Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped?

[jjbrr]

I'm not sure it's been mentioned yet, but the dual-sovereignty doctrine is being reviewed by SCOTUS in Oct. Seems relevant! link

[cherdano]

Latest deposition

 

Made under pain of perjury

The accuser has a security clearance

The accuser claims that Kavenaugh engaged in gage rape

The accuser says that she has witnesses

 

I don't know. What she describes would have been witnessed by so many people that it is strange no one has ever mentioned it before

[cherdano]

Latest deposition

 

Made under pain of perjury

The accuser has a security clearance

The accuser claims that Kavenaugh engaged in gage rape

The accuser says that she has witnesses

 

I don't know. What she describes would have been witnessed by so many people that it is strange no one has ever mentioned it before

[PassedOut]

This might force the committee to call for an FBI investigation, unless they truly fear what the investigation will turn up

[ggwhiz]

Having this professional sex crimes prosecutor doing the questioning for the GOP side could be fascinating.

 

1. She gets a 55 minute free run unlike the 5 minutes per Dem Senator. She likely gets 5 minutes in between them?

2. Will she be lobbing softballs when questioning Kavanaugh like the GOP Senators would?

 

I'm sure every line of questioning she takes has been sanitized but it could easily go off script.

[PassedOut]

Fourth accusation: Senate probing new allegation of misconduct against Kavanaugh

 

According to an anonymous complaint sent to Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Kavanaugh physically assaulted a woman he socialized with in the Washington, D.C., area in 1998 while he was inebriated.

 

The sender of the complaint described an evening involving her own daughter, Kavanaugh and several friends in 1998.

 

“When they left the bar (under the influence of alcohol) they were all shocked when Brett Kavanaugh, shoved her friend up against the wall very aggressively and sexually.”

 

“There were at least four witnesses including my daughter.” The writer of the letter provided no names but said the alleged victim was still traumatized and had decided to remain anonymous herself.

In 1998, Kavanaugh was 33 years old. He might do well to give up drinking alcohol.

[johnu]

Dennison Says China Has Respect For His 'Very, Very Large Brain'

 

Americans can be very proud that they elected a President with a very, very large brain. B-)

[kenberg]

Dennison Says China Has Respect For His 'Very, Very Large Brain'

 

Americans can be very proud that they elected a President with a very, very large brain. B-)

 

Actually the Chinese were saying "fathead" but the Trump friendly translator phrased it as "very, very large brain".

[kenberg]

I wish Dr. Ford the very best today. I think she is a straight talker. Possibly she will be the only one in the room who is.

[PassedOut]

I wish Dr. Ford the very best today. I think she is a straight talker. Possibly she will be the only one in the room who is.

I understand that the prosecutor from Arizona has an excellent reputation, so I'm hopeful that she'll do well also.

[barmar]

I understand that the prosecutor from Arizona has an excellent reputation, so I'm hopeful that she'll do well also.

Hiring her seems like the only right thing the Senate has done in this whole sordid affair.

 

But it's just putting on a show, so it was an easy step to take. The GOP Senators have made it very clear that they've already made up their minds how they're going to vote.

 

But the GOP majority is slim, it will only take a couple of them believing Dr. Ford to derail the nomination.

[PassedOut]

Hiring her seems like the only right thing the Senate has done in this whole sordid affair.

 

But it's just putting on a show, so it was an easy step to take. The GOP Senators have made it very clear that they've already made up their minds how they're going to vote.

 

But the GOP majority is slim, it will only take a couple of them believing Dr. Ford to derail the nomination.

I wish the prosecutor could proceed without the interruptions.

[jjbrr]

Hiring her seems like the only right thing the Senate has done in this whole sordid affair.

 

But it's just putting on a show, so it was an easy step to take. The GOP Senators have made it very clear that they've already made up their minds how they're going to vote.

 

But the GOP majority is slim, it will only take a couple of them believing Dr. Ford to derail the nomination.

 

The whole thing is a farce, obviously. It should be pointed out that Kavanaugh is not on trial. This is a job interview. It happens to be for an important job. There is no presumption of innocence, 'due process' does not apply, and there is no need to prove the accusations beyond a reasonable doubt. Any company with an HR department would pass on Kavanaugh after the first allegation. Kavanaugh's life will not be "ruined" if he isn't confirmed, Lindsey Graham.

 

The fact that we're in this situation in the first place is a pretty clear indication how anti-American the GOP is.

[y66]

I'm blown away by Ford's courage and the contrast between her determination to tell the truth and the determination of Republicans to ignore it. This will cost them dearly.

 

Who is the woman seated over Ford's right shoulder in the dark suit and white blouse? Talk about a rock of strength.

[ggwhiz]

I understand that the prosecutor from Arizona has an excellent reputation, so I'm hopeful that she'll do well also.

 

I'm impressed with her. The GOP has avoided the PR landmines somebody like Hatch would step on but she's all about the facts. With no dirty tricks to attack Fords credibility the GOP may well have nothing else.

[kenberg]

I'm blown away by Ford's courage and the contrast between her determination to tell the truth and the determination of Republicans to ignore it. This will cost them dearly.

 

Who is the woman seated over Ford's right shoulder in the dark suit and white blouse? Talk about a rock of strength.

It has often been noted that courage is not lack of fear, it is the ability to go forward in spite of fear. Her fear is palpable. During the break Amy Walters (on PBS) remarked that we are seeing a normal person. Absolutely. She took the polygraph in a conference room on the way back home from her grandmother's funeral. She hadn't realized how lengthy it would be and she was really exhausted. She realizes she was probably video taped during the test but doesn't really know. The guy giving the test said a lot before starting but she was too nervous to listen carefully. She remembers crying a lot.

 

That's just a sample. A normal person in an abnormal situation. I have believed her from the beginning but now I cannot imagine someone watching her and thinking that it's an act. Helen Hayes could not have put on such an act.

[hrothgar]

Kavanugh is coming across as possessing a really unpleasant combination of wild entitlement and emotional instability.

[y66]

The word toast comes to mind. Emphatic toast?

[PassedOut]

Based on what I've seen now, I can just imagine what Kavanaugh is like when drinking.

:(

[cherdano]

In a way, Kavanaugh was ahead of his time back then - he realised that this is a team sport, and the best bet for advancing his career would be to stay firmly in the "team Republican".

I stand by that post.

[cherdano]

Wow, this seems like a slam dunk

This happened. And probably Kavanaugh genuinely forgot that he did do this. Nothing else makes as much sense.

[kenberg]

We will see how this goes.

Becky (my wife) is out in Oregon with a new grandchild but I was chatting with her. She was too busy to watch the hearings but I summarized my impression to her as follows: Becky walks on Saturday mornings with a group of women friends and then they go off for lunch. Watching Dr. Ford, I could imagine Becky saying "This new woman, Christine, joined out group". They would like her, she would like them. I strongly believe quite a number of people watching this had the same sort of reaction. Logic and evidence are important, but so is instinctive reaction. Becky's group would welcome her, and they would not take kindly to someone suggesting that she is a liar or a pawn or whatever else might be said along those lines. The Rs have a serious problem here.

 

And yes, that calendar entry appears important. Of course he did not write in "Tried to rip Christine's clothes off but she got away". So I suppose that has to be acknowledged. .

 

[PassedOut]

Post article: Kavanaugh is pressed on the key July 1 entry in his calendar. But only to a point.

 

Notice two things here. First, that “Squi” was in attendance at the party — someone who, we learned thanks to Mitchell’s questioning of Ford, was going out with Ford over the course of that summer. Second, notice those two other attendees, one of whom Mitchell highlighted: Mark Judge and P.J. Smyth.

I had the impression that the republicans took the questioning away from the prosecutor at this point to prevent her from pushing this line of questioning any deeper.

[Elianna]

Post article: Kavanaugh is pressed on the key July 1 entry in his calendar. But only to a point.

 

 

I had the impression that the republicans took the questioning away from the prosecutor at this point to prevent her from pushing this line of questioning any deeper.

 

The Democrats could keep questioning on this line of inquiry. I wonder why they didn't. (Or did they? I haven't seen that they did, but I didn't get to watch the hearing.)

[PassedOut]

The Democrats could keep questioning on this line of inquiry. I wonder why they didn't. (Or did they? I haven't seen that they did, but I didn't get to watch the hearing.)

The democrats did not connect the references to "squi" with the boy that Ford was dating. That connection was not made clear in the hearings because "squi" was the decoy that Ed Whelan had proposed as a substitute for the boy who had assaulted her, and neither Ford nor the prosecutor wanted to further the unwarranted smear against that person by naming him in the televised forum.

 

Kavanaugh claims he didn’t know a woman who we learned was going out with his good friend.

 

I expect that all of the senators will have made that connection before the vote. With this corroborating evidence, perhaps the police in Maryland will pursue the matter.