I showed Swamp Rabbit an online photo of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and hedge fund manager Paul Singer enjoying a super-expensive fishing trip to Alaska in 2008. Singer brought Alito along, providing him with a free ride on his private jet and other goodies.

Swamp Rabbit shrugged. “If you’ve seen one photo of corny old white guys holding up dead fish, you’ve seen ’em all. What’s your point, Odd Man?”

My point was that Singer, as most news junkies now know, is a billionaire Republican megadonor whose hedge fund was involved in multiple cases that came before the Supreme Court in the years after the fishing trip took place. Alito should have reported his paid-for trip and should have recused himself from cases involving Singer’s hedge fund. He took neither action and recently thumbed his nose at reporters who exposed his obvious ethical lapses.

Swamp Rabbit chuckled. “Ain’t you the polite one. What you call ethical lapses is what other peeps call bribes.”

“Don’t be crude,” I said. “You can’t use a word like bribes just because Alito took big gifts from Singer then voted in his favor when the supremes ruled on that multi-billion-dollar case involving Argentinian debt. You can’t even call it influence peddling. Show some respect. We’re talking about the highest court in the land.”

We both had a good laugh at that phrase. I noted that Alito is no more guilty of ethics violations than Justice Clarence Thomas, who accepted expensive gifts and favors from Harlan Crow, another billionaire Republican megadonor, or Justice Neil Gorsuch, who sold an expensive property to a high-powered lawyer who also brought cases before the supremes.

“I could go on,” I said after we finished laughing. “Let’s just say all the Republican-appointed supremes use the same moral compass in the performance of their duties and always claim to be beyond reproach thanks to vague passages in the Constitution regarding separation of powers.”

“The justices are our ultimate legal authorities,” I added. “They decide what women can and can’t do with their bodies. They rule on student loan relief, voting rights, the environment — all the big issues. They’re appointed for life. It’s no wonder they hang out with some of the most powerful people in the country. Birds of a feather flock together.”

“Birds of a feather fish together,” Swamp Rabbit said, chuckling again.

“Exactly,” I replied. “This seems especially true of vultures.”