US politics

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – George W. Bush is supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. But Bush is more honest than the judge. He was asked by journalists during one of his campaigns if he had ever used cocaine. He made waves when he declined to answer the question. He later admitted that the reason he did […]

Supreme Court

Eisen calls “Cover-Up” as Charges swirl Trump is Micro-Managing FBI Kavanaugh Inquiry

AFP

by Brian KNOWLTON Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump hit back Sunday at suggestions his administration is trying to “micromanage” the FBI investigation of controversial Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, accusing opposition Democrats of being interested only in obstruction. Trump on Friday had ordered the new FBI investigation into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, […]

Featured

55% of GOP say Sexual Assault not Disqualifying for SCOTUS; What is Wrong with Them?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – What in the world is wrong with self-identified Republicans in the United States. I mean, look, I’m a historian and a world traveler. I get that different people have different ways of looking at the world, different norms and customs. It is to be expected. But the blatant amorality of […]

Supreme Court

SNL: Matt Damon Rakes Kavanaugh over Coals as Angry, Hysterical, Privileged Drunk

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live (NBC) | (Video Clip) Chuck Grassley: “We heard from the alleged victim, now let’s hear from the hero, who I’m told has been shadow-boxing in the bathroom for the last hour.” Matt Damon as Kavanaugh: “I’M GOING TO START AT AN 11 AND TAKE IT TO A 15– REAL QUICK! . . […]

rape

Blasey Ford Cued Survivors to Speak out, from Jeff Flake’s Elevator to Alyssa Milano

Charlotte Plantive

By Charlotte PLANTIVE | – Washington (AFP) – The dramatic Senate testimony of university professor Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her, has sparked a surge in calls to abuse hotlines — and a moment of reckoning for women confronting their own painful memories. CBS News: “Sen. Jeff […]

Featured

Lindsey Graham disregards Violence toward Women, & his State is a Women’s Murder Capital

Juan Cole

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made it abundantly clear in the hearing on Thursday that he cares more about Republican Party control of the Supreme Court than about rape victims. He implied that the charges of sexual assault that have surfaced against Brett Kavanaugh are a Democratic Party plot to deny Trump a Supreme Court justice. […]

National Security State

How the Neocons’ ‘New American Century’ Crashed and Burned

Tom Engelhardt

(Tomdispatch.com) – When you think about it, Earth is a relatively modest-sized planet — about 25,000 miles in circumference at the Equator, with a total surface area of 197 million square miles, almost three-quarters of which is water. It’s not so hard, if you’re in a certain frame of mind (as American officials were after […]

crime

18% of Teen Girls are Sexually Assaulted but Few Report it; Can Education Help?

The Conversation

By David Finkelhor and Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan | – Christine Blasey Ford’s account of allegedly being sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when they were teenagers is provoking both informed and uninformed comment from politicians. Still more private conversations about the subject are happening in homes and offices around the country. There is a […]

Donald Trump

Trump’s Remarks on Kavanaugh ‘Con Job’ and Top 4 other Policy Lies that should be Disqualifying

Juan Cole

I plowed through the disturbed ramblings of Trump’s ‘very big brain’ for all the myriads of falsehoods that came out of his mouth Wednesday. Trump poisoned the well of the Kavanaugh hearings by openly doubting the women accusers of his supreme court nominee (before hearing Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony today) and by dismissing the groundswell […]