Clarence Thomas says he followed the rules to the letter.

In a statement released by the Supreme Court, the justice said that he had followed guidance from others at the court and that he believed he was not required to report the trips.

“Early in my tenure at the court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable,” Justice Thomas said. “I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.”

No. That’s not credible. If you’re a Supreme Court justice and … Read the rest

Trump is hoping to use his criminality as a campaign boost.

At one end of the palatial Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, the former president made his first public comments about his arrest. At the opposite end of the hall — a space illuminated by 16 crystal chandeliers and bigger than four professional basketball courts — were several cardboard boxes stuffed with white campaign T-shirts.

[Interjection. What the hell is that “bigger than four professional basketball courts” for? How are we supposed to know how big that is?! Not everyone on the planet goes to professional basketball games. What is it with football fields and basketball courts as units of measurement? Cut it out.]

The

Y?CA Scotland.

The Young Women’s Movement – or YWCA Scotland – has published its plan to ‘reimagine Scotland for young women and girls’. But first they appear to have ‘reimagined’ women and girls to include ‘people of marginalised genders’ – I presume men who ‘identify’ as women… pic.twitter.com/GKkRKy4bFV

— Susan Dalgety (@DalgetySusan) April 6, 2023

First: “We refer to our primary audience as self-identifying young women and girls.” Why self-identifying? Why not just young women and girls? Silly question. Because that would be transphobic. It has to be a matter of opinion rather than a matter of fact, because otherwise it’s exclooosionary.

But the YWCA has always been for young women and girls, just as the YMCA has always been … Read the rest

That went well.

A very reasonable, compassionate, justice-seeking group. I especially like the “Bye bitch!”

Women’s Swimming Star @Riley_Gaines_ has been violently assaulted by TRANS Activists while giving a speech on women’s sports at San Francisco State University.

A Transgender Male, wearing a dress, punched Riley repeatedly while the Trans Mob chased and harassed her until she… pic.twitter.com/3nkOOqDu3h

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 7, 2023

… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey on Grounds for removal.

Screechy’s Comprehensive Guide to SCOTUS:

Thomas: The recent revelations of the depths of his corruption notwithstanding, a sincere right-wing nut. As Elie Mystal said today, he would have voted the same way regardless of what gifts he got. He really believes in all this stuff. He’s even got a few idiosyncratic non-stereotypical conservative views (like on the Confrontation Clause, where he’s made some pro-defendant rulings). But don’t underestimate the “nut” part — he is on record as saying that there is no Constitutional obstacle to, say, Alabama declaring the Baptist Church as the Official Church of Alabama.

Alito: Complete and utter right-wing hack. Has no consistent legal philosophy or … Read the rest

Clarence Thomas seems to be greedier than most Supreme Court justices.

“Justice Thomas Reports Wealth of Gifts” was the title of a December 2004 front-page story in the Los Angeles Times, detailing how Clarence Thomas had received gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars over the prior six years — far more than the other justices on the Supreme Court at the time.

So he stopped reporting them.

The story appears to have marked a turning point for Thomas and his public disclosures of gifts. Since the news account was published 18 years ago, Thomas has reported receiving just two gifts, according to a Washington Post review of his financial disclosure forms posted online by nonprofit groups Fix the

How does he know any of that?

But as you will all know there are a small number of people who do not identify with the gender that they were born into, and it can be incredibly stressful. And there are young people who are going through real anguish actually in relation to this, and I’m not gunna join those that just want to [arm shoots out] add to the abuse of that small group of people.

How does he know any of what he says? Ignoring the insult at the end for the moment, how does he know there are “people who do not identify with the gender that they were born into”? How does he even know … Read the rest

Even The Economist can’t get it right.

For many Americans, the great tragedy of trans rights is the story of how Republican governors and state legislatures are stigmatising some of society’s most put-upon people—all too often in a cynical search for votes. This newspaper shares their dismay at these vicious tactics. In a free society it is not the government’s place to tell adults how to live and dress, which pronouns to use, or what to do with their bodies.

Or what to do with their bodies? Of course it’s the government’s place to tell adults that in many circumstances. It can tell us not to use our bodies to rape or assault or strangle. It can tell us … Read the rest

A flashback to last month when Hershey included a man in its celebration of International Women’s Day and many uppity women objected. The CBC reported that the man in question continued to act like a man.

Trans activist won’t be shut up by backlash to Hershey campaign

Of course he won’t. He’s a man taking what belongs to women; why would he shut up? He gets flattered by the CBC for doing it; why would he shut up?

An Ottawa-based transgender rights advocate says she’s not going anywhere after facing a barrage of online harassment for her role in a Hershey Canada campaign for International Women’s Day.

Fae Johnstone, a 27-year-old trans woman, was one of five women featured on limited-edition chocolate bars.

Open Democracy pushing stupid:

The EHRC wants to redefine sex. Here’s what it means for trans people

Subhead: OPINION: Proposal to rewrite the Equality Act is part of the right’s ideological war on trans people’s right to exist

No. That’s a lie. It’s a much repeated lie. Open Democracy should be better than that.

Trans people in the UK could face a significant rollback of rights if proposals made this week by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to redefine ‘sex’ in the landmark Equality Act are adopted by the government.

Genuine rights? Or specious “rights” invented just for trans people? Rights that are not rights should be rolled back.

The EHRC wrote to the government on Tuesday suggesting

Lawyers and journalists comment on the news about the depth and breadth of Clarence Thomas’s contempt for ethics rules.

This is why public trust in the Supreme Court is cratering: Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From GOP Donor — ProPublica https://t.co/lbJCIqZ6XH

— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) April 6, 2023

https://twitter.com/petestrzok/status/1643936743811325952

Do I believe Clarence Thomas votes *differently* because he's a corrupt troll who gets paid off on the side by Republican donors? No, actually. I think he would say the crap he says for free.

Do I think public corruption is grounds for removal from the bench? Yes. Of course. https://t.co/98Dnrklp6R

— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) April 6, 2023

https://twitter.com/SIfill_/status/1643972852314521600

Clarence Thomas broke the law. There is no place on the

Steve Benen at the Maddow blog notes that Clarence Thomas has been pretty clear about his indifference to ethics.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is no stranger to questions about his ethical standards. The far-right jurist has, for example, faced awkward questions about incomplete financial disclosure forms. There have been related concerns about his appearances at wealthy conservatives’ political retreats, as well as his wife’s activism/lobbying on matters before the court.

And bless his heart he’s simply ignored all the concerns.

If you have a good memory, these revelations might ring a bell. The New York Times reported 12 years ago on the “ethically sensitive friendship” between Thomas and the GOP financier. Despite the fact that Crow’s company 

Whaddya know. Clarence Thomas has been taking bribes for more than 20 years.

The bribes take the form of luxury vacations on the private plane and the Luxury Yacht of “real estate magnate and Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.”

For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them, documents and interviews show. A public servant who has a salary of $285,000, he has vacationed on Crow’s superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crow’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crow’s sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer

Gang boss and his gang respond as gang bosses and their gangs do.

In the 24 hours since former President Donald Trump’s arraignment, the presiding judge and his family have received multiple threats, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Law and order!

Unless it’s our crook.

The New York police detail assigned to the DA’s office is providing extra security to all affected staff members. Court officers, meanwhile, are boosting security for the judge and the court as a whole as a precaution.

Other steps have been taken, as well. Online bios of employees at the Manhattan district attorney’s office were recently removed from the DA’s website, according to a source familiar with the matter, because of troubling

This vile disgusting man. (Sorry, drecky Musk and disgusting Don one right after the other but here we are.)

In the courtroom he had to sit still and shut up (with that incredibly childish scowl on his face) but when he got back to his palace of vulgarity he was Florida Mussolini again.

But as soon as the former president returned home, to his namesake ballroom filled with his adoring fans, he was a rock star again, and he snapped back to his usual combative posture, lashing out at the prosecutor and judge in personal terms, despite the latter’s admonition Tuesday to watch his words.

…

He did not bring reporters on the plane, as he has to recent

Elon Musk is dreck.

Is NPR “U.S. state-affiliated media”?

Twitter and its new owner, Elon Musk, seem to think so. Over NPR’s protests, Twitter placed that label on its account Tuesday night, implying that the Washington-based nonprofit news organization is somehow connected to, if not controlled by, the federal government.

NPR is frustratingly crappy and dumb, but it’s not an arm of the government.

The designation puts NPR, which has 8.8 million followers on the site, in the same category as propaganda outlets like the Russian-government-owned RT and the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper. Both are also “state-affiliated media,” according to Twitter.

Notably, however, Twitter has not slapped that label on several media organizations that are substantially funded

A Washington Post article on Title IX from last June:

Title IX celebrates its 50th birthday on June 23. Signed into law in 1972, the policy requires educational institutions that receive government funding to treat all sexes and gender identities equally.

Does it? Or does it require educational institutions that receive government funding to treat both sexes equally, with no mention of “gender identities”? I think we can assume it’s the latter, since no one was talking about “gender identities” in 1972, let alone a multitude of sexes.

This mandate has at once been phenomenally successful and disturbingly unfulfilled. In banning sex discrimination, Title IX fundamentally changed American education by creating the legal expectation of equality. Millions of people have

Planning to disrupt.

A lot of people are planning to disrupt #LetWomenSpeakBelfast.

Their intention is to drown women out. To prevent us from speaking. To intimidate us into silence.

This is not a legitimate form of protest. This is thuggery.https://t.co/IMuxlT8g31 pic.twitter.com/CKTphRhcr5

— Brandubh (@brandubh4) April 5, 2023

Silencing women is not “solidarity.”… Read the rest

What Willoughby is so enraged about:

Ministers will consider advice from the human rights watchdog about amending a legal definition of sex – which would make it easier to exclude transgender people from some groups or services.

Changing the Equality Act term to “biological sex” would make single-sex services offers easier, says the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission).

Well yes but it takes all the fun out of it for men like Willoughby. If you can’t ruin everything for women what’s the point?

LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall said it risks adding to a “manufactured culture war”.

Thus demonstrating complete indifference to women’s concerns about safety, privacy, dignity, comfort – about their right and ability to get away from men … Read the rest

Man who claims to be a woman thinks only of himself.

I am horrified by this.

I transitioned over 30 yrs ago & my body is not identifiably male. I’ve been sexually harassed and assaulted by men and I might be forced onto a … WHAT? A MAN’S WARD? This is madness!!!! I am disgusted. I’m speechless. https://t.co/Hbqfe2svVo

— Dr Rachel Mann (@RevRachelMann) April 5, 2023

Several women remind him of what he’s carefully ignoring.

Why is women's horror at sharing with any male not equal to yours? It's not about what you look like or for how long. OUR spaces and saftety are not a repository or sacrifice for your confused feelings about yourself. #LetWomenSpeak

— Miriam Cotton (@MimCotton)