Good evening!
I read with interest Leonard Pitts Jr.’s fine article today. Entitled (in MY Paper, at least, but not in its Miami Herald Original) One Year Down, Three to Go, you can easily imagine what it’s about. My first reaction was, let’s hope that there are NOT three to go. Let’s hope that at least SOME Republicans come to their senses and begin pressure to end the fiasco well before three more years of misery and damage.
More below.
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board.
Digging into the article finds a great deal of good. He begins by contrasting the YEARS of bs and garment-rending over the Lewinsky scandal during the Clinton Administration with the story of Trump lawyers paying off a porn star - that didn’t even qualify as the biggest story of that day.
From that article:
One simply cannot keep up with, much less respond with proper outrage to, all of this guy’s scandals, bungles, blame-shifting, name-calling and missteps, his sundry acts of mendacity, misanthropy, perversity and idiocy. It’s like trying to fill a teacup from Niagara Falls. It’s like trying to read the internet.
Hell no, one can’t keep up. One doesn’t even want to try. It gets too depressing, too overwhelming, too immobilizing, at a time when we can’t afford ANY of those things.
Give him this much, though. He has banished apathy, made fools of those people who once declared with pontifical certitude that we should “blow up” the system and said voting didn’t matter because there was no difference between the parties. More, he’s galvanized a powerful resistance that has claimed upset victories from Alabama to Wisconsin and left Gumby-spined Republicans looking over their shoulders. That resistance might even save this country, assuming the guy leaves us anything to save. (bold-facing mine)
Then, on CNN there is an editorial by Alice Stewart (look her up if you must, she’s EVERY bit as bad as you could imagine, if not worse), written while the shutdown was still fresh, claiming that DEMOCRATS have a lot of explaining to do.
RIIGGGHHHHTTTTT!!!!
The country has been inundated with incompetence the likes of which we have never seen, and DEMOCRATS have to ‘answer!’ Where was she when Republicans obstructed and stonewalled for EIGHT YEARS of the Obama administration, over everything and nothing?! I can’t fathom the gall of conservatives who EVER use the term ‘obstruction.’ They invented it, they elevated it to a party platform, they perfected it. And not to ACHIEVE anything (except to hamstring government and make their edict that government is the problem a self-fulfilling prophecy). Just to express spite to the dignified, supremely qualified leader we DID have. Let’s see her name ONE Republican, to this day, who has ‘answered’ for that!
What she CONVENIENTLY ignores and glosses over is, the crisis about the fate of Dreamers isn’t a naturally occurring one. Trump CREATED it. He created it for leverage, for manipulative value, as if not one hair on one Dreamer’s head would be ruffled by the breeze. But it completely screws up the lives and plans of 800,000 fine young people. Only to overturn one good Obama deed. Spite.
Now it seems (according to HER) that it is up to Congress to FIX it. But HE could fix what HE broke in a moment, with an executive order. Democrats were absolutely right to stand against that bullshit, as should every decent American citizen.
In the (above-linked) article, Stewart writes:
The reality is that Democrats chose protections for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients over funding the government. They will have to explain that to the American people.
I am happy to explain it to ANYONE, Ms. Stewart, even you. Proud to stand with my party for those young people he went so far out of his way to shit on. As for the understanding part, that, you will have to do for yourself. If you manage it, for this one first time, you will find it to be life-changing.
Thank you, Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Finally, to try to lend some emotional balance, here is another picture I just LOVED from the 2018 Women’s Marches!
The picture gives me hope that our future is in better hands!
On to tonight’s comments. Formatted by brillig. A friend beside whom I’m always proud to stand. Thank you, brillig!
TOP COMMENTS
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down. Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
From MikeTheLiberal:
I would like to nominate this comment by 4CasandChlo in GrouchySquirrel’s diary It is already too late to surrender. It is thoughtful, reasoned, and avoids the knee-jerk reaction that all the media is in the Republican’s pocket.
Highlighted by ban nock:
Is this comment by Cecelia S, dumping on him because of inability to resist dissing … well … everyone.
Highlighted by Slideman:
Is this diary-length comment by makoeyes987 on considerations in our favor as the Trump shutdown ends, for the moment.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, January 21st, 2018, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for yesterday, January 21st, 2018. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!