Victor Davis Hanson: We Are Living Nineteen Eighty-Four

                We must not just obey Hillary or Barack Obama; we must love them. TD

Victor Davis Hanson

Truth, due process, evidence, rights of the accused: All are swept aside in pursuit of the progressive agenda.  

 "George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is no longer fiction. We are living it right now.

"Google techies planned to massage Internet searches to emphasize correct thinking. A member of the so-called deep state, in an anonymous op-ed, brags that its “resistance” is undermining an elected president. The FBI, CIA, DOJ, and NSC were all weaponized in 2016 to ensure that the proper president would be elected — the choice adjudicated by properly progressive ideology. Wearing a wire is now redefined as simply flipping on an iPhone and recording your boss, boy- or girlfriend, or co-workers.

"But never has the reality that we are living in a surreal age been clearer than during the strange cycles of Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

"In Orwell’s world of 1984 Oceania, there is no longer a sense of due process, free inquiry, rules of evidence and cross examination, much less a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Instead, regimented ideology — the supremacy of state power to control all aspects of one’s life to enforce a fossilized idea of mandated quality — warps everything from the use of language to private life." . . .

1984: Two minutes of hate.

Why on earth are not more people disgusted with these Democrats?

Protesters chanting "We believe survivors" drive Ted Cruz out of a D.C. restaurant.
 A big thank you to Sen. Feinstein for this.

Former DOJ Employee Who Harassed DHS Sec And Was Accused Of Organizing Socialist Protests On Gov’t Time Now Has GoFundMe To Sue Admin  "A Department of Justice employee who helped orchestrate a protest against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has been fired and is now asking supporters to donate money for her living expenses and legal fees for a potential lawsuit.

Allison Hrabar’s background was first reported by The Daily Caller News Foundation following an incident where she and other activists chased Nielsen out of a restaurant in June. After the incident, Hrabar told a Washington Examiner reporter that she worked for the federal government and was protected by the First Amendment.

“ 'We aren’t the only ones who can do this. Anyone who sees Kirstjen Nielsen at dinner, anyone who sees anyone who works at DHS and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] at dinner can confront them like this, and that’s what we hope this will inspire people to do,” . . . 

CNN Commentator: How Can You Defend Kavanaugh If You’re Glad Cosby Went To Prison?   Did I point out that this was a CNN commentator?

Report: Eight Republican Senators Currently Undecided On Kavanaugh

"Forty-three Republicans have pledged their support to Kavanaugh. Eight GOPers remain undecided. They are Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.; Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; and Ben Sasse, R-Neb…

This is why it takes courage for Susan Collins to support Kavanaugh:

Did Soros money pay for the t-shirts and posters?

Yale Law Profs Cancel Classes so Students Can Protest Kavanaugh  "Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the topic as a springboard for a legal discussion in class?"

Yale Law School professors teaching an odd lesson

Law & Crime reports that 31 classes were cancelled due to the protests.  Yale Law School students and alumni have organized "sit ins" against Kavanaugh's nomination both on Yale's campus and in Washington, D.C.

"As my friend Ed Lasky wryly notes: "Guilty until proven innocent.  Nice lesson for Yale Law students.' "

For leftists, lying is part of their winning strategy  "As Harry Reid crowed after lying on the Senate floor that Mitt Romney hadn't paid taxes and calling on Romney to prove his innocence: "Romney didn't win, did he?"

"Watch this.  (It's less than a minute long.)"

Democrats Go Full Authoritarian To Stop Brett Kavanaugh . . .  “ 'Doesn’t Kavanaugh have the same presumption of innocence as anyone else in America?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono this past Sunday. “I put his denial in the context of everything that I know about him in terms of how he approaches his cases,” was her unexpectedly honest answer.

"Plainly put, Hirono argues that because Kavanaugh—who earned the highest rating from the ABA during his time on the DC appellate court—has a record of originalist jurisprudence, it’s probable that he’s also a gang-raping sexual pervert and would-be rapist. Hey, CNN’s legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says the accusations “ring true.” You know the type, right? Wrongthinking white guys." . . .

Townhall

Brett Kavanaugh's wife receiving violent threats

Here is where I normally post a language advisory for offensive speech (which I have left unedited). But I hope it does offend you for the Kavanaugh's sake when you realize members of their family have to read it, including their children. 
One wonders: is there any way their children would grow up to be Democrats? 
Tunnel Dweller

Kavanaugh Family Threatened, Federal Agents Take Action. 

Washington Examiner  . . . "Emails sent to Ashley Kavanaugh are currently being investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, the official said.

In one email Ashley Kavanaugh received to her work email account this week, the person wrote, “Please tell your rapist, lying, cheating, corrupt bitch of a husband to put a bullet in his ugly fucking skull.”

“My condolences to you for being married to a rapist. Although you probably deserve it,” the email, obtained by the Washington Examiner, continued.A second email sent had the subject line, “Did you know your husband is a rapist?????”“Hey bitch, did you know your husband was a rapist before you married him? Fuck you and your fucking family,” the email read.A third email tells Ashley Kavanaugh to “eat shit.”“Fuck you, rape enabling c**t. Your husband is a liar, thief, rapist, and probably a pedophile. Burn in hell you worthless fucking c**t. May you, your husband and your kids burn in hell you fucking pieces of trash,” the third message said.The three emails directed to Ashley Kavanaugh came from the same account.California professor Christine Blasey Ford accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party 36 years ago. Ford said a drunken Brett Kavanaugh pinned her down on a bed, groped her, and tried to take off her clothing.Brett Kavanaugh has categorically denied the accusation.

Ford, too, has received violent threats since she spoke publicly about the alleged incident and has left her home.“As you are aware, she has been receiving death threats, which have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her family have been forced out of their home,” Ford’s lawyers wrote in an email to staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee. . . .

U.S. Marshals Investigating Violent Threats Sent to Kavanaugh's Wife

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The Kavanaugh family before they found out what Democrats planned to do to them

Jimmy Kimmel Suggests Disgusting Action To Take On Judge Kavanaugh If He Is Confirmed

Big Hollywood  "ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel took the stage on Tuesday and jokingly suggested that his “compromise” to the battle of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination is to chop off the judge’s “pesky penis,” should he be confirmed.

"Kimmel launched into the Kavanaugh rancor midway through his monologue, noting a New Yorker article published over the weekend in which Deborah Ramirez alleged that as a drunken Yale University freshman, Brett Kavanaugh “exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party.” Ramirez claimed she had “significant gaps in her memories” regarding the alleged encounter. Ramirez’s college best friend also told the paper she “never heard of” the incident in question.

"Jimmy Kimmel cut to a clip of Judge Kavanaugh and his wife’s Fox News interview on Monday, in which the Supreme Court nominee called allegations from Christine Blasey Ford false and explained that he was a virgin in high school and college." . . .

"Kimmel concluded his Kavanaugh monologue with a gruesome suggestion.
“ 'Hear me out on this,” Kimmel began “So Kavanaugh gets confirmed to the Supreme Court, OK? Well, in return we get to cut that pesky penis of his off in front of everyone.' ”

May I assume a "laugh and cheer" sign in the studio lit up after that statement? 

Coming soon: another Hollywood awards show where they can all wax eloquent over what wonderful people they are. TD

Do Democrats have no sense of shame at what they have become?

I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same. The stakes are simply too high for anything less.  Sen. Chuck Schumer

American Thinker

Investor's Business Daily: Will Republicans Surrender To The Dems' Total War Against Kavanaugh?  "Politics of Personal Destruction: Even as Christine Blasey Ford's keeps changing the details of her claimed high school assault by Brett Kavanaugh, a new, even less credible, decades-old accusation emerges. When Democrats sacrificed their ability to filibuster Supreme Court picks, who knew they'd sink this low? How Republicans respond will determine their fate for years to come." . . .

Byron York: The Ford-Kavanaugh hearing took a lot of work to arrange. Democrats want to scrap it  "Here's what baffles Senate Republicans. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee insisted that Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford be given a chance to tell her story. Everybody knows the wrangling that took place over the last week, as Ford's legal team and committee chairman Chuck Grassley negotiated over when Ford would appear and under what circumstances she would testify. Finally, a deal was struck, with all in agreement. Ford is scheduled to testify this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in Washington.

"But now, Democrats want to throw it all out.

. . . "Are the new protests a prelude to Ford rejecting yet another hearing date? That's not yet clear. But if she does, she'll have the support of Senate Democrats."

Democrats make Joe McCarthy look like an amateur  . . . "As a result of the liberal smear campaign, McCarthy is memorialized by the term "McCarthyism," which is defined as "the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges; broadly: defamation of character or reputation through such tactics."

"That's right: the term Democrats developed to smear McCarthy because he was hunting traitors in the U.S. government is a perfect description of the Democrats' and their propaganda arm, the fake news media, treatment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh." . . .

Chicago Tribune: Eviscerating Kavanaugh: Sen. Feinstein, have you no sense of decency?  . . . "Decency was once an important feature of the Democratic Party’s story. Long before Bork became a verb, long before Clarence Thomas was dragged through the mud because a conservative black man proved a profound threat to Democrats, the party held fast to the notion of decency.

"A lack of decency was something to be feared, something to be avoided for the health of the country." . . .

Even if his nomination is confirmed by the Republican majority, the as-yet-unsubstantiated allegation of an attempted high school rape will hang from his neck for as long as he lives. And from the necks of his wife and daughters.

Conrad Black: America’s Aimless ‘Accusatocracy’

"Everyone knows that the entire Christine Blasey Ford challenge to Judge Brett Kavanaugh is nonsense. Her identified witnesses have deserted her. She can’t remember any precise material fact about it except the identity of the alleged drunken assailant. She was silent for 30 years and then gave a garbled account to a marriage counselor, which differs materially from what she later said publicly. Ford is a political activist of the Left and an ostentatious critic of the current administration—her perfect right, but coupled with the many implausible aspects of the timing of this challenge and the unreasonable belligerence of Ford’s counsel, it raises questions about motive.

"Her account is likely largely or even wholly untrue, as it applies to Kavanaugh, but not necessarily intentionally so. The Democrats sat on this one, as they did the Billy Bush tape two years ago, waiting for the optimal moment to spring it." . . .

. . . ["Creepy porn lawyer Michael Avenatti"] "says he has at least one more complainant against Judge Kavanaugh. "These latest circus acts will cheapen and coarsen the sordid “Stop Kavanaugh” movement—Avenatti is too egregious even for the anti-Trump television networks, as Ramirez is too implausible for the New York Times." . . .

. . . "The burning question is how much time will be required for the sensible majority to be repulsed by the Democratic senators’ escalating Red Queen antics: Richard Blumenthal’s presumption of guilt because the allegation was made by a woman, Kirsten Gillibrand’s assertion of Ford’s truthfulness simply because she made the allegation, and Mazie Hirono’s demand that all American men maintain silence while Kavanaugh is crucified by a deranged ultra-feminist man-hating lynch mob. (Perhaps there are sinister customs in the jungles of the nether islands of Hawaii, Hirono’s state, that were unsuspected until now.)" . . .

No Longer "Loyal Opposition"; Now Just Pure Evil

. . . And that’s not all. CNN reports that Brett Kavanaugh kicked a pregnant woman in the belly fifty-three years ago. Comedian Argus Hamilton

The Smearing Of Brett Kavanaugh Is Truly Evil by Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist.

This media-enabled Democratic smear campaign simply can't be the standard by which we destroy people.

 . . . "The hearings ricocheted from interesting discussions of judicial philosophy to clownish “I am Spartacus” moments and radical abortion protesters screaming about their love of killing unborn children.

"Only upon completion did Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein release news that she’d sat on a claim of sexual assault for six weeks. The media then began running with uncorroborated and disputed allegations ranging from Christine Blasey Ford saying she thought Kavanaugh was trying to rape her and might kill her to Avenatti suggesting that Kavanaugh is a gang raper.
"Republicans on the Judiciary Committee — in part thanks to Sen. Jeff Flake, cowering in the face of a smear campaign — bent over backwards to accommodate the first accuser, no matter how outlandish her requests to delay the hearing. As was easily predictable, the media and other resistance members put forth additional claims — somehow even less substantiated than the initial one — as the days passed." . . .

. . . The New Yorker’s laughably disreputable Jane Mayer and previously well-regarded Ronan Farrow wrote up a story claiming that a progressive activist recovered a memory of sexual assault only after being prodded by Senate Democrats to do so. Even The New York Times — which doesn’t have a sterling track record when it comes to running with wild accusations — interviewed dozens of people in an attempt to corroborate the allegation and was not able to do so. They found that the accuser Deborah Ramirez had recently told classmates she could not be certain Kavanaugh was the man who she says exposed himself to her." . . .  Read more...

The Kavanaugh Circus Could Destroy the Me Too Movement

National Review

"These are salacious claims launched without verification and wielded by those with no interest in the truth. "

"It's been nearly a year since Ronan Farrow torpedoed the career of Harvey Weinstein, printing in The New Yorker a series of credible accusations that the Hollywood producer had sexually abused several women. 

"His piece touched off a firestorm that led to purges of incredibly powerful men in a variety of industries, finally forcing them to face consequences for their sexual misconduct.

" Last night, though, Farrow and his colleague Jane Mayer did a huge disservice to the Me Too movement by publishing an incredibly thin sexual-abuse allegation against Brett Kavanaugh. That story, a prime example of how some media outlets and left-wing voices have mishandled the accusations against the judge, will likely create a climate in which fewer victims are believed, more innocent men suffer for crimes they didn’t commit, and neutral observers are more inclined to doubt claims of sexual assault. 

"The political circus overwhelming the Kavanaugh confirmation will almost certainly weaken the Me Too movement in the long run by undermining its promise that the truth matters and that it will enable us to obtain justice. 

"The slapdash nature of yesterday’s reporting by Farrow and Mayer encourages readers to cast doubt on this newest accusation. They write of Kavanaugh’s accuser, Deborah Ramirez: “In her initial conversations with The New Yorker, she was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident with certainty,” saying she was only willing to go on the record “after six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney,” at which point “she felt confident enough of her recollections.” Their effort to publish this story should’ve stopped right there." . . . Read more...
Alexandra DeSanctis

Ronan Farrow’s Kavanaugh story causes media meltdown

NY Post

"New Yorker writers Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer pushed back Monday against the New York Times’ coverage of the latest sexual-misconduct allegationsagainst Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

"The Times reported Sunday that the reporters’ never confirmed “with other eyewitnesses” that Kavanaugh attended a Yale University dorm party where Deborah Ramirez claims he drunkenly exposed himself.

"The paper said it interviewed “several dozen people” in a vain attempt to find someone with “firsthand knowledge” to corroborate Ramirez’s allegations.

"The Times also said Ramirez contacted former classmates to see if they remembered the alleged incident — and told some she wasn’t sure it was Kavanaugh who exposed himself.

"But in a Twitter post Monday, Farrow said it was “not accurate” for a Washington Post columnist to have tweeted that the Times “‘declined’ to publish” Ramirez’s claims, a story Farrow and Mayer broke online Sunday night." . . .

Sadly this is how it's all worked out. Welcome to American reality in the days of radical feminism

"This makes a total of four "witnesses" named by Dr. Ford, all of whom say the incident never happened."  Stilton Jarlsberg

Stilton Jarlsberg: Driven a Fraud Lately?

. . . "Of course, we're not referring to Christine Blasey Ford, whom we sympathetically believe to have significant psychological issues which are being cruelly exploited by the Left. Rather, we're talking about Dr. Ford's lifetime friend, Leland Ingham Keyser, who was recently named as a witness present at the infamous party at which an attack may or may not have occurred.

"In written testimony which carries a criminal penalty if not true, Ms. Keyser said she "does not know Mr. Kavanaugh and has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with or without Dr. Ford."

"It's worth noting that, besides being Dr. Ford's friend, Ms. Keyser is a longtime Democrat who presumably would be happy to torpedo Kavanaugh if it could be done without committing perjury. Although it's certainly possible that she's simply an honorable person who puts doing the right thing above politics. In either event, we predict she's going to need to find a whole new circle of friends soon - and probably hire security to ensure her personal safety.

"This makes a total of four "witnesses" named by Dr. Ford, all of whom say the incident never happened."

Maroon 5

Republicans Have A Simple Choice: Vote To Confirm Kavanaugh Or Get Slaughtered In November

The Federalist

The calculus isn't complicated. Republicans can stand up to vile Democrat smears and vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, or they can give in and kiss their congressional majorities goodbye.

 . . . "Democrats refuse to accept that they lost the election fair and square, and they refuse to accept that Trump and Republican lawmakers have the right under the U.S. Constitution to nominate and confirm Supreme Court justices. The last week has proven that Democrats will do anything, whether it’s spinning up federal investigations on false premises, sabotaging legal processes within federal agencies, or cooking up vile smear campaigns to prevent the confirmation of the next Supreme Court justice, all the way to 2020 and perhaps even beyond, if necessary.

"Republican voters know exactly what’s happening right now, and they’re out for blood. The only question left is who they’re going to punish. If Senate Republican leaders don’t immediately end this entire charade and schedule a floor vote for Kavanaugh, their heads will be on the chopping block.

"An electorate already disgusted with consistent GOP failure to honor its promises is not going to lift a finger to keep the same do-nothings in power. If they’re going to stand by and allow to Democrats to do whatever they want, there’s simply no point in electing Republicans again." . . .

 John Hayward

MoreAnyone who thinks pulling the Kavanaugh nomination after a last-minute smear campaign whipped up out of thin air by the Democrats would be anything but an extinction-level event for the GOP is not a serious "political analyst" and is probably trying to engineer that outcome.

LA May Make Businesses Disclose NRA Ties

Brentwood Patch

The LA City Council will consider a motion requiring businesses wishing to contract with the city disclose their ties to the gun lobby.

"Saying the National Rifle Association is one of the biggest roadblocks to gun safety reform, a Los Angeles city councilman introduced a motion Friday that would require city contractors to disclose any ties they have to the organization.

"Councilman Mitch O'Farrell's motion, if passed into law, would not ban NRA-connected contractors from doing business with the city, but require them through a new ordinance to disclose any contracts or sponsorships they have with the gun rights advocacy group.

"The City Council approved a similar ordinance last year that requires contractors or prospective contractors to disclose that they have placed bids on President Donald Trump's border wall. Although it did not place a ban on them working with the city, the ordinance sent the message that Los Angeles would be unlikely to hire a contractor with ties to the wall.

" 'The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been one of the most significant roadblocks to sensible gun safety reform at every level of government across the nation," O'Farrell's motion states. "In Congress, next to nothing has been done due to the NRA's stranglehold and propaganda machine. According to an audit obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA's spending on political activities from 1998-2017 aggregated to over $200 million."

"The motion says the city of Los Angeles historically has enacted ordinances in support of gun safety.

"The motion notes there have been more than 1,600 mass shootings in America since the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which quantifies a mass shooting as when four or more people are wounded or killed in a shooting, not including the shooter." . . .

Uh, Did Anyone Catch This Glaring Plot Hole In The Latest Accusation Against Kavanaugh?; UPDATE: Another Shoe To Drop?

Matt Vespa  . . . "Yeah, before we get to those motivations let’s circle back to this sentence, which was also highlighted by other members of the media, both left and right: “After six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, Ramirez said that she felt confident enough of her recollections.” Excuse me? So, once again, there’s no evidence. Just an unprovable allegation, which like Ford’s tale, seems pre-packaged to demand a delay—and you bet they’re going to get it. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who lit the fuse to this bomb, had Ford’s letter detailing her account for weeks; her office received it in July. But she never told anyone, not even her Senate colleagues about it. Maybe it’s because Ford’s allegation, which is also evidence-free and 30-plus years old, is simply too old to be truly verified. At the same time, the aura of the unknown and the media frenzy it will spark will build pressure on Republicans to delay the nomination until after the midterms, in which the Democrats hope to be in a better political position on the Hill. Oh, and they want to browbeat the FBI, an executive branch agency, to do their dirty work with an investigation that will draw nothing conclusive. But it will delay the vote. That’s what’s so odious about this charade. The Left is using potentially false allegations against a man because they don’t like him to destroy him, derail his nomination, and they want the FBI to help them, an agency that was not up until recently the institution that cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election. "

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