Questions to pose to Kavanaugh supporters.

For those unfortunate enough to be exposed in public to rabid Republican Kavanaugh supporters and in light of his well-documented political bias in everything he's done in his career, perhaps give these questions a try:

Q1: In America, why do you think we don't put a judicial candidate's political affiliation on ballots?

Correct citizen's answer: Because judges are not supposed to allow their personal politics affect their judgments. We're therefore supposed to only consider their education, life experiences, record of honesty and judicial experience.

Q2: In light of question #1, are you aware that throughout his career both has a political assistant and as a judge, that Brent Kavanaugh has consistently shown a very hard bias toward the extreme right in his writings and judgments?

Correct citizen's answer: Yes, I've fully reviewed his career history.

Q3: Then, in light of Question #2, do you think he would make fair and impartial judgments for all American citizens, regardless of their politics, gender, race or creed?

Correct citizen's answer: No, not really.

Q4: Are you aware that Kavanaugh has lied to or made proven deceptive statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his interviews and if so, do you think he can be a fair and impartial Supreme Court justice?

Correct citizen's answer: Yes, then no.

Q5: Do you think it's wise to appoint a judge to our Supreme Court that called Hillary Clinton a bitch in front of several friends?

Correct citizen's answer: No.

My thinking is to catch them off guard and ask them questions not related to his sexual dalliances and drinking. I suspect that just like with Trump, they could care less about his sexual moral character.

Please understand I don't expect them to answer in the way I proposed, but those questions may break the ice and get them to think if they're capable.

.... .......

K&R. Sort of ironic, that.

Repugs never admit to being controlled by their very own private, secretive deep state and the general public does not seem to be the least aware of it.

The dozens of billionaire-funded right-wing political think tanks along with dozens of Christian Right organizations and right-wing media corporations (News Corp., Sinclair, etc.) all form a largely hidden cabal of power unequaled in the world.

Yet, to listen to them, one would think these poor repugs are the persecuted, punished anointed ones lost in the wilderness of progressive bureaucracy.

What they are is a bunch of sanctimonious, greedy, psychopathic bastards.......

Trump's tariffs will make recovery from Hurricane Florence more expensive

Florence likely to expose gaps in flood insurance

Florence likely to expose gaps in flood insurance

Source: The Associated Press

NEW YORK: The number of Americans with flood insurance is on the rise, yet Hurricane Florence is likely to make it painfully clear that too many homeowners in the Carolinas and other vulnerable regions remain unprotected.
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An analysis of federal flood insurance records by The Associated Press found there were roughly 5.1 million active flood insurance policies in the U.S. as of July 31, up from 4.94 million a year earlier.

But large gaps in coverage remain. South Carolina is the second-highest insured state for flooding, with roughly 65 percent of properties in flood hazard areas insured. But in North Carolina, where forecasters say the storm might bring the most destructive round of flooding in state history, flood coverage is less common, with only 35 percent of at-risk properties insured.
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But federal disaster relief typically consists of low-interest loans — money that must be repaid. The maximum amount of disaster assistance available to an individual or household is $34,000, which is typically not enough to cover repairs caused by flooding. The average damage caused by flooding during Harvey was around $80,000, according to the Texas Department of Insurance.

Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article218494210.html

Thanks, Hekate. This is certainly worthy of open-minded discussion.

I'm an amateur psychologist as a useful hobby in my decades-long process of chemical abuse recovery and self-understanding. It also helps me to be more understanding and accepting of others.

That said, I agree that many of these mental oddities are inborn but can now see how we may have inherited those characteristics from early evolution. For example, our species went through millions of years in extremely brutal struggles just to survive, and it may have been that literally 100% of our populations at times were what we would today label as psychopaths. We still carry fragments of those genes in all of us. One could also argue that each and every one of us is a little bit of a psychopath as part of our survival instinct.

So, I believe most mental "oddities" come in degrees, and my experiences with many everyday people seem to prove that. Some of the most interesting people I've been exposed to in my 70 years were those with multiple personalities, and several that were bipolar. Those types will try one's patience and tolerance to our very core. Low-level psychopath are simply just a pain in the ass.

Bottom line is that unless our society is willing to test and classify people mentally at an early age, and then be willing to segregate those we don't want to deal with in open society, then we'll be stuck with the occasional madman that makes it to the top. Seriously, I doubt if humanity will ever be willing to go there to any degree. For a number of practical reasons, I personally would be against it, at least in the near-term.

I do, however, think a thorough mental evaluation should be a requirement for anyone running for very powerful positions in government or business, and it would be fair to the public interest. Republicans would fight against that to their death.

'You didn't get our message': key Trump aide Stephen Miller condemned by childhood rabbi

I interpret that sign to mean....

"I'm an asshole".

Very fitting.........

https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/207616483646390272

One elephant in the room John left out is.....

Trump's and the Republican Party's hatred toward our government. That's the main reason many Americans support them. That may not have been within the intent of his article but it is key to this discussion.

Our government is the primary glue to holds our society together, else we fall into anarchy and chaos. Warts and all, our laws and regulations along with our courts protect us from each other's worst impulses and helps us find justice when things go wrong. That includes protections to a degree against the racism and bigotry he mentions.

IMO, those who hold spite toward our system of government in essence support the freedom to commit those worst human impulses. Although Republicans do that primarily because they hate taxes and anything that retards big business' interests, they do it as well as a ruse to energize their base for religious "freedom" (I find a lot of irony in that).

I think most religions would love to be that societal glue mentioned above but that can never work, as religions are worse than political parties on agreeing to anything in unison. Humans will be greedy and power-hungry no matter who's running the show. The best way for us to have a more peaceful society is for all religions to work with government to strengthen and broaden protections provide by our Constitution and statutory laws for all our citizens.

I do however commend John for calling out Trump for his hatred and poor character.......

The real heart breaker with these damned storms is....

that those who can't afford to relocate and those who are too sick or disabled to do so will suffer the most. Keep in mind many will likely be without power for an extended time and perhaps without phone service and/or fresh water.

A very large number of people who live in the low country of NC and SC are in high risk zones for flooding, and many are poor and live in mobile homes or houses with weak construction. I've worked with these folks in years past and they are tough and resilient, but no one can fight a storm this size.

Therefore, lets keep those folks with no voice or political power in our thoughts every day and perhaps support them with appropriate contributions when the time arrives.

Best of luck, Grits and please stay in touch.........