Justice Scalia's Holiday Gift Guide By Peter Landers November 19, 2012
Justice Antonin Scalia would like people to buy his new book-a "significant" once-in-a-century work, in his view-but even before that, he thinks there are two works every American should read. The two are the "Federalist Papers," the 1787-88 defense of the Constitution written mostly by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," said the justice in a weekend appearance at the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group holding its annual Washington meeting. Justice Scalia had the packed crowd in the palm of his hand, drawing frequent laughter as he mixed crusty denunciations of present-day American culture with one-liners and a joke about a bishop and a rabbi. In the curmudgeonly category, the 76-year-old jurist said he was pained to hear "the illiterates who communicate with the public" on airlines. He objected in particular to an on-board announcement in which a flight attendant said it was "required that your luggage is under the seat in front of you." (The justice apparently preferred the subjunctive "be" in place of "is.") Later, when asked what books every American should read, he pronounced it a "disgrace" that so few people are familiar with the Federalist Papers. It's not good enough to read just the famous installments like No. 48, in which Madison warned against the legislature "drawing all power into its impetuous vortex," Justice Scalia said; one must read the work cover to cover. ... http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/11/19/justice-scalias-holiday-gift-guide/ _______________________________________________ Please be sure to include a URL to the article. Reply to the sender with a "Thank you" if you like this post. _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
