Cross-posted at Blue Mass Group

Yesterday, The New York Times published a piece that may have been lost amongst everything else that's been going on, so I thought I'd take a moment to highlight it and make sure that people are thinking about it, because we're in that time of the year when more help is particularly needed.

Katie Zezima of the The New York Times has done some work looking into shortages that food banks across the country are facing, due to a variety of factors, as explained below the fold.

Cross posted from West Massholes, which I just started up again... the events of the last few days set me off a bit, so I apologize if I seem a little p'oed.  

As Americans, we talk a lot about morality.  The religious right throws the term around  as if they own the rights and all properties tied to it.  The Republican party bills itself as the party of morality, claiming to be for "family values".  With all of this, I have to wonder:

Hey everyone.  Sorry for the lateness.  A quick note for the reason behind this:  I got a job.  And I'm currently finalizing my living situation (I found a great place today in Cambridge), so I just got home.  Realizing this, I made sure that tonight's TC would be all open-thread form, in that every one that you, the readers, sent in are what you've got for tonight.  So enjoy them. :)

So, I was having problems coming up with a good topic for tonight.  I had some ideas (A focus on some other Congressional race like BG's on Monday, the edn of daze that the Right seemed to be focused on for yesterday, a tribute to Billy Joel's "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant", a discussion of my Craigslist search for housing).  I had a good happy story, but I'm saving that for Friday.

Good evening.  Before we begin, a word from our sponsors, the Top Comment Team!

"With the approach of November 7 the focus of kos and all Kossacks should be to do whatever we can whatever is necessary - to effect progressive success in those elections and initiatives. While Top Comments is a meta endeavor, every single Top Comments miner is committed without reservation to that success. We would like to ask all Kossacks who visit Top Comments to help us, by finding comments which advance the debate nationally, regionally and locally, in particular, comments which illuminate specific campaigns. We welcome as always quality snark and humor, but we want to heighten the focus on substantive comments which will help us achieve the successes we all want and need. Your Top Comments Team."

Evening kids.  This past week has been a trip.  Now, before we begin, we're going to do some navel gazing.

Go here, marvel at the navels!  Then come back.

Feel better?  Good.  I've been thinking all day of how to frame this opening.  What happened, and what does it mean?  Honestly, I have no idea.  What I do know is that  Ned Lamont is the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Connecticut, Joe Lieberman has decided that the voters won't get in the way of his Senatorial aspirations, and that the media and the GOP (particularly those who Joe has enabled) seem to think we're loonies who have "extreme ideas"...

Hey everyone.  Remember, the comments here are a reflection of the authors, and the author/authors hope that you all find your own gems and all that.

MSNBC is reporting that the FDA could soon move the Morning After Pill (Plan B) to "Over The Counter" status.  They're framing this in terms of Andrew von Eschenbach's Senate Confirmation hearing to become permanent head of the FDA, and that it's likely being used to get von Eschenbach through the committee, where Hillary Clinton and Patty Murray had threatened to block him had Plan B not been approved for OTC use.

Hey everyone.  Tonight is a group effort, consisting of the Top Commenter-types (when Meteor Blades isn't possessing us and making us grow mojo, we do discuss comment-related stuff), and the rest of you people.  That's right you!  We've got a few from each commenteer, then the top mojo-rific ones, then a sexy poll.  Beyond that, we want to focus on what you all have.  What comments rule?  What comments drool (wait, there's a section of the site for that...) What comments make you completely indifferent?

So, enjoy.  Also, the poll tonight is in reaction to a realization I have had.  Let's face it people, our favorite fake news show, "The Daily Show", is losing people.  Colbert's doing his show, Nate Corddry's off on NBC, Rob's off to Fox with a sitcom, Carell left for "The Office", and now has stolen Ed Helms.  Furthermore, SNL's losing Tina Fey, so the fake news genre is ever changing.  So yeah.

Hey everyone.  I know I'm late.  i was out doing my thing with campaigns and all that.  I'm also watchign Project Runway.  I don't know why.  Anyways, I've got some finds for today, but as you all know, this is your thread.  Use it to highlight the gems YOU find!  I also have a poll up.  It's fun.  I used the Wikipedia page on Fictional Democrats for this, though I've taken from both categories.

If any of you have been reading ESPN's E-Ticket investigation of the circumstances behind the death of Pat Tillman, or zenbowl's incredible diary on Part 1 yesterday.  Mike Fish's work here has focused on two things that I want to write about briefly, one which comes up in Part 2, the question of the Silver Star, and something that I started thinking about because of the extensive reporting done by the worldwide leader in sports.  First, what has happened to Pat Tillman's legacy and the anatomy of a cover-up, and the questions over the Silver Star.  Second, the wish that all investigative reporting would be at the quality of Fish's work here.  What ESPN is doing is something that is important to sports and politics in general.   They're doing this fascinating thing called real investigation, which I wish the political media would actually try again.

It has been a long day, with work needing to get done, troll diaries to weed through, and other fun.  So bear with me, as I've got a bunch of these tonight.  As we all know, this is an incredibly subjective matter.  Read Carnacki's original diary for details.  It's in yesterday's post, I think... sorry, I'm running behind, and I have a critter who wants a walk.

Hey.  Today's been a weird day.  But, I hope I have harnessed it into these exciting and fun comments.  As we all know, this whole process is incredibly subjective.  You may have comments that you like.  If you do, post them below.  I am not nearly as in-depth as the rest of the Top Commentors, but I hope you enjoy what I found today.  It's good stuff.  But if you've got stuff, explain it below.  I'm going to be short because I don't have too much time.  The poll is just weird.

Evening everyone... this is going to be quick, and I should note that I'm not sure how many more of these I'm going to be able to do.  If anyone would like to take over on Wednesdays, please email me and let me know.  By the way, the trivia question tonight is inspired by the fact I just found Seasons 1 and 2 of Arrested Development among my stuff.

Also, this is highly subjective.  Also, I didn't get as much of a chance to read everything as I had hoped, so the more comments highlighted, the better.

P.S.- If you have any email comments during the day, go talk to BeninSC.  He'll make sure they get to the right people.

NOTE:BeninSC actually did the dirty work today in making all the picks, but wanted to post a diary on the Tour de France scandal that broke today, so I'm taking this on in terms of the posting.  But go read Ben's work on le Tour.  It's good shizzle.

As Carnacki (who began the latest incarnation of this feature) puts it, "Top comments of the day is highly subjective and controversial." Note, too, that those of us selecting comments intend no value judgment by the selections. Anyone can pick comments just as valid, just as compelling, if not more so! If you encounter excellent comments, please link us to them, below! (To capture the link, just click on the comment's time stamp and copy it.)

Disclaimer: Top Comments is highly subjective.  There are many great comments, and I hope that people post their favorites down below.  Oh, and something about flotation devices.

Welcome to the S.S. Commentary!  I'm your skipper, J-Love.  This evening, you're in for big kick ass comment fun.  It's a little early tonight, but I had to get it done because I've got some stuff going on tonight.

To start us off, here's a special message from Al Gore and Bender Bending Rodriguez... you know Al Gore, but for those of you who have forgotten him, here's Bender:

Now that we have Bender out of the way, let's move on...

This is in response to two things:  First, Jerome's diary yesterday, and second, The Economist's recent piece on "Eurabia", the Muslimification of Europe.  I'm usually not one to read The Economist, but Jerome hit on a fact that I had worked on in a paper this semester, that I had been meaning to post (NOTE: I've posted the paper in its entirety over at European Tribune, so you poli geeks can go read the whole thing).  

In terms of The Economist, their central argument uses the Muslim experience to argue that American citizenship works better than European notions of citizenship.  The larger issue, however, seems to be a move to quantify the 2005 French Riots as some form of Muslim extremism.  By avoiding the racial aspects, and further avoiding the discrimination that developed as a result of French republican tradition and imperialism, The Economist does a disservice to race and to the very problems that people were responding to.