Kossacks, Kossacks!!! Meta-Jesus isn't just crying today; he's having full-blown Grand Mal seizures! I'm just back online after nearly three weeks away from the keyboard. Has Teh Great Orange gone apeshit in my absence? My trip started in the awesome city of Pittsburgh, at the amazing Netroots Nation. I think if all the Kossacks going, well, Cossack on each other today were back in the gorgeous riverside Convention Center, meeting and greeting each other live and in person--and, of course, getting likkered up together at night--none of this would be happening.
Because despite our diffs, we're all basically good people, pursuing REALLY important goals for our country. Which has just escaped--by the skin of its teeth--from eight horrific years.
It's just that when we're at home or at work or in Mom's Cheetos-strewn basement, tapping away at the keyboard, our fellow Kossacks are just pixels and screen names. Not amazing peeps with great smiles and big hearts.
Like Pittsburgh's own Celtic Merlin, who took a delirious-with-hunger earicicle to dinner Saturday night at a fantastic pub in his old neighborhood. And side pocket, who kept his promise to show up during my volunteer shift Friday at the NFTT booth to say hi and make a donation. And the entire amazing NFTT team--blue jersey mom, Timroff, TexDem and so many others. And breaking news, guys: Dana Houle is nice! I have a smiling pic as evidence. Although I expect him to come into this diary, and try to act like an asshat to keep up his reputation.
We have passionate commitments to the issues, of course. But we are also people, too. I spent some time with one Kossack who was deeply worried about a sick friend back home. I loved seeing clammyc's home videos of his little clam, and can never get enough of D Wreck's pics of the three cutest daughters ever. jlms qkw got me to dance on a chair during a wild night of karaoke. My new definition of being of progressive: Serious policy discussions by day; powerhouse renditions of "Ice, Ice Baby" and "Baby Got Back" by night.
The solution to today's issue at hand is rather simple. As a journalist, I take the topics of disclosure and conflict of interest very seriously. In a comment in TooFolkGR's diary, Openness on DailyKos, DH stated what he called two firm rules:
If you have an association with a cause or campaign or some other entity, you either don't write about anything pertaining to that cause/campaign/etc, or you write about it while clearly stating your connection.
I believe this should become official dKos policy. And as buddabelly noted in a comment, a Kossack's paid association should be noted in every comment or diary, if it is relevant to the topic.
dKos is an amazing place, but any place with 200,000+ residents is bound to get a little rowdy and fractious on occasion. I've said many times that I came for the politics and stayed for the community. So I really hate to see this wonderful community tear itself apart.
So here's a thought...how about let's NOT tear ourselves apart? I'm sure we can all settle this, maybe over a nice piece of PIE!
UPDATE AT 555P Eastern: Thanks for NOT putting this on the Rec List! So I don't feel at all guilty that Meta-Jesus and I are taking a hike...not metaphorically, but literally. It's a motherfucking* GORGEOUS day here in Vermont, where it has rained approximately 99.9% of the time this summer. So I've got my Merrell's on, and I'm headed out for a jaunt. Meta-Jesus is dragging his droopy-robed butt behind me, but promises to be back asap for the pie-fighting! I'll be back to the procrastoblogging later tonight...I do want to postpone the vacuuming and other shit I REALLY need to do as long as I can.
*mandatory appearance of "motherfucking" at least once in every earicicle diary. Per kos's payment schedule to me!