Good afternoon, Kossacks. Let me borrow a phrase from my favorite member of congress, Barney Frank. If you don't already know that there is a subscription drive going on here at the Great Orange Satan, on what planet are you spending most of your time? But seriously, right now you have an opportunity to help this community and to help yourself or another Kossack. Life time subscriptions cost just $100, and they will no longer be available after December 31st. I was delighted and honored to receive a lifetime subscription as a gift from from
broths, a new member and long-time lurker. I have tried to pay it forward. I will give you more information about the subscription drive below the orange squiggle of power, but first let me tell you a little bit about how I got here and why I am still here six and a half years later.
I am mostly a pootie poster and a garden blogger, but I am also a political junkie. For my sins in a past life, I served two terms on our local board of education back in the 1990s. Being a school board member is one of the most thankless jobs on the planet, but public education in crucial to our nation's future. Being a school board member also taught me a lot about local politics. I have also been a commissioner on our town's Historic Preservation Commission since 2000.
As a lifelong liberal Democrat, I have voted for every Democratic presidential candidate since George McGovern. I suffered through Nixon, Ford, Bush the Elder, and (G-d help us) Ronald Reagan, but I was appalled when the Supreme Court selected Bush the Lesser in 2000, and I was angered and dismayed when Bushco lied us into the war in Iraq. I did not want to believe that the American public would re-elect W. Since it was pretty clear that NJ was going to vote for Kerry, I worked with moveon.org to get out the vote in southeastern PA in 2004. While Kerry won Pennsylvania, he lost the election, and I was beside myself. How could 57 million people be so stupid? I started reading the left-leaning blogs looking for kindred spirits. I found Daily Kos through a link from Atrios. I lurked for a while and finally signed up for an account on the 4th of July in 2005.
I was pretty quiet when I first signed up here. I was a bit intimidated by the intelligence and articulateness of many of the posters here. I think that I made my first comment in a science thread; it picked up a couple of 4s. It took me 15 months to post my first diary, which was on high school military recruiting. 136 diaries and 37,000 comments later, I think that I have gotten over my initial shyness.
I have been here through the pie wars, the primary battles, the nots versus bots, and the great purge. There have been a few times when I have been angry, turned off the computer, and taken a week or two off. I keep coming back, and here's why:
You all were here for me when my mom died, when I had cancer, and when my beloved cats crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.
Exmearden, drchelo, HylasBrook, and willb48 taught me the meaning of grace.
I have learned and read about things that are not adequately addressed in the Traditional Media. DKos's coverage of OWS has been outstanding, as has the coverage of the Fukushima disaster, and the XL Pipeline.
You have forced me to try to me a better person. I have tried to take Meteor Blades' sig line to heart.
I am still here because I swore that I would remain part of the IGTNT team until ALL our troops are home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Members of this community have undertaken so many worthwhile projects--from the community quilts to the food drives to the Kos Katalog to the diaries that raise funds to help with heating on the reservations. People here are willing to give of their time and money to support worthwhile causes. You don't see that at Red State.
Morning Open thread and the MOTley crew always put me in a good mood before I leave for work.
As a middle-aged (well, middle-aged if I manage to live to 120) straight white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, you all have taught me a lot about race, disability, and GLBT issues.
Finally, I have made a lots of friends here. In short, like so many others, I came for the politics, but I stayed for the community. I probably spend waaay too much time here. You can help strengthen this community by purchasing a lifetime subscription for yourself or for another deserving Kossack. Peace and Happy Holidays to you all.
The full details are below the fold.
Here are all the details:
What subscribers will get:
* An ad-free experience of the site. Faster loading, no annoying
ads. Ideal for a friend on dial-up.
* Three download e-books will be rolled out this month. Both giver
and receiver of subscriptions will have access to these e-books.
* Unlimited access to upcoming photo organizer -- allowing diarists
to upload photos onto Daily Kos itself, as well as have access to
the Daily Kos editorial team's news photo library. Expected launch
by first quarter 2012.
Product/Prices:
Lifetime Subscription:
* Will stop selling lifetime subscriptions on December 31, 2011.
* The cost is $100.
* https:/www.dailykos.com/subscribe
* Help can be found here: http://helpdesk.dailykos.com/
Annual Subscription:
* Annual subscriptions are $40/year recurring billing.
* https:/www.dailykos.com/subscribe
* Help can be found here: http://helpdesk.dailykos.com/
Monthly Subscription:
* Monthly recurring subscriptions will no longer be sold.
* Existing monthly subscriptions will be maintained for the time
being.
* Help can be found here: http://helpdesk.dailykos.com/
You can buy a subscription for yourself or a friend on our
subscription page. If you would like to make a donation to the site,
you can do so on our donations page.
Please buy a subscription so I can keep posting pootie pictures and garden porn.