A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-25-03...There Will Always Be A Place For Freeps

FreeTheHostages; Billie | FreeTheHostages

[Billie]

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:  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.

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

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.

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

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

GROUP 2A: TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

      

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.

                     

by FreeTheHostages

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

Nutmeg and Zelig are a charming couple who live in a very small town in Connecticut - The "Nutmeg State." You’d want them on the Free Republic recruiting poster (if we had one). They’re just the way their photo looks, too: kind and decidedly intelligent, like all good Freepers!

They arrived at Free Republic in the perfectly normal way: by watching a proven criminal remain in the presidency for eight years and watching Democrats trash military votes. In the fall of 2000, Nutmeg was surfing political websites on the net as part of her volunteer work for the Rick Lazio campaign when she found Free Republic. Living in Connecticut she was "stunned" to see so many like-minded conservatives in one place here. She started doing "late night posting", and Zelig joined shortly thereafter. As he puts it, the 2000 election "ignited a spark. We just could not see four more years of the Clinton/Gore crowd."

Zelig says with wry humor that he will "never forget" what Dutchy, a fellow Tri-State Chapter member, said at a chapter meeting about possible non-rally projects to further the conservative cause. Looking a little deflated by much talk of non-Freep activities, a plaintive Dutchy asked: "There will always be a place for Freeps, won’t there?" Nutmeg laughs in agreement as Zelig relates the story. It’s clear that Nutmeg and Zelig admire Freepers such as Dutchy, who follow their principles and get "out there" often to help make the United States a better place.

Nutmeg and Zelig’s answer to Dutchy’s question is decidedly, "Yes, there’s always a place for Freeps." And in their case, it’s not always the same place twice! Let’s follow them as they travel up and down the Northeast Corridor.

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

New York, New York...

Nutmeg and Zelig have participated in several New York City, Connecticut, and Washington DC Freeps. Their Freeping career began with a "Welcome Rally" for then-Governor George W. Bush in front of David Letterman's studio in midtown Manhattan (Dubya was Letterman's guest, that day in October 2000). It was at that rally Nutmeg and Zelig met several Freepers for the first time, recognizing a few of them from photos posted on FR threads - particulary the Hillary-themed ones.

Nutmeg's goal that day was to find out just who those "Go Home Hillary" Freepers were, and to join them! It turns out the "Go Home Hillary" crowd were members of the Tri-State Chapter of Free Republic, a group of Freepers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

The day after Election Day 2000, Nutmeg and Zelig didn't have much time to become dejected over New York Rep. Rick Lazio's loss of the New York Senate race to (ugh!) Hillary Clinton... the task at hand for all Freepers during the infamous Florida recount debacle was to get out into the streets - all over the US - in support of George W. Bush. Nutmeg and Zelig participated in several spirited Freeps in New York's Times Square, rallying for Dubya and supporting the counting of the military absentee ballots.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rallying "in Our Own Backyard"

One of their favorite Freeps was at Senator Joe Lieberman’s residence in Connecticut. Zelig fondly remembers the date: December 2, 2000. The protest focused on the Gore camp’s discounting the military votes in Florida. Nutmeg notes that conservatives seemed to come from out of nowhere for that Freep. (It could have been Zelig who said that. When I interviewed them, they occasionally finished each other’s sentences!)

Nutmeg explains, "This amazing rally was led by fellow Connecticut Freeper RaceBannon." They just love him. "For once, conservatives far out-numbered the liberals... we must've had over 400 on our side for that one, to their 100 or so," says Nutmeg. "Of course the local media slammed us, calling us an 'angry mob', among other colorful things."

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

Nutmeg and Zelig have a son. Shortly after the December Freep of Joe Lieberman's house, their book-smart teenage son saw this photograph of his dad, Freeper Zelig at the Yahoo news site. The photo, which received fairly wide circulation via AP, caused him to exclaim to Nutmeg and Zelig: "I thought you two were boring!" LOL! Ah, the cruel lessons of reality. Zelig bemusedly describes the photograph as "striking a nerve" with his son.

**Gas money to Joe Lieberman’s house: Three Dollars.
Bullhorn: Twelve Dollars. Watching your teenage
son figure out you have a life too: Priceless.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freeping with the DC Chapter
on Their Home Turf

In January 2001, Nutmeg and Zelig attended the Free Republic "Count the Silverware" Inaugural Ball, absolutely thrilled that Washington DC had been (at least temporarily) taken over by conservatives. On the night before George W. Bush's inauguration, the Freepers gathered at Luigi's restaurant in Washington DC decided to Freep President Bill Clinton one last time, on his last night in office. Zelig says:

"While Clinton was up there signing pardons, our big group of Freepers walked from Luigi's to the White House. As we stood there in the cold rain (under the watchful eyes of several Secret Servicemen and policemen), DC Warlord Kristinn and Tri-Stater RaceBannon led us on our favorite chant: 'Bill Clinton! We have you surrounded! Put down the cigar... step away from the intern. And come out.. with your pants... UP!'"

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

These two also made the 7-hour drive from Connecticut to DC for the DC Chapter’s Freep of the White House Media Correspondent’s dinner last May. As you can see, their amicability extends to liking the same signs.

Nutmeg

Zelig
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPAC 2003 - Arlington, Virginia

Nutmeg and Zelig went to CPAC in Virginia this year to see what they could learn. Plied with a cold beer after a long CPAC day, Zelig waxes philosophical:

"This may sound sappy, but I think Nutmeg and I both are coming of age politically, and the more we read and become involved, the more we realize how much has to be done."

Here Nutmeg and Zelig are sharing an after-hours moment with some Freepers at CPAC when in walks a Navy Lieutenant looking for a place to eat. We invited him to eat with us, (he’s on the left in the foreground in the above photograph), and our guest remarked on how nice everyone was at CPAC. He started to talk about his political views, how at-home he felt at the conference, etc. So Nutmeg said, "Oh, you should join Free Republic!", and Zelig said, "You would love it!" Hence Warrior Nurse joined Free Republic. (Welcome, Warrior Nurse!) Who could resist the Connecticut charm of these two?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Out in Cyberspace (Especially Nutmeg!)

Nutmeg is very concerned about media bias and maintains her own ping lists to flag Freeper friends to interesting threads, and to help get the word out on upcoming rallies. She acknowledges that she does a lot of posting with a cheerful smile, and indeed does have a presence here. If you’ve been out and about (and c’mon... Billie will kill me for saying it, but you shouldn’t spend *all* your time on this thread!), you’re sure to have seen Nutmeg’s reflective posts in many threads.

OK, in this photo, Nutmeg and Zelig aren’t actually in cyberspace. But see the twinkle in Nutmeg’s eye? She’s thinking of what to post next, and where! She said with a hint of complaint after a beer at CPAC that "most of the Freeper action is in the big cities," but (LOL) we all know that a lot of the Freeper "action" happens at Nutmeg’s keyboard!

If media bias is one of Nutmeg’s core concerns, sign Zelig up as very concerned about moral character in our leadership, and blocking Hillary Clinton’s election as President. (Hmm, now what would those two issues have to do with each other?) ;) Go Zelig!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now We’re at FR’s Finest

Well, look where they are now! Don’t Nutmeg’s rosy cheeks and flashing eyes and Zelig’s businessman-look go together perfectly? If you were their neighbor, you’d invite them over for some coffee, with nutmeg. So let’s share a cup with

Nutmeg and Zelig,

Two of FR’s Finest!

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

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-24-03 MJY1288

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

[nutmeg]

I couldn't be there because of work but my wife, my daughter, my granddaughter and my sister, Deadhead, were there.

A real nice presentation. FR lives on and conservatives occupy the streets. LOL, I still love this place.

Oh, your sister is Deadhead... OK, I'm putting the pieces of the puzzle together now! That's right, I remember talking to you here on FR after that LIEberman Freep now. And I DO remember your lovely granddaughter (deadhead's great neice) - she was there, and I saw her later that evening on one of the local news shows.

Thanks for stopping by here today. I still love this place, too! There's nothing like Free Republic. :-)

[nutmeg]

Those babies are ADORABLE! Great pics in #84! :-)

[nutmeg]

LOL!!! ;-D

[zelig]

zelig signed up 2001-02-02. Location: I'm everywhere!

Everywhere except here. :)

Alright already - I'm HERE! :-)

.. at least for a few minutes, anyway.

[evilC]

.. at least for a few minutes, anyway

Alright, just don't be all night. I am sure nutmeg has some articles to post or ping >:)

[zelig]

I am really impressed with the many responses to "our" thread. We're really happy to have stumbled upon Free Republic, and to have met such an outstanding group of people. It's heartwarming to be involved with so many like-minded conservatives.

Special thanks to Billie for this wonderful layout (which will be bookmarked for sure), and to FreeTheHostages who did a great job telling our story.

THANK YOU to all of you!

[zelig]

Alright, just don't be all night. I am sure nutmeg has some articles to post or ping >:)

OK, I guess I had my 15 minutes of "fame" tonight then...

[Billie]

I just checked in to say goodnight, and your post was at the top of my comments. Am so glad I got to meet you today, and please come back and say hello as often as you can. Tomorrow another wonderful Freeper is being spotlighted. Goodnight all. (And thank you for your wonderful compliment, too)

[nutmeg]

Billie, it has been such a pleasure working with you... you truly ARE an angel! Thank you again... sweet dreams!

[nutmeg]

Alright, just don't be all night. I am sure nutmeg has some articles to post or ping >:)

That's right! >:-)

Alrighty then... back to normal now. The night is young! LOL

[nutmeg]

Thank you for bumping our thread today, O Great King of Ping! :-)

nutmeg & zelig

[nutmeg]

Congratulations, nutmeg and zelig! FreeTheHostages is relentless when she is digging out information for an FR Finest article; but she always does an outstanding job of writing. We in the DC Chapter love to have you both join us whenever you can. Keep on FReeping On!

Thanks for your kind words, Angelwood. Yes, FreeTheHostages can be quite relentless, but what a great job she did here! We're both really pleased with the results.

I can't tell you what an honor it has been the (too) few times we've been able to join you and the DC Chapter for rallies and other events. Looking forward to the next time we can get together with you and the DC FReepers.

Thank you for stopping by here today! :-)

nutmeg & zelig

[FreeTheHostages]

You're welcome! You certainly are.

[FreeTheHostages]

LOL, just missed ya. I knew you'd stop by. (But I had to watch some news tonight.) Chapter members were out leafletting for the rally tonight. Brrr, it's cold out there!

[FreeTheHostages]

FreeTheHostages can be quite relentless

!! LOL, what's up with this? I didn't *torture* either of you for info. Hee hee. (Of course, there is this little issue of procrastination which I tend to "persuade" people to overcome, I do confess. LOL, in Sauropod's case I basically was stalking him by Freepmail at one point when he caved and gave us the data. Trust me, Sauropod had it MUCH WORSE than you guys.) Ah, I love my job.

[JulieRNR21]

Thanks for your belated greeting...it was a wonderful birthday in every way!

I don't count the years anymore (I was 39 again....LOL) but I do count my blessings which are many!

[nutmeg]

When they did a minor honor of me I had to send all FReepers on-line $5 each. You only have to send $3 to each.

LOL! Notice I'm just seeing your post NOW, hours after you posted it. Yikes... All those FReepers who were pinged...!

[FreeTheHostages]

That was a funny post. :)

[nutmeg]

Congrats on your recognition for all your hard work and enthusiasm....and you are good friends, too! Nutmeg, how else would I be so well-informed?

Thanks, stanz! You're a good FRiend as well... hope to see you and Noelita again soon! :-)

[stanz]

Noelita's coming home on Sunday! I have bookmarked your special thread to show her.
I'm so thrilled to tell her we know celebrities on FR.