It is hard enough to find qualified, smart people to run for office as it is. I’d bet in the 70’s to 90’s, hundreds if not thousands of well-qualified people refused to run for elected office or judgeships due to worry about whether they could pass the FBI’s background checks on drug use. No one cares about drug use now, it’s ubiquitous and a fact of life, in large part due to our government’s backwards policies on drug laws. Now the issue is disqualification due to 35-year old groping and indecent exposure allegations dating back to high school and freshman year in college. People are so worked up about it, they are ready to bring out the firing squad. Even though the target of their socially or politically motivated hatred hasn’t been charged with a crime, convicted of a crime and there’s been no confirmation a crime ever happened.

In other words, people now think it’s just fine to assume the male is guilty of whatever accusation is hurled his way. Why? Because other women chose to suffer in silence at perceived indignities they suffered way back when and see this as a chance to get even? There’s a big difference between taking accusations seriously and assuming the accusation is true. The former calls for an investigation, which may be appropriate. But nothing justifies the latter (i.e., the assumption the accusation is true) prior to a hearing or trial before a neutral and detached magistrate or tribunal. That’s the law in America. For everyone. [More...]

Hurricane Florence is set to hit South Carolina. More than a million people have been evacuated from coastal areas -- Even Walmart has closed its doors.

Lane reversal has begun on the highways, and will last until 6 hours before Florence is set to touch down.

If you are in the vicinity, please stay safe and let us know how you are faring.

Update: George Papadopoulos, the first Trump associate to be sentenced in the Mueller probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, has been sentenced to 14 days in jail and 1 year supervised release for the crime of making false statements to the F.B.I. I assume he got a voluntary surrender -- I wonder where he will be designated to serve the sentence. Since he lives in Chicago, it could be this Residential Re-entry Facility.

Here is Papadopoulos' Sentencing Memorandum. Here is the Government's Sentencing Memorandum.

Update: According to reporters in the courtroom, Papadopoulos' lawyer told the Judge, " "The President of the United States hindered the investigation more than George Papadopoulos ever did.” He also said Papadopoulos was motivated to lie in part by Trump characterizing investigation as “Fake news.” CNN has more here. [More...]

CA Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill today eliminating cash bail for arrestees.

Instead of having to post a cash bond, the court will conduct a "risk assessment" to determine whether they should be released on electronic monitoring or detained pending trial.

The bill is supposed to eliminate disparate treatment of the economically challenged who can't afford bail. But the ACLU forsees other problems developing due to handing the decision off to judges. [More...]

Imagine having your mother's brother give you a public smack-down in writing for ignoring your heritage and working for a boss who engages in the same tactics as the Nazis to instill fear of immigrants in Americans.

Meet Dr. David S. Glosser is a retired neuropsychologist: formerly a member of the Neurology faculties of Boston University School of Medicine and Jefferson Medical College. His op-ed in today's Politico is titled, Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I’m His Uncle."

I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, who is an educated man and well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country.

[More...]

Our last open thread is full. I'd like nothing better than to hang around today and chat, but I'm about to head up to the jail in Georgetown. Georgetown is the last exit on I-70 heading west from Denver before the Eisenhower tunnel. It's a beautiful day for the ride.

I know there's a Russian indictment and a new Supreme Court Justice and Donald Trump is out of the Country. Rising on the UK Music charts: Green Day's "American Idiot".

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Donald Trump pressed his aides on why the U.S. couldn't just invade Venezuela. He also floated the idea to leaders of Latin and South American countries, like Juan Manuel Santos, the President of Colombia.

He raised it again at a dinner, and even told the foreign leaders his staff said he shouldn't talk about it:

Then in September, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Trump discussed it again, this time at greater length, in a private dinner with leaders from four Latin American allies that included Santos, the same three people said and Politico reported in February. The U.S. official said Trump was specifically briefed not to raise the issue and told it wouldn’t play well, but the first thing the president said at the dinner was, “My staff told me not to say this.” Trump then went around asking each leader if they were sure they didn’t want a military solution, according to the official, who added that each leader told Trump in clear terms they were sure.

Will America survive a reality TV star with zero political experience who knows nothing about history and is viewed around the world as an unpredictable petulant child to be snickered at and swatted away like a fly? Probably, but we'll never be the same. In one and half years, the idea of America as the beacon of liberty in the world has become a joke.

I wish the media would stop comparing Mexico's presumed next President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to Donald Trump.

López Obrador could not be more different than Donald Trump. He's been a "leftist" all his life. His beef is with official corruption and the "power mafia" in politics, and poverty.

He does not want to escalate the war on drugs. End the corruption and poverty and you will end the violence. He is open to considering legalizing drugs and amnesty for traffickers. [More..]

In a 5-4 decision today, the Supreme Court upheld Trump's odious travel ban. (Opinion is here).

A positive note in the ruling: It finally overrules the Court's ruling in Korematsu v. U.S approving Japanese interment camps. [More...]

The Forward has an article titled "Why Stephen Miller Is The Most Hated Jew In America — By Fellow Jews"

How did we get stuck with him? Michael Wolff, in his book Fire and Fury, says Steve Bannon, who brought him on board, used to refer to Miller as "my typist." [More...]

As if Donald Trump hasn't done enough to debase our country and its values, he's stepping in another pile of dung today. It will shortly be announced that the U.S. is withdrawing from the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Trump thinks he can trample on the rights of the disenfranchised, including children.He hopes to misdirect the conversation to lay blame on Democrats. It's a con game. The carnival barker is demanding Democrats pass an immigration bill with funding for his border wall.

McClatchy reports today that data shows officials may have lost track of 6,000 children. [More...]

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed an executive order today that prevents any state agency from separating a parent and child for immigration purposes.

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s policy and practice of separating children from their parents when arriving at the southern border is offensive to our core values as Coloradans and as a country,” Hickenlooper’s executive order says. “The administration announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy in the spring of 2018 resulting in family separations. The administration has recently stated that the purpose of the policy is to intimidate immigrants and deter crossings.”

The text of the Order reads in part:

“No state agency may deprive any person of services or benefits to which he or she is legally entitled because of a person’s immigration status, except as required by state or federal law.

...No state agency may use any state resources, including but not limited to moneys, equipment, or personnel, for the purpose of separating any child from his or her parent or legal guardian on the sole ground that such parent or legal guardian is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

You can read the Order here. [More...]