Brat Kavanaugh ...

... threw a tantrum at a hearing today before the Senate Judiciary Committee as he responded to allegations that he had sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford.

Sometimes he was asked HARD questions ...

... and sometimes he even saw a DEMOCRAT! 

Poor little Brattie thinks the evil Clintons are trying to sic his former victims on him. And that stuff in his high school yearbook about "ralphing" and the "100 Kegs Club" and being a "Renate alumnius" is irrelevant because he came first in his class twice in high school and he also played on the football team. And how dare any nasty senator ask him to request an FBI investigation?! People who went to Georgetown Prep just don't get investigated. As he explained to them almost politely, if they have any questions, they should just ask him. And of course he shouldn't have to take a polygraph test because they've become unreliable since he advocated for their use in 2016. And, no, nobody should ever question Mark Judge ever, OK!!!??? Was he the "Bart O' Kavanaugh" who puked in the back of someone's car? Well, he has a weak stomach, and he pukes when he eats spaghetti. And how dare Amy Klobuchar ask him if he's ever been blackout drunk. What if she's been blackout drunk herself? Q.E.Effin'.D, dude! And the person who said he would get incoherently drunk and was belligerent and aggressive while in that state, well, haha, that was just a college roommate who once had a dispute with someone else. And, no, the fact that he's incoherent, belligerent, and aggressive when he's sober doesn't mean anything, and anyone who says otherwise is just a big, fat, stinky, partisan butthead who shouldn't be allowed!

The Kavanaugh Controversy

Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump's recent nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, is facing allegations of sexual misconduct as reports of his past behavior surface.

So far, this is what I know:

1) Christine Blasey Ford, a psychologist and researcher, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a summer party in 1982 when he was a 17-year-old student at Georgetown Prep and she was a 15-year-old student at Georgetown Visitation. Both schools were extremely expensive, Catholic, and single-sex. Ford alleges that Kavanaugh and his friend and schoolmate, Mark Judge, both of whom were very drunk, pushed her into a bedroom and that Kavanaugh lay on top of her, tried to pull off her swimsuit, and covered her mouth when she tried to scream. She claims Judge drunkenly jumped on top of them, causing them to fall and giving her time to get away. Although she doesn't remember the time or location of the incident and has not been able to correctly identify other people who were at the same party, she appears very confident in her recollections and in the identity of her attackers. She has passed a lie detector test and called for an investigation.

2) Mark Judge, now a recovering alcoholic, described Georgetown Prep as "a nest of debauchery" and says his drinking and "immorality" began there. In his memoir, Wasted: Tales of a Genx Drunk, he wrote about a "Bart O'Kavanaugh", who drank until he passed out and "puked" in someone's car.

3) In his high school yearbook, Brett Kavanaugh lists himself as treasurer of the "100 Kegs or Bust" club. Members were apparently committed to drinking 100 kegs of beer.

4) Also in his high school yearbook, Kavanaugh bragged of being a "Renate alumnius [sic]." A photograph of the football team is captioned "Renate alumni". The Renate in question appears to be a Renate Schroeder Dolphin, who initially supported Kavanaugh. In a statement to the NYT, she said, "I learned about these yearbook pages only a few days ago. I don't know what 'Renate Alumnus' actually means. I can't begin to comprehend what goes through the minds of 17-year-old boys who write such things, but the insinuation is horrible, hurtful, and simply untrue. I pray their daughters are never treated this way. I will have no further comment." Kavanaugh, through his lawyer, claimed that he merely kissed Renate, which she denies.

5) Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's, has alleged that he exposed himself and dangled his privates in her face during a drinking game that occured in the 1983-1984 academic year. She claims to recall another male student shouting down the hall that "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face." She admits to having been drunk and slurring her words at the time. The New Yorker has has contacted several of Kavanaugh's and Ramirez's former classmates. One says he remembers hearing about the story second-hand and that he is certain he was told that Kavanaugh exposed himself to Ramirez. Others declined to comment or said they don't remember the party.

6) Kavanaugh's freshman roommate at Yale, James Roche, describes Kavanaugh as a "notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time" who was "aggressive and belligerent" when drunk, and that he remembers Kavanaugh "drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk."

7) Amy Chua (of "Tiger Mom" fame), a Yale law professor who has endorsed Kavanaugh, apparently told a group of her students that "it's not an accident" all of Kavanaugh's female law clerks "looked like models." Her husband, Jeb Rubenfeld, allegedly told a student that Kavanaugh "hires women with a certain look." Rubenfeld now denies the comments were ever made.

8) Michael Avenatti, lawyer to Stormy Daniels, claims he has credible evidence of at least one more accuser.

9) Kavanaugh, in a 2015 speech at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, joked that "What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep," and went on to say, "I think that's been a good thing for all of us."

10) In 1998, while working for independent counsel Ken Starr on the Monica Lewinsky case, Kavanaugh encouraged the Independent Counsel to ask Bill Clinton several very prurient, invasive, and explicit questions. In the same menu, he accuses Clinton of disgracing "his Office, the legal system, and the American people by having sex with a 22-year-old intern and turning her life into a shambles -- callous and disgusting behavior that has somehow got lost in the shuffle."

It's hard to prove decades-old allegations, but what reason would these women have to lie when telling the truth is only going to bring down further humiliation on their heads? Points 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9 certainly make the allegations seem more likely than not.

If one assumes the allegations are true, then one has to ask whether the behavior, while falling-down drunk, of a young man in his late teens is relevant to his fitness to do a job today. We know, at the very least, that he drank heavily, could be unpleasant when drunk, and, as the Renate quotes in his high school yearbook reveal, his attitude toward women could be exploitative and callous. Perhaps he's gone through a St. Augustine-style transformation and is now a veritable saint? Even if one assumes that to be true, how could he be a credible arbitrator when ruling on decisions that involve young people? If he got away with attempted rape as a teen, how could he be taken seriously if a case came before the court involving, for example, sexual abuse or discriminatory sentencing of young black teens (and many young black men have done hard time for marijuana possession, never mind attempted rape)? His image and the verifiable aspects of his behavior would undermine respect for his judgments and hence for the justice system.

And then point 10 annihilates his credibility.  If he wanted to play Torquemada to Bill Clinton, how can he play obsequious sycophant to Donald Trump, whose "locker room talk" literally involved bragging about sexual assault? How can he complain that Clinton's behavior (which, while inappropriate, involved consensual oral sex with another adult, not attempted rape of a minor) was disgraceful and shameful, while he has not publicly condemned Trump's pussy-grabbing comments? This is a major point against Kavanaugh. It shows him to be yet another partisan, holier-than-thou hypocrite with a political agenda and a less than spotless personal life of his own.

Kavanaugh appears to be just another good, old boy -- an entitled, over-privileged, self-absorbed elitist who has never been held accountable for his behavior as he's sipped from the silver spoon. He may not be possessed of any outstanding ability. Without his Georgetown Prep education and pedigree, he might not have been accepted to Yale; without Yale, he might not have got into Yale Law School; and without Yale (or Harvard) Law School, it's very unlikely he would have been nominated for the Supreme Court. That crucible of privilege and elitism doesn't simply buy people greater status than they're worth; it tends to render them unsympathetic and callous toward people outside their coterie of power. This is reflected in Kavanaugh's objectification of women (the allegations are unproven, but his comments about "Renate" are not.)

The Hampton Roads Area

I recently spent a wonderful few days few days (9/6 to 9/11) with Craig in Chesapeake, VA, and its surrounds. It was a work trip for Craig, but I went with him to celebrate our anniversary on Sunday, September 9. As we were there over the weekend, we had time to do some sight-seeing. We also enjoyed sampling some of the local restaurants.

I was initially a bit puzzled that the area is called Hampton Roads. Roads? Apparently the word comes from roadstead, meaning a sheltered body of water and defined in maritime law as "a known general station for ships, notoriously used as such, and distinguished by the name." In this case, the "notoriously used" body of water incorporates the Chesapeake Bay, and the mouths of the Elizabeth, Nansemond, and James Rivers, along with several smaller rivers, which empty into the bay. "Hampton Roads" refers both to the roadstead and the surrounding metropolitan area in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina, which includes Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach in Virginia, and Elizabeth City and Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina.

The area felt like a resort with its beaches, waterways, lush foliage, heat, and humidity. Being used to dry heat, I found the humidity somewhat novel and surprisingly relaxing, although I also appreciated the A/C and the hotel pool.

While we were out there, we visited the Virginia Aquarium. We didn't get out into the marshland hike, but we enjoyed the usual sampling of sharks, jellyfish, and rays.

On Sunday, which was our anniversary, we visited Dismal Swamp State Park, with its canal, creeks, and dense forest,  just across the state border near South Mills, North Carolina. As we walked along the boardwalk, just a little above the marsh, we saw lots of butterflies, a turtle,  and several dainty, little white-tailed deer. At the end of the boardwalk, we saw an exhibit containing two very playful North American river otters. The beauty of the site is tarnished by its association with slavery. Slave labor was used to drain and log the swamp, and a long canal was built with slave labor. Escaped slaves (sometimes called "maroons") took refuge in the swamp, and it was used as a route along the Underground Railway. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow captured the contrast between the natural beauty of the site and its cruel past in the poem The Slave in the Dismal Swamp. Two stanzas that juxtapose the natural beauty of the swamp with the suffering that occurred there are:

"A poor old slave, infirm and lame;
     Great scars deformed his face;
On his forehead he bore the brand of shame,
And the rags, that hid his mangled frame,
     Were the livery of disgrace.

All things above were bright and fair,
     All things were glad and free;
Lithe squirrels darted here and there,
And wild birds filled the echoing air
     With songs of Liberty!"

Possibly as a response to Longfellow's poem, David Edward Cronin, who fought for the Union during the Civil War, painted Fugitive Slaves in the Dismal Swamp, Virginia, in 1888.

Fugitive Slaves in the Dismal Swamp, 1888

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote an anti-slavery novel,  Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp, about maroons living in the swamp.

For our anniversary dinner, we revisited an Italian restaurant, Reginella's Trattoria & Pizzeria in Chesapeake I'd fallen in love with a few days earlier. Craig suggested going somewhere "fancier", but I enjoyed it so much the first time that I was delighted to go there again. I was not disappointed! 'Wonderful food, and the chianti was very good too!

While Craig was at work on Monday, I drove up to Jamestown. I took Highway 64, which meant crossing over Chesapeake Bay via the bridge tunnel. On the way, I stopped in Williamsburg and visited the College of William and Mary.

Jamestown, on the banks of the James River, was established in 1607 and was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Initially, it seemed a miserable place to stay. On May 24, 1607, Captain Christopher Newport dropped off 104 men and boys at the site and went back to England. When he returned with about 100 more settlers in January, 1608, only 38 of the original 104 had survived. Another convoy of nine ships, bearing supplies and more colonists,  left England on June 2, 1609, but two of the ships were separated from the others in a storm (possibly a hurricane). One of the two, the Sea Venture, was stranded in Bermuda, while the other returned to England. Seven made it to Jamestown, where they dropped off another 200-300 settlers but few supplies. In the meantime, the colony leadership had begun to quarrel. John Ratcliffe threatened to have John Smith hanged, and eventually sent him back to England to "answer for his conduct." This was probably a blessing in disguise for Smith, given that he escaped the coming famine and avoided the same fate as Ratcliffe, who was captured in November, 1609, by Powhatan's forces and tortured to death. At the start of the winter of 1609, there were some 500 settlers living at Jamestown. Only 60 were left when help arrived in May 1610. That winter is known as the Starving Time. The Jamestown fort was besieged by Native Americans and lacked stores of food. Colonists were forced to eat horses, cats, and dogs, and even, according to archaeological evidence discovered in 2012, practiced survival cannibalism,

The colony stumbled on, recovered, and became profitable through its tobacco industry. Pocahontas, the favorite child of Powhatan, the paramount Native America chief of the region, was kidnapped and held for ransom by the settlers in 1613 as part of some Anglo-Indian conflict. While in captivity, she converted to Christianity, adopted the name Rebecca, and, in April 1614, at the age of 17, she married the tobacco planter, John Rolfe. They had one son, Thomas, who had one daughter, Jane, who had one son, John Bolling (Jane married a Robert Bolling and died shortly after the birth of their first child.) After that, the family became much more prolific, and many people, including two former first ladies (Edith Bolling Wilson and Nancy Reagan), claim to be direct descendents of Pocahontas. At the gift shop in Jamestown, I bought The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History, by Dr. Linwood "Little Bear" Custalow and Angela L. Daniel "Silver Star". More on that later ...