I have always respected and admired Dan for who he is and for the job he
does, and has done, for the ALSB.  I believe he acted in his ALSB capacity
as he believed best for the organization.

Likewise, I respect and admire Marianne for the many things she has
accomplished individually and for the ALSB.  I recall (at least) several
times the organization was proud to have one of its own have an Op-Ed piece
published in the Wall Street Journal.

From my first ALSB meeting (when we were not the ALSB) many years ago, the
feeling was always that we were always "us", and that was a good thing.
Whether or not you worked as the only law person at your school or one of
many, whether academic life at your school was going well or you were under
attack for any number of common reasons, when we came together, you felt
better, and never felt alone.  That was true no matter what your own
political ideology, personal beliefs, or other defining criteria were.  For
every person who asked me questions clearly investigating how I liked now
having indoor plumbing and electricity in Mississippi, there were many who
told me how beautiful he or she thought Mississippi is, or simply could care
less where I was from, caring only that I was at the meeting and having
professional and personal needs met.

That is who I believe we still are.  That is who we need to be.  A group
that cares about its own because each is a part of the group.  We have never
been all alike.  We never will be.  This group would never achieve all it
has - and all it can - if we simply want to be alike.  This goes far deeper
than a First Amendment issue.  We need everyone.

Perception is reality.

Ernie