For my 50,000th post
I never expected to eventually get to this point so soon but here I am - and right in the middle of a historic impeachment process and posting this in a forum that I rarely frequent. 
I joined DU back in Februry 2008 at the start of the 2008 Democratic Primaries. I had only recently subscribed to XM Radio (later to become SiriusXM) in order to get some kind of "liberal/progressive" info and focus from talk radio because all of that was gone from my local stations. In a further search for some non-rightwing crap, I had stumbled on sites like The Smirking Chimp and Daily Kos... but those sites often referenced "Democratic Underground" over and over, and I eventually came here to see what all the fuss is about, started lurking, and eventually stayed. What won me over was the aggregation of "news" - literally compiled by members from around the world and posted on the "Late Breaking News" (LBN) forum - a forum that I am still active in and contribute to prolifically when I can.
I had been participating in "internet" discussions since the early '90s, pre-"web" - generally on the old USENET groups. Later, as discussions transitioned to "graphical bulletin board" type discussion sites, I joined a number of "hobby" forums - all of which often had some type of "Lounge" or "Offtopic" area, and almost all having some type of "Politics" subforum. These "Politics" areas were literally like walking into a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Just peeping in turned me completely off from politics discussion. So it is ironic that I ended up here on a discussion forum that actually focused on "politics". But the strong embrace of the ideals of "liberal/progressive" goals done in support of the political party that I was a member of, made coming here a cathartic experience.
Like many here, I have been through at least one DU upgrade, have had some interesting and spirited conversations with posters, have made some good friends, have had huge ignore lists that were later cleared, and have watched many people come and go (some who left life too soon). There were the "welcome" brigades who would welcome new people and would make note of posting milestones. But DU has always been about the members and has always been an incredible resource and platform for some of the most engaging intellectual ideas - both through essays and debate, and my hope is that it will continue to welcome such discourse. The "live blogging" of hearings, speeches, and other events, has helped to give readers an idea of where people are coming from and whether we are hearing and seeing the same thing.
When I was able to retire almost 3 years ago, I had some more time to participate here (or at least share time between here and some other hobby sites that I frequent and activities that I engage in) and I have tried when I can, to "give back", in a nod to those who came before me who contributed to this amazing website.
I want to give a shout-out and hug to those I have interacted with over these past almost 12 years and I hope to continue to contribute to the wealth of information that DU provides.
And I cannot end without giving a big thanks to the DU creators/admins - Skinner, EarlG, and Elad, for all their work keeping this site going, keeping it relevant, and trying their best to keep it real. It hasn't been easy but the efforts have notable. 
(this milestone will be immediately blown past after I post this since I'm in a "live" hearing thread 
)
= new reply since forum marked as read
Glad you like it here. 
It's a great place to be, for sure. I have loved it here too.
Many friends, some not-so-friendly and others have contributed to my experience as I'm sure they have to yours.
Now,
NEXT DESTINATION? ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND POSTS!!
Here’s to the next 50,000.
and account master! 
rather than dealing with hours and hours of conference calls (with the people yelling MUTE!! MUTE YOUR PHONE!!!! HELLO?? Anyone on?????) . 
Shoulder to shoulder
And that I call you my friend
Long may you post
plan on going anywhere, ok? JK. It's a real accomplishment that's appreciated in a great place.
Enjoyed your article above. Yesterday’s 10 Impeachment Threads was a marathon - Nevertheless She Persisted.
Thanks for all the effort and info you provided yesterday.
Couldn't do that today (got the 1st thread going but crickets handled the rest)
But many people appreciate them because they just can't watch or stream!
taking the time to while continuing to plow forward in your quest to provide valuable contributions to this fantastic site.
Have appreciated all the efforts that so many carry out here every day, so am happy to pay it forward! 
I enjoy reading your posts.
Rock On!
Not much of a Lounger but glad to say hi to folks here!
Thank you for your culture building thoughts about your experience and the nature of DU. With all the impeachment threads and your comments, you've contributed in valuable ways.
What a milestone! I enjoy your posts, you have been very helpful, and I wish you 50,000 more!
I have burnt myself out the past couple days with these hearings and the live threads. 
Hope you are sending me some warm tropical thoughts (since winter will be here soon)!
I think of you as I watch our finger lime tree grow. Mahalo for telling me about it.
The flowers on them are pretty and actually have an interesting scent - not of citrus but of roses believe it or not!!!
I had no idea that it is where candied peel comes from. It is already starting to bud so I am looking forward to finding out how the flowers smell. I just got my sense of smell back, too. Several years of sinus infections and surgeries took my sense of smell away. I have been rinsing with a steroid and saline religiously and finally getting it under control. Nothing better than the smell of gardenias in the garden, and now I can enjoy the citrus trees as well. We have varieties of lime, lemon, oranges and a single grapefruit tree.
I owe the finger lime to you! Roses you say--awesome.
I think they consider it a "citron". Have never grown one but have seen many pics of the many-fingered fruit.
Hope you will finally be able to get a good whiff of the flowers when it blooms. They produce them like a spray along the branches. Where you are, there are quite a few fragrant plants to enjoy as it is!!! And you would think with a finger lime that you'd get a "citrus" type scent from the flowers but nope.
I have a young Thai lime that I noticed had formed its first fruit over the summer when I dragged it and the rest of my citrus in. Am hoping it hangs on to maturity (it looks close and as I understand, they drop off when done). That fruit isn't really used much for cooking although some recipes use a little zest of it. Am going to baby my one Dekopan mandarin fruit through the winter too.
Good luck with your plant, but be careful because those thorns are like needles!!!
The thorns will help keep our dogs from 'un'-planting our trees, which they love to do. Once they've been there a while, though, they will leave them alone.
That's what I understand from some of folks on my garden forum who have them planted in the ground - the thorns are definitely a deterrent!
..... and has been here less than a week ?
DU better buy ink by the rail road tank car to keep this one happy.
me trying to wind down from the hearings -->
Thank you!
that's for damn sure!!!
I so enjoyed engaging with you on MIRT, and I learned a lot from you.
Keep up the fight! #resist
Pretty sure I’ll see you around du!
Thanks much and yup I know I have seen YOU around!!!
I'm glad you're here, and while I may not have seen every post, I've enjoyed all I did see!
and there is so much here to look at and discuss. Definitely "the" place to be!
but with all the groups covering almost every subject under the sun, this is really is a perfect "one stop shop" - whether to talking about cooking or recreation or activist organizing or health or discussing the debates or just chilling in the Lounge and talking about kittehs - it's all here.
Am glad to help!!! I know the feeling of frustration on "missing out" when stuff like these hearings are happening - notably because these will be considered "historic". So I hope that whatever I can do to provide a (sometimes silly ) sense of what is happening "real-time" can be helpful for people until they get chance to view these things (if they even have time) later!
Good morning and thank you!!
is truly what has kept me coming back every day!
Much like you, I discovered DU somewhere between Media Matters and Occupy Democrats. It took me awhile to stop lurking and to register. It took me longer to actually post and be involved.
BTW, I admire the "Hate Has No Home Here" that's in your signature line.
and regarding that "Hate Has No Home Here" - as soon as I saw the lawn signs available in my area back in 2017, I immediately bought a couple (and some more for my siblings) and have had the sign out in front of my house ever since!
