Mary Chastain – 10th Anniversary at Legal Insurrection
A caring person who passionately loves her family, her blog, and her country, and who does everything full-throttle.
I’m so old, I remember when a young girl was left on our Legal Insurrection doorstep. She was one of the best gifts we’ve ever received.
She looked so young. Was she lost? Did she need a ride to school?
Little did I know, she already was a legend, having worked at Breitbart News when it was run by Breitbart.
[Mary Chastain and Andrew Breitbart]
81 years earlier on that date the Soviet Army completed its capture of Berlin and raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. Five years earlier on that date U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. So this was a special date.
Just weeks before that date Donald Trump had surged ahead of Ted Cruz and others in the Republican primaries and had close to a lock on the nomination. Change was in the air.
The girl on the doorstep said her name was Mary. Mary Chastain.
She knew people who knew our people.
And some of our people knew her.
[Mary Chastain and Kemberlee Kaye doing whatever it is they were doing before we started counting time.]
Her first post was May 2, 2016, on international politics, something that was her initial focus. But domestic politics was never far behind. Looking at her third post brings back “memories” of the 2016 election, Trump Claims Cruz’s Father Helped Oswald. (I have to laugh when I read that headline.)
Mary quickly settled into daily coverage of all things politics and became a regular.
We finally got around to announcing her arrival on June 17, 2016:
Mary, our Contributing Editor, joined us at the beginning of May. Mary wrote for Andrew Breitbart’s website since 2011 and stayed on after his death. She covered mostly international issues, with a focus on Eastern Europe, but also covered domestic issues. And sports. She’s a batshit-crazy Cubs fan (is there any other type?). She lives in Oklahoma, the place people in flyover country refer to as flyover country.
At last count, Mary had over 9700 posts. Let me say that slowly for the Low IQ people: 9-7-0-0.
She’s a blogging machine. The Energizer Bunny with a nuclear core.
Mary now runs the blog weekdays, covering breaking news with a speed and quality that is hard to match. While raising two girls and a husband. While living in Tornado Alley in Oklahoma and dodging Twisters. She’s just a couple of years away from being an empty nester. We may need to find more things for her to do to fill all the free time.
She’s also a Crazy Cat Lady – an epithet she considers a compliment. As if being a Crazy Cat Lady wasn’t enough, she’s an obsessive Chicago Cubs fan. Hey, I don’t tell people how to live their lives.
Mary’s mom is a huge Legal Insurrection fan and will text Mary when her “boss” is on TV. I love her.
But wait, there’s more,
Over time Mary developed an interest in the law and writing about legal topics. To advance her knowledge and skills she enrolled in a Master of Legal Studies program at Seton Hall University, while working full time for Legal Insurrection plus all her family obligations, graduating in 2023.
Since then, Mary has covered an increasing number of court decisions and lawsuits, which has come in handy in the age of unlimited lawfare against the Trump administration. I have the confidence to have her write up even breaking Supreme Court decisions because I know she is cautious and careful, at least as to legal writing.
As to concerts, of which she attends many, well maybe not so cautious ….
Want to get Mary angry, like really angry. Just threaten to take away her AR-15:
The AR-15 we can buy, which I own, is not meant for war. It is semi-automatic and holds a .223 round. That means it’s a smaller cartridge and I shoot only one bullet when I pull the trigger….
Also, do not tell me I do not need an AR-15. I need and want an AR-15.
Many people do not know this, but I was born with massive head trauma after the doctor got careless with the forceps. My left side is handicapped. My left hand can be careless and obviously doesn’t work well.
The AR-15 is light and I can basically use it with only my right hand. It has light recoil, too. It’s perfect for a female even without physical disabilities.
Yes, I do like that it’s big and scary looking!
Guys, find you a woman who looks at you the way Mary Chastain looks at her AR-15.
Today Mary joins a small group of current Legal Insurrection staff who have hit the 10-year mark. Having people with this longevity is one of the things I’m most proud of:
It’s really hard to sum up Mary, but I’ll try: A caring person who passionately loves her family, her blog, and her country, and who does everything full-throttle.
After 10 years, thank you does not seem enough.
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to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
You chose well Professor!
Thank you Mary.
I think I’ve read all 9700 posts!
Looking forward to 9701!
What a nice story! Keep up the great work, all of you.
Ok- not going to pick the “who needs an AR”…. the only people who NEED and AR are the people who actually shoot their ARs…. not the people who buy them to set and get rusty.
You know you have a problem when someone offers to give you some really nice guns for free and you wince because you barely ever shoot the guns that you own.
and wow how time flies. I can still remember driving up Woodard Bay road in Olympia and hearing Rush Limbaugh mention this blog that happened to nail down some hard facts.
Love Mary and all the LI staff. Thanks for what you do.
Andy:
That’s how you know when you have “too many” firearms…they’re not being used regularly.
I just consigned and sold at auction (through “Lock, Stock and Barrel Auctions”) my M1 Garands that I used to use for CMP matches. I hadn’t fired them for over 20 years, and felt bad that they weren’t being used but had just turned into safe-queens.
Hopefully they’re now in the hands of somebody who will take them out and shoot them regularly, and occasionally cuss the dreaded “M1-thumb” (easy to avoid once you learn how).
There’s now a little more room in the gun safe, and the rifles that are still there are the ones I shoot at least every year.
For Mary’s anniversary… can we get an edit button?
Yes! Please!
I bet a dollar the down vote was WAJ.
What a great writeup. I’ve seen Mary’s name in the byline during the years I’ve followed Legal Insurrection. It’s great to find out more about this amazing energetic woman who happens to live in Oklahoma. Go Cubs.
love her articles
congrats on the 10 years
Mary, Congratulations and thanks! May your garden of posts grow!
Happy Anniversary Mary! 🥳
Mary, Mary, with weapon scary
How do your hours go?
With tales to tell and shotgun shells
And crazy cats all in a row!
H/T to gibbie for the inspiration for my ditty! And congratulations, Mary, we appreciate you!
Love your articles Mary, great to learn more about you!
Yay Mary!!!
Congratulations, Mary. And thank you!
Congratulations!
Thanks for inviting us to visit Mary’s background. She’s great, and knowing a little more about her I appreciate her all the more.
Thank you, Mary. You make our lives fuller and richer . . . and, more importantly, we are much better informed with your reporting..
Early in my tenure as a supervisor of people, as wise person told me I was not very good at showing appreciation for the talented people I supervised. Fortunately, professor, you are not similarly afflicted. Congratulations, Mary. I look forward to more years of your great reporting and commentary.
Mary’s the best! I never miss an article when it’s by Mary Chastain.
Congratulations, Mary!
She’s the best editor I’ve ever worked for — and I’ve written for a lot of editors over the years! I’ve often described Mary as intrepid — her ability to report a story within minutes of it breaking is impressive and her endless energy keeps the blog together.. And she makes it all look easy. Congratulations on the milestone, and here’s to many more. xx
I was on the faculty at Seton Hall University for 20 years and appreciate hearing about a graduate of SHU who writes wonderful essays and articles!
Happy Anniversary