Thursday, June 26, 2008

Scalia

I think Dalia Lithwick perfectly captures the essence of today''s Supreme Court ruling on the second amendment:
At Slate’s Breakfast Table discussion, Dahlia Lithwick uses the occasion to tweak Justice Scalia, who wrote the majority opinion: “I must first pass along this rather brilliant observation from professor Stephen Wermiel from American University, who wonders why none of the dissenters cautioned the majority that today’s decision ‘will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.’ (Boumediene, Scalia, J. dissenting.)”
Scalia might just be the most dangerous person in American, and perhaps even the world.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Because guns also protect people from getting killed. The possibility of getting shot will deter burglars, muggers, or violent felons who would have been armed against their otherwise unarmed victims.

In Boumediene, by contrast, the release will almost certainly be a one way thing: released terrorists will return to the battlefield, causing even more carnage. The best you can hope for is no net deaths. The likely probablity will be SOME net deaths, which makes Scalia exactly correct that more American deaths will result as a consequence of releasing detainees who successfully challenge their detention.

Lithwick is being silly; and you're being credulous by accepting such weak reasoning at face value.