Dementia? And Justice Scalia

[Augiedog]

Is it possible that Supreme Court Justice Scalia is in the early stages of Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia? Ronald Reagan's dementia was hidden from us and likely was affecting his ability as President. Is it possible Scalia and his handlers are doing the same thing in hopes a Republican President will be elected? There is something wrong with this guy and I can't help wondering what is going on.

[RKP5637]

1. And another reason they should not serve endless terms. n/t

[Scuba]

2. I'm going to go with "evil", but it could be compounded by dementia.

[sofa king]

5. And "indolent," too.

Remember that the biggest lesson we learned from the Bush Administration is that unvarnished evil is also highly incompetent. Dick Cheney would not be a citizen of Dubai today if he hadn't fucked up three dozen different ways while getting paid under the table by KBR. He has to be an Arab because, at any time, he could wind up an American felon. Because he was lazy.

Bush and Cheney's policies could have easily destroyed the United States, were it not for the fact that both of them are lazy old-boy insiders, who have "people to do those things" who are also lazy old-boy insiders, and so on.

They weren't even particularly good at pursuing their own criminal activities--the WMDs were never found because they couldn't sneak them in past all the spies who were watching them once they knocked Iraq over. Eventually, they wound up pointing the finger at the very weapons that Donald Rumsfeld sold to Saddam Hussein. That's pathetic.

A big reason for that was indolence--utter laziness, inattention to detail, concern directed to personal comfort and enrichment rather than the pursuit of "evil," which can be a lot of work.

Edit: That's Scalia's problem. I suspect the particular error here is one I encountered countless times in the law business--we called it "fact flipping"--where multiple editors massage an inconvenient fact until they "flip" it to become the exact opposite of what it really is. Once the formerly inconvenient fact is turned into an asset, the editors drop it and leave it for the lazy-ass boss to look at it. But Scalia probably had a back room reserved at Ruth's Chris that day, and didn't notice the error.

Ultimately, Scalia doesn't give a damn, and he'll blame his subordinates for it.

[bemildred]

3. I've been wondering about that since he wore the funny hat to the inaugural. nt

[frazzled]

4. He has a slew of law clerks

who shoulda/woulda/coulda spotted that mistake in his brief (if that's what you're referring to). So I don't think that, in itself, is a sign of dementia.

He's just nasty and uber ideological. Always has been.

[Sunlei]

6. from my experiences /w my family a LOT of people in our Gov. positions show early signs.

Including some who created a lifetime "career" at "running for president" or holding their leadership position for life, though some of those may have other serious mental disabilities.

The ones who need a lot of 'handler$ & aid$' just to get dressed & fed & prepped for each day of their "career" really should not even be elected(or re-elected) in the first place.

[Gothmog]

7. Scalia has been going senile for some time now

His questions in the Shelby County case were really bad and the dissent in the ACA case was full of typos and mistakes

[Augiedog]

8. Insidious

There is something more going on here. His incoherence resembles a thought process of someone who views them self in a regal fashion. But maybe that is an issue for all of them. Perhaps he suddenly realized his own mortality and is acting out in fear and anger.

[former9thward]

18. If there were any typos that is the fault of law clerks not the Justice.

That is their job after all. If, indeed, it was "full of typos and mistakes" it would have been mentioned in law blogs and I have not seen anything. Maybe you have links?

[Bluenorthwest]

9. If so, it will not be secret for long. Reagan got shot and that provided much cover for

his health issues. Without such a cover story, dementia will out.

[TeamPooka]

10. Hopefully DC police will catch him bathing naked in the fountain on the National Mall.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. Thanks for that mental image...

I'm going to go kill myself now.

[TeamPooka]

13. sorry for the word picture

[Mz Pip]

12. He's a smug authoritarian

And he doesn't give a shit what people think. I don't think he has dementia, he's just a jerk, a smug arrogant jerk.

[blkmusclmachine]

14. How would you know???

[blkmusclmachine]

15. And what's up with Clarence Thomas?

[DavidDvorkin]

16. If so, let's hope that it leads to a major personality change

And he flips 180 degrees politically. The GOP House would rush to impeach him. It would be entertaining to watch.

[santamargarita]

17. Just as long he can remember to resign, soon!