A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....11-25-02

Billie and daisyscarlett

[daisyscarlett]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete
MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet
MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga
BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette
MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid
BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP
MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian
BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 5A: TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68. MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797. BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack.

GROUP 6A: TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett. MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick, Leroy S Mort, Mark17. BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

GROUP 7A: TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam, dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony.BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang.

GROUP 8A: TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx. MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law. BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

The Guild

Disclaimor: Today we are presenting a profile of The Guild. It is difficult for us to be objective in this Profile as both Billie and myself hold this thread very dear to our hearts. She was one of the early members though I was in lurk mode for the early days ...much too intimidated by these witty, charming, informed, accomplished, brillant, gracious (told you it is hard to be objective, lol...) FReepers to post. Eventually, I did come out of lurk mode and became a frequent poster to The Guild for many months. ~ daisyscarlett

The running thread known today as The Guild began life in February of 2001. It had its genesis in the aftermath of the Clinton scandals. On 2/02/01, a thread was posted about   Hillary's fur coats.   Yep, it was reported that Denise Rich had given Hillary not one, not two, not three but FOUR fur coats. Many outraged Freepers were attracted to this thread and began reporting on other gifts the Clintons had received and/or appropriated. It was decided to do a group research endeavor and lots of new facts were discovered and reported. (Think Chihulay vase, think saxophones, think White House china and furniture). The results of this investigation are included in this thread by LBGA:

Guild Gift Summary

At first the thread was called the "Ladies Guild" and this evolved into the "Ladies Investigative Guild". FReeRepublic's Registered designed the Guild's logos.

It is now known as The Guild. Hillary's Lovely Legs posts and maintains The Guild threads. She gets help from BigWaveBetty and mountaineer when she is not available.

Early mottos of the thread were "Hey Wait a Minute"...WH Usher Gary Walters, and "People who try to pretend they're superior make it so much harder for those of us who really are."... Hyacinth Bucket

The following is a link from the "early days" which contains links to many other threads. These threads are informative, interesting and often hilarious.

The Guild 3-07-01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pearls, Deviled Egg Dishes, "Bless Her Heart"

Membership in the Ladies Investigative Guild had only two requirements-that one own pearls and a deviled egg serving dish. However, if one did not own either or both of these items, and still desired membership in the Ladies Investigative Guild, another member always stepped forward and donated required items so that essentially everyone who wanted to be involved, could be. It was also considered good form to follow a criticism or negative comment of a public figure with the words "Bless Her/His Heart".

Following the completion of the Investigation into the theft of property by the Clintons, the Guild continued to thrive, reporting on other misdeeds of the Clintons and their friends and exalting in President Bush and his family. All sorts of news and events were discussed on the Guild. Some of the original posters left, new ones arrived. Eventually a major new project was undertaken. A

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Daffodil Project

This project was inspired by   "The Daffodil Prnciple"   and involved "planting one seed at a time" to make this a better Country. A tracking chart was implemented, and Guilders began writing letters to newspaper editors, media management, politicians etc. hoping to plant seeds of Conservative ideas wherever possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guild Care Packages

The Daffodil project had barely gotten off the ground when 9-11 happened. Guild members came together to comfort each other and share stories of families and loved ones touched by that day. When the War on Terror began, the Guild decided to send some Care Packages to our troops in Afghanistan. They began collecting and purchasing items and sending them off to Hillary's Lovely Legs who was going to forward them to the "Any Soldier" program. A stumbling block occurred, though, when the Department of Defense announced that the 'Any Soldier" program was cancelled due to the terrorism threat. This created a dilemma. But, under the leadership of Hillary's Lovely Legs, this was solved and soon many packages were on their merry way to our service men and women aboard the U.S.S. Roosevelt.

Many Guild members sent contributions, and Hillary's Lovely Legs purchased items in bulk for the Care Packages. Others mailed things they had personally collected, or purchased, or that they had made themselves. Included in these Care Packages were items ranging from books and candy, to handmade scarves for the flight crews to wear around their necks, to drawings by school children, to original drawings and art work by Billie on which she wrote individual notes, to cosmetics for the females, hot sauce to spice up the food, and lip balm for windchapped lips.

Once the packages were off, the Guild waited anxiously for an acknowledgement of receipt of the Care Packages. It was a long time coming but finally a letter from a crew member of the USS Roosevelt was received. This letter was soon followed by a thank you letter and signed photo from Rear Admiral Mark Fitzgerald to the Guild.

Letter from the USS Roosevelt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hosting of Live Threads.

In the past one and a half plus years, the Guild has hosted numerous live threads of such events as the Miss America Pageant, Miss Universe Pageant, Miss World Pageant and, of course, the Oscar and Emmy telecasts. Like most everything the Guild does, this has been hugely successful. Freepers seem to love these live threads and really look forward to them. For instance, this year's Oscar telecast had 2351 comments - an incredible number of posts for a one day event!

Oscar telecast Live Thread

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holiday Recipes

The Guild has had three outstanding Recipe Threads. These threads not only contain great recipes, they also have feedback from those who have tried the recipes and helpful hints of all kinds in preparing and presenting food for special events and holidays. The most popular single recipes are Hillary's Lovely Legs' Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Hillary's Lovely Legs' Chocolate Chip Cookies. To die for...this I promise you!

Thanksgiving Recipes

Summer Barbeque Recipes

Christmas Cookie Recipe

Three exciting things happened to The Guild this spring and early summer. First off, they were removed from the "Cheesehole". Secondly they received a "Button" on the Home Page of Free Republic. And thirdly, they received Daily Thread status. These things were accomplished with the help and support of Lodwick, one of the loyal posters at the Guild. The Guild is very easy to find now. Drop in and say hi! Currently, the Guild has a Thanksgiving Recipe Thread for 2002 running and they have already started shipping out Care Packages to our troops for this holiday season and will continue to "support our troops who sacrifice so that we may enjoy our freedom."

>

THIS WEEKEND'S THREAD

11-23,24-02 Week in Review

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

     1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
     2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
     3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
     4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
     5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[BigWaveBetty]

President Bush says "great job" on the tribute to The Guild daisyscarlett!

Lodwick, a special thanks to you! Besides your wonderful company everyday I always enjoy all the funny jokes, links and pictures you bring by.

Everyone at the The Guild is a great bunch of people and I'm honored to be a part of it everyday.

I've had a chance to meet two Guilders in person, Iowa Granny and LBGA. Two great ladies I'm proud to call friends. IG and I only had a short time to meet while she was in town. LBGA and I got together twice, once where we spent the day at the pool when she visited Disney World for a convention, (LBGA there's money in it for you if you don't post the picture of us sitting at the bar) the other time for a nice Japanese dinner. I hope one day we can all get together for a big Guild party!

Thanks for your FR's Finest threads Billie, they're a wonderful addition to FR! I wish I had more time to do more than lurk occasionally but HLL has kept me busy with The Guild threads.

I'll post some of my favorite stuff from The Guild later.

[ValerieUSA]

I'll post feminine photos for the Guild today

[BigWaveBetty]

Sorry, forgot to ping you the above post!

[Iowa Granny]

SpookBrat, your are welcome to chime in at the Guild anytime,, there is no need to lurk.

ds, thank you for this lovely tribute to the Guild. I stand in awe of the investigative skills of this group.

[Aquamarine]

Congratulations to a great group of people. I've read the current thread running at the Guild and printed out that Horseradish Salad that I missed last year...thanks, Timeout for reposting it!
HLL...I saw where you wanted some Victoria Secrets angel wings. How do you like these? :)

Click on the pic

[lodwick]

Good morning everyone. ;-)

[lodwick]

Well nutz - whazzup at Fish Lake?

[Molly Pitcher]

Congratulations to the Guild!

I remember those early days of the thread: the energy and determination to track down those gifts! LOL!

Betty - GREAT photo!!

Thanks, daisy, for the fine tribute.

[Aeronaut]

G'morning Lodwick.

[BigWaveBetty]

I must give props to Hillary's Lovely Legs. She keeps a treasure trove of them on her profile page. Check it out!

[BigWaveBetty]

As if going to jail wasn't humiliating enough, Amy Fisher gives Lizzie tips on how to survive in the joint. I can hear Lizzie muttering, "How gauche!"

AMY Fisher has some tips on how fellow scandal siren Lizzie Grubman can survive her final days in Suffolk County Jail. Fisher, who went to jail for shooting her ex-lover's wife, is now a columnist for a free Garden City, L.I., newspaper, the New Island Ear. She addressed a cheeky checklist of jailhouse tips to the penned-up publicity princess, who will get out of jail Nov. 29 with time off for good behavior.

* "If bland mashed potatoes and plain noodles are not your cup of tea, you don't have to accept this common food," Fisher writes. "Since you're Jewish, ask for a kosher meal. You'll receive a TV dinner with enough frozen kugel to keep the meat on your bones."

* "Be sure to shower in your socks. If you don't, the foot fungus you'll acquire will last far longer than your stay. It would look hideous all squished up in a new pair of Prada shoes. Even after the guards make you scrub the shower rim for a few hours, it's still there. Be careful."

* "Since a hairbrush is a foreign object to the jail keepers, you develop knots quickly. Don't fret, your golden locks can be saved. Just find a kind inmate to whip them into cornrows."

* "As for maintaining the color, you can always volunteer to mop the floors. No one will know if some of the bleach ends up on your roots. Besides, mopping can prove to be a beneficial skill; you'll know if your maid is doing it properly."

* "You'll be able to watch television in jail. If you're not a Jerry Springer fan, you'll become one. If you're very lucky, your fellow convicts will put on the soap operas in the afternoon; it should give you some good dramatic pointers for your ‘released from jail' speech."

More from Page Six

[ladtx]

In memory of my fellow Vietnam helicopter pilots who were killed in that war the following were lost on NOV 25. God bless them all.

1967 MAJ Evart E. Robeson (USA) -- US Army, Age 35, Rapid City, South Dakota
1968 1LT Johnny W. Benton (USAR) -- 11th ACR, Age 21, Jerome, Idaho
1970 WO1 Freddie L. Lockhart (USAR) -- 1 SIG BDE (USAR), Age 37, Terra Alta, West Virginia
1971 MAJ Robert B. Swenck (USAF) -- 37 ARRS, Age 38, Louisville, Kentucky
1971 CPT John W. George (USAF) -- 37 ARRS, Age 26, Big Rock, Tennessee

From a friend of MAJ Robert Swenck's family;
You have never been forgotten.
Bob, you certainly made an impact on the students you taught and those you didn't. I still remember your showing me the coffee table that you had crafted for Jim. It was beautiful and so were you. You are not a forgotten individual. You mattered. It was an honor to know you. Love - Sheryl

Tribute to MAJ Swenck and CPT George: KIA, Gia Dinh, South Vietnam

MAJ Swenck and CPT were killed when their HH-53C (Jolly Green 70), took ground fire during a rescue mission. The crew stopped at a forward base camp to make sure the chopper was safe to fly. They encountered a heavy rain storm on the flight back, when the chopper took more fire and the pilot was hit. It began a slow, controlled descent and impacted in the Nha Be River. Once it hit the water it did a severe end over flip, and the chopper sank immediately. Three men, Capt. John W. George, Maj. Robert B. Swenck, and A1C Thomas D. Prose were killed immediately.

Unit patch of the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLADE

SCOUTS OUT!

[BigWaveBetty]

Today in the creepy category we have...

IS Oprah Winfrey the next L. Ron Hubbard? The touchy-feely talk show titan is the leader of a new American religion, says University of North Carolina professor Kathryn Lofton. Oprah's 20 million followers seek spiritual transformation by following a way of life and rituals designated by her - including reading specific texts, writing and shopping, Lofton says. The professor defines Oprahism's primary tenets as "self-indulgence and relaxed reflection."

Page Six

[ladtx]

MAJ Swenck and CPT were killed when their HH-53C (Jolly Green 70), took ground fire...

Should be;

MAJ Swenck and CPT George were killed when their HH-53C (Jolly Green 70), took ground fire...

[lodwick]

Salute!

[lodwick]

Thanks for bringing the links - I need to know this stuff. ;-)

[mountaineer]

Good morning. What a swell thread. It's fun to remember the "early days" at the Guild when we were tracking gifts of tacky glassware, china, golf clubs and fur coats to the felonious former First Couple. Now we just try to keep track of the Harlem Globetrotter as he jets around the world in search of $150,000 speaking fees and whatever babes his hosts offer.

I'll ditto the comment on HLL's chocolate chip recipe, as well as Timeout's horseradish salad. I've made both and they're outstanding.

[FreeTheHostages]

Wow, see, I didn't know ANY of this! Thanks for a very informative post.

[FreeTheHostages]

"self-indulgence and relaxed reflection"

wow. From what little I know, that describes Oprah's theories perfectly.

[Temple Owl]

I think I told you this before, but it is worth repeating. YOU GUYS ARE JUST GREAT--WONDERFUL--TERRIFIC. It is a pleasure to view all of your stuff.
Luv yez.