Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?

Free Republic | 11/28/01 | Jim Robinson

[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

[Reagan is King]

A fee on this thing will kill it deader than a Texas road killed skunk.

I think FR should stay donor supported, not subscription. Perhaps you misread my post or are you just giving your opinion on the subject? I just didn't want you to confuse my post urging donations for a request for a subscription site. I agree that a subscription site would not work, IMHO.

[Howlin]

From: Sam Spade (OBHACKENBUSH) Jun-3 6:18 pm
To: Arator (5 of 43)
558.5 in reply to 558.1

With those who have said to not say anything conclusive until facts are proven and truths are known, I would agree with them 100%.
As to whether this is the real Howlin or not, I don't have the slightest idea. But to say that live out in a forum without any real evidence to back it up is to me an example of a grave personal attack, one which you ought to delete immediately or face the well-intentioned wrath of club members.

Therefore, my suggestion would be to delete the prior thread which said that Howlin is an impostor and leave this one up which asks a harmless question and doesn't come to any rash conclusions.

Just my two cents, but one of the key things as moderator you need to be willing to acknowledge is YOUR mistakes and deal with them in a manner with which you would treat any posting member on the forum.

Otherwise, you are JimRob....
BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!

Okay, big boy, where is YOUR proof of your accusations?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Could you please inform me and others what the Eschoir suit was about. Thanks in advance.

BigMack

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

So what, exactly, is inaccurate about Arator's post?

[diotima]

Do you and Arator want your own radio show....I see alot of potential....;^)

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

"Could you please inform me and others what the Eschoir suit was about. Thanks in advance."

Ask Bob.

ROFL!!

[Howlin]

I'd rather not be seen with known liars. Now, I'll do one with you and RightOnline!

[A Navy Vet]

I'm "Banned man Walking".

I'd say more like poor little persecuted *Victim Man Walking*.

[Nita Nupress]

Actually, my lovely, gracious, beautiful, 6' tall, former-farm-girl-and-strong-as-an-ox, former Texas State judo champion, wonderful mother of my seven children would start with mine................:)

Yes, and she would have way too much unspent energy left over to finish off the job!

Hugs to you both, my dear. (And kiss the new cutie pie for me!)

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

Hello there, ANV.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Ask Bob.

?

BigMack

[davidosborne]

Jim,

Thank you so much for freerepublic, and I will do whatever I can to support this site.. In addition I have nominated you for the Ronald Reagan award, as I am sure many other FReepers have.. God Bless you, and God Bless FReeepublic..

I may not agree with you all the time, but I respect your right to run YOUR site as you see fit, and I will do my best not to post anything that would jeapardize my priviledge to participate in YOUR site..

David

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

In #1759, Bob claimed that Arator was "full of it" concerning the Eschoir suit. We're all waiting for Bob to tell us what, exactly, Arator was wrong about in his post.

So far, CRICKETS.......

[JSteff]

Freerepublic is a beacon that keeps many of us sane in those tough times for the republic. What would many of us do with out it? Where can we get the input of the of so many voices and presentations of events as occurs here? What would we have done without Freerepublic when times looked bleak?

Freerepublic helped to keep us sane throught the bleak years of the corrupt Clinton administration, through the travesty of the dimpled chads, and continues to be the only place true believers in the republic can go for hope. Jim, you provide a service which most of us can not do without. You ask the question "Is it time for Free Republic to go away?", the answer is no. The only fraud is with those who won't admit how vitally important Freerepublic is.

Please don't go away. Please don't end our lifeline. Please to cut the only link many of us have to sanity.

God bless you Jim, and God bless Freerepublic. Thank you. <

[Arator]

Honestly, I don't mean to overreact, but I'm just not used to seeing such grandiose thinking and such eloquent prose go hand in hand. It's perfect for fund-raising purposes.

Don't forget: Show up at least once a quarter. You're great for business.

LOL. I aim to please. ;^)

[RightOnline]

Little dude got four.........count 'em............four shots today. Boy, is he feelin' just ducky-poo..............

[michigander]

Let Jim Robinson know how YOU feel.

After reading (most of) 1771 replies.

Holy FReepin' Cow!
I need another drink!!

[Z2]

The suit with Eschoir was about intimidation and self promotion. It cost $105,000 and the same outcome could have been achieved for the price of a certified letter. It was the brainchild of Clarity, FR's former attorney, acting in concert with God only knows who. Clarity left FR at the end of July, at which time these facts were revealed on a thread called "Where's Clarity", posted by yours truly. The thread has since been flushed.

[airborne]

Still hangin' in there, eh Inspector? Good for you!

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all who wander are lost..."

[Jim Robinson]

"1. What arrangements are being made to pay the $105,000 Winston & Strawn bill in the Eschoir matter? Did you have any idea the bill would be this large?

2. What is the status of the appeal in the LAT/WP matter? Who is FR's attorney, now that Clarity has left the case?

3. Why is it costing twice as much to run FR today as it did last March, what with all of John's bandwidth improvements?

4. Did FR raise $7,300 for non-profit filings? If so, how was that money spent?

5. Who owns the forum software?

6. How is FR's revenue reported for state and federal tax purposes?

I have many more questions, but these will keep you busy for awhile. Thanks in advance for your answers, and the opportunity to question you!"

1. We are paying them $3,000 per month. I had no idea the bill was going to be so high.

2. The case is on appeal. We are waiting to hear from the court. David Flyer is our new attorney.

3. Our contract with our provider was for one year - ending next month. The improvements John made will allow us to have more users online without impacting the service as much. We will continue to contract for a 10mbps line, but we are negotiating a new contract at lower rates. We hope to bring our bandwidth costs down a couple thousand dollars per month next year.

4. Yes, we raised money for filing for three new 501(c) corporations and we paid $7,300 (or thereabouts - I don't remember the figure to the penney) to an attorney to file the necessary paperwork. The project ran into many snags and was eventually abandoned.

5. I own the original forum software. I developed it myself and John and I improved it over the years. John is now working on totally new forum software. He dropped our of Free Republic a year ago and formed a new corporation. He is developing his new software from scratch. He is a much more capable programmer than I am, and his software will be far superior to my own design.

6. FR is organized as an LLC. The taxes on an LLC are paid by the individual members (of the LLC). I am the majority owner and therefor pay the lion's share of the taxes on my personal return.

Not saying that I am willing to answer every question you may have, but I will answer all I can.