Kavanaugh nominated: let the games begin!

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And begin they have, quite before President Trump (how I enjoy writing those two words together) even announced his selection.

From the WashingtonTimes.com:

Democrats vow to vote ‘No’ on Supreme Court nominee regardless of whom Trump picks

by Alex Swoyer

Some Democrats said they don’t have to wait for President Trump to pick a Supreme Court nominee — they’re voting “No” regardless of who he names.

Sen. Bob Casey became the latest one, saying Monday that the entire process the president has followed was “corrupt” because he was working from a list he wrote with the help of the conservative Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society.

“Any judge on this list is fruit of a corrupt process straight from the D.C. swamp,” he said.

Other Democrats, still salty over the GOP’s treatment of one of President Obama’s nominees in 2016, said they won’t accept any nominee until after the November election.

Leftist obstructionists, just as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says here:

Then on Monday, as promised, President Trump announced his SCOTUS selection. From the NYTimes.com:

Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court

by Mark Landler & Maggie Haberman

President Trump on Monday nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a politically connected member of Washington’s conservative legal establishment, to fill Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court, setting up an epic confirmation battle and potentially cementing the court’s rightward tilt for a generation.

The nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, 53, a federal appeals court judge, former aide to President George W. Bush and onetime investigator of President Bill Clinton, was not a huge surprise, given his conservative record, elite credentials and deep ties among the Republican legal groups that have advanced conservatives for the federal bench.

That was the New York Times. You can see the slant bleeding through. And of course what I term the “Kavalanche” of objection commenced like a goose greasing the sluices after having had crab cakes and broccoli.

We could have gotten another Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who doesn’t believe in the US Constitution at all — wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

In reaction prior to the announcement, not once does Socialist Bernie Sanders mention the importance of the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights below. He does not delineate positive vs negative rights or the reason for the Constitution itself which is, of course, why the US Supreme Court exists. Separation of powers. The Founding Fathers. The fundamental reason for the creation of this nation in the first place.

There is this as well, from Fox News:

A brief bit of reality from CNN:

Let’s be honest: the fundamental problem with Brett Kavanaugh is this, from Breitbart.com:

Kavanaugh: Judges Must Interpret, Not Make Law, Interpret Statues and Constitution as Written

by Ian Hanchett

After the announcement of his nomination to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated, “A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.”

Kavanaugh said, “The framers established that the Constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. Justice Kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. I am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the Supreme Court.”

He later added, “My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent. For the past 11 years, I’ve taught hundreds of students, primarily at Harvard Law School. I teach that the Constitution’s separation of powers protects individual liberty, and I remain grateful to the dean who hired me, Justice Elena Kagan. As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best. My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.”

Kavanaugh concluded, “I will tell each senator that I revere the Constitution. I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case, and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.”

Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated:

Another wrinkle, from the WashingtonTimes.com:

Susan Collins, Joe Manchin, other swing votes open to Trump’s Supreme Court pick

by Stephen Dinan

The senators who will most likely decide Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s fate were studiously noncommittal Monday, promising a thorough and fair vetting before they say whether they’ll support his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Only a few Republicans and a handful of Democrats are likely in play in the closely divided Senate.

And depending on absences, a single Republican defection could sink the pick — while the support of one or two Democrats could guarantee Judge Kavanaugh will be on the high court by the time the next term begins in October.

Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican that Democrats are most likely to sway, said Judge Kavanaugh brough “impressive credentials and extensive experience.”

But she wouldn’t go further.

How many Demorats will line up behind Brett Kavanaugh simply because he’s, truly, offensive as fresh milk or blue sky?

You see, a bit of the bottom line must be this: Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the US Senate back in 2006 by a positive margin of 21 Senators, with a tally of 57 to 36. He has repeatedly been upheld by SCOTUS, having heard over 300 cases.

What has changed since then?

Only one thing: President Donald John Trump.

BZ

 

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AP article about US military couldn’t be more deceptive

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The Associated Press (AP) reported this on July 6th:

AP NewsBreak: US Army quietly discharging immigrant recruits

by Martha Mendoza and Garance Burke

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Some immigrant U.S. Army reservists and recruits who enlisted in the military with a promised path to citizenship are being abruptly discharged, the Associated Press has learned.

The AP was unable to quantify how many men and women who enlisted through the special recruitment program have been booted from the Army, but immigration attorneys say they know of more than 40 who have been discharged or whose status has become questionable, jeopardizing their futures.

“It was my dream to serve in the military,” said reservist Lucas Calixto, a Brazilian immigrant who filed a lawsuit against the Army last week. “Since this country has been so good to me, I thought it was the least I could do to give back to my adopted country and serve in the United States military.”

Some of the service members say they were not told why they were being discharged. Others who pressed for answers said the Army informed them they’d been labeled as security risks because they have relatives abroad or because the Defense Department had not completed background checks on them.

The article, of course, was trumpeted near and far by the exclusive elements of the LDAMM because, after all, it’s their job. Check their job descriptions.

There’s just one problem. The AP was wrong. They conveniently left just a few things out of that article. I couldn’t imagine why.

China, Pakistan and Iran. Those were the countries of greatest concern. Odd how, now, when Mexico is in the crosshairs, none of the soldiers in question were from Mexico. NONE. This is the sound of my forehead being slapped.

Wait. What does China, Pakistan and Iran have in common? Oh yeah. Countries wishing the destruction of the US. Perhaps it was in this fashion that concern was raised?

There was this from the WashingtonExaminer.com:

AP’s report on Army immigrant discharges looks highly misleading

by Becket Adams

The Associated Press reported this week that the U.S. Army is “quietly discharging immigrant recruits.” It sounded quite awful. But it was more misleading than anything else.

The report stated initially that the Army “has moved in recent weeks to discharge immigrant recruits and reservists who enlisted through a program that promised them a path to citizenship. Some of these service members say they weren’t told why they were being discharged. Others say the Army told them they’d been labeled as security risks because they have relatives abroad or because their background checks were pending.”

The intended takeaway was that the president and his immigration hardliners have gone so far as to target even immigrants who’ve joined the U.S. armed forces via the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, or MAVNI.

Uh oh. Could it get down to individuals? And as I have said weekly, “but wait, there’s more”?

It doesn’t appear to be that cut and dried. The AP report leaves out an explanation of what the hell is actually happening.

First, it’s a full seven paragraphs before the reader is informed that the AP article is about applicants who’ve only enlisted, but never even started basic training. It’s a bit of a stretch to use the word “discharged” for people who’ve only applied and then failed the prerequisite background check. You can’t be fired from a job for which you were never hired.

Of course. Sins of commission. In this case, sins of omission. One and the same.

Second, it’s unclear just how many MAVNI applicants have been given the boot. The AP claims there are at least 40 cases, but considering that more than 10,000 noncitizens joined or signed contracts between 2009 and 2017, the number 40 suggests this may yet not be a plot to target immigrant recruits.

But the most damning paragraph of all?

Third, there’s the fact that the MAVNI program was effectively shut down in 2016 over security concerns. All new recruitment was halted, which put a select group of applicants in a curious “bureaucratic limbo,” according to Military.com’s Richard Sisk.

“The beginning of the end for MAVNI came in the form of a September 2016 memo to the service secretaries from Peter Levine, then the acting under secretary for personnel and readiness,” Sisk reported in April.

2016. Wait. President Trump wasn’t President Trump. Who? Oh yeah. Barack Hussein Obama. President.

But the most damning — yet quite careful — paragraph is below.

This really is the biggest problem. As readers, we’re told something is wrong, but we’re never really given the full context. We’re not told whether this is a new policy implemented by the current administration or whether the rejections are the consequence of the 2016 MAVNI security enhancements. For what it’s worth, a Pentagon spokesperson said Friday that the AP has “mischaracterized” its handling of the MAVNI recruits, adding further that there has been “no change in policy.”

Please allow me to brutally translate: the AP knew precisely what it was doing when it published the article. I knew precisely that it was jam-gepacked with half truths and omissions. But it published the article anyway. It had to have gone through a writing process, an editing process and then final approval. It was approved anyway. This was no “accident,” no “oopsie,” no “damn, how did we miss that” kind of situation.

This was purposeful.

The American Media Maggots continue to deserve that appellation week after week, day after day.

BZ

 

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Female vs female, Left vs Right

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And don’t tell me this isn’t a female thingie because, oh hell yes, it most certainly is. It goes to claimed black female vs Caucasoid female, Leftist female vs Conservative female, haughty female vs based female. Damn. I’m out of striations.

I loved it when Kirstjen Nielsen larfs at the foppish Kamala Harris.

BZ

 

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Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz in one month

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Wake up. The LDAMM don’t want you to be aware. This is why. Important news takes a back seat to ATIP: Anti-Trump Identity Politics.

Focusing back, nothing moves particularly rapidly in the Muslim world, hence the headline.

What does inshallah mean? “If Allah wills.”

A convenient excuse for being late or early or whatever. That’s how the ME version of Islam works. It doesn’t operate on Western time frames. Period. That said, from Reuters.com:

U.S.-Iran tensions rise over oil route as EU tries to save nuclear deal

by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy stands ready to ensure free navigation and the flow of commerce, the U.S. military’s Central Command said on Thursday, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they would block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary.

A blockade? It would seem potentially so. Continuing with Reuters.com:

With tensions rising over the strategic waterway, the European Union is proposing a plan for salvaging a multinational nuclear deal with Tehran after Washington withdrew, but Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told leaders in Paris and Berlin on Thursday that the package did not go far enough.

Rouhani and some senior military commanders have threatened in recent days to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehran’s exports.

Praising Rouhani’s “firm stance” against the United States, the head of the Revolutionary Guards said their forces were ready to block the Strait of Hormuz which links the Gulf to the open sea.

Again, it’s Trump vs Obama and Obama’s cementing of deals deleterious to the United States of America because, after all, Obama believed then and believes now that this country must “atone” for its prior myriad of faults.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal under which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs to its nuclear program. Washington has since told countries they must stop buying Iranian oil from Nov. 4 or face financial measures.

Mohammad Ali Jafari, who commands the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s most powerful military force, responded on Thursday.

If Iran cannot sell its oil due to U.S. pressure, then no other regional country will be allowed to do so either, Jafari was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. “We are hopeful that this plan expressed by our president will be implemented if needed,” he said. “We will make the enemy understand that either all can use the Strait of Hormuz or no one.”

Translated: no other Middle Eastern country. Hence, the blockade. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points on the planet. This little salient bit:

The strait is the most important oil transit channel in the world with about one fifth of global oil consumption passing through each day.

The US would simply find that unacceptable for us and, of course, everyone else dependent upon Middle Eastern oil shipments.

Here was the issue six years ago.

It’s an issue of oil, and it’s an issue involving the freedom of waterways.

I hope Iran doesn’t believe our president isn’t resolute.

BZ

 

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