Justice Clarence Thomas Ethics Concerns

• 💡 ProPublica investigations revealed Justice Clarence Thomas as a chronic offender regarding public financial disclosures, which are required for Supreme Court Justices.
• 💰 He received glitzy vacations, yachting adventures, and undisclosed real estate deals from right-wing billionaire patron Harlan Crow.
• 🏡 A specific real estate transaction involved Thomas selling a house to Crow for $133,000, where Thomas's mother continues to live rent-free, a transaction Thomas claimed was an oversight and not disclosed.
• 💼 His wife, Ginni Thomas, earned over half a million dollars from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank with a legal agenda, which Thomas initially failed to disclose.

Supreme Court Ethics & Enforcement

• ⚖️ The rules for Supreme Court Justices regarding financial disclosures are very lax compared to other government branches, with gifts often excused as "personal hospitality from a friend."
• 🚫 Unlike other branches, there is no enforcement mechanism or Inspector General for the Supreme Court, relying instead on an honor system.
• 📜 Historically, other justices like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia also took undisclosed trips paid for by private individuals, though perhaps not as lavishly or regularly as Thomas.
• ⚠️ The case of Abe Fortas in 1969, who was forced off the court due to financial dealings, serves as a precedent for justices being removed for ethics violations.

Addressing the Violations

• 🗣️ Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is a vocal proponent of ethics reform and has called for Justice Thomas to be referred to the Attorney General for potential violations.
• 🏛️ The U.S. Judicial Conference, which administers the courts and sets disclosure requirements, has been asked by Congressional Democrats and Watchdog groups to investigate Thomas's omissions.
• 🚨 If omissions are found to be willful, the Judicial Conference could recommend the Justice Department open an investigation, potentially leading to fines, civil, or even criminal charges.
• 👨‍⚖️ Chief Justice John Roberts is known to care about the court's reputation and is considering having justices abide by the same ethics rules as lower courts, but progress has been slow due to the court's independent nature.

Impact on Court Integrity

• 📉 The declining public trust in the Supreme Court's integrity is seen as very dangerous for democracy.
• 🇺🇸 The rule of law is the glue holding the country together, and people must believe in a fair and impartial justice system, not one swayed by partisan politics.

Hanif Abdurraqib's Concert Merch Collection

• 🎤 Hanif Abdurraqib, a New Yorker contributor, poet, and essayist, is an avid collector of vintage concert t-shirts, owning 73 tour shirts and one tie.
• 👕 He is fascinated by wearable ephemera attached to music, having previously collected band pins and backstage passes.
• 🛍️ His collection started with Etsy dealers specializing in different music genres, and he now employs a personal sourcer to find specific items.

Iconic Tour Shirts & Music

• 🎶 Abdurraqib shared a DeBarge "Rhythm of the Night" tour shirt, noting the band's distinctive 80s fashion with big shoulders and primary colors.
• 🤠 He also presented a The Judds farewell tour shirt, connecting their song "Why Not Me" to themes of longing and feeling like an outsider from his own youth.
• 🕰️ A Jimmy Cliff "Power and the Glory" tour shirt from 1984, as old as Abdurraqib himself, was highlighted, with the classic song "Many Rivers to Cross" praised for its organ-to-vocal intro.
• 💔 He expressed mourning for artists he missed seeing live, such as late-era Johnny Cash and Phyllis Hyman, appreciating the musical inheritance from his father who took him to see legends like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.