Yeah, well, he’s a very political judge.
Alito, in case you forgot, wrote the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, in which he cited a medieval manuscript. (When I was in law school, I didn’t think you can do that; I was taught you have to cite the law.)
He’s in the news because a flag flew upside down at his house on January 17, 2021. Traditionally a distress signal, it’s also a MAGA rallying cry, and this was just days after the Capital insurrection.
Alito has gone on talk shows to explain this, and his story keeps getting more elaborate. He said some of their neighbors are “very political” and January 2021 was a very heated time (read story here).
In its latest iteration, “a neighbor on their street” put up a “F— Trump” sign in his yard, near a school bus stop. I won’t speculate whether Alito’s and his wife’s outrage was about the children or the politics. The Alitos’ own children are grown.
The way Alito tells it, the situation escalated when his wife spoke to the neighbor, who responded by putting up a sign blaming her for the Jan. 6 attacks, and when the two exchanged heated words again he called her a “c—.” This is the type of response you typically get nowadays when you criticize somebody, and she should have known better. Saying anything makes it worse.
She then got upset and hung the flag upside down at her house (photo above). Whether this was a distress signal or a MAGA retort is open to interpretation, but the Coast Guard is on the way.
Updates (5/21/24): If you’re a conservative justice, and Lindsey Graham criticizes your actions, you’re a problem (read story here). But Mitch McConnell wants critics to shut up (story here).
