Who has been with DU for more than 10 years?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

For me, it was looking for consolation during the bleak days following the 2004 election.

I still remember someone posting "After lying on the floor, staring at a dust bunny for three days straight, I got up and went to my computer and found DU."

[leftofcool]

1. Me

[livetohike]

2. Joined in March 2004. I was living in a red area in California and felt

so lost. DU was fun in those days. So many prolific posters have come and gone since then.

[Phentex]

25. 2004 for me and still in a red state...

but in a little purple area.

[villager]

302. "DU was really something in those days," to paraphrase Burt Lancaster

We didn't have nearly as many conservative posters as we do now, the general sense of humor seemed more widespread, and the posts were generally livelier, somehow...

And the old friend, who had heard of DU first and told me about it -- in those pre-Facebook/Twitter/Instagram days of the web -- has himself since passed away

Moving fingers, etc. Though mine still feel moved to tap out the periodic post here....

[Kalidurga]

3. Not me, it was the bleak realization that Republicans are in fact insane

I have always been opposed to Republican philosophy. But, I never thought dang these people are out of their f'n minds. But, then I don't really pay attention when politicians talk, they sound like the teacher in Peanuts to me.

[JackInGreen]

4. On my first handle

long since defunct due to loss of computer and bad memory, it was about 2002/03.
I'd just moved to washington state, my host at the time wouldn't stop listening to michael savage and limbaugh. All I could think was 'There HAS to be something for us out there, some radio, some website' and I stumbled into here and 'Icicle Radio Network' where I first listened to Mike Malloy, re-aquainted myself with Thom Hartmann, and found a stunning young woman named Rachel Maddow (who's disappointed my lately, but I'm still a fan). Havn't left since really.

[HDavis]

5. HDavis

Me!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. You must be a listener and not a yappagator like the rest of us :)

[annabanana]

150. "117494"

you HAVE been a super-lurker!

[HDavis]

365. annabanana

You do not know me nor my history as a member of DU, therefore calling me a "super-lurker" is offensive and unfounded. I rarely post on DU because of posters like you. DU has been a very necessary resource since around 2002 (founded after the coronation of George Bush by the Supreme Court) to use for those of us who are Progressive Democrats. Please don't spoil this site for the "older" generation of DU users!

[Cal Carpenter]

374. I don't think 'super-lurker' is meant to be an insult

It just means you read ('lurk') much more than you post. Which is obviously true, if you've been around here that long with so few posts. Calling someone a lurker is not the same as calling them a troll, for example.

I'm not sure why that would be offensive.

[roguevalley]

419. since one month after it began or so, Jan. 2001

[annabanana]

530. It certainly wasn't.. I PM'd

the poster to try to make amends

[Laura PourMeADrink]

520. AB - what is that number?

[annabanana]

529. If you hover

over the "profile" icon in a post, some dialog appears in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. The number is the order in which you signed onto DU. The lower the number, the earlier the handle!

(You are 155803, I am 138026. As you can see, HDavis predates us both)

[Laura PourMeADrink]

568. Interesting - thanks. I thought it was some kind of tally of how many

posts you read or something. I actually thought it was very funny - you calling them a super lurker !

[msanthrope]

591. Can someone tell me my AB number? nt

[herding cats]

609. It's 102752

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=102752

If you look at your profile link above it's on the end.

[annabanana]

599. A superlative

tongue-biter. I have wished I had such restraint.

[malaise]

444. Freaking wow

[DonRedwood]

501. Howdy malaise!

[malaise]

512. Hi there DonRedwood

[annabanana]

532. .

I never aim to offend

[malaise]

535. Not me sis

and you never offend

[deminks]

6. moi aussi.

2004. I read more than I post. I have learned so much. I found DU and knew I wasn't alone.

[a kennedy]

7. Fri Jun 4, 2004, 11:02 PM

My introduction to DU. Best place I've ever found, it has made me cry, laugh, but always find out what I need to know. Love you DU.

[HooptieWagon]

8. Apr '04

[tk2kewl]

9. me. same time/reason as you

[raging moderate]

10. I have.

Although I was working too many hours to do much during the '04 campaign, it really hit me hard when John Kerry lost, and I had gotten used to going to his website occasionally for some quick fellowship. Also, right about that time, Al Gore announced firmly that he would not be running, and the Al Gore supporters' website sort of petered out. During the next several months, I spent some time during my few off-hours looking for emotional support on the internet.

[Vinca]

11. I was a refugee from the John Kerry site.

After he lost in 2004, it took 11 years before I was able to get the medical care I needed. That's why it's important we keep the Republicans out of office. Real people suffer and real people die.

[IDemo]

50. I was VoteForKerry on that site

Or was it Vote4Kerry, don't remember.

[Vinca]

298. I don't remember what I was. Maybe Periwinkle since that's another name for Vinca.

[IDemo]

349. Periwinkle sounds vaguely familiar

Unfortunately, "vaguely familiar" is doing pretty well for me anymore.

[Vinca]

378. LOL - me, too. We're not getting any younger.

[ebayfool]

507. That's the path I followed to DU, the John Kerry site.

Tue Nov 9, 2004, 10:55 AM


Read a lot before actually signing up.

[polly7]

12. Me. I came here from another site that booted me off numerous times for protesting

the invasion of Iraq. I'd used info from this site many times to do it with so thought wth am I even trying for there anymore. And ..... no-one was threatening to kill me here - that's always a good thing.

[DinahMoeHum]

13. Since March 2002, was lurking around the month before. . .

. . .when I first read William Rivers Pitt and his essay "Stand Your Ground"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/02/02_ground.html

[nolabels]

236. I remember those days

Twas around the time Mr W. Pitts and many others were starting to debate the MIHOP - LIHOP scenario more intensely. To this day NOBODY has came up with a plausible explanation and demonstration how you would melt down several hundred tons of structural steel with a few thousand gallons of jet fuel ( which essentially diesel fuel).

And still they have troops in Afghanistan some 14 years later, for what freaking reason nobody else could also explain either.

[steve2470]

14. me nt

[JPK]

15. Oct. 2004 nt

[Surya Gayatri]

16. Found DU (thanks to Air America) in Nov. '04.

Created an account in mid '05.

[MidwestTech]

185. Same

I was living in The Netherlands at the time and this was my link home and the only place of political sanity on the internet at the time.

[Surya Gayatri]

191. Ex-patriot, living in Paris...then and now.

[MidwestTech]

206. Bonjour!

I miss European life.
I missed the US too... but things at times really did feel far more civilized there.
How are the frogs about expats?
My french colleagues were very nice people in general. A real sense that they loved life.
The cloggies were....a mixed bag.
I've found the Dutch to be a pleasant but slightly cold people.
I do miss going to Belgie and Antwerp station to visit friends. What an amazing bit of architecture!

I admit freely, if I get the chance, I'm moving back to Europe. The US has nothing to offer me that is better than Europe except maybe I have more friends here LOL.

[Surya Gayatri]

215. Salut ! You can't imagine how relieved I feel to be living here with

the meltdown going on "outre-atlantique".

I've been a dual national for 15+ years, so aside from my "accent charmant" as they say, I pass for French.

It IS more civilized here! Come on back...LOL!

[Dragonfli]

17. I have been, and at about the same time. /nt

[peacebird]

18. Me. 2003

[bigwillq]

19. Me!

[ScreamingMeemie]

246. It was super boring for that year too...

[bigwillq]

301. eyb, Aicilef!

[ScreamingMeemie]

312. ...

[FreakinDJ]

20. 2002

[Iris]

483. me, too. I think after the midterm election

Which wS doubly devastating to my younger self after having FL stolen.

[demmiblue]

21. I started reading DU in 2004, but didn't sign up until 2008. n/t

[CTyankee]

22. Oct. 2004 was when I found DU.

I felt crushed by Kerry's defeat. I thought I couldn't face 4 more years of Bush so another liberal website had a list of Democratic websites and I like DU's name. It was an instant match for me. DU and Stephanie Miller's radio show got me through til 2008. I was down when Howard Dean didn't make it but I dried my tears and marched forward with Obama...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

32. Yes - at that time, we ALL knew Bush was lying about WMD - How in

the world could he possibly get re-elected ? And, then the exits said Kerry was going to win, and then Jeb fixed Florida. Mixture of shock, disappointment and trying to figure out how they defrauded.

Good times

[trotsky]

24. January 2002 when I finally signed up.

Had been reading before then, right after Selection 2000, thanks to a link from Bartcop. Man do I miss his rants.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

34. Oh ya...Bartcop. Think I found DU from Smirking Chimp? was that the name?

[trotsky]

36. I believe so!

And there was Media Whores Online. Damn there were some fine websites back then.

[tblue37]

147. I came here from Smirking Chimp, too, because someone posted part of a piece by

H20 Man on SC, and I followed a link to read the rest of it here.

[peace13]

64. I miss Bartcop!

There was no replacing him. : (

[ieoeja]

135. I came here from Bartcop in 2001. n/t

[ladjf]

26. Jan. 2004 nt

[shraby]

27. I joined April of 2004. I find the interaction interesting.

[Gothmog]

28. Me also

[roody]

29. I have.

[cureautismnow]

30. 2003. Discovered DU through a BartCop link.

Tempus fugit.

[pfitz59]

31. 2002

Found it early

[Mike Nelson]

33. Me, too...

...another 2004. I don't feel the same about DU, watching all the Hillary hate... nobody has to tell me there is Bernie hate, also. I know that, but I don't read every post and I see much more on one side. I hope DU returns to form and Democrats win BIG in November!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. Maybe we (and DU) are at our best when we are unified against something/someone

Back then, it was a war against Bush and election fraud. Although I do remember some dissent - the "non-tinfoil hatters"

[Trajan]

116. I'm wondering ...

Do ALL the posts from Bernie supporters infuriate you? ....

Even the ones that speak positively about the future? ... Even the ones that don't even mention Hillary?

I have every ugly Hillary poster blocked ... I don't see any 'Sanders Hate', because I don't want to see it ... That's my choice .... I also don't spend much time posting negative articles about Hillary, either ...

Negativity doesn't move me ... Positivity and optimism moves my human soul ...

Bernie has the positive vision ...

[Mike Nelson]

122. Not at all...

...I like the positive ones!

[Thirties Child]

35. Joined in February 2004 when Clark dropped out.

Big-time lurker. Had around 1,000 posts when, in 2012, we moved, changed servers, changed computers, couldn't remember password, lost membership, started over.

[leftynyc]

37. 2002

I've never seen it as fractured and nasty as it is right now. It's a pity.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

45. I agree. If Hillary wins, will we come back together?

[leftynyc]

46. It doesn't look that way

I never had to trash an entire forum before last month.

[gcomeau]

306. No, it doesn't.

Because it's one thing when two candidates that both champion your ideals compete and the one you favored loses. It's hard, but people get over it.

It's a whole other thing when one side is backing a candidate that makes no bones about actively opposing progressive policies... not just making excuses about why we can't get Single Payer through but flat declaring Single Payer should never ever happen and deriding it as bad policy while taking massive payoffs right out in the open from the health care industry... and then wants everyone to rally around her anyway.


Tough sell. And yet her supporters seem to want to act all shocked that anyone would have a problem with it.

[greatauntoftriplets]

55. Me either and I've been around since February of 2001.

[leftynyc]

80. The 2008 primaries were

also loud and obnoxious around here but nothing like what it is today. I never trashed the GD-P forum in 2008 and the site came together for the common good in 2008. I don't see that happening this year.

[greatauntoftriplets]

96. I was a moderator through the 2008 primaries.

This is far worse.

[ProfessorGAC]

207. I'm With You

And given your moderator history (and MIRT) you would know in more detail than i would, but i don't remember 2008 being anything near this contentious.

[greatauntoftriplets]

218. The jury system has made a big difference, and not for the better, IMO.

[peace13]

213. Yes!

I agree!

[davsand]

271. June 2001

I have not been terribly active here for a while now. I miss the way DU used to be. I come here now on occasion to look at the news to see the local perspectives and to see the Sunday funnies in the lounge. I don't post here too often any more. Sometimes I miss seeing my old friends here.



Laura

[Plucketeer]

274. And you know what???

There was the SAME SORT of banter/atmosphere prior to the Declaration of Independence. How badly did that turn out?

BTW, 2017 will be my tenth year here.

[Turin_C3PO]

366. Obama/Clinton 2008

was pretty bad also, no? I remember both sides loathing each other, PUMA and all that. Luckily people united for the general.

[leftynyc]

375. Either I'm older and less

able to deal with the bullshit or it's much worse. Like I said, I NEVER trashed the GD-P forum in 2008. I never loathed the Obama supporters (was and still am a Hillary fan) but the Bernie supporters work my last fucking nerve.

[Turin_C3PO]

386. I wish my fellow Bernie people

weren't all so virulently anti-Hillary. I will certainly vote for her if she's the nominee. I don't mind a good primary fight and Clinton is a little too centrist for me but I'll be damned if I'm gonna slam her with right-wing propaganda. I won't contribute to the Republican destruction of the Clintons.

[leftynyc]

403. And I feel the same about Bernie

I will enthusiastically vote for him if he's the nominee and I've never said one negative word about him - just that I think she'll do better in a general election. The vitriol is so much worse this time around.

[Hekate]

427. Amen

[peace13]

38. April 2005 after being a long time lurker.

Until a month ago I had never had a post hidden. I have to say that I've about given up posting. The jury system has really gotten out of control. You can call Hill a liar and that's OK but don't say she spends money on pant suits. I have to ask myself why do I care? I guess I can remember the old days here and the share of information and the back and fourths! Have a great day! I'm off to vote.

[CBGLuthier]

39. I was there from very near the beginning and I imagine I will be here at the end

which will be about five minutes after the coronation at the convention of her dibs.

[Autumn Colors]

41. Yup, been here since 2005 (nt)

[independentpiney]

42. registered Feb '04

but I read here daily for over a year before registering. I hadn't really thought how long it's been.

[hlthe2b]

43. Found DU via Skinner's poster on tv the horrendous day of the GWB* inauguration in 2001

precisely, 01/20/2001... though I did not register until a few weeks later.

In the past, DU had been a catharsis with like-minded progressives. I only hope we see a return to that following these contentious primaries.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

52. Wow - you are almost a founder ! What I miss the most was when you

could ask for everyone to send an email to people in the press - to protest this or that. And hundreds might do that. I think those were the days when you could actually affect something. Back when people actually read emails.

But, even today, en masse, we could make a huge difference if we wanted to.

[hlthe2b]

59. Yes.... I do think we had a shot at effective activism for awhile. It is so much tougher now...

and, of course we are so splintered currently. I know if a REPUB gets the WH we will once again be united, but that possibility is beyond sickening to fathom.

[Trajan]

189. I saw the banner ...

It was so awesome when the cameras turned to that particular street corner during the Inaugural Parade, and the ANTI-Bush Group there started hurling entirely appropriate epithets at the Bushes ...

I was cheering my TV as they passed that section of the parade route, and that's when I noticed the big banner .. that historic moment for DU ... I didn't actually visit for another few months, and didn't join until a year later in February 2002 ... I found the link on BuzzFlash, which was a great news compendium at the time ...

Yeah, it's been a difficult few months here at DU, but I suspect that, after the choice is made, I and others will release their Ignorees from jail, and maybe find some social equilibrium once more, here at DemocraticUnderground ....

[hlthe2b]

197. I sincerely hope so....

[prayin4rain]

44. I joined in September 2004. Dark days. ... shudder. n/t

[The_Commonist]

47. I first came here because of the Top Ten Conservative Idiots #1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/01/top10_2001_01.html

I left for a while, and then came back and forgot my username or password or something, and had a new email address and couldn't recover it. I don't even remember exactly.

I find DU to be the best news aggregator on the internet, at least for the kind of news that I seek out.

Discussions? Not so much. "Liberals" have proven to me to be just as big assholes as conservatives. Actually, "Liberals" are bigger assholes than conservatives, because they tend to be too smart for their own good when it comes to treating each other like shit. I find that for the most part, all conservatives say the same things in the same ways using the same words and phrases. Because they're just not that bright. "Liberals," on the other hand, are constantly finding new and more clever ways to insult each other. And do so constantly. It's very distressing and in many ways THIS PLACE has caused me to lose hope for humanity much more so than the Drumpf or his followers. I expect those people to be idiots. I expected "Liberals" to be better than that, and they're not. I have plenty of real people in real life to talk to, so I don't need to get much more out of DU than the news. A good, solid Lefty friend of mine, when I asked him if he came to this site, responded "Oh, you mean the Daily Liberal Two-Minutes Hate Site?" Yep... Sounds about right...

So, I come here for the news, and for the most part stay out of the discussions.

[treestar]

48. Just barely, joined Feb. 06

Now officially more than 10 years though.

[deucemagnet]

49. Since May 2003 with my original screen name.

I can't believe I'm closing in on 10 years with the current one.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

58. Ha. What was it? I was extremely short-sighted picking my second (current)

name. Picked it when someone caught George drinking in China. Thought we would be hating on him forever (and that we'd be able to change again).

[deucemagnet]

86. It was giant_robot,

named after a TV show from my childhood (Johnny Sokko and Flying Robot, now out on " target="_blank">DVD!). Another DUer signed up with a similar name, and I decided to change my name rather than be one of the bobbsey twins.

I signed up for a new account with my online poker screen name. Much like you, I thought that would be relevant forever, but now online poker is dead and I'm stuck with a strange screen name. (I always thought your screen name was funny, btw!).

[Laura PourMeADrink]

107. That's funny DM ! If we ever get to change again - I am going with a dignified

sounding name - like Einstein or something. If i had a dollar for the number of times someone responded to one of posts with "Take another drink, Laura" I'd be a millionaire.

[tblue37]

165. Actually, I've always found your name fun. I also like SalmonChantedEvening's user name. nt

[Blus4u]

307. I always wondered where your handle came from.

Makes perfect sense - I wouldn't change it if I were you, even if you get the chance.

Peace

[Frustratedlady]

51. Joined in 2005 because all my friends and family were sick of hearing me bitch about Bush.

He made me so miserable that I had to find someone who understood and wasn't too busy to fret with me about what he was doing to the US. I got hooked with my therapy site and never left.

Without DU, I would be a babbling idiot by now, although Trump and his cohorts are testing it each minute of the day.

My present concern is what will be the "death by campaign" count before November? Did you ever think you'd live to see the day?

[Bettie]

53. March 2004

It has kept me relatively sane.

Though, I should know by now to just take a break during primary season.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

54. 2001. nt

[PeteSelman]

56. 2003. Was a Clarkie.

Will be 13 years in September.

[tblue37]

168. I was a Clark supporter, too. nt

[mia]

445. Same here.

Will be 13 years in September for me, too. Was a volunteer in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida.

[Crunchy Frog]

466. Another Clarkie here.

Hard to believe it's been that long.

[Coventina]

57. Me!

Lurked through 2001, joined 2002

[Tripper11]

60. Found DU after Michael Moore shut down his BB

I used to go there all the time, then trolls pretty much killed that.
That was around 16 years ago?!?!
So, been here almost since it's inception.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

61. BB?

[ScreamingMeemie]

313. Bulletin Board.

[Trajan]

319. Bulletin Board

The first real public usage of the internets - Bulletin Boards ...

It's from those early format that the internet forum was born ... DU is essentially a bulletin board ...

[Tripper11]

416. damn...did I just show my age?? LOL

[Liberal_in_LA]

573. I moved over from smirking chimp

[mac56]

62. 2002

[FourScore]

63. I came when you came!! I would have been the 3-day, dust-bunny starer, but

I had children to tend to, so they kept me going!!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

81. LOL ! Now they are grown up ! Vivid memory for me - I was

working in DC and we had seen the favorable exits (back when Drudge would leak them) and I walked by the White House. It was cloudy and rainy but when I walked by, there was a break in the clouds and a stream of light shown down on it. We just all knew it would be a great night....screech....

[FourScore]

84. Wow. n/t

[Justice]

65. Since 2003

[Holly_Hobby]

66. Me, after 2000 n/t

[HockeyMom]

67. 2004

Kerry supporter.

[Kip Humphrey]

68. me... first account I started was in 2003 (damnit, still can't remember that password!)

this account since 2004.

[restorefreedom]

69. yup. joined in 2004, during the awful cheney regime. nt

[redstateblues]

70. April 2004. Just had my first hide.

The vitriol and acrimony that are currently on this site has returned me to occasional lurker status. Sad really.

[peace13]

77. Yes!

The jury is silencing good people here! Not so much the system but the ignorant jurors! I have had two in a month. One just this morning. 4/3 each time. Weird that I care. Sorry about your hide.

[Phentex]

98. Hides don't mean much...

but I agree with you about the sad state of this place in certain forums.

[blm]

71. Lurked in 2001 - joined in 2002.

I was more comfortable at MWO and Bartcop, format wise. I remember how DU moved too quickly for me to enjoy it.

Got used to it. Still sorely miss MWO and the old Bartcop crowd - damn, that group could have had their own comedy show.

[Atman]

72. Since October, 2003 -- after wallowing in a Yahoo! anti-Bush group.

It was a really fun group back in the day. We had a mixture of people, and even had a few meet-ups. But we all know what happened to Yahoo. Even then, the tone was getting more and more vile. That's when I found DU, and even ran my own political web site for a while. DU is still one of the only bookmarks I visit daily.

[Paper Roses]

73. Since 2005, those were the days my friends.....

[Umbral18]

74. I was much more 'We and They' in the beginning, except...

The We was everyone that had just had an election stolen by The They, they being the corrupt and conniving Republicans and a complicit Supreme Court. It was more commiseration than internecine conflict.

[titaniumsalute]

75. I've had this account since 2008

But I think I originally joined around 2004 or 2005. I can't remember why I had to delete my first account. I think the email I had signed up originally I had deleted and then one day I forgot my password. There was no way to retrieve it so I just ditched my old account. I don't post very often but I read LBN and General nearly daily and have for a decade.

[Depaysement]

76. Me

Since 2004. But under a different pseudonym.

[WhiteTara]

78. For me it happened after

2000. I've had a name change but DU has been my constant companion. I spent a long time staring at dust bunnies myself because I couldn't handle the nightmare of *co. I am in terror of a GOP takeover and the fighting on DU has me in despair.

[dchill]

79. November 2004

[Myrina]

82. Shortly after the very beginning (under a different username)

Reinvented myself several years ago after the Dean-Kerry wars.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

83. guess you won't divulge your original name? :)

[Myrina]

87. hippiechick

The original.

[blm]

103. ((hippiechick))

; )

[Myrina]

178. Hi blm!

[annabanana]

153. Oh my!. . Hiya!

(Still happily sporting your artwork, around my neck and dangling from my ears)

[Myrina]

177. There must have been more than me ... sorry ...

I'm not artistic at all.

[Divernan]

220. Hi, Hippiechick! You always gave great posts!

[Divernan]

224. Member since 2002, here. Missin' Newyawker99 - a very good soul.

A moment of silence for a lot of dear departed souls from those early years.

[Myrina]

291. Thanks - as do you!

[salin]

395. OMG! I didn't realize that!

Loved you then and loved you now - didn't realize you were the same you!

[Myrina]

439. Hi Salin!

Sorry that we lost touch ... yep I'm still me.
Still in Indy, too. You?

[salin]

514. Still do some work in the area,

but am mostly an hour south in b-ton.

[Oilwellian]

113. Same here

I was Oaf Of Office in 2001.

[underahedgerow]

242. Yeah I started in very early 2001 too, and re-invented myself a few years ago as well. Heck

I don't even remember my original name. I got here from Buzzflash. I was writing up a storm there with loads of research about the Florida debacle and my stuff was being re-posted here, so I was one of the originals. I didn't eat or sleep for months after that mess began, I went so deep into the bush history and the Florida mess, that it literally changed my life and everything I thought I knew.

And it all began with an article about a book called 'Votescam, the Stealing Of America'. I had read it in August 2000, when I wanted to find out about the candidates running for President, and began reading about the Bush family. I began writing about it in the few forums I could find, including Buzzflash, and all the signs in Florida pointing to the possibility of it happening again with bush.

No one believed me. Gloating was not an option, I was absolutely devastated.

In 2005 I was packing up all my stuff and doing some minor works around my house. There was a nice guy installing some stuff and making repairs as I was readying it for sale as I had decided to leave the USA after bush fucked us all a 2nd time in 2004.

He said to me 'What do you know that I don't?'

I said, 'this bush economic bubble is going to burst, huge and big time, and it's going to have a global impact. The shitstorm is going to start right here in the real estate market'.

This was after I had bought several properties using those ridiculously easy loan terms, at rock bottom prices, selling them just at the 2 year mark for over 100% profits. The last place I bought at 220K, sold it 2.5 years later for 525K, and it's now valued at 300K. It's been in foreclosure twice. Everyone got paid on my end, btw, I may have committed a bit of fraud in lying about my original assets, but every penny was paid on time and with its interest.

Man, I did NOT know it was going to be anywhere near as big and epic as it has become. SO glad I got out when I did.

And I'm still here on DU. It's just habit now. I don't have a lot to say.

[ScreamingMeemie]

250. I have often wondered whatever happened to hippiechick...

I was roaming through the archives the other day and saw a reply of yours to me. Thanks for letting me know you are still around. (MrsGrumpy)

[Myrina]

292. Hi!

[Warpy]

552. Same here, DU assigned my first password

so of course I forgot it. Signed up again as soon as we could choose our own, eventually chose one I could remember for my original name, should I ever resurrect it.

I found it through the Top Ten, linked at Buzzflash.

[liberal N proud]

85. August 04 here

Never seen DU more divisive.

[KG]

88. been here so long I remember when was a left-leaning board...

[salin]

396. In my eyes you have *always* been here.

[KG]

482. !

[Javaman]

89. Been here since '04.

it's changed an awful lot.

some good, some bad.

most definitely not at tolerant as it once was.

it was so much better without the jury system.

[AwakeAtLast]

90. May 2004

Top 10 Conservative Idiots brought me and kept me.

Stayed for the epic flame wars.









Edit to add: Remember when getting 1,000 posts was a major milestone?

[BBG]

155. 1,000 posts?

Yeah, that's still a milestone for some of us. Even after 10 years.

[hunter]

251. "700 Club" was the milestone.

I've been reading here from near the beginning, didn't decide to join up and say anything until 2002.

[Johnyawl]

91. Been here since March 2001...

...I read DU everyday, only post occasionally.

[elfin]

92. 2002 here

Via Bushwatch and Bartcop.

[ghostsinthemachine]

93. I've been around here since 2001

Under different names.(changed due to ex wife trolling me here at various times).

[ScreamingMeemie]

94. It's all PassingFair's fault.

Early 2003. Changed my name in the amnesty of 2008.

[PassingFair]

219. And I wandered in from BuzzFlash... What a great site.

I logged onto Buzzflash the morning of 911 and saw the second tower get hit.

I haven't been there in forever, so I just wandered back.
Still laid out like a candy store of pertinent articles!

I followed the "Conservative Idiots" link and found DU.
I was a reader long before I joined.

DU certainly helped ScreamingMeemie and I navigate through
the Bush years when we felt so isolated politically here in the
land of the "Reagan Democrats"

[lpbk2713]

95. The Florida sElection made me seek some sort of explanation.

That was a painful eight years that followed.

[Beaverhausen]

97. 2004. Came from Smirking Chimp

DU was a safe refuge. I don't know this place anymore.

[lamp_shade]

99. Sun Oct 5, 2003, 11:23 AM

[yardwork]

100. Me.

[NHprogressive]

101. Near-daily reader since 2003. New to posting.. not an internet-posting kind of person

I originally landed here because a friend had sent me one of the old Top Ten Conservative Idiots lists, and stayed for the (at that time, anyway) reliably interesting discussions, disgareements, news sources, and support.

[B Calm]

102. Me

[redwitch]

104. Me.

Since 2003

[Doremus]

105. Nov 17, 2004

Cuyahoga County, Ohio, epicenter of the stolen election, incredulous that they pulled it off and devastated that John Kerry gave up so easily.

Found people to commiserate with here, and many times since.

[JudyM]

570. I joined shortly before you, took a bus from DC to Cleveland to GOTV in the rain...

I'll never forget people who opened their doors only to tell me (OHIO SOS & Ohio Bush Campaign Chair) Ken Blackwell's office had informed them they were not eligible to vote because they had a brother in jail, or they hadn't voted in the last election, or or or... the facts in each case were true (meaning that it likely was from Blackwell's office) but would not in fact disqualify the person from voting.

They felt intimidated and embarrassed by these calls and were not planning to vote. And then the broken machines and ridiculously long lines... and the famous late-night mysterious and unexplainable vote-flip as we went to sleep believing Kerry had won...

[Doremus]

594. Oh man, the rain

Hubby and I slogged all around the Brookpark area doing GOTV. Encountered some folks who needed a ride to their poll and the phone #s we were given to get them on the ride list was perpetually busy. Someone finally answered and took the info but I highly doubt anything came of it.

That was the gloomiest, most chaotic day, one of many to come.

[JudyM]

595. Ah, memories... and a yuuuuge "if only we'd won" nt

[badhair77]

106. Came here after the 2004 election

I live in a red area and I had nowhere to turn. Someone on a KO fan site mentioned DU and I was hooked. As they developed the KOEB I wanted to join but back in those days you had to donate to join a group and I just never did till later. I've bookmarked Latest Threads and I head there each day. I still don't say much because I'm not into arguing but I do like to read and get new ideas. Oh and to keep my sanity in my red current hometown.

Laura, I always enjoyed your posts. Thanks for starting this thread. I knew I was not alone in coming here in 2004 to mourn that election but I didn't know how many were still here.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

484. I hear ya ! I live in a red pocket too...married a Texan and moved from

CT. Until tonight, reminiscing here, did not fully realize how important DU is to me. It is a great place to go - when you are among Republicans every day. And, I don't know where you are - but to me, it's not so much about the issues - it is much more about a total lack of awareness/discussion about the world and all the people who are different than they are.

[rurallib]

108. I looked and yes I have been

suggested by a friend.
During the 2004 campaign.
The summer of 2004 was phone calling, door knocking and DU.

[TalkingDog]

109. Same here.

I lurk. Go through phases of posting when the action gets hot. Go through phases of vowing never to visit again. (I don't have DU bookmarked and I don't stay signed in, so I can have a -do you really want to go there?- firebreak)

Mostly I use it as a good source of information.

[librechik]

110. Dec 2001

needed a place to post my outrage. I used to love the yellow flag on "My Posts"

Nowadays it fills me with dread.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

114. funny. remember when we could vote a post down? that was fun.

[mainstreetonce]

111. I've been reading political boards

and discussing politics on the net since election 2000.

I only read here occasionally during DU's early days ,but I remember DU 04 and 08 well.

[immoderate]

112. Feb., 2001

The day Skinner went on C-SPAN.

--imm

[panader0]

115. 9/11/2005

It's been fun and educational.

[KansDem]

117. Since 2003

[Roland99]

118. 11 1/2 years here. 2004 Election cycle.

Right after I'd had my revelation and no longer found myself being a Republican...made quite the left turn, clyde.

[Omaha Steve]

119. Tue Nov 9, 2004, 05:03 PM

Me too!

OS

[MsLeopard]

120. Jan or Feb 2001

I think there were something like 400 members when I joined.

[Juneboarder]

384. Brag, brag, brag...

But thanks to you, I've been a member since 6/15/05 at 7:22am if you want to be specific.

[MsLeopard]

457. You're so sweet....

For the record, he's my son-in-law.

[TuxedoKat]

121. Help for long-time DUer

Last edited Tue Mar 15, 2016, 05:04 PM - Edit history (2)

There is a really nice poster who has been here since 2005 but has a low post count. He started a fundraiser to help his father but it has been going slowly probably because of the low post count. Normally I see fundraisers for long-time DUers really take off, but this one has been slow to take off. Anyway, if anyone can help out a little I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018844451

https://www.gofundme.com/7ja9yk9x

[sarge43]

123. Ten years this January n/t

[CanonRay]

124. July 2004 for me.

[NewJeffCT]

125. I've been here since October of 2003 - Bill sent me

still have the same screen name.

Bill O'Reilly got me here - after he called for banning Lying Liars from Al Franken, I went out & bought the book and loved it. I figured there had to be other liberals out there, so I searched online and found DU, Daily Kos, and a few other sites.

[wiggs]

126. May 2004! Same story...some bleak and eye-opening days for me when we re-elected shrub. nt

[alittlelark]

127. Mon Aug 4, 2003, 11:31 PM

[aintitfunny]

128. January 19, 2004

Twelve years - wow.

[freebrew]

129. Came here when Smirking Chimp...

changed their format..

DU was easier to relate.

[SkyIsGrey]

130. Since 2003

nt

[hibbing]

221. Wow, and I thought I didn't post much

Peace my low posting friend.

[hibbing]

131. 2003

My massive post count can be deceiving, haha.

Peace

[underpants]

132. Oct or Nov 2001

[VMA131Marine]

133. Since Thu Apr 15, 2004, 12:29 AM: Not quite 12 years! Wow!

And it appears that I signed up on tax day. Not sure if that's a coincidence or not.

[tblue37]

134. Since July, 11, 2004. Almost 12 years now. nt

[shawn703]

136. I've been here since 2001

Originally I was shawn313, but somehow I locked myself out of that account. I moved from Detroit to Northern Virginia anyway, so shawn703 made more sense.

[femmocrat]

137. I actually hit the ten-year mark in January!

And I forgot to celebrate! Thanks for the opportunity to mention it here.

[Greybnk48]

138. For me it was the 2004 election.

I joined DU in early December after desperately trying to follow the whole Ohio rigged voting machine mess. It saved my sanity.

[Skwmom]

139. Since 2001. I was disgusted with what happened in Florida. n/t

[nevergiveup]

140. November 2004

DU saved me from a major depression.

[efilon]

141. Joined in 2002.

I don't post much but read every day.

[alcibiades_mystery]

142. I joined under a different user name Spring 2001

[Raster]

143. Me! Lurker in 2002, first posted in January of 2003.

[annabanana]

144. howdy all

During the lead-up to '04.. Was a Clarkista and got linked here...

[AuntPatsy]

145. Time sure does fly, DU became an island of sanity for a time.

[deutsey]

146. Joined in the spring of 2001

I think Top 10 Conservative Idiots lured me here. It was linked on Buzzflash every week, which was a very popular site back then. I contributed articles to Buzzflash and was very active in the growing anti-Bush movement that grew out of the 2000 debacle.

Sept. 11 really snuffed that out.

DU for me, especially in those days, gave me a place of community. That sense of community has waned for me in the past few years, but I still come every day for my fix.

[stevenleser]

148. Raises hand.

I had another username based on my name before this one but this one is 11 years now.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

158. what was it?

[stevenleser]

161. I think it was steveleser. I forgot the pw and then created this one. nt

[lakeguy]

149. April 2004 but I lurked

for maybe a year before that. Haven't posted much since 2007/2008, not as much actual discussion anymore.

[DawgHouse]

151. Me, I joined a few weeks before the 2004 election.

[Lucinda]

152. 2004 with my first id

Horrible days...DU was a great haven back then.

[snagglepuss]

154. Signed up in 2002 or 03 under different handle after I discovered Building 7 had

collapsed on 9/11. I only learned about it when I stumbled upon the 9/11 Timeline. I was one of the people who accepting the official story never searched for other versions. This discovery struck home as I had been watching TV when the first plane struck and then for the entire day but heard nothing about it then or in the days following. When I found out there had been a 3rd building, I knew I needed different news sources and came upon DU during one of my searches.

[yellerpup]

156. Lurked from 2001

when there were 1,235 members the first time I visited DU. I joined in 2004 after moving to a very red part of NC where even the local Democrats opened every meeting with prayers. I remember a DU member saw the Kerry/Edwards jet in the hangar which was the first we knew of the VP choice. That year, I signed up new voters at the County Fair and my RW bro-in-law went literally ballistic when he saw me, went home and shot his assault weapon all afternoon. I laid on the floor (to keep from being "accidentally" shot) and laughed my ass off that afternoon.

[dae]

157. January 2002 but started reading several months

before. First heard about DU from Bartcop.com. Bartcop, DU, and a couple others kept me sane during the mini Dark Age.
My all time favorite was Media Whores Online which became a great mystery b/c someone just up and walked away from (IMO) the most popular liberal blog at that time. I would luv to know the rest of that story.

[mnhtnbb]

159. I was here before my "join date" of May 2005

But for some reason, that's what my profile says.

I was here through the Dean scream/Kerry swift boating, etc.

I found DU after the horrific coup d'etat in 2000 orchestrated by the Supreme Court.

[ejbr]

160. May of 2006 after being run off of DKOS

for daring to question the legitimacy of unverifiable voting machines owned by repigs...but I'm not bitter; I remember every slight against me

[SammyWinstonJack]

162. Feb. 2001.

[HuckleB]

163. 14 years now.

[Jemmons]

164. Member since: Sun Jan 8, 2006, 01:55 PM

Its been over 10 yeasr! The major reason and firts thing i want was to make sure of it all!1!! 10 years! I might hav drunk som fthe time.

[me b zola]

166. 2004

[LibDemAlways]

167. Almost since the beginning, right after the

chimp's inauguration. Been here just about every day since. Amazing place. People come and go -- sometimes quite dramatic exits. This site has everything -- intelligent political debate, not so intelligent political debate, people offering thoughtful and astute commentary, people who seek only to disrupt, funny people, dead serious people, compassionate people, people who are assholes...it runs the gamut. After all these years, it feels like one big dysfunctional family.

[muntrv]

169. Me.

[aka-chmeee]

170. Lurked for a long time

Joined in October 2004. Bartcop (who would be appalled at this place now) always promoted other progressive sites. Being from Kansas, there weren't and aren't many who share my views here.

[The Blue Flower]

171. Right after the stolen election of 2000

I found buzzflash.com, who posted The Top Ten Conservative Idiots of the week. That linked me to DU for the first time. I can't even express what a relief it was to find an island of sanity amid all the media and government lies, and that has held true ever since. This community has been a major gift for me for the last 15 years. I'm a daily reader.

[Scully]

172. Spring 2003....

.....but I had lurked for quite some time before, reeled in by Top 10 Conservative Idiots (my goodness I miss Top 10 Conservative Idiots!)- although I suppose all one has to do to get a fix of conservative idiocy is turn on the news these days.

And I agree with what many of you said- this doesn't resemble the DU of the past- so much divisiveness, and internal vitriol. It's a little scary when we are fighting ourselves instead of fighting the Republican menace.

[Major Hogwash]

173. Is this another kudzu thread?

And wishing I had never made any posts in that verdammit thread!!!

[mishi48.59]

174. I have been lurking here longer than I've been a member

It was Bush/Gore that brought me here to DU. I hung out here through the stolen election and commiserated afterwards. Saved my sanity for sure. Took a break for a few years and it's nice to be back!

[bhikkhu]

175. 2003, and its been a rough ride

I've never posted an "I'm leaving and here's why!?!?!!!" thing, but I have sat out a month or two here or there. Primaries are always a tough time, and I don't agree with a lot of things I read, but still the best place for good arguments on the issues. And LOLcats, of course.

[pkz]

176. Lurked long time; Sep 25, 2006 n/t

[IADEMO2004]

179. Early in 2001 Bartcop, Media Whores, DU. My Political Triad then

[ileus]

180. One more month to 10 for me.

[GliderGuider]

181. June 2004. nt

[allan01]

182. i went looking for like minded pple after the 2004 election and found du

i too mostly live in a mostly red area ( tuolumne county ) (was a declined to state for a number of years after leaving that " other " party then joined because i couldnt stand by and watch wat was happening () of california. i can name only a # of democrats and liberals on one hand .

[a la izquierda]

183. I joined in August 2004...

when I moved from Los Angeles to Oklahoma.

[whirlygigspin]

184. i'm voting 'present'

ah the memories

[mindwalker_i]

186. Me - 2001

Seen a lot of fights come and go.

[rock]

187. Since 2001

Now it really feels like we're overrun with GOPers, but we'll see what the primary brings us.

[Politicub]

188. Me - I think since 2003. Favorite forum was GD-p

Ironic, since now I have that forum trashed.

[tularetom]

190. Fri Sep 9, 2005, 07:21 PM

I was surprised I hadn't been here longer.

[HughBeaumont]

192. Yup Yup -

August 2004 here.

[asjr]

193. Smirking Chimp brought me here in 2002. It was funny, pleasant and interesting.

That was so long ago.

[hamsterjill]

194. I have.

I actually found DU in 2001 after George W. took office. I lurked for a very long time because I just wasn't into internet discussion.

When John Kerry lost in 2004, I came back to my office in tears and joined DU.

[christx30]

195. I've been a member since

April 9th, 2006. So not over 10 years yet.
I apologize for intruding on this thread. I'll show myself out.

[Marrah_G]

196. ~raises hand~

[zipplewrath]

198. Member since: Thu Oct 30, 2003, 04:52 PM

I probably lurked a bit before that as well.

[Hannahcares]

199. Miss the days when DU was proactive

Been here since 2004. Voting issues my passion. Lots of on the ground work on electronic voting machine paper trails, etc. Miss the days when DU was more proactive. We'll never take Congress back until we have open access to ballot audits and software checks on proprietary software. Francois Chocquette spotted the problems and Beth Clarkson is trying to prove it in Kansas. Peace, hannah

[Dems2002]

200. I have

I have been here for over 15 years. I joined after the 2000 election.

[mak3cats]

201. Thu Nov 11, 2004, 09:49 AM...

...although I never posted much until the last year or so; I mostly lurked.

[Avalux]

202. Me! I wouldn't have survived Bushco without DU.

Being able to come here and vent and hang out with like-minded people was the best medicine. DU has been a part of my life for a long time and even when we fight with each other, we're still a family.

[kydo]

203. Yeppers that was basically me too

Joined in 2004. If I had known this place was here before that I would have joined then. The 2000 elections was a very lonely time. The misery after the 2004 still sucked but DU made it not suck as bad.

[ProfessorGAC]

204. Early To Mid 2001 for Me

Whenever it was that Skinner was interviewed on Washington Journal, i jumped on a day or two later and have been here since.

[Melurkyoulongtime]

205. I found DU on the night of 09/11/01...

I'll never forget it. You guys talked me down from a very high ledge that night (even though you didn't know it bc I only lurked) and I've lurked here pretty much every day since. Don't remember when I first registered but my original user name was Yosarrianlives. Like other posters above I forgot my password to that account. Even with all the current infighting this place is a safe haven for me and one of the first places I visit for the real news. And I've always LOVED your user name LPMAD

[GoLeft2004]

208. ME. nt

[Kelvin Mace]

209. Since 2003

Got involved big time when Diebold and e-voting was the debate.

[BarbaRosa]

210. 2001

Found this place after 'Turn Left' bit the dust.

[Pacifist Patriot]

211. Member since: Tue Oct 12, 2004, 06:33 PM

[PeaceNikki]

212. Oct 2004

[moonbeam23]

214. Me

still don't get no respect lol..

[Spirochete]

216. I've been here since

about the last of February, 2001. Directed here from Bartcop.

[Dont call me Shirley]

217. Half that, I have my 5 year anniversary in 3 weeks...

Partay.....

I found DU through Thom Hartmann.

[lillypaddle]

222. Your story is very like my own

I couldn't believe GW was elected again. I take nothing for granted in this upcoming election.

[Curtis]

223. Me too!!

Coming up on 13 years. Don't say much, but been around

[karynnj]

225. Same here - joined after the loss in 2004

which was especially painful as I , like many, experienced the euphoria, when it looked in late afternoon election day as if we really could have that wonderful man and his incredible wife Teresa as President and First Lady. What hurt almost as much as the loss was seeing many Democrats turn on him and try to rewrite the fact that he ran a clean, high road campaign that almost pulled off a major upset. It is hard to describe what I felt when a relative I really like, cheerfully said something like - "Well, these 4 years will show the country how awful Bush is ... and then (his eyes lit up) Hillary can run." Others were less nuanced, just saying "get over it" -- something I doubt I ever completely will - even though I think that Obama with 60 Senators and a Democratic House even for just a short time and Kerry using his skills to get the Iran deal and the climate change deal might be better than what he could have done as President with Republican control of both Houses. (Except Kerry would never have nominated Alito or Roberts)

DU ... and especially DU JK group was a place where others experienced what I did.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

521. Interesting point of view on Kerry. Speaking of family..I remember having a huge fight

with my inlaws that completely disrupted our Thanksgiving dinner that year. Me, getting so upset, spouting about how Bush lied and how he rigged the election. My husband asking "who do the family members of those who died in Iraq go to for justice?" The rest of the family, smirking, laughing.

I often wonder, do they deep inside think, though never speaking it.."what was I thinking when I voted for that buffoon?"

[malaise]

226. I joined late in the 2004 campaign

Was lurking for a while before that.

[liberalhistorian]

227. I've been here

exactly thirteen years this month. DU was actually one of the first websites I ever joined. Little did I know that when I moved to another state two years later, I'd actually meet my now-husbans through an area DU meet up.

[tex-wyo-dem]

228. Your story is the same as mine...

Joined right after the 2004 election, when I had a very bad feeling that the election has been stolen. There was an entire DU group dedicated to researching the evidence that, indeed, the vote had been corrupted.

What terrible dark days those were, but DU became a bright spot for me and much of what I know today about politics I learned right here.

DU was a very different place back then.

[haele]

229. July 2001. Don't remember exactly when...

My future spouse told me about this great site he found and we should both sign up. I seem to remember DU had just over 5K members at the time.

There were only four or five forums at the time (can't quite remember how many - I'm sooo old). LBN, GD, I think the Lounge had just been started up, Announcements, and Ask the Administrators. You could still read a week's worth of posts on every page, and it would only take you a hour or so to read all the posts in any forum.

Haele

[flor-de-jasmim]

230. Can't remember exactly, but my first login name included "4Edwards",

which I changed when we were allowed to do so, so it has been a good long while.

[Heddi]

231. October 2001...helped me keep my sanity

[Raine1967]

232. Same here. Joined officially Friday Nov 12, 2004

I had been lurking a few years, but after the Kerry loss, I decided to take the plunge and join.

[DeeDeeNY]

233. 3 more months for me

Looking for some sanity after Bush 'won' once again, I found DU with a link in a now inactive website 'Too Stupid To Be President' http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/

[Mister Ed]

234. Ten years and a few months.

My 2,000 posts in that time may seem scant, but I've tuned in to DU almost every day in those ten years.

[bikebloke]

235. Since 2001

Just a reader for about 6 months prior.

[jdadd]

237. Here!!!

Lurked for a couple of years before I joined...Still don't post much

[zappaman]

238. "top ten conservative idiots" brought me here

I miss that weekly feature but I understand it got to be too much.
too many idiots!

[flygal]

239. 2004 Election baby here too :D

[matt819]

240. I thought it was 2001

But my profile says 2002.

[49jim]

241. I came on in

2001. Don't post much.

[MuseRider]

243. Registered 2002

read for quite a while before I actually signed up but not here from the beginning. This was the very first discussion board I had ever signed up on and was quiet for some time.

[potone]

244. Me, and for the same reason.

I was devastated by that election. I'm not sure that I'm over it even now. God, what those eight years of Bush were like! If it hadn't been for the Daily Show, I think I would have lost my mind.

[geardaddy]

245. Me. Since 08/2005

[Sivart]

247. Im on the list....

Ive been hanging around for 12 years, maybe.

[Boxerfan]

248. Heard about this place on the Rhandi Rhoads board...

And I was warned it was a fast moving forum....

Well look at my post count-I'm zooming (not).
Since 2004 here-after the 2nd Bush election I really needed the camaraderie

[andym]

249. Came here during the viscious primary fight between Dean, Edwards and Clark supporters

In the end Kerry came out of being an after thought to win the primaries and end the bitter acrimony, more or less. Found DU to be a place where people with very strong opinions battle. Still seems so to this day.

[gollygee]

252. I joined July 4, 2004, right after seeing Fahrenheit 911 n/t

[merrily]

253. Manny Goldstein was with DU for more than ten years.

http://mannygoldstein.net/ The numbers of recs on some of the tribute posts is probably too low because they kept going up after he posted that.

[leveymg]

266. I adopted his pet fly. Sleeps at the foot of my bed.

Manny can have his fly back, anytime. Just ask.

[merrily]

276. I appreciate the sentiment.

However, the fly or ant or whatever it is was the avatar of LOoniX, a host of the Bernie Sanders Group who was banned not long before Manny was. I don't think MannyGoldstein ever adopted it as his avatar. I had it as mine, but dropped it after a fellow Bernie supporter posted that moving avatars were messing up his ability to view DU and no better connection was available in his area.

I don't think Manny can fly back to DU any time he wants. My post in ATA about that topic remains both hidden and unanswered, and I suspect a lot of the hidden posts of December 19 and perhaps the week following December 19 that remain hidden are about MannyGoldstein.

As you no doubt know, MannyGoldstein of DU is now Manny Goldstein of http://jackpineradicals.org/content.php, a board for supporters of Sanders of which he is one of three owners. So, I don't think he will be banned any time soon. I suspect, but cannot swear, that LOonix also posts there, too. I do as well.

[leveymg]

278. I've adopted several rescue flies. I miss LOonix, too.

Manny, wherever you dwell, whoever you may be, you will always be a big part of what is best about this place.

[merrily]

281. Rescue flies! zomg. I love the smell of laughter in the morning. Thank you! nt

[leveymg]

285. My flies play with yours, who now lives down the street with a neighbor.

They are so cute when they all get together.

[merrily]

290. #Berniesofly. His avatar is all the fly I need.

[leveymg]

294. He's Superfly. An all time great.

[merrily]

296. Not really, but Bernie is both fly AND super

[Not Sure]

254. Katrina brought me here

I had been a visitor to DU many times before, but the total lack of response by the Bush administration on Hurricane Katrina blew my mind and got me into the discussion.

[braddy]

255. 2004 here.

[FSogol]

256. Oct 2004 for me. n/t

[Rose Siding]

257. Here since 2001

Because I support Democrats -which was something of an underground operation back then. Ironically, now it's a bit of an underground operation around here.

[OregonBlue]

258. Me too.

[leveymg]

259. Started out as a Frontpage author in 2003.

Joined up a year later. I truly love this place, but hate to see what it becomes during primaries.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

260. 1/14/2006

As with many others, DU was an antidote getting through some tough times.

[TygrBright]

261. Sixteen years. Doesn't seem like that long... n/t

[Saviolo]

262. Lurking since about 2004

But I didn't make an account until 2008. I seem to remember finding a link to it through Plastic.com, which was a really excellent current events discussion board. It came about from the joint work of Feed and Suck.com. Ah, the good ol' days.

You can still find some plastic.com snapshots on the Wayback machine.

[jwirr]

263. Yes, July 2004.

[bunnies]

264. I first joined in 2004. Was a Deaniac back then.

Had to re-join after computer change. I remember learning about the PNAC on DU. Seems like a lifetime ago.

[FighttheFuture]

265. Joined 2002. Been mostly away for last several years, watching the country sink, but now

very excited about the possibilities while fearful for this country's future.

[rainy]

267. Me, I found DU right after 9-11.

[Paladin]

268. I've been here since 2001. I've hardly had any cause to regret it. (nt)

[0rganism]

269. joined in 2001

after the crappy 2000 election

[prairierose]

270. Since Nov 2004....

I had been lurking and reading since 2001 but after that "election" I registered and soon after became a star member. I don't post a lot but I do read a lot.

[rocktivity]

272. For me, it was looking for consolation during the bleak days following 9/11.

My frustration with the media coverage took me online, and when I found a site that said Osama Bin Laden had been trained by the CIA, I knew my instincts had been right. I then found consolation on Michael Moore's site, which led me to Democrats.com. When I tried to find Democrats.com again, I found DU. Now the truth can be told -- I became a DU-er by accident.


rocktivity

[BeeBee]

273. Me. I joined just after the 2004 election.

I lurked before then and still don't post a whole lot, but I spend quite a bit of time here reading what others have to say.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

275. Nov 2004

Is when i signed up, but i was reading du for a year or so by then.

[MotorCityMan]

277. Been here since the 2000 travesty

I managed to find this website during the 2000 election. I was SO glad to find others who were as upset about the election as I was.

Don't post much (obviously) but have been a daily visitor (Lastest News, Good Reads and General Discussion, usually) since then.

[sagetea]

279. I lurked since 2003

Became a member in '04 new account in '07...

I just moved into my house in '04 and was reading DU, with Kerry signs in my yard, when there was a knock at the door. It was a military cop, my husband yelled "Sh*t, Sage, what have you done now!" lol!!! you never know what to expect in Idaho. I post very rarely, just like to read, but, I'm here everyday, reading, learning, and cheering us on!!!

A`ho,

sage

[Orrex]

280. I'm only here because I was told there would be refreshments.

[trackfan]

282. I think I've been here since 2002. n/t

[Phlem]

283. 5-12-2005

whew just made it.

[TransitJohn]

284. Still alive after all the purges and bullshit

[Maeve]

286. Summer 2001--brought by Top Ten List

Spent time as a "hostess" in the Lounge (serving virtual drinks... ), was a moderator a few times, also assisted with and later wrote the Daily Market Watch thread in LBN back in the day. Now real life keeps me too busy to hang around here much.

[woodsprite]

287. Me! I joined DU 12/4/2004

I was under an episode of depression the morning I woke up and found Bush was our new president and Kerry wasn't fighting for recounts. Actually, I had been reading before that date, but knew to be with like-minded people and keep my sanity, I had to join.

[KamaAina]

288. Delurked shortly after Nineleven(TM).

[bluesbassman]

289. Since May of '05.

Found DU through Bartcop. Lurked for a long time and found it a great place to share ideas and discuss current events. Never moderated, but after the the change to DU3 I did eight terms as member of the MIR Team and one term as a forum host. Haven't been posting much lately, but still enjoy reading some of the great information DU provides.

[Tanuki]

293. 2004. n/t

[onyourleft]

295. I have. n/t

[Lorien]

297. Since 2002. nt

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

299. Not many posts

but I've been here since 2001

[Th1onein]

300. ...

[gcomeau]

303. July 2004 for me. And this is dark days on DU.

Never seen such a mass of people on a supposedly liberal site actively working against progressive policies like Single Payer just because they're so caught up in star power brand name appeal that their candidate can do no wrong as long as she's winning.

It's fucking stunning.

[July]

304. I don't post often, but

I've been here since 2003 (before July 6 -- ? -- according to my profile).

[valerief]

305. I have. Some college kid told me about DU while we were both at an antiwar (Iraq)

candlelight vigil. I came and got hooked.

[canichelouis]

308. Superlurker

Since 2004

[L. Coyote]

309. Found DU researching 2004 election fraud, was posting the daily election interity news back then

which led into a forum on DU. GD was swamped by election 2004 long after the election, and a forum was started.

Election Fraud, Irregularity, and Reform Headlines
-- Media article links from Nov. 2004 to April 2005 --
Some media outlet links expire, so, rather than maintain links,
I've zipped all the Headline HTML files in a single folder:

Download 2004 Election Fraud, Irregularity, and Reform Headlines archive.zip

[Laura PourMeADrink]

321. As long as I live I will never believe DimSon won Florida in 2004. i remember

all the numbers people back then - almost on the verge of proving Florida was impossible. That's another thing I thought would eventually become known to all.

[L. Coyote]

342. Florida was being used as a ruse to distract fom Ohio in 2004, where the evidence is.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

469. You make me want to research that more. I actually quit my job

in 2005 to write a book about Florida. My office gave me a tape recorder and cash. I didn't do it and I will always regret that. Is it too late to prove to the world - and have them believe it??

[Laura PourMeADrink]

477. Have to say, in those months after 2004 - there were some brilliant

people here. People crunching the numbers - trying to figure out the patterns. It was truly an experience. One night, very late, a DU named Tin Foil Hat, who had downloaded the precinct totals from 2004 and 2000 was on to something. She/He wrote late that they were on to something - that 2004 numbers looked like they were Gore 2000 + X%. They said that they would post the next day - and they never did and never posted again.

For several times after. I asked about TFH and no one knew anything.


A couple years ago, I posted about TFH again, and I swear within minutes someone responded that I knew Nothing about what I was speaking about and that TFH was a man and not a woman. Very hostile. I often think about that - how this poster knew immediately about someone from 10 years before. It made me wonder if DU has some kind of keyword alert.

[L. Coyote]

497. Joe Knapp was active then, with Cuyahoga analysis

OH black vote disenfranchisement - Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1081323
Dec 17, 2004
OH black vote disenfranchisement. ... A cry of "tin foil hat" and arguments that nothing is "proven" so it must not be reality

Another of the posts we can't read any more!

[Blasphemer]

310. Started reading in 2003, posting in early 2004

I was a Wes Clark supporter back them but, like most everyone else, I just wanted Bush sent packing.

[mulsh]

311. I've been here since 2001 under 2 different accounts and user names. Bad memory and computer cost

me the first user name & account. I've been mulsh since before "the great user name change" in the early 2000's, which should give you an idea of how long I've been around here.

This place seems to be going through a major troll infestation this election.

The sniping and crap from alleged Sanders and Hillary "supporters" is about the worst I've seen around here. I suspect some party operatives are behind many of the more egregious posts. Fortunately if mostly makes me work harder on my personal quest to get everyone I know to get out and vote or stay in and vote via absentee ballot.

I will have no problem voting for who ever gets the Democratic Party nomination.

[lovuian]

314. Me and Love DU

Skinner is great!

[virgdem]

315. Lurked since early 2001but formally joined in 2002.

[LisaM]

316. Me, here since 2001.

It was one of the first gathering places to vent anger about the 2000 election. Times have changed since then - Air America has come and gone, this place has gone through a lot of changes, a few old-timers still around, many of them gone. It's a different community, that's for sure. I would say it came of age in 2004, though that's also when I sensed the first bits of schism here. It was a really united place before that. The 2004 primaries seemed a bit contentious at the time, but those disagreements seem quaint now.

[MGKrebs]

317. 2002 for me.

Don't post much anymore though. I think we did a lot of good research back in the day. The black box voting, all the GWB and Cheney conspiracies, and PNAC stuff. At the time, there were very few places doing that stuff. Now it's an industry. This is still a good source for news from all over.

[Kermitt Gribble]

318. November 2005, for me

for the same reasons. I read DU every day, but rarely post.

[Binkie The Clown]

320. Joined as a Deaniac in 2004. Forgot my username. Rejoined last year after a long absence. n/t

[Svafa]

322. Started lurking in 2005. Registered during the '08 primaries but still mostly lurked until recently.

[GreenPartyVoter]

323. I mostly lurk these days.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

324. I discovered the DU on the first day

but didn't join until later in 2001.

[Generic Other]

325. Raises hand

Since 2001.

[footinmouth]

326. I think I joined in 2004

I mostly read, hence the low post count. This was a much friendlier place back then.

[Blue State Bandit]

327. 11 years here

[ms liberty]

328. Me. 2003. n/t

[LiberalEsto]

329. Here since 2002

Lurked for a while previous to joining. I was terribly depressed about the election of W and this was a HAVEN,

[Blue_In_AK]

330. Me!

Same scenario - November 2004.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

335. Were you in on all the election fraud discussion? good times

[Blue_In_AK]

337. Yes, that's exactly what brought me here.

I simply couldn't believe that W honestly won that election (or 2000). I still feel that way.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

462. so he didn't win 2000, he didn't win 2004

The most amazing miscarriage of justice ever. And like everything bad in life...people move on and no one ever pays

[maveric]

331. I just happened to google "Conservative Idiots" just for the hell of it...

And it brought me here early in 2002.

[KT2000]

332. 14 years and still going!

[BeyondGeography]

333. Who hasn't?

[Bobbie47]

334. 2001 nt

[kwassa]

336. since early 2005, though I have left for stretches of time ...

I miss some of the old-timers who were really interesting.

[Turn CO Blue]

338. Yep. Your OP pretty much describes me. I was so disheartened after Bush's second "win".

I had been lurking a few months off and on, but joined a few days after Bush stole Ohio about 13 1/2 years ago.

TCB

[denbot]

339. Roughly March of 2001. N/T

[subterranean]

340. Early 2005, shortly after Bush's second inauguration.

"Top 10 Conservative Idiots" is what first brought me here. I've been lurking regularly ever since!

[Smarmie Doofus]

341. Me. Since 2003, I do believe. nt

[LanternWaste]

343. Autumn, 2001.

Autumn, 2001. A link from Black Box Voting and Andy Stephenson brought me to DU.

[applegrove]

344. Heard that Democrats were being baited by smug republicans after Kerry's loss. Looked online

for a place to 'help out'. Found a mixed board. Didn't like dealing with the liars that were the GOP posters. Heard about the DU. Loved it.

[jazzwinders]

345. Me!!!!

I don't post much, but i've been here since the beginning of Bush's presidency. I recall the days of listening to Air America Radio while reading DU. A lot has changed here over the years, and a lot of posters have moved on. We've had some really great days here together. Yes, even those of us that rarely post are reading, observing, and taking action. I've called DU my home for many years.

[eleny]

346. .

2003

[Laura PourMeADrink]

470. L U

[eleny]

487. .

[img][/img]

[jpak]

347. moi - early 2002

[Cobalt Violet]

348. Was here before the 2004 election.

That election night was such a sad night here.

[kentauros]

350. Mi! :)

Thu Sep 4, 2003, 09:36 PM

As for why, that's not something I would remember. I'd say it was likely because I wanted to be able to comment on the Hate Mail posts

Favorite mo-ron word garnered from that, and it still makes me crack up: "spude" (should have been "spewed&quot

[shenmue]

351. Me

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

352. Lurker since 03. Saved my sanity.

[starmaker]

353. Late 2004

Election reform - 51capitalmarch
Til we got sent to depths
Back for Bernie- last vote was for Mike Gravel

[sakabatou]

354. Since Oct. '04

[WiffenPoof]

355. Since 2004...

...under a variety of names.

[OhioBlue]

356. Dec 2004 - I was depressed. DU gave me hope. n/t

[struggle4progress]

357. Joined in 2014 after lurking for several years

[TexasBushwhacker]

358. 2004 also n/t

[libodem]

359. Me

Here since 2005.

[Ernesto]

360. EARLY 2001

Saw the "sign" in the crowd as chimp made his way into the white house.
Maybe I'll make the 5000 club some day!

[RockaFowler]

361. Me - I joined in June 2004 after lurking for awhile

I miss a lot of the old-timers around here
These kind of posts remind me of the others still out there . . .

[Jane Austin]

362. I have.

Couldn't believe W was installed as President and sought out DU for company.

[A HERETIC I AM]

363. August, 2003. n/t

[SheilaT]

364. I joined in 2002.

My now ex husband had found the Conservative Idiots, and would print it up for me. After a while I was interested enough to join.

And yes, this place was very different in the early years. I miss the camaraderie that existed then, posters whose names I know longer recall but recall some of the exchanges I had with them back then.

There were a lot of strong feelings in 2008 also, but there's a level of vitriol these days that's breathtaking. I have finally put a couple of posters on Ignore, and I'm thinking of putting a few specifics others on it also.

[Aristus]

367. September, 2001.

1 week after the Towers came down.

[Duppers]

368. My profile says Sept 2004 but

That's when I deleted my first handled. Been reading, posting here since '03.

13 years!

[beam me up scottie]

369. I lurked since 2001, joined in 2004 for the same reason.

[shanti]

370. 2002

Not long after 9/11. I came here on the suggestion of someone on another site i frequented. She told me about top ten conservative idiots, and i've been here ever since.

[IcyPeas]

371. early 2003 here.

I was in total disbelief that we (the USA) were going to invade Iraq. Bush, rumsfeld, condoleeza, et al. weapons of mass destruction my ass. I knew they were lying because their lips were moving.

Then I found DU via Smirkingchimp. (I don't remember how I found Smirkingchimp. maybe via Bartcop.)

[teamster633]

372. 12 years this summer...

[Sky Masterson]

373. Me

I came back when Kudzu was going places (Sometime in the Spring of 04).

[thereismore]

376. Before 2004, before all that Ohio heartbreak... nt

[New Earth]

377. Same here

Came right after 2004 election. Was glued to the Election Forum. Old screenname was Faye. I can't believe it's been 12 years

[Ohio Joe]

379. Just by a hair... 1/2006

Unfortunatly... I don't remember how I found the place

[frustrated_lefty]

380. July, 2003.

[arcane1]

381. 2002 here!

I remember the amusement I felt when your name first appeared here

[nadinbrzezinski]

382. Me, more than 10, feels like a life time

[DesertFlower]

383. i joined in 10/05 under a different name.

[tencats]

385. Member since Wed Jul 9, 2003

[gater]

387. Almost 13 years...

Joined November 2003.

[hfojvt]

388. I guess you beat me by 5 days

I was looking for other ways to cope, then decided I needed a support group.

[bobthedrummer]

389. For me it was the coup that installed Bush/Cheney et al...a COUP. I found DU in 2001 n/t

[VOX]

390. "Member since: 2003 before July 6th"

Actually it was 2001-2002 sometime, but I changed my account ID and lost some "credits."

Times have...changed.

[countryjake]

397. Aha! There you are!

I gave you a shout-out in that other "We're domed!!1!!" thread, if you are who I think you are.

Remember the Parlock investigation?

Hats off to ye!

[VOX]

449. YES! I was "rezmutt," who did the Lexis-Nexis search on Phil Parlock's serial "victimization"!

I switched to VOX as a reference to the UK amp-maker who supplied the Beatles and other Brit Invasion bands. Now it sounds like I'm a sandwich board for Vox Media news service...an unintended consequence.

Thanks for the shout-out and the hats-off!

[Jemmons]

391. I have been here ever since I was a young boy growing up in Brooklyn....nt.

[countryjake]

394. Ha! Good one!

[salin]

392. Jan. of 2002.

Found through BuzzFlash reference to BartCop and a link to a thread about 'Captain Bunnypants' and a subsequent visit by the secret service due to said reference.

[countryjake]

393. There weren't very many members here when I joined in 2001

it's been fifteen yr for me.

DU used to have some incredible writers...the front page was a thing of beauty during the time the Shrub administration was wreaking havoc on our country.

[tallahasseedem]

398. I have!

I found DU through a Michael Moore post. Thank heavens since I REALLY needed the therapy this place provided after the 2004 "election".

[lumberjack_jeff]

399. Yup. n/t

[GardeningGal]

400. November 2004 nt

[druidity33]

401. I had to check to be sure, but yeah 2005. nt.

[Mz Pip]

402. 2001

Shortly after the selection of Bush.

[Zorra]

404. Me, 2003. nt

[demtenjeep]

405. yes. It was comforting to have like minded people

I remember just bawling when Kerry gave up

[k8conant]

406. Member since: Sat Nov 27, 2004, 07:34 PM

I don't remember why!

[Champion Jack]

407. Account status: Active Member since: 2003 before July 6th

Just checked my profile, couldn't remember exact date

[tavernier]

408. Me, shortly post 9/11.

I was KeysDisease back then. I had to leave after Kerry lost to Bush, basically because I was heading for a nervous breakdown and was advised to stay far away from politics. I had been deeply involved in state and local as well.

I returned a few years back but with a healthier perspective toward the whole process. DU is quite different now; bigger, meaner, less humor. I miss old friends who left long ago, as well. I'm hoping that after the election a lot of the rage will peter out and we will once again have conversations.

[Rex]

409. This place has always been a haven for me and kept me sane after 2000 and 2001.

AND 2003...2004. I have to say I am glad I missed the 2008 primaries. Place still is great, despite what the detractors whine about almost daily.

Overall we've lost some and gained more. Lots of epic posters have passed away since that time and I miss them all.

[phylny]

410. February, 2004 n/t

[Jim Lane]

411. I wonder how I got here?

I had no idea how long it had been. My profile says I joined just after Kerry's loss, so maybe some election commentary elsewhere led me here. I was also spending a lot of time editing Kerry's bio on Wikipedia, so maybe a Google search (I used Google back then) for something Kerry-related turned up a DU thread among the hits.

DU has certainly been a great resource over the past 10+ years. I no longer use Google because someone here clued me in to duckduckgo.com as an alternative. Thanks, whoever you were!

[Elwood P Dowd]

412. Since 2003. (nt)

[kentauros]

413. I'm just watching this thread to see who gets the coveted "Reply #420"

[BooScout]

414. Me...2005...but I lurked from almost the beginning

I think the first time I found this place was in the summer of 2001. I didn't register until 2005.

[awoke_in_2003]

415. Been here since April2005

But started lurking in 2003, during the run up to the Iraq war. Top 10 Conservative Idiots was my gateway drug.

[Solly Mack]

417. 2001. I witnessed the opening battles between actual members and freepers who signed on just to

cause trouble. Sure, sure, trolls still sign on - but nothing compared to those early days when it was more of an attempt at a hostile takeover, a full blown occupation by freepers to kill the board in its infancy. I'm fairly certain freepers outnumbered legitimate members in the first two months. Seemed like it anyway.

That was cleared up in due time, but it did make everyone leery of new members - a trait passed on and still alive today.

I mostly read the board then. Even with all the ruckus, the information being posted and the community being built was worth the time and effort - and it still is.

There are many in the class of 2001 that I miss greatly.

[Eugene]

418. May 2004

I got active after the 2004 convention in June.

[notawinger]

420. I have

I have been a long time member but just started posting.

[kentauros]

421. Well then,

Welcome to posting, Reply #420!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

479. Ok K...you have to explain 420 for us dumb folks :)

[kentauros]

495. It has something to do with consuming pot.

And since I do not do that (either smoke or ingest) you'll just have to settle for a wiki link

[Laura PourMeADrink]

537. That's cool. Funniest part: pronounced four-twenty

[kentauros]

543. I suppose, since it's Wikipedia,

we could edit it to say "pronounced: three-nineteen fifty-nine point nine nine nine nine nine ..."

[Stardust]

422. Since 2004, thanks to Thom Hartmann (I think he was with Air America back then.)

[yellowcanine]

423. Guilty.

[Texasgal]

424. Got here in 2014.

Still have a love/hate relationship with DU! LOL!

[Hekate]

425. Joined in the fall of 2002. My friend MaRadix kept telling me to go to DU every time we saw each...

...other at our town's frequent rallies against the coming war. She has since moved away from this town and we are seldom in touch, but I still remember that her handle here was MaRadix.

[edbermac]

426. Mon Nov 17, 2003

[tabasco]

428. OMG, has it been that long?

[rosesaylavee]

429. July 2005

Just do not even want to think about 2004. In 2000, had no idea what was ahead, knew it would be bad but had no clue. In 2004 -- knew how it could be and would most probably be. Very dark time. I found DU because of my sister who doesn't come on here anymore. We both started the week of the terror attack in London and were spending all our spare time on here when Katrina hit.

I am very grateful for this place. It's nutty at times. And a lot of good friends are no longer here - passed away or TSd or just gone to other websites.

[Skittles]

430. you want I should kick your long-time ass, Laura PourMeADrink?

I WILL MAKE YOU POUR ME A DRINK; yes INDEED

[Laura PourMeADrink]

455. omg S. you sound like Donald. LU

[Raine]

431. I have been here since soon after the Selection when the election was stolen. nt

[ladyVet]

432. Officially joined in 2004, right at the election.

But I'd found this place early in 2001, maybe March? February? I know it was really early in the year, and I was still reeling from seeing dumb ass's face smirking around the White House.

[mopinko]

433. 2003.

i was making political buttons at the time and tried to get some google ads. i was rejected. while researching the situation if found a post here from someone else who was basically in the same spot.

they did eventually take my ads.

[WestSeattle2]

434. Same for me - utterly demoralized after 2004 election. I joined DU on 11/29/2004

[patricia92243]

435. 2003. Still love DU as much as I did back then. n/t

[wildbilln864]

436. 05! n/t

[Owl]

437. Since 2001, so l'm at least 15 years old now.

[Triana]

438. Since 2001. n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

471. You were involved in the whole 2004 fraud discussions?

[Triana]

493. I remember them, yes. I was here. n/t

[alarimer]

440. I have, but I think I'm quitting this time.

Not going to listen to months of "vote Hillary or you're voting for Trump."

I can't in good conscience vote for her, so....but I guess we survived Bush, I suppose we can survive Hillary because at most it would be 4 or 8 years of nothing much changing, but slowly getting worse.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

519. If Hillary wins, maybe it will help if she picks a VP you like? nt

[etherealtruth]

441. 11 years officially, at least 2 years lurking before that

[Ilsa]

442. Me. Joined right at the tkme we were invading Iraq, IIRC. nt

[REP]

443. Holy shit. 14 years now.

I was in my 30s!

[Generic Brad]

446. Been here since 2001

Back in the day I had a different handle and rammed about here completely unnoticed. Hmmm. Much like now.

[smiley]

447. November of 2004....

pretty much for that exact reason.

[Bonobo]

448. A lot longer than 10. nt

[marlakay]

450. Joined in 2004

Michael Moore had link in his website. I was working on Kerry campaign to get rid of Bush.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

472. You were involved in the whole 2004 fraud discussions?

[marlakay]

478. If your talking about Ohio yes

I was working in CA though and Nevada.

[xmas74]

451. Fourteen years now.

I don't check in as much as I used to.

[geomon666]

452. After the 2000 election and seeing what happened in Florida

I was really pissed off and looking for a place to vent my frustrations.

[womanofthehills]

453. April 2005

Lately posting more than I have in yrs past!

[Carolina]

454. Me

2001

[coeur_de_lion]

456. June 30 2004

Twelve years! Didn't even realize it. I hardly ever post anything though.

[Wednesdays]

458. Yo!

[intheflow]

459. I arrived in August 2004.

Looking for hope and sanity in the run up to the 2004 election. Followed a link from an article on the Common Dreams web site. Been a mod several times, have marched with DUers against Bush and for peace and reproductive rights and at the 2008 Democratic convention. Have met so many DUers in real life these last 14 years, most of them generous, funny and lovely human beings. Sometimes you all drive me nuts, but 97% of the time you keep me grounded and hopeful and informed and sane.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

489. u rock!

[Kittycat]

460. 09/2004

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

461. 2005 here

[Crunchy Frog]

463. Here. Found it in early 2003 when we were about to invade Iraq.

I knew that the reasons were a crock, but everywhere I looked, everyone seemed to just be going along with it. Finally found DU; a place that had other people who could see the same things that I was seeing.

I was "read only" and unregistered for several months. I was shy.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

465. great story...and now u are not shy? :)

[Crunchy Frog]

468. I'm still shy IRL, but not on message boards so much.

Though I don't think I post nearly as much as I used to. Dunno, maybe I'm getting shy again.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

473. Shy is good ! :)

[Crunchy Frog]

475. At least it keeps me from being overly obnoxious...

mostly.

[NightHawk63]

464. Not a big poster...

...but I'm on DU almost every day since joining.

[erpowers]

467. More Than 10

I have been her more than 10 years.

[Poiuyt]

474. July 16, 2003

Like many of you, frustration about Iraq brought me here.

Hello my friends!

[dooner]

476. Nov. 2004

Kept me sane during some rough Bush years.

[derby378]

480. At least since 2004

Those of you who remember ginbarn (aka ChickMagic) know that she introduced me to DU. A lovely woman, a beautiful bride.

I will always cherish her.

[susanr516]

481. Since sometime in 2001

Lost my first account when I switched internet service providers. I don't post much. During the primary wars, I usually stay away, just check to see what's posted about once a week.

[cry baby]

485. Since October 2004. nt

[Lisa0825]

486. ME!!! I joined in 2003, but had been lurking/reading at least a year longer. nt

[kskiska]

488. Me! I've been here since Day 1

I was watching Dubya's inauguration on TV when someone walked by the the crowd with a banner "democraticunderground.com."

[Melissa G]

490. 2004 refugee

One of the Election Reform bunch

[Rhythm]

491. ~This~ incarnation? Right at 10 yrs. * I forgot what my previous name/password was...

I found DU at some point in 2003ish, and mostly just lurked.

I still don't say ~that~ much, really...
But i get my up-to-the-minute news here for the most part.

[Pakhet]

492. 2000 or 2001, I don't remember which

I saw a guy with a DU t-shirt while working my second job at krispy kreme in Austin.

[6000eliot]

494. I started earlier under another name, but lost my login information and rejoined in 2004.

[progressoid]

496. 2004

[Hydra]

498. This is such an amazing thread

I've been here lurking since at least 2005, probably longer. I decided to start looking for underground news when GWB got on tv and said he was "sick and tired" of Saddam not giving up his mythical nuclear weapons. I was already an amateur activist, but the news I found posted here was invaluable to stepping up my game.

I've had the opportunity to protest Bush admin crimes such as torture, domestic spying and election theft. I learned about and fight against the DLC/Third way/New Dem movement in our party that joins us to those Bush Era policies. I've discussed deep economic topics here that have led to my growth away from "responsible capitalism" to pure socialism and basic economic human rights.

It's ironic that the DU that helped me grow this way is being killed off by the very things we came together to fight. If we survive this primary as any sort of progressive friendly site, it will be some sort of miracle.

[bettyellen]

499. Me too Laura! You came to DC, didn't you?

I seem to remember you when I was hanging out w/ Scorpio and Progmom.

[DonRedwood]

500. Me! But after being outed on here by a DU member I haven't written much

[katsy]

502. Nov 2004 for me

But I was reading Ops long before.

[mithnanthy]

503. ME!

I read DU every day!

[montana_hazeleyes]

505. I've been here since 2003.

But I haven't posted a whole lot for being here 13 years.

[ismnotwasm]

506. 2004

Hard habit to break

[mmonk]

508. I've been here since 2003.

[joshcryer]

509. 2002

Was here since shortly after launch, following ads on disinfo.com to here. Just didn't join until the next year.

[Warren DeMontague]

510. nother '04, here. Signed up not long after getting back from march for womens lives in DC i think

I was feeling more politically motivated than usual. Or pissed off.

Been here since.

I should probably find other hobbies.

[Fred Drum]

511. 15 years and nine accounts

nine , lol

19 maybe

the really bleak part, nothing has changed

[JesterCS]

513. 2005 here

Stumbled on DU by accident

[Eureka]

515. Me, October 2003

I don't talk much

[eridani]

516. Joined in 2003 to promote Dennis Kucinich

Too bad he couldn't hire someone who knew how to run a national campaign. Worked for Ketty in the general, and was very disappointed in how disorganized that campaign was locally.

[JHB]

517. Joined 2001, on 9/11 IIRC

I'd occasionally read DU before then thanks to links from Bartcop, and on 9/11 it was one place to find out news when all the news sites were clogged up.

[Martin Eden]

518. 2002 for me

My good friend Scubadude Ron introduced me to DU, where I learned about PNAC and all the lies that were taking us to war in Iraq.

Here at DU we knew the case for war was bogus before the IWR vote in October 2002.

And if we knew it, so did the politicians who voted to give GW Bush authority to invade Iraq.

If they didn't know it, they were unqualified to hold their office.

To this day, in a Democratic primary I refuse to support any candidate who cast their vote for this war crime based on lies. Inexcusable and unforgivable in my book.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

523. I am wondering. What about someone who did not know for sure

if there were WMD or not - but believed Bush when he said he would let the inspectors reach a conclusion (which he did not)?

Guess that makes you look just as stupid. Believing that idiot. As for Hillary, her husband believed Saddam had WMD too, didn't he?

Actually, I agree with you - just wondering if there is any nuance between any of those who voted for IWR.

[Martin Eden]

533. It doesn't matter whether or not they knew "for sure"

There were several reasons why any responsible public servant should have voted against giving GW Bush authority to invade Iraq:

PNAC agenda, and the intent to invade Iraq for reasons mostly unrelated to WMD

The obviously false marketing campaign to sell the war, which should have thrown up red flags that Bush couldn't be trusted

The unknown consequences and costs of invading & occupying Iraq (google the speech Bernie Sanders gave on the Senate floor October 2002, in opposition to the IWR)

----------------------------

I would have supported a resolution that forced Saddam to readmit UN inspectors, but only if it contained a provision requiring another congressional vote before any military action was taken. The situation in Iraq needed to be resolved because 12 years of sanctions had taken a terrible toll on the Iraqi people, especially children.

However, I want to be perfectly clear about a couple more things:

The idea that the debilitated and surrounded country of Iraq posed a "grave and gathering threat" to the United States was simply not credible. Nor was the notion that Saddam was allied with al Qaeda and would give them WMD. Our intelligence agencies rejected that, yet it was a cornerstone of the Bush/Cheney case for war. Any legitimate case for war requires a legitimate case of self defense, or is an accordance with international law with UN approval. The Bush administration had no regard for the UN, evidenced by appointing John Bolton as the US rep. The only reason Bush went to the UN was political necessity.

If John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, et al seriously believed Bush would act in good faith or were fooled by him, they were indeed fools. Their only chance at redemption was in February & March 2002 when it was becoming clear that Bush was going to take us to war despite the UN inspectors being readmitted and given access to every site. They were already concluding the vast infrastructure necessary for the production of nuclear weapons did not exist in Iraq and they were asking for more time to finish their work.

Where was the leadership we desperately needed from John Kerry and Hillary Clinton on the eve of war when it was clear that Bush was not acting in good faith and was about to launch an invasion that violated UN authority as well as the intent of the IWR they voted for???

I saw this coming in October 2002. Ask anyone who was here at DU then, and ask them if they were surprised by it.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

536. Exactly

I would have supported a resolution that forced Saddam to readmit UN inspectors, but only if it contained a provision requiring another congressional vote before any military action was taken.

Exactly !! That should have tipped people off too. Why would a decent president have to have the authority to invade without knowing if he had to or not?

As for Hillary, she had her husband saying pretty much the same thing which HAD to have influenced her. Perhaps the meme that she believed Bush would let the inspectors finish was developed after she realized there were no WMD?

Former president Bill Clinton told interviewer Larry King in 2003 that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

“The man needs to get rid of his chemical and biological weapons stocks,” Clinton said on February 6, 2003 as President Bush contemplated attacking Iraq.

Clinton listed a number of weapons that Saddam might have including anthrax, volunteering, “They may even have a little smallpox.” Clinton said that he was “pretty sure” that Saddam had the chemical agents VX and ricin.

“Sure,” Clinton said when King asked him point blank if he ever saw information as president that led him to believe that Saddam was making we

apons.



Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/31/bill-clinton-in-2003-were-pretty-sure-saddam-has-wmds/#ixzz435RKVE8K

[Martin Eden]

540. "Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction"

What does that mean?

Essentially, all they knew for sure was the pre-1991 Gulf War stockpiles weren't entirely accounted for as having been destroyed.

What they also knew, and weren't making clear to the public, was that biochem weapons have a limited shelf life and the scattered refuse left over from the first gulf war may have been a hazard in the local environment but posed practically no threat to the United States. There was no proof that biochem weapons production facilities had been rebuilt, and even fresh weapons were of dubious value in attacking the United States halfway around the world.

The notion that Iraqi "unmanned aerial aircraft" (drones) could somehow deliver a biochem attack to US shores was beyond ludicrous, yet Bush gravely warned the American people of this threat to our homeland. He also warned that Saddam and al Qaeda had "ties going back ten years" but what he didn't say is that Saddam had rejected an outreach by al Qaeda because he knew these jihadists were a threat to his regime. The "relationship" consisted of Saddam keeping a wary eye on this potential enemy. Their only safe haven in Iraq was under the no-fly zone near the northern border with Iran.

Bush did everything he could to conflate Saddam with al Qaeda and 9/11, but that was entirely false rhetoric. Hell, even the declassified version of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (which was heavily biased towards playing up the threat of WMD) stated Saddam was highly unlikely to give WMD to al Qaeda unless we invaded and he had nothing left to lose. A big deal was made out of Saddam giving money to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers whose homes had been bulldozed by the Israeli authorities, but my response to that is to ask how many Palestinian attacks in Israel were carried out with WMD supplied by Saddam? The answer is zero, because Saddam was not a jihadist willing to commit suicide. He could be, and was, deterred.

If Hillary Clinton didn't know Bushco's case for war was a bunch of misleading propaganda, she is a blithering idiot.

[skip fox]

522. I go back to before Bush.

I have posted thousands of captions, but only knew how to save in my journal a few years ago, so all the bush years are lost.

But there are still over 500 CAPTIONs in my journal.

[Scout]

524. i've been around since 2001 ... not sure exactly when i joined, i know i was here before 9/11. n/t

[ljm2002]

525. As one might surmise from my username...

...I've been here since 2002. Found it through either Bartcop or Mediawhoresonline, don't remember which was the one that brought me here. Actually the first attraction for me was the 10 Greatest Conservative Idiots or something like that, then I found the discussion boards and the rest is... well not history but anyway that's how I came onboard.

I used to feel like I belonged here. These days, not so much.

[kpete]

526. DU = Home

Member since: Fri Sep 17, 2004, 03:59 PM
Number of posts: 49,750


where else could i put the stuff that fills my brain
i certainly can't keep it

thanks DU
and peace,
kp

[Laura PourMeADrink]

566. [phone] And, thanks to you for all you do - for all the interesting

posts and for giving us the information we want and need.

You are the best kpete !

[DonRedwood]

578. howdy kpete

good to see you

[Bluzmann57]

527. I have been here since 2002 I believe

Followed a link from the late great Bartcop and the rest is history. I remember the "Top Ten" list and briefly, "The Supremos." I also miss the Top Ten list but things change and evolve.

[The empressof all]

528. I'm still here...

Been here since the beginning...

[still_one]

531. I was ok until you reminded me how old I am. Thanks a lot. Here since January 2004

[Blue_Tires]

534. 13 and counting (Spring '03)

[democrattotheend]

538. I have

I think I joined sometime in 2003.

[lunatica]

539. I signed up in 2007 but lurked since the Supreme Court selected Bush

[frogmarch]

541. Wed Sep 28, 2005, 01:44 PM

but I was a lurker for a while before I became a member.

I first heard about DU at Websleuths, a crime-solving site, from a WS poster named Britt.

[suffragette]

542. Me at the same time and for the same reason.

I lurked for a few weeks, then registered in December.
Thank goodness for DU. It was so important to find this community at that time.
I remember sticking mostly to the election forum back then. Can't remember the exact name of it now.

[NaturalHigh]

544. I got here right before the 2004 election.

[Bucky]

545. here since 2002

I'm a fossil

[JSK]

546. 2001

[kdmorris]

547. Me

I used to lurk on my husband's account and then started posted on my own in 2003.

[Lex]

548. 2001 - got here via Bartcop.

[StevieM]

549. I joined on August 23, 2004 at 5:18 PM. (eom)

[Odin2005]

550. I joined in 2005, but I was a lurker starting in 2002.

[DonRedwood]

579. hey odin, long time no see

[Norrin Radd]

551. 2005

Actually 2003, but I lost my original login due to a computer crash.

[kennetha]

553. I've been around since the 2001.

The debacle of Florida and Bush V Gore led me to fly to DC from California to protest Bush's inauguration.

"Selected not Elected" was our cry.

Came back from that looking for Democrats who shared my pain.

I drop in and out from time to time.

[onethatcares]

554. me too.

Last edited Wed Mar 16, 2016, 08:02 PM - Edit history (1)

it was after the selection I found this place through Buzzflash.

The Plaid Adder was here, Bob Beaudolang(?), the hate mailbag was wild but the idea that the
presidency was stolen just beat my mind up.

I don't post as much as others and my count is low but wth?

[mithnanthy]

559. me too.

2001

[CaliforniaPeggy]

555. I have. Feb. 2005. n/t

[DonRedwood]

581. Howdy Peggy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

582. Hi DonRedwood!

[Drahthaardogs]

556. Me

Under alts Windriverman and DenaliDemocrat

[NEOhiodemocrat]

557. Spring of 2005 for me nt

[Pathwalker]

558. Me. Stopped lurking in 2002.

It saved my sanity.

[bklyncowgirl]

560. Here since 2004.

[Delphinus]

561. 2004 was my year to come on board.

After I went to bed with Kerry winning Ohio, and then waking up to another four of the Shrub, I needed others of like mind (live in a red state). I had found this place before, but hadn't posted a lot. Still, after 12-years, I'm not a huge poster, but I sure do hang out here - it's my go-to place.

[Tikki]

562. I have...

2002



Tikki

[likesmountains 52]

563. Yes...2004

L]

[DefenseLawyer]

564. October, 2004

Damn. Time flies.

[Godhumor]

565. Found it a long time ago through the Top Ten

Joined a while late after witnessing the aftermath of an off duty cop kill a teenager in Rockville, MD. There was a thread on the incident, and I joined to comment in it. Alas, at that time you had to wait for verification from the admins to pay, and by the time I had gotten it the thread had sunk.

[djg21]

567. 2001

The place has changed and I don't follow as close as I used to.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

569. September 2016 will be 10 years for me.

I read more than I post, but I have learned a lot in these 10 years. Thanks to all of you for that. I really remember coming here and reading the posts when Ted Kennedy's funeral was going on. So many people who were going through the same emotions as I, and feeling surrounded by so many people who "get it" was incredible. To me, that was a very real honoring of what Ted Kennedy and the whole Kennedy family gave to our country and to the world. For a while, it really made me feel that with people like the Kennedy's and the people in this community, we're going to be okay in the long run. Thanks gang!

[DisgustipatedinCA]

571. 2001

[Liberal_in_LA]

572. Me at the end of the year

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

574. I've been here since 2001.

[yewberry]

575. Yeah, here. I think I lost my first username & came back as tofunut.

Changed the handle after too much harassment for veganism.

I think I got here through Bartcop.

Fond memories of early days, but primary season is always hard here.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

576. Member since 2003

During the run up to the Iraq invasion

[lapfog_1]

577. 12 years

found it because someone sent me a link to "Top Ten Conservative Idiots"...

laughed so hard that I joined immediately.

[Autumn]

580. Found DU on GW's inauguration. Lurked from work for a few years

and signed up when I bought my first home PC.

[wundermaus]

583. Joined Sun Mar 5, 2006, 01:28 PM

Rarely ever felt welcome at DU.
My progressive (liberal) ideas typically fell flat here.
I was a very (loved) active member of Common Ground Common Sense after the 2000 sElection of Shrubbery by the SCOUS.
So, I guess it's time to move on.
We will either get a fascist (R) or a corporatist (D) next for the POTUS so what's the point?

Headed for the farm soon anyway. Good Luck.

[Nailzberg]

584. 2003. I was more active on previous versions of DU, though.

Took me a while to warm up to this version.

[susanna]

585. me :) n/t

[wysi]

586. 13 years this year...

... around the time it became obvious that Shrub intended to piss away all the political goodwill he received on account of 9/11.

[fun n serious]

587. 2005 nt

[sofa king]

588. I came over when the Straight Dope jumped the shark.

My journal is almost 10 years old now. It's a frightening combination of prophecy and paranoia; the scariest part of it is what came true. Perhaps someday I will negotiate with DU to publish it, and call it, "I F*^&ing Told You So!"

[laundry_queen]

589. Yep. Came over from Bartcop in the run up to the Iraq war

Followed a link. Lurked for a long time - was way too chicken to register or post. Then I got locked out due to high traffic so I finally registered in late '04.

[msanthrope]

590. 2001. nt

[exelwood]

592. Yep, 2004 election

Nov. 2004, obviously, I don't post much but always reading.

[lonestarnot]

593. Yikes time flies.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

596. Hey !! How's it going !

[lonestarnot]

612. Still step'n! How you be?

[LongTomH]

597. Here since Oct, 2004

Just before the (stolen) election!

[DesertRat]

598. I joined in Nov. 2004 also

For the same reasons as you did.

[SaveAmerica]

600. DU encouraged my activism - that was before 2004 election

I had been running around my county posting flyers on cars and other crazy stuff by myself because I couldn't take another 4 years of Bush and didn't know what else to do.

I think I hadn't been on DU long at that point and someone had posted that if you were frustrated call your closest Dem HQ and ask what you could do. Found like-minded people online and in real life and got to work. It seems like an eternity ago.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

601. October 2003.

Hard to believe it's been that long.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

613. Just think how unenlightened we would be if we hadn't been here ! :)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

614. Indeed!

[cannabis_flower]

602. Right before the 2004 election

Tue Sep 7, 2004, 02:41 PM

And I don't understand how people can get so many hides. I don't believe I've ever gotten a hide. Do you get a notice?

[DeadEyeDyck]

603. 8 yes.

[yourout]

604. Wed Nov 10, 2004, 11:50 PM - The Bush theft of Ohio drove me here.

[DiehardLiberal]

605. On May 15 it will be ten years. So many of you

Are smarter than me. I learn a lot here and mostly lurk but appreciate DU - even when some of the views make me crazy. Thanks!!!

[Bjornsdotter]

606. April 2004 n/t

[griffi94]

607. Since 2002

It was a bleak time. I don't even remember how I found DU.

[Land Shark]

608. Same here. Joined right after the 2004 election. Eom

[abelenkpe]

610. 2003 nt

[ribrepin]

611. Been here since right after 911

I remember finding this place and feeling like I was home. Everybody in the country was cheering on Bush the lesser and DU was not falling for it. I found DU from Smirking Chimp.

[The Straight Story]

615. Member since 2004, was reading well before that

Don't post as much anymore, DU has gotten rather ugly over the years. Still read here daily though.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

616. Very early--something like February or March of 2001

I think I was about the 1600th member.

[LannyDeVaney]

617. Never checked but I was surprised to see it has been that long ...

Member since 2004. Never even looked at my profile.

November, 2004. I attended a Ministry concert in Nashville after voting, secure in the fact that there was no well in hell America would re-elect the guy. Left the concert to find out I was wrong. I guess I joined the site when I got home.