Quotes Of The Day

"I wrote this book because the president's attacks on me symbolize his destructive effect on the country as a whole. He is undermining America's safety and security, and eroding public confidence in its institutions. His attacks on the most crucial institutions of government, and on the professionals who serve within them, should make every American stand up and take notice." -- Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, in a statement announcing the December 4 publication of his tell- all memoir, "The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump."  McCabe is one of several FBI officials whose text messages related to the Russia investigation have been ordered released by Putin asset Donald "Rump" Trump.  (How about moving up that publication date a month or so?)

"Republicans have decided that Trump can’t be held accountable for anything — ranging from the alleged groping of Jill Hart, to creepy peeping at teenage beauty pageant contestants, to the numerous acts of grand and petty financial corruption that he continues to be involved with as president of the United States. And now the party is no longer in much of a position to hold anyone accountable for anything."  -- Matthew Yglesias on why Republicans will stand with Kavanaugh in spite of the credible accusations against him.

Vote them out!  Vote them out!

Character Witness [UPDATED]

The allegation that right-wing Supreme Court nominee and Ken Starr's porn scribe Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a girl in high school was obviously known well in advance to the Rethuglican Senate committee members who had a letter signed by 65 women vouching Kavanaugh immediately after the allegation was made public. It didn't help matters that Sen. Diane Feinstein (CA) had knowledge of the allegation which was contained in a letter from a constituent weeks beforehand and sat on it. Advantage: Rethugs.

In the allegation, the victim mentions a friend of Kavanaugh's who witnessed the assault, someone later identified as Mark Judge:

"The New Yorker reported that the woman wrote in her letter that 'during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down, and that he attempted to force himself on her. She claimed in the letter that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his, both of whom had been drinking, turned up music that was playing in the room to conceal the sound of her protests, and that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand.' Kavanaugh has denied the allegations."

Judge, who is a right-wing writer, has written a book about his blackout drinking days at his and Kavanaugh's all-boys alma mater, Georgetown Prep. In his "God and Man at Georgetown Prep," depicts the atmosphere as frat boys run wild with drinking, partying and bad behavior. Judge also wrote a memoir of teenage alcohol addiction in which he describes his blackout drinking at the school:

“'The next thing I knew, I was lying on a bathroom floor. I was curled up in the fetal position with saliva running out of the side of my mouth, Judge writes, explaining that he had inexplicably woken up inside a nearby Four Seasons Hotel. He writes that he called his mom for help getting home. 'I must have come over here and passed out,' he tells her."

Judge now says the incident involving Kavanaugh and the girl didn't happen. Of course, if he was a blackout drunk, he's not a reliable witness. The woman is.

UPDATE: Kavanaugh's anonymous accused has stepped forward. She's now a college professor, and she passed a polygraph test regarding the incident.