So I just finished Toobin's "The Nine" and I have to say that I loved it (with no concern about any suggestions that I may be turning into Trey, though Trey would probably really enjoy this book). And here is a list of things I learned in last half of Toobin's book:
- Souter was assaulted by two men while on a run in 2004. And he made it to Court the next day.
- Breyer and O'Connor were BFFs. Ginsburg and Souter were BFFs. I can only hope that friendship bracelets were exchanged.
- O'Connor is/was a Goldwater Republican. Therefore, she was definitely not BFF with G.W. Bush.
- I love this response by Goldwater after Jerry Falwell suggested that "good Christians" should be wary of O'Connor's nomination: "I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell's ass".
- Since O'Connor left the Court, Kennedy is the new swing vote.
-Breyer found about O'Connor leaving the court by hearing about it on NPR. And Toobin made it sound like Breyer was a little heartbroken.
- Stephen Breyer had the Philly Phantic come to a dinner welcoming Alito to the Court (Alito is a huge Phillies fan). Can I tell you again that Breyer is my favorite Justice?
- Thomas really know how to hold a grudge...especially against Nina Totenburg and Harvard.
- Harry Reid might be a evil genius. He was one of the first people to suggest that G.W. Bush nominate Harriet Miers.
- The Rehnquists kind of got screwed by both Bush presidents. Two days after Nan Rehnquist died (William's wife), Bush the elder nominated Thomas to the Court. And then two days after William Rehnquist died, Bush the younger nominated Roberts to be Chief Justice (this was a clear political move, Roberts was already nominated to fill O'Connor's seat, but due to a really bad week that included the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush White House needed some positive news and Roberts was well liked by most of Congress).
- Ginsburg must have been so happy when Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
-O'Connor continues to be really interesting in her post-Court career. Since she left the Court to care for her husband (suffering from Alzheimer's), she been an advocate for Alzheimer's research (and even public sharing information about the difficulties of caring for an Alzheimer's patient) and working to educate both the youth of America and internationally about the importance of the Judicial branch.
- I think that in the end, O'Connor regretted stepping down from the Court. She left to care for her husband but he deteriorated to fast that she was really only able to take care of him for about 2 years before he entered an assisted living center.
-Stevens served in World War II. Due to his age this of course makes sense, but I had never thought about it before. He enlisted the day before Pearl Harbor and served in naval intelligence and worked on breaking Japanese codes.
Now I'm ready to start a new book. Right now it's a toss up between Jon Ronson's "The Psychopath Test" and John Waters' "Role Models". Or possible Agatha Cristie's "Pale Horse" to coincide with the Masterpiece Mystery adaptation from last week. Any suggestions/recommendations?
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