Will the media amplify the voices of Republicans who’re saying it’s really no big deal, trying to overthrow the government, and that Thomas should stay on the Court?
I see commentators getting red-herringed into speculating, well, every husband and wife don't agree.... This is not hard stuff. No citizen wants to be in a lawsuit, and he's suing the judge's brother-in-law. Say somebody lets slip, the Judge hates his brother-in-law. I'm trying not to yell, here, but it's prejudicial either way! Thomas arrogantly thumbs his nose at all of us, and at what ought to be the most bedrock American sense of fairness. He is an evil person. Of course, Ginny was working for the Bush campaign selecting cabinet candidates when the "Justice." (ain't that a joke right there) voted on Bush v. Gore. Circumstantial evidence is legitimate, real evidence. That Thomas's votes are consistent with extreme prejudice are evidence of extreme prejudice. If there is an element of the circumstantial chain you (American citizens) find not true, then you are to find that circumstance not proven. There is no evidence contrary to the conclusion that Thomas is biased, and particularly when it comes to cases related to the zealotry of his wife.
“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” In the land of Republicanism, Trump is king. After decades of faked-up “conservative” values — fake religion, fake patriotism, fake democracy — it’s only natural that faking fakers would fall for the fakest faker.
It’s election season; on cue, the same old hackneyed punditry is flooding the zone. Wolves in sheep’s clothing disguised as wise “independents” graciously offer “friendly advice” for clueless Democrats on how to win elections by tacking toward an illusive “middle,” placating that great block of gettable votes sometimes called the “silent majority.”
Of course, that’s all complete nonsense. Democrats win elections by whipping up their voters to vote, not by changing value systems. What’s good for their lives, their progeny, their economy, their planet? The basic calculation is also true for Republicans.
But unfortunately for that dwindling minority (a faction of the rich and powerful allied with factions of radical Christianists and white nationalists), most Americans hold liberal values nearly identical to those championed by Democrats, which is the party of everyday working people and families, and always has been. The overall results of national elections in 2018 and 2020 were part of a growing trend back to what it means to be an American, away from phony conservative values made hollow by a party of right-wing reprobates, dancing to the tune of big money, increasingly out of touch with most normal human beings.
The un-rewritten history of America, and every poll worth a shit, consistently paint the USA as a liberal democracy. When personal issues and values are untainted by party affiliation and propaganda, most Americans — by strong majorities — want the government to rein in industrial polluters so that all of God’s creatures can breathe clean air, eat clean food, and enjoy clean lands without getting cancer and dying needlessly.
They also want: higher minimum wages, affordable housing, public healthcare, public utilities, public education from kindergarten to college, programs to eradicate poverty and help the disadvantaged, strong action against climate destruction, the elimination of fossil fuels as a primary source of energy, the adoption of green energy across the board as much as possible, easier voting systems for more voters, not less, and meaningful accountability for white-collar criminals and corrupt politicians, especially those guilty on both charges — “Hands behind your back, Mister Trump!” (Below is a more comprehensive list of those “extreme left” liberal values the American electorate holds most dear.)
“Never take advice from the enemy.” The Democratic Party must forsake its fundamental principles and tack toward the Republican mindset of “real” values, even though acting like Neville Chamberlain, suing for peace and appeasing the enemy, never actually wins elections for the good guys. When Democratic leadership is dumb enough to eat the poison apples offered by the snakes, their base becomes disillusioned and stays home, forever dragging the meaningless “center” of politics further to the right, toward a more corporate-friendly plutocracy run by powerful white men. Go figure.
Contrary to the abundance of fake analyses, Big-D Democrats lose when they are less liberal and progressive and so more indistinguishable from your average wingnut. It’s a modern-day political adage that when given the choice between a phony, Republican-lite Democrat and an actual Republican, voters will pick the Republican every time against their own best interests. That’s because liberal progressives get seriously pissed at establishment politicos who play both sides. So, a sizeable chunk of the base either stays home or votes third party.
The true enemy of all small-d democrats, though, regardless of political stripes, are false prophets who, knowingly or not, promote false narratives under the assumed authority of titles and professions. The bottom-line result, intended or not, discourages political participation, the beating heart of democracy, the bane of corporate personhood, the fatal blow to democracy that most worried Thomas Jefferson.
Therefore, the primary goal of the Republican Party is to encourage cynicism. Of course it is. They know better than most that when more people vote, their slate of liars, racists, and fools has less chance to win.
Going back to some of "Teach's" comment, you explicate the re-framing of the language, that "radical progressive" now is almost a couple of dirty words referring to what most citizens would respond to with: "Hey, I'm for that!" But the Dog Whistle is in such complete command.
Board members of a respected entity would recuse themselves from the appearance of impropriety. A U.S Supreme Court Justice who is supposed to be above reproach should do less? No.
Basic civics might bring up, that every other judge anywhere in the US of A would be out of there! Thomas would be disbarred by any state bar. Your instincts are correct: he just givin' us the finger, because he can.
As Thom noted, we need the media to step up and teach our citizens what has happened. And we need a critical mass of learned folks to badger, coerce, and collaborate with our elected officials so that they meet their purpose. The parallels between Fortas and Thomas are amazing, and if I had to bet, I’d say that the kleptocrats will win again. On its face, whether it's the lunatic Thomas's behavior or the impressive array of Trump crimes, our legal system seems extra-hypocritical lately, unless you look at it from the perspective of who is calling the shots. When the Thomases get off with a few days of salacious news that leads to bonus victimhood and martyrdom, we shouldn’t be surprised that we got fooled again, even if we don't.
Bernie Madoff is proof positive just how gullible and self deluded rich educated people can be. So, I am inclined to think Ginni Thomas believed that story about Guantanamo. If she didn't, then she was trying to gas-light Mark Meadows. That would indicate she is truly evil not to mention stupid for presuming that it would work, since he was sitting in the room with Trump from March 2020 on.
Looks like we will get further insight pretty soon. It's absurd to think this Washington power couple do not consult one another.
It is remarkable how history repeats itself, again and again, at all levels, in all cultures, in politics as well as in business and in our individual lives. US Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas is an African American and his spouse is a Caucasian female attorney, born in Nebraska; they have been married since 1984. She has a long record of representing conservative issues. (https://en.wikipedia dot org/wiki/Ginni_Thomas). As a legal professional she will know the implication by association for expressing and supporting issues that may represent, reflect on and influence her spouse, both personally and professionally. They are a model couple according to all current ideologies.
Mr. Hartman Citation:
"They should be calling on him to resign and his wife to be prosecuted.
Ginny Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, participated in a plot to overthrow the government of the United States. Which is astonishing in and of itself.
But then her husband was the sole vote on the Court to help that same seditious conspiracy:
When Donald Trump sued to block President Joe Biden from passing presidential papers to the January 6th Committee, the only vote on the Court to support Trump’s efforts to hide his crime was that of Clarence Thomas.
Which raises the question: what will Congress and the Justice Department do about these crimes?"
Politically, there is only a slim chance that the US Democratic Party will retain it's majority in the US Senate, and they may lose the majority in the US House as well, in the 2022 November Mid-term election. Principally through failure of the party's focus on issues so progressive that the majority of independent voters, and a substantial percentage of marginal Republican voters, cannot see their way to support more progressive candidates or reelect sitting Democratic congress members-despite apprehensions about consequences leading up to 2024 elections.
No doubt the spin machine will be busy with voices clamoring for Justice Thomas to resign, and no doubt his spouse will be put through the public pressure system of shame and destruction. The 1971 Stanford University Prison Experiment affirms, in part, Lord Acton's that "Power tends to corrupt," and that "In sum, the study found, power doesn’t corrupt; it heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies. Which brings to mind another maxim, from Abraham Lincoln: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”"
Thus, President Biden, who has a life-long political posture as a centrist will have only marginal real power during the 2022-24 years with his veto pen and executive orders; the Democratic Machine's remaining power may depend on whether its leadership with Senator Sanders and Senator Warren manage to project a Centrist platform that enough voters will trust.
Mr. Hartman has presented an excellent analysis for all of us to consider, with many ethically, morally, politically, short-term as well as long term significant implications. For a lot of us it questions our entire Post WWII generational actions, and lazy voter behavior, and raises the question of "What do we all need to do to trust ourselves and be proud of being Americans again, together?
I'm no attorney(or even a student of the law,) but the evidence you site against Thomas and his wife is damning, but circumstantial. The Republican Party, at least nationally, seems stronger now, and the Democratic Party weaker (largely because of the filibuster) now than then, so indicting either would be unlikely - especially if Garland's DOJ is involved.
Oh, Hi, Richard. Old retired criminal trial dog here: see my comment (above?) "Circumstantial" is legit. If you ever sit on a jury, you may hear quite a Jury Instruction on the subject, but you will not hear that it's somehow inherently invalid. Forlorn hope: that Garland is going to extreme lengths to present overwhelming cases, for fear that the circumstance of his brutal and shameful snub by Repubs, and subsequent in-your-face hypocrisy, confirming Barrett in a heartbeat, might appear to bias him.
I see commentators getting red-herringed into speculating, well, every husband and wife don't agree.... This is not hard stuff. No citizen wants to be in a lawsuit, and he's suing the judge's brother-in-law. Say somebody lets slip, the Judge hates his brother-in-law. I'm trying not to yell, here, but it's prejudicial either way! Thomas arrogantly thumbs his nose at all of us, and at what ought to be the most bedrock American sense of fairness. He is an evil person. Of course, Ginny was working for the Bush campaign selecting cabinet candidates when the "Justice." (ain't that a joke right there) voted on Bush v. Gore. Circumstantial evidence is legitimate, real evidence. That Thomas's votes are consistent with extreme prejudice are evidence of extreme prejudice. If there is an element of the circumstantial chain you (American citizens) find not true, then you are to find that circumstance not proven. There is no evidence contrary to the conclusion that Thomas is biased, and particularly when it comes to cases related to the zealotry of his wife.
“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” In the land of Republicanism, Trump is king. After decades of faked-up “conservative” values — fake religion, fake patriotism, fake democracy — it’s only natural that faking fakers would fall for the fakest faker.
It’s election season; on cue, the same old hackneyed punditry is flooding the zone. Wolves in sheep’s clothing disguised as wise “independents” graciously offer “friendly advice” for clueless Democrats on how to win elections by tacking toward an illusive “middle,” placating that great block of gettable votes sometimes called the “silent majority.”
Of course, that’s all complete nonsense. Democrats win elections by whipping up their voters to vote, not by changing value systems. What’s good for their lives, their progeny, their economy, their planet? The basic calculation is also true for Republicans.
But unfortunately for that dwindling minority (a faction of the rich and powerful allied with factions of radical Christianists and white nationalists), most Americans hold liberal values nearly identical to those championed by Democrats, which is the party of everyday working people and families, and always has been. The overall results of national elections in 2018 and 2020 were part of a growing trend back to what it means to be an American, away from phony conservative values made hollow by a party of right-wing reprobates, dancing to the tune of big money, increasingly out of touch with most normal human beings.
The un-rewritten history of America, and every poll worth a shit, consistently paint the USA as a liberal democracy. When personal issues and values are untainted by party affiliation and propaganda, most Americans — by strong majorities — want the government to rein in industrial polluters so that all of God’s creatures can breathe clean air, eat clean food, and enjoy clean lands without getting cancer and dying needlessly.
They also want: higher minimum wages, affordable housing, public healthcare, public utilities, public education from kindergarten to college, programs to eradicate poverty and help the disadvantaged, strong action against climate destruction, the elimination of fossil fuels as a primary source of energy, the adoption of green energy across the board as much as possible, easier voting systems for more voters, not less, and meaningful accountability for white-collar criminals and corrupt politicians, especially those guilty on both charges — “Hands behind your back, Mister Trump!” (Below is a more comprehensive list of those “extreme left” liberal values the American electorate holds most dear.)
“Never take advice from the enemy.” The Democratic Party must forsake its fundamental principles and tack toward the Republican mindset of “real” values, even though acting like Neville Chamberlain, suing for peace and appeasing the enemy, never actually wins elections for the good guys. When Democratic leadership is dumb enough to eat the poison apples offered by the snakes, their base becomes disillusioned and stays home, forever dragging the meaningless “center” of politics further to the right, toward a more corporate-friendly plutocracy run by powerful white men. Go figure.
Contrary to the abundance of fake analyses, Big-D Democrats lose when they are less liberal and progressive and so more indistinguishable from your average wingnut. It’s a modern-day political adage that when given the choice between a phony, Republican-lite Democrat and an actual Republican, voters will pick the Republican every time against their own best interests. That’s because liberal progressives get seriously pissed at establishment politicos who play both sides. So, a sizeable chunk of the base either stays home or votes third party.
The true enemy of all small-d democrats, though, regardless of political stripes, are false prophets who, knowingly or not, promote false narratives under the assumed authority of titles and professions. The bottom-line result, intended or not, discourages political participation, the beating heart of democracy, the bane of corporate personhood, the fatal blow to democracy that most worried Thomas Jefferson.
Therefore, the primary goal of the Republican Party is to encourage cynicism. Of course it is. They know better than most that when more people vote, their slate of liars, racists, and fools has less chance to win.
https://www.salon.com/2022/01/11/what-do-democrats-and-actually-believe-in-2022-that-should-decide-the-midterms_partner/
https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/spring-2021-harvard-youth-poll
https://news.gallup.com/poll/210542/americans-hold-record-liberal-views-moral-issues.aspx
https://prospect.org/power/americans-liberal-even-know/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/americas-core-values-liberty-equality-self-government.html
Going back to some of "Teach's" comment, you explicate the re-framing of the language, that "radical progressive" now is almost a couple of dirty words referring to what most citizens would respond to with: "Hey, I'm for that!" But the Dog Whistle is in such complete command.
Board members of a respected entity would recuse themselves from the appearance of impropriety. A U.S Supreme Court Justice who is supposed to be above reproach should do less? No.
Basic civics might bring up, that every other judge anywhere in the US of A would be out of there! Thomas would be disbarred by any state bar. Your instincts are correct: he just givin' us the finger, because he can.
And so is his wife/best friend, just because she can. You nailed it, Daphne!
As Thom noted, we need the media to step up and teach our citizens what has happened. And we need a critical mass of learned folks to badger, coerce, and collaborate with our elected officials so that they meet their purpose. The parallels between Fortas and Thomas are amazing, and if I had to bet, I’d say that the kleptocrats will win again. On its face, whether it's the lunatic Thomas's behavior or the impressive array of Trump crimes, our legal system seems extra-hypocritical lately, unless you look at it from the perspective of who is calling the shots. When the Thomases get off with a few days of salacious news that leads to bonus victimhood and martyrdom, we shouldn’t be surprised that we got fooled again, even if we don't.
And we need Civics classes back in middle school.
Bernie Madoff is proof positive just how gullible and self deluded rich educated people can be. So, I am inclined to think Ginni Thomas believed that story about Guantanamo. If she didn't, then she was trying to gas-light Mark Meadows. That would indicate she is truly evil not to mention stupid for presuming that it would work, since he was sitting in the room with Trump from March 2020 on.
Looks like we will get further insight pretty soon. It's absurd to think this Washington power couple do not consult one another.
It is remarkable how history repeats itself, again and again, at all levels, in all cultures, in politics as well as in business and in our individual lives. US Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas is an African American and his spouse is a Caucasian female attorney, born in Nebraska; they have been married since 1984. She has a long record of representing conservative issues. (https://en.wikipedia dot org/wiki/Ginni_Thomas). As a legal professional she will know the implication by association for expressing and supporting issues that may represent, reflect on and influence her spouse, both personally and professionally. They are a model couple according to all current ideologies.
Mr. Hartman Citation:
"They should be calling on him to resign and his wife to be prosecuted.
Ginny Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, participated in a plot to overthrow the government of the United States. Which is astonishing in and of itself.
But then her husband was the sole vote on the Court to help that same seditious conspiracy:
When Donald Trump sued to block President Joe Biden from passing presidential papers to the January 6th Committee, the only vote on the Court to support Trump’s efforts to hide his crime was that of Clarence Thomas.
Which raises the question: what will Congress and the Justice Department do about these crimes?"
Politically, there is only a slim chance that the US Democratic Party will retain it's majority in the US Senate, and they may lose the majority in the US House as well, in the 2022 November Mid-term election. Principally through failure of the party's focus on issues so progressive that the majority of independent voters, and a substantial percentage of marginal Republican voters, cannot see their way to support more progressive candidates or reelect sitting Democratic congress members-despite apprehensions about consequences leading up to 2024 elections.
No doubt the spin machine will be busy with voices clamoring for Justice Thomas to resign, and no doubt his spouse will be put through the public pressure system of shame and destruction. The 1971 Stanford University Prison Experiment affirms, in part, Lord Acton's that "Power tends to corrupt," and that "In sum, the study found, power doesn’t corrupt; it heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies. Which brings to mind another maxim, from Abraham Lincoln: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”"
Thus, President Biden, who has a life-long political posture as a centrist will have only marginal real power during the 2022-24 years with his veto pen and executive orders; the Democratic Machine's remaining power may depend on whether its leadership with Senator Sanders and Senator Warren manage to project a Centrist platform that enough voters will trust.
Mr. Hartman has presented an excellent analysis for all of us to consider, with many ethically, morally, politically, short-term as well as long term significant implications. For a lot of us it questions our entire Post WWII generational actions, and lazy voter behavior, and raises the question of "What do we all need to do to trust ourselves and be proud of being Americans again, together?
I'm no attorney(or even a student of the law,) but the evidence you site against Thomas and his wife is damning, but circumstantial. The Republican Party, at least nationally, seems stronger now, and the Democratic Party weaker (largely because of the filibuster) now than then, so indicting either would be unlikely - especially if Garland's DOJ is involved.
Oh, Hi, Richard. Old retired criminal trial dog here: see my comment (above?) "Circumstantial" is legit. If you ever sit on a jury, you may hear quite a Jury Instruction on the subject, but you will not hear that it's somehow inherently invalid. Forlorn hope: that Garland is going to extreme lengths to present overwhelming cases, for fear that the circumstance of his brutal and shameful snub by Repubs, and subsequent in-your-face hypocrisy, confirming Barrett in a heartbeat, might appear to bias him.
No one has addressed the comment from yesterday that the excerpt was the wrong Chapter??
I caught it. My bad. I'll get it back on track this weekend.