Justice Kavanaugh hires daughter of his defender, Tiger mom author Amy Chua

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, left, was defended by Amy Chua, right. Insert: Sophia Chua Rubenfeld.

ASAM NEWS

Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, is being accused of unethically setting up her daughter for a clerkship with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, reports Yahoo.

Chua wrote an op-ed piece supporting Kavanaugh three days after his controversial nomination to the US Supreme Court. The 54-year-old justice came under heavy scrutiny after accusations from a former classmate that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.

In her opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Chua called Kavanaugh a mentor to young women. The Yale professor had placed eight women, including her daughter Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, with Kavanaugh while he was a circuit court judge.

The daughter’s clerkship will begin this summer and last a year, according to the Daily Beast. After her clerkship, she plans to serve in the US Army as a member of the Judge Advocate General (JAG).

Chua previously had been accused of advising students to project a “model-like” femininity to the judge, saying “it’s not an accident” all his female clerks “looked like models.”

In response to critics of her appointment, Sophia Chua Rubenfeld tweeted:

Staying angry. after the Kavanaugh debacle

WARNING: THIS IS AN ANGRY OPINION POSTING!

This is the face that voters will remember come November 6.

LAST WEEK WAS THEN. Today is now! Tomorrow is ours!

The Republican shenanigans in the U.S. Senate in gaining a confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh is the best reason to vote the the GOP senators out of office in every state where they are vulnerable.

(Let's not even talk about the fiasco of how the Republican-controlled Senate, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, refused to even hold hearings for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.)

Republicans rushed to get a new Justice on the court before the mid-term elections. They were afraid that it was quite possible that they would lost the House, and possibly the Senate. If that were to happen, the Democrats would not allow a conservative justice to sit on the bench.

The Supreme Court was the third leg of government -- executive, legislative and judicial -- wisely created by the founders of this country, to balance each other out. With Kavanaugh's appointment tilting the court to the right, all three branches are now controlled by Republicans. 

Kavanaugh's appointment was a punch in the gut. Any opposing voice might seem like shouting in the wind.

A lot of the anger that drove voters to register Democrats in record numbers over the past year has been dissipated by the Kavanaugh vote. The growing feeling of uselessness and disappointment in the democratic form of government works in favor of the Republicans.

The Democrat Party's Chair Tom Perez acknowledged the danger of voters giving up. He's going around trying to rally the troops who were hoping for a Blue Wave this November. "Don't agonize, Organize!" he exclaimed. "Don't mope. Vote!"

In recent times, Democrats have been too nice. They hoped that compromising with the Republicans would bring them around to governing from the middle. President Obama conceded and conceded and gave them everything the Republicans wanted. The best example of his eagerness to compromise is the health care plan that carries his name,

Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, is basically a Republican plan modeled after the Massachusetts plan that was adopted under Gov. Mitt Romney. Gone were the plans for a single-payer plan or universal health care plan advocated by his advisers. Instead, Obamacare was flawed from the get-go and Obama acknowledged that. He wanted to add to it, to mold it to bring it closer to the plan experts preferred.

But Republicans, refusing to compromise rejected their own plan and as soon as Trump came into power, are trying to kill it by pits and pieces.

The art of compromise was the old way of doing things. The Republicans, under Newt Gingrich threw out those rules, according to a new book by MSNBC's political numbers expert ben Bernake. The good old days of collegiality when Republicans and Democrats could go out for drinks after work are gone.

Being nice and seeking compromise was playing into the Republicans' hands. While Democrats were playing with the old rules, Republicans had thrown those rules out and were playing a new brand of politicking/ The Republicans' no-holds-barred, win-at-any-cost strategy has given them the advantage even though they represent a minority of voters.

Obama's flaw was that he was too nice in his dealings with the Republicans. Democrats -- the nation -- can't afford to play with the old rules of politics.

To those who seek change because they are afraid about the direction the country is going, keep organizing, keep registering voters, keep fighting. Keep knocking on doors. Keep making those phone calls. Early voting is going on in several states.The midterms are less than a month away.

"What we saw was (with the Kavanaugh vote) the exercise of raw power," said Sen. Kamala Harris, who is doing her best to lift the Democrats' spirits. "if we want to correct the course, we need to take the power."

For you people of color who are afraid that MAGA really means MAWA; for you women who believe you are not being heard; for all of you who believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford; Stay angry!
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Connie Chung reveals she was sexually assaulted in letter to Christine Blasey Ford

Christine Blasey Ford, left, inspired Connie Chung to recount the time she was a victim of sexual assalt.

CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD'S public testimony accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has opened the doors for women to reveal long-held secrets of sexual assault in their pasts.

Television journalist Connie Chung is the latest to talk about being sexually assaulted , 50 years ago when she was a college student.

In an open letter to Blasey form, Cung wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, She wrote: "I, too, was sexually assaulted — not 36 years ago but about 50 years ago. I have kept my dirty little secret to myself. Silence for five decades."

Republican senators and Kavanaugh supporters like Donald Trump have criticized Blasey Ford for not talking about the alleged assault that occurred 36 years ago. They don't know or understand the traumatic impact of the assault, the shame and the cultural environment that blames the victims.

For three decades starting in 1976, Churng was one of the most recognizable Asian American journalists on television. During her long career, she has worked with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC.

Chung says she was molested by the same doctor who delivered her in 1946 so she thought he could be trusted. The assault occurred in the doctor's home office when Chung was undergoing a gynecological exam. The doctor, who she ddn't name, has since passed away.

She was in a state of shock after the assault that all Chung could do was dress and and leave as quickly as possible.

Chung explains to Blasey Ford, as well as those who can't comprehend the horror of being assaulted, that she also didn't report the assault.

“I think I may have told one of my sisters. I certainly did not tell my parents. I did not report him to authorities. It never crossed my mind to protect other women,” she wrote. “Please understand, I was actually embarrassed about my sexual naivete. I was in my 20s and knew nothing about sex. All I wanted to do was bury the incident in my mind and protect my family.”

“Christine, I, too, am terrified as I reveal this publicly," continued Chung. "I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. Can you? If you can’t, I understand. I am frightened, I am scared, I can’t even cry…Will my legacy as a television journalist for 30-plus years be relegated to a footnote? Will ‘She Too’ be etched on my tombstone instead? I don’t want to tell the truth. I must tell the truth. As a reporter, the truth has ruled my life, my thinking. It’s what I searched for on a daily working basis. I wish I could forget this truthful event, but I cannot because it is the truth. I am writing to you because I know that exact dates, exact years are insignificant.

“We remember exactly what happened to us and who did it to us. We remember the truth forever,” Chung wrote, reinforcing Blasey Ford's testimony before the U.S. Senate Judciciary Committee.

Chung is the second prominent Asian American woman to go public with the long-held secret of her assault. Inspired by Blasey Ford's courage in describing Kavanaugh's alleged assault, Padma Lakshimi, host of the cooking competition Top Chef, told how she was raped when she was 16, but kept the attack secret until her New York Times oped published last week.

In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Hirono: Kavanaugh's drinking habit should be investigated by FBI

SCREEN CAPTURE / MSNBC

SUPREME COURT nominee Brett Kavanaugh's love of beer may be his downfall. At least one senator thinks his alleged excessive drinking and bouts of drunkenness should be part of the FBI investigation.

Monday (Oct. 1) on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the expanded FBI investigation into Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh should include whether the Kavanaugh was “a very belligerent, aggressive drunk” in his youth.

Even if the sexual assault allegations against him prove to have no basis, Brett Kavanaugh should be disqualified from being named to the Supreme Court based on his out-of-control behavior alone during his testimony last Thursday.

The was he conducted himself in rebuttal to the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who claimed that the future judge sexually assaulted her when they were in high school, is not the behavior one wants for someone who will be making judgments affecting our lives and the way our government conducts business as a member of the highest court in the land.

I can understand why he behaved the way he did -- angry, belligerent, teary-eyed when he talked about his family -- but for someone who will be making very important decisions that will uphold and interpret the laws of our country impacting every phase of our daily lives -- we want someone who has a little more measured. We don't want major rulings being made based on his emotions.

Even if the worst of the allegations against him prove untrue, his penchant for heavy drinking -- "I like beer," he defiantly exclaimed repeatedly during his testimony -- should be another black mark against his nomination, says Hirono.

Former Yale classmates have come forth to counter what Kavanaugh said under oath. Liz Swisher, a Seattle medical doctor, told CNN she drank with Kavanaugh often and that he “drank heavily” and was a “sloppy drunk.” Yale classmate Chad Luddington issued a statement to the media in which he said he was “deeply troubled" at how Kavanaugh mischaracterized his drinking. Luddington described Kavanaugh's drinking as “frequent” and “heavy.” He said that Kavanaugh, after drinking, was “often belligerent and aggressive,” would “slur” his words and would be seen “staggering.”

On MSNBC, Hirono said, “As most normal people would think, that whether or not Judge Kavanaugh lied to the committee, which should be a total nonstarter for anybody wanting to go to the Supreme Court, is not even the area of focus. It’s so limited, I called it basically—I think the word farce would not be far off to talk about this so-called investigation. It is not going to get us anywhere near the truth. But the other thing that I found totally bizarre and astounding was when Judge Kavanaugh accused the Democrats of engaging in a plot to do him in, and he dragged in Hillary Clinton and all that. This is a conspiracy theory. This is what he believes. This is what he’s going to take to the Supreme Court. And he also was so partisan that it was unbelievable. He even wrote a law review article in 2016 where he said a judge should be totally nonpartisan. That’s not what was shown to us.

“There were inconsistencies about his drinking and information we have from various of his classmates, that he was a very belligerent, aggressive drunk," Hirono continued. 

"So I would like the FBI to go and interview all of these people, and we have to draw our conclusions, but it was unbelievable, the portrayal of himself as some kind of a boy scout, all he cared about was studying, going to church, doing projects and playing basketball or sports. It was pretty unbelievable to me. And very clearly, when he was asked specific questions about the meaning of the terms in his yearbook, what the meanings of those words were. And as (former FBI director James) Comey said, when you lie about something like that, it just points to the need to dig deeper.”

She added, “I think there’s a pattern of him not being candid with the committee, it goes back to his nomination hearings in 2006” when Kavanaugh was interviewed for the position as a federal judge.

Hirono questioned Kavanaugh's positions on several issues besides his drinking habits and behavior towards women.

During last week's confirmation hearings, Hirono exposed Kavanaugh's belief that Native Hawaiians, and possibly Native Alaskans, shouldn't be given the same status as Native Americans because Hawaiians migrated to the islands. If Kavanaugh holds that belief, he could rule that Native Hawaiians do not deserve government assistance or allowed to live lands designated for them.

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Two GOP senators join Democrats asking for FBI probe of sex allegations vs. Kavanaugh

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Senators Kamala Harris, center, and Mazie Hirono, right, spoke to the media after the Senate committee hearing.

HOURS AFTER Donald Trump gave into the intense pressure to look into allegations of sexual misconduct of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the FBI has already scheduled interviews with at least one of the two women who came forward with additional iinformation after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford claimed that Kavanaugh assaulted her.

The FBI's supplemental investigation would look into allegations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh. Besides the allegation of Blasey Ford, which the Senate Judiciary Committee heard Thursday, two other women have come forward as victims and/or witnesses to the drunken, aggressive behavior by Kavanaugh.

Blasey Ford “welcomes” the FBI investigation into her allegations that she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, one of her attorneys confirmed Friday.

“A thorough FBI investigation is critical to developing all the relevant facts,” Debra Katz said in a statement. “Dr. Christine Blasey Ford welcomes this step in the process, and appreciates the efforts of Senators Flake, Murkowski, Manchin and Collins — and all other senators who have supported an FBI investigation — to ensure it is completed before the Senate votes on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. No artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation.”

Kavanaugh has also said he would cooperate fully with the investigation.

The key vote was cast by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake who placed a condition on his yes vote, giving the GOP the majority on the committee. For his yes vote, he wanted an FBI investigation of the allegations before the Senate vote.

Shortly after Flake's position became known, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, expressed her support for an investigation. Without the two GOP senators,  any attempt by the GOP to push a vote through purely on party affiliation and without an FBI probe, would have died.

Democrats have been pushing for an FBI investigation of the sexual misconduct allegations ever since Balsey Ford's assertions became known last week.

Trump's green light to the FBI probe came after intense pressure from women who sympathized with Balsey Ford and believed her allegations. The American Bar Association this morning and the Jesuit Order, withdrew their endorsements of Kavanaugh pending an FBI probe.

“I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file,” Trump said in a statement on Friday. “As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”

"It certainly should cover the three credible reports that have come forward, and it has to be complete,"said Sen. Mazie Hirono to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room."

Friday morning as the judiciary committee was voting to send the nomination to the Senate floor, Hirono and Sen. Kamala Harris walked out of the meeting room in protest to the vote.

"Republicans are rushing Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation with a sham hearing this morning, less than 24 hours after Dr. Ford had the courage to tell her story in front of the entire country. This is a disgrace," said Harris in a letter to her supporters.

"So, instead of sitting through this farce... I walked out," she continued.

"I know this week has been exhausting," said Harris, "but we cannot stop marching and speaking out against this nomination."

TV cameras didn't show this: Dozens of House members stood in silence as Sen. Chuck Grassley,chair of the Senate Judiciary  Committee openedthe hearing to listen to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony alleging the nominee assaulted her when both were teenagers. Among those members were AAPI Representatives Jamila Jayapal, Judy Chu, Colleen Hanabusa and Grace Meng. They left  the room as soon as guards approached them.

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FBI to reopen Kvanaugh probe; Hirono and Harris play key roles

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Christine Blasey Ford was sworn in before being questioned in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing.

UPDATED Sept. 28, 3:15 pm: To include breaking news.

Additional reporting by AsAm News

THE HYPOCRISY of the Republican Party was on full display … and now the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court could be in trouble.

The Senate’s Judiciary Committee voted early today to advance Brett Kavanaugh to the full Senate. The committee voted despite riveting and credible testimony from Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused the justice-to-be of sexual assault when both were in high school 36 years ago.

But here’s the surprise.

Senator Jeff Flake, R-AZ, threatened to vote Kavanaugh’s confirmation down unless the FBI begins a time-limited one week investigation into Ford’s allegation. The Republican leadership has agreed.

Shortly after the judiciary committee vote, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she supports Flake's condition. Without the two Republican senators support, any attempt to rush a vote on Kavanaugh without the probe, would likely be defeated.

 This afternoon, Donald Trump has ordered a one-week FBI investigation pushing back the vote in the full senate on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

In the middle of the Washington cultural and political brouhaha were two Asian American senators, Kamala Harris, D-CA, and Mazie Hirono, D-HI.

During the committee’s vote to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination, both Harris and Hirono were among those Democratic senators who walked out in protest.

“Democrats are not being heard. They’re pushing through this process. This is a failure of this body – to do what it has always said it’s about, which is be deliberative,” said Harris.

“I’m here standing with my colleagues because it’s very clear that the Republicans will break every norm, every rule, to get this person on the Supreme Court,” said Hirono. “Where he will be there with a cloud – he will weaken the court, and this has got to stop. So I walked out. I’m not going to participate in this charade anymore

For a full year, the GOP-dominated Senate refused to hold a hearing on Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, but are now willing to rush to a vote to seat Kavanaugh despite the dark cloud of sexual misconduct still hanging over his head.

By the time you read this, the Senate's Judiciary Committee will likely have approved Brett Kavanaugh to be voted on the full Senate. The committee is slated to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Friday (Sept. 28) morning after hearing from Kavanaugh and Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused the justice-to-be of sexual assault when both were in high school 36 years ago.

“The credibility is there for her. So I believe her,” Hirono told The New York Times earlier this week.

“This whole idea that the Republicans have, that women just sit around making these things up, that is not borne out by the reality,” she added, referring to the dozens of comments from Republicans questioning Blasey Ford’s story.

On Thursday, Hirono chastised sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell brought in specially to grill Blasey because the 11 Republican men on the committee didn't want it appear that they were ganging up on the woman victim. Hirono criticized the Arizona prosecutor for "asking these questions all to undermine the memory and basically the credibility of" the accuser.

"Mr. Chairman. is it your intent to cede all Republicans' time to your prosecutor rather than they themselves ceding their time to her?'" Hirono asked as she targeted committee chair Chuck Grassley.

"Yes," Grassley replied.

Hirono then said, "We all know that the prosecutor, even though this clearly is not a criminal proceeding, is asking Dr. Ford all kinds of questions about what happened before and after, but basically not during the attack," Hirono said.

In contrast to the hired prosecutor's attempts to weaken Blasey's claims, Harris used her five-minutes to sooth the "terrified" California psychology professor. "You are not on trial," Harris told Ford. "You are not on trial."

"You are sitting here before the United States Judiciary Committee because you had the courage to come forward because as you have said you believe it was your civic duty," Harris said bringing Ford on the verge of tears.

"You have passed a polygraph and submitted the results to this committee. Judge Kavanaugh has not. You have called for outside witnesses to testify and for expert witnesses to testify. Judge Kavanaugh has not. But most importantly you have called for an independent FBI investigation into the facts. Judge Kavanaugh has not and we owe you that," Harris said.

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Christine Balsey Ford, 'you are a true profile in courage at this moment in time in the history of our country." 

- Sen. Kamala Harris

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In her powerful closing statement, Harris told Ford, "You have been a true patriot in fighting for the best of who we are as a country. I believe you are doing that because you love this country, and I believe history will show that you are a true profile in courage at this moment in time in the history of our country."

In the afternoon, Kavanaugh didn't give any ground, giving an angry, tearful statement, almost shouting his statement in stark contrast to the Blasey's sincerely emotional and soft-spoken statement and responses.

Kavanaugh took the Trumpian approach to controversy by doubling down and going on the offensive, rudely interrupting the senators' questions and throwing the question back to the Democrats. 

He strongly denied the allegations of Blasey Ford and the three other women who claim to have seen Kavanaugh dead drunk and belligerent. Except for Blasey Ford, none of the other women, including a key witness, Mark Judge, to the alleged assault on Blasey Ford, were brought in by the senate committee for questioning and/or corroboration of either Blasey Ford's or Kavanaugh's statements.

He consistently avoided answering Democrat's questions if he would ask for an FBI investigation to move the incident(s) beyond the he-said, she-said situationi facing the committee members.

In the end, probably no votes of committee members changed, Blasey Ford came off sounding sincere and credible and Kavanaugh came off as emotionally unstable, petulant and a sure bet his nomination will go to the full Senate as quickly as possible before another woman might come forth with a story of Kavanaugh's earlier days ... and before the Midterm elections when the GOP might lose the majority in the House and/or the Senate.

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Padma Lakshimi: "I was raped at 16" and didn't report it

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Food critic and television host Padma Lakshi

THE SENATE CONFIRMATION hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanagh has turned into an extension of the #MeToo debate and demonstrates once again, the huge gulf between men and women.

Padma Lakshimi, host of Top Chef and international model, has come forward in an New York Times oped today (Sept. 26) and a series of follow-up tweets to explain why she didn't report the three sexual assaults in her life that she ddn't report.

 The model-actress said she was motivated to speak out in the wake of two women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of inappropriate sexual conduct. Kavanaugh has denied both women's accusations. She said she decided to make the incidents public as a show of support for Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, who is alleging that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago when he was 17 and she was 15.

She relates in her oped that she was raped at age 16 while dating a 23-year old co-worker. But besides getting raped, she told of two other incidents in which she was sexually assaulted. The first incident was when she was just 7-years old.

"When I was 7 years old, my stepfather's relative touched me between my legs and put my hand on his erect penis," wrote Lakshmi, who also recently tweeted about the incident as part of #WhyIDidntReport. "Shortly after I told my mother and stepfather, they sent me to India for a year to live with my grandparents. The lesson was: If you speak up, you will be cast out."

Since Ford's revelation, two other women have come forward about being sexually victimized by a drunk Kavanaugh, who has strongly denied all of the assertions.

Donald Trump and other senators who support Kavanaugh couldn't fathom why someone wouldn't report those assaults to the police right away instead of keeping quiet about them for decades.

"I have nothing to gain by talking about this," Lakshmi wrote in the NYTimes. "But we all have a lot to lose if we put a time limit on telling the truth about sexual assault and if we hold on to the codes of silence that for generations have allowed men to hurt women with impunity."

Lakshimi's representative that the television personality would not make any further comment on her oped or the iincidents in her life, but she continued to post on twitter in response to her article.

Lakshimi tweets about the toll the telling of her hidden story has taken on her and her family, including her own 8-year old daughter, who she has instructed to speak out if anyone inappropriately touches her.

Professor Ford is scheduled to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday (Sept. 27) along with a rebuttal from Kavanaugh. The 11 GOP members of the committee have hired a woman prosecutor to question the California psychology professor because of the optics that would present of 11 men ganging up and attacking a woman assault victim. 

Instead of a full investigation by the committee or the FBI on the allegations against the nominee, a vote on Kavanaugh will be held on Friday according to committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you or someone you know are a victim of sexual assault, you are encouraged to seek help at the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE. It is free and confidential, 24/7 or click here.

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Sen. Hirono on Kavanaugh proceedings: 'This is bulls**t!'

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Sen. Mazie Hirono calls out the male senators to "do the right thing, for a change."

SHE'S MAD AS HELL and she isn't taking it anymore.

Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, one of only four women on the 21-member Senate Judiciary Committee, no longer has the patience to be diplomatic towards her fellow senators. Her recent outspokenness has placed her in the spotlight of debate over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“I just want to say to the men in this country: Just shut up and step up. Do the right thing, for a change,” Hirono said Tuesday, stealing the show at a press conference that featured several high-profile Democrats.

Later on Wednesday, when Republicans said that they have made every effort to connect with Christine Blasey Ford who has accused Supreme Cort nominee Brett Kavanaugh of an assault and attempted rape, Hirono's response was, “I would like us to come together and figure out what is the best way to proceed,” Hirono told ABC News.

“Not this seat-of-the-pants stuff,” she added. “The latest, being a letter from the chairman to the Democrats saying, ‘We have done everything we can to contact her.’ That is such bulls**t, I can’t hardly stand it.”

During the judiciary committee hearings, Hirono asked the questions that she has asked all judicial appointees since Donald Trump was elected.

Had Kavanaugh “made unwanted requests for sexual favors” or committed verbal or physical harrassment of a sexual nature since he became a legal adult? And had he ever faced discipline or settled with anyone over that kind of conduct?

Kavanaugh said “no” to both questions at his confirmation hearing earlier this month. But few in the room, or watching on television, knew at the time how  Hirono’s questions would come back to haunt him.

A little more than a week after he answered those questions, California psychology professor  Christine Blasey Ford has come forward to allege that at a house party in the 1980s, a drunken, 17 year-old Kavanaugh tried undressing her and muffling her cries on a bed before she fled. Kavanaugh denies that account.

Republicans were fumbling at first putting Kavanaugh's nomination in danger of being tossed out. However, they rallied. GOP senators (all male) on the Senate Judicial Committee began questioning the veracity of Blasey's accusation. Sen. Orrin Hatch said Blasey was "mixed up."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Judicial Committee, scheduled questioning of Kavanaugh and Blasey for Monday (Sept. 24) to confirm. Blasey and her lawyers didn't take the bait for what would have been a hostile event and turned down the invitation. They said they would prefer that the FBI reopen their probe of Kavanaugh first before proceeding the judiciary committee questions so that the hearing doesn't devolve into a "he-said, she-said" situation.

Grassley insisted on the Monday hearings, placing a deadline (Friday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m. EDT) for Blasey's response. The California professor, who by now was receiving death threats, said she would be too glad to submit to the committee questions, but later in the week. At presstime, negotiations continue between Grassley and Blasey continues.

Hirono’s outrage — and her commitment to holding male nominees accountable — has a deep history, according to the Associated Press. When the Hawaiin senator was a child, her mother fled an abusive marriage in Japan and took Hirono and her brother to Hawaii.

“There is an environment where people see nothing, hear nothing, and say nothing,” Hirono said this week about the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. “That is what we have to change.”

“She’s a badass,” said Christina Reynolds of the advocacy group EMILY’s List, which supports women candidates. “The fact that she’s getting up there and calling it out, I think it’s inspiring for us to watch.”

Hirono is the only senator who can call herself an immigrant. She was born in Japan and her parents were not citizens, according to the Senate Historical Office.

Hirono, who has had a relatively low profile in the 12 years she has worked in the Senate, has grown more feisty and outspoken since she was diagnosed a year ago with cancer in her kidney, which is being treated.

She acknowledges her profile has risen in recent months: making an emotional appeal to her Senate colleagues over the GOP attempts to undo the Affordable Care Act and speaking out against Trump's immigration policies. “The Trump administration gives me so many more opportunities to be verbal and vocal.” she says.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a developing story. Check back later for updates._

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Kava-naaah! Alaska's native people oppose Supreme Court nominee

UPDATE: The Senate Judiciary Committee officially cancelled a vote Thursday in light of the allegations of attempted rape against Kavanaugh. This is a developing story. - EDITOR

AS THE TIME DRAWS NEAR when the U.S. Senate must ponder the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, this huge plaque hanging on the exterior of Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley's School of Law welcomes law students. 

The message might have some bearing on what seems to be a done deed, unless a few brave Republicans decide to vote for what's best for our country, not what's best for the GOP.  Their decision could affect our country for generations to come.

Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are often mention as the two most likely Republicans to vote "No" but they have not stated which way they would vote. 

Alaska's largest indigenous group, the Alaska Federation of Natives, on Sept. 12 announced its opposition  to the Kavanaugh nomination.

The federation, which was a key supporter of Murkowski in her historic write-in campaign, issued the following statement:

"During his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Judge Kavanaugh questioned the legitimacy of Native Hawaiian recognition, citing their different treatment by the federal government, and the fact that they do not live on reservations or enclaves. If he remains of the view that the special trust relationship only extends to Indian tribes with his brand of federal history, including territorial removal and isolation, he could very well rule that Congress lacks the authority to deal with Alaska Natives. This thinking could overturn much, if not all, of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as well as all other federal legislation and regulations addressing Alaska Natives, tribes, corporations and organizations. To confirm a nominee who does not understand or appreciate the position of Native Hawaiians, and who could weaken the special trust relationship Alaska Natives share with the federal government, would be imprudent."

The statement concludes that, based on even the limited information released thus far, "his confirmation would be for Native peoples, particularly Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians."  Kavanaugh's position on native peoples was brought to light by intense questioning by Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono.

Senators Susan Collins, left, and Lisa Murkowski, right, are considered key votes to Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If you live in Alaska or Maine, write Murkowski and tell her it is time for her to keep her promise to fight for Native Alaskans. 

If you have friends and family in those Maine and/or Alaska, text or email them to write their senators to vote down Donald Trump's dangerous in disingenous nominee.

When Harris asked Kavanaugh if he thought that the Chinese Exclusion Act, which has not been overturned, is a racist law because it targeted people of a particular race, Kavanaugh hedged and refused to comment on it because he believed that the issue would be facing the high court in the future.

“Not condemning policy based on prejudice indicates an openness to other disgraceful policies, like the Muslim travel ban proposed by Donald Trump, who also nominated Kavanaugh to this position,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, said in a statement to the Huffington Post.

Republicans, already in control of the executive and legislative branch of government, want to take control of the judiciary with Kavanaugh providing the majority vote on key issues that will come before the high court: abortion, travel bans, education, affirmative action, minority rights, civil rights, marriage, health care, corporate influence and more.

Despite not being allowed to see 90 percent of Kavanaugh's decisions as a judge and his writings as a Bush White House advisor -- as decided by the 11 Republicans in the committee -- the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Kavanaugh's nomination on Sept. 20. The full Senate will vote shortly thereafter.

RELATED:

• Kavanaugh dodges questions on Chinese Exclusion Act
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• Hirono gives Kavanaugh history lesson on Hawaii
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Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh dodges questions about the Chinese Exclusion Act

ASAM NEWS

SUPREME COURT nominee Brett Kavanaugh dodged a wide variety of questions during his Senate confirmation hearing, invoking the classic “I don’t answer hypothetical questions” line or that he couldn’t talk about pending cases.

That’s why one had to chuckle when U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, D-CA, asked him about a case more than a century old. This one involved the constitutionality of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Watch this four minute video to look at how Kavanugh refused to answer almost any question from Harris, including the one about the Chinese Exclusion Act, known by legal scholars as Chae Chan Ping v. United States.

“In the 1889 Chinese Exclusion case, the Supreme Court permitted a ban on Chinese people entering the United States. The court said Chinese people are quote impossible to assimilate with our people unquote and said they were immigrating in numbers quote approaching an invasion. This case has never been explicitly overruled. Can you tell me was the United States Supreme Court correct in holding that Chinese people could be banned from entering our country,” asked Harris, an Indian American lawmaker.

Kavanaugh acknowledged the ruling reflected discriminatory attitudes of the times. It was a simple yes or no answer, yet Kavanaugh hemmed and hawed.

“Senator, I don’t want to opine on this particular case without looking at it or studying the discrimination,” he finally answered.

What a copout!

The question is why wouldn't Kavanaugh want to repudiate an obviously racist decision (that is at least as awful as Plessey v. Ferguson) that remains a stain on the Supreme Court to this day?

Here’s the reason. The Chae Chan Ping case is still an important precedent that has been and continues to be relied on by the government and the Supreme Court to uphold the power of the President to keep out foreigners whenever he wants to and for whatever reason. It is the whole basis for the Muslim Travel Ban and the gestapo-like tactics of ICE and border agents in separating families, arresting law-abiding immigrants and refugees at courthouses, schools and places of work and detaining asylum seekers and refugees for as long as they want.

For most people, whether discrimination is good or bad is a cut and dry response.

Apparently not for everyone.

Additional reporting by Views From the Edge.

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