If for some strange reason you are one of those people who has been feeling down lately because you have a Justice of the Supreme Court who lied under oath about what he wrote in his prep school yearbook and what he did about judicial appointments and knew about stolen emails while working in the White House, and you have a Senate that did not do its job, and you have a President who ordered a FBI cover-up, watch this video. It will restore your confidence in innocence and will remind you of nobler days.
Supreme Court of the United States
A Scary Time For Men: Really?
Kavanaugh Will Not Have The Last Word
For those of us who have been too distressed to watch the news since the confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice who lied under oath to the U.S. Senate, Bill Blum, who is an experienced lawyer and judge, wrote a good summary of what that confirmation has given us as a country. Here are his five take-aways:
- The Kavanaugh confirmation proves once again that the courts, especially the Supreme Court is political.
- Kavanaugh’s confirmation signals the triumph of a judicial counterrevolution.
- For the time being, white male privilege has triumphed over the rights of women.
- Elections matter.
- If Democrats take the House, Kavanaugh will face further investigations and possible impeachment.
Of most importance to me is #3. Blum writes:
” The very fact that the nomination was ever thrown into doubt is a testament to the growing power of women. Eventually, that power will prevail, and we will have no more Kavanaughs or Thomases on the court, or in any other prominent position of government.
This time, however, the power of hypermasculinity and white privilege won out, in keeping with the president’s omnipresent neofascist slogan—“Make America Great Again”—and the false promise it offers to return the country to a fictional past, when successful white Christian men held all posts of authority, and women and racial minorities happily accepted their second-class citizenship.
Trump and his enablers will eventually pay a heavy price for placing Kavanaugh on the court and, more generally, demeaning women and scapegoating minorities. The only question is when.”
May the “when” that Blum anticipates come very, very soon.
And may Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh come to see that the ominous words that the new Justice of the Supreme Court spoke at the September 27th hearing do, indeed, come true: What goes around comes around.
Donald Trump As 7th Grader
Every 7th grade English class that I taught needed to hear the same story; now, sadly, the country needs to hear that story. Hear it or perish as a great nation.
The story is:
After the Civil War, one of the outstanding Union generals, General Joseph Hooker, was called upon to testify at court-martials of other Union officers who had not distinguished themselves during the war. He refused. He said, “I refuse to build myself up by tearing other men down.”
At least once a year in the 7th grade English class, some of those 13 year-olds, usually boys, would try to build themselves up by tearing another student down. They would laugh at, insult, or bully another student. Most of all, they would let that student know that they were the “in” group, and the other student was not. When that happened, I would tell them the General Joseph Hooker story and point out that tearing another person down was a crumby way to feel good about yourself. That story seemed to stick with them.
Now we see the President of the United Sates of America and his followers in need of that story. At a recent rally, he laughed at, insulted, and bullied Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and those in attendance laughed along with him. An excellent article in The Atlantic describes that cruelty in detail.
What have we sunk to as a nation, as a people? Thirteen year olds are just beginning to grow into adults. We can forgive them and mold them. But a man in his 8th decade and his adult followers? What do we do with them?
Vote out of office all those who think it’s OK to laugh at, insult, and bully someone else. Anyone who thinks it’s OK to not treat Christine Blasey Ford, whom everyone spoke of as credible, with respect and support does not deserve to be in political office…..and does not deserve to be promoted to 8th grade.
Emboldened By October 6, 2018
I am more emboldened today than yesterday. I agree with those Senators who called yesterday the darkest day in the history of the United States Senate and the White House’s FBI (non) investigation a cover -up.
Check out my To-Do list on yesterday’s posting, which is below.
Please suggest what else we can do together. Join me. Let’s create a future and a new history of which we and our children and grandchildren can be proud.
YESTERDAY
Shame On You, Susan Collins
Shame on you, Susan Collins for voting for someone who lied under oath to the Supreme Court. Shame on you for not telling us that you know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath. Even if he cannot remember his assault on Christine Blasey Ford or even if it never happened, he lied about his drinking, lied about known terms referring to sexual exploits, and lied about his attack on the reputation of a contemporaneous 18 year old young woman. In your long, obfuscating speech in which you announced your vote, you did not mention those verified facts.
The 2400 law school professors who opposed his confirmation know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
The American Bar Association opposed his confirmation because they know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
John Paul Stevens, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, opposed Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation because he knows that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath and does not conduct himself with the judiciousness of a Justice of the Supreme Court. I bet the current Supreme Court Justices as well know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
James Comey, former Director of the FBI who said it was significant when someone lies in the present time about what he wrote in his high school yearbook, knows Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
Twenty million people who watched the Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, September 27th know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath, some of whom are now appalled that someone who perjured himself will sit on the Supreme Court and others who are exhilarated that he got away with it.
And I know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
So what will I do about it?
- I will today send sizable (for my budget) donations to Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly who are in tight Senate races in states in Trump country where it was risky to vote NO on Kavanaugh. They, however, followed their consciences and voted NO. The deserve whatever I can do to help them. DONE
- I will contact the website called Crowdpac, which was set up in Maine to gather support for whoever will run against Susan Collins in 2020. Their website crashed yesterday after Susan Collins gave her speech announcing her support for Brett Kavanaugh because it was inundated with donations for her future opponent. WILL DO TODAY
- I will phone bank in my own state next week for Beto O’Rourke in a get out the vote effort in Texas because he is man of integrity and his victory will get rid of a Senator on the Judiciary Committee who voted for Brett Kavanaugh. Also, his victory will help to create a Democratic majority in the Senate. SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 16
- I will continue to support Stacey Abrams in her race for Governor of Georgia. She is someone who can change our political culture because she knows what it is to not be allowed a voice by the dominant culture, to not be an elite AND knows how to become a leader with integrity and compassion anyway and uplift our national discourse. DONE
- I will do all I can as a private citizen to urge the Democratic Party to stand for inclusion, for integrity, and for giving voice to the voiceless and to reject money as the controlling influence in politics. I will urge the Democratic Party, which has been my heritage, to create itself anew and give us all a future with promise. HAVEN’T FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THIS YET. ANY IDEAS?
- ( Added Today)Call the offices of Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly and offer to do what I can for their campaigns from Connecticut, maybe gather people to do a phone bank or send out a mailing. TOMORROW
Shame on you, Susan Collins. But we will overcome.
Shame On You, Susan Collins
Shame on you, Susan Collins for voting for someone who lied under oath to the Supreme Court. Shame on you for not telling us that you know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath. Even if he cannot remember his assault on Christine Blasey Ford or even if it never happened, he lied about his drinking, lied about known terms referring to sexual exploits, and lied about his attack on the reputation of a contemporaneous 18 year old young woman. In your long, obfuscating speech in which you announced your vote, you did not mention those verified facts.
The 2400 law school professors who opposed his confirmation know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
The American Bar Association opposed his confirmation because they know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
John Paul Stevens, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, opposed Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation because he knows that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath and does not conduct himself with the judiciousness of a Justice of the Supreme Court. I bet the current Supreme Court Justices as well know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
James Comey, former Director of the FBI who said it was significant when someone lies in the present time about what he wrote in his high school yearbook, knows Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
Twenty million people who watched the Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, September 27th know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath, some of whom are now appalled that someone who perjured himself will sit on the Supreme Court and others who are exhilarated that he got away with it.
And I know that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath.
So what will I do about it?
- I will today send sizable (for my budget) donations to Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly who are in tight Senate races in states in Trump country where it was risky to vote NO on Kavanaugh. They, however, followed their consciences and voted NO. The deserve whatever I can do to help them. DONE
- I will contact the website called Crowdpac, which was set up in Maine to gather support for whoever will run against Susan Collins in 2020. Their website crashed yesterday after Susan Collins gave her speech announcing her support for Brett Kavanaugh because it was inundated with donations for her future opponent. WILL DO TODAY
- I will phone bank in my own state next week for Beto O’Rourke in a get out the vote effort in Texas because he is man of integrity and his victory will get rid of a Senator on the Judiciary Committee who voted for Brett Kavanaugh. Also, his victory will help to create a Democratic majority in the Senate. SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 16
- I will continue to support Stacey Abrams in her race for Governor of Georgia. She is someone who can change our political culture because she knows what it is to not be allowed a voice by the dominant culture, to not be an elite AND knows how to become a leader with integrity and compassion anyway and uplift our national discourse. DONE
- I will do all I can as a private citizen to urge the Democratic Party to stand for inclusion, for integrity, and for giving voice to the voiceless and to reject money as the controlling influence in politics. I will urge the Democratic Party, which has been my heritage, to create itself anew and give us all a future with promise. HAVEN’T FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THIS YET. ANY IDEAS?
Shame on you, Susan Collins. But we will overcome.
Read And Weep
Read this NYT editorial and weep.
We will “join our solitudes in the communion of struggle” as the poet Denise Levertov advocates. We will invite new voices to work with us to give our country a future of decency and integrity. We will not give up.
But first we will read the above editorial and weep. We will weep for what might have been right now.
Do Not Be Defined By Loss But By Hope
As people of integrity who respect our Constitution and the Supreme Court, we seem to have lost the seat on the Supreme Court. That’s for now.
Let us “join our solitudes in the communion of struggle” and begin to know our power to unfold a new world that is now only in bud form. Let’s build a country based on truth-telling, respect, and empathy for one another. Let’s mark today not as the end of a struggle for the Supreme Court but the beginning of our struggle to build a more just society.
If you want to let Christine Blasey Ford know of your support and appreciation, you can send her a postcard at the following address. Postcards are suggested because, for security reasons, all envelopes are opened prior to her receiving them.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford
Paolo Alto University
1791 Arastradero Rd
Paolo Alto, CA 94304
Above is a copy of the front of my postcard. Feel free to use the quote from Denise Levertov. I also wrote my own message of support and gratitude on the flip side.
Please, God, May They Vote No
Please, God, let there be wisdom.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court who lied under oath to get there.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court who more than 2400 law professors say is unfit.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court who the American Bar Association, the voice of the nation’s lawyers, say is unfit.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court who former Supreme Court Justice Stevens says is unfit.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court who millions of Americans witnessed lying under oath.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court who millions of Americans witnessed disrespecting our government by mocking Senators and not answering their questions but purposefully veering off topic and running out the clock.
Let there not be a Justice on the Supreme Court so full of partisan vitriol that his decisions would not be respected by the American people.
You see, God, what is at stake here is not whether we have a conservative or a liberal Justice. What is at stake here is: Will we survive as a nation?
There must be integrity in the three branches of government for our democracy to keep going. In front of us now is the integrity of the one of those branches: The Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Please, God, let Senators have the wisdom to vote NO on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.
Civics 101: Public Trust Will Be Lost If A Perjurer Is On The Supreme Court
The White House announced that only four people, none of them former classmates who have contradicted Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony, will be interviewed by the FBI. In addition to the four people whom the White House named, the following individuals must be interviewed in ascertain if Brett Kavanaugh perjured himself when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 27, 2018:
- Elizabeth Swisher, classmate of Brett Kavanaugh at Yale
- Lynne Brookes, classmate of Brett Kavanaugh at Yale
- Daniel Lavan, classmate of Brett Kavanaugh at Yale
- Sean Hagan, classmate at Georgetown Prep
- Renate Dolphin, public school student when Brett Kavanaugh was at Georgetown Prep
- Bill Barbot, alumnus of Georgetown Prep
- William Fishburne, classmate of Brett Kavanaugh at Georgetown Prep who managed the football team
- Alumnae of Holton-Arms School during the years that Brett Kavanaugh was at Georgetown Prep to check his statement under oath that Georgetown Prep students did not socialize with girls from Holton-Arms.
All of these individuals have come forward to tell what they know. The FBI should begin its investigation with them. The FBI can ask them if it is true what Brett Kavanaugh said about his drinking habits and true about the terms that Brett Kavanaugh said refer to indigestion and drinking games but his contemporaries say refer to sexual conquests. The FBI can find out if Brett Kavanaugh was telling the truth to the Judiciary Committee and to all of us in the country who were watching.
Some say that what happens in high school and college doesn’t matter. I disagree. But no one says that perjury doesn’t matter. And no one says that lying in a job interview doesn’t matter. And no one says that the integrity of the Supreme Court doesn’t matter.
There is plenty to investigate by the FBI about Brett Kavanaugh’s truth-telling or perjury in more recent years. Manuel Miranda, a Republican aide working with Brett Kavanaugh at the White House when files were stolen from the Democrats, could be questioned. Those who worked with Brett Kavanaugh when he was clerking for the disgraced Judge Kozinski could be questioned to see if Brett Kavanaugh did or did not know of Judge Kozinski’s activities with pornography that caused him to be removed from the bench. Brett Kavanaugh’s emails about judicial appointments while he was in the White House Council’s Office could be examined to see if they support his statements made under oath.
What needs to be determined by the FBI is if Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath. Events can be lost to memory due to alcohol or due to those events not being anything unusual to the person being questioned. But perjury could be right before our eyes, right on national TV.
Demand of your Senators and demand of the White House that the FBI investigation be complete. Demand that the FBI investigation begin with the individuals listed above.
Determining if Brett Kavanaugh told the truth or perjured himself is essential for the integrity of the Supreme Court.
Real Learning CT 