A look at a few scrap items lying about the desktop, after the jump …..
But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.
While I sense the worst may be over: as I noted the other night, the border situation has often left me wordless (online) and speechless (in public) — at our Drinking Liberally gathering last night, I could only bring myself to talking about tangential aspects (such as airlines declaring they would no longer participate, etc.). And so, tonight I will cover some (truly) random items from my Notepads and scratch sheets …. a more creative night will return soon, with any luck.
Item One: from the former CNN analyst and pollster Bill Schneider:
President Richard M. Nixon once advised his fellow Republicans, “Run to the right in the primary election, and then run to the center in the general election.”
Back in the early 1970’s, that was possible: there was some daylight between those two aspects of the GOP. Today, there is no daylight … and even if there was, anyone who tried to execute part B (except perhaps rhetorically) would lose.
Item Two: although he can be among the more annoying writers in liberal publications: the best column that Jonathan Chait ever wrote (in my eyes) was this one who wrote fourteen years ago, in the run-up to the 2004 general election. In it, he wrote of the many liberals who lamented the role that Ralph Nader played in the 2000 election, calling him “A good man who somehow, went wrong”.
Chait suggested instead in the New Republic that “Nader is not a heroic figure tragically overcome by his own flaws; he is a selfish, destructive maniac who, for a brief historical period, happened upon a useful role”.
Though this essay long ago disappeared from the NR website: a few people copied it down on their own websites/blogs. Do yourself a favor and read it at this link.
Item Three: My father died when I was only twenty (about the same age he was when his own father died). And so, while I knew his mother quite well (she lived to age 95) my paternal grandfather was a blank item to me and my siblings.
Then at one of our bi-annual family reunions last decade, we decided to videotape my father’s four sisters (one of whom is still alive today at age 92). And the first question posed by one of my cousins was: tell us about our paternal grandfather?
The great advantage of having all four sisters together: someone would remember one thing, which jogged another’s memory, sparking yet another … like a pinball machine. And when they put the jigsaw puzzle together, this stood out:
It turns out that both William Tracey and Catherine Healy worked for New York Telephone (circa 1915) and one Friday, he asked her for a date. She said no, and thought no more of it.
But the next Monday, when she arrived at work and opened the top drawer of her desk, she found a handwritten note that read, "To No Me ... is To Love Me" — to which my late Aunt Kaye said, "The rest is history” … and all four sisters beamed.
Yet I couldn’t help wondering if a note was found in someone's desk these days, they might contact the Personnel department, instead. Times change.
Item Four: in the run-up to the 1996 GOP presidential primary season (to choose a candidate to run against Bill Clinton’s re-election) the GOP governor here in New Hampshire was Steve Merrill, who was quoted about a then-Senator from Texas:
Merrill said that (Phil) Gramm's low-tax, minimalist government message appealed to him more than those of the other candidates, and he seriously considered backing the Texan. "The problem with Gramm," Merrill said, "is you have to meet the guy."
Item Five — let’s close with a video that still has me laughing, a few years later.
A 45-second clip from a talk show on Jordanian TV, with two panelists arguing about the situation in Syria (probably could have that talk, today). It is in Arabic, but the interview ends by resembling a professional wrestling interview … with the poor host left to bear the brunt. (Shame on me …. yet I just love watching this).
x xYouTube VideoNow, on to Top Comments:
From Mike the Liberal:
I am nominating this succinct comment from annrose in the diary 'Pro-Lifers' Have Always Believed in Their Right to Kidnap and Traumatize Other People's Children written by ZawnVillines. It’s true, and it says a lot about some people and their entitlement.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by Kansas Progressive about the Pride Parade held in the religious right redoubt of Hutchinson that was sure to go wrong … until nothing did— Bear on a bike offers some perspective on the region.
And in the front-page story about the unlikely tag-team of Stephanie Clifford and Michael Avenatti now working to help battle ICE— both Bobs Telecaster (first) as well as LamontCranston (second) offer an observation on that unlikely duo lending such a helping hand in this crisis.
And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
1) I continue to be astounded about how pathetic an … by Hooch +239 2) He’d be a perfect strategist for Democrats in re … by gchaucer2 +231 3) If the RNC fired all the criminals in their rank … by PissedGrunty +221 4) I think the flight attendants should do whatever … by chloris creator +206 5) OK, here we go. … by Clio2 +182 6) Schmidt knows where the bodies are buried and ho … by Gareth +181 7) Fox News ought to be charged with sedition and c … by mmstephenson +178 8) Individual activism, like Hunt Palmquist’s, can … by Shockwave +175 9) They all belong in hell. by a2nite +170 10) Document is a start. … by Rei +164 11) The other aspect is that they can’t return the c … by Clio2 +148 12) 'Since sharing my story, I learned from a fellow … by notagain +146 13) I’m more astounded at how pathetic and juvenile … by MSB 07 +144 14) The most emotional moment I’ve seen on televisio … by Another Mr Brown +142 15) I smell a rat. Why do you suppose the RNC has ke … by jqjacobs +141 16) As a mother, my heart is breaking for these fami … by Gertie Green +140 17) Pence gets a welcome in Philly by Denise Oliver Velez +124 18) The racist grannies are being told on Fox News t … by pzina +119 19) [embed] by Greg Dworkin +115 20) Pathetic, juvenile, and regressing further. by paz3 +114 20) There’s a scene near the end of the Return of th … by ontheleftcoast +114 22) “But I heard from someone on the web that Hillar … by ontheleftcoast +112 23) But think of the poor aborted babies! /s … by Quaker Warrior +113 24) Here’s what hasn’t changed: Trump and the GOP st … by nailbender +110 24) God bless him. by Milkmaid +110 26) Good morning! by Rikon Snow +106 27) [embed] by DRo +105 28) My god; have they never heard of a plastic brace … by Political Junkie +103 28) More moral courage in one flightattendant than i … by Kansas Born +103 28) "He stood up, he put his hand in his pocket... a … by Holcolmb +103