You're very brave confessing on this very thread. Good luck to you.
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 President’s ‘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 management’s 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 Bush’s 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 President’s Oath of Office.
Nonsense. Your post this morning was typical of the "I've been wrongly dumped" whines that come in here from time to time. It was in a thread, and I clicked Abuse on it, because to pointed to your own site and appeared to be designed to draw Freepers away and to a page that did nothing but whine about people getting banned.
Very few people saw that post, but I did. Then, you came on again, with another logon name and pointed toward another instance of the same whiny diatribe. That got Zotted, too.
Now, you are here again, but you're not being Zotted. Why is that, do you suppose?
Me 2.
You could always start your own website and then you could make up the rules. No one is being held hostage here.
My favorite thing they post is "Gee, this place is JUST like FR use to be in the good old days."
It seems that most of our representatives don't want to hear us, there is a lack of enforcement against employers who pretty openly hire illegals, we have some states and cities who have passed "sanctuary" laws that actually prohibit cooperation with Federal officials, ICE practices catch and release for most illegals, so turning illegals into the Border Patrol doesn't seem effective either.
The Minuteman project is in interesting idea for a nonviolent citizen soldier, but if our government won't enforce the existing laws, it looks like it will only be a PR stunt, etc.
What would you do?
"He's just got a more intimate view of the border problem, given his geographic location, than just about anyone else on this forum. He's seen firsthand what is going on and people here would do well to listen to him. How many people here have stood yards from the border, in the brush, using night vision equipment to watch hundreds of border intruders stream by in the darkness? He's done this time and time again. He knows the problem firsthand like no other FReeper can claim to know it. We're not getting the full story from the MSM, the current Administration is outright mishandling and lying about the problem, and only a few in Congress have come down here to see it for themselves and who are working to actually do something about it."
I'm not here to debate why people have been banned because I don't know what happened. I've enjoyed FR since I've been on it, and I've found the moderators to be fair.
However, I will take issue with your last post. Everyone in America has an up close look at the problem because illegal immigrants don't take two steps over the Arizona border and stop. They come to every major city in the country. I get an up close look at the problem every time I walk in a store and cannot find someone who speaks English. I also notice when my pockets are picked by the government to subsidize the welfare of people who don't even belong in this country. Furthermore, I notice when the crime rates in my area go up because of illegal immigrant gangs.
The problem does stop in border states. In fact, those states don't even see a majority of the problems that are cause by the flood of illegal immigrants.
People say that these immigrants are filling jobs that no American wants. Wrong! These immigrants are filling jobs that no American wants to do for 4 dollars an hour. Maybe we should start electing illegal immigrants to the Senate and only pay them $10,000 a year.
Right on! Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's never had a problem ordering obnoxious, cruel people to be physically removed from a building either. Rules of behavior don't change between cyber and physical space.
Most of the comments in our forum section are from Freepers that are still active on this site. We allowed them to post there because many feared retaliation from FR mods for speaking their minds on this supject.
William Gheen
Joe Hadenuf was banned?
"When did they ban Joe Hadenuf?
"
I have no idea. I saw his name on a post on the other site, and checked it out this morning. Banned or suspended. More than that, I do not know.
Thanks Cake-crumb!! :) ~jj
Like the social security plan put forth by the President, by the time all the talking heads get into the act, the plan becomes obscured leaving a jumbled mess. The immigration plan is complex but workable – not to everyone’s liking of course, but workable. In both cases something must be done and this President is trying his hardest and he can’t please everyone – let alone the politicians who will TRY to tack pork onto whatever is sent to the Presidential desk. So, rather than parrot others or make single issue problems out of both, research what is actual, not what is opined by just anyone.
Both problems are complex especially the immigrant worker program with our neighbor, Mexico. Find the important words, disregard all the propaganda and buzz words that the MSM and opposition throw out as fact. Do your own research – above all recognize when you are being led astray – such as the left does not want the next generation to have a choice in their savings – that would take away too much money from the congress to spend. Federal workers have a choice now, why shouldn’t every American.
If migrant workers have a GREEN CARD, they are legal. If migrant workers DO NOT have a green card, they are illegal aliens – NOT illegal migrants - ILLEGAL ALIENS and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law…that means every city and town must have the full backing of its citizens demanding this and expect to have to anti up more state taxes…prosecuting is not a freebee and most states have a limited amount of $$s to handle the load; volunteer your time to help.
(White House) "This program will offer legal status as temporary workers to the millions of undocumented men and women now employed in the United States."
You're very brave confessing on this very thread. Good luck to you.
adam_az:
With all due respect, I have posted on FR on and off for years and since Sept. 16, 2004 I have posted and participated in discussions several times per week.
William Gheen
author of the article.
This William Gheen guy seems to forget that your site is private property. You can kick us all off and go home if you want to. He also seems to forget that nobody is holding a gun to his head making him log on to FR. He should find other things to worry about.
Ah HA!! (**bug-eyed, pointing shakey finger your way**) CENSOR!!
Apparently. Someone using the name Joe Hadenuf is badmouthing FR over on those other sites. Very strange, since he's one of the long-time Freepers I recognize.
If what you say were true half our posters would be banned.
Yes, they do, but one side (the ALIPAC side) seems to label those who are for Bush's policy on immigration "for illegal immigration". Now, I don't really care for his immigration policy myself, but I hardly believe that those who do are FOR "illegal immigration". To say so, is a classic strawman argument.
What these people are doing, imo, is rather petty. It probably stems from purely personal dislikes, and ultimately has nothing to do with the topic of immigration. What I think everyone should do, is take a few hours (if not a few days) off the computer as a whole, and compose oneself into the adult we're all supposed to be.
And again, this is clearly not a "purging". I'd like to see anyone try to justify calling the banning of 9 posters out of the thousands that post here every day a "purging". I'd laugh in their face.
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