 Welcome to the run-down panel. We're going to run through a series of topics in a way you haven't heard. Faster, more content. No topic takes longer than two minutes, and I will ding you if we hit the time limit or if I just get bored. Remember, clocks don't care about your feelings. Joining me today, CRTV's Lauren Chen, The Roving Millennial, podcast host and sexual assault survivor Bridget Fetisi, and CodePink national director Ariel Gold, who you may remember from such hits as being dragged away from the Kavanaugh hearings on the first day, actually. So let's start there. Obviously, the situation surrounding Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh is on everybody's mind. Who did you find more convincing Christine Blasey Ford or Brett Kavanaugh? Well, let's begin with the fact that it's between two and 8% of sexual assault accusations that are found to be false. So really, we have no reason here not to believe Christine. And this is a lifetime appointment. We should be looking for somebody who is squeaky clean, somebody for whom we aren't asking these questions or having this discussion at all. Well, Bridget, what do you make of that? Because my own take is that you need some sort of corroborative evidence for any attempt to take somebody off the Supreme Court or ruin their life. What do you make of that? I mean, you're a sexual assault survivor, obviously. I feel like both sides are kind of in the wrong here. I just feel like as a sexual assault survivor, I look at both people and I feel like on the right, I see a lot of rape apologism and on the left, I see the weaponization of me too. And when you make sexual assault a partisan issue, nobody wins. It essentially becomes this thing where it's less about, it's less about the victims and it's more about winning and no one wins and less, least of all, the victims. I mean, Lauren, what the polls are showing is that a huge number of Democrats are in favor of Ford's account, a huge number of Republicans are in favor of Kavanaugh's account and independence seemed split pretty evenly. To me, it seems like the only actual answer here is we just don't know. And when they say believe one or believe the other, my answer is I don't have enough information. Where do you come down on this? Well, I think what's important to remember here is context, right? If Dr. Ford were to come to me and I was her friend, family member or counselor and describe this experience to me, I would of course have no problem believing her. I would want to provide her with as much emotional support as I could to try and make sure that she has the resources she needs to be healthy and happy and move past this, but we have to keep in mind, this is a very much, I think, a political situation here, right? So it's not just a question of do we believe her or not? It's do we believe her direct allegation against someone who, before this, had a completely clear record? And in my opinion, like you said, we just don't know. And I think the presumption of innocence is really important here. So that would be my default and the fact that, yeah, there's a lot of he said she said, we don't know. Yeah, Arielle, I think that the quick, yeah, I get to go past the bell because it's my show, but there's a quick statistic that I'd like to add to the two to 8% of rape victims or alleged rape victims are found to have been lying. That doesn't include 45% of all accounts that are told to the police that aren't actually further investigated for lack of evidence. There's a huge number of such allegations that are actually not investigated because what are the police supposed to do? And could this fall into that category? Well, let's remember that there's no reason that she isn't to be believed. And cooperation is no longer required for rape cases. This is not, again, this is not a criminal trial. This is not a civil trial. This is a job interview. Hold on, sorry. Corroboration is no longer required for rape cases? No, it is not. I mean, if you just walk into a police station and claim that I raped you, then there's no corroboration, no other evidence? In the court trial. Okay, but in it. Her testimony is in itself credible evidence. And again, this is not a criminal trial. This is a job interview. So do we want to be thinking to ourselves, maybe this is the case, maybe he will be on the Supreme Court for the rest of his life? How do you respond to that? I just don't agree that I believe her is enough to convict somebody. That shouldn't be just, I believe a lot of things. But this isn't to convict him. This is a question of whether or not he should get the job to the highest court in America. But don't you think that's convenient though? I don't think we want to take a chase here. As long as there's any shadow of a doubt, how can we put him through? That kind of literally leaves the door open to any allegations being able to discredit someone from this appointment, right? It's just, it's too easy in my opinion. And I want to stand for sexual assault survivors. I want there to be justice for people who've been wrong like that. But at the same time, we can't ignore. This happened 30 some years ago. There's absolutely no proof going on. The fact that someone says this is just, it's not enough. Okay, so let's talk about the FBI investigation. So now President Trump has initiated an FBI investigation at the behest of some Republicans and some Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lawrence, you think that that's a worthwhile endeavor. Is this something Republicans should have caved to? I have some very strong feelings and words about Senator Flake right now. And I think this is another example of Democrats using the FBI as a political tool, right? We've seen this with the Mueller investigation. And I think once this week is up, right, it's no longer gonna be, oh, well, it's just the week we can move past it. No, now the issue is gonna be, how can we possibly confirm someone who's under current FBI investigation? How can we need them to have conclusive evidence? So the idea that we're just gonna move past it and then go on with the vote, I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm so disappointed with Senator Flake right now. I think a lot of Arizonans should be. And I think this was just him caving to political pressure. I mean, Ariel, you're not gonna be satisfied with an FBI investigation of this sort, are you? We should talk about how this came to be with Senator Flake. So he was confronted in the elevator by survivors and he was actually moved in his heart. And he has said that what has helped him to change his opinion on this are the calls and the emails and people in the halls of Congress talking to him. This is democracy in action. I mean, that's all fine, but you're not gonna be satisfied with the FBI investigation. Well, that depends on whether it's actually a thorough investigation or not. Right now we're having conversations about whether it's limited or not limited. I mean, what would a thorough investigation look like to you? Well, there wouldn't be time constraints on it. And actually I have to applaud President Trump because he did order an investigation that he left open to the FBI. And Bridget, how about you on the FBI investigation front? As somebody who just doesn't have enough information, like you said, I'm one of the independents who falls in the middle. I think that it might put some people at ease even though I don't think it will matter either way. I mean, one of the things that people are neglecting about the FBI investigation is that the FBI investigation has less power than the Senate Judiciary Committee does. I mean, the FBI cannot subpoena witnesses, they cannot subpoena documents and all the people who have already given sworn statements in which they are basically risking penalty of perjury now cannot legally change their opinions or they will be under penalty of perjury from their earlier statements. So I don't see a world in which any minds are really changed other than people maybe in the middle who think an FBI investigation clearing Kavanaugh really changes things in any real way. Well, we actually got to this one a little bit early, but let's jump to topic number three in just a minute. More with our awesome panel next. Starting with liberals threatening to break into Republicans homes. This is an actual thing that happened. Don't go anywhere. Thank you. Yale law canceled classes this week. So students could protest Brett Kavanaugh, a Yale alum. Is that appropriate? We're back with the panel. Let's start the clock. So Lauren, what do you make of all of this? So it is worrying and very concerning that Yale, Yale, which has a very reputable law school is so quick and ready to abandon things like the presumption of innocence and due process. And I think it is completely inappropriate that they would actually allow students to do this, to miss their class for something that is purely political. And I'm just shocked that the whole Me Too movement seems to be going down this route where it's not just let's support assault survivors and give them a voice, but they're kind of painting it as this almost, you're either for believing every single woman who says anything about assault or you're a rape apologist. And it's like there's no middle ground there. And that's really frustrating. I have to say, as a Harvard law school alum, I'm very happy that Yale law has decided to do this because it does not make them look particularly good. Bridget, what would you say to these Yale law students who decided they couldn't go to class because they had to protest? I don't know. I'm just vehemently against the coddling of the American student. I don't think it's good. I don't know what happened to teaching grit in America. I don't remember leaving. I think they saw a class on 9-11. I mean, maybe people didn't go, but they didn't cancel the classes because the kids couldn't handle going to school. That just seems like a bad precedent to set for people who are, you're supposed to be learning to be open-minded and question things. Well, Ariel, I think only one person in this room has actually been dragged out of a hearing with Brett Kavanaugh in it. So, I mean, do you think Yale did the same, the right thing in canceling classes for the students? I am thankful that we live in a country that still values dissent and protest. That's much more than we can say right now for the apartheid state of Israel. Whoa. Not sure where that came from. And that's a lie. But I think we'll save that lie for another time since we actually have other topics to get to. Suffice to say that Muslims in Israel have more rights than Muslims any place in the Middle East by a long shot. Let's go to the next topic. Kanye West got booed after going on a pro-Trump rant on the Saturday Night Live last night. Here is what it looked like. How did you like Trump and his races? Well, if I was concerned about races, I would have moved out of there a long time ago. And then you got booed for all of that. Bridget, what do you make of the turnover of Yale who has flipped over newly if he was wearing a MAGA hat on SNL last night? I love Kanye. I mean, I respect that. I get it. I understand because I was very left and came to the middle and I have been Kanye in a certain respect. I understand his pushing against this kind of thought policing that starts happening. Censorship starts in your mind first. You start worrying about what you're saying around your peers and having mobs come after you. And so I understand that he is, I think he's great. I think it's good for him to push back. And he's an artist. He's supposed to push back. That's what we're supposed to do. Well, I mean, I do appreciate it. I have tweeted in the past, live by the Kanye, die by the Kanye because I mean, this could go any way you think it could go. Lauren, as the millennial in the room, what do you make of Kanye's move politically? So I'm probably the millennial with the least street cred in the situation. I learned how to pronounce it. Yay, not eat from you from your show. That's not the idea. But I like how he's not necessarily telling people like, hey, be conservative, be Republican. You know, that's, I mean, that'd be great. But that's not necessarily his role in this. He's trying to say, be open-minded. You don't have to be a Democrat because you're an African-American. He's at least making people are challenging them to question the narratives that they've maybe been growing up with and things like that. And I think that's really valuable. Weird that it's coming from Kanye West. I don't think anyone could have expected this, but more power to him. And you know what? They can try to like, boo him and get him off the feed for us and all they want. But his platform is big enough. He can do whatever he wants. Arielle, did you like the Kanye thing last night or you're mad at Kanye? Well, I would say the reason that Kanye is getting booed is because he is actually assisting Trump in dog whistle calls to racism and other forms of bigotry. And the Trump administration is bringing back things like mandatory minimums, things for which black and brown people are disproportionately affected. One of the things I like about having Arielle on is that everybody's blood pressure rises on a routine basis. It's good for the heart, but Bridget. I just, so you're speaking for him, a black man about what racism is and how he's helping an administration. I don't understand how you can speak for him on that. But if he, why can't he support Trump? I'm not speaking for him, but he isn't just supporting Trump. He's actually participating in the calls to racism. And we're seeing that rise in racism here in America. We see a massive rise in anti-semitism. Things like hate crimes, racism is on the decline. And the thing with dog whistles is that only dogs can hear them, right? And that's what I see all the time from the left. Oh, this is a dog whistle. This is a dog whistle. Maybe the paradigm that you're perhaps operating under is the one that's obsessed with race. Because if you listen to the things that Kanye says as someone who is biracial, as someone who is not from here, I wasn't born in the United States, I'm listening to it and it doesn't seem like he's trying to signal any white supremacy. Speaking of folks who are not bothering to dog whistle, they are actually just promoting violence. Ted Cruz was accosted in a restaurant this week. Here is what that looked like when he was yelled out of a restaurant. We believe survivors! We believe survivors! This of course is from Smash Racism DC. I think Progress Justice Center named Ian Milhizer tweeted this week, tell me again why we shouldn't confront Republicans where they eat, where they sleep, and where they work until they stop being complicit in the destruction of our democracy. Are you afraid of violence breaking out from any of this, Ariel? In America, we have a long and rich and valued history of protest from the Boston Tea Party, through the civil rights movement. I think it was protest that helped end the Vietnam War, and we certainly wouldn't want to still be there. So I'm thrilled that people are showing up where Ted Cruz is and calling him out. Do you want somebody actually confronting you where you eat, sleep, and work based on your politics? If I'm a senator, absolutely. I'm responsible for the people. I mean, you're a human, right? I mean, do you want somebody confronting, I mean, I assume not where you sleep. If somebody confronted me where I sleep, I would shoot them. It's much more than a human. He's helping decide the future of our country and the future of the world, in fact. This is a Supreme Court appointment. Okay, Lauren, what's your response to this? So I am such a huge supporter of the right to protest, so fundamental to human rights. But at the same time, there's a difference between saying, hey, let's have this protest in public versus let's chase someone down in a restaurant where they're eating when they're trying to spend time with their family. Senators, any public official, they're not signing up for a lifetime open to harassment wherever they go. And, you know, you asked like, am I worried about violence? I think that's absolutely within the realm of possibility right now. And the part of me that loves civility and open dialogue and coming together hates that and hates videos like that. But the other part of me who's a little bit more perhaps Machiavellian and pragmatic thinks great. You know, do this kind of stuff. Encourage harassment of Latino men and say it's stopping racism. That's only gonna turn people who are more moderate off of you, so fine. Guys, thank you so much. Lauren, Bridget, Ariel, thanks so much for stopping by. Up next, tonight's Socialism Watch. Yale Law canceled classes this week so students could protest Brett Kavanaugh, a Yale alum. Is that appropriate? We're back with the panel. Let's start the clock. So, Lauren, what do you make of all of this? So it is worrying and very concerning that Yale, Yale, which has a very reputable law school is so quick and ready to abandon things like the presumption of innocence and due process. And I think it is completely inappropriate that they would actually allow students to do this, to miss their class for something that is purely political. And I'm just shocked that the whole Me Too movement seems to be going down this route where it's not just let's support assault survivors and give them a voice, but they're kind of painting it as this almost, you're either for believing every single woman who says anything about assault or you're a rape apologist. And it's like there's no middle ground there and that's really frustrating. I have to say, as a Harvard Law School alum, I'm very happy that Yale Law has decided to do this because it does not make them look particularly good. Bridget, what would you say to these Yale Law students who decided they couldn't go to class because they had to protest? I don't know. I'm just vehemently against the coddling of the American student. I don't think it's good. I don't know what happened to teaching grit in America. I don't remember leaving. I think they saw a class on 9-11. I mean, maybe people didn't go, but they didn't cancel the classes because the kids couldn't handle going to school. That just seems like a bad precedent to set for people who are, you're supposed to be learning to be open-minded and question things. Ariel, I think only one person in this room has actually been dragged out of a hearing with Brett Kavanaugh in it. So I mean, do you think Yale did the right thing in canceling classes for the students? I am thankful that we live in a country that still values dissent and protest. That's much more than we can say right now for the apartheid state of Israel. Oh, not sure where that came from. And that's a lie, but I think we'll save that lie for another time since we actually have other topics to get to. Suffice to say that Muslims in Israel have more rights than Muslims any place in the Middle East by a long shot. Let's go to the next topic. Kanye West got booed after going on a pro-Trump rant on the Saturday Night Live last night. Here is what it looked like. How could you like Trump in these races? If I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of there a long time ago. And then you got booed for all of that. Bridget, what do you make of the turnover of Yale who has flipped over newly if it was wearing a MAGA hat on SNL last night? I love Kanye. I mean, I respect that, I get it. I understand because I was very left and came to the middle and I have been Kanye in a certain respect. I understand his pushing against this kind of thought policing that starts happening. Censorship starts in your mind first. You start worrying about what you're saying around your peers and having mobs come after you. And so I understand that he is, I think he's great. I think it's good for him to push back. And he's an artist. He's supposed to push back. That's what we're supposed to do. Well, I mean, I do appreciate it. I have tweeted in the past, live by the Kanye, die by the Kanye because I mean, this could go any way you think it could go. Lauren, as the millennial in the room, what do you make of Kanye's move politically? So I'm probably the millennial with the least street cred in the situation. I learned how to pronounce it yay, not eat from you, from your show. That's not the idea. But I like how he's not necessarily telling people like, hey, be conservative, be Republican. You know, that'd be great, but that's not necessarily his role in this. He's trying to say, be open-minded. You don't have to be a Democrat because you're an African-American. He's at least making people or challenging them to question the narratives that they've maybe been growing up with and things like that. And I think that's really valuable. Weird that it's coming from Kanye West. I don't think anyone could have expected this, but more power to him. And you know what? They can try to like boo him and get him off the feed for us and all they want. But his platform is big enough. He can do whatever he wants. All right. So is Kanye a thing last night or you're mad at Kanye? Well, I would say the reason that Kanye is getting booed is because he is actually assisting Trump in dog whistle calls to racism and other forms of bigotry. And the Trump administration is bringing back things like mandatory minimums, things for which black and brown people are disproportionately affected. One of the things I like about having Ari Elan is that everybody's blood pressure rises on a routine basically it's good for the heart of a bridge. I just, so you're speaking for him, a black man about what racism is and how he's helping an administration. I don't understand how you can speak for him on that. But if he, why can't he support Trump? I'm not speaking for him, but he isn't just supporting Trump. He's actually participating in the calls to racism. And we're seeing that rise in racism here in America. We see a massive rise in anti-semitism. Things like hate crimes. Racism is on the decline. And the thing with dog whistles is that only dogs can hear them, right? And that's what I see all the time from the left. Oh, this is a dog whistle, this is a dog whistle. Maybe the paradigm that you're perhaps operating under is the one that's obsessed with race. Because you listen to the things that Kanye says as someone who is biracial, someone who is not from here, it wasn't born in the United States. I'm listening to it and it doesn't seem like he's trying to signal any white supremacy. Speaking of folks who are not bothering to dog whistle, they are actually just promoting violence. Ted Cruz was accosted in a restaurant this week. Here is what that looked like when he was yelled out of a restaurant. We believe survivors, we believe survivors. We believe survivors, we believe survivors. Let my wife through. This of course is from Smash Racism DC. I think Progress Justice Center named Ian Milhizer tweeted this week, tell me again why we shouldn't confront Republicans where they eat, where they sleep, and where they work until they stop being complicit in the destruction of our democracy. Are you afraid of violence breaking out from any of this, Ariel? In America, we have a long and rich and valued history of protest from the Boston Tea Party through the Civil Rights Movement. I think it was protest that helped end the Vietnam War and we certainly wouldn't wanna still be there. So I'm thrilled that people are showing up where Ted Cruz is and calling him out. Do you want somebody actually confronting you where you eat, sleep, and work based on your politics? If I'm a senator, absolutely, I'm responsible to the people. I mean, you're a human, right? I mean, do you want somebody confronting, I mean, I assume not where you sleep. If somebody confronts me where I sleep, I would shoot them. He's much more than a human. He's helping decide the future of our country and the future of the world, in fact. This is a Supreme Court appointment. Okay, Lauren, what's your response to this? So I am such a huge supporter of the right to protest, so fundamental to human rights, but at the same time, there's a difference between saying, hey, let's have this protest in public versus let's chase someone down in a restaurant where they're eating when they're trying to spend time with their family. Senators, any public official, they're not signing up for a lifetime open to harassment wherever they go. And you asked, like, am I worried about violence? I think that's absolutely within the realm of possibility right now. And the part of me that loves civility and open dialogue and coming together hates that and hates videos like that. But the other part of me who's a little bit more perhaps Machiavellian and pragmatic thinks great. You know, do this kind of stuff. Encourage harassment of Latino men and say it's stopping racism. That's only gonna turn people who are more moderate off of you, so fine. Guys, thank you so much. Lauren Bridgett, Ariel, thanks so much for stopping by. Up next.