Republican fence sitters will probably fold on Kavanaugh in the wake of new assaults on his character from the Democrats
By Howie Katz
Big Jolly Times
September 24, 2018
Now, in addition to the scarlet letter Christine Ford wrote to Senator Feinstein, there are new allegations of sexual misconduct by Judge Kavanaugh.
In a New Yorker article Deborah Ramirez, 53, claims that in the early 1980s when she was a freshman at Yale University, Kavanaugh “exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.”
And the accusations keep piling on. Michael Avenatti, the Trump-hating attorney for Stormy Daniels, claims that during the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and other men would ply women with alcohol or drugs at house parties in Washington, D.C. and then allow men to 'gang rape' them.
With all these accusations, Kavanaugh’s nomination is left circling the drain. Even if all of the accusations made by Ford, Ramirez and Avenatti are completely false, Kavanaugh looks like toast.
Kavanaugh vehemently denies all the accusations and vows to keep fighting for the nomination in spite of the ‘smears’ made against him. Trump continues to back his Supreme Court nominee. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promises Kavanaugh will get an up-or-down vote by the Senate regardless of how the Judiciary Committee votes.
But the damage done by these accusations, even if false, will probably turn the Senate fence sitters against the nomination. The Democrats and his accusers have made Kavanaugh damaged goods. Despite his vow to stay the course, it would not surprise me one bit if Kavanaugh will withdraw his nomination.
If Kavanaugh is not confirmed by the Senate, Trump better pray that the Republicans retain control of the Senate in the midterm elections. If they don’t, Trump will be unable to seat a conservative Justice on the Supreme Court.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
AMBER GUYGER FIRED
by Bob Walsh
Amber Guyger, the Dallas P D officer who shot a man to death in what she wrongly believed to have been her apartment, was sacked yesterday by the Dallas P.D.
IMHO it is unfortunate for the department to have taken this action this quickly with minimal investigation, but it is hardly surprising under the circumstances. .
Amber Guyger, the Dallas P D officer who shot a man to death in what she wrongly believed to have been her apartment, was sacked yesterday by the Dallas P.D.
IMHO it is unfortunate for the department to have taken this action this quickly with minimal investigation, but it is hardly surprising under the circumstances. .
THE TIGER ROARS AGAIN!
From porn star scandals, DUI shame and agonising sports oblivion - to champion again. Tiger Woods just showed the world’s self-pitying snowflakes what it takes to tackle life’s curveballs
By Piers Morgan
Daily Mail
September 24, 2018
Ten months ago, Tiger Woods was ranked No 1,199 in golf’s world rankings.
He was playing so badly, he was nearer basketball star Steph Curry - ranked No 1,928th after entering just one pro golf tournament (and missing the cut) - than to the world No1, Dustin Johnson.
Tiger’s battered body was reeling from endless surgeries to his back and knee, leaving him in permanent debilitating agony.
He admitted: ‘I was thinking, this is how the rest of my life’s going to be? Then it’s going to be a tough rest of my life. I was beyond playing. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t lay down without feeling the pain in my back and leg.’
Tiger’s private life was as disastrous as his career.
His marriage had collapsed amid a slew of scandals involving affairs with porn stars and prostitutes.
And in May, 2017, he was arrested in Florida for driving whilst under the influence of five drugs including Vicodin, Xanax and THC (which is found in marijuana).
He pled guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to a year of probation.
So by November last year, it would be fair to say Tiger Woods had reached absolute rock bottom.
Nobody, it seemed, gave him a chance of ever being a golf champion again.
He was over, done, kaput.
Only, Tiger didn’t get the memo, or rather, he chose to ignore it and refused to admit he was beaten.
Instead, he battled on, to the amused scorn of many.
It made no sense to anyone but him.
Yesterday, gloriously, he won again - five years after his last professional victory, 17 months after his last (successful) spine fusion surgery and 16 months after his mug shot was paraded across the world’s newspaper front pages following his DUI arrest.
It was a wondrous moment of sporting triumph against all the odds, and a deliciously satisfying two-fingered salute to all those who’d buried him.
There’s a viral video doing the rounds on social media today that mashes up a load of Tiger’s most vociferous critics writing him off before his comeback glory.
It’s particularly savage because the critics themselves are so savage – they’re not just saying he’s finished, they’re gleefully jumping all over his golfing grave as they say it.
Now they’ve all had their hideously unpleasant and heartless diatribes shoved down their ugly little throats by a truly great champion.
As Tiger holed that final simple 6in putt to win last night, the vast crowd went nuts, TV ratings exploded, and he shed a tear as he embraced his girlfriend, restaurant manager Erica Herman – the woman who first appeared at his side when he appeared in court at his darkest time a year ago.
It was a moment to swell even the most cynical of hearts, a moment that showed why there is nothing more exciting or inspiring than live sport at its most heroic and unlikely.
It was also a moment that offered an incredibly powerful life lesson.
One of my favourite movie scenes is from Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone’s 6th movie of the hugely successful boxing franchise.
In it, Rocky gives his whining, entitled, excuse-making son a lecture in the street that all of us could do with hearing:
‘You grew up good and wonderful,’ he says. ‘Then the time came for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know: the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him , or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!’ I’m always gonna love you, no matter what. You’re my son, and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life.’
I’ve watched that scene a few times over the years after encountering my own occasional ‘bumps in the road’, to remind myself that life’s not supposed to be easy.
Sadly, modern society is increasingly riddled with young people like Rocky’s son, wallowing in their own self-pity.
They’re the much-ridiculed snowflake generation, with a depressing tendency to complain about everything, get offended by anything, and blame everyone but themselves when things go wrong in their life.
Those who succumb to this self-indulgent nonsense (let me be clear, many laudable young people do not) could all do with taking a long, hard look at the way Tiger Woods has rebuilt his life from what seemed to be an unstoppable descent into oblivion.
I’ve never met Tiger but from all accounts, he’s not the nicest guy you’ll ever come across, either on the course or off it.
Rival players, officials, commentators, fans and even some of his friends have often painted a picture of someone with an unedifying tendency towards being arrogant, inconsiderate, aloof and difficult.
His ex-wife would probably add a few rather more unflattering adjectives to describe the man who exposed her to such public humiliation.
But as with many great sportsmen, those same single-minded, ruthlessly selfish characteristics also propelled him to be the greatest ever player of a game once dominated exclusively by white men.
And they’ve now driven him to this astonishing comeback, when virtually everyone had stuck a fork in him.
Tiger, for all his faults, is a fighter like Rocky Balboa; a man with guts, determination, courage, resilience and a burning desire to succeed.
At 41 years old, wracked with pain from multiple injuries, his golf game in shambolic, humiliating tatters, and with his private life a scandalous fiasco, the easy thing for Tiger to do would have been to quit.
He didn’t need the money, or the physical pain, and he certainly didn’t need the endless mockery.
That he chose to fight on, and win again, is a stunning testimony to his strength of character.
It’s also a remarkably powerful message to every snowflake out there that moan life’s being so unfair to them.
As Rocky so rightly said, life IS unfair.
It’s tough, and can be nasty. Bad stuff will happen to all of us that can feel utterly suffocating.
You’ll feel like giving up.
Tiger certainly did at one stage.
But he didn’t.
He got up, dusted himself down, and powered on.
Tiger Woods is not everyone’s idea of a role model, for good reason; he’s self-evidently been flawed human being.
But last night, he showed the world what being a winner in life really entails: it means not blaming others for your own problems, and it means never giving up.
By Piers Morgan
Daily Mail
September 24, 2018
Ten months ago, Tiger Woods was ranked No 1,199 in golf’s world rankings.
He was playing so badly, he was nearer basketball star Steph Curry - ranked No 1,928th after entering just one pro golf tournament (and missing the cut) - than to the world No1, Dustin Johnson.
Tiger’s battered body was reeling from endless surgeries to his back and knee, leaving him in permanent debilitating agony.
He admitted: ‘I was thinking, this is how the rest of my life’s going to be? Then it’s going to be a tough rest of my life. I was beyond playing. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t lay down without feeling the pain in my back and leg.’
Tiger’s private life was as disastrous as his career.
His marriage had collapsed amid a slew of scandals involving affairs with porn stars and prostitutes.
And in May, 2017, he was arrested in Florida for driving whilst under the influence of five drugs including Vicodin, Xanax and THC (which is found in marijuana).
He pled guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to a year of probation.
So by November last year, it would be fair to say Tiger Woods had reached absolute rock bottom.
Nobody, it seemed, gave him a chance of ever being a golf champion again.
He was over, done, kaput.
Only, Tiger didn’t get the memo, or rather, he chose to ignore it and refused to admit he was beaten.
Instead, he battled on, to the amused scorn of many.
It made no sense to anyone but him.
Yesterday, gloriously, he won again - five years after his last professional victory, 17 months after his last (successful) spine fusion surgery and 16 months after his mug shot was paraded across the world’s newspaper front pages following his DUI arrest.
It was a wondrous moment of sporting triumph against all the odds, and a deliciously satisfying two-fingered salute to all those who’d buried him.
There’s a viral video doing the rounds on social media today that mashes up a load of Tiger’s most vociferous critics writing him off before his comeback glory.
It’s particularly savage because the critics themselves are so savage – they’re not just saying he’s finished, they’re gleefully jumping all over his golfing grave as they say it.
Now they’ve all had their hideously unpleasant and heartless diatribes shoved down their ugly little throats by a truly great champion.
As Tiger holed that final simple 6in putt to win last night, the vast crowd went nuts, TV ratings exploded, and he shed a tear as he embraced his girlfriend, restaurant manager Erica Herman – the woman who first appeared at his side when he appeared in court at his darkest time a year ago.
It was a moment to swell even the most cynical of hearts, a moment that showed why there is nothing more exciting or inspiring than live sport at its most heroic and unlikely.
It was also a moment that offered an incredibly powerful life lesson.
One of my favourite movie scenes is from Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone’s 6th movie of the hugely successful boxing franchise.
In it, Rocky gives his whining, entitled, excuse-making son a lecture in the street that all of us could do with hearing:
‘You grew up good and wonderful,’ he says. ‘Then the time came for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know: the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him , or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!’ I’m always gonna love you, no matter what. You’re my son, and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life.’
I’ve watched that scene a few times over the years after encountering my own occasional ‘bumps in the road’, to remind myself that life’s not supposed to be easy.
Sadly, modern society is increasingly riddled with young people like Rocky’s son, wallowing in their own self-pity.
They’re the much-ridiculed snowflake generation, with a depressing tendency to complain about everything, get offended by anything, and blame everyone but themselves when things go wrong in their life.
Those who succumb to this self-indulgent nonsense (let me be clear, many laudable young people do not) could all do with taking a long, hard look at the way Tiger Woods has rebuilt his life from what seemed to be an unstoppable descent into oblivion.
I’ve never met Tiger but from all accounts, he’s not the nicest guy you’ll ever come across, either on the course or off it.
Rival players, officials, commentators, fans and even some of his friends have often painted a picture of someone with an unedifying tendency towards being arrogant, inconsiderate, aloof and difficult.
His ex-wife would probably add a few rather more unflattering adjectives to describe the man who exposed her to such public humiliation.
But as with many great sportsmen, those same single-minded, ruthlessly selfish characteristics also propelled him to be the greatest ever player of a game once dominated exclusively by white men.
And they’ve now driven him to this astonishing comeback, when virtually everyone had stuck a fork in him.
Tiger, for all his faults, is a fighter like Rocky Balboa; a man with guts, determination, courage, resilience and a burning desire to succeed.
At 41 years old, wracked with pain from multiple injuries, his golf game in shambolic, humiliating tatters, and with his private life a scandalous fiasco, the easy thing for Tiger to do would have been to quit.
He didn’t need the money, or the physical pain, and he certainly didn’t need the endless mockery.
That he chose to fight on, and win again, is a stunning testimony to his strength of character.
It’s also a remarkably powerful message to every snowflake out there that moan life’s being so unfair to them.
As Rocky so rightly said, life IS unfair.
It’s tough, and can be nasty. Bad stuff will happen to all of us that can feel utterly suffocating.
You’ll feel like giving up.
Tiger certainly did at one stage.
But he didn’t.
He got up, dusted himself down, and powered on.
Tiger Woods is not everyone’s idea of a role model, for good reason; he’s self-evidently been flawed human being.
But last night, he showed the world what being a winner in life really entails: it means not blaming others for your own problems, and it means never giving up.
JUSTICE A LA ALASKA
Married Alaska air traffic controller, 34, who kidnapped a hitchhiker, choked her until she was unconscious and then masturbated on her is given 'a pass' by judge and will not even have to register as a sex offender
Daily Mail
September 24, 2018
Justin Schneider, 34, was arrested in Anchorage last August after attacking the woman. He had offered her a ride home, then attacked her, strangled her until she passed out, then masturbated over her to 'fulfill himself sexually'.
In 2017, he was granted bail after he was arrested and was allowed to await trial at home with his wife and young children while wearing an ankle monitor.
This week, he struck a highly criticized deal with prosecutors which saw him plead guilty only to one count of felony assault. Judge Michael Corey has been harshly criticized for accepting the deal.
EDITOR’S NOTE: And well the judge should be!
Daily Mail
September 24, 2018
Justin Schneider, 34, was arrested in Anchorage last August after attacking the woman. He had offered her a ride home, then attacked her, strangled her until she passed out, then masturbated over her to 'fulfill himself sexually'.
In 2017, he was granted bail after he was arrested and was allowed to await trial at home with his wife and young children while wearing an ankle monitor.
This week, he struck a highly criticized deal with prosecutors which saw him plead guilty only to one count of felony assault. Judge Michael Corey has been harshly criticized for accepting the deal.
EDITOR’S NOTE: And well the judge should be!
THE ACCUSATIONS KEEP PILING ON
Brett Kavanaugh DENIES second sexual misconduct allegation: Yale classmate of SCOTUS nominee claims he 'exposed himself to her in the early 1980s without consent at a drunken dorm party'
By Ariel Zilber
Daily Mail
September 24, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh has denied sexual misconduct allegations made by a second woman.
The Supreme Court nominee rejected claims by Deborah Ramirez, 53, that he 'thrust his penis in her face and caused her to touch it without her consent' during a dorm party at Yale University in the 1980s.
The alleged incident, which is said to have taken place during the 1983-84 academic year, was first reported on Sunday by The New Yorker.
She told the magazine she only came forward now because she had been drinking during the evening and admits there are 'gaps in her memory' when recollecting the story.
Kavanaugh denied the latest allegations against, slammed them as a 'smear' and said he looks forward to be able to clear his 'good name' when he testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
He said in a statement: ‘This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen,’ the judge wrote in a statement.
‘The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.
‘I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name - and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building - against these last-minute allegations.’
According to The New Yorker, the offices of at least four Democratic senators received word of the allegations and at least two of them have begun investigating.
Senior Republicans also learned of the new allegations last week.
Republicans renewed calls to accelerate the vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation when they were told about this allegation last week.
'This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanagh,' said Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
'It should be fully investigated.'
President Donald Trump was notified of the allegations before the story went public, according to NBC News.
Trump has not changed his views on Kavanaugh and still supports him.
The White House also released a statement in response to The New Yorker story.
'This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man,' said White House spokesperson Kerri Kupec.
'This claim is denied by all who were said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say.
'The White House stands firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh.'
The White House is distributing a set of talking points aimed at discrediting Ramirez, according to political reporter Gabe Fleisher.
The sheet notes that Ramirez acknowledged to The New Yorker that there were ‘significant gaps in her memories of the evening.’
The White House also notes that Ramirez ‘was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident with certainty.’
It was only after ‘six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney’ - who the White House noted was ‘provided by the Democrats’ - did she feel ‘confident enough of her recollections.’
Ramirez told The New Yorker that she attended the New Haven, Connecticut-based Ivy League school where she studied studied sociology and psychology.
After graduating from college, she says she worked for an organization aimed at helping victims of domestic violence.
Ramirez acknowledged to The New Yorker that she hesitated to come forward. She said she, too, had been drinking during the alleged incident.
She claims the incident took place during her and Kavanaugh's freshman year at Yale.
Ramirez said she was invited by a friend on the women's soccer team to a dorm room party.
The party took place in a room at Lawrance Hall, a student residence hall located in Yale's Old Campus.
Ramirez recalls that the students at the party were taking part in a drinking game.
'We were sitting in a circle,' she said. 'People would pick who drank.'
She recalls being picked repeatedly, which meant drinking large amounts of alcohol in a relatively short time.
Ramirez said she got drunk very fast.
She alleges that another male student used a 'gag plastic penis' which was pointed in her direction.
Soon afterward, Ramirez recalls being on the floor and slurring her words.
She then says another male exposed himself to her.
'I remember a penis being in front of my face,' Ramirez said.
'I knew that's not what I wanted, even in that state of mind.'
At that moment, Ramirez said she commented: 'That's not a real penis.'
She said that the other students began laughing at her and taunting her.
One of the students allegedly told her to 'kiss it.'
She said she pushed the person away, forcing her to touch it.
Ramirez said she was unnerved by what happened, particularly given her religious upbringing as a devout Catholic from Connecticut.
'I wasn’t going to touch a penis until I was married,' she said.
'I was embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated.'
Ramirez said she remembers Kavanaugh standing to her right and laughing as he pulled up his pants.
'Brett was laughing,' she said.
'I can still see his face, and his hips coming forward, like when you pull up your pants.'
Ramirez said she remembers another student talking about the incident.
'Somebody yelled down the hall, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie’s face",' she said.
'It was his full name. I don’t think it was just "Brett."
'And I remember hearing and being mortified that this was out there.'
Ramirez acknowledges that there are 'gaps in her memory,' according to The New Yorker, particularly given the fact that she was intoxicated.
But she says she's confident it was Kavanaugh who exposed his genitalia to her that night.
She said: 'I’m confident about the pants coming up, and I’m confident about Brett being there.'
Ramirez said her most vivid memory from that incident was the laughter from Kavanaugh and the other students at her expense.
'It was kind of a joke,' she recalled. 'And now it’s clear to me it wasn’t a joke.'
Ramirez declined to name the other two males involved in the incident.
One of the male students who was alleged to have been egging Kavanaugh on told The New Yorker that he doesn't remember the judge exposing himself to Ramirez.
'I don’t think Brett would flash himself to Debbie, or anyone, for that matter,' he said.
When asked why he thought Ramirez was making the allegation, he said: 'I have no idea.'
When asked if he was egging on Kavanaugh, the classmate said: 'I have zero recollection.'
Meanwhile, a group of Yale classmates alleged to have been involved in the incident have come out with a statement in support of Kavanaugh.
Two of the male classmates involved in the incident who were named by Ramirez released a statement disputing her account.
That statement was supported by the wife of a third male student that Ramirez said was involved as well as three other classmates - Dino Ewing, Louisa Garry, and Dan Murphy.
'We were the people closest to Brett Kavanaugh during his first year at Yale,' the statement read.
'He was a roommate to some of us, and we spent a great deal of time with him, including in the dorm where this incident allegedly took place.
'Some of us were also friends with Debbie Ramirez during and after her time at Yale.
'We can say with confidence that if the incident Debbie alleges ever occurred, we would have seen or heard about it - and we did not.
'The behavior she describes would be completely out of character for Brett.
'In addition, some of us knew Debbie long after Yale, and she never described this incident until Brett’s Supreme Court nomination was pending.
'Editors from the New Yorker contacted some of us because we are the people who would know the truth, and we told them that we never saw or heard about this.'
The wife of the third male student named by Ramirez said she and Ramirez were close friends during their days at Yale and that this incident was never mentioned.
'This is a woman I was best friends with,' she said.
'We shared intimate details of our lives. And I was never told this story by her, or by anyone else.
'It never came up. I didn’t see it; I never heard of it happening.'
She said she and Ramirez were part of a 'larger social circle' that also included Kavanaugh.
Ramirez is a registered Democrat. The woman speculated that the allegation could be politically motivated, though she later told The New Yorker she was not certain this was the case.
Ramirez denied that her coming forward was motivated by politics.
She said her interests are to work 'toward human rights, social justice, and social change.'
When told about the statement released by students in support of Kavanaugh, Ramirez said she was 'disappointed and betrayed' by those who doubted her allegation 'because I clearly remember people in the room whose names are on this letter.'
The New Yorker reported that it spoke to a classmate of Ramirez, who said he heard about the incident from another student and that he was 'one hundred per cent sure' it was Kavanaugh.
The classmate declined to be identified.
'I’ve known this all along,' he said.
'It’s been on my mind all these years when his name came up. It was a big deal.'
Ramirez's classmate said he remembered details of the incident because he believed it was extreme behavior, even for alcohol-fueled parties on campus.
The classmate alleged that Kavanaugh and his social circle would often drink to excess.
He said he recalled Kavanaugh as 'relatively shy' when sober, but after a few drinks could become 'aggressive and even belligerent.'
The New Yorker spoke to other members of the same class as Kavanaugh and Ramirez.
Mark Krasberg, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico, said that Yale alumni had started talking among themselves about Kavanaugh's behavior in college after it became apparent he would be picked for the Supreme Court.
A number of Ramirez's classmates vouched for her integrity and honesty.
'Debbie and I became close friends shortly after we both arrived at Yale,' said James Roche, a classmate who is now the CEO of a software company in San Francisco.
'She stood out as being exceptionally honest and gentle. I cannot imagine her making this up.'
Roche said that while he never witnessed Kavanaugh behave inappropriately toward women, he does recall that the judge was 'frequently, incoherently drunk.'
'Is it believable that she was alone with a wolfy group of guys who thought it was funny to sexually torment a girl like Debbie? Yeah, definitely,' Roche said.
'Is it believable that Kavanaugh was one of them? Yes.'
Another classmate who knew Ramirez said she also found the allegation credible.
'Debbie’s always been a very truthful, kind - almost to the point of being selfless - individual,' said Jennifer Klaus.
Another classmate told The New Yorker that while she was not aware of these specific allegations against Kavanaugh, the type of behavior described was not uncommon during on-campus alcohol-fueled parties.
'I believe it could have happened,' the Yale student said.
She said she remembers Ramirez being taunted by Kavanaugh's male friends.
'They were always, like, "Debbie’s here!," and then they’d get into their "Lord of the Flies" thing,' she said.
She said that during Kavanaugh's time at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
The frat, known as 'Deke', was reportedly notorious for wild parties that some believed went too far with women who attended.
Kavanaugh was also a member of an all-male secret society known as Truth and Courage, which also went by the nickname 'Tit and Clit.'
Ramirez said she did not go public with the story because she blamed herself for drinking.
'It was a story that was known, but it was a story I was embarrassed about,' she said.
'Even if I did drink too much, any person observing it, would they want their daughter, their granddaughter, with a penis in their face, while they’re drinking that much?' she said.
'I can say that at fifty-three, but when I was nineteen or twenty I was vulnerable. I didn’t know better.'
Ramirez said that Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court was a key factor in her going public.
She said she also blames those who were at the party and did not intervene.
'They’re accountable for not stopping this,' she said.
But 'what Brett did is worse.'
She said: 'What does it mean, that this person has a role in defining women’s rights in our future?'
Before The New Yorker learned of the allegations, word about Kavanaugh's behavior at Yale reached Senate aides, who then told a lawyer in Denver, Stanley Garnett.
Garnett is a former Democratic district attorney in Boulder.
Ramirez said she wanted to come out publicly when she realized that others would reveal the details first.
'I didn’t want any of this,' she said. 'But now I have to speak.'
Ramirez's allegations bear similarity to those of Christine Blasey Ford, the professor who claims that when she was 15, she was assaulted by then-17-year-old Kavanaugh when he was drunk while egged on by a male friend.
Ford sent a letter to California Senator Dianne Feinstein in July detailing the allegations stemming from the 1982 incident.
Ford will testify before a Senate panel on Thursday about her allegation, her lawyers and the committee said on Sunday.
Ramirez and her lawyer, Garnett, are calling for an FBI investigation into her allegations.
'I do believe an FBI investigation of this kind of character-related information would be appropriate, and would be an effective way to relay the information to the committee,' Garnett said.
Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seeking 'immediate postponement' of any further action on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court amid The New Yorker report.
Feinstein sent a letter late Sunday to GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley after the report was published.
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh could be facing another headache.
Michael Avenatti, the attorney for Stormy Daniels, has made shocking claims that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and other men would ply women with alcohol or drugs at house parties and then allow men to 'gang rape' them.
In an email to Mike Davis, the Chief Counsel for Nominations, Avenatti says he has 'significant evidence' of house parties in Washington D.C. during the early 1980s 'during which Kavanaugh, Mark Judge and others would participate in the targeting of women'.
He said they would use 'alcohol' or 'drugs' to allow a 'train' of men to subsequently gang rape them.
Avenatti claims there are 'multiple witnesses that will corroborate these facts and each of them must be called to testify publicly'.
In a tweet with a screenshot of the email, he wrote: 'We demand that this process be thorough, open and fair, which is what the American public deserves. It must not be rushed and evidence/witnesses must not be hidden.'
Neither Kavanaugh or Judge have responded to Avenatti's latest allegations.
Earlier in the evening, the lawyer tweeted: 'I represent a woman with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge.'
'We will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony to the committee and will likewise be demanding that Judge and others be subpoenaed to testify.
'The nomination must be withdrawn.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: It wouldn’t surprise me on bit if Kavenaugh will soon withdraw his nomination.
By Ariel Zilber
Daily Mail
September 24, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh has denied sexual misconduct allegations made by a second woman.
The Supreme Court nominee rejected claims by Deborah Ramirez, 53, that he 'thrust his penis in her face and caused her to touch it without her consent' during a dorm party at Yale University in the 1980s.
The alleged incident, which is said to have taken place during the 1983-84 academic year, was first reported on Sunday by The New Yorker.
She told the magazine she only came forward now because she had been drinking during the evening and admits there are 'gaps in her memory' when recollecting the story.
Kavanaugh denied the latest allegations against, slammed them as a 'smear' and said he looks forward to be able to clear his 'good name' when he testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
He said in a statement: ‘This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen,’ the judge wrote in a statement.
‘The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.
‘I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name - and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building - against these last-minute allegations.’
According to The New Yorker, the offices of at least four Democratic senators received word of the allegations and at least two of them have begun investigating.
Senior Republicans also learned of the new allegations last week.
Republicans renewed calls to accelerate the vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation when they were told about this allegation last week.
'This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanagh,' said Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
'It should be fully investigated.'
President Donald Trump was notified of the allegations before the story went public, according to NBC News.
Trump has not changed his views on Kavanaugh and still supports him.
The White House also released a statement in response to The New Yorker story.
'This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man,' said White House spokesperson Kerri Kupec.
'This claim is denied by all who were said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say.
'The White House stands firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh.'
The White House is distributing a set of talking points aimed at discrediting Ramirez, according to political reporter Gabe Fleisher.
The sheet notes that Ramirez acknowledged to The New Yorker that there were ‘significant gaps in her memories of the evening.’
The White House also notes that Ramirez ‘was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident with certainty.’
It was only after ‘six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney’ - who the White House noted was ‘provided by the Democrats’ - did she feel ‘confident enough of her recollections.’
Ramirez told The New Yorker that she attended the New Haven, Connecticut-based Ivy League school where she studied studied sociology and psychology.
After graduating from college, she says she worked for an organization aimed at helping victims of domestic violence.
Ramirez acknowledged to The New Yorker that she hesitated to come forward. She said she, too, had been drinking during the alleged incident.
She claims the incident took place during her and Kavanaugh's freshman year at Yale.
Ramirez said she was invited by a friend on the women's soccer team to a dorm room party.
The party took place in a room at Lawrance Hall, a student residence hall located in Yale's Old Campus.
Ramirez recalls that the students at the party were taking part in a drinking game.
'We were sitting in a circle,' she said. 'People would pick who drank.'
She recalls being picked repeatedly, which meant drinking large amounts of alcohol in a relatively short time.
Ramirez said she got drunk very fast.
She alleges that another male student used a 'gag plastic penis' which was pointed in her direction.
Soon afterward, Ramirez recalls being on the floor and slurring her words.
She then says another male exposed himself to her.
'I remember a penis being in front of my face,' Ramirez said.
'I knew that's not what I wanted, even in that state of mind.'
At that moment, Ramirez said she commented: 'That's not a real penis.'
She said that the other students began laughing at her and taunting her.
One of the students allegedly told her to 'kiss it.'
She said she pushed the person away, forcing her to touch it.
Ramirez said she was unnerved by what happened, particularly given her religious upbringing as a devout Catholic from Connecticut.
'I wasn’t going to touch a penis until I was married,' she said.
'I was embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated.'
Ramirez said she remembers Kavanaugh standing to her right and laughing as he pulled up his pants.
'Brett was laughing,' she said.
'I can still see his face, and his hips coming forward, like when you pull up your pants.'
Ramirez said she remembers another student talking about the incident.
'Somebody yelled down the hall, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie’s face",' she said.
'It was his full name. I don’t think it was just "Brett."
'And I remember hearing and being mortified that this was out there.'
Ramirez acknowledges that there are 'gaps in her memory,' according to The New Yorker, particularly given the fact that she was intoxicated.
But she says she's confident it was Kavanaugh who exposed his genitalia to her that night.
She said: 'I’m confident about the pants coming up, and I’m confident about Brett being there.'
Ramirez said her most vivid memory from that incident was the laughter from Kavanaugh and the other students at her expense.
'It was kind of a joke,' she recalled. 'And now it’s clear to me it wasn’t a joke.'
Ramirez declined to name the other two males involved in the incident.
One of the male students who was alleged to have been egging Kavanaugh on told The New Yorker that he doesn't remember the judge exposing himself to Ramirez.
'I don’t think Brett would flash himself to Debbie, or anyone, for that matter,' he said.
When asked why he thought Ramirez was making the allegation, he said: 'I have no idea.'
When asked if he was egging on Kavanaugh, the classmate said: 'I have zero recollection.'
Meanwhile, a group of Yale classmates alleged to have been involved in the incident have come out with a statement in support of Kavanaugh.
Two of the male classmates involved in the incident who were named by Ramirez released a statement disputing her account.
That statement was supported by the wife of a third male student that Ramirez said was involved as well as three other classmates - Dino Ewing, Louisa Garry, and Dan Murphy.
'We were the people closest to Brett Kavanaugh during his first year at Yale,' the statement read.
'He was a roommate to some of us, and we spent a great deal of time with him, including in the dorm where this incident allegedly took place.
'Some of us were also friends with Debbie Ramirez during and after her time at Yale.
'We can say with confidence that if the incident Debbie alleges ever occurred, we would have seen or heard about it - and we did not.
'The behavior she describes would be completely out of character for Brett.
'In addition, some of us knew Debbie long after Yale, and she never described this incident until Brett’s Supreme Court nomination was pending.
'Editors from the New Yorker contacted some of us because we are the people who would know the truth, and we told them that we never saw or heard about this.'
The wife of the third male student named by Ramirez said she and Ramirez were close friends during their days at Yale and that this incident was never mentioned.
'This is a woman I was best friends with,' she said.
'We shared intimate details of our lives. And I was never told this story by her, or by anyone else.
'It never came up. I didn’t see it; I never heard of it happening.'
She said she and Ramirez were part of a 'larger social circle' that also included Kavanaugh.
Ramirez is a registered Democrat. The woman speculated that the allegation could be politically motivated, though she later told The New Yorker she was not certain this was the case.
Ramirez denied that her coming forward was motivated by politics.
She said her interests are to work 'toward human rights, social justice, and social change.'
When told about the statement released by students in support of Kavanaugh, Ramirez said she was 'disappointed and betrayed' by those who doubted her allegation 'because I clearly remember people in the room whose names are on this letter.'
The New Yorker reported that it spoke to a classmate of Ramirez, who said he heard about the incident from another student and that he was 'one hundred per cent sure' it was Kavanaugh.
The classmate declined to be identified.
'I’ve known this all along,' he said.
'It’s been on my mind all these years when his name came up. It was a big deal.'
Ramirez's classmate said he remembered details of the incident because he believed it was extreme behavior, even for alcohol-fueled parties on campus.
The classmate alleged that Kavanaugh and his social circle would often drink to excess.
He said he recalled Kavanaugh as 'relatively shy' when sober, but after a few drinks could become 'aggressive and even belligerent.'
The New Yorker spoke to other members of the same class as Kavanaugh and Ramirez.
Mark Krasberg, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico, said that Yale alumni had started talking among themselves about Kavanaugh's behavior in college after it became apparent he would be picked for the Supreme Court.
A number of Ramirez's classmates vouched for her integrity and honesty.
'Debbie and I became close friends shortly after we both arrived at Yale,' said James Roche, a classmate who is now the CEO of a software company in San Francisco.
'She stood out as being exceptionally honest and gentle. I cannot imagine her making this up.'
Roche said that while he never witnessed Kavanaugh behave inappropriately toward women, he does recall that the judge was 'frequently, incoherently drunk.'
'Is it believable that she was alone with a wolfy group of guys who thought it was funny to sexually torment a girl like Debbie? Yeah, definitely,' Roche said.
'Is it believable that Kavanaugh was one of them? Yes.'
Another classmate who knew Ramirez said she also found the allegation credible.
'Debbie’s always been a very truthful, kind - almost to the point of being selfless - individual,' said Jennifer Klaus.
Another classmate told The New Yorker that while she was not aware of these specific allegations against Kavanaugh, the type of behavior described was not uncommon during on-campus alcohol-fueled parties.
'I believe it could have happened,' the Yale student said.
She said she remembers Ramirez being taunted by Kavanaugh's male friends.
'They were always, like, "Debbie’s here!," and then they’d get into their "Lord of the Flies" thing,' she said.
She said that during Kavanaugh's time at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
The frat, known as 'Deke', was reportedly notorious for wild parties that some believed went too far with women who attended.
Kavanaugh was also a member of an all-male secret society known as Truth and Courage, which also went by the nickname 'Tit and Clit.'
Ramirez said she did not go public with the story because she blamed herself for drinking.
'It was a story that was known, but it was a story I was embarrassed about,' she said.
'Even if I did drink too much, any person observing it, would they want their daughter, their granddaughter, with a penis in their face, while they’re drinking that much?' she said.
'I can say that at fifty-three, but when I was nineteen or twenty I was vulnerable. I didn’t know better.'
Ramirez said that Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court was a key factor in her going public.
She said she also blames those who were at the party and did not intervene.
'They’re accountable for not stopping this,' she said.
But 'what Brett did is worse.'
She said: 'What does it mean, that this person has a role in defining women’s rights in our future?'
Before The New Yorker learned of the allegations, word about Kavanaugh's behavior at Yale reached Senate aides, who then told a lawyer in Denver, Stanley Garnett.
Garnett is a former Democratic district attorney in Boulder.
Ramirez said she wanted to come out publicly when she realized that others would reveal the details first.
'I didn’t want any of this,' she said. 'But now I have to speak.'
Ramirez's allegations bear similarity to those of Christine Blasey Ford, the professor who claims that when she was 15, she was assaulted by then-17-year-old Kavanaugh when he was drunk while egged on by a male friend.
Ford sent a letter to California Senator Dianne Feinstein in July detailing the allegations stemming from the 1982 incident.
Ford will testify before a Senate panel on Thursday about her allegation, her lawyers and the committee said on Sunday.
Ramirez and her lawyer, Garnett, are calling for an FBI investigation into her allegations.
'I do believe an FBI investigation of this kind of character-related information would be appropriate, and would be an effective way to relay the information to the committee,' Garnett said.
Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seeking 'immediate postponement' of any further action on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court amid The New Yorker report.
Feinstein sent a letter late Sunday to GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley after the report was published.
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh could be facing another headache.
Michael Avenatti, the attorney for Stormy Daniels, has made shocking claims that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and other men would ply women with alcohol or drugs at house parties and then allow men to 'gang rape' them.
In an email to Mike Davis, the Chief Counsel for Nominations, Avenatti says he has 'significant evidence' of house parties in Washington D.C. during the early 1980s 'during which Kavanaugh, Mark Judge and others would participate in the targeting of women'.
He said they would use 'alcohol' or 'drugs' to allow a 'train' of men to subsequently gang rape them.
Avenatti claims there are 'multiple witnesses that will corroborate these facts and each of them must be called to testify publicly'.
In a tweet with a screenshot of the email, he wrote: 'We demand that this process be thorough, open and fair, which is what the American public deserves. It must not be rushed and evidence/witnesses must not be hidden.'
Neither Kavanaugh or Judge have responded to Avenatti's latest allegations.
Earlier in the evening, the lawyer tweeted: 'I represent a woman with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge.'
'We will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony to the committee and will likewise be demanding that Judge and others be subpoenaed to testify.
'The nomination must be withdrawn.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: It wouldn’t surprise me on bit if Kavenaugh will soon withdraw his nomination.
Monday, September 24, 2018
FEINSTEIN HAS LETTERS FROM TWO MORE KAVANAUGH ACCUSERS
Senator Feinstein produces two more letters from women who say they were molested by Judge Kavanaugh
By Pamela Putz
The Unconventional Gazette
September 24, 2018
On Monday at the 11 th hour and 59 minutes, Sen. Dianne Feinstein threw another curve at the Kavanaugh nomination. She produced two more letters from women who say they were molested by Judge Kavanaugh. Both women say they suffered from flashbacks when they heard about Christine Ford’s accusation.
These latest accusations come on the heels of a New Yorker article in which Deborah Ramirez, 53, claims that when she was at Yale University in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh “exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.”
Baltimore realtor Betsie Underwood, 53, says that when both were at the Rainbow Day Care Center 50 years ago, that meanie Kavanaugh crawled over and grabbed her pussy. She said that Mrs. Fairweather, the day care owner, quickly grabbed Kavanaugh and gave him a good spanking. She has been so traumatized by the flashback that she is now under the care of a psychiatrist.
Brooklyn housewife Rachael Goldberg, 53, says that when she and Kavenaugh were in kindergarten together, he yanked her hair so hard that she fell out of her seat. As she was falling, the brute’s hand brushed across her titties. The teacher gave Kavanaugh 10 demerits. Goldberg is now also under the care of a psychiatrist.
Senator Feinstein asks what more proof do you want that Kavanaugh is unfit to serve on the Supreme Court. Republican senators Jeff Flake and Susan Collins said these allegations are very serious and it is now unlikely they will approve Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Kavanaugh categorically denied the new accusations. “I have absolutely no recollection of being in a day care facility or in kindergarten,” the Supreme Court nominee said.
President Trump was at the Trump Tower in New York preparing for his meetings with world leaders at the UN this week. He was overheard saying: “Grabbed her by the pussy? I told you Judge Kavanaugh was my kinda guy.”
By Pamela Putz
The Unconventional Gazette
September 24, 2018
On Monday at the 11 th hour and 59 minutes, Sen. Dianne Feinstein threw another curve at the Kavanaugh nomination. She produced two more letters from women who say they were molested by Judge Kavanaugh. Both women say they suffered from flashbacks when they heard about Christine Ford’s accusation.
These latest accusations come on the heels of a New Yorker article in which Deborah Ramirez, 53, claims that when she was at Yale University in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh “exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.”
Baltimore realtor Betsie Underwood, 53, says that when both were at the Rainbow Day Care Center 50 years ago, that meanie Kavanaugh crawled over and grabbed her pussy. She said that Mrs. Fairweather, the day care owner, quickly grabbed Kavanaugh and gave him a good spanking. She has been so traumatized by the flashback that she is now under the care of a psychiatrist.
Brooklyn housewife Rachael Goldberg, 53, says that when she and Kavenaugh were in kindergarten together, he yanked her hair so hard that she fell out of her seat. As she was falling, the brute’s hand brushed across her titties. The teacher gave Kavanaugh 10 demerits. Goldberg is now also under the care of a psychiatrist.
Senator Feinstein asks what more proof do you want that Kavanaugh is unfit to serve on the Supreme Court. Republican senators Jeff Flake and Susan Collins said these allegations are very serious and it is now unlikely they will approve Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Kavanaugh categorically denied the new accusations. “I have absolutely no recollection of being in a day care facility or in kindergarten,” the Supreme Court nominee said.
President Trump was at the Trump Tower in New York preparing for his meetings with world leaders at the UN this week. He was overheard saying: “Grabbed her by the pussy? I told you Judge Kavanaugh was my kinda guy.”
MAYBE ITS JUST ME
by Bob Walsh
I like Americas Got Talent. I watch it with my lady friend, who likes it a whole bunch. She was very fond of Michael Ketterer. He does in fact have a modest amount of talent but has a very good sob story. He and his wife have adopted several children with serious medical or developmental issues. He is a "worship leader" and a pediatric mental health care nurse.
He was arrested Thursday for felony spousal abuse for thumping his wife in a hotel room. She wasn't that seriously thumped but she did have marks on her so the cops arrested him for felony spousal battery. It will almost certainly be plea-bargained down.
Some people just have a hard time not winning, especially when everybody around him tells him the sun rises out of his ass every morning.
First place this past season was taking by an outstanding close-up magician. Second spot went to a truly incredible acrobatic dance group. I think he was fourth or fifth. Life is hard.
Maybe it is a personality defect in me, but I really don't give a rat's ass about their sob stories. Most people in the world (except me I guess) had it hard. I don't care if you adopted five kids with serious mental health problems. I don't care if your parents kicked you out because you are gay. I don't care if you dog molested you when you were seven. A talent show should be for TALENT and not hard luck stories. I guess I am just mean.
I like Americas Got Talent. I watch it with my lady friend, who likes it a whole bunch. She was very fond of Michael Ketterer. He does in fact have a modest amount of talent but has a very good sob story. He and his wife have adopted several children with serious medical or developmental issues. He is a "worship leader" and a pediatric mental health care nurse.
He was arrested Thursday for felony spousal abuse for thumping his wife in a hotel room. She wasn't that seriously thumped but she did have marks on her so the cops arrested him for felony spousal battery. It will almost certainly be plea-bargained down.
Some people just have a hard time not winning, especially when everybody around him tells him the sun rises out of his ass every morning.
First place this past season was taking by an outstanding close-up magician. Second spot went to a truly incredible acrobatic dance group. I think he was fourth or fifth. Life is hard.
Maybe it is a personality defect in me, but I really don't give a rat's ass about their sob stories. Most people in the world (except me I guess) had it hard. I don't care if you adopted five kids with serious mental health problems. I don't care if your parents kicked you out because you are gay. I don't care if you dog molested you when you were seven. A talent show should be for TALENT and not hard luck stories. I guess I am just mean.
I WILL JUST DIE IF I DON'T GET THIS SELFIE
by Bob Walsh
Yes, it happened again. Thanh Nguyen, 32, of Sunnyvale, CA, was at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and decide she absolutely must have a selfie of herself at the edge of a 200 foot cliff overlooking Lake Superior.
Two kayakers saw her fall and took her body to a nearby beach for the local authorities. I hope she got the picture.
Yes, it happened again. Thanh Nguyen, 32, of Sunnyvale, CA, was at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and decide she absolutely must have a selfie of herself at the edge of a 200 foot cliff overlooking Lake Superior.
Two kayakers saw her fall and took her body to a nearby beach for the local authorities. I hope she got the picture.
SO SHE SHOWS UP
I look at it this way. Her assertion may or may not be true. It does not matter. This has been a political assassination attempt from the time DiFi got the letter. Professor Ford and the Democraps have NOTHING to gain by her actually appearing and testifying and much to lose. She will have to go ON THE RECORD (if not under oath) and actually SAY SOMETHING.
That is why they desperately want Kavanaugh to go first. That is how the Spanish Inquisition worked. The defendant had to appear first and defend himself against ANYHING he even THOUGHT they MIGHT accuse him of. Once he was done he was done, and could be accused of anything else and he had no opportunity to rebut.
She waited 36 years to make her claim. (OK, many victims do not report crimes but this was a groping and allegedly maybe an ATTEMPTED sexual assault. She wasn't actually raped, not even close, though many of Kavanaugh's accuser in the media are making that assertion. They have thrown the mudballs out there. As an added but important bonus they have clearly demonstrated that any FUTURE Trump appointment will get the same treatment, a full-on character assassination helped on by the manipulation by the Democraps in congress. This is a STALL. Everybody KNOWS it is a stall.
I just hope the Republicans grow some spine and call for the question.
That is why they desperately want Kavanaugh to go first. That is how the Spanish Inquisition worked. The defendant had to appear first and defend himself against ANYHING he even THOUGHT they MIGHT accuse him of. Once he was done he was done, and could be accused of anything else and he had no opportunity to rebut.
She waited 36 years to make her claim. (OK, many victims do not report crimes but this was a groping and allegedly maybe an ATTEMPTED sexual assault. She wasn't actually raped, not even close, though many of Kavanaugh's accuser in the media are making that assertion. They have thrown the mudballs out there. As an added but important bonus they have clearly demonstrated that any FUTURE Trump appointment will get the same treatment, a full-on character assassination helped on by the manipulation by the Democraps in congress. This is a STALL. Everybody KNOWS it is a stall.
I just hope the Republicans grow some spine and call for the question.
HANOI JANE ADMITS SHE SCREWED THE POOCH
by Bob Walsh
Jane Fond had an interview with Colbert a couple of days ago. She admitted that the photograph of her on the anti-aircraft gun in North Vietnam was a stupid thing and that it would haunt her until the end of her days. I suppose that is as close to an apology as she is ever likely to utter. I seem to recall that she also semi-apologized a few years ago for ratting out the POWs who gave her notes in the belief she was going to smuggle them out to the U.S. Instead she gave them to the Viet Cong and they beat the shit out of the note writers.
Goodie for Fonda. Now maybe the VFW will invite her to a convention Or not.
Personally I think she should have been prosecuted for treason.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Me too!
Jane Fond had an interview with Colbert a couple of days ago. She admitted that the photograph of her on the anti-aircraft gun in North Vietnam was a stupid thing and that it would haunt her until the end of her days. I suppose that is as close to an apology as she is ever likely to utter. I seem to recall that she also semi-apologized a few years ago for ratting out the POWs who gave her notes in the belief she was going to smuggle them out to the U.S. Instead she gave them to the Viet Cong and they beat the shit out of the note writers.
Goodie for Fonda. Now maybe the VFW will invite her to a convention Or not.
Personally I think she should have been prosecuted for treason.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Me too!
MORE 0N RUSSIAN WARPLANE SHOT DOWN BY RUSSIAN MISSILE FIRED BY RUSSIAN ALLY SYRIA
Russia blames Israel 'entirely' for plane shot down over Syria
Israel Hayom
September 23, 2018
"We believe that the blame for the Russian Il-20 aircraft tragedy lies entirely with the Israeli Air Force," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday, after days of blame shifting over the downing of a Russian military plane off the Syrian coast last week.
On Sept. 17, a Russian reconnaissance plane carrying 15 crew members was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire responding to an Israeli missile strike on a facility in Latakia. All 15 Russian crew members aboard the aircraft were killed, prompting a strong rebuke from Russia and appearing to cause friction between Israel and Russia.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow initially accused Israel of indirectly causing the incident, charging that an Israeli warning came less than a minute before the strike, leaving the Russian aircraft in the line of fire. But Russian President Vladimir Putin later called it "a chain of tragic, chance events."
Israel, meanwhile, placed the blame squarely on Syria.
In a detailed account of the events leading up to the incident, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Israel on Sunday of using the Russian aircraft as cover for its attack on a Syrian facility.
In its report, the Russian Defense Ministry revealed previously undisclosed radar data and communications between Russian and Israeli figures, and concluded that "the military leadership of Israel either has no appreciation for the level of relations with Russia, or has no control over individual commands or commanding officers who understood that their actions would lead to tragedy," Russian news network RT reported.
According to Konashenkov, the Israeli Air Force left the Russian aircraft "virtually no time for any safety maneuvers, in a clear violation of the 2015 Russian-Israeli agreements." His remarks rested on claims by Russian officials that Israel provided "less than a minute" of warning before launching its strike. Israeli officials have dismissed this claim, with one official telling Israel Hayom it was "much more than one minute."
In a briefing Sunday, Konashenkov said that the Israeli warning also failed to specify the exact target of the strike, citing only a planned strike on "industrial facilities" in northern Syria. The spokesman called this "misinformation," and said it prompted the Russian command to order its reconnaissance plane back to base, where it came under Syrian fire.
"Once the Syrian air defenses responded to the initial strike, the Israeli jets switched on radar jamming and pulled back, apparently preparing for another attack. One of the jets then approached the Syrian coast – and the Russian plane that was preparing to land," Konashenkov said, explaining that the Russian plane could easily appear to the Syrians as part of the Israeli attack and insisting that the Israeli pilots "must have been well aware" of this.
He went on to say that Israel's "reckless actions" could have also jeopardized "any passenger or transport aircraft that may have happened to be in the area" at the time of the strike.
"This is an extremely ungrateful response to all that has been done by the Russian Federation for Israel and the Israeli people recently," Konashenkov said.
In the coming weeks it will become clearer whether Israel's run-in with Russia will curtail its freedom to maneuver in Syria.
Israel says its jets targeted a Syrian facility that held weapons for the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, noting it alerted Russia ahead of time as per deconfliction agreements.
Earlier Sunday, an Israeli government official estimated that the "mini-crisis" with Russia would subside within a matter of weeks. According to the official, the countries' respective interests in Syria had not changed and therefore relations would return to normal over the long term.
"The Russians understand we don't want and didn't want to harm them and they also understand Israel's need to act in Syria," the official said, "which is why they have permitted the coordination mechanism until now."
In that vein, an IDF official said the army's deconfliction line of communication with Russia, designed to coordinate the two countries' respective air force activities in Syria, would be streamlined following the incident.
In accordance with protocol, the IDF official spoke anonymously Friday after an Israeli delegation returned from Moscow where they briefed officials.
The delegation, led by air force chief Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, presented Moscow with its findings on the incident, "including recordings of the conversations between the Israeli Air Force and the Russian Air Force component in Syria," said the official.
"We proved how the reckless Syrian anti-aircraft fire was the direct cause of the hit on the Russian aircraft. They fired quite recklessly and irresponsibly and unprofessionally into the air long after our planes were no longer there," the official said.
More than 20 Syrian anti-aircraft missiles were fired during the incident, the official said.
"Our Russian counterparts had a few questions, those questions were answered," the official added. "Our impression is that the discussions were professional and that the information was well received.
"We acted in accordance with the standard operating procedures that are in place with the Russian military. But our freedom of movement is paramount. ... The IDF will continue to implement our strategic interests."
Israel Hayom
September 23, 2018
"We believe that the blame for the Russian Il-20 aircraft tragedy lies entirely with the Israeli Air Force," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday, after days of blame shifting over the downing of a Russian military plane off the Syrian coast last week.
On Sept. 17, a Russian reconnaissance plane carrying 15 crew members was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire responding to an Israeli missile strike on a facility in Latakia. All 15 Russian crew members aboard the aircraft were killed, prompting a strong rebuke from Russia and appearing to cause friction between Israel and Russia.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow initially accused Israel of indirectly causing the incident, charging that an Israeli warning came less than a minute before the strike, leaving the Russian aircraft in the line of fire. But Russian President Vladimir Putin later called it "a chain of tragic, chance events."
Israel, meanwhile, placed the blame squarely on Syria.
In a detailed account of the events leading up to the incident, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Israel on Sunday of using the Russian aircraft as cover for its attack on a Syrian facility.
In its report, the Russian Defense Ministry revealed previously undisclosed radar data and communications between Russian and Israeli figures, and concluded that "the military leadership of Israel either has no appreciation for the level of relations with Russia, or has no control over individual commands or commanding officers who understood that their actions would lead to tragedy," Russian news network RT reported.
According to Konashenkov, the Israeli Air Force left the Russian aircraft "virtually no time for any safety maneuvers, in a clear violation of the 2015 Russian-Israeli agreements." His remarks rested on claims by Russian officials that Israel provided "less than a minute" of warning before launching its strike. Israeli officials have dismissed this claim, with one official telling Israel Hayom it was "much more than one minute."
In a briefing Sunday, Konashenkov said that the Israeli warning also failed to specify the exact target of the strike, citing only a planned strike on "industrial facilities" in northern Syria. The spokesman called this "misinformation," and said it prompted the Russian command to order its reconnaissance plane back to base, where it came under Syrian fire.
"Once the Syrian air defenses responded to the initial strike, the Israeli jets switched on radar jamming and pulled back, apparently preparing for another attack. One of the jets then approached the Syrian coast – and the Russian plane that was preparing to land," Konashenkov said, explaining that the Russian plane could easily appear to the Syrians as part of the Israeli attack and insisting that the Israeli pilots "must have been well aware" of this.
He went on to say that Israel's "reckless actions" could have also jeopardized "any passenger or transport aircraft that may have happened to be in the area" at the time of the strike.
"This is an extremely ungrateful response to all that has been done by the Russian Federation for Israel and the Israeli people recently," Konashenkov said.
In the coming weeks it will become clearer whether Israel's run-in with Russia will curtail its freedom to maneuver in Syria.
Israel says its jets targeted a Syrian facility that held weapons for the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, noting it alerted Russia ahead of time as per deconfliction agreements.
Earlier Sunday, an Israeli government official estimated that the "mini-crisis" with Russia would subside within a matter of weeks. According to the official, the countries' respective interests in Syria had not changed and therefore relations would return to normal over the long term.
"The Russians understand we don't want and didn't want to harm them and they also understand Israel's need to act in Syria," the official said, "which is why they have permitted the coordination mechanism until now."
In that vein, an IDF official said the army's deconfliction line of communication with Russia, designed to coordinate the two countries' respective air force activities in Syria, would be streamlined following the incident.
In accordance with protocol, the IDF official spoke anonymously Friday after an Israeli delegation returned from Moscow where they briefed officials.
The delegation, led by air force chief Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, presented Moscow with its findings on the incident, "including recordings of the conversations between the Israeli Air Force and the Russian Air Force component in Syria," said the official.
"We proved how the reckless Syrian anti-aircraft fire was the direct cause of the hit on the Russian aircraft. They fired quite recklessly and irresponsibly and unprofessionally into the air long after our planes were no longer there," the official said.
More than 20 Syrian anti-aircraft missiles were fired during the incident, the official said.
"Our Russian counterparts had a few questions, those questions were answered," the official added. "Our impression is that the discussions were professional and that the information was well received.
"We acted in accordance with the standard operating procedures that are in place with the Russian military. But our freedom of movement is paramount. ... The IDF will continue to implement our strategic interests."
POLICE DETECTIVE RECANTS BLOOD SPLATTER TESTIMONY IN 1985 MURDER TRIAL OF TEXAS SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Blood-Spatter Expert in Joe Bryan Case Says “My Conclusions Were Wrong”
by Pamela Colloff
ProPublica
September 17, 2018
A hearing to determine whether Joe Bryan should be granted a new trial came to a dramatic conclusion on Monday with a surprise, eleventh-hour admission from the expert witness whose testimony had proved critical in convicting the former high school principal of the 1985 murder of his wife, Mickey.
“My conclusions were wrong,” retired police Detective Robert Thorman wrote in an affidavit introduced by the defense of the bloodstain-pattern analysis he performed. “Some of the techniques and methodology were incorrect. Therefore, some of my testimony was not correct.”
Bloodstain-pattern analysis is a forensic discipline whose practitioners regard the drops, spatters and trails of blood at a crime scene as clues, which can sometimes be used to reverse-engineer the crime itself. Thorman had only 40 hours of training in the discipline when he was called in to work on the Bryan case. His testimony about a blood-speckled flashlight that Mickey’s brother found in the trunk of Bryan’s car four days after the murder made the state’s tenuous theory of the crime seem plausible.
At Bryan’s trial in 1986 and then again at his 1989 retrial, Thorman testified that tiny flecks of blood on the flashlight could only be “back spatter” — a pattern that indicated a close-range shooting. What connection the flashlight had to the crime, if any, was never clear; in 1985, a crime lab chemist found that the blood on it was type O, which corresponded not only to Mickey but to nearly half the population. But Thorman effectively tied the flashlight to the crime scene, going so far as to say that the killer had likely held the flashlight in one hand while firing a pistol with the other.
Bryan had been attending a principals’ convention in Austin, 120 miles from where the murder occurred in Clifton, Texas, in the days surrounding the murder. He has always maintained that he was in Austin, asleep in his hotel room, at the time of the crime.
During both trials, Thorman also helped explain away one of the biggest holes in the state’s case: no blood was ever found in the interior of Bryan’s Mercury, though the prosecution alleged that Bryan fled the messy crime scene in his car. Thorman provided an explanation for this, asserting that the killer had changed his clothes and shoes in the master bathroom of the Bryan home before making his escape.
“In no way did I lie in my report or testimony,” Thorman stated in his affidavit, which is dated Sept. 13. “I was doing what I thought was correct as a result of my training at the time.” Thorman, who is now 80, did not specify which parts of his testimony had been incorrect.
The affidavit was read aloud on the stand by Montgomery County crime scene investigator Celestina Rossi, who had previously challenged the accuracy of Thorman’s analysis. Prosecutors, who glanced at each other repeatedly as she read the affidavit, appeared taken off guard.
In May, Bryan’s case was the subject of a two-part investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, which questioned the accuracy of the bloodstain-pattern analysis used to convict him. The series highlighted the scant training of some law enforcement officers, who nevertheless go on to testify in criminal cases as expert witnesses.
In July, Bryan’s case commanded the attention of the forensics community when the Texas Forensic Science Commission — which investigates complaints about the misuse of forensic testimony and evidence in criminal cases — announced that the blood-spatter analysis used to convict him was “not accurate or scientifically supported.”
Then, on Aug. 20, the evidentiary hearing got underway in the central Texas town of Comanche. For three days, Bryan’s attorneys presented a succession of witnesses who testified that the bloodstain-pattern analysis used to convict Bryan was faulty, and that new evidence pointed to an alternative suspect in the killing, a now-deceased Clifton police officer named Dennis Dunlap.
On Aug. 22, Judge Doug Shaver declared an extended recess so that DNA testing could be performed on the flashlight.
At the hearing on Monday, Brent Watson, a DNA analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Waco, took the stand to testify about the results of his examination. Watson explained that he tested six minute stains on the flashlight. Five of those stains came back negative for the presence of blood. The sixth stain tested positive, but whose blood it was could not be determined.
A partial DNA profile on the lens of the flashlight yielded little information. Whether or not Mickey was a contributor to that profile, Watson said, was inconclusive. “Degradation had an effect on my ability to obtain complete DNA profiles,” he said of the 32-year-old evidence.
Watson, however, was able to glean more information from a partial DNA profile he developed by swabbing the handle of the flashlight for DNA. “Joe and Mickey were excluded as contributors,” he said.
Jessica Freud, one of Bryan’s attorneys, seized on these uncertainties, asking Watson, “Is the state of Texas able to show that Mickey’s blood or DNA is present on the flashlight?”
“No, it is not,” Watson replied.
Watson went on to testify about another notorious piece of evidence from Bryan’s two trials: a pair of Bryan’s discarded underwear, which was found in the couple’s master bathroom wastebasket during the 1985 investigation. At that time, a state crime lab analyst determined that the underwear was stained with semen that matched Bryan’s blood type, and she testified to this fact at both trials. But current testing protocols, Watson said, showed no evidence of semen on the underwear.
The semen-stained underwear had been used to great effect by the prosecution at both of Bryan’s trials. At Bryan’s first trial, the Bosque County district attorney at the time, Andy McMullen, had argued that it was “evidence of a kind of perverted behavior.” The prosecution had always insinuated, Freud told the court, that Bryan had been aroused by the act of killing his wife.
By the close of the hearing, there appeared to be little left of the state’s case. No one could say whose blood was on the flashlight, how that blood had been deposited or when the blood was left there. Nor was it any clearer who had put the flashlight in the trunk of Bryan’s Mercury and when. No semen was found to be present on the underwear. Thorman’s bloodstain-pattern analysis had been debunked.
In his closing arguments, the current Bosque County DA, Adam Sibley, focused on two plastic particles that were found on the flashlight lens. At both trials, an investigator and a crime lab technician had testified that the particles possessed the same characteristics as birdshot shell fragments found at the crime scene. These particles, Sibley said, “proved the flashlight was at the scene of the crime.” Sibley noted that neither Tom Bevel, the state’s bloodstain-pattern analyst, nor Rossi, the defense’s expert, could “eliminate the flashlight from the scene.”
When Freud rose to address the courtroom, she ticked off the lengthy list of questionable evidence and odd circumstances that had allowed Bryan to be convicted, twice, of his wife’s murder: The bad science. The flashlight that had been allowed into evidence even though no chain of custody had ever been established. The underwear that was not actually stained with semen. The special prosecutor paid for by Mickey’s brother, Charlie Blue, even though Blue, because he discovered the flashlight, was the case’s star witness. “It not only gives the appearance of impropriety, it is improper,” Freud said.
She argued that jurors in Bryan’s trials had never heard compelling evidence that suggested Dunlap, who hanged himself in 1996, could have killed Mickey. After his death, Clifton police launched an investigation in which they determined that he had killed a 17-year-old high school student named Judy Whitley just four months before Mickey’s murder. During that inquiry, an ex-wife of Dunlap’s told investigators that he had boasted of being with the principal’s wife on the night she died. Freud played a brief portion of that interview aloud, and spectators in the crowded courtroom strained to listen.
“There is nothing left,” Freud said of the state’s case, in closing. “There is nothing left here.”
A new trial, she said, should be devoid of faulty bloodstain-pattern analysis and irrelevant evidence, like the underwear; it should not be tried by a special prosecutor paid for by the victim’s family; and it should “permit a full and fair presentation of all of the exculpatory evidence to a jury.” She added: “If they’re going to retry him, make them do it the right way. They’ve never done it the right way.”
Before she concluded, she turned to Shaver. “Joe was in Austin,” she said, her voice rising with emotion. “He never left. He is innocent. Always has been.”
The case will be on hold until Nov. 9, when the state and defense will present their written conclusions about the hearing to Shaver. The judge will then recommend to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals whether Bryan should receive a new trial. That court’s justices will be the final arbiters.
Many of Bryan’s supporters who crowded the courtroom on Monday — from his former high school students to ex-Clifton Record editor Leon Smith, who has spent decades chronicling Bryan’s case — were disappointed that a potential resolution would be further postponed. Bryan had listened attentively throughout the hearing, sitting behind his attorneys in a black-and-white prison jumpsuit, but he looked deflated at the news, his shoulders sagging at the thought of yet another delay. Bryan, who suffers from congestive heart failure, will turn 78 on Friday.
“How much longer will he have to wait?” said the Rev. Carroll Pickett, who served as the prison chaplain for Texas’ death row for more than a dozen years, as he stood outside the Comanche County Courthouse. “I’ve known Joe for 31 years, and I have yet to hear any evidence that he committed this crime.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Unfortunately for Bryan, Thorman waited more than 30 years to come forward and say his blood splatter testimony was a bunch of bullshit.
by Pamela Colloff
ProPublica
September 17, 2018
A hearing to determine whether Joe Bryan should be granted a new trial came to a dramatic conclusion on Monday with a surprise, eleventh-hour admission from the expert witness whose testimony had proved critical in convicting the former high school principal of the 1985 murder of his wife, Mickey.
“My conclusions were wrong,” retired police Detective Robert Thorman wrote in an affidavit introduced by the defense of the bloodstain-pattern analysis he performed. “Some of the techniques and methodology were incorrect. Therefore, some of my testimony was not correct.”
Bloodstain-pattern analysis is a forensic discipline whose practitioners regard the drops, spatters and trails of blood at a crime scene as clues, which can sometimes be used to reverse-engineer the crime itself. Thorman had only 40 hours of training in the discipline when he was called in to work on the Bryan case. His testimony about a blood-speckled flashlight that Mickey’s brother found in the trunk of Bryan’s car four days after the murder made the state’s tenuous theory of the crime seem plausible.
At Bryan’s trial in 1986 and then again at his 1989 retrial, Thorman testified that tiny flecks of blood on the flashlight could only be “back spatter” — a pattern that indicated a close-range shooting. What connection the flashlight had to the crime, if any, was never clear; in 1985, a crime lab chemist found that the blood on it was type O, which corresponded not only to Mickey but to nearly half the population. But Thorman effectively tied the flashlight to the crime scene, going so far as to say that the killer had likely held the flashlight in one hand while firing a pistol with the other.
Bryan had been attending a principals’ convention in Austin, 120 miles from where the murder occurred in Clifton, Texas, in the days surrounding the murder. He has always maintained that he was in Austin, asleep in his hotel room, at the time of the crime.
During both trials, Thorman also helped explain away one of the biggest holes in the state’s case: no blood was ever found in the interior of Bryan’s Mercury, though the prosecution alleged that Bryan fled the messy crime scene in his car. Thorman provided an explanation for this, asserting that the killer had changed his clothes and shoes in the master bathroom of the Bryan home before making his escape.
“In no way did I lie in my report or testimony,” Thorman stated in his affidavit, which is dated Sept. 13. “I was doing what I thought was correct as a result of my training at the time.” Thorman, who is now 80, did not specify which parts of his testimony had been incorrect.
The affidavit was read aloud on the stand by Montgomery County crime scene investigator Celestina Rossi, who had previously challenged the accuracy of Thorman’s analysis. Prosecutors, who glanced at each other repeatedly as she read the affidavit, appeared taken off guard.
In May, Bryan’s case was the subject of a two-part investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, which questioned the accuracy of the bloodstain-pattern analysis used to convict him. The series highlighted the scant training of some law enforcement officers, who nevertheless go on to testify in criminal cases as expert witnesses.
In July, Bryan’s case commanded the attention of the forensics community when the Texas Forensic Science Commission — which investigates complaints about the misuse of forensic testimony and evidence in criminal cases — announced that the blood-spatter analysis used to convict him was “not accurate or scientifically supported.”
Then, on Aug. 20, the evidentiary hearing got underway in the central Texas town of Comanche. For three days, Bryan’s attorneys presented a succession of witnesses who testified that the bloodstain-pattern analysis used to convict Bryan was faulty, and that new evidence pointed to an alternative suspect in the killing, a now-deceased Clifton police officer named Dennis Dunlap.
On Aug. 22, Judge Doug Shaver declared an extended recess so that DNA testing could be performed on the flashlight.
At the hearing on Monday, Brent Watson, a DNA analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Waco, took the stand to testify about the results of his examination. Watson explained that he tested six minute stains on the flashlight. Five of those stains came back negative for the presence of blood. The sixth stain tested positive, but whose blood it was could not be determined.
A partial DNA profile on the lens of the flashlight yielded little information. Whether or not Mickey was a contributor to that profile, Watson said, was inconclusive. “Degradation had an effect on my ability to obtain complete DNA profiles,” he said of the 32-year-old evidence.
Watson, however, was able to glean more information from a partial DNA profile he developed by swabbing the handle of the flashlight for DNA. “Joe and Mickey were excluded as contributors,” he said.
Jessica Freud, one of Bryan’s attorneys, seized on these uncertainties, asking Watson, “Is the state of Texas able to show that Mickey’s blood or DNA is present on the flashlight?”
“No, it is not,” Watson replied.
Watson went on to testify about another notorious piece of evidence from Bryan’s two trials: a pair of Bryan’s discarded underwear, which was found in the couple’s master bathroom wastebasket during the 1985 investigation. At that time, a state crime lab analyst determined that the underwear was stained with semen that matched Bryan’s blood type, and she testified to this fact at both trials. But current testing protocols, Watson said, showed no evidence of semen on the underwear.
The semen-stained underwear had been used to great effect by the prosecution at both of Bryan’s trials. At Bryan’s first trial, the Bosque County district attorney at the time, Andy McMullen, had argued that it was “evidence of a kind of perverted behavior.” The prosecution had always insinuated, Freud told the court, that Bryan had been aroused by the act of killing his wife.
By the close of the hearing, there appeared to be little left of the state’s case. No one could say whose blood was on the flashlight, how that blood had been deposited or when the blood was left there. Nor was it any clearer who had put the flashlight in the trunk of Bryan’s Mercury and when. No semen was found to be present on the underwear. Thorman’s bloodstain-pattern analysis had been debunked.
In his closing arguments, the current Bosque County DA, Adam Sibley, focused on two plastic particles that were found on the flashlight lens. At both trials, an investigator and a crime lab technician had testified that the particles possessed the same characteristics as birdshot shell fragments found at the crime scene. These particles, Sibley said, “proved the flashlight was at the scene of the crime.” Sibley noted that neither Tom Bevel, the state’s bloodstain-pattern analyst, nor Rossi, the defense’s expert, could “eliminate the flashlight from the scene.”
When Freud rose to address the courtroom, she ticked off the lengthy list of questionable evidence and odd circumstances that had allowed Bryan to be convicted, twice, of his wife’s murder: The bad science. The flashlight that had been allowed into evidence even though no chain of custody had ever been established. The underwear that was not actually stained with semen. The special prosecutor paid for by Mickey’s brother, Charlie Blue, even though Blue, because he discovered the flashlight, was the case’s star witness. “It not only gives the appearance of impropriety, it is improper,” Freud said.
She argued that jurors in Bryan’s trials had never heard compelling evidence that suggested Dunlap, who hanged himself in 1996, could have killed Mickey. After his death, Clifton police launched an investigation in which they determined that he had killed a 17-year-old high school student named Judy Whitley just four months before Mickey’s murder. During that inquiry, an ex-wife of Dunlap’s told investigators that he had boasted of being with the principal’s wife on the night she died. Freud played a brief portion of that interview aloud, and spectators in the crowded courtroom strained to listen.
“There is nothing left,” Freud said of the state’s case, in closing. “There is nothing left here.”
A new trial, she said, should be devoid of faulty bloodstain-pattern analysis and irrelevant evidence, like the underwear; it should not be tried by a special prosecutor paid for by the victim’s family; and it should “permit a full and fair presentation of all of the exculpatory evidence to a jury.” She added: “If they’re going to retry him, make them do it the right way. They’ve never done it the right way.”
Before she concluded, she turned to Shaver. “Joe was in Austin,” she said, her voice rising with emotion. “He never left. He is innocent. Always has been.”
The case will be on hold until Nov. 9, when the state and defense will present their written conclusions about the hearing to Shaver. The judge will then recommend to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals whether Bryan should receive a new trial. That court’s justices will be the final arbiters.
Many of Bryan’s supporters who crowded the courtroom on Monday — from his former high school students to ex-Clifton Record editor Leon Smith, who has spent decades chronicling Bryan’s case — were disappointed that a potential resolution would be further postponed. Bryan had listened attentively throughout the hearing, sitting behind his attorneys in a black-and-white prison jumpsuit, but he looked deflated at the news, his shoulders sagging at the thought of yet another delay. Bryan, who suffers from congestive heart failure, will turn 78 on Friday.
“How much longer will he have to wait?” said the Rev. Carroll Pickett, who served as the prison chaplain for Texas’ death row for more than a dozen years, as he stood outside the Comanche County Courthouse. “I’ve known Joe for 31 years, and I have yet to hear any evidence that he committed this crime.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Unfortunately for Bryan, Thorman waited more than 30 years to come forward and say his blood splatter testimony was a bunch of bullshit.
ONE COULD SAY DRUGS ARE FOOD AS THEY NOURISH THE ADDICT’S HUNGER FOR THEM
Ohio Liquor Control says drugs, dances purchased with food stamps in Harrison Township bar
WDTN
September 21, 2018
DAYTON, Ohio -- A Harrison Township bar will lose its liquor license when it closes Thursday night.
The Ohio Liquor Control Commission revoked the liquor permit of Sharkey’s bar, an adult entertainment establishment starting at close of business September 20.
Agents began investigating the Twenty Two Fifty, Inc., also known as Sharkey's, in May of 2017. Officials say during the investigation at Sharkey's, agents were able to purchase drugs and lap dances using food stamp benefits.
Throughout the five-month investigation, agents exchanged $2,404.87 in food stamps to purchase heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, cocaine, methamphetamines and lap dances. In all, criminal charges were filed against employees and patrons for drug trafficking, food stamp trafficking, aggravated shipment and distribution of heroin, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and illegal sexual activity.
Agents also filed 44 administrative charges that were heard by the Liquor Control Commission that included drug possession, drug sales, engaging in sexual activity, food stamp trafficking and solicitation.
This is the second adult entertainment establishment liquor permit that has been revoked by the Liquor Control Commission as a result of an Ohio Investigative Unit investigation into food stamp and drug trafficking this year in the Dayton area. The other location, The Harem, 5825 North Dixie Drive, lost their liquor license in May of 2018.
WDTN
September 21, 2018
DAYTON, Ohio -- A Harrison Township bar will lose its liquor license when it closes Thursday night.
The Ohio Liquor Control Commission revoked the liquor permit of Sharkey’s bar, an adult entertainment establishment starting at close of business September 20.
Agents began investigating the Twenty Two Fifty, Inc., also known as Sharkey's, in May of 2017. Officials say during the investigation at Sharkey's, agents were able to purchase drugs and lap dances using food stamp benefits.
Throughout the five-month investigation, agents exchanged $2,404.87 in food stamps to purchase heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, cocaine, methamphetamines and lap dances. In all, criminal charges were filed against employees and patrons for drug trafficking, food stamp trafficking, aggravated shipment and distribution of heroin, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and illegal sexual activity.
Agents also filed 44 administrative charges that were heard by the Liquor Control Commission that included drug possession, drug sales, engaging in sexual activity, food stamp trafficking and solicitation.
This is the second adult entertainment establishment liquor permit that has been revoked by the Liquor Control Commission as a result of an Ohio Investigative Unit investigation into food stamp and drug trafficking this year in the Dayton area. The other location, The Harem, 5825 North Dixie Drive, lost their liquor license in May of 2018.
30 YEAR POLICE VETERAN FUCKED BY WORKERS’ COMP
Connecticut Police Officer Shot in On-Duty Accident Denied Workers' Compensation
By Pat Tomlinson
The Norwalk Hour
September 21, 2018
NORWALK, Connecticut — Every time he moves, Phillip Roselle can feel the 9-mm bullet still lodged in the right side of his chest.
The 30-year veteran of the Norwalk Police Department has been dealing with that bullet, along with a host of other medical issues, since another officer accidentally shot him during a training session at a gun range in September 2017.
More than a year later, Roselle is not only out of work, he’s still fighting for his life.
Complications from the shooting have led to blood clots, a partial blockage of his heart and permanent nerve damage in his right hand. Recently, doctors told Roselle that he will also need a kidney transplant to survive.
“My life did a 360 that day,” Roselle said. “I still try to do the best I can, but as a man, I’m expected to be the bread winner, the father figure, the foundation of the family and all. I’m used to protecting and helping people. To turn around and have everyone needing to help me, it’s something that will take some time getting used to.”
After the shooting, Roselle knew he would have to fight to recover. What he didn’t see coming was a fight with the city he had sworn an oath to protect.
Roselle, 51, has twice been denied workers’ compensation. The Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission reasoned that an underlying health problem, Type 1 diabetes, is keeping him out of work. The family argues he was healthy until the shooting began his downward slide.
Friends and family blame Norwalk for the denial, saying it ultimately falls on the city to protect its first responders.
“For him to go to work one day and to have something like this happen, which you have no control over, it’s not only a financial setback, it’s also a mental setback,” said his wife, Debbie Roselle. “For Phillip to get better, he needs his mental state to be in a better place, and that feeling of abandonment, when you serve your city and you put your life on the line for 30 years, and they turn their back on you, it just hurts.”
City officials say the decision is in the hands of the commission. In June, the commission made its second determination that Roselle is being kept out of work by his underlying medical condition, not any shooting-related injuries, according to Ray Burney, the personnel director for the city.
Both the commission and the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, a municipal insurance provider, declined to comment.
Roselle, who was diagnosed with diabetes 32 years ago, said the commission’s conclusion couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“I’ve always been diabetic, that’s never impeded my ability to be a police officer,” Roselle said. “For 30 years, I did everything that a police officer is required to do, and I did it to the fullest.”
Despite the setbacks, Roselle’s attorney, Matthew Paradisi of the Hartford-based firm Cicchiello & Cicchiello, said they will continue to fight for compensation, calling the grounds for the denial “untenable” and “unethical.”
“From our perspective, legally, Norwalk should be coming to the table and compensating him for these injuries. And the fact that his benefits were cut off, in my mind, is unconscionable,” Paradisi said.
Mayor Harry Rilling, a former Norwalk police chief and police union president, said the city had no role in the decision, adding that he recently reached out to the family to “figure out what options are available.”
“We need to do everything we can to protect our first responders,” Rilling said. “They put their lives on the line day in and day out, and we need to make sure that we’re here for them when they need us.”
The Roselle family confirmed that Rilling had reached out to them last week, but said there had been no progress with the case since.
Lt. Dave O’Connor, the president of the police union, said it is the union’s position that Roselle was injured at work, therefore he is entitled to workers’ compensation “until he is able to return to work.”
“We are concerned that he is not getting what he needs from workers’ comp, and we would like to see that resolved as quickly as possible,” O’Connor said. “He doesn’t have a paycheck coming in now, which is causing us great angst and it’s putting an enormous amount of strain on his family.”
‘In the line of duty’
The morning of Sept. 5, 2017, started the way most days had for Roselle. He woke up, put on his uniform and said goodbye to his family before setting off to work.
It a training day for Roselle and a handful of other officers. The first half of the day was consumed by briefings on the latest in use-of-force training and new policies and laws around the state. After a few hours of written and visual work, the officers went to the department’s gun range on the second floor of police headquarters for hands-on training. A few officers practiced shooting an AR-15, a lightweight semi-automatic rifle, while Roselle and others got acquainted with the department’s newly issued Glock 17 pistols.
The target shooting went off without incident. Then it was time to clean the weapons.
“I just remember I was cleaning my gun when I heard a ‘bang’ and I felt a pain in my chest and in my arm, and I looked down and there was blood everywhere,” Roselle said.
A round tore through his right arm and into his ribcage.
A police report said he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. One officer elevated Roselle’s head, placing it in his lap while another put a tourniquet on his arm.
From there things grew foggy for Roselle, but he said he remembers officers the officers rushing to his aid and being dashed to the hospital. Police frantically closed intersections on the route between police headquarters and Norwalk Hospital.
Roselle later learned that a superior officer was disassembling his department-issued pistol, a Glock 17, when the bullet was accidentally fired. According to police reports, the shooter thought he had cleared his gun’s chamber before pulling the trigger, which is required when disassembling a Glock.
Police Chief Tom Kulhawik said he would not comment on “personnel matters.”
Roselle declined to name the officer involved, saying he knew the officer was suffering his own trauma from the accident. The two are still friends.
“I know it was an accident, so there’s no hard feelings there,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re still brothers in blue.”
Roselle said has been dealing with post-traumatic stress and swings of depression. He’s been rushed to the emergency room several times since his initial hospitalization.
Between the emergency room visits, dialysis three times a week for four hours, and various other doctor visits, his family said the bills are piling up. Roselle has had to discontinue the physical therapy required to strengthen his right hand.
While Roselle said he has not felt the full support of City Hall, the same cannot be said of the Norwalk Police Department, where he’s served since he was 19 years old. Roselle said his brothers and sisters at the Norwalk Police Department have been among the most supportive in his time of need.
Officer Kelly Hollister, for instance, started a GoFundMe account in August. The fundraiser page, an effort to ensure that Roselle and his family didn’t need to worry about money, had raised $16,308 of its $20,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon.
“My other family, the ones that I worked in the street with, have been great with helping me out. The moral support I’ve received from them — it means a lot,” he said.
Roselle, whose son is a cop in New Haven, said his fight against the city and their insurer is not only for his own benefit, but for any other officers who finds themselves in a similar situation.
“I want to make sure that this never happens again, and if it does, then I want to make sure that the procedures that the city takes in protecting police officers will be a lot better than it has been for me,” Roselle said. “We [officers] take this job to serve and protect the city, and all we ask back for it is a little respect back from the city.”
By Pat Tomlinson
The Norwalk Hour
September 21, 2018
NORWALK, Connecticut — Every time he moves, Phillip Roselle can feel the 9-mm bullet still lodged in the right side of his chest.
The 30-year veteran of the Norwalk Police Department has been dealing with that bullet, along with a host of other medical issues, since another officer accidentally shot him during a training session at a gun range in September 2017.
More than a year later, Roselle is not only out of work, he’s still fighting for his life.
Complications from the shooting have led to blood clots, a partial blockage of his heart and permanent nerve damage in his right hand. Recently, doctors told Roselle that he will also need a kidney transplant to survive.
“My life did a 360 that day,” Roselle said. “I still try to do the best I can, but as a man, I’m expected to be the bread winner, the father figure, the foundation of the family and all. I’m used to protecting and helping people. To turn around and have everyone needing to help me, it’s something that will take some time getting used to.”
After the shooting, Roselle knew he would have to fight to recover. What he didn’t see coming was a fight with the city he had sworn an oath to protect.
Roselle, 51, has twice been denied workers’ compensation. The Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission reasoned that an underlying health problem, Type 1 diabetes, is keeping him out of work. The family argues he was healthy until the shooting began his downward slide.
Friends and family blame Norwalk for the denial, saying it ultimately falls on the city to protect its first responders.
“For him to go to work one day and to have something like this happen, which you have no control over, it’s not only a financial setback, it’s also a mental setback,” said his wife, Debbie Roselle. “For Phillip to get better, he needs his mental state to be in a better place, and that feeling of abandonment, when you serve your city and you put your life on the line for 30 years, and they turn their back on you, it just hurts.”
City officials say the decision is in the hands of the commission. In June, the commission made its second determination that Roselle is being kept out of work by his underlying medical condition, not any shooting-related injuries, according to Ray Burney, the personnel director for the city.
Both the commission and the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, a municipal insurance provider, declined to comment.
Roselle, who was diagnosed with diabetes 32 years ago, said the commission’s conclusion couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“I’ve always been diabetic, that’s never impeded my ability to be a police officer,” Roselle said. “For 30 years, I did everything that a police officer is required to do, and I did it to the fullest.”
Despite the setbacks, Roselle’s attorney, Matthew Paradisi of the Hartford-based firm Cicchiello & Cicchiello, said they will continue to fight for compensation, calling the grounds for the denial “untenable” and “unethical.”
“From our perspective, legally, Norwalk should be coming to the table and compensating him for these injuries. And the fact that his benefits were cut off, in my mind, is unconscionable,” Paradisi said.
Mayor Harry Rilling, a former Norwalk police chief and police union president, said the city had no role in the decision, adding that he recently reached out to the family to “figure out what options are available.”
“We need to do everything we can to protect our first responders,” Rilling said. “They put their lives on the line day in and day out, and we need to make sure that we’re here for them when they need us.”
The Roselle family confirmed that Rilling had reached out to them last week, but said there had been no progress with the case since.
Lt. Dave O’Connor, the president of the police union, said it is the union’s position that Roselle was injured at work, therefore he is entitled to workers’ compensation “until he is able to return to work.”
“We are concerned that he is not getting what he needs from workers’ comp, and we would like to see that resolved as quickly as possible,” O’Connor said. “He doesn’t have a paycheck coming in now, which is causing us great angst and it’s putting an enormous amount of strain on his family.”
‘In the line of duty’
The morning of Sept. 5, 2017, started the way most days had for Roselle. He woke up, put on his uniform and said goodbye to his family before setting off to work.
It a training day for Roselle and a handful of other officers. The first half of the day was consumed by briefings on the latest in use-of-force training and new policies and laws around the state. After a few hours of written and visual work, the officers went to the department’s gun range on the second floor of police headquarters for hands-on training. A few officers practiced shooting an AR-15, a lightweight semi-automatic rifle, while Roselle and others got acquainted with the department’s newly issued Glock 17 pistols.
The target shooting went off without incident. Then it was time to clean the weapons.
“I just remember I was cleaning my gun when I heard a ‘bang’ and I felt a pain in my chest and in my arm, and I looked down and there was blood everywhere,” Roselle said.
A round tore through his right arm and into his ribcage.
A police report said he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. One officer elevated Roselle’s head, placing it in his lap while another put a tourniquet on his arm.
From there things grew foggy for Roselle, but he said he remembers officers the officers rushing to his aid and being dashed to the hospital. Police frantically closed intersections on the route between police headquarters and Norwalk Hospital.
Roselle later learned that a superior officer was disassembling his department-issued pistol, a Glock 17, when the bullet was accidentally fired. According to police reports, the shooter thought he had cleared his gun’s chamber before pulling the trigger, which is required when disassembling a Glock.
Police Chief Tom Kulhawik said he would not comment on “personnel matters.”
Roselle declined to name the officer involved, saying he knew the officer was suffering his own trauma from the accident. The two are still friends.
“I know it was an accident, so there’s no hard feelings there,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re still brothers in blue.”
Roselle said has been dealing with post-traumatic stress and swings of depression. He’s been rushed to the emergency room several times since his initial hospitalization.
Between the emergency room visits, dialysis three times a week for four hours, and various other doctor visits, his family said the bills are piling up. Roselle has had to discontinue the physical therapy required to strengthen his right hand.
While Roselle said he has not felt the full support of City Hall, the same cannot be said of the Norwalk Police Department, where he’s served since he was 19 years old. Roselle said his brothers and sisters at the Norwalk Police Department have been among the most supportive in his time of need.
Officer Kelly Hollister, for instance, started a GoFundMe account in August. The fundraiser page, an effort to ensure that Roselle and his family didn’t need to worry about money, had raised $16,308 of its $20,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon.
“My other family, the ones that I worked in the street with, have been great with helping me out. The moral support I’ve received from them — it means a lot,” he said.
Roselle, whose son is a cop in New Haven, said his fight against the city and their insurer is not only for his own benefit, but for any other officers who finds themselves in a similar situation.
“I want to make sure that this never happens again, and if it does, then I want to make sure that the procedures that the city takes in protecting police officers will be a lot better than it has been for me,” Roselle said. “We [officers] take this job to serve and protect the city, and all we ask back for it is a little respect back from the city.”
Sunday, September 23, 2018
ANOTHER JOB-KILLING AND SUSPECT-ID PRISON TATTOO ….. THIS TIME IN NEW ZEALAND
Man who got 'Devast8' tattooed across his face after drinking homebrew booze in jail to stand trial for 'assaulting a woman and threatening to kill'
By Nic White
Daily Mail Australia
September 22, 2018
A young man who complained he couldn't get a job because he had 'DEVAST8' tattooed across his face in prison is back in court charged with assault.
Mark Cropp made international headlines last year when he begged for a job after the prominent tattoo across his lower face made employers turn away.
The 21-year-old said his brother did the regrettable tattoo while they were drunk on alcohol brewed behind bars in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Cropp was serving a two-year jail sentence for aggravated robbery after he pulled a knife on a tourist in a fake drug deal.
Now the young father has more legal trouble on his hands after being charged with assaulting a woman and making threats to kill.
Court records showed he would stand trial before a judge alone in November, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Cropp's Facebook plea for a job went viral and got him a position at scaffolding company PR Contracting, earning $22 to support his girlfriend Taneia Ruki and their child.
This appeared to be so successful he was in August filmed shooting cash into the crowd at an Auckland nightclub.
He in December began working as a traffic controller in Hamilton and was spotted wearing hi-vis jacket and a hard hat while on the job.
Before his final desperate plea on Facebook the teenager said people 'laughed in (his) face' when he had asked for work.
Cropp originally wanted to raise enough money to get the tattoo removed but stopped the treatment he was offered for free after the first session.
He last year revealed Devast8 was his nickname, but not for reasons he was proud of, and it appeared had returned to his life.
'You know there was a long time there where I would devastate everything I touched,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'I would end up devastating everyone I met or got close to.
'They would be disappointed with something I had done or said - I was always hearing 'that's devastating'.'
The tattoo was drawn with a homemade gun which used a needle made from the spring of a pen and powered by a cassette player.
Plastic knives and forks are burnt to a black plastic powder and mixed with toothpaste and water to create the ink.
'Once it was started, I thought, I can't go back on it now. I wish I had stopped while the outline was there to be quite honest,' he said.
'Before I knew it I had this on my face... It was swollen like a bloody pumpkin.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: About half the time after they are released from prison, you have to take the ‘ex’ out of ex-con, often because those prison tattoos are real job killers.
By Nic White
Daily Mail Australia
September 22, 2018
A young man who complained he couldn't get a job because he had 'DEVAST8' tattooed across his face in prison is back in court charged with assault.
Mark Cropp made international headlines last year when he begged for a job after the prominent tattoo across his lower face made employers turn away.
The 21-year-old said his brother did the regrettable tattoo while they were drunk on alcohol brewed behind bars in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Cropp was serving a two-year jail sentence for aggravated robbery after he pulled a knife on a tourist in a fake drug deal.
Now the young father has more legal trouble on his hands after being charged with assaulting a woman and making threats to kill.
Court records showed he would stand trial before a judge alone in November, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Cropp's Facebook plea for a job went viral and got him a position at scaffolding company PR Contracting, earning $22 to support his girlfriend Taneia Ruki and their child.
This appeared to be so successful he was in August filmed shooting cash into the crowd at an Auckland nightclub.
He in December began working as a traffic controller in Hamilton and was spotted wearing hi-vis jacket and a hard hat while on the job.
Before his final desperate plea on Facebook the teenager said people 'laughed in (his) face' when he had asked for work.
Cropp originally wanted to raise enough money to get the tattoo removed but stopped the treatment he was offered for free after the first session.
He last year revealed Devast8 was his nickname, but not for reasons he was proud of, and it appeared had returned to his life.
'You know there was a long time there where I would devastate everything I touched,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'I would end up devastating everyone I met or got close to.
'They would be disappointed with something I had done or said - I was always hearing 'that's devastating'.'
The tattoo was drawn with a homemade gun which used a needle made from the spring of a pen and powered by a cassette player.
Plastic knives and forks are burnt to a black plastic powder and mixed with toothpaste and water to create the ink.
'Once it was started, I thought, I can't go back on it now. I wish I had stopped while the outline was there to be quite honest,' he said.
'Before I knew it I had this on my face... It was swollen like a bloody pumpkin.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: About half the time after they are released from prison, you have to take the ‘ex’ out of ex-con, often because those prison tattoos are real job killers.
MOONBEAM FUCKS OVER A LARGE CHUNK OF CALIFORNIA
by Bob Walsh
Governor Moonbeam, HMFIC of the formerly great state of California, signed into law a bill that essentially puts PG&E ratepayers, rather than share holders, on the hook for a couple of the massive fires in NorCal, assuming they are determined to be caused by PG&E.
PG&E is the nations largest public utility if you use revenue as the guideline. It is possible, though not yet determined, that investigators will determine that the Tubbs fire last year, which killed 22 people and destroyed a couple of thousand homes, was their fault.
Moonbeam claims he fears that if this goes against PG&E they could be forced into bankruptcy, which would be disruptive. This bill will allow PG&E to stick ratepayers a surcharge over the next 20 years to pay for damages, leaving share holders fat and happy.
Despite this move Moody's is currently rating PG&E bonds one notch above junk status. I guess when you get to a certain point it is more important to protect the shareholders than the customers. Ain't socialism wonderful??
Governor Moonbeam, HMFIC of the formerly great state of California, signed into law a bill that essentially puts PG&E ratepayers, rather than share holders, on the hook for a couple of the massive fires in NorCal, assuming they are determined to be caused by PG&E.
PG&E is the nations largest public utility if you use revenue as the guideline. It is possible, though not yet determined, that investigators will determine that the Tubbs fire last year, which killed 22 people and destroyed a couple of thousand homes, was their fault.
Moonbeam claims he fears that if this goes against PG&E they could be forced into bankruptcy, which would be disruptive. This bill will allow PG&E to stick ratepayers a surcharge over the next 20 years to pay for damages, leaving share holders fat and happy.
Despite this move Moody's is currently rating PG&E bonds one notch above junk status. I guess when you get to a certain point it is more important to protect the shareholders than the customers. Ain't socialism wonderful??
DON’T GIVE US THAT SHIT ABOUT WE GOT THE WRONG ADDRESS
Two Maryland officers were shot while serving warrant to wrong apartment
By Stephen Sorace
Fox News
September 20, 2018
The two Maryland police officers who were shot while executing a drug-related search warrant late Wednesday had entered the wrong apartment, officials said.
Officers from Prince George's County Police entered the home of “a law-abiding” resident after an investigation led officers to incorrectly conclude that the address was that of a suspected drug dealer, police Chief Hank Stawinski said during a news conference Thursday.
"The individual that we are targeting does not live at that address ... a law-abiding, hard-working citizen of Prince George's County and his daughter were home at the point where we were executing that search warrant," Stawinski said.
As of Thursday afternoon, one officer has been released, while the other remained hospitalized for surgery on his face and an arm, Washington station WUSA-TV reported.
The shooting took place Wednesday night as a unit of nine officers served a search warrant at an apartment complex about 20 miles south of the nation's capital. After knocking on the door and getting no response, officers used a device to open it.
The resident, who had fallen asleep and didn’t hear police announce themselves, fired a shotgun as soon as officers opened the door, striking one in the shoulder and the other in a hand, officials said. One officer returned fire, but didn’t hit anyone.
The man immediately surrendered once he realized they were police officers, officials said.
“You got the wrong address. Don’t shoot my daughter,” the father said, according to Stawinski.
The chief apologized for the blunder and said there will not be any criminal charges filed against the resident, Washington news station WTOP-FM reported.
Earlier this month, a police officer in Dallas was charged with manslaughter after entering an apartment she mistook as her own and fatally shooting the resident.
By Stephen Sorace
Fox News
September 20, 2018
The two Maryland police officers who were shot while executing a drug-related search warrant late Wednesday had entered the wrong apartment, officials said.
Officers from Prince George's County Police entered the home of “a law-abiding” resident after an investigation led officers to incorrectly conclude that the address was that of a suspected drug dealer, police Chief Hank Stawinski said during a news conference Thursday.
"The individual that we are targeting does not live at that address ... a law-abiding, hard-working citizen of Prince George's County and his daughter were home at the point where we were executing that search warrant," Stawinski said.
As of Thursday afternoon, one officer has been released, while the other remained hospitalized for surgery on his face and an arm, Washington station WUSA-TV reported.
The shooting took place Wednesday night as a unit of nine officers served a search warrant at an apartment complex about 20 miles south of the nation's capital. After knocking on the door and getting no response, officers used a device to open it.
The resident, who had fallen asleep and didn’t hear police announce themselves, fired a shotgun as soon as officers opened the door, striking one in the shoulder and the other in a hand, officials said. One officer returned fire, but didn’t hit anyone.
The man immediately surrendered once he realized they were police officers, officials said.
“You got the wrong address. Don’t shoot my daughter,” the father said, according to Stawinski.
The chief apologized for the blunder and said there will not be any criminal charges filed against the resident, Washington news station WTOP-FM reported.
Earlier this month, a police officer in Dallas was charged with manslaughter after entering an apartment she mistook as her own and fatally shooting the resident.
PHOOEY ON THE FDA FOR ACTING LIKE REVENUERS
Drug-testing lab forced to stop brewing BEER next to equipment after being caught by the FDA (for the 5th time in 10 years)
By Mia De Graaf
Daily Mail
September 21, 2018
A company that tests over-the-counter products has been caught brewing beer in its lab - for the fifth time.
Pharmaceutical Laboratories and Consultants Inc, just outside Chicago, was exposed as a clandestine microbrewer after FDA agents came round for a routine inspection last week.
Inspectors found 'brewing equipment', including open beer bottles, 'co-mingled within the same refrigerator' as their tools to test drugs, and a fermenter next to where drugs are prepared, warmed and stored.
It is hardly the first time for this lab: the same firm was also reprimanded for brewing beer within feet of testing equipment in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2014.
Once again, the company, has been cited for creating 'unacceptable risks'.
'Conducting your testing operations in a space shared with a microbrewery is inappropriate,' the FDA letter, addressed to lab owner James R Stephen, states.
Beyond the issue of brewing beer, they FDA inspectors also concluded that the lab's test results seemed flawed, without adequate measures to assure that the drugs hadn't been contaminated.
Specifically, they found the lab could not adequately detect the riskiest bacteria, including Salmonella and E. coli.
Mr Stephen has been forced to remove all the kegs and evict all brewery employees within 15 days.
Just enough time for one last round.
By Mia De Graaf
Daily Mail
September 21, 2018
A company that tests over-the-counter products has been caught brewing beer in its lab - for the fifth time.
Pharmaceutical Laboratories and Consultants Inc, just outside Chicago, was exposed as a clandestine microbrewer after FDA agents came round for a routine inspection last week.
Inspectors found 'brewing equipment', including open beer bottles, 'co-mingled within the same refrigerator' as their tools to test drugs, and a fermenter next to where drugs are prepared, warmed and stored.
It is hardly the first time for this lab: the same firm was also reprimanded for brewing beer within feet of testing equipment in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2014.
Once again, the company, has been cited for creating 'unacceptable risks'.
'Conducting your testing operations in a space shared with a microbrewery is inappropriate,' the FDA letter, addressed to lab owner James R Stephen, states.
Beyond the issue of brewing beer, they FDA inspectors also concluded that the lab's test results seemed flawed, without adequate measures to assure that the drugs hadn't been contaminated.
Specifically, they found the lab could not adequately detect the riskiest bacteria, including Salmonella and E. coli.
Mr Stephen has been forced to remove all the kegs and evict all brewery employees within 15 days.
Just enough time for one last round.
TINY DANNY DEVITO A HERO? ….. WELL SORT OF
In 1984, on the set of “Romancing the Stone” in Mexico, Danny DeVito saved Michael Douglas after he was bitten by a snake
While Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito were on the set of “Romancing the stone in the rugged backcountry of Mexico, Douglas got bit by a snake. Tiny Danny immediately sprang into action to save his costar and close friend. He sucked the poison out of the wound.
During a recent episode of the CBS show “The Talk” he described the incident. After leading up to the part of where the snake bit Douglas, he said:
“I always heard the best thing to do is suck the poison out, right away, so I did. I grabbed his hand and I’m spitting all over the place, and I say, Boy, it’s a good thing this didn’t bit you on the balls man — you would be a dead man.”
Tiny Danny heard wrong! Snake bite experts and doctors say you should never suck out the poison because in doing so you are putting yourself at risk.
Since he was putting himself at risk by saving his buddy, you could call Tiny Danny a hero ….. well sort of. When he did what he thought he was supposed to do, he obviously was not aware that this was not what he was supposed to do.
If not a hero, at least Danny DeVito was one helluva stand-up guy!
While Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito were on the set of “Romancing the stone in the rugged backcountry of Mexico, Douglas got bit by a snake. Tiny Danny immediately sprang into action to save his costar and close friend. He sucked the poison out of the wound.
During a recent episode of the CBS show “The Talk” he described the incident. After leading up to the part of where the snake bit Douglas, he said:
“I always heard the best thing to do is suck the poison out, right away, so I did. I grabbed his hand and I’m spitting all over the place, and I say, Boy, it’s a good thing this didn’t bit you on the balls man — you would be a dead man.”
Tiny Danny heard wrong! Snake bite experts and doctors say you should never suck out the poison because in doing so you are putting yourself at risk.
Since he was putting himself at risk by saving his buddy, you could call Tiny Danny a hero ….. well sort of. When he did what he thought he was supposed to do, he obviously was not aware that this was not what he was supposed to do.
If not a hero, at least Danny DeVito was one helluva stand-up guy!
Saturday, September 22, 2018
TRUMP MAY JUST HAVE KILLED THE KAVANAUGH NOMINATION WITH HIS BIG MOUTH
Instead of keeping his big mouth shut, Trump shamed Christine Ford and her parents for not reporting the attempted rape to the police when it happened
On Friday, President Trump tweeted:
“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents.
I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!”
That infuriated Republican Senator Susan Collins. She said:
“I was appalled by the President's tweet. We know that allegations of sexual assault -- I'm not saying that's what happened in this case -- but we know that allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist, so I thought that the President's tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong.”
Senator Collins holds a crucial vote in the nominating process. If she now votes against Kavanaugh’s nomination, his only hope will be to get the support of some Senate Democrats, something unlikely to happen in light of Ford’s scarlet letter controversy.
Trump just couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. Instead of sticking to his support of Kavanaugh, he had to attack Ford. He should have known that would backfire.
Time after time Trump has shown that he puts his mouth in motion before putting his brain in gear. When he tweets, he is putting his mouth in motion by writing and cannot later say, “I misspoke. What I meant to say was …..”
This time he may have killed Kavanaugh’s chance to sit on the Supreme Court. He’d better pray that Senator Collins will in the end support his nominee.
On Friday, President Trump tweeted:
“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents.
I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!”
That infuriated Republican Senator Susan Collins. She said:
“I was appalled by the President's tweet. We know that allegations of sexual assault -- I'm not saying that's what happened in this case -- but we know that allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist, so I thought that the President's tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong.”
Senator Collins holds a crucial vote in the nominating process. If she now votes against Kavanaugh’s nomination, his only hope will be to get the support of some Senate Democrats, something unlikely to happen in light of Ford’s scarlet letter controversy.
Trump just couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. Instead of sticking to his support of Kavanaugh, he had to attack Ford. He should have known that would backfire.
Time after time Trump has shown that he puts his mouth in motion before putting his brain in gear. When he tweets, he is putting his mouth in motion by writing and cannot later say, “I misspoke. What I meant to say was …..”
This time he may have killed Kavanaugh’s chance to sit on the Supreme Court. He’d better pray that Senator Collins will in the end support his nominee.
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