I just got an alert on my phone that Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79 after a day of quail hunting in Texas.
I know that he was a very controversial figure, and that this is really shocking news with long-reaching implications. But first, may his soul rest in peace.
Then, WHOA.
eggplant / 11408 posts
@LCTBQE: I got an alert from the Guardian before any major news outlet picked it up. But it's weird, because the San Antonio news had a story confirming it 6 hours ago. You'd think this big of news would have made the rounds FAST.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
For some reason I felt like he would live forever!
@LCTBQE: It just made it to the NYT frontpage!
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/us/antonin-scalia-death.html
grapefruit / 4819 posts
Whoa, I just saw this on FB and thought for a second it was a spoof, albeit one in very poor taste. Looked at my phone and saw the BBC and CNN headlines flashing across my screen.
Very sad for his family and friends, may he rest in peace. I'll reserve my political commentary for a more appropriate time.
pomelo / 5257 posts
@LovelyPlum: my guess is it's because some publications (NYT, Guardian, AP) wait for confirmation from more official sources than others.
I'm sorry for his loved ones. And I'm sure this will cause some interesting events...
eggplant / 11408 posts
@MrsSCB: I agree, but it was the federal marshals who told the San Antonio news. Still, probably good that they waited.
pear / 1998 posts
Just saw this on facebook (San Antonio news). What sad news, especially for his friends and family.
Outside of the tragedy aspect, I have the same reaction as others - holy shit.
honeydew / 7463 posts
@LovelyPlum: @MrsSCB: @LCTBQE: I worked at a well known national publication myself, and many of my colleagues moved over to NYT. You'd be amazed at the level of fact checking and confirming the biggest names in news go through. In my experience, the one I was at was often not the first to report because they wanted to be 1000% sure they had all the facts confirmed. It was refreshing to see that being first wasn't their main goal. Unless they get an exclusive or something (sometimes they had deals with certain celebs, officials, etc that they'd get first dibs on anything newsworthy).
nectarine / 2461 posts
@SweetiePie: That is really interesting, thank you for sharing. MSM like the Times seem so huge and authoritative that I just expect them to be first, but that makes perfect sense.
pomelo / 5257 posts
@SweetiePie: exactly. I worked in network TV news, and we weren't always the first, but we worked hard to get it right. Not everyone does that these days...
pomegranate / 3779 posts
So shocking and sad for the family. And sad that it took about 5 minutes before it became a political battle.
apricot / 461 posts
@mrs.shinerbock: exactly what I was thinking. The number of comments from politicians already is astounding.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
So amazed at all the commentary saying that Obama shouldn't nominate a replacement and that the Supreme Court should just wait it out and sit out an entire year until the inauguration of the new President & Congress....
grapefruit / 4800 posts
28 grandchildren is impressive, he left behind lots of legacies.
If they do postpone a nomination maybe Trump will become president and nominate Judge Judy to the Supreme Court and we'll just have a crazy reality TV govt.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@DesertDreams88: The Court can still issue opinions with only 8 justices.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
@lawbee11: Thanks for commenting, I wanted to look it up but my newborn keeps distracting me 
do you know what they would do if they were split 4-4? Would they just keep deliberating?
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@DesertDreams88: If it's split then the lower court's ruling stands.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
RIP Scalia
Of course the Republican nominees and Senate have strongly suggested that Pres. Obama NOT nominate anyone and let the new president decide in 2017. Umm that's 10 months away. Doesn't the court have stuff do like read briefs and make decisions?
Ted Cruz was fact checked at this past weekend's debate saying in the last 80 years no justice was appointed/ approved during a president's last year in office. Justice Kennedy was during Pres. Reagan's last year. That's rather modern history.
I really hope the current administration already had a short list of contenders and nominates a fabulous judge soon!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Yeah, I'm with Elizabeth Warren on this one.
nectarine / 2461 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: @lawbee11: yes, the whining is totally impetuous, audacious, and annoying. I'm eager to see who gets nominated (in a timely manner).
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Yah but he was nominated the November before, and came after two previous nominees were rejected by the Senate or withdrew before formal nomination (they were nominated/announced in July and October).
That said, I absolutely think that the President has a right (and a duty) to nominate a candidate and press for their confirmation. But I do think there are some fair points being made about how this is relatively new territory.
persimmon / 1436 posts
I think it's straight pandering to the Republican base to suggest that ANY nominee would be blocked automatically only because President Obama nominated her or him. The correct thing to do is let the president make a nomination and let the process play out. He still has almost a year as our president.
My condolences to Mr. Scalia's family but I can't say I agreed with his opinions in the slightest.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@mrbee: Then Obama should nominate very soon since this process may be quite long!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
persimmon / 1233 posts
@lawbee11: I was happy to see Warren put this into words so eloquently. I think the Republicans are really beyond the pale on this one. Primaries just started! But I guess I shouldn't be so shocked at their atrocious behavior by now...
eggplant / 11408 posts
@lawbee11: I also saw an op-ed by David Axelrod talking about his friendship with Elena Kagan. The man was divisive, but he seems like a loyal friend.
I followed the Republican debate last night, and I think (shockingly) that Donald Trump was surprisingly accurate in his assessment of it. If he, Trump, were President, then he would try to nominate someone, and he suspects Obama would do the same. He hoped that the Senate would delay (I personally don't), but that it's absolutely the President's right, and in his political best interest, to do so. I happen to think that it's also the right thing to do, but I'm not sure he would agree with that.
pomegranate / 3643 posts
@mrbee: it is a quarter of a term, though. I could understand grumbling if it was Jan 19th, 2016 but it's not. It's over 11 mo before the new president is sworn in. Not only is there not a president elect, neither side has a nominee or even a presumed nominee.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I saw CNN's fact check after the debate of Marco Rubio saying that no lame duck president has nominated in 80 years and they called it "mostly true." So I guess I can see where they are coming from. BUT I don't see why it matters...80 seems kind of arbitrary to me.
I agree that Obama should nominate and the right thing to do is to let the process play out.
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