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Well, I thank you for your support and for posting your agreement with some of my beliefs and goals. The Democrats must go and there is no doubt about that. It makes absolutely no sense to allow them back into the majority. Continue trying to replace the rinos in the primaries, but build the majority in the general elections. We must replace the liberal activist judiciary if we are ever to have a chance of restoring constitutional government and there is no other way to do. The rinos can be weeded out (or at least their obstruction power diminished) if and when we build a substantial conservative majority.

As to the exact reasons why someone gets banned, well, I'd rather not go into that in public or even to third parties at all. Just suffice it to say, we usually take out the disruptors, the bigots, the racists, the abusers, the whiners, the trespassers, the anti-freepers, the malcontents, and or those who for whatever reason decide they want to work against our goals here on FR. I have no burning desire to supply a soapbox to those who are obviously trying to destroy me, my website or my liberty. Must be a flaw in my character.

I just wanted to say that my own experience here for 4+ years suggests that most of what the malcontents allege is simply not true. I have been both for and against the president at different times, and have never suffered any negative repercussions. (By the way, why is it that they make such a big deal that you were once against the President? So you changed your mind. Big deal.)

The daily battles here that rage over drugs, homosexuality, abortion, the death penalty, and the civil war suggest that it is simply not true that the moderators don't tolerate different opinions.

I'm sure it is probably true that there have been moderators who have over-stepped their bounds. Such is the nature of organizations. I am sure that you have said or done things that upon reflection you would not repeat. Such is the nature of man.

That occasional mistakes are made is part of life. That Mercuria and Darth Sidious still have accounts is proof that you are not out to "purge" all dissent.

My only suggestion(complaint?) is that you go very lightly on the "nuke" button. With the amount of time that I have spent on Free Republic, it is a part of my life and old threads are a part of my history. I hate it when I stumble across old threads that bring back memories and huge portions of them have been exicsed due to some of the posters having been nuked.

Just suffice it to say, we usually take out the disruptors, the bigots, the racists, the abusers, the whiners, the trespassers, the anti-freepers, the malcontents, and or those who for whatever reason decide they want to work against our goals here on FR.

Work against your goals?

From what I can tell, the poster Andante did nothing more than follow a link that YOU provided, and extrapolate information regarding your old positions on President Bush (calling him a cokehead felon, etc)

Andante simply asked you to explain this obvious descrepancy with your current position on our President, and you banned him for that?

I realize that you may have addressed all this in the past, but some of us are kind of new here, and would be interested in your answers (other than simply calling someone an anti freeper for daring to ask a question, that is.)

This sounded interesting and it seems you answered it!

Secret threads( from FRS)
Internal threads obtained by FRS show how moderators at Free Republic have drawn up a hit list of people they think should be banned.

As to the exact reasons why someone gets banned, well, I'd rather not go into that in public or even to third parties at all. Just suffice it to say, we usually take out the disruptors, the bigots, the racists, the abusers, the whiners, the trespassers, the anti-freepers, the malcontents, and or those who for whatever reason decide they want to work against our goals here on FR. I have no burning desire to supply a soapbox to those who are obviously trying to destroy me, my website or my liberty. Must be a flaw in my character.

I appreciate you position on this. I also feel sometimes many of us are NOT trying to violate. But when the table is turned to explained it may SEEM that way.

After years of abuse it seems one is trying to tell the other party it all depends "On Who's "Ox is Being Gored!"

Funny how those who are being abused get banned. And others get a slap on the wrist!

Don't mean to be disrepectful just my observation!

Many of us still see those FEW who are obsessed with posting distortions, and mocking with unkind remarks.

Now many of us have chosen not add fuel to the fire when others inspite continue to mock and jeer!

It would be a pleasure to have meaningful discussion with out the Disruptors, Bigots, Abusers, always tracking and attacking!

I signed back on in 99. I remember JimRob's post on Bush back then. He can answer if he chooses the change in his views on that if he wants. My views have not changed that much since then, but my tactics have. It would not suprise me if that was the case with some of the others here as well, and while I won't presume to speak for JimRob, something similar may have happened in his case. First in 99 I was not a Republican, I was indy. Also, back in 99, if someone looked in the future and found that I voted for Bush, I would have asked him what he was smoking. There was no way it was going to happen. I was wavering between Browne and Buchanan. I didn't like Bush's moderate views on a lot of things, and I also didn't like his dad, specifically for Mena.

Fast foward to the primary. I voted for Keyes in the primary. I didn't view McCain in the same distain as I do today, but he was still Keating 5 man. Primary ended. Still wavering between Browne and Buchanan. I later got a reform party primary ballot. I'm not a registered member of the Reform Party. I was just on his mailing list. I should not have gotten one. He hijacked it. Buchanan was out. In Michigan, he was off the ballot as well. I was probably going to go for Browne. This was around April 2000.

I then remember a few things. The Elian raid brought back the memories of Waco, and all the other stuff that went down in the Klinton years. FBI files, China, Travel Office, Mena, Dan Harmon's train deaths. I still haven't forgotton all of that.

It was closer to the election, and about a month before the election, I made my decision to vote for Bush. The reason was simple. Judges. I did not want any gun grabbing judges out there. There was one other reason. That was Janet Reno. Gore was going to keep a lot of Klinton's people there, and Eric Holder was who I expected to take Reno's spot. That was unacceptable. Andrew Cuomo was another rising star. Still an Indy then, I voted a split ticket and voted for Bush.

The whole Florida debacle then happened, and I was glad I didn't vote for Gore then. I saw the tactics by Jesse Jackson, Daley, etc, and even I was suprised. That was also a start of me actually becoming a Republican.
In early 2001, I met someone who was on Libertarian Jon Coon's campaign in 94. This Libertarian "Could Win". He got 5%. We talked about our views in depth, and his views were almost exactly the same as mine. I then knew there was a place in the GOP for me. I then met Chris Ward, the head of the County party(now my state rep) and Congressman Mike Rogers. We agree more than we disagree. While the RINO's get all the press, they are still the exception more than the rule. I went to a county party meeting, met several of the people there, and then joined. It wasn't the RINO's at the meeting. It was the conservatives. The person that took the chair of the party after Chris did was someone who also had views that almost matched mine exactly. I made the right decision

Now as for Bush, in some areas, he's been great. In foreign policy, he's 10 times better than his dad was, and 100 times better than the last guy there. We just might finally get out of that UN. If nothing else, that's now more than simply a pipe dream. He's been good on tax issues. On some of the other areas, you know where I stand. I will say that I'm damn well glad it's not Gore in there though. There's no way I'm going to turn into a "Bushbot" either. I was never much in the way of being a follower unless it's following sports coverage.

And lastly, does Free Republic suck? If I thought it did, I wouldn't be here. I can't speak for the others, but the mods have been more than fair with me, even when I get my Irish up. If there are those that don't like this site, there's always another. Go there, and do it better than FR. If I don't like how something is done, I go out and do it better. That's why I'm doing with a statewide pro-2a org that was started last February. There are talkers and doers. I'll yap with the best of them, but I'll always back it up.

Lastly, there isn't much use that's going to come from bitching about this site 24/7 and creating stupid ass websites like Free Republic Sucks. Whoever set it up - Thanks for sharing that with us, and congratulations on your 15 minutes of fame. Soon, you'll go the way of Crystal Pepsi, Red Dog Beer, The second lead singler of Motley Crue, or Battlefield Earth. No one remembers, nor cares.