November 3rd, 2004. Awakening from a nightmare stupor from the election results the night before. GW Bush had just won re-election, to my horror, despair, and disbelief.
How could this have happened??! It was so clear now, that the invasion of Iraq was a colossal foreign-policy mistake by our country. The evidence for the lying and the dis-information campaign that lured us all (except millions of us around the world who had marched in opposition) into accepting the inevitability and the “necessity" of Shock ‘n Awe in 2003, this evidence was everywhere by then. How did it allow Bush-CheneyCo to regain office yet again??
I was hopelessly disconsolate that day. I had been recently lurking around a site I’d heard about on Air America Radio, “Daily Kos”. Good articles, community (however small, then) and political savvy. So I went there to commiserate, and joined as a Kossack that day (although the “Kossack” designation didn’t come into being until later).
And so started a journey with a wonderful assemblage of Patriots and compatriots with dedicated, discerning minds who love this Planet and democracy, and who have been willing to put themselves maybe even in danger, to post The Truth here, whenever they found it (usually by very diligent, tireless, relentless research and fact-checking).
I remember the joy and celebration of 2008. I remember the whole election season that year. I was certain that 2008 was not Hillary’s time. But I didn’t understand the cogent support of Senator Barack Obama, either. I was an ardent John Edwards supporter (ahem). Eventually I came around to support Obama, and I congratulated all those ardent devotees who were certain that HE was the anointed one. And so he was! (One of our greatest Presidents ever!)
There was constant tension on the site during every election campaign. We argued, debated, baited and parried, but always came together on Election Night.
I remember the pie fights. I remember edscan. 😆 I remember when Armando stormed off to another site, for reasons I could not discern. (Glad yer back, ‘bro!)
I remember when the pootie and woozle diaries were constantly castigated as uselessly taking up space here and, what, distracting from The Mission? 🙄 It’s a tribute to the dearly departed Pootie Queen, Tricia, and her Court of devoted, pet-owned hyoomins, that we still have this delightful Pootie space on DKos (now sanctified by our Dear Leader, Marcos) as a quiet, humorous, community-oriented respite from the chaos (especially this year!) raging on the front page and in the diaries.
There are many wonderful community groups now established here. Something for everyone, and everyone is welcome, as long as you don’t interfere with someone else’s right of use and enjoyment here.
That this Internet space has endured and expanded to User ID’s over a million (!), and the millions of page-views the site gets every day, is a tribute to all who work so dedicatedly and diligently to keep the standards of reporting and commentary very high, the highest in journalism anywhere on the Net, imo. Even when doing so makes them possibly a target for harassment or whatever. Such courage, I am always amazed by it. Valiance!!
Okay, so this is my first diary in 12 years. I know, it’s pretty lame compared to what I read here on a hourly basis throughout the day. But please accept my humble first-offering.
And please consider indulging my anniversary request:
It has come to my attention that there are a couple of excellently researched and written diaries that slid off the reading list, which are urgently important today. Please give these two diaries another look:
Today: www.dailykos.
Yesterday, students at the historically all black Dillard University in New Orleans were pepper sprayed by police while protesting the presence of Louisiana candidate and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke at a Dillard University-hosted candidates’ debate (from which Dillard students and most of the public were excluded.)
Meanwhile, to no controversy whatsoever, Trump for president campaign advisers and surrogates have been flocking to appear on a radio network that recently aired a live fundraiser for David Duke’s political campaign.
www.dailykos.com/…
Many New York City residents might find it of interest that this Spring, even as the Trump campaign blitzkrieged towards the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, their fellow New Yorker Donald J. Trump met the very author and military theorist who helped inspire the Al-Qaeda strategy behind 9-11 terrorist attacks.
These are by our venerable “troutfishing” who has always been on the forefront of informative, responsible, quality journalism here at DKos. We used to have a “diary rescue" squad. Don’t know if we still do. This is my attempt to rescue these important reports.
In conclusion, thank you, Marcos, for your courageous, determined direction and vision all these years to build this site to what it is today. We are gonna need it more than ever going forward after November 9th, 2016, no matter how the election turns out. Our very Planet is in danger, as are our human rights all over the globe. It’s all hands on deck from here!
Happy Kossack Anniversary to me! What a long, strange trip it’s been! 👍🏼 🎉 🎈
Please join me with old-timer reveries and stories of how we got here all these years long!