of currently warring cliques for newer DU members? I keep wandering into digital versions of biker bars, and getting my head handed to me for not being well-versed on which members are on which side of the various circular arguments in any given thread. A list of the antagonists, and their current political positions, would be very helpful.

I also just learned today, that the GD forum is reserved for certain cliques and the GDP forum for others. Is there also a list of rules around somewhere that could prevent me from making a fool of myself by posting in the wrong thread?

From the Huffington Post:

When Getting Beaten By Your Husband Is A Pre-Existing Condition

{Snip}

It turns out that in eight states, plus the District of Columbia, getting beaten up by your spouse is a pre-existing condition.

Under the cold logic of the insurance industry, it makes perfect sense: If you are in a marriage with someone who has beaten you in the past, you're more likely to get beaten again than the average person and are therefore more expensive to insure.

In human terms, it's a second punishment for a victim of domestic violence.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/14/w...

WTF?

Anti-Constitutional rednecks and bigots who would like to have the Bush Family back in charge of our treasury, so they can use the back-door withdrawal window. Their hardest job at the moment, is to keep coming up with euphemisms (Socialist, Marxist, Muslim, etc.) for the word "ni---r." Not all of their money is coming from the insurance companies; a lot of it comes from white-supremacist and religious-right "true believers" in a white, Christian (non-Muslim) America where hate is the norm.

Dick Armey is the bag-man for this particular protest, but the same neoconservative anti-American, pro-bigotry, Limbaugh/Beck/Hannity blood-sucking cultists keep appearing as cheerleaders.

In 2010, the Republicans will regain at least one of the Houses of Congress -- most likely the Senate. In 2012, the Republicans will strengthen their power in Congress, and very possibly control both Houses of Congress, albeit with slim margins. In 2012, the Republicans will regain the White House. In 2013 the Democratic Party will once again find itself in dire need of a "new direction," and desperately searching for a "messiah" to lead it out of the wilderness.

Why? Because, as usual, we Democrats are splintered by the Far-Right DLC contingent of Blue Dog traitors, the Far-Left ideologues who expect instantaneous miracles and tend to eat their young, and the apathetic "elite" middle who believe that ALL politicians are corrupt, and therefore will vote for the (usually Third-Party) "best man or woman."

We Democrats are our own worst enemies and sadly will, in all probability, never again achieve the kind of unity it takes to implement a new "New Deal" for our nation and its people. The narrowly-focused Republicans have no such problem, and will once again use the strategy of waiting until we Democrats self-destruct, and snatch Democratic defeat from the jaws of Republican victory.

Oh, look! A shiny object! Gotta go now...

June 7, 2008 – The Democratic Primary campaigns are over, and Senator Barack Obama has been elected as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Senator Obama’s nomination was officially recognized at the August, 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

November 4, 2008 – The Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, defeated Senator John McCain and was elected to the office of President of the United States by a margin of 365 electoral votes to McCain’s 173. A joint session of Congress tallied and verified this electoral vote count on January 8, 2009.

January 20, 2009 – President-elect Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United States of America.

The above information is just a reminder to all of the PUMAs, anti-Obama Far-Left “Progressives,” and other non-Democrats who incessantly post derogatory anti-Democratic material on DU. It is a reminder that we Democrats selected a viable presidential candidate, and went on to sweep him into office, along with Democratic majorities in both Houses of Congress.

Candidate Obama was candid throughout his campaign, and did not “promise” to cure all of the nation’s myriad ills in the first week, first month, or first year of his presidency. Hell, he did not even promise to clean up the entire decades-in-the-making neoconservative mess during his first term. What candidate Obama did promise, was to attempt to heal the Republican-caused partisan divisions in this country, to immediately address the economic crisis he inherited, and to call upon the Congress and the People to work with him to restore this country to its former position of respect as a world leader.

Most Middle Americans are fiscally Conservative – to a degree, and socially Liberal – to a degree, and the “degrees” of the differences are where we rationally agree to disagree. The “fringe” groups, on the other hand, are the partisan “all or nothing” extremists who hate the very idea of majority rule. Both the Far-Right, and the Far-Left, use similar methods to promote their pet causes. Their tactics include: half-truths, outright lies, deceit, and the general promotion of distrust and hatred while widening national divides. Both radical extremes consider the rest of us (the majority) somehow morally inferior for not agreeing with them.

And no, this is not a call for "total obedience" to the Party line, nor turning a blind eye to the actions of the POTUS. What it is, is a call for unity, constructive criticism, and stepping up to the plate to help President Obama and the Democratic Party complete the work begun by FDR, JFK, and others who desire to make the Constitution work for ALL Americans.

or is there an inordinate number of trolls and freepers who regularly post on DU?

I've been a lurker on DU for a few years mainly because I was, until recently, a moderator on another Liberal blog. During those years of "lurking," however, I never noticed the number of obvious right-wingers posing as "progressives."

I have no problem rationally discussing differing political points-of-view with reasonable "declared" Republicans or Libertarians. I have no respect, however, for obvious trolls posing as fellow Liberals (a few with over 1000+ posts on DU), and then attacking Liberal positions with thinly-veiled RW talking-points and arguments.

I guess that the longer I read and post here regularly, the more familiar I will become with who is genuine, and who is a disrupter. In fact, I have already discovered a few of the latter -- I think.

Incidentally, I am a lifelong Liberal Democrat, retired, and reside on Maui in Hawaii. Thanks for allowing me participate on DU.