You Know You Are A Freeper When.....

April 13, 2004 | LadyShallott

[Mr. Silverback]

...you think of other cities in terms of the freepers you know live there. Indianapolis, DC, Pittsburgh, the frozen north. . . are meaningful now because of FRiends who live there; and you wonder how they are when something bad happens there.

I know what you mean. When I heard breaking news about that massive fire in Richmond a few weeks ago, my first thought was of the safety of Flora McDonald.

...you watch something funny, like the "Living Color" DVD with the Star Trek take off of "The Wrath of Farrakhan" (James -- before he was Jim -- Carey holding his head, screaming "Farrakhaaaannnnnn!"), and you can't wait to talk about it here ;o)

I've thought of FR a lot while watching "Band of Brothers" the last few days. Changed my tagline, too...

[eastforker]

You know you are a freeper when you click on an article at 3 in the morning, that you have no interest in, just killing time waiting for kat or johny to post the early morning news.

[Mr. Silverback]

Have you noticed that all the Bush jokes told by the Libs are recycled Clinton Jokes?

Or Quayle. Or Polish.

[Mr. Silverback]

Yeah, with FRiends everywhere, you pay more attention to events in faraway places. Before, it was just some strangers and while sad, it wasn't personal. Now it is.

Yeah, every time the brits stop some bomb plot, I think, well, another day that Mad Ivan will be OK. When I heard about the Spanish elections, I thought of Ivan riding the Underground every day and shuddered.

[Mr. Silverback]

You know that you're a freeper when you keep posterboard, markers, stakes, flags, remember 9/11 buttons and a stack of "Guides to the Peace Movement" in the trunk of your car.

Guilty!

[tiki]

Now that's the truth.

[AuntB]

Beautiful!

[Badray]

" "Pittsburgh? No offense to Pittsburgh, but if they're attacking freakin' Pittsburgh we are really in some serious trouble.""

Good, we've got you convinced that we shouldn't be a target either. LOL

Actually, Flight 93 was most of the way to Cleveland (in their airspace - a friend of mine was the ATC who 'handed' the plane back to Pittsburgh) when it turned around and headed back this way. Where it crashed is about an hour east of the 'burgh. The city and county officials did evacuate the downtown area because of the fear of attack. We DO have some very large highrises even though we are no longer the HQ city that we used to be.

At one time, because of that and the then massive communications centers located here, Pittsburgh WAS considered a high priority target.

Sorry for the 'history' lesson, but we don't let you off easy when you mess with the 'Burgh'.

[Badray]

Now you have to worry and wonder about Pittsburgh FReepers too. ;-)

Last night I went to listen to a debate between the surrogates for Arlen Specter and his challenger, Pat Toomey. I was talking to some people there afterwards and I handed a few of them my card. One of the (mombrown1) looked at it and said: "OMG! Are you Badray on FRee Republic?"

That was so cool to be recognized like that.

[Badray]

Now you have to worry and wonder about Pittsburgh FReepers too. ;-)

Last night I went to listen to a debate between the surrogates for Arlen Specter and his challenger, Pat Toomey. I was talking to some people there afterwards and I handed a few of them my card. One of the (mombrown1) looked at it and said: "OMG! Are you Badray on FRee Republic?"

That was so cool to be recognized like that.

[Pagey]

Yeah!! And then I think "Well this has got to be on FR somewhere already" so I go to FR, do a search and THEN get to comment on it. LOL!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only person on F.R. that does this. <-----(roaring laughter)

[alaskanfan]

You stop fishing for reds with a fly rod to answer a second amendment thread!!!

[Mr. Silverback]

That was so cool to be recognized like that.

Yeah! When I put together the first Rally For America in March of '03, I called some friends for help who had organized an annual area pro-life demonstration. The arrived at my house with a printout of one of my after-action reports, and asked, "Are you Mr. Silverback?" It turned out that I had mentioned them in the after-action report, they had stopped at one of my one-man freeps to encourage me and I hadn't recognized them. It was really cool!

[Mr. Silverback]

Sorry for the 'history' lesson, but we don't let you off easy when you mess with the 'Burgh'.

Nah, that's cool. And just to help make peace, you guys have my third favorite football team, behind the Packers (I'm a fan 'til I die, and probably after) and the Patriots (born and raised Mainer.)

[Mr. Silverback]

Oh, one other note: Boss and i didn't mean Pittsburgh was a nothing town, we just meant that if the targets were the financial center of the country, our capital and Pittsburgh, that probably menat that Philly, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, etc. were next. Planes falling out of the sky all over.

A week after September 11th, some workmen at the offices in the next building dropped a huge carpet roll, and it echoed down the street like a bomb blast. I thought the other sales rep was going to come out of her skin. And I probably looked the same way, my first thought was "mortar shell!" It sounded just like one.

[Badray]

I use Badray in my email address and a lot of my friends now only call me that. Often at gatherings when I'm introduced, I'll get comments like - "Oh, you're Badray. We always get emails sent to us from you and never knew who that was. It's you." It's like I didn't exist until then.

Oh, that football thing. You don't get any bonus points for liking the Steelers. I've stopped watching or cheering for them since they used tax money to build their new playpens a few years back.

[Badray]

No offense taken at all. I'm a critic of the city itself now that has been ruled and decimated by the Dems for so long. But, in the good old days of the 70's, we were the (IIRC) the 3 largest corporate HQ city in the country behind NYC and Chicago. Now we are about 993rd. Yeah, the country would be in serious trouble if we were attacked.

[Duc de Cadore]

Freeper couple here...These are true statements for us 'cept the kids and pregnant ones...they don't apply (wink).

[pc93]

If you wish to endorse the letter below by adding your name to the bottom
-copy and paste this letter into " new mail"
-Number and sign your name, state and your own comments at the
bottom of the letter.
-Then Forward the letter on to your friends and tell them to do the same.
-When there are 100 signatures and comments, forward the letter back to Fight4Terri@aol.com
The letter will then be mailed to the President at the Whitehouse with other added signatures and comments.
Thank you,
Cheryl
Fight4Terri@aol.com
* * * *

Dear President Bush:

I sit here in the wee hours of the morning at an impasse.

I am a Registered Nurse, a mother, and an American citizen.

I struggle with how to begin this story. Not because I don't know what to say, or because I am at a loss for words. I struggle because I want so much to choose the correct words so the person who first reads your mail will be motivated to bring my letter directly to you. I suppose all I can do at this point, is to pray they will do so.

Mr. President, before I expound upon why I am writing to you, I want you to know a little about me. First off, I am a Registered Nurse. I am a nurse who maintains neutral and unbiased ground because of all who I have cared for in my many years as a nurse. I am a nurse who dedicated years of my life to helping people like you, your wife, your children, your parents, your friends and neighbors. I take pride in who I am as a person and in how my parents have raised me. They taught me to have morals, values, and strong principles. To be a good citizen. To help those in need. They taught me to recognize right from wrong. They taught me to live within the laws of our country, to work hard and to respect others. They taught me to seek out the law when I observe something that is wrong. And, they taught me where to go if I should need help from the law.

However, Mr. President, for the first time in my 50 years on this earth, I am struggling because I cannot exercise the lessons my parents spent years teaching me. I say this to you, because I am witnessing a heinous crime being committed before my very own eyes and I don't know how to help, or how to stop it.

Why can I not help, you may ask? Because despite the crime being committed in Florida, no one here within the law is willing to listen, help, or do anything to stop it.

Mr. President, there is a young disabled woman here in Florida who I know you are familiar with. Her name is Terri Schindler - Schiavo. I know you are aware of her name because your brother tried to help her. Despite his awareness of wrong doings, his efforts to help her have been thwarted and ignored by 2 local judges. His attempts to help her in his role as Governor have also been undermined. I cannot imagine how it would feel to be a Governor and to have two local judges and one local lawyer, basically treat you with no more respect or dignity than they do to the average citizen.

President Bush...because I know you are already aware of the situation here in Florida, I will spare you a repeat of all the details. What has motivated me to write to you during this early morning, is that I happened to see a picture of you on the Internet visiting MLK's grave site. Your picture inspired me to ask you to PLEASE come to Florida and visit Terri Schiavo. She, as a disabled American citizen is in desperate need of the support and help from her President.

You know Mr. President......it is kind of funny my sitting here asking you to come and visit Terri. I say funny, because a thought just crossed my mind. Terri, as you know, is held hostage like a prisoner on death row. She is not permitted to leave her room at all. Not even permitted to feel a ray of sunshine on her skin. She is not allowed to have visitors to her room. Not even her mother, father, brother, or her sister. A uniformed police officer stands guard at Terri's door. When the Schindler's were allowed to visit their daughter over two weeks ago, they were watched constantly by him. Prior to entering their daughter's room, they had to stop and show their driver's license to reveal and prove their identity. Terri is not permitted to have flowers or cards in her room. She is not allowed therapy or social interactions of any kind. A while ago, her mother wanted to take her in a wheelchair down to the activity room in the facility to see an exotic bird show, but her request were denied.

Can you believe what you are reading? It is TRUE! This type of treatment is going on here in the United States of America? The country where you hold office as a President!

Let me tell you, as a citizen it is difficult enough to digest these facts, but as a nurse who has been licensed and trained to care for patient's, it's beyond what words can convey. Essentially, Dear President, it is unfathomable!

My funny thought was.... even if you as the President of the United States would take the time to come and visit her, you might not be allowed in to see Terri. Her estranged husband does not have you on the list of visitors and he is very strict about who Terri is permitted to see. So, it is indeed possible that even you as President of the United States of America might be turned away like everyone else has been. Silly notion Sir, but very real!

Thousands upon thousands of American citizens have been trying to help the Schindler's and their daughter. We now need to elicit your help. There are no words that could better describe what is happening here than the pain in the eyes of the mother in this photo.

I have met and have come to know the Schindler's very well. I have spent hours upon hours reading the entire Schindler-Schiavo case and talking to them. They are good people, kind people. People who you as President would be proud to say are American citizens. They have raised their children very much like you and I were raised by our folks. They are hard working, respectable, loving Catholic family. They have never done anything to break the law.

If for no other reason Mr. President, please come here to Florida to talk to the Schindler's. Allow them and all of us to know that you care and can recognize the pain, torture and anguish they are experiencing as they are forced to watch the daily neglect of their daughter. A disabled daughter who needs medical care and therapy.

Please, I/we beg you to please come and see for yourself.

Respectfully,
Cheryl Ford RN
Tampa, Florida

1. Jan Craddock DDS , Tampa, Florida....President Bush, I motion the above request.
2. Richard J. Ford , Kirkland, Washington. ......... Help Terri !
3. Juan V. Schoch, Orlando, Florida. ...... Act Now Please! Free Terri! http://zimp.org, http://zimp.org/ribbon, http://www.terrisfight.org

[Flipyaforreal]

"But they have time to take showers when breaking news shows up, right? ;-)

Just teasing. I'm proud to say I was lurking on the thread that day - when FR history was made!"

LOL! Me too :D