Clarence Thomas Claims His Law Degree Is Worth Only 15 Cents

Posted by GottaLaff at 6:14 AM on October 22, 2007.

This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog

Is that with or without inflation, Clarence?

in the 1970s for his difficulty finding a job after he graduated.

Some of his black classmates say Thomas needs to get over his grudge because Yale opened the door to extraordinary opportunities.

Wait. You defaced your own law degree? From Yale? And it's only worth 15 lousy cents? Hell, just typing the word "Yale" cost me $45,000, not counting books and living expenses.

The conservative justice says he initially considered his admission to Yale a dream, but soon felt he was there because of his race. He says he loaded up on tough courses to prove he was not inferior to his white classmates but considers the effort futile. He says he was repeatedly turned down in job interviews at law firms after his 1974 graduation.

Now, Clarence. A smile goes a mile, but a frown brings you down.

Thomas says he stores his Yale Law degree in his basement with a 15-cent sticker from a cigar package on the frame.

You smoke 15-cent cigars? And you poo-poo a Yale law degree? This is the kind of judgment we get from a Supreme Court justice? I've witnessed 3-year-olds near light sockets with better reasoning.

Steven Duke, a law professor who taught at Yale when Thomas was there, said all this could be overcome by strong performance, and that two Yale graduates -- Attorney General John Danforth and President Bush -- gave Thomas awfully good jobs.

"I find it difficult to believe he actually regrets the choice he made," Duke said. "It seems to me he did pretty well."

But Thomas still feels his law training was worth 15 cents.

I guess he got what he paid for. We sure did.

Tagged as: race, supreme court, thomas, yale law school, affirmative action

GottaLaff is a regular blogger for Cliff Schecter's Blog