The use of identity politics by establishment Democrats to obscure a violent and hegemonic foreign policy has led many clear-minded people to conflate the very real problem of sexual assault, with a liberal Democratic agenda, says Joe Lauria.
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
We may not learn anything new about the Brett Kavanaugh affair when the FBI finishes its week- long investigation. It may still ultimately come down to who you believe. But based on his performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh left few doubts about his fitness for the U.S. Supreme Court.
His tirade, crying, petty lies, interruptions of senators and demands they answer his questions—often about beer—and not theirs, showed Kavanaugh lacks the emotions and honesty to sit on a bench.
His blatant partisan attacks shattered the myth of impartial justices who just stick to the law.
Lawyers who stand before the Supreme Court are warned not to anger a justice, lest it override the merits of a case. Imagine being a Democrat and standing before Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
His performance was difficult to satirize. Saturday Night Live‘s routine is as troubling as what actually happened.
Brett the Belligerent
Kavanaugh stormed into the hearing with a strategy: go ballistic, deny everything and hope indignant outrage will carry the day. His supporters saw this as refreshing.
It’s said Donald Trump coached him. Trump has certainly created an atmosphere to enable such behavior, even in the Senate. Some Kavanaugh supporters like the frank talk as a repudiation of “aristocratic” speech by those in power.
With Republican votes in his vest pocket, Kavanaugh was free to shout down Democrats on the panel. It won’t go down as a great moment in U.S. Senate history:
(SEN. SHELDON) WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): So the vomiting that you reference in the Ralph Club reference, related to the consumption of alcohol?
KAVANAUGH: Senator, I was at the top of my class academically, busted my butt in school. Captain of the varsity basketball team. Got in Yale College. When I got into Yale College, got into Yale Law School. Worked my tail off.
WHITEHOUSE: And did the world “ralph” you used in your yearbook…
KAVANAUGH I already — I already answered…
WHITEHOUSE: … refer to alcohol?
KAVANAUGH … the question. If you’re…
WHITEHOUSE:: Did it relate to alcohol? You haven’t answered that.
KAVANAUGH I like beer. I like beer. I don’t know if you do…
WHITEHOUSE: OK.
KAVANAUGH … do you like beer, Senator, or not?
WHITEHOUSE: Um, next…
KAVANAUGH What do you like to drink?
WHITEHOUSE: Next one is…
KAVANAUGH Senator, what do you like to drink?
The word “beer” came up 53 times in the testimony. Kavanaugh badgered other senators about their drinking habits.
Spitting Mad. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
After his meltdown in the witness chair, a single senator raised what should have been obvious to all. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) asked Kavanaugh: “Is temperament also an important trait for us to consider?”
He uttered a muffled “Yes.” But he then launched into his filibustering. “So the answer is yes,” Hirono cut him off. “I am running out of time. You know, we only have five minutes, so let me get to something else,” which was: did Kavanaugh get belligerent when drunk?
No, he said. But he indeed showed how belligerent he could be when sober.
Brett the Partisan
In earlier testimony in September, Kavanaugh appeared the model of judicial restraint and non-partisanship. On Thursday he dropped all the pretenses.
“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit,” he said, “fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
“This is a circus,” Kavanaugh said. “The consequences will extend long past my nomination. The consequences will be with us for decades.” He then issued what can only be seen as a threat: “And as we all know, in the United States political system of the early 2000s, what goes around comes around.”
The judge’s outburst unleashed an attack from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member of the opposition party.
“I hope the American people can see through this sham,” Graham screamed. “This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap… If you vote no, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics.”
And what would that be? The alleged Democratic conspiracy to use the alleged victim to smear Kavanaugh and derail his confirmation.
Feinstein said she tried to keep the name of Kavanaugh’s accuser secret. Her staff had not leaked her name, she said, leaving the accuser’s friends as the only ones who could have done it. After reporters had begun stalking the alleged victim, she went on the record.
The Democratic Party did not invent Christine Blasey Ford. Keeping her name confidential, the Democrats tried unsuccessfully to get the FBI to investigate.
Kavanaugh’s partisan background was revealed well before last Thursday’s hearing. For instance, David Brock, a former conservative and now Clinton operative, wrote on Sept. 7: ”Brett and I were part of a close circle of cold, cynical and ambitious hard-right operatives being groomed by GOP elders for much bigger roles in politics, government and media. And it’s those controversial associations that should give members of the Senate and the American public serious pause.”
As this close circle was watching Bill Clinton’s 1998 State of the Union address, Brock noticed than “when the TV camera panned to Hillary Clinton, I saw Brett — at the time a key lieutenant of Ken Starr, the independent counsel investigating various Clinton scandals — mouth the word ‘bitch.’”
“In a rough division of labor,” within this group, Brock writes, “Kavanaugh played the role of lawyer — one of the sharp young minds recruited by the Federalist Society to infiltrate the federal judiciary with true believers.” That plan will succeed if he is confirmed.
Kavanaugh played another part in the Starr investigation. “Kavanaugh took on the role of designated leaker to the press of sensitive information from Starr’s operation,” said Brock, who opposes his nomination. “That critical flow of inside information allowed Starr, in effect, to set a perjury trap for Clinton, laying the foundation for a crazed national political crisis and an unjust impeachment over a consensual affair.”
Stirring up right-wing conspiracy theories was another of Kavanaugh’s tasks, Brock said. “A detailed analysis of Kavanaugh’s own notes from the Starr Investigation reveals he was cherry-picking random bits of information from the Starr investigation — as well as the multiple previous investigations — attempting vainly to legitimize wild right-wing conspiracies.”
In one of the biggest partisan, political footballs of the 1990s, Kavanaugh also represented, on a pro bono basis, six-year-old Elian Gonzalez after the Clinton administration’s Immigration and Naturalization Service decided to return him to Cuba.
It gets worse. Because of his work in the George W. Bush administration, Amnesty International called for a hold on Kavanaugh’s confirmation “unless and until any information relevant to Kavanaugh’s possible involvement in human rights violations—including in relation to the U.S. government’s use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, such as during the CIA detention program—is declassified and made public.”
Francis Boyle, an international law professor at the University of Illinois, said:
“Contrary to the mantra that the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have it in for Kavanaugh, they’ve largely let him off the hook on a number of critical issues, instead favoring theatrics.”
“While there’s substantial attention being paid to the serious charges of sexual assault by Kavanaugh, there’s been very little note that he is a putative war criminal. Specifically, recently released documents show that while Kavanaugh worked for the George W. Bush administration, one of the people he attempted to put on the judiciary was John Yoo, who authored many of the justifications for torture that came out of the Bush administration.”
Brett the Liar
After the hearing Hirono told CNN Kavanaugh hadn’t spoken the truth about witnesses at the party where his accuser testified he’d tried to rape her.
Kavanaugh denied the attack ever happened. He said the potential witnesses denied it happened too. In fact they said they didn’t recall it happening. Hirono said a judge should know the difference between denial and not knowing.
There were other fibs.
WHITEHOUSE: … Judge, have you — I don’t know if it’s “boufed” or “boofed” — how do you pronounce that?
KAVANAUGH: That refers to flatulence. We were 16.
WHITEHOUSE:: Devil’s triangle?
KAVANAUGH: Drinking game.
WHITEHOUSE: How’s it played?
KAVANAUGH Three glasses in a triangle.
WHITEHOUSE: And?
KAVANAUGH You ever played quarters?
WHITEHOUSE: No (ph).
KAVANAUGH: OK. It’s a quarters game.
Online “urban dictionaries” give quite different meanings to the terms “boofing” and “three glasses in a triangle.”
He claimed he had no connections to Yale, but apparently his grandfather went to Yale.
Smearing the Alleged Victim
Ford: (Win McNamee/Getty Image)
The use of identity politics by establishment Democrats to obscure a violent and hegemonic foreign policy has led many otherwise clear-minded people to conflate the very real problem of sexual assault with a liberal Democratic agenda
That has led to facile belief in Kavanaugh’s rant that this is all a Democratic plot against him.
It is up to him to prove that. In the meantime, believing this to be only a political game makes it easy to dismiss what we know about how sexual assault victims remember, and react to their attacks. There is a big body of evidence about memory, and the reluctance to report such crimes.
“Dr. Ford has at times been criticized for what she doesn’t remember from 36 years ago,” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said at the hearing. “But we have numerous experts, including a study by the U.S. Army Military Police School of Behavioral Sciences Education, that lapses of memory are wholly consistent with severe trauma and stressful assault.”
Ford is being smeared on social media for supposedly making things up and for waiting too long to speak up. Being smeared is a principal fear that keeps victims silent.
Some of those questioning Ford’s memory have evidently never been sexually attacked.
I am not questioning it, because someone tried to sexually attack me. I was an altar boy at a parish church in the Bronx. After mass a certain priest would talk to me about religion. Then one time he gave me the wine to drink that was used in the ceremony. That led to him massaging my shoulders. Then one day he suddenly swooped down to kiss me on the lips and attempted to un-zip my trousers. I did not understand what it meant but I knew it was wrong. I immediately ran away, all the way back to my house across the street and quit being an altar boy. As we know today, many children have not been so lucky to escape the clutches of pedophile priests.
If you ask me how old I was I can’t remember. I may have been eight or nine or ten. I don’t remember what season it was. I can’t remember just about any other details. But I remember exactly what was done to me and the name of the person who did it. And that was more than 50 years ago.
So when Ford cannot recall the date or the exact place where she says she was attacked, it does not mean she wasn’t. People who ask why she waited 36 years, don’t understand the reluctance to report these crimes: many people won’t believe you and when they do, often blame the victim.
I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t think they’d believe that a priest was capable of such a thing. This was in the mid-1960s before the pedophile priests scandal had broken.
I remember this priest once joking that he wanted to be pope. In this fantasy if he had really been a candidate for pope years later I would have come forward, yes, out of a sense of civic duty. That’s what Ford said motivated her, despite the pain she knew she’d put herself through.
When the first stories of the priests scandals started to appear during the 1980s I told my family for the first time what had happened to me. One family member ridiculed me, laughing about me and the priest being a couple.
I do not feel traumatized by my experience and rarely think about it. But I was reminded of it as this story continues to dominate. And it gave me insights into Ford’s memory.
Graham baring his teeth. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
In contrast to Kavanaugh’s outbursts, she was composed, though shaken, as she spoke of what happened.
Had she or any woman at the hearing behaved liked Kavanaugh in that situation, she would of course have been immediately dismissed as lacking all credibility. The double standard was on full display. Kavanaugh carried on and he’s on the verge of a lifetime appointment. Had any of the five female senators in the room (all Democrats) behaved like Lindsey Graham, they would have put their political futures in jeopardy.
There Goes the Judge
Democrats on the panel wasted much of their time trying to get Kavanaugh to call for an FBI investigation. He refused to. If he was as innocent as he professed, why should he worry?
Of all the witnesses the FBI is talking to, probably none is more important than Mark Judge, the Kavanaugh friend that Ford said was in the room during the alleged assault. The FBI began questioning Judge on Monday, according to his lawyer.
It was inexcusable, though perfectly understandable, that the Republican majority on the committee did not subpoena Judge. Instead he offered a statement, written by his lawyer, which he signed “under penalty of felony.”
Testifying to Congress under oath is under penalty of perjury. Lying to an FBI agent is a crime.
Judge’s statement said: “I have no memory of the alleged incident … I do not recall the party described in Dr. Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”
Making a statement prepared by your lawyer is in no way the same as being examined by a senator or an FBI agent in which the subject’s memory can be probed and his answers questioned.
Yet Kavanaugh, a lawyer and federal judge who presumably knows these things, tried to palm off Judge’s letter as the same thing.
LEAHY: If she’s saying Mark Judge was in the room then, then he should be in the room here today. Would you want him called as a witness?
KAVANAUGH: Senator, this allegation came into the committee…
LEAHY: No, I’m just asking the question. Would you want him to be here as a witness?
KAVANAUGH: He’s — he’s already provided sworn testimony to the committee. This allegation’s been hidden by the committee…
LEAHY: Now, well…
KAVANAUGH: … by — by members of the…
LEAHY: … it hasn’t been — it has not been investigated by the FBI. The committee has refused to allow it to be.
KAVANAUGH: It was dropped on …
KAVANAUGH: … it was sprung.
LEAHY: It was not investigated by the FBI, and he has not been called where he might be under oath.
KAVANAUGH You see (ph) he’s provided sworn testimony and the…
LEAHY: He has — he has not…
KAVANAUGH … Senator — Senator, let me — let me finish. He — the — the allegation came in weeks ago and nothing was done with it by the ranking member.
And then it’s sprung on me…
Though the Republicans resisted it, bringing in the FBI, even for just a week, shows the country the Senate is doing its due diligence. If in the end the GOP confirms him, that will benefit the party. It’s amazing the Republicans resisted the FBI involvement for so long, as if Kavanaugh has something to hide.
Entitlement
There are possibilities that Kavanaugh is not lying, but instead doesn’t remember the incident.
First, he was not a victim so he might well have forgotten it, especially if there were similar escapades at the numerous high school parties he attended.
Second, Ford was outside his circle of friends. He may not have known her name.
Third, he may have been so drunk that he didn’t remember what he did, which would mean he lied under oath that he was never so drunk that he couldn’t remember what he did.
His supporters are going on about “innocent until proven guilty.” But of course as many commentators have noted, this is not a court of law but a glorified job interview under oath. The reverse may well be true: he has to prove he has the character and qualifications for the job.
Kavanaugh came off like a very privileged white guy who went ballistic because he thinks someone without power is trying to stop him from a job he thinks he is owed and was groomed for.
It always comes down to power, doesn’t it?
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Sunday Times of London and numerous other newspapers. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @unjoe .
If you valued this original article please consider making a donation to Consortium News so we can bring you more stories like this one.
Obviously the Kavanaugh hearing is complex- but you’re quoting of the Soros/Democracy alliance funded Media Matters scandal artist David Brock on the matter only reinforces the partisanship, and clear politicization of these abuse scandals- which are searched for through Super Pac money, PR, in the billions, to pressure lawyers, psychologists, and others to give up sensitive information about others and use it as leverage. Been happening for two decades now. The truth of them is an issue- and there have been innumerable instances in just the past year of abuse scandals and metoo being used to bypass any rule system, using allegations to ruin anyone, change policy, and even bypass habeas corpus- which is something the deep state has been trying to do (more of) since the patriot act. If allegations are enough to hack elections and policy decisions- obviously many things can go wrong there- even if the abuse is real, there should not be PR organizations and dark money going into pressuring them to talk- that is sadistic and downright corrupt, period.
I was hoping for non-opinionated news. Did not find one in this article. I was not able to finish reading your article because your turned me off in the first couple of paragraphs.
I was not surprised that Judge Kavanaugh lost his cool. We are not talking about some aspect of analyzing a law related issue. He is being accused of some very serious event. Yes, I can see any person becoming angry. If this was a true issue of a person being guilty, why sit on the information for weeks? Was there politics involved in holding back thinking that he was not going to be confirmed? Really? You mean to tell me that if he was not going to be confirmed then they would not pursue his act? I have no doubt that Dr. Ford was assaulted by someone. I am not convinced that it was Judge Kavanaugh. I think that most judges would be angry if they were attacked personally for political agendas.
Oh, the “myth” about “impartial justices”. Right, it is a myth. If it was not then why the political parties are so concerned about the political leaning of a judge? I personally find it strange that we cannot have impartial judges on the highest level of court, but it is possible that I am naive. Due to our judges not being impartial, I think that Western Europe has it right by bringing up referendums for the general public to vote in critical issues and not to rely on partial judges to make laws. Of course it would help if we would actually go out and vote. What, US is little over 50% while most European nations aprticipate closer to 65 to nearly 90%.
In the end, I will continue to search for a truly non-biased news.
While in Vietnam, those warrior “grunts” to whom this country owes so much, would often inscribe various quotes on their helmet liners to invoke a short message or quote to any willing reader, as to their expressed feelings about that horrible war. I recently recall an article (with the photo of a helmet and liner) written by a national publication which had the caption, “Our fathers have lost their will. That my friends is why you are here today”. So many lies, distortion and lack of principal. This country is so in need of an injection of honesty, truth, and change.
Criticism of white male privilege is often justified. Me thinks they protest too much. White males have been a scourge on the planet, and have a ton of racial injustice to answer for. We could start by looking at native American genocide and slavery in America. American males swell the ranks of our terrorist legions that are murdering millions even now. The white supremacist groups in America do not present a pretty picture either. Please don’t try to sell us that white American males are some sort of poor discriminated against group.
Sorry, that should read “I’m”- not “I’s”
Hello, while interesting and revealing, why end the article with a statement which only continues, as so many do these days, with a knock on white men?
This guy should be called out for his and others of his ilk, for peddling torture while in the Bush administration.
So we have more identity politics to keep dividing the American people with put downs of white guys and I am a white guy and I’s sick and tired of it.
Cool it with the attacks against American males, and I say this to everybody.
I am a white female, of an age where most of the women I know were With Her
(I was definitely not With Her), and am in total agreement with you. These attacks
on males are reprehensible. Certainly individual men should be held to account.
But it was appalling to read that Heidi Heitkamp was voting against Kavanaugh
‘to send a message to our daughters’. What message is that ? That it’s perfectly
fine to take someone down by bringing up unverifiable allegations from decades
ago ? (It’s also confusing as to why, according to her yearbook entries, Christine
Blasey continued her ‘party girl’ trajectory throughout her high school years, if she
was SO very traumatized by one incident when she was 15).
Most of the women protesting are urban and conditioned by that environment.
While ‘conservative’ women are put down as being ‘uninformed, unprogressive’
etc. they are also often more pragmatic. Many of them are more rural. These
women understand that there are differences between the sexes, that these
differences need to be respected, and that there are times in rural life that male
energy is necessary to survival. I’m not necessarily conservative but, having lived
a rural lifestyle since fleeing the city scene when I was 16 (a long time ago), I do
have an appreciation for complementarity rather than parity between the sexes.
This is something these shrill, self-righteous and on-a-roll women just don’t get.
But they would soon enough if they were inhabiting a different environment !
Unfortunately, – all through the Kavanaugh hearings with the historic levels of interest, controversy and intense media coverage, there was no mention of “Brett’s Brown Car”. Please explore the following:
http://www.fbicover-up.com/index.html
The FBI covered up alot of crimes for Clintons……and GW Bush’s,Bills brother by another mother.
Collusion bombshell: DNC lawyers met with FBI on Russia allegations before surveillance warrant
The dossier, though mostly unverified, was then used by the FBI as the main evidence seeking a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant targeting the Trump campaign in the final days of the campaign.
The revelation was confirmed both in contemporaneous evidence and testimony secured by a joint investigation by Republicans on the House Judiciary and Government Oversight committees, my source tells me.
It means the FBI had good reason to suspect the dossier was connected to the DNC’s main law firm and was the product of a Democratic opposition-research effort to defeat Trump — yet failed to disclose that information to the FISA court in October 2016, when the bureau applied for a FISA warrant to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
“This is a bombshell that unequivocally shows the real collusion was between the FBI and Donald Trump’s opposition — the DNC, Hillary and a Trump-hating British intel officer — to hijack the election, rather than some conspiracy between Putin and Trump,”
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/409817-russia-collusion-bombshell-dnc-lawyers-met-with-fbi-on-dossier-before
jean,
With all due respect … IF you studied the website and learned how huge is the scandal that Brett Kavanaugh with Ken Starr engaged in while allegedly burying the murder of Vince Foster, you would have acknowledged the man should be nowhere near the Supreme Court of the United States of America. George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were equally fully engaged in the Iran-Contra scandal, including drug-running using the airport in Mena, Arkansas, of which neither George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton have faced the appropriate legal consequences. Justice is unprejudiced and non-partisan.
It is worth noting that both ex-presidents are still alive as well as many of the people who participated in the historic-level corruption of Iran-Contra, – and possibly the murder of Vince Foster. We might remind readers of Consortium News, especially men and women who are attorneys, that there is no statute of limitations for the crime of murder. That anyone would gloss over and ignore the seriousness of Kavanaugh’s potentially provable role in obstructing justice in the Foster matter is disappointing and astonishing.
Here’s a thought:
The Democrats had a better chance of defeating Kavanaugh if they had not gone forward with this Ford debacle. Kavanaugh might not have gotten the votes based on his record as a judge and his support of Bush policies. But REPs have no choice but to repel the shameful way the DEMs have behaved including the rants of MeToo (supposedly paid and coached) protestors.
An analogy:
The courts never could get Al Capone for crimes everyone knew he was committing, so they finally went after him for his corrupt accounting and tax fraud. The DEMs tried this same method. They feared Kavanaugh would be confirmed, and Shumer had said they couldn’t let that happen. But Ford had no case. That left the DEMs talking to the wind (along with the non- thinkers who gaily followed).
Tell me, has logic so flown out the window that one can bring an accusation with absolutely no evidence to the courts or the Senate? The answer is yes, and that may be a greater problem than any confirmation.
Sure. A greater problem than the fact that entitled cretins and criminal perverts, regardless of which corporate-authoritarian wing of the 2-party monolith they are ensconced in, are and have been for too long, allowed to grant themselves power over others and all things, with no accountability to anyone else. No problem.
“Feinstein said she tried to keep the name of Kavanaugh’s accuser secret. Her staff had not leaked her name, she said, leaving the accuser’s friends as the only ones who could have done it.” This conclusion is simply wrong and it shows the bias that informs this article. The only people who had access to the letter were Ford, her Congressional representative, Feinstein, and Ford’s lawyers: all Democrats. The letter was leaked by at least one of these people.
I posted this comment yesterday. Yet it mysteriously disappeared.
Steve Hayes – OR it could have been leaked by her ex-FBI friend, Monica McLean, who some are saying helped her draft the letter. She is Ms. Ford’s life-long friend. Ms. Ford’s former boyfriend said in his sworn statement that he saw Ms. Ford coaching Ms. McLean in the ’90’s on how to take a polygraph test when she was vying for a job with the FBI (and yet Ms. Ford told the Senate prosecutor that she had never coached anyone on taking a polygraph test). Ms. McLean apparently lives in the same town that Ms. Ford was staying in when she drafted the letter. Yes, she’s a Democrat too. Ms. McLean is also the person that Ms. Keyser (the other girl that was supposedly at the party) said tried to get her to change her sworn statement. The plot thickens.
I just saw this over at Vox:
Ever since Christine Blasey Ford came forward to publicly state that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school, Kavanaugh’s defenders have argued that he is entitled to due process — to be presumed innocent until proven guilty — never mind that he’s not on trial and that all he stands to lose as a result of the Senate’s decision is a chance at a job that the vast majority of Americans would never dream of holding.
So, as the Democrats, with Avenatti’s guidance, can produce “unsubstantiated allegations” against every candidate the Republicans nominate to the Supreme Court, and as due process is suspended, as the Senate is not a court of law, that means the Republicans can’t nominate anyone. (lol)
EXACTLY!
the world
As usual I was right about everything and the only comment i submitted that was printed contained a self denigrating comment. Peace. This was total bullshit based on slander. from the git go as us old cowpokes use to say. AND Yes there were forces operating unseen that were orchestrating this in the media. I do not know if that can be called a a conspiracy now a days. I mean, it’s business as usual at this point.
. You are who you sleep with, you are what you eat. Total BS? Well, let’s all hope we don’t have to swallow too much more of le plat de jour::::: it ain’t 4star eats,. McD’s $1 menu.more like it.
One of the most fascinating things about human beings is the people we pick to be in charge. They’re cliché. Trite.
Brett Kavanaugh is just another bozo on the bus. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton… once you get to know them a bit, they’re both ordinary.
Not superheroes. Not supervillains. Just clowns. Ordinary clowns.
https://opensociet.org/2018/10/05/the-banality-of-brett-kavanaugh/
And they all work for the same circus!.and we aint invited into the tent.
Nevertheless, we PAY for the tent. And for the property it’s pitched on.
And for feeding the creatures. And. And. And.
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
P.T. Barnum
My dear fellow deplorables – you have elected foxes to guard our chicken coops.
Hillary was a wolf.
You know Hillary lost states that went to Obama twice?…….the bigots.And turned safe blue states RED?People who were harmed by Hillary’s free trade deals and wars and banksters?
“For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin.”
Chuck Schumer
This is the party you defend?Who counted on REPUBLICAN votes?
And lets not forget cheating Sanders who would have won and corrupting the entire system to do it.
Collusion bombshell: DNC lawyers met with FBI on Russia allegations before surveillance warrant
The dossier, though mostly unverified, was then used by the FBI
as the main evidence seeking a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
(FISA) warrant targeting the Trump campaign in the final days of the
campaign.
The revelation was confirmed both in
contemporaneous evidence and testimony secured by a joint investigation
by Republicans on the House Judiciary and Government Oversight
committees, my source tells me.
It means the FBI had
good reason to suspect the dossier was connected to the DNC’s main law
firm and was the product of a Democratic opposition-research effort to
defeat Trump — yet failed to disclose that information to the FISA court
in October 2016, when the bureau applied for a FISA warrant to surveil
Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
“This is a bombshell
that unequivocally shows the real collusion was between the FBI and
Donald Trump’s opposition — the DNC, Hillary and a Trump-hating British
intel officer — to hijack the election, rather than some conspiracy
between Putin and Trump,” a knowledgeable source told me.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/…
TREASON
Sedition
Corruption
I was skeptical about Q but what is now seen as a bombshell of news about RussiaGate was described in great detail by him and his predictions always turn out to be factual and not a so-called conspiracy. In the same way the big chessboard game around the Kavanaugh media circus was played out to serve the Democrats aims of delaying Declassification which will tell people who committed the real crimes and treason.
No wonder that now they all start to blame Russia again (UK and AUS secret services co-constructed the RussiaGate fairy tale to assist the US deep state treacherous games). Time to see the big pictures instead of talking about K.’s past beer drinking and focus on the low level denigration of the judicious protocol which ended up in a court of ‘credibility’.
I don’t like K. looking at his performance, but to sell out to the deep state would be too superficial.
arrest are ahead but the MSM will talk again about Russia, Russia, Russia to distract from the crimes
Isn’t it amazing how every advance in technology has been crafted into another way to enslave and exploit the many for the sake of the few? Mind control is nearing perfection now. One can only marvel at our ingenious creativity.
“Have you ever stood and stared at it, marveled at its beauty, its genius? Billions of people just living out their lives, oblivious.” – Agent Smith, The Matrix (1999)
Well, senator Collins made her speech justifying her voting for a fellow scumbag component of our corrupt government. It is truly disgusting to see these criminals trying to pretend that their crimes are all really high minded acts of virtue. The better to abuse and rob you my dears. Wolves in sheep’s clothing indeed. These “representatives” are indeed the real enemies of the people. But the people, who are their victims are asleep to what is being done to them, and end up foolishly abetting their abusers.
Yes, she is one of my senators, whom I urged to do the opposite. She has long been elected in largely Dem Maine because she is a woman, although she steadfastly votes against their interests. Amazing what owning the mass media can do for the oligarchy.
2400+ law school professors from law schools across the country have signed a letter stating that Kavanaugh should not be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Their names and the letter they signed are listed here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/50380.htm Personally, I would have been more specific about why he should not be confirmed. Nevertheless, I think this is quite remarkable that they would do that.
Readers may well enjoy this article just put up on Britain’s newspaper, The Independent.
The author, a contemporary of Kavanaugh’s at Yale and supported by two others, is clear and concise in saying the candidate lied under oath about his drinking
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brett-kavanaugh-drinking-buddies-yale-senate-supreme-court-fbi-investigation-a8569676.html
Sorry, but that is small fry stuff… although it is GOOD VERY GOOD. But he was caught RED HANDED by other witenessess who same him DIRECTLY PUT QUAALUDE IN PUNCH!!! This is 110% Bill Cosby but not only that this is INTENT TO POISON witch is INTENT to MURDER. Imagine if some one really like Punch they could have ODED and DIED!!!
Michael Avenatti produces NEW accuser who says she saw Brett Kavanaugh spiking drinks with Quaaludes to make girls ‘less likely to say ”No” – and FBI has not contacted her either
he accuser describes herself as a 1983 graduate of a Washington D.C. area high school and says that ‘during the years 1981-82, I witnessed firsthand Brett Kavanaugh, together with others, ‘spike’ the ‘punch’ at house parties I attended with Quaaludes and/or grain alcohol. I understood this was being done for the purpose of making girls more likely to engage in sexual acts and less likely to say ‘no.’’
Avenatti tweeted the information in the form of a sworn statement from the witness,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6237237/Michael-Avenatti-produces-NEW-accuser-says-Kavanaugh-spiked-drinks-Quaaludes.html
OMG!!! WHAT MORE DO WE NEED !!! This guy belongs in PRISON right NOW!
please provide information that would suggest the “woman” in question is a CIA agent. Thanks!
I may have to stop reading CN. RBG…not political?!
Mysogyny is alive and well in 2018, especially in our congress. Male privilege and entitlement persists.
As usual, yet another woman is scourged for what someone else did to her. History is repeated. However, the stacking of our courts with right-wing judges continues unabated.
The good news is that so many women as well as men see that right-wing stacking of the judiciary, and see the frauds of oligarchy’s mass media and tyrants. The “conservatives” are conserving what we had before the Constitution, and the arch-conservatives are conserving what we had before agriculture.
I guess I’ll be quiet now. After all, something really precious died today – hope for real love and peace between men and women in America. I guess it was too much to hope for in the most warlike nation on Earth.
Don’t be too upset. There is impeachment coming of Trump for Russia Treason / Conspiracy with Mueller. Also inpeachment of Kavanaugh for lying to Congress and Avenatti is looking hard, maybe there is some video out there of Kavanaugh in orgys or beastyality, who knwos? Also We can inpeach Kavanaugh or make the Supreme Court 11 justices. And then Trump is going to prison for Tax Invasion maybe and there is Stromy Daniels still to go with her testimony. And then Cohen and Manafort are turning States witnesses on Trump. All good things are coming! Avenatti could even be are new President in TWO YEARS! Think of it!
PRESIDENT PENCE!!
And you think Trump is dangerous?
I cannot believe the rubbish in some of the comments,on this post, like this one, which even accepts that Trump should be gaoled for tax evasion when there is no proof that he ever did any such thing, when Obama is the one under suspicion for “collusion with Russia” over a treasonous deal which he and Clinton did with Russia to sell America’s Uranium. A deal from which they made millions and which Mueller appears to have been involved in. Oh and by the way, Obama’s Birth Certificate was a blatant forgery. Get over it.
You both need to wake up and stop regurgitating partisan reteoric. stronger-together is an obvious demo-troll. That you are arguing with her says more about you than anything. Trump and Obama are just two heads of the same beast. Fox News melts your brain. SHUT IT OFF!
I’m not partisan
I would love to see both parties extinguished.
Hey Homer,
Perhaps, one hopes, stg-tg was exploring satire.
More likely: indictment of Ford for perjury
This was such a shitfest. They’re all detestable.
What in the hell are you talking about? He’s openly admitted it several times, in public! You forget the MAGA campaign already? The first president in 40 years not to share his tax returns with those he means to “govern.” He told you he didn’t pay his taxes because “I’m smart.” Anyone who can’t still see right through the 2-party sham at this point is certifiably insane.
A glace at the public records and it is clear: Fred and Donald Trump’s slum lord to casino thug empire is a house of cards built on free money from the government and fraud.
The question is what gangsters and politicians did the Trumps buy off to get away with such a massive scam – on the order of a billion dollars – because they had to have help to get away with a con this big for this long.
Everything about Donald Trump is fake, from the Just For Men that makes his hair orangutan orange down to his heel spurs he used to doge the draft.
https://opensociet.org/2018/10/05/an-empire-of-fraud-made-in-america/
Yes, the divide-and-conquer strategy applied to the sexes extinguishes the target population, while the oligarchy exploitation of dependent wives ensures their longevity.
I hope a lot of women will wake up to how concerned the almost all male congress is
for their being raped and abused. These guys really love you, just shut up and do whatever they tell you!
You sound like the Clintons
I bet you anything, Kavanaugh will be stinking drunk this weekend, celebrating his unholy “victory”. The poor alcoholic bastard just won’t be able to stop himself. After all he loves his beer more than anything in this world. I bet his wife is picking up a few extra cases of booze in anticipation of the big win. After all, if he had lost, they would have come in handy too – nothing like beers to cry into when you are down.
I have a particular depth of contempt for the two female senators who asked for the FBI investigation. It appeared there was some hope Kavanaugh might be thwarted after all. But now it appears that their request was just a ploy to give them cover for taking the thirty pieces of silver. They got into the senate by lying and taking bribes, and inking decisions that hurt millions of people. And they are now again up to their dirty tricks, while pretending to be virtuous. How utterly disgusting they are!
Unfortunately the fix is in. By Saturday it will be the Honorable Justice of the Supreme Court “Crybaby” Kavanaugh
The Supreme Court did not have much ethical credibility before this, but now it’s truth and justice standing has sunk way below zero. With Trump, Kavanaugh, and Bolton to guide us, how can we miss the target of human extinction? It’s a sure thing now….
Hillary would have already started WW3…..and thank her for TRUMP.
I will give thanks for Trump when he leaves us.
Get a better candidate next time
Better yet pick an actual baboon and get more states.
Too much to ask?
That’s what I have been saying but now it looks like Trump will get his war on Iran. War is what America does and it doesn’t matter which gang is in power.
Hillary would have already started war with Iran and Russia
Trump’s blustery threats seem to have worked with NKorea
It’s what democrats voted for after all
Its all Russian Bots!!! There are not even they have voters. I mean whoknos if the election machines were hatched! They could be there is no paper. All controlled by MOSCOW & PUTIN now!!!
There are more than a few Russians here(tip:rubbish is not used often in American English), but more interestingly, many more American Trump supporters find a home here among the far left computer commandoes and “good guy” ex CIA men ect ect. Weird.
Until today I did not think my contempt for the US Congress could sink to any lower level. I was wrong. And it makes me very unhappy that the total ethical failure now of the US Government pretty much guarantees that the final acts of insanity that will seal our extinction as a species are not far off now. Any day. Attempts to head off the nuclear war that is coming are now futile, and a waste of our precious remaining time.
A species that has proven itself so harmful to all life, and everything true and beautiful and worth living for, now needs to stop it’s reign of terror and move into blessed extinction for the sake of all beings. My love goes out to all, even those who have foreclosed our possible wonderful future together by their selfish and hateful activities. They truly have no idea what they are doing.
Shattered the myth of non-partisan SCOTUS? lol. Welcome to the last 40 years ..
Brett Kavanaugh: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opi8X9hQ7q8
(See minutes 20:45-27:25)
John Oliver sold out at the beginning of the race.
Kavanaugh’s career as a Republican legal operative and judge supporting the power of corporations, the security state, and abusive foreign policy should have been put on trial. The hearings could have provided an opportunity to confront the security state, use of torture, mass spying, and the domination of money in politics and oligarchy as he has had an important role in each of these.
Brett Kavanaugh is a douchebag who lacks the political, emotional, and moral grounding to be a Supreme Court Justice.
/should have been put on trial/ I disagree there. Witch is more shocking puting a cereal rapist on the supreme court or debating some obscure policys that no one has any knowledge of? You have to put the meat on the table. And it cant lose either way the Republicans lose. 1] Kavanaugh drops out and we win. 2] Republicans go and vote and put a rapist on the Court and we win. How will this play out in the Press and with the American people? That is the point! We need to win in the court of public opinion! Witch we are from all the poles.
‘cereal rapist’ ?
You talking about rape seed ?
Not sure that rape seed is a cereal. Wheat, barley and oats – yes they are cereals (a grain used for food).
On the other hand, canola (aka rape seed) is used to produce oil.
Witch gets bigglyest TV ratings? A cereal rapist on trial or… those obscure policys?
Such as the Fourth Amendmint, witch keeps Big Brother at bay?
Such as the Article II of the Constitution, witch decides weather the President has unlimited superpowers?
Such as Citizens United, witch says free speech = free cash?
Your right! What we need is TV ratings!
To hell with obscure policies witch actually effect the lives of each and every American.
Kavanaugh’s job interview is much better as spectacle!
No offense but I cant say I even know what you are talking about with all that legal jargon. And the American peope are not going to either, maybe you are right, but who knows after 4 hours of research that is needed to understand all that. But the last sentence we are in agreement over! Something you don’t need to be a lawyer to understand!!!
O Society is amused by robo-voice transcriptions from prepared scripts read by strngr-tgthr.
I detest cereal rapists.
And granola rapists.
What about rape seed; also known as canola ?
You must be a which. lol
Those cereal killers, tho!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91BiNZyuoAL.jpg
Nicely summed up.
Exactly, his opinions and his roles in the federal government have been to remove constitutional freedoms under Bush and continue ill-founded wars and police state growth under Obama. Yet, our Congress is not going to criticize Kavanaugh for what most of them also do and approve of (like torture).
Instead they give us character assassination and dredge up high school accusations from 35 years ago. While the GOP treated Blasey Ford with more respect than she deserved, her comments have been be shown after to have been dishonest (her fear of flying, her lie that she had never coached anyone on beating a lie detector). Her own parents didn’t support her in petitions “establishing her honesty”? Her best friend from high school, whom she contacted before her testimony, refused to lie for her in her letter of record (although cheerfully supported her in the media).
Kavanaugh is a short-tempered, entitled, ambitious, bureaucrat, a creature of DC. Not so different from most of our non-representative SCOTUS. However, even he did not deserve the smear campaign and the delay game the Democrats played that sets an ever worse precedent for the future. He will always be associated with the sexual harassment accusations after his official confirmation hearing although there was no evidence. It is no accident that this played out on the public stage, while the >260 harassment cases in Congress, settled with taxpayer money and NDAs, are hidden from sight.
Pious trolling.
Of course you don’t get that it should be impossible to “troll” at CN because unlike the ideological ghettos that you must regularly inhabit, CN is supposed to be open to all rational opinions and feedback.
That you label comments you happen not to like as “trolling” shows you to be nothing more than a Kool Aid drinking hack. Go back to HuffPost or Breitbart or wherever for some mutual back-scratching.
Do you troll for a living, or is it just for fun?
While I think Lauria is wrong about accepting the truth of Ford’s statements, and I think Kavanaugh’s reaction that Lauria attacks was based on the fact of his knowledge that it is bogus, I think Lauria is otherwise correct about Kavanaugh, and that those other facts are more important than the 1980s allegations. It is interesting that a Tory English retired Telegraph editor criticised Kavanaugh’s role in keeping the Vince Foster story on track against a witness who was critical of the official position in this controversial case in the ’90s. I agree that Kavanaugh is a problem and I also suspect that the democrats are using cooked up allegations because they are also complicit as part of the bipartisan deep state for what Kavanaugh is really guilty of. The whole controversy reveals the stench of the yankee system which is identity politics as a cover for a sort of imperialism dangerous to survival.
Thanks Joe! Great analysis.
Basic neuroscience teaches us that non-traumatic memories are made in our hippocampus whereas traumatic memories are made in our amygdala. Non-traumatic memories are easily forgotten. Traumatic memories are vivid and seared into our mind and are experienced as though they happened only yesterday. We saw examples of both in Dr. Ford’s testimony. And, yes, it always comes down to power….abuse of power….and entitlement….. Listening to Dr. Ford triggered my own memories of similar experiences. I think you might have nailed it. Kavanaugh does not remember Dr. Ford or how he treated her because this was his normal inebreated entitlted behavior……
Many of us have memories of harassment and assault. Males as well as females,
as Joe Lauria tells us above. But we may process them differently, and I for one
am (on this issue) on the same page as KellyAnne Conway who stated that she
had been assaulted (Lisa Murkowski, who has still not stated how she will vote,
has also indicated that she has had some sort of unwanted experience). KellyAnne
pointed out that our experiences are those of individuals, and she does not want
others to vicariously ‘latch on’ to whatever happened to her. (Note that her ‘coming
out’ was only in the news cycle for a few hours . . .)
My experiences began early on, a result of being ‘groomed’. My husband could
tell a similar story, but he never will. Young males may have very conflicted attitudes
towards what happened to them and often are very protective of the perpetrator(s).
Joe Lauria should consider that it’s entirely possible that Brett Kavanaugh was also
assaulted as an altar boy, with perhaps a different outcome — one that led to the
development of an ‘alter personality’. This is a real phenomenon, especially with boys,
and one I am quite familiar with. It’s a coping mechanism. (Predatory priests are very
good at hiding their own ‘alter personas’.) Which would explain the contrast between
‘choir boy Brett’ and ‘frat brat Brett’. I am not saying this happened but am advancing
it as a possible explanation for a lot of his behavior.
Joe Lauria and Consortium News must be doing something right to have drawn the ire of so many folks who lack the courage of using their real names, Steve M being only the latest. Ah, yes, accusing someone or some group of being Stalinists. What other garbage do you have in your quiver, Steve M?
It’s clear that most commentators here didn’t read Anastasia’s recommendation above about Ford’s friends, FBI connections, and substantiated lies:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/10/03/christine-blasey-ford-friend-in-delaware-was-career-fbi-agent-and-likely-together-during-accusation-letter-construct/comment-page-3/
Sifting – I read it, and it was very interesting indeed. Ms. Ford needs to be investigated. She has yet to hand over to the Senate Judiciary Committee her therapist notes and the information they wanted re her polygraph test.
Her former boyfriend of six years has said that she was never claustrophobic, was not afraid of tight spaces, flew often, even on small planes, he witnesssed her help her friend prepare for a polygraph test with the FBI, and, although the reporter did not want to talk about it, it appears that her sexual relationships were not hampered by this alleged Kavanaugh groping.
Sounds like her FBI friend may have helped draft the letter to Senator Feinstein. Many questions to be answered by Ms. Ford.
Sifting – I tried to answer you, but my comment was again put in moderation. I read the article, and it was very interesting.
I have read the letter of Ford’s one time boyfriend and find it unconvincing. Having a friend who worked long years at the FBI does not constitute a “connection” in any legal sense. When Ford allegedly helped her friend prepare for a polygraph, she was just out of school as a new psychologist with no known expertise in polygraphs and what that preparation consisted of is left to the imagination. That Ford, a successful career professional, would put that career on a line to pull what Sifting alleges is a political stunt at the behesr of her old FBI friend is absurd on its face.
“ find it unconvincing”
So is Ford’s accusation from 35 yrs ago against the nominee, who has undergone six previous nomination investigations over recent decades, and look at how much weight some people are putting on that.
The letter raises a number of factors discrediting Ford and her accusations – it needs to be reported, investigated, and possibly acted on legally.
I found the ‘flying around the Hawai’ian Islands in a propeller plane’ to be
rather telling. This activity could probably be easily corroborated by family
or friends or even old postcards, receipts, etc. If anything is designed to
make a person feel ‘trapped’ (in more ways than one), a prop plane ranks
right up there. Her ‘fear of flying’ (interesting reference to Erica Jong as well !)
seems to me to be extremely selective.
EVERYONE’S behavior during this Kavanaugh/Ford circus was deplorable. Made for a nice distraction though didn’t it. Christine Blasey Ford deserves an award for her performance, because that’s all it was – acting. She’s a disgrace to all women who have ‘really’ been raped, many violently, including myself. And we certainly don’t reach out 36 years later to profit from our traumatic experience. Gofundme: Help Christine Blasey Ford $528,475 raised of $150,000. Donald Trump and our entire Government is a joke, a laughing stock for the entire world to see. It doesn’t get much more disgusting than this. Oh but wait, it will.
As a observer (from afar) of USA’s geopolitical shenanigans ; I view the USA and its government as a joke; and a dangerous and evil one at that, Has been for years and continues to be so. tRump or not. Would not be any better with Killary as POTUS.
I’m thinking there’s something messed up between this website and various browsers.
I use Ubuntu (linux) as an o/s. A couple days ago I was using Firefox browser, I posted a few comments, and there were problems with disappearing comments – some were there, some weren’t. I tried Opera, same problem. I used Chrome and things straightened out.
I don’t know the technicalities, but I would hold off for now on thinking somebody is deleting comments they don’t like.
xeno – I can go along with you on the disappearing comments. That could be a technical glitch. But I have had a lot of comments put into “moderation” that never show up. That is not right. Even some that did get posted have now disappeared. I specifically remember posting a comment to “Diane” (either on this Kavanaugh thread or the other) that was completely wiped.
No, finally the resistance to the establishment has arrived here at CN. So you just cant say anything you want that is not FACT BASED in comments any more!!! That is all. Gravity is a fact, so you can’t say things fall up. It is simple as that. There is a new shariff in town witch is about time. This site is listed on PropOrNot as a Russian Bot farm witch will only get us banned from Google, Facebook, Tinder, etc. Is that what people want? The new reality is the TRUTH only in articles and comments. The only way the country will heel itself.
I had the same thing happen a couple days ago with the recent McGovern article.
As was pointed out in this article (and thanks to Mr. Lauria for re-emphasising the point), Kavanaugh already had plenty of factors against his suitability for the Supreme Court; mainly his being an enthusiastic war monger and an accessory to war crimes (not to mention the appearance of judicial corruption). Rather than focusing on these salient issues, Democrats resorted to the burlesque now on display. It is distressing that otherwise insightful posters to these boards are getting caught up in the partisan theatre which, once again, has proven to be highly effective in keeping the citizenry divided against itself while the usual criminals continue to laugh our collective way to either thermonuclear or ecological apocalypse.
Exactly.
The biggest long term pervasive threat to the US is NSA collection of everyones’ communications metadata and probably voice comm (what your network is and what you talk about).
If something like this was available in 1776, the American Revolution would have been stamped out quickly.
With it, the Toxic Cloud State (aka deep state) can blackmail, coerce, frame, rig elections, rig markets, etc.
It occurs to me they can also advise their legal / prosecutorial co-conspirators on who they want for a judge, which jurors are likely to convict, and so forth.
“Rather than focusing on these salient issues, Democrats resorted to the burlesque now on display.”
That’s because the Democrats are equally guilty of war crimes and war mongering. There’s no partisanship when it comes to grinding under the corporate boot.
Why is it that the Republicans aren’t shouting about Ukraine’s collusion with the DNC to benefit Hillary Clinton? [And they did, succeeding in ruining Manafort, and birthing the Trump/Russia narrative.] Could it be that the Republicans are just as eager to demonize Russia, that they need an enemy to justify their war economy? Trump is expendable. Their real target is Putin. They’d like to replace him with Khodarkovsky so they can once more rape Russia as they did in the 1990’s.
the Death Merchants = One Party…. Two factions
Thank you, I was just going to make the same point…if I was conspiracy-minded I would think there were entities outside of the publicly visible two party players that were calling the shots.. nah, that’s just crazy thinking…
kavanaugh has also lied while under oath…which for some reason has been lost to follow up as they say…
> Kavanaugh came off like a very privileged white guy <
You know, in a way, I can understand the author's point.
I know people who go ballistic about people like McGovern, Giraldi, Lauria not believing and accepting poor Hillary's plight in having been victimized by Putin and his band of email hackers and Facebook trolls.
This past week, the US Secretary of the Interior raised the option of using the Navy to blockade Russian oil tankers (an act of war). And, a US ambassador made threats of taking out Russian cruise missiles that may be in violation weapons agreements – another act of war.
But why bother with trivia like that, when you have fem/lib passion plays to be entertained with?
Thanks Joe, for talking about what happened to you as a child. It’s so much easier to bury terrifying experiences like this; by talking about it publicly, you make it easier for others to come forward.
Some men who were groomed as boys, will NEVER come forward. They may have
very conflicting feelings about the perpetrator and may even be protective of him.
It can be a very complicated dynamic. Also, we don’t want to think about it but in
general we think of the groomed child as being the receptive partner in a relation-
ship; some boys are deliberately groomed to be the penetrative partner. That adds
another whole dimension of internal conflict. And can lead to DID (Dissociative
Identity Disorder). Our minds don’t want to go there and neither do theirs.
“The use of identity politics by establishment Democrats to obscure a violent and hegemonic foreign policy has led many otherwise clear-minded people to conflate the very real problem of sexual assault with a liberal Democratic agenda”
Um…who? To whom are you referring? The people who are seeing Kavanaugh as any kind of a victim are also people who would never challenge America’s admittedly violent and hegemonic foreign policy. The people who think like Kavanaugh, that white men should rule, also think that America should rule. It’s true that many liberals who oppose Kavanaugh might not oppose America’s foreign militaristic interventionism, but nobody who SUPPORTS Kavanaugh would oppose it.
I think your analysis of Kavanaugh is correct, but this one sentence seems to me to be totally wrong-headed.
I was referring to a group of people opposed to US military interventionism by either party, who rightly criticize the Democrats for hiding their interventionist policies behind identity politics, which the Democrats have made front and center of their campaigns, but who also dismiss people who say they were sexually attacked as being part of this identity politics campaign.
A other person looking for “alternate” news no dowt departs. Well this site was listed by PropOrNot as a Russia controlled Bot Site when Parry was running it. Contradict the FBI and CIA all ways! A few journalist with a word processor going against 17 intelligency agencys that said Russia stole are election. Well, in case no one noticed they banned Alex Jones from every thing and Consortium News is a small fry and would have bean next. So, thankfully people in management are seeing the lite. Hopefully with more articles like this it will attract a more High Brow readership that just want to read about the facts. We need to get back to normal news for normal people. This was what Hillary Clinton & Obama were standing for and are need to get are country back on track!
High Brow like you?
Means non-deplorableds: High Brow: “Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, “highbrow” is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture.”
This article wasn’t [primarily] about facts. It was about Lauria’s impression of Kavanaugh’s demeanor. Too bad he didn’t write more about the Dems’ failure to attack Kavanaugh’s real unsuitability.
A part of the coup vs. Trump?
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/10/03/christine-blasey-ford-friend-in-delaware-was-career-fbi-agent-and-likely-together-during-accusation-letter-construct/comment-page-3/
The polygrrapher was also a retired FBI agent. Done in Delaware where the letter to Feinstein was written, and where Monica McClean lived?
That link anastasia posted is well worth a few minutes – take a look people, it may alter how you look at this Kavanaugh thing.
I’ve looked at it and proves nothing other than Ford has a long time friend, McClean who formerly worked for the FBI who Ford was likely to consult before going public on this issue and that the person adminisitering the polygraph was another FBI veteran should come as no surprise because it is likely that many FBI vets end up doing that for a post retirement income.
Why Ford would jeopardize a successful career in which she is a respected member of the psychological community not a one of her critics has even made an attempt to explain.
As for her having coached McClean in how to take a polygraph years ago when Ford was just out of school and still in her Twenties, how she did that would require further explaining on Ford’s ex-boyfriend’s part since there was no reason to believe she had any special skills to play such a role.
“proves nothing”
Neither does Ford’s accusation from 35 yrs ago against the nominee, who undergone six previous nomination investigations over recent decades, and look at how much weight some people are putting on that.
The letter raises a number of factors discrediting Ford and her accusations – it needs to be reported, investigated, and possibly acted on legally.
Yet all sorts of people have popped up to confirm kavanaugh’s history of drinking, violent/nasty/sexually inappropriate behavior…which brings us to his testimony in which he obviously lied under oath, something he has done before. His role in the Whitewater investigation was pretty disgusting (and yet Kavanaugh’s supporters here see no irony in protesting this investigation (nor the Mueller investigation). Kavanaugh clearly appeared quite unhinged during this most recent testimony and no one here who’s not a partisan troll can deny the quality of his testimony was in fact so bizarre that SNL really couldn’t create any worthwhile satire from it-my first thought was that Kavanaugh must be trolling the heating by intuitionally trying to look crazy. So here it is: the guy is a federalist creep and it’s plain to see for anyone who looks. However he ended up on national TV showing us who he really is, it’s OK with me.
Even MSNBC is reporting about it…..
Christine Blasey Ford’s Credibility Under New Attack by Senate Republicans
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are stepping up efforts to challenge Christine Blasey Ford’s credibility by confronting her with a sworn statement from a former boyfriend who took issue with a number of assertions she made during testimony before the Judiciary Committee last week.
The former boyfriend told the Judiciary Committee that he witnessed Dr. Blasey helping a friend prepare for a possible polygraph examination, contradicting her testimony under oath. Dr. Blasey, a psychology professor from California who also goes by her married name Ford, was asked during the hearing whether she had “ever given tips or advice to somebody who was looking to take a polygraph test.” She answered, “Never.”
“I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a potential polygraph exam,” the man said in the statement. “Dr. Ford explained in detail what to expect, how polygraphs worked and helped McLean become familiar and less nervous about the exam.”
He added that she never told him about a violent encounter with Judge Kavanaugh. “It strikes me as odd it never came up in our relationship,” Mr. Merrick told the newspaper. “But I would never try to discredit what she says or what she believes.” “During our time dating, Dr. Ford never brought up anything regarding her experience as a victim of sexual assault, harassment, or misconduct,” he wrote. “Dr. Ford never mentioned Brett Kavanaugh.”
Mr. Merrick took issue with Dr. Blasey’s professed fear of flying and of confined spaces, noting that they once traveled around the Hawaiian islands in a propeller plane. “Dr. Ford never indicated a fear of flying,” he wrote. “To the best of my recollection Dr. Ford never expressed a fear of closed quarters, tight spaces, or places with only one exit.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/christine-blasey-ford%E2%80%99s-credibility-under-new-attack-by-senate-republicans/ar-BBNSOBF?ocid=spartanntp
I wonder if the Toxic Cloud State (aka deep state) couldn’t find anything relevant against the nominee in the 10+ years of private comm data they have on him (and on all of us), or do they favor him, despite being a Trump nominee, because of his not caring about the 4th Amendment?
Something to think about.
You want something to think about ? If there’s nothing damming about this nominee, why did the committee withhold 100,000 pages of information about him ? Or why you support a nominee for the highest court in the land who lies at the drop of a hat (2 that can be proven with his last conformation hearing) ?
Here’s what I think – that this is an attempt to destroy someone with an accusation – it’s about the power to do that.
If he can proven to have lied in his last confirmation hearing, then why isn’t that what they’re using to defeat him, instead of an unsupported accusation from 35 yrs ago. There’s good reason to believe this accusation is part of a well planned conspiracy and is full of holes.
I think you should read this
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/10/03/christine-blasey-ford-friend-in-delaware-was-career-fbi-agent-and-likely-together-during-accusation-letter-construct/comment-page-3/
I think his lack of support of the 4th amendment is itself a good enough reason to reject his nomination instead of this feminist liberal attempt to destroy someone with an accusation.
I think there’s EVIDENCE plainly available to defeat him. Defeating him on the basis of an accusation is what they’re trying because that suits what this really about – the power to destroy with an emotionalized accusation. That’s power that undermine the law, politics, everyday ethical behavior and normal humn relationships.
That about sums it up. We’re making fools of ourselves to the world.
EXACTLY!
the world
To quote Sophocles, “Rather fail with honor than succeed with fraud.”
Therein lies the problem. We have a system that’s been set up from the start, and has succeeded, through various fraudulent means. And here we are, with various people claiming the Truth, when history shows that the underpinnings of this country are fraudulent.
What I saw in that hearing was fear. Fear of losing power. And having found myself repeatedly, throughout life, in unhealthy systems I know one thing to be true: unhealthy systems- whether in a family, workplace, community organization, corporation, or political system- utilize power structures that are in place to maintain power for those who have it. Some people get the goodies. The rest of us, well, we’re just collateral. And THAT is what I saw unfold in front of my eyes last Thursday.
This country has some should searching to do, and that includes every voter. The day of reckoning is on its way (and I don’t mean that Biblically.) What is the intent behind what the do? And, ultimately, what (or whose) purpose do we serve?
This site has become something that I no longer look to on a daily basis. And that has nothing to do with Lauria.
Mr Lauria this is beneath Consortium News. To pretend that this is not political theater or that the Democrats/Republicans care about victims of sexual assault is to clearly have one’s head firmly implanted up one’s rectum.
Kavanaugh is being tried in the court of public opinion. The tactic is to claim he is unfit because he committed a crime. Fair enough but when Senator Feinstein sits on information that should have been investigated as soon as she had it, that clearly shows no one cared about the crime. It was about delay and assertion, not investigating a crime. Not getting to the bottom of the accusation.
If the people rallying behind Kavanaugh, defending Kavanaugh, sickens you. How did you feel when people rallied behind and defended Bill Clinton? A much bigger scum bag, a serial sexual predator and assaulter, than Kavanaugh.
amen to joe six pack…the double standards are always sickening but as the system sinks lower, economically, morally and intellectually, we could experience the worst case of national puking in history and that would be an improvement over a new civil war..both sides are repeats of the past election as the despicables take on the deplorables once again and america loses..sadly, many good people are caught up in this surreality tv fiasco and hosts of hysterics, able to afford the mental health market unavailable to most americans, are venting sentiments which would have made them happy to live in the old confederacy..there, if a white woman got caught making love to a black man, she simply screamed rape, and the vigilantes settled matters quickly…after all, women never lie?
Well said.
Thanks, Joe Lauria for permitting the ill tempered criticism of your ideas. We need that too…. Free speech may be nauseating at times, but it is the home of much that is truly beautiful too.
At least there is a lot of energy generated from this topic, even if much of it is chaotic, and more knee jerk reaction than reasoned response. Sadly, nothing will come out of it in the end that would be adequate to address the mess we have created with our failed culture. We made our bed (of partisan ignorance) long ago, and all of this is our fitful sleep in it, shot through with dreams of our final extinction….
Yes, Mike. Continued tumultuous times ahead Buckle in. $$$ and power…like a horse and carriage.
You are not interested in becoming the controlled opposition?
I will be greatly surprised if this comment gets past the censors. As the only regular poster on this site with a Turkish, let alone muslim name, despite the left’s crooning on and on about diversity, i can attest that it is pure fantasy.
These people on this website are better than most if not all. If I were on the left side of politics, I would not want Kavanaugh on the bench either, but what they do not realize is that if they are in any way concerned about Roe v. Wade, they have nothing to fear from this man. He was educated by the Jesuits, he is in no way a maverick. Even given the opportunity that the right case will come before him, he would not do it. He would not do it even for so superficial a reason as collegiality with his fellow judges. We see his mind-set this in his handling of the Vince Foster case. That concerned a man’s death, an important man’s death. the US attorney he replaced, Miguel Rodriguez, resigned because the Starr team would not allow him to investigate the death as a murder investigation, as Rodrigues saw troubling signs of murder. Rodriguez was stopped, pretty forcefully, and he resigned. He was pushed out, and wrote a letter spelling out his reasons with specificity. Kavanaugh took his place, and discouraged any witnesses who had evidence of something other than suicide – of murder. The discouragement was heavy-handed. Many have written about his experience. Kavanaugh towed the suicide line, because he would not about to stick his neck or career out for Vince Foster, of all people, and Kavanaugh would never, ever stick his neck out to overturn Roe v. Wade. The best one could expect from Kavanaugh is that he may curtail taxpayers paying for everyone’s abortion, as all elective procedures are uncovered medical expenses. I would never expect more from a man like that. He would however, back the executive’s powers, especially as it concerns these wars. I am not in favor of Kavanaugh. I consider him a deep state toady. But I am fiercely against what is happening in the Senate, something this country will never recover from.
So I see this notice of a letter submitted by an ex-boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-02/blasey-fords-kavinaugh-testimony-unravels-after-ex-boyfriend-refutes-key-claims
The man was attached to Ford for 6 years and even lived with her. He notes important elements in his relationship with Ford that cast obvious doubt on Ford’s various claims to a sexual assault and resulting on-going psychological trauma.
So I also do a search on “Christine Blasey Ford AND boyfriend” and the resulting links to the above letter map to the usual “conservative” media sources. But from the legacy MSM – goose egg. Searching directly at the Washington Post site search – nothing. NY Times site search – blank.
I have little respect for Fox News and no affection for Trump, only the Truth. Again, I would claim that the much larger issue that transcends Kavanaugh/Ford is the almost complete abrogation by the MSM of journalistic integrity.
Very selective in your judgement.
Smear, malign, ridicule a man, then when he succumbs emotionally smear him for not being able to control his emotions. Not a bad strategy. Attacking him because of his performance, even as a teenager for goodness sake, and finding that was likely to fail, the enemies of what they think he represents have attacked his emotional stability.
Having said that, I think Cavanaugh could have used some coaching before he rightly attacked his accusers on the Committee. He. being human, I can sympathize with his attack but his attackers are a cold and cunning lot and they finally found something they could use to do what they wanted, to keep a Trump nominee off the Court.
That Trump will be willing to throw him under the bus is not beyond imagining.
As to Ms. Ford, however useful she was, she will suffer from the continuing glare of the spotlight as the inconsistencies in her story unravel and her personal life is dissected over and over.
If she is instrumental in keeping Cavanaugh off the Court, she will have proved quite useful to those who went after Cavanaugh. That she is also a victim means little to the scoundrels that used her.
“That she is also a victim means little to the scoundrels that used her.”
Excellent point. Neither Democrats nor Republicans care. This is all political theater. No one is interested in the truth.
Why not charge the crimes that law makes easiest to prove?
Crimes that beg for remedy effuse a telling stench-
Years go by and so remove imperative and memory,
Decomposing evidence decays behind the bench.
The court a whited sepulcher concealing things unclean,
Unresolved miscarriages that putrefy with time.
Acts of torture and rapine, misprision hiding treachery,
A tacit pact to disregard exonerates the crime.
Both parties hedge the true contempt that justice would apply.
Invoking what may go around returns to claim revenge,
Implied confession therein found betrays the evil it portends:
A plot to crush the recourse righteous justice might avenge.
That neither side affords the pride that critics might deride,
No duty to the oath prevails, integrity is coy.
Salacious accusations hide despite the coaxing ring of truth,
The wanton bargain struck insures exemptions they enjoy.
Two guilty parties face the bench prepared to dramatize,
The victim victimized again for sanctimony’s sake-
A spectacle to aggrandize exploiting lurid deeds retold,
The bargain buys a judge inclined to keep their crimes opaque.
Two towers fell in symmetry, a third can’t be explained.
The stark enigma fostered war with thinly painted lies.
Ensuing arguments disdained conflicting narratives advanced,
But symmetry, raw symmetry, credulity decries.
Crimes in symmetry abound, both parties share the guilt.
Missing trillions, wars of choice, corrupt regimes empowered,
Torture pried confessions built to justify agressive war,
Claims of patriotic deeds keep critics meek and cowered.
The neutral scale of justice undefined implies consent.
Neither side condemns the spire holding up the beam:
Passive in their discontent the people watch and some lament,
Rarely does indictment strike purveyors of the scheme.
Counterweighted narratives are placed upon the scale.
A myth implies there are two sides but both cannot be true.
Imbalance rightly must prevail unless both sides are proven false,
In symmetry both lies succeed and heinous crimes accrue.
Symmetry portrays the lies that reason can’t explain.
Collapse awaits should balance break, the weighted beam may fail.
Enigma focused on the strain may bend the arc of common sense,
But symmetry, raw symmetry is what the tale belies.
Good poem. A swamp is a very complicated place.
This is brilliant reasoning and logic –
as only FG Sanford can produce
*
I introduce this thought of truth
in the Shadow and Word of Camus
“There exists an obvious fact that seems utterly moral:
namely, that a man is always a prey To His Truths.
Once he has admitted them,
he cannot free himself from them… .”
Quote from Kavanaugh -” I LIKE BEER” !” I LOVE BEER” !! , “I DRINK BEER” !
(p. s.) beer is an intoxicating beverage that, in excess, deranges “normal function” … .
Nominal function / normal functionality — reference the Beetles lyrics; “Here There And Everywhere”
This should have end it right here. I will never understand how Americans continued to support Trump after this. Who are We in our heart of hearts?
https://youtu.be/o9K2AsMAxWA
Who are we? Good question. The real answer is that we do not know. But we think we do. And therefrom unfolds our raveling disaster….
We have decided we are mean and stupid. These are celebrated qualities amongst the public.
There are all sorts of people talking shit about Trump and Kavanaugh. Rightly so.
However, as a country, we have decided we can believe whatever factually-challenged bullshit we want to believe, and these beliefs are “just as good” as reality.
We – and yes, I use the royal We – have decided being stupid is a virtue. We have decided being mean to our fellow Americans is a virtue.
Global warming is going to ruin our lives.
Trump did not start any of this. He simply personifies it.
So when are we going to look at the real problem? Which is us.
These corrupt politicians steal and kill around the world. Why do we put up with this?
Americans celebrate this behaviour. We’re fucked not because of Clintons and Trumps and Bushes.
We’re fucked because of who we’ve decided we are: selfish SOBs.
Patriotic? Why would I feel patriotic when this is who America has become?
The fascist right will vote for Hitler if they get a chance. The rest of us are suffering from either some degree of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” or “Clinton Derangement Syndrome.” Clear thinkers like Joe Lauria are rare today. America’s future will belong to creatures like Kavanaugh.
Trump is a huge middle finger to the entire system especially the GOP and Bush cabal..The more outrageous he was the better they liked it.My guess.
Trump just established a new low in this matter.
He made a speech, publicly mocking Ms. Ford’s testimony.
Imagine, the President of the United States standing up in public and mocking a citizen?
It doesn’t matter whether her testimony is accurate or not.
His behavior is deplorable.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh-mocking-testimony-1.4848230
It is truly remarkable that Trump can hit new lows in his behavior, but then he is a genius!
Obama was just as bad, in his own “polished” way.
One fine example was when he blatantly pronounced Ed Snowden guilty of Treason, and working with Russian intelligence, and allowed his staff to make similar or worse public statements, including recommending his assassination.
Doesn’t matter who in power is speaking these days. It’s all theater, with no regard for the slander or libel they’re openly committing.
Yes, well said. tRump’s predecessor had the same mind-set as tRump, just more polished.
But, apparently one cannot polish a turd, just roll it in glitter.
Thus, was Obomba a glitterati ?
corroboration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNbgR_bF03A&frags=pl%2Cwn
Thanks God! We need more truth tellers like Lauria in Jouralism who just lie the truths bear like this. We have Kavanaugh on: Pedofeelia, Gang Rape, Rape on the House Boart, Girl Freind – Domstic Rape from 1998, asault with Ice (witch now he has a CRMINAL Police Record) and there are more poring in by the hour. We the American people need to ask are selves do we want people like Jeffrey Dahmer or Al Bundy on the Supreme Court or not? Cereal killers. And this has to be the tip of the ice berg with all that Republicans are now trying to attack a hero like Blasey Ford based that she mistated minute details of her experience with a lie detector test. Or how many doors you have on your house? Pathetic. How low can you go! Well, think about trying to tell your story like she was forced to. Of course any human beeing is going to mis state some memories from 36 years ago with all that pressure. But she knows for sure she was raped by Kavanaugh and that should be all we need to no. And now the New York Times reports Trump was a complete CROOK, witch was obvious from day one, which we can finally get back to once Kavanaugh is blocked by Jeff Flake (true hero, kudos there). Even if he gets threw we will have to inpeach along with Trump and his Putin puppet master. Why we so need President Obama back. (sigh)
Yes, the great Obama, who bombed more countries and dropped more bombs, than Bush and Cheney; who sold more military weapons to foreign countries than any president in history. Who backed an illegal in Ukraine and restarted the Cold War. That Obama?
You need to get together with an English teacher. But your illogic is another matter….
Obama legalized and industrialized fake news when he repealed the Smith-Mundt domestic propaganda ban as part of the 2013 NDAA. https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pressman-Think-Series-2-Player-Strategy-Games-Clash-Devils-Triangle-Lot-2/222185727847?hash=item33bb4d2767:g:8nsAAOSwzLlXhqdB
Here is a “Devil’s Triangle” game for teenagers selling on e-bay. I would not say that such an expression cannot have many meanings. You wish to attach the worst to it. I noticed that since this hearing was held people are scurrying about trying to change web-pages, even on Urban Dictionary, which is now mentioning Kavanaugh’s name. That is why I went to e-bay. I recall this game. .
There are 2 meanings to “Devil’s Triangle”…
1) a common urban slang referring to a sex threesome with 2 men and 1 woman.
2) a made-up game using quarters and 3 cups arranged in a triangle. The rules of this game are completely unknown, as the inventor of the game, Brett Kavanaugh, has yet to define them.
The recent history of the Supreme Court has been one of Justices playing the part of politicians in robes. Perhaps no better example was the nullification of the recount in the Bush v Gore election with the “Brooks Brothers Riot” where paid operatives of the republicans stormed the election office in Florida and declared the recount over in an extra judicial action which was backed up by the members of the Supreme Court leading to their moniker “politicians in robes”. The Supreme Court basically stole that election by upholding the use of violence as a tool to stop the recount instead of reacting on its own to denounce the use of such tactics.
The Supreme Court has become weaponized as a force for right wing agendas and it has taken a partisan position many times due to justices who have become radicalized to advance right wing views. This is part of a vast right wing well funded and well oiled political money machine. Little debut over the 10 million dollars spent by anonymous donors greasing the nomination of Neil Gorsuch. The $10 million effort to win federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation, funded by unknown donors to a conservative interest group called the Judicial Crisis Network, follows a successful $7 million effort last year to block President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. The group calls it “the most robust operation in the history of confirmation battles.”
Billionaires are funding the selection and nomination of Supreme Court Justices for one reason. So that the Supreme Court is stacked by loyal conservatives who will side with big industrialist businesses on every case brought against big industrialists.
This is a long term strategy funded with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into efforts to create a three point strategy. Fund AstroTurf phony grass roots populist organizations which claim they are formed by housewives and farmers and middle class folk but who really serve the interests of the billionaire class. Fund politicians and judges who are begging to get the money to win elections by promising they will do everything to support the uber class and groveling at their feet for the cash to be had. Create laws to serve the interests of billionaires.
So far each effort has been a phenomenal success. Funded with hundreds of millions of dollars willing recipients of all the corporate cash have created the ostensible populist front defending wedge issues like abortion, gun control and anti immigration along with a health dose of anti establishment hatred of the government. Their real aim is to serve the corporate interests.
Donald Trump is perhaps the biggest benefactor of the money machine having won election based on this populist jargon while spending little of his own money but really serving the corporate interests most obviously by supporting the 1.9 Trillion dollar tax breaks for billionaires.
It is unlikely that the average American would get angry about health care or their own social security which is funded by workers not billionaires unless they were propagandized by every main stream media outlet with Fox News and other more extremely radical right wing media outlets and all the rightwing websites and right wing syndicated media pundits.
Average Americans have been suckered to believe that what is in their own interests is very bad for America and Freedom and Democracy etc. They have been hoodwinked into voting for politicians who want to strip them of healthcare, social security, financial security and basic rights to privacy and access to the judicial system with arbitration clauses attached to every product down to toothbrushes and sunglasses. They have come to believe that defending wedge issues means they will vote for republicans no matter how bad their economic future is compromised and their future put at risk by predatory businesses which offer paycheck loans, balloon mortgages, sky high interest and insurance rates, multiple bank accounts with lots of surcharges (Pinkerton Bank) and promise to end Medicare and Social Security because its Okay to give trillions to billionaires but not Okay to help average hard working people.
Donald Trump is the pinnacle of this usurpation of power capturing the Executive Branch funded by free advertising from the media and running on a fake AstroTurf populist campaign strategy while delivering all the money to the billionaires as he entertains guests for huge fees at his Florida Property against the Emoluments Clause which appears to be dead. No president should economically benefit from the position of the highest office in the land for personal enrichment yet the Tax Cuts seem to have been perfectly tailored for Trumps own enrichment via a little known clause which allows property investment owners to pass the profits gained via those holdings to other entities like his kids at greatly lower taxes. What a windfall for Trump who has investment pass through properties all over the place. It’s a really nice deal” for Trump and pass-through owners like him, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
So much for the little guy as republicans now demand that the giant deficit created by their enormous tax cuts for the wealthy now be shrunk by eliminating all social welfare programs like Social Security which if funded by workers under the payroll deduction tax. Payroll taxes are taxes imposed on employers or employees, and are usually calculated as a percentage of the salaries that employers pay their staff. Payroll taxes generally fall into two categories: deductions from an employee’s wages, and taxes paid by the employer based on the employee’s wages. These taxes fund Social Security/ Workers earnings are garnished to pay for Social Security. The Government does not steal this money from rich people. They take it from every worker according to a schedule.
How stupid we are to willingly call this wasteful government spending and buy the BS of the republicans that it must end. What will they do with all the money once none of us is going to see a dime of what we donated under law? Why they will steal it of course.
Who has the authority to declare all social welfare programs unconstitutional? The Supreme Court. Who has the power to decline any case brought against and well monied entity including the President? The Supreme Court.
It is not so much about beer and drunkenness and abuse of women but about the continued abuse of us all by the republican party which is funded by the rich and operated by the rich for the rich and only for the rich.
Good thing this Bullshit will end soon one way or another because it is degrading for everyone. I recently drove by the frat parties at UC Berkeley before a recent football game, I thought they were on the road, and the cops were already out at 2 PM before a night game. The new fashion statement for the young coeds you may have noticed is butt cheeks hanging out the bottom of cut off cut offs. What was the standard from the 1980’s I can’t remember. I was too drunk. By the way word says Democrats may when the Midterm election and take both the Senate and the House (?) of course the same sources said Trump stood no chance in the Presidential Election in 2016. What are the policies that they have proposed to get to this point. Perhaps the NY Times can clarify the new policies they have proposed and the Google and Yahoo News Feeds can inform us all.
If support for Kavanaugh demonstrates a lack of decency for Republicans, what does support for Hillary Clinton, who supports another accused rapist,attacked the women who accused Bill merit?
Now democrats care about women?
It’s laughable.
Everybody needs to call the republican and democrat senators of your state and tell them not to
confirm Bret Kavenaugh based on his opinion on the record that bulk NSA spying is not a violation of the 4th Amendment. That makes him a traitor who does not uphold the Constitution. This dog and pony show is a study in distraction. A 2015 Pew research study found the majority of Americans, Republican, Democrat and Independent voters, oppose NSA bulk spying.
You mean the NSA illegal and unconstitutional spying that democrat made legal and expanded?
The Same Democrats Who Denounce Donald Trump as a Lawless, Treasonous Authoritarian Just Voted to Give Him Vast Warrantless Spying Powers
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/12/the-same-democrats-who-denounce-trump-as-a-lawless-treasonous-authoritarian-just-voted-to-give-him-vast-warrantless-spying-powers/
You do know the architects for those crimes now work for MSNBC and CNN?…….they are democrats new hero’s?
CIA director John Brennan lied to you and to the Senate. Fire him …
Video for brennan lies
? 1:34
https://www.theguardian.com/…/cia-director-john-brennan-lied-sen…
Jul 31, 2014
“The facts will come out,” Brennan told NBC News in March after … apologizes even though he’s not sorry, who …
James Clapper Just Lied Again About His Previous Lies About NSA …
Video for clapper lies
? 9:28
thefederalist.com/…/james-clapper-just-lied-again-about-his-previous…
General Hayden Lies To The Press
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJZ0hALJVrE
May 22, 2018 – Uploaded by The View
In an interview with the ladies of ‘The View’ James Clapper told another lie about his previous lies about …
Of course what you say is correct but also very naive. If you think a Democratic Supreme Court nominee would vote to repeal domestic spying you are foolish. Obama increased domestic spying . Diane Feinstein approves of the status quo , she supports this and publicly stated that Edward Snowden’s head should be placed on a platter for exposing the program when she was head of the Senate Intelligence Committee. She was calling for his summary execution without due process. This is something that Obama ordered not only for 1 US citizen , a cleric in Yemen, but for also his 16 year old non combatant son who was killed in the mourner’s tent with other women and children soon afterward. The next day if I recall. Not one Democrat questioned this action. fisa warrants allow searchs and triangulation and other tools that basically require that all data will be gathered. Do you think the CIA and FBI will surrender this tool and that the US Government will close down the GIGANTIC meta data storage facility in Utah and lay those people off? That is funny. Kavanaugh is too far right to be a good judge but he is a partisan hack and that is what is required now-a-days. I won’t be sorry if he isn’t approved but Democrats are not going to repeal Citizen’s United or suddenly change decades and decades of decisions that state that Corporations are People even if some miracle happens and Trump or Mike Pense nominate a “liberal” judge to the court. I would like to remind everyone that Justice Kagan was appointed Dean of Harvard Law because she was the advising attorney of the Clinton Administration,.’ Her published output was very meager . A couple dozen pages. TShe was appointed to the Supreme Court ? Why? Because she’s so smart? . She went through hearings and didn’t answer any questions and walla . She’s there for life.
jean…nice work with the logical fallacies: wonder if you can figure out just which ones from this list you indulged in?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
Really?
Bill Clinton: A Reckoning
Feminists saved the 42nd president of the United States in the 1990s. They were on the wrong side of history; is it finally time to make things right?
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/reckoning-with-bill-clintons-sex-crimes/545729/
I Believe Juanita
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/opinion/juanita-broaddrick-bill-clinton.html
You’d Better Put Some Ice On That: How I Survived Being Raped by Bill Clinton Paperback – January 3, 2018
https://www.amazon.com/Youd-Better-Put-Some-That/dp/1979834245
Wheres # ME Too?
What we’ve learned in these days is that it does not matter one whit if what you charge is false; the mainstream media, in league with the Democrat Party, have mastered this to perfection. No: What matters is lobbing something—filth works best because it sticks best— at someone, especially if the latter person is someone you want to discredit in some way—any way—possible.
I’m having a large problem with Lauria’s article, admit I did not read past the first paragraph. My excuse is that we are all on emotional overload in the aftermath of Ford’s juvenile presentation before the Judiciary Committee. What most of us suspected at the time–that these were false charges–was largely substantiated first by what we heard and then by Ms. Mitchell, the sex abuse professional who interviewed Ford. Witnessing the Democrats, Feinstein especially, and then the dispassionate Kamala H., smile beseechingly while encouraging this preposterous display left yet more funky smells in the room.
Now we are asked to forget all that and engage in a new game: This one is called Double jeopardy? Triple jeopardy…? It goes like this:
You take a baseball bat and slam someone over the head with it as hard as you can. Next step is to stand there and critique that person from every angle imaginable, but mostly for having the audacity to stand up and try to defend himself.
Shame on all of us.
I shall be amazed if the censor permits this comment to post.
Joe Lauria does not deserve to be the Editor of the journal Robert Parry established and, for years, edited honorably and professionally.
Joe Lauria disgraces Consortium News with his part-fraudulent, all toxic propaganda “article” that clashes with near-all the ACTUAL EVIDENCE (rather than the baseless, thoroughly discredited accusations and the vile-politics-engendered “belief” of the Democrat-suborned false accusations).
One must wonder whether her, Lauria, would feel and express rage and show tears were HE the object of vicious, fraudulent character-assassination like that suffered by Judge Kavanaugh.
I contemn Joe Lauria as I contemned Joe McCarthy and contemn now the Democrat Party’s members of Congress and the Clintonian DNC.
Joe Lauria needs to resign his Editorship.
CORRECTION:
“One must wonder whether Lauria would feel” NOT “One must wonder whether her, Lauria, would feel”
Most people wrongly accused would want every avenue taken to clear their name, because they know turning over every rock would show their innocence. A thorough investigation would do that. K couldn’t bring himself to agree with that. Why?
I watched the entire “testimony.” In K I witnessed an unhinged personality. No way I’d get away acting like that in an interview. Would you? Your comment about Lauria is off-base.
Check out Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers’ article recently listing dozens of reasons in his legal history why Kavanaugh should not be on SCOTUS and perhaps not a judge at all. Sorry unsure of link.
Lauria’s knowledge of Kavanaugh’s real historic role explains why he finds the baseless allegations against him believable. One has to examine his entire record, which is admirable, rather than going to the mattresses because he makes a mistake here. The fact is, Kavanaugh is a disgrace for reasons other than the ones the democrats are proferring because as an integral part of a corrupt militarist imperialist power structure intent on continuing their total domination of everything, they don’t want to deal with the real failings of Kavanaugh as a corrupt opponent of the rule of law. I agree that it is unfortunate that Lauria accepts this largely debunked story influenced by his knowledge of unrelated worse stories that are provable.
Brett Kavanaugh “might” have “gang-raped” some girls. I mean, some girl saw him sometime at a party, or so she thinks – or doesn’t. These gang-rape parties were terrible, so much so that the accuser went to ten of them! NBC just aired an interview with Ms. Swetnick, the accuser, and had to preface the interview with a disclaimer that Ms. Swetnick’s statements in the interview varied from the written statement she provided.
Then somebody else came forward and said that Kavanaugh raped some girl on a boat, but retracted his statement when the authorities said they were going to charge him with making a false statement.
Ms. Ford can’t remember much, except that she only had “one” beer. She can’t even remember how she got upstairs in the first place. Did the guys carry her up there against her will, or did she walk up those stairs?
And then Kavanaugh had the audacity to go and get angry about being accused of these things. Well, how dare he! I certainly know that if I were accused of gang-rape, I’d have kept my composure!
And now some here think that Brett Kavanaugh “might” be an alcoholic. I mean, he could be, couldn’t he? He drank when he was young, so that pretty much automatically makes him a lush now.
Insanity prevails.
Want to be Supreme Court Lifer, the Honorable Brett Kavanaugh, should have had as his mouth piece Tom T. Hall sharing with the United States Senate Judicial Committee while strumming, “I like Beer….it’s beer, beer, beer, that makes you want to cheer….”
Also, the very real problem of Donald Trump. It’s ok to ignore the facist in the room because Hillary is a neocon.
Could Trump Take Down the American Empire?
“Trump had entered the White House with a clear commitment to ending U.S.
military interventions, based on a worldview in which fighting wars in
the pursuit of military dominance has no place. In the last speech of
his “victory tour” in December 2016, Trump vowed,
“We will stop racing to topple foreign regimes that we knew nothing about, that we shouldn’t
be involved with.” Instead of investing in wars, he said, he wouldinvest in rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure.”
“Trump retorted angrily that the generals were “the architects of this mess” and that they have were “making it worse,” by asking him to add more troops to “something I don’t believe in.”
Then Trump folded his arms and declared, “I want to get out. And you’re telling me the answeris to get deeper in.”
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/could-trump-take-down-the-american-empire/
No wonder democrats hate him.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/could-trump-take-down-the-american-empire/
Jean, you make a good point that Trump’s taking down the American Empire, but not as you’ve envisioned it? Trump’s Trade Wars & Financial terrorism in the form of Tarriffs & Sanctions are forcing other Nations to consolidate & start the process of the “dedollarisation” of their economies to transition away from the US Dollar & it’s removal as the Worlds reserve currency! Alternatives to the US Swift Banking system are well on the way, further isolating the USA’s role in punishing Nations through financial & economic warfare via the Banking system! Once this happens, the entire “ponzi scheme” of the most indebted Nation on Earth will collapse in on itself like a Black hole! And Trump is accelerating this demise of America as a Hegemonic Empire! And for your information & in direct contradiction of his campaign promises,Trump is not withdrawing America from meddling in the Middle East, he’s appeasing the Deepstate & outsourcing this Foreign Policy of Regime change & Resources theft of other Countries, to Warmongers like Mattis & Pompeo who are maintaining the status quo of the US as a unwanted, Foreign Invader by hanging on in Afghanistan; Iraq & Syria, like a limpett crab attaching itself to a rock! Trump is unable to extricate the US because the US cant’t or won’t face the reality, that they have achieved nothing, despite wasting trillions of dollars of warmongering with zero results to show for the horrendous cost of the invasions! So they will remain over there, till hell freezes over, as a face saving measure to avoid the inevitable humiliation of defeat like in Vietnam, knowing that the endless Wars conducted by them has been a utter, catastrophic disaster caused by arrogance, ignorance & supreme hubris by a out of control, lawless Rogue Nation!
Don’t bother “jean” with inconvenient facts or pesky reality. She’s on a tear about Hillary and has been for a few years now over at the Intercept. Literally a one trick pony. Totally and utterly not worthy of your time or response because “she” won’t respond with reason, just more “But Hillary!!! But Democrats!!!” whatabouttism.
its called consistency and principles.
“Whataboutism” is a call out of hypocrisy and was first used by a poor Carpenter who said to “First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
We wouldnt even have Trump if not for Hillary.
Of course the USA is the biggest terrorist on the planet and the biggest war monger bar none.The USA is the largest arms dealer and the pentagon alone is the world largest employer……ALL happened before Trump.
And WHY is the middle east in turmoil?……..Didnt Bush lie the world into war?…….while Hillary stood with him?Didn’t Obama refuse to prosecute the multitude of crimes committed by the Bush regime?” Moving forward”?……..Didnt Obama overthrow Libya’s Qaddafi and they now have open air slavery markets where they once had Education and healthcare and equal rights for women?
Didnt Obama support ” the rebels { ISIS} trying to over throw Assad and creating the largest refugee crisis since WW2?Didnt Obama help the Saudi’s commit genocide in Yemen ?………and that just the middle east…
Didnt Obama not only allow the criminal banks to commit massive fraud and keep their loot but continue their crime spree?…..too big to jail is bigger than ever and AG Eric Holder now works for those same banks.Trump Fault?
As for Tarrifs?…….other countries have tariffs and yet we allow the US to be undercut and over run by other countries who purposely undermine US manufactures….you know why Solindra went under?……..they couldnt compete with Chinese solar companies who who cheat by manipulation of prices and currency.
Remember Gen Flynn?…….who wanted to work with Russia and was hounded out by the deep state?…….while democrats cheered?
Democrats have been pushing for WW3 with Russia and sneering at Trumps steps toward peace with N Korea…..and derided him for not pushing harder at Syria to topple Assad…….and what comes after ASSAD?……ISIS.
Democrats are now the BUSH Neo con party…….they arent even bright enough to know…….their new hero’s are BUSH war criminals and torture enthusiasts……Meuller,Brennan ,Clapper and Hadnen?Democrats are far more dangerous than Trump.They are omnicidal.
The Democrats haven’t even tried to figure out why Trump won.
After all, he was a genuinely appalling candidate. If the Republicans had put a decent candidate on the same platform they’d have won by a landslide.
Trump is a symptom
Trumps fault?
Trump tied to pull out of Syria and the CIA pulled another false flag attack and
I definitely agree that much of what is happening is being used for terrible purposes by the powerful establishment who really don’t care at all about women. However, I can’t really call this a he said/she said situation because there is evidence still to be examined, even in Ford’s case. Further, there is a lot of corroborating evidence in Ramirez’s case and there may also be evidence in Swetnick’s case. The problem is the FBI is doing the investigation and they certainly have very little (if any) credibility as fact finders. I think we must wait for that evidence to come out, even if it will only come out in the press. At that point, we will be able to draw a good conclusion.
However, as of now, there’s plenty of evidence that Kav perjured himself. There have been several careful analysis of his testimony. Kav said he only heard of Ms. Ramirez’s allegations after reading the NYorker article. In fact he had texted classmates for information to discredit her allegations prior to publication. This is clearly perjury. There is no other way of looking at what he said verses what he actually did. As Brett himself said perjury was a reason to impeach, I think we can hold him to his own standard.
There’s that whole illegal aspect of lying to Congress. As Chuck Grassley has said that anyone who lies to Congress should be imprisoned I’m sure we can expect that to happen to Kav (not)!!!
Clearly Brett is a much desired justice. I’m thinking this has a lot to do with his stance on keeping detainees from having lawyers, giving unchecked power to the executive and in general being really strong on all violations of human rights. However, I am unsure why only Brett can fulfill these duties for the powerful. It seems to me that there are many women and men who agree with Brett on these points and they will step up to the plate to take his place! There’s something going on here which is opaque to me and I wish I understood why Brett is specifically so important to the powerful.
It’s clear if you look at metoo twitter that this is a Democratic take over of what may once have been a genuine group. That said, I saw a real civil rights movement at the capital during the hearing. Women and men, many of whom were actually sincere, occupied the space of the powerful. People were right in their faces. If we can stay away from shrinking this people power into “rock the vote” and instead pull together to confront unjust power, I believe we will make a real difference in our society.
“I Don’t Know What He Did” – Kavanaugh Accuser Backtracks On Assault Claims In NBC Interview
“I cannot specifically say that he was one of the ones who assaulted me,” Swetnick
told Snow. “But, before this happened to me, at that party, I saw Brett
Kavanaugh there, I saw Mark Judge, and they were hanging out about
where I started to feel disoriented and where the room was and where the
other boys were hanging out and laughing.”
Swetnick did not confirm that she saw Kavanaugh spike punch, one of
the claims from her affidavit, she instead said that she merely “saw him
around punch containers,” and that she wouldn’t have accepted a glass
of punch if he were to hand it to her.
“I don’t know what he did,” she added.
Swetnick’s interviewer, Kate Snow, noted this before the interview
and added that some details of Swetnick’s account differed from her
sworn affidavit.
“NBC News, for the record, has not been able to independently verify her claims. There are things she told us on camera that differ from her written statements last week.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/n…
This is going to come back and haunt democrats and women who have been raped.
Rape has never been easy to prove. That’s one of the problems here isn’t it? It’s also difficult to disprove. In law and in life, we sill have to do the best we can. Since is is not a trial, it is not necessary to prove anything however.
She says she doesnt even know who raped her.And not one of them say Kavanaugh raped them.
And your right its not a trial but ” innocent until proved guilty ” is a basic universal human right and its not up to him to prove his innocence its up to you to prove his guilt.
The very fact you actually ADMIT you dont even think it necessary to prove anything makes the Salem witch trials look objective.
And you think Trump and Kavanaugh are dangerous?
Look at all his decisions over the years and THEN tell us he will be a suitable judge.
Kavanaugh is a dangerous man no doubt…….but many of those despicable crimes he has gotten away with during his tenure with Bush? Democrats were a party to.
I dont think he is suitable at all……but that doesnt change the facts that only democrats and their willingness to swim in the gutter could make Kavanaugh look like a victim and martyr and throw women under the bus at the same time.
Its despicable.
I tend to always agree with Joe Lauria, but on this he is off and this piece is bias to be mild. Not sure he has all the pieces. I could not say whether the events described by Ford are true or not based on her testimony, but he seems pretty convinced. Just because she does not remember it does not mean it did not happen, but there needs to be more than what she has provided. Would her testimony hold up in an actual court of law and under the scrutiny of cross examination?? If not then it’s just an allegation that can not be proved. Even the prosecutor that was hired to question her said the case was far weaker than a “he said, she said” case, and that it would have a hard time passing the test in a civil suit, where the standards for proof are much lower. Do I think Kavanaugh may have done things like this, it’s entirely possible. But in the end we need evidence before anyone is presumed guilty. Kavanagh is a partisan hack and that is obvious, but that does not make him guilty on the other account. If there is an accusation there should be a due process to determine the truth. If we abandon that process and make presumptions of guilt based very flimsy information, we’re pretty much abandoning the rule of law altogether. Strangely, no one that supports the accusations as absolute truth mentions how Ms. Ford is profiting from this circus. Do you really need a million bucks for private security in donations? Her attorneys allegedly did their work pro bono. If find it all questionable at best.
This is a hearing, not a trial. In a job interview, you do not have to convict someone of a crime to find them unsuitable for a job. Would you hire this jackass for anything??
Whether we would hire him or not isnt the question.
It’s up to democrats to prove their accusations it’s not up to him to prove his innocence.
Using these unsubstantiated rape allegations against him is not only going to harm the already toxic political atmosphere but harm victims of rape as well.
This is a very dangerous game that will come back to bite you even if you do keep him off the court.
Whether he is to be hired or not is precisely the question.
Whether WE would hire him isnt.As for Kavanaugh?…….he is despicable without these accusations.
Im against Kavanaugh but also see these unsubstantiated accusations as a very dangerous game that will come back to bite democrats and victims of Rape.
Kavanaugh is a Bush criminal toady who helped Bush shred the constitution and worse.Why didnt democrats go after him for that?…..Because they are complicit in those same crimes perhaps?
It seems to me a job interview should be based on a candidate’s professional record rather than what he or she may or may not have done while in high school. As to Kavanaugh’s record as a judge and legal adviser to the Bush II administration, I would vote NO. As to the sexual accusations of Ford, I remain agnostic.
Jean nails it. There are many reasons to oppose Kavanaugh. This sordid he-said, she-said melodrama is not one of them. It really illustrates the bankruptcy of the U.S. “democracy” though.
Yes, Joe, but what the Dems have done is obfuscate any possibility of judging the merits of this Trump appontment. And your article along with those who agree with its “reasoning” sacrifice a logical and moral compass.
All this “evidence” business is interesting when we observe that since March, the USA media and government has accepted the word of UK PM Theresa May that the Russians have poisoned two Salisbury residents with novichok under the orders of Vladimir Putin himself. NO evidence of any kind has been produced, the EU and NATO gang were called in, over 100 diplomats were expelled and the Russians had no right of reply at all, and the whole saga continues. These days, who cares about evidence?
In this case, there is abundance evidence over thirty years that Kavanaugh is “a corporation masquerading as a judge”, to use Ralph Nader’s words. He cares not at all for workers, environment, poor people, ordinary citizens. Find a real candidate, if any come forward.
Kavanaugh should be prosecuted –including Trump–and throw in Bolton-they are all criminals–birds of a feather–
And you can throw in the whole US Congress to boot, plus the intelligence agencies, and the crooked MIC.
Along with Hillary and Obama and the democrats.
Here are the six democrats who voted to confirm torture queen Gina Haspel : Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner
Obama not only refused to prosecute these proved criminals he elevated them and gave them more power……
Massie: “Obama Deep State Has Circled The Wagons” To Protect Gina Haspel
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/05/17/massie_obama_deep_state_has_circled_the_wagons_to_protect_gina_haspel.html
Kavanaugh is a fright mask.
His petulance, his sense of entitlement, his callowness are visible on his physiognomy.
He has no business on the SCOTUS.
That someone so clearly unqualified is almost a shoo-in for the post is the worse indictment imaginable of both our regime and our society.
I simply cannot imagine this man writing legal decisions!!
I agree. But those who rule over us do not want men of real character as their spokespersons. A total non entity with no backbone suits them to a tee. And the Rulers are contemptuous of us, the public, and delight in shoving any kind of crappy person in our faces.
He has been doing for the 35 years or so I have been told.
Look at the decisions of those already there, including Roberts.
Those ruling our culture are addicted to power. This is the most dangerous addiction. Those under it’s spell are blinded by it, and hence capable of the most violent and immoral behavior. The ancient Greeks called it Hubris.
KavaNaw has been using/abusing his power for a long (life-?) time re: torture, police state, corporatocracy (anti labor, anti-consumer), plus being Dumbya’s enabler. He finally may have used his recent power-play in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“There is a greater need to extinguish hubris than a blazing fire.” — Heraclitus
Too late for KavaNaw?
There are good reasons for opposing Kavanaugh – and they were obvious to begin with. Lauria and others have summarized them nicely.
BUT with all those things known, he was on his way to confirmation. The lesson is that the Elite, Dems and GOP, are just fine with Kavanaugh. If it were a Dem essentially like him the voting would be Partisan, just the other way.
Some would prefer a woman but they had their day in approving Gina Haspel. No big fight was involved; and we know what she has done dwarfs even the worst accusations against Kavanaugh.
Then the last minute accusations, and everyone got interested. There are many serious issues here – sexual assault being one of them as Lauria points out. But they are unproven and alleged against a 17 year old. So the discussion shifted to temperament and respect for Senators. Do they deserve respect? I do not think so. And now on to drinking habits of the high school and college boy. Down, down, down.
What is motivating 99% of the people glued to this issue? It is Partisan Identity Politics – in fact worse, it is Tabloid Identity Politics. Meanwhile tensions are soaring on the Russian border, in Middle East and in the South China Sea; mass incarceration stares us in the face; health care degenerates ever further -and we have to debate Kavanaugh’s alcoholism and “temperament.” What a sad excuse for real political discussion. In fact I find I am getting annoyed at myself for even weighing in on this. I
Exactly. We are now reading in the ‘papers of record’ articles which not long ago
would have appeared in supermarket checkout tabloids. But since they are in
the Big Papers, they now have an aura of authenticity lacking in tabloid spreads.
It’s practically impossible to find useful information on any topic in the Big Papers.
I’m sure the Deme are fine with Kavanaugh being on the supreme court when all those voter suppression and gerrymandering cases are revisited…
It is obvious that we’ll never know what the truth is in the alleged sexual abuse matter. So far as I can see, that charge is strictly part of the Hillary/Democrats failure to believe that Kavanaugh’s other political and personality traits are sufficient to keep him off the court. They are so tied in to the #MeToo hysteria that their ability to use reason as their weaponry has failed.
What is obviously being demonstrated is that those who control both parties are not fit to direct this nation.
The ugly Americans have all come out of the woodwork since the ex-Director of the CIA moved their Mindset directly into the Oval Office. His not-to bright son was directed by the father’s entourage. The Clintons and Obama were their willing pawns, corrupted by fame and fortune.
This Kavanaugh circus along with the lawsuits and sexual ambulance chasers, the profoundly political lies, the real or imagined causes for disgracing ones family by inference, in other words, everything that can be put in the pot to bring down a major decision maker on the state or national level will conspire to keep any thinking person to not be a candidate for a major office.
There will always be a few whose ego or search for power and money will drive them to seek such positions, but are those the ones we want to make our political positions, domestically, internationally, militarily, and economically.
I think the Democrats and Republicans constitute America’s systemic failure of Democracy and Trump is our Nero, with twitter replacing Nero’s fiddle.
I appreciate Joe Lauria’s interpretation of the hearings. Yes, I agree, in these political times it always does come down to power (and money).
Like it or not, the nominee (and his allies on the committee) blatantly displayed his (and their) temperament and character. I don’t see how it’s even debatable that this nominee is unqualified. It sure seems that would be an inescapable conclusion if this advise & consent process is anything like the open, fact-based judgment made for the long term health, safety and welfare of the country that it’s supposed to be. But of course it’s become evident it’s no longer that (if it ever was) but is purely politically motivated.
To my mind, Ms. Ford’s testimony still hasn’t been fully verified. But she has said she was shocked by the vitriol and threats directed against her. For someone in her position, given the partisan rancor that’s been on display in this country for some time now, that to me smacks of overacting and exaggeration (not the threats, her being surprised by them). In my view, exaggeration for effect, to proselytize whatever political point of view is a bugaboo that is now rampant (along with out-and-out bullshit) and that becomes part of the framework for manipulation, disinformation and propaganda.
But something else that sometimes gets overlooked concerns me most. To whit: that to the same degree that some people are outraged by Kavanaugh’s attitudes, others of your fellow citizens are outraged by his treatment in the hearings (and vice-versa). His angry outburst inflames a dangerous divide and foments more hatred. Who wins or loses in this scenario?
Thus, the current face of the country, at the apex of a display of its most powerful institutions of social control, shows itself to the world as an angry, vindictive, venal, dangerous bully. What would it take to suck it up, admit this and break the cycle of increasing belligerence?
But it’s more than whether he is qualified or not. It’s a question of whether he’s the best candidate for the job. It’s a job interview, and he’s not entitled to the position. That’s what everyone misses. If there’s anyone else that could present himself without all these partisan and questionable doubts, (and there are hundreds of well-qualified people) then why not go for someone with fewer questions or concerns? The Senate can reject this candidate at will, for any reason or for no reason. He’s not the only choice available. We have a choice. The Senate doesn’t have the burden of showing that he’s unfit. Kavanaugh has the burden of showing that he is the best man. Most of the evidence has been kept out at this point, especially concerning his Bush years.
“Government is the Entertainment Division of the military/industrial complex” Frank Zappa
Amen. Old Frank really knew how to cut to the chase. May he rest in peace.
Wow. I’m saddened that so many people carelessly toss aside the best parts of our civilisation such as the presumption of innocence.
Accusers have to prove their charges.
Imagine Joe Lauria is accused by someone of something heinous. Anyone who doesn’t like Joe can now comment on social media about how he looks like the type of guy who would do that. Anyone who disagrees with him might be motivated to do that. They can suggest psychological reasons for his atrocious behaviour. The accuser does not need to prove anything – just some lurid details and a tearful interview are enough, and the rest of us can no longer see his by-line without remembering all of the innocent children he molested.
See? What I just insinuated is completely untrue. Joe is an honest and good man, but anyone can smear him at any time and ruin his livelihood. Its easy. And Joe just made it easier with this article.
Please, think about what it is like to be unfairly accused. Perhaps in the abstract you can shrug, but talk to anyone who has actually been the victim of false allegations, and you will realise how powerless you are in that situation. Your only protection is the civilised idea that you are innocent until proven guilty, and if you destroy that, well, that would be a shame.
All of the folks who begin their comment with “I am saddened” or end with just the word sad – turn out to be apologists for Trump and the repubs. Please spare us your pitying condescension.
Whats Ironic is democrats have gone completely insane and make one defend the basic human right of “innocent until proved guilty” .
There are plenty of reasons to be against Kavaough and the very fact that democrats didn’t go against him for his many crimes against the constitution and the country is because they were also a party to those crimes.Using sex and unsubstantiated allegations will come back to haunt you and real victims of rape.
Exactly!
well said
Have you ever experienced a false accusation ? I have, and I didn’t even know it.
For many years, my mother in law sincerely believed that her grandson was not her
son’s child. This was patently untrue, but I was clueless because no one (we lived
surrounded by her immediate family) told me, although the women all gossiped behind my back. You can only imagine how this affected all my familial relationships. She never
did come clean about this situation (her thinking was affected by long term steroid use)
but did eventually apologize to me (without precisely stating why) the year our son
turned thirteen, at which point he started strongly resembling his dad (her son).
False accusations are a very serious thing, and we are accepting them all too glibly.
The problem with Ford’s accusation and testimony is that it is a huge red herring.
A teenage misstep is not what disqualifies Kavanaugh.
His record is poor; his temperament is petulant—in short, he is a very immature person who happens to be male.
Can you imagine a female candidate conducting herself as Kav has done?
It is simply wrong for Kav to get away with this kind of bullying public performance, and even to be rewarded with a permanent position on the SCOTUS.
It is mind-blowing.
Litchfield – “Can you imagine a female candidate conducting herself as Kav has done?”
Female candidates don’t get put through 1/1000th of what Kavanaugh has been subjected to. How many questions was Kagan and Sotomayor asked about their past drinking and relationships? I don’t even know how Kagan got on the Supreme Court. I read an article about her and I was amazed at her lack of credentials.
Kavanaugh had every right to be angry at the Democratic senators for intentionally trying to undermine the confirmation process. Senator Feinstein had Ms. Ford’s accusations in July, and if she had brought them forward immediately, there would have been ample time for the Senate investigators to investigate.
No, backwards, you have it wrong- Neil Gorsuch wasn’t “put through 1/1000th of what Kavanaugh has been subjected to” and of course Kagan and Sotomayor weren’t either, because none of them have this sordid history of repulsive temperament, despicable character, and poor judgement. Kavanaugh DOES have a history of this, hence, it is all coming out into the open as it should. He does not belong on any court, much less the Supreme Court. Senator Coons of Delaware just mentioned tonight on the PBS Newshour that there were many other reasons he did not want Kavanaugh on the Court before any of the sexual assault allegations came out, including his prior rulings on many important cases. But the Dems don’t talk about all Kavanaugh’s pro-torture, pro-surveillance, anti-worker, anti-woman, anti-environmental, anti-human rights opinions near enough! In any event, Neil Gorsuch’s case disproves your false charge about female candidates. He sailed right through confirmation, unscathed.
That did not happen with Neil Gorsuch, so your charge is false, backwards. Kavanaugh is getting raked for a reason. His despicable character, poor judgement, and repulsive temperament makes him the poorest of choices for this lofty position to which he believes he is entitled.
ML – two Conservative judges might have been a bridge too far for the Democrats. One (Gorsuch) was allowable.
ML – I did post another reply to you re the FBI report (re Ms. Ford’s former boyfriend), but I’ve been put in “moderation” again. When you’re in jail, you don’t get to play.
Cheers.
I agree but believe it is much more than just a shame to destroy presumption of innocence. I believe it is tragic and America’s acceleration downhill is gaining speed.
It works very well for the Russiagate hoax, starting at least with Obama expelling the diplomats and stealing their property.
Why are my comments saying that they posted but won’t show up? There is no violation of the rules within the comments. What keeps going on with this?
CN may need to change its robo-mods software provider. Meanwhile, if you compile a lengthy post, save it, so that you can re-post if necessary.
Larco Marco – yes, some of my posts just disappear. That’s why I “copy” them before I hit “Post Comment”. When I try a second time, after “pasting” my comments back in, they go through. Go figure.
But I have posted two comments this morning that were put into “moderation”. One referred to the intentional delay by Senator Feinstein that caused this whole mess. The other refuted the charges of Kavanaugh being a potential alcoholic, saying he was too productive to be an alcoholic.
Only one of my comments has been allowed, and yet others that agree with the author have been allowed five comments. What’s up, moderator?
Yes, what is up? A second try does no good. I wrote the site, no response. It’s so frustrating.
Alcoholics are often quite functional, which allows them and others to deny they have a problem with booze. The image of the alcoholic as someone passed out on skid row is misleading. Plenty of affluent people have serious drinking problems, and manage to conceal this from themselves and others.
my alcoholic father was extremely productive,worked 6 days a week 8am to 6pm plus worked at the dinner table till 10pm most evenings-consumed 6-8 beers after dinner every night. He was eventually named as the “father” of a whole area of physics, had a lab at a big ten university named after him…. dropped dead at age 67 after a rapid cognitive decline.Common scenario actually. His skin looked just like Kavanuagh’s skin looks now.
I was wondering why this comment said it was posted but did not post. There is absolutely no violation within the content of this comment. Trying again:
I definitely agree that much of what is happening is being used for terrible purposes by the powerful establishment who really don’t care at all about women. However, I can’t really call this a he said/she said situation because there is evidence still to be examined, even in Ford’s case. Further, there is a lot of corroborating evidence in Ramirez’s case and there may also be evidence in Swetnick’s case. The problem is the FBI is doing the investigation and they certainly have very little (if any) credibility as fact finders. I think we must wait for that evidence to come out, even if it will only come out in the press. At that point, we will be able to draw a good conclusion.
However, as of now, there’s plenty of evidence that Kav perjured himself. There have been several careful analysis of his testimony. Kav said he only heard of Ms. Ramirez’s allegations after reading the NYorker article. In fact he had texted classmates for information to discredit her allegations prior to publication. This is clearly perjury. There is no other way of looking at what he said verses what he actually did. As Brett himself said perjury was a reason to impeach, I think we can hold him to his own standard.
There’s that whole illegal aspect of lying to Congress. As Chuck Grassley has said that anyone who lies to Congress should be imprisoned I’m sure we can expect that to happen to Kav (not)!!!
Clearly Brett is a much desired justice. I’m thinking this has a lot to do with his stance on keeping detainees from having lawyers, giving unchecked power to the executive and in general being really strong on all violations of human rights. However, I am unsure why only Brett can fulfill these duties for the powerful. It seems to me that there are many women and men who agree with Brett on these points and they will step up to the plate to take his place! There’s something going on here which is opaque to me and I wish I understood why Brett is specifically so important to the powerful.
It’s clear if you look at metoo twitter that this is a Democratic take over of what may once have been a genuine group. That said, I saw a real civil rights movement at the capital during the hearing. Women and men, many of whom were actually sincere, occupied the space of the powerful. People were right in their faces. If we can stay away from shrinking this people power into “rock the vote” and instead pull together to confront unjust power, I believe we will make a real difference in our society.
I definitely agree that much of what is happening is being used for terrible purposes by the powerful establishment who really don’t care at all about women. However, I can’t really call this a he said/she said situation because there is evidence still to be examined, even in Ford’s case. Further, there is a lot of corroborating evidence in Ramirez’s case and there may also be evidence in Swetnick’s case. The problem is the FBI is doing the investigation and they certainly have very little (if any) credibility as fact finders. I think we must wait for that evidence to come out, even if it will only come out in the press. At that point, we will be able to draw a good conclusion.
However, as of now, there’s plenty of evidence that Kav perjured himself. There have been several careful analysis of his testimony. Kav said he only heard of Ms. Ramirez’s allegations after reading the NYorker article. In fact he had texted classmates for information to discredit her allegations prior to publication. This is clearly perjury. There is no other way of looking at what he said verses what he actually did. As Brett himself said perjury was a reason to impeach, I think we can hold him to his own standard.
There’s that whole illegal aspect of lying to Congress. As Chuck Grassley has said that anyone who lies to Congress should be imprisoned I’m sure we can expect that to happen to Kav (not)!!!
Clearly Brett is a much desired justice. I’m thinking this has a lot to do with his stance on keeping detainees from having lawyers, giving unchecked power to the executive and in general being really strong on all violations of human rights. However, I am unsure why only Brett can fulfill these duties for the powerful. It seems to me that there are many women and men who agree with Brett on these points and they will step up to the plate to take his place! There’s something going on here which is opaque to me and I wish I understood why Brett is specifically so important to the powerful.
It’s clear if you look at metoo twitter that this is a Democratic take over of what may once have been a genuine group. That said, I saw a real civil rights movement at the capital during the hearing. Women and men, many of whom were actually sincere, occupied the space of the powerful. People were right in their faces. If we can stay away from shrinking this people power into “rock the vote” and instead pull together to confront unjust power, I believe we will make a real difference in our society.
I think the whole Kavanaugh back-and-forth-mud-slinging excersize is just an irrelevant side-show to distract us from what really matters.
Justice in the USA is already dead; they only forgot to burry the corpse.
So why fighting over it? That;s the point: it’s all a distraction from the twin-brother of “Justice”, called “Democracy” who’s on life support, too. And by fighting over the already dead corpse of Justice, the Deep State can let the death of Democracy go unnoticed.
In fact, I believe the present USA government system is way beyond repair. Corporate corruption has taken over all government institutions, so there are no institutional proceedings left to fight this corrupt system. The only way left is a revolution to overthrow the corrupt system and start anew.
It will not be pleasant, but that’s the ride the USA has embarked on.
For argument sake let’s forget for a minute what has taken place in high school and college, which is he/she said at this point, even if I believe her.
His arrogant defense on last Thursday afternoon really revealed who Kavanaugh is. His blatant partisanship unquestionable support of Trump and prejudice against liberals, democrats, Clintons, etc., makes him unfit for the Supreme Court. Especially, when he threatens with revenge, “what goes around comes around” as he stated.
It’s impossible for him to be an effective member of the SC, he’d need to excuse himself from 70-80% of the cases front of the SC. And he does excuse himself, unlikely but go with it, the SC will be ineffective most of the times and unable to break the tie.
In my view, he will be confirmed and the Republicans will have the upper hand in the SC as they have in the Congress and the Whitehouse currently. So much much for the three branches of government…
And no, I don’t believe that the Democrats will get back the majority in the Congress. They are not that much different from the Republicans anyway and they are not as focused as the Republicans. Blaming Russians for their failure in election and everything nowadays do not resonate well with people…
Yeah, like I’m going to believe David Brock. About as much as.I believe Kavanaugh’s suspiciously timed accusations. I don’t particularly want kavanaugh on the bench because he and his wife are entrenched SES elites, but the smear tactics of the democrats is truly horrifying. No evidence from 36 years ago and we’re suppose to believe Ford with all her inconsistencies, yet we must disbelieve kavanaugh for the same inconsistencies. And judging a man because of his personal drinking habits? Where were you all when Bill Clinton’s brother was supplying him with cocaine?
You need a course in reading comprehension if you actually finished the article and came up with this response. I suspect, for your benefit, that you didn’t because Joe more than adequately dealt with the question of “inconsistencies.”
You also seem to asssume that anyone reading this article was a fan of Bill Clinton and that Clinton’s brother was supplying him with cocaine was a subject of general knowledge as apart from his philadering which was. Where were you? In the hallway?
While I disagree with you on many points. This is the most reasonable argument I’ve heard from anyone against BK. I wish more people were as eloquent as you about arguing their points. I wish more people were as thoughtful as you when forming their beliefs.
I believed Kavanaugh, did not believe Ford. Her fake crying reminded me of Susan Smith. If no woman had ever lied and made false accusations about a man Lauria might have ground to stand on, but sadly it happens, and thus no human being should be automatically given credibility over someone else simply because of their gender, race, or other immutable characteristics.
That said, Kavanaugh is unqualified due to his involvement with the Federalist Society, Starr, and the Bush/Cheney regime. His background shows he is a threat to Constitutional and natural rights. IMO He is as partisan as the people who hope to destroy him.
mike k, you nailed it
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers give a blow by blow review of Judge Kavanaugh’s partisan career.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/02/kavanaugh-is-the-wong-nominee/
Thanks, Joe. The article is spot on.
The Republicans will claim to have won once BK is confirmed. Supreme Court domination nailed for years.
The Democrats will claim his confirmation means we are obligated to vote for their female candidates, so they win their elections.
And We the People lose again. We always lose. For decades, we’ve lost every battle.
Oligarchs win. Democracy is lost. Over and over.
It’s like watching the Road Runner & Wile E Coyote.
Right on O. The many have been losing to the few since we came down from the trees. Makes you wonder if this will, or can ever change? Maybe this is an inherent flaw in higher intelligent organisms. The Fermi paradox points in that direction. Maybe species extinction is the inevitable solution to our problems? We are certainly moving that way at an accelerating pace now with all our expanding powers….
OMG, I knew some of this before, but after reading the cited Counterpunch piece, it’s even worse than I could possibly imagine, far worse. If Congress can’t even act with facts before them like this, what can they do?
Thanks Joe-I read it but could not recall where!
As a lifelong Democrat up until Sanders lost in the primary to HRC, I think Trump may have been the first Republican I ever voted for, and the only Republican I have ever voted for. All I have to say is, vote Red in November; the Democrats are no longer a party I support. I was a big-time Bush/Cheney hater; how did Obama/Clinton drop more bombs, and invade more countries, than Bush? And restart the cold war to boot. Their old promises don’t hold water. HRC said the Supreme Court was wrong on the Heller Decision, which simply gave a retired police officer in Washington DC the right to keep a pistol in his own house. Obama had a chance to defend Edward Snowden; he did not. He escalated the cold war and sanctions. Drone assassinations, domestic surveillance, all increased under Obama. Trump is just fine!
So if other leaders have been bad, that makes Trump “just fine”? Not.
Lucius, I agree with you but I couldn’t hold my nose and vote for Trump either. I voted Jill Stein. Since I live in California and the Dems in Sacramento stole my primary vote for Bernie and gave it to Hillary, I couldn’t stomach voting for either of them. Since California is a Democratic state, it was going for Hillary no matter what anyway so voting my conscience was harmless. I have problems with Bernie as well, primarily his hewing to the aggressive Democratic war hawk foreign policy line, and his Pied Piper performance at the convention on Hillary’s behalf, trying to herd anti-war liberals into the Clinton camp is very suspicious.
I agree, and I also voted for Jill. I think it is a real shame that so many have bought into the “lesser of two evils” argument that it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is time to abandon both of our establishment parties and get some real representation and some real change.
well…voting for stein sue fixed the state of the union,didn’t it?
Aside from the political issues, on the specifics related to Ford et al, the focus has switched from the past, where a stupid kid might be forgiven for sordid behavior, to the present, where a Supreme Court nominee blusters and lies in a hearing to present himself as qualified for the position. His credibility NOW is the problem, and he has sunk himself. How different it would be if he had said: “Look, I was stupid then and I reject that person I was; I’m not that person now, and I’m sorry, I apologize.” If you don’t believe he lied, do some research under that topic; it’s all over the internet. Blustering, evading, and spinning his story did not help either, along with the continual self-righteousness and self-serving.
Recommended:
List of his lying/dissembling:
https://theintercept.com/2018/09/29/the-unbearable-dishonesty-of-brett-kavanaugh/
A Yale colleague comes forward to say Kav lied about his drinking etc
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-30/kavanaugh-college-friend-detail-violentdrunken-behavior-judge
I liked your summary, hetro. Although plenty of circumstantial evidence exists to support Ford’s claim, it IS circumstantial and not valid enough to ruin Kavanaugh’s career. Yet, he was able to accomplish that himself by his arrogant and deceptive exhibition last week – a deception that becomes more transparent as the days progress.
I did not watch the hearings, myself, as I don’t like to waste time on political theater. The ‘State of the Union’ is another TV show I faithfully ignore. Like most theatrical performances I’d expect them to play to their audience, especially those that will vote in the upcoming mid-terms. And few of these viewer/voters care to be burdened with complicated details like the Federalist Society or the legal cover needed to give Bush’s WOT the go-ahead on torture – you know, actual issues. Sex, on the other hand, well now we’re talkin’!
Robert Michael Hope, I’m afraid you may be right. This has the looks of a hit piece. I’m surprised Joe Lauria wrote this. Ray McGovern’s recent article was worse, come to think of it.
I am so sad that you feel that way, Lucius.
Here is a list of some of the serious allegations about Brett Kavanaugh which have nothing to do with identity politics. When are we going to publicly discuss these issues?
Advocating torture, aiding war criminals, Big Brother-level surveillance… the real issues go far beyond whether or not Brett liked to party and drink beer and get aggressive in high school. He’s basically a henchman for Bush and will be one for Trump, and far-right authoritarians for years to come.
This is the real problem with Brett Kavanaugh. Why do the Democrats make it all about He Said v She Said identity politics? Is the Democratic party more concerned about firing up the masses for the coming midterm elections than about Kavanaugh’s record of assisting authoritarianism? Certainly looks this way…
As I said in the McGovern thread:
The reason for that is simple: Democrats have no power to stop Kavanaugh’s appointment. That depends entirely on getting a couple Republicans to vote No, and they would not be impressed by the lines of argument you (and others) have suggested.
Oh, I think the answer is clear and simple. The Democratic party is in favor of authoritarian imperialism just as much as the Republican party is, and I think this whole circus is a dog and pony show to distract everyone from the fact everyone in the show is a criminal with skeletons. Happy Halloween!
Well, the difference between the parties is the that the Democrats pretend to opposed to the Plutocracy, while the Republicans brag about promoting the Plutocracy. That is why the Dems know it is useless, when the Repubs are in power, to oppose Kavanaugh on the grounds of his being wholly owned.
You nailed it. Further, the bonus comes in when the Kavanaugh appointment enrages the groundswell of #metoo assaultees into a even greater force of male career destruction at the hands of vengeful goddesses.
Too true, sad to say.
Actually a Pew Research poll showed that the majority of Americans opposed NSA bulk spying, and interestingly, the largest group of voters in opposition were Independents, followed by Republicans and then the Democrats. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/29/what-americans-think-about-nsa-surveillance-national-security-and-privacy/ft_15-05-29_nsa/
Those are very good reasons to disqualify Kavanagh, unfortunately, nothing sells newspapers like the lurid details of a sex scandal.
True. You can always demonize someone over sexual allegations/innuendo. Look what happened to Julian Assange.
Nancy – you’re right. I still read comments on the Internet that state that Julian Assange raped two women and that’s why he’s hiding! Julian Assange had consensual sex with two women; the two women and Assange acknowledge this fact.
Yes, when you set out to damage someone, sexual allegations is a good place to start because you can never really repair your reputation.
The Democrats aren’t really Resisting. They are playing the identity politics. It’s the only thing they stand for that’s different from the Republicans. Here are examples of their happiness with authoritarianism and imperialism. They even like it when Trump does it.:
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/12/the-same-democrats-who-denounce-trump-as-a-lawless-treasonous-authoritarian-just-voted-to-give-him-vast-warrantless-spying-powers/
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/08/giving-trump-carte-blanche-for-war/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2018/06/20/house-and-senate-democrats-vote-68-percent-and-85-percent-for-massive-military-spending/
Kavanaugh will be the most extreme partisan right-wing justice on the Supreme Court in history, far, far surpassing Alito, Roberts, Thomas, Scalia(dec.) or Kennedy (ret.). There is already a 5-4 “conservative” (using that term loosely) majority on the Court, leaving only Breyer, Ginsberg, Kagan and Sotomayor to thoughtfully dissent, and Breyer and Ginsberg are getting old, may they last another dozen years. This will irrevocably tilt the balance in the totalitarian direction for at least a generation. They aren’t exaggerating when they say this is a pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. The country and the world will be unrecognizable in another generation.
My God, could even Trump have found a worse Supreme Court candidate? Maybe Henry Kissinger or Dick Cheney? How bad does he have to be before even the Republican majority can’t stand the stench?
Democrats cant bring any those up since they were a party to it all…..
The bad news is that nobody that’s put on the court by either party will interpret the law honestly and without prejudice. All of them will do whatever it takes to make things worse.
+1
I don’t know whether Kavanaugh did what he is accused of, and I doubt we will ever know with certainty.
I must say that when there is more than one person charging things such as mistreatment of women , heavy youthful drinking, and ugly frat-boy behavior I am inclined to the old adage about where there is so much smoke.
As with so very many things from Washington, what we see is more a piece of the bizarre theater that Robert Hughes called America’s “Culture of Complaint.”
Noise and intensity on all sides with almost no clear light.
However, in all of this, I do think we have seen enough to know that he does not belong on the bench of a Supreme Court.
Character flaws, serious ones, have become obvious.
He has revealed himself to have personality traits which most would agree do not belong on the Court, especially his partisanship and temper.
The problem is the timing. No matter who says or said what, it is too much of a coincidence that this 36 year old accusation was made at the very tail end of hearings on a Supreme Court nomination, just before a vote. The victim told a vague story; she was not seeking redress; the hearing was pointless. As a person who lives in the USA I have not been able to escape realising that many many people in our government have a unrelenting desire to not let our president govern. It was very hard to watch these hearings. The bottom line is: I did believe him; I did not believe her.
Where do “women” like the person who claims to be “lizzie dw” come from? I put “women” in quotes because identity politics works in a number of strange ways.
Quite apart from that, does letting “the predsident govern” constitute an endorsement for his appointeess destroying our environment by tossing out all the positive health regulations that have been put in place these past years? Evidently.
Just your opinion. No evidence. Sad.
Here is an article that looks at one of the little-discussed reasons for concerns about a Kavanaugh judgeship:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2018/09/judge-brett-kavanaugh-and-surveillance.html
If Justice Kavanaugh had his way, mass collections of Americans’ private data would be routine in spite of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution which protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
It’s already happening.
Note that even with the deeply concerning issues raised by the article, a poll appears at the bottom of the page asking if Congress should approve Kavanaugh. I voted and the results are “Yes” 91% and “No” 9.1%. The word is obviously not getting out what this really means. All the dumbed-down people are hearing is about Kavanaugh and Bill Cosby. This is terrifying.
Having had a lot of experience in this area, I can say that Kavanaugh shows many signs of being an alcoholic. And I don’t mean just in his early years. When alcoholism becomes established in a person’s drinking patterns, this addiction does not just fade away with time. Unless such an individual enters serious treatment He/she will become addicted for the rest of their life. Nor should anyone doubt that beer drinking can be just as alcoholic, with all the horrific effects of hard liquor consumption. Alcoholics consume very large amounts of beer to get the alcohol in their bodies. Ignorance about the real nature of alcoholism prevents many Americans from seeing what is plain as day about Kavanaugh’s testimony and that of his accusers. Putting a man with a serious drinking problem on the Supreme Court would be a huge mistake, with unpredictable consequences for our nation.
Having my own extensive experience with alcoholism I am interested to know what those signs are that indicted to you that Kavanaugh is an alcoholic. I did not see any veins in his nose. He does not have an apparent beer belly. What did you see that led you to your conclusion?
Alcohol impact on the body and character are not perfectly correlated. People metabolize alcohol differently. Among politicians on record with alcohol problems, such obvious symptoms are hardly universal.
My conclusion on Kavanaugh’s probable alcoholism was not based on any physical signs in his appearance. Indeed such signs are not usually helpful in diagnosing alcoholism. The testimonies regarding his drinking behavior, and his own admissions were more indicative. One should be aware that alcoholics routinely minimize their drinking and try to portray it to others as normal and not excessive. Their evasive behavior in hiding their real drinking behavior makes it difficult for others to assess their condition, often having to rely on the reports of others to get a true picture of their problem.
Did you have a magnifying glass up to his skin, Lizzie? I could just as easily say his cheeks were chock full of telangectasias. Because they were. A heavy drinker? I’d bet my last dollar on it. And as for his LFTs? (Liver function tests)- my guess is, they are elevated. Would love to see his hepatic ultrasound. Hepatomegaly, anyone?
If we start using a possible addition to alcohol or past alcoholism as a criteria for high office, we will likely have to exclude a very large percentage of candidates as well as current office-holders.
I agree with the people who have pointed out that the Dems did not bring up Kavanaugh’s past performance in law and the judiciary as reasons to reject him and instead have resorted to a decades-old sex scandal to potentially derail his confirmation. My personal opinion is that this strategy is backfiring and will increase voter turnout for the Republicans in November.
True; Churchill was a major drunk. I doubt however, that he lied about it much…nor was he apparently, an asshole while drunk
Excellent summary of the events, Joe Lauria!
Thank you.
Indeed, the emotional nature of the identity politics theater obscures the more important considerations from being logically evaluated.
Kavanaugh’s acting qualifies him for a role as one of the kids on Willie Wonka pitching a fit over beer-flavored candy.
What of his involvement with Bush-era war crimes? Karl Rove says Kavanaugh was the one who wrote up the policies for Bush to sign off on.
What of Kavanaugh’s view on the Unitary Executive Theory? Trump can’t be indicted or prosecuted under this strong interpretation also favored by Dick Cheney. That will come in handy for Trump, won’t it?
Kavanaugh is corrupt. He’s a swamp thing. He’ll be used as a pawn by people such as Bush and Trump to legalize their crimes of violence, torture, graft, you name it.
This is the real issue. Unfortunately, the theatrics kept us from having that conversation.
Many Americans were moved by Dr. Ford’s honest testimony, and disgusted by Kavanaugh’s histrionics. I hope that if the republikans manage to jam him onto the supreme court, that it will be a poisoned pill that will help destroy their toxic and dangerous party. When are repub women going to wake up and realize that they are women first and repubs second? His nomination is such a fraud and disaster for our country, it is hard to see how those that are not dedicated Trumpists would not be fired up to take the House away from the disgusting repubs who have shown themselves to be enemies of all women and ordinary citizens.
mike k – “When are repub women going to wake up and realize that they are women first and repubs second?”
Maybe it’s better to be “human”, not take any side, and look at the evidence?
women when they are murdered or raped or beaten or payed less than men for the same work…almost always suffer these things at the hands of men. There is very strong evidence of that being true….but by all means they should vote for guys like trump or hope for the confirmation of a Kavanaugh or better yet…waste their vote on someone like Jill Stein who’s party hold less than 0.02% of ALL elected offices in the united states. If I were a woman, I’d have to seriously consider not only taking a side, but forming an exclusive political party (and an armed militia), given the “evidence” you speak of.
Love the shamming. Right up there with Michelle Obama blaming women for not voting for Hillary Clinton. Keep blaming the voters than the actual candidates and the policies they back.
I might not blame women for not voting for Hillary, but I blame each and every one who voted for trump or simply, didn’t vote at all.
Governments, media moguls and all those wanting power and dominance just love the sex abuse industry. Where would they be without it? Over here in the UK the control of the internet, thousands of CCTV cameras and other endless investigatory powers are all cited as as being vital to curbed child abuse, rape and other sexual deviants and of course terrorism. If these three forms of retrograde behaviour didn’t exist, then the state would have to invent them. Sex crimes, paedophiles, so called hate speach and terrorists are heaven sent angels as far as the state is concerned, because it gives the state an unassailable excuse to control everyone and everything.
Thank you, John.
Precisely, a great article.
Seems much of this thread has been co-opted by trolls.
Oh the great Great Britain… It’s funny how with all those CCTV everywhere this little Rotherham thing happened, right? The sex abuse of children has been going there for ages and still no one cares. Must be the Russians again…