Informal Poll: Should Jim Robinson make money from FR?

Today, don't ask me to be more specific.. | Jhoffa_X

[Jhoffa_]

I am sick of the whining about FR's finances.

Free Republic has become the Rush Limbaugh of the internet and all this complaining about who is doing what and profiting thus is making me Ill. It's a circular argument and I am tired of it.

Real Conservatives reward success. We honor it.

As a final end to this:

Would you oppose or favor Mr. Robinson making a profit from FR.

[Jhoffa_]

1 vote no?

And even they cannot make an argument..

The A-F's battle cry has become a lost cause.

[FITZ]

No, no, no.. FR is a public service..

Yeah we can compare it with National Public Radio which is very liberal and requires taxpayer money because no one will financially support it. Conservative forums don't need government funding and you see Rush's show making him quite wealthy ---and no confiscated money is involved!

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

If he isn't making some kind of profit by now he should have someone slap his a$$.LOL

[Jhoffa_]

Yeah we can compare it with National Public Radio which is very liberal and requires taxpayer money because no one will financially support it.

And that's the truth!

You have to be FORCED to finance such garbage, because it cannot live on it's own.

(Who in the world would spend their own money on that?)

[kcpopps]

The fact that he hasn't gone public, accepted advertising, taken profits or sold off the program is a testament to his goodwill towards and belief of his causes.

Very well put.

My feeling is, as others have said, that its nobody else's business but his and whomever he asks for input. I have seen a lot of the accusations and harping. Some allege that JR and JohnR are making $X amount of salary per year - I don't know and I don't care. Personally, I feel that if they don't have comparable to company CEO salaries, they should. But I'm not asking, it's not my business.

One either donates or not. There are no restrictions put on usage either way. What is there to gripe about? Some people seem so obsessed with it that it apparently consumes their every waking moment and that's pathetic.

I don't think any public accounting is required at all.

[Jhoffa_]

One either donates or not. There are no restrictions put on usage either way. What is there to gripe about? Some people seem so obsessed with it that it apparently consumes their every waking moment and that's pathetic.

Indeed.

[Concentrate]

I wish Jim Robinson would run for elected office.

I wish a lot of FReepers would run for office. And get Phd's and take back the universities.

[MissAmericanPie]

He better be making a profit from it, I'd be pretty upset to know that he isn't. This is alot of work and alot of hours, a man should profit from what he puts his effort into, it is the very basis of Conservative principle. I hope he becomes a millionaire.

I have to add this, some of you know my views, they do not line up with JR's on many points, in fact he and I have had a few civil exchanges on one thread and another. I'm not particularly shy about typing what's on my mind. I have never been banned, I have never had a warning, I have never been suspended. I have been shown respect and consideration in equal measure to the respect and consideration I have tried to show for the rules of FR.

Seems to me the truth gets sidelined in a debate if egos get involved, and I'm not saying I have been pure as the driven snow, but for me the truth is why we should be here. Alot of people have been putting their FR experience out there, this is my experience.

[monkeyshine]

What is there to gripe about?

Nothing. As you said, either donate or don't. I believe Jim says he takes nothing but expenses. That's my prerogative to believe. Others may not believe it and make their own decisions. As anything, caveat emptor. I like the site, I donate, I don't care if that pays for bandwidth or Jim Rob's breakfast, because to enjoy FR I need JimRob to eat breakfast every day and provide me with bandwidth.

[Askel5]

Where do you see "Stalker" ... I don't see any name.

[MinorityRepublican]

I wish a lot of FReepers would run for office. And get Phd's and take back the universities.

If we are patient, and we don't self-destruct, it will happen over time.

The left was very patient.

Now it is our turn!

[lavaroise]

Not that it should be a democratic process, just as long as Jim does not require us to sing his praise as a god, I don't see why not. Let us pay the fair share and not have to worship. (sorry Jim, maybe I can find you a free French girl friend for that)

[CDHart]

I agree. JR started it and risked capital, reputation, etc., on it. He has a right to make a profit from it.

Carolyn

[Max Monroe]

I for one wish Jim would make a fortune from FR. I have been donating a monthly pittance (which I can ill afford) for over a year and only wish it could be more. Think of all the money that can be saved by discontinuing newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Where on the internet can you get so much information from any and every publication in the world along with the sometimes very erudite comments accompanying them from Freepers?

[Looking4Truth]

Would you oppose or favor Mr. Robinson making a profit from FR.

Favor! It's a private enterprise and he can do with it what he will. If he can make a buck on it, more power to him. I can't believe anyone would even ask this question.

[Askel5]

Yes, I did sign up as stalker; and Jim Robinson knows I did; and why I did is none of your business.

Sorry ... I was headed to bed and had missed the replies. (None of which actually explained why I can't see the name or the sign-up date.)

I dunno guy ... with RedbloodedAmerican's beating Admin Mod to the punch, it is 2 against 3. I think Truth has a clearcut "winner" and it ain't Howlin.

(A majority's the critical thing, of course, in a purely subjective world where the difference between Justice and Vengeance is "attitude" and a person must be "Wanted" lest it become just another wholly unique ear of corn in the current crop of Human Hopeful Research material.)

I can't help wondering what her husband did to get nuked sometime between your post and mine ... though it's none of my business, I know.

Did you see Howlin tell Angelo or someone on another thread she'd been here longer than he? (Oops, she was thinking of her husband's join date, I guess. =)

A pity they can't just redo her home page with the Stalker sign-up date so that she can lord her tenure -- if not her logic, facts or reason -- over others to make points in debate.

[WhiteGuy]

If something is worth doing........

It is worth doing for money.

If Mr. Robinson & his group can profit from this site...

they should.

[BADJOE]

Answers to me are not important. To the Freepers invovled and the forum in general it is.

[Redleg Duke]

Definately yes!

Where would we be without FR? Ranting in the dark by ourselves.

[SlickWillard]

These are the sorts of things that happen when you have a lot of "not-for-profit" money lying around:

United Way Head Resigns Over Spending Habits
United Way of America President William Aramony announced his retirement Thursday and apologized during a video teleconference beamed to local United Way officials nationwide for a "lack of sensitivity to perceptions" about his spending and management practices... Aramony, 64, told the audience that he will receive full pension benefits upon his retirement, but no "golden parachutes." He receives a salary of $390,000 a year and $73,000 in other compensation, including contributions to his pension funds...
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V112/N9/united-way.09w.html

Aramony Convicted of Using Charity Money to Support Playboy Lifestyle
William Aramony, who built the United Way into the nation's most successful charity, was convicted Monday in federal court of recklessly using contributors' money to support a playboy lifestyle of luxury travel, fancy restaurants and young girlfriends. Aramony, 67, who headed the United Way of America for 22 years before resigning in disgrace in 1992, stood impassively as jury verdicts were read convicting him of 25 felony counts, including charges of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns. He said nothing afterward, continuing a silence he maintained throughout his four-week trial.
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V115/N15/brief1.15w.html

Supreme Court refuses to rule in school-harassment case
In other rulings the Supreme Court... [l]et stand the seven-year prison sentence that former United Way president William Aramony received for stealing money from the nation's largest charity. The justices, without comment, rejected an appeal in which Aramony argued that his prison term exceeds federal guidelines. Aramony was convicted in 1995 of defrauding the charity out of about $600,000. He was found guilty of fraud, tax and conspiracy charges.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9906/01/scotus.01/

JESSE JACKSON'S LOVE CHILD
A SMILING JESSE JACKSON and his mistress Karin Stanford (circled) pose with President Clinton and other Rainbow Coalition staffers on December 3, 1998 -- five months before Jesse's love child was born.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/stories/news.cfm?instanceid=9053

Jackson retreats
The news that the Rev. Jesse Jackson fathered a child out of wedlock with an aide, Karin Stanford, and used money from his nonprofit Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to pay the woman $40,000 in "moving expenses," broke in the National Enquirer and reintroduced the nation to the politics of sex. Jackson responded by issuing a statement saying, in part, "I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions." He also said that he would step away from public life "to revive my spirit and reconnect with my family."
http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/01/19/jackson/index.html

JESSE JACKSON IN NEW SEX & MONEY SCANDAL
The 59-year-old civil rights leader -- who we previously reported had a love child with aide Karin Stanford -- has also been intimately involved with 31-year-old Sherva Jenkins-Smith and regularly slipped her secret cash gifts, charge outraged former Coalition members.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/stories/feature.cfm?instanceid=9645

Red Cross Diverts Donations
The American Red Cross admitted today that some of the $550 million in donations to a special fund established for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be used for other things instead. Philanthropic watchdogs, though noting the Red Cross meets high standards overall, said the group has not clearly publicized its distribution plans for the Liberty Fund, the Associated Press reported today.
http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2001/10/29/165700

Red Cross Diverts Donations From Sept. 11 Victims
That explanation doesn’t sit well with Stacy Palmer, editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy. "One of the biggest mistakes the American Red Cross made was they didn’t move fast enough to say what they’re going to do with all the money," Palmer told the Los Angeles Times. "And so far, there aren’t a lot of explanations coming that the average person who donated money is going to be happy about."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/10/30/171728.shtml

My advice to Jim & John Rob: Go strictly non-profit, and be completely straightforward with your financials [in particular, the salaries you are paying yourselves] -OR- go strictly for-profit, and, like any for-profit business, charge for the services you are selling.

I'd hate to wake up one morning and see a headline like the following:

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IRS Investigates Right-Wing Bulletin Board
ASSOCIATED PRESS - Responding to complaints filed by the People for the American Way's Ralph G. Neas, sources report that the Internal Revenue Service has initiated an investigation of the right-wing internet bulletin board, FreeRepublic.com. Neas's complaint lists allegations of financial impropriety, such as the use of LLC funds to purchase liquor, poker chips, and lap dances at the recent FreeRepublic FRIVA Las Vegas national conference.
http://www.democratunderground.com
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