Entirely OT: SCOTUS Justice Scalia dead.

[djg21]

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2016/02/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-reported-dead.html/

[bicycletricycle]

Oh man, gunna b a huge battle over the new appointment.

[Cicli]

In before the lock.

[bking]

one of the last of those that believe the constitution was not for personal interpretation. what he brought to bring balance i fear will be missed.

[Ray]

What are the odds that a GOP Senate will approve ANYONE Obama would appoint? I can't imagine leaving a Supreme Court seat open for more than a year until a new president and Congress can take it up.... On a personal level, my sympathies to his family and friends. On a less personal level, this is an enormous development.

Someone I doubt I'd ever agree with on anything, but I'd have loved to have shared a bottle of wine with him...

-Ray

[bcroslin]

I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. - Clarence Darrow

[djg21]

one of the last of those that believe the constitution was not for personal interpretation. what he brought to bring balance i fear will be missed.

I'm reluctant to engage in a political discussion. Let it suffice to say that Scalia was brilliant, and arguably the best writer on the Court. But many constitutional scholars would argue that he was only a literalist when he could be and still advance his own ideological agenda. When it suited his needs, he was far from a strict constructionist. I'll leave it at that.

[Ray]

If we get political with this, it could get real ugly real fast. Regardless of your opinion of him as a jurist (polar opposite from me philosophically), he appears absolutely beloved among his colleagues on both sides of the ideological divide, would go hunting with Elena Kagen, to the opera with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, etc. His dissents were my idea of a great day - we'd get the huge entertainment value of his incredible writing all the while knowing he'd lost the case, best of all possible worlds for a liberal like me.

Sometimes you have to acknowledge someone as a great man even when you can't stand what he does. He was one.

But the impact on the court term and the election can't possibly be overstated in terms of what this does to the makeup of the court in the short, and possibly long, term...

-Ray

[Blown Reek]

Thank god.

[velomonkey]

Basically what dig said - short of Cliven Bundy the republicans aren't even gonna look at anyone Barry brings to nomination.

[OtayBW]

Very sorry for his family and friends. That is all.

[gasman]

Very sorry for his family and friends. That is all.

Let's keep it at that everyone.

[dave thompson]

Thank god.
I certainly hope no one judges you so harshly for your political views.

[djg21]

I posted here because the story had not yet been picked up by mainstream media sources despite the fact that rumors had been circulating since mid-day. The story is now being widely reported. We all should leave it be now, as there are other forums more appropriate to any discussion.

[Bruce K]

Blown Rock and bcroslin - let's show a little respect for the passing of a human being

This will stay open as long as the discussion stays civil

Comments like those two are FAR from civil

BK

[firerescuefin]

Blown Rock and bcroslin - let's show a little respect for the passing of a human being

This will stay open as long as the discussion stays civil

Comments like those two are FAR from civil

BK

C'mon Bruce....no good reason to leave this open. As about as divisive of a subject as there is.

[avalonracing]

Mussssssttttt.... Nnnottttttt.... Cccommmmment..... Sooooo. harddddd. nnnotttt. tooo.

[Ralph]

I know there will be a big fight over replacement....along party lines.

But there shouldn't be. Neither side can be sure how any justice will act. PLenty of examples of that in past.

[54ny77]

Lock this, please. It will denigrate.

[guido]

Close this thread now.

[Black Dog]

A couple of classless comments. They certainly say more about the commenters than the subject at hand. We are better than this.

[rnhood]

My condolences to his family and colleagues. He raised 9 children and made many contributions to our nation. Farewell Mr. Scalia, you will be missed.

[livingminimal]

I'm sorry for his family, kids and grandkids. I have no doubt he was a committed and loving father and husband. Full of life and vibrancy in his personal life and all that.

He also used his seat, one of the most powerful positions in the known universe, to exert racist, bigoted views cloaked in "constitutional accuracy." So for what I know of the man, I have little more than contempt.

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow
"I didn't attend his funeral, but I sent a note saying I approved of it."
- Mark Twain.

[avalonracing]

So we could have President Sanders nominate Obama or we can have President Trump nominate Howard Stern. Either way, this should be interesting.

On a serious note, having the right block nominations for a year, as they will most likely do, would be shameful.

[Bruce K]

Yeah, on second thought.....

BK