freedom to dither

from the hollywood reporter esq blog:

U.S. Supreme Court Justice is a good job with excellent perks, but maybe some of the members of our highest judiciary should consider careers in Hollywood.

Yesterday, the Court heard a case (United States v. Stevens) concerning whether a 1999 federal law banning commercial trafficking of filmed “depictions of animal cruelty” violate free speech protections.
The justices seemed skeptical and proposed all sorts of shock-TV that Congress could potentially ban if given the blessing to expand speech outside First Amendment protection. 

• Justice Antonin Scalia: bullfighting, sheep hunting, bear hunting, deer hunting, fox hunting
• Justice John Paul Stevens: hunting with a bow and arrow
• Justice Stephen Breyer: stuffing geese for pate de foie gras
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: cockfighting
• Justice Samuel Alito: a live pay-per-view Human Sacrifice Channel or Ethnic Cleansing Channel

The deputy solicitor general tried to get the justices to refrain from the “endless stream of fanciful hypotheticals,” but the Court was having too much fun. If Breyer retires, maybe he can work for the Food Network. If Alito ever decides to hang up his robe, maybe Fox will hire him.