Message to Women (and girls): the #metoo movement is face down

I’m as sorry as anyone to report:

Your #metoo movement was a flop. It lasted about as long as it takes for a hot cup of coffee to turn cold. Yeah, it cost Matt Lauer and some other sexual predator multimillionaires their (current) jobs but it couldn’t keep a perjurer and sex offender (re: SEX OFFENDER) from being one of the 9 most powerful people in our country over the next several decades.

In the United States a Supreme Court Justice is appointed without the vote of the American people. We have no say as to what “elite” group of 9 Americans will decide on the laws of our land. We have to rely on the mercy and self interests of 100 astoundingly flawed United States Senators. To call them “repugnant” would be an act of kindness. We’ve been hoodwinked once again. With the help of one white woman from Maine we have allowed 51 men (50 of them are white men, many borne before 1949 and some before 1939) to determine who we are as Americans (and where we are going). Most of those 50 men who are Republican U.S. Senators are old enough to have lived in a time when it was almost impossible for a woman to enter the workplace unless she was a teacher, a secretary, or a nurse. This twisted dominance of old, white males is far from a reflection of our current society. Many of these old, white men are barely computer literate.

This is no accident ladies and gentlemen. This is as calculated as any physics equation worked out by Einstein.

It’s 2018, so why does it feel like 1954? Perhaps because the chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee is an 85 year old white male. He calls the shots. I’m not absolutely certain but I think he would support a resolution that a “woman's place is in the home”. Another Republican member of that committee (that oversees judicial appointments) is 84 years old. He was out of high school before television was invented. As stated before, these ossified excuses for men are determining the FUTURE of America. But, they won’t be here for the “future”, thankfully.

With what we know (clearly) about “Judge” Kavanaugh he couldn’t be elected dog catcher in any district in America. Yet, he can sit on our Supreme Court for decades.

Our “Supreme” Court needs a new name. It is far from “Supreme”. Two of the six male members of the Court are clear perjurers (AND) misogynists. We can’t do better than that? No, we can’t.

Today in America it feels the way it might have felt that day in 1954 when 3 white men were acquitted by a jury in Mississippi of the brutal beating and murder of a 13 year old black boy named Emmet Till. The evidence for conviction was overwhelming. A couple of the white defendants were overhead bragging about the murder a few days after the killing. The jury (and everyone in that town) knew the men were guilty but they didn’t care about the life of that 13 year old black boy. They had a more important agenda than justice and Truth. The 12 white men on that jury who voted for acquittal had the agenda of personal greed and self interest. White male authority meant more than Justice, more than the life of a black boy. In 2018, just like in 1954, there is no justice if you are a woman or a minority.

You understand this if you are a native American. You understand this if you were a descendant of a slave. You certainly understand this if you are a woman in this country. Reminder: women had to wait 133 years after this country was formed before they were “granted” the right to vote (by men).

Today proves once again that, among many other disgraceful things, a woman’s sovereignty, dignity, and her most fundamental protection means nothing to 51 Republican Male Senators. It means little or nothing to the the vast majority of white males in this country, many who have sexual assault as a part of their narrative. Let’s not try and pretend that it is only male celebrities and athletes who disrespect and violate women; let us not pretend that the sentiment that a man is entitled to a woman is not widespread and common, still.

Last week a starting infielder for the playoff bound Chicago Cubs was suspended with pay based on credible allegations by his ex wife that he had assaulted her repeatedly over the course of their marriage. The MLB investigated the case and ruled to suspend Addison Russell for the first 40 games of next season (without pay). This wasn’t a court of law. Major League Baseball decided what was in the best interest of Major League Baseball and they took action without the courts, without an FBI investigation. They thought of what it says to our society when a wife abuser is allowed to take his position on the field with no consequences. It is quite clear that behavior that will get you suspended from playing baseball for 40 games will NOT keep you off the “Supreme” Court for the rest of your life. Based on what we now know about his past and based on his childish and completely undignified performance at his Senate hearing Kavanaugh wouldn’t be allowed to play third base for the Cubs, serve as news anchor of the Today Show, be the CEO of a company, run for municipal office, sit on a School Board anywhere in America…..yet, he can receive a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States with little more than a whimper.

And, who will be the next victim of sexual assault who will have the audacity to accuse a white man. This woman received death threats. She had to move out of her house. She was sexually assaulted 30 years ago and now her perpetrator and his apologists would victimize her and violate her once again. 51 Republican Senators (and the President) have told us that she is lying. That same President used his platform to impugn her character on national television. It was breathtaking to watch. This woman voluntarily took (and passed) a polygraph test. How come I have never heard of an accused white male asking to take a polygraph? In crime investigation passing a polygraph removes a person from a list of suspects. It’s considered to be exonerating by investigators. Every one of those 100 Senators knew she was telling the truth, even the sociopaths among them knew.

No less than the American Bar Association knew she was telling the truth and that he was lying. They took a strong stance to oppose Kavanaugh’s appointment. The National Council of Churches, a group that has a history of remaining silent over Supreme Court appointments released this statement:

“We believe Judge Kavanaugh has disqualified himself from this lifetime appointment
and must step aside immediately,” the group, which represents about 30
million U.S. parishioners, wrote in a statement. “During his appearance
before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Kavanaugh exhibited extreme
partisan bias and disrespect toward certain members of the committee
and thereby demonstrated that he possesses neither the temperament nor
the character essential for a member of the highest court in our nation.
We are deeply disturbed by the multiple allegations of sexual assault
and call for a full and unhindered investigation of these accusations.
In addition, his testimony before the Judiciary Committee included
several misstatements and some outright falsehoods.”

A prominent Jesuit Magazine, "America Magazine" rescinded it's endorsement of Kavanaugh following last Thursday's testinmony.

In an open letter posted on America magazine’s website on Thursday, the editors announced that, whether or not the allegations against Kavanaugh were true, they
believed his candidacy had ultimately become unsustainable. “In addition
to being a fight over policy issues," the editor's wrote, “his nomination has also become a referendum on how to address allegations of sexual assault.”

If Kavanaugh’s nomination were to succeed, America’s
editorial board argues, it would send a message at the national level
that sexual assault allegations are not deemed sufficiently
disqualifying for a candidate for the highest court in the land. “For
the good of the country and the future credibility of the Supreme Court
in a world that is finally learning to take reports of harassment,
assault and abuse seriously,” the editors concluded, “it is time to find
a nominee whose confirmation will not repudiate that lesson.”

During his testimony before the Senate subcommittee Kavanaugh boasted of his Jesuit education. The fact that Kavanaugh would imagine that being a Catholic removes him from suspicion as a sexual predator shows that he has not been abreast of current events for the last half century. Has he no understanding of the widespread and systemic cases of sexual abuse by the clergy (and their coverups by the Church leadership) that have (and are still) occurring in every part of the World where Catholic priests reside? That gross ignorance should be, on it's own, disqualifying.

So, is it just coincidence that 50 out of 50 of those male Republican Senators voted in favor of Kavanaugh? I bet you couldn’t find any other demographic of 50 men other than these 50 Republican men who would agree unanimously in favor of Kavanaugh. Certainly not a group of 50 Catholic men, 50 Christian men, 50 male lawyers, not even Republican voters. I bet you couldn’t even find 50 self described “redneck” males who would all agree that Kavanaugh is fit for the Supreme Court. Are these Senators a reflection of anything good in our country? Just who are they representing? They have become a true reflection of the Trump Presidency: A dungeon where Truth, Justice, dignity, and respect for women are sent to be buried in darkness.

This country should fly it’s flag at half mast after this horrible miscarriage of duty; better yet, don’t raise it all until every last one of those 51 Republican Senators has retired or been voted out of office.

I would argue that the damage from 9/11 is an afterthought in comparison to the damage done to our Republic by these 51 Senators. It’s 1954 all over again.

This Land is your land. This land is my land. From California.... to the New York Island. From the redwood forests, to the gulf stream waters, this land was made for .......

Food for thought...