I know I don’t need to explain where I was last week- simply saying NN19 probably is sufficient. I’ve been to all fourteen Yearly Kos/Netroots Nations, and I can say this last one absolutely was one of the finest. I haven’t counted how many Netroots Nation diaries have preceded mine this year but I made a point for once of taking lots of pictures, so settle in with a beverage and I’ll give you a visual view of my NN19 experience.
Here at Top Comments we welcome longtime as well as brand new Daily Kos readers to join us at 10pm Eastern. We strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find!
Note: I don’t identify people specifically in photographs because that’s just not OK to do without everyone’s explicit permission, but you’re welcome to point yourself out if so desired!
Casa Brillig makes a point of showing up early to Netroots, so we can spend a few days playing tourist. Here’s some of what we saw Monday and Tuesday:
It was 90F out. These men chose to take the difficult path up the Rocky steps outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mr. Brillig and I chose to walk up. Separately. On feet. We still feel accomplished!
One item of many in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Of COURSE you see the three penguins, right?
We visited the Liberty Bell, to take in some of the history and remember what our country’s goals and ideals still remain, and what we strive to make real. I gotta say, somehow I expected that much like the Mona Lisa, the Bell itself would be bigger. We were photobombed by a couple of folks who seemed nice…
We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the Mutter Museum but it was a truly fascinating and macabre place. Definitely unique and worth a visit. Another unique and DEFINITELY photographable place(although not fully accessible in the outdoor sculpture garden) was the Philadelphia Magic Gardens. I highly recommend it if you find yourself in Philly.
The entire place is mosaic, created by Isaiah Zagar as a way to beautify his South Street neighborhood.
Even the bathrooms. I don’t always tell random strangers to visit the bathroom but I did here. Thankfully they didn’t think I was (too) weird :)
Our hotel and the conference center were close to the Reading Terminal Market, so we ate there several times. Imagine every food imagineable, lots of Philly Cheesesteaks, and more. By Wednesday we were shifting into NN19 mode, beginning with the annual stuffing of the Swag Bags. Pardon the image quality, it was dark enough the official NN photographer and I were joking that we were swagging in the dark:
Many many items of swag, and lots of eager volunteers. This is a tradition from the first Yearly Kos that thankfully has not changed. The Daily Kos family ALWAYS shows up to help Swag, and afterwards heads off to the annual Cheers & Jeers Dinner.
The C&J Dinner is a family reunion of people you know, people you’ve met in person, and new folks just met. It’s one of the highlights of my Netroots Nation every year. Thank you to Daily Kos for making it possible!
Of courst there were what we come to hear, the panels and keynotes that fill the days. Just two of many shown here:
Our own Adam Bonin with Eric Holder, Vanita Gupta, Alex Padilla & Denise Merrill discussing “Defending the Census: The Next Frontier in the Fight for Our Democracy”
Representatives Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Deb Haaland, with moderator and She The People founder Aimee Allison in the best keynote I’ve heard in fourteen of these conferences, “Making Herstory: The Women Who are Shifting the Balance of Power in Washington”
One of the other highlights of Netroots Nation each year is the annual Pub Quiz. The past two years I’ve been a judge, but this year returned to my roots as a (generally not very helpful) team participant. There were 28 teams, and it was as always an absolute blast. There was no Burma/Myanmar controversy this year, but… we may rebel at NN20 if another Picture Round happens. Just sayin’
Team “Don’t Accosta Us”, coming in at 4th place and a mere ONE POINT from valuable prizes!
I cannot stress enough, however, that what draws me to Netroots Nation every year is the connection to the people. In Pub Quiz, sitting on floors while charging our devices, in hotel suites celebrating the launch of a new consulting venture carrying on the spirit of our dear Joel Silberman (which also ended in eerily similar fashion to the 2007 Chicago Drinking Liberally party, for those who remember that!), in hotel lobby bars… it’s the community that makes NN such a fantastic place to be. A few candids…
Hotel Lobby was a gathering point. The hotel staff said they enjoyed us more than many conferences because, in part, “you guys LIKE people.” Yeah, that sums us up.
Our last night, with as many people as we could gather in one moment. Over the course of the evening at least another 25 people wandered over to join in.
Several Rescue Rangers posing for a photograph.
I’m still recovering from such a busy week, but I already have plans to attend Netroots Nation 2020 in Denver, CO Aug 13-15. I hope if you’re interested and able, I’ll meet you there for the first, fifth, or fifteenth time!
Let’s get to what brings us together every evening at this time… the trio of Top Comments, Mojo and Pictures that represent the best of the site. Thank you to my dear friend BeninSC for collaborating tonight and most nights, making Top Comments the most fun it possibly can be. Ben, I had coffee this morning in my new mug, and I’ll think of you every single morning. Thank you!!
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.
Note: 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 elfling:
With this comment, fauxrs gives excellent advice for choosing your next password:
Your password must contain at least 8 letters, a capital, a plot, a protagonist with good character development, a twist, and a happy ending.
(This is in keeping with the new Daily Kos account protection initiative. If you haven’t recently changed your DK password, please read
elfling’s diary on it, and make that change.)
From MikeTheLiberal:
I want to recommend this comment from Captain Frogbert, in annieli’s diary remember: you're supposed to forget he's a rapist because he's a racist. Primarily for this excellent sentence: “What the Stranger is doing is a now familiar trope in the age of Trump: We can’t condemn him unless we use the specificallypreciseTERM for his crimes.”
Yes, we don’t have to call it exactly what’s wrong; we need to point out it’s wrong, and have the legal eagles determine the precise meaning of the words in the indictment.
Epstein, and probably many of his friends, are rapists, abusers, and criminals. Let’s not nit-pick as to the exact crime; it should be obvious they are criminals, period.
Highlighted by Tool:
Is this comment by bbitker on the impeachment question, and important other things requiring IMMEDIATE attention.
Highlighted by Unicornsparklefarts:
Is this funny pictorial comment by wesmorgan1.
Highlighted by StellaRay:
Is THIS funny pictorial comment by skohayes!
Highlighted by VClib:
Is this comment by PissedGrunty, explaining the demise of the account of someone who doesn’t really belong on this site.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, July 15th, 2019, with 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 July 16, 2019! Thanks so much, jotter!
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Image not permitted for sharing in Top Pictures.
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