Clarence Thomas, eagerly accepting the role of Supreme Court curmudgeon in chief now that Nino Scalia has cashed in his chips, eagerly accused six of his colleagues of cowardice—or perhaps believing in “abortion rights”—when only Justices Gorsuch and Alioto would join him in voting to hear appeals of cases that involved the use of Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood. After making the case for hearing the appeals (aka “granting certiorari”), Clarence growled in a curmudgeonly way thusly:
So what explains the Court’s refusal to do its job here? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named “Planned Parenthood.”
Well, suspect away, good justice. Honi soit qui mal y pense.1
Afterwords
New York Times story on the Court’s failure to grant cert here. The suspicious Justice Thomas’s fierce dissent here.
1. Aka "Evil he who evil thinks." As “legend” (and Wikipedia) has it, the origin of the aristocratic English Order of the Garter goes back to a time “when King Edward III was dancing with Joan of Kent, his first cousin and daughter-in-law. Her garter slipped down to her ankle causing those around her to snigger at her humiliation. Edward placed the garter around his own leg saying, 'Honi soit qui mal y pense. Tel qui s'en rit aujourd'hui, s'honorera de la porter.' ('A scoundrel, who thinks badly by it. Those who laugh at this today, tomorrow will be proud to wear it.')” In case you’re curious, for several hundred years after William the Conqueror conquered England in 1066, the English ruling class spoke French, one reason why English is such a confusing language.
