Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?
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@George-K said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
@Axtremus said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
They just set the rules for us to live by, right?
That's right.
How do all these congress critters become multimillionaires on their salaries?
By their being no ethics rules enforced similar to the ones normal working people have to live by.
Know your place, prole, and live happy in the knowledge that the great and the good can live comfortably enough so that they can make important decisions on your behalf without being troubled by the mundane problems the rest of us have to suffer.
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@Mik said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
Who says one trip was worth $500k? How is that even possible?
I would like to know this, myself…
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Ahhh, got it…
He flew on Crow’s personal jet and stayed on Crow’s personal yacht. If Clarence Thomas had chartered an equivalent jet and yacht, it could have cost $500,000… It’s like saying that Mark gave me a ride to the airport in his Mercedes. If I had rented a Mercedes and a Driver to be driven to the airport, it would have cost $350… Therefore it should be valued as such…. That argument doesn’t really fly, IMO.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
It's important to know one's place, right?
This kind of thinking was one of the things I didn't care for in the UK. Boris with his illegal drinks parties and his holidays paid for by some rich Tory donor.
'Never mind, he's such good fun. Look at his silly hair. What a card!'
Look, even a cat may look upon a king in this country, but I don't care where you live, there are different kinds of money.
- Poor people.
- Middle-class people.
- Rich people.
- People with "fuck-you money".
You know what the difference is between here and Blighty? There's still enough opportunity for the average person to aspire to #3 and every now and then some poor bastard makes it to #4.
And son, people what have money can be very gracious and kind people. My SIL recently buried her FIL and you wouldn't have known the guy had a pot to piss in and a window to throw it out of, if you sat down and had lunch with him. But he pretty much did what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, and if he felt like going on an Alaskan cruise with their friends, his wife would call up the cruise line and reserve first class accommodations for the whole group and then he'd have her buy first class airline tickets for the crew.
He didn't even have fuck-you money. Oh. he could stack several millions on top of each other, but he certainly didn't even come close to the B word. I can't even imagine those kind of people and how they live.
So you can whine about the world, or you can accept them what has, gets. And then go out and try to be one, if you wish.
Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
So as long as we’re talking about politicians on billionaire private jets and staying on their lavish yachts and mansions, can we revisit Jeffrey Epstein again?
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@Jolly said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
It's important to know one's place, right?
This kind of thinking was one of the things I didn't care for in the UK. Boris with his illegal drinks parties and his holidays paid for by some rich Tory donor.
'Never mind, he's such good fun. Look at his silly hair. What a card!'
Look, even a cat may look upon a king in this country, but I don't care where you live, there are different kinds of money.
- Poor people.
- Middle-class people.
- Rich people.
- People with "fuck-you money".
You know what the difference is between here and Blighty? There's still enough opportunity for the average person to aspire to #3 and every now and then some poor bastard makes it to #4.
And son, people what have money can be very gracious and kind people. My SIL recently buried her FIL and you wouldn't have known the guy had a pot to piss in and a window to throw it out of, if you sat down and had lunch with him. But he pretty much did what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, and if he felt like going on an Alaskan cruise with their friends, his wife would call up the cruise line and reserve first class accommodations for the whole group and then he'd have her buy first class airline tickets for the crew.
He didn't even have fuck-you money. Oh. he could stack several millions on top of each other, but he certainly didn't even come close to the B word. I can't even imagine those kind of people and how they live.
So you can whine about the world, or you can accept them what has, gets. And then go out and try to be one, if you wish.
Truth. Truly wealthy people I have known have almost all been that way. My adopted parents were and are gracious and kind to everyone they meet. I learned from them how people should be treated.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
@Mik said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
Who says one trip was worth $500k? How is that even possible?
I would like to know this, myself…
I think they took the cost of taking a private jet to SE Asia (I believe) and added the cost if Judge Thomas and wife were to rent an equivalent private mega yacht as the friend owned.
For example:
https://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=mega-yacht-charter
"If you haven’t chartered a mega yacht before you might wonder what could be the cost of renting such an opulent vessel for a week. Priced from about USD350,000 - USD400,000 per week right up to around USD1,000,000.00 and over you can take part in a one-of-a-kind, completely custom-made, lavish and bountiful vacation aboard a mega yacht. Tipping is also customary on mega yachts. The crew work tirelessly to ensure your vacation is a success. If you believe the service aboard the mega yacht, has been outstanding, a gratuity equal to 10% of the charter fee is acceptable. If the crew has been beyond exceptional, a higher discretionary figure may be warranted. A tip is generally distributed equally among the crew, by the captain. Whatever the price, this is the very best the world can offer in luxury travel experiences that no other vacation type will ever compare to."
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@Jolly said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
So you can whine about the world, or you can accept them what has, gets. And then go out and try to be one, if you wish.
Once again, you're completely missing my point.
I have no wish to be enormously rich. I don't think rich people have great lives, far from it in many cases. I'm not wealthy by any means, but I have more than enough.
I don't mind other people making lots of money. I'm sure Clarence Thomas has a brilliant mind, and has most likely worked very hard to get where he is today. Good luck to him.
What I object to is people being allowed to break ethical rules that I would be punished for breaking. I shouldn't be held to a higher standard than public servants. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Anyway, I'm done with this.
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@Jolly said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
- Poor people.
- Middle-class people.
- Rich people.
- People with "fuck-you money".
You know what the difference is between here and Blighty? There's still enough opportunity for the average person to aspire to #3 and every now and then some poor bastard makes it to #4.
Lovely sentiment, but no longer supported by the facts. Per Goldman Sachs https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/from-briefings-07-april-2022.html
... the poorest and the richest in the U.K. are the most socially immobile. ... Only the U.S. and Switzerland have lower social mobility than the U.K.
It's ironic that today we have a Brit arguing for egalitarianism against a Yankee (or three) arguing for elitism.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
So as long as we’re talking about politicians on billionaire private jets and staying on their lavish yachts and mansions, can we revisit Jeffrey Epstein again?
No argument from me. Covering up for anything to do with that lowlife is disgusting. I'm sure there were numerous members of the Great and the Good Society from both sides involved with him, and I'd be more than happy for them to be drummed out of office and/or sent to jail.
They get away with this shit because they're in the club, while somebody illegally selling cigarettes or robbing a liquor store goods gets busted. Again, two sets of rules.
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@Axtremus said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
@Jolly said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
- Poor people.
- Middle-class people.
- Rich people.
- People with "fuck-you money".
You know what the difference is between here and Blighty? There's still enough opportunity for the average person to aspire to #3 and every now and then some poor bastard makes it to #4.
Lovely sentiment, but no longer supported by the facts. Per Goldman Sachs https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/from-briefings-07-april-2022.html
... the poorest and the richest in the U.K. are the most socially immobile. ... Only the U.S. and Switzerland have lower social mobility than the U.K.
It's ironic that today we have a Brit arguing for egalitarianism against a Yankee (or three) arguing for elitism.
Nothing goes over your head. You would catch it.
Speaking just for me, I'm not arguing for elitism. I'm arguing for pragmatism.
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
@Axtremus said in Did Clarence Thomas Do anything Wrong?:
And then Mr. Crow spent ~USD$150K on renovations on the property where Judge Thomas' mother lived (and still lives), allegedly rent free.
Come on, this guy is smart. He had to know this was wrong, especially since he was already a Supreme Court judge at the time this all happened.
Up thread, someone said his wife was worth millions. Something smells fishy somehow.
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Apparently he should have disclosed the sale…
Other than that, without market values for the properties in 3014, the rest of the story is a bunch of sound and fury signifying nothing… A house and three lots sold for $150K in 2014? Sounds reasonable…
ProPublica should be able to at least provide the tax assessments for the property in 2014… The fact that they aren’t is telling.
As far as the mom living on the property, in 2005 my dad’s wife sold the building they lived in to a commercial real estate company. As part of the deal, she and my dad live in the apartment upstairs at no charge. And in fact, the commercial real estate has paid for tens of thousands of dollars of improvements… New staircase, windows, HVAC, etc…. That’s not unusual.
