SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:44 P.M. ET: 

THE TV INTERVIEW – I watched Judge Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley, being interview on Fox tonight.  I'd had doubts about him doing a TV spot before testifying Thursday, and my doubts weren't erased by his "performance."  He was very refined, very subdued, and came off as the decent man he is.  But I would have liked to see the kind of fire we saw when Clarence Thomas denied similar allegations in the early 1990s.  Maybe we'll see that fire on Thursday.  I hope so.  Fortunately, the Kavanaughs are lucky in their enemies – the obnoxious yappers of the Democratic Party.

ATTENTION ACCUSERS OF JUDGE KAVANAUGH – FROM THE GUARDIAN:  Just 10 minutes of light physical activity is enough to boost brain connectivity and help the brain to distinguish between similar memories, a new study suggests.  Scientists at the University of California studying brain activity found connectivity between parts of the brain responsible for memory formation and storage increased after a brief interval of light exercise – such as 10 minutes of slow walking, yoga or tai chi.  The findings could provide a simple and effective means of slowing down or staving off memory loss and cognitive decline in people who are elderly or have low levels of physical ability.  And you can tell what party you went to.

WILL SHE DROP OUT? – FROM MEDIAITE:  In the letter addressed to Sen. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ford’s legal team cited Sen. Majority Leader’s Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) speech on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon as “flatly inconsistent” with Grassley’s promise of a “fair and credible process.”  “In our view, the hiring of an unnamed ‘experienced sex crimes prosecutor’ as Mr. Davis described in his email, is contrary to the Majority’s repeated emphasis on the need for the Senate and this Committee’s members to fulfill their constitutional obligations,” attorney Michael Bromwich wrote. “It is also inconsistent with your stated wish to avoid a ‘circus,’ as well as Dr. Blasey Ford’s repeated requests through counsel that senators conduct the questioning. This is not a criminal trial for which the involvement of an experienced sex crimes prosecutor would be appropriate.  Nonsense.  The committee can have any questioners it wishes.  The Senate makes the rules.  But I wonder if Professor Ford is laying the groundwork for a refusal to testify on Thursday.  That would throw the hearings into turmoil and make it difficult to hold a confirmation vote because her claim would not be heard.  No vote, no Supreme Court.

September 24, 2018