Tonight, our 4th of July Rescue Rangers Marching Band is comprised of vcmvo2 on clarinet, srkp23 on trumpet, ezdidit on trombone, dopper0189 on sax, grog on drums, and jlms qkw on flute, with watercarrier4diogenes on tuba, bringing up the rear.

Tonight's diaries decorate the skyline with starbursts of ideas, highlighting, each in their own way, why this day carries so much meaning for all of us.

CELEBRATING OUR INDEPENDENCE

• Purple Priestess provides a great recommendation for 4th of July viewing in Don't be a Fribble - Sit Down and Watch "1776" Today. (jlms qkw)
• FoundingFatherDAR asks for our assistance in Some Firefighters Won't Get to Celebrate the 4th of July. (vcmvo2)
• You can only vote for Democrats if you're alive, as Gramarye reminds us in Please, Preventive Healthcare Starts at Home. Yes, even couch potatoes can lose weight and live healthy. (grog)

THE MEANINGS OF OUR INDEPENDENCE

• PvtJarHead provides a quick biography of a netroots ancestor in Resurrecting Samuel Adams the Prototype Kossack! Are we positive Markos isn't related? (grog)
• don mikulecky looks back on a personal experience with civil disobedience, and the meaning of a movement, in We need to declare independence again! Where is Jefferson when we need him? (srkp23)
• From Sand in Florida comes a wonderful, personal diary of an Iranian family's rise through persecution in their homeland to emigration and finally, to U.S. citizenship (through the granting of a habeas corpus petition), in Blinded By Hope: An Average Man's Vote for Barack Obama. (ezdidit)
• jpspencer reflects on the future development of this nation and the futures it holds, in My Son Turns Two Today. (srkp23)
• Rimjob gives us the latest news on the long-delayed redevelopment at Ground Zero. (srkp23)

KEEPING OUR INDEPENDENCE

• ScottyUrb asks and answers Are You A Patriot? (jlms qkw)
• two roads reminds us why we fight the FISA bill in When they came for the fifth amendment... (dopper0189)
• In McCain flip flops - embraces Swift Liars, AllDemsOnBoard reports on the latest version of the "straight talk express." (vcmvo2)
• tc399 offers a rant in a diary with political overtones. Insurance? ...um, Was someone discussing insurance? (ezdidit)

RESPECTING OTHERS' INDEPENDENCE

• VoteHope08 heartbreakingly explains why Sometimes I Worry About This Country. (srkp23)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - July 3, 2008 and emeraldmaiden has Top Comments 7-4-08 - And the People Spoke.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread (even if you're the author! Here's where that's actually appreciated). And, of course, since it's an open thread, PLAY NICE, OK? 8^)

If you enjoy Diary Rescue, please consider joining the Rescue Rangers. It's a great way to become more involved with the Daily Kos community. Did we mention it's rewarding and fun? To volunteer or learn more, please contact us (don't forget to tell us your screen name) at: dkos.rescuerangers@gmail.com

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Yashua, ybruti, Got A Grip, dadanation, YatPundit, and joyful, with shayera as editor.

• MA Voter highlights the joys of volunteering in Community Service: Impact from the inside out. (ybruti)
• donnasicko finds little to celebrate in SiCKO Effects: A Birthday Wish from Your Insurance Company. (joyful)
• Jeff Huber explains how he lost his last drop of respect for pundit class in the traditional media in Mission Accomplished ala Lieberman and Schieffer. (Got a Grip)
• In a moving tribute to the people of New York, ArthurPoet describes their Path of Service: WTC - 9/13/01 - 1/2 Mile No, W.S.Hwy. (ybruti)
• pmorlan examines an important example of the common phenomenon of our traditional media clucking away as they knit the scandal du jour while ignoring the rampaging elephant destroying the room in Clark & Taguba - A Media Tale of Two Generals. (Got a Grip)
• What at first blush seems to be just too blatant to be true actually is borne out by the facts in dhonig's troubling diary FOX News Anti-Semitism. (dadanation)
• In a moving tribute to the people of New York, ArthurPoet describes their Path of Service: WTC - 9/13/01 - 1/2 Mile No, W.S.Hwy. (ybruti)
• Detroit Mark shares a sense of healing at the impending end of the BushCo Reign of Terror and the hope of a better president in I Can Not Tell A Lie: I've Never Felt More Patriotic. (Got a Grip)
• Just in time for the 4th of July weekend, Milos Janus Outlook carefully disentangles fact from fantasy in Remembering Our Roots by looking at the actual religious perspectives of many of the famous "Founding Fathers (and Mothers)." (dadanation)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - July 2, 2008.

noweasels has Top Comments: Duck & Wabbit Season Edition.

If you enjoy Diary Rescue, please consider joining the Rescue Rangers. It's a great way to become more involved with the Daily Kos community. Did we mention it's rewarding and fun? To volunteer or learn more, please contact us (don’t forget to tell us your screen name) at: dkos.rescuerangers@gmail.com

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are Avila, BentLiberal, jennyjem, jlms qkw, Louisiana 1976, watercarrier4diogenes, and YatPundit, with srkp23 as editor.

• jhutson asks for your help to stop torture in Why Leanh Took Up Chain-Smoking. (jennyjem)
• shellac tells the tale of public healthcare in Brooklyn in "The County" And Its Woes. (YatPundit)
• iampuhna reminds us that today is really the anniversary of our break from King George in July 2, 1776: the resolution of independence. (YatPundit)
• In His Military Service Was Not Honored, karateexplosions laments the lack of care and compassion for the average war veteran and the hypocrisy of the deference to McCain. (BentLiberal)
• Rimjob posts an impeccable (and totally relevant!) diary on a Disastrous Month For The Auto Industry. (BentLiberal)
• gjohnsit chillingly describes a failure of the world's richest nation in Hunger On The March: Then and Now. (jlms qkw)  
• Phil In Denver wonders if an under-represented sector of the voting population could be the ticket to a Democratic victory this fall in The Coming Democratic Earthquake Part II: Can the Millennials Save Us From Ourselves? (jennyjem)
• Crashing Vor writes in vivid detail about being a little blue drop in a sea of red, and gives this community some much-needed perspective in Political Geography for Kossacks: Crimea River (jennyjem)
• cityvitalsigns says Thanks dKos, Obama, the Democratic groundswell, Bill Moyers, and more, for making me a better mother, and means it. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• cskendrick delivers a thoughtful treatise on the Constitution and watching our leaders closely, in Regarding The Big Picture. (BentLiberal)
• Chris Rodda describes David Barton as a Christian nationalist and historical revisionist whose work on behalf of Republicans has flown under the left's radar, in David Barton: Bobby Jindal is "One of the Really Cool Guys." (BentLiberal)
• mwmwm explains why international environmental leadership from the US is essential in Dole, Del Monte, Endosulfan, and the Ferry. (YatPundit)
• Are arthouse films and other smaller films, compared to major Hollywood films, financially unsuccessful? In On the Success of Big Blockbusters and Independent Films, AgnosticTheocrat says there's much more to the story than that. (Louisiana 1976)

jotter serves up High Impact Diaries - July 1, 2008.

brillig brings Top Comments- 7/02/08 Fill-In Edition.

If you enjoy Diary Rescue, please consider joining the Rescue Rangers. It's a great way to become more involved with the Daily Kos community. Did we mention it's rewarding and fun? To volunteer or learn more, please contact us (don’t forget to tell us your screen name) at: dkos.rescuerangers@gmail.com

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are vcmvo2, Painty Kat, jlms qkw, dopper0189, shayera, srkp23 and grog.

If you enjoy Diary Rescue, please consider joining the Rescue Rangers. It's a great way to become more involved with the Daily Kos community. Did we mention it's rewarding and fun? To volunteer or learn more, please contact us (don’t forget to tell us your screen name) at: dkos.rescuerangers@gmail.com.

• Not lions and tigers, but polar bears and Penguins Dying Out, highlight this stark picture of the world's oceans by prestochango. (jlms qkw)
• srkp23 continues to witness the struggle to bring justice and accountability to BushCo and its affiliates in Abu Ghraib Detainees Sue U.S. Contractors for Torture. (vcmvo2)
• Gemina13 explains why the Johnson family, like the Tillmans before them, are fighting the military to obtain justice for their daughter who was murdered and raped in Justice for Pfc. LaVena Johnson. (PaintyKat)
• MrBurns17 snarkily speculates about the Republican National Convention Schedule. On second thought, perhaps this isn't snark. (jlms qkw)
• America has a mixed history on tariffs. In Tomatoes Are Like Motorcycles, Daveparts looks at their success in saving Harley Davidson. (dopper0189)
• Last Years Man shares this diary-shortcut tool in Daily Kos Mad Libs. (jlms qkw)
• MotleyPatriot notes that some Swift Boat Veterans are now complaining that the name of their group has become associated with liars in SwiftBoat Veterans speak out 4 years later? (vcmvo2)
• kyledeb reminds us that despite progress, prejudice remains even in unlikely places, but still he finds hope in The Intolerant States of America. (srkp23)
• Pragmaticus tells Kossacks some things about Alvaro Uribe in The Truth About McCain's "Friend" in Colombia. (shayera)
• RoddieH presents a thorough discussion of his own experience in the Navy and how it relates to Presidential qualifications in On Patriotism, Military Service, and Executive Leadership. (PaintyKat)
• sunflight provides the means and inspiration to answer the question Are We Ready to Govern? (vcmvo2)
• In On Turkish Politics, Or, Are Headscarves A Constitutional Threat?, diarist fake consultant looks at the issue of separation of religion and the state in a strategically important, majority Muslim country. (dopper0189)
• homoaffectional presents a timely summary of GLBT-related events in Round-up of recent GLBT-related events (including Pride NYC 2008 report). (PaintyKat)
• gmoke educates us about New Alchemy Institute founder John Todd's prizewinning project to move From Coal to a Carbon Neutral World: Ecological Design for Appalachia. (srkp23)

jotter gives us the day's High Impact Diaries - June 30, 2008, while brillig has Top Comments- 7/01/08 Flag Edition.

Shamelessly promote your diary or pimp for a friend in this Open Thread!

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, PaintyKat, jennyjem, dadanation, BentLiberal, and joyful with Got a Grip as editor du jour.

Jesselyn Radack has assembled a list of lawmakers who, in their own words, failed to come to a conclusion on important legislation regarding FISA that they were scheduled to vote on in LAUGH OR CRY?: Senators Were Poised to Vote on FISA Bill They Don't Have a Position On!. Feel free to take action using the phone numbers provided. (jennyjem)

The Environment and our Infrastructure

• faithfull posts the first volume of a collection of blog articles concerning the mining method called, "mountaintop removal," and asks any interested Kossacks to make a journalistic contribution in Mountain Mondays v 1.0: Becoming the Media. (jennyjem)
• The ever environmentally-conscious A Siegel reports on the recent movement to educate the public through our nations botanical gardens in Energy COOL: A stroll in a garden. (jennyjem)
• JohnnyRook points out how the White House Ignores SCOTUS By Sticking Fingers in Ears and Shouting La, La, La, La, but sometimes Congress gets the last word in RenaRF's No Funding for Spy Satellites (via the NAO). (joyful)
• In A Confluence of Catastrophes, Milos Janus Outlook points to the problem of crumbling infrastructure and the capital infusion needed to fix it. (BentLiberal)

Military Matters

• jimstaro writes that it's high-time for the verb "Swiftboating" to be declared an insult in My 'Brothers' Want Their Proud Name Back!! (jennyjem)
• Tasini illustrates exactly why the conflict in Iraq must end in War, The Economy And The Death Of A Man. (jennyjem)
• First-time diarist mscharizmaa writes on the beauty of friendship and the importance of remembering in the heartfelt The Man in the Room. (joyful)

Political Issues

• Nuisance Industry offers a thought-provoking analysis of Senator Obama's recent actions in Obama recentering the Democratic Party. (dadanation)
• seabrook explains why there might be bleaker portraits for our country than those found daily focusing on the Presidential contest in priorities for progressives; why Obama's maneuvers shouldn't be our biggest concern. (PaintyKat)
• janis points out that this election is about the personal in the well-crafted diary, My First Obama Organizing Event in Red, Red Virginia (BentLiberal)

The Least of These

• The evangelical Christian right may be becoming more enlightened and less hypocritical regarding certain issues, according to Detroit Mark in Be-Like-Me-Or-Die Christianity Becoming Passe? (Louisiana 1976)
• mamabigdog shares her family's most recent experiences dealing with our health care system in Are you forgetting something? (dadanation)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 29, 2008.

Elise has Top Comments: They canceled it?

Enjoy these selections and please promote your own favorite diaries in this Open Thread.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Got a Grip, Yashua, ezdidit, jlms qkw and noddem, with claude in the editor's chair.

Momentous events this past week have led some Kogs to new,

Political Insights

• NCrissieB shares their practical approach to politics in A pragmatist's view of principles, policy, and politics. (jlms qkw)
• fitz2 reflects on current news and their own views in A Week of Lessons About Politics. (jlms qkw)

and some Recurring Concerns

• Humanity must come first. That is the argument put forth by Aimee La Fountain in a diary about our current politics within a historical context, entitled: Humanity Transcends All. (Yashua)
• Press to Digitate brings us a diary about how the smallest policy changes can have a significant impact on our lives in Trivial Epiphanies @ The Revolution. (Yashua)
• If you have ever answered a robocall and wondered What to do if you get push-polled or message-tested, read this diary from desmoinesdem. (ezdidit)
• Ovid explains that fair voting isn't solved by registration and access issues, rather it goes to the heart of the privatized electronic voting methods in Paper Trails and Software Paths. (jlms qkw)

Climate Change

• winterbanyan warns of the totalitarian politics of The warming climate -- A major threat to liberty, and Maaarrrk exposes several political bad actors in a great ecology diary entitled, UPDATED: Southeast Deep Coral Ecosystem Under Threat by Oil Drilling. (ezdidit)

others Get Personal

• jlang57 shares a beautiful tribute to life, Alaska, and his brother in The Salmon. (jlms qkw)
• dedmonds talks of the progress made within the LGBT community, and shares a personal story in Why Gay Pride Matters. (noddem)
• collidaescope maintains that "it is the person, not the packaging, that counts," in a personal diary about race, entitled Rainbows. (ezdidit)
• Karma Yoga is illustrated in this poetry by x.(jlms qkw)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 28, 2008.

emeraldmaiden has tonight's Top Comments 6-29-08 - Summer Vacation.

Use this as an Open Thread, promote your own picks (or your own) and remember to Play Nice.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are shayera, vcmvo2, dadanation, joyful, srkp23, jlms qkw and Avila as editor.

• DorothyT delivers a delightful instance of speaking truth to power from not-too-distant history, in Who said, "Government can go to hell" in 1957? (srkp23)
• That Crazy Mom Over There takes a look at some of the "major" news sources to see what they're reporting about the Iraq War - The Non-News. (shayera)
• JohnnyRook courageously journeys into the jaw-dropping writings of global warming denialists, who "explain" Why Global Warming is a Lie. (srkp23)
• In Sorry - - just another panic attack, mwmwm discusses the various ecological disasters that have quietly been developing and implores us to change course quickly. (vcmvo2)
• pale cold offers up a stunning example of oil company propaganda in Come! Vacation in the Tar sands! BOOK TODAY! (srkp23)
• professorfate shares an excruciating conversation with his conservative ex-wife, in A visit to the dentist: rinse, rinse, now spit. (srkp23)
• In The Year of the Taliban, mosaicnews reports that the Taliban are making a comeback in Afghanistan. (vcmvo2)
• iampunha describes a very special day in history in June 28, 2008: Do you take this man .... (jlms qkw)
• It happened last night is a quiet little reminder of the good that still exists here in America. Thank you, waitingforvizzini. (joyful)
• brasch reviews the PA version of this classic battle of our time in Squabbling Over the Pigeon Bill: Pennsylvania Legislature May Shoot Down an Anti-Cruelty Animal Bill. (jlms qkw)
• JazzedInSF compiles a most excellent list of McCain's Greatest Hits: The Flipflops. Add your own! (vcmvo2)
• James Crozier highlights some of the absolute absurdities of the political week in You know it's silly season when... (shayera)
• Get your creative juices flowing in Yosef 52's lovely, lyrical BROTHERS AND SISTERS! It's the Saturday Poetry and Art Thread! (joyful)

Yesterday's High Impact Diaries are brought to you by jotter.

carolita has Top Comments -- Carlin Edition.

We hope you'll enjoy these diaries as much as we did. Please promote your own favorites from today in the open thread.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are PaintyKat, jlms qkw, Shayera, watercarrier4diogenes, and joyful (doing a double!) with vcmvo2 as editor.

One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

The diaries up for rescue are:

the illusions of life

• mindgeek describes why swiftboating is so effective and how "your brain lies to you" in this fascinating diary: The neuroscience of false beliefs. (vcmvo2)
• Progressive Identity Project #6 - "It's the Media, Stupid." is a lovely diary from mikeplugh on how communication defines our world. (joyful)
• A Siegel discusses the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of WaPo's new tradition in TRADITION! WashPost Global Warming reporting Fair and Balanced. (jlms qkw)

the present hour

• Dr Colossus says the data-mining programs went right into the doggy bowl as the world's oldest excuse is given by FBI to GAO: Dog Ate My Homework. (joyful)
• Stranded Wind continues his personal reporting of health-care coverage in mASS Health? Not as bad as Iowa Care. There is a good report in the comments. (jlms qkw)

the critical, decisive hour

• MotleyPatriot reflects on our constitutional rights and their history in Pragmatism circa 1773. (jlms qkw)
• Hello! Is anybody awake in there? therealcervantes is just wondering, since there has been so little from the traditional media on the attempted murder of Afghan's president. (joyful)

Write it on your heart

• tmservo433 reviews the new Pixar movie for us in WALL*E = great social commentary, great film. Just like rottentomatoes.com, the NYT, and every other review I saw, the diarist liked it! (jlms qkw)
• jimstaro brings us a sad tale of a billionaire businessman who broke his promise to America's veterans in Shame On You T Boone, Shame on you. (joyful)
• warmmidwest tells Kossacks about a progressive company taking a stand against a conservative business business group in Wisconsin Corporation Takes Political Stand. (shayera)
• WarrenS suggests only Presidents or their advisers who understand the music of other cultures can formulate effective policies in Learning to Understand the Music. (PaintyKat)

Everyday is the best day

• June 27, 1880: sight unseen, sound unheard, sense undeterred is iampunha's celebration of the miracle of Helen Keller. (joyful)
• We saw Obama leave his church, now Milos Janus Outlook brings us the prospect of a church leaving one of its members, in Diane Smock, George Bush and SMU. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• Now that the LGBT community is being recognized, even courted, bilerico offers 3 Simple Rules for Politicians, a tome every progressive candidate should read. (watercarrier4diogenes)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 26,2008.

va dare has Top Comments 5.27.08 - Working hard(er).

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this Open Thread.

::

This evening's Rescue Rangers are ybruti, vcmvo2, Got A Grip, srkp23, dadanation and jlms qkw with Avila as editor.

• With evidence to be used in future war crimes trials, Valtin explains the Nuts & Bolts: How U.S. Organized Torture Program. (ybruti)
• truong son traveler highlights some disturbing discrepancies between BushCo's Iranian propaganda and reality as observed from another part of the world in The Truth About the Iranian Threat. (Got a Grip)
• For a well-written and frightening examination of the parallels between the current occupation of Iraq by the US and the British occupation of Mesopotamia in the 1920s, check out Troutfishing's Empire. (dadanation)
• clammyc powerfully asks us, If we don't talk about Iraq, then why would anyone else? (srkp23)
• gjohnsit describes how taxpayers are bailing out bankers yet again in Is this a great country (for bankers), or what? (vcmvo2)
• First-time diarist NY expat brit analyzes how increased production of biofuels might increase third-world problems in Biofuels and inreasing 3rd world poverty. (vcmvo2)
• Shaviv recounts the history behind the military attempts to use nuclear power to propel aircraft in Mad Science Project of the Week 15: wherein the atom and the airplane are combined. (Got a Grip)
• In an illustrated and thoroughly researched diary, sobermom describes the battle for equality by women rowers in Feminisms: Women Under Way. (ybruti)
• joehoevah analyzes the current state of gay marriage and adoption, and opines that things are getting better in Why the Left is Right on...Gay Rights! (vcmvo2)
• Louisiana 1976 reflects on Katrina and the recent Midwestern floods and concludes, Yes, There Is A Double Standard...... (srkp23)
• iampunha artfully weaves the personal and the political in June 26, 1988 and 2003: Crazy Little Thing Called Love. (srkp23)
• Chris Rodda details the efforts by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to stop the rebroadcast of a TV special that blatantly violates military policy in MRFF Urges DoD to Pull the Plug on TBN Special, Demands Investigation. (dadanation)
• You don't need to agree, just read and think. chrisblask shares and debates approaches to problem solving in Winning the Big Game is What Matters. (jlms qkw)
• Vyan highlights today's Torture Hearings: Conyers vs Yoo and Addington. (srkp23)
• Adolph Twee takes a new approach to an old comedy routine in Hu Yoo Kidding (With Apologies to Abbot & Costello). (Got a Grip)
• Welshman tips his hat with a wink and a nod at the potty humor of a group of San Franciscans who have found the perfect way to honor Commander Codpiece in Exorcising demons by going to the John. (Got a Grip)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 25, 2008 and Light Emitting Pickle brings Top Comments - Luxury Toilet Edition.

Even if it's too late to recommend some of these diaries, the diarists will appreciate your comments. Enjoy and please promote your own favorites in the open thread.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, Yashua, dopper0189, BentLiberal, grog and noddem, with jennyjem as editor.

Tonight's list begins with a reminder of the flooding in the Midwest, and its impact on both people and the environment.

• With all that has been going on, the Midwest disaster zone has already faded from the headlines. alkalinesky discusses traveling to Indiana and meeting with flood survivors while gaining new insights on charity in I am only a witness. (Louisiana 1976)
• In Remember the Promise You Made in the Attic, OHeyeO looks at how Dayton, Ohio's 90 year old flood control works offer a blueprint for modern urban areas located alongside rivers. (grog)
• FishOutofWater forecasts that polluted Mississippi flood waters will increase dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico in Flood Will Cause Huge Gulf Kill Zone, Seas Suffocating Globally. (dopper0189)
• A Siegel looks at the barriers facing the move toward hybrid taxis in Energy Smart: Greening taxis. (grog)
• mem from somerville is encouraged and encouraging with an upbeat diary that acknowledges that positive change sometimes arrives on little cat feet. (BentLiberal)
• annetteboardman decides that It is nice when I can buy local. Every urban dweller here in DK should read this to get a glimpse of how your "country cousins" live. (grog)
• In Obama vs McCain: Web standards and open source, woolie looks under the hood of the campaign websites and finds one looking to the future and the other mired in the past. (BentLiberal)
• davefromqueens has 97 Questions For John Mccain. The office pool is now open on how long it will take the traditional media to ask the first one. I get dibs on "never". (grog)
• SteveYoung provides a little snark in New Study of Talk Show Host Brains Calls For Compassion Not Scorn. (dopper0189)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 24, 2008.

sardonyx has Top Comments: Campaign Donation Time!

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are vcmvo2, Got a Grip, watercarrier4diogenes, Avila, Shayera, and dopper0189, with vcmvo2 as editor.

The diaries up for rescue are:

• In this important diary, Valtin gives a new interpretation of the "real" date that the Bush administration torture policy took effect in Media & Gov't Torture Cover-up: Sen. Levin, Release the 12/01 SERE Docs. Forget what you thought you knew about this, just drop everything and read this well-sourced diary! (vcmvo2)
• Using great YouTube links, The Bargeron reminds us of the conservative movement's historical lack of understanding of what diplomacy means in The Misuse of "Appeasement". (dopper0189)
• As an expat American living in the UK, Ovid provides a study in political policy contrasts with the well-written and well-researched US Politics Versus World Politics. (Avila)
• Circle's personal story brings attention to the possibility of growing tragedy in While the Repubs Fiddle (with Terrorists): California Burns. (shayera)
• In Responding to the world food crisis: Silver bullets or systems changes? Thomas Dobbs argues convincingly that searching for the silver bullet to address food shortages is a "too little, too late" attitude that must change. (vcmvo2)
• ImpeachKingBushII has some advice for Lindsey Graham: Senator Graham, stop being Bush's JAG lawyer and start being a US Senator! (shayera)
• fake consultant offers up an intriguing idea about how to quickly change the face of the auto industry and asks us to participate in ironing out the details in On Buying Out The Fleet, Or, Here's A Gas War We Can Win. (Got a Grip)
• Frederick Clarkson asks a truly rhetorical question, Can Dobson Out-Fruitcake Obama on the Constitution? (watercarrier4diogenes)
• Let's follow iampunha as he trips down memory lane to discover fungus and witches and madness - Oh My! in June 24, 1374: a plague, a chill, a poison. (Got a Grip)
• Amber6541 shines a light on more of the family's funny business in Jeb Bush's involvement in government sponsorship for religious schools in Florida. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• Frankenoid points out that those in charge of the Democratic Convention efforts may not have a firm grasp of how the intertubez work and offers suggestions in how we can help those in charge to overcome their own best efforts at cocking it all up in Help us Herd Cats in Denver. (Got a Grip)
• don mikulecky analyzes and discusses a vastly different approach to teaching science so that it is relevant in today's world: Complexity science for teachers. (vcmvo2)
• Jeff Huber suggests that perhaps the best way of trying to read the tea leaves where BushCo's intentions toward Iran are concerned would be to examine the historical record of their past actions and stated goals in Boxing Up the Crazies. (Got a Grip)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 23, 2008 and brillig brings Top Comments - 6/24/08 I Can Haz Comments? Edition.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this Open Thread.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, PaintyKat, Bent Liberal, dadanation, grog, and joyful, with shayera as editor.

• Laughing Vergil shares an endearing story about a true American hero, his mother, in In Memoriam: Virginia M Hess. (PaintyKat)
• garykephart is running for a really local office and talks about the hurdles encountered by unknown candidates in Shouting up from the bottom of a well. Remember people, "more and better Democrats" have to start somewhere. (grog)
• dogemperor continues to update us as the Christian Fundamentalist Assemblies officially comes out in favour of preacher stonewalling in Congressional probe. (joyful)
• Dkos icon va dare gives a review of Senator Robert Byrd's new book: 'Letters to a New President.' (BentLiberal)
• Eternal Hope shares a lot of valuable ground and good graphics in William Kristol and other gems from the Dark Side. (PaintyKat)
• Dave Donelson laments the impassable road to democracy in R.I.P. Zimbabwe. (BentLiberal)
• To give Kossacks a view of how members of the GLBTQ minority are being persecuted there, theantidesi101 informs us that Poll: 70 Percent In Jamaica Oppose Any Rights For Gays. (Louisiana 1976)
• JeffersonSmith deconstructs a conservative talking point in Megan McArdle speaks power to truth. (BentLiberal)
• larbabe uncorks several real, perceived and inherent conflicts of interests that Senator McCain faces because of the source of his wife's fortune in McCain is up to his ears in beer suds. (dadanation)
• jimstaro notes that Yesterday was the 64th Anniversary of the G.I. bill and the resulting post-war economic boom. (BentLiberal)
• dengre presents his well researched information concerning the Abramoff scandal and how McCain interfered with our right to know in McCain helps Doolittle, Pombo and the Abramoff gang. (PaintyKat)
• iampunha writes of the hidden life of the inventor of the Turing machine in June 23, 1912: secrets. (BentLiberal)
• gjohnsit continues chronicling the history of labor strife in the US, this time on the largest general strike in American history, in The Great Waterfront Strike. (grog)
• MrWinky calmly discusses disagreeing with the person you are supporting for president in Even Obama Can Be Wrong. (BentLiberal)

jotter brings us High Impact Diaries - June 22, 2008.

sardonyx has tonight's Top Comments: A Billion Here...

Add your favorite diaries from the past 24 hours and use as an open thread.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Yashua, YatPundit, ezdidit, dadanation, Avila, and noddem, with watercarrier4diogenes searching the drawers of the Editor's desk for a decent quill.

Tonight's diaries cover a variety of interesting issues not covered by the 'traditional media' (tm Kos) and definitely not with the same $$élan$$ that the Broders of that 'village' are known for.

• The inimitable jlynne contemplates Obama's FISA statement in the uncompromising context of history, the Constitution and pragmatism, in "God created Arrakis to train the faithful". Truly a must-read. (Avila)
• iampunha commemorates this day and explodes a multitude of myths in June 22, 1633: Upon further review, the Earth does not orbit the sun. (ezdidit)
• Do you think supply and demand are behind gas and oil prices? Guess again. Carol White argues that the causes can be traced to market manipulation, legalized by Republicans, in Phil Gramm and The Political Scandal Behind Today's Soaring Oil Prices. (Yashua)
• agnostic animates the expression "I would not have believed it if I did not read it" in Pastor Agnostic's Daily Sermon. (dadanation)
• prestochango shares his/her journey to the Democratic Party and the Great Orange Satan, and offers An Apology to Well Intentioned Republicans. (noddem)
• teacherken offers great wisdom and touching insight in a most remarkable diary about education not just for teachers. Don't miss Teach With Your Heart. (ezdidit)
• If anyone is seeking an oasis of calm amidst the current rash of FISA diaries, check out undercovercalico's photo-diary Who is at the Zoo. (dadanation)
• jimstaro alerts us that hundreds of U.S. troops may have suffered exposure to sodium dichromate in Iraq. Read about it here: Iraq's WMD's = Gravely Ill American Soldiers. (ezdidit)
• In a diary that exposes international legal and corporate complexities, ItsJessMe explains why anyone can rightfully claim You're Darn Right Gay Marriage Affects Me! (ezdidit)
• In an update to an earlier diary that pondered whether or not the anti-same-sex marriage initiative on the California ballot this November was constitutional or not, Killer of Sacred Cows explores the ramifications of the most recent developments in BREAKING: CA Marriage Equality - EQCA asks CA SC to remove initiative from ballot. (dadanation)
• Anne Elk skillfully deconstructs the fear factor as GOP campaign strategy in The Fear narrative: 9/11. (Avila)
• Amber6541 discusses the Dem response to the domestic oil drilling scam in The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008 (H.R. 6251). (YatPundit)
• fbihop highlights policy differences between two NM Senate candidates in the well-written NM-Sen: Oilman vs Environmentalist. (Avila)
• With a lovely pictorial essay, Stranded Wind suggests a day-trip to find glacial carved stone: Chesterfield Gorge, Massachussetts. (ezdidit)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 21, 2008 and va dare has Top Comments 6.22.08 'Homely girls like to dance too'.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread (even if you're the author! Here's where that's actually appreciated). And, of course, since it's an open thread, PLAY NICE, OK? 8^)

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are Avila, dadanation, joyful, and shayera, with srkp23 as editor.

• BirderWitch reminds us that yesterday was The First Day of Summer and invites us to celebrate. (shayera)
• My CSA Survival Guide is a yummy foodie diary from eph89 in support of local agriculture. (joyful)
• iampunha takes us back in time to June 21, 1915 and 1964: If your grandfather could vote, with the emphasis on "if." (joyful)
• With religious fanaticism and intolerance used to fight a so-called war of ideology, jimstaro questions the rhetoric from both sides, in Is There An Election Coming?? (Avila)
• mpwife anticipates reaction from the religious right on a recent decision by the South Carolina legislature and subsequent lawsuit over . . . . license plates. Check out I Can't Wait To See This and prepare to be outraged. (Avila)
• cskendrick's beautifully written As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap is a painful song of hope and bitter disappointment. (joyful)
• First-time diarist and "Recovering Republican" acseeley cooks up some Tales from the juicy center of a red state. (joyful)
• dengre reminds us that Meanwhile, we have a Country to TAKE BACK! (shayera)
• colonelgreen gives us a harsh (and much-needed) reminder of exactly what is at stake this November in Age, Service, and the Struggle for a Liberal Supreme Court. (joyful)
• gph11 really delivers a wonderful take on a hot-topic issue right now, in a witty and insightful diary: Conversations with a Conservative: Gay marriage. (dadanation)
• Three DailyKos comebacks in response to GWB's ridiculous whine, "The Democrats are blocking my energy plans!" wade norris brings us A Renewable Energy 'blogumentary': Part 1 of 6: No new drilling, while A Siegel Took me out to the ballgame to Strike Out Exxon. Finally, DanfromRaisingKaine tells us Why I oppose California's 50% Renewable Energy Standard. (joyful)
• For a beautiful diary brought to life with some spectacular photographs, check out Stranded Wind's A tumble of water and stone: Chapel Hill. (dadanation)

jotter serves up High Impact Diaries - June 20, 2008.

asimbagirl has Top Comments: Summer Vacation edition 6/21/08.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are ybruti, PaintyKat, ezdidit, srkp23, Bent Liberal and joyful, with Got a Grip donning the Robes of Objectivity.

Today, the first day of summer, is a busy day in history. In 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States. 55 years later Queen Victoria rose to the throne. Lizzy Borden was found innocent of axing her parents to death in 1893. Detroit saw race riots on this date in 1943, while Bugsy Siegel ate hot lead in 1947. The U.S. and Soviet Union agreed to set up the "red phone" in 1963, while this day in 1967 saw Muhammad Ali convicted of dodging the draft.

But the minions of irony want to share this little pearl. On June 20th, 2003, Scott McClellan was tapped by George Bush to be his new press secretary. Today, five years later, Scott McClellan gave testimony before Congress recounting wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Bush and assorted other officials and cronies.

Good times.....

Science, or Lack Thereof...

• environmentalist suggests that improper land use contributed to the terrible Midwestern Flooding. THE WATER DID IT!! (joyful)
• Leftywingnut fills us in on BushCo's continued exploitation of public land, in Why Spoil Beauty? Rocky Mnts under assault. (srkp23)
• oscarsdad writes of the latest shenanigans of the religious right in, In Louisiana, "critical thinking" = Creationism. (BentLiberal)
• Shaviv reports in Mad Science Project of the Week 14: wherein the power of the mind is misunderstood that government investigations of parapsychology have not been fruitful. (ybruti)

Anger Management...

• GreyHawk asks, "Where is the outcry?" over those dismantling the Constitution and Declaration of Independence in Words To Live By, And For A Nation, Die By. (BentLiberal)
• mpwife, who also took an oath to defend the constitution, looks at the FISA "compromise," concluding, And I Can Only Cry. (srkp23)
• First-time diarist lennysfo dashes off First Diary: Dear Speaker Pelosi ... (BentLiberal)

Wars, and Rumors of Wars...

• RichardG details Further evidence of torture, focusing on humiliation and the use of gendered exploitation. (srkp23)
• Maura Satchell provides an update on Zimbabwe: Danger of another Darfur? (srkp23)
• IseFire contemplates policy "expert" Robert Kagan's essay on America's military interventions and expansions, and offers his own thoughts on US Foreign Policy Idealism. (joyful)
• In Where Have All The Fathers Gone? LogicaLizE describes a beautiful father-daughter relationship interrupted by war. (ybruti)

Politics, Shmolitics...

• terjeanderson notes how inappropriate it is when a US Ambassador to Canada campaigns for McCain and confuses his diplomatic role. (joyful)
• Megatron suggests we take a close look at The End All, Be All Obama VEEP Diary. (ezdidit)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - June 19, 2008.

carolita has Top Comments 6-20-08 -- Accountability Edition.

Please feel free to use this as an Open Thread and to rescue and chat about your favorite diaries of the day!

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are Yashua, PaintyKat, Got A Grip, grog, shayera and Avila, with dadanation as editor.

Today, June 19th, is an annual holiday observance in 27 states. Sometimes called Freedom Day, and sometimes referred to as Emancipation Day, today is best known as Juneteenth.

Here is a brief history of the day: :

Though the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had little immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas, which was almost entirely under Confederate control. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. Legend has it while standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of "General Order No. 3":

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

from wikipedia

Here are tonight's recommendations:

The Environment

• yogipohaku poses an interesting idea about a 50 STATE REFERENDUM FOR GREEN REVENUE. Some states have oil, others wind, so why not "extract wind"? (grog)
• Daveparts looks at how the US is clinging to oil while the rest of the world takes the technological lead in developing clean alternative energy sources in Don't Fear Tomorrow. (grog)
• NM Steve Pearce wants to strip mine three states by Leftywingnut gives us the details of this proposal from New Mexico's GOP Senatorial candidate. (shayera)
• You've seen the signs, but The Cunctator reports that a new report released by the federal government makes it official: NOAA Report: Global Warming Is Damaging Our Weather. (Avila)

Campaign Issues

• Kelly of PA talks about My fight to elect Barack Obama, one person at a time... This is a cautionary tale about complacency and the challenges in overcoming the right wing smear machine. (grog)
• don mikulecky, having seen the news reels of the American forces entering the concentration camps at the end of the war, asks how much more can our Nation witness without stopping the madness of torture in War Crimes, high crimes and misdemeanors. (PaintyKat)
• Dianna reminds us that optimism knows no geographic boundaries, and progressives internationally want us to Ba-Rack the vote in "The rest of the world is watching this election very closely and praying..." (Avila)

History and Philosophy

• teacherken exhorts us to seek our kinder, gentler, better selves in order to become true stewards of this earth in Metta not meta? (Got a Grip)
• iampunha informs us of a accidental discovery that has literally changed the course of science, history and the health of mankind in June 19, 1902: the Chain of events that saved millions — and one. (Got a Grip)
• In So Always a Stranger – The Disappearance of the Greeks of Turkey, Shane Hensinger authors a wonderfully detailed piece providing a rich background on the status of Greeks in Turkey. (Yashua)
• Muzikal203 reflects on what African Americans of a different era would have thought about the racial issues facing us all today in June 19, 1865. (Got a Grip)
• Milos Janus Outlook believes there is a gem buried among the rubble and losses in China from the recent earthquake and shares in The Foolish Old Man of Sangzao. (PaintyKat)

jotter has tonight's High Impact Diaries - June 19, 2008.

sardonyx has tonight's Top Comments: RonK, Seattle on Daily Kos, part 2.

And on a melancholic note, in closing, the founder of Project Inform, the world-famous HIV/AIDS community-based advocacy/activist organization, Martin Delaney, is retiring. Delaney founded Project Inform in 1985 and has been an indefatigable presence in the HIV/AIDS arena ever since. Tonight in San Francisco there is an event honoring him; next week, Wednesday the 25th, a similar event will take place in Washington, DC. Many lives have been saved and many individuals have had their health improved dramatically because of the work of Project Inform. Marty will be sorely missed.

Please feel free to use this as an Open Thread and to rescue and talk up your favorite diaries of the day!

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are BentLiberal, dopper0189, jennyjem, Louisiana 1976, noddem, and YatPundit, with Unitary Moonbat shuffling the scrolls.

June 18 is a day for throwing down the proverbial gauntlet: previous todays have seen Susan B. Anthony getting fined $100 for the crime of voting (1873); the start of the War of 1812 (duh); and in 1983, Sally Ride became America's first woman in space aboard the Shuttle Challenger.

• Election-year politics even impacts the space program, as FerrisValyn details in Politics at the International Space Development Conference, 2008 (YatPundit)
• Sparked by a back and forth online conversation on compassion, xysea realised why The Color Of The Sky On My Planet Is Blue (dopper0189)
• dogemperor warns of what may come out of Mississippi's "moral refusal" law--and now the "model moral refusal law, and what it may mean for the rest of us. (noddem)
• Red Wind reports that the NYT is catching on to the fact that 'Republican compromise' often equals corruption in NYT Calls BS on FISA "Compromise." (jennyjem)
• When it comes to oil, A Siegel encourages us to Follow the money...into McCain's pockets (YatPundit)
• EmilyD discusses a film about a visionary artist in Presenting The Maestro! (jennyjem)
• tcthulhuology replies to a popular diary with an opposing Response: How to Transform the US From a Debt to an Equity Economy. (BentLiberal)
• jhutson brings us video and commentary on Physicals for Human Rights in Video: One Detainee's Heartbreaking Story of US Torture (YatPundit)
• In spite of concerns that this new California law may not last, CajunBoyLgb tells Kossacks, I Think I'm Getting Married This Summer...! (w/poll). (Louisiana 1976)
• mwmwm breaks the unwelcome news about the consequences of climate change arriving sooner rather than later in Ocean temps, levels rise 50% higher than expected. (noddem)
• docjess covers an important discussion between a Senator and a Secretary about the politics of health care in Tom, Tommy and Health Care in America. (jennyjem)
• Brian Stull, writing for the ACLU, pens an important piece on the recent related Supreme Court decision and how Death Row Inmates Must Not Be Denied Habeas Corpus. (BentLiberal)
• Will gay and lesbian couples in the rest of America enjoy the equal rights to marriage straight couples take for granted? prestochango offers a word of caution in Shhh! (gay rights). (Louisiana 1976)

jotter has today's High Impact Diaries - June 17, 2008.

emeraldmaiden has the day's Top Comments 6-18-08 - I Scream, You Scream ...

Enjoy, and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are dopper0189, grog, joyful, srkp23, watercarrier4diogenes, Yashua, and ybruti, with srkp23 as editor.

• With links to support the compelling facts, snackdoodle reminds us that More Than 8 Million Iraqis Deserve Justice. (ybruti)
• LoneBlackMan admits that he is cynical and war-weary in A Confession. One sinner to others. (ybruti)
• Cruise Carter brings us a heartfelt and personal op-ed about one man's journey through war and peace in A Soldiers Revolution. (Yashua)
• iamphuna superbly presents the meaning of Watergate then and now, in June 17, 1972: Maybe they should have used string. (srkp23)
• The breadth of the human community that Mr. Obama has touched thus far in his life is brilliantly illustrated by mamabigdog in My Grandfather & Obama and Christian Dem in NC in A conversation with a born-again friend about Obama. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• icecrystal72 presents her father-in-law's perspective, in The Election through the eyes of a 73 y.o. African American. (srkp23)
• RH Reality Check shows that an old dog can (slowly) learn new tricks in Hardball Flirts With Understanding Women Voters. (dopper0189)
• In Operation Smile and Operation Give Us Money, TooFolkGR talks about selling products under the guise of donating to charity and how, if you take off the makeup, what's left underneath isn't always pretty. (grog)

jotter serves up High Impact Diaries - June 16, 2008.

brillig brings Top Comments- 6/17/08 "Dad, we need to talk" Edition.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.