Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

I doubt she made it up in that I think that something happened and that she didn't like it but she did seem to be acting. I am not sure how one woman talking about such a thing before a horseshoe of disbelieving elderly white right wing males could deal with it without gearing herself up in some way so it seems unfair to judge her on her manner and occasional lapse into something close to psychobabble but it is also hard to ignore it when his career and reputation (such as it is) are at stake.
There is so much politics at stake, particularly them not wanting to delay in case he doesn't get appointed before the balance of the House may change. If not for that, they would probably adjourn and give the FBI time to investigate properly.

This is so difficult, I want to be supportive of other women, but also feel I can't just agree with someone because of their sex. Surely their should be some evidence before accusations can be made public. He came across as bullying but she came across as acting the frightened young girl. Who to believe?

I don't know whether this man is guilty or not but I have no patience with women (mostly) who wait 30 years or more to accuse someone of something. A lot of posters on here are probably in support of rehabilitation so if someone did behave badly when younger but has led an exemplary life afterwards what should the outcome be? I haven't followed the details of this case or know much about the man or the life he has led up to now ( he could have turned out be a good man or he could be a right sh*t)but there are usually two sides to every story and, as usual, it's an excuse for Trump bashing when he wants someone in high office of his choice. I can't recall many men ( mostly) connected to other presidents who have had such scrutiny and all because Democratic supporters can't accept the results of an election. Does that remind any of you with what's going on with Brexit here!!

She is and was brave.

He - and joke president Trump- were both bullies. Mister Trump already declaring that it was lies and she was trying to get money out of it.??

Clearly not worthy of holding office such as USA President!

there are very good reasons why people wait a long time before coming forwardQuizqueen not just women but a lot of men who were historically abused in institutions in the 50's and 60's. Sometimes it takes something to trigger their need for justice,such as this man running for high office which IF he's a serial abuser would be very wrong.What chance would any complainant have of justice with him in charge if he thinks he did nothing wrong?
I watched local news recently where men in their 60's cried when they told of the abuse in a childrens home .Should they just forget about it? Its not something that can conveniently be put in a box ,it will jump out every now and then and cause them problems in every day life.I think she has done the right thing,not only for her sake,but for other women in the same position and of course for the justice system in her country .

I agree with paddyann. Apart from anything else, no one with even a shadow of doubt over them should be given such significant high office. His own performance was very poor and not deserving of respect. Respect is at the heart of this. If people can't respect the supreme rule of law and those who administer it who can they respect?

There are only 8 Supreme Court Justices, with the Chief Justice making it 9, in the USA, all with a life time tenure. This makes them enormously powerful. Although they are trusted with bipartisan views in how they do their job, it is rife with political juggling when a new appointee is chosen. BK is a staunch supported of Trump, who carries his favour.

It is this that prompted Dr.Ford to stand before the Council, seeing it as her civic duty. In my view, a very brave thing to do. If BK we’re not standing for the role of Supreme Court Justice, then her experiences would probably never have seen the light of day.

I sorely doubt there are many women and men who, with such personal experiences, would be prepared to stand in such a world media spotlight for their political beliefs.

So good for her! Whether it will make a difference .... who knows? Yet she has tried, and certainly has my admiration for that.

MawBroon fantastic vid had me laughing.

I can't remember who said on this post earlier that it happened such a long time ago, so let it go (or words to that effect). The abuser's age now doesn't come into it. It's the age they abused that matters. The person abused wants justice, whatever the age.
[Rant over]

eazybee. Why wait 30 years until the guy gets that far before confessing to the world you were violated by him all those years previous.? Do we know the woman's circumstances at that time ?. Was she threatened or paid to keep quiet?More to this than meets the eye.

To me, the decent thing would have been to admit to adolescent fumbling, apologise, express sincere regret, admit he was drunk and show by his attitude that he both means it and has been a better person since.
(And, if necessary, take the consequences. )
Remember John Profumo who spent many years in the wilderness after his resignation, but achieved rehabilitation both with society and possibly his conscience by a blameless
life (after politics) in charitable work.
He earned our respect, which seems to be a commodity in short supply in DT’s America.

MargaretX You say " She must have been expecting it she had her bathing costume on underneath."

I don't follow your train of thought with this comment, Margaret.^
^Sparklefizz she herself says that she had her bathing costume on underneath and that's why nothing more intimate happened.
Because when lying on a bed you can't get a bathing costume off if there's a struggle going on. It works like a chastity belt. ^

Yes, this is what I thought you must mean, MargaretX but wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt because I found it hard to believe that you seriously thought a 15 yr old would deliberately wear her swimsuit as a chastity belt because, as you say, she was "expecting it". I take issue with that.

Bluebells, I agree with your post from yesterday at 10.31. I was assaulted, actually quite a serious assault, by a member of my own family, well by marriage anyway, when I was a student and 19 years old. About a year later I did tell, needless to say, I was not treated sympathetically, I think the general consensus was I should have kept quiet. I didn’t go to the police, the thought never crossed my mind. I put it down to experience and got on with my life, with the thought that these things happen.
Despite this I have little sympathy for this woman, if she was all that upset she would have told someone or reported it. He wasn’t a member of her family, which makes it reasonably easy to report, no family politics to negotiate. This is all about revenge, not justice. If she was that upset she would have reported it years ago. I’m fed up of the ‘me too’ brigade, they are pathetic old women reporting incidents that may or may not have occurred, but which weren’t so desperately upsetting at the time otherwise they would have reported them, and no one today can prove happened or didn’t happen. I think the police have more important things to do than investigate every historic sexual assault case. I think most people would have preferred to see a robust investigation into the hundreds of girls recently assaulted and raped by groups of mainly foreign men in places such as Rotherham, and all the other places where this has happened.
Obviously this latest event is not in the UK, but for me, it’s not important and I would prefer not to see the amateur dramatics on every news bulletin at the moment.

Just thinking, if I decided to come forward and tell about incidents that happened to me between the ages of 12 and 18, by various males, I could ruin many lives. So I'm keeping quiet.

Why was she wearing a bathing suit under her clothes? Was she planning on going for a swim later? Did she have underwear with her, to put on later after the swim?
If she wasn't going to swim, why was she wearing it, if not to prevent any teenage 'fumbling'? That in itself means that she put herself in a situation she knew might end in tears.
Case dismissed.

Ridiculous.

She did keep quiet until her attacker was likely to become a supreme court judge. A step too far. Fair enough. Time to take a stand. How much easier would it have been for her to say nothing? She's put herself and her family at risk now. There are very daft Americans out there with guns...
Brave woman.

GabriellaG As ffinocchio said earlier, she was wearing a swimsuit under her clothes because she had been to her swimming club earlier.

inishowen Just thinking, if I decided to come forward and tell about incidents that happened to me between the ages of 12 and 18, by various males, I could ruin many lives. So I'm keeping quiet.

That doesn't make it right, though ...

inishowen, would you keep quiet if other women came forward for incidents later in life for those men? I’d feel duty bound then because it might show a pattern of behaviour. Many other men behaved inappropriately in my younger days and I wouldn’t bring it up now because I didn’t feel a victim then or now. I put their behaviour down to them not being able to hold their drink or not being able to read my signals correctly.

Indeed, Sparklefizz. Such attitudes as Inishowen's is in fact enabling predatory males to get away with sexual assaults.

Quite agree SueDonim.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

As far as credibility goes, Ford had no reason to lie with much to lose (she has even gotten death threats) ....he on the other hand, has many reasons to lie and much to gain. ....but credible or not, his overall behavior in yesterday's hearing should raise more important questions.

Kavanaugh was belligerent and unprofessional....his angry words and body language revealed a sense of entitlement much more than that of being maligned. Indeed quite a few of the GOP "male" club members didn't seem to care whether a the sexual assault happened or not, so long as 'their man' got confirmed.

Then there were the theatrics and the beer comments, but Kavanaugh's biggest low was to publicly accuse the Democrats of leading a 'conspiracy' against him and he named the Clintons! That statement was a clear indication that Kavanaugh allows biases to cloud his thinking. In other words, he doesn't have the objectivity, self control or 'Judicial Temperament' for one who presumes to make important Constitutional decisions as a Supreme Court Justice!

It should be noted also that two other women have accused him of inappropriate behavior, but there wasn't enough time to prepare their testimonies for yesterdays hearing.

....But this is not just about what happened 30 years ago. This hearing is about the measure of the man's character, his temperament and his personal integrity.

In the meantime, two other Yale classmates have come forward. They both say that Kavanaugh lied about his drinking problems.

Excellent post willa45

If the US didn't allow Presidents to appoint Supreme Court judges this may not have happened.

It's like politicising the judiciary - a very bad idea.

The FBI should have been given more than one week to re-investigate as well. What a farce.