Scalia a 'Caricature' of Himself

Antonin Scalia's ranting dissent to yesterday's Arizona immigration ruling was sort of sad, writes law professor Paul Campos at Salon. It was "written by a man who obviously no longer cares that he sounds increasingly like a right-wing talk radio host," and that his opinions are beginning to read "like hastily drafted blog posts." The justice, once a talented legal mind and observer of liberal hypocrisy, "has, in his old age, become an increasingly intolerant and intolerable blowhard," and a "caricature of his younger self."

"The Supreme Court continues to devolve into an institution dominated by cranky senior citizens, who are harder to get rid of than the longest-serving members of the old Soviet politburo." Even if you don't agree with Scalia's politics—and Campos doesn't—it's unpleasant to see him decline. As a baseball and literature fan, he should read Updike's piece on Ted Williams' retirement. "He knew how to do even that, the hardest thing," Updike wrote: "Quit." Read Campos' full column here. (More Antonin Scalia stories.)