From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #263 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Monday, July 26 1999 Volume 02 : Number 263 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 24 Jul 99 21:56:14 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fratrum: Re: RICO Suit Against NBC & Kennedy (Rhode Island) (3/3) (fwd) On Jul 24, Huck wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] > criminal investigations pursuant to18 USCS 1510 and 1511. > > 38. Defendants NBC and WJAR has violated FCC rules. > > 39. Defendant Kennedy has knowingly, pursuant to 18 UCSC 1510 and 1511, > organized and maintained the aforementioned criminal conspiracy in > concert with the other named defendants. He has also violated 18 USCS 4 > ("Misprision of a felony") in that he had knowledge of the commission of > a felony. > > 40. The Town of North Providence=92s agents and armed, uniformed police > officers have, and will continue to have, knowledge of the actual > commission of a felony in violation of 18 USCS 4. Being armed in the > commission of a felony is in itself a felony pursuant to 18 USCS 921. > > 41. Defendants NBC and WJAR has knowledge of the actual commission > of a felony in violation of 18 USCS 4. > > 42. Defendants John and Jane Does 1-4 have actual knowledge of the > commission of a felony in violation of 18 USCS 4. > > 43. Defendants BATF agents John Does 1-4 have, and continue to have, > knowledge of the commission of multiple felonies at prior buybacks in > violation of 18 USCS 4. > > 44. Defendants BATF agents John Does 1-4 have actual knowledge of the > commission of the felony theft of firearms by uniformed, armed police > officers at prior buybacks in the state of Rhode Island, in violation of > 18 USCS 4. > > 45. Defendants BATF agents John Does 1-4 refuse to take enforcement > action against the other defendants under the terms of their employment > by the government of the United States of America and in violation of > their oath of office and in contravention of the GCA 1968, the Brady Law, > the NFA, and the RICO Act. > > 46. Plaintiff Traudt has suffered the violation of civil rights pursuant > to 42 USCS 1983, in that his civil rights as guaranteed by the > Constitution of the United States of America, have been violated under > color of federal law, state law, and usage by BATF agents James and > Joanne Does 1-4, and by the Town of North Providence, and by defendant > Kennedy. > > 47. Defendant NBC knew, or should have known, that the actions of its > employees in Rhode Island violated federal and state laws, and as such is > violative of 18 USCS 3 in that it had knowledge of past prior acts and > the commission of felonies by defendants Jane and John Does 1-4. > > 48. Defendant NBC holds a broadcast license from the Federal > Communications Commission under the rules stipulated in 47 USCS 303 and > 309, and must use its license in the furtherance of the "public interest" > or risk suspension of its license. NBC, through its affiliate WJAR-TV, is > not acting in the "public interest" when it knowingly participates in the > destruction of criminal evidence, the creation of an unregulated black > market in firearms, the hindrance of criminal investigations, the > interstate transport in automatic weapons, the larceny of firearms, the > destruction of Rhode Islanders personal property, and the participation > in organized criminal activities made illegal under 18 USCS 1510 and 1511. > > 49. Defendant NBC had, based on in-house investigative resources, superior > knowledge that the Providence Police Department (here not named as a > defendant) had not properly disposed of firearms at the last WJAR/NBC > buyback in Providence, RI, and had super knowledge that corruption in the > Providence Police Department was widespread, yet still facilitated a gun > buyback where firearms were surrendered to these same armed, uniform > personnel largely responsible for their own crime wave in Providence, and > the subject of numerous investigations. > > 50. It is a fact that weapons from the last buyback in Providence were > sold by Providence Police officers in Coventry, RI. > > 51. It is a fact that at prior buybacks municipalities in this state have > violated the same laws cited above=20 > > Plea for Relief > > 52. Traudt hereby request temporary injunctive relief from this court in > the form of an order barring the July 31st gun buyback from taking place. > > 53. Traudt hereby requests permanent injunctive relief barring any > further gun buybacks from taking places in this state. > > 54. Traudt hereby requests reasonable attorney=92s fees in his pro se > capacity. > > 55. Traudt seeks compensate damages from the defendants. > > 56. Traudt seeks the suspension of the FCC broadcast license of WJAR-TV > for its numerous and repeated participation in the aforementioned criminal > acts. > > JURY TRIAL > Plaintiff a jury trial for issues so triable. Plaintiff seeks injunctive > relief where deemed appropriate by the court. > Pro se, > > _____________________ > Scott Traudt > 3595 Post Road > A-22-204 > Warwick, RI 02886 > 401-734-9896 > > Dated: July 22, 1999. > > ________________________________________________________________ > Get free e-mail you don't need Web access to use -- > Or get full, reliable Internet access from Juno Web! > Download your free software today: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagh. [------------------------- 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: Sat, 24 Jul 99 21:57:05 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fratrum: Re: RICO Suit Against NBC & Kennedy (Rhode Island) (2/3) (fwd) On Jul 24, Huck wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] > > 12. The Town of North Providence does not hold a Federal Firearms > license pursuant to 27 CFR 178.21. > > 13. The Town of North Providence will not be doing background checks and > criminal records checks on individuals as mandated by federal law, nor > will they be doing the required NICS computer felony check as required by > "The Brady Act." > > 14.The Town of North Providence will not be filling out, nor keeping > records form 4473 "yellow sheets" as required under federal law 27 CFR > 178.124. > > 15. The Town of North Providence will engage in the transport of stolen > weapons in violation of 27 USCS 33. > > 16. The Town of North Providence will, by and through its armed, > uniformed police officers, commit de facto larceny of a firearm in > violation of 27 CFR 178.33(a) by failing to return stolen weapons to > their rightful owners. > > 17. The Town of North Providence will take possession and maintain > ownership and control of automatic weapons in violation of "The National > Firearms Act of 1934."("NFA"). > > 18. The Town of North Providence will fail to make a $200 payment to the > government of the United States of America for each weapon so regulated > under the NFA and surrendered for monetary compensation to the Town of > North Providence, in violation of 27 CFR 178.81. > > 19. The Town of North Providence will take possession of automatic > weapons made illegal by their manufacture after May 19, 1986 pursuant to > 27 CFR 178.36. > > 20. The Town of North Providence is engaging in the conduct of a firearms > enterprise as defined by 27 CFR 178.41 and in violations of same CFR. > > 21. The Town of North Providence is knowingly and recklessly disregarding > > the record keeping requirements of 27 CFR 178.121 and in particular the > guidelines of section 922(m) in that it is knowingly making non-entries > regarding its firearms purchases. > > 22. The Town of North Providence is knowingly failing to make positive > identification of all sellers of a firearm to itself pursuant to 27 CFR > 179.63. > > 23. The Town of North Providence is knowingly failing to identify each > and every armed and uniformed member of its police department taking > possession of weapons regulated under the NFA, Brady, GCA 1968, the CFRs, > and Rhode Island Law. > > 24. The Town of North Providence is failing to complete a federal "Form > 5" as defined by 27 CFR 179.90 in the purchase of firearms. > > 25. The Town of North Providence is violating the record keeping > provisions of 27 CFR 179.131. > > 26. The Town of North Providence is in complete violation of 27 CFR > 178.124 in that it cannot dispose of a firearm without completing a > federal form 4473 form for each such weapon. > > 27. Defendants Town of North Providence, defendants Kennedy, defendants > Jerry and Jennifer Does 1-4, defendants James and Joanne Does 1-4, > defendants John Does 1-4, and defendants NBC and WJAR constitute a > criminal conspiracy as defined by the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt > Organization Act (18 USCS 1 et. seq.) in that, by incorporating all of > the Facts Numbers 9 through 26 et. al., they obstructed federal criminal > investigations (Section 1510) and state and local criminal investigations > > (Section 1511) by virtue of Facts 30, and 31-35, which are here > incorporated by reference. > > 28. Defendant Town of North Providence will destroy evidence of crimes > for which there is federal punishment. Defendants Jerry, John, Jennifer, > and Joanne, and Kennedy all have knowingly and willingly participated and > facilitated the aforesaid acts and will continue to do so on or about > July 31st. > > 29. Pursuant to 18 USCS 4, Traudt is making judicial notice of these > acts. > > 30. Defendants Town of North Providence and defendants Jerry, John, > Jennifer, and Joanne Does 1-4, and Kennedy all have knowingly and > willingly participated in the larceny of weapons regulated under federal > and state law (11-47-22) and the destruction of personal property made > illegal by 11-47-22. > > 31. Defendants Town of North Providence and defendants Jerry, John, > Jennifer, and Joanne Does 1-4, and Kennedy all have knowingly encouraged > individuals to commit felonies in violation of RIGL 11-47-5 in that they > have facilitated the intrastate transport of firearms by convicted felons. > > 32. Defendants Town of North Providence and defendants Jerry, John, > Jennifer, and Joanne Does 1-4, and Kennedy all have knowingly facilitated > the larceny of firearms by creating and facilitating a conspiracy to > avoid federal and state firearms laws regarding the larceny of firearms > and the return of stolen firearms to their rightful owners, who have a > state and Common Law property interest in such weapons. Such actions are > violative of RIGL 11-47-5.1 and 11-47-22. > > 33. Defendants Town of North Providence and defendants Jerry, John, > Jennifer, and Joanne Does 1-4, and Kennedy all have knowingly facilitated > the intrastate transport of firearms in violation of 11-47-10 and > 11-47-11 in that transport of firearms is illegal in Rhode Island to > anywhere but ones business, a bona fide gun range, or a licensed gun > dealer subject to 27 CFR et. seq. > > 34. Defendants Town of North Providence and defendants Jerry, John, > Jennifer, and Joanne Does 1-4, and Kennedy all have knowingly facilitated > violations of 11-47-35 and 11-47-35.2 in that there is a 7 day waiting > period for the transfer of firearms in the state of Rhode Island. > > 35. Defendant Town of North Providence is in violation of RIGL 11-47-58 > in that it has violated the state pre-emption regarding the regulation of > firearms. North Providence has no statutory right to create and maintain > firearms regulations or enforcement actions in contravention of state law. > > 36. Defendants NBC and WJAR and defendants Jerry and Jennifer Does 1-4 > have knowingly violated federal and state laws regarding the creation and > continuance of a criminal enterprise as defined by RICO and in > contravention of the Federal Communications Commission laws regarding the > conduct of federal broadcast license holders. > > 37. Defendants NBC and WJAR and John and Jane Does 1-4 have used > interstate commerce via the internet to aid and assist a criminal > conspiracy in violation of the aforementioned federal and state laws. In > summary, they have aided and abetted the destruction of firearms, the > larceny of firearms, the intrastate transport of firearms, the violation > of numerous federal and state gun control laws, and the obstruction of [------------------------- 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: Sat, 24 Jul 99 21:57:57 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fratrum: Re: RICO Suit Against NBC & Kennedy (Rhode Island) (1/3) (fwd) On Jul 24, Huck wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Y'all gonna get a kick out of this one! Huck > >From jurist@attymail.com (Jurist) > Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 10:03:35 -0400 > "http://www.subguns.com/forums/wwwgunrelated/messages/6890.html" > http://www.subguns.com/forums/wwwgunrelated/messages/6890.html > > The Flackrabbits have struck in Providence, RI: United States District > Court Case Number 99-353T "Traudt vs. Town of North Providence et.al."... > > Posted by Scott Traudt on July 22, 1999 at 13:20:23: > > Gun buybacks are going the way of AM radio next week, folks, served up to > like room service courtesy of the Flackrabbits and their friends... > > Here's the whole nine yards and the kitchen sink... > > You boys and girls ought to get a kick out of seeing Rep. Patrick Kennedy > defend himself against charges of black marketing guns and violating the > RICO statutes... > > And NBC gets whacked, too... > > Enjoy, > > The Head Flackrabbit > >>>>>> > UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT > DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND > SCOTT TRAUDT: > > Plaintiff, : > > vs. : Civil Action #: > > TOWN OF NORTH PROVIDENCE, AGENTS JOHN DOES 1-4 OF THE UNITED STATES > BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND FIREARMS, NATIONAL BROADCASTING > CORPORATION AND ITS AFFILIATE, WJAR-TV CHANNEL 10, EMPLOYEES JERRY AND > JENNIFER DOES 1-4 OF WJAR-TV CHANNEL 10, REPRESENTATIVE PATRICK KENNEDY, > AND JAMES AND JOANNE DOES 1-4, > > Defendants, > > COMPLAINT > > Plaintiff, Scott Traudt ("Traudt") brings this action for temporary > injunctive relief, permanent injunctive relief, nominal damages, > compensatory damages, and the costs of suit pursuant to 18 USCS 3, 18 > USCS Section 4, 18 USCS 921 ("The Gun Control Act of 1968" and "The > National Firearms Act of 1934"), 18 USCS 922 ("The Brady Act of 1994"), > 18 USCS 1961 ("The Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act"), 42 > USCS 1983 ("The Civil Rights Act of 1871"), 47 USCS 303 and 309 > ("Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs") and, via the assertion of > pendent Rhode Island State Law claims pursuant to Title 11-47 of the > Rhode Island General Laws. Common Law claims are also asserted. > > The Parties > > 1. Plaintiff Traudt is a citizen of the United States of America who did > not come by his citizenship pursuant to the 16th Amendment to the United > States Constitution. Traudt is a citizen of the State of Rhode Island and > Providence Plantations ("Rhode Island"). Traudt is a resident of the City > of Warwick, Rhode Island. > > 2. Defendant Town of North Providence, 2000 Smith St., North Providence, > RI 02911, is a municipality sued pursuant to Title 45 of the Rhode Island > General Laws. > > 3. Defendant John Does 1-4 of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and > Firearms, 380 Westminister Mall, Providence, RI 02903, are sued in their > official capacities as being those agents of the United States Government > who had a duty to act to prevent the violations of federal law to be > summarized in the following, who omitted to act, and who are those > individuals Traudt is under obligation of the federal duty elucidated in > 18 USCS Sections 3 and 4 to make judicial notice of in the misprision of > a felony(s). > > 4. Defendants Jerry and Jennifer Does 1-4 are as yet unknown employees > of the federally regulated (pursuant to the Federal Communications > Commission) and federally licensed television station WJAR-TV 10 operating > out of transmission sites in Cranston and Providence, Rhode Island, and > who are conducting interstate commerce across state lines via the > "internet," (commonly called "the web"), and who are conducting such > business activities through an as yet unknown internet service provider > ("ISP"). WJAR-TV is an affiliate of a New York Station, defendant > National Broadcasting Corporation ("NBC"), 30 Rockefeller Center, NY, NY > 10112. > > 5. Representative Patrick Kennedy ("Kennedy"), 286 Main St., Providence, > RI 02860, is a United States Congressman representing the 1st > Congressional District of Rhode Island. Kennedy is sued here in his > official capacity. > > 6. Defendants James and Joanne Does 1-4 are staffers of Kennedy and are > sued in their official capacities as federal employees. > > 7. Defendant NBC is a New York corporation. > > Jurisdiction > > 8. The violations of federal and state laws alleged by Traudt took place > in Rhode Island, and will take place in Rhode Island, on or about July > 31st and at dates as yet uncertain prior to July 31st. > > The acts and omissions to act by defendants require immediate local > federal remedy. NBC is a New York corporation sued because of violations > of federal and state law and also because of its status as an out-of- > state legal entity. > > Venue > > 9. There is only one United States District Court for the District of > Rhode Island. There are no alternatives for Traudt, who is compelled > pursuant to 18 USCS 3 and 4 to make judicial notice of the misprision of > a felony occurring in his presence or to which he has knowledge before > the fact, and that he has knowledge after the fact. > > Facts > > 10. On or about July 31st, 1999, defendants are seeking to hold an event > entitled a "gun buyback." At this event, which is being run under the > authority and management of uniformed, armed police officers of the Town > of North Providence, firearms subject to regulation under various federal > and state laws are to be surrendered by individuals in return for the > payment of $25 in cash or gift certificates. > > 11. Federal firearms regulations are listed in the Code of Federal > Regulations (CFRs) in title 27. [------------------------- 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: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 07:33:31 -0700 (PDT) From: wbg Subject: Re: Fratrum: Re: RICO suit/Bill Vance Hey, Bill, been meaning to ask - whence this passion for splitting up your longer posts into multiple messages? Somebody's firewall out there refusing to pass anything bigger than 700 lines, or what? This RICO Rhode Island one (delicious, BTW) was only 396 lines total - surely nobody'd email moat would have a hiccup over that . . . or would it? Brewster - -- *********************************************************************** " So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot. " George Orwell *********************************************************************** W. Brewster Gillett wbg@hevanet.com Portland, Oregon USA *********************************************************************** - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jul 99 09:04:22 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Re: Fratrum: Re: RICO suit/Bill Vance Most other lists seem to handle it fine, but of late, I've had to bust 'em up to get a post through to ROC. Otherwise they just, "disapear". I tried "Split -150 filename", but that didn't allways work, so I dropped it to -140, and a few still disapeared, so now I've dropped it down to 130 lines per post, and so far all of those are getting through. As none of these bounce, I've no idea where the, "pinch point", is. On Jul 25, wbg wrote: >Hey, Bill, been meaning to ask - whence this passion for splitting >up your longer posts into multiple messages? Somebody's firewall out there >refusing to pass anything bigger than 700 lines, or what? This RICO >Rhode Island one (delicious, BTW) was only 396 lines total - surely >nobody'd email moat would have a hiccup over that . . . or would it? > > >Brewster >-- >*********************************************************************** >" So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire > by people who don't even know that fire is hot. " > > George Orwell >*********************************************************************** >W. Brewster Gillett wbg@hevanet.com Portland, Oregon USA >*********************************************************************** - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** 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: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 10:13:12 -0700 (PDT) From: wbg Subject: Re: Fratrum: Re: RICO suit/Bill Vance Bill Vance responded: > Most other lists seem to handle it fine, but of late, I've had to bust 'em > up to get a post through to ROC. Otherwise they just, "disapear". I tried > "Split -150 filename", but that didn't allways work, so I dropped it to -140, > and a few still disapeared, so now I've dropped it down to 130 lines per > post, and so far all of those are getting through. As none of these bounce, > I've no idea where the, "pinch point", is. Thanks for the information. Maybe we could check in with whoever's operating the listserv and determine whether that bottleneck could be expanded a bit. Brewster - -- *************************************************************** " Madness consists in not recognizing the facts; in making wishes the fathers of thoughts; in conceiving things to be other than they really are; in trying to realize desired ends by means which countless previous experiments have shown to be inappropriate. " Aldous Huxley _After Many A Summer Dies the Swan_, 1939 *************************************************************** W. Brewster Gillett wbg@hevanet.com Portland, Oregon USA *********************************************************************** - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jul 99 10:25:21 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Be CAREFUL with the "unbiased" media (fwd) On Jul 25, ataylor@nmsu.edu wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] >X-From_: root@airgunhq.com Sat Jul 24 12:33:31 1999 >To: Multiple recipients of list PRN >Reply-To: PRN@airgunhq.com >Sender: root@airgunhq.com >From: adbco@netaxs.com (Andy Barniskis) >X-Mailer: NetXpress 2.54.beta3 >Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 13:31:57 -0500 >Organization: AirPower Information Services >Subject: Get tougher with the press. . . > > Time to get tougher with the media > > As a card-carrying curmudgeon, I'm always embarrassed when >someone comes along with an opinion more cynical than mine -- and >then they persuade me they are right. When that happens I feel >obligated to confess it in public. > > My gun club has been approached by several reporters from >the broadcast media recently, and has (to their credit) taken >what I regarded as a very paranoid stance with them. My personal >experience (and I emphasize, personal) with the media has been >mostly positive; that is, I have had few complaints with the way >they have treated my statements about gun rights, and their >reporting of issues I have been involved with has been generally >objective. Not always, but generally. So, I regarded the gun >club's stance as being a little too far on the side of caution. > > I was wrong, and a friend showed me with a few words how if >I had given things even a moment's deeper thought, I would have >realized it -- from past experience. My friend reminded me of >something that had happened almost 10 years ago, that I had >forgotten, in part from taking too short a view. > > Earlier in this decade, when New Jersey was about to pass >some of the more heinous portions of their infamous gun bans, my >club in Pennsylvania hosted an "educational" event for the media, >demonstrating and explaining many of the aspects of firearms >technology that often are misreported. (We hosted it in >Pennsylvania, because even at that time, it would have been >illegal to transport -- or even possess -- some of the firearms >in the Peoples State of New Jersey.) Typical demonstrations >showed how an AK-47 does less damage than a typical hunting rifle >to various targets like watermelons and milk jugs, and that a >skilled shooter with a revolver could fire more rounds faster >than even a full-automatic machine gun. > > It was a good demonstration, and many of the reporters >enjoyed themselves immensely. But, the coverage that reached the >TV and the newspapers was only so-so -- objective at best, but >often missing or garbling the points. And, we all know what >happened in New Jersey. > > I do not blame the reporters. What I saw that reporters >wrote was generally accurate, if not as detailed as I might have >wished. Some of the reporters I know more or less personally >(and I note they are still reporters, not editors), and I know >they sympathize with the gun-rights position. Like many efforts >to penetrate the media, I felt the day of demonstrations had been >worth the old college try, but probably had not been worth the >effort, with hindsight. But, I had never regarded the effort as >counterproductive. > > That was until my friend reminded me that the film footage >that was taken that day still turns up frequently as file footage >on local TV stations -- except that now it is shown out of context >in anti-gun "news" items that show, for example, someone firing >a machinegun on our plinking range, like that's an everyday event >at gun clubs (my club doesn't allow full-autos, or more than five >rounds in a semiauto) followed by a fractional-second of a watermelon >being vaporized -- not by the machinegun, but by a .300 Winchester >Magnum that was demonstrated for comparison. While not stated, >the visual message communicated is, "There are still a lot of >nuts out there buying machineguns over the counter and see how >horribly powerful they are!" So, new laws will be written to >address a problem that doesn't exist, but that we graciously >supplied the graphics to persuade people that it does! > > In other words, our naive, pollyanna belief that "education" >would contribute to persuading people of our position was based >on a false premise; that our enemies were enemies out of >ignorance, and not out of malice. Working from that false >premise, what we did was provide them with weapons that, with >slight modification via editing, they would cynically use against >us for years to come. The reporters, who may have been impressed >and in fact "educated" that day, served only as ammo carriers for >their bosses, taking the weapons we handed them back to base to >be aimed at us for the next ten years or more. > > The reason my friend's enlightening observation embarrassed >me was that I realized I already had understood it at a personal >level; I have several times had reporters ask me to pose with >guns, and I always have flatly refused, having made that mistake >only once, at age 18. That my vanity did not permit me to >generalize my experience in 35 years is embarrassing. > > To summarize in a concrete conclusion, it is, DO NOT allow >the media to come anywhere near your facilities with cameras. Be >reticent about on-site interviews, and if you allow a media >person on your grounds, have them sign an agreement that they >accept the condition that no photographs or film will be taken -- >otherwise they accept that their presence will constitute >"defiant trespass." Remember that even a genuinely sympathetic >reporter is in the employ of an avowed enemy, and anything you >provide to them WILL be used against us in the future, even if >that reporter, himself, may be as offended by that later use as we >are. > > I have to admit this is an example of an element of what I >have been preaching for some time, occurring to me only of late - >- that we have moved into a new reality where we are no longer >just slightly misunderstood members of society, who can heal our >problems by "education" and persuasion. Today when we are >"paranoid," most of our fears are real -- and hats off to anyone >who is more paranoid than I have been. > >--Andy Barniskis > > PLEASE CROSS-POST AND RE-POST TO APPROPRIATE LISTS [------------------------- 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: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 18:26:19 -0400 From: "Chad Leigh, Pengar Enterprises, Inc. and Shire.Net LLC" Subject: Re: Fratrum: Re: RICO suit/Bill Vance OK I just went and checked what the max length for a posting was. It was set to 10000 chars. I just upped that to 20000. Chad ROC list maintainer - --On Sun, Jul 25, 1999 9.04 +0000 Bill Vance wrote: > Most other lists seem to handle it fine, but of late, I've had to bust 'em > up to get a post through to ROC. Otherwise they just, "disapear". I > tried "Split -150 filename", but that didn't allways work, so I dropped > it to -140, and a few still disapeared, so now I've dropped it down to > 130 lines per post, and so far all of those are getting through. As none > of these bounce, I've no idea where the, "pinch point", is. > > On Jul 25, wbg wrote: > >> Hey, Bill, been meaning to ask - whence this passion for splitting >> up your longer posts into multiple messages? Somebody's firewall out >> there refusing to pass anything bigger than 700 lines, or what? This RICO >> Rhode Island one (delicious, BTW) was only 396 lines total - surely >> nobody'd email moat would have a hiccup over that . . . or would it? >> Pengar Enterprises, Inc. and Shire.Net LLC Web and Macintosh Consulting -- full service web hosting Chad Leigh chad@pengar.com chad@shire.net - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jul 99 16:16:01 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Re: Fratrum: Re: RICO suit/Bill Vance Thanks Chad, that should help. Bill On Jul 25, $NAME wrote: >OK > >I just went and checked what the max length for a posting was. It was set >to 10000 chars. I just upped that to 20000. > >Chad >ROC list maintainer > > >--On Sun, Jul 25, 1999 9.04 +0000 Bill Vance >wrote: > >> Most other lists seem to handle it fine, but of late, I've had to bust 'em >> up to get a post through to ROC. Otherwise they just, "disapear". I >> tried "Split -150 filename", but that didn't allways work, so I dropped >> it to -140, and a few still disapeared, so now I've dropped it down to >> 130 lines per post, and so far all of those are getting through. As none >> of these bounce, I've no idea where the, "pinch point", is. >> >> On Jul 25, wbg wrote: >> >>> Hey, Bill, been meaning to ask - whence this passion for splitting >>> up your longer posts into multiple messages? Somebody's firewall out >>> there refusing to pass anything bigger than 700 lines, or what? This RICO >>> Rhode Island one (delicious, BTW) was only 396 lines total - surely >>> nobody'd email moat would have a hiccup over that . . . or would it? >>> > >Pengar Enterprises, Inc. and Shire.Net LLC >Web and Macintosh Consulting -- full service web hosting >Chad Leigh >chad@pengar.com chad@shire.net - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** 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, 26 Jul 99 13:13:57 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fw: EIA Communique - 7/26 (fwd) On Jul 26, Kevin McGehee wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Monday, July 26, 1999 11:02 AM Subject: EIA Communique - 7/26 The Education Intelligence Agency COMMUNIQU=C9 - July 26, 1999 Now on the Web at http://members.aol.com/educintel/eia + Strange Places: Inside the 1999 National Education Association Representative Assembly is now available via e-mail. EIA's annual report = will be sent to you upon request as a 91 kilobyte attachment of ASCII text (th= at's 14,000 words of unformatted copy -- no italics, no bold print, etc.) Thos= e of you who want a print copy will have to wait a little longer, as it still needs to be formatted, sent to the printer, then mailed to you. There are sections devoted to the NEA strategic plan and budget, vouchers, charters, merger, staff relations, fringe issues, and what's to come in the year 2000. There are also a few "slices of life" from the four-day event in Orlando, Florida. After reading Strange Places, I doubt= if you will want any more details of the 1999 RA, but I will be available to elaborate for the real union junkies. + The dog days of summer are the dog days for education reporting, too. = But July and August are often prime-time for labor negotiations. And, as usua= l, the most entertaining labor negotiations are not between school districts= and teachers' unions, but between teachers' unions and staff unions. Last Friday, staffers from the Pennsylvania State Education Association set up an informational picket outside the union's headquarte= rs in Harrisburg. The staff union has a lot of problems with management's proposals. For one thing, the 220-member staff is very worried about the possibility of a PSEA merger with the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers. Both PSEA and PaFT executives are solidly in favor of a merger, but rank-and-file activists are split on the issue. Because the staff union w= as ousted and replaced by an AFL-CIO-affiliated staff union in Minnesota, th= e PSEA staff is concerned about contract, pension and bargaining agent protections in the event of a merger. The staff is also demanding release time for its union president. Details about wage demands are unavailable,= but it is known that the staff want a raise above inflation. The staff accuses union management of wanting to increase the employee probationary period from six to 12 months, and eliminate the requirement for "just cause" to fire an employee during this period. "PSE= A is a generous employer that lives by the principles it espouses from the oth= er side [of the bargaining table]," PSEA Assistant Executive Director Gerry Brandon told The Harrisburg Patriot. Staff evaluations are also a sticking point and may be even more difficult to resolve because of bad blood. A measure at the NEA Representative Assembly to reduce "interference" by the staff in policy-making and governance decisions picked up a lot of votes from the Pennsylvania delegation. Staffers gave their union strike authority if no agreement is reached by this Sunday, August 1. + Superior Court Judge John F. Sheehan acquitted former NEA-Rhode Island President Ronald L. DiOrio of pension fraud charges. DiOrio was charged w= ith misrepresenting his employment status with NEA-RI in order to receive a s= tate pension. The union's former executive director, Donald C. Hill, is still facing charges related to the same case, though his lawyer plans to seek dismissal. In rendering his decision, Judge Sheehan noted that it was incumbent upon the prosecution to prove conspiracy. "Mere suspicion, no matter how strong, does not justify a guilty verdict," Sheehan said. "I might add th= at I have grave suspicions. But I'm compelled to follow the law." + Jennifer Jacobson of the Montgomery Journal (Maryland) highlighted an under-reported problem in public education that teachers have been tellin= g EIA about for years -- parents. "Thirty years ago your job was just to te= ach the subject matter," said teacher Tom Wheeler. "Kids came from two-parent families. They came to school on time and left when the day was over. Par= ents took care of their emotional and social needs." Of course, not all parents are neglecting their children's needs. But some are, and it leads to repercussions for all students, all parents, an= d the curriculum. Talk to a teacher about the students in his or her class = and you probably won't hear 34 stories about 34 different pupils, but 34 stor= ies about the three or four pupils who occupy all the time and attention. Bec= ause some parents don't discipline their children, the kids run amok at school= and learning for all students is disrupted. Because some parents don't feed t= heir children in the morning, the schools have a breakfast program. Because so= me parents don't keep an eye on their children, the schools have counselors = and truant officers. And because some parents don't teach their children basi= c facts about sex, drugs and proper behavior, the schools do it. The problem is that most parents do take care of their responsibilities. Even with smaller classes, schools are limited in how m= uch they can divide up students by social, emotional and academic needs. Consequently, parents who are taking care of their kids feel their author= ity is being usurped by a "standardized curriculum" of discipline, meals, counseling, care, and social education that may not be suitable for their children. It might even contradict what they are taught at home. It's tricky. If Johnny's mom and dad aren't doing their jobs, it's much more difficult for the school to do its job. But it doesn't do anyon= e any good for the school to become Johnny's mom and dad. + In a spasm of public service, the National Education Association filed suit "to stop abuses occurring under the Cleveland voucher program that h= urt children and misuse taxpayer money." NEA joined the Ohio Education Association, the ACLU, People for the American Way, and Americans United = for Separation of Church and State in the suit. "What's happened in Cleveland is symptomatic of the lack of oversight and financial drain caused by the whole voucher experiment," said NEA President Bob Chase. EIA will wait patiently, in the name of consistency, for NEA's lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Education. The state superintenden= t spent $380,000 on an audit of the 550 employee, $121 million agency, whic= h determined it to be "inefficient and overly bureaucratic." According to a= n Associated Press report: "It has too many meetings, doesn't pay attention= to its workforce and has no way of figuring out if its programs are working,= the study says." + Because EIA previously repeated a San Francisco Chronicle story about high-schoolers who didn't know the most basic facts about the American Revolution, it's only fair to tell you of a public school in Baltimore, Maryland, where history is a priority. Mary Summers of Forbes visited Lin= da Duncan's first-grade class at George G. Kelson Elementary. Duncan uses th= e Core Knowledge program. "What was thrown into Boston Harbor?" Duncan asked. "TEA!" the children responded. To ensure that the children were not just parroting, Summers interrupted to ask, "Why did they do it?" "Because the king was taxing the tea," they answered. Still not satisfied, Summers asked, "What does that mean, 'taxing'?" "He was taking their money!" the kids yelled. There is hope for American public education, after all. + Quote of the Week: "The Association also believes that a racially dive= rse student population may not be achieved or maintained in all cases simply = by ending discriminatory practices and treating all students equally regardl= ess of race." -- From a new NEA resolution. # # # 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #263 *************************