Abbreviated Pundit Roundup is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet.
New York Times:
At Justice Alito’s House, a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol on Display
An upside-down flag, adopted by Trump supporters contesting the Biden victory, flew over the justice’s front lawn as the Supreme Court was considering an election case.
After the 2020 presidential election, as some Trump supporters falsely claimed that President Biden had stolen the office, many of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars and in online posts: an upside-down American flag.
One of the homes flying an inverted flag during that time was the residence of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., in Alexandria, Va., according to photographs and interviews with neighbors.
Associated Press:
Upside-down flag at Justice Alito’s home another blow for Supreme Court under fire
The revelation this week about the flag flying at Alito’s home was the latest blow to a Supreme Court that was already under fire as it considers unprecedented cases against Trump and some of those charged with rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Alito has said the flag was briefly flown by his wife amid a dispute with neighbors and he had no part in it. But the incident reported by The New York Times adds to concerns about an institution that’s increasingly seen as partisan and lacking strict ethical guidelines.
It’s seen that way because it’s partisan and lacks strict ethical guidelines.
Reuters:
US flag is sacred, White House says, amid flap involving Supreme Court's Alito
The inverted U.S. flag became a symbol of protest by Trump supporters, including those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden with false claims of widespread voting fraud and a "stolen" election.
Democrat Dick Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on Alito to recuse from two cases currently pending before the Supreme Court that involve the 2020 election and Capitol attack. Other Democrats, including Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives Hank Johnson and Adam Schiff, issued similar calls.
Jay Willis/Balls and Strikes:
Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court’s Least Surprising January 6 Enthusiast Who among us hasn’t responded to a petty neighborhood squabble by, uh, flying the preferred flag of violent insurrectionists?
Against all odds, a Supreme Court that is openly scornful of the idea of holding Donald Trump accountable for his various crimes has revealed itself to be even more deranged than previously thought. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that in the days after January 6, 2021, the Capitol rioters earned at least one supporter in a very notable place: Sam Alito’s front yard. Flying above the justice’s home in suburban Washington was an upside-down American flag, which had become a well-known symbol adopted by aggrieved Trump voters who believed the election had been stolen— and that the only way to restore the proper constitutional order was to hang Mike Pence.
Meanwhile, there are other ‘worst person’ candidates ...
Yossi Verter/Haaretz:
Netanyahu Hoped Hamas Would Reject the Cease-fire Offer. When It Didn't, He Turned to Sabotage
Israel's criminal defendant prime minister, more focused on saving his incompetent far-right government than saving the hostages who have spent seven months trapped in Gaza, is doing everything he can to torpedo Israel's last and best chance at bringing the hostages home
"Hysteria for political reasons," Minister Benny Gantz termed the statement issued over the weekend by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (also known as "the diplomatic official"), in which he reiterated that with or without a temporary pause in the fighting for the release of our hostages, "We will enter Rafah and eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions."
Later, before the end of Shabbat, Netanyahu sent another announcement, in which he denied reports saying Israel had agreed to a cease-fire as part of a deal.
Gantz hit the nail on the head this time. Netanyahu is fleeing from a hostage deal. The closer it gets, the faster he runs to avoid it. At least twice in recent months he has sabotaged the sensitive moves toward a deal, whether through public statements or covert messages, or by curbing the mandate of the negotiating team. It was no different this time.
Jonathan V Last/The Bulwark:
Daniel Perry and the Republican Meaning of "Law and Order"
In the Republican view, the purpose of the law is to inflict harm on your enemies
The case had everything Republicans love: A peaceful protest with people exercising their First Amendment rights. A veteran lawfully exercising his Second Amendment right. And before the murder the killer had been searching the internet for young girls and sending sexually explicit texts to a minor.
The only problem was the protest itself: It was a Black Lives Matter protest.
And so Daniel Perry—a groomer who was convicted of murder by a jury of his peers—became a conservative cause célèbre….
At the time of the confrontation, Perry’s car was surrounded by protestors—remember, he had intentionally driven into them. Witnesses testified that Perry attempted to get out of his car, but that Foster, standing by the driver’s door, told him not to get out and motioned for him to move on. Had Perry exited the vehicle, it is reasonable to believe that the confrontation would have escalated. Foster seemed—by all testimony—to have been trying to protect the pedestrians from Perry’s vehicle and also protect Perry from the angry people he had assaulted with his car.
But Perry shot and killed Foster anyway. Why?
Cliff Schecter reviews the latest Marjorie Taylor Greene embarrassment: