It’s hard not to mention Michael Kinsley’s column on “Sex Lives of Supreme Court Justices,” in which the former editor wrote:
Now that the sex lives of Supreme Court justices have become grist for commentators, we are finally free to discuss a question formerly only whispered about in the shadows: Why does Justice Antonin Scalia, by common consent the leading intellectual force on the Court, have nine children? Is this normal? Or should I say ‘normal,’ as some people choose to define it? Can he represent the views of ordinary Americans when he practices such a minority lifestyle? After all, having nine children is far more unusual in this country than, say, being a lesbian.
I thought of comic things to say about Kinsley’s line. And depressed things to say.
But, in fact, all that seems worth mentioning is the comment left on one report about it that transmitted the rumor that the FT blogger The Anchoress is married to Justice Scalia: “His wife who blogs here Is a very devout catholic and i’m reasonably sure was happy with having lots of kids. If extremely intelligent, talented people want to have loads of children, more power to them.”
A nice comment, in its way, but you all know, don’t you, that our Elizabeth Scalia is not actually the Mrs. Scalia who’s married to the justice? That woman’s name is Maureen McCarthy Scalia.
Reminds me of the man at a conference I attended some years ago who told me, oh so confidentially, that Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard and the actor Billy Crystal were brothers, with Crystal changing the spelling of his last name as the result of, as I remember, a coin flip.
I replied that it not only wasn’t true but was nutty on its face: What parents would name both their sons William? Whereupon the rumor-teller became irate.
And rightly so. Woe to those who deprive us of our truths so much better than the actual truth could be.
May 19th, 2010 | 12:43 am
Alright, the next thing you’re going to write is that she’s not really an anchoress!
May 19th, 2010 | 12:56 am
Thank God for Antonin Scalia, his (by common consent) leading intellectual force, his dear wife who obviously loves him very much, and the nine children who share him with us.
May we always be so fortunate.
May 19th, 2010 | 4:46 am
Oh dear, oh dear!
When studying Juvenal more years ago than I care to mention, I was told that Americans didn’t understand satire. Sorry Mr Bottum, I think Michael Kinsley’s piece has gone straight over your head.
If the sentence: “Let me be clear: the issue is not the fact that Scalia has chosen to have nine children. That is his personal business. The question is whether he is an extremist advocate of the so-called “Nine Children Agenda.” doesn’t give you a clue, surely the third paragraph must?
May 19th, 2010 | 7:27 am
The whole thing about these (and any other) rumors is that they always cross that line into the gossip territory. And how people love gossip–anything really to distract us from moving closer to the perfection of our own souls. Ah, but such is the human condition.
May 19th, 2010 | 8:31 am
Scalia has nine children?
We need to start working now for a future Supreme Court made up entirely of Scalias.
May 19th, 2010 | 8:38 am
Off topic, but . . . .
“What parents would name both their sons William?”
I think George Foreman named all five of his sons George.
May 19th, 2010 | 8:43 am
Seems to me like Kinsley is trying to be funny-in a way mocking Sullivan. His completely made up quote at the end seems to show that. Not terribly funny but I don’t think he’s being serious about the Justice having so many children.
May 19th, 2010 | 11:03 am
Also off topic, but…
“What parents would name both their sons William?”
Believe it or not, when I was a kid there were twins who lived in my neighborhood named Willy and Billy–i.e., William and William.
May 19th, 2010 | 11:25 am
I did have a professor in college who named his two sons “John” and “Jonathan.”
May 19th, 2010 | 11:58 am
continuing the tangent: What I wonder more about is why parents will name children with the same first and last name, e.g., William Williams, or John Johnson.
May 19th, 2010 | 5:03 pm
Anyone remember Major Major Major Major (I am remembering this as being from “Catch-22,” but I could be wrong)? His superior officers would never promote him, solely because they didn’t want to lose the name.
May 20th, 2010 | 10:10 am
What about Larry, his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl from the Bob Newhart show?
May 20th, 2010 | 10:13 am
Or should that be Darryl and Darryl (or Daryl and Darryl)?
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