Our 2nd Quarter FReepathon is Underway!

It's time once more for us to raise the funds that are necessary to keep Free Republic on the air.

People have asked me if the $60,000 settlement with the City of Fresno means we won't have to have a fundraiser this time. Well, I wish it could be so, but, unfortunately, it's not.

First of all, we did not actually receive $60,000. After legal fees, mediation fees and other expenses directly related to the suit, we netted approximately $34,000. Of that, we distributed over $10,000 to the members of the Fresno Chapter who were in business and their businesses suffered due to the city's libel and also to the members who met with us regularly on a weekly basis. Then, due to the fact that the city was late with their press release and no media picked it up, we paid approximately $2,000 to run ads in several valley papers announcing the city's retraction.

The approximately $22,000 left over will be used in our operations. We plan to use about $4,000 to upgrade our equipment and $10,000 or more will go for taxes. I plan to use part of the balance to beef up our insurance coverage and also will look into a health insurance plan. The remainder will be used for travel and other expenses. I still hope to visit as many chapters as I possibly can over the next year or so, but obviously won't be doing so in a motor home (you had to have been there to get the inside joke). We'll be traveling in our trusty old FReepermobile van. She's an 11 year old Mercury Villager with 150,000 miles, but she's got good rubber, purrs like a kitten and is pretty good on gas.

So, as it turns out, the settlement has strengthened Free Republic and also has strengthened the conservative position in the City of Fresno. As a result of our suit, the controversial loony peacenik chair person of the Fresno City Human Relations Commission who committed the libel against us and has also caused much turmoil within the city and the city council has resigned "to pursue other interests." Also, the loony liberal President of the Fresno City Council who made some ridiculous comments belittling the suit and the settlement in the Fresno Bee was voted out of office just a couple months later.

So, as I've said before, the settlement is a win, win, win position. It's a win for Free Republic, a win for the City of Fresno, and, ultimately, a win for the taxpayers.

At any rate, we thank all of you who participate on Free Republic and support our efforts and we look forward to another exciting election cycle.

Hope to see y'all either on our road trip and or at the Free Republic George W. Bush Inaugural Ball II in January!!

I would like to proudly announce that I, SamAdams76, have not made a single donation to a Free Republic fundraiser in years. In fact, I have for the most part, cheerfully ignored them.

Any why, some might ask, am I proud of that fact? It's because I made the decision several years ago to become a monthly donator. So when I say I have cheerfully ignored fundraiser threads in the past, I do so with the knowledge that I give Free Republic the "gift that keeps on giving."

Yes, like a "jelly-of-the-month" club, Free Republic gets a gift month after month. And unlike jelly, my gifts are low-carb and they don't make a sticky mess when they are dropped. My gift is cold, hard cash. Which can be immediately put to use fighting the enemies of Mom, apple pie and the United States of America.

And here's the best part of all. My monthly gift to Free Republic does not involve writing checks, sealing envelopes and licking stamps. I don't even have to go to the mailbox. No! I simply set up an account with my debit card that automatically takes the money out of my checking account month after month. And the beauty of it is that I don't give anymore than I can afford. I can make the monthly payment $5, $10 or $20. Or $17.76 if I want to get fancy about it. It doesn't matter. And no amount is too small. And I can change the amount whenever I want. Or even cancel it outright if the moderators pull my next post about naked lesbian mud-wrestlers who happen to be conservatives. (Just kidding, just kidding - those naked lesbian mud-wrestlers weren't conservative at all!)

When I first signed up to be a monthly donor, I didn't even have to give up any money. All I did was cancel HBO to free up $20 a month. Later I cancelled my subscription to the Boston Globe and upped my monthly donation even more. So while I'd love to sit here and be hailed as a Free Republic "hero" for being such a generous donor to the cause, the fact is that I really didn't have to make any sacrifices at all. All I did was take money I was already spending and simply diverted it to a more conservative cause. And I can tell you that I don't miss HBO or the Boston Globe at all. If I want to see the Sopranos, why I'll just rent the DVDs. If I want to read liberal rubbish such as that which is printed in the Boston Globe, why I'll just head on over to that evil-website-that-shall-not-be-named.

So bottom line is this. I am a monthly donor so I am not giving a penny to this fundraiser. I urge other Free Republic users to become monthly donors as well so that they do not have to give to these fundraisers. Hell, if enough of us sign up to be monthly donors, then we won't need to have these fundraisers at all. Even if most of us regulars here gave just $5 a month, we'd likely have enough revenues to keep this site running without the fundraisers.

Thank you and good day.

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