ChuloPopJun 23, 2023
Dahlia lithwick
I rarely laugh anymore but when I do, it's because salmon is still funny.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/06/justice-alito-fishing-trip-real-prize.html?fbclid=IwAR0R2WdMt2mKHgKXoOxhFTJwfQ8qbnkWfjNBkd64mc9v3dpSADDZh70I4lc
Alito’s Billionaire Pals Reeled In a Big One—and It Wasn’t the Salmon

Calling this an ethics scandal misses the point.

Slate
Jun 23, 2023 at 9:32amWeb
Show threadRaven OnthillJun 23, 2023

@Dahlialith these very rich people are not friends of those Supreme Court Justices; they are patrons. We have forgotten enough of the aristocratic social order that we don't immediately recognize it, but that is what they are.

"I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish…"

Show threadRMJun 23, 2023
@Dahlialith Yes, the curious question that not enough folks ask is the central one here — why dangle the lure in front of Alito? Kagan or Sotomayor can fill a seat as well as anyone. As you point out, the answer to that question says much about the angler and the catch.
Show threadCharles BryanJun 23, 2023

@Dahlialith Great column, and a point that needed to be made. You'd think that this would be clear and obvious to the parties involved. I mean, if I was private-jetting to Alaska on a fishing trip and I had an empty seat, I don't think that I'd invite a stiff like Sam Alito. Henry Winkler loves to fish! I'd call him first. Or some other billionaire pal and we can share stories about fishing and union-busting.

"Adirondacking" is my new favorite verb.

Show threadDahlia lithwickJun 23, 2023
@charleshbryan here for Henry Winkler road trip any time. I will bring the glacier martinis. Or Coors Lite
Show threadVictor CastonJun 23, 2023

@Dahlialith

On the nose!

Show threadRejinJun 23, 2023
@Dahlialith Yup. As everyone should know by now, if you aren't paying for a service (private jet trips etc), you're the product not the customer.
Show threadFiroozyeJun 23, 2023
@Dahlialith the thing is Singer isn’t just a HF manager. He’s not a Ken Griffin or Paul Tudor Jones who wants more friendly regulations. Singer specialises in distressed debt, bankruptcy, distressed EMs. It is effectively Litigation Arbitrage. Buy the assets for cheap and spend millions on lawyers to get the case decided in your favour. For him - cash spent on Alito is really really well spent! Cheaper and more effective than more lawyers!