I have been glued to the television since 10 a.m.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has testified candidly. She doesn’t remember every detail but she vividly remembers every detail of being sexually assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh. Her most vivid memory: hearing Brett and his friend Mark Judge “laughing uproariously” as Brett pinned her down and tried to remove her clothes.
She is modest, sincere, honest. She is totally credible.
I believe her.
The other striking visual is the “visual” silence of the Republican Senators (except Senator Grassley, the 85-year-old chairman, who opened the hearings by haranguing Dr. Blasey without giving her the courtesy of introducing her). The fact that they brought in Rachel Mitchell, a prosecutor from Arizona, to ask questions on their behalf speaks volumes about their cowardice. They are literally afraid to ask questions of Dr. Blasey for fear that they would look like sexist pigs and bullies. They were right about that. Ted Cruz is afraid to speak. Lindsey Graham is afraid to speak. All of them are afraid to speak and show their faces contorted with derision, rage, and condescension.
The Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchel has asked many questions but failed to rattle Dr. Blasey or to refute anything she has said.
The lesson today to boys and men: Don’t get dead drunk. Don’t assault women just because they are physically weaker. Behave. Do not take advantage of women. Not your girlfriend. Not your wife. Not your sister. Not your daughter. Not strangers. Treat women with respect, as you want to be treated with respect.
(Senator Lindsey Graham just said on TV that he will vote to confirm Kavanaugh no matter what Dr. Blasey says or how credible she is.)
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I’m not sure I can be a male any longer. Simply disgusting.
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Steve,
You are a good person. Thank you so much.
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Please speak up for all good men. Not every man is like this.
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I will continuously try to be a strong ally for women.
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I wondered why they had this lady from Arizona questioning her also. These Senators’ offices and the Judiciary Committee are stocked with lawyers. I agree that it’s pathetic.
I wonder if Senator Graham is considering running for President in 2020. He’s been obnoxiously reactionary lately, as if he’s specifically speaking to conservative voters.
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Lindsey Graham needs a big brother. It used to be John McCain. Lindsey was very critical of Trump in 2016 and 2017. As soon as McCain stayed home to die, Lindsey attached himself to Trump. No matter how vicious Trump is about mcCain, Lindsey defends Trump. Lindsey loves Trump. Lindsey has replaced McCain-worship with Trump-worship. He is a weakling and a coward. He has no principles. None.
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Lindsey is a closet case and I bet there’s a scandal brewing about him, so he’s sucking up to Trump for support when the scandal breaks.
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I heard some commentator — not sure who because I was away from the TV screen — say that he thinks Lindsay Graham may be hoping to be the next attorney general. He was certainly full of rage during his response to Kavanaugh’s hearing.
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I’ve thought the same thing thing about Graham for the past few months, Ponderosa.
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Thanks for that shrewd insight, Diane. We already have seen Graham waffle wildly on ed issues; as a ‘not-so-terrible’ Republican, he is a disappointment. McCain & Trump are so different, but Graham’s need to loyally serve a ‘big brother’ makes sense of it.
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Beth Unfortunately, the bar for running for President of the US is presently SO LOW (complements of Trump), they could run a dead cockroach and still not sink below it. CBK
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Trump is lower than a dead cockroach. The latter can do no harm.
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LOL. It certainly seems that way!!!!
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Getting “dead drunk” had very little to do with it. Alcohol doesn’t make you do anything – it’s a depressant. What it does is lowers your inhibitions so you can more freely do what you want to do anyway. Unless you secretly want to rape girls, alcohol isn’t going to turn you into a rapist.
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Graham is such a loser
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If viewed only through the prism of the past 20 hours or so—the “press conference” of the the performer masquerading as what was formerly known as the leader of the free world combined with the cowardice, false bravado, and manipulation displayed by Grassley and the rest of the Republican party—one would have to conclude that the American experiment is on cruise control to failure.
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Diane Someone needs to ask Lindsay Graham who his oligarch-trainer is. CBK
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The lesson SHOULD BE to respect all women. Unfortunately, the message being sent by Congress and Trump is that privilege allows you to get away with just about anything, with respecting women last on the list. What a horror for all of the females who have been assaulted, and the many yet to come with this carte blanche crap we are witnessing…
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Respecting women is not lsdt on the Republican Senators’ list. It’s not on their list.
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It’s no longer about telling the truth or trying to understand a pain from long ago that never went away; it s about protecting the “good old boys’ club!”
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Senator Lindsey Graham said after Blasey testimony that since she can’t remember the date and place, her memory is flawed.
He believes Kavanaugh, who said he didn’t do it.
Anyone who watched this spectacle would have found her credible.
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The only way that Kavanaugh will develop a touch of empathy is if his daughters, while they are young, encounter thugs like their Dad and Mark Judge (that’s assuming that Kavanaugh isn’t as creepy with his daughters as Trump is with Ivanka).
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When I coached girls soccer, one of my favorite memories, which was predictable every year, was when a girl would have the wind knocked out of her. The more you play sports, the more you know how to deal with it. But when it’s never happened, there’s this momentary look of panic when the player thinks they won’t be able to breathe. For a moment they think they might die, and then as a coach you can come in as the knight in shining armor and let them know to relax, that it will pass. It was always a great camaraderie builder and laugh at the end of the season.
I had a flashback to this memory today as I watched Dr. Blasey’s testimony as she described what happened to her, the terror she felt that was magnified by the laughter of her assailants. The fear of a 15 year old is different than the fear of an adult. Their universe of experience is smaller and more immediate. I understand that more today than ever. The fear of a 15 year old who thought she might be raped or worse, that she was all alone must have been incredible and it is obvious that it would stay with one for a lifetime.
This is more than a partisan issue. But I will admit to taking a little pleasure in watching Republicans squirm and Sen. Blanche Graham become even more irrationally apoplectic.
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In my opinion, Kavanaugh is toast. Bye, bye. Not to worry, the GOP will dredge up another far right wing/libertarian gargoyle who wants to return us to the 19th century, another originalist nightmare. Vote Democratic in Nov. and in 2020. It’s not perfect but it’s all we have.
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YES!!!
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The Republican senators on the committee don’t have the guts to question Dr. Blasey. They had to hire a woman to do their work. Remember this.
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The Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchel …failed to rattle Dr. Blasey or to refute anything she has said.
If anything she gave support to Dr. Blasey. The questions she asked, and asked again, left no room for doubt about Dr. Blasey’s truths and the integrity of her reasons for coming forward.
“Apoplectic.” is a great word for Sen. Graham’s response.
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Right now Kavanaugh deserves to lose the confirmation because of the way he’s crying and carrying on. Good grief, I used to work with kids with severe emotional/behavioral disturbances and even they’d be jealous of the show he’s putting on. It’s like Golem on Lord of the Rings after he loses the ring. “It’ssssss mine. They ssssstole it from me….”
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I am absolutely OUTRAGED by Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony today. Who does this man think he is? Does he think he is entitled to this job? His refusal to call for an FBI investigation is outrageous. This man is going to be writing the laws of this country? HIs absolute blathering is just disgusting. He is belligerent, aggressive and antagonistic. Who does he presume he is to ask a senator if she drinks? He’s not entitled to this job. HIs diatribe agains the “left” was also disgusting. This process has become a complete sham. I can’t even talk.
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He is an angry partisan and does not have judicial temperament.
His outbursts make him unfit for the Supreme Court
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So true. During the other days, as he was interviewed and dodging questions left and right, when none of these allegations were even on the table, you could see all that anger on his face, so I was not surprised when it came out today. Someone interviewing for virtually any other position with that kind of attitude would never be likely to get the job because it’s so unprofessional. He must have been coached by Trump, because he demonstrated the Roy Cohen tactic of hitting back 10 times harder after feeling slighted by others. It’s not difficult to imagine him easily losing his temper and striking out in other situations, too. Sickening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBKZiRVesOw
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When it comes to temperament, I think we’ll be stuck with yet another Clarence Thomas-type justice. Although Kavanaugh will certainly talk a lot more on the court (he just wouldn’t shut up yesterday), we’ll see yet another angry guy up there on the bench… a very powerful man with a giant axe to grind. He as much admitted that in front of millions of TV viewers.
The effects will reverberate through our entire culture for decades to come.
I’m reminded of Clarence Thomas’s opinion in the Safford Unified School District vs. Redding case in 2009…the case involving strip searches of students in schools. Thomas went out on his own, arguing that courts need to go even further in restricting students’ rights.
He wrote, “Judges are not qualified to second-guess the best manner for maintaining quiet and order in the school environment”. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-479.ZX2.html
Yeah… QUIET and ORDER.
Kavanaugh went off the rails yesterday, yelling and crying for 3+ hours. But we have only started to really hear from him. And, all the while he’ll be expecting us to be quiet and orderly.
Watch out, America.
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John,
Thomas votes right but says nothing. He is silent Clarence.
Gorsuch is the most outspoken member of the zcourt. He lectures his seniors interminably.
Expect more of the same from Kavanaugh. He showed who he is yesterday: angry, rude, aggressive, loud.
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“The effects will reverberate through our entire culture for decades to come.”
What do you mean? K’s effect won’t last long; not even 5 years: the supreme court will be revamped soon by the 99%.
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Máté Wierdl: “K’s effect won’t last long; not even 5 years: the supreme court will be revamped soon by the 99%.”
These are lifetime appointments. How are the 99% [some of whom worship K______, Trump and state the L’s evil ways} going to revamp the Supreme Court? Do you really think there will be a backlash on all of this…OR will Trump’s destruction continue for at least a lifetime.
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OK, CM, 99% minus the 10% hardcore Orangeman groupies.
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Máté Wierdl: This is really neat being out of moderation by just using K [‘the rat’].
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Kavanaugh’s name did not put you in moderation. WordPress did. Inexplicable.
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I thought that WP put messages containing K in moderation because they centrally set the filter to catch that.
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Máté Wierdl: I’m finding that if I use a “K” for the ‘one who can’t be named’ it gets printed. If I spell out all the letters in K’s name, it goes into moderation.
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Yeah, CarolM, that’s what I meant to say too. My experience is the same as yours.
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This business about WP putting the K name into moderation is quite disturbing. Aie yie yie.
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Possibly a little good news- David Cicilline put his name in to become assistant Dem. leader in the next Congress. He is from the state of Rhode Island where the hedge funders’ dream, Raimondo, is governor. In contrast, Cicilline appears to believe in the common good.
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Was Kavanaugh drinking that night? Yes? Heavily? Yes? Then his memory of the events of that night are moot.
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Trump picks the best. What a ‘leader’. He has NO compassion or understand of what was involved. He obviously had his mind made up and Ford’s testimony meant nothing.
…………
In a tweet sent minutes after the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing ended, Trump said Kavanaugh was “powerful, honest, and riveting” while blasting Democrats as “disgraceful.”
“Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!” Trump tweeted.
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Diane – what happened to my comments? Neither was offensive, in fact, I believe you’d agree with them. They were in moderation when I left work, now they’re just gone.
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I went to theater tonight. Saw a funny show called “Desperate Measures”…lots of comments in moderation when I got home. 24 of them.
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You mean you actually have a life outside of this blog?!
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Dienne: I’ve had that happen. Moderation and then “poof’, never to be seen again.
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I listened to all of what Dr. Ford had to say……absolutely believable. Kavanaugh had a strange thing of talking about how much he liked beer. Somewhat believable—–he started ranting, and sounded like he was drunk. Mean drunk.
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I read this after I posted a letter to Diane saying this: “Did you want to go up there and punch Grassley in that smug face?
I did!
He defines the old order— smug as the slug he is, sneering in defiance.
His face, — easily read by any sociologist, teacher or playwright (all of which I am) — defined him at this moment, as women across the nation wept.*
* Vice News showed this… It comes on again on HBO, tonight (thursday 9-27) .
Peter Beinart argues. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/christine-blasey-fords-victory-over-kavanaugh/571561/
“Once her humanity came through—once her sincerity and her agony became impossible for any decent person to deny—it was all over.”
But it isn’t. Like you, I know the old rich boy’s network is in full swing!
…but not for long as the women of this nation say, “Enough.”
The GOP does not know what is about to hit them.
And, Diane, that’s my two cents,
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Dr. Ford’s testimony was absolutely astonishing. Here was an everyday citizen thrust into the maw of a huge, dysfunctional machine, trying to make sense of a tragedy that is hers…and now ours, too. She was sincere, respectful, polite and intelligent. She not only talked about being a good citizen, she was BEING a good citizen, live on TV in front of millions of viewers.
In contrast, Kavanaugh came across as being willing to do just about anything to secure his future place as one of America’s elite. His performance came across as maudlin and obviously rehearsed. For example, ABC news replayed his comment about his daughter asking to pray for his accuser. He refers to his daughter as “little Liza, all of 10 years old…” C’mon….what parent refers to their kids like that. “Little Joey…Little Betty….” https://people.com/politics/kavanaugh-cries-daughter-prayed-accuser/
Of course, people can cry but this guy was a hot mess, flipping back and forth. One moment he was being a loud aggressive lout then seconds later he slips into the contrite, teary choir boy mode -all the while repeating the same canned punchlines over and over ala Marco Rubio in the 2016 debates. Oh, but he wrote his comments all my himself. Oooo….Ahhh…. Like that’s a big deal for a guy about to make huge, life altering decisions on the bench??
But, isn’t that what some of his old buddies have been saying about Kavanaugh…that he has this aggressive side?
A steady, judicial temperament it was not.
It’s scary…this guy could be on the court for the next 30+ years. Another bomb dropped on our republic by the orange one.
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If this were a liberal President proposing a liberal Supreme Court justice — say, Bill Clinton — we wouldn’t hear one peep about the man’s supposed past.
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We sure heard plenty about Bill Clinton’s past and present sexuality at the time. From none other than Ken Starr and his attack dog Brett Kavanaugh.
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You mean like how we never heard a peep about Clinton’s supposed past?
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There’s a difference between philandering, assault and serial assault. The world is finally hearing public peeps about what was usually suppressed in the very recent past. And this is far beyond our pol machines.
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We never did hear anything about Bill Clinton. Congress did nothing except impeach him.
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LOL!
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Kavanaugh’s self-righteous rage and Graham’s indignant fury came off as total grandstanding and straight from the poor-me Trump playbook. I suspect that was planned so they could play to the poorly educated Trump base, scapegoat Hillary and erroneously blame Democrats again for all ills.
These are our leaders? OMG. Once again this week, on the world stage, it’s very embarrassing to be an American.
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Graham is all sound and fury signifying nothing. For me it’s simple, by wanting to abide by the Republican-controlled committee’s decision, BK knows there won’t be an FBI fact-finding investigation to clear his name. CBF welcomes such fact-finding. Therefore he is a perjurer. It did happen.
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Republicans and Kavanaugh were disgusting. And scary.
From Charlie Pierce at Esquire:
“Kavanaugh gave every indication that he would very much be the angry, belligerent inebriate that many of his college friends have said he is…Republicans were not satisfied with how Rachel Mitchell had handled the questioning of Ford. So, when she edged up against the possibility of what may have happened on that long ago day in July, it was time for her to go…Brett Kavanaugh is now far more dangerous a nominee for the Supreme Court than he was when the day began. He will be a wrathful judge. He pretty much said so, and his supporters on the committee enthusiastically encouraged it.”
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23499571/brett-kavanaugh-hearing-republicans-white-male-rage/
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No liberal can expect justice or even a fair hearing from Kavanaugh. His hatred was in full throttle yesterday. He is unbalanced and vengeful.
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“He is unbalanced and vengeful.”
Don’t supreme court justice candidates need to undergo psych evaluations?
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Looks like the R didn’t learn anything from Kavanaugh’s outrageous outbursts. We are supposed to understand the ‘unquenchable rage on the R for having hits sprung on them at the last minute’. Where is the rage about not getting the truth? Trump’s tactics of never admit to a wrong and accuse the victim seem to be working on those who don’t think or have compassion for the depth of sexual abuse harm.
………………………………..
Reliable Sources: Left and right reactions to the Ford-Kavanaugh hearings
— “This was men against women, right against left, a cascade of recriminations, explosions of anger, hours of tears and sobs,” WaPo’s Marc Fisher wrote…
— TownHall’s Katie Pavlich responded and said: “Nope. There were millions of women on Kavanaugh’s side today…”
— Megan McArdle tweeted: “I think the left half of the political spectrum really doesn’t understand the unquenchable rage on the right at having this sprung on them at the last minute. I’m not sure the right understands the unquenchable rage that would result on the left from confirming Kavanaugh…”
— Kellyanne Conway on Laura Ingraham’s show: “I think what people will ultimately remember from today is Judge Kavanaugh,” not Ford…
— Douglas Brinkley on “CNN Tonight:” Kavanaugh “came off as a tool of Donald Trump…”
https://shar.es/a1Ypet
Check out this story on CNNMoney: https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/28/media/reliable-sources-09-27-18/index.html
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“All of them are afraid to speak and show their faces contorted with derision, rage, and condescension.”
Probably, they have their own sexual assault stories, and they are afraid that if they just open their mouth, somebody would start investigating, somebody from their past would start accusing them.
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Kavanaugh’s confirmation moves the needle closer to a predictable devastating period of uprising against the richest 0.1%, the Kochs/Mercers/Uhlein/Arnold,…. The result has the potential to stop injustice or to solidify the power of the oligarchy.
Volatility and violence is the inevitable result of declining wages and opportunities, of the hedge funders’ takeover of Social Security, of rampant debauchery and excessive spending by the privileged and witnessed in real time by millions, a partisan judiciary implementing punishments for the rich, and a younger generation whose education dollars were pocketed by grifters.
The 90% will rage at the injustice of a fixed system that denies them jobs, while the corporate owned media blame them for the disparity between industry demanded qualifications and their skills- a media, greased by the ruling class’ thank tanks and universities who provided cover for labor exploitation.
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“and universities who provided cover for labor exploitation.”
Unfortunately, Linda, you are correct. Hopefully, there are some colleges which are exceptions. But I’d be surprised if there were any state universities among the exceptions.
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Grand Valley State University in Michigan provides an interesting example. The administration set up a a department for charter schools. Egregiously, the department’s web page promotes a private, fee charging, Google business, for teacher “certification”. The state’s attorney general should review use of a public institution’s website for private gain.
On the other hand, the acting GVSU Department Chair of Education appears to be attempting to serve the public trust with the information on the academic department’s site.
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“Egregiously, the department’s web page promotes a private, fee charging, Google business, for teacher “certification”. ”
Relay graduate school (online, private) tried to establish itself on our campus, wanted $5 million/year from the university but we could sink that effort. On the other hand, the private company ETS is responsible for the praxis exam for TN teachers.
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Twitter explanation for Lindsay Graham’s tirade, “some rich prick elitist friend of his got called out for sexual assault”… twitter question for Lindsey, “This is the most despicable thing you’ve seen? Not kids in cages, White supremacists, nor Trump praising dictators.”
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Kavanaugh owes a lot to Trump. We can now be assured that a sitting president won’t be investigated nor indicted.
The American Bar Association called for delaying a confirmation vote until an F.B.I. investigation could be completed. The association previously rated Kavanaugh as “well qualified.” It now says that “the rule of law and due process” demand a delay.
Oh my goodness. The far L has taken over the American Bar Association and is part of a plot to destroy a good man’s life. BS
…………………………………………………………………………..
Trump’s Tweet on Kavanaugh:
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
Judge Kavanaugh shows America exactly why I
nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest,
and riveting. Democrats’ search
and destroy strategy is disgraceful and
this process has been a total sham and
effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The
Senate must vote!
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Oh good grief. I’ve posted two items about ______ and both are in moderation. Hope they don’t disappear.
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Twitter about the hearing, “Imagine an alternative reality where Ford had yelled, cried, engaged in self-pity and interrupted senators with snarky questions.”, to Lindsey Graham, “Cause y’know you bent over backwards to be fair to to Judge Merrick Garland”,
“Dr. Ford gets prosecutorial questions and Kavanaugh gets 5 min. of defense from 11 male Republicans. How did that happen?”
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I thought the Senate’s decision to use, as primary questioner, a non-partisan sex-crimes prosecutor, was a good move, not cowardice. If anything it showed they knew they would be questioning a bona fide victim, not a poseur. Therefore needed an atmosphere of neutrality and calm.
Blasey Ford’s testimony was hard to hear, but pretty much as I anticipated: obviously-credible relating of an excruciating event whose memory, typical of victims of violence, was long kept at bay. On-target (credibility-wise), & poignant: it finally popped out during a house-reno when she heard herself trying to justify an irrational “2nd front door” [extra security against a victimizer who could well end up on SCOTUS someday].
Kavanaugh’s testimony was a revelation. Whining, outrage, tears of humiliation: not even the tiniest acknowledgment of what were clearly [ref Judge’s memoir] days of debauchery, no– I was a total Boy Scout then as today. Repeated vilifying of all Democrats on the committee, ranking member especially. Refusal to demand thorough investigation to clear his name. Parroting partisan denigration of FBI, belittling their official inquiries as issuing of a couple of useless “302 forms.” Looking for all the world like a cornered rat. Judicial demeanor? Hardly.
Among callers-in to this a.m.’s CSPAN Wash Jnl show: a longtime cop who’d conducted many an interrogation. (Also a Rep, who’d been for Kavanaugh’s confirmation before yesterday). He said he’d assume guilt here. Two tell-tale specifics: those accused wrongly come in indignantly demanding polygraph, full investigation etc. And Kavanaugh’s long pause when asked if he wanted this: classic (the cop said) regrouping to formulate an answer.
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I disagree. Blasey Ford was not on trial. If they wanted an investigation, they could have asked the FBI to open one.
They used the female prosecutor so they would not show their rage and ugly expressions, as they knew they would demean and belittle her if they opened their mouths.
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It was reported from the Capitol corridors that the move was to prevent old white guys from showing their prejudice and disdain for women.
Now, one more elitist, woman-objectifying, arrogant 1950’s throwback, jerk, just like the Republican judiciary committee members, will be the deciding vote on minority rights and justice and opportunities for the 99%.
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“Looking for all the world like a cornered rat.”
Ha! We should refer to K as “the rat”, then we won’t be sent to the moderation box here—and would feel better too.
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Republicans can now say that they have been fair because Ford and K [alias ‘the rat’] both got to testify. Americans should have had the accounts of other relevant witnesses.
Would people have accepted that a corrupt FBI would really tell the truth? I’m sure Trump and all of his loyal followers would just assume the FBI was biased. After all, the FBI is even now asking for a delay so that justice can prevail.
Who wants the truth…not the GOP. They are in power. This is not a bit good.
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What America saw on display yesterday was the barely contained rage of a functioning alcoholic.
Brett Kavanaugh’s adolescent response to every question about drinking was characteristic of a serous alcohol problem. To one Senator, “What do you like to drink?” he asked. To Amy Klobuchar , “Have you blacked out?” He proudly said, several times, “I liked beer! I like beer now!” As with many alcoholics, the defiant emphasis on “beer” was supposed to make it “fun” not serious. Boys and their brewskis. I very much doubt that Kavanaugh limits his alcohol to beer, but that is a very common technique to minimize the idea of heavy drinking. It just a few pops, folks, nothing to look at here.
This is relevant because his entire affect was typical of the stunted emotional growth of a lifelong heavy drinker. His temperament throughout the hearing was combative and occasionally sarcastic. He reminded me of an aging rugby teammate, not a thoughtful federal judge.
I am among those who find Christine Blasey Ford (and the other accusers) credible. For that reason he should be rejected. But he also lacks the temperament and wisdom to serve on the nation’s highest court.
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Your description is worthy of national publication, S.N.
With luck, cirrhosis of the liver will take care of the nation’s problem before too much harm can result. Kavanaugh is Steve Bannon and Mark Judge’s clone.
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Flake says he will vote to confirm K [‘the rat’]
GOP Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) said on Friday that he is supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, giving him a significant boost as Republicans try to confirm him early next week.
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Oh well, one can’t stay out of moderation forever. I was pushing my luck.
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“.@LindseyGrahamSC has more decency and courage than every Democrat member of the committee combined. God bless him,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted on Thursday.
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Good. Women are demanding something better.
…..
Just after Senator Jeff Flake said he would vote to confirm Judge Brett M. K to the Supreme Court, he was confronted at a Senate elevator by two crying women who said they had been sexually assaulted.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” one woman said. “You are telling me that my assault doesn’t matter, that what happened to me doesn’t, and that you’re going to let people who do these things into power.”
Mr. Flake stood largely mute, his gaze mainly to the ground, as the women held open the elevator and made their case to no avail.
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I’m beginning to think less and less about the elite private schools. They have turned out people like Trump and Kavanaugh…people with no morals.
…………..
Columbia Sociologist Explains Why Kavanaugh Thinks He Can Get Away With Blatantly Lying @alternet
Rules don’t apply to him.
By Brad Reed / Raw Story
…To explain Kavanaugh’s mendacity, Shamus Khan, the chair of the sociology department at Columbia University, has written an op-ed for the Washington Post in which he explains that the Supreme Court nominee was raised from an early age to believe that rules don’t apply to him.
In particular, he said that the institutions where Kavanaugh was educated — Georgetown Prep, Yale University and Yale Law School — foster a sense of entitlement that gives them a perceived license to lie.
“Schools are often quite open in affirming the idea that, because you are better, you are not governed by the same dynamics as everyone else,” he writes. “I heard these messages constantly when I attended St. Paul’s, one of the most exclusive New England boarding schools, where boys and girls broke rules with impunity, knowing that the school would protect them from the police and that their families would help ensure only the most trivial of consequences.”
https://www.alternet.org/columbia-sociologist-explains-why-kavanaugh-thinks-he-can-get-away-blatantly-lying#.W65Mt__jeLY.gmail
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This came from the WH:
The Wall Street Journal: “Confirm Brett Kavanaugh”
“It’s time for Senators to stand up and confirm Brett Kavanaugh.”
Editorial
The Wall Street Journal
September 27, 2018
Thursday’s Senate hearing on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination was an embarrassment that should have never happened. Judge Kavanaugh was right to call the confirmation process a “disgrace” in his passionate self-defense, and whatever one thinks of Christine Blasey Ford’s assault accusation, she offered no corroboration or new supporting evidence.
As for Judge Kavanaugh, his self-defense was as powerful and emotional as the moment demanded. If he was angry at times, imagine how you would feel if you were so accused and were innocent as he says he is. To deny the allegations as he did—invoking his children and parents and so many others who know him—and be lying would mean that he is a sociopath. If he were found to be lying, he would be impeached and probably prosecuted. Nothing in his long record in public life betrays the kind of behavior he is accused of against women.
Had he not been as forceful, his opponents would have said he looked guilty…
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/wall-street-journal-confirm-brett-kavanaugh/?utm_source=link
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carolmalaysia We can expect no less from a frat-boy mentality. CBK
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Wall Street drags down GDP and exploits labor. I would expect them to shill for Kavanaugh.
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Just say K.
Kavanaugh sends your comment into moderation!
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