To paraphrase Mark Twain, Justice Samuel Alito’s retirement has been “much exaggerated.” Yesterday, my phone exploded with calls from reporters about the scoop by NPR’s Nina Totenberg that Alito had retired. As someone who has covered the Court for 30 years and was in the midst of covering yesterday’s opinions for Fox News, it was enough to trigger a panic attack. I had been told that Alito had selected his clerks for the next term and was not retiring. Then NPR issued a retraction that Totenberg was wrong and Alito was still showing signs of judicial life. It turns out that it came down to the perils of pluralization for the press.
NPR issued a retraction stating:
“Earlier today, we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. Neither Alito nor the court’s public information office has announced his retirement, and we have retracted the story.”
To her credit, Totenberg later went on “All Things Considered” to apologize for what she called a “rookie mistake.”
The explanation was even more surprising than the mistake itself. I had assumed that Totenberg had gotten a mistaken account from a justice or high-ranking court official. Instead, she explained in a letter to Justice Alito that
“I rushed out of the courtroom after the opinion announcements, and when I realized that the usual rush of folks after a few minutes had not happened, I asked somebody was going on inside, to which the answer was, ‘retirement announcements.’ I didn’t hear the ‘s’ on ‘announcements,’ and I assumed, something no reporter should ever do, that you were retiring. It was the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years in journalism. I could go on, but I don’t know what else to say, except that I am so, so sorry.”
So it came down to the mistaken pluralization from an account of a third party leaving the chamber?
It is particularly bizarre that Totenberg would run with a story without confirming not only the retirement but also the actual justice. There has also been speculation that Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Sonia Sotomayor might retire. The story came across as more wishful thinking than loose reporting.
While it may be what Totenberg considers “the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years in journalism,” it is not the first such controversy.
I previously wrote about another challenged Totenberg scoop. As is often the case with Totenberg, the conservative was the villain.
After striking down the Biden vaccine mandate for workplaces, Totenberg triggered a frenzy over Gorsuch not wearing a mask at oral arguments:
“Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up. They all did. Except Gorsuch, who, as it happens, sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. His continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices’ weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone.”
It did not matter that Totenberg had previously attacked Gorsuch. The media showed the same hair-triggered response in taking the story viral.
Gorsuch did appear in the last argument in the term without a mask. Ironically, if he had simply worn a commonly used cloth mask, there would have been no outcry, even though the masks do not appear to block the virus, and even CNN’s experts were calling them “little more than facial decorations.”
It is also unclear whether Sotomayor even knew whether anyone or everyone would wear masks during the argument. She had previously stated an intention to participate remotely. Given the lack of protection from most masks (including reused or contaminated N95 masks), Sotomayor likely felt the risk was not worth taking. Yet, Totenberg stated as a fact that Gorsuch’s “continued refusal since then has … meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices’ weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone.”
Her story led to a torrent of criticism from other liberal outlets. MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace declared Gorsuch guilty of “anti-mask insanity.” Her colleague Joy Reid accused Gorsuch of virtually standing Sotomayor up in front of a COVID firing squad for his personal enjoyment. Rolling Stone ran with the story “Neil Gorsuch Stands Up for His Right to Endanger Sonia Sotomayor’s Health,” and added “the liberal Supreme Court justice is diabetic and didn’t want to sit next to justices who weren’t wearing masks. Her conservative colleague didn’t care.”
Former senator Claire McCaskill tweeted:
So glad I voted no on this jerk. What kind of guy does this? I could tell in my meeting with him that he thought he was better than everyone else, more important, smarter. Ugh. #Gorsuch
The Daily Kos declared
“it is hard to imagine a bigger shit. But we should not be surprised…Most Americans will find his selfishness incredible, but it is typical of his kind. One trait common to every conservative is a sociopathic lack of empathy.”
Elie Mystal, who has written for Above the Law and the Nation, tweeted
Confirmation of what we all already knew. Whatever you think about masks, Gorsuch, who sits next to Sotomayor at work, just decided to be a dick to a colleague.
Then came the denial of all three justices.
Chief Justice John Roberts also issued a statement that it was false, as claimed, that he asked any of his colleagues to wear masks on the bench. Indeed, previously the justices did not wear masks during arguments. Moreover, Gorsuch is routinely shown wearing a mask around the courthouse.
The joint statement of the two justices insists that Totenberg’s account is entirely false:
“Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.”
Yet when NPR’s ombudsman, Kelly McBride, merely suggested that Totenberg clarify the facts of her story, Totenberg attacked her. Totenberg responded to The Daily Beast and declared that McBride “can write any goddamn thing she wants, whether or not I think it’s true.”
This is part of an unfortunate pattern, it seems. There is a story today about the PA House of Representatives (the lower house of the state-level legislature), in which a Republican wore a patriotic suit – colored red, white, and blue – on the House floor. The House is controlled by Dems, 102-101. It had previously encouraged thematic attire, such as pride colors. But the patriotic colors were a no-go for the Dem leadership. The Speaker booted him out when he refused to change into less-patriotic colors.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/see-it-pennsylvania-democrats-boot-gop-lawmaker-from-house-floor-over-patriotic-america-250-suit
So ANTIFA s just a bunch of nice kids. Maybe not!
_______________________________
Andy Ngo reports:
Far-left extremists are making violent death threats against two federal Texas judges after they handed down long prison sentences to convicted members of a North Texas Antifa terror cell.
The threats followed last week’s first batch of sentencing where eight convicts received prison terms ranging from 30 years to 100 years after becoming the first defendants convicted in a federal Antifa terrorism case in U.S. history.
The threats are being directed at U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman and Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor.
So what?
DustOff,
But, we were told antifa did not exist or was just an idea!
Seems that idea did not like when their little buddies got caught trying to carry out assault and murder of LEOs, were arrested, charged, given a trial, found guilty and are now serving their well deserved sentences.
If the old rumors about Totenberg being an earlier version of Kamala Harris are true, Totenberg’s best sources on the Court have been dead for decades. She already got Obama to name her younger sister, who’s now 75, a federal judgeship in Atlanta. Maybe it is time for her swan song.
Relevance?
Totenberg is 82 years old. It might be time for ‘her’ retirement. Seniors can get sloppy by 82. They’re not as sharp at that age. Totenberg is possibly in the early stages of dementia.
And this is a good time to ask ourselves if an 80 year old should really be in the White House. Common sense suggests that Trump is way to old to serve out this term.
Except that the reality doesn’t fit the stereotype. Trump is incredibly active, sleeps maybe 4 hours a night, and is in charge of every meeting. His younger aides can barely keep up with him. He is a force of nature.
None of that is to say I support his policies (which I do, but that’s beside the point), only that your reasoning is defective: you suggest that an average 80 year old would not be up to the task – which is true – but that is irrelevant because Trump is not an average 80 year old, which is all that really matters.
oldman
So you have bought into the MAGA myth that Trump hardly sleeps because he is working so hard. Figures, since you are a full blown MAGA cultist.
Trump does not sleep much at night, that is true. But it is not because he is working. The plain truth is that he is up all night posting like a madman on his stupid Truth Social site. The evidence is there for all to see. Simply look at the time stamps on his posts. He stays up all night furiously posting on Truth Social, and then sleeps during the day.
And he never starts working until 11:00am. If you look at his daily calendar posted online, he always has “executive time” until 11:00am every day. What exactly does he do during this executive time? He watches TV, especially Fox. How do we know this? Because he frequently calls in to the Fox morning shows, and he almost always posts things on Truth Social that are covered in the Fox morning shows.
He is by far the laziest president we have ever had.
Assuming Everything you claim is true – which it isn’t SO WHAT ?
Reagan spent the least amount of time of any modern president actively engaged in presidential activity and was the very sucessful MAGA resident of the 20th century. He inherited a $hit economy with recessions ever 3 years double digit inflation and the highest misery index is history. When he left office the US was in a protracted boom that lasted until 2008 – the longest continuous period of prosperity in US history. Globally the US went from post vietnam weakness to strngth. While the actual collapse of the USSR did not occur until Bush took office – it was reagans policies that brought it about.
No one would have given a schiff that Biden was demented – but for th fact that he was also a massive FAILURE.
Trump is not ‘lazy” – He takes questions from the press every day – Biden did – once a year.
Trump is not demented.
He is not the other things you claim.
But if he were WHO CARES ?
The country is improving – more slowly then many of us hoped – but improving nonetheless. Half of the losses working class people experienced under Biden have been regained.
Trump is president – as Harry Truman said – “The buck stops here” – he gets the credit or the blame for everything.
Do you really think your idiotic ad hoinem attacks are anything anyone cares about ?
The attacks on Biden Worked – because he was an abysmally poor president.
it honesty does not matter if he was demented or incompetent – or it was just the left wing nut children running the country who were incompetent. What matters is that he failed.
Wow, just wow !!!!
Talk about obfuscation and deflection by the equally demented John Say.
Everything I said about Trump is absolutely and unequivocally, beyond any shadow of doubt absolutely true.
The evidence is there for anyone to see. He stays up all night maniacally posting nonsense on Truth Social. Look for yourself at the time stamps.
He spends all morning watching TV and NEVER has anything scheduled until 11:00am. Look at his daily schedule.
And look at his Truth Social posts every morning. They track exactly with topics discussed on the Fox morning shows, and he often calls in to those shows.
Ranting about Reagan and Obama and Biden does not change the absolutely unassailable fact that Trump is by far the laziest and least engaged president we have ever had.
Ano
Everything I said about Trump is absolutely and unequivocally, beyond any shadow of doubt absolutely true.
_______________________
Really.
Show us PROOF.
You have none, just an opinion.
Why don’t you research the claim dustoff so you can rebuff it? Or are you too stupid and lazy?
These comments are nothing but nonsense! If you think Trump is the laziest president I sadly would accuse you of an atrophied mind! Watch his cabinet meetings and compare them to anything Joe Biden did … opps — Biden didn’t really have any meetings! The laziest president? Hardly!
BTW – I sleep 5 hrs a night and am 80 years old and still work full time. Sad but true in a way but thankfully, I can keep up and I hope this will continue. So yes, there are exceptions to every rule. Retirement is overrated if you have an active mind. Go to senior living places and ask residents if they like filling their days with all the planned activities that have little consequence. It might be good to slow down but this isn’t the answer for everyone. I am writing at 3:12 am so there really are people who live late hours and get up with less sleep that 8 hours and are quite productive.
Like you I’m 74. And only sleep a few hours per night.
Like many older folks do.
These poor fools are just spitting in the wind.
LOL,, poor ano.
You have zero proof that Prez Trump is not an active person.
All you poor libs can do is cry. Yet ALL of you said over and over. Biden was sharp as a tack. But the videos proved you all were liars.
Ger over yourself. Prez Trump is going NO-where.
Enjoy the 4th you cry-baby
And you have zero proof that is what you claim. You are a habitual liar.
Old man, what are you babbling about?? Trump has been caught on camera many times sleeping through meetings and public events. Trump, in fact, had a habit of sleeping at the defense table during his famous fraud trial. No wonder he was convicted! What’s more, Trump’s many false pronouncements, during this war with Iran, raise serious questions about his mental sharpness. It appears he lacks the attention span to manage a war.
So what ?
ATS – Trump was aquitted – not by the NYC jury – but by the jury of th american people in Nov. 2024.
You still fail to grasp that – you threw tons of $hit at him and accomplished nothing.
With respect to Iran – or most of What Trump says – that does not matter either.
The straits of Hormuz are open – more ships passed through today than yesterday – and yesterday was a record,
Oil is down to $62/bbl. I paid $3.14/gal last time I filled up – it is probably lower now – many economists are talking gas at $2.50 by October – or sooner.
The “deal” with Iran will be on and off and on an off. They will do something stupid – we will bomb a bit more,
absent oil spiking again – few people will pay attention.
Everything Trump wants out of “the deal” he has right now. The purpose of any Deal is to allow US troops to draw down with a reasonable expectation that Iran will not rebuild its nuclear program or close the straights of fund terrorist proxies.
And even that – Iran has a Trillion dollars of damage to repair – while preserving an economy for 90M people who are restive and who have assassinated half a dozen IRGC leaders in the past few days.
Iran can rebuild its nuclear program, close the straits, rebuild its missle and drone programs and fund terrorist proxies and mollify a very angry population.
But it can not do all of those at once. And if it does not focus on its people right now – it will not get the chance to do anything else.
No actually written deal is necescary. This is simple – Trump won.
Iran can behave – or the US can come back and pound on its leaders some more.
The problem with the JCPOA was not the terms – it was that it was a fig leaf Obama was not going to enforce it – and the world knew that
John Say is full on bat sh!t crazy. Trump won? What did he win? We are still ‘negotiating’ with Iran and they still control the strait of Hormuz. Now Oman is joining Iran in tolling ships crossing the strait.
Trump is a moron who can’t deal his way out of this mess he created.
Obama’s JCPOA was being enforced and iran was complying. It was still complying for a year after Trump tore up the JCPOA. He has not secured any of Iran’s uranium, he lifted sanctions against them, proposed $300 Billion in reconstruction money while losing billions in sophisticated weapons losing U.S. bases in the region and losing the trust of Middle East allies. That’s not a winning. That’s pure incompetence. Trump wants to walk away from the war and he can’t. Because Iran won’t let him.
I’m sure you all noticed that in the fulfillment of their pledge to cover the NEWS fairly and without any biases, it was NPR who demanded that Nina break the story on Hunter’s million dollar a year job, sitting his Bhind down at board meetings to share his infinite knowledge in a field about which he knew NOSSING!
Bye bye Ms. American Pie…
Do they have, should they have, the freedom to do so?
Does God have a right to kill us if he wants to?
Would doing so prove the Founding Fathers wrong?
No, it wouldn’t.
I SUPPOSE IF GOD is GOD, He probably can do as He pleases. Coincidentally, it appears that GOD isn’t overly anxious to kill people in cold blood, you know? As C.S. Lewis once wrote in the Screwtape Letters, “it does seem as if the ‘our father from below’ really does love the vile little creatures.” Wornwood, Senior Account Manager in His service