Email: The Future of Free Republic

Email | 06/25/02 | Jim Robinson

[Jim Robinson]

The following email is being circulated to our members by various disgruntled former FReepers:

Subject: The Future of Our Free Republic

Dear Fellow Free Republic Member,

Many of us at Free Republic are distressed by the extraordinary level of censorship that has been so obviously going on. It is very obvious that individual posts, entire threads, and the entire work of members who have been highly regarded are disappearing into a Memory Hole.

Scores of us have organized an e-mail network that is independent of the communication controls presently, and sadly, being used at our Free Republic. We have carefully documented the unmistakeable evidence that most of the posts, threads, and posters that are vaporized completely are overwhelmingly targeted for their political stance on the Right. These are not Leftwingers. These are not even Middle-of-the-Roaders. These are not disruptors. These are not foul-mouthed delinquents. These are fellow patriots on the Right who disagree with the controllers of FR on specific issues that are now hotly debated by the Right. We have documented that FR will parade before you, as if to hide all of the great posters whose work has been destroyed, a straw-man delinquent that has been banned. This is deceptive.

Treating these fellow patriots on the Right so shabbily is not right. As shabbily as those banned into the Memory Hole are being treated, the most shabbily treated of all are all of the good folks on Free Republic themselves. We came here for honest debate. Free Republic advertised itself as a Forum for honest debate. Without that honest debate...everything at Free Republic becomes shabby.

We can do much better. As a measure of how intense the simmering feelings have gotten among members on this unjustifiable use of deleting, censoring, and banning please link to the following thread. You will notice that one simple and sincere plea from one of our finest members has spontaneously touched off a prairie fire of approximately 500 posts in a mere 18 hours. If it isn't Memory Holed this thread may shoot into the thousands.

If you would like to receive anonymous updates of information concerning the hundreds of Freepers who have networked via e-mail to restore the wonderful honest debate to Free Republic, just drop an e-mail of just one or two words if you like for extreme brevity to:

StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

And, here's that link back to the snowballing thread at FR:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/704701/posts

Thank you so much for giving your thought to this vital matter for our Internet home.

Sincerely, StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

[parsifal]

"Parsy, you are a perfect case in point that Jim tolerates the weirdest a wide spectrum of opinion and discussion...either that or he's decided to keep you around as a cutiosity."

EGAD! Am I a speciman? BTW, yes I saw the you-know-where thread. parsy.

[carenot]

How far down the road to destruction have we been brought by those who have worked from within our own system to work their nefarious schemes?

Are you talking about Democrats or Republicans?

[unsycophant]

I'll match you dollar for dollar, with a little note that says, "Please don't delete Demidog's account" as my only request.

Deal?

[carenot]

Hmmm...

No. That would be a lot of others.

Does anyone remember Chief negotiator?

Taxman comes to mind and Action-America and Ancient Geezer, heck, I don't remember now.

[carenot]

Spit it out. I don't understand your point.

Do you really think he has a point?

[carenot]

Actually, I would kinda like to know what happened to Clinton's a liar. Anybody know????

Yes, a lot of us know.

Seems JR had a fallin out with her. He for Bush and she still for Keyes, like he used to be.

[4CJ]

LOL. I know what you mean. PhiKapMom and her friends did tons of work behind the scenes in the Senate to help me get my money back from the robbers, and many others aided as well. The intent of the post is not to state that PKM did it alone, the point being is was due to others efforts and not mine. I appreciate ALL efforts.

FWIW, during that period I was almost in daily contact, and she graciously gave me time out of her schedule to converse. She didn't have to give me the time of day with everything that was going on, yet she did. I am thankful and appreciate her efforts.

[carenot]

But that particular viewpoint (fact actually) isn't welcome here.

Durnit, at least tell me where you are posting iffen y'all get banned.

[_Jim]

I look at what the Liberty Forum is, and I see almost an example of demonstrating absurdity by being absurd. I believe if most people were to be shown that site and be told "this is a microcosm of what liberty is like", they would be forever repelled by the idea of liberty.

I wonder if they would allow me to participate on their forum - if I remained civil (of course).

I'll bet not.

It's just Liberty for the select few.

[carenot]

. At least....one would think that he would show a little bit of consideration for that fact.

Why should he?
He owns the place. Lucianne owns hers too.

[Dales]

Actually, they might.

But if you had a website with a whole lot of traffic that they thought should be listening to them instead, they wouldn't respect your right to do with your own property what you see fit.

Because, you see, you would be denying everyone the liberty to use your property as they see fit. It is the decomposition of private property, masquerading collective tyranny as individual liberty.

There is no liberty without private property rights. Those who do not respect property rights are the enemies of liberty.

[OWK]

You all claim to be proponents of liberty, wanting the freedom to say or do what you want. You have it over there, yet that isn't good enough. You want to force your vision on Jim. You claim to be advocates of liberty but strive to deny Jim the right to use his private property in the way he sees fit, and for Jim to choose to associate with who he wants on his site. No, what those who are over there but come over here to recruit or badmouth this place want is to deny others their liberties and to try to take Jim's audience. I guess by your bizarre way of thinking, since you participated for a while it is no longer his audience but yours.

Dear Friend Dales,

(I hope I'm still allowed to say friend). What the hell are you talking about? The Email that Jim posted (and subsequently attempted to associate with Liberty Forum) had nothing whatsoever to do with Liberty Forum. It didn't originate there. It wasn't in any way connected with there.

Nobody wants to "steal Jim's audience" (as if that were even possible with rational grown-ups anyway). Nor do they want to "deny Jim his right to associate with others", or anything of the sort.

The fact is that there are many people who openly participate in both websites, and value that participation. Are there a few numbskulls there who whine about FR? Sure. Are there a few numbskulls here who make LF out to be FR's sworn enemy? Sure.

But thankfully such numbskulls are the exception and not the rule. Jim's site is his. He can do with it as he wishes. More power to him. If he wants to ban critics of the GOP because he considers them too harsh, so be it. But he shouldn't be too surprised when people are confused by this, given his previous positions on some of the very same issues.

Clearly he's done a pretty significant about face on the subject of Bush the Younger, and in his younger days, was quite the newshound with respect to unconvential (read tinfoil) sources. But that's his choice. It's his site, so be it.

In any case, the point of this rambling diatribe is that LF is in no way connected to any organized effort to kidnap FR's audience (by any means other than fair and above-board attraction), and there is no association between the Email which started this nonsense and LF.

The big hullabaloo over LF on FR came from Jim and this thread.

Not from LF.

[Neets]

Dales....you can ALWAYS be counted on to provide the voice of reason, while framing the nuts and bolts of this issue in a concise and poignant way.....

YOU ROCK!!!!!!

[carenot]

"The Fairness To Ideologues and Whiners Act of 2002:

Hey man! Don't you DARE say that about the Republican party!

[Dales]

Funny how private property works. Isn't it?

You almost sound resentful of the idea.

[LowOiL]

I'll match you dollar for dollar, with a little note that says, "Please don't delete Demidog's account" as my only request.

Deal?

It is a deal, finally I can see something good coming out of DemiDogs corner.

I just paypal'ed Jim $100.00, If you really love DemiDog, you would double my contribution....Heck 10 fold for a brother in arm is not too much to ask is it?

[_Jim]

Why should he?
He owns the place. Lucianne owns hers too.

Shouldn't *this* discussion be conducted out in the sand box out behind the elementaty school under the supervision of an elementary school teacher during recess?

I mean, c'mon ...

[Neets]

In any case, the point of this rambling diatribe is that LF is in no way connected to any organized effort to kidnap FR's audience (by any means other than fair and above-board attraction), and there is no association between the Email which started this nonsense and LF.

You know that for a fact?? You know for a fact that no members of LF are in any shape, manner or form, responsible for those letters???

You can state that unequivocally???

[Dane]

I wonder if they would allow me to participate on their forum - if I remained civil (of course).

I'll bet not.

It's just Liberty for the select few.

After lurking over at LF(Lunatic Fringe), I found that peculiar also. You have to go through a selection process over there. If I were to submit my FR screen name I bet you I would be blackballed.

Anyway if they did "accept" me, which I highly doubt, I would consider posting over there as a day at the zoo, watching the animals go crazy.

JMO, but LF seems to be more of a cyber fraternity, but I am not surprised since some people never seem to grow up.