The Post It Note 10/1/18

News from the note…

A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.

This is an OPEN THREAD,  folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.

Outside prosecutor pens memo on weakness of Ford’s accusation against Kavanaugh

The outside prosecutor that Senate Republicans hired for Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing on sexual assault allegations is arguing in a memo that Christine Blasey Ford’s claim against him is “weaker” than a “he said, she said” case.

The memo from Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona prosecutor specializing in sex crimes, marks the strongest attempt by the GOP to discredit Ford’s accusation that the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted her in 1982. In the nine-page document sent to GOP senators on Sunday evening, Mitchell says Ford’s account has no corroboration, she “has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened,” has “struggled” to identify Kavanaugh by name, and has “no memory of key details” regarding the event.

Politico

Hundreds of Migrant Children Quietly Moved to a Tent Camp on the Texas Border

In shelters from Kansas to New York, hundreds of migrant children have been roused in the middle of the night in recent weeks and loaded onto buses with backpacks and snacks for a cross-country journey to their new home: a barren tent city on a sprawling patch of desert in West Texas.

Until now, most undocumented children being held by federal immigration authorities had been housed in private foster homes or shelters, sleeping two or three to a room. They received formal schooling and regular visits with legal representatives assigned to their immigration cases.

But in the rows of sand-colored tents in Tornillo, Tex., children in groups of 20, separated by gender, sleep lined up in bunks. There is no school: The children are given workbooks that they have no obligation to complete. Access to legal services is limited.

New York Times

US Secretary of Defense Mattis cancels trip to Beijing amid worsening ties

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has pulled out of a planned visit to Beijing in October, a US official tells CNN, the latest sign of deteriorating ties between the United States and China.

Mattis had originally planned to visit the Chinese capital to meet with senior Chinese officials to discuss security issues. The last-minute cancellation has not been publicly confirmed by the Pentagon.

The decision to pull out of the trip comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing across multiple fronts, from the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese goods to new sanctions announced against the Chinese military.

At a press conference on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said his often-mentioned friendship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping may have come to an end.

“He may not be a friend of mine anymore. But I think he probably respects me,” Trump said.

CNN

Where is Elaine Chao?

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s day-to-day calendars are filled with large swaths of time blocked out as “private,” according to POLITICO’s analysis of newly released records — a pattern that several former DOT officials called unusual.

In total, Chao clocked more than 290 hours of appointments labeled private — the equivalent of about seven weeks’ vacation — during her first 14 months in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, based on a review of documents provided under the Freedom of Information Act. That total does not include any private hours that occurred on nights, weekends, days marked as vacation or federal holidays.

Politico

Texas governor calls Beto O’Rourke ‘cult-like’ figure

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday described Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) as “cult-like” in the way that he’s garnered attention in his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“He’s been a cult-like, very popular figure the way that he’s run the campaign, but you don’t vote on cult, you don’t vote on personality when you get to the U.S. Senate. You vote on the issues,” Abbott said on “Fox & Friends.”

Abbott was critical of O’Rourke’s liberal policy views, saying Texas voters won’t approve of “George Soros policies” such as higher taxes.

“Texans are hostile to any candidate who’s talking about raising their taxes,” he said. “Texans are hostile to anybody talking about big government programs run their lives.”

The Hill

Udder disaster: Cows escape after livestock truck crashes

Officials in Georgia had to call in the cavalry Monday after dozens of cows escaped when a tractor-trailer transporting them overturned on a busy junction north of Atlanta.

The truck carrying 89 cows overturned around 3 a.m. on the cloverleaf of Interstate 75 and I-285. Many of the cows scattered, causing wrecks and clogging rush-hour traffic.

“We’re wrangling some cows, that’s what we’re doing,” Sandy Springs Police Sgt. Sam Worsham said Monday.

AP

APNewsBreak: Attorney: Ellison abuse claim unsubstantiated

An ex-girlfriend’s allegation that Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison once physically abused her could not be substantiated because she refused to provide video she said she had of the incident, an attorney hired to investigate the claims concluded in a draft report obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The report was compiled by Susan Ellingstad, a lawyer hired by Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate the allegation against the Democratic congressman. Ellison, also deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has denied the allegations.

AP

Donald Trump just veered WAY off message on Brett Kavanaugh’s drinking

On Monday, President Donald Trump was asked about the reports that his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, was, at times in his life, a heavy beer drinker. This is what he said in response:

“I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer, and he’s had a little bit of difficulty, I mean he talked about things that happened when he drinks — this is not a man that said … that he was perfect with respect to alcohol.”

Which is interesting. Because that is not, in fact, anything close to how Kavanaugh has described his own drinking.

CNN

From the “Must Read” File

HOW WE KNOW KAVANAUGH IS LYING

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