;)
The Commentariat -- March 23, 2016
If you are interested in taking over Reality Chex -- that is, owning it to do with as you will -- please contact me. I am looking forward to discontinuing my work on the site but would like to see it continue "under new management." I'll help you get started. Thank you to all who have contributed over the years. If I don't find a suitable "buyer," I'll close down next Friday, April 1. -- Constant Weader
Afternoon Update:
Josh Lederman of the AP: "A day after bombs ripped through Brussels, President Barack Obama declared that fighting the Islamic State is his 'No. 1 priority' and pledged that the United States will pursue the jihadist group until it is destroyed. 'I've got a lot of things on my plate, but my top priority is to defeat I ISIL and to eliminate the scourge of this barbaric terrorism that's been taking place around the world,' Obama said Wednesday. '... The issue is, how do we do it in an intelligent way?"
Nicole Perlroth & Katie Benner of the New York Times: Why are hackers willing to help the FBI unlock Apple's iPhone? Maybe because Apple, unlike other big tech companies, doesn't offer hackers a "bug bounty" when they alert the companies to programming flaws.
The New York Times has what it is still calling the "latest updates of President Obama's trip to Latin America." The "latest update," as it turns out, was posted yesterday evening, when the President was still in Cuba. (He's in Argentina now.) There are some interesting posts nonetheless.
*****
Presidential Race
Nick Gass of Politico: "Donald Trump would lead either Ted Cruz or John Kasich in a two-way race, according to the results of a Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday. On the Democratic side of the race, 50 percent said they would prefer Hillary Clinton as their party's nominee, while 38 percent wanted Bernie Sanders and 10 percent did not know. Matched up against Trump and Cruz, both Clinton and Sanders lead by as much as 14 points, as is the case of Sanders' lead in a hypothetical race with Trump. On the other hand, Kasich outperformed both Democrats when tested head-to-head, leading Clinton 47 percent to 39 percent and Sanders 45 percent to 44 percent."
The Party of Slime. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Within a matter of seconds on Tuesday night, Donald Trump tweeted -- and deleted -- an apparent threat involving Ted Cruz's wife.... 'Wow Sen. Ted Cruz,' it read, 'that is some low-level ad you did using a picture [of] Melania in a G.Q. shoot. Be careful or I will spill the beans on your wife.'... Within a few minutes, he tweeted a new version with the same not-so-veiled threat.... Make America Awesome's Liz Mair [who used the Melania photo in an ad] tweeted that 'Donald Trump is so desperate to beat Cruz that his team has been pushing around rumors she's a criminal w a mental illness for weeks now.' This appears to be a reference to [a] depressive episode..., when police in Austin encountered Heidi Cruz by the side of a highway, distraught." CW: I believe it was way back yesterday when I said Rubio had better be careful because Trump might attack his wife. I was kidding; I should have been dead-serious.
Cranks & Losers Unite. Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Jeb Bush ... endorsed Ted Cruz on Wednesday, becoming the most prominent member of the Republican establishment to support the Texas senator as he tries to slow Donald J. Trump's efforts to capture the presidential nomination.... With his endorsement of Mr. Cruz, Mr. Bush is sending two messages to voters: Reject Mr. Trump, and do not keep Mr. Kasich's candidacy alive." CW: Nice to see Jeb! is still a man of principle, endorsing the worst over the worser for pragmatic reasons. Either that or Kasich was mean to him.
AP: "Ted Cruz is suggesting he'd find a place for Republican rival John Kasich in his future administration if Kasich agrees to drop out of the presidential race and supports him." CW: Since Cruz no doubt knows a quid pro quo violates federal law, his bid was coy: after urging Kasich to leave the race, "In an interview Wednesday on CNN's 'New Day,' Cruz said of Kasich: 'I think he'd be a tremendous addition to an administration.'"
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) plans to deliver Wednesday a repudiation of the 'disheartened' state of American politics, a lengthy speech that comes amid the increasingly toxic Republican presidential primary that he has tried to steer away from in public comments.... Advisers view the speech, which will take place inside his former stomping grounds of the Ways and Means Committee hearing room, as a chance to firmly establish Ryan, 46, as the adult in national Republican politics and to get activists focused on the emerging agenda that the still-new speaker is trying to craft." CW: And remind convention delegates that Ayn Ryan would be an exceptional presidential nominee. I'll give Ryan this: he is a master of the art of the dog whistle, whether using it to diss "urban voters" for relying on "free lunches" or promote himself.
CW: Whatever the late-term machinations, we know the Republican nominee for president of the United State will be a scary, vile creep who already has promised to do irreparable harm to the nation & beyond.
Primary Results
Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump overwhelmed their rivals in the Arizona primaries on Tuesday.... But Senator Bernie Sanders thrashed Mrs. Clinton in the Idaho and Utah Democratic caucuses, demonstrating his enduring appeal among liberal activists even as she closes in on the party's nomination. And Senator Ted Cruz, who won the Republican contest in Utah, captured more than 50 percent of the vote, giving him all 40 of the state's delegates and sustaining hope among Mr. Trump's opponents that he can be slowed, if not stopped."
Greg Sargent: The reason Trump is winning is that he is openly practicing white-identity politics. CW: When Trump said in January, "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay?" he was right. Trump voters don't care what he says or does as long as they feel sure Trump is going to Make American White Again.
Democrats
Arizona. With less than one percent of the vote counted, Clinton is leading Sanders 61 to 36 percent. With 2 percent counted, the AP has called the race for Clinton. With 94 percent counted, the vote is 58-40, Clinton.
Idaho. With 100 percent of the vote counted, Sanders has won the state, 78 percent to Clinton's 21 percent.
Utah. With one percent counted, Sanders is leading Clinton 48 to 45 percent. With 11 percent counted, the AP has called the race for Sanders. He currently has 75 percent to Clinton's 24 percent. With 82 percent counted, the tally is 80-20, Sanders.
Republicans
Arizona. With less than one percent of the vote counted, Trump is leading with 45 percent, followed by Cruz with 20 percent & Kasich with 10. With 2 percent counted, the AP has called the race for Trump. With 94 percent counted, the vote is Trump 47, Cruz 25, & Kasich 10.
Utah. With 2 percent counted, Cruz is leading with 62 percent, Trump 23 percent & Kasich 15. If Cruz can finish with more than 50 percent of the caucus vote, he will get all 40 delegates. The AP has called the race for Cruz. With 85 percent of the vote counted, Cruz has 69 percent, Kasich 17 & Trump 13. With 94 percent counted, the results are Cruz 69, Kasich 17, Trump 14.
Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton portrayed herself on Tuesday as the only presidential candidate who has presented a detailed plan to defeat the Islamic State, which took responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Brussels earlier in the day." CW: Oh, I don't know. Here are some other "detailed plans":
... The Totalitarians
I would close up our borders to people until we figure out what's going on.... We're taking in people without real documentation, we don't know where they're coming from, we don't know what they're -- where they're from, who they are.... If they could expand the laws, I would do a lot more than waterboarding. You have to get the information from these people. -- Donald Trump, Tuesday morning, in response to the terror attacks in Brussels
... Peter Holley & Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post: "Experts across the political spectrum harshly criticized Trump's statements. Appearing on Fox News to discuss the attacks in Belgium, Michael Chertoff, who was the secretary of homeland security in the George W. Bush administration, labeled the candidate's ideas 'preposterous.'... During an appearance on MSNBC, terrorism expert Malcolm Nance said Trump's 'bluster' in the wake of Tuesday's attacks was hampering U.S. intelligence and the armed forces." ...
... Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: "Asked during his Fox appearance about what else he'd do in response to the attacks in addition to closing the southern border and banning Muslims, Trump said he [would] give the American people a 'pep talk.' 'I guess I would just talk to the people and give them, frankly, a pep talk,' Trump said. 'We need spirit in our country, okay.'" ...
... CW: If you are wondering what a Trump "pep talk" would look like, contributor Janice provided a pretty good picture. I just noticed she did so on the Ides of March, in an excellent comment that indirectly led to the end of Reality Chex (unless an "angel" comes forward to save it). Ironically, the Ides bode well for me, as I now have an opportunity to create an actual life in my waning years. I can't quite picture that life, but I'll think of something. ...
... Katie Zezima & Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said following Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Brussels that law enforcement should 'secure' Muslim neighborhoods, a comment that drew swift criticism. 'We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,' Cruz said in a statement issued after the attacks...." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "Looking at this state of affairs, with a dangerous, ghettoized European Muslim population and a much less threatening, well-assimilated American Muslim population, Cruz proposes to treat American Muslims like European ones. He endorses racial profiling of 'Muslim neighborhoods.'... This is the kind of madness that now prevails for foreign-policy logic in this party. Cruz, of course, has appointed raging paranoic Frank Gaffney as a foreign-policy adviser. Gaffney has called Barack Obama 'America's first Muslim president.' Perhaps Cruz envisions the special law patrols to include the neighborhood of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, to prevent the (further) radicalization of its Muslim occupant." ...
... Steve Benen: "... how would Cruz determine what a 'Muslim neighborhood' is? How many Muslim Americans does it take, exactly?... What would law-enforcement officials do in these areas, exactly? After a neighborhood has been 'secured' to Cruz's satisfaction, does the Republican envision a semi-permanent police presence to monitor Americans in the area based on their faith...? According to Cruz..., the plan would be to prevent radicalization. One wonders if he realizes the extent to which such a plan actually encourages the opposite." ...
... Steve M.: "... does Senator Cruz think the mostly non-Muslim neighborhood that was the home to Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik should be 'patrolled and secured'? Or the mostly non-Muslim neighborhood where Farook's mother lived? Or maybe Senator Cruz thinks Muslims should be rounded up and compelled to live in all-Muslim neighborhoods, to allow more effective patrolling and securing." ...
... Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: "Gov. John Kasich of Ohio on Tuesday cautioned against monitoring Muslim-Americans after the attacks in Brussels, saying that such a step would create division and harm the country's ability to gather intelligence. His comments came after one of his rivals, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, called for law enforcement 'to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.'" ...
... MEANWHILE. Eliza Collins & Katie Glueck of Politico: "John Kasich and Ted Cruz called on President Barack Obama to leave Cuba and come back to the U.S. -- or go to Brussels -- following deadly terrorist attacks in the heart of Europe on Tuesday." CW: Yes, what Belgium need right now is a Great American Butinski creating an additional security nightmare & giving speeches in English. ...
... Also, too, wingers are very upset that President Obama went to a baseball game in Cuba while Brussels was burning.
** David Smith of the Guardian: AIPAC "has denounced Donald Trump for his blunt criticism of Barack Obama at its conference in Washington on Monday.... [Trump] was cheered by some delegates at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (Aipac) event when he said: '... He may be the worst thing that ever happened to Israel.' But on Tuesday morning the Aipac president, Lillian Pinkus, broke from the planned agenda to distance the organisation from Trump's remarks. Other Aipac leaders stood with her on stage. 'Last evening, something occurred which has the potential to drive us apart, to divide us,' Pinkus said. 'We say unequivocally that we do not countenance ad hominem attacks and we take great offence against those that are levied against the president of the United States of America from our stage.' She added: 'While we may have policy differences, we deeply respect the office of the United States and our president, Barack Obama. There are people in our Aipac family who were deeply hurt last night and for that we are deeply sorry.'"
Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: Donald Trump "... plans to release a list of 5-10 names sometime in the next week. He says that, if given the opportunity to name a Supreme Court justice, he will limit his selection to the names on that list. At a press conference on Monday, Trump also revealed an unusual detail about how he is determining which names should be on the list. 'Heritage Foundation and others are working on the list,' according to Trump. Heritage is a think tank known for its stridently conservative views and its unorthodox approach to mathematics." ...
... Ed Kilgore: "Not only has Heritage had a long history of vetting Republican appointees; its current president, Jim DeMint, is arguably the most reliable of 'constitutional conservatives,' a man who believes conservative policy prescriptions ought to be permanently protected from the occasional liberal majority via a divinely inspired and unchanging Supreme Law."
David Fahrenthold & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "Aides to Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week that his charitable foundation made a mistake when it donated $25,000 to a political committee backing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a potential violation of federal rules prohibiting charities from aiding political candidates. The Donald J. Trump Foundation compounded the error by not listing its 2013 gift to the pro-Bondi group ... in its filings with the IRS that year.... The donation ... was controversial because it came as Bondi was reviewing whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University.... Bondi, a Republican..., never took action against Trump University. When questions arose at the time, the group and Trump defended the donation."
Gabriel Sherman of New York: "Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is considering suing BuzzFeed over an article alleging that he made unwanted sexual advances toward female journalists covering the candidate -- perhaps doing so under the influence of alcohol.... Trump has a history of suing journalists and likes to call reporters 'disgusting.' At a press conference in February, Trump said his administration would look into 'opening up libel laws' to punish unfriendly news organizations. 'When they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles we can sue them and win lots of money, he said. 'We're going to have people sue you like you've never got sued before.'"
Other News & Views
Kamilia Lahrichi of USA Today: "President Obama met with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri Wednesday during the visit to the South American country in a bid to strengthen ties with what is the continent's third largest economy.Security for the visit was beefed up in the wake of the terrorist attacks that shook Brussels Tuesday morning."
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura & Alissa Rubin of the New York Times: "Two bombers who carried out deadly attacks on Tuesday at Brussels Airport have been identified as brothers with criminal records, public broadcasters in Belgium reported on Wednesday. The brothers were identified as Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 30, whom the police had been seeking since the March 15 raid on an apartment in the Forest district of Brussels, the radio station RTBF reported, citing police sources. At least one of the brothers is believed to have died in the attacks at the airport. A third attacker has not been publicly identified and was still at large." ...
... Alissa Rubin, et al., of the New York Times: "The Islamic State claimed responsibility for deadly bombings that traumatized Brussels on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people at the main international airport and in a subway station at the heart of the city, near the headquarters of the European Union. Hours later the police found an unexploded bomb, loaded with nails, in a Brussels house search, along with chemicals and an Islamic State flag." ...
... Griff Witte, et al., of the Washington Post: "Belgian police released surveillance images of three men pushing luggage carts at the Brussels airport. They asked for help in identifying one man dressed in white, who they said was on the loose. Local reports said police believe that the other two men died in the explosions." ...
... Spencer Ackerman & Amanda Holpuch of the Guardian: "Authorities are set to bolster security at American airports and other transit hubs in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, although officials say they do not have credible intelligence about terrorism in the United States. The Transportation Security Administration will send additional personnel and security measures 'to major city airports in the United States, and at various rail and transit stations around the country', announced Jeh Johnson, the US secretary of homeland security, who called it a 'precautionary measure' rather than a response to a specific threat." ...
... The Guardian's liveblog for today is here. The Guardian's liveblog for March 22 is here. The New York Times' current liveblog is here. ...
... Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "President Obama's slow-but-steady strategy to defeat the Islamic State is clawing back a little territory in Syria and Iraq but is doing nothing to dent the charismatic appeal of the militant group, disrupt its propaganda or prevent it from killing Europeans." CW: OR, Everything Is Obama's Fault. ...
... Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "The terror attacks in Brussels on Tuesday pose the worst kind of foreign policy dilemma for President Obama, pitting his instincts, which tell him that he's doing all he can to defeat the Islamic State, against intense political pressure to do more.... The reality -- as Obama learned in the aftermath of the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. -- is that impressive battlefield statistics and reasoned calls for restraint mean little in the climate of fear generated by terror strikes."
Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times: "A top FBI official said it would take at least two weeks to determine whether investigators can open the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook without help from Apple. Assistant Director David Bowdich said in an interview Tuesday that the Washington office of FBI became aware of a third-party claim that it could unlock the iPhone on Sunday evening. Bowdich said that third party -- who he would not identify -- did demonstrate the ability to unlock the phone in testing. That is why the agency asked a federal judge to delay a hearing in its legal battle against Apple."
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The bitter impasse over the nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland is raising a once unthinkable possibility: Presidents may no longer be confident of filling a Supreme Court vacancy unless their party controls the Senate.... While they have balked at some court picks, Democratic-controlled Senates have confirmed multiple nominees offered by Republican presidents on the principle of granting deference to a presidential choice. (The last time a Republican Senate considered a nominee by a Democratic president was in 1895.)" ...
... CW: Senate Republicans are also holding up lower court nominees. Given the tenor of today's Republican party, it seems likely that Democrats will hold the White House for years, but there's no telling which party will control the Senate. If Republicans continue to prevail there, theoretically the entire federal court system could dwindle to a few elderly coots presiding in district courts. Thanks, Mitch & Chuck!
Irin Carmon of MSNBC: "The anti-birth control coverage camp is returning to the Supreme Court Wednesday... Now that Scalia's death has robbed the plaintiffs of a fifth vote, the nonprofit objectors face two unappealing outcomes: Losing entirely, or a 4-4 tie that leaves in place the lower court opinions that backed the Obama administration. In other words, a lose-lose."
Peter Schroeder of the Hill: "The Supreme Court issued a deadlocked ruling Tuesday, its first since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The court tied 4-4 in a case involving whether a pair of wives should be held financially responsible for the failure of their husbands' real estate endeavor.... The outcome of Hawkins v. Community Bank of Raymore leaves in place a lower court ruling that affirmed that the bank did not discriminate against the women. But it also means the Supreme Court did not resolve [a] pair of conflicting lower court rulings on the matter. A decision from the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled directly on this case, conflicted with a prior ruling from the 6th Circuit on a similar issue."
Gail Collins answers questions about her job.
Beyond the Beltway
Marissa Liebling of Project Vote: "As expected, last week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed an election bill into law. Significantly, the bill provides for online voter registration.... The most harmful provision buried in the bill effectively stops groups from organizing community voter registration drives.... Local and national groups, including Project Vote, joined together to show lawmakers that the proposed online registration system would not be available to all eligible electors, disproportionately impacting students, veterans, older individuals, low-income people and people of color.... Presented with this information, lawmakers refused to amend the law to preserve community registration drives or to expand access to the online registration system. We then asked Governor Walker to veto this provision."
Mitch Smith of the New York Times: Donnell Flora of Chicago, who gave his 14-year-old niece a gun to shoot her schoolmates over a dispute about a boy, has received a 100-year-sentence. The niece shot & killed one girl & critically wounded another. She will be tried for murder in juvenile court.
News Lede
Washington Post: "Joe Garagiola, who transformed a mediocre playing career in baseball into almost six decades as a popular and joyously self-deprecating broadcaster, becoming the sport's ambassador to the American public and a host of the 'Today' show, died March 23 in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 90."
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Reader Comments (38)
I thought that Trump was ISIS's favorite American but Cruz is seriously competing to promote people to become terrorists.
And again I am truly sorry that the suicide idiots will never know they won't meet their virgins.
Re: yesterday's girl; although I went into self imposed exile as a commentator here at RC, I never stopped clicking on first thing in the morning to see what the constaint reader gleaned from the previous day's harvest. She knew weed from waste, had a great sense of humor and didn't cotton to much chaff. I respected her drive and diligence. I might have even learned a thing or too!
Shut it down, I say. Realitychex is Marie Burns. Nobody can fill the shoes. Done is done, ashes to ashes we fall down. James Joseph Griffin
Marie:
Thank you doesn't suffice to express my appreciation for bringing us RealityChex. It's the first read for me in the morning.
I hope everything is okay and you are just leaving because you're sick of reporting and commenting on Trump. I hope you'll share your reason for shutting down, if you're comfortable. If not, best wishes and thank you, thank you, thank you.
CW: you've put so much effort here, I selfishly want you to continue. In a season of political dead-air, you do a fresh air job. You were going to cut this off 8 years ago, wasn't it? The quality of your efforts is apparent to those of us who come here often. Good on you wherever you go....Ciao
JJG (Hi!) is right. Damn it all anyway. There's nobody like Marie and lord knows how I'm gonna get used to this.
@JJG: All my sweat & toil was worth it to find out you had a real name.
Marie
Here's a nice note I got from somebody who says his name is john mason:
"Fuck you, asshole."
I wouldn't normally publish a comment that criticized another commenter, but this one, also from the reputed john mason, is too hilarious in its internal inconsistency to ignore, especially when read in context of his previous e-mail:
"Also I'm sick of the filthy language from that asshole Akhilleus."
So glad john mason finally decided to contribute, tho of course he didn't have the guts to write actual comments but sent e-mails instead. Crap comments in chicken-shit wrappers. Lovely.
Marie
Dang it Marie. How am I supposed to keep my fingers around some sanity in this world? RC is one of my go-to places for the quick unvarnished synopsis served up on a platter of critical thinking.
Well, where ever you are going I wish you well and many thanks for your insights over the years. I've leaned plenty from you.
Very presumptuous of me. I hope Marie will forgive me... Is it possible to arrange a sort of "An Affair to Remember" date? Can we check back in, say 30 days, in hopes that Marie has tired of Insane America and once again relishes her old friends at RC? If nothing new is posted we will know she has found a better life without Cary Grant. However, if we see a Commentariat May 1, 2016...
Oh no! I will miss RC very much. I also check in every morning. Thank you, Marie for journalistic wonderfulness over the years. I wish you much happiness and joy. ps (I like the idea of RC coming back after 30 days, ya?)....
Marie, I don't say much around here, but I sure am going to miss your blog. It is the best source of news I read each day, as well as some of the best commentary. I wish the ugly haters would just keep their pollution in their own cesspools rather than poisoning this community.
I leave for one day and return to find our Oasis in the Desert up for sale. Imagine Ken's surprise when returning weeks after being in windswept Nebraska following the Sandhill crane migration. This site has been for many of us not only a great news outlet, not only a place we are able to express ourselves, write opinions and information, but a home of sorts. We feel like a family. (was delighted to see JJG post–-have missed him) And the head of this family is Marie who has given us the best of the best and we have been forever grateful. But now she's ready to let go––and understandably so. When I think of taking over this site I suddenly become very tired plus my techy skills you could put in a pea whistle. So unless that angel doth appear, we my dear friends, better get ready to say goodbye. Little did I know that my reference a few days ago to "The Eve of Destruction" was actually going to happen. I will miss this home terribly and all the people who have made it so. Until April 1st––fool's day––keep your fingers crossed for a bloody miracle.
Marie: I got cheated out of most History, Civics & Government
studies in high school (rural, up north in Michigan) because of a
shortage of teachers. The football/basketball coach took over most
of those subjects so you probably can guess what most of the
discussions in class were about.
I've learned much more from you than I ever expected and don't
know what to do without you with my morning coffee. No other
site comes close to the effort you have put into Reality Chex, so
thank you, thank you, thank you.
I'm hoping you're just pulling an April Fools joke on us.
At the risk of breaking the rules... I can't remember when I started reading RealityChex, but like so many others, I came here because of Marie's most excellent comments in the New York Times. I stayed because of the great links to blogs and news articles, and because of the commentary, both from CW and others. But I most remember a set of comments in the fall of 2011, a Saturday night, I believe. It must have been a slow news day, and CW didn't shut the comments down even though they went off subject. In the news feed there was a link to a piece about Roger Ebert's recently published memoir, with a substantial quote from the book about death. This led to an interesting discussion among maybe four commenters about the same subject, including a reference to a marvelous poem by Ellen Bass called "If You Knew." I shared the comments with my partner, and we both agreed with the overarching message, that we need to be more aware that our time here is brief and may end in an instant. Less than a year later, he was killed in a car accident. When I finally returned to my computer and RealityChex a couple of months later, I wanted to thank everyone here for that Saturday night discussion, but ... well, talk about breaking the rules. At this point, I don't remember who commented. Maybe Ken Winkes, maybe PD Pepe.
I have enjoyed all of your comments (hey, JJG, nice to hear from you again), so my thanks to everyone and to Marie/CW for providing such a wonderful gathering place.
Thank you, Marie, for sticking with this little slice of reality and humanity for so long, and for giving us the opportunity to add our observations. Your comments in the Times led me to this site, and your insights and the community here have brightened some pretty dark days.
Best wishes for whatever you turn to next, whether it is sea kayaking, remodeling houses, or advising the DNC which, as far as I can tell, would benefit greatly from your perspective.
And thank you for putting the "Judge Sarah" link in the Infotainment section. I saw it in the People section of the local newspaper this morning. My daughter's comment at the breakfast table, channeling Bugs Bunny, was: "Fortunately, I never studied law..."
Marie, I will greatly miss the site as well as all its commenters. A few days of getting used to the idea of being without it have allowed one thought to predominate: you have provided a superb service and forum to us, and you deserve to move on with your life. I hope it will be long and fulfilling. Thank you.
Marie, I am horrified to learn that we are losing your sane voice, but I will be happy for you if you are moving on to something that makes your life better. I was not a commenter, but I loved this blog and relied heavily on it, recommended it to all like-minded folks (and some not so much, for their own good!), and started every day with it. What will my mornings look like without you? You have been a marvel and a rock on otherwise bleak days. I (and obviously many others) will miss you a very great deal. Thank you for all you have done and been for us.
What can I say that hasn't already been said? But I would be remiss in not stating publicly how much this site has meant to me. The treasure trove of links to excellent sources, the diversity of topics, and - especially - the funny and pointed commentary from Marie. This site is irreplaceable, but if some brave soul would try, I will support them as best I can.
Beyond the sadness of losing Realitychex is the imminent loss of community with all the commenters. I will miss you so much. I am on Twitter and would be happy to follow any of you that may be. So that could be a small step....
Victoria Dahlgren
Marie,
I have visited your this site daily for a few years, and wish to thank you for your efforts. It was how I started my day. Best of luck in the future, you will be missed
Marie
I've waited a few days to let your announcement sink in before sending you a note. A sad but understandable decision.
I do hold you responsible for many hours of lost productivity. Way too many daily visits to Reality Chex. But it was a fair trade off for my new engagement as a concerned citizen. That said, I could never in my 67 years, imagine that our democracy and civic life could ever reach this point. I guess I am a naive boomer who took Superman at his word. Truth, Justice and the American way. We all reach a point where we must reevaluate and decide where we want to be at a particular time in our limited life.
At present I am in counseling with my cats. They are helping me to understand the concept of "fight-or-flight" response.
So now, the big decision, get a "big tail" or hide under the bed.
Thank you so much, Marie
Dan
PS
I will never forgive you if Reality Chex becomes the property of "Americans for Prosperity".
Marie, you will be missed. RC is the first thing I read in the morning. While I have never agreed 100% with all opinions here, it is always refreshing to hear well-reasoned arguments. It forces me to consider and hone my own thoughts and opinions. I think the world would be better off if we were all getting our information from RC rather than places like Fox "News". Thanks for everything.
Marie,
You have been my first read for many years. Together with several cups of coffee your comments have been a shaft of light in today's quagmire of political/social buffoonery. Thank you.
At 77 years young, I have (I am sorry to say) only come to my political senses late in life. I only posted a comment once, but as with others RC is my first news site I go to each day after finding it via your NYT comments. I will have a real sense of loss when you go, especially since I live in NC where the crazies are now in charge. Best wishes in whatever it is that has appeared as a new direction.
Please add my voice to those who will miss this site terribly. I learn something new every day from your incredibly diligent work to aggregate so much information (and with your pithy comments to augment the plain-vanilla news).
But even more, I shall miss the community that you have created here. How will I get through the day without Akhilleus and his biting - but always completely on point - wit? Without D.C. Clark's basic decency? Without PDPepe's insightful commentary? And the list goes on. I shall miss all of you. Although I seldom comment on this site, I feel like I have been privy to a circle of brilliant, passionate, and dedicated friends who will be impossible to replace and whose loss will be deeply felt.
Thank you, all of you, for letting me be a part of this.
What are your plans, Marie?
Marie, you will be missed!
Count me as one more who turned to you first thing in the morning and followed your links throughout the day. No other website or blog was as thorough as you.
Now what will I do?? (sniff) ;-(
Elizabeth:
I was the one who posted "If you knew" by Ellen Bass. When Marie deleted it, and explained why, I learned about copyright law and how it applies to internet communication. That's what I have appreciated about Marie's commentary: there is always something to learn, especially about news stories and how to assess their worth.
And to Marie:
Thank you so much for all you have done. Although you have been clear that your commentary is about politics, I have always seen realitychex as a serious study of human nature. We can't rise above politics because we are politics. I feel I have been given a real education here. I am sure you will choose something wonderful to do for the next phase of your life.
Although I don't comment, I am another silent daily viewer who spends more time than I care to admit reading updates and following the wonderful comments. This column has enriched my life, and I want to thank you for your efforts and wish you well in whatever you choose to do.
I, too, must jump on the bandwagon in praise and thanks to Marie and the RC "family" for filling a significant portion of my days from start to finish. All intelligent, insightful, wise, and educational. Funny, too! (Without Marie I never would have even learned how to embed a hyperlink.)
Since switching off the teevee a few years ago, RC has been my primary source of political news and information. It's been a lifesaver in retaining my sanity, I hope, during my weekly travels from a northern blue state to the fetid bowels of the Confederacy for work. During that time I have managed to keep my mouth shut at times rather than risk arguments and fear of getting shot in reaction to some of the stuff I've had to listen to.
I've long been amazed at Marie's efforts in providing her service, especially without any obnoxious advertising that other sites appear to rely upon.
Marie, you will certainly be missed. If I could I would throw a party in your honor and invite all y'all. Best wishes for the future (dire at it seems at times.)
"There is an end to everything, to good things as well." ~Chaucer 1374
I've always borne a bit of a grudge against old Geoffrey for putting this dour buzzkill of an idea out in the world. He's right, of course. My sense has long been that the good things end but mediocrities seem to go on, like the undead, forever. Look at Mitch McConnell. Perhaps a stake through the heart...
But I digress. Last night I confronted my state of denial regarding the imminent demise of RC and found myself wanting. Multiple injections of heroin seemed not to serve, neither those extra five bedtime shots of John Jameson's, so I manned up and decided that, much to my chagrin, (chagrin, like you read about) all good things do come to an end.
Not long ago, my brother sent me a link to a story about the closing of one of our old music haunts. Our melancholic dismay at its closing was only partially due to its excellence as a venue for superior music of all variations and ranges, from obscure local bands to national treasures, from mainstream to the weirdly recondite and tiny niche acts, and back again. The milieu, as well as the music, was the draw.
On any night one could encounter artists, writers, poets, plumbers, scientists, students, academics, activists, map makers of the celestial as well as of the heart, street people, local music fans, and the merely curious. In between sets, fierce and boisterous debates would be rejoined in clusters milling about by the bar as well as at the tables. Our group could just as easily have been tearing apart abstruse details of the Maastricht Treaty, listening to oceanographer friends just back from studying shifting sands under the Great Banks, or disputing the need for the local ball club to spend ungodly sums on some over the hill closer. When the music cranked up again, it was back to dancing the night away, unless an arresting polemic could be advanced over the din.
I'm feeling the same tug of wistfulness leavened by the remembrances of raucous and enlightened companionship at the thought of RC shutting the lights for the last time and locking its door.
In a way, Chez Marie's has filled the same sort of need that created the great Parisian salons of the 18th and 19th centuries where ideas of great moment were debated, new thoughts floated, the works of poets, artists, political theorists, and philosophes were discussed (operas too, probably). The salons operated as a kind of floating university for many of their habitués who shared thoughts, anecdotes, histories, and values, much the same as happens out here. The great salonnières, Madame Geoffrin, whose regulars included Diderot, Montesquieu, Helvetius, and Rousseau, and Madame Arman, immortalized by Proust for her stellar assortment of bon vivants and intellectual lights, have nothing on Madame Burns and her virtual salon.
PD's observation that RC has created a family is absolutely right, for I feel like I'm walking into a special place populated by friends and family whenever I log on; by smart, witty, eminently decent souls, each with their own unique stories and experiences, whose contributions help to keep us sane and grounded and appreciative of humanity amidst the unhinged and unmoored. I've always wondered what Ben Franklin told his American friends when he finally sailed home after nine years abroad, much of that time spent working his magic and fending for the American cause in Parisian salons. I'm guessing he may have thought to himself, "Hell, I'd have stayed there forever. Who'd want to leave all that?"
But then old Geoffrey's sour reminder must have kicked in.
And so it goes.
In the event, since Marie is looking forward to a life free of the shackles of keeping us informed and amicably enlightened, I am in full agreement with the rest of the RC denizens in wishing her the best. She has more than earned her respite and the opportunity to make some other corner of the universe a better and more civilized place.
And an extra large family-sized thank you to one and all. You've made all the time spent here a joyful experience. I will miss you all greatly.
I'm not usually one for lurking about until the lights come on and the barkeep is shouting about how you don't have to go home but you can't stay here, but I suppose I'll be skulking about until the bitter end pretending that everything is normal and bruising sensitive dispositions with appropriately filthy commentary.
The fuckers.
Marie, and all..... Here on the northern island from which I write, we are blessed with a handful of interesting, helpful, hard working and well traveled neighbors.
As I read the many tributes to Marie and to her readers today, I was reminded that what Marie accomplished for years was not just in building, daily, a highly functional ark for readers contending with a flood of political information, but also in creating an electronic neighborhood which genuinely linked a far flung group of talented, articulate citizens. "All politics is local". Quite.
Best wishes to all with your future endeavors which I hope in Marie's case will include writing what would be an illuminating autobiography. I will surely miss this unique neighborhood.
Marie,
I truly don't know how to react. You and this community have been my anchor since I left NY. I was teaching in the Bronx where I was an adjunct in microbiology and a plant scientist (macroalgae of all things) at Lehman College of CUNY (this included being on the Saw Mill Parkway driving towards Lehman as 911 occurred). I was with a diverse, interesting, and open community.
After my move to RI I found you all by following Marie in the NYT comments sections. Now maybe my mornings will be spent working, writing, and illustrating children's books. But ..... I won't have to look up words in my dictionary, wish I could take my Shakespeare course over and that maybe I should have tried to read Chaucer in the old English, and wish I had memorized times, dates, and patterns of events in my History courses.
Marie and group, you have been my brain nourishment in RI. Now I'll have to be responsible for other ways to use my mornings. This is frightening but perhaps its like kicking an eaglet out of a nest. I'll miss you all as I learn to fly at 75.
Marie, enjoy your time. I couldn't figure out how you did it. I send you my best wishes. Thank you for being here.
Marie, not to worry, Tennyson's "Ulysses" is public domain, and the last lines are about you:
"... There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Go smite those sounding waves, and deepest gratitude for all you have given us these past few years. Irreplaceable.
Marie,
RC is the best news and commentary site. Having been an everyday reader, and occasional commenter, for many years, I will certainly miss of the insightful, illustrative and often pithy comments by you and the RC contributors.
I cannot begin to express my appreciation for all your hard work keeping the site updated, interesting and topical.
Many thanks for all you have done.
Just returned from various islands to this sad news. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Marie and all of you regulars, since finding you through The New York Times, for making me feel less lonely when surrounded by the crazies. You are all so astute. I encourage you to read Charlie, tho he has his flaws, and he has great followers. Crooks and Liars has the stories but I don't care for the comments. Many thanks, Marie. We will miss you and RC so much.
The real goal of John Roberts' decision to axe voting rights laws:
Keep undesirables (ie, those who might not kiss Confederate ass) from voting.
Maricopa County (hmmm....now where have we heard that location before?...), home of racist pig and cross-his-wizened-little-heart-and-hope-to-die Federal Court target Joe Arpaio, the guy who picks up suspicious looking Hispanics on the street and puts them into a filthy, fetid prison camp, because Freedom (for whites), and a yuuuuge supporter of the White Hooded Drumpf, in cahoots with his Confederate hater buddies, has reduced the number of polling places from 200 to 60. This means one polling place for every 21,000 voters. In many instances, Latino neighborhoods had no (read: zero) polling places, despite the fact that over 40% of Phoenix's 1.5 million residents are Latino.
"Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, in charge of overseeing the election, told reporters she was sorry people were upset but didn’t offer solutions...it is no coincidence many poor and predominantly Latino areas didn’t get a polling place. Purcell and her staff figured few of them vote anyway."
So, basically, not white? Not likely to vote for the Nazis? Not a friend of Herr Drumpf or SS officer Arpaio? You can try to vote if you want to wait four or five hours. Otherwise, fuck you. Those dirty Messicans don't vote anyway. They're all rapists and drug dealers. I mean, look at those calf muscles!
Helen Purcell: next Trump director of the Federal Elections Commission.
Good job, Little Johnny!
So the dumbing down of America continues as another light turns off.