Official Free Republic W2 Inaugural Ball Reports and Photos Thread (Post 'em Here!)

Saturday, January 22, 2005 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

The Free Republic W2 Inaugural Ball was a wonderful, but exhausting time. I'm still wiped out. But, I know folks are waiting for pics and stories. I'll add my observations later, but I wanted to share one thing before I head back to the hotel to see 'Governor' Robinson and his family off.

We received a phone call from the White House yesterday. The Office of Presidential Scheduling called to pass along President Bush's regrets for not being able to attend our ball (we had mailed a formal invitation to him and his family.) We were told, "He hopes it went well."

As it turns out, the ball went really well after a late start.

Governor Huckabee and Capitol Offense rocked the house well past midnight. Impressionist Billy Finch did a wonderful job as Ray Charles singing America the Beautiful. Sauropod's video presentaion was stunning. The speeches by the Iraqis were very moving. WMAL's Michael Graham did a great job opening the show. Nick Danger was excellent emceeing the Eagle Awards. The St. John's College High School JROTC were magnificent presenting the colors. Richard Poe was busy all night signing copies of Hillary's Secret War. Seeking the Truth and his wife, Darlie, couldn't take a break--their 0Cents.com merchandise was very popular.

Thanks to all for their hard work making sure the ball went so well. And a special thanks to the active duty service members from Walter Reed and the Pentagon, as well as the veterans, who accepted our invitations as honored guests to the ball.

Please post your reports and photos or links here. I know alot of folks are traveling home, so check back over the next few day as folks check back in on FR.

[The Mayor]

BTTT!

[meowmeow]

And to those of you who brought your children, they were all adorable! All those little ball gowns and suits were delightful and added a nice touch to the festivities. Thanks for bringing them! We were especially impressed with a little girl wearing a black and white gown who was operating her family video camera like a seasoned pro.

[RaceBannon]

LOL!

Al Franken!!

I met him at the Ann Coulter debate.

[EggsAckley]

Thanks for the link!

[sully777]

Al Franken smiling on the Free Republic. Did you tell him that he would be featured?

It says something about you and your wife that no matter how many people you meet, you have them smiling. You both must be great people/

[snopercod]

Once again, your server is blocking access to the photos you posted.

[BillF]

It MAY be your firewall that is blocking display of the photos. Try temporarily closing the firewall (Zone Alarm) and you may see the photos.

[snopercod]

I forgot to mention, I'm using Firefox 1.0. It doesn't seem like that should make a difference, but I get the same "FORBIDDEN" messages as I mentioned on the other thread.

I just tried IE, and got big red "X"s there, too.

[TASMANIANRED]

Bump.

[MEG33]

I had to turn off Norton..someone else, zone alarm, to see.

[TASMANIANRED]

A guy named Navy Doc signed up last night. He was with a medical crew working the parade route.

He was very complimentary about the FReepers he met while working.

Good work kristinn, you are a fine ambassador. Compliments to
the fine people you had manning the stations as well.

[snopercod]

Thanks. I'm running Zone Alarm, so I'll fiddle with that.

I've never had ZA block a graphic, though...hmmm...

[deadhead]

The Freeper Ball was wonderful, we all had a great time. Here is a montage of jwalsh07 and his family at the Ball :-)

Thank You, Kristinn and all.

[Kaslin]

Unfortunately I can't see any of your pictures :-(

[Chick-with-a-brain]

Kristinn, my family and I really enjoyed the ball. Your program was terrific; it definitely inspired me to get more involved like I was back in the old impeachment days. My eight-year old was soaking up the program like a sponge. The girl who won the falcon award was especially impressive and such a role model.

We had to pry my daughter off of the dance floor sometime before midnight. We made our way to the metro and took it to the end of the redline home. Both our daughters fell asleep on the metro. We took pics with a throw-away camera (including the girls sleeping in their ball gowns on the metro). Will try to scan them in and post them later.

Thank you, thank you for all your hard work in making the ball such a success!

[snopercod]

I had to completely disable Zone Alarm to see gigantor's pictures. Very strange.

[MEG33]

When I turned Norton back on later and came back I could still see them..I am a computer dunce so I have no clue.

[RaceBannon]

Outstanding!!

[prairiebreeze]

It was a night to remember kristinn. Our thanks to all the DC Freepers who worked so hard, and everybody who pitched in to make the event happen.

[W04Man]

Congrats to Kristinn and his gang of helpers! Great Job with the Ball. I went to the Constitution Ball first and got to the FR Ball about 9:30 pm. Sorry I didn't get to talk to many of you, I just milled around and took a few pictures. I was able to give the Iraqi Candidate one of my Bush2004 pins for good luck. Here are a couple of my favorite pics:

Kristinn & his two "Vanna Whites"

The "Pajamahadeen" Gang

Here is a link to the rest of my pictures: http://ditch.dns2go.com/FReeRepublicBall/index.htm