Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (Audio posted at BBC and NPR)
"It seems to me you have to say, as unlikely as that is, it would be absurd to say you couldn't, I don't know, stick something under the fingernail, smack him in the face. It would be absurd to say you couldn't do that,"
"I suppose it's the same thing about so-called torture," he said in the interview. "Is it really so easy to determine that smacking someone in the face to find out where he has hidden the bomb that is about to blow up Los Angeles is prohibited by the Constitution?
"Is it obvious, that what can't be done for punishment can't be done to exact information that is crucial to the society? I think it's not at all an easy question, to tell you the truth."
"Europeans get really quite self-righteous, you know, (saying) 'no civilized society uses it.' They used it themselves — 30 years ago," he said, adding that a majority of Europeans probably supported capital punishment anyway.
"I don't look to their law, why do they look to mine?" he said.
"We don't pretend to be Western mullahs who decide what is right and wrong for the whole world," he said in the broadcast.
"I'm very tender," he said.
I realized that this place gets a little touchy when it comes to Nazi portrayals and comparisons... if I jumped the shark, so be it, flame away, Godwin's Law be dammned. My late father, God rest his soul, went to war to put an end to this shit. Those of you who read what I write here know that I very rarely if ever resort to profanity, but I say from the bottom of my heart and with every last breath of pride in my country, "Fuck you, Antonin Scalia." I am not a government scholar, but surely there is something in place to censure or disbar your ass.
I realize that Keith Olbermann is busy with Tweety covering the Potomac primaries... but Keith, if you're watching, I think that this at least merits worst person in your next broadcast... or possibly a special comment.
The primaries are really exciting, and I hope your candidate does well... but I also hope that this shows everyone that no matter who wins this thing and ultimately the presidency... we have a very long way to go. Sorry for the profanity.