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Author: Mandy Nagy

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Mandy Nagy

Mandy Nagy (aka "Liberty Chick") was an investigative writer and researcher. She primarily covered the institutional left, protest movements, hacking and cybercrime, and technology. After suffering a serious stroke in September 2014, Mandy no longer was able to work at Legal Insurrection, but she's always on our minds and in our hearts. For more information, see here.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 09, 2014 21 Comments
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a statement late Wednesday in response to the reports that a top staffer from his office and others were involved in controversial NJ lane closures at the George Washington Bridge. In his statement Wednesday, Christie said he was misled by a member of his staff and called the conduct “completely inappropriate and unsanctioned.” From News 12 New Jersey:
“What I've seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.”

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 06, 2014 9 Comments
A man who went missing shortly after New Year's Day has been located after his family saw a photo of him in a recent news story about the cold weather. From USA Today:
A man missing since Wednesday was located in Washington, D.C., after his photo appeared in a Rochester, N.Y., edition of USA TODAY. Nicholas A. Simmons, 20, was last seen leaving his home in Greece, a suburb of Rochester, on New Year's Day. Family members began a search for him by contacting local news media and posting on Facebook. In a strange twist, family members told local police they saw a man in a photograph published by USA TODAY in Sunday's Democrat and Chronicle who looked like Simmons. The Associated Press photo ran with coverage of cold weather sweeping across the country. The caption identified a homeless man named "Nick" wrapped in a blanket just blocks from the U.S. Capitol on Saturday. Sunday night, Greece police said they contacted police in Washington, who located Simmons.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 06, 2014 2 Comments
A 90 year old World War II veteran received long overdue recognition this past weekend in Colorado as he was awarded several medals, including three Purple Hearts. From CBS Denver:
It took several decades but an American hero in Commerce City has finally been recognized. Army Sgt. Alfred Hurtado served in Europe during World War II. In 1943 he was severely injured and placed with wounded German prisoners by accident. His fellow soldiers thought he had died. On Saturday the chairman of the Forgotten Heroes campaign presented Hurtado with three Purple Hearts, a Combat Infantryman Badge, and nine other medals.
https://twitter.com/CBS4Mark/status/419586658032304129 https://twitter.com/CBS4Mark/status/419588019687915520

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 06, 2014 11 Comments

Liz Cheney  is ending her campaign for Senate in Wyoming, citing health concerns in her family.  The news was reported by CNN late Sunday night and confirmed in a statement Monday. From CNN: Liz Cheney, whose upstart bid to unseat Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi sparked a round...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 05, 2014 23 Comments

Janet Napolitano, former secretary of Homeland Security, said during a segment on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she is opposed to the idea of clemency for Edward Snowden. From NBC News/Meet the Press: Former Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano flatly rejected the idea of clemency for Edward...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 05, 2014 28 Comments
On this morning's “Fox News Sunday” program with host Chris Wallace, Mitt Romney took the high road and accepted an apology from Melissa Harris-Perry. (Video after the jump). https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/419833877838848000 This came just one day after the MSNBC host apologized again, this time on air, for a recent segment on her program that devolved into ridicule of a photo that featured Governor Romney holding his adopted grandson, Kieran, who is black. "Governor, this must be hurtful and I know you're a classy guy and you don't want to get into it," Wallace prefaced, "but I've got to ask you - honestly, from the heart, how did you, and quite frankly how did Mrs. Romney feel when you heard that your little baby grandson Kieran was the target for political ridicule?" "Well, first let me just note Chris, that we love this little guy a great deal.  He was an answer to prayer, and we love that he is part of our family. He is part of our family," Romney said. "That being said, I recognize that people make mistakes," Romney continued. "And the folks at MSNBC made a big mistake. And they’ve apologized for it. And that’s all you can ask for. I am going to move on from that. I am sure they want to move on from it. Look, I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself. And they’ve apologized for this. You know, I think we can go on from there." Wallace tried to press further:  "You tend to speak from the head. I know Mrs. Romney tends to speak from the heart. I suspect she took this somewhat more personally. The idea that political discourse would include going after a little baby." Romney continued to respond with grace and class, while pointing out that children are beyond the line as political targets.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 04, 2014 63 Comments
It's been a long week for Melissa Harris-Perry. The MSNBC host took a lot of heat for this segment on her show last weekend in which she moderated a panel of comedians in offering a caption to a Romney family photo that featured Governor Romney holding his adopted grandson, Kieran, who is black. The segment devolved into senseless mocking - as Professor Jacobson previously noted, "To the race-obsessed minds at MSNBC, the fact that Mitt Romney’s son and daughter-in-law adopted a black child is something to mock." Mitt Romney family Christmas photo 2013 Backlash ensued and Melissa Harris-Perry later apologized online in a series of tweets. On her program today, Harris-Perry again made an apology for that segment, while fighting back tears.  Below is an excerpt from that apology.  Video is after the jump.
Now given my own family history, I identify with that picture and I intended to say positive and celebratory things about it, but whatever the intent was, the reality is that the segment proceeded in a way that was offensive. And showing the photo in that context, that segment, was poor judgment. So without reservation or qualification, I apologize to the Romney family. Adults who enter into public life implicitly consent to having less privacy. But their families, and especially their children, should not be treated callously or thoughtlessly. My intention was not malicious, but I broke the ground rule that families are off-limits, and for that I am sorry. Also, allow me to apologize to other families formed through transracial adoption, because I am deeply sorry that we suggested that interracial families are in any way funny or deserving of ridicule. On this program we are dedicated to advocating for a wide diversity of families. It is one of our core principles, and I am reminded that when we are doing so, it must always be with the utmost respect.
(h/t to Newsbusters for the transcript; and to TheRightScoop for staying on the story)

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 04, 2014 2 Comments

Barbara Bush has been released from the hospital after nearly a week of treatment for pneumonia. From CNN: Former first lady Barbara Bush was discharged from Houston Methodist Hospital on Saturday, a family spokesman said. "I cannot thank the doctors and nurses at Houston Methodist enough for making...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 04, 2014 0 Comments

It’s hard to keep up with rules pertaining to speech at schools these days. University of West Alabama Wins The FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month FIRE taps Troy U. and Virginia State U. as 2013 Speech Codes of the Year “Winners” Or words that are just tiresome. University...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 03, 2014 5 Comments
Protests in Egypt turned violent on Friday as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and of ousted President Mohamed Morsi clashed with police forces. From Reuters:
Eleven people [Editor's note: this number is being updated, check the link for latest] were shot dead as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with police across Egypt on Friday, defying an ever-widening state crackdown on the movement that ruled the country until six months ago. Islamists opposed to the army's overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July have been holding daily demonstrations, even after the army-backed government declared his Brotherhood a terrorist group last week, increasing the penalties for dissent. The government is using the new classification to detain hundreds of Brotherhood supporters. Thousands more, including top leaders of the group, have been in jail for months, arrested in the aftermath of the army takeover.
The new classification of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization prompted the group’s supporters to take to the streets in various locations across Egypt just after the announcement last week. This week, Morsi supporters rallied after calls for demonstrations ahead of a new hearing in the ousted president’s trial. AFP reports that protesters were throwing various items amidst clashes with authorities, including rocks and fireworks.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 02, 2014 9 Comments

A special gift from the Obama family intended for the godmother of the president's daughters was mistakenly delivered to an unsuspecting recipient in Illinois, after a post-office mix-up. From ABC News: A woman in the Chicago suburbs got quite a surprise when opening up a delayed Christmas...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 01, 2014 12 Comments

I've never been much of one for making New Year's resolutions.  But the turn of the calendar does usually prompt me to reflect on the past year, and on what the year ahead may have to offer. The new year for many is in some...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 31, 2013 4 Comments
A new survey from Pew Research Center’s Internet Project shows that people are expanding their use of social media to more than just one platform, but Facebook still leads the way.
Some 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind.1 Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in the number of users, but a striking number of users are now diversifying onto other platforms. Some 42% of online adults now use multiple social networking sites. In addition, Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily basis. These are among the key findings on social networking site usage and adoption from a new survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project.
While some of the other key social media platforms seem to have developed more specific audiences – Pinterest, for example, is far more popular among women - Facebook appears to have a relatively broad audience in comparison.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 30, 2013 7 Comments
An official from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who helped oversee the rollout of healthcare.gov is retiring, according to the NY Times.
The No. 2 official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who supervised the troubled rollout of President Obama’s health care law, is retiring, administration officials said Monday. The official, Michelle Snyder, is the agency’s chief operating officer, in charge of day-to-day activities and the allocation of resources, including budget and personnel. Technology experts who built the website for the federal insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov, reported to her. Ms. Snyder is the second administration official to depart since problems with the website frustrated millions of people trying to buy insurance and caused acute political embarrassment to Mr. Obama. The chief information officer at the Medicare agency, Tony Trenkle, stepped down in November to take a job in the private sector. Marilyn B. Tavenner, the administrator of the Medicare agency, said Ms. Snyder was retiring this week “after 41 years of outstanding public service.”
Snyder’s name came up in congressional hearings in October.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 23, 2013 8 Comments
A radio station in Iowa has been granting Christmas wishes to a few chosen listeners each year for over two decades. This year, one of those requests stood out and will tug at your heartstrings. (Watch the video after the jump). From ABC News:
A mother of four has surprised her children, husband and his new fiancée with heartbreaking Christmas letters two years after her death from ovarian cancer. Brenda Schmitz was 46 when she passed away in September 2011. As a parting gift, she entrusted a letter to a friend, who remains anonymous, to deliver when the time was right. The letter was addressed to a local Des Moines, Iowa, radio station and contained two other letters; one for her husband David and another for the new love of his life. A month before she lost her battle to the disease, Schmitz wrote the letter to KSTZ Star 102.5, which runs a Christmas wishes program each year. Listeners send in their Christmas wish letters, and the station elicits the help of sponsors to grant a select few. Brenda's wishes were finally revealed two years later when the station brought her husband, David, into the studio and read the note to him on air last week.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 22, 2013 24 Comments
It's been reported often that enrolling enough young healthy people in Obamacare will be a critical part of the program in order to offset the costs of insuring the rest of enrolled Americans.  And we've seen in recent weeks that the administration (and advocacy groups) are certainly targeting the "young invincibles" crowd. Overall numbers of signups have been improving, but the numbers still have fallen far short of original targets.  And that's had some asking what the backup plan might be if enough young healthy people don't enroll. Byron York at the Washington Examiner reports:
Now, it's becoming apparent why Obamacare advocates are putting on such a confident face: They have no backup plan if their national health care scheme fails.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 22, 2013 5 Comments
This story has started making the rounds the last day or two, and I thought it would make a nice feel-good story to share with LI readers.  Be sure to watch the video after the jump for the full story. A little girl's Christmas wish will be answered after a red balloon carrying her letter to Santa floated its way through the sky to a good samaritan with an interesting connection to the girl's first name. From FOX 5 San Diego:
A kindergarten class sent Santa their Christmas wish lists, but one letter didn’t make it to the North Pole. Instead, a man working in downtown San Diego stumbled upon it as it literally fell out of the sky. Terry Hardin was on his way home Tuesday when he spotted a red balloon with a half-torn letter attached slowly descending towards him. Hardin had no clue where the balloon came from, but after reading the note attached to it, he knew he had to find out. “It was from some young lady, a 5-year-old named Joie,” Hardin said. The note read: “Dear Santa, I would like to have a mermaid doll with a bow for Christmas. Thank you, Love Joie.” Hardin turned to Facebook and with a little help, he was able to track the little girl to Mrs. Garay’s kindergarten class at St. Rose of Lima School in Chula Vista.
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