Episode description

SEASON 2 EPISODE 178: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:40) SPECIAL COMMENT: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has not only now CONFIRMED that the upside down American flag flown in front of his home three days before President Biden’s inauguration WAS meant to support the Trump “Stop The Steal” plot – but in blaming his wife and neighbors for it, he has blatantly and transparently LIED in his excuse.

“I spoke directly with Justice Alito about the flag story in the New York Times,” posts Shannon Bream, a host on Fox News. “In addition to what’s in the story, he told me a neighbor on their street had a quote ‘F Trump’ sign that was within 50 feet of where children await the school the bus in January ’21.”

 THAT’S the lie. Local schools – city of Alexandria AND Fairfax county - had resumed REMOTE learning a MONTH earlier. There were no school buses. There were no kids waiting at bus stops waiting for the school buses that never were. Alito seems to have forgotten that anybody could check this.

"According to Justice Alito, things escalated and the neighbor put up a sign personally addressing Mrs. Alito and blaming her for the January 6th attacks. Justice Alito says he and his wife were walking in the neighborhood and there were words between Mrs. Alito and a male at the home with the sign,” unquote. Again – this sign could not have been seen by kids at a bus stop. “Alito says the man engaged in vulgar language ‘including the c-word.’ Following that exchange Mrs. Alito was distraught and hung the flag upside down quote “for a short time.” Justice Alito says some neighbors on his street are ‘very political’ and acknowledges it was a very heated time in January 2021,” end quote.

Alito said he had had “no involvement whatsoever” in the flying of the flag when contacted by The Times on Wednesday or Thursday. By Friday he suddenly had an involved and intricate story of an increasingly bitter and intense series of confrontations with his neighbors, including his wife becoming quote “distraught” – and especially the vivid and enraging detail about the flag with the F-word being visible to neighborhood children the school bus stop.

He's lying. Again. In multiple ways.

The Democratic response? Resign? Hearings? More limp-flagged calls for recusal and SCOTUS ethic rules. What would the Republicans be doing if – to merge two current Supreme Court scandals - say, Justice Katanji Brown Jackson had hung an ANTIFA-related flag or sign from HER home and taken cash and gifts directly from George Soros? Chairman Durbin needs to think about that – or somebody needs to think about it for him – and then he should do THAT.

B-Block (16:28) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Exactly what American journalism needed: Chris Cillizza has authored a "Mission Statement." It is even more hilariously self-unaware than any actual article he's ever written.

C-Block (38:30) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: A lot in this episode about the media, so let's hear from Thurber and how they tried to turn him into a radio star and instead turned him into a nervous wreck: "How To Relax While Broadcasting."

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