The Daily - Wednesday, October 10, 2018

BLAME THE VICTIM?

In today's "The Daily" podcast, the NY Times interviewed a group of high school girls about their thoughts, impressions, and concerns originating from the Kavanaugh confirmation to the Supreme Court. The NY Times also revealed the interview with two adult women about the topic of "Who is Believed and Who is Blamed?" Overwhelmingly, the responses of these women (some young, some mature) is that women are blamed and men are believed when it comes to cases of sexual assault, violence, and rape. For me, it was heart-breaking to listen to the adult conservative woman, herself the parent of a victim of sexual assault, blaming the victims for these heinous acts, and minimizing the effect that sexual assault and violence has on victims.

Just as shocking was to hear the high school girls tell stories of how they were assaulted and disrespected simply for being women. It is still going on today, in high schools and colleges and businesses all across the nation, in houses were social events are being held, on streets, in parks.

Let's be blunt: women are under attack by men. It can be a cat call, a grope in a crowded room or bus/train, a push/pull into a dark alley/driveway, a push/pull into a bedroom, and so many other ways. Men exercise their physical superiority in the wrong ways and with bad intentions.

And let's be clear on one thing: we should not blame victims, not ever. Never can we use the way a a person is dressed, how they laughed or acted, where they were, what time it was, whether they had consumed alcohol or used drugs, or any other factor as an excuse for any type of violence against them. There are no valid excuses that justify violence against others.

Finally, we must become sensitive to the long-term effects that even a seemingly small act of violence can have on a person. PTSD in these cases is real, it is long-lasting, and cannot be dismissed as a victim's invention or excuse. Nor can we dismiss that victims fear reporting these horrendous acts, and they dread the consequences of speaking out. Why? Because we almost always blame the victim and believe the attacker. That is wrong, wrong, WRONG!

The Daily - Saturday, October 6, 2018

NO MORNING EDITION

The morning edition today just did not happen. Don't get me wrong. There was time to get it done. There was material to get it done. There was no energy to get it done. And, to be honest, I felt free to skip it. The advantage of having a small, unpaid membership is that there is flexibility for creativity. Honestly, the reason for the two daily editions was to help me write more often, avoiding the nightly rush to get a post in before the end of the day. It is a self-imposed challenge and, as with such comes the ability to choose. Today, I chose to rest, to sleep a lot, and to take a day off from many of the regular routines. My body was calling for it, my mind was calling for it, and my spirit was calling for it. And that is what happened: a day of rest.

HEALTH & FITNESS

Another "Zero" day? No way!

I woke up right on time and, although I had a slow, sleepy start, I did go for a 2.5 mile jog and it felt fantastic! I have missed my jogs the last three days. During the jog I thought I should start a daily running challenge and see if I can jog for 31 days straight. If so, then this would be Day 1. :-)

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Another thought that flowered during my morning run is that it would be helpful to keep up with the "streaks" and then report on those at the end of each week, perhaps on Sunday. Having a list of streaks has helped me stay on track with several aspects of self-improvement. I will work on the idea this week and will report on it on Sunday, October 13.

FINANCES

After much research and consideration, we have decided to self-finance my MacKenzie's Honda. Having the money in the bank was one consideration in favor of the decision. MacKenzie is putting half of the asking price, and I will be putting the other half. The strategy is not ideal and it leaves is a bit vulnerable because we are taking most of her savings and all of our emergency fund for the transaction. On the other hand, this will save us money (in finance charges) and it will reinforce in MacKenzie the value of saving for major purchases.

The money that MacKenzie is putting in is money I will reimburse her. I want this car to be her high school graduation gift. How the repayment will happen is interesting and a bit unusual, and I will go into that tomorrow.

KAVANAUGH: IMPEACHABLE?

Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed, as expected, by the Senate. There are many that have advanced the notion of an impeachment procedure at some point. This would require that the Democratic party have control of the House. Only one time in the history of our nation has a Supreme Court Justice been impeached (Samuel Chase, 1805) and he was acquitted of all charges (March 1, 1805).

The Daily - Thursday, October 4, 2018 (PM)

THE KAVANAUGH QUESTION: JUSTICE OR POLITICS?

With the FBI brief investigation completed, and with the ultra-secret handling of the report, the whole nomination vote comes down to this: will senators act based on what is just or based on what the party affiliation dictates?

It is not hard to imagine that the accusations on Judge Kavanaugh were politically motivated. It would not be the first time that dirty politics are used as a means to an end.

Yet, it is also not difficult to imagine that these acts did happen more than three decades ago. If so, the acts are not justifiable. And we must ask ourselves: is the Kavanaugh of 30 years ago the same Kavanaugh of today? Did we not all make mistakes in our youth, some of them serious, mistakes that we would never make today?

I am not condoning, in any way, sexual assault or misconduct such as Judge Kavanaugh has been accused of. But I also recognize that the accusations were for actions that happened in a very different place and time culturally. They were wrong then, as they are wrong today, and if Judge Kavanaugh indeed conducted himself in such despicable fashion, he needs to deal with that sooner rather than later.

The other part of this whole process is the lack of evidence. Even the best FBI investigation would be suspect without evidence. Interviewing a thousand witnesses would only offer minor clarity to one side or the other. Law enforcement almost always needs evidence to make determinations about possible criminal offences. 

And so it comes down to politics. Will senators decide the nomination based on Judge Kavanaugh's legal merits and career? Or will this be a partisan vote regardless of obvious facts?

My heart goes out to Doctor Blasey Ford and all other victims of sexual attacks. As a man, I apologize to all of you for the hurt that other men have inflicted on you.

As a liberal, I resent the fact that President Obama was cheated of the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court judge when he had every legal right to do so. Dirty politics were certainly played then.

I suspect Judge Kavanaugh will be the newest Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. That will impact our country for decades, possibly for generations.

In the grand scheme of things we need to remember that "this too shall pass."