Visited the set of The Outpost film — the troops who served at the real COP in Afghanistan who are working on the film say it’s eerie how close it is to the original. Here’s @danielRod_83, who served at COP Keating during the horrific 2009 attack and who plays himself in the film, showing me around the film’s version of the mortar pit.

Short thread here on the back and forth between R's and D's on Senate Judiciary Committee regarding what was in PAST FBI background investigations of Kavanaugh. 2/ The debate began after GOPers on Senate Judiciary tweeted this:

https://twitter.com/senjudiciary/status/1047156858081988608

23/ Doc Cordova and the other medics and PAs did everything they could, but ultimately Mace had lost too much blood.

thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-spc-steph… 24/ Hours later, the COP had been retaken.

Days later the COP was abandoned and bombed by the U.S.

It's difficult to describe just how vulnerable the soldiers at COP Keating were when they were attacked on October 3, 2009.

Here's an attempt to re-create the battle done by the US military:

2/ The Army made this terrain overview -- the Combat Outpost (COP) was at the bottom of three steep mountains just 14 miles from the Pakistan border.

Nine years ago this morning, at a small outpost in Afghanistan at the bottom of three steep mountains, roughly 50 US servicemembers were attacked by up to 400 insurgents. 2/ By the time the smoke had cleared, 8 US troops had been killed — the deadliest day for the US in Afghanistan that year.

This is true and also worth noting that Australia got all the mistakes and items from the irregular bin

https://twitter.com/sannewman/status/1046149296465334274

.@JeffFlake is a YES on Kavanaugh Flake: “I wish that I could express the confidence that some of my colleagues have conveyed about what either did or did not happen in the early 1980s, but I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty...

.@LindseyGrahamSC: “Let me put it this way to my Republican colleagues: If this becomes the new standard where you have an accusation for weeks, you drop it right before the hearing you withhold from the committee a chance to do this in a professional timely fashion,... 2/ “... when they say they’re going to do this is, to delay the vote, get the Senate back in 2018 so they can fill the seat, I don’t want to publicly reward that kind of behavior. I think we’ve been very fair....

Thread on the Senate Judiciary Committee revealing that they interviewed 2 men who each claimed they were the ones who assaulted Ford, not Kavanaugh. 1/ 2/ Ford’s legal team tells CNN’s @Arianedevogue: “The Committee fails to point out that they found this to be NOT credible. This last minute attempt that seeks to undermine Dr. Ford won't work.”

POTUS weighs in on the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh from his Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez: "Charges come up from 36 years ago that are totally unsubstantiated...she says it may not be him and there are gaps. And she was totally inebriated and all messed up,... 2/ "...and she doesn’t know. It might have been him, or it might have been him. Gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court judge. This is a con game being played by the Democrats…

Collaboration with the 8-year-old. Panel 1: Panel 2:

.@VP Pence at Value Voters Summit today: “Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a man of integrity, with impeccable credentials and a proven judicial philosophy. On the District of Columbia court of appeals he wrote more than 300 opinions that reflect a strong record of support ... 2/ “... for limited government, religious liberty and our second amendment. He is a conservative who will interpret the constitution as written, and his record and career deserves the respect of every member of the Untied States Senate...

A special 8-panel edition of TOOTY-CUBE™️ by my 8-year-old starts.... now: Panel 1:

POTUS calls Kavanaugh "an outstanding intellect. An outstanding judge. Respected by everybody. Never even had a little blemish on his record. The FBI has I think gone through a process six times with him over the years where he went to higher and higher positions... 2/"...He is somebody very special. At the same time, we want to go through a process. We want to make sure everything is perfect, everything is just right. I wish the Democrats could have done this a lot sooner, because they had this information for many months....

1/ A word on the false meme bopping around about @nikkihaley’s $52,701 curtains. NYT story notes in 6th paragraph, “A spokesman for Ms. Haley said plans to buy the curtains were made in 2016, during the Obama administration. Ms. Haley had no say in the purchase, he said.” 2/ Elaborating, a source at the US Mission to the UN tells CNN: “It was decided, well before the election in 2016, that the US Ambassador’s residence would move from the Waldorf to its new location. The new location was unfurnished/unfinished....

.@amnesty calls Aung San Suu Kyi defending verdict against Reuters journalists "a disgraceful attempt ... to defend the indefensible." @amnesty More @amnesty: "...To say that this case had ‘nothing to do with freedom of expression’ and that Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo ‘were not jailed for being journalists’ is a deluded misrepresentation of the facts....

Horrible news from ⁦@Hortons_Kids⁩: “On Sunday afternoon, TaQuan Pinkney, a recent high school graduate and Horton's Kids alum, was shot and killed while walking home from a corner store...” 2/ “...TaQuan was an active participant in @Hortons_Kids for four years. He regularly attended programs and routinely made his peers, volunteers, and Horton's Kids staff laugh with his humor and good-natured teasing. He was an extremely positive and energetic young man who...

Getting some questions about this, so will post again: my entire advance for this film is going to military charities, especially those recommended by the troops and families of COP Keating.

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1039540014508634113

2/ These include: @vet_reunions, started by the mom of a 3-61 CAV COP Keating veteran, which just held a reunion for the men of 3-71 CAV (COP Keating from 2006-2007) and will next year host one for the men of 6-4 CAV (COP Keating from 2009-2009)

reunitingafterwar.org

.@PressSec Sanders’ response to this oped: “Nearly 62 million people voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016, earning him 306 Electoral College votes – versus 232 for his opponent. None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times. ...

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1037426768876060672

2/ “...We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed. This is a new low for the so-called ‘paper of record,’ ...

After one discussion about North Korea, Defense Secretary Jim "Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’ ”

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1036996085561139200

"In one small group meeting, (chief of staff) Kelly said of Trump: 'He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.'"

Time for another episode of TOOTY-CUBE™️ by my 8-year-old. Panel 1: next to a vending machine full of candy, the law enforcement officers from CUBE CONTROL™️ are in pursuit of TOOTY-CUBE™️. “Cube Control!” says one. “Open up!”