The Bill Cosby sentencing trial is taking place even as we blog and the New York Times is posting live updates if you're curious. At the moment, the big suspense — apart from what the sentence will be — is whether Mr. Cosby will speak on his own behalf and if so, if he'll make any admission of his crimes. If I were him, I'd get up, do the "Noah" routine, take a bow and then sit down. It's never failed.
Seems likely he'll get something like 2-4 years in a prison that will respect and deal with his advanced age and failing eyesight, plus there will be post-sentence monitoring and reporting and such. Some will say he doesn't deserve that kind of care. Others will say the sentence is too short or too long.
Me, I think any prison is fine as long as there are bars somewhere so we can say "Bill Cosby is behind bars." I also think he should not be allowed to remain free pending the outcome of the appeals process which could last longer than the defendant will.
And 2-4 years is probably right if, as the law dictates, it's only a sentence for the three counts on which he was convicted and it's not supposed to cover all the crimes for which he could not be prosecuted. If he could be sentenced just for disappointing his admirers, he'd get the chair. 2-4 years is also a pretty high percentage of the time he has remaining in this world.
In other Sexual Assault News, I dunno where we are with Brett Kavanaugh. Jonathan Chait thinks he probably won't get on the high court. It may come down to whether Trump will withdraw the name because that would be the wise thing to do in order to get a Conservative seated, or whether Trump will fight on, lest the "loss" tar his followers' belief in him as an all-powerful force that always achieves what he sets out to do. And that may hinge on how many more women come forth with accusations and how many Republican senators decide they dare not vote for this guy. There are more accusers emerging which may explain why they wanted this guy confirmed as swiftly as possible.
A friend of mine and I were talking the other day about what happens if the Democrats take control of the Senate before anyone can be confirmed to that seat. I think there's about a 2% chance of that happening but if it did, the new Senate Majority Leader should announce that the new Majority is willing to work with the president and that they will give prompt and proper consideration to any nomination he makes as long as the candidate is (a) qualified, (b) properly vetted and (c) named Merrick Garland. It's not gonna happen but it might help unite the nation. Even die-hard Republicans can appreciate a neat bit of Payback.