Excellent design!
The following comments is not criticism, but my own personal preferences.
I like a little more room between the letters in so far as kerning is concerned, and maybe 5% smaller on the font. And what would a san serif font look like for (Free Republic)? Just an Idea.
Anyway, this is only nit picking on my part. It is really a very strong design! Well done!
Critique appreciated. I’ll make those changes and post them for review.
Smaller on which font?