I guess he just can't stand it when something's not about him; hope his act doesn't end up stealing the thunder, but I'm sure that's why he's doing it.

Maybe Ben Carson will rush the stage.

I'll watch, mainly because I like to come to my own conclusions, and not the ones the media wants me to come to.

If, somehow, CNN can avoid making it about non-existent scandals, and keep to matters of policy and vision, that would be a plus - and maybe, having been caught with their pants down on the Jeb Bush operative plant, they'll be more attentive to actual facts and substance.

More contention, more viewers, I guess.

Here's a sample:

The shadow boxing that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have played at for months -- they've barely mentioned each other on the campaign trail -- will give way to more direct jabs Tuesday night.

That's when the two rivals line up on stage at the first Democratic debate of the 2016 campaign, sponsored by CNN and Facebook. The encounter will provide a crucial opportunity for Clinton and Sanders -- the leading Democratic contenders -- to contrast their personalities, experience and approach to the key issues in the campaign.

Since she's already had two bone marrow transplants that have quite evidently failed to take hold, her immune system has basically become non-functional and she's been given the word by doctors that there's really nothing more that they can do for her except for experimental drugs. She has therefore decided to forgo further treatment, and return home.

She's only three weeks older than me, and we were both born in the same hospital. We grew up together, and attended the same schools until eighth grade. So, we've been each other's emotional touchstones for our entire lives. While she's not a sibling, in my heart she is my sister.

They're releasing her from the hospital this afternoon. I'm absolutely heartbroken right now, because despite our respective health problems I had always assumed that we would grow old together, and only a few months ago we started talking about going to Europe next summer together to celebrate our wellness. That's not going to happen.

Now, I just want to be with her and hold her. I just talked to my aunt about a half-hour ago, who's normally a pillar of stoicism, and in all these many years, this was the very first time I've ever heard her break down emotionally. My mother's very sad, too, because her niece is also her namesake.

So, I've made reservations to fly out tonight, and I'm going to sign off here for a few days at least and focus all my energy and thoughts on my family. I'll talk to you guys soon, and keep you posted. This is just terrible news.

One of my friends said "yea but voters over 30 aren't gonna care about that".

Then he stopped for a second and said "wait, all of us are over 30 now aren't we".

Is there any of the rest of those who post here who listen to "pop" music here?  and, if so . . .

There is the newer song out by Becky G Break a sweat.

And in the lyrics there are these lines . . .

Let's go, let's go
You been talking all damn night, now it's time to show

And that would be somewhat normal, but when I heard it on the radio-- and before I checked the lyrics online--the word "talking" sounds a bit different.  

Do you folks here it also, or is my imagination being overactive, or do nearly all of you simply not listen to such new pop songs that come out?

I hope you can forgive the topic . . . I suppose it rates up there in importance with college football and basketball games . . . and maybe it upsets you less than discussions of private servers or of Jews and gun control and of rushing armed attackers . . .

 Brooks states "The Republican Party's capacity for effective self-governance degraded slowly, over the course of a long chain of rhetorical excesses, mental corruptions and philosophical betrayals.  

Basically, the party abandoned traditional conservatism for right-wing radicalism.  Republicans came to see themselves as insurgents and revolutionaries, and every revolution tends toward anarchy and ends up devouring its own."

"The Republican rhetorical tone has grown ever more bombastic, hyperbolic and imbalanced.  Public figures from Newt Gingrich through Ben Carson have become addicted to a crisis mentality.  Every setback, like the passage of Obamacare, became the ruination of the republic. Comparisons to Nazi Germany became a staple."

"This anti-political ethos produced elected leaders of jaw-dropping incompetence."  ..."Really, have we ever seen bumbling on this scale, people at once so cynical and so naive, wo willfully ignorant in using levers of power to produce some tangible if incremental good? These insurgents can't even acknowledge democracy's legitimacy--"  ..."They won't respect tradition, institutions or precedent.  These figures are masters at destruction but incompetent at construction."   These insurgents are incompetent at governing and unwilling to be governed."

Brooks rightly blurs the "incompetent caucus" with the party. They have become at one with each other. Brooks, the conservative, and often apologist for the Republican party is telling us something. Wake up, America. Don't you smell the danger?

 In the interest of the country, the Republican party should just go away. Try to start over. Perhaps, in 100-years, a new, responsible party will emerge from the ashes.

 And, no Republican candidate for president should be considered to lead the country until the party itself has been renovated and refurbished. Even, a candidate that may appear rational will face irrationals not unlike that which awaits some hapless Speaker who gets the job.

The University of Houston will host a Republican presidential candidate debate -- scheduled to be the final one before Super Tuesday -- on Feb. 26.

It is scheduled as the final GOP debate before the crucial Super Tuesday primary contests in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia on March 1. All candidates who qualify are expected to participate in the debate, which will be presented in partnership with National Review magazine.

A suburban Detroit woman is facing firearms charges after authorities say she shot at an SUV's tire to stop two shoplifters fleeing a Home Depot parking lot.

Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez of Clarkston was charged Tuesday with one count of reckless use, handling or discharge of a firearm, Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said.

The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a 90-day jail sentence upon conviction.

The shooting occurred Oct. 6 in Auburn Hills, northwest of Detroit. The shoplifters got away, but two men were arrested a few days later and charged with retail fraud.

and perhaps, slightly also,