The Commentariat -- Sept. 24, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Elisha Fieldstadt & Adam Reiss of NBC News, & the AP: "A psychologist testified during Bill Cosby's sentencing hearing Monday that he is a 'sexually violent predator,' saying evidence shows that he can't stop himself from violating women and would probably do so again if he could. The hearing at a courtroom outside Philadelphia comes five months after Cosby was convicted for sexual assault against Andrea Constand, 45."
Axios: "President Trump will meet with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the White House on Thursday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a Monday statement.... 'At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories. Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington, D.C.[,' Sanders said in the statement." ...
... Michael Shear & Julie Davis of the New York Times: "Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, was considering resigning on Monday, days after private discussions were revealed in which he talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office and secretly taping him to expose chaos in the administration. Over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning. On Monday morning, Mr. Rosenstein was on his way to the White House to meet with Mr. Trump's chief of staff, John F. Kelly." ...
... Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein has told White House officials he is willing to resign in the wake of revelations that he once suggested secretly recording the president, but it is unclear whether the resignation has been accepted, according to White House officials. One Justice Department official said Rosenstein was on his way to the White House Monday and is preparing to be fired. But the official said Rosenstein is not resigning.... Amid the conflicting accounts of whether Rosenstein would resign, be fired, or still be in his job at the end of the day, it was clear that his position at the Justice Department had never been more tenuous. One Trump adviser said the president has not been pressuring Rosenstein to leave the job, but his resignation was a topic of private discussions all weekend. The person said Rosenstein had expressed to others that he should resign because he 'felt very compromised' and the controversy hurt his ability to oversee the Russia probe, according to a person close to Trump." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If Rosenstein goes & the dominoes fall, we can thank the New York Times for its largely-misleading report about Rosenstein's supposed 25th-Amendment chatter. (The Times stuck by its story, but Washington Post & NBC News reporters largely discredited the story.) We can also thank the Times for exaggerating the Clinton e-mail! story, turning it from what it really was -- another case of Hillary's customary imperious disregard for rules that apply to others -- into a story of possible criminal malfeasance.
Kate Riga of TPM: "... Donald Trump on Monday affirmed his continuing support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh despite the second allegation of sexual misconduct against him that surfaced Sunday, saying that it's 'unfair,' 'unjust' and 'totally political.'" ...
Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "The Senate Judiciary Committee contacted Michael Avenatti after the lawyer claimed to represent a client who has damaging information about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh." ...
... Brian Karem of the (Montgomery County, Maryland) Sentinel: "Investigators in Montgomery County confirmed Monday they're aware of a potential second sexual assault complaint in the county against former Georgetown Prep student and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. While investigators weren't specific and spoke on background, they said they are looking at allegations against Kavanaugh during his senior year in high school after an anonymous witness came forward this weekend. This would potentially bring the number to four women accusing Kavanaugh of wrongdoing and comes after Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale college student, stepped forward this weekend to accuse Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her in college, and after attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted out a message saying he represents a woman with 'credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge.'" ...
... Steven Nelson of the Washington Examiner: "The chief of police in Montgomery County, Md., says his officers are not looking into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, appearing to contradict a local news report that 'investigators' were looking at a potential second high school misconduct allegation.... The local publication did not identify the 'investigators' as police, but ordinarily police would investigate an alleged crime before a decision on whether to prosecute." ...
... Adam Raymond of New York: The Republican National Committee published a list of "7 very serious problems with the New Yorker story" about Deborah Ramirez's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. No 5: "The accuser is supposedly 'not politically motivated,' but is a registered Democrat who also 'works toward human rights, social justice, and social change.'" Raymond: "In this context, working toward 'human rights, social justice, and social change' is a negative quality. The RNC is suggesting that a dedication to such things inherently puts one at odds with the GOP. We already knew that, of course, but it's nice to see the RNC admit it."
... David Graham of the Atlantic: "It's becoming harder to view the hurry [to confirm Kavanaugh] as anything other than an attempt to move the process along without hearing the allegations.... Although Kavanaugh's defenders have complained that these allegations are unfair because they emerged at the last minute, that's in part because the process has been so fast. The White House has consistently failed to find weaknesses in candidates' resumes, and a more deliberate vetting process might have allowed them to be prepared for allegations against Kavanaugh.... The Judiciary Committee was also relying on press help from an aide named Garrett Ventry. But Ventry was a temporary employee, detailed from a conservative public-relations firm that helped pusha bogus debunking of the Kavanaugh allegations. Moreover, he was made to resign after NBC News revealed that he had been forced out of an earlier job after a sexual-harassment allegation.... Kavanaugh may still be confirmed, but the rush has created conditions that both endanger his nomination and undermine any political gain Republicans sought to make." ...
... Andrew Cohen in the New Republic: "This notion that Kavanaugh can convince America that he is innocent by producing his calendar from 1982 is patently absurd in a process in which live witnesses are barred from providing their insight about what Kavanaugh's life was like in those days. It wasn't going to fly when Ford was the only accuser. It's certainly not going to fly now that Ramirez has stepped forward.... The man who preached 'judicial independence' during his listless testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month ... spent parts of at least four days last week at the White House being 'prepped' for his looming confrontation with Ford. Prepped, that is, by the very executive branch officials whose presidential privilege claims he may be asked to adjudicate ... if he ascends to the High Court. That's not judicial independence. That's a conflict of interest.... Kavanaugh is being coached in great detail to clap together precisely the right phrases during his next round of public testimony that will allow Vichy Republicans like Susan Collins or Jeff Flake to declare themselves satisfied that he's not an attempted rapist." ...
... Matt Yglesias of Vox: "There’s a fundamental problem for Kavanaugh in a he-said, she-said context. There is one thing that I -- who, like most Americans, did not follow his career pre-selection -- really know about Brett Kavanaugh: He is willing to fib to get a Supreme Court seat. When ... Donald Trump announced Kavanaugh's selection..., these were the first three sentences Kavanaugh uttered to introduce himself to the American public: 'Mr. President, thank you. Throughout this process, I've witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. No president has ever consulted more widely, or talked with more people from more backgrounds, to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination.' Neither ... is true.... It sounds a little old-fashioned in the Trump era, but you are genuinely not supposed to pull up to a microphone in the White House and say stuff that isn't true. And you're not supposed to mislead Congress -- even if you manage to do so in ways that don't meet the legal standard for perjury."
Daniel Drezner of the Washington Post: "Last Friday, [Ted] Cruz tweeted out that, 'Over and over again Congressman O'Rourke -- when faced with police and law enforcement -- he sides against the police.'" In his next tweet, embedded in yesterday's Commentariat, Cruz tweeted a video clip of O'Rourke speaking at a black church against the murder-by-cop of a black man inside his own home. Cruz comments in this tweet only "In Beto O'Rourke's own words." "The only possible reason I can see for showing O'Rourke's perfectly sane words without comment is because it has nothing to do with his words and everything to do with the visual. O'Rourke delivers this speech at an African American church, and the churchgoers react in an extremely energetic manner. That is the image that Ted Cruz wants his supporters to see, because he thinks it is the image that will mobilize his supporters into disliking O'Rourke and voting against him.... He thinks bigotry will get out the GOP vote in the state of Texas. As Marginal Revolution's Alex Tabarrok notes, 'It's shocking that Ted Cruz thinks tweeting this helps him. It's even more shocking if he is right.'"
E.A. Crunden of ThinkProgress: "Delaware has become the latest state to take a hard line against offshore fossil fuel efforts, with a bipartisan push to protect the coastal state's waters from oil and gas development. Two bills allowing Delaware to both withhold permits from oil and gas drillers offshore and pursue legal action against them were signed into law on Thursday by Gov. John Carney (D)." --safari
David Dayen of The Intercept: "The Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a university-based think tank funded by outside interests including the Koch family foundations, uses a private email server for its communications, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. The setup allows Mercatus employees to have '@mercatus.gmu.edu' addresses, without the content of the emails passing through the university email system. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, emails from a publicly funded university could be considered public records, and having a private email server would help get around that requirement." --safari
*****
The Party of Youthful Indiscretions Rapists
** You Knew This Was Coming. Ronan Farrow & Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: "As Senate Republicans press for a swift vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh..., Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale University.... Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and, in conversations with The New Yorker, expressed concern about its potential impact on Kavanaugh's nomination. Soon after, Senate Republicans issued renewed calls to accelerate the timing of a committee vote.... 'This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanaugh. It should be fully investigated,' Senator Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, said. An aide in one of the other Senate offices added, 'These allegations seem credible, and we're taking them very seriously. If established, they're clearly disqualifying.' The woman at the center of the story, Deborah Ramirez ... attended Yale with Kavanaugh.... She remembers Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.... 'Somebody yelled down the hall, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face,"' she said.... Kavanaugh was eighteen, and legally an adult. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh swore under oath that as a legal adult he had never 'committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature.'" Ramirez was intoxicated at the time of the (alleged) incident. Farrow & Mayer also reference accounts consistent with Michael Avenatti's claims, linked next. The remarks Elizabeth Rasor, a one-time girlfriend of Mark Judge, made to them are significant. ...
... Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Let's be clear: [t]he Republican leadership knew about the second allegation, and their response was to try to hasten the process to get him confirmed to a lifetime appointment the Constitution makes it essentially impossible to be removed from. Whether they confirm Kavanaugh or another hack this is what the Republican Party is. Trump is a logical manifestation of the party's coalition, not an usurper." ...
... digby: "[Republicans] wouldn't let the FBI investigate. They concocted a ridiculous 'doppleganger' conspiracy theory and blamed an innocent man for the assault. They went nuts trying to get him on the court before anyone found out. What scumbags they all are." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I'd also like to know how thorough a background check the FBI did on Kavanaugh. I've been cold-called by FBI agents who were doing routine checks on my neighbors who were applying for much, much less important federal jobs, and probably you have, too. Is Kavanaugh's background file full of allegations of sexual violence & binge-drinking? What about the files the FBI compiled on him for earlier jobs? Is it possible the FBI never found anything on him? Did the FBI accidentally forget to ask friends & neighbors what they had observed? Did the Bush & Trump administrations pressure the FBI to do only cursory background checks? And/or did the friends & neighbors circle the wagons & lie to the FBI? If reporters could turn up this info in a few weeks, why couldn't the FBI? Or did it?
... Julie Davis of the New York Times: "As the risk that Judge Kavanaugh's nomination could collapse has mounted -- a new allegation of sexual misconduct published by The New Yorker on Sunday night raised fresh questions about whether he could survive -- Mr. Trump has been forced into the role of spectator. The president was briefed on the allegation on Sunday, according to people in contact with him, and was remaining firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh, who is also scheduled to testify before the committee and who has vehemently denied the allegations. But one of the people said the president argued that the new charge showed why the White House should have fought back against Dr. Blasey from the beginning." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, those wimpy Republicans who wouldn't do more than try to rush Kavanaugh's confirmation despite allegations of a violent sexual assault, should have done much more (and they did indeed do plenty) to trash the (alleged) victim. Not a one of them thought it would be a good idea to seek the truth of the allegations or request more research on Kavanaugh's substance abuse. Just put the fucker on the Supreme Court for life so I Trump can have a "win" and women will die. ...
... Jonathan Swan & Mike Allen of Axios: "Brett Kavanaugh's allies plan to aggressively contest what they call the 'foggy memories' of his accusers -- an approach that's likely to lead to nasty confrontations at Thursday's showdown hearing on his confirmation to the Supreme Court.... The plan is to fight back right away, and to emphasize denials and hazy recollections. And the mission is to portray the debate as cheap-shot politics orchestrated by liberals and abetted by the media." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "Brett Kavanaugh's primary and most plausible defense against the charge that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford was that Brett Kavanaugh would never do such a thing.... A new revelation by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow of the New Yorker explodes that defense.... Mayer and Farrow further subvert Kavanaugh's generalized defense, by quoting classmates skeptical of the testimonials that were procured on his behalf.... It seems highly unlikely, though not impossible, that he will ever be confirmed.... President Trump ... has defaulted to his initial instinct to discount the attacks and press forward. [Heidi Przybyla of] NBC News reports that Trump had two conversations about the allegation on Sunday and expressed no change in position on his judicial nominee. Maggie Haberman [of the NYT] likewise reports that Trump is sticking with Kavanaugh (for now), and sees the new allegations as reason to believe his allies should have fought harder to discredit the previous ones. Trump and his allies ... fear and resent the power of allegations of sexual assault to threaten men in power.... Kavanaugh is massive liability now for a party that is already heavily identified with the grossest and most predatory aspects of male sexual entitlement. Keeping Kavanaugh at this point would be an act of sheer madness." ...
... ** Kate Feldman of the New York Daily News: "Lawyer Michael Avenatti told the Senate Judiciary Committee late Sunday that he has multiple witnesses who can say Brett Kavanaugh participated in gang rapes of drunken women during high school. 'We are aware of significant evidence of multiple house parties in the Washington, D.C. area during the early 1980s during which Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge and others would participate in the targeting of women with alcohol/drugs in order to allow a "train" of men to subsequently gang rape them,' Avenatti said in an email to Mike Davis, chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee." Read on. Avenatti suggested lines of questioning of Kavanaugh. ...
... Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "Avenatti told Politico he represents a group of individuals who can corroborate allegations involving Kavanaugh and his longtime friend [Mark Judge] in the 1980s. Avenatti said he'd describe just one of the individuals as a victim. 'She will testify,' he said. 'But before she does, she will likely appear on camera for an interview.'... 'I represent multiple clients, they are witnesses. I'm representing multiple individuals that have knowledge of this, there's no other attorneys involved,' Avenatti told Politico. Asked if the witnesses attended Georgetown Prep's sister school, he said they went beyond that. 'They went to schools in the same general areas. These house parties were widely attended.' Avenatti said his new claims are 'not out of character from what Dr. Ford said.'" ...
... Josh Marshall: "... all hell has broken loose over the last hour or so in the already chaotic and ugly Kavanaugh confirmation process.... Avenatti is usually able to back up his claims. Or, perhaps better to say, when he has something, he usually does ... have something.... Finally a short time ago, Senator Feinstein sent a letter to Senator Grassley asking for an immediate postponement of all Kavanaugh proceedings." ...
... Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers has committed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, her lawyers said on Sunday. The lawyers said some details -- including whether an outside lawyer will question her -- still needed to be resolved, but that those issues would not impede holding a hearing. The agreement, reached after an hourlong negotiating session Sunday morning between the lawyers and committee aides, is the latest step in a halting process toward a potentially explosive hearing that will pit the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, against Judge Kavanaugh.... On Saturday, the two sides reached a tentative agreement for Dr. Ford to appear on Thursday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... The story has been updated, with Nicholas Fandos added to the byline. "... not long after the agreement was reached, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee's top Democrat, wrote to Mr. Grassley requesting 'an immediate postponement of any further proceedings related to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh,' citing a second accusation of misconduct that surfaced against him on Sunday and asking that the allegation be referred to the F.B.I." ...
... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has calendars from the summer of 1982 that he plans to hand over to the Senate Judiciary Committee that do not show a party consistent with the description of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, according to someone working for his confirmation.... The calendar pages from June, July and August 1982, which were examined by The New York Times, show that Judge Kavanaugh was out of town much of the summer at the beach or away with his parents. When he was at home, the calendars list his basketball games, movie outings, football workouts and college interviews. A few parties are mentioned but include names of friends other than those identified by Dr. Blasey." Mrs. McC: A "party" of five people, with one of them wearing a bathing suit under her clothes, sounds like an impromptu get-together, possibly after another event. One might enter it in a diary after-the-fact but, since it sounds unplanned, it wouldn't go into a calendar that served as a date reminder. ...
... Naomi Lim of the Washington Examiner: "Democrats are poised to ask questions about the drinking culture of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's high school when the judge faces the Senate Judiciary Committee following a sexual misconduct allegation. 'We want to hear -- I would be wanting to hear what kind of environment it was in high school,' Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Sunday during an interview with CNN's 'State of the Union.'" Mrs. McC: Actually, I'd like to know if Kavanaugh is still a heavy drinker. It sounds as if his binge-drinking went on during his college years, and since then he has held a number of high-stress jobs. In addition, his gambling habit suggests he has an addictive personality. Let's hear about his drug usage, too. It seems likely that a heavy drinker of Kavanaugh's age would have used other stimulants & downers. ...
... Lindsey Graham Is a Sexist Ignoramus. Ian Kullgren of Politico: "Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the testimony of Brett Kavanaugh's accuser won't change his mind, no matter what she says. 'You can't bring it in a criminal court, you would never sue civilly, you couldn't even get a warrant,' Graham said on 'Fox News Sunday' with Chris Wallace. 'What am I supposed to do? Go ahead and ruin this guy's life based on an accusation? I don't know when it happened, I don't know where it happened, and everybody named in regard to being there said it didn't happen.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Update. Mrs. McCrabbie: Graham is on the Judiciary Committee. So he knew about Deborah Ramirez's allegation when he told Wallace that Ford's testimony wouldn't change his mind. We can assume then that he's also okay with Brett's (allegedly) flashing his cock right up in a young woman's face. But, please, let's not ruin Brett's life. ...
... Update Update. My supposition that Graham already knew about Ramirez's allegation might be incorrect -- well, at least as long as you believe Chuck Grassley & Mitch McConnell. Emily Birnbaum of the Hill: "A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley> (R-Iowa) on Sunday night said the panel will 'attempt to evaluate' new allegations of sexual assault regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The spokesperson in a statement slammed Democrats for 'withholding information' regarding the allegations.... GOP staffers knew that the Ramirez accusations were forthcoming as they pushed to move the nomination process ahead last week, according to the New Yorker. Grassley denied this, saying the committee's staff was not aware until Sunday.... A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also denied the claim." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: No, the others did not say it didn't happen. They said they don't remember one of the social events they attended 36 years ago. I don't remember any of the social events I attended 36 years ago, and if Kavanaugh was attacking a young woman nearby at the time, I'm unaware of it. AND not getting a Supreme Court job doesn't "ruin this guy's life." Millions & millions of happy Americans don't sit on the Supreme Court -- including you, Lindsey -- and their lives aren't "ruined." BTW, how come you weren't all upset when you "ruined" Merrick Garland's life? PLUS ...,
... This Is Not a Trial, Lindsey, and You Know It. Caprice Roberts, in a Washington Post op-ed: "All week, as members of both parties jousted over Christine Blasey Ford's allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school, we've heard calls that Kavanaugh is entitled to due process, with some suggesting that airing Ford's claims in a Senate hearing is potentially unjust.... Unlike for a jury, there's no requirement for unanimity, and the Constitution doesn't set a standard of proof by which senators must offer their advice and consent.... Kavanaugh's public hearings, then, and any inquiry now into the accusations against him, are less like a trial and more like a high-stakes job interview -- and this job comes with life tenure.... Because guilt or innocence isn't the issue, but instead fitness for the Supreme Court, the burden of proof isn't, and shouldn't be, on Ford, the accuser; it remains on Kavanaugh." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: One of the things you have to weigh, Lindsey, is which witness will be more credible. Since you already know Kavanaugh has lied to Senate Judiciary Committees under oath, it would be fair to assume he'll lie again this week. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. More on Lindsey Graham below. ...
... Phil Mattingly & Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "After ... Donald Trump tweeted criticism of the woman who came forward accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the President on Friday to say his tweets did not help, two people familiar with the call confirmed to CNN."(Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "Ed Whelan, the conservative judicial activist who was criticized last week for a series of tweets asserting that Christine Blasey Ford had confused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with one of his high-school classmates, has been placed on leave by a [conservative] ethics-oriented nonprofit he led for years.... Whelan's decision to step aside from his leadership at the Ethics and Public Policy Center came as Republicans, including some who had begun touting his theory earlier this week, distanced themselves from him. But Democrats on the Judiciary Committee still want to know where Whelan, who cited facts that demonstrated knowledge of Kavanaugh's social circle in 1982, got his information." Mrs. McC: Besides that, Whelan knew that Blasey Ford was Kavanaugh's accuser before the Washington Post released her name to the public. ...
... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Republican Party's fight to save President Trump's embattled Supreme Court nominee amid allegations of sexual assault has surfaced deep anxieties over the hypermasculine mind-set that has come to define the GOP in the nation's roiling gender debate. The images are striking: The specter of Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- all 11 of them men -- questioning U.S. Appeals Court Judge Brett A. Kavanaugh's female accuser. A senior GOP aide working on the confirmation resigning amid his own sexual harassment allegations. A viral photo of 'women for Kavanaugh' featuring more men than women. A South Carolina Republican congressman making a crude joke about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg being groped by Abraham Lincoln. And then there is the party's id, Trump, who as a candidate denied more than a dozen accusations of sexual assault and harassment and sought to silence and retaliate against his accusers -- and who as president has defended one accused man after another.... Trump risks solidifying the Republican Party as the party of men." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Uh, make that the party of white men.
Trump Scheduled to Do More Damage to World Peace. Jonathan Lemire & Zeke Miller of the AP: "... Donald Trump is poised to redouble his commitment to 'America First' on the most global of stages this week. In the sequel to his stormy U.N. debut, Trump will stress his dedication to the primacy of U.S. interests while competing with Western allies for an advantage on trade and shining a spotlight on the threat that he says Iran poses to the Middle East and beyond.... Trump's address to the General Assembly comes Tuesday, and on Wednesday he will for the first time chair the Security Council, with the stated topic of non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The subject initially was to have been Iran, but that could have allowed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to attend, creating a potentially awkward situation for the U.S. leader." ...
... Mark Landler & David Sanger of the New York Times: "For Mr. Trump's advisers, the biggest risk at the United Nations General Assembly this year is the reverse of what it was last year: not that he will be dangerously undiplomatic, but that he will be overly enthusiastic about engagement with wily adversaries." Read on; the bit about the Iran tweet is classic. Mrs. McC: If there were no consequences, the White House high jinks would make a hilarious, if unbelievable, sitcom. As it is, it's more an endless nightmare in which a King Kong monster is plowing a path of destruction, & you cannot escape even as you lob obstacle after obstacle in his way. ...
... Nahal Toosi of Politico: "... Donald Trump is risking a potential war with Iran unless he engages the Islamist-led country using diplomacy, not just pressure tactics, dozens of prominent U.S. foreign policy, intelligence and national security figures argue in a new public statement. The statement, released by a group calling itself the National Coalition to Prevent an Iranian Nuclear Weapon, comes as Trump prepares to speak at the annual United Nations General Assembly. Iran is expected to be a hot topic during this week's U.N. gathering of world leaders, many of whom are upset that Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.... Among the signatories: former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who served Republican and Democratic presidents; former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who served in the Democratic administration of Bill Clinton; and former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who served the GOP White House of George W. Bush."
Samuel Chamberlain of Fox "News": "President Trump appeared to blame Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the latest controversy surrounding Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Sunday, saying that Sessions had 'hired' Rosenstein to be his second-in-command. 'He was hired by Jeff Sessions,' Trump said in an interview with 'The Geraldo Show' on WTAM radio. 'I was not involved in that process because, you know, they go out and get their own deputies and the people that work in the department.'"
Sarah Fitzpatrick, et al., of NBC News: "The British-born music publicist who helped arrange that infamous meeting between senior Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Democrats now believes the meeting could have been a set-up by Russian intelligence, he told NBC News in an exclusive television interview. 'I'm willing to believe that I don't know who wanted this meeting," Rob Goldstone told NBC's Cynthia McFadden in a wide-ranging interview, in which he also discussed Trump's behavior in Moscow during the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.... Goldstone says he was asked to set up the meeting -- and relay the offer of incriminating information about Clinton -- by Emin Agalarov, on behalf of his father Aras Agalarov, one of Russia's wealthiest developers.... Goldstone believes it wasn't his email that secured the meeting, but a series of calls afterward between Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov." ...
... Jane Mayer: "Donald Trump ... has been unwavering on one point: that Russia played no role in putting him in the Oval Office.... Ordinarily, Congress would aggressively examine an electoral controversy of this magnitude, but the official investigations in the House and the Senate, led by Republicans, have been too stymied by partisanship to address the ultimate question of whether Trump's victory was legitimate.... But a new book ... by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor of communications at the University of Pennsylvania..., offers a forensic analysis of the available evidence and concludes that Russia very likely delivered Trump's victory.... When I met recently with Jamieson...., she expressed confidence that unbiased readers would accept her conclusion that it is not just plausible that Russia changed the outcome of the 2016 election -- it is 'likely that it did.'" Read on. The bit about a Russian intelligence ploy which head-faked Jim Comey is interesting.
Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday he believes 'a bureaucratic coup' led by enemies of President Trump is taking place at the Justice Department, and the senator asked that a new special counsel be appointed to investigate. Graham, a veteran member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the comments on 'Fox News Sunday' in response to questions about a report that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein suggested secretly recording Trump and possibly using the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Graham said he didn't favor firing Rosenstein, who has denied the report and said he never advocated for removal of the president.... Instead, the senator from South Carolina pointed his finger at others in the department who he said have 'tried to destroy this president.' He specifically referred to former FBI officials Andrew McCabe, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok." Mrs. McC: Graham is such a sad little suck-up.
Election 2018. Virginia. Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "Representative Scott Taylor, Republican of Virginia, has enjoyed a rapid political rise anchored in his valorous background as a member of the Navy SEALs, a credential with great resonance in a district that includes the world's largest naval station and one of the highest concentrations of voters connected to the military.... But now ... his campaign is facing accusations that it was part of an improper effort to help an independent candidate get on the ballot and siphon voters from his Democratic challenger. The allegations, which included using the names of dead people or voters who did not live in the district on signature petitions, were serious enough to warrant the appointment of a special prosecutor, and the independent candidate, Shaun Brown, was stricken from the ballot by the Virginia Supreme Court. Mr. Taylor's race is emblematic of an emerging problem for Republicans...: A seat once considered relatively safe is now imperiled because of scandal, expanding an already broad field of Democratic opportunity. Mr. Taylor's reputation has taken a hit, pulling a congressman who won election by 23 percentage points two years ago into a race now considered a tossup by independent analysts.
Buh-Bye. Opheli Lawler of New York: "Jason Miller, a pro-Donald Trump contributor at CNN, is leaving his job. The announcement comes after Splinter published a report detailing an allegation that Miller drugged a former mistress with an abortion pill, to terminate her pregnancy. Court documents for the custody battle between Miller and A.J. Delgado, another former Trump staffer, show that Miller also allegedly had an affair with a woman he met at an Orlando, Fl., strip club in 2012. Miller and Delgado had an affair during the 2016 presidential campaign, during which time Delgado became pregnant with their son, William. When this woman told Miller that she was pregnant, he allegedly gave her an abortion pill without her knowledge.... The pill allegedly caused her pregnancy to be terminated, and nearly fatal health complications that sent her to the emergency room.... After Splinter's story was published, Miller posted several statements to Twitter, including that he would be leaving CNN.... He called into question Delgado&'s mental stability, referred to Splinter as a 'gossip blog' and said that he would be bringing legal action against Delgado, Splinter, and anyone else spreading 'these lies.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Delgado may or may not be making false claims, but I don't see any liability for Splinter which merely published sensational accusations that appeared in a court filing.
Six-Billion-Dollar Man. Kate Gibson of CBS News: "The heat Nike has taken over its controversial advertising campaign featuring former NFL start Colin Kaepernick seems to have had another effect: burnishing the iconic brand's appeal to investors. Nike shares have surged 36 percent on the year, making the company the top performer on the Dow's index of 30 blue-chip stocks. The run-up includes a nearly 5 percent increase since Nike's Labor Day announcement that Kaepernick would be featured in its campaign, adding nearly $6 billion to the company's market value. The stock continues to hover near an all-time high, which it reached in mid-September only weeks after some Nike customers publicly burned their shoes to express their displeasure at the new ad. In afternoon trading Nike shares were up slightly to $85.67." Mrs. McC: Capitalism actually is pretty awesome when a company profits by defying Donald Trump's racism.
Beyond the Beltway
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. ABC News Houston: "A woman in North Carolina was arrested after trying to save pets during Hurricane Florence. With severe flooding on the way, Tammie Hedges said she took in more than two dozen pets when their owners evacuated. She runs an animal rescue ... but had not yet finished building her shelter. She said she took the animals in anyways so they'd have a dry place to stay.... Animal services has since taken the pets and are now trying to find their owners." Many of these animals were left chained in flood zones & would have drowned. Mrs. McC: She should have got an award, not a criminal summons. PETA, get this woman an attorney.
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Reader Comments (19)
@Patrick: At the end of yesterday's thread, I posted an answer to the burning issue you raised earlier.
Sooo...let’s see. Exposing himself while at Yale (not high school), shoving his penis into a woman’s face. Okay. And what else? Gang bangs of girls targeted and “prepped” with booze and drugs.
Jesus, no wonder he was so into the most salacious details of the Bill and Monica, er, interactions.
Is Lindsey Graham still going to vote to put this criminal and serial liar on the court?
And about the drinking...I dunno if he still hits the hooch pretty hard, but in many pictures he does have that splotchy red-faced boozer look, kinda like a younger Steve Bannon.
I’m betting the R’s still try to brazen this out. But if they throw in the bar towel, my next question is, who thinks this anus crevice is fit to be any kind of a judge.
Is it the case that everyone left in this party is a roaring asshole, because if there are any decent people left, they’re hiding places are excellent.
Christ, Lindsey Graham is a running-dog boot licking lackey if I’ve ever seen one. He makes groveling sycophants look like profiles in courage.
If the latest revelations from the second woman who came forth re Brett Kavanaugh are true, then it's more than mere checkmate to his disgusting and slimy questions proposed during the Ken Starr investigation of Bill Clinton's behavior. This sanctimonious jerk should withdraw now.
Lindsay Graham should start lining up his next job as a lobbyist.
Always thought he was second rate ass, but he's now confirmed as a first rate sellout.
Here is an illuminating WaPo front page article about U.S. Citizens' Band radio brands seeking to move their manufacturing out of China due to Trumptariffs,
Not move back to the US. Just out of China.
The story notes that the CB problem is illustrative of many U.S.-branded consumer electronics firms. They can either raise prices, change manufacturing location, reduce quality or go out of business.
This means that non-U.S. brand electronic manufacturers in places like Korea, Malaysia, etc. have a great opportunity to take business away from U.S. brands -- even though the article does not make that clear. And U.S. brands that manufactured in those other countries will have a competitive advantage over those that moved their manufacturing to China.
Just another reason why tariffs are not good for consumers. This particular case won't result in U.S. manufacturing job losses, but will raise consumer prices and reduce U.S. brand company income.
There's nothing like alcohol to loosen up and liven up a group of young studs hell bent on proving their male musk is magic––-especially rich young studs from elite schools. During my high school experience with drinking (In Wisconsin at that tine kids could buy booze at 18 and there were all kinds of taverns that under age kids could go–-and did–-to drink.) I witnessed many a young lad whose personality became wildly different after a lot of drinking. It is certainly feasible that Brett might not recall his night of attempted rape or pushing his penis in Ramirez's face if indeed his drinking was excessive and those kinds of "tits and clits" antics were par for the course. Why is it so difficult to understand that humans are complex creatures–-that good people can do bad things and vice versa. And in this case the alleged accusations are serious enough to halt this nomination; it will not ruin his life, but what it will do is expose the underside of it.
Watched the Cruz/ O'Rourke debate last night. A young, passionate, liberal against a slippery snake of a senator. Cruz might be considered a good debater but his desperation showed (he lied three times about Beto's stance on issues) and if you clear away the cobwebs it was apparent who came out with a clear message of clarity of purpose to actually fix our system for the better––Beto!
And he went to Whataburger after the debate and here's a video where he is air-drumming to a "Who" song–-one of my favorites.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/beto-orourke-whataburger-air-drums-who-song_us_5ba7fb6de4b0181540de42f3
Ver-ass-ity
I think it's particularly telling that the two women (so far) who have come forward to relate the sexual misconduct of the guy Confederates are trying desperately to shove into the ninth chair on the court before the flood gates open, admit to gaps in their memory.
Who doesn't have gaps? I was recently talking to a college friend about a party we all attended that got a little out of hand. Someone did something that became pretty widely known (nothing sexual or criminal, just stupid and silly). I was there and I was absolutely sure who it was. My friend was sure it was someone else. The difference is, I saw it happen, he was there but he heard about this event later. We concluded that memory is a funny thing but still had a laugh about the whole thing.
And you know what? Maybe I'm wrong. But we both agreed it happened. Nonetheless, this wasn't a traumatic event for either of us so whether it was this guy or that, it doesn't really matter in the larger scheme of the universe.
But here's where it gets interesting. Both Ford and Ramirez admit that they don't have total recall, as would be expected of any normal human being. You know who claims he does?
Kavanaugh. The guy his own roommate says was incoherently drunk most of the time. The guy who was in the 100 Keg Club in high school, whose best friend admits to being a blackout drunk.
So whose version of events has the most veracity? The women who admit that although they're sure these events occurred, they can't recall every detail, or the drunk who claims to have a perfectly clear memory of everything, who states, categorically, that none of this ever happened.
And, not for nothin', but this event WAS traumatic for both women, even if Kavanaugh claims he is innocent as a newborn.
I won't get into the whole line about people doing things when they were drunk that they don't remember later. One college roommate came back after a big football game, three sheets to the wind, picked up "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and started reading about a Robert Jandro (Hemingway's hero is named Jordan). He had no memory of this later, but we still kid him about it all these years later.
I'm sure plenty of R's are lining up a "Shit Happens" defense, just in case. In other words, Kavanaugh was drunk as a tinker, and, well, boys will be boys, so you can't hold him responsible for whipping it out at a party or trying to rape a girl in high school. Hmmm...let me see. Is that really a good defense? If I drove my car into the neighbor's house after running over the dog and scaring the bejesus out of the kids, could I tell the judge that I'm not responsible because I was sockless?
In any event, the one person whose ver-ass-ity is glowing in the dark, is Rape Boy Kavanaugh's.
PD,
Great video (and song). And Beto is right on the money with his air drumming. He doesn't miss the crossover to the ride cymbal (Keith Moon would have approved).
The song is also interesting in its lyrical affirmation that "the Exodus is here, the happy ones are near", a suggestion that better things are to come.
Pretty sure Townsend wasn't talking about a slimy liar and sycophantic TrumpWorld supernumerary like Ted Cruz there.
Here's an interesting read by Rebecca Solnit on female anger and male anger:
"We assume, at least about male anger, that it's an inevitable and normal reaction to unpleasant and insulting things and that it's powerful."
ALL THE RAGE:
https://newrepublic.com/article/151100/rebecca-solnit-book-review-women-rage
The little dictator's response to the foundering (but not submerged) and reprehensible Kavanaugh nomination is a demonstration of his standard MO: attack, attack, attack, admit nothing, and attack again.
The idea that he and his boot-lickers on the Judiciary Committee should have gone after Christine Blasey Ford with hammers and axes rather than allow her a hearing, or god forbid, time to prepare for one is all of a piece with his approach to the Mueller investigation and the reason for his epic pique directed at another boot-licker, Jeffbo Sessions. The way it should have gone, according to Trump, was to kill that thing cold before anyone could start looking at facts or truth or anything that could cause him trouble.
I'm guessing that, should a similar situation arise in the future, Confederates in congress will heed their master's example. At no time will they allow anyone to come near Trump with truth or facts. They will attack and bludgeon and bully but never listen.
The Lesson of the Master.
@Akhilleus: When I was ten years old, my mother put me in charge of my younger siblings while she went down the street to have tea with the neighbor ladies. While she was away, some posh-looking ladies drove by in a posh-looking Cadillac & stopped in to ask me if they could have a couple of mangoes from our tree in the front yard. I said yes as my parents sometimes gave a few away to neighbors & the trash men.
The posh ladies then proceeded to denude the tree of all the low-hanging fruit. I didn't know what to do. I knew what they were doing was wrong, but I didn't think a 10-year-old had the "authority" to confront posh ladies. I didn't tell my mother about what had happened till after the posh ladies left. I was quite upset about the whole thing, but mostly about my failure to stop the posh ladies from robbing my family.
About 40 years later, my mother had a series of strokes that affected her short-term memory. While family members were gathered, my mother mentioned the mango theft. I didn't remember a thing about it. Nothing. I did not, however, tell my mother she didn't know what she was talking about. I didn't categorically deny it happened; I just said I didn't remember it. Then my sister, who would have been five years old when the event happened, said she remembered it well & was surprised I didn't.
Obviously, I had been so upset by my failure that I just plain chose not to remember any of it. And obviously it did happen. Gradually, as my mother & sister filled me in on it, I kinda sorta remembered it, and I kinda sort remember bits of it now. But I don't even remember if we had a phone then. I don't remember if I ever phoned my mother; I think I walked down the street to tell her about it. I don't remember what I was wearing, but I do remember standing at the glass-front door watching the posh ladies steal mangoes & not knowing what to do about it. And I wasn't drunk!
So I don't fault Kavanaugh for choosing not to remember the horrible things he did 30-some years ago. But I fault him for denying he did them and for claiming his (alleged) victims are part of a "smear" campaign, especially when there is every reason to believe his victims' memories of the events are far better than his.
Someone who cannot acknowledge that people with whom he disagrees might have a case clearly is not fit to be a judge of others.
@PD Pepe: Thanks for watching & reviewing the O'Rourke-Cruz debate for us. P.S. I don't know what Cruz did after the debate, but it sure wasn't playing airdrums while waiting in line for Whataburger takeout.
Stupid Goes to the UN
Can't wait for the embarrassment. So the topic is nonproliferation of nuclear and biological weapons? Great. Trumpy knows all about that shit, right? Isn't he the world's expert on nuclear stuff? He don't need no pointy-headed scientists. But hey, unlike the previous two years, the little dictator finally has him a science advisor. Just the guy to prep him for talks on nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons: a weatherman*.
But even if he had Niels Bohr as his advisor, he wouldn't listen. It would take too many crayon drawings and bullet points to explain nuclear weapons systems (never mind quantum theory). Oh, but that would be for someone who doesn't already know more than the scientists.
*In his defense, Kelvin Droegemeier (Kelvin--how's that for a good name in the age of global warming?), is a respected meteorologist with a good track record in avoiding the usual bullshit lies that dominate discussions about science on the right, all of which means Trump never talks to him.
There are so many reasons Trump is unfit on a world historic level (I suppose you could argue that monarchs enthroned as six year olds or inbred, pimply-faced adolescents might have been a bit less unqualified than Trump, but not by much). This is just one.
Marie,
"I don't know what Cruz did after the debate, but it sure wasn't playing airdrums while waiting in line for Whataburger takeout."
Hahahaha. Good one. Just the idea is funny. I'm betting that, had he had someone in the car recording his after-debate repast and musical interlude for posterity, Cruz would have been sure to have driven up to some DownHome Rootin' Tootin' Texas BBQ place with a giant Confederate flag out front and ordered whatever people get who go to DownHome Rootin' Tootin' Texas BBQ places with giant Confederate flags out front. Then he would have put in a Star Spangled Banner CD and driven with his hand over his heart mouthing the words (the ones he could remember).
But playing air drums to "Baba O'Riley"?
Hahahahahaha...
...also: "Someone who cannot acknowledge that people with whom he disagrees might have a case clearly is not fit to be a judge of others."
Quite.
My sense is that, were Grassley and McConnell going to go to Trump and tell him Kavanaugh was dead meat, it would have happened last night or early this morning. They'd cross him off and go to work on that Federalist Society list of judges selected to kill Roe, ignore racism, destroy what few unions are left, and work on that theocracy plan.
Because that's still going to happen, make no mistake. Unless some very strange chord in the universe is struck that makes confirming another misogynist to the court before the midterms impossible, Confederates will, if Kavanaugh gets the boot, ram through another probably equally unacceptable party apparatchik, but one who is better at lying and without quite so much rape in his past.
Either way, without some unforeseen deus ex machina, women's right to choose is dead.
Trump needs a win. And returning women to second class citizen status and exposing younger women to the dangers of back alley abortions or expensive trips to a civilized country for the procedure is a win for Trump.
Trumps in New York, Rosenstein is called to the White House. Is today the day the axe falls? We know having someone else do the deed is his style. If so, it will be the first of a row of dominoes.
Enuff is Enuff. Bitches!
It seems the "Boys Will Be Boys and Rape is A-OK Club" has had just about enough.
R's are PEE-OH'd that some other uppity bitch is complaining about their boy Rapey-Dick-Thrust Brett and that is just unacceptable.
Mitchy the Turtle stamped his feet today and screamed that Democrats are to blame for not doing things the right way, and demanding that reports about his boy Brett be investigated, when (horrors) they tried to fuck with the nomination of a president's choice for the Supreme Court, something HE would NEVER do.
It's really a bit like a career car thief complaining that someone was driving a car they borrowed from a neighbor. One is illegal, the other is....well, you get the idea.
And Bretty boy? Well, he simply HAD to go on Tee-Vee (guess where?) and sniffle that he's not (sniffle) going to (sniffle-sniffle) quit! (BIG sniffle). I half expected him to start talking about the family dog Checkers and his wife's good Republican cloth coat.
Such fucking pusillanimous stooges.
After Ford made her accusations, they had to put on some kind of a dumb show and pretend that it was okay for her to come talk to them (on their terms) at which time they could diss her, insult her, treat her as though she were Tokyo Rose, then vote their boy in (Par-Tay!). But now after charges from Ramirez and talk of drug and alcohol fueled gangbangs, they've had enough.
"We've put up with this shit long enough. Fucking bitches talking shit about our boy? Out-RAY-jus! We've had enough". President Pussy Grabber feels the same way. "If lusty, privileged, white, Ivy League Men, like me and mine, can't purloin a little poontang now and then, just, you know, for fun, then what is this country coming to?" So he's back to his old tricks. And so are they.
But R's are just beside themselves that anyone wants to talk about attempted rape or dick thrusting or gang bangs when what's on the line is the ability to TRULY fuck women. But good.
There really are no words to accurately describe the hypocrisy, sexual assault, serial mendacity, and violence against women these people support. I suppose slave state apologists and supporters prior to, during, and after the Civil War (right up to 9/24/2018) have a lot in common with these scumbags, but the fact that the more evidence that comes out that Kavanaugh is unfit (putting it mildly--cat torturers would be more fit), and the more they double down, indicates that they were never, EVER serious about listening to reports that countered their propaganda about Kavanaugh in the first place.
He WILL be confirmed. The only thing stopping this confirmation is whether or not Murkowski, Collins, Flake, or Corker have the sand to stand up for decency.
I, for one, doubt it on all counts.
Meet Justice Rape Boy.
In less than 15 years, Republicans have succeeded in de-legitimizing the judiciary in this country. In a few years (years? Fuck--months) even the worst courts (Taney, eg) will look like oases of precise and proper jurisprudence.
Marie,
There’s a comment a little ways back that went into the spam folder for some reason. When it resurfaced, it got buried in the pack. Just a little thank you.