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Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?
Free Republic | 11/28/01 | Jim Robinson

Posted on 11/28/2001 7:31:29 PM PST by Jim Robinson

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.

Thanks,

Jim


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Announcements; Breaking News
KEYWORDS: bushbabeslist; enviralists; hughhewitt; jimroblist; opuslist; usocanteen; zionist
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To: aligyrl-02
I'm amazed Eschoir didn't jump at the chance given him. There is something very strange in all of this. And it's all being uncovered here (In case you lost the link or something)
2,601 posted on 11/30/2001 7:21:02 PM PST by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: keep U.S. Sovereign
Doesn't it seem just a BIT odd that a business owner would be threatening to close his shop...?

It was a bluff. I'm amazed (not!) how many people fell for it.

2,602 posted on 11/30/2001 7:22:41 PM PST by Sandy
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
So what's your opinion, Harry, the real thingEy or not?
2,603 posted on 11/30/2001 7:24:44 PM PST by aligyrl-02
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
Harry

I think you should accept the branch as well. You have a lot to add to the forums.

One of my favorite sayings - "fight smart".

2,604 posted on 11/30/2001 7:26:48 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
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To: aligyrl-02
Er, I've had some doubts about this throughout the day. (I was made privy to this information this afternoon). I've had it "verified" by a person or two. Eschoir is over at Flem's claiming everything's legit at this very moment.

I still smell a rat, however. FReepmail is the weak link here. Someone needs to hear from the source via REAL email.

Regards.

2,605 posted on 11/30/2001 7:30:14 PM PST by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
But to have the FABsters jump ship as well is REALLY strange.

I'm here (no longer a FABster, but what the heck)! Just wanted to say hi before I continue trying to make it through this nightmare thread.

P.S. Try to ignore the flame bait.

2,606 posted on 11/30/2001 7:30:52 PM PST by Sandy
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To: Jim Robinson
America needs Free Republic, like boilers need a pressure release valve-I need it worse. As soon as Bad Joe posts a link to where to contribute, I am commiting to $10.00 per month. Not a lot by some standards, but a step up for me and all I can afford right now. Life without Free Republic? I don't even want to think about that.
2,607 posted on 11/30/2001 7:32:50 PM PST by F.J. Mitchell
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
FReepmail is the weak link here.

Hmmmmmm. Interesting point about the FReepmail perhaps not being secure, although the Robinsons have sworn it is. If the FReepmail is as secure as the FReepers believe it is, then this Clarity email must be the real thing.

2,608 posted on 11/30/2001 7:35:06 PM PST by aligyrl-02
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To: Sandy
Sandy, I don't know what happened. The web ate my previous reply to you. Doncha hate it when that happens?

Anyhoo, just wanted to say howdy. I've missed you.

2,609 posted on 11/30/2001 7:41:14 PM PST by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: Jim Robinson
Jim,

With the Clarity emails circulating, can you:

1) Verify the security of FReepmail, as in no one being able to post using another's name;

2) Comment as to the authenticity of Clarity's emails to Z2.

Thank you.

2,610 posted on 11/30/2001 7:59:47 PM PST by aligyrl-02
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
Well, Harry, this has been one crazy couple of days of FReeping. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted.

Just when you think this place couldn't get any stranger, it does and with a vengence (the Clarity emails).

After all this madness, I need to take that pause that refreshes. How about you? LOL.

2,611 posted on 11/30/2001 8:04:05 PM PST by Arator
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To: PeaceBeWithYou
You're

;-)
2,612 posted on 11/30/2001 8:05:49 PM PST by havoc1us
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To: Jim Robinson
Jim, why don't you provide a link on your site to order magazines, as a fundraiser. For example, I ordered TV Guide from the Fox News site. And I ordered another mag from the Freevote.com site. These sites provided a product that attracted my attention and caused me to read their blurb. When I read the deal, it convinced me to order, and the sites made it easy to order.
2,613 posted on 11/30/2001 8:16:16 PM PST by Ciexyz
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To: Arator
Looks like he's gone again.
2,614 posted on 11/30/2001 8:18:14 PM PST by Sir Gawain
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To: sirgawain
Testing.... What's going on here? I was banned, now I'm back.

Strange!

2,615 posted on 11/30/2001 8:37:00 PM PST by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
I was wondering why only you were gone, lol.
2,616 posted on 11/30/2001 8:38:24 PM PST by Sir Gawain
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To: Jim Robinson
Something is going on with my posting account. Could you settle this? Do I have permission to be here?
2,617 posted on 11/30/2001 8:38:44 PM PST by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
It's been a strange night. Bump for review in the morning. Hope your still around Inspector.
2,618 posted on 11/30/2001 8:39:58 PM PST by IM2Phat4U
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To: sirgawain
Looks like he's gone again.

Who, me?

2,619 posted on 11/30/2001 8:42:03 PM PST by Arator
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To: Howlin
You know what, Howlin? What's so interesting is that they NEVER have managed to archive their own wacky crap.

For example, did you know that some of the antifreepers said that they contacted the IRS a long time ago and tried to 'report' Jim? More than once, according to them? The party(s) who took responsibility for it received much praise.

People forget that the antifreepers said that they did things like this (antifreepers forget too), as if it were acceptable behavior. Imagine, people who claimed to be honest conservatives, using the IRS to seek revenge on someone they were pissed at. Yeah, it was just all about "exposing hypocrisy"....err..."corruption".....errr....."saving the cultists"....errr.....whatever.

I asked IHC what HE thought about the IRS, because I wanted to know whether he would condone doing something like that. I mean, antifreepers DO have certain standards and requirements. They don't allow just *anyone to participate, you know. IHC didn't answer. I guess he's busy, or banned.

2,620 posted on 11/30/2001 8:42:19 PM PST by unsycophant
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