Sorry in advance for any typos. My dog Bitty (all 47 pounds of her) laid down on my glasses earlier this afternoon and they are a bit "off", meaning I can't see all that well right now; they'll be readjusted tomorrow.
Happy Yule to everyone. Yule is our religious holiday here at Paradux Hill (our home, named by Kossack NMRed). I don't have anything yet with which to gift my Charles, but he knows what it is and who is making it (Aji's husband Wings). I know what my gift is, who made it (Aji's husband Wings - see a pattern here?), and that it is in the mail.
Yule makes me think of the community I used to have in California, the Pagans I knew in the redwood country and with whom I used to visit at Yuletime, sitting around their enormous fireplace and sharing stories. Yule brings up thoughts of community to me in general, and that brings me to thoughts of Daily Kos.
As online communities go, this one's pretty unique. There are only two others I've been part of, of many, that have truly been online communities in the way that Daily Kos is an online community: the Internest, which was and is an online nest of the Church of All Worlds, and The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, better known as The WELL. Their heydays were long ago but they were genuine online communities, where people shared and bared their souls and cared deeply for one another.
But none went quite as deep as this community does.
Where else but here would people give donations, leave messages, and create quilts for one another when one is going through something very difficult (a major illness or caregiving for a loved one going through one, a fire, the death of a parent or a beloved, waiting for a kidney transplant...)?
Where else but here would people see something, interpret it (correctly) as a suicidal indicator, find out the person's name and address, and send the police there?
Where else but here on Daily Kos would we hold an online memorial service for one of our own?
Where else but here would complete strangers, people I knew only from online and had never met, talked with on the phone, emailed with, or anything else, step up and selflessly offer me a major part of their own bodies?
Where else but here would people be cheering throughout a 36 hour or more period as Charles and I liveblogged my kidney transplant? And who can forget Charles' priceless 7 am update as I was lying in the recovery room, "She pees!"?
We did that on a netbook I'd brought to the hospital with me. I started doing it at about midday, as I was starting to take anti-rejection medication in preparation for the hoped-for transplant, which (at the time) was not yet a sure thing. There's not a whole lot to do when you're sitting around in a hospital room all day, waiting to get a transplant, and I had so many friends here that I wanted to keep everyone updated.
A few weeks before that, I can't remember exactly when, I had bought myself a lifetime subscription to Daily Kos for a couple of reasons: I thought I should support the site where I had spent so much of my life and made so many friends over the past six years, and I. Hate. Ads! Having that little netbook screen be free of ads was an incredible blessing when I look back on trying to liveblog. I don't think that I could have dealt with ads during the first day I had the kidney and was checking in here; my motor control wasn't what it should be (is it ever?) because of Really Good Drugs.
Where else but here, then, would we be stepping up at the holiday season, at the conjunction of all the major winter holidays, to gift ourselves with or present each other with lifetime subscriptions, to say "You and I are valued members of this community, and I want to show it in a way that really expresses that and that enables the community's architecture to flourish and grow"?
There are a number of people who don't yet have lifetime subscriptions and have a need for one reason or more: financial, emotional, bad Net access (think dialup), keep defenestrating their computers every time an ad for a Republican shows up, and probably untold other reasons. Perhaps you are one, and perhaps you haven't made known yet that - there's still time. We've been lucky enough to be able to gift two people with lifetime subscriptions; one was thanks to someone gifting my Charles with one.
I'm going to wholesale lift the list of who is currently known to be waiting, who has already been gifted (that list includes my own partner, Charles, and many thanks from us both), and the info on the small-contributions gathering that is buying people from the list subscriptions as it becomes possible, at random, from Yasuragi's diary of earlier. In part it's because I really don't have the ability to read all that well at the moment - see the above about a dog lying on my glasses - and in part it's because HTML and I are, at best, civil strangers.
Happy holidays to all, whether you celebrate Yule (the winter solstice) with us, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Festivus, or something else (what's teh FSM's winter holiday called?), and to all...a good night, and many more.
Here's the indefatigable jayden's list of those still waiting for a benefactor, and those who've been given lifetime subscriptions during this drive:
GIFTED LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTIONS
2thanks ▪ a gilas girl ▪ aaraujo ▪ Abe Frohman ▪
Abra Crabcakeya ▪ Actbriniel ▪ Agathena ▪ Ahiannie ▪ Aji ▪
Alexandra Lynch ▪ Alfonso Nevarez ▪ allergywoman ▪ Amor Y Risa ▪ angelajean ▪ anotherdemocrat ▪ Anton Bursch ▪ AoT ▪ arizonablue ▪ asterkitty ▪ Auntie Neo Kwan ▪ Avenging Angel ▪
beach babe in fl ▪ begone ▪ BentLiberal ▪ betson08 ▪ bevomav ▪ Bionic ▪ blue aadvark ▪ blue jersey mom ▪ bkamr ▪ blueoregon ▪ boatsie ▪ Bob Johnson ▪ Bob Love ▪ Bob Sloan ▪ BOHICA ▪ boran2 ▪ Brit ▪ Brooke in Seattle ▪ Brubs ▪ BruinKid ▪ buddabelly ▪ bumblebums ▪ Burned ▪
cacamp ▪ CalNM ▪ CanyonWren ▪ carolanne ▪ Carolita ▪ catilinus ▪ CayceP ▪ cfk ▪ Chacounne ▪ Charles CurtisStanley ▪ Charlotte Lucas▪ chaunceydevega ▪ ChemBob ▪ chicago minx ▪ Christian Dem in NC ▪ CityLightsLover ▪ CodeTalker ▪ Colorado is the Shiznit ▪ commonmass ▪ cosmic debris ▪ CuriousBoston ▪
D Wreck ▪ dakinishir ▪ DaNang65 ▪ Davidsfr ▪ DavidW ▪ DawnN ▪ dclawyer06 ▪ DSC on the Plateau ▪ Debbie in ME ▪ Debby ▪ Debs2 ▪ Deep Harm ▪ Democrats Ramshield ▪ denig ▪ desertguy ▪ Digby ▪ Diogenes2008 ▪ dirkster42 ▪ dopper0189 ▪
Dreaming of Better Days ▪ Dr Erich Bloodaxe RN ▪ DrLori ▪ DruidQueen ▪
earicicle ▪ Ebby ▪ Eddie C ▪ Ed in Montana ▪ edrie ▪ edwardssl ▪ eej ▪ Eileen B ▪ Ellid ▪ Ellinorianne ▪ emeraldmaiden ▪ ericlewis0 ▪ edwardss1 ▪ escapee ▪
farmerchuck ▪ FarWestGirl ▪ ferment ▪ figbash ▪ FindingMyVoice ▪ FishOutofWater ▪ flumptytail ▪ FogCityJohn ▪ Frederick Clarkson ▪ FrugalGranny ▪
gchaucer2 ▪ Geenius at Wrok ▪ GenXangster ▪ ginmar ▪ gizmo59 ▪ glendaw271 ▪ glorificus ▪ Gooserock ▪ Got a Grip ▪ GreyHawk ▪ grog ▪ Groucho Marxist ▪ GrumpyOldGeek ▪ gulfgal98 ▪
Haole in Hawaii ▪ HCKAD ▪ high uintas ▪ holerock ▪ homogenius ▪ Hoosier Deb ▪ Horace Boothroyd III ▪ horsefeathers ▪ HoundDog ▪
icebergslim ▪ ilyana ▪ inclusiveheart ▪ indiemcemopants ▪
JaxDem ▪ jayden ▪ JekyllnHyde ▪ jennifer poole ▪ JesseCW ▪
jessical ▪ jimstaro ▪ jlms qkw ▪ JML9999 ▪ Joes Steven ▪ JoanMar ▪ Joieau ▪ jwinIL14 ▪
KAMuston ▪ Karl Rover ▪ kayakbiker ▪ kefauver ▪ Keith930 ▪ KelleyRN2 ▪ KenBee ▪ KibbutzAmiad ▪ Kid Oakland ▪
Killer of Sacred Cows ▪ kimoconnor ▪ kirbybruno ▪ Kitty ▪ kjoftherock ▪ Knucklehead ▪ kovie ▪ KVoimakas ▪ kyril ▪ labwitchy ▪
Lady Libertine ▪ ladypockt ▪ Ladywithafan ▪ LaEscapee ▪
Lamont Cranston ▪ Leftcandid ▪ Lefty Coaster ▪ Leftynyc ▪
Liberal Granny ▪ Lightbulb ▪ Limelite ▪ llbear ▪ loggersbrat ▪ Lorinda Pike ▪ Louisiana 1976 ▪ luckylizard ▪
M E C ▪ MA Liberal ▪ maggiejean ▪ Magnifico ▪ mahakali overdrive ▪ mallyroyal ▪ mapamp ▪ marigold ▪ Mark Fiore ▪ matching mole ▪ Matt Z ▪ mayrose ▪ mcmom ▪ mdmslle ▪ Melissa J ▪ Merry Light ▪
michelewln ▪ MinistryOfTruth ▪ Miss Blue ▪ Missys Brother ▪ MKSinSA ▪ Mnemosyme ▪ mommyof3 ▪ Moody Loner ▪ Mortifyd ▪ Mother Mags ▪ mrsgoo ▪ ms badger ▪ MsGrin ▪ MsSpentyouth ▪
Nanette K ▪ navajo ▪ Nchristine ▪ Neon Vincent ▪ noddy ▪ nonnie9999 ▪ NonnyO ▪ Noor B ▪ NormAl1792 ▪ notdarkyet ▪ noweasels ▪ Nova Land ▪ Nulwee ▪ nyceve ▪
observerinvancouver ▪ occams hatchet ▪ Otteray Scribe ▪
One Pissed Off Liberal▪ Ozark Homesteader ▪
Pakalolo ▪ parryander ▪ Patric Juillet ▪ peagreen ▪
people power granny ▪ peraspera ▪ peregrine kate ▪ pico ▪ pittie70 ▪ poligirl ▪ priceman ▪ progdog ▪ psfinla ▪ psychodrew ▪
quarkstomper ▪
racheltracks ▪ Radical def ▪ radical simplicity ▪ raina ▪ ramara ▪
Ray Radlein ▪ remembrance ▪ Regina in a Sears Kit House ▪
revsue ▪ rexymeteorite ▪ Rich in PA ▪ Richard Cranium ▪ Rick B ▪ RLMiller ▪ roseeriter ▪ rserven ▪ rsmpdx ▪ rubyr ▪ ruleoflaw ▪
Safina ▪ Sandy On Signal ▪ Sara R ▪ ScottyUrb ▪ scribe ▪ sdf ▪ Seneca Doane ▪ SensibleShoes ▪ shesaid ▪ Siri ▪ SisTwo ▪ slinkerwink ▪ slksfca ▪ snoopydawg ▪ Something the Dog Said ▪ Spirit of Life ▪ sricki ▪ srkp23 ▪ state of confusion ▪ Statusquomustgo ▪ StateofEuphoria ▪ Steven D ▪ Susan G in MN ▪ swampyankee ▪ SwedishJewfish ▪ Syoho ▪
teacherken ▪ teej ▪ TexH ▪ TexMex ▪ TheFatLadySings ▪ theRoaringGirl ▪ the mom in the middle ▪ The Troubadour ▪ timewarp ▪ TomorrowsProgressives ▪ Tonyahky ▪ Tool ▪ Translator ▪ triciawyse ▪ triv33 ▪ twigg ▪ TX Scotia ▪
ulookarmless ▪ UnaSpenser ▪ Unitary Moonbat ▪ unspeakable ▪ ursoklevar ▪
vcmvo2 ▪ VeloVixen ▪ Vetwife ▪ victoria2dc ▪ voracious ▪
watercarrier4diogenes ▪ water willow ▪ wayoutinthestix ▪ weatherdude ▪ webranding ▪ welso ▪ whatGodmade ▪ wide eyed lib ▪ winglion ▪ Winter Rabbit ▪ woodtick ▪ Wu Ming ▪
yella dawg ▪ Youffraita ▪
zaka1 ▪ ZenTrainer ▪ Zoskie ▪ Zwoof ▪
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Remember, these lifetime subscriptions come with no ads (a life-saver for those on dial-up, geriatric computers, or slow connections) and access to three eBooks for each new lifer and those who've given subs.
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I stole this from Yasuragi, who stole it from jayden (don't tell!):
You can also donate smaller amounts through the Small Donor Drive thoughtfully made possible by Nurse Kelley, Dr Erich Bloodaxe RN, and Onomastic. The donations collected through this drive will be pooled to randomly purchase lifetime subscriptions for those on the list. So far at least 15 Kossacks have been gifted with a lifetime subscription through the 'Small Donor Drive.' You can make a donation by going to paypal.com and selecting the 'send money' option on the left. Type in KelleyRN2@gmail.com as the destination. You will receive an e-mail notification that your donation was completed. When the lifetime subscription drive ends an anonymous donor has offered to pony up the remaining amount necessary to purchase one last subscription.
ChipIn, too, if you can. This is for a food pantry, youth help, and other resources being put together on the Cheyenne River Reservation by the excellent Georgia Little Shield, so if you have a bit to give, every bit will help save lives and protect well-being this year and into the next in a place where next to nobody can take that for granted.
And if possible, when you see a propane drive diary by navajo or someone else, please contribute, because every dollar you give is going to literally keep people alive.
I'll shut up, for now (it never lasts long), and go back to trying to read Daily Kos through these somewhat bent and definitely askew glasses, and commence with the Yule festivities of dragging a live tree into the house over cardboard (you know most of the weight is in the rootball, right? Trust me), decorating it, and hoping the cats get distracted by the big shiny balls on the lowest branches and leave everything else alone, and that the FIVE dogs don't whap all the ornaments off with their tails. Yes, we live in a zoo, and we generally enjoy it; yes, we live in this community, and generally enjoy that, too.
Happy holidays.