Virginia's Public Square
Virginia's Public Square
“I am reconvening the House of Delegates on October 21st to fulfill our constitutional duty to pass a redistricting map. I am firmly against judicial overreach and allowing federal judges to draw the map,” said Speaker of the House Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights).
Referencing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the 63-year-old landmark Brown II case, State Senator Bill Stanley (R-Franklin) is looking to form legislation next session to direct Virginia to provide schools that are “fully modernized or maintained as seemingly required,” by the U.S. Constitution.
As law enforcement agencies seek to catch criminals with license plate readers, which cast an astoundingly large net over the community, they must still understand that it leaves the community with a net cast over them.
After moving through the Senate Judiciary Committee, now pending a week-long FBI investigation, the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court will be voted on this week per the comments of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). During a Senate floor speech on Monday, McConnell said that “the time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close. Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination is out of committee. We’re considering it here on the floor and…we’ll be voting this week,” according to The Hill.
Republican senators have not designated a specific time to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, arguing that the FBI could wrap up its work before the Friday deadline. Therefore, the presumed plan is for the majority leader to file for cloture on Friday, setting up an initial vote on ending debate as early as Sunday.
As Republicans hold a one-member majority in the upper chamber, they can only afford to lose one member, causing Vice President Mike Pence to break the tie vote. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) remain undecided on Kavanaugh.
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a occasional harsh critic of President Trump, was the member of the committee that called for an FBI investigation during last week’s meeting before the vote to send the nominee out of committee to a full floor vote. Though, this comes as Flake has reiterated that he supports Judge Kavanaugh.
Nevertheless, this entire “sham,” as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) calls it, is not about Kavanaugh, it never was. This is why there were people in the streets of Washington, D.C., holding signs with blank spaces on them before President Trump announced his nominee to the Supreme Court months ago. If anyone other than Kavanaugh – aside from Merrick Garland – were nominated, the protesters and the dissenters in the streets and in the Senate would have written another name into the blank to fill the slogan “STOP _______.”
Even if Judge Kavanaugh is fully confirmed, there are already plans in the works to try and impeach him.
Why? Because of the hatred of President Trump from Democrats.
Senator Flake said last week, “The reason I supported an FBI investigation is it’s good for everybody. We need more information, not less.” We, however, do not have a shortage of information. If anything, we have a surplus of information – more than we ever asked for. Judge Kavanaugh has been asked – in both written and verbal – more questions than any other Supreme court nominee in history, combined.
Testifying in the front of the Senate was not being used to gather more information – it was to get Kavanaugh to slip up and commit perjury.
Though, didn’t the #MeToo movement give women courage to seek judgement for their assaulters? Yes, of course it did. The world is a better place when evil actions are punished. However, it’s gone past that.
Social movements are now being used for political profiteering. Pepsi using Black Lives Matter to sell drinks. Nike using Colin Kaepernick to sell shoes. Rolling Stone using UVA to sell magazines and perpetuate a preconceived narrative. Now, Democrats are politically profiteering off of the #MeToo movement to further satisfy their lust for power.
All of this is being done to tear down a party and a presidency that doesn’t agree with them.
For those who think a vote on the Kavanaugh confirmation will end the madness, brace yourselves, it’ll happen to someone else.
When asked about the replacement of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, President Donald Trump said, “The Republicans love it. Industry loves it. Our country loves it. If it’s fair, it will pass easily. It’s a great deal.”
“If you don’t graduate, you get a lot of debt and no way to pay it back. If you get a degree that no one needs, you graduate into the proverbial parents’ basement and a big financial hole. But if what you get is an in-demand degree or credential that leads to a good job and strong lifetime earnings, then the investment can pay for itself many times over,” Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Kirk Cox said during an address to GO Virginia.
With drug activity increasing inside the United States and the Mexican cartels showing no signs of abating either in their production or aptitude for violence, calls from law enforcement to apply solutions may very soon transition into a clear and present danger should policy makers fail to act, especially as an ounce of prevention provides a pound of cure.
Ever since the violent Charlottesville rally one year ago, some localities around Virginia dotted with Confederate monuments have been working to pass measures that will have the General Assembly, in a Dillon Rule state, grant localities the authority the remove state-controlled statues.
Following Democratic senators walking out of the morning vote to confirm D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Senate Judiciary Committee votes through the nominee in a highly politicized manner. The vote comes less than 24 hours after the morning-long highly emotional testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused the nominee of sexual assault over three decades ago at a house party in suburban Maryland.
Senator Jeff Flake started off before the quorum vote, saying that he’d been talking with Democrats about the motions for Judge Kavanaugh and the hearings. He referenced that he and a contingent of Democrats on the committee have been working to make sure there is “due diligence” with the confirmation process in light of the accusations. He said that he would vote to follow through with a confirmation vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee if the Senate did a one week delay, tacking on an FBI investigation.
After the 11-10 party-line vote in favor of sending the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Senate floor, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), breaking from other committee Democrats, praised Flake’s proposal, but reiterated her feelings against the nominee.
Senator Flake also added later that “this country is being ripped apart” as a result of the confirmation process that has enveloped the nation for weeks. Though, the Arizona Republican will ask the White House for a full FBI investigation on the Supreme Court nominee.
Judge Kavanaugh is finally out of the committee, but with the wrench thrown in by Senator Flake there will likely be the same dramatic atmosphere on the Senate floor before the full vote occurs and that the matter is now pending an FBI investigation. Technically, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) could call a vote tomorrow without an FBI investigation, but there is a high risk that Senator Flake would vote it down with already at least one swing vote on the Republican side – causing a likely block to confirmation.
After weeks of extraordinarily emotional, dramatic, and political feelings in Washington and around the country, the Senate Judiciary Committee met this morning to finally vote to confirm D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, just three minutes into opening remarks, several Democrats walked out of the vote.
Judge Kavanaugh has faced great scrutiny from Senate Democrats and progressives across the county as protests occurred not only before the confirmation hearings began, but when they started as the first day was interrupted by chants from almost 200 Kavanaugh dissenters.
When the discussions over Roe v. Wade ended, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford entered the picture with allegations of sexual assault against the Supreme Court nominee from 36 years ago in high school in suburban Maryland. The letter written to her local Congresswoman, which was later leaked to the press, has been at the heart of the turmoil of the confirmation process.
In the weeks following, more women came forward with uncorroborated allegations, but it was Ford, a clinical psychology professor from Palo Alto, California, who appeared before the Senate to testify on Thursday. Judge Kavanaugh gave an emotional testimony just after the accuser.
“We’re ramming through this nomination process,” said many Senate Democrats, but the vote was scheduled less than 24 hours after the unprecedented testimonies.
Friday morning, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee attempted to move the vote to the afternoon. After a few minutes of aggressive back and forth chatter, a vote to delay to 1:30 was beat.
When committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) gave his opening remarks, he went into a forceful shot at Democrats saying, “I found Dr. Ford’s testimony credible…I found Mr. Kavanaugh.”
He added that after yesterday, “there’s simply no reason to deny Judge Kavanaungh a seat on the Supreme Court…based on the evidence presented to us.
Grassley also charged that the questions asked of Judge Kavanaugh on part of Democrats during yesterday’s testimony were “unequivocally and universal hostile.”
Not long after he began talking, multiple senators walked out.
Still in her seat, Senator Dianne Feintstein (D-CA) remarked, “I have never seen any nominees for any position behave in that manner,” speaking to yesterday’s testimony by Judge Kavanaugh in front of the committee. Feinstein said she was “embarrassed” by his candor when questioned by Democratic senators.
In the hall just outside the committee room, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that Republicans “bent over backward to let Mrs. Ford be heard.”
Since there are a list of other judicial nominees to vote on, a vote is still set for 1:30.
When reporters asked the Democrats that walked out if their “seat would be empty at 1:30,” most said they “do not know.”