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SEPTEMBER 20,  2018

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       Permalink

OH DEAR, ET TU CORY? – AT 1:45 P.M. ET:  As Justice Brandeis said, sunlight is the best disinfectant.  From Fox: 

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is facing accusations of hypocrisy over his calls to delay the confirmation vote of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid sexual misconduct allegations, as he once admitted groping a friend without her consent in high school.

The senator, who urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to first let the FBI conduct an investigation after California professor Christine Blasey Ford accused the high court nominee of sexual assault over 35 years ago, once wrote an article detailing an instance where he groped a female friend.

“New Year's Eve 1984 I will never forget. I was 15. As the ball dropped, I leaned over to hug a friend and she met me instead with an overwhelming kiss. As we fumbled upon the bed, I remember debating my next 'move' as if it were a chess game,” Booker wrote in the student-run Stanford Daily newspaper in 1992.

“With the 'Top Gun' slogan ringing in my head, I slowly reached for her breast. After having my hand pushed away once, I reached my 'mark,’” he continued, without explaining what he meant by “mark.”

“Our groping ended soon and while no 'relationship' ensued, a friendship did. You see, the next week in school she told me that she was drunk that night and didn't really know what she was doing,” he added.

Booker’s intent of the column was to detail his transformation from a 15-year-old who was “trotting around the bases and stealing second” to someone who was called a “man-hater” over his pro-women views.

COMMENT:  Nothing will happen to Booker.  He's a Democrat who, like Bill Clinton, is entitled to 30 or 40 free gropes.

Hypocrisy indeed.

September 20, 2018       Permalink

SLAM DUNK – AT 12:33 P.M. ET:   AMERICANS ARE WORKING, JOBS ARE INCREASING – FROM CNBC: 

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, hitting near a 49-year low in a sign the job market remains strong.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 201,000 for the week ended Sept. 15, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That is the lowest level since November 1969. Data for the prior week's claims was unrevised.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 210,000 in the latest week.

The Labor Department said only claims for Hawaii were estimated last week. The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, declined by 2,250 to 205,750 last week, the lowest level since December 1969.

The labor market is viewed as being near or at full employment. It continues to strengthen, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 201,000 jobs in August and annual wage growth notching its biggest gain in more than nine years. Job openings hit an all-time high of 6.9 million in July.

COMMENT:  Who could ask for anything more?  However, we're not sure that this will translate into votes for the GOP in November.  Some political analysts note that the economy is a political factor only when it's poor.  When it's good, some voters forget about it and go on to other issues.

It's the oldest political story:  What have you done for me lately?

September 20, 2018       Permalink

THE PRESIDENT HOLDS – AT 11:56 A.M. ET:  One key question is whether President Trump's standing is being hurt by the Kavanaugh circus.   So far the answer is no.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty percent (50%) disapprove. 

The latest figures include 33% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 43% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10.

COMMENT:  Remember that we are facing midterms, not a presidential election.  It may well be that the Kavanaugh thing has no immediate political effect, although it may affect the approval ratings of those directly involved in the Senate confrontation.

September 20,  2018     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 19,  2018

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

KAVANAUGH UPDATE:  Chairman Grassley has given Professor Ford until 10 a.m. Friday morning to agree to testify before the Judiciary Committee Monday morning.  If she does not agree, the chairman will continue the committee's move toward a vote on Judge Kavanaugh, which can come as early as Friday afternoon, but likely will come next week.  Republicans in the Senate appear united that the process must go forward.  I think there is genuine anger that the confirmation process was disrupted at the last minute by a charge out of the blue.

KAVANAUGH THEORY – We don't much like "may" stories here.   You know, this "may" happen.  (On the other hand it may not.)  But there is a thoughtful idea circulating, based on comments by sources I consider reliable – that the whole Kavanaugh case rests on mistaken identity.  The sources say the truth will come out within days.  I don't know the basis for this report, and so we are cautious.  But mistaken identity in cases like this is commonplace.   Proving mistaken identity would probably involve having the name and testimony of the actual perpetrator, if there is one.

THE RIDICULOUS MEDIA – FROM NEWSBUSTERS:   Last night, two of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s high school classmates, each named by accuser Christine Blasey Ford as witnesses to the 1982 assault she alleges Kavanaugh committed, issued public statements flatly denying that they saw anything even resembling Ford’s story.  Yet today, CNN viewers have barely heard a peep about these denials, even as the Kavanaugh story dominates their on-air coverage. From 4:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern, CNN spent 3 hours and 23 minutes talking about the Kavanaugh controversy, but only about eight minutes of that were devoted to passing along these confirmations of Kavanaugh’s denial.  This has become the standard at too many news outlets.  When will conservatives learn that most of the press is against them, and that traditional notions of journalistic fairness are out the window?

September 19,  2018     Permalink

JUST AWFUL – AT 1:25 P.M. ET:  This is identity politics at its worst.  From Fox: 

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono blasted “the men in this country,” blaming them for sexual assault and urged them to “just shut up and step up” amid allegations of misconduct against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

At a press conference Tuesday evening, the Hawaii Democrat made the sweeping generalization against “the men” in the U.S. for “perpetuating” sexual assault.

“I expect the men in this country and the men on this committee, because we all signed onto this letter, to demand an FBI investigation,” Hirono said, referring to a request that the FBI investigate the claims made by Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.

“But really, guess who is perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It’s the men in this country. And I just want to say to the men in this country: just shut up and step up, do the right thing for a change,” Hirono said.

COMMENT:  What a jerk.  The fact is that women have men in their lives – fathers, husbands, brothers, sons, grandsons – and they care about them, and care about them being fairly treated. 

No one denies that sexual assaults occur.  Of course they do.

But in a democracy we demand a high standard of justice, for false or incorrect charges are made all the time.  We insist that the accused have the right to face his accuser.  We insist on real evidence, taken under oath.  We insist that a case be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.  We insist that justice be separated from politics.

The senator's comments are bigoted and ignorant, as is she.  She does the real cause of assaulted women great harm.  She may not care, as political gain is the motive, not justice for women.

September 19, 2018        Permalink

WHAT? – AT 11:54 A.M. ET:  Either President Trump is the shrewdest politician going, or a serial blunderer who can't keep his mouth shut.  We prefer the former.  From Daily Mail: 

President Trump said Wednesday that a credible allegation from Christine Ford at a Monday hearing that will determine the fate of Supreme Court nominee would be 'interesting' and it would force him to take another look at the situation.

Ford has not said whether she will take senators up on their offer to have her appear before the Judiciary Committee on Monday.

 'If she shows up that would be wonderful,' Trump told reporters awaiting his departure in Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. 'If she doesn’t show up that would be unfortunate.'

Trump again said that he feels terribly for Kavanaugh and his family and pounced on Democrats for suppressing the negative information for weeks until it was nearly time to vote on the appointment.

Trump said Tuesday a news conference that a sex attack allegation against Kavanaugh is 'shame' and referred to the judge whose nomination is hanging on by a thread as a 'great gentleman.'

'I feel so badly for him that he’s going through this be honest with you. I feel so badly for him. This is not a man that deserves this,' Trump told journalists.

The president pinned the blame for the 11th-hour chaos on Democrats, who he accused of resisting and obstructing his every move. He said he'd support an FBI prove into Kavanaugh's accuser's charge, except the law enforcement agency has said 'that’s not what they do.' 

COMMENT:  It is possible that the president is putting on a bit of a charm offensive – unusual for him – to lure Ford to testify in public, where her story, with all its incredible gaps, would not hold up.  Or, the president has simply made a foolish remark that will erode support for the judge.

It is a very messy affair, and ugly.  This is no standard of justice.

September 19,  2018     Permalink