Posted on 01/08/2005 8:53:37 AM PST by Eagle Awards 2004
Award Categories and Nominated Candidates: (Note - The Awards Committee needed to do some housekeeping, combining multiple nominations, moving nominees to proper categories and in some situations, rejecting nominees due to improper/incomplete nomination forms)
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PRIVATE CITIZEN - The annual Free Republic Network "Private Citizen" Eagle Award is given to the individual or organization that through their private work and efforts during the awards year have demonstrated perseverance and courage in adhering to constitutional principles in advancing conservative ideals in American society.
John O’Neill & Swift Boat Vets
John O'Neill and the Swift Boat Vets are to be commended for their brave stand for truth and integrity and justice in the face of multiple attempts of personal destruction willfully committed by the DNC, the media, the Kerry Campaign and funded by people like George Sorros.
All of them risked intense public scrutiny, wrath and personal financial loss as they stood fast in their commitment that the truth be told about John Kerry and his anti-American activities during the Vietnam War. None of these brave citizens had anything to gain other than see that justice was served.
The media first actively ignored their story because the media knew how damaging their story would be to the Kerry campaign. That didn’t stop or surprise John O’Neill and the Swift Boat Vets. They countered with a scathing book on John Kerry entitled “Unfit for Command” and released the first in a series of searing, highly successful commercials that detailed how John Kerry was nothing more than a traitor to his country. They could no longer be ignored - by the media or by the Kerry Campaign.
The bravery of these men is something that hasn’t been seen in this country for many, many years and will continue to inspire Americans for decades to come.
Mojo2001
For her tireless efforts in support of our Military and her work with Proud Patriots has been unbelievable.
Judge Napolitano
The only jurist that I see on TV regularly that espouses a Constitutional view of the courts.
Terri Shiavo’s Freepers and Supporters
Terri's supporters have made great strides in furthering the cause of Conservatism. We've shared information on Free Republic, and spread that information to the media, politicians, family, friends and strangers. Terri is in danger of losing her life to the euthanasia crowd. In October 2003 her husband (with the blessing of the courts and medical community) began starving and dehydrating Terri to death against her wishes. Because of the hard work of Freepers who gathered support for her, Governor Bush stepped in and postponed her murder. This is an ongoing battle that has implications for every disabled and elderly person in the United States. If we lose this battle, it will be a victory for those seeking the final solution to the problem of useless eaters. We MUST win this battle, and recognition through these awards would itself be an act of Conservatism. Germans ignored it when the Nazis were doing the exact same thing. Look where it got them.
Tax Relief
A tireless NC FReeper. She helped this little fledgling FReeper find her way in the big FReep world. Through tirelessly organizing protests and get togethers here in NC, we were a Red State yet again. Always fun, and a great go between in the frequent NC FReeper disagreements, Tax Relief has done more than any other FReeper I know of for Citizen of the Year.
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PUBLIC SERVANT - The annual Free Republic Network "Public Servant" Eagle Award is given to the individual in public service who through their work and efforts during the awards year have demonstrated perseverance and courage in adhering to constitutional ideals in the operation of government.
John Ashcroft
Attorney General Ashcroft held fast through the tumultuous years of the first Bush term. Attacked when he was nominated by the President, attacked during confirmation hearings, and attacked all throughout his tenure in the most difficult period of post 9-11 America, John Ashcroft held firmly and courageously to the principles of conservatism. With the brilliant assistance of other conservative associates in the AG’s office, he developed a comprehensive security plan that could pass muster in a largely liberal leaning Senate. From its inception this plan - USA PATRIOT Act - organizations from the conservative Gun Owners of America to the extremely liberal American Civil Liberties Union have criticized the plan as being too careless of individual rights. In fact, the statutes enacted under the Act merely extend what can be done with organized crime to the terrorists who live among us.
Not content to protect American lives from terror within our borders, AG Ashcroft mounted an assault against child pornography. For the first time in history, the AG's office moved with deliberate action against child pornography and those who promote and distribute this pernicious form of child abuse internationally. Again, so called civil libertarians attacked him for interfering in the private dealings of citizens and again he held firmly to the principles upon which this nation were founded: Judeo-Christian principles.
In summary, John Ashcroft has shown a willingness to endure angry criticism from a whole host of organizations and individuals from the far right to the far left in his mission to protect American citizens from terrorist violence and child pornography. These two remarkable accomplishments during his short 3 and a half year term demonstrate that he is deserving of accolades from Free Republic.
President Bush
President Bush-has done a superior job of upholding the ideals upon which this nation was founded. He had been steadfast in the war on terror and has ensured that the battle has taken place on the enemy’s home turf instead of in America. Because of President Bush’s efforts, the US Military has been able to continue its relentless pursuit of Islamic extremists. His reelection campaign challenged America to stand tall in the world and avoid the irrelevance of France and the UN. His efforts to reduce taxes, support traditional marriage, support our American heritage and value system and protect our country, qualify him for Eagle Award
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush for being active in the Terry Schivio case and for representing conservative issues.
Zell Miller
The Honorable Zell Miller had the courage to speak up as to what had become of his Democrat Party. He was not afraid of bucking his party to stand up for the right things. In doing so, he earned the contempt of his lifelong party and the left-wing media in the process. He is an articulate reminder of the fact that conservatism isn't just limited to one wing of the GOP, or even the entire GOP, but is shared by good, thinking people everywhere.
Tom Ridge
Homeland Secretary Tom Ridge for organization of the new Department of Homeland Security
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld has displayed continued, excellent leadership in the face constant criticism regarding the Iraqi theater of the war on Terror. He is a no-nonsense conservative with a deep belief in free enterprise and human goodness. He has unselfishly served the United States.
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), for his tireless battle to educate his colleagues and the public about the insanity of unchecked illegal immigration.
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MEDIA - The annual Free Republic Network "Media" Eagle Award is given to the media individual or organization that during the awards year has demonstrated a high level of consistency, truth and balance in presenting the news to the American public.
Britt Hume and Fox News
Special Reports is a nightly newscast that tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Hume gave important coverage to the Swift Vets when no one on TV was talking about them.
Fox News is the fairest news-reporting network of those available; and they make an effort to report on both sides of political issues.
The Empire Journal
The Empire Journal has consistently defended the U.S. Constitution through investigative journalism, commentary, and sponsoring The Rally To Rein In The Judges.
Through their efforts they have educated not only New Yorkers to the importance of fighting for the Constitution, but have reached all other 49 states.
They have heightened the awareness of Judges disobeying the law regarding the oath of allegiance to the Constitution. In addition, they finely tuned awareness to the plight of those who speak out against government wrong doing, particularly with Terri Schiavo and Bliss Alexandra.
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt - (Salem Radio Network) for spreading the highest quality information on topics political while doing a very entertaining show to boot. Hugh is taking Minnesota by storm!
Lee Rodgers & Melanie Morgan Show
The Lee Rodgers & Melanie Morgan Program, Hot Talk Radio KSFO in San Francisco with Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, and Officer Vic (Tom Benner), as well as frequent and able substitute Brian Sussman.
The show has been aggressive and steadfast in promoting conservative thought, and has been thoughtful enough to avoid being knee-jerk Republican operatives they don’t agree with the President and his associates.
It encourages people to think their way through the realities and the options. Lee Rodgers has a way of brilliantly cutting through the liberal spin.
Melanie Morgan is a formidable conservative rock in the SF Bay Area sea of political correctness. She speaks for many causes, recently for the American Indians for Accountability to help fight the plague of gambling being pushed on our state.
Their program was instrumental in rallying people to the Capitol to get MTBE taken out of the gasoline in California. And also on the first anniversary of 9-11 hosting the Giant Flag display in Alameda.
OV cuts through the BS with some key and humorous insights. Brian shows how media pre-conditioning can be overcome with logic, reason and humanity. They bring on excellent guests and actually let them talk!
They show perseverance in a liberal market, and their unflagging support for conservative thought, whether or not it supports the Bush administration.
Michael Dobbs
Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post - Certain reporters in the mainstream media should be recognized for outstanding work that they do. Dobbs is a lawyer like, fact driven reporter who one can count on for a non-biased view.
His coverage of the Swift Vets, Kerry's Vietnam Service and Bush's National Guard service was the best coverage of these controversial events that I saw anywhere in any media.
Professor Mike Adams
Professor Mike Adams for exposing the educational bias and dishonesty throughout in the UNC system in his weekly column.
NY Daily News
The NY Daily News, for growing up and standing behind President Bush regarding the War Against Terrorists (although still holding on to their knee-jerk liberal domestic policies). The editorial page has been a steady, staunch supporter of the President and the war -- even to the point of endorsing President Bush's re-election because of that. The editorial board seems to have grown up since 9/11, and has risked steady condemnation from many longtime readers who feel betrayed by the paper's endorsement of Bush and the war.
Ollie North
His stories from Iraq and on War Stories are supportive of our troops
PowerLine Blog
For detailed reporting and analysis during the presidential campaigns and during election day; for their quick reporting, analysis and summation of the RatherGate Memo controversy; and for continuous and complete reporting of the Ukrainian election crisis, including many personal reports from Ukrainian bloggers.
Roger Hedgecock
For his great conservative influence in talk radio, in his own right and substituting for Rush Limbaugh on many occasions.
Rush Limbaugh
Not only has he consistently assisted our cause by pointing out the fallacies of the left, but he kept many of us sane throughout the campaign. He was also instrumental in getting Dashell voted out of office
Thomas Lipscomb
For his never ending pursuit of the truth about Hanoi Kerry. Some main stream right wing media made an attempt to find out. But unlike them, in the final days of the election process, he played offence instead of defense regarding the “missing” 360 tons of explosives. Main Stream right wing media should have listened to Thomas Lipscomb who didn’t back off.
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FREEPER OF THE YEAR - The annual Free Republic Network "FReeper of the Year" Eagle Award is given to the individual or group, affiliated with any Free Republic organization, whose dedication and service during the awards year have significantly advanced the ideals and goals of the principles upon which the Free Republic was established.
The Canteen
The members of the Canteen deserve Freeper of the Year for their tireless efforts and inexhaustible enthusiasm in support of our American soldiers, deployed and serving stateside. They're like a virtual USO/Red Cross. They entertain the troops with their threads, send care packages, keep us updated on how the troops are doing, and support the troops in whatever ways they're able. Day in and say out they do a tremendous amount of work in support to those of us in uniform and many a soldier's welfare has improved, because of the support received from the Canteen.
The DC Chapter
Many significant events took place in Washington DC and the DC Chapter was up for that challenge. From the Reagan Funeral to the "Jersey Girl" hearings, we could anticipate an after-action report complete with photos documenting how members of this intrepid chapter, sometimes in costume, were on-scene driving home our message with style, panache and national impact. More than once they made the national news, most notably getting Bob Kerrey’s goat on camera. As host chapter, they organize events appropriate to DC in service to Free Republic such as the W2 Inaugural Ball and the Navy Memorial defense.
Interesting Times
Interesting Times was a pivotal player in the crushing defeat of John Kerry in the recent Presidential Election and he worked closely with the Swift Boat Vets in getting truth out about Kerry's traitorous Vietnam anti-war activities.
The Kerry campaign had hoped to flush John Kerry’s earlier anti-war, anti-American and anti-military screed put forth in his book “The New Soldier” down the memory hole. However, in late January of 2004, Scott Swett [“Interesting Times” and Free Republic Network Board Chairman] recognized how devastating this book would be to Kerry’s campaign and set about obtaining a rare copy on Ebay. Interesting Times then volunteered to set up and manage a website dedicated to the organization, archiving and investigating this critical period of John Kerry's anti-war history. Scott proposed that the FRN sponsor his “WinterSoldier.com” website and project and he then committed the next ten months of his life creating, maintaining and updating the site and working closely with the efforts of the Swift Vet Boats in exposing the truth about Kerry and derailing his campaign.
Scott researched, obtained and centralized for the public an overwhelming amount of documentation illustrating Kerry's involvement with the communist sponsored and supported Vietnam Veterans Against the War, including over 27 thousand pages of FBI files. WinterSoldier.com has been referenced extensively by writers and researchers during the ’04 campaign, in the print media as well as on the radio and television. Because of the caliber of his work on the website and his dedication, Interesting Times was approached by John O’Neill and the Swift Boat Vets and asked if they could join forces. Scott Swett and fellow FReeper Nick Danger worked closely with John and his group throughout the election. It was a formidable tag team, bolstered by the supporting efforts of veterans and FReepers everywhere.
Scott also worked intimately with Kerry historians including Jerry Corsi, co-author of Unfit for Command and contributor to wintersoldier.com, New York Sun writer Thomas Lipscomb and numerous other researchers and journalists to help bring light to Kerry's role in the Vietnam Anti-War Movement. He met frequently with a hostile media and never lost his cool or got off message.
Scott Swett is the epitome of a Free Republic activist. He saw something that needed to be done, took the bull by the horns and made a difference in the 2004 election. He showed tremendous class by keeping the focus on his message, not on him. In fact, Scott is a private person and went way out of his comfort zone to achieve his objectives. He made tremendous personal and financial sacrifices and for that, we are very thankful.
Kristinn
I'd like to nominate FReeper kristinn (Kristinn Taylor of the DC Chapter) for FReeper of the year. He and the DC Chapter pursued/coordinated activism in the region where Republicans are extremely outnumbered and gained media attention through cspan and FOX.
Rabid Dog
Rabid Dog has taken the tiger by the tail and is swinging away in the Southern Central Coast of CA. She has organized and herded cats with success when it comes to putting like minded freepers and non-freepers on street corners. In the last six months alone she has organized a Support Our Troops/March Against Terror rally, created the “Veterans and Citizens for Truth” to counter the “Veterans Against the War” when they put hundreds of crosses on college campus’s and wore a Burka in her counter Freep of the “Veterans for Peace” at Santa Barbara City College. Earlier in the year she helped organize Freepers attending the Reagan funeral, then helped sponsor a Freeper Reagan Library tour complete with an afternoon get together at her house. She pushed the lethargic Republican party in Ventura Co. to victory with weekly e-mail updates. She keeps pressure on her local paper for it's unbalanced reporting and editorial pages. She monitors liberal activities on local campuses and calls others to action when needed. She is a professional on all levels. She makes sure that our side, the 'other side', is heard.
Tax Relief
TR has worked tireless throughout the year in on-line organization, activism and investigative Freeperism. TR co-leads the Old North State Chapter (NC), one of the top three state boards, and the NC Ping List. TR's investigative work contributed to breakthroughs in Rathergate, the Terry Schiavo case, the DC Sniper and the Baltimore arson case, among others. TR has one of the keenest minds on the web, and FR is TR's blog of choice. TR's activism has included organizing the Fayetteville FReep for the troops, various collaborations with the DC Chapter (SwiftBoats, WhoopieGate, etc.) and the Hurricane aborted UNC Wilmington Freep - to be rescheduled. TR is also active on the NC GOP Executive Committee, is a precinct supervisor and a regular at CPAC. TR worked hard in supporting conservative candidates this past election. TR is raising three great conservative kids, who have worked on campaigns, attended CPAC and YAF events, and organized their classmates in conservative activities.
TrueBlackMan
TrueBlackMan maintains a very important voice in the community and does a lot of TV & radio work promoting the conservative cause. He is also very involved with local FReeper events.
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POSTER OF THE YEAR - The annual Free Republic Network "Poster of the Year" Eagle Award is given to an individual who had during the awards year either through their tireless efforts brought many informative posts to the forum, or had contributed a single or series of posts that resulted in a significant positive outcome that reflected favorably on the forum.
68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub has been tireless in his efforts in keeping the FReeper Canteen open for business. He has mastered the art form of low key encouragement among posters and makes sure that the Canteen is a welcoming spot for all comers - military or not.
He was also instrumental in making sure there was always an ongoing beacon of truth on FreeRepublic Forum regarding the traitor John Kerry. His posts were concise, to the point, very informative and not prone to hyperbole. He was determined that John Kerry would be defeated in his Presidential run and with the same steely grit will do his best to remove him from the Senate.
68-69 TonkinGulfYachtClub personifies FReeRepublic and conservatism. He is a combination of Service, Leadership, Compassion and Determination. He is dedicated to fighting the good fight and serves as a role model to many.
Billie
I would like to nominate Billie for her faithful work at The Finest. She donates ALOT of time to building beautiful openers and working the thread as a hostess. She has also given a lot of her time in teaching others the wonderful HTML skills that she knows.
She has brought attention and respect to the military through special posts made for the military and the Military Prayer List that she and others post daily at the Finest. She has been doing this sort of thing at FreeRepublic for years now. Billie deserves to be recognized and rewarded for her hard work and dedication.
Buckhead & Tanker KC
In history, timing can be everything. Buckhead and Tanker KC were first to ring the fraud bell on the Dan Rather/60 Minutes Bush memos and helped kick off a chain of events heard around the world. Representing typical FReeper scrutiny of Old News Media reporting, the reverberations extended beyond the Free Republic Forum and helped spotlight the internet as a new source for truth...the New Media.
As the story and related threads developed, CBS and Dan Rather began an audacious defense of their use of the memos. FReepers responded with a vigorous pursuit of the facts and an all out effort to make sure the word got out to as many different news and internet sources as possible. The Old Media declared unspoken war. As one nomination for Buckhead pointed out “Rather went on the air and called us all a bunch of "partisan political operatives. CBS executive Jonathan Klein followed that with “You couldn’t have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of checks and balances (at CBS News) and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.” So now we proudly call ourselves Pajamahadeen. It feels like that word has always been around, but actually it was created because of the response to Memogate.”
Buckhead and Tanker KC represent all good, faithful FReepers in that they questioned the story that was being presented and were willing to explore options not readily apparent to the rest of the world. This scrutiny occurs everyday on the forum and their fateful posts are a reminder of how individual thought and action can have a significant impact on world events. As one nomination for TankerKC mentioned, “if he hadn’t pointed out the non-standard military format of the memos, I don’t know if their authenticity would have ever been questioned”. TankerKC’s observations coupled with Buckhead’s comments on the font and proportional spacing galvanized many FReepers to action and the rest is history!
Dales
Dales for his ECB updates and poll analysis. Gerry Dales provided weekly updates of state polling data that proved highly accurate at predicting shifts in Public Opinion and the results of the election.
Godzilla
I'd like to nominate GODZILLA for his often daily Terror Reports that he posts in the Threat Matrix. Much of the information he posts is a gathering of all the latest intelligence on the War on Terrorism and he organizes it for Freepers to easily read.
IPWGOP
IPWGOP’s wonderful illustrations have enhanced the atmosphere of this website both intellectually and creatively.
JohnHuang2
JohnHuang 2’s timely breaking news posts and political interest articles serve as a backbone to FReeRepublic. If it weren’t for people like JohnHuang2, FReeRepublic wouldn’t be the news dissemination site that it is today. John also contributes an excellent weekly essay column entitled “Two Cents” that skewers the left and morons in general and is enjoyed by many on the Forum.
Kattracks
I would like nominate kattracks for her/their hard work and steadfast devotion in posting the most interesting and thought provoking articles on a day to day, seven days a week, 365 days a year basis. I think it is individuals like Kattracks that represent all of the great article posters on FR without which there would be no opportunity for a Buckhead or TankerKC to change the world
Patriciaruth
For her efforts in behalf of our troops.
Ragtime Cowgirl
I nominate the FReeper Ragtime Cowgirl as poster of the year. Although she craves quiet anonymity her actions and perseverance are worthy of recognition and reward. Her self appointed task was to bring to the attention of Free Republic and the world the Good News from the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq that was suppressed by the Main Stream Media. She performed this task daily by sorting through the briefings from various military sources, official and nonofficial, and posting the news to Free Republic.
I had the opportunity to work with her as an assistant who took her specially prepared weekly Good News briefing and using the fairpress.org mail resources, forwarded this digest of important news to the 800 newspapers and 75 talk radio shows on the list. She sent the same pieces to other lists as well. She developed a following in Iraq and received news direct from the source that was passed along to those who visit Free Republic every day.
In my view she represents the essence of Free Republic. Although she is just an ordinary, common, everyday person, she was able to use bring computer and Free Republic resources to bear on what she perceived as a problem in need of a solution. While shunning limelight and any recognition, she diligently worked for months on end with a bear minimum of resources to get out the message being hidden by the media.
Salvation
In the Religion Forum, freeper 'Salvation' is a dedicated and devoted servant of God. Each day, for the past several years, she posts the Daily Mass Readings. She bumps her own thread with additional information on the Saint of the Day, as well as additional inspirational and spiritual quotes and prayers, pertinent to "each" day.
Salvation maintains a ping list that has grown extensively over the years. Oftentimes, we never know who reads our postings but on several occasions, when her posts were delayed, she received freepmail from others who were concerned about her, admitting that they were devoted fans of her daily postings.
Salvation, over the past two years, has had several hospital procedures that might have prevented her from maintaining her daily postings. On each occasion, she has asked several of us beforehand, if we could post the readings for her or, recently, ping her list which she left home when visiting out-of-state family.
Earlier this year, Jim Robinson assigned a Moderator to the Religion Forum when some topics led to heated and angry debates. The Moderator, not a Catholic, was sufficiently impressed by Salvation's daily postings that he began posting a similar thread for the Protestants. One of the 'traditional' Catholics also followed her example and began posting a 'Sunday only' thread of traditional Mass Readings.
Salvation is not contentious by nature and rarely posts negative feedback to others' threads. Where some topic is suitable to the member of her list, she will ping them to that thread. She is an inspiration to all of us!
It is indeed an honor to recommend Salvation, for her constancy, faith and devotion to providing all members of the Religion Forum, with the Daily Mass Readings. As an aside, were one to read these, on a daily basis, they will have read the entire Bible in the span of 3 years!
SJackson
Through both through a high-volume ping list and posting original articles, SJackson is THE source on all news re: the Middle East, especially terrorism and Israel. With S finding articles and pinging people, much of what's out there would never be brought to our attention.
writer33
His posts are very thoughtful and he has done much to get public recognition for FreeRepublic and himself on the Rush Limbaugh show.
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LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - The annual Free Republic Network "Lifetime Achievement" Eagle Award is given to the individual or group, affiliated with any Free Republic organization, who through their dedication and efforts over the years have significantly advanced the ideals and goals of the principles upon which the Free Republic was established.
Alamo Girl
We should never forget the debt we owe to Alamo Girl for her dedication and diligent hard work in compiling the Clinton Downside Legacy. It was FR at its best with many pitching in to bring information to Alamo_girl's attention for sorting and inclusion into the archives. FR was thereby early on shown to be a site without equal with the attention that came to it as a result of Alamo_girl's work "Alamo-Girl" deserves the Lifetime Achievement Eagle based on her level of contributions to the Free Republic Forum and the unselfish support that she gives other members.
Angelwood
Her contributions to FreeRepublic.com are legion. The time she's spent at the White House alone should qualify her for this award, but beyond that, she has dedicated countless hours, and probably great personal expense, to FreeRepublic.com. Angelwood is more than a weekend warrior, she's dedicated herself, almost full time, to FreeRepublic.com. I know her contributions were freely given, even when she was in physical pain, and even when she had personal family and career matters which she did not allow to distract her. I suspect Angelwood wouldn't want anyone to know the personal sacrifices she has made for FreeRepublic.com, but her stalwart dedication to our cause, should be recognized.
Exit148
Exit148 travels all over the eastern seaboard, most times alone, to attend and participate in FR events, and other conservative events. Exit148 is a gem!
Firebrand
Firebrand has worked hard to build the NY/Tristate Chapter into an effective activism unit. Fighting for constitutional rights is not an easy task in the New York or the Tri State area. The system is corrupt all the way up to Senate level and one can easily lose their job if caught as an activist. She has organized dozens of local Freeps for years, many times holding the torch alone or in small company. But most of all, she is the embodiment of Ronald Reagan's famous saying about “how much can get accomplished if nobody cares who gets the credit”. Preferring a low profile and eschewing media limelight and attention, she toils behind the scenes quietly protecting our rights and advancing the cause of conservatism. She has done more for the TriState Chapter and FR as a whole than most people will ever realize.
Free Republic Network
Since incorporating as a non profit organization in 2001, the FRN has advanced a serious, professional image of FR in DC and around the country. The FRN acts as the national representative for most FR Chapters and provides them with education, media and communication tools.
In partnership with the Leadership Institute it developed an activism seminar for FR Chapters. It has organized and hosted the FR booth at CPAC for the last five years, conducts the annual Freeper Cruise and hosted FR’s only national conference “FRiva Las Vegas” in 2002. It spearheaded the very successful, 200 event strong, “Rally for America” in 2003 and the “National March Against Terror” in 2004.
The FRN created the popular “Radio Free Republic” web radio program on which the recently launched “RIGHTALK.com” national webradio network was based and which now has 35 webcast partners with such luminaries as Paul Weyrich (Free Congress Foundation), Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform), Paul Rodriguez (Insights on Washington), and many others. During the 2004 election, it sponsored Scott Swett’s very important and successful “Wintersoldier.com” website project, which provided invaluable research and reference materials to the Swift Vets and writers such as Jerry Corsi and Tom Lipscomb.
The FRN has not only been successful in it's base mission to organize and assist FR street activism, but to also take that activism to new and higher levels of visibility and professionalism.
JohnHuang2
For years, JH2 has provided insightful commentary and thousands of interesting and critical news posts. He is a work horse for the Forum and his efforts should not go unappreciated.
Kristinn
For his activism and steadfast work in getting into the media with positive coverage for conservative issues.
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MILITARY/ACTIVE DUTY - The annual Free Republic Network "Military Active Duty" Eagle Award is given to an individual whose active military service on behalf of the United States of America cannot have ended prior to the awards year, who had during the awards year exhibited outstanding selfless dedication and exemplary service in that capacity.
Martywake
Martywake has been leading his troops in Mosul. Recently he was in the mess tent, going through chow line, when a massive explosion killed a number of our troops. Marty was one of the lucky ones.
He is still serving in Iraq. He forwarded the names of the men in his unit who don’t get support from home. More than 20 of the 27 troops, have already been adopted by members of the Puget Sound chapter. Here is a part of his letter to all Freepers.
I was in the chow hall when the blast detonated. I was headed toward the serving line when I saw a bright flash and heard the loud thump. The next thing I knew, I felt like someone had smacked me in the back of the head real hard, and kicked me in the side of my knee. Twenty-two brave Americans, four of our Iraqi brothers, and several innocent civilian employees fell that day. I weep for their families.
The leftists and the appeasers in our country will never understand the struggle that we face here. They only see the ugliness of the situation and use it for their political purposes. As for me, I saw the face of God that day. I saw the promise of the future of Iraq and the best that we, as a people can be.
Marty deserves this award.
Mystery-ak’s Husband Mike
Mystery-ak’s husband Mike has kept Freepers updated on guys at Walter Reed whom needed visitors, calling cards and other helpful things.
Old Sarge
Old Sarge has given us a daily look into the life of a National Guard soldier on assignment in Iraq.
Sergeant Rafael Peralta
As he lay dying, mortally wounded by enemy fire: a grenade was tossed into the midst of his fellow troops. Sergeant Rafael Peralta had the where with all to reach out and grab the grenade and tuck it under his stomach before it blew up. He gave his life to save his fellow troops.
Txradioguy
Txradioguy posted from Iraq during 2004. He helped Mystery-AK obtain information regarding her husband Mike, when he was stationed at Anaconda, and there was an attack there. He posts on the Canteen thread. He also reports for the armed forces media. His loyalty to the military as well as his brothers in arms is admirable.
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MILITARY/VETERANS - The annual Free Republic Network "Military Veteran" Eagle Award is given to a veteran of one of the branches of military service of the United States of America. They will have shown a continued adherence to their original oath of service conducting themselves in a manor befitting a member of the armed services and have demonstrated great leadership / outstanding character during the awards year.
68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
Tonk is well known on Free Republic as the lead person producing the Canteen, a military oriented haven on the forum. He is tireless in support of the military. Even though he is retired, he still helps out the United States Coast Guard though their volunteer auxiliary unit.
During the 2004 fall political season, Tonk kept the swift boat issue front and center in the Canteen. Above and beyond that, he kept an extensive ping list of people constantly updated on information pertaining to John Kerry, forwarding links and breaking news associated with the issues regarding the candidate and his military service.
Not only does he uphold everything that is good about the military as a Vietnam Vet, but he still supports active military members and leads by example, through his volunteer efforts in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Aloha Ronnie
Aloha Ronnie has been tireless in his efforts promoting veteran’s issues.
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye has been our man on the ground in Iraq for a little over a year and a half now. Working as a contractor, he is helping to better the lives of the Iraqi people.
His numerous reports from the Iraq war zone, have been excellent.
John O’Neill
John O’Neill was the most visible face of the Swift Boat vets. He committed to America and to our military, by joining with others to establish the Swift Boat Vets for Truth. He then followed through by being a gentleman even when the main stream media was yelling harsh words at him for being a role model. O’Neill lived up to his military oath and exhibited outstanding character in 2004.
USMCVietVet
USMCVietVet provided yeoman-like work during 2004. He tirelessly endeavored to expose John Kerry for the fraud that he was.
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COLLEGIATE - The annual Free Republic Network "Collegiate" Eagle Award is given to a student who had completed his or her twelfth grade level of education prior to the awards year. During the awards year they will have been enrolled in and attended college, have shown that they possess good character and an understanding of conservative values, and have exhibited the leadership skills that would help spread those traits across their peer community.
Amaury Gallais and the Berkeley College Republicans
I would like to nominate Amaury Gallais, past president of the Berkeley College Republicans and the Berkeley College Republicans.
He was president when Michelle Malkin came to UC Berkeley on Sept 8 2004 to speak upon the invitation of the BCR organization. I was there and watched while 75 anarchist type students screamed outside the room and banged on the door to keep Malkin's message from being heard. She gave a great speech and he and the BCR's are doing good things for the good of our Constitutional Republic.
In speaking about Michelle Malkin, Amoury Gallais said “I do agree with her point on racial profiling,” said Amaury Gallais, president of BCR. “It’s a very important practice that we need to put in place in order to improve our national security.”
He is now the editor of a patriotic on line newspaper, the California Patriot Online.
Bstein80
Bstein80, Brendan Steinhauser, is the author of an incredible book aimed at college students called “The Conservative Revolution - How to Win the Battle for College Campuses”. He is the former Executive Director of The Young Conservatives of Texas at UT-Austin. Brendan and his group received national media attention with their very successful Support the Troop rally(s). His book is filled with practical suggestions on how to further the conservative movement on campuses and is one I will be using on the campus of our local college as we set up a chapter of Students for Academic Freedom. He mentions the good work of FreeRepublic.com several times in his book.
El Conservador
I'd like to nominate El Conservador for the collegiate freeper award. He's a civil engineering student, emigrated from Colombia and stands tough for conservative ideals including opposition to illegal immigrants.
Evan Baehr
I would like to nominate Evan Baehr, of Princeton, in the collegiate category. He is an undergraduate senior, and the former editor of The Tory, the conservative student publication. He started the Princeton Chapter of Students for Academic Freedom, because, he says, it will help "at risk" conservatives "preserve and protect the belief system they brought to the University." He is president of the College Republicans, and also ran for municipal office in the Borough of Princeton, NJ, and worked in the Bush White House during the summer of 2004, in the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
General Havoc
General Havoc (Chris Lilik) was tireless in his support of Congressman Pat Toomey in his challenge to Arlen Specter. From his blogging, going door to door, letter writing, meeting organizing, worker motivating activities. He was instrumental in putting together a huge grassroots effort that (damn it) nearly defeated a 4 term US Senator who had the help of another US Senator, the President himself, and a $15 Million Dollar war chest.
Since the campaign, he has also started Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania (YCOP).
jmstein7
Jonathan Stein deserves the Collegiate Eagle award for all the great things he did during 2004.
Working with the Free Republic Network, he researched and submitted two ethics Complaints to the Senate Ethics committee, one concerning the seditious Intelligence Committee memos and one against John Kerry accepting a Senate salary while campaigning. He also filed a FTC complaint against the New York Times, and FEC complaint regarding misleading DNC ads and a House Ethics complaint against Carol Mostly Fraud.
He produced several scathing anti-Kerry television commercials that were run on cable TV as well as the web. He organized many FR Forum email/petition drives including calling for censure of Nancy Pelosi. He organized and/or participated in several Freeps around New York including one at the "Today Show" ("Don't Believe the Mainstream Media”), the ABA, the State Bar Association, Vietnam Vets Against Kerry, “Communists for Kerry” and many one man Freeps of DNC goons.
During the campaign, Jonathan was active in anti-fraud activities and voter registration drives. He wrote many articles appearing in well-known publications including the Washington Times, Washington Post, NewsMax and Front Page Magazine.
Jonathan Stein is a Law School student and an “Eagle” on a mission.
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FALCON - The annual Free Republic Network "Falcon of the Year" Eagle Award is given to a young person who was working on his or her first twelve years of education during the awards year. During the awards year they will have shown that they possessed good character and an understanding of conservative values, and have exhibited the early leadership skills that would help spread these traits across their peer community
Daughteroftgsl
She has been a young Freeper since November 2000, when she asked her mother to take her with her when she would go to the Naval Observatory for the Gore Wars Freeps; and she hasn't stopped yet. She helps her mom to make signs, MOABs, goes on the Freeper road trips, has attended practically every DC Chapter Freep that doesn't conflict with her school schedule. And she has been active in her school to win over her young friends to the conservative side of the political spectrum.
Minor49er
Minor49er is 14 years old and is active in the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, where she is a member of the Color Guard. This past summer she completed Sea Cadet Basic Training (boot camp) at Camp Smith, NY, and participated in a bio-decontamination exercise in preparation for a terrorist attack at the Republican National Convention. Along with her Sea Cadet unit, Minor also participated in a food drive organized by the local Army National Guard unit.
She is an active poster on Free Republic and has for the past year and a half posted the Joke of the Day (her daily attempt at humor as she calls it) on the Canteen. Minor has organized donations for the troops in Iraq, and she has served as an assistant den leader for the local Cub Scout troop.
Minor is also taking a full honors curriculum in high school and maintains an "A" average. Minor has consistently demonstrated a love of country, a sense of duty, and a commitment to conservative values, and I believe she is a strong candidate for Falcon of the Year.
NikkiUSA
NikkiUSA has been a freeper for several years now, she started when she was just ten years old. She is a wonderful role model for young people and is an inspiration to us all. She is very involved in supporting the troops in both words and deed and has been honored by several veteran’s groups and has been invited to the White House. She travels frequently to attend Support the Troop rallies and maintains her own webpage which I stronbgly urge you to visit, prior to voting in this category, at .
TaxDeduction1
TD1 turned heads at CPAC last year when she caused a startled Ann Counter to remark (I'm paraphrasing - I can check the tape for the actual quote) "If there are more 15 year olds like you, this country has nothing to worry about." As a 13-year-old, TD1 wrote Hillary to ask why she was trying to implement socialism and authored a paper on the economic evils of taxes.
As a 15-year-old, TD1 is active in YAF, having attended the DC HS Leadership Conference, their West Coast Leadership Conference and a seminar at the Jesse Helms Center in NC. TD1 was a grassroots volunteer on the W04 campaign, working door to door and on the phone banks. TD1 organized a group of fellow HSers to attend the president's last trip to Charlotte during the 04 campaign. During the Dixie Classic fair this fall, TD1 stunned the Forsyth County Democratic Party Chair and Vice Chair when she asked innocently whether John Kerry supported women's rights, and when they answered asked whether they thought it was good that women now had the ability to vote in Afghanistan.
Tim Buhler
Tim has been profiled on Fox News, and has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor. He has been interviewed on numerous radio stations around the country, from California to Florida, and the Conservative Club has been discussed by many shows, including the Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage programs.
Faced with increasing hostility and censorship from school officials, and responding to positive inquiries from all over the nation, Tim became founder and president of the High School Conservative Clubs of America, an organization that seeks to start Conservative Clubs in high schools around the country.
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MEMORIAL EAGLES - This honor is conferred upon individuals who have passed from us during the awards year, but whose dedication, commitment and contributions to the conservative cause will always be cherished and their memory honored. No voting necessary for Memerial Eagles, they are automatic after passing Committee scrutiny.
Ahadams2
There are Freepers who lurk, make random comments and tend to just watch. Then there are those who see the enormous potential of this forum to bring people together, provide information and generate activism. Arlin Adams fell into the later category. His tireless efforts to keep his own special interest group of traditional Anglicans informed provided even greater value to Free Republic.
Ahadams2 was a member of the Episcopal Church. His Anglican ping list focused mainly upon issues of concern within this church. They were also reflective of the larger issues confronting our culture. When a society loses its center, it tends to float aimlessly, believing in anything at all and seldom in anything good. It is the duty of conservatives in every area of thought to work to bring things back into balance. That is just what Arlin worked to achieve.
With his usual sense of humor, this quite from his last post, delivered only hours before he died, demonstrates his cheerfulness and his commitment at the same time: “I dunno what’s more fun, watching leftists be hysterical or watching them sit around with their gears jammed…”
His mission has been ably picked up by Sionsar and it is a tribute to Arlin’s impact that the Anglican Ping continues to be extremely active. The good that we do, truly lives on after us.
The Memorial Eagle award would be a fitting tribute to one who became a friend to, and is sorely missed by many of us.
Harpseal
Harpseal was well known on Free Republic, having consistently participated on the forum for over five years. He was at the forefront of every ‘free trade’ discussion. His other interests centered around conservative values, with specific focus on 2nd amendment, immigration and military matters. He eloquently expressed his views on the forum and will be sorely missed.
LBGA
LBGA was a tireless worker on the streets during the Clinton impeachment. She was a nice person to work with. We will miss her greatly, both on the street and her contributions to the forum.
Militiaman7
Though he lived in Roanoke, Virginia, Militiaman7 didn’t hesitate to drive many hours within Virginia and to travel to Washington, D. C. to support our goals at many Free Republic sponsored events. He also worked tirelessly to keep politicians honest and Freeped Mark Warner bigtime during the last election for governor in Virginia.
We will miss him very much.
RjayneJ
Some people come to Free Republic to make a mark of their own. RjayneJ came to Free Republic to acknowledge the special nature of others. By enlisting the help of new friends on the forum, she spread that remarkable desire to more people. In so doing, she was unable to avoid making a very sweet mark of her own on the forum.
Many Freepers have been uplifted to find their thoughts recognized by someone, as meriting special recognition. Those that did never forgot that RjayneJ was the person who cared enough to set up a site and herald those thoughts.
RjayneJ, we will miss your thoughtful nature.
Ronald Wilson Reagan
40th President of the Republic of the United States of America
During 2004, President Reagan lost his long battle with Alzheimer’s. The Free Republic Network thought it fitting that he be recognized along side so many other people who shared his passion for conservatism.
When we take a moment to remember Freepers who have gone before us, we will be reminded that one of the greatest Presidents of the United States, shared many values, which make Freepers what they are.
Sultan88
Sultan88 was a gentleman, a kind kindred spirit. A man, who encouraged me as an international Freeper without telling me of his illness. Mudboyslim would tell you of his involvement in Virginian meet ups. He is sadly, sadly missed, and MUST be considered. I miss Greg’s great kindnesses. His death gutted me...a girl living across an ocean. His influence was quiet, but profound.
Bump! Last 48 hours to get your vote in!
2. Register by inserting your email address (This is to help prevent multiple voting and fraud).
We're not DEMOCRATS!
bttt
2004 Free Republic Eagle Awards
Instructions;
1. Go to
http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/voterregistration.html
2. Register by inserting your address
(This is to help prevent multiple voting and fraud).
3. A link to the vote site will be sent to you.
4. Review the Voters Guide
5. Using a #2 pencil,
completely fill in the oval next your candidate
on your computer screen
(for Darwin Award Nominees)
6. Forward your votes.
7. Voting will be open for one week and
close at Midnight ET on Sunday January 9.
8. Votes will be certified and winners announced
Monday January 10 at 6pm ET.
IF you encounter any voting problems FReep mail Nick Danger
PS Check your junk mail 1st
Many e-mails, such as hotmail, send it to the junk mail folder
Is there a list of past winners somewhere?
Also, some people may have multiple names/e-mail addresses, so I hope the ISPs are crosschecked to prevent ballot stuffing. Not that anyone would DO that or anything. :-)
How long does it take to get the link? I have been waiting for at least 20 minutes. I am checking my junk mail folder, too.
There are problems sometimes.
Let us know if you get it to work.
Ping to the webmaster, can you help?
From 2002, Nominees and winners.
Public Servant
****Donald Rumsfeld****
George W. Bush
Rudy Guiliani
Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR)
Rep. Tom Tancredo (CO)
Rep. Ron Paul (TX)
Private Citizen
Franklin Graham
Bernard Goldberg
****David Horowitz****
Ward Connerly
Mark Levin
Gary Aldrich
Jesse Lee Peterson
Media
Sean Hannity
****Rush Limbaugh****
Jim Quinn
Peggy Noonan
Bill O'Reilly
Chapter of the Year
Tri-state/NewYork
****Washington DC****
Fresno/Central Valley
Arizona
Best New Chapter
****CCRM (Media Bias)****
Chicagoland
Freeper of the Year
Lurker No More!
diogenesis
****Jeff Head****
Dittomom
Dave Dilegge
countrydummy
AuntB
Lifetime Achievement Award
****John Robinson****
Bob J
BadJoe
RJayneJ
Memorial Eagles go to:
BCM-Battlion Chief Moran
BKO- Barbara Olson
Chief Negotiator
Rick Riscorla
LTC Jerry Dickerson, US Army
Thanks, Bob. I appreciate it.
Nick Danger was kind enough to send me the link, and I have officially voted.
What difficult decisions -- all the candidates were simply fantastic!
Thank you for your help.
It worked fine for me. I voted earlier. This is a great idea, thanks.
Big ole BTTT!!!!
BTTT!
Voting today until midnight Sunday night January 9th???? Just want to doublecheck. Thanks, floriduh voter
LAST DAY EAGLE BUMP!
Voting ends TODAY at
Midnight EST
11 PM CST
10 PM MST
9 PM PST
8 PM AKST
7 PM HAST
2004 Free Republic Eagle Awards
Instructions;
1. Go to
http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/voterregistration.html
2. Register by inserting your address
(This is to help prevent multiple voting and fraud).
3. A link to the vote site will be sent to you.
4. Review the Voters Guide
5. Using a #2 pencil,
completely fill in the oval next your candidate
on your computer screen
(for Darwin Award Nominees)
6. Forward your votes.
7. Voting will be open for one week and
close at Midnight ET on Sunday January 9.
8. Votes will be certified and winners announced
Monday January 10 at 6pm ET.
IF you encounter any voting problems FReep mail Nick Danger
PS Check your junk mail 1st
Many e-mails, such as hotmail, send it to the junk mail folder
Thanks for the reminder to vote, Tonkin.
Just to look over the nominations reminds us that there are a lot of folks who are very active and deserving of these honors.
I voted. Has everyone else?
If not, it's painless. Please do it, today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.