Supreme Court Nominee

[Snoopster]

Well, what a day! Just a few of my own thoughts....

Grassley really tried to make us believe that Dr. Ford was quite fortunate to be "allowed" to testify. Whereas, I was fully cognizant of the fact that all Americans were quite fortunate that Dr. Ford was brave enough to upend her life and reveal the character of Brett Kavanaugh.

Any scintilla of respect I had left for Lindsey Graham before his little tirade today is now gone. And his claim that this is the most unethical sham he's seen in politics was not only disingenuous, but quite revisionist. He seems to have conveniently forgotten all about Merrick Garland. BTW Linds, righteous indignation is not a good look on you.

I'm officially enamored with Corey Booker and Kamala Harris.

Brett Kavanaugh is clearly 100% partisan and far too emotional to sit on the Supreme Court, IMO. And righteous indignation isn't a good look on him, either.

I found Dr. Ford's testimony to be very believable. And I assume anyone who was sexually assaulted would be much more likely to recall the details of a party that occurred 37 years ago than anyone who was inebriated or just hanging out.

If I hear ONE MORE TIME how an FBI investigation works, I will scream! That said, there should be an FBI investigation. I guess Kavanaugh doesn't want that so Trump will not order it. Shocker!

Sadly, I fear Kavanaugh will be appointed and there will be a dark cloud over him for the duration of his service on the Supreme Court. How unfortunate for all of the American people. But we know now, he likes beer!

As something of an aside.....I saw a lot of speculation today that Lindsey Graham is after the Attorney General appointment and that he is the reason Trump is so critical of Sessions. Have you all heard this?

"I'm officially enamored with Corey Booker and Kamala Harris."

Yup, me too, especially Kamala. Man, is she strong, solid and to-the-point!? Her questions were straightforward and she expected straighforward replies. She didn't always receive them.

 

[Mica]

Link doesn't work for me.

Try this....page down to video of Biden.

My Democrat friends might want to consider this from then-Judiciary Committee Chairman JOE BIDEN (D-DE) In 1991: The ‘FBI Explicitly Does Not, In This Or Any Other Case Reach A Conclusion, Period’

Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) on Twitter

 

[simba16]

It means she was planning to go public in August. Feinstein could have asked for an FBI investigation then. She didn't.

Investigative tool? That's a joke. She was only asked two questions about the assault. JMO

Lie detectors are used to test general honesty so obviously Kavanaugh didn't want to chance it.

 

[Hope4More]

Does anyone here hold an opinion on Kavanaughs guilt or innocence that is in opposition to their political viewpoints?

In other words, Are there any liberals here who think he is innocent or any conservatives who believe him to be guilty?

I honestly do not believe this confirmation, at this point, should have anything to do with political beliefs. It doesn't for me.

I didn't like Kavanaugh from the get-go because I think he will do a great deal of damage on the bench, obviously IMO. But early on, what became more important to me was what I saw was a lack of basic honesty. I'm convinced he committed perjury, for example, about his awareness of receiving & using materials stolen from Sen. Leahy.

That was bad enough. I'm old fashioned. I believe character matters, especially in a judge, and very especially, in a Supreme Court justice.

Far, far, far worse is the reality that someone who is yes, IMO clearly guilty of sexual assault, at least one, and who has lied about that, will likely sit on the Supreme Court , and especially as a survivor, as a woman who was raped by a man with power and authority, who was raped by a police officer, who was told by a police officer as I was being raped that no one would believe me because he was a police officer and I was only a girl, I find that reality unbearable, and the sympathy expressed for the perpetrator, nothing less than nauseating.

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Does anyone here hold an opinion on Kavanaughs guilt or innocence that is in opposition to their political viewpoints?

In other words, Are there any liberals here who think he is innocent or any conservatives who believe him to be guilty?

This doesn't directly answer your question, but I changed my voter party affiliation. Too many reasons why to list here.

 

[bluedivergirl]

Lie detectors are used to test general honesty so obviously Kavanaugh didn't want to chance it.

No. Lie detectors are notoriously inconclusive. If a person truly believes what they are stating, it will come back as truthful.

The problem is in faulty memories. I believe Blasey-Ford has experienced trauma. I also think she has misplaced the source of the trauma.

 

[Inthedetails]

Try this....page down to video of Biden.

My Democrat friends might want to consider this from then-Judiciary Committee Chairman JOE BIDEN (D-DE) In 1991: The ‘FBI Explicitly Does Not, In This Or Any Other Case Reach A Conclusion, Period’

Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) on Twitter

FBI investigation does not reach a conclusion. Got it. But an FBI investigation provides information that is given to the decision makers who then make a conclusion, right? People calling for an investigation are not asking the FBI to make the decision, but to find information.

Honestly, any further investigation wouldn't matter as supporter of this candidate won't care what FBI findings are anyway, imo.

jmo

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Christine Ford's prepared testimony

Brett Kavanaugh's full opening testimony

 

[RANCH]

FBI investigation does not reach a conclusion. Got it. But an FBI investigation provides information that is given to the decision makers who then make a conclusion, right? People calling for an investigation are not asking the FBI to make the decision, but to find information.

Honestly, any further investigation wouldn't matter as supporter of this candidate won't care what FBI findings are anyway, imo.

jmo

What if there is no more information for the FBI to find?

 

[HoneyWest]

I felt that Kavanaugh was lying almost every time he answered a question. It seems several of his friends from college are thinking the same thing. Here's a video of one of his Yale friends.

Cuomo Prime Time on Twitter

 

[Mica]

FBI investigation does not reach a conclusion. Got it. But an FBI investigation provides information that is given to the decision makers who then make a conclusion, right? People calling for an investigation are not asking the FBI to make the decision, but to find information.

Honestly, any further investigation wouldn't matter as supporter of this candidate won't care what FBI findings are anyway, imo.

jmo

About an FBI Investigation...

>>snip

In a statement released by the White House late Thursday, in an effort to “set the record straight” on the FBI process, they noted that it is “the job of the Senate to assess and investigate a nominee’s qualifications when deciding whether to consent a nomination.”

“The Committee’s standard procedure for supplemental background investigations is to conduct phone or in-person interviews with the relevant parties to discuss the underlying issues,” the White House statement read. “In this case, an FBI investigation would not involve an investigation into the facts surrounding a 36-year-old party.”

The statement added: “That would be outside the FBI’s regular jurisdiction. Instead, the FBI would obtain statements from the alleged participants and pass along those statements to the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Alleged participants, according to the White House, have provided statements on the matter to the Committee, which Grassley acknowledged Thursday, listing the names of those Ford claimed were at the gathering where the alleged sexual assault occurred.

“The FBI would not make a determination of the credibility of these allegations, or of Judge Kavanaugh’s guilt or innocence in this matter,” the White House said.

Kavanaugh in fiery exchange with Sen. Durbin over call for FBI probe

 

[Inthedetails]

What if there is no more information for the FBI to find?

Then the report would be blank I suppose. IDK. I'm not an FBI expert.

 

[Boodles]

What if there is no more information for the FBI to find?

But there is. For starters: Mark Judge. And then more.

 

[Hope4More]

No. Lie detectors are notoriously inconclusive. If a person truly believes what they are stating, it will come back as truthful.

The problem is in faulty memories. I believe Blasey-Ford has experienced trauma. I also think she has misplaced the source of the trauma.

Misplaced the source of her trauma? What could that possibly mean? Have you ever had a truly traumatic experience? Of any kind? If so, being honest with yourself, have you ever forgotten the most basic details of that trauma?

I am almost 60. I was raped by a police officer I had never seen before, when I was 17 years old (and no, I was neither in trouble or in custody , nor had I done anything wrong of any kind, even a minor anything).

I remember his face. I remember his smell. I remember the paralyzing fear I felt. I remember what I now know was adrenaline, in mind and body, taking over, guiding my decisions to fight or flee or submit , whichever would give me a better chance of surviving. I remember how I felt, before, during, and after. I remember the silence after I fled, and how destroyed I already felt. I remember the shower I took as soon as I was safely home, even what kind of soap I used, and that I turned the water on so hot for so long I was bright red when I got out, and that I still didn't feel clean, didn't think I would ever feel clean. I remember not being able to scream in the shower, or to cry very loudly , because my mother might hear, my brothers might hear, and then I would have to explain or tell or say something , which I could not do then, or for the next 20 or so years.

Not saying is NOT the same as not being spared the agonizing memories of the trauma.

 

[simba16]

White House and Senate Republicans clearly do not want FBI investigation because they are afraid of information that would turn up as former classmates are coming forward disputing Kavanaugh. Interesting on his calendar on July 1 he notes he is with Judge and P.J. so that could have been day of assault as those are people Dr Ford said was at party.

 

[Snoopster]

So all Kavanaugh had to do to get the FBI to investigate this case was to just ask them?

You sure about that?

I'm pretty sure that all he had to say was that he supported it. I didn't say he was responsible for making them investigate. Yet he couldn't even say that.

 

[Fairy1]

I know people who have been questioned by the FBI and they were spilling their guts. Of course, they weren't paid off by any politicians........

 

[simba16]

I'm so sorry Hope. Such a painful week with too many coming forward with horrible stories. I hope this can be a healing time.

 

[HoneyWest]

White House and Senate Republicans clearly do not want FBI investigation because they are afraid of information that would turn up as former classmates are coming forward disputing Kavanaugh. Interesting on his calendar on July 1 he notes he is with Judge and P.J. so that could have been day of assault as those are people Dr Ford said was at party.

This is already happening. A woman by the name of Lynn Brookes was a friend of his at Yale and is telling how Brett was a hard partier, frequently drank to excess in school, was stumbling down drunk the night he joined his fraternity. I attached the video up in my previous post.

 

[Inthedetails]

Yesterday I wondered why the hearing couldn't be delayed to gather more info. Today, I don't care about that at all. After today's hearing and witnessing his demeanor, I wonder how anyone can support this candidate.

The FBI debate is a distraction. We know enough.

I don't think he was chosen with honorable intentions. I didn't want to think that, but after today, I do. I've got to take a break from the thread and the coverage. It's incredibly disappointing to me that he is even considered, let alone likely to be confirmed.

Carry on, I'll catch up later.

jmo