February 15, 2016

Drudge's mystery mongering.



The link goes to "Cibolo Creek Ranch owner recalls Scalia’s last hours in Texas":
When [Owner of Cibolo Creek Ranch John] Poindexter tried to awaken Scalia about 8:30 the next morning, the judge's door was locked and he did not answer. Three hours later, Poindexter returned after an outing, with a friend of Scalia who had come from Washington with him.

"We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled," said Poindexter. "He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap," he said....

Scalia came to the ranch because he was friends another guest. Poindexter said he knew the other guests. "All the guests were friends of mine, I paid for all of them. There were no politics, no jurisprudence in the slightest," he said. "This was strictly a group of friends that the judge decided to join. He was coming with his son who had to drop out for reasons I don't' know."
I infer that Drudge is inviting conspiracy theories, and I've seen some things on the web, so I'll just point out that Poindexter didn't have to report these details and that, taken together, they describe an old man dying, peacefully, in his sleep, the way most of us would probably, given the choice, chose as our style of departure. As for the pillow, my father used to sleep with a pillow over his head. It's a way to block the light. 

105 comments:

Humperdink said...

Pillow over head + no autopsy = future Forensic Files episode.

traditionalguy said...

It must be really bright at night out in the middle of nowhere West of the Pecos. All those stars and meteors flashing by.

So the decision is to quickly fly the body back to DC with no autopsy by locals allowed. Another Death on a trip to Texas 1963 style redux.

tim in vermont said...

Had he been murdered, there is no way that anybody would have left a spittle covered pillow, showing signs of struggle, there. Shame on Drudge. He is sounding like a left wing lunatic here.

AllenS said...

As for the pillow, my father used to sleep with a pillow over his head. It's a way to block the light.

What? Why not turn the light off? Or, did he sleep during the day?

Also, about the autopsy. Rule is that if you don't die under a doctor's care, there is an autopsy. However, when I was taking care of my girl friend who had cancer and death was imminent, I didn't have to call the police or a hospital to let them know that she had died. I called an assigned home care person who contacted the cremation place.

Ann Althouse said...

"What? Why not turn the light off? Or, did he sleep during the day?"

Of course, the lights were off. There's just stray light. A room is rarely completely dark, and one may want to block out the morning light when it comes up.

Humperdink said...

No autopsy in the sudden death of one of the most powerful people in the world? Security for a SC justice? Ah no.

rhhardin said...

This is an ad opportunity for My Pillow.

Laslo Spatula said...

When you accidentally kill a hooker you NEVER leave the pillow on her face.

Amateurs.

I am Laslo.

traditionalguy said...

OK, the reports say he did not have a heart attack, as if they can tell from his appearance. Death certificates usually cite heart failure when no other cause of death is reported. So if the heart kept beating, then he died from lack of oxygenated blood. Pillow or no pillow, he quit breathing. That was a big sleep apnea.

They need to find a heart incident or other organ failure happened by doing an autopsy.

John Borell said...

I sleep with a pillow over my head, have since I was a teen. It's an odd story why I started. But I do.

Original Mike said...

"Of course, the lights were off. There's just stray light. A room is rarely completely dark, and one may want to block out the morning light when it comes up."

Yep. I sleep with a pillow over my head, and that's why I do it.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I'd count myself among the suspicious had Connie served him cannoli during Cavalleria rusticana but that seems not to be the case.

Darrell said...

And a doctor taking care of the Death Certificate--over the phone--without ever viewing the body doesn't raise any suspicions either. Althouse's father would have done it that way, were he a doctor.

Darrell said...

WWAFD

What would Althouse's father do?

Humperdink said...

How many lunatic lefties wished Scalia would expire before November 2016?

A) One
B) Hundreds
C) Thousands
D) Millions

My money is on D.

Holding My Nose said...

Would a professional assassin crafty enough to get into and out of Scalia's room and the resort unseen be dumb enough to smother him and then leave the pillow over his face?

tim in vermont said...

I have a heart condition and a pacemaker. There are times when I feel flushed and I like the coolness of the other side of the pillow on my face. However; they can certainly interrogate his pacemaker and should do so. It will have a record of any unusual activity going on with his heart. Even mine does and I am not a Supreme Court "Justice."

Darrell said...

"Would a professional assassin crafty enough..."

Well, we are talking about a lunatic Lefty. Or Titus.

Darrell said...

Murder isn't the only possibility. Suicide's on the list. Especially if he had been given a dire medical diagnosis. An autopsy at a top institution, with plenty of tissue samples, performed by couple top medical examiners would stop the speculation.

Dan in Philly said...

I too always sleep with a pillow over my head (forehead). If I'm ever found dead in bed and there isn't one over my head, it was murder.

Laslo Spatula said...

If Ruth Bader Ginsburg is found dead with an orange ball-gag in her mouth we will know something is afoot.

I am Laslo.

John Henry said...

A technical question for Michael K or one of the other doctors here:

the report said he had already been embalmed. Could a meaningful autopsy still be performed?

Is this kind of thing normal? No viewing of the body by the coroner or other doctor? Immediate embalming?

John Henry

John Henry

bbkingfish said...

Miss Plum, in the bedroom, with a large cucumber.

M Jordan said...

Suppose Presidrnt Obama dies in his bed on an outing with a pillow over his head. Further, suppose no autopsy is done. Suppose a judge puts out a statement that he died of natural causes without even seeing the body.

D'ya think any conspiracy theories would arise from the left? D'ya think they'd have some merit?

tim in vermont said...

Even were he embalmed, they could interrogate his pacemaker. Unless it has already been shredded like Lois Lerner's hard drive. At that point, I would suspect that something is up.

M Jordan said...

The pillow over the head is a red herring, if the rest of the description of his body is true (lying comfortably, no sign of struggle). But he did eat prior to coming to his room. What did he eat? Who cooked it? Wouldn't an autopsy have helped quell suspicions?

It's absolutely shocking there was no autopsy.

Big Mike said...

Given the importance of the man, an autopsy should have been ordered.

Drago said...

bbkingfish: "Miss Plum, in the bedroom, with a large cucumber"

Bedroom, cucumber.

What are you trying to say?

Apologies to Laslo if I am stepping on his schtick.....so to speak.

AllenS said...

No autopsy will be performed on the deceased. His death was ruled a suicide by six bullets to the head.

Drago said...

Big Mike: "Given the importance of the man, an autopsy should have been ordered."

Isn't an autopsy automatic in all cases such as this?

Althouse?

traditionalguy said...

In my experience in these all alone deaths discovered later, an autopsy is the requirement unless one is waived by the police Dept.

That waiver is sometimes given when the Morgue is backed up and a well respected local MD tells the Coroner at the Morgue that the deceased was a patient under his care that he knew to have a life threatening condition such as advanced Heart Disease, Kidney Failure, or Strokes for which they were under his treatment.

The reason autopsies tend to be ordered anyway is the ease with which the older folks can be offed by their own family who want to speed up the outcomes.

Did anyone want Scalia's death to be speeded up?

pm317 said...

Well, the lefties could not quite get rid of Ginsberg to try to give Obama another bite at the apple, try as they did.. so there is that.

bgates said...

My money is on D.

Just because a person's death is celebrated by millions of people who are fond of the phrase "by any means necessary" is no reason to suspect foul play. Sometimes old people die. Sometimes the timing of the death proves politically convenient for Barack Obama.

Did they find Madelyn Dunham with a pillow over her head?

Curious George said...

He was playing Monopoly and an opponent created a housing shortage. He took the easy way out.

Humperdink said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

Has Oliver Stone commented?

pm317 said...

Oh, I must add to my previous comment, if only the Clintons were at the WH.

Humperdink said...

"Sometimes old people die."

Yep. Alone. With no security. Happens all of the time with Supreme Court justices.

Laslo Spatula said...

Althouse Haiku:

Father used to sleep
a pillow over his head
a way to block light

I am Laslo.

robother said...

No country for old men.

Beach Brutus said...

I sleep with a pillow over my head; both for suppression of causal light and for a thumb- sucking sense of security. I can't speak for the Justice's reasons.

Gabriel said...

Oh good Lord. You might be able to kill a baby with a pillow, but a full-grown adult can breathe through a pillow.

Darrell said...

"...but a full-grown adult can breathe through a pillow."

Let's test that theory.

lemondog said...

Melatonin is a natural hormone that helps regulate your sleep. It decreases as one ages. Light interferes with melatonin production. A sleep mask helps in blocking out light and aids in increasing melatonin, as would a pillow.

Sydney said...

Autopsies are often not done if the deceased has known medical issues. The coroners are too understaffed to autopsy everyone who dies at home. The routine around here is to get a call - "Your patient died, we noticed he was on blood pressure medicine. Will you sign the death certificate?" They put up a fuss if you say, "No." I don't know Scalia's medical history, but if he had a pacemaker then he probably had heart disease and the routine would be to blame that for his death without an autopsy. Plus he was 79. With the elderly, they just assume old age/natural causes and do no autopsy.

Fernandinande said...

"When I die, I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, and not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car."

BrianE said...

Given the tenor of the country, I wish the family had requested an autopsy. Such is the level of mistrust.

It's hard to believe any American, even those on the left, would stoop to such a heinous crime, but not impossible to imagine.

As to asphyxiation, I've read there are recognizable signs, which makes that unlikely.

My understanding is Justice Scalia's physician was consulted as part of the decision.

My prayers go out to his family.

Big Mike said...

@Drago, under Texas law the body didn't even have to be examined at the scene by a coroner. Once the police officers told her there were no signs of foul play, a justice of the peace (not a trained medical person) made the determination that Scalia died of natural causes and there was no need for an autopsy. (N.B., my dad was a J.P. back when I was in high school and college, and his only qualification for the job was that he got more votes in from the voters in my home town than the other candidate.)

Given the size of some Texas counties and the sparse population of most of them, the law makes sense. I think that many people living in the relatively densely populated eastern and western seaboards can't wrap their heads around a place where a home can be an hour's drive after you've turned off the last paved road, but the American West is such a place and the way things work reflect that.

Browndog said...

It is agreed that no autopsy is necessary.

If the "over the phone" autopsy is not to your liking, there are a variety to choose from right here on Althouse.

BTW-The "79 yrs old" cause of death seems to be the consensus autopsy result of the internet. Anyone that questions the "79 yrs.old" finding is a lunatic.

Interesting,not crazy said...

tim in vermont said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Had he been murdered, there is no way that anybody would have left a spittle covered pillow, showing signs of struggle, there. Shame on Drudge. He is sounding like a left wing lunatic here.


Of course you leave the evidence. An obvious warning from the left to the next nominee. Watch Hillarys face closely whenever Scalia is mentioned. The truth is out there!

Mark said...

Suicide's on the list. Especially if he had been given a dire medical diagnosis

You really do not know Antonin Scalia at all.

Darrell said...

It's on the list of possibilities.
Never said it was likely.
Scalia's Dad died at 83. If George Burns died at 79, no one would have been the least suspicious, would they?

Mark said...

Determining cause of death from surrounding circumstances is not that unusual.

When I found my 35-year-old roommate lying on his stomach in bed, and he was at room temperature with full rigor set in, when the police came and found first a set of syringes and then bottles of insulin in his drawer -- had he kept it in the refrigerator, we would have known he was diabetic and kept an eye on him, but he didn't -- a simple call to the physician listed on the bottle was enough to determine cause of death.

Mark said...

No, it is not on Scalia's list. It would never be on his list.

Darrell said...

"No, it is not on Scalia's list. It would never be on his list."


But a good reason for the family to insist on no autopsy being performed.

Darrell said...

Given these comments, I wonder how many murders people get away with.

rhhardin said...

The Pelican Brief (Julia Roberts) deals with offing Supreme Court justices.

eric said...

I'm always suspicious. I've been impressed that more supremes haven't been murdered by the lunatic left.

Now one is dead and no one thinks to investigate. It must be on the up and up because, ?

So let me make a prediction.

Trump will make an issue of this. Along the lines of, I'm just asking questions.

damikesc said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
damikesc said...

The elderly don't always give much notice when they die. Nor do the young, but "out of nowhere" peaceful deaths aren't exceptionally rare for the elderly.

And, it should be noted, the Dems intend to nominate somebody older than all royal Hell to run for President. The oldsters are a granny with questionable health (what DID happen with her head trauma issue) and an old dude who appears on the verge of a cerebral hemhorrage at all times.

Yancey Ward said...

I will state up front that one of the outlandish predictions I have made in the last year was that if it looked like the Supreme Court might block Obama's executive orders on immigration, a conservative justice would turn up dead from "natural causes".

Now, with that out of the way, I think it about 99.9% certain that Scalia did die of natural causes. However, an autopsy should have been performed.

Gabriel said...

@Darrell:Let's test that theory.

Go right ahead. Let someone you trust do it to you--use a timer so they don't go more than minute if you don't say anything.

You'll both feel very silly. You'll just be sitting there breathing.

Darrell said...

I was thinking of testing it on you, Gabe. When detective shows use that as a means of murder, do you shout at the TV like a loon?

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/06/24/husband-admits-suffocating-wife-with-pillow/

Mark said...

But a good reason for the family to insist on no autopsy being performed

You are tiresome. The family most likely opposed an autopsy is because they did not want their husband/father gutted and instead wanted to respect his body. They wanted that for the same reason that Scalia would never commit suicide, something which goes to the core of who Scalia was (and is still).

Etienne said...

pillow "over his head"

Means the pillow was against the headboard, and the body was in front of it. Thus the pillow was not "over his face", like the conspiracy theorists think.

Yancey Ward said...

As for the family not wanting an autopsy- I certainly understand that, especially given that the description sounds like someone dying in their sleep from natural causes. If it were my father or mother, I wouldn't want the autopsy either, but then my father and mother have no enemies that I am aware of. I don't think the same can be said of Scalia- if my parents had millions of people who wished they died, I would probably want the autopsy even if I still thought it 1 chance in a 1000 that they were murdered.

Darrell said...

If you think that Roman Catholics have a problem with autopsies, you are mistaken. Scalia's background in criminal law would have given him a firm grounding in their value. Your lack of curiosity is tiring. But you probably hear that a lot--for every one of your faults.

Darrell said...

Kids have an even better reason for wanting a complete autopsy. Early warning of genetic diseases/conditions.

Yancey Ward said...

"Means the pillow was against the headboard, and the body was in front of it. Thus the pillow was not "over his face", like the conspiracy theorists think."

Perhaps, but the description isn't clear cut either way. I know I would have said "over the face" if that was indeed the position of the pillow, but not everyone makes the same language choices given the physical conditions.

Rockport Conservative said...

I'm glad to see so many who sleep with pillows on their heads. My 80 year old husband does and I would hate to think I would be accused of murder and an autopsy performed if he died in his sleep. The death most of us admit we would like for our deaths.

Theranter said...

Redrum

Darrell said...

Natural causes = Egyptian cotton pillow case

Theranter said...

A nice article on Justice Scalia:
http://fee.org/articles/justice-scalia-s-great-heart/

Michael Fitzgerald said...

I sleep with a pillow over my eyes, but that doesn't mean that a democrat party operative like Rosa Brooks couldn't easily slip into my room and put the pillow over my mouth and nose until I stopped breathing, then go running off to write opinion columns about how wonderful it was that I was dead.

Theranter said...

Hmmmm

http://dcwhispers.com/justice-scalia-dies-at-ranch-resort-owned-by-democrat-party-donor-obama-award-winner/

Gabriel said...

@Darell:I was thinking of testing it on you, Gabe.

Name the time and place, Internet Tough Guy.

What is the point of that comment? If you want to know, try it yourself, or try it on someone. You're never going to get an opportunity to try it on a random internet commenter.

When detective shows use that as a means of murder, do you shout at the TV like a loon?

Do you shout at the TV when cops shoot out tires or a cowboy shoots a gun out of the bad guy's hand? If you do, do these events become more plausible in real life because you look like a loon?

Darrell said...

Name the time and place, Internet Tough Guy.

Strange talk from the asshole that suggested doing it to me.

Read the link. Real life murders are committed with pillows. So much for your clever theories.

mikeyes said...

It's hard to believer that 40 wealthy Republicans, LEOS from rural Texas, and the US Marshals office would be complicit in a murder plot started by President Obama. Hell, Dick Cheney couldn't keep his attempt quiet and he was Vice President at the time.
While autopsies are subject to local law, it would be common for an autopsy for a death by natural causes to be subject to the family's wishes and with all those law enforcement officers there to observe, foul play would be obvious if there was a murder by smothering Justice Scalia.
Autopsies are expensive, thousands of dollars to perform, and no one will pay for them other than the family. They are rarely done in hospitals any more due to both cost and the accuracy of imaging techniques - when I was a medical student in the 1960s they were quite common, but then they cost less and we needed the information because we were so bad at diagnosis.
We don't know if Justice Scalia had any medical problems. He and a number of the other Justices do have one predictive factor, old age, and there are at least two others who have other known factors that can shorten life span: juvenile diabetes and cancer.
To have a Justice die in office is rare but not unheard of. This is a sad time for the family and it is hard to justify an autopsy just because it would satisfy political needs.

amyshulk said...

I sleep w/a pillow over my head to block NOISE not light.

Gabriel said...

@Darrell:Strange talk from the asshole that suggested doing it to me

No point in lying about what I said, anyone can read it. I suggested you cautiously experiment until you were satisfied that it was as harmless as I believe it to be.

Real life murders are committed with pillows

On babies, as I said. And your link has a hell of a lot more going on in it than a pillow strangling. And if once in a blue moon someone actually shoots out the tires of a moving car, that doesn't make it an effective way to stop a fleeing car, now does it? Neither does it make sense to fund your retirement with Powerball tickets, no matter how many times the news reports that somebody won Powerball.

Birkel said...

My favorite part of this sort of anti-conspiracy talk is that The Pelican Brief was seen as a perfectly reasonable conspiracy theory because it had a BIG BUSINESS as the antagonist. And the plucky proto-Brockovich as the protagonist.

But the Left just cannot help but laugh at the ridiculous idea that another Leftist would kill a Supreme Court Justice to further its own political agenda. That idea must be ridiculed.

Our side good. Their side bad.

Four legs good. Two legs bad.

Am I right?

Humperdink said...

Three (3) ways Scalia could have been killed. Dallas Observer, linked via Instapundit.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/3-ways-scalia-could-have-been-killed-8031773

Darrell said...

"Go right ahead. Let someone you trust do it to you--use a timer so they don't go more than minute if you don't say anything."


No. You didn't suggest testing your theory on me, first.

Mark said...

Darrell - the Catechism allows for an autopsy "for legal inquests or scientific research" if the body is "treated with respect and charity" (CCC 2300-01). But in the greater Catholic tradition (of which the Scalia family is firmed placed) they are disfavored precisely for reasons of respecting the body. Certainly I would not want a loved one to be cut open, have all his internal organs removed and dissected, then to be disposed of or put in bags and then put back into the body cavity, together with some cotton packing, like you are a stuffed animal, and then roughly stitched back together.

It is that same Catholic identity, which went to the essence of who Antonin Scalia is and was, that would preclude him ever engaging in the mortal sin of suicide.

Mark said...

The things you learn -

From an interview with New York Magazine -

While your opinions are delectable to read, I’m wondering: Do you ever regret their tone? Specifically, that your tone might have cost you a majority?

Scalia: No. It never cost me a majority. And you ought to be reluctant to think that any justice of the Supreme Court would make a case come out the other way just to spite Scalia. Nobody would do that. You’re dealing with significant national issues. You’re dealing with real litigants—no. My tone is sometimes sharp. But I think sharpness is sometimes needed to demonstrate how much of a departure I believe the thing is. Especially in my dissents. Who do you think I write my dissents for?

Law students.
Scalia: Exactly. And they will read dissents that are breezy and have some thrust to them. That’s who I write for.

People always thought of Scalia as a law professor.

Real American said...

what a load of crap! Chicago gangsters would never assassinate anyone!

Theranter said...

Mikeyes: "We don't know if Justice Scalia had any medical problems. He and a number of the other Justices do have one predictive factor, old age, and there are at least two others who have other known factors that can shorten life span: juvenile diabetes and cancer."

I know you are talking about Sotomayor/Juvenile Diabetes, but reminds me, as the parent of a Type 1/Juv Diabetes child, when I first read about Justice Scalia and no autopsy, I had to wonder if someone murdered him by injecting him with a giant bolus of fast acting insulin. No way to know now.

As far as the "pillow over his head" it is getting out of hand. If you look at the picture of the room after he was removed, the pillow, in that picture, if that is where he was on the bed, is literally over/above where his head would have been. (Assuming that picture was not staged.)

Sammy Finkelman said...

It's not just Drudge - it's the New York Post headline.

So some people actually sleep that way, with their head under the pillow, rather than over it.

I would more likely suspect an aneurysm, rather than a myocardial infarction.

The only thing we know if that:

1) He was 79 years old.

2) But he was not known to be sick at all.

3) His family wasn't there with him - but that was usual for Justice Scalia.

4) He may have said he wasn't feeling well, and in any case he went to bed early at 9 pm, saying it had been a long day and week. Is this a danger sign?

5) He didn't show up for breakfast, and when he didn't come out for lunch, they went into the room where he was sleeping.

6) And then they gave him Last Rites. (apparently in the Catholic Church they can do that after somebody is dead, as long as it is not official or something)

Sammy Finkelman said...

Another possibility, of course, is poison, or a bad prescription, but I repeat myself.

Sammy Finkelman said...

If any human being had anything to do with him dying, it would not likely be because of general considerations, because this does not look like a propitious time for someone who wanted to see him replaced, but because of case that was being decided this term.

Evenwel v. Abbott would be the likely one, except that Scalia, if anything, would vote to reverse the Court of Appeals, so it would have to be someone on the winning side, which was no change in reapportionment rules.

The case could have enormmous political consequences. Does anyone know how that was going?

http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/02/what-happens-to-this-terms-close-cases/

Other significant cases in which the Court may now be equally divided include Evenwel v. Abbott (on the meaning of the “one person, one vote” guarantee), the cases challenging the accommodation for religious organizations under the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, and the challenge to the Obama administration’s immigration policy.

Yes, but does anyone know which way it was going to go? Or did anyone think they knew?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/supreme_court_dispatches/2015/12/evenwel_v_abbott_the_supreme_court_hears_arguments_in_a_voter_apportionment.single.html

Evenwel is ably represented this morning by William Consovoy, and it’s clear that—with the exception of an oddly silent Antonin Scalia —the justices will likely break along the usual partisan lines.

Well, there could still be fear of how Scalia would decide.

It was argued December 8, 2015.

http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/evenwel-v-abbott/

Sammy Finkelman said...

Humperdink said...

How many lunatic lefties wished Scalia would expire before November 2016?

For that, they'd have to assume that a Republican would win the Presidential election, and that the Democrats would not regain control of the Senate - and the class of 2010 is heavily Republican. And it's very late in a presidential term.

So, I'd look for a specific case being decided this term. I'd also, of course, look to see if anyone was around who could have done something. I'd also want to know, were there any (possibly overlooked) signs of a problem. And how frequently does something like this happen?

mikeyes said...

To TheRanter,

Without seeing what happened with Justice Scalia, your thoughts about a massive insulin injection can't be totally allayed, but the symptoms of insulin OD on a large scale include confusion, unconsciousness and seizure none of which was reported by the others who were there. According to the witnesses, Justice Scalia reported he was not feeling well and he died in his sleep. Had there been a seizure, there would have been signs, most likely.

Etienne said...

Sammy Finkelman said...2) But he was not known to be sick at all.

Bzzzt (as reported in the press): His doctor told the judge that he was recently ill. I'm sure his doctor told him to lay off the booze and tobacco, but humans are frail.

bbkingfish said...

Another obvious possible factor which no one has mentioned:

In his more recent photographs, Scalia appeared to have ballooned to somewhere just south of 400 pounds. He was always a portly fellow (as am I), but he had grown to elephantine proportions over the past ten years, apparently.

He must have been disappointed when W. passed him over for Chief Justice. Did he suffer from a long-term depression as a result? A depression so dark that, as a symptom, he simply threw himself into wanton overindulgence, with death occurring after a decade of unrestrained gluttony?

Obviously, I don't know. But it seems possible. He never was known as a man of moderation, after all.

David said...

The lefties will alter this slightly. It will be a white pillow case with eye, nose and mouth slits.

Rusty said...

bbkingfish said...

Then again maybe he just liked to eat. You know dying in your sleep at the height of your intellectual powers beats the shit out of dying ina bed in some nursing home and not even knowing your own name. Covered in bed sores and your own shit.
Thers a lot to be said if you can make it to eighty on your own steam and them start packing away the t-bones and eclaires.

Fabi said...

I heard that there was a second pillow.

Derve Swanson said...

As for the pillow, my father used to sleep with a pillow over his head. It's a way to block the light.
-----------------

Ah, but did they find a stack of Playboy's next to Scalia's dead body?

Derve Swanson said...

I think not!

Unknown said...

Why doesn't someone just ask his wife if he slept with a pillow over his head?

Rusty said...



Blogger Fabi said...
I heard that there was a second pillow.

On a grassy knoll like area outside his bedroom window.

Sammy Finkelman said...

More news:

1. Scalia had visited a doctor both on Wednesday and on Thursday.

2. He had shoulder pain or a shoulder injury, and the doctor took an MRI.

3. The doctor said that he didn't consider him a candidate for surgery because of his weakened heart condition. (the surgery also probably would be stupid in principle.)

??? Did the doctor alter any of his prescriptions?

??? Was this actually the beginning of a heart attack, or an aneurysm burst? Was the shoulder pain diagnosed correctly? If the doctor says "injury" it probably only means it started suddenly, with some motion he undertook.

4. He had a planned trip to a hunting lodge in an isolated area in West Texas. It is by invitation only really. There were about 35 other people there, mostly locals. It costs $500 a day.

5. One of his sons (probably not the priest) was originally scheduled to be there with him, but didn't go, for some reason that didn't make it into the newspapers.

6. Justice Scalia arrived at the hunting lodge on Friday afternoon.

7. He did not go on the scheduled hunting trip that afternoon.

??? With shoulder pain would he even have been able to?

8. He did show up for dinner.

9. He retired early to go to bed at about 9 pm (10pm eastern time)

10. According to "officials" he said he was feeling tired.

11. The owner said he was feeling fine.

12. He did not show up for breakfast Saturday morning.

13. At 1 pm the owner checked in on him. He says he was stone cold. (which would explain not calling for an ambulance or any medical assistance.)

14. The owner says a pillow was over his head. It is not known whether it was usual for Justice Scalia to sleep this way. It is common for some people to do so.

16. Also his hands were over his chest. (which would mean he was facing up)

17. And that his clothings and the bedsheets were unruffled.

18. The owner, a man named John Poindexter (not that John Poindexter) is a Democrat. This hints darkly at possible connections.


Sammy Finkelman said...

Theodore Roosevelt died suddenly, just after his 60th birthday. There are other people who die in their sleep, or at least don't get out of bed. This was case where you had both but the person wasn't home in his own bed.

You really do have to suspect the medicine, if he took a new one, or a doctor missing a life-threatening problem. You also have to suspect that the lodge owner is covering up possible neglect on his part, although he couldn't be held legally liable. Otherwise, it's Professor Plum, in the dining room, with a "sleeping" pill.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Scalia was not known to be sick in public. And the doctor didn't diagnose him that way on Wednesday and Thursday. He just had high blood pressure and poor circulation. The operation was probably considering was NOT a heart bypass operation, but something that would allegedly alleviate his shoulder pain. He probably told him the shoulder pain could or would go away. Ignoramus!

TRISTRAM said...

The only thing we know for sure is that the same government that feels compelled to record all of our phone calls, text messages, and emails in vast data collection centers did not think the sudden death of a Supreme Court Justice worth so much as an autopsy.