Think Progress Lied About Roy Moore Child Sex Abuse Decision

Think Progress’s “analysis” (being repeated everywhere now) of Roy Moore’s dissent in Higdon v. State is so egregiously false that my heart was racing in indignation over it for at least a few minutes. For the record, I’m a moderate liberal Democrat who detests the politics of personal destruction, and am increasingly alarmed by other common features of contemporary public political discourse that are actively shredding the fabric of American society, destroying too many of us “regular” folks’ filial, family, and community bonds in process.

I have to get to my paying job soon, so I’m just going to throw down a quick and dirty critique for now. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to flesh it out later (we’ll see.)

Higdon v State, the case ThinkProgress referred to, was an appeal involving charges of:
(1) 1st degree sodomy of a kid <12, AND
(2) 1st degree sodomy by forcible compulsion
These charges arose from incidents involving a 17 year old (minor) perpetrator & one child victim (BTW, ThinkProgress, the child victim was 4, not 12, as you “reported.”)  Juvenile perpetrator Higdon was convicted on BOTH counts. He appealed both convictions to the State Court of Appeals. (For readers less familiar with legal and judicial process and systems, since Lord knows I didn’t learn this stuff until law school, that’s the intermediate court between the trial court level and the State Supreme Court.)

On review, the State Court of Appeals UPHELD the conviction as to Charge 1. So that felony conviction stood. But they overturned the conviction on Charge 2 based on a 2002 State Supreme Court decision in a case called “Ex Parte J.A.P.” (initials used there as Defendant was also a minor child.) That case established precedent that limited the scope of what's defined as "forcible" compulsion when the perpetrator is also a juvenile.

The State appealed the Court of Appeals decision as to Charge 2. Higdon did not appeal the decision as to Charge 1 (1st degree sodomy of kid <12), so that conviction stood.  In other words, regardless of what the State Supreme Court decided on appeal, the juvie perp was STILL going to be a felon & likely a lifelong registered sex offender due to their abuse of the victim.

So the Supreme Court overruled the Court of Appeals on the legal applicability of Charge 2, overruling Ex Parte JAP.  Justice Moore *concurred* (AGREED WITH) that interpretation and result.  He dissented on a more narrow point of law, which I don’t have time to get into.

So here’s the WORST irony of all.  You know that Ex Parte JAP case?  Guess which Court of Appeals Judge wrote that 2001 opinion finding that a minor can engage in forcible compulsion through an implied threat? A view the 2002 Alabama Supreme Court rejected, but came around to in 2015 with the Higdon decision?

ROY MOORE. Yep. THAT Roy Moore. Then-Court of Appeals Judge Roy Moore was right on that matter of law at least 13 years before the State Supreme Court “got it.”

Again, read the decision & dissent for yourself here. Roy Moore’s dissent even mentions that he authored the 2001 Court of Appeals decision in J.A.P. and discusses how it aligns with Alabama Supreme Court’s reasoning in ruling on Higdon.

I'm sick of political spinmeisters and their evil BS smears. Enough already.

Donald Trump: The Man. The Myth. The Fraud.

Donald Trump is not who he says he is.

Trumps are gonna trump / Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0

C'mon, GOP voters.  

You can’t possibly be serious about nominating Donald Trump for President.  I know plenty of you are (reasonably) fed up with politicians who say one thing then do another.  But this man is a compulsive liar.  One analysis found that he lies, on average, once every five minutes.  He lies so much, journalists say they can’t even keep up with fact-checking it all.  His positions on major issues shift right along with his ever-changing moods.  Trump is quite possibly the least predictable Presidential candidate we’ve ever seen.  His word is infinitely less reliable than what comes from the many other politicians who’ve disappointed you so much.

“But,” I can hear you saying, “But he’s a successful businessman!  And a tough guy!  And super smart!  He tells it like it is!  He cares about working folks and putting a stop to illegal immigration!  He knows how to hire the best people!  He’ll bring jobs back to America!  And he’s even a Christian!  He’s just what we need in the White House!"

Baloney.

Donald Trump is none of the things he claims to be.

~~~

Trump is not an honest businessman.  He is a hustler and a con artist. Between alleged pyramid scheme Trump Network TM nutritional supplements, real estate education scam Trump University, shilling for nine years for pyramid scheme American Communications Network, and who knows what other as yet undiscovered scam, Trump has swindled (or helped swindle) tens of thousands of honest Americans out of their hard-earned money.  These were folks who were just looking for legitimate ways to make money, and who trusted these fraudulent business opportunities because Trump was involved with them. 

~~~

Trump is not free from special interest influence, nor is he “self-funding” his campaign.  In reality, he owes more than $265 million to a bunch of big banks, and it may be much more.  Trump has donated a mere $250,000 to his campaign, and has lent it more than $17 million.  Lending – rather than donating – the cash allows the campaign to raise money to repay him before Election Day.  His manager said he won’t seek repayment of the loan – but if that were true, wouldn’t he just donate the funds?  Trump and his staff have also told major donors they will start aggressively fundraising once he gets the nomination.

I don't believe I have been given any credit by the voters for self-funding my campaign, the only one. I will keep doing, but not worth it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2016

Iowa GOP voters were right – Trump deserves no credit for “self-funding” his campaign

Trump Bags First Journo Trophies: Cokie Roberts & Michelle Fields

Our Overlord-In-Waiting clearly disapproved of Cokie Roberts' impertinent questions / YouTube Screenshot

This discussion between Cokie Roberts and The Donald on MSNBC news-talk program Morning Joe made Donnie plenty mad.  When asked whether he’s concerned that his rhetoric has inspired white kids and youth to engage in hate speech in at least a handful of widely-reported incidents, he ducked the question.  Instead, he angrily dismissed her question as “nasty.”

 

Sometime after this incident, a syndicated op-ed column Cokie and her husband had published about a week earlier, urging the GOP to do what they can to stop Trump – now, “was brought to NPR’s attention.”

So NPR inexplicably did this:

Which caused yours truly to do this: 

WTH, NPR?!? Taking positions on matters of public import is what Commentators DO.  It's THEIR JOB.  It was once my job (albeit at my college newspaper’s lofty wage of $0.75 per column inch.)  Why on Earth should a COMMENTATOR have to justify her commentary?

These BS maneuvers by NPR reek of "#Trump threatened to sue the HELL out of us so we're scrambling to limit liability [even though he has NO EFFING CASE]." Why the hell are they going to such lengths to, well, kinda humiliate Cokie-freaking-Roberts over no apparent wrong-doing on her part?  Don’t they realize that caving only encourages a bully?!?

But then I settled down some and decided to tackle the issue with a calmer, more well-reasoned approach.  So let’s examine the story’s more troubling elements one at a time.

Trump Celebrates Victory with Fake Trump Steaks and a Big Ole Raft O’ Lies

Youtube

Who on Earth buys another company's steaks and tries to pass them off as the product of his own long-defunct enterprise, because his ego is far too fragile to EVER admit that some of his business efforts just don’t pan out?

Donald Trump, that's who.

Donald Trump’s bizarre, rambling victory speech-cum-press conference last night was visually punctuated by large tables on either side of him, overflowing with Trump Wine, Trump Champagne, Trump bottled water, and what he claimed were Trump Steaks.  Except, they weren’t. 

It turns out that Donald Trump's lengthy defense of his business acumen contained a lot of other serious whoppers. But first, let’s look at the steaks.

Trump Steaks

Trump himself addressed the steak company in his “speech”:

“Trump Steaks. Where are the steaks? Do we have the steaks? Alright. We have Trump Steaks. [Romney] said ‘The steak company!’ And we have Trump Steaks. And by the way, if you wanna take one, we’ll charge you about, what, fifty bucks a steak.”

According to Yahoo News and former Trump Steaks purveyor The Sharper Image, the premium meats brand hasn’t existed since 2007.  The meats were also sold through home shopping network QVC that year.  That's NINE years ago.

Glenn Beck: Trump Goon Threatened My Friend's Life To Get Dirt On Me

Does this look like a man with a threatening goon squad? / Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0

Some of y’all may have missed it, but Glenn Beck has been hammering Trump as a fake Republican and urging conservatives to vote elsewhere for MONTHS.  

I don’t want to surprise anyone, but according to Beck, Trump doesn’t seem to be taking his criticism so well.  But now Beck is alleging some next level stuff.

Here's Glenn Beck, yesterday, intimating that someone affiliated with Donald Trump threatened a Beck pal a few weeks ago, leaving the man in fear for his life if he doesn't provide them with some dirt on Glenn. 

The story starts at around 3:12 in the video below.

SMDH at Trump's Hands, Little Marco, and #Boogergate

Trump at CPAC 2011 / Gage Skidmore, CC BY-2.0

Dear Lord, I really can’t believe I’m writing any of this.

There were some interesting developments in terms of style and substance at last night’s GOP debate. But there were also three moments best dealt with on their own.  Two were some absurdities of a candidate’s own making (guess who?); the other, a case of the Interwebs going crazy with silliness.

First, there was this: Who needs a massive audience to reassure him that his hands aren't small at the start of a Presidential debate?! Donald Trump, that's who. 

In addressing his first question during the live debate, Donald Trump starts flashing around his hands, asking, “Do these look like small hands?”  He then assures us, the viewing audience, that “there’s no problem” with the size of “that other body part” – you know, the one said to correlate with a guy's hand and foot size.

Notice that, at first, the crowd is laughing and cheering, and then dissolves into choruses of boos as the shock wears off among the folks who aren’t die hard DT fans.

Did the GOP Steal Kentucky Guv's Race? [Spoiler: Not Likely]

The Tea Party GOP Bevin-Hampton ticket won handily in an election with just 30% voter turnout / Photo: Facebook

An article from Alternet is making the rounds in online progressive and Democratic circles today, asking a provocative question:

Did GOP Insiders Steal the Kentucky Governor's Race for Tea Partier Matt Bevin?  

However, once you look at the Kentucky election results and dig a bit more into the dynamics of the race, it seems to be much ado about nothing.  And the bigger story here is that Kentucky's elected state executive offices just flipped party control from 6 Democrats and 1 Republican to 5 Republicans and 2 Democrats.

Some takes on the Alternet piece make it sound like more people voted on down-ballot races than on the Governor's race.  If true, that would be shocking - but it's not true.  Almost 10,000 more folks voted on Governor than Secretary of State, and races further down have, predictably, fewer votes cast. 

Let's look at the actual data:

Sen. John Cornyn's A Lot of Things, But KKK Member Ain't One of 'Em

Senator John Cornyn / Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0

Today in don't believe everything you read on the Internet: anonymously-made allegations that a variety of politicians are members of the KKK.

The list of politicians allegedly involved with the KKK that was released today looks very, very dubious.  It was released by someone calling themselves @sgtbilko420.  Their Twitter feed says they're not directly involved in Anonymous, but they're sympathetic.

But their identity is anonymous - so how accountable are they, really?  I take a "trust, but verify" approach with most people who've actually earned my trust.  Those who haven't - especially anonymous folks on the Interwebs - get a "be skeptical, and investigate" response, instead.

Knoxville, Tennessee Mayor Madeline Rogero seems on the level to me (see her Facebook refutation.)  She started her career working with the United Farmworkers - an unlikely start for a seething white supremacist.  She participated in a December Black Lives Matter rally.  And here’s a picture of Rogero's multi-racial family.  Not a likely candidate for the KKK.

Also listed - the Mayor of Lexington, KY.  Who's openly gay.  And has been an openly gay politician since 2005.  In Kentucky.  Not seeing him as a KKK member.

Also listed - U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).  Who's been derided as a RINO by right-wingers for years for offenses such as: saying compassionate things about undocumented kids last year, supporting immigration reform, voting to allow a vote on Loretta Lynch’s nomination to the post of Attorney General, supporting President Obama on the need to act in Syria two years ago, and co-sponsoring the Sentencing Reform Act with Senator Corey Booker (D-NJ) and others.  I don't know John Cornyn's heart when it comes to race, but a KKK leadership role seems very, very unlikely. 

Here's a report showing the refutations of a number of those listed on the so-called "KKK list."

Additional debunking will be posted as found.

UPDATE at 4:26 PM PST:

​​

 Screen shot