Kavanaugh's Choir Boy Act Doesn't Wash

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Watching Brett Kavanaugh playing the ludicrously virginal choir boy (the alter ego of rapey drunk "Bart O'Kavanaugh") with his stricken wife at his side in the Monday night interview on friendly Fox News has compelled several more Kavanaugh college friends to call out his blatant lies:

Liz Swisher, who described herself as a friend of Kavanaugh in college, said she was shocked that — in an interview focused largely on his high school years and allegations of sexual misconduct — he strongly denied drinking to the point of blacking out. 

“Brett was a sloppy drunk, and I know because I drank with him. I watched him drink more than a lot of people. He’d end up slurring his words, stumbling,” said Swisher, a Democrat and chief of the gynecologic oncology division at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “There’s no medical way I can say that he was blacked out. . . . But it’s not credible for him to say that he has had no memory lapses in the nights that he drank to excess.” 

Lynne Brookes, who like Swisher was a college roommate of one of the two women now accusing Kavanaugh of misconduct, said the nominee’s comments on Fox did not match the classmate she remembered. 

“He’s trying to paint himself as some kind of choir boy,” said Brookes, a Republican and former pharmaceutical executive who recalled an encounter with a drunken Kavanaugh at a fraternity event. “You can’t lie your way onto the Supreme Court, and with that statement out, he’s gone too far. It’s about the integrity of that institution.”  (our emphasis)

He's a "smooth liar" -- but not smooth enough by half.  He's already been caught lying about his past actions as a Republican operative throughout his confirmation testimony. No wonder he doesn't want to "clear his name" by having the FBI question him under oath (unlike his accusers).

Seth Meyers also has a "Couple Things" to discuss regarding the Kavanaugh appearance on Fox News:



In the meantime, more corroborators of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's account of Kavanaugh's sexual assault have stepped forward (see post below).  There's an awful lot of smoke here, and it's not of the dry ice variety.

A lying, drunk, serial sexual assaulter to be installed on the Supreme Court for life.  Well, you have to say he largely fits the profile of rotted out, privileged white male Republicans who never had to answer for their misbehavior (see also, "Trump, Donald").

BONUS:  Booman has a good read on Kavanaugh's lying self.

Breaking: Four Can Corroborate Ford's Story

Lawyers for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford have provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with sworn statements from four individuals who are corroborating her story of attempted rape by troubled judge Brett Kavanaugh. Three friends and her husband have sworn to the accuracy of Ford's account of being molested by a drunken Kavanaugh during a party in 1982. According to one of the individuals:

"In her declaration, Adela Gildo-Mazzon said Ford told her about the alleged assault during a June 2013 meal at a restaurant in Mountain View, California, and contacted Ford’s attorneys on Sept. 16 to tell them Ford had confided in her five years ago.

'During our meal, Christine was visibly upset, so I asked her what was going on,' Gildo-Mazzon said in her declaration. 'Christine told me she had been having a hard day because she was thinking about an assault she experienced when she was much younger. She said she had been almost raped by someone who was now a federal judge. She told me she had been trapped in a room with two drunken guys, and that she had escaped, ran away and hid.'"

The statements will be used by lawyers for Ford in the hearing scheduled for tomorrow before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where cowardly Rethuglican Senators will be hiding behind a female Republican prosecutor brought in to question Ford. The Rethugs were rightly terrified of having their misogynist flags fly by asking delicate questions themselves or appearing to bully Ford themselves, which some Rethugs (cough Orrin Hatch cough) would love to do.

Lawyers for a second Kavanaugh accuser Deborah Ramirez have been rebuffed by Committee staff, after coming forward with an offer to testify before the Committee about Kavanaugh's exposing himself to her in their freshmen year at Yale. Ramirez has also called for an FBI investigation into her allegations. One of Kavanaugh's roommates at Yale at that time has described Kavanaugh as an aggressive drunk, adding "I believe her."

Quote Of The Day -- "A Serpent Covered In Vaseline"

Conservative New York Times opinion columnist Bret Stephens, tell us why you "despise" embattled Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R- Lizard):

Because he’s like a serpent covered in Vaseline. Because he treats the American people like two-bit suckers in 10-gallon hats. Because he sucks up to the guy who insulted his wife — by retweet, no less. Because of his phony piety and even phonier principles. Because I see him as the spiritual love child of the 1980s televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and Jack Nicholson’s character in “The Shining.” Because his ethics are purely situational. Because he makes Donald Trump look like a human being by comparison. Because “New York values.” Because his fellow politicians detest him, and that’s just among Republicans. Because he never got over being the smartest kid in eighth grade. Because he’s conniving enough to try to put one over you, but not perceptive enough to realize that you see right through him. Because he’s the type of man who would sell his family into slavery if that’s what it took to get elected. And that he would use said slavery as a sob story to get himself re-elected.

Can't argue with any of that.

Beto O'Rourke for Senate.

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)


(Joel Pett, Louisville Herald-Leader, KY))


(Tom Toles, Washington Post)


(Jen Sorensen, via gocomics.com)


(Ann Telnaes, Washington Post)

The Laughingstock Of The World

Our national disgrace, the narcissistic clown, embarrasses himself (and us) in front of the world (again):

World laughs after Trump claims his administration "has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country." pic.twitter.com/hqEKjnTiyJ

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 25, 2018

Reactions abound:

That second wave of laughter?
When the translators finished translating exactly what Trump said. https://t.co/Ubux3jbFs6

— Steve Marmel (@Marmel) September 25, 2018

The next time Trump claims "We're respected again," remember that on this date there was laughter from world leaders assembled at the UN when he said he'd achieved more than any US president in history.
"I didn't expect that reaction," he says.

— Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes) September 25, 2018

I agree. https://t.co/B8FYRjUsJr

— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) September 25, 2018

I wld like to thank the UN diplomats who laughed at our President. Because he’s a clown and an embarrassment.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) September 25, 2018

Typically when people say America under the GOP has become the laughing stock of the world, it's not meant literally. Well, now it is. https://t.co/sutMebzV94

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 25, 2018

And finally,

i like presidents who address the united nations without having the entire world laugh at america pic.twitter.com/iq1xmhBWkv

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) September 25, 2018

Did Slimy Roger Stone Offer A Bribe?

Dirty trickster and pervert Roger Stone has worked the sewers of Republican politics ever since his time working on the re-election campaign of disgraced President Richard Nixon. He was once convicted felon Paul Manafort's partner in a sleazy consulting firm that not only smeared Democrats, but had clients that reeked of tyranny and corruption. His most recent claim to fame is his involvement with Russian intelligence via WikiLeaks' role in DNC e-mails stolen by Russian military intelligence, actually "predicting" the release of the stolen e-mails in advance of their publication. The Mueller investigation has long been interested in Stone's dirty work on behalf of the campaign of Putin employee Donald "Rump" Trump.

Now there is reporting that Stone tried to shift responsibility for those WikiLeaks contacts to activist comedian Randy Credico, going so far as to offer to help pay Credico's legal bills so that he would echo Stone's false account.

"During the 2016 campaign, [Stone] appeared on multiple occasions to accurately predict WikiLeaks’ plans to release hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. In August 2016, Stone claimed he had communicated with WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange. But in 2017, as investigators probed whether Trump associates had played a role in Russia’s plot to subvert the election, Stone changed his story. Last October, Stone told the House Intelligence Committee that Credico had served as his contact with WikiLeaks. That is: Stone claimed all he knew about the group’s plans, beyond what it said publicly, came from Credico. [snip] 

Credico says he subsequently complained to Stone about the legal expenses he would incur from getting dragged into the Russia investigation; Stone, he claims, offered to help him defray those costs—and urged him not to challenge his claim that Credico was a back channel.

'He said, "Hey, look. I can’t put it together myself, but I have friends that will contribute to a defense fund,’ Credico says. He notes the timing of Stone’s offer left him with the impression that it was contingent on Credico not disputing his version of events. 'He certainly did not want me to contradict him,' Credico adds." (our emphasis)

Mueller will get to the truth, which will probably result in a perjury rap for Stone, among other felony charges. It can't come soon enough for this vile, treasonous gutter snipe.

80,000 Jobs Lost Under Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker While Foxconn Deal Soaks Taxpayers (And Party Mocks Sexual Misconduct)

Wisconsin's oleaginous Republican Gov. Scott "Koch Head" Walker, when he's not union busting, has been working cons on his constituents for years, with the assistance of his drooling Republican state legislature. Some chickens are now coming home to roost as he tries to survive another election cycle.

Milwaukee's NPR station reports on the reality of con #1:

When Gov. Scott Walker mounted his first gubernatorial campaign he made a bold claim: that during his first term as governor he would create 250,000 jobs for Wisconsinites. He is just now nearing that figure after nearly two terms on the job. 

Most economists believe that governors have a limited impact on how many jobs are created in a given state. That being said, local economist Bruce Thompson believes Walker’s policies may have actually resulted in a loss of 80,000 jobs in Wisconsin.

Have a look at what those reactionary policies are, particularly as they compare to economic development policies in Democratic- governed neighbor Minnesota.

Walker's highly touted initiative to bring Taiwanese tech giant to Wisconsin is also being exposed as a con job. Lawrence Tabak at American Prospect has a deep dive;  here's a snippet:

Industry experts put the employee count for even the original large-scale LCD manufacturing plant at 2,000, just 15 percent of Foxconn's promised workforce. Foxconn’s original plans estimated that three-fourths of its workforce in Wisconsin will be hourly, a pattern that fits the company’s core expertise: assembling iPhones and other electronic devices. For 15 years, Wisconsin taxpayers will be subsidizing Foxconn’s payroll for employees making at least $30,000 to the tune of 17 percent, while capital costs over the first seven years of construction will receive a 15 percent rebate. Should Foxconn hit its capital expenditure and employment targets, Wisconsin taxpayers will end up sending some $3 billion to the company. While state-level support is touted as tax relief, in fact Wisconsin has already waived almost all of the pertinent taxes for businesses. The taxpayer-funded $3 billion in incentives (the largest ever to a foreign company) will be paid largely in cash. The local municipalities are chipping in another $764 million via a tax increment financing (TIF) project so large that the state legislature had to pass a waiver, since this amount far surpasses the statutory prudence level of 12 percent of existing municipal property values. Additional taxpayer-supported costs have put Wisconsin's total outlay at well over $4 billion, more than $300,000 a job. How expensive is this?

As Jeffrey Dorfman, economics professor at the University of Georgia, reported for Forbes in 2017: “Realistically, the payback period for a $100,000 per job deal is not 20 years, not 42 years, but somewhere between hundreds of years and never. At $230,000 [or more] per job, there is no hope of recapturing the state funds spent from taxes on the company and its workers.” Tim Bartik, an economist at the nonpartisan, independent W.E. Upjohn Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who specializes in economic development, concurs: “The per job cost is at least five or six times, maybe seven or eight times, the incentive average.”   (our emphasis)

We're beginning to suspect Walker was a graduate of the dealmaking course at Trump University.  Here's a deal:  let's trade Walker for Democratic nominee Tony Evers.  This is a very winnable race for Democrats, so let's get back to the Wisconsin Idea and away from the Wisconsin Con.

BONUS:  Here's the level of discourse in the Wisconsin Republican Party right now --

@mkegop You can delete, but you can't hide. pic.twitter.com/24Qp5tE0Ml

— Miss T (@TaMarasKitchen) September 25, 2018

(Photo:  "See this?  We're vacuuming these out of your pockets!")

Some Of Kavanaugh's Female Supporters Now Having Second Thoughts

Oh, Brett, they hardly knew ye.

At least two of the women who have publicly vouched for that virginal exemplar of Republican morals, Brett Kavanaugh, are having second thoughts about their man:

Louisa Garry, one of the former Kavanaugh classmates who asked the New Yorker to remove her name from a statement of support for Kavanaugh, seems to be the same Louisa Garry who appears in a Judicial Crisis Network ad supporting Kavanaugh. https://t.co/ZpAoaEuNIf pic.twitter.com/733MHHvlVX

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 24, 2018

(h/t Karoli Kuns)

Oh... oh man. https://t.co/WFaeDMuWm7 pic.twitter.com/5MIwDch240

— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) September 25, 2018

Meanwhile, we have Kavanaugh's freshman year roommate at Yale, James Roche, vouching for Debbie Ramirez and painting a now- familiar portrait of the young man as a drunken abuser:

"It is from this experience that I concluded that although Brett was normally reserved, he was a notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time, and that he became aggressive and belligerent when he was very drunk. I did not observe the specific incident in question, but I do remember Brett frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk." 

Roche says he became friends with Debbie Ramirez. "She stood out as being exceptionally honest, with a trusting manner. As we got to know one another, I discovered that Debbie was very worried about fitting in. She felt that everyone at Yale was very rich, very smart and very sophisticated and that as a Puerto Rican woman from a less privileged background she was an outsider. Her response was to try hard to make friends and get along."

Who, again, is more believable?

BONUS:  Kavanaugh has a gold - pated endorser who, like the smarmy Mitch McConnell (see post below), says Kavanaugh's accusers are liars --

The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2018

Wow, "the likes of which have never been seen before!"  Even worse than the accusations by multiple women who've accused YOU of sexual misconduct? Just, wow.

Tweet Of The Day

So, the Republican Senate Majority Leader is now calling Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez liars.

McConnell, on the Senate floor:
“Even by the far left’s standards, this shameful, shameful smear campaign has hit a new low.”

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) September 24, 2018

We think you all know what to do, now and on Tuesday, November 6.

3-D Gun Creep Arrested For Underage Sex

The defiant sociopath who published blueprints for 3-D plastic guns on the internet was deported from Taiwan and returned to Texas where he has been charged with sex with a minor. Cody Wilson, 30, had allegedly been in Taiwan on "business" when Taiwanese immigration officials detained him and deported him back to the U.S. Last month, a Federal judge blocked Wilson from posting the free blueprints of the gun on line. Now, Wilson is offering the blueprints on his website for any sum of money.

Police say that Wilson fled to Taiwan when he learned he was under investigation for the assault. He's since been released on bond from the Harris Co., TX jail, despite being a danger to the community:

"Wilson, a self-described 'crypto-anarchist,' has said 'governments should live in fear of their citizenry.'"

Actually, it's a lunatic like Wilson whom citizens should fear, both for his dangerous gun fetish and likely related sexual perversions.

BOMBSHELL: Rosenstein To Be Fired Today? (UPDATED)

NBC's Pete Williams, gold standard in #DOJ reporting, says #Rosenstein en route to White House, won't resign and will force them to fire him. As I am told, Vacancies Act only kicks in if he resigns.

— Jeremy Pelofsky (@wdcscribe) September 24, 2018

Vacancies Act means if a senior official "dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office," then president can fill it w/someone already confirmed by Senate for a period of time w/o being reconfirmed. Being fired doesn't qualify as reason.

— Jeremy Pelofsky (@wdcscribe) September 24, 2018

If this truly happens, it will be the most blatant act of obstruction of justice by Agent Orange so far.

We can all thank the click- bait access "journalists" at The New York Effing Times for this one.

UPDATE:  Several news outlets are now reporting any decision will be on hold pending a meeting between Rosenstein and Agent Orange on Thursday.

UPDATE II:  Wouldn't put it past them --

Gabe Sherman reports that the Rosenstein leak appears to have been a "smoke bomb" to knock Kavanaugh out of the news. “The strategy was to try and do something really big,” said a source familiar with Trump's thinking. https://t.co/wWRGXJZBHA

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) September 24, 2018

Oxymoron alert:  "Trump's thinking."

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon -- The Injustice Of It All

(click on image to enlarge)


(Tom Tomorrow, via Daily Kos)

Republicans Knew A Week Ago About New Kavanaugh Allegation

From The New Yorker bombshell article by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow, this nugget concerning the latest allegation of sexual misconduct by Republican operative- turned- judge Brett Kavanaugh:

... The offices of at least four Democratic senators have received information about the allegation, and at least two have begun investigating it. Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and, in conversations with The New Yorker, expressed concern about its potential impact on Kavanaugh’s nomination. Soon after, Senate Republicans issued renewed calls to accelerate the timing of a committee vote.  (our emphasis)

So those rotted out, desiccated Senate Republicans knew about the second allegation and their response was... speed up the process to confirm Kavanaugh!

"Vote them out. Vote them out."

BREAKING: At Least Two More Women To Accuse Kavanaugh (UPDATED)

As the Kavanaugh Keystone Kops Koverup team tries to convince us that he kept calendars of his social engagements from 1982, it appears the situation may be about to reach critical mass:

Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from the Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years https://t.co/OtxrOWQc8c

— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) September 23, 2018

Here's an excerpt from the story:

The woman at the center of the story, Deborah Ramirez, who is fifty-three, attended Yale with Kavanaugh, where she studied sociology and psychology. Later, she spent years working for an organization that supports victims of domestic violence. The New Yorker contacted Ramirez after learning of her possible involvement in an incident involving Kavanaugh. The allegation was conveyed to Democratic senators by a civil-rights lawyer. For Ramirez, the sudden attention has been unwelcome, and prompted difficult choices. She was at first hesitant to speak publicly, partly because her memories contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident. In her initial conversations with The New Yorker, she was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident with certainty. After six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, Ramirez said that she felt confident enough of her recollections to say that she remembers Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away. Ramirez is now calling for the F.B.I. to investigate Kavanaugh’s role in the incident. “I would think an F.B.I. investigation would be warranted,” she said.  (our emphasis)

But wait, there's more:

My client is not Deborah Ramirez.

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 23, 2018

It's never just a one off with sexual predators;  there's always a pattern of behavior and now we're seeing it emerge.  Keep your popcorn popping.

UPDATE:  The hits just keep on coming.  Another accuser is talking to Montgomery County (MD) police.

Across The Universe, Cont. -- Coma Cluster

(click on image to enlarge)



From NASA/ ESA, September 17, 2018:  In the northern constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair) lies the impressive Coma Cluster — a structure of over a thousand galaxies bound together by gravity. Many of these galaxies are elliptical types, as is the brighter of the two galaxies dominating this image: NGC 4860 (centre). However, the outskirts of the cluster also host younger spiral galaxies that proudly display their swirling arms. Again, this image shows a wonderful example of such a galaxy in the shape of the beautiful NGC 4858, which can be seen to the left of its bright neighbour and which stands out on account of its unusual, tangled, fiery appearance.

NGC 4858 is special. Rather than being a simple spiral, it is something called a “galaxy aggregate”, which is, just as the name suggests, a central galaxy surrounded by a handful of luminous knots of material that seem to stem from it, extending and tearing away and adding to or altering its overall structure. It is also experiencing an extremely high rate of star formation, possibly triggered by an earlier interaction with another galaxy. As we see it, NGC 4858 is forming stars so frantically that it will use up all of its gas long before it reaches the end of its life. The colour of its bright knots indicates that they are formed of hydrogen, which glows in various shades of bright red as it is energised by the many young, hot stars lurking within.

This scene was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a powerful camera designed to explore the evolution of stars and galaxies in the early Universe.

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA