Posted on 11/28/2001 7:31:29 PM PST by Jim Robinson
Free Republic has had one helluva run over the last five years or so. We helped impeach one president and helped get another into office. We've been active in demonstrations and protests in nearly every city across the nation. We've participated in conventions, petition drives, activism campaigns and projects for dozens of conservative causes.
We've grown from a tiny web site with a few hundred posters and readers from the time of inception in 1996, to one with tens of thousands of participants today. Along the way we've made lots of great friends and, unfortunately, also made lots of bitter enemies.
We've grown from a small web site that I could manage myself on a part-time basis to a huge monster that has totally consumed all of my time and resources plus nearly all of John's time, plus the time and resources of many dedicated FReepers who volunteer or contribute large amounts of their own time and money.
The site is now consuming all of a 10 mbps dedicated line with two servers and we're still growing, and it consumes large amounts of money to keep all this running. In the early years, it only took a few thousand dollars per month to keep Free Republic on the air, but it is now costing over $20,000 per month to cover all expenses.
The major costs include approximately $8,000 per month for bandwidth, 3,000 for systems management and programming services, 7,000 for management, operating and administrative services, plus two or three thousand per month for miscellaneous office expenses, telephone, communications, repairs & maintenance, travel & lodging, postage, rentals, insurance, legal fees, accounting fees, etc., etc.
We anticipate a reduction in bandwidth costs next year as we renegotiate our contract (the market price for bandwidth has fallen recently), however, that will be more than offset by an expected increase in costs of our legal expenses. As most of you know, our pro bono attorney has left us and we've hired a new attorney to continue with our case, plus we have the suit against eschoir to pay for. My projections are that our regular monthly expenses for next year will be running in the neighborhood of $22,000 per month, or approximately $264,000 total for the year. This means we will need to raise approximately $66,000 per quarter.
Talking about making enemies, we've got several ex-FReepers and other detractors who are claiming on their anti-freeper web sites that I am ripping off the donors and that Free Republic is a fraud. Now, Free Republic is what it is, and it is definitely not a fraud. It is a conservative news discussion forum that encourages participation in politics and activism projects. It is not being billed as anything else. We are not selling or promising anything. And I am being up front about our operating costs. The costs of running Free Republic are what I've stated above and they are necessary to keep FR on the air. I do not have the financial wherewithal to operate this site without your help. If the majority of the FReepers feel that these costs are out of line or too much to bear or that Free Republic is no longer wanted or needed, then we will either cut it back or shut it down or do something altogether different.
I've also been criticized about not making our financials public. Well, the reason I do not want to do this is that I have been sued, both personally and as Free Republic, LLC. The people suing us want to bankrupt us and shut us down. They subpoenaed our financial records, but we refused to turn them over. The judge agreed that the plaintiffs have no right to the information, thus I have no intention of making any more of it public than I absolutely have to, until this lawsuit is resolved. You all know the amounts of money we raise if you follow the fundraising threads. It is all above board and out in the open. The totals posted by BadJoe are usually pretty close to the actual cash received and the amounts expended are pretty close to the amounts projected. No one is getting rich here and no one is being ripped off. The funds raised are being used for the purposes stated, and that is keeping this website on the air and that's it. Nothing fraudulent about it. Those who want to help fund us freely do so with nothing expected in return. Those who do not want to contribute do not have to.
There was a thread running this morning where people were making all kinds of accusations about Free Republic "hiding the truth" or whatever. These accusations are being made by Chuck Allan and others and fall along the same line with the accusations being made by some of the earlier banees or AFers including Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan, Arator, keep U.S. Sovereign, TKEman and others. Some of these people are existing FReepers and some are banned. I am going to reinstate Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan and Arator's accounts so they can join Chuck Allan, TKEman, K.U.S.S. and whomever else wants to get involved, and I invite them to come onto this thread and make their accusations public. As long as they do not go onto other threads and make a nuisance of themselves, I will let them have their say.
Like I said above, if it is time for Free Republic to go away so be it. Those who want to keep it going speak up. Those who want it to go away, tell us why. But if those who want it to be gone lose out in the debate, then I'd say they should just go away themselves, or, in the very least, shut up and quit whining about it.
Thanks,
Jim
True. That is why we are so despised by the left (and THAT's a good thing).
When I send money I ask nothing in return except that you keep this site up and running. I don't need no stinking P&L or balance sheet.
Thank you for the privilage of posting here.
5.56mm
I'm a-talkin' with the hand, badge-boy... Tell me it ain't true. Tell me you were just trashed off your a$$ in a sleazy Vegas strip-club, swiping at the 50-year-old pole girl who don't even bother to dodge anymore, cussing lady liquor who always lets ya down... You didn't know what you were saying. DAMN that last tequila...
By what other means would so many of us here be so well informed that we're literally scaring the s**t out of Dems and liberals everywhere? They are unspeakably worried about how organized the conservative movement is right now, and it's 99% due to two sources... Rush Limbaugh and Free Republic. Free Republic is like a beacon, a smoke alarm, and a fact-checking library all rolled into one. It has helped expose liberalism's folly, the corruption of the Clintons and their cronies, organized protests and counter-protests, pressured political enemies, and served as a central source to alert concerned conservatives around the country to encroachments on our liberties like no other site anywhere. That's not overstating things. Thinks about it... name one other site you'd go to to get the timely information you need to fight the culture war going on today.
On that note, here are my thoughts about a solution. I don't think Free Republic should charge a membership fee. That's simply because there are so many people drawn here just to lurk who would never pay a monthly fee. If this site is a tool for educating liberals and the uninformed (sorry, that's redundant), I would hate to see anything imposed that would drive them away.
Rather, I think it's a good idea to step up awareness about the donation system. I realize maybe this post has done that, but prior to now, I wasn't aware of the donations page and therefore never donated. I will now.
Also, there are certainly many wealthy conservatives in this country who should be made aware of just how significant and influential Free Republic is. Maybe it's time for a Director of Development or something. But I know that there are many conservatives out there in powerful places who gain a lot of benefit from the tides that Free Republic has turned. It's time for them to acknowledge that and do what they can to fund it. In a country where people attend $500 a plate fundraisers, surely they can direct a little of that toward Free Republic considering the massive benefit this site has on the conservative movement in this country.
Good luck, Jim, and thank you for all your hard work and dedication. This country would be a different (scarier) place without Free Republic. Without Free Republic we may have had Al Gore in the White House and be sitting down to "negotiate" and "understand" the Al Queda network. Thank God we've got a real man in the White House, thanks in part to Free Republic.
Some facts:
NASA faked the lunar mission in '69.
They have been caught/exposed.
As phats would say "Oh, my aching sides!"
So, keep up the good work. That's my vote, from a recent member and reader!
That really is the Key...folks call themselves "Paleo-Cons" just expressing their views, then have to go make names for themselves as "AntiFReepers"...gimme a break!! Why don't they go start their own "Paleo-Con.com" website or whatever and quit thinking their only way to success is to trash that which so many of us enjoy?! When they act like that, they are nothing but small-minded IDIOTS and deserve whatever flaming comes their way, IMHO.
FReegards...MUD
I'm not trying to take sides or influence you in any way, just trying to show both sides of the argument. Also, this thread was started as a direct result of Chuck's questions on that (now deleted) thread. So I figured you might want to read the original questions and judge for yourself.
Regards,
Callahan
(Throw me one a them Luckies, bud... A swig of that agave wouldn't hurt either...)
Show me da links.
By the way, you should write a book. Use it to finance your retirement.
Why, somebody has even started a whole thread about me just this morning!
HA!
Callahan
Why, somebody has even started a whole thread about me just this morning!
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