Althouse: "I also think Scalia had a great sense of humor and a quick mind. So my hypothesis is that in his final seconds of life..."

February 16, 2016

"I also think Scalia had a great sense of humor and a quick mind. So my hypothesis is that in his final seconds of life..."

"... realizing he would not survive, he thought it would be hilarious to put a pillow over his head and make it look like a political murder."

Says Scott Adams (at the end of a post that analyzes the effect of Scalia's death of election year politics (mostly: it helps Hillary).

24 comments:

traditionalguy said...: Scalia woke up dead.

Heart failure from turning over in bed is common at his age and weight. But a lifetime of Italian food was worth it.; 2/16/16, 8:49 AM
Jim said...: Justice Brennan said "[T]he genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs."

For anyone who reads his legal rulings, or enjoys a meal from one of his cookbooks, Antonin Scalia lives on, and by an interpretation that would have appalled Scalia himself, remains eligible to sit on the Supreme Court. He can be present at oral arguments, although discerning his vote on decisions will require interpretation of his emanations by the person who understands them best, Justice Thomas.
Those arguing for a "living" constitution must necessarily accept a "living" Justice Scalia.

We need Brennan's adaptability now. The integrity of our nation's jurisprudence is at stake.; 2/16/16, 8:57 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Dilbert has finally lost his mind.; 2/16/16, 9:19 AM
Big Mike said...: Certainly there are people whose sense of humor lasted to the final moments of their lives. Bob Hope was asked where he wanted to be buried, and he told his wife "Surprise me."

I've used a pillow over my head to help fall asleep when there was too much noise coming in from outside my room; no doubt Scalia did the same. My own hypothesis is that he died very quickly, and without the strength in his arms to move the pillow.

Adams isn't as bright as he thinks he is.; 2/16/16, 9:24 AM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: It's a threefer for Hillary. She's got an issue to campaign on, the conspiracy theories weaken the other side's position, and when it's all over she probably gets to make the pick herself.; 2/16/16, 9:40 AM
CStanley said...: I assume most of what Adams done is for entertainment purposes, and assume this speculation itself was a joke. But one I can definitely imagine Scalia enjoying very much.; 2/16/16, 9:45 AM
Anonymous said...: Yeah, he put a pillow on himself while suffering a fatal cardiac event (as they said in Fraiser), just like JFK put a few bullets in his own head to confound investigators.; 2/16/16, 9:49 AM
hombre said...: If Scalia had been liberal there would be no speculation about his death. That is not because the speculators are ungrounded conspiracy theorists. It is because of the nature of the Democrat Party.

Any Democrat appointee will join with the existing liberal ideologues - they are judges in name only - who will soon discover an "emanating penumbral" Eighth Article providing that regardless of original language or intent the document "shall go with the flow."

"Flow" will, of course, be interpreted to reflect not constitutional consensus, but the personal predilections of progressive judges and legal scholars, provided that they are not detrimental to the political aims of The Evil Party.; 2/16/16, 10:06 AM
Wince said...: If there's a SCOTUS heaven,
Well you know they got hell of a bench, bench, bench.

Will O' gave us penumbras we didn't know existed
And Harry B gave us "poor Josh" who the state should have assisted
We all dreaded that Scott decision along with Plessy
But Nino was the one who kept the muddle-headed judicial activism from getting too messy; 2/16/16, 10:36 AM
Tom said...: Personally, if I were Mitch McConnell, I'd go to Obama and have a very off the record conversation about what's going to happen. Hearing will not commence until after the FBI has either closed it's case on Hillary Clinton or has made a recommendation to indict. If the FBI recommends indictment and the DOJ chooses to ignore this advice, I'd tell him we're going to have hearings on that instead of a SCOTUS appointment.

Now, I know you're saying -- those two things aren't related or that's just bad pool. But, the president plays games like this all the time and no one bats and eye. Again, this is a private conversation that I'd deny ever took place. But he has one chance to do the right thing and he gets a 3rd appointment to SCOTUS for doing it.

Hillary Clinton is a criminal and she will steal the election if she has a chance. I don't like Bernie Sanders but the republic will survive a bad president. I'm not sure we survive an evil president.; 2/16/16, 10:41 AM
mccullough said...: It seems more Conservatives would be motivated by a desire to preserve gun rights, as Scalia was the author of the opinion recognizing second amendment rights.

Anyway, my view is that Kagan will not vote to overturn Heller. She is smart and practical. She knows there are tens of millions of gun owners and they will be pissed if the Court changes its mind, much as Kennedy and O'Conner weren't going to bite to overturn Roe v Wade.; 2/16/16, 10:52 AM
Browndog said...: The only thing we have to go on regarding the cause of death is tasteless, putrid internet mocking.

Had these same circumstances happened to one the liberals on the court, Texas would be swarmed with every investigative agency on the planet.

We can't even get a fucking medical examination, let alone an autopsy.; 2/16/16, 11:00 AM
Bill Peschel said...: "Personally, if I were Mitch McConnell, I'd go to Obama and have a very off the record conversation about what's going to happen. Hearing will not commence until after the FBI has either closed it's case on Hillary Clinton or has made a recommendation to indict"

Very clever. Very smart.

That's why it'll never happen.

Our leaders are stupider than they appear.; 2/16/16, 12:01 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I also think Scalia had a great sense of humor and a quick mind. So my hypothesis is that in his final seconds of life...realizing he would not survive, he thought it would be hilarious to put a pillow over his head and make it look like a political murder."

And so the preemptive cover up begins.; 2/16/16, 12:14 PM
Big Mike said...: Our leaders are stupider than they appear.

@Bill Peschel, every person in the Congress or the Senate has two ends, one for sitting and the other for thinking. And since everything they have depends upon their seat, you can tell which end is better developed.; 2/16/16, 12:38 PM
M Jordan said...: This entire incident opens clearly for the world to see the contempt our political left and the media have for conservatives and conservatism. Had President Obama died in the same way, it would have been a travesty of the highest order to treat it so casually. In fact, the passing of anyone in today's highly polarized political world demands complete transparency.

And when there isn't, conspiracy theories are the guaranteed weeds that spring up in the field of public discourse.; 2/16/16, 2:05 PM
grimson said...: It is surprising that Adams did not work Trump into this. He notes that it helps Hillary, because we are no longer discussing her many problems, which is to her benefit, but he fails to mention that this hurts Trump, because he no longer dominates the news cycle (not that he isn't trying).

Aside from that, after reading most of Adams' blogs over the last few weeks, I second Big Mike's assessment: Adams isn't as bright as he thinks he is.; 2/16/16, 3:06 PM
Barry Dauphin said...: The biggest thing Adams misses is that there is more fear on the conservatives' side than the liberals. Scalia would need to be replaced with someone like minded to preserve the status quo. Liberals wouldn't be losing any more than they do at present. It is conservatives who fear Scalia being replaced by a liberal. That is a big miss in Adams' analysis.; 2/16/16, 3:21 PM
Jaq said...: I get emails from Pat Leahy, and he says it's right there in the constitution in black and white that the Senate has a duty to consent to Obama's choice!

I am sure he has never voted against a nominee ever if that is how he feels about it!; 2/16/16, 5:36 PM
Jaq said...: It helps Hillary because it means that Sanders voters will hold their nose and vote for her in the general almost no matter what she does from now on.; 2/16/16, 5:37 PM
J. Farmer said...: Only someone blinded by ideological rigidity could fail to appreciate Scalia's brilliance, wit, humor, and skills as a rhetorician. That said, Roberts was and remains my favorite sitting justice.; 2/16/16, 9:43 PM
Zach said...: Lots of people sleep with a pillow over their face. It blocks out the light.; 2/16/16, 10:48 PM
cubanbob said...: Bill Peschel said...
"Personally, if I were Mitch McConnell, I'd go to Obama and have a very off the record conversation about what's going to happen. Hearing will not commence until after the FBI has either closed it's case on Hillary Clinton or has made a recommendation to indict"

Very clever. Very smart.

That's why it'll never happen.

Our leaders are stupider than they appear.

2/16/16, 12:01 PM"

Brilliant idea. Another variation would be Obama nominates Cruz for the supreme court. Can Cruz say no? Unlikely. Can the Republicans refuse to confirm? No. Cruz as a justice is no worse than Scalia on the court and a lot more dangerous as president from a progressive perspective. With Cruz out of the way the Republicans will wind up with a squishy candidate relative to Cruz. But Obama is too clever by half. As for Hillary, Obama is in a jam. The FBI can't close it's case without a referral, the evidence is too overwhelming if for nothing else just the records law violation. Then there is the rest, national security violations and corruption. Hillary is DOA as a candidate and if elected, the first to be impeached and removed. The Democrats have to be delusional to think they can offer a slate composing of a communist and a criminal and expect to win. Getting Cruz out of the way is the smarter play longterm.; 2/17/16, 12:29 AM
mikee said...: Cruz for the Supreme Court? Sure, why not?

And if Obama is too stupid to nominate him, President Trump or President Rubio can nominate him in January for the still-open vacancy - even if Cruz is sitting around as Vice President at the time.

And if that vacancy isn't still open on Inauguration Day, the Republicans as a party are finished.; 2/17/16, 2:16 PM