April 27, 2013

Justice Breyer breaks his proximal humerus in a biking accident...

... and undergoes shoulder replacement.
It was the third biking accident for the justice, who two years ago broke his right collarbone after a fall near his home in Cambridge, Mass. He suffered more serious injuries in 1993 when he was hit by a car while biking across Harvard Square.

38 comments:

The Godfather said...

I wish him a speedy recovery.

Hagar said...

Bicycles need to be licensed!

LuAnn Zieman said...

How about--stay off the bike! He sounds dangerous--to himself.

dreams said...

Liberals can't seem to learn which I guess is why they don't grow.

Palladian said...

I wondered how long it would take for people to make stupid political comments on this post.

RBB said...

He truly will be left wing now...

Palladian said...

Urban cycling is dangerous, and I think Justice Breyer is getting a little old (74) to be doing it. Bone breakage and internal trauma is very dangerous in older people.

Palladian said...

He truly will be left wing now...

OK, that one was funny.

Tim said...

Why can't liberals ride bikes without hurting themselves, or looking like dweeby dorks?

And yes, I too wish him a speedy recovery.

Then we can get on with the business of requiring people to have background checks to buy bikes.

geokstr said...

Not to worry. If the D's need him to get to 5-4, if he had died in the accident, they'd prop him up in a wheelchair and have Jeff Dunham throw his voice for him.

Carol said...

I assume he is a dedicated road biker...at 64 I worry about what little riding I still do. But there's just nothing like it for exercise. Running is just so hard on you, and walking is not as exhilarating. I can see why a guy would still be going at his age.

But wow, one little senior moment can do some serious damage.

edutcher said...

As long as he isn't Conservative, his replacement makes no difference, but I think Palladian's right.

Palladian said...

Even without the exploding Islamic pressure cookers, Cambridge/Boston is really dangerous for street biking.

coketown said...

When my brother broke his humerus, the doctor came into the room and said, in a really dead-pan tone, "Looks like you broke your humerus. And that's not funny."

Which I think is the typical doctor joke for this ailment. It did relieve some of the anxiety at least.

But yeah, he should probably get roller blades. Or training wheels.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

He shares an inability to learn from his mistakes, with his President.

We all suffer the consequences.

rehajm said...

My parents taught me not to ride my bike in traffic.

I'd be clise to admiring these people willing to risk their lives for their conviction if their conviction weren't so wrongheaded.

Original Mike said...

"I wondered how long it would take for people to make stupid political comments on this post."

Has he checked with the Independent Payment Advisory Board to see if society can justify fixing his shoulder? He is 74.


edutcher said...

Is OK to say breaking your humerus is no joke.

/ducks

bagoh20 said...

"Justice Breyer is getting a little old (74) to be doing it."

It's unfortunate that getting injured is so much harder to recover from for older people. The older you get the less you have to lose, so we should be taking even more risks and getting a little crazy with it as much as possible. It's all backwards. The young should be careful and the older of us should be going for it.

Your kids are grown, you have fewer responsibilities, you have limited years left, and life with a broken leg doesn't change the average older person's lifestyle much anyway.

I don't know if I'll have the courage of this conviction, but I hope to keep doing dangerous things until it sends me the invoice hard and fast.

I've noticed in myself, that I'm much more fearful of taking physical risks as I get older, and it pisses me off. It doesn't make sense logically. I want to take risks with the thoughtlessness of youth, but now I think too much first, and I have to really force myself to try things I would have immediately jumped into 30 years ago.

On a related note, us old folks should be in the front when they need cannon fodder, I know I'm not up to the physical level of a young guy, but I wish I could trade places with some young recruit doing patrols in some village in Afghanistan. I already got from life what he might never if he gets killed. If it's me instead, what's really lost?

bagoh20 said...

And another thing: With a force of older people, you won't get stuff like Abu Grab, or pissing on enemy dead, and recording it. We won't have to live a long life with PTSD, and we won't need free college, or many years of paid healthcare when we get back. I say just run that old truck into the ground before you buy a new one.

Let's fight young suicidal brainwashed forces with logic. Bring it, bitches! We're old, pissed off about all kinds of shit, and we got nothing left to lose. Carpe diem.

Palladian said...

If it's me instead, what's really lost?

The kind of person who would offer to take their place, in the first place. You're a rare species, dear bagoh20.

cubanbob said...

"Justice Breyer is getting a little old (74) to be doing it."

It's unfortunate that getting injured is so much harder to recover from for older people. The older you get the less you have to lose, so we should be taking even more risks and getting a little crazy with it as much as possible. It's all backwards. The young should be careful and the older of us should be going for it.

Your kids are grown, you have fewer responsibilities, you have limited years left, and life with a broken leg doesn't change the average older person's lifestyle much anyway.

I don't know if I'll have the courage of this conviction, but I hope to keep doing dangerous things until it sends me the invoice hard and fast.

I've noticed in myself, that I'm much more fearful of taking physical risks as I get older, and it pisses me off. It doesn't make sense logically. I want to take risks with the thoughtlessness of youth, but now I think too much first, and I have to really force myself to try things I would have immediately jumped into 30 years ago.

On a related note, us old folks should be in the front when they need cannon fodder, I know I'm not up to the physical level of a young guy, but I wish I could trade places with some young recruit doing patrols in some village in Afghanistan. I already got from life what he might never if he gets killed. If it's me instead, what's really lost?

Your comment reminds me of a book I read last year-Old Mans War. Nice read if you like sci-fi novels. As for Judge Breyer I to wish him a speedy recovery and I hope for his sake he replaces bike riding with walking.

furious_a said...

Let's fight young suicidal brainwashed forces with logic. Bring it, bitches! We're old, pissed off about all kinds of shit, and we got nothing left to lose. Carpe diem.

In other words....GET OFF OUR LAWNS!!!

Ambrose said...

He ought to grow up and get a car.

furious_a said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

"In other words....GET OFF OUR LAWNS!!!"

That would make an excellent battle flag for my senior forces.

Unknown said...

I've thought before that under certain circumstances I'd choose to be a distraction for an enemy attack so my children, now grandchildren could escape. I guess it's a sort of acknowledgement that the young should be spared to produce the next generation.

Maybe it's just being a drama queen. It's disturbing how often I think of these sorts of scenarios. Walter Mitty.

furious_a said...

Who knew USSC Judicial Bike Club was more hazardous than Wisconsin Judicial Fight Club?

furious_a said...

Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer underwent shoulder-replacement surgery Saturday morning after taking a spill on his bicycle the previous afternoon near the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

...the article continues:

...a man matching the description of Antonin Scalia was seen speeding from the scene of the accident in a navy or black Chrysler Corboba.

furious_a said...

...an excellent battle flag for my senior forces.

This.

ampersand said...

He's a disgrace to seniors everywhere. At his age he should have taken out at least a dozen pedestrians.

William said...

I live in NYC. As I get older I notice how diminished my jaywalking is. I go to the crosswalk and wait for the light. Danger used to be my middle name, and now I cross on the green. Pathetic, but that's the bargain one makes with aging. Breyer probably lives in the kind of bubble where no one tells him he's old, and hallway traffic yields to his passage. He probably thinks he's a lot more agile and fluid than he truly is.

Steve Koch said...

I love to bike ride, especially with my 6 year old grand son but I very rarely ride on streets. We have lots of paved and unpaved trails to ride on in my area and I stick to those trails.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Unlike the country he has damaged with his B.S. beliefs and betrayal of his oath, he'll likely recover soon.

Since he is able to 'see' things in the Constitution that aren't there, perhaps he does the same with roadside obstacles.

Anonymous said...

Likely the Peltzman Effect at work: By wearing helmets with the perception of safety they offer, bicycle riders take greater risks and suffer greater injury than if they didn't wear helmets.

tim maguire said...

Does Obamacare have a three strikes rule yet? The IRS should ban him from bicycle riding.

Anonymous said...

"....On a related note, us old folks should be in the front when they need cannon fodder, I know I'm not up to the physical level of a young guy, but I wish I could trade places with some young recruit doing patrols in some village in Afghanistan. I already got from life what he might never if he gets killed. If it's me instead, what's really lost?

4/27/13, 6:16 PM
________________________________

Get John Scalzi's "Old Man's War"
which runs with this idea.
Available at Amazon through your nearest portal.

Cedarford said...

Bagoh20 - On a related note, us old folks should be in the front when they need cannon fodder, I know I'm not up to the physical level of a young guy, but I wish I could trade places with some young recruit doing patrols in some village in Afghanistan. I already got from life what he might never if he gets killed. If it's me instead, what's really lost?

I think the question is if ANY American life or full compliment of eyes, limbs, balls, etc., is worth losing for "Noble Muslim Freedom Lovers".
I know the Bush logic is that "we have to fight the evildoers over there because I can't just close America to immigration by Noble Freedom Lovers of the Religion of Peace like the Tsarenaev Family (2003 entre` with full welfare Benny package).

So why are we in Afghanistan still?

And why are we talking about new neocon wars to save radical jihadis from chem weapons in Syria and Republican warhawks begging for a grand new war in Iran?

Yes, of course, Obama has to be worse.
But nothing in the Muslim world is worth throwing US lives away for. Nor the 2 trillion we pissed away on Noble Muslim Freedom Lovers that see one of the highest goals in life being killing infidel "liberators".
Would be great to see geezers and children of rich Neocons forced into uniform though...to force them to put their asses in harms way instead of telling some kid what a Hero they are if they go and leave their life or 3 limbs in some Muslim land to no positive benefit for anyone save lawyers and defense contractors.