There’s a circular reasoning at work in Scalia’s memo, a sort of recursive blind spot, that’s both amusing and appalling. The energy task force scandal itself hinges on the question of whether it’s appropriate for the vice president to conduct the public’s business as a private matter among clubby business chums. The Supreme Court must rule on that issue — but here’s Scalia saying the public should not be troubled that his own relationship with Cheney is exactly analogous to the relationships at issue in the energy task force dispute. Scalia just can’t seem to get his inflated head around this; he seems to think that the public is worried that he and Cheney discussed details of the energy case while shooting ducks. Scalia’s memo drips with contempt for both the public and the media –but we’re not that stupid.