someone, you have three more pointing back at you". They both kind of apply here. Few people actually care about Hunter Biden lying on a gun permit or even the tax charges he had. Nobody's staying awake at night staring at the wall because Hunter Biden isn't in prison. The issue is, Biden said he wouldn't pardon him -- and in hindsight he was plainly lying when he said he wouldn't -- and then he did. "Well, he changed his mind when..." Bullshit. You don't get to spend Trump's first term putting his entire administration under investigation, cheering on state DAs to find some crime any crime to charge him with in hopes of ruining his reelection bid, cheer when he's convicted, call him a convicted felon throughout the entire campaign, then when he wins a sweeping victory pretend like the true victim of a politicized justice system is Hunter Biden. You don't get to "change your mind" when the first thing Jill Biden said after Joe's abysmal debate performance to their crowd was "President Biden spoke from his heart while all Trump did was LIE! [cheered in unison with the crowd]" I'm not even moved by the notion that this is somehow commendable because it's his son. Like, I get it and it makes sense if we're going to look at Joe as a fundamentally honorable man and not, well, an occasionally dishonest politician. Perhaps Jimmy Carter or even Bernie Sanders could be trusted to do "the right thing" despite the personal hit to his brand. I...can't say the same about The Big Guy. I mean, Joe Biden. Joe was willing to let Hunter go through the criminal process and risk being convicted because at the end of the day he knew he had the power to pardon him. Back when he expected to run for re-election, and maybe even when he thought Kamala could win, he was willing to hold out in order to avoid giving Trump/Republicans ammo against him. Once the election was lost, he had no reason to keep up the charade. This whole idea that Joe's love for his son overtook his intrinsic belief and respect in our institutions is bullshit. I don't think Joe had any intention on actually letting Hunter spend time in prison for his crimes. But let's keep it real: if they had Jared, Eric, or Don Jr dead-to-rights on the same crimes and Trump pardoned them,nobody on the other side would be copping pleas for him because he's a Dad who loves his sons. It would be yet another example of his villainy, his lack of respect for rule of law, and his enduring threat to democracy. But again: gun form, tax charges, whatevs. That's what community service, probation, and fines are for. The real problem I have, and I say this as a Democrat, is Joe's not only crippled his party for the foreseeable future, but he's laid bare one of the enduring reasons for Trump's continued political relevance despite his profligacy and his character. The reason so many erstwhile Democrats and current Trump supporters support him despite the two impeachments, Jan. 6, the felony counts, the pending indictments, the mean tweets -- is their belief that deep down, Democrats are no better than him. When the rubber meets the road, Democrats are not going to Do What's Right, they're going to do What They Have To Do. Next year I'm going to join in with MAGA hats in telling the media to fuck off the first time they start this "Trump lied! He's lying! Whatever shall we do with all these lies?!" nonsense. Because at this point I really don't want to hear it. I'm still center-left in my political philosophy, but I'm with Ana Kasparian in that I'm kinda done with Democrats as a party. I'm not interested in the political consultant talking points and political food fights.

Well, he was hindered in some ways by the pandemic, but also because Joe is an elderly man who wasn't up for the rigors of running for office. I wouldn't call it laziness, but he wasn't up for it, either. My main point with that was to say Joe got a lot of support by dint of being associated with the Obama years and being a known commodity, so he didn't have to do much to sell himself to the base because of it. I'm saying Democrats can't have it both ways: you can't play it safe when you want the base to coalesce around someone, but then accuse the country of being backwards or Not Ready For a certain type of candidate when they underperform in the General election. It would be like if Mayor Pete was running, whom I like. I don't know if he would win the Democrat Primary if he were to run in 2028. But it would be bogus and gaslighting nonsense to argue that if strings were pulled to basically give him the nomination (the way they were to help Hillary and Biden) and he proceeded to lose handily in the General Election, it's because the country Isn't Ready For a gay man to be President. IMHO, there are three-ish things Democrats can address to win back some of the support they lost: 1. Embrace DEI as an identity, not a political strategy: Democrats should not be ashamed of being the big tent party that wants to represent different types of people. But giving a face and a voice to certain demographics should not mean giving a platform for people to air out their grievances with white people and men. I'm not saying don't talk about racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, or any other form of bigotry, but they need to be more tactile and only talk about it when that's what we're talking about, if that makes any sense. It's clear from this election that people care about illegal immigration. The hue and cry from the left should not be to call millions of voters xenophobes for caring about illegal immigration. Democrats shouldn't waste their ammo on the non-bigots because they'll have none left when the actual bigots show up. Ahem. 2. Acknowledge the complicated relationship between governance and morality: Political issues typically are more complex than we give them credit for, in my humble opinion. The causes and solutions to problems can be multi-faceted. Just because Democrats have ideas that could help certain minorities doesn't speak the other sides motivations for their ideas or disagreement with ours. Every socio-economic issue should not boil down to "do you like Black people? Y/N?" or "do you want to support women? Y/N?" Those of us old enough to remember the 2000s remember the "Support Invading Middle Eastern Countries = Patriotism" math many on right did, so we shouldn't follow suit when it comes to other issues. 3. Develop a respect for whataboutism: I guess I have a cynical outlook on politics in part because I see how quickly forgive and forget when it's their turn in the hot seat. Like the saying goes "it's no fun when the rabbit's got the gun". I would just say nobody likes an immoral person, but everybody hates a hypocrite.

This is part of the problem. After awhile, it just starts to less like you're holding him accountable and more like bitterness and resentment. I'll use an example: Kim Kardashian. In 2009, saying she's just popular because she has a fat ass and a sex tape would be a damning indictment. Now, a billion dollars later, saying that's how she got famous would make you sound like a hater. Yes, even if it's still technically true. And this also comes often results in the whole speck of dust versus a stake dynamic that some people don't want to talk about. I know several women who were all game to hear from Stormy Daniels and any other woman who wanted to accuse Trump of sexual assault who don't even who Tara Reade is. Not to defend Jan 6, but I think Democrats leaning into this was one of the major mistakes they made as far as messaging is concerned. Full disclosure: I'm a Democrat. I voted for Hillary, Joe, and Kamala. But, I'm also an adult who follows politics and have for a long time. In my opinion Trump's supporters had a right to feel a bit...cheated. His whole first term for them was basically two years of Russiagate, six months of an impeachment, and then COVID. The people who believe the 2020 election was stolen (and I'm not espousing that idea, I'm just saying they exist) didn't get two years of a Special Counsel investigation and see people get subpoenaed and questioned and determine if they lied and all that. They got a press release that said "we looked and we didn't see any significant voter fraud that would've changed the election. Beat it." I think part of understanding politics is being able to accept and acknowledge that people's beliefs are real to them even if you don't agree with or take them seriously. And I think there's ample evidence to conclude that while Democrats feel the the party and media have been building this iron-clad case against Trump, to millions of voters all they were doing is eroding whatever credibility they have and wearing on their patience. Every dumb joke or comment Trump says or tweets does not warrant 72-96 hours of TV programming. It just doesn't. But the media was determined not to learn that so now we're in for another four years of it. Yay for us (said mirthlessly). This isn't fair and more importantly, this is how Democrats wind up actually insulting the people they should want to win over. To be clear, Kamala polled at an asterisk four years ago when she was running. She didn't win a single Primary state. In the very crowded 2020 Democratic Primary, most Democrats put all their eggs in Joe's basket and left them there while he did minimal campaigning and put forth minimal effort to get it. In fact, the three frontrunners were Biden, Bernie, and Buttigieg. Three white men, two old as dirt. Kamala was knee-capped by only having three months to run and having to basically present her vision while defending the last four years in which Joe Biden was President. So I have a good amount of sympathy for her. But her loss isn't a referendum on race or even sex. Because it's clear when Democrats have the opportunity they're just as quick to run into the arms of whichever rich, old white man the party puts up as the most electable. If we really want to have a conversation, how Democrats treated Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020 was way worse than how Kamala has been treated.

To the extent hat this might be true, I think that's after years of giving him the villain edit and seeing that it hasn't diminished his standing. If anything, they wound up turning him into a martyr. I've said time and time again: if you don't want someone to be a big deal, but make a big deal about them. Well, I mean, Trump just won the popular vote and Republicans now control both chambers of Congress. I'm not trying to make some couples-counseling type point here. After elections and bitter defeats, it's incumbent upon the side that lost to do some introspection and see where they went wrong. The RNC can't dictate to the party whom they should like. I'm almost certain the establishment would prefer a more put together, retail politician who stays on message than someone like Trump. I bet they cried into their drink when DeSantis didn't overtake Trump. But that's how it goes. I will say, a lot of Republicans probably "put up with" Trump because they figure it wouldn't be all that different if he were less controversial. Politics is about power -- obtaining it, keeping it, wielding it. Next decade once Trump is in the rear view, there will be another Big Bad who is a threat to democracy and must be stopped. It is what it is.

Respectfully, I hope I'm not speaking out of turn here, but the way someone like this gets re-elected is by his detractors not actually being any better than he is. There are a few age-old phrases that this election has caused me to revisit, namely "when you seek to get revenge, you better dig two graves" and "when you point the finger, you have three more pointing back at you". See, too many people treat politics like college football (not directing this at you) and that's why a lot of people misread the room and get things wrong. It's not enough to keep and hold receipts against the party or politicians you like. I'm sure Republicans could easily rattle off a list of unforgivable, unconscionable things Biden and Kamala have said or done as a basis for them never supporting them, but that's not how elections are won. Because surprise surprise, people seem to find forgiveness for people on their side of the aisle, if they even notice the grave offense of the action or statement in the first place. The most insightful tweet I've ever read about Trump said "Trump's great gift is his ability to get his enemies to show in wildly obvious ways that he's as bad as they say they are". I don't say that to kiss his ass, I don't even think he realizes it, but it's insightful because his detractors seem to consistently go above and beyond to demonstrate his villainy and awfulness that they wind up making themselves look bad by comparison. I thought Kamala did well for the hand she was dealt, and I too am disappointed. But I also realize she was put up to be the face of the political karma the Democrats have been staring down for the past eight years. Every opportunity they had to ignore Trump, to not get into a lawfare battle with him, not get into another cat fight with him where he says something to troll or puff himself up and they have to repeat it, to not insult his supporters (literally half the country)...they skipped it because no, they couldn't let it go, couldn't let it slide, couldn't just move on. At some point it went from "Trump said something awful" to "Trump's just being Trump" and his detractors didn't notice. Instead of gamely documenting every comment he made, it was time to actually address the people's concerns (jobs, housing, the economy), not make the people care about their concerns (which is Trump as a political threat). The result is Trump winds up looking less bad because his detractors don't seem any better. People are supposed to care about Trump's treatment of women they watched the Tara Reade story go poof right in front of their faces. They're supposed to care about Trump being this remorseless liar when the media covered for Biden's cognitive for years until his single debate performance. They're supposed to care about Trump's "crimes" when Hillary and Biden had classified documents in their possession and neither were charged. Or even Biden's "garbage" comments a few days prior to the election. It's like, we can't win elections if we do this constant back-and-forth score-keeping thing between politicians and the media and expecting people to keep watching like a dog watching a Ping Pong match. I really hope I'm not speaking out of turn here and I'm not trying to bash or insult or anything. I just hope this election produces more introspection and self-awareness when it comes to our politics.

Hollering ass J. Hud recently did a tribute to Mariah Carey on some award show I didn't know existed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apOYOIGFt-I Check out who's singing back-up! S3's George Huff (sporting a Lenny Kravitz-esque mane of locs). Jennifer Hudson does an admirable job with "Vision of Love". I feel like Mariah doesn't enjoy hearing her songs sang by other people so she keeps this Amber Dempsey "Little Miss Springfield" look on her face, but the truth is, Jennifer kinda ran her pockets. She reached down and un-muted the secular gospel song that Vision of Love is and made a whole First Sunday out of it.

Also, I wish someone would’ve said that Trump didn’t actually call his wife ugly. In a weird way, by saying that, the person bringing it up is actually the one calling her ugly. Melania was being slut shamed for some of her past modeling photos and Trump, for some reason, threatened to spill the beans about Heidi Cruz. IDK. So then he retweeted a meme of a bad photo of Heidi and one of Melania’s modeling photos that said a picture is worth a thousand words. I remember when that happened and I got the impression that he was agreeing his wife is hotter than Ted’s wife. Still childish and kind of a low blow, but it’s not like he got on Twitter and said, “Vote for me and not Ted Cruz because he’s got an ugly ass wife!” And like I said, Ana talked a little crazy to him for me. This is a grown man not a child. Everybody was talking over one another. She just didn’t like what he was saying. Whoopi raises her voice every fucking episode and I don’t see her being all huffy about it.

This episode was stupid. I'm really glad I'll never be on The View. I know if Ana said something slick to me my mouth would move like lightning. First of all, Ana, you ain't about that life. If Trump called you a fat, ugly ass bitch, I guarantee neither you nor your old ass husband are gonna do shit about it. You might get a few tweets off and that's it. Your husband is not about slide on Trump because he tried it. You're gonna sit your ass right there and deal with it. Hell, IIRC, Trump Jr. DID call you fat and you tweeted. So girl please. And don't talk down to that man about yelling...you're doing that because you know all of you were being hypocrites and he was reading y'all for filth. I hate whataboutism too, but then stop trying to play gotcha and we won't have to do all of that. And Whoopi continues to prove she's one of the dumbest women on TV. "I don't know anything about ANTIFA riots". Wooooow.

Hey. Well, you guys, we made it to the end of And I Just Don't Like That... Was it good for you? Yeah, me neither. Let's just be friends. Here are some random thoughts: So Cynthia Nixon told MPK that she wasn't gonna come back unless she got her pussy ate and got to smile like an idiot for no menopausal reason? A'ight. She said, "I want Miranda to learn her ABCs: adultery, bisexuality, and cunnilingus". And MPK said you go girl. And let's make Steve fifty-five going on eighty. Miranda, yes, we all know that you don't believe in God or Heaven or any of that. We remember your secular baptism for Brady. We also remember Carrie being a better sport about it than you were given the woman's husband died. Normally I wouldn't care about someone's atheism, but Miranda you've hardly been pragmatic this season. A finger made you risk it all, so shut the fuck up. And bitch why are you still letting Che call you "Rambo" like that's the cutest pet name ever? That shit wasn't cute the first time they said it. Where is your self-esteem? I guess if Che had called you Dumbass Middle-Aged Hoe you'd be like "hyuck that's me!" And am I the only one who rolled their eyes at the whole, "Brady and Louisa are backpacking through Europe" thing? The fuck? Not only is that a bad cliche, but it's a bad, dated cliche. Brady doesn't even seem like he could find Europe on a damn map much less backpack through it. And really, show? Not one word about Brady's mom divorcing his dad for a transperson? Nope. Nada. Brady's got a girlfriend who puts out, weed, Europe and a backpack. So he's good. Uh, I've kinda thought this for a few episodes, but...does Che give off Borderline Personality Disorder vibes to anyone? They were doing a lot just to tell Miranda they got a pilot and wanted Miranda to go with them. Maybe try a phone call? I don't know. And maybe don't drag out your elderly grandmas to a gay bar to let them know. Just a thought? Anyway, that pilot is gonna get picked up by TBS and last for two seasons. Why are Harry and Charlotte so scared to parent Rock? I was so glad Anthony walked in and told Rock to start rehearsing. They should've called him in again to hold court. They went out of their way to throw that they-mitzvah and Rock just wants to go all No Labels on them. Maybe they should've tried snatching their little ass when they went by Rose. Things might have turned out a little different. And I don't know if it's intentional or not -- it's probably not -- but I feel like Charlotte is being super fake whenever Miranda talks about Che. AT&T levels of phony. And Carrie. Oh, Carrie. Still amazes me that you haven't gotten on my nerves once this entire season. The scene with her and John's brother was nice. I saw that whole "where is he?" joke coming from a mile away, but it still made me smile. And I gotta admit: I teared up just a little when Carrie was standing on that bridge in that Orange Dreamsicle Weighted Blanket she was wearing. I literally said, "thank you!" when Carrie and the producer guy kissed. It was about time. Even though she's kinda two-timing the nice widowed teacher. I know it's delusional of me but I wish Kim and SJP could've made up and she would've come back. I feel like the show would've been better just for nostalgia purposes.

Your friend is going hard for the Sisterhood LOL. I respect it but she might need to cut Andre a little slack. Nya's endeavors seem pretty geared towards self-fulfillment. It's not like she's holding down two jobs just so he can sit at home and strum his guitar all day. At the end of the day, Nya married a working musician. He could be an executive at Merrill Lynch, it wouldn't change their predicament as it pertains to her fertility issues. I can only take it half-way serious because I predicated a week or so ago that they were going to have him say or do something that was going to make the audience not like him, but you kind of can't negotiate babies...especially when you're married. Of course you have to be pragmatic about it, but there is no "ugh, fiiiiine...I'll just get the caramel cake since you're out of red velvet" alternative when it comes to children. I think Trey and Charlotte found that out. And Nya and Andre are easily the most attractive people on this show. LTW is gorgeous too but she has this Claire Huxtable thing that I'm having a hard time getting past. Andre's music career -- and to be honest I'd love to know more about it considering we know so much about Nya professionally -- is almost certainly more flexible than her life is. I'm sure there are contracts involved if he's committed to a months-long tour, but from day to day, all he has to do is not book that gig or not go to that studio session. Whenever you're a musician, you do have to basically fight for every dollar, because you're essentially an independent contractor. You stand to make at least livable wage if you're a touring musician, which itself can present complications for raising a child, but they're in NYC so I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities around for him. So I'm saying, he's probably the one who would spend a lot of time with their child during the day anyway since this isn't a day-job type of career. The being away for months on tour would be something to think about for Nya, though.