WaPo: Scalia's "playful, unvarnished thinking...healthy for the court"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

One of the most conservative — and cerebral — of the nine justices, Scalia, 70, has never shied from verbal warfare. But as he completes his second decade on the court, Scalia, often known by his nickname of Nino, seems less inhibited than ever, speaking frequently off-the-cuff, in a crowd-pleasing voice quite unlike that of the legal academy to which he once belonged.

It is the voice of a conservative populist: combative, humorous, and sharply critical of the media and of the legal establishment atop which he sits. That includes the Supreme Court, from whose rulings in favor of gay rights and against the juvenile death penalty he dissented vigorously but in vain.

To some, Scalia's conduct shows a lack of judicial temperament — and hurts the court. "It's sad as much as anything else," said Dennis J. Hutchinson, a former law clerk to two justices who teaches Supreme Court history at the University of Chicago. "It suggests to me a frustration with his colleagues and the left-wing kulturkampf in the academy, and it just does not add to the dignity of the office."

But Scalia's supporters say it is simply Nino being Nino, offering the public a playful taste of his unvarnished thinking, which they call healthy for the court. "I think people have called for the justices to be less monastic and get out there and talk to the people, and he's doing that," said M. Edward Whelan III, a former Scalia law clerk who heads the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12281039/

[rzemanfl]

1. Court packing has GOT to be part of the plan to take back this

country. This asshat is as big an embarassment as the shrub.

[ixion]

2. ah yes, so if the person is extreme right, it's 'playful', if they're

extreme left, they're liberal scum.

Nice bias, WaPo. :grr:

[Gabi Hayes]

3. less monastic, as in

''I accept, for the sake of argument, for example, that sexual orgies eliminate social tension and ought to be encouraged."

and that pompous little twit Meacham from Newsweek called Feingold a "sane" version of Howard Dean?

Scalia really is certifiable

sounds very much to me like he's in the first stages of Alzheimer's. My father started out by making outrageous statements more and more frequently.

When he starts pacing all over the court and his chambers, you'll know it's time for a CAT scan.

[oneighty]

4. 70 years old

I am nearing 72 years old. Speaking for myself; I find in many ways I care less and less about the future.

I shy away from any thoughts that might affect the future that I will not be a part of.

I do not think Scalia, Rumsfeld and their ilk give a rat's ass about tomorrow.

Those types live today for their own immediate glory and riches and nothing more.

Bush* summed it up; "We will all be dead."

180

[MasonJar]

5. Excuse me! When the best thing a man has done and the happi-

est he has been is when he failed to recuse himself when by all judicious judicial reasoning he should, I frankly find him pathetic and dangerous.

[wtmusic]

6. Cerebral my ass

How Scalia manages to sell that image is beyond me. He is 100% pedant.

[depakid]

7. The man is unethical and proud of it

Then again- so is the Washington Post. Peas in a pod.

[Berry Cool]

8. Ask him his opinions about gays and see how "playful" his answer is.

That'll "un-playful" him in a hurry!