ChicagoCita

Michelle's still in the opening credits. The second the others were fired, they were gone.

It makes me wonder if they're searching for a permanent Latina at the table (Lala Anthony, nee Alani Vazquez last week, Cristal Alonzo this week). Which is all fine and good, except I really miss the days when they cast for compatability, not demographics. Yes, they had women of all ages, but now they seem to want to tick the boxes for all political viewpoints and all ethnicities. Not that I have an issue with that (I really don't want to see an all-WASP View), but they've done a great job of ticking those boxes without considering the chemistry. Rosie Perez, for one... a nice woman, a Latina (tick!), but a poor fit on the show. Raven looked like a good bet, I'm sure (tick! tick!t tick!), a triple threat (black, young, LGBT), but she's been another poor choice. Maybe if they choose a cast looking first for intelligence and warmth, they'd have a good show again. I feel nowadays, they are looking first for two from column A, one from column B, etc. The original View managed to have diverse casting and chemistry. It can't be that hard.... can it?

Is Cristela the one with the very annoying laugh? No, no, no, no, no. She's a nice lady, but if this is another tryout....!

Singer in a Christian rock group who wrote an open letter to his fans about coming out. It was one of the most honest things I've ever read. Bless his heart for being more emotionally open than most people could imagine.

It's just so pleasant when Whoopi isn't there. I was impressed with the interview with the singer who came out as gay. They let him talk. They. Let. Him. Talk. They didn't tell him how he was feeling, they didn't tell him his life story, they didn't interrupt. It was so nice to have that happen. The only people they usually let speak like that are sitting presidents and Hollywood royalty. Thank God Whoopi wasn't there to tell him what being a gay Christian is like. Because she knows everything, right? So ready to have Jedidiah gone. Raven is taking on Whoopi's worst characteristics. (I rolled my eyes so hard when she said she had already heard all that Hillary said in her speech yesterday, when HRC was First Lady. Really, Raven, you're one of the most politically ignorant people I've ever seen on TV -- and you claim you were paying attention to the First Lady's talking points between 1993 and 2001, when you were between 8 and 15 years old? Not buying it, kid.) Lala Whoever had the most egocentric talking points I've seen in a long time. She seems like she's better suited for a Real Housewives show than The View. Thank God for Joy being on this show.

A friend said today, in reference to Republicans who loathe everything Trump stands for and still support him, "They are putting party before country."

Maaaaannnnnn, Whoopi was in lecture mode today. And I was about to scream at the TV if Paula had repeated "What does he have to gain?" one. more. freaking. time. about Donald Trump's refusal to debate Bernie Sanders. That was just .... infuriating. Smug inpenetrable arguing. How charming. I'm a zoo fan. My favorite is Naples Zoo in Florida. Most, if not all, of their animals are critically endangered in the wild and they are involved in responsible breeding programs to keep them from going extinct. They are among the 9% of the zoos in the country that are AZA accredited. When zoos are done right, I'm like, go for it. Preserve those animals! Seeing the animals there, and how well-kept they are, along with seeing photos of the armed park rangers in Africa protecting the endangered rhinos and elephants 24/7, make me a zoo believer. Nature is often ugly, cruel and relentless. Zoo animals don't generally starve, become prey, or lose territory or body parts to greedy humans. I don't have kids, because frankly, being responsible for someone with free will and sending them out into the world each day and trusting that they'll be fine is something I couldn't do. Kids are fast little buggers, and I have the memory of my BIL chasing my toddler nephew through a large display, behind glass, at the Museum of Science & Industry. The Harambe story is a terrible tragedy for everyone. No good sides to it except that the little boy wasn't seriously harmed. Sarah Haines is just so vanilla. She leaves no impression at all on me.

I always record The View and watch it as time allows. I do a lot of pausing when I need to concentrate on work (and FF'ing when it's too stupid to bear). I was watching Friday's show when the phone rang today and paused it to take the call. When I looked back at the TV, this is what I saw. I don't think I could have found a more unflattering capture of Raven if I'd tried all day. (For the record, I don't dislike Raven, I just think she's shallow and silly and I don't pay much attention to her. So this isn't an attack. It just made me laugh because it was so goofy and unintentional!)

Me too. He seemed intense and smart, and not prone to showboating. I was so bummed when it all went pear-shaped for him.

I'm not saying that I think the Daily Mail made up the story, but I do find it curious that not one other media outlet has the story. Either it has a great inside source or it's printing what it thinks will happen. I do prefer Michelle to Sara Haines, about whom I can't think of a single interesting trait. She was pregnant ... and .... and .... and ....?

Does anyone remember the old Pretender tv show? The guy in the middle (Brian) reminded of Jarod when he would be disguised.

Illinois is as wide as Indiana, but it's LONG. Even most Illinoisans don't realize it until they have to drive the length of it. Its most southern border is only 55 miles or so from Tennessee.

Joy is a Sanders supporter. She's been very open about being hot for him. I couldn't watch the Bernie interview because his voice was irritating to me. I know that they all get hoarse after days on the campaign trail, men and women alike, but it's just unpleasant for me to hear from anyone. My state's primary is over, and I'm voting for the Democratic nominee in the general election, so I don't feel compelled to hear every word. I'm sure they called Hillary "Hillary" when she visited a few months ago. I remember them calling the First Lady "Michelle" when she was a guest. They're equal-opportunity overly friendly!

I can't believe I'm saying that I am increasingly impressed by Sunny and increasingly annoyed by Paula. It's because of how they argue. Sunny doesn't get emotional -- but she is ice cold in bringing up facts to support her POV and stating them simply and succinctly. Paula OTOH gets very wordy - a stream of words keeps coming out, and if she's not convincing, she repeats them over and over. Plus, she gets sort of a slightly condescending tone of voice, just a bit, like she's trying to talk to someone who's stupider than she is. I don't agree with a lot that Sunny says, but I'm sure favoring her presence more than Paula's right now. And I started out very much liking Paula.

Wow, they're really burning the episodes quickly. Doesn't speak well for the future of the show. They're creating their own binge-watch.

And -- Jesus never spoke about homosexuality, one way or the other. Yet He was very clear about condemning divorce. Sherri makes up her Christian beliefs to suit her comfort level. Pisses me off big time.

I'm always slightly appalled when fellow Christians think of God as a vending machine. My version of religion says that it's up to people to get with God's program, not "insert prayers, get what you want in return." I was reading a bio of Kirk Cameron today, and he mentioned he had been an atheist, and the home in which he was raised was not one in which a religion was taught and practiced. Kind of surprising to me, given his religious fervor/insanity, and the fact that CCB's entire repetoire is "God, my family, and Fuller House."

Just an FYI -- I have Xfinity/Comcast and The View is on my list for "record all new shows." However, I noticed that even though this week's shows are new, the program guide didn't pick them up. I had to schedule them manually. If you are someone who likes to record the show, you might want to double check this week (if you have Xfinity/Comcast).

Women's sizing is ludicrous. Years ago, I was thrilled to fit into a size 14. I was 5'4" and 165 lbs. A 14 now could fit someone 75 lbs heavier. Forget the XL, L, XXL sizes. They're all over the place. Trying things on or sticking with a manufacturer you know is about the only way to know what fits, regardless of what's on the label.

I had a friend who used to get fixated on a word and use it incessantly for months, until another word caught his fancy. (I remember once it was "stately," and his roommate finally just screamed "that word!" and walked out of the room.) I wonder if Raven has that same tic. I don't remember her using "the industry" until relatively recently.

I'm an acronym Luddite. CCB is Candace Cameron Bure. DWTS is Dancing With The Stars. But I'm stumped at BAB.

And not just in the private space. I remember seeing video of the Clintons after the Lewinsky thing happened. The tension was sooooo obvious. There was one clip of them walking with Chelsea to the Marine One helicopter and Chelsea was the only thing holding them together. Blind people could have sensed how awful things were between them. The body language was as transparent as it was between Charles and Diana in the last days of their marriage, when it was so clear that they loathed being in each other's presence. Holding Hillary responsible for Bill's antics is as ridiculous as blaming Jackie for JFK's infidelities. I had to laugh a few years ago when I first heard someone say, "Wait until 2016 and watch all the racists turn into misogynists." Damned if it hasn't happened. The "swift boating" of Hillary has begun.

Pepe the Prawn?

The utter and complete tone-deafness of it just overwhelmed me. It was seriously something I thought was a fake tweet from a satire account. Thinking that months and volumes of hatespeech could be alleviated and forgiven by eating a pseudo-Mexican meal on a national holiday while pimping your own business interest just ... I'm at a loss for words how offensive it is.

It was a very sweet segment about the nuns and the giveaways. Of course Whoopi was gracious because people were thanking her and complimenting her. That's her wheelhouse. How sad is it that when Whoopi dresses like a nun, it's a huge step up from her usual rags?