David E. Bernstein: "Why It Will Be Difficult To Assess Ford's Credibility"

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I've seen the following argument made over and over on social media: "I was sexually assaulted thirty year ago, and never told anyone. Dr. Ford claims she was sexually assaulted over thirty years ago, and never told anyone. Therefore, we should accept Dr. Ford's claims as true." This is not a logically sound argument. A more limited argument is logically sound: "I was sexually assaulted over thirty years ago, and I never told anyone. Therefore, the fact that someone didn't tell anyone for thirty years about a sexual assault doesn't mean that she is lying or imaging it."

The Pubs should have refused to let Ford testify if they weren't willing to subpoena records like those of her therapist. They gave Ford an extremely public, Senate-sanctioned forum from which to call Bret Kavanaugh a rapist, and they had no intention of forcing her to back up her claims. And that's bullshit.