DemocraticUnderground.com: January 20, 2001 - January 20, 2009

[WilliamPitt]

Eight years and one week ago, a few pissed-off Democrats with an idea for a web forum unfurled a banner at the first inauguration of George W. Bush.

Thus, DU was born.

Thank you, Skinner. Thank you, Elad. Thank you, EarlG. Thank you, moderators. Thank you, members. Thank you, donators. Thank you, posters.

I came to DU the following May, and have been here (off and on ;) ) ever since.

How about you?

What brought you here?

What keeps you here?

What makes DU special for you?

We're not just a week away from a new president. We're a week away from DU's most important birthday.

Tell us your story.

And thank you again.

:toast: :hug: :yourock: :applause:

[corkhead]

1. first as a lurker, then as a donating lurker and occasional commenter. DU has helped me through

some pretty dark times. Thanks Gang!

Top 10 Conservative Idiots is what brought me here, via Bartcop & Maruthecrankpot.blogspot.com

[Soylent Brice]

43. you just jogged my memory!!!

i just finished posting and started readin comments, and sure as shit it was the Top Ten that i ran across!!

thanks!!!!!!!!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. I was debating an idiot right winger online

and he accused me of using talking points from Democratic Underground.

So I Googled and found it.

Been here 5 years now and can't be grateful enough for what I have learned and the friends I have made.

[LynneSin]

3. I came right about the time Jeffords was planning on defecting from the repuke party

which is about the same time you came Will - May 2001.

Been here ever since

First 5 DUers I met:

Ramsey
Skinner
Earl G
Khephra
Will Pitt

I met the first 3 early March 2002 at an Emily's List luncheon in Washington DC. Ramsey was going to help me organize a DU gathering in Philadelphia next week and invited me to join her at her table in DC for the luncheon. Earlg & Skinner were also at our table.

The next week was the DU gathering and I was to meet Khephra and WillPitt at the Club Quarters in Philadelphia (we were all staying there).

Pretty impressive list for the first 5 DUers I've met.

[rurallib]

4. I'd felt alone and marginalized in rural Iowa in 2003(?)

or there abouts. I was substitute teaching in the afternoon for a history teacher in a nearby town. The teacher left tompaine.com up on his computer. I was surfing a bit during afternoon break. Tompaine.com led me to click on dailykos.com. The great orange satan.
A couple weeks later I was talking with a friend and she clued me in to DU. I lurked for a while, but eventually just had to jump in.
From feeling very detached 8 years ago to being extremely involved now. Thanks in large part to DU.

[deutsey]

5. Came here in early 2001...drawn by the Top 10 Conservative Idiots list I saw on Buzzflash

Stayed for the sense of community (most of the time).

This place has been a true lifeline for me during the past 8 years.

[Dennis Donovan]

6. I came here in March, 2002...

...ater reading "Stupid White Men." It (along with 9/11) made me realize that I needed to be vigilant about our government. Up until then, despite my passion for politics, I believed our nation was run by (mostly) honorable men and women, save a few (i.e. Nixon). The Bush admin proved to be MUCH worse than Nixon.

I'm glad I'm here.:thumbsup:

[onehandle]

7. I was here from the beginning.

After eight years of Bush, I've had just about enough.

[panader0]

8. I can't remember how I found DU but I sure am glad I did.

Thanks to the founders and mods for a great forum and wise patience. Member since 9/11/05.

[WCGreen]

9. It's a great place...

I met people I truly care about and have had a great time over the last six years...

I came here from Bartcorp and stayed because of the scope and depth of the place...

One of my first splashes was taking on the whole place by stating that as much as I hated it, I had to say the GW was our president...

shocking stuff...

[SharonRB]

10. Yes, thanks to everyone who started DU and keeps it going

I didn't find DU until a few days after the 2004 election, I think via a link from some other site I had been visiting for election-related information. That day changed my life...seriously.

I discovered there were lots of other people who were feeling the same way I was...depressed, disillusioned and hopeless. Once I found DU, I became much more politically active. I started going to DC for peace marches and made lots of real-life friends from the DU community in addition to those who remain cyber-friends only. We've laughed, we've cried, we've talked about issues and political figures. We've kept each other sane.

A few months after I joined, I found the KOEB and started spending 8-9 p.m. most nights with them. As on all of DU, members have come and gone, but we remain a close group and I consider some of them my closest friends now. It's the calmest, most welcoming place on all of DU and is a sanctuary, away from the arguments and name-calling.

Thank you, DU, and thank you, Will, for starting this thread.

[SmileyRose]

11. I'm a newbie - found DU via the the local Dems.

I signed up to volunteer locally for getting Democrats in office and someone I met is a DUer so I came by to check it out. I lurked during the primaries and almost did not sign up. Boy was that rough. I'm glad I hung around. I've been able to contribute in some small way to the discussion a couple of times and have learned quite a lot from my fellow DUers.

[unhappycamper]

12. After many years of doing nothing, I attended my first anitwar rally on Boston Common

in March 2004. I joined the Veterans For Peace late in 2004 and started searching the web for a home with like minded folks. I found DU in March 2005 and have been here ever since.

There's a good community of folks here that are articulate and passionate. In addition to original articles, much of the stuff posted on DU includes links to other web sites which was very appealing to me. You, Sir, are one of the folks that I always read.

What keeps me here? Access to forums like LBN, EOA and GD. The amount of knowledge coming down those pipes is astounding.

[kentuck]

13. I think we came here about the same time?

I know everytime that I would post something, Will Pitt's post was always right above mine. :-)

I felt as if it was my duty. It was my way of defending my country. I would tell the truth, as I saw it, and would not fall prey to the propaganda blitzkrieg of Rove/Bush.

I remember when we were the minority opinion. Ninety percent of America supported George W Bush, believe it or not! We were the ten-percent opposition. And we felt out-numbered and surrounded. Some gave up and left. But some never gave up. I see that Will Pitt is still here.

I would venture a guess that nobody has posted more words to the DU than Will Pitt? He was prolific when we needed it. Thanks Will. Your efforts were and are greatly appreciated.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. I came in early 2002. After that idiot defined his 'axis of evil' and started threatening Iraq.

I just read things for a while before posting. DU is a place to discuss just not what's happening in this country or the world, but where other topics and interests are allowed as well. Love DU.

[closeupready]

15. A virtual neo-nazi on another board used a link to DU as evidence of how wacko the left is.

I had never heard of DU, but I checked it out, and to my delight, found my second e-home. :D

I enjoy reading thoughts of other liberal/left wing individuals, using DU as a sounding board.

Oh, and I think this was late 2002 or early 2003, though I didn't register until much later.

[MiniMe]

16. January 2005

I don't remember what brought me here other than being totally pissed after the 2004 election. I'm sure I lurked for a while before I joined. I met Helen Thomas in the flower drive thanks to DU. I've never regretted it. Although most times I stay out of the fray when things get too hot.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

17. In 2002,

I found top 10 conservative idiots through google. I was so glad to find a place where people understood what criminals the Bush regime was. Before that, I felt like I was in the wilderness politically.

[tularetom]

18. I stumbled on it right after the 2004 election was stolen from John Kerry

Took me awhile to get used to the format but I joined a few months later.

Now it's the first place I visit every morning and where I get most of my news. I've met a lot of fine people here and a surprisingly small number of a-holes.

I've learned a lot here and not just about politics. It's my fav-o-rite forum.

[PRETZEL]

19. I'm not sure how long it's been since I registered here

but this is and will continue to be an amazing place.

I may not necessarily remember how I got here but I plan to remain here until someone tells me otherwise.

Thanks DU. Happy Birthday.

[bdamomma]

20. I was a lurker first, but then came a member after Nov. 2004

interesting place DU is, great information and so nice to have like minded people like me to correspond with. :)

[Bake]

21. I've been here since 2001 also.

When I first came here, Will was one of the "gods" of DU. I've watched Will come and go, and I'm always glad when he has come back!!

DU has been a venting place, a learning place, a place for encouragement during some of the dark days.

I'll be here indefinitely.

Bake

[tabbycat31]

22. if you really want to know

I came a day after the election of Obama and did not know this forum existed until then. I started my blog around the same time and was asking for some links of liberal websites to put up on my blog, and this was one of the suggested ones. As soon as I started reading around I was hooked.

I wasn't always politically involved. I voted in the 2000 election because of my parents peskering me. I was the only one of my friends who voted (I was 20). I selected my candidate based on the dumbest reason EVER. I read that Gore shares my birthday, so I voted for him.

In 2004, I knew that I would vote against Bush but I did not realize how truly evil the guy was until seeing Farenheit 9/11 and that was a wake up call for me politically. I sent $$ to the Kerry campaign after seeing the movie.

This year was when I really got involved. I changed my voter registration from independent to Democratic (I did move to another state too so that was my excuse) so I could vote in the primary. I got involved locally and did everything from canvasing, phone banking (and i HATE talking on the phone), voter registration, and went to two rallies in PA. I lost my job in June so I figured to use some time to better the country politically. My county is still barely red (51-48) so we still have some work to do despite our gains.

I am SUPER EXCITED about Tuesday. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, and I'm looking for local parties to attend (I have an 8 am class the next day so going to Washington is a no go). I'm sure that my groups will have something. It's a celebration for our hard work.

[Aristus]

23. I started lurking here in March, 2001. Even though Washington State went for Gore,

I felt crushed and demoralized at the direction our country had taken. My wife, a Republican, told me: "Come on, it can't possibly be as bad as you seem to think it will be." She has since retracted those words as she viewed with horror the failures and idiocies of this misadministration.

I surfed "Hate Bush" sites for a while, finding some comfort in the knowledge that I was not alone. At one of these sites, I saw the link for DU, and clicked on it. I read the discussions with delight. (This was even before the advent of The Lounge.) There were probably fifty members at most, and the first user name I can remember seeing was nuevocat. I felt like I had come home. I lurked for hours a day, every day. The week after September 11th, I finally signed up. I knew things were only going to get worse...much, much worse, and I wanted to be among friends when it happened. For the last eight years, DU has been my light in the darkness, my friend in time of need, my shoulder to cry on, my hug-buddy, my stinging high-five when things were going right, a fatal NASCAR wall-slam for stupid Freepers, a virtual reality train station to meet people passing through, and to welcome people coming to stay. I owe my sanity and my hope and belief in a better America to the Democratic Underground, Skinner, elad, EarlG, the mods, to you, William Rivers Pitt, sir, and my many, many friends here. I love you all.
:loveya::patriot:

[hlthe2b]

24. I came here on that infamous day, but didn't register 'til Feb 01

I saw Skinner on Cspan... I'd already found a few political sites (Bushwatch.com and a few others--ultimately MWO, Democrats.com, Buzzflash and Bartcop) but it was DU where I settled in, registered and have been here through thick and thin throughout this abysmal administration...

Whatever sanity and coping skills I've managed to hang onto, probably are owed to my time at DU--sometimes excessive, mind you, but I'm still learning the concept of moderation. ;)

Thank you Skinner, EarlG, Elad and all the "long-termers," "midtermers," and "newcomers" for keeping DU going strong.

And thank you Will Pitt for all the provocative writing over the years and for this thread.

[polly7]

25. I was heavily involved also in debating warmongers and

Bush cheerleaders on another message board just prior to Iraq, and spending too much time looking up links to debunk their garbage. I was scared stiff at the time and knew from the start how bad it was going to be and heavily emotionally invested. A freeper posting on the same board also mentioned (as someone else stated above) I was using DU talking points, so I too came here to find out what DU was, and ..... voila! This is where all the smart people hung out who already had all the links to information I'd been hunting down myself. Then it got ...... just sort of addicting. We've got Canadian political boards, but believe it or not they're mostly in favour of our puppet conservative gov't and I haven't found one yet that deals with so many world issues. I learn so much here, and appreciate so much the intelligence and thought posters here put into sharing the information that should be important to all of us.

[InvisibleTouch]

26. Followed a link from SmirkingChimp in late '03 or early '04.

I was caught up in the 2004 primaries as a Deaniac, and have hung around ever since. Mostly to read, with a conscious effort to stay out of the flame wars and backbiting, though I've been unable to completely avoid a spat or two. That's not my purpose for being here, though; I have enough stress and contentiousness in other areas of my life. So I mostly read - sometimes addictively, sometimes late into the pre-dawn when I told myself I'd be off the net by midnight. I love the diversity of information, the best news source I can think of, the political discussions and viewpoints, and when one is tired of politics, there are lots of other topics to browse in the Groups, Topic Forums, and of course the ever-entertaining Lounge. I sometimes shake my head in disbelief at the opinions expressed here, and sometimes exult in the realization that there are others who feel as I do. The best rule of thumb I could pass along to newbies (or even old-timers) would be: don't get too emotionally caught up, and don't take it personally. Enjoy the community for what it is. Even though I'm not a super-active poster, and have deliberately remained fairly anonymous, it certainly has become a welcome part of my life!

[HughMoran]

27. Getting Bush out of office brought me here

Early 2004 I think it was. Interesting that as we finally usher in a Democratic President after 8 long years, many on DU are creating an "identity crisis" (I'm too old to be duped by this) - just look at the top of Greatest.

Interesting times. I predict DU will change quite a bit over the next 6 months - it can't continue this way for long.

[Greyskye]

28. DU - a political refuge for 8 long years

I've been here since 2001 - I somehow found DU the day of 9/11.

What kept me here ever since, was a sense that my family and I weren't actually as out-of-step with the rest of the country as it seemed that we were in day to day life. An island of like-minded individuals (of course we're individuals - we're Democrats! :rofl: ) in the midst of a seething sea of insanity.

Now that the political winds have finally changed, what keeps me here is the political dialog, and huge flow of information available to me in the sub-forums that I'm interested in. (Environment and Energy, Science, F&SF, etc.)



DU kept me sane(ish). Thank you DU. What a long strange trip it's been.

[stellanoir]

29. The electronic voting machine issue brought me here through another site

by way of a Harvard prof. He was a fellow activist and a thoroughly funny character.

I was entirely obsessed with the repercussions from HAVA, and pretty much didn't talk about anything but EVM's and temporarily lost a few friends over that particular obsession. At least people don't look at me as though I have three heads when I discuss it as public awareness has vastly increased.

I've made some extraordinary contacts through this site especially through the lovely mostly ladies in the astro forum.

Someone I know only through this site and the stellaphone just thankfully counseled my darling son who's a senior in high school, facing some *big* choices. He helped him tremendously in a way that I could not.

Also my primary relationship evolved from a DU event in a really curious way. He treats me more kindly than anyone ever has.

I've not been posting so much lately but I lurk every single day.

I intend to start doing so again very shortly.

It was a delight to yuck it up with you Will on more than one occasion.

Your mum is a total hoot as well.

Maybe I can gift her with some plants some spring.

The offer to travel shortly south and sojourn at the "end of the world" still eternally stands.

It's a panoramic place of transcendence not destruction.

Your semi neighbor.

luv

on edit- the ooga booga smooga wooga thread that was born of my prayer thread from the mid terms was my most entertaining moment online *ever*.

kudos as ever to JeffR & Nance

[Submariner]

30. Found Freeperville in 2001

and saw a reference to DUmmies and used MSN search to find this Holy Grail. A liberal refuge from the right wingnut message boards at the time.

[Number23]

123. That's exactly how I found DU too! Except it was in 2003

Used to read Free Republic all of the time and was seeing damn near CONSTANT references to DU and DUmmies. Had to check to see what all of the fuss was about for myself.

Read both sites for over five years before becoming members (of both) last year.

[Le Taz Hot]

31. I saw Skinner on CSPAN1

in November 2001. He was hawking DU and I immediately logged on. Was welcomed by CatWoman and NewYawker. Been a DU pain-in-the-ass ever since but for some reason, they let me stay. :evilgrin:

[Kashka-Kat]

32. 2004 Stolen Election - was confused angry frightened - trying to find out what happened my googling

led me here.

STILL confused, angry and frightened (yep, even with Dems in charge) but having a reliable info source helps

(Or shall I say many thousands of individual "info sources", plural - true to dem/progressive "herding cats" tradition, there's no consensus here about anything so you get the whole gamut of opinions/ views. That's what I like actually, the range of views. And therein is where the truth lies, more often than not - in a composite of ALL the divergent views.)

[Robb]

33. I remember thinking the place had gone to hell when that Pitt guy started posting

...Fortunately his mom was high-enough caliber to make up for it. :D

One of my favorite memories was when I signed on as a moderator, must've been 2003 or 2004? We had the conference call at the beginning when EarlG called roll, and everyone said "here" after their name was called. I said "here" and there was this long pause.

EarlG said, "So. Are you a dingbat?"

Riotous laughter. Still makes me smile. God I love this place. :toast:

[liberalhistorian]

87. So, Robb, it occurs to me that you never really

have answered the question after all of these years; ARE you a dingbat? :evilgrin:

Hell, I'm enough of an oldtimer around here to remember when every single poll included, as its last choice, "Robb is a dingbat." I never, ever, ever chose that option, of course!

[Robb]

92. I would think the answer

...is readily apparent. :D :hi:

[scarletwoman]

93. Wow, Robb. Do you realize that YOU are member #37?

I wonder what happened to the first 36 registered DUers who came before you? You must have been here on Day One. Dingbat or not, we are not worthy...



sw (member #6679)

[Robb]

181. Hm. I don't feel that old.

...Surely it was a bigger place than that when I showed up. :D

[scarletwoman]

203. No, it was a smaller place, but the people were bigger so it felt really crowded.

:)

[Helga Scow Stern]

34. I found DU in November 2004 after the election was stolen.....

I was in a daze and searching online for someone else who saw what happened that night. I found DU and haven't left since.

[countingbluecars]

35. I have been a member since 2005.

I was in despair over a Bush second term. I was working with mainly Bush supporters, and my husband and friends really didn't want to talk about politics at that time (Obama changed all that!). DU helped keep me sane. The reading I did here also got me actively involved in progressive causes.

[bikebloke]

36. Followed a link fron Online Journal in 2001

I read for about six months before signing on.

[Spazito]

37. Thank You Skinner, Elad, EarlG and everyone who makes DU the BEST site on the net!

I found DU in 2002 via a link on Buzzflash to the Top Ten Conservatives. At first I would just read the Top Ten and then one day I clicked on the Home link and have clicked on it every day since then.

DU is addictive but in a GOOD way! It has the truth out before the media even knows there is a story at all. DUers back up their facts with links to articles, editorials, other sites making DU educational, entertaining, frustrating (at times) but always THE place to start one's morning, imo.

Recommended.

[DemoTex]

38. I lurked in March 2001 .. joined the board in May 2001.

The first freeper I can remember being tomb-stoned was "Lonstar" or "Lonster" (not "Lonestar"). God, that DU graveyard is getting full!

My all-time favorite DU name was "HegemonyCricket."

And my all-time favorite DU picture? This one from circa 2001:


Hang in there pooch (and planet), it's almost over.

[Mad_Dem_X]

39. Came here thru Bartcop...shortly after 9/11

I lurked for a long while before joining. As the * administration wracked up more and more failures, I was relieved to have a place where I could be with like-minded people, who didn't think I was crazy for mistrusting the government. DU has opened my eyes to so many things, and allowed me to pass this knowledge on to my friends, family, and co-workers.

January 20, 2009, will be one of the proudest days of my life, as a Democrat and as an American. Thank you, DU, for educating and entertaining me, for getting me pissed off enough to try to change things and for giving me hope for the future.

[Gregorian]

100. My experience almost word for word.

I also thank this great forum for a fantastic education. I am still inspired by the value of DU.

I came here after discovering, through Bartcop, just what the truth was regarding politics in America.

However, my original intention was to find a forum where population could be discussed. Apparently the human race is still not ready for that even though it is actually far more important than politics. But I digress...

I'm very thankful for all who have participated in this forum. What a conglomeration of ideas and facts.

[bagimin]

122. Wow...exactly the same for me, too.

Can't remember how the heck I found Bart though.

[Maeve]

40. I came in 2001, in the spring, brought by the Top Ten Idiots and other articles

I started posting in early summer, IIRC. Mostly in the Lounge...became a regular poster there (one of the first virtual bar-keepers and Daily Thread posters). I moderated the Lounge a time or two with the likes of Zen Lefty, SoCalDem, newyawker99...found better info here on 9/11 than was available elsewhere...moderated during the pain that was the election of 2004; contributed to and ran the Stock Watch Thread for a while and now mostly participate in GD, GDP and LBN (with the odd post in the Irish forum).

I come back for the community. Even when this place is in meltdown mode, there are the inspired shafts of brilliance, the solid, sensible posts (yes, you, Skinner!), the wild flights of insanity (we're still all William Pitt) and general history of on-line family that makes it hard to leave even when I'm sick of the bickering. I've grown accustomed to the place....

We were pulled together by adversity and stupidity (Dubya's). Let's see if we have learned anything in the past 8 years to take us (finally) into the 21st century.
:toast:

[populistdriven]

41. the hot wings keep me coming back

[Soylent Brice]

42. i began lurking in 2004 when i googled "bush sucks" and "i hate bush"

i was looking for anything i could find to make me laugh after the re-theft (my terminology for the re-election). my little way of dealing with the pain and loss i was feeling.

in my search i found a post from a DUer (by whom i can't remember-memory eroded) and it brought me here to good ole' DU.

and my obsession took off like a pair of rocket roller skates.

on edit:

dear mr. corkhead just jogged my memory!! the first thing i found was the Top Ten conservative Idiots.

Thank EarlG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks corkhead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hepburn]

170. Ditto....I got here the EXACT same way!

:hi:

Edit for typo

[Soylent Brice]

187. yay!!!! seeing someone put rethugs in their proper place UNITES people!!!

lol

[Hepburn]

193. Yeppers!

I am soooooooo glad I found the DU. I felt so lost with all the RW bull going on!

:hi:

[Soylent Brice]

195. holy crap. you just said yeppers

that's my word!!!!!! people give me crap for it all the time too!!! lol

[Hepburn]

199. Yeppers, they do me, too!

Were we separated at birth???? :hi:

[Soylent Brice]

208. that would be cool, but probably not.

my mom is pretty open about her indescretions.

:puke:

[Rowdyboy]

44. Somehow I stumbled across mydd which linked me to DU (early 2002)

lurked until the late summer. Desperation led me here-you guys sustained me through some angry, furious times. Thanks.

[mrs_p]

45. i wish i had found this website back then

instead of fighting the darkness all on my own... it wasn't until last february i started lurking (after i found it when googling something else). although i'm not a prolific poster, i am here at least two hours a day -- and i really could have used this site when the wingbats were scary popular, and especially when i was still debating (and talking to) my repuke father. thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for this site!!

[peace frog]

46. Found DU after a tip from a friend on another MB

She posted links to DU occasionally, the subjects of which resonated as I despised everything and everyone connected to W's stolen presidency, so naturally I had to check it out. Lurked quite a while before registering to post, then never looked back.

THANKS, EVERYONE! DU IS THE BEST!

[HamdenRice]

47. Spring 2004 -- googled something like "idiot president", reached top 10 conservative idiots...

and have been here ever since.

The worst day was posting about how the Kerry-Bush race wasn't even close anymore and going out celebrating.

The next morning, after Kerry conceded, the way I found out was someone posted just, "Fuck you John Kerry!"

[kentuck]

48. But what makes DU different from all other sites??

In my opinion, we were unique to all of them, even the more popular ones now, in that we were intent on fighting these SOBs to the end. We were fighting for our country. We were in the trenches. We were right there with the Congresspeople and the Senators that were willing to fight for our side. I truly do not know where our country would be today if we did not have DU. Seriously.

[solara]

49. I joined in Oct 2006

I don't remember exactly how I got here, but I am so glad I did. Back when I had a computer at home I posted a lot more than I do now, so since I only have comp access at work I post when I can, but I still lurk and read.

Part of what I love about this place are the ideas expressed, much of which reflects my own feelings– although in a far more eloquent and articulate way. I have also found many of the writers who post here to be not only well read and profound but also superbly witty and great wit gets me every time.

Also, I know that I can usually get the truth on DU and I have learned so much not only from opinions that bring on bouts of concentrated thinking and discovery, but from the DUers who actually do the hard research that inspires. DU saved me from the abject despair I had been wallowing in since 2000. Here, I realized that I was not alone and through this site I gained enough hope and courage to actually get politically involved. I began to work for my local candidates and DU kept me in the loop. I am very grateful and I wish you all a Happy Birthday and Happy New Year and I hope that no matter what changes in the political arena, DU will be around for years to come.

Thank you Skinner, Elad and EarlG..Thank you Will and Kpete and NanceGreggs and DeepModemMom and babylonsister - You are all part of the reason I am still here and why I wish to remain. :applause:

On to January 20th and beyond :fistbump:

It's been a long time coming

:kick: kickety

[spanone]

50. it's been a wonderful shelter from the storm

eom

[4_TN_TITANS]

51. I think I found a link on Wonkette, before the 2004 election.

The 2000 selection was a bucket of ice-water in my face regarding how 'democratic' this country really is. Before the 2004 election, I became an official party member and was looking for a good source to counter emails sent around by a fundie coworker. DU was the best I found and of course the Top Ten hooked me like a large mouth bass. The information here, and not just on politics, has been invaluable even to the point of saving real money with financial and family decisions.

Thank-you everyone... I feel like such a minor contributor amid such intellectual giants, but someday maybe I can fire off something of value to someone else.

[DinahMoeHum]

52. I came aboard in March 2002 after reading the essay "Stand Your Ground"

by none other than William Rivers Pitt:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/02/02_ground.html

That essay kick-started me out of a nasty blue funk in the aftermath of 9/11 - it was if somebody had thrown a bucket of cold water with ice cubes at me while I was curled up in a fetal position.

I actually started lurking around DU shortly after that February 2002 essay, but the convincer occurred right after a l-o-n-n-n-n-g DU thread mocking John Ashcroft and his singing talent, "Let The Eagle Soar" in early March 2002. Right then and there, I joined up, not wanting to miss any more of the fun.

P.S. It's been, what, nearly 7 years ago I joined up, and I just found out I'm only 18 posts away from reaching 10,000 !!!!! WOW, where did all those posts go??

:crazy:

[YOY]

53. Jun 27th 2005...finished Grad School...I was totally right about some things and had other theories.

and getting more and more liberal as my theories have been proven.

Love this place. Crazies and all.

[Mz Pip]

54. Spring 2001

I joined after "lurking" for a few weeks. I followed the link from another site, Bushwatch, I think to the Top 10 Conservative idiots.

We had a few meet ups in SF, a couple of barbecues in GG Park and met up for a few of the anti-war marches.

Lots of the old timers are gone but I still hang around. I'm growing old here.

[deaniac21]

55. May 12, 2006

[intheflow]

56. I read something on commondreams.org that referenced DU.

This was in the months leading up to the 2004 election. I'd been a die-hard devotee of Common Dreams, but once I visited DU I really never went back. I'm very lucky--blessed, even--to have found this web site.

:grouphug:

[progressoid]

57. Joined a few days after the 04 election.

Seems to me I was researching Depleted Uranium when I found this place. Or maybe it was election fraud. Either way, this place helped me weather the last four years.

By the way, some of you people really piss me off sometimes, but it's a generally a good kind of pissed off.

Love the sub-forums. Hopefully, in a few weeks, I can afford to get my star back and visit some of those places again.

[greguganus]

58. I accidentally found this place while looking for porn. n/t

[SeattleGirl]

59. Started lurking in '03, when a friend sent a link to a news item on DU.

I started looking around the site, and was so happy to see so many people who felt like I did, who didn't think that Bush was the greatest thing since sliced breat, and who knew the f'ing SOB had stolen the election with the help of the SCOTUS. God, it was like a homecoming.

I formally became a member in May 2005.

Sometimes this place drives me nuts (can you say Primary Season?), but overall, I have gotten far more good than bad from here. Many times, I've seen an item on the news, reported breathlessly by the newsies, only to think to myself, well, DUH! I read that on DU 3 weeks ago. What took YOU so long?

So I'll add my thanks to Skinner, EarlG, and Elad, and everybody else who makes DU the place to go for me.

:toast: :fistbump: :toast:

[JitterbugPerfume]

60. I came to DU after hearing Skinner on C Span

in Nov 2001

Kef , WillPitt and Crewleader were among the people that I am eternally grateful to because I was one frightened old woman after Bush was (not) elected. I found well informed and compassionate people here and no matter what the future brings I am eternally grateful . DU , I love you


and I will always be especially grateful to our Kef who gave his all

[ismnotwasm]

61. Through Bartcop and Mediawhores online

I lurked before signing up in 2004. I had a daughter in the military and I started being more active when she was sent to Afghanistan. I'm not a prolific poster. What I like about this place is it's part predictability (as evidenced by a recent thread on, shall we say--controversial--dogs) part diversity of information and opinion; for instance, while we may all agree that dubya is a useless POS, his administration is part nightmare and part joke, that's about the only real consensus. People have varied interests and passions. Some have impressed me no end, some extremely admirable and active people here. For me, It's fun, a small hobby- trying to guess personalties and gender by how and what somebody posts-- I rarely check profiles-- and I've been wrong more often than not.

Finally, the general sense of community whether I personally participate or not, is here for those who choose to do so.

I think I have a bit of DU addiction, because I check in a lot. It's comfortable and interesting and if you want information or a electronic shoulder to cry on it's here. Even a fight (Ok, a heated discussion. Not all flame wars are counterproductive) you can find one or start one.

[Terran]

62. In August 2001, because of a link to the Top Ten

I can't even recall where the link was now...maybe Bartcop.

Everyone complains about DU these days, but it's still the same old place to me. There will always be people who drive me crazy, and people who I respect and admire. I might disagree with some people here, but I will always admire the passion and the dedication. And no matter how wrong I think someone here might be, chances are they're still 10,000 times more right than any wingnut at FR.

I really hope there will be a DU banner on display at the Obama inauguration. Full circle and all, what?

[alcibiades_mystery]

176. The link to the Top Ten I saw then was on Buzzflash

Cheers.

[mzmolly]

63. I think I found DU searching for a Democratic Discussion Board?

I have been here in one form or another since 2002. I started out here lurking, deciding who to support in the 2004 Presidential race and settled on Howard Dean. I advocated heavily for my candidate of choice, at times taking shots at other Democrats. However I was always open about being a Democrat who was willing to support our nominee, whomever that may be.

In the latest Presidential election I was moved by various candidates for various reasons and I settled on John Edwards because I felt his platform was the most progressive. I am glad however that Obama became our nominee.

As for what keeps me here, I find DU to be a refuge in a world of lunacy, though we have our own brand of that lunatic thing going on. ;)

There was a time when a majority of media openly supported Bush along with a supposed majority of Americans. The last eight years have been hell, historically speaking, and we "sane" folk needed a place of refuge. DU has been that place. Of course, there are positives that can and have come from this era, beyond DU. For example, if Bush hadn't been so radical we would not likely have had a Chairman Dean and his 50 state strategy, an Air America Radio, a new outspoken MSNBC, a Senator Franken from Minnesota, a senate and congressional majority, and last but not least a President Elect Barack Hussein Obama.

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/03/wOBAMA_wideweb__470x347,0.jpg

Suffice it to say that I am thankful to have had every one of you over these past several years, even if we disagree on the small stuff. :hi:

Nice thread Will, thanks.

[guitar man]

64. In the runup to the '04 election

I had enough of GW*, had enough of being registered as and calling myself an "independent"....just basically had my belly full of right wing horseshit in general. I had just changed my registration to Democratic and was using the Google to find a place with like minded people and the rest is history. ;)

[mulsh]

65. been here since 2001, too, first few months as a lurker.

I found DU via Free Republic. some IT jerk in my office made FR our home page for a couple of days. one of the first posts I read over there dissed DU. I figured this site must have some good stuff. Been here ever since. I wish my profile showed the exact date I registered rather than prior to 2003 but what they hey. I have a pretty low post count because most of the time someone more eloquent than I posts what I'm thinking. I hope you all keep on keeping on. Just because our guys won this one doesn't mean the fight is over. not even by half.

And thank you Will Pitt for your continued posts.

[donheld]

66. Top 10 Conservative idiots and you.

I was looking for William Pitt articles after having seen them on "Liberal Slant" or some site like that. I lurked for a short time then signed up.

[Hissyspit]

124. Same here. Top 10 came up in a google search and I had been reading

Truthout articles for a while.

[KamaAina]

67. Eight years *less* one week ago

:P

Discovered DU through Top Ten, linked on Buzzflash. Delurked right after Ninelevenninelevennineleven. Have made a handful of flesh 'n' blood acquaintances hereabouts. One of these sucked me in to the addictive black hole that is the NOLA blogosphere. I even got the chance to have my head handed to me by a writer of some repute when I dared to criticize his use of the passive voice. :P

[Akoto]

68. I got lost in this weird series of tubes, and woke up here! n/t

[catzies]

69. Saw Skinner on CSPAN on that miserable January day. Lurked a few months

and signed on by summer '01. Have never left. I'm a minor contributor at best but a voracious reader of all who post here. Bless DU and all here, past and present.

[neverforget]

70. I found DU in July 2001 and my screen name is a result of Dec 12, 2000

Neverforget that democracy was subverted by the SCOTUS.

Thank you to all that make this website possible. I am here everyday and enjoy this place very much. Keep up the good work!

[cynatnite]

71. Just after the 2004 primaries when Kerry was going to get the nom is when I arrived at DU...

Living here in the South can make you feel fairly isolated if you're not of the same political or religious stripe as everyone else. They can almost forgive you politically as long as you follow their ideas of gawd and all that.

I felt very solitary in my opinions and beliefs. Voicing them was out of the question because I was afraid of the kind of backlash I or my kids would get.

When I found DU, after reading one of Franken's books, it was like finding freedom for the first time. There were people who actually believed as I did. Many DUer's, some who are sadly no longer with us, patiently educated me and guided me. They enlightened me and instructed me in how to be politically active...something I had never done before.

Thanks goes to SKinner, Elad and EarlG. Thanks to the rest of the mods and thanks to my fellow DUer's.

This place rocks! :yourock: :toast:

[yowzayowzayowza]

72. Lurked April - Aug 2001.

Mostly looking for continuing research on the selection and a replacement for the imploding Salon TableTalk board. Joined 9/9/1 for the overall discussion and LBN, tho still mostly a lurker over the years.

:hi:

[mopinko]

73. i was censored by google. they wouldn't run ads for my website.

my webmasters told me about someone else they knew that had the same problem. i went looking for him, and found that his banning was one of the top ten conservative idiots.
late '03. du has been sucking up hours for me ever since.

[shanti]

74. i've been a member of DU

since 2002, originally told about it by someone about the top ten conservative idiots, but was lurking in late 2001, right after 911. it's "home" now. :hi:

[kgnu_fan]

75. Lurking for the last SEVEN years!

I have been reading DU for every single day all these years. Just registered last year right before the Dem Convention in Denver. Got to see some of you. Thank you everyone.

[Blue_In_AK]

76. I arrived toward the end of November 2004.

I knew something wasn't right with the election, so began searching around the internet for some answers and landed here. It was comfy here, so I stayed. Some of my best friends are at DU. (You know who you are.)

[leftofthedial]

77. actually, a link to a Will Pitt article led me to DU,

very soon after you started posting here.

[Bombero1956]

78. I joined in 2001 too

I wish I could remember exactly which day but it had to be right around when Bush "stole" office.

[pinto]

79. LOL. I had to look up my profile to remember. Joined in Oct. '03.

I got 'snagged' by the number and diversity of sources for news, political opinion and such I found posted here - print, web based and DU member posts.

I was pretty much a New York Times, CS Monitor, LA Times, SF Chronicle reader in print, so some of the stuff I found here was a new venue for me. Like us all, I suspect, I took some of it with a big grain of salt, yet found those gems and veins of info that would be lost save for the internet. And it's all obviously grown in scope and impact, including DU.

Stayed for the ride and began moderating. Found I liked both hats - member and moderator, even through some of our notable losses and party jousting. So I'm still here. Looking forward to the discussions about what a Democratic agenda looks like in '09 - '10. Should be good, given the range of shit to be put right, as best we can.

[depakid]

80. Anyone remember the Green/Dem wars?

Get ready for 2.0 -new and improved, rebranded version.

The first skirmishes have already begun....

[derby378]

81. My wife introduced me to DU

And it's been my online home ever since. :hug:

The title of the OP is a little strange, though. We're still gonna be the Underground after January 20, y'know.

[Joanne98]

82. Been here since 2002 Thank you Skinner!

:yourock:

[rug]

83. I was surfing for porn and ended up in the Lounge.

[Initech]

84. I started lurking DU after Bush slimed his way into his second term.

It wasn't until the government completely abused its power helping a pro-life cause celeb that I decided to come out of hiding.

[Uzybone]

85. Joined in early 2001

found out about it via Buzzflash and Bartcop (those 2 sites were my sites of choice during the Clinton impeachment). Been here since then though I have taken long stretches off.

What keeps me is the fact I learn new things and we have so many posters here with wit and knowledge. Sadly that seems to be changing as trollishness and faux outrage seems to have vastly increased since the election. Thank goodness for the hide thread option.

[liberalhistorian]

86. I found myself here in March of 2003, following a Top Ten

Conservative Idiots link from another site. DU was really the first message board I ever was a part of and the first one where I started learning "netiquette." I was feeling very angry and frustrated over Bush at the time, like my family, yet lived in a red area where any type of criticism of the Great Leader whatsoever was considered a mortal sin. So to find a like-minded community was a great help to me. Of course, I've had my issues with DU over the years and sometimes posters can get really nuts, but overall I've stayed for the reasons that brought me here in the first place.

And DU brought my husband and I together, also. Just before I moved to South Dakota in 2005, I popped into the SD forum and asked if there were any residents of the area where I would be moving and if they had any information and assistance. A certain DUer by the name of Wicasa, who'd joined the year before, was one of the responders and advised that he'd once worked for the organization I was planning to work for. After I'd been there a couple of months, the SD forum decided to have a DU meetup in the area where I lived, and he attended the meetup. It was over a year later before our friendship took a romantic turn, but that was the beginning, thanks to DU.

I'm a little concerned about the increasingly negative tone these past several weeks and the doom and gloom over Obama's purported policies and actions before he even takes office, but then, again, I have to recognize that DU was born out of political anger and frustration and spent nearly eight years in the minority, so success is not so easily absorbed and the gears cannot shift that easily.

[renate]

99. what a wonderful story about you and your husband!

Heartwarming! :loveya:

I wonder how many relationships started here. Congratulations!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

88. It'll be four years for me next month...

I was new to the internet, and I just stumbled across it through some vanished, forgotten link...

I've made many good friends, and discovered talents I didn't know I had...

DU is my electronic home!

And it will be until they yank my keyboard out of my cold, dead hands!

Thanks to all of you for making this place so special...

[Starry Messenger]

89. This thread is awesome!

I joined in April 2005. I had lurked without a registration for months after hearing about DU when the John Kerry blog shut down. (That was painful). I registered finally so I could use the ignore function. I was tired of reading about John Kerry's lack of scrotum, which was a developed theme at the time on DU.

I lurked everyday for three years and then this April I quit smoking and had to do something to keep my hands busy. My post count started to go up and I started to enjoy the scrum of GDP.

What makes DU special? For me, it's my main information portal and it inspires me to research the things I care about and share them in turn. I get so much out of here and there is so much energy. I love it.

[G_j]

90. 2001? Top Ten Conservative Idiots..

that was posted at some leftie site..
ended up reading for hours, then joined

changed accounts in 2003

it's been interesting as hell,
watching the emotional roller coaster of the Bush years, hope continually dashed. Outrages continually revealed and documented.
anger, frustration, dark clouds gathering, some getting ready to, or actually leaving the country.
glimpses of light, friendships formed,
and especially: incredible research!
I like the fact that many at DU actually do make phone calls, write letters, go to protests, etc.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

91. Oh sure, make me tell a long story.

;)

I started reading DU back in 02-03 linked from both presidentmoron.com and links posted in the weekly slugfest known as the yahoo Coulter message board*. I finally joined in 04, tired of people who no matter how much the flames hurt, refused to admit their faces were on fire.

On came Air America, and Mike Malloy. Truthseeking. Swamp Rat. I love his passion and his art. Ralps and Lincoln Mcgrath. DA. You. Lala. And it kept growing. The group of people who fed the need to know, and the rage of Knowing. Smokey, cal04, MsN, alyce, tnlefty, catnapper, so many more.

Annabanana, kpete, merh, sfexpat ok ok I'll stop naming names inna sec. (yeah right) They and you are what have kept me here. The Lounge has become a home for me as well. Lizziegrace, Sugz, malta, Rhiannon, nux, Forkboy and another list too long to name of great people.

What makes DU special is All Of The Above and more. This is a community full of energy, intelligence, passion and great love of country and their fellow human beings.

I just love DU and DUers to pieces.



*It became known as Coultervakia. Guess who wrote our national anthem. :rofl: :hi:

[blondeatlast]

94. No joke--I typed in "democrat" and "underground" into Google with no knowledge this place existed;

I just was looking for a decidedly unofficial Democratic friendly site. That was in 2003 and this place has been better to me than I to it.

Thank you guys, thank you, thank you, thank you--every last one of you, from the Admins to the mods to the mebers.

[Cha]

95. Being pissed off

by the coup of 2000 made me buy a computer in 2002 and get here via an article in The Nation about "alternative news sources".

We finally got a Dem Prez Elect and some DUers are very happy about that.

[Auggie]

96. DU has been a ray of sunshine (and sanity) the last eight years

Skinner, Elad, EarlG -- you helped empower us to make change.

On edit: Found it thanks to a friend. Top Ten Conservative Idiots got me hooked.

[lonestarnot]

97. Lemmesee. I was totally fucking enraged on November 3, 2004.

I searched and protested and searched and found DU by just wanting to unite and resist. after wearing out our shoes protesting here and painting signs for protests attending meeting after meeting and other assorted stuff, I ended up here at the end of November that year. I went to DC with my son and met some grand DUers. I loved them each and every one. Not all remain which makes me totally sad, especially since we about to rock the world! I remember you and Hairy Bastid from my earliest days here. I really have relied on this place filled with fantastic people to get me through the last four sorry assed years. I have been a real bummer on some days I know, and for that I appologize, but bushitler really got to me that fucker and all his fucks too! He really has fucked our country and for that I would hit him in the head with a shoe if I would not go to jail, because he's not worth jail when you have someone relying on you for their support. You rock too William Pitt and so does that Hairy Bastid! :yourock: :toast: to all of us here at DU! :toast: to President Obama, his cabinet and our spanky new Congress! :woohoo:

[scarletwoman]

98. Way cool thread, Will. I've read every single post so far, and it's such a gas to hear

everyone's story!

Thank you everyone for being here, for your stories, for your love of DU.

I started lurking in the summer of 2001 -- brought here by a link to "Top 10 Conservative Idiots" like so many others. At the time I was busy running my own forum on American Indian issues, so I didn't hang out much. I think I finally registered shortly after 9/11, because there were no other forums where someone cynical like me could post doubts about the "official" story.

So, yeah, I showed up here wearing a tinfoil hat. But I'd been sporting that hat since the JFK assassination, so I was used to being on the fringe.

And I'm still proudly on the fringe, I was just called an "extremist" 2 days ago. :D

I'm sure I'll stay here until the sun explodes and swallows the earth in a fiery Ragnarök.

Hooray for DU! :toast:

sw

[G_j]

103. nice to have shared the fringe sw

you feel like family to me.

:hi:

[scarletwoman]

104. Aw, G_J, my dear wonderful brother!

Kisses and hugs! I love you always! You are such a beautiful soul, and an inspiration for me to be a better, more compassionate person. Meeting Beings of Light like you has definitely been the best part of hanging out at DU!

:loveya:
sw

[G_j]

112. blush

well, DU has received a good dose of my grumpy side from time to time!
LOL. but then I suppose that is another need served here at times.

:loveya:

I sensed long ago a kindred spirit. I love you too!
my life has been enriched from knowing you

b

[mmonk]

101. DU keeps me sane in knowing that I'm not the only one that recognized

the things going on in this country under the bush administration. That's was very important to me. In fact, it's probably a debt I could never repay in any equal value. There has been alot of writing talent I might never have picked up on as well as there has been valuable people I have been able to link up with to try and make a difference.

Off subject, I received an email that said you are going to be on Cindy's Soapbox next Sunday. I look forward to listening to it by web link.

[Time for change]

102. Great questions

First let me echo the thanks to Skinner, Elad and Earl G.

Secondly, I'll say that I usually have a great deal of trouble explaining what I think without making a very long post, but I'll try to be short here. My reasons are:

1. I love to put my thoughts into writing, but I also love to get feedback -- positive feedback -- from them. When I express my political thoughts to most people they're either not interested, they don't understand, or they just think I'm kind of loony. In contrast, there are so many DUers who understand my thoughts and can respond to them in a positive manner, as well as offer additional ideas that expand my thoughts.

2. I learn a great deal from DU. There is a tremendous amount of information that we get here that you just can't get from our corporate media. The DU is my most important news source.

3. The format of DU is great for having discussions. I know of no other site where you can have long discussions among multiple people and actually follow them. I don't understand why other sites don't copy it.

[puebloknot]

136. "...or they just think I'm kind of loony."

Have you seen that French film, "Queen of Hearts"?

Maybe you are loony, and you're just finding friends among the inmates running the asylum -- who have broken out and are having a party on the lawn!

But it's a good party! :)

[davsand]

105. I found DU sometime in June or July of 2001.

Registered the day I found it and started posting.

I cut my eyeteeth on the political boards at ABC news and Salon so I had zero qualms about diving in here. I left Salon when it went pay to post and had been hanging out at a place called Bare Knuckles Politics started by a refugee from Salon named Fergeson Foont (wonder where he went to? I always liked that guy!) Anyhow there was a link there to DU and once I poked around here for a few minutes I had a new home.

DU was special, not only because of its rare focus on progressive issues during those dark days right after the selection, but also because of the sense of community. Salon had something akin to it at one time, but DU invited actual connection (relationships, maybe?) between people. I had never seen anything like it. It was a low signal to noise ratio--you could come here and NOT have to wade thru a few hundred posts from the local fundies--and it was easy to navigate.

The site has pretty much held that standard over time.

I have seen an awful lot of good writing on here and I have met some AMAZING people--both in person and online. Some are gone now, and much missed, others have moved on to other things, and many, happily, are still here. I came for the politics and stayed for the people.


I love you guys, and I don't expect your Bud Light.

:evilgrin:


Laura

[Patsy Stone]

106. The 2004 Ohio irregularities.

I had to find out what happened and what was going on. I found Kos first, but they wouldn't let us discuss it, especially the possibility of theft.

Someone posted a link over there to a DU thread about it, and I found the Election Forum (at the time called the 2004 Election Results and Discussion Forum), and here I stayed. The Keith Olbermann group also came from ERD. We all started watching Keith together nightly, since he was the only one covering the election, and he was listening to our questions and reading our e-mails.

It will be quite interesting to see what happens here during a Democratic administration. If I know DU, it will all turn out okay in the end.

I've met so many great people here, and made some friends for life. Here's to DU! :yourock: :fistbump:

[GregD]

107. A small team was working on election integrity issues, building verifiedvoting.org

Some DUers were attacking us and making accusations. Those were the days when Bev and her team was here and still welcome. I came over to defend our work. That was summer of 2003, I've hung around since then.

[Graybeard]

108. When Mike Malloy was fired by Air America Radio.

Sam Seder, who also had a show on AAR, directed his listeners to a Bring Back Malloy petition on DU. It was just before the 2006 elections and things were wild and woolly here. I've been hooked ever since.

[Catherine Vincent]

109. Does anyone have a pic of that?

[StreetKnowledge]

110. Came in 2008

I just got fed up with trying to forget about Bush, and wanted to say things that I felt.

This place is awesome. I don't five a f--k what the Freeper crowd calling us "haters" says. There are people I disagree with, and people that I could not be more similar to.

:beer: Here's to the next eight years of Democratic Underground.

[dweller]

111. i followed a link you gave

in something you wrote, and came here. Lurked about a month until i replied to a post, and immediately
newyorker99 welcomed me... i went right back to lurking for a week (why would anyone welcome me?) and then i relaxed and never left.

so, it's your fault Will :D

dp

[Laelth]

113. Hear, hear! k&r

I answered the questions posed in the OP here:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Laelth/21

:dem:

-Laelth

[stevedeshazer]

114. What a long and weird trip

When I first saw this place in 2001, I knew I wasn't crazy. Especially after 9/11.

Sometimes I feel as confused and angry as back then. Now, those are good days.

It's still the best place evah. Evah.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

115. I followed a link from Buzzflash in February or March 2001

In the past 8 years, I've met lots of DUers.

[Raven]

116. My son made me come here. :-)

[UpInArms]

117. after the Bush coup, I was lost and drifting

and couldn't believe that what was happening before my eyes truly reflected the reality that I would be forced to live in for any period of time - much less 4 years.

On March 21, 2001, my small family protested a Bush appearance in Kansas City - one of our homemade signs read "Bush = Debt and Destruction"

Little did I realize how much debt and how much destruction was about to be heaped upon our country.

I found the LiberalSlant website and read something by an author named Lisa and her link led me to DU

I joined in April or early May 2001

I've been here ever since - reading, posting, having my opinions refuted, rebuffed, ignored or embraced.

My home is the LBN - I am a confessed news junkie - economic geek and just generally someone who knows just enough about everything to completely ignorant.

Thanks to Elad, EarlG and Skinner - without you, I would be lost and sad and alone and angry and probably would have succumbed to my sometimes suicidal impulses to have offed myself and determined I was the one that was completely insane in this crazy world.

My hat is off to you, William Pitt, for all that you do and all that you have done.

UpInArms
aka UIA

(p.s. It is moments like this that I miss Khephra the most - the guy that taught me how to even make a post on DU - who "pm'd" me and talked me out of my tree into the world of DU and into the midst of all of this)

[nevergiveup]

118. I found DU after Kerry lost

DU has helped me get through a 4 year funk.

[Generic Brad]

119. I was ostracized at work. I was bullied by my family

And then in 2003 I came across DU. And it felt like home. Those were some very dark years. I was beginning to think the whole world had gone off the deep end and had gone crazy. But not at DU. Truth was spoken here. Dissent was allowed. Other voices had a forum. And in 2005 I finally gathered the courage to join in the never ending conversation with my two cents.

[No Passaran]

120. 2001 member here

[AwakeAtLast]

121. Mine is an interesting one

I teach public school. I was out of school one day and my substitute had been entering websites into my browser. Drudge was one. DU was another. Guess which one I stuck with. ;)

I read Top 10 for a long time before realizing I could navigate to other pages and then actually register and contribute!

My husband was in Boot Camp at the time. Little did we know our lives would be turned upside down by a tour in Iraq. Our lives are just now getting back to normal.

DU has kept me sane throughout many trying times.

I stay here because I can count on DU to have the most recent news from the most reputable sources.

The Lounge is fun, too! :D

Will, this thread will be a treasure in DU's future. Thanks for posting this! :hi:

[jwirr]

125. I was reading In These Times trying to find like minded people. They

mentioned DU. I stay because of the information I can find here and because I know if we put our minds to it we can indeed move mountains.

[leftyclimber]

126. I moved back from Canada in early 2003

not fully realizing exactly how batshitcrazy this country had become. I'd moved there in 1996 for a job, gotten married, and ended up in the middle of an acrimonious divorce -- acrimonious enough that I didn't feel safe staying in the same country as my ex.

I'd watched the Canadian news broadcasts about Hans Blix and no WMD and various and sundry other tidbits indicating that Bush was nuttier than a fruitcake to invade Iraq, but I didn't realize the effect it had had on the culture here.

So when I came back to what I thought was my country and found jingoistic bumper stickers all over the place and Fox News (which I had honest to God never seen before) and the "love it or leave it" mentality come back home to roost, I was flabbergasted. And lost. Somewhere between my leaving and returning the America I remembered had gone away. Completely.

I flailed around for awhile, out of work, broke. I finally gave up and moved back in with my parents, which at 31 was a bitter pill to swallow. Especially because my dad is the worst kind of freeper -- the kind that has been sold down the river by a bunch of guys that keep dangling the rich-guy dream just out of his grasp and he keeps buying it in case some day he becomes just like them. I had to keep my mouth shut.

Fortunately for me Air America had just come into my listening area and I'd started hanging out at the Randi Rhodes site, flinging desperate electrons at people who thought like I did, and even more fortunately, one day Randi's site went down.

The site admins posted a link to DemocraticUnderground to hold people over through the chaos.

I became a religious lurker. Every day. Several times a day. Through khephra's passing, through Andy's passing, through the 2004 primaries and general election, through the hell of it all, the electrons from DU kept me thinking that maybe America hadn't gone off the deep end. That may be it had been here all along.

One day I worked up the nerve. I created a screen name. And I said hello to the other electrons out there.

And you guys gave me sanctuary, an expatriate in my own country.

I cannot thank you enough.

Thank you, fellow electrons.

[Political_Junkie]

141. Man, that must have been scary.

To come back at that time and see the changes. I know it was scary living here through it, but I think that would have freaked me out for sure!

[leftyclimber]

154. I've never really reassimilated.

And I was on antianxiety medication for quite some time.

It was definitely weird and scary.

Hopefully there's only another week of that, then things can start to get back to "normal."

[Political_Junkie]

191. Normal would be nice,

though I hope for something better than that. :)

[PM Martin]

127. I found DU in late 2003.

I did not join until 2 years later. I had a lot of things to do.

[eridani]

128. August 2003

I was doing internet advocacy for Kucinich, and ran into DU somewhere or another. I hadn't worked for any candidate since Clean for Gene in 1968, was loosely affiliated with the Green Party, and mainly was an issue junkie, universal health care in particular. I joined local Dem organizations, and realized that you almost always get better policy from Democrats. Greens aren't really interested in party building, and besides direct issue advocacy I've come to realize that it really does matter who holds public office.

I stayed for the wide range of wonky expertise and the ability to be up to date on just about anything. I like the bulletin board format--way too hard to find stuff on Kos IMO. Just the other day we had a very useful rap on HDTV from someone in the industry. If personal or professional knowledge applies to a topic, people jump right in--from the standpoint of pilots, people who know the capabilities of all kinds of technology, emergency room docs, translators of Japanese--whatever you need to know it seems like somebody on the board can give you the right info.

[tekisui]

129. I had passed through in late 2006. During the gonzo hearings,

I became hooked. I have been here daily since. I have walked away pissed off. I have walked away inspired. I have walked away empowered. I have walked away educated and corrected. I have walked away humbled. I have walked away vindicated. I have walked away, but always walked back.

I love you, all. Sometimes you drive me nuts, but there is no group that I would rather spend time in conversation with. Thank you, DU.

[Political_Junkie]

192. LOL

"I have walked away pissed off. I have walked away inspired. I have walked away empowered. I have walked away educated and corrected. I have walked away humbled. I have walked away vindicated. I have walked away, but always walked back." - Think we can all relate to that!

[DeSwiss]

130. Yes, thank you.

You don't realize it, but DU helped me maintain my sanity during the worst of the W years.

- Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!



K&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Richardo]

131. 2002 - I googled "democrats" at work and came across democrats.com....

...they had a link to bartcop which had a link to Top 10 Conservative Idiots. That hooked me - you just didn't see the GOP being mocked in 2002...

[Lugnut]

132. I've been here since 2001.

I'm not sure exactly when other than it was fairly early in DU's existence. It's been a wild ride.

[Political_Junkie]

133. Came for news at first.

My sister was living in San Diego at the time. That year there were a lot of wildfires. One particular day they were on all sides of the city and we lost touch with her. I came to DU that night to see if there was any news of the fires and was relieved to find San Diego DUers giving constant updates on the situation out there! Helped me through a very rough night! My sister called in the morning to let us know she was safe. I became a DUer the next day.
I know for a fact I would not have made it through King George without DU, not sane, at least. Assuming I'm still sane...

[Jackpine Radical]

134. Spring or summer 2001--got here via democrats.com iirc.

Been hanging around ever since, and have been responsible for 21,000 posts or so. I keep thinking--at an average of only 10 words per post, that's 200,000 words. Migod, if I'd focused my attention more productively, I could have had a couple of book manuscripts by now.

[puebloknot]

135. "Understanding Life" gave me my name and invited me here ...

... after we had a conversation at Truthout.com about organizing a "day of rest"! Well, you get it -- kind of like Gandhi and all those people being lazy and unproductive in India, just before the British got the message and got the hell out!!!!

Others here joined the effort but, alas, we didn't get too many people who were willling to be lazy enough to stop the wheels of tyranny in the U.S. of A.

That was back in 2005, about a year after Dubya declared "Mission Accomplished."

Pueblo Knot???? I remembered a story about the Pueblo Revolt in Northern New Mexico, wherein runners took knotted ropes to the various pueblos and when the last knot was un-knotted, the day had arrived for an uprising to overthrow the Spanish. It worked ... for a time.

I still think we need some knotted ropes -- at least metaphorical ones -- in this country, but of the Nuremberg kind -- "and that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain" -- from Iraq to New Orleans to every corner of the globe where people are suffering.

Thanks, UL, for luring me here! And thanks to all those here who bother to post from the heart, and occasionally from less-elevated parts of the anatomy! :)

What keeps me here is the well-informed writers who help me to understand WTF is happening to my beloved country. Without them, I would find it very difficult to sift through all the propaganda thrown at us daily and come up with something resembling Truth!!!

[farmbo]

137. A stolen election...a corrupt Supreme Court... and 100,000 friends!

That's what brought me to DU.

:bounce:

[uppityperson]

138. I was thinking of the guys earlier today while driving home.

Thanks guys for having this place!

I found it through I don't know which other website, a week or 2 before the Kerry/bush election. I've met some good people, argued with some good, some not so good, some trolls.

Next week will be amazing. Thank you guys for keeping this place open, thank you all who have participated and helped work together, support each other, and get through the last 8 yrs of mess. Now there is a chance to slow the destruction down.

Thanks S,E,E and all.

[mahina]

139. I found DU while searching for real news that was completely missing in the MSM.

It's still a great place to find out what's going on. It's become a community of sorts, with a huge range of expertise on an infinite number of issues. Take a look at the questions we come here to ask. There is a level of trust established by many.

The 01 innauguration was mourned here in front of the Federal building, with painfully obvious FBI guys taking pictures of us, not for the last time as it turned out. (Brah, if you're going to wear shorts, here's a tip: loose the shiny black shoes and socks.)


In the last 8 years, my family has marched in peace marches together, worked on campaigns together, and my community of Democrats here and on the continent has grown like I could never have imagined.

But I'm still here because when you turn on the TV news, unless it's Bill Moyers, it's still bullshit.

Thanks DU. Thanks Skinner, et al. Aloha.

[raventattoo]

140. I started lurking

in 2004, some months before the election. I was just certain the Kerry must win and could not conceive how anyone could consider voting for dumbfuck. I even did some neighborhood work for my local democratic candidates that year here in Houston.
Like others here, I found DU from googling and would occasionally read Top 10 Conservative Idiots. It always gave me a laugh and made me feel better. Less alone here in Texas.
I was just crushed like everyone else here waking up the morning after the 2004 election. I avoided politics altogether until the approaching 2006 elections, and of course could not help myself from becoming interested again in early 2007 with the candidates Biden (my first choice), Obama, and Clinton. I came back to the boards in late 2007, I think, and felt I had finally come home. I remember learning many of the screen names that I loved reading like Frenchiecat and NanceGregs.

Early on, I sent a question to the moderators on what "K and R " meant and it was Skinner who replied. Geez, how many 10s or 100s of thousands of members, and I get a response from The Skinner? Yes, I am not worthy...

I've told this story before, but prior to the 2000 election, I was at a group birthday party here in Houston, sitting beside some people I did not know when the election came up. I was (naively) dumbfounded to hear these people were voting for dipshit. After a polite debate, the most vocal individual raised his voice to me "how could you not vote for him, he is our governor!" at which point I looked him right in the eye with a backdownyoumotherfucker look and said, "Are you joking? I didn't vote for him for governor!"

Makes me feel so much better inside to tell that story.

Thanks all and HAPPY F_ING BIRTHDAY DU!!!!!

[The_Casual_Observer]

142. Background & commentary on the run up to the Iraq war brought me here.

There were actually arguments in those days around here as to whether or not jr was telling the truth about the whole thing, cause if he were lying he'd never get reelected.

Being able to take a sort of public stand & say that the liquid bomber thing was utter shit and other unpopular remarks has kept me here for years.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

143. Dry humor, pissed offedness, amazing insights and brilliant minds brought me here...

but it's the sex threads and kudzu discussion that has me hopelessly enchanted :smoke:

[TrogL]

144. Blame it all on Free Republic

Anything they hated that much must be good.

Now it's an addiction.

[Hekate]

145. I thought I was losing my mind. Hundreds, then thousands, of Santa Barbarians were marching...

... and neither the newspaper nor the tv station deigned to notice. Worse, I KNEW we could not be the only ones in the country taking to the streets to prevent this godforsaken war. But there was nothing, NOTHING, in the MSM.

An old friend of mine who was posting here at the time under the name MaRadix, urged me to go to Democratic Underground.

I finally did, and I'm so glad.

One of the very first things I remember was the DU reportage about a march in Washington DC, complete with pictures showing protestors as far as the eye could see, in the streets for blocks and blocks. The Washington Post said there were "hundreds" -- DUers (including me) emailed the Post and begged to differ. The Post said there were "thousands" -- DUers emailed some more. Finally, the Washington Post admitted there might be some 10,000, which was better than the first lie, but still not as many as I could see with my own eyes in photos posted here.

At its very best, there is nothing quite like DU for eyewitness news and reporting. At its best there is nothing like DU for verifiable research and information you can't find anyplace else. I've learned a great deal.

I'm glad I came to this party when I did.

Hekate

:toast:

[Caliman73]

146. newbie

I guess I am a youngster to DU. Initially I came to DU looking for a forum for a group of liberal and moderate Democratic firearms owners. I was really tired of fighting everyone in the right wing forums everyday. I actually rarely visit the gungeon. I started coming to GD and I am hooked. I like the discussions on DU and the educated opinions that most posters display.

[Cetacea]

147. Started lurking during the lead-up to the war

And joined in 2003 or '04. This is actually my second incarnation here as I was TSed after loosing my temper after someone accused me of being a repuke. My mother has just passed away and I grew up in a house where visits from democratic senators and congressmen was a normal occurrence, and my mom was concerned about Kerry loosing on her death bed. Unaware of the rules, I said that some Republicans were probably nicer than him and was rightfully tomb stoned.

DU has been a godsend to me. I still have a major problem with internet forum hostility
in general, but here on DU the wit, concern, generosity, and feeling of community is second to none and I feel eternally thankful to Skinner and EarlG and others who created this beacon of sanity in a truly insane time.

[tishaLA]

148. Mediawhoresonline directed me here

Somehow, but I don't quite remember the exact circumstances. I do remember that it was several months before the recall election in CA and I felt like I needed a place to save my sanity because the California media was definitely not helping. And the invasion of Iraq had already happened, but the mainstream media managed to silence the voices in opposition to that, too.

This seems like a world away from that low moment of Schwarzenegger's ascendancy and Bush's hegemony, even though the stain remains.

[Uben]

149. A safe haven

Like everyone else back in 2001, I came here to co-miserate with my fellow dems. I was so tired of the gloating republican bastards on every board on the internet, this place was heaven! I guess it just kinda caught on, cuz I have been here ever since!

[orleans]

150. found du after kerry--feeling so low, depressed, the country was in

a mass political suicide and i couldn't shake it--i couldn't get over it or MOVE ON. i think i saw a link on democrats.com (but i could be mistaken)

thank god for democraticunderground. it has been a saving grace during the darkest hours of my fucking life.

[zeemike]

151. January 20 2001

I was watching C-Span because they were covering the protesters in their "free speech zone" and I saw a young man holding up a sign saying Democratic underground.com and that caught my attention because of the underground part...it reminded me of Weather Underground of the past and I was feeling very radical at the stolen election.
so I went to my tube machine and typed it in my browser and was hooked.
I lurked for a while but I have been here ever sense although I sometime take a break from posting.
And BTW Will you were the first poster that I remember that really impressed me, but since then there have been too many to number.
Du has become my main source for news for the last eight years and thanks to Skinner EarlG and Elad for all they have done to make this an excellent site...And to all the wonderful people that have made this the place to be.

[bigbrother05]

152. Salon's old forums, then the Horse

Democrats.com during the 2000 elections. After the cluster f*** in Dec 2000 had to find a place to keep current. Lurked for a long while and couldn't help but join in after 2004.

[DUlover2909]

153. Top 10 Conservative Idiots, Bob Boudelang, and Hate Mailbag

:toast: :party: :bounce:

[machI]

155. I'll tell you what brought me here

My boss the freeper bragged at work about all the bad things he learned about Democrats by reading DU.

So I checked out Democratic Underground my self, and never left. I love this place (and my boss hates it.)

[scardycat]

156. I came here in 2004..

after the election. I was on Senator Kerry's forum and they were closing it down and someone from that site gave me the link to this forum. I was in shock for like 3 months. I thought for sure we were going to win. I was heart broken and found others who were just like me. Thanks DU!!

[tom_paine]

157. Arrived March 2001, after Googling "Bush stole the election" idly, totally unaware

that the magic series of Interubes had changed the world forever already by then I'm SERIES!!11!1!11

I cannot remember the exact connection, but my first 4 finds were Buzzflash, Bartcop, an old long-defunct but excellent blog called Coup2k.com, and Democratic Underground, in no particular order.

The trolls almost outnumbered actual DUers in those early days, we were so few.

What brought me here was despondence at being one of the very very VERY few who grasped the full implications of the Stolen Election of 2000, and idly Googling, out of that despair for our great nation and what travesty and treasonous tragedy had just befallen it.

What keeps me here and what makes this place so special for me are one and the same: DU is one of the smartest, most conscious websites around, and has one of the highest "REAL Shit"/Bullshit ratios on the web.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

204. Tons of firing neurons here.

:fistbump:

[ProfessorGAC]

158. Good Post Will

And let me extend my thanks to the guys, as well. Great job boys!

I heard Skinner on Washington Journal on a weekend morning when they were doing phone interviews with website admins. I liked what i heard and checked the website out. Signed up the first day.

I think that was around mid=February of 2000. My ID# is 4893, so i've been 'round these parts for quite a while.

I'm still here because i find it interesting; in-fighting and all!
GAC

[connecticut yankee]

159. Believe it or not

I found DU by way of Lucianne.com

I had been reading it since mid-2000 (and seething at everything) and someone mentioned DU. It must have been early 2001. So I looked it up and have been a faithful reader (and occasional poster) ever since.

Couldn't begin my day without DU.

[gademocrat7]

160. I came to DU in 03.

It has been my source for news and views.

[mod mom]

161. Came to advertise the "Fight for Democracy Rally" after '04 Election Theft in Ohio

Some activists in Colorado recommended posting on DU to get draw more attention to what occurred. For the 1st year I think I never wandered outside the Election forum (which was quite hopping in those days and was listed as a major forum).I had been limited to being an activist with hardly ever going online. I became addicted. :blush: I especially enjoy following hearings/trials with others on DU. the humor helps to keep me sane.

I have learned some much on DU thanks to some excellent individuals dedicated to expose what has occurred in this country!

:hi:

[malaise]

162. I saw the DU link on another site

days before the 2004 elections. I lurked for a while and then signed up. Like other DUers, I was stunned when Kerry lost.
I love DU. :grouphug:

[Lemonwurst]

163. My low post count doesn't tell my story

Ref'd here by a work associate, probably just before or after the 2002 mid-term elections. He knew from before then that I was politically aware, and that we were on the same page that way.

He sent me to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots, and I never looked back. I'll never hit the 1000+ post mark (just not my style), but I check in here every day - and I do mean every day - to start my online news gathering process.

I'm also a donor when expenditures permit. DU is a very valuable service to many, and I'm grateful to all the mods and many of those who post regularly, and with such skill.

[Generic Other]

164. been reading your stuff ever since!

The one positive note of the whole Bush years has been meeting so many fine people here on DU!!

To all the arguments, rants, bitch sessions, laughs, tears, etc!

CHEERS for our survival through it all!

[pleah]

165. Late bloomer, here. I didn't have a computer until 2007.

Started out going to the Newshole, then Crooks and Liars, and found DU through them. I was so happy to find people like me. I thought I was alone in my thoughts on Bushit and co.. Feels like home.
Join in Nov. 07.


:hi:

[peacetalksforall]

166. I was on from before 9-11, I remember posting, I had been on a user forum on

one of the big corporate networks that announced they were closing down and someone suggested DU. I think.

Thanks everyone for what I've learned, confirmed, and digested so that I could teach others.

A grand thanks to those who run DU - and continually perfect something already perfect (except for one thing).

I marvel at and thank the contributors to DU - there is always someone who is expert at something who can stop runaway speculation with insight of written quotes or links. Whether law, history, science, insider knowledge, just plain exquisite chear thinking and gems from the heart that help us see and know more clearly. I like the way some people artfully correct others.

DU has been the best counter to Rove's reverse and absurd reality campaign and voo-doo.

My instincts tell me that our Dem leaders don't appreciate what goes on here. If I were one of them, I would get an intern or paid staffer to monitor it for their own edification AND KNOWLEDGE as proven whenever you hear one of them say they didn't know something we had already learned, investigated, analyzed, and for the most part, adopted as the real truth.

(The exception to perfection is not knowing which site links are prohibited and not understanding why.)

Thanks, Will, for this chance to say thanks.

[Bluzmann57]

167. Saw a link

for the "top ten" list, read it, laughed uproariously, lurked for a while, and joined. Have donated and am, going to again shortly, and have posted many many times, mostly drivel I suppose. More importantly, I have learned a great deal during my time here at DU. Thanks everyone!

[Connie_Corleone]

168. I found DU by way of Freerepublic.

I kept seeing "DU" being mentioned. Someone over there finally posted the website address and here I've been since 2002. I joined in 2004 after the primary fight was over.

I only lurked at freerepublic for breaking news. I don't lurk over there at all now. That place is filth.

[Voltaire]

169. I got here in August 2001

A mutual friend of mine and Khephra sent me a link. They knew I was rabidly anti-Bush and needed a place to vent.

I've had an opportunity to meet a few DUers, both here in Indianapolis and I remember a really great time the weekend of the opening of the Republican Convention in New York. Will Pitt and Lynne Sin made their famous bunny suit bet on the Superbowl that year I do believe. I also met a good many folk including Skinner, who came out here for Khephra's funeral. Good on all of them for making the trip.

This has been a refuge in a time of insanity. It will need to remain so. We are not out of the woods yet, and the hard work is only beginning. If we want to see progressive change, we are the ones who will have to make it happen. Sitting and bitching will no longer suffice.

Thank you everyone for giving me a place to go and a place to share and a place to vent. The last 8 years have SUCKED to put it mildly. But as exasperating as we can be to each other at different times, it has never sucked here. Give yourselves a round of applause because for now, we have survived George W. Bush.

Voltaire,
An Original Ten-Percenter (you old timers will remember what that is)

[LeftishBrit]

171. 2004; was looking up something to do with the 2000 election and got a link here

I joined just to lurk. Then Skinner started the UK forum, which I still consider as my main home, and I mainly posted just there till 2006. Then I started posting in lots of places.

Although I'm British I have family and friends in America, and am generally interested in international politics - and in the disastrous way that Bush has influenced the world. I am so glad he's going.

[BarbaRosa]

172. I was hanging out at a place called TurnLeft.

At the time TL had a pretty lively forum.

I found DU while surfing for other Liberal websites, but didn't start hanging out here until TL faded away.

TurnLeft had a much more relaxed set of rules concerning letting the freeps hang around and add(?) to the discussion, and as tends to happen when the right shows up the garbage started to pile mighty high, until it got so polluted it couldn't work any more.

Thank you Mods for keeping the riff raff out of DU. :yourock:

[Redneck Socialist]

173. I followed a link from somewhere. Don't even remember where now.

Almost immediately I noticed that someone has posted something wrong. I signed up in order to point out their errors. :P (Hey, I was relatively new to teh internets. I got over it.)

What keeps me here? Well, DU runs about twelve to twenty four hours ahead of the news cycle, which is cool, so that, and the Lounge.

[underpants]

174. Bob Boudelang, Auntie Pinko, OR the freepers blasting away at one of your articles

The Auntie Pinko question was "Do people think they are richer if they vote Republican?" something like that.

I read the Free Republic because I didn't know that there were other options.

Finally they were just going off on one of your articles so I thought, "Well he must be doing something right" and in the freep thread there was a link to the DU. I joined in October of 2001 but didn't really start posting until November or December, mostly in the Lounge because it was "safer" than having my ass handed to me in GD or elsewhere...I got over that.

[alcibiades_mystery]

175. First came here August 2001

Been here under various guises ever since.

[jus_the_facts]

177. June 2002....link from Buzzflash....

:fistbump:

[ScreamingMeemie]

178. PassingFair made me.

Actually we attempted to register several times during one of the registration shutdowns in 2003. It kept me sane in 2004 (Except for the part where I moderated during the primaries) and provided me with information, friends, and a few enemies.

On a personal note, the outpouring of (what cynical me thought to be) genuine, love, hurt, support and caring upon the loss of a man who was my entire life still stuns me to this day. and keeps me here... To argue, agree and carry on.

[pipi_k]

179. After the 2000 elections, I was really really pissed off and

started reading every AntiBush site I could find. At some point, I came upon the weekly Ten Conservative Idiots link and read that, then it was the wisdom of Bob Boudelang that had me cracking up (gosh I miss him!!!!) and I was reading a lot of what Nance Greggs and you were writing.

It made me feel a whole lot better.

I lurked here for a few years before finally becoming a member in 2007.

Even after becoming a member, it took me a while to post anything...mostly because it was kind of intimidating to be among a whole lot of really intelligent people. I was afraid I'd sound like a fool...but one day I took a chance, and the next, and the next, until finally I feel like a real member here now.

So even though I was lurking for far longer than I've been posting, coming here has made life under Bush far more tolerable. And entertaining. And informative.

My thanks to all who made this site possible, and who give so much of themselves each day to keep it going...

:)

[slackmaster]

180. I'm here for revenge

Served cold.

[central scrutinizer]

182. first read about DU on MediaWhoresOnline

That was my internet sanctuary until it folded up. Lurked here for a while then signed up early in 2002. I still miss MWO.

[The Wizard]

183. I don't remember how I got here

but it was the top Ten Conservative Idiots that made me return, and I lurked for about two years.
DU has been a place to find sanity (most of the time) in the climate of official insanity coming from the nation's capital. It's been a source of information that is usually two days ahead of the corporate media if the corporate media reports anything worthwhile at all.
It's also a great source of comic relief with thoughtful, witty, sarcasm laced contributions that I spread through my address book.
It also helps keep my blood pressure lower than it was after the Supreme Court's ceding democracy to fascism on December 12, 2000.
And I get use terms like motherfucker, scumbag, and shit eating punk as long as the word Republican precedes them.

[byronius]

184. After the 2004 election, I went looking for election fraud statistics.

I found TIA. And The Top Ten. And William Pitt. And that's just it.

[The Doctor.]

185. Hate Mailbag. Some doofus claimed 'DU are traitors' because of a post on the site;

"Top Ten things to do at Wal-Mart when you're S/O is shopping"

So I looked it up, found it in the HMB, and was hooked. Finally found a place where reality took priority.

[Tikki]

186. I've been here since 2002.....

I had been trying to debate (if you could call it that) with the Boosh love-fest
crowd on a generic bulletin board.

They kept crying about what Al Gore would have done as President...I kept telling them
it would be a whole lot better than what is coming down the pike with *Bu--sh--.

Finally, someone on that Bulletin Board posted that all the * lovers should go to
Freereps...and all the pinko, commie Liberals ;-) should go to Democraticunderground.com

Well, I headed over to DU...here I found smart, concerned, dedicated and fun people...and here I stayed/will stay.

Thank you ((((EVERYONE)))) here on DU.

Tikki

[Froward69]

188. lets see

the day after the fifth anniversary of 9-11-01.
I leaned left during G.dubyas selection. 2000
My hard left took place during the drama imposed by a "small town" republican controlled court. Tried to run roughshod over my fathers last wishes and his estate. (2004-2006)

[Pab Sungenis]

189. I came here in the aftermath of the 2002 midterms.

My first contributed headline article (back in the days before the blog-type setup, when you had to submit articles for consideration) was in the spring of 2003, "The Republicans Aren't Working."

[.... callchet ....]

190. Worst conditions ever.

I see the worst economic, human rights and political conditions ever taking place. I am trying to get my position in order to make a move and help change everything.

[WilliamPitt]

194. .

[HCE SuiGeneris]

205. KandreComMend

this thread if...

[mahina]

196. I had forgotten that moment that I saw the Democratic Underground banner on CSPAN.

I remember that moment, and how happy I was to find this place. Thanks for reminding me Will.

[LanternWaste]

197. I showed up sometime in '01....

I showed up sometime in '01. I'm pretty sure it was pre-9/11, but I can't remember it that clearly (it *was* pre-9/11-- I just remembered that one of the first discussions I was involved in on DU was re: the Do Not Call Registry which preceded 9/11).

I can't remember what specific link or search brought me here, but my very first DU page read was the Bob Boudelang "column" (and yeah-- I *still* miss good old B.B.).

I hate to say it, but I kinda think we've devolved into a "who's smarter/more liberal than who" pissing contest (with those advertising their intelligence the loudest coming across as not-so-intelligent and just loud). So it's really only a few posters that keep me here-- one or two that I actually consider "friends", another handful that I do consider very bright, and another handful that I consider good reading.

LBN keeps me here. Good, good stuff. Along with my first smoke and my first cuppa joe, the day just isn't the same w/o it. It's interesting to observe the takes and interpretations a story may get too.

[johnnie]

198. Been lurking here since 1982

Was going to join in 1987 but couldn't think of a name to go by. I was going to go by Johnnie, but didn't like it. I finally hit on "johnnie" in 2003 and it stuck.

But seriously, I signed up in 2003 right before "shock and awwwwwwwww". I was pissed and it seemed that the whole friggin' Country was backing the moron and I was frustrated. I was clicking around the internets one night and typed in something like "bush is a fucking asshole" and DU popped up. I joined.....

[proud patriot]

200. I got here about 2 weeks after you did William

Great thread


What brought you here?



I had never approached a computer before the stolen election
fiasco . I thought I was alone and angry in my outrage . At bush's
first inauguration I saw this sign DEMOCRATICUNDERGROUND.COM while
watching all the patriotic protesters throw eggs at the limo .


Finally a few months after the inauguration I stepped up to the computer
and typed in "I hate bush" into whatever search engine I used . I found
hated.com and that place with the sign that I saw was where I first stopped .



What keeps you here?

Friends, my love of politics and current events

What makes DU special for you?

I've been able to contribute to the cause of defending the Constitution .
I've Learned how to be a better person through friends and acquaintances
here. This is where I learned how to participate in action that truly make
a difference in this world .

[xxqqqzme]

201. A good friend sent me the link

in March 2002. I was not a lurker. I signed up right away. I was relieved to find a place where other people felt like I did. It took me a while to understand what a freeper was; BFEE; LIHOP as well as all the other anagrams. DU got me away from my computer and out into the streets protesting an illegal invasion. I was here when we all first learned how to truly spell 'moran'. I was fortunate to meet Andy & Will & other DUers in DC for the electoral vote in '05. Andy was not feeling well then. We have lost some caring, thoughtful, wonderful, intelligent, insightful members in the last 8 years.

Speaking of intelligent members - does anyone have an update on symbolman?

[andlor]

202. 2001!

Thank You All.

[WilliamPitt]

206. One last bump

[shanine]

207. I found DU the morning after the '04 election

I thought I had lost my mind when I woke up and realized what happened. I can't recall exactly what I googled, but
whatever it was led me to something of yours, William, which immediately brought me here. This place was so big I didn't even realize all the different forums, I stayed on the Election Reform forum for a long time.
I have been here ever since for at least 2 - 4 hours a day.
Thanks DU and thank you Mr. Pitt!!
:yourock:

[MikeH]

209. I first heard of DU as it came online, and registered and started posting in 2002

I seem to remember discovering DU right as it came online in January 2001; at least I am pretty certain it was January. I discovered it along with a number of other liberal/progressive/Democratic web sites all about the same time. I do not remember how I specifically came to find DU.

Throughout most of 2000 I had been following the web site of People for the American Way. They had warned about the kind of Supreme Court justices * would pick if he were elected, versus the kind of Supreme Court justices Gore would pick if he were elected. (As it turned out, * was NOT elected, but he became the pResident anyway, and appointed a couple of bad Supreme Court justices that PFAW had warned about.) I think I followed links from them and came to discover other progressive web sites.

I liked, and still like, the informative articles and the informed discussion here at DU. I lurked here for a year, but was nervous about posting on a public message board. I realized that every once in a while I had something to say, and overcame my nervousness and registered in April 2002, and made my first post on May 1, 2002 (I think I can find it in the archives), and have been here ever since.

I like both the political and other serious discussion, and the fun and informality and "letting our hair down" at the lounge.

I am not one of the most frequent posters here; in almost 7 years I have a little over 900 posts, while others have thousands and tens of thousands of posts. In real life I am not an outgoing person, and am not given to small talk or banter (as seen in the lounge), and am often one of the least talkative people when I am with a group of people. And I am not the best person for keeping up with and analyzing the latest current happenings; I am glad that there are other people who do that. However every once in a while I have something to say and I like to say it, and I like the chance to do so provided here at DU.

As it turns out, some of my posts do have to do with politics and current happenings, but most of my posts, especially in recent years, have been about religion and religious issues, and sharing personal things about myself.

I particularly have strong negative feelings about fundamentalist Christianity and fundamentalist Christians. There is one fundamentalist Christian who posts in the Religion/Theology forum; he might be considered to be DU's resident fundamentalist Christian. A lot of my posts in R/T have been responses to him, in which I answer him and clarify my own thoughts about Christianity and the Bible, and issues having to do with fundamentalist Christianity in particular.

I like to share personal things about myself, including a few odd things, and also a few jokes and puns. (I had a grandfather who told a lot of very bad puns, and I inherited that from him.) I like having the Lounge, so that I can share personal things, as well as have serious discussions.

I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of DUer's at DU gatherings here in Southern California. One of the most notable of these was Teena, who had the screen name of nothingshocksmeanymore, who unfortunately got involved in a nasty love triangle with a couple of other DU members and was tombstoned. I miss her. She set up the first DU gathering which I attended at Laguna Beach in October 2002. Another notable person I have been very fortunate to meet is the very gracious California Peggy.

One very special feature for me is the DU Journals, which were introduced in early 2006. I have been able to put all of my "best" posts in my journal. I have shared the link to my journal with friends and some relatives (not any who are conservative leaning!), and have linked to my DU journal on other web sites on which I post. I also had an entry about me in a college alumni newsletter (actually booklet) in which I indicated I posted on DU and had a journal on DU. And I have a link to my DU journal on the web site of my high school graduating class.

[SpiralHawk]

210. "I joined DU to defend my good name. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

[WilliamPitt]

211. .

[City of Mills]

212. Joined after the 2004 reselection

Needed to reach out and find other rational human beings...been here ever since!

[CraftyGal]

213. Trogl introduced me back in 2006.

I have learnt so much here. Thank you for a chance to be here and to learn.

CraftyGal

[blue_roses_lib]

214. Lurker stepping out of the shadows

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. It still makes me weepy. In my life, I can think of 4 other times that I have been that filled with emotion.

I can't remember how I ended up here at DU the first time a couple of years ago, but I started coming here for solace and support this August, the day after McCain announced my lousy gov as his running mate. Guuuhh, the horror.

Glad to be here!

:hi: :woohoo:

[EFerrari]

215. All the significant information I got about the 2004 election Troubles

came from DU. So, one day I stopped reading all the other boards that were reposting DU threads and came here directly. I only read the ER forum for months, at that. :)

[sandnsea]

216. April 2003. To Organize To Arrest Bush & Cheney

For war crimes.

I've got the letters to prove it.

Funny how life works.