Posted on 12/30/2010 7:05:50 AM PST by exit82
Today is my 12th anniversary as a Freeper.
I came across Free Republic in the summer of 1998 as a lurker, troubled by an increasingly lawless President Clinton, and what was happening to our country. I lurked for about four months, reading every day and being amazed at the group of talented and knowledgeable people on this site.
When Jim Robinson put out the call for people to come to Washington, DC to attend the March for Justice Rally on October 30, 1998, I came from NJ on my own, not knowing a soul there, because someone was finally calling for the impeachment of President Clinton. Four thousand plus people from all over the country showed up that Saturday. That call was about the first Internet call for a political gathering--the equivalent then of a flash mob meeting today, albeit much slower in execution.
This is my 19th thread and my 16,000th post. Many have far more than me of both--good thing, too. In 12 years of posting, I have come across the finest group of Americans I have ever known-- a community of kindred spirits--alike in our love for America, its founding documents, and its exceptionalism, and as different from each other as we are in our individual points of view.
So to all of my fellow Freepers who helped to educate me and to whom I have conversed over these 12 years, I say thank you. To Jim Robinson and to John Robinson, I say thank you for allowing me the privilege of being a Freeper, and for providing a home on the Internet where conservatives can gather. I am not a model Freeper, so to those with whom I have disagreed, or have been short with, I ask your forgiveness.
I wrote a vanity titled "We Have Found The Enemy, and The Enemy Is Us" on February 2, 2008 at a time when it became apparent that the Republican primary was going to be decided in favor of John McCain. That disheartened me, but I think I am most proud of what I said that day of all my posts. More of it came true than I would have dreamed.
But more importantly, it contained a warning for the future of what we , as conservatives who love this country, would face not only later in 2008, but in the future years as well.
A turning point in history has been reached by America. I think we all feel that. The new Congress, with its Republican-led House, and a lessened Democrat majority in the Senate, will begin its work on January 5, 2011. This will either be the high water mark of progressivism and socialist thought in America or it will be the high water mark of conservatism and a return to limited Federal government. It could go either way. We all sense it. A country as big as ours cannot turn on a dime. A historical shifting point, like the one we are living in today, is realized over time, maybe over years. The years of 2011 and 2012 will be even more critical than 2010, even though without the historic rejection of Democrat policies that took place in November, 2010, the future that could be realized could not even occur.
Election Day 2010 proved, in my opinion, that an Angel still rides in this whirlwind. The idea that is America, and the freedom bequeathed to us by our parents, the WW2 generation, does still exist in the hearts of our countrymen. However, it must be fought for and protected by each of us.
And we must teach our children and grandchildren that great legacy we have received and of which we are now the guardians for future generations. It is our time to sacrifice for freedom.
In 12 years so much has occurred, and Free Republic has played a role, that I cannot recount it all here. Some of it is recounted in the vanity that follows. History was influenced because of us, and the future will be also.
I want to wish you all and your families, and posterity, a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 2011. May God bless us, every one.
I honestly don't see how some of you guys have so much time on your hands to post so many articles and replies over the years. I'm not much of a typist, so maybe that's part of it. Also, I work for a living ;)
But what I lack in quantity of posts, I try to make up for with passion. Like most of us, sometimes that passion can lead to incivility, so I, too, apologize for any name-calling over the years. I've tried to keep it to a minimum and focus my wrath on our Marxist enemies.
Proud to have you as a fellow patriot from the (Freeper) class of 1998...
I've just celebrated my 11th year.
I'm waiting to see how many call you a 'newbie.'
Happy anniversary, n00B! Yeh, lots of water. Plenty up ahead, too, and it looks like some rough waves and heavy currents. Eagles up!
IBTZ
Newbie
Hey US! LONG time no see!
How the heck are you doing up there in Chi town?
I’ll be there with bells on and you can bet on it?
Did you happen to notice what happened down here in Texas November 2nd?
Nothing like a hot steamy cat treat is there, LOL!
Care to join me? The planning is already underway...
Tell me more. Time to go raise some more hell..
Thanks for this thread. I am laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes. Now we just need quidam and a ClassyGreenEyedBlonde to show up and my evening will be made!
I'm not sure when I first signed on to FR. The rain has pretty much washed away the etching of my first post.
Took a look at the wall. Several I knew personally. A few I didn’t know had passed - nunya bidness, T’wit.
sargon, compared to some other posters I’m a slacker!!
If some old time posters would post their account stats, you would be amazed. They must be tethered to the computer and have their meals brought in!!!
Glad to have you here—Happy New Year to you!
Same to you blam. Now what is it going to take to get you to visit here in DE and remove that little grey squiggle from the USA map on your home page?
Happy New Year, my FRiend.
Thanks, Bill. Your screenname always makes me smile.
My psychiatrist is trying to figure out why.
Best to you, and Happy New Year to you.
Just in time, too!
You Class of 2000's are such kidders.
Happy New Year to you.
Mariner, from one “newbie” to another, Happy New Year and thanks for your service to our country.
The old 'Pod is BACK!!!
You are welcome. That’s the whole purpose of this thread—to reconnect with some old FRiends and to ponder the greatness of this place.
Who knows—maybe Deep in the Hurtgen Forest will show up!
Thanks for the link, Bigun, to the Memorial Wall. Many “younger” Freepers may not know of it.
Sad to see so many names of people we talked with and met over the years. They were good people.
Thanks, TE. I see you signed on 8/27/98. Where you on before—lots of old timers here lost their original 1996 and 1997 sign in dates when the FR computer was reset sometime in ‘97. It happened well before I got here.
God bless Texas and Happy New Year!
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