PrairiePundit

Clarice Feldman: Life in a Gynocracy The performance of women this week – from Senator Dianne Feinstein to Christine Blasey Ford to the howling mobs on Capitol Hill – made me seriously consider surgically altering my sex. They are demanding special treatment because of their sex and in the process placing all of us – male and female alike – at peril of witch hunts against men and then, in time, against all who will not bow to their rule. ... I want you to pay attention to the distortions of language and statistics used to advance the gynocrats' agenda. Since when do those accusing others of crimes become "survivors" rather than "accusers"? How you frame your self-description affects views, doesn't it? If you claimed that someone had raped you, why must we always believe you just because you tag yourself "a survivor"? Do we do this with those who claim to have been robbed or beaten? "I'm a robbery survivor, so you have to belie

Washington Examiner: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., vowed Sunday to launch a thorough inquiry into Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to find out whether there was any wrongdoing in how they managed the sexual misconduct allegation Christine Blasey Ford leveled at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. "We're going to do a wholesale, full scale investigation of what I think was a despicable process to deter it from happening again," Graham said during an interview on ABC News' "This Week." "The FBI will do a supplemental background investigation, then I'm going to call for an investigation of what happened in this committee. Who betrayed Dr. Ford's trust? Who in Feinstein's office recommended Katz as a lawyer? Why did Ms. Ford not know that the committee was willing to go to California?" Graham continued, referring to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Debra Katz, one of Ford's attorneys who has been involved in Democ

Rick Moran: McCaskill takes a hit in the polls after opposing Kavanaugh confirmation ... Significantly, the poll found that 49 percent of likely voters said the Supreme Court confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh has made them less likely to vote for McCaskill, while only 42 percent said it made them more likely to vote for her. ... Hawley now leads the race 48 to  46.  He is the state Attorney General.  This would be a pick up of a seat by the GOP if his lead holds.

Red States: What Sorcery Is This? Kavanaugh — And Justice — Receive Support From Women Much of the media would like to ignore these women. But they should be heard and believed, right?

Thomas Lifson: The Democrat-media complex pulled off another fake news psy-op yesterday, spreading the lie that the American Bar Association has thrown its considerable institutional weight behind the Democrats' demand to delay confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Did it affect Jeff Flake's decision to flake? We'll never know, but it is a good bet that farm more people heard and read the lie than will ever see any correction. Twitchy documents the entire disgraceful episode, starting with the New York Times , which wrote: The American Bar Association called Thursday evening for postponing a vote on Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court until sexual assault and misconduct allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford and others are investigated by the F.B.I. Fake! But the lie was spread quickly: Eight long hours later, the Senate Judiciary Comittee tweeted out its correction.... ... The Democrats quickly seized on the bog

Dallas Morning News: It was a powerful anecdote. At the first Senate debate, Rep. Beto O'Rourke illustrated the plight of "Dreamers" by talking about the salutatorian at tiny Booker High School in the Texas Panhandle, recently deported to his country of origin, not even speaking the language. The congressman had embellished what he'd been told on a visit to Booker 14 months ago. And even that version, it turns out, got key facts wrong. The honor student in question was actually the valedictorian. She spoke the language. It happened a decade ago, not recently. And most importantly, said Yamile Guerrero Rosales, "I wasn't deported, but I had to figure life out on my own for six months with a baby," stuck in Juarez, Mexico, until her paperwork came through. Born in Durango, Mexico, she's now 30 and was naturalized two years ago as an American. She's raising two kids in Booker with a third coming any day, working as an accountant at a f

IBD: Remember when everybody said that the "unexpectedly" strong economy under President Trump had nothing to do with his policies? He was just lucky because the global economy was booming, they said. Well, that attempt to dismiss the Trump boom just fell by the wayside. Every three months, CNBC surveys its Global CFO Council to get their reading of the global economy. The council is comprised of Chief Financial Officers of the world's largest 113 companies that combined are worth nearly $5 trillion. The latest survey shows that these CFOs see only one economy in the world that is currently improving. The United States. They rate every other nation or region one as either "stable" or "declining." That includes the UK, the Euro Zone, Canada, Japan, China, Russia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa. The fact that the U.S. appears to be pulling away from the rest of the world hasn't gone unnoticed, at least not in the White House. At a s

Daily Wire: The Senate Judiciary Committee has referred potentially false allegations of misconduct by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to federal law enforcement officials for criminal investigation after the accuser recanted their story. "In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Chris Wray, Chairman Chuck Grassley sought a criminal referral of the actions by a named individual who provided Congress with the information, diverting Committee resources from an ongoing investigation," The Senate Judiciary Committee said in a statement. "Committee investigators have actively pursued a number of tips the committee has received regarding the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, though the committee has not been able to substantiate any allegations of wrongdoing by Kavanaugh," the statement continued. "One tip was referred to the committee by staff for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). While Whitehouse referred the accuse

Stella Morabito: Why The Senate’s Ritual Defamation Of Brett Kavanaugh Threatens Every American Perhaps an apt metaphor for ritual defamation is the gang rape of one’s character and good name. This episode represents a rape of the rule of law, and of Brett Kavanaugh’s character. Any rational observer of the Democrats’ non-stop character assassination machine can see that something is seriously sick in our republic. Instead of allowing Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were permitted to use trumped-up, hip-pocketed charges to stage a show trial more in tune with a totalitarian system. Like Justice Clarence Thomas before him, Kavanaugh has undergone pre-meditated, well-coordinated attacks by Democrat elites who cling to the apron strings of an anti-human brand of feminism to justify this craft. There’s a good term for the practice they’re engaged in: ritual defamation. Perhaps an apt metaphor for ritual d

Michael Mukasey and C. Boydon Gray: It has been 16 months this week since Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller III as a special counsel to “investigate any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,” as described in Mr. Rosenstein’s May 17, 2017, letter appointing the special counsel. But that appointment letter ignored the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) special counsel regulations set forth in 28 CFR SEC. 600 et seq., and the standards and regulations published by the DOJ in the “Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide” (DIOG) that require a predicate criminal offense before an investigation can be commenced. Under the department’s guidelines, the agency is permitted “to conduct investigations to detect, obtain information about, and prevent and protect against federal crimes,” requiring some reasonable basis for commencing an investigation after having first iden

Betsy McCaughey: Students wrongly accused of sexual misconduct by campus disciplinary systems are turning to the legal system, and winning vindication in court. Judges are tossing out the life-ruining punishments meted out by “guilty until proven innocent” campus tribunals that stack the deck against the accused. This month, Judge Amul Thapar of the federal Sixth Circuit appeals court declared that students charged with sexual misconduct have a right to due process, including a courtroom-like hearing, where both the accuser and the accused are cross-examined. Thapar’s ruling describes cross-examination as “the greatest legal engine ever invented” for “uncovering the truth.” Of course, that’s not how it works on most campuses today, where the accuser is prematurely deemed a “survivor” before any evidence of a crime, and doesn’t have to face the accused. Challenges to these Kafkaesque proceedings are heading to the Supreme Court, where Brett Kavanaugh is nominated to serve . If he’s se

Patricia McCarthy: ... She (Ford) is fifty-two years old but seemed childlike. She speaks in a child's voice, which rose in pitch at the end of every sentence as though she is unsure about the validity of her own words. She was at times cheerful and giddy, which was off-putting, given the reason she was there: to shatter a fine man's life's work. She has traveled the world but had told the committee she was afraid to fly. So she is not an honest person. But she is clearly damaged, and those lawyers and whoever recruited them should be indicted for cruelty to an unstable person. Her lawyers and Dianne Feinstein have abused her horribly and used her as their tool to ruin Kavanaugh. The Democrats on the Judiciary Committee revealed their inner selves yesterday, and it was an ugly, ugly picture. Every one of them attacked, demeaned, and verbally assaulted Judge Kavanaugh. Not one of them was civil or respectful to this man, who has led a life of high achievement, s

Ed Morrissey: Gillibrand: How Dare The Man Dems Called “Evil” Attack Democrats In His Hearing, Or Something Democrats would have booed the Christians who fought back against the lions in the Coliseum. ... Anger at those who have wronged one is a natural sentiment, and that is precisely what Kavanaugh demonstrated yesterday. As for the judicial temperament argument, it’s absurd as well. Kavanaugh wasn’t acting as a judge yesterday, but as someone publicly accused and being publicly judged of a serious charge without any corroboration or evidence to support it. Judges aren’t supposed to be emotionless drones anyway, but to fault him for anger at those who have set up an environment for a smear campaign — some of whom have actively participated in it — is a bald and grotesque attempt to shift blame and goalposts. ...

I have to admit to an instant dislike of this guy because of his Eddie Haskell demeanor.  But for a guy who lied about serving in Vietnam to lecture an honest man like Kavanaugh on lying pegged my BS meter.   Tom Cotton ✔ @TomCottonAR . @ SenBlumenthal lied for years about serving in Vietnam, which is all you need to know about his courage & honesty. Maybe he should reconsider before questioning Judge Kavanaugh’s credibility. 4:53 PM - Sep 27, 2018 48.1K 23K people are talking about this

Michael Anton: ... Let’s examine more closely that Left—the side they’ve joined. The Left has created a new “standard” for American politics—indeed, new in the entire history of Anglo-American jurisprudence. Let us call it the Gillibrand Standard, after its most insistent advocate, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). According to the Gillibrand Standard, accusation suffices to destroy. Not only is no corroborating evidence necessary, to ask for such evidence makes one just as guilty as the accused. Especially monstrous is to ask questions of the accuser; that is to repeat or compound the alleged crime. The accusation, once stated, immediately takes on metaphysical certainty. To doubt is to blaspheme. Actually, “accusation” is too generous. Machiavelli distinguishes between “accusation” and “calumny” in order to demonstrate that “as much as accusations are useful to republics, so much are calumnies pernicious.” The difference is that accusations are public, subject to critique a

Stacey Lennox: ... They have asked the FBI to do the same social colonscopy of Dr. Ford and the other accusers that they have done of Brett Kavanaugh six times. Dr. Ford, a woman who wanted to remain anonymous, will be subject to personal questions about her marital therapy in far more detail than the Committee did. If she did in fact give her treatment records to the Washington Post, she has essentially waived confidentiality and the content will be assessed. Let's remember she also made academic performance an issue related to her trauma. Her college years may be put up to scrutiny next. And anyone and everyone who ever knew her who may have an ax to grind will come out of the woodwork. Let's never forget, only Democrats had her letter. The denials from Feinstein's office ring very hollow. Ms. Swetnick, who I honestly view as a tool of the #CreepyPornLawyer at this point, is going to have her entire social history looked out. From the brief glimpse's I have see

Power Line: ... I think that Judge Kavanaugh’s pristine reputation is one reason why the Democrats have unleashed against him a smear campaign unparalleled in American history. This is the message they are trying to send: If we can do this to the Boy Scout Brett Kavanaugh, we can do it to anyone. Are you thinking of serving in a Republican administration? Or accepting an appointment to the federal judiciary from a Republican president? Think twice, and then think again. Because our smear machine will reach back to middle school if necessary. If we can’t find any dirt on you, we will manufacture some. There is no depth to which we will not stoop, and your honesty, integrity and spotless reputation are no match for our control over the media and our determination to dredge up ridiculous allegations against anyone who stands in our way. Really, the more ridiculous the better. If we can accuse Brett Kavanaugh, one of the most respected lawyers and judges in America, of gang rape, we

Christopher Buskirk: Democrat blood lust has energised Republicans ahead of the midterms Anyone can see the Kavanaugh slanders for what they are: brass-knuckled, any weapon at hand, dirty dealing Another woman accuses Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. A third says she was at multiple parties in the Eighties where women, including herself, were drugged and gang raped by the Supreme Court nominee and his friends. But she kept going back. And never complained until two days before an important Senate vote. And, coincidentally, Christine Blasey Ford’s attorney was her attorney in a sexual harassment suit 10 years ago. And we’re supposed to believe all this. ... These false charges have done more to anger GOP voters than anything in recent memory.  They are an escalation of the "resistance" to Trump's victory and the continuing effort to delegitimize it.

Marc Thiessen: As the father of two daughters, I want them to live in a world where they are treated with respect and never experience sexual abuse -- and if they ever do, they are taken seriously. As the father of two sons, I want them to live in a world where their lives and reputations cannot be destroyed by allegations without corroboration. Thursday's hearing did not add an iota of corroboration to Christine Blasey Ford's allegations against Brett M. Kavanaugh. It remains true that none of the people Ford named, man or woman, has confirmed that the gathering in question took place at all, much less that any assault occurred. Ford says her friend Leland Keyser was at the party; Keyser may have told The Washington Post that she believes Ford, but that means nothing: As Kavanaugh pointed out, Keyser "said under penalty of felony she does not know me, does not ever recall being at a party with me ever." Ford was too young to drive but cannot recall how she got th

Derek Hunter: Is There A Decent Democrat Left In America? There may be some, but very few of them are Democrat politicians.  Those politicians have disgraced themselves with their bad faith attempt to take down Brett Kavanaugh.

Thomas Pyle: The Environmental Left relishes its carefully crafted image as a modern-day David battling the mighty fossil fuel giants in an epic struggle to save our dying planet. While it may sound compelling, this narrative is simply false. What is conveniently left out, and often underreported, is that the environmental movement is a deep-pocketed and powerful force in American politics, orchestrating efforts to restrict the production and movement of our domestic natural resources and upend our energy markets. This multi-billion dollar effort weakens our nation’s energy prosperity, does little by way of environmental protection, and disproportionately harms the poor, the elderly, and those on fixed incomes. In July, Huffington Post published an article perpetuating the myth that “Fossil Fuel Industries Outspend Clean Energy Advocates On Climate Lobbying By 10 To 1.” This misleading claim gives an incomplete picture of the green advocacy movement. More accurately, the green lo

Washington Times: A judge on Thursday ruled California’s sanctuary law tramples on the state’s charter cities, dealing a major blow to the state Democratic establishment’s anti-Trump policy. California Judge James Crandall ruled in favor of Huntington Beach, which had argued it should be exempt from the law, which prohibits locales from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Judge Crandall issued his ruling after a hearing Thursday, The Los Angeles Times reported. Huntington Beach was one of a number of California jurisdictions that moved to try to thwart the state’s law, SB 54, which took effect at the beginning of this year. California’s Democrat-led government had adopted the law as a political jab at the Trump administration, which has tried to increase deportations of illegal immigrants. State officials say that having police cooperate in deportations scares immigrants, both legal and illegal, who then refuse to cooperate with authorities on other matters.

Erick Erickson: Republican Senators think they not only have enough Republican votes to confirm Kavanaugh, but think they have Democrat votes as well. A senior Republican Senator confirms to me that former President George W. Bush has been whipping votes for Kavanaugh over the past few days and has been able to help where President Trump could not. Likewise, I am told Rachel Mitchell has been quite persuasive with Republican Senators. Her line of questioning confirmed to several of the Republicans that the Ford accusation was a carefully scripted and rolled out Democrat operation to assassinate Kavanaugh's character. Her line of questioning made a few wavering Republicans realize it would only get worse if they abandoned him. Additionally, after the hearing was over, Mitchell told Republican Senators that in her professional judgment she could not only not prosecute Kavanaugh for what he was accused of, but also could not even get a warrant. Mitchell's presence and line o

Washington Examiner Editorial: C hristine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh came to the Senate Judiciary Committee with  emotional and powerful testimony  on Thursday. Ford told a story of trauma and bravery. Kavanaugh brought outrage and righteous anger. The anger and suffering of both had the same just cause — the disgusting perfidy of Senate Democrats. [ Click here for complete Kavanaugh coverage ] The party of the Left has shown that there is no calumny it will not retail, no false or uncorroborated allegation it will not use to whip up ideological passions, and no depths to which it will not stoop to win and hold power. Let's hope voters look at the noisome spectacle that has just taken place on Capitol Hill and deliver a resounding rebuke to the people who perpetrated it. Their behavior during the Kavanaugh confirmation process outstrips even the disgraceful conduct of their partisan forebears at the confirmation hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Thursday was

BBC: Police in the Netherlands have arrested seven men over an alleged plot to carry out what they describe as a major terrorist attack involving guns and explosives. Police say the men were trying to source AK47s, hand grenades and bomb materials to carry out their attack. The men, aged between 21 and 34, were arrested on Thursday. Three had been arrested previously for trying to travel abroad to join foreign militants. Prosecutors say the man at the centre of the group is a 34-year-old of Iraqi origin, who was convicted in 2017 for trying to travel to fight for the Islamic State group. They say they were tipped off about the plot in April 2018 by intelligence services, who said the main suspect wanted to target "a large event in the Netherlands where there would be a lot of victims". The seven men were arrested in the central city of Arnhem and southern municipality of Weert on Thursday afternoon by anti-terrorism teams from the country's Special Interven

I am a retired corporate lawyer and not a psychologist.  However, I am close to several people who are and one of my best friends was a senior executive in a psychological testing firm that did work for large corporations around the world.  In talking with him about his work he suggested that I take the test and was willing to waive the fee which was substantial.  It revealed several things, but one of the more interesting was that I had very low empathy.  It is not that I did not care about people, I was just brutally realistic in dealing with problems.  He suggested I would have fit in nicely as a triage doctor in an overworked emergency room. Some of that comes from my experience as an officer in a Marine Corps infantry unit in Vietnam where one has to remain functional and in command when things are happening all around and the unit is experiencing casualties.  It also comes from working in a corporate environment where many times tough decisions must be made in a short period of

The Hill: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) grew visibly angry and yelled at Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and other committee Democrats in a fiery exchange during Thursday’s hearing, accusing them of trying to destroy Brett Kavanaugh’s life. “If you wanted a FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, you could have come to us," Graham said after asking Kavanaugh if he knew Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) staff had the allegation of sexual assault against him for more than 20 days. "What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that not me,” Graham yelled, his face turning red. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” he said, turning to Kavanaugh. “When you see [Supreme Court justices] Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello, ‘cause I voted for them." Turning back to the Durbin and Feinstein, Graham added, “I would never do to them what you do this guy.” Graham called the fight over Kavanaug

Guardian: Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Israel had identified a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran, containing nuclear equipment and radioactive material. Israel’s prime minister called for new sanctions against Iran and accused European leaders of “appeasement” for opposing them. In a speech to the UN general assembly on Thursday, Netanyahu said he was revealing the existence of the “atomic warehouse” for the first time in public. As he has in past presentations, Netanyahu brought visual aids to illustrate his claims. He held up a satellite image which he said showed where the warehouse was located in Tehran, and a photograph of a non-descript wall and metal gate, which he said showed of the exterior of warehouse. Netanyahu described the facility as a “secret atomic warehouse for storing massive amounts of equipment and materiel from Iran’s secret nuclear weapons programme”, but gave no further details, other than to allege that government officials had spread 15kg

Washington Examiner: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ripped his Senate confirmation process as a "circus" that has led to smears and threats against his family, and said the Senate effort to investigate sexual assault claims against him has become a “national disgrace.” "This confirmation process has become a national disgrace,” Kavanaugh said during his opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The Constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process. But you have replaced advise and consent with search and destroy,” he continued. "I swear today under oath before the Senate and the nation, before my family and God, I am innocent of this charge," he said. Kavanaugh's wife was seen crying behind him as he spoke, and Kavanaugh himself choked up as he described his 10-year-old daughter suggesting they pray for Ford. ... But he also spoke angrily about the last 10 days, during which he said his famil

James Robbins: Have Democrats gone so overboard in trying to demonize Brett Kavanaugh that they risk a backlash from upstanding men and the women who love them? Let’s start with the premise that Democrats want to keep Judge Kavanaugh off the high court by any means necessary. Their modus operandi is to bring up alleged sexual assault charges late in the game to delay or derail the nomination process. They see it as a win-win: they either destroy Kavanaugh, discourage the Republican voter base, and deal a significant blow to the Trump presidency (the real target of all this); or Republicans hang together in the face of this political monsoon, confirm Kavanaugh, and alienate women voters in the process, leading to Democratic victories in the midterm election. Democrats seem to think this political game won’t cost them. But they have left the reaction of men out of the equation. An NPR/Marist poll this week finds that a plurality of Americans are undecided on the issue, but there

Daily Caller: ... Ford’s claim that there were “4 boys and a couple of girls” at the party contradicts Ford and her lawyer’s other accounts of how many people were present. In her letter to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Ford claimed that there were “four others” present. She also told The Washington Post that there were “four boys at the party” and two — Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge — in the room where the assault allegedly occurred. Ford’s lawyer, Debra Katz, later told CNN that there were four guys and one other girl at the party. (RELATED: Kavanaugh Accuser’s Lawyer Adds Detail Omitted In Feinstein Letter) “She says that there were four guys there, these are high school students, as was she. There were four guys there. Were there any girls there that day?” CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota asked Katz on Sept. 17. “Yes, there was another girl at this party,” Katz replied. Since Ford’s allegations were first made public, there have been three different accounts of ho

Daily Signal: A woman and friend who knew Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a high school student says allegations of sexual misconduct from a third accuser are “false.” “This claim is absolutely false and absurd,” Meghan McCaleb, a friend of Kavanaugh’s since high school, told The Daily Signal of allegations from Julie Swetnick, which were made public Wednesday. Swetnick, who says she is a graduate of Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, claims she saw Kavanaugh “drink excessively at many of these parties and engage in abusive and physically aggressive behavior towards girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, ‘grinding’ against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girls’ clothing to expose private body parts.” Gaithersburg High is a public school in Montgomery County, Maryland, about 10 miles north of Georgetown Prep, the private school Kavanaugh attended. “We never hung out with anyone from Gaithersburg High School, there

Daily Caller: George Soros has indirectly funded Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the infamous Steele dossier, a spokesman for the billionaire financier has acknowledged. Michael Vachon, the Soros aide, told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that Soros provided a grant to a nonprofit group called the Democracy Integrity Project. That organization, which was formed in 2017 by Daniel Jones, a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer for Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, paid Fusion GPS as a contractor to continue an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The Post column confirms what a Washington, D.C., lawyer named Adam Waldman told The Daily Caller News Foundation about a conversation he had with Jones in March 2017. Waldman was an attorney for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. He also worked in some capacity for Christopher Steele, according to text messages he exchanged with Virginia Sen. Mark Warne

Thomas Lifson: Oops! Arizona Dem Senate candidate Krysten Sinema caught lying about her past ... ... In a campaign video, she tugged at heartstrings, claiming (via the Daily Caller ): "First we lost our car, then we lost our home," Sinema says in an ad. "For nearly three years, we lived in an old abandoned gas station without running water or electricity. Sometimes we didn't have enough food to eat, but we got by, thanks to help from family, church and sometimes even the government. Those were tough times, but I knew it could be different. I never believed that being homeless was going to stop me from being who I wanted to be." Just one little problem, as the Daily Caller notes: [C]ourt documents obtained by TheNYT reveal that Sinema's mother and stepfather had provided a judge with records detailing monthly payments they made for electricity, phone and gas bills during that time. ... She had no explanation for her false statements.   S

Bill Gertz: China's communist government is conducting overt and covert influence operations aimed at swaying the upcoming November elections in a bid to undermine President Trump, the president disclosed on Wednesday. The election interference includes targeting American farmers with propaganda and anti-Trump political activities in states carried by Trump in the 2016 election. "Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election coming up in November against my administration," Trump said during a session of the U.N. Security Council in New York. "They do not want me, or us, to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade. And we are winning on trade. We are winning at every level. We don't want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election." The unprecedented disclosure of Chinese election interference comes as the United States and China are locked in a trade war. The

Washington Examiner: Senate Judiciary Committee staffers have spoken to two men who separately claim they could be the one described by Christine Blasey Ford, not Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Aides to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, met with the one of the men Monday after he sent them a written statement asserting he "had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982," according to a summary of the panel's efforts to investigate Ford's allegation. They then interviewed the unidentified man a second time before obtaining a more in-depth written account from him on Wednesday. The committee's investigative staff on Wednesday additionally spoke on the telephone with another man claiming he was the man described by Ford, Grassley's summary continued. ... This will complicate things for Ford and the Democrats.  I suspect that the anti-Kavanaugh forces will contest the claim and use it as another excuse for their real objective to

Daily Wire: Former Hillary Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon gave a revealing interview to The New York Times Wednesday, outlining activists' plan to scuttle Brett Kavanaugh's nomination and keep the Supreme Court seat vacant — and "out of Trump's hands" — until 2020. Fallon now headlines a group called "Demand Justice," which, among other legislative priorities, is seeking revenge for the Senate's treatment of former President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland. Their plan, Fallon says, is to make sure President Donald Trump is similarly deprived of a SCOTUS pick, and they'll do what they have to in order to keep Kavanaugh off the bench. ... "If Kavanaugh drops out, we're halfway there," Fallon explains. The second part of Fallon's genius plan comes in November: "If Democrats are able to win back the Senate, we'd have a path to blocking Trump from picking any of the archconservatives

Telegraph: One of the trained assassins wanted for poisoning Sergei Skripal is a decorated colonel in Russian military intelligence given the country’s highest award by Vladimir Putin. The real identity of one of the wanted men in the nerve agent attack - named by counter-terrorism police as Ruslan Boshirov - can be disclosed as Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga. The 39-year-old, who has served in wars in Chechnya and Ukraine, was made a Hero of the Russian Federation by decree of the President in 2014 in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy. The disclosure, uncovered by investigative journalist organisation Bellingcat in conjunction with The Telegraph, exposes as lies Mr Putin’s claims that the Skripals'... ... What could motivate Putin to use such assets against a guy and his daughter who were no longer a threat to him?  Revenge comes to mind and perhaps a message to other Russians who might also think of "betraying" him.

Washington Post: Without offering evidence, Trump accuses China of interfering in midterm elections At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, the president asserted Beijing was retaliating against his administration over the escalating trade war. It tells you something about media bias when you see the media offering evidence-free allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and at the same time ignoring the evidence of the Chinses trying to influence the election by targetting their new tariffs in states that support Trump and Republicans. I get it.  They hate Trump and they are glad China is targetting Republicans who support him.  They hate Kavanaugh and they are glad that Democrats are making unsubstantiated charges against him because they would rather have a liberal on the court.

Washington Times: The domestic-abuse allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison are creating headaches not only for his campaign but the candidacies of two fellow Democrats, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. Both Democratic senators are being accused of hypocrisy taking a hard line on the allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, while going easy on the claims against Mr. Ellison leveled over a month ago by his ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan. Republican state Sen. Karin Housley, who’s running against the newly appointed Smith in the November special election, last weekend called out “my opponent’s continued hypocrisy” on the accusations. “For Tina Smith to call for a ‘full and thorough investigation’ into the allegations made against Brett Kavanaugh but openly campaign with her friend Keith Ellison is hypocritical, offensive and just plain wrong,” Ms. Housley said in a statement. The Housley campaign is running a digital ad showcasing Ms. Smith’s ties t

Jonah Goldberg: ... And belief is all that matters. “We believe Dr. Ford,” Senator Chris Coons (D., Del.) said, speaking for many colleagues who’ve made similar declarations of faith. “The truth is, I believe her,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.). “She has a credible allegation against Judge Kavanaugh.” Okay, but credible means “believable,” not “true.” Au contraire, cry the witch-hunters. “The existence of credible allegations against Judge Kavanaugh should be disqualifying,” writes law professor Kate Shaw in the New York Times. “If members of the Senate conclude that a credible accusation of sexual misconduct has been made against Judge Kavanaugh, that should be enough to disqualify him.” But even credibility requires more than simply saying the right words or incanting the required shibboleths. “Look, if someone says, ‘My car got stolen,’ you don’t presume they’re lying,” Senator Patty Murray (D., Wash.) said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “But if someone says,

Michael Goodwin: ... With Democrats going mad, Republicans going wobbly and the media mob acting like a lynching party, it was left to the president to call bulls–t on the Brett Kavanaugh allegations — and remind the nation of the enormous stakes involved. On a normal day, in a saner world, Trump’s tough-love speech at the United Nations would deserve our full attention. It was a comprehensive outline of his America First doctrine, but the elephant in the room is that America cannot lead the world when it is unraveling at home. And so the president stepped away from the General Assembly and onto the bully pulpit to forcefully denounce the partisan attacks on his Supreme Court nominee as a “con game.” He accused Dems and, by extension, the media of playing “a very dangerous game” by instantly embracing every charge as gospel. Trump made no mention of fellow Republicans, but didn’t need to. His aggressive and at times angry pushback amounted to a certain trumpet call for GOP senators