Brett Kavanaugh was 'a frequent and heavy drinker' at Yale who was 'belligerent and aggressive' when drunk, says 'troubled' former classmate who is now demanding to speak to FBI investigators
Daily Mail
September 30, 2018
Charles 'Chad' Ludington who said he was Brett Kavanaugh's friend at Yale and sometimes drank with him, has described him as 'a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker'.
Ludington, who now teaches at North Carolina State University, said on Sunday that he is 'deeply troubled' by what he claims is a blatant mischaracterization by Kavanaugh of his drinking at Yale. He went on the record after hearing Kavanaugh's testimony during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
In addition to being a 'frequent' and 'heavy drinker', Ludington said Kavanaugh was often belligerent and aggressive when drunk. He added that on many occasions he heard Kavanaugh slur his words and saw him stagger from alcohol consumption.
Ludington said he plans to speak to the FBI because he believes Kavanaugh downplayed the 'degree and frequency' of his drinking during the Senate hearing. During the hearing on Thursday, Kavanaugh insisted that he had never blacked out from drinking alcohol.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says the Supreme Court nominee is not a 'stumbling bumbling drunk gang rapist' so there is no need for the FBI to question his college classmates about his drinking.
EDITOR’S NOTE: And the shit keeps piling on.
Now the Democrats say that Kavanaugh has demonstrated he does not have the temperament to be a judge. That’s because during his opening statement at Thursday’s senate hearing he was pissed off at the Dems for the hatchet job they were doing on him.
Monday, October 01, 2018
REPUBLICANS ARE DEMANDING AN INVESTIGATION OF DIFI LEAK
by Bob Walsh
At least two Republican senators are demanding an investigation into Dianne Feinstein's office concerning leaks of documents in the Kavanaugh matter.
Too bad that Chinese spy that worked for her for 20 years is now retired, he would be an ideal scapegoat.
At least two Republican senators are demanding an investigation into Dianne Feinstein's office concerning leaks of documents in the Kavanaugh matter.
Too bad that Chinese spy that worked for her for 20 years is now retired, he would be an ideal scapegoat.
SON SAVES MOTHER FROM ABUSER, MAY BE PROSECUTED FOR HIS OWN GOOD
by Bob Walsh
A man in Morgan County, TN. was fatally shot by the 12-year old son of the woman he was beating the shit out of a few days ago. The dead guy, Kevron Thomas Durham, 56, stopped two .44 magnum rounds from a lever action carbine wielded by the 12-year old. There are records of at least five domestic violence service calls at that address, none of which resulted in an arrest.
The local D.A., Russell Johnson, has announced that they are seriously considering prosecuting the juvenile in order to get him mental health and counselling services even though the shooting was clearly legal under Tennessee law as defense of another.
With all due respect Mr. Johnson, you are a fucking idiot.
A man in Morgan County, TN. was fatally shot by the 12-year old son of the woman he was beating the shit out of a few days ago. The dead guy, Kevron Thomas Durham, 56, stopped two .44 magnum rounds from a lever action carbine wielded by the 12-year old. There are records of at least five domestic violence service calls at that address, none of which resulted in an arrest.
The local D.A., Russell Johnson, has announced that they are seriously considering prosecuting the juvenile in order to get him mental health and counselling services even though the shooting was clearly legal under Tennessee law as defense of another.
With all due respect Mr. Johnson, you are a fucking idiot.
ANOTHER ROUGH DAY IN THE BRICK-AND-MORTAR RETAIL BUSINESS
by Bob Walsh
On Friday the price of a share of Sears Roebuck & Co. dropped below $1 for the first time in recorded history. There is a very real possibility that the chain will not survive until Christmas 2019.
At one time Sears was the largest non-government employer in the country and the largest grossing retailer in the country. Times have changed.
On Friday the price of a share of Sears Roebuck & Co. dropped below $1 for the first time in recorded history. There is a very real possibility that the chain will not survive until Christmas 2019.
At one time Sears was the largest non-government employer in the country and the largest grossing retailer in the country. Times have changed.
FORD IS BEING USED AS A PUPPET BY DEMOCRATS
Ford was held out as the victim, so no one dared ask her a hardball question
By Peter D
Big Jolly Times
September 30, 2018
Howie, the only way to get to the truth is to ask the hard questions, not worry about how it will look to constituents. Judge Kavanaugh answered over 1300 such questions, most of them coming from democrat senators that were against him before he was even named, later finding cause in some of his 300 rulings and dissents. Apparently, he supports the 2nd Amendment, has certain beliefs in presidential powers, and runs contrary to liberal litmus tests on other key issues. That they sat on the letter for weeks and never let him during private meetings or previous hearings until they let it loose publicly to do the most damage.
But what about Dr. Ford? She’s been treated with kid gloves throughout the process, most of the democrats not even asking her questions of substance other than if she would like an FBI investigation, their current delay tactic of choice. Contrary to the narrative the democrats are selling, every named witness has been investigated, those Dr Ford claims were present all indicating they remember no such party or event. Yet she’s held out as the victim so no one dares ask her a hardball question on even the most basic of background information. The best we saw during the hearings, and I watched every minute, was her declaration that she was terrified of flying being the reason she couldn’t make it sooner. Fair enough until she later admitted to being quite a jet-setting world traveler.
After a short time, it was clear that she had been heavily coached and when she started to stumble, she drew from her professional knowledge to throw in a bunch of pycho-babble mumbo jumbo about memory. None of the senators were versed in the field to dispute her answers and it is common knowledge that assault victims can have spotty memories but she couldn’t even remember answers to questions from that week or since she sent the letter. So how can anyone trust her answers to 36 year old events as anything close to credible? Internet sleuths are now claiming home had the second front door long before she claimed, that being important since it was the impetus for her couples counseling leading to her finally naming the judge as her attacker. Even if that were not the case, if the attack was such a motivator, why wasn’t the door added in a previous remodel or a condition for buying the house, so many other aspects not adding up.
For all the claims about her credibility due to the polygraph test, let me remind everyone that this is in her specialized field yet she acted like she’d never heard of the device before. And unlike such tests given to job applicants or for security clearances, she was asked two questions by an operator hired as a friendly, not a battery of questions designed to obtain the truth. Let the FBI question her for real and her professional expertise may not prove as helpful even if she beats it.
So the best case scenario is that she is being used as a puppet by democrats, the with held letter, the unapproved public release of said letter, Senator Feinstein hooking her up with lawyer that’s a close friend of George Soros, and so on. The worst case is that whether it happened or not, she has come to believe it regardless of there being absolutely no evidence or witnesses to corroborate her story. These are not mutually exclusive propositions and now that the senators used Dr. Ford to push the judge’s drinking angle, they may not need her further. But the claim that she had nothing to gain from coming forward is a lot of BS; aside from the million dollars or more in donations and her free legal services, she is being courted for a book at great financial benefit, the talk show circuit, the lecture circuit, and more prestigious universities. There is even some talk about other companies hiring her in some capacity so that claim falls faar short of reality.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pete, very well put and I agree with every word you said. Unfortunately the damage has been done and the confirmation is now awaiting a one week-long FBI investigation and there’s no telling what that will come up with. Unless the FBI investigation is definitively favorable to Kavanaugh, I’m afraid his nomination is through circling the drain and gone down the sewer.
Who knows how Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins will vote? And there’s no certainty how fickle Flake will vote in the end. As much as I want to see Kavanaugh seated on the Supreme Court, I can’t put my money on that happening.
By Peter D
Big Jolly Times
September 30, 2018
Howie, the only way to get to the truth is to ask the hard questions, not worry about how it will look to constituents. Judge Kavanaugh answered over 1300 such questions, most of them coming from democrat senators that were against him before he was even named, later finding cause in some of his 300 rulings and dissents. Apparently, he supports the 2nd Amendment, has certain beliefs in presidential powers, and runs contrary to liberal litmus tests on other key issues. That they sat on the letter for weeks and never let him during private meetings or previous hearings until they let it loose publicly to do the most damage.
But what about Dr. Ford? She’s been treated with kid gloves throughout the process, most of the democrats not even asking her questions of substance other than if she would like an FBI investigation, their current delay tactic of choice. Contrary to the narrative the democrats are selling, every named witness has been investigated, those Dr Ford claims were present all indicating they remember no such party or event. Yet she’s held out as the victim so no one dares ask her a hardball question on even the most basic of background information. The best we saw during the hearings, and I watched every minute, was her declaration that she was terrified of flying being the reason she couldn’t make it sooner. Fair enough until she later admitted to being quite a jet-setting world traveler.
After a short time, it was clear that she had been heavily coached and when she started to stumble, she drew from her professional knowledge to throw in a bunch of pycho-babble mumbo jumbo about memory. None of the senators were versed in the field to dispute her answers and it is common knowledge that assault victims can have spotty memories but she couldn’t even remember answers to questions from that week or since she sent the letter. So how can anyone trust her answers to 36 year old events as anything close to credible? Internet sleuths are now claiming home had the second front door long before she claimed, that being important since it was the impetus for her couples counseling leading to her finally naming the judge as her attacker. Even if that were not the case, if the attack was such a motivator, why wasn’t the door added in a previous remodel or a condition for buying the house, so many other aspects not adding up.
For all the claims about her credibility due to the polygraph test, let me remind everyone that this is in her specialized field yet she acted like she’d never heard of the device before. And unlike such tests given to job applicants or for security clearances, she was asked two questions by an operator hired as a friendly, not a battery of questions designed to obtain the truth. Let the FBI question her for real and her professional expertise may not prove as helpful even if she beats it.
So the best case scenario is that she is being used as a puppet by democrats, the with held letter, the unapproved public release of said letter, Senator Feinstein hooking her up with lawyer that’s a close friend of George Soros, and so on. The worst case is that whether it happened or not, she has come to believe it regardless of there being absolutely no evidence or witnesses to corroborate her story. These are not mutually exclusive propositions and now that the senators used Dr. Ford to push the judge’s drinking angle, they may not need her further. But the claim that she had nothing to gain from coming forward is a lot of BS; aside from the million dollars or more in donations and her free legal services, she is being courted for a book at great financial benefit, the talk show circuit, the lecture circuit, and more prestigious universities. There is even some talk about other companies hiring her in some capacity so that claim falls faar short of reality.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pete, very well put and I agree with every word you said. Unfortunately the damage has been done and the confirmation is now awaiting a one week-long FBI investigation and there’s no telling what that will come up with. Unless the FBI investigation is definitively favorable to Kavanaugh, I’m afraid his nomination is through circling the drain and gone down the sewer.
Who knows how Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins will vote? And there’s no certainty how fickle Flake will vote in the end. As much as I want to see Kavanaugh seated on the Supreme Court, I can’t put my money on that happening.
IF YOU SPRAY ME AGAIN YOU GO TO SIBERIAN GULAG
Don't you dare! Putin warns Lewis Hamilton not to spray him with champagne at Russian GP after Brit doused him three years ago
By George Martin
Daily Mail
September 30, 2018
Lewis Hamilton was pictured coming face to face with Vladimir Putin as he swept to victory at the Russian Grand Prix.
The Russian President warned the F1 ace to avoid spraying him with champagne just moments before they both took to the podium in Sochi.
Three years ago Hamilton soaked Putin with champagne at the Russian Grand Prix while celebrating his victory.
And knowing that he would be presenting the Brit with a prize once again, Putin decided to issue him a stark warning beforehand on this occasion.
As they waited to take to the stage for the trophy presentations, Putin could be heard saying through his interpreter that he didn't wish to be drenched.
'I am accustomed to warning you something each year. Year, after year...' His interpreter told the four-time world champion.
But Hamilton didn't seem fazed by the Russian leader's telling-off and even claimed it wasn't him who had soaked Putin at the 2016 race.
Hamilton interrupted him and said: 'Yeah, this year I won't spray you with Champagne. Last year it wasn't me. It was someone else!'
The Brit looked delighted as he stood on the top step of the podium in Sochi having extended his championship lead to 40 points.
And he even made good on his promise, allowing Putin to get well clear before he popped the cork on his bottle of fizz.
Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful Formula One drivers of all time having won the world championship four times during his career.
With a comfortable lead under his belt over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in second place he now looks more than likely to win a fifth title - equalling the total held by the great Juan Manuel Fangio.
By George Martin
Daily Mail
September 30, 2018
Lewis Hamilton was pictured coming face to face with Vladimir Putin as he swept to victory at the Russian Grand Prix.
The Russian President warned the F1 ace to avoid spraying him with champagne just moments before they both took to the podium in Sochi.
Three years ago Hamilton soaked Putin with champagne at the Russian Grand Prix while celebrating his victory.
And knowing that he would be presenting the Brit with a prize once again, Putin decided to issue him a stark warning beforehand on this occasion.
As they waited to take to the stage for the trophy presentations, Putin could be heard saying through his interpreter that he didn't wish to be drenched.
'I am accustomed to warning you something each year. Year, after year...' His interpreter told the four-time world champion.
But Hamilton didn't seem fazed by the Russian leader's telling-off and even claimed it wasn't him who had soaked Putin at the 2016 race.
Hamilton interrupted him and said: 'Yeah, this year I won't spray you with Champagne. Last year it wasn't me. It was someone else!'
The Brit looked delighted as he stood on the top step of the podium in Sochi having extended his championship lead to 40 points.
And he even made good on his promise, allowing Putin to get well clear before he popped the cork on his bottle of fizz.
Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful Formula One drivers of all time having won the world championship four times during his career.
With a comfortable lead under his belt over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in second place he now looks more than likely to win a fifth title - equalling the total held by the great Juan Manuel Fangio.
COP CAR USED TO STOP MURDER SUSPECT SHOOTING AT MICHIGAN COPS
Homicide suspect hit by police cruiser on US-131; in hospital
WOOD TV
September 27, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Police say a man accused of killing his girlfriend in Wyoming led them on a chase along busy US-131 before he jumped out of his vehicle, exchanged gunfire with officers and was then hit by a cruiser.
Wyoming police and family members identified the homicide victim as Tia Mae Randall, a 27-year-old mother of two. Police say 33-year-old Adam Kenneth Nolin, who she was dating, is the suspect in her Thursday death.
CHASE, SHOOTING, CRASH
WOOD TV8 skycam video recorded at 10:26 a.m. shows the suspect abandoning his pickup truck, which police said had crashed and ended up facing the wrong way on northbound US-131 on the S-curve in Grand Rapids.
The suspect took off running toward the concrete median. Several cruisers had stopped, but one continued on and hit the suspect, sending him flying. Officers converged on him as he lay on the highway.
He was taken away in an ambulance. The Grand Rapids Police Department said his injuries are serious, but not considered life-threatening. He was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon.
People who work in a building that overlooks the highway told 24 Hour News 8 their attention was drawn to the road when they heard screeching tires.
“We heard a crash. We thought it was just an accident, looked up and an individual got out of his truck, started shooting his gun," witness Mike Kavanajh recounted. "It was a little scary being so close to it, and seeing the weapon being fired was terrifying."
Officers returned fire. Neither Nolan nor any officers were actually shot.
The suspect was then hit by the cruiser. Grand Rapids police say it was one of theirs, and that the officer behind the wheel hit Nolin to stop the deadly threat.
Michigan State Police are investigating the use of force, which is standard procedure.
Northbound US-131 was shut down near the S-curve for hours after Nolin was hit as MSP was on scene. The highway reopened around 3 p.m.
THE HOMICIDE
Police had been looking for Nolin in connection to Randall's homicide, which happened at Creekside Estates Mobile Home Park in the 600 block of Spruce Lane near the intersection of Clyde Park Avenue SW and 54th Street SW.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting are not yet known, but the Wyoming Department of Public Safety says Randall was killed by a single gunshot. Neighbors said officers told them she was shot in the head.
Police were called to the mobile home park shortly after 9 a.m. and used a loudspeaker to call for the suspect to come out of the home, though they would later discover he wasn't there.
"It was really scary to wake up and see that and then to have a detective come over and asking us questions and telling us that he found a woman's body in there," neighbor Peggy Gales said. "That little corner, it's like we're family almost. So to get up and see this, it's like, wow."
Randall, Gales said, was quiet and shy. Her family members declined to comment Thursday, saying they were too devastated to speak.
Neighbors said her two children, both under the age of 7, were at school when she was killed. They have since been taken into the custody of Children's Protective Services.
Schools near Creekside Estates were on lockdown as a precaution Thursday morning. After nearly two hours, the lockdown was lifted and all buildings resumed normal activities.
SUSPECT'S HISTORY
Nolin has a criminal history dating back to 2007 that includes misdemeanor charges of assault, vandalism, and driving without a license or with multiple licenses. He was considered armed and dangerous while he was on the run.
Creekside residents said Nolin and Randall had lived there at least three years.
"I have never heard them fight," Gales said.
She said she knew Nolin as a good neighbor who took care of his kids and Randall.
"I have never known Adam to get violent at anybody," Gales said. "To hear that he was even involved in this is so shocking."
But another woman whose daughter has children with Nolin said she wasn't surprised when she saw his mug shot on the news.
"It seems like the movies when you see your daughter's ex-boyfriend on the police chase," Jackie Miller told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday evening.
Miller said Nolin repeatedly abused her daughter before their relationship ended more than a decade ago. The daughter told 24 Hour News 8 via Facebook Messenger that Nolin had abused her, at one point breaking her ribs. She said she has a restraining order against him. Court records show that the couple had at least one domestic dispute in 2009.
"He was violent with my daughter," Miller said. "He's not a nice guy by any stretch of the imagination."
"Adam is a con man who will take whatever he can get for as long as he can get it," she added, "and when things don't go his way, that's when he turns violent."
WOOD TV
September 27, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Police say a man accused of killing his girlfriend in Wyoming led them on a chase along busy US-131 before he jumped out of his vehicle, exchanged gunfire with officers and was then hit by a cruiser.
Wyoming police and family members identified the homicide victim as Tia Mae Randall, a 27-year-old mother of two. Police say 33-year-old Adam Kenneth Nolin, who she was dating, is the suspect in her Thursday death.
CHASE, SHOOTING, CRASH
WOOD TV8 skycam video recorded at 10:26 a.m. shows the suspect abandoning his pickup truck, which police said had crashed and ended up facing the wrong way on northbound US-131 on the S-curve in Grand Rapids.
The suspect took off running toward the concrete median. Several cruisers had stopped, but one continued on and hit the suspect, sending him flying. Officers converged on him as he lay on the highway.
He was taken away in an ambulance. The Grand Rapids Police Department said his injuries are serious, but not considered life-threatening. He was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon.
People who work in a building that overlooks the highway told 24 Hour News 8 their attention was drawn to the road when they heard screeching tires.
“We heard a crash. We thought it was just an accident, looked up and an individual got out of his truck, started shooting his gun," witness Mike Kavanajh recounted. "It was a little scary being so close to it, and seeing the weapon being fired was terrifying."
Officers returned fire. Neither Nolan nor any officers were actually shot.
The suspect was then hit by the cruiser. Grand Rapids police say it was one of theirs, and that the officer behind the wheel hit Nolin to stop the deadly threat.
Michigan State Police are investigating the use of force, which is standard procedure.
Northbound US-131 was shut down near the S-curve for hours after Nolin was hit as MSP was on scene. The highway reopened around 3 p.m.
THE HOMICIDE
Police had been looking for Nolin in connection to Randall's homicide, which happened at Creekside Estates Mobile Home Park in the 600 block of Spruce Lane near the intersection of Clyde Park Avenue SW and 54th Street SW.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting are not yet known, but the Wyoming Department of Public Safety says Randall was killed by a single gunshot. Neighbors said officers told them she was shot in the head.
Police were called to the mobile home park shortly after 9 a.m. and used a loudspeaker to call for the suspect to come out of the home, though they would later discover he wasn't there.
"It was really scary to wake up and see that and then to have a detective come over and asking us questions and telling us that he found a woman's body in there," neighbor Peggy Gales said. "That little corner, it's like we're family almost. So to get up and see this, it's like, wow."
Randall, Gales said, was quiet and shy. Her family members declined to comment Thursday, saying they were too devastated to speak.
Neighbors said her two children, both under the age of 7, were at school when she was killed. They have since been taken into the custody of Children's Protective Services.
Schools near Creekside Estates were on lockdown as a precaution Thursday morning. After nearly two hours, the lockdown was lifted and all buildings resumed normal activities.
SUSPECT'S HISTORY
Nolin has a criminal history dating back to 2007 that includes misdemeanor charges of assault, vandalism, and driving without a license or with multiple licenses. He was considered armed and dangerous while he was on the run.
Creekside residents said Nolin and Randall had lived there at least three years.
"I have never heard them fight," Gales said.
She said she knew Nolin as a good neighbor who took care of his kids and Randall.
"I have never known Adam to get violent at anybody," Gales said. "To hear that he was even involved in this is so shocking."
But another woman whose daughter has children with Nolin said she wasn't surprised when she saw his mug shot on the news.
"It seems like the movies when you see your daughter's ex-boyfriend on the police chase," Jackie Miller told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday evening.
Miller said Nolin repeatedly abused her daughter before their relationship ended more than a decade ago. The daughter told 24 Hour News 8 via Facebook Messenger that Nolin had abused her, at one point breaking her ribs. She said she has a restraining order against him. Court records show that the couple had at least one domestic dispute in 2009.
"He was violent with my daughter," Miller said. "He's not a nice guy by any stretch of the imagination."
"Adam is a con man who will take whatever he can get for as long as he can get it," she added, "and when things don't go his way, that's when he turns violent."
GOVERNOR ABBOTT’S CHOICE IS THIS GRUMPY OLD EX-COP’S CHOICE
Abbott endorses reduced pot penalties during Texas gubernatorial debate
By Scott Henson
Grits for Breakfast
September 29, 2018
An email from Texas NORML brings the news that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed reducing penalties for low-level marijuana possession in Friday night's debate.
Notably, the Republican Party of Texas earlier this year endorsed reducing the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil penalty carrying a small fine. However, Gov. Abbott endorsed a slightly different proposal: Reducing penalties to a Class C misdemeanor.
What's the difference?
There are collateral consequences under federal law that attach to any criminal drug conviction, one of the most significant being denial of access to student loans, among others. Creating a new civil penalty would avoid those collateral consequences, which are not triggered by a civil fine.
Gov. Abbott's proposal - simply reducing the penalty by one category-level to a Class C - would have much the same effect. Most people would receive tickets instead of being arrested, so counties wouldn't have to pay for incarceration or hire them lawyers if they're indigent. The maximum punishment would be a fine, not jail time.
The argument in favor of the Governor's approach: It's arguably a cleaner fix, legally speaking. Texas doesn't presently have civil penalties for much besides the Driver Responsibility surcharge, which itself is larded on top of criminal penalties, not levied instead of them. Indeed, even business regulations here are typically enforced via criminal statutes. That's why, for example, Texas has so many felonies its citizens can commit with an oyster. The Legislature avoids regulation so much, they even choose to criminalize discouraged business practices.
For me, the civil penalty is the better bill, given the two options. The issue of collateral consequences is a big one, and no joke. But either proposal would be a big improvement over the status quo, as presently more than 60,000 people are arrested and jailed every year in Texas on low-level marijuana charges.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry Grits, but my choice is Abbott's choice - keeping pot possession a criminal offense. The law in Texas prohibits possession of pot. Right or wrong, that's the law. People who do not agree with a law, including what they believe to be a bad law, have no right to break that law. When they do, they have knowingly committed a crime and should be punished for a crime, not with a civil penalty.
As for the collateral consequences of a Class C misdemeanor, TOUGH SHIT! When one gets caught knowingly and deliberately breaking a law, he has no right to call the consequences a foul.
Henson responded:
BGB, the issue isn't offenders calling "the consequences foul," it's that, from the perspective of the ENFORCERS, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. Why do you think it's a good idea to forbid pot smokers from getting student loans?
If you agree pot possession less than 2 oz should be a Class C misdemeanor, you agree it's basically not a very big deal in the scheme of forbidden conduct - as Gov. Abbott declared, not worth taking up jail space.
Given that, insisting pot possessors can no longer get student loans a) is a disproportionate punishment for a little-deal crime, b) harms the economy and the tax base because people who don't attend college earn less, and c) boosts recidivism among pot offenders. I'm not sure what benefit you see that outweighs those detriments, but maybe you'll tell us.
BGB responded:
Grits, I agree with Anon 11:07 when he says "everyone criminals and non criminals alike have a right to demand change." But until the law is changed. it's still a crime. Do the crime, do the time says this grumpy old ex-cop (Hey, I like that!).
"... harms the economy and the tax base because people who don't attend college earn less." OMG, the country could go bankrupt if we punish people for breaking certain laws.
Punishing pot offenders "boosts recidivism among pot offenders." Now that's rich, Grits, really rich! You've sure got this grumpy old ex-cop laughing with that joke.
What did you have for breakfast this morning, Grits ... marijuana-laced cereal?
(One of Henson’s Anons referred to me as a ‘grumpy old cop.’)
Henson came back:
BGB, didn't say punishing pot offenders in any way boosts recidivism, I said taking away access to student loans does. There's a significant correlation between education and crime rates - taking away people's future opportunities makes them more likely to commit crimes goin forward. FTM, I know you don't believe research if it contradicts your assumptions (one of the problems with grumpy old cops, in my experience) but there's a substantial body of research showing that incarceration of low-risk offenders like pot smokers INCREASES the likelihood they commit more crime. Doesn't really matter if you believe it.
CONCLUSION: Despite my grumpy old age, my comprehension of the English language remains firmly intact. Henson clearly implied that busting pot offenders "boosts recidivism among pot offenders," which is absurd to say the least
As for pot offenders not getting student loans, fuck ’em!
Scott Henson is so far left that I wonder what’s keeping him from falling off the western edge of this flat earth.
By Scott Henson
Grits for Breakfast
September 29, 2018
An email from Texas NORML brings the news that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed reducing penalties for low-level marijuana possession in Friday night's debate.
Notably, the Republican Party of Texas earlier this year endorsed reducing the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil penalty carrying a small fine. However, Gov. Abbott endorsed a slightly different proposal: Reducing penalties to a Class C misdemeanor.
What's the difference?
There are collateral consequences under federal law that attach to any criminal drug conviction, one of the most significant being denial of access to student loans, among others. Creating a new civil penalty would avoid those collateral consequences, which are not triggered by a civil fine.
Gov. Abbott's proposal - simply reducing the penalty by one category-level to a Class C - would have much the same effect. Most people would receive tickets instead of being arrested, so counties wouldn't have to pay for incarceration or hire them lawyers if they're indigent. The maximum punishment would be a fine, not jail time.
The argument in favor of the Governor's approach: It's arguably a cleaner fix, legally speaking. Texas doesn't presently have civil penalties for much besides the Driver Responsibility surcharge, which itself is larded on top of criminal penalties, not levied instead of them. Indeed, even business regulations here are typically enforced via criminal statutes. That's why, for example, Texas has so many felonies its citizens can commit with an oyster. The Legislature avoids regulation so much, they even choose to criminalize discouraged business practices.
For me, the civil penalty is the better bill, given the two options. The issue of collateral consequences is a big one, and no joke. But either proposal would be a big improvement over the status quo, as presently more than 60,000 people are arrested and jailed every year in Texas on low-level marijuana charges.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry Grits, but my choice is Abbott's choice - keeping pot possession a criminal offense. The law in Texas prohibits possession of pot. Right or wrong, that's the law. People who do not agree with a law, including what they believe to be a bad law, have no right to break that law. When they do, they have knowingly committed a crime and should be punished for a crime, not with a civil penalty.
As for the collateral consequences of a Class C misdemeanor, TOUGH SHIT! When one gets caught knowingly and deliberately breaking a law, he has no right to call the consequences a foul.
Henson responded:
BGB, the issue isn't offenders calling "the consequences foul," it's that, from the perspective of the ENFORCERS, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. Why do you think it's a good idea to forbid pot smokers from getting student loans?
If you agree pot possession less than 2 oz should be a Class C misdemeanor, you agree it's basically not a very big deal in the scheme of forbidden conduct - as Gov. Abbott declared, not worth taking up jail space.
Given that, insisting pot possessors can no longer get student loans a) is a disproportionate punishment for a little-deal crime, b) harms the economy and the tax base because people who don't attend college earn less, and c) boosts recidivism among pot offenders. I'm not sure what benefit you see that outweighs those detriments, but maybe you'll tell us.
BGB responded:
Grits, I agree with Anon 11:07 when he says "everyone criminals and non criminals alike have a right to demand change." But until the law is changed. it's still a crime. Do the crime, do the time says this grumpy old ex-cop (Hey, I like that!).
"... harms the economy and the tax base because people who don't attend college earn less." OMG, the country could go bankrupt if we punish people for breaking certain laws.
Punishing pot offenders "boosts recidivism among pot offenders." Now that's rich, Grits, really rich! You've sure got this grumpy old ex-cop laughing with that joke.
What did you have for breakfast this morning, Grits ... marijuana-laced cereal?
(One of Henson’s Anons referred to me as a ‘grumpy old cop.’)
Henson came back:
BGB, didn't say punishing pot offenders in any way boosts recidivism, I said taking away access to student loans does. There's a significant correlation between education and crime rates - taking away people's future opportunities makes them more likely to commit crimes goin forward. FTM, I know you don't believe research if it contradicts your assumptions (one of the problems with grumpy old cops, in my experience) but there's a substantial body of research showing that incarceration of low-risk offenders like pot smokers INCREASES the likelihood they commit more crime. Doesn't really matter if you believe it.
CONCLUSION: Despite my grumpy old age, my comprehension of the English language remains firmly intact. Henson clearly implied that busting pot offenders "boosts recidivism among pot offenders," which is absurd to say the least
As for pot offenders not getting student loans, fuck ’em!
Scott Henson is so far left that I wonder what’s keeping him from falling off the western edge of this flat earth.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE BOTTOM LINE
by Bob Walsh
Much to my surprise Governor Moonbeam VETOED a bill that got to his desk that would have shut down gun shows at the Cow Palace, a state-owned venue in Daily City just south of the People's Republic of San Francisco. Jerry HATES guns and HATES people who like guns. However, like any good Democrap he LOVES money and wants to suck as much of it from the public as possible.
It seems that the gun shows at the Cow Palace are DIRECTLY responsible for about $1.3 million per year into the state's coffers in the way of rent, parking and sales taxes.
Principles are principles but money is MONEY.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Or as the saying goes, "Money talks, bullshit walks."
Much to my surprise Governor Moonbeam VETOED a bill that got to his desk that would have shut down gun shows at the Cow Palace, a state-owned venue in Daily City just south of the People's Republic of San Francisco. Jerry HATES guns and HATES people who like guns. However, like any good Democrap he LOVES money and wants to suck as much of it from the public as possible.
It seems that the gun shows at the Cow Palace are DIRECTLY responsible for about $1.3 million per year into the state's coffers in the way of rent, parking and sales taxes.
Principles are principles but money is MONEY.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Or as the saying goes, "Money talks, bullshit walks."
CA NOW SAFE FROM THE SCOURGE OF TEENAGE GUNMEN
by Bob Walsh
Yes, it is true. The People's Republic of California is about to be made safe from the scourge of teenage gunmen (and women I guess) as Governor Moonbeam has just signed legislation that, effective January 1, will make it unlawful to sell a firearm of any kind (legally at least) to any person under the age of 21.
Shit, I feel safer already.
Yes, it is true. The People's Republic of California is about to be made safe from the scourge of teenage gunmen (and women I guess) as Governor Moonbeam has just signed legislation that, effective January 1, will make it unlawful to sell a firearm of any kind (legally at least) to any person under the age of 21.
Shit, I feel safer already.
HELP WANTED. NEED MORE WHITE CRIMINALS. APPLY AT BART HEADQUARTERS
Several members of the BART board of directors are suggesting the fare evader enforcement program be eliminated as it is catching too many blacks and not enough whites
by Bob Walsh
Yes, it is sad but true. There is a paucity of white criminals plying their trade within the jurisdiction of the Bay Area Rapid Transit police. It is a serious problem for them.
The trouble is fare evaders. The fare gates at BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) are a joke. A crippled octogenarian in a wheel chair can get over the gates. BART loses a shitpile of money every year to fare evaders and rebuilding the fare gates would cost also a shitload of money. So they put some money into catching fare evaders. That, however, may have to stop as their board of directors is bothered that they are not getting enough white fare evaders.
The BART ridership is about 12% black. However fare evades are about 47% black. Several members of the BART board of directors are suggesting the fare evader enforcement program be eliminated as it is catching too many blacks and not enough whites.
If you are white, go ahead and put in your application. They would love to hear from you.
by Bob Walsh
Yes, it is sad but true. There is a paucity of white criminals plying their trade within the jurisdiction of the Bay Area Rapid Transit police. It is a serious problem for them.
The trouble is fare evaders. The fare gates at BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) are a joke. A crippled octogenarian in a wheel chair can get over the gates. BART loses a shitpile of money every year to fare evaders and rebuilding the fare gates would cost also a shitload of money. So they put some money into catching fare evaders. That, however, may have to stop as their board of directors is bothered that they are not getting enough white fare evaders.
The BART ridership is about 12% black. However fare evades are about 47% black. Several members of the BART board of directors are suggesting the fare evader enforcement program be eliminated as it is catching too many blacks and not enough whites.
If you are white, go ahead and put in your application. They would love to hear from you.
SOMEONE ABOVE MUST HAVE LOOKED AFTER THE PASSENFERS BECAUSE THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS PANICKED
Plane crashes into Chuuk lagoon in the Pacific Ocean northwest of Papua, New Guinea
By Jasmine Stole Weiss
Pacific Daily News
September 28, 2018
Four people were seriously injured after a flight from Pohnpei crashed into a lagoon while attempting to land at the airport in Weno, Chuuk, Friday morning, according to officials and witnesses.
The Federated States of Micronesia government issued a flyer Friday, reporting a missing man, but it is unclear if that person was a passenger on the flight.
Airport officials saw the Air Niugini plane ended up in the lagoon around 9:30 a.m., said Jimmy Emilio, Chuuk airport manager.
Passengers and crew were at the hospital undergoing checkups, Emilio said Friday morning. No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported, Emilio said.
Eight people were hospitalized as of 4 p.m., according to Chuuk State Hospital Chief Nurse Irene Nero. Nero said all the patients are males and four of them will need to be evacuated because of head injuries, spinal cord injuries and hip fractures.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, there were no fatalities, Nero said.
Witness Matthew Colson, a missionary living in Chuuk who also runs a radio station, said people were being treated for injuries, some serious. There were reports of people with broken legs and at least one person with a broken arm Colson said after visiting the local hospital.
Plane sinks after all safe on shore
It was unclear what had caused the crash, Emilio said.
"Somebody has to look into that and let us know," Emilio said. "So far, we don't know why they went down."
Within an hour of the crash, the plane sank in the lagoon, but not before all aboard were safely on shore, Colson and other witnesses said.
Colson spoke to a passenger, Bill Jaynes, shortly after the crash.
Jaynes, managing editor of The Kaselehlie Press, a Pohnpei-based newspaper that covers the Federated States of Micronesia, was on the flight and told Colson he suffered minor injuries.
Some passengers suffered more severe injuries, he said on a video recorded by Colson.
'We came in low,' passenger says
Jaynes said he believed that the plane hit a retaining wall and bounced back, landing in the lagoon.
"It's just surreal. I thought we landed hard until I looked over and saw a hole in the side of the plane and water was coming in, and I thought, well, this is not like the way it's supposed to happen," he said.
"We came in low, we came in very low. Unfortunately, the flight attendants panicked, and started yelling, and I was trying to be calm and help as best as I could," Jaynes said.
Jaynes said he was told the plane hit the end of the runway.
"That's the only scenario I can imagine. But we ended up back away from the end of the retaining wall," he said.
The plane was attempting to land on runway 4, the airport manager said. Instead, it crashed in the lagoon and ended up about 160 yards from the runway, Emilio said.
Colson said it was raining at the time of the crash.
“We’ll have to wait for the investigation to be completed, but they probably didn’t stop fast enough and landed over the edge and in the water,” Colson said.
Air Niugini released a statement on the crash and said the weather was poor with heavy rain and reduced visibility at the time of the incident. The incident happened at 10:10 a.m., according to the airline.
Victor Harold Wasson, a passenger on the flight, described the moments before the plane landed as chaos.
The flight attendants were panicking too, he said. “Instead of calmly telling passengers to (get into) a single file, their yelling made a lot of people panic, who started climbing over seats to get to the exit blocking some others in the process," Wasson said.
Wasson said he asked the flight attendants more than five times for a life jacket because he couldn’t find one under his seat or other seats in his aisle. “But they just ignored (me) as they were panicking themselves,” he said. “They screamed out, ‘Brace for impact,’ but we hit something before they could even complete their sentence properly.”
Wasson said he intends to file a claim with the airline for the items he lost on the sunken plane and give feedback to management about what he witnessed during the incident.
Wasson was heading to Fiji, transiting through Chuuk and Port Moresby, he said.
Wasson also said he plans on heading out on the flight that will be leaving Chuuk on Saturday.
Locals spring into action
The water was waist-deep inside the aircraft but passengers were able to get out, Jaynes said. Then, people in boats came to the rescue.
"I was really impressed with the locals who immediately started coming out in boats. One would think that they might be afraid to approach a plane that's just crashed," Jaynes said. "I was really impressed with the whole response. It's obvious the FAA training really paid off here."
Colson said many locals were gathered at a market near the airport. As soon as the plane hit the water, people sprung into action to help.
“They’re people that come here to go to work or go to the store or bring fish to the market to sell, and they just jumped in their boats and started helping,” Colson said.
Locals rushed out on fishing boats to shuttle people from the plane to shore, he said.
U.S. Navy Seabees in Chuuk for a construction project also helped transport people to shore, Colson added.
The U.S. Navy said sailors helped shuttle passengers and crew using an inflatable boat.
Local authorities then closed off the road as passengers got transported to the hospital, Colson said.
Colson, a Chuuk resident since 1997, and he doesn't know of any other instances in which a plane went off the the Weno runway and sunk.
'Plenty of boats' helped
Melba Aisek, general manager of the Truk Stop Hotel and lifelong Chuuk resident, said she didn’t see the crash itself, but saw the plane in the lagoon.
“We can see the plane from our dock. So, from the dock, I could see there were plenty of boats heading that way," Aisek said in an email. "We ourselves, Truk Stop, sent out our dive boat to assist, but returned as there was already a good crowd of people already helping transport folks to the (runway),” Aisek said.
“Very lucky that this happened during the day and (they) got good help from passersby.”
The Boeing 737 aircraft had been expected to land at 9:26 a.m., according to Jeff Pamittan, accountant for the Air Niuguini office in Chuuk.
The airline's flight schedule online states a Boeing 737 flight from Pohnpei was scheduled to arrive in Chuuk at 8:55 a.m., and was scheduled to leave Chuuk at 9:45 a.m. for Papua New Guinea.
"Air Niugini is now positioning assistance to Chuuk for our passengers and crew. We are also in touch with the embassies, passenger representatives, stakeholders and families of the crew. We thank everyone in Chuuk for the assistance provided today," the airline said in their statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, crew and their families at this time."
The airline scheduled a special flight to take airline management to Chuuk Saturday morning, according to a statement. A company doctor will be on that flight to assist with treatment of injured passengers.
Air Niugini is also arranging for hotel accommodations for 27 passengers and crew members and take passengers who wish to complete their trip to Port Moresby.
Conflicting passenger counts
Officials provided conflicting information on the number of people aboard the plane. Emilio, the Chuuk airport manager, said 36 passengers and 11 crew members were aboard.
Pamittan said the plane was carrying 35 passengers and 12 crew members.
The airline also said there were 35 passengers and 12 crew members.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor, citing preliminary reports, said 46 people were onboard Air Nuigini Flight 37, including 11 crew members.
The airline started twice weekly air services between Port Moresby and the FSM in December 2016, according to its website.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Later reports say the missing man was a passenger.
By Jasmine Stole Weiss
Pacific Daily News
September 28, 2018
Four people were seriously injured after a flight from Pohnpei crashed into a lagoon while attempting to land at the airport in Weno, Chuuk, Friday morning, according to officials and witnesses.
The Federated States of Micronesia government issued a flyer Friday, reporting a missing man, but it is unclear if that person was a passenger on the flight.
Airport officials saw the Air Niugini plane ended up in the lagoon around 9:30 a.m., said Jimmy Emilio, Chuuk airport manager.
Passengers and crew were at the hospital undergoing checkups, Emilio said Friday morning. No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported, Emilio said.
Eight people were hospitalized as of 4 p.m., according to Chuuk State Hospital Chief Nurse Irene Nero. Nero said all the patients are males and four of them will need to be evacuated because of head injuries, spinal cord injuries and hip fractures.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, there were no fatalities, Nero said.
Witness Matthew Colson, a missionary living in Chuuk who also runs a radio station, said people were being treated for injuries, some serious. There were reports of people with broken legs and at least one person with a broken arm Colson said after visiting the local hospital.
Plane sinks after all safe on shore
It was unclear what had caused the crash, Emilio said.
"Somebody has to look into that and let us know," Emilio said. "So far, we don't know why they went down."
Within an hour of the crash, the plane sank in the lagoon, but not before all aboard were safely on shore, Colson and other witnesses said.
Colson spoke to a passenger, Bill Jaynes, shortly after the crash.
Jaynes, managing editor of The Kaselehlie Press, a Pohnpei-based newspaper that covers the Federated States of Micronesia, was on the flight and told Colson he suffered minor injuries.
Some passengers suffered more severe injuries, he said on a video recorded by Colson.
'We came in low,' passenger says
Jaynes said he believed that the plane hit a retaining wall and bounced back, landing in the lagoon.
"It's just surreal. I thought we landed hard until I looked over and saw a hole in the side of the plane and water was coming in, and I thought, well, this is not like the way it's supposed to happen," he said.
"We came in low, we came in very low. Unfortunately, the flight attendants panicked, and started yelling, and I was trying to be calm and help as best as I could," Jaynes said.
Jaynes said he was told the plane hit the end of the runway.
"That's the only scenario I can imagine. But we ended up back away from the end of the retaining wall," he said.
The plane was attempting to land on runway 4, the airport manager said. Instead, it crashed in the lagoon and ended up about 160 yards from the runway, Emilio said.
Colson said it was raining at the time of the crash.
“We’ll have to wait for the investigation to be completed, but they probably didn’t stop fast enough and landed over the edge and in the water,” Colson said.
Air Niugini released a statement on the crash and said the weather was poor with heavy rain and reduced visibility at the time of the incident. The incident happened at 10:10 a.m., according to the airline.
Victor Harold Wasson, a passenger on the flight, described the moments before the plane landed as chaos.
The flight attendants were panicking too, he said. “Instead of calmly telling passengers to (get into) a single file, their yelling made a lot of people panic, who started climbing over seats to get to the exit blocking some others in the process," Wasson said.
Wasson said he asked the flight attendants more than five times for a life jacket because he couldn’t find one under his seat or other seats in his aisle. “But they just ignored (me) as they were panicking themselves,” he said. “They screamed out, ‘Brace for impact,’ but we hit something before they could even complete their sentence properly.”
Wasson said he intends to file a claim with the airline for the items he lost on the sunken plane and give feedback to management about what he witnessed during the incident.
Wasson was heading to Fiji, transiting through Chuuk and Port Moresby, he said.
Wasson also said he plans on heading out on the flight that will be leaving Chuuk on Saturday.
Locals spring into action
The water was waist-deep inside the aircraft but passengers were able to get out, Jaynes said. Then, people in boats came to the rescue.
"I was really impressed with the locals who immediately started coming out in boats. One would think that they might be afraid to approach a plane that's just crashed," Jaynes said. "I was really impressed with the whole response. It's obvious the FAA training really paid off here."
Colson said many locals were gathered at a market near the airport. As soon as the plane hit the water, people sprung into action to help.
“They’re people that come here to go to work or go to the store or bring fish to the market to sell, and they just jumped in their boats and started helping,” Colson said.
Locals rushed out on fishing boats to shuttle people from the plane to shore, he said.
U.S. Navy Seabees in Chuuk for a construction project also helped transport people to shore, Colson added.
The U.S. Navy said sailors helped shuttle passengers and crew using an inflatable boat.
Local authorities then closed off the road as passengers got transported to the hospital, Colson said.
Colson, a Chuuk resident since 1997, and he doesn't know of any other instances in which a plane went off the the Weno runway and sunk.
'Plenty of boats' helped
Melba Aisek, general manager of the Truk Stop Hotel and lifelong Chuuk resident, said she didn’t see the crash itself, but saw the plane in the lagoon.
“We can see the plane from our dock. So, from the dock, I could see there were plenty of boats heading that way," Aisek said in an email. "We ourselves, Truk Stop, sent out our dive boat to assist, but returned as there was already a good crowd of people already helping transport folks to the (runway),” Aisek said.
“Very lucky that this happened during the day and (they) got good help from passersby.”
The Boeing 737 aircraft had been expected to land at 9:26 a.m., according to Jeff Pamittan, accountant for the Air Niuguini office in Chuuk.
The airline's flight schedule online states a Boeing 737 flight from Pohnpei was scheduled to arrive in Chuuk at 8:55 a.m., and was scheduled to leave Chuuk at 9:45 a.m. for Papua New Guinea.
"Air Niugini is now positioning assistance to Chuuk for our passengers and crew. We are also in touch with the embassies, passenger representatives, stakeholders and families of the crew. We thank everyone in Chuuk for the assistance provided today," the airline said in their statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, crew and their families at this time."
The airline scheduled a special flight to take airline management to Chuuk Saturday morning, according to a statement. A company doctor will be on that flight to assist with treatment of injured passengers.
Air Niugini is also arranging for hotel accommodations for 27 passengers and crew members and take passengers who wish to complete their trip to Port Moresby.
Conflicting passenger counts
Officials provided conflicting information on the number of people aboard the plane. Emilio, the Chuuk airport manager, said 36 passengers and 11 crew members were aboard.
Pamittan said the plane was carrying 35 passengers and 12 crew members.
The airline also said there were 35 passengers and 12 crew members.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor, citing preliminary reports, said 46 people were onboard Air Nuigini Flight 37, including 11 crew members.
The airline started twice weekly air services between Port Moresby and the FSM in December 2016, according to its website.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Later reports say the missing man was a passenger.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER A TRUE HERO
Hero of the quaking control tower: How air traffic controller died while staying to guide packed jet off cracking tarmac as earthquake demolished terminal
By Miranda Aldersley
Daily Mail
September 29, 2018
A young air traffic controller who remained behind during an earthquake to make sure a plane carrying hundreds of passengers took off safely has been hailed a hero.
Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21, was working at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport in Palu on the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday night, when a 6.1 magnitude tremor hit, followed by a 7.5-magnitude quake.
His actions unquestionably saved the lives of dozens, but at least 384 people have been killed in a resulting tsunami and another 500 injured after waves up to 18ft tall swept over Indonesia - with fears the death toll could rise into the thousands.
The tremors left deep fissures in the runway just as Batik Air flight 6321 was preparing to take off with hundreds of people on-board.
His colleagues ran for their lives when the control tower began to sway as the ground underneath it split.
Agung alone remained behind in the crumbling tower until he was certain he had done enough guide the pilots of the plane safely into the air.
His bravery could potentially have saved the lives of all the passengers and crew on board the plane, as the city was later devastated later by a tsunami caused by the earthquake.
The building began to shake soon after the plane departed and, fearing he would be trapped beneath the debris if the tower collapsed around him, Agung jumped from a fourth floor window.
He was rushed to hospital having suffered internal injuries and a broken leg.
A helicopter was called to take him to a different hospital for specialist care, and he was due to be picked up again from the airport on Saturday morning.
However, he died before the helicopter arrived.
AirNav Indonesia spokesman Yohannes Sirait said Agung's decision cost him his life, but he may have saved hundreds of others.
He was given a hero's send-off amid hundreds of tributes on Saturday as soldiers carried his body to be transported to the burial. He was just one month away from his 22nd birthday.
AirNav bosses also increased his rank by two levels in recognition of the sacrifice he made.
By Miranda Aldersley
Daily Mail
September 29, 2018
A young air traffic controller who remained behind during an earthquake to make sure a plane carrying hundreds of passengers took off safely has been hailed a hero.
Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21, was working at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport in Palu on the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday night, when a 6.1 magnitude tremor hit, followed by a 7.5-magnitude quake.
His actions unquestionably saved the lives of dozens, but at least 384 people have been killed in a resulting tsunami and another 500 injured after waves up to 18ft tall swept over Indonesia - with fears the death toll could rise into the thousands.
The tremors left deep fissures in the runway just as Batik Air flight 6321 was preparing to take off with hundreds of people on-board.
His colleagues ran for their lives when the control tower began to sway as the ground underneath it split.
Agung alone remained behind in the crumbling tower until he was certain he had done enough guide the pilots of the plane safely into the air.
His bravery could potentially have saved the lives of all the passengers and crew on board the plane, as the city was later devastated later by a tsunami caused by the earthquake.
The building began to shake soon after the plane departed and, fearing he would be trapped beneath the debris if the tower collapsed around him, Agung jumped from a fourth floor window.
He was rushed to hospital having suffered internal injuries and a broken leg.
A helicopter was called to take him to a different hospital for specialist care, and he was due to be picked up again from the airport on Saturday morning.
However, he died before the helicopter arrived.
AirNav Indonesia spokesman Yohannes Sirait said Agung's decision cost him his life, but he may have saved hundreds of others.
He was given a hero's send-off amid hundreds of tributes on Saturday as soldiers carried his body to be transported to the burial. He was just one month away from his 22nd birthday.
AirNav bosses also increased his rank by two levels in recognition of the sacrifice he made.
‘I’M NOT THE ONE WHO KILLED CHRISTINA … BUT, HEY, WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY’
Texas executes man in the torture, drowning of ex-roommate
By Juan A. Lozano and Michael Graczyk
Associated Press
September 27, 2018
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas inmate who taunted a jury to sentence him to death was executed Wednesday evening for torturing and drowning an East Texas woman in his bathtub and then stuffing her body into a barrel.
Troy Clark was condemned for the May 1998 slaying of a former roommate, Christina Muse of Tyler. Authorities said that Clark, a drug dealer, had worried that Muse would snitch on him.
Clark chuckled as he addressed several friends watching through a window a few feet from him, telling them a number of times that he loved them and “it’s all good.”
“I’m not the one who killed Christina,” he said. “But, hey, whatever makes you happy.”
As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital was administered, Clark was laughing and remarked that the drug “burned going in.”
“I feel it,” he said. Then he grunted, gasped and began to snore. Seconds later, all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 21 minutes later at 6:36 p.m.
Margaret Bouman, Muse’s aunt, said witnessing the execution was a tough experience but “kind of bittersweet.”
“I’m a Christian and the death penalty and accepting it was very, very difficult for me,” Bouman said. “But I also believe the law of the land is important.”
She also said that Clark’s attitude during the procedure was troubling.
The 51-year-old Clark became the 17th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the ninth given a lethal injection in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. Clark is the first of two executions this week in Texas. Daniel Acker was scheduled to be executed Thursday for fatally running over his girlfriend.
At least eight other Texas inmates have planned execution dates in the coming months.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend a commutation of Clark’s sentence.
After his conviction, Clark had argued his trial attorneys failed to present evidence of his childhood, marked by physical and emotional abuse, which might have convinced jurors to spare his life.
Appeals courts had previously ruled that because of the overwhelming case against Clark, it’s likely he still would have been sentenced to death even if the jury had heard evidence of his troubled childhood.
Prosecutors said Clark subdued Muse, 20, with a stun gun, bound her with duct tape and left her in a closet for several hours while he played video games and sold drugs to a customer.
Clark later moved Muse to a bathroom where he hit her with a board and threatened his girlfriend, Tory Bush, into helping him drown Muse in the tub. Muse’s body was then stuffed into a barrel with cement mix and lime before being dumped in a ravine.
Against the advice of his attorneys, Clark testified during his trial’s punishment phase, saying, “I really ain’t got no story to tell. It’s just I want the death penalty.”
Prosecutors also presented evidence Clark had committed two other murders, including one that occurred after Muse’s death but prior to his arrest. The Smith County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Clark, declined to comment.
Bobby Mims, one of Clark’s trial attorneys, said Clark denied killing Muse.
“But there was pretty strong evidence that he was guilty. Tory Bush was pretty damning,” Mims said. Bush, who testified against Clark, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Mims said he and his co-counsel were ineffective during the punishment phase in presenting evidence of Clark’s troubled childhood, which included having a mother who was incarcerated for most of his life and who introduced him to drugs.
Mims said when Clark’s case was tried in 2000, most defense attorneys didn’t focus on presenting mitigating evidence of a defendant’s problematic life as part of their efforts to prevent a death sentence.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously denied Clark’s appeals on this issue, saying in 2012 that Clark refused to let his trial attorneys contact family as well as others to testify on his behalf.
“At the punishment hearing, the prosecutors actually had one or two of (Clark’s) own relatives show up and they had indicated they wanted him to get the death penalty. It was crazy,” Mims said.
Mims said he doesn’t know if evidence of Clark’s troubled life would have made a difference with the jury.
“I hope he’s made peace with his maker,” Mims said.
By Juan A. Lozano and Michael Graczyk
Associated Press
September 27, 2018
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas inmate who taunted a jury to sentence him to death was executed Wednesday evening for torturing and drowning an East Texas woman in his bathtub and then stuffing her body into a barrel.
Troy Clark was condemned for the May 1998 slaying of a former roommate, Christina Muse of Tyler. Authorities said that Clark, a drug dealer, had worried that Muse would snitch on him.
Clark chuckled as he addressed several friends watching through a window a few feet from him, telling them a number of times that he loved them and “it’s all good.”
“I’m not the one who killed Christina,” he said. “But, hey, whatever makes you happy.”
As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital was administered, Clark was laughing and remarked that the drug “burned going in.”
“I feel it,” he said. Then he grunted, gasped and began to snore. Seconds later, all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 21 minutes later at 6:36 p.m.
Margaret Bouman, Muse’s aunt, said witnessing the execution was a tough experience but “kind of bittersweet.”
“I’m a Christian and the death penalty and accepting it was very, very difficult for me,” Bouman said. “But I also believe the law of the land is important.”
She also said that Clark’s attitude during the procedure was troubling.
The 51-year-old Clark became the 17th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the ninth given a lethal injection in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. Clark is the first of two executions this week in Texas. Daniel Acker was scheduled to be executed Thursday for fatally running over his girlfriend.
At least eight other Texas inmates have planned execution dates in the coming months.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend a commutation of Clark’s sentence.
After his conviction, Clark had argued his trial attorneys failed to present evidence of his childhood, marked by physical and emotional abuse, which might have convinced jurors to spare his life.
Appeals courts had previously ruled that because of the overwhelming case against Clark, it’s likely he still would have been sentenced to death even if the jury had heard evidence of his troubled childhood.
Prosecutors said Clark subdued Muse, 20, with a stun gun, bound her with duct tape and left her in a closet for several hours while he played video games and sold drugs to a customer.
Clark later moved Muse to a bathroom where he hit her with a board and threatened his girlfriend, Tory Bush, into helping him drown Muse in the tub. Muse’s body was then stuffed into a barrel with cement mix and lime before being dumped in a ravine.
Against the advice of his attorneys, Clark testified during his trial’s punishment phase, saying, “I really ain’t got no story to tell. It’s just I want the death penalty.”
Prosecutors also presented evidence Clark had committed two other murders, including one that occurred after Muse’s death but prior to his arrest. The Smith County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Clark, declined to comment.
Bobby Mims, one of Clark’s trial attorneys, said Clark denied killing Muse.
“But there was pretty strong evidence that he was guilty. Tory Bush was pretty damning,” Mims said. Bush, who testified against Clark, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Mims said he and his co-counsel were ineffective during the punishment phase in presenting evidence of Clark’s troubled childhood, which included having a mother who was incarcerated for most of his life and who introduced him to drugs.
Mims said when Clark’s case was tried in 2000, most defense attorneys didn’t focus on presenting mitigating evidence of a defendant’s problematic life as part of their efforts to prevent a death sentence.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously denied Clark’s appeals on this issue, saying in 2012 that Clark refused to let his trial attorneys contact family as well as others to testify on his behalf.
“At the punishment hearing, the prosecutors actually had one or two of (Clark’s) own relatives show up and they had indicated they wanted him to get the death penalty. It was crazy,” Mims said.
Mims said he doesn’t know if evidence of Clark’s troubled life would have made a difference with the jury.
“I hope he’s made peace with his maker,” Mims said.
WHY ARE POLICE INCIDENT NEWS HEADLINES DECEIVING?
When a jaywalker attacked a police officer with a knife, instead of referring to the attack, the news headline read that the cop shot a jaywalker
By Trey Rusk
Running Code 3
September 28, 2018
Newspaper editors used to have a saying, "If it bleeds it leads." Eye catching headlines sell news. I can't deny that fact.
Do deceiving headlines harm people? Yes. Let's take a police shooting headline for example. POLICE SHOOT AND KILL JAYWALKER . My goodness! This headline proclaims that a police officer shot and killed a citizen for simply crossing against the light. While the headline is semi-legitimate, it does not describe the incident accurately.
As we continue to read the story it turns out that while detaining a person for jaywalking, the detainee pulled a knife on the police officer and refused the officers' commands to drop the weapon.
Often times police detain people for citation offenses and during the stop the person winds up being wanted, on drugs, drunk or mentally ill. So instead of accepting the ticket, the detainee becomes violent and attempts to harm the officer.
Instead of the headline stating that the officer used deadly force for a legitimate reason, such as attempted capital murder, only the original misdemeanor crime is stated.
This is wrong. The editor of the news outlet knows it's wrong. They would rather slander a police officer's name for the sake of selling news than accurately depict in the headline what actually happened.
This is unfair to the reader and certainly maligns the officer who was in reality protecting himself or others.
My advice to police officers after a critical incident. Don't talk to the press. Period. The media cannot be trusted.
Print news in dying. Sensationalized headlines is just one of the reasons.
That's the way I see it.
By Trey Rusk
Running Code 3
September 28, 2018
Newspaper editors used to have a saying, "If it bleeds it leads." Eye catching headlines sell news. I can't deny that fact.
Do deceiving headlines harm people? Yes. Let's take a police shooting headline for example. POLICE SHOOT AND KILL JAYWALKER . My goodness! This headline proclaims that a police officer shot and killed a citizen for simply crossing against the light. While the headline is semi-legitimate, it does not describe the incident accurately.
As we continue to read the story it turns out that while detaining a person for jaywalking, the detainee pulled a knife on the police officer and refused the officers' commands to drop the weapon.
Often times police detain people for citation offenses and during the stop the person winds up being wanted, on drugs, drunk or mentally ill. So instead of accepting the ticket, the detainee becomes violent and attempts to harm the officer.
Instead of the headline stating that the officer used deadly force for a legitimate reason, such as attempted capital murder, only the original misdemeanor crime is stated.
This is wrong. The editor of the news outlet knows it's wrong. They would rather slander a police officer's name for the sake of selling news than accurately depict in the headline what actually happened.
This is unfair to the reader and certainly maligns the officer who was in reality protecting himself or others.
My advice to police officers after a critical incident. Don't talk to the press. Period. The media cannot be trusted.
Print news in dying. Sensationalized headlines is just one of the reasons.
That's the way I see it.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
MORE FROM THE FORMERLY GREAT STATE OF CALIFORNIA
by Bob Walsh
The end of this month is the deadline for the governor to sign or not sign or veto legislation which landed on his desk. That leads at times to an interesting frenzy of something conflicting results.
Moonbeam AGAIN vetoed a bill that would have expanded the number of people who can go to a judge and say "I THINK THIS GUY IS CRAZY, TAKE HIS GUNS AWAY" and the judge must do so, pending a hearing. You lose the guns first, then you get the hearing. The proposed new list would have included practically anybody you were ever in the same room with, including pissed-off exes, the janitor at your work place and your dog groomer.
He approved a bill that outlaws "bump stocks." Now personally I don't give a rat's ass about bump stocks, but I am concerned about the slippery slope. California already outlaws scary looking guns, and guns of specific types that have never ever been used in a crime in California (.50 caliber rifles). Moonbeam also approved a standardization bill for CCW training. Right now there is no standardization and you can get a CCW in some counties with zero evidence that you are competent with the weapon and zero evidence that you have even minimal familiarity with the law on self-defense in the state. Now you need at least eight hours of training and some minimal practical qualification. The Second Amendment doesn't say jack about that, but I can live with it.
Brown also vetoed a bill by Bell Gardens psyco-Democrap Ricardo Lara that would have prohibited the civil arrest of a person inside a courthouse who had other legal business before the court. The bill was a bald-faced (and legally unworkable) attempt to prevent ICE from arresting illegal aliens in court houses. State legislation can NOT restrict federal law enforcement and if Lara had the IQ of a fresh dog turd he would know that. Or possibly he knows and is just grandstanding so he doesn't give a shit.
The end of this month is the deadline for the governor to sign or not sign or veto legislation which landed on his desk. That leads at times to an interesting frenzy of something conflicting results.
Moonbeam AGAIN vetoed a bill that would have expanded the number of people who can go to a judge and say "I THINK THIS GUY IS CRAZY, TAKE HIS GUNS AWAY" and the judge must do so, pending a hearing. You lose the guns first, then you get the hearing. The proposed new list would have included practically anybody you were ever in the same room with, including pissed-off exes, the janitor at your work place and your dog groomer.
He approved a bill that outlaws "bump stocks." Now personally I don't give a rat's ass about bump stocks, but I am concerned about the slippery slope. California already outlaws scary looking guns, and guns of specific types that have never ever been used in a crime in California (.50 caliber rifles). Moonbeam also approved a standardization bill for CCW training. Right now there is no standardization and you can get a CCW in some counties with zero evidence that you are competent with the weapon and zero evidence that you have even minimal familiarity with the law on self-defense in the state. Now you need at least eight hours of training and some minimal practical qualification. The Second Amendment doesn't say jack about that, but I can live with it.
Brown also vetoed a bill by Bell Gardens psyco-Democrap Ricardo Lara that would have prohibited the civil arrest of a person inside a courthouse who had other legal business before the court. The bill was a bald-faced (and legally unworkable) attempt to prevent ICE from arresting illegal aliens in court houses. State legislation can NOT restrict federal law enforcement and if Lara had the IQ of a fresh dog turd he would know that. Or possibly he knows and is just grandstanding so he doesn't give a shit.
SENATOR FEINSTEIN IS A BLOODY LIAR
The release o Ford’s scarlet letter to the media had to have been done by Feinstein or one of her staff members
Dianne Feinstein vehemently denies that she or one of her staff members released Christine Ford’s scarlet letter to the media.
Feinstein kept Ford’s letter secret for two months before it popped up in the media just in time to fuck up Kavanaugh’s nomination process at the very last minute.
It has been suggested that one of Ford’s friends with whom she shared her story of being sexually assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh, sent a copy of the letter to the media. At no time has Ford said she shared the letter with any of her friends or that she gave them a copy. She did say she gave the letter to California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo who passed it on to Feinstein.
Since the letter remained in Feinstein’s office for two months before it became public, it seems highly unlikely that it was released by Eshoo or one of her staff members.
So, it seems logical that the letter was released by either Feinstein herself or one of her staff members, with or without her permission. That makes Feinstein a bloody liar.
UPDATE: Ryan Grim of The Intercept was the reporter who broke the story of Ford’s letter. Grim said late Thursday that the letter was not leaked to him by Feinstein or anyone in her office.
OK, so Feinstein may not be a bloody liar, but she sure is a bloody saboteur. By keeping the scarlet letter secret until the last minute, she caused Kavanaugh to be barbequed by the Democrats at the circus of a hearing, thereby torpedoing his immediate confirmation.
There will now be an FBI investigation into the accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh. The FBI has only one week to complete its investigation. The bureau has set up a special task force for the investigation. It will be a Herculean task to interview all the accusers and witnesses, and where that may lead them to, in such a short time span. It is possible that the FBI investigation may yet result in Kavenaugh’s nomination going down the tubes.
Dianne Feinstein vehemently denies that she or one of her staff members released Christine Ford’s scarlet letter to the media.
Feinstein kept Ford’s letter secret for two months before it popped up in the media just in time to fuck up Kavanaugh’s nomination process at the very last minute.
It has been suggested that one of Ford’s friends with whom she shared her story of being sexually assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh, sent a copy of the letter to the media. At no time has Ford said she shared the letter with any of her friends or that she gave them a copy. She did say she gave the letter to California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo who passed it on to Feinstein.
Since the letter remained in Feinstein’s office for two months before it became public, it seems highly unlikely that it was released by Eshoo or one of her staff members.
So, it seems logical that the letter was released by either Feinstein herself or one of her staff members, with or without her permission. That makes Feinstein a bloody liar.
UPDATE: Ryan Grim of The Intercept was the reporter who broke the story of Ford’s letter. Grim said late Thursday that the letter was not leaked to him by Feinstein or anyone in her office.
OK, so Feinstein may not be a bloody liar, but she sure is a bloody saboteur. By keeping the scarlet letter secret until the last minute, she caused Kavanaugh to be barbequed by the Democrats at the circus of a hearing, thereby torpedoing his immediate confirmation.
There will now be an FBI investigation into the accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh. The FBI has only one week to complete its investigation. The bureau has set up a special task force for the investigation. It will be a Herculean task to interview all the accusers and witnesses, and where that may lead them to, in such a short time span. It is possible that the FBI investigation may yet result in Kavenaugh’s nomination going down the tubes.
WHO THE FUCK CAN YOU BELIEVE?
Two men tell Senate that they, not Kavanaugh, assaulted Ford
By Joe Tacopino
New York Post
September 27, 2018
Two men have come forward to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to claim that they are the ones who actually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford during a house party in 1982 — and not Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Republicans on the committee released a timeline of events late Wednesday, which included details about their interactions with the two men who admitted to the attacks.
On Monday, the timeline recounts GOP staff members interviewing “a man who believes he, not Judge Kavanaugh, had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982.”
The “encounter” refers to an episode in which Ford claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in a bedroom at a Maryland house party.
They had a follow-up interview with that man, and he provided more detail about the assault.
Then on Wednesday, the committee staff said they spoke with a second man who said he assaulted Ford in 1982.
The committee did not release any more details about the men, or why both were coming forward with the claims.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Are these guys for real or are they just the usual kooks who, from time to time, crawl out of the woodworks to confess to a sensational crime?
By Joe Tacopino
New York Post
September 27, 2018
Two men have come forward to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to claim that they are the ones who actually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford during a house party in 1982 — and not Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Republicans on the committee released a timeline of events late Wednesday, which included details about their interactions with the two men who admitted to the attacks.
On Monday, the timeline recounts GOP staff members interviewing “a man who believes he, not Judge Kavanaugh, had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982.”
The “encounter” refers to an episode in which Ford claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in a bedroom at a Maryland house party.
They had a follow-up interview with that man, and he provided more detail about the assault.
Then on Wednesday, the committee staff said they spoke with a second man who said he assaulted Ford in 1982.
The committee did not release any more details about the men, or why both were coming forward with the claims.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Are these guys for real or are they just the usual kooks who, from time to time, crawl out of the woodworks to confess to a sensational crime?
SHEILA JACKSON LEE MADE SURE SHE WAS SEEN ATHE BARBEQUING OF KAVANAUGH
Houston’s photo-op seeking Congresswoman was seen passing an envelope to Ford’s attorney
Sheila Jackson Lee, the Democratic congresswoman that many Houstonians are ashamed of, never misses a photo-op.
At the beginning of the TV broadcast of the Ford-Kavenaugh hearing, there was Sheila behind the chairs for the Senate Judiciary Committee members mingling with and shaking the hands of the Democratic members. I do not know why she was there other than because she knew her presence would be caught by the cameras.
I did not see it, but the cameras caught her slipping an envelope to Ford’s attorney Michael Bromwich which he placed inside his suit jacket.
When asked what was in the envelope, her office released the following statement: “Simply, what was passed were unopened stationery notes to counsel for Dr. Ford from women who wanted to enter the hearing room but were not allowed to enter the hearing room.”
Will someone please tell me which side – Ford or Kavanaugh – motormouth Sheila is on.
Sheila Jackson Lee, the Democratic congresswoman that many Houstonians are ashamed of, never misses a photo-op.
At the beginning of the TV broadcast of the Ford-Kavenaugh hearing, there was Sheila behind the chairs for the Senate Judiciary Committee members mingling with and shaking the hands of the Democratic members. I do not know why she was there other than because she knew her presence would be caught by the cameras.
I did not see it, but the cameras caught her slipping an envelope to Ford’s attorney Michael Bromwich which he placed inside his suit jacket.
When asked what was in the envelope, her office released the following statement: “Simply, what was passed were unopened stationery notes to counsel for Dr. Ford from women who wanted to enter the hearing room but were not allowed to enter the hearing room.”
Will someone please tell me which side – Ford or Kavanaugh – motormouth Sheila is on.
‘WHAT WE’RE LEFT WITH IS A STINKING, HORRIBLE MESS’
The day DC should have died of shame as it watched two broken souls be publicly tortured over their pasts in a viciously partisan bear-pit
By Piers Morgan
Daily Mail
September 27, 2018
These are the words I originally wrote after Christine Blasey Ford finished testifying to the US Senate today:
‘I believe her. It’s as simple as that. For four hours, I watched Christine Blasey Ford testify to the US Senate and I found her to be an extraordinarily powerful, compelling and credible witness with regard to the sexual abuse she claims to have suffered at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
I was not alone. Twitter blew up with people from all sides of the political and social spectrum saying THEY believed her too. TV news anchors from CNN to Fox queued up to say they found Ford extremely convincing. And thus I imagine the vast majority of the tens of millions of Americans watching agog from their homes believed her as well.
Because the bottom line is that she was cool, calm, collected, and utterly believable. Her tears, when they came, felt real. Her testimony felt real.
SHE felt real.
I stopped writing when Brett Kavanaugh walked in to begin his testimony, but this, I felt certain, would be the theme of this column.
There was nothing Kavanaugh could surely say or do that could possibly alter this impression?
I was wrong.
Kavanaugh’s performance was one of the most stunning, raw, breath-taking displays of raw, raging fury that I have ever seen on live television.
He was surging with passion and indignant anger, and emotion; SO much emotion.
He cried, he sighed, he sniffed, he snorted.
And he ranted.
This was a man right on the edge, exploding before our very eyes at what he perceived to be the horrific injustice of what has befallen him.
Kavanaugh’s not just any man.
He’s one of America’s most experienced, respected judges; so a man who until two weeks ago, was considered to be someone of total integrity, someone beyond reproach.
And by the time he’d finished, I believed him too.
His tears, when they came, felt real. His testimony felt real. HE felt real.
But they can’t both be telling the truth, can they?
The bottom line is I don’t now know whom to believe, and I defy anyone else to either.
Ford and Kavanaugh were both equally convincing.
They both came over as decent, civilised, eloquent people.
They both were inherently believable.
The facts of this case remain unsubstantiated, disputed and debatable.
It comes down to whom you believe most, and I just don’t know the answer to that question.
Who can say, honestly and with any certainty, where the truth lies?
I can’t, can you?
What I can say though is that this was one of the most disgusting, disgraceful things I have ever witnessed.
For these two previously unknown people to be dragged through such a revolting public court of gladiatorial barbarism for the delectation of a mass TV audience was painful, so painful I could barely watch at times.
Yet it was an absolutely inevitable consequence of the way Washington has spiralled in recent years into a vile cesspit of extreme partisan bullsh*t – fuelled by rampant, vicious social media.
Today was a dark, tragic day for America.
It was a day when the whole country, and indeed much of the rest of the world, tuned in to see two people tortured and humiliated.
I get that Supreme Court nominees have to be vigorously vetted, and have to be held to a different standard of behaviour to the rest of us.
Brett Kavanaugh could be sitting on that court for 30-40 years, making the most important decisions in American law that could have far-reaching effects on the lives of 320 million people.
He HAS to be a man of unimpeachable character.
So yes, he has to be investigated.
And it’s perfectly right and proper that if a woman like Christine Blasey Ford believes she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when she was just 15 years old, then her allegations should be thoroughly examined.
As should any other serious allegations.
But what we watched today was nothing short of a circus - a long, disturbing, wretched circus; a circus watched by a baying global mob, most of whom decided long before the hearings began whom they believed.
Kavanaugh looked unhinged today – perhaps too unhinged to ever sit on the Supreme Court - but if I’d been falsely accused of the stuff he’s been accused of in the past fortnight, I’d probably be pretty damn unhinged too.
He was fighting not just for a place on the Supreme Court, but for his reputation, his dignity, his family.
To see his loyal wife silently weeping throughout his testimony was agonising.
She knows that everything her husband has worked for in his entire life is now imperilled. Every security she took for granted about their family life is now threatened.
If Kavanaugh is guilty, then he deserves to be duly punished.
But what if he’s innocent?
What if Ms Ford, who was just a young teenage kid at the time, has got the wrong guy?
I don’t think she’s a liar, but maybe she made an honest mistake.
How do we know for sure?
How will we EVER know?
Where are the cold hard FACTS?
There aren’t any, there can’t possibly be any after 35 years.
What we’re left with is a stinking, horrible mess.
Many feel America has never felt so bitterly divided, and this ugly farce today will just pour fuel onto that blazing partisan fire.
I saw people on Twitter gleefully tearing both Ford and Kavanaugh to pieces all day long, all doing so from a politically partisan perspective.
If the situation was reversed, and Kavanaugh was a Democrat nominee, then all those screaming blue murder against him would be screaming in support of him, and all those currently supporting Ford would turn on her like two-faced rattlesnakes.
It’s not about any attempt at fair justice. It’s about politics.
The Democrats, led by Senator Dianne Feinstein, timed this bombshell to cause maximum damage to the nomination process, and to exploit the inevitable scandalous headlines to influence the vital midterm elections in just 40 days time.
Feinstein knew about Ford’s allegation two months ago. The right thing to do would have been to publicly demand an immediate investigation – including, if necessary, by the FBI.
Instead, she held it back, waiting to strike when the potential political gain was at its most timely.
In doing so, she behaved in exactly the same reprehensibly partisan self-serving manner that Republicans have behaved over previous Democrat Supreme Court nominations.
But that makes her just as bad as them. Shame on Senator Feinstein, shame on the Democrats.
That such an important moment in American history should be reduced to this horrific bear-pit is as absurd as it’s unacceptable.
Every American who genuinely cares about their country should share my outrage about what they watched today.
At one stage, Kavanaugh was actually grilled about flatulence - in the United States Senate by a serving United States senator.
Think about that for a moment.
The whole thing was a complete and utter disgrace.
Or as Senator Lindsey Graham put it today: ‘The most despicable thing I have ever seen in politics.’
By Piers Morgan
Daily Mail
September 27, 2018
These are the words I originally wrote after Christine Blasey Ford finished testifying to the US Senate today:
‘I believe her. It’s as simple as that. For four hours, I watched Christine Blasey Ford testify to the US Senate and I found her to be an extraordinarily powerful, compelling and credible witness with regard to the sexual abuse she claims to have suffered at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
I was not alone. Twitter blew up with people from all sides of the political and social spectrum saying THEY believed her too. TV news anchors from CNN to Fox queued up to say they found Ford extremely convincing. And thus I imagine the vast majority of the tens of millions of Americans watching agog from their homes believed her as well.
Because the bottom line is that she was cool, calm, collected, and utterly believable. Her tears, when they came, felt real. Her testimony felt real.
SHE felt real.
I stopped writing when Brett Kavanaugh walked in to begin his testimony, but this, I felt certain, would be the theme of this column.
There was nothing Kavanaugh could surely say or do that could possibly alter this impression?
I was wrong.
Kavanaugh’s performance was one of the most stunning, raw, breath-taking displays of raw, raging fury that I have ever seen on live television.
He was surging with passion and indignant anger, and emotion; SO much emotion.
He cried, he sighed, he sniffed, he snorted.
And he ranted.
This was a man right on the edge, exploding before our very eyes at what he perceived to be the horrific injustice of what has befallen him.
Kavanaugh’s not just any man.
He’s one of America’s most experienced, respected judges; so a man who until two weeks ago, was considered to be someone of total integrity, someone beyond reproach.
And by the time he’d finished, I believed him too.
His tears, when they came, felt real. His testimony felt real. HE felt real.
But they can’t both be telling the truth, can they?
The bottom line is I don’t now know whom to believe, and I defy anyone else to either.
Ford and Kavanaugh were both equally convincing.
They both came over as decent, civilised, eloquent people.
They both were inherently believable.
The facts of this case remain unsubstantiated, disputed and debatable.
It comes down to whom you believe most, and I just don’t know the answer to that question.
Who can say, honestly and with any certainty, where the truth lies?
I can’t, can you?
What I can say though is that this was one of the most disgusting, disgraceful things I have ever witnessed.
For these two previously unknown people to be dragged through such a revolting public court of gladiatorial barbarism for the delectation of a mass TV audience was painful, so painful I could barely watch at times.
Yet it was an absolutely inevitable consequence of the way Washington has spiralled in recent years into a vile cesspit of extreme partisan bullsh*t – fuelled by rampant, vicious social media.
Today was a dark, tragic day for America.
It was a day when the whole country, and indeed much of the rest of the world, tuned in to see two people tortured and humiliated.
I get that Supreme Court nominees have to be vigorously vetted, and have to be held to a different standard of behaviour to the rest of us.
Brett Kavanaugh could be sitting on that court for 30-40 years, making the most important decisions in American law that could have far-reaching effects on the lives of 320 million people.
He HAS to be a man of unimpeachable character.
So yes, he has to be investigated.
And it’s perfectly right and proper that if a woman like Christine Blasey Ford believes she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when she was just 15 years old, then her allegations should be thoroughly examined.
As should any other serious allegations.
But what we watched today was nothing short of a circus - a long, disturbing, wretched circus; a circus watched by a baying global mob, most of whom decided long before the hearings began whom they believed.
Kavanaugh looked unhinged today – perhaps too unhinged to ever sit on the Supreme Court - but if I’d been falsely accused of the stuff he’s been accused of in the past fortnight, I’d probably be pretty damn unhinged too.
He was fighting not just for a place on the Supreme Court, but for his reputation, his dignity, his family.
To see his loyal wife silently weeping throughout his testimony was agonising.
She knows that everything her husband has worked for in his entire life is now imperilled. Every security she took for granted about their family life is now threatened.
If Kavanaugh is guilty, then he deserves to be duly punished.
But what if he’s innocent?
What if Ms Ford, who was just a young teenage kid at the time, has got the wrong guy?
I don’t think she’s a liar, but maybe she made an honest mistake.
How do we know for sure?
How will we EVER know?
Where are the cold hard FACTS?
There aren’t any, there can’t possibly be any after 35 years.
What we’re left with is a stinking, horrible mess.
Many feel America has never felt so bitterly divided, and this ugly farce today will just pour fuel onto that blazing partisan fire.
I saw people on Twitter gleefully tearing both Ford and Kavanaugh to pieces all day long, all doing so from a politically partisan perspective.
If the situation was reversed, and Kavanaugh was a Democrat nominee, then all those screaming blue murder against him would be screaming in support of him, and all those currently supporting Ford would turn on her like two-faced rattlesnakes.
It’s not about any attempt at fair justice. It’s about politics.
The Democrats, led by Senator Dianne Feinstein, timed this bombshell to cause maximum damage to the nomination process, and to exploit the inevitable scandalous headlines to influence the vital midterm elections in just 40 days time.
Feinstein knew about Ford’s allegation two months ago. The right thing to do would have been to publicly demand an immediate investigation – including, if necessary, by the FBI.
Instead, she held it back, waiting to strike when the potential political gain was at its most timely.
In doing so, she behaved in exactly the same reprehensibly partisan self-serving manner that Republicans have behaved over previous Democrat Supreme Court nominations.
But that makes her just as bad as them. Shame on Senator Feinstein, shame on the Democrats.
That such an important moment in American history should be reduced to this horrific bear-pit is as absurd as it’s unacceptable.
Every American who genuinely cares about their country should share my outrage about what they watched today.
At one stage, Kavanaugh was actually grilled about flatulence - in the United States Senate by a serving United States senator.
Think about that for a moment.
The whole thing was a complete and utter disgrace.
Or as Senator Lindsey Graham put it today: ‘The most despicable thing I have ever seen in politics.’
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