San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Politics / Courts, Justice

Written Testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford | United States Senate Judiciary Committee

by

Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein, Members of the Committee. My name is Christine Blasey Ford. I am a Professor of Psychology at Palo Alto University and a Research Psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

I was an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina and earned my degree in Experimental Psychology in 1988. I received a Master’s degree in 1991 in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. In 1996, I received a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California. I earned a Master’s degree in Epidemiology from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2009.

I have been married to Russell Ford since 2002 and we have two children.

I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school. I have described the events publicly before. I summarized them in my letter to Ranking Member Feinstein, and again in my letter to Chairman Grassley. I understand and appreciate the importance of your hearing from me directly about what happened to me and the impact it has had on my life and on my family   [Read more…]

South Carolina Prisoners Were Left In Cells as Florence Descended. Why Weren’t They Evacuated? | Video Worth Watching

by

From the Democracy Now! YouTube website:

South Carolina officials are coming under fire for refusing to relocate prisoners in mandatory evacuation zones even as Hurricane Florence barreled down on the state. Prisoners were instead put to work behind bars making sandbags to prepare for the storm’s arrival. We speak with Kymberly Smith, a community organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She has been protesting South Carolina’s choice to not evacuate prisoners during Hurricane Florence.

  [Read more…]

Earl McNeil Should Be Alive Today

by

On Friday, District Attorney, Summer Stephan, announced that no charges would be filed against the National City Police Department officers in the death of Earl McNeil. Geneviéve Jones-Wright, criminal justice reform advocate, Deputy Public Defender, and community leader, made the following statement regarding the decision: 

On May 26, 2018, Earl McNeil went to the National City Police Department asking for help. Instead of receiving help, he was comatose, showing signs of trauma, only to die days later. Today the San Diego County District Attorney, Summer Stephan, has cleared law enforcement officers from any wrongdoing in Mr. McNeil’s death. This decision comes on the heels of months of community protests and calls for the District Attorney to recuse her office from the investigation.    [Read more…]

National Walk Out / Solidarity: Support Dr. Blasey Ford – Monday Sept 24 10am (Pacific Time)

by

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has bravely come forward and shared her story about her sexual assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Even though Dr. Blasey Ford has repeatedly stated her desire to testify and bravely share her story, Senate Republicans are doing everything they can to shame, bully, and force her to testify under their unacceptable, inappropriate conditions. 

At 1 p.m. EST Monday, join us for a national walk-out to show our support for Dr. Blasey Ford. All you need to do is wear black and walk out – of your home, your office, your classroom, wherever you are – and post a picture to your social media with the hashtag #BelieveSurvivors.    [Read more…]

Child Detention Funded with Cuts to Cancer Research, Head Start, and Women’s Shelters

by

By Julia Conley / Common Dreams

Along with tens of thousands of children and families, cancer patients, Americans with substance abuse disorders, and victims of domestic violence are among the casualties of President Donald Trump’s detention of young immigrants—according to government documents outlining the administration’s plan to divert millions of dollars away from programs serving those populations.

Yahoo News reported that in order to continue detaining more than 13,000 children currently in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is proposing that up to $266 million be taken from other government health programs.   [Read more…]

Brett Kavanaugh: No More Nineties Reboots, Please | Video Worth Watching

by

Samantha Bee puts her spin on the current Kavanaugh controversy. One observation: some of the politicians and pundits rushing to Kavanaugh’s defense sound more like they’re confessing to something themselves.   [Read more…]

Trump Seeks to Undermine Investigation by Ordering Documents Declassified

by

Is Trump barreling towards a high-stakes confrontation with the FBI and Department of Justice?

A confrontation that could unfold within the next several days is about to overtake the news cycle and signal yet another abuse of power move by Trump. But this one could be the trigger – as FBI Director Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – decide how to respond to the president’s latest attempt to subvert the investigation into whether the Russian sabotage of the 2016 election included Trump and his people.

Did you miss the memo on the latest installment in the continuing American constitutional crisis?   [Read more…]

Kavanaugh’s Accuser Is Credible. Will It Matter? | Video Worth Watching

by

Ari Melber interviews Michelle Goldberg, author of the recent New York Times opinion editorial “Boys Will Be Supreme Court Judges” and they discuss the recent right-wing character assassination of Professor Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has made allegations of being sexually assaulted by Judge Kavanaugh, as well as the attempts to downplay the significance of Kavanaugh’s actions, if true. (h/t to AGD)   [Read more…]

Women Remember Sexual Assault

by

By Democrat in the South / Daily Kos

I was listening to a guy on Morning Joe this morning analyzing whether or not the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault could actually be capable of remembering accurately or even correctly what happened to her because of the time passed since the incident.

While I’ve never been raped or sexually abused in any way, there was just one incident that happened to me at least 50 years ago. I am 67 and I remember it and every detail about it like it was yesterday and none of it ever fades from my memory. 

When I was in my teens, a group of us went to a friend’s parent’s cabin to sleep for the night. It was a 2 bedroom cabin and each bedroom had several beds in it. Like at least 3, maybe 4 double beds. So we piled up at least 2 to a bed and all beds were filled. Someone was on the sofa too. It was summer time so we slept on top of the covers fully clothed.

  [Read more…]

We Can All Be Accused Of Something, Says Kavanaugh Apologist

by

By Amy Zimet / Common Dreams

The White House ostensibly run by a pathological liar, irredeemable grifter and self-confessed serial sexual predator has now officially set the bar so low it’s underground, or, more aptly these days, underwater.

This weekend, they and their slimy apologists responded to the credible charge that a Supreme Court nominee with an already appalling record also tried to sexually assault someone in his youth by dismissing, distracting, desperately victim-smearing – she donated $72 to Democrats over four years! –  crowing with gobsmacking cognitive dissonance about all the women he didn’t try to rape, blindly urging a vote NOW, and otherwise insisting nothing to see here other than the usual venal and occasionally rapey shit show. If they had any shame, this would be the time for it.   [Read more…]

Christine Blasey Ford’s Letter Detailing Sexual Assault Allegations Against Brett Kavanaugh

by

Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford has gone public with allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh drunkenly pinned her down and sexually assaulted her when they were both teenagers in the 1980s.

She reached out to Senator Diane Feinstein via the letter posted below, initially asking for confidentiality, fearing retaliation and public attacks. News of the contact broke late last week when media reports indicated the Califonia Senator had forwarded serious allegations to the FBI.

Ford ultimately came forward out of concerns that reporters would soon identify her and a sense of public duty. She has provided medical records and the results of a polygraph test to back up her claim.   [Read more…]

Here’s Another Impeachment I Can Get Behind: Kavanaugh for Lying to Congress | Video Worth Watching

by

From the MSNBC YouTube website:

Lisa Graves, former Senate Judiciary Committee chief counsel for nominations, argues that Brett Kavanaugh has lied in past testimony under oath about stolen Democratic documents and should not only not be confirmed to the Supreme Court, but should be impeached from the bench.

  [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry