One More Lie

Case in Point.
(An example of what is being discussed)

I am not alone in often having lamented that the Left ignores facts that do not fit their narrative, that they use emotion to work people up, and that what they do is nearly always beneficial to themselves and unfair to everyone else.

Here is another case in point:  The recent photos of mounted border patrol agents as they are surrounded by illegal immigrants, most of whom happen to be dark skinned, at the border near Del Rio Texas.

The horses are being ridden in the Western style which uses long, separated reins that often hang down.  The purpose of these reins is to control the horses.  Western riders sometimes twirl these ropes. 

This gives you a calm look at what these Western style reins look like:

These ropes are reins.  If one tried to use them to provide a whipping it would hurt the horse and likely the rider too. 

Here is another photo which shows just how far down the Western style reins hang:

Actually, in this photo, the border crosser is the aggressor as he can be seen grabbing the horse's rein and bit.

Here is the photo that is most widely shown as evidence of Border Agents whipping illegal crossers. From some angles it may appear that the ropes are coming into contact with the illegal border crossers.  According to the photographer that is not the case.  

When you look at the above, the top two photos may on first glance appear to show a whip, but when one looks closer at the bottom blow ups from the same photo, one sees that is just the rein flying to the side as the border patrol agent grabs the border crosser’s shirt.

The photographer who took the images said Friday that the border agents never whipped anyone. "Some of the Haitian men started running, trying to go around the horses.  I've never seen them whip anyone.”

Photos can be deceiving.  In some photos the riders twirl the reins, which is common in Western style riding.  According to the photographer, “swinging it [the rein] can be misconstrued when you’re looking at the picture."   

Yes, some of the photos were misleading and misconstrued.  But the problem is not the photos but the way that the White House and the Left reacted to and then used them.  Indeed, they are still using them to support a false narrative, but a narrative that they find useful.

When the idea of whipping was first suggested the White House labeled these photos as “horrific.”  Not factual, not truthful, but horrific.  That the photos are horrific remains their justification to use this non-event to attack hard working border agents overwhelmed with a border crisis of Biden’s making.   A border that there is no evidence that Joe Biden has ever visited.

The photo has become a justification for the Left’s racist claims against the border agents as well as against anyone who disputes their false narrative.  These mostly Haitian border crossers are dark skinned, so the Left wants us to equate these “horrific” photos and their false narrative with violence against Blacks, and especially Black slaves, of more than a century ago.

Remember, the underlying premise that border agents were whipping these illegal border crossers has absolutely no basis in fact.  Its only basis is in a photo that some call “horrific”, a photo that stirs negative emotions in some, but which provides no evidence whatsoever of border agents whipping or otherwise abusing the people from whom it is their job to protect legal residents of the United States of America. 

That is, the job of our border agents is to protect our borders from those who would cross into our country illegally as these individuals are attempting to do.  Being mounted helps them to patrol the vast area and Western style reins and riding style make the most sense in this terrain.  That’s it.  Think what you will of the photos.

Yet, because the photos are, according to some, “horrific”, because they raise emotions, the Left realizes they can use them to find the agents guilty and then to transfer that guilt to any who oppose the Left's open border strategy.   Not guilty of what some claim the photos portray, because there are no facts to support that.  Rather, the Left will simply perpetuate the lie that the photos actually portray something which they do not. Even though facts contradict this narrative, the president proclaims, “Horses run them over, people being strapped.”

The Agency promises an investigation.  But the President has already proclaimed the agents guilty of abusing the illegals.  Again, the horses were running over no one, and the agents were holding onto reins, not whips, to control the horses – indeed, the reins were used to pull the horses in order to avoid contact with the border crossers who were surrounding and grabbing at the horses and their riders.

But when the President has already proclaimed that the border agents are guilty, how will any investigation be fairly conducted?  (Rhetorical question – the clear answer is, it won’t be.)

President Biden said the following:  "To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped — it’s outrageous.  I promise you; those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now and there will be consequences. There will be consequences."

Consequences for what?  That someone took a photo that appeared to show something that did not occur and based on that the President will see the innocent border agents punished?  Their horses prohibited?  C’mon man, look at the actual facts!

Biden added that it is "an embarrassment, but beyond an embarrassment, it’s dangerous. It’s wrong. It sends the wrong message around the world. It sends the wrong message at home.  It’s simply not who we are." 

Well, I agree with that statement, but not as referring to the border agents.  Rather, the fact that the President would rush to judgement without facts and even when the judgment he arrived at is proven erroneous he sticks with it, that is indeed an embarrassment; moreover, that type of behavior is especially wrong and dangerous when it is the President of the United States who holds all sorts of international power in his hands.  And yes, a president who behaves like that does indeed send a frightening message around the world as well as at home.

And what is “simply not who we are” (or at least who we used to be) is a country that jumps to judgement based on emotion and incomplete understanding that are not based in fact.  But that is the country into which the Left is remaking us.

The White House and the Left have done a good job of spreading their narrative.  This morning I listened to a talk by my Episcopal Diocese’s Bishop's Canon to the Ordinary about the Del Rio crisis, its causes, possible solutions, etc.  It was wise, well-reasoned, and interesting until it got to the point where the Canon referred to the photos as portraying “the horrible thing that happened on the border.”   He bought Biden’s phony bill of goods without inquiring further.

Sadly, that is what too many do.  It is exactly what the Left wants you to do.  While they have avoided the topic of the border for weeks despite the escalating crisis there, they now are all over the false but useful narrative of the "evil border agents."  And, because they have turned this false whipping story into a racial issue, they can now call racist anyone who defends either the border agents or simply the truth.

Mark Morgan, former acting Border Patrol Commissioner stated, "The Border Patrol agents have been abandoned, scapegoated, and thrown under the bus by their own Secretary and now vilified by the President of the United States. They have been condemned, careers ruined, and reputations irreparably harmed without any due process -- all to distract from the out-of-control catastrophic crisis at our southern border."

And, of course this also serves as a nice distraction from the many other crises that this President has created:  Afghanistan, the return of terrorism there, the 13 dead military,  the Americans we abandoned, and a drone killing innocent civilians including a US Aid worker and 7 children; inflation; the economy; the current covid situation including mandates and rationing of treatment based on party affiliation; budget; taxes, new info coming out about Hunter and about Biden’s unpaid back taxes; to name just a few.

Actually, the White House very well might not consider any of these to be a crisis.  Biden has indicated and stated his stance for open borders, and this is just the mess that comes with it.  Just as he told us the disaster in Afghanistan was necessary for his result which he thinks is fine.  I suspect he really sees no crises but rather just the necessary turmoil as he goes about remaking America. 

The trouble is that Joe and the Left’s remaking is detrimental to so many people as well as destructive to America.  The President is making decisions without the appropriate input from the people and without the appropriate deference to our laws and constitution.  

The crocodile tears that the Left so often sheds for this or that group betray the fact that the only group they truly care about is themselves.  Anyone else is just used to raise emotions in favor of their own narratives.  Those emotional causes will be abandoned when they no longer serve the Left's purposes (e.g. Obama cages at border mostly ignored, cages during Trump administration focused on as horrifying, current cages under Biden which are far worse that either of the prior administrations are completely ignored – they don’t fit the narrative.)

This White House and the Left are chronic liars.  They have a narrative, and they will tell it – facts and science be damned.  They will stir up your emotions to foment antipathy if not anger to anything that is not their narrative.  They care about no one and no thing other than their power and complete acceptance of and obedience to their doctrine.  The border whipping story is just one more example – a case in point - of the sick game that they are playing.

What the Kavanaugh Hearings Tell Us About America

Looking at the Kavanaugh nomination circus, anyone who has half a brain knows the process is broken, though sadly many choose not to see what they know.  So, what does this tell us – not only about the Kavanaugh hearings, but about America itself?  Let me suggest a few things.

We are losing America as we know it.   The original motto of our Country, adopted by act of Congress, in 1782, is “E pluribus Unum.”  That means “From many, one.”  Even though changed to "In God we trust" in 1956, "e pluribus unum" has been for 200+ years a perfect description of our country:  many diverse people with diverse views come together under one rule of law, set forth in the Constitution.  That Constitution’s guidelines allow us to hold our individual beliefs yet bind us together as one people who believe in liberty and justice for all.  It sets forth principles of due process which provide for fair and equal treatment and which are essential for any form of democracy.   Because we held our Constitution and the rule of law in high esteem, we were able to disagree, sometimes heatedly, about policy and actions of the country while at the same time all believing in and hoping for the success and vitality of our democracy and our country.

We have lost this.  With the rise of identity politics we have devolved into tribes, each concerned primarily with their own interests and not with the good of the country or of the individuals who make up one or another tribe.  We have become willing to ignore the rule of law and the Constitution as tribe fights against tribe.

The Kavanaugh hearing has become about women and the MeToo movement.  Dr. Ford has lost her individual identity to become simply a representative of the tribe of MeToo women.  That tribe seems to be at war with the tribe of white, conservative men as represented by Judge Kavanaugh, or simply the tribe of non-activist judges that one would anticipate a non-liberal president to appoint. 

Dr. Ford is not all women; she is one woman, one individual and this is one alleged event.  This is not a trial of all women vs. all men.  Yet that is what it seems to have become.  And, in so becoming we have thrown out the core democratic principles of due process.  Now, rather than evidence, what matters is who puts on the best show – who is the most “compelling” witness, who cries or does not cry, who is the most sympathetic.  We ask “should a man be brought to tears by what he claims is an unfounded allegation?”  Does that mean he is weak?  What we are doing is painting all men with one brush, not seeing each person as the individual he or she is.  We are one tribe against another.

We see the rise of tribes playing out in our elections as well.  We are told to vote for someone because they are a woman or a Native American or a Black or an Hispanic or an Immigrant or a Republican or a Democrat or a veteran or a Muslim or – the list goes on.  We no longer look for the candidate who is best for America, but the one who will represent the tribe that we may happen to favor.  Similarly, in the Kavanaugh nomination, we have forgotten about the Constitution and the qualifications of a Justice.  It has become nothing more than a battle for tribal power.

Looking at the Kavanaugh hearings, we should be alarmed by how little the Constitution means to so many.  We should be alarmed at how the media, rather than present facts objectively and fully to the people, participate as propaganda machines for one or another tribal interest.  It has almost become a game – whom do you believe?   It is little more than a reality show; I’m surprised they haven’t asked people to call in with their judgment – text 1 for Kavanaugh, 2 for Ford.  This is not justice, this is not due process, this is not representative of what the Constitution and this Country stand for.

The Kavanaugh circus, which has turned into a Show Trial and which ignores the rule of law demonstrates how easily we are able to ignore the Constitution.  This ignoring of process began when the Democrats sat on Dr. Ford’s allegation when they could have brought it forth in closed session during the original hearing.  The Democrats chose not to do so, but instead held it as a weapon, meanwhile finding a lawyer and Democrat operative to advise Ford.  Only when it seemed that Kavanaugh would be confirmed did the Democrats bring the allegation forward – not for Ford, but as a weapon against Kavanaugh.  At that point I wish Sen. Grassley had said, “too bad, too late, hearing closed.  Go bring your allegation in court.”  But he did not.  Because of fear of the MeToo coalition he put the rules aside and reopened the hearing.  Then, when the Democrats weren’t yet ready to present Ford we had delay upon delay upon delay as hearing deadlines came and went for things like her “fear of flying” which we learned from her own testimony is bogus.  Her lawyers wouldn’t agree to the committee's offer to come to Dr. Ford when they were under the impression she feared flying, but again, from Ford’s testimony it appears she was never told this was a possibility.  This all reeks of stall tactics not for justice or concern for Dr. Ford, but as part of the attack on Judge Kavanaugh and the tribe he represents, a tribe which has been declared the enemy of the Democrats.

This ease with which we ignore the rule of law that once held us together sets a very dangerous precedent.  In the Kavanaugh circus we have thrown out the rules because of fear of various tribal interests and emotional hysteria.  There is no due process for either party and the Constitution and rule of law have become a casualty as people justify the use of any means necessary to achieve their end goal of victory for their tribe.   This has become an example of mob rule, not rule of law.  In this case, by following the precedent that the rules don't matter, the vote on Kavanaugh could be delayed forever as the Kavanaugh opponents parade out allegation after allegation and demand investigation after investigation. Like Stalin's Beria, they have their victim, they will continue to search for the crime.  This case is especially troubling because of the way the Democrats have used Ford, demonstrating that they care less about the individual and her anguish than about their own political power.

But, beyond this case, we are seeing a precedent where we are willing to ignore the rule of law – the constitution – to serve political ends.  If we are willing to do that here, then really that document, the Constitution, that binds us all together with rights and responsibilities that apply to all, has lost its meaning.  And when it has lost its meaning then we as a country have lost our meaning – we are no longer one people, but a bunch of tribes each fighting for our own interests. 

This crisis of America did not begin with the Kavanaugh hearing.  It has been building for years – years long before Donald Trump even became a politician.  It is fueled by lack of education about the fundamentals of our government and objective history of our country and its place in the world.  It is fueled by a media that cares less about truth than about ratings and that is more than willing to become a propaganda machine for one or another group.  And, it is boosted by the use of identity politics that raise a tribal identity over the individual and then foment the hatred of one tribe against another.

America is now, however, at a true and important crossroad.  Will we continue on the path of tribalism, or will we stand against it and for the unified America that holds the Constitution and the rule of law as its unifying and guiding principle?  Will we assume that all people of a particular tribe think and act the same, or will we recognize people as the individuals that they are?  Are we willing to sacrifice our individual voices and the reason and fairness of the rule of law to a world where tribe fights tribe by suppressing all opposing voices?  Or, are we able to accept our imperfect democracy and work to save it?  Are we still able to welcome diverse voices and viewpoints all with a common cause of protecting and defending the Constitutional freedoms, rights, and responsibilities that have made America a shining example to the world for over 200 years? 

Now is the time to decide, because once we throw out our common purpose and its guiding principle, then it will be very hard, if not impossible, to get it back.   I truly believe that anyone who cares about this country and the freedom, justice, and fairness for which it stands needs to stand up and speak out now or I really fear what we will become.

Kavanagh – Today’s Thoughts.

So, now the Thursday hearing is in jeopardy and suddenly more accusers have discovered their memories.  Just a few points:

1. Ms. Ford has received far too many concessions already.  If this accusation had been brought in a court of law (as it should have been if the goal was justice and not political gain), a hearing date would have been set, Ford would have had to appear or her claim would be dismissed, and she would have no choice about who would question her or the format of the questions or of the hearing.  Fairness and due process would have been afforded to both parties.

2. This is not about justice for what Ms. Ford alleges happened.  This is about destroying a man whose views are not in accord with those who are now using Ms. Ford and a smear campaign to keep a qualified jurist from the bench.  They are willing to throw out rules of fairness, justice, democracy in order to further their own power.  They don’t care about Ms. Ford or the American people.  They just want to destroy their opposition.

3. The question before the Senate is whether or not Judge Kavanaugh should become Justice Kavanaugh, not whether rules of fairness and justice, including the concept of innocent until proven guilty, should be waived for any woman with an unsubstantiated accusation.

4. Nor should this one alleged incident be the sole criteria for the nomination.  Even if this were proven true, it would be one event – one teenage act of poor judgment – to be weighed with 30+ years of adulthood, and with especial emphasis on his proven abilities as a judge.  If one incident during the teen years when the mind is not fully developed is enough to destroy one’s life forever, than there are few people on earth whose lives should not be ruined.  In a court of law, crimes, including murder, that take place before adulthood are usually tried and sentenced in juvenile courts with likely expungement of records when adulthood is reached.  The law recognizes the difference between a teen indiscretion and an intentional adult act.

5. Women are not victims as the MeToo movement would have us believe.  Giving a MeToo accuser everything she wants simply because she brings forth an accusation does nothing for women’s rights.    We all know that not all accusations are true and that there are many reasons for bringing an accusation forward.  But to treat all accusations, especially those with no supporting evidence, as true cheapens those that are true and provable and in a way makes them more suspect.  Additionally, demanding that a woman be believed without more, without the due process that justice demands, in a way makes all women victims – they are apparently unable to stand up for themselves but instead must be coddled and believed with nothing more.  This is unfair to both men and women and horribly contrary to the justice that we all should demand.

6. I think women are strong – stronger than the treatment of Ms. Ford would have us believe.  When she decided to come forward (and especially because she had hired legal counsel) she knew what she was getting into.  She is a well educated woman; it is time we stopped babying her.   While she may or may not be emotionally distraught, this is America; we do not let any type of accuser (even those who represent some cause or identity group that many support) destroy another human being without far more than an accusation.  I suspect that Ms. Ford knows that even if she is being counseled otherwise.

7. Perhaps what Ms. Ford claims happened indeed did happen.  Perhaps there is more to the story.  Perhaps different individuals were involved.  Perhaps this is a memory that she has somehow constructed in her mind over the course of 36 years and truly believes it is true, even if it is not.  Or perhaps it is all a fabrication.  Since she has brought this allegation forward, she must allow her allegation to be questioned and examined in a way that is fair and just to both individuals involved.

8. This is a criminal allegation and should be given the due process standards that criminal allegations deserve.  It should not be tried in the media or the court of public opinion or based upon a political or identity group’s agenda.

9. These hearings are a complete farce.  Before they began we had the Democrats in unison telling us they would not vote for Kavanaugh no matter what was said at the hearings.  They had Ms. Ford’s accusation but did not bring it forward.  They waited, hoping it would look like Kavanaugh would not get the votes he needed, but, when the hearings ended and he had proven himself to be an outstanding jurist and the vote seemed certain in his favor, the Democrats then brought forward the unsubstantiated allegation and demanded a hearing.  That served as a nice delay.  And delay.  And delay.  And still delay.  The accuser and her Democrat attorneys made demands for the hearing that essential threw out any semblance of fairness, instead weighting the hearing in the accuser’s favor before it has even begun.  Sadly, the Republican leadership, apparently fearful of this woman who can’t stand up for herself or show up at a hearing, caved to many of the demands.  Yet we still have no certain hearing as demands continue.  And now, the call having been put out for more, we have other accusers.  Yet, all the witnesses named by the accusers have said nothing happened.  No matter.  It’s all about delay and keeping a good jurist from the bench.

10. We can easily infer that the Democrats’ concern is not with Ms. Ford or women victims of violence when we look at their reactions to members of their own party who have been accused with actual substantiating evidence, unlike this case.  When it is one of their own, the women are ignored, shamed, or in some other way silenced while excuses are made and inquiries are not held.  In those instances it is rare that there is a demand that the woman must always be believed.

11. This has really got to stop.  I don’t care how many more “memories” are suddenly found.  I don’t care what other concessions Ford and her attorneys demand.  There is a hearing set for Thursday.  She can come testify or she can go home.  Anyone else has had plenty of time to come forward.  They have lost their chance to testify here.  If they really feel aggrieved, let them go to a court of law and seek justice as Ms. Ford should have done.

12. This smear campaign, in addition to making a mockery of the judicial nomination process, has a frightening chilling effect on the future of our democracy.  If those who step forward to serve are forced to face what Judge Kavanaugh is now enduring, how can we expect good people to come forward?   This is a way of silencing those views with which one party does not agree.  A democracy requires diverse views.  It deserves good public servants who do not have to go through the equivalent of a Salem Witch trial and risk the destruction of their lives as well as the lives of their families in order to serve.

13. This whole circus is a full out attack on Democracy.  It is time that it stop, that a vote is taken and that decisions are made based on the criteria for sitting as a Justice, not on the basis of a 36 year old unsubstantiated teenage allegation and the undemocratic demand that all women must be believed, period, without more, without proof,  without due process for the accused, and in direct opposition to democracy’s core belief in innocent until proven guilty.  Proof does not and cannot consist of someone’s accusation alone.

14. I have trouble keeping up with this ridiculous spectacle.  I want to ignore it, but no American should.  Rather, we should all stand up against what is going on and demand a return to fairness, justice, and the rule of law.

My past 3 blogs have addressed some of the above and some other points in more detail – I encourage you to read them:

https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2018/09/this-is-crucial-moment-for-america.html  This addresses the convergence of tactics used by the Left for over 30 years to keep conservative, non-activist jurists from the Appellate and Supreme Court benches with the use of identity politics and its companion hatred as a weapon against those standing in the way of a political agenda.

https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2018/09/purging-enemies-of-party-with.html This includes the parallels between this demand of a guilt sentence upon accusation alone to the same tactics of accusation alone used by dictatorships to silence and remove the opposition.  It discusses democracy’s need for due process and fairness and a real belief in innocence until proof of guilt is shown.

https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2018/09/its-about-more-than-nominee-its-about.html  This is about the broader implications for our country of this nomination and the farce that it has become.  If we let the Democrats get away with their antics, if we let them stop a perfectly valid nomination based on accusation and innuendo alone, then we are empowering further their assault on our democracy and we are well on the way to losing America as we know it.

See also: https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2017/11/me-too-does-not-empower-you.html, a post from last year about the MeToo movement

Purging “Enemies of the Party” with Accusation Alone

In Communist Russia under Stalin, people were sent to the Gulag on accusation alone.  If there was a trial, is was a kangaroo court where the accused was already guilty.  This was the way that the country was purged of “enemies of the party.”  People's lives and the lives of their families were destroyed based on nothing more than a whispered accusation.

We like to think this wouldn’t happen here, that our country stands for freedom and justice.  A person is innocent until proven guilty.  Mere accusation alone is not enough; justice requires proof.  That justice, that freedom, is part of what our country stands for.

Or, so we thought.

This past week we have watched the destruction of a man’s life based on the accusation of one person alone.  No proof.  No evidence.  No innocence until proven guilty.  Brett Kavanaugh has been sent to the gulag of public hatred and his life, along with the life of his family, will never be the same.

To demand that a woman provide more than just an accusation – here one that is about something alleged to have happened 36 years ago – is not an attack on that woman.  It is simply a demand for the fairness and justice that our country demands. 

I don’t know if some incident happened or did not, but if it did, it apparently did not have enough impact to cause the “victim” to have any sort of contemporaneous reaction.   Aside from her word, there is apparently no evidence that the incident did indeed occur.  This may change now that we have a group of Democrat operatives hired who are putting out the call for something more, though new evidence suddenly appearing at this point should be suspect.  Essentially, we now have her word against his.  If we get more sudden memories on both sides it is still just their word against their word. 

In this country we require evidence.  We have rules.  We do not have lynch mobs.  Or at least we didn’t used to.   But what is the press and the Democrat behavior but that of a lynch mob out to destroy Judge Kavanaugh?  Of course, that destruction is part of a greater plan.  Just as Stalin and his right hand man Beria rounded up and destroyed all enemies of the party – anyone with any kind of dissenting viewpoint – so the Democrats are one by one trying to destroy anyone associated with Trump and his policies because those dissenting views are enemies of their party.

Does anyone really think that the Democrats care at all about Ms. Ford other than as her use as a weapon in their own fight for power?  Or that they really even care about the act of sexual abuse?  If they do, why are they not investigating their own darling Rep. Ellison for the far more substantiated allegations against him?  Why do Democrats including Feinstein and Hirono (both of whom are so “outraged” about Kavanaugh’s behavior of which they have already and without proof determined him guilty) take campaign funding from a fellow Democrat who admitted hitting his wife?  Why do the same Democrat lawyers and operatives who are working with Ms. Ford defend Al Franken and Bill Clinton for the again far more substantiated claims against them? 

This has nothing to do with MeToo or women’s rights or sexual abuse.  It has everything to do with the Democrats' unquenchable thirst for power.  And, more importantly, in taking a page from the playbook of Stalin and Beria, it is a direct assault upon our freedom and our system of government.

Today I thought that this circus would be on its way to being over.  But the farce continues.  Ms. Ford was given a deadline of 10 am this morning to indicate if she would testify, but that deadline has passed and yet, as of this writing,  “negotiations” continue. 

We have rules for a reason.  In the Senate they allow for an orderly process.  In the case of the Kavanaugh nomination, a hearing was scheduled, Kavanaugh was questioned, witnesses appeared, and the hearing closed.  The next step should have been a vote.  The ranking Democrat on the Committee, Diane Feinstein, had received the accusation from Kavanaugh’s accuser before the hearing began.  She still refuses to share the letter she received with the full committee, but apparently she had shared it with her Democrat colleagues because they asked questions that in hindsight were obviously intended to be able to catch him in a lie about the accusation.  Feinstein could have brought the accusation forward at the hearing so that the committee could consider it, possibly seek more information from the accuser.  She chose not to.  The hearing ended and then, as a vote was scheduled, she raised the issue.  Instead of saying "you had your chance, too late," the vote was canceled and a date was planned for the “victim” to testify or tell her story.  Then the accuser started making demands:  FBI investigations; security; who could question her and how; more time to meet with her Democrat handlers; more accusations of insensitivity against anyone who will not meet her demands.  Finally, she was given a deadline to simply state if she would appear or not.  She said she needed more time (for what?  She has a story, it’s not going to change, so either tell it or be quiet).  The delay goes on.  Justice does not.  The rules are forgotten as sympathy for the “victim” becomes the calling card and rule of the day. And we the people are being denied a vote on a highly qualified nominee.

We have processes for victims that protect both victim and accuser.  When someone is a victim, the proper place to seek recompense is in a court of law.  When someone seeks revenge, then one will avoid a court of law because the law seeks justice, not revenge.  This “victim” has had 36 years to seek justice.  But, justice would require that she actually prove that the person that she is accusing is guilty of the alleged crime.    I don’t know what this accuser’s motive is – revenge, power, attention, or something else.  It certainly is not justice.

Many courts have statutes of limitations on some types of claims, and there is a reason for that too.  People’s memories fade, evidence is lost, memories change or are generated.  Similarly, teenage crimes are treated differently than those of adults.  We know that the teen mind is not fully formed and so most juvenile crimes up to and including murder are tried in juvenile courts and, if convicted, the sentence is usually in a special juvenile facility with an end date of the sentence corresponding to the date the juvenile becomes and adult.  At that time the record is often expunged so that the individual can begin adulthood with a clean slate. 

Here we have something that allegedly happened at a teenage party 36 years ago.   There was allegedly alcohol involved.  A boy allegedly grabbed at or tried to kiss a girl.  She was allegedly frightened; perhaps he was going further than she had expected.  She ran away.  He did not pursue her.  Her story does not suggest rape or anything close to that.  This is just not a big deal, or at least not the big deal that the media is making it.  This happens at teen parties every weekend in America.   Should it?  Probably not.  But it is part of what goes on in the teen years as young people begin to discover who they are, what their values are, and how they incorporate those values into their lives and the lives of others.  It is called growing up. 

This accusation should not be permitted to ruin a man’s life.  Even if her fuzzy story were true, can any of us say that we did not have one less than honorable incident during our childhood or teen years?  Is this really the sort of thing that should keep an outstanding jurist from the Court?  If so then there is truly no one on this earth qualified for the position of Justice.

What we have here is the Democrat party using and blowing out of proportion a simple allegation of teen misbehavior.  I do not know what the accuser’s mental state is in regard to this alleged incident.  I do know that she had 36 years to seek justice or make a claim against Judge Kavanaugh in a venue that would have allowed him due process.  She has had 36 years to deal with whatever psychological traumas she believes stem from this alleged incident.    Did it happen?  I don’t know.  Does she believe it happened?  I don’t know.   Do the Democrats care?  I don’t think so.  Does the media care?  Only so far as it gives them a good story.

What is lost in all this?  Justice.  Our Country.  Our Democracy.  Our rule of law.  When we start convicting people in the kangaroo court of public opinion based on mere accusation alone we have lost the fairness, justice, and due process that make this country what it is.   

This nomination may actually be a watershed moment for all of us.  I hope that Kavanaugh will not be driven to withdraw (as I am sure the threats to him, his wife, and his family are intended to cause).  Anyone who cares about this country or justice should demand that this kangaroo court, this lynching by the Democrats and the media stop immediately.  If we do not, then are we any better than those who stood silently watching their fellow citizens be sent to the gulag on questionable accusation alone?

It's About More Than the Nominee; It's About America

This is more than a fight for the Supreme Court.  It is a fight for America itself.

It is hard to keep up with the allegations as the Democrats try to block the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  They made a mockery of the hearings, using innuendo and misleading if not false statements in their accusations against him during the questioning.  They have tried to stir up fear that he will take away all important rights if he is a Justice.  None of this seemed to work; the confirmation seemed to be certain, so what happens?  They pull a 36 year old, completely unsubstantiated sexual allegation out of the hat.  And, in this MeToo era we must indulge every possible statement by anyone.  Soon I suspect others will have sudden “memories” as they jump on the bandwagon to smear the nominee with completely unprovable and unsubstantiated charges and no way for the accused to defend himself since the current view seems to be guilty until proven innocent – an impossibility with a fuzzy 36 year old allegation that essentially amounts to he said – she said with no witnesses to substantiate either side.

This should remind one of the Salem Witch trials, but it is the Desperation of the Democrats that leads the circus here.  They lost the election.  The president has appointed a conservative judge – one who will follow the Constitution and the law rather than go with and make popular policy of the day.  That is, he will do what a Supreme Court Justice is supposed to do – apply and interpret the law, leaving law-making to the legislative branch.  The Democrats cannot abide this rule of law, this basic Constitutional principle.  They will only tolerate someone who will join them in their jihad against the president.

So, we have a woman come forward with some fuzzy recollection of a teenage party where some teenager that she now identifies as Kavanaugh made some sort of advance towards her.  And, what happens?  We indulge her.  There is so much wrong with this; let me make just a few points:

First, this was a bunch of high school kids at a party in the early 80s.  No one should be surprised that there might have been alcohol there and a boy might have tried to kiss a girl.  What high school student has not been involved in a situation where things started to go too far?  This is just part of growing up and learning one’s limits and values.   If it was anything more than that then one would expect there would have been some contemporaneous reporting to someone.

Apparently the accuser first recalled this event during some sort of marital couples therapy in 2012.  Now, it would seem that since she, her husband, and the therapist have all now agreed that she mentioned it then, that any therapist-client privilege has been waived.  I would certainly like to see records from that therapy, especially the context in which the statement was made and what else she might recall.   For example, was this alleged incident used to explain or excuse the problems in her marriage that had brought the couple to therapy?  Or as an excuse for some other behavior of hers?  What else did she recall about the incident?  What else could she recall about that period of her life? Is her personality of the sort that would enjoy the attention from the reporting of such an incident or the power of having the ability to bring down someone important?  (These are not “blame the victim” questions, but legitimate questions when one suddenly has a 36 year old recollection that has the potential to destroy someone else’s life.)

Beyond the specific allegation, I have a real problem with looking at someone’s high school record as if that somehow has some bearing on one’s ability 30 years into adulthood.   We all know that teenagers do some stupid things.  Some even do illegal things.  Psychologists tell us their brains are not yet fully formed.  For these reasons we have juvenile courts and juvenile sentences, most of which end when the child reaches adulthood.  Juvenile records are frequently expunged in order to allow the juvenile a fresh start.  And, yet, we are allowing one woman’s foggy recollection to destroy a life.

We have no idea what the accuser’s motive is in bringing this accusation now.  What we do know is that it is unsubstantiated and that there is really no way for Kavanaugh to clear his name; even if the allegation does not keep him from the Court, he will always walk with this cloud over his head, this scarlet letter on his chest.  He has been denied the due process that any criminal defendant receives; rather, he is tried in the court of public opinion fraught with hysteria churned up by Democrats and the media.  He is guilty until proven innocent.   This is not the way America should work.

When I was in grade school a classmate gave me a valentine every day for a couple of months, then kissed me twice when we were alone on the steps of our classroom.  Today I guess we would call that stalking and sexual assault.  Perhaps I should check to see if he is rich or famous or perhaps up for some important nomination.  I know his name and actually have told many about it  extemporaneously both at the time of the incidents and through the years.  Just think,  I could suddenly realize the trauma this caused me and come forward to ruin this man’s life while enjoying my 15 minutes of fame, maybe get a book deal, and help the cause so as to be today’s darling of the resistance.

This is really where we are.  Anyone who does not speak out is complicit in the practice of doing whatever is necessary to destroy anyone who stands in the way of another’s goals.  Complicit in using anything from any moment in one’s life, substantiated or not, to destroy another human being.  In the days of Stalin, the Communists were famous for finding the most minor spot on the record of someone as an excuse to send them to the gulag for years.  The current behavior of the Democrats would seem to be taking us in that direction.

The Desperate Democrats, still not able to accept the simple fact that their candidate lost the election for President, will do any and everything they can to make sure that their opponent does not succeed.  They will not accept the Constitutional and Democratic process of our government.  Like little children they want their way and they want it now and the American people be damned.  They seem to fully believe that the end justifies the means.  Their end is restoration of their power, and they will lie, cheat, use people, and destroy people in order to achieve that end.  They have no regard for the Constitution or the rule of Law or Democracy.   They just want their way and they want to impose it on everyone else; elections seem to mean nothing to them.

So back to the nomination.  Every American citizen and anyone who cares about our Country and its form of government should be appalled by the Democrats' actions regarding the Kavanaugh hearing.  They have already revealed their ignorance of the role of a judge in our 3-branch form of government.  They have revealed that power for their Party is their primary if only goal.  They have revealed that they cannot accept or tolerate views and policies that they do not approve.  They have revealed that they are willing to deny to the people someone who will likely be one of the finest justices ever to sit on the Court simply as a way to “resist” a president they do not like.  This “resistance,” with their regular disparaging of Trump supporters, reveals that they do not understand how our democracy works or that, if they do, they are willing to destroy it for their own power.  Their encouragement of using unprovable and decades old allegations to destroy the reputation of a fine jurist reveals that they care nothing for the American people.

Someone needs to explain to the Democrats that this is not a game the goal of which is their power.  This is about our Country and what is best for its people – all of its people, deplorables included.  If we let the Democrats get away with their antics, if we let them stop a perfectly valid nomination, then we are empowering further their assault on our democracy and we are well on the way to losing America as we know it.

A Note About Due Process

Dear Democrats,

Denying the basic democratic right of Due Process is not taking the high and holy ground.

To read much of the news today, the Democrats would have us believe that they are somehow representing the "good" to the Republican’s "evil" in forcing the resignation of Representative Conyers and Senator Franken.  But wait – both men deny at least some of the allegations against them.  Should they not be entitled to defend themselves, to have a fair and full hearing on all the evidence before being summarily forced from their careers?  Apparently not.

And, if one takes much of what we read today as correct, the Democrats intend to use this denial of due process to their members as a way to force the resignation of Judge Moore if he is elected and maybe even the resignation of the President, both due to unproven allegations of sexual misconduct against them that they have denied.  Democrats somehow believe that their actions have given them the moral high ground that will lead to their ability to remove opposition based on unsubstantiated allegations alone.  That is, they believe that acting as a lynch mob is somehow applaudable.

Yet, I wonder why anyone who really understands our democracy and our system of justice would or could respect a party that doesn’t respect Due Process.  For those who have forgotten what that term means, it is the right of citizens to fair treatment through the judicial process.  It is guaranteed by both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of our Constitution.  Due Process protects citizens from arbitrary punishment and sanctions without the full procedural and substantive processes provided by the law.   Punishment on mere allegations alone and without a full presentation and examination of relevant evidence is not due process.  Acting arbitrarily against someone simply for political gain is not due process. 

These political lynchings are troubling on many grounds.  First is the eagerness with which the Democrats are willing to dismiss a basic constitutional safeguard simply for their own political purposes.  If we applaud such action then we encourage these sorts of political lynchings in the future, perhaps based on other grounds, but always to the detriment of our system of democracy.  Second, but related is the denial to the people of their right to choose their representatives; the leader of a political party should not overturn the will of the people without fully substantiating evidence that such action is absolutely necessary, and finding such evidence would require due process.  Again, the Democrats do not seem to understand the role of the electorate and the voice of the people in our democracy.

Looking now to the individual toll on both accusers and accuseds, the third ground on which these political lynchings are troubling is that the men are now “guilty” without any proof of that guilt, and no opportunity to present their side or force an accuser to come forward and prove their accusation.  Whether guilty or not, they must now carry that label with them.   This sets a very dangerous precedent.  Fourth, these punishments based on accusation alone tend to cheapen legitimate accusations that, without proof in a court of law, will always be open to doubt and that doubt will be a further and continuing wound to the victim. 

The Democrats may think they have scored some sort of victory by demanding immediate resignations of their accused colleagues.  Al Franken may think that he has done something noble by falling on his sword for his party, even while denying the allegations against him.  But these are not laudable acts.  They are instead direct affronts to, if not attacks on our democracy.  Anyone who has even a rudimentary knowledge of that democracy or how our justice system works should be completely appalled.  Even those who like the ultimate goal of these acts should speak out against them.   Certainly, there should be no support or reward for these actions or for any such similar actions in the future.  We must not allow the ends to justify the means, especially when those means deny our basic rights as citizens and are a direct affront to our Constitution and our Democracy.

Addendum:  Breaking news just now that one of Moore’s accusers has admitted to forging at least part of the yearbook inscription that was used to accuse him.  Things like this support not rushing to judgment based on accusations alone.  (And by the way, why isn’t this on the front pages of the main stream and Democrat media in the same way that the initial accusation was?)