More Good Blog Posts

Here are two good blog posts about Justice Clarence Thomas. The first is from Tom Smith, a law professor at the University of San Diego:

I worked at one of the big old liberal law firms that represented Anita Hill, and I watched every minute of the hearings. I can hardly describe what it was like; perhaps a little like a Jew in Atlanta might have felt watching the business with Leo Frank. I can say the spectacle figured in my decision to leave DC. Nobody died, but it was as profoundly ugly as if someone had. It changed my view of a lot of things. At least I learned most white Washington liberals wouldn't piss on a black man if he were on fire.

The second is from Powerline:

This evening, in honor of the publication of My Grandfather's Son, the Heritage Foundation hosted a dinner for Clarence Thomas and his wife Virginia, along with a group of conservative journalists and "new media" types. I have been at social gatherings where Justice Thomas was present but had never actually met him before. Those who know him have told me how warm and gracious he is, and these qualities certainly were evident tonight.

Justice Thomas began his after-dinner remarks by saying he wishes the new media had been around at the time of his confirmation hearings because it "gets beyond the monopoly" held by the liberal media. In this connection, he noted that the old media is misrepresenting the tone and the point of his book by focusing on "anger." The real tone and point of the book, he said, is quite different. Thomas believes his life story will offer insight and hope, especially to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, he seeks to counter the message, all too prevalent in the black community, that studying hard is a tantamount to being white ,and to call attention to an older tradition in the black community that focused on scholastic achievement. That, of course, is the tradition his grandfather represents.
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Thomas displayed a fine sense of humor throughout the evening. The following two lines, both of which any conservative blogger would be proud to have written, are not representative but are too good not to record. In discussing one of the incentives to "grow in office" -- gaining favor with elite law schools -- Thomas said "I would have to be a dictator with nuclear weapons to get invited to Columbia." And in response to Joe Biden's recent statement that he's proud he voted against confirming Thomas, the Justice said "that makes two of us."