Dr. Blasey Ford’s strongest memory of the event, a question asked by Senator Patrick Leahy,(D), was indelible in her hippocampus. It was the strongest memory of the traumatic sexual assault allegedly at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh and his accomplice Mark Judge. That memory stayed with her while others drifted. It was the memory of Brett Kavanaugh’s uproarious laughter with his friend and accomplice, Mark Judge, that made the incident more traumatic. Well, Trump reenacted that laughter at a nationally televised rally in Mississippi this week by mimicking and laughing at Dr. Blasey Ford. Unbelievable! Can you imagine the humiliation and psychological trauma President Trump inflicted on Dr. Blasey Ford as well as other victims of sexual assault?
The FBI “investigation” report is back, and unsurprisingly it’s been leaked that there was no corroboration of Dr. Blasey’s sexual assault allegations. How could that report be an unbiased, thorough report if the main parties were not interviewed? The FBI had another two days but completed the report without questioning critical witnesses or following up on significant leads. Is that a thorough investigation? As I said when the Republicans agreed to an FBI investigation yet approved his confirmation in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it was an investigation in name only.
You’ll be shocked to hear that the White House has already pronounced the FBI report entirely exonerating for Kavanaugh, claiming that it is now “fully confident” Kavanaugh will be confirmed.
But a lot of new reporting has now emerged that starkly illustrates just how much about the new allegations was not investigated by the FBI. It’s important to note that this probably was not a failing on the FBI’s part but rather was the result of restrictions the White House placed on the probe, a process that itself remains shrouded in disingenuous rhetorical games. (Here’s a list of people the FBI did NOT interview. Okay with this, Flake and Collins?)
Once again the President of the United States and his supporters at a Mississippi rally made fun of Dr. Blasey’s reminding her of the uproarious laughter between Bret Kavanaugh and Mark Judge at her expense. Shame on you Mr. President, shame on you! And shame on those of you who cheered him on, that was cruel and beyond insensitive. You retraumatized Dr. Blasey Ford as well as put a halt to other women who might have come forth.
Besides that, Trump showed his ignorance when he made fun of Dr. Ford’s gaps in memory. (Why Rape and Trauma Survivors Have Fragmented and Incomplete Memories )
These advances in our understanding of the impact of trauma on the brain have enormous implications for the criminal justice system. It is not reasonable to expect a trauma survivor – whether a rape victim, a police officer or a soldier – to recall traumatic events the way they would recall their wedding day. They will remember some aspects of the experience in exquisitely painful detail. Indeed, they may spend decades trying to forget them. They will remember other aspects not at all, or only in jumbled and confused fragments. Such is the nature of terrifying experiences, and it is a nature that we cannot ignore.
Similar to blackouts, the hippocampus is affected in a traumatic event. The hippocampus encodes short-term memory to long-term memory. Acute alcohol intoxication impairs the function of the hippocampus and can lead to blackouts or the inability to create new memories. Similarly, a severe trauma of any kind impairs the role of the hippocampus and leads to loss of some memory and the unforgettable recall of others.
Trump mocking of Dr. Ford to his electorate base showed his lack of understanding of trauma victims and his lack of empathy. Here was a moment for Trump to shine and become a leader but instead he put the politics of winning at all cost before the truth and justice. He ordered a sham FBI investigation, knowing the restrictions prevented the FBI from corroborating Dr. Blasey’s allegations. Both the GOP and the Democrats have political motives, but that should not blind Americans to the truth about Kavanaugh’s unfitness for a lifetime position on the Supreme Court.
Americans have seen the divisiveness, corruption, and cruelty of an unfit President. Do Americans want to experience the same from Kavanaugh, who by the way is much like Trump? He was hand-selected for the job. He lied in front of millions of Americans under oath, whether you call that perjury or not, he was intentionally deceitful. A Judge should be held to a higher standard of the law. He was not forthright at the hearing and skirted around the law when most Americans wanted to see integrity. Kavanaugh is unfit for the position and should not be confirmed.
Trump and Republicans defended Kavanaugh’s aggressive, disrespectful partisan attacks on Democrats, the Clintons and everyone else except the Republicans at the confirmation hearing, but mocked Dr. Blasey’s humility, truthfulness, and pain. Kavanaugh’s anger is understandable if he believed he was falsely accused. However, a lifetime position on the Supreme Court requires a high degree of self-regulation that comes with emotional intelligence. Kavanaugh’s performance under pressure made many reasonable people question his fitness for the position. Dr. Blasey Ford was also under pressure yet she didn’t attack Republicans or claim a conspiracy like Kavanaugh. #CancelKavanaugh
Trump Mocks Christine Blasey Ford At Mississippi Rally | TIME [HD 720p]
Note: Revised on 9/4/18, this post combined Trump’s mocking of Dr. Blasey with a breaking New York Times report implicating Trump and his father Fred Trump in tax fraud. The latter on revision will be shared this weekend in a separate post.
Related Stories:
- Brett Kavanaugh’s yearbook: the “boof” joke, explained
- Here’s a list of people the FBI did NOT interview. Okay with this, Flake and Collins?
- Someone is lying
- Why Rape and Trauma Survivors Have Fragmented and Incomplete Memories
- White House ‘Fully Confident’ Of Kavanaugh’s Confirmation After Seeing FBI Investigation
Related Videos:
Kavanaugh explains ‘devil’s triangle’ yearbook reference [SD 360p]
That refers to flatulence. Brett Kavanaugh explains what BOOFED means in his yearbook [HD 720p]
The history of the word boof, explained
There’s certainly no shortage of entries for “boof” on Urban Dictionary, the website that frequently comes up in internet search results for anyone Googling the term. But the key to the etymological puzzle behind the word is knowing how it was used in the 1980s, when Kavanaugh and Judge included it in their yearbook entries. And most of the available evidence seems to point toward it being a slang term for anal sex.
The most sensible guess going into the hearing, then, was that when Kavanaugh and Judge each appeared to ask via their public yearbook entries if the other had “boofed yet,” they were two friends joking about whether they’d ever had anal sex.
Kavanaugh’s Yearbook Decoded on Twitter:
Boof means anal sex, not fart.
Devils Triangle is sex with two guys and a girl, not a drinking game.
FFFF means Find ’em, Finger ’em, Fuck ’em, Forget ’em
Once I watched the video at the bottom of this article, I wanted to punch a hole in the wall. How DARE 45 talk about evil people declaring others as “guilty until proven innocent”. Try being Black in America! That speech would easily be in his top 5 most insensitive talks since the 2016 campaign even though the bar was already set low.
About the self-made billionaire thing, I’m glad it’s been proven that he got money from his dad. Of course, he would take credit from his dad. It’s all too common seeing so many businessmen of his ilk taking away the credit for their achievements (I can go on about things that were ripped off whether it was inventions, companies, and movies). While Fred was the main guy who started this real estate empire, he was also the same person who discriminated against Black tenants even during his heyday. Like with other businessmen especially in that “old money” era, he wouldn’t have become nearly as rich had it not have been for those handouts given to so many White families during the New Deal while POCs didn’t get crap. Doesn’t that sound kind of like a selective form of socialism in hindsight?
Curtis, the video made me ill as I thought about my son and how he was not given a presumption of innocence or due diligence in NH, a case where there was no evidence of a crime. It took thousands of dollars to have the case dismissed despite the lack of corroboration or evidence of a crime. NH made money off my family and me while making my son a target. The hearings may be giving me flashbacks. Look at the presumption of innocence given Brett Kavanaugh despite evidence that questions Kavanaugh’s veracity. The goal of the FBI’s investigation was more a sham than an attempt to find the truth.
Fred Trump was a racist. Wasn’t he a KKK with Nazi ties?
Structural racism gave whites the audacity to claim they pulled up their bootstraps all by themselves without help. What a LIE! Laws were structurally designed to benefit and help whites families only. The New Deal by FDR created middle-class white America while oppressing black Americans. Black soldiers fought bravely in WWII, yet their accomplishments or sacrifices were not recognized, and their families did not benefit from FDR’s New Deal. After that, wealth transferred onto future generations. Fred Trump with the help of Donald Trump found illegal ways to transfer that wealth to family members without paying their fair share of taxes like most law-abiding Americans.
The New York Times investigative report made me realize Trump is part of the deep state and swamp he promised to drain. Trump acts in ways the founding fathers feared and thought they covered by separating the branches of government and guaranteeing individual rights through the constitution.
Trump proved them wrong. He was power, money, and corruption before he became president; he was part of the deep state. With its backing, no Republican, Democrat or the media dare to fully stand up to him. Being above the law means no accountability for lies. With Kavanaugh confirmed, Trump will be bulletproof! God Save America!
It must’ve been horrible how that video triggered you and you had every right to feel that way. I know I would’ve been berserk if that situation happened to me or my family.
He certainly was. Even Woody Guthrie (yes, the same guy who sang “This Land is Your Land”) mentioned back then how much of a racist Fred was. I did hear about the KKK ties despite his son’s denial, but I could easily see the Nazi ties since those groups go hand-in-hand (Charlottesville? Ruby Ridge? The WS commune in Leith, ND? I rest my case).
I know, right?! FDR used dog whistle laws when he made the New Deal how it specifically targeted jobs that were majority-Black at the time such as maids and butlers for example. Not only did the soldiers lack benefits. Some of them were even lynched in uniform.
Exactly and the fact that some people think he’s anti-establishment are lying to themselves.
Sure thing and he exposed these agendas since he is the personification of corruption, overt racism, and double standards.
Curtis for the first it hit me. Trump will be a two-term POTUS. He may go beyond that if he desires. I’m sure his supporters will find a way.
Think the strategy has to change. It may be time to suck up to Trump he responds positively to flattery. As much as I dislike Trump I realize I dislike the Democrats more. It cracks me up when he calls Elizabeth Warren, Pocahontas. I agree with him. Truth is if he wasn’t a racist and white supremacist and hadn’t condemned the Central Park 5 so I might have actually supported him.
I think black people should consider going with the winner and supporting Trump. It beats mindlessly supporting the Democrats who do keep us down. Maybe Trump and his administration leave black people alone so we can get our shit together.
Let the Democrats fight their own war. They are not championing our causes.
“Sure thing and he exposed these agendas since he is the personification of corruption, overt racism, and double standards.” Democrats have the same agenda but are deceptive and too coward to be honest.
What if Trump is right and Democrats make up shit with the help of the FBI? Part of Trump’s growing popularity is that he has the guts to point out corruption. Problem is he is equally as corrupt but his base already knows and accept that.
I think we need to keep all options open for our survival. I was going to vote all Dems now I’m not. I might vote all Republicans. Two cops already convicted under Trump. Were any cops convicted of police brutality under Obama’s watch?
If Trump’s policies reduce police brutality and make them accountable as well as end mass incarceration of black people…Hmmmm…I could overlook his past and support him.
Curtis, we should look for opportunities to advance our people and not pledge underserving loyalty to a party that’s only decimated black communities by using black politicians to pump policies that harm us.
The thing is I could see that happening much to my chagrin assuming if he doesn’t burn so many bridges first. However, incumbent presidents do have a slight advantage when it comes to re-election from what I’ve noticed.
I can see the logic of exploiting 45’s narcissism which does make sense, but I’m not sure if that would be the way to go on the national level. The local elections would have a greater impact on everyone because of the proximity of the laws and they can easily upstream to the federal level. Am I saying that there should be a blue wave by everybody going with the donkeys? Of course not. Some of the newer things in talks right now include Stop & Frisk in Chicago for starters which is just fallacious. Yeah, because that worked out SO WELL (sarcasm) when it was in NYC even though most of the people targeted were POCs and many of them were innocent. If that happens, then I could see it spreading to other major areas. 45 has been a wake-up call for so many communities with how emboldened the bigotry has been.
Democrats fighting their own war? No disagreements there. I don’t want to be complicit in that.
What you said reminds me of a quote from Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys fame. “The only difference between the two parties is that the Republicans are actually more honest when it comes to greed, corruption, bigotry, war, and pollution.” Keep in mind, this is coming from a punk rock singer who’s a registered Green Party member!
Democrats can fabricate some things, but so do the Republicans when it comes to the FBI just like the Black Identity Extremist fallacy. Both parties are certainly in lockstep whenever it comes to tarnishing things.
Interesting point. The only cop I can think of that was convicted for anything like that during the Obama administration was Daniel Holtzclaw after he was caught raping all those Black women in Oklahoma City, but then again, he didn’t murder them. What I do wonder is with 45’s love of the police and calling POCs criminals is that he might pardon the two policemen who actually got convicted. Did 45 even say anything about them being convicted or supporting them being in jail for murder?
Angela, even though we have some disagreements here, I do want to let you know that I do agree about people not pledging loyalty to anyone who hurts our communities. Politicians aren’t owed our votes. They have to EARN them. I’m glad we can have a civil discussion about political matters here and I thank you for it.
Curtis, You love to write. LOL! If we agreed on everything, the comments would get pretty boring fast. And I wouldn’t get the opportunity to look at things from another perspective.
I’m glad too we can talk about a range of topics and be civil even when we disagree. A discussion often disintegrates, when one or both parties have outside motives and stop listening to each other.
I’m disgusted with both parties, but if we see a red wave instead of a blue wave, I will go into a full panic mode. While I appreciate honesty, I prefer civility to violence or bullying.
That’s true about me when it comes to writing. Hahaha! Whether it’s the occasional post or writing books, it’s something I enjoy. It’s all good, Angela. I’ve had commenters civilly disagreeing with certain aspects of what I post like with my film review blog even though there were some posts I thought I would get thrashed on like when I reviewed Hate Crimes in the Heartland or even Kimba the White Lion on there. Hahaha!
Yes, and it’s such a rarity in this day and age. Whether it’s politics or something like movies, people have this tendency to troll each other until the cows come home.
Same here about both parties. I do have to research the people who are running in my area besides the governor candidates though. Civility is certainly better than violence and bullying.
Angela this does sounds to me like a Clinton backed vendetta because of Kavanaugh working with Ken Star trying to impeach Bill. Instead of focusing on his indistinguishable qualifications, petty vendettas are about to backfire! Back people in a corner they surround the wagons right or wrong.
Hey Rudy, Does not negate the allegations? Does that mean we should ignore the red flags raised about his background and lies under oath?
The Republicans have managed to make the noise more important than the truth. Everyone has a motive, but our focus should be the truth, something forgotten in the anarchy of lies.
Angela my only point is we are trying to disqualify him for something that happened 35 years ago. Instead of looking at his record as a judge we go after his character. I’m not saying that’s not important but we got to look at who we’ dealing with. Most of those guys on both sides of congress did the same thing or think it’s no big deal.
I get it Rudy. According to Democrats the Republicans have not released 90% of Kavanaugh’s work history and rulings. What does that say? Why weren’t the Democrats more forceful.
Republicans have certainly been effective in galvanizing men. Please remember men means white men only. When they need men of color they say men.
Democrats have shown themselves incompetent at strategy. They knew this info about Kavanaugh and waited to the last minute. Their poor strategy will cost Americans. Quite honestly, they don’t deserve to be in charge of Congress.
I agree we shouldn’t be punished for things we did as young adults. However, as mature adults we should own our mistakes. That is why Kavanaugh’s evasiveness and lies about his past speak to his character. Why wasn’t he simply honest? This is a a lifetime position and we say it’s okay he technically lied under oath.
My concern is where there is smoke they may be fire. And there is smoke all around his nomination.
Angela if Kavanaugh wants to be a SCJ can he actually say that Dr. Ford might be right and still get confirmed? Well there’s a first time for everything.
Rudy, doesn’t the truth matter? What about accountability? Shouldn’t he be held accountable for his actions? I don’t care when it happened, lying about it now speaks to his character and integrity.
I understand he wants to be a SCJ, but he is not fit for the job. SCJ is not a two or four-year position; it is for a lifetime. Unfortunately, we do pay for our sins of the past. Most of ordinary people understand that. It’s people like him who feel entitled and blame other people for their actions that feel they can do whatever and point fingers at others like he did. Do you want a highly partisan SCJ?
If he were a person of color or a woman such aggressive demeanor and lies during the hearing would have led to the withdrawal of his name.
Rudy I think he should be disrobed and disbarred.
Angela just playing devils advocate of course you’re right, maybe you should have been a lawyer!