Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is a difference between a court of law and the court of public opinion. In a court of law you are innocent until proven guilty. In the court of public opinion? You could very well be guilty until proven innocent.
A supreme court appointment is a job interview. Your employer (we the people) deserve to know everything about you. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the criminal.
Also, a court of law often has facts and evidence to support the charges. Court of public opinion is often just testimonies.
The job interview analogy works for me, sort of. But even in job interviews, few people care about stuff dug up from 30 years ago, especially allegations. Often there are qualifiers, "Offenses in the last 7 years," and so on. Granted, this position is much more important than that.
Let's face it. The political motivation is clear and obvious. That doesn't invalidate the accusations. But we were all taught in school, "Examine the source." It's one thing for a random stranger to say, "Mr. X beats his kid." It's another for his wife's best friend to say in the middle of a bitter divorce trial. People look at who is making an accusation, and why, as they should. I believe Christine Ford, roughly. I'll be skeptical of an overly-detailed recollection.
For the record, don't like Kavanaugh and wish he'd go away. Would be thrilled if he were not nominated. But it should be for the right reasons.
You know I couldn't agree with you more about allegations that happened over thirty years ago when you were a teenager. None of us is the same person we were at teens. The problem comes when you lie repeatedly about it. Kavanaugh's own words were "I've done things in my teens that make me cringe." Well what were those things? Everything we do in life contributes to our character. A supreme court judge is someone we need to hold to the highest of standards. When you receive stolen emails titled spying then you need to do the right thing and not lie about it. When your yearbook writings depict a party animal and your Fox interview depicts a choir boy going to church, then there is a credibility problem. These are not attributes that should be appointed to the supreme court. There is a reason why Mark Judge won't testify. There's a reason why the Republican's won't allow the FBI to investigate. It doesn't matter if he was investigated 6 times before, things slip through the cracks. The supreme court is something that shouldn't be politicized and polluted with corruption. Trump is the con man here. His intentions are for a select few and not for We The People. Kavanaugh needs to step aside. If he had the best interest of the country at heart, he would do that. I question his motives.
You know I couldn't agree with you more about allegations that happened over thirty years ago when you were a teenager. None of us is the same person we were at teens. The problem comes when you lie repeatedly about it. Kavanaugh's own words were "I've done things in my teens that make me cringe." Well what were those things? Everything we do in life contributes to our character. A supreme court judge is someone we need to hold to the highest of standards. When you receive stolen emails titled spying then you need to do the right thing and not lie about it. When your yearbook writings depict a party animal and your Fox interview depicts a choir boy going to church, then there is a credibility problem. These are not attributes that should be appointed to the supreme court. There is a reason why Mark Judge won't testify. There's a reason why the Republican's won't allow the FBI to investigate. It doesn't matter if he was investigated 6 times before, things slip through the cracks. The supreme court is something that shouldn't be politicized and polluted with corruption. Trump is the con man here. His intentions are for a select few and not for We The People. Kavanaugh needs to step aside. If he had the best interest of the country at heart, he would do that. I question his motives.
Fair enough, and these allegations do make me question Kavanaugh's character. As I say, I didn't like him to begin with.
But let's not go too crazy. Let's imagine Hillary Clinton were nominated to the Supreme Court. She made the joke about Indians (people from the country India) owning gas stations, which many people felt was disrepectful at best and borderline racist perhaps. Not who Hillary is, at all. I think we all agree on that. But the joke is on the record, along with the deplorables comment and so on. Should we have to listen to anguished commentary from people who say, "I felt like a second-class citizen when I heard say those things. How can we confirm a justice to the Supreme Court who doesn't respect all citizens of this country? My parents came here from Bombay for a better life." Surely somebody could dig up witnesses like that. I was a reluctant Hillary voter, but as a Supreme Court nominee I would back her 100%. It would have been an awesome position for her. Some of the little stuff you let go and move on. We might end up disfunctional as a country. People are imperfect.
I call the nit-picky stuff "Juror Stuff." Who ends up on a jury? Often, people with no opinions, no intellect, vanilla, middle-of-the-road lives. Why? Any opinion, controversial life event, and so on disqualifies you from service. Do we want to go that route with our government? Winston Churchill was a womanizer, drunk, and heavy smoker. We're not in that era anymore, but the principle remains. It's why I'd want Hillary on the court, and not sunk by mean-spirited people for a few tasteless remarks.
That said, the Kavanaugh allegations are not little stuff. Personally, the allegations of Julie Swetnick bother me most. I think those allegations should be investigated before Kavanaugh is confirmed. If he disappears before then, good riddance.
Last edited by unwillingphoenician; 09-27-2018 at 11:30 AM..
Because the law cannot prejudge someone, but people sure can. And with the internet, it is oh so "fun" and easy to do.
I find it highly hypocritical when I heard our POTUS lament people are pre-judging Kavanaugh, considering he took a full page ad out to call for the death penalty for the Central Park Five before they ever got to trial. Even when they were exonerated by DNA evidence, he said he still thinks they're guilty.
What I find just as disconcerting, isn't just people accused of crimes, but everyday people doing everyday things. So many threads "Idiot mom takes baby to football game", kind of threads where people feel entitled to trash anyone and everyone for relatively trivial things. If you're not perfect, you're fair game now. Even though those judging are hardly perfect.
You even get judged in death, "Darwinism at it's finest" is sure to crop up on every single thread where someone dies in an accident.
You know I couldn't agree with you more about allegations that happened over thirty years ago when you were a teenager. None of us is the same person we were at teens. The problem comes when you lie repeatedly about it. Kavanaugh's own words were "I've done things in my teens that make me cringe." Well what were those things? Everything we do in life contributes to our character. A supreme court judge is someone we need to hold to the highest of standards. When you receive stolen emails titled spying then you need to do the right thing and not lie about it. When your yearbook writings depict a party animal and your Fox interview depicts a choir boy going to church, then there is a credibility problem. These are not attributes that should be appointed to the supreme court. There is a reason why Mark Judge won't testify. There's a reason why the Republican's won't allow the FBI to investigate. It doesn't matter if he was investigated 6 times before, things slip through the cracks. The supreme court is something that shouldn't be politicized and polluted with corruption. Trump is the con man here. His intentions are for a select few and not for We The People. Kavanaugh needs to step aside. If he had the best interest of the country at heart, he would do that. I question his motives.
It's not even just that he may have done these things, it's that it speaks to his attitude toward women. This is a man who is about to get a lifetime appointment to a court that will be deciding many issues that affect women, from Title 9 to Roe vs Wade. What he thinks about women matters.
I'm referring to Cody Wilson, the 3-D gun advocate.
Yes, he was accused of committing a sex crime with a minor.
But he hasn't been convicted yet in court. Evidences have to be gathered. There have to be testimonies, and all facts have to be considered. He did not confess. Yes, the fact that he was in Taiwan and stayed there after finding out he was a wanted man doesn't look good for him. But again, every one is entitled to due process.
Pedophilia is the worst crime to be accused of, even worse than murder itself. The supporters who think Cody is innocent and was framed, are called names like "they must be pedos themselves!" and all other sorts of put-downs.
I'm not saying Cody or anyone like him who is accused are guilty. I'm not saying he's innocent either. But why jump to conclusion without getting all the facts? Why assume just because it's in the news making the person look bad, he or she is guilty before convicted?
I don't think he has been accused of pedophilia. Having sex with a 16 year old is ephebephilia. It's probably worse if he paid her $500, which is promoting prostitution with a minor.
News outlets know if you want readers or viewers, you have to have sex in the story. Look at Law and Order SVU, serving the prurient interests of perverts for decades. Sex sells.
To just simply answer the question that is the title of this thread, I think it is because MOST people who are accused of a crime ARE guilty, so I think it is only natural for most people to first think "guilty" instead of "falsely accused".
Sexual crimes or anything against children is an automatic "guilty until proven innocence." Part of the issue is that a lot of these crimes were underreported for so long, that the pendulum has swung back too far the other way.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It doesn't hurt when your accusers take and pass a lie detector test either. Hook Kavanaugh up and let's see where that takes us.
