SNOPES notes, "Dr. Christine Blasey Ford publicly alleged on 16 September 2018 that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when both of them were high schoolers in 1982, she has been the target of a relentless campaign to try to discredit her and cast aspersions on her motivation for coming forward."
We'd argue that she's invited aspertions.
We were Team Christine.
Were.
We went against the presumption of innocence for the accused (Kavanaugh). We were for Blasey all the way.
Because we don't believe people normally make up charges like these.
Normally.
But nothing about Blasey has been normal. And we're honestly tired of her bulls**t. This edition was finished on Monday morning. Everything. Except the editorial. (A) We always do Iraq. Why not this time? Because a number of us had moved to the 'enough' column on Dr. Blasey. But not all of us. It took the nonsense claims that she was now insisting that she would not agree to be put under oath if she testitified before the Senate. If. That really did it.
Ava and C.I., for example, had told us, "Write whatever you want. We don't have to take part." But some felt that if everyone (Ruth also didn't want to take part in the editorial) wasn't on board, we shouldn't do it. Betty offered that there could be two editorials, with two different positions, like USA TODAY loves to do.
For Ava and C.I., the nonsense about testifying, all the time later, did it. The whole 'not under oath.' They remember that b.s. during the Bully Boy Bush administration. They remember a cowardly Democratic controlled Congress that repeatedly failed to put witnesses under oath. Known liars in the administration -- multiple -- being allowed to lie in their Congressional testimony. But, as many Democratic Party committee leaders repeatedly explained to Ava and C.I., it didn't matter whether they were sworn in or not, lying to Congress is a crime -- oath or not.
Of course, those same Committee leaders never went after anyone for lying to them.
But that's really it, it's the latest crap in what has been a turdfest all along.
Oh, look, it's the is-she-a-man Jamie Lee Curtis of the 'how dare you!' infamy -- 'in front of children!' nonsense. The rumor has always been that Jamie was born with both genders. We've tried to be respectful of her. Until her meltdon in public that the quotes are from. It's one thing to look the other way and pretend it's just her business when she's not talking. When her actions and statements, however, imply that this is something shameful that needs to be hidden? F**k the hag. She presents as a champion of children but in public screeches that certain things must be hidden "in front of children!" Shut up, you hag. A three-year-old dealt with this topic with maturity in 2015 in public. So just shut up, hag. It's one thing not to talk about the topic by your own choice, it's another to insist that it should not be spoken of because of children -- by a supposed children's rights advocate. Then there's Alyssa Milano CCA hag wife (CAA where so many of the predators remain -- only one finally got fired) who emerges from her bad plastic surgery (that right eye is scary, it's like a lizard eye now) to insist that there is no reason Dr. Blasey would lie. So Alyssa never learned acting and now she's showing that she never learned human nature either. Yes, when you've got Jamie Lee Curtis and Professional Outrage Debrta Messing and Alyssa Milano and Michael Avenatti on your side, you're going to see a large number in the room moving to the other side just to escape the crazy.
Bob Somerby. Sometimes we agree with him, sometimes we don't. In looking at the issue of Dr. Blasey's accusations/claims/assertions, he feels the big issue is that Senator Dianne Feinstein is being attacked for not going public.
We agree that's an issue. Not the issue Bob thinks.
As a member of the Senate, she's required to report crimes. She's not a f**king priest.
It appears that Dr. Blasey's original intent was to raise the accusation of assault with her U.S. House Representative Anna Eschoo. Did she intend for Eschoo to pass it on? Apparently, it was under her direction that Blasey made a formal complaint to Senator Dianne Feinstein. From everything in the public record, after that point, Dr. Blasey thought a whisper campaign among the Senate Judiciary Committee would 'take care' of everything.
She needs to answer for that because that's not how it works -- not in a US court of law, not in a democracy. We're talking about the highest court in the land. If you have an accusation to make, you make it publicly.
Repeating, as a member of the US Senate, as the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein had an obligation to go public. She could have told Dr. Blasey that she either step forward publicly or she shut up -- that it the choice that Dr. Blasey always had. But whether Feinstein outlined that to her or not, Feinstein was required to go public.
She's not a priest, she's not Dr. Blasey's attorney. She's a member of the US Senate being informed that a crime has taken place. She needs to go public.
Feinstein was wrong to have repeated it privately. THE INTERCEPT outed her, and good for them. Democracy dies in darkness -- isn't that what THE WASHINGTON POST keeps insisting?
So why the f**k is someone being allowed to mount a whisper campaign out of public sight in an attempt to derail a Supreme Court nomination.
Again, we were Team Christine. Were. And that wasn't really fair. Ruth wrote about it at her site repeatedly. Was that wrong of her? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't but she was being honest that she was on Dr. Blasey's side. Anyone reading her site knew completely where she stood. And that's fine. She disclosed it.
Looking at our own prejudices and biases, we think we're going to have to modify it. We're not going to believe all victims automatically. We are going to instead believe that all victims have a right to make their case. There's a difference and we need to move towards it because we need to eventually get to the point where we are at "innocent until proven guilty."
We thank Dr. Blasey for helping us get to that point but that's all we're thanking her for.
She claims she was assaulted by Kavanaugh. If that accusation is true, this grown woman should be able to make it publicly. Not in a few days, or weeks, but right damn now. Not if she gets to choose who asks her questions, not if she gets to do so without being placed under oath.
This is a serious charge.
We need to create an environment where serious charges can be raised and discussed and debated.
That's not happening with Dr. Blasey.
If she wants to stand up in public, we're happy to listen. If she's convincing, we'll even applaud her.
But if she's thinking she can dicate terms, she needs to crawl out the door. She's not doing anyone a favor.
If she was assaulted by someone nominated to the Surpeme Court, she has a civic duty to disclose that. Her civic duty does not allow for a whisper campaign. Now if it's not important enough for her to make her claim in public, if it's not important enough for her to speak in public and face the accused, that's fine. Keep your mouth shut. It's cowardly. But keep your mouth shut.
Those are your choices. You speak publicly -- without dictating conditions because the US Senate doesn't require your rules -- or you don't.
Dr. Blasey -- and that is her name, though the press has trouble grasping it. They'll call the porn actress Stormy Daniels because she made some flicks by that name. But Dr. Blasey has built her professional reputation with that name and they instead want to call her "Dr. Blasey Ford." The sexism in that choice reeks but no one wants to comment on that either.
Dr. Blasey is a grown up. She's a psychologist. She states she's been in therapy for the allegead assault. If her claim is true, she was nearly raped over 35 years ago. It's not saying much for therapy or for Dr. Blasey that all this time later she's still not comfortable discussing it in public. Therapy is supposed to heal. Ann notes that she was actually raped and that she took her rapist to court. She endured everything in the courtroom and her rapist went to prison, "I don't have a lot of sympathy for a professional therapist who (a) wants to dictate the terms under which she'll air her accusations publicly and (b) refuses to get the help that -- if she's telling the truth -- she needs. She's a failure in not reporting it, she's a failure in not getting the needed therapy, she's a failure in refusing to step forward publicly. None of that means she's lying. All of it does mean she's not hero and deserves no praise. As a woman of color, I'm really offended that White girl thinks she deserves all these extras that my Black ass didn't get."
And on the issue of the FBI? They can't investigate. There's no physical proof. It's not their job to investigate. But here comes Demanding White Girl insisting that before she testifies the FBI must launch an investigation.
It must be wonderful to feel so entitled.
Dr. Blasey can stand up and testify openly before the Senate -- with no preconditions -- or she can crawl on out the door. We're sick of her drama, we're sick of her bulls**t.