This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, jlms qkw, HansScholl, dopper0189, BentLiberal and ItsJessMe, with jennyjem spinning around in the editor's chair. Wheeeee!

The diaries up for rescue tonight are:

• While the warmongers beat their chests over Georgia, ignatz uk writes about a brewing humanitarian crisis in a forgotten corner of the world in 160,000 refugees at risk as Tamil Tigers face defeat. (HansScholl)
• ClimateLurker writes on the importance of satellites in saving the environment in Global Warming and the Next Administration: Save Our Satellites! (BentLiberal)
• The Ghost of Bobby Kennedy poignantly reminds us there is a war happening in The War Hits Home For This Liberal Elitist. (jlms qkw)
• What happens when former prisoners of war play soccer against the forces occupying their country? Read all about it in gjohnsit's Games of Life and Death. (BentLiberal)
• strobusguy provides a disturbing anecdote showing how this Olympics represents the ultimate marriage of global corporate power and the Chinese totalitarian-capitalist regime in "Elderly Chinese Women Sentenced to Labor Re-education" An Olympic moment. (ItsJessMe)
• Gary In Los Angeles shares this great community project in Twenty-Two Children Write & Sing for Obama in Venice. (jlms qkw)
• tarheelian51 reminds us of how disaster relief is closely connected to politics in How Republicans Use Hurricanes in Florida. (Louisiana 1976)
• dinazina shares her cool art work for Obama in My Obama art submitted to MoveOn contest. (BentLiberal)
• abrauer provides us with some comic relief and priceless photos in Memo to St. Paul RNC protesters: break out the tiaras! (ItsJessMe)

jotter has High Impact Diaries: August 19, 2008.

Carnacki has Top comments - Taking On the System review.

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

Tonight's Rescue Ranger streetcar riders are yashua, vcmvo2, jennyjem, dopper0189, dadanation, and jlms qkw, with YatPundit at the motorman's controls of the 1923-vintage Perley A. Thomas Editmobile.

• wecouldbefamous ominously notes how the education reconstruction plan for New Orleans ends up permanently "shrinking" the footprint of the city itself in Neoliberalism Amok In Plan For New Orleans Schools. (vcmvo2)
• ThatPoshGirl analyzes how the crashing economy is affecting college financial aid in Student loan system in crisis: Can we save it? (vcmvo2)
• kameraDSM discusses the implications of some rather grim statistics in If moral greatness were a medal count, America would not be No. 1. (jlms qkw)
• In a victory for equality, Dirk McQuigley writes about a recent court decision ruling that a doctor has to treat gay people the same way as straight people.Cal Supreme Ct rules MD violated rights of gay patient. Nondiscrimination--what a novel concept! (dopper0189)
• webuyitgreen concludes this five-part series on the difference between buying, and thus supporting, Fair Trade, Direct Trade, and Starbucks coffee in Fair Trade, Direct Trade, and Starbucks: Who Serves the Best Cup of Clear Conscience? (vcmvo2)
• Look no further -- Justin Alexander's Why Voodoo Economics Don't Work - The Quick and Dirty Version lays bare the truth behind the myth of "supply side economics." (dadanation)
• fbihop shares on-the-ground reporting and photography in New Mexico: My weekend with the Dem candidates. (jlms qkw)
• Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse illustrates that McCain is not telling the truth about his "support" for renewable energy sources in McCain's Wind Energy Double-Talk Express. (vcmvo2)
• Avenging Angel spells out step-by-step how the republican candidate is not like you and me in The Haves, the Have Mores and John McCain. (jlms qkw)
• Paul Anderson details a more appropriate (and frightening) frame of reference for the Republican Party's presumptive presidential candidate in McBush? What about McNixon?. (dadanation)

jotter has High Impact Diaries: August 18, 2008.

brillig has Top Comments: 8/19/08 Spare Change Edition.

As always, please feel free to join the Diary Rescue team by posting your picks in this Open Thread.

Tonight's Diary Rescue crew was claude, ItsJessMe, ezdidit, Larsstephens, PaintyKat, vcmvo2, dadanation and pico.

The rescued diaries

• Daisy Cutter details the travails of the many US citizens detained and/or deported by immigration enforcement. (claude)
• By sharing racial educational experiences, BobboSphere helps us all to navigate the depths of The Souls of White Folk. (Larsstephens)
• What Are Progressive Values's reports on his interview of the Mayor of San Francisco inFailed Conservative Values: Gavin Newsom on Division & Tasmanian Devils. (PaintyKat)
• In Strategery '08: The Neocons' Caucusus Project, daveinchi analyzes the extent to which the "Rove" effect is governing the McCain campaign's response to the Georgian/Russian international crisis. (vcmvo2)
• In a thoroughly researched and fascinatingly detailed diary, JohnnyRook explains why Spain is last among developed countries in meeting its Kyoto targets to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases, and what it can do about it, in Spanish wind looks sexy, but California efficiency is really hot. (ItsJessMe)
• webuyitgreen continues a series on the distinctions between various coffee industry efforts to make coffee production more humane, this time examining Starbucks' C.A.F.E. Practices (claude)
• max stirner explores subtle distinctions in categorical thought and beliefs with Moral Philosophy: Relativism and Objectivism (not about Rand!). (Larsstephens)
• prouddemocrat discusses how the facts demonstrate that America can achieve energy independence from the Middle East without additional drilling sites, despite what the President and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee have told us, in Bush and McCain Aim Low on Energy. (PaintyKat)
• I have to say that this IS poetry, though disturbing, as poetry should be. Yosef 52 once again bares his soul and ventures beyond the comfort zone. Perhaps you will agree: I Don't Know About YOU, But I Could Use Some Poetry! (claude)
• leftist vegetarian patriot suggests earlier concerns about the insolvency of American banks may have been misplaced since the downward spiral in the non-borrowed money reserves finally may have come to a halt in Huzzah! Our banking troubles are over. (PaintyKat)

The regular extras

High Impact Diaries - August 16, 2008 as well as Week's High Impact Diaries: August 9-15, 2008 are brought to us as always by jotter.

brillig has tonight's Top Comments- 8/17/08 We Are Stardust... Edition

The reminder

Please use this as an Open Thread as well as your chance to promote your favorite diaries of the day. Respectful engagement is most welcome here. Please keep in mind that each Diary Rescue's daily purview extends from 3pm PST yesterday to 3pm PST today.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are ybruti, a synthetic cubist, HansScholl, YatPundit, jlms qkw, and drbcladd, with watercarrier4diogenes at the Editor's desk, wondering why his traditional media counterparts have so much trouble with the concept of 'truth'.

The Rangers have sifted and sorted through 260 diaries to bring you these 10 great examples of the excellent writing and breadth of subjects that Teh Orange has become known for.

• Was an innocent person executed? JR presents the case in Historic: Texas Re-Examining a Wrongful Execution. (ybruti)
• danps traces the genealogy of Bush II to the surviving creatures and critters from Nixon uber alles, and offers a surprise denouement in The Hippie White House. (HansScholl)
• RobLewis deflates some myths in Deconstructing the "small government" trope: do the math. (jlms qkw)
• In Psychologists on the Dark Side, Jennifer Turner of ACLU presents chilling testimony from pre-trial hearings in Guantanamo. (ybruti)
• Did he "betray us" this time? Chris Rodda thinks so in Petraeus Endorses "Spiritual Handbook," Betrays 21% of Our Troops. (YatPundit)
• Kodiak54 illustrates life along the (East-West) border in No New Cold War...from an Old Cold Warrior... (jlms qkw)
• With stunning photos and accompanying essay, tgypsy shares a float down the Aniakchak River in Alaska, and reminds us that Alaska's birds, bears, mountains and rivers offer us more in the long run than gold, copper and other elements to be extracted from this wilderness in Dawn Chorus: Grizzly Bears Galore. (HansScholl)
• After a tragic summer, TomP lays out the plan for United Farm Workers in California in Yesterday we mourned, Today we act, Tomorrow we will gain justice. Sí se puede! (jlms qkw)
• Today is the anniversary of when Ringo joined the Beatles, and iampunha, in a continuing series of musical reflections, describes how the Beatles' music became part of one family's life and captured the spirit of the times in August 16, 1962: with a little help from my friends. (HansScholl)
• JackieandFritz brings us a heartwarming story of a chance meeting, a shared passion, and one man's incredible journey From Near Death To Near Gold. (a synthetic cubist)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - August 15, 2008 and carolita has Top Comments 8-16-08 -- Know Your McCain Edition.

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 Ranger Krewe is shayera, jennyjem, ItsJessMe, jlms qkw, and dadanation, with YatPundit driving the Editmobile, top-down on a very-humid night in the French Quarter.

• In a first diary, New Deal democrat details a few nascent signs that the economy may enter a better period by the end of this year in The first hints of a year-end economic Respite? (ItsJessMe)
• jamess describes The Escalator Effect: impacting an Ecosystem near you. (shayera)
• JohnnyRook shares some environmental news from around the world in EcoNoticiario # 8: Protesting Offshore Wind Farms in Spain; Growing Biofuels in Costa Rica. (shayera)
• KayDrah's diary about the death of veteran James Hoyt details more than just how this Holocaust Liberator's PTSD Haunted Him For Remainder of Life- Which Ended Monday. The diary also highlights the issue of PTSD and the need to pass The Veterans' Mental Health Extension Act of 2007. (dadanation)
• NeverStopTheProgress tells Kossacks that First Rule of SAPRO Is...Don't Talk About SAPRO. And encourages us to go sign the petition to Dr. Kaye Whitley. (shayera)
• Janusdog tells of how the economic bad times are becoming personal for her, and despairs at her Dad's unhelpful reaction to her news, in That planet must be a nice place. (ItsJessMe)
• dyrrachium brings us the welcome international news that after 60 years of rule by the often brutal Colorado Party, Paraguay has a new center-left president, in Fine Moments in American Democracy: Colorados Out in Paraguay. (ItsJessMe)
• karmsy reviews A 1961 Classic Book for Our Time, Jane Jacobs' city planning guide The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and discusses the role of cities in growing the middle class. (ItsJessMe)
• Redstateresident says goodbye to a loved 4-legged friend in Love and Loss redux: A dog's Tale. (YatPundit)
• By far one of the wonkiest non-economic diaries to appear on dKos, barath presents Closed captioning on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC: what it tells us. (YatPundit)
• With a cast that includes such luminaries as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Nixon, John Mitchell, LBJ, Dean Rusk, Ronald Reagan, John McCain and Dick Cheney, Grand Moff Texan uses the Nixonian ploy to sabotage the 1968 Vietnam Peace Negotiations as a lens to update the recent actions by Russia in Georgia. This remake, Starring Randy Scheuneman as the Dragon Lady, guarantees us more of the same old same old. (dadanation)
• grumpynerd improves our vocabularies with The Word Sommelier's Word of the Week, 8/15/2008, and it is indeed a "travesty." (jlms qkw)

jotter brings us High Impact Diaries: August 14, 2008.

monkeybiz has Top Comments 8.15.08: Wilbur's Web.

Please join the Diary Rescue krewe by suggesting your own picks in this Open Thread.

::

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are a synthetic cubist, drbcladd, grog, HansScholl, PaintyKat, and ybruti, with srkp23 editing.

• Influenced by the effect of war on a father and grandfather, professorfate explains How I Judge Obama's and McCain's Patriotism. (ybruti)
• Ammo Hauler mourns the loss of a tree in Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you've got til it's gone. (grog)
• Redstateresident writes a touching diary In Honor of My Departed Friend. A Brief Tale of Love and Loss ; and I'm not even a dog person. (drbcladd)
• Who is responsible for China's reckless pollution? The answer may surprise you. SolveClimate reveals that US Consumption Driving Growth in China's Emissions: Now What? (a synthetic cubist)
• BoxerDave summarizes the most recent in a long line of attacks on the Constitution and wonders, What's so funny about Peace, Love & the Fourth Amendment? (a synthetic cubist)
• Alec82 asks whether the changes to the 2008 Democratic platform concerning abortion are more semantic than substantial in The Politics of Abortion: Reports from the Front Lines. (PaintyKat)
• jillles provides an eye-witness account on What went wrong with election protection in 2004; more importantly, the diarist provides a long check-list to avoid making the same mistakes again. (drbcladd)
• With graphs, colors, and a steely-eyed look at the country's bottom line, aurabass explains why We Can't Afford Another Republican. (drbcladd)
• Dave Kamper discusses the relationship between fundraising by top of the ticket and downticket candidates in The National Netroots and Local Politics: some thoughts. (HansScholl)

jotter serves up High Impact Diaries: August 13, 2008.

noweasels brings Top Comments (and some other Top Stuff).

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

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, Got a Grip, BentLiberal, srkp23, Larsstephens and sunspark says, with jennyjem doing the 'editor thing.'

The diaries up for rescue tonight are:

• American Zapatista proves that the middle east is not the only place where resources are being fought over in Indigenous Peoples, Biodiversity, Oil in the Western Amazon. (Larsstephens)
• dengre lays out the case that McCain is a bought man in Corrupt Sleazebags in bed: Ralph Reed hosts McCain Fundraiser... (BentLiberal)
• Valtin illustrates that prisoner abuses under this administration are not limited to Gitmo or even to terrorists in APA Referendum & the Prisons Issue: Vignettes from Hell. (sunspark says)
• Jim Esch, candidate for congress, offers a first-hand report from Kabul, in My Trip To Afghanistan. (srkp23)
• A Siegel reminds us all of the important environmental diaries that slip through the cracks with Eco-Diary Rescue: 8.13 (user's edition ...). (Larsstephens)
• On The Bus takes a hike to see Mother Nature's splendor and shares her journey in Glacier Natl Park Photo Essay: Animals. (Got a Grip)
• noweasels explains why it's not just sticks and stones that can wound in Her name is Christine and she is not "retarded." (Got a Grip)
• Nuisance Industry diaries on how Republicans for Obama are framing the Democratic candidate in Obama: The Traditional American Values candidate. (BentLiberal)
• A Siegel examines a new program that should garner some much needed publicity at both national conventions in Bike for Free: RNC and DNC opportunity. (Got a Grip)

jotter has High Impact Diaries: August 12, 2008.

emeraldmaiden has Top Comments 8-13-08 - Who Knew Turds Floated?

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

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are yashua, shayera, srkp23, dopper0189, sunspark says, jlms qkw and grog.

• Ivan Carter brings us a this critique of the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz and his bias against Senator Obama in Media Makes McCain's Case for Him in "Objective" Ad Watch Piece. (Yashua)
• John Terzano The Justice Project drops in to remind us that wrongly convicted people are still incarcerated throughout this country and that Post-Conviction DNA Testing Shouldn't Depend on Miracles. (sunspark says)
• True Independent takes a look at the Voter Registration Numbers --- Florida and surmises what they might mean for the elections. (shayera)
• TheBlaz highlights a great article by Rolling Stone magazine regarding the financing of both campaigns in Matt Taibbi: Candidates for Sale. (Yashua)
• Bryfry explores the latest advances preventing future Three Mile Islands in How has nuclear reactor safety improved? (sunspark says)
• angry liberaltarian gives us an update on the ABA's recent conference in Why I'm Proud to be a Member of the ABA. (dopper0189)
• Edubabbler highlights yet another money wasting Bush program in Over $50 million to certify 200 teachers. (shayera)
• shirah presents a report from the GAO concerning Privatization at the US Postal Service - What Follows is NOT an April Fools Joke. (srkp23)
• gjohnsit brings us another worrying financial story courtesy of the Bush/McCain financial philosophy in Selling our independence one dollar at a time. (dopper0189)
• If you want to read a thorough account of how we became entwined in the Middle East morass, kick back with your favorite beverage and settle in for this outstanding diary by tommybones: The State of the Union (a.k.a. - How did we get into this mess, anyway?) (sunspark says)

jotter gives us the day's High Impact Diaries - August 11, 2008, while brillig has Top Comments- 8/12/08 M-I-C...K- E-dition.

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

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, PaintyKat, a synthetic cubist, dopper0189, Larsstephens and drbcladd, with Got a Grip as editor du jour.

Illumination

• Johnny Venom brings us another installment of his excellent economic series, complete with charts: Manufacturing Monday: Numbers, Tesla, world trade reversal, and China overtakes US. (a synthetic cubist)
• 8ackgr0und N015e exposes criminal security weaknesses by juxtaposing complex technological systems during the Infowars: Free subway rides AND stealing elections!!!. (Larsstephens)
• Boxer7 explains the shifting geopolitical emphasis due to global warming by telling us What the Coast Guard knows: Battleground Arctic. (Larsstephens)
• gmoke attempts to productivly reframe our vociferous progressive discourse with Attitude Advertising Versus Practical Solutions. (Larsstephens)

Contemplation

• Seneca Doane ponders just how many sins modern politicians ought to confess if planning to run for public office in Secrets and Lies (and Sanctimonious Columnists). (PaintyKat)
• ScottyUrb writes a very personal 100^th diary about his Values. Why are you progressive? (drbcladd)
• Tula Connell perfectly captures the essense of the corporate elite's belief system in Chamber of Commerce Staff Gets Drunk, Blames Workers. (dopper0189)

Inspiration

• In McCain buzzkill antidote: Cullen Jones shatters stereotypes, saves lives, davidkc muses on the unique significance of one of our gold medalists. (a synthetic cubist)

jotter shares the High Impact Diaries.

asimbagirlhasTop Comments - Favorite Summer Vacation Edition.

Rescue Rangers:

Yashua, watercarrier4diogenes, ezdidit, srkp23, jlms qkw, drbcladd and claude

Rescued Diaries:

• In Fox: "drifting away from the standards of straight news", wardeo informs that there is now absolutely nothing left that Faux News won't sell out. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• In the first what promises to be several diaries on the topic, Mebe says "Hello, they will lose Billions if Obama is president!" when asked why the media has the agenda they do. (drbcladd)
• Interceptor7's Ground report: canvassing in Wisconsin reinforces just how powerful an effect 'participatory politics' can have on each of us, whether participant or recipient. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• The Cranes are Falling, and BobboSphere points out that Secretary Elaine Chao of the "Bush Labor Department has sat on a set of tougher crane standards for 4 years." (ezdidit)
• iampunha gives us a thoughtful and loving tribute to a unique American institution and the man who endowed it in August 10, 1846: Thank you, James Smithson. (jlms qkw)
• Crashing Vor pays tribute to one of the brave men who leaked the Pentagon Papers: Anthony Russo, American Hero. (srkp23)
• Brown Man ATL ponders Recarving Our Cultural Totem Pole. (srkp23)
• American Zapatista inaugurates a valuable series with This week in Indigenous Peoples' Rights. (srkp23)
• alpolitics explains a dire consequence of poor decisions and uncontrollable circumstances in Country's Largest Municipal Bankruptcy. (jlms qkw)
• Indian tribal relations with San Jacinto police have taken a turn for the worse since the tribe's lawful cancellation of a police contract, and Urtica dioica gracilis asks, The Soboba: sovereign or subject? (ezdidit)

(Editor's note) You be the judges: artful spoof or forgotten history? The Rescue Rangers make no claim of veracity for this diary, but it is a good read anyway...

• Who KNEW!?!? two roads highlight's the origins of a popular band's name, in Saturday Night Uforia: The 'Foo Fighters' of World War II and spooks the heck out of all of us. (watercarrier4diogenes)

va dare has Top Comments 8.10.08 TC Memories

jotter's High Impact Diaries:

DAILY

WEEKLY

Open Thread. Speak up. Play nice.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are ybruti, jlms qkw (pulling double duty), HansScholl, dadanation and srkp23, with watercarrier4diogenes at the wheel of the Editmobile, the Robes of Objectivity flapping wildly behind him.

Tonight's diaries cover a variety of interesting issues not covered by the 'traditional media' (tm Kos) and definitely not with the same dismal 'truthiness' that the Broders of that notorious 'village' inside 'The Beltway' are known for.

• For dmhlt 66, the 34th anniversary of the resignation of Richard Nixon is a day to lament the loss of a leader in his impeachment in We Need a Barbara Jordan: Nixon's Resignation Anniversary, while the same day leads Shocko from Seattle to compare the hope following Nixon's resignation with the disappointment of Nixon's continuing legacy in Here's to the state of Richard Nixon. (HansScholl)
• Watching the Olympics Opening Ceremony with her daughter is the catalyst for classico's very touching Beijing and My Daughter. (dadanation)
• Barcelona offers provocative thoughts on the meaning of the Olympic opening ceremonies, the legend of China's origins, and the prospects for a better world in A different kind of Shock and Awe (or the answer to "why do they hate us?"). (HansScholl)
• Indonesian Ajipon uses his rare vantage point to comment on democracy in Authoritarian China? It May Be Best - My POV. (jlms qkw)
• iampunha looks back at the Berlin Olympics, in August 9, 1936: What could have happened. (srkp23)
• Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse grounds her discussion in solid history and legal opinions in Remembering Spiritual Death: In Honor of World's Indigenous People Day. (jlms qkw)
• With many scholarly references, daw13 explores What Racism does to White People. (ybruti)
• True Independent provides thoughtful analysis of Voter Registration Numbers ---- Iowa and their potential impact. (jlms qkw)
• Poor John McCain. Trouble abounds in his very own home state. Quite a bit of it. Gramarye lays it out in Neo-Nazis, Battered Wives, and the Arizona Republican Party. (dadanation)
• Bcgntn laments our nuclear history and future, highlighting that America is One of Three nations that refuses to support the abolition of the manufacture and use of nuclear weapons. (srkp23)
• Christy1947 reveals a new tactic for prosecution and punishment in No longer independent judiciary. (jlms qkw)
• zoniedude analyzes the role of journalism in Fraud is more poisonous than Anthrax. (ybruti)
• Since you can't tell a player without a program, for the upcoming Democratic and Republican gatherings, juliewolf has your snark-filled guide as to What to expect at the conventions. (dadanation)
• jlang57 illustrates strong belief in family, tradition and fun by way of a game of pinochle in "Whole lotta blacks..." (dadanation)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - August 8, 2008 and sardonyx has Top Comments: Clogged Tubes Edition.

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 Got a Grip, PaintyKat, BentLiberal, Larsstephens, sunspark says, and drbcladd with vcmvo2 as editor.

~ Maria Montessori ~

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.

Here are the diaries up for rescue:

Health, Education & Welfare

• eugene explains why we must fight for universal health coverage in Growing Support for Medicare For All (vcmvo2) while DrSteveB urges us all to scrub up and Ask Platform Committee To Call For Real Universal Health Care. (Larsstephens)
• gmoke shares news of ingenious designs for tools that will provide practical solutions to the poor throughout the world in International Development Design Summit. (Got a Grip)
• In NWTerriD's "Is Obama Tough Enough?", the diarist challenges readers to define "tough" and gives her own interpretation of the candidate's toughness. (BentLiberal)
• Inspired by McCain's "The One" ad, grumpynerd has decided that The Word Sommelier's Word of the Week is "blasphemy." (sunspark says)

Politics & War

• Frustrated by the inaction of those in command, NeverStopTheProgress reported the statistic that 1 in 3 women in the military had complained of being raped on a military blog. Today she shares some of the attitudes that she encountered there in Comments Made on My Rape in the Military Blog: Rape Stats are "Pure Propaganda.". (sunspark says)
• Crashing Vor chronicles Republican crimes in Jefferson Parish, LA in Every Last Damn Dirty Trick. (BentLiberal)
• Cordelia Lear takes a lunch break and demonstrates how to walk the walk of personal activism in Annoying Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11). (Got a Grip)
• sunspark says shines a little light on an issue that keeps poll-addicted handwringers up at night in What we don't always understand: 5-point lead = electoral landslide. (Got a Grip)
• Examining the state of the art of the panopticon, Leslie in CA reports what is soon to be our most traded commodity - our privacy, along with the very latest from Naomi Klein: Police State 2.0, from China with Love. (Larsstephens)
• Drawing on "ruskie yazik" skills, Marcion provides an Update on Russian-Georgian conflict in S. Ossetia direct from the Russian horse's ... mouth. (drbcladd)

The Environment

• MsGrin humorously poses questions concerning whether we should open more land for drilling to reduce fuel costs for Americans in Drill Here! Drill Now! (where exactly?) (PaintyKat)
• mataliandy examines the insanely buggy new weather "software" our energy consumption has foist upon us in Weather 2.0 - Turn Around, Don't Drown!. (sunspark says)
• Wishing your old car was more efficient? snackdoodle compares gas mileage in US-made cars sold in America and in Europe and finds the American versions seriously wanting in We've Been Played By US Auto Manufacturers On CAFE Standards. (sunspark says)

Establishing peace

• etenglish was reminded by fellow church members at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist church, following the recent violence there, that it takes the strongest kind of people to love by choice, instead of hating by default in Meditation on Bravery. (PaintyKat)
• teacherken weaves life, death and spirituality into a personal piece on loss and continuing on in Greg: 1/28/92-7/31/08. (BentLiberal)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - August 7, 2008.

emeraldmaiden brings Top Comments 8-08-08 - Lazy Crazy Days of Summer.

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

::

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are jlms qkw, jennyjem, HansScholl, dadanation (pulling double duty), and ItsJessMe, with shayera editing.

• iampunha uses August 6, 1965: a birthright recognized to remind us of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and how it may be imperiled today. (jlms qkw)
• Chris Rodda explores the growing influence of fundamentalist Christianity in the U.S. military and the the consequences for national security in Attention All "Evil-Doers"... This Really is a Religious War! (HansScholl)
• A Siegel reports that Rep. Earl Blumenauer has come up with a new buzz-word to describe the Republican solution to high fuel prices - Drillusion. (jennyjem)
• distraught makes clear why the U.S. needs National AIDS Strategy [Update 2: CDC stats & concurrent sex]. A very timely offering given the opening of the International Conference on AIDS in Mexico City this week. (dadanation)
• Something the Dog Said reminds us that even though we can lose, we should not lose ourselves in the process, and asks Do Dems Have PTSD? (ItsJessMe)
• Brown Man ATL examines race and how the notion of the American identity has changed in Obama and Racial Ambiguity: Acting White. (HansScholl)
• VirginiaDem digs up some instances where John McCain was MIA in McCain missed key energy votes that failed by a vote. (jennyjem)
• davidwalters educates the Kos community on Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) in The Dreaded Nuclear Waste Diary! (ItsJessMe)
• LtdEdishn shares the experience of running for local office with an eye to the expense involved in Low Budget Campaigns... (jennyjem)
• NCrissieB offers a very thought-provoking essay in Racism, sexism, organization, and the politics of mass distraction and suggests how Democrats can win in the upcoming election if they maintain the right focus and discipline. (dadanation)

jotter brings yesterday's High Impact Diaries: August 6, 2008.

va dare brings Top Comments 8.7.08 va dare goes to DC and MD.

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

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are BentLiberal, drbcladd, Louisiana 1976, and Yashua, with Unitary Moonbat shuffling the scrolls.

August 6 is a day heavy with portent: previous todays have seen Jamaica gaining its independence from Great Britain (1962); the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (1945); and the first execution by electric chair (1890).

• Two diaries about three days we must always remember: BlueMoon writes on the anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Two days we cannot forget and one year after the deadly Utah mine tragedy jlms qkw reminds us to remember in Coal Kills: Anniversary 2:48AM. (BentLiberal)
• Valtin puts the recent drumhead tribunal in perspective with Torture Trial Ends: Reflections on the Hamdan Verdict.  (Unitary Moonbat)
• dmhlt 66 crunches some numbers, finding that To Get Even RICHER, CEOs Tap Workers' Pension Plans. Okay, the WSJ crunched the numbers but the diarist's point stands. (drbcladd)
• jennix uses both history and anecdote to weave a tale of Steinbeck, Hemon and Our Progressive Zeitgeist.  (Unitary Moonbat)
• Liberal Youth warns of the quagmire of occupation in the well-researched Afghanistan as the next Iraq. (BentLiberal)
• Stormbear's Black History: Brown vs. Board of Education is a good overview of the case and some of social change that transpired as a result of the decision.  (Unitary Moonbat)
• Eagleye spots McCain and His Wife at Motorcycle Sex-O-Rama. Not really, but neither do the traditional, corporate media. (drbcladd)
• Citing Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side, diarist teacherken asks tough questions about the actions of our government and ourselves in the haunting diary, "if that conscience is well and truthfully informed." (BentLiberal)
• First-time diarist rwthomso looks at our country's Warped View and has a bit to say. (drbcladd)
• exexcutedtoday sees some of the same themes in today's date as I do – check out As American as the A-bomb: Debut of the Electric Chair. (Unitary Moonbat)
• feebog discusses a connection to 2001's anthrax attacks and asks some tantalizing questions in The Anthrax Puzzle- Why Princeton?. (Louisiana 1976)
• RH Reality Check views the outcome of a Kansas Republican primary as a sign of things to come in Pro-Choice GOP Win & Kline Defeat Signal End of Social Conservatism. (BentLiberal)
• hannah explores Bushco, Korean War massacres, and issues of motive in Criminal Intent--That's going to be hard to prove. (Unitary Moonbat)

taylormattd has tonight's Top Comments: These Should Be Sig Lines, Part VII.

jotter brings High Impact Diaries - August 5, 2008.

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

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are yashua, jlms qkw, jennyjem, dadanation, Got a Grip, and srkp23, with YatPundit blasting some wind-blown N'Awlins funk from the speakers of the Editmobile.

• Land of Enchantment highlights another reason why trying to drill our way out of our energy woes is not sound judgment in Biodiversity in Peril. (Got a Grip)
• SolveClimate offers a good analysis of The Healing Elements of Obama's Energy Plan. (jennyjem)
• For a well-researched and well-sourced in-depth look at the whole of the controversy surrounding the White House Approved Forged Iraqi Memo, check out BooMan23's great diary. (dadanation)
• shirah reports on NIOSH's surprising solution to shielding prisoners from exposure to toxins in NIOSH: Unsafe working conditions in prison? Get a union. (jennyjem)
• FleetAdmiralJ brings us the Status of the Electoral College: August 5. Hard work and cool graphics included! (jennyjem)
• The Termite takes the necessary steps to deal with a political vampire in Disinfect with sunlight. (Got a Grip)
• Norbrook uses a personal story to remind us of Dale Carnegie's best idea evah in Public Libraries: There when you need them - and you might. (jlms qkw)
• jgoodman proposes alternatives to corporatism in Steve Martin was Right, Let's Get Small! (jlms qkw)
• taywray packs a lot of insight and information in their very concise offering Spying is Dying. (dadanation)
• lyubansky's complex investigation into Ordinary wizards: The psychology of evil in the Harry Potter universe might have significance beyond the world of wizards. (srkp23)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - August 4, 2008.

brillig has Top Comments- 8/05/08 Remembrance Edition.

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

::

Tonight's Diary Rescue crew was Louisiana 1976, Yashua, BentLiberal, dopper0189, Shayera, jlms qkw, and dadanation.

The rescued diaries

• New Deal democrat writes a warning on how the lessons of a past financial crisis were not learned in The Insolvency of the FSLIC: a warning from the S&L crisis? (dopper0189)
• BruinKid offers My long-delayed Netroots Nation photo diary and makes us all nostalgic for Austin. (shayera)
• Something the Dog Said wonders whether or not the conservatives are finding themselves in an unresolvable conflict between their known disbelief in energy conservation and their love of free trade in The End Of Globalization? (dopper0189)
• faithfull discusses the sharp increase in Appalachian coal prices and provides a round-up of mountain-energy issues in Mountain Monday: Is Coal the New Oil? (BentLiberal)
• Grand Moff Texan points out that The "News": Still Using THE WRONG AD to Smear Obama. (shayera)
• bcgntn tells us how US law allows waterboarding and other forms of torture against so-called "enemy combatants" in The Faith; Legal Torture Need Not Be "Reasonable." (Louisiana 1976)
• Avenging Angel tells Kossacks what Purple Heart Band-Aids and Tire Gauges have in common and warns that we have to stay vigilant against the smears these stories raise. (shayera)
• dengre takes NPR to task for a one-sided discussion of journalistic guidelines on the campaign trail in McCain, Obama, AP, Media Ethics & NPR's race-based bias... (BentLiberal)
• ksh01 reminds us of another hero who has a birthday today in Happy Birthday Helen Thomas! (jlms qkw)

The regular extras

jotter has High Impact Diaries - August 3, 2008.

elise has tonight's Top Comments: Jerry Northington for DE-AL.

An extra hat tip
If you have a moment, you might want to check out this diary by Seneca Doane who shares a creative community effort to raise funds for more and better Democrats in DE-AL: Possum photo auction rebooted; need your help!

The reminder

Please use this as an Open Thread as well as your chance to promote your favorite diaries of the day. Respectful engagement is most welcome here. Please keep in mind that each Diary Rescue's daily purview extends from 3pm PST yesterday to 3pm PST today.

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are a synthetic cubist, claude, Got a Grip, PaintyKat, smokeymonkey, and vcmvo2, with srkp23 editing.

• JohnnyRook heartwarmingly tells of true love and a shared life, including the challenges of a courageous battle against lymphoma: In honor of my wife on our anniversary. (PaintyKat)
• Valtin exposes an additional classified leg of the torture timeline he believes will expose U.S. Government officials to prosecution for war crimes by both domestic and international bodies: Why the Silence on Real Torture Timeline? (PaintyKat)
• webranding brings us a heartbreaking update on the waste and willful incompetence surrounding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Bushed: More Details On FEMA's Latest Scandal. (a synthetic cubist)
• The confusions of a self-taught pacifist is an essay by Shocko from Seattle on the paradoxes of thought and action. (smokeymonkey)
• MotleyPatriot wraps up his three-part series delving into how we're being haunted by the past in Historical precedents: how they affect us now (Final) (UPDATE). (Got a Grip)
• JohnKWilson shares some excellent tips on How to Write a Letter to the Editor. (a synthetic cubist)
• clarksp offers perspective on all we have heard about the Obama gathering in Berlin: Liebe (fellow) Amerikaner. (smokeymonkey)
• Irishkorean tickles our ribs as he tells us how to protect them, should the zombie hordes descend upon us, in Zombie Apocalypse: What you need to know. (Got a Grip)
• From the "believe it....or not!" files, two roads delves into the past to explore a 1942 incident involving unexplained phenomena in Saturday Night Uforia: The Battle of Los Angeles. (Got a Grip)

jotter brings yesterday's High Impact Diaries - August 2, 2008 and this Week's High Impact Diaries.

noweasels brings Top Comments: Possum for Congress Edition $$$.

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

This evening's Rescue Rangers are shayera, jlms qkq, HansScholl, a synthetic cubist, smokey monkey, and drbcladd, with watercarrier4diogenes rummaging through the papers on the Editor's desk while waving his secret decoder ring distractedly.

Tonight's diaries cover a variety of interesting issues not covered by the 'traditional media' (tm Kos) with the kind of research, perspective and analysis we see here every day.

• TomP continues his extremely important series on the abuses of farm workers' rights and calls the community to action in Another Farm Worker dies. Does anyone give a damn? The Netroots Do. (a synthetic cubist)
• Milos Janus Outlook takes a look back at 1960 and draws a parallel between Obama and the Demons of Religious and Racial Bigotry. (shayera)
• TellerCounty Blue thinks we need to Stop Waiting for Obama and be proactive about combating the right's attacks. (a synthetic cubist & Larsstephens)
• don mikulecky pushes us into the future in The Frames are coming! The Frames are coming! Are we ready? (jlms qkw)
• Murchadha delivers a one-two punch to one of McCain's favorite talking points in Sen. McCain: No, you failed the commander-in-chief test! (a synthetic cubist & Larsstephens)
• mindgeek resurrects his methodology for distilling the morass of polls and gives us a tutorial in The Meta-Analysis Of State Polls is back! (HansScholl)
• kavips finds little data and a lot of unfounded assertions as he dissects the Republican solution to expensive oil in An Extensive Rebuttal That Offshore Drilling Will NOT Currently Lower Gasoline Prices. (HansScholl)
• SciVo pundificates on how Globalization begins the great unwinding due to the high cost of oil. (drbcladd)
• In a Naomi Klein double-header, BobboSphere links "The Shock Doctrine" to unions, globalization, and free trade in Free to Choose Terrorism (jlms qkw), while Toddlerbob looks at an example of 'free trade' Milton Friedman should have examined in Shock and Gangs. (Larsstephens)
• In the spirit of the upcoming games, Visualarts101 ponders what If Health Care were an Olympic Sport. Spoiler Alert: The US doesn't finish in the medals. (drbcladd)
• Crashing Vor examines a children's day camp and suggests alternatives in Kamp Wottakreepyidea. (jlms qkw)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - August 1, 2008 and emeraldmaiden has Top Comments 8-2-08 - Dream a Little Dream.

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^)