Hi Petey, Long, long, long time lurker. Only recently signed up. My only 2 posts have gone to festival because they had to be reviewed. Can’t PM yet, too new. Appreciate your work. It has confirmed my reading thru the lines of many folks who post. Great people!
me: USN 1978-2002 Thank you/Pat
Welcome Aboard!
Even if you are a squid :P
Semper Fi.
Greetings All, Wanted to take a short break from teleworking and make an introduction to the Q followers on this site.
Background: I am a long, long, long time lurker and have only very recently signed up. Many years ago, I heard about a group of on-line people who had pointed out problems with a reserve fitness report George Bush received while In the Air National Guard. Errors which caused Dan Rather to resign, I was impressed. At the time I was getting most of my news from Drudge and Fox, having given up many years ago on the other networks (and television in general). In time I began to notice a change in Drudge and started getting my information from a wider variety of sites, American Thinker, Gateway Pundit, Spirit Daily, etc., and a site called Free Republic. Gradually, Free Republic became my go to site and I realized that it was this site that had broken the Dan Rather forgery. Reading the Latest Posts would point me to real news and worthy commentary on other sites (confirmation bias, maybe). This happened years ago and has served very well to keep me informed.
Late in 2017 I began noticing posts on a phenomenon known as Q. At first, I thought it was interesting, but didn’t give it much creed (trying to avoid confirmation bias). However, I it heartened me, revealing long suspected things and giving hope that a corner might be turned to restore this experiment in liberty we know as America. A psychological operation of the best kind. By the end of Feb/early Mar I was reading every post on the Q thread and have continued doing so. It’s almost an addiction.
So, what have I found in many lurking years of reading Free Republic and the Q thread in particular? More important even than the news/commentary I have found wonderful people, a wide spectrum of people of whom I have grown fond. People who are engaged in endeavors greater than themselves; people who are involved, in a great variety of ways, doing the most important things; people involved in raising the next generations and passing along the best of what we, who are so fortunate, have received. I’ve found fellow concerned parents, folks with sharp and delightfully wicked senses of humor. I’ve found people who can disagree and back up their views with thought and reason, people who yell at each other, and people who stomp mercilessly on trolls. I have found principled non-believers, fellow believers, and coreligionists of the faithful, traditional variety. I’ve found other veterans, fellow members of the Sea Services, both blue and green (i.e. those who consider themselves the men’s department of the Navy). I’ve found school mates, a probable shipmate, and best of all fellow FFG sailors, true inheritors of the title “Tin Can Sailors” and all that the title implies.
I avoid social media and only decided to join FREE Republic because I had a nugget to offer on the COMFORT’s supposed Q maneuver on departing Norfolk. Being very new, my posts have to be reviewed and the first two were only published in Festival. I must admit though FreeQs have become a sort of online family, though I am just a distant relative.
I thank Jim for providing this forum, Ransomnote for such a tremendous job monitoring and policing this thread, and all of you for your postings, which have helped pass many long hours spent waiting in airports and hotel rooms while traveling.
Back to lurking. VR/Pat
Hey there, Pat!
welcome.
Thank you, Pat and welcome!
Petey
Welcome.
Thanks for your lifer service.
Welcome to FR, Pat.