I stand corrected.

Yet, I believe the justice department and the FBI have a symbiotic relationship via mutualism. Further, Trump has insulted and cast aspersions on so many American institutions that involve justice and national security, their team leaders tend to blur for me.

Shocked? Not shocked.

White House limits scope of the FBI's investigation into the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...-brett-n915061

Trump told FBI it can’t seek records of when Mark Judge worked at grocery store that would confirm Blasey Ford account

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/09/tru...y-ford-report/

Senator Jeff Merkeley (D- Oregon) filed suit in Federal District Court to stop the SCJ Nomination process on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018.

Not sure if my state Democratic Senator's actions will be taken seriously, but Merkeley does make an point about senators not being able to have complete access to Kava-Not's records (which go as far back as the Bush administration, etc).

Excerpt from the article:

LINK to article, below:


After Latest Sexual Assault Allegation, Sen. Merkley Announces Lawsuit Against McConnell and Trump to Halt Kavanaugh Nomination

I am listening to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now news cast online and followed journalistic endeavors, all weekend long, to give those who know this SCJ candidate and spent countless hours of time with Kava-Not at Yale social gatherings, which included snapshot accounts of the candidate's conduct.

Kava-Not apparently has an long established conduct record which is opposite of what he has stated under oath.


None of the people who have come forward with information about Kava-Not has anything to gain politically, other than to present accurate accounts of his prior behaviors concerning sexual assault, drinking behaviors, bullying behaviors, behaviors that do not exemplify what is expected of candidates who seek executive branch seats of power (in this case, it's the Supreme Court Justice).

I think there is ample evidence to impeach Kava-Not from his seat of power as an Federal District Court Judge, as well as to stop the SCJ nomination too, based on committing perjury under oath.

On one hand, we have clear examples of Democracy in action when people speak up and participate in democratic ways. We have Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, then two or three other women who came forward to speak to the manner in which they spoke to behaviors which are connected to the case of sexual assault behaviors (etc). On top of the sexual assault discovery, we also have evidence entered into the public realm which speaks to the fact that Kava-Not is lying about his drinking behaviors, to the extent that, separate from situations of sexual assault, one man came forward to state that at an certain party, Kava-Not was so drunk that the incident escalated into an kerfuffle (of bar room brawl drama) which led to one of that specific group of friends being jailed.... when it was Kava-Not who landed the punches and walked away without consequences for his behavioral choices.


As far as I can see, Kava-Not has basically bullied his way to power. Kava-Not has not been held accountable for his long practiced ability to lie, lie, lie about anything X, Y or Z.


I worry, like many other's I imagine, that if the corrupt GOP confirm Kava-Not in light of serious, egregious sets of behaviors set forth in the Senate Judiciary Committee time-line of events, which goes back as far as Kava-Not's college days at Yale and from there forward, then indeed, an grave injustice will be committed against the will of the American people and an irreversible threat to what shreds of democracy exist in the wake of an corrupt Supreme Court Justice nomination process.



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For those interested in listening and viewing today's news broadcast by Amy Goodman @ Democracy Now, here's an link to headline news from earlier this morning concerning Kava-Not's track record on the DC Circuit Court:

Report Finds Judge Kavanaugh Ruled Against Public Interest in Almost All of His District Court Cases

Fantastic post! Thanks for the information.

This man is so obviously a creep and a lied within minutes. Not to mention his childish behavior. You never see RBG on TV crying and screaming like a maniac! The coverage was exhausting.

~
 

Brett taught a class at Harvard <<< they fired him maybe because 1 of his best friends confirmed Brett's alcohol behavior in college.

There's not much new I can add toward the ongoing conversation about the Kava-Not hearings, except to say that since yesterday, the ACLU finally came forward formally to oppose the nomination of Kava-Not to the seat of the SCJ (Today's News Cast is found here).

In today's news broadcast by Democracy Now, anchors Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales presented an extensive compelling news interview with Bill Bardot (Bardot organized the GeorgeTown Prep Petition) to include people who knew Kava-Not back then and may have credible information pertaining to allegations presented in the ongoing Senate Committee Nomination Hearings. (Video Link Here).

Yesterday, Democracy Now featured an "Web Exclusive" interview: An compelling interview with Lisa Graves (Link to part 1 and part 2 video interview found here).

Graves, Former Chief Counsel for Nominations for the Ranking Members for the Senate Judiciary Committee and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Dept. Of Justice, penned an explosive Op-Ed in the publication titled Slate (see link to article below) attesting to the fact that Kava-Not lied about documents stolen from the server, documents with protected status as to not compromise formal proceedings back in 2004 and again in 2006. Kava-Not denied twice to the current Senate Committee about his role in the stolen documents. Graves is calling for the impeachment of Kava-Not, based on the fact that he is lying, keeps lying, etc. Graves Op-Ed speaks for itself (Link to article found here)



I'm glad that key people have stepped forward to offer valid, credible information which reveals the breadth and depth of deception, out right lies and unethical behaviors of Kava-Not:

I believe Lisa Graves.

I believe Bill Bardot.

I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.




I Believe Her (by: Emma's Revolution)

(IMHO)
The trouble with high ranking politicians, judges or celebrities who suffer from problems with alcohol or drug addiction is that privacy or anonymity might be dicey in groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.
Because all 12-step groups contain new members, they may not have learned the essential need for anonymity in the programs.
If they enter either program with serious money issues or remaining addictions, seeing a high profile member in the group may be seen as easy money, ripe for the picking. One call to a tabloid rag, accompanied with one easy to snatch cell phone picture could be worth thousands of dollars to a rat.
I think it's the reason George W. Bush never received treatment for his alleged alcoholism, and the same goes for Judge Budweiser.
If Bush truly did go cold turkey without a program, he was presiding over the executive branch as a dry drunk. Rumor has it he never went totally dry, but those allegations have not been proven. Regardless, Google, "dry drunk" and check out the symptoms.
As for Judge Budweiser, I suspect he won't be confirmed to the SCOTUS, but if he is, I pray that voters will change the make-up of the legislature from a GOP to a Democratic majority, at which point, everything Trump has fucked up can be erased like an Etch-a-Sketch.
Please vote on Nov. 6, or earlier if your country offers it.
Thanks!

[QUOTE=

* The UK's problem is that we have the second best government that money can buy. Sadly,our Tory party seem to be doing their best to try to be as awful as Trump. Luckily, they're not quite managing it.[/QUOTE]

Not to worry, dear, if they collected every nutcase who's ever served in the Parliament, they could never match Trump for sheer batshit craziness.
He's like a toddler with ADD and ADHD from the waist up. From the waist down, he's the reason Viagra was a terrible idea. His lemming followers will wind up on the wrong side of history; many won't be re-elected because they enabled the Russian puppet to wreak havoc on America for such a long time. It's been an awful ordeal, but I suspect special prosecutor Robert Mueller will pounce on November 7 or 8--the moment election results come in.

It's looking better for Kavanaugh. If the FBI only interviewed nine witnesses, there might not be much there. The question now is can Flake and Murkowski stand up to the pressure? Collins will vote to confirm. I feel sure of it. There's definitely no smoking gun, nothing to shame regular Republicans into not voting for Kavanaugh. And the son of a bitch is now a folk hero among the base. Well, it will be bad if he's confirmed, but it might further energize Democratic voters to get out on November 6th. Not much solace for having such a malevolent crackpot on the Court.

I don't know if your hunch is right or not, because the news changes as often as Trump changes his mind.
It may sound nuts, but my theory is the GOP leaders are banking on Flake and Murkowski to fall on the GOP sword and vote no on Kavanaugh to allow the rest of the party to save face with those creepy base Trump supporters.
I think any sentient human who watched even a few minutes of Kavanaugh's epic meltdown, with the sobbing and lipping off to Senators, knew he was ineligible via temperament and partisan bias alone to take any seat on any bench, much less the Supreme Court.
Then when Sen. Klobuchar started grilling him about his drinking and possible blackouts, his defensiveness was outrageous-- right of Shakespeare. I think that was the end of it for him.
But because the entire GOP legislature seems to be afraid of arousing Trump's volcanic fury, I think they are stuck pretending to want what Trump wants, without noticing that Trump has lost interest in the guy. You think Trump respects a man who cries over his drinking-- in public? i think Trump likes he-man dictator/tyrant types, not weak little crybabies who went to Yale. Your thoughts?

Collins is saying the investigation was "thorough" and Flake saying there is no corroborating evidence - all of which I think is complete bullshit. It wasn't thorough and was severely limited in scope. So all the "undecideds" needed was a very flimsy - and may I say trumped up excuse - to vote yes. The whole thing was a complete sham.

If it turns out I am wrong I will be overjoyed.

Here is what I think about the Kava-Not situation, as it stands currently:


We have an group of megalomaniac proportioned individuals who have sat for years as reigning GOP senators, who espouse the values of antithetical means (ie, the very embodiment of anything that directly opposes the common good for every person - locally, nationally, globally).

We (the general we) have seen credible professional individuals take an stand and act in ways which exposes the bald faced lies purported and supported by law makers; credible news agencies airing first hand accounts in opposition to seating Kava-Not as an SCJ, which the FBI limited "investigation" has not given priority to (example: interviewing credible leads which expose Kava-Not for lies other's already know he has committed, etc). We have the Press to thank for showing leadership in standards of accountability. So far as I can see, we don't have any reason to value any 'report' or 'investigative results' via an tersely limited scope of an so-called independent investigation performed by the FBI.


What I see is an grave injustice being committed against the will of the people (…).



https://static1.businessinsider.com/...-thumbnail.jpg


(Photo Credit for October 2018 Time Magazine Cover Image by Artist Mayroudis, provided by: Business Insider, October 4th, 2018)

Trump attacked and mocked Ford. He ridiculed a sexual assault victim. The crowd chanted "lock her up". They laughed with Trump. They laughed at her.

Trump sympathized with Kavanaugh.

"Trump also expressed sympathy for Kavanaugh, casting him as a victim of false allegations whose life had been ruined as a result. The judge's "life is in tatters. A man's life is shattered. His wife is shattered, his daughters," Trump told the crowd. The president also emphasized that he does not view himself as advocating for Kavanaugh for personal reasons."

Trump then went on to warn everyone about false allegations against men.

This is not the actions of a man who wants nothing to do with Kavanaugh.

https://www.salon.com/2018/10/03/loc...e-blasey-ford/

Yup... and worse yet... I heard this morning that the Republicans have gotten energized too so the midterms may not swing the Dems way as it was looking a few weeks ago. F*ck!

I've heard the same things. I have this pain in my side that says the POS is going to be confirmed. :blink:

Heard too yearly this week... wish I could recall who said it... that the Supreme Court was the last bastion of non-partisanship in the U.S. government … now that's gone too.

I think my prognostcating efforts are going increasingly out of whack.
Perhaps I need to go on a strict news diet, where I avoid it entirely and instead watch old reruns of Bob Ross's Joy of Painting show. When he uses huge house painting brushes to pound fluffy little clouds onto friendly little skies, it never fails to make me laugh.

~
 

if u put all Bob Ross' paintings in a row and run past them it will look like "Make America Great Again" lolol all kidding aside ~ seeing threw his eyes bring back a feeling of content.

They, too, don't speak up
 

Yesterday, Sen. John Cornyn (Texas, Republican, Judiciary Committee) said the Senate treated Dr. Ford the way he'd want his daughter, sister, or mother treated.

Well, what about his son, brother, father, or himself? Wouldn't he want them to be treated fairly, too?

It would be helpful if a male senator or councilman stood up and said, I, too, have been sexually assaulted and I didn't speak up for fear of ....

Dare I think there is at least one male senator or councilman who has been sexually abused. But this is a can of worms these worms on the Judiciary Committee don't want to even think about, let alone discuss.

I think hearing from some men who have been abused may have stopped this nomination, but then Trump would only try to appoint someone even worse.

I, like everyone else, has been following this cesspool of a confirmation process since go.

If I have it right, this is partly about Kavanaugh's character, but more broadly, that he is conservative out the yin-yang. If Trump wins re-election in 2020, and with a couple other Justices looking long in the tooth, the broad fear is that he will be in a position to eviscerate Roe v. Wade and shift the Supreme Court for years, way after his term. I hear and can understand that fear.

With that being said, my immediate fear is that Kavanaugh was guilty until proven innocent-by the media, by women (including here), and by Democratic senators on the committee and in the whole Senate body. Of course, no matter his looking-more-inevitable confirmation, his reputation has already been smeared. This has to have been hell on his family, who obviously weren't in the picture when he was 17-18.

I believe something happened to Dr. Ford, just because of the fact that few women (and more than a few men) get out of their teens without some kind of sexual incident against their will, including me. I withhold judgement on Kavanaugh simply because her story changes, and there is no corroborating witnesses or credible evidence to support her story.

And therein lies my fear. If last Thursday is the level of "proof" needed to ruin someone's career and personal life, then let's toss out the judicial system right now. To some, he has a big target called "successful white guy" on his back. That was a lynching, and no, I don't apologize for the strong words. If we as a country have come down to political lynchings, I have great fear indeed.

LOL Ocean!
I had an artist friend who took a job at an "art factory." They set up several "sofa sized" blank canvases in a row, and using the Bob Ross formula, he ran from canvas to canvas slapping the same happy little cloud here and spiky little trees there. He could knock out 10 identical landscapes in an hour.

I do that frequently … go cold turkey and don't watch or listen to shite! :|

I had not heard her story had changed. Do you have a link about that?

Dr Ford did say Mark Judge was in the room but he has declined to discuss it. He may be a corroborating witness if someone in authority was to speak to him.

For one: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opini...mn/1497661002/

And the prosecutor who examined her identified several inconsistencies.

I wrote a lengthy reply to this earlier, but rather than wade into a debate I fear would be an exercise in futility, I will be brief.
Though the Judge will probably be seated on the highest court in the land in spite of the objections of the American Bar Association, his church, a former Supreme Court Justice, 100 different judges and millions of Americans, the negative attention and tarnished reputation he has earned was brought on ONLY by himself and his lack of mature temperament, the out of control sobbing, the disrespect he showed Senators, the yelling, the self pitying, and the rank, paranoid partisanship he showed in his rage filled rebuttal.
I pity his family and friends, but not because Dr. Ford tarnished his halo, I pity them because he seems to be without sincerity, principles, or even the integrity not to lie to Congress.

He weak apology today made it worse.

That was an OpEd piece, not a news article.

Between Trump’s election and this fucking travesty, I have seen sides of people in my life I never knew existed. On one hand it’s been horrible, but on the other, I now know who stays and who goes. It’s been enlightening. Sad, but enlightening.

Bah! lol :readfineprint:

This items listed as "inconsistences" were immaterial at the time of her testimony to the Judiciary Committee. How many were at the party? Narrow stairwell? Short stairwell? Early 80's? Mid 80's? Floorplan? Answers to these questions could have been discovered if those running the show wanted to dig a little deeper.

Plenty have been convicted (aka found guilty) based on circumstantial evidence alone and in this case... no one was even shooting for a conviction on Kavanagh. We just needed the answer to a simple question... is this dude due a promotion? Based on a preponderance of the evidence… which includes his own hysterical testimony.... oh hell no!

Enlightening... that's for damn sure! If there's a "silver lining" to any of this, it's the insight we've gained from those around us and those in government. This has been some crazy shite! :seeingstars:

It is bad enough Susan Collins is voting for him, but her speech was disgusting. I couldn't bear to watch. I just read the transcript.

I feel like Collins and Flake are frauds to orchestrate - or at least go along - with the sham "FBI investigation." I would have rather they just said they were voting for him all along.

There are so many, many reasons why he is unfit to be a Supreme Court Justice, and with all the lying Kavanaugh has done - from minor to major things - if Susan Collins thinks he is going to do what he told her on abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, etc. she is living in fantasy land.

What a disgrace.

Thank you Lisa Murkowski. I hope she leaves the Republican Party and becomes an Independent. Seems to me that would suit her better.

She had been trying to recall in the period between letters and testimony. Her answers became, in some cases, more specific. These kinds of minor inconsistencies do not in any way signal lying.

Also, it wasn't a fucking court of law. Throwing out the judicial system??? This wasn't part of the judicial system. He wasn't in court.

And seriously, using the word lynching in this context? Haven't we all learned better? Hell, Fox News doesn't do that anymore.

I don't know why I still get surprised by the immorality and/or cowardice shown by so many. SMH

Yesterday afternoon I Googled for proof of something I'd heard earlier in the morning. I heard (via NPR I think) that there was a backlash against those who had voted to confirm Clarence Thomas. Many of them were not reelected when their term expired. I couldn't find any "proof" ... e.g old articles / published reports ... but my fingers are crossed nonetheless

The "prosecutor" was not there to prosecute, the GOP men hired HER because they wanted a GOP woman to question Dr. Ford and they didn't have one on their committee. Once the imported woman started questioning Kavanaugh on his drinking, they pull her out and sent the men back in to mollycoddle that skeevy bastard.
The head of the FBI went to Yale Law within two years of Kavanaugh--and anyone can see the FBI probe was a fucking farce.
And don't get me started on use of the term 'lynching.'
Women need to choose what side they are on--because battle lines have been drawn, and it's time.
I choose women over GOP white men. You?

I'm out on the west coast, so anything I read online is published hours before it's available for me to read, but here's an telling example of what was withheld from the public by the power-hungry, lying, corrupt GOP:


Exhibit A) From Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts):

“One: This was not a full and fair investigation. It was sharply limited in scope and did not explore the relevant confirming facts.
Two: The available documents do not exonerate Mr. Kavanaugh.
And three: The available documents contradict statements Mr. Kavanaugh made under oath.”

Exhibit B) From Ranking Democratic Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California):

“The most notable part of this report is what’s not in it.”

Excerpt from HuffPost article (below):



Link to HuffPost article (above): One Of You Should Just Leak Me The FBI Report: It's The Very Least You Could Do.



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My thoughts today:

One of the things that keeps coming up, for me - at least, is the fact that long time tenured senators in executive branch positions of power, collect an life time salary off the backs of tax payers, after they retire. I've never been happy that they have the ability to collect income off the backs of tax payers, like this. To me, if an senator or former President or anyone who no longer works in their former role, but yet they've done good things for the greater good of our country (examples: strengthened and expanded social policy addressing social racial and gender inequality and injustices, poverty, law, civil rights, employment/labor, healthcare, etc.), then I think rewarding and compensating them for their service to the country like this is an good thing. I'm not happy that the Dead White Boy's Society in the GOP enclave have access to power to enrich themselves purposefully over the enrichment of all in our country. I'd like to see that come to an end, promptly, but I know it's asking a lot. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an excellent outcome and demonstrative showing of support from Democratic voters and independent voters and from voters who are fleeing the corrupt GOP, in support of turning our country around and saying flat out to all of them that their so-called law making is officially over and won't be tolerated anymore. :praying:

I'm in tears. I'm not surprised that he's been confirmed; the idea that partisanship comes before common sense or humanity is a growing reality. I am, however, disappointed beyond words. We all know how this individual will affect rulings from the Supreme Court, and that alone is cause for high emotion.

My tears also come from the people who share this space with me, meaning this land, this country that is supposed to make me proud to be an American. The realization that the republican base has been energized by this Kavanaugh fiasco is both dumbfounding and heartbreaking. After the 2016 election, I questioned how I could go out into the world and interact with strangers that may have stood behind a man we saw as lacking character or humanity. Now? I feel my personal value as a woman has plummeted. Worthless. Again I wonder how I can leave the house and feel a safety I'd not questioned before; how will this affect how my clients perceive me or future job opportunites. I've never felt this before. There's a hopelessness rising in me and I'm scared.

I'm not scared, I'm angry.
Trump and his handler Putin are running the table, and they just rigged the Supreme Court with this partisan perjurer and Trump-sucking son of a bitch.
Judge Budweiser had no trouble assisting Ken Starr in demanding all but a televised anal probe of Bill Clinton, but his recent musings did a 180 when it comes to probing presidents now.
Trump wanted this jerk-off in the SC because he alone wrote that presidents should not be impeached, or even questioned about ANYTHING while in office. He said a president is far too busy to take time to answer anyone's questions.
So, if Mueller's manages to amass multiple felony charges against Trump, Judge Brett Beerbelcher will be on the SC to help kill any justice that doesn't favor Putin's puppet, Trump.
Lesbians may not be affected much when Roe v. Wade is overturned by this drunken misogynist, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking his hatred and addiction to control won't extend to the GLBTQ rights we fought so hard to gain.
We have lost a major, bloody battle today, but we have not lost the war.
We will donate to good, honest candidates, we will vote, and we will block walk and volunteer for phone banks, and we will vote, and we will put stickers on our cars and display signs on our lawns AND WE WILL VOTE...until these GOP CRIMINALS, TRAITORS AND THIEVES are out of office.
Won't we?!

We need to flip those seats from red to blue. Vote! This is the most powerful tool we have and people need to vote.

Do you really believe what you wrote? Do you actually think that Dr Ford was not credible, and that her accusation was some sort of "political lynching" of an otherwise appropriate candidate to the US Supreme Court?

The way our system works is that the Executive Branch, (the President) nominates candidates for the Judicial Branch to lifetime positions on the Federal bench. The Legislative Branch is charged with giving 'advice and consent' on those nominations. Hearings on a potential jurists are one of the ways we keep checks and balances in place so that one of the three branches of Federal government doesn't become more powerful than the other two. These hearings are supposed to determine not only whether a candidate has adequate understanding of Federal laws and the US Constitution, but also if they would rule impartially, and whether they have the right character and judicial temperament to sit on the Federal bench for the REST OF THEIR LIVES. These hearings are supposed to be thorough. They're supposed to examine a potential jurist's ability to put aside personal animosities and rule impartially. They're supposed to publicly examine a person's character.

Kavanuagh's determination to overturn settled law as it pertains to women's bodies and autonomy is quite alarming, but not disqualifying in my opinion. Trump vowed to nominate judges who would seek to regulate my vagina and deregulate guns. All of his nominees so far fit that bill. It's tragic that our Supreme Court will be slanted so far away from the mainstream, but we knew that was coming when Trump became President.

You are not correct that this is some sort of smear campaign visited upon some hapless man who happens to be white and conservative. If there are any questions or concerns about the prior conduct of a candidate for any Federal judgeship, this is exactly the moment when it's supposed to come up! Why on earth is there a question about this? This is how it's supposed to work. That is, except for the part where the FBI is NOT supposed to be constrained in their investigations, and legislators ARE supposed to consider whether a candidate has ever committed perjury, (Yes, Kavanaugh has done so during these hearings as well as during his hearings when he was fist nominated for his current position), whether a candidate is impartial, (Kavanaugh whined and sputtered about the Clinton's during his raging, intemperate rants on the stand, fer f*cks sake!), and whether or not the candidate has ever committed a crime such as, oh I don't know, SEXUAL ASSAULT!

PS Lynching was one way to MURDER African Americans, (and several Jewish people), during a harrowing and horrible period of time in the US when vicious bigots who saw those people as less than human knew they could literally get away with MURDER. I think it's incredibly insensitive to use that word to describe public allegations of a crime which many people believe one white man committed against one young white girl. Please don't do that again.