All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Ha, again everyone is very interested in Mets opinion on the BK stuff.

You guys didn't already know what his opinion/answers were going to be?

There’s this weird thing with Mets where some people are just infatuated with making him answer for all the faults of his party and hilariously Mets is intelligent and articulate enough to talk his way around it without being troll like “some” other posters. It’s venturing into Bugs Bunny territory. It’s rather pointless. Some people are going to disagree on fundamental political issues. It’s just on here it’s such a rarity that it draws attention. Outside of Mets the biggest argument on here is how progressive the Democrats should be and whether people supported Hillary or Bernie. Which in themselves are very insular

[Iron Maiden]

The Pharisees were churchgoers too.

Church Going is mostly about the appearance of righteousness (while never admitting to yourself that is the case). How else do you get a
Protestant Church that flies in the face of every value that Jesus reportedly held when he was alive.

ESPECIALLY Jesus' attitude towards wealth.

When Jesus was alive, he was considered dangerous and he was crucified. There are many who believe the very same thing would happen to him today in one form or another.

[Mister Mets]

In other words, you agree that the FBI should reopen its' investigation into Kavanugh's background to include these new allegations. That is what everyone who isn't a Congressional Republican or Trump, wants.

I did address these points on the FBI before.

Whataboutism is when someone defends a bad action from one side by suggesting something else was equivalent.

I'm not doing that here. I think Joe Biden had a good point on the limits of FBI investigations.

It is worth noting that the George HW Bush White House claimed that the FBI investigation cleared Clarence Thomas.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-ne...05ecb2688fc0f5

So it seems massively hypocritical for the left to suggest that an FBI investigation will get to the bottom of what happened with Kavanaugh and Ford, when they don't trust the results of the one on Justice Thomas.

In the case of Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas, the situation fell in the FBI's purview, covering a harassment claim between employees of a federal agency. We're dealing with events 30+ years ago involving witnesses who were inebriated, which is much harder to parse out.

It seems more like a delaying tactic, especially since Dianne Feinstein sat on the Ford letter for over a month. Democrats get to benefit from her poor judgement and their leaks to the press which ultimately led to Ford going public when she did, which is self-serving.

There are many other avenues through which this can be investigated and information can come to light. The Times and New Yorker looked into the Ramirez claims. Democrats have budgets to hire investigators. This is a very public story, so any Yale alumni or anyone in the Georgetown Prep area at the time who saw anything should be aware that there's a lot of support if they come forward.

4 people have said they were assaulted by Kavanaugh.

3 people said he was a known partier and a overall terrible human.

2 different people said they were coerced into signing a letter about his character.

2 different people said he was known to get "blackout" drunk.

Another 2 different people said he was a part of, in places with, and privy to assaults on other people.

1 person attested to 1 of the victims good character, and corroborated the accused's poor character.

0 people have corroborated Kavanaugh's stories.

I've seen rape cases with less evidence that got guilty convictions.

Stop with the "but I didn't see it so it's not true" noise.

Also, I hope the irony of the Bill Clinton impeachment law clerk getting tripped up on the definition of sexual intercourse and assault is not getting lost here.

The 4 assault allegations would be important.

But who are the two beyond Ford and Ramirez?

Yes. Republicans keep acting like this is a criminal case and that the same burden of proof - 'guilty beyond a reasonable doubt' needs to be achieved before Kavanaugh can be denied his rightful seat on the Supreme Court. This is not the case. In a situation like this, where there is significant doubt about his character, we should air on the side of caution. He's not going to lose anything if he doesn't get the position. He'll still have his job, his freedom.

He's got a lot to lose given the harm to his reputation.

I do agree that a criminal standard (guilty beyond areasonable doubt) is too high since it suggests he should be a Justice even if he is much more likely than not to have committed sexual assault and lied about it, as long as there's slight ambiguity. I like the idea of going with a civil court standard (is it more likely than not that the allegations are true?)

[KOSLOX]

And, here's the latest Avenatti drop.
https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/...60428730843136

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Abortion is huge to them. People don’t realize how big of a gap that is for pro life and pro choice people. One side literally views it as the equivalent to legalized child murder. They feel like there is no difference between an abortion and a doctor suffocating a child right after it’s born. If you’re someone who believes that full stop, it’s going to be one of the biggest issues to you and will supersede a lot of reservations. It’s a huge card in the GOP’s favor. Trump would lose more support amongst Republican tomorrow if he came out as Pro Choice than if someone accused him of rape tomorrow and it was a very credible allegation.

And yet, those are the same pious, holier-than-thou and utterly hypocritical assholes who blindly support Republican agendas that keeps kids, especially poor kids from being fed, clothed and housed while denying them proper medical care and a decent education. While it's not immediate "murder" like those clowns believe when it comes to abortion, it can be seen as slow death, full of pain, hopelessness and helplessness. Like the late, great George Carlin was famous for saying, "If you’re pre-born, you’re fine. If you’re preschool, you’re fucked".

[Tami]

And, here's the latest Avenatti drop.
https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/...60428730843136

Wow.....now that should get their attention.

[worstblogever]

And, here's the latest Avenatti drop.
https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/...60428730843136

Well, damn, there it is. No wonder the Senate GOP want to vote by Friday without having Kavanaugh answer for anything Ford says in her testimony... they don't want Democratic Senators to ask him anything about Ramirez or Swetnick.

Fox News is gonna have to run car wrecks all day to distract from this one.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

And yet, those are the same pious, holier-than-thou and utterly hypocritical assholes who blindly support Republican agendas that keeps kids, especially poor kids from being fed, clothed and housed while denying them proper medical care and a decent education. While it's not immediate "murder" like those clowns believe when it comes to abortion, it can be seen as slow death, full of pain, hopelessness and helplessness. Like the late, great George Carlin was famous for saying, "If you’re pre-born, you’re fine. If you’re preschool, you’re fucked".

I agree. I’m just saying that they are coming at it from such a different point of view that it’s not worth arguing with them on it.

[Tami]

Well, damn, there it is. No wonder the Senate GOP want to vote by Friday without having Kavanaugh answer for anything Ford says in her testimony... they don't want Democratic Senators to ask him anything about Ramirez or Swetnick.

Fox News is gonna have to run car wrecks all day to distract from this one.

Don't think Kavanugh's supporters aren't going to do dances around this, trying to find, not those who could corroborate her testimony, but to shoot it down, even if it's lying.

Expect her to be added to Trump's list of people who get their security clearance yanked [even if they no longer have one].

[Iron Maiden]

Say what you will about him, Avenatti delivers and he does it the right way. He gets everything verified and documented. They can't ignore this woman without causing a shitstorm. It's like he's on a crusade to get these scumbag Republicans. God bless him I say even if he may have some selfish reasons. These cockroaches need to be exposed to the light. This is a lifetime appointment and this ratbag should not get it.

[worstblogever]

Don't think Kavanugh's supporters aren't going to do dances around this, trying to find, not those who could corroborate her testimony, but to shoot it down, even if it's lying.

Expect her to be added to Trump's list of people who get their security clearance yanked [even if they no longer have one].

Say what you will about him, Avenatti delivers and he does it the right way. He gets everything verified and documented. They can't ignore this woman without causing a shitstorm. It's like he's on a crusade to get these scumbag Republicans. God bless him I say even if he may have some selfish reasons. These cockroaches need to be exposed to the light. This is a lifetime appointment and this ratbag should not get it.

I feel like for the GOP, this is a no win situation. 6 weeks until the election. Your Supreme Court nominee has been accused of repeated sexual assaults, a rape attempt, and now women are coming forward and saying he and his circle of friends would drug girls to gang rape them.

A savvy Republican would doubt the accuser. Less savvy ones are going to victim blame. Some are going to go as far as to push a narrative that justifies rape, in the "show me a boy who hasn't done this" vein. And holy s***, what Trump might comment on this?

The only smart thing would be to force Kavanaugh to withdraw. If they don't, this is going to be in the headlines for 6 weeks, and it's going to make Todd Akin's comments look like an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in comparison, in terms of a "Republican War on Women".

[aja_christopher]

"DECLARATION OF JULIE SWETNICK

1, JULIE SWETNICK, declare as follows:

1 - My name is Julie Swetnick and I am a resident of Washington, D.C. I fully understand the seriousness of the statements contained within this declaration. I have personal knowledge of the information stated herein and if called to testify to the same would and could do so.

2 - I am a graduate of Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, MD.

3 - I presently hold the following active clearances associated with working within the federal government: Public Trust - U.S. Department of Treasury (DOT), U.S. Mint (USM), Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I have also previously held the following inactive clearances: Secret - U.S.

4 - Department of State (DOS), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Public Trust - U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

5 - My prior employment includes working with (a) Vietnam War Commemoration (VWC), Joint Services Providers (JSP), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in Arlington, Virginia; (b) U.S. Mint, U.S. Department of Treasury; (c) U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Department of Treasury; (d) Government Affairs and Communications Department, D.C. Department of General Services (DGS), Government of the District of Columbia (DC.Gov); (e) Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and (d) the U.S. Department of State (DOS). I was also one of the first 100 women in the world to achieve a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineering Certification (MCSE).

6 - I first met Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh in approximately 1980-1981. I was introduced to them at a house party that I attended in the Washington, D.C. area. I observed Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh as extremely close friends during the early 1980s when I knew them and interacted with them. I would describe them as "joined at the hip" and I consistently saw them together in many social settings, There is no question in my mind that Mark Judge has significant information concerning the conduct of Brett Kavanaugh during the 1980s, especially as it relates to his actions toward women.

7 - Following that first introduction, I attended well over ten house parties in the Washington, D.C. area during the years 1981-1983 where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present. These parties were a common occurrence in the area and occurred nearly every weekend during the school year. On numerous occasions at these parties, I witnessed Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh drink excessively and engage in highly inappropriate conduct, including being overly aggressive with girls and not taking "No" for an answer. This conduct included the fondling and grabbing of girls without their consent.

8 - I observed Brett Kavanaugh drink excessively at many of these parties and engage in abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, "grinding" against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girls' clothing to expose private body parts. I likewise observed him be verbally abusive towards girls by making crude sexual comments to them that were designed to demean, humiliate and embarrass them. I often witnessed Brett Kavanaugh speak in a demeaning manner about girls in general as well as specific girls by name. I also witnessed Brett Kavanaugh behave as a "mean drunk" on many occasions at these parties.

9 - I have been told by other women that this conduct also occurred during the Summer months in Ocean City, Maryland on numerous occasions. I also witnessed such conduct on one occasion in Ocean City, Maryland during "Beach Week."

10 - I have reviewed Brett Kavanaugh's recent claim on Fox News regarding his alleged "innocence" during his high school years and lack of sexual activity. This claim is absolutely false and a lie. I witnessed Brett Kavanaugh consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women during the early 1980s.

11 - During the years 1981-82, I became aware of efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to "spike" the "punch" at house parties I attended with drugs and/or grain alcohol so as to cause girls to lose their inhibitions and their ability to say "No." This caused me to make an effort to purposely avoid the "punch" at these parties. I witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to "target" particular girls so they could be taken advantage of; it was usually a girl that was especially vulnerable because she was alone at the party or shy.

12 - I also witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be "gang raped" in a side room or bedroom by a "train" of numerous boys. I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their "turn" with a girl inside the room. These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.

13 - In approximately 1982, I became the victim of one of these "gang" or "train" rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present. Shortly after the incident, I shared what had transpired with at least two other people. During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me. I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking.

14 - I am aware of other witnesses that can attest to the truthfulness of each of the statements above.

I declare, under penalty of perjury and under the laws of the United States of America, that the foregoing is true and correct. I have executed this declaration on September 25, 2018.

Julie Swetnick

ref: https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1044960428730843136/photo/2"

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

Holy crap.

I'm not trying to jump to conclusions here, but even a tenth of this is true, then one of the greatest injustices in American history is that Brett Kavanaugh sat behind a bench instead of standing before one.

Jesus.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Say what you will about him, Avenatti delivers and he does it the right way. He gets everything verified and documented. They can't ignore this woman without causing a shitstorm. It's like he's on a crusade to get these scumbag Republicans. God bless him I say even if he may have some selfish reasons. These cockroaches need to be exposed to the light. This is a lifetime appointment and this ratbag should not get it.

He’s literally the best thing about the Trump administration

[Iron Maiden]

All I can say is, your turn, Mr Kavanaugh. We're waiting