Idly poking around the net looking at the antics
of Sandy "Hotpants" Berger. He's been caught
with his hand in the cookie jar. Ironically, so
has the website "Free Republic".

From "The American Spectator" comes this little
gem:

I realize that the "Editorial business"
department isn't where this matter will
be dealt with, but trust you'll pass in
along if appropriate.

I enjoy your website and don't like seeing
your material stolen and doubt TAS does either,
so I thought you might like to know that TAS-
copyrighted material is being routinely
republished in full without permission at
FreeRepublic.com. An article entitled "Sloppy
Berger" is the most recent example.
-- Donna Gruber
Miami Shores, Florida

Of course, some inquisitive "freeper" (the
generic name for an inhabitant of the website
"Free Republic"), perhaps on a scavenging trip,
found it. And posted it on Free Republic, here.

What comes next is predictable. Some are calling
Jim Robinson, "The Man", who duly comes around and
makes sneering noises. Some are trying to track
down the miscreant from Florida by means of search
tools. Information about email-address and website
is published, some of it obviously wrong. Some
silly ideas about hurting this person's livelyhood
are aired (the freepers think she's a seller on eBay).
One posts a nasty picture adorned with the name of
this new enemy of the state of freep. The thread
dies in a sulk.

Of course, this isn't unusual or the first time
the "freepers" go a bit haywire. For example,
there was that occasion when an underage Jenna
Bush was stopped from buying drinks by some uppity
bar manager. That time, personal information on
both the unlucky bar manager and her small child
was posted. And the site was fairly boiling
with suggestions for what punishment ought to
befall the restaurant daring to enforce the law.
If I remember, arson and acid were two of them.

So the place was always sort of balancing on the
edge of something rather nasty. The redeeming
feature was that apart from the hoodlum pablum,
there were some very bright people who kept it a
bit in balance. Sadly, most of the folks with an
IQ over 90 are gone. Some just drifted away to
other places. Some were banned when criticizing
the forum's stubborn backing of a cadre of anti-
semites (some of whom has been active from 1998-99
until present time). Some were banned for backing
GW Bush at a time when Mr. Robinson felt otherwise,
if what I've been told is true. Some probably got
fed up being involved in a bona fide internet
cult. It tends to be expensive in many ways.

So now the political activism on the site - which
at one time actually played an important role in a
presidential election - is at an ebb, and sometimes
ludicrous. Much of it seems to revolve around
begging for money ($50.000-60.000 per quarter to
keep the site lights on, which doesn't always
succeed) on Free Republic proper. And there is
the "Free Republic Network", run by someone whose
idea of political activism is appearing in public
with a dildo attached to his nose. No, I'm not
joking. I have the pictures to prove it.

And of course, when offered a chance to step on to
the coattails of an organization, the ProtestWarriors,
which is currently garnering a great deal of goodwill
and even admiration in conservative circles, he
queered it. Read and weep:

The PW are a great group and do wonderful work,
but let's admit it, they are mostly young college
kids with no assets (like a home) to protect. Most
FR members simply cannot afford to put themselves
and their families in that kind of situation.

Of course, Bob, you could give them costume advice.

On second thought, maybe not. They might laugh
at you. And ponder the liabilities of following
a guy with a dildo on his nose into some place
with families and kids.