Nearly 250 years ago, Betsy Ross won our nation's hearts by sewing the first American flag. This year, Justice Samuel Alito's wife won our hearts again—by turning that flag upside down. Literally.
Last spring, "news" broke that Alito's wife, Martha-Ann, had flown an inverted Star-Spangled Banner outside the Alito home in Alexandria, Va., in 2021. Democrats—having just spent months cheering on pro-Hamas activists who burned American flags on college campuses—were scandalized by the supposedly unpatriotic display. They claimed it symbolized the Alitos' support for anti-government insurrections, or something.
It didn't. The upside-down flag is a long-standing symbol of "distress." Martha-Ann was flying it in response to a series of passive-aggressive political tantrums by her neighbors, who had called her a "cunt" and reportedly posted lawn signs reading "Fuck Trump" and "You are Complicit."
Justice Alito, when asked about the controversy, noted that he had no control over his strong-willed wife, nor the flags she chose to fly. "My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not," he said.
Days later, Martha-Ann's fondness for flags became even more apparent when she was secretly recorded by an undercover liberal at a gala discussing different banners she would like to hoist above her home.
These included a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag, "because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month," as well as a flag of her own design with yellow flames and the Italian word for "shame."
In fact, Martha-Ann said she dreams of the day when her husband is "free of this nonsense" (Supreme Court judging) and she can fly unlimited flags aimed at triggering her terrible left-wing neighbors.
"I'm going to send them a message every day, maybe every week. I'll be changing the flags," she vowed.
Alito is, of course, an esteemed patriot of his own accord. But behind every great man is a strong woman, and Martha-Ann's fondness for petty disputes and badass flags has made it clear that Alito is a great judge, not just of legal cases, but of women as well. For that, he is a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.
