President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

I know the Ford testimony is going to swallow up everything today, but holy shit this Michael Lewis story:

Before any of the calls could be made, however, the president of Egypt called in to the switchboard at Trump Tower and somehow got the operator to put him straight through to Trump. “Trump was like ... I love the Bangles! You know that song Walk Like an Egyptian?” recalled one of his advisers on the scene.

I posted the link several pages back, but I'm doing it again here:

‘This guy doesn’t know anything’: the inside story of Trump’s shambolic transition team

 

Of course Dana Loesch would like trash rock like that. Anthrax had one good song and It was because Public Enemy carried them.

 

I think the nomination will be pulled by the end of the day, or the end of tomorrow at the latest. Or Kavanaugh will withdraw because he "doesn't want to put his family through" the confirmation hearings.

 

One question: in her opening statement, Ms. Ford said after sending the letter to Sen. Feinstein -- which she wanted kept confidential -- reporters began coming to her home and workplace demanding a comment and telling her that her name would inevitably come out.

If she wanted the letter kept confidential, how did reporters find out? Did it occur to her to call Sen. Feinstein and ask how the hell something she wanted kept confidential was leaked?

 

Sorry, counsellor, you're not allowed to ask any more questions until you've ticked the box next to "dumb" or "asshole."

 

From what I've seen, the GOP screwed up Ms. Mitchell by breaking her questioning up in 5 min increments, really hard to sustain any continuity, really choppy. Can get good stuff in a transcript but it s not going to come off very well, at least in a trial. You don't want breaks.

Professor Ford is a strong witness, under control, not combative. My guess is that she's either testified under oath previously or was well prepared. The key for any witness is to establish your own rhythm, don't fall into the trap of trying to go with the questioner's rhythm, because the reality is that until you (witness) answer, further questions are meaningless, everyone is there to hear your testimony, not the questioner.

 

Three unrelated thoughts:

1) Wonder when someone's internet history will become an issue in a confirmation battle. I assume Google/Yahoo/etc. have too much to lose to divulge browsing data, but I imagine that in the early days of the internet lots of now-bankrupt companies collected data from cookies that showed individuals' viewing histories, and that information has probably been sold many times over.

2) Who else thinks that Gloria Allred must be pissed that she hasn't been able to insert herself into this?

3) Slight rephrasing of someone's comment from a few days ago: For those of us old enough to remember when 60 Minutes was the top-rated TV show, "Ronan Farrow would like to ask you some questions" seems like this generation's version of "Mike Wallace is at the door with a camera crew."

 

You cannot give a history of thrash metal without Spreading the Disease, Among the Living, State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time. What followed was the Dana Loesch of metal releases (The Sound of White Noise, Volume 8, Stomp 442) but they were not trash.

 

I was raped when I was 18. That is more than 35 years ago. It was a stranger, did not involve alcohol, a party, frat boys, suggestive clothing. I was walking back to my apartment from a corner store. It happened next to my apartment building. I do not remember the address of that building. I don’t remember the name of the street. I don’t remember the month, much less the date, although I think it was summer.

Do you not believe me because I don’t remember those details?

I do remember the sound of footsteps behind me and hurrying to get home. I remember being at the security door when a man at the entrance door asked me for a match. I remember him grabbing my outstretched arm and twisting it behind me. I remember him saying he had a knife to my back. I remember the feel of the ground. The details of the attack are still crystal clear in my mind.

Do you think I made up those details because of what I don’t remember?

The first thing I did when I got in my apartment was take a bath. I can remember sitting in the bath knowing this what I was not supposed to do but all I wanted to do in that moment was get clean. Sometime later that night I went to my neighbors. They eventually convinced me to call the police.

I never followed up with the police after that night. Based on the tone of their questions, it seemed clear to me that they doubted me because I didn’t fight back, especially since I didn’t see the knife the man said he had.

I never told my parents, but somehow they found out. I learned this when they told me the police doubted I had actually been raped.

I don’t know I’ve told anyone about the rape since that night.

Do you not believe me because I didn’t pursue prosecution, even destroying evidence? Because I didn’t tell my parents and haven’t told friends or therapists about my experience?

Why should you believe me? I’m not that different from Ms. Ford.

 

We've already seen pseudonymous message board posts come up in the confirmation processes of some lower court judges. It'll probably take another five or 10 years before it hits a SCOTUS nominee, but it's going to be fascinating how we decide to handle the Internet activity of people who grew up with social media as part of their daily lives.

 

My SCOTUS nomination is down the crapper.