Seven years ago today, we were in the no-man's-land between the announcement of war and the beginning of war. George W. Bush had given a speech on March 17, 2003, declaring the beginning of a long national nightmare that continues to this day, and on March 18, 2003, it was no longer "if," it was "when." The bombs began to fall on March 19, meaning today is the end of our seventh year in a war we were lied into by a warmonger president and his cronies.
As kos put it in his Open Thread: 3/18 -- Iraq those seven years ago:
Discarding centuries of tradition, the US is now an aggressor state, attacking an impotent nation because of what it might have, now or in the future.
There's plenty to discuss.
The comment thread generated 232 comments. It was a sad and busy day on Daily Kos, though the days that followed would be even busier.
There were more stories about the inevitable war that day. The $90 billion for war post garnered comments from regulars such as Billmon and Steve Gilliard.
Other war posts by kos from March 18, 2003 (remember to click on the comment links):
• Blair asks for support in parliament
• Chickenhawks pile on Daschle
• No US troops in Turkey, but overflights
• How to pay for war
Seven years. Seven years ago. The words are still there, in black and orange on white. They will not be forgotten.
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We received four submissions in the Top Comments gmail box today. We always greatly appreciate all those people who take the time to send along their favorites in advance of the 9:30pm Eastern Time deadline. The address of our mailbox for top comments submissions remains:
TopComments AT gmail DOT com
(change " AT " to "@" and " DOT " to ".")
Anyone can send great comments to our address. Be sure to include the direct link to a comment—the URL—which is available from that comment's date/time; we need that to find your choice. Please always include your Daily Kos user name in the body of your message, so we can credit you properly. I say again: both link and username are important; someone today forgot both. If you send a writeup with the link, we are able to include that, too, though we reserve the right to edit if necessary; should you only provide the link, then you have to take whatever writeup we create...and we can be excessively extremely creative. Today, I saved my creativity for my own selections.
A belated submission from waiting for lefty, who had to do some exploring to find out how to send us nominations:
In primarydoc's latest on Rep. Grayson's Public Option Act, BenGoshi explains why we just can't have this.
From virgomusic:
Vita Brevis on Bart Stupak's folly. Invoking a stereotype in an affirming way: ur doin it right!
From JanF:
In today's Morning Feature: Why We Bother, Part I - Which Century is It? by NCrissieB, maryabein's comment about the direction our car is going in is a great analogy.
From Otteray Scribe:
From NCrissieB's Morning Feature, gatorcog provides the setup, a la Carnac the Magnificent, then after a bit of geek humor, gatorcog finishes the science riff with a slam dunk on Glenn Beck, geek style.
From sardonyx (your Thursday diarist):
In today's diary from The Nephew, Dallasdoc reminds us that you can't be cured if you're not sick, and, even more important, that "the family of love is our true family".
Also from that diary, GenXangster's heart-wrenching comment on The guilt.
In Ojibwa's informative diary Indians 101: Suppressing Indians Religions in the Early 20th Century, Stuart Heady reminds us that restrictions on Native American religious practices didn't end until the Carter administration.
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Finally, we have today's top mojo using my revision of the cskendrick-devised mojo-to-Excel process.
First, Top Mojo excluding Cheers and Jeers, miscellaneous cute animals, search-identifiable tip jars, and first diary comments:
1) The Right is outright TERRIFIED right now... by APA Guy — 169
2) If Obama is an antisemite, should we assume that by LaurenMonica — 156
3) My opinion.. by oxfdblue — 146
4) The deficit reduction is the clincher... by APA Guy — 131
5) My friend, I'm straight, but by Villagejonesy — 130
6) The earth is our mother by Nulwee — 128
7) OBAMA showed Dennis RESPECT by KnotIookin — 126
8) I don't think you two are reading by Shaviv — 119
9) Orly Taitz is a mentally ill woman by beltane — 113
10) Who knew by kos — 104
11) Good. Let 'em move to Somalia. by UndercoverRxer — 99
12) huh? by mdmslle — 98
13) Kucinich by Kitty — 96
14) . by bumblebums — 96
15) I have real proof: by Patric Juillet — 95
16) I'm with you here. by Gemina13 — 91
17) Im gay too. by Puffin — 88
18) Yes, but help Grayson get three (3) by divineorder — 86
19) Yeah, he must be a pretty sneaky antisemite, by huntergeo — 83
20) Abusing language... by assyrian64 — 83
21) Judging Israel and feelings for Jewish people by need pr — 82
22) Because the wilderness can kill you. by Nulwee — 76
23) that's our next move... by SeaTurtle — 75
24) You know, normally I'd agree with you. by AUBoy2007 — 75
25) Very well stated. by Winter Rabbit — 74
26) Netanyahu is a Moron by JekyllnHyde — 74
27) Please stay a lil strong a while longer and say by soms — 74
28) Oh, and I'd also like to see by beltane — 72
29) I recall that also, by Julie Gulden — 71
30) Love in Action by indiemcemopants — 70
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) Tip Jar by Eclectablog — 470
2) Tip Jar by Winter Rabbit — 429
3) Tip Jar by PerfectStormer — 376
4) Tip Jar by yank2351 — 371
5) Tip Jar by The Nephew — 334
6) Tip Jar by Christian Dem in NC — 329
7) Tip Jar by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse — 310
8) Tip Jar by indiemcemopants — 302
9) Tip Jar by MeMeMeMeMe — 292
10) Tip Jar by mikeE — 286
11) Tip Jar by RH Reality Check — 258
12) Tip Jar by blackwaterdog — 238
13) We all know who are the worst deficit offenders by LaFeminista — 212
14) Tips for Roast Master in chief Joe Biden! by MinistryOfTruth — 209
15) The Right is outright TERRIFIED right now... by APA Guy — 169
16) Tip Jar by nyceve — 167
17) Tip Jar by fractal — 158
18) If Obama is an antisemite, should we assume that by LaurenMonica — 156
19) My opinion.. by oxfdblue — 146
20) I couldn't be more surprised by Dallasdoc — 141
21) The deficit reduction is the clincher... by APA Guy — 131
22) My friend, I'm straight, but by Villagejonesy — 131
23) Tip Jar by The Nephew — 129
24) The earth is our mother by Nulwee — 128
25) OBAMA showed Dennis RESPECT by KnotIookin — 126
26) I don't think you two are reading by Shaviv — 119
27) Orly Taitz is a mentally ill woman by beltane — 113
28) Tip Jar by Femlaw — 111
29) Who knew by kos — 104
30) Good. Let 'em move to Somalia. by UndercoverRxer — 99
© sardonyx; all rights reserved
All quotes are the property of the original authors or the websites that held them