Bare-Faced Go-Away Bird

by hilzoy

First, I'm going to Rwanda this weekend, on vacation. I'm looking forward to it immensely, especially since I discovered that the Bare-Faced Go-Away Bird, which topped my list of Best Bird Names Ever nearly five years ago, lives there. (And did you know that the name 'Watusi' comes from the Tutsi? I didn't.) If anyone has any great suggestions for things I might not think to do, etc., please let me know.

Second, I'm taking this opportunity to retire from blogging. I'll be here through Friday, but after that, I won't. (I'll still hang out in comments, though, after I get back.) I'm not sure it would be possible for me to stop if I weren't going off to central Africa without my computer, but since I am, I will.

The main reason I started blogging, besides the fact that I thought it would be fun, was that starting sometime in 2002, I thought that my country had gone insane. It wasn't just the insane policies, although that was part of it. It was the sheer level of invective: the way that people who held what seemed to me to be perfectly reasonable views, e.g. that invading Iraq might not be such a smart move, were routinely being described as al Qaeda sympathizers who hated America and all it stood for and wanted us all to die. 

I thought: we've gone mad. And I have to do something -- not because I thought that I personally could have any appreciable effect on this, but because it felt like what Katherine called an all hands on deck moment. I had heard about times like this in the past -- the McCarthy era, for instance -- though I had never expected to live through one. Nonetheless, I was. And I had to try to do something, however insignificant.

But what? I had no idea. And I kept on having no idea for a while. I worked my heart out for Wes Clark, since I thought that he would be our strongest candidate in 2004. I talked to random people. It obviously wasn't enough, but it was all I could think of. 

Then, in 2004, I was asked to join Obsidian Wings. It was an honor: at the time, ObWi was, for my money, the best blog that really tried to create a dialogue between liberals and conservatives. And that was what I really wanted to do: to listen to people I disagreed with, to engage with them, and to try to show that it was possible to care deeply about politics without hating your opponents. Being civil doesn't mean you're lukewarm, and being committed to your principles doesn't mean you have to be hateful. Being asked to write for the Washington Monthly was a further honor, and one that I never expected.

That said, it seems to me that the madness is over. There are lots of people I disagree with, and lots of things I really care about, and even some people who seem to me to have misplaced their sanity, but the country as a whole does not seem to me to be crazy any more. Also, it has been nearly five years since I started. And so it seems to me that it's time for me to turn back into a pumpkin and twelve white mice.

It has been wonderful, though. I've had the best co-bloggers I can imagine, both at ObWi and at the Monthly, and I've learned an enormous amount from all the commenters. This is one of the things I love most about blogging: I put something up, and suddenly all these wonderful, smart, and articulate people whom I've never met pop up and start saying interesting things about it. It's a gift for which I will always be grateful. 

Thanks to everyone. (And, as I said, I will be here through Friday.)

Comments

[Jeremy]

Nooooooooooooooooo!

* sniff! *

[Lizzy L]

Hilzoy, it's been swell. Yours has been an honest and eloquent voice. We'll miss you, but it's your choice to stay or go. We will look for you in comments and perhaps as a guest blogger somewhere, somehow, over the rainbow... Enjoy the trip to Rwanda.

[Paul]

I miss you already. But best wishes!

[JanieM]

What Jeremy said.

Beyond that, words fail.

[CaseyL]

Waaaaaaaaaaaah!

Noooo, you can't goooooo!

Seriously: to say you will be missed has got to be the Understatement of the Year. There were many, many times over the past few years of madness that your measured, sane, and astonishingly compassionate take on it all helped me get my own mind around that particular topic.

And I'm afraid I have to disagree with some of your penultimate post: the craziness hasn't gone away. It's only out of power - for now, and even so still has the power to frame issues. Things aren't quite as bad as they were, but there's no guarantee they'll actually get *better* anytime soon.

But it would be that way even if you were posting, and I can't blame you for wanting to remove one source of ceaseless contention from your life. I look forward to your last few communiques, and wish you the very very best. You're a wonderful person, a really wonderful teacher, and one hell of a political commentor.

bye

*sniffle*

[publius]

Yep - words fail pretty much captures it. We've known about it, but it still doesn't make it any easier to see.

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

What Jeremy said.

Cripes, this is like Gandalf and Shadowfax sailing off into the mist. May you see a curtain of grey rain turned all to silver glass and rolled back to reveal white shores and a fair green country under a swift sunrise!

[Ron]

Say it ain't so, 'zo'!

I have come to rely on you as a voice of intelligence, calmness, and clarity. I will miss you greatly.

[Grace]

I've never commented before, but Hilzoy, I just want to add my voice to the chorus. Your posts were some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and SANE things I've ever read online. I'll really miss reading you. Thank you for blogging as long as you did.

[JakeB]

God, I'm going to miss you posting.

But it seemed to me that all the work you did here must have taken, at least at certain times, a tremendous amount of energy and thought and guts. As someone who usually can't find the time or energy even to think of a comment, I can imagine how freeing it might be to put that down.

cheers, and have a great trip. Will you see the gorillas? I guess that's one of the best places to see them.

[russell]

"Second, I'm taking this opportunity to retire from blogging."

There is no joy in Mudville.

"That said, it seems to me that the madness is over. "

Would that that were so.

Or, from your mouth to God's ear.

Rwanda is, apparently, and mirabile dictu, among the most functional of African states these days. People who, a few short years ago, were conversing via machete live side by side in peace.

Not that I have any place to do so, but I would ask one, and only one, favor of you.

When you return, I'd be interested in your impressions of Rwanda.

Vaya con dios, hilzoy. Enjoy the free time!

And, seriously, there is no joy in Mudville.

[Doctor Cleveland]

It's a shame. You're the best blogger.

[dr ngo]

Well, drat.

[byhil]

What everyone else said -- you'll be missed.

I understand your feeling that the country is no longer insane. We don't have a belligerent goof in the White House, backed by an eminence gris, nor do we such an administration being cheered on by 50% of the population.

But I think the all-hands-on-deck is still active. :-(

[kid bitzer]

this would be seriously some of the worst news i've heard in months, were it not for the fact that i don't believe it.

some have blogging thrust upon them, but you were born to blog. i think you need a sabbatical, a hiatus, some time away. god knows you deserve it.

but after that, i feel a sliver of hope, maybe even a cheese-wedge of hope, that you'll be back at it.

not with the "all hands on deck" urgency that first brought you in. for the five years i have been reading you, you have been the most consistently thoughtful, articulate and brilliant voice on the web. and prolific. post after post, carefully researched, clearly worded, beautifully shaped, fully realized. no one can maintain that kind of pace forever.

you and josh marshall talked me down from some ledges, and talked me out of some troughs. 2003, 2004, 2005, the horrible, lost years of our country's disgrace and degradation. yeah, the country is a bit saner now, but i wouldn't exaggerate its sanity.

so maybe after a break, you'll pop up now and then to offer your views. that's what i'm telling myself, anyhow.

cause nobody can replace you, hil.

best of luck.

[jdog]

This is truly sad. I will miss your insightful analysis. It has been a guilty pleasure to get such thoughfulness without having to pay for it. It seemed even unfair, to be honest. I expected to be entertained and provoked by Hilzoy. Now I'll just have to read your books (good thing you were outed, from that perspective!)

I have often been amazed how you are able to cut to the heart of an issue, often on angles I had not thought about, as well as how much sheer research you do on your own in a short amount of time. It is the mark of a real intellect. I generally have felt inadequate, by comparison.

Perhaps you can do an regular op-ed somewhere. Because your perspective should be published and widely read. And that way I would not feel like I lost a friend.

[Gary Farber]

"Second, I'm taking this opportunity to retire from blogging."

This is one of the worst things I've ever read on a blog, and there is no blogger I've ever read who could write such a thing that could make me feel worse.

Please, please, please, please just consider taking a long vacation, and then only blogging when the whim occurs.

There is no obligation involved in unpaid blogging. There are no minimum number of posts called for. There is simply no reason to say "never," or to ever say one has to quit entirely, short of circumstances such as physical or mental infirmity, family emergencies, etc.

Please just consider cutting back completely and utterly, but if and when the urge ever strikes, writing a post again. Maybe you wait a year. Or two. Or three. Or do a post only every five months. Whatever.

But there's no need to say "quit," rather than "I'm ceasing to act as if I have any obligation to blog with the slightest frequency of any kind."

Why not?

There was never any such obligation in the first place, no matter that some people seem to enjoy claiming otherwise (or enjoy claiming that other people are obligated to post on topics important to them; without respect, such people should go f*ck themselves.)

You are, bar none, with no competition, the best blogger I have ever read.

Please never say never.

And, selfishly, I don't want to lose contact, however little we may have, and however insignificant it may be to you, with you. I know this is purely selfish, but I have to mention it as well.

Never say never again.

And if I've contributed to this by nagging about how ObWi should be moved off Typepad -- or in any other way: I'm so so sorry.

[David Schraub]

Adding to the chorus of well-wishes on your retirement (and selfish hopes that you'll return -- I've watched enough blogging and boxing to keep the faith on the lack of permanency in "retirements"). If this is the end, it's been a great run.

[Stephen Frug]

Amen to what everyone else is saying.

Hilzoy, I think you're the best voice in the blogosphere. I suppose you have to do what's right for you.... but I must admit I really hope you change your mind. I think we still need you -- and still need you badly.

But either way, thanks for the sanity for the past few years. It's been a lifesaver, for many of us.

[AnnPW]

Oh it can't be so!

First of all, I agree with russell: The madness is far from over.

I have linked to and quoted your posts innumerable times in the past few years since I've been blogging - in fact, just this morning I quoted most of your post about the Bush investigations with a comment about how yours is one of the sane voices in the blogosphere. Oh, I shall miss your posts very, very much. Maybe you'll reconsider.

Meanwhile, have a wonderful vacation and bring back pictures of the bare-faced go-away bird!

[liberal japonicus]

Godspeed, and if you ever get over to Japan, please let me know. I'm afraid for the near future and for a variety of reasons, the idea of me getting over to the East Coast is impossible, so consider this your all hands on deck invitation to the land of Wa.

[Platosearwax]

Wow. I rarely delurk, but this just sucks. There is no one on the web that I look more forward to hearing from than you. And I have never agreed more often with anyone else I have ever read.

I am really gonna miss my favorite all time blogger.

[Russell Abbott]

Aw, damn.

The clearest voice of moral reasoning on the internets is leeeeeaving us!

I hope you'll keep in mind that the Republicans are only an ill-placed scandal or economic collapse from taking power again, and come back if we need you.

*sniff*

Thanks for giving us so much of your time and mind for free. Godspeed.

[Russell Abbott]

Oh by the way, how long will you be in Rwanda? I'll be in South Africa for the Peace Corps by the end of this month.

[SeeMoreGlass]

Hilzoy, thank you for everything you've taught us and shown us. You were the first blogger I started reading and are still the primary one, and I sing your praises (almost literally) whenever people ask for blog recommendations. I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had that have started with "Did you see what hilzoy said yesterday...?" I use your writing as an example to myself of how important thorough, careful research is, and of how to do such research well. We'll all miss you.

[Ara]

Nooooooo!

[Capn America]

Another first time commenter here: we will miss you :( You brought a level of reason and sanity to our debates that is unmatched by any other blogger, even on our usually sane left. I think the only other blogger I would miss this much is Sully or Yglesias. Take care and God bless.

[Gromit]

I don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said. On the one hand, it is sad to see such a smart and fundamentally decent person cease her contributions to the online political dialogue. On the other hand, I simply don't know how you managed to write such thoughtful, well-researched posts and hold down a day job. Have a good trip, and thanks for bringing your passion and your compassion to this blog.

[King Rat]

I never delurk, but this obliges me to, I suppose. I was thinking, a few months ago, about the American blogs I read, and trying to decide who I thought was the best blogger of all of them. And it wasn't a terribly hard decision to pick you, hilzoy. Wonderfully written, cogently argued, brilliant posts, one after the next, for monthson end without a break, will make an argument like that easy to resolve. So I will miss your writing, and like everyone here I hope selfishly that you'll reconsider.

But if you don't, and this is the end of your blogging career, thank you. Thank you for some of the best political writing I've had the pleasure to enjoy over the past few years, and all the best. It's been wonderful to read.

[Rachel]

Another "Noooooo!" from here...

[meloukhia]

I'm delurking to say that I have really appreciated and enjoyed your posts; they've provided me with a lot of food for thought and I have really liked that. So, thank you. You will be missed.

Also, enjoy Rwanda!

[rec]

You'll be greatly missed.

I really admire your ability to be so thorough and reasoned despite the infuriating nature of events in the past five years.

There are plenty of angry leftists, and god knows we have a right to be. But whenever I needed to hear someone who shares our sympathies yet manages to keep a civil and open minded dialog, I would come here. Not to mention your amazing research skills, be it at deciphering memos or investigating legislative records, one could always trust that the information here was accurate and complete.

Thank you for all your hard work. Have fun in your well deserved vacation.

[Vance Maverick]

You will (would?) be sorely sorely missed. Have a great vacation, in any case.

[Oyster Tea]

Hilzoy,

That we wait until someone is ready to move on to tell them how much we appreciate them is, alas, human nature. Nevertheless, better late than never.

You have literally nursed me into blogging (mostly lurking). Without Obsidian Wings I'm not sure I would have ever gotten involved.

Two aspects of your presence stand out with me. First, unlike almost any other political commentators, you always UNDERstate your position. Your humbleness is, I think, contagious and very much needed in our modern world. Second, the respect you show for others is also contagious.

I will try to emulate both of these traits, if and when I choose to engage in political debate. Thank you for this.

[Patrick Nielsen Hayden]

You know, if you want to stop blogging, that's fine. Stop.

But the idea that "the madness is over" is the silliest thing I've ever seen you say, and it casts practically everything else I've ever read from you in a new and unwelcome light. I wish I'd never read this post.

[sujal]

Good luck. You'll be missed.

[hilzoy fangirl]

What?! But, but, you can't quit Obsidian Wings. You ARE Obsidian Wings. What is this insanity?! WE MISS YOU ALREADY PLEASE COME BACK.

Love,
The occasional commenter formerly known as George Tenet Fangirl

[laurenhat]

Delurking to say that I read everything you post (and have for several years) -- you are the only political blogger of whom that is true. Heck, I read your writing more reliably than I read my friends' blogs. You're the best blogger out there, period. I will miss you tremendously if you leave permanently. I hope you reconsider after a break.

[Dan S.]

Oh no! : (

Stage 1: Denial
No, no, this can't be right. She means temporarily. Or maybe it's another poster, and they just got the names mixed up . . ."

Stage 2: Anger
How can she do this to us!? It's not fair! And just when we need this kind of deep-rooted and deeply human generosity of spirit and intellect more than ever . . .

Stage 3: Bargaining:
Just 'til 2010, ok? Please? I'll . . . I'll comment more/less/better/with lolcats!

Stage 4: Depression:
Oh, what's the point? Blogging's just replicating the same old hierarchies and inanities anyway, and as for politics - might as well just spend my time taking facebook quizes about what 80s boy band I am . . .

Stage 5: Acceptance.

{Pause, stretching out uncomfortably long. Clears throat, taps microphone}

Stage 5: Acceptance.

{Faint sounds of people shifting around in seats, sotto voice questioning, feedback whine}

( I'm working on it.)

(And yes, thank you, thank you, and all the very best. We've been lucky to have you here, and for as long as we did. L'chaim, salud, etc.!)

[Tim Harris]

Dear Hilzoy, Well done. I am very sorry you are stopping blogging.
Tim Harris, from Japan

[Tim F]

Hilzoy, not that I think you will, but don't regret a thing. Your example by itself leveled the heads of many of the great bloggers in the generation that followed you*.

Not that I did a terribly good job following said example. Nonetheless I'm pretty sure there was an uptick in temperate people who made an effort to think first then type after you started being widely read.

Enjoy your next life. And if you get a chance, look out for these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiIh3JJsvKc

(*) What is a generation in blog years anyway? Six weeks?

[gwangung]

Ah.

The universe just trembled.

[kid bitzer]

well, patrick, i think the phrase "the madness" has to be read as having a fairly specific and determinate antecedent.

the madness of the patriot act. the madness of mission accomplished. the madness of swift-boating.

it's not that there is no madness left, god only knows. but there was a particular kind and degree of madness rampant in the country back in those days.

some of the things that crawled out from under america's rocks have crawled back under again. many are still howling and ravening, but fewer of them are doing it from inside the white house now.

in this life, that counts as progress.

[GMB]

Your careful and compassionate posts are one of my go-to points for exploring new topics in policy, politics, and ethics. I respect your judgment and love your writing.

I'm finishing up my PhD in philosophy. (With characteristically poor timing, I'll be on the market this fall.) I'm not 100% sure I'd be finishing my dissertation if it weren't for your blogging. The example you set-- a professional philosopher who can write for a general audience, drawing on the tools of philosophy without being a jackass-- has several times brought me back from the brink after bad experiences of the discipline at conferences.

I hope you'll reconsider and at least continue blogging at a scaled-back pace.

[Enlightened Layperson]

Oh, Hilzoy, what a shame! You were this blog. Time after time, you commented day after day, held it up, and gave it its personality. It will lose over half its posts and more of its feel without you.

And, by the way, I loved your posts for their thoughtfulness, their clear, well-analyzed style, and their unrelenting reasonableness. You are the only lefty blogger have heard righty commentators acknowledge made sense.

[Alex Russell]

1. *something inarticulate and loud*

2. You see all the immoderate things that people are saying about how you've managed to be here? They beat me to those things. Everyone is sincere.

3. You belong to yourself. Your path and what you work on are yours to choose.

4. But I still think we need you. And need you hereabouts.

You have been awesome, and have soberly tested how careful to get things right a blogger can manage to be.

[kvenlander]

That does it. I'm retiring from blog reading. The political blogosphere is getting more and more predictable and shallow every day even without this.

Hilzoy, thank you for your gift of all these years of thoughtful posts. You have moved my synapses.

I raise of glass of fine scotch to you!

[Rodolfo]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. PLEASE RECONSIDER. I too felt the country a little saner since 2008 but it was because of discovering people like *YOU* online. If you disappear completely it's like losing my voice. You've mentioned previously how you *miss Tanta* well that's how I'll feel if you retire. You don't have to blog everyday. Once a week would be fine. Heck i'll even take a monthly post. PLEASE PLEASE RECONSIDER.

[waldo]

The country is still mad. Have a break and then decide.

[Dave C (the uppity newcomer)]

Word for word, you were probably my favorite blogger, Hilzoy. I wish you the best!

[The Raven]

You will be missed. I wish you a pleasant retirement. Perhaps, like the hidden imam, you will return in our times of great tribulation.

[Jackmormon]

Thank you Hilzoy for the long period of intense engagement you gave us all. I'll look forward to seeing you pop in and out, just as you please.

[david kilmer]

Well that stinks on ice.

I have to agree with everyone who said you're the best blogger on the intertubes. Unmistakable voice, playful humor, elegant rationality, earnest empathy, and an amazing way at getting at the the core of an issue.

You'll be missed - that's for certain. And plus now there's no-one left for the straight, smart guys to have a blog-crush on ;).

What are you thinking about working on next?

[Sapient]

Hilzoy, how am I going to understand the world now? Truly, thank you for helping me through the past several years. You'll be terribly missed.

[Andrew]

Please excuse the pronoun, but some Mahler is needed here:

Er stieg vom Pferd und reichte ihm den Trunk
Des Abschieds dar. Er fragte ihn, wohin
Er führe und auch warum es müßte sein.
Er sprach, seine Stimme war umflort: Du, mein Freund,
Mir war auf dieser Welt das Glück nicht hold!
Wohin ich geh? Ich geh, ich wandre in die Berge.
Ich suche Ruhe für mein einsam Herz.
Ich wandle nach der Heimat, meiner Stätte.
Ich werde niemals in die Ferne schweifen.
Still ist mein Herz und harret seiner Stunde!

Die liebe Erde allüberall
Blüht auf im Lenz und grünt
Aufs neu! Allüberall und ewig
Blauen licht die Fernen!
Ewig... ewig...

We'll miss you! Auf wiedersehen!

[Ben Alpers]

What everyone else has said, hilzoy. You'll be extraordinarily missed.

(I'll just optimistically reassure myself that Bérubé and billmon reappeared, so perhaps you will, too!)

[Fair Economist]

Reading you has consistently been both enlightening and a pleasure. You've been one of the best parts of the web and I'll really miss you.

[Megan Doe]

Hilzoy,

I wish you all the joy and happiniess in the world. You have been the blogger that I most anxiously await the next post from.

I also just wanted to thank you for your vocal and heartfelt support of the transgender community. Your posts on the subject have consistently moved me and given me hope that maybe life can be better someday - they have meant the world to me and I thank you for them.

If you ever decide to come back to blogging know that many people will be ready to join you in discourse again, and if that never happens know that you will be missed and we are grateful for the time you shared with us.

All The Best,

[jc749]

I know the future holds awesome things for you, so I'm sure this isn't really the end, just an amazing beginning of a new chapter. I hear optimism in your voice. Best of luck, Hilzoy!

[Matt Treder]

Hilzoy, yours is (was?) among my favorite voices amid the chatter. Please don't stop writing — maybe there's a book to be written, or new avenues to pursue as a columnist, politico, pundit or (ick) talking head. But to lose you completely would feel like a death in the family.

But above all that, thank you for the many years of wry smiles and head bobbing. You made our little corner of the internet bearable.

[bme]

i've enjoyed your writing immensely since i first discovered it (far too late, in my opinion), and you've since become one of my favorite bloggers. thank you so much for all you've written, enjoy your trip—and know you'll be missed.

[That Fuzzy Bastarrd]

But---you'll post impressions of Rwanda, right? Would very much like to hear what you have to say.

Not that I'm just trying to talk my favorite political blogger into carrying on for just a little longer. Oh, perish the thought!

[Emma]

I am so sorry to hear this. ObWi has been my first read since I discovered you, Hilzoy, back when I thought your country had gone mad too. From my perspective in a far-off client state (Australia) it still seems like the US can use all the sane intelligent voices that can possibly be found. I know you have other things to do, and I have wondered where you found the time and patience to write your wonderful rational posts, but oh, I am so sorry you are stopping.

[laxel]

God Speed.

[(The Original) Francis]

phooey.

I don't suppose that any amount of grovelling would get you to reconsider?

In all seriousness, prof. h., thanks for all your hard work, thoughtfulness and brilliant writing. It has been a pleasure and an honor reading your work these last several years.

Cheers.

[GG]

Nope. Can't do it. We need you.

[wk]

Though I don't remember commenting here before, I'm another who has consistently sought out and enjoyed Hilzoy's posts. To me, her clarity on many issues has been unparalleled and so her voice will be sorely missed in the public discourse. Hilzoy, best wishes (though like many others, I'm hoping to read more at some point in the future).

[Anarch]

Crap. :(

[Mike Schilling]

No one else online has your ability to be joyful, outraged, or anything in between while keeping your essential intelligence, sanity, and good nature. I'm going to miss you immensely.

[Tony P.]

Hilzoy, you deserve a break from blogging, if the definition of blogging is writing one or two lovely, thoughtful essays every single day of the week, month in and month out, year after year, as if you had a contract to fulfill, or as if the title "blogger" meant publish or perish. But it's not so. Even if you resolutely refuse to publish another post on Obsidian Wings, ever again, you will still and always be The Blogger to me. Enjoy your holiday,

--TP

[Porlock Junior]

Devastating news.

Beyond that, simply What Gary Said.

And have a great time at whatever is next, though with that intellect and temperament, the wish is more a formality than a necessity.

[Mentar]

I agree with all the others. Take a break, enjoy life, stay away from the blogsphere as long as you wish, but when there's something you want to blog on, simply return and do it. Okay? :)

It's sad news for us readers. This blog HAS been a haven for reason and rationality when things turned very very ugly. It's a home we treasure - and you too, right?

[JoshA]

Sad news. But best of luck in everything else that you do.

[fooyo]

Your voice will be missed in the currents of the zeitgeist. Bonne Chance!

[Jesurgislac]

I'm sorry.

For once, I agree with every single commenter on this thread.

When you say Rwanda, this brings to mind the post you wrote about Mbaye Diagne two years ago: I'd never heard of him before you blogged about him, but I've never been able to forget him since. Thank you for that, and for many other excellent blog posts in the past five years. Hope you see and do all you want to see and do in Rwanda, and also see and do things you didn't know you wanted till you got there.

[joel hanes]

... a great disturbance in The Force.

I miss you already and you haven't even left yet.

Thanks for all you are and have said and done and been. Brava i brilliantissima, or something.

Best

[dsn]

This is just a really late April Fools post, right? Right?

[Minzo]

You've got a Rwandan reader here- im not in Rwanda at the moment, but I do live there and I hope you enjoy it. So how long are you staying there? And are you not going to write about your trip?

[AndyK]

Hil, what if I got Alan Rickman to personally ask you to stay? Would that work?

Maybe we can find some African readers to plead with you during vacation. (Help me, Rwanda!)

I'm going to pretend that you won't be able to stay away: there are too many things that need to be said that no one else can say as persuasively and even-temperedly (?). (I love Glenn Greenwald's constant state of outrage, but, as a steady diet, it can grind me down.) I hope that, after a nice long rest, you won't be able to resist and will let your comments postings develop into something sustained, whether here or...wherever. (Would I love to see you jump on the sinking ship of the NY Times as an op ed columnist? Please don't take it as a curse that I would.)

But don't keep your brain to yourself.

[AndyK]

Good grief. Even as I was refining the wording of my characteristically cheap pun, an actual Rwandan reader chimes in. Do I have mysterious powers or what?

[Lara]

Thank you so much for crafting such generous, empirical, carefully reasoned posts. You and Timothy Burke have been my models for how academic training can expand and enrich, rather than narrow, the scope of one's engagement with the world. In all of your writings here, you demonstrated that intellectual rigor is fully compatible with humility, curiosity, compassion and grace.

Best wishes for your travels and any other future endeavors!

[wonkie]

I used to wonder how you did it. I wake up at one or two in the morning my time insomnia again and there's a new post form hilzy. Granted you live on the other side of the continent from me but still...how could anyone have that much brain function so ealry in the day? Evry day? Sometimes several times a day? And still go off ot anintellectually demanding job?

Well

Funny. I have finally gottne around to taking Buddhism seriously and have been working my way through an initial text on the impermenance of assmebled things.

Thanks for helping us to get through the worst of times. I hope you get to see your Gone Away bird.

[fostert]

Say it ain't so. I'll miss you. But live good life. Whatever that might be.

[kate]

Delurking and trying to find the silver lining.

I suppose by not reading Hilzoy's posts, I will not be consumed with a sense of how little I use my brain, act on my convictions and are just generally am not the amazing human being Hilzoy is.

I don't know if it will help me get over the 'I wonder if I actually knew Hilzoy, if she would be my friend or just find me too obtuse.' I think I will still contemplate that.

But thanks for the illumination (and deep-seated envy if I am completely honest. I don't write like you. Or think like you. Or contemplate like you. goshdarnit!)

[Francis D]

Goodbye. You won't be missed too much.

Mostly because missing your level of insight, eloquence, and information too much would involve a creepy level of stalkeryness. I hope that in practice this will be simply taking a break and that you'll be back when you have something you want to say.

[femdem]

Oh. Damn.

I console myself with the thought that Publius did the same thing before he realized he could cut back and still make a huge difference in some people's lives out here in the 'sphere. I checked his blog every few days until he came back. I'm going to hope every time I open the ObWi thread that I'll see your byline with another one of your incredibly thought provoking, funny, heart rending, compassionate posts.

[novakant]

That's it, FWIW I'm retiring as well. Five years is simply enough. It takes up too much time that could really be used more productively.

Have a great time in Rwanda and in your non-blogging life. Though I don't think that the US has come to its senses, your presence here has been proof that not the whole country has gone to the dogs. And please forgive me for having been a pest on occasion.

[DecidedFenceSitter]

Add me to the chorus of wishing you well. You helped make this place one of the more respectable/research oriented places for commentary beyond off-the-cuff reactions.

[Dirk2112]

O' Darn. Be well Hilz, you will be missed.

[Barry Eisler]

Hilzoy, I am so going to miss you! This wasn't about the redshirting, was it?

I'm seriously bummed. My only comfort is that a couple years ago Scott Horton said he was stepping aside, too, but he's kept at it. So I will not-so-secretly hope you'll be back, too.

You are one of the most reasoned, articulate, thoughtful writers I know of. Thanks for everything I've learned from you, and the very best to you in all your endeavors.

-- Barry

[BethanyAnne]

Thank you for everything. :-)

[cleek]

ditto the previous 90 comments.

[Gary Farber]

"That's it, FWIW I'm retiring as well. Five years is simply enough. It takes up too much time that could really be used more productively."

I would really miss you, too, novakant. Your observations often challenge me, and make me think, and I regard you as a highly valuable voice here. Please also reconsider any thoughts of "quitting" versus simply cutting back.

People should do what I selfishly want them to do, damn it! Because what I want is best for everyone!

And for me.

All this talk of you, you, you is just wrong: it's all about me!

[Keith G]

A sincere thanks for your efforts. The liberal bloggers of 2002-2006 were for me a safe harbor in rough waters. As many I began reading all those years ago go corporate, you are just going. Too bad.

My best.

[rea]

You can't retire--it's too important--somewhere out there, somebody is being wrong on the internet!

http://xkcd.com/386/

[Wilbur]

The handful of bloggers I read every day feel like family to me, even though I've never corresponded with any of you. I have some very smart friends, but few of my conversations rise to the level of dialogue I find here. It is difficult to imagine how they could. This type of public discourse fills a very important purpose: educating, stretching, and connecting people. Thank you for your service to the larger community.

Best of luck and many thanks to one of the sanest, smartest, and most compassionate voices out there.

[Robd]

Thank you for the good times
and best of luck.

[Anthony]

On one hand, enjoy your new free time, but on the other, good grief will I miss reading what you're thinking on a regular basis. Take care.

[Hartmut]

1st reaction: What the...?
2nd: What date is it today?
3rd: Did I read the author correctly?
4th: Are you kidding?
5th: Noooooooooo!
6th:(slightly embarasssed) Another one bitten by the Palin bug?
...
nth: Where can I make donations to your senate campaign? There can be no other excuse.

With all due respect to Eric and Publius (who brought me here from legalfiction), this won't be really ObWi without hilzoy.

[Bob L.]

I feel as if a window on my world has been slammed shut. There were times when I dared not reach a conclusion about some topic of importance until I'd seen what Hilzoy had to say. I echo the praise of so many others for the quality of your research and the brilliance of your reasoning, all expressed in some of the clearest, most concise prose ever committed to electrons. And a special tribute to your passion -- we were never in doubt about whether something mattered to you. Please let this be a sabbatical, of whatever length necessary, and not a farewell.