Antonin Scalia found dead

[josephpalazzo]

Naw, it's all God's will. I mean the campaign was getting bored, with all that Trump feuding with the Bush family being all predictable, so God had to spice it up... I mean God and his mysterious ways STRIKE AGAIN.

[Baruch]

Hillary suppressed the autopsy. He's being disposed of AWFULLY FAST.

THANKS, OBAMA.

Authorities and family agree to no autopsy (they were shown the instruments of torture, like Galileo).  Also he was found with a pillow over his head.  Sherlock Holmes would be baffled.  All I know is ... the butler did it ;-)  Anti-conspiracy theorists are like the folks who think that guy in S Africa accidentally shot his girl friend.  There are no murders, just incompetent gun owners.  The very idea that his cause of death is questionable, and that there is no autopsy ... means that the questions about it will exist for the next 50 years, inspiring all sorts of Timothy McVeigh characters to take revenge against the alien reptilian progressives.

[widdershins]

Yesterday I was conversing with my wife and during the conversation I said something along the lines of, "I can't wait for Scalia to fucking die so a human being can take his place."  She responded, "You didn't hear?" and went on to tell me the news.  Needless to say the song I've Got the Power is running through my head even now.  You're welcome.

[stromboli]

People shit their pants when they die. I expect they had to clean up his mess with a front loader.

[widdershins]

People shit their pants when they die. I expect they had to clean up his mess with a front loader.

And imagine what it must have been like when they moved on from his mouth and actually went to his ass.

I love the picture from this article.  It makes me think of a movie quote.  "Am I not turtley enough for the turtle club?"

[AllPurposeAtheist]

An interesting take from Kuttner on HuffingtonPo..

It seems to me that Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, echoed by the Republican presidential field, blundered when he declared that the Republican Senate would not vote in an election year to confirm an Obama nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Scalia.

The Republicans would be a lot shrewder if they bargained with Obama to nominate a center-right nominee who could be confirmed. That would deprive Obama's successor, quite possibly a Democrat, of the chance to name a real progressive and would extend the conservative sway over the court.

With a court divided 4-4 for the next year, liberals will likely prevail because of several lower court decisions that will now be upheld, most notably the Freidrichs case allowing public sector unions to broadly organize and collect dues. Other key cases, including affirmative action, voting rights, and abortion rights, are in the same category.

If Republicans are sly, they will play to Obama's vanity and begin bargaining with the White House about naming a moderate conservative who they will confirm.

I would not be surprised if such back-channel bargaining has already begun.

And if Obama is shrewd, he will appoint a distinguished liberal and let Republicans be the party of negativity, and let the chips fall.

--

[drunkenshoe]

I read about a pillow. What's that? So they are trying to start something like that somebody murdered him and forgot the pillow on his face? Really? Oh ffs. A lot of people put their pillows on their face when sleeping. I do sometimes. And what happened to gawd's will?

If this ends bad for rubes, that pillow could be your next 'birth conspiracy'. The pillow conspiracy!

[widdershins]

I read about a pillow. What's that? So they are trying to start something like that somebody murdered him and forgot the pillow on his face? Really? Oh ffs. A lot of people put their pillows on their face when sleeping. I do sometimes. And what happened to gawd's will?

If this ends bad for rubes, that pillow could be your next 'birth conspiracy'. The pillow conspiracy!

I'm sure they're already trying to work out how it was Hillary Clinton's fault.

[Baruch]

My bet is on Secret Agent Elvis ;-)

[Mike Cl]

My bet is on Secret Agent Elvis ;-)

And don't forget Tupac.

[TomFoolery]

So one of the cases SCOTUS was supposed to hear in the next few weeks concerns Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which is supposed to determine the Constitutionality of restricting abortion access to the point where there are only 8 operational clinics in the state of Texas to cover 5 million women of reproductive age over 268,580 square miles.

So, on the news tonight they were talking about how the court plans to handle this issue with eight judges who may end up splitting evenly on the issue. It seems like the court will likely delay the decision until a new justice is appointed, and they were interviewing this one Bible thumper who kept saying Scalia's death couldn't have happened at a worse time for Texas babies and she was praying a Christian judge would be appointed.

All I could think is... if you're that religious and know that Scalia never ruled favorably on an abortion issue and died just before he could hear arguments on this pivotal case...

Maybe it's a sign from God?

[Hakurei Reimu]

It's more than "Advise and consent", the Senate must confirm through a vote. No confirmation, no appointment.

I would think that a confirmation vote would be wrapped up in the word "consent" â€" if the vote were just a formality, and was unnecessary for an appointment, the Senate's role in the process would just be "advise." Full stop. I'm not a dummy, Joe.

I meant that Obama could shame them into voting, even if it's just to deny his choice. Then I remember that these guys have no shame.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Recess appointment.. It's happened before with SCOTUS..

[Atheon]

One day I will go relieve myself on his grave.

[josephpalazzo]

I would think that a confirmation vote would be wrapped up in the word "consent" â€" if the vote were just a formality, and was unnecessary for an appointment, the Senate's role in the process would just be "advise." Full stop. I'm not a dummy, Joe.

I wasn't implying you're a dummy. You're one of the smartest people on this forum. I was just looking for clarification. It's done. Case over.

I meant that Obama could shame them into voting, even if it's just to deny his choice. Then I remember that these guys have no shame.

I share the same feelings.