For those DUers who've never seen this before, there is an online test that asks a series of questions designed to measure both your economic position on the political spectrum (X-axis left/right) as well as your authoritarian/libertarian position (Y-axis up/down). I remember taking this back in 2008. What surprised me is that I thought I might have moverd further toward the center. According to my chart (above) my political positions are in the same part of the ballpark as Ghandi.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

My star has fallen. Or maybe it's twinkling, as I will give some money this year to support DU, but not the $42-$60 for "star" membership.

I spend a bit of time on DU, and I enjoy the exchange of ideas, and the camaraderie of those who share many of my values. However, there's only so much I'm willing to invest in any website that's not giving me financial return (i.e. stock buying advice or horse racing tips). That amount is about $25 - $30. That's about what it costs, for example, to buy a whole season of MLB audio broadcasts. That's close to what it costs to get into "insider" chat rooms on a lot of sports websites. If it costs more than that, I generally opt to put up with the ads (as I plan to do here going forward) or do without.

There are a lot of good hearted people here, and I want to make one thing clear:
No, I'm not broke. No, I have not become suddenly unemployed. No, I'm not asking for anyone to give me a star -- please save that for someone in real need, or better yet, give that money to the DNC, DCCC, Obama For America, or Omaha Steve's city council bid.

Part of my problem is that I just don't see the value. In the past I'd get a star for giving $5-$10 per quarter. Now it's $42 up front or $5 per month (= $60 per year). In exchange, there's not a lot in it for a star member. You don't look at ads: OK, that's a plus, but is it that big a plus? I get a longer jury blacklist: no value there. I don't have anyone blacklisted from my juries, because the juries that we see are anonymous, and there's no voir dire process prior to seating a jury. "Put those on your ignore list on your jury blacklist." Nope: at the moment, I have no one on "ignore", and (surprisingly) only one star member is ignoring me. I suspect it's Skinner, but who knows?

While on the topic, the whole jury system bugs me. This is consistent, in as much as I dislike the "real" jury system as well. Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson, Robert Blake -- I could go on about my dislike of juries, but why? Bottom line: It's "Skinner's House and Skinner's Rules." Fair enough, but for $60 I'd prefer the admin and mod system. Maybe it's just me.

The "New DU" has not added features I value to justify $42-$60. What could they do? Here are some things I might be willing to pay for:

Members-Only Forums If we're going to have two classes of DUer, let's do it right and have rooms in which only the members can chat. I'd also prefer that these forums could not be seen or searched by non-members.

Live-Chat with Guests A real time chat room would be a great feature. Many "Rivals" and "Scout" sports sites offer this as a feature for premium members. It'd be excellent during debates, addresses, or election nights. That featue could be greater-still with live, members only chats with Skinner, or well-known members like David Swanson. Perhaps we could lure in someone like a Rachel Maddow or a Dennis Kucinich from time to time.

A progressive analog to the Conservative Cave's DUmpster Sure, it's juvenile. Sure, it's immature. However, our conservative counterparts have proven that there's fun to be had by just dedicating a whole forum to making fun of their counterparts on DU. Not everyone's idea of fun, but for some of us....

As it stands now, I could be convinced to go $30 for a star if I can spread it out to $7.50 a quarter, but I just don't see paying more than that.

Sorry, Skinner - it's not personal. It's business.

Read more: http://www.ketv.com/news/30418786/detail.html#ixzz1lwrNtGCw

If there were a place designated as "America's Skid Row", it'd be Whiteclay, NE. "Grocery" stores sell huge amounts of beer to the Native Sioux that come over the border from the Pine Ridge rez, which is officially dry. Drunks literally lay passed out in the middle of streets and sidewalks.

My personal hope is that this never reaches the courts. The beer makers and stores sell a lot of beer to folks making bad life choices, and reap profits from this misery. These choices are driven, in part, by the despair caused by 80% plus unemployment and no prospects for improvement. I'd ask the beer companies to do the right thing and give back to the community without being forced by the courts -- things like sponsoring alcohol abuse education for the youth in Pine Ridge; helping contribute to the cost of rehab; and kicking in to help local alternatives to irresponsible drinking, like the Y, Boys/Girls CLubs, and the local schools.

JMHO