Justice Scalia To Give Constitutional Lesson On Capitol Hill

Politics Daily:

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, described just last week by a Washington law professor as "the first real celebrity justice" for his controversial public pronouncements, will come to Capitol Hill on Monday to lecture about constitutional law to some earnest members of the House of Representatives. He was invited to do so by Rep. Michelle Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican and tea party activist in Congress, as part of her effort to educate lawmakers about the nation's founding legal documents.

Read the whole story: Politics Daily

Comments

[Dbos]

09:30 PM on 01/26/2011

Excellent judge of pork chop sandwiches not much else.

[ken607]

05:52 PM on 01/26/2011

scalia is a renegade. he actualy thinks hes god! atleast acts like one. end life terms now! atleast have no confidence votes. what a shmuck!

[Tails]

02:39 PM on 01/25/2011

In keeping with his fine principles, the women can't speak and the blacks must sit in the back and stir lemonade.

[WestOfTheMoon]

12:56 AM on 01/25/2011

Leave already!

[rvtgr8]

10:45 PM on 01/24/2011

I posted this on another topic, but I think it applies here:

“This opinion is coming from the perspectiv­e of a retired educator who tried for years to give his students an accurate accounting history. One of the most vital concepts put forth by the crafters of the United States Constituti­on was the notion of fiduciary responsibi­lity in governance­. It was important not only to be honest as a public servant, but also to not ever give the appearance of impropriet­y or conflict of interest. The people of this nation in its fledgling stages were very wary of the tyrannical nature of the monarchies from whence they came. In my opinion, Fiduciary responsibi­lity has gone by the wayside in the United States as a result of the lack of a rigorous public education that stresses the importance of civics and history. I am not suggesting the revisionis­t clap trap history of the Earl Grey right. I am suggesting a return to citizenshi­p having certain obligation­s by way of educationa­l standards. Scalia and Thomas know better, The problem is that they themselves have rejected their fiduciary responsibi­lities.”

[diesel100]

08:46 PM on 01/24/2011

First of all, Scalia should begin his lecture every day with separation of powers review. He should explain to the hapless baggers what an "advisory opinion" is (the Supreme Court is prohibited by the constitution from issuing them). Then he should quietly let the baggers attending in on the secret (to them anyway) that he is providing them with a blanket advisory opinion as they listen to each and every one of his seminars. But who are we to quibble with the ethical giant that is Scalia?

Further, shouldn't the gentle Congresswoman and her "esteemed" colleagues already know and understand the US Constitution? It always makes me laugh when one expounds angrily about the number of lawyers in Congress. Well, this is one reason why there are so many. Lawyers, by and large, understand the constitution thoroughly. They don't need someone like the uber-textuaist Antonio Scalia poisoning their minds with his misguided ideas about how the constitution works and how it affects the legislature. Lawyers already understand the difference between federal and state jurisdiction. They already grasp the real issues involved with separation of powers and they know what the words "strict scrutiny" mean in a legislative context.

This is going to be a bang-up session of Congress. It really is.

[SF TKF]

05:17 PM on 01/24/2011

The loon who says the 14th Amendment doesn’t apply to women is going to be “teaching” the Constitution to others? Epic fail and utter embarrassment.

[Coloradem]

05:09 PM on 01/24/2011

Taking a lesson on the constitution from Scalia is like taking a lesson on sailing from the captain of the Titanic....

[Monday Morning]

04:26 PM on 01/24/2011

Bachmann's Office DENIES Scalia Spoke to Tea Party Caucus!

That's right, I just got off the phone with Bachmann's office and they are denying that Justice Scalia met with the Tea Party Caucus.

Bachmann's office is claiming that the "Closed Door Seminar" today was NOT for the Tea Party Caucus but rather, it was for ALL members of Congress - all 535 members of Congress.

Bachmann's office gave me THREE different silly reasons why the Seminar was "Closed" and admitted she was planning on TWO Closed Door Seminars per month all on the Tax Payer Dime.

Call Michele Bachmann and demand she hold her Closed Door Seminars on her OWN dime and NOT in the Capitol where the Tax Payer picks up the heating, lighting & coffee tab.

Bachmann: DC Phone: [phone]

Here is an outline of my call with Bachmann's office today:

ME: Is Justice Scalia a member of the Tea Party Caucus?

REC: No.

ME: Is Justice Scalia helping the Tea Party Caucus decide on policy today?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/24/131759/547

[michiganguy586]

03:56 PM on 01/24/2011

after the class, i heard they are also going to have kool-aide and cookies while they sit around and talk about the bible and how that applies to the constitution.

[mrk65]

02:48 PM on 01/24/2011

Scalia needs to go back to school and learn about constitutional law and the founding legal documents, himself. He is an embarrassment and disgrace to the Court.

[stape45]

02:41 PM on 01/24/2011

His role as Jus.tice doesn’t deserve any awards.

[PatrickHenryNow]

02:36 PM on 01/24/2011

What a shocker Scalia and the tea party hand in hand.Scalia needs to return to the nj pine barrens where he crawled out of.When will the justice department investigate the tony soprano of the court ?

[researcher]

02:03 PM on 01/24/2011

give her credit for bringing this guy to capital hill, her voters will love her for that.

one has to come to understand her voters and tea party politicans.

they are low on the scale of the evolution of consciousness process. stated simply they lack empathy for others, except of course their self and families.

50 million without health insurance does not faze these folks or their voters. on going wars for corp profits they see as a plus for corp profits, most of these folks consider themselves religious, that is interesting is it not; considering who their religious teacher was jesus the prince of peace and what you do to the least you do to jesus.

[VBH1622]

06:25 PM on 01/24/2011

Naw, these are Old Testament Christians - it's Christianity without the inconvenience of the teachings of Jesus!

[Monday Morning]

01:58 PM on 01/24/2011

Justice Scalia and the Tea Party!

Of course, Justice Scalia may see his behavior as perfectly acceptable and impartial. But as Judge Richard A. Posner observed in "How Judges Think," "We use introspection to acquit ourselves of accusations of bias, while using realistic notions of human behavior to identify bias in others." And it's the second standard to which Justice Scalia ought to be held.

That's why this speech is such a bad idea. Based on realistic notions of human behavior, it seems odd for Justice Scalia to gallivant off to this conference. Just because anyone could theoretically attend doesn't mean they will -- I am holding a summit for Excruciatingly Lax Interpretation somewhere in the Himalayas on a promontory that looks vaguely like Thomas Jefferson, and I invited the whole Congress. So, theoretically, everyone could be there.

And it's not exempt from scrutiny simply because it's behind closed doors. Unlike Schrodinger's Cat, if you don't look in on a conference, it still happens. And it's a shame that it will.

Also, Justice Scalia, if you really would like to talk to a group about the separation of powers, maybe don't talk to a group that is composed of people you are supposed to be separated from.

This is not becoming conduct. But it's becoming standard.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/compost/2011/01/justice_scalia_and_the_tea_par.html