We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos. Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain. We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.
One of the richest areas of thought—and perhaps the most underappreciated—are in the comments attached to these diaries.
Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at TopComments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.
These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete—no one can read the complete site on a daily basis! Nevertheless, we hope they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.
Please come in and make yourself at home! Join us beneath the fold...
Six weeks ago (less a day) I wrote a short Top Comments diary on the special election primary in the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts to elect the successor to Marty Meehan; Niki Tsongas, widow of Paul Tsongas, won that primary, and tomorrow I'll be voting for her as she runs against Jim Ogonowski (the Republican), a third-party candidate, and two independents. Polls open nine hours after this diary does.
The election is polling closer than I'd like: the latest independent poll had Tsongas at 51%, Ogonowski at 42%, and the three minor candidates splitting 6%, with only 1% undecided. Tsongas should really be doing better in this district. As a special election, no one is expecting huge turnout, but I'd be surprised to see less than 20% of the electorate coming out, and probably more than a quarter of it will. Despite this, I'd be surprised if Tsongas didn't win.
Both Tsongas and Ogonowski are "names"—she because of her late husband the senator (who before that was the congressman from this district), he because his late brother was the pilot of one of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center. Tsongas is running on good issues: against the Iraq war, support of SCHIP, etc. Ogonowski says he's running on bi-partisanship, and his website fails to mention he's a Republican: he's against the SCHIP bill, and his refusal to answer definitively what he would do on SCHIP has earned him the derisive name "Idontknowski" on Blue Mass Group. Tsongas has received all the newspaper endorsements—whether the newspaper is left, right, or center, it's Tsongas.
Last time, I mentioned that my town would be piggybacking a tax override onto tomorrow's ballot; as it turns out, we had a windfall of "certified free cash" (unspent allocated town money, as certified by the state) that could be used to cover the added expenses of the new municipal employee contracts; since we already had a tax override in spring, it was just as well that we didn't need one in the fall, as it looks likely we'll need one next spring to cover the second year of that contract.
The Tuesday election, assuming there's a clear winner, could be certified as early as Wednesday; the district could have representation in the House of Representatives that day, meaning we could be participating in the SCHIP override vote on Thursday. It'll be nice to have representation again...as long as it's Democratic.
When the polls close tomorrow, I'll be in the middle of a rehearsal, and they may well have called the election by the time I start driving home...but more likely, they won't call it until I'm back home and on line tomorrow night. I'll be sure to drop word into the comments of tomorrow's diary once I'm home and know more.
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I know enough now to issue a huge Thank You to all those Kossacks who found Top Comment nominations today and pointed them at the TopComments mailbox:
TopComments AT gmail DOT com
(change " AT " to "@" and " DOT " to ".")
Anyone can submit deserving comments to our address—the direct link to a comment is available from that comment's date/time—as long as they arrive by 9:30pm Eastern Time. Please always include your Daily Kos user name in the body of your message, so we can credit you properly.
Asinus Asinum Fricat was first in with this nomination:
Scout Finch rocks! The Eight Rules for Being a True Troll: (but don't try it in Top Comments). [Editor's note: don't bother with the diary, though; life's too short.]
From carolita:
elfling draws a brilliant analogy to describe our healh care system in kos's front-page diary Why Republicans oppose SCHIP expansion.
Evan makes a succinct distinction between liberals and conservatives and lucidity elaborates on the concept in kos's front-page diary The GOP's fragmentation.
4Freedom nominated this comment:
Elwood Dowd made this hilarious comment in ct's fun New code changes on Daily Kos diary today.
Carnacki sent, from the same diary:
Lisa Lockwood's pictures get caught in the new filter.
From noweasels:
peace voter had a particularly moving comment in greenies' heartbreaking IGTNT diary about the death of 18-year-old Pvt. Nathan Z. Thacker, who had been in Iraq for two weeks.
Finally, comments found by your editor du jour, sardonyx:
G2geek writes on atomization of the economy. BeninSC also found this comment particularly stimulating, and also recommends the other many interesting (and long) comments in the same thread.
nonnie9999 explains why she won't take on Bob Johnson and holds her own quite well downthread, though Lesser Dane's succinct reply to caseynm deserves special attention according to revbludge (and I agree). All this, and much more, in Bob Johnson's diary Primary season is the time for criticism and debate, no matter how brutal.
Citizen Wojo can't help noticing a number of important things about those videos Al Gore uploaded.
Things get a bit hot and holiday-minded in mem from somerville's ambiguously titled I got stuffed. (with photos) conservation diary; MarkInSanFran was one of those most affected.
No Top Comments diary would be complete without that day's top comments by number, aka top mojo—those comments which have received the highest number of recommendations from Daily Kos users like you. Today's batch is supplied by your diarist and mojomaster, using his own revision of cskendrick's mojo-to-Excel magic.
First, Top Mojo excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, and the joyously returned (but nevertheless excluded) C&J comments:
1) Let's get this straight and let's do it now: by victoria2dc — 132
2) Gore drives them crazy because by eastvan — 100
3) I have no clue by Lisa Lockwood — 94
4) I love adding the recommended tag by terrapin station84 — 88
5) Or whether schrapnel... by Dood Abides — 83
6) The definition of a terrorist by SocioSam — 81
7) speaking as a mother by Chun Yang — 78
8) Okay, he REVEALS the extent of their kookiness by Jim in Chicago — 78
9) Really? Have you been flamed recently? by Bob Johnson — 73
10) he is definitely running this time. by dotcommodity — 72
11) Gore makes them more crazy if he doesn't run by MJB — 65
12) All of this is rooted by BobNJ — 64
13) You Know What Drives Republicans Nuts? by clone12 — 64
14) Jim Angle sits on Diane Rehm's by shpilk — 63
15) Surpressing Dissent Is The HRC Strategy by flubber — 63
16) God I Hope You're Right. God I Hope You're Right by VickiStein — 60
17) Nothing gets by you, does it? n/t by ct — 54
18) Yeah, scum - like this by joan reports — 53
19) pimping by FireCrow — 53
20) All 3 candidate have said "all options on the by tigercourse — 53
21) No talking heads acknowledge Gore today by GUGA — 50
22) That speech in Chicago by SharonRB — 50
23) Something is rotten? by Miss Blue — 49
24) Greta tribute to your mom Ron! by One Pissed Off Liberal — 49
25) They should be scared. by Scout Finch — 48
26) it makes us small d democrats by Mr Bula — 48
27) There's a Whole Lot of Stupid in His Comment by DHinMI — 48
28) Not to mention her association with "Fellowship". by Troutfishing — 48
29) exactly by taylormattd — 48
30) but what about the first amendment????? by ETinKC — 48
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) I wish she could read this. by CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream — 265
2) Tips for Al! by Barcelona — 261
3) Tip jar by zenbowl — 258
4) Lousy Nobel Peace Prize winners. by chumley — 174
5) hmm by taylormattd — 159
6) Monday Cheers from San Fran!!!! by Predictor — 152
7) Let's get this straight and let's do it now: by victoria2dc — 132
8) I have never looked so forward by mem from somerville — 123
9) The tip off is the Al Qaeda ID badges. nt by irate — 122
10) Tips for the Iowa SEIU by TomP — 115
11) Good diary by Mr Bula — 105
12) Gore drives them crazy because by eastvan — 100
13) I have no clue by Lisa Lockwood — 95
14) Mojo for Nothing by Eddie C — 92
15) Happy Monday! :-) by Common Sense Mainer — 90
16) Tips? by Chaoslillith — 90
17) Happy Monday by Debbie in ME — 89
18) I'm glad you translated. by Bill in Portland Maine — 88
19) I love adding the recommended tag by terrapin station84 — 88
20) A Special Message by virgomusic — 87
21) Bill, mon cher by Jerome a Paris — 84
22) Or whether schrapnel... by Dood Abides — 83
23) WAHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by Jeffersonian Democrat — 83
24) The definition of a terrorist by SocioSam — 81
25) Okay, he REVEALS the extent of their kookiness by Jim in Chicago — 78
26) speaking as a mother by Chun Yang — 78
27) Tip jar. by DemocraticLuntz — 76
28) well, predictor broke the seal by terrypinder — 75
29) More Reruns by Eddie C — 74
30) HAPPY, HAPPY! JOY, JOY! by lamzdotes — 74
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