Quote:
Originally Posted by LessinSF
There should be righteous indignance from Senators Collins and Flake, but I want to see one of them (or other Senators) have the actual fortitude to walk into the Senate, a la John McCain, with a thumbs down because the process was flawed.
I want to see the "93%" withheld documents. Among other things, I want to see whether Kavanaugh knew he was using stolen documents when he was a Bush flunkie, because he denies it under oath.
With respect to Dr. Blasey, there is a reason for statutes of limitations. It is practically impossible to defend oneself against an allegation that allegedly occurred 36 years before, when the only other alleged witness wrote a book about he was a blacked out drunk at the time. (Whether Kavanaugh is lying about it is a different question.)
As an asshole attorney,I keep chastising friends who are either "I believe her" or [insert attack on her credibility here] because - on what basis? You don't know shit.. You haven't even hear her speak. Let alone possibly knowing any existing corroborating or exculpatory evidence.
One can say "why would she lie?" And I would respond that I believe her about what happened at a drunken Georgetown prep high school party. But I would also remind myself of Duke Lacrosse, Tawana Brawley, and this recent case - https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/...e-13177363.php |
Fake sex assault accusations are only about 5-8% of all sex assault accusations, comparable to fake accusations of all other types of crime.
Given those stats, I don't see any reason for concern about false accusations. What I see as problematic here is the loose expansion of allegations, in several respects.
1. People used "rapist" before they had all of the facts. Some continue to do so to the present. We're all aware of the facts now, so the person on your FB feed calling him a rapist knows he or she is embellishing. I suspect a lot of these people don't care about that inaccuracy. Well, that is called lying. That's what Trump does. That one thinks himself or herself on the righteous side of this debate does not provide license to do what Trump does.
2. The allegation that Kavanaugh is somehow culpable for what his friends have done is chilling. This Judge fellow sounds like a serious loser with major psychological problems. That he claims to have gang raped someone and written bizarre religious gibberish about how "uncontrollable male lust" is a beautiful thing is not Kavanaugh's fault. The man is clearly demented, and not close with Kavanaugh anymore.
3. The indictment of Kavanaugh for having partied with wild suburban kids, some of whom were affluent (the media was quick to cite a dead Kennedy as a Kavanaugh pal) is unfair. There's nothing wrong with being part of a party scene. The broad brush attacks on kids behaving boorishly that've been going on strikes me a bit... puritan. And the assertion that libertines are kindred spirits with rapists is offensive. Many of us here are libertines. We've been to those keg parties. We've thrown them. And we did not - ever, under any circumstances - countenance sexual assault at such parties. Did people get wasted and hook up? Yes. Is it arguable some people felt regret at things they did at such parties, from sex, to falling through mom's wicker table on the deck, to throwing up all over the couch in the den? Sure. But being a reckless, drunk kid is not the same thing as being a predator. Having voted a guy out of a fraternity for merely threatening sexual assault on a female friend of ours, I believe it can and should be said that even the most libertine of us Know The Line. And assault, of any kind, is never tolerated. Judging any person for having reckless fun as a kid is disingenuous. Conflating a party scene with deviant criminal behavior is disingenuous, and smacks of puritan scolding. And the last thing this country needs right now is a resurgence of puritan values.
