In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a remote corner of Alaska. The Supreme Court justice was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge that charged more than $1,000 a day, and after catching a king salmon nearly the size of his leg, Alito posed for a picture. To his left, a man stood beaming: Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire who has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to rule in his favor in high-stakes business disputes.
Singer was more than a fellow angler. He flew Alito to Alaska on a private jet. If the justice chartered the plane himself, the cost could have exceeded $100,000 one way.
https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
If you’re going to ever say, “yeah, we know…” you should take a moment to acknowledge that was the exact strategy of bombarding the public with a constant stream of scandal, crime and controversy - to numb you to real issues like this, worth actual outrage and attention.
I know it’s overwhelming, I feel it too, but I work to not indulge that feeling when I can avoid it. Glad you came back a second time and read the article.
Oh, 100%. And I was being slightly glib, more of a “oh, they found more?” feeling when I thought it was Thomas. Not really a numbing of outrage as much as just another data point. But you’re completely right about the strategy.