Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?

Free Republic has had one helluva run over the last five years or so. We helped impeach one president and helped get another into office. We've been active in demonstrations and protests in nearly every city across the nation. We've participated in conventions, petition drives, activism campaigns and projects for dozens of conservative causes.

We've grown from a tiny web site with a few hundred posters and readers from the time of inception in 1996, to one with tens of thousands of participants today. Along the way we've made lots of great friends and, unfortunately, also made lots of bitter enemies.

We've grown from a small web site that I could manage myself on a part-time basis to a huge monster that has totally consumed all of my time and resources plus nearly all of John's time, plus the time and resources of many dedicated FReepers who volunteer or contribute large amounts of their own time and money.

The site is now consuming all of a 10 mbps dedicated line with two servers and we're still growing, and it consumes large amounts of money to keep all this running. In the early years, it only took a few thousand dollars per month to keep Free Republic on the air, but it is now costing over $20,000 per month to cover all expenses.

The major costs include approximately $8,000 per month for bandwidth, 3,000 for systems management and programming services, 7,000 for management, operating and administrative services, plus two or three thousand per month for miscellaneous office expenses, telephone, communications, repairs & maintenance, travel & lodging, postage, rentals, insurance, legal fees, accounting fees, etc., etc.

We anticipate a reduction in bandwidth costs next year as we renegotiate our contract (the market price for bandwidth has fallen recently), however, that will be more than offset by an expected increase in costs of our legal expenses. As most of you know, our pro bono attorney has left us and we've hired a new attorney to continue with our case, plus we have the suit against eschoir to pay for. My projections are that our regular monthly expenses for next year will be running in the neighborhood of $22,000 per month, or approximately $264,000 total for the year. This means we will need to raise approximately $66,000 per quarter.

Talking about making enemies, we've got several ex-FReepers and other detractors who are claiming on their anti-freeper web sites that I am ripping off the donors and that Free Republic is a fraud. Now, Free Republic is what it is, and it is definitely not a fraud. It is a conservative news discussion forum that encourages participation in politics and activism projects. It is not being billed as anything else. We are not selling or promising anything. And I am being up front about our operating costs. The costs of running Free Republic are what I've stated above and they are necessary to keep FR on the air. I do not have the financial wherewithal to operate this site without your help. If the majority of the FReepers feel that these costs are out of line or too much to bear or that Free Republic is no longer wanted or needed, then we will either cut it back or shut it down or do something altogether different.

I've also been criticized about not making our financials public. Well, the reason I do not want to do this is that I have been sued, both personally and as Free Republic, LLC. The people suing us want to bankrupt us and shut us down. They subpoenaed our financial records, but we refused to turn them over. The judge agreed that the plaintiffs have no right to the information, thus I have no intention of making any more of it public than I absolutely have to, until this lawsuit is resolved. You all know the amounts of money we raise if you follow the fundraising threads. It is all above board and out in the open. The totals posted by BadJoe are usually pretty close to the actual cash received and the amounts expended are pretty close to the amounts projected. No one is getting rich here and no one is being ripped off. The funds raised are being used for the purposes stated, and that is keeping this website on the air and that's it. Nothing fraudulent about it. Those who want to help fund us freely do so with nothing expected in return. Those who do not want to contribute do not have to.

There was a thread running this morning where people were making all kinds of accusations about Free Republic "hiding the truth" or whatever. These accusations are being made by Chuck Allan and others and fall along the same line with the accusations being made by some of the earlier banees or AFers including Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan, Arator, keep U.S. Sovereign, TKEman and others. Some of these people are existing FReepers and some are banned. I am going to reinstate Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan and Arator's accounts so they can join Chuck Allan, TKEman, K.U.S.S. and whomever else wants to get involved, and I invite them to come onto this thread and make their accusations public. As long as they do not go onto other threads and make a nuisance of themselves, I will let them have their say.

Like I said above, if it is time for Free Republic to go away so be it. Those who want to keep it going speak up. Those who want it to go away, tell us why. But if those who want it to be gone lose out in the debate, then I'd say they should just go away themselves, or, in the very least, shut up and quit whining about it.

WHY I LIKE FREEREPUBLIC.COM

Hi, Jim!

I thought I should follow up my unabashedly Silly post [184] with a more thoughtful one. Those who know me understand I have a serious side, and that -- although I am always "Silly," I am not always silly with a lowercase s.

During the Florida recount, when I started becoming politically active and meeting other NYC Republicans, I kept hearing about FreeRepublic.com. It didn't really sink in with me, and kept brushing it off. I did, however, begin refreshing my browser at DrudgeReport.com so frequently that I am sure I got no work done for a month. I was obsessed with the excruciating and harrowing election event of all time, and something inside me clicked, telling me that the cause to thwart Gore's dishonest attempt at stealing the election was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to either get loud and be counted, or watch Marxist liberals take over our country.

Looking for something constructive to do, I helped LoudCitizen.com organize and publicize one of the few pro-Bush rallies in Washington D.C. on inauguration day, in front of the Supreme Court. Seeing my picture in the Washington Post, leading our group in "God Bless America" felt pretty darn good. It was an exciting experience and I became an activist in my blood.

One of our rallyers had to cancel his plans to join us in D.C. at the last minute, and said I could use his ticket to the FR "Count The White House Silverware Party." As it was an open bar, I gladly accepted.

What a wonderful time I had that night! I actually ran into people with screennames I recognized from years before on CNN.com, to my complete amazement. People were so authentic, lively, genuinely warm and eccentric. I fell in love and knew I had to join them in whatever it was they were doing.

So began the dipping of my toes into FR's revitalizing, effervescent waters. What a curious on-line culture it was, with such odd tics, strange lingo and passionate personalities. I lurked a bit before posting, but eventually I got the hang of it and learned to truly engage people on a personal level.

The best thing about FR is the people and their dedication to a return to constitutional government, based on the timeless, fundamental rights of human beings to be free, safe, and self-determining. FReepers are highly intelligent, fiercely protective of this turf, creative, funny and fearless. There are things about FR that aren't perfect, but I try to counter them and refocus my attention to the overwhelmingly positive merits of this site. FR is certainly unique, but more important, it is uniquely valuable.

Our country seems to be turning a corner. Today's indication of that turn is Drudge's story about Bernard Goldberg's Bias : A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distorts the News, to be published in January. As with FOX News' domination over CNN, another liberal chess piece in the media has been knocked off the board, and a conservative chess piece has advanced thereon, threatening the Red Queen. The White Knights on their White Horses are persistently beating the Red Army, clearing the way for members of the White Court to take back the Palace and reinstitute true liberty.

FR now has an opportunity to do so much more. This is not a complaint, but an invitation and call to seize the opportunity in front of us.

How will we accomplish our goals? Not by chatting, arguing or rehashing news, but by getting seriously organized and professional, and systematically moving our agenda ahead, reeducating Americans, reframing the issues, and getting on the offensive -- thereby beating the Marxist liberals at their own game.

Jim, I support what you and your members are doing, and am proud to keep your company. Feel free to set your goals as high as you want, and we will join you on the climb up the mountain. You lead the way. We will be with you at the top.

Still being,

Who threatend to close up shop? All I did was repeat what some of you are claiming and asked the FReepers if they agreed. If Free Republic is a fraud and or is no longer needed, then it should be shut down. Thought we might as well get it out in the open and find out. Looks like the overwhelming majority feel that we should continue. I am determined to do whatever it takes to keep the site running. Thanks for your concern.

Well, this is certainly interesting, to say the least. Particularly the bolded sentence. I saw your earlier comments about the "vote" being 453 to 3 or some such number like that. Well, good for you! Unfortunately, it doesn't matter if the vote is.....

453 to 3; or

4,530 to 3; or

45,300 to 3; or even

4,530,000,000 to 3!

What matters is what the judge says. That's all that counts at this point. And you're the one that got Free Republic to this point. You yourself did it. You should've sought better counsel on this issue. I'm given to understand that some offered you the advice to link, not cut and paste, yet you ignored it, thereby ultimately sentencing to death the goose that lays the golden eggs for your family. Are you aware that you could've easily carried on for YEARS by just taking the cautious approach?

Some, such as Monty on the AFer main board (www.delphi.com\frureform - check out his comments), think that you'll try to cut a deal with the LAT/Post over this. That may be a tough deal to cut without showing them the books.

I find it interesting, a "conservative" such as yourself, intends to fight this battle against these evil "corporate" interests, as you posted earlier on this thread. That doesn't sound like a typical comment that would come from a "default" conservative mind, IMHO. No, I would say that the best thing that you could do for the conservative cause would be to fade away into the night.

Our asking for accountability is really no different than what you and others here asked of President Clinton. How can real conservatives do otherwise? I find it amazing that people's minds critical thinking has shut down, when the obvious answer here to so much of this is the application of Occam's Razor.

The only explanation of this is that you are considered one of "ours," as opposed to "theirs," so people's minds are turned off to a certain degree. This is, IMHO, a failing of all human beings, not just conservatives. Liberals applied it to President Clinton.

Speaking of President Clinton, did you vote for him in 1992? Who did you vote for in 1988? I ask you this question because after reading some of your comments that have been saved by the AFers of longer standing than myself, one can logically conclude that you didn't vote for the Republican candidate. I did.

How could you vote for such a man as President Bush Sr., whom you repeatedly accused early in this board's history of being involved in CIA inspired coke and gun running? You yourself say you got interested in politics during the Iran Contra hearings. Since this is so, more than likely your views of then Vice President Bush were formed during that time, if not earlier. Logically, it doesn't follow, since you yourself have admitted to being a Democrat until recently, that you would turn around and pull the lever in '88 for Bush. Especially keeping in mind your early comments here regarding Bush Sr.'s and the government's coke running. After all, remember Bush Sr. was in charge of that alphabet agency the CIA!!

I see Buckley's released to Arator and K.U.S.S. his email trail on the whole Winston & Strawn bill. Interesting. You gonna sue him for breach of Attorney/Client privilege? Let it all come out, for the conservative movement that you love. Let all the emails come out.

I hope you realize that at this point, with what's already come out, if the rest is not released, it will only spur on the controversy. I would suggest, for once, cutting us off at the pass and allowing him to release all of it. Then you can battle it out with all the information known. You know, the Clintonesque dribble thing doesn't help it go away. End the modified limited hang out.

Clinton's a Liar -

Thanks for your "get a life" post. I have a good one. Guess you wanted one also, and that's why, according to the Mojo Files, you did what you did in terms of wanting to keep front and center during the MFJ. Let me ask you, did this do the conservative movement and the country much good, in terms of getting rid of Clinton? One would think that you would want the best for your country, and NOT just simply follow your own self interest, which was to get out of being a secretary. One would think that if you were interested in the goal of getting rid of Clinton, you would be for the best public presentation possible. A notable, not an unknown.

Why did you respond to Donna the way you did, calling her a vulgar word, and then saying "God Bless" to all later on the thread? This isn't about me getting a life. It's about getting to the bottom of the hole here, and exposing hypocrisy. It's about what's best for conservatives (in the broadest sense of the term) and this country.

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