Greetings Webtaculators. This week was another doozy. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (8 hr. watch. Please watch the whole thing. It is important.)
What: Kavanaugh’s Hearing
Why: Because Kavanaugh swears to god he didn’t do it. That settles that!

Everything about the hearing process (transcript here) has been disheartening to watch. This circus demonstrated EXACTLY why people don’t come forward with sexual assault allegations – it is immediately a “he said – she said” situation, with a good dash of “who’s to say what really happened?” thrown in the mix. Dr. Ford came across as a credible person who had experienced sexual assault. Kavanaugh came across as someone who expertly avoided answering simple yes or no questions with stories about how good of a person he was and is. Lindsey Graham came across as someone who should immediately go light himself on fire and then throw himself in front of a bus. It is unlikely that the outcome of this will change any of the Senators’ minds as to whether Kavanaugh did or did not sexually assault Dr. Ford, and whether the Senate will affirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Everything is still awful, and I bet that’s what most people were expecting.

What I bet most people were not expecting was Kavanaugh’s hard turn towards the politicization of his nomination. Kavanaugh is right – his reputation will be forever tarnished, but not for his perceived unfairness of being accused of sexual misconduct. Allegations aside, his choice of demeanor in his response to these allegations was appalling. I can understand someone being angry at this situation (this is true regardless whether he is guilty or innocent), but due to the direction Kavanaugh directed this anger, specifically, at the Democrats involved with the nomination process, I no longer think that he will perform his job as a judge in an impartial way. His partisanship was displayed in full force. I have never heard of a job interview where the interviewee calls half of the people on their hiring panel part of a conspiracy against the interviewee, and yet still expects for the panel to hire them. This is even more heinous when the job generally demands impartiality. That line clearly no longer exists.

I do not know how we go on from here. Once again, I am extremely disturbed by the continued dismantling of American institutions by those in charge with their stewardship, and continuously grow more and more fearful of our future.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Market Manipulation
Why: Because Tesla apparently is not too big to fail yet.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: California Goes At It Alone
Why: Because Net Neutrality is still an important part of the Internet, and it’s not quite dead yet. Of course, Jeff Sessions wants it dead.

TECH THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Oculus Quest
Why: Because VR without tethers is better.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Gritty
Why: Because this is the mascot we deserve.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Some Trailers
Why: Because trailers are still fun.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (8 min. read)
What: Weezy V
Why: Because Lil Wayne released his newest album after a long time in the making.

COMEDY THING OF THE WEEK (7 min. read)
What: Dad Jokes
Why: Because laughing, even at bad jokes, is good for you.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Vroom
Why: Because the latest Forza Horizon lets you chase around sheep in the English countryside.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: Seal Slap; Google Is 20; Pop Up; I Like Beer
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Oculus Quest
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™