Antonin Scalia dies. I graduated from Xavier High School 11 years after he did.

A message that I sent today to a couple of my classmates:

Scalia was a source of pride, our most esteemed alumnus. A few years ago he was profiled on 60 Minutes and they swung by Xavier.

I had seen the notice of his death earlier. I'm still processing. He gave a speech at Xavier a couple of years ago. I read it in the alumni magazine they send to me. Then I read it again and was annoyed that he had made a needlessly political point. I wrote to the school and stated that it was inappropriate. No reply.

Still, he was really smart and interesting and his being an Italian New Yorker only adds to my pride. The Court has lost one of its New Yorkers is how I view it. He was good friends with Ginsburg. I know a guy who knew her at Cornell.

I've never heard a Supreme Court justice who did not impress me. They're all really interesting, going back to my reading "The Brethren" by Bob Woodward. Try it. It's probably still interesting.

I'm sad about Scalia.

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Letter (about Scalia) to my former high school: Xavier magazine summer 2011.  Monday, August 8, 2011