Well if your blood was boiling yet re what liberals and phoney conservatives say about Jim and Free Republic, go to this thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1001628/posts ZOT! You are being fleeced
The calculator | Today | Mikhail
Posted on 10/15/2003 10:02 AM PDT by 847184727965B
Jim Robinson is taking his supporters for a huge ride. Even though he's using this ancient perl/CGI format(that has changed 3 times in 6 years), there's no way in hell it costs $260,000 a year to run FreeRepublic unless Robinson is paying himself and his family at least $225,000 a year.
https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/budget Monthly Expenses Bandwidth $2,700 Technical Services 4,000 Administrative 7,500 Legal Expenses 3,000 Estimated Bank Fees, Insurance, Office Expenses, Maintenance and Repairs, Supplies, Travel, misc. 2,200
$2700 a month for bandwidth? What, he has his own dedicated T1/T3 lines?
$48,000 a year for "Technical Services?" You could hire three Indian programmers and a few $1000 a night call girls for that.
$90,000 a year for administrative. That's Jim's salary (not including the amounts he skims from the other expense accounts). I wonder if Jimmy is still getting disability money from the Gov?
Legal expenses of $36,000 a year?!? C'mon. The Washington Post was awarded no money after their successful suit against FreeRepublic. Just cease violating copyright law and FR would have no legal expenses, anyway.
Here's my personal favorite: $26,400 a year for bank fees, insurance, office expenses, maintenance and repairs, supplies, travel and miscellaneous.
Even if you add all that up, it is only $232,800 a year. Read on:
"Free Republic operates on an approximate $260,000 annual budget which includes all equipment costs, bandwidth fees, consulting and labor costs, license fees, insurance, rents, office expenses, advertising, travel, professional fees, and taxes."
Isn't it nice that he can get people to pay for his family vacations and taxes?
Don't believe me? OK, ask Jim Robinson for the actual financial statements he files with the state of California and the IRS and take it to an auditor.
But(and it's a big BUT) because FreeRepublic.com is a *limited liability corporation*, Robinson will chuckle at you and say he doesn't have to release anything to you. Even if you got something from him, I guarantee the auditor would laugh you out the door when he/she reviewed the multi-inflated expense accounts.
They are so pathetic, they are not worth getting hot and bothered about.
I actually think some of it is hysterically funny.
Jim's a tough guy, and I'm sure he's used to it and lets it just roll off his shoulders like water off a duck's back.
Just look at how many additional contributions it instigated.........
Oh, well. It's a free country and free market. If they can operate a website (and organize a nationwide conservative movement) better, cheaper, and more effectively... more power to them. What's holding thm back???