Mob-Like...

Fresh off the successful confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the vote showed the Senate "will not be intimidated by mob-like tactics" of protesters on Capitol Hill.

Goups of anti-Kavanaugh protesters confronted members of Congress directly, with many demonstrators with stories of sexual assault. Hundreds were detained or arrested leading up to the final vote.

"It was really quite a display of aggressiveness far beyond peaceful protesting. They were trying to intimidate members of the Senate not only in our home states but in the Capitol." McConnell said. 

He added, "We were able to establish that the presumption of innocence is still important in this country and that the senate is not going to be intimated by these kind of tactics.

"Ironically the behavior of Democrats on Senate Judiciary Committee and then the overreach of the protests at the Capitol have actually energized the Republican base, particularly in the red states where we're trying to pick up seats across America," McConnell said. "So I want to thank the other side for the tactics that have allowed us to kind of energize and get involved our own voters."  

Sad...

A limousine "failed to stop" at an intersection in upstate New York and stuck a parked vehicle, leaving 20 people dead.

The two-car crash happened shortly before 2 p.m. ET Saturday in Schoharie, State Police First Deputy Superintendent Christopher Fiore told reporters. The 2001 Ford Excursion was traveling southwest on State Route 30 when it didn't stop at the intersection with State Route 30 A and collided with an SUV in the parking lot, Fiore said.

All 18 people in the limo were killed, including the driver, Fiore said. Two pedestrians near the unoccupied 2015 Toyota Highlander in the parking lot were also killed, he said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families following this horrific tragedy," 

Lacked...

The woman who claims soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo raped her in Las Vegas now says the alleged assault left her with post-traumatic stress.

Kathryn Mayorga wants an eight-year-old legal settlement of her charges thrown out because psychological injuries made her incompetent to agree to it. Las Vegas police are reopening their investigation into the assault allegations. 

Mayorga first told the German publication Der Spiegel about the night in 2009 she says Ronaldo raped her. The night still haunts her, according to her lawyer Leslie Stovall. 

"She has suffered an emotional, a psychological injury," Stovall said. "Depression, suicidal ideation, abuse of alcohol, problems maintaining personal relationships and employment."

 In 2010, she reached an agreement with his attorneys to accept $375,000 to keep quiet about their alleged encounter.

Mayorga is now seeking more than $200,000 in a lawsuit claiming she "lacked the mental capacity to participate in negotiations…due to the injuries suffered."

In a statement, Las Vegas police said in 2009 "the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description."

On Twitter, Ronaldo said his conscience was clear writing, "I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me… keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense."

Spinning...

 

Americans were transfixed by the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford. Sexual assault victims saw their trauma reflected in her words and were emboldened to share their own stories. Men were witness to the lasting emotional damage that sexual abuse can cause. That had value, regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court battle.

The bruising battle was a cultural moment in some ways more important than the nominee himself. 

What remains is the unfinished, age-old American business of forming a more perfect union, those indelible words in the U.S. Constitution that "we the people" can never escape. Nor ever would want to. 

The year-old #MeToo movement flows easily along that "more perfect" evolutionary path. It holds out the promise of stripping away a lingering abuse: the silent existence and acceptance of sexual mistreatment and assault, particularly of women by men in a position of power.

In tandem with that are the core national values of due process and of weighing evidence fairly to avoid inflicting punishment on the innocent.

Live the discussion, join the process, It is not easy nor comfortable.  Just a thought.

Disorder...

Inside, the beginning of the roll call vote, screams and shouts of "Shame on You!" and "I do not consent" rang out frequently in the Senate gallery, with Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the session, repeatedly calling on the sergeant at arms to "restore order in the gallery."

Standing outside the Supreme Court building steps and talking to a boisterous crowd, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., suggested a way people against the Kavanaugh confirmation could respond. 

Initially, she said, people will have to live with the "hurt" of losing the confirmation battle then use those emotions to rally against the GOP and "take back control" of the government.

Discourse...

Not if the Media is involved to boost their ratings.

Out-Rage...

Ricin...

A Navy veteran in Utah has been charged with threatening to use a biological toxin as a weapon by sending letters to President Donald Trump and other leaders containing ground castor beans, the substance from which ricin is derived.  Some allegedly had Allen's return address.

U.S. District Court documents say 39-year-old William Clyde Allen III told investigators he wanted to "send a message," though he did not elaborate.

Allen, who cried in court while speaking about his ailing wife, could face up to life in prison if convicted on one of the five charges.

Investigators say the letters were intercepted.

Lure...

Kathryn Mayorga, 25 at the time, was a budding model and one of her jobs was to hang out with other young, beautiful women in front of bars to lure in guests.

On that Friday in June, the paths of the model and the multimillionaire crossed in the VIP section of Rain, a nightclub belonging to Palms Casino Resort.  

He plays it cool while she beams at him. Within hours, the gossip pages around the world would be busying themselves with trying to figure out who this "mysterious brunette" is at Ronaldo's side. 

The party continued in the early morning hours in Ronaldo's penthouse in the nearby Hotel Palms Place.  

The soccer star paid Mayorga $375,000 an out-of-court settlement. In exchange, Mayorga signed an agreement to never talk about her accusations that Cristiano Ronaldo had raped her.

Sound familiar story?  Is it a time to legalize prostitution in the USA? A much respected deals than what we frequently see?

The Cost...