Bought and paid for

[Loren Pechtel]

More gifts to Thomas than every other justice combined over the last 20 years. You could even populate the list with deci-Thomases and have him take spots 1 through 10.

 

[Shadowy Man]

More gifts to Thomas than every other justice combined over the last 20 years. You could even populate the list with deci-Thomases and have him take spots 1 through 10.

Sure, but there are Democrat justices on the list too, so obviously they are equally bad.

 

[thebeave]

That chart is a little misleading. Thomas has been in the SC for the whole twenty years, and many of the others much less than that (Jackson and O'Connor, especially). So you would expect him to have more on that basis alone. And what is the policy anyway on SC justices' accepting "gifts"? If its a no-no, then aren't they all behaving badly, and its just a matter of degree?

 

[Elixir]

you would expect him to have more on that basis alone.

Sure - “ more”. Probably even more than any other SINGLE justice.
BUT, you would NOT expect him to have received
6x the total of all “gifts” (grifts) to all other justices.
The fucker is corrupt as shit, and arrogant as all hell about his invulnerability as a 100% protected species, above all laws. Alito is only “better” for lack of another zero or two on the end of his total receipts.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Just to keep things fair, his numbers should only be compared with CJ Roberts and Alito. They are the only ones that were on the bench for about that same time.

Regardless, it must be nice to get $200k bonus compensation every year.

 

[thebeave]

you would expect him to have more on that basis alone.

Sure - “ more”. Probably even more than any other SINGLE justice.
BUT, you would NOT expect him to have received
6x the total of all “gifts” (grifts) to all other justices.
The fucker is corrupt as shit, and arrogant as all hell about his invulnerability as a 100% protected species, above all laws. Alito is only “better” for lack of another zero or two on the end of his total receipts.

Yes, he's taken the most. I never claimed otherwise. But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000? Seems like a kinda weak argument to me. And as far as SC justices accepting gifts, I ask again, "What is the policy? Are they all violating it, or all not violating it or only some"?

 

[laughing dog]

you would expect him to have more on that basis alone.

Sure - “ more”. Probably even more than any other SINGLE justice.
BUT, you would NOT expect him to have received
6x the total of all “gifts” (grifts) to all other justices.
The fucker is corrupt as shit, and arrogant as all hell about his invulnerability as a 100% protected species, above all laws. Alito is only “better” for lack of another zero or two on the end of his total receipts.

Yes, he's taken the most. I never claimed otherwise. But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000? Seems like a kinda weak argument to me. And as far as SC justices accepting gifts, I ask again, "What is the policy? Are they all violating it, or all not violating it or only some"?

On that list, only 2 justices have an average sized gift exceeding $ 10,000 per gift: Alito and Thomas. No other justice tops $5,000 per gift.

I get that not all gifts are bribes or friendly incentives. But when someone accepts as many gifts as Alito and Thomas that are as large as what we see, the appearances for those two are not good.

 

[Gospel]

Not gonna lie, if Thomas shared some of those gifts with me, I wouldn't have a single bad thing to say about him. See how that works?

 

[Shadowy Man]

you would expect him to have more on that basis alone.

Sure - “ more”. Probably even more than any other SINGLE justice.
BUT, you would NOT expect him to have received
6x the total of all “gifts” (grifts) to all other justices.
The fucker is corrupt as shit, and arrogant as all hell about his invulnerability as a 100% protected species, above all laws. Alito is only “better” for lack of another zero or two on the end of his total receipts.

Yes, he's taken the most. I never claimed otherwise. But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000?

Isn’t it more like Fred stole $600,000 while Joe and fifteen of his other friends only stole $100,000?

We aren’t allowed to have degrees of badness? Like I predicted I guess not.

Seems like a kinda weak argument to me. And as far as SC justices accepting gifts, I ask again, "What is the policy? Are they all violating it, or all not violating it or only some"?

As I understand it there is currently no enforceable ethics policy for the supreme court. Its an honor system.

 

[Politesse]

More gifts to Thomas than every other justice combined over the last 20 years. You could even populate the list with deci-Thomases and have him take spots 1 through 10.

The list does show why there isn't a true partisan effort to take down the bribery system. Some of the least and greatest offenders in either "party".

 

[Politesse]

And what is the policy anyway on SC justices' accepting "gifts"? If its a no-no, then aren't they all behaving badly, and its just a matter of degree?

Until this scandal broke, there wasn't one. In the time since, the justices got together and published a set of unofficial guidelines. Advisory only, of course.

It's a huge mistake for them in the long term. Congress may be slow to act, but if they really press, the SCOTUS will find itself losing much of the polirical power and autonomy that generations of judges fought to pool in that office.

 

[Gospel]

you would expect him to have more on that basis alone.

Sure - “ more”. Probably even more than any other SINGLE justice.
BUT, you would NOT expect him to have received
6x the total of all “gifts” (grifts) to all other justices.
The fucker is corrupt as shit, and arrogant as all hell about his invulnerability as a 100% protected species, above all laws. Alito is only “better” for lack of another zero or two on the end of his total receipts.

Yes, he's taken the most. I never claimed otherwise. But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000?

Isn’t it more like Fred stole $600,000 while Joe and fifteen of his other friends only stole $100,000?

We aren’t allowed to have degrees of badness? Like I predicted I guess not.

Seems like a kinda weak argument to me. And as far as SC justices accepting gifts, I ask again, "What is the policy? Are they all violating it, or all not violating it or only some"?

As I understand it there is currently no enforceable ethics policy for the supreme court. Its an honor system.

I'll shorten this for you. It's called impact. Punishment's should reflect the impact of the crime.

 

[Elixir]

But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000?

No. It like saying Fred is out of control and has to be stopped, having stolen 6x as much as all other robbers combined. There’s a reason the FBI elevates some criminals to “most wanted” status.

 

[Shadowy Man]

But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000?

No. It like saying Fred is out of control and has to be stopped, having stolen 6x as much as all other robbers combined. There’s a reason the FBI elevates some criminals to “most wanted” status.

But in today’s “fair and balanced” reporting both sides must be treated equally irrespective of degree. One side bad, other side bad. Nuance is for elitists.

 

[BH]

I'm curious, but what about indirect gifts (ahem bribes) given indirectly to say spouses or children?

I have noticed that all the immediate family of attorneys and judges where I live that I know always wind up with really nice jobs that pay well regardless of youthful age or training. A son of a federal judge was made vice president of a company right when he got his bachelors degree. But I'm sure bribery and kiss butt has nothing to do with it. This kids and spouses are just genius wonder people.

 

[Politesse]

I'm curious, but what about indirect gifts (ahem bribes) given indirectly to say spouses or children?

I have noticed that all the immediate family of attorneys and judges where I live that I know always wind up with really nice jobs that pay well regardless of youthful age or training. A son of a federal judge was made vice president of a company right when he got his bachelors degree. But I'm sure bribery and kiss butt has nothing to do with it. This kids and spouses are just genius wonder people.

Unlikely to be caught by the FTC, unless a business is directly involved.

 

[Toni]

The scale of the gifts Thomas has received is a bit out of the normal. They even make Kavanaugh’s disappearing debts ( not listed as gifts) pale in comparison.

 

[TV and credit cards]

That chart is a little misleading. Thomas has been in the SC for the whole twenty years, and many of the others much less than that (Jackson and O'Connor, especially). So you would expect him to have more on that basis alone. And what is the policy anyway on SC justices' accepting "gifts"? If its a no-no, then aren't they all behaving badly, and its just a matter of degree?

As I recall from my training, government employees for all intents and purposes accept no gifts, it's like $10 value or something very low. It gets a bit convoluted between gifts, company sponsored events (receiving a plaque), and (eating at) social gatherings but I do not remember anything about exceptions for SCJs, congress critters, etc.
As a govt employee, you're not even suppose to accept someone else paying for lunch.

As an NPS employee all I ever got was a "Muffin Monster" ballcap and t-shirt from a company rep after installing the controllers for some new grinders. Fuck me. I missed out.

 

[BH]

I'm curious, but what about indirect gifts (ahem bribes) given indirectly to say spouses or children?

I have noticed that all the immediate family of attorneys and judges where I live that I know always wind up with really nice jobs that pay well regardless of youthful age or training. A son of a federal judge was made vice president of a company right when he got his bachelors degree. But I'm sure bribery and kiss butt has nothing to do with it. This kids and spouses are just genius wonder people.

Unlikely to be caught by the FTC, unless a business is directly involved.

Yeah, I figure most of the bribery is done indirectly through spouses and family members that can't be tracked.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

you would expect him to have more on that basis alone.

Sure - “ more”. Probably even more than any other SINGLE justice.
BUT, you would NOT expect him to have received
6x the total of all “gifts” (grifts) to all other justices.
The fucker is corrupt as shit, and arrogant as all hell about his invulnerability as a 100% protected species, above all laws. Alito is only “better” for lack of another zero or two on the end of his total receipts.

Yes, he's taken the most. I never claimed otherwise. But, isn't all this a bit like saying Joe was a more morally upstanding bank robber than Fred, because he only stole $100,000 and Fred stole $600,000? Seems like a kinda weak argument to me. And as far as SC justices accepting gifts, I ask again, "What is the policy? Are they all violating it, or all not violating it or only some"?

He is clearly being bribed to stay on the Supreme Court, a Job that doesn't pay as well as the private sector. His decisions aren't being swayed, but his ass remaining in the seat is.