Brett Kavanaugh's Opening Statement at His Confirmation Sexual Assault Hearing Before the Senate Judiciary Committee (VIDEO)

I taught today, and only saw snippets of today's hearing while checking Twitter periodically. Even in those few minutes in which I caught snippets I became extremely sad. I saw and retweeted tweeps' comments. In the afternoon I saw Sen. Lindsey Graham's blistering condemnation of reprehensible Democrat Party behavior, circus antics, and demonic machinations. And I saw some awful, horrible, even diabolical comments leftists have made today, including top Democrats. I'm disgusted by all of it, all the left's evil deeds.

Democrats make me sick.

I just watched this 45 minute opening statement right now and I'm flabbergasted. I'm a nothing of a man compared to Brett Kavanaugh --- and I'm a very successful man. He's a fundamentally good person. He's even a genuinely great human being. I can't think of someone who's more qualified to be on the Supreme Court and I'll be heartbroken if he's not confirmed in the upcoming Senate roll call vote. '

This moment in public life is a turning point.

I've felt lately that I wished I wasn't a professor of political science any more. But I don't know what else I'd do --- I trained for over a decade in political science and it's been the passion of my professional life. But that was then. I don't think American politics has ever been so hateful. No, we're not about to have another Civil War, but we're living at a time when politics defines who we are, our very identities, and people are sized up and placed into pigeonholes of good and evil. Others define us as on their side or not and treat us accordingly. People have tried to destroy my life with false allegations (Scott Eric Kaufman and Carl Salonen, if long-time readers will recall).

At my college I'm surrounded by radical leftists. Unless you've been in a similar situation you can't know what it's like. You're literally behind enemy lines. And reinforcements aren't coming. You're on you're own, and those who want to help you are too scared to come out, lest they be targeted for destruction. Targeted with lies and scurrilous allegations. I know how Brett Kavanaugh must feel, but only a little bit. I've not been in the national media spotlight. Talk about having a target on your back.

In any case, I'll watch Dr. Ford's testimony tomorrow and I'll have more comments. For now just know I'm sick to my stomach and I'm heartbroken at our brokenness as a society. And this brokenness is the result of radical leftist ideology and the breakdown of decency all around.

Democrats Poised for Major Gains in Midterm Elections?

As I've noted, the president's party usually loses seats in Congress in midterm elections, and I don't expect this year to be much different.

Most of the polls you'll be seeing in the weeks ahead with be those measuring the "generic ballot," where respondents are asked their party preference for Congress, basically. Congressional elections aren't normally nationalized, however. It was the case in 1994 that Newt Gingrich, with his "Contract for America," turned the midterms on a referendum against the Democrats, with a mandate for ambitious policy-driven G.O.P government.

The Democrats don't have anything like that going this year, except anti-Trump hysteria.

My guess is the Dems will flip the House, probably by 20 seats or more. I'm skeptical they'll take the Senate, though, and I think Senate races will better reflect national trends, especially things like the politics of the Supreme Court (and the stupid allegations against Brett Kavanaugh).

In any case, at the Los Angeles Times, "With growing support from women, Democrats poised for major gains in midterm, new poll shows":

Latest USC-LATimes Poll shows Ds with a 14 point lead on congressional ballot. Widening support from women has driven D margin, especially suburban women, white married women & white, non-college women. https://t.co/CCQHLgWBKj

— David Lauter (@DavidLauter) September 26, 2018

Boosted by growing support among suburban women and widespread antipathy toward President Trump, Democrats approach the midterm election poised to make major gains nationwide, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll shows.

Democrats had a 14-point margin, 55% to 41%, when likely voters were asked which party’s candidate they would cast a ballot for if the election were held now. If that advantage holds up until election day, just less than six weeks away, it would almost surely be large enough to sweep a Democratic majority into the House.

Voters also oppose Republicans on a number of major issues. But overriding all of them is the president, whose outsized personality has dominated the nation’s news since he declared his candidacy more than three years ago.

Roughly 3 out of 4 likely voters said they saw their vote this fall as an opportunity to express a view of Trump. For many, that view is negative: Those saying they planned to register opposition outnumbered Trump supporters, 45% to 29%.

Likely voters disapprove of Trump’s overall performance in office by 57% to 39%, the poll found. Almost half of likely voters, 49%, said they “strongly” disapprove, while just under one-quarter, 24%, strongly approve.

Especially notable are the views of women, whose preferences have expanded the Democratic edge since a USC Dornsife poll surveyed most of the same voters this summer.

In the summer, men were closely divided between the two parties; they remain so now. But women, who already leaned significantly toward the Democrats, have shifted further in their direction, widening a large gender gap. The poll found women now favor the Democrats by 28 percentage points, 62% to 34%, among likely voters.

Three overlapping groups of female voters who have long been important for Republicans have moved away from the party: suburban residents, married white women and white women without college degrees.

Democrats enjoy a 61%-35% edge among suburban women, the poll found — a margin that has grown by 9 points since the summer. Democrats have narrowed the gap with Republicans among married white women, long a mainstay of the GOP, who now favor Republicans by a narrow 51% to 46%.

Those numbers help explain why suburban congressional districts long held by Republicans — from Orange County and Santa Clarita to the suburbs of Dallas and Houston and east to suburban Philadelphia — have become key targets in Democrats’ effort to retake control of the House.

A similar pattern holds among white women who did not graduate from college. Blue-collar white women gave Trump a crucial margin of support in 2016. A majority continues to support Republicans — by 56% to 39% — but since the summer, Democrats have cut their deficit with that group by a third.

The poll was largely completed before accusations of sexual misconduct against Judge Brent Kavanaugh, Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, began dominating the news. Many political professionals in both parties think that controversy could further alienate women from the GOP...

Oh, the allegations against Kavanaugh are going to have an effect, I think, although it remains to be seen in which directions. Some "Never Trump" types on Twitter are apparently revolted by this radical leftist anti-Kavanaugh circus, and if that's true, normal antipathy to Trump among moderates might be outweighed by disgust with the evil Democrats.

We'll see, in any case.

Still more at the link.

'Nothing Else Matters'

Metallica, from yesterday's drive-time, at 93.1 Jack FM.

By The Way
Red Hot Chili Peppers
8:36am

Just Like Heaven
The Cure
8:32am

Whatever It Takes
Imagine Dragons
8:21am

Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen
8:16am

Burning Down The House
Talking Heads
8:12am

You Oughta Know
Alanis Morissette
8:08am

Eye Of The Tiger
Survivor
8:04am

Little Red Corvette
Prince
7:51am

Nothing Else Matters
Metallica
7:46am

Don't Stop
Fleetwood Mac
7:43am

Come On Eileen
Dexys Midnight Runners
7:38am

Senate Majority Leader McConnell Promises Vote on Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation (VIDEO)

I'm really disgusted with all the Democrat maneuvering, especially last night's truly despicable hit piece at the New Yorker, at Memeorandum, "Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh's College Years."

Screw them. All of them. The disgusting liars and smear-merchants. I'm sick of this, gawd.

Here's McConnell's floor speech from earlier today, thank goodness:

Alexis Ren’s Killer Body Selfie

At Hollywood Tuna, "Alexis Ren is Influential."

And earlier, on Twitter:

pic.twitter.com/O0JHRJ1oqi

— Alexis Ren (@AlexisRenG) September 18, 2018

Lily Rose Depp of the Day

At Drunken Stepfather, "LILY ROSE DEPP HARD NIPPLES AND FAT ASS OF THE DAY."

Playboy Club New York Opens (VIDEO)

Something of a throwback, to say the least.

At the New York Post, "Playboy Club reopens in New York amid #MeToo movement," and at the Guardian U.K., "'Tone deaf' Playboy Club opens in New York, defying the #MeToo era."

Hannah Ferguson in Plastic

At Taxi Driver, "Hannah Ferguson in a Plastic Clear Bralette."

'The Middle'

From Tuesday morning's drive-time, at 93.1 JACK FM:

Times Like These
Foo Fighters
7:04am

Open Arms
Journey
7:00am

Love My Way
The Psychedelic Furs
6:50am

I Love Rock N' Roll
Joan Jett
6:47am

Hold The Line
Toto
6:40am

The Middle
Jimmy Eat World
6:37am

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Stevie Nicks
6:33am

Things Can Only Get Better
Howard Jones
6:21am

When You Were Young
The Killers
6:17am

Rocket Man
Elton John
6:13am

Shout
Tears For Fears
6:06am

BasketCase
Green Day
6:04am

Maneater
Hall & Oates
5:52am

Shopping Today

At Amazon, Today's Deals New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

And especially, Nebula Mars Lite Portable Cinema, Home Theater with 150'' HD Picture, 300 ANSI Lumens, Two 10W Speakers, 3-Hour Playtime, 1-Second Autofocus, HDMI and USB Inputs, for Music and Movies (No Built-In OS).

Also, GoSports Giant Wooden Toppling Tower (stacks to 5+ feet) | Includes Bonus Rules with Gameboard | Made from Premium Pine Blocks.

Also, Moen Arbor Motionsense Two-Sensor Touchless One-Handle High Arc Pulldown Kitchen Faucet Featuring Reflex, Spot Resist Stainless (7594ESRS).

More, HP Colorwheel 15.6" Notebook, HD Touchscreen, Intel N3710 Quad-Core, 4GB DDR3, 1TB SATA, Intel HD Graphics, 802.11ac, Win10H - Natural Silver (Certified Refurbished).

Here, Dash Chef Series 64 oz Blender with Stainless Steel Blades + Digital Display for Coffee Drinks, Frozen Cocktails, Smoothies, Soup, Fondue & More - White.

Still more, MOSSY OAK 14-inch Bowie Knife Wood Handle with Leather Sheath.

Plus, Buck Knives 110 Famous Folding Hunter Knife with Genuine Leather Sheath - TOP SELLER.

More here, CLIF BAR - Energy Bar - Blueberry Crisp - (2.4 Ounce Protein Bar, 12 Count).

BONUS: Ann Coulter, Resistance is Futile!  How the Trump-Hating Left Lost Its Collective Mind.

Cal State Long Beach Retires 'Prospector Pete' (VIDEO)

Now the California Gold Rush is racist and imperialist. Indigenous people were wiped out, or whatever.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:



And at the school's Daily 49er newspaper, "President Conoley confirms retirement of Prospector Pete."

This is one of the least offensive "mascots" I've seen for any college in the country. Long Beach State's going psycho. (*Shrugs.*)

Mazie Hirono: Brett Kavanaugh Guilty Because of His 'Ideological Agenda' (VIDEO)

Everybody's tweeting about this, with disgust.

Inna Zaitseva Pictorial

At Editorials Fashions Trends, "Inna Zaitseva by Tanya Tanchoo (Erotic Editorials)."

Emily Ratajkowski in the Jungle (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:



BONUS: "Emily Ratajkowski for Jonathan Leder's Limited Edition Photobook."

Shop Today

At Amazon, Today's Deals. New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

And especially, 450ML Essential Oil Diffuser with 8 LED Color Changing Lamps, ZOOKKI Aromatherapy Diffuser for Essential Oils with 4 Timer Settings and Waterless Auto Shut-off Feature.

More, Biofinest 5-HTP 200mg - Griffonia Seed Extract - High Strength & Potency - Supplement for Weight Management, Mood Enhancement, Relax, Sleep Aid - Non-GMO.

Plus, Premium Horny Goat Weed Extract with Maca & Tribulus, Enhanced Energy Complex for Men & Women, 1000mg Epimedium with Icariins, Veggie Capsules.

And still more, MET-Rx High Protein Pancake Mix, Original Buttermilk, 4 lb, Instant Pancake Mix with Protein, Vitamins, and Minerals.

Here, REG-215 - Handmade Damascus Steel 14.00 Inches Bowie Knife - Exotic Wood Handle (Color/Case Vary).

Also, Pendleton Men's Long Sleeve Button Front Classic-Fit Trail Shirt.

And, Teton Sports Scout 3400 Internal Frame Backpack; High-Performance Backpack for Backpacking, Hiking, Camping; Sewn-in Rain Cover.

BONUS: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

Brutal Binaries of American Politics

Christina Hoff Sommers calls this a "dazzling analysis."

But I know. I know, it's Andrew Sullivan, our former practicing gynecologist from the 2008 presidential campaign.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, they say.

So, let it be.

At New York Mag, "America, Land of Brutal Binaries":

The latest. https://t.co/qSCxQUzpNj

— Andrew Sullivan (@sullydish) September 21, 2018

For homo sapiens, it is natural to see the world, as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks put it, as radically “divided into the unimpeachably good and the irredeemably bad.” It is much harder to see, as Solzhenitsyn did, even after he had been sent to the gulag by his ideological enemies, that good and evil run through every human heart.

And it’s this reflexive, reptilian sorting of in-group and out-group that has now been supercharged by social media, by Trump’s hideous identity politics, and by campus and corporate culture. There seem to be just two inalterable categories: the oppressors or the oppressed; elite globalists or decent “normal” people. You are in one camp or the other, and, as time passes, those of us who don’t fit into this rubric will become irrelevant to the discourse, if we haven’t already got there.

After a while, the crudest trigger points of tribalism — your race, your religion (or lack of it), your gender, your sexual orientation — dominate the public space. As Claire Lehmann, the founding editor of the refreshingly heterodox new website Quillette has put it, “the Woke Left has a moral hierarchy with white men at the bottom. The Alt-Right has a moral hierarchy that puts white men at the top.” The looming midterms will not be about health care or executive power or constitutional norms (although all these things will be at stake). They will primarily be about which tribe you are in, and these tribes are increasingly sorted racially and by gender. The parties are currently doing all they can to maximize these tribal conflicts as a way to seek power. This isn’t liberal democracy.

And in this fevered, fetid atmosphere, where the stakes are always sky-high, there are no constraints. Dox, harass, troll, lie, smear, mock, distort, harangue, and preferably ruin: those are the tools of the alt-right just as much as they are the tools of the woke left. In such a civil war, the idea that the Supreme Court could ever perform the role it was designed to — interpret the law in a non-tribal way — is laughable. Indeed, the notion of a filibuster becomes moot, because it requires some sort of common ground between senators, and this is regarded by both sides as complicity in evil. Even a private, confidential hearing for accuser and accused is now, according to Senator Gillibrand, equivalent to silencing the accuser. I lean toward believing Christine Blasey Ford, as I believed Anita Hill and Juanita Broaddrick and Paula Jones, but I cannot know about something that happened 36 years ago. So I favor an FBI investigation and see no reason to rush a confirmation vote. But offering someone a chance to provide testimony in a private session wherever she chooses is not “silencing” her. Senator Hirono has gone further and told half the citizenry to “shut up” solely because they are male...

Keep reading.

Catherine Rampell on 'Real Time with Bill Maher' (VIDEO)

Here's an interesting panel, from last night, but Ms. Catherine alone would be worth watching.

Believe Him

From Katie Pavich, at Town Hall:

Believe Him https://t.co/6512Qj3id5

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) September 21, 2018

In the era of the #MeToo movement, we are expected to automatically believe claims made by women about sexual abuse. Anyone who dares to ask simple questions about the situation, like who, what, when, where, why and how, is automatically characterized as “doubting the story of a survivor.”

Sexual assault is one of the most sensitive areas of criminal misconduct in American society. Allegations of sexual assault are very serious for all parties involved and they should be treated as such. Women who are victimized should be taken seriously as they seek justice. Men who are accused of sexual misconduct have the right to face their accusers, in addition to being presumed innocent until proven guilty.

While the majority of women who make sexual abuse allegations tell the truth, ugly history of high profile cases show some don’t.

In March of 2006, Crystal Mangum accused white members of the Duke lacrosse team of gang raping her at a party. Before any evidence was provided to a court or to the public, the lives of the players were turned upside down. Their season was cancelled, the coach resigned, Duke faculty upheld the players as examples of racism in America and the New York Times smeared the players on a national level. The players were deemed guilty from the beginning.

When DNA evidence from all 46 eligible members of the team came back as negative, over zealous District Attorney Mike Nifong pressed on. Three young men, Collin Finnerty, David Evans, and Reade Seligmann, were arrested and charged.

“These allegations are lies. Fabricated and they will be proven wrong,” Evans, who served as team captain, said at the time.

Eventually the case fell apart and the charges were dropped. The players were declared innocent, just as they had argued and the evidence proved all along. Their reputations, however, were tarnished forever. Years later, Mangum was found guilty of murdering her boyfriend.

In 2014 Columbia University student Emma Sulkowitz claimed fellow student Paul Nungesser violently raped her...

Keep reading.

Kirsten Dunst Ginormous New Mom

Now this is something.

At Popoholic, "Kirsten Dunst Unveils Her Ginormous New Mom Cleavage… WOW!"

Bella Hadid Fashion

At Drunken Stepfather, "BELLA HADID NIPPLES OUT FOR FASHION OF THE DAY."