Tag: Politics

Daily Check-In 10/01/2018

Monday, October 1st and the weekend.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

 

SCOTUS & #METOO

Once again, I’m not breaking this down into several sections, but here’s what happneed over the weekend and into Monday.

Reports came out that White House Counsel Don McGahn, after working with Senate Republicans, gave the FBI instructions on who they could interview, about what they could interview, and how long they had to work.  This leaked to the press in a heartbeat.  There’s confusion as to whether the FBI would follow this or not, but it sounds like the plausible reaction from the FBI was to tell the White House to pound sand.

Shit got even more confusing on Sunday as multiple reports came out that several people who wanted to talk to the FBI either weren’t getting called, or were getting stuck in a runaround.  The Dotard sent out a tweet claiming that there were no such instructions given to the FBI, but no written orders came.

On Monday, Trump repeated the same thing, and we’re getting reports that more and more people are getting interviewed.  One of the newest pieces to come out is that a mutual friend of Brett Kavanaugh and Deborah Ramirez named Kerry Berchem received text messages from Brett where Brett asked a mutual friend, Karen Yarasavage, to go on the record in his defense before the New Yorker story came out.  Karen and Kerry also talked about how uncomfortable Deborah was around Brett at a wedding for a mutual friend back in 1997.

These texts messages could be innocuous pleas for help, or they could represent witness tampering.

Meanwhile, that turtle-looking-mother-fucker Mitch McConnell is trying to force a vote through this week.  It could be bluster, but it is the kind of evil shit he’s famous for.

Also, don’t be surprised if something big happens by Wednesday.  Why Wednesday?  Not sure, but Wednesday sounds like the best day for a withdraw or replacement.

 

 

Translation: he’s obviously guilty and the White House is terrified of The WH is refusing to allow Julie Swetnick’s allegations to be investigated as part of this probe.

More in the story: Don McGahn and the White House have given the FBI a specific list of witnesses they are permitted to interview

I would expect significant pushback from the Senate on this. Flake, Collins, and Murkowski are already uncomfortable with this process, and this isn’t what they agreed to.

As I mentioned Daily Check-In 09/28/2018, Trump is scared shitless of Avenatti, but will inevitably play into his hands.

 

Another allegation

“Dear, Senator Grassley, et al.

The current situation regarding the accusations made by Dr.

Ford against Brett Kavanaugh have prompted me to write you

today. I have moved on with my life since he forced

himself on me as well. The times were so different, and I

didn’t expect to be taken seriously, embarrass my family,

be believed at all.

I was at a party with a friend. I had been drinking.

She left with another boy, leaving me to find my own way

home. Kavanaugh and a friend offered me a ride home. I

don’t know the other boy’s name. I was in his car to go

home. His friend was behind me in the backseat. Kavanaugh

kissed me forcefully. I told him I only wanted a ride

home. Kavanaugh continued to grope me over my clothes,

forcing his kisses on me and putting his hand under my

sweater. ‘No,’ I yelled at him.

The boy in the backseat reached around, putting his

hand over my mouth and holding my arm to keep me in the

car. I screamed into his hand. Kavanaugh continued his

forcing himself on me. He pulled up my sweater and bra

exposing my breasts, and reached into my panties, inserting

his fingers into my vagina. My screams were silenced by

the boy in the backseat covering my mouth and groping me as

well.

Kavanaugh slapped me and told me to be quiet and

forced me to perform oral sex on him. He climaxed in my

mouth. They forced me to go into the backseat and took

turns raping me several times each. They dropped me off

two blocks from my home. ‘No one will believe if you tell.

Be a good girl,’ he told me.

Watching what has happened to Anita Hill and Dr. Ford

has me petrified to come forward in person or even provide

my name. A group of white men, powerful senators who won’t

believe me, will come after me. Like Dr. Ford, I’m a

teacher, I have an education, a family, a child, a home. I

have credibility.  Just because something happens a long

time ago, because a rape victim doesn’t want to personally

come forward, does not mean something can’t be true.

Jane Doe, Oceanside, California.”

JFC.  Not only is this another allegation, but it’s also the most disturbing to date.  This one goes into graphic detail about the attack itself, and shows an escalation in aggressiveness.  It’s not a drunken smack in the face with a dick, or taking part in a train on a passed out girl, or even an attempted rape, but a full attack in a car with a friend of his.

Updating the count from Daily Check-In 09/26/2018, we’re now up to as many as 7 allegations.

  1. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.  She was attacked at a house party in high school, got away when Mark Judge tried to join in and knocked Brett off of her.  Around 1981-1982.
  2. Deborah Ramirez.  Had too much to drink at a dorm party and while she was trying to get in her room, Brett dropped trou and hit her in the face with his dick.  At Yale, around 1982-85.
  3. Julie Swetnick.  Claims that Brett and Mark were rapists that got girls drunk or drugged enough so they couldn’t fight back against a gang rape.  She says she was raped in 1982 in the same manner she described.
  4. Unknown woman who went to the Montgomery County Police on Daily Check-In 09/24/2018, further detailed in Daily Check-In 09/25/2018.
  5. Rhode Island, 1985 boat assault.  Victim unknown.
  6. 1998 attack.
  7. Car Rape and attack.

Three of these women have placed their names out there for the public to hear them.  Nothing is still known about the fourth allegation, and no names are known for the last 3.  While the veracity is still in doubt, this sounds like more than enough to establish a pattern.

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET

 

TRAITOR TOTS

Kanye

 

FIGHTING BACK

 

IMMIGRATION

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

#NEVERAGAIN

Las Vegas Anniversary

  • Brett Schwanbeck, 61, Bullhead City, Ariz.
  • Austin Meyer, 24, Reno
  • Pati Mestas, 67, Menifee, CA
  • Nicol Kimura, 38, Placentia, CA
  • Christopher Hazencomb, 44, Camarillo, CA
  • Keri Galvan, 51, Thousand Oaks, CA
  • Tara Roe Smith, 34, Okotoks, Alberta, CAN
  • Andrea Castilla, 28, Huntington Beach, California
  • Carly Kreibaum, 33, Sutherland, Iowa
  • Steve Berger, 44, Milwaukee, WI
  • Brian Fraser, 39, Walnut, CA
  • Derrick “Bo” Taylor, 56, Oxnard, California
  • Denise Cohen, 58, Carpinteria, CA
  • Laura Shipp, 50, Thousand Oaks, CA
  • Christiana Duarte, 22, Torrance, California
  • Candice Bowers, 40, Garden Grove, California
  • Lisa Patterson, 46, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
  • Rocio Guillen Rocha, 40, Eastvale, California
  • Jordyn Rivera, 21, San Bernardino, California
  • Austin Davis, 29, Riverside, CA
  • Calla Medig, 28, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
  • Carrie Parsons, 31, Seattle, Washington
  • Cameron Robinson, 28, St. George, Utah
  • Michelle Vo, 32, Los Angeles, California
  • Brennan Stewart, 30, Las Vegas
  • Erick Silva, 21, Las Vegas
  • Dorene Anderson, 49, Anchorage, Alaska
  • Heather Alvarado, 35, Enoch, Utah
  • Hannah Ahlers, 34, Beaumont, CA
  • Stacee Etcheber, 50, Novato, CA
  • Christopher Roybal, 28, Denver, CO
  • Victor Link, 55, San Clemente, CA
  • Melissa Ramirez, 26, Bakersfield, CA
  • Kelsey Meadows, 28, Taft, CA
  • Dana Gardner, 52, Grand Terrace CA
  • Bill Wolfe, Jr., 42, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
  • Carrie Barnette, 34, Garden Grove, CA
  • Thomas Day Jr., 54, Corona, CA
  • Jennifer Parks, 36, Lancaster, CA
  • Kurt Von Tillow, 55, Cameron Park, CA
  • Jack Beaton, 54, Bakersfield, CA
  • Denise Burditus, 50, Martinsburg, WV
  • Sandy Casey, 35, Redondo Beach, California
  • Angie Gomez, 20, Riverside, California
  • Jennifer Irvine, 42, San Diego
  • Jessica Klymchuk, 34, Valleyview, Alberta, Canada
  • Rhonda LeRocque, 42, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
  • Jordan McIldoon, 23, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
  • Sonny Melton, 29, Paris, Tennessee
  • Adrian Murfitt, 35, Anchorage, Alaska
  • Rachel Parker, 33, Manhattan Beach, CA
  • John Phippen, 57, Valencia, CA
  • Quintin Robbins, 20, Henderson
  • Lisa Romero-Muniz, 48, Gallup, New Mexico
  • Bailey Schweitzer, 20, Bakersfield, CA
  • Susan Smith, 53, Simi Valley, California
  • Neysa Tonks, 46, Las Vegas

 

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

A new study found that some of the negative reaction tweets about the Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie were created by Russian trolls, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Researcher Morten Bay of the University of Southern California found that 21.9 percent of all the tweets analyzed about the film had a negative view, with 50.9 percent of the negative tweets showing indications they were “likely politically motivated or not even human.” Bay added that a “number” of those users appeared “to be Russian trolls.” Bay concluded that the tweets were part of “deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments” that aimed to propagate “widespread discord and dysfunction in American society.” “Persuading voters of this narrative remains a strategic goal for the U.S. alt-right movement, as well as the Russian Federation,” Bay wrote. He also wrote that the movie’s political undertones were “consistent” with older Star Wars films, leading him to believe that the political divisiveness of the Trump era “primed these fans with a particular type of political messaging that is in direct conflict with the values presented in The Last Jedi.”

Oh, that’s it!  Fucking with the election is one thing, but screw with Star Wars, and THIS. MEANS. WAR.

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

Trump and McConnell are nothing if not opportunists. They have no personal loyalty to Kavanaugh. Trump is famous for firing people when they outlive their usefulness. McConnell takes situational ethics to a new low.

 

So Trump and McConnell will surely consider the risks and benefits of standing by Kavanaugh, and the odds of his prevailing. Those odds are worsening.

 

There is a fair chance that early this week, Kavanaugh will be asked to fall on his sword. You know the routine. “I have decided to spare my family and our country further ordeal and embarrassment, and blah, blah, blah.”

 

That way the FBI investigation is short-circuited and the subject is changed. The spectacle of Republican men defending a likely sexual assaulter against a highly credible woman goes away.

Trump and McConnell get to fast-track another nomination, preferably female, such as the ultraconservative Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed last year to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The court seat is saved, the optics on women shift, while the ferocious white male base is furious at Kavanaugh’s treatment and turns out to vote in November.

 

As McConnell and Trump take a close look at the risks and alternatives, dumping Kavanaugh has to be very tempting. As for Kavanaugh himself, even withdrawing may not spare him further trouble in the investigation of what actually occurred at that fateful party. He could be the subject of further inquiry by the House or Senate, or by Maryland prosecutors.

A smart person would not have nominated Kavanaugh in the first place.  A dumb person surrounded by smart people whom they listen to would have a long list of names, ready to pick from.  Fuck, the first minute that allegations against Kavanaugh surfaced, Trump’s staff should have had a list of backups ready to go at a moment’s notice, complete with judicial filings, paperwork, and everything required to get a non-controversial nominee through in a matter of weeks.

Instead, we get Trump, who will destroy the GOP for years to come because he wants his guy.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kavanaugh step aside, or Trump and McConnell force him out, but never underestimate the ego of a megalomaniac.

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

ENVIRONMENT

 

ELECTION 2018

Most recently, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), cut off funds for two GOP incumbent campaigns, for Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Mich.) and Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.). The Super PAC, which has already raised about $100 million for the 2018 election cycle, is pulling out of $1 million in TV ad spots it had reserved for Coffman and $2.1 million it had reserved for Bishop. The fund will redirect the funds elsewhere, according to an article in Politico.

Political action committees give a disproportionate amount of their campaign dollars to incumbents because congressional re-election rates are typically in the 90% range. So, to see PACs walk away from incumbent races, especially funds so flush with cash, is quite unusual. But then again, this mid-term election is anything but typical.

According to Republican officials, in both races, Democratic challengers are leading and are expected to outspend Coffman and Bishop significantly in the final weeks leading up to the election. But another PAC, the National Republican Congressional Committee, isn’t convinced Coffman is a lost cause and has agreed to fill the gap with a $600,000 TV ad buy, according to the Politico article.

…

Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee has pulled funds from other races it sees as unsalvageable at this point, such as the Congressional District 17 in Pennsylvania. It recently canceled its ad reservations in the district where Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) is up against Conor Lamb (D). The PAC had spent about $2.2 million in ads opposing Lamb. But the Democrat has significantly outraised his Republican challenger at $7.3 million to Rothfus’ $2 million, according to a report at the end of June by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Other Republican candidates have been unhappy about the lack of support from the NRCC, such as Rep. David Young (R-Iowa) and Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.). And others are in danger of getting cut off, including Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Pa.) and Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa). But as former Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), who was involved with the NRCC during his tenure, said, “These are very Darwinian decisions. It means selection of the fittest.”

Follow the money.  That’s what we’ve heard for years about corruption and politics, and nothing is more prescient about how things are going than campaign spending in October.

There are two reasons why a group suspends spending on a candidate.  Either they’re so far ahead that any extra money spent is a waste, or they’re down by so much that the candidate might as well start looking for a new job.  There’s only so much money available for these PAC’s that they have to be wise about where they spend.   Think of it like garbage time in a football game.  The home team is up 42-0 early in the third quarter, and they’ve pulled all of the starters, letting the backups get some playing time.  The losing team is still trying, but they’re getting ready to sit their starters, too.  It all depends on if they score quick on the next series.

That’s what’s happening with most of these races.  The NRCC has pulled funding from Keith Rothfus.  He’s getting slaughtered by Conor Lamb in the local polls, local ads, spending, and canvassing.  I’ve driven through PA-17 recently, and the Lamb:Rothfus yard sign ratio is about 10:1 in the areas I’ve seen.  In 2016, the yard sign split was pretty even between Dems and the GOP for the same area.  As far as television ad buys, I’ve seen two Rothfus commercials, and several Lamb spots.  Last night I saw the first attack ad against Lamb.  And there was only one.  Lamb had several spots in the same show.

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

 

RUMOR MILL

Who paid off 6-figures worth of Kavanaugh’s debt just before his nomination? What was their motive for doing so? Was said debt paid off so it wouldn’t be a confirmation/background issue? Was it someone linked to tRUmp’s lawyer(s) or admin? These questions need answers.

^^ The lack of interest here from (who didn’t press him at all about it) and the likes of , , etc is not only baffling, but concerning. Whether or not his debts will compromise the integrity of the court is *the* most important issue.

 

 

That’s it for the last few days.  It’s been a crazy ride, and it’s only going to get worse.  Remember to keep your wits about you, and your head on a swivel.

A spoiler for Tuesday, Stormy Daniels is back in the news.  No, she didn’t get arrested again, but it is bad news for Trump.

I don’t have any other article ideas floating around right now, but I keep playing with the idea of seeing if there’s some kind of rideshare I could volunteer for on Election Day to help people get to the polls.  I have no clue where to start, or if it’s feasible, but I feel like I should do something.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

They Are Not The Same

The following post is a departure from my normal posts.

 

Both parties are not the same.  Not even close.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard in my life that both parties are the same.  Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter.  They’re both corrupt cheats.  This was a common claim that I’d hear from…. well, everyone.  For a long time, I’d hear this from everyone.  I’d hear it from those on the left, the right, the middle, the informed and the ignorant.

The last couple years have proven that this claim is total and utter bullshit.  I’ve seen this since the early Obama days, but ever since January 2017, the only ones that make try to make that claim are the ignorant or the guilty who are looking to shift the blame.  The blatant corruption, greed, and hypocrisy are on display for all to see.  But, every time a Republican gets caught in a lie, breaking the law, or abusing their power, someone has the audacity to say “both sides are the same.”

Bullshit.  Bull. Fucking. Shit.

Democrats didn’t order children to be separated from their parents and thrown into cages.

Democrats didn’t push to kill net neutrality.

Democrats didn’t ignore the threats to the upcoming elections.

Democrats didn’t work to kill the EPA.

And, most importantly, the Democrats didn’t work to put an (alleged) rapist on the Supreme Court.

At the time of this writing, the Republican Party is pulling out every dirty trick to install a  corrupt, entitled, blackmailable prick onto the Supreme Court.  The only thing that’s slowed down his nomination to this point is that Senators Jeff Flake and Lisa Murkowski aren’t comfortable voting for him unless the FBI investigates the sexual assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh.

Only 2 members of the Republican Party in the Senate, out of 51, have a problem with putting an alleged rapist on the Supreme Court.  If I’m doing my math right, that sounds like 49 are okay with it.

I’d like to say that I’m surprised and ashamed by this mentality, but I can’t.  I’m ashamed, but not surprised.  The Republican Party has long been the Anti-Woman party.  Now, they can add being Pro-Rape to their platform.

Hating women isn’t a recent development for the Republicans.  While they’ve never been the political party that’s catered to women, they didn’t openly advocate hating women until the Pro-Life movement began in the late 1970’s.  At that point, hating women was a side effect to hating black people.  The Pro-Life movement began in the years following the signing of the Civil Rights Act.  Since white people weren’t allowed to legally discriminate against black people in most businesses and actions, they had to go somewhere to spew their racism.  So, they went to the most racist places allowed in society: church.  I’m not saying that they weren’t God-Fearing Christians before, but now they had a place to go to practice their dog-whistling.  This was the rise of the Evangelicals and the genesis of the Religious Right.

The thing is, the Religious Right didn’t have another cause to help rally the troops until Roe v. Wade legalized abortion across the country.  Before then, fighting against abortion wasn’t a major tenet of any sect of Christianity, except for the Catholics.  And Evangelicals are about as far from Catholics are as possible.  But the Evangelicals jumped on the abortion bandwagon when they were able to create the message of the “irresponsible black woman” who used abortions because they “couldn’t keep their legs closed.”

The Religious Right and the Republican Party fed off of each other, amplifying their racist dog-whistles at every turn.  Welfare went from a way of providing for a poor white war widow and her family to the main method of lazy black women to get money.  Public education went from the bedrock of society to poorly funded and even worse performing  places that gave the Religious Right the excuse to push school vouchers, stripping even more money from those schools.

But the fight against women was their most insidious battles.  The same groups that didn’t want to pay for welfare for poor people also went out of their way to hurt women. And their messaging has gotten worse over time.  Back in the 90’s, the GOP started their long battle against the right to choose by trying to place more and more restrictions on when and how a woman could get an abortion.  But at least then, if a politician didn’t at least claim an exception for rape and incest, they were nuts.  Now, there is only a handful of Republicans left that even think that rape victims shouldn’t be forced to carry their rapists’ babies, let alone say these views.

Now, let me be clear, the Pro-Life movement isn’t actually about supporting life.  A real Pro-Life stance includes allowing exceptions for abortion in situations when the mother’s life is in danger, or the child cannot be cared for.  It includes providing health care for the pregnant women and helping women care for their new babies, or finding appropriate homes if the mothers are not able or willing to raise the children.  Pro-Life includes a realization that sometimes forcing a woman to have a child is the worst possible decision.

The people that label themselves “Pro-Life” aren’t Pro-Life.  They’re Anti-Woman.  They’re Pro-Suffering.  They only give a shit about the woman’s baby until the baby is born.  At that point, they disappear faster than a Trump when the bill comes due.  They don’t want to support the woman who has the baby when they can’t afford it, they don’t want to provide for the children’s education, and God help those women if the baby is black, because the Evangelicals sure as Hell won’t.

Want to know how disgusting the “Pro-Life” view is?  Imagine hearing a story about an 11-year-old girl that was raped and impregnated by her Uncle, or a family friend, or her pastor.  This girl, who has already been raped by someone she trusted, now has to fight to get an abortion.  Depending on where she lives in the United States, she has to travel to some distant city, stay overnight in some low-grade hotel because she has to go through two consultations with a medical professional, then fight through a line of holier-than-though protesters calling her a whore and a slut, because they think that she’s at fault.

If you’re first thought isn’t feeling terrible for this girl but saying that she’s a killer because you think the collection of cells inside of her is more important than her this girl’s life and future and she deserved all of the torment she went through and then some, then fuck you.  Learn some fucking empathy, morals, and ethics.

Up until 2016, the Republican Party kept sliding further and further into Anti-Woman policies, almost always using the excuse of “Religious Freedom.”  The most common example was getting state laws passed that allowed pharmacists to refuse to administer birth control.  But things got worse when Donald Trump became the nominee for the Republican Party.  A serial philanderer, when his “Grab’em by the pussy” tape came out, that should have been the end of his political career.

No, it wasn’t.  He somehow survived.  22 women have accused him of sexual assault, but the Republican Party lined up behind him.

It’s been two years since that tape dropped, and a year since the beginning of the #MeToo movement.  In that time, we’ve seen the largest protests since the Vietnam War, and they were led by women.  We’ve seen women speaking out against men in power.  Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Les Moonves, Bill O’Reily, Bill Shine, and Charlie Rose.  All of them lost their jobs because of their past treatment of women.  Harvey’s looking at losing his freedom, just like Bill Cosby.

Another man that lost his position and power was Al Franken.  Two women accused the Senator of inappropriate sexual behavior, and the Democrats forced him to resign.

Meanwhile, Brett Kavanaugh gets accused of sexual assault by three women so far, and the Republicans want to promote him to the Supreme Court.

Jim Jordan gets implicated in the cover-up of a rapist doctor’s actions at Ohio State, and the Republicans want to promote him to Speaker of the House.  Yes, that doctor abused women, too.

Roy Moore was accused of molesting young teen girls while he was in his 30’s.  The Republican Party tried to make him a Senator.

What’s made matters uglier is Trump’s actions against the women coming out with these allegations.  Here is the President of the United States, dismissing their accusations, attacking these women, and blaming them for the assaults.  And, since the Republican Party is completely beholden to Trump for everything now, his ideas now become official party policy.

Because of the this, the Republican Party is now the Pro-Rape Party.

If there is any good that has come from Trump being President, it’s that we’re finally having this conversation about how women are treated in our society.

Now, the next question is how far the Republican Party is willing to go in their alienation of women.  Are they willing to say goodbye to women for the next 40 years?  Because that’s the price of confirming Kavanaugh.  The fact that 49 Senators think it’s worth it shows how little they think of women, but if they go through with continuing their Anti-Woman platform, they need to know that they will lose the women’s vote for good.  If they’re willing to ignore, or worse silence these accusers, to put an (alleged) rapist on the Supreme Court that would make abortion illegal, then they need to know that that they will lose women for good, just like how the Democrats lost the racist vote with the Civil Rights Act.

So, we’re now at the point where if someone says “I’m a Republican”, asking them “Why do you hate women?” is no longer a cheap attack but a valid question.  The only question I have left is should their new name be the Rapepublican Party or Rape-Publican Party?  I’m not sure whether that should be hyphenated.

 

Note:  By the way, I’m only saying alleged for legal purposes.  Do I think that Brett Kavanaugh is a rapist?  Yes.  Has it been proven in a court of law?  No.  Do I have evidence against him? No.  Does he act like a lot of the frat boy asshole rapists I’ve met in my life? Absolutely.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

Daily Check-In 09/28/2018

Friday, September 28th.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Yes, shit other than Kavanaugh happened on Friday.  To be honest, I’m surprised more things didn’t come out since everyone was distracted.

Devin Nunes and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence decided to release some of the transcripts from their hearings.  They’re not releasing the transcripts from all of the interviews, and I’ve got $20 that says the stuff they do release is heavily redacted.

 

SCOTUS & #METOO

Ok, a metric fucktonne of things happened from Thursday to Friday, and there is no way that I’m going to organize all of the stories below into subcategories and sub-subcategories, so let me sum up what happened.

After Brett’s temper tantrum in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, everyone and their mother came out either against him, or at least in favor of an investigation.  When the American Bar Association and your alma mater revoke their endorsement, you done fucked up.

The Judiciary Committee voted 11-10, completely on partisan lines, to approve Brett Kavanaugh for a floor vote for the Senate.  However, Jeff Flake of Arizona had a moment of conscious guilt.  Maybe he’s angling for a POTUS run in 2020, or getting stopped by the rape survivors on his way to the elevator shook him, but he recommended that the committee reopen the FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, and that they should be given at least a week.  Senators Lisa Murkowski fo Alaska and Jon Tester of Montana also endorsed this plan.

So, we’re looking at one week for the FBI to investigate the claims against Brett Kavanaugh, and possibly the claims that he perjured himself as well.  There’s rumors going around that they’ll look into his debts and who paid them, too.

Of course, count on the White House to try to stymie this investigation.  Over the weekend, a memo leaked from to the press that White House Counsel Don McGahn gave orders to the FBI to only investigate the claims of Dr. Ford and Deborah Ramirez, not Julie Swetnick or any of the other women.  This is the dumbest thing they could do, so therefore, going by the Rule 45, [Out of all of the available options, pick the dumbest one.], they would try to reign in the FBI.  I’m hesitant to believe that the FBI would listen to that order, and that they told McGahn to pound sand.  Countercheckist and Louise Mensch hold the same opinion as me.

Why would that be the dumbest decision that Trump could make? Michael Avenatti represents Julie Swetnick, and Trump is afraid of him.  So far this year, Avenatti’s work against Trump and Cohen helped lead to a felony conviction and plea deal for Micheal Cohen, Trump’s long time personal fixer.  Trump is afraid that these claims carry weight, and that if they talk to the FBI, then Kavanaugh is toast.  Instead, this plays right into Avenatti’s hand.  By trying to curtail the FBI from investigating those claims, that forces him to take the claims of his client and the witnesses public, and with a gang-rape allegation and a stymied investigation, Trump loses the PR war.  His only course of action then will be to continue to attack the lawyer, the victim, and the witnesses, creating an even bigger shitstorm.  During this shitstorm, I’d expect another woman or two to come forward, alleging that they too were also drugged and raped at parties where Brett and his buddies were present.

Also, check the Rumor Mill section on how they think they’ve reverse engineered the time, date, and location of Dr. Ford’s attack.  It gets weird.

 

 

LINT. I keep hearing from retired Bu folks who did/do background checks that they aren’t cumulative – meaning they don’t start from scratch each time. That means only the first check of the 6 would have even been in the ballpark of catching K’s high school/college behavior.

2. In addition, background check questions specifically ask about alcohol use/abuse (remember the third “A” in CARLA F. BAD). So that check is the one which would contain “derogatory” information on that front, if there was any.

3. I’m not sure who the consumer/custodian is of that first check (when K worked for Starr), but that could at least shed some light on his drinking habits then. (Of course these are expanding references from ppl K would have initially suggested for interviews, so who knows).

4. The main point is that saying he went through “6 background checks” is misleading, since each subsequent one would have covered a later and later portion of his life.

 

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, EMOLUMENTS, AND OTHER LAWSUITS

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET

 

FIGHTING BACK

The last few weeks have been agonizing. The Kavanaugh hearings dredged up so much that was buried, badness all around…hearing all of the “Why I Report” stories, and then watching Kavanaugh’s angry pouting,…I’m a combination of nauseous, angry, exhausted, and resolute.

I want to take this pause in the proceedings to thank all of the women who came forward, and Dr. Ford especially. We are all in your debt. This is a crisis point in our democracy, and you delivered, at great personal risk, and I’m grateful.

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

The past two days I’ve watched police stop reporters from doing their jobs by kicking them out of an area where a meeting was being held, and I’ve been physically pushed away from following a senator through a public Capitol hallway. Mobility has been severely limited.

In all instances, no protesters were present. It was just reporters, staff, and senators. I understand a need for heightened security. But some of this was just nonsensical. I’m not sure who is making these decisions, or how long it will last. But it’s not ideal.

One of the best things about the Capitol is the extraordinary level of press freedom here — you can catch up with any member of Congress as they’re walking to a meeting or going to votes and ask them questions. They get to decide if they want to answer or not. It’s great.

Part of why we’re able to do that is because Capitol police do an excellent job of protecting members, staff, and press. I appreciate the important work they do. I also know they’re not to blame for the changes with regard to press. I’m simply saying this can’t become the norm.

 

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

ELECTION 2018

 

ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

 

RUMOR MILL

Wait, what?

 

[In response to This tweet form Bernie Sanders talking about the partisanship of the Judiciary Committee]

Yes, Bernie. Because of you. Now, let’s see all the Russian trolls and paid shills show up to defend you. They always do.

You sullied the First Republic and Fourteenth State. I’ll be pleased when you’re at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, or ADX Florence, Colorado. Both suit you better than the Champlain Islands.

I can’t wait for the Grand Jury to explain to America why Jane wanted to use Burlington College money to buy up that Diocesan building so damn quickly. With your help. You know what I mean. Oh, and funnel money to her kids for “woodworking.”

 

The Date of the Attack

The good folks on Twitter think they figured out when the attack on Dr. Ford took place.  Let’s take this from the top.

According to Dr. Ford’s opening statement, she mentioned that 3 boys were at the party where she was attacked; Brett, Mark Judge, and PJ Smyth.  Using Kavanaugh’s own calendar from the summer of 1982, those three names line up with July 1, 1982. Daily Check-In 09/27/2018 has a link to the Annotated Calendar from WaPo.  The entry from that day is “Tobin’s House — Workout / Go to Timmy’s for Skis w/ Judge, Tom, PJ, Bernie, Squi”.  PJ is only mentioned one other time in the calendar.  They saw Rocky III on June 13th.  They went to Timmy’s house for “ski’s”.  Considering that the waterskiing sucks around Maryland, jet skiing was still taking off, and there isn’t snow for hundreds of miles in the Maryland summer, it’s more likely that “ski’s” are Brewski’s, or beers.  Considering how much of a frat boy jock meathead he is, this is almost a certainty.

Why does it say “ski’s” on the calendar, and not “Party” like it did back in May?  Brett was grounded for a while after that party.  When he tried to deny it, his parents probably looked at the calendar and said “You wrote Party on your calendar.”  Since Brett is not a complete fucking idiot, he tried to find a less stupid way of writing his plans down on the calendar.  Beers, bottles, bongs, and brews are all stupid things, but he hoped that Ski’s was innocent enough to get away with it.  If his parents asked, Timmy got a new jet ski and they were riding it.  Plausible deniability.

If Brett’s calendar is as accurate as he claims, the only night that all three boys were together was July 1, 1982.

 

That’s it for Friday.  I’m closing out today with a quote about memory, and why the people crying about how Brett doesn’t remember it should be a big deal.

From “Street Fighter”

Bison: For you; The day Bison graced your village was the most important day in your life. But for me… it was tuesday.

Our brains are wired to survive, and if we have a traumatic experience that almost kills us, we will remember as much as possible as time slows down.  This is our brains way of survival.  If we’re encountering these elements later, we can avoid them.  I’m scared shitless of heights because I almost fell off of a very tall height.  I can still remember the “oh shit” feeling right now as I type this, and that was more than 20 years ago.  I can describe other times I almost died and my mind went into hyper mode.  Time stands still, and you try to gather all of the information to keep it from happening again.  Those traumas also shape our futures.  I avoid tall overlooks and structures as much as humanly possible.  Hell, I don’t even like climbing a step stool unless absolutely necessary.  And I’m not even going to get into the other near-death experiences I’ve had.

The person perpetrating the trauma on the other hand might not remember.  For them, their behavior could be run of the mill or not as traumatic, or a response to trauma. The first person to pull a gun on me likely wouldn’t remember me at all, but I still remember the gray sweatsuit he was wearing that day.  The second person to pull a gun on me probably won’t remember the events of that day, but I still remember catching the look of the pistol out of the corner of my eye and hearing the opening of “Elaan of Troyius” playing in the background.  The person who drove into my lane causing me to wreck my bike in a ditch doesn’t remember what happened.  Fuck, they didn’t even slow down to see if I was still alive.  I remember, though.

Saying that an attempted rape didn’t place because the rapist, who has a history of getting blackout drunk and being an asshole” doesn’t remember it as well as the victim is bullshit.

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 09/27/2018

Thursday, September 27, 2018

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Richard “Ricky” Pinedo has received death threats after testifying before a grand jury and helping special counsel Robert Mueller secure an indictment against 13 Russians accused in an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, his attorney, Jeremy Lessem, said in court papers.

The 28-year-old Santa Paula man pleaded guilty in February to using stolen identities to set up bank accounts that were then used by the Russians. Prosecutors have acknowledged he didn’t know that he was dealing with Russians.

Arguing that his client should only be sentenced to probation, Lessem said in court papers that Pinedo has accepted full responsibility for his actions and provided “crucial insight into internal flaws embedded in the online financial verification system.”

Pinedo, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10, has provided investigators with “significant assistance” in identity theft probes, prosecutors said. He flew to Washington, D.C., to meet with investigators, explained how he obtained the stolen account numbers and gave investigators business records that identified the buyers of the stolen accounts, prosecutors said in a separate court filing.

Federal sentencing guidelines call for Pinedo to serve between 12 and 18 months behind bars, but noting his cooperation, prosecutors did not recommend any particular sentence.

From 2014 until 2017, Pinedo purchased the bank account numbers of real people and then sold the account numbers to anonymous customers on the internet, earning between $40,000 and $95,000, according to prosecutors. Pinedo never had access to the names, Social Security numbers or addresses of any of his victims and never saw himself as a thief, Lessem said.

Pinedo first learned he was in the FBI’s crosshairs when federal agents raided his family’s home in December 2017. Without a promise of immunity, Pinedo sat down with investigators from the special counsel’s office and agreed to testify before a grand jury that was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to Lessem.

Since then, Pinedo has noticed “strange unidentified vehicles” parked outside of his home, will not travel outside of the U.S. and suffers from anxiety driving around his neighborhood, Lessem said.

“Beyond the mere fact that he is now a convicted felon, Mr. Pinedo has suffered, and will continue to suffer, in ways far beyond what anyone else convicted of a similar offense would expect – and suffers these consequences as a result of helping this Country right the wrong his unwitting and foolish criminal conduct facilitated,” he wrote.

 

SCOTUS & #METOO

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET

 

TRAITOR TOTS

 

FIGHTING BACK

 

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

 

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

ENVIRONMENT

 

ELECTION 2018

 

 

RUMOR MILL

 

That’s it for Thursday.  I didn’t go into any editorial comments about today.  I’m too pissed off, hurt, frustrated, and angry to type.  That might sound unusual, but years ago I made a deal with myself to not publish anything when I’m too angry to type.  If I’m still angry after the second or third revision, then post it, but as a rule I do not write angry.

“But wait, I’ve seen you get downright mean at times?”  Yes.  And even then I still stepped away, calmed down, then unleashed my fury after several revisions.

There’s a post I’ve had in the back burner for a while.  After Friday’s Check-In, I’m finishing it up and releasing it.  It’s about how the two parties are not the same, on so many levels, but especially on sexual assault.  I was talked out of my original title, calling the GOP the “Pro-Rape Party”, but there’s still room in the sub-heading for that.

Whatever happens Friday, happens.  Either we’ll see someone stand up and do what’s right, or we’ll witness the Death Knell of the GOP.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur