DU was different then

[AmericanActivist]

Back in 2004 I was here under a different name. I remained here until approximately 2008. I got busy with difficulties and challenges in life besides I didn't worry with PBO & VP Biden in the WH, after 8 long years of worrying when GWB/Cheney & their insane criminal cabal was there.

I came back this year. I lost my old password and email so I started fresh here. During my previous membership here I was a Gold Star member making a contribution whenever I was able to. I donated this year just before 11/9 when it was announced star members would have priority login here during the "election" and as I always have, I'll contribute as funds allow.

I miss the DU of the past. I see many repeat threads now as people post same info without checking first. I've noticed there isn't as much dialogue in threads as I recall meaning lots of people posting threads without conversations within threads. I see more info about what tRump says or does and what Russia/Putin says or does than I care to here. I see way too much of we have to "accept tRump" because he was "duly elected" although that hasn't been proven or disproven to date. I find this to be especially sad since when I joined DU there was rigorous review and discussion of electronic voting and verified voting and the results of 2004. Also, I see many people here saying "only we the people can stop tRump" but I doubt that is possible. How exactly can we stop him? Only people in power have the ability and authority to do that. We can resist, and we must, we can avoid normalizing him and his regime, we can organize, etc. but ultimately we cannot stop him; perhaps someone can convince me this is possible, however, short of an actual revolution or civil war, I don't see it working...I'm not advocating either by the way.

I love DU and DUers yet these are things I observe. So, are you paranoid? Am I?

[True Dough]

1. Trump will be his own undoing

There is no way that giant turd will be able to function as POTUS for long before imploding. He's a bumbling, stumbling fool.

[hunter]

2. Um, okay.

Seems I'm a master of the paranoid arts.

Your move.

[Mz Pip]

3. I've been here since 2001

Last edited Sun Jan 1, 2017, 01:15 PM - Edit history (1)

We were united against Bush but it was much smaller then. It was a good place to vent.

I don't know what will happen though I doubt any of it will be good. I came of age when Nixon was President. His own party turned on him. What a difference a few decades make. There are no ethical standards anymore. And that is what is scary.

I never for a moment thought a country that elected Barack Obama twice would elect Trump. But here we are. 45% didn't bother to vote. They sure won't be showing up for protests or other forms of Civil Disobedience.

I have no idea what to do. Not a clue.

[Initech]

16. I've been here since '05.

The right wing's relentless smears against Kerry is what brought me here. And I followed Obama's campaign from when he first started out. And I knew that the right wing wasn't going to give him an easy break even with the supermajority we had post 2008 and going into 2010. The right calling Obama a Kenyan and just screwing over everything Obama did fucked things up. The truth is - they created Obamacare, and they own it. They own this mess. And the lack of education in this country helped elect the biggest narcissistic psychopath this country has ever seen. A man who is single handedly capable of starting a nuclear war and at the very least will start World War 3. I don't think we'll ever be fully prepared for what lies ahead. The truth is I don't know with. None of us knows.

[Hekate]

20. Same here, Mz Pip

I arrived the year after you did. Miss the energy, the resources, the research and the respect for good sources. I miss batting the trolls around, and the pizza parties afterward.

I agree with you. How the hell did we go from Barack Obama to Donald Trump? Half the effing electorate did not even bother to show up -- and they will not bother to be standing with us in solidarity.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

4. "I see way too much of we have to "accept tRump" because he was "duly elected"..."

on DU??

[hunter]

5. Yes.

I'll say no more, but for...

[A-Schwarzenegger]

7. please say more, i'd like to see it...

it can't have been gleefully received from many other posters...

P.S. not sure what the laughter is about, is that a reference to the OP?

[hunter]

10. I'm a very dangerous fellow when I don't know what I'm doing.

Any pride I had is long dead.

Would you like to hear a story?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

11. would just like to see the post(s) in question

[hunter]

13. Certainly...

.

[AmericanActivist]

8. Yes, here on DU? nm

[A-Schwarzenegger]

9. Where?

I am not here as much as i used to be, and dont read as many posts, but i have not seen it that i can remember, and would like to see those threads or posts. I am not surprised, maybe naively, but it seems that anybody who took such a stand would be lambasted here, or at least i would hope so. TIA.

[pnwmom]

18. I agree. I haven't seen any post saying that, much less a lot of them. n/t

[malaise]

24. +1,000 n/t

[RKP5637]

6. We're walking in fields of landmines at this time and none has found a good way around them.

It's frightening. We can call, do petitions, demonstrate, but short of that hope has to be with democratic leaders.

We have a cast of dangerous characters moving into office to control the levers of power. Yes, I am very concerned/frightened for the future of this country and it extends far beyond Trump.

I've been around awhile and I have never felt this way in the US, never.

Nope, I am not paranoid, just a realist seeing the path this country has unfortunately taken, and it looks like a one way street into hell.

[AmericanActivist]

22. Thank you for this reply. I relate to every word

you shared.

[gwheezie]

12. People are regrouping

I hated Reagan & Bush but my hatred for Trump eclipses both of them. I'm just getting started. I just retired, I've got nothing to do all day, I'm going to be fighting Trump & supporting Dems locally. I've made a few contacts with ows & women's groups during the transvaginal us battle. I'm seeing more organizing coming from women's groups but I'm going to see how things pan out. It's taking a few weeks to get my feet back under me.

[annabanana]

15. with you gwheezie...

Trump's capacity for evil (deliberate or accidental - doesn't matter) eclipses Reagan, Bush(es) & Cheney.. But they laid the groundwork for him. Truly, ALL Americans that have any understanding or affection for the whole point of having this Country, must begin to come together to defend it.

[msongs]

14. support your local version of the women's march on washington (whichever is closest to you)

[Corey_Baker08]

17. We, The DU Community Must Come Together To Oppose The Trump Administration, Not Just Online...

This Reminds Me Of The Power Of DU, We Used To Have DU Meet-Ups,etc

People knew each other more by than a username, we would organize plan & attend anti war rallies, we had an organized protest at Bushs inauguration, we made it a point to have in person meet-ups...

We could do this again, become a represented voice in the political arena...

[usrbs]

21. Physical meet-ups would also somewhat protect against a DU shutdown

This sounds paranoid, but I was shocked at how vulnerable DU was on election night and how I much I needed it to make sense of what was happening. It left no doubt in my mind that shutting down the online Left will be one of the first steps a Rightwing power grab will take. An existing physical DU (and other online communities) network would be invaluable in that case.

Besides, local physical DU meet-ups can accomplish a lot of resistance - anything from taking over local Democratic Town Committees to doing publicity stunts to force media attention to Trump/GOP outrages.

[Corey_Baker08]

25. Exactly Right, When I Joined In 2003 DU Was A Well Organized Passionate Physical Presence...

For Example At Bush's Inauguration There Was A DU Tent Members From Across The Country Who Were Coming To Protest Were Told Where & What Time To Meet Up, Same. With The Anti War Rallies In Cities Across The Country, In Some Cases These Rallies Were Organized By DU, & That Was Before The Ability To Advertize Such Events & Social Gatherings On Facebook...

I Understand The Lack Of Events Over The Course Of The Obama Administration But With The Help Of The DU Admins & Support Of Members We Can Become An Activist Group That Has A True Physical Presence In The Political Arena.

We Can Widen Our Base To College Campuses, Take Over Failing Local Democratic Parties & Re-Invent & ReInvest The DU Democratic Party: A More Liberal Party Focused On Key Issues Such As Fighting Poverty, Raising The Minimum Wage, etc.

DU Can Be The Next ACORN Or The Liberal Version Of Breitbart, We Can Summon The Work That John Edwards Was Doing (Before His Downfall) Such As The One America Organization That Fought For Those Living In Poverty, That Helped Raise The Minimum Wage In So Many States, We Can Raise Our Voices & Say Hard Work Deserves Fair Pay, We Can Fight Overtime Pay & Workers Rights & Support Unions & Those That Are Trying To Organize A Union, Along With Continuing Standing Up & Standing With The LGBT Community, Immigrants, Those Who For Too Long Have Felt Disrespected Or Discriminated Against...

In This New Year, 2017, It Is My Wish That We The DU Community Can & Will Sum Up The Courage To Begin Again The Work Of Taking Back Our Country. I Have No Illusions That This Will Be Easy. There Will Be Set Backs & People Who Claim We're Irrelevant, But We Must Know Our Causes Are Worth Fighting For, Our Ideas & Our Actions Will Help To Ensure Common Sense Solutions That Will Remind The Working Class Not Just Why They Should Vote Democrat, But Remind Them That They Are Democrats Because Anyone That Works For A Living Should Have Basic Promises Of The Essentials, A Fair Wage, Equal Pay, The Right To Organize, Healthcare, & A Quality Of Life That They, That WE Deserve...

Lets Make 2017 A Year That DU Grows Legs & Leads A Movement To Oppose The Trump Administration & Republicans At Every Turn, Every Time, Just Like They Did To Our President & Our Party...
YES WE CAN DU!

[7wo7rees]

19. Yes, it was. Many of the best are not here anymore.

Very sad. This last year the worst.

Happy New Year to all

Hope we can get it back somehow.

[TexasProgresive]

23. Living organisms do change, however about the repeat OPs.

I have been active at DU under this user name since 2003. I originally joined sometime earlier but forgot the password. About those repeat posts, they have been an annoying phenomenon since the beginning. The odd thing is, someone will reply that an OP is a repeat, but if I hadn't seen the repeat I never would have seen the original post. My habit is to click "Latest Threads" and work back through several pages when I log into DU.

It used to bother me a lot about the repeat posts especially when they were several in a row on the same page. That does not allow for much or any real discussion of the subject. I have pretty much given up. But, recently I pasted my comments from a discussion that someone else put up days later. If I see the same thing posted again I will paste my earlier comment again. The discussion on the original story generates a lot of poutrage that is incorrect.

[randr]

26. I believe we have trolls among us who

plant seeds of doubt regarding the MSM and other national institutions.
I am not a MSM apologist and have over the course of my life tried my best to hold them accountable.
Still, I do not necessarily equate most of our journalist today with the like of those at Faux news or fright wing radio.
I do believe our system works when we hold the elected few accountable.