"And not only does he know their names, he remembers their families’ names and histories.... He’s the first one who will go up to someone when you’re walking with him and say, 'Is your son okay? How’s your daughter doing in college?' He’s the first one that, when my stepfather died, sent me flowers in Florida."
Said Sonia Sotomayor, speaking to the American Constitution Society, quoted at The Hill.
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51 comments:
OK - that is nourishing.
It's called being a decent human being.
Justice Thomas is going to be remembered as one of the most influential and greatest Justices of all time.
I am actually kinda shocked that Sotomayor was capable of saying something kind and truthful.
is he not also older and wiser than GOD?
Very nice to hear she is not so poisoned by her politics. So many are.
I knew Justice Thomas was not
I don't think he cares deeply, just that he'a a nice guy. It's a habit.
Thomas's autobiography "My Grandfather's Son" is a must read. Regardless of what you think of him as a jurist. Fantastic book.
Clarence and Ginni Thomas have been married for 35 years. A lot of people still don't like the idea of a black man being married to a white woman.
Most of those people are black women. Few white men or women and few black men have a problem with interracial marriage.
But one group who hate it with a burning passion is black women. Especially successful black women.
And most of all, single, successful black women.
There are a number of studies of this and the root reason is that they see it as one less eligible black man in the marriage pool.
And they will do anything to tear down the black man and white woman who make a successful marriage.
John LGBTQ Henry
Good for her. But it doesn't surprise the rest of us. Clarence is a mensch.
RBG was friends with Scalia. There is no reason except for the hate the Progressives spew daily that people with different opinions can't be civil to each other, and be friends. I lost many, many friends to this disease. THEY dumped me, because I didn't vote the way they wanted me to. Progressivism is a mental disease. If you have TDS, please get professional help immediately. We can save America if we try!!
"Thomas's autobiography "My Grandfather's Son" is a must read. Regardless of what you think of him as a jurist. Fantastic book."
I also recommend the documentary film Clarence Thomas In His Own Words.
You can't watch the film and not admire the man.
I love telling this story.
Some years ago, I had an old school car insurance salesman in Fort Lauderdale named Larry Mervis. He ran a small agency with his daughter. Both had thick, classic Chicago accents, and in the most prominent spot in the office, behind his daughters' desk, they had a big portrait of Cubs great Ernie Banks on the wall.
Larry was in his 80s, but very sharp, still. Still entered his data on something that looked like a Commodore 64, except with BASIC lettering in green on the monitor. No idea how that thing still worked, but it did.
Larry's daughter found out I was an Army officer, and said "well, you knoooooo, my Dad was an officer, and a D-Day veteran! You should talk to him!
Larry heard it and hollered for me to come back and see him and chatted me up. He was an intelligence officer and landed on the first day. He said "I met Eisenhower! TWICE!"
I said "really! What was he like?" Larry says "I'll tell you the kind of man he was, and the kind of brain he had..."
So Larry tells me he had a conversation with Ike in 1943 or early 44, in England, before D-Day. Larry had to be near Ike's headquarters on some errand, and Ike had a few moments, and chatted him up. "Hey, Captain! Tell me about yourself! How are things going?"
Larry talks to him a bit about his mission and somehow it comes up that things are going well, he's just worried about his Dad in Chicago, who had been having health problems. Ike wished him well, and then they had to be on their way.
Fast forward to May, 1945. At least a year later. D-Day had come and gone. and the War in Europe was either winding down or just ended. Larry had survived unscathed, and had another task that took him to Ike's forward operations center in Germany. Or someone's Operations center. But Ike happened to be there that day.
Ike spots Larry in the hall and says, "Larry! Larry Mervis!!! Chicago man!!! HOW'S YOUR DAD?!?!?!"
Not IN THE LEAST surprised by Thomas.
Though I'm mildly surprised by her public acknowledgement.
I saw that with my own eyes in Omaha when Justice Thomas was promoting his book. He signed books after his talk and one of the hotel employees brought him a glass of water as he was really sweating. He talked to the employee who was Black. I'm sure that employee was thrilled at his kindness and concern for the individual. Concern for the individual is called cura personalis and the Jesuits taught him that at Holy Cross.
Like Cassandra, I am also surprised by Sotomayor's public acknowledgement that Thomas is not Hitler or Satan.
Maybe I am too optimistic, but I see small signs of sanity emerging in the world and maybe that is one of them. Or, are there people on the left who see that the future does not belong to them and want to get ahead of the curve? I will gladly accept either option.
Some years ago, I had an old school car insurance salesman in Fort Lauderdale named Larry Mervis. He ran a small agency with his daughter. Both had thick, classic Chicago accents, and in the most prominent spot in the office, behind his daughters' desk, they had a big portrait of Cubs great Ernie Banks on the wall.
I met Ernie Banks in Mike Ditka's place. He had his own table near the front door. Great guy.
Blogger Darkisland said...
Thomas's autobiography "My Grandfather's Son" is a must read. Regardless of what you think of him as a jurist. Fantastic book.
I bought copies for my kids. I doubt the lefties read it.
Is this her way of trying to make up for her clerk leaking the draft Dobbs decision?
As exercised as we get with how predictably the liberal judges take the liberal side of political questions no matter the actual issue, it's easy to forget that most decisions are 8-1 or 9-0. Even many of the split decisions don't divide along left-right ideological lines. The justices work together most of the time.
I completely agree with Jersey Fled at 10:38. If you know a person's life, how they grew up, where they came from, and how they treated people throughout their lives, it's not a surprise when you come to find out they're different than how the major media portrays them to be.
Wait. Justice Thomas is a kind, decent human being? Whoddathunk?
jvb
Jason said...I love telling this story
I've heard a few Eisenhower stories following that basic fact pattern--met a low ranking soldier briefly, chatted pleasantly, and then years later in a completely different setting immediately recognized the soldier and referenced what they talked about in that first meeting. Which makes me think it never happened.
Which makes me think it never happened.
@tim maguire, then you’d be surprised. I used to be active in Republican politics way back in the day, and the very best politicians have an amazing ability to remember names, faces, and factoids about people. Bob Dole was at least a good as the stories about Ike.
Must be hard to know him personally, so that you can't hate him automatically. Problem.
"Which makes me think it never happened."
Very well attested trait Ike possessed, shows up time and time again in biographical sketches of the man.
Ginny Thomas is being harassed by the January 6 Committee for supporting Trump, in a clear and vile attempt to hurt her husband, the Justice. Nice that another Justice can say a polite thing about Justice Thomas, but it matters little when the entire Democrat Party is trying again to perform a high tech lynching.
So, Sotomayor has a nagging conscience watching what the January 6th Clown Posse is trying to do to Thomas and his wife.
Once by Biden, twice by Pelosi. They just don't like the color of his jib. Justice Thomas is on trial, again.
I've heard a few Eisenhower stories following that basic fact pattern--met a low ranking soldier briefly, chatted pleasantly, and then years later in a completely different setting immediately recognized the soldier and referenced what they talked about in that first meeting.
I hear it about General James "Mad Dog" Mattis. I supposed it's a learned technique taught in military leadership courses. Perhaps one of several alternative techniques, among which prospective generals choose one that matches their natural abilities.
I've ALSO heard it about male cheerleader and president GW Bush. So, not necessarily a leadership thing ...
What a wise Latinx
Ginni may have gone a little cray-cray last year. It's sort of a syndrome among *some* conservative women who feel ignored or impotent.
It can manifest in gun-toting, hopping through broken windows or firing off quantities of emails, texts or phone calls.
I think she got better.
Whoa.
She's the leaker.
Two comments:
1. An old college friend (YoungHegelian knows him, too) once told me that a friend of his - a Supreme Court clerk, I think - said Clarence Thomas was in fact what Aristotle described as a 'great-souled man'.
2. Some people have photographic or near-photographic memories. It's not surprising that those with an amazing ability to remember names and faces and related facts (as opposed to chess moves or baseball trivia) would be over-represented among successful politicians and the more political-managerial types of military officer.
Bonaparte's memory for names and faces was legendary, and no doubt helped along from time to time by a discreet staff officer's whisper.
Ike was a pretty high-IQ guy, and probably cultivated what he knew to be an advantage. I've surprised former students and employees (and sometimes myself) with my own memory of their details.
I was associated with some very prominent B/black civil rights leaders for a number of years, and their opinions of Thomas tended to be . . . unChristian, if an outsider can be allowed to judge.
This reflects the genius of keeping the SC at 9 justices who spend a lot of time together discussing cases and, I'm certain, engaging in a bit of relationship building around the edges. These relationships serve as a cooling function and enable the justices to listen to each other's perspective on difficult issues, often I am also certain influencing opinions in one direction or another.
The rest of society used to do a lot more of this. Then the progressives came along.
I very much enjoy stories of Supreme Court collegiality. A sane place endures.
Justice Thomas is the one justice in the building that literally knows every employee’s name, every one of them."
"And not only does he know their names, he remembers their families’ names and histories.
IOW, to Thomas those workers are actual and important human beings.
That trick isn't that hard to pull off. All you have to do is actually care about people.
but that's not a common trait
Stephen Breyer is another Justice who will often speak well of his colleagues. I've seen him twice at legal conferences, when pitched Q&A softballs by Lefty ideologues asking for dirt on the wicked righties on the Court, respond by emphasizing the extent of mutual cooperation, and what a large percentage of the Court's work is collaborative, non-political, and aimed at the hard work of just getting the right answer. You can't be a good judge if you're consumed by ideology, to the detriment of personal relationships.
I will miss Breyer.
I recall what I was told about a historical society member of long standing, a retired Chancery Court judge. He was almost universally admired, not because he was the smartest former policeman turned lawyer, but because he listened and read carefully and was fair minded.
This is called a "service" task. For public relations a justice must put out a "we are a team!" memo periodically. Next Alito will say Kagan is a fine human being.
Concern for the individual is called cura personalis and the Jesuits taught him that at Holy Cross.
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is that based on \give me the child for x years/
She's praising his demeanor, not his rulings. But, even that feels like it could be construed as a diss. Her words seem intentionally vague and bland given the gravity of what the Jan 6 people are accusing him and wife of. I may be reading too much into it, or not. She felt compelled to say something, but neither wanted to support him, nor vindicate him.
So, basically just say he remembers names. That's as good as it gets.
It's no surprise that Sotomayor would be complimentary of Justice Thomas. Anyone who has had the opportunity to meet with Thomas says about the same thing she has said. He is congenial, attentive, and seems to never forget someone with whom he has previously met.
Whatever you do, spare Thomas.
"Which makes me think it never happened."
You need to get out more.
In spite of their differences, I suspect the justices like one another more than Americans seem to like one another right now.
And yet, these are rather tepid remarks to make about your colleague, I think.
Poor attempt at trying to preempt any violence that could erupt over Roe, yet appease liberals by not laying it on too too too thick. Please don't assassinate my co-worker, next week, he remembers names !!!
And, what of Anita Hill ?? I had thought that Sotomeyer, and Anita Hill were friends. Classmates, friends etc, whatever the relationship was, if any, it's over now.
Kagan is evil. Evil, evil, evil. Evil.
Sotomayor is tragic. Not in good health, not respected intellectually by her peers, yet she isn't personally responsible for a lot of the silly things said about her and seems almost embarrassed by them. So it's nice to see her defend Thomas this way. They both endured the same sort of "elevated by race identity" nattering from all sides, and maybe that formed a bond between them.
It wasn't uncommon for old time neighborhood or small town politicians to know every family in their district, but the world has gotten larger and less personal since then, and important people only bother with other important people.
I used to teach at a law school in the Midwest where Justice Thomas would teach a week-long class. He co-taught with a very liberal faculty member (yeah, I know that doesn't fit the narrative). He did this for a number of years.
Every time he was there, all week long he made it a point to have breakfast or lunch with every person who worked in the law school. He was so nice and totally approachable. He can talk about anything - sports, recreational vehicles (he used to RV the National Parks and elsewhere) history, etc. Really great guy.
We also had Justice Kennedy come for a visit. Nice person but he had a different vibe - not an everyman type of guy.
tim maguire said...
Which makes me think it never happened.
When i was a stupid leftie, i met (then Congressman) Tom Harkin* in 1983. We talked about F-4's**.
Around 1989 or son, i met (Senator) Harkin again.
As I remember it, i said "Hi", and started to say that we'd met before. Before I could say any more; he called me by name, and said: "Yes! you worked at the radio station and we talked about F-4's!"
I was Stunned. I REALLY impressed me, that he could have possibly remembered such small details. Now, with hindsight, i wonder:
a) i'd actually said my name, before he did
b) was it surprising that we talked about F-4's, since it (and tigercages) was his claim to fame?
None the less; even a SKAG like Tom Harkin at least had the ability to pick up on clues enough to make the person Think that he remembered them.. And my guess is that he could
Tom Harkin* may he Rot in Hell bigger scum there NEVER WAS
F-4's** Tom Harkin is The ONLY politician that i KNOW, lied to ME; personally. Yes, TOM didn't just talk about F-4's, he TOLD ME about flying them, In COMBAT over South Vietnam.
Met Ed Asner at a party honoring a business legend. Talked with hi for about 5 minutes. When I saw him about 5 years later and got to sit with him for about 15 minutes, he said about 5 min into our conversation 'I remember you. You asked me a question about (a movie he was in) that no one had ever asked me about before".
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