To add to yesterday’s comment-thread discussion about Caitlin Flanagan: Yes, she’s one of those annoying “contrarians” who made her rep yelling at other women for a variety of perceived offenses – working while having young children, enjoying marital sex less than she does, etc. (At least this is what I’m recalling; I don’t have time to go spelunking for those links.)
That said, she’s an excellent writer, and she’s done a couple of outstanding pieces for the Atlantic in the last few years — one on fraternity drinking culture and the legal steps frats have taken to insulate themselves from any liability connected to that, and another on a death at Penn State related to, yes, fraternity drinking.
So you takes the good with the irritating, I guess.
Wednesday already. Big week, only halfway done. Tomorrow I have an evening event for one job, and the guest of honor can’t attend. Fortunately, his wife will stand in for him, and the only duty I’m down for is “assist the photographer,” so I guess I can handle it. I’m dressing for that one at my other job, but will be one of those women shlepping through downtown in a nice dress and sneakers, because man, me and heels don’t get along anymore. I’ll put them on at the venue and take them off the instant I leave.
Now that you’re full up with my wardrobe notes, what else is there to discuss today?
The Kavanaugh situation, obviously.
And this, of course:
A little song, a little dance/ a little mushroom…no, I can't profane the memory of Chuckles this way.
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) September 18, 2018
Oh, and this, something I wrote yesterday. It’s about those annoying rental scooters.
And with that, I have to leave early. Sorry, but you should see my to-do list.
Heather said on September 19, 2018 at 10:36 am
I wore some beloved heels to work yesterday, since I drive and don’t have to walk around much. But then after a doc appointment downtown, I decided to walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art since it’s free for IL on Tuesdays and open late. Whoa Nelly, my feet were NOT happy. But I recommend all my fellow Chicagoans go check out the “I Was Raised on the Internet” and Mika Horibuchi exhibits, very cool. There’s also a small showing of work by Jeff Koons and Alexander Calder.
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Sherri said on September 19, 2018 at 10:59 am
If Flanagan were a hack, she’d be less irritating. The fact that she’s capable of good work and still falls back on contrarian nonsense irritates me the most. It’s intellectual laziness.
To follow up more on my point about bad decisions at 17 ruining your life, those of you who are Facebook friends may have noticed that I visited the state pen last month. I’m in the second year of the leadership program I’m taking, and in the second year, we form small teams and focus on an area. My team chose criminal justice, and we have narrowed the focus onto barriers to reentry for people returning from incarceration. My, it has been an education, talking about the collateral consequences Jodi mentioned in the last thread!
People can come out of prison with $100k debt, restrictions on federal housing and student aid, and all kinds of bans on the ability to get licensed by the state for jobs that require it.
So yeah, bad decision at 17 ruin your life? Happens all the time to people who aren’t like Brett Kavanaugh.
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Julie Robinson said on September 19, 2018 at 11:22 am
It occurs to me that if Brett Kavanaugh had fulfilled his mission of rape and impregnated Christine Blasey Ford, his defenders wouldn’t be forgiving her of the consequences. Rape and impregnate a girl at 17, just a youthful indiscretion. Get knocked up at 17, lifelong consequences.
In Florida if you’ve been convicted of a felony, you lose your voting privileges for the rest of your life. There’s a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn this in November.
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Jeff Borden said on September 19, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Of all the slings and arrows the Orange King has collected in his disastrous presidency so far, I’ll bet the one that really frosts him is Stormy Daniel’s assertion that her fling with the ogre was “the least impressive sex I’ve ever had.” A far cry from that screaming headline decades ago in the New York Post quoting Marla Maples as saying Mr. Toad had given her the best sex ever.
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JodiP said on September 19, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Scooters: ERs are seeing an uptick in injuries due to faulty machines–they sometimes accelerate unpredictably. Users also need to be mindful not to leave them places that block the sidewalk. I can walk around it, but anyone using a wheelchair is blocked. And the comments under Nancy’s story: yikes.
Shoes, high-heeled and other: I almost never wear dress shoes outside so that they last longer. I keep sneakers at the office to run errands if needed. Oh, and for the gym. I don’t wear heels very often–just when we do something fancy. Like this Friday: going to a fundraising cocktail gala, so am wearing 40s-style red heels with a late 50s vintage cocktail dress. While organizing a drawer this morning, I also discovered a forgotten vintage purse with gold chain. Perfect, even if it doesn’t have a cell phone pocket.
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LAMary said on September 19, 2018 at 3:13 pm
That best sex ever headline was a favorite of mine. Trump used to send gossip items about himself and “models” and “actresses” to the New York Post. He used a different name and claimed he was a publicist. Another great thing I learned recently is that the elevator buttons in the lobby of Trump Tower show the elevators going to the 68th floor, but the building only has 58 floors.
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Deborah said on September 19, 2018 at 5:09 pm
There’s some odd repetition in this article, it’s a pretty good description of Bode’s in Abiquiu, the general store I’ve mentioned before and where I’m guessing Jeff tmmo has stopped a time or two. The article makes the food sound better than it is although I’d recommend the breakfast burritos to anyone http://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/restaurants/reviews/the-center-of-the-universe-bode-s-general-store/article_6ba17c1e-5fb7-521d-bb00-13efe124c37a.html
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Andrea said on September 19, 2018 at 5:32 pm
This is brilliant.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/19/some-interpersonal-verbs-conjugated-by-gender/?utm_term=.1f6320252c04
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Andrea said on September 19, 2018 at 5:39 pm
Flanagan is a writer with whom I have often disagreed, but she always makes me think, which I appreciate. Her article on helicopter parenting and binge drinking has prompted many discussions in our teen-filled home. I don’t totally agree with her thesis, but she has contributed to our thinking on the subject as parents, and also to our discussions with other parents.
Professionally, I work in the field of youth policy. We are absolutely advocates that young people should not be punished forever for mistakes they make as teens. However, we do strongly recommend restorative justice practices as a part of that, which includes acknowledging what you did was wrong, apologizing, and working to make reparations to the people you hurt. The offender in question here (they won’t use Professor Ford’s name, I won’t use his!) has done none of those things.
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David C. said on September 19, 2018 at 6:34 pm
Corroborations are starting to come in. I’m hoping once it starts, it’ll become a tidal wave and Kavanaugh will be toast.
https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/another-classmate-of-dr-blasey-ford-s-has-confirmed-her-kavanaugh-allegations-61FXcoA_SEmZgEUhGi1reg/?utm_source=Kimberley&utm_medium=Kimberley&utm_campaign=Kimberley&utm_term=Kimberley&utm_content=Kimberley
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Jeff Borden said on September 19, 2018 at 7:23 pm
David C.,
Unfortunately, the Heritage Foundation has plenty of other equally odious candidates for SCOTUS. They may not have perjured themselves, aided Kenneth Starr in his stalking of the Clenis or tried to rape a high school girl, but they will be cut from the same cloth.
My hope is this nomination fight drags out and more information becomes public and the whole thing is postponed until after the midterms. I believe Dems winning the Senate is a pipe dream, but there is a chance. And so long as there is a chance, Dems should do everything they can to play the slow game. If that fucking prick McConnell wouldn’t even give Merrick Garland the time of day, much less a Senate hearing, he can suck lemons as he complains about obstruction.
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David C. said on September 19, 2018 at 8:04 pm
I have no illusions that anyone else they pick would be any better. I also know re-taking the Senate is going to be difficult as hell, but I have to believe the Rs have some pretty crappy internal poll numbers coming in. Sure they’re giving this the bum’s rush because they can, but they may well be doing this because they see the handwriting on the wall. You can’t blame a guy for hoping, right?
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alex said on September 19, 2018 at 8:41 pm
A far cry from that screaming headline decades ago in the New York Post quoting Marla Maples as saying Mr. Toad had given her the best sex ever.
And a notch in your belt is a far cry from a rock on your finger. Just sayin’.
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Bruce Fields said on September 19, 2018 at 8:57 pm
“Dems winning the Senate is a pipe dream, but there is a chance.”
About 30% if you believe 538 or the betting markets. Way lower than it should be, but I wouldn’t call it a pipe dream.
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susan said on September 19, 2018 at 9:18 pm
Bruce @14 – Weren’t Trumpenführer’s odds less than that to “win” the Contest? 30% odds is still 30% of a hundred.
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Sherri said on September 19, 2018 at 9:42 pm
I still find it weirdly fascinating that while Kavanaugh says it never happened, his supporters are going with, so what if it did?
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-assault-me-too.html
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Sherri said on September 19, 2018 at 9:50 pm
Golf Digest and a murder conviction overturned: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/for-valentino-dixon-a-wrong-righted-murder-charge-vacated-by-court-after-serving-27-years-in-prison
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Diane said on September 19, 2018 at 10:41 pm
Sherri @9:42, that’s because they know it did.
They were at enough of those parties themselves. They think the “I didn’t do it, I wasn’t there” defense will be breached and are readying the “so what” defense.
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Deborah said on September 19, 2018 at 11:26 pm
I don’t know if the name Marin Mazzie is recognizable to any of you. She was a Broadway performer who died last week at the age of 58 of ovarian cancer. She was a hometown girl from the town uncle J lives in, where I am again for the next few days. They had a moving tribute to her tonight here in this town and on Broadway in NYC. They dimmed the marquee lights at the local renovated theater here and also dimmed the lights at the same time at theaters on Broadway. One of Uncle J’s caregivers was a friend of Marin’s, she grew up with her and has followed her career so we went to the event. It was very sweet and sad. Julie Robinson, is the name familiar to you?
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Diane said on September 20, 2018 at 12:58 am
Oh, and the reason Kavanaugh is sticking with the “I didn’t do it” defense is that “so what” puts him in ‘I lied’ to the committee, under oath land, which actually could prevent him from getting confirmed.
He knows old white male Republicans won’t care about a decades old sexual assault but can’t put someone who lied on the Supreme Court. Sad.
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Sherri said on September 20, 2018 at 1:52 am
“So what” does more than put Kavanaugh in the I lied to Congress camp. As I understand, the statute of limitations hasn’t run out in Maryland, and he could risk criminal liability.
Kavanaugh can’t go there, but that so many Republicans are so willing to go there is something else.
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Julie Robinson said on September 20, 2018 at 7:44 am
Go read Sherri’s Slate link, y’all. So many good points, beginning with the first paragraph: “a substantial group, many of them in politics, has taken to the internet to argue that a 17-year-old football player should get to do as he likes to a 15-year-old girl—say, for example, trap her in a bedroom, violently attempt to remove her clothes, and cover her mouth to muffle her screams—without consequences to his life or reputation.” (This has always been one my reasons for despising football.)
Really, women are just here for men to do with as they please, right? It’s impossible for me to draw any other conclusion. Fundamentalism in this country is rapidly gaining ground with the Taliban in its beliefs.
Anyway, I did follow Marin Mazzie’s career, and I probably saw her perform in Rockford at some point. My family traveled there several times a year for doctors, shopping, and its then-thriving theatrical scene. She was sick for three years; came back from treatment and performed bald, and I thought she had licked it. She had an amazing, warm, voice and a serene presence on stage. All cancer is a bitch, and ovarian cancer one of the bitchiest.
One year since my sister died; rough day ahead with my mom.
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Suzanne said on September 20, 2018 at 8:30 am
As a wrote earlier, I don’t doubt that Kavanaugh doesn’t remember the incident partly because he was drunk but mostly because it was so ordinary to him and his ilk, it didn’t register in the memory bank of time, any more than a trip to the grocery store would. Just another day in the life of the privileged. Why would he remember it?
And yes, Julie, I have heard to many times that boys will be boys, they can’t help it, they are ruled by their hormones at that age, etc. In other words, it’s really not their fault.
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Deborah said on September 20, 2018 at 9:45 am
Uncle J gets print versions of the Wall Street Journal and the NYT, this morning’s front pages are telling. The WSJ has a photo of Trump handing out food to flood victims and the NYT has a menacing photo of Putin and an article that spells out how he orchestrated the election of Trump and why. Uncle J has been a Republican all of his life but he’s no fan of Trump.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 20, 2018 at 9:56 am
Bode’s frito pie isn’t bad, but I’d stick with the breakfast burrito. Not to argue with the article, but it’s main advantage is lack of competition for half an hour one way, and hours the other . . .
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Bitter Scribe said on September 20, 2018 at 10:08 am
This probably isn’t too mature of me, but I hope Kavanaugh doesn’t get confirmed because he reminds me of the insufferable rich, privileged douchebags I went to prep school with (some of them named Bush).
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JodiP said on September 20, 2018 at 10:32 am
Off topic, but will be appreciated by the crowd: Dalia’s latest podcast is teachers and one (now adult) student talking about how they dealt with school shootings. I want to strap every MOC in a chair and force them to listen to it. There is a teacher who went through a shooting November ’17 in CA (that I ashamedly don’t even remember hearing about) and you can hear the pain and suffering in his voice. And yes, I have no faith that the gun-lovers would change their minds. This white male dominated culture is so destructive. Why would Republicans care about Kavanaugh’s escapades when we have a self-confirmed sex offender in the highest office?
Julie, my heart is with you today.
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Heather said on September 20, 2018 at 10:47 am
Apparently Kavanaugh liked his female law clerks to look like models. How do we know? Tiger Mom Amy Chua advised the women before their interviews. I swear I’m so angry I’m literally afraid I might lose it in public. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/20/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-yale-amy-chua?CMP=share_btn_tw
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susan said on September 20, 2018 at 10:48 am
“MOC”? Mars Orbiter Camera?
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beb said on September 20, 2018 at 11:02 am
The thought crosses my mind: Can you impeach a Supreme Court justice on the grounds that their confirmation was illegal? I think the case can be made that Kavanaugh’s confirmation was a travesty. And Gorsuch was an outright theft. Does the Constitution offer no remedies for such insults to law and order? But then I think, if the Democrats try to impeach any of the Supreme Court justices the Republicans till try to impeach 2 or 3 for make-up grievances the next time they are in power. The only solution is to never vote for a Republican ever again.
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Deborah said on September 20, 2018 at 11:31 am
So true about Bode’s, Jeff tmmo. When we first went there 30 years ago it was truly a general store, you could find nearly anything. Dennis the current owner says his main money makers now are beer and chips.
I think MOC stands for member of Congress, Susan.
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alex said on September 20, 2018 at 11:44 am
moc lowercase is Spanish for booger
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Sherri said on September 20, 2018 at 12:30 pm
Yes, should Kavanaugh be stopped, the Republicans will just send forth another Federalist Society member to turn back the clock, but Kavanaugh should not be on the Court. He is a liar and a scoundrel, which is probably why trump picked him despite McConnell’s wishes.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/20/brett-kavanaughs-unlikely-story-about-democrats-stolen-documents/
And his financial issues have barely been talked about; I just don’t believe the baseball ticket story.
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Sherri said on September 20, 2018 at 1:06 pm
I swear that I didn’t think it was possible for a columnist in a major paper to be stupider than Peggy Noonan, but Kathleen Parker just surpassed her. I had previously merely considered Parker inane, but the mind boggles at her latest attempt, which no, I won’t link to, because all you need to know is “Kavanaugh doppelgänger.” Really.
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Jakash said on September 20, 2018 at 1:22 pm
“Member of Congress” sounds like the winner, Deborah! Confused by MOC, I looked it up, but not in the right place, evidently. I see now that on Urban Dictionary, that’s the 6th choice. My Own Creation, Mint On Card, Marriage Of Convenience, Make Out Chick, and Moment Of Confusion all come ahead of it, with Men Of Color 7th. So many acronyms, so little time to write out words in texts, etc. Of course, the NRA and Republican gun-regulation stiflers are a marriage of convenience, too.
Sadly, neither Mars Orbiter Camera nor booger are even on the list. ; )
That’s an interesting piece about the scooters, Nancy. Seems like a bit of a flaw in the business plan that it didn’t occur to the company that a power scooter with a drained battery becomes a perfectly functional *regular* scooter. Seconding what Jodi said about the comments @ 5: Yikes!
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JodiP said on September 20, 2018 at 1:25 pm
I love you people. Member of congress is what I was too lazy to type out.
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Peter said on September 20, 2018 at 1:38 pm
A gift that just keeps on giving: Talking Points Memo is reporting that Judge Roy Moore is endorsing Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.
Well, with an endorsement from a fine upstanding Christian like him, why even bother with the hearing?
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Deborah said on September 20, 2018 at 1:47 pm
Well what do ya know, this time the shooter is a woman.
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Sherri said on September 20, 2018 at 2:37 pm
I have another podcast to recommend: Slow Burn, by Slate. The first season was about Watergate, the current season is about the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. I highly recommend becoming a Slate Plus member to get the bonus episodes, which include an interview with Linda Tripp.
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Jeff Borden said on September 20, 2018 at 2:45 pm
I suspect the installation of a doctrinaire Federalist Society white man in his mid-50s to SCOTUS underscores how much the Republican Party understands the rising tide of women is a huge threat to conservatism and white male patriarchy. Kavanaugh and Gorsuch will be key players in blunting the rise of women’s political and professional power for decades. They’ll also guarantee that the retrograde positions held by our out-of-touch Congress –overwhelmingly white male, Christian, old, wealthy– will continue to be enforced long after they are pushing up daisies.
Every single demographic trend is terrible news for rightwingers. How better to thwart progress than to put a hard right court in place to bat down every effort to make our nation a better place? Yeah, I loathe the Orange King with the heat of a millions suns, but the Republican Congress is even worse. Damn them to hell.
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Deborah said on September 20, 2018 at 3:36 pm
Watch this compelling segment on CNN by Charles Blow about childhood sexual assault, it is so compelling https://www.cnn.com
Also I’m reading Elie Mystal’s Twitter regularly, he is a writer for the blog Above the Law and is often on MSNBC, love him. Sorry I don’t have a link. He has been writing about Yale Law School and Kavanaugh, super interesting stuff.
Edit: sorry, you have to scroll down a bit and click on the Charles Blow segment, I don’t know why it doesn’t take you right to it.
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LAMary said on September 20, 2018 at 3:59 pm
I used to be a contingency headhunter and one of the reasons I got out of that was the horrible people who only wanted applicants who were blonde or had big tits or whatever. And the dress code for female employees included high heels. Working for an actual employer I can’t be told things like that.
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Dexter Friend said on September 20, 2018 at 4:29 pm
Even though it is a backwards right wing populated radio station, it comes in booming on my kitchen radio so I listen to WLW-AM 700 Cincinnati when I am cooking or washing dishes, and this week the main topic is “those damn scooters” and then it morphs into “those damn bicycle riders who block 45 mph roadways…”
I had to read up on just which scooters, and yes, it’s the rental scooters, and Queen City pedestrians have had it, as people and scooters have been getting tangled up on sidewalks and a war is brewing. It’s a real mess, I guess. Bicyclists who block rush hour traffic by riding two and three abreast on main commuter 4-lane streets are also a point of contention, but drivers of low intellect and/or tolerance always have been like that. Share the road, just do it. The rednecks calling in today blasting cyclists were pathetic pieces of shit, just backwards dingleberries.
Nance has posted of bicycle night rides with folks having lights of the spectrum lighting up wheels, pedals and frames…my friend Mitch, who is the “guru of recreational transportation of the Calumet area” , designer of pathways and shelter stations around the entire NW Indiana region, is currently in New Orleans, and 2 nights ago participated in a very large night ride through New Orleans, and almost every bicycle was lit-up like a Christmas tree…impressive. He’s on another brainstorming conference trip. NW Indiana now has many great newer trails due to Mitch’s insight.
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David C. said on September 20, 2018 at 6:23 pm
It sounds like Dr. Ford may testify before the Senate. I hope she give an opening statement that blisters the old bastards’ asses.
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The Garden Fairy said on September 20, 2018 at 6:52 pm
Here’s the full Chas. Blow link — https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/09/20/charles-blow-christine-ford-kavanaugh-cuomo-vpx.cnn
Then, changing gears to Yale is this quote from Prof. Chua — “…Among my proudest moments as a parent was the day I learned our daughter would join those ranks.” (of Kavanaugh clerks)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/yale-law-dean-reports-professor-groomed-female-clerks-kavanaugh-enormous-n911571
The rest of my evening will be a struggle not to vomit. But will be looking forward to Dean Gerken’s team digs up. 😉
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Suzanne said on September 20, 2018 at 6:53 pm
My daughter was looking for a job a few years ago and was told by the recruiter she was working with that she must always, always, always wear heels to a job interview. I don’t even have heels. Daughter thought it was stupid but she did it.
I encountered these scooters this summer on vacation. I honestly don’t think I could stay upright on one. And yes, the riders were obnoxious, weaving in and out of the walking traffic. Most of the riders were young, too.
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The Garden Fairy said on September 20, 2018 at 7:31 pm
@Deborah 41 — here, I hope, is the Chas. Blow video link — https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/09/20/charles-blow-christine-ford-kavanaugh-cuomo-vpx.cnn
@Heather 28 — https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/yale-law-dean-reports-professor-groomed-female-clerks-kavanaugh-enormous-n911571 Really hoping Dean Gerken chases this to the dark corners. This quip from Prof. Chua simply makes me want to vomit “…Among my proudest moments as a parent was the day I learned our daughter would join those ranks.”
Does anyone else have the feeling that all this “I, Brett K., am a lifelong champion of girls & young women!” is over-compensation for a guilty conscience? Or perhaps misdirection so we take our eye off something else?
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beb said on September 20, 2018 at 11:51 pm
It’s hard to imagine that a guy that liked to get black-out drunk in High School would have an exemplary life in college. And he didn’t. He was a DKE frat. For more on that here’s Digby:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/he-was-dke-frat-boy-need-we-say-more.html
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Diane said on September 21, 2018 at 12:52 am
Oh wow, they’ve moved on to the “it was another guy” defense, avoiding the problems of both the “it didn’t happen” and the “so what” defenses. It’s a shame it took days to figure that one out.
Kavanaugh should be disqualified just by virtue of having friends like Judge and Whelan.
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Deborah said on September 21, 2018 at 2:58 am
Here’s an infuriating Tumbler http://100percentmen.tumblr.com/post/178297751078/every-republican-member-of-the-senate-judiciary
Entry after entry are all boys clubs where women have yet to see the light of day. There has never been a woman on the Republican judiciary committee, EVER. There are 4 Democratic women of the 10 serving currently. No woman has ever been the chairman.
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Deborah said on September 21, 2018 at 3:32 am
I n s O m N i a
I keep wondering why Kavanaugh? There are plenty of other far right candidates the Federalist Society has put forward. Even Trump seems less than enthusiastic about Kavanaugh now. The Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee seem to be determined to keep pushing for Kavanaugh, it almost seems out of spite. Why don’t they him, he’s a huge headache for them. I don’t get it.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 21, 2018 at 8:00 am
Why? Because they won’t get him/her through. If they drop Kavanaugh, the process means that confirmation wouldn’t be ’til after the midterms. Which means, I’m guessing, that Trump isn’t going to get any future nominee through any more than Merrick Garland went through to the Supreme Court.
Payback’s a niche.
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Julie Robinson said on September 21, 2018 at 8:41 am
Thank you, Jodi, for your kind thoughts. Mother and I went out for lunch and shared good memories of my sister. There were some tears of course, but she is in the acceptance stage now and has more peace. I’m still slogging though the estate and came home to a couple of letters from the IRS, but I can finally see the end in sight.
Why do fraternities exist, except to throw parties for drinking and debauchery? That’s all I ever observed of the whole Greek system. Why do young women go to those parties? I sound old and cranky, but I felt the same way back in the day; I never understood it. To me a party was a glass of wine, music and dancing, but most of all, great conversations. Not getting blotto. Now, get off my lawn!
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Connie said on September 21, 2018 at 9:34 am
I went to one fraternity back in the day. We got so drunk we barely made it up to my dorm room where we both collapsed on a different bed. No debauchery that night. I did learn that the orange punch was vodka mixed with Tang powder, so not surprised.
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Connie said on September 21, 2018 at 9:36 am
Responding to something Deborah said…… President Franklin Roosevelt threatened to add members to the Supreme Court when they kept finding his New Deal things unconstitutional. Somehow that got resolved without implementing his threatened court packing. But just saying adding Supreme Court members is not a new idea or threat.
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basset said on September 21, 2018 at 10:34 am
In nine semesters and a couple of summers at IU I set foot in a greek house exactly three times, and two of those were work-related… not my world. I’ll confess to being drunk and occasionally stupid in plenty of other locations, though.
Mrs. B update: home after 6 weeks of rehab and doing better.
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Heather said on September 21, 2018 at 10:42 am
Anyone been reading about the latest theory from conservative activist Ed Whelan, that Ford mistook Kavanaugh for another classmate? Who also signed a letter of support for BK in July? These guys are just–I don’t even know. I hope the guy named as the potential suspect sues the hell out of Whelan.
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/20/17885050/ed-whelan-kavanaugh-ford-accusation-scotus
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Sherri said on September 21, 2018 at 11:08 am
Yeah, I didn’t think anything could be stupider than Kathleen Parker’s doppelgänger column, but then Whelan takes it and dials it up to 11!
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Sherri said on September 21, 2018 at 1:01 pm
We’re in Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and I just have to say, if you ever get the chance to see a play directed by Amanda Dehnert, go. We saw her Love’s Labor’s Lost last night, and it was a revelation. I’ve seen the play before, I’ve seen it at OSF, and thought, meh, okay, not my favorite Shakespeare, but I loved her version. She added original music (which she composed) and there was just an energy in the play. I’ve seen her Julius Caesar, My Fair Lady, Into the Woods, and Timon of Athens, and the only one I didn’t absolutely love was Timon of Athens. Her Julius Caesar is still one of my all time favorites.
Tastes vary, though. A couple of years after Caesar, I overheard a couple of people saying that that version almost made them stop coming to the Festival. (She made Julius Julia, and cast a woman in the role as a woman, not in a pants role.)
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Jakash said on September 21, 2018 at 1:02 pm
Yeah, the whole fraternity idea never did anything for me, either. You’re in college, FFS. Opportunities to make new friends and get as drunk as you like (and more than anybody should) abound. You don’t need a special “house” or some Greek letters to facilitate the process. FFS. (Uh, that’s Fer Fuck’s Sake, for those scoring at home.) : )
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Sherri said on September 21, 2018 at 1:50 pm
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at this by someone who spent so much effort on the Vince Foster suicide, but what a total slime.
Kavanaugh and his allies have been privately discussing a defense that would not question whether an incident involving Ford happened, but instead would raise doubts that the attacker was Kavanaugh, according to a person familiar with the discussions
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-vows-to-move-ahead-with-kavanaugh-vote-if-his-accuser-doesnt-testify-monday/2018/09/20/a7132ee8-bcf5-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html
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Sherri said on September 21, 2018 at 2:00 pm
I thought Kathleen Parker had just lost her mind, but it’s looking more and more like this was a coordinated strategy. Un-fucking-believable.
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beb said on September 21, 2018 at 2:04 pm
I think when it comes to ‘why Kavanaugh’ the answer is that Trump looked at him and saw himself — a privileged white boy, with money, ambition and a grab ’em by the pussy personality. Also Kavanaugh, after thinking not question was too demeaning to ask a sitting president (Clinton) took the attitude that a president is too important and busy to be deposed when the president was a Republican. And since that question will surely hit the Supreme Court by 2020 Trump wanted to make sure he got a firewall on the court.
Why Senate Republicans don’t dump this wildly unpopular nominee is a tougher questions. It’s not like there aren’t dozens of qualified, reliable Judges who oppose Roe v Wade that could be nominated in his place. But none of them could get confirmed before the start of the Courts next session in October and for some reason that was something the Republicans seemed obsessed with doing. In a way it sounds like the R’s are having a hissy-fit because things aren’t going their way.
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Deborah said on September 21, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Oh good basset, glad to hear Mrs B is home and doing better. She must be so relieved to be home.
We’re back in Chicago, happy to be here after the heat index in Rockford was 97 yesterday. It is cooler there today, temps dropping all day but that was brutal, part of the reason I didn’t sleep well, even with air conditioning. That and the overly soft bed we sleep on there. My husband and I like almost hard as rock mattresses.
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David C. said on September 21, 2018 at 2:26 pm
Why do fraternities exist, except to throw parties for drinking and debauchery?
This is why they exist. The old boys network takes care of the new boys.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-06/the-fraternity-paradox-lower-gpa-higher-incomes
I know FDR’s court packing scheme was considered to be a major mistake, but it worked. Telling the justices they might get some new roomies seemed to straighten them up.
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Deborah said on September 21, 2018 at 2:39 pm
I disagree, Jeff tmmo, I think it’s Kavanaugh because of this https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/brett-kavanaugh-is-a-man-the-right-can-get-behind-1829225731/amp?__twitter_impression=true
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Jakash said on September 21, 2018 at 3:58 pm
A swell cartoon today from Mike Luckovich, who seems to have the highest batting average of any editorial cartoonist that I’m aware of…
https://twitter.com/mluckovichajc/status/1042840322588520450
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LAMary said on September 21, 2018 at 4:28 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk
Dance break
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Colleen said on September 21, 2018 at 5:01 pm
Thanks for the podcast recommendation, Sherri. I have downloaded this season’s episodes.
Fraternities. Yes. The old boys taking care of the new boys. I went to a college that was overwhelmingly Greek, but small enough that it didn’t matter…you had friends from all sorts of different groups. But I just don’t see the positive impact fraternities have. Sure, there may be a food drive, or a big brother program, but overwhelmingly, it seems to be about booze and women.
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Dexter Friend said on September 22, 2018 at 2:50 am
I just watched Lawrence O’Donnell read tweets from victims of sexual assaults of varying degrees (but all under the same umbrella) , this after Trump was going off on how if Ford is for real, she would have filed complaints and called the FBI 36 years ago. L.O’D said this was Trump at his regular worst, this “pussy grabber” , dismissing not only Dr. Ford but this cascading waterfall of women telling the dumbass why they never reported their assaults…the reasons are posted all over the internet,and you probably have seen them by now. “I wouldn’t be believed” is the gist of the explanations. Rosenstein (‘tho he now denies this) was right…Trump is “unfit to discharge duties as President of the United States.” Amen…amen.
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ROGirl said on September 22, 2018 at 10:14 am
I was kissed in public by 2 different men, spontaneous lunges to the lips. Once it was on the street on a first date. I asked him why he did it, he said something like I looked like I wanted to be kissed. No second date. The other time was at a cemetery for the unveiling of the gravestone of my aunt. I was standing there getting misty-eyed when the guy I was dating turned and planted one on me in front of my father, uncle and other relatives. I asked him later why he kissed me and he claimed he didn’t remember doing it.
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susan said on September 22, 2018 at 10:28 am
I’m surprised 85% of women aren’t lesbian, world-wide.
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Deborah said on September 22, 2018 at 10:32 am
Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary, 18 years, but really 28 because we lived together for 10 before that. When we lived together we thought we’d always be together but not get married. Then when we bought our land in NM we decided we should get married, not exactly sure why buying the land changed our minds. We had the wedding on our Mesa, there wasn’t anything but land then, no electricity, no water and of course no cabin. We had 100 guests, caterers, lanterns, a tent, we had one big long table in the tent and used straw bales wrapped in canvas for seating. It was very windy all day before the 6pm ceremony, everyone worried that we’d have to move the wedding at the last minute to the Inn nearby where most everybody was staying. But it got very still right before the appointed time, a gorgeous sunset and it was lovely. It still is one of the most magical evenings I have ever experienced.
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alex said on September 22, 2018 at 10:53 am
Lucian Truscott IV has an interesting piece at Salon about the “grooming” of Kavanagh by the Federalist Society. I’d link to it except that Salon is so fucking ad-heavy these days it might actually crash your computer, so I give you that caveat before you venture over there.
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Deborah said on September 22, 2018 at 11:31 am
Alex, that Salon link was one of the best things I’ve read lately. It really explains it but geez is it ever creepy.
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diane said on September 22, 2018 at 11:31 am
Congratulations Deborah! That does sound like a magical evening.
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David C. said on September 22, 2018 at 12:55 pm
Kavanaugh and the rise of asshole culture.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1043496223259418625.html
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Heather said on September 22, 2018 at 1:31 pm
Susan, that’s how you know sexual orientation isn’t a choice! I would have changed teams a while ago.
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Deborah said on September 22, 2018 at 1:34 pm
David C, my favorite paragraph from your link:
“The vileness of it is compounded by the master class level hypocrisy of those who defend Kavanaugh and Trump as champions of “values”, by the Franklin Grahams, and Lindsey Grahams and all those other moralistic but two-faced Graham crackers who provide the smokescreen for the AC.”
Graham crackers, that’s classic.
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beb said on September 22, 2018 at 1:58 pm
Deborah, marriage has always been a business arrangement — trading cows for brides, cementing treaties between nations, and so on. Marriage for love is, relatively speaking a new thing. Living together is easy as long as there are no large, long-time investments. Buying a house (or land) together is a good time to get married because there are c;ear cut laws for dividing property if you break up. Love doesn’t need The Law, but money does.
alex, I visit Salon every day or two and find the site bizzare because thanks to the adblocker I have on the site looks like a wasteland with a few articles scattered about. It must be 3/4th ads.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp’s chances of getting relected just got better, I think, when her republican opponent, Rep. Kevin Cramer said on radio that “nothing happened” “they were drunk” and they were kids.
Huffpost sums it up neatly in this paragraph:
Cramer warned that it’s going to be difficult to get “good people” for judgeships and government jobs if “this is going to be the standard — if you have to have a perfect record in junior high and high school.”
It’s like the guy who spoke of “legitimate rape” last election.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kevin-cramer-dismisses-supposed-attempt-that-never-went-anywhere_us_5ba58ae5e4b0375f8f9cfc61
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Deborah said on September 23, 2018 at 11:39 am
There are a lot of stories out there by people who didn’t report sexual assault, across the board, by famous people, ordinary people and everyone in between, it’s astonishing. I just read one by Kurt Eichenwald on his Twitter feed that is heartbreaking, and the comments after his thread by others disclosing are gut wrenching. Sorry I didn’t get a link.
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