You should have no expectation that anything you post on a public discussion forum is "protected." Anything that can be read by anybody who reads the FreeRepublic website can just as easily be read by the WOPULAR computers.
A good rule of thumb to go by is that anything that you send over the Internet, be it a forum post here, an instant message, a comment on Facebook, an email, or anything else, can be recorded by any computer that it passes through, can be stored forever, and can be found by someone who really wants to find it.
The anonymity that you have here on FreeRepublic is limited to the fact that you can post your comments as "MissDairyGoodnessVT" instead of using your real name. If, however, you posted something that caught the interest of law-enforcement, and they obtained a warrant, JR would be legally compelled to turn over any of your personal information (real name, email address) that you used when signing up for your account on FreeRepublic.
Bump to your post no. 24 Washi.
oh i am completely in agreement with you on this one-no problem