Former President and Convicted Felon Trump Thread

figmentPez · Oct 3, 2018

I don't know what to rate your post, @Gared . Hugs because you went through something bad. Like because I approve of your message. I dunno.

I'll also note that the majority of women I know who were raped didn't report it because they didn't want to ruin their own reputation. The idea that women who make false accusations walk away scott free doesn't seem very realistic to me. Even if people believe them, they're still going to be judged negatively for it.

figmentPez · Oct 4, 2018

"A letter from Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats suggests that evidence of inappropriate behavior by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh surfaced in prior background checks." CNN

This story only serves to illustrate how the FBI's findings this week need to be made public. There's something that did show up in Kavanaugh's background checks.

PatrThom · Oct 4, 2018

figmentPez said:
*And presumably distracting from numerous other issues as well.

...such as the one where they rammed through a bill changing those "temporary" tax cuts into "permanent" tax cuts.

It's the second tax-cut proposal that Republican leaders have pushed in less than a year. [...] The sweeping rewrite of the tax code that Republicans hustled through Congress late last year, signed into law by Trump as his signature legislative achievement, is expected to add about $1.5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. The bill approved Friday would add another $545 billion through 2028, according to an estimate by Congress' bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

--Patrick

figmentPez · Oct 4, 2018

And the FBI "investigation" is over. They never interviewed Ford or re-interviewed Kavanaugh. There are dozens of other sources of information they never interviewed. The public may never know what the FBI was instructed to do for this "investigation", and you can damn well bet that Republicans will continue to imply that even it's limited findings are something other than what they really were (and they'll threaten any Democrats who say too much.)

This is disgusting.

Dave · Oct 4, 2018

They also have only one copy that all 100 Senators have to share.

figmentPez · Oct 4, 2018

Dave said:
They also have only one copy that all 100 Senators have to share.

~50 have to share. Most of the Republicans won't be reading it anyway.

Frank · Oct 4, 2018

Sham.

figmentPez · Oct 4, 2018

"I urged the president to nominate a different individual, I urged the president to nominate a woman."
"We all know that the president cannot lead us through this time. We know that he's dispositionally unable to restrain his impulse to divide us." - Sen. Ben Sasse (R Nebraska)

Then stop letting him lead, you coward!

Gared · Oct 4, 2018

figmentPez said:
I don't know what to rate your post, @Gared . Hugs because you went through something bad. Like because I approve of your message. I dunno.

I'll also note that the majority of women I know who were raped didn't report it because they didn't want to ruin their own reputation. The idea that women who make false accusations walk away scott free doesn't seem very realistic to me. Even if people believe them, they're still going to be judged negatively for it.

There's no wrong answer. And in my case, I was lucky that the woman who accused me didn't report it to the police, only to our respective families. She then recanted, and wrote a letter to my parents apologizing and explaining the situation. It was still incredibly shitty. I get the feeling that my case is probably rare - but I'd still rather be investigated, have to hire an attorney, and go through all of that mess (even as terrified as I am of law enforcement), than ever have someone's claim not be investigated. It seems to me like the cases where people really suffer from false allegations, those victims already had something going against them - past DV incidents, drug offenses, poverty, being a minority (none of which should matter, by the way, but our justice system is kinda skewed toward prison these days) - this scenario is (mostly) a separate issue that could be avoided entirely (or at least significantly reduced) if we cleaned up our court systems a little and actually put some effort into applying laws uniformly.

Tinwhistler · Oct 4, 2018

I think that the incidences of men getting falsely accused are probably higher than some people think. Not *officially* falsely accused, mind you, but instead through rumor, telling stories to friends, etc. I base that solely on personal anecdotes, and don't really have any solid statistical evidence to back it.

When I was breaking up with a girlfriend one time, she accused me of physically abusing/beating her to all of our mutual friends. Luckily, very few believed her, but it was still some malicious crap I had to deal with in the midst of the breakup. A girl once accused one of my step-sons of rape (through the circle of friends, not officially) after she decided that she regretted sleeping with him after the fact. It caused him some issues at school among his peers. A girl once accused my older brother of kidnapping and rape, when she had enthusiastically gone with him to a secluded place to fool around, because she didn't want to suffer the consequences of her actions when her parents found out where they had gone and drove over there to get her.

So, I imagine this kind of thing happens, and that it's not completely uncommon.

I also imagine that it happens far far less than actual and real incidents of physical and sexual abuse that women have had to endure. And I'd rather every case be initially believed and investigated fully so that the truth (or lack thereof) of the accusations are fully exposed.

figmentPez · Oct 4, 2018

“We had many fears that this was a very limited process that would constrain the FBI from getting all of the facts. Those fears have been realized.” - Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.)

“the most notable part of this report is what’s not in it.” - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

“You can’t find what you don’t look for.... this falls short of my expectations for this investigation.” - Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.)

White House spokesman Raj Shah said that the FBI agents had reached out to 10 witnesses — nine of whom were interviewed

On Thursday afternoon, attorneys for Ford released a letter they wrote to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, ticking off the names of eight witnesses who wanted to be interviewed about Ford’s allegation by the FBI. The list included Ford’s husband, Russell; Jeremiah Hanafin, the former FBI agent who conducted Ford’s polygraph exam; and friends of Ford’s whom she confided in about her accusation.

Washington Post source

I am in no way surprised by any of this. Anyone who votes in favor of Kavanaugh under these circumstances is opposed to justice.

PatrThom · Oct 4, 2018

figmentPez said:
Anyone who votes in favor of Kavanaugh under these circumstances is opposed to justice.

Anyone who votes in favor of Kavanaugh under these circumstances is just following That Plan We’re Not Allowed To Know About. I don’t even think they want Kavanaugh, I think what they’re doing is the equivalent of installing a downloader trojan into the SCOTUS.

—Patrick

PatrThom · Oct 4, 2018

Wasted, the memoir written by Mark Judge, a classmate of Kavanaugh who has been identified as a co-assailant in the attempted rape of Dr Christine Blasey Ford. Unfortunately, it's practically impossible to get a copy.
The Internet Archive has placed a scanned copy of Wasted online so that the American public can better inform itself about the character of the man whom Senate Republicans are prepared to hand a lifetime Supreme Court appointment to.

https://archive.org/details/Wasted_20181003/page/n0

—Patrick

figmentPez · Oct 4, 2018

In short, retired Supreme Court judge John Paul Stevens, a republican, says that Kavanaugh's behavior under questioning has changed his mind as to Kavanaugh's suitability to be on the Supreme Court. Stevens no longer believes that Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

Hailey Knight · Oct 5, 2018

All the Men Who Never Assaulted Me

Ravenpoe · Oct 5, 2018

figmentPez said:
In short, retired Supreme Court judge John Paul Stevens, a republican, says that Kavanaugh's behavior under questioning has changed his mind as to Kavanaugh's suitability to be on the Supreme Court. Stevens no longer believes that Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

And that statement will change nothing

Dave · Oct 5, 2018

NONE of this will change anything. The investigation was only done so that the right could pat themselves on the back and be able to fool the fucking morons that is their base. I've seen it. He'll be confirmed today or tomorrow and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Ravenpoe · Oct 5, 2018

Dave said:
NONE of this will change anything. The investigation was only done so that the right could pat themselves on the back and be able to fool the fucking morons that is their base. I've seen it. He'll be confirmed today or tomorrow and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

But they'll get up on TV and rage about how mad they are that anyone thought to question their power and entitlement to power, all while acting like they were victims to a grave injustice that they had to bravely overcome.

Sara_2814 · Oct 5, 2018

Doesn’t the excuse of “What boy hasn’t assaulted a girl?” confirm the Radical Feminist stance that “All men are rapists”? Do Republicans and Radical Feminists finally agree on something?

And Justice Stevens is right. No matter what Kavanaugh did or didn’t do in regards to sexual assault, his behavior in this hearing has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Supreme Court.

LittleSin · Oct 5, 2018

Sara_2814 said:
Doesn’t the excuse of “What boy hasn’t assaulted a girl?” confirm the Radical Feminist stance that “All men are rapists”? Do Republicans and Radical Feminists finally agree on something?

And Justice Stevens is right. No matter what Kavanaugh did or didn’t do in regards to sexual assault, his behavior in this hearing has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Supreme Court.

Man, I don't often agree with RadFems but, damn, that confluence is frightening in its implications.

Republican dudes think that men are basically base animals.

The animals are running the fucking zoo.

blotsfan · Oct 5, 2018

Republicans don't actually believe that. They will just say and do literally anything that will help them accomplish their goals.

Bubble181 · Oct 5, 2018

Sara_2814 said:
Doesn’t the excuse of “What boy hasn’t assaulted a girl?” confirm the Radical Feminist stance that “All men are rapists”? Do Republicans and Radical Feminists finally agree on something?

And Justice Stevens is right. No matter what Kavanaugh did or didn’t do in regards to sexual assault, his behavior in this hearing has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Supreme Court.

Both ideas come from a population who have all been taught the same things. If all boys are told it's normal and ok to behave that way, and all girls that it's normal and ok to be subjected to such behavior, you get men saying it's "boys being boys" and women saying "all men are rapists".
In both cases, it's a matter of teaching children. Girls need to learn to say No, and boys need to learn to accept a No. I'm sure most men, as boys, have, at least once, done something that may have been uncomfortable and crossed a line, in teenage behavior. This is then addressed and corrected, either by shame from the inside, or by parents/teachers from the outside. But there's about 2,000 steps between "a stupid/impolite way of asking a girl out" and "taking what you want and assuming that's okay "

Dave · Oct 5, 2018

And the nomination goes forward 51-49. Manchin voted yes.

And the stealing of the Supreme Court continues.

DarkAudit · Oct 5, 2018

FUCK YOU MOJO

grub · Oct 5, 2018

I am so glad I'm in Canada.

Dave · Oct 5, 2018

grub said:
I am so glad I'm in Canada.

Because nothing the US does ever affects Canada...

blotsfan · Oct 5, 2018

I am 100% sure that Manchin won't be the deciding vote in favor of kavanaugh. He might vote to confirm, but that's only if it doesn't matter.

To me the more interesting think is murkowski voting no.

HCGLNS · Oct 5, 2018

Dave said:
Because nothing the US does ever affects Canada...

Well your odd politics allowed Canada to massage you anally over trade last week.

Dave · Oct 5, 2018

HCGLNS said:
Well your odd politics allowed Canada to massage you anally over trade last week.

That's because Trump is and always will be a very terrible negotiator and businessman. How his name holds any weight at all after all his failures is mind boggling.

grub · Oct 5, 2018

Dave said:
Because nothing the US does ever affects Canada...

I don't think a Supreme Court Judge affects much up here. In many other places we are linked, but the judiciary probably isn't cross border relevant.

figmentPez · Oct 5, 2018

Ravenpoe said:
And that statement will change nothing

It will not. Republicans are absolutely appalled that anyone would be held accountable for what they say. You're not supposed to judge rich white men by what comes out of their mouths! You judge them by looking at pieces of paper, and doing what the paper says. (No, not that cheap crap that's printed daily, that paper doesn't count!) You look at the rare paper. The papers that come from exclusive institutions and say nothing in very many words. And you especially look at the green paper that has pictures of other, less important, white men on it. It is by those important types of paper that rich white men are to be judged by, because paper speaks so much louder than words.

figmentPez · Oct 5, 2018

blotsfan said:
Republicans don't actually believe that. They will just say and do literally anything that will help them accomplish their goals.

A large number of them very much do believe that. Mike Pence "I can't be alone with women" sure as hell believes it. A lot of churches teach it.

They'll swear up and down that it's all about image, and they just don't want any appearance of impropriety. They don't care about appearances when it comes to embezzlement, bribes, abuse of power, etc. They know full well how many men in Washington have "unexpectedly" turned out to be abusers and rapists, and there's a very real fear that they'll find it's true about themselves as well. Because they're very used to pressing every advantage, and never taking no in political situations. They behave terribly in general, and are quite often applauded for it.

So, yes, I really do think a large number of Republicans believe that all (healthy) men are wild animals when it comes to sex, and must be kept on tight leashes, lest they assault women. (And this is a large part of why they fear homosexual men, because they assume they'll be assaulted.)

PatrThom · Oct 5, 2018

Bubble181 said:
it's a matter of teaching children. Girls need to learn to say No, and boys need to learn to accept a No. I'm sure most men, as boys, have, at least once, done something that may have been uncomfortable and crossed a line, in teenage behavior. This is then addressed and corrected, either by shame from the inside, or by parents/teachers from the outside. But there's about 2,000 steps between "a stupid/impolite way of asking a girl out" and "taking what you want and assuming that's okay "

source, of course.

--Patrick

Bubble181 · Oct 5, 2018

figmentPez said:
A large number of them very much do believe that. Mike Pence "I can't be alone with women" sure as hell believes it. A lot of churches teach it.

They'll swear up and down that it's all about image, and they just don't want any appearance of impropriety. They don't care about appearances when it comes to embezzlement, bribes, abuse of power, etc. They know full well how many men in Washington have "unexpectedly" turned out to be abusers and rapists, and there's a very real fear that they'll find it's true about themselves as well. Because they're very used to pressing every advantage, and never taking no in political situations. They behave terribly in general, and are quite often applauded for it.

So, yes, I really do think a large number of Republicans believe that all (healthy) men are wild animals when it comes to sex, and must be kept on tight leashes, lest they assault women. (And this is a large part of why they fear homosexual men, because they assume they'll be assaulted.)

Also, the burkah, and why so many religions want women to dress modestly.

Gared · Oct 5, 2018

Bubble181 said:
Also, the burkah, and why so many religions want women to dress modestly.

Not to mention school dress codes. I can't count the number of times a restrictive dress code has been blamed on "needing to keep girls modest so boys can pay attention in class" because "their teenage minds are incapable of concentrating on school when they're aroused."