Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / ProPublica has more dirt on Crooked Clarence

ProPublica has more dirt on Crooked Clarence

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There’s a new ProPublica report on a trio of right-wing oligarchs fulfilling Clarence and Ginni Thomas’s champagne wishes and caviar dreams. You can read the whole thing here (and pitch in a few quid for the tremendous public service ProPublica reporters are doing here if you’re so inclined).

The latest report says that in addition to the mind-blowing largesse Thomas and the kooky missus receive from Harlan Crow, the justice has three other right-wing billionaire sponsors: H. Wayne Huizenga, David Sokol and Paul “Tony” Novelly. All three met Crooked Clarence after Bush appointed him to the Supreme Court, and all independently decided to shower Thomas with luxuries out of the goodness of their hearts:

During his three decades on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas has enjoyed steady access to a lifestyle most Americans can only imagine. A cadre of industry titans and ultrawealthy executives have treated him to far-flung vacations aboard their yachts, ushered him into the premium suites at sporting events and sent their private jets to fetch him — including, on more than one occasion, an entire 737. It’s a stream of luxury that is both more extensive and from a wider circle than has been previously understood.

Like clockwork, Thomas’ leisure activities have been underwritten by benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence. Their gifts include:

At least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.

Rhetorical question: does Thomas ever pay for his own vacations? He probably can’t afford it since he’s barely scraping by on his $285,000 annual salary, plus whatever off-the-books piles of cash for “consulting work” that Leonard Leo can funnel to the dumb-as-a-post insurrectionist wife.

When ProPublica busted Alito for corruptly accepting a luxury fishing vacation, he snippily typed out a pained and misleading prebuttal for publication in the WSJ because that’s how he rolls. Thomas is mostly silent in public, but the scale of his entitlement snaps into view with occasional recorded comments:

(Thomas) once complained that he sacrificed wealth to sit on the court, though he depicted the choice as a matter of conscience. “The job is not worth doing for what they pay,” he told the bar association in Savannah, Georgia, in 2001, “but it is worth doing for the principle.”

Sure it is, as long as you can also loll around on yachts anchored off the Amalfi coast. Also, ProPublica obtained a Thomas “biography” the right-wing oligarch Huizenga hands out to family and friends that contains this choice quote from Thomas:

“We are in a society where everything is quid pro quo,” Thomas said, but not with the Huizengas. “I don’t do anything for them and they can’t do anything for me.”

Except send a private and lavishly decorated 737 just for him, of course. Jesus, these people are absolutely shameless.

Reader Interactions

191Comments

  1. 1.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Queue up the howls from the usual suspects how the reputation of this stellar representative of jurisprudence is being sullied by these allegations of impropriety.

  4. 4.

    JML

    It’s just staggering.

    One of my law professors clerks for Thomas, and extolled his virtues often. Did any of the billionaire largess trickle down? Said professor wrangled himself a into a federal judgeship and I often wonder: does he hold to any ethical standards, or does he follow in his mentor’s footsteps?

    You just know Alito is just as bad, Scalia was in this up to his neck back in the day…Roberts does it differently via his wife’s career mostly (I’m betting) but still probably has a bunch of this stuff lurking…and I’m betting that Kavanaugh is sitting furious that the gravy train might be finally stopping before he got to have his 20-30 years of it (we already know he had some shady finances in his past).

    Abe Fortas was forced to resign over nothing compared to this.

  6. 6.

    Juju

    One would hope he’d resign, preferably in shame, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen. The justice is going to stay on the court as long as he possibly can, because if he resigns, he holds no value with the billionaires and then the “ friendships “ would dry up and he’d have to fly with the riff raff.

  10. 10.

    Betty Cracker

    @JML: Yep. And Justice Kagan told old high school friends she couldn’t accept a box of bagels because it might have the appearance of impropriety. The mind reels.

  11. 11.

    jonas

    Can you imagine what would be happening right now if it came out that Sonia Sotomayor or one of the other liberal justices had been galavanting around on George Soros’s yacht and private jet for years? I’m sure at least one car bomb would have already been set off in front of the SCOTUS building.

  12. 12.

    Old Man Shadow

    @Juju: I suspect whatever consciences they might have possessed have long since been silenced so guilt and shame are impossible to conjure up.

    The only thing they understand and will respond to is power. Congress needs to slap them down, but won’t because it’s only corruption when it’s Hunter Biden.

  13. 13.

    Rob in CT

    John Roberts is no doubt preparing to write another op-ed whining about these attacks on the honor of SCOTUS.

    The reality is there’s very little that can be done about this, other than complain and hope the public cares (which is infuriating, of course).

  15. 15.

    Cacti

    Even though Clarence’s salary puts him in the 98th percentile for household income, he doesn’t make FU, I could buy my own football team money.

    And in his mind, that’s unfair.

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    @Cacti: I saw at least five different salaries from usually reputable sources while Googling — I’m gonna edit it to $285,000, which is what a WaPo article from this year pegs the salary as, with a gift link to the source. Thanks for alerting me to the issue!

  17. 17.

    Scout211

    I guess it’s up to the voters because congress has decided they won’t pass judicial ethics reform.

    Last month, the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill along party lines that would create a code of ethics for Supreme Court justices, who are not bound to the same code of conduct that applies to lower court judges.

    But it’s unclear when – or if – it will get a vote on the floor, sources say, and even if it does get a vote, it has almost no chance of winning at least nine Republican senators in order to get 60 votes to break a filibuster. Republicans say it’s up to the court – not Congress – to impose new rules, and Chief Justice John Roberts has resisted Congress’ efforts, citing concerns about maintaining judicial independence.

    In addition, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans are strongly opposed to the bill and have no interest in this issue, so it has zero chance of passing the House.

  19. 19.

    Kent

    @Cacti:

    Even though Clarence’s salary puts him in the 98th percentile for household income, he doesn’t make FU, I could buy my own football team money.

    And in his mind, that’s unfair.

    It is simpler than that.

    He thinks he made them rich by protecting them against government regulation and taxes.  So he expects his cut of the action.

    We are ruled by mobsters.

  22. 22.

    waspuppet

    “Crooked Clarence” is good.

    “Tires Thomas” is good for variety’s sake. It was “only” $1,200, but the fact that the man doesn’t feel like he has to pay for his own tires needs to be more widely known.

    But he should not be called anything but one of these two things, any time, ever, until the day he dies.

  23. 23.

    jonas

    @JML: Scalia was in this up to his neck back in the day…

    If you recall, Scalia died while on a junket to some Texas billionaire’s luxury hunting ranch. Just a disinterested friend of the court, I’m sure. I recall at the time asking myself WTF a SCOTUS justice was doing running around a luxury villa with a bunch of big Texas Republican machers, but the media was too busy collecting soundbites about how witty he was.

  24. 24.

    trollhattan

    As we ponder the greed of our  nation’s biggest assholes, a postscript on Sinead O’Connor, who was buried a few days ago. The woman was a saint, even while being the last human the Church would consider sainthood. Letters of Note:

    Last month, after the death of Sinéad O’Connor, the following letter appeared in the Telegraph, sent to the newspaper by Philip Woolcock.

    Sir,

    I was greatly saddened by the death of Sinéad O’Connor. She was a very different person behind her fame.

    In 1991, my 20-year-old daughter, Louise, was suffering from terminal cancer, when she received a phone call from Sinéad out of the blue.

    Sinéad had heard of Louise’s illness from some source, probably the press, as we were raising funds for our local hospice. My daughter was a great admirer of her and loved her music.

    During this long call, Sinéad invited my daughter to travel to London to spend some time with her. Needless to say, Louise was thrilled.

    A few days later, she met Louise at Euston station and, to cut a long story short, Louise had the best week of her short life. They dined, they drank, they danced – but most of all they laughed irreverently. Sinéad was at the height of her fame at this time and found it highly amusing that, when they were out, people were asking for Louise’s autograph. Louise returned home exhausted and happier than I had seen her since her devastating cancer diagnosis.

    It didn’t stop there: this lovely, compassionate woman always stayed in touch. She sent Louise wine and flowers and letters right up until her death in 1992.

    On Louise’s last visit to London, Sinéad gave my daughter her platinum disc for her song Nothing Compares 2 U and dedicated her Christmas record Silent Night to her.

    During all this time, Sinéad never sought any publicity for these acts of love and compassion. Today my thoughts are with two remarkable women who, I have no doubt, will be somewhere still laughing, dancing and singing.

    Philip Woolcock
    Preston, Lancashire

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    @jonas: IIUC it was one of those “hunting” clubs stuffed with tame critters to shoot, similar to the place Cheney bagged his first lawyer.

  27. 27.

    Suzanne

    “The job is not worth doing for what they pay,” he told the bar association in Savannah, Georgia, in 2001, “but it is worth doing for the principle.”

    Oh, fuck you, you worthless piece of garbage. He makes enough in one year that would be a life-changing amount of money for most people in this country, like, a lottery windfall kind of money. And he’s whining that all he gets out of it is the chance to impose his will on us?!
    Cry more.

  28. 28.

    Kent

    @Betty Cracker: $285,400 seems to be the current base salary.  With an emphasis on “base”

    They get a minimum of 3 MONTHS of vacation per year when the court is in recess and a very light workload when it is in session

    They have catered meals, transportation, etc. paid for

    They have unlimited outside income opportunities from posh speaking engagements to fake book deals for books written by ghostwriters.

    They have an astonishingly gold-plated retirement program

    Their total compensation probably has a fair monetary value that is double their actual salary.

  29. 29.

    jonas

    @Kent:  He thinks he made them rich by protecting them against government regulation and taxes.  So he expects his cut of the action.

    Bingo. And also, they make a big fuss over him and give him nice shit, unlike those elitist snots at Yale so many years ago who turned their noses up at him because they thought he was admitted under a racial quota. Who’s got the affirmative action, now, bitches!?

  30. 30.

    Jeffro

    It’s all parts of the same thing: big money buying SCOTUS, buying Senators so we can’t defeat (and then abolish) the filibuster, buying individual statehouse reps so they’ll flip parties

    We can’t have a democracy and a plutocracy at the same time, America.

  31. 31.

    Mike in NC

    “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams” brings to mind a really terrible reality TV show that frequently trotted out a colorful asshole named Donald Trump. Wonder what ever became of that guy?

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    In case you’ve been wondering “What could possibly go wrong?” with Russia strip-mining Russian prisons for dudes to throw into the Ukraine war, the answer is exactly what you thought.

    A prisoner believed to have been released early to fight with Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine has been accused of committing a double murder in Russia after returning home from the war.

    Demyan Kevorkyan, who was given an 18-year prison sentence in 2016, has been arrested for killing a young man and woman on their way home from work.

    He denies the accusation.

    The BBC has learned he is not the only convict freed early to fight, pardoned and then accused of reoffending.

    We have confirmed that suspects in about 20 serious offences, including rape and murder, are fighters recruited by the Wagner mercenary group in prison and released early to serve in Ukraine.

    Kevorkyan was one of 150 prisoners recruited on 31 August 2022 when the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, visited his prison, according to a former inmate quoted on a social media channel.

    The BBC has been told that Kevorkyan was later spotted back in his home village of Pridorozhnaya in Krasnodar, south-west Russia telling people he had just returned from the battlefields of Ukraine.

    One of the people he is accused of killing is 19-year-old Tatyana Mostyko, a children’s entertainer. Her mother Nadezhda shows us a video of Tatyana in a pink and blue jumpsuit, dancing and organising games at a party.

    “She loved that work,” says Nadezhda. “When she came back from a job, she’d laugh about what they’d been doing, how she amused them.”

    But the last job Tatyana did was on 28 April. Her boss Kirill Chubko was driving her home when they got a puncture and pulled over on to the side of a road near the town of Berezanskaya, in south-west Russia. Kirill’s wife Darya told local media he called her to say he’d be late, but not to worry as a group of young people had stopped to help them. That was the last time she heard his voice.

    By morning, the pair were still not home. Sensing something was wrong, a worried Darya called the police.

    Hundreds of people helped search remote countryside and Tatyana’s mother began a six-hour journey to the area, catching a plane and train from her small village in Siberia, in eastern Russia.

    “The worst thing was when we landed and I switched my phone back on. There were endless messages,” says Nadezhda. “You can’t imagine how I panicked. I hurled the phone away, because they could only mean one thing – that it was all over. It was animal fear. I can’t describe it.”

    Three suspects were arrested, including 31-year-old Kevorkyan. The other two, Anatoly Dvoynikov and Aram Tatosyan, led detectives to makeshift graves in woodland not far from Kirill’s burned-out car. Kirill and Tatyana had been stabbed and police said that the young woman showed “signs of a violent death”.

    Dvoynikov and Tatosyan confessed to robbery and murder and said Kevorkyan was in charge, although Kevorkyan denies any involvement.

    Nadezhda could not believe Kevorkyan was a free man, having been sentenced to 18 years in prison for an eerily similar crime before. “He shouldn’t have got out before 2028,” she says.

    Kevorkyan was convicted of running a gang that had hijacked a car not far from where Tatyana and Kirill were murdered. They robbed the people inside and shot one of them dead.
    -BBC

  33. 33.

    Baud

    You libs are so bigoted. It’s ok for a justice to have all the poor friends they want, but as soon as they find a few rich friends, y’all scream CORRUPTION! We see you.

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    @trollhattan: Wow. That’s not the only story I’ve read since her death that illustrates what a kind and generous person Sinéad O’Connor was, in addition to being a fearless truthteller and incredible talent.

  36. 36.

    Rugosa

    I’ve heard that it’s better to have a friend with a boat than to have one yourself.  Probably the same with luxury vacation accommodations and private jets (where the hell would you park the thing? in your driveway?)

  38. 38.

    SFAW

    Rhetorical question: does Thomas ever pay for his own vacations?

    Your question is nothing but a “high-tech lynching for uppity Blacks.” It’s worse than the Holocaust.

    etc. etc. etc.

    Their shamelessness is their superpower [sic].

    ETA: Or what Baud said @ 33.

  39. 39.

    JML

    @Kent: I mean, part of the point was to pay them enough and ensure they had a secure life that they couldn’t be bought easily. but because of the greed and arrogance and entitlement of people like Clarence Thomas…they’ve been bought and paid for under the table, and will be protected from consequences by a feckless republican party that cares nothing for their corruption so long as it favors their ends.

    Because the circuits have grown and there’s more activity there’s a good argument to be made that the SCOTUS should expand to manage the workload properly…but it’s still an insanely good gig for anyone who doesn’t think they’re entitled to have FU money for it.

  40. 40.

    sdhays

    @Suzanne: “What they pay” should honestly be more than plenty to do any job worth doing, unless it’s something you really, viscerally hate.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    @JML: Soon as they begin rubbing shoulders with actual rich people, some portion are going to “want me some of that.” A lifestyle no gummint salary can approach.

    IIRC the highest paid positions in California state government are at PERS, the state retirement system, where they need “investment banker” types managing the portfolio. They make far more than the governor.

  42. 42.

    smintheus

    They didn’t even send a 747. A 737, pshaw…all the bellyaching just shows they’re trying to cancel Ginni’s free speech.

  43. 43.

    trollhattan

    @smintheus: Guessing Donny has a 757 because he thinks a higher number=better airplane. “You see, this is a seven-FIVE-seven; that’s ten more than a seven-four-seven.”

  44. 44.

    JWR

    This bit gave me a chuckle:

    Those who worked and played there said the membership rolls were a Rolodex of the rich, famous and powerful: From Michael Douglas and Rush Limbaugh to Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Dan Quayle. Donald Trump once asked to be a member but Huizenga spurned him,

    And thus was born another grudge to be held forevermore.

  45. 45.

    Redshift

    There was an excerpt from another article (one that’s not new, I think) about how at the EEOC, Thomas had the agency pay for cleaning personal travel, with obviously fake efforts to make it “work-related.”

    It describes one instance where he flew to Boston to meet with Thomas Sowell, one of his conservative mentors. He summoned a local EEOC official to sit in his hotel room while he and Sowell ate a room-service dinner so it would be official business. Just brazenly improper, entitled behavior; the kind of thing that’s given as the obviously wrong answer on everyone’s workplace “is this ethical?” training.

  46. 46.

    trollhattan

    @JWR: ​
    Reminiscent of the NFL–the NFL–deciding Donny was too louche for them and prevented him from becoming a team owner. Call the whaaambulance.

  47. 47.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for US?

    @Suzanne: I mean just for basis of comparison, I don’t see any evidence that SCOTUS judges work long hours, or that the workload requires it. That goes for all the justices not just the conservative ones. Frankly it doesn’t seem like their schedules are any more onerous than a bog standard GS 14 Civil Servant. They make twice what those guys make. AND those guys can’t accept a gift worth more than $25 without risking dismissal.

  48. 48.

    JoyceH

    Even his RV which is supposed to be indicative of his plebeian tastes is a luxury behemoth that wouldn’t fit into the average driveway, and yes, it was funded by yet another billionaire.

  51. 51.

    AM in NC

    Just a question about this, as regards to action.  Do y’all call your Senators about this every time there is a story?  I am wondering if they are hearing anything about this from constituents, because there is just so much other stuff to deal with, maybe this gets lost in the shuffle.  I’m trying to get a sense of if this is even on their radar screen in any meaningful way. Tillis isn’t hearing much from NC folks, says DC office intern.

    I think there is a good case to be made to some GOP Senators to support court reforms, because it is so clearly not a red/blue issue but a corruption vs non-corruption issue.   And maybe if they are hearing from us about it (and news media as well so they build the story) it starts to be more than Sheldon Whitehouse (and D friends) out there fighting the good fight.

  52. 52.

    trnc

    “The job is not worth doing for what they pay,” he told the bar association in Savannah, Georgia, in 2001, “but it is worth doing for the principle.”

    Pretty sure he’s more interested in the interest and dividends.

  53. 53.

    Edmund dantes

    @trollhattan: 757 are a really amazing aircraft. Very capable on long range flights and roomy for their segment. Lots of airlines are mad Boeing has never really developed a successor to it.

  54. 54.

    trollhattan

    @Edmund dantes: My pilot friends all think the 757 should have been refreshed in lieu of the 737 Max, but Boeing beancounters and Southwest Air’s bidnez model dictated the 737 must live on. Oops.

    Donny understands none of this, of course.

  55. 55.

    p.a.

    Props to ProPublica; I’m assuming (without any evidence) they had all this info from early on, but successive releases have the wonderful effect of keeping KOA Clarence’s corruption, as music radio would put it, in continuous rotation.  No one-off here.

    I hope the bum is at least a little discomfited wondering “shit, what’s next?”  Sadly it may be the only  negative result for him given current situation.

  56. 56.

    Betty Cracker

    @rikyrah: The funniest riff on the Montgomery river brawl I’ve seen so far was repurposed song lyrics: “Lift every chair and swing!”

    @WaterGirl: That’s because I fixed it after the commenter kindly brought it to my attention. I had screwed it up somehow!

  57. 57.

    Roger Moore

    @Juju:

    One would hope he’d resign, preferably in shame, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

    Shamectomy is mandatory for anyone who wishes to ascend to the higher ranks of the Republican party.

  59. 59.

    Juju

    @Roger Moore: I know. My point was he’s shameless and aware enough to realize he has no value to the billionaires if he is not a Supreme Court justice, and the gravy train would end.

  61. 61.

    UncleEbeneezer

    In local news, not a huge surprise but a lawsuit by an Officer claims that Pasadena Police has an internal gang called The Good Old Boys and that they harassed, demoted and even assaulted him for reporting several violations to supervisors.  And that the PPD purposefully refused to investigate or forward the matter to the District Attorney.  I had the “pleasure” of doing a coffee meeting with one of the former acting-chiefs (Clawson) and he came across as just the sort of bully/dick as the lawsuit suggests.  Wouldn’t surprise me at all to have it confirmed that there is indeed a gang and that he is one of the ringleaders.

  62. 62.

    mrmoshpotato

    the justice has three other right-wing billionaire sponsors

    Oh for fuck’s sake!

    Destination: Sun

  64. 64.

    trollhattan

    They said it couldn’t be done. And yet….

    Three downtown Sacramento buildings that once served as office space for state workers are one step closer to becoming housing low- and middle-income Sacramentans. Officials from two state agencies awarded the project Wednesday to McCormack Baron Salazar, a St. Louis-based developer. The company is known locally for its revamp of the Twin Rivers public housing project into the 487-unit mixed-income Mirasol Village in the city’s River District.

    McCormack will lead the conversion of three state buildings into affordable housing: the Employment Development Department building at 800 Capitol Mall, the EDD Solar Building at 751 N St. and the state Personnel Board Building at 801 Capitol Mall. “State workers, especially starting out, don’t make a six-figure salary. And to rent some of these new market-rate units down here, you need a six-figure salary,” said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento. “Having hundreds of affordable units right here in our core is a big win for the city of Sacramento.”

    The push to redevelop state properties into housing is part of an executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 that directs state officials to identify excess state-owned property that could be transformed into affordable housing. The program has taken on more urgency since state workers moved to hybrid or work-from-home schedules in 2020, leaving downtown offices vacant.

    The first project to break ground under Newsom’s order was Sonrisa, a 58-unit affordable housing building at 13th and O streets. Nonprofit developer Mutual Housing also plans to construct a five-story affordable housing complex on the site of a vacant state-owned warehouse on R Street. The state announced the Capitol Mall projects in January and issued a Request for Qualifications to developers. They received “over a half dozen” applicants, McCarty said. The former city councilman authored a bill last year that required the Department of General Services to deliver to the Legislature a streamlined plan for how to transition underused office space into affordable housing.

    State officials at Wednesday’s news conference emphasized the importance of having affordable housing in a walkable neighborhood so tenants can live close to their workplaces, as well as public transit lines. They also spoke with a sense of urgency about the need for more housing units. The capital region faces a severe shortage of housing that low-income earners can afford. While significant progress has been made in the last year with the opening or funding of several large projects, Sacramento still has a gap of thousands of units to meet its affordable housing needs. “We look forward to this project moving very quickly,” said Lourdes Castro Ramírez, secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article278105472.html#storylink=cpy

    The EDD building is an especially bland, cheesy, Brutalist offering that cannot be made any worse than it appears, today. This is the actual heart of downtown and with all the market rate apartments also going in, will eventually transform the city center to a space that is no longer vacant on weekends.

  65. 65.

    Baud

    Via Mastodon

    New post

    Back

    unicorndeburgh

    This is HUGE.

    “The National Labor Relations Board ruled Tuesday that employers can no longer demand laid-off employees avoid publicly disparaging the company as part of their severance agreements, nor can they stop affected employees from disclosing the terms of their exit packages. Doing so, the federal agency determined, would be a violation of the laid-off employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.”

    https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7a7x/companies-cant-ask-you-to-shut-up-to-receive-severance-nlrb-rules

  66. 66.

    Wapiti

    @trollhattan: I was stationed in Panama during the invasion. Just before the invasion, a soldier had been convicted of (iirc) raping another soldier. During the invasion, the MPs emptied the guardhouse, arming the prisoners and putting them on the perimeter of the base for security – including the guy who was being held for transport to Leavenworth. Luckily, he only killed himself.

  68. 68.

    trollhattan

    @Baud: Corporations are people, my friend. Fucked up people.

    Seems like an apt time to note California bans non-compete clauses. Baby steps.

  69. 69.

    Roger Moore

    @JML:

    I mean, part of the point was to pay them enough and ensure they had a secure life that they couldn’t be bought easily.

    For a lot of them- for a lot of people, even very well off people- a secure life isn’t enough anymore.  This is one of the ways the extreme wealth of the 0.001% is incredibly destructive of our whole society.  For all but a handful of people, there is always someone to look up to who is worth vastly more than them.  Even “ordinary” billionaires can look enviously at people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and realize they’re unlikely ever to match them.  It’s so much worse for people like Clarence Thomas, who have whole strata of wealth between them and the top.  They see all that and know they can never get anything like it on a salary and start thinking about how they can get a piece of that pie.

  70. 70.

    OzarkHillbilly

    ProPublica has more dirt on Crooked Clarence

    I’ll bet they didn’t have to dig very deep for it.

  79. 79.

    Baud

    Via reddit

    The U.S. Treasury Department will soon propose a rule that would effectively end anonymous luxury-home purchases, closing a loophole that the agency says allows corrupt oligarchs, terrorists and other criminals to hide ill-gotten gains.
    The long-awaited rule is expected to require that real estate professionals such as title insurers report the identities of the beneficial owners of companies buying real estate in cash to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

    The oligarchs are going to be coming after Biden next year like nothing you’ve ever seen.

  80. 80.

    Roger Moore

    @trollhattan:

    IIRC the highest paid positions in California state government are at PERS, the state retirement system, where they need “investment banker” types managing the portfolio.

    That’s only if you exclude employees of the University of California.  IIRC, the highest paid employee of UC (technically of UCLA) is Jim Mora, the football coach.

  81. 81.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @HumboldtBlue: From which I learn that while The Ukraine is now Ukraine, Gambia is now The Gambia.

    I forget whether The Bronx is just Bronx now.

    Here’s an article on this issue. If it was just sex tourism between consenting adults, I think I wouldn’t see a major issue. But it sounds like these guys are really taking over the beaches, that it’s often a prelude to a full-fledged romance scam, and the Gambian government feels it’s depressing the tourist trade.

  82. 82.

    JMG

    On another site I frequent, a commenter noted that for the billionaires, the only drawback to financing Thomas’s vacations was that they might have to take them with him.

  85. 85.

    BellyCat

    @trollhattan:

    @jonas: IIUC it was one of those “hunting” clubs stuffed with tame critters to shoot, similar to the place Cheney bagged his first lawyer.

    Well done! The interwebs have been won for the day.

  86. 86.

    BellyCat

    @Jeffro:

    We can’t have a democracy and a plutocracy at the same time, America.

    But we sure as shit can (do) have a plutocracy guised as a democracy.

  87. 87.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    This would be a good time to have some Heinz ketchup shares – there are a lot of bottles hitting walls.

  93. 93.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I wonder if these regulations come out of the Corporate Transparency Act passed during the 2020 “Lame Duck” session. The circumstances of its passage caught my eye. The CTA was attached to the National Defense Authorization Act shortly before the larger bill was voted on. Trump vetoed the bill, and then the veto was overridden in the last few days of that Congress.

    A writer for Forbes Magazine called the Corporate Transparency Act the most important corporate reform legislation in decades.

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Sometimes I get jealous of these big ticket resorts and such, especially in the mountains.

    Then you realize there are parties you don’t want to be invited to. Parties that would drive a normal person mad. Parties that would make you envy the damned

    In Wyoming, the Thomases fished, rafted on the Snake River and sat by a campfire overlooking the Teton Range with the other couples. At one point, the Paolettas serenaded the justice with a song they wrote about him.

    It’s cults all the way down with these people. Trumpism is a cult. Ginny was in a cult. And Leonard Leo’s office boy here is in a Clarence Thomas cult.

  97. 97.

    eversor

    I’ll note Thomas is also CHRISTIAN and very Christian at that.  It’s also why the rubes support him, Christianity.  So unless we are all going to get rid of that, spare me the outrage over it.  And if you are a Christian, whelp, you got it, you own it, now wear it proudly.  But within 50 years, be prepared for Christian to be the same as Nazi cause that’s coming harder and faster than even Rod Drehers fever dreams.

  99. 99.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: the detached part of me is wondering if anyone is speculating on oil prices, and can I get in on it, since we know Prince Bonesaw is gonna be cutting production around Memorial Day, ’24. Maybe a bit later. I’m sure Frank Lutz has charts on when the price shock would be most damaging to an incumbent.

  100. 100.

    C Stars

    Of all the powerful and high-ranking public servants I have ever lavished luxury vacations upon, Clarence Thomas is without a doubt the humblest, noblest, most ethical one to neglect to report decades of financial gifts on his reporting documents. A hero among men.

  102. 102.

    JWR

    @trollhattan:

    Re retrofitting downtown office space for housing, I saw a news report the other day about low income housing in Los Angeles, and the reporter finally asked a very good question: How affordable is low income housing in L.A.? The answer stunned me, though it shouldn’t have, but for a Single apartment? $3800/mo! I suppose if they cram three, maybe four families inside it would count as “low income” housing, but this makes me really want to claw back and repurpose most of the free money we’ve gifted our betters, er, billionaires over the last 50 years.

  103. 103.

    Geminid

    @eversor: Well, those politicized Christians took a licking in Tuesday’s referendum in Ohio. Seems like we do ok fighting them on a case by case basis, without declaring total war.

  106. 106.

    Prometheus Shrugged

    @Roger Moore: Mora was two coaching regimes ago but your point is correct. The post of highest paid California government employee is currently held down by noted public servant Chip Kelly.

    The athletic directors are next in line for salary. Certain professors outside the med schools earn well north of $300 k per year.

  107. 107.

    Jay

    @trollhattan:

    According to Families of the Prisoners, and various Prisoner Rights Organizations in Ruzzia,

    Prisoners who are 16-70 years of age, are one of the following categories, healthy, have Military experience, have a “skill” like driver or mechanic, are being pulled from Prisons all across Ruzzia, and being sent to a prison outside Rostov, for 4 weeks training, or sent directly to “Storm Z” units in Occupied Ukraine.

    They are not being given a choice, a contract, military ID or being paid.

    https://nitter.net/i/status/1689006806067200000

  108. 108.

    BellyCat

    @eversor: Snore….

    Substitute: Male, Black, or Supreme Court Justice for Christian and your observation remains just as plausible and equally bonkers (except for six out of nine justices).

    Srsly… Just stop. And if you can’t stop, at least use *Christian Extremists* or some such shit. I personally agree that virtually all organized religions which heavily employ hierarchical structures are inherently problematic, but in continually singling out solely Christianity you’re badly undermining your other worthwhile insights on other topics.

    (Sorry to feed the religious bigot, Jackaltariat.)

  110. 110.

    JPL

    @LAO: It might be time for them to ask for more money.    They are going to be busy

    Jury selection would be 12/11.

  111. 111.

    trollhattan

    @JWR: ​
    Amazing, isn’t it? Sacramento’s adjusted median rent is $2500, basically an order of magnitude higher than when I was last a renter here.

    Often pass by the apartment I lived in for several years and it’s the same dump today as it was back in the day. Oh, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt the orange shag carpet has been replaced at some point, but the ’60s exterior is exactly the same.

  113. 113.

    LAO

    @JPL: I read the papers and it’s an aggressive schedule. I don’t expect Judge Chutkan will adopt it. Although I do think it’ll be way sooner than the defense proposes.

    Just my opinion, I’d be happy if I’m wrong.

  115. 115.

    Shalimar

    @eversor: You really should stop noting your opinion on Christians.  Everyone knows what you think.  If you would stick to sharing your occasionally insightful opinion about everything other than Christians, no one would be calling for you to be banned.

  116. 116.

    Scout211

    Did you know that Boris Epshsteyn is a creep?  See my shocked face.

    Trump Adviser Accused of Groping Two Women at Scottsdale Club in 2021: Report

    Boris Epshteyn, a former special adviser to former President Donald Trump, is accused of groping a woman and her sister at a nightclub called the Bottled Blonde in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2021, according to police body camera footage obtained by The Arizona Republic.

    A 27-year-old woman accused Epshteyn of “molesting” her and her sister in the early morning hours of Oct. 10, 2021.

    “All night he’s been touching me and my sister, especially my sister. He kind of cornered her and grabbed her and is just making her super uncomfortable,” the woman, who has not been identified by name, reportedly said on the body camera footage.

    Epshteyn, who was wearing shorts, sandals, and a collared shirt was ordered by police to sit on a nearby curb, while the woman described the assault, the Arizona Republic reported.

    The woman told police he was “touching her chest, touching her hips, touching her crotch.”

    The Arizona Republic reported that the woman described Epshteyn to police as “fat, ugly, like drooping face. White Ralph Lauren Polo.” She said he looked “like fatter Tony Soprano.”

    When the officer asked if she wanted to press charges she said “yes.”

    Epshteyn was charged with “assault touching,” “attempted sexual abuse,” “harassment-repeated acts” and “disorderly conduct-disruptive behavior or fighting,” but the first three charges were later dismissed.

    . . .
    He was cuffed and put in the back of a police car about 20 minutes after police arrived on the scene, according to the Arizona Republic’s review of the body camera footage.

    Epshteyn was sentenced to five days in jail, but was credited with time served if he completed 11 months of probation, completed an alcohol program, paid a fine and avoided contact with the two women.

  117. 117.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @trollhattan:

    IIRC the highest paid positions in California state government are at PERS, the state retirement system, where they need “investment banker” types managing the portfolio. They make far more than the governor.

    I’m curious, are the funds actively managed by them, as in they decide what the funds are invested in? Because active management can’t consistently beat passive/index investing

  118. 118.

    MisterDancer

    @eversor: So unless we are all going to get rid of that, spare me the outrage over it.

    Replaced with WHAT? You know there are literally dozens of big-assed religions out these, some with more worshipers than the very broad umbrella of “Christianity,” and many with some really bad actors and even governments shallowly and destructively adhering to them.

    And given the various bigotries of people like Dawkins and Sam Harris, don’t even try me about Atheism being inherently “better”.

    What’s hilarious is that, if you had a twinge of nuance, most of us would agree with you. Hell, your core arguments aren’t too far removed from some of the Postcolonialist works I’m reading at the moment.

    But the way you talk and approach these issues is as much nonsense as the people who insist that the way to end Racism is to kill Capitalism.

  119. 119.

    Immanentize

    Some of you may remember Thomas’ confirmation hearing. I watched every minute of it I could BEFORE the Anita Hill fiasco started. I was in Texas representing Death Row inmates and we were all in shock that such an undistinguished guy was being put up for the Court. I knew the Republicans were racist (mostly in the Reagan ways then) but that was really the first time I saw how cynical they were about race. It was the first major race trolling I witnessed (or rather was aware of). Then, Anita Hill and things went sideways. It seemed sexual harassment was even scarier to discuss than race! (Remember, we were still in the “tough on crime, sentence harder, juvenile predators, crack babies, satanic panic days.)

    Then Thomas’ rebuttal — here was a man who went out of his way to say there was no racial influence in his success, that we should all go color blind… Here was that jerk immediately turning to racial metaphor to save his nomination from going down the tubes.

    “High tech lynching.”

    You see, he was the victim of white mobs — (including black women! And women generally!) Lynched! Just like Emmett Till! But with technology! But not dead, not mutilated, just inconvenienced at a job interview.
    Motherfucker!

    But I could see at that moment what all the Harlan Crowes saw — an easy mark for actual racists to get some shit done. All Clarence needed was some stroking. Flattery. “You are the smartest, best! You should hate those libs who questioned your qualifications at Yale (although they weren’t libs). You deserve your due. And we support you, and we will support you, we agree you were wronged! We see you! And in fact, we love you! We are your real non-racist bosom buddies. Forever. Here and on vacations.”

    He was the most easily corrupted Supreme Court Justice ever (and there have been more than a few). Easy mark because he was so unqualified, but had such a huge chip on his shoulders; so craved acceptance and feeling worthy, that no price was too high to pay to get it — but he was had cheap.

    I was having dinner with Scalia in Austria one night in 1996 — Scalia who took Thomas’ vote every time it was offered — and he famously told me and the few others at the table: “Justice Thomas really wasn’t ready for the Court.” Even his biggest partner there knew he was a hack.

  120. 120.

    C Stars

    @Scout211: accused of groping a woman and her sister at a nightclub called the Bottled Blonde in Scottsdale, Ariz

    Scottsdale is so fucking trashy. I can truly say that having lived and worked there for a couple of years in a one-percent-adjacent capacity. Shockingly trashy. Once had a man parade his younger (wife?mistress?) in front of me in lingerie, so we could discuss the quality of her new boob job.

  121. 121.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Shalimar:

    They could also just clarify they mean extremist Christians. Still wouldn’t justify the eliminationist rhetoric

  123. 123.

    West of the Rockies

    @matt:

    A where’s work doesn’t harm millions of other humans and the environment and democracy and equality…

    Thomas is something far worse.

  124. 124.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @Immanentize:  I recall it too and the lie that struck me was when he was asked about Roe and said something like he hadn’t given it any thought.

  126. 126.

    West of the Rockies

    @eversor:

    Do you ever bore yourself?

    For the record,  I am agnostic-leaning-atheist.  Can’t stand evangelicals, cultists, prosperity gospel “teachings”, fundamentalists of every ilk, and rude proselytizers.

  127. 127.

    JPL

    @Immanentize:  It doesn’t matter though, because Robert’s will just shed puppy tears in front of some group, stating that the court is upstanding.

    btw you had some interesting dinners.

  128. 128.

    Tony Jay

    @eversor:

    On the one hand, the last person I know of this performatively obsessed with something they claimed to hate was eventually found hanging half-dead and raving out of a too-tight glory hole in a public toilet down the road from their Evangelical megachurch.

    Food for thought, eh, Pastor Predictable?

    On the other hand, it could just be that your side-hustle is harvesting NFTs of people calling you a one-note knobhead and selling them a thousand a throw on the Dark Web, in which case you’ll be a Twitcoin trillionaire before the end of this thread.

  129. 129.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Immanentize:

    Interesting story!

    The “high-tech lynching” thing really is insulting to the memories of those black people who were lynched, such as Till. A real revealing character moment for Thomas

    Funny that Scalia was willing to admit privately to you that Crooked Clarence is unqualified. I’m sure he still appreciated his vote on the SCOTUS all the same

  130. 130.

    trollhattan

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): ​
    They function more or less like a mutual fund, but with more oversight and some added investment guidelines.

    The Investment Office invests and manages CalPERS assets. The portfolio invests in stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity, inflation-linked assets, and other public and private investment vehicles. Our goal is to generate total returns on a long-term basis while managing risk.

    Individual investment decisions are made by an internal trading staff as well as external equity managers on behalf of the CalPERS Board of Administration.
    The Board adopted a set of beliefs that articulate the Pension Fund’s views on the public pension design, funding, and administration.
    The Board has investment authority and sole fiduciary responsibility for the management of CalPERS assets.
    Trading decisions are governed by policies established by the Investment Committee in accordance with applicable law.
    With the Board’s guidance, the Investment Committee and Investment Office carry out the daily activities of the Investment Program.

    https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/investments/about-investment-office/investment-organization

    They were valued at $463B June 30, 2023.

  131. 131.

    JPL

    What are the odds that Ginny drunk dials someone tonight.  She might not be able to call Anita anymore, but you can be sure that her name will be mentioned.

  133. 133.

    marklar

    @eversor: Yes, Clarence Thomas is a Christian. So is Sheldon Whitehouse, who is working diligently to create a code of ethics for the Judiciary. What exactly is your point?

    I’ve said this before…your posts about John McCain and Tim Miller show a great deal of nuance. Some advice from an atheist/agnostic Jew, try using that lens for Christians as well!

  134. 134.

    cmorenc

    The late Justice Abe Fortas, whom President Johnson nominated for Chief Justice, was forced to resign over far less than the value Clarence Thomas has accepted.  And Fortas returned the money involved.

  135. 135.

    Burnspbesq

    @JPL:

    Pbbbt. F’in whiny litigators. Transactional lawyers never get holidays, cuz there are always deals that need to close by year-end. Early in my career, I billed time on five Christmases in a row.

  136. 136.

    Bill Arnold

    @Redshift:
    Wow! She even cited the 2018 Bernstein/Turban study.
    The impact of the ‘open’ workspace on human collaboration (Ethan S. Bernstein and Stephen Turban, 02 July 2018)

    This recent one is also of interest:
    Open-office noise and information processing (July 17, 2023, Lewend Mayiwar Thorvald Hærem,)

    Abstract
    Purpose: We draw on arousal-based models to develop and test a model of open-office noise and information processing. Specifically, we examined whether open-office noise changes how people process information and whether such a change has consequences for task performance.
    Findings: Open-office noise increased urgent processing and decreased analytical processing, which led to a respective decrease and increase in task performance. In line with a neuroscientific account of cognitive processing, an increase in arousal (subjective and physiological) drove the detrimental effect of open-office noise on task performance.

  139. 139.

    Gravenstone

    A shame we couldn’t swap ol’ Clarence for Payne Stewart or Otis Redding/Stevie Ray Vaughn…

    Where’s a good old fashioned helicopter/small plane crash when you need one?

  140. 140.

    cain

    @marklar: As I’ve remarked before – his rants are indicative of a trauma and usually those of us who suffer from trauma the involuntary reaction it generates is hard to suppress and certainly in a online forum like this even harder.

  141. 141.

    Tony Jay

    @JWR:

    I can’t abide it when people harp on endlessly about their unchanging resentments.

    That’s my job!

  145. 145.

    JPL

    @LAO: What does this mean

    In a separate filing, prosecutors are opposing #Trump’s effort to toll time under the Speedy Trial Act, saying time is already tolled because of pending motions, but that it’s too early to consider separate motion to toll time.

  147. 147.

    MisterDancer

    @Tony Jay:

    I can’t abide it when people harp on endlessly about their unchanging resentments.

    That’s my job!

    Ha! :)

    As another such person, allow me to say your harping is not only highly entertaining (I wish I had half your facility with wordsmithing!) — you’re also educational to us Yanks without implying we’re idiots for not knowing what what know.

  148. 148.

    M31

    @JPL: time is already tolled

    I don’t know what it means legally but hopefully it’s something along the lines of “tick tock motherfucker”

  149. 149.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    THIS.

    Sure he doesn’t make millions a year but he does rather well, somewhere close to $300 grand. But that won’t buy him 35 acres in the secluded area with a 20K+ sq ft mansion on it. You know, just what he deserves for being so, what is it, oh yes receptive to cash and gifts.

  150. 150.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Immanentize:

    I was having dinner with Scalia in Austria one night in 1996 — Scalia who took Thomas’ vote every time it was offered — and he famously told me

    “Don’t drop names!”

  151. 151.

    LAO

    @JPL: short answer, defense counsel are morons.  The statute is already tolled.

    long answer: foreshadowing a never-ending cycle of stupid motion practice.

  152. 152.

    rikyrah

    @LAO:

    I read the papers and it’s an aggressive schedule. I don’t expect Judge Chutkan will adopt it. Although I do think it’ll be way sooner than the defense proposes

     

    why not?

    This is August

    They get Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec to prepare.

  153. 153.

    West of the Rockies

    @eversor:

    I would genuinely like to hear your story if you’re willing to share it:  how did you come to your perspective on Christianity?  This is an extremely intelligent collection of people here; we know religious trauma exists.

    I experienced a couple of smackdowns from women of the cloth (Catholic nuns).  A younger sister attended an evangelical church in San Diego–her pastor later went to prison for bombing an abortion clinic.  My wife experienced forms of abuse from her long-ago Mormon bishops.

  154. 154.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Burnspbesq: I had a few New Year’s Eves like that, because the purchase and sale needed to happen in different calendar years. Good times!

  155. 155.

    LAO

    @M31: I’m sorry to disappoint- the Speedy Trisl Act requires that a defendant be tried 70 days from arraignment. However, it’s not really 70 days because much of trial practice, for example filing motions, stops the speedy trial clock.

  156. 156.

    Ruckus

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    It wouldn’t surprise me that most city police/sheriff departments have something like this, especially in bigger cities/counties. They often see their job is to enforce the law, rather than follow it, and that they are doing the most basic, most dangerous part of the job and deserve everything they can get for doing it.

  157. 157.

    Tony Jay

    @MisterDancer:

    That’s very gracious of you, but IMHO there’s a reason you’re a valued front-pager, and it’s not just because you have the only existing drafts of Cole’s Monk/Scooby Doo fan-fiction locked in a safety deposit box as security.

  162. 162.

    Anyway

    @Baud:

    Via reddit

    The U.S. Treasury Department will soon propose a rule that would effectively end anonymous luxury-home purchases, closing a loophole that the agency says allows corrupt oligarchs, terrorists and other criminals to hide ill-gotten gains.
    The long-awaited rule is expected to require that real estate professionals such as title insurers report the identities of the beneficial owners of companies buying real estate in cash to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

    Not holding my breath but if they ever get to it I will consume cake, pie, champs — all those things that WG reserves for indictments … reining in oligarchs/plutocrats is so necessary. This will be step 1 of many,

  163. 163.

    JWR

    @Bill Arnold:

    I worked as a machinist / Toolmaker / tooling engineer for quite a few years, and when Tyco Electronics bought us out they decided it would be better if they moved our nice little, quiet little, basement tooling department upstairs, right next to all the WWII era Brown & Sharp screw machines, slamming their tools around, and boy, it didn’t take long for all of us to have noticeable symptoms. Anxiety went way up and concentration went all to Hell. For my part, I started having honest to goodness panic attacks, which was no fun at all! We agitated for, and finally got a soundwall, but was that ever an experience.

  164. 164.

    ETtheLibrarian

    At what point does the selfishness and obsession over reputation of the other Justices prompt them (looking at you Roberts) – to force the issue? I mean the publicity over Clarence’s shenanigans shines too much of a light and makes it harder for them to effectively use the GOP grift train. And anyway, white men don’t like to be mocked and they are getting second hand (or first in the case of Alito) mockery that has to sting.

    I suppose this is the benefit of their secrecy and almost literal ivory tower. It is ironic that Roberts’ who obsesses over the Courts rep is Chief Justice at a time when their rep is very low on their own account. Of course, this is partly a problem of his/their own making (and tolerating) so I don’t feel bad for him/them.

  165. 165.

    Roger Moore

    @Redshift:

    I saw that McMegan column and was surprised at how reasonable it was.  My guess is the Post is trying to force people back to the office, and that’s her big motivation for it.  They’ve certainly been publishing a lot of articles and editorials about how great and important it is for workers to come back to the office.

  167. 167.

    Jay

    @rikyrah:

    Not being paid is quite common amongst the Contract Soldiers and Mobliks, ( along with not being armed, fed, body armor, medical care, evacuation, rotation).

    The thing with the prisoners is,

    no consent, so they are just being forcibly taken
    no “contracts” so they don’t exist in the system
    no military ID, so they are just another meat cube abandoned to feed the sunflowers in UKraine.

    The pay thing is a result to the other conditions. No pay, no pension, no record of service, no pardon or parole, no grave, etc.

  169. 169.

    Anyway

    @Immanentize:

    I was having dinner with Scalia in Austria one night in 1996 — Scalia who took Thomas’ vote every time it was offered — and he famously told me and the few others at the table: “Justice Thomas really wasn’t ready for the Court.” Even his biggest partner there knew he was a hack.

    Nominated for bestest name-drop on BJ! I had no idea.

    Q for the legal observers – Back then Crony Clarence never questioned a witness or wrote (? is that the right verb, NAL) an opinion – he just signed on to Fat Tony’s . Has that changed now? Does he do more independent work?

  170. 170.

    Anyway

    @Roger Moore: I saw that McMegan column and was surprised at how reasonable it was.  My guess is the Post is trying to force people back to the office, and that’s her big motivation for it.

    They recently had a column by Bloomberg saying companies should force employees back to the office. There’s a definite push …

  172. 172.

    Jay

    @Anyway:

    Has that changed now? Does he do more independent work?

    Apparently he is Leo’s favorite “cleaner”. The gifted RV is apparently quite useful for body dumps and crime scene clean ups.

  173. 173.

    Roger Moore

    @ETtheLibrarian:

    At what point does the selfishness and obsession over reputation of the other Justices prompt them (looking at you Roberts) – to force the issue?

    Never.  They love talking about reputation, but the conservative justices care far more about implementing their 1850s jurisprudence than about their reputation.  Not to mention that Thomas is far from the only one engaging in this kind of corruption, and the other corrupt justices’ desire for self-protection will mean they have to defend Thomas, too.

  174. 174.

    Ruckus

    @Bill Arnold:

    I worked in an open office situation for 11 yrs. In this situation, having to work in an open office situation, I fortunately was on the road 8-9 months of the year. I’m not sure that was better. But. Had one woman who sang at her desk. Not really loud, but loud enough. Had a magazine department about 20 feet away, and on last day before issue final it could get a bit loud. Always heard anyone’s phone ringing. It was a lovely working environment. And lies sometimes roll right off my fingers.

  176. 176.

    pieceofpeace

    After college, I applied for a Juvenile Parole agent for WA state.  First interview, and I was nervous, anxious to make a good impression.

    After the usual information gathering by them and me, they asked only 2 questions, both have remained with me, for their lesson learned.  The first was “If you’re visiting the child’s family, they’re snacking and offering you an apple, do you say okay?”  I enthusiastically said yes, thinking it was a good communal move.  Next was, “As you’re leaving, they hand you a box of apples.  Do you take it.”  (Sirens going off in my head, with a heaviness beginning to rumble somewhere in the body) No, say I, which I knew was ‘right.’  They ask,  “Why not?!”  Unable to answer that one.

    The next scenrio/question was about the same dilemna-type, and I failed that too.  The stomach rumbling became a leaden watermelon for me as they suggested I reapply in a few years.  I knew why.

    My later reaction to these queries was to go over and over that interview until I realized where my thinking (and feeling!) reactions were unexamined, unformed.  Clarence and wife never got beyond thought #1 = “I want that!”

    How can government choose these very important positions to be filled, so they’re less political?  I well remember the CT confirmation hearing and the sense that little was learned of this man back then. And why is this position for life, because it’s assumed(!?) one gets smarter, wiser with age?

  177. 177.

    Cameron

    Sorry, but I’m afraid the commenters have tap-danced through 150+ comments without plainly stating the actual import of this ProPublica report: it just proves, once again, that Democrats are the real racists.

  179. 179.

    JWR

    @Jay:

    No pay, no pension, no record of service, no pardon or parole, no grave, etc.

    If you can’t do the time, don’t do the war crime?

  181. 181.

    geg6

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: ​
     
    They must be making tons of money off of MaL and Bedminster ketchup “accidents.” Heinz just recently gave a local very low income school district (Aliquippa) here a ton of cash (1.3 million) to help cover the costs of the renovation of their football field and an athletic/academic center. That field and team is legendary and, in fact, has more former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame than any other high school in the nation and just saw former Quip student/player Darrelle Revis inducted last weekend. Throw more ketchup, Cheetolini!

    https://youtu.be/-gCdUwF7d8Y?si=lhfYpLaF9foGzdmm

  182. 182.

    West of the Rockies

    @LAO:

    This one time, Cary Grant and I were camping with Marilyn Monroe, and JFK showed up, drunk as a skunk…

  184. 184.

    JML

    @Ruckus: Let’s be honest, “open plan” work stations are driven by management, who wants to be able to see everybody easily, so they can check up on people to determine if they’re slacking. It has nothing to do with collaborative work environments, it’s all about lack of trust. Which is also what a lot of the objections to WFH policies are about too.

    One of the other things smart organizations discovered with WFH policies is that they didn’t need as many middle managers when they weren’t sucking up people’s time with fairly unnecessary meetings that they didn’t realize weren’t necessary or important until they had to do them via technology that naturally depressed the amount of sidechat and exposed the people who talked a lot without actually saying anything or adding value to the conversation.

  186. 186.

    LifeInTheBonusRound

    @trollhattan: From 1995-2000 I lived in a downtown “high-rise” (11 stories) residential building in the neighborhood. It was an odd experience, like a reverse suburb. It would fill up in the day and empty out after work. But it was peaceful until the crows came in from the fields at sunset. And while I agree that the EDD building is unappealing in many ways, it it no way “Brutalist”. I now live in Boston, where our City Hall is regarded as one of “The 9 Brutalist Wonders of the Architectural World.” We have a few more of those around here as well. The EDD building postdates Brutalism by a number of decades. It’s still ugly. But that’s not really a synonym for Brutalist.

  189. 189.

    LiminalOwl

    @cain: And if that is indeed the case, much sympathy. However, in online forums such as this there is ample opportunity for second thoughts, or deletions.  (Also, getting some good trauma therapy would likely be more beneficial to the survivor than ranting is.)

  190. 190.

    LiminalOwl

    @Redshift: Unfortunately, that wouldn’t take care of hellish commutes, the avoidance of which is the biggest WFH benefit for most metro-area office employees that I know.

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