Flagpole Sitta

 

Samuel Alito—who wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade—says his wife “makes her own decisions, and I have always respected her right to do so.” pic.twitter.com/r52Yjf35ih

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) May 29, 2024

Far be it for me to question how the Alitos manage their affairs at home--although Justice Alito certainly questions how American women and their families make other important decisions, for example, regarding their reproductive health care--but I love the idea that because the Mrs. is a property owner, he (also an owner of the same property) could not abrogate her important first amendment flag-raising choices by taking the thing down himself. 

Well, one hears of such things. A man can be, for example, top dog in his place of work, but be barely able to raise a peep, let alone lower a flag, in his own home. It appears, based on the report of the Alitos' neighbors, he might well have reason to fear her temper. 

She might have left him hardly able to comfortably sit on a bench, is what I'm getting at. Having foregone that particular conflict, however, he sees himself as still eminently qualified to rule from the highest bench in the country.

It's a matter of judgment. 

We have an aphorism for those who would be their own lawyers. Mr. Alito is just about the captain of his own ship--how can Little Nemo be the judge of his own case? (How is that for a little wordplay? There's an aphorism for everything.) He makes no ruling at home with respects to flags: red, distress, Christian Nationalist, or otherwise. He is, he insists, something of a banner ascetic.  Practically a stylite 

Perhaps. But the tone of his refusal to recuse leaves me thinking he very well ought to go sit on a flagpole--sans grease and with no more under his robe than his bare conscience. 

There's an aphorism about Caesar's wife. As for me, he can stick with the Mrs. and whatever she runs up the ol' flagpole. (As can Justice Thomas with his wife, etc.)  But if he thinks he has no other judge than the one in heaven while taking a taxpayer-funded salary, that doesn't sit right with me. 

UPDATE: Is it surprising that former president Trump appreciates Samuel Alito's sense of duty and loyalty?

He seems to believe it is well-placed--as if someone sent a very clear signal.