(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Netroots Nation 2026 Edition [1] ['Citizen Earth'] Date: 2026-06-08 I want to give a grateful thanks to zenbassoon for covering last Monday while I was in Philadelphia. Knowing the evening’s diary was in good hands made it so much easier to enjoy fully the one day Mr. Brillig and I took entirely to ourselves (until we accidentally ran into folks at the hotel bar, as one does). With that said: As I mentioned two weeks ago, Mr. Brillig and I headed first to a family wedding (it was absolutely lovely!!) and then on to Philadelphia for Netroots Nation 2026. We last were there in 2019, also for NN. Because we had the luxury of arriving earlier than we generally do, we also got one full and one half day of tourism prior to shifting to conference mode. Last visit we did the Generally Touristy Things (Constitution Museum, Liberty Bell, Museum of Art/obligatory Rocky stairs, Magic Gardens, so we didn’t need to revisit those. And truth be told, finding our America 250 Spirit was a little hard in these times, so we took a different approach to where our feet led us… The Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. Opened in 1829, it was a fascinating look at America’s first penitentiary and the the way it differed from other jails with its focus on penitence rather than vengeance. We toured cell blocks, some restored to what they would have looked like and others in the disrepair from decades of disuse after its closure in the 70s. In addition to the building itself and the information about how it operated, there’s a fantastic exhibit on mass incarceration that was worth the time we spent. The video at the beginning of that exhibit, The Road To Mass Incarceration, can be viewed here. On our way to dinner Monday night, we walked through Independence Park and stopped to look at where the Trump administration ordered removal of panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery. As the AP article at the time said: Empty bolt holes and shadows are all that remains on the brick walls where explanatory panels were displayed at the President’s House Site, where George and Martha Washington lived with the people they owned as property when Philadelphia was the nation’s capital. People have put up photos of the removed panels, and we were told volunteer guides share what the MAGA white nationalists are trying to erase. And then it was time for Netroots Nation!! As I’ve done for the past two decades (this was the 21st Netroots Nation, the first began on this very day in 2006!), I volunteered wherever I could to help make the conference happen. NN26 is the first to be held under new Executive Director Anthony Robinson, and so things were a little different as he took the reins. As I’ve done for the past three years, I helped the Social Comms team transcribing quotes from the four keynote events (the Opening on Thursday, a Lunchtime and Evening on Friday, and the Closing Keynote Saturday) for use on social media posts. But I know what you’re thinking: brillig, where’s the talk about Kossacks you saw there, the Daily Kos Happy Hour on Wednesday evening, and the Daily Kos Caucus first thing Thursday morning!! I gotcha!! I didn’t take pictures at the DK Happy Hour. To be honest, I was having such a good time talking to kos, Allison, iterology, and so many other DK staff and site members I forgot!! There were so many people!! What I can say is that the staff, all of them (this was there first in-person staff retreat since before the pandemic and so many of THEM hadn’t met one another), are genuinely awesome people who really care about the site and our happiness with it. This was my best photo of the Daily Kos Caucus. There were tables behind me as well, and that’s kos to the left of the screen. We all introduced ourselves, then kos gave a site update. There is a LOT of good stuff coming that is going to make folks happy, but I forgot to take notes (ironic given what I did during the conference keynotes, but what can I say). There was one question I asked on behalf of the community and I DO want to share that because it’s something I see mentioned repeatedly in the comment section of [primarily] staff diaries: “Are staff writers allowed to comment on the site, or no?” The answer is absolutely yes. In some cases they don’t have a lot of time to do so because writers are always writing the next story, but kos and several other staff made clear they are encouraged to do so whenever they can. Town Square was once again set up in the middle of the Exhibitor Hall and was a comfortable place to relax, talk to people, and plan one’s next panel or where to get lunch. There were lots of exhibitors and while I’m not “in the field” so to speak with a professional need for many of the products and services represented, it still was fun to learn and make connections. Behind those white and yellow curtains was Media Row, where all of the folks interviewing and producing content were located. I wish they’d been more central, as their out of the way location made it harder for them to grab passersby famous and not to interview. Hopefully there will be an evaluation form! And yes, there was a Pub Quiz!! A much smaller group than in some prior years, six teams in total, competed for top honors. I am proud to say that my team, the Staff/Supervolunteer team, took third place. While I don’t have all the questions handy, yours truly knew that the former Yugoslavian Republic country who declared its independence just as the very first Yearly Kos conference began in 2006 was Montenegro, but did NOT know that cream cheese was not invented in Philadelphia. The BIG thing that happened at Pub Quiz is that three of the four Top Commenteers present at NN26 remembered to take a photo!!! From L->R I give you cohenzee, brillig and Ed Tracey. BeninSC was at the conference but we were never all in the same place at the same time!! The content this year was as engaging, educational and exciting as ever! There are clips from the keynotes here, but I’m also including the full youtube recordings of the four keynotes underneath tonight’s Tops to make it easy for you to watch the entirety of each. They are ALL worth watching in full. I’m going to be vulnerably honest here for a minute: When I first scanned the keynote speakers, I thought “where are X, Y and Z? I don’t know who some of these people are”. But as I left NN26 already planning to be in Denver next July for NN27, I was thinking “Ohhhh. This is where the progressive movement is right now. And there are many voices I need to be listening to, seeking out.” Because who we were 20 years ago… 10 years ago… is absolutely not who we are now and as an aging Generation Jones white liberal, it’s time I get myself caught up on the current and upcoming crop of superstars!! Watch these keynotes. Or the clips, above. And think about who YOU need to be learning more about!! Mr. Brillig and I joined our Netroots Family for brunch on Sunday before heading home. I’m exhausted and will try to stay up as long as possible, but it’s entirely likely I’ll be answering questions from all of you tomorrow! Let’s get to today’s top comments and then head down into the comments here to chat! I hope you’ve enjoyed this tonight, and I hope you’ll be able to join us next year in Denver (July 8-10, but I recommend being there on the 7th to begin connecting with fellow kossacks!). Here at Top Comments we strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site’s best, funniest, most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! Here’s the new & improved DK6 version of how to submit nominations: If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail dot com or send a kosmail to the username topcomments (using the format @topcomments, or just click that link then click “send message”!) by 9:30pm Eastern. 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! It’s especially helpful if you include a link to the comment you’re nominating… hover over the comment and you’ll see Share and Report options. Click Share, then choose ”copy url” and paste that into your message to us. We had no comment nominations tonight. However, I did see someone highlight a great comment while reading earlier today and I left a comment so I could find it later! Current me is very pleased that morning me thought of this!! OPENING KEYNOTE: FRIDAY LUNCH KEYNOTE: FRIDAY EVENING KEYNOTE: CLOSING KEYNOTE: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/8/800052289/community/top-comments-netroots-nation-2026-edition/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/