As a black man, I can’t watch the hearings. The shamelessness of the republicans party (combined with the collective shrug by the press) takes my anger to places that are truly unhealthy. This language the GOP is using will get more people killed. It’s a guarantee. And the press soft-pedals all of it. I’ll just to read all of you to find out what’s happening.
Exactly what my parents said. They’ve watched all of it. I know I should watch. I know I shouldn’t have these types of reactions. I’m going to try.
By the way, your work has been one of the few things I look forward to reading weekly. Thanks for all you do. It has allowed me to know I’m not seeing things and going nuts.
I know!!! The obvious story - the takeaway that should have been the lede for any respectable news organization - should have been: "Look at these scared white people projecting their irrational, racial fears onto this highly qualified jurist."
THAT should have been the story. The US infotainment industry has no interest in reporting the meta narrative... The spectacle earns them more money.
If the spectacle earns them more money, it's the audience's fault, not their's. But the truth is that isn't why they push fascist/Republicon framing; if it was they could generate just as much spectacle, maybe more, pushing outrage against the fascist/Republicon framing. The reason they push the right wing line isn't because it gets them money, it's because it gives them power.
Oh I don't blame them... There's no rule that says they aren't allowed to exploit their positions to enrich themselves (looking at you, Murdochs)... But just because we live in a world that protects their right to lie to the public and get paid for it, that don't make it right.
There's no law against it, but there are other kinds of rules than statutes. I never said anything about it being "right", I was explaining why it is successful, and I believe you're over-simplifying my point to make it easier to dismiss without adequately considering it.
You say "timid", I say "ethical". I appreciate why it is so hard for some leftists to comprehend that being the good guys requires a reticence to "fight" as viciously as bad guys do, but I am not one of them. It turns out this is an extremely important part of what makes them good guys, rather than bad guys that just happen to share some ideals with those leftists. Simply being leftist, by itself, does not make someone a good guy. In fact, some of the worst bad guys in history were leftists, and not at all timid about being even more vicious and ruthless than the worst "right wingers".
I hear you. I couldn’t listen and the few minutes I did my heart ached & leapt at once. The ache because Qpublicans spend every public moment framing themselves as victims and attempting to demonize anyone whose not them. They are a 5 alarm fire, not flirting with autocracy, rather showcasing their complete embrace of it. They are no different than Putin’s Oligarchs. That Judge Ketanji Jackson Brown had to sit in the middle of the ‘coliseum’ while these white men & women spent hours attempting to smear the most brilliant and experienced jurist in our history was beyond disgraceful. The silver lining was watching her take their garbage on in the most intellectually gifted & poised way that she did. Don’t get me started on the late night representation of the ‘Karen’ aka Blackburn whose vile and dripping with blood questioning drew a line from Blackburn to Karen’s and their men everywhere to ‘be afraid, be very afraid’ of the black woman who’ll feed your white babies & their suburban mother’s to whatever strain of conspiracy they’re into now!
Blackburn is vile. There are other words I have for her, but I can’t say them here. When she accused Andre Mathis of having a “rap sheet” that consisted of speeding tickets, I had to go and walk. Who the actual **** does she think she is?
You can say them here. No one would be offended. I know I won't. And just look at it this way - speeding tickets? That's a "rap sheet"? That's fucking pathetic. They have a lot of nerve considering Donald Trump's history and how they give him a pass to this day.
And not to forget the huge, huge pass the misogynist Trump still gets for all his hateful and predatory acts against women. But that's where we are - I remember in 2016 hearing Trump described by a TV host as a "connoisseur of women."
I'm sorry for what black and brown people have had to endure for centuries in this country and colonized countries around the world. I wanted to reach through the screen and spit in her face. I just wrote to my representative, Thom Tillis. Though it is demoralizing that Republicans have decided they only care about their base, I will spend my life advocating for, being active in and helping convince others that right matters. One thing I have learned these past years since and before TFG, is that I can engage with people who seem to have a 'moral' compass. I remember the guy who threw the shoe at Bush. I screamed at the news and the TV throughout his presidency and could not engage with Republicans at all. Now and as a progressive, I understand those I have differences with but who have the best for all in mind. I get frustrated with my party at the many opportunities missed. There are so darn many to really jump on and they don't. When Lindsey Graham asked Judge Jackson about her religion, I nearly choked. That's where we are at, with the entire party. There are no reasonable Republicans, just former ones. I can not tolerate those described as reasonable who are active in Congress (Romney-that's all that I can think of) who voted against impeachment, who say nothing as we devolve into an autocracy. I am grateful and it's hard for me to say this, for Liz Cheney's efforts on the January 6th committee. But, it's personal for her...I'll take that. Again, Tony and others I hear you.
“right matters” - this part you said is the whole game. Basic humanity seems to be a challenge as this world evolves. The regression is amazing. And how quickly it’s happened since TFG showed up. Thanks for indulging me. All of you.
And Rmoney is still the scumbag he has been all his life. Going back to organizing "pro-war" rallies in college then taking a deferment to be a "missionary" in France, where there are no people stupid enough to take him up on the offer. He's still the guy who got taped with his "makers and takers" speech. His "courageous spine" is a single strand of overcooked Angel Hair pasta. He only seems "decent" when one compares his title of "biggest liar" when running for President (598 lies) with what came along the next election.
A social science professor back in school once said that "stereotype slurs" exist because there is always at least one example in reality that is the living embodiment of the slur. Blackburn is the living embodiment of every misogynist slur ever made about her gender.
What's particularly galling is the fact that Hawley, Cruz and Graham are all lawyers who are acutely aware of sentencing guidelines and how judicial discretion works. Suggesting a judge is "soft" because she doesn't agree with a prosecutor's sentencing recommendation is beyond naive for a lawyer, but it resonates with the Ohio diner rubes. Hawley et al. should be embarrassed to put on this cynical, unethical and dishonest display, and the media should feel an ethical obligation to point out what is going on.
Joe Manchin never "represented" West Virginia. He always represented the rich, the powerful, the coal barons and the exploiters of the working people. But he was elected governor and later senator from there.
When all you are doing is creating sound bites for Fox News and tweets for your MAGA base, awareness and legal expertise is irrelevant. They are also trying to create enough of a distraction that no one notices how mediocre the Trump appointees are, especially when compared to this brilliant, experienced nominee.
No one should be surprised that any Republican would use that kind of cynical, unethical, dishonest tactic. This didn’t start recently or was begun by extremists in the Republican Party. Do you remember when Republicans accused the late, great Senator Howard Metzenbaum of being soft on child porn? ( As a member of the Judiciary Committee Metzenbaum had voted against a proposal concerning child pornography because he felt that the way it was written was unconstitutional but voted for the re-written version.)
That nasty, blatantly dishonest accusation happened way back in the late 80s and did not come from some extremist right winger, but from George Voinovich, a moderate Republican. Back then Republicans were already using nasty smear artists and dirty tricksters to run their campaigns. That same year the sainted GHW Bush hired Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes to run his campaign against Dukakis. They were the ones who came up with the race-baiting Willie Horton ad. Bush personally approved that ad, then lied, claiming that an independent organization was responsible.
Lee Atwater spilled the beans on Bush’s lies before his death in 1991 so the mainstream “liberal” media has been well aware that respected Republicans have been than willing to use these tactics for decades. Too bad they weren’t as “shocked” and appalled back then when shaming Republicans could have made a difference.
Charley, you may be giving those clowns more credit than they deserve re. the law. Regardless of having been to law school I doubt any of them has room in their pea brains any more for anything but politics, power and money, not to mention "fame" if wingnut media counts for that. And yes, the press is complicit, if not negligent.
One thing I learned in my year of law school, before I came to my senses and got the hell away, was that there was a much higher percentage of assholes in the class than there is in the general public as a whole. And 90 percent of them were aspiring Republicans.
I often say that people like Cruz, Hawley, Cotton and Kushner(not to mention Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavenaugh) are proof that an Ivy League degree is not evidence that the holder learned anything. At least Graham can't use that excuse, his degree is from South Carolina.
I think there is a difference between not knowing much or not being very smart and the willingness to use your brains and what you have learned for dishonest, destructive purposes. The evidence is clear that guys like Dubya, Kushner, and Trump didn’t earn their place in Ivy League schools but Cruz was a brilliant student according to classmates, even ones who despised him. The smart ones — the “evil geniuses” are often more dangerous than the dumb or mediocre ones.
I know more than one person who told me that the hard part was getting into Harvard. Once there it was almost impossible to flunk out. That included the law school. Having said that, I think most of us went to college with a Ted Cruz. They could be counted on to shine in class, but they had no class, no empathy and no real ability to apply what they were learning to the wider world outside of very constrained limits.
Cruz' former freshman college roommate tells the story that people used to think about throwing him out the third story dorm window because he was such an asshole. Too bad they didn't act on it.
I think that applies more to people who have very strong intellectual skills but weak social and emotional skills (for example people with Aspergers). Sociopaths and narcissists are often good at both. They just lack empathy but they are very talented manipulators when they want to be.
As for getting into Harvard it is very difficult for people who have to get in solely on merit but that is not the case for a large minority of Harvard students:
“In reality, 43% of Harvard’s white students are either recruited athletes, legacy students, on the dean’s interest list (meaning their parents have donated to the school) or children of faculty and staff (students admitted based on these criteria are referred to as ‘ALDCs’, which stands for ‘athletes’, ‘legacies’, ‘dean’s interest list’ and ‘children’ of Harvard employees).”
Only a quarter of that 43% are qualified based on merit. 70% of those ALDC students are white.
I have also also heard that it is hard to get into Harvard but easy to graduate. That was also the case at my university but it definitely depended on what you chose to major in. For example premed majors were brutal but people could transfer to something else if they were likely to fail. Other majors weren’t exactly easy but lazy or weak students would make sure to take the easiest courses or the easiest professors.
Yes, I've read all of those stats as well. Pretty sad if you ask me. As for my college, during freshman orientation the Dean, himself a member of the class of 1923, said to us "Gentlemen, all of you come to us from the top 10% of your high school classes. Here 90% of you will make the top 10% possible. Also, please look to your left and to your right. Four years from now one of those men will no longer be a member of this class." He was right. Staying in was almost as hard as getting in. I know, I avoided academic probation on semester by the slimmest of margins.
These guys, imo, are threatened by this black woman who obviously stands heads and shoulders, WAY above each of them intellectually, temperamentally, character-wise. Cruz, Hawley have to sit in the cheap seats facing an accomplished person who is about to ascend to the Supreme Court, an institution each of them can only experience from the outside.
They aren’t threatened at all. They are familiar with her and have previously confirmed her. This is all theater for their base and to sway the majority of Americans who vote but do not pay close attention to the news and politics. It is deliberate and well-choreographed. The one thing the media has pointed out is that this is a preview of their attacks heading into the election. These cynical, power hungry, amoral senators have gone full Q because they believe it is their ticket to winning. It is a bargain with the devil. Pure evil.
Ditto. For sure! And I still believe they suffer from inferiority complexes given their craven need for attention/the spotlight no matter how far into the gutter they go. I have to believe somewhere in their subconscious, they envy this accomplished nominee.
I agree 100%. I grew up in the segregated South in the mid-20th century. Privileged White People are terrified of losing their exalted status and having to compete with everyone on a level playing field.
MAP is 100% correct. The hearings are to show us that we have an extremist lunatic fringe in our political system that is completely lacking in ethics. Remember, the GOP is literally a pile of shit that has self destructed to the point where they are afraid - they know that Trump is dragging them down but they think cheap tactics to damage the Democrats will help them.
What Jackson did was sentence in accordance with the recommendations of the Probation Dept., which investigates defendants and submits a report to the court prior to sentencing. Judges almost never deviate from that recommendation. In my more than 10 years in the court system, not once had I ever seen a judge sentence a defendant contrary to that report. As a rule, courts do not sentence according to the prosecutor's wishes.
Hawley's performance and the MSM reaction was simply disgraceful. I'll get right to the point here. If Americans don't flood to the polls in November and vote to give the Dems a much larger majority in both the House and the Senate, we are simply doomed as a nation. Unlike Ukraine, our country will be destroyed without one missile being fired at it.
A bunch of old white men mansplaining MLK to Ketanji Brown Jackson is as iconic of this era as anything we will see in political history books in 20 years. It was an outrage. I do not know how Judge Jackson maintained her composure, I certainly didn’t when I was watching.
Everything that Hawley, Cruz, and Cotton say/do this week must be filtered through the prism of their presidential ambitions. This is all a game to them, and a source of future campaign ads.
The modern GOP does not try to attract new voters, they only try to cement the old ones to the base and keep them quivering with rage.
See my post above about the time moderate Republican George Voinovich falsely accused Democratic Senator Howard Metzenbaum of being soft on porn. That was back in 1988 and the media wasn’t incensed then either. I believe the fact that the media let so many of those outrageous Republican nasty tricks slide — Willie Horton and Newt’s shenanigans for example — Republicans would have stopped using those tactics. Instead the media either shrugged them off or, as in the case of Whitewater/Filegate/Travelgate/Chinagate, aided and abetted the Republicans scandal mongering.
The dog whistles to the base is truly deplorable. My mother always told me to never trust those who constantly accuse others of something....they may be guilty of the same thing. I have no doubt that this bizarre harping on pedophilia is really some sort of pain from doing the same despicable act to others.
It's called "Reaction Formation". "Family Values" politicians and Evangelical Preachers are famous for utilizing that particular psychological defense mechanism. Makes me wonder about Josh Hawley and his obsession with child pornography.
I thought the same thing. Hawley seemed to manically enjoy saying "child pornography" at least 25 times. He may be more closeted than Lindsay Graham and Tom Cotton.
I never said it was. The Republican narrative that Democrats condone child pornography is offensive and ridiculous. That Josh Hawley is an uptight closet case whose own pain makes him a misogynist, hypocritical creep who takes his frustration out on women, is my opinion.
I know you didn't. I commented because using "closeted" the way you did is frequently taken by others (not you) as cover - that being gay means one is a pedophile. My gay friends educated me on that one when I made a similar slip, so I am just passing it on.
Point taken. I was speaking slang or shorthand that I thought everyone would understand. What I was trying to say despite the awkward connotation is more slang: never trust a closet case! (Met so many in corporate America in the 80’s.)
It did not seem as if the press -- or especially TV news -- just shrugged. The video highlights were weighted heavily in favor of the circus -- Graham staging his walkout, Hawley's attack, and that despicable Cotton asking his simple-minded multiple choice questions. The republicans on that committee were just running their election propaganda. Thank you to Cory Booker for putting a civilized ending on the day.
But that’s a problem in itself. Instead of highlighting the parts that set the record straight media went with the circus, each awful sound bite giving air to the lies and helping spread them.
Btw, someone on msnbc noted that Hawley was practically drooling when he highlighted the worst of the worst child pornography he accused Jackson of being soft on.
It is despicable how crass and unrelated to qualification and merit, these SCOTUS hearings have become. To try to tar an honorable jurist as supporting pedophilia, these people are beyond the pale and should be censured, if not expelled from the Senate!
Remember the guy in "Outlaw Josey Wales" that operated the river crossing. He would sing Dixie when the Reb's approached or Battle Hymn of the Republic when the Yank's approached. "Journalistic Integrity" has almost become an oxymoron in the MSM. It's nothing but profit-driven commerce for the most part. That's true for politics, as well. Ironically, a big part of America's recent accelerated slide into autocracy has been the result of decisions (or non-decisions} made by the right-wing-dominated bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court. That's another reason why the Q-pub's don't want Ms Brown on the court, in my opinion. She has too much integrity.
I watched a little of the hearing and had to turn away; it was too enraging. The GOP has sunk to the deepest fathoms, and have shown us that there is no bottom. And the political press gives them oxygen. The inappropriate questions, histrionics, and deliberate mischaracterizations display how pathetic the GOP have become. They do it because they know they can get away with it; the media will not call them out—certainly not with the force or frequency with which they go after Dems. These same reporters cheerily predict the GOP will take control of Congress—without mentioning 1/6 or the further damage they have promised to do. And these political reporters do not care.
Does anyone wanna tar & feather Chuck Todd and kick him in the nuts for good measure?
Does anyone wanna leave a flaming bag of poop at the CNN Washington D.C. offices to remind them that they're all spineless pieces of sh*t?
Does anyone wanna hose down Dean Baquet with sewer water to remind him that the nice suit he's wearing hides a soul filthier than sewer water?
Seriously, it bothers me that the American media mainstream media places the Dems, liberals and progressives in unrealistically higher standards that they will get called out for those hypothetical actions written above while the Republicans & their army of asshole bigots aren't going to get condemned as much because those Beltway Buffoons are too cowardly to defend real democracy against the fascists and are too afraid to lose their access to the Republicans.
Ugh, and the political reporters are willing to pile an unhealthy amount of cynicism on Biden & the Dems because they're too f*cking lazy to write about important policy issues because they're "boring" while promoting the GOP's circus of lies, hate & bigotry because it's an easy paycheck. You have to wonder if the families of these journalists will find out that the money for the house, car, vacations, and their children's educations ends up becoming blood money if and when American democracy is replaced by an authoritarian white minority-run government.
Everything you mention about these sessions is galling but what most galls me is the lack of questions trying to determine how she might rule on constitutional issues. Pedophiles are not protected by Constitutional law nor is that an issue. Exactly what’s taught in school (other than a tacit ban on hate speech) is not a Constitutional issue.
I did hear her response to some questions on Roe and Plesey where she said the Supreme Court had settled those issues (as did Kavanaugh). I don’t know who asked them or specifically what the questions were but point to whoever that was - those are relevant issues.
So maybe the Press should call out how irrelevant all of this GQP questioning is, as well as how wrong and distracting it is and how it’s all about election campaign memes, not determining her suitability for the bench. . Or maybe that’s too complicated for both the journalists and their audience.
Panderers gonna pander. At least we can see what they are doing. I'd rather see the origin of their stupid meme based campaigns than try to reverse engineer them.
$10 to the first senator (or the judge herself) who looks Hawley in the eye and says “So what exactly are you saying here?” The question conservatives have spent at least 40 years scurrying away from answering.
$100 to whoever can make Hawley actually cry. Which doesn’t look difficult.
The good news: my partner and I went on our first date on 12/3/96 to see Weezer at Roseland with a post-concert drink at the Russian Samovar. Alas, both establishments have been closed but we are still together. But enough about me... The bad news: we live in America, where slavery is still considered "no biggie." Watching the Republican display of skullduggery made me feel hopeless and embarrassed (and brought me back to my early 20's). We are truly a people in trouble (h/t Sarah Schulman).
The Pre$$titute$ are hell bent on doing whatever it takes to kneecap Joe. They are gladly marching lockstep with the GOP to tank Jackson just like they destroyed Debo Adegbile
The headlines Eric cites say it all as they each link in shorthand the fabulous Ketanji Brown Jackson to child pornography. Each implies that these reckless allegations are credible and need Jackson’s defense to knock them down RATHER than Hawley et al to defend their accusations even though they are bogus, dangerous and made up nonsense. Linking Hawley to Qanon is a no brainer given the now iconic picture of him cheering on the 1/6 jerks. The msm shamelessness is screaming from their headlines as they insert distorted notions in them perpetuating a lie, hoping to soil her stellar reputation. CLICKS. $$$$. Reprehensible.
As a black man, I can’t watch the hearings. The shamelessness of the republicans party (combined with the collective shrug by the press) takes my anger to places that are truly unhealthy. This language the GOP is using will get more people killed. It’s a guarantee. And the press soft-pedals all of it. I’ll just to read all of you to find out what’s happening.
I can only watch the hearings bc of Jackson’s poise
Exactly what my parents said. They’ve watched all of it. I know I should watch. I know I shouldn’t have these types of reactions. I’m going to try.
By the way, your work has been one of the few things I look forward to reading weekly. Thanks for all you do. It has allowed me to know I’m not seeing things and going nuts.
We can all agree on that last paragraph.
Tony, as a white man, I can't watch the hearings. It's an utter disgrace and for the press to couch it as business as usual makes my blood boil.
I know!!! The obvious story - the takeaway that should have been the lede for any respectable news organization - should have been: "Look at these scared white people projecting their irrational, racial fears onto this highly qualified jurist."
THAT should have been the story. The US infotainment industry has no interest in reporting the meta narrative... The spectacle earns them more money.
If the spectacle earns them more money, it's the audience's fault, not their's. But the truth is that isn't why they push fascist/Republicon framing; if it was they could generate just as much spectacle, maybe more, pushing outrage against the fascist/Republicon framing. The reason they push the right wing line isn't because it gets them money, it's because it gives them power.
Oh I don't blame them... There's no rule that says they aren't allowed to exploit their positions to enrich themselves (looking at you, Murdochs)... But just because we live in a world that protects their right to lie to the public and get paid for it, that don't make it right.
There's no law against it, but there are other kinds of rules than statutes. I never said anything about it being "right", I was explaining why it is successful, and I believe you're over-simplifying my point to make it easier to dismiss without adequately considering it.
Unfortunately, the engine of power is not within the Democratic party, and they're too timid to fight for it.
You say "timid", I say "ethical". I appreciate why it is so hard for some leftists to comprehend that being the good guys requires a reticence to "fight" as viciously as bad guys do, but I am not one of them. It turns out this is an extremely important part of what makes them good guys, rather than bad guys that just happen to share some ideals with those leftists. Simply being leftist, by itself, does not make someone a good guy. In fact, some of the worst bad guys in history were leftists, and not at all timid about being even more vicious and ruthless than the worst "right wingers".
The Rs all got interviews on 🦊’News’ - and the network ‘won’ in the ratings. So mission accomplished(?) On so many levels:/
I want someone to take Ted Cruz to the bathroom and drown him in the toilet.
I’d guard the door.
I hear you. I couldn’t listen and the few minutes I did my heart ached & leapt at once. The ache because Qpublicans spend every public moment framing themselves as victims and attempting to demonize anyone whose not them. They are a 5 alarm fire, not flirting with autocracy, rather showcasing their complete embrace of it. They are no different than Putin’s Oligarchs. That Judge Ketanji Jackson Brown had to sit in the middle of the ‘coliseum’ while these white men & women spent hours attempting to smear the most brilliant and experienced jurist in our history was beyond disgraceful. The silver lining was watching her take their garbage on in the most intellectually gifted & poised way that she did. Don’t get me started on the late night representation of the ‘Karen’ aka Blackburn whose vile and dripping with blood questioning drew a line from Blackburn to Karen’s and their men everywhere to ‘be afraid, be very afraid’ of the black woman who’ll feed your white babies & their suburban mother’s to whatever strain of conspiracy they’re into now!
Blackburn is vile. There are other words I have for her, but I can’t say them here. When she accused Andre Mathis of having a “rap sheet” that consisted of speeding tickets, I had to go and walk. Who the actual **** does she think she is?
You can say them here. No one would be offended. I know I won't. And just look at it this way - speeding tickets? That's a "rap sheet"? That's fucking pathetic. They have a lot of nerve considering Donald Trump's history and how they give him a pass to this day.
Good lord, yes. I laughed when 45 said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and he’d lose no supporters. How naive I was. He’d actually gain more.
And not to forget the huge, huge pass the misogynist Trump still gets for all his hateful and predatory acts against women. But that's where we are - I remember in 2016 hearing Trump described by a TV host as a "connoisseur of women."
I'm sorry for what black and brown people have had to endure for centuries in this country and colonized countries around the world. I wanted to reach through the screen and spit in her face. I just wrote to my representative, Thom Tillis. Though it is demoralizing that Republicans have decided they only care about their base, I will spend my life advocating for, being active in and helping convince others that right matters. One thing I have learned these past years since and before TFG, is that I can engage with people who seem to have a 'moral' compass. I remember the guy who threw the shoe at Bush. I screamed at the news and the TV throughout his presidency and could not engage with Republicans at all. Now and as a progressive, I understand those I have differences with but who have the best for all in mind. I get frustrated with my party at the many opportunities missed. There are so darn many to really jump on and they don't. When Lindsey Graham asked Judge Jackson about her religion, I nearly choked. That's where we are at, with the entire party. There are no reasonable Republicans, just former ones. I can not tolerate those described as reasonable who are active in Congress (Romney-that's all that I can think of) who voted against impeachment, who say nothing as we devolve into an autocracy. I am grateful and it's hard for me to say this, for Liz Cheney's efforts on the January 6th committee. But, it's personal for her...I'll take that. Again, Tony and others I hear you.
“right matters” - this part you said is the whole game. Basic humanity seems to be a challenge as this world evolves. The regression is amazing. And how quickly it’s happened since TFG showed up. Thanks for indulging me. All of you.
And Rmoney is still the scumbag he has been all his life. Going back to organizing "pro-war" rallies in college then taking a deferment to be a "missionary" in France, where there are no people stupid enough to take him up on the offer. He's still the guy who got taped with his "makers and takers" speech. His "courageous spine" is a single strand of overcooked Angel Hair pasta. He only seems "decent" when one compares his title of "biggest liar" when running for President (598 lies) with what came along the next election.
A social science professor back in school once said that "stereotype slurs" exist because there is always at least one example in reality that is the living embodiment of the slur. Blackburn is the living embodiment of every misogynist slur ever made about her gender.
Blackburn's another one who needs an introduction to "head in the toilet."
I feel you.
What's particularly galling is the fact that Hawley, Cruz and Graham are all lawyers who are acutely aware of sentencing guidelines and how judicial discretion works. Suggesting a judge is "soft" because she doesn't agree with a prosecutor's sentencing recommendation is beyond naive for a lawyer, but it resonates with the Ohio diner rubes. Hawley et al. should be embarrassed to put on this cynical, unethical and dishonest display, and the media should feel an ethical obligation to point out what is going on.
exactly, it’s all a GOP charade. reminder that Supreme Court nominees used to pass w/ bipartisan support. I doubt Jackson gets two GOP votes
I'm worried that Manchin will decide, again, to throw a money wrench in Biden's plans.
I take it that's a "Substack typo" but in Manchin's case, "money wrench" is completely and totally absolutely accurate.
I really, truly miss the days when all I knew about Joe Manchin was he represented West Virginia.
Joe Manchin never "represented" West Virginia. He always represented the rich, the powerful, the coal barons and the exploiters of the working people. But he was elected governor and later senator from there.
Very, very true.
When all you are doing is creating sound bites for Fox News and tweets for your MAGA base, awareness and legal expertise is irrelevant. They are also trying to create enough of a distraction that no one notices how mediocre the Trump appointees are, especially when compared to this brilliant, experienced nominee.
No one should be surprised that any Republican would use that kind of cynical, unethical, dishonest tactic. This didn’t start recently or was begun by extremists in the Republican Party. Do you remember when Republicans accused the late, great Senator Howard Metzenbaum of being soft on child porn? ( As a member of the Judiciary Committee Metzenbaum had voted against a proposal concerning child pornography because he felt that the way it was written was unconstitutional but voted for the re-written version.)
https://apnews.com/article/a8f2cd0012d55c3972c515c731cc9db7
That nasty, blatantly dishonest accusation happened way back in the late 80s and did not come from some extremist right winger, but from George Voinovich, a moderate Republican. Back then Republicans were already using nasty smear artists and dirty tricksters to run their campaigns. That same year the sainted GHW Bush hired Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes to run his campaign against Dukakis. They were the ones who came up with the race-baiting Willie Horton ad. Bush personally approved that ad, then lied, claiming that an independent organization was responsible.
https://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/jeb-bush-willie-horton-118061
Lee Atwater spilled the beans on Bush’s lies before his death in 1991 so the mainstream “liberal” media has been well aware that respected Republicans have been than willing to use these tactics for decades. Too bad they weren’t as “shocked” and appalled back then when shaming Republicans could have made a difference.
Back in 1948, Harry Truman said "The only 'good Republicans' are pushing up daisies."
Some. Things. Never. Change. It's only more true today.
The press was unable or unwilling to deal with any of them. And it still cannot.
Charley, you may be giving those clowns more credit than they deserve re. the law. Regardless of having been to law school I doubt any of them has room in their pea brains any more for anything but politics, power and money, not to mention "fame" if wingnut media counts for that. And yes, the press is complicit, if not negligent.
One thing I learned in my year of law school, before I came to my senses and got the hell away, was that there was a much higher percentage of assholes in the class than there is in the general public as a whole. And 90 percent of them were aspiring Republicans.
I often say that people like Cruz, Hawley, Cotton and Kushner(not to mention Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavenaugh) are proof that an Ivy League degree is not evidence that the holder learned anything. At least Graham can't use that excuse, his degree is from South Carolina.
I think there is a difference between not knowing much or not being very smart and the willingness to use your brains and what you have learned for dishonest, destructive purposes. The evidence is clear that guys like Dubya, Kushner, and Trump didn’t earn their place in Ivy League schools but Cruz was a brilliant student according to classmates, even ones who despised him. The smart ones — the “evil geniuses” are often more dangerous than the dumb or mediocre ones.
I know more than one person who told me that the hard part was getting into Harvard. Once there it was almost impossible to flunk out. That included the law school. Having said that, I think most of us went to college with a Ted Cruz. They could be counted on to shine in class, but they had no class, no empathy and no real ability to apply what they were learning to the wider world outside of very constrained limits.
Sociopaths are literally everywhere. They're more common than people think.
It really is scary to realize that. Most aren’t criminals, they just psychologically destroy the people around them.
Where DO they all come from? (Think Eleanore Rigby)
Cruz' former freshman college roommate tells the story that people used to think about throwing him out the third story dorm window because he was such an asshole. Too bad they didn't act on it.
I think that applies more to people who have very strong intellectual skills but weak social and emotional skills (for example people with Aspergers). Sociopaths and narcissists are often good at both. They just lack empathy but they are very talented manipulators when they want to be.
As for getting into Harvard it is very difficult for people who have to get in solely on merit but that is not the case for a large minority of Harvard students:
“In reality, 43% of Harvard’s white students are either recruited athletes, legacy students, on the dean’s interest list (meaning their parents have donated to the school) or children of faculty and staff (students admitted based on these criteria are referred to as ‘ALDCs’, which stands for ‘athletes’, ‘legacies’, ‘dean’s interest list’ and ‘children’ of Harvard employees).”
Only a quarter of that 43% are qualified based on merit. 70% of those ALDC students are white.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/17/harvard-university-students-smart-iq
I have also also heard that it is hard to get into Harvard but easy to graduate. That was also the case at my university but it definitely depended on what you chose to major in. For example premed majors were brutal but people could transfer to something else if they were likely to fail. Other majors weren’t exactly easy but lazy or weak students would make sure to take the easiest courses or the easiest professors.
Trump's daddy bought his paltry Bachelor's degree. Not even the lessons of grade school ever rubbed off on Trump.
Yes, I've read all of those stats as well. Pretty sad if you ask me. As for my college, during freshman orientation the Dean, himself a member of the class of 1923, said to us "Gentlemen, all of you come to us from the top 10% of your high school classes. Here 90% of you will make the top 10% possible. Also, please look to your left and to your right. Four years from now one of those men will no longer be a member of this class." He was right. Staying in was almost as hard as getting in. I know, I avoided academic probation on semester by the slimmest of margins.
These guys, imo, are threatened by this black woman who obviously stands heads and shoulders, WAY above each of them intellectually, temperamentally, character-wise. Cruz, Hawley have to sit in the cheap seats facing an accomplished person who is about to ascend to the Supreme Court, an institution each of them can only experience from the outside.
They aren’t threatened at all. They are familiar with her and have previously confirmed her. This is all theater for their base and to sway the majority of Americans who vote but do not pay close attention to the news and politics. It is deliberate and well-choreographed. The one thing the media has pointed out is that this is a preview of their attacks heading into the election. These cynical, power hungry, amoral senators have gone full Q because they believe it is their ticket to winning. It is a bargain with the devil. Pure evil.
Ditto. For sure! And I still believe they suffer from inferiority complexes given their craven need for attention/the spotlight no matter how far into the gutter they go. I have to believe somewhere in their subconscious, they envy this accomplished nominee.
I agree 100%. I grew up in the segregated South in the mid-20th century. Privileged White People are terrified of losing their exalted status and having to compete with everyone on a level playing field.
MAP is 100% correct. The hearings are to show us that we have an extremist lunatic fringe in our political system that is completely lacking in ethics. Remember, the GOP is literally a pile of shit that has self destructed to the point where they are afraid - they know that Trump is dragging them down but they think cheap tactics to damage the Democrats will help them.
Why can’t both be true?
Claw sharpening, it would appear… :/
All of them were grandstanding for 19th Century Fox.
Good one.
What Jackson did was sentence in accordance with the recommendations of the Probation Dept., which investigates defendants and submits a report to the court prior to sentencing. Judges almost never deviate from that recommendation. In my more than 10 years in the court system, not once had I ever seen a judge sentence a defendant contrary to that report. As a rule, courts do not sentence according to the prosecutor's wishes.
Where are Stanford, Yale & Harvard on the ethics here… these are all alumni.
Hawley's performance and the MSM reaction was simply disgraceful. I'll get right to the point here. If Americans don't flood to the polls in November and vote to give the Dems a much larger majority in both the House and the Senate, we are simply doomed as a nation. Unlike Ukraine, our country will be destroyed without one missile being fired at it.
Hawkey smears Jackson, NYT dubs him “one to watch” during the hearings, like it’s a game
Hee Hawley is bad enough but Missouri is stupid enough to send that pervert Greitens to Senate as well
A bunch of old white men mansplaining MLK to Ketanji Brown Jackson is as iconic of this era as anything we will see in political history books in 20 years. It was an outrage. I do not know how Judge Jackson maintained her composure, I certainly didn’t when I was watching.
Everything that Hawley, Cruz, and Cotton say/do this week must be filtered through the prism of their presidential ambitions. This is all a game to them, and a source of future campaign ads.
The modern GOP does not try to attract new voters, they only try to cement the old ones to the base and keep them quivering with rage.
The press has got to revive reporting shamefullness and quit confusing it with principle. I'm not holding my breath.
See my post above about the time moderate Republican George Voinovich falsely accused Democratic Senator Howard Metzenbaum of being soft on porn. That was back in 1988 and the media wasn’t incensed then either. I believe the fact that the media let so many of those outrageous Republican nasty tricks slide — Willie Horton and Newt’s shenanigans for example — Republicans would have stopped using those tactics. Instead the media either shrugged them off or, as in the case of Whitewater/Filegate/Travelgate/Chinagate, aided and abetted the Republicans scandal mongering.
Exactly, and the GOP is not about to stop doing something that works and is consequence-free.
Well said!
The dog whistles to the base is truly deplorable. My mother always told me to never trust those who constantly accuse others of something....they may be guilty of the same thing. I have no doubt that this bizarre harping on pedophilia is really some sort of pain from doing the same despicable act to others.
It's called "Reaction Formation". "Family Values" politicians and Evangelical Preachers are famous for utilizing that particular psychological defense mechanism. Makes me wonder about Josh Hawley and his obsession with child pornography.
I thought the same thing. Hawley seemed to manically enjoy saying "child pornography" at least 25 times. He may be more closeted than Lindsay Graham and Tom Cotton.
"closeted" as in being gay but not identifying as such publicly, is not in the same universe with being a pedophile.
I never said it was. The Republican narrative that Democrats condone child pornography is offensive and ridiculous. That Josh Hawley is an uptight closet case whose own pain makes him a misogynist, hypocritical creep who takes his frustration out on women, is my opinion.
I know you didn't. I commented because using "closeted" the way you did is frequently taken by others (not you) as cover - that being gay means one is a pedophile. My gay friends educated me on that one when I made a similar slip, so I am just passing it on.
Point taken. I was speaking slang or shorthand that I thought everyone would understand. What I was trying to say despite the awkward connotation is more slang: never trust a closet case! (Met so many in corporate America in the 80’s.)
*That* works!
"It's one more drop in the bucket when it comes to dealing with the left and their problem with pedophilia.”
That is Orwellian nonsense, and probably deliberate. The right wing propaganda machine is executing its mandate with malice aforethought.
It did not seem as if the press -- or especially TV news -- just shrugged. The video highlights were weighted heavily in favor of the circus -- Graham staging his walkout, Hawley's attack, and that despicable Cotton asking his simple-minded multiple choice questions. The republicans on that committee were just running their election propaganda. Thank you to Cory Booker for putting a civilized ending on the day.
But that’s a problem in itself. Instead of highlighting the parts that set the record straight media went with the circus, each awful sound bite giving air to the lies and helping spread them.
Cory Booker was great. Hawley et al know they can count on the msm to give their vile attacks ink, credence.
Btw, someone on msnbc noted that Hawley was practically drooling when he highlighted the worst of the worst child pornography he accused Jackson of being soft on.
It is despicable how crass and unrelated to qualification and merit, these SCOTUS hearings have become. To try to tar an honorable jurist as supporting pedophilia, these people are beyond the pale and should be censured, if not expelled from the Senate!
Remember the guy in "Outlaw Josey Wales" that operated the river crossing. He would sing Dixie when the Reb's approached or Battle Hymn of the Republic when the Yank's approached. "Journalistic Integrity" has almost become an oxymoron in the MSM. It's nothing but profit-driven commerce for the most part. That's true for politics, as well. Ironically, a big part of America's recent accelerated slide into autocracy has been the result of decisions (or non-decisions} made by the right-wing-dominated bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court. That's another reason why the Q-pub's don't want Ms Brown on the court, in my opinion. She has too much integrity.
I watched a little of the hearing and had to turn away; it was too enraging. The GOP has sunk to the deepest fathoms, and have shown us that there is no bottom. And the political press gives them oxygen. The inappropriate questions, histrionics, and deliberate mischaracterizations display how pathetic the GOP have become. They do it because they know they can get away with it; the media will not call them out—certainly not with the force or frequency with which they go after Dems. These same reporters cheerily predict the GOP will take control of Congress—without mentioning 1/6 or the further damage they have promised to do. And these political reporters do not care.
Does anyone wanna tar & feather Chuck Todd and kick him in the nuts for good measure?
Does anyone wanna leave a flaming bag of poop at the CNN Washington D.C. offices to remind them that they're all spineless pieces of sh*t?
Does anyone wanna hose down Dean Baquet with sewer water to remind him that the nice suit he's wearing hides a soul filthier than sewer water?
Seriously, it bothers me that the American media mainstream media places the Dems, liberals and progressives in unrealistically higher standards that they will get called out for those hypothetical actions written above while the Republicans & their army of asshole bigots aren't going to get condemned as much because those Beltway Buffoons are too cowardly to defend real democracy against the fascists and are too afraid to lose their access to the Republicans.
It’s all about the access. Political reporters are just as cynical and ambitious as the GOP. They knowingly and willingly use each other.
Ugh, and the political reporters are willing to pile an unhealthy amount of cynicism on Biden & the Dems because they're too f*cking lazy to write about important policy issues because they're "boring" while promoting the GOP's circus of lies, hate & bigotry because it's an easy paycheck. You have to wonder if the families of these journalists will find out that the money for the house, car, vacations, and their children's educations ends up becoming blood money if and when American democracy is replaced by an authoritarian white minority-run government.
A "chucktodd" is an internationally-recognized political measure of moron stupidity.
Everything you mention about these sessions is galling but what most galls me is the lack of questions trying to determine how she might rule on constitutional issues. Pedophiles are not protected by Constitutional law nor is that an issue. Exactly what’s taught in school (other than a tacit ban on hate speech) is not a Constitutional issue.
I did hear her response to some questions on Roe and Plesey where she said the Supreme Court had settled those issues (as did Kavanaugh). I don’t know who asked them or specifically what the questions were but point to whoever that was - those are relevant issues.
So maybe the Press should call out how irrelevant all of this GQP questioning is, as well as how wrong and distracting it is and how it’s all about election campaign memes, not determining her suitability for the bench. . Or maybe that’s too complicated for both the journalists and their audience.
Maybe we don’t ‘need’ TV cameras in these hearings - just plain reporting and artist’s sketches… might cut down on all the performance. Just sayin
Maybe but then the lack of transparency would be an issue. Also, were you the live Scotusblog TikTok today?
Reporters present would provide transparency. Just less camera-pandering…?
Panderers gonna pander. At least we can see what they are doing. I'd rather see the origin of their stupid meme based campaigns than try to reverse engineer them.
$10 to the first senator (or the judge herself) who looks Hawley in the eye and says “So what exactly are you saying here?” The question conservatives have spent at least 40 years scurrying away from answering.
$100 to whoever can make Hawley actually cry. Which doesn’t look difficult.
The good news: my partner and I went on our first date on 12/3/96 to see Weezer at Roseland with a post-concert drink at the Russian Samovar. Alas, both establishments have been closed but we are still together. But enough about me... The bad news: we live in America, where slavery is still considered "no biggie." Watching the Republican display of skullduggery made me feel hopeless and embarrassed (and brought me back to my early 20's). We are truly a people in trouble (h/t Sarah Schulman).
The Pre$$titute$ are hell bent on doing whatever it takes to kneecap Joe. They are gladly marching lockstep with the GOP to tank Jackson just like they destroyed Debo Adegbile
The headlines Eric cites say it all as they each link in shorthand the fabulous Ketanji Brown Jackson to child pornography. Each implies that these reckless allegations are credible and need Jackson’s defense to knock them down RATHER than Hawley et al to defend their accusations even though they are bogus, dangerous and made up nonsense. Linking Hawley to Qanon is a no brainer given the now iconic picture of him cheering on the 1/6 jerks. The msm shamelessness is screaming from their headlines as they insert distorted notions in them perpetuating a lie, hoping to soil her stellar reputation. CLICKS. $$$$. Reprehensible.