Alito’s lies make it impossible to trust his judicial integrity

While the nation has been focused on the nasty guy the latest scandal surrounding Justice Alito has continued to simmer. Mark Sumner of Daily Kos wrote about Alito’s explanation of why two “stop the steal” flags were seen flying over his properties – and why that explanation is falling apart. One part of the story was that Martha-Ann Alito was upset that a neighbor had a sign about the nasty guy with a vulgar word that could be seen by children waiting for the school bus. But in January 2021 schools in that area were still operating remotely and children were not waiting for the bus. Another part was that this neighbor insulted his wife Martha-Ann. But the neighbor says she had been harassed by Martha-Ann. At one point the neighbor did call police – a month after the flag was seen flying. Kalli Joy Gray of Kos discussed the letter Alito sent to Sens. Dick Durban and Sheldon Whitehouse of the Senate Judiciary Committee explaining why he rejects their demand to recuse himself in insurrection cases, as the committee demanded. One of those insurrection cases is to decide whether the nasty guy has immunity. Alito’s claim is that his wife is responsible for the flags (she loves them) and she is a private citizen and has freedom of speech. He says he had no involvement. Also, she didn’t know what they meant. Gray’s translation of Alito’s conclusion:

In closing, normal, reasonable people—obviously not Democratic senators or any other American who has dared to question Alito’s ability to be impartial—can see this is totes no big so screw you.

Another way to look at this is Alito saying: Yes, I’m corrupt, but this incident shows I have so much power that you can’t do anything about it. RandomNonviolence of the Kos community discussed the op-ed that Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote for the New York Times. Before he joined Congress he was a constitutional scholar. Raskin wrote that when there is an obvious conflict of interest, someone like the Attorney General can petition the other justices to require the justices with the conflicts to recuse themselves. Raskin cites sections of the Constitution and federal law. In the case of whether the nasty guy has immunity for his actions in the Capitol attack, the justices with conflicts are, of course, Alito and Thomas. The Supreme Court can’t rule on those laws because of the separation of powers. Also, previous Supreme Court decisions have affirmed those laws. Look’s good! Though I wonder if Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett would ever agree to demand Alito and Thomas recuse themselves. Jonathan Last of The Bulwark explains why Alito’s actions are a big problem. Last’s conclusion is towards the top of the article. Alas, his explanation of Alito’s lies are behind a paywall. So, the conclusion:

With respect, the problem with Justice Alito is not that his wife is fond of flying flags and may have insurrectionist sympathies. The problem is that Justice Alito lied to the public. And Justice Alito’s public lies make it impossible to trust his judicial integrity. ... And he doesn’t care that you know it.

CorpFlunky of the Kos community wrote about the fragility of history and what the rangers of the National Park Service have to deal with. An example is a group that came to a ranger, wanting her to pose with them and the “Appeal to Heaven” flag they brought. They explained the history of the flag, including claiming Washington had designed it. She refused being a part of the photo and explained the inaccuracies of their story – Washington’s design work being one of them. It’s important to tell actual history. That exchange ended well. Not all of them do. The Park Service had a display at Vicksburg that explained the Civil War was over slavery. So many visitors wanted to argue the display was wrong the rangers took it down. CorpFlunky wrote:

Before embarking on my quest to visit all the national park units by electric vehicle, I did not fully appreciate how our nation’s history is under daily attack by ‘culture warriors’ everywhere. The state of Alabama is neglecting to tell the story of the Battle of Mobile Bay, leading many students astray. General Grant was subjected to decades of maligning by ‘lost cause’ supporters. Labor history is under-recognized. Black history is under-funded. Women’s history is under-appreciated. Many rangers are frequently subjected to historically inaccurate rants by complete loons. Our political opponents and their followers are actively trying to replace history with fantasy. This is not just simple ignorance; it is part of an organized campaign to supplant reality with their dishonest political narrative.