SCOTUS, Now with KBJ

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Cannot imagine scale of scandal if kagan, sotomayor or god forbid the black woman took these gifts and didn’t disclose.

[Handyman]

In my opinion you are not seeing a situation with Thomas where decisions are purchased. Is the theory that if these guys weren't putting him up on their yachts or in their mountain ski chalets, he'd be voting in lockstep with Kagan?? This is a guy that came onto the court joined at the hip with Scalia and Rehnquist. Paying him with the hope he might vote conservative seems sort of silly, imho. It would be like sending Kepler $100 with a request that he write a post referring to Republicans as Nazis. Save your money. You're good.

I tell my wife all the time that we don't need a boat. We have friends with boats. If we want to ride in a bigger or better boat, we just need to find wealthier friends.

When you have the silly amounts of money these people have, when you have bought more houses than you can reasonably live in during any given year, when you have every toy available to be purchased, and you still have more money than you know what to do with, there is only one more thing you can do.

Dikmeasuring contest.

Lavishing these things on Thomas isn't for the purpose of "buying" court decisions. It's so when one of their wealthy friends comes to visit, they can tell them that they'll be staying in the bedroom where US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS slept last week.

It's for bragging rights. Thomas has figured that out and has been more than willing to sell the prestige and cache of hanging out with a SCOTUS justice to anyone who will pay.

Even if every word of what you are saying is true (and most of it likely is) that isn't the point and you know it. The criminal justice system only works if there is not any hint of impropriety. Any inkling of bias from a judge should get them recused so that there is never a question about whether the judge acted in the best interest of justice. Some of the people that are in the midst of these dik measuring contests were involved in business with the Court. Now maybe he would have decided the way he did in those cases anyways, maybe he wouldn't. But the fact that the question could be asked legitimately is why he should not be aparty to any decision that involves them. His opinions need to be above reproach whether we agree with them or not. ITs why people didn't want him hearing Trump cases since his wife was part of the Stop the Steal movement...why should we trust he will do the right thing?

And here is the rub...all anyone is asking from him is what he asks of the people who argue before him. These are not special requests made because of his station they are the bare minimum of what was ethically expected of him. This guy is a stickler for every "t" being crossed and every "i" being dotted but he just chooses what to declare and what not to declare even though he is required to do so? Come on son that is some elitist BS right there. He is not some small town legislator or something HE IS A FRIGGIN SUPEREME COURT JUSTICE. He is a member of one of the 3 highest branches in the government...one of the most powerful jurists in the world.

Here is the deal I have no issue with him hanging out with his Federalist Buddies and giving speeches, I dont care if he goes fishing in Canada with them or hits the strip club...whatever. But trust is earned, and when he can't be bothered to be open and honest about where the money comes from and why he got it that doesn't pass the smell test. And when he doesn't recuse himself when there is an apparent conflict of interest, that tells me his arrogant azz thinks he is untouchable so screw the rules. He might be doing everything above board, but if we can honestly ask whether he is, he might as well not be and it just stinks of justice not being blind in these cases.

[LynahFan]

In my opinion you are not seeing a situation with Thomas where decisions are purchased. Is the theory that if these guys weren't putting him up on their yachts or in their mountain ski chalets, he'd be voting in lockstep with Kagan?? This is a guy that came onto the court joined at the hip with Scalia and Rehnquist. Paying him with the hope he might vote conservative seems sort of silly, imho. It would be like sending Kepler $100 with a request that he write a post referring to Republicans as Nazis. Save your money. You're good.

I tell my wife all the time that we don't need a boat. We have friends with boats. If we want to ride in a bigger or better boat, we just need to find wealthier friends.

When you have the silly amounts of money these people have, when you have bought more houses than you can reasonably live in during any given year, when you have every toy available to be purchased, and you still have more money than you know what to do with, there is only one more thing you can do.

Dikmeasuring contest.

Lavishing these things on Thomas isn't for the purpose of "buying" court decisions. It's so when one of their wealthy friends comes to visit, they can tell them that they'll be staying in the bedroom where US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS slept last week.

It's for bragging rights. Thomas has figured that out and has been more than willing to sell the prestige and cache of hanging out with a SCOTUS justice to anyone who will pay.

So, just hypothetically, if you were a billionaire owner of say, a foreign energy company, you might want to be able to tell your friends that you placed a relative of an already rich, prominent US politician on your board, with no other motive and no expectation of any sort of quid for your quo?

is that what we’re talking about here?

[St. Clown]

In my opinion you are not seeing a situation with Thomas where decisions are purchased. Is the theory that if these guys weren't putting him up on their yachts or in their mountain ski chalets, he'd be voting in lockstep with Kagan?? This is a guy that came onto the court joined at the hip with Scalia and Rehnquist. Paying him with the hope he might vote conservative seems sort of silly, imho. It would be like sending Kepler $100 with a request that he write a post referring to Republicans as Nazis. Save your money. You're good.

I tell my wife all the time that we don't need a boat. We have friends with boats. If we want to ride in a bigger or better boat, we just need to find wealthier friends.

When you have the silly amounts of money these people have, when you have bought more houses than you can reasonably live in during any given year, when you have every toy available to be purchased, and you still have more money than you know what to do with, there is only one more thing you can do.

Dikmeasuring contest.

Lavishing these things on Thomas isn't for the purpose of "buying" court decisions. It's so when one of their wealthy friends comes to visit, they can tell them that they'll be staying in the bedroom where US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS slept last week.

It's for bragging rights. Thomas has figured that out and has been more than willing to sell the prestige and cache of hanging out with a SCOTUS justice to anyone who will pay.

In politics, it’s well established that the money and perks come after a voting history has been established. The problem is that once the money starts to roll on, even if a politician or Justice-ish like Timeshare should ever have a change of mind/heart regarding a subject, are they more or less willing to make that change when it could impact their lifestyle? The money creates a system of intellectual laziness for those whose wits are generally needed most. And Timeshare just doesn’t care about what’s right, otherwise he would’ve reported these grifts on the front-end and not waited for journalists to expose the man for what he is. He clearly is more interested in a comfier life than the meager salary of a SCOTUS justice.

[Kepler]

In my opinion you are not seeing a situation with Thomas where decisions are purchased. Is the theory that if these guys weren't putting him up on their yachts or in their mountain ski chalets, he'd be voting in lockstep with Kagan?? This is a guy that came onto the court joined at the hip with Scalia and Rehnquist. Paying him with the hope he might vote conservative seems sort of silly, imho. It would be like sending Kepler $100 with a request that he write a post referring to Republicans as Nazis. Save your money. You're good.

I tell my wife all the time that we don't need a boat. We have friends with boats. If we want to ride in a bigger or better boat, we just need to find wealthier friends.

When you have the silly amounts of money these people have, when you have bought more houses than you can reasonably live in during any given year, when you have every toy available to be purchased, and you still have more money than you know what to do with, there is only one more thing you can do.

Dikmeasuring contest.

Lavishing these things on Thomas isn't for the purpose of "buying" court decisions. It's so when one of their wealthy friends comes to visit, they can tell them that they'll be staying in the bedroom where US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS slept last week.

It's for bragging rights. Thomas has figured that out and has been more than willing to sell the prestige and cache of hanging out with a SCOTUS justice to anyone who will pay.

Hovey is right. (!?)

I don't think that if we pooled our money we could buy Thomas' vote to save reproductive freedom or roll back vote suppression. I think the company Thomas keeps is an indicator of what kind of a creep he is.

But he isn't a purchased creep. He comes by it naturally.

[SJHovey]

Since these pay-for-play scandals starting becoming disclosed, I had begun to think of Thomas as a sold man, a slave to those who’ve purchased his decisions. Today I realized that the thought was ludicrous - too many people owns piece of him. He’s Justice Timeshare. Those who own a piece of him will have to get in early in order to get their decision.

In my opinion you are not seeing a situation with Thomas where decisions are purchased. Is the theory that if these guys weren't putting him up on their yachts or in their mountain ski chalets, he'd be voting in lockstep with Kagan?? This is a guy that came onto the court joined at the hip with Scalia and Rehnquist. Paying him with the hope he might vote conservative seems sort of silly, imho. It would be like sending Kepler $100 with a request that he write a post referring to Republicans as Nazis. Save your money. You're good.

I tell my wife all the time that we don't need a boat. We have friends with boats. If we want to ride in a bigger or better boat, we just need to find wealthier friends.

When you have the silly amounts of money these people have, when you have bought more houses than you can reasonably live in during any given year, when you have every toy available to be purchased, and you still have more money than you know what to do with, there is only one more thing you can do.

Dikmeasuring contest.

Lavishing these things on Thomas isn't for the purpose of "buying" court decisions. It's so when one of their wealthy friends comes to visit, they can tell them that they'll be staying in the bedroom where US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS slept last week.

It's for bragging rights. Thomas has figured that out and has been more than willing to sell the prestige and cache of hanging out with a SCOTUS justice to anyone who will pay.

[St. Clown]

Since these pay-for-play scandals starting becoming disclosed, I had begun to think of Thomas as a sold man, a slave to those who’ve purchased his decisions. Today I realized that the thought was ludicrous - too many people owns piece of him. He’s Justice Timeshare. Those who own a piece of him will have to get in early in order to get their decision.

[ScoobyDoo]

So someone else financed the 280k RV that Clarence uses.

Does the man actually pay for anything himself?

Why would you when you don't have to?

[dxmnkd316]

We should just call him a haberman. Never wrote a word he wasn't paid to write.

[St. Clown]

If I was an amoral judge with no real way of being punished or removed from power, I wouldn't buy myself squat ever again either.

But then you’re owned by all of those sponsors. Justice(?) Thomas isn’t working under his own will at this point.

[Handyman]

So someone else financed the 280k RV that Clarence uses.

Does the man actually pay for anything himself?

Ginni's abortions back in the day?

(come on you know it happened its the only thing missing from this story!)

[bronconick]

If I was an amoral judge with no real way of being punished or removed from power, I wouldn't buy myself squat ever again either.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

So someone else financed the 280k RV that Clarence uses.

Does the man actually pay for anything himself?

[dxmnkd316]

apparently Samuel L. Jackson... said that he portrayed Stephen with Clarence Thomas in mind.

lol holy ****. Seriously?

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

The Minnesota AG apparently compared Clarence Thomas to the house slave in Django Unchained.

I have not seen the movie, but I am guessing that's not a compliment.

Stephen (June 26, 1780 - May 7, 1859) was Calvin Candie's starkly loyal house slave and close friend. He is the secondary antagonist of Django Unchained. Being a senior house slave more respected than the rest, Stephen personally views himself second only to the white man with all his fellow black people beneath him.

That tracks for most of today's black conservatives. Also, apparently Samuel L. Jackson (who played the character in the film) said that he portrayed Stephen with Clarence Thomas in mind.