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.
You got that right. Adrianna Huffington still wants to be us.
And don't mess with Texas!!! Thanks, and Happy New Year to you!
My twelth year was in October. It has been an interesting 12 years. Especially the last 2.
Thank you,my FRiend. I hope 2011 will be great year for you and yours.
Yes—”italians” LOL!!!!
And picture loading—how upset everyone would get! Especially if you didn’t size them properly. Man, it take forever to load.
Happy Anniversary!
Congrats. My 12th is coming up in March. ;-)
No, Bigun, but I am of that vintage. My high draft lottery numbers kept me out in ‘72, and the war ended in early ‘73.
I was in college then.
If you were there, you have my utmost admiration. Our politicians lost that war, not out armed forces.
The shame of it is that some of them are still in office on DC.
Hey, I always respect my elders—of which you are one!
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Hey, sauropod! How have you been? And WHERE have you been—I miss you around here!
Happy New Year to you!
Dittos.
Yes we have!
Dan Rather is today a joke, in no small part because of US!
Hi, Arrowhead! I’m glad you signed up too—I have enjoyed your posts over the years.
Happy New Year!
Thanks, Ol’Sox! Congratulations on your FIRST decade here.
A Happy New Year to you and yours!
We’ll see. She is the brightest hope, but the well has been poisoned pretty badly.
There were some recent people that she supported that are also not conservative. Vetting process is still going on. My antennae are up.
Thanks my FRiend! I was there in 66-67 and suppose that I wrongly inferred that you were there from your earlier writings.
You are exactly right about who lost the war over there and the fact that they are (at least some of them) STILL dealing us misery in Washington!
I still check in from time to time. Don’t have the time to hang out like I used to.
12 years older and a little less wiser... ;-)
Happy New Year to you and yours. ‘Pod
IRONMAN!!!
A tear just came to my eye. I remember you from the DC Chapter, and that you competed in triathalons, if I recall correctly.
I am so glad you are still here. The history of the early years of the DC Chapter could not be written without you.
You are one of the reasons Free Republic became such a great site.
Thanks so much for checking in—I had wondered what happened to you. Don’t be a stranger,OK?!!
I wish you a wonderful New Year, ironman.
I signed up Jan 5th, 1998....!! You must live near Toms River with a handle like Exit 82.
PF, how are you doing?!! Good to hear from you. It’s been quite a decade. Your screenname makes me chuckle. I wonder if we are ALL really psycho-freeps sometimes.
How’d I miss this one?
How’s it goin’ guy?
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