A recent Marist poll shows a majority of Republicans – 54% – feel Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed even if the allegations of sexual misconduct by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford are true.
Drilling down a bit deeper, the results showed 48% of Evangelical Republicans don’t mind his confirmation even if the accusations by Ford are true. That says something, doesn’t it?
Thirty-two percent of Republicans do not believe Kavanaugh should sit on the high court if Ford’s allegations are true.
Only 12% of Democrats believed that he should be confirmed if the allegations are true.
North Korea’s Foreign Minister announced today at the United Nations that it will not disarm itself of nuclear weapons while sanctions remain in place on his country.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told the United Nations on Saturday that continued sanctions on Pyongyang were deepening its mistrust in the United States.
“Without any trust in the U.S. there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first,” Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
The comments come as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to travel to Pyongyang next month for his fourth trip to North Korea, his third as secretary of state. Discussions of a second summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are already underway.
China and Russia have said the U.N. Security Council should reward Pyongyang for steps taken after U.S. Trump and Kim met in June and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization.
“The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe-dream of the people who are ignorant about us. But the problem is that the continued sanctions are deepening our mistrust,” Ri said.
I meant to post this yesterday from the premiere episode of the Murphy Brown reboot this past Thursday night.
Hillary Clinton made a cameo appearance as “Hilary Clendon” (one “L”) applying to be Murphy’s secretary.
“For four years I was the secretary of a very large organization,” declared the former Secretary of State.
Asked if she had basic secretarial skills like working with computers and emails? “Emails. I do have some experience with emails.”
For those who didn’t follow the sitcom during its original run, there was an ongoing gag each week about Murphy running through secretaries that could often be hysterical.
An Australian man has pleaded guilty to infecting his former boyfriend with HIV.
Martin Peter Jaksic was diagnosed as HIV positive in 2010. But he never shared that news with the man he would soon meet and go on to date for six years even though he was fully aware of the risks.
In a Sydney courtroom on Wednesday, Jaksic pleaded guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily hard to his former boyfriend.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the 31-year-old told the court in a letter than he had been in denial after receiving his own diagnosis and admitted that what he had done to the victim was “cowardly and unthinkable.”
Judge Peter Zahra showed no sympathy for Jaksic saying, “The offender’s conduct was a gross betrayal of trust and a contemptible and callous disregard for the victim’s life.”
“At all times (he) would have been aware of the grave risk of the victim suffering serious illness which had the potential to be life-threatening,” the judge added. “The continuing effect of the harm caused to the victim is incalculable.”
The former boyfriend shared in his victim impact statement that due to his infection he now faces “internal wounds and emotional struggles” that will never heal.
The ex-boyfriend told the court that when he entered into what he believed to be a “close and loving” monogamous relationship more than 6 years ago, Jaksic did not share his HIV status.
Even though the couple had unprotected sex during their relationship, Jaksic never suggested using condoms or any other protection.
The victim added that after trusting Jaksic during their six year relationship, he nows sees him as someone who behaved “dishonestly, callously and ruthlessly.”
Jaksic was arrested at the airport in January 2016 attempting to flee Sydney.
He received the maximum sentence of four years and six months in prison.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 24 states in the U.S. have laws which specifically require persons who are aware that they have HIV to disclose their status to sexual partners.
Penalties vary from state to state with some treating the transmission of HIV as a felony and others as a misdemeanor.
There has been a movement, however, in recent years to repeal these HIV-specific laws due to the success of antiretroviral therapy which can bring viral levels down to undetectable.
In that the CDC’s current medical policy is that “undetectable=untransmittable,” many feel those who are HIV+ but undetectable shouldn’t be prosecuted in the same manner as they once were at the height of the epidemic.
The REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act was introduced in Congress in 2011. The legislation would call for a review of all federal and state laws involving the criminal prosecution of people for HIV-related offenses.
A jury in Georgia has awarded a young boy $31 million for pain and suffering after a botched circumcision left his penis severely deformed.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the boy was only 18 days old in October 2013 when his mother took him to Riverdale’s Life Cycle Pediatrics to be circumcised.
It’s estimated that 81% of American males have undergone the minor operation.
But an accidental slip by nurse midwife Melissa Jones during the procedure left the boy with part of his penis severed.
Dr. Brian Register informed the owner of the clinic, Anne Sigoin, as well as the boy’s pediatrician, Dr. Abigail Kamishlian of Daffoldil Pediatric and Family Medical.
At the time, the tissue was placed in a refrigerator and no efforts were made to reattach the tissue via emergency surgery. The bleeding boy was sent home with his mother.
For years now, the boy has had to undergo multiple surgeries just to be able to urinate while his mother had to insert a medical instrument into his penis several times a day to keep it from closing.
Aside from the obviously painful physical effects of the accident, doctors are unsure if the boy will be able to have children.
The attorney representing the boy, Neal Pope, addressed the emotional and social issues the boy will face as he gets older including embarrassment as he begins dating.
“It will take a special person to accept the boy’s deformity,” said Pope.
During the trial, Pope showed the jury a photo of Lebron James explaining the NBA star earned $99 million in three years, and then pointed out that the boy’s life expectancy could be another 69 years.
Pope concluded his point by saying, “I think the case is a $100 million case.”
Terrell W. Benton, the attorney representing Jones and Register, recommended to the jury that $1 million would have been a fair amount to cover the boy’s ongoing medical expenses, long-term therapy and suffering.
Jones, Register, Sigouin’s Life Cycle Pediatrics and Life Cycle OB/GYN, Kamishlian and Daffodil Pediatric and Family Medical were all included as defendants in the suit, but Jones and Register were the only ones found to be liable.
Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona asked colleagues to delay full vote on Brett Kavanaugh
Supreme Court hopeful Judge Brett “Skippy” Kavanaugh saw his nomination approved out of committee to a full floor vote in the Senate along a party line vote of 11-10.
However, GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona told his colleagues, “I’ll move it out of committee, but I will only be comfortable moving forward on the floor until the FBI has done more investigation than it has done already.”
MORE: Sen. Flake says he wouldn’t feel “comfortable” moving forward with the vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Senate floor “until the FBI has done more investigation than they have already.” https://t.co/7PVktCe7APpic.twitter.com/6z4TpFuJn6
“It was all kind of a blur,” Gallagher recalled in an interview with The Daily Beast. “We all ran after him. We held open the elevator and I just started telling him why it was important and what had happened to me and why he should not let Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.”
What followed was an excruciating exchange that lasted only five minutes in time but could, just maybe, change the course of history. After another woman, Ana Maria Archila, admonished Flake for supporting Kavanaugh, Gallagher jumped in.
“I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me,” she said. “I didn’t tell anyone, and you’re telling all women that they don’t matter.”
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia (image via Twitter)
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of deep red state West Virginia has been seen as a possible swing vote regarding the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanuagh.
Until now.
Manchin, who is in a tough race for re-election this November in a state that Donald Trump won by 42 points, has announced he will be a “no” vote on Kavanaugh.
According to reports, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he believes he has 48 firm “yes” votes. The Republicans need at least 50 (plus a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence) to confirm Kavanaugh.
The three remaining Republicans are Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Jeff Flake (Arizona).
Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress reports that it appeared Manchin, Collins, Murkowski and Joe Donnelly (a previously announced “no”) could be voting in a bloc. That could mean this would be very bad news for Kavanaugh.
This is potentially very big. It was reported last night that Donnelly, Manchin, Collins, and Murkowski would vote as a bloc. If they do, Kavanaugh is done. https://t.co/d7frJiymGl
Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) just walked out of a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee after Republicans decided to schedule a vote today on approving the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
WATCH: Democratic Senators walk out of committee meeting on Brett Kavanaugh.
Moments ago I walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Kavanaugh. This hearing is a sham and Dr. Ford and the American people deserve better.
So, for the Trump-faithful who believe all sexual accusers are lying, if it was your daughter talking sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh, would you be sooooo stalwart in your support of him?
I’m a gay man with no children, but I have a god son I love very much. If someone touched him I’d risk going to prison defending him.
Will there be NO stepping back and considering that a woman – who has held security clearances in the Justice and State departments – has stepped forward, signed a sworn affidavit (which could be prosecuted for lying under oath) and risked her entire professional life to tell her experience with Kavanaugh?
This isn’t just a quote to USAToday. This is a fucking sworn affidavit.
A LOT of consideration went into this.
And speaking of consideration, we are facing with weighing this: is it POSSIBLE that a white, Republican guy from a wealthy family in the DC area partied hearty, got a bit too ‘alpha’ and lost sight of boundaries while drinking too much in the go-go 80s?
Oh gee, who’s ever heard of that?
I grew up with these guys. In that era.
Oh, no – I don’t think that’s unbelievable at all (insert sarcasm here).
I was a fraternity brother in college who heard the phrase “running a train upstairs” more than once.
So, pardon me if I find four women coming forward, risking their lives and professional careers, out of respect for a spot on the highest court in the land, believable.
Dr. Ford has already taken a polygraph test that showed the possibility of her lying is less than 1%.
Less than 1%.
Will Brett Kavanaugh submit himself to a similar polygraph test? So far, the answer is no.
An appointment to the Supreme Court is for LIFE. And affects us all for decades.
DECADES.
If Kavanaugh won’t subject himself to a polygraph test, as his accusers have, you have to ask yourself – Why?
