Replacing Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

[Ethel mermania]

“When we enacted that program, the average age of death was 47. And now it’s 80. You know, things have changed, so we need to change with them,” Carson said.

Idiot. One would think a doctor would know how to accurately measure life expectancy, but noooooo.

I am not sure which idiot you are referring to. Life expectancy in the US is around 80

[NPCA]

What a shame. He was a good defender of our constitution and now Obama will take this as his opportunity to strip us of our rights by appointing his own justice.

Justices should be elected by the people.

[Geilinor]

What a shame. He was a good defender of our constitution and now Obama will take this as his opportunity to strip us of our rights by appointing his own justice.

Justices should be elected by the people.

The selection of justices is already too politicized and popularly electing them will make it worse. We need to focus more on professional qualifications and not politics or litmus tests.

[Celseon]

What a shame. He was a good defender of our constitution and now Obama will take this as his opportunity to strip us of our rights by appointing his own justice.

Justices should be elected by the people.

Isn't the reasoning behind not having the justices on the SCOTUS elected that having them appointed would shield them from the winds of political change? The Supreme Court is still very much political, but wouldn't your proposal simply make it even more so?

[Fartsniffage]

Idiot. One would think a doctor would know how to accurately measure life expectancy, but noooooo.

I am not sure which idiot you are referring to. Life expectancy in the US is around 80

Life expectancy back in the day took into account the huge number of people who died in infancy. If you take those out then the expectancy is not far off what we have today.

[AiliailiA]

Should be median not average: life expectancy at birth is the age half the cohort is expected to have died by.

I thought life expectancy was the mean but maybe I had that wrong.

Or maybe I'm wrong. In any case, life expectancy AT BIRTH is a silly measure to quote when talking about how long an adult is expected to live. I'm pretty sure the authors of the constitution weren't imagining the appointment of suckling babes to the Supreme Court.

[Donald Trump 4 2016]

Now we have to talk about who will replace him....

Let the NEXT President choose because Obama will choose a liberal and the Republican Controlled Senate has already said that they'll basically reject whoever he chooses, resulting in it being a big fat waste of time!

Once I'm elected, I'll put another Conservative like Scalia in and this whole mess will be resoled!

#MakeAmericaGreatAgain

[Godular]

Different cultures, different needs. So long as there is a discrepancy in how different groups are treated, there will be a need for such countermeasures. If one wishes to end affirmative action, stop championing those wretched voucher initiatives and related nonsense.

So you'll pardon me if I note that the things you purport to support simply ain't up there in regards to fundamental human rights and the right to control one's own body. As for arguing for what is of interest to yourself, I'm in favor of abortion rights yet also male, and in favor of same sex marriage even though I'm not homosexual. These things should be of no interest to me whatsoever, so why would I hold such views?

I guess treating others with respect just doesn't come naturally?

If people are to be treated equally under the law, isn't treating them differently a contradiction?

Not at all. Like I said, equality under the law does not mean that everyone must be treated exactly the same as everyone else. Some people need additional considerations in order to be functioning members of society. Women need additional considerations when it comes to reproductive freedom because the ramifications and potential complications of intercourse are far more dire in their case than for men. Certain individuals with mobility issues might require a ramp or elevator to get to their place of work. Certain individuals from low-income populations might need a bit more scrutiny in their efforts to get into college, but it is still on them to actually PASS college.

This does not trample upon the rights of those who do not benefit from such measures, so much as level the playing field by assisting those who have difficulties functioning 'just like everybody else', whether due to biological, cultural, or financial causes.

[NPCA]

What a shame. He was a good defender of our constitution and now Obama will take this as his opportunity to strip us of our rights by appointing his own justice.

Justices should be elected by the people.

Isn't the reasoning behind not having the justices on the SCOTUS elected that having them appointed would shield them from the winds of political change? The Supreme Court is still very much political, but wouldn't your proposal simply make it even more so?

Democracy should be expanded to include the Supreme Court. Chnage will come faster because of the people deciding on things.

[The Princes of the Universe]

Isn't the reasoning behind not having the justices on the SCOTUS elected that having them appointed would shield them from the winds of political change? The Supreme Court is still very much political, but wouldn't your proposal simply make it even more so?

Democracy should be expanded to include the Supreme Court. Chnage will come faster because of the people deciding on things.

The United States never was and isn't now a democracy.
Also, I seriously doubt you would have anything but contempt for the kinds of changes that would be coming in the next decade under your plan anyway.

[Donald Trump 4 2016]

What a shame. He was a good defender of our constitution and now Obama will take this as his opportunity to strip us of our rights by appointing his own justice.

Justices should be elected by the people.

No, what we need to do is keep things balanced for now. If I am elected, I will appoint a great conservative like Scalia as the new justice. If we let the liberals take control of the Supreme Court, we're gonna face some struggles in the short-term future.

#MakeAmericaGreatAgain

[NPCA]

Democracy should be expanded to include the Supreme Court. Chnage will come faster because of the people deciding on things.

The United States never was and isn't now a democracy.
Also, I seriously doubt you would have anything but contempt for the kinds of changes that would be coming in the next decade under your plan anyway.

It is a democracy, but it's corrupted by Obama and we can't let this great nation fall into the hands of liberals.

[The Princes of the Universe]

The United States never was and isn't now a democracy.

It is a democracy, but it's corrupted by Obama and we can't let this great nation fall into the hands of liberals.

Among other things, the existence of the Electoral College proves you wrong.

[Hurdegaryp]

That's some great satire going on in this thread at the moment!

It is satire, right?

[Al-Portug]

Democracy should be expanded to include the Supreme Court. Chnage will come faster because of the people deciding on things.

The United States never was and isn't now a democracy.
Also, I seriously doubt you would have anything but contempt for the kinds of changes that would be coming in the next decade under your plan anyway.

It's called a representative democracy.

[The Princes of the Universe]

It's called a representative democracy.

On paper, it's a constitutional republic. In practice, it's been an oligarchy from the get-go.

[NPCA]

It is a democracy, but it's corrupted by Obama and we can't let this great nation fall into the hands of liberals.

Among other things, the existence of the Electoral College proves you wrong.

The Electoral College is there to represent the people. It is also part of our representative democracy.

[AiliailiA]

What a shame. He was a good defender of our constitution and now Obama will take this as his opportunity to strip us of our rights by appointing his own justice.

Justices should be elected by the people.

The selection of justices is already too politicized and popularly electing them will make it worse. We need to focus more on professional qualifications and not politics or litmus tests.

All the recent appointments have been qualified, to any likely standard you'd get written into a law or constitutional amendment.

Choosing the MOST qualified would be good, but for that I don't think you'd ask the Senate or the President. You'd ask the senior judiciary.

Now I'm disinclined to give the judiciary that much power. Perhaps let circuit court judges choose a short list of 3 candidates (by proportional representation so they're not 3 very similar judges). One left, one right, one independent roughly. Then the Senate would vote on which one they wanted.

(Oh, I seem to have left out the President, what a shame)

[The Princes of the Universe]

Among other things, the existence of the Electoral College proves you wrong.

The Electoral College is there to represent the people. It is also part of our representative democracy.

The sole, single, solitary, exclusive purpose of the Electoral College was to keep presidential elections out of the hands of the people. The states have, however, subverted this to a degree.

[AiliailiA]

Among other things, the existence of the Electoral College proves you wrong.

The Electoral College is there to represent the people. It is also part of our representative democracy.

It's a ridiculous boondoggle. The best that can be said for it is that it roughly approximates the popular vote.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the subject.

[Ethel mermania]

I am not sure which idiot you are referring to. Life expectancy in the US is around 80

Life expectancy back in the day took into account the huge number of people who died in infancy. If you take those out then the expectancy is not far off what we have today.

Even so you were living into your late 60's, not 90's. That doesn't make Carson an idiot. I agree with him. I want term limits on all elected and appointed officials.

[Gauthier]

That doesn't make Carson an idiot.

Claiming the Pyramids were built to store grain on the other hand...

[Stoic Melancholics]

That doesn't make Carson an idiot.

Claiming the Pyramids were built to store grain on the other hand...

Cut Carson some slack, hes probably whacked out on illegal amounts of xanax and morphine.

[The Princes of the Universe]

That doesn't make Carson an idiot.

True. Thinking being gay is a choice, however...

I agree with him. I want term limits on all elected and appointed officials.

Broken clock, etc.

[Ifreann]

Democracy should be expanded to include the Supreme Court. Chnage will come faster because of the people deciding on things.

The United States never was and isn't now a democracy.

The United States is and always has been a democracy.