Tap tap.. is this thing on? Oh, hello there! Welcome to Top Comments. I’ll be your host tonight, but please be gentle with me for it’s – and I haven’t gotten to say this in a very long while- my first time :-).
Before I get to my diary, I want to express my condolences on the passing of DailyKos member NewDirection. This comment (ht to LNK), excerpted from NewDirection's full comment here (ht to clive all horse no hat Rodeo), deserves Top Top Comment billing tonight:
I am saved from despair because unlike many who reach this impasse, I realize that "the powerful elites" are very much people too, and part of the people as a whole even if they prefer sometimes to think otherwise. And people tend to want good things.
My thoughts are with NewDirection's family and loved ones tonight.
It's a common strategy when parents are grasping for topics of conversation to talk about their kids :-). Rest assured, you're not getting my emergency topic the first time out.. I planned this one! I am blessed in my life to be the mother of a truly wonderful nine-year old daughter, Kid Brillig. Let me tell you a bit about her and share what has me fascinated these days:
From day one she was curious about everything around her. She spent very little time in a stroller or those baby-bucket carseats when we were out and about, preferring to be held so she could face the world and watch the proceedings. We taught her a few important words in sign language (please, more and all done) when she was a year old so that she could communicate her needs before she could verbalize. Once she began talking, she’s never stopped :-).
She learned to read at four and has been a voracious devourer of the written word ever since. She goes through books rapidly and loves to read them over and over. I have never, ever seen a child who loves to read as much as KB, including myself at her age! She loves school and learning, and also enjoys swimming with our local team (she does bring a book to meets, however; even there she can’t leave them behind :-)).
All this has combined to make her a capable and inquisitive child, and it’s this feature I want to share with you tonight. When she was younger her questions were very matter-of-fact: "Where Daddy go on the airplane?" or "How much time ‘til we get to grandmama’s?" and the like. Sometimes rapid-fire, but always fun to answer and relatively easy.
As she got older the questions matured a bit: "What do you mean there are numbers less than zero?" "How come I have a carseat but Sally doesn’t and she’s the same height as me?" "Do you and Daddy believe in God?" and others. Many still centered around concrete things, but requiring a bit more thought on our part. This also is when all children resemble budding lawyers, clinging to literalism as they look for the information to create a loophole allowing whatever it is you’ve told them not to do. I now know it’s practice for the next stage :-).
Lately, we've noticed another shift. The questions are becoming deeper, more abstract, and much more challenging to answer and discuss. She cares deeply about the people and the world around her. "Why do people litter?" "What is that song about?" Sounds easy, but you try to capture Nickelback’s "Rockstar" or Pink’s "Who Knew" in a way that 9-year olds can understand! "Why do people think that religion isn’t a good one?" Long discussion on Islam ensued. We answer as best we can, and if it isn’t enough she comes back with followup questions. She also speaks her mind when she disagrees with us. It’s really turning into discussion now, and I absolutely love that we’ve gotten to this point.
But then there’s the hardest questions: "Why did the people who planned 9/11 send others to fly the planes instead of doing it themselves?" And this one, which came up on a recent drive to school: "Are we fighting to catch the people who planned 9/11?" I said no, not really, which prompted this followup: "Why not? Who are we fighting, then?"
Um. Out of the mouths of babes tweens come the questions that for too long adults were not asking. My hope is that Kid Brillig keeps asking these questions and not settling for bullsh-t answers.
And now onto tonight's Top Comments Of The Day!
If you find a notable comment during the day, send a link (the date/time is the direct link) along with your screen name so we can credit you to topcomments at gmail dot com for inclusion! Anyone can submit comments, including you!
From the wonderfully overflowing (thank you everyone) Top Comments inbox:
Two from kath25:
LynneK had perhaps the only acceptable pairing in stinerman’s diary Food For Thought: Your Favorite Republican Ticket.
From my own diary, blueintheface points us towards passive-aggressive racism and notes how black celebrities have always been pressured to ignore racism.
From watercarrier4diogenes:
In this morning’s Open Thread, Dotster has this reminderabout how to counter negative use of the term ‘liberal’.
Land of Enchantment says:
It’ll probably be recognized for mojo anyhow but this one from litigatormom, making fun of O’Reilly’s shock at the civilized ambience at Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, deserves to be featured on its own merits, too.
SarahLee says:
Hunter may have had the funniest diary (with best bumpersticker) today but this comment about viagra ads by dansk47 was certainly one that gave me a much needed laugh.
From sardonyx:
Conversations sometimes continue well beyond the diary’s original publication date. snafubar wrote late last night on individual vs. collective loss in response to a comment by BigBite from late Monday morning in a diary that was published Sunday evening.
Eiron makes a number of points about covert action in general and potentially against Iran in particular.
Two from OrangeClouds115:
What a great idea, using blogs as a form of revenge, as described in this comment by Neil Sinhababu.
Nice snark from cskendrick, who needs to go eat his broccoli now.
Four from cskendrick:
Grand Moff Texan works that meme-busting tip
Cotterperson shares just how unconcerned about homo sapiens that rich people are.
plf515 discusses Republicans, the party of dead children.
snout uses the term false dichotomy. That's always going to get a rec out of me. :)
From Stormy Weathers:
Cotterperson asks what we should do with Mark Pryor. arkylib's
response is hilarious.
From asimbagirl:
Look, I know this is from tonight's Top Comments diarist brillig, but it's damned good, and deserves mention! From xysea's recommended diary on the tragic death of five monks in Myanmar. (Your humble diarist wants it known no bribes were offered for this submission)
From ScottyUrb:
Ever heard of the poem Georgie Porgie? I have, but I can't say I've heard of this version by jetskreemr.
A last-second entry from 4Freedom:
Smallbottle caps a threadjack very, very well!
And lastly, a few from yours truly because that's how it's done, or so they tell me :-):
In response to HairyTrueMan’s musing on Stewart Smalley Al Franken as US Senator, Ex Real Republican says exactly what you’re thinking this very moment.
The Werewolf Prophet's succinct diary quoting Sirius Black led keirdubois to speculate on the true reason DC Democrats seem to have lost their souls.
With grateful thanks to my Top Mentor and Mojo Hero BeninSC, here's your Top Mojo!
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments and C&J comments (top 30 of each plus ties):
1 CLINTON voted YEA for war with Iran. by Junglered1 - 164
2 Anyone who think CLINTON will change course by Junglered1 - 99
3 Clinton and Obama disappointed today. by Geekesque - 97
4 Is it in violation of the school dress code? by blitz boy - 90
5 Spine? by DWG - 89
6 The vote was by pontificator - 85
7 Ad to be run tomorrow in all Murdoch owned media by litigatormom - 81
8 Pitchforks I tell ya by DJShay - 71
9 Happy Humpday by Debbie in ME - 70
10 THIS lady will save us! by terrapin station84 - 70
11 And this is DURING the primary. by Geekesque - 69
12 Has anyone from dailykos by Victory Coffee - 69
13 Happy Hump Day! :-) by Common Sense Mainer - 66
14 Amy Klobuchar voted for that stupid condemnation by redstar - 65
15 Heh so this is the "important business" by lettuce kucinich - 64
16 Shut 'er down.... as I've been saying for months. by Dood Abides - 64
17 I don't mean to offend the Hill by dotdot - 63
18 Not stupid. Complicit. Complicit. n/t by corvo - 62
19 Harry Reid is a fucking JOKE. by Junglered1 - 61
20 You can vomit twice by gchaucer2 - 58
21 oh damn by katier - 58
22 Peace be unto NewDirections. by highfive - 58
23 My Head is Exploding. Sen., Schumer did too by Junglered1 - 56
24 Hump Day by khereva - 54
25 And thanks, Markos, by Caldonia - 53
26 I'm just beyond speechless today. by shayera - 53
27 No. there's such a thing as leadership. by KingOneEye - 51
28 time to leave the US of A by pacified - 50
29 Screw the polls, end the war or by Geekesque - 50
30 Hillary and Barack by MBNYC - 48
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 Tip Jar by davidsirota - 280
2 How much LOUDER... by KingOneEye - 279
3 Go Al! by jetskreemr - 274
4 here i am by buhdydharma - 258
5 tips by DemHillStaffer - 233
6 Tip Jar - 26 September by Jerome a Paris - 228
7 tips for Democratic unity by Reviser - 176
8 Thanks to The Cornucopia Institute by OrangeClouds115 - 170
9 CLINTON voted YEA for war with Iran. by Junglered1 - 164
10 Tip Jar - Support Those Who Oppose the Junta by xysea - 143
11 Tips for the Constitution!!!! by litigatormom - 120
12 Anyone who think CLINTON will change course by Junglered1 - 99
13 When my oldest was in school and by TXsharon - 98
14 Clinton and Obama disappointed today. by Geekesque - 97
15 Tips? by be inspired - 93
16 Is it in violation of the school dress code? by blitz boy - 90
17 If You Missed It by JekyllnHyde - 90
18 Spine? by DWG - 89
19 The vote was by pontificator - 85
20 Ad to be run tomorrow in all Murdoch owned media by litigatormom - 81
21 Happy Libran Humpday!!! by Predictor - 80
22 Tip by Carnacki - 80
23 Condolences to NewDirection's by Road2DC - 72
24 Pitchforks I tell ya by DJShay - 71
25 Happy Humpday by Debbie in ME - 70
26 THIS lady will save us! by terrapin station84 - 70
27 And this is DURING the primary. by Geekesque - 69
28 Has anyone from dailykos by Victory Coffee - 69
29 Happy Hump Day! :-) by Common Sense Mainer - 66
30 Amy Klobuchar voted for that stupid condemnation by redstar - 65