Thoughts On The Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Accusations

Brett Kavanaugh‘s nomination to SCOTUS has been controversial to say the least.

The latest controversy is the accusation of the sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, who was a high school classmate of Judge Kavanaugh. Dr. Ford has accused the judge of forcing himself on her when they were teenagers in the early 80’s.

Naysayers could argue that if the accusations are true, they are the act of a boy who was drunk, young and foolish. The judge is a 53-year-old married man with young daughters, hopefully time and experience has matured him.

However, sexual assault is still sexual assault, regardless of how long ago it was. Unlike other positions in the government, the appointment to the Supreme Court is for life. As a citizen, I need to know that if he is confirmed, he will do what is right for the country and not act in a partisan nature.

As a woman, I need to ask the men on the Senate Judiciary Committee the following question: how would you react if a woman you loved was sexually assaulted. What if it was your mother, your sister, your daughter, your wife, etc? Would you be so blase or or would you take a hard look at your conscious before making a decision?

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Ari Fuld Is Dead Because He Is A Jew

Hate kills. It takes away our ability to see our fellow human beings for what they are; human beings. Hate only focuses on the labels that are used to define us and uses those labels as an excuse to kill and destroy.

Ari Fuld was a husband, a father,  a brother, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and an American Jew who made aliyah to Israel as a young man. He was killed for being an Israeli Jew.

We can talk about politics and peace talks all day every day. But until we see each other as human beings, true peace will never exist. It’s easy to call someone a name, it’s harder to get past the labels and get to know someone.

Until a few days ago, the name of Ari Fuld was only known to a select few today. Today his name has been added to the list of people who were killed in the name of terrorism.

May his memory be a blessing and may we one day learn to live with one another.

 

Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House Book Review

I think that it’s pretty safe to say that this current Presidential administration breaks any and all political precedents that have been accepted as the norm for many years.

In her new book, Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House, journalist April Ryan writes about how unlike other Presidential administrations, chaos, misinformation and the revolving door of staff is the new normal as a White House reporter.

Journalists and reporters are not supposed to be the news, their job is to report the news to the public. But with this administration, the spotlight has been turned on said journalists and reporters. Ms. Ryan provides her reader with a first person perspective of how difficult it is to be a journalist whose job it is to cover politics.

I’ve been reading a lot of books over the past years or so about the current state of American politics. But for some reason, this book was not as good as some of the other books about American politics. It was a bit dry, especially toward the end of the book.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.