SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

RIDICULOUS – As you probably know, Professor Christine Ford, Judge Kavanaugh's accuser, has now condescended to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but only if certain conditions are met.  It's absurd – an accuser who's already damaged the reputation of a fine man, without providing any proof, demanding her own conditions.  Among the conditions is that the judge testify first.  That is crazy.  The accuser always testifies first, and then the person being accused replies to the accusation.  How can Kavanaugh reply to an accusation he hasn't heard in full?  Another condition is that only senators ask questions.  More nonsense.  It is common for staff lawyers for each side to ask questions, as they are the ones who've directly done the investigating.  I hope the Republicans stand firm and make clear who makes the rules.

ALREADY? – FROM FOX:   Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s campaign on Thursday invited supporters to a fundraiser next month with the two attorneys representing Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, according to an invitation obtained by Fox News -- only to abruptly cancel those plans after they became public.  The two attorneys, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, have been in the news advocating on Ford’s behalf and negotiating with Senate Republicans about whether Ford will testify on her allegations. The nominee has denied sexually assaulting Ford in high school.  “Please Join Debra Katz, Lisa Banks and End Citizens United for Cocktails and Conversation with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to support her re-election campaign,” read the invitation, which Fox News received from two separate sources.   But the Baldwin campaign told Fox News that Katz and Banks are no longer “involved in the event,” saying the fundraiser was scheduled before Ford made the allegations.  The hell it was.  They simply got caught exploiting the Kavanaugh controversy for political gain, exposing what we already know – that this whole case is a political exercise.

WE'LL BUY YOU THE TICKETS – FROM CTV NEWS:  TORONTO -- If things go awry for Michael Moore following the release of his latest politically charged documentary, the progressive provocateur says he has a plan to escape potential persecution in the U.S.: He's moving to Canada.  It's a pronouncement so common among aggrieved American liberals that it borders on a political trope. But Moore says he's serious about his plot to vacate the U.S., and not only because of his long-standing affinity for Canada.  For Moore, the prospect of becoming a political refugee seems starkly plausible under the leadership of U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he portrays as a geopolitical threat in "Fahrenheit 11/9," set to hit theatres Friday.  Please carry out your threat.  Pretty please.  John Kerry can get you a good tax deal.

September 20, 2018