From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #112 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Wednesday, April 15 1998 Volume 02 : Number 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Apr 98 10:34:03 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fratrum: N.O.W. Gags "Roe" and "Doe" (fwd) On Apr 13, Jo wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Subject: N.O.W. Gags "Roe" and "Doe" Date: Tue, 14 Apr 98 01:47:10 GMT From: ajandak > > >Dear Readers, >A perfect example of Media censorship. >The original plaintiffs of "Roe" v Wade and "Doe" v. Bolton are now pro-life, and >testifying in defense of the peaceful prolife protesters who are on trial under laws >originally intended to convict mafia gangsters. > Bet you haven't heard of this case, and bet you won't on "mainstream". >================================================================== > >Wednesday April 8, 9:57 am Eastern Time > >Company Press Release > >SOURCE: Pro-Life Action League > >Pro-Life Action League: N.O.W. Gags and Masks Roe and Doe at Rico Trial > >CHICAGO, April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was issued today by the >Pro-Life Action League: > >Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano, the ``Roe'' and ``Doe'' of the landmark >1973 abortion cases Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, will testify >Wednesday and/or Thursday on behalf of Joseph M. Scheidler and the >Pro-Life Action League in Federal Court. The defendants in the NOW v. >Scheidler trial are under a remarkable gag order obtained by the >plaintiffs. Roe & Doe along with Scheidler will speak to the press at >1:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 8th, in the lobby of the Federal Court house >located at the Dirksen Federal Building, 219 South Dearborn, in >Chicago. > >McCorvey and Cano will testify about their witnessing and, in Cano's >case, participating in peaceful pro-life demonstrations in front of >abortion facilities. What they will not be able to reveal to the jury >is their identities as ``Roe'' and ``Doe.'' Claiming that it would be >``unfair'' for the jury to know that the two women, now pro-life >activists, were once the abortion movement's most revered icons, the >National Organization for Women and co-plaintiff abortion clinics have >secured a ruling requiring McCorvey's and Cano's past roles as >pro-abortion litigants to be kept secret in the courtroom. > >``I suppose if NOW could have superimposed a blue dot over the faces of >Norma and Sandra in the courtroom to keep anyone from possibly >recognizing them, they would have moved for that, too,'' said defendant >Joe Scheidler, director of the Pro-Life Action League. ``NOW's tactics >in this trial are veering from the Orwellian to the surreal.'' > >McCorvey will testify that the pro-life demonstrations she witnessed >while visiting a Los Angeles clinic and serving as a four-year staff >member at several Dallas abortion facilities were always peaceful and >non-violent. Cano will discuss her observations, and her own >participation in, peaceful ``rescue'' demonstrations at abortion >clinics in Atlanta. They both will speak to Mr. Scheidler's peaceful >quest in fighting abortion. > >``It's at least consistent that NOW and the abortionists want to hide >the identities of Miss McCorvey and Miss Cano,'' states Scheidler. >``When someone is inconvenient to them, be it a witness or a preborn >baby, they simply try to conceal the truth of who that person is.'' > >During these last five weeks of testimony in the trial, NOW has tried >to prove that pro-life activists exercising their First Amendment >rights had somehow formed a criminal ``enterprise'' and ``conspired'' >to perform ``extortionate'' acts to achieve an illegal goal. After >almost a month of NOW's smoke and mirrors, the air has begun to clear. > >``If NOW wants to stop terrorism, why don't they sue the terrorists?'' >asked Scheidler. ``They're coming after us because we're both >non-violent and effective. We're saving lives. To be pro-life is to >have a fundamental respect for human life and to reject violence. That >is why we reject the violence that is abortion. That is why we urge >women to choose life,'' said Scheidler, ``and why we urge abortionists >to quit their grisly trade.'' > >SOURCE: Pro-Life Action League [------------------------- 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, 13 Apr 1998 16:42:31 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: Oklahoma Rally (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 15:02:12 -0500 From: Tom Saunders To: rickie.a.slater@dartmouth.edu, freedom@spectra.net, observer@dmi.net, mlindste@clandjop.com, jeffs@gr.cns.net, pwatson@utdallas.edu, Shiloh1@airmail.net, nox2128@montana.com Subject: Oklahoma Rally ****************************** BILL OF ATTAINDER PROJECT ****************************** OKLAHOMA RALLY FOR WILL FOSTER ON THE STEPS OF THE CAPITOL 4/20/98, 4 p.m. Bills of Attainder and The War On Drugs In 1986 President Ronald Reagan declared the nation at war to fight the escalating use and sale of illegal drugs. When the first official operation of this "war" was to send U.S. policemen to Mexico where they helped murder a man, his wife and two children, Americans should have seen the horror of what was to come in this country. Instead, Americans let politicians legislate policies that have taken away the rights of citizens to exclusively own private property, and have caused serious encroachments on civil liberties, and created militarized police. There are over three-hundred different laws that allow government agents to take property, and suspend civil rights. Most Americans harbor the mistaken belief their civil rights are intact. They have bought into the government's dogma. In 1997 the Clinton Administration's draft of its National Drug Control Strategy policy statement says, "The War On Drugs is unwinnable, the term 'war' is unrealistic, and recommends that the government view drugs as a disease like cancer." This year in 1998 the Drug Czar's budget is 17.1 billion dollars. This does not count the state budgets and the cost of processing and housing all of the prisoners. In spite of the fact Congress is looking at different perspectives of the drug problem, treatment instead of punishment, it looks like the Czar's budget will go through. Both Republicans and Democrats swear to win the "War." In the same breath Newt Gingrich swears to rid Americans of the 'drug culture' but calls McCaffrey's plan "timid and defeatist." McCaffrey advocates closing the borders off even tighter. McCaffrey cites corruption of foreign governments as directly effecting his plan but his report makes no mention of the mass corruption in our government. A high possibility exists that his statistical information is not accurate. The "drug culture" is more underground than a 1930's speakeasy and not too free with information. Social fear is higher now than then. The "Czar" advocates a ten year plan which will only decrease drug use by 3%. His plan will not stop drugs. It will not stop the encroachment of your civil liberties and it will not protect you from crime. It will not stop the general public from believing the lies and propaganda McCaffrey's program will generate. McCaffrey expects to promote and escalate his "war" through the use of advertising by Partnership For A Drug Free America. This organization has two regular functions. They take donations, and they solicit media space. McCaffrey's plan calls for funding of the propagandized media spots, for which "Partnership" will solicit air time. The general public may hear little else about drugs but the "fear campaign" generated by the DEA and "Partnership." Americans do not realize much of the information they receive on drugs is propaganda. The effect is to generate social fear. So far it has been as effective as McCarthy Era horrors. The National Drug Control Strategy gives no credence to separate drugs. All illegal drugs are always lumped together. McCaffrey links marijuana to "meth." without giving truth about differences. What McCaffrey states as being cultural, is likely racial. He talks about targeting locals when what he means is crackdowns on places that are racially predominate. "Meth" and "Crack" are prone to attract users of different races. The racial implications of McCaffrey's plan is already seen in the racial imbalances in our prisons. McCaffrey's plan calls for the medical treatment of drug users to come under the control of the government. Congress is looking at treatment over punishment as a possible solution. Does McCaffrey's plan treat only those he can outlaw as criminals? McCaffrey talked about "altering the value systems of American youth." The use of force and the militarization of American police to enforce a "Prohibitionist State" has certainly had an influence on our youth so far. The government is building prisons for those not yet born on the basis of statistical predictions. McCaffrey's plan attacks the "drug culture" as a specific group. It specifically outlaws the segment of our society involved with drugs the same way Jim Crow laws outlawed Blacks. The bill of attainder clauses in the Constitution forbids any law that is directed at a specific, ascertainable group. (See U.S. v. Lovett, USC Art. 1, Cl 9) The "War On Drugs" promises extended militarization of our police forces. Not only does this approach to law enforcement encroach upon American civil liberties it expands the gigantic cost of making America a "Prohibitionist State." The "War On Drugs" is about much more than drugs. It effects every American. There will be no reasonable end to it unless most Americans realize the cost to them has been more than money. Republicans, Democrats and others who keep escalating McCaffrey's policies must realize they have made a crucial error. They have taken away American liberties they have had no right to remove. As an American do you want our representatives to support a national, and international program that includes lies, murder, and theft as justifiable to use in American justice? Bill Of Attainder Project http://www.isc- durant.com/tom/billofattainder P.O. Box 584, Colbert, OK 74733 tom@isc-durant.com (580) 965-4867 - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 17:15:07 -0400 From: Tom Cloyes Subject: Hearthside, April 14, Mobs >From: "Hearthside Family Publications" >To: "Our friends at Hearthside"hearth@hancock.net >Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 09:53:34 +0000 >X-Distribution: Moderate >Subject: Hearthside, April 14, Mobs >Reply-to: hearth@hancock.net >Priority: normal > > >Hearthside, April 14, Mobs > >"To return to the electoral college: it was devised as a safeguard >against popular excitement. It was supposed that he electors in their >December meeting would calmly discuss the merits of the ablest men in >the country and make an intelligent selection for the presidency. The >electors were to use their own judgment, and it was not necessary that >all the electors chosen in one state should vote for the same >candidate. The people on election day were not supposed to be voting >for a president but for the presidential electors. This theory was >never realized." (1) > >It was designed to protect us from ourselves. It was designed to keep >democracy out of the presidential elections. Why? > >"Where the security is no more than personal, there may be a good >monarch, but can be no good commonwealth." Harrington's Political >Aphorisms > >The idea was to protect interests, both of the individual and >corporate society. The genius of the founders was to have us elect our >Representatives directly (for our personal rights and interests), our >Senators by our State legislatures (for our State's rights and >interests), and our Executive by electors (for our corporate rights >and interests.) > >>From the start we ignored and were hidden from wisdom by the=20 >candidates, but righteousness and naivet=E9 protected us. When the=20 >ability to have the State's choose our Senators was taken away, it=20 >put the whole shebang in the hands of the mob. > >What is wrong with that? > >"Let us calmly and with truthfulness consider the history and the >nature of man, and we shall find the answer. We all acknowledge that >man is a frail being, subject to a thousand sinister influences; we >all acknowledge that wise men are infinitely rarer than unwise; yet >shall the aggregate of these individuals constitute a wise, just, >dispassionate body? Where is reason in this argument?" (2) > >"In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod >is for the back of him that is void of understanding." Proverbs 10:13 > >That is not a prescription, but a consequence... > >Dave and Helen Delany > >(1) _Civil Government in the United States_, by John Fiske; Houghton, >Mifflin, 1890 >(2) _Manual of Political Ethics_, vol. 1, by Francis Lieber; J. B. >Lippincott, 1874 >--- > Liberty Begins at Hearthside > >Copyright: Hearthside Family Publications > http://www.hancock.net/~freedom > * * * * * >><> To Subscribe (or unsubscribe) > Send request to hearth@hancock.net > > - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 11:12:52 -0400 From: Tom Cloyes Subject: Release: Tax Day Waste As if your tax day isn't bad enough without knowing where your money's going. Tom >Date: Tue, 14 Apr 98 14:03:02 PDT >From: announce@lp.org >Subject: Release: Tax Day Waste >Sender: announce-request@lp.org >Reply-To: announce@lp.org >To: announce@lp.org (Libertarian Party announcements) >X-Mailer: mailout v1.26 released with lsendfix 1.8 > > >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > >=============================================== >NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY >2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 >Washington DC 20037 >=============================================== >For release: April 14, 1998 >=============================================== >For additional information: >George Getz, Press Secretary >(202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 >Internet: 76214.3676@CompuServe.com >=============================================== > > >Here are the top 10 ways politicians will waste >your money in 1998, Libertarians tell taxpayers > > WASHINGTON, DC -- The only thing more painful than sending your >money to the IRS, Libertarians say, is thinking about all the ways >politicians will squander it. > > "April 15 is the time to remind taxpayers of how recklessly >politicians plan to spend their hard-earned money," said Ron >Crickenberger, national director of America's most ardently anti-tax >party, the Libertarians. "To get an idea of where your money will go >this year, take a look at the Top 10 Most Outrageous Things Politicians >Voted to Spend Your Money On This Year . . ." > > (1) Themselves. "Politicians gave themselves a pay raise to >$136,672 a year -- without even taking a formal vote," Crickenberger >said. "This $3,072 Congressional pay heist gives new meaning to the >term Capitol offense." > > (2) Their taxpayer-funded Cadillacs. At least 100 House >Republicans and Democrats are leasing luxury cars, some at a cost of >over $1,000 a month. "If your 1040 forms are driving you crazy, stop >and think about all those Congressmen driving around in luxury -- at >your expense," Crickenberger said. > > (3) The IRS. Three weeks before hearings at which Republicans >and Democrats claimed to be "outraged" at how this rogue agency >"terrorizes innocent Americans and ruins their lives," Congress voted >to increase the IRS budget by $600 million. "But when the television >cameras were turned off, those IRS bullies went back to work -- and >they're the same people collecting your check on April 15." > > (4) Pot smokers. The government paid $50,000 to study the >habits of "habitual marijuana smokers" in an experiment at the >Bowman-Gray Medical School in Winston-Salem, NC. "Cheech and Chong, >Uncle Sam wants you!" Crickenberger said. "Squandering money like this >is the ultimate form of reefer madness." > > (5) New York's Metropolitan Opera. "The National Endowment for >the Arts is using your tax money to subsidize $125 tickets for the >bejeweled patrons who attend the Met -- proving that NEA bureaucrats >have mastered the art of picking taxpayers' pockets," Crickenberger >said. > > (6) Haircuts for Senators. "Taxpayers will be charged $180,000 >to subsidize a shop that pays barbers $62,000 a year and receptionists >$47,000 -- proving that politicians are more concerned about trimming >their hair than about trimming the cost of government," Crickenberger >said. > > (7) Lecturing teenagers not to have sex. As part of a program >to curb teen pregnancy, the GOP inserted $400 million into the Welfare >Reform Act to promote abstinence until marriage. "A Congress that can't >say no when it comes to wasting money thinks it can teach American >teenagers to say no when it comes to sex," Crickenberger said. > > (8) Paying medical schools not to train doctors. Concerned >about a doctor glut, Republicans rolled out a program last year that >could pay 1,025 medical schools billions not to train doctors. "No >wonder health care costs are going crazy," Crickenberger said. "How >about a subsidy for people who promise not to become politicians -- >since there's a glut of them, and they're making taxpayers sick!" > > (9) Deploying troops in 100 nations. The U.S. military bragged >that it had stationed American forces in more than half the nations on >the globe -- costing taxpayers billions of dollars. "That isn't a >national defense, it's a national offense," Crickenberger said. "It's >an offense against U.S. taxpayers, who are paying for a global case of >military mission creep." > > (10) The only good news: A $4 billion IRS computer that >doesn't work. The IRS admitted last year that it spent 11 years and $4 >billion developing a computer system that doesn't work, and an IRS >bureaucrat admitted that the agency lacks the "intellectual capacity to >do the job right." > > "In an odd way, this computer fiasco is good news -- it means >there's one less powerful, high-tech weapon for the IRS to use to >harass innocent Americans," Crickenberger said. "So it's harder for >politicians to get our money -- which they'll just waste on more silly >programs like these." > > >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- >Version: 2.6.2 > >iQCVAwUBNTPIwNCSe1KnQG7RAQExVQP/dHXpREttnCjChKmO8t21a7Sa+WBwLS34 >grdkXHxnFrk+KHzGT2fJUMNYceqK/lAVLgjKM1nYwQsxkp7WVG/MSrqVkSrcAruL >ZMr8bVAITNoDOUldh6WVVqZdwgTp+2hlQ2t56WBX2BpJyvTiVtdiL79JhM1uspjO >zl3Ud9MyeZc= >=uSya >-----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > >The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/ >2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008 >Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072 > >For subscription changes, please mail to with the >word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line -- or use the WWW form. > > - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 10:16:11 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: The Strange Clinton Death list - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 23:38:00 -0500 From: "Brenda C. Jinkins" Subject: CAS: CBN: Dying to Tell: The Mysterious Deaths of Clinton Colleagu= es For education and discussion. Not for commercial use.=20 =20 Dying to Tell: The Mysterious Deaths of Clinton Colleagues CBN April 14, 1998 Gary Lane=20 The mysterious deaths of a number of people, linked in one way or another to Bill Clinton, have generated numerous conspiracy theories. But are these deaths part of an actual conspiracy … or just coincidence? CBN News reporter Gary Lane attempts to unravel the mysteries. July 6, 1997 -- A quiet Georgetown neighborhood in the nation's capital is stunned by a gangland-style murder at the Starbucks' caf=E9. One of the three victims, assistant manager Mary "Caity" Mahoney, an avowed lesbian, had served as an intern at the White House. Was it robbery ... or a hit? November 1996, The U.S. Commerce Department -- The partially nude body of 14-year employee Barbara Wise is found in a fourth floor office following Thanksgiving weekend. "She worked in the same section as John Huang," says Larry Klayman of Judicial Watch. "She was found naked in an office after a long weekend at the Commerce Department. Does one die naked in a government office? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out something's being covered up." District of Columbia police say the Commerce Department death is no mystery at all: the DC medical examiner determined that 48-year-old Barbara Wise died of natural causes. DC homicide detectives refused to talk to CBN News about the Mahoney case, saying the Starbucks murders are still under investigation.=20 But from Arkansas to Washington, DC, unanswered questions surrounding the mysterious deaths of people connected to Bill Clinton continue to cast a cloud over the White House. "I can't think of any other President that this has happened to," says conservative analyst James Dale Davidson. "It may be that we know more about people in the nether reaches of his association than we do about some other Presidents, but I don't think that Jimmy Carter had a lot of associates that died mysteriously." The most notable in the Clinton administration? The deaths of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and White House Deputy Counsel Vince Foster. Foster's body was found in Ft. Marcy Park in July 1993. Investigators for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr concluded that Foster committed suicide. Davidson is unconvinced. "The fact that the photographs are disappearing, the x-rays were allegedly taken and disappeared, the fact that all the things that you would do if you were trying to cover up and disguise the evidence have been done in this case, where the testimony of the witnesses was changed in the FBI reports -- it doesn't add up," says Davidson. "The Hardy Boys would laugh at this report; it's totally ridiculous." A majority of Americans apparently also have their doubts. A recent poll conducted for the Western Journalism Center by Zogby International found that 68 percent of those polled were either not sure that Foster committed suicide or believe he was murdered. And 77 percent of those questioned would not disagree that a cover-up of Foster's death had taken place. In the death of former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, the former head of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology photography unit, Kathleen Janoski, alleges that evidence of a possible homicide was intentionally destroyed.=20 Brown was on a trade mission to Croatia when his military plane slammed into the side of a mountain. Although military pathologists noticed a possible bullet hole in Brown's skull, no autopsy was ever performed. "Surely he should be given as much attention as any Joe Blow would get if he were on the streets of Washington found dead," says radio talk show host Alan Keyes. "An autopsy would be performed. So, we have a cabinet officer die, and we don't want to do him the courtesy of making sure what the truth is." Nolanda Hill, Brown's former business partner and confidante says that Brown met with the President just days before he was sent on the trade mission to Croatia. She alleges that Brown told the President that he was going to cut a deal with the independent counsel who was investigating him. Hill testified in court that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton decided that Commerce Department trade missions would be used to raise money for the Democratic party. She alleges that business executives were required to pay $50,000 to join the trips. The deaths of Ron Brown and Vince Foster have been the most publicized, but there are others. The internet is abuzz with a long list of the so-called "Whitewater body count." Among those on the list is Victor Raisner, the national finance co-chair for Clinton for President. He died in an airplane crash in July 1992. Then there's Paul Tulley, who was on the Democratic National Committee. He was found dead of unknown causes in his hotel room in September 1992. And then there is John Parnel Walker. An investigator for the RTC, he was looking into the Whitewater scandal. He fell from the top of the Lincoln Towers building. Also on the list:=20 Jim Wilhite, former vice chairman of Arkla, Inc., the Arkansas/Louisiana gas company, a friend of President Clinton and a former chief of staff Mac McClarty. He was killed in a 1992 skiing accident. Stanley Heard, a Hot Springs, Arkansas, chiropractor was killed in a plane crash in 1993. He reportedly treated members of Clinton's family. Bob Wilcher, a Washington attorney who was investigating federal corruption and drug running in Mena, Arkansas. He was found dead in his Capitol Hill apartment in July 1993. The body of Kathy Ferguson was found near Little Rock in May 1994. She was the ex-wife of trooper Danny Ferguson. He was named as a defendant in the Paula Jones lawsuit five days after his ex-wife's death. Ferguson's death was ruled a suicide, but friends who worked with her at the Baptist Memorial Hospital say they believe she was murdered because she knew about Clinton's alleged sexual infidelities. About a month after Ferguson's death, the body of her boyfriend, Sherwood police officer Bill Shelton, was found on Ferguson's grave. It was ruled another suicide. And then there's the story of Jerry Parks, who was gunned down gangland-style while returning from church in September 1993. Parks worked security for the Clinton campaign in 1992. His son Gary says his dad was investigating Mr. Clinton's sex life; Little Rock police have yet to solve the Parks murder.=20 Coincidence or deliberate? No one really knows for sure, but unanswered questions and incomplete investigations only seem to help perpetuate conspiracy theories. When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke last January, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out against the so-called right wing conspiracy. But some of those who fear the capabilities of the Clinton administration are not right-wingers. Take Monica Lewinsky, for example -- she's hardly considered a conservative. Lewinsky reportedly told Linda Tripp that Tripp and her children were in danger if Tripp did not give testimony favorable to the President concerning the Kathleen Willey episode.=20 And Nolanda Hill was a liberal Democratic insider. "She told me and a colleague at Judicial Watch that in her view, based on statements that were made by Brown, Ron believed that this administration was capable of killing people," says Klayman. >From sexual misconduct to unexplained deaths, Alan Keyes says all these allegations erode the confidence Americans need in their leaders and institutions. "Liberty cannot survive on lies," he says. "It cannot survive on deceit, and if we tolerate it, then we will lose our liberty for sure." At least in the case of Ron Brown, why aren't Americans aggressively pushing Congress and the Justice Department to get at the truth? James Dale Davidson has a theory: "We're in the point of a hillbilly song, and the line was, 'We really don't want to know.' I really don't want to know. People sometimes shy away from unhappy truths."=20 Copyright =A9 1998 by The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. of this page and all contents. All Rights Reserved. External sites are not endorsed by The Christian Broadcasting Network. 24-hour prayer line: 1-800-759-0700 Contact us: webmaster@cbn.org =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D This mailing list is for discussion of Clinton Administration Scandals. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send electronic mail to majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com. In the message body put: unsubscribe cas - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 11:38:47 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: IRS still attacking political enemies - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- THE POWER TO DESTROY IRS continues political targeting A new look at the administration's auditing of 'enemies' By Sarah Foster Copyright 1998, WorldNetDaily.com Before last summer Bruce Bates had no interest in politics. So when he received a notice from the IRS that his marketing and communications firm, Bruce Bates Enterprises, was to be audited, he simply shrugged and began organizing the paperwork. After all, people do get audited, and his one-person business, which he conducts from his home in West Palm Beach, Florida, had nothing to hide. The audit itself -- which lasted three months -- changed his outlook completely. It was, in his words, "incredibly brutal." So brutal, that when at last completed Bates was nearly out of business due to the demands on his time. "They asked for everything in the book," Bates told WorldNetDaily. "They wanted floor plans of my house, photographs of my office, a detailed history of my business. I spent all my time trying to comply with all the requests," he explained, "It was three months of trying to find this little thing or that little thing for them. I had canceled checks and receipts, but they wanted detailed explanations for every one." The IRS demanded his phone bills, not just the cover pages showing the amount paid each month, but the 10-15 pages itemizing the calls themselves. Plus they wanted an explanation for every single call, who he called and, ominously, why. "Bells and whistles started going off at this point," Bates recalled. "I figured there was a lot more to this than they were admitting." After three months of scrutinizing every ink blot in the records, the auditor still had found nothing. "He allowed all my deductions, couldn't find any unreported business income, and recommended to his people at the IRS that the audit be closed," said Bates. But the case was far from settled. Bates soon learned that the IRS bosses were "furious" at the outcome. "They said they weren't going to close the audit, and were going to audit me next year (for 1997) -- and they were going to have someone else do the audit," he said. For Bates that was "the clincher." He decided to start his own investigation. The question of whether his audit could have been politically motivated came to mind. Beginning in September 1996, a number of stories had been published in the press indicating the Clinton White House was using the IRS to punish conservative groups and other critics of the administration. Not having much interest in politics Bates had not paid close attention to the allegations. Why would the White House be interested in a 40-year-old marketing consultant, one relatively indifferent to politics? But Bates had not lived completely out of touch with the political world. During the late 1980s he was director of publications of the National Religious Broadcasters Association. After leaving that organization, he continued to do contract work for them and his name was listed on their masthead for "many years." Was this the link? To find out Bates drew upon his expertise developed through years in marketing. He sent questionnaires to a sampling of religious broadcasters asking whether or not they had been audited by the IRS and requesting certain details. The results were astonishing, leaving "no doubt" in his mind that his and other audits were politically motivated. The returned surveys revealed that one in 11 organizations involved in religious broadcasting are currently being audited, or have been audited within the past five years. Moreover, one out of 20 religious broadcasters were audited in 1997. The IRS itself claims the chances of an individual being audited are one out of 146. From extrapolating the data, Bates estimates that well over 200 religious broadcasters were audited in 1997. The study further showed that more than half of the audits of religious broadcasters in the last five years were in 1997 alone, indicating a huge upsurge at the very time the IRS has been under congressional scrutiny for conducting politically motivated audits." The auditing of religious broadcasters represent one more piece of evidence that the IRS is indeed being used for political purposes -- an issue WorldNetDaily has been investigating for the past year. Last June WorldNetDaily listed 14 non-profit organizations that were under audit or been through the process. In addition, several groups that had received some indication that they were to be audited, and a few whose requests for tax exempt status was delayed were also found. In November, WorldNetDaily found a number of individuals who faced audits for possible political reasons. Here, an update on some of the cases and a few new ones that have come to light: The national organization for Christian Coalition still has not received its 501-c-4 status, which it requested in 1990. A 501-c-4 status allows lobbying activities. This leaves the Christian Coalition in limbo as far as the IRS is concerned. The California chapter, which has a 501(c)4, is waiting for its 501(c)3, which it would like to cover its educational efforts. Former IRS historian and whistleblower Shelly Davis appeared to be headed for an audit, but the threat appears to have lessened for the moment. Davis, author of "Unbridled Power" -- a no-holds-barred expose of IRS policies and actions -- was sent a letter by the IRS saying she and her live-in boyfriend owed $4,912 in back taxes and interest on the home they own jointly in Manassas, Virginia. They sent a response and the case seems closed. "We did what they wanted," she says, "and they went away. But I bet they audit me later on," she added. Ted Baehr of the Christian Film and Television Commission feels he was let off fairly easily. The audit of his organization took just three-and-a-half days -- half a day less than expected. "It could have been a lot worse," says Baehr. Indeed, yes. Talk show host Chuck Harder wasn't so fortunate. As WorldNetDaily reported recently, Peoples Network Inc. which Harder and his wife, Diane, founded in 1989 as a 501-c-3 organization, has been undergoing an audit since the earliest days of the Clinton administration. He believes the IRS was "sicced" on him in retaliation for his outspoken criticism of White House policy and to destroy him and his work. The auditing is scheduled to continue up to the last day of this millennium and could go into the next. After considerable negotiation the IRS agreed to continue the organization's 501(c)3 status. The present hassle is whether Peoples Network owes back taxes on products they have sold over the years -- mostly books, videos, and shortwave radios. Harder argues the latter are integral to the mission of his organization since without them people in many areas of the country would not be able to hear his broadcasts. They should therefore, he says, be exempt. Just like books, videos, and other educational materials. "Basically, everything that loses money the IRS says is related to their non-profit status, and everything that makes money (like the shortwave radios) the IRS says is not related and they have to pay taxes on it," says Douglas Perrault, the CPA who dealt with the IRS during the early years of the audit. Robert Bennington, president of the Las Vegas-based National Audit Defense Network is handling the case for Harder. The Defense Network is an organization of over 1,000 former-IRS agents and directors who assist taxpayers undergoing the audit process. Does Bennington think the Harder audit is politically motivated? "Let's say it's a remarkable coincidence," he answers. "Especially when you look at the Paula Jones audit, the NRA audit, and all the conservative groups that are being audited -- yet there's no corresponding liberal organizations being audited. They (the IRS) say it's random and I have no proof it's otherwise, but I think if you look at the odds of something like this occurring randomly it starts to reach astronomical proportions," he says. Speaking of Paula Jones' case -- which the Audit Defense Network is also handling -- Bennington points out that the odds of being audited on a given day are 1/365th of one percent chance. "Paula Jones received an audit notice five days after she turned down President Clinton's offer for a settlement in the sexual harassment lawsuit," says Bennington. "The odds of that happening are 5/365th of one percent chance. I'm from Las Vegas -- I know about odds." Political economist and talk show host Pat Choate was also snagged by the IRS. Choate -- who was Ross Perot's running mate in 1996 -- has a small think tank in Washington, D.C., a 501-c-3, called the Manufacturing Policy Institute. Was it his opposition to NAFTA and GATT that drew the attention of the IRS to his organization? Choate doesn't know. But like so many other critics of White House policy his non-profit was audited. "Our accountant in our payroll service had made a mistake on two payrolls back in '94," Choate recalled. "It's taken something like three-and-a-half years to get it straightened out." His solution was to pay the IRS the $37,000 demanded in back taxes, interest and penalties. He is now suing to get it back -- a standard procedure. Ironically, he's already paid more in legal fees than what he paid the IRS. A spokesman for Citizens for a Sound Economy has confirmed that the group is being audited but refused to go into details. CSE is the sponsor of "Scrap the Code," a nationwide tour featuring Dick Armey, R-Texas, and Billy Tauzin, R-Louisiana, debating whether the IRS code should be replaced by either a national sales tax or flat tax. Though declining to speculate on whether the audit was inspired by politcal considerations, the spokesman didn't rule out that possibility. "We're getting a lot of attention and are presenting a couple of serious alternatives to the present system, and I guess the IRS doesn't like that," he said. "Is the the audit politically motivated?" he asked rhetorically -- "well, people can draw their own conclusions." Bates' report is available on the Internet at http://www.brucebates.com/irs/brdcstrs.htm THE IRS' ENEMIES LIST List of Organizations Targeted by IRS Under audit or have completed audit Western Journalism Center Citizens for a Sound Economy Peoples Network Inc. (Chuck Harder) Manufacturing Policy Project (Pat Choate) American Life League Christian Film and Television Commission National Rifle Association National Review American Spectator National Center for Public Policy Research American Policy Center Heritage Foundation American Cause Citizens Against Government Waste Citizens for Honest Government Freedom Alliance Progress and Freedom Foundation Council for National Policy Concerned Women for America Center for Bioethical Reform The following have received warnings or other indications that they are under audit: Free Congress Foundation Fortress America Groups whose applications for tax-exempt status were or are delayed Christian Coalition Christian Coalition, California chapter San Diego Chapter of Christian Coalition underwent a lengthy investigation and audit, but resulted in their being told to apply for their own exempt status. Three chapters of American Family Association Life Legal Defense Foundation Churches: tax-exempt status revoked or threatened with revocation Pierce Creek Church (Vestal, NY) Second Baptist Church (Lake Jackson, Texas) Indivividuals: subjected to audit, imprisonment, or other harassing tactics Bruce Bates Paula and Stephen Jones Jeff Evans, TV talk show host in Guam. Noted as opposed to Clinton policies. Charged with "failure to file," he was imprisoned for month of October 1996 Margie Gray, retired businesswoman. Criticized the president in an e-mail Billy Dale, former director of the White House travel office Patricia and Glenn Mendoza -- citizens who shouted remark at the president Kent Masterson Brown, attorney who represented the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons in 1994 to open up Hillary Clinton's secret health care task force. Walter Gazecki, edited the documentary "Waco: The Rules of Engagement" Shelly Davis, former IRS historian and whistleblower. Author of "Unbridled Power" =============================================== - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #112 *************************