Five Reasons Why the GOP Rushed to Confirm Kavanaugh

After Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, Trump and the GOP leadership mounted a full-court press to ram through his confirmation before October 1, the first day of the Court’s new term, for five good reasons, says Marjorie Cohn.

By Marjorie Cohn
Truthout

Why the rush?

The Republican Party and Donald Trump wanted Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court before the November 6 midterm elections because if the Democrats had achieved a majority in the Senate, there may not have been sufficient votes to confirm him.

But the real hurry to get Kavanaugh confirmed had more to do with the several cases on the Supreme Court’s docket: Republicans are hoping to ensure the outcome of several hot-button cases, including those involving double jeopardy, immigration, age discrimination and the Endangered Species Act. Moreover, there is the possibility that the Supreme Court could also decide to take up additional cases affecting gerrymandering, gay and transgender rights, and the separation of church and state.

Below is an in-depth explanation of the top five reasons why the GOP rushed to confirm Kavanaugh in time for him to affect these cases currently on the Supreme Court docket.

1) Double Jeopardy

Potentially most consequential for Trump is the case of Gamble v. US, which could affect his ability to pardon his associates, and even himself. On June 4, 2018, Trump tweeted, “I have the absolute right to PARDON myself.”

Trump: Looking right for a pardon? (Wikimedia Commons)

The pardon power, located in Article II, section 2 of the Constitution, says, “The president … shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” It limits the president’s pardon power to federal offenses.

In Gamble v. US, the justices will decide whether prosecuting a person in both state and federal courts for the same crime violates the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, “No person shall … be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb …”

For 150 years, the Supreme Court has held that state and federal courts are separate sovereigns, so a person can be prosecuted in both jurisdictions. After the police officers who beat Rodney King were acquitted in state court, they were tried and convicted in federal court.

If the Court follows its long-standing precedent, Trump could exercise his pardon power in federal proceedings but not in subsequent state proceedings for the same offense. Even if Trump were to pardon Paul Manafort, who was convicted of fraud in federal court, New York and Virginia state prosecutors could still bring charges against him.

It is not settled whether a sitting president can be indicted for a criminal offense. A presidential self-pardon is unprecedented. But if Trump were charged in a federal prosecution and he endeavored to pardon himself, the state of New York could then file criminal charges against him regarding the same matter. Under current law, Trump would be powerless to pardon himself in the state case.

If the justices narrow the scope of the Double Jeopardy Clause, however, state authorities would not likely be able to file criminal charges after Trump had exercised his pardon power in a federal case regarding the same matter.

Kavanaugh has said a sitting president should not be “distracted” by having to answer to a civil or criminal case, notwithstanding the Court’s ruling in Clinton v. JonesHe has demonstrated extreme deference to presidential power and would likely vote to limit the criminal exposure of Trump and his associates.

2) Immigrants’ Rights

The justices will decide in Nielson v. Preap whether the government can detain immigrants for the duration of their deportation proceedings, without a hearing, because they have past criminal records.

Kavanaugh’s record demonstrates contempt for immigrants’ rights.

In Garza v. Hargan, Kavanaugh wrote in dissent that the majority was creating “a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in US government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand.” He would have imposed an even longer waiting period on a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant who had fulfilled all state requirements to secure an abortion.

Kavanaugh voted in Agri Processor v. NLRB to annul the results of a union election, charging it was “tainted” by immigrants’ votes.

And in Fogo de Chao v. Department of Homeland Security, Kavanaugh ruled against granting special visas to Brazilian workers in cases where US workers could perform the same jobs.

Kavanaugh would likely vote to uphold mandatory detention of immigrants in the pending case.

3) Age Discrimination

In Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, the Supreme Court will determine whether the Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to state and local employers who have less than 20 employees.

After the Mount Lemmon Fire District in Arizona laid off John Guido and Dennis Rankin, the district’s two oldest employees, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) concluded that the district had engaged in employment discrimination. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the EEOC, but since there is a split of authority among the courts of appeals on the parameters of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

Kavanaugh’s employment decisions favor employers over employees. He would likely rule against Guido and Rankin in the case pending before the Supreme Court.

4) Endangered Species Act

The GOP: A protected species. (Office of the Vice President)

The first case argued before the Supreme Court on October 1 was Weyerhaeuser Co. v. US Fish and Wildlife Service. It pits the fate of the dusky gopher frog — an endangered species — against private property rights. The case also raises the issue of when courts should defer to rulings of government agencies.

Under the Endangered Species Act, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is charged with identifying species that are endangered and designating “critical habitats” that are “essential for their conservation.”

In this case, the Service designated private property in Louisiana as a “critical habitat” for the endangered frogs. The land is owned by a group of companies, including Weyerhaeuser, which holds a long-term timber lease for the entire area. The designated land contains ephemeral ponds the frogs require in order to breed, even though they don’t live there now. The designation could limit the development of the land and result in a substantial loss of profits, as the companies would be required to replace existing trees with different species, cease timber management activities, and permit the land to be managed and populated with frogs.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Service’s designation, relying on the long-standing “Chevron deference” — a doctrine requiring that when a law is ambiguous, courts must defer to an agency’s reasonable construction of the statute. The question is whether the courts should defer to the Service’s designation of “critical habitat” for the frogs.

Courts that have given deference to agency interpretations ensured essential protections, including deferring to:

– The National Labor Relations Board’s reasonable determination that live-haul workers, who catch and transport live chickens, are employees entitled to protections of the National Labor Relations Act;

– The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) rule requiring states to reduce emissions from power plants that travel across state lines and harm downwind states;

– The Department of Labor’s interpretation of portions of the Black Lung Benefits Act that make it easier for coal miners afflicted with black lung disease to receive compensation; and

– The EPA’s revision of regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act that provide more protection from exposure to lead paint.

Kavanaugh favors narrowing Chevron deference. He would likely rule against the frogs and in favor of the property owners.

5) Additional Cases on Gerrymandering and More

The Supreme Court may also decide to hear cases involving gerrymandering, church-state separation, and employment discrimination against gay and transgender people.

Kavanaugh’s record on voting rights does not augur well for his willingness to limit gerrymandering that restricts voting rights.

And Kavanaugh consistently scorns the separation between church and state.

Anthony Kennedy, whom Kavanaugh would replace, wrote the Court’s landmark opinionsupholding consensual homosexual conduct and same-sex marriage. During his confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh refused to say that Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court upheld the right of LGBTQ folks to marry, was correctly decided.

Republicans knew Kavanaugh would provide a reliable vote against immigrants, workers, voters, and gay and transgender people. He would deliver a dependable vote for employers, private property and church-state bonding. The GOP can also rest assured that Kavanaugh will do his best to immunize Trump from criminal liability and enable him to continue their mean-spirited, right-wing agenda.

For these reasons, Trump and the Republicans wanted Kavanaugh to join the Supreme Court immediately.

Copyright Truthout. Reprinted with permission.

Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and an advisory board member of Veterans for Peace. The editor and contributor to The United States and Torture: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues, Cohn testified before Congress about the Bush interrogation policy.

142 comments for “Five Reasons Why the GOP Rushed to Confirm Kavanaugh

  1. Ed
    October 18, 2018 at 12:22

    The listed reasons are a little bit of a disappointment. Though these reasons are valid, they skirt what I see as the main reason that Kavanaugh wasn’t qualified to sit on the SCOTUS: He was heavily involved, while an assistant to Ken Starr, in the coverup of the murder of Vince Foster, influencing the coroner’s investigation that absurdly deemed the death a suicide.

    This single charge alone could have triggered an investigation into that particular case and would have shed much needed light on a well documented miscarriage of justice. It would have effectively shut Kavanaugh out of the nomination and may even have ended by removing him from the DC Circuit.

    Apparently (at least to me), the leaders of the Democrat Senate minority avoided this charge because the Foster coverup directly benefited the Clinton co-presidency. The only other reason that occurs to me for failing to raise this issue would be that Democrat Senators had no knowledge of the case, but several were in office when it was part of the Clinton impeachment process.

    http://www.fbicover-up.com/brett-kavanaugh.html

  2. October 15, 2018 at 17:57

    Kavanaugh is most dangerous for failing to defend the Constitution during the Bush administration, for when others come before the court who failed in the same way he will be less likely to judge such behavior as problematic. Of course one might argue that virtually every practicing attorney, save for a very few, has remained silent as our rights and freedoms have eroded to the point that we are all now threatened with the spectacle of tyranny. https://www.gpln.com

  3. nazcalito
    October 15, 2018 at 15:32

    It’s odd how the author thinks that restricting double jeopardy protections is “progressive.”

  4. Jim Tjelios
    October 12, 2018 at 10:10
  5. BartO
    October 12, 2018 at 06:54

    Does anyone know if that Louisiana case (heard at Oral argument BEFORE Kavanaugh got confirmed) can be RE-HEARD, so that Kavanaugh can participate in the ruling later this year ?

  6. delia ruhe
    October 9, 2018 at 10:23

    Nice to have it all laid out so clearly — thank you.

    I would be surprised if Americans were surprised at the confirmation of Kavanaugh, as the precedent set in 1991 made the Supreme Court safe for misogynists. Clarence Thomas now has someone he can share a bond of both self-pity and triumph over women’s dangerous (to men) memories of abuse.

    It’s too bad that American feminists never returned to the issue of an Equal Rights Amendment, as I’ve never felt that all those wins women in the US believe have been firmly consolidated — especially reproductive rights — are permanent. As the history of the Second Amendment proves, the American Constitution is at the mercy of Supreme Court justices, who can willfully distort just about anything to get the reading they want.

    I’ll keep my fingers crossed for my American sisters, but I’m not confident.

    • October 10, 2018 at 17:41

      Too bad American feminists embraced and defended the rapist Bill Clinton and his enabler Hillary.

      We wouldn’t have this problem.

    • DFC
      October 10, 2018 at 18:14

      And that is exactly how the politicians want to keep it. Imagine what would happen if Roe v.Wade or the ERA were codified in the Constitution? Entire voting blocks would be vaporized in an instant. So no matter how deeply entwined the politicians are with Wall Street and corporate money, you will hold your nose and vote for the party that will preserve your basic human rights. Amending the Constitution would be a DISASTER, that is why you no longer hear about such efforts.

  7. Eric32
    October 9, 2018 at 09:47

    The author doesn’t get what was going on.
    The Kavanaugh thing was another incompetent Hillary Clinton operation.
    He should have been opposed on his legal record, but that would have been contrary to what Hillary’s deep state handlers wanted. Even if he still got in, the issues would have been openly debated and examined by the public.
    Instead, we got another Hillary identity politics operation, done poorly and transparent to people with even a little savvy.
    The Republicans don’t care about frog species and Trump’s personal legal issues, they just wanted a win going into the November elections

    • Deniz
      October 9, 2018 at 18:36

      Kavanaugh, that is, The Honorable Brett Kavanaugh of The Supreme Court of the United States, was the lead attorney on the Ken Star’s Bill Clinton Lewinsky investigation and wrote the impeachment.

      This explains last week’s circus and why the Clintons have suddenly decided to go on an overseas speaking tour. That farce of a confirmation hearing had the Clintons written all over it. The Clintons have done more to destroy the Democrats than what the wildest dreams of the most die-hard white supermacist, Republican could ever do.

      • Eric32
        October 9, 2018 at 20:09

        >was the lead attorney on the Ken Star’s Bill Clinton Lewinsky investigation and wrote the impeachment<

        Terrific, I didn't know that. :-))

        And of course, lowlifes like them instinctively go for lowlife methods – it's just not their modus operandi to go after him on legitimate questions about his legal positions, for which there's plenty on paper (I think his 4th Amendment writings should alone have disqualified him, on Constitutional grounds).

        Two big factors shouted from the start this was a weak politicized fraud: 1) no evidence regarding an event 35 years before and no record of recidivism (unlike most abusers); 2) the trashy people who jumped on this bandwagon didn't mount howling mobs against actual fem / lib abusers like the Clintons, Conyers (D-MI), that creep punk who was the DNC chairman Ellison.

        The amusing thing is, Kavanaugh probably only disagreed with the fem / libs before – now he despises them – and he's on the highest court in the US. How brilliant these clowns are.

        The Ford woman reportedly:
        " Christine Blasey Ford, a California woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape in the 1980’s, co-authored an academic study that cited the use of hypnosis as a tool to retrieve memories in traumatized patients. The academic paper, entitled “Meditation With Yoga, Group Therapy With Hypnosis, and Psychoeducation for Long-Term Depressed Mood: A Randomized Pilot Trial,” described the results of a study that tested the efficacy of certain treatments on 46 depressed individuals. The study was published by the Journal of Clinical Psychology in May 2008.

        While the paper by Ford and several other co-authors focused on whether various therapeutic techniques, including hypnosis, alleviate depression, it also discussed the therapeutic use of hypnosis to “assist in the retrieval of important memories” and to “create artificial situations” to assist in treatment. "

        source: https://thefederalist.com/2018/10/01/kavanaugh-accuser-co-authored-study-citing-use-hypnosis-retrieve-memories/

        • Deniz
          October 10, 2018 at 17:29

          Our media has a habit of being short on evidence.

      • Ed
        October 18, 2018 at 12:33

        “Kavanaugh…….was the lead attorney on the Ken Star’s Bill Clinton Lewinsky investigation and wrote the impeachment. ”

        Actually, Kavanaugh’s efforts in that case resulted in changing the charges against the Clintons from serious felony crimes, including murder, to the petty moral non-crime of marital infidelity. Kavanaugh was clearly on the side of the Clintons in that farcical impeachment stage show. To say that Democrats held a grudge over that case is to overlook what happened.

        If, as you say, this was a Clinton operation, my contention is even more valid because the inference would be that Clintons were frantic to avoid that case being the basis of opposition to the Kavanaugh nomination. To pull on any thread of that stage show’s script would cause the whole impeachment fraud to unravel.

  8. geo
    October 9, 2018 at 07:36

    #6. The GOP rammed it through to keep democrats from making more foolish allegations. This of course gives the democrats time to come to their senses and bring on real issues before the mid-terms. If the democrats do not shape up there will be only miscreants to challenge the GOP. This would be disaster.!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. Deb Legorreta
    October 8, 2018 at 22:39

    To what extend is DARK MONEY behind these reasons, or is that a sixth? Citizen’s United.

  10. Joe Tedesky
    October 8, 2018 at 22:31

    “It would be naive to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds. Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice.” Howard Zinn

    https://progressive.org/op-eds/howard-zinn-despair-supreme-court/

    I’m posting this so at some point we can move on.

    • Joe Tedesky
      October 8, 2018 at 22:36

      “The mechanism, military and financial war, “hard and soft war,” as they call it in Washington and can only be achieved with total control of America’s political system. The only way that can occur is with rigged elections, a congress and presidency under control as well and the Supreme Court of the United States ready to overrule any tries to reinstitute democracy or reform.”

      https://journal-neo.org/2018/10/08/america-has-become-even-more-dangerous/

      Get ready as Gordon Duff takes off the gloves. In case you can’t buy all of what Duff is selling, you will at least be driven to admit that Gordon is on to something so tellingly true.

      • Realist
        October 9, 2018 at 11:51

        Wow, is he ever! He usually writes for Veterans Today but has recently written a series hard-hitting pieces in New Eastern Outlook. He seems convinced that the maniacs in Washington are pushing as hard as possible for WWIII. Nobody sane does that. They must have some really effective and posh bunker accommodations to ride out the next century or two waiting for the radioactive contamination to drop to sub-lethal levels. Or, they plan to evolve into mole-people.

      • Dave P.
        October 10, 2018 at 15:57

        Excellent articles Joe. Thanks for the links.

        • Joe Tedesky
          October 10, 2018 at 20:39

          Your welcome Dave check back later (like tomorrow) to read what I responded to Realist about. It’s under where I told Realist I just woke up.

          Moderation has me doing commercials for my comment posting… wow.

          Take care Dave say hi to the wife for me. Joe

    • W McMillan
      October 9, 2018 at 11:06

      Thanks, I think this sums up the situation quite nicely.

      • Joe Tedesky
        October 9, 2018 at 20:02

        Yes, it helps to know what you are dealing with.

  11. Allan
    October 8, 2018 at 20:36

    The Weyerhaeuser case is simple, in principle, to resolve. Alleged private land in the USA is always a parcel of collectivized land. The collectivitity is primary, and the supposed privacy, secondary. So, there is no private land, per se, but only land owned collectively by real, living persons, which no corporation ever could be.

    The author misrepresented the situation by claiming that “The land is owned by a group of companies, including Weyerhaeuser.” At most, the “private property” is only held by those companies and not owned outright as libertarians say that each one of us owns its body severally and independently.

    The label of “private” in reference to land is an obnoxious misnomer. Of course, a corporation being a governmental entity—with assets commingled with gov voluntarily by nominal owners—cannot expect to have any interest incommensurate with the primary authority of the corporation, which ceased to be the nominal owners upon incorporation. (Again, they commingled their private, personal property with government upon incorporation.) Nor is it reasonable to believe that any legitimate government or government action could be undertaken if that action is wantonly destructive of nature and collective property, as it appears the actions of the government’s agents, acting through Weyerhaeuser, have been destrusctive in this case.

    Now the criminal alien problem ought to appear simpler to resolve in spite of sentimental obfuscations about “immigrants’ rights”. (The phrase is invoked to subordinate the rights of the People who were already here, before the migrants evidently criminal arrival.) The criminal alien had no sovereign authority over US land prior to arrival, and he had no ownership status. He is purely a tresspasser and, if needed, ought to be treated as such.

  12. Eric32
    October 8, 2018 at 20:16

    They were in a hurry to get him in for the decades ahead, before the coming election.

  13. Daniel Rafferty
    October 8, 2018 at 19:50

    I believe that Rodney King was beaten by a mob, not police officers.
    May be wrong about that, and there may have been officers involved in his attack, but I do not recall this as an example of police brutality, rather mob rule.

    • Daniel Rafferty
      October 8, 2018 at 19:56

      I was wrong about Rodney King, it was LAPD.

      • LarcoMarco
        October 9, 2018 at 03:05

        Truck drivers were beaten by mobs during the Rodney King Riots after the jury acquitted LAPD.

  14. October 8, 2018 at 18:15

    On Zero Hedge tonight, read James Howard Kunstler, “Civil War Two Looms as Deep State Circles the Wagons”.

  15. October 8, 2018 at 16:14

    What did you expect? A circus?

    WWF Wrassling, it isn’t just your president any more…

    https://youtu.be/DmpavOuqFqk

  16. F. G. Sanford
    October 8, 2018 at 15:49

    This whole thing – I’m agreeing here with Jessika – looked like what they call a “work” in professional wrestling. The Ref turns his back, and Black Bart reaches into his trunks and pulls out a roll of dimes. He punches Purty Pete five or six times in the head with his weighted fist while the Ref is distracted. Pete’s fans begin chanting, “Ref beats his wife”, and the Ref gets into a shouting match with a fan by the ringside. Meanwhile, the roll of dimes breaks, and coins go flying all over the ring. Tag-team members scurry to pick up the dimes while the Ref is distracted. Purty Pete is dazed and disoriented, even though common sense tells the fans he should be in a coma. Then, Black Bart’s tag-team hits the Ref with a folding chair, and one of Purty Pete’s fans jumps into the ring and pulls down the Ref’s pants revealing bright pink shorts. The crowd goes wild.

    Yep, I think DiFi went for the salacious “work” because Kavanaugh helped Clinton out of the Vince Foster mess, and he helped George Bush out of the government accountability mess. Kavanaugh is everybody’s “get out of jail free” card. It was an easy way to be against him without dredging up all the “conspiracy theory” stuff. I find it interesting that so many of his supporters on both the right and the left may or may not have been frequent flyers on the “Lolita Express”. The ACLU listed a whole bunch of anti-constitutional decisions penned by Kavanaugh, but Dersh now claims they only did that to please their “big donors”. He claims they’ve abandoned non-partisanship for donations. I bet Johnny Cochran is laughing his arse off somewhere out there in judicial eternity.

    I find Joe Tedesky’s comments to be among the most sincere and level-headed; they are well thought out and seem perfectly rational, never mean-spirited. I have had the same experience with comments disappearing. I’ve cut way back on my participation due to the inexplicable moderation policies. I’m curious to see if this one makes the cut.

    • Mild-ly - Facetious
      October 13, 2018 at 13:06

      As I stated some months ago, my PRIMARY REASON for disapproval of the TRUMP presidency was solely tied to the REALITY OF AN IMMINENT RIGHT WING CONTROL OF SCOTUS AND FEDERAL COURTS. ! ! !

      Anyone with eyes OPEN could see, from the Meritt Garland INJUSTICE, that the Patriarchal White Right Wing Salivated over control of the Judicial Branch of U S Government.

      The people of the USA now live under the rule of a caustic, sarcastic buffoon of a POTUS and a now ultra-right leaning SCOTUS.

      It’s an era of climate change deniers and corporation swindlers and wide open doors of wet-dreams-come-true for the Plantation Class and their “evangelical-christian” back-slappers.

    • Ed
      October 18, 2018 at 12:41

      Mr. Sanford, I see that you beat me to the first mention of the impeachment sham. Being late to the discussion, I didn’t read the comments first, but thanks for bringing that up. Kavanaugh’s service to the Clintons in the Foster murder coverup is one point that has been studiously ignored by both the Senate and the media. I view it as the single most important point that was covered up by the confirmation WWE match.

      Regards,
      Ed

  17. Joe Tedesky
    October 8, 2018 at 12:24

    Here it is 12:23 pm & still no sign of my comment. Unleash the censorship. Live life to the fullest. Grow a pair & you won’t need to have censorship.

    • Deniz
      October 8, 2018 at 13:19

      As someone who deals with family estates, the question that the Parry family should be considering is whether this unbridled censorship honors Robert Parry’s wishes.

      Sentence 2 from About Consortium News:

      “The mainstream media was falling into a pattern of groupthink on issue after issue, often ignoring important factual information because it didn’t fit with what all the Important People knew to be true.”

      – Robert Parry

      • Joe Tedesky
        October 8, 2018 at 13:41

        I haven’t really given much thought to how the Parry family should react to my comments not being posted. As it was, and is, this algorithm censorship acted up even when Robert Parry was at the helm, so I’ll leave the legacy thing alone.

        What I don’t like in this crazy world of ours is that whether it be avoiding anti Semitic rants, or respecting politically correct nuisances, we are preventing ourselves from exercising our free speech. Did someone say free speech? Whoops can’t have that. This is what we have come to be a fragile society who feels offended at the drop of the hat, or a slang word or two too be exact.

        Yes, unharnessing the language censorship will bring about some pretty ignorant comments, but at least those comments will reflect what their author intended for you to hear, so where is the problem? What world do you live in where you can’t handle criticism, or some sailor language to strength a point of view?

        Btw Deniz I’m not aiming my opinion at you, I feel honored you tried to come to my rescue. I’m writing in general the way I feel about algorithms and bots, which seriously limit our freedom of thought and speech.

        Stay well. Joe

        • johnmichael2
          October 8, 2018 at 20:18

          Hey, if you’re rash or arrogant enough to publish comments that denigrate someone or some group because of racial origin, sexual orientation or just being ‘other’, whatever that is, go ahead. No problem with that; it just marks you for what you are for everyone to see. Sunshine is the best disinfectant ….. no censorship.

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 9, 2018 at 17:37

            Exactly.

        • CitizenOne
          October 9, 2018 at 00:23

          What happens when Black Bart and his gang of thugs rolls into town?
          Black Bart, the stage coach robber and Hollywood screenplay villain is a cautionary tale. Black Bart shoots the Sheriff in an act of claimed self defense and takes over the town claiming that law and order can only be dispensed through his usurped administration. The “Law” has now become the roost of crooks. The gang quickly appoints deputies and forms a posse to ferret out everyone that opposes the Bart gang and its illegitimate hold on power. Soon the helpless citizens of the town are shackled to the yoke by Black Bart as he does what he wishes with the towns people. Black Bart closes the schools and bribes the local judge. The townsfolk have nowhere to turn. Soon the local bank has new bankers who refuse to extend credit for the locals as the prices at the general store for goods rise beyond what the people can pay. The people are in debt and as their debts owed to the Black Bart Gang rise the shakedown begins. People are rousted out of their sleep and are dragged into the street to face the deputies of the gang demanding that the money be paid or else their property will be confiscated. Soon their property is confiscated and the deputies burn down the confiscated properties as a warning that those who refuse to pay will be put under the torch. With each burning the gang wins more land and more titles. It is the land that holds the riches and the people occupying it are to be dispensed with.

          The history of the West is written and is a cautionary tale of abuses which the wealthy will go to make their money.

          I have no clue why ordinary folk vote for politicians who seek to rob them. For the most part I think they succumb to the influence of the Black Bart Gang and believe that if they go along they will be spared the extortion and the protection money and all of the demands which will follow to strip them of their rights and their wealth

          It is just like a mob who gained power and now holds the reigns of power to do with it what they will. In the end the people who put up with it and vote for it will see in the end that they have been betrayed.

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 9, 2018 at 07:07

            Deception is an industry for our political class.

        • Realist
          October 10, 2018 at 05:09

          If you are still visiting this thread, Joe, I can tell you what Google and the other self-appointed gatekeepers of political discourse in this country have to say about “free speech”: they don’t believe that it is practical in the real world. According to this snippet from RT, they say it is just a “utopian idea,” and they are here to clean up and manage the mess for us all. How magnanimous of them, don’t you think?

          “Internal research commissioned by Google confirms Orwellian-scale censorship powers enjoyed by tech giants. It says free speech is a “utopian idea,” and creating “ordered spaces for safety and civility” is Google’s new mission.

          “The name of the briefing, leaked to Breitbart, says it all. ‘The Good Censor,’ prepared by a host of prominent industry researchers and “cultural leaders,” states that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have been moving away from the “American tradition,” which protects free speech from any encroachment, towards the European one, which prefers “dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.”

          Now there’s a new slogan that our minders in Washington can eagerly get behind: “Dignity over liberty, civility over freedom!” Allow them to enforce those values and you won’t be much of a problem for them at all.

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 10, 2018 at 06:41

            Thanks Realist. On another thread maybe I’ll expounded into my rap about this crazy world we are living in, and how we are devolving…. but since I just woke up I’ll just say again thanks for your being there with your brand of wisdom. Take care, we can continue this conversation because nothing is changing that fast that the problems we are plagued with are still with us. Joe

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 10, 2018 at 19:25

            “Google has said from the beginning that it is only using this data to better target users with advertising, although they don’t boast too loudly that they’re selling the data to advertisers and making a fortune from users’ personal information. But recall where these people started from, who funded them, and the close and profitable relationship Google has with the US government in general and the military-intelligence ‘community’ in particular. Then recall the NSA’s PRISM program, as revealed by Edward Snowden. Among the Snowden documents was tangible evidence that the largest, most respected internet companies – Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft – had worked secretly to funnel data on hundreds of thousands of users to the NSA. And they were VERY keen that you didn’t know about it. And according to the agreements you made when you began using these products, the internet behemoths own that data and can use it in any way they want, including giving it to the NSA and hence the entire shower of sordid spooks running civilization into the ground.” Gordon Vick is a retired IT Sales Director

            Read Vick’s article here….

            https://www.sott.net/article/397998-Google-Didnt-Just-Ignore-Its-Dont-Be-Evil-Motto-It-is-Literally-Surveillance-Central

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 10, 2018 at 20:32

            Realist what is most annoying, besides dangerous, is we Americans have loss our sense of respect for each other. What I mean is, we have loss the ability to talk with each other. Instead we Americans point fingers in our fellow citizens face who’s views differ from ours. Rather than try to understand another point of view, we shout each other down. To make matters worst our politicians on both sides of the aisle are prodding our citizens on into this type of behavior. This is corrosive manipulation that only goes to show how wrong our leadership class is these days.

            Anti-Gun rights advocates don’t care that they are expecting law abiding gun owners to give up their firearms. Doesn’t matter that these trustful gun owners are never going to commit the crime of mass shooting, all because a crazy person went berserk all gun owners must suffer the consequences. Should we confiscate everyone’s computer just because there are cyber security threats? The more serious dilemma is we don’t care what responsible gun owners think… we shut their reasoning down without listening to their concerns… it just doesn’t matter.

            As with the gun owner we shouldn’t downgrade the survivors of rape, or any other sexually abused victim. In fact we should take into consideration that sexual crimes happen to both women, and men. What the Democrats have done to the #metoo movement is disgraceful. Encouraging abused women to become enraged accusers, and to expect a conviction based on allegations just flys in the face of a country who believes it’s justice system is based on the rule of law. Again the discussion turns into a shouting match. This kind of representation by our politicians has set the #metoo movement back, as the conversation we should have had goes nowhere.

            So the right heckles the left, and the left screams at the right, and this is to be assumed to be the new normal. I’m a father of 5 adult women and 1 adult man, and I’m a grandfather to 7 girls and 7 boys, so I have to think fair. Being fair means genderless judgement on my part, so too carry this fairness out to the rest of our population would be ideal. At least I think so.

            Trump maybe the omnicenter for some of this new outrageous civility, but he’s not alone with a rapacious rating grabbing MSM, along with a DC Politico class who has no morals, should be noted. Keeping the populace separated is working out well for our politicians to destroy all of our basic freedoms, and we are all but helping them to achieve their evil goals as these politicians shamelessly cater to the 1% forgetting from where they came from. If you all want to change this destructive dynamic then start ‘talking’ to each other opposed to fighting each other to no resolve.

            Realist I wish I could express myself better, but I think you get my point. Always good to have that conversation with you. Joe

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 10, 2018 at 20:32

            Realist please check back once again I’m being moderated.

  18. October 8, 2018 at 11:53

    What seems to be forgotten is that a person is: “Innocent until Proven Guilty.” Yet allegations and accusations are portrayed as true. What if this happened to YOU?

    October 7, 2018
    Allegations and Accusations…

    Allegations and accusations were substituted as proof
    And the biased dishonest media, were strangers to the truth
    The so-called TV “news” was disgraceful in its reporting
    And the screen parade of “journalists” were totally revolting

    Some TV “reporters” were visibly angry, and nearly in tears
    Their “temperaments” clearly showed, as did their smears
    An innocent man and his family were subjected to cartoonist hating
    And all this was called “news coverage,” but it really was a berating

    “Controversial” was one of the words, these “news” propagandists used
    Another one was “temperamental,” to crucify, the innocent man accused
    This man’s character was deliberately and knowingly destroyed
    By a vicious vendetta of sneers, smears, and a media annoyed

    An on air trial, was parroted, as so-called TV “news”
    But, it was bias and babble and the media’s, bigoted views
    They even brought in “experts” to back up their baloney
    Some were “professors,” and other “professionals,” with biased stories

    Screaming mobs of hysterics and hate were also given coverage
    And described as worried, and caring, instead of savages
    Is it any wonder the media has zero credibility?
    When it attempts to destroy an innocent man’s integrity, and ability

    What is behind the mobs and the media’s obnoxious vituperation?
    Could it be: “Roe v Wade” might finally be overturned, in the nation?
    Could the slaughter of the pre-born child be stopped by this man’s vote?
    And would this return to sanity, finally end, what bloody evil has brought?

    Still: “Big Sister,” and “Big Brother” are scared this might happen
    And that might be why they scream and shriek with passion
    Orwell’s: “Two minutes of hate” has become the mobs and media’s affirmations
    And that could be why this man is defamed, by allegations and accusations…
    [more info on this at link below]
    http://graysinfo.blogspot.com/2018/10/allegations-and-accusations.html

  19. October 8, 2018 at 11:46

    When I wrote my previous reply, the comment count for this page said 57 comments.

    I hit the refresh button. Now it says 46 comments.

    Therefore, when I hit the refresh button, 11 comments disappeared, including the one I had just written. Most of them will reappear at a later time.

    What is the malfunction?

  20. Jill
    October 8, 2018 at 11:32

    So, trying again to get through. I think there is some other reason Brett was shoved through. There are many lackeys who would vote the same way as he will on all of these issues. Perhaps it is simply that he has an extraordinary level of evil action already to his name? He’s helped gut the 4th amendment, denied claims to compensation of 9/11 families, helped Bush institute torture and argued that it’s “legal” just to name a few of Brett’s illustrious accomplishments. But still, I feel there is something we are all missing here.

    One thing I have noticed is that most people cannot make any connection between the lawlessness with which women’s allegations were treated and the rest of Brett’s lawless rulings/behavior. Against the women, this lawlessness included asking potential witness to “not say anything bad” (HMMM-what could be bad about such a choir boy’s actions?), perjury, and the ability to full stop an actual inquiry into credible corroborating evidence. I think this is due to hatred of women in our society. Many people simply don’t care about lawlessness when directed at women. Therefore they literally refuse to notice the connection from that lawlessness to other forms of Brett’s lawlessness. The only place I have seen that connection made is at Global Research. This is all part of a criminal enterprise. I ask that more people start drawing the connections.

  21. October 8, 2018 at 10:27

    I would not be surprised if both GOP and Dems colluded to keep Kavanaugh’s record out of discussion, through the power of Bush and Clinton factions. Bushes for the reason to hide Kavanaugh underwriting instruments of totalitarianism via Patriot Act, torture, and their stealing of the 2000 election by Florida; Clintons to keep the Vince Foster supposed sucide out of attention. No way to know, just how powerful political families operate, through this “totalitarian tiptoe” that keeps advancing, as mike well states.

    I think term limits are in order for all govt officials, including Supreme Court. For what reason does a lifetime appointment make sense, reaching the point of senility should.be acceptable? I just saw a photo of Kagan and Sotomayor, both are now obese, having gained much weight since being justices. Not good for their health, too many expensive luncheons in DC?

    Now, let’s apply that algorithm of Google to prevent “hate speach”, shall we? Insanity prevails, along with sham democracy! Realist, i loved your most recent comment…as always, and you ought to write a book!

    • unfettered fire
      October 8, 2018 at 11:58

      Who better to script a sex scandal scenario than Kavanaugh himself, who also scripted the Ken Starr investigation. It worked! No one discussed his record, did they? Sex scandals are diversionary tactics to fill up air time when legislation is being passed that would not otherwise be approved of under scrutiny. The Clintons used it, Trump uses it and the two most radical right judges with the worst records may’ve also used it.

      Kava and fellow G-town Prep pal Justice Neil Gorsuch were selected by the Koch brothers. Neil’s mother, Anne Gorsuch, resigned in disgrace as head of the EPA in a scandal during the Reagan years. Gorsuch is avenging his mother and will further gut environmental regulations by overturning Chevron Deference for starters.

  22. Patricia Clarke Barsumian
    October 8, 2018 at 10:17

    I am impressed by the concise manner in which this is presented and I feel helpless and frightened for our nation.

  23. mike k
    October 8, 2018 at 08:26

    Enacting and enforcing laws is a major means for the corrupt congress to carry out the wishes of their corporate owners. Putting corrupt judges on the bench ensures the domination, victimization, and enslavement of the people of the United States. The laws are a tool of oppression. The laws thus illegitimately passed are the conditions of your slavery that you must obey, or else the enforcement instruments of this evil system will be used against you, and you may be consigned to one of the intentionally horrible prisons reserved for those who challenge their (hidden in plain sight) masters.
    Why does this system of oppression work so well? Because those subject to it have been systematically conditioned and brainwashed to accept their enslavement. We are taught that it is highly meritorious to obey this corrupt panoply of laws, and that doing so makes one a “good citizen”. And of course the fear instilled of being turned over to society’s brutal police enforcers is very compelling also.

    The paradoxical situation that all this creates is that in order to become a truly good citizen, one must break the State’s laws. Violating temporal laws is essential for obeying Higher Laws. Being a “criminal” in this way means you are a truly good person.

    When his friend Alcott visited Thoreau, in prison for tax evasion, and asked him, “What are you doing in there Henry?” Thoreau answered, “Why are you doing out there Bronson?” Th implication of course was that if Alcott had followed his conscience, he also would have disobeyed the law, and would be in jail also.

  24. October 8, 2018 at 08:04

    You don’t want to know what this site would look like without some sort of spam filter. When you hear about “Russian bots,” it isn’t a joke in the sense some people estimate there are MORE bots on the web than humans now. Mostly advertising, people with a financial motive. Even a site such as Consortium News which doesn’t have advertisers is affected because the bots are a plague. Oakleys, porn, handbags, movie listing – these things are bots.

    http://opensociet.org/2018/10/08/the-root-of-the-internets-disrepute-online-advertising/

    My guesstimate is our issue is how to get the spam filter tweaked so our problems here cease…

    • October 8, 2018 at 12:03

      When I got to this page, the comment count said 57. I commented. Comment posted.

      I hit the refresh button.

      My comment disappeared. The comment count went down to 46. Which means 11 comments disappeared.

      I am certain some of these comments will reappear later today. Some will not. What is going on here?

    • O Society
      October 8, 2018 at 16:47

      More bots than humans here now. Most selling stuff you don’t want.

      https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/bots-bots-bots/515043/

  25. Al Pinto
    October 8, 2018 at 07:35

    Ms. Cohn article is one of the overblown prediction of the the future voting record in the SCOTUS for Kavanough that may, or may not materialize. There had been numerous examples, even for SCOTUS judges, that actions taken in the elected/appointed office had been the opposite of the predictions. Will Ms. Cohn come back in that case and correct herself? It’s highly doubtful…

    PS: I did not believe that the Kavanough should be confirm to be a SCOTUS judge for number of reasons. And I also don’t believe that articles, like this one, helps easing the divide in the US. It does quite the opposite…

  26. October 8, 2018 at 04:09

    What’s happened here? Joe Tedesky can’t get through, and this gobbledy-gook from “strngr-tghr” on checking your comments using Google algorithms for hate speach (sic) gets through. This character is obviously a hillary-bot, consistently, and now spouts stuff on algorithms, is it the algorithm speaking? Plus, strngr-tghr is a terrible speller. This is weird!

    • Realist
      October 8, 2018 at 04:43

      I found that illiterate’s comments to Joe absolutely offensive, implicitly accusing him of hate speech. His solution for a fair and harmonious society is to have all our comments screened by an “algorithm” before they are deemed acceptable for public consumption? So, basically tear up the constitution and embrace censorship by his fellow travelers (i.e., the Clinton “resistance fighters”), because I’m sure that’s who will be writing all these wonderful transformative “algorithms.” There is no free speech if one must ask permission to express their thoughts.

    • October 8, 2018 at 11:19

      Yes. It seems likely this stronger together who needs to buy a vowel from Vanna White is some sort of bot programmed to deliver inciting words with the intent of getting people emotional.

      It’s gibberish because its algorithms tell it what to say but its wording doesn’t quite match the context of the conversation, does it?

  27. Joe Tedesky
    October 7, 2018 at 22:43

    Unless my comments start getting through I’m done with consortiumnews…. 3 postings and I’m being moderated…. what am I being moderated for? I’m pissed this happens to me all the time anymore, and I’m not new to this board or to supporting this site.

    • Joe Tedesky
      October 7, 2018 at 22:44

      I’d like my comments to appear in real time, not when the article has expired and no one will see what I wrote.

      • Jeff Harrison
        October 8, 2018 at 00:29

        I’m with you, Joe. I got moderated into oblivion today.

        • Joe Tedesky
          October 8, 2018 at 08:05

          This comment board should have no censorship what so ever. See Zerohedge for example. Free speech is free speech, it isn’t always nice and it isn’t always mean spirited but it’s free.

      • Al Pinto
        October 8, 2018 at 07:12

        Yes, my detailed reply to you is being moderated. What else is new?

    • Joe Tedesky
      October 8, 2018 at 07:06

      Heil to you too, bite me.

    • Al Pinto
      October 8, 2018 at 07:10

      You are not alone… I am visiting this site less and less for moderating my postings and more regular commenter like yourself as well.

      At the risk of being moderated…

      The automated spam filtering that utilizes probability calculation to determine if the posting is spam or ham, like Akismet here, does have an error rate. The error rate dependent on on the Akismet configuration and it seems to be at default settings at this site. At that settings, the false error rate is rather higher and should be customized for this site’s profile and to the comments posted. The highly political site, like CN, will have quite a few moderation. This is due to adding the politically correct “hate speech” category to Akismet, like other filtering solutions on the market. As jean noted earlier, this has not been the “problem before under Parry”. We certainly miss him…

      • Joe Tedesky
        October 8, 2018 at 15:44

        I hear ya, but I’m putting my money on Joe Lauria to come up with a remedy.

    • Ed
      October 18, 2018 at 13:10

      Take it easy, Joe. This isn’t aimed at you and it isn’t censorship. The site admin gives us a forum on which to discuss things, unlike most sites these days who turn moderation over to Disqus. The price is the time it takes for a human to review content and remove spam and the trolling comments aimed at disrupting the conversation.

      I can’t know whether everything you write gets through, but if you were actually being censored, your comments that accuse the admin of censoring you would be the main ones targeted for blocking. Think about it.

  28. Joe Tedesky
    October 7, 2018 at 22:37

    Call me crazy, but is it conceivably possible that the Democrates got what they wanted with them blowing it to not allow Bret Kavanaugh a seat on the Supreme Court bench? I mean are the Dem’s playing a longball game trying to whip up voter emotions for this coming midterm elections? Was this the logic that allowed Dr Christine Blasey Ford to testify without any corroborating evidence to support her 35 year old claim? Were the 2 other accusers a pile on, just to strengthen the ‘rape’ narrative?

    Or are the Donkey Party Senators just that stupid? Many on this board made better reason of why Judge Kavanaugh was not fit to serve on the US Supreme Court, over the Democrat Senators who totally missed their opportunity and who blew it. Are these Dem’s that dumb, or is this a plan to win future elections?

    If this is the plan by the Democrats to win back seats in Congress, well for their sake I hope this works, because the danger in this kind of thinking could reverse the American voter demographics in a big way. Already the Republican base who all but looked as though they were asleep, has now been shockingly awoken by these Democrates evidence lacking allegations of rape, and alcoholism.

    Will the midterms be a battle between the ‘deplorable’s’ & the ‘#me-too movement’, and if so will America out last this divisive display of political insanity.

    • Joe Tedesky
      October 8, 2018 at 14:01

      Thank you for releasing my comment… I really mean that.

      • October 9, 2018 at 12:24

        Joe, I come to this site expecting to read your comments. They have always been interesting and informative for many years. If the Consortium editors are not intelligent enough to recognize names of regular supporters to this site, they will loose their audience and will become insignificant. Politically correctness is nonsense and should be protested against, especially at this site.

        • Joe Tedesky
          October 9, 2018 at 13:15

          Thanks for your support. Joe

    • irina
      October 8, 2018 at 17:12

      That may have been the Dems strategy but their timing was a little off.
      It would explain the ‘sudden’ appearance of The Letter just as the SJC
      was getting ready to vote. But the Dems were banking on drawing out
      the process longer . . . which would also explain the ‘elevator hijacking’
      of Jeff Flake as a last-ditch attempt to stall. (That was bizarre, how in
      the world is he supposed to be responsible for molestation of a child in
      Columbia who is now apparently an illegal alien in the United States
      working for — yes, it’s true — an Open Society funded organization ?)

      IF the Dems had been able to stall off the confirmation vote until right
      before the elections, emotions would have been at a fever pitch and their
      strategy might have worked. But it won’t now, because things are already
      calming down, the other accusers have mysteriously fallen completely off
      the map (where they belonged in the first place), people are having more
      time to process what exactly happened, and a great many Independents
      (the majority of voters, although you wouldn’t know it from the MSM) as
      well as Republicans and some centrist Democrats are not happy about
      the entire process, which involved hijacking the #metoo movement, among
      other things.

      My sister is all mad at Susan Collins. I say KUDOS to Ms. Collins for calling
      out the madness of media trial by allegation. That is a dangerous path to take.

      On the other hand, I’m disappointed in my state senator, Lisa Murkowski. Not
      that she voted (inaudibly) NO on the first round of votes. But that she chose to
      vote ‘present’ in the next round. That did not show courage of conviction ! And
      was a BAD example of ‘NO means NO’. She took advantage of the situation
      to finesse it without having to take a strong stand. Lost status in the process.

      • Joe Tedesky
        October 8, 2018 at 21:52

        Irini your sister, my sister, as with all of the women in our families and beyond have gotten so caught up in this Democrat ploy to unseat the elected Republicans to the point that it’s very unfair to the concerned women for whom this ugly narrative of male behavior matters to the most. I respect the issue, and I do believe a national discussion is in order to guard our sisters from these types of male crimes, but at what expense to these ‘survivors’ are the Democrats using these abused and threatened souls? I’d say a lot.

        I’m not endorsing Kavanaugh nor any other Republican. Although I am, as a registered Democrat (for now) discussed at this contrived Democrat display of exploitation. How low for the Democrat party to use the supposed ones you love to try and win an election.

        If the Dem’s do lose in November well it will serve them rightly, for their stepping so low. Joe

        • Realist
          October 9, 2018 at 01:40

          Joe, I think you are right in your speculation about Democratic motives. The Blasey-Ford gambit was an attempt not only to block Kavanaugh’s appointment to the SCOTUS, but to win both the House and Senate in November by mobilising their female base. The only cost was their integrity and one’s man reputation. Maybe they risk a reversal of Roe v Wade, though many GOP-watchers contend that to finally pull the trigger on that would be the Republicans shooting themselves in the head. They would be wiped out in the next round of elections. They will always be wiser simply to keep the pot boiling on that issue without ever delivering their supposed “fix” of it. It’s the same game the Dems play with respect to worker pay, union rights, health care and related issues. They simply use that whole constellation of promises as a carrot to their voters. If they actually delivered they’d be expected to come up with yet more new ideas to help the working middle class, and that’s hard when their first priority is Wall Street, the Big Banks, Big Law, Hollywood, Silicon Valley and the MIC because those guys deliver the lucre to fund their campaigns. (There’s another client that can’t be named for obvious reasons.)

          Like you, Joe, I’m a registered Democrat and have always supported liberal causes. I won’t ever support the extreme right agenda that the hard core GOPers do, especially not the war mongering, nor the tax giveaways to the ultra rich. But the Dems have become even bigger war mongers than the GOPers lately, precluding my vote for them. They must not be rewarded as long as they threaten all life on the planet in their fanatical crusades against Russia, China and Iran, basically started by the Master of Deception Barack Obama. Like all society on Earth before the proverbial Great Flood, the present Democratic leadership and their demented platform must be swept away before a new beginning can be made. Yes, it means giving the hard core right wingers enough rope for them to hang themselves, which I guarantee would happen. But it’s the only way to rid American politics of the Schumer’s and Pelosi’s, hopefully replacing them some day with more Gabbard’s and Kusinich’s. Maybe there is even hope for such types to ally with the sane moderate libertarian Republicans like Ron Paul and Rand Paul. But right now, I say “no cookie” for the present bunch of bums calling themselves Democrats in congress.

          • Realist
            October 9, 2018 at 01:46

            I add this separately in case it is moderated.

            If you think the Blasey-Ford/Kavanaugh collision of worlds was hard hitting on this web site with neither side sparing the rhetoric, take a gander at this video. I think this woman’s logic is impeccable. She exposes exactly who Blasey-Ford is, not just as an individual, but within her own extended philosophical ecosystem in Palo Alto.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFL6k5yOAFM

          • Joe Tedesky
            October 9, 2018 at 07:08

            Great video. I’m guessing Putin is somewhat relieved that he wasn’t implicated in this contrived debacle.

          • Frederike
            October 9, 2018 at 12:32

            (There’s another client that can’t be named for obvious reasons.) hahah!

            Who could that possibly be!

      • LJ
        October 9, 2018 at 17:34

        Irina, coming from someone who has been labeled a troll, If you are not a troll or conversely an intelligence asset should be. After all , I agree with your observations most of the time . The Dems, Feinstein, Schumer etc. really had no other play .Their allies at the NYTimes Washington Post , etc. and elsewhere did what they could. Why not/ All’s fair in Love and Democracy. Murkowski got the seat from her daddy , She in no way earned it, she is entitled, she’s Alaskan Royalty. Trump tried to bully her and Senator Collins earlier in his term and got “Chilled” big time. . I commented at the time that Murkowski would remain an enemy and she has. Collins is like former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. When it comes right down to it she is a Republican. F the Republic , the Republican Party comes first.

    • October 9, 2018 at 03:55

      “Call me crazy, but is it conceivably possible that the Democrates got what they wanted with them blowing it to not allow Bret Kavanaugh a seat on the Supreme Court bench?”

      Yes, I think it is a real possibility.

      They knew they did not have the votes going in from Senators.

      But the Court of Public Opinion is an entirely different matter.

      I can’t help but believe this will put fire in some bellies for the election.

      In any case, it all demonstrates the low level of American national politics on all sides.

      It is just an appalling circus in Washington.

      But that is because America’s political system is broken.

      Neither party offers anything of what the American people and the world need.

      America just looks completely like a gigantic, angry, spoiled, and rather brutal child.

      • Joe Tedesky
        October 9, 2018 at 07:11

        No truer words could be spoken Chuck. Yes both parties are beyond disappointing. Thanks for adding your view to my comment. Joe

  29. October 7, 2018 at 20:21

    This is the spam filter.

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/

    It has its own criteria for how to identify spam. These criteria are based in algorithms.

    I do not think we are being censored. I think people are getting emotional. It’s politics.

    • October 7, 2018 at 20:32

      So thats why my comment wont go through?

      Im not emotional Im wonder why some of my comment get through and many dont ever make it past “moderation”.Thats a logical question.My posts arent spam.I never had that problem before under Parry.

      • October 7, 2018 at 20:33

        Gee they post this comment……

        • October 8, 2018 at 07:43

          Jean ~ I read your comment. Then after I replied to it, it disappeared.

          • October 8, 2018 at 17:59

            Whats up with that?

      • October 8, 2018 at 02:53

        I get the frustration. I have had comments not post as well. Go to the void.

        The vast majority of commentors here are bright and well read. You would think this group requires less moderation than most places on the interwebs.

        The Kavanaugh-God thread had 500+ comments. Is this site used to dealing with this kind of volume?

        Just trying to stay objective and look at the different variables which may affect the comments system.

        I’m on everyone’s side.

  30. Eric32
    October 7, 2018 at 19:50

    For your info-

    Blocked comments – the site is using a spam filter called Akismet.
    It doesn’t work very well, and it’s creating a lot of frustration among people posting valid comments.

    • Eric32
      October 7, 2018 at 20:03

      Probably, whoever runs this site is unaware of the problem.

    • October 8, 2018 at 08:02

      Yes. Askimet uses Bayesian algorithms to determine what is spam and what is not.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naive_Bayes_spam_filtering

    • Ed
      October 18, 2018 at 13:30

      True, but remember that isi site is a labor of love for the people who give it to us. The best siteware I’ve seen for articles with comments sections was developed by Ron Unz. If he were to make it available for use by others, even at a cost, it would help sites such as this one to moderate comments. Look it over:

      http://www.unz.com/

  31. LJ
    October 7, 2018 at 16:49

    Not 5 reasons . 1. Just win Baby. The reason these folks, both Democrats and Republicans, try to get into positions of power is too use it. PERIOD. The Democrats, Feinstein in particular ,demonstrated how much Democrats, care about fair play and bipartisanship. Didn’t she tell a reporter in an interview , “Bipartisanship is a long ways off”, shortly after she played her hidden card at the last minute? Meanwhile Professor Ford was being coached for the performance/interview and she had already secured representation from #MeToo’s best legal team and others as well. The answer is,,,, yes Feinstein said that. Why should they wait for the mid term election just in case they lose both the House and the Senate which would allow the Democrats too block any potential Trump/Pense nominee for 2 years +? It would would have been stupid not to push Kavanaugh through now especially when this whole dirty business will probably help them with their base and may not only help keep the Senate in Republican hands but may also allow them to retain control pf the House of Representatives. I despise the Republican leadership but I would have done the same thing and not just because I despise Democrats as well, I would have done it because like Feinstein I would not have just given up, I would have tried to win . When the Democrats get a majority they will do the same.

  32. michael crockett
    October 7, 2018 at 16:41

    This was a good article and I would add to this an additional concern. Kavanaugh served as an associate white house counsel to President Bush from 2001 to 2003. In an email to a colleague, K stated that the Patriot Act is a ”measured, careful, responsible, and Constitutional approach.” Really? The P/A obliterated the fourth and fifth amendment rights to privacy and due process by giving the Federal Government sweeping new powers to conduct surveillance on the American people. K helped to draft the P/A and has been credited with this statement: “the new law will update laws authorizing government surveillance.” Such nonchalance over abolishing our Constitutional Protections is completely unacceptable. This alone should have disqualified him from becoming a Supreme Court Justice in my mind. I would add that this should have prevented him from becoming a judge on the bench of any federal court. Here is an excellent source for this and more information on Judge Kavanaugh: Brittany Hunter writing for the Foundation of Economic Education and published in https://21stcenturywire.com.

    • strngr-tgthr
      October 7, 2018 at 17:25

      Thats a good point, but to obscure. Wait till you see what Avenatti is going to do next. Were are talking about stuff you could go to prison for the rest of your life over here. Kavanaugh will e tied up for years with Avenatti and then when the Congress falls back into are hands it will be game over. Also Mueller is finishing the Russian Investigation witch willbe released right after the election indictating Trump in treason. We will see some big perp walks happening in 2019 mark my words!!!

  33. Bart
    October 7, 2018 at 16:31

    Item #2 which mentions abortion rights causes me to suggest that any ardent catholic on the court must recuse himself or herself.

    Which leads one to ask why we maintain a catholic majority on the court? Do we even have one run of the mill protestant there (Gorsuch the thief does not qualify)? Why no professed non-believers?

    • strngr-tgthr
      October 7, 2018 at 17:49

      You know Scalia was in Opus Day witch is like the worst. And the court is only Christian, we have no muslims, or hindus or jewish justices either. Also no Asians no Native Americans … and no LGBTQ either and these people are deciding are lives! Think about that! And a life time appointment on top of it, witch is no accountability to the people. There is no reason these Justices should not be elected, like every four years, just like the President.

      • Mark Marshall
        October 7, 2018 at 21:11

        Three members of the Court are Jewish.

        • strngr-tgthr
          October 7, 2018 at 23:52

          It appears you are right, but people know what I mean.. that it is unfair never the less. And this antisemetic injustice was just recently fixed, all pointed by Democrats and Obama, naturally. You don’t expect a Republicans to appoint any thing but white privileged ivy leagued WASPS.

          • michael
            October 8, 2018 at 07:11

            In recent history SCOTUS has been dominated by Catholics (22% of US population, five or six Justices) and Jews (1.4% of the population, three Justices). Often no other religious groups are represented on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh is Catholic so he does not bring much needed diversity to the court. Worse, of our >200 accredited law schools, historically almost all of our Justices come from Harvard or Yale. These people are the Elite, and that fact explains results like Citizens United (where the supposedly liberal Kennedy wrote the majority opinion.)
            Despite all the noise, nothing substantial will change with Kavanaugh. He fits the mold.

          • Mark Marshall
            October 8, 2018 at 10:35

            The complete or nearly complete absence of Protestants is strange, considering the religious demography of the country. I suspect Catholics have been favoured because of the assumption that Catholic judges are more likely to vote to overturn Roe v Wade than Protestant ones.

        • strngr-tgthr
          October 8, 2018 at 10:21

          Michael, we can agree there. Because of Citizens United there is no way the government can regulate free speach now, it is all in the hands of the Wall Street corporations and all I was saying above was that algoriths are a good attempt gesture to do the speach regulation. Thanks to Kennedy there are no options left, the only solution is unbiased AI programs / machines to do this. And remeber Citizens United was baseless attacking Hillary witch we tried to stop but was struck down.

      • RickD
        October 8, 2018 at 07:32

        Firstly, its Opus Dei.

        Secondly two Justices are Jewish:

        Ruth Bader Ginsburg
        Stephen Breyer

        There is also a Latina present on the court. Sonya Sotomeyer.

        It is always nice when a poster actually knows his subject matter, shame that is not the case with your rant.

  34. backwardsevolution
    October 7, 2018 at 16:18

    “Kavanaugh ruled against granting special visas to Brazilian workers in cases where US workers could perform the same jobs.”

    What? No special visas? Do you mean the H-1B visas would be in jeopardy, i.e. bringing in tech workers from Asia or wherever, paying them less, having U.S. workers train these new workers, and then firing the U.S. workers after they’re no longer needed?

    I say “good”. Try getting a work permit in India or China, countries who actually look after their own citizens first.

  35. Romi Elnagar
    October 7, 2018 at 16:03

    Thanks for an excellent, well-researched article.

  36. Mild - ly - Facetious
    October 7, 2018 at 14:12

    Thank You, Marjorie Cohn, for this short list of premeditated goals you’ve set forth in your “Five Reasons” harbinger-of-things-to-come following this completion of – The Right Wing Hostile Takeover of the American Government by an Obdurate and Pertinacious, Paternalistic band of 1% ers and, ‘Theoretical’ Constitutional “Originalists” that/whom seem to adhere and cling to an ELI YALE Basic Fundamentalism that is Absolute in it’s Specifics vis-a-vis — The Anglo-American Establishment – that is, the UNITED KINGDOM, the Founding Father of which is/was one Cecil Rhodes – whose Entire history’s development evolves/devolves around the theory of White Supremacy and under that, Paternalism. – An antiquated, archaic and obsolescent paternalism as that Represented and Put Foreword by Senator Collins’ ALL AROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH SPEECH —- wherein she bent and bowed the knee in an overabundant approval and submission a stoicism and masochism (approval) of Male or White Male Dominance of species/gender. (I LISTENED TO HER FULL SPEECH, did you…?)
    ———– It must be broken down,
    line by line //
    and witnessed //
    as //
    —- or compared to // … .. …
    The 5 Dialogues from Plato:

    (an) APOLOGY . …

    Dear Susan Collins,
    please APOLOGIZE
    for all the victims of RAPE
    that’ve / who’ve been
    traumatized/tranquilized
    and/or Beaten into submission
    and into fear a of reprisal
    by him or they, /
    their brutal
    life threatening
    abuser – Now Placed
    IN A POSITION OF
    FINAL AUTHORITY
    over accusation
    representation
    rape kit finalization
    gov’t authorization
    previous accusation
    or “church affiliation”
    as authentication of
    hierarchy / approval

    into The Sphere
    of Skull & Bones
    at Yale University… .?

    Please find Eli Yale +

    Yale University Founding History +

    Yale University Original Funding +

    Yale University U S Gov’t OFFSPRING

    etc /etc. /etc /

  37. October 7, 2018 at 12:10

    These people aren’t even real Republicans!! They are a subspecies that only exists to reek havoc and destruction on the Earth and grift from their planted positions in our government!!! The other horror is the Zombie RUMP cult and Stepford Wives that support and enable them to their own destruction because of their racism and ignorance!!!

    • Mild -ly Facetious
      October 7, 2018 at 15:13

      Stepford wives is the as precise hit on the head of the nail, doreen gayer —

      — Susan Collins just stepped on the head of a CLUSTER BOMB

      they’ll ignite millions of women across the globe !!!!

      Trump’s authoritarianism will destroy — / — / NOT IMPROVE The World

      +++ +++

      The Endangered Species Act, as elucidated by Turtle Face MITCH MCCONNAL

      May be that reface / resurface of Chairman McConold as a re emergence of Charlton Heston in a “Planet-of Apes” episode or maybe his “Solent Green” warning of EARTH “Aliens”Over Popularizing the White Mans’ World… ???

      And / Or in a twilight zone- ish episode, Trump emerges in a “savior-of-the-world” episode in which 3/4ths of humanity is “sacrificed” in able to “Save Civilization” —————— In the next chapter/episode of this hypothetical saga, Trump declares himself, through Controller of World Wealth Bank Accountings, THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD ; and therefore
      The UNDISPUTED King Of The World. …

      This is the PARANOIAC VISION of the NARCISSISTIC President of the United States, the underwhelming, mr. trump. …

  38. Robert Emmett
    October 7, 2018 at 10:48

    https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/06/young-and-professional-kavanaugh-its-all-part-same-scummy-guy

    from “Politician” by Cream

    I support the left tho I’m leanin’ to the right/ I support the left tho I’m leanin’ to the right/ but I’m just not there when it’s comin’ to a fight/
    …Hey now, baby, get into my big black car/ Hey now, baby, get into my big black car/ I wanna just show you what my politics are
    (Jack Bruce/Peter Brown)

  39. Frank
    October 7, 2018 at 10:31

    I think there is some other reason Brett was shoved through. There are many lackeys who would vote the same way as he will on all of these issues. Perhaps it is simply that he has an extraordinary level of evil action already to his name? He’s helped gut the 4th amendment, denied claims to compensation of 9/11 families, helped Bush institute torture and argued that it’s “legal” just to name a few of Brett’s illustrious accomplishments. But still, I feel there is something we are all missing here.

    One thing I have noticed is that most people cannot make any connection between the lawlessness with which women’s allegations were treated and the rest of Brett’s lawless rulings/behavior. Against the women, this lawlessness included asking potential witness to “not say anything bad” (HMMM-what could be bad about such a choir boy’s actions?), perjury, and the ability to full stop an actual inquiry into credible corroborating evidence. I think this is due to hatred of women in our society. Many people simply don’t care about lawlessness when directed at women. Therefore they literally refuse to notice the connection from that lawlessness to other forms of Brett’s lawlessness. The only place I have seen that connection made is at Global Research. This is all part of a criminal enterprise. I ask that more people start drawing the connections.

  40. Lucius Patrick
    October 7, 2018 at 10:19

    The world might be ending, and we’re all going to hell in a handbasket (!) but until then, let’s govern ourselves intelligently. My God, it looks like Trump is doing a fantastic job! A woman enters the field of psychiatry, a field where self-analysis is the name of the game, a field where one of the very fundamental precepts and starting points is the importance of bringing out into the open that which has bothered you; and she claims that a high school groping incident (ending with everyone falling on the floor and the boys in hysterical laughter) was the primary activating factor in her getting ptsd, and she claims not being able to discuss this groping incident for twenty-five years. I’m calling heavy bullshat. Democrats continue to soil themselves. So glad I left their party in 2016, they continue to reaffirm why I will never go back. None of the five reasons given in the article are worrisome.

    • strngr-tgthr
      October 7, 2018 at 12:10

      Okay, so you have no problem with the 5 issues but the real issue is they did it with INTENT with a preplanned PLAN. That means they have an AGENDA and that should worry everyone when any politician have an agenda.

    • RickD
      October 8, 2018 at 07:35

      You seem so totally unaware of how impactful an attempted rape can be on a person.
      You are equally unaware of the damage your orange hero is doing to this nation and the world.
      If , as they say, ignorance is bliss, you must be the happiest guy around.

  41. Don Bacon
    October 7, 2018 at 09:51

    Washington’s misplaced concern for gopher frogs in Louisiana is a prime example of the increasing centralization of political power setting up an unrepublican autocracy with unlimited powers rather than the intended republican federal government with limited powers envisioned by Thomas Jefferson and the Constitution in a country called The United States of America.

    On some other particulars, voting is a state responsibility, and there is nothing in the Constitution about separation of church and state. . . .Question for Ms Cohn: What does the Thomas Jefferson School of Law teach on the unconstitutional centralization of power in Washington?

  42. Anonymous
    October 7, 2018 at 08:37

    It is erroneous to view the Dems as a opposition party. One question I have been asking since many years, and to which I have yet to get a good answer is that “if both parties get their money from the same group of people and entities, then why would anyone expect them to have any real and substantial policy differences?” I am still waiting ….

    The reality is that the Dems and the Repubs are the two brands of the same party – a simplified designation of this party would be the “Wall Street – MIC – AIPAC” party. So in effect, what we get in our political process is not a good cop, bad cop scenario but a “BAD COP, WORSE COP” scenario, played by the Dems and the Repubs, respectively.

  43. mike k
    October 7, 2018 at 08:34

    It is not simply the US Empire that is soon going down the drain into oblivion – the entire industrial humanity project is due to fail resulting in humankind’s extinction. But I agree that we should have a nice day – as long as there is one….

  44. October 7, 2018 at 07:51

    Democrats blew their chance to examine Kavanaugh’s actual record by the grandstanding identity politics show we just saw. It may work against them, we will see in a few weeks. At any rate, we are headed for a crack-up, as Realist says. Outside of our human show, Earth has been experiencing an unprecedented number of earthquakes and volcanoes erupting. Last week, a meeting of wildlife conservationists and biologists issued a warning that the loss of Earth’s species continues at an alarming rate. Yet corporate profits continue to drive human activity worldwide.

    • Seamus Padraig
      October 7, 2018 at 13:22

      Exactly. The Dems had their chance to cross-ex Kavanaugh on these issues and so many others. But instead, they chose to monopolize two weeks’ of our time with their unsubstantiated charges of ‘PUSSYGRABBING!!!’ I’m not a fan of the Repubs, but I’m almost kind of relieved that Kavanaugh won. Sad …

      • irina
        October 7, 2018 at 15:14

        The problem with cross-exing K. on the Real Issues was that the Democrats
        Dared Not Go There. Too many of their own skeletons might get exhumed !

        So they put all their eggs in the ‘salacious, unverifiable assualt allegation’ basket.
        Bad Plan ! Unfortunately in the collateral damage, the mis-appropriation of #metoo
        has turned some of its advocates into hystrionic zombies and turned off those of
        us who 1) have experienced verifiable sexual assault and 2) have also experienced
        illegitimate false accusation. (The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, despite
        efforts to make them so.) This will backfire Big Time on those behind the scheme.
        Especially in light of their hypocritical posturing regarding proven Democratic Perps.
        (As my sister tried to persuade me in 2016 regarding my concerns about Slick Willy
        and Herself’s plan to put Him ‘in charge of the domestic economy’ following Her win,
        “Oh, he’s not so bad. . .”)

  45. Realist
    October 7, 2018 at 06:39

    Ever since the Bush family ascended to the presidency Republican presidents have used a list of potential candidates for appointment to the Supreme Court approved by the very conservative Federalist Society rather than a previous list provided by the more liberal American Bar Association. Two of the names residing at the top of that list were Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. Pretty much all of the jurists near the top of that list, which is also used for filling appellate court vacancies, could be counted on to apply the same conservative principles to their decisions on the court. Consider them basically all interchangeable pieces on the board.

    Preventing Kavanaugh’s approval would merely have delayed the process but ultimately resulted in the same outcome, unless the Dems could somehow sandbag the system for two more years accompanied by a defeat of Trump for a second term. If he were to win, they’d have to drag out the stall for six full years to get a shot at a liberal on the high bench. By then the new president would probably have multiple vacancies to fill. That is, unless the parties were finally willing to [heaven forbid!] compromise on a bona fide “moderate” [how ever would we identify such a person in these days of absolute polarities?].

    As someone said 45 years ago after they rode Nixon out of Washington on a rail, “this country has become completely ungovernable”–well, nearly so and getting closer each day. Just like you can extrapolate backwards or forwards and see where the laws of physics break down in the “big bang” or the “heat death” of the universe, one can predict, if not precisely when, but that, of necessity, the end is coming for the empire, for the economy, for the revenue stream, for infrastructure and safety nets, for the entrenched interest groups, for the corrupt justice system and for all the other whackadoodle jury-rigged fixes keeping this facade of a government and nation propped up. The discord, the disparities, the catastrophes, the impasses and the madness are just going to keep getting worse. This seems axiomatic, like the inexorable increase in entropy which defines time’s arrow.

    Have a nice day.

    • Dave P.
      October 7, 2018 at 12:42

      Realist –

      As always, I find myself in complete agreement with your comments, both on domestic state of affairs, and international – your very informed, objective views and conclusions. Your comments are always spot on. Though I have read quite a bit during the last decade about America’s earlier political, social, and economic history, I hesitate to comment on domestic issues. However on international politics from life time experience, one learns to look at the World History and Politics more objectively, looking from many angles.

      You write: ” . . . As someone said 45 years ago after they rode Nixon out of Washington on a rail, “this country has become completely ungovernable”–well, nearly so and getting closer each day . . .”

      Reading your comments, on the domestic stalemate, I would post this Video of Jeffrey Sachs interview. Though he was one of those Harvard wonder boys who were advising Yeltsin leading to looting and destruction of Russia during 1990’s, from his interviews lately it seems like he has now become a sane voice in the upper circle who are close to the Rulers of this country. He talks about domestic situation in the country.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZU0IXO7AQw

      On international issues, I grew up during very optimistic times, the days of Non-aligned Nations leaders Bandung conference in Indonesia in 1954 , their President Soekarno was the host. They, the leaders of Non-aligned Nations proclaimed the following five principles of “Panchsheel”, borrowed I think from Budhism.

      Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

      Mutual non-aggression.

      Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

      Equality and cooperation for mutual benefit.

      Peaceful co-existence.

      What a great step it was for working towards a peaceful World. NO, it was never to be. The West, in order to reassert its control over the newly emerging Independent Nations, freed from the yoke of their Colonialism, started to subvert it immediately. Now we have this history of past seventy years of wars, death, and destruction of entire Nations by The West.

      In the newly independent country, during the 1950’s, we grew up with everything still British. Most books still published by British Publishing Houses; British History, British Literature, British Philosophy and British and other Western Social Thinkers . . . But there were ideas being disseminated about the experience of Soviet Experiment and Chinese Revolution as well. We learnt to like Russian Literature, Culture, and people as well. World is not a zero-sum game. One learns to have more objective, balanced view of the World politics. But even today still I have that little bias in my mind in favor of Western Civilization and not for Chinese or any other Culture. So does most of the World because of five hundred years of colonial history. West is more familiar to them.

      But China will have its rightful place in the World again. But they can never be a hegemon Nation like U.S. or The West as a whole. They are different, they can not take the place Of West-centric World. All this nonsense about danger of Rising China is fabricated in the West.

      So is Russia. Russia has its own History, Literature, Culture. It will have its rightful place in the World. What is there to be afraid of. Their language, cultural reach is very limited to their neighborhood, and their economic power is very limited. As has been pointed by many commentators on CN, U.S. is run by Power Structure, some of them very dangerous people. They are taking the World towards a nuclear War. The hegemon West is addicted to plundering the once colonized, and other weak Nations. Complete nuclear annihilation of the World – intentional or accidental – in the very near future is not unthinkable.

      There was this other interview of Jeffrey Sachs on MSNBC from Jimmy Dore show clip:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O2TRzA2ezk

      As Jimmy Dore said, most likely he would not be invited to MSNBC again.

      • Sifting
        October 8, 2018 at 10:34

        Dave P — Excellent links with Jeffrey Sachs. Thanks.

    • LJ
      October 8, 2018 at 16:30

      Yo Realist, I’mfairly certain that way back when you read the introduction to A Tale of Two Cities.” It was the best of times and it was the worst of times….”?, . Well , it is. The economy is smoking and nobody worldwide wants to see it crash. Global warming? , A rumor still apparently. Where is Nero now?, He could be Trump in a tunic. The Kids are already partying like it’s 2099- worldwide- and it’s gonna one long party. We could all be killed by an Asteroid long before closing time if closing time ever comes.. The Beat Will Go On until it doesn’t. My opinion ; Democratic Liberalism will die a hard death like Imperialism and it’s subsequent opulence always does> with barbarians at the gate looking to rob, pillage and scavenge whatever they can. Why should bankers and Capitalists have all the fun? It ain’t all just gonna roll over and die anytime soon. When I was a child I thought like a child then I threw away childish things and started drinking heavily….Ha Ha Ha. Peace Brother.

  46. OlyaPola
    October 7, 2018 at 05:07

    As shown consistently from inception, the opponents’ reflexive hubris affords opportunities to others locally testing hypotheses of – in we the people, who are the people?

    However part of the reflexive hubris is a function of “exceptionalism” where the local is deemed to be of sole and/or prime agency and significance affording opportunities of lateral challenge to “non-locals” whilst locals are immersed in spectacles as outlined by Mr. Rove in his “We are an Empire….” observation.

  47. October 7, 2018 at 02:57

    In reflection, a qualified jurist will be seated on the Supreme Court, participate in a myriad of decisions, and seldom be mentioned in the media again. The powers attributed to him and the outcome of the vote are overblown both by the Democrats and the Republicans.

    What will not be forgotten is the hysteria of the opposition and its failed attempt to intimidate the Senators who voted for Kavanaugh. Watching the hysteria in the media and on the streets and the juxtaposition of the somber process by which the Senators voted and the lack of vocal reaction on the floor after the vote was reassuring. It should be to all citizens of all persuasions.

    • mike k
      October 7, 2018 at 08:30

      Herman, you just love the way things went with the fascist Kavanaugh being elected. Except those nasty protesters who somewhat spoiled the spectacle of our government being handed over to the aristocracy’s poodle.

      • ML
        October 7, 2018 at 10:02

        Hey Mike, that’s an insult to poodles! Snicker-snicker. Seriously though, I am sorry too, that an unjust and disreputable, repulsive frat boy advanced to the Supremes, but things have been going helter-skelter for so long now, each fresh insult becomes almost a dull, continuous pain in any empathetic heart. More empathy is what we need as a species. And the only bright side I see, is that people like you who have an abundance of kindness, are still trying to impart that kindness to the world around you. All we can do is to cling to the good around us and try our level best to improve, not degrade, the lives of all sentient beings with whom we come into contact daily. That’s another way of saying, “Have a nice day.”

      • October 7, 2018 at 10:08

        Mike, attributing to a commenter a motive which may or may not be true as a way of dismissing the comment runs counter to civil discourse. If you disagree with my point, say so.

        • Jeff Harrison
          October 7, 2018 at 13:26

          A fair point, Herman. OTOH, I disagree with your point and will now say so. I did not disapprove of Kavanaugh because of some drunken rape attempt as a late teenager. Young pipple of both sexes do stupid things until they finish growing up. He is an entitled frat-boy like Shrub. I say this because of the way he lost it and what he said when he was challenged by his Senate interrogators. A seasoned jurist (and at his age and considering the position he has been elevated to, he better damn well be seasoned) would not react that way. I would have expected a far more measured if not intelligent response. It looked like he wasn’t going to get his way and he was damned well going to let the questioner know that was unacceptable. We don’t need that on SCROTUM.

          You called him a qualified jurist. You don’t know that based on his testimony. You called the Senate process somber. It was anything but. The Republicans ramrodded Kavanaugh through the formalities of “the process”. Was there a discussion of his involvement in Slick Willie’s impeachment? I did not vote for Clinton in either election nor do I have a comment on lying in a deposition as an impeachable offense. But how did we get there? Ken Starr was told to investigate the Clintons for a failed land deal called White Water. Fair enough. But there was no there there. Not to be deterred, Starr started investigating Clinton’s sexual peccadilloes. Gennifer Flowers and then Monica Lewinski. What the hell did that have to do with White Water? Starr was so far beyond his juridical remit that he might as well have been in another universe. But, of course, Starr’s real remit was to “get” Clinton whom the Republicans viewed as illegitimate. As I understand it, Kavanaugh was all in with the idea of “getting” Clinton. If true, we really don’t need someone on SCROTUM that thinks that the law is there to be used as a weapon by someone with power to punish someone that the person with power didn’t like. That’s not what the law is for. So much for your “qualified” “jurist”.

          Was there any discussion of his work with John Yoo on the memos “justifying” torture? Those memos were such a load of bullshit that they would have been funny except that people suffered as a result of them. I understand that Kavanaugh was all in with torturing people. Apparently, our 8th amendment forbidding “cruel and unusual punishment”, the UN convention on torture, and our own actual law forbidding torture notwithstanding, Kavanaugh was OK with torturing people. He helped create their tortured logic. Probably because he thought it worked. I have a descriptor for people like that. It’s scum. We don’t need scum like Kavanaugh on SCROTUM.

          But, of course, we’ll never know if my descriptions of his attitudes and behaviors on Clinton and torture are accurate or not. The Republicans on the committee refused to allocate time for questioning about these topics nor would they release documents requested by the Democrats on these topics for them to make their own judgements. Far from a sober proceeding, you saw a partisan parody of advise and consent. And, far from being never heard again, I have a feeling that he’s one frat boy we won’t stop hearing about. But, I could be wrong, and so, assuredly could you. I didn’t base my opposition to him on what I thought he would do but on what he had done. Based on that, I call him a parody of a jurist.

          • October 9, 2018 at 08:51

            Jeff, great response to me. I agree with just about everything you had to say. And the strategy of the Democrats was a matter of timing and smearing and the Republicans did rush the thing through because if they didn’t they could lose at the polls and their man. Kavanaugh did need to respond but he needed coaching and I saw a strong possibility he would be rejected because of his emotional and un edited response. I am sure he would like a do over but it is over and will be forgotten.

        • Jeff Harrison
          October 7, 2018 at 14:01

          So Consortiumnews, where the hell is my comment? It went to moderation a while back.

  48. October 7, 2018 at 01:09

    Via zer hedge:

    In a fiery speech announcing her decision, Collins ripped unsupported
    claims by Avenatti’s client, Julie Swetnick, that Kavanaugh facilitated a
    Cosby-esque “gang rape” operation while in high school.

    “Some of the allegations levied against Judge Kavanaugh illustrate
    why the presumption of innocence is so important. I am thinking in
    particular not of the allegations raised by Professor Ford, but of the
    allegation that, when he was a teenager, Judge Kavanaugh drugged
    multiple girls and used their weakened state to facilitate gang rape.
    This outlandish allegation was put forth without any credible supporting evidence and simply parroted public statements of others.
    That such an allegation can find its way into the Supreme Court confirmation process is a stark reminder about why the presumption of innocence is so ingrained in our American consciousness”

    . -Sen. Susan Collins

    Update: As CNN now reports, Senate Democrats are also jumping on the anti-Avenatti bandwagon.
    Democrats say Avenatti undercut their case against Kavanaugh
    A host of Democratic senators and senior aides told CNN that the
    allegations from Avenatti’s client gave the GOP an opening to conflate
    — and dismiss — all the allegations in one broad brush.

    “Well you know at some point there were a lot of folks coming
    forward making all sorts of accusations,” said Sen. Gary Peters, a
    Michigan Democrat, when asked about the allegations raised by Avenatti
    and his client. “It turns it into a circus atmosphere and certainly
    that’s not where we should be.”
    Asked if Avenatti was helpful, Peters said: “I think we should have
    focused on the serious allegations that certainly appeared very credible
    to me that would be our best course of action.”
    Privately, the assessment was far more scathing.

    “Democrats and the country would have been better off if Mr.
    Avenatti spent his time on his Iowa vanity project rather than meddling
    in Supreme Court fights,” a senior Senate Democratic aide fumed,
    referring to Avenatti toying with the idea of seeking the Democratic
    presidential nomination. “His involvement set us back, absolutely.”
    -CNN”
    https://edition.cnn.com/201

    Diane Feinstein is to blame for people not believing Ford. She sat on
    the story for weeks, during which it could have been thoroughly vetted,
    and the truth could come out. But the fact that she withheld the story
    until the last minute for purely political gain and presented a
    polished, coached, and unfalsifiable story, stinks to hell.

    Fords three proven lies – fear of flying and small spaces and never having
    helped coach the polygraph test witness – completely undermine her
    credibility.
    Women should blame Feinstein.

    • David
      October 7, 2018 at 08:09

      it is astonishing , even in the few comments here, to see the persistence of the misunderstandings of the sequence of events with regard to DrBlaseyFord and Feinstein. Fake news indeed is a reality that we have to live with.

    • strngr-tgthr
      October 7, 2018 at 08:38

      I completely disagree. Avennati is right! What are we supposed to do, except some victims and not others because there “story” is better for the politics? So where do you draw the line? No! All victims have same rights and deserve EQUAL support. Otherwise it is COMPLETELY unfair and there is NO JUSTICE. If you don’t do this, then you completely make the #metoo irrelevant. If we did what you all say HArvey Weinstein would have gotten completely away because of him attacking all those actress would have been unbelievable. Think about that!

      • October 7, 2018 at 19:40

        Which witness?……..this one?

        Report: Ford’s Friend Felt Pressure To Change Story Denying Knowledge Of Party, Kavanaugh

        https://dailycaller.com/2018/10/05/leland-keyser-felt-pressure-change-story/

        Or the “witness that said she was raped but not by Kavanough?…….and said he held “Rape Trains” yet never witnessed one?……and spiked punch ?Yet kept going to the parties?

        Or the “witness” that saw a penis during a drinking game?Ever hear of strip poker?

        and are you being serious?

        Are you really contending that ANY accusation thrown out by anyone with zero evidence or corroboration should keep someone from a JOB too?

        And you think Trump is dangerous?

        Still no evidence or any Rape…….but you go with that!!You think you can will elections without men?…..really?Thats the new strategy?

        You whined about Pizzagate { which I never believed } and ran your own accusation, evidence free witchhunt……..just as republicans did…..Just more evidence democrats are the same coin as Republicans just the other side.

        A pox on both houses.

      • October 7, 2018 at 19:43

        The “witness that said she was raped but not by Kavanough?…….and said he held Rape Trains yet never witnessed one?……and spiked punch ?Yet kept going to the parties?

        Or the “witness” that saw a penis during a drinking game?Ever hear of strip poker?

        You ran around shouting rape from the rooftops and produced zero evidence and you think that makes you look innocent?How is it any different than Pizzagate?

        This whole debacle has put women back and harmed real sexual assault and Rape victims and made the despicable Kavanaugh look sympathetic.

  49. October 6, 2018 at 22:37

    They’re not in a hurry anymore. Welcome Justice Douchebag!

    https://www.truthdig.com/articles/kavanaugh-confirmed-50-48-in-near-party-line-vote/

    • strngr-tgthr
      October 7, 2018 at 09:51

      Thanks for that! It only shows the absolute TYRANNY. How can you do something without a single vote from the opposing side? Where is the inclusion and diversity? The United States need to wake up!!!

      • victorK
        October 7, 2018 at 10:40

        50 = 49 R + 1D

    • October 7, 2018 at 10:17

      Why are such comments allowed? I think the site would be better served if their were suggestions of what is acceptable. Name calling and labels like fascist pointing the finger at other commenters are uncalled for. Douchebag would fail the test.

      Uncivil discourse is common in the public arena today but as I recall when I first discovered this site such name calling of other commenters was rare. Perhaps I am thinking of the good old days that never really existed.

    • October 7, 2018 at 13:15

      The professor of American Studies at Berkeley told me the appropriate title for an individual such as Kavanaugh is “douchebag.”

      Just trying to remain politically correct: Justice Douchebag

      https://medium.com/the-secret-history-of-america/douchebag-the-white-racial-slur-weve-all-been-waiting-for-a2323002f85d

      • backwardsevolution
        October 7, 2018 at 14:59

        O Society – “Michael Mark Cohen teaches American Studies and African American Studies at UC Berkeley.”

        Who could have guessed! Heather McDonald, author of “The Diversity Delusion”, gives a good 30-minute critique on the sad state of affairs on university campuses.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvprjOVee_0

    • October 7, 2018 at 17:35

      Douchebag of Supreme Justice! Sounds like a cartoon superhero… or the finishing move of a WWF wrassler! Awesomesauce!

      Maybe you’re right though… what this site needs is more censorship!

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