A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....01-18,19-03....Week in Review

Billie and Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders; tell a few jokes; learn a new word; write poetry; pray for those in need; and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997. I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog.
MIDDLE: Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son.
BOTTOM: JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon.
BOTTOM: Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband
poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son;
BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset);
WVNan's husband; ladtx Aunt Eva.

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

GROUP 1A: TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete MIDDLE: T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub BOTTOM: YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

GROUP 2A: TOP: Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE: 4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM: Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP: mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE: Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM: gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP: porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE: RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM: USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

GROUP 5A: TOP: spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68. MIDDLE: FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797. BOTTOM: usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack.

GROUP 6A: TOP: g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett. MIDDLE: fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick, Leroy S Mort, Mark17. BOTTOM: Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

GROUP 7A: TOP: ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam, dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony.BOTTOM: rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang.

GROUP 8A: TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx. MIDDLE: The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law. BOTTOM: deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

To Our FReeper FRiends: We hope you've been having as much fun as we have with our spotlight on various FReepers. We thought we'd kick back on the weekends and simply review those who've been featured during the week. If you missed seeing them and want to say hello to them now, feel free to click on the link to that particular thread. If you'd like to drop in and out of this thread today and tomorrow, please feel free to do that also. One of us will always be around to see the welcome mat is still out, and maybe even put fresh flowers on the table. :)

"Getting to Know You"

THIS WEEK'S THREADS


01-13-02 "Think Global, Shoot Local" ............TGSLTAKOMA
01-14-02 "Billie Presents..." ..............NAME THAT FREEPER
01-15-02 "In Her Own Write" .........................................PIPPIN
01-16-02 "John's Two Cents" ...........................JOHNHUANG2
"Trouble Brewing in (Workers')Paradise"
01-17-03 "Dansangel Presents..." .............ARMED FEMALES
AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT






Strangers are just friends waiting to happen

This is the day the Lord hath made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~ Mixer

[Mama_Bear]

[humblegunner]

Good morning!

[Support Free Republic]

Irate Soccer Fans Might Pelt You With Water Balloons If You Don't Donate!
	Donate Here By Secure Server Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD

[Mama_Bear]

Good Morning! Coffee's on.
Come in and make yourselves at home.

We don't want to be a nuisance......if you would like to be removed from (or added to) the Finest thread ping list, please FReepMail me.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Mama and all.

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning Everybody.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics J

Coffee & Donuts J

[Mama_Bear]

Morning! Gosh, you are here bright and early........well, I guess, not so bright and early since you're two hours ahead of me. It's still dark here.

Have a nice weekend. BTW, love your tagline. Very clever. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody !!

Have a cup while you FReep !

For those who prefer hot chocolate.....

[Mama_Bear]

Aeronaut and fiddlstix! Good morning guys. Happy Saturday!

[MeekOneGOP]

Navy fleet in gulf ready for war, admiral says
Hussein should know 'we're not playing games'

01/18/2003

By RICHARD WHITTLE / The Dallas Morning News

MANAMA, Bahrain - The U.S. Navy's fleet in the Persian Gulf is ready for war if President Bush orders it, and Saddam Hussein "would be wise" to disarm peacefully, the chief of naval operations said Friday.

"Our folks are ready; that's what I saw everywhere I went," Adm. Vernon Clark said in an interview after visiting three of the Fifth Fleet's ships in the gulf, including the aircraft carrier USS Constellation. "Our folks are determined, and they are ready."

"The president has made it very, very clear: Saddam has to disarm," the admiral said. "This message has been sent loud and clear. The United Nations has passed resolutions to that effect. I don't know how the president could make it any more clear."

The Constellation and its nine-ship battle group have been in the gulf since Dec. 14, with the carrier's 75 warplanes helping to patrol the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. The battle group is attached to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.

Adm. Clark said 15 more ships have been ordered to deploy during the coming weeks, "and those ships are loaded out with Marines." He was referring to Marine amphibious assault groups that received orders to deploy last week.

"We're not playing games," the admiral declared. "If we unleash the power of the United States military, we rubble stuff. War is a dangerous business. Saddam would be wise to heed the call of the unity of nations that says he needs to disarm."

The United States has more than 60,000 troops in the gulf region, including Navy, Marines, Air Force and Army personnel at various locations.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently ordered about 11,000 troops of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) to Kuwait, which borders Iraq, and gave similar orders to two Air Force F-15 fighter plane wings.

Additional Navy aircraft carriers also have been ordered to remain at sea within reach of the gulf rather than return home as usual after six-month deployments.

According to reports, the most likely war plan for a conflict with Iraq envisions a force of about 250,000 U.S. troops, not including forces that could be supplied by Britain and other allies.

"I came out here to talk to the leadership of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, to go to headquarters and look at the kind of things they're doing with planning ... for potential operations," Adm. Clark said.

"I talked to them about the importance of meeting the president's challenge and his orders to make sure that we're combat-ready, and I came out here to get a firsthand look."

Adm. Clark said he was satisfied with what he saw.

"We're dramatically more capable than we were ... 12 years ago," he said, noting improvements in information technology that have vastly increased the military's ability to use precision-guided bombs, led to the development of unmanned surveillance aircraft and allowed far better coordination between ground, sea and air forces.

"Nobody has a thirst for war just to have a thirst for war - that's not what America's about," Adm. Clark said.

But if it comes, "I want all of that kind of technology I can get," he said. "I'm not looking for fair fights. I want to overwhelm an enemy that decides that they're going to confront us."

---

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/world/stories/011803dnintadmiral.c151.html

[humblegunner]

BTW, love your tagline.

Thanks! I was unsure folks would "get it"...

[Mama_Bear]

Happy Saturday to you Meek.

Your hot chocolate is much appreciated this morning. It's a chilly damp day here. Nothing I would like better than to wrap my paws around a hot cup of chocolate. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Now, just for grins: http://muffin.eggheads.org/images/funny/dogsmile.jpg

LOL! Made me grin.

[LadyX]

Mornin' Mama_Bear!
Love the new Hostess signatures!

humblegunner, I sit here shuddering what might happen if I were to try to remove your tag!!

- be transformed into an al-Clayda target?
- turned into a mass of lime Jello?!
- into a G.I. Jane doll?!!

I hereby publicly declare I have no intention of tearing off yer bloody tag!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Good morning, Ms.d'Bear!

Hugs so early in the day? I like it!!

And will reciprocate forthwith! : )

[LadyX]

Trying to "MAINTAIN" here, watching on C-Span the coverage of the Anti-War Rally in D.C. - trying to not be very, very ill.

Wonder if they will eventually show our guys??

[MeekOneGOP]

Enjoy !

[MeekOneGOP]

Made me grin...

lol ! Goody...

[ST.LOUIE1]

Meek, thanks for the hot chocolate.

Cold and snowy here. Brrrr!

[MeekOneGOP]

You're welcomed. Cold here too! (Cold for this part of the country, anyway).

Weather Update

Another hard freeze tonight: An arctic cold front dropped temperatures to 23 degrees in North Texas Thursday night and Friday morning, meteorologists said.

Currently

 WFAA 5-Day outlook (Watch the video forecast)

Mostly Clear
Temp: 33
Humidity: 60 %
Barometric: 30.33  in.
Wind: SW 10  mph

Saturday Hi 52 Lo 30 Clear

Sunday Hi 62 Lo 38 Clear

Monday Hi 70 Lo 43 Mostly Clear

Tuesday Hi 64 Lo 40 Partly Cloudy

Wednesday Hi 0 Lo 0 Clear

[ST.LOUIE1]

Wonder if they will eventually show our guys??

Only if "our guys" start a brawl with the peaceniks.

Or abscond with one of C-Span's cameras. : )

[MeekOneGOP]

Wednesday

Hi 0
Lo 0

Clear

Whoa ! Looks like Wednesday's gonna be a killer winter day here, huh? lol !

[Mama_Bear]

Trying to "MAINTAIN" here, watching on C-Span the coverage of the Anti-War Rally in D.C. - trying to not be very, very ill.

You're a better FReeper than I am, LadyX. I just can't do it, I can't watch it. They were discussing this upcoming "Peace Rally" the other night on Nightline and I managed to make it through about 10 minutes of it before I completely lost it. My poor husband (who is on OUR side) listened to me rant and rave until he finally turned it off. I think he was afraid I was going to have a stroke right there before his eyes. :-(

[ST.LOUIE1]

You're welcomed. Cold here too! (Cold for this part of the country, anyway).

Cool weather report. (no pun intended)

Not expecting much snow here, one/two inches, just enough to be bothersome on side streets.

[Molly Pitcher]

Good morning Mama_Bear. I may watch the rally on mute? That's a compromise!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Whoa ! Looks like Wednesday's gonna be a killer winter day here, huh? lol !

It do indeed! LOL

[MeekOneGOP]

[ST.LOUIE1]

I may watch the rally on mute?

Good morning, Molly!

Watch your blood pressure. Stay calm. : )

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning Mama_Bear. I may watch the rally on mute? That's a compromise!

Well, after going to the Live Thread, (thanks for the link, Aqua), I decided to go ahead and turn it on, but I am already fuming. I am listening to some woman screeching a bunch of leftist garbage now.....I'm hitting the mute button now. I just can't deal with it.

[Mama_Bear]

And will reciprocate forthwith! : )

You never disappoint. ;-)

Morning, charmin' Louie.

[ST.LOUIE1]

I'm hitting the mute button now. I just can't deal with it.

I'm not watching any of it. Your hug and Meekie's chocolate started my day off just right.

And I refuse to let garbage-speak interfere with the rest of it. : )

[LadyX]

Not that much better, I fear.
As a true victim of the protesters/demonstrators during Nam, this one is too close to home and bringing up deeply buried emotions.

Going to turn off the set - drive by the peaceful lake a mile away - think of good things - probably past my church - and then shop for groceries.

Maybe by the time I return, they will show our D.C. group..:((

[Molly Pitcher]

LOL! Fortunately no b.p. problems here, but I have been known to throw things at the tv;^))

You stay calm, too, Louie!

[ST.LOUIE1]

i>And will reciprocate forthwith! : )

You never disappoint. ;-)

: ) Thank you. : )

Morning, charmin' Louie.

Mornin', charmin' Lori/Fuzzy. Or Fuzzy/Lori. LOL

[ST.LOUIE1]

LOL! Fortunately no b.p. problems here, but I have been known to throw things at the tv;^))

LOL! Remind me never to watch tv with you. : )

You stay calm, too, Louie!

I always remain calm. Except when certain women at the Finest start talking about 'wolf pelts', as they did yesterday. LOL

[MeekOneGOP]

[MeekOneGOP]

Good doggie !

[MeekOneGOP]

Is it true that SADdam has had a change of heart?
He's gonna run as a 'RAT?

[Mama_Bear]

As a true victim of the protesters/demonstrators during Nam, this one is too close to home and bringing up deeply buried emotions.

Although I wasn't a target of the protesters, as you were, I watched it happening, and I will always feel a twinge of guilt that I never spoke up against them. I wore a POW/MIA bracelet and thought that was "doing my part".....I know now that it wasn't enough. That is why I am out on that street corner in Fresno on Friday nights. I maybe be only a small voice in opposition, but I am not going to watch this happen again without speaking up.

[ST.LOUIE1]

LOL! Shoot that suckah!!!

You know, we WILL eradicate him, just a matter of time.

[ST.LOUIE1]

Good doggie !

Love it!!!! LOL!!!

[ST.LOUIE1]

LOL!!! Best one Yet!

[MeekOneGOP]

lol ! I happen to think it's a very good likelihood ObL is already worm dirt in Tora Bora...

[ST.LOUIE1]

Good Morning, BillieBlue!

Rise and Shine - Up and At 'em! : )

[MeekOneGOP]

That's my newest toy, found yesterday...

You know, I had it on FOX News Channel, then switched to C-Span to see what all the ruckus was.

This is not an Iraq War protest, it's a lynch Bush-fest...

...they impeached bill clinton 4 years ago for nothing. Are we gonna stand by and not impeach Bush?...who wants to impeach BUSH??!!

Fools ...

[ST.LOUIE1]

lol ! I happen to think it's a very good likelihood ObL is already worm dirt in Tora Bora...

You're probably right, but I know we'd all love to see proof of it.

"Worm dirt". LOL

[MeekOneGOP]

Click ! FOX News back on now...

[ST.LOUIE1]

That's my newest toy, found yesterday...

It's a keeper! Bet you'll be spreadin' that one all over FR. : )

You know, I had it on FOX News Channel, then switched to C-Span to see what all the ruckus was.
This is not an Iraq War protest, it's a lynch Bush-fest...

Figured as much, and they'll get great coverage from the lefty print and tv RATS!

...they impeached bill clinton 4 years ago for nothing. Are we gonna stand by and not impeach Bush?...who wants to impeach BUSH??!!
Fools ...

Perfect description! I'm kinda glad they are out there, though, more people will learn just what the Hollywierds are all about. They hate Bush and are disloyal to our troops.

[jwfiv]

Good morning to our Hostesses and fellow coffee lovers...)