#but even kennedy is not like... an ethically bad choice it's just bad writing

[bloomfish]

My controversial and long-winded Willow/Tara thoughts

I honestly don't mind, narratively speaking, that Tara was killed. Obviously I love Tara with all my heart and was devastated when she died but I keep trying to see another way forward for Willow's arc and... I can't? Honestly I think this would have been Oz's fate had he not been written off because Seth Green had to leave.

I also think that nowadays we're very conscious of the "bury your gays" trope and there's obviously a lot to criticise about this when it's gratuitous. But especially given what Willow and Tara represented at the time... It was a different world in terms of LGBT representation. It's common knowledge that they had to fight for the onscreen kiss in The Body, the fact that a main character was even portrayed in a lesbian relationship at all on a show like Buffy was groundbreaking. All that being said, I personally don't think Tara's death was gratuitous.

The only other permadeath of a Scooby love interest until the finale is Jenny Calendar, and you can definitely make a case here for the "killing off a female love interest for manpain" trope but where would S2 be without Jenny's death? Like it just doesn't make sense without it. Passions is the moment where the stakes of the series as a whole suddenly explode into astronomical new levels. Sure, Giles could have been a woman and Jenny a man, but that also undercuts many of the themes and ideas behind the Giles+Buffy relationship and the Watchers in general.

Similarly, from the moment Willow's use of magic was introduced, EVERYTHING in her arc was leading up to Dark Willow. We got a taste of it in S5 but if the show had ended there it would never have actually reached a true conclusion. She's not punished for her Dark Moment, she's rewarded. It would have gone unresolved, and the looming threat of Willow turning to the dark side would have been hanging over the heads of the surviving Scoobies forever. Tara being mind sucked by Glory feels like a sort of... idk hasty first attempt at killing her thematically (an idea that was obviously in the works) except that her death in S5 would undercut those of Joyce and Buffy. So it's natural to resolve this in S6.

The reason I think Tara had to die for Dark Willow to emerge is that we're shown that Willow needs a grounding presence to keep her from losing control. Her 'darkest moments' almost all occur when she feels abandoned. When Oz cheats on her in S4 she tries to curse him and Veronica, when he leaves Something Blue ensues. When Tara is mind-sucked she goes apeshit on Glory. When Buffy dies she does the resurrection spell. When she and Tara fight in S6 she uses magic to make her forget, the subsequent breakup causes her to spiral. Like this is a HUGE pattern for Willow.

Oz and Tara function fairly similarly in that they are stabilising presences that pull Willow back from the brink, and so nothing short of the complete, permanent removal of Tara could force her to completely go over the edge. She couldn't have "just left" because that leaves the glimmer of hope that, like Oz, she will return. She had to die and Willow had to try and fail to bring her back.

Obviously it's not a pleasant thing. But it's just... Idk, it's narratively cohesive for me. It's so far from being even close to the worst moral failing of the writers in that single episode, let alone the series as a whole. The reason it stings so much is because Tara's death wasn't just shock value, she was a character that made a lasting impact on the show and had visible effects on characters outside of Willow (mostly Dawn and Buffy but still) so even though she was doomed from the start I don't think it's a case of a lesbian character being gratuitously killed off for angst. I get that it's a touchy subject but I also don't think it's accurate to paint every single instance of a gay character dying as 'bury your gays' when it's not necessarily so.

Anyway. There's a lot to criticise about Buffy but this isn't a personal gripe of mine- even as someone for whom Tara and her relationship with Willow was deeply and personally important at the time.

[scientificphilosopher]

Book List 2018

I’m a couple weeks behind on this, but here’s the list of books I read in 2018. I’ve broken it down by category, though this is pretty loose since, you know, genres bleed into one another and such. You can also find reviews of some of these books here, and I always take requests for reviews as well. Follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading and rating. 

Let me know what you think if you’ve read any of these books or have recommendations, and, as always, please feel free to send me malicious personal attacks if I say something you disagree with.

Non-Fiction

Philosophy

Pragmatism and Feminism: Reweaving the Social Fabric by Charlene Haddock Seigfried

The Pragmatic Turn by Richard J. Bernstein

Race Matters by Cornel West

Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism by Cornel West

American Philosophy: A Love Story by John Kaag

Ethics Without Ontology by Hilary Putnam

Meaning in Life and Why It Matters by Susan Wolf

The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love by Susan Wolf

The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World by Owen J. Flanagan

Meaning in Life by Thaddeus Metz

The Human Eros: Eco-Ontology and the Aesthetics of Existence by Thomas Alexander

Naturalism and Normativity by Mario De Caro (Editor), David Macarthur (Editor)

Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity by Michael P. Lynch

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

Experiments in Ethics by Kwame Anthony Appiah

Ethics in the Real World: 86 Brief Essays on Things that Matter by Peter Singer

The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant

Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment by Robert Wright

A Defense of Buddhist Virtue Ethics by Jack Hamblin

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought by Dennis C. Rasmussen

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams

Reality, Art and Illusion by Alan Watts

Democracy and Social Ethics by Jane Addams

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds by Daniel C. Dennett

Science

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Stephen Brusatte

Why Dinosaurs Matter by Kenneth Lacovara

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—And Us by Richard O. Prum

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us by Sam Kean

Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne

What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by Adam Becker

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

The Physics of Time by Carlo Rovelli

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku

The Spinning Magnet: The Force That Created the Modern World--and Could Destroy It by Alanna Mitchell

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan

Visions for the 21st Century by Carl Sagan et al.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

The Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage by Chet Raymo

The Virgin and the Mousetrap: Essays in Search of the Soul of Science by Chet Raymo

Politics/Race/Gender

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay (editor)

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Race Matters by Cornel West

Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism by Cornel West

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Tears We Cannot Stand: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson

What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

The Common Good by Robert Reich

Transgender History by Susan Stryker

Memoir

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

South of Forgiveness: A True Story of Rape and Responsibility by Thordis Elva

Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker

The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman

My Own Life by David Hume

Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good by Kevin Smith

Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton

Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth

Calypso by David Sedaris

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

Ink Spots by Brian McDonald

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin

History/Biography

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan

God: A Human History by Reza Aslan

One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America by Kevin M. Kruse

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang 

Fiction

Literary Fiction

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

Another Country by James Baldwin

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Blues for Mister Charlie by James Baldwin

Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

Home by Toni Morrison

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

The Dead by James Joyce

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

A Confederacy of Dunces by Jonh Kennedy Toole

The Dork of Cork by Chet Raymo

Genre Fiction

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Slice of Life by Kurt Vonnegut

2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Pure Drivel by Steve Martin

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The Green Mile by Stephen King

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1 by Lemony Snicket

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Worst of 2018

Every single book I read this past year had redemptive value. Even if it was total garbage, it still taught me some stuff (like how not to write a book). Even a bad book can be a good book if you let it be.

So, here’re a few books that didn’t quite hit the spot for me:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Ink Spots by Brian McDonald

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

Best of 2018

It was genuinely difficult to choose my top books of 2018. What a literary year it has been for me. 2018 marks the most books I’ve read in a year, and I was lucky enough to come across some real game-changers. I finally read the Harry Potter series and, boy howdy, did it ever live up to the hype. What took me so long?? But this was, more than anything, the year of James Baldwin. He has made an indelible mark on me as a reader, a writer, and a human. What a year this has been! I hope to read a fraction as much beautiful, lovely, challenging, profound prose in 2019. 

In no particular order, here are the books of 2018 that most moved me, shook me, rattled me, rolled me:

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

The Pragmatic Turn by Richard J. Bernstein

Pragmatism and Feminism: Reweaving the Social Fabric by Charlene Haddock Seigfried

The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by Adam Becker

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan

The Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage by Chet Raymo

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Well, there you have it, folks. Here’s to many more good books in the years to come! 

The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story. —Ursula K. Le Guin

[jillmckenzie1]

Moby Dick + Wild Things + The Matrix = WTF

One of the most valuable things in life is honesty; particularly, the honesty of someone calling out your bad ideas. When someone cares about you on a personal or professional level, they’ll do their level best to pull you back from the brink. I cannot emphasize how important that is, but let me explain with my own idiotic example.

I do screenwriting on the side. Years ago, I was batting about script ideas with my writing partners. As we kicked around ideas, I was struck by the Bad Idea Fairy. “Guys, guys, so there were gold reserves in the sub-basements of the Twin Towers. What if, in the aftermath of 9/11, a group of thieves pose as rescue workers to try and get to the gold? Maybe one of them is struck with an ethical conflict and comes into conflict with the rest of his crew!”

Their response proved to me that, even now, they are true friends. “No. You absolutely shouldn’t do that. Not now, not ever. That’s not good.” What was I going to do, have an action-packed gunfight set in the wreckage of the World Trade Center? Thankfully, my friends exorcized the influence of the Bad Idea Fairy, and I endeavored to come up with less stupid concepts in the future.

Some people are more susceptible to the dark and wicked magics of the Bad Idea Fairy than others, and when they bring a vision to life that should not be they are to be pitied, not jeered. Worst of all is when someone genuinely talented is seized with a terrible concept and nobody stops them. Want proof of that? Steven Knight’s Serenity is showing in theaters now, but it won’t be for long.

We’re introduced to the amusingly named Baker Dill (Matthew McConaughey), a charter fishing boat captain dealing with a nasty case of depression. How do we know he’s depressed? He mutters darkly about his experiences as a soldier in Iraq. He smokes constantly, drinks nearly constantly, lives in a shipping container and dives naked into the ocean in lieu of taking a shower like a normal human being. He yells at the sky and threatens people with knives, but everybody gives him a pass because he looks like Matthew McConaughey.

His life isn’t completely terrible, because he’s got a first mate and trusty best friend in Duke (Djimon Hounsou, veering dangerously close to “Magical Black Man” territory). He’s also got Constance (Diane Lane) in his life, a gorgeous older woman who spends her days lounging in bed and paying him for sex. Yes, literally. She also spies on him through the slats of her windows and comments on his actions like a Greek chorus by way of The Graduate.*

 I almost forgot to tell you: Baker is obsessed with catching a giant tuna that he’s named “Justice,” and he scrawls information about his attempts to catch it in a battered notebook. He’s also being pursued by Reid Miller (Jeremy Strong) a mysterious man in a black suit who’s a…um…bait salesman. That’s not even the 10th weirdest thing in the movie, and we haven’t even gotten to the A-plot yet!

Back into Baker’s life strolls Karen (Anne Hathaway), a stylish blonde who’s not only his ex but also the mother of their son (Rafael Sayegh). She’s gotten remarried to Frank (Jason Clarke), an abusive creep, and now she has an offer for Baker: all he has to do is take Frank out for a fishing excursion, dump him overboard, and let the sharks do their work. In return, she’ll pay him $10 million for his trouble.

Before we go any further, I need to properly calibrate your expectations. If you look at the movie poster for Serenity, here’s what you’ll see:

Photoshopped images of McConaughey and Hathaway’s floating heads

A cast list

The tagline, “On Plymouth Island, no one ever dies…unless you break the rules.

Based on that information, you can be forgiven thinking that the film is an erotic neo-noir in which you’ll see copious McConaughey ass, Hathaway as a duplicitous femme fatale, and a kinda-dumb main character in over his head. It is that, and so, so much more. And less.

Director Steven Knight is a person of genuine talent. He’s written a number of scripts, including the very good Eastern Promises, and directed the contained thriller Locke.** Here, his film looks glossy and decent with some nice shot compositions, but in short order, things start to feel off. We have a pulpy tone that feels like it’s mocking pulp at the same time. Then…dammit, let’s get this over with, and talk about the script.

Knight also wrote said script, which is…um. Okay, let’s imagine that the genie from Aladdin decided to bring the mountain of cocaine from Scarface to life. As the mountain of cocaine achieves sentience, the genie says, “What do you want to do with your life, Mountain of Cocaine?” It replies, “I have this idea for a screenplay! Let me tell you about it! Am I blowing your mind, man?” It’s not just the dialogue that’s the problem, which sounds like it was written by a computer that hated both people and film noir. It’s not even the character work for Baker, where he’s supposed to be Sexy Damaged Guy, but actually comes off as Check Out My Bipolar Disorder Guy.

The real problem? There’s a series of twists that increasingly feels insane, and during the last half hour the movie doesn’t just go off the rails; it hits a mountain, explodes, and the fiery wreckage strikes a bus full of nuns and orphans, also causing them to explode. It’s like Knight said out loud, to an empty room, “Hold my beer, M. Night Shyamalan,” and proceeded to make cuckoo storytelling choices that you simply must see to believe. He’s pulling the rug out from under you, beating you with the rug, and yelling, “Do you see the rug I’m beating you with?”

 I’d love to clown on the cast, but in good conscience, I can’t. They’re doing what is asked of them. If you want someone who excels at playing an entitled rich jerk, you get Jason Clarke.*** Anne Hathaway, who was so damn good in Colossal, is pretty good here, and if you squint and turn your head sideways you can see the iconic femme fatale performance she’s capable of and that could have been.**** Then there’s Matthew McConaughey, who excels at playing deeply strange men. As Mr. Dill he’s fine, I guess? There’s a good bit of scenery gnawing from him, and I never felt like he was phoning it in. The main problem with our cast is that it never feels like they’re in the same movie and their performances never mesh together.

Sooner or later, we’re all visited by the Bad Idea Fairy. Most of us are lucky that our bad ideas don’t involve a $25 million budget and an end result that millions of people can see. Steven Knight is a talented filmmaker, and his cast and crew are talented professionals. I’m hoping that Serenity acts as a reminder of the importance of one lone voice saying, “Dude, no.”

  *I have to genuinely give Serenity credit for featuring an older woman with sexual appetites and treating her as a completely normal person. While the film ain’t exactly woke, let’s give credit where credit is due.

**He’s also one of the creators of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

 ***For an excellent Clarke performance, check him out in Chappaquiddick as the loathsome Ted Kennedy.

****As much as Hathaway and McConaughey are wildly attractive people, they have a kind of anti-chemistry here.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/moby-dick-wild-things-the-matrix-wtf/

[theconservativebrief]

President Donald Trump announced on Monday, July 9, that he was nominating Brett Kavanaugh, a federal judge on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, to fill retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy’s Supreme Court seat. The anticipated decision was announced during a prime-time television special. You can read more here about the background and implications of Trump’s choice.

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference.

President Donald Trump: My fellow Americans, tonight I speak to you from the east room of the White House regarding one of the most profound responsibilities of the President of the United States. And that is the selection of a Supreme Court justice. I have often heard that other than matters of war and peace, this is the most important decision a president will make. The Supreme Court is entrusted with the safeguarding of the crown jewel of our republic — the Constitution of the United States. 12 days ago, Justice Anthony Kennedy informed me of his decision to take senior status on the Supreme Court, opening a new vacancy. For more than four decades, Justice Kennedy served our nation with incredible passion and devotion. I’d like to thank Justice Kennedy for a lifetime of distinguished service. [Applause]

In a few moments, I will announce my selection for Justice Kennedy’s replacement. This is the second time I have been faced with this task. Last year I nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia. [Applause] I chose Justice Gorsuch because I knew that he, just like Justice Scalia, would be a faithful servant of our constitution. We are honored to be joined tonight by Justice Scalia’s beloved wife, Maureen. [Applause] Thank you, Maureen.

Both Justice Kennedy and Justice Scalia were appointed by a president who understood that the best defense of our liberty and a judicial branch immune from political prejudice were judges that apply the Constitution as written. That president happened to be Ronald Reagan. For this evening’s announcement, we are joined by Ronald Reagan’s attorney general, Edwin Meese. [Applause] And, Ed, I speak for everyone. Thank you for everything you’ve done to protect our nation’s great legal heritage.

In keeping with President Reagan’s legacy, I do not ask about a nominee’s personal opinions. What matters is not a judge’s political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require. I am pleased to say that I have found, without doubt, such a person.

Tonight it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. [Applause] I know the people in this room very well. They do not stand and give applause like that very often. So they have some respect and Brett’s wife, Ashley, and their two daughters, Margaret and Liza have joined us on the podium. Thank you and congratulations to you as a family. Thank you. [Applause]

Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Judge Kavanaugh currently teaches at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. Throughout legal circles, he is considered a judge’s judge, a true thought leader among his peers. He’s a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. And just like Justice Gorsuch, he excelled as a clerk for Justice Kennedy. That’s great. Thank you. [Applause]

Judge Kavanaugh has devoted his life to public service. For the last 12 years, he has served as a judge on the DC Circuit court of appeals with great distinction, authoring over 300 opinions which have been widely admired for their skill, insight, and rigorous adherence to the law. Among those opinions are more than a dozen that the supreme court has adopted as the law of the land. Beyond his great renown as a judge, he is active in his community. He coaches CYO basketball, serves meals to needy families, and having learned from his mom, who was a schoolteacher in DC, tutors children at local elementary schools. There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving.

I want to thank the senators on both sides of the aisle, Republican and Democrat, for their consultation and advice during the selection process. This incredibly qualified nominee deserves a swift confirmation and robust bipartisan support. The rule of law is our nation’s proud heritage. It is the cornerstone of our freedom. It is what guarantees equal justice, and the Senate now has the chance to protect this glorious heritage by sending Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. And now, Judge, the podium is yours. [Applause]

Brett Kavanaugh: Mr. President, thank you. Throughout this process, I have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary.

No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a supreme court nomination. Mr. President, I am grateful to you, and I’m humbled by your confidence in me. 30 years ago, President Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. The framers established that the Constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. Justice Kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. I am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the Supreme Court. [Applause]

My mom and dad are here. I am their only child. When people ask what it’s like to be an only child, I say it depends on who your parents are. I was lucky. My mom was a teacher. In the 1960s and ’70s, she taught history at two largely African-American public high schools in Washington, DC, McKinley Tech and HD Woodson. Her example taught me the importance of equality for all Americans. My mom was a trailblazer. When I was ten, she went to law school and became a prosecutor. My introduction to law came at our dinner table when she practiced her closing arguments. Her trademark line was, “Use your common sense. What rings true? What rings false?” That’s good advice for a juror and for a son. One of the few women prosecutors at that time, she overcame barriers and became a trial judge. The president introduced me tonight as Judge Kavanaugh. But to me, that title will always belong to my mom. My dad went to law school at night while working full time. He has an unparalleled work ethic and has passed down to me his passion for playing and watching sports. I love him dearly. The motto of my Jesuit high school was “Men for others.” I’ve tried to live that creed. I’ve spent my career in public service from the executive branch in the White House to the US Court of appeals for the DC Circuit. I’ve served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend. My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.

For the past 11 years, I’ve taught hundreds of students primarily at Harvard Law School. I teach that the Constitution’s separation of powers protects individual liberty, and I remain grateful to the dean who hired me, Justice Elena Kagan. As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best. My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.

I am part of the vibrant Catholic community in the DC Area. The members of that community disagree about many things, but we are united by a commitment to serve. Father John Ensler is here. 40 years ago I was an altar boy for Father John. These days I help him serve meals to the homeless at Catholic Charities.

I have two spirited daughters, Margaret and Liza. Margaret loves sports, and she loves to read. Liza loves sports, and she loves to talk. [Laughter] I have tried to create bonds with my daughters like my dad created with me. For the past seven years, I’ve coached my daughters’ basketball teams. The girls on the team call me Coach K. [Laughter] I am proud of our bless sacrament team that just won the city championship. [Applause] My daughters and I also go to lots of games. Our favorite memory was going to the historic Notre Dame/UConn women’s basketball game at this year’s final four. Unforgettable.

My wife, Ashley, is a West Texan, a graduate of Abilene Cooper Public High School and the University of Texas. She is now the town manager of our community. We met in 2001 when we both worked in the White House. Our first date was on September 10, 2001. The next morning, I was a few steps behind her as the secret service shouted at all of us to sprint out the front gates of the White House because there was an inbound plane. In the difficult weeks that followed, Ashley was a source of strength for President Bush and for everyone in this building. Through bad days and so many better days since then, she has been a great wife and inspiring mom. I thank god every day for my family. [Applause]

Tomorrow I begin meeting with members of the Senate, which plays an essential role in this process. I will tell each senator that I revere the Constitution. I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case, and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law. Thank you, Mr. President. [Applause]

Original Source -> Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court: full transcript

via The Conservative Brief