Tomorrow's LOLcat thread is dedicated to the memory of Will Pitt.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

A friend for 18 years, and the man who saved the LOLcats thread. When I left DU a few years back after a massive flame war over a pic in the thread, Will kept me informed of all the threads asking me to stay, but didn't share them. I stuck to my guns until he shared the open letter from sagetea on my FB feed, telling me this would be the only update he'd post, and that I'd do well to read it.

It did the trick, and I'm grateful that he did what he did. He knew it would change my mind, and I haven't missed a Sunday since. His passing gutted me, not just because of this, but because of the hundreds of moments we shared over the years, be they humorous, rage-filled, wtf based, or just sharing simple moments of our respective lives. He made being his friend a joy. Erhmagerd did he ever.

See you all tomorrow.

[rurallib]

1. We are all so happy you stayed!

[elleng]

2. ;-( ;-)

[underpants]

3. DU ❤️

I had no idea about this. You are my Sunday comics now. Coffee, sit back feet up, steal memes for Facebook.

Pitt was how I came to DU. I was on Free Republic because I wanted to discuss news. Someone posted a Will Pitt article from DU. Auntie pinko and Bob Boudelang told me this was the place.

I marched against the war with Will. A week before my wedding. I had to. One of the great prides of my life.

[wnylib]

11. You were a freeper???????

Who knew?

[SeattleVet]

22. A lot of us were freepers...

at least for a short time, until we (...uh...I meant to say 'they' ) posted something rational and got banned over there!

Some of us lasted a little longer...and there are still a few that were able to go so deep undercover that RimJob and his minions haven't found us out yet, but who are still able to inject a small doses of rational thought and reality into message threads there. At least, enough to make a couple of people over there start to question at least a little bit of what they are being force-fed by OAN and RSBN (faux-snooze and news-smacks are too 'woke' for a lot of the mouth-breathers over there now...not enough kissing of the 'ring' - either on the hand or on the hind end - of the Manchurain Cantaloupe). Those two outlets, which we usually think as way off in wing-nut land, but who actually aren't nutty enough for the trumpista, actually disagreed with something that tRumplethinskin said, and immediately became 'deep-state Soros-funded never-trumpers' among the 'Q'-est of the GQP...IOW, their current base.

My hope and dream is that what's left of the actual, traditional 'Republican Party' will continue to splinter and fight amongst themselves (mostly about who better represents their donor base) until they implode in a spectacular factional meltdown.

[TigressDem]

39. Manchurain Cantaloupe !!!! Love it. Has anyone sent that to Colbert?

But seriously, I was out for a bit between W *ush and tRUMPelstiltskin.

Freepers.... not trolls, but sometimes banned? Undercover logicals keeping US informed of the crazy on the other side?

I'm still not totally clear on what a Freeper is.

[Grasswire2]

23. LOL....shocking!

I used to monitor FR. But never joined or posted there.

[wnylib]

24. Same here, but very briefly. Read some posts

but never joined or posted there. Just checked them out from curiosity.

[Grasswire2]

25. I actually sleuthed out a big story that became a scandal, monitoring FR

Remember the name Jeff Gannon? He was the male prostitute who Karl Rove allowed entry to the James Brady Briefing Room. He was a freeper, with an alias. I actually ID'd him as a RW stooge to the Washington Post -- I was blogging at the time, and Post columnist Dan Froomkin picked up my clue. I knew Gannon from his FR posting under another user name. Put a few clues together, and voila.

My claim to fame at chasing RW.

Google him. Here's one story: [link:http://www.insider-magazine.org/Gannongate.htm|

[wnylib]

27. Impressive work. Congratulations.

[H2O Man]

29. I remember that well.

[yonder]

43. +1.

[blm]

4. 💕

[love_katz]

5. We love you, Salmon!

So glad that you came back, thanks to Will. Grieving for the loss of Will Pitt. Gone much too soon.

[Tanuki]

6. I didn't know about the flame war or that anyone here was ever mad at you!

It seems hard to imagine, since you brighten everyone's Sunday and are much beloved! I'm awfully glad he convinced you to come back. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your friend.

[Richard D]

7. One of my top favorite things about DU! nt

[Delphinus]

8. So glad

I missed that flame war and happy that Will kept you in the loop. He was a good man and the world is less because he is no longer here.

[pazzyanne]

9. Glad you stayed!

You have no idea how your SalmonChanedEvening thread has kept me going through choppy waters! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[Rhiannon12866]

10. One more important contribution on the legacy of Will Pitt and one that DU is grateful for

Thank you so much for sharing and let me add my condolences on the loss of your friend. Our world is less with his passing...

[littlemissmartypants]

12. ❤️

[ailsagirl]

13. No words, just...

[ms liberty]

14. K&R n/t

[Skittles]

15. the fundraiser for William's daughter Lola is nearing $53,000

Last edited Sat Oct 1, 2022, 11:42 PM - Edit history (1)

there are many of us grieving his passing......

https://www.gofundme.com/f/william-rivers-pitt-memorial-fundraiser-for-lola

[Aristus]

16. His blindingly smart, passionate posts are what gave me hope

in the dark days of the early oughts. WRP and DU kept me sane in an insane time.

[Solly Mack]

17. :)

[nolabear]

18. What a great testimony to him--and you.

I’m glad you’re here, and that your friendship with Will brought you back.

[proud patriot]

19. Thank you

[vanlassie]

20. I remember that debacle. I'm very sorry for your loss.

Thank you for the Sunday Mornings. ❤️

[grumpyduck]

21. This was all before my time here,

but I'm so glad you got through it and came back and are here. LOLCats has become the highlight of my Sunday mornings and I've turned other people on to it. Actually, a friend of mine regularly forwards some of the cartoons to her friends.

Thank you so much for your time doing this. It's a breath of fresh air.

[tiredtoo]

26. Your Sunday threads are on the top of my list

I can skip all the others but yours are a much read thread. Don't know who Will Pitt is but I want to thank him posthumously for keeping you here.

[YoshidaYui]

28. Ne

Ganbatte kudasai! あなたのベストを尽くして下さい!!

[H2O Man]

30. Recommended.

Way recommended, in fact.

[Bread and Circuses]

31. LOLcats if a godsend

Thank you for coming back and keeping up the LOLcats thread. Truly, it is the highlight of my week. 💗

[murielm99]

32. I remember the flame war.

I had no idea that Pitt had a part in it.

I was always glad you stayed. LOLcats are an important part of DU.

At the time, I did not think that enough people were K&Ring the LOLcats threads. That is still true. We need to do more than just read them. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together something that clever and meaningful.

Thank you for being a part of DU.

[CaptainTruth]

33. I'm so glad you stayed!!!!

You make a valuable contribution to DU & don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[MindHowYouGo]

34. LOLcats keeps me sane

--at least one day of the week.

Thank you SCE!

[SouthernDem4ever]

35. Love LOLCats

Thanks for staying!

[Dave in VA]

36. Glad you do what you do

and look forward to your post every Sunday morning. You always put a smile on my face and I thank you for that.

[niyad]

37. So very glad each and every Sunday that you came back. You bring such joy.

[bloom]

38. I'm glad I saw this on the home page

I used to visit here more back in the early days. He was one of the central figures, of course.

I met Will Pitt when he came to Bloomington (IN) on (one of?) his book tour(s). I designed the brochure and drove him around.

We were never what I would call friends, but I always appreciated his passion about the political situation.

AND I enjoyed reading his POV.

RIP

[sellitman]

40. I didn't know he past on.

I'm heartbroken.

[yellowdogintexas]

41. Learning of Will's death saddened me a great deal

His posts always made me think.

I also remember his joy when his daughter was born.


My favorite Will Pitt story was his description of his visit to Bush's ranch. He wore sandals, and when he sat down near the side of the lane, his feet were attacked by the legendary insect from hell: Fire Ants! Every Texan knows about them; you do not want to step on their anthills especially when wearing sandals. They leave nasty little bumps all over your skin and they itch and hurt.

"Why didn't anyone tell me I needed to wear sneakers or boots?"

Fire Ants must die! They are incredibly stubborn about the dying part.

RIP WillPitt and may you never encounter Fire Ants again

[crickets]

42. ❤️

I am so glad you are still around and posting LOLcats every week. I look forward to it every Sunday. Thanks so much for all of the hard work you put into them.