WEBVTT - Ep. 469: Backwoods University - Nino 0:00:02.080 --> 0:00:06.000 Welcome to Backwoods University, a place where we focus on wildlife, 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:09.040 wild places, and the people who dedicate their lives to 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.400 conserving both. And I want to give a big shout 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:13.880 out to Onyx Hunt for their support of this podcast. 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:18.120 I'm your host, Lake Pipple, and on today's episode, it's 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.360 Part two and the final chapter of our time spent 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:25.440 in the woods with Supreme Court Justice Antonine Scalia, and 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:28.120 like I alluded to in Part one, what we're gonna 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.160 get into and discover today is, without a doubt, the 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:34.519 best part of this entire story. We're gonna learn why 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:38.400 this man was so highly respected by everyone, even the 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:40.919 people that disagreed with him. And we're gonna learn how 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:44.640 hunting and wild game played a lynch penroll in all 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:46.920 of them, and how a love for the outdoors that 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:49.000 he found through a couple of good friends down in 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:52.239 Mississippi would stick with him until the final days of 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:55.360 his life. This story is gonna stick with you, my friends, 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:57.520 trust me, let's dive in. 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:11.160 I will miss the challenges and the laughter he provoked. 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:18.679 His pungent, eminently quotable opinions so clearly stated that his 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:24.399 words never slipped from the reader's grasp the roses he 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:28.920 brought me on my birthday, the chance to appear with 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:34.920 him once more as supernumerries at the opera. How blessed 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:38.360 I was to have a working colleague and dear friend 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:45.959 of such captivating brilliance, high spirits, and quick wit. In 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:51.320 the words of a duet for tennis Scalia and soprano Ginsburg, 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:58.240 we were different, yes in our interpretation of written texts, 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:06.640 one in our reverence for the court and its place 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.040 in the US system of governance. 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.600 A eulogy a speech delivered at a funeral meant to 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:22.840 honor and celebrate the life of the person who has passed. 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:26.440 I've heard them given. I'm sure y'all have too, And 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:28.360 while at this point in my life I have never 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.880 had to give a eulogy, I have seen the combination 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:35.400 of pressure and gratefulness that a person endures when they've 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:38.520 been asked to give one. It's a weighty speech, a 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.800 final sendoff, a last chance to say what you need 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:45.559 to say about a person that you love, cherish, appreciate, 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.760 and likely a lot of other positive and strong emotions. 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:52.399 And if you see or hear a person giving a eulogy, 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.400 it's a safe bet that they were very close to 0:02:55.440 --> 0:03:00.320 the person they're talking about. What you just heard was 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:04.680 a small clip from Ruth Bader Ginsburg's eulogy of Antonine 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:08.280 Scalia at his memorial service in Washington, D C. In 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:10.960 March of twenty sixteen. And while we're going to hear 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:14.240 more from her in this speech later on in this story, 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.520 I felt it extremely important that we hear this part 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.960 at the very beginning and let it set the tone 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.640 for this whole episode. You see, if you're unfamiliar with 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:27.480 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she herself was on the Supreme Court. 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:31.280 And if you were to look at the collective works, decisions, opinions, 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:34.120 and the sense of Scalia and Ginsburg next to each 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.400 other in comparison, if you were to lay them out 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:38.640 on a table on paper where you could see them, 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.920 most would come to the conclusion that they are total 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:47.320 and complete polar opposites of one another, with completely opposing ideologies, 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:51.680 with completely different opinions on how laws should be interpreted. 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:56.360 Yet they were close friends, so close that she gave 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:58.040 a eulogy at his memorial service. 0:03:58.720 --> 0:03:59.600 How does that happen? 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:04.160 And really, how does that happen? My friends? I told you. 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.160 This story is going to stick with you, and I 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:10.640 mean it. It has certainly stuck with me. I remember 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:12.520 back in twenty twenty one when Clay put out the 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.760 Daniel Boone series on Bear Grease. That series alone is 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.520 what hooked me in as a listener of his show. 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.640 Somewhere in those episodes he said something along the lines 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.600 of he would have ridden a mule across the country 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:27.320 just to meet Daniel Boone, look him in the eye 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:30.320 and exchange a few words. And I don't have a mule, 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.080 but I would walk, crawl, or borrow a mule if 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:35.680 Clay would lend me one and ride it from Mississippi 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.320 to Sasketchewan, just to shape Justice Antonine Scalia's hand, because 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:44.360 I just think he is that respectable. Let's find out why. 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:48.960 As we picked this back up, we're still at the 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:52.560 property that they call Wyoming Plantation down in South Mississippi. 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.799 It's a blistering hot and sunny day and I'm following 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:58.599 behind Judge David Bramlett as he leads me to an 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:02.239 old fire pit situation to just outside the hunting camp. 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:04.360 Tell me about this. 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:09.440 This fire just twenty tipped over the bars when he 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:13.440 fell over and we got him up, sat back down. 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:19.200 I wanted to scotch. And it's frightened us. You know, 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.640 as I said earlier, you can see it headlines and 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:27.760 times picking you in justice SCHOOLAH severally hurts in Mississippi 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:28.479 on the deal. 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:31.360 Was this? 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:31.800 Ah? 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:34.360 So y'all spend a lot of time around this fire pit. 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.240 Then every night, every night we did. 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:40.040 What about that skinning rat? Back there? 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.919 Right over here? That's where were skinned to eleven? 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.400 Right there, all the eleven deer in that picture? You 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:53.120 showed me. Yes, goodness, gracious. 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.360 Who who had to skin all of them? You? 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.039 If you listen to the stories that these men share, 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.919 it sounds like they're just telling old tales about a 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:05.240 close friend and hunting buddy. But it cast a completely 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:08.080 different light on it entirely when you factor in that 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:12.320 these stories are about a Supreme Court justice. I think 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.599 sometimes it's easy for us to forget the human side 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:21.960 of public figures, celebrities, well known political figures, Supreme Court justices. Honestly, 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.080 it's hard for me to really put a finger on why, 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:27.400 But I just really enjoy hearing these stories of Antonine 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:30.440 Scalia just hanging out at a deer camp with his friends. 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:34.480 Y'all take from that what you will. In the last episode, 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:36.919 we learned a little bit about who Justice Scalia was. 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.599 We learned about how important the Supreme Court is in 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.599 shaping the social and legal landscape of the United States 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.360 of America. We learned that Justice Scalia was a man 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.560 of brilliance, wit, and courage, but also a man that 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.440 was humble, kind, and appreciated by pretty much everyone that 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:55.320 knew him. We also learned that after turning down a 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:59.080 few invitations to come speak in Mississippi, he finally said 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.240 yes when an opportunity to fish in Turkey hunt was 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:05.159 offered along with the deal, and that one hunt turned 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:09.160 into a twenty year long friendship between the Justice, Charles Pickering, 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:13.440 Wesley Breeland, and David Bramley, who all three shared with 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.840 us several stories in the last episode, including a pretty 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:20.320 comical one involving an accidental three deer morning in Justice 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.480 Scalia's first ever deer hunt. And we heard these stories 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:27.000 while sitting inside a rustic camp house at wahoam And Plantation, 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.120 a place that Justice Scalia would travel down to and 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.600 hunt with those guys for several years. We're still sitting 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.320 inside that same camp, and that is where we're going 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:38.960 to pick this one back up, lean in, because it's 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:40.440 not going to take long for us to get into 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:41.080 the good stuff. 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.920 Justice Scalia, When are you would start calling? He would 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:45.640 wrest it it up? 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:47.560 Now what does that mean? 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.240 What he mean do a lot of calling and loud calling? 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:52.280 What would he use? 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:53.320 He's a box call? 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:57.400 Yeah, And so what evening? He and I Wesley had 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:59.560 invited some friends out to this lake house to have 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:06.760 dinner with us, and he cranked it up, and I 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:10.800 heard in a minute way through the woods a turkey gobble, 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.560 and then that turkey sort of was settling around like 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:17.200 you could see him goblin. And after a while I 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.000 heard him come and toward us. And the turkey came 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:22.920 on up into the field. And when he got there, 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:24.760 I said, now hold them was justice he got? And 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:26.800 he did. He came right and for us, and I said, okay, 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:28.680 it's justice. He slow not to shoot him, and he 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.080 shot him and killed him. And then he and I 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:34.200 walked across the pond down with that turkey after where 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:36.800 the friends were waiting for us to come up to 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.000 bust of my knowledge, that was only turkey that I 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:43.880 knew of specifically that he himself called up and killed. 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:47.400 So it was good that he had that experience. 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.960 Yeah, it's great. But another thing we didn't mention. He 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:55.439 was tough in this way. He would get up way 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:59.120 before daylight and be ready to go when you were ready, 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:04.240 and he would hunt longer than you would want him to. 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.040 I remember going out this several times and he said 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:10.120 you came too early, ten thirty in the morning, and 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.120 then he'd want a hunt in an afternoon. And we 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.720 didn't mention that he killed a number of these Russian hogs. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:16.360 We have yet too, and I have a picture of 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:16.960 that for you. 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.280 As I sat there in that camp house, laughing at 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:24.439 Judge Pickering talking about Justice Scalia quote ratcheting it up 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:26.920 on a turkey call, and looking at the picture of 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:28.960 the three of them with a large hog hanging up 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.319 on a skinning rack, I thought I had already hit 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.679 my quota on cool facts for the day. I mean, 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:36.719 honestly I did. But that's when Judge Bramlett threw me 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.160 a curveball that I did not see coming. 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.640 And he took that back to Washington with him, took 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:43.640 all that kind of wild absolutely Washington. 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:45.800 Yes, indeed was he do you know, I mean, was 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:48.400 he just feeding other members of the. 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:54.880 Court or he took it back for Professor Ginsburg, Justice 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:58.240 Ginsbury's husband, who was a gold mate cook. They had 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:01.800 New Year's donor ty every year. Yes, sir, and that's 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:02.400 what they want. 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:07.520 So again I'm going back to just my view of 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:09.719 the Justice from the outside, looking at, not knowing him 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:16.840 as a person, his friendship with like Justice Skinsburg, Yes, legendary. Right, 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.560 you have these two people, and again this is my perspective. Right, 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:22.920 you have these two people from politically almost like pretty 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:27.000 much opposites of one another. But this grand friendship. We're 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:30.240 gonna be hearing more from Justice Skinsburg and more about 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:34.480 this unlikely yet legendary friendship and how in an even 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:39.000 more unlikely manner, hunting plays into it. Well, it's time 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.240 to dive into that further, and to really do it, Justice, 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:45.120 we need to have a good understanding of both individuals. 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.360 We already know who Justice Antonine Scalia is at this point, 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:54.040 but it's time we learn more about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:57.560 Justice Skinsburg. When you raise your right hand and repeat 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:02.800 after me with Vader Ginsburg, do solemnly. 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:06.640 Swear I'm Vader Ginsburg, Din. 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:10.600 Solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:12.120 of the United States. 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:16.880 That I will support and defend the Constitution of the 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:18.400 United States again. 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.160 Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:25.079 nineteen thirty three. She attended college at Cornell University, and, 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:29.200 like her colleague Antonine Scalia, attended Harvard Law School. However, 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.720 she transferred to Columbia Law School and graduated from there. 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:35.480 She was appointed to the US Court of Appeals for 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.800 the DC's Circuit by President Carter in nineteen eighty and 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.480 in nineteen ninety three she was nominated to the Supreme 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.040 Court by President Clinton and shortly thereafter confirmed by a 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:48.160 ninety six to three vote. She served on the Supreme 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:51.000 Court from then on until her death in September of 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.240 twenty twenty. During her time on the Court, she garnered 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.600 quite the reputation for herself, becoming well known for her 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:01.920 sharp descents, her resilience, as she did survive several bouts 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:05.480 with cancer, and she really became a cultural icon, earning 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:09.840 the nickname the Notorious RBG by her dedicated supporters and 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.400 for our intents and purposes, on this podcast, also known 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:18.760 for her close friendship with her ideological adversary, Justice Antonine Scalioti. 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:23.240 I met Nino for the first time when he was 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:29.200 giving a speech to some unit of the ABA, must 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:33.679 have been the Administrative Law second Law section probably, and 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.360 it was on a case that had recently been decided 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:39.839 by the d C Circuit. That was before either of 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.960 us got there. And I was listening to him and 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.160 disagreeing with a good part of what he said, but 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.600 thought he said it in an absolutely captivating way. 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:51.319 I think we should leave it in. 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.480 Are you two ever going to agree on big issues 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:58.560 at still maintain the friendship? 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.359 Greet on a whole lot of stuff. 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:07.400 Ruth is really bad only on the knee jerks. 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:12.200 The unlikely and seemingly contradictive friendship became a popular piece 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:15.560 of conversation among the news and entertainment outlets, and even 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:18.840 got written into an opera of all things. People just 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.960 couldn't seem to grasp or quit talking about why either 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:23.960 of them were able to get along with one another. 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.880 When he would start to leave down here, he would 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:30.760 take all the game we could put in his bag 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:34.240 to carry it back. And the reason he was carrying 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.680 it back is Justice Gintensburg's husband was a cook, like 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:41.040 to cook, and on New Year's Day he would take 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.760 the game that was killed down here and he would 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:48.560 prepare it for Nino family and for Justice Gettenberg family. 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:52.880 So they really did have a They disagreed date greatly. 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:57.440 They were pulled apart on their judicial philosophy, but they 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:58.360 were close friends. 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.839 So just a little fact that I can't fly past here. 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.440 So some of the some of the venison that was 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:10.640 taken off of this place was served at Justice Skinsburg's table, 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:11.520 is what you're saying. 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.679 On New Year's Day they had. They had dinner together 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.960 every New Year's Againstburg's and the Scolias. 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:20.120 Now that's pretty cool. 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.720 And I shipped I shipped him venison for years really 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:27.680 from Baton Rouge. 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:28.200 Man. 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.600 Uh, that's how we got it up there, you know. 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.960 We'd had coolers and had dry ice and shipped us 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:36.640 from Washington. 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.720 Picture this. It's New Year's Day sometime in the early 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:44.200 two thousands, and the families of Justice Scalia and Justice 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.840 Ginsburg are gathering up for their annual tradition of New 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.920 Year's Day dinner, a tradition that was such a staple 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:53.640 in their friendship, that it was talked about often in 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.880 the press, and just what are they dining upon it? 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:01.280 This special dinner wild game, the deer and the hog 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.760 meat that Scalia had acquired while hunting down in Mississippi, 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:08.040 and sometimes it was even shipped to him from Baton 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:13.440 Rouge or Mississippi to DC Antonine Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:17.280 two of the most powerful judges in the world eating 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.960 wild game together. Now, if that ain't the coolest fun 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.800 fact that you'll hear all week, frankly, I want to 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.360 hear what tops it, because that right there is pretty 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:30.360 dad gone cool. I mean, really, let's ponder on this 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.960 one for a second. I don't think I'm reaching too 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.040 far when I say that the vast majority of listeners 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.200 of this show and this podcast feed know how special 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.200 hunting in the outdoors is to our lives. We know 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.480 how special it is to sit down at a table 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:46.760 for a meal that is made up of something that 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.720 we went out and hunted and brought in ourselves. It's 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:53.000 a feeling like none other, and that's not an exaggeration. 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.080 And of course we know the bonds and the friendships 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.360 that can be formed through a mutual love and appreciation 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.120 for wild life and wild places. Of course, we know it, 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:06.160 We've lived it, we've experienced it. The ties that bind us, 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:10.240 my friends, the ties that bind us and I feel 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.080 like I would be doing such a disservice to our 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:16.000 shared value system if I didn't spend some time and 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:20.840 put some emphasis on this small but paramount detail that 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:25.360 Scalia Ginsburg friendship, that legendary friendship that is still being 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:30.040 talked about to this very day, was regularly celebrated by 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:33.120 the same wild game that came from the same wild 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:41.040 places that you and I cherish so much. But this 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:45.360 story and its unlikely outcomes, it's far from over. 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.480 He was ualty, see, so he became a very excellent, 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.520 a very excellent marksman show with a rifle. He was 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:00.440 badly now when we started hunting and we did doing 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:04.719 from wing shooting, he was not very good at it. 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:07.680 But then with the time he quit hunting, whether he 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:12.080 was very good of wing shooting. And he brought Justice 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:13.480 Kagan down with him. 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.800 He brought Justice Kagan down with him. That was the 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.040 last sentence we got there from Judge Charles Pickering. Brought 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.240 her down to come hunting to be more specific, Justice 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:27.119 Alena Kagan, another Supreme Court Justice. She was appointed to 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:30.600 the Court in twenty ten by President Barack Obama, and, 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:35.720 much like Justice Ginsburg, often had opposing ideologies compared to Scalia. 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.880 As I sat there looking through photos of these men 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:42.000 duck hunting and quail hunting with Justices Scalia and Kagan, 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:46.000 I can't help but wonder how all this happened. And honestly, 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:49.920 I'm even more impressed because Scalia has now introduced Justice 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:53.800 Ginsburg to wild game and has now introduced Justice Kagan 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:55.960 to hunting. How cool is that? 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:59.359 All right? Specifics, you went duck hunting with Justice Scalia 0:17:59.880 --> 0:18:01.120 was well, yeah, you. 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:03.920 Know, I haven't gone duck hunting yet, although that's on 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.080 the trip list. 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:08.480 But I do go, it's on the bucket list. 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:14.520 Actually, I shoot birds with him fair, you know, two 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.199 or three times a year. Now, the way this started, 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:20.000 I'll tell you the story. I met with about eighty 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:24.399 senators individually, and quite a lot of them, both Republicans 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:29.359 and Democrats, ask you about your views on the Second Amendment. 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:32.200 But because you don't say anything about your views on anything, 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:34.920 then they ask you. They try to figure out, well, 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.959 what are your views on the Second Amendment likely to 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:41.200 be and they'll say, well, have you have you ever 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.480 held a gun? Have you ever gone hunting? Do you 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:48.000 know anybody who's gone hunting? And you know me, Jeff, 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:50.040 I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:55.000 and this was not something we really did, you know. 0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:00.760 And so I kept on having these kindress where I 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.760 would say no and no and no. And I was 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.159 and find somebody said to me, you know, one of 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:10.000 the sets of these questions, and I said, you know, Senator, 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:12.280 I said, if you were to invite me hunting, I 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.679 would really love to go. Uh And this look of 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:19.520 total horror passed over his face. You know, has this 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:23.240 woman just invited herself hunting with me? And I thought 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:25.520 I've gone too far. And then I sort of pulled 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:27.280 back and I said, well, I didn't really mean to 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:30.840 invite myself, but I'll tell you what, if I'm lucky 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.840 enough to be confirmed, I will ask Justice Clia to 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:38.960 take me hunting. And I went to Justice Clia when 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:40.919 I got onto the court, and I said, this is 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:45.639 the only promise I made during my entire confirmation proceedings, 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:50.159 so you have to help me fulfill it. And he 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:52.800 thought it was hilarious. He thought it was a total crackup. 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:54.880 And so there you go. 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.040 Now allow me to sad bar for a second. Here 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:01.480 to challenge all my fellow hunters, the anglers. The next 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:03.639 time that you get a chance to take a new 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:07.040 bee hunting or fishing, don't pass on it. I know 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:10.199 it's not always convenient, but you really never know what 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:13.000 the impact might be. I mean, just think about what 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:15.879 we heard. A woman who grew up in Manhattan that 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:19.639 knew virtually nothing about hunting. She asked one senator to 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:22.080 take her hunting. He turns her down. And I think 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:26.440 it speaks so much about the character of Antonine Scalia 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:29.480 that Kagan felt confident that he would take her hunting 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:32.640 before she ever even asked him. What a great ambassador 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.800 for the world of hunting. So you were saying, you're 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:39.840 the only man who's rode in a mule drawn carriage 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:41.520 with Justice Kagan on a quail hunt. 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:44.080 I say that in a jocular way, but it's true. 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:48.040 She was a lovely person, is a lovely person, and 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:51.440 I had such a wonderful time being with her, yeah, 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:53.359 on those two occasions. 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.760 And that's something I mean. Obviously, we're here to mainly 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:59.480 talk about, you know, Justice Scalia and him. But one 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.360 thing that I I just couldn't I had to focus 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:05.040 in on, especially with putting an episode, like we're going 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:09.040 to doing this out. It's like in today's modern times, 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:12.280 I feel like there's such a rift and such a 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:17.800 divide between people that looking at men like Justice Scalia 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:21.119 and Justice Kagan and his friendship with Ginsburg and like 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:26.840 finding a personal friendship despite political differences. I just I 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:29.560 always I respected that about him, then I respected about 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:31.200 him now, and I think it's just so important to 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:32.400 highlight it. 0:21:32.400 --> 0:21:35.720 It was. And another thing about it. You know, I 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:38.800 told you about a bolt, how plain it was with 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:43.520 a tar paper sighting. And here this is nice place, 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:48.360 which it's simple, it's not opulent. He enjoyed these places, 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:51.440 the simple. We also went to some of the nicest 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:55.480 lodges in the nation to hunt. He enjoyed those two, 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:59.360 but he enjoyed the simple as well as he did 0:21:59.400 --> 0:21:59.920 the opulent. 0:22:00.760 --> 0:22:03.240 And right over there is that wood stove. And he 0:22:03.400 --> 0:22:06.680 liked to split his own wood. We had we would 0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:09.399 cut wood and it would be in pieces, you know, 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:13.320 eight inches around piece eight inches and he splitted himself 0:22:15.320 --> 0:22:17.680 with an axe. Yeah, with an axe, he'd go out 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:19.480 there and split his own court. He wanted to split 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:24.679 his own wood. But he had a very comfortable and 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:28.320 find relationship with Justice Kid, and I'll say that he did. Indeed, 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:32.520 he did with all the justices. As I said earlier, 0:22:32.520 --> 0:22:34.840 we didn't talk about any cases, but he did talk 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:36.560 about the court a little bit, and I wanted to 0:22:36.600 --> 0:22:39.879 know his relationship with the justices. I never heard him 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:44.600 say one unkind word about any one. He felt a 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:49.240 camaraderie with the court and with each individual member of 0:22:49.280 --> 0:22:49.640 the court. 0:22:50.480 --> 0:22:53.080