I Am Proud To Have Donated To The Best Political Site On The Web.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

I know some can't donate due to hardship or other reasons, though they wish they were able to. I know many more can donate and do. I donated today and I couldn't be prouder to have done so. I know now that in some really small way I am contributing to this incredible site's ability to remain such.

DU has given me truth and understanding that I could've never found anywhere else. There is so much here that it would take me years to truly grasp it all. The service DU provides to the reality based community is unsurpassed and I truly respect, honor and am grateful and thankful to the plethora of amazing posters here that make it all happen.

The mods deserve a huge round of applause as well. Without them, this would just be some cheesy aol chat room. They work tirelessly to keep things on as much a level as possible. Thanks to them.

Thanks to Skinner, Elad and Earl, for all that they started and continue to do. Not only is DU the best source of information out there, but is also the most addictive and visually appealing.

I couldn't think of a better way to have spent my money than to help ensure DU can remain all that DU is. I want to encourage anyone who hasn't yet donated but can afford to, to consider doing so. DU provides a service that is immensely valuable, but in the end it needs us to keep it going.

Long live DU, it's admins, its mods, and its amazing members. It is a privilege to be here.

[niyad]

1. second that!!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

2. Amen!

[libertypirate]

3. This one is for you Mind hole, I actually did donate to the best

political site on the Internet...

http://www.johnconyers.com/

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/default.htm

I donate to people who don't compromise their democratic values to feel as though they have something good.

If you can’t stand the heat start another thread!

[emcguffie]

4. So very good of you.

Bravo, hurrah, cheers, huzzah, you're the best.

Now, forgive me, I think it is up to me, and to everyone else, if and when we choose to donate. And I do not believe that that is really what you should be spending your precious energy about judging.

Honestly, have you nothing better to do? This is what they call eating your own young. Go ahead, eat your own young. Don't worry about those sharks over there reproducing like crazy. No, no, no, let's eat our own over here every time anyone dares disagree with the -- what? party line? who is to say what is the party line? the DU line? who is to define that? -- anyway, let's just eat anyone who dares disagree. Period. Right? Nuff said.

Burp.

[niyad]

6. cripes, where did THAT come from? all OMC did was SUGGEST that

people might consider donating to keep this wonderful site going. why, exactly, do you have a problem with that? where is the JUDGMENT OMC supposedly demonstrated?

sounds to me like the judgmental one in that exchange is you.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

7. With All Fairness, I Posted Some Honest Anger In Some Garbage Thread

The poster was draggin that crap in here instead of keeping it in there. If there's a thread claiming pride for not donating to DU as if DU owes them something, then there absolutely can be a thread showing pride for donating to the best damn political site on the web.

This thread isn't just as rebuttal to the other one though. It is sincere in all of its sentiment and I do implore all that can, to donate if possible for the reasons laid out in the OP. :)

[Horse with no Name]

9. It wasn't a garbage thread

The guy had a legitimate complaint. He didn't say DU owed him anything.
Too bad freedom of speech hasn't caught on yet.
Never mind the poster had been here since 2001.
To tell the truth, this is very much a rebuttal thread.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

13. With All Due Respect,

This is far more than a rebuttal thread. I felt this way regardless of that garbage thread. And the fact the poster has been here for that long and never found the need to donate makes it even worse to me.

I'm sorry, but I don't find it appropriate to call out DU in such a way because the owners of this site don't have the exact same opinions of how the forum should be run or that DU isn't perfectly aligning with their beliefs. I find it even more inappropriate to declare "Unless they do things exactly how I want I refuse to give another damn cent!". I have every right to express my displeasure with such crap, especially when it's preceded by I love DU, but.

It's like saying to your wife " I love you and all that you are, but because you don't do your makeup exactly how I like you to I'm not buying you a birthday present this year". Sorry, but I just find that sentiment to be plain stupid.

[libertypirate]

15. Why are you trying to frame an opinion as garbage? /nt

[noamnety]

16. They said in the first post that they'd donated before

so you're misrepresenting things a little here.

[Horse with no Name]

17. But he didn't say he has NEVER donated

He just said that he wasn't going to until his concerns were addressed. For all we know his star has run out recently.
People go apeshit when lounge stuff gets dumped in GD and start 30 threads about it as well as chastising each other in the thread.
His complaint was simple.
SINCE 911 can't be discussed in the big forums, can they at least stay on topic in the 911 forum?
His problem was that they are dumping ALL of the conspiracy stuff that has nothing to do with 911 into the 911 forum, cluttering it with irrelevant stuff. What is the use of giving someone a forum and then destroying its purpose?
He has emailed the admins without success.
Whether you agree or not, the guy has a legit complaint and he did preface his entire argument with the fact that he does LOVE DU.
The fact that he has been around for 5+ years does earn some respect.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

19. Don't Care How Long They've Been Here. It Still Isn't Appropriate

to post front and center a thread stating "I refuse to donate another cent to DU until they do things my way". Any way you slice it, that's a load of childish garbage to me. If the poster has a legitimate gripe and he feels deeply enough about it to not want to donate, that's his problem. But do we really need to know? Do we really need a thread smearing DU right to our faces and saying in such a blackmailing manner that they don't deserve a cent?

Sorry bub, that's just bullshit to me. Others can feel however they'd like about it. But this is obviously a position I feel very strongly about and have posted my replies displaying my strong opposition to the sentiment. I don't think it's in good taste during a fund drive to declare that DU doesn't deserve their money for some petty gripe. And someone can say they love DU all they want, that doesn't make it so. As I said before, it's like saying to your wife that you love her, but you aren't buying her another goddamn thing until she falls back in line and acts exactly like you want her to. You would find that appropriate?

on edit: I gotta go to be before MY wife kills me. I will reply tomorrow if necessary.

[Horse with no Name]

21. With all due respect

You say "I don't think it's in good taste during a fund drive to declare that DU doesn't deserve their money for some petty gripe."

That sounds very much like "It's not patriotic to dissent during wartime".

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

24. So Now You're Comparing DU To The Bush Administration?

Because for that analogy to work, the fund drive would have to be the war, and the Admins would have to be the bush administration.

If you find it appropriate to say things on DU along the lines of "Skinner, you ain't getting a damn penny from me until you do exactly as I say", then I can't stop you. But forgive me for stepping forward and saying that's bullshit.

[Horse with no Name]

26. I am comparing YOUR statement

to the Bush administration--unless of course you can point me to a thread where Skinner states that it isn't okay to state an opinion that isn't favorable to DU during a fund drive.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

27. This Is What You Simply Aren't Grasping.

I never said they couldn't. I said I find it disgusting that they did. Hey, guess what, I have as much fucking right to protest against the sentiment as they did to post it in the fucking first place. I am allowed to express strong disagreement to a sentiment I find distasteful and pathetic ya know. So don't get all huffy puffy because for once I chose to be passionate about a topic, when lord knows I get overdramatic passionate attacks lobbied against me left and right at times. Well tonight it was my turn to express outrage. Get over it.

And for the record, the fact some are so vehemently defending as honorable the concept of posting a blackmail selfish thread in the middle of a fund drive with a sentiment of "You don't deserve one cent from me DU" boggles my mind. But feel free to defend such things. I really don't give a rats ass at the end of the day. But you damn well better believe I'll stand firm in my belief that such things are bullshit.

Seriously, goodnight now.

[libertypirate]

30. Attempting to distract from the premise of the post to

undermine it should not be called outrage....

That is exactly what the original post was about to begin with, undermining the topic of 9-11 by lumping it with detracting posts.

[BeHereNow]

33. Gol Dammit Libertypirate! When are you gonna "git it?"

When we say black is white, then dammit, it IS!
Sheesh!
what do you think this is anyway?
A "librul" message board or something?
NO discussion- and HELL NO!
No debate, UNLESS you agree with OUR viewpoint!
Hell boy, git a klue!
BHN

[BeHereNow]

28. THANK THE REPUBLICAN LORD! FINALLY!

We have an AUTHORITY on what is appropiate
here on DU!!!
To remember fondly the words of Ari Flyshit- (Remember him?)
"Watch what you say..."
OMC is.
LMAO...
Is it black?
NO, it's white!
WHY?
Because I SAY SO!
YES, Herr Rumsfeld...I go now...
BHN

[Karmakaze]

37. And yet you support Will Pitt?

Strange that.

By the way, isn't what that poster is doing much like the left in general does when it boycotts corporations? You know, hitting them in the pocket book? Of course it is up to DU whether they want to allow the poster to create such a campaign here. In any case, it is clear that thise DUer has felt it necessary to get his concerns addressed.

Perhaps now DU admins may look at those concerns and attempt to make everyone happy. Perhaps not. Either way, I do not criticise either side - DU because they run such a large board and so somethings just have to be overlooked, or the poster for being frustrated enough to get drastic.

[titoresque]

20. I love PBS

I've watched PBS since I was a small child. I grew up with Sesame Street and then I had children and they grew up with Sesame Street. I've enjoyed many, many programs on PBS. My wife and I were even showcased on a local program one year. However, if PBS were to air something on a regular basis that I felt compromised the programming as a whole, I would write to them and let them know that I was very upset. I would expect a reply. If I did not get a reply in return I would progress with other measures. Perhaps a protest in front of my local station.
I would still love PBS, but I would stand up and let my feelings be known. Even if I had to do it by way of withholding my annual donation.

[niyad]

22. okay, thank you for clearing that up--because from where I was reading,

that diatribe seemed to come out of nowhere. on other boards I frequent, TOS prevents us from dragging issues from one forum to another.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

25. I'm Sad To Say That It Did Drag It's Way In Here. I Was Hoping This

would remain a positive thread. The sentiments in it are real and sincere and are legitimately phrased regardless of whether that other thread ever even existed. I hope others that step into this thread ignore the subthread crap and are inspired to donate because they feel the same ways I do as in the OP.

Goodnight fellow DU'er. Tomorrow's another day.

[libertypirate]

35. Sir simply put you stepped in it when you decided to attack

a legitimate opinion, it's not my fault the smell follows you...

I take that back it is kind of my fault, maybe a little more then kinda... but we had some laughs right?

[emcguffie]

46. oh, that calling the poster "shitty" I think is what I was responding

to. I think it's fine for people to disagree. I think name-calling and insults are just not really appropriate and do nothing to add to the discussion. Sort of like mudslinging. "shitty"

Certainly the poster is entitled to their feelings and opinions? Certainly it is all right to disagree? Must that be called "shitty"? That does strike me as a value judgment. Shit, let me see, shit is nasty stuff, don't you think? Calling something shitty, isn't that judging it, rather than engaging it in any kind of discussion?

Why am I wasting my breath? More of the same.

[Oversea Visitor]

10. grrrrrrr.....

WOOF .....WOOF WOOF ,

just barking at the kitty :)

[alittlelark]

34. Get a star... I respond to few w/o one.

PS- do you eat too much? All that Burping and eating......


try some organic produce - it can work wonders!!!

You might even decide to donate after a few meals that are hormone-steroid-corn free.


De-Detoxify - then we can chat.

[libertypirate]

36. Wow talk about... What is that word...

Oh yeah "discrimination"

Question:

How come I can't find that word or one of its synonyms it in the dictionary next to the word liberal?

[alittlelark]

49. no profile, no star....

sigh.

[Karmakaze]

38. Well isnt that just being...

an asshole? Ever consider that some may not be ABLE to donate? Maybe for some simply being able to afford the internet is a stretch? Or should the poor just fuck off until they can afford to pay to play?

Damn...

[alittlelark]

47. If you post a profile I will donate a star to you.

[emcguffie]

44. I've had a star in the past, will have one in the future.

in fact, I have one now. But I will try to remember you, so as not to waste my breath.

People with attitudes like yours do not add anything positive to any discussion anywhere at any time. You just throw dirt in the water and then agitate.

[alittlelark]

48. It's 'alittlelark' - remember. You can bookmark...

I'm glad you have one now.

[emcguffie]

51. I hunted and hunted for this....

I kind of have to wake up my brain cells.

I think I have celiac disease, and part of what happened to me was my brain was shutting down, due to insufficient vitamins and minerals and such....

Like a wind-up doll running out of juice. But I haven't had gluten in a month and I'm beginning to feel human again.

[titoresque]

5. Deep breath

in.....now out.

Let those shoulders relax, close your eyes and go to your happy place.
:)

We're all the types of people here at DU who stand up for our cause. Whether it's online or in the check out at the grocery.

We don't have to agree, but we should try to remember that on the other side of these words are actual people. With good day's and bad and all the grey stuff in between. I'm guilty of forgeting that.

I'm thankful that there are so many people here who share one thing in common. We stand up for what we believe, even when it's not popular.

[Hissyspit]

8. Hear, hear! If you read and post, you should donate.

Except in the case of financial hardship.

[EST]

11. I agree with you, totally.

I am not sure I can contribute on this drive, although I did in January.
When I first cane to this site, I felt I was coming home, and that hasn't really changed in the time since. I don't understand the negativity professed by some and I am impressed by your enthusiasm. Thanks for sharing and caring!


On edit: I sure wish folks would learn to spell "rebuttal."

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. LOL

That's too goddamn funny. I know exactly how to spell rebuttal too, and don't believe I spelled it like that! Damn ambien LOL

I did just edit to correct though. :)

[KitchenWitch]

12. I donate as well

but my donations never seem to come during the fund drives. (The fund drives seem to hit when I am low on cash!)

[Blackthorn]

18. I suspected an ulterior motive and a read of thread proved me correct.

I acknowledge, particulary being someone who hasn't donated, that the generosity of others makes this site what it is. I appreciate that and I'm sure their self (and your) satisfaction outweighs my meagre thanks. But I think it shouldn't be forgotten that no one is obligated to donate. People can simply choose to say no, and that should be fine. Harassing people for not donating for whatever reasons is just elitist.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

23. Hi Blackthorn.

I never would harrass someone for not donating. I definitely would encourage those that can donate to do so, but no gripes whatsoever if they choose not to at this time.

To be clear, my gripes in the other thread weren't about the poster(s) not donating. It was about feeling the need to start a thread on it and stating strong blackmail like declarations along the lines of "DU isn't getting one more damn cent of my money until they run this place exactly how I want them to". It was that type of tone and distasteful rant that got my feathers ruffled. Not the actual premise of them not donating.

I hope some can understand where I'm coming from with this.

Goodnight. :)

[Blackthorn]

42. Thank you for the serious reply OMC.

But in all fairness, RedSock never made any demands along the lines of "DU isn't getting one more damn cent of my money until they run this place exactly how I want them to". He merely felt aggrieved that something that he, and many other DUers, take seriously was being marginalised by the Admins. He felt "conspiracy" theories deserved their own forum, because it was trivialising the hard work many people have done in exposing the truth of 9/11. That's it. I'm sure he could come up with a bigger list if he wanted the website run his way. But your reaction to his personal stand then making a thread to broadcast how proud you are of donating in retaliation, was out of line.

I appreciate and applaud your passion for this website, and obviously it is because people donate that the site has become what it is. At the same time, when the donators hold the fact they donate as some kind of trophy, its just marginalises people who can't/won't donate. It divides the board and that can only harm this place in the long term.

[BeHereNow]

29. Ya think? Elitist? Nah...

The fact that many old timer DUers who donated for YEARS
to keep this board alive for folks like OMC to find it is SO irrelevant!
LOL...
Now get in lockstep with the new liberal
jack boots citizen!
Donate or ELSE!
Do not criticize Herr Bush and do not citicize
the web site you have been donating to for years,
even when it begins to resemble a young republican
bushbot hate fest.
BHN

[Karmakaze]

39. You know...

one of the major reasons a LOT of people signed up here was because it was one of the few places where Sept 11 could be discussed openly. I may not look it but I have been around quite awhile, and I and many others first came to DU to see the Sept 11 information that was being gathered here.

Some of the major people in the 9/11 Truth movement started out here - but over time as DU decided to become more mainstream, many were driven away, and 9/11 got pushed down into the dungeon. A pity really.

[BeHereNow]

43. Agreed and want to add...

I find it pathetic that although certain civilized discussions are now
discouraged on DU, including serious discourse in the now
defunked Foreign Affair forum, along with the 9-11 threads,
cursing at and insulting DUers who disagree with the
so called "left" posting on DU lately, flourish without
admonishment.
Go figure.
BHN

[alittlelark]

31. I am proud to be here.

I may not post often, but I am here every day.

[Robbie Michaels]

32. Me too

[symbolman]

40. Why do I keep thinkin of Mayor McCheese from McDonalds?

Do you by any chance POST while ON AMBIEN? Because you may be able to get your money back.. by sueing the Pharmacy for Sleep Posting :)

Oh THAT'S IT, AMBIEN AND FOOD -- people on Ambien EAT while sleeping.. McCheese..

[omega minimo]

45. Holy Hamburglar, Symbolman!

It's the Ambien talking?

:spray:

[symbolman]

50. Not me, man, I don't touch the new drugs

the old ones have been checked out by focus groups for thousands of years, and you can see the effects just by walking down the street :)

Frankly I wish they'd outlaw booze and make everything else legal, I don't smoke weed, but have also never seen a guy on weed come home and beat his wife or kids..

But I guess on Ambien you can even BUY A CAR! Some guy woke up and there was a New Honda in his garage, no idea how it got there.. so WHEN was HE taking this stuff, during working hours at a car lot? That's ths sign of a user if I ever heard one.

Mayor McCheese, making me hungry again.. a good value, and MORAL burger :)

[TransitJohn]

41. Me too!

The absolute best message board community I have ever encountered on the Internets.
:bounce: :bounce: :kick: :kick: