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You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous: SCOTUS Edition

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous: SCOTUS Edition

by Betty Cracker|  April 6, 202312:39 pm| 228 Comments

This post is in: Activist Judges!, Open Threads

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We discussed ProPublica’s blockbuster exposé on Justice Thomas in comments in the morning thread, but a massive corruption scandal like this warrants a dedicated post of its own. You can read all about the mind-boggling improprieties yourself at the un-paywalled ProPublica site.

But to sum up, for decades, Thomas accepted as unreported gifts free high-end vacations for himself and his wife. He (and sometimes his equally corrupt other half) flew around the world on private jets, toured international coasts on yachts and visited exclusive resorts and fancy private retreats. At these soirees, Thomas hobnobbed with FedSoc founder Leonard Leo and other conservative luminaries while eating meals prepared by private chefs — all on the dime of billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.

The SCOTUS operates almost completely outside the ethics guidelines that apply to other federal employees, but Thomas failed to clear even the extremely low bar justices must meet by not reporting the free vacations as gifts. As described, the value of those vacations could easily total in the multiple hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars.

If Thomas had a shred of integrity, he would resign today, but of course he will not. The FedSoc Six are absolutely shameless, all of them. Remember when Coney Barrett appeared in what amounted to 2020 campaign ads for Trump, which were illegally filmed on the White House grounds? Not a bit of shame!

Public corruption should piss everyone off, but I’ve noticed most voters don’t seem to care about it for whatever reason, whether it occurs at the federal level on a Trumpian scale or if it’s a small-time skim operation at the county clerk’s office. Could be there’s a baseline dishonesty that lots of people recognize in themselves and excuse; otherwise, I can’t account for the lack of reaction to being ripped off.

The motivation for corrupt public servants is clearer — greed and power. Supreme Court justices pull down more than a quarter of a mil per year, which is a handsome salary by most standards. But it’s sofa cushion change for policy failures like Harlan Crow.

Thomas is an incredibly powerful man, and as such, he probably feels entitled to live a life that befits his station at the pinnacle of power, complete with champagne dreams and caviar wishes.

Open thread.

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Reader Interactions

228Comments

  1. 1.

    lollipopguild

    April 6, 2023 at 12:42 pm

    Just imagine the loud screams from the right if a “liberal” justice took the same gifts without reporting them.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 12:43 pm

    If you’re a lowly secretary or mail clerk in the federal bureaucracy, you have to report any gift above $25.

  3. 3.

    Danielx

    April 6, 2023 at 12:45 pm

    Thomas does it because he can.

  4. 4.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 12:46 pm

    Since a new thread, I’ll leave this here. TPM reporting witness list for the Dominion trial to start 4/17. I guess I forgot Mittens running mate is on the Fox Board:

    an amazing potential witness list for the trial scheduled to begin April 17:

    Rupert Murdoch
    Lachlan Murdoch
    Tucker Carlson

    Sean Hannity
    Lou Dobbs
    Maria Bartiromo

    Jeanine Pirro
    Bret Baier
    Dana Perino

    Paul Ryan
    Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott
    Fox chief legal officer Viet Dinh

  5. 5.

    E.

    April 6, 2023 at 12:46 pm

    I am reeling from the unwanted and maleficent revelation that the current owner of Frederick Douglass’s bible is Clarence fucking Thomas. Could anything be more viscerally repugnant.

  6. 6.

    Eunicecycle

    April 6, 2023 at 12:47 pm

    I want to know about this all male retreat place Thomas went to. It sounds sort of skeevy to me.

  7. 7.

    Butch

    April 6, 2023 at 12:47 pm

    He was interviewed as part of a documentary financed by Crow, and this quote from Thomas astounded me:

    “I prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal to me about it,” Thomas said. “I come from regular stock, and I prefer that — I prefer being around that.”

  8. 8.

    Butch

    April 6, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    @Eunicecycle: Not skeevy, probably, but really offensive:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Grove

  9. 9.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    Public corruption should piss everyone off, but I’ve noticed most voters don’t seem to care about it for whatever reason, whether it occurs at the federal level on a Trumpian scale or if it’s a small-time skim operation at the county clerk’s office.

    IMHO this is an area where we’ve allowed the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

    On the GOP side, I think their voters have come to recognize that the non-corrupt simply don’t have it in them to own the libs.

  10. 10.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 12:53 pm

    @E.:

    If it makes you feel better, at least this one is a museum. I had to look it up because my brain is so clogged with useless trivia already…somewhere filed away in my brain was a tidbit about someone being sworn into office on one and it wasn’t Thomas. AG Lynch under Obama.

    https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/frederickdouglassbible.htm

  11. 11.

    sdhays

    April 6, 2023 at 12:53 pm

    @Butch: Does…he not know he could decline to go to “the beaches and things like that”?

    Fucking liar.

  12. 12.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 12:55 pm

    @Eunicecycle:

    And were they secretly drinking Bud Light? A great poet once said,” It would be irresponsible not to speculate.”

  13. 13.

    Pennsylvanian

    April 6, 2023 at 12:55 pm

    This surprises nobody.

  14. 14.

    JoyceH

    April 6, 2023 at 12:55 pm

    What’s weird is that it appears that accepting all this largesse wasn’t even illegal. But! Failing to report it is. Get him on that.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 12:55 pm

    @Butch:

    One example was President Richard Nixon‘s comments from a May 13, 1971, tape recording talking about upper-class San Franciscans: “The Bohemian Grove, which I attend from time to time—it is the most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine, with that San Francisco crowd.”

     
    That’s so Dick.

  16. 16.

    Alce_e _ ardillo

    April 6, 2023 at 12:56 pm

    @E.: What, does he wipe his ass with it?

  17. 17.

    New Deal democrat

    April 6, 2023 at 12:56 pm

    Here’s the case for why a future Democratic House of Representatives should launch an impeachment inquiry against Thomas.

    Contrary to popular belief, the US Constitution does not give judges lifetime tenure. Here’s what it  actually says:

    “ The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour”

    The “good behavior” standard was taken directly from the UK, following the 1688 Glorious Revolution. Several judges, both here and in the UK, have been impeached on that basis.

    Congress has never codified what “good behavior” is for federal judges, but I have to think Thomas has violated that norm repeatedly and extravagantly. Just for starters, lying about Roe v. Wade during his confirmation hearings. And failure to disclose conflicts of interest. And failure to recuse because of those conflicts. And his almost certain encouragement of Trump’s coup attempt.

    I know that the Senate would never convict him, because of the 2/3’s requirement, but a Dem House could launch an impeachment proceeding and issue subpoenas to see what else comes crawling out from under overturned rocks. There just might be enough sleazy stuff that he could be coerced into “retiring.”

  18. 18.

    Capri

    April 6, 2023 at 12:57 pm

    This is the kind of story that will have legs. It’s not going away – at least I hope not. It might not get the every 20 minutes coverage it could on Fox News if it were a liberal justice, but it has the huge potential to drip drip drip into every conversation about the right’s lack of ethics.

  19. 19.

    Eunicecycle

    April 6, 2023 at 12:58 pm

    @Butch: Really offensive. I wonder what happens after 10pm when all the wimmin have to leave? And of course no female members since 1928. Because men like to pee in the woods out in the open. (That was their justification for no female employees so I exaggerate a little but..)

  20. 20.

    smith

    April 6, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    Anybody here remember Abe Fortas? His nomination by LBJ to be Chief Justice was scuppered because he accepted a speaking fee funded by private parties who might someday have business before the court:

    Fortas’s acceptance of $15,000 for nine speaking engagements at American University’s Washington College of Law became a source of controversy.[26] The money had come not from the university but from private sources that represented business interests connected to 40 companies; Senator Strom Thurmond raised the idea that cases involving these companies might come to the Court, and Fortas might not be objective.

    Ah, the good old days, when the possibility of SCOTUS conflict of interest was taken seriously. Of course the fact that Fortas was both a liberal and a Jew had nothing to do with it.

  21. 21.

    Pennsylvanian

    April 6, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    Day 29 of MIA Mitch.

  22. 22.

    Eunicecycle

    April 6, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    @Quinerly: LOL!

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    @Baud: What do you mean when you say we have let the perfect be the enemy of the good?

  24. 24.

    Jackie

    April 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    @Quinerly: I wonder why Laura Ingraham isn’t on the list?

  25. 25.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    “Ah, there you are, Mr. Justice. My name is Harlan but you can call me Jim.”
    //

    @Butch

    Yup. Been the butt of jokes from a certain subset of comedians since forever.

  26. 26.

    prostratedragon

    April 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    @Butch:  Why sit in the sand when you can be on a fully-staffed yacht?

  27. 27.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:01 pm

    @Butch:

    I never once believed he and Ginni were camping out in Walmart parking lots and chowing down at Cracker Barrels when the Supremes weren’tin session.

    My question is did the entire Court know what they were doing for their vacations? Most normal work situations, people discuss vacations. Was this Walmart shit told everywhere or just to the stupid public. What did Roberts know and when did he know it? Plus, it sounds like these luxury vacations go back 20 years.

  28. 28.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:01 pm

    @Jackie:

    Good question.

  29. 29.

    japa21

    April 6, 2023 at 1:02 pm

    Personally, I think that actual magnitude of this is something that will impact people who accept corruption from public figures to be the norm. A couple thousand here or there, no biggie (unless it’s a Dem) but 50K and up is a biggie.

  30. 30.

    Sasha

    April 6, 2023 at 1:03 pm

    He’s absolutely not going to get impeached in the House, and even if he did, the Senate would protect him.

    But a special prosecutor is definitely warranted.

  31. 31.

    terraformer

    April 6, 2023 at 1:03 pm

    as with everything, if there are rules and regulations and requirements

    and there are *zero personal repercussions* for violating them

    are there really rules, regulations, and requirements?

  32. 32.

    scav

    April 6, 2023 at 1:05 pm

    Don’t all Walmarts come with mega-yacht parking marinas?

  33. 33.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 1:06 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    We can’t reach consensus on a framework to tackle corruption because any consensus will undoubtedly be underinclusive in some people’s eyes, and often will be seen as corruptly underinclusive.

    And without a framework, it’s harder to develop an anti-corrupttion message that will move voters.

    The one silver lining is that the GOP seems adamant on forcing voters’ hands if they want to save the country.

  34. 34.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:06 pm

    @Butch:

    Surprisingly, he didn’t discuss the macaroni salad at world famous Applebee’s salad bars.😈

  35. 35.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:07 pm

    @scav:

    The ones in New Mexico certainly do.😉

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2023 at 1:11 pm

    @Quinerly

    Amnesia induced by ambrosia salad coma.
    //

  37. 37.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:12 pm

    @Sasha:

    All we can hope for is an investigation would hound him to death. He looks like he’s one step away from deaths doorstep anyway. I have become craven. I don’t care how he leaves the Court. Normally, I wouldn’t mind if he suffered but we are getting too close to 2024.

  38. 38.

    SomeRandomGuy

    April 6, 2023 at 1:13 pm

    Look: the Republicans launching a fake investigation is massively corrupt.

    The Republicans covering for Trump when he tried to blackmail Ukraine was massively corrupt. It also meant every Republican senator swore to see justice done, and proved that such an oath is worthless to them.  Lots of them swore to God, and pretend to be devout Christians, and, swore not just justice, but impartiality.

    Republicans saying that Covid-19 isn’t dangerous, and launching honest-to-goodness biological warfare against the US is *indescribably* corrupt, killing Americans for political advantage.

    Free vacations? From a press that considers any question where Republicans and Democrats differ as a real controversy, rather than Republican lies (or, at best, willful ignorance)? You want outrage? Not likely to happen.

    Make no mistake: there *should* be outrage. I bet in Germany, during Hitler’s rise, there was mass corruption, and people getting (frankly) *bored* with all the corruption and lies. We’re in the same situation, and we got a lawbreaking, would-be dictator, that people are rallying around, who already once tried to generate a violent insurrection as part of autogolpe plans. (Autogolpe is what we’d say happens when a leader remains the leader, even after losing re-election/etc.. It’s an American term, though it used to be used re: central and south America exclusively. SO much winning.)

    But in America (and maybe elsewhere) there’s such an inbred cynicism that people stop caring. A reporter who came wildeyed talking about CORRUPTION, there are CITY COUNCIL members who are SELF DEALING on a contract worth HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS gets laughed at, and told there’s no real story there, happens all the time.

    One reason I approve of the “tell *good* stories” is, you can’t complain your way out of deep seated cynicism on the part of others – they just blow it off, and think you’re a bore. But, if you can plant seeds of good ideas, they might take root.

  39. 39.

    Shana

    April 6, 2023 at 1:16 pm

    Tangentally there was a case in Maryland recently where an official at a quasi-public entity engineered a nearly quarter million dollar severance payment for himself when he left to become chief of staff to former Governor Hogan. He was fired when it came to light and was due to go on trial for that and a couple of other counts. He disappeared the day the trial was supposed to begin and died Monday during a confrontation with police. It’s not clear yet if he was killed by the officers or his own hand. He at least seemed to have a sense of shame.

  40. 40.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:17 pm

    @NotMax:

    Don’t be knocking ambrosia. I might live in NM but my culinary skills are all Southern. Canned oranges, almond slivers, baby marshmallows, coconut, Cool Whip. If I’m feeling really frisky…those maraschino 🍒.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2023 at 1:20 pm

    @SomeRandomGuy

    Over the years most members of the Maui County council have increasingly been Realtors or Realtor-adjacent. Just something we’ve learned to uncomfortably live with.

  42. 42.

    SFAW

    April 6, 2023 at 1:21 pm

    I’m not surprised at all that you Lie-berals talk a good game about Blacks, but when one of them actually succeeds — as Chief Justice Thomas has, what with his earning all those free vacations — it’s not to your liking for some reason.

    This is just a high-tech lynching of an uppity Black man.

  43. 43.

    The Moar You Know

    April 6, 2023 at 1:21 pm

    Public corruption should piss everyone off

    It doesn’t because Americans don’t understand what it leads to.  They just think it’s a powerful guy getting what he deserves.

    What it leads to is simply this:  first your country runs like Greece, then it runs like Brazil, then it runs like Mexico, and finally it runs like North Korea.

  44. 44.

    Shana

    April 6, 2023 at 1:21 pm

    @New Deal democrat: Didn’t we learn recently that he failed to disclose that Ginni was paid a shitload of money from groups with business before the court?

  45. 45.

    JML

    April 6, 2023 at 1:22 pm

    My criminal law professor clerked for Thomas and used to frequently extoll his supposed many virtues. Said law prof used his federalist society connections to get appointed to the MN State Supreme Court (a position he wasn’t qualified for, having tried exactly as many cases in state courts as me at the time, i.e., none) and then used those same Thomas inspired connections to get a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, over the objections of the home state senators.

    Literally nothing horrible about Justice Thomas surprises me. Thurgood Marshall just couldn’t hang on long enough.

  46. 46.

    JoyceH

    April 6, 2023 at 1:22 pm

    I would like to see an investigation opened up into Thomas’ massive history of corruption, and from what I’ve seen on-line, the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to look into it. That and Ginni Thomas’ insurrection activities, which Jack Smith might be onto. Maybe we can’t Lock Him Up, but if there’s enough noise and mud, the guy might be encouraged to retire. Heck, he’s had over 30 years on the SC, he might just want to say ‘my work here is done’, and walk away dusting off his hands. And give Biden another nomination. Soonest, please.

  47. 47.

    Shana

    April 6, 2023 at 1:22 pm

    @smith: you fail to mention that his jewishness was a large contributing factor

  48. 48.

    SFAW

    April 6, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Can you amend your statement to include his lovely wife? Asking for a country.

  49. 49.

    taumaturgo

    April 6, 2023 at 1:24 pm

    Most folks are against corruption unless they are participating and benefiting from it. An example would be the resistance to the elimination of inside trading going on in the House and Senate, both side benefiting and unwilling to put a stop to it.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    April 6, 2023 at 1:24 pm

    @Jackie: Maybe the prosecutors figured that the jury could only take so much.

  51. 51.

    Sc0tt

    April 6, 2023 at 1:25 pm

    @Quinerly: That is an excellent question and I look forward to Chief Justice Roberts ignoring it in perpetuity.

  52. 52.

    Kent

    April 6, 2023 at 1:25 pm

    @Eunicecycle:I want to know about this all male retreat place Thomas went to. It sounds sort of skeevy to me.

    Was Epstein involved?  Were they getting underage young women or young men served up on a platter?

  53. 53.

    frosty

    April 6, 2023 at 1:26 pm

    @Shana: Quarter million to end his career and his life? Chump change; you need to get enough to live the life to which you’d like to be accustomed just on the interest alone. Idiot.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2023 at 1:26 pm

    @Quinerly

    Prominent placement in The Goy of Cooking.
    ;)

  55. 55.

    Kent

    April 6, 2023 at 1:27 pm

    @The Moar You Know:What it leads to is simply this:  first your country runs like Greece, then it runs like Brazil, then it runs like Mexico, and finally it runs like North Korea.

    Russia.

    Fixed that for you.

  56. 56.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:27 pm

    @JML:

    I will never forgive John Danforth. He gave us Clarence Thomas.

    And now that I think about it…Danforth is to blame for Sen Josh Hawley, too.

  57. 57.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 1:28 pm

    @Baud:

    We can’t reach consensus on a framework to tackle corruption because any consensus will undoubtedly be underinclusive in some people’s eyes, and often will be seen as corruptly underinclusive.

    I don’t mean to grill you, but this is a question that interests me! Can you identify the “we” in the sentence above? I think you must mean Democratic lawmakers since Republicans aren’t interested in corruption unless they can use accusations of it to smear a Democrat.

    Admittedly, I’m not a lawyer and am pretty ignorant about government rules, but coming up with a workable framework seems dead simple to me. Here’s one I just made up: If you work for a city, county, state or the federal government, you must report any gift valued at $25 or more and cannot accept a gift valued at more than $250.

    Why wouldn’t that work?

  58. 58.

    Shana

    April 6, 2023 at 1:28 pm

    @Shana: sorry I tried to delete this comment but failed. You did indeed mention it

  59. 59.

    The Moar You Know

    April 6, 2023 at 1:30 pm

    An example would be the resistance to the elimination of inside trading going on in the House and Senate, both side benefiting and unwilling to put a stop to it.

    @taumaturgo: this one in particular grinds me.  Plenty of people have entered Congress with a low net worth.  No one leaves it that way.

  60. 60.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:31 pm

    @NotMax: 💜

  61. 61.

    Geminid

    April 6, 2023 at 1:31 pm

    @Quinerly: Hawley’s up for reelection next year. Lucas Kunce may not beat Josh Hawley, but he’ll give Hawley a run for his money.

  62. 62.

    Rusty

    April 6, 2023 at 1:31 pm

    Scalia died at a luxury game ranch owned by some wealthy Republican.  Kavanaugh had several hundred thousand dollars of “baseball tickets” paid off.  Barrett got a million dollar plus book advance for writing about being a judge, something she had barely done.  The corruption is systemic.

  63. 63.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2023 at 1:32 pm

    @Shana

    A Hebrew Frankfurter we could swallow but this was a bridge too far.

    (Being cognizant at the time, Fortas was an exceedingly lousy pick.)

  64. 64.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    April 6, 2023 at 1:32 pm

    Public corruption should piss everyone off, but I’ve noticed most voters don’t seem to care about it for whatever reason

    It’s because both sides claim the other is corrupt.  One side is right and can’t seem to get people to notice.  The other side spends all of its time manufacturing specious claims and perpetuating fruitless investigations to, somewhat more successfully, manufacture an aroma of corruption around their opponents.

    A corrupt media helps the corrupt politicians in this regard.

  65. 65.

    Josie

    April 6, 2023 at 1:33 pm

    @SFAW: ​
     He’s already used this once, and I have no doubt he’ll use it again to save his ass. Unfortunately, it will probably work.

  66. 66.

    New Deal democrat

    April 6, 2023 at 1:35 pm

    @Shana: I think you are correct.

    To be clear, the end game here isn’t that the Senate will ever convict and expel him from the Court.

    The end game is that Chief Justice Roberts and hopefully at least one of the Trump 3 (my money would be on Barrett) solemnly take a walk down the hall to Thomas’s chambers and mournfully tell him that For the Good of the Court it is time to go.

  67. 67.

    Soprano2

    April 6, 2023 at 1:37 pm

    @NotMax: My husband says when he came here in the early ’70’s almost all of the city council members were Realtors. Completely coincidentally, that’s when they started extending city utilities into the county without requiring annexation, which is almost impossible once houses are built on a property. It was stupid, stupid, stupid for them to do that, because now the city is ringed with subdivisions that are “in the county” even though they’re right next to the city. They should have continued to require annexation to get city services!

  68. 68.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:38 pm

    @SFAW:

    I don’t care if lightning strikes her after he keels over. The only thing is…if she hangs on after he is gone and continues with her “activism” she’ll find out quickly her popularity in certain circles wasn’t because of her winning personality, brilliance, and hard work. She becomes just becomes another screeching RWNJ dyed blonde.

  69. 69.

    StringOnAStick

    April 6, 2023 at 1:38 pm

    I want to see this story about Thomas (and his wife) keep on the front page, and with Congress in recess, it is certainly something to keep talking about. I’m going to go write emails to my reliably blue senators.

  70. 70.

    Soprano2

    April 6, 2023 at 1:39 pm

    @Quinerly: Yep, Danforth doesn’t check the people he endorses that closely.

  71. 71.

    Geminid

    April 6, 2023 at 1:40 pm

    @Soprano2: Sounds like developers knew how to put the fix in. That’s a very opportunistic bunch.

  72. 72.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 1:42 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Can you identify the “we” in the sentence above? I think you must mean Democratic lawmakers since Republicans aren’t interested in corruption unless they can use accusations of it to smear a Democrat.

    “We” means the collective set of factors that go into public policy making on our side — lawmakers, advocacy groups, experts, voters, the media, etc. I agree that the GOP aren’t good faith actors in this.

     

    Here’s one I just made up: If you work for a city, county, state or the federal government, you must report any gift valued at $25 or more and cannot accept a gift valued at more than $250.

    Why wouldn’t that work?

    Could it work? Maybe.  Federal employees are already subject to similar gift rules.

    Could you get political consensus on it from the non-GOP?  Some people might think that’s too strict or lead to a lot of paperwork.  Some might think it’s not strict enough because you’re not dealing with spouses or children or siblings, etc. or politicians who make money by selling books or who run a business.  Some might think it’s  underinclusive because you’re not dealing  with campaign finance corruption.   What’s the enforcement mechanism for violations?  That’s a whole other range of issues to argue about.

  73. 73.

    Gravenstone

    April 6, 2023 at 1:45 pm

    @Butch: I prefer being around that.

    Where I can point and laugh at the common folk…

  74. 74.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 1:48 pm

    @Baud:

    On the GOP side, I think their voters have come to recognize that the non-corrupt simply don’t have it in them to own the libs.

    I don’t think it’s exactly that.  The core is that owning the libs is the most important issue, far beyond anything else.  As long as someone owns the libs well enough, they will be forgiven whatever they do.

  75. 75.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:49 pm

    @Soprano2:

    He wrote an entire fucking book (Resurrection: The Confirmation of Clarence Thomas) about shepherding Thomas thru the confirmation process. Clarence Thomas was a John Danforth protégé going back to the 1970’s in Missouri. Clarence Thomas would be nothing without Sen and ORDAINED MINISTER John Danforth.

  76. 76.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 1:50 pm

    @Roger Moore: If that were true, why wouldn’t the non-corrupt owners of libs push out the corrupt owners of libs over time? Instead, the GOP is moving in the other direction. I think it’s because the non-corrupt can’t outcompete the corrupt when it comes to owning libs.

  77. 77.

    oldgold

    April 6, 2023 at 1:52 pm

    Clarence and Ginni put the coup in couple and now the $ in $upreme Court.

  78. 78.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:54 pm

    @StringOnAStick:

    Well, at the moment, CNN thinks this is an important story:
     
    “Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York, donated $35 in political contributions to Democrats in 2020, including a $15 contribution to the campaign of Trump’s opponent, President Joe Biden.”

  79. 79.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 1:54 pm

    @Quinerly:

    I can easily believe there’s just enough truth to the “staying in Walmart parking lots” that he isn’t technically lying.  The Thomases do own an expensive RV, and I sincerely doubt they’d own it if they didn’t like using it for vacations.  The probably do part in Walmart parking lots when they wind up somewhere that doesn’t have any better options.  So that can easily be blown up into “Clarence is just a regular guy who parks his RV in the Walmart parking lot like anyone else”.  Yeah, they stay at fancy RV parks far more often, but if they do it just often enough, it counts in their book.

  80. 80.

    OzarkHillbilly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:56 pm

    Public corruption should piss everyone off, but I’ve noticed most voters don’t seem to care about it for whatever reason,

    I was talking about this just the other day in reference to convicted felon Steve Stenger, former DEM STL County Exec. I came across this headline just now and thought, “Must be a Democrat.”

    Former mayor resigns from Missouri transportation board, citing appearance of conflict

    Treece was appointed to the commission by Gov. Mike Parson last August and sworn in just seven months ago, in September 2022. The six-member commission is split evenly between Republican and Democratic members. Treece is a Democrat.

    Appearances only matter to (most) DEMs

  81. 81.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 1:56 pm

    @Quinerly: He must have disclosed that on his own because those amounts are below the reporting threshold.

  82. 82.

    geg6

    April 6, 2023 at 1:56 pm

    @Baud: ​
     
    Hell, I’m not even considered a public employee (I can’t qualify for the state retirement system, for instance) and I am not allowed to accept a gift of more than $10.

  83. 83.

    Chief Oshkosh

    April 6, 2023 at 1:57 pm

    @Baud: But that’s just one of many, many rules about gifts and federal employees. Most of the rules are truly chickenshit stuff since the real graft and grift never, ever gets punished. Hell, it’s rarely even called out.

    It is all so much bullshit and it all started with Ronnie Raygun, who decided to make life for federal employees a total shitfest.

  84. 84.

    hueyplong

    April 6, 2023 at 1:57 pm

    Didn’t Samuel L. Jackson play Thomas in a Tarantino movie set in Tennessee?

  85. 85.

    Gravenstone

    April 6, 2023 at 1:57 pm

    @Soprano2: He likely wasn’t paid to check on them. He was paid to make his public persona available to raise their profile.

  86. 86.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 1:58 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    I see your point.

    I think old Long Dong Silver is a liar, though. Parking lots and all.

  87. 87.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:00 pm

    @Baud:

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/politics/judge-merchan-trump-biden-contribution/

  88. 88.

    Another Scott

    April 6, 2023 at 2:01 pm

    Justice Clarence Thomas did not recuse himself from McDonnell v. United States (2016), which was about whether government officials accepting free stuff from right-wing mega donors is potentially a crime. https://t.co/ln7S65FCvt

    — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 6, 2023

    Lots of us haven’t forgotten.

    McDonnell was a brazen crook. And the 8:0 SCOTUS said it was fine because the favors and loot didn’t have notes attached saying: “Thanks for doing all that corrupt stuff for us. Here’s your payment, Bob!!”

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 2:02 pm

    @Baud:

    If that were true, why wouldn’t the non-corrupt owners of libs push out the corrupt owners of libs over time?

    Why?  The non-corrupt don’t have any advantage over the corrupt- they’re equally likely to get Republican votes- while the corrupt can use their corruption to further their careers.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 2:02 pm

    @Quinerly: Interesting.  They did get the information from federal records apparently.  I thought those were all anonymous below a certain amount.

  91. 91.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:03 pm

    @Baud:

    Here’s a link on a story you mentioned in another thread.

    Rebekka Jones and her son.

    https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2023/04/06/rebekah-jones-son-arrested-in-florida-what-we-know-about-digital-threat-allegations/70088634007/

  92. 92.

    taumaturgo

    April 6, 2023 at 2:03 pm

    Maybe, just maybe, it could be possible that this is the best American homes, schools and religious institutions can produce, politicians eager to serve themselves first and foremost. Our campaign funding laws have legalized corruption, and no amount of meek protestation by those who are benefiting from the corruption is going to change the law of the land. Corrupt politicians bought by corrupt corporate power have ejected any semblances of moral standing, either individually or as a nation. I’m looking at both party, one is in your face about it, the other pretends is horrified while stuffing their pockets. Hypocrisy and corruption go hand in hand.

  93. 93.

    JML

    April 6, 2023 at 2:04 pm

    @Quinerly: Danforth was legitimately awful in so many ways.

  94. 94.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 2:04 pm

    @Quinerly: Thanks. There’s no new reporting about what’s going on thought.  I think they just reported on her tweets.

  95. 95.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:06 pm

    @Baud:

    They will scream and scream. This judge and his family are already targeted. The judge will recuse himself from the case. My prediction.

  96. 96.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 2:07 pm

    @Quinerly: Maybe he will.  That’s fine.  There are other judges.

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 2:09 pm

    @Baud: Okay, now I understand what you mean about the perfect being the enemy of the good. Thanks for explaining it more fully.

    It’s infuriating that we let trivial bullshit prevent us from taking needed action, but it’s real, and the same argument could credibly be made about any type of reform: It’s so complicated that you might as well not try. This is why true reform of any type is so goddamned rare.

  98. 98.

    sab

    April 6, 2023 at 2:09 pm

    The Bush family sure did manage to fuck up the Court.

  99. 99.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 2:09 pm

    @sab: Yeah, Thomas and Alito are worse than the Trump appointees IMHO.

  100. 100.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:11 pm

    @Baud:

    Yes, of course. But, as an atty, you know this isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. I kinda feel like our court system is the one institution hanging on by a thread.

  101. 101.

    geg6

    April 6, 2023 at 2:11 pm

    @Quinerly: ​
     
    Personally, I have no idea what he’ll do. But based on what I’ve seen from people who do know him, I think recusal might be somewhat unlikely. I think a gag order is more likely.

  102. 102.

    UncleEbeneezer

    April 6, 2023 at 2:12 pm

    @E.: How about the fact that Thomas took the seat formerly occupied by Thurgood Marshall?  It’s possibly even more disgusting than ACB replacing RBG.

  103. 103.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:13 pm

    MSNBC reporting that Steve Bannon is the one who has encouraged RFKJr to run for Pres.

  104. 104.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    April 6, 2023 at 2:15 pm

    @geg6:

    Right. A lot of people have these kinds of restrictions set by employers, so they would probably understand them set for public employees, including judges. That would feel familiar.

    Baud raises some good points above, suggesting that things are never that simple. And of course, potential corruption from things like realtors on a zoning board are something else. But gifts? You’d thing gifts would be straightforward to regulate.

  105. 105.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    April 6, 2023 at 2:15 pm

    @Quinerly: MSNBC reporting that Steve Bannon is the one who has encouraged RFKJr to run for Pres.

    An esteemed and auspicious provenance for this Presidential run…

  106. 106.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:20 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    Who would have thunk a Kennedy, albeit a crazy one, would run in the same circles as Steve Bannon? Positioning himself to get political advice from Bannon……

  107. 107.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    April 6, 2023 at 2:20 pm

    In 2018, when we moved into our building, we were invited to have dinner with two other couples. They turned out to be raving Republicans. One couple knew (or claimed to know) Clarence Thomas. They were very sympathetic to the “way he had been treated.” Also, they said his health was poor and maybe he was going to resign.

    So, as I say, that was 2018, and no resignation (or, uh, severe poor health) yet, but I live in hope.

  108. 108.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:21 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I have thought it was more disgusting.

  109. 109.

    Burnspbesq

    April 6, 2023 at 2:23 pm

    @Sasha:

    But a special prosecutor is definitely warranted.

    Why? There’s a whole Public Integrity Section inside the Criminal Division at DOJ that handles this stuff (fun fact: it was once headed by Jack Smith). Do you not trust experienced career professionals to do the jobs they are trained to do? Or are you looking to signal to the rubes that “ now we’re really fucking serious about this shit?”

  110. 110.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 2:24 pm

    @Baud:

    If you’re a lowly secretary or mail clerk in the federal bureaucracy, you have to report any gift above $25.

    I’m a Federal employee. At our holiday gift exchanges, $10 is the maximum allowable value of a gift.

    Which was OK when I first signed on in 1998, but $10 buys a lot less than it used to.

  111. 111.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 2:25 pm

    @Eunicecycle:

    I want to know about this all male retreat place Thomas went to. It sounds sort of skeevy to me.

    I first heard of it in 1964. Barry Goldwater vacationed there in between the GOP convention and the fall campaign, and that made the news.

  112. 112.

    Anyway

    April 6, 2023 at 2:27 pm

    @Quinerly:

    MSNBC reporting that Steve Bannon is the one who has encouraged RFKJr to run for Pres.

    He should take his anti-vaxxer ass and run as R – more grifting opportunities on that side of the aisle.

  113. 113.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    April 6, 2023 at 2:29 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: When Mr  DAW was at Deere, he was allowed to accept only gifts he could consume on the spot, ie meals. Employers had tightened up considerably over the years. When he was at Detroit Diesel, we once got tickets to a Formula One race. That was nice.

  114. 114.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 2:30 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    It’s infuriating that we let trivial bullshit prevent us from taking needed action, but it’s real, and the same argument could credibly be made about any type of reform: It’s so complicated that you might as well not try. This is why true reform of any type is so goddamned rare.

    Of course a huge part of it is that there are always people who don’t want reform, and they’re happy to use these kinds of legitimate differences as a lever to push pro-reform people apart.  I’m sure there are legitimately people who think whatever reform you propose doesn’t go far enough, or that it’s too complicated and too onerous.  But there are also people who just don’t want it done who will always find some excuse for why whatever you’ve proposed isn’t good enough.

    This gets back to one of my favorite points whenever I see someone pointing out obstacles.  Look for how they respond to the obstacles they see.  If they are interested in obstacles only because they want to figure out how to steer around them, they’re actually interested in solving the problem.  If they seem to be looking for obstacles and then throw up their hands and say it can’t be done, they were never really interested in fixing anything in the first place.  They’re interested in obstacles because they want an excuse for inaction.

  115. 115.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 2:30 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer: In terms of the way the successors embody the complete opposites of their predecessors’ finest qualities, Thomas and Coney Barrett are roughly equal, IMO. But the manner in which Coney Barrett was sleazed into office gives her an edge in the disgust incitement sweepstakes for me.

  116. 116.

    geg6

    April 6, 2023 at 2:33 pm

    @Quinerly: ​ He’s spent months running around with Bannon and Roger Stone. He’s a huge piece of shit, which is what his sister Kerry has been saying about him, albeit not in those exact words. At least, not in public.​

    ETA: He had pics of himself with them on his Instagram, which have conveniently disappeared.

  117. 117.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 2:34 pm

    @New Deal democrat:

    Congress has never codified what “good behavior” is for federal judges, but I have to think Thomas has violated that norm repeatedly and extravagantly

    No argument here.  And yeah, the Dems should say that they’ll impeach him the moment they regain control of the House.  Doesn’t matter that the Senate won’t convict.  It needs to be done, period.

    And if the Pubbies say they’ll do the same to one of ours, just tell them good luck in finding a Dem judge that’s been anywhere near that flagrantly corrupt.  And if they say “who said judges only,” we laugh and remind them of Bill Clinton.

  118. 118.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:34 pm

    Boom!

    https://www.businessinsider.com/sinema-manchin-clarence-thomas-vacations-harlan-crow-megadonor-republican-2023-4?op=1

  119. 119.

    JML

    April 6, 2023 at 2:36 pm

    @Baud: Eh. Amy Comey Barrett is in their league and we’re stuck with her for the next 30 years. Kavanaugh is also legitimately awful and just hasn’t had as much time to prove it as Alito and Thomas.

    Gorsuch isn’t good by any means, but he’s probably less dogmatic and certainly less nakedly partisan, and appears to not actually be corrupt AF, I guess.

    GOP picks for judges is epically bad over the past 25 years; lots of unqualifieds, corrupt shitbags, naked partisans, and outright morons that sheep could outwit. King George the First outsourced the judiciary to the evangelicals back in the late 80’s in order to get their backing for the election and they’ve been driving the train ever since.

  120. 120.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:37 pm

    @geg6:

    I had no idea. Thanks for the post. I knew he was nuts with the antivax shit. I didn’t know he was in Bannon and Stone’s world. Says a lot.

  121. 121.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 2:37 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    Honestly, as long as RFK Jr. runs as a Democrat, I’m not worried.  At worst he’ll be a mild irritant; there’s no way he’d come within a thousand miles of winning the nomination, even if there weren’t an incumbent.  The kind of people who wouldn’t vote for Biden because they’re upset about RFK Jr. losing were always going to find some excuse not to vote for Biden.

  122. 122.

    smith

    April 6, 2023 at 2:37 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: When I was in a federal regulatory oversight position, we could accept coffee and a donut, but no meals (this was an office policy, not a federal-wide rule). My power, such as it was, was infinitesimal compared to that of Clarence “Boondoggle” Thomas.  Interesting that the less power you have, the stricter the conflict of interest rules.

  123. 123.

    Mike in NC

    April 6, 2023 at 2:38 pm

    “Champagne dreams and caviar wishes”. Good to remind ourselves the person that hosted that ghastly TV show is roasting in Hell for all eternity. Soon to be joined by Trump and his spawn.

  124. 124.

    James E Powell

    April 6, 2023 at 2:38 pm

    @lollipopguild:

    Just imagine the loud screams from the right if a “liberal” justice took the same gifts without reporting them.

    Just imagine the loud screams from the right if any Democrat took the same trip, but paid for it themselves.

  125. 125.

    Burnspbesq

    April 6, 2023 at 2:39 pm

    While we’re on the subject of wrongful self-enrichment by right-wing figures, up pops Leonard Leo.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/06/leonard-leo-watchdog-complaint-investigation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

  126. 126.

    Kay

    April 6, 2023 at 2:40 pm

    The photographs just disgust me. A group of incredibly privileged people meeting to plan how the United States will work.

    Their plans for 350 million people.

    What goddamned nerve. Who raises these assholes? I can’t imagine being this arrogant.

    I can’t do anything about Clarence Thomas’ patrons but I am 100% in favor of term limits for federal judges. They are out of control. Arrogant, insufferable people who are taking advantage of our generosity in giving them lifetime employment.

    Ten and out. All of them.

  127. 127.

    MisterForkbeard

    April 6, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    @Capri: I don’t know. Every time I see this mentioned it IMMEDIATELY has a response of “what about Pelosi” or “the liberal justices do this too” or “hunter biden’s laptop”.

    It should be a major story, but the fact is that the Right honestly does not care about ethics, morality, or legality for their own members. And they’ll do everything they can to push back, while the media will revert to a supine ‘both sides’ position. But yes, we need to make this a thing.

  128. 128.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    My concern is he will get a taste for running and decide to run on his name as an Independent.

  129. 129.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 2:43 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​
     
    Even meals can go overboard. I was once invited to a meal where I felt like I had to stop at some point because it had passed from “business courtesy” to “bribe”. I should have been able to enjoy it in good conscience- it was actually my friend and former coworker who they were trying to entice- but it just felt wrong. My line, apparently, is when they stop ordering expensive food and start buying expensive booze.

  130. 130.

    James E Powell

    April 6, 2023 at 2:47 pm

    @Quinerly:

    The Kennedy name hasn’t been magic in long time. It didn’t even work in Massachusetts in 2020.

  131. 131.

    Another Scott

    April 6, 2023 at 2:48 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    You’re right – it’s not complicated.

    5 U.S. Code § 7353 – Gifts to Federal employees:

    (a)Except as permitted by subsection (b), no Member of Congress or officer or employee of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch shall solicit or accept anything of value from a person—

    (1) seeking official action from, doing business with, or (in the case of executive branch officers and employees) conducting activities regulated by, the individual’s employing entity; or

    (2) whose interests may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the individual’s official duties.

    […]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  132. 132.

    Cameron

    April 6, 2023 at 2:49 pm

    The belief that corruption is a human default position goes back a long way.  Diogenes and his lamp, anybody?

  133. 133.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 2:49 pm

    @Kay: Term limits are a blunt instrument, and I can see the downside of imposing them on elected officials, but I could definitely get behind them as an alternative to lifetime appointments. We’ve had some great liberal jurists who made valuable contributions over decades of service, but at this point, the bad is outweighing the good. Time to change things up.

  134. 134.

    Cameron

    April 6, 2023 at 2:51 pm

    @Eunicecycle: All male retreat place?  This one? https://youtu.be/CS9OO0S5w2k

  135. 135.

    UncleEbeneezer

    April 6, 2023 at 2:52 pm

    Oh, people absolutely do care about corruption.  It’s just that half of all active voters, believe that it’s not Corruption if it’s done by White People (and/or their party- GOP).  They only care about Black/Dem Corruption and imagine it everywhere!  It’s the age-old myth about Reconstruction and Dem-controlled Cities and it has been a core belief of the Right, forever.  In many parts of the country, these people are significantly more than half of all active voters, and our system gives them outsize power so they can effectively block any attempts to reform the system.  Trump’s Corruption was ONE OF HIS SELLING POINTS to his fans (who are still outraged by Whitewater).  Six Million voters chose Stein/Johnson or didn’t vote at all, because Hillary something, something…Goldman Sachs.

  136. 136.

    smith

    April 6, 2023 at 2:52 pm

    @Quinerly: I think for a lot of voters the Kennedys are just historical figures, with the exception of RFK Jr, known primarily for anti-vaxxing. If he ran as an independent I don’t he’d be siphoning off Dem votes. The pandemic threw into stark relief which party is anti-vax.

  137. 137.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 2:52 pm

    @Another Scott: And yet the senior senator from New Jersey remains in office. There must be some pretty wide loopholes.

  138. 138.

    UncleEbeneezer

    April 6, 2023 at 2:53 pm

    @James E Powell: I blame the MTV host more than anyone.

  139. 139.

    Burnspbesq

    April 6, 2023 at 2:53 pm

    @Another Scott:

    (c) A Member of Congress or an officer or employee who violates this section shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary and other remedial action in accordance with any applicable laws, Executive orders, and rules or regulations.

    So, as we all suspected, Mr. Clarence, he gon’ skate.

  140. 140.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 2:53 pm

    @Quinerly:

    He wrote an entire fucking book (Resurrection: The Confirmation of Clarence Thomas) about shepherding Thomas thru the confirmation process. Clarence Thomas was a John Danforth protégé going back to the 1970’s in Missouri. Clarence Thomas would be nothing without Sen and ORDAINED MINISTER John Danforth.

    Wikipedia says the fucker is still alive; he’s 86 years old.  I think someone needs to ask him if he’s ready to apologize for foisting Clarence Thomas on us.  Because he damned sure owes us one.

    Hell, he owes us a Thomas-free timeline, but there’s no way he can give us that.

  141. 141.

    SomeRandomGuy

    April 6, 2023 at 2:54 pm

    @Betty Cracker: One additional note to help with your interest. The Late, Great, Molly Ivins once pointed out that, sure, once you change the rules,people will use the new rules to cheat, so, once again, you’ll have to keep reforming the rules.

    Reforming the rules, *constantly*, to catch cheaters, is part of the job. No, it’s not easy, and no, it’s not just “pass this law and we win!” but if you want a good, well-functioning area (town/city/state/country), it’s the one and only way to obtain it. Because, yes, people will cheat, and yes, you *do* have to catch them.

    I believe her – I believe she is 100% correct on this. (Of course, keep in mind, my brain is literally damaged.) Still: what else can you do? We accept that Spider-man, Batman, etc., will never run out of work; we need to accept that civic heroes will be in the same situation – except, they can train their replacements, and retire, hopefully with the same sort of praise people heap on the Dicky John Thomas. (In Monty Python, at least, “John Thomas” was slang for a penis, and I figured a joke was safer than the initialism, because I assume there a reason it’s “TFG”.)

    Where was I? Right: permanent, ongoing work, to root out or end corruption. (Sometimes you can’t arrest people, so you have to make what they do firmly illegal.) And, it should be praised more than “not paying taxes makes me smart” or “when you’re a star, they let you.”

  142. 142.

    Steeplejack

    April 6, 2023 at 2:55 pm

    Clarence and Ginni go on summer vacation:

    • Load up the trusty, battered Winnebago out in the driveway.
    • Wave to the neighbors. “We’re off to see America!”
    • Drive to the private aviation terminal at Dulles.
    • Have minions move all the luggage to the private jet.
    • “You know what, screw it. They’ll have everything we need at the resort.”
    • Jet off to the secret Stonecutters enclave in the Adirondacks.
    • “Oh, yeah, can you wax the RV and give it a tune-up? Thanks!”
  143. 143.

    JoyceH

    April 6, 2023 at 2:56 pm

    @James E Powell: ​
     

    The Kennedy name hasn’t been magic in long time.

    It is in… certain circles. Prediction, if RFK Jr runs, we’ll soon be seeing the QAnon crowd being certain that he’s REALLY John-John, ie, their savior come again. The Storm Is Coming!!!11

  144. 144.

    Frankensteinbeck

    April 6, 2023 at 3:00 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    The core is that owning the libs is the most important issue, far beyond anything else.

    It is, but there is a tighter tie than that.  The type of person best at ‘owning the libs’ is an asshole.  Consevatives overwhelmingly elect the biggest asshole they can find.  Corruption comes naturally, automatically to assholes, because they’re assholes.  So does voting, with feverish joy, for the worst legislation possible, even if their constituents don’t want it.  It’s all one big lump, and that includes everyone being corrupt from top to bottom.

  145. 145.

    Lapassionara

    April 6, 2023 at 3:00 pm

    @smith: I remember Abe Fortas well. I was just going to the web to find out what “sins” he had committed that caused all the fuss when I saw your link. Thanks.

  146. 146.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 3:01 pm

    @Quinerly:

    I’m not too worried about any vanity candidate who threatens to run as an independent.  It’s hard to get on the ballot as an independent in most states.  People threaten, and then it turns out they get on the ballot in like 4 states, none of which is actually a swing state.  This is why the Greens and Libertarians are actually somewhat important; they have the infrastructure to get their candidate on the ballot in enough states to matter.

    Damn you to hell, Ralph Nader and Jill Stein!

  147. 147.

    Cameron

    April 6, 2023 at 3:03 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I think USSC (maybe all Fed judges) should have a requirement similar to what many state judges have, a retention vote.  Appointed by the Senate, subject to a retention vote (simple majority, no 2/3 BS) in the House every 10 years.  No impeachment or any other drama, just keep ’em or drop ’em.

    Obviously this isn’t much help if the the House is run by MAGA, but if that happens we’re screwed anyway.

  148. 148.

    sdhays

    April 6, 2023 at 3:03 pm

    It seems to me this is a relevant data point in the (conservative) Supreme Court continually declaring laws against corruption are violations of free speech and no big deal. They see someone like Bob McDonnell convicted for shit they themselves regularly do and decide “oh, this will not do!”.

  149. 149.

    sdhays

    April 6, 2023 at 3:07 pm

    @Betty Cracker: The thing I keep coming back to with lifetime appointments is that not only do these Federal judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, have an incredible amount of virtually unchecked and unaccountable power for the rest of their lives, they essentially get to choose their successors unless they wait too long.

    Why should they get that right? Why does the public have no practical involvement in that decision? Why shouldn’t we be able to always know that justice X is going to be replaced after election Y?

  150. 150.

    Sure Lurkalot

    April 6, 2023 at 3:07 pm

    @Burnspbesq: INDEED!

    Between 2006 and 2016, it says, he earned between $305,000 and $435,000 annually as an employee of the Federalist Society, a group founded in 1982 to challenge what conservatives perceived as liberal dominance of courts and law schools. He appeared to live an upper-middle-class lifestyle consistent with those wages and bought a $710,000 home in McLean, Virginia.

    But from 2016 Leo began “living more lavishly” and, in 2018, paid off the 30-year mortgage on his McLean house, according to the IRS complaint. Later that year he bought a $3.3m summer home with 11 bedrooms in Mount Desert, Maine. And in 2021, he bought a second home in Mount Desert for $1.65m.

    Guess it’s not enough to Opus Dei your way to a $400K/year salary, why that won’t buy many indulgences at all.

  151. 151.

    hells littlest angel

    April 6, 2023 at 3:08 pm

     Could be there’s a baseline dishonesty that lots of people recognize in themselves and excuse …

     

    And we have a winner! Yes, we are a nation founded in, and dedicated to, thievery.

  152. 152.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 3:09 pm

    @Cameron:

    I don’t like the idea of a retention vote, because it makes judges subject to the whims of the legislature.  One of the things I think the Framers got right is to give the judges some practical independence so they can rule as they see fit.  If you have a retention vote, it means judges will always be looking over their shoulders trying to figure out what will help them win that vote.

    As an alternative, I like the suggestion of having the Supreme Court justices serve a single, long term; 18 years seems to be the common recommendation.  After their term is up, they’re termed out and can’t be appointed to any other judgeship.  It would keep the judges genuinely independent to the extent anything can while still avoiding the indefinite term they have now.

  153. 153.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 3:11 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    He was really vocal after 1/6. Very contrite about his support of Hawley and that support  being the biggest mistake of his life, as I recall. Lots of hand wringing over what had happened to his party.

    I still go back to Thomas’s history with Danforth and in Missouri. Danforth was his original cheerleader.

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack

    April 6, 2023 at 3:11 pm

    @New Deal democrat:

    And Thomas will tell Roberts to fuck right off. Thomas and Alito are practically running the court now.

  155. 155.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    @sdhays: The SCOTUS decision to vacate McDonnell’s conviction was unanimous, IIRC.

  156. 156.

    gvg

    April 6, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    @Quinerly: who cares. He is a nobody in politics. He’s not going to get votes even as an independent. There are people who could split us but RK isn’t it. IMO it shows Bannon doesn’t know politics all that well and just got lucky in latching onto Trump for long enough to gain some fame.

  157. 157.

    MomSense

    April 6, 2023 at 3:16 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Jesus H Christ – 2 houses in Maine.  It’s bad enough that we have to deal with Fucker Carlson.

  158. 158.

    oatler

    April 6, 2023 at 3:16 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    BTW what ever happened to Kennedy? “Libertarians” made her their pinup girl in the Aughts.

  159. 159.

    SomeRandomGuy

    April 6, 2023 at 3:17 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: One way to try to force a bill to include an amendment is to refuse to vote for it, unless the amendment is added. I mean, what else can you do, if your caucus has decided that this bill is more than good enough, as-is, “stop your whining about it!”?

    *THAT* is why “let’s just pass a gift-reporting law” might fail… in hopes of forcing something better. And sometimes, this betterment really is needed – maybe the current bill is toothless, and the amendment adds criminal penalties for egregious violations.

    That’s not an excuse – if you want to fight corruption, you should take what wins you can. But if this is the one-and-only chance to pass a bill (and that happens a lot!), you have to decide what really is important. No bill means a possible new one; a bad law might never be amended or fixed.

  160. 160.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 3:18 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    And Thomas will tell Roberts to fuck right off. Thomas and Alito are practically running the court now.

    Yeah, while RBG was still on the Court, Roberts was the deciding vote, which gave him actual power.  Now he gets to decide whether the radicals have 5 or 6 votes for a decision.  He might as well be part of the furniture.

  161. 161.

    trollhattan

    April 6, 2023 at 3:20 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    The Kennedy name has lost any clout, unless you’re a Q follower, ironically. This is a vanity schtick at best.

    But this guy is also a fucking piece of shit who needs to be shouted the hell down just on general principal. Having at least twice publicly stated vaccines are “a holocaust” is a bridge far too far for decent people. Dad must be whirling in the grave at about 5,000 rpm.

  162. 162.

    Kay

    April 6, 2023 at 3:21 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m open to other ideas.

    It isn’t just Thomas. As you said up top, it’s Comey Barrett appearing in a 20 minute campaign commercial for Donald Trump (he still lost, so she’s not a good vote getter) and the whole cottage industry of Right wing judges pitching hissy fits everytime they’re challenged at a student forum. Time to rein them in- remind them they’re public employees and not royalty.

    The lack of gratitude is what gets me. I know it sounds old fashioned but why the fuck aren’t any of these people GRATEFUL for these prestigious jobs? Why are they all so whiny and aggrieved?

    One of the things I love about Biden is  he loves his job. He can’t believe he got this lucky! It’s nice to see at least one person who doesn’t think they are ENTITLED to everything.

  163. 163.

    Delk

    April 6, 2023 at 3:23 pm

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Thursday to intervene in an ongoing case involving West Virginia’s law banning transgender girls from participating in girls sports teams at school. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

  164. 164.

    Old School

    April 6, 2023 at 3:26 pm

    @oatler:

    BTW what ever happened to Kennedy? “Libertarians” made her their pinup girl in the Aughts.

    She hosts a show on Fox Business.

  165. 165.

    gvg

    April 6, 2023 at 3:28 pm

    I would think this would be subject to income tax but I can’t find anything which says Thomas had to report it. The donor does from what I have read, unless he claims it all was less than 16,000 per year and 12.6 million per lifetime, he has to pay taxes on it. I think I understand the food is OK, but the airplane and other gifts would be taxable?

    I don’t really get why the person giving money away has to pay taxes on it and not the person getting it but I have received gift $ from my parents to buy my house under the max.  We reported it though. I wonder if this story could be a tip to the IRS. It used to be you got some of the tax money if you pointed the IRS to a cheater.

    I am sure it would take a lot of time, but that is the kind of investigation that could really but a chill on corruption in Washington, to go after a big secret donor.

  166. 166.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 3:30 pm

    @gvg:

    I guess I am so old that I remember Nader….and Stein, as Greens/Third Parties. Unfortunately, know quite a few people who voted for them. I can see Kennedy’s environmental work appealing to some people.

    Not a big fish to fry for sure. Just thought the Bannon angle and his self proclaimed reputation as a disruptor interesting…I have to assume Bannon reached out to Kennedy and cooked this up.

  167. 167.

    sab

    April 6, 2023 at 3:31 pm

    @gvg: Nobody under the age of 60 car3s about the Kennedys at all.

  168. 168.

    Kayla Rudbek

    April 6, 2023 at 3:31 pm

    @Betty Cracker: and add to that a disclosure requirement for any stocks, bonds, mutual funds in a specific area, IRAs, pensions, annuities, debts held by the person, spouse, underage child. That’s mostly what I have to report every single year (except the IRAs and my mortgage, and I have a dollar limit as to how much stock I can hold in a company before it’s considered conflict of interest or gets reported, but I think that the Congress and the judiciary should be held to higher standards)

  169. 169.

    Ken

    April 6, 2023 at 3:32 pm

    @Butch:  Back in the day, there was a great magazine called Spy.  It was brilliant and they did a story about Bohemian Grove, with a photo of Patrick Buchannon in his tighty whiteys.  It was scathing and a hoot also!

  170. 170.

    raven

    April 6, 2023 at 3:34 pm

    @trollhattan: Dad was no gem.

  171. 171.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2023 at 3:36 pm

    @sdhays: That’s a really great point!

  172. 172.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 3:37 pm

    Any thoughts on Peter Thiel’s Instagram model boyfriend’s jumping to his death from a highrise in Florida? Daily Beast has a piece up….a lot of it is based on Daily Mail’s reporting, though. Thiel is married.

  173. 173.

    Cameron

    April 6, 2023 at 3:38 pm

    @raven: When it comes to the Kennedys, there’s a whole load of Merkin amnesia.  I mean, the bro running for President in 1960 claiming that Merka was weak because of the ‘missile gap’ wasn’t Nick Exxon.

  174. 174.

    Baud

    April 6, 2023 at 3:39 pm

    @Quinerly:

    I hadn’t heard about it before now, but my first thought was that’s how Putin does it.

  175. 175.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    April 6, 2023 at 3:41 pm

    @Baud: As a federal employee meeting with contractors, we discussed whether we should eat the pizza or sandwiches they provided during meetings.

    We decided the answer was no unless we could throw money into a pot to cover our share.

  176. 176.

    hueyplong

    April 6, 2023 at 3:43 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: When I worked a case teamed with DOJ lawyers they said I couldn’t pick up the tab for any lunch no matter how small.

  177. 177.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    April 6, 2023 at 3:43 pm

    @James E Powell: ​ “Vote Quimby” just doesn’t work anymore

  178. 178.

    UncleEbeneezer

    April 6, 2023 at 3:45 pm

    @Betty Cracker: It was indeed sleazy as hell.  But so was Clarence Thomas being credibly accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill and calling it a “high tech lynching” and (I believe) starting the precedent of refusing to state a position on abortion.  I guess we’ll have to split the baby and say they are just different kinds of awful, lol.  Then there’s the Kavanaugh hearings…

    Christ, how crazy is it that THREE sitting GOP SCOTUS Justices had such despicable displays of hearings that I honestly couldn’t even fairly rank them as to which was the worst?  I should probably stop now before my stitches explode…

  179. 179.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 3:47 pm

    @Baud:

    My thoughts too. That’s why I threw it out. I’m hold up with killer sinuses from wind and dirt. Trying to get on track to work on these flagstones tomorrow. So inside and bored out of my mind. Tooling around way too many news sites.

  180. 180.

    UncleEbeneezer

    April 6, 2023 at 3:48 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Barb McQuade and Joyce Vance talked about this with regards to bringing donuts to the jury, which used to be common practice for Prosecutors in Southern regions, but they stopped because of even the possibility of the appearance of corruption.

  181. 181.

    Anyway

    April 6, 2023 at 3:50 pm

    @taumaturgo:

    Maybe, just maybe, it could be possible that this is the best American homes, schools and religious institutions can produce, politicians eager to serve themselves first and foremost. Our campaign funding laws have legalized corruption, and no amount of meek protestation by those who are benefiting from the corruption is going to change the law of the land. Corrupt politicians bought by corrupt corporate power have ejected any semblances of moral standing, either individually or as a nation. I’m looking at both party, one is in your face about it, the other pretends is horrified while stuffing their pockets. Hypocrisy and corruption go hand in hand.

     

    BOTH SIDES! BOTH SIDES! Bring on the Purity party…

  182. 182.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    April 6, 2023 at 3:51 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer: Barb McQuade and Joyce Vance talked about this with regards to bringing donuts to the jury, which used to be common practice for Prosecutors in Southern regions, but they stopped because of even the possibility of the appearance of corruption.

    Nowadays we split the difference, in that Republicans get to openly perform corruption and Democrats have to worry themselves into the grave over whether something can be distorted to have the appearance of corruption to nitwits inattentive individuals.

  183. 183.

    rikyrah

    April 6, 2023 at 3:51 pm

    @Quinerly:

     

    that should be FIRE!!!

  184. 184.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 3:56 pm

    @Ken:

     Back in the day, there was a great magazine called Spy.  It was brilliant and they did a story about Bohemian Grove, with a photo of Patrick Buchannon in his tighty whiteys.  It was scathing and a hoot also!

    I am glad to have never seen that photo.

  185. 185.

    The Moar You Know

    April 6, 2023 at 4:01 pm

     Interesting that the less power you have, the stricter the conflict of interest rules.

    @smith:  I worked at a place that had no limits on gifts, you were simply required to turn them over to the CEO, who kept them.

  186. 186.

    geg6

    April 6, 2023 at 4:02 pm

    @Roger Moore: ​
     
    I prefer an age cutoff, like they do with airline pilots. Not as young as pilots, but I think age 75 is a pretty good number.

  187. 187.

    geg6

    April 6, 2023 at 4:03 pm

    @oatler: ​
     
    I think she’s on FOX Business or some such.

  188. 188.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 6, 2023 at 4:06 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Christ, how crazy is it that THREE sitting GOP SCOTUS Justices had such despicable displays of hearings that I honestly couldn’t even fairly rank them as to which was the worst?  I should probably stop now before my stitches explode…

    I still don’t think either of the other two had a moment quite like Kavanaugh yelling about how it was all a big conspiracy by the Clintons that was bringing up all these charges like getting Christine Blasey Ford to testify.

    I remember thinking, first, “The Clintons…whaaaat?! Where the fuck did that come from??”  And then, “It’s over. That’s so off the deep end, there’s no way they’ll confirm him now.”  Boy howdy, was I ever wrong.  There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, that would keep them from supporting a nominee they know would vote their way.

  189. 189.

    Uncle Cosmo

    April 6, 2023 at 4:11 pm

    @Baud: Reminiscent of a bumpersnicker from >50 years back (that no one had the cojones to snick on his bumper for fear of being pulled over by the orificers of the law):

    DICK NIXON

    before he dicks you

  190. 190.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2023 at 4:12 pm

    @SFAW: Hyow Hyow!! You tell em, Jed!

  191. 191.

    Bill Arnold

    April 6, 2023 at 4:13 pm

    @geg6:
    This photo is of interest too:
    This photo posted on Instagram on July 18, 2021 shows Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., second left, with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, left, anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger and former President Donald Trump ally Roger Stone, right. The account, run by Bollinger, has since been removed. (AP Photo)

    From How a Kennedy built an anti-vaccine juggernaut amid COVID-19 (MICHELLE R. SMITH, December 15, 2021)

    In my ethics, RFK Jr is a two-times mass murder, first for pushing hard to close the Indian Point nuclear power plant, electricity mostly replaced by burning of fossil carbon, that will kill tens of thousands in the fullness of time, and second for his murderous anti-vaccine work, that killed at least thousands, and maybe more. IMO. (Which is not humble in these matters.)
    That he is hobnobbing with Stone, Flynn, Bollinger, Bannon, etc, makes his evil nature a little more clear.

  192. 192.

    West of the Rockies

    April 6, 2023 at 4:13 pm

    Well, for what it’s worth,  the Thomas duo appear to be joyless,  raging people.  Oh, they smile and hoist champagne glasses, but they are fired by resentment and the gut-twisting fear that someone somewhere is laughing,  enjoying sex, and are genuinely loved, far more so than that lumpy, grumpy pair.

  193. 193.

    Another Scott

    April 6, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    @Roger Moore: That sounds reasonable, but we seem to have a system at the moment where monsters can turn a reasonable system of rules and norms against us.

    I still like the idea of 15 Justices on the SCOTUS.  There are 13 appellate courts, plus the US Court of International Trade and the US Court of Federal Claims and 5 circuit courts for bankruptcy appeals, and Article I courts, and who knows what else.  9 justices is too few.

    But, maybe in addition, what about this:

    Courts of Appeals normally are 3 “randomly chosen” judges, but can rule en banc (with lots more).  Maybe the SCOTUS should have that as well.  51 Justices total, 9 are randomly chosen to rule on normal cases, controversial stuff (e.g. throwing out settled law, doing judicial review, whatever) can be ruled “en banc”.

    The problem is, our government cannot work when 5 unelected nutjobs can throw out all the rules.  Nutjobs can be of any age and of any seniority.  Protection from nutjobs is larger numbers of sensible people so that the fringe doesn’t overpower the rest of us.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  194. 194.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 4:15 pm

    @gvg:

    I don’t really get why the person giving money away has to pay taxes on it and not the person getting it

    The total is higher that way.  If you tax receiving a gift, that money comes out of the gift.  If you tax giving a gift, the tax is on top of the gift amount.

  195. 195.

    Uncle Cosmo

    April 6, 2023 at 4:22 pm

    @Quinerly: Danforth is to blame for Sen Josh ShitLord Haw-Hawley, too.

    FTFY, and you’re very welcome! (He do run run run, he do run run…)

  196. 196.

    Roger Moore

    April 6, 2023 at 4:24 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    When we have a FDA inspector come for one of their occasional visits, we aren’t allowed to offer them anything except a space to work in. I think they’re allowed to go to the water dispenser, but that’s it.

  197. 197.

    Bill Arnold

    April 6, 2023 at 4:26 pm

    @James E Powell:

    Just imagine the loud screams from the right if any Democrat took the same trip, but paid for it themselves.

    Just imagine if say Kagan or Sotomayor [1] had taken multiple expensive trips paid for by a RW boogieman like George Soros, and during those trips they mixed with well-known progressive hyperactivists.
    [1] Ketanji Brown Jackson hasn’t been on the SCOTUS long enough.

  198. 198.

    Quinerly

    April 6, 2023 at 4:33 pm

    @Bill Arnold:

    Thanks for this!

  199. 199.

    Glidwrith

    April 6, 2023 at 4:34 pm

    Seen out on Twitter, so glacier sized grain of salt without further verification:

    Robert’s wife accepts $$$ from law firms arguing before him. Can anyone confirm?

    Barrett’s lawyer husband sets up shop in DC and hides client list. Can anyone confirm?

    We know Alito hobnobs with rich donors and leaked in the Hobby Lobby case.

    Kavanugh’s 1.4 million in debts disappeared.

    Thomas and wife, even more corrupt than previously thought.

  200. 200.

    Butter Emails

    April 6, 2023 at 4:40 pm

    @Kay:

    The lack of gratitude is what gets me. I know it sounds old fashioned but why the fuck aren’t any of these people GRATEFUL for these prestigious jobs? Why are they all so whiny and aggrieved?

    They aren’t grateful because they believe they’ve earned it and are entitled to it by the sweat of their own brow, staggering intellect and innate superiority.

  201. 201.

    Ruckus

    April 6, 2023 at 4:40 pm

    @Cameron:

    This. It actually is the default position of humanity. Much of the world still runs on this concept. We may be able to mostly control it, but stop it? I don’t think it’s even possible. Survival is a strong instinct and while actual survival is not that hard in our modern world, doing more than just surviving in a world where monetary wealth is an indicator of power and status will always have those who over compensate for survival at the cost of many others. And that is the world we live in, money is power, more money is more power. How else would SFB have any money at all?

  202. 202.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2023 at 4:41 pm

    @Burnspbesq: Wouldn’t Judge Weirdo Coke Can be an appointee?

  203. 203.

    Ksmiami

    April 6, 2023 at 4:43 pm

    @Eunicecycle: true story , one of the chefs I worked for moonlighted at the Crow ranch in TX.. they have a snake problem if that’s any consolation

  204. 204.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2023 at 4:46 pm

    @Ken: I had a subscription to it.  I miss it.

  205. 205.

    Cameron

    April 6, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @Ksmiami: Snake problem?  Is his name Clarence?

  206. 206.

    Ksmiami

    April 6, 2023 at 4:53 pm

    @Kay: they are miserable and unhappy aggrieved assholes and won’t ever be happy if there’s someone liberal somewhere enjoying themselves. That’s it that’s the whole thing

  207. 207.

    Ksmiami

    April 6, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    @Cameron: actually I prefer the actual snakes to Thomas- he’s a piece of shit.

  208. 208.

    Princess

    April 6, 2023 at 4:57 pm

    @Butch:  reading about the “jinks” that go on there — the theatrical performances and musical comedy they put on — you absolutely rife with men in drag.

  209. 209.

    Eunicecycle

    April 6, 2023 at 5:10 pm

    @Ksmiami: couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. LOL!

  210. 210.

    bjacques

    April 6, 2023 at 5:13 pm

    In the Netherlands, anyone on the public payroll can’t accept even a free cup of coffee.

  211. 211.

    Tony G

    April 6, 2023 at 5:13 pm

    American presidents have done a lot of horrible things in my 67-year lifetime.  One of the worst things was George H.W. Bush’s nomination of that corrupt, right-wing piece of garbage — Clarence Thomas — after the great Thurgood Marshall died.  The fact that Clarence Thomas exemplifies all of the worst characteristics of a racist caricature of a black man was a feature, not a bug.

  212. 212.

    Nora

    April 6, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    @E.: I hope that Bible burns Thomas’ hands every time he gets near it.

  213. 213.

    NutmegAgain

    April 6, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    “Could be there’s a baseline dishonesty that lots of people recognize in themselves and excuse”  I think this is incredibly insightful. It’s the dingier, tackier side of “poor people vote against their interests b/c they hope (believe) they will one day make it big, and want those tax breaks.”  Although my first thought about the petty theft that “most people” exercise was mainly stuff like snitching printer paper from work, or other little stuff like that

    eta: Since we’re close to the anniversary of the Triangle Fire, where 146 people, nearly all young women, died horrible deaths mainly because the factory owners locked the 2nd door so the workers couldn’t steal stuff. The owners, on a higher floor, got away by using the roof. Seems relevant.

  214. 214.

    Joe Falco

    April 6, 2023 at 5:18 pm

    At these soirees, Thomas hobnobbed with FedSoc founder Leonard Leo and other conservative luminaries while eating meals prepared by private chefs — all on the dime of billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.

    When I said I wanted them to eat crow, I did not mean they eat food paid by Crow.

  215. 215.

    Chief Oshkosh

    April 6, 2023 at 5:22 pm

    @SomeRandomGuy:

    Still: what else can you do? We accept that Spider-man, Batman, etc., will never run out of work;

    Perfect analogy.

  216. 216.

    Ksmiami

    April 6, 2023 at 5:24 pm

    @Eunicecycle: there’s a lot of unhappiness among the .01 percent- the best thing we could do is start taxing wealth at 90 percent over a billion. It would stop so much of these power plays by uncreative and arrogant a-holes. Egregious inequality is killing our Democracy

  217. 217.

    Burnspbesq

    April 6, 2023 at 5:31 pm

    @Paul in KY:

    Wouldn’t Judge Weirdo Coke Can be an appointee?

    Sure, but the Court doesn’t have any rules pursuant to which he could be punished.

  218. 218.

    Gary Zirkle (Nug)

    April 6, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    Modern American conservatism is what you get when you want a political ideology but don’t want to actually put any work or effort into it, like having intelligence or morals and ethics or accountability or other such terribly inconvenient nonsense. Just let go and let all of your lesser, baser drives do all the heavy lifting. Ah, there. That’s better. Just relax.

  219. 219.

    cain

    April 6, 2023 at 5:58 pm

    @Sasha: Just convict the man – when he goes to jail there won’t be any way for him to vote on anything or weigh in on anything. He’ll be rotting in jail. It’ll eliminate one vote regardless.

    If the GOP wants to say ‘remote vote is fine!’ let them start that in congress first – if that is to be the norm.

  220. 220.

    Ksmiami

    April 6, 2023 at 6:07 pm

    @cain: His opinions are fucking worthless anyway. The Supreme Court needs to be either completely redesigned or burnt to the ground.

  221. 221.

    J R in WV

    April 6, 2023 at 6:15 pm

    Many years ago I worked in environmental protection at the state level. I worked with EPA guys, both federal employees and contractors, and they were nice guys, helpful and friendly.

    One guy named  (not his real name) Smith was especially helpful, and as I neared retirement I wanted to give him a crystalized mineral named smithsonite (not the real mineral). It was what is called a thumbnail in mineral collecting terms, describing its size.

    He needed to know what it was worth, because he wasn’t allowed to accept anything over x $$. The actual value was under $20 IIRC, and so he was allowed to take the small gift. I hope he still has it… Joe was a great guy!

  222. 222.

    NotoriousJRT

    April 6, 2023 at 6:16 pm

    @JoyceH: Heck, he’s had over 30 years on the SC, he might just want to say ‘my work here is done’, and walk away dusting off his hands. And give Biden another nomination.

    I see no chance of this.  Thomas is a bitter, old prick of a man. He is just now coming to the full height of his vengeful powers.  He will never voluntarily step away with a Dem in the Whitehouse.  He must croak or be guaranteed another bitter prick like Sam Alito to replace him.  We are too divided to take him off the court by impeachment.  Republicans probably wish they could emulate his connections and benefactors.

  223. 223.

    Feathers

    April 6, 2023 at 6:20 pm

    I will just add something that blew my mind and made me furious recently. Those hundreds of millions to billion plus super yachts? Guess how many passengers they carry?

    Twelve.

    It’s to lower the level of regulation and reporting required. Apparently ships are measured by number of passengers. So while they have lots of bedrooms to have parties while at port, once they set sail for the open ocean, it’s only twelve passengers. Infuriating.

  224. 224.

    grumbles

    April 6, 2023 at 7:20 pm

    I say we just start referring to this power couple as Clarence and Ginny Crow.

    Because Harlan is most definitely their daddy.

  225. 225.

    SFAW

    April 6, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    @Paul in KY: ​
     
    Jed? Not following.

  226. 226.

    moops

    April 6, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @lollipopguild:Just imagine the loud screams from the right if a “liberal” justice took the same gifts without reporting them.

     

     

    Honestly?  Two days of whining but their hearts are not in it.  The Right is not bothered by powerful people taking kickbacks and bribes and not being held accountable.  They accept The Hierarchy and prefer if the powerful get rewarded and the weak get punished, regardless of what current political team they are on.

  227. 227.

    Paul in KY

    April 7, 2023 at 9:28 am

    @Burnspbesq: Oh. OK.  Shit.

  228. 228.

    Paul in KY

    April 7, 2023 at 9:31 am

    @SFAW: Based on your comment above (# 42), that would be what an average KY MAGA supporting loon would say to their buddy ‘Jed’ that ‘said’ what you wrote in comment 42.

    I hope that clears it up.

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