Ford claimed that, thirty-six years ago, Kavanaugh held her down on a bed against her will, groped her, and covered her mouth when she tried to scream. Ford made the allegation anonymously in a letter to her congresswoman, Anna Eshoo, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, who originally declined to share the letter and later referred the matter to the F.B.I. for investigation. Ford has since come forward publicly; her lawyer has stated that she and her family have received threats since her name became public. Kavanaugh has responded with a categorical denial, saying in a statement, “I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone. . . . I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself.”

The New Yorker. “Live Stream: Watch the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing With Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford.” September 27, 2018.

Loyalty to President Trump and possible-to-probable interference in judicial processes have been thematic from the start of President Trump’s Administration.

While charges remain “alleged”, BackChannels believes Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford utterly authentic.

IF public and Senate opinion comes to the same conclusion, then what will matter most will not be whether as a 17-year-old boy Kavanaugh had assaulted Ford but how he handled the accusation.  He has by his blanket denial effective removed claim to the defense of juvenile behavior and will have been caught lying — and in a breathtaking abuse of power libeling his accuser — as a fully fledged adult.

What malign narcissism brought these politics to the once ever believing, confident, and idealistic United States of America?

Screen capture from hearing, September 27, 2018.

While Kavanaugh brags about his carefully kept calendars / calendar-journals, his voice breaks.  Of course, had he committed an assault with great ambitions in mind, the calendar or the journal would have been the place to write the incident out of the record by not including it.

Also on the Web

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/26/651941113/read-christine-blasey-fords-opening-statement-for-senate-hearing

In one passage, beginning on Page 92, Judge describes his time working at a grocery store in the context of his drinking problem. Emphasis added.

It was the summer before senior year, and by now, even though I wasn’t drinking every day, I was completely hooked. Going a week without getting drunk was unthinkable. I was spending between four and seven nights with the gang, either at a party or at O’Rourke’s.

Elsewhere in the book, Judge describes one of his acquaintances at the time, someone named “Bart O’Kavanaugh,” who vomited in a car after a party.

Bump, Philip. “Mark Judge’s book validates Christine Blasey Ford’s timeline of the alleged Kavenaugh Assault.” The Washington Post, September 27, 2018. Inset: Judge, Mark Gauvreau. “Wasted: Tales of a Genx Drunk”. Hazelden, May 1, 1997.

Epigram by Maimonides

“Truth does not become more true if the whole world were to accept it; nor does it become less true if the whole world were to reject it.”

“The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.”

September 28, 2018 (and live at posting here).

“The basic principles that underscore the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI,” said Robert Carlson, president of the organization, in a Thursday night letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein.

“Each appointment to our nation’s Highest Court (as with all others) is simply too important to rush to a vote,” Carlson wrote. “Deciding to proceed without conducting additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate’s reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court.”

Raju, Manu. “American Bar Association: Delay Kavanaugh until FBI investigates assault allegations.” CNN Politics, September 27, 2018.

Related Online

Khan, Shamus. “Kavanaugh is lying: His upbringing explains why.” Op-ed. The Washington Post, September 28, 2018.

Liptak, Adam. “A Bitter Nominee, Questions of Neutrality, and a Damaged Supreme Court.” The New York Times, September 28, 2018:

“The Supreme Court,” he said, “must never be viewed as a partisan institution.”

His performance on Thursday, responding to accusations of sexual misconduct at a hearing of the same Senate committee, sent a different message. Judge Kavanaugh was angry and emotional, embracing the language of slashing partisanship. His demeanor raised questions about his neutrality and temperament and whether the already fragile reputation of the Supreme Court as an institution devoted to law rather than politics would be threatened if he is confirmed.

Yourish, Karen and Troy Griggs. “Brett Kavanaugh Testimony: Three Inconsistencies the F.B.I. Investigation Could Address.” The New York Times, September 28, 2018.

Political independence may be America’s greatest prize for free thinkers.  BackChannels’ editor left the Democratic Party about nine years ago and has not registered with the Republican Party since then.

Regarding Shamus Khan’s piece, one may suggest the following, which has been copied from the editor’s portion of The Awesome Conversation online:

What would be tyrannous would be to allow the privileged to mask away crime and impose their will on others without criticism or notice and with impunity. The combination of humanism (all the way back to Cyrus and his cylinder), British empiricism, and American ideals beg for and rely on the thorough examination of criminal acts and, at times, libelous claims.

The FBI has now an additional week to explore the validity of both Kavanaugh’s and Blase Ford’s testimony, and we will see — or hear — how evidence acquired adds up.

It’s not enough to be angry or partisan in such a matter: it’s important to reject assumptions and beliefs in favor of examination taken with the highest integrity.

This morning saw a follow-up:

The survival of a democratic state depends on the confidence of its constituents. Toward that end, the Senate delayed its vote in favor of a one week extension for supplemental FBI investigation.

Finger pointing serves no democratic ends.

Most tyrannies know well “reflection in the mirror”, i.e., accusing targets of harboring the aggressive plans that are the speaker’s own.

Considering the term Supreme Court justices enjoy . . . what’s another week?

I think it’s good to see “checks and balances” in action.

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