Friday? Good.

 For over 150 years it has been unlawful to buy and sell human beings in the United States, but there's no law against a man selling himself.  Investigators at Pro Publica revealed that Clarence Thomas has been the property of rightwing billionaire Harlan Crow for at least a quarter-century, his obedience guaranteed by expensive presents and vacations he failed to mention on financial disclosure filings.  Thomas insists that Crow and his wife are "dear friends" who just happen to be insanely generous -- possibly their most appalling gift was a Bible which belonged to Frederick Douglass.  A Supreme Court justice doesn't come cheap and neither does his wife, who collects an annual salary of $120,000 from a Tea Party group funded by the Crows.  Of course, the real scandal is George Soros contributing to the campaigns of progressive Democrats.

Calls for Thomas's impeachment will get the same consideration as demands for gun control legislation and passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act -- they're not even on the agenda until Hunter Biden's laptop has been exhaustively investigated.  Ginni permitting, he'll retire and live off whatever he has managed to put by and an annual pension of $285,400.  I wonder if the Crows will continue to be dear friends once he is no longer useful.  Somewhere in Georgia a rest stop will be named for him.  As for his friends, I paraphrase A.J. Liebling:  Justice is limited to those who own one.

Corruption at the core of a rightwing Court is basically a yawn.  Much more alarming are steps being taken in the states to undermine and ultimately bypass democracy.  The Tennessee legislature decided it had no more pressing business than three Democratic members who stood with student demonstrators who were enraged by their refusal to prevent further school shootings.  After extensive debate about their "insurrection" -- so different from the patriotic festivities of January 6 -- they voted to expel two of them, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones.  A third representative, Gloria Johnson, was spared; when asked why, she was blunt:  "It might have to do with the color of our skin."  A more repulsive spectacle you will not see, until the next one.

And there will be more.  Red state legislatures are already plotting to name their own electors in 2024 if the choice of the voters does not sync up with theirs, exactly what Trump demanded be done in Pennsylvania, Arizona, et al. in 2020.  The Republican legislature of Wisconsin has plans to impeach  Justice Janet Protasiewicz, who has yet to take her seat.  (They'll fill in the charges later.)  Plenty of states create ever tighter hoops for would-be voters to jump through, especially young ones, who terrify them.  (Those kids in Nashville, for instance.)  In Florida it's "history, DeSantis style" -- a state senator proposed the "Ultimate Cancel Act" to cancel all filings by a party which "previously advocated" for slavery.  Why pick off Democrats one at a time when you can outlaw the whole party?  A better name would be the Reichstag 1933 Act, Blaise Ingoglia.  (I have made up none of this, even his name.)

Most days I try to listen to Beau of the Fifth Column.  I have never heard him this angry.