dKos, addiction and Steven Gaskin

For the last year and a half, dKos has been a major force in my life. I log on about 5:30 am, read all through the day at work,occasionally post-and-run (back to work) check it when I get home at night, and do a quick scan before bed at about 11:00 pm.   My husband lives with my rants, my kids expect the rude, crude joke about the administration.  Yes, I am addicted.

Please join me below the fold...

Just after Air America started here in the "other" Portland (not Maine that is) a friend turned me on to DailyKos and I have lurked here ever since.  I have posted one other diary about the dreaded Margaret Atwood Handmaid's Tale scenario.  Until yesterday I did not know it doing this was a knee jerk reaction us liberals seem to have to make such comparisons.  I thought there were strikingly similar scenarios between Atwood's then and our now.   It was done in a post-book-club-wine-induced-haze/amazement of those similarities.  And I will defend those similarities, no matter how "tin foil hatted" some may feel they are ( ie what is the legal name of the company Rumsfeld holds stock in that has the patent for tamiflu -Gideon, Inc. you say?)  I was truly thrilled 24 people took the time to post comments to what I had written. No snark intended, I WAS happy!  

There are so many things I love about this community.

First and foremost,  so many people are committed to searching out their truth, with links and citations.  How do you people have the time to research everything going on in this country of ours? It impresses me! I wish I could quit my job to do what you do, I would need eight hours a day just to figure out how to set up the links.

Second, I wish I had your wit and wisdom and snarks.  I try, usually fail, but I love to read them! (And I love the pootie pics too!)

Third, reading the diaries here, it reminds me that I am not alone in how I feel, many others feel the same frustration and betrayal I do.  A sense of community is what keeps me coming back. I will occasionally post comments on other sites, and to be honest, as big as this place is, I have never felt as welcome there as I do here. At dKos you never know who, if anyone, will reply, and that is part of the fun. At the other sites, everyone seems to know each other, and I do not have the time to post enough for them to get to know me and due to my life, I can not change that.  I do feel I know them just from reading their posts and I do wish they could know me.  

To my point, does anyone remember Steven Gaskin and the Farm?  Where I lived (back in the 70's)  there was a small off-shoot of the Farm.  The people there were good folks, but had somewhat of a holier-than-thou-attitude, only because they had been to "the Farm" in Tennessee and the rest of us had not.  To me, this attitude flew in the face of the purpose and meaning of what the Farm was.  One day (when I was all of about 18) I let go on one of the members of the Farm because of this attitude.  It felt good to me to vent the frustration. You could say I was "being there then".  Surprisingly, he told me he appreciated what I said, thanked me and he took what I had said to heart.

So, what I am trying to say to anyone who is willing to read this far is, not everyone can go to "the Farm", we can not all be witty and word-perfect, but that does not mean we do not read and agree, laugh or cry, scream or cheer in response to the diaries/posts. Mojo is great when you can get it, but it is not my life, being on the recommended list would be unfathomable, but the opportunity to at least express my views is invaluable.  Lets all take a moment to be thankful for what we have here and not get above our raisin'.

Personally, it is a chance for me to read the works of people who are talented, informed and, usually, like-minded, plus it's a great source of raunchy jokes. So, lets get on with it folks, and we know why we are here, and let appreciate everything everyone brings to our table!