Thoughts re allegations re Kavanaugh

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I fully believed Ford's statement.
I am having trouble believing Kavanaugh, if for nothing else, his slimey response re Renate Dolphin.
 
Imagine if she had cried and sniveled the way he did. Imagine if she had been drunk. Double standards all around.

I am willing to believe he (or someone like him) could have grown up and matured, and that this was a dumb teenaged "stunt". People change. I don't believe Kavanagh. If he had changed he would admit what he'd done and would be accountable. Instead, he is blaming the Democrats for ruining his reputation. Seriously?
 
To me it shows that he can’t be an impartial judge in the highest office...too much entitled ol’ boys club stuff going on. With him, and the president who he would be appointed to serve under. No surprise there. I think he thinks he’s entitled to be a Supreme Court judge (which is a permanent position until he retires or dies...it’d be much harder to fire him if these allegations were being argued after he became a SC judge)....which biases his responsibility to the people - in particular, women. Maybe he felt he was entitled to do what he wanted to Ford...it’s plausible. He’s someone interested in having a lot of power. Now, though, if he felt his power was less important than her testimony he would turn down the nomination, I think...recuse himself from conflict of interest. It’s not just about whether or not he’s guilty (though, I believe her)...it’s about his path to power being interfered with that he’s fighting.
 
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Did it really happen exactly as described? I have no idea. I was not there and I don't have my time machine handy. However, that's not what matters here. What matters is whether her account is credible.

Is her account credible? Yes, to me at least. And that means something like what she describes did happen. And there are two other women with similar stories, which adds to the credibility.

What does that mean for him? If her account is credible and something like what she describes happened (whether the details are 100% accurate or not) then he should not be on any bench, let alone SCOTUS.

Kavanaugh's goose should be well and truly cooked at this point. Unfortunately, the GOP has a majority and their leadership seems determined to confirm him regardless of the credibility of the women. If he makes it on to the SCOTUS, it's another sign of how eff-d up their system has become.
 
Can the man be neutral judge without political agenda given the political division over the powerful against the second power?

Too many questions to my mind ... but faith must prevail with the powers!

The great goose goes on ...
 
If enough politicians don’t believe Kavanaugh, or don’t trust him, his only “punishment” is that he doesn’t get to be in a permanent seat among the most powerful judges in the land. The public would then forget all about him within months. He seems to see that as punishment.

He should know that the integrity of a Supreme Court position is more important than the necessity that he be in that position. That’s not how he’s behaving though.
 
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Is he married? Has his wife testified in his defense? Is this his first wife? That might sway me a little bit, but I still think that the evidence on offer right now renders him inappropriate for the office for which he's being recommended.
 
I don't think whether or not he's married or whether or not she's married has any bearing.

I agree with Northwind's comment upthread - I think he got some bad advice early on to emphaticcally deny. Acknowledgement & apology goes a long way in terms of claiming change/growth since then & ability to handle the responsibilities of the office in the present day. There's a reason we don't appoint high school students to such positions. There was an opportunity to educate re moving beyond the old 'rape culture' , 'boys just wanna have fun' ethos - but this didn't happen. I do agree with him, his reputation is in tatters.

I think he will end up being confirmed. To me, it points to the flaws of the US system of politically appointing judges. Frightenening for legal cases involving women IMO - Yale colleagues have written about some prior misogynistic attitude by him ... now likely fueled further.
 
I think that, in this particular case, the confirmation (that X has grown up as a person, has evolved from testimony) would help a great deal. An apology would do some of the the same.

I, too, think he will be confirmed, and will further confirm the status of the SCOTUS as irrelevant and biased. Unfortunate.
 
Irrelevant ...
  • As of January 1, 2018, the chief justice of the Supreme Court earns a salary of $267,00 per year and the associate justices earn $255,300 per year. A Supreme Court judge who chooses to retire at 70, with 10 years of service, or age 65, with 15 years of service, is eligible to receive his entire ending salary each year for the rest of his life. In return, retired judges without a disability are required to remain active and perform a certain amount of judicial obligations each year.
  • Job Security A Supreme Court justice is appointed to the high court for a lifetime term. According to the Constitution, justices “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.” They cannot be removed from office unless they are impeached by the House of Representatives and removed after a trial in the Senate. To date, only one Supreme Court justice, Samuel Chase, has ever been impeached. That occurred in 1805 and he was acquitted by the Senate.
  • Fame, Prestige and Power
    Serving on the Supreme Court is one of most prestigious roles an American judge or lawyer can hold. Their names are known throughout the world and they’re treated with a great deal of respect. The justices have the power to check the activities of the president and Congress, providing them with the ability to have a huge impact on American history as they did with decisions like Brown v. Board of Education, which desegregated schools. In total, the justices hear oral arguments in approximately 75 to 80 cases per year.
  • Generous Vacation Time and Workload Assistance
    The Supreme Court has a three-month recess, which the justices receive as vacation time. During this period, they do not have any judicial obligations and are free to do as they please. When court is in session, they receive a great deal of administrative assistance from clerks who read petitions sent to the court and summarize them for the justices. Clerks also assist the justices in writing their opinions on cases. Because of their lifetime appointments, the justices, unlike Washington's politicians, can make decisions without worrying how it will affect their tenure in office.
  • Private Earnings
    Financial disclosures for Supreme Court justices demonstrate that the additional notoriety the position provides creates the opportunity for side earnings. Justices earn side money by speaking at events for a fee or lecturing at universities during the recess. Many also earn advances and royalties from memoirs and other publications.
 
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I'm really just not paying attention to it. I'm just fed up with it all, just so many similar issues past and current. I am glad these issues are coming up, hopefully the people who need to hear the messages the most are getting it.
 
Over 40 years ago, I remember coming out of a washroom at a party, and a guy telling me that he was taking me home. That is clear . It burned into my memory due to how it was said and what was going on behind him.

I remember as we were leaving them giving him a hard time, and laughter from the room by the door. I remember his anxiety and urgency.

It is also clear in my memory that he drove for a bit, then we stopped, and he told me what the guys were planning , and though I don’t remember his words, the content was basically to rape me. We sat in his car and talked and he took me home safely.

Who were they? I don’t remember specifically. My loose memory is that a large group had been to a tavern, Carl’s, for beers after what I remember vaguely was a sports game and I was told there was a party afterwards and was I interested. I hung out with lots of folks and often went places on my own. I don’t remember how I got to that home. I don’t remember where the house (or apartment was). I have an image of a washroom, a hallway to the door, and a room beside the hallway.

I think there were a few members of the football team, though I would be the first to say it may have been a few hangers on.


I am ever thankful for the guy who got me out of there.

I doubt he remembers it.

I am positive that had he not, things would not have gone well. I was impaired.

I am sure that had I been assaulted it is highly unlikely I would have gone to the police or told anyone. I would have known that just by being there, I was guilty. By being impaired, I knew that I wouldn’t be believed.

I could not pinpoint a date or even year.


I listen to Ford. I found her story credible, including the memories, and gaps in memory.

I listened to Kavanaugh’s claim, saw his highschool year book, and his response to individuals, and do not find him believable. The Renate Aluminas across his friends facebook page, the verse in the yearbook referencing her, tells you a lot about him and his buddies.

Maybe it is because of my experience that I don’t believe him.
 
I don’t believe him. I believe her, and the other woman who spoke out. He was part of a gross misogynistic rich boys’ sports team (anyone remember sexist jokes about young women and football teams?) / frat boy culture, where women were not respected...even that 4F thing, I remember boys “joking” about. It wasn’t a joke though because too many of them looked at women as things to be misused and discarded.

Equally important is that his performance on Thurs. showed he shouldn’t be SCOTUS. He showed he can’t handle that big job...he’s too temperamental, even if he’s not guilty. His reason for testifying is because he wants to be SCOTUS, and he acted entitled to that power. His main objective is to keep his nomination and be appointed to this powerful and permanent position. Hers was to be heard and believed so as to prevent that. It was not a criminal trial. It is part of his vetting...like stage 3 of a three level job interview. It didn’t go well, imo.
 
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I remembered when I read it, hearing that expression or something similar...the “F” thing, from boys in the late 80s. Maybe also from the private school boys who came to our dances. From his yearbook...it sounds like that’s how he and his friends hoped to spend the Fourth of July. Really, seriously, I am not surprised about this.
 
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When looking for power positions ... many seem to accept hostility as imperative ...

Imperative:
  1. of vital importance; crucial.
    "immediate action was imperative"
    synonyms: vitally important, of vital importance, all-important, vital, crucial, critical, essential, necessary, indispensable, urgent; More

  2. 2.
    giving an authoritative command; peremptory.
    "the bell pealed again, a final imperative call"
    synonyms: peremptory, commanding, imperious, authoritative, masterful, dictatorial, magisterial, assertive, firm, insistent

It is a category that grabs people of power ... then they lose all relevance --- off on a Kant or other tilde!

When about them there is this essence that indicates something missing ... mindfulness? That's far too complex for those wishing simple heavy handedness ... thus that's out a 'ere ... aere?
 
Thanks for sharing your story @Pinga. So common then ... and still today I fear, although I'd like to think more of our young men now are behaving more like the one who took you out of harms way that evening.
 
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