The sad state of what used to be called "journalism". Is there no sense of pride and integrity in this profession?

Tony Branco

Grassley mows down media over Kavanaugh coverage: 'Some of you have bias'

"Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley scolded some members of the press on Thursday for being biased against Republicans and their Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

"Grassley said one incident in his office revealed that slant. He'd been visited by both pro- and anti-Kavanaugh protesters, but said in one case, a reporter refused to interview pro-Kavanaugh activists.

" 'One time, the people that were for Kavanaugh wanted to be interviewed," said Grassley, R-Iowa. "And they said, 'We're only interested in interviewing people against Kavanaugh.'"

" 'That’s a bias that none of you should be proud of," he added.

"Grassley delivered the biting criticism at a press conference to discuss a supplemental FBI background investigation report delivered early Thursday." . . .

A Fired Up Chairman Grassley Explains to the Press How Biased They Are

Ted Koppel UNLOADS: CNN’s Ratings ‘Would Be in the Toilet’ Without Trump 

"Veteran journalist Ted Koppel absolutely unloaded on CNN, Brian Stelter, and the state of journalism in 2018. Appearing in an October 1 Kalb Report forum, Koppel told CNN host Brian Stelter that the network secretly loves fighting with Trump: “CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump.” The former Nightline anchor also called for journalistic “humility” instead of “arrogance.” 

"As the panel discussed Trump, Koppel looked at Stelter and bluntly informed him: “Everybody here keeps talking about ideology and politics." “Money,” he stressed, adding, “You would be lost without Donald Trump... CNN”s ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump” A flustered Stelter sputtered, “Ted, you know that’s not true... You are playing for laughs.' ” . . .

The Mainstream Media Fraud  "The conjoined Democratic Party and mainstream media's despicable character assassination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh combined with the two-year single-minded determination to destroy the Trump presidency by any means possible has irretrievably awakened a preponderance of the citizenry.  In a recent poll, 70% of all Americans and 90% of Republicans have lost faith in the self-styled mainstream media.  They are imploding due to the self-inflicted destruction of their credibility and integrity, which has exposed the fraud this cabal has carried out over the past 85 years.  The damage done to this nation and its citizenry is incalculable." . . .

That Male Feminist Who Kicked A Pro-Life Woman? He Just Got A Small Taste Of Justice

Weasel Zippers

"Actions have consequences, screwball. Update to this story.

"Via Daily Wire:

On Wednesday, a video surfaced online of a male feminist identified as Jordan Hunt physically assaulting a woman for being pro-life.

Though Hunt is apparently still on the run and yet to be apprehended by Toronto police, he has received a small taste of the justice coming his way: The hair studio he worked at up until Wednesday, Noble Studio 101 Hair Studio, swiftly cut ties with Hunt after seeing the disturbing video, Human Defense Initiative has confirmed:

In screenshots provided to the Human Defense Initiative, when questioned about the assault, the shop replied “Was a sub contracter. Until today when I found out what happened today!!!! Not cool. He will never step foot in my studio again.”

Keep reading…

NY Times: "For Once, I’m Grateful for Trump"

From the NY Times...WAIT!...what?

"For the first time since Donald Trump entered the political fray, I find myself grateful that he’s in it. I’m reluctant to admit it and astonished to say it, especially since the president mocked Christine Blasey Ford in his ugly and gratuitous way at a rally on Tuesday. Perhaps it’s worth unpacking this admission for those who might be equally astonished to read it.

"I’m grateful because Trump has not backed down in the face of the slipperiness, hypocrisy and dangerous standard-setting deployed by opponents of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. I’m grateful because ferocious and even crass obstinacy has its uses in life, and never more so than in the face of sly moral bullying. I’m grateful because he’s a big fat hammer fending off a razor-sharp dagger.

"A few moments have crystallized my view over the past few days.

"The first moment was a remark by a friend. “I’d rather be accused of murder,” he said, “than of sexual assault.” I feel the same way. One can think of excuses for killing a man; none for assaulting a woman. But if that’s true, so is this: Falsely accusing a person of sexual assault is nearly as despicable as sexual assault itself. It inflicts psychic, familial, reputational and professional harms that can last a lifetime. This is nothing to sneer at.

"The second moment, connected to the first: “Boo hoo hoo. Brett Kavanaugh is not a victim.” That’s the title of a column in the Los Angeles Times, which suggests that the possibility of Kavanaugh’s innocence is “infinitesimal.” Yet false allegations of rape, while relatively rare, are at least five times as common as false accusations of other types of crime, according to academic literature.

"Since when did the possibility of innocence become, for today’s liberals, something to wave off with an archly unfeeling “boo hoo”?

"A third moment, connected to the second: Listening to Cory Booker explain on Tuesday that “ultimately” it doesn’t matter if Kavanaugh is “guilty or innocent,” because “enough questions” had been raised that it was time to “move on to another candidate.”

"This is a rhetorical sleight of hand in three acts: Elide the one question that really matters; raise a secondary set of “questions” that are wholly the result of the question you’ve decided to ignore; call for “another candidate” because it will push confirmation hearings past the midterms, which was the Democratic objective long before most anyone had ever of Blasey’s allegation.

"Fourth moment: Watching Julie Swetnick, the woman who accused Kavanaugh of attending parties decades earlier where women were gang raped, change key details of her story in an interview with NBC News." . . .

Read the full article and learn about the next four moments.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), join the Facebook political discussion group, Voting While Female, and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

How Jeff Flake's One-Week Delay Helped Clear Brett Kavanaugh's Name

Weekly Standard  Let us count the ways.  "When Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake insisted on an additional one-week delay of the Kavanaugh confirmation vote in order to allow the FBI to conduct a supplemental background-check investigation into allegations of sexual assault, many Republicans feared that it would accomplish nothing other than provide time for more people to smear Kavanaugh with new false allegations.

"In fact, the delay has actually helped clear Kavanaugh’s name.

"FBI investigation turns up no groundbreaking information?

"Shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 4, Democratic senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer spoke to the press following a confidential briefing about the FBI's supplemental background check. While the senators were limited about what they could say, Feinstein focused first on the fact that neither Kavanaugh nor Ford, who testified publicly for hours last week, were interviewed by the FBI.

"If the FBI investigation had turned up some groundbreaking new information, that is not the kind of thing you’d expect the Democratic senators to focus on.

"The FBI interviewed all the alleged party attendees—Ford’s lifelong female friend Leland Ingham Keyser, Kavanaugh friend P.J. Smyth, and alleged accomplice Mark Judge. Keyser had previously said she recalls no party at which Kavanaugh was present and does not know Kavanaugh. Schumer and Feinstein gave no indication Keyser has changed her story.

"The FBI also interviewed Chris Garrett, a person Ford went out with around the time of the alleged assault in 1982 and Ford’s only known social connection to Kavanaugh and Judge. The FBI also interviewed Tim Gaudette, who hosted a July 1, 1982, party that has been the focus of much speculation. Schumer and Feinstein gave no indication those interviews turned up groundbreaking information.

"Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley said in a statement: “This investigation found no hint of misconduct and the same is true of the six prior FBI background investigations conducted during Judge Kavanaugh’s 25 years of public service.

”Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a key undecided vote, said this morning: "It appears to be a very thorough investigation.” 

"Senator Flake told reporters: “We’ve seen no additional corroborating information.”

" By all indications, the additional FBI investigation has been good for Kavanaugh. 

"Let’s also consider the other ways in which the week-long delay helped Kavanaugh clear his name. " . . .

2001 video shows Obama admitting being a 'thug,' fighting, drinking, drugging in high school

Many of us dislike this man intensely, though not for his past but his political and diplomatic philosophy. Obama's qualities are every bit as distasteful in whites as in a black man. The whites Hillary and Schumer have certainly done journeyman's work in tearing this nation apart. TD

Thomas Lifson  "The standards being applied to Judge Brett Kavanaugh's fitness for high office would have killed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, among other recent Democrats (Clinton and Kennedy, for starters).  Bill Clinton has adopted a low public profile and deployed Hillary's "Bimbo Eruptions" squad to silence and discredit the female "survivors" of his sexual aggression.  But Barack Obama went on the record in 2001, and nobody cared about behavior in high school they now feign outrage over in the case of Judge Kavanaugh.

"Kudos to Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire for uncovering a video from 17 years ago in which Barack Obama discusses his own behavior in high school.  Evaluating it in light of the claims used to pretend Brett Kavanaugh was too degenerate in high school and college to merit membership on the Supreme Court reveals the utter hypocrisy of Kavanaugh's opponents.

"While it is true that the unsupported claims of rape attributed to Kavanaugh have no counterpart in Obama's admissions, the "evidence" against Kavanaugh's character including drinking and "ralphing" is pale compared to what Obama admits to.

-"I was a thug," a "mischievous child"
-"I got into fights."
-"I drank and did – and consumed substances that weren't always legal."
-"I might have drank a six-pack in an hour before going back to class" 

"In point of fact, most people not crazed by desire to maintain the Supreme Court as a means of imposing progressive social policy that is too unpopular to pass Congress understand that childhood foibles should not be held against anyone.

Ryan Saavedra 

✔@RealSaavedra

Obama on his adolescent years in a rare video of a 2001 interview:

-"I was a thug," a "mischievous child"
-"I got into fights."
-"I drank and did--and consumed substances that weren't always legal."
-"I might have drank a six-pack in an hour before going back to class"

P.T. Barnum Had Nothing On The Democrats’ Freak Show

Schweikart concludes by saying that “California Senator Dianne Feinstein has done something even President Donald Trump could not do: Awaken the sleeping giant of the Republican electorate to defeat the Democrats in the 2018 midterms—she has mobilized a somnambulant Republican base and filled it with a terrible resolve!”

Noisy Room  "The Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus that I attended in my youth showcased acts like the freak show in which people with all sorts of bizarre physical features would attract millions of morbidly curious wide-eyed visitors.

"But even Tom Thumb and the Siamese twins, the bearded lady and the dog-faced boy, and the head of Medusa that “turned men into stone” had nothing on the oddities of the 2018 circus that billed itself as the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee’s Hearing to determine if Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s selection for the Supreme Court, is fit for that august position.

""Those oddities, however, were not physical, but rather deformities of character, integrity, honor.

"After an exhaustive interview process, a marathon of visiting members of Congress for personal interviews, and being investigated six times by the FBI for his position as U.S. Circuit Judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (and other lofty positions), the married father of two adorable young daughters seemed headed straight to take his place beside the president’s former pick, conservative jurist Neil Gorsuch.

"But wait! What is this slithering worm in the ointment?

"It was the prospect of a majority of conservative justices on the highest court in the land eventually overturning their most cherished law—the “right” to kill in-utero embryos, fetuses, and babies…right up to the ninth month of pregnancy! And we all know how proud State Legislator Obama was about his legislation in Chicago that allowed doctors to snuff the lives out of living, breathing infants who survived the gruesome abortion procedure.

"As far as the left is concerned, you can take military strength, low taxes, high employment (for blacks, Hispanics, women and youth), the genuine protection of our borders, equitable treaties between the U.S. and other countries, huge inroads in foreign policy, on and on and on, and throw them all in the garbage in comparison to the absolute Holy Grail of leftism: abortion." . . .

Whatever It Takes

Ann Coulter   "The Democrats' current position on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is: We cannot have someone addicted to beer on our highest court! What if a foreign power were to ply him with this nectar in a can? Talk about taking control of our government! Suppose they throw in a case of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier?

"A bitter college roommate is going whole hog, wailing, He lied about being a beeraholic.

"By the media's account, Kavanaugh was a bounder, a brawler and a drunk. And yet he still managed to graduate at the top of his class, go to Yale, then to Yale Law and work in the highest positions in government.

"I am in awe of his manliness. Hemingway has nothing on this guy! He should be our president. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln after being told Ulysses S. Grant was a drunk
, let's find out what Kavanaugh drank and send a barrel of it to every college student.

"At least the Democrats seem to have moved on from the Crazy Ladies Who Must Be Believed.

"Kavanaugh's first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, doesn't remember the time or place of the alleged high school groping, and all four witnesses she named deny any memory of such a party.

"Forcing our first one-week delay, we were told that the poor lady was so traumatized by being groped in high school that she couldn't fly. It was the worst thing that ever happened to her, compelling her to do what any reasonable person would under the circumstances: Add a second front door to her house.

"She was supposedly terrified of small spaces, and an airplane, one of her friends told CNN, was the ultimate closed space where you cannot get away."

"Then we found out that Ford regularly jets off to Hawaii, Costa Rica, the South Pacific islands and French Polynesia ... to go surfing, one of the most terrifying activities around.

"It sounded like a joke. I was so shattered and broken, I could only go rock climbing in the Grand Tetons. After that, I'd repair to my room and curl up in a fetal position. Then I'd go rock climbing again.

"An ex-boyfriend has come forward to say that in six years of dating Ford, she never mentioned a sexual assault, had no fear of flying, lived comfortably in a tiny home with only one front door, once coached a friend on how to take a polygraph, contrary to her sworn testimony -- and also lied about stealing $600 from him.

"Kavanaugh's second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, jumped in to help, dusting off a memory of the nominee pulling a Bill Clinton on her as a freshman in college -- but only after she spent a week huddled with her attorney, "assessing her memories" and calling classmates to ask if they thought it was true.

"And did she have corroboration? She doesn't need any! She's a "survivor." Even The New York Times -- the newspaper that believed the Duke lacrosse rape case until about five minutes before the prosecutor was disbarred -- said Ramirez didn't have enough evidence to meet its standards.

"His third accuser, our heroine Julie Swetnik, is the woman produced by porn lawyer Michael Avenatti. She claims that she repeatedly attended gang rape parties in the 1980s -- and she saw Brett Kavanaugh there!

"An ex-boyfriend says Swetnik once threatened to kill him and his unborn child; she had a restraining order taken out against her; was sued by an employer for engaging in "sexually offensive conduct," making "false and retaliatory allegations" against co-workers and also lying about her educational background and work history.

"A Democrat and Emmy-winning meteorologist wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee stating that, soon after he met Swetnik in the 1990s, she proposed group sex to him. Some years later, her own father told him to stay away, citing Swetnik's psychological problems.

"She is now the Democrats' leading contender for 2020.

"Poor Kate Snow of NBC News thought she had landed the interview of a lifetime when she sat down with Swetnik. Within about three questions, it became clear that she was talking to a lunatic. At that point, most of Snow's energy went into hoping for a building-wide power failure to shut down the cameras.

"Of the four witnesses Swetnik provided to NBC, whom she claimed would confirm her story, one denied knowing any Julie Swetnik, one was dead, and two did not respond to the network, perhaps wishing they were dead too.

"By the end of the interview, Snow's purse was missing.

"But the Democrats are energetic devils. They've been poring over Kavanaugh's high school yearbook and exclaiming, He's a beeraholic!

"With grim passion, they say, how dare you laugh at this? If he were a teetotaler, they'd say, We can't have someone on the court who's so nerdy. How can this weird aesthete sympathize with murderers and insider traders?

"They've already won a second week's delay by having two deranged women scream at Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator.

"After wetting himself, Flake insisted on a seventh FBI investigation. For weeks, the Democrats have been demanding an investigation -- of an incident without witnesses, on a date unknown at a place unknown -- by saying, Oh, you big babies, the FBI investigation of Anita Hill only took three days!

"The FBI wrapped up its investigation of Kavanaugh in a few days and then sat around wondering how long it had to wait before producing the report. So now the "it will only take three days" crowd is saying, Keep investigating! We don't know how long the probe should be, but the minimum standards of decency require that it last at least until there's a new president.

"Whatever they find, they will argue in the alternative and just keep doing it and doing it. If Kavanaugh stepped on a bug, PETA activists would be screaming at Flake in an elevator.

"The Democrats have a pair of twos, but they expect Republicans to fold. Why? Because that's what Republicans always do!"

"Unfortunately, this time, Kavanaugh's supporters are not accepting surrender."

National Council of Churches urges Kavanaugh’s nomination be withdrawn

Washington Examiner   "The National Council of Churches, a partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the United States, is urging for Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination to be withdrawn, citing his temperament and demeanor before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

“ 'Judge Kavanaugh exhibited extreme partisan bias and disrespect towards certain members of the committee and thereby demonstrated that he possesses neither the temperament nor the character essential for a member of the highest court in our nation,” read a statement released by the council Wednesday.

"Additionally, the group pointed to what the statement described as “several misstatements and some outright falsehoods” in Kavanaugh’s testimony. The group argued that although everyone should be honest, it’s especially critical that someone on the Supreme Court speak truthfully.

“ 'Judge Kavanaugh’s extensive judicial and political record is troubling with regard to issues of voting rights, racial and gender justice, health care, the rights of people with disabilities, and environmental protections,” the statement reads. “This leads us to believe that he cannot be an impartial justice in cases that are sure to come before him at the Court.' ” . . .

In the center of the Democrat star chamber

Rich Terrell

"Judge Kavanaugh Is the Victim of a Great Crime, Judge Kavanaugh’s wife is the victim of a great crime.  Judge Kavanaugh’s children are victims of a great crime.  The crime was committed by powerful people by their making the unprovable public accusation that the judge, long ago, may have committed a criminal assault.

What is a crime?  What is a great crime?  A crime is anything done to you that reduces you to an inanimate object.  Suppose someone steals something of no great value to you.  That is a crime, but a minor one.  Suppose someone steals something that is very dear.  A much greater crime has been committed.  If someone steals your life savings and leaves you destitute that is a great crime.  Suppose you have been enslaved.  What is the magnitude of that crime?  Then there is torture – psychological or physical.  You are left forever scared.  And there is murder.  You no longer exist.  You are an inanimate object." . . .

Dem Sen. Hirono Asked About Kavanaugh Throwing Ice In A Bar: “This Is Why We Need An FBI Investigation”   CNN, of course.

Obama’s Social Experiments Are Wreaking Havoc on America Today  
 . . . "Democrats seem to be operating on the basis of "guilty until proven innocent," believing the accuser without any corroborating evidence. This kind of sexual assault witch hunt actually began under former president Barack Obama — as did some of the other key social issues America is wrestling with today.
"While the Left's advocacy on social issues and identity politics long predated Obama, the former president's policies supercharged many of the issues dividing America in 2018. His administration helped launch the current liberal cultural wave that wreaks havoc on American politics — and extends far beyond politics." . . .

Townhall

The 'Kavanaugh Effect' Gives GOP Hope for Midterms

PJ Media

"When it began, Democrats believed that the battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court would energize their voters to turn out for the midterm elections next month.

Instead, this latest poll from NPR/PBS/Marist appears to show that the Democrats' smear tactics have energized Republicans.

"NPR:

In July, there was a 10-point gap between the number of Democrats and Republicans saying the November elections were "very important." Now, that's down to 2 points, a statistical tie.

Democrats' advantage on which party Americans want to control Congress has also been cut in half since last month. Democrats still retain a 6-point edge on that question, but it was 12 points after a Marist poll conducted in mid-September.

"That "blue wave" is at ebb tide thanks to the extraordinary combination of Democrats overplaying their hand and the hysterical, unbalanced, and unfair tactics of their partisans. Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll, said, "The result of hearings, at least in short run, is the Republican base was awakened."

While Democrats and Republicans are now equally enthusiastic about the midterms, the story is very different for key Democratic base groups and independents. While 82 percent of Democrats say the midterms are very important, that's true of just 60 percent of people under 30, 61 percent of Latinos and 65 percent of independents.

"This is even more significant than the "enthusiasm gap," which has now closed. These are the voters that Democrats are counting on to bring them a congressional majority. That they are significantly less turned on by the election is not surprising. Historically, these groups have failed to turn out for midterm elections, despite numerous predictions to the contrary." . . .

Capitol Police Arrest Democratic Staffer For Doxxing GOP Senators

Daily Caller 

U.S. Capitol Police arrested Wednesday a former Democratic staffer suspected of posting the personal information of at least one United States senator to the internet.

The home addresses and other personal information of Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch of Utah were posted to Wikipedia on Sept. 27 from an individual located in the House of Representatives.

Jackson A. Cosko, 27, was charged with making public restricted personal information, witness tampering, threats in interstate communications, unauthorized access of a government computer, identity theft, second-degree burglary and unlawful entry, according to a Capitol Police statement. Additional charges may be forthcoming as the investigation continues.

Cosko has most recently worked as an intern for Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. He has also worked under Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, according to Fox News.

Keep reading…

Weasel Zippers    "So it was, in fact, a Democratic staffer. The charges are interesting and reveal more than the story is saying presently about the case – witness tampering, identity theft, second-degree burglary and unlawful entry. There’s a lot of charges there. That suggests he broke into whatever House computer he used, maybe essentially impersonated someone. But what’s the ‘witness tampering’ charge? He was on Sheila Jackson Lee’s staff until the charges broke, then he was canned." . . .

Capitol Police Arrest 27-Year-Old Democrat Staffer Jackson Cosko For Doxxing 3 GOP Senators  . . . "Many Republicans on the Senate Judiciary had their home addresses and phone numbers published on their Wikipedia pages last Thursday.
"Shortly after Lindsey Graham went off on Senate Democrats for destroying Kavanaugh’s life in order to derail his confirmation, Republicans were doxxed.

"The victims included Republican Senators Mike Lee, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Lindsey Graham, reported the Washington Times."The Capitol Police arrested Democrat Jackson Cosko, a “cyber-security graduate student,” according to his LinkedIn page." . . .

Jackson Cosko: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know.  See also Heavy.com  . . . "According to Legistorm, he worked for U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and previously worked for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). A September 2018 letter from Sheila Jackson Lee (D -TX) identified him as a staffer for her office at that time. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is a member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. (A different person working for Hassan was the intern suspended for shouting F*** you at President Donald Trump recently.)

"Jackson Lee’s office identified Cosko as an intern and said he was fired because of the accusations. 
"Here’s what you need to know:" . . .