A thank you to Democratic Underground, and a plea.

[King_Klonopin]

162. Agreed !

I've been a regular visitor to DU since Bush v. Gore election.
You beat me to the punch, as it were, of expressing my disappointment.

I come to this site to be informed, get news that is otherwise ignored.
I come to this site to be entertained (I used to look forward to Top 10 Idiots every week!)
I come to this site to contribute, if I can.

I have been bringing up this issue with another DU-er who also agrees:

Reading threads has become ponderous. The fire-fights, the smugness ...
one has to weed through the snark and the oneupmanship of the prigs;
the pronouncements, pontifications and opinions that dominate any dialogue
and questioning; the righteous indignation (the contest of who can be most
offended by any provocative or irreverent posts) It is killing DU's sense of
inclusiveness. DU used to have a great sense of humor. Too many here take
themselves, and politics, way too seriously -- and don't like the suggestion
that a little self-reflection is needed now and then. The analogy to high
school sub-groups is spot on.

Want to see DU get ugly? Defend your right to be a Catholic, or any other
faith for that matter.

I appreciate the informative OP's of the old-timers, the occasional
viewpoint that is unconventional, and the honesty of an OP like this one.
And the jokes.

p.s. has anyone else sensed the irony dripping within this thread ??