A while back there was a short discussion about Ruth Ginsberg retiring from the USSC while Stumpie was the so-called prez. I said, I hope not, but I too thought she's getting old and she's been sick and it didn't seem that unlikely.
So the article below is about that topic. Her plan is to serve 9 more years, or more. She would have had to retire 4 years ago to have a Democrat appoint her successor, which would have been 13 years before she was ready. I can see why she didn't do it.
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And while the senator should have referred to retirement instead of death, it's true that pancreatic cancer is, or at least has been, just about always fatal. A friend and neighbor of mine died of it in her60's only a month or so after they learned she had it. I don't know what they did to treat Mrs. Ginsberg, or how many places have that treatment, or how often it works.