What distinguishes you as a DUer? What do you bring to the community?

[Bucky]

Everyone makes a contribution here, and I don't just mean with the little donor stars. By just showing up and pitching in, you enrich the DU community. You add your voice to the mix, which helps put the little d in the Democratic party.

And yet I think we see far many more names that seem familiar in these forums than we know of the different personalities behind them. We write out our opinions, positive and negative, but there's so much more to us as Democrats and democrats than just opinions. So let me ask you to share something about yourself.

What is that makes you stand out as a DUer? What regions, what cares, what experiences, what passions do you bring to our cyber pickle barrel? I've seen several newbies on the board in the past few days and I'd like to give'em a chance to meet some of us before the inevitable Dodd vs Gravel riots break out...



(and here's a genuine pickle barrel gathering)

[babylonsister]

1. Damn, I love pickles, and remember paying 25 cents for them, in my

youth, along with a TAB (soda) and a slice of cheese, and that was lunch, when I was young, dieting?, and more foolish than I am now. :D

Edit to add, sorry I'm not being too serious but the sandman is calling me!

[liberaldemocrat7]

103. I bring a message that each person can stop the Republican party by boycotting their donors.

I stay on message about telling people that if you want to bust the Republican party, you need to get energized and contact the major contributors to their party and tell them either you go to the party and get them to give us what we want in terms of legislation and action or we will not buy your products.

People need to realize that each of you has a share in that power as if you own a small amount of stock in a company. Vote with your dollars and speak out to these contributors to the Republican party.

Never give up! Never!

Do you want to help end the war?

Can you write a one line letter? Sure you can.

Send a one line letter to Representative John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell.

Either you get your Republican party to end the war by Dec. 2007, or we stop buying televisions, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, dishwashers, dvd players, stereo equipment, light bulbs from one of your party's major contributors and War contractors General Electric Corporation ( 203 373 2211 ) who cannot afford to lose a large sector of the publics business and money.

[EFerrari]

2. Very interesting question and I'll be watching the responses to this thread.

For myself, social justice becomes more and more important to me every year. And so, I try to pitch in in any way I can. I have experience with many different kinds of people and that is always in mind. And really reading DU is a daily education. :)

[Maccagirl]

3. Judging by the lack of response to my threads

I guess not a damn thing.

:shrug:

[EFerrari]

5. It's much more random than you think.

Keep putting your truth out there. :hi:

[Maccagirl]

48. Thanks Pat

Great thread BTW.

[John Q. Citizen]

17. Hey, I just responded to your excellent comments on B. Clinton, don't ask don't tell,

and Dick Morris.

Neither of us started the topic, but i thought your post was very insightful!

So hang tough.

[Maccagirl]

52. Thanks for the kind words and support John Q

You are a person we all value. Keep up the great work!

[upi402]

23. I'd like to respond to that!

:hi:

And I like to think I bring shiny objects to DU!

[Maccagirl]

53. Just don't run with those shiny objects, okay?

You could put an eye out!

[The Straight Story]

4. I am just plain crazy :)

Not sure what all I contribute here, except sentimental rants. But hey, I have fun.

[EFerrari]

6. They're not all that sentimental.

:rofl:

:hi:

[The Straight Story]

9. True :)

How you doing? I am still not unpacked here in CA yet...sheesh.

[EFerrari]

12. Welcome to California! Moving is hell and

I hope yours goes so very well. :hug:

[pocoloco]

7. Bullshit Detector

Although most of the time it's deep enough you don't need one!

[Rosemary2205]

8. I am the official thread killer.

I dunno why. I shower once a month whether I need it or not so it CAN'T be the smell. :)


In all seriousness, I'm a moderately liberal christian. I really don't fit in well here at all but not being a lefty means I stick obtuse things in threads. (and I do kill more than my share of them)

[emilyg]

13. I take

Lots and lots of info from here. An education for sure.

[BeHereNow]

16. REALLY?

And how do you apply it?

BHN

[emilyg]

32. Really. Straight to the forehead.

[BeHereNow]

41. Please, tell me more...

Tell me all about what you have learned on DU.
I am always interested to know such things.
BHN

[zalinda]

14. I'm right there with you, as a thread killer

but not a Christian. I'm a liberal, but I can also see the big picture, so I try to pull some of the people back off the cliff, and try to make them see that not everything is as dark as they paint it. Never thought of myself as a killer, I just try to dissipate hate, but threads sure do end a lot after I post.

zalinda

[Rosemary2205]

22. Hi ya!!

:toast:

We thread murderizers gotsta stick together. We should have meetings. :)

[TahitiNut]

10. Nuthing, apparently.

:shrug:

[Bucky]

33. But, but, you're a Tahiti Nut

When it comes to unique, you make the cut.
Don't feel left out like you're a freak--
Just dare to share how you're unique!
.

[TahitiNut]

36. Isn't that spelled E-U-N-I-C-H?

:silly:

[eridani]

58. According to Dilbert, it's spelled Unix--

--and we already have a Unix programmer, so when the company nurse comes around, tell her I said "Never mind." --The Pointy-Haired Boss.

[Madspirit]

42. TahitiNut...you are SO wrong...

Other than illegals, which we disagree on vehemently, I find everything you say, interesting, provocative, brilliant and often funny. I look for your posts. You bring great stuff. Some of the best there is.
Lee

[lonestarnot]

89. Whut?!!!!!

Not! NUt! &*%@#%*^$

[WilliamPitt]

11. Just another loudmouth Red Sox fan from Boston here.

About as unique as mudpuddles.

[EFerrari]

No. There's something unique about people who understand

the Church of Baseball. :)

[Phredicles]

15. Leftist who's a Democrat because there's no other viable option.

So mostly I complain a lot...

[BeHereNow]

18. As the old saying goes...I happen to enjoy

watching the bodies of my enemies of TRUTH float by, eventually, as they all do,
as I sit on the banks of the cyber river called DU.

What do I bring?
TRUTH.
What else is there worth bringing?

BHN

[EFerrari]

20. Holy cow! Remind me not to cross you.

lol

[BeHereNow]

24. As a fellow warrior for truth,

I don't think you have anything to worry about.
:hug:
BHN

[EFerrari]

27. Always good to read you, BHN.

:hi:

[Dem4truth]

19. I am an oldie, newbie.

I don't speak much but I love to read. I have a problem in that I usually only type when I diagree. Thus I am interpeted as a Mole.

I am here to listen and learn, but sometimes I feel I have to speakout about something. As a newbie I always fear I will be banned but I speak my feelings when I feel I need too.

I am always happy to be with DU but I am a quiet kind of person.

Guess nothing make me stand out...lol. Sorry. I am just glad DU is here.

[bleever]

45. Welcome to DU, Dem4truth.

:hi:

[Hubert Flottz]

21. I bring a mind body and soul that wants to see the end of this

Bush Mafia takeover of our country.

And a little Shock Therapy...aimed directly at the trolls

[napi21]

25. We;;, I', a Yankee eastern pensylvanian transplanted to RED Ga.

I'm 63 years old now and lived through a lot of different admins. I also had the advantage of working with lots of attorney's throughout my career. I HOPE I contribute a sane and realistic thought now and again to the threads here that reference the thousands of illegal and irrational things this Shrub admin has done over the past 6 1/2 years.

Of course, I love to have a good argument with some worthy opponents on any subject, and I've sure learned a lot from my friends on DU and always continue to do so!

[flvegan]

26. Straight, white vegan GLBT supporting bully bashing gym rat

I'm Stone Cold Steve Austin meets Dennis Kucinich.

Some call that unique.

[Missy Vixen]

51. I call it a good thing

Even when I disagree with you, flvegan, you have gone out of your way to be kind. I appreciate it.

Julie

p.s. I ate a vegan peanut butter cookie the other day. It was delicious ;-).

[A-Schwarzenegger]

28. One (1) thread.

That's it.

[hfojvt]

63. Oskar?

Haven't there been a few others?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

97. There was one about when I worked with General Clark at the motor pool

that I remember fondily.

[Bucky]

29. For me, I consider myself a classic liberal, a throwback to the Englightenment

Only crude and pun-dependent like a proper 21st Century American. That means I have both a soft spot for helping the needy and a deep distrust of the big government programs we obviously need to alleviate poverty and unequal opportunties.

I also love a good argument, so I sometimes jump in with both feet and type down something stoopid.

I'm a liberal Texas teacher and I work as a market researcher during the summers.

And I'm a single dad. And an internet junkie.

My worst vice is when I'm driving down the street and I see orange cones, somedays I feel an evil voice in me compelling me to run them down.

[EFerrari]

35. Great thread, Bucky.

(And I myself have often fantasized about rearranging orange cones. lol)

[MarianJack]

30. I Think That...

...I look at the big picture and frequently add a somewhat different perspective.

...I post some interesting questions in the lounge.

...I'm a pretty good straight friend to the LGBT community here.

...I don't post enough threads to be a MAJOR contributor. I think that that is one reason I frequently have the frustration of seeing threads that I think that I wrote well and made a good point drop to the bottom as fast as jenna bush's panties do for a coke dealer.

...I'm pretty good at finding a middle road.

...I say some interesting things about family life.

...I'm proud of the fact that in 4+ years in this forum, I've only been in 1 flame war. I'm still embarrassed about it. I don't recall being in another thread with that DUer since. I don't anticipate adding that person to my buddy list to say the least.

Thanx for an interesting thread.

PEACE!

[countmyvote4real]

31. I mostly read and follow links of interest. DU is my news of choice.

Sometimes I do post, but it’s usually because I’m drinking, high or just plain touched to do so. (2 out of three here.)

I am actually trying not to post or respond too much these days. However, I couldn't resist your great post.

[nono]

34. D U member

I am not a newbie to DU but I have a low post count due to slow typing and spelling, I am on DU every day and enjoy the post of most. (been voting since 1960 and never voted repug,except in a city race. Charles

[HCE SuiGeneris]

37. I'm a venter, piss and moaner,

sometimes taking, oft times donor.

[NMDemDist2]

38. I was told once I have the best, down to earth advice around

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

40. DUers have a way of drilling down to truth.

:loveya:

[OneBlueSky]

39. just 61 years on the planet and a fairly broad range of experience that . . .

has taught me a lot about human nature, both good and bad . . . also a deep commitment to the environment and a desire for humankind to evolve to the point where all of our enterprises leave a zero environmental footprint on the planet . . . won't happen, of course, but it should certainly be a goal that everyone strives toward daily . . .

not particularly "distinguished," I guess . . . but how many among us really are? . . . mostly, we're just folks, each trying to make sense of our lives and the situation in which we find ourselves . . . (and that, in and of itself, is pretty much a full-time job these days) . . .

[sellitman]

43. Ok...I'll bite...

I am liberal as a socialist on most subjects yet I am totally a unrepentant Zionist.

[Behind the Aegis]

74. We have something in common.

Guess what it is? :evilgrin:

Of course, I also speak out on GLBT issues, racism, pets, and just starting with photography. I also place many a post in the Jewish forum. I tend to pop up all over the place, despite what some might think. ;)

[Az]

44. I try to bring reason

Although I don't know that I succeed as much as I would like.

I try to bring understanding between religious positions pro and con.

I try to help people understand the nature of the mind which in politics is everything.

[FloridaJudy]

46. Bleeding heart liberal, former Berkeley activist

Exiled in the deep South. Devout Buddhist, though not a particularly good one. I get 90% of my news here, and reassurance I'm not totally alone in believing that the present Administration is completely bat-shit crazy and venal. That's not as difficult as it used to be, but around 2003 or so I was definitely out of step with the Zeitgeist.

Oh, and I'm fairly knowledgeable about medicine and science. And I know a ton of dirty jokes. Those have got to be good for something.

And I love pickles, especially those spicy Greek pepper ones. Can I have some goat cheese with those?

[TrogL]

47. Logic

[libnnc]

49. Lately I don't feel like my contribution is all that much punkin...

I kvetch and bitch and moan. That's about it.

The worse things get...the worse they get ya know?

Y'all tell me :shrug:

[EFerrari]

55. There are spells like that. We just walk though 'em.

:shrug:

[leftofthedial]

50. I'm a pain in the ass

[EFerrari]

54. lol -- we need our own forum!

:rofl:

[DeepModem Mom]

56. I usually post articles -- from the MSM and from media sites.

Yep, I think the resources of the MSM still provide a wealth of valuable reporting, information, and comment -- if you don't expect perfection in every line of a story, if you're savvy when reading, and if you're ready to dismiss some articles as total crocks and/or hit pieces disguised as news. In GD Politics, I post stories both positive and negative about the candidates. I support a candidate, but rarely mention it, because I'd rather not be perceived as a partisan when I post a political article.

I'm interested in media, and post articles on that subject -- and sometimes post a story in Entertainment -- and I like to find and post most anything from Edward R. Olbermann.

I don't do a lot of discussing. I spend too much time browsing news sites -- and soaking up wit and wisdom from the rest of you guys!

[Blue_In_AK]

57. I photograph and I talk about Alaska a lot.

And frequently I chime in with "Yeah, I agree with that." :rofl:

[Ghost in the Machine]

59. I'm just one of them longhaired, wildeyed, hippie liberals.

I'm pro choice, pro second ammendment and support the death penalty. I spend most of my spare time on DU, as it's the only place I trust to get accurate information. I usually try to just be "comic relief", but sometimes things get really serious around here. I play around with creating websites and hope to strike a big sale on a domain name one day. Everyone can dream, right?

And I like to play with graphics sometimes:




On Edit: and I usually forget to spell check before hitting "post"

[DUgosh]

60. I would never start a thread like this one

But thats just me

[eridani]

61. I like all the geeky expertise here

If a thread could benefit from the comments of a native speaker of just about any language, a lawyer, a cop, a doctor, a union organizer, a systems analyst, someone else who's had the same experience as the OP, what you need generally turns up. I'm a chemist, and I hang out in the Crafts, Cooking and Baking, and Pets DU groups. My policy wonk issues are health care and election transparency. I hope to be able to retire early and become a full-time community activist. I'm a defrocked Green. I became a Democrat after the experience of doing a lot of canvassing for Kucinich in 2004 cured me of the all too common lefty delusion that people are paying attention.

[intheflow]

62. I photograph rallies and post my progressive sermons.

And generally try to be a voice of balance and reason. The best of all these things are in my DU journal--along with a whole lot of other miscellaneous photo and political and feminist posts.

[hfojvt]

67. I see format problems

Maybe because of the pictures. Your journal is too wide for my screen, so to read it requires me to scroll from side to side for every line. Balance and reason seemed to be a good selling point though.

[intheflow]

68. I think it must be your screen size.

I'm not having any problems. The photos make the page wide, but a simple scroll right to cover the obligatory ad column makes it all fit; you shouldn't have to go back and forth for every line, just scroll down once it's centered.

Just for ha-has, do you have the same problem viewing my post in the photo group?

[Swamp Rat]

69. Wow!

Your journal is the coolest I have seen! :hi:

Love the photos. :applause:


btw, where's Julia Butterfly Hill? :shrug:

[intheflow]

70. Are you asking where she is in the photo?

If so, I assume it's Hill in a redwood tree, taken during the 738 days she spent living in it to keep loggers from cutting it down.

Or can't you see the photo? It comes up on my screen, so again, I dunno what's happening on your screen. :shrug:

And thanks for the compliment, Swampy. Having coolness praise from you, the King of Cool, is quite an honor! :hi:

[Swamp Rat]

73. Oh yeah, I've seen that photo... it's great!

For some reason that particular photo didn't load at first. :shrug:

:hug:

[intheflow]

85. Great photos, Swampy.

When was the first one taken? And is that mural in NOLA? Where?

I remember seeing the middle two shots as Katrina was unfolding. :(

[Decruiter]

64. Sorry, we are offended. Tell us why we you count or why we should care

what you think or believe? We've never seen such in all the years here at DU. Our years here at DU go back to the summer of 2001, in spite of the low post count and never have we seen such a post.

Good luck Bucky.

Maybe you should contact Skinner and ask him for some new rules and suggest new registration info for new members.

[Forkboy]

65. Absolutely nothing that at least 50,000 other DUers aren't already bringing to the table.

[nolabels]

66. LOL

:

[Solly Mack]

90. Ah - but you do it with Forkboy style!

[ForrestGump]

71. Nude photos

of Richard Nixon.





:hide:

[avrdream]

72. Yep, another thread killer here.

But it may be because I am currently working in Australia and end up posting when most of DU is asleep.

My perspective: an American doctor who got sick of the Bush administration ignoring health care and who decided to see how things were done Down Under (and that word is in Underground so should count for something, don't you think?)

I jump in when health care issues come up and mostly agree in other threads. There are some great minds here and I often feel humbled.

[eridani]

75. We lost our former Health Care for All--Washington chair to New Zealand

The only psychiatrist in the state who would see Medicaid patients with drug abuse problems. She gave up her car, moved closer to her office, and that still wasn't able to afford an individual plan for herself.

[Solly Mack]

76. A no bullshit banana

He actually gets fan mail

[zippy890]

77. when GD gets too depressing I like to add a bit of comic relief

and on occasion give corndogs to bozo posters



This forum saved my sanity after the 2004 election- finding other like-minded souls who are trying to move our nation out of the darkness to a better place.

[datasuspect]

78. i can bring the donuts

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

79. Repugs won't bring me down!!!

I guess I defy a few stereotypes...like the fact that a vegetarian, liberal/progressive, anti-Bushco, "straight but not narrow minded," pro-choice, environmentally conscious, family-oriented (and not in that irritating Dobson/FOTF way!!!), BLUE Democrat does exist in a place like Kansas. :)

[mod mom]

80. I bring witness to a MAJOR crime.

The crime being the THEFT of the '04 election in Ohio.

I worked my butt off for the Dems at GOTV in Franklin County, Ohio (practically the epicenter of attention in the '04 cycle) assuming the Dem Leadership had a plan to combat the fraud that put * in the WH in the first place. Of all the tasks I did the one that brought me here was promising low income Af Am voters on the near east side of Columbus, that this time would be different and that every vote would be counted. The voters were reminded of what was at stake as they waited in 3-5 hour lines (mis-allocation of machines) to cast a vote for the Dem ticket. In my nearby affluent precinct, at the height of pre-work rush, it took me 15 minutes to vote. THIS WAS A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE-the blatant attempt to suppress votes from those least likely to fight back. The rest is history.

I bring to DU the desire to expose this to the world and FORCE my party to make changes so it never happen again.

[AwakeAtLast]

81. I'm a liberal from IL transplanted to very Red Indiana

which makes me totally crazy sometimes. DU is my escape from the people I live around. I always thought there was something wrong with the way I thought about things until I stumbled upon DU. That story is kind of funny. I am a teacher, and one of my substitutes copied DU's link into my browser. I clicked on it not knowing what it was (this was the following Monday). I read the Top 10 Conservative Idiots for about 3 months before realizing there was so much more. I think that was three years ago.

I am also the wife of an Iraq War veteran, which sometimes gives me a different perspective on that topic.

I read more than I post, and I am always recommending posts for the greatest page to give them more visibility.

This is a great thread! :hi:

[WinkyDink]

82. Basically, I'm just an opinionated bee-yotch with a heart of gold! :)

[BadGimp]

83. I shower..

almost daily!



..and I am not afraid to expose myself.. oops I mean express myself.

[LeftishBrit]

84. A ferocious hatred of Bush and Cheney, that spans the miles!

A general opposition to Poodles in Politics; and at the same time a healthy scepticism towards all the doom-laden prophecies that Britain is becoming a fascist police state. We're good, or bad, as a democracy for a good many years yet!

A fatal tendency to spend far too much time on this board and neglect my duties.

[MedleyMisty]

86. I am probably way to the left of most posters and I'm Southern and proud of it

I also am in a lower economic bracket than most posters, and although I don't think DU is quite as heavily populated by Baby Boomers as a board I used to frequent, I'm still younger than a lot of posters.

So I like to think of myself as sort of a voice for the average young Southerner. True, practically being a socialist isn't average, but I have a far better idea of the reality of what it's like to be relatively poor and white in the South than the haters do.

There is nothing in this world that bothers me more than prejudice, generalizations, and stereotyping. And usually poking holes in a generalization or calling someone out on their stereotypes and prejudice is what motivates me to post, so I wonder if people think I'm a troll sometimes.

And yes, I have noted all the references to "red" states in this thread. If you think that Republicans generally tend to cheat in elections and if you also know that only a minority of people vote, why judge an extremely large group of individuals so harshly based on their representatives in national government?

[Annces]

87. Nothing

I consider this like a loud party and I just try to throw out a few lines once in a while. But it is nice to know there are other liberals out there. I have worked among "blue collar" at times, and they can be more narrow minded and mean than the neo-cons.

[blondeatlast]

88. My thinking exactly. It's just a great big party with lots of people

with only one thing in common (save the party-crashers)--we all hate the neocons.

That may be a very fine thread, but ti's plenty strong enough, apparently!

[Lars39]

91. I like to see the dots connected.

I haven't been able to keep up as well as I used to do, due to family circumstances, but I like to think I've been useful a teeny-tiny bit in getting the truth out there.
If all I can do now is K&R the truly important threads so that more eyes will see them, I'm happy.

And I'll be more than happy to live long enough to see these criminals under lock and key.

[Spazito]

92. Hmmm, my only distinguishing characteristic on DU is the

fact I am a Canadian with a passion for both US politics and US law. I confess, I am a DU addict with no hope of a cure as long as DU remains up and running. My contribution to DU is minuscule but DU's contribution to me is enormous! My friends and relatives now phone me to ask about so many issues and, for the most part, thanks to DU, I either know or can find the answer on DU so.......DU makes me seem smart to my friends and family, thanks DU!

Oh, and DU has THE wittiest collection of members on the net, imo. If I am in the dumps, I only have to read DU to find something posted that makes me laugh out loud and lift my spirits.

[wryter2000]

93. I'm the official smut writer of DU

I can't even post my best stuff here. :evilgrin:

[Zavulon]

94. I think in my case, it's been years of being a Republican until I saw the light.

There are still a very few Republican stances I agree with (I am very much pro-gun, for instance, and I have no sympathy whatsoever for illegals), but I think what distinguishes me is that almost all of my longtime friends and my relatives are Republicans, and I think I understand as well as anyone here a.) how Republicans as a whole think (not just their stances on the issues, and b.) the collective level of passion they have for each issue.

[endarkenment]

95. I bring virtual donuts every friday.

Plus a bucket of snarks. Can I stay?

[alcibiades_mystery]

96. Cynicism and a bucket of KFC

Hollllllaaaaahhhhhh!

[Blue_Tires]

98. i have a special skill that allows me

to kick interesting threads for a little more exposure!

[kineneb]

99. geekdom: Linux, music history, Medieval history

advocate for the poor and ill...
views of a native-born Northern Californian, who still lives there...
support of mental health issues...
nothing long, but short and pithy comments...

...and those three dots (thank you, Herb Caen)

[enigmatic]

100. nothing that anybody else hasn't

And I'm ok with that.

[frustrated_lefty]

101. Firsthand experience of Katrina.

[TwilightGardener]

102. I'm guessing I'm on a lot of "ignore" lists. There must be a way to spin that into a positive.

(thinking hard)