[leadpenny]

Free Republic Ping.

[Allan]

Bump

[leadpenny]

ping

[RightOnline]

God bless that wonderful crew.......and their families; and you, as well, for providing such a record for posterity.

[JennysCool]

Wow! FR makes the Times! I must be dreaming!

[leadpenny]

ping

[weegee]

I recall the thread and am glad that we got the press (tragic event that it was, the final voyage was observed and marvelled at by those who did not realize what they were truly seeing).

I have to wonder though if they learned of the FR thread from FR or the DU thread that pointed at it (after the fact).

[js1138]

You realize, of course, that your thread is going into the history books -- already there if you consider that the Times gets microfilmed by most libraries. I have archived the first 150 posts.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Wonders never cease. Thanks again, Leadpenny, and all who were on that thread.

(To new Free Republic readers sent here by the NYTimes mention of this website:

1. Yes, this is the number one live news site anywhere.

2. FR has the best corps of citizen reporters in the world.

3. But there's SOOOO much more. Come on in. Stay awhile. Get an education unlike anything you can find anywhere. Allow the truth to seep in. At first you may be offended to learn that everything you have always believed as fed you from the same sources through the years is - well - not true. But if you can possibly swallow your hurt pride and just open your mind and READ and THINK - the blinders will fall off - and the TRUTH will, indeed, set you free!

[StriperSniper]

Good job. :)

[dennisw]

The NYTimes is reduced to copy 'n' paste from FR. LOL! They just picked up what was on Opinion Journal (Tarranto)

And mega-props to leadpenny!

[brityank]

Thanks for the yoeman's work you and all FReepers did then and since in keeping us informed. If you want to peruse a technical discussion of the event, aftermath, and preliminary conclusions, you will find no better thread than the one started by bonesmccoy and with comments/analysis from some very knowledgeable FReepers here:
Observation on TPS damage on Orbiter
[Opens in new window]

Thanks to you all, and especially Jim for maintaining the forum.

[Jim Noble]

This is very good news.

We also, FWIW, have the absolute best technical discussion thread on the loss of Columbia, as I predicted we would on the afternoon of 2/1/03.

Bravo, JimRob!

[TLBSHOW]

did you see this part in the top of the story?


WORD FOR WORD | FREEREPUBLIC.COM
From Excitement to Horror: Columbia's Last Flight Online
By TOM KUNTZ

[southernnorthcarolina]

Ideology aside, Free Republic is the place for breaking news. Many's the time I've heard a bulletin on the radio or TV, immediately logged on to FR, and noted the presence of multiple threads, each with dozens of comments and links to news sources -- whichever one happens to be fastest on a given story. That, for me, was the case with the Columbia disaster. No matter how tragic the news, you need it fast. In this case, one great benefit of Free Republic was its calming influence, in the quick dispelling of any concerns that this might be a terrorist attack.

More riviting still, of course, are those occasions when one is already logged on to Free Republic when news breaks. For me, an unforgettable moment was the Wellstone "Memorial," which I watched on TV while simultaneously FReeping. This board lit up like the Tokyo skyline at night, and posters and lurkers here realized the implications of that event HOURS before the national media started to "get it."

Good article by the Times. I hope it gets Free Republic a little well-deserved attention.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

I get chills eveytime I re-read this post. I shared y'alls observations with my friends at work. It had the same effect on them.

Good job!

[Ligeia]

Nice work all around, leadpenny. I followed your thread that morning myself. Amazing composure by all posters considering the circumstances. It's nice to see FR get positive press; that we wish the subject were different is a given.

[Jael]

I know you wouldn't want any credit for that thread, but I just want to say thanks.

[tubebender]

Seeing it in this condensed format makes it even more gut wrenching. Because it was 6 AM here in Eureka we were just getting up and it was 6:45 when my wife yelled at me the Shuttle was breaking up and the WFAA video was already up. Clicked on FR and there you were.

Great job Leadpenny and LONG LIVE FREEREPUBLIC...

[aculeus]

Congratulations to all who put together this historical thread.

Anyone else notice that the Times didn't identify FreeRepublic as a "conservative" news forum? As if they don't know that.