For relative DU newbies; what inspired you to seek out this place?

[babylonsister]

I know you're out there! I'm happy to see so many new faces, but wonder what was the final straw, or has it been gradual?
Are you angry, worried, happy, what, and why?:hi:

[dave502d]

1. For me it was the Right Wing Press in 2000.

[Maat]

2. I'm an oldie ..

but am really curious to see the responses.

I joined two years ago!

My driftward left began around 1990, when I began my work in social work, mental health, and psychology.

Encountering REALITY changes a person's perception but good.

[sweetheart]

60. oldie newbie too

i'm just here, how're you?
No i'm old treat me dead,
like some wood under your head,
Coffin soon too like a bed,
And would that they instead,
be not affected by the cred,
of that old one soon to be dead
not that one is better though,
but rather as time goes
the culture listens to the skin
tighter naked pubic zones
not to care the old ones go,
and after half a lifetime of
time for culture of some love.

:-)

[castiron]

3. Election night, 2004

I was excited for Kerry to win. I BOUGHT a television and some beer and settle in for some retribution for the 2000 election, a night I remember for its disillusionment and disappointment. I had spent months reading Salon and the liberal press who had pumped me so thoroughly with optimism. I had no doubts it would be a big win: maybe a landslide. The next thing you know I was checking the precinct returns from my home town in Ohio, waiting for them to come in, knowing they'd be a big Kerry win: they were all from Toledo and Cleveland and Columbus. You know the rest of the story.

[babylonsister]

9. I feel your pain; I finally joined DU Sept. 04 after reading a lot, and

prior to the election. I got so much encouragement from the internet(s) despite the crap on the corp. media channels.
Kerry had it in the bag! And the night digressed; I received several sympathy calls from friends and family.
:-(

[Breeze54]

4. I've been a registered member here for

more than a year or so...at least since 2004...
before the S-election...
but I've been on another political website mostly.
That was:
More militant.
More angry.
More demonstrative.
I didn't like the format here...
I had more choices 'over there'.
But this place is crowded so that's understandable,
as far as html and signatures but it doesn't retain
a posting history here which I don't like.
Also I lost my registration info and password here
and kept forgetting to ask for another one.
I couldn't remember what e-mail addy I used
to register here but Skinner found it for me!
I'm a member of many political messageboards
and I'm a host and moderator on at least two! lol
I just found the actual board setup at the other boards
easier to navigate and I felt at home there.
But I've always 'lurked' here off and on! lol

[Skittles]

36. good to have you here, Breeze

:hi:

[bananas]

50. Curious what other boards you read

Sometimes it gets too moderate here for me.
Welcome to DU :hi:

[tool_of_the_people]

5. For me it was a couple of things...

It's nice to have like-minded people to commiserate with as well as to celebrate the few victories that we've seen lately. I find myself biting my tongue so much at work because of all of the conservative lemmings I work with.
Also, a few of my friends post here as well and have been telling me to check it out. I don't know of another place where one can get so much political info so quickly.
:hi: to all my new friends.

[Skittles]

7. well it's about freaking time you got here, tool

:hi:

[tool_of_the_people]

14. The original slacker.

Guilty as charged.

[Breeze54]

11. Welcome! There are a

lot of messageboards like this one!
But :hi: back at ya!
I, also, was soooooo happy to find a place
that had people that thought like me!
Especially after the S-election catastrophe!!

[cally]

Could you suggest a few other message boards?

I've found a few that I like but I prefer this format. I'm always interested in learning about new ones. :hi:

[Breeze54]

39. I sent you a pm...

[yellowdogmi]

87. come on share with the whole class. please eom

[castiron]

15. hi there!

talk conservative lemmings... I live in Texas, where liberals run as Rebublicans, lest they lose even bigger. Welcome to DU, though I'm a newbie myself.

[babylonsister]

17. Backatcha, tool.......... I'm glad you're here! nt

[CrazyOrangeCat]

19. Greetings!

I like yer avatar.

Everyone should start visualizing ole numbnuts behind bars!

:yourock:

[tool_of_the_people]

21. Thanks

I'm thinking of duct taping a couple of vertical bars on my TV for the SOTU on Tuesday night. Might be a little more enjoyable.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

27. HA !!!

:spray:

[bigwillq]

34. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[guidod]

47. I got tired of spouting off

at my inlaws, they're all repukes except for my wife. She's slowly coming around. All the yelling was making me crazy.

[GrumpyGreg]

6. As an older person I find it astonishing that I can come here any time ot

the day or night and find someone who thinks like me.

I rarely start threads but have learned a great deal by reading what people far more knowledgable than I am have to say.

I'm angry because I fear for my grandchildren,especially with the outsourcing,loss of unions, and the large multinationals that are running this country.

I worry less than I used to,because I've lived through a lot and I have to have hope to survive mentally.

I will continue to try to remain optimistic.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

8. Wow, Uncle Sam is gettin' freaky . . .

;)

Angry, but delighted to have found this place.

To be honest, I just happened on the place in mid-November.

I was sitting here getting chuckles, typing stuff like, "Fuck Bush", "Cheney is Satan", stuff like that into Google. Hysterical shit was coming up--bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc.

Well, I think there was a hit about Snarlin' Dick, that came from the inimitable Mr. "Bush_Eats_Beef", here on DU.

The rest is history.

My funny, ornery, liberal mother died of cancer on New Years Day, and though I have friends and relatives that have been with me every step of the way, DU has been a tremendous blessing. I can go online anytime day or night, have a pleasant rant with someone a thousand miles away . . . it's great! Y'all are funny and smart and kind. I blow off a lot of steam, feel like I'm in on a revolution that's been overdue for a long time, and really, I have learned so damned much here . . .

Y'all rock!

Crazy Cat

:hi:

[babylonsister]

18. I probably should lose Unka Sam, eh?

I 'happened' on DU looking for snarky jokes for a repug I knew/know. www.AllHatNoCattle.com introduced me. The longer I was on here, the more I learned, the angrier I got.
I remember you recently for yelling at everyone to get off cable news; I still watch/listen, but it's getting really bad, so you were correct, but I also plan on being around when they change their tune.
My very heartfelt sympathies to you for the loss of your mom. Been there, so know how difficult it is.
Take care, COC!
:hi:

[CrazyOrangeCat]

22. Thanks, lady.

And I hope Freaky Uncle Sam shows up every now and then!

Weird times deserve weird graphics, eh?

:freak:

[xiamiam]

10. 2004 election...the research compiled here immediately after the election

helped me to keep my sanity....huge disappointment by the time january rolled around...ive always lurked since then...i love du....i check in several times during the day...and some of the members rant and speak my mind for me, and for some reason i feel better...and even though i dont know any of you, im glad you're here...thanks...

[babylonsister]

16. Awww, that IS what's great about DU! Opinions you share

you can read here or rant against. It's usually all good.
Stay long enough, you just might meet some DUers. I've met a few, and they're even better in person!

[Chevy]

12. For News

Since all the cable networks have been blocked in my house

[SPKrazy]

13. I've Read Posts here since 2003

But just joined recently

I've been a Democrat all my adult life as a voter.

I really didn't get interested in politics until I went to grad school in 87.

Since then I've been appalled at how the right wing seems to grab more and more power.

Now I'm past believing that politics is any kind of a "game", I have come to believe that it is a matter of life and death, literally!

I live in a very red state where it is often hard to find like minded individuals (persons to the left of the dial so to speak)

So I enjoy the discussions, and while I don't always agree with everyone, I think that makes it a good discussion.

I think that we Democrats have to find common ground and stick together because the Rove machine would love to split us apart I think.

[babylonsister]

26. None of us agree always; that's what, to me, makes it educational.

We don't walk in lockstep, but inform ourselves! :toast: HAving said that, while we need to find common ground, I don't see Dems agreeing on one candidate for whatever election. Too many opinions, and most valid; it's a big umbrella.
Now the filibuster, that united the Dems! Big, important issues obviously unite us!

[ancient_nomad]

20. Elizabeth Edwards mentioned DU.....

while in Harrisburg, PA. on a campaign stop. I was so disgusted by this administration after 9/11; and then when I realized Bush lied to go to war - that did it for me. I started following the Kerry/Edwards campaign, and then discovered DU by Elizabeth mentioning it. Changed from Republican to Democrat, voted for Kerry, and was totally depressed he lost. I have lurked for a long time - not posting much - but I love it here.

I am an older person, and I have never seen such corruption in our government. I fear for our country, our world, and the future of my children. By god, I want to change things...this cannot be allowed to continue. So, I am here and do what I can.

Thanks for asking. :-)

[babylonsister]

23. The spectrum of ages on DU are encouraging, a_n; I think

we all hope for the same results. I love the fact that Mrs. Elizabeth Edwards turned you on to DU! HAve you seen their X-mas card pic?

[ancient_nomad]

28. Oh yes....

what a wonderful family. Thank you for posting the photo. It is nice to see it again. I am on their e-mail list, and when I see an email from JOHN it gets opened first.:-) Can't tell you how much I admire them, and their fight against poverty. God Bless Elizabeth. I like her so much and was very impressed with her town forum in Harrisburg. What a lady.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

24. That's interesting about Ms. Edwards . . .

. . . I wonder just how many of them are following this board . . .

:hi:

[ancient_nomad]

29. She is a member here...

and I kind of think she might read here off and on. I admire the Edwards' very much.

By the way, welcome to DU.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

31. Thank you, kindly!

:patriot:

[ancient_nomad]

35. You're Welcome.....

During the campaign she posted here, and a couple times after.

[Appalachian_American]

30. me too!

Elizabeth Edwards mentioned it.

[ancient_nomad]

33. It's a small world.....

and we are both here because of Elizabeth. :-)

Welcome to you.

[Lugnut]

86. Hi ancient_nomad!

:hi: I'm in PA and am also a fan of Elizabeth and John. It's good to have you here. :)

[otohara]

89. What Exactly Did She Say About DU?

how did the subject come up!!!

Welcome, love your story - I'm an oldie, after stolen election #1 - I was freaking out - we turned into a 3rd world country overnight. Our president had just bee chosen by a court filled with republican's, they stopped the recount - I was stunned, this was America????

DU was a life saver, still is.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

25. I wrote this cute email "How the Grinch Stole Freedom"

I sent it to a dear ex-girlfriend who runs a non-profit law firm and holds office in New York and she said the far left at DU would love it but most didn't read it because the Seuss story I worked from was pretty long... Still it got lots of votes and i hope made some people here laugh.... After that I was hooked... I've actually made some good log-term true-blue connections here that helped my local Dem Party.

[sproutster]

37. Found during a search for Katrina ...

All I saw everywhere was how stupid "those people" were. It was breaking my heart. One snippit came up with people expressing the same shock and horror I was - And I've been here since.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

40. how about what the tyrant first said?

Remember... right after he brought his sorry ass back from vacation as the rest of America watched the moster stalk a fine city on satelite radar, the fool had the gaul to say "No federal help, we'll let the private sector fix this mess." Of cource Congress disagreed and N.O. got some help... There are still refugees in Alabama and the current Nazi regime is dumping them into the streets before their areas are restored.

[sproutster]

67. That and more...

I am waiting and I believe that huge civil rights violations took place after the after... (after evacs) The story is, they arrested pretty much anyone at random - taken to a prison (unroofed fence and concrete) and their "lawyer" would bundle them all in and their choice is to plead guilty and do community service (can we say slaves?) or wait 3 days before they can go to court.

This is what we can look forward to, and what I believe will happen. Hell it's a great success - we don't hear a peep about it on the news.

[Olney Blue]

83. Glad you took root, sproutster!

:hi:

[Olney Blue]

84. Glad you took root here, sproutster!

[Initech]

32. I first got hooked reading the Conservative Idiots lists

After the link was posted on another message board.

[babylonsister]

43. Wow! So are you a crazy lib now?

:evilgrin:

[Initech]

45. I've been a crazy lib for a long time!

:evilgrin:

[degreesofgray]

38. Right wing jerks on other boards

complaining about DU caused me to come on over and check it out. I figured if this place would cause such apoplexy among such a group of nimrods, then it must be all right:)

[babylonsister]

49. degreesofgray, I love your name, and WELCOME to DU!

:toast:
Bon soir!

[karmaqueen]

41. I have been lurking a long time.

I don't remember exactly how I found DU but it was sometime in late summer 2004. I was so excited to read all the posts and to see there were people in the USA that felt as I did. I joined during one of the fund drives so I could donate. I had a different name back then, I posted a few times but I'm a much better reader than poster.
DU was my only comfort during the swift boating of John Kerry, I would come and read and know that not everyone believed the horrible lies. Election night was a kind of disappointment that I never experienced in my life, again DU and you great people saved my sanity.
My feelings about the so called leadership of the country is that they stole my flag, my God, my American spirit and turned it into a hateful media show. I do not even recognize what America has become. At least my soul is still intact and it wants to fight and scream and get back the Country I love. Justice for all, freedom and truth, all which have been missing but are still within reach with people like all of you fighting the good fight. Thanks to all who come here and still believe!
:yourock:

[CrazyOrangeCat]

42. "They stole my flag, my God, my American spirit . . .

. . . and turned it into a hateful media show."

Methinks you are a tremendous poster . . .

:)

[babylonsister]

44. carolinabeachbum, terrific, and I'm happy you're here!

I have repug brothers in SC and NC, so I'm happy you escaped the baloney that's sold and told, the radio and TV stations that tell the tale that isn't true if they ever thought to go with facts.
You rock for seeing the honesty and recognizing the hypocracy!
And IMO John Kerry has never stopped rocking!

[karmaqueen]

46. babylonsister & CrazyOrangeCat Thanks!

For making me feel welcome! :loveya:

[Tinksrival]

48. *ush pushed me into politics.......

too find someone to replace him after the 2000 nightmare. My search got me online and Wes Clark brought me to the DU in a round about way though the Clark 04 sight. I've been a member since Nov. 2003 and a day hasn't gone by that I don't check on my DU.
Where has the time gone and why is *ush still here??!! :grr:
No one understands my frustration like the DU! :grouphug:

[Atmashine]

51. From a friend from a friend from a petition from a web link...

I think it had something to do with signing some petition from moveon.org, which I visited and then found DU. Just before the 2004 stolen election. Then I lurked for a year, saw the government give everyone the finger during Katrina and joined DU to fight the oppression.

[Hello_Kitty]

52. Not so new but so glad I came

I learn so much here. I always knew I was liberal but often couldn't put my thoughts into words. And we all know how the Righties like to shout you down! Now I can stand my ground because of all the information and insight I get on this board. On a given day I'll follow at least a dozen links provided by intrepid fellow DUers. My bookmarks are overflowing with readily available resources.

I just wish I had time to read all the books I've ordered upon DU recommendations! :cry:

[free4now]

53. 2004 election Ive been lurking every day since

I was so scared afterwords, Just knowing we have no more democracy. And other people to read here let me know I wasn't loosing my mind.

I was very depressed for months, and even walking around at a store or outside you got the feeling everyone was. Nobody was smiling saying hello. I'm in NJ.

[Hello_Kitty]

56. Glad you de-lurked!

I admire you longtime lurkers. I've been posting since day one. Not one to let a thought go unexpressed, though sometimes I really should :P

Welcome to DU :hi:

[qanda]

54. K & R

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it and welcome to all the new DUers.

[tenshi816]

55. I became fairly apolitical for years

after moving to the UK in 1986. At the time I couldn't vote in UK elections so didn't bother to keep up much, and while I loathed Ronald Reagan, once I no longer lived in the States the whole Reagan nightmare became a distant memory to me. (For the record, I still don't understand why Reagan's followers adored him so much and believed every word that fell out of his mouth. The man was an actor for God's sake - he was trained to pretend to be something he wasn't and make people believe it!)

Bush the Elder flew in under my radar. I was surprised to see such a non-entity become President - but I didn't know about the history of the BFEE at the time in those pre-internet days.

I felt hope spring anew when Bill Clinton became President and felt such contempt for the people who relentlessly raked over all the minutiae of his life all those years. It's a miracle Clinton was able to get anything done at all in his two terms because he spent the entire time on the defensive. Still, I felt good about the way the country was going, and so carried on complacently with my life.

I started waking up a bit during the 2000 election campaign. I instinctively disliked Bush II from the very first time I saw his picture - I hadn't heard him speak at the time and didn't know anything about him yet, but his cocksure rich boy mean-spiritedness somehow shone through to me even in a photo. Once he started getting more media coverage in the UK, I felt very strange, as if I was seeing something in him others over here didn't see (actually, I just think most people didn't take any notice of him at the time). You know Stephen King's book, The Dead Zone, about the guy who wakes up from a coma and discovers that just by looking at someone, or touching them, he knows all about them? That's exactly the way I felt the first time I saw George W. Bush, and I didn't like how it made me feel - nervous somehow, like something was out of kilter.

After 9/11, it seemed to me like America went crazy. Every time I went home for a visit, the entire country seemed to be festooned with flags and bumper stickers, awash in red, white and blue. GWB was worshipped by everyone, or so I thought, and I always felt distinctly uncomfortable until I could get back to the UK. I learned early on after 9/11 not to dare to criticize Bush around my ultra-conservative Christian family in Georgia, or they'd turn on me like a pack of dogs. All because the President stood at Ground Zero with a bullhorn and called out Osama bin Laden.

That's the way it remained until 2004. I happened to be in the States the week of the Democratic convention. I don't know exactly why, but I was glued to the TV for the entire time and it awakened something in me that had lain dormant for a long, long time. I knew that I would never again be the same apolitical person I had been for years. Part of my awakening also had to do with the fact that my dad and stepmother were actively working on Bush's re-election campaign - these were people that had previously rarely bothered to vote, and all at once they were campaign workers? That's when I realized just how well the Republicans were playing to their base.

Until then, it had never occurred to me that sites like DU existed; that's just how ignorant I was. Once I was back home in the UK, I began Googling, looking for like-minded people. I eventually ended up at Smirking Chimp, and from there Democratic Underground, and from DU lots of other good sites (you all know the ones I mean, the ones fighting the good fight) and one particular hateful site that I won't mention by name - that other place. DU is the first place I check into in the morning and the last site I look at before I go to bed at night.

Hey, maybe the Shrub is a uniter after all: he's managed to unite millions of people against him, many of whom (like me) hadn't really been involved in politics at all before he came along. Now I'm informed, and I've also joined Democrats Abroad and the ACLU - and I'll never go back to the way I was before.

[Just Me]

77. I was essentially "apolitical" until Bush II, too.

Your story is compelling because,...I watched people being "suckered" and felt angry as hell, not at them but rather at the exploiters, the vile freakin' criminal cons pushing their every button.

I'm still pissed at those criminal con artists. But, for some reason, I feel complete confidence that they will get their due.

None of us will "go back to the way" we were before. We are aware of what's happening. We are people of conscience. We MUST take a stand against such abuse, such tyranny.

I am so glad you are here!!! :hug:

[foreverdem]

57. I found DU by accident

I was doing a search to find "Buy Blue", to see what companies donate primarily to the Demcratic Party and came across a post on this board. It was right after the 2004 election. Well, I started poking around the site and was so glad to find that there are people out there who thought like I did, and I wasn't the one who was crazy. I lurked for awhile, I finally joined early last year. I don't post much, but I do read so many posts and learned so much from all of you. I wouldn't know half of what was going on in this country if it weren't for this site.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

58. kick

:kick:

[yellowdogmi]

59. Another accident

But one of the most fortunate ones I have ever made. I am so relieved to find others that share my contempt of this administration. Thank you all.
:yourock:

[dog_lovin_dem]

61. I found DU right before

the 2004 election...thank God! I think it was a link from Buzzflash that led me here and I am so glad I found this fantastic site when I did. Lurking and reading what you all had to say kept me sane during the aftermath. Still does, actually. Knowing that there are other people out there who live in the reality based world is inspiring.

[AZBlue]

62. I'm only kinda newbie, but I started posting during Katrina.

I had to get info out and had been lurking for over a year, so I finally registered and posted 'cause I knew the people here would respond.

[mikelgb]

63. Dennis Kucinich 2004 n/t

[mousie]

64. worried, scared... depressed (tonight)...

yeah, it all became scarier and scarier after 9/11 and the realization that elections were stolen, we were being deceived, we were watching the destruction and corruption of this great country in the hands of bush... and republicans have no USE for democracy as we once knew it either... it's FASCISM.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

65. despair & one of Mopaul's posts

[Coloradan4Truth]

66. After the 2004 election, I was so upset that I started

hanging out at Randi Rhodes message-board for inspiration. While on there I saw lots of references to DU. I came and lurked and got hooked.

I guess I'm a junkie for LBN. Sometimes I think it may be a bit of PTSD (after 9/11) showing itself in the form of hyper-vigilance. Or maybe it's just the natural progression in my late 30s to an awakened political awareness. Then again, my 20s were the "good years" of Clinton - so the change has been necessitated by our new political reality.

I'm very worried about 1. The Environment, 2. Civil liberties, 3. Religious fundamentalism, and 4. Continued war.

[babsbunny]

69. Me Too!

I find inspiration here at DU, but sometimes I find, as with the let down today that we are too soft, and too trusting. Something is wrong with the Dems.

[Coloradan4Truth]

76. I'm just hoping that maybe....

somehow... they (the Dem leadership) knows what they are doing and will come through in the end. Of course that is the trusting Dem in me.

:toast: Well here's to fighting the good fight and it getting better!

[Quiet_Dem_Mom]

73. Hey, me too: via 2004 election/Randi's messageboard

Started listening to Al Franken when Air America first started streaming, gradually went from him over to Randi and then linked up from her board to this site.

I haven't posted much, but I a board-reading junkie. A bit too intimidated to post much...yet.

Worries? Two boys: 6 and 2. Very much worred about them as they get older, especially with the groundwork for continued war being laid out as we speak. Keeps me awake some nights.

QDM

[Coloradan4Truth]

74. I hear you -

I don't have any kids, but am very worried about the world my nieces and nephews will have to live in.

Welcome to DU QDM!
:hi:

[Twist_U_Up]

91. I feel your pain

I have a 16 and an 18 year old. Scary

This is the place to be if your looking for someone to talk to.

Welcome to DU :grouphug:

[theplutsnw]

68. Andy Stephenson

I worked on his campaign, was one of about 10 that worked closely with him. He talked about you guys all the time and finally when he was really sick and was suppose to have had his surgery at JH, I was suppose to look on here for updates. Well, needless to say, I stayed around. Don't post much, but do when I feel I have something to contribute. I host a DFA Link-Up in Shoreline, WA, so anyone in the area that would like to help us and needs another meeting to go to, we meet the first Wednesday of every month at the Shoreline Conference Center, 185th and 1st Ave. Check out our site, www.northseattledfa.org

Thanks!

[Glimmer of Hope]

70. I started lurking around November 03 but have spent more time

here since Katrina.

[bonito]

71. Du to me ,is a light in the fog

of disinformation, and just outright lies. Peace

[Throd]

72. Rush Limbaugh turned me on to DU!

He was bitching and moaning about some site called "Democratic Underground" a few years ago. I figured anything that pissed him off so much couldn't be all that bad. Thanks Rush!

[Coloradan4Truth]

78. Woo Hoo! That druggie is good for something! n/t

[windycitychick]

75. I needed a place

where I could read the truth.

[byronius]

79. TruthIsAll.

[bonito]

80. Happy to know DU

I know I'm a 100% right 50% of the time, and only here at DU I get by, even beside my self.
This is what I call a Democracy.
A good place to go, or come as it is. lol, I'm between light and dark, hot and cold, black and white, right and wrong, up and down, inside out, and because of these things, I must be. Peace

[bonito]

81. dup

[bonito]

82. dup.

[Obamanaut]

85. Neal Boortz had a short rant about DU during the 2004 election

cycle and I was curious, so I started lurking. Followed a multitude of links found in the posts. Learned more here than I even suspected before

[skipos]

88. I was looking for other democrats who were inspired to take back power

I am a bit surprised by the large number of defeatists here. I recognize they have just as much a right to post as I do, I would just think ex-democrats wouldn't want to come to a place called democraticunderground.com

[FooFootheSnoo]

90. I found this place

during Katrina. I needed a place to express my political views and realize I'm not alone. I've got a brother that's pretty liberal, but sometimes he's really, really out there, so he's not always good to talk to. I cannot talk politics at home. My husband has been brainwashed. We fought a lot during the 2004 elections. (I finally banned political conversations in our home. I really think we were headed for a divorce. We have a daughter and I'm not having my family broken up over politics.) Everyone else I know is Republican or doesn't give a shit. I don't post much, but do a lot of reading. I enjoy this place a lot and finally feel hopeful.

[Hissyspit]

93. Welcome! Sorry to hear about your situation. "Everyone else I know

is Republican or doesn't give a shit." That says so much.

[bobbieinok]

92. joined in 2002; lost password and rejoined with new name

I think I found DU from salon's tabletalk

in 2000 and after I was reading that and mediawhoresonline, dailyhowler, and bartcop

DU has been very necessary since I live in OK and until I retired worked in a very religious wrong atmosphere

[faithnotgreed]

94. welcome to all - i so enjoyed reading your responses

lots of wonderful people saying they are here because of the katrina tragedy and others because of s-election part 2 and to come to a place with those who feel all the same things and worry for their country

welcome to everyone
thank you babylonsister for a heartwarming (or heartbreaking) thread

peace and love

[imaginary girl]

95. 2004 "elections" ...

I was devastated and very sure that something was amuck. I spent most of that night searching for answers to my questions, and eventually found a link to a related discussion on DU. It was about the only place I saw dialogue about the FRAUD that had taken place, and I was hooked to the community and the available information. Joined as soon as the ban on newbies was over ... Obviously I don't post often, but I've read daily since ...

[DarkTirade]

96. I'm a relative new guy here...

and I joined mostly because this is a place that lets me pick and choose among my news, seperate the wheat from the chaff myself rather than TV news which just gives me one option really.
Is it too much to ask to just have NEWS, not liberal, not conservative, no agenda, just TRUTH? Apparently in the mass media. But that's why I'm here on the internets. Seeking the truth.
Well, that and the moment I heard Bush was running back in '99, I panicked and said, "Well, no third-party voting my conscience for me... definately voting dem to make sure HE doesn't get in office." Yeah, well, I live in FL, so it was kinda pointless, but I didn't know that until after the election.
I honestly don't understand how ANYONE in their right mind would vote for him. The first time, if they honestly didn't know some of the sordid details, I can kind of understand. The second... no. You have to either believe the lies, or be a religious fanatic. There's no other justification.

[kansan]

97. Why?

I've always been a Democrat, but the clincher for me was when the right wing fundies tried to assert that Jesus would vote for shrub. I simply could not fathom such an absurd idea.

[rpgamerd00d]

98. For me, it was just a coincidence. Just stumbled on DU.

At first, I didnt register, and just read a few threads here and there.
Seemed like there were way too many whackos, tin-foil-hat-wearers, and extremists.
Over time, I realized that only some posters were like that, and a majority were a bit more level-headed, so I registered.

In some ways, I think DU can harm Democrats. I think people that put there entire life and soul into posting on DU are missing the bigger picture, which is they need to take the fight into the "real world" and get INVOLVED in actual politics (local town Democratic Committee at a minimum.) Posting a thread on DU and getting a bunch of "Yeah!" and "K&R!" replies might make you feel better, but it doesn't affect the world.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2422815

[jdadd]

99. I love this place

I think I found DU Mentioned on Salon….I came here and really enjoyed reading the boards… Like others on this post, I felt like I’d finally found a place where I am in the company of like minded Individuals….I lurked since before the 2004 election theft….I finally joined last memorial day when there was a post looking for military veterans….

Freep republic had a similar post….WE BEAT THEM!!!....I live in a red section of a red (election theft) state Ohio…DU keeps me sane!

[4_TN_TITANS]

100. before the 2004 election...

DU was a tremendous source of info to use for campaigning. I stumbled up on it, was hooked on the Idiots list, articles, and toons. The like-minded atmosphere won me over, not to mention the DU site is just extremely well designed and maintained. There's no faster source of news, either.
I'm not much of a regular poster, but I'm no less appreciative....

[ChrisCat]

101. I just wanted to find a place where I could hear the truth

I was so tired of hearing RW propaganda from the media. I've been here about a year, reading, learning and loving it!

[madinmaryland]

102. I discovered DU as the long national

nightmare began in early 2001. I would read for the articals, though I did not start posting until 2004, after the swift boat liars went after John Kerry.