[thingumbob]

that a member of the U.S. Supreme Court has received grave medical news

Gees that sounds something like Pancreatic cancer or leukemia. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

If it turns out to be Justice Steven's though I have to admit that I always thought he'd retire feet first from the bench. I also felt he thought his duty was to be an activist on the bench under the cloak of "Supremacy".

[Wilhelm Tell]

If you were a Supreme Court Justice and believed that the judiciary was some sort of royal priesthood that rules by decree, you would likely keep fighting for that as long as you were able.

Conservative judges are more modest - they believe that they uphold the law while activist judges beleive that they are the law. A big difference. This is what is at stake. The people throwing a temper-tantrum by not voting will oversee the abolishment for all practical purposes of the First, Second and Fourth Amendments and the enshrinement of "rights" for criminals and terrorists.