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Monday, April 28, 2008

Supreme Sophisticate

[via ThinkProgress]

Every Movement Conservative's favorite Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia appeared on 60 Minutes last night. Here he is playing high-school debate team word games around the subject of the Constitutionality of torture. Like most conservatives he seems to think there's something clever and even cute about these sorts of antics. This is the country we live in now. Smell it.
LESLIE STAHL: If someone’s in custody, as in Abu Ghraib, and they are brutalized, by a law enforcement person -— if you listen to the expression “cruel and unusual punishment,” doesn’t that apply?

SCALIA: No. To the contrary. You think — Has anybody ever referred to torture as punishment? I don’t think so.

STAHL: Well I think if you’re in custody, and you have a policeman who’s taken you into custody –-

SCALIA: And you say he’s punishing you? What’s he punishing you for? … When he’s hurting you in order to get information from you, you wouldn’t say he’s punishing you. What is he punishing you for?


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