I first came here in October 2006. I did not know blogs and had been reading Eric Alterman's blog on msnbc.com. A friend recommended Daily Kos, so I checked it out and ended up staying. When I arrived, the election was in full swing. I first hung out in Missouri diaries (Mo. Senate) but then just sampled all sorts of diaries.
I remember the Rs had a 9/11 movie set to play that blamed Clinton for 9/11 at that time. The Iraq war was in full swing, and the Republicans controlled the House, Senate and Presidency. One turning point seemed to be when the movie was exposed as propoganda and a Republican congressman from Florida was caught having repeated sexual relations with many underage pages in the House. We won the House and Senate that year!
I had never really donated to candidates outside my home state (other than for president), but after coming here, I made donations to several (Often $25 on my credit card, which seems relatively small at the time but can add up. :-) ).
I felt at home at Daily Kos. There were a lot of left wing Democrats here, and politcal junkies. I learned a lot. After sticking my toes in the water by commenting, I did my first diary around January 15, 2007, arguing for opposition to the surge in Iraq. And I've never really stopped commenting or writing diaries. I was a combatant in those 2007 primary wars, and many other struggles, disputes, flame wars, and collaborative efforts to elect Democrats. Went to 2007 Yearly Kos and met all sorts of folks I just knew on-line, and wached a great Democratic presidential candidate debate where we sang Happy Birthday to Barack Obama (and I was an Edwards supporter).
(Even got NRed for a while in late 2007 and early 2008. I was on vacation with my daughter and had brought my lap top along. One morning at the hotel I signed on to Daily Kos, recommended a few comments, and had the bad luck to recommend a comment that the powers that were decided should not be recommended on the day of the Great 2007 Primary War Crackdown. Poor luck. If I don't sign on that day, I would not have been NRed. Many Obama, Clinton and Edwards supporters suffered the same fate by recommending or hide rating one comment or another that day, but we all lived to fight Republicans another day and I think in spring 2008 got our ratings ability back.)
It's a good place. There's always someone here to agree with, disagree with, or just discuss things. The front pages have some great political activists, but I've always liked the back pages best. It is fun recreation, but we also can accomplish things here. I think the best parts of Daily Kos are to raise money for worthy candidates, introduce new candidates, and to create new activists. The last I have seen myself. I used to do a nightly news group that talked about one of the candidates in 2007. A young woman would do the Friday evening edition. She went on to work for a senator and several national progressive groups doing internet outreach since 2007 and still does today. While she always had that talent, I believe that Daily Kos gave her a place to learn and grow.
I have no doubt there are many other stories like that here. Some people who made their first donations to a candidate; others their first work as a volunteer. Daily Kos is a force for good.
Another great thing is that Daily Kos allows our brothers and sisters behind enemy lines in deep red states to funnel contributions (and even work) for progressive candidates, even when there is little current hope in their states.
Yes, there are flame wars here from time to time, and I've taken part in my fair share. I suppose there are better and worse (civil and less civil) ways to engage, even in flame wars, and I hope we all choose the better ways to fight when we do. Daily Kos is not always for the thin skinned, but most folks here pretty decent, even when fighting.
I like to see Daily Kos as a big house with many rooms. I can pick and choose the rooms into which I will enter. And if I don't like the decor, there's always another room opening up on the recent diaries list.
My partner joined in March 2010. She sometimes recommends my diaries (:-) ), but mostly hangs around with the GUS (Give Up Smoking) folks, even though she hardly smoked and quit long ago, because she likes the people. Efferverscent does a yoga diary on Saturday mornings, but rarely gets involved in other diaries (even my own), and I don't think has been in a flame war yet. She found a place here where she fit. That's the beauty of Daily Kos. There is a lot of room here for all sorts of folks and opinions, and many rooms in the great house where people can find a fit. Not all rooms fit all people, and that kind of pluralism is just fine. It's a strength of Daily Kos.
That brings me to the purpose of this diary.
It's the War on Christmas fundraiser. No we don't hate Christmas. The title ridicules the FoxNews fanatasies. Here's Kos' opeing post on the fundraiser: Welcome to our first annual War on Christmas fundraiser
Kos explains that changes in internet advertising (micro-targetting and so much content, among other things) is driving down the price of advertising, which means that less money can be raised through advertising for a site like Daily Kos.
What that means is that web publications like Daily Kos can no longer depend on advertising to finance operations. A few years ago, 95 percent of revenues came from advertising. This year, it’ll be 58 percent. And if current trends continue (and they will), advertising will cover less than half of our expenses next year.
You can help by buying yourself a
subscription—which means you can see the site without ads, have access to several e-books from staff, access to the entire community photo library, and, according to Kos, future benefits currently in development.
I bought a lifetime subscription several years ago (and Effervescent has one), but there's something we can still do to help.
If you already have a subscription, consider gifting a subscription to someone else here, whether it be your favorite diarist, commenter, or the person you just love to yell at here (cause it takes at least two for a good flame war).
Or you can just donate some cash for Daily Kos.
We need to keep Daily Kos strong so it can help change this nation. We do make a difference for the better.
Please subscribe or gift a subscriptionor donate.
After the fold is what I think is the latest list of those who want a subscription from navajo's diary: * New Day * will Host the "I Want a Subscription to Daily Kos!" List +Do You Want a 'Prescription' ?
Effervescent and I are buying a gift subscription for a person on the list (as soon as I finish writing this and set it to publish).
Navajo graciously volunteered that diary to be the mothership of the gift list.
I've decided that * New Day * will hold the mothership list. I'll post a comment in each Host's diary to encourage comments in that diary to leave suggestions for recipients of subscriptions. And naturally, the donors usually comment that they've gifted. I'll do my best to gather the comment content and keep track of the growing list. I appreciate all help with this, particularly when I miss something. Especially needed is for New Dayers to help with questions in the comments of those diaries like many of you have been doing since last Wednesday.
1. ✓lpggirl given by boadicea
2. ✓scarletraven given by boadicea
3. ✓Fishgrease given by Raina? where4art?
4. ✓stevie avebury given by boadicea
5. ✓scamperdo
6. ✓secret38b given by boadicea
7. ✓Texdude50 given by Wendella and Steveningen for a second year?
8. ✓BoiseBlue given by eeff
9. ✓Homer177 given by SoCaliana
10. ✓Kaos given by Lorikeet
11. ✓empty vessel given by blue jersey mom
12. ✓Ole Texan given by politik
13. ✓Annalize5 given by joanbrooker
14. ✓luckydog given by Shockwave
15. pale cold
16. ✓suesue
17. northerntier
18. LilithGardener
19. blue91
20. ✓Senor Unoball given by paradise50
21. ✓Sand Hill Crane
22. gabriella
23. KentuckyKat
24. entrelac
25. teknohed
26. ✓OLinda
27. Bob Love
28. ✓misterwade given by mergenow
29. von Dutch
30. ✓smiley7 given by 3goldens
31. ✓MajorKong given by SoCaliana
32. InsultComicDog
33. ✓OIL GUY given by zenbassoon
34. ✓CherrytheTart given by zenbassoon
35. ✓ ncheyenne given by TomP and Effervescent
36. ✓FloridaSNMOM given by joanbrooker
37. ✓Thomasina given by side pocket
38. dadadata
39. ✓eXtina given by Steveningen
40. ✓gritsngumbo given by maggiejean
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Please suggest names and buy gift subscriptions if you already have one.