**Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito Issue
Warnings About State of America
‘Support for freedom of speech is declining dangerously,’
Justice Alito said, while Justice Thomas decried ‘nastiness
and the lies’ in the Beltway.
By Tom Ozimek / 5/11/2024
In separate remarks at two different events on Friday, Supreme
Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued warnings
about the state of affairs in America today, including support for
freedom of speech “declining dangerously” and the nation’s capital
becoming a “hideous” place where cancel culture runs rampant.
Justice Thomas spoke at a conference of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Point Clear, Alabama, while
Justice Alito delivered a commencement address at the Franciscan
University of Steubenville, a Catholic college in Ohio, with both
of the conservative-minded judges painting a dark picture—while
encouraging action and offering hope.
At the Alabama event, Justice Thomas was asked to comment by
the moderator—U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle—about
what it’s like to work “in a world that seems meanspirited.”
“I think there’s challenges to that,” Justice Thomas said.
“We’re in a world and we—certainly my wife and I the last two or
three years it’s been—just the nastiness and the lies, it’s just
incredible.”
Justice Thomas has faced heavy fire from Democrats who accuse
him of skirting disclosure rules, of corruption in general, and of
being too cozy with wealthy Republicans. They have not been able
to point to any specific court cases in which the justice has mis-
behaved. Some activists have even pushed for Justice Thomas’s
impeachment.
By contrast, over 100 former Supreme Court clerks signed an
open letter last year defending Justice Thomas’s integrity, calling
him a man of “unwavering principle” whose independence is “unshak-
able.” They called various critical stories that have targeted him
as “malicious” and “perpetuating the ugly assumption that the
Justice cannot think for himself.”
“They are part of a larger attack on the Court and its legitimacy
as an institution,” the letter also stated. “The picture they paint
of the Court and the man for whom we worked bears no resemblance
to reality.”
Public opinion polls suggest public trust in the Supreme Court
recently fell to new lows.
Addressing the criticism, Justice Thomas said at the Alabama
conference that Washington had become a “hideous” place where
“people pride themselves in being awful,” while characterizing
America beyond the Beltway as a place where regular people “don’t
pride themselves in doing harmful things.”
Texas Targets NGOs Accused of Exacerbating the Border Crisis
Justice Thomas also expressed concern that court writings have
become inaccessible to the average person, engendering a sense of
alienation.
“The regular people I think are being disenfranchised some-
times by the way that we talk about cases,” Justice Thomas said,
while expressing hope that this could change.
‘It’s Rough Out There’
Justice Alito warned graduates at the Catholic college in Ohio
that freedom of speech and religion were both being assailed in
today’s America, while expressing hope that young people would take
up the mantle and fight for positive change.
In his address, Justice Alito made a reference to pop culture,
namely to a graduation speech delivered by the character Thornton
Melon (played by Rodney Dangerfield) in the movie “Back to School.”
He jokingly cited Mr. Melon’s advice to graduates, which was
not to go out into the world after graduating because “it’s rough
out there” and instead move back in with their parents, let them
pay all the bills, and “worry about it.”
“As Mr. Melon said, it is rough out there,” Justice Alito
said. “It’s probably rougher out there now than it has been for
quite some time. But that is precisely why your contributions will
be so important.”
Justice Alito said that, outside the walls of the campus,
“troubled waters are slamming against some of our most fundamental
principles,” referring to freedom of speech.
“Support for freedom of speech is declining dangerously,” he
continued, noting that this problem is especially acute on college
campuses, which he said are places where the exchange of ideas
should be most protected.
“Very few colleges live up to that ideal. This place is one
of them … but things are not that way out there in the broader
world,” Justice Alito said.
He also raised the issue of freedom of religion being “im-
periled,” noting that graduates may find themselves in jobs or
social settings where they will be pressured to renounce their
beliefs or adopt ones they find morally objectionable.
“It will be up to you to stand firm,” he said.
Notably, Justice Alito authored the 2022 ruling that over-
turned Roe v. Wade and handed the matter of deciding on abortion
rights to states.**
At least we have 5 or 6 reputable and unbiased Justices.
God will judge us all and I will pray for most of the left.
Conservatively,
John
Conservativelyjohn.com 