Hearsay ain't corroboration

Corroboration. It’s the big buzzword these days. The right is using it against Joe Biden much like the left used it against Brett Kavanaugh. We’re told that friends and family of Biden accuser Tara Reade can “corroborate” her story that Biden sexually assaulted her 27 years ago. Why? Because she told them. Let’s get one thing clear. Telling someone something is not corroboration, it’s hearsay. There’s a big difference.

The legal distinction is very important. Hearsay is only allowed under certain circumstances in a court of law. One exception is what’s known as the Present Sense Impression rule. This is “a statement describing or explaining an event or condition, made while or immediately after the declarant perceived it.” This would appear to apply to witnesses who heard Reade describe the alleged incident with Joe Biden, however it is still hearsay and not corroboration.

Anyone can make up a story about anyone else and tell everybody they know. That still doesn’t make it true. This is not a defense of Joe Biden. This is a defense of the presumption of innocence, the bedrock of our judicial system.

That’s not to say that Joe Biden hasn’t done some creepy things. He’s famous for invading people’s space and sniffing hair. That may be a bit on the sketchy side. It may even constitute sexual harassment, but it is not sexual assault.

This so-called corroboration was used extensively during the hit job on Brett Kavanaugh when he was nominated by President Trump to take a seat on the Supreme Court. At the time, conservatives derided the so-called corroboration of Christine Blasey Ford’s story by people claiming she had told them about the incident with Kavanaugh as simply hearsay. Now they accept the same sort of contemporaneous accounts as corroboration.

There’s a particular example of this that needs to be noted. A student at the University of Virginia called her friends in the middle of the night to report that she had been gang-raped by a bunch of fraternity brothers. She gave a vivid accounting of the alleged crime complete with the fraternity involved. Rolling Stone magazine picked up the story, using her friends’ accounts as corroboration. The university shut down the Greek system. The fraternity house was vandalized. A few months later, Rolling Stone had to issue a retraction and an apology. The whole thing was made up, including the story told to friends. Some corroboration. They only corroborated what they had been told, and they were told a complete and utter lie.

Conservatives must not fall into this same trap. A court of law needs much more than just a story told by the alleged victim to make a case. That’s not to say that Tara Reade doesn’t have a case. It’s just that her case doesn’t hinge on what she told family and friends 27 years ago.

Were the roles reversed conservative skeptics would be asking why now? Why didn’t she at least bring these allegations up in 2008 and 2012 when Biden was on the ticket with Barack Obama? Enemies of Biden are hoping to dig through mountains of senate records to find a smoking gun in a report filed by Reade in 1993. She’s already tamped down expectations by saying that it probably doesn’t include the language “sexual assault” or “sexual harassment.” She says she told authorities at the time that Biden made her feel uncomfortable. Heck, we can all say that. Ever watched one of his interviews?

Reade’s allegations should be thoroughly investigated, but just because she told somebody doesn’t mean the story has been corroborated. 

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show, on SuperTalk 99.7WTN in Nashville. He's also co-host of The PodGOATs podcast and I'm Calling Bovine Scatology.

Where does #MeToo go after Kavanaugh?

I’m sitting here wondering how all of the pink hat ladies can reconcile the fact that they so opposed Justice Kavanaugh because of some unsubstantiated claim of sexual assault yet they turned out in droves to support Hillary Clinton who has a long history of covering up for an alleged predator. It does really make one question the sincerity of the movement. And to see Hillary herself in interviews day after day saying we have to believe the women. Not one interviewer confronted her with the ugly truth that she was in charge of “bimbo eruptions” while her husband was running for president and after he won.

The Democrats aren’t through with Brett Kavanaugh. They vow to impeach him if they take control of Congress. All the more reason that these people shouldn’t be anywhere near the keys of power. Someone needs to remind them that you can only be impeached for conduct while you’re in office. That goes for justices and presidents. In other words, they can’t reach back in the histories of Kavanaugh and Trump and remove them from office. Chances are if they ignore their own inconsistencies on sexual assault they’ll ignore the Constitution too.

I was told of a conversation with a drunk millennial recently. The night after Kavanaugh’s confirmation he insisted “the bastard is guilty.” When pressed on what he was guilty of he eventually had to confess that he hadn’t followed the story and didn’t really know what he was accused of. But whatever it was, he was guilty.

Both sides engage in this type of judgement against the other all too often. We all have our preconceived notions and we all make our assumptions. However, when it comes to something like sexual assault it is totally irresponsible to assume guilt. Should we #BelieveSurvivors? If they’re really survivors of sexual assault, sure. That’s the problem. We have no idea how many of these unsubstantiated claims are made up. We have no idea how many of these women screaming at senators claiming they’re “survivors” have actually survived anything. That’s not to diminish the horror that victims of sexual assault have gone through. Quite the contrary. Those who have been proven to be victims deserve our deepest sympathy and their attackers deserve our fiercest rage. But just claiming someone did something is not—and should not be—good enough for victim status.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the whole Kavanaugh circus it’s that there’s now a new standard when it comes to sexual assault. If you’re accusing a conservative, you’re automatically believed. If you’re accusing a liberal, then the burden of proof is on you. We saw this with Bill Clinton. We saw this in the midst of the Kavanaugh hearings with Rep. Keith Ellison. Here’s a guy with far more evidence against him than Kavanaugh, yet a lawyer from a law firm that gave $500,000 to Democrats says she could find no evidence against him.

The left tried to tell us that normal standards of proof didn’t apply to Brett Kavanaugh because this wasn’t a trial, it was a job interview. OK, let’s go with that. So you’re saying that anybody who applies for a job can be immediately disqualified if someone just accuses him of something?

When this #MeToo movement first started I joked with a female conservative activist friend of mine on the air about this being a conspiracy to silence men. She laughed. She’s not laughing any more. Make no mistake about it, this is a war against men. Specifically white men. No one should be silenced through false allegations.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

It's open season on men

The #MeToo movement has gotten out of hand. Brett Kananaugh’s accusers are to believed, but Rep. Keith Ellison’s accuser—with far more evidence—is totally ignored. Not only ignored by the same leftists who want to crucify Kavanaugh but by the complicit left-wing media.

Part of this is our fault. We allow the New York Times and the Washington Post to drive the narrative. CNN says it’s a hot story and we just go along. 

Let me tell you what’s a hot story. A sitting member of the Senate, Democrat Mazie Hirono from Hawaii, tells men to “shut up.” She said, “Guess who’s perpetuating all these actions. It’s the men in this country.” The men in this country? The left has long lectured the rest of us about profiling and stereotyping. Now we’re going to put all the men in one deplorable basket? It’s obvious how inflammatory that would be if a male member of the Senate had told all the women to just “shut up,” but how about saying that to all black people? Or all Hispanics?

We’re told not to stereotype, but that’s exactly what the #WeHateMen movement is doing.

I’m no psychologist, but I see a pattern with these liberal women who hate all men. Most are in relationships with a horrible guy, someone who’s treating them like dirt, and for some reason they stand there and take it. Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, and many other so-called feminists draw their anger from their personal relationships with men. Lord knows where Sen. Hirono’s anger comes from, but how would you like to be married to her?

In a piece for the Washington Post, Northeastern University professor of sociology, Suzanna Danuta Walters asked “Why can’t we hate men?” She said, “Maybe it’s time for us to go all Thelma and Louise on their collective butts.” In other words, it’s time to start killing men. She then tells men, “Don’t run for office. Don’t be in charge of anything. Step away from the power. We got this. We have every right to hate you. You have done us wrong.” Obviously another woman who’s been in a horrible relationship. It’s not hard to imagine the never-ending outcry if such a broad stereotype were ever applied to any other group. 

But enough is enough. It’s time for men—and the women who love them—to fight back.

Should we believe every woman who comes forward with an allegation of sexual abuse against a man? The leftists, like Sen. Kamala Harris, tell you yes. #BelieveSurvivors. The short answer is absolutely no. We should not automatically believe every woman who comes forward with an accusation. Need I remind you of the UVA gang rape accusation against the fraternity? Completely made up. Mattress Girl at Columbia? Made up. The Duke Lacrosse team gang-rape allegation? Made up. 

There are certainly many cases of men who abuse women. They are not the norm. Nobody I know condones such behavior. However, every woman who ever slept with Harvey Weinstein to get a part in his movies is not a victim. As his lawyer put it, he didn’t invent the casting couch.

The irony is such independent and powerful women choose to portray themselves as powerless victims when they do something despicable to advance their careers. Monica Lewinsky’s now a victim? Please.

The days of simply being able to step forward, levy an accusation, and destroy a man have got to come to a stop. The presumption of innocence is still a cornerstone of our judicial system. That doesn’t change just because you’re a man.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

#MeToo is now officially out of control

Let me preface this piece by stating the obvious. Inappropriate touching by a man or a woman is certainly wrong. Rape is a crime and should be treated as such. Now with what’s bugging me. This #MeToo thing has gotten completely out of control.

Morgan Freeman is the latest victim of this movement. And, yes, I said victim. Let me explain how this whole Morgan Freeman thing started. Chloe Melas is a reporter for CNN. She interviewed Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin for their movie, “Going in Style.” Melas was pregnant at the time. Apparently she explained to the men that she was pregnant and Caine told a story of how he had been cured of saying anything about a woman’s pregnancy. He said he asked a woman many years ago how far along she was and she said she wasn’t pregnant. He was so embarrassed and that cured him of ever asking again. At that point Freeman said, “Boy, I wish I was there.” It was an obvious response to Caine’s story. Melas somehow took it as a sexual comment directed at her!

After she got back from maternity leave she was on a mission. She tried to find others who had been sexually harassed by Freeman. Here’s what she dug up. A production assistant on “Going in Style” said Freeman made comments about her figure and her clothing and touched her…wait for it…back.

She did have the only legitimate complaint of inappropriate behavior against Freeman. She told CNN he “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear.” That, I will admit, is over the line. But should you lose your Visa gig because of it? Those are the only details we got from CNN. The allegations from six or seven other women were only reported as “public comments about women’s clothing or bodies.” Hardly the type of behavior that gets you banished from the advertising world.

The problem is Morgan Freeman apologized. That’s a mistake too many men these days are making. Now, Freeman didn’t admit guilt. He said he was sorry if anyone misinterpreted his comments. Still, an apology to the #MeToo movement is a scalp. They come back later for the whole head.

Remember when Carrie Fisher died? Remember Steve Martin’s tweet? He wrote, “When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well.” The Twitter world came unglued. The outrage was so fierce that he deleted the tweet. So much for saying something kind. 

Granted, the Morgan Freeman flap is a little more than a tweet, but it basically amounts to a guy hitting on women. The irony is this turns the notion that these women are as tough as men on its head. Now, don’t get touchy. I’m not talking about all women. I’m talking about these women who now accuse Freeman of sexual harassment. They are so hypersensitive that they can’t properly function in the real world much less be as “tough as the men.” In other words, they purport to be strong women but they’re proving to be anything but. 

I suspect this all has something to do with Morgan Freeman’s strong stand on race. He’s on record as thinking Black History Month is stupid and saying the best way to stop racism is to stop talking about it. To the liberals out there that position cannot be taken without consequence. The #MeToo movement has been weaponized, and Morgan Freeman is the movement’s latest kill.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

The real meaning of #MeToo

You’ve probably heard my rogue fireman story, right? This is the guy who surreptitiously sets the fire then comes back later as the hero to put it out. That’s what we’re seeing in Hollywood right now.

The Oscars were all about #MeToo and #TimesUp. This is the feigned righteous indignation from Hollywood over the likes of Harvey Weinstein and others who have had their way with the ladies on the casting couch. Those with attributes that allowed them to cut corners to stardom never complained until it became trendy to do so. Now, all of a sudden, these starlets are victims.

From Variety Magazine

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not condoning debauchery, and I’m certainly not condoning rape. One would assume a woman who had been raped would report it. If she didn’t report it because she really wanted that part in the movie then she wasn’t really raped.

These Hollywood types remind me of coyotes. Once they find a wounded animal they all jump on them and tear them to shreds. And it doesn’t much matter if you’re guilty or innocent. Ryan Seacrest was cleared by NBCUniversal of any wrongdoing after a wardrobe stylist accused him of repeated sexual abuse and groping. It didn’t matter that he was cleared. Most stars steered away from him on the red carpet before the Oscars.

This is the same crowd that called Harvey Weinstein God. This is the same crowd that gave Roman Polanski a standing ovation, a man convicted of unlawful sex with a minor after drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.

This is the same crowd that cheered on Bill Clinton even after a parade of sexual harassment victims told their stories. Then they cheered on his wife, the same woman who tried to destroy the women who were brave enough to come out against her husband.

Then one of the vicious rabble becomes the wounded animal, like actor James Franco, and the rest pounce on him and tear him to shreds. They speak of courage then cower behind their publicists for fear that something in their sordid past will surface in People Magazine or the National Enquirer and their fragile careers will be over.

People like Tavis Smiley are fighting back with lawsuits to recover their reputations. I’m not going to sit in judgement of who’s guilty and who’s innocent. That’s for the courts to decide. My point is the #MeToo cause has become more important than the truth. Hollywood has always been about appearances. It’s all about trends. And right now it’s trendy to be a victim, even when you’re not. ‘I had to sleep with that director,’ they’ll say. ‘How else was I supposed to get the part?’ How about not getting the part? That never enters into the equation.

There are some great stations I’d love to have our radio show on. If the only way we get on the station is by my sleeping with the station manager then we don’t get on the station. Pretty straight forward. But I’m living in the world of scruples and standards. In the world where people do anything for a movie part there will always be other people ready to take you up on it. And don’t act so outraged when they do. 

If you’re not willing to sell your soul then you don’t have to worry about buyers. You’ll never have to panic when a reporter starts sifting through your trash. And you’ll never have to avoid Ryan Seacrest.

Have you ever aided and abetted a sexual predator? Well, now you know why so many Hollywood starlets are tweeting #MeToo.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.