And now for the rest of the story.... Free Republic is here to stay!

Very sorry if the thread I posted yesterday entitled "Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?" startled some of you. The thread was posted simply to allow the people who are criticizing Free Republic and accusing us of fraud to have a place to post their charges, and also to allow those who support FR a place to voice their opinions on whether we should continue or fold up. The anti-FReepers have long held that if only the FReepers knew the truth about me and the fraud of FR, then they would all go away. Well, time will tell if many people have been swayed by their tales of horror, but no one can say that I did not give them a chance to get it all out into the open.

Now I'm happy to say that I have absolutely no intent of ever shutting down Free Republic. The only reason that was in my title was because of the AFers claim. I have stated on many occasions that Free Republic will be on the air as long as the FReepers feel it is needed and viable. If the WP/LAT is successful in bankrupting me or the corporation, then we will find another way to keep our discussion site running. There is absolutely no way that they can shutdown our right to assemble on the internet and voice our opinions and criticisms of the government and or of the so-called free press. In that, we will persevere, I guarantee you!

I want to thank all of you who have suggested various ways to change our operating model to one profiting by selling subscriptions, or advertising, or merchandise or other commercial ventures, but have to say that we cannot do any of those things at this time. We are restricted from engaging in any commercial business because of the fair use laws. Now, some of this might change in the future depending on clarification from the court if we win on appeal or at the Supreme Court level, but I wouldn't bet on it. As long as we are posting full text articles we will probably have to remain non commercial.

I also want to thank all of you who have posted your supporting comments. I'd like to reply to all of them, but looks like the count is now running to 2,000 and beyond and there is no way that I can respond to each one individually. I thank each and every one of you and I thank God that you are on our team. Same goes for all of you who are donating to keep FR on the air. We would not be here without your support and we all appreciate it very much.

Now I'm happy to say that I have absolutely no intent of ever shutting down Free Republic.

Sheesh, Jim! You really freaked us out. LOL!

Some people may have realized that you had no intention of shutting FR down, but I admit, I believed you.

The "Is it time for FR to go away" letter you posted didn't sound like you at all. The most disturbing and depressing part of it was how discouraged you seemed. You sounded like you were about to give up on FR. I thought that maybe, as much as you love your 'baby', that FR had become just too much for you to deal with. I'm sure it can't be easy some days, with the lawsuits, the relentless AFers and the constant money concerns.

I will support FR in anyway that you decide is necessary, voluntary contributions, membership fee, whatever. This site cannot go away.

Thanks and God bless. :-)

Yet one of your most virulent critics -- Mojo -- a person who has at least 6,502 Gigabytes of records (and counting) -- somehow just couldn't work up the courage to actually show his face here. I don't think I have ever had less respect for a human being. His craven, trembling, lilyhearted cowardice is amazing to behold. He'll talk all his crap over in his little septic tank of a forum, but here -- with full posting privileges -- he's a no-show!

I'd love to meet the frightened little worm IRL, just to watch him flinch and sweat.

and also to allow those who support FR a place to voice their opinions on whether we should continue or fold up. The anti-Freezers have long held that if only the Freezers knew the truth about me and the fraud of FR, then they would all go away.

You think that they will go away now??? To quote them: "Oh, my sides!!!"

Well, time will tell if many people have been swayed by their tales of horror,

I looked a long time ago. About you, I honestly feel they could not be more wrong. I'm sure, in hindsight, there are various things you might have done differently -- but excuse you for being human and fallible! In the big picture, it has always seemed to me -- by your postings as well as your moderation -- that your goal has been simply this: The return of America to a Constitutional Government. (As an aside, I think we are the least likely we have ever been to attain this goal, what with some of the 'anti-terrorism' laws that have been passed and are being proposed lately.

Now I'm happy to say that I have absolutely no intent of ever shutting down Free Republic.

Never thought you meant that for a second. That was -- how does Pesky put it? "Performance Art". :o)

I have stated on many occasions that Free Republic will be on the air as long as the FReepers feel it is needed and viable. If the WP/LAT is successful in bankrupting me or the corporation, then we will find another way to keep our discussion site running. There is absolutely no way that they can shutdown our right to assemble on the Internet and voice our opinions and criticisms of the government and or of the so-called free press. In that, we will persevere, I guarantee you!

And I have repeatedly told you that you are a moderator apart from the fold. In all my years on the Internet -- and on Fidonet before that -- I've never seen such a proficient moderator. Willing to keep a light hand on things, yet relentlessly dedicated to the cause to which you have embraced. And the hours you put into things are staggering! I sure know I could not do it.

Now, of course, this text by me will be viewed by the antifreep crowd as fawning obsequiousness. I guess I am not entitled to my opinions about you unless they are bad opinions, right? ;^)

I want to thank all of you who have suggested various ways to change our operating model to one profiting by selling subscriptions, or advertising, or merchandise or other commercial ventures, but have to say that we cannot do any of those things at this time. We are restricted from engaging in any commercial business because of the fair use laws. Now, some of this might change in the future depending on clarification from the court if we win on appeal or at the Supreme Court level, but I wouldn't bet on it. As long as we are posting full text articles we will probably have to remain non commercial.

And how else will we be able to demonstrate how they twist the news? They go back and revise the most absurd parts of their stories, and then claim they never wrote what they wrote. We need this ability to catch them in the numerous and flagrant lies.

I also want to thank all of you who have posted your supporting comments. I'd like to reply to all of them, but looks like the count is now running to 2,000 and beyond and there is no way that I can respond to each one individually.

One word: CLONING.

I thank each and every one of you

You're welcome. And thank YOU!!!

... clarify whether we may paste an article in its entirety on a thread, without infringing copyright.

jj - Ever notice how a lot of Brit political and judicial stories start with the statement "... it can now be revealed ..."? They exist at the sufferance of the Crown, and as a result, require clearance prior to publishing. Here the Press gets up in arms should any entity invade it's self-appointed turf to report what and when it deems newsworthy; do a search for "prior restraint". Note how up-in-arms the press gets when the Military restricts their access to front-line actions or their huffy reactions to press pooling.

If FR was allowing wholesale copies of Dame Cartland's or Dick Francis' works, then indeed those would be violations of copyright. Straight news cannot be copyrighted, as the Constitution's First Amendment gives the People the right to discover, disseminate, and discuss the information thereof. If Media Outlets made money on News, you'd have information overload, instead of the dearth of valid info that is the norm.

At the top and bottom of every thread page in Free Republic is this notation:

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, ..." AMENDS the Copyright Clause contained in Article I Section 8, as recognition that restricting Political Speech is a forerunner to tyranny.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, I do not play one in the Pictures, nor am I a member of Jim Robinson's Staff; but the info I've posted above is all gleaned from this site -- for which I am eternally grateful.

Thank you, Jim.

Cheers.

To: Jim Robinson
HOORAY!!

After reading all 2000+ posts last night, I went to Freeper Donations and contributed $10 a month to FreeRepublic. Well worth the knowledge/information I get.
THANKS JIM!

77 posted on 11/30/01 5:47 AM Central by airborne

Thank you, airborne.

This is the best way to show our thanks to Jim Robinson for Free Republic.

If everyone who appreciates this website, and the dedication of Jim and John Robinson, would contribute a few dollars every month by check or credit card, we would not have to have fundraisers and Free Republic would be able to cover expenses.

God bless you, Jim and John Robinson, and thank you for Free Republic.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.