Posted on 02/11/2005 10:55:36 AM PST by Jim Robinson
The shot heard around the Internet has been fired on FreeRepublic.com The owner Jim Robinson and his moderators have launched a sniper style purge against members that disagree with the Presidents guest worker amnesty or support more control of illegal immigration. Free Republic is an amazing tool for those looking for a good debate and news from around the country.
The problem for the administration of the site is that their creation is allowing the participants to learn that the Bush immigration record and plans are shockingly out of line with the views of most conservatives. The managements answer to this conflict between the majority of conservatives and the influence of the White House on their Web site has become electronic executions and censorship.
Members and readers of Free Republic would be surprised to know that many members of their community have fallen silent on the discussions about illegal immigration lately because free speech is an illusion on FR.com. They are silent because they have been banned from the Web site without warning, cause, or explanation in most cases. For weeks the moderators have been suspending and banning new members that chimed in quickly on the immigration debates.
Now this trend has broadened as the first groups of long-term users were suspended or banned this past week. Although Robinson and his staff removed many members of the Free Republic community in the first few days of the purge, those that religiously support President Bushs immigration plan, open borders and approve of public benefits for illegal aliens remain on the forum. Those that were banned were the members that wanted more done to control illegal immigration and a strict observance to the Presidents Oath of Office.
Ya know--I didn't even think to look at the "add ups." 'Just excited it was proving a point to another poster from another thread a while back whose name I saw on this thread.
There was an error in the code that was intermittently crashing the browsers during the first couple hundred votes. John fixed the crashing problem and restarted the poll, but as a result of the error looks like the percentages are out of whack. I'll ask John to see if he can locate and correct the problem.
HEY! Leave my Batcave alone! ;-)
I've been called a RINO more times than I can count. It's generally because I support Bush (I'm a loyalist=Bushbot) or because I don't hate gays.
LOL!
???
I am with you,but I can only be polite and reasonable for so long and I don't like insults,whether they are against me or someone else.Lets face it if you are pushed to long you stoop to their level and I don't like to stoop to that level,so I remove myself from it.
Jim,
Thanks, so much, for providing this site. Even though I only speak for me, I suspect that many more who've yet to post on this thread feel the same.
There have been too many times in my life where I either forgot, been "too busy," or was unable, for whatever reason, to properly express appreciation for some of the truly great things that have been part of my life. I don't want this to be one of those moments.
I've spent a lot of time on this site, and I've learned a great deal from many of the postings on this site.
I believe that some of the brightest minds in this nation gather here, informally, and often. FR...America's great "water cooler" for exchange of news, ideas, and points of view, is a precious resource to me. And, I want to offer you my sincere appreciation.
Thank you!
ATB
STARGATE is on!
All other things come second.
Now you know why asgardshill and I are friends.
BYE!
LOL.......ya think? I bet your mama is a sweetheart and FAR prettier than me, to boot.
Har!
Good lord, is that a macro?
This is the THIRD site I have seen you post that exact rant on.
Only one problem with your little story: I was OUT OF TOWN when Joe got the axe.
Find somebody else to blame.
"Posters need to get away from the board." I agree. As a newbie and someone who doesn't have alot of time to post, I try to be civil. I think that some people are so emotional about a subject they lose self-control. I know I can be that way about abortion for example. When you know you can't convince them it's time to take a break.
I'm first generation American, my parents came here to escape Communism. They were so proud of being Americans, my father wouldn't let us speak anything but English. He was against any government assistance and often worked two jobs. But they would be shocked at all the illegal immigration today. They never questioned the fact that they had to prove themselves and earn their citizenship. I imagine that many people like me, whose families earned the right to be citizens, oppose illegal immigration and the rights these people are given, not earned.
By the way, I'm also completely against the current "open borders" situation/policy...or whatever you want to call it.
See 1092, please.
DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, thanks Jim!
Woops. 4 one hundreths of a second too slow I was......
I remember the guy, and agreed with his banning (and I don't agree with most bannings as you know; I'm just let a thousand flowers bloom kind of guy :) ). I will leave it at that since I am not absolutely sure of the exact facts at this juncture.
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