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.

I've been around probably very close to when this site first opened more than five years ago -- at the time I lived in Fort Irwin in the Mohave desert.

Now living in Fairbanks Alaska FR is my only real contact with the outside world. I have always loved the news digest part of the site gathering daily news paper articles from all over the US and abroad -- it has given me much more of a sense of being on the nations pulse -- and at the head of cutting edge issues.

I was there when MOJO, RebelYell, Inspector Calahan, and others of their ilk were going crazy trying to disrupt the site posting hundreds threads to prevent people from reading news articles and others posts. There was also others who resorted to personal attacks causing near riot amoung the ranks they were also thankfully kicked Once these people were kicked as well as the dozens of persona they used to reinfiltrate the site and disrupt FR once again became a peaceful issue oriented site once more.

Don't bring them back lets not revisit all this trash from the past.

I was there along with the Scotsman when Bob Evans Free Republic's first congretional candidate ran writng daily aricles on FR, writing ad copy for Bob as well as asisting as much as possible to campaign funds for him on FR.

I remember when the washington post and a hoard of other papers filed suit against FR and we all banded together around Jim and the site refusing to die or give in. Those were heady days

When Clinton escaped the impeachmenthearings scotfree. At the time I was almost beside myself feeling that so called republican moderates had sold us out. I was livid!
At which time I regret having stopped posting and actively participating at FR. Instead I retreated sitting back and reading the FR news digest.

In recent months with all the events I have felt the need to post a few times but the people the audiance has vastly changed -- (I can't over state that. very few of those that posted and chatted here 2 years three years and even five years ago still do so.) I feel now sort of like a stranger - several people have hammered me as if I were some first timer.

In reading Jim Robinson post I sense somewhat of that feeling from him. Many of those who we began with whom I dare say we have the fondest memories of are now gone. Perhaps like myself they became lurkers -- or perhaps disgusted at the failures of the impeachment proceeding and/ or republican capitulations to the left they have pulled the plug altogether.

This is in no way the disparage the bright up and coming class of new voices carrying fother the issues of the day --perhaps I'm wrong but once in a while you just have to pause and look back -- you wish (If you have any heart at all) that things or at least certain thing could be made right. Poor choices forks in the road wher you and others departed company.

You wish you could be friends again with those who you shared those lonely dark hours with -- but life goes on. For Jim where FR was once a tight closeknit group most of whom he could probably name by their handle -- now FR has become big -- frightfully big -- and sadly largely impersonal with thousands of new members joining the ranks -- few of whom you ever truely know.

Jim Robinson -- Rush Limbaugh of the Internet. A modest man who has never sought fame for himself or to be a star in the public eye now finds himself looking at life as a king.

JIM this army has assemble around you and your vision -- that thing that gave birth to FR in the first place --forget not the vision in the night -- never give up never surrender -- the full power of this group has not yet been realized -- you're a little afraid of what you've created and that is because your afraid to take this sword into your hand and wield it.

In the time since this site has been created you have asked nothing for yourself. You have If anything you nned to become more proactive -- and articulate regularly the vision of FR. In doing so you will gradually feel more confident and take on the role as this sites leader.

God Bless you Jim

Rocketman aka Richard Schurz

Jim, FreeRepublic could no more go away because of a few detractors and leftist idiots than could the Spirit of Freedom in the US go away because of September 11th.

Right now we have over seven thousand new users because of what happened in September - and a lot of them obviously aren't our kind of people, but the huge majority of them are. We've suffered growing pains, and we're going to see more of them! Hoo Ahh!!

Just as Americans rallied to the defense of our nation and expressed their love of it - that same spirit of determination and love will keep FreeRepublic alive. We will continue doing what we do, better than any other website on the Internet, to the chagrin and disappointment of our few detractors (who aren't worth spit - and know it.)

Hell Jim - FReepers... LETS ROLL! We've only begun to fight! The rest - they can cry in their whine!

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