Hi from SoCal, and WELCOME! calimary here! DU isn't just a website, it's a think tank!

[calimary]

I've posted more than once, when we're in our self-examination phase, that this place isn't just a website or a chat room, it's a veritable think tank! You will become smarter, better-informed, more circumspect, and more broad-minded here. You'll find LOTS of ammo to resist and counter those annoying, obnoxious emails that old crank CONservative Uncle Joe sends around. You'll find TONS of supportive links and well-crafted and informed arguments that provide talking points when you just can't sit there any longer and allow family "discussions" go down the limbaugh butt-hole AGAIN. When you're tired of having the loud-mouthed lout who watches Pox Noise all the time get the last word mainly because you can't think of a good comeback.

THIS PLACE WILL HELP YOU!!! And equip you for battle! Because this is a war we're in, folks, whether we like it or not.

You also have to keep in mind - the people who post here bring untold riches in experience, expertise, perspective, and knowledgeable backgrounds to the table with their posts and their arguments. They are not only Dems or liberals or progressives or whatever label you want.

They're also...
parents
bosses
employees
veterans - of SEVERAL military conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq/Afghanistan
attorneys
academics and teachers
various sorts of political reps or professional participants (Elizabeth Edwards used to post here)
VIPs and other prominent people
strategists
historians
organizers
medical specialists
researchers
bloggers and writers
small business people
nerds
white
black
Asian
Hispanic
Native Americans
Catholics
Jews
Protestants
Europeans
Australians
South Americans
Middle Easterners
media people, past and present
environmentalists
scientists
magistrates
engineers
grandparents and other elderly
designers
musicians
adoptees/adoptive parents
widowed
divorced
newly married
computer nerds
graphic artists
students
pet lovers
sci-fi freaks
gay
straight
single parents
adopted
newly bereaved
employed
unemployed
abused or molested
from large families
alone
psychologists
ailing
retired
disabled
devoutly religious
agnostics
atheists
new grads
philosophers
analysts
crusaders
humorists
troublemakers
lobbyists
jurists
urbanites
suburbanites
small-towners
crime victims
unjustly accused
financial experts
uninsured
insured
debaters
homeless
well-to-do
empathizers
tough-love believers
...and so many more, from every geographical area and population demographic in the country - AND the world.

Just consider all that input, those filters, originating from all those different sources. All those different viewpoints intaking and processing what goes on around us in this country. The writing here often tends to be spectacular! Same thing for the analysis. What I've learned here, reading other people's opinions, considering their viewpoints and the world they come from that fuels those viewpoints, has lifted me miles beyond where I was when I first came here, not long after bush "TOOK" office in 2001.

I love following along when people are debating some issue or point, and it always enlarges my understanding of whatever issue or point it is.

I love how people can ask for help, either about information they need for some research, or talking points to refute some lout teabagger's astroturfed email; or prayers; or comfort after losing a loved one or even a pet, or a job; or advice or direction on some matter or problem that needs solving.

This is a one-stop-shopping online hangout. And a think tank. I marvel at the brain power here and the crackling sense of commitment to some genuinely great ideals. And I'm honored to be a member of this community.

Welcome to DU! Glad you're here! You'll become smarter and more sophisticated in your thinking and assessments of politics. We all benefit from the learning and enlightenment we get here. And without fail, people post breaking news here startlingly quickly.

It's a full-service place!

You will be a better, smarter, and more effective representative of the liberal/progressive/Democratic worldview by hanging out here, reading, absorbing, learning, and participating.

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome! Glad you're here! We NEED you!

Now get to work!!!!

[cyberswede]

1. Hi!

Great post!

[calimary]

4. Thanks! I'm glad, every day, that I discovered this place.

It's made me a smarter activist. And given me backbone and background info when I didn't have much of either.

[RainDog]

2. great post.

[calimary]

5. Thank you!

I found this place in 2001 a few months after the grim moments of Selection 2000.

It started when I stumbled onto a site called "Resident bush" - because the admin couldn't quite bring himself to call dubya a president, considering how he stole his way in illegitimately. And I thought - "NO SHIT! There's somebody else out there who thinks the same thing I'm thinking about this asshole!"

I soon found Buzzflash.com from the links he posted in the margins, and once into Buzzflash, I soon found DU from the links they posted in their margins. And I've been a steady customer since!

[SunsetDreams]

3. Awesome post calimary!!

[calimary]

9. Thank you, SunsetDreams!

I really do love DU. I thought I understood what was going on, but I'm SO much smarter and, yeah, maybe a little more cynical too, since I started reading a posting here!

[JNelson6563]

6. Brilliant description.

This really is a big jumble of people. All walks of life, all sorts of perspectives, a great reflection of what's great about our country, wouldn't you say?

Enjoyed reading your post.

Julie

[calimary]

11. Hey sweetie! It's a jumble of joy - even when we're grousing about stuff.

I love coming here for the smarts and the solidarity. And it's a good place to hide from when the going gets rough. DU, and many replays of our "West Wing" DVDs, helped me survive the dubya years.

[Skinner]

7. Great post, calimary.

[calimary]

12. Hey thanks, Skinner!

Just LOOK what you've done! We ALL owe you, bigtime!



(although I do miss my smilie... )

[ellisonz]

8. I wouldn't be surprised if we have a couple Korean War vets too...

I think the WWII generation is starting to get a little late in their years for DU.

[calimary]

13. Yeah I bet that's true.

And we have them from all branches of the military too, I believe.

[maddezmom]

10. great post

so glad you're here.

[calimary]

14. Thanks maddezmom!

Hugs back atcha! I appreciate that a LOT!

[steve2470]

15. Awesome post Calimary and so so true

I've visited several forums on the net over the years, and DU is unquestionably the best both in the political realm and in many other areas, as you capably typed out. I recommend this place every chance I get. It's well worth the yearly subscription to me.

[calimary]

16. And on a day like this (after Wisconsin) the consolation we're all providing for each other

is well worth ANY subscription cost - at least in my opinion. It provides an awful lot of shoulders to cry on. And at the moment, when that's pretty much all we've got, it means EVERYTHING.

This, and "West Wing" marathons, helped get me through the accursed dubya years.