Email: The Future of Free Republic

Email | 06/25/02 | Jim Robinson

[Jim Robinson]

The following email is being circulated to our members by various disgruntled former FReepers:

Subject: The Future of Our Free Republic

Dear Fellow Free Republic Member,

Many of us at Free Republic are distressed by the extraordinary level of censorship that has been so obviously going on. It is very obvious that individual posts, entire threads, and the entire work of members who have been highly regarded are disappearing into a Memory Hole.

Scores of us have organized an e-mail network that is independent of the communication controls presently, and sadly, being used at our Free Republic. We have carefully documented the unmistakeable evidence that most of the posts, threads, and posters that are vaporized completely are overwhelmingly targeted for their political stance on the Right. These are not Leftwingers. These are not even Middle-of-the-Roaders. These are not disruptors. These are not foul-mouthed delinquents. These are fellow patriots on the Right who disagree with the controllers of FR on specific issues that are now hotly debated by the Right. We have documented that FR will parade before you, as if to hide all of the great posters whose work has been destroyed, a straw-man delinquent that has been banned. This is deceptive.

Treating these fellow patriots on the Right so shabbily is not right. As shabbily as those banned into the Memory Hole are being treated, the most shabbily treated of all are all of the good folks on Free Republic themselves. We came here for honest debate. Free Republic advertised itself as a Forum for honest debate. Without that honest debate...everything at Free Republic becomes shabby.

We can do much better. As a measure of how intense the simmering feelings have gotten among members on this unjustifiable use of deleting, censoring, and banning please link to the following thread. You will notice that one simple and sincere plea from one of our finest members has spontaneously touched off a prairie fire of approximately 500 posts in a mere 18 hours. If it isn't Memory Holed this thread may shoot into the thousands.

If you would like to receive anonymous updates of information concerning the hundreds of Freepers who have networked via e-mail to restore the wonderful honest debate to Free Republic, just drop an e-mail of just one or two words if you like for extreme brevity to:

StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

And, here's that link back to the snowballing thread at FR:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/704701/posts

Thank you so much for giving your thought to this vital matter for our Internet home.

Sincerely, StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

[FreedomFarmer]

Der Elite Møøsenspåånkengruppen OberKømmååndø

The dreaded MØØK?

_{(Sign me up!)}

[Sir Gawain]

greatspectacular

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Do you think Bush is a conservative he is spending like a drunken sailor and it seems like the Saudis run his foreign policy?

Well he's a socialist. I mean how can one want to federalize education and NOT be? If it quacks like a duck it's a duck. But he's our socialist damn it! :-)

[eno_]

Clearly you have never experienced the Anarcharena, the forbidden dance of the Libertarians. Ironic, since they forbid no dance.

[Alouette]

My wife is a better student of the Bible than I, but she tells me that God instructed the Jews to kill every man, woman, child and domestic animal when they conquered a land.

Not true; they were commanded to drive out those they conquered, "those of them whom you leave shall be pins in your eyes and a thorn in your sides, and they will harass you upon the land in which you dwell." (Numbers 33:55)

They were, however, commanded to exterminate the Amalekites (Deut. 25:17) because of the Amalekites constant waging of genocide against the Israelites, a command BTW which King Saul did not have the stomach to fulfill.

[beowolf]

All sandboxs are catboxs to the neighbor's cat!-)

[weikel]

Tony Blair is our socialist when we have a socialist in the US he is just a problem.

[cake_crumb]

"Anti Jewish and anti Israel posters there express themselves pretty much any which way they want."

Which is exactly why I never joined. I don't think my nerves could handle jumping rebutting any more hate propaganda filled discussions than I already do...I know that forums like Liberty are exactly where defense is needed, and I feel guilty about not fighting the good fight there....but I have all the hate and propaganda-fighting I can handle on Arab forums.

[Phil V.]

Such a creature would be evil.

The Taliban has a full wardrobe.

These people blaspheme without even knowingthat they are taking God's name in vane . . . ascribing Divine instruction to the convenient will of man.

[SJackson]

It's only fair to point out the the "Free speach" alternative at Liberty Forum is, of couse, by invitation only.

[Cachelot]

This encrypted FReepmail will self-destruct in five seconds

Check your timers. Mine blew up in three seconds.

[Sir Gawain]

Actually, if everyone here agreed on everything I'd be bored silly.

Ignore lists will be here soon.

[Daus]

But in the last year or two, it seems to be moving more and more toward a GOP cheerleading site.

Ahhh... yes... the good old days when dissenting opinion was warmly embraced.

Um... When was that again? :)

[cascademountaineer]

And the recent past here on FR puts an interesting light on a big issue from the past: When Klinton was in office, a lot of people looked around the internet and asked, "How come more democrats don't speak up against Klinton?!"

Good points. Actually excellent points to be honest with you.

When Klinto went bye it was a victory. But there seems to be a general sense of "where do we go from here" and you cant tackle it by simply deleting articles that are critical of Bush or banning people. That needs to be underlined.

I guess my bottom line point is

A)if were going to have "poof yer gone" rules, then they need to be spelled out.

B) This site needs to remain open to conservative ideas. Everyone can tell a nut or a liberal when they read one, so it doesnt take long for them to take a hike.

But we need to keep this site open as a resource for conservatism and ideas that normally wouldnt break the mainstream left media - thats our strength, theres alot of important issues out there, start censoring - thats a bad gig.

[Huck]

"Weeleeease Awator!!!"

[Orual]

They made me do it, they forced me to reveal the secret handshake after undergoing severe torture.

Couldn't give up those Sinatra CDs.

[beowolf]

Um... When was that again? :)

Using the OWK time-scale...that would be somewhere between Opus1 and Opus2...:-)

[blackbag]

Well it seems these kiddies just don't like playing in your sandbox with out breaking the rules. No big loss for FR.
In the past I have lost several threads, but this was prior to your ability to selectivly remove offensive replys. Usually that was the problem. Sometimes I think people intentionally post offensive material/coments to get a threa pulled. I for one think you and the FR staff are doing a bang up job. Good riddiance to those that would destroy this
important forum.

[OWK]

Ahhh... yes... the good old days when dissenting opinion was warmly embraced.

C'mon Daus... you remeber the days when.... Uh.. when.. Uh...

Well anyway.... Uh...

[Lightnin]

Jim, these "johnny one notes" are boring, tedious and intellectually challenged.<p.

Keep doing what you've been doing and most of the rational folks on this forum will be quite happy.

Eagles Up!
Lightnin'