I would like to thank everyone of you on DU

[calimary]

16. I've long argued that this place isn't just a website, it's a think tank.

You also have to keep in mind - the people who post here are not only Dems or liberals or progressives or whatever label you want.

They're also...
parents
bosses
employees
veterans - of SEVERAL military conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq/Afghanistan
attorneys
academics and teachers
various sorts of political reps or professional participants (Elizabeth Edwards used to post here)
VIPs and other prominent people
strategists
historians
organizers
medical specialists
researchers
bloggers and writers
small business people
nerds
white
black
Asian
Hispanic
Native Americans
Catholics
Jews
Protestants
Europeans
Australians
South Americans
Middle Easterners
media people, past and present
environmentalists
scientists
magistrates
engineers
grandparents and other elderly
designers
musicians
adoptees/adoptive parents
widowed
divorced
newly married
computer nerds
graphic artists
students
pet lovers
sci-fi freaks
gay
straight
single parents
adopted
newly bereaved
employed
unemployed
abused or molested
from large families
alone
psychologists
ailing
retired
disabled
devoutly religious
agnostics
atheists
new grads
philosophers
analysts
crusaders
humorists
troublemakers
lobbyists
jurists
urbanites
suburbanites
small-towners
crime victims
unjustly accused
financial experts
uninsured
insured
debaters
homeless
well-to-do
empathizers
tough-love believers
...and so many more, from every geographical area and population demographic in the country - AND the world.

Just consider all that input, those filters, originating from all those different sources. All those different viewpoints intaking and processing what goes on around us in this country. The writing here often tends to be spectacular! Same thing for the analysis. What I've learned here, reading other people's opinions, considering their viewpoints and the world they come from that fuels those viewpoints, has lifted me miles beyond where I was when I first came here, not long after bush "TOOK" office in 2001.

I love following along when people are debating some issue or point, and it always enlarges my understanding of whatever issue or point it is.

I love how people can ask for help, either about information they need for some research, or talking points to refute some lout teabagger's astroturfed email; or prayers; or comfort after losing a loved one or even a pet, or a job; or advice or direction on some matter or problem that needs solving.

This is a one-stop-shopping online hangout. And a think tank. I marvel at the brain power here and the crackling sense of commitment to some genuinely great ideals. And I'm honored to be a member of this community.

Welcome to DU! Glad you're here! You'll become smarter and more sophisticated in your thinking and assessments of politics. We all benefit from the learning and enlightenment we get here. And without fail, people post breaking news here startlingly quickly.

It's a full-service place!