Kavanaugh Hearings

[RUPERTKBD]

44 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

So much about the FBI investigation stinks, but especially their failure to interview the roughly 30 witnesses that were named by Ford and Ramirez.

 

Especially witnesses like Dr. Appold and Dr. Richard Oh, who both provided compelling statements that back up Ramirez’s account:

 

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4954165/10-4-18-Ramirez-Letter-FBI.pdf

 

Appold, who was a suitemate of BK at the time of the alleged event, provided a statement directly to the FBI. He was never contacted by investigators.

 

Dr. Oh was named by Ramirez as a witness, and has written a sworn statement that supports her account. He was also never contacted by the FBI.

 

There are so many more examples, but those two really stand out for me as proof of why the FBI investigation is a complete joke.

 

As are statements like this:

 

 

It seems pretty obvious what’s actually going on here. They appear to have willfully ignored probative/corroborating material, omitted it from the FBI investigation and report, and are now pretending that it doesn’t exist.

 

This was a case of going through the motions, as we all knew it was going to be. Now the "on the fence" Republicans are coming out and saying they're satisfied by the "investigation"...again, as we knew they would.

 

Hopefully, American women understand how the republican party views them now and make their feelings about that clear at the polling station.

 

The Dems' job is to make sure they get out the vote, because the GOP has already gotten ahead of the game, telling their base that if the Democrats take the house (and maybe the Senate) that the economy will tank, unemployment will skyrocket, borders will no longer be "safe" and of course, the classic, your guns will be taken away....

 

And of course, like the good little sheep they are, republican voters are promising to show up on voting day, to keep those "evil snowflakes" from taking over.

[bishopshodan]

1 hour ago, PhillipBlunt said:

The United States, led by the most gutless and vile administration in their history, is heading towards it's demise. I can't see the country's future without something resembling a civil war.

It kinda looks that way. 

 

I've said it before ( maybe more than once in the trump thread), with my tinfoil chapeau firmly in place, that Trump will try to mess with the 2020 election. So he can do away with term limits.....like he said about Xi doing it in China "Maybe we'll give that a shot some day"

 

I don't think it would be below him to lie about a serious threat to national security or even fake an major incident. 

The way I imagine, he might say that " the date for the next election must be postponed due to the current international crisis and in an effort to maintain our national security. We have to have faith and come together as a nation.... we will reschedule to date X ..." then it never happens at all, with new Orwellian style propaganda coming out about a perpetual far off war and threat.

 

By the time the first two-minute-hate session is implemented, the civil war will have already started. 

 

Ok, I'll now scrunch up my tin foil and get back to my day to day distractions. 

Edited October 4, 2018 by bishopshodan

[Russ]

13 minutes ago, bishopshodan said:

It kinda looks that way. 

 

I've said it before ( maybe more than once in this thread), with my tinfoil chapeau firmly in place, that Trump will try to mess with the 2020 election. So he can do away with term limits.....like he said about Xi doing it in China "Maybe we'll give that a shot some day"

 

I don't think it would be below him to lie about a serious threat to national security or even fake an major incident. 

The way I imagine, he might say that " the date for the next election must be postponed due to the current international crisis and in an effort to maintain our national security. We have to have faith and come together as a nation.... we will reschedule to date X ..." then it never happens at all, with new Orwellian style propaganda coming out about a perpetual far off war and threat.

 

By the time the first two-minute-hate session is implemented, the civil war will have already started. 

 

Ok, I'll now scrunch up my tin foil and get back to my day to day distractions. 

Can he even do something like that?  Does he hold the power to postpone an election?

[bishopshodan]

40 minutes ago, Russ said:

Can he even do something like that?  Does he hold the power to postpone an election?

"When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” DT.  ...wait that was about something else  ( but more in line with the theme of this Kavanaugh thread).

 

Anyway,I can imagine anything while wearing my tinfoil hat and thinking about books I read in high school.

 

I really don't know US politics enough, but these days it seems like anything is possible.

[Gnarcore]

1 hour ago, bishopshodan said:

 

 

I don't think it would be below him to lie about a serious threat to national security or even fake an major incident. 

 

They've done & allowed it to happen before. 

[OneSeventeen]

Hey guys, 

 

Just first off I want to say that last night's win was amazing and sorely necessary for me considering how dark this thread is. Pettersson delivered. Though I was more thrilled when Jake scored. Not an amazing game for him but definitely a step forward in the right direction and something to build off. 

 

Anyways back to the subject at hand. We've had a lot of debate on the merits of the political process, who was telling the truth, motives etc. What we haven't really debated is that this issue has transcended a mere confirmation hearing. Brett Kavanaugh regardless of whether he becomes a Supreme Court Justice will now live and work under a cloud of suspicion and resentment. Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford will be considered a hero to some and an object of ridicule and derision to others. 

 

What message does this send to women who have experienced sexual violence? What does this moment mean to everyone? 

 

I think this is a watershed moment in history. I don't think I'll be able to come to any conclusions until after the 2018 midterms and even the 2020 presidential election. 

 

I hope American voters will show some decency and vote Trump out of office. Even if Dr. Blasey-Ford wasn't telling the truth or this was just some political hit job by the Democrats, in no way should a potential survivor be mocked like that. It was cruel and senseless behavior. Just disgusting. The guy has shown time and time again that he lacks any sense of decency and empathy. He's the most disgusting leader of the modern era in my opinion. Some will say it's Putin or Castro or Duterte or one of North Korea's Kim's but it's Trump in my opinion. Other leaders  at least have the guile to stay within some bounds of humanity and respect when making public statements. 

 

Ultimately this casts a poor light on the American public. Particularly elites and those in power who for decades abandoned those in Trump's base to economic injustice and did nothing to ameliorate the damage and subtle continuation of Barry Goldwater's Southern Strategy. 

 

This whole event has been tragic. I feel like I'm in a dark tunnel and I see so very little light at the end of it. 

Edited October 4, 2018 by OneSeventeen

[RUPERTKBD]

11 minutes ago, OneSeventeen said:

Hey guys, 

 

Just first off I want to say that last night's win was amazing and sorely necessary for me considering how dark this thread is. Pettersson delivered. Though I was more thrilled when Jake scored. Not an amazing game for him but definitely a step forward in the right direction and something to build off. 

 

Anyways back to the subject at hand. We've had a lot of debate on the merits of the political process, who was telling the truth, motives etc. What we haven't really debated is that this issue has transcended a mere confirmation hearing. Brett Kavanaugh regardless of whether he becomes a Supreme Court Justice will now live and work under a cloud of suspicion and resentment. Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford will be considered a hero to some and an object of ridicule and derision to others. 

 

What message does this send to women who have experienced sexual violence? What does this moment mean to everyone? 

 

I think this is a watershed moment in history. I don't think I'll be able to come to any conclusions until after the 2018 midterms and even the 2020 presidential election. 

 

I hope American voters will show some decency and vote Trump out of office. Even if Dr. Blasey-Ford wasn't telling the truth or this was just some political hit job by the Democrats, in no way should a potential survivor be mocked like that. It was cruel and senseless behavior. Just disgusting. The guy has shown time and time again that he lacks any sense of decency and empathy. He's the most disgusting leader of the modern era in my opinion. Some will say it's Putin or Castro or Duterte or one of North Korea's Kim's but it's Trump in my opinion. Other leaders leaders at least have the guile to stay within some bounds of humanity and respect when making public statements. 

 

Ultimately this casts a poor light on the American public. Particularly elites and those in power who for decades abandoned those in Trump's base to economic injustice and did nothing to ameliorate the damage and subtle continuation of Barry Goldwater's Southern Strategy. 

 

This whole event has been tragic. I feel like I'm in a dark tunnel and I see so very little light at the end of it. 

I've made this exact point several times and I hope the answer is that they show up at the polls in huge numbers and by their votes, let the GOP know how they feel.

 

I can think of nothing better than a bunch of entitled WASPs being sent home so they can join Reddit and whine about Libtards and Snowflakes. Better that way anyhow....if they're home, they can protect their sons from evil women who want to ruin their lives just for fun...

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

 

https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-statement-after-reviewing-fbi-background-documents

Quote

SCHUMER STATEMENT AFTER REVIEWING FBI BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

October 4, 2018

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today released the following statement after reviewing the supplemental FBI background documents on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh: 

“After reviewing the additional background check documents on Judge Kavanaugh, four things are crystal clear.

“First, the documents raise even more serious doubts in my mind about Judge Kavanaugh’s truthfulness.

“Second, Judge Kavanaugh stated at his hearing that the individuals at the incident involving Dr. Ford refuted her version of events. From their own public statements, we knew that to be false, and nothing in this report changes that.

“Third, it appears very clearly to me that the FBI was severely limited in which questions they could ask and which leads they could follow.

“And finally, to say that this investigation exonerates Judge Kavanaugh, or to say that this is a complete investigation, is patently false. Chairman Grassley’s claim that there is no hint of misconduct in these documents is just not true.”

 

[coastal.view]

On 10/3/2018 at 1:46 PM, Aladeen said:

I have read the report thoroughly and it is literally grasping at straws. There is definitely no shredding of testimony or credibility anywhere in that document. 

 

1. 1st the consistency of when the assault took place: The only inconsistency was in the initial text that read "mid 80's" but in reality there is no reason to be precise in a text message especially considering Mitchell doesn't give the context in which the text was sent. Everything else is consistent as early 80s and 1982 would fit. Also she was consistent with the season being summer and the explanation for the precision may be simply her working to recall the incident more now than she ever has before. 
2. Not identifying Kavanaugh as the assailant previously: in Mitchell's own words: "Delayed disclosure of abuse is common so this is not dispositive." Hardly shredding her testimony there but acknowledging the fact that non-identification is common for abuse cases so this is at worst meaningless one way or the other.
3. Changing of the description to sexual assault and physical abuse: Are they both not true? If what she said happened did in fact happen, both ways of describing the incident are correct. 
4. No memory of specifics: this is again super common for people who go through a major traumatic incident. Certain memories are heightened and others are blanked on. I have dealt with many many individuals that can remember oddly specific things about a trauma while having no recollection about other general things. As an example I have worked with one lady who survived an IRA bombing many years ago and she can remember the song that was on the radio in her car at the time and a man with a handle-bar mustache staring at her with vivid clarity, but not what kind of car she was in or where her brother was sitting at the time or even why she was there. 
5. No recollection from named individuals: There are two simple reasons why this may be the case, either 1 they were party to the assault and don't want to incriminate themselves or 2 they didn't suffer any sort of trauma whatsoever and it was just another mundane day to them where nothing actually stood out. Not recalling an incident does not equal these people saying that they weren't there or this didn't take place. Not recalling DOES NOT equal Denial. 
6. Inconsistent assault details: look at what Mitchell is saying in this section she is not talking about the assault itself but what transpired after the trauma had happened. It's not like the variation in the details are completely opposite as to what she initially stated, she just corrected the fact that she may have made a logical assumption about a conversation taking place afterwards rather than outright hearing it. Hardly shredding her credibility once again. 
7. Accounting of who was at the party: They are referencing notes not made by her, it would be easy for a therapist to write down that 4 boys were in the room when in fact she was meaning that there were 4 boys at the party. She can't be held accountable for discrepancies that may be the fault of therapist who didn't write it down exactly as it was laid out. I work in a similar field precision is not necessary so long as all of the most important information is recorded. Easily chalked up to a misunderstanding of the layout of the house on the therapists part. As far as a 4th boy coming forward, why would he? Especially if he was party to it, at best this 4th boy failed to tell authorities something illegal happened at worst he was the 2nd boy in the room. 
8. Failing to recall recent "important" events relating to her allegation: I would say a lot of those things are not important but rather minor details that could be cleared up by asking the people who received them rather than Dr. Ford. Was it a portion of the notes? All of the notes? In reality it may simply be that she doesn't know, did she get every single note from her therapist or just some? On July 6 did she have the notes before contact with the post was initiated or shortly after? Who cares? Hardly relevant, maybe she acquired them on July 7 or July 5, what difference would that make in any way shape or form? She can't explain how she is able to contact a congressperson vs a Senator? Again who cares about that? generally congresspeople are more accessible to the public than Senators. Was she filmed was she audio recorded during the lie detector? Again who cares, the information to that is available no doubt and she probably already knows the answer, it's not like Dr. Ford is setting up all the A/V equipment for her lie detector test. 
9. Refusing to give the committee therapy notes: It's interesting Mitchell puts this under failing to recall recent events heading and maybe Dr. Ford should have done so but in reality it is every person's right to refuse that without a court order. There is a lot of personal information in those notes that you tell in confidence to someone to expose that to the world could feel absolutely terrible for some people.

 

The rest of the document is a timeline of events and even if it is completely accurate in no way shape or form discredits anything that Dr. Ford testified to. 

 

Did what Dr. Ford say happened actually happened? I have no idea. Only her, and BK know that for certain, but nothing in there gives any sort of shredding of her credibility in the slightest and, in my opinion as little as its worth most of is actually consistent with someone who went through a major traumatic event. 

 

 

and really

even if one wishes to waste the time required to review this document

how can it have much value

 

the author is someone retained by the gop

to do some dirty work for them

and they lost confidence in her partway through the endeavor

and sidelined her

so that should kind of wrap up her involvement

she was viewed as ineffective and simply not up for the job

not by me or you, but by her own client(s)

 

now she is being revived?

she wrote some words on paper that we are told to take seriously?
give it a rest

she's been done in this matter from the moment she was sidelined

 

she lacks relevance now. and anything she may wish to add

will simply have the appearance of her trying to save her reputation/skin

in the face of her public dismissal

she was humiliated by her client(s) due to lack of confidence

now she and they want others to have confidence in some of her writings ??

 

 

[thedestroyerofworlds]

This sums up how much of a sham this "investigation"  into Brett is.  100 Senators have access to ONE copy of an over 1000 page report.  Scam.

 

https://www.salon.com/2018/10/04/fbi-investigation-into-kavanaugh-is-over-1000-pages-senators-must-read-a-single-copy-in-24-hours/

FBI investigation into Kavanaugh is over 1,000 pages. Senators must read a single copy in 24 hours

Senators would have to read one page per minute to read it all in less than 17 hours

[coastal.view]

24 minutes ago, thedestroyerofworlds said:

This sums up how much of a sham this "investigation"  into Brett is.  100 Senators have access to ONE copy of an over 1000 page report.  Scam.

 

https://www.salon.com/2018/10/04/fbi-investigation-into-kavanaugh-is-over-1000-pages-senators-must-read-a-single-copy-in-24-hours/

FBI investigation into Kavanaugh is over 1,000 pages. Senators must read a single copy in 24 hours

Senators would have to read one page per minute to read it all in less than 17 hours

easy peasy

 

make it a study group

break up the report into equal parts to spread among all senators

who then have 12 hours to read their part and make crib notes

 

compile the crib notes into a small stack,.. bind each one

i copy to every senator

they can then review that in an hour

 

11 hours left for drinks and sleep

and other necessary shenanigans

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by coastal.view

[thedestroyerofworlds]

If I was a youngish GOP Senator, appointing BK may hand the opposition years of ammunition against you.

 

 

https://theintercept.com/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-perjury-warrantless-surveillance/

IN LETTER TO TRUMP, HOUSE DEMOCRATS PROMISE TO INVESTIGATE BRETT KAVANAUGH FOR PERJURY IF CONFIRMED

[smokes]

Just wondering, since it seems like it's OK bring up these crimes from thirty years ago that haven't been reported. Does this mean that any regular citizen can come out with their own stories but of people the world doesn't know?

[RUPERTKBD]

8 hours ago, coastal.view said:

easy peasy

 

make it a study group

break up the report into equal parts to spread among all senators

who then have 12 hours to read their part and make crib notes

 

compile the crib notes into a small stack,.. bind each one

i copy to every senator

they can then review that in an hour

 

11 hours left for drinks and sleep

and other necessary shenanigans

 

....or scan and e-mail....

[RUPERTKBD]

3 hours ago, smokes said:

Just wondering, since it seems like it's OK bring up these crimes from thirty years ago that haven't been reported. Does this mean that any regular citizen can come out with their own stories but of people the world doesn't know?

Sure.....and if there's any veracity to them, or if the defendant lies about events surrounding the alleged incident, one would expect the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation....

 

...unlike what just happened to the guy who's in line for a lifetime position on the highest court in the country.

[RUPERTKBD]

BK's "drinking buddies" say Senators should vote "No":

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/kavanaughs-former-classmates-drinking-buddies-call-on-senate-to-vote-no-on-confirmation/ar-BBNY9PX?li=AAggNb9

Quote

 

A group of former Yale University students who referred to themselves "drinking buddies" with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are calling for the Senate to vote against his confirmation.

The former classmates of Kavanaugh's- Charles Ludington, Lynne Brookes and Elizabeth Swisher - wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post on Thursday that they spoke out publicly because of what they felt like were dishonest statements from Kavanaugh during a Fox News interview and during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

"We each asserted that Brett lied to the Senate by stating, under oath, that he never drank to the point of forgetting what he was doing," they write.

"We said, unequivocally, that each of us, on numerous occasions, had seen Brett stumbling drunk to the point that it would be impossible for him to state with any degree of certainty that he remembered everything that he did when drunk."

 

The allegations of sexual assault (which are unprovable, thanks to the WH limiting the scope of the "investigation") aside, there's basically zero doubt that Kavanagh lied to the Judiciary committee. It appears as though, (unlike republicans and their supporters) they feel that a lying partisan hack is unfit for the Supreme Court.

 

I'm siding with the drinking buddies over the GOP Senators.

[OneSeventeen]

4 hours ago, smokes said:

Just wondering, since it seems like it's OK bring up these crimes from thirty years ago that haven't been reported. Does this mean that any regular citizen can come out with their own stories but of people the world doesn't know?

My understanding of the MeToo, TimesUp and now BelieveSurvivors movement is about creating a culture where those who are victimized by sexual violence feel safe enough to speak up about their experience and get justice. Our previous culture just isn’t good enough. It’s allowed guys like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Larry Nassar Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Louis C.K. etc to outright assault and harass women. Our previous culture silenced survivors to the point where hundreds where victimized but so few felt comfortable enough to speak out.

 

This is simply unacceptable, and a change needs to happen. We cannot have a society where a predator is allowed to hurt an innocent person and that victim feels too ashamed or afraid to speak up until there are more victims to speak out as well.

 

I think this moment in time isn’t about weaponizing sexual assault to hurt men. Right now I think we’re in a period where survivors of sexual violence and their allies are demanding a change.

 

Maybe this isn’t an appropriate example to use but I think there are parallels. In the Steubenville High School rape case, a young girl drank too much alcohol and passed. Boys on the school’s football team, also inebriated by alcohol, undressed her and used their fingers penetrate her. This was documented on smartphones and shared on social media. The photos and videos came to light and the boys were prosecuted and sentenced. When this happened a portion of society said how unfortunate it was that these boys would no longer get to play football and likely have their chances at college or a professional career ruined.

 

This could have been Dr. Blasey-Ford had she been born in our era where everyone has a smartphone, there’s an internet connection just about everywhere and so many social media sites. The young girl in Steubenville could have been Dr. Blasey-Ford shoes had she been born 50 or so years ago, with no evidence of what happened and just waking up and seeing her state of undress.

 

I think all allegations of sexual violence need to be investigated. Maybe some people will falsely accuse others to get revenge. The consequences will be unfair. But we cannot go back to a time where women and men don’t feel safe to come forward.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Probably too little too late, as far as confirmation goes, but this is a pretty significant move by the ABA:

 

 

[BPA]

Can the ABA revoke BK lawyer license?

No license...no judge?

[SabreFan1]

3 minutes ago, BPA said:

Can the ABA revoke BK lawyer license?

No license...no judge?

Technically you could make a bum off the street a Supreme Court Justice if nominated and confirmed.  Being a lawyer or judge is not required.