This was posted under another topic, so I am moving it to its own. I am posting your comments as long as they do not evolve into a partisan political discussion.
It's also possible the man is telling the truth - he wants to go back to his farm and enjoy it while he is still relatively "young."
Comment Author divvi Comment Time 2 hours ago edit delete
........ am i nuts ? but is that the 'look' in the retiring supreme court judge Souters face??? (AD?)...you have to wonder why they give up those lifetime posts unless they are ill. i am just speculating why hes leaving- divvi
10yrs as a layman seeing the slow changes in facial/mental/physical conditions sometimes gives us insight into what others dont see i do think. it will be interesting to see but the 'look' is quite distinctive in my book. we'll see vickie, if we have intuitive feelings or not.. :)time will tell-divvi
You know, I went back and googled him and looked at images, and I agree! Didn't think I would. Then I went to youtube and saw some gentleman saying Obama was pushing him out because Obama doesn't want the Supremes to take on the case of whether or not he (Obama) is really an American citizen. ;-(
Divvi, etc. I just compared the recent photo of David Souter with some taken 3 years ago. I agree with your analysis. He sure looks like he has AD, or some related problem.
OMG we are going to be "analyzing everybody" now. But, I know what you mean. I haven't thought about the Justice but find myself analyzing everybody I meet who is over 70.
I haven't really looked at any Souter photos, I'll pay attention now. Do some of you remember the elderly driver who ran down & killed a lot of people at the farmer's market in Santa Monica CA. Because it's nearby, it was all over the local news, over and over. When I saw the man get out of the car with that 'smile' on his face, the one that says, "I have no idea why I'm here or where I am, but I'll put on a friendly smile as if I do,' I believed that the driver had AD or some other dementia. Witnesses called it a smirk. In the courtroom he had no response to photos of people he hit on his car, DUH, he didn't remember, jurors thought he was cold and uncaring, no one believed his foot froze on the gas & not the brake. It was so freakin' obvious, but neither his defense nor his family ever said anything--embarrassment? stigma? He was convicted, but because of his age served no jail time, as I recall. I haven't seen or heard anything about him since, it's been 2 yrs, I may have missed any news, but the world did not see what I know many families saw. I know that those of us in the trenches can smell it!
P.S. As an aside, a gas station attendant was interviewed about Souter who came in to get gas for decades. When asked what he remembered about Souter, the man said that he never, never saw him with another human being.
Bettyhere, re: the gas station attendant's comment about Souter's chosen solitude.... It occurred to me that a person who chose a life like he has might have less compassion for 'people'...the subjects under the law. I have often said that our government needed more compassion for people and their circumstances when they passed various bills and less partianship and the 'what's in it for me attitude. Otherwise, we might just place bills into a computer and let them be sorted and filed and accepted or not.
Maybe a computer would be more intelligent, on second thought, than some of the Bozos in Washington.
Read some info on Souter after the initial posts and it confirmed he lived a solitary life in a spartan Washington DC apartment and often proclaimed his dislike for Washington. Can a bitter, unhappy man be an effective judge at any level anywhere?
I never got the impression Souter was bitter, just unhappy. If you live much of your life outside a city, moving to one is a major disruption for anyone. Obama said, of the replacement:
"I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives," he said. "I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes."
Souter's letter gives no clue: When the Supreme Court rises for the summer recess this year, I intend to retire from regular active service as a Justice, under the provisions of 28 US.C. ยง 371(b)(l), having attained the age and met the service requirements of subsection(c) of that section. I mean to continue to render substantial judicial service as an Associate Justice.
I misspoke...I agree nothing I've read or seen would indicate he is bitter. I just felt he has a solitary life and had demnostrated a lack of interest in the social scene, whether it means 'one special person', or larger venues.
I lived in Rhode Islands for two years, and couldn't help but notice that some of the natives there were not as open and chatty as most Southerners who will talk with anyone about anything at anytime. I've never known anyone from the New Hampshire area, but wonder if some of his personality could be due to the characteristics of his surroundings and the people he grew up with.
Since many of us are dealing with "enforced" isolation from people in general and specifically losing our spouses, I suspect it might make the idea of wanting to be alone (but not lonely) harder to understand. PatB
Pat, I think you're on to something. I am definitely a loner--not like Souter, not at all, but I am not normally lonely. I think that has been my nature but it became more so as I spent years immersed in AD. I don't mean to be dismissive or intolerant, but sometimes the inane chatter at parties, the smallness of gossip leaves me with nothing to say. I think AD forces you to focus on the importance of the bottom line and everything else is so much chaff. Maybe it's our loss, but I'd rather read a book, research something, take a nap--whatever. And certainly I do not want to be alone 24/7 w/out family and others around, I'm really very social, but sometimes as a great lady once said, "I vant to be alone." I understand that.
I understand what you're saying, Bettyhere. I'm the same way. I'm definitely a loner - but not lonely. And I am social too - but doesn't bother me to be alone. I can always find something to do. I'm only lonely for my DH - the way he was before Alz.
I'm the same. I've loved my moments of solitude, which have been pretty few and far between over the years. I love to be alone in a crowd, but I hate to be WITH someone in that same crowd!! The streets of New York, for instance - well, not Saks at Christmas; that makes me claustrophobic - but I love being alone in the city. I love not having to be responsible for anyone else when I travel. I love being off on a walk on the island alone, and Souter apparently does too. But I read in Wikipedia:
Souter was attacked by two youths in what appeared to be a random incident when jogging home at night in 2004. He managed to fend off these attackers using the martial arts skills he developed while attending Harvard.
I was thinking when you were all posting about him being a "loner" (and he was one of only 6 bachelors ever to serve on the Supreme Court) that he was probably gay, and never wanted to be outed (especially possible world view for a prominent person from that generation). Then when briegull mentioned him being "randomly attacked" for no reason -- well, that sounds like a classic gay-bashing incident in which the victim does not want to admit why he was targeted.
It will be interesting to see if you who think he has AD are proven to be correct. But it is also possible that he's being forced out for some political reason, the way they got rid of Arthur Goldberg decades ago. Obviously, for his sake that would be a preferable scenario rather than him having the illness. Time will tell.
I went to the website Catherine posted about being a loner. If you haven't read it, you may not be able to connect w/what I'm saying, especially if you're an extrovert. I don't think I am quite that extreme--certainly not like Souter, but for the most part the description fits. I've often been told I'm aloof. That surprises me because I am friendly, compassionate and caring. I've never felt there was anything wrong w/being a loner, just the way I was and comfortable about it, I never tried to change, but this article shone a light. Thanks, Catherine. One never knows what one may learn on this web site.
Glad you enjoyed it! It describes me to a "T" and the first time I read it I was so impressed with the author's insight. I too am friendly and compassionate but I am an introvert and have most of the charateristics that the author described.
Remember that plenty of people get beat up by muggers at night in DC. One journalist was killed (?) and others were hit, and they're the only ones that made news. I know people in government who are gay and do not advertise that fact so I'm not particularly arguing against you, simply saying that muggers don't need reasons in the city. I visited there in 2007 and wanted to walk about half a mile back to my friend's house after theatre on a main neighborhood street. Friend absolutely forbid it; I had to call to get picked up.
If you haven't read the article at the website that Betty posted, you might want to know that, according to the author, introverts are: "more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts." On those grounds, all of us here are probably introverts. I know I am.