a friend of mine in college was fascinated by corvids and i learned a lot of facts from him
one is that crows who gift humans tokens and baubles from their hoards are not benevolent, they are reciprocal
they reward the ones who feed them
— gwendolen‽ (@interrobanged) April 17, 2023
The kleptocrats of our current reality have been very successful at buying the right peoples’ minds…
This isn’t how it works, is the thing. It’s not (probably) that anyone is consciously ruling contrary to their “true” beliefs because of yacht trips. It’s that people’s views naturally evolve over time in the face of evidence and argument… https://t.co/U7ExzNiDDu
— @[email protected] (@normative) April 14, 2023
So do I doubt that Thomas is sincere? No. Do I think his votes and opinions look at least a little different in the alternate 2023 where he hasn’t spent three decades getting fêted by billionaires for his unwavering ideological consistency? Yeah, I kinda do.
— @[email protected] (@normative) April 14, 2023
Sure but nobody’s alleged there was that sort of concrete quid pro quo.
— @[email protected] (@normative) April 14, 2023
Bruce Bartlett: Not that there’s anything *wrong* with that…
One thing I appreciate about the revelations about Clarence's Thomas's gross ethical violations is that it opens the door on an unknown avenue of conservative influence–the social path. Much more so than the left, the right reaches out and cements loyalty through social events.
— Bruce Bartlett (@BruceBartlett) April 9, 2023
When I worked at the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, they had events almost every night–a lecture or panel followed by free drinks and eats. I don’t remember ever being invited to a similar event by a progressive group and they probably had a cash bar.
Sure, half the attendees were nonideological interns looking for a free drink and some food–in DC that’s how they survive. But in the process they became friends with conservatives, maybe picked up some right-wing ideology and useful career contacts, and then joined the team.
This is how the system works. But they left refuses to play the game. That’s why their bench is so thin. They missed out on recruiting young progressive intellectuals and policy wonks back in the 80s and 90s. Now they would be hitting their career peak.
Ancient Roman saying: Money has no odor.
One problem I learned the hard way–when Rev Moon spoke, no alcohol was served.
— Bruce Bartlett (@BruceBartlett) April 9, 2023
Of course, ‘the left’ (Democrats) couldn’t afford to buy influence at this scale — we don’t have nearly as many billionaires willing to support progressive causes, because there’s no direct quid pro quo. But are there other means to influence the next generation? See next post…
War for Ukraine Day 420: A Very Brief Wednesday Night Update
Baud
Hmm. Now I’m starting to think maybe exchanging pleasantries on a tarmac may not have had the level of corrupt influence I had initially believed.
sab
Re Bruce Bartlett: Does every political contact need to be a booze fest.?
I liked living in Nevada except for the climate and my ex. The LDS ( Mormon) influence was one of my favorites although they are nutso right wing. They are also decent and honest about their beliefs. And they dont’t drink coffee or booze, or pressure other people to drink
ETA They don’t believe much in government but they are quit charitable.
Roger Moore
Another critical point is that justices don’t necessarily have strong existing opinions on every case. It’s better if they haven’t made up their minds in advance and will listen to the evidence. That’s where influence can really come into play. If I don’t have a strong opinion about something but my buddy does, I’m going to listen to my buddy’s opinion.
So yeah, I doubt Harlan Crow could buy Thomas’s opinion on a case where they have different, strongly held opinions. But if something comes before the court that Crow cares about and Thomas doesn’t, it’s very likely that Thomas will rule the way Crow wants. That doesn’t have to happen very often to be worth all of Crow’s effort.
Wapiti
Ilya Shapiro, the guy who attacked Sotomayor’s and Jackson’s nominations on the grounds that they were lesser candidates. Fuck him, he’s a bigot.
And yes, I question the justices’ sincerity when they deliberately omit things on their disclosure forms. They are lying. If they cannot be trusted to report their financial ties, can they be trusted to recuse when there is the appearance of a conflict of interest? No, they cannot be trusted.
Josie
I think Bartlett makes an incorrect assumption. If the young interns were truly progressives, they would not have turned into conservatives who could be swayed by right wing ideology. Plus, I see no dearth of progressive intellectuals in our ranks today. Our representatives in the congress are light years above the Republicans in intellectual heft.
PJ
@sab: If you expect me to listen to right-wingers blather, you’d best be laying on good free booze.
Wapiti
@Roger Moore: Yeah, in a criminal case they take pains to not seat a juror who comes in with a strong opinion of how a case should go. Why is it different for these black-robes?
Another Scott
“Where you stand depends on where you sit.”
If you’re always surrounded by RWNJs, you’re going to become a RWNJ if you aren’t already. That’s no great insight.
I think Bruce is saying out loud that CATO and Heritage are cults, and have to keep their people tied to their respective motherships. That’s actually not a good thing, and Democrats shouldn’t emulate it. Real people do things like go to movies and concerts and hang out with friends playing games. They don’t hang out every night with cultists eating cold snacks and drinking every night after work.
Do these people listen to themselves? Do they have a life outside of their particular little political “think tank”??
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Roger Moore:
I think it’s actually even more subtle than that. They may not talk about specific cases at these social events. But they might talk about general themes relevant to how a judge might analyze a particular cases. Talk about the genius of the genius of the free market, and the judge might be less inclined to interpret antitrust law strictly.
ETA: This sort of thing can happen with purely ethical social interactions. But when the social interaction is paid for by rich people, then it’s not really honest.
Frankensteinbeck
I have held for awhile now that the best bribery strategy is to bribe people who leaned in your direction anyway. You empower them and you turn ‘generally getting mostly what you want’ into ‘reliably getting exactly what you want.’ I think it’s the standard in politics.
sab
@Wapiti: We really need to bang on this because it is actually corruption.
Citizen Alan
I am still astounded that the religious right has embraced the Moonies simply because they coincide on social issues. I still remember being 9 years old and getting herded into a church basement so me and the other sprongs could watch a scary anti-Moonie film called “Heavenly Deception” that warned of how the evil-Moonies would seduce us away from Christ and cause us to burn in Hell for eternity. But that’s okay so long as they help the Real Christians against the Libtards.
Roger Moore
@Josie:
Yeah, this is the big one to me. Where is this amazing pool of talented people who were swayed to the Conservatives by offers of free food and booze?
Another Scott
@Baud: And it’s more than that, also too.
The SCOTUS doesn’t rule on lots of cases. What it does decide to rule on thus takes on outsized importance.
It’s no accident that the RWNJ SCOTUS accepts cases on things where it wants to gut the social contract, or give corporations even more power over workers, or elevate “sincerely held religious beliefs” above any other social good. AEI (and their chairman Crow) wants to gut the social contract and the modern social state. Them having such close access to Thomas (and probably most or all of the rest of the RWNJs on the SCOTUS) gives them influence on what cases are even accepted.
“Hey Clarence, did you hear about how our buddy in Texas wasn’t able to do this and that because of the EPA and the Clean Water Act? It’s costing him millions because he can’t expand. It’s not right, you know, because the Founders set up America to give property owners rights that come first. You agree, right?…”
It’s incestuous and it’s wrong.
And Thomas should resign.
Grr…,
Scott.
Baud
@Roger Moore:
Agree. I think progressives have been out in the political wilderness for a while and the lack of food and drink is kind of an excuse.
Poe Larity
So Molly Ivins knew how to party and today’s progressives drink iced pumpkin spiced lattes and drive Chinese Volvos.
Frankensteinbeck
@Roger Moore:
They learned to grift more than just free food and booze. Now they’re running PACs and working in think tanks.
Baud
OT. TikTok is advertising like crazy to save their ass.
Kay
Baud
@Kay:
The jokes write themselves.
Baud
I wait in anticipation.
ETA: We really shouldn’t ignore the importance of food. Even if it’s cheaper fare than what the right can afford.
different-church-lady
Mood: FUCKS ARE NOT GIVEN.
different-church-lady
Aren’t the CORVID posts usually in the morning?
different-church-lady
@Kay: Here in a suburb of “Our Fair City”, there’s a “smoke shop”.
The address? 420 Moody Street.
bcw
In another similarity to conservatives, about a third of the diet of corvids (crows) is the young of other birds stolen from nests.
Kay
@different-church-lady:
Ha!
I think it’s funny the Teamsters organized the pot shops.
sab
@PJ: I agree. Good reaason not to drink.
Omnes Omnibus
Horse fucking shit.
different-church-lady
Holy god, there’s NO FUCKIN’ DIFFERENCE!!! The reason they vote the way they do and the reason they have the friends they have is the SAME GODDAMNED REASON. Why are you allowed to thought-have in public?!?
different-church-lady
@Kay:
They’re gonna go wherever the action is.
sab
@Kay: I don’t . Teamsters can organize. These days I am fine with pro-union organizing.
different-church-lady
@bcw: The food chain is not pretty.
Jackie
I NEVER thought I’d AGREE with Ann Coulter!
”Conservative commentator Ann Coulter has come out swinging lately against the Republican Party’s tireless crusade to outlaw abortion. On Wednesday, the controversial pundit fired off another round of criticism of the GOP on Twitter.”
“COMPROMISE SOLUTION ON ABORTION! Ban abortion for registered Republicans only,” Coulter wrote.
“This attitude follows similar complaints that Coulter has lodged in recent weeks toward right-wing lawmakers who keep digging their heels in deeper on the issue of reproductive freedom.”
The replies are hilarious – mostly from stunned people who, like me, thought at first it must be satire…
https://www.rawstory.com/internet-erupts-after-ann-coulter-calls-to-ban-abortion-for-registered-republicans-only/
Tony G
“Does anyone doubt the sincerity of any justice?” Jesus Christ. Of course I doubt the sincerity of any person in power — in particular the sincerity of a hack like Clarence Thomas who’s been bribed by billionaires for decades. Ilya Shapiro is undoubtedly a very intelligent man with no values at all other than money and power, but here’s he’s pretending that other people have no knowledge of human nature and human corruption. Sickening.
different-church-lady
@Tony G:
Jesus, are you in an charitable mood.
Baud
@Jackie:
I can barely handle Bill Kristol being on our side. If Ann Coulter joins us, I’m going to have to seek professional help.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tony G:
It must be understood that Shapiro is an asshole.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud:
One assumes you mean hookers.
sab
My stepson has been a substance abuser since he was about ten. Alchohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin. Mostly an inept effort to treat for anxiety.
I know this kid. He is a mess but he is also a sweet person.
Finally when he is almost forty and still alive he gets a shrink that is competent.
Getting mental health care in America is damn near impossible.
pluky
When I was a NYS Assembly intern my junior year a major factor in starvation avoidance was grazing at receptions held by various lobbying groups. I really didn’t pay much attention to the politics of the sponsors.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’m talking about a shrink.
The hookers stopped taking my calls.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Sorry, man. Have cash on hand next time.
hells littlest angel
I never thought that the flesh of widows and orphans could taste so sweet until I had it properly prepared.
Manyakitty
@sab: glad he’s finding help
sab
@Manyakitty: Help that works. That is the huge thing. Lots of help that is mostly pointless. Help that works is amazing.
prostratedragon
@Baud: Surely it’s the introspection from such moments that drives philosophy.
linnen
@different-church-lady;
There is a German saying that is doing the rounds in similar discussions;
Wyatt Salamanca
The MSM loves to portray Nancy Mace as a rational, reasonable Republican, but it turns out she’s just another demented asshole like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.
In this video, she accuses Biden family members of being involved in prostitution rings.
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/rep-nancy-mace-accuses-biden-family-of-being-involved-in-prostitution-rings/
NotMax
While the booze may be watered down and without a cost, neither holds true when it comes to the Kool-Aid.
Redshift
Anyone who looks at the current Congress and thinks the GOP has a “deep bench” and Democrats… WTF? “Deep” in terms of quantity, maybe.
But their “deep bench” being composed of people who only got involved in politics for the free drinks would explain a lot!
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
But we already knew that about Thomas and a few of the other Republican “justices.” Plenty of public examples of non-recusal and non-explanation when evidence of conflict of interest came to light.
Jackie
@Baud: I think you’re safe; but she’s on the correct path (almost said *right*) re abortion. We ALL want potential/future GQPers aborted 😉
Jackie
@Wyatt Salamanca: Yes, she’s another GQP one trick pony; Anti-abortion, but 100% GQP on all other issues.
Dan B
@Roger Moore: Crow is Chairman of the Board of A.E.I. They’ve had eight cases before the Supreme Court while Thomas was a Justice. Guess how many times he voted with A.E.I.?
It’s more than seven.
Bill Arnold
To deepen the silliness, what if, for example, some hypothetical progressive billionaire offered 4.5 billion dollars split between each member of the SCOTUS who reversed Dobbs, and simultaneously to formally opinion-ate that any laws against bribery of SCOTUS Justices are unconstitutional (i.e.. accepting bribes is good behavior) as a necessary condition for the bribe. With nothing for those who did not vote for repeal.
Would there be a bidding war? For many high-dollar-value decisions, $500M per vote is pretty.
Marc
Those ads are weird, but I like to remind people that no one has ever shown that TikTok collects a single damn piece of information more than the Android and iOS APIs permit any other third party app on your phone to collect. Information that can be bought in bulk for cheap from a whole ecosystem of data brokers who will sell to anyone who’s willing to pay. In fact, the only companies that have essentially unrestricted access to the information on your phone are Google, Apple, and your cell service provider. I worry a lot more about what they’re doing with that data to make some coin than I do about TikTok. We need serious data privacy protection laws, not bullshit jingoistic Chinese app bans.
Splitting Image
@Jackie:
This is actually not new for Coulter. She said a few years back that Trump could perform abortions on the White House lawn as far as she was concerned, as long as he Built the Wall.
She’s on Team Racism, not Team Misogyny, and she’s just speaking up because the face-eating leopards are getting just a little too close to her expensive work.
Paul M Gottlieb
Well,, there’s one person who thought that the relationship between Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow stank to high heaven and that was Clarence Thomas, who did everything he could to hide it.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Every time I try to do a WaPo puzzle.
Jackie
@Splitting Image: Yes she is definitely on the “Build that Wall” platform. But, I can definitely get behind her re refusing abortions w/no exceptions for republicans ONLY.
James E Powell
@Baud:
While we may have common opponents, those two are never really on our side.
Honus
@Jackie: “COMPROMISE SOLUTION ON ABORTION! Ban abortion for registered Republicans only,” Coulter wrote.
am I reading this wrong? It sounds like she wants abortion available for everyone except registered republicans.
I know, it doesn’t make sense. But it’s Anne Coulter…
Jackie
@Honus: That’s exactly what she’s saying! You need to read the article!😂
Manyakitty
@sab: true enough. He’s walking a difficult path.
Honus
@Jackie: that’s kind of why I was confused. At #56 you say you agree with her because “We ALL want potential/future GQPers aborted“ which is kind of the opposite. Anyway, I like and appreciate your comments but no way am I looking for mangoes in that article.
Jackie
@Honus: Yeah, I meant the opposite 🤦🏼♀️ My first impulse is to abort potential future GQPers. But, definitely agree with Coulter to refuse to let registered GQP have abortions – no exceptions. Let them suffer what they wish upon everyone else.
satby
@Tony G: I answered Shapiro and my comment evidently was the first one I said I don’t doubt how sincerely corrupt many of them are at all.
BlueGuitarist
Yes!
in Bush v Gore, Thomas, dishonestly contradicted everything he claimed to believe about the 14th Amendment, and federalism, to join an inexcusable, blatantly corrupt decision.
Shapiro wants to pretend there can’t be disagreement with his genteel bullshit about “which parties they get invited to,” the problem is the Republican Party, the political party for which Thomas and his gang are shameless hacks.
trnc
I’m sure some of them are very sincere in their religious convictions and sincerely believe ruling base on their religion feels really good, but that’s not the oath they took. Setting that aside, Ilya may be shocked to learn that, no, I don’t find justices who claimed to revere stare decisis and/or said they were turning abortion back over to the states and/or claimed they don’t talk to their spouses about work AT ALL and/or said he sold his home at a loss to a BILLIONAIRE to be particularly sincere.
dlw32
I don’t understand the meaning of “sincerity” in this context. All the recently appointed Justices insisted that they would never dream of hearing a case challenging Roe, it being settled law. So yeah, I doubt the sincerity of all those liars. How could you not?
i think the Shapiro needs a different word here…