Posted on 08/27/2002 4:40:53 AM PDT by BADJOE
It is time we take a new tack and see if we can heal our wounds. I hear by the grapevine that from this past weekend's discussions that JimRob has two black eyes and a broken arm. I have my head bandaged. I am missing one ear, and I have body bruises from top to bottom.
It was damn near like the old days wasn't it?
I am happy to report that while Willa never considered divorce, homicide did cross her mind a couple of times. The fact that I am writing this is hard evidence that she did not act on those impulses.
As I see it, there is a very simple easy way for all of FR's problems to go away. I have a comment to all parties involved and I will specifically address each of them.
The Free Republic is much bigger than any one man or woman. And it is too important for any dispute, regardless of what it is about to pull it down.
First let me clear one thing up. The next Freepathon would have been my last one regardless. It is too big a job for even me. Freepathons are the only time Willa and I exchange cross words with each other. I love all you guys, but she rubs my back, kisses me on my bald head and on occasion even cooks me dinner. (Except during a Freepathon. I damn near starved to death during the last one.)
In order of importance from least to most .
Badjoe: You are one cantankerous feisty old son of a gun. Usually mild mannered, reasonable, and all the good things, BUT when you think something needs to change you would run over your own grandmother to make it happen.
Other forums like Liberty Post, etc.: Guys you can't build yourself up by tearing the other guy down. Tout your own virtues. It is the only way you will reach the heights FR has. And believe me, I'd like to see 100 successful FR's. If there were a hundred of us none of our problems would exist. Competition cleans up the weak spots.
The DC Chapter: Thank you guys for calling me on the phone yesterday. It was very nice and very moving to speak with each of you personally. Please tear all the old pages out of your book in regard to the Free Republic Network. Neither you nor they will survive if you don't quit nursing old wounds. I have noticed that even when the Network folks say or do good things you react in ways I think are inappropriate. We really are all in this together. Let's please work to survive together. Thank you.
To the Network Board.: You are my friends. The wounds are deep between you and the DC chapter. Please don't say anything about them. At the moment even if you gave them a million dollars each they would think you have an ulterior motive. So please say nothing either way. A year from now you might be able to to have some communication.
To the Moderators: Oh my! I sincerely hope this whole post could make your jobs superfluous, as the Freepers take to heart what I will say to them, so that moderation is rarely if ever needed. I am sure you'd appreciate and like the vacation too. Would not it be nice if you could just Freep and when you occasionally came across an infraction, warn first, went back to Freeping, and checked in later to see if warning was heeded and then if necessary take the minimally possible action. Please let's try to keep our troops intact.
To the monthly donors who have cancelled: I sincerely hope you will consider reinstating your help. I know withdrawing your support is a very effective way of registering your disapproval.
To the monthly donors who have stayed on board: God bless you. FR needs you and can't survive without you.
To JimRob: You are just as damn cantankerous as I am. I sincerely hope you will post the new directions involved in our Saturday night August tenth agreement without the references to me. Apologize to the Freepers for any real or perceived injustices and ask them to hold your feet to the fire on the new directions from that agreement
To the Freepers: You are the most important of all. Without you there is no FR. I would like to see you all prick your finger and write in blood that you will argue all you want to without calling another Freeper a dumb Mofo, etc. If you find yourself in the position of not being able to carry the day in your discussion, or if another Freeper gets close to anger, just go away for a little while and come back to fight later. If you do this moderating will become unnecessary. We all will be free from fear. In the interest of healing these wounds please lay off the mods I singled out. Lay the blame on Jim and I for our failure to effectively communicate with each other. Jim and I have broad shoulders and are willing to carry the load.
I am going to post this first to the moderators through the abuse button to give them time to digest what I have written. This is to be a positive thread. I am requesting that they give an automatic one hour timeout to every Freeper, including JimRob for any inappropriate comment. You are capable criticizing with being abrasive.
I hope all the above folks I have directed my comments specifically to, post a general agreement to try to do what I have suggested. If you say you will, I will participate in the next fundraiser by just running the numbers and getting the necessary funds in. JR gets a copy of what I get without the credit card numbers. He can forward that info to a trusted Freeper volunteer to write thank you's, and to another trusted Freeper volunteer to post recognition of the donation on the fundraising thread or maybe one will do both. This will get FR past its current crisis, reduce the harsh words at Willa's and my house, and make everyone's job easier.
I don't know Fresno from adam.......sorry. So that horse 'don't run'.
And of course I know what parody is...and what the The Onion is. And I was SIMPLY stating that I thought his post was real. That does NOT indicate that I don't have a sense of humor....or a secret glee that he is gone. Nothing could be further from the truth.
No ulterior motives. No conspiracy. Just a statement of my opinion that *I* thought the statement was real.
No need to read more into MY comment than the actual words written. Ok?
They don't have any marbles, so they want to crush everybody else's.
Hush now, Louie. Common sense be damned! You couldn't get this much entertainment watching "Days of Our Lives". :)
But you're right, egotism is a driving force here.
Why do I get the feeling that "MizSterious" has never given a dime to help support FR?
These "notice me please" posts are getting old.
Mine too!
And a very sticky one at that.
One has only to view the list offered by Robinson, of the former "inmates" that wanted to run the asylum, or were engaged in egoism, or both. It is rare indeed these days to have a sustainable discussion here on FR, concerning world events.
Ok, had my say, will return to my burrow. Louie....
What is your idea of "constructive and substantive" that should be done about the policies. What exactly would open your pocketbook again?
To use their majority to enforce the rules of the Senate and allowing full evidence, thereby allowing the Senate to sit as judges as outlined in the Constitution. Instead, Lott and others, became concerned about collegial matters, and being percieved as mainstream (i.e., being in accord with generally popular opinion) and subsiquently minimalized themselves and those that had done the work in the House before them in the eyes of conservatives now and history later.
Keep in mind your original contention revolved around measuring the worth of voices against a supposed mainstream. While good government is a slow evolutionary process, (Hayek, Constitution of Liberty, Chapter 4)it is not a finger in the wind, and without those voices, me may well be such.
Lastly, worth determined primarily by who in the conservative cosmos someone supported in a contested election, is short sighted. Good politics is the Art of the Possible and that includes building concensis.
It seemed more like a dust-up between the CEO and CFO, between editor and publisher. And I'm glad it's resolved.
Inconsistency rarely accomplishes a goal and it didn't here. If nothing else comes of this "airing", I hope that there is less of a double standard/special treatment atmosphere. I have some doubts, given some of the things stated within this thread, but I am an optimist and always have hope.
After all, the donations come from all corners. I doubt the privileged are the only ones that give.
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