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ZOT: Breaking Hard!!! Bush orders settlement to conservative GOP website by City of Fresno
IndyBay via Liberty Post | Troy Montague

Posted on 01/11/2004 1:58:50 PM PST by Jim Robinson

And this just in from our You Gotta Be Kidding Me department:

Bush orders settlement to conservative GOP website by City of Fresno

by Troy Montague

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004 at 11:03 PM

Settlement funnels money to local conservative website on orders of president George Bush. Rightwing website "FreeRepublic" to recieve large settlement from City of Fresno.

This is urgent-read and call the attorney general's office as soon as you can. We must stop this criminal give-away to GOP activists at taxpayer expense.

The City of Fresno has announced it is paying a large settlement to the "FreeRepublic", a right wing conservative website/forum to settle a lawsuit filed by Freerepublic alledging defamation and damage of reputation. Some background on the case:

The case FreeRepublic vs. City of Fresno stems from a bulletin sent to Fresno Police by Fresno Human Relations Commissioner Debbie Reyes regarding an event planned on sept. 13th by the Fresno chapter of FreeRepublic Network. This event, billed by Freerepublic as a picnic/rally was a subject of concern to Reyes as she had been made aware of possible counter-protests to the picnic/rally by activists critical of FreeRepublic Network's harrassment of anti-war activists and general right-wing extremist nature. Ms. Reyes faxed a notice to police that there might be possible conflicts at the event and notified them that FreeRepublic was well known as an organized hate group disguising themselves as patriotic americans. This notice and resulting publicity resulted in the lawsuit naming City of Fresno, Debbie Reyes, and Mayor Alan Autry as defendants. They alledged Reyes fax resulted in defamation and filed suit seeking $1,000,000 compensation.

The very very strange thing in all this is George Bush met with Fresno Mayor Alan Autry on 10/15/2003 and there is good reason to believe this lawsuit by the FreeRepublic Network was the main topic of conversation between the two. The FreeRepublic online forum is a darling centerpiece of the GOP party, the largest and most highly trafficked GOP oriented website in existence. Progressive activists have long suspected FreeRepublic receives under the table covert funding directly or indirectly from the GOP party. So it is quite likely and plausible that when Autry met with Bush and discussed this with him Bush told him to pay off these good old-boy conservatives and get some funds into their hands so they can continue their fight against the left and all things progressive.

It is clear that before any settlement is paid to FreeRepublic an investigation into ties between Mayor Alan Autry and FreeRepublic should be undertaken. He has been supportive of their activitys to a suspicious degree and it is apparent he was very interested in arranging for the city to settle out of court on the lawsuit and quickly get some money into the hands of his fellow patriots at FreeRepublic.

Did Fresno Mayor Alan Autry work at the suggestion of George Bush to supply a large cash settlement to FreeRepublic at taxpayer's expense? Demand an investigation.

Contact: California State Attoney General (916)322-3360

News Release

Daniel G. Hobbs, City Manager

November 14, 2003 Contact: Matt Otstot, Public Affairs Officer: (559) 621-7777

Mayor Autry Commends President Bush for Homeland Security Funding

FRESNO, CA (November 14, 2003) Mayor Alan Autry applauded President George W. Bush and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for releasing over $7 million in grants to the City of Fresno. This grant will be used to fund and improve overall security and preparedness of the City’s Public Safety Departments.

“I commend President Bush not only for providing these much needed Homeland Security funds, but also understanding that as our first responders, local public safety agencies must receive these resources directly,” Mayor Autry said.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced the release of these funds yesterday. A total of $675 million will be funded directly to urban areas across the Country. The areas funded were chosen based on several factors including critical infrastructure, population density, and credible threat information.

Sept 12, 2002 - Letter from President George W. Bush

(September 11, 2002) Mayor Alan Autry today announced the creation of the Fresno Citizen Corps to bring additional volunteer resources to the City's public safety and emergency response agencies, as well as support other civic centered efforts throughout the community.

http://www.fresnocitizencorps.org/president.pdf

But on the way out to the facility, Alan Autry, was traveling with me, the great mayor of Fresno, California, and I appreciate him being here today and I thank him for his friendship. (Applause.) http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031015-14.html


TOPICS: Free Republic; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: allyourbase; bds; bushhaters; conspiracytheory; darkshearesfault; dontblameme; fantasy; freerepublic; fundraiserisnowover; ididntdoit; insanityrules; kooks; leftwingnuts; leftykooks; lol; loonyleftist; paranoidseverywhere; rovedidit; tinfoilhat; vrwc; weareyouroverlords; zot
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To: Jim Robinson
Congratulations Jim and coffee does taste better out of a
Free Republic cup!
41 posted on 01/11/2004 2:13:00 PM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran (A little knowledge is dangerous.-- I live dangerously::))
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To: Jim Robinson
Maybe Fresno's legal counsel advised them to settle out of court, and some liberals with inside info are planning to use it to try to smear GWB by implicating him in it?

Be interesting if you get an offer to settle.

42 posted on 01/11/2004 2:14:13 PM PST by e_engineer
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To: Jim Robinson
Ok, I thought the liberals were [Kerry word] dumb, but my gawd, that thread makes some of the liberals I know look like intellectual giants.

I'm just wondering when they'll get together to gather contributions to send to the city of Fresno to pay for your 'huge settlement'.
43 posted on 01/11/2004 2:14:20 PM PST by kingu (Remember: Politicians and members of the press are going to read what you write today.)
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To: Enterprise
Oh, yeah - I'd forgotten she "resigned". Hah.
44 posted on 01/11/2004 2:14:27 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Jim Robinson
Settlement funnels money to local conservative website on orders of president George Bush.

All Your Money Are Belong To JimRob.

45 posted on 01/11/2004 2:14:38 PM PST by Strider
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To: Jim Robinson
Is Alan Autry the actor that played the deputy on the tv show"HEAT OF THE NIGHT"? Whomever wrote this is using GOP wrong. It is either the republican party or the GOP,not the GOP party. That is like saying the grand old party party. Must be a dumb,I mean dem.
46 posted on 01/11/2004 2:14:56 PM PST by samantha (Don't panic, the adults are in charge)
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To: Jim Robinson
I didn't know we had that much influence!

47 posted on 01/11/2004 2:15:02 PM PST by Pubbie (* Bill Owens 2008 *)
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To: CindyDawg
LOL. He's taken a bashing over that matter for sure.
48 posted on 01/11/2004 2:15:05 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Jim Robinson
Ho, ho,ho.

I think the lefties are upset at loosing a law suit.

I hope you spend part of the $5 million giving all good FReepers FR coffee mugs.
49 posted on 01/11/2004 2:15:56 PM PST by bert (Have you offended a liberal today?)
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To: Johnny_Cipher
Naw, it's a gas engine. I'll have to check after the game to see if Coachman has an diesel RV with a king-sized bed in the back.

50 posted on 01/11/2004 2:16:35 PM PST by Catspaw
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To: samantha
GOP Party

Department of Redudancy Department!
51 posted on 01/11/2004 2:16:38 PM PST by leadpenny
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To: Jim Robinson
Wow! You're rich! Perhaps now, Bush/Cheney/Powell/Rice/Rumsfeld, can take you up on your constant offers to fly them around for free in the Freeper-Citation!
52 posted on 01/11/2004 2:16:41 PM PST by aShepard
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To: Peach
"NUTS" doesn't even approach the level idiocy that goes on over there:

http://libertypost.org/cgi-bin/listarticles.cgi?114

They'd be growing leaps and bounds to achieve the lofty level of
NUTS!

This piece is almost as good as the Etherzone piece that "exposed" Free Republic's Jim Robinson (that would be me) as being the source of the ANTHRAX letters a couple years ago.

Woo Hoo!!! The GIFT is to see the TRUTH!!
53 posted on 01/11/2004 2:16:45 PM PST by Jim Robinson (I don't belong to no organized political party. I'm a Republycan.)
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To: farmfriend
If I defame you by name on a website would you claim to be not interested?
54 posted on 01/11/2004 2:16:50 PM PST by stands2reason ("Dean is God's reward to Mr. Bush for doing the right thing in the war on terror." Dick Morris)
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To: Jim Robinson
FREEPERS ROCK !!!!

ROFLMAO

55 posted on 01/11/2004 2:17:41 PM PST by bjcintennessee (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff)
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To: Jim Robinson
Get out! You were accused of being the source of the anthrax attacks?

We were travelling and I must have missed that little tidbit.
56 posted on 01/11/2004 2:17:52 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: samantha
Redundancy
57 posted on 01/11/2004 2:18:12 PM PST by leadpenny
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To: Jim Robinson
Jim, how did you possibly do so well with the vast right wing conspiracy?
58 posted on 01/11/2004 2:18:21 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck
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To: Jim Robinson
From your link, I see that where TLBSHOW went. Hah. What a come-down in his situation. Sort of like winning the lottery (that would be FR) and ending up on skid row (and that would be the "other" place).
59 posted on 01/11/2004 2:19:47 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: AAABEST
Well, there is some sort of settlement. However, Councilman Brad Castillo was dismissive of the settlement. In the Fresno Bee 1/9/04 he is reported to have said the city (Fresno) is sued often. "It's cheaper to pay these guys $20 and get rid of them than waste an attorney's time on them."

The article goes on: "Neither Doerksen (FR Attorney) nor Castillo would say how much money was involved in the agreement. Further in the article, "Doerksen said the actual court documents wouldn't be signed until today or Monday."

Items in parnetheses added by Enterprise.

60 posted on 01/11/2004 2:19:52 PM PST by Enterprise
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