A veteran Supreme Court justice who interprets the law and writes complexly reasoned opinions repeatedly misreports his financial connections for decades, and we're supposed to accept that they're innocent mistakes and omissions?
There's more than smoke here. It's a raging inferno of corruption. When will Clarence Thomas be held accountable? How long will he get away with making a laughing stock of the rule of law?
If you read her comments and interviews, you could come to the conclusion that she's already doing a decent job of shooting the GOP in the foot. As the spotlight continues to shine on her, she may be tempted to aim higher.
MTG AND Lauren Boebert have become the GOP mascots. I don't know what happened to Michelle Batshit Bachmann, which might imply that I actually give a damn about their Unholy Trinity.
The Libertarian party, maybe. BUT they're mostly recycled Republicans who want to see ganja use & prostitution legalized. The Tea Party was / is mostly hyper - mega Conservatives who want to make America safe FROM democracy & non - white, non - Protestant people, & one doesn't hear much about them.
Libertarian, no. That's what caused the problem in the first place. Something liberal, progressive, and environmental. If we don't adapt for health and safety, we're SOL
'It's a raging inferno of corruption.' you write of Clarence Thomas, and, perhaps, the Supreme Court. So, may be this country, Michael: a gigantic mass of hidden truths; overmatched by the lies of self-seeking and social media; a land despoiled by overdevelopment; a network of shell games with its roots infected by hate and gamesmanship robbing the people of their wealth, rights and dignity.
I would add that the gun problem reminds me of a person in quicksand. The nation thrashes and convulses in the struggle, hastening the end result. There is no way out here.
The gun lobby, number of guns in private hands, the use of AR-15s, gun violence, lack of effective national legislation to regulate gun use, along with being stoked by autocrats aiming to blow us apart, Americans are afraid for the lives of their children and themselves.
Bingo. Arm in arm with the constant attacks on teachers. In fact, this could be why our home-grown fascists are so insistent about making teachers armed guards.
And now the local vandals are using the anarchy sign coupled with a sign for trans people....so the usual suspects will believe that this is who is spraying symbols on their fences instead of the punks who love doing this sort of thing.
I would like all your comments but they are very depressing. The self seeking autocrats are loud.. they are not the majority. Some have power. The media loves them. They could be gaining on us if we shrug from an overload of this negativism. I hope that the number of those that would be so vulnerable to take the side of the autocrats and their lies, have reached an end point of sorts.
With their AR-15 lapel pins, Christmas Cards, and other look-at-my guns peacocking, the autocratic right is screaming that the rest of us should cower before them. We don't and won't.
Michael, from the research that I have read, a small minority of gunowners own more than one or two guns. The following about AR-15 was published by Forbes
'Record 2.8 Million AR-15 And AK-Style Rifles Entered U.S. Circulation In 2020, Gun Group Says'
'Updated Jul 20, 2022, 04:49pm EDT'
'TOPLINE The United States manufactured or imported just over 24.4 million AR-15 and AK-style guns—which are often known as assault rifles or modern sporting rifles—from 1990 to 2020, a firearm industry group estimated Wednesday, with a record number added in 2020, as Democratic lawmakers call to ban the sale of the popular weapons amid the mounting toll of mass shootings carried out with them.'
'KEY FACTS'
'The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates the United States imported or manufactured a record-breaking 2.8 million AR-15 and AK-style rifles in 2020 alone (NSSF subtracted exports to other countries from its figures).'
'It’s a sizable jump from NSSF’s last recorded figures, which estimated almost 20 million of these rifles were in circulation in the United States as of 2018.'
'Manufacturing figures for AR-15 and AK-style rifles, minus exports, have exploded in recent decades, from fewer than 100,000 annually in the late 1990s—when many of those firearms were prohibited for civilian use under the 1994-2004 federal assault weapons ban—to more than 1 million every year since 2015'.
'NSSF’s figures include semi-automatic rifles produced for both civilian and police use, but exclude firearms used by the military, NSSF spokesperson Mark Oliva says.'
'The number of guns in circulation keeps growing every year. A record-breaking 22.8 million total firearms were sold in the United States in 2020, the consulting firm Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting estimated, part of a rapid spike in sales many experts have linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the presidential election. Monthly firearm sales have slowed down since then, but are still well above pre-pandemic levels.'
KEY BACKGROUND
'The United States is widely believed to have more guns in civilian hands than any other country on Earth, with some estimates pegging the number of firearms in circulation at slightly over or under 400 million—greater than the total U.S. population. Many of those firearms are handguns, but AR-15-style rifles are particularly controversial because they’ve been used in many of America’s worst mass shootings—and because many critics and doctors say they can be more lethal than other guns. Several states have passed assault weapons bans, and Democrats are pushing for a nationwide prohibition on AR-15s and other semi-automatic guns that are defined as assault weapons, an idea that was left out of last month’s gun control bill amid GOP opposition. However, firearm groups say AR-15s are popular because they’re easy to use and offer light recoil, and argue a ban would have a limited effect on gun crime—which typically involves handguns rather than rifles—while arbitrarily snagging law-abiding owners.' (Forbes) See link below.
Perhaps owners of assault rifles should be forced to see up close what they do to human bodies.
From The Washington Post: "The AR-15 fires bullets at such a high velocity — often in a barrage of 30 or even 100 in rapid succession — that it can eviscerate multiple people in seconds. A single bullet lands with a shock wave intense enough to blow apart a skull and demolish vital organs. The impact is even more acute on the compact body of a small child.
“It literally can pulverize bones, it can shatter your liver and it can provide this blast effect,” said Joseph Sakran, a gunshot survivor who advocates for gun violence prevention and a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
During surgery on people shot with high-velocity rounds, he said, body tissue “literally just crumbled into your hands.”
While it's really weird to believe that guns distributed among the population is acceptable, and while there are many women who support this, as well as support the authoritarianism plaguing the GOP, what often doesn't get mentioned is that is about male violence. Shooting up groups of people going about their lives is mostly done by young men, homophobia runs more strongly among men, beating up those who are different is mostly a male reaction, destroying property, also done primarily by men, silencing people who are different, is a form of violence, and wanting the country to be ruled by a strongman type, seems to appeal to many men, sexism, sexual assault etc, also mostly men - all of which costs us a lot in resources, and makes our world less safe than it should be. Shouldn't we be asking the question - what's wrong with so many men that they see this destructive and hurtful behavior as acceptable at all? Shouldn't men who reject this type of maleness be speaking up to other members of their sex, that this isn't acceptable? There's something really wrong, and it seems to be rooted in this toxic masculinity.
Not a well-organized plan, though. The seeds of America’s gun fetish were down long before with the opening of the West. It is the American way to favor potential craziness over safety. So they push and push without regard for calamity, aided enormously by improved technology.
Now the country has found itself bound together in hatred - mostly West and South against East and coastal West, with guns being the push/pull of their mutual loathing.
I do not accept this “autocracy” idea yet. And I do not believe that there is strength in some sort of subversive dark cabal with infinite money. Not if they’ve chosen the buffoons that are the constant witless spokesmen for guns. There is some of that, but it’s mostly opportunistic.
In the main, Americans have just clowned themselves into this deadly theatre of the absurd. Its amorphous broad, open character is the greatest danger. (See Kristi Norm’s brain-dead pandering.)
Seems to me like a genie out of the bottle. Not sure where it all goes. Based in deeply held, primal fear about which most of these people are consciously unaware. Dangerous to an extreme. For all of us.
Yes, the fear part of the equation goes both ways. I have been amazed by the detail in a book I’m reading about how deeply the MAGA people fear the Democrats, especially the Clintons. It seems totally unhinged to me, but I guess they feel like the underdogs and would be amazed about our fear of them. Two solitudes.
The book is “Submerged: Scenes From a Slow Civil War”.
It is soberly written with no hyperbole by the author. All the more frightening.
I read an article yesterday about how firearms manufacture has largely left the northeast for the southeast. They say costs are lower and profits higher, and also they are 'welcome' there, as northeast states begin to pass firearms controls. One thing I can say for sure is that if we ever do end up in armed internal conflict, we will not do well to find ourselves without the armorers. Definitely an uneasy feeling.
Subscribers, the following is from a survey on Gun ownership in the US reported by Statista. I was unable to learn how many participants participated in the survey or the original source, if not Statista. In general, the figures and information provided match other reading material I have reviewed on this subject.
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 1972-2022'
'Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 7, 2022'
'The share of American households owning at least one firearm has remained relatively steady since 1972, hovering between 37 percent and 47 percent. In 2022, about 45 percent of U.S. households had at least one gun in their possession.
'Firearms command a higher degree of cultural significance in the United States than any other country in the world. Since the inclusion of the right to bear arms in the second amendment to the constitution of the United States, firearms have held symbolic power beyond their already obvious material power. Despite many Americans being proud gun-owners, a large movement exists within the country in opposition to the freedom afforded to those in possession of these potentially deadly weapons.'
'Those opposed to current gun regulation have sourced their anger from the large number of deaths due to firearms in the country, as well as the high frequency of gun violence apparent in comparison the other developed countries. Furthermore, the United States has fallen victim to a number of mass shootings in the last two decades most of which have raised questions over the ease at which a person can obtain a firearm. Although this movement holds a significant position in the public political discourse of the United States, meaningful change in regards to the legislation dictating the ownership of firearms has not occurred. Critics have pointed to the influence possessed by the National Rifle Association through their lobbying of public officials. The National Rifle Association also lobby for the interests of firearm manufacturing in the United States which has continued to rise since a fall in the early 2000s.'
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 2022, by gender'
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, men were more likely than women to either personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household. At this time, 46 percent of American men personally owned a firearm, compared to 21 percent of women.'
'Mass shootings in the U.S.: legality of shooter's weapons, as of April 2023'
'94 of the mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and April 2023 involved weapons which were obtained legally; a clear majority. Only 16 incidents involved guns that were obtained illegally.'
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 2021, by ethnicity'
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2021, white respondents were more likely to either personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household than their non-white counterparts. During the survey, 35 percent of white Americans reported that they personally owned a firearm, compared to 23 percent of non-white respondents.'
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 2022, by age'
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, Americans between the ages of 35 and 54 years old were more likely to personally own a gun than their counterparts in other age groups. At this time, 38 percent of Americans aged between 35 and 54 years old personally owned a firearm, compared to 26 percent of those aged 18 to 34 years old, and 35 percent of those aged 55 and over.
Gun ownership in the U.S. 2021, by education level
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2021, people with some college, but no college degree, were more likely to personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household. At this time, 35 percent of Americans with some college personally owned a firearm, compared to 26 percent of those with a high school degree or less, and 32 percent of college graduates.'
'Gun ownership U.S. 2022, by party affiliation'
'In the United States in 2022, 48 percent of Republicans reported that they owned at least one gun, and 66 percent said that they lived in a household with a gun. In comparison, only 20 percent of Democrats owned at least one gun, and 31 percent lived a gun household.'
'Number of registered weapons U.S. 2021, by state'
'Texas was the state with the highest number of registered weapons in the United States in 2021, with 1,006,555 firearms. Rhode Island, on the other hand, had the least, with 4,887 registered firearms.'
Fern The stench from the Stench Court is so great that the flatulants have authorized a high fence around their portapottie. Of course this contradicts their hifalutin decision that such a fence safeguard was not permissible around abortion clinics. They don’t even abide by their own rulings.
No, Bill, writing is difficult for me. When it works, which is rare, I feel like a dancer in flight.
Bill, bows to you. I saw the sick, yellowish green of corruption as you wrote, so unlike the richness of young spring grass and the gorgeous array of shades crowning the trees.
I have no doubt that some other justices have consulted with their accountants and lawyers to see if they should "amend" their financial disclosure documents. Also, is the IRS going to examine tax returns, especially in Thomas' case?
And Fern, your summary of what ails us is right on — sadly,
Hubris, thy name is "GOP". My recollection is that when asked why the Supreme Court lacked an ethics policy, Roberts relied that the Supreme court is above all that, and that anyway, no one has the authority to enforce it.
The people of the United States have the authority to enforce it. Not easy but it can be done. Starts with control of congress, death of the fillabuster, and a President willing to expand the court and establish term limits.
Judge Thomas seems to be doing everything he can to help it along. Taking away womens' rights moves us in that direction too. This will be painful but I believe it will happen in some form.
Roberts should be worried about the reputation of the court that bears his name. Instead of making hubristic pronouncements, he should be kicking a few rears. I do love that word hubris by the way because it implies that that the gods will punish in time.
The only thing that tfg was good at and his minions was filling the courts with their people! We heard about it nearly everyday. Moscow Mitch was good at that! Changes need to be made with the courts they should not be political and once they show their true colors they need to be removed! I am so glad that I am living in my last days. I fear for my 10 years old granddaughter and her friends. I hope they are better than we have been!
I hope that our children are substantially better informed about the advantage of the scientific method, and how to practice it at home when you are not a pro (you not have to be be "pro" to play baseball, you don't have to be a recording artist to sing), and be way smarter about human nature (our own and others) and the dynamics of power.
Politics, for the good and the bad of it, is the essentially the process that decides whose will prevails, within couples, within circles of friends, within organizations, and extended communities. Will can be imposed or negotiated. A circle of friends may negotiate where they will meet for lunch. A couple may negotiate where they want to live, even overcoming discord. A dispute among neighbors can be, if necessary, resolved peacefully if not always harmoniously (or even fairly) in court.
Predators rely on abuses of power, Russia attacking Ukraine, rape, extortionary monopolies, such a companies marking up cheap to produce life-saving drugs to extortionate prices. A lot of creepy stuff is going on that we have been far to passive about resisting; corruption (abuse of power) on many fronts. If democracy is (even with the aid of elected fiduciaries) is ultimately DIY governance, then we and our posterity will need to far better focused to be competent collaborative citizen/managers.
And being way more suspicious of ego; love thy neighbor as thyself,or something of the sort.
Michael, great statement! What took us so long to see this disgusting behavior?
“There is more news about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his misreporting of his financial connections. This morning, Shawn Boburg and Emma Brown of the Washington Post reported that for twenty years, Thomas has reported rental income totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a real estate firm that was shut down in 2006. “ LOCK HIM UP!
I am quilty! I thought everything was rosy until tfg! Boy, was I blind! I hate hearing some pleople say I really am not into politics. They really have no idea what is at stake. All they care about is that they have food and fun!
I guess I am mildly puzzled why we are going after Thomas so aggressively for being a prostitute when so many people in our governmental apparatus are also prostitutes??
Right before Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court "somebody" paid off a $200,000 baseball ticket debt. Now, forget how much wasted time this means Kavanaugh is capable of delivering, and note that nobody is talking about this unreported, by Kavanaugh, bit of prostitution. WAPO reported on it as did Sheldon Whitehouse.
Or, how about George Bush giving no bid contracts to Haliburton, then getting campaign donations, during the for profit war in Iraq where lots of government prostitutes got rich.
Or, how about Ronald Reagan giving $2 Trillion to military contractors from CA and receiving giagantic campaign contributions from them.
Michael, why, in a public house prostitution like the US Government has become, are we surprised to find prostitutes?
Perhaps, in some way, we think that it is OK for Kavanaugh to be prostitute because he is white? But, not Thomas?
Because he is black?
Clarence Thomas is doing what all of them do, but, we are flogging him daily.
All true and good points, Mike. But I think the operative color right now is green - as in greenbacks. Why Thomas now? Perhaps because his "prostitution" has been revealed as being so sloppy and blatant that it insults our intelligence.
IMO, we should be equal opportunity "floggers" of the whole crew.
Equally criminals are the people who buy prostitutes. It’s symbiotic corruption. Loose regulations around money, contribute to corruption in absence of inner morals and ethics.
Mike, I have hated Clarence Thomas from day one, and Kavanaugh, and Barrett, Alito, Roberts and Gorusch. They are cut from the same cloth of deception, control of women, and enrichment of themselves. They should all be dropped from the bench. We are in a full blown “Constitutional Crisis”.
And how, precisely, do we 'drop them from the bench'? Far easier said than done. A starting point would be the appointment of several additional Justices to the Court by the President and their confirmation by the thin majority of Democrats in the Senate. But an absent Senator Feinstein makes that a problem.
A little context: In 1969, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned after it was learned that he had accepted, then returned, $20,000 from a Wall Street financier. At the time, Chief Justice Earl Warren felt it was important that Fortas step down to preserve the court’s reputation.
Thomas accepted gifts from Crow worth many times that amount, even counting for inflation, and failed to report them. And then there is all the money Ginni Thomas has received from right-wing organizations that lobby on issues before the court — plus her outrageous involvement in the “Stop the Steal” putsch that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
Thomas doesn’t believe in affirmative action or protecting voting rights, though he benefited from both. He does believe in living the good life among millionaires and billionaires whose interests he just happens to protect in his opinions.
My mental image of Thomas used to be of him sitting on the Supreme Court bench during arguments, silent and scowling. Now, I see him on vacation, smoking a cigar with Crow and his buddies, laughing as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. The joke is on us.
That's why they hired him. It would shut the dems up because, he would check the minority box on supreme court, and when he gets caught dirty dealing, they could say, "what do you expect?"
The one thing they can't stand is a competent, brilliant black person. It's why they hated Obama so dang much.
Who is not complaining about the others? Kavanagh is a VERY credibly accused sexual predator who flat out, provably lied during his confirmation hearing. Alito and Barrett are religious fanatics who should never be allowed to make laws in a country built on the separation between church and state. Gorsuch shouldn't be on the bench at all, may McConnell fry in hell.
You better believe I and everyone I respect condemn ALL of them, constantly.
Give Barrett a double strike. She is no more justified to sit on the court than Gorsuch. Both of their seats were stolen by McConnell working both sides of his own made-up "rule".
But Thomas may be black skinned but his soul and intellect belong to the the gun toting red neck thugs draining beer for breakfast while checking NASCAR News.
Actually he belongs to the billionaire fascist Harlan Crow who collects Nazi memorabilia, hosts the Thomas traitors on his yachts and mansions and buys votes for his financial and political interests on the Supreme Court. I doubt Clarence would EVER ‘lower‘ himself for the “gun toting red neck thugs draining beer for breakfast…”
Art, his intellect is fine, but it appears that perhaps he's harboring hatred for this country's treatment of Blacks and minorities and is doing whatever he can to bring Uncle Sam to his knees. My thoughts are that if he hates our history, then he's in a position to help us become better, not simply continue the suppression that most of us see all around us.
Mike, I think (in this case) it's because this is information is new and damning. We've known about Kavanaugh's discretions for years. Also, because we get excited about ANY new information that might change the court, and because we know he's a traitor (not to mention his wife).
ProPublica might start on Kavanaugh or others for their next bombshell drop! It would be a great thing for them to do to lay it all bare concerning the corruption of the entire court.
Mike, the sources that are shedding a light on Thomas are pretty reliable and don't have a history of racism. I think it has more to do with his wife being a Trumpet, and Thomas' history of impunity. He's claimed that he and Ginny don't discuss each others' political activities with each other, which is highly unlikely.
That, plus these revelations indicate his dishonesty. Rather than the impartiality of SC Justices, it looks like he is too easily swayed by money.
Perhaps there is always a taint of racism. In this case, I think it is the exposure of his inconsistencies that might nab Thomas. I also think if Thomas is proved to be culpable, there will be more specific interest in what has influenced the other justices. I hope so, especially in the case of Kavanaugh.
Could very well be. Unlike the field hand, who live and dies by the whip, the House Slave is subject to the daily whimsy of the family and always the fall for a miff or suspected jewelery theft or eating from the Master's platter or sipping from the fruits of the horney daughter.
Here's the story on Kavanaugh, from Mother Jones. It's long, and at least as far as I've gotten in it, which is pretty far, it's not particularly satisfying.
Or you can read the last paragraph--here--and save yourself going through the whole article.
Meanwhile, the current Twitter bounty for a successful investigation into Kavanaugh’s finances continues to grow. Cooper says he’s up to $85,000 from luminaries offering to chip in, and he’s been urged to start a Go Fund Me he estimates could rake in $250,000. He doesn’t want to create a fund, but he does hope his original offer will kickstart an investigation by journalists into Kavanaugh’s debts. I told to him that such an investigation would likely turn up exactly what I discovered three years ago. But like so many liberals I’ve explained this to, Cooper wasn’t convinced. He’s suspicious as to why Kavanaugh hasn’t just come out and admitted that his parents helped him financially. “Speaking on behalf of all liberals,” he said with a laugh, “it would be such a simple way for him to set aside the conspiracy theory. Lots of people have benefited from having well-to-do parents. I just don’t see the rationale for him not doing it unless he has something to hide. This is always going to taint his reputation until it’s clearly settled.”
Between Kavanaugh and Thomas, there has been far more in the news about the latter. I heard almost nothing about that payoff of Kavanaugh's debt at the time of his confirmation, and the little I heard was vague. And, no, I don't think the difference has anything to do with skin color, in this case.
If there's more about Thomas, it's partly because his wife is a seditionist, and because he hasn't recused himself from cases where she's involved.
Addendum: This article from Mother Jones suggests that re Kavanaugh, there's just no there there.
Or you can read the last paragraph--here--and save yourself going through the whole article.
Meanwhile, the current Twitter bounty for a successful investigation into Kavanaugh’s finances continues to grow. Cooper says he’s up to $85,000 from luminaries offering to chip in, and he’s been urged to start a Go Fund Me he estimates could rake in $250,000. He doesn’t want to create a fund, but he does hope his original offer will kickstart an investigation by journalists into Kavanaugh’s debts. I told to him that such an investigation would likely turn up exactly what I discovered three years ago. But like so many liberals I’ve explained this to, Cooper wasn’t convinced. He’s suspicious as to why Kavanaugh hasn’t just come out and admitted that his parents helped him financially. “Speaking on behalf of all liberals,” he said with a laugh, “it would be such a simple way for him to set aside the conspiracy theory. Lots of people have benefited from having well-to-do parents. I just don’t see the rationale for him not doing it unless he has something to hide. This is always going to taint his reputation until it’s clearly settled.”
He is a distraction from what is going on with tfg! Yep, you got it ...he is black! And apparently bought because they were able to totaly corrup him. He has had an amazing life with all of his gifts...apparently.
Good point that the corruption is and has been rampant. But it's extremely rare to learn details about SC justices being on the take while in office. And in the Thomas case, the details are shocking and downright brazen. So is his feeble defense.
"It's a raging inferno of corruption." Aptly describes the republican party and all of its participants. They have been at this democracy destruction for decades so it will not be fixed in the next few cycles of elections (if ever); a reality many of us simply cannot get our heads around. The SCOTUS is totally lost and time is not on our side whatsoever when it comes to stopping the slaughter by guns, gerrymandering, the repeal of human rights for health and safety.
"People watch what you do to see if it matches what you say." Vice President Harris is on the most difficult mission; actually it is an impossible job. We are so diminished in the eyes of our allies that Russia and China have already succeeded in dividing this country and they are well on their way to finishing their quest to conquer and control the world.
22 years ago my eldest son spent a summer in China teaching English - I did counsel this very progressive, idealistic young man not to engage in political discussion as I had no intention of visiting him in a Chinese prison! 20 summers ago, we hosted a couple of delightful Chinese students for a few weeks. I kind of joked that if China were to rule the world, they should remember their good time here and be kind to us! 1) they did not laugh, and 2) they said the political talk we had at the table (Bush #1 was president) would have been forbidden and could have been a potential problem for their parents.
Climate change may have the final word on all of us . . . . we cannot make any progress to save ourselves when the focus is so diminished and divided. We are our own worst enemy.
Ethics is a concept I learned in high school, taught by both layman and clergy alike. It was a term, that changed my life forever after, yet Supreme Court Justices and high ranking politicians seem to care not a wit for it. To swear an oath without ethical considerations, voids the oath. We now know where Clarence Thomas stands. How many other newer arrivals to the Court could swear to and uphold a code of ethics? I don't even want to think about the far right members of Congress...
It's time and past to look into the financial dealings of all the Justices, I think. We as a country have (tried to) assume(d) they were all ethical, moral, and intelligent people who were above the kinds of misdeeds reported about Justice Thomas; that there was JUST ONE BRANCH of the government which was of sterling quality. Alas, it seems our heroes have feet of clay, after all. And that some of them (*cough kavanaugh*) have heads of S%!t.
I know that I am painfully naive but .... I certainly hope that Clarence has paid his taxes on this declared rental income???? And wouldn't there be penalties for not doing so?
I bet they didn't even use Turbo Tax...the lies are so blatant, that Turbo Tax would keep asking for corrections. I'd love to know how they file? Paper?
I noticed over many years how Clarence Thomas consistently rules on cases before the court, as if he was protecting the rights of billionaires. Now we can understand some reasons why he did so.
There may be thems. This can open the can of worms into ALL on the court. Very curious about Bert Kavenaugh & who paid off his debt & his closet of unknowns
I love the description raging inferno of corruption because he is a walking dumpster fire. He should not be on any court or even practice law. And below Daniel describes the party of death as a tumor which is exactly what it is....a festering cancer, rotten and smelly, on the body politic.
University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck has a fascinating look at the only Supreme Court justice to resign in scandal, Abe Fortas. As Vladeck explains, the scandal was mild compared to the one that Thomas is mired in.
That village idiot Massie and several other Republicans of his ilk also have Christmas cards with “locked & loaded” families brandishing military ordnance to celebrate the birth of their Savior. 🙄
The Magi carried assault rifles. These idiot Evangelicals would probably believe that. Or that Jesus was a charter member of the NRA. " Guns don't kill people, CROSSES kill people " ! Lunacy.
I recently read a comment somewhere (how's that for precise) that the three Abrahamic religions each chose a symbol for their faith; a star, a crescent moon, and a Roman means of execution. That is fascinating to me.
A bit of a cynic might have written that...two of the symbols represent distance of God from humanity. If the Romans had owned assault weapons, think of what the symbol of God coming to Earth and dying for us would be...
Back to the caves! Or at least to Weimar. Too many poor, too little good public schooling, pandemic, too much greed, climate change, too little charity for all. Can we humans surmount this? It’s the existential question of our times.
The GOP won't be pleased until we start burning people at the stake, drowning people on suspicion of being witchcraft, performing exorcisms or trepanation to release evil spirits, etc. To say that they're anti - progress & paranoid as well as xenophobic is an understatement of EPIC PROPORTIONS.
Unless there's a photo of her granddaughter with a working guns, I wouldn't react to that much.
Supposing I told you I had an oven when I was three - but it was an EZ bake oven. Noem could be talking about the plastic accoutrements which went with her little cowgirl outfit.
It sounds like a way to bait the libs.
You know if you were an extremely stupid person who didn't mind using your little granddaughter as bait.
Bridget, I thought I saw a photo of the child with a rifle....but now I can’t find it. It’s pretty terrible to give anyone a gun, much less a two-year old. I think about the “gun activist” in Texas, I believe, who had a gun in her purse, was in the car driving with her two-year old, and yes, the two-year old fished the gun out of the purse and shot and killed her....it is so beyond sickening, I am not sure what to say about this idiot Governor. And yes, I DO want to take those guns....
When I was a kid, we played with toy guns, too. We chose otherwise for our kids. I'm not against responsible gun ownership, but there absolutely should be regulations. Guns are weapons that have the ability to kill. That alone should require regulations, in my opinion. In order to drive a car, one must be licensed, the vehicle registered AND insured. But guns? Licensed, but no database of who owns what, you know, like the DMV. It just seems so common sense. Nobody wants to take anyone's guns. We just want more responsibility to go along with gun ownership. Why is that considered so terrible?
I still can't figure out why I need a license to drive a car and people don't need licenses to own a more lethal weapon - a gun. I also need to buy an insurance policy in the event the vehicle I am responsible for hurts another. Go figure.
I don't think anyone I know was giving their kids toy guns either but I wouldn't bet they didn't get Star Wars blasters.
My grandfather had strong opinions on guns and he taught us it was a tool which was never to be pointed at someone else.
However, we also grew up inside a city where the worst thing disturbing the garden were rats.
People give their kids toy guns. As long as they're white, they're not likely to be shot by the cops for playing with them.
I'm not in favor of that but that I'm not in favor of Barbie either.
Noem like Boebert is an idiot incapable of doing anything except generating outrage. Like Boebert and that twit in Tennessee she is using a small child to inflame the libs.
Keeping idiot grandma from giving a two year old a toy gun doesn't stop mass shootings.
Keeping parents from giving access to loaded guns might.
Let's pat Noem on the head and keep our attention on serious people.
She is serious, Bridget. She helped prevent thousands of Native Americans from voting! I say go after her at the polls! The Vote is more powerful than the Gun!
Toy guns, that makes more sense. Giving a child a real gun would/should constitute child endangerment. I had a cap gun as a kid; westerns were all the rage.
Given this weekend's news, Gov. Noem's granddaughter has a good head start for self protection at her 'sweet 16th' birthday party. Hope her older brother is not a star football player. It is simply not to be believed that firearms of any sort--to include hunting rifles and birding shotguns--are an appropriate gift for any 2-year old. Nodding to the 2nd Amendment, a new teddy bear might find more use for her in the near term--at last until she is ready to join the well-trained militia that is the South Dakota National Guard.
UNBELIEVABLE anyone would see her as fit to take of a child and shocked (as I am repeatedly these days over one thing or another) she has any supporters.
Families of shooting victims should send Holiday cards to Republican leaders with morgue pictures of their shot up family member. HAPPY BLOODY HOLIDAY TO YOU AND YOURS!
In Salmon Idaho we host a Salmon Select Sale for horses and mules each year bringing together people from across the country. Since I had a friend from Wyoming and a friend from Montana I thought it would be a good time to have a chat about the state of the nation regarding combat arms. Both of my guests have concealed carry permits and both have adequate arsenals of semi-automatic weapons. We have been friends for many years and continue to be so. In response to school shootings they argue for locating law enforcement within every school and hopefully teachers trained well enough to carry and be able to employ concealed weapons in the classrooms for the safety of the students. They stated they were more or less unaware of the numbers of mass shootings going on and was attributable to crazed individuals. When I asked why they felt they needed to own rapid fire weapons their answers were mostly a subterfuge but it was abundantly clear they felt the government (democrats in power) was targeting them in cahoots with “liberals” trying to take away their freedoms. Keep in mind they go armed at all times. They felt they needed a level of adequate protection against the armed crazies and that no force on earth was going to take away their right to keep and bear arms. I asked them if they felt like they might be the “armed crazies.” They consider me to be somewhat liberal minded even though I did my best to maintain an even composure so the discussion could discuss possible solutions as well as their indignant and loud protestations. Aside from ridding ourselves of Biden and arming the conservative camp further they could suggest no real solutions other than an inevitable shooting war. What was clear was the level of misinformation that had a firm grip on their understanding of political events nationwide. They really viewed themselves as the patriots who shouldered the burden of saving democracy. We think they know better and that is our mistaken judgement. That is all from here in cow country.
Thank you for your clear reporting based on your own experience. Thank you for asking simple, common sense questions. Here we are. Terrifying and truly tragic.
Thank you Suz-an. I am ashamed these good people are so poorly informed. One other disturbing event came my way which I should mention. A ranch where I worked years ago has in the last 5 years been turned into a religious retreat in Western Montana. Wealthy owners from out of state have turned it into a playground under the auspicious of a religious retreat which hosts combat assault training put on by ex- law enforcement personnel reputedly training law enforcement personnel. Methinks that is a deliberately misleading adventure as Montana has its own law enforcement academy. They are calling it religion, training subversives, and probably extracting a tax evasion. I say probably because I don’t have a window. As far as a ranching operation they are raising 17 cows. Go figure. As these people make up the base of so many Republican congressmen and women, it is clear that party will not step up and tackle the business of the nation. No one is coming from across the isle. Fat cats will eat no rats.
Pat, your illustrations are but a microcosm of the magnitude of this sick mentality. It is terrifying when realizing that we’re becoming no different than the human tights-violating theocracies led by radicalized religious zealots who are supported by hoards of blood-thirsty. gun-toting, cult-driven guerrillas.
That’s the thing Rose! They aren’t blood thirsty any more than the rest of us. They are just blinder than bats. They don’t even realize they are the armed crazies. Most of them would give you their shirts. They are living in a cringing fear hiding guns and rice reminiscent of 2000 when the world was going to end. That was 23 years ago and they are still sliding deeper into automatic weapons paralysis. This fear consumes them.
Not sure how their self-ignorance (that they’re scared crazies) makes them more tolerable. Crazy people with automatic weapons are holding the rest of us hostage to the fear of being the next innocent victim of a mass-shooting carried out by… crazy people with automatic weapons.
But I see your point: they’ve been brainwashed; they are scared; they can’t help it. Fox Noise should be held accountable for breeding this crisis.
Their fear also generates from the Christian Nationalism rhetoric that is part of the R mantra. Read any book about what the CN is preaching & it fits right into what they are saying. it is good for gun sales.
Interestingly, your comment reminded me of why the Conquest of the Americas was a profitable venture for the Spanish Crown: after the successful end of the Crusades, they had loads of unused armaments and hoards of idle soldiers. It was a win-win situation for them at that point. Guns tend to backfire people into a dead-end corner sooner or later.
I hear you, Pat. Living in another very red and dangerous gun-toting state. (So far, still alive, anyway.)
Not sure why you'd choose to say you're 'ashamed' they're not better informed. You have no responsibility in this at all. You tried. Your report is clear-eyed and lays it out.
I used to believe that we're all 'responsible' for all kinds of distressing things that rule our lives. Things over which we have control, yes. Other things out of our hands, no.
How about all the plastics and all the horrible problems they're causing worldwide? WE have nothing to do with creating this mess. Corporations have everything to do with it. WE don't package nearly every thing we buy in plastic. If we had other options, WE would choose them. Not our choices.
The idea that WE actually have any say about this stuff and most other is BS. We don't.
Like you, i've also stopped focusing on Rs as the only problem. Establishment Dems have plenty to do with our current situation, too. Our hands are tied.
This link was shared by LIn on LFAA yesterday and I encourage you to view. Vivek Ramaswamy speaking at the NRA convention. He is a dynamic speaker(opposite of DeSantsi) and presidential candidate. Try to set aside emotion and see how they’re messaging so we may counter.
Pence, in an absolutely disgusting, expensive mailer I received Friday (how he got MY name and address would be worth the investigation) referred to public school teachers as “government” educators and we Democrats as having an insane, immoral, godless agenda. His religious beliefs are held by majority of Americans and no other faiths should be allowed. He flagrantly disavows equality for all and the ridiculous notion of separation of church and state. If I answered the abhorrent ten-question survey and donated $100 or more I could receive a signed copy of his book, “So Help Me God.” His new foundation is Advancing American Freedom, “servant leadership where he is needed most.” I “answered “ his survey and highlighted parts of his letter with government-teacher rebuttals and clarifications and mailed back in expensive pre-paid postage package. This is same weekend this good Christian man spoke at NRA convention in order to kowtow to those he thinks will support his drive to the White House. My actions childish; my reaction to his words pure anger, frustration, and incredulity.
This is right out of the CN teachings. Andrew Seidel, Robert P Jones; Andrew Whitehead all have books. In Seidel's book , he mentions the Council for National Pollicy that Ginny Thomas, yes Clarence's wife, is a member by invitation.
Kathy, Do you really believe the “base” will vote for a man of color, with a
“foreign sounding” name no matter what he says? I’ll look at your link, sick as it makes me, because I believe we must “know thine enemy” to “defeat” the enemy. Thanks for your comment.
To know more , google Charles Baldwin in the Flathead valley MT. He gives the running script re the rabid speech of 2A people, how they think & what they say.
How patient you are, all Rupert watchers, I’d wager. Such nonsense has been hammered home to Fox ears for most of my adult life. I had hoped that clearer heads were in the majority, but Fox has ruled the willing fools with little push back. Our MSM has failed us.
We throw out condemnation and redemption as the only two absolutes governing our lives. Absolution doesn’t seem to have a home any more. Narrow mindedness focuses us in a conscious confine from which no alternatives find light. By far the longest running political and religious strategy has been to maintain your own views in silence lest we isolate each other completely. I still find my chickenshit ignoramus Republican friends pull on their britches one leg at a time same as me who they often call to my face a leftist snowflake looney tune. Then we trailer up our horses and take the same bridge across the same river gather cows and move them to summer pasture. Even I sometimes carry a saddle gun or side arm. Like Grandad said, don’t talk politics or religion unless you want to lose all your friends. That was said nearly 70 years ago and has born fruit all along. You can have a good neighbor without embracing her philosophy. Hell, everyone knows she’s an idiot.
I thought the Saturday Evening Post aspirational, not really a news magazine. Of course, the aspirations had an upward mobile, WASP view of success. Being reminded of it here made me nostalgic as my hopes and goals were mixed with the myths and character I could identify with. Where does American aspiration now get served?
Our MSM is more-or-less okay. FNC is, according to their own press releases, an entertainment organization, not MSM or any other kind of news. The people who watch Fox are the problem. FNC feeds them what they demand, not the other way around.
These are "friends" of yours? People silently, secretly, carrying weaponry in your presence? Would you allow them while armed into your home or your car? Would you go into one of their homes, or be in a car with them? Would you even want them, while armed, in your presence at all? How could you trust them, ever, to behave themselves? How could you trust them to always read every situation correctly, and NOT use their weapons? And how can you describe these individuals as "good" people, when, if they are as you have described them, they are clearly members of the RWNJ cadre who are afraid of, and hate, "the libs", and are willing to engage in a shooting war over their possession of "an adequate arsenal"? Seriously?
They are basically good people who need cult de programming. I lived with them & around them & still do. It is part of our everyday life in a rural state with a hunting culture that has been subverted by CN
Lynn, I had the very same thoughts as I read this thread. Theses people are your “FRIENDS?!” These people who believe the liberals are the crazies because we want people to stop shooting each other? These “religious retreats” are surely funded by the NRA and other subversive, violent cults that are trained to terrorize Americans. That’s the obvious reason for these abhorrent organizations. They’ll lie, steal, and cult people into gun idolatry.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near these people. Definitely not in my home. They enjoy the mind poison they eagerly seek to justify the perversion of possession of so many weapons made for the sole purpose of killing other people. They cannot be trusted. They are NOT good people. We all know people who think like the ones described. They don’t even know about the mass shootings??? They’re ignorant and choose to be. They’re dangerous because they choose to be uninformed. No, we cannot be friends. You’re indoctrinated with lies that kill.
You are talking about our neighbors, people we see everyday in our town, grocery stores, libraries. What you are expressing is what scares 2A people into clutching their guns even closer & fighting harder to defend 2A. We need to find a way of expressing our concerns to pierce their armed vests of talk, in a way that can derail the fear so they can more openly think about gun violence. Pat's conversation with his friends is a good start.
Carole, I understand what you are saying, but I think, in all candor, and with all respect and sincerity, that you are fooling yourself. These people may once have been "good people", but they have become monsters, their goodness having been corrupted, destroyed by their own paranoia and willingness to believe the absolute worst about their neighbors. Unlike "good" people, who do not pose a threat, minute to minute, with their heavy armaments or their hidden handguns, these individuals pose a continuing danger to the health and wellbeing of us normal people, who don't go around secretly heavily armed, that is, the very people who they think are the "armed crazies".
That’s how I see it. How many people mourn the loss of family members to MAGA? They may have been good people once, but they’ve been imprisoned with delusional, dangerous ideals. Fear of others who appear to be different? Different how? Are they invaders from another planets L
And, I daresay, their sole source of national "news" is from Fox or conservative radio. At least that's true for Wyoming members of my extended family.
Well, Pat, I respect you for your integrity and dignity in those discussions. However, the Germans showed the world what happens when, as you observe, people are living with “misinformation that had a firm grip on their understanding of political events nationwide. They really viewed themselves as the patriots who shouldered the burden of saving democracy.” Of course in the case of Germany, the historical hatred of Jews, gays, Catholics opposed to Hitler, mentally challenged people, Romas and others led the society to annihilate other beings in the most cruel and unimaginable ways in human history. Do we really want to go down that road? We do not have to live this way, as Heather points out all the time. When will we all stand up and say to our countrymen: “We will not live this way anymore.”
I agree Elisabeth. Our history teacher spent more than half the year making sure we had memorized the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and the 30 or so testimonials that elevated the consciousness worldwide to the dangers of silence. I always open my big mouth. Mr. Radcliffe is still in my hip pocket. Let this be an acknowledgement to all of you teachers who approached Cretins like me and opened the gate.
I lived in Salmon for a few years. It was not unusual to see open carry everywhere, even the library. Your conversation echos all the replies to posts that I have read. It is like a script that all memorized & regurgitate. Also like your experience No one can say why rapid fire weapons are needed. The closest was on this page that taking away this style of gun was a slippery slope to take away all guns. This & the next generation of new voters may not be as tolerant of "2A rights". The people repeating the rhetoric of the NRA & gun manufacturers need to find a new tape of "what positive action can we take" & it is not more guns & arm teachers. I am just north of you in the Bitterroot & MT is no different even tho we have a D senator up for re election that the R legislature is trying to un legislate him by back door policies. The peril is up close in our face everyday!
You describe my former law enforcement cohort to a "T". I read a thing that one of my former sergeants posted regarding MSM coverage of the arrest of the Airman back east. It was a rant that devolved into Biden being mentally incompetent and trying to ally us with the Communist Chinese; one of the jackdonkeys that posted said that Mike Lindel (my pillow, anyone) had a great idea for a guarantee of a free and fair election. They are being fed a pack of lies and they believe it with all their hearts. The guy that posted this is (I thought) a real nice guy. He has completely jumped the shark.
The rant that I touched off at my kitchen table was akin to a powder horn of black powder going off. It was loud acrimonious and highly illuminating. It was a long time before I was allowed to bring up the next question. I know you of all people understand such loquacious civilian keepers of the constitution.
So they would support one hardened entrance at a school with armed officers inside. Sounds like a prison to me. What do you think will happen to the class clowns and other discipline problems? They will be handcuffed that’s what. And their path to prison begun. When you hear your school boards opting for SROs in the schools that is where they are headed. Just say no! SROs are just another money-making scheme, another way to make a living in our violent culture. It v should not be supported. Get the guns under control before you make K12 schools into mini prisons.
Mary Ellen you sound as though you were here. Their fear of loss of their weapons and their interpretation of 2A rights is as blinding as a magnesium hand grenade. It’s as though the first artillery round landed amongst them and they are petrified. Be that as it may we needed to have that conversation.
What a bizarre disconnect continues to make a mockery of American freedom and citizens' right to safety. The horrific shooting death of Robert Dotson by police in New Mexico demonstrated that having a gun does not protect against harm. That poor man awakened in the middle of the night probably had not understood that police were at his door. He opened his door pushing out his gun first and was met by deadly force from officers reacting (overreacting?) to the threat they saw. But that tragic loss is glossed over by all gun rights NRA supporters of the Second Amendment - a law drastically misconstrued in our time. Noem's quip about her granddaughter is horrifying. I continue to ask what about the right of citizens to life? The current radicalized GOP cares little for life unless they get to define and circumscribe it, and impose their beliefs on others. Small wonder Clarence Thomas keeps lying about his circumstances. His corruption is fine with his party as long as he finds ways to support the broader GOP in their dismantling of democracy. We are not safer.
And fear. I think people are subconsciously realizing 2 very uncomfortable existential scientific facts: overpopulation and climate change. There are sane solutions to both problems, but they are far from most Americans’ comfort zones, so they have taken to Wild West, simple defenses instead of trying to take on the problems.
Through closed doors, roused from sleep, Dotson may not have heard clearly or might even have thought it a hoax. After all, most law abiding citizens don't expect that kind of visit at that time.
True & how many answer the door with a gun pointed @ the person knocking? Or question from the inside of the door "whose's there"? Again speaks to the lack of training in using a fire arm for self protection. The NRA use to have excellent videos on this & a gun was a last resort for home protection.
Indeed! Seems we agree. A firearm does not ensure personal safety. Seems time for the NRA to return to its roots instead of inflaming anger and striking dread into folks.
Would be very helpful if all the members of the administration started mentioning the practical ways that "we in the seats" could help our "fight" for gun safety, for protection of reproductive rights, for preservation of our voting rights as a true democracy, for resistence to racism and anti-semitism? And the very best and actually easiest way to do all of the above is to encourage all of GenZ relatives and friends and all of the younger woman in our social and societal orbit--and all us who believe deeply in every woman's right to choose--to register to vote and in 2024, to turn out the greatest number of the voters who support some or all of the above in the history of this democracy in order to save it--and if I may respectfully suggest, the very best way to get this done is go on the website of a spectacular group of Harvard students who are attempting to work all across this country nonpartisan in 2,700 high schools and colleges in competitive congressional districts to register millions of younger voters through social media and active school voter registration drives-- and contribute now and often--www.turnup.us/ (I don't know why it won't send you to www.turnup.us/ this works) You will be amazed at what this young group are doing to save our democracy in an effective and cost efficient manner, Thank you and please do it--it's time folks!
The League of Women Voters has been doing this for decades! I’m going to two High Schools this week to get 17-1/2-18 year olds registered. One St.Louis County high school we registered 67 young people! A very engaged social studies teacher gets the credit because she is a teacher who is committed to educating her students. We desperately need teachers to teach. In Missouri, this is another key to restoring sanity in Jefferson City. As long as I am able, that’s my best to fight back against the hideous legislation here.
Ira, never stop mentioning this super important effort of turnup.us - Kudos! Again. You led me to this young man and his team and I am mentioning him to everyone I know. Thank you. This is the face of effective political action. He is the very definition of a "change agent".
To all of you reading this letter:
Nothing matters more than the 2024 turnout of voters. We can whine and complain (I do) but unless we are willing to fully engage in the battle at the voting booths, we are doomed.
Read here what Zev Shapiro has created. Consider donating. It will tip the balance.
Women ignored. Professor Anita Hill warned us. Sen. Joe Biden chaired. He and womanizer and serious drunk and Chappaquiddick Liar Sen. Edward “Teddy” Kennedy sat.
Professor Anita Hill did not lie. Judge Clarence Thomas did lie. Judge Brett Kavanaugh lied.
Justice, Neil Gorsuch lied. Amy Comey Barrett lied.
The stench is a mess.
Impeachment is the answer for a few Scotus judges.
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn should be required reading starting in elementary school. So many of the problems that America has now, have their roots way back at the beginning of the nation. VP Harris does her best to go beyond the limitations imposed on women. Professor Anita Hill was thrashed and only now people acknowledge that she was right.
“After the Revolution in the United States, American society coalesced around controlling women's behavior and sexual activity while exploiting their labor. Women's "reduced rate," or free labor in the case of slaves, was critical to the growing economy. And they were coerced, compelled, and conditioned to be meekly submissive. They were encouraged to "not expect too much": "After the Revolution, none of the new state constitutions granted women the right to vote, except for New Jersey, and that state rescinded the right in 1807. New York's constitution specifically disfranchised women by using the word ‘male.’”
You will be amazed by it. Only one sport of spoiler, though there is TONS of information over the 400 years: I was shocked to discover that in pre-colonial times, premarital sex was somewhat expected if not downright encouraged. If the woman was not fertile, she was a bad bet as they needed the large families, so she proved herself worthy of matrimony! You will really enjoy this book, absolutely fascinating!
Yes!! I used Zinn when I taught 4th and 5th grades; obviously, not word-for-word but for reference in lesson planning and citations for primary sources. Also, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen.
Let us “rebalance” SCOTUS, terminology one of you suggested. As soon as the Feinstein/CA situation can be resolved, let’s get started on 4 additional SCOTUS judges. BTW: when you think about it: no simple solution to that situation.
The onion that Clarence Thomas continues to be unpeeled, one layer at a time.
This latest incident seems innocuous, but could be more than just sloppy reporting, considering that he has failed to report many other questionable financial transactions.
My question is why would Clarence (not worthy of my respect to be addressed by his last name) report receiving income that he is not receiving? The only reason I can fathom is that he’s trying to conceal UNREPORTED income. What tangled webs he and Ginny spin!
Thinking about Clarence Thomas, he may be or think he is "above the law" but certainly his wife isn't. There is no way that I would believe that she didn't know about this malfeasance and in all likelihood is part of it. I wish they would start investigating her too!
I’ve been sayin’, “Go after Ginny!”She’s not anything but a private citizen, seditious cult member influencer who holds no public office and happens to be married to Clarence.
Agreed Rose! Do folks seriously think this obvious power driver of everything MAGA, Clarence Thomas, is going to pay taxes on $$ he’s not receiving? They are so arrogant and assured, in their powerful positions and their history of getting away with screwing the US of A, they get sloppy with their bookkeeping. Turn the flood lights on! Thank you to investigative journalists and companies like Dominion seeking truth. Let’s cheer them on and support them!
The Post article cited by HCR reports that in 2006, a real estate company owned by Ginni Thomas’ family was closed, and replaced by another company with a similar name. Justice Thomas continued to report income under the earlier name. The issue is that a person given great power based on his alleged abilities to understand and apply the laws of the land, is once again not bothering to do so with care with regard to his own obligations.
And yet, those who lack high position are often slapped down by the government for seemingly minor technical errors. It wasn't just Spidernan who said that with great power comes great responsibility.
Missed a number once on my tax return about 30 years ago. The mail I received before it was corrected was enough to burn to keep us warm for the following winter. My gross income on my return was $32,000. Good thing it wasn’t millions in unreported income, or we’d froze!
In our Social Democratic House of Prostitution called "The US Government" why are we so focussed on Clarence Thomas?
The list of government officials on the take from indistry and rich campaign donors is quite long, all of them doing exactly what Thomas is doing: Improving their lives through prostitution.
So, why are we all piled on Thomas right now? Is it because he is black?
And we think only white folks should be allowed to get rich on prostitution in the US Government?
Is it really piling on when the facts are blatantly provable? The flood of revelations are impossible to downplay. At this point, I expect something new again tomorrow. Its not because he’s Black, its because he’s a Conservative lackey
It really does look like it, doesn't it, Mike? I am wondering about Alito and Kavanaugh as well. Thomas's conduct, while actionable, might also be (perhaps the wrong metaphor here) a Red Herring to make us look away from other bad conduct that is going on on the bench.
What this is illustrating is that NO ONE BRANCH of government should be exempt from ethics rules
Yes. And... don't I remember Thomas complaining about a public lynching in his confirmation hearing? Welp, sometimes it might be self-inflicted - or a Red Herring, as you say.
No one was focusing until Propublica investigated, starting with a seemingly harmless jet flight...then, on and on and on. Blatant $$support from the Nazi memorabilia billionaire.
I can not imagine anyone else doing anything that comes close to this. PLUS: what else is there?? Luxury jewelry and household items for Madam? I betcha.
As someone who watched the carnage of Viet Nam over our evening meal decades ago, I have to wonder if this generation even has a clue what the history of the previous generation was. LBJ tried to negotiate in 1968, Nixon stymied that effort. Same with forced birth. Does anyone remember the horrors to WOMEN (not one man) from the burden placed on them by the “loving” men in their lives, including my own Mom, although my Dad didn’t “hit and run” like so many who skate away with nary a care. Republicans want the horror back again. There was a time when the SC finally recognized the equal protection granted all citizens, then republicans decided that some were indeed more “equal than others,” and set about to dismantle hard fought gains on several fronts. Our reputation in the world has to do with consistent and honorable actions. Such is sorely missing from the republicans among us. As hard to find as hen’s teeth. And yet they crow…
First of all, thank you for including the very important work that VP Harris has been doing. I don't think she has gotten enough credit for everything she is accomplishing. God forbid MSM points these things out!
Clarence and Ginni are quite a pair, are they not? Not disclosing the sale of his property to his billionaire friend and now this ditty about a company that doesn't even exist is dirty pool. Yes, Thomas should be impeached but will that happen? Only in 2024 if Dems win both the House and the Senate and that's not a given. Think Chief Roberts will do anything? He's a wimp. I hope he proves me wrong but I have my doubts. Should be another interesting week.
Another senseless shooting in yet another shit-hole state governed by a Repub crazed governor. Honestly, until a literal gun is held to their heads, they won't budge. I am not advocating for violence. I am saying this is the only thing they will acknowledge that they might be afraid of. That very ignorant governor, Noem, brags about how her 2 year old granddaughter has her own gun. Isn't that just precious? Wait til she grabs it because her loving parents left it out, accidentally, and their sweet child picks it up and shoots herself or somebody else. Absolutely reckless and stupid these people are!
The fact that Justice Thomas reported income from a firm that doesn’t exist begs the question; where did the money come from?
There is also another, bigger, question hanging in the air over issues in re Clarence Thomas; where is Chief Justice Robert’s? This is his court being besmirched. This is his legacy. Indeed, it’s his court’s legitimacy, thus every ruling’s legitimacy, being undermined with every new revelation about Clarence Thomas.
Will Robert’s play the political hack and tough it out with Justice Thomas hoping for a Republican president, and a Republican majority in the Senate, after the 2024 election? That’s quite a long shot.
Or will John Roberts rise above politics, jettison Clarence Thomas sooner, and thus allow Biden and Senate Democrats to pick a liberal replacement before the next election, and before Justice Thomas permanently poisons the historical legacy of the Roberts Court? The court would still have a conservative majority..
Either way, Justice Clarence Thomas has to go.
Pick your place in American history, John Roberts.
"The Roberts Court" will have a definite place in history, and in my eyes, that die has been cast. The first SCOTUS ever to rescind a constitutional right. I think that the Roberts court may well go on in history (if we have one) as being the worst, most corrupt, most blatantly political of any SCOTUS thus far, surpassing CJ Taney as the worst ever.
One wonders just now, if Crowe, or someone like him, doesn’t have similar control of John Roberts. It would explain the Chief Justice’s silence on the problem of Clarence Thomas.
Our VP: “I’ve been traveling around the world as your Vice President,” she said. “When we, as Americans, walk in those rooms around the world, we have traditionally walked in those rooms, shoulders back, chin up, having some authority to talk about the importance of rule of law, human rights.”
Yes, but at this moment in time, we are like adolescents, in the middle of an Identity Crisis. How can we be the example when we are divided not just by the politics of party but by the extremes of political divide? On critical issues, the courts and the GOP block laws and discussion about gun safety and laws, Women’s Rights to choose, not only Abortion but what’s in our medicine cabinet. Voting rights, Social Security and Medicare for all. Even the Postal services. Public schools and banning Truth. I know this is a rerun comment. But I have to write it again. At least a Democracy is possible. If we Vote like our Democracy depends on it.
Jeri and Ireni, apparently we need to keep repeating ourselves because much of our population is either intent on not paying attention or, more likely, they never hear or read anything close to the privilege that we readers have of being aware of Heather Cox Richardson, or SubStack, for that matter.
While the never ending travails of 'No clearance " Clarence keep attention focused upon the Supreme Court, I think another issue of the Court's might possibly be even more important.
When Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, our country's population was about 30 million. Today, we have 10 times that many people, yet EXACTLY the same number of Supreme Court Justices.
Clarence Thomas and Ginny and their billionaire benefactor and the pattern described at WaPo tonight are cause for impeachment of Thomas. Add to this we have the serial lying and compulsive dishonesty of the nomination hearings of GOP candidates and the treatment of Garland.. and we have DESTROYED the credibility of SCOTUS. Abortion is the smoking gun, the canary in the mine shaft. The over all PATTERN is the STENCH... Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is the ethical or Glacial anomaly. And look what she had to go through. Similar issues are flowing in Australia... with rape charges... and Brazil, Moscow, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and a few others are Glacial Anomalies.
A REPUBLIC IF YOU CAN KEEP IT - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Will Clarence and Ginny take a tumble? We shall see.
On the other hand, thanks to VP Harris.
“And so, this is a moment that history will show required each of us, based on our collective love of our country, to stand up and fight for and protect our ideals…. [W]e have been called upon to be the next generation of the people who will help lead and fight in this movement for freedom and liberty based on our love of our country…. [W]e stand for our democracy. And we stand for foundational and fundamental principles that have everything to do with freedom, liberty, and equality for all people.”
Love the aspirational quote. But people around the world see how precarious the current political situation is here--and how racist and corrupt and plain old bat shit crazy many in our government are. If we shake our heads in disbelief at Orban and Netanyahu, we need to remember we were in the same league under Trump and his example gave tacit permission to many with autocratic tendancies. We are still perilously close to the edge. Many will see Harris' words as hollow and/or hypocritical.
The political calculus is that the Republicans are DOING things in the states where they have trifectas and/or veto-proof control. Democrats are REACTING in horror. DOING almost always beats REACTING in the news cycle.
Time for Democrats to take over on the DOING front. Indictments anyone?
"South Dakota governor Kristi Noem complained about liberals who “want to take our guns,” and boasted that her granddaughter, who is not yet two, has a shotgun and a rifle."
The governor is crazy for giving an (almost) toddler two guns. To what end?
to be able to boast about it like this. It's an insane act. Giving any gun/weapon to a child used to be a form of "ritual" passage towards adulthood. Target shooting, going hunting. This is total BS.
I presume Noem is keeping the weapons in trust. That said, the gun monomania is sick. I shot at targets at summer camp and taught other kids as a counselor, and was fine with that, but guns and babes don't mix.
When I was a kid, some adults would give their kids FIRECRACKERS ( some kids would end up in the ER with mangled or missing digits ). This is batcrap INSANE & no good can come of it except for morticians & makers of pediatric coffins. Brutally honest.
A veteran Supreme Court justice who interprets the law and writes complexly reasoned opinions repeatedly misreports his financial connections for decades, and we're supposed to accept that they're innocent mistakes and omissions?
There's more than smoke here. It's a raging inferno of corruption. When will Clarence Thomas be held accountable? How long will he get away with making a laughing stock of the rule of law?
The GOP is a tumor that needs to be extracted before it can metastasize to the point where it sucks up the country's / body's vitality.
Daniel Is it possible to give the GOP a vasectomy with an AR 15? I propose Majorie Greene as the surgeon.
If you read her comments and interviews, you could come to the conclusion that she's already doing a decent job of shooting the GOP in the foot. As the spotlight continues to shine on her, she may be tempted to aim higher.
MTG AND Lauren Boebert have become the GOP mascots. I don't know what happened to Michelle Batshit Bachmann, which might imply that I actually give a damn about their Unholy Trinity.
I vote for the femoral artery as a place to aim.
A shower of tossed fecal matter would be appropriate.....
A vasectomy or perhaps brain surgery. With them it's pretty much the same.
Keith, this is the most wonderful comment I have seen all day. Laughter is the best medicine!
Too late
Where is the replacement for GOP? We need two parties.
Or more. Is it possible our voting population isn't sofisticated enough to be multi-party?
The advantage of multiple parties is they tend to force coalition building, which obviously is rare in Congress.
The Libertarian party, maybe. BUT they're mostly recycled Republicans who want to see ganja use & prostitution legalized. The Tea Party was / is mostly hyper - mega Conservatives who want to make America safe FROM democracy & non - white, non - Protestant people, & one doesn't hear much about them.
Libertarian, no. That's what caused the problem in the first place. Something liberal, progressive, and environmental. If we don't adapt for health and safety, we're SOL
'It's a raging inferno of corruption.' you write of Clarence Thomas, and, perhaps, the Supreme Court. So, may be this country, Michael: a gigantic mass of hidden truths; overmatched by the lies of self-seeking and social media; a land despoiled by overdevelopment; a network of shell games with its roots infected by hate and gamesmanship robbing the people of their wealth, rights and dignity.
I would add that the gun problem reminds me of a person in quicksand. The nation thrashes and convulses in the struggle, hastening the end result. There is no way out here.
The gun lobby, number of guns in private hands, the use of AR-15s, gun violence, lack of effective national legislation to regulate gun use, along with being stoked by autocrats aiming to blow us apart, Americans are afraid for the lives of their children and themselves.
Bingo. Arm in arm with the constant attacks on teachers. In fact, this could be why our home-grown fascists are so insistent about making teachers armed guards.
Attacks on teachers,…. And libraries, and institutions of education. There is no disputing they’re fascists.
https://drwilliamhorne.substack.com/p/why-i-use-the-f-word-and-you-should
The autocrats have declared war on learning, truth, memory and history destroying our sense unity and commonality.
And now the local vandals are using the anarchy sign coupled with a sign for trans people....so the usual suspects will believe that this is who is spraying symbols on their fences instead of the punks who love doing this sort of thing.
I've studied WW2 as an undergraduate history student. The actual fascists were probably better educated.
Exactly, Fern, while the puppet masters sit in their gated enclaves and watch the peasants kill each other.
Our children, families, friends, neighbors, community and compatriots to us are 'worthless garbage' standing in the way of the self-seeking autocrats.
I would like all your comments but they are very depressing. The self seeking autocrats are loud.. they are not the majority. Some have power. The media loves them. They could be gaining on us if we shrug from an overload of this negativism. I hope that the number of those that would be so vulnerable to take the side of the autocrats and their lies, have reached an end point of sorts.
With their AR-15 lapel pins, Christmas Cards, and other look-at-my guns peacocking, the autocratic right is screaming that the rest of us should cower before them. We don't and won't.
Michael, from the research that I have read, a small minority of gunowners own more than one or two guns. The following about AR-15 was published by Forbes
'Record 2.8 Million AR-15 And AK-Style Rifles Entered U.S. Circulation In 2020, Gun Group Says'
'Updated Jul 20, 2022, 04:49pm EDT'
'TOPLINE The United States manufactured or imported just over 24.4 million AR-15 and AK-style guns—which are often known as assault rifles or modern sporting rifles—from 1990 to 2020, a firearm industry group estimated Wednesday, with a record number added in 2020, as Democratic lawmakers call to ban the sale of the popular weapons amid the mounting toll of mass shootings carried out with them.'
'KEY FACTS'
'The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates the United States imported or manufactured a record-breaking 2.8 million AR-15 and AK-style rifles in 2020 alone (NSSF subtracted exports to other countries from its figures).'
'It’s a sizable jump from NSSF’s last recorded figures, which estimated almost 20 million of these rifles were in circulation in the United States as of 2018.'
'Manufacturing figures for AR-15 and AK-style rifles, minus exports, have exploded in recent decades, from fewer than 100,000 annually in the late 1990s—when many of those firearms were prohibited for civilian use under the 1994-2004 federal assault weapons ban—to more than 1 million every year since 2015'.
'NSSF’s figures include semi-automatic rifles produced for both civilian and police use, but exclude firearms used by the military, NSSF spokesperson Mark Oliva says.'
'The number of guns in circulation keeps growing every year. A record-breaking 22.8 million total firearms were sold in the United States in 2020, the consulting firm Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting estimated, part of a rapid spike in sales many experts have linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the presidential election. Monthly firearm sales have slowed down since then, but are still well above pre-pandemic levels.'
KEY BACKGROUND
'The United States is widely believed to have more guns in civilian hands than any other country on Earth, with some estimates pegging the number of firearms in circulation at slightly over or under 400 million—greater than the total U.S. population. Many of those firearms are handguns, but AR-15-style rifles are particularly controversial because they’ve been used in many of America’s worst mass shootings—and because many critics and doctors say they can be more lethal than other guns. Several states have passed assault weapons bans, and Democrats are pushing for a nationwide prohibition on AR-15s and other semi-automatic guns that are defined as assault weapons, an idea that was left out of last month’s gun control bill amid GOP opposition. However, firearm groups say AR-15s are popular because they’re easy to use and offer light recoil, and argue a ban would have a limited effect on gun crime—which typically involves handguns rather than rifles—while arbitrarily snagging law-abiding owners.' (Forbes) See link below.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/07/20/record-28-million-ar-15-and-ak-style-rifles-entered-us-circulation-in-2020-gun-group-says/
Perhaps owners of assault rifles should be forced to see up close what they do to human bodies.
From The Washington Post: "The AR-15 fires bullets at such a high velocity — often in a barrage of 30 or even 100 in rapid succession — that it can eviscerate multiple people in seconds. A single bullet lands with a shock wave intense enough to blow apart a skull and demolish vital organs. The impact is even more acute on the compact body of a small child.
“It literally can pulverize bones, it can shatter your liver and it can provide this blast effect,” said Joseph Sakran, a gunshot survivor who advocates for gun violence prevention and a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
During surgery on people shot with high-velocity rounds, he said, body tissue “literally just crumbled into your hands.”
While it's really weird to believe that guns distributed among the population is acceptable, and while there are many women who support this, as well as support the authoritarianism plaguing the GOP, what often doesn't get mentioned is that is about male violence. Shooting up groups of people going about their lives is mostly done by young men, homophobia runs more strongly among men, beating up those who are different is mostly a male reaction, destroying property, also done primarily by men, silencing people who are different, is a form of violence, and wanting the country to be ruled by a strongman type, seems to appeal to many men, sexism, sexual assault etc, also mostly men - all of which costs us a lot in resources, and makes our world less safe than it should be. Shouldn't we be asking the question - what's wrong with so many men that they see this destructive and hurtful behavior as acceptable at all? Shouldn't men who reject this type of maleness be speaking up to other members of their sex, that this isn't acceptable? There's something really wrong, and it seems to be rooted in this toxic masculinity.
Not a well-organized plan, though. The seeds of America’s gun fetish were down long before with the opening of the West. It is the American way to favor potential craziness over safety. So they push and push without regard for calamity, aided enormously by improved technology.
Now the country has found itself bound together in hatred - mostly West and South against East and coastal West, with guns being the push/pull of their mutual loathing.
I do not accept this “autocracy” idea yet. And I do not believe that there is strength in some sort of subversive dark cabal with infinite money. Not if they’ve chosen the buffoons that are the constant witless spokesmen for guns. There is some of that, but it’s mostly opportunistic.
In the main, Americans have just clowned themselves into this deadly theatre of the absurd. Its amorphous broad, open character is the greatest danger. (See Kristi Norm’s brain-dead pandering.)
Seems to me like a genie out of the bottle. Not sure where it all goes. Based in deeply held, primal fear about which most of these people are consciously unaware. Dangerous to an extreme. For all of us.
Yes, the fear part of the equation goes both ways. I have been amazed by the detail in a book I’m reading about how deeply the MAGA people fear the Democrats, especially the Clintons. It seems totally unhinged to me, but I guess they feel like the underdogs and would be amazed about our fear of them. Two solitudes.
The book is “Submerged: Scenes From a Slow Civil War”.
It is soberly written with no hyperbole by the author. All the more frightening.
I read an article yesterday about how firearms manufacture has largely left the northeast for the southeast. They say costs are lower and profits higher, and also they are 'welcome' there, as northeast states begin to pass firearms controls. One thing I can say for sure is that if we ever do end up in armed internal conflict, we will not do well to find ourselves without the armorers. Definitely an uneasy feeling.
Subscribers, the following is from a survey on Gun ownership in the US reported by Statista. I was unable to learn how many participants participated in the survey or the original source, if not Statista. In general, the figures and information provided match other reading material I have reviewed on this subject.
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 1972-2022'
'Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 7, 2022'
'The share of American households owning at least one firearm has remained relatively steady since 1972, hovering between 37 percent and 47 percent. In 2022, about 45 percent of U.S. households had at least one gun in their possession.
'Firearms command a higher degree of cultural significance in the United States than any other country in the world. Since the inclusion of the right to bear arms in the second amendment to the constitution of the United States, firearms have held symbolic power beyond their already obvious material power. Despite many Americans being proud gun-owners, a large movement exists within the country in opposition to the freedom afforded to those in possession of these potentially deadly weapons.'
'Those opposed to current gun regulation have sourced their anger from the large number of deaths due to firearms in the country, as well as the high frequency of gun violence apparent in comparison the other developed countries. Furthermore, the United States has fallen victim to a number of mass shootings in the last two decades most of which have raised questions over the ease at which a person can obtain a firearm. Although this movement holds a significant position in the public political discourse of the United States, meaningful change in regards to the legislation dictating the ownership of firearms has not occurred. Critics have pointed to the influence possessed by the National Rifle Association through their lobbying of public officials. The National Rifle Association also lobby for the interests of firearm manufacturing in the United States which has continued to rise since a fall in the early 2000s.'
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 2022, by gender'
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, men were more likely than women to either personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household. At this time, 46 percent of American men personally owned a firearm, compared to 21 percent of women.'
'Mass shootings in the U.S.: legality of shooter's weapons, as of April 2023'
'94 of the mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and April 2023 involved weapons which were obtained legally; a clear majority. Only 16 incidents involved guns that were obtained illegally.'
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 2021, by ethnicity'
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2021, white respondents were more likely to either personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household than their non-white counterparts. During the survey, 35 percent of white Americans reported that they personally owned a firearm, compared to 23 percent of non-white respondents.'
'Gun ownership in the U.S. 2022, by age'
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, Americans between the ages of 35 and 54 years old were more likely to personally own a gun than their counterparts in other age groups. At this time, 38 percent of Americans aged between 35 and 54 years old personally owned a firearm, compared to 26 percent of those aged 18 to 34 years old, and 35 percent of those aged 55 and over.
Gun ownership in the U.S. 2021, by education level
'According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2021, people with some college, but no college degree, were more likely to personally own a gun or live in a gun owning household. At this time, 35 percent of Americans with some college personally owned a firearm, compared to 26 percent of those with a high school degree or less, and 32 percent of college graduates.'
'Gun ownership U.S. 2022, by party affiliation'
'In the United States in 2022, 48 percent of Republicans reported that they owned at least one gun, and 66 percent said that they lived in a household with a gun. In comparison, only 20 percent of Democrats owned at least one gun, and 31 percent lived a gun household.'
'Number of registered weapons U.S. 2021, by state'
'Texas was the state with the highest number of registered weapons in the United States in 2021, with 1,006,555 firearms. Rhode Island, on the other hand, had the least, with 4,887 registered firearms.'
https://www.statista.com/statistics/249740/percentage-of-households-in-the-united-states-owning-a-firearm/
Confiscate the war weapons.
Fern The stench from the Stench Court is so great that the flatulants have authorized a high fence around their portapottie. Of course this contradicts their hifalutin decision that such a fence safeguard was not permissible around abortion clinics. They don’t even abide by their own rulings.
Wow. Say it like it is!
Fern, does your "way with words" suggest that perhaps you were a speech writer?
No, Bill, writing is difficult for me. When it works, which is rare, I feel like a dancer in flight.
Bill, bows to you. I saw the sick, yellowish green of corruption as you wrote, so unlike the richness of young spring grass and the gorgeous array of shades crowning the trees.
Always appreciate what/how you write, Fern
Thank you, Bonnie. What is the species of the bird you have pictured?
It’s a type of kingfisher but not a Belted kingfisher, which one would expect in Maine.
Fern and Bill—I can always count on you to tell it like it is and to encourage others who reveal snippets and chunks of the truth.
I have no doubt that some other justices have consulted with their accountants and lawyers to see if they should "amend" their financial disclosure documents. Also, is the IRS going to examine tax returns, especially in Thomas' case?
And Fern, your summary of what ails us is right on — sadly,
Given what is going on, there should be a requirement that all SCOTUS returns are public and scrutinized. This is BS.
The GOP wants to get rid of the IRS!
Hubris, thy name is "GOP". My recollection is that when asked why the Supreme Court lacked an ethics policy, Roberts relied that the Supreme court is above all that, and that anyway, no one has the authority to enforce it.
Boy, does he need to be taken down a peg or two. How about all the way…
Agreed!
The people of the United States have the authority to enforce it. Not easy but it can be done. Starts with control of congress, death of the fillabuster, and a President willing to expand the court and establish term limits.
Judge Thomas seems to be doing everything he can to help it along. Taking away womens' rights moves us in that direction too. This will be painful but I believe it will happen in some form.
Roberts should be worried about the reputation of the court that bears his name. Instead of making hubristic pronouncements, he should be kicking a few rears. I do love that word hubris by the way because it implies that that the gods will punish in time.
The only thing that tfg was good at and his minions was filling the courts with their people! We heard about it nearly everyday. Moscow Mitch was good at that! Changes need to be made with the courts they should not be political and once they show their true colors they need to be removed! I am so glad that I am living in my last days. I fear for my 10 years old granddaughter and her friends. I hope they are better than we have been!
I hope that our children are substantially better informed about the advantage of the scientific method, and how to practice it at home when you are not a pro (you not have to be be "pro" to play baseball, you don't have to be a recording artist to sing), and be way smarter about human nature (our own and others) and the dynamics of power.
Politics, for the good and the bad of it, is the essentially the process that decides whose will prevails, within couples, within circles of friends, within organizations, and extended communities. Will can be imposed or negotiated. A circle of friends may negotiate where they will meet for lunch. A couple may negotiate where they want to live, even overcoming discord. A dispute among neighbors can be, if necessary, resolved peacefully if not always harmoniously (or even fairly) in court.
Predators rely on abuses of power, Russia attacking Ukraine, rape, extortionary monopolies, such a companies marking up cheap to produce life-saving drugs to extortionate prices. A lot of creepy stuff is going on that we have been far to passive about resisting; corruption (abuse of power) on many fronts. If democracy is (even with the aid of elected fiduciaries) is ultimately DIY governance, then we and our posterity will need to far better focused to be competent collaborative citizen/managers.
And being way more suspicious of ego; love thy neighbor as thyself,or something of the sort.
Michael, great statement! What took us so long to see this disgusting behavior?
“There is more news about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his misreporting of his financial connections. This morning, Shawn Boburg and Emma Brown of the Washington Post reported that for twenty years, Thomas has reported rental income totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a real estate firm that was shut down in 2006. “ LOCK HIM UP!
I am quilty! I thought everything was rosy until tfg! Boy, was I blind! I hate hearing some pleople say I really am not into politics. They really have no idea what is at stake. All they care about is that they have food and fun!
Michael,
I guess I am mildly puzzled why we are going after Thomas so aggressively for being a prostitute when so many people in our governmental apparatus are also prostitutes??
Right before Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court "somebody" paid off a $200,000 baseball ticket debt. Now, forget how much wasted time this means Kavanaugh is capable of delivering, and note that nobody is talking about this unreported, by Kavanaugh, bit of prostitution. WAPO reported on it as did Sheldon Whitehouse.
Or, how about George Bush giving no bid contracts to Haliburton, then getting campaign donations, during the for profit war in Iraq where lots of government prostitutes got rich.
Or, how about Ronald Reagan giving $2 Trillion to military contractors from CA and receiving giagantic campaign contributions from them.
Michael, why, in a public house prostitution like the US Government has become, are we surprised to find prostitutes?
Perhaps, in some way, we think that it is OK for Kavanaugh to be prostitute because he is white? But, not Thomas?
Because he is black?
Clarence Thomas is doing what all of them do, but, we are flogging him daily.
Why?
All true and good points, Mike. But I think the operative color right now is green - as in greenbacks. Why Thomas now? Perhaps because his "prostitution" has been revealed as being so sloppy and blatant that it insults our intelligence.
IMO, we should be equal opportunity "floggers" of the whole crew.
Equally criminals are the people who buy prostitutes. It’s symbiotic corruption. Loose regulations around money, contribute to corruption in absence of inner morals and ethics.
The purchasers of Supreme Court services appear to be all white so, nobody is talking much about them. We accept that as OK.
But, every day for a week we are flogging Clarence Thomas for doing what Kavanaugh does every day as well: Sell himself to the highest bidder.
Plus, the Federalist Society owns most of them: Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch and Barrett.
IF it is OK for all of the others noted right above to be bought and paid for, why are we whining and flogging Thomas every day?
OK, I will provide one possible answer and you decide:
Because he is black. He is not allowed to be crook like the rest of them. Because they are white and it is OK to be a crook.
Mike, I have hated Clarence Thomas from day one, and Kavanaugh, and Barrett, Alito, Roberts and Gorusch. They are cut from the same cloth of deception, control of women, and enrichment of themselves. They should all be dropped from the bench. We are in a full blown “Constitutional Crisis”.
And how, precisely, do we 'drop them from the bench'? Far easier said than done. A starting point would be the appointment of several additional Justices to the Court by the President and their confirmation by the thin majority of Democrats in the Senate. But an absent Senator Feinstein makes that a problem.
Exactly, Elizabeth. I don't know who Mike is talking about when he says WE don't complain about the others.
He is being attacked because his conduct (and his batshit crazy wife's conduct) is far more blatantly egregious than the rest of them.
I would say Kavanaugh’s attempted rape and his mysterious baseball ticket debt disappearance are fairly in your face.
Carol and Jim, at least the others make an effort to hide their malfeasance.
A little context: In 1969, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned after it was learned that he had accepted, then returned, $20,000 from a Wall Street financier. At the time, Chief Justice Earl Warren felt it was important that Fortas step down to preserve the court’s reputation.
Thomas accepted gifts from Crow worth many times that amount, even counting for inflation, and failed to report them. And then there is all the money Ginni Thomas has received from right-wing organizations that lobby on issues before the court — plus her outrageous involvement in the “Stop the Steal” putsch that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
Thomas doesn’t believe in affirmative action or protecting voting rights, though he benefited from both. He does believe in living the good life among millionaires and billionaires whose interests he just happens to protect in his opinions.
My mental image of Thomas used to be of him sitting on the Supreme Court bench during arguments, silent and scowling. Now, I see him on vacation, smoking a cigar with Crow and his buddies, laughing as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. The joke is on us.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/17/clarence-thomas-disclosures-harlan-crow-respect/
That's why they hired him. It would shut the dems up because, he would check the minority box on supreme court, and when he gets caught dirty dealing, they could say, "what do you expect?"
The one thing they can't stand is a competent, brilliant black person. It's why they hated Obama so dang much.
And how, I wonder, will Tim Scott fare as a presidential candidate.
I have heard some pretty negative things coming out of his mouth!
Kara, I believe you're right, and this country has suffered since 2008 for electing a Black man, regardless of his brilliance and character.
Who is not complaining about the others? Kavanagh is a VERY credibly accused sexual predator who flat out, provably lied during his confirmation hearing. Alito and Barrett are religious fanatics who should never be allowed to make laws in a country built on the separation between church and state. Gorsuch shouldn't be on the bench at all, may McConnell fry in hell.
You better believe I and everyone I respect condemn ALL of them, constantly.
Give Barrett a double strike. She is no more justified to sit on the court than Gorsuch. Both of their seats were stolen by McConnell working both sides of his own made-up "rule".
No question, Mobiguy. I wish they'd all get Raptured up and leave the rest of us alone.
Alexandra, every right-winger currently on the bench lied during their confirmation hearings, even Alito.
Nancy, yes! I just try to conserve energy these days. Rage is so exhausting!
But Thomas may be black skinned but his soul and intellect belong to the the gun toting red neck thugs draining beer for breakfast while checking NASCAR News.
Actually he belongs to the billionaire fascist Harlan Crow who collects Nazi memorabilia, hosts the Thomas traitors on his yachts and mansions and buys votes for his financial and political interests on the Supreme Court. I doubt Clarence would EVER ‘lower‘ himself for the “gun toting red neck thugs draining beer for breakfast…”
oreo
Art, his intellect is fine, but it appears that perhaps he's harboring hatred for this country's treatment of Blacks and minorities and is doing whatever he can to bring Uncle Sam to his knees. My thoughts are that if he hates our history, then he's in a position to help us become better, not simply continue the suppression that most of us see all around us.
Yes. Seems to me he's not interested in retribution for anyone besides himself. Anita Hill should've gotten his SCOTUS seat.
Mike, I think (in this case) it's because this is information is new and damning. We've known about Kavanaugh's discretions for years. Also, because we get excited about ANY new information that might change the court, and because we know he's a traitor (not to mention his wife).
Understood.
ProPublica might start on Kavanaugh or others for their next bombshell drop! It would be a great thing for them to do to lay it all bare concerning the corruption of the entire court.
Mike, the sources that are shedding a light on Thomas are pretty reliable and don't have a history of racism. I think it has more to do with his wife being a Trumpet, and Thomas' history of impunity. He's claimed that he and Ginny don't discuss each others' political activities with each other, which is highly unlikely.
That, plus these revelations indicate his dishonesty. Rather than the impartiality of SC Justices, it looks like he is too easily swayed by money.
Perhaps there is always a taint of racism. In this case, I think it is the exposure of his inconsistencies that might nab Thomas. I also think if Thomas is proved to be culpable, there will be more specific interest in what has influenced the other justices. I hope so, especially in the case of Kavanaugh.
Hope, good post and fair observations. Thank you.
Could very well be. Unlike the field hand, who live and dies by the whip, the House Slave is subject to the daily whimsy of the family and always the fall for a miff or suspected jewelery theft or eating from the Master's platter or sipping from the fruits of the horney daughter.
Citizens United doesn't help!
Did WAPO or Whitehouse ever learn who paid Kavanaugh's odd debt, or did they just raise the issue without a resolution?
Here's the story on Kavanaugh, from Mother Jones. It's long, and at least as far as I've gotten in it, which is pretty far, it's not particularly satisfying.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/heres-the-truth-about-brett-kavanaughs-finances/
Or you can read the last paragraph--here--and save yourself going through the whole article.
Meanwhile, the current Twitter bounty for a successful investigation into Kavanaugh’s finances continues to grow. Cooper says he’s up to $85,000 from luminaries offering to chip in, and he’s been urged to start a Go Fund Me he estimates could rake in $250,000. He doesn’t want to create a fund, but he does hope his original offer will kickstart an investigation by journalists into Kavanaugh’s debts. I told to him that such an investigation would likely turn up exactly what I discovered three years ago. But like so many liberals I’ve explained this to, Cooper wasn’t convinced. He’s suspicious as to why Kavanaugh hasn’t just come out and admitted that his parents helped him financially. “Speaking on behalf of all liberals,” he said with a laugh, “it would be such a simple way for him to set aside the conspiracy theory. Lots of people have benefited from having well-to-do parents. I just don’t see the rationale for him not doing it unless he has something to hide. This is always going to taint his reputation until it’s clearly settled.”
Clarence Thomas, regardless of his race, deserves to be flogged daily.
But I would like some answers on Kavanaugh.
Mike, I fully agree. I say, why not flog them all?
👍👍
Between Kavanaugh and Thomas, there has been far more in the news about the latter. I heard almost nothing about that payoff of Kavanaugh's debt at the time of his confirmation, and the little I heard was vague. And, no, I don't think the difference has anything to do with skin color, in this case.
If there's more about Thomas, it's partly because his wife is a seditionist, and because he hasn't recused himself from cases where she's involved.
Addendum: This article from Mother Jones suggests that re Kavanaugh, there's just no there there.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/heres-the-truth-about-brett-kavanaughs-finances/
Or you can read the last paragraph--here--and save yourself going through the whole article.
Meanwhile, the current Twitter bounty for a successful investigation into Kavanaugh’s finances continues to grow. Cooper says he’s up to $85,000 from luminaries offering to chip in, and he’s been urged to start a Go Fund Me he estimates could rake in $250,000. He doesn’t want to create a fund, but he does hope his original offer will kickstart an investigation by journalists into Kavanaugh’s debts. I told to him that such an investigation would likely turn up exactly what I discovered three years ago. But like so many liberals I’ve explained this to, Cooper wasn’t convinced. He’s suspicious as to why Kavanaugh hasn’t just come out and admitted that his parents helped him financially. “Speaking on behalf of all liberals,” he said with a laugh, “it would be such a simple way for him to set aside the conspiracy theory. Lots of people have benefited from having well-to-do parents. I just don’t see the rationale for him not doing it unless he has something to hide. This is always going to taint his reputation until it’s clearly settled.”
He is a distraction from what is going on with tfg! Yep, you got it ...he is black! And apparently bought because they were able to totaly corrup him. He has had an amazing life with all of his gifts...apparently.
Good point that the corruption is and has been rampant. But it's extremely rare to learn details about SC justices being on the take while in office. And in the Thomas case, the details are shocking and downright brazen. So is his feeble defense.
"It's a raging inferno of corruption." Aptly describes the republican party and all of its participants. They have been at this democracy destruction for decades so it will not be fixed in the next few cycles of elections (if ever); a reality many of us simply cannot get our heads around. The SCOTUS is totally lost and time is not on our side whatsoever when it comes to stopping the slaughter by guns, gerrymandering, the repeal of human rights for health and safety.
"People watch what you do to see if it matches what you say." Vice President Harris is on the most difficult mission; actually it is an impossible job. We are so diminished in the eyes of our allies that Russia and China have already succeeded in dividing this country and they are well on their way to finishing their quest to conquer and control the world.
22 years ago my eldest son spent a summer in China teaching English - I did counsel this very progressive, idealistic young man not to engage in political discussion as I had no intention of visiting him in a Chinese prison! 20 summers ago, we hosted a couple of delightful Chinese students for a few weeks. I kind of joked that if China were to rule the world, they should remember their good time here and be kind to us! 1) they did not laugh, and 2) they said the political talk we had at the table (Bush #1 was president) would have been forbidden and could have been a potential problem for their parents.
Climate change may have the final word on all of us . . . . we cannot make any progress to save ourselves when the focus is so diminished and divided. We are our own worst enemy.
Ethics is a concept I learned in high school, taught by both layman and clergy alike. It was a term, that changed my life forever after, yet Supreme Court Justices and high ranking politicians seem to care not a wit for it. To swear an oath without ethical considerations, voids the oath. We now know where Clarence Thomas stands. How many other newer arrivals to the Court could swear to and uphold a code of ethics? I don't even want to think about the far right members of Congress...
“Being ethical would interrupt my revenue stream”. Overheard by Dave Fake News reporter in a random Capitol restroom
It's time and past to look into the financial dealings of all the Justices, I think. We as a country have (tried to) assume(d) they were all ethical, moral, and intelligent people who were above the kinds of misdeeds reported about Justice Thomas; that there was JUST ONE BRANCH of the government which was of sterling quality. Alas, it seems our heroes have feet of clay, after all. And that some of them (*cough kavanaugh*) have heads of S%!t.
This, to my Republican friends. To me, what I call a “come to
Jesus moment”….whatever you define as a higher power.
https://youtu.be/zOTn_5IciPQ
Salud.
🗽
Christine, I saw Politics Girl this morning. She is so terrific! Thanks for posting her video!
Thank you!
She is something! Thx !
Thank you for posting this video!
I feel for her, carrying all this horror in her head...and, I feel for me: agreeing with every word she said...and I feel for the USA.
I know that I am painfully naive but .... I certainly hope that Clarence has paid his taxes on this declared rental income???? And wouldn't there be penalties for not doing so?
Wouldn't that be delicious!!??
What it said to me is that Clarence and Ginni are doing their taxes themselves or have a non CPA doing them.
A CPA who was using the numbers without seeing the k1 for multiple years is going to lose their license.
Their taxes are fairly complicated. The ONLY reason they aren't using a CPA is because the numbers are bull sh*t.
And, please ,don't tell me they don't discuss every case that would impact his "friend's" interests.
Maybe.
A lot of people think they're too smart to need a CPA because they use TurboTax.
Usually they find out differently because of something like this.
Couldn't happen to a nicer person.
😁
I bet they didn't even use Turbo Tax...the lies are so blatant, that Turbo Tax would keep asking for corrections. I'd love to know how they file? Paper?
Turbo tax isn't asking for a copy of the k1 - or at least that's my memory.
But you may be right and they may be filing on paper.
Good God.
I noticed over many years how Clarence Thomas consistently rules on cases before the court, as if he was protecting the rights of billionaires. Now we can understand some reasons why he did so.
I’ve always assumed that Thomas has never written an opinion but has let his clerks do all the work.
There may be thems. This can open the can of worms into ALL on the court. Very curious about Bert Kavenaugh & who paid off his debt & his closet of unknowns
Clarence the Clown together with Bone Spur Donald share two despicable characteristics:
1) Phony financial reporting
2) False fact public statements
But only Clarence has Ginni the Djinn.
I love the description raging inferno of corruption because he is a walking dumpster fire. He should not be on any court or even practice law. And below Daniel describes the party of death as a tumor which is exactly what it is....a festering cancer, rotten and smelly, on the body politic.
University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck has a fascinating look at the only Supreme Court justice to resign in scandal, Abe Fortas. As Vladeck explains, the scandal was mild compared to the one that Thomas is mired in.
https://open.substack.com/pub/stevevladeck/p/23-the-resignation-of-justice-fortas?r=57fmo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Governor Noems statements about her two year old granddaughter having a rifle and a shotgun were chilling.
I see that & raise you Lauren Boebert's Christmas card with her entire family brandishing guns.....
That village idiot Massie and several other Republicans of his ilk also have Christmas cards with “locked & loaded” families brandishing military ordnance to celebrate the birth of their Savior. 🙄
The Magi carried assault rifles. These idiot Evangelicals would probably believe that. Or that Jesus was a charter member of the NRA. " Guns don't kill people, CROSSES kill people " ! Lunacy.
" Guns don't kill people, CROSSES kill people "
I like this quite a lot but would amend it to:
Guns don't kill people, CRUCIFIXION does. Sounds a bit more morbid.
I recently read a comment somewhere (how's that for precise) that the three Abrahamic religions each chose a symbol for their faith; a star, a crescent moon, and a Roman means of execution. That is fascinating to me.
Originally it was a fish, as in Fisher of Men. I guess a crucifixion device had more Authority with the Roman Church and its Inquisitors,.
Yes that Is fascinating!
A bit of a cynic might have written that...two of the symbols represent distance of God from humanity. If the Romans had owned assault weapons, think of what the symbol of God coming to Earth and dying for us would be...
Continuing from the OT penchant for offering sacrifices to please a paternal figure, you are on target.
🤯
People used to call Jesus the "Prince of Peace". I guess that nickname has gone out of fashion.
GOP recommends buying guns not books. That says it all.
Back to the caves! Or at least to Weimar. Too many poor, too little good public schooling, pandemic, too much greed, climate change, too little charity for all. Can we humans surmount this? It’s the existential question of our times.
The GOP won't be pleased until we start burning people at the stake, drowning people on suspicion of being witchcraft, performing exorcisms or trepanation to release evil spirits, etc. To say that they're anti - progress & paranoid as well as xenophobic is an understatement of EPIC PROPORTIONS.
Unless there's a photo of her granddaughter with a working guns, I wouldn't react to that much.
Supposing I told you I had an oven when I was three - but it was an EZ bake oven. Noem could be talking about the plastic accoutrements which went with her little cowgirl outfit.
It sounds like a way to bait the libs.
You know if you were an extremely stupid person who didn't mind using your little granddaughter as bait.
Bridget, I thought I saw a photo of the child with a rifle....but now I can’t find it. It’s pretty terrible to give anyone a gun, much less a two-year old. I think about the “gun activist” in Texas, I believe, who had a gun in her purse, was in the car driving with her two-year old, and yes, the two-year old fished the gun out of the purse and shot and killed her....it is so beyond sickening, I am not sure what to say about this idiot Governor. And yes, I DO want to take those guns....
I didnt let my kids play with plastic, toy guns. I've also somehow managed to live for close to 65 years without ever owning a gun. Go figure.
I played with toy guns my entire childhood, but now, almost 71, I have never even touched a real one.
When I was a kid, we played with toy guns, too. We chose otherwise for our kids. I'm not against responsible gun ownership, but there absolutely should be regulations. Guns are weapons that have the ability to kill. That alone should require regulations, in my opinion. In order to drive a car, one must be licensed, the vehicle registered AND insured. But guns? Licensed, but no database of who owns what, you know, like the DMV. It just seems so common sense. Nobody wants to take anyone's guns. We just want more responsibility to go along with gun ownership. Why is that considered so terrible?
No, my kids did not get toy guns, either.
Now, I'm going to whisper something maybe I'm not supposed to say:
I WOULD take people's guns away.
Because most of the pro 2nd amendment know they couldn't meet the same qualifications a car driver does.
There was also a rumor in the 80s that the reason the NRA was so anti registration and registry was because the mob was one of their biggest donors.
I still can't figure out why I need a license to drive a car and people don't need licenses to own a more lethal weapon - a gun. I also need to buy an insurance policy in the event the vehicle I am responsible for hurts another. Go figure.
I don't think anyone I know was giving their kids toy guns either but I wouldn't bet they didn't get Star Wars blasters.
My grandfather had strong opinions on guns and he taught us it was a tool which was never to be pointed at someone else.
However, we also grew up inside a city where the worst thing disturbing the garden were rats.
People give their kids toy guns. As long as they're white, they're not likely to be shot by the cops for playing with them.
I'm not in favor of that but that I'm not in favor of Barbie either.
Noem like Boebert is an idiot incapable of doing anything except generating outrage. Like Boebert and that twit in Tennessee she is using a small child to inflame the libs.
Keeping idiot grandma from giving a two year old a toy gun doesn't stop mass shootings.
Keeping parents from giving access to loaded guns might.
Let's pat Noem on the head and keep our attention on serious people.
She is serious, Bridget. She helped prevent thousands of Native Americans from voting! I say go after her at the polls! The Vote is more powerful than the Gun!
The danger is in the damage she can do.
But if tomorrow, Native Americans got their rights back, she'd be trying to pander to them in the most cringe worthy way possible.
Stupid people do stupid things because they're looking for the immediate and not seeing the long term.
The fact that she would say that says so much, same with Boebert, get a clue people
Exactly what I was thinking, Jeri! Who in their right mind brags about their two-year-old granddaughter owning weapons—.of any kind?
Someone who adeptly signals to their base and gets their “enemy the libs” panties all in a twist. Mission Accomplished.
In that case, how mindless must her base be to endorse such grand-madness!
"You know if you were an extremely stupid person who didn't mind using your little granddaughter as bait."
Excceedingly well put.
Toy guns, that makes more sense. Giving a child a real gun would/should constitute child endangerment. I had a cap gun as a kid; westerns were all the rage.
Okay, I've now seen the photos from the NRA convention.
I stand corrected. She honestly could be dumb enough to let a two year old handle a weapon before the child could work a toilet.
The entire Right worships Moloch.
Given this weekend's news, Gov. Noem's granddaughter has a good head start for self protection at her 'sweet 16th' birthday party. Hope her older brother is not a star football player. It is simply not to be believed that firearms of any sort--to include hunting rifles and birding shotguns--are an appropriate gift for any 2-year old. Nodding to the 2nd Amendment, a new teddy bear might find more use for her in the near term--at last until she is ready to join the well-trained militia that is the South Dakota National Guard.
The "Like" button isn't appropriate, but I do agree with you whole-heartedly.
How any grandparent could brag about their precious grandchild’s supposed gun ownership is beyond me. It’s disgusting.
It's like a bad and tasteless joke.
And the joke is on the dead…but they aren’t laughing
Insanity is the rule in repub land…
Yes. Complete insanity.
UNBELIEVABLE anyone would see her as fit to take of a child and shocked (as I am repeatedly these days over one thing or another) she has any supporters.
I recall when "Barbie" dolls were considered too sophisticated for children because of her nipple-less breasts.
One wonders if her granddaughter is allowed to play with these guns.
What a world.
Lynnb "Governor Noems statements about her two year old granddaughter having a rifle and a shotgun were chilling."
"𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 — 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11975137/Governor-Kristi-Noem-reassures-NRA-audience-two-year-old-granddaughter-shotgun-rifle.html
Families of shooting victims should send Holiday cards to Republican leaders with morgue pictures of their shot up family member. HAPPY BLOODY HOLIDAY TO YOU AND YOURS!
Judy: BILLBOARDS! This is a brilliant suggestion.
How about all the GQP wearing assault rifle lapel pins.
This is exactly the statement that jumped out at me. I pray Noem is lying to us with this statement.
In Salmon Idaho we host a Salmon Select Sale for horses and mules each year bringing together people from across the country. Since I had a friend from Wyoming and a friend from Montana I thought it would be a good time to have a chat about the state of the nation regarding combat arms. Both of my guests have concealed carry permits and both have adequate arsenals of semi-automatic weapons. We have been friends for many years and continue to be so. In response to school shootings they argue for locating law enforcement within every school and hopefully teachers trained well enough to carry and be able to employ concealed weapons in the classrooms for the safety of the students. They stated they were more or less unaware of the numbers of mass shootings going on and was attributable to crazed individuals. When I asked why they felt they needed to own rapid fire weapons their answers were mostly a subterfuge but it was abundantly clear they felt the government (democrats in power) was targeting them in cahoots with “liberals” trying to take away their freedoms. Keep in mind they go armed at all times. They felt they needed a level of adequate protection against the armed crazies and that no force on earth was going to take away their right to keep and bear arms. I asked them if they felt like they might be the “armed crazies.” They consider me to be somewhat liberal minded even though I did my best to maintain an even composure so the discussion could discuss possible solutions as well as their indignant and loud protestations. Aside from ridding ourselves of Biden and arming the conservative camp further they could suggest no real solutions other than an inevitable shooting war. What was clear was the level of misinformation that had a firm grip on their understanding of political events nationwide. They really viewed themselves as the patriots who shouldered the burden of saving democracy. We think they know better and that is our mistaken judgement. That is all from here in cow country.
Thank you for your clear reporting based on your own experience. Thank you for asking simple, common sense questions. Here we are. Terrifying and truly tragic.
Thank you Suz-an. I am ashamed these good people are so poorly informed. One other disturbing event came my way which I should mention. A ranch where I worked years ago has in the last 5 years been turned into a religious retreat in Western Montana. Wealthy owners from out of state have turned it into a playground under the auspicious of a religious retreat which hosts combat assault training put on by ex- law enforcement personnel reputedly training law enforcement personnel. Methinks that is a deliberately misleading adventure as Montana has its own law enforcement academy. They are calling it religion, training subversives, and probably extracting a tax evasion. I say probably because I don’t have a window. As far as a ranching operation they are raising 17 cows. Go figure. As these people make up the base of so many Republican congressmen and women, it is clear that party will not step up and tackle the business of the nation. No one is coming from across the isle. Fat cats will eat no rats.
Pat, your illustrations are but a microcosm of the magnitude of this sick mentality. It is terrifying when realizing that we’re becoming no different than the human tights-violating theocracies led by radicalized religious zealots who are supported by hoards of blood-thirsty. gun-toting, cult-driven guerrillas.
That’s the thing Rose! They aren’t blood thirsty any more than the rest of us. They are just blinder than bats. They don’t even realize they are the armed crazies. Most of them would give you their shirts. They are living in a cringing fear hiding guns and rice reminiscent of 2000 when the world was going to end. That was 23 years ago and they are still sliding deeper into automatic weapons paralysis. This fear consumes them.
Not sure how their self-ignorance (that they’re scared crazies) makes them more tolerable. Crazy people with automatic weapons are holding the rest of us hostage to the fear of being the next innocent victim of a mass-shooting carried out by… crazy people with automatic weapons.
But I see your point: they’ve been brainwashed; they are scared; they can’t help it. Fox Noise should be held accountable for breeding this crisis.
Their fear also generates from the Christian Nationalism rhetoric that is part of the R mantra. Read any book about what the CN is preaching & it fits right into what they are saying. it is good for gun sales.
Interestingly, your comment reminded me of why the Conquest of the Americas was a profitable venture for the Spanish Crown: after the successful end of the Crusades, they had loads of unused armaments and hoards of idle soldiers. It was a win-win situation for them at that point. Guns tend to backfire people into a dead-end corner sooner or later.
I hear you, Pat. Living in another very red and dangerous gun-toting state. (So far, still alive, anyway.)
Not sure why you'd choose to say you're 'ashamed' they're not better informed. You have no responsibility in this at all. You tried. Your report is clear-eyed and lays it out.
I used to believe that we're all 'responsible' for all kinds of distressing things that rule our lives. Things over which we have control, yes. Other things out of our hands, no.
How about all the plastics and all the horrible problems they're causing worldwide? WE have nothing to do with creating this mess. Corporations have everything to do with it. WE don't package nearly every thing we buy in plastic. If we had other options, WE would choose them. Not our choices.
The idea that WE actually have any say about this stuff and most other is BS. We don't.
Like you, i've also stopped focusing on Rs as the only problem. Establishment Dems have plenty to do with our current situation, too. Our hands are tied.
You said it perfectly! Fat cats will eat no rats.
Sorry, but Dems may not be perfect but they are not, to my knowledge, traitors to our Constitution/country
look closer
This link was shared by LIn on LFAA yesterday and I encourage you to view. Vivek Ramaswamy speaking at the NRA convention. He is a dynamic speaker(opposite of DeSantsi) and presidential candidate. Try to set aside emotion and see how they’re messaging so we may counter.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?527239-2/vivek-ramaswamy-speaks-nra-leadership-forum&event=527239&playEvent
In God We Trust but don’t trust the government
3 armed guards in every school
Abolish Dept of Ed
Pence, in an absolutely disgusting, expensive mailer I received Friday (how he got MY name and address would be worth the investigation) referred to public school teachers as “government” educators and we Democrats as having an insane, immoral, godless agenda. His religious beliefs are held by majority of Americans and no other faiths should be allowed. He flagrantly disavows equality for all and the ridiculous notion of separation of church and state. If I answered the abhorrent ten-question survey and donated $100 or more I could receive a signed copy of his book, “So Help Me God.” His new foundation is Advancing American Freedom, “servant leadership where he is needed most.” I “answered “ his survey and highlighted parts of his letter with government-teacher rebuttals and clarifications and mailed back in expensive pre-paid postage package. This is same weekend this good Christian man spoke at NRA convention in order to kowtow to those he thinks will support his drive to the White House. My actions childish; my reaction to his words pure anger, frustration, and incredulity.
This is right out of the CN teachings. Andrew Seidel, Robert P Jones; Andrew Whitehead all have books. In Seidel's book , he mentions the Council for National Pollicy that Ginny Thomas, yes Clarence's wife, is a member by invitation.
Kathy, Do you really believe the “base” will vote for a man of color, with a
“foreign sounding” name no matter what he says? I’ll look at your link, sick as it makes me, because I believe we must “know thine enemy” to “defeat” the enemy. Thanks for your comment.
Yes - thank you and yes, this terrifying!!!
To know more , google Charles Baldwin in the Flathead valley MT. He gives the running script re the rabid speech of 2A people, how they think & what they say.
How patient you are, all Rupert watchers, I’d wager. Such nonsense has been hammered home to Fox ears for most of my adult life. I had hoped that clearer heads were in the majority, but Fox has ruled the willing fools with little push back. Our MSM has failed us.
All of us have friends and family trapped in that quicksand. We are throwing ropes but they are spurning them. I guess we let ‘em sink and start over.
The rope isn't long enough to help my friends and family. The disconnect is complete and my heart is broken.
We throw out condemnation and redemption as the only two absolutes governing our lives. Absolution doesn’t seem to have a home any more. Narrow mindedness focuses us in a conscious confine from which no alternatives find light. By far the longest running political and religious strategy has been to maintain your own views in silence lest we isolate each other completely. I still find my chickenshit ignoramus Republican friends pull on their britches one leg at a time same as me who they often call to my face a leftist snowflake looney tune. Then we trailer up our horses and take the same bridge across the same river gather cows and move them to summer pasture. Even I sometimes carry a saddle gun or side arm. Like Grandad said, don’t talk politics or religion unless you want to lose all your friends. That was said nearly 70 years ago and has born fruit all along. You can have a good neighbor without embracing her philosophy. Hell, everyone knows she’s an idiot.
😘
I remember when the Saturday Evening Post was our window on America. Comfortable life, lovely families.
I thought the Saturday Evening Post aspirational, not really a news magazine. Of course, the aspirations had an upward mobile, WASP view of success. Being reminded of it here made me nostalgic as my hopes and goals were mixed with the myths and character I could identify with. Where does American aspiration now get served?
Our MSM is more-or-less okay. FNC is, according to their own press releases, an entertainment organization, not MSM or any other kind of news. The people who watch Fox are the problem. FNC feeds them what they demand, not the other way around.
These are "friends" of yours? People silently, secretly, carrying weaponry in your presence? Would you allow them while armed into your home or your car? Would you go into one of their homes, or be in a car with them? Would you even want them, while armed, in your presence at all? How could you trust them, ever, to behave themselves? How could you trust them to always read every situation correctly, and NOT use their weapons? And how can you describe these individuals as "good" people, when, if they are as you have described them, they are clearly members of the RWNJ cadre who are afraid of, and hate, "the libs", and are willing to engage in a shooting war over their possession of "an adequate arsenal"? Seriously?
They are basically good people who need cult de programming. I lived with them & around them & still do. It is part of our everyday life in a rural state with a hunting culture that has been subverted by CN
Lynn, I had the very same thoughts as I read this thread. Theses people are your “FRIENDS?!” These people who believe the liberals are the crazies because we want people to stop shooting each other? These “religious retreats” are surely funded by the NRA and other subversive, violent cults that are trained to terrorize Americans. That’s the obvious reason for these abhorrent organizations. They’ll lie, steal, and cult people into gun idolatry.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near these people. Definitely not in my home. They enjoy the mind poison they eagerly seek to justify the perversion of possession of so many weapons made for the sole purpose of killing other people. They cannot be trusted. They are NOT good people. We all know people who think like the ones described. They don’t even know about the mass shootings??? They’re ignorant and choose to be. They’re dangerous because they choose to be uninformed. No, we cannot be friends. You’re indoctrinated with lies that kill.
You are talking about our neighbors, people we see everyday in our town, grocery stores, libraries. What you are expressing is what scares 2A people into clutching their guns even closer & fighting harder to defend 2A. We need to find a way of expressing our concerns to pierce their armed vests of talk, in a way that can derail the fear so they can more openly think about gun violence. Pat's conversation with his friends is a good start.
Thank you Carol. You are on to me.
Carole, I understand what you are saying, but I think, in all candor, and with all respect and sincerity, that you are fooling yourself. These people may once have been "good people", but they have become monsters, their goodness having been corrupted, destroyed by their own paranoia and willingness to believe the absolute worst about their neighbors. Unlike "good" people, who do not pose a threat, minute to minute, with their heavy armaments or their hidden handguns, these individuals pose a continuing danger to the health and wellbeing of us normal people, who don't go around secretly heavily armed, that is, the very people who they think are the "armed crazies".
That’s how I see it. How many people mourn the loss of family members to MAGA? They may have been good people once, but they’ve been imprisoned with delusional, dangerous ideals. Fear of others who appear to be different? Different how? Are they invaders from another planets L
And, I daresay, their sole source of national "news" is from Fox or conservative radio. At least that's true for Wyoming members of my extended family.
Well, Pat, I respect you for your integrity and dignity in those discussions. However, the Germans showed the world what happens when, as you observe, people are living with “misinformation that had a firm grip on their understanding of political events nationwide. They really viewed themselves as the patriots who shouldered the burden of saving democracy.” Of course in the case of Germany, the historical hatred of Jews, gays, Catholics opposed to Hitler, mentally challenged people, Romas and others led the society to annihilate other beings in the most cruel and unimaginable ways in human history. Do we really want to go down that road? We do not have to live this way, as Heather points out all the time. When will we all stand up and say to our countrymen: “We will not live this way anymore.”
I agree Elisabeth. Our history teacher spent more than half the year making sure we had memorized the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and the 30 or so testimonials that elevated the consciousness worldwide to the dangers of silence. I always open my big mouth. Mr. Radcliffe is still in my hip pocket. Let this be an acknowledgement to all of you teachers who approached Cretins like me and opened the gate.
I lived in Salmon for a few years. It was not unusual to see open carry everywhere, even the library. Your conversation echos all the replies to posts that I have read. It is like a script that all memorized & regurgitate. Also like your experience No one can say why rapid fire weapons are needed. The closest was on this page that taking away this style of gun was a slippery slope to take away all guns. This & the next generation of new voters may not be as tolerant of "2A rights". The people repeating the rhetoric of the NRA & gun manufacturers need to find a new tape of "what positive action can we take" & it is not more guns & arm teachers. I am just north of you in the Bitterroot & MT is no different even tho we have a D senator up for re election that the R legislature is trying to un legislate him by back door policies. The peril is up close in our face everyday!
You describe my former law enforcement cohort to a "T". I read a thing that one of my former sergeants posted regarding MSM coverage of the arrest of the Airman back east. It was a rant that devolved into Biden being mentally incompetent and trying to ally us with the Communist Chinese; one of the jackdonkeys that posted said that Mike Lindel (my pillow, anyone) had a great idea for a guarantee of a free and fair election. They are being fed a pack of lies and they believe it with all their hearts. The guy that posted this is (I thought) a real nice guy. He has completely jumped the shark.
They demand those lies and change the channel whenever what they hear isn’t vicious enough for their tastes.
The rant that I touched off at my kitchen table was akin to a powder horn of black powder going off. It was loud acrimonious and highly illuminating. It was a long time before I was allowed to bring up the next question. I know you of all people understand such loquacious civilian keepers of the constitution.
Impressed that you brought up the next question. Kudos, Pat.
So they would support one hardened entrance at a school with armed officers inside. Sounds like a prison to me. What do you think will happen to the class clowns and other discipline problems? They will be handcuffed that’s what. And their path to prison begun. When you hear your school boards opting for SROs in the schools that is where they are headed. Just say no! SROs are just another money-making scheme, another way to make a living in our violent culture. It v should not be supported. Get the guns under control before you make K12 schools into mini prisons.
Mary Ellen you sound as though you were here. Their fear of loss of their weapons and their interpretation of 2A rights is as blinding as a magnesium hand grenade. It’s as though the first artillery round landed amongst them and they are petrified. Be that as it may we needed to have that conversation.
Muchas Muchas Gracias
Thank you for giving us a firsthand account of what we know but many of us don’t get this kind of personal story about.
"Love" button not what I need for this comment: I need a "crying" or "FURIOUS!" button.
What a bizarre disconnect continues to make a mockery of American freedom and citizens' right to safety. The horrific shooting death of Robert Dotson by police in New Mexico demonstrated that having a gun does not protect against harm. That poor man awakened in the middle of the night probably had not understood that police were at his door. He opened his door pushing out his gun first and was met by deadly force from officers reacting (overreacting?) to the threat they saw. But that tragic loss is glossed over by all gun rights NRA supporters of the Second Amendment - a law drastically misconstrued in our time. Noem's quip about her granddaughter is horrifying. I continue to ask what about the right of citizens to life? The current radicalized GOP cares little for life unless they get to define and circumscribe it, and impose their beliefs on others. Small wonder Clarence Thomas keeps lying about his circumstances. His corruption is fine with his party as long as he finds ways to support the broader GOP in their dismantling of democracy. We are not safer.
It's all about power, or the illusion of power.
Do not forget the greed.
And fear. I think people are subconsciously realizing 2 very uncomfortable existential scientific facts: overpopulation and climate change. There are sane solutions to both problems, but they are far from most Americans’ comfort zones, so they have taken to Wild West, simple defenses instead of trying to take on the problems.
The enemy is our appendage
I watched the video. The police announced themselves several times.
Through closed doors, roused from sleep, Dotson may not have heard clearly or might even have thought it a hoax. After all, most law abiding citizens don't expect that kind of visit at that time.
True & how many answer the door with a gun pointed @ the person knocking? Or question from the inside of the door "whose's there"? Again speaks to the lack of training in using a fire arm for self protection. The NRA use to have excellent videos on this & a gun was a last resort for home protection.
Indeed! Seems we agree. A firearm does not ensure personal safety. Seems time for the NRA to return to its roots instead of inflaming anger and striking dread into folks.
Would be very helpful if all the members of the administration started mentioning the practical ways that "we in the seats" could help our "fight" for gun safety, for protection of reproductive rights, for preservation of our voting rights as a true democracy, for resistence to racism and anti-semitism? And the very best and actually easiest way to do all of the above is to encourage all of GenZ relatives and friends and all of the younger woman in our social and societal orbit--and all us who believe deeply in every woman's right to choose--to register to vote and in 2024, to turn out the greatest number of the voters who support some or all of the above in the history of this democracy in order to save it--and if I may respectfully suggest, the very best way to get this done is go on the website of a spectacular group of Harvard students who are attempting to work all across this country nonpartisan in 2,700 high schools and colleges in competitive congressional districts to register millions of younger voters through social media and active school voter registration drives-- and contribute now and often--www.turnup.us/ (I don't know why it won't send you to www.turnup.us/ this works) You will be amazed at what this young group are doing to save our democracy in an effective and cost efficient manner, Thank you and please do it--it's time folks!
The League of Women Voters has been doing this for decades! I’m going to two High Schools this week to get 17-1/2-18 year olds registered. One St.Louis County high school we registered 67 young people! A very engaged social studies teacher gets the credit because she is a teacher who is committed to educating her students. We desperately need teachers to teach. In Missouri, this is another key to restoring sanity in Jefferson City. As long as I am able, that’s my best to fight back against the hideous legislation here.
Cap, Gown & Ballot is doing the same thing as turnup.us./
https://www.thecivicscenter.org/cap-gown-ballot
Ira, never stop mentioning this super important effort of turnup.us - Kudos! Again. You led me to this young man and his team and I am mentioning him to everyone I know. Thank you. This is the face of effective political action. He is the very definition of a "change agent".
To all of you reading this letter:
Nothing matters more than the 2024 turnout of voters. We can whine and complain (I do) but unless we are willing to fully engage in the battle at the voting booths, we are doomed.
Read here what Zev Shapiro has created. Consider donating. It will tip the balance.
https://billalstrom.substack.com/p/winning-with-youth
Thanks again, Ira for posting the link to www.turnup.us/
Thank you Colette we really appreciate your help
I have mentioned this to our local LWV to work with this & other groups registering GenZ voters. An active group on the UoMissoula campus
The pattern is the story.
Women ignored. Professor Anita Hill warned us. Sen. Joe Biden chaired. He and womanizer and serious drunk and Chappaquiddick Liar Sen. Edward “Teddy” Kennedy sat.
Professor Anita Hill did not lie. Judge Clarence Thomas did lie. Judge Brett Kavanaugh lied.
Justice, Neil Gorsuch lied. Amy Comey Barrett lied.
The stench is a mess.
Impeachment is the answer for a few Scotus judges.
The pattern is the story.
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn should be required reading starting in elementary school. So many of the problems that America has now, have their roots way back at the beginning of the nation. VP Harris does her best to go beyond the limitations imposed on women. Professor Anita Hill was thrashed and only now people acknowledge that she was right.
- women's silent sadness -- 4/17/23 DelanceyPlace.com
https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?e=4729a2d4bf&u=6557fc90400ccd10e100a13f4&id=78ebb760fd
“After the Revolution in the United States, American society coalesced around controlling women's behavior and sexual activity while exploiting their labor. Women's "reduced rate," or free labor in the case of slaves, was critical to the growing economy. And they were coerced, compelled, and conditioned to be meekly submissive. They were encouraged to "not expect too much": "After the Revolution, none of the new state constitutions granted women the right to vote, except for New Jersey, and that state rescinded the right in 1807. New York's constitution specifically disfranchised women by using the word ‘male.’”
Please do read "American's Women: 400 years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines" by Gail Collins!!
Absolutely fascinating book! Eye opening!!
Just ordered 2 copies. One for me, one to donate to the English Language Library in Merida, Yucatan.
You will be amazed by it. Only one sport of spoiler, though there is TONS of information over the 400 years: I was shocked to discover that in pre-colonial times, premarital sex was somewhat expected if not downright encouraged. If the woman was not fertile, she was a bad bet as they needed the large families, so she proved herself worthy of matrimony! You will really enjoy this book, absolutely fascinating!
Indeed. Let women... rule.
Yes!! I used Zinn when I taught 4th and 5th grades; obviously, not word-for-word but for reference in lesson planning and citations for primary sources. Also, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen.
Let us “rebalance” SCOTUS, terminology one of you suggested. As soon as the Feinstein/CA situation can be resolved, let’s get started on 4 additional SCOTUS judges. BTW: when you think about it: no simple solution to that situation.
The onion that Clarence Thomas continues to be unpeeled, one layer at a time.
This latest incident seems innocuous, but could be more than just sloppy reporting, considering that he has failed to report many other questionable financial transactions.
My question is why would Clarence (not worthy of my respect to be addressed by his last name) report receiving income that he is not receiving? The only reason I can fathom is that he’s trying to conceal UNREPORTED income. What tangled webs he and Ginny spin!
Thinking about Clarence Thomas, he may be or think he is "above the law" but certainly his wife isn't. There is no way that I would believe that she didn't know about this malfeasance and in all likelihood is part of it. I wish they would start investigating her too!
I’ve been sayin’, “Go after Ginny!”She’s not anything but a private citizen, seditious cult member influencer who holds no public office and happens to be married to Clarence.
Member of the Council for National Policy, CNP. Bastion of Christian nationalism
What a horrible group of people!
THAT hold a lot of political power with followers who are ready & waiting for the call to arms
Pretty scary, isn't it.
Agreed Rose! Do folks seriously think this obvious power driver of everything MAGA, Clarence Thomas, is going to pay taxes on $$ he’s not receiving? They are so arrogant and assured, in their powerful positions and their history of getting away with screwing the US of A, they get sloppy with their bookkeeping. Turn the flood lights on! Thank you to investigative journalists and companies like Dominion seeking truth. Let’s cheer them on and support them!
I certainly hope Dominion doesn't settle. I want the two-faced Fox organization and its high-paid lackeys out on public view asap.
I want them gone!
And I hope Smartmatic’s suit has the strength of evidence that Dominion has demonstrated!! Hurray for TRUTH!
The Post article cited by HCR reports that in 2006, a real estate company owned by Ginni Thomas’ family was closed, and replaced by another company with a similar name. Justice Thomas continued to report income under the earlier name. The issue is that a person given great power based on his alleged abilities to understand and apply the laws of the land, is once again not bothering to do so with care with regard to his own obligations.
Thank you! When I read that I was SO confused?
Can we not just refer to him as Harlan Crow’s Uncle Thomas?
My thought exactly!
And yet, those who lack high position are often slapped down by the government for seemingly minor technical errors. It wasn't just Spidernan who said that with great power comes great responsibility.
And if I did sloppy reporting…
Missed a number once on my tax return about 30 years ago. The mail I received before it was corrected was enough to burn to keep us warm for the following winter. My gross income on my return was $32,000. Good thing it wasn’t millions in unreported income, or we’d froze!
Underrated post 👆
The rot is deep. Wide. His white wife is disgusting. He is disgusting. The GOP et al are fascist. Call it what it is: FASCISM
Herb,
In our Social Democratic House of Prostitution called "The US Government" why are we so focussed on Clarence Thomas?
The list of government officials on the take from indistry and rich campaign donors is quite long, all of them doing exactly what Thomas is doing: Improving their lives through prostitution.
So, why are we all piled on Thomas right now? Is it because he is black?
And we think only white folks should be allowed to get rich on prostitution in the US Government?
Is it really piling on when the facts are blatantly provable? The flood of revelations are impossible to downplay. At this point, I expect something new again tomorrow. Its not because he’s Black, its because he’s a Conservative lackey
It really does look like it, doesn't it, Mike? I am wondering about Alito and Kavanaugh as well. Thomas's conduct, while actionable, might also be (perhaps the wrong metaphor here) a Red Herring to make us look away from other bad conduct that is going on on the bench.
What this is illustrating is that NO ONE BRANCH of government should be exempt from ethics rules
Yes. And... don't I remember Thomas complaining about a public lynching in his confirmation hearing? Welp, sometimes it might be self-inflicted - or a Red Herring, as you say.
No one was focusing until Propublica investigated, starting with a seemingly harmless jet flight...then, on and on and on. Blatant $$support from the Nazi memorabilia billionaire.
I can not imagine anyone else doing anything that comes close to this. PLUS: what else is there?? Luxury jewelry and household items for Madam? I betcha.
As someone who watched the carnage of Viet Nam over our evening meal decades ago, I have to wonder if this generation even has a clue what the history of the previous generation was. LBJ tried to negotiate in 1968, Nixon stymied that effort. Same with forced birth. Does anyone remember the horrors to WOMEN (not one man) from the burden placed on them by the “loving” men in their lives, including my own Mom, although my Dad didn’t “hit and run” like so many who skate away with nary a care. Republicans want the horror back again. There was a time when the SC finally recognized the equal protection granted all citizens, then republicans decided that some were indeed more “equal than others,” and set about to dismantle hard fought gains on several fronts. Our reputation in the world has to do with consistent and honorable actions. Such is sorely missing from the republicans among us. As hard to find as hen’s teeth. And yet they crow…
First of all, thank you for including the very important work that VP Harris has been doing. I don't think she has gotten enough credit for everything she is accomplishing. God forbid MSM points these things out!
Clarence and Ginni are quite a pair, are they not? Not disclosing the sale of his property to his billionaire friend and now this ditty about a company that doesn't even exist is dirty pool. Yes, Thomas should be impeached but will that happen? Only in 2024 if Dems win both the House and the Senate and that's not a given. Think Chief Roberts will do anything? He's a wimp. I hope he proves me wrong but I have my doubts. Should be another interesting week.
Another senseless shooting in yet another shit-hole state governed by a Repub crazed governor. Honestly, until a literal gun is held to their heads, they won't budge. I am not advocating for violence. I am saying this is the only thing they will acknowledge that they might be afraid of. That very ignorant governor, Noem, brags about how her 2 year old granddaughter has her own gun. Isn't that just precious? Wait til she grabs it because her loving parents left it out, accidentally, and their sweet child picks it up and shoots herself or somebody else. Absolutely reckless and stupid these people are!
Wondering who does tax returns for the Thomases. A lawyer? A CPA? {Is there any indication they didn't get income from the similarly named firm?)
The fact that Justice Thomas reported income from a firm that doesn’t exist begs the question; where did the money come from?
There is also another, bigger, question hanging in the air over issues in re Clarence Thomas; where is Chief Justice Robert’s? This is his court being besmirched. This is his legacy. Indeed, it’s his court’s legitimacy, thus every ruling’s legitimacy, being undermined with every new revelation about Clarence Thomas.
Will Robert’s play the political hack and tough it out with Justice Thomas hoping for a Republican president, and a Republican majority in the Senate, after the 2024 election? That’s quite a long shot.
Or will John Roberts rise above politics, jettison Clarence Thomas sooner, and thus allow Biden and Senate Democrats to pick a liberal replacement before the next election, and before Justice Thomas permanently poisons the historical legacy of the Roberts Court? The court would still have a conservative majority..
Either way, Justice Clarence Thomas has to go.
Pick your place in American history, John Roberts.
Right now, the not-so-chief-justice is hiding under his desk with his black robe over his head.
"Right now, the not-so-chief-justice is hiding under his desk with his black robe over his head."
Let that be his legacy.
He is also in search of his "legacy". In his posture, I believe he has found it.
"The Roberts Court" will have a definite place in history, and in my eyes, that die has been cast. The first SCOTUS ever to rescind a constitutional right. I think that the Roberts court may well go on in history (if we have one) as being the worst, most corrupt, most blatantly political of any SCOTUS thus far, surpassing CJ Taney as the worst ever.
One wonders just now, if Crowe, or someone like him, doesn’t have similar control of John Roberts. It would explain the Chief Justice’s silence on the problem of Clarence Thomas.
Roberts’ legacy has already been cast. His ship has sailed. He now has nothing left to lose
Our VP: “I’ve been traveling around the world as your Vice President,” she said. “When we, as Americans, walk in those rooms around the world, we have traditionally walked in those rooms, shoulders back, chin up, having some authority to talk about the importance of rule of law, human rights.”
Yes, but at this moment in time, we are like adolescents, in the middle of an Identity Crisis. How can we be the example when we are divided not just by the politics of party but by the extremes of political divide? On critical issues, the courts and the GOP block laws and discussion about gun safety and laws, Women’s Rights to choose, not only Abortion but what’s in our medicine cabinet. Voting rights, Social Security and Medicare for all. Even the Postal services. Public schools and banning Truth. I know this is a rerun comment. But I have to write it again. At least a Democracy is possible. If we Vote like our Democracy depends on it.
I seem to write the same thing again and again too. Stuck record, ha
Jeri and Ireni, apparently we need to keep repeating ourselves because much of our population is either intent on not paying attention or, more likely, they never hear or read anything close to the privilege that we readers have of being aware of Heather Cox Richardson, or SubStack, for that matter.
Ignorance is dangerous.
The emperors have no clothes.
The emperors are corrupt, greedy idiots.
Fellow Friends of HCR,
While the never ending travails of 'No clearance " Clarence keep attention focused upon the Supreme Court, I think another issue of the Court's might possibly be even more important.
When Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, our country's population was about 30 million. Today, we have 10 times that many people, yet EXACTLY the same number of Supreme Court Justices.
That is nothing short of ridiculous
Agree.
Clarence Thomas and Ginny and their billionaire benefactor and the pattern described at WaPo tonight are cause for impeachment of Thomas. Add to this we have the serial lying and compulsive dishonesty of the nomination hearings of GOP candidates and the treatment of Garland.. and we have DESTROYED the credibility of SCOTUS. Abortion is the smoking gun, the canary in the mine shaft. The over all PATTERN is the STENCH... Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is the ethical or Glacial anomaly. And look what she had to go through. Similar issues are flowing in Australia... with rape charges... and Brazil, Moscow, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and a few others are Glacial Anomalies.
A REPUBLIC IF YOU CAN KEEP IT - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Thank you Heather.
Will Clarence and Ginny take a tumble? We shall see.
On the other hand, thanks to VP Harris.
“And so, this is a moment that history will show required each of us, based on our collective love of our country, to stand up and fight for and protect our ideals…. [W]e have been called upon to be the next generation of the people who will help lead and fight in this movement for freedom and liberty based on our love of our country…. [W]e stand for our democracy. And we stand for foundational and fundamental principles that have everything to do with freedom, liberty, and equality for all people.”
Yup.
Love the aspirational quote. But people around the world see how precarious the current political situation is here--and how racist and corrupt and plain old bat shit crazy many in our government are. If we shake our heads in disbelief at Orban and Netanyahu, we need to remember we were in the same league under Trump and his example gave tacit permission to many with autocratic tendancies. We are still perilously close to the edge. Many will see Harris' words as hollow and/or hypocritical.
The political calculus is that the Republicans are DOING things in the states where they have trifectas and/or veto-proof control. Democrats are REACTING in horror. DOING almost always beats REACTING in the news cycle.
Time for Democrats to take over on the DOING front. Indictments anyone?
"South Dakota governor Kristi Noem complained about liberals who “want to take our guns,” and boasted that her granddaughter, who is not yet two, has a shotgun and a rifle."
The governor is crazy for giving an (almost) toddler two guns. To what end?
The toddler’s parents should be reported to Child Protection Services. This is a potentially lethal situation for the baby.
YES!!!!!
✅
to be able to boast about it like this. It's an insane act. Giving any gun/weapon to a child used to be a form of "ritual" passage towards adulthood. Target shooting, going hunting. This is total BS.
If, God forbid, her granddaughter shoots herself & gives herself a serious wound they can use that to somehow " own the libs ".
I presume Noem is keeping the weapons in trust. That said, the gun monomania is sick. I shot at targets at summer camp and taught other kids as a counselor, and was fine with that, but guns and babes don't mix.
When I was a kid, some adults would give their kids FIRECRACKERS ( some kids would end up in the ER with mangled or missing digits ). This is batcrap INSANE & no good can come of it except for morticians & makers of pediatric coffins. Brutally honest.
Noem is lying. But she’s good looking. That’s her tell and her only key. Sex appeal.