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On this blog, I have argued with presidents (Republican and Democratic), the Senate, the House, pundits, and many others. This is political discourse. It isn’t perfect, but it is much better than the nothing that many countries have. I thank Veterans for Freedom that I have to blog, speak, write, and work.
Thanks to all of the American Veterans.
Look, let us take a deep breath. Let us see what is happened over the last week with regards to the Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. As expected, Kavanaugh had a bruising and contentious hearing. He had stuck to a well-worn playbook in which you basically say nothing. This is the playbook that he helped develop over the last 20 to 30 years. Then, comes a story that kind of bubbles up from the background. Some lady, someone we have never heard of before, accuses Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when he was a teenager. Does his behavior as a teenager reflect on the man that he is now? Maybe? Many of my friends that follow me on Facebook, or people that I have been friends with for over 40 years. They know that we did dumb and somewhat embarrassing stuff when we were kids. Yet, I think this is important, how you defend yourself now reflects on not who you were 30 years ago but what kind of man you are now. You are about to be appointed to the highest court in the land. This is the time when you can show us, Americans, exactly who you are. Is it possible that you are roundly accused? Of course it is. Stand up and face your accuser. Do not go on Fox News and hide behind the beautiful anchorwoman who is throwing softball questions. We all remember David Vitter who stated that he loved his wife and would never be associated with a DC Madam. We remember Larry Craig who, with his wife standing beside him, denied the allegations of propositioning a male police officer in an airport bathroom. Brett Kavanaugh had an opportunity to clear his name. He could have and would have been granted an opportunity in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. All he had to do was ask Charles Grassley for a fair hearing. Not a kangaroo court but a fair hearing where witnesses from both sides could be heard. He is Brett Kavanaugh. He is not just a lawyer. He is one of the super lawyers in our country. He could have and should have presented a marvelous defense of his character. Instead, like a drunken sailor, he keeps swinging wildly at as a target. Well practiced phrases like “outrageous” and “twilight zone” roll off of his lips.
All of this should have been anticipated by the White House. We are currently living in the #MeToo movement. It was hard if not impossible not to anticipate that some female was not going to come out of Brett Kavanaugh’s past. The problem is, it appears that they have allowed the president to handle the media coordination and statements. Deny, deny and counter deny may work if you are a reality TV star. You cannot use the same media playbook if you are being nominated to the Supreme Court.
Here is the real problem, conservative Democrats now, cannot support Brett Kavanaugh in any way. Female Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have a real problem. In the past, they have spoken out in favor of women’s issues. Now, can they support Brett Kavanaugh? Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination is really in trouble. The math to confirm him is really turning against him. To me, the turning point was when a woman who supported Brett Kavanaugh and then found her own name being disparaged in his yearbook and she withdrew her support. That was the turning point.
Let me be clear, I believe that Brett Kavanaugh is a smart, gifted conservative lawyer. I believe that he is bad for our country. Yet, I do want him to have a fair hearing. I never, ever want to see anyone be publicly dismantled like this. It is sad. No man should be put through such scrutiny but this is the political process that we live with. This is what happens in a democracy. We now live in an environment of no holds barred democracy. This is the environment that help create Donald Trump. Changing our environment is going to be difficult. I pray for our democracy.
I guess it is time for a news Roundup.
Hurricane Florence just simply devastated North and South Carolina. Here, you can give to hurricane relief. I did.
So, 27 years ago, George HW Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to replace the irreplaceable Thurgood Marshall. Basically, he sailed through the hearings. Then, there were some allegations of sexual harassment. These allegations were brought by Anita Hill. They both worked at the Department of Education and the EEOC. Anita Hill reported to Clarence Thomas. Reportedly, Clarence Thomas had asked her out several times and she refused his advances. He graphically described the details of his anatomy to her. The hearings, the back-and-forth between Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, was riveting television. In the end, the Senate decided to ignore Anita Hill and support Clarence Thomas.
Now we have Brett Kavanagh versus Christine Blasey Ford. Unlike 27 years ago, Sen. Chuck Grassley has decided there will be no FBI investigation. There are several issues to discuss here. First, the event occurred 30 years ago. Should Kavanagh be accountable for his actions when he was a teenager? Secondly, according to Christine Blasey Ford, there was 3rd person in the room. Yet, for some reason, the Senate Judiciary Committee does not want to hear from that third person. Why? In order to undermine Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, Brett Kavanagh does an interview with Fox News with his wife at his side. We have seen this look before. This gives Kavanagh the ability to look sympathetic and also to “stand firm” against those who are trying to tear down his good name. Now, a woman from Kavanagh’s college days says that he exposed himself to her while he was drunk at a Yale party. I think that Christine Blasey Ford should be heard. She should be respected. She is going to stand up on Thursday and say that bad, pain shit in her past has happened to her and Kavanagh was responsible for the bad stuff. Unfortunately, Senate republicans don’t care. This is directly from the Trump playbook. Never back down. Never admit that you are wrong. Never. Ever. No matter what. The whole thing makes me want to vomit. Are you going to believe women or not? Are you going to investigate or put on a show?
Amber Guyger is … was a Dallas Police officer who, according to her story, went into the wrong apartment, thought it was her apartment, saw the man in the apartment who was not supposed to be in “her apartment” and shot him dead. The story is hard to believe. You happen to go into an apartment one story above yours. How do you get into that apartment? You do not have the key to that apartment. Your key goes to the apartment that is one story below. Do you just open the door? And, when you open the door, do not you recognize that none of the stuff in the apartment is yours? How is there no discussion? How do you simply just open fire and kill a man?!?!? The whole incident is bizarre. Well the Dallas Police Department just fired Amber. My question to you is, if Amber was a man, would she still be on the police department now? I think the answer is yes.
To me, it is not that the Dallas Cowboys are losing. The problem is they are really not competitive. Dak Prescott who was accurate two years ago, simply is not that guy anymore. Whether it is the receivers or different coverage, it does not matter. Right now, he looks like one of the most wildly inaccurate quarterbacks have ever seen. I do not understand how you going to the season without having a number one wide receiver. We do not have one tight end that Dak can depend on getting open. Yes, the Dallas defense is better. Yet the defense is predicated on a dominating office. Dallas is not that. We cannot consistently run the ball. We cannot consistently throw the ball. We can consistently punt the ball which, by the way, is not how you win football games. Now, the Dallas media is up in arms and is calling for Jason Garrett to be fired. Why? Jerry Jones is the owner. Jason Garrett is doing exactly what Jerry Jones wanted him to do. Jason Garrett cannot do anything without Jerry’s approval. This is a fact. Firing Jason Garrett will just bring in some other knucklehead who will be unable to make decisions without Jerry’s approval. Jerry Jones is the problem. Until were able to fix the problem, there is no reason piddling around with fake fixes like firing Jason Garrett.
Tiger Wins!!!!! I know if you are a Tiger hater, then please look away. I’m not. I think that the guy can really play golf. That’s all. He can play!