Brett Kavanaugh Gave a Speech About Binge Drinking in Law School Pema Levy Sept 17, 2018
Following an allegation of a drunken assault, the speech takes on a different light
On the precipice of his confirmation to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh stands accused of drunkenly assaulting a 15-year-old when he was in high school. A friend who was allegedly present for the assault, Mark Judge, actually wrote a book about being an alcoholic in high school. Kavanaugh appears to make an appearance in the book under the name “Bart O’Kavanaugh,” in which he “puked in someone’s car” and “passed out on his way back from a party.”
In April 2014, Kavanaugh gave a speech to the Yale Law School Federalist Society in which he recalled drinking and partying in law school. The speech recalls innocent hijinks, but in light of the accusations now leveled against him, they provide context to Kavanaugh’s partying, though several years after the alleged attack would have taken place.
Here is an excerpt of that speech:
I am approaching my eighth anniversary on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. I am approaching the 24th anniversary of my graduation from this school. That means I am approaching the 24th anniversary of my organizing 30 classmates in a bus to go to Boston for a Red Sox game and a night of Boston bar-hopping, only for us to return falling out of the bus onto the front steps of Yale Law School at about 4:45 a.m. One friend of mine, Steve Hartmann, actually had a Labor Law final the next morning. (I checked with him just yesterday to confirm that it was Labor Law.) True story.
On the bus, he actually had his book out and was reading his notes while people were doing group chugs from a keg. He got a P. I think the people doing the group chugs got H’s. Fortunately for all of us, we had a motto, what happens on the bus stays on the bus. Tonight, you can modify that to what happens at the Fed Soc after-party stays at the Fed Soc afterparty.
We had a good run my third year. We got our work done, but we had our share of fun. During our third year class party, it was a beautiful night then as it is tonight. We were at the Lawn Club. No one had done their SAWs. Most people didn’t even have their topics yet. But we didn’t care that night. We had a memorable evening. It is fair to say that we had a few drinks. Indeed, as a classmate of mine and I were reminiscing and piecing things together the other day, we think we had more than a few beers before the banquet. Might have been at Toads. Not a good idea.
Anyway, toward the end of the evening a friend of mine who shall remain nameless – and this is a story that is really about a friend of mine, not about me where I am disguising myself as a friend of mine — my friend broke a table in the Lawn Club reception area. Smashed it into multiple pieces. I actually still possess a photo of him sprawled on the floor on top of the table. How’d did he break it, you might ask? The old-fashioned way. He lost his balance and fell into the table, drink in hand, and the table collapsed. My friend was a big guy.
Now, you might think that we would have quickly left the Lawn Club after that, with some sense of shame. But you’d be wrong. My friend actually tried to get another drink at the bar. Proving something I have always known – that bartenders have a lot more common sense than many law school students – the bartender refused to serve my friend.
But that’s where one of our many fond memories of Yale Law School came in. Professor Steve Duke, who himself might have had a few cocktails, came to the rescue and told my friend that he would take care of the situation and argue his case to the bartender. His actual words, as we recalled the other day, were “I’ll take your case.” And sure enough, Steve Duke – or as we called him for reasons too bizarre to recall now, the Dukie-stick – won the case and got my friend some more beers. That’s probably one Professor Duke deserved to lose. The moral of this story: I suppose there are a lot of them. But here’s one I like: Don’t ever let it be said that Yale Law professors are not there when you most need them.
arizona1, Here’s what happened when one woman emailed the White House about birth control
"I wonder if she knows that Kavanaugh believes that the birth control pill is an abortion inducing drug"
The confusing response she got was part of a bigger pattern in the Trump administration.
By Anna North Dec 21, 2017, 3:30pm EST
Supporters of birth control access rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, March 23, 2016. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the Trump administration have long conflated abortion and birth control. Now it seems the administration is doing the same thing in emails to constituents.
A woman who sent the White House an email as part of a campaign to counter measures by the administration to curb access to birth control was surprised to receive a reply within hours — but even more surprised that the response had nothing to do with birth control, and instead touted President Trump’s anti-abortion stances.
Charissa, who asked that her last name not be used, had used an online form .. http://www.keepbcfree.com/ .. to send an email to the White House protesting the administration’s recent weakening of an Obama-era requirement that most employers offer copay-free insurance coverage for birth control. The emailed response, she said, didn’t specifically mention birth control at all. And she wasn’t alone.
The Keep Birth Control Copay Free campaign, launched in May and funded by the Women’s Equality Center .. https://www.womensequalitycenter.org/ , offers a form email that users can send to the White House. “I demand you keep birth control copay free,” the message begins. “Why? Because it’s absolutely critical to women’s health, equality and empowerment.”
When Charissa used the website to send the message, she got the following response from the White House:
----- Thank you for taking the time to express your views regarding abortion.
The right to life is fundamental and universal. As your President, I am dedicated to protecting the lives of every American, including the unborn.
As I have made clear, organizations like Planned Parenthood should not receive Federal funding if they perform abortions. For that reason, I was proud to sign into law a bill that allows States to prioritize how they spend their Federal family planning grant money, including the choice to withhold taxpayer funding from organizations that insist on performing abortions.
I am also dedicated to ensuring that America does not fund abortions abroad. That is why one of the first actions I took as President was to reinstate and modernize the Mexico City policy, which ensures that American taxpayer dollars are not used to fund organizations that perform abortions in foreign countries.
At the same time, I am deeply committed to investing in women’s health and support Federal funding for programs that provide world-class services for women, such as cardiovascular care, breast and cervical cancer screenings, family planning and gynecological care, and obstetrics and prenatal care. I will continue to advocate for policies that promote better healthcare for women.
Thank you again for your suggestions. As President, I am committed to protecting the right to life and supporting women’s health services. Please visit www.WhiteHouse.gov to read more on how I am delivering on these issues for the American people. -----
As it turns out, Charissa wasn’t the only one to receive this message — other users of the Keep Birth Control Copay Free website have as well, according to a spokesperson for the campaign.
The White House has not yet responded to questions from Vox about the message Charissa received. But in the past, the Trump administration has spread faulty information on contraception — and one influential member of the administration has argued that many types of birth control are actually forms of abortion.
“I was really confused and frustrated with the response,” Charissa said. “If American people take the time to voice their opinions about something,” she added, it’s important “that they’re at least getting an accurate statement back.”
The Trump administration has a history of promoting misinformation on contraception
The message Charissa got wasn’t the only response received by users of the email form at Keep Birth Control Copay Free. According to the campaign, some users received the following instead, also electronically signed by the president:
----- Thank you for taking the time to express your views regarding religious liberty.
I have signed an Executive Order entitled “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty,” which is based on the fundamental principle, enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution, that the government should not discriminate against or punish Americans or their organizations simply because of their religious beliefs. It is improper for the government to make religious organizations, such as schools, churches, hospitals, and charities, choose between violating their religious beliefs and closing their doors.
I firmly believe that America is stronger when people of faith and their organizations can exercise their religion freely. These people and organizations are often government’s most effective partners in caring for the sick and elderly, assisting the poor, educating the young, and showing love and compassion to all. America’s tradition of welcoming faith into the public square is a source of our strength.
Unfortunately, we have occasionally lost sight of the importance of religious freedom. Changes to the Federal tax code made by the Johnson Amendment, for example, prohibit churches and religious organizations from participating or intervening in certain types of political campaigns. This law inhibits our faith leaders from speaking freely about moral and other issues without fear of retribution.
Only Congress can repeal the Johnson Amendment, but I have done everything in my power to limit its infringement on critical First Amendment rights. My Executive Order helps ensure that churches and religious organizations are able to take public positions on moral and political issues without undue Government interference.
My Executive Order also addresses harmful Obamacare regulations that require employer-provided healthcare plans to cover certain items and services that may violate their religious or moral beliefs. These regulations force such organizations to choose between following their consciences and facing severe penalties. The government should not force law-abiding organizations to make this choice.
Thank you again for writing. Our First Amendment right to practice our faith freely, without government penalties, must be defended. As President, I am committed to protecting religious liberty for all Americans. -----
“The Trump administration’s response just shows they have a single, sweeping reproductive health agenda: putting basic, essential care, including birth control and abortion, out of reach for millions of Americans,” said Amy Runyon-Harms, the coordinator of the Keep Birth Control Copay Free campaign, in a statement to Vox.
It’s not clear why the White House sent these particular emails in response to messages about birth control, but the fact that multiple users received each one suggests that the responses were intentional, not a mistake. And the Trump administration has been spreading anti-contraceptive messages — and conflating birth control with abortion — for some time. In particular, the administration has used misinformation about the effectiveness and safety of birth control to justify moves that would reduce access to the medication.
The rules also suggested that a birth control coverage mandate could “affect risky sexual behavior in a negative way.” This claim is not supported by research, as Belluz notes. It also harks back to arguments used by anti-contraception advocates as long ago as the 1870s .. https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/10/6/16243980/birth-control-mandate-trump .
Though the Trump administration’s new rules on birth control went into effect immediately, they are not technically final, and the Health and Human Services Department accepted public comments on them until December 5. More than half a million Americans .. https://thinkprogress.org/birth-control-mandate-317d52d45d38/ .. wrote to the administration to protest the broad exemptions offered by the new regulations and to ask HHS to protect birth control access. The rules have also been challenged in court, and a judge has blocked them .. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/15/16782346/birth-control-mandate-federal-court-injunction .. from being enforced nationwide until the case is heard.
Charissa decided to join those writing to oppose the new rules because of how much the contraceptive mandate meant to her. “I remember the first time picking up my birth control prescription and not having to pay for a copay,” she said, “and it was just this incredibly validating feeling knowing that the Obama administration cared about women.”
How Can You Be Pregnant (For Months) And Not Know It? [...] Here are some astonishing statistics: Among pregnant women, 1 in 450 doesn't know her status until week 20 or later (more than halfway through the pregnancy), and 1 in 2,500 is oblivious until she actually goes into labor. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=99687844
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