From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #203 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Tuesday, December 8 1998 Volume 02 : Number 203 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 6 Dec 98 11:41:11 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: In the Wilderness: 5 Dec 98 (fwd) On Dec 5, Kevin McGehee wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] IN THE WILDERNESS (c) 1998 KEVIN McGEHEE North Pole, Alaska mcgehee@mosquitonet.com http://www.mosquitonet.com/~mcgehee/ Permission granted to anyone wishing to forward, redistribute, or broadcast this article WITH FULL ATTRIBUTION. ================================================================ THE CENTER There's a widespread notion in post-modern America, largely thanks to popular culture, that great heroes stand always in opposition to great villains. I contend that the phrase "great villain" is an oxymoron. In this century we have towering examples of real-life villains who are supposed to have been "great" because of the magnitude of their crimes -- Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin for two examples. Hitler built a third German empire on hatred, ignited a war that would engulf the planet, and inspired his followers to commit murder on a massive scale in a most cold and technocratic -- one might almost say *bureaucratic* -- manner. And Stalin ruled Russia (misnamed at the time as the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics," which is soon to be no more than the answer to a trivia question) on the basis of fear, his own fear that those around him in the seats of power in his empire were enough like him that his life was in danger at their hands every minute of every day of his 29-year rule. During those three decades, he engineered the starvation deaths of millions of his own people whom he feared would attempt to overthrow him, and sabotaged his country's war effort by purging the military of those he deemed suspect. The magnitude of their deeds is profound, but the villainy itself is shallow. Hitler's evil was rooted in the smallness of resentment, not the greatness of whatever is supposed to motivate a "great" villain. Stalin simply feared for his life, whether justified or not. What enabled them to commit their crimes was a combination of personal charisma on their own part, and a willingness on the part of others to share and reflect the evil traits they bore. The opposite of great heroism is not great villainy, because there is no such thing. There is only meanness, smallness, crudeness -- albeit sometimes on a massive scale. The old saying has it wrong: It is *mediocrity* that is the root of all evil: the unwillingness of a man or a woman to aspire beyond the levels of conduct, of thought (where applicable), of morality which they already have reached, perhaps were born to. Hitler's hate and his charisma, no matter how well combined, could never have amounted to anything if thousands of Germans had not been too lazy about themselves to see through him. And this leads to another point about evil. Whereas great heroes generally are lone figures, rising above the terrain of history to make their mark, massive villainy requires mass support. Heroism is individual; evil is collective. Yet the charisma of the chief villain in a moment of mass evil often causes confusion, because it enables him to seem to rise above the mob and become the center of attention, even when the true atrocities are being done by faceless members of the mob. We should bear in mind when confronting such characters that they are not the source of villainy, but simply its temporary focus. Eliminating the leader doesn't eliminate the evil; it will rise again the next time someone of his stripe, suffering his defining flaw, begins to sound the call once more. Crass motivations can never be bred out of humanity, short of a miracle -- and shouldn't expecting a miracle from the government be considered a violation of the separation of church and state? Hate and fear are only two of the drives that have led to an eruption of evil in the 20th Century. Think of other base reasons people have long had for victimizing one another: greed, lust, pride... And then there are the truly puerile drives, such as the uncontrollable desire to be the center of attention, whatever form that attention may take. Jack Kevorkian certainly seems to suffer this flaw, given his recent *60 Minutes* performance. In fact, in a civilization where, according to some dead guy who once sculpted a soup can, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, it follows logically that there would be those who would crave more than their fair share. The extreme archetype in popular lore is the guy who stages his *own* death before a live audience -- that way he never has to hear the applause die down. More banal are the shock comics, who go out of the way to say outrageous things just to enjoy the knowledge that people will be talking about it for days. The best thing to do is try to ignore them; if enough people tune them out, consistently enough and long enough, eventually they'll decide to get a real job. But that's only acceptable for people who don't hurt anyone with their antics. A medical doctor who kills cannot be tolerated. And Dr. Death knows it, so he will continue to do it until he is stopped, or until one day he inadvertently administers the lethal service to himself. What, then, do we do with a President who thrives on being the center of attention, whose entire political career has been based only on his need to be forever in *somebody's* spotlight, even if it's the light the cops used to shine in a suspect's face during questioning in those old gangster movies. Like Kevorkian, he constantly brings the attention around to himself by doing outrageous things -- flashing a state employee in a hotel room and asking her to "kiss it;" baldly lying to the nation, to a grand jury, and to Congress, none of whom are in any remote fantasy going to believe him; using transparent ploys to try to manipulate the process to his own advantage. He *keeps* doing these sorts of things because he's sure he can keep getting away with them, but why does he do them in the first place? For William Jefferson Clinton, it's not enough merely to be the President. He has to be THE President, every minute of every day of his tenure. He has the charisma to pull it off, and he has a willing audience that consists of more than just his supporters, and not a few of his opponents. He needs the attention, and deep down he can feel the truth: that when people stop talking about him, when they forget about him, get a life, and move on (for real), he will not only cease to be the center of attention, he will, in every way that matters to *him,* cease to be. So even if he is impeached, and convicted, and removed from office, rest assured that this man will not go quietly. All the while complaining of the media circus that his trial would be (assuming Al Gore wouldn't be even more stupid than he usually is by pardoning him), he would do everything in his power to make it that way, the judicial event of the millennium, with him as the star. Even before opening arguments end, people would be saying, "O.J. who?" "Put it all behind us"? That's the last thing he wants. And maybe he's not really hurting anyone except those whose reputations are trashed by the faceless members of his mob, but the American people have not yet begun to see the ugly face of scandal fatigue. That boy's just getting started. - -30- December 5, 1998 ================================================================ **Visit the IN THE WILDERNESS archives** http://www.mosquitonet.com/~mcgehee/advance.htm The views expressed herein are entirely those of the author(s), and do not reflect those of any person or group with whom the author(s) may be affiliated, unless explicitly labelled as doing so. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 03:12:40 -0600 From: Joe Sylvester Subject: Reserve Major gets canned, Active Duty Major only "cautioned" For complete article see: http://www.washtimes.com/investiga/investiga2.html Major gets punished for criticizing president - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- By Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- The Marine Corps effectively has ended the career of a reserve officer for strongly criticizing President Clinton's sexual misconduct and calling for his removal from office in a Nov. 9 op-ed article in The Washington Times. Maj. Daniel Rabil on Saturday evening appeared before his commanding general for disciplinary action. He was told he is being transferred to non-drill reserve status and is having a letter of caution put in his personnel file. The actions by Maj. Gen. David Mize, commander of Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans, effectively end the officer's 11-year career because he has no chance of promotion. Maj. Rabil, 34, who wrote the article while a civilian, said in an interview he is considering resignation. "The only regret is it was perceived by the Marine Corps leadership as damaging to the Marine Corps. That wasn't my intent," he said. "I don't think it was perceived by mainstream Americans as extreme based on the letters and phone calls for support I received." . . . Maj. Rabil received a stiffer penalty than did Maj. Shane Sellers, an active duty officer who labeled the president an "adulterous liar" in a Navy Times article. A Marine general issued Maj. Sellers a letter of caution that was not filed in his personnel record. Dennis J. Sylvester Captain USAFR(ret) - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Dec 98 11:14:16 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: S L I C K Endorsement (fwd) On Dec 7, RichSlick@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] the Common Conservative 12/1/98 To visit the Common Conservative website, click here-----> the Common Conservative or, http://www.commonconservative.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------------- This issue the Common Conservative brings you: Tom Adkins' FEATURE ARTICLE "How Conservatives Lost America- And how we can take our nation back" by Tom Adkins A two part series on how liberals took over America, and how to take America back. Features Tax Bytes by Charles E. Perry "Bizarre Testimony Before the Committee" Libaral scholars twist relative morality to new depths. The Bottom Line by Thomas Lindaman "Three Little Words" Lindaman exposes another liberal hypocrisy. >From the Barstool in the Corner by Shooter O'Gavagan "Freedom or Autocracy" The choice is yours... Citizen Kane by DN Kane "Krazy Konservatives and Demonizing Demagogues" The lexicon of the left speaks with forked tongue. Too Sense Worth by Ray Patrick "United We Stand - Divided We Lose" Is divisiveness winning, and America losing? Shelley's Sanctuary by Shelley Goodge "Year of the Rat" Book Review The expose on the Chinese election money scandal. Interesting Times by Sarah J. McCarthy "Ups and Downs at the Mood Disorder Clinic" The speech police vs. the thought police. >From Across the Pond by Christian DeFeo - British journalist "American Liberalism: An Infantile Disorder" It's not really a philosophy after all... Coda by Patrick Burns "The Elders Effect" You thought she was gone... Specials How Government Should Work by Charles E.Perry The Federalist Papers Explained Part IX - Our Federal and National Constitution Charles Perry overviews what the Founding Fathers really meant. On The Lighter Side Up Against the Wall by Kevin Tuma - Political Cartoonist Keeping the Liberals "Up Against the Wall!" Limericks From Linnval by Shirley J. Bailey Shirley spanks those liberals in verse... Historical Trivia from Joshua Fletcher Posing questions from the past... The Right Frame of Mind with Dr. Gengis K. Perriman Advice for the terminally-Liberal... Guest Writers This issue the Common Conservative brings you 4 guest writers. "The Spin of Clinton's Actions" by Joan Nagy But will actions speak louder than words? "Impeachment IS Censure" by Jim Phillips Counterpunching the censure sound byte. "Guilt and the Left" by Alan Levite When political guilt becomes self-loathing. "Al Gore's Nose - Voice of a Reformer" by Gene Crocker, Ph.D. The prez-in-training is following the footsteps. the Common Conservative Poll Introducing a weekly poll question - please check it out! *********************** the Common Conservative Forum Now you can post your thoughts and comments on our bulletin board!!! *********************** [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Dec 98 21:34:02 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fratrum: Michael New's "New" Book (fwd) On Dec 07, InTheRiver wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Hi folks - Just got this on another list. Thought y'all might be interested. For those who don't know, Michael is the American soldier who=20 refused to wear UN Blue and was removed from the army for doing so. =20 Michael is a Christian; his mom and dad were missionaries when he=20 was growing up. I know his dad, Daniel; they're very sweet, very=20 seriously Christian people. I haven't read the book (yet), but I can recommend it anyway, just=20 from what I know about Michael and his parents. There you go :) - - Monte - ---------------------------------------------------- http://www.mikenew.com/book.html=20 MICHAEL NEW MERCENARY - OR AMERICAN SOLDIER? By Daniel D. New, with Cliff Kincaid Book Cover Now available in time for Christmas =AD the family=20 perspective on what happened when Michael New refused to wear=20 an unauthorized United Nations uniform, and what it means for=20 America, if our soldiers can be forced to serve under the United=20 Nations against their will. Sent to any donor who sends a gift to the Michael New Action Fund=20 of $23.95 or more (postage included, since the cover price is=20 $19.95). Single copies will be autographed upon request. If you want to order for Christmas gifts, we are making these=20 books available to our friends at discounts virtually unknown in=20 the book-selling industry. Why would we do such a thing with a brand=20 new book (no puns intended), which is destined to become a best- seller? Because, unlike our printer, we=92re not "in it for the money."=20 We=92re in this struggle that we might secure the blessings of=20 freedom to ourselves and our posterity. We must pay the printers=20 in advance order to order the second edition. This first edition=20 paperback, in 9 x 6 format, is a beautiful book, containing a=20 highly readable story. Postage Paid prices: 10 copies @ $10 =3D $100=20 25 copies @ $8 =3D $200=20 100 copies @ $5.50 =3D $550=20 1,000 copies @ $4.50 =3D $4,500 If Americans respond like I think they will, we=92ll sell out of=20 the first edition and be forced to order more soon. More=20 importantly, this book may find its way on to the shelves of=20 many thousands of Americans without ever appearing on a single=20 New York Times bestseller list! Ideal gift for Veterans who care, for all active-duty military=20 personnel, and for young people considering enlisting today.=20 They, above all, need to understand the implications of what=20 is being done to them. Also good for your public library,=20 church library, school library, your military post library,=20 teachers of history/government/current events, and your=20 friendly history buff. All who love Liberty will welcome this=20 book. TO ORDER SINGLE COPIES BY PHONE, CALL Michael New Action Fund=20 1-800-771-2147 Ext. 99 VISA MasterCard To order by mail send $19.95 plus $4 to cover postage and handling to: Michael New Action Fund=20 P.O. Box 100=20 Iredell, Texas 76649 - - Monte - -------------------------------------------------------------------- Let the River flow - let the River flow Holy Spirit, come=20 Move in power And let the River flow from "Let the River Flow," by Darrell Evans - -------------------------------------------------------------------- [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Dec 98 21:42:21 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fw: EIA Communique - 12/7 (fwd) On Dec 7, Kevin McGehee wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] - -----Original Message----- From: EducIntel@aol.com To: EducIntel@aol.com Date: Monday, December 07, 1998 12:39 PM Subject: EIA Communique - 12/7 The Education Intelligence Agency COMMUNIQU=C9 =97 December 7, 1998 + NEA's campaign against the right-wing seems to be picking up steam =97= an apparent trickle-down effect of its conspiracy report in October. The uni= on, at the request of the Texas State Teachers Association, is sending reinforcements to the Edgewood School District, where CEO America operate= s the nation's only district-wide, privately funded voucher program. This has t= o be considered an escalation by NEA officials, who previously had downplayed their objections to voucher programs that did not involve public money. NEA, of course, has been very active in the campaign against taxpayer-funded vouchers in Milwaukee and Cleveland. NEA representatives tentatively scheduled a training session at Memorial High School for this Thursday night. The foc= us is expected to be on organizing "a grassroots campaign in favor of public schools," including a "good news" public relations program. In Indiana and Wisconsin, NEA affiliates are releasing their own reports = and essays on The Conservative Network. While NEA placed the Heritage Foundat= ion and seven individuals at the head of the network, the Indiana State Teach= ers Association sees the American Legislative Exchange Council as the source = of evil. ALEC acts as a clearinghouse and database of model legislation for conservative state legislators. The Wisconsin Education Association Counc= il, on the other hand, thinks the Bradley Foundation is Public Enemy Number O= ne. In "Anatomy of a Movement: Wisconsin Vouchers and the Bradley Foundation,= " WEAC Research Coordinator Jeffrey Leverich ironically writes "the public should be aware when a common link exists between seemingly autonomous voices." Leverich even crosses the boundary where NEA stopped, saying fla= tly that the efforts the Bradley Foundation supports have "an ideology with strong racial undertones." Other affiliates have touted a recent conspiracy piece by Rob Boston in Church & State, the organ of Americans United for Separation of Church an= d State. In "The Public School Bashers," Boston takes on just about every individual and organization critical of public education, but naturally emphasizes the Religious Right and the "Roman Catholic hierarchy." (Caref= ul, Rob. Throw the Pope in and you've come full circle to join with the right-wing purveyors of conspiracy.) Among Boston's scary revelations: "The Christia= n Coalition once devoted an entire training seminar on how to run for schoo= l board." The reason for all this fascination with the right-wing may have been confessed last week by Katrina vanden Heuvel in the left-wing newspaper T= he Nation. In an essay entitled "Come Together: Building a Progressive Majority," vanden Heuvel discloses that envy may be driving the Left's obsession wit= h right-wing plots. "With the different pieces in place (labor commitment, expertise, local coalitions), now is the time to build the progressive equivalent of the Christian Coalition," she writes, adding that such a gr= oup could train people to run for office, introduce ballot initiatives, "and build a network of talk-show guests and pundits with a coordinated message." Sounds conspiratorial to me. + Oh, those wacky teachers! Last week's newspapers contained an unusual number of unusual teacher stories: * Christopher Mastro, a teacher for 25 years in Voorheesville, New York, resigned under pressure after some parents complained of his "unpredictab= le behavior." Mastro was noted for throwing chalk, slamming doors and tossin= g chairs to get his students' attention. The latest chair-throwing incident led the school board to initiate dismissal proceedings. Mastro resigned inste= ad, cutting a deal in which he will receive his annual salary of $62,000 unti= l January 2000 not to teach. Mastro remains very popular with a large segme= nt of the Voorheesville community. "He'd bring out the shy people," one former student reminisced. * Teachers at the Morris Elementary School in Carbon County, Pennsylvania filed a grievance against the Jim Thorpe Area School District for deprivation of an implied benefit =97 free coffee and doughnuts during a district in-service day. "On first light, it seems pretty superficial," said Bob Whitehead, t= he Pennsylvania State Education Association's UniServ director for the regio= n. "But there's a constant erosion of what teachers have come to expect up there." Whitehead told the Allentown Morning Call that the district has provided coffee and doughnuts for 27 years. "It's not part of the contrac= t, so therefore it's not a valid grievance," said School Director Harold Fredericks. * New Jersey just enacted a law that requires swimming teachers to know h= ow to swim. Education Week reported the new law stemmed from an incident in which a sixth-grader drowned in a Trenton middle school's pool because one teac= her couldn't swim and the other refused to jump in. * An unnamed high school science teacher in Newhall, California, is "unde= r the gun" for an experiment that went horribly (if predictably) wrong. Two students were seriously injured, one requiring a tracheotomy, when the "cannon" they had built under the directions of the teacher exploded. The experiment consisted of taping hollowed-out apple juice cans together end-to- end, punching a small hole in the bottom of the tube, and lighting a smal= l amount of wood alcohol through it to propel tennis balls a great distance. In the Military Airlift Command we called this a "MAC cannon." Civilians = may have heard it called a "spud gun" because potatoes are the projectile of choice. It is extremely dangerous even when it doesn't explode. I persona= lly witnessed a 20-man tent brought down by a single potato. + Madison Teachers Inc., a local NEA affiliate in Madison, Wisconsin, negotiated a unique contract provision. Teachers may pay their automobile insurance through payroll deduction. This convenience, however, is limite= d to teachers who insure with Horace Mann, a company with substantial teacher union connections. Why union officials should negotiate a provision that benefi= ts only teachers who insure their cars with one particular private company (chosen by the MTI Board of Directors), then have the taxpayers pick up t= he cost of administering that deduction from paychecks, is a question deserv= ing of a straight answer. + The Illinois Education Association got its first benefit for taking th= e unusual step of backing Republican George Ryan in the governor's race. Ry= an defeated Democrat Glenn Poshard, who had received the endorsement of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. IEA President Bob Haisman was named to h= ead Ryan's Transition Committee on Education and Workforce Training. The committee will focus on implementing Ryan's education goals: class size reduction, literacy and dedicating 51 cents of every new tax dollar to education. + In the Nov. 16 Communiqu=E9, EIA asked: "Is mandatory attendance the l= ast taboo in the education debate?" Sixteen days later, the front page story = in Investor's Business Daily was headlined: "Repeal Compulsory School Laws?" Introduce your friends and associates to the EIA Communiqu=E9. It's free,= its list is private, and it subscribes to the notion that today's oddball ide= a is tomorrow's cutting edge issue. + Quote of the Week: "Things are moving in that direction. We just all h= ave to get together and charge the wall." =97 Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.)= , in the Dec. 14th issue of The New Republic. Dana Millbank reported that Lieberman "sees the makings of a revolt against the unions and the rest of the education establishment" by Democrats. # # # The Education Intelligence Agency conducts public education research, analysis and investigations. Director: Mike Antonucci. Ph: 916-422-4373. Fax: 916-392-1482. E-Mail: EducIntel@aol.com [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Dec 98 00:18:36 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Constitutional Defense Network (fwd) On Dec 8, Jurist wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Hello RKBA Defenders, I was going to just post this to PA-RKBA, but realized that the topics here touch us all. Even as we speak, the medium you and I are using to outflank the Leftist Lie Machine (ABC/CBS/CNN/NBC etc...) is in serious danger. [see URL's below] Proposed rulemaking -- a way of outflanking Congress via administrative agency (here, the FCC) is underway to make each log-on a long-distance call -- even though 99.999% of dialups are local. The intent [right out of Hillary's mouth, also below] is to shut us down. Please call, fax, write and e-mail Congress today! Sorry to keep harping on this... it's only Freedom that is at stake. Best regards, Rick V. - -------------------------------------------------------- >From PA-RKBA [All politics is local] Steve (?) wrote: > Rick & Larry, > ... > > On the other hand, I am HIGHLY motivated to kick some local ass in this fight and have done so in the past (Brady protest and Allentown gun exchange in Sep and Oct). I suppose the difference is that if you can get 30 or 40 people together to act in a concerted fashion in a two county area with a total population of somewhere around half a million, you can actually make things happen (the Allentown gun exchange is dead). > Verily, it is written: "All politics is local," "Think globally -- act locally," "A single drop times many equals an ocean," etc. etc. Those sayings may be used by the Left, but they are not exclusively Leftist in origin. Those are Canons of Political action, in the nature of laws of physics. We even had one like it in the Corps, for when someone accused you of trying to arrange deckchairs on the Titanic. You'd just look the Gunny in the eye and say: "That may be all well and true Gunny, but *not on my watch!* I can't police the world, but can guaran-fu@kin-tee you that I will take care of my own corner of it!" We'd square our sh*t away, and lo' and behold if people didn't start to notice your small organization as an example. When you start hearing others repeating what you've said or emulating a dedication to excellence, there is no finer rush. > Help me see the light. Tell me how a bunch of timid, apathetic, paranoid, just-want-to-be-left-alone, RKBA supporters are going to become a potent force for change at the national level? The kinds of folks you've just described won't get ANYTHING other than less freedom and more taxes, and they'll STILL die in the end. Might as well make a fuss before you go! I'll use the VCDL (Virginia Citizen's Defense League) as a positive example. It's a small merry band of men and women RKBA-defenders that get things done. If each state or region has one or more organizations like that and we TALK to each other, guess what--- we're National! We've got between 65-100 MILLION gunowners in the USA. Since those of us on the Listservs are a small minority of that number, it is up to US to first become recruiters to our most likely receptive audience ... the REST of that 65-100 million VOTERS. That's a MASSIVE block of voters, -- potentially a political powerhouse - --- that has been effectively disenfranchised (by *ourselves* through lack of interest). Politicians should be kissing our behinds. Why aren't they? Sure we can blame the Media for lying about the RKBA and spiking good news. But we have now the power at our fingertips to instantaneously communicate worldwide with our fellow RKBA defenders [internet]. Hillary and the rest of her Leftist cronies recognize this, even if we don't and are, even as we speak, trying to clamp down on our primary line of communication. Our use of the Internet terrifies and infuriates them. There must be something good there. Aside from impeachment THIS threat of long-distance clamp-down is the most *imminent* threat that we face. Here's the orignal news story. >CNN: "Users, advertisers await FCC decision on Internet charges" > >November 7, 1998 - Web posted at: 5:47 p.m. EST (2247 GMT) > >SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- The cost of going online could go up significantly if the Federal Communications Commission decides that dialing your local Internet provider is a long-distance call. > >The decision may affect not just the 50 million people who use the Internet, but the major advertising business that has grown up around it. http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9811/07/net.commerce.impact/index.html - ------------------------- Why? ------------------------- Because COST is a "gatekeeping function!" http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/10230.html >First Lady: Net News Needs Scrutiny - Reuters - 12:46pm 11.Feb.98.PST WASHINGTON - > Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a meeting with reporters Wednesday that "we are all going to have to rethink how we deal with" the Internet because of the handling of White House sex scandal stories on Web sites. >In an otherwise low-key question-and-answer session, *Clinton was at her most intense* [!!!!!!] when asked whether she favored curbs on the Internet, on which news services have serveral times made headlines themselves with their coverage of the president's purported affair with a White House intern. >"We are all going to have to rethink how we deal with this, because there are all these competing values ... Without any kind of editing function or gatekeeping function, what does it mean to have the right to defend your reputation?" she said. Pay attention: "EDITING FUNCTION"/ "GATEKEEPING FUNCTION" = CONTROL - ------------------ Now Please DO Something About It ------------------- Contact Congress: http://www.gunowners.org/mailerx.html GOA's nifty mass e-mailer. Use it to demand a Brady repeal, then use it again to defend your right to talk about the RKBA on the internet without long distance charges. Call or Fax your Congresscritter: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ In Liberty, Rick V. - --- The Right to Self Defense is a Fundamental Human Right - RKBA [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Dec 98 07:09:24 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: RAPTUS: Y2K and Martial law (fwd) On Dec 8, FrizBMG@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Good Morning .Ifound this online atWorldnetnews.com Y2K and martial law - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For those suspecting the federal government is making Y2K millennium bug contingency plans that include the suspension of civil liberties, fears were not allayed by the nation's Y2K czar at his first summit last week. In answer to a question about electrical-power failures caused by embedded chip problems and other millennium bug breakdowns, John Koskinen, the chairman of President Clinton's Y2K council, said: "In a crisis and emergency situation, the free market may not be the best way to distribute resources. ... If there's a point in time where we have to take resources and make a judgment on an emergency basis, we will be prepared to do that." Now what does that mean? These guys don't think the free market is the best way to distribute resources in the best of times. But this statement requires some explanation. This is a statement that should prompt congressional hearings -- out in public, not in executive session. This is a statement that brings to mind a history of executive orders mandating emergency presidential powers that would make our Founding Fathers spin in their graves. Yet, I saw the chilling statement reported only by Wired News, which covered the Y2K council's first summit in San Francisco last Thursday. Nothing in the Associated Press. Nothing in the San Francisco papers. Nothing on the major networks. Worse yet, even Wired News, which, thank heavens, saw fit to publish the quote, did not choose to lead its story coverage with it. Now, I can understand government seizing an opportunity for more power in a crisis. It's the nature of government to do just that. What I don't understand is how we could receive so many warnings by government officials of their ominous plans for martial law beginning Jan. 1, 2000 without scrutiny by the press, civil libertarians and other so-called government watchdogs. Why am I like a voice crying out in the wilderness over this issue? This is, by my count, at least the second major pronouncement by high-ranking members of the Clinton administration that preparations are being made to scrap the Constitution in the event of problems we know are coming on a date just over a year away. The first, to refresh your memories, came in June, when Sen. Robert Bennett, chairman of the Senate's Year 2000 committee, was interviewing a top Pentagon official, Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre. Here's how that exchange went: Bennett: "In the event of a Y2K-induced breakdown of community services that might call for martial law," will the military be ready? Hamre: "We've got fundamental issues to deal with that go beyond just the Year 2000 contingency planning. And I think you're right to bring that up." Understand that Bennett, a Republican from Utah, wasn't suspiciously asking Hamre if the military was secretly planning a hideous martial law scenario. He was knowingly asking him, apparently hopeful that the military would be prepared to carry out it out. I know it's too much to ask, but shouldn't the members of the House Judiciary Committee at least have all this in the back of their minds today as they consider articles of impeachment against President Clinton? Is this a leader the nation can trust on the brink of a potential national crisis? Is this a man America can trust with emergency powers? Americans have come to believe their freedom is a permanent state. When people take their freedom for granted, it is most in peril. Is it not possible, with all we now know about the character of Bill Clinton, that he would attempt to turn such a crisis into a semi-permanent presidency - -- one with imperial powers? And, with all we know about the character of the spineless Congress, is it unthinkable to imagine its members abdicating their authority and collaborating in such an insidious scheme? Am I being paranoid? I don't think so. After all, it's not me who is raising the ugly specter of martial law in the context of the Y2K crisis. It is the United States government -- first in a public meeting between representatives of the legislative and executive branches and now in a public summit convened by the president's Y2K czar. This is not a hallucination, folks. It's reality. Hearings are being conducted. Plans are being made. Further evidence of this plot comes in the form of Presidential Decision Directive 63, issued by Bill Clinton last May. It calls for the development of a plan to ensure "essential national security missions" as well as general public health and safety by, you guessed it, the year 2000. The carefully worded directive emphasizes the preservation of order, the delivery of minimum essential services and the maintenance of a "national infrastructure protection system" involving the military, intelligence agencies, law enforcement and the mandatory participation of the "private sector." Under the directive, the "National Infrastructure Protection Center," which includes the FBI, the Secret Service, other federal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Defense and the intelligence agencies, calls the shots. To me, the cynic, all this sounds like code for martial law. Not interested in the federal plans? You may have to be. The document states that "it is preferred that participation by owners and operators in a national infrastructure protection system be voluntary." Note that word "preferred." You may be drafted. The first set of plans from federal agencies were due on Clinton's desk last month. You can bet he won't be holding any press conferences on those details any time soon. I can tell you this news agency will be filing Freedom of Information Act requests for those documents. But, don't hold your breath, this White House claims a broad exemption from the FOIA that none of its predecessors has claimed -- just one more reason for impeachment, if you ask me. Of course, maybe Y2K will come and go with no major calamities. Would you like to bet your freedom on that possibility? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #203 *************************