Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirmed Friday he’s staying on the nation’s highest court, weeks after a swell of speculation about a possible retirement.
“Obviously, I’m here for another term,” Alito, 76, said in an interview published in The Wall Street Journal’s editorial section.
Discussion of Alito’s future hit a fever pitch in June, when a mistake by a veteran Supreme Court reporter at National Public Radio resulted in the erroneous publication of a previously prepared retirement story.
41 Comments
javasux@lemmy.world · 92 pts · 1d
Baby Boomers, the "you can pry my position of power from my cold, dead hands" generation
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 1d
Lead and being raised in a time of plenty...
Lead effects people at even tiny levels, a baby born today will experience the same thing boomers are, just to a much lesser extent. Because lead never really goes away, it just gets buried in the dirt or absorbed into plants/animals/humans.
As we age and naturally lose critical thinking (60ish, but varies) to compensate we fall back on patterns from when we were teenagers to early 20s. Evolutionarly speaking, stuff was supposed to be mostly the same and it wasn't a problem.
But now it is, because not just technology but society and civil rights have changed drastically.
Lead effects critical thinking the same way, and the brain compensates the same way
So people who were running around when leaded gas was a thing, didn't just get it early, they're getting it harder now.
In their heads they're all 20 and in prime health, they think they'll live for ever and everything will workout, and they never see the consequences coming when it doesn't.
That's why they don't retire, not just politicians, a lot of them just worked till they died even if they didn't have to. Every single one was breathing leaded gas exhaust as a kid, and the older they get, the stronger the symptoms get.
In 60 years, they'll say the same about something else we all use. Not just the obvious like plastic, something we genuinely think is awesome right now.
CarrierLost@infosec.pub · 17 pts · 1d
Not likely. People knew in 1921 when, tetraethyl lead was being added to gasoline, that it was extremely hazardous. They just, as is the style, got bought out by lobbyists.
Thomas Midgley Jr. was one of the worst people in history, maybe accidentally, maybe not.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/one-man-disaster-scientist-who-36285595
Maeve@kbin.earth · 7 pts · 1d
I just commented elsewhere that the government knew handling uranium was more harmful than they disclosed to uranium workers, and that turned out horribly for the workers and those in proximity.
CarrierLost@infosec.pub · 6 pts · 1d
Yeah it’s not a new playbook…
justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io · 6 pts · 1d
We already know.
Glysophosate pesticides and forever chemicals.
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Then that's not something we don't know about, it's more things on the very very very long list of things we didn't realize at one point...
Like, that is the entire point of my comment
TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 1d
Baby boomers were not exposed to that much leaded gas when they were younger, that didn't become a huge problem until the 60s and peaked in the early 70s. Genx is actually the generation with the highest amount of **led exposure.
The whole lead brained baby boomer thing is pop theory** that attempts to explain the reason why baby boomers are so shitty, in reality it's more likely socio economics rather than physiology.
A lot of baby boomers were raised by a society that was experimenting with replacing the idea of communal upbringing with the nuclear family. Sacrificing the stability of a community for the economic advantage of being able to move away from a larger family structure for economic advantage.
If you had loving parents who worked to socialize you in your new surroundings, it's not so bad. If your dad is an alcoholic suffering from undiagnosed PTSD from the war...... You're probably not going to learn a lot about the importance of empathy.
Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
Is there a reason it can't be plastic? Surely it's not like the negative effects of lead poisoning were unknown 50 years ago, with people instead just ignoring it because it was the only option or was cheaper or everyone else was using it or something, all of which excuses apply equally to plastics.
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
It so happens lead based paint was banned nearly 50 years ago (1978), so it's not like it was exactly ignored.
Restrictions on lead additives in gasoline also began in the 1970s...
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
I mean, we already know plastic is fucking us...
50 years ago plastic would have been the answer, but none of us would have guessed that.
My point was, statistically there are things right now we think of neutrally or even positively that future generations will say was a major contributer to something really fucked up that might not even be manifesting yet.
Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
Actually, I think I know what the thing we'll be disappointed in will be: rubber tires. Tire wear releases non-trivial amounts of carcinogenic particulate into the air, and as far as I'm aware that problem just goes unacknowledged.
octobob@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 1d
Well I'm glad the city of Pittsburgh replaced my lead water lines for free last year.
Their goal is to replace all lead lines by the end of next year. Our streets are even more fucked up now haha. They're goin neighborhood by neighborhood
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Probably some material used in all the glass people are putting right on their skin all day long...and then there is what a laser printer emits...
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1d
Is there any data showing they stayed in political roles longer than any other generation (obviously having to factor in average lifespans going up)?
brem@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Luckily for us all, the floor will literally be lava before any of us have to ever touch them or pry anything from their bodies.
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
A lot of these people are silent generation even older than boomers. My dad was born in 42 he was silent generation
chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 1d
Honestly kind of a good thing. If he retired now, Trump gets to appoint his replacement, which would be someone younger and likely to stick around forever.
At least with him being 76, we can hope that a Republican version of an RBG happens and the next Democrat president gets to appoint his replacement instead.
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 1d
Then the Republicans will force the seat to stay open until they have another fascist in office and the democrats won’t do anything to push back
chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Not with a trifecta
newthrowaway20@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 1d
"The kick backs and perks are just too good!"
unspkbl_horror@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 1d
Every photo i've seen of this guy in the last decade he always looks sunburned
qarbone@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 1d
It's the fires of hell gently broiling his face
CareHare@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 1d
One could assume an illness/lifestyle may be the cause of that redness.
SGGeorwell@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Knowing Washington, it’s definitely booze.
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 1d
Trollito is one of the worst, but I find it hilarious that he's staying, as that may prevent someone younger and who is even worse, taking his place in a lifetime position.
I hope all the old cons in there decide to stick around until Democrats get to pick their replacements. 😆
in_my_honest_opinion@piefed.social · 2 pts · 1d
Or Congress could just pack the court, there's nothing that says how many Justices there should be
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 23h
I'd be happy either way - as long as the cons don't get their way.
If they get their way, they'll install the youngest possible person they could get away with that was groomed by the Heritage Foundation since they were a fetus...
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net · 7 pts · 1d
Interesting. Everyone expected him to retire to secure the seat for another fascist for couple more decades. Especially with the midterms looking really bad for Republicans he should step down so they can appoint someone quickly. I see two options here:
It's probably 1.
NekoKoneko@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
I think 1 as well. He's pulling an RBG. But of course the difference is, if Alito misses his chance to easily replace himself with another conservative, the court is still majority right-wing. Every swing helps though.
swade2569@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1d
Honestly not sure how to feel at the news. Love to see him gone, hate to see whatever new evil comes with the replacement.
damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1d
RGB stayed, so why wouldn’t he?
Not that I want him to. But there’s no reason for him to go without changing the face of the country and the world for the next 50 years.
zikzak025@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1d
From the Republican perspective, they'd want him to step down so Trump could appoint another younger judge who can lock in a conservative seat on the court for many more years to come.
Him staying runs the same risk as RBG staying: dying or being forced to retire early when a Democrat is in the White House, who would then nominate a less conservative judge.
Zaktor@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 1d
It's a small blessing that such a careless expression of ego is bipartisan so he too might be able to die when it will change the political composition of the court.
Almacca@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 1d
There's still work to be done to make the USA even more of a regressive hell-hole, I guess.
notsure@fedia.io · 3 pts · 1d
Thurgood Marshall turned in his grave when Clarence was approved. Earl Warren was the dynamo that energizes the senate heater.
savvie@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 1d
Nolito
switcheroo@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
"I am not done with my treasoning and need more money for being a corrupt parasitic piece of shit"
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Justices...uh... have terms now? can we start enforcing that?!
Kayday@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
They don't have term limits, which is what you'd want to enforce I imagine.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
they don't have terms, either. If they did, they'd be leaving unless the current president re-appoints them.