Senator Jeff Flakes, finally an honest Republican

Jeff Flakes struggled, but finally and timidly asked his Trumpian colleagues to allow an update by the FBI to Brett Kavannaugh's background check.  This will mean a week's delay in the floor vote for Kavannaugh's bid for Supreme Court Justice.

What caused this shift -- maybe it was a 5 minute confrontation in an elevator with a victim of sexual assault (22 years old) who cried to him  "that no one would listen to her; no one would believe her -- when she was attacked!" She did not let not let up; she would not let him look away from her truth.

Life is full of such moments -- it is the sad serendipity of our experiences. Thank god, karma, or life itself.

Women in Crisis

The crazy spectacle seen on television with the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday was worthy of an Adam Sandler film. Raunch, sex, lies, rank bluster, continuing obfuscation spread across decades -- the  worst of Trumpian politics. It also included "truth as fiction," "fiction as truth," conspiracy theories recirculated and enhanced by Trump's genius bar,  real crimes committed against a young woman 36 years ago, and  sadly, no outcome of truth triumphing.

"She" told her truth; "he" claimed victimhood and perpetuated his convenient sculpted insistent lie. And the woman involved was, apparently, victimized again

A drunken "boy" could not own up to his weaknesses and lies. And all this, courtesy of Trump's view of government by bluster/bullying. We need Trump to be removed from office to save us all. Perhaps we have all glimpsed the anti-Christ!

@MeToo

Women are finally speaking up for themselves; not for imagined "sleights" of language, but against "real abuse" in the workplace, or the classroom, or relations with the same or the opposite sex. I have had to ask intrusive questions of women in my role as theatre director -- sometimes asking if the performer could or would be willing to do certain things onstage as an integral part of a production. As an actor I have also been asked such questions and have acted in nude roles, gay roles, straight roles etc. Again, not at all unusual.

More recently I have been forced to ask "invasive questions" of problematic grant candidates (for scholarships and/or continuing grants) dealing with family, ethnicity, religion, and sexual situations. I have always warned candidates that such questions were necessary and could be refused if the candidate wished. In a thirty year career of giving or coordinating grants and scholarships I have never had a person refuse to talk about his/her life. One unfortunate person descried the questions after the fact, and then left the scholarship  "on the table" out of ignorance and pretended shame. The unusual family complications of this candidate caused her strange "and delusional" claims and behaviors.

Sometimes human beings are so far out of the mainstream that the cannot be counted on to use a grant well. This happens with scheming or ignorant students and even more often with cleverly manipulative professionals. I have always done my job as investigator with respect and within civilized parameters.

Trump Must Lose at the Mid-terms

Women must vote in November. They must remember, and vote. Vote their thinking; vote the reality of what they see in Trump.

Trump shows us what he is with nearly every tweet: disrespectful of women, the very symbol of the "old men's club, hurtful towards all who oppose him, totally self-absorbed, resistant to all scientific truth,  "evil" towards legal and illegal aliens who might someday vote against him, full of "hate" standing in for patriotism (and all other civilized virtues.)

Remember and vote out all the Trumpian toadies. They deserve to lose.

Trump's View of Life

I believe that Trump's view of the universe is remarkably simple and uncluttered. It includes only one human:  Trump!  Every other person is peripheral and expendable: Ivanka. Baron, Melania, Don Jr., anyone else. Trump recognizes others -- but they are all losers, unworthy of his attention. Yes, Trump is seriously flawed and mentally unbalanced.  Yes, Trump deserves pity rather than ostracism-- except for the horrible fact that we made him our President.

So now America and the world  are both in trouble.  The trouble is that  we have to answer to humanity, history,  and our own consciences. We have to answer  for the  sin that is Donald J. Trump!

Creepy Old Donald Trump

He thinks women are his playground, even his own daughter. He has perverse desires sexually: (the peeing prostitutes of Moscow), his viewing of backstage beauty contestants, his taped comments from Howard Stern , his known infidelity, his "use"  of "other women" to "satisfy" himself.  He has multiple wives, and multiple sins against them. His non--disclosure arrangements cannot remake reality. Trump is an unfaithful pervert; he is undisciplined, unfaithful, unrestrained, uncivilized jerk.

Donald Trump is an old man, who appears to be losing his "genius," if he ever had any. His career as a real estate mogul and liar appears to be dominated by the latter. His legendary deal-making skills are only legendary in his own mind. Trump is a practiced failure whose "touch" rots everything. America will be glad to be rid of him. It cannot come soon enough!