From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #346 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Monday, May 29 2000 Volume 02 : Number 346 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 26 May 00 14:30:38 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: A wonderful tribute to a grunt's grunt this Memorial Day... (fwd) On May 26, bg wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Thanks to Spiker for passing this on... Mel Young READER'S DIGEST, May, 1989 "I didn't learn about leadership and the strength of character it requires from an Ivy League graduate course. I learned by watching one tall captain with proud bearing and penetrating eyes." THE COURAGE OF SAM BIRD By B. T. Collins I met Capt. Samuel R. Bird on a dusty road near An Khe, South Vietnam, one hot July day in 1966. I was an artillery forward observer with Bravo Company, 2nd/12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, and I looked it. I was filthy, sweaty, and jaded by war, and I thought "Oh, brother, get a load of this". Dressed in crisply starched fatigues, Captain Bird was what we called "squared away" - ramrod straight, eyes on the horizon. Hell, you could still see the shine on his boot tips beneath the road dust. After graduation from Officer Candidate School, I had sought adventure by volunteering for Vietnam. But by that hot and dangerous July, I was overdosed on "adventure," keenly interested in survival and very fond of large rocks and deep holes. Bird was my fourth company commander, and my expectations were somewhat cynical when he called all his officers and sergeants together. "I understand this company has been in Vietnam almost a year and has never had a party," he said. Now we officers and sergeants had our little clubs to which we repaired. So we stole bewildered looks at one another, cleared our throats and wondered what this wiry newcomer was talking about. "The men are going to have a party," he announced, "and they're not going to pay for it. Do I make myself clear?" A party for the "grunts" was the first order of business! Sam Bird had indeed made himself clear. We all chipped in to get food and beer for about 160 men. The troops were surprised almost to the point of suspicion - who, after all, had ever done anything for them? But that little beer and bull session was exactly what those war-weary men needed. Its effect on morale was profound. I began to watch our new captain more closely. Bird and I were the same age, 26, but eons apart in everything else. He was from the sunny heartland of Kansas, I from the suburbs of New York City. He prayed every day and was close to his God. My faith had evaporated somewhere this side of altar boy. I was a college dropout who had wandered into the Army with the words "discipline problem" close on my heels. He had graduated from The Citadel, South Carolina's proud old military school. If ever a man looked like a leader, it was Sam Bird. He was tall and lean,with penetrating blue eyes. But the tedium and terror of a combat zone take far sterner qualities than mere appearance. Our outfit was helicoptered to a mountain outpost one day for the thankless task of preparing a position for others to occupy. We dug trenches, filled sandbags, strung wire under a blistering sun. It was hard work, and Sam was everywhere, pitching in with the men. A colonel who was supposed to oversee the operation remained at a shelter, doing paper work. Sam looked at what his troops had accomplished, then, red-faced, strode over to the colonel's sanctuary. We couldn't hear what he was saying to his superior, but we had the unmistakable sense that Sam was uncoiling a bit. The colonel suddenly found time to inspect the fortifications and thank the men for a job well done. Another day, this time on the front lines after weeks of awful show, we were given something called "coffee cake" that had the look and texture of asphalt paving. Furious, Sam got on the radio phone to headquarters. He reached the colonel and said, "Sir, you and the supply officer need to come out here and taste the food, because this rifle company is not taking one step further." "Not a good way to move up in the Army," I thought. But the colonel came out, and the food improved from that moment. Such incidents were not lost on the men of Bravo Company. During the monsoon season we had to occupy a landing zone. The torrential, wind-driven rains had been falling for weeks. Like everyone else I sat under my poncho in a stupor, wondering how much of the wetness was rainwater and how much was sweat. Nobody cared that the position was becoming flooded. We had all just crawled inside ourselves. Suddenly I saw Sam, Mr. Spit and Polish, with nothing on but his olive-drab undershorts and his boots. He was digging a drainage ditch down the center of the camp. He didn't say anything, just dug away, mud spattering his chest, steam rising from his back and shoulders. Slowly and sheepishly we emerged from under our ponchos, and shovels in hand, we began helping "the old man" get the ditch dug. We got the camp tolerably dried out and with that one simple act transformed our morale. Sam deeply loved the U.S. Army and traditions. Few of the men knew it, but he had been in charge of a special honors unit of the Old Guard, which serves as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery and participates in the Army's most solemn ceremonies. He was the kind of guy whose eyes would mist during the singing of the National Anthem. Sam figured patriotism was just a natural part of being an American. But he knew that morale was a function not so much of inspiration as of good boots, dry socks, extra ammo and hot meals. Sam's philosophy was to put his troops first. On that foundation he built respect a brick at a time. His men ate first; he ate last. Instead of merely learning their names, he made it a point to know the men. A lot of the soldiers were high-school dropouts and would-be tough guys just a few years younger than himself. Some were scared, and a few were still in partial shock at being in a shooting war. Sam patiently worked on their pride and self-confidence. Yet there was never any doubt who was in charge. I had been around enough to know what a delicate accomplishment that was. Half in wonder, an officer once told me, "Sam can dress a man down till his ears burn, and the next minute that same guy is eager to follow him into hell." But he never chewed out a man in front of his subordinates. Sam wouldn't ask his men to do anything he wasn't willing to do himself. He dug his own foxholes. He never gave lectures on appearance, but even at God-forsaken outposts in the Central Highlands, he would set aside a few ounces of water from his canteen to shave. His uniform, even if it was jungle fatigues, would be as clean and neat as he could make it. Soon all of Bravo Company had a reputation for looking sharp. One sultry and miserable day on a dirt road at the base camp, Sam gathered the men together and began talking about how tough the infantryman's job is, how proud he was of them, how they should always look out for each other. He took out a bunch of Combat Infantryman's Badges, signifying that a soldier has paid his dues under fire, and he presented one to each of the men. There wasn't a soldier there who would have traded that moment on the road for some parade-ground ceremony. That was the way Sam Bird taught me leadership. He packed a lot of lessons into the six months we were together. Put the troops first. Know that morale often depends on small things. Respect every person's dignity. Always be ready to fight for your people. Lead by example. Reward performance. But Sam had another lesson to teach, one that would take long and painful years, a lesson in courage. I left Bravo Company in December 1966 to return to the States for a month before joining a Special Forces unit. Being a big, tough paratrooper, I didn't tell Sam what his example had meant to me. But I made a point of visiting his parents and sister in Wichita, Kan., just before Christmas to tell them how much he'd affected my life, and how his troops would walk off a cliff for him. His family was relieved when I told them that his tour of combat was almost over and he'd be moving to a safe job in the rear. Two months later, in a thatched hut in the Mekong Delta, I got a letter from Sam's sister, saying that he had conned his commanding officer into letting him stay an extra month with his beloved Bravo Company. On his last day, January 27, 1967 - his 27th birthday - the men had secretly planned a party, even arranging to have a cake flown in. They were going to "pay back the old man." But orders came down for Bravo to lead an airborne assault on a North Vietnamese regimental headquarters. Sam's helicopter was about to touch down at the attack point when it was ripped by enemy fire. Slugs shattered his left ankle and right leg. Another struck the left side of his head, carrying off almost a quarter of his skull. His executive officer, Lt. Dean Parker, scooped Sam's brains back into the gaping wound. Reading the letter, I felt as if I'd been kicked in the stomach. I began querying every hospital in Vietnam to find out if Sam was still alive. But in June, before I could discover his fate, I was in a fire fight in an enemy-controlled zone. I had thrown four grenades. The fifth one exploded in my hand. I lost an arm and a leg. Nearly a year later, in March 1968, I finally caught up with Sam. I was just getting the hang of walking with an artificial leg when I visited him at the VA Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn. Seeing him, I had to fight back the tears. The wiry, smiling soldier's soldier was blind in the left eye and partially so in the right. Surgeons had removed metal shards and damaged tissue from deep within his brain, and he had been left with a marked depression on the left side of his head. The circles under his eyes told of sleepless hours and great pain. The old clear voice of command was slower now, labored and with an odd, high pitch. I saw his brow knit as he looked through his one good eye, trying to remember. He recognized me, but believed I had served with him in Korea, his first tour of duty. Slowly, Sam rebuilt his ability to converse. But while he could recall things from long ago, he couldn't remember what he had eaten for breakfast. Headaches came on him like terrible firestorms. There was pain, too, in his legs. He had only partial use of one arm, with which he'd raise himself in front of the mirror to brush his teeth and shave. He had the support of a wonderful family, and once he was home in Wichita, his sister brought his old school sweetheart, Annette Blazier, to see him. A courtship began, and in 1972 they were married. They built a house like Sam had dreamed of - red brick, with a flag-pole out front. He had developed the habit of addressing God as "Sir" and spoke to him often. He never asked to be healed. At every table grace, he thanked God for sending him Annette and for "making it possible for me to live at home in a free country." In 1976, Sam and Annette traveled to The Citadel for his 15th class reunion. World War II hero Gen. Mark Clark, the school's president emeritus, asked about his wounds and said, "On behalf of your country, I want to thank you for all you did." With pride, Sam answered "Sir, it was the least I could do." Later Annette chided him gently for understating the case. After all, he had sacrificed his health and career in Vietnam. Sam gave her an incredulous look. "I had friends who didn't come back," he said. "I'm enjoying the freedoms they died for." I visited Sam in Wichita and phoned him regularly. You would not have guessed that he lived with pain every day. Once, speaking of me to his sister, he said, "I should never complain about the pain in my leg, because B.T. doesn't have a leg." I'd seen a lot of men with lesser wounds reduced to anger and self-pity. Never a hint of that passed Sam's lips, though I knew that, every waking moment, he was fighting to live. On October 18, 1984, after 17 years, Sam's body couldn't take any more. When we received the news of his death, a number of us from Bravo Company flew to Wichita, where Sam was to be buried with his forebears. The day before the burial, his old exec, Dean Parker, and I went to the funeral home to make sure everything was in order. As Dean straightened the brass on Sam's uniform, I held my captain's hand and looked into his face, a face no longer filled with pain. I thought about how unashamed Sam always was to express his love for his country, how sunny and unaffected He was in his devotion to his men. I ached that I had never told him what a fine soldier and man he was. But in my deep sadness I felt a glow of pride for having served with him, and for having learned the lessons of leadership that would serve me all my life. That is why I am telling you about Samuel R. Bird and these things that happened so long ago. Chances are, you have seen Sam Bird. He was the tall officer in charge of the casket detail at the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. Historian William Manchester described him as "a lean, sinewy Kansan, the kind of American youth whom Congressmen dutifully praise each Fourth of July and whose existence many, grown jaded by years on the Hill, secretly doubt." There can be no doubt about Sam, about who he was, how he lived and how he led. We buried him that fall afternoon, as they say, "with honors." But as I walked from that grave, I knew I was the honored one, for having known him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Note: At the time that this article was written, Mr. B.T. Collins had recovered from severe war wounds to become the highly acclaimed director of the California Conservation Corps and later chief of staff to the governor of California. He later became California's deputy state treasurer. He is now deceased. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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: Fri, 26 May 00 14:32:17 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Temple Beth El reminder (fwd) On May 26, stevechr@ptd.net wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] What follows is my orginal e-mail from 21 April. The RSVP for this event is rapidly approaching. Please call with your RSVP before 6 June. - - - - - - - - - - - Temple Beth El in Allentown, PA is a hotbed of anti-gun action. They have been distributing a flyer the text of which follows: Temple Beth El Social Action Committee presents Judge Robert Steinberg speaking on Our Community and Gun Control Sunday, June 11, 2000 10:00 a.m. Brunch and Program (There is no charge for the brunch, but please RSVP to the Temple office at 610-435-3521 by June 6.) - ------------------------------------------------------ | | | | | g r a p h i c | | | | | - ------------------------------------------------------ THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW < end text of flyer > The graphic is a political cartoon by Steve Breen of the Asbury Park Press which shows the line of children walking hand in hand with the cops from the Jewish Day Care Center shooting in California some months ago with a text ballon over one of the kids saying "Where are we going?" and the reply from one of the cops "To our congressman's office to ask what he's doing about gun control." It would be nice to have some pro-RKBA people sign up for this event to counter the anti-gun message like we did with Professor Hardy's presentation at Moravian College not so long ago. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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, 27 May 00 10:52:31 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: McGehee's News & Comment - May 29, 2000 (fwd) On May 27, mcgeheezone.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] McGEHEE'S NEWS & COMMENT (c) 2000 KEVIN McGEHEE Thomas Crossroads, GA news&comment@mcgeheezone.com http://www.mcgeheezone.com/ Permission granted to anyone wishing to forward, redistribute, or broadcast this article WITH FULL ATTRIBUTION. ================================================================ ALL I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM COWBOYS Work ain't gonna do itself. Ride for the brand. The better you are with a gun, the fewer people you have to shoot. Don't hunt trouble. Don't count on trouble never huntin' you. Cows is stupid. If it ain't broke, it don't hurt. It don't matter how she dresses or what she does for a livin' -- she's a lady and you durn well better treat her like one. Life ain't like the movies: not everyone in a white hat is a good guy. Be nice to young 'uns -- you was one once. It ain't the hat, it ain't the boots, and it ain't the shiny belt buckle. It's what's inside. If you're usin' your fists, you're only funnin'. Cows is *really* stupid! Wipin' the sweatband of your hat is a good excuse to stop an' take in the scenery. It takes a lot of hands to make a roundup. When somethin' goes wrong, set back an' have yerself a good, relaxin' cuss -- then fix it. Ignore that dude on the billboard sign. Real cowboys roll their own. Don't mess with another man's gal, gun or hoss. Dyin' with yer boots on is still dyin'. Watch your step around brandin' irons. When nature calls, always scout for rattlers before you unbuckle. Before you take a drink from that creek, scout upstream. I mean cows is really, *really*, REALLY stupid!!! Next to a hoss, a dog is a man's best friend. Beans are good eatin' on the trail, but not in the bunkhouse. When you tell your saddle pal that the coyotes sing better'n he does, smile. Cowboys don't cry, they just get sweat in their eyes. That which doesn't kill me, better hunt its hole before I heal up. - -30- May 29, 2000 ================================================================ 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 ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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, 27 May 00 11:41:40 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Reform Party National Convention] (fwd) On May 27, Bill Haase wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] At least someone is getting it together! Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 10:24:17 -0400 To: eiwatts1@usit.net (Bill Wohlford VA) From: Mary Clare Wohlford Subject: Re: Reform Party National Convention >From Johnny in HI, Keep the faith, Mary Clare (MC) - ------------> >Aloha, In regards to 3rd Party's. We have done that here in Hawaii. WE have >joined an alliance. Reform, Liberterians,Natural Law,Greens,and Aloha Aina. >We are fielding 12 candidates between us.We don't agree on everything,but we >are coming together on one thing,Republicans and Democrats got to go!!!!! > >Johnny Jackson >Chair >REFORM PARTYof HAWAII > > "We are always equal to what we undertake with resolution .It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate; to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance. Remote from all other aid, we are obliged to invent and to execute; to find means within ourselves and not to lean on others.." Thomas Jefferson in a letter to his daughter. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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, 27 May 00 15:52:46 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: The Government Is Dead! Not long ago many of us started adding, "RKBA", to our .sigs to show support for the 2nd Amendment, and to get folks that weren't hip to start up a conversation about it. I have here, a new one that I've added to mine. Some of you seem to feel that the Government is dead to the concerns of the Citizens, or that we might soon be seeing the demize of our Republic. Maybe both. These are certainly possible, if not fact. It seems to me that it might be good to plant the idea that in the event that our current Government collapses, that the Constitution should survive it in toto. Further, that whatever Government is formed thereafter, darned well better see to it that it subscribes to, supports, adheres to, and defends the Constitution. If you come up with something better, fine, post it, but for the time being, I hereby place the following statement in the Public Domain, for use towards the above mentioned end, for use in .sigs, or wherever else might seem suitable. Pass it along. The Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- The Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 16:56:37 -0700 From: "Lew Glendenning" Subject: RE: The Government Is Dead! Yes. Most revolutions turn out very badly because the new guys are just as stupid about the possible forms of successful gov as the old guys. We can promise a successful revolution. I like the sig. Lew > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-roc@lists.xmission.com > [mailto:owner-roc@lists.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Bill Vance > Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2000 4:53 PM > To: roc%xmission.com@lists.xmission.com > Subject: The Government Is Dead! > > > Not long ago many of us started adding, "RKBA", to our .sigs to > show support > for the 2nd Amendment, and to get folks that weren't hip to start up a > conversation about it. I have here, a new one that I've added to mine. > > Some of you seem to feel that the Government is dead to the > concerns of the > Citizens, or that we might soon be seeing the demize of our Republic. > Maybe both. These are certainly possible, if not fact. It seems > to me that > it might be good to plant the idea that in the event that our current > Government collapses, that the Constitution should survive it in toto. > Further, that whatever Government is formed thereafter, darned well better > see to it that it subscribes to, supports, adheres to, and defends the > Constitution. If you come up with something better, fine, post > it, but for > the time being, I hereby place the following statement in the > Public Domain, > for use towards the above mentioned end, for use in .sigs, or > wherever else > might seem suitable. Pass it along. > > > The Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! > > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > ---------- > RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** > RKBA! > ----------------+----------+--------------------------+----------- > ---------- > 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 > ----------------+----------+--------------------------+----------- > ---------- > > The Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > ---------- > > - > - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 May 00 18:35:44 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: RE: The Government Is Dead! Thanks. I did make a minor change, though, which I think reflects my purpose, plus reality, a little better. See below. On May 27, Lew Glendenning wrote: >Yes. Most revolutions turn out very badly because the new guys are just as >stupid about the possible forms of successful gov as the old guys. > >We can promise a successful revolution. > >I like the sig. > >Lew > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-roc@lists.xmission.com >> [mailto:owner-roc@lists.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Bill Vance >> Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2000 4:53 PM >> To: roc%xmission.com@lists.xmission.com >> Subject: The Government Is Dead! >> >> >> Not long ago many of us started adding, "RKBA", to our .sigs to >> show support >> for the 2nd Amendment, and to get folks that weren't hip to start up a >> conversation about it. I have here, a new one that I've added to mine. >> >> Some of you seem to feel that the Government is dead to the >> concerns of the >> Citizens, or that we might soon be seeing the demize of our Republic. >> Maybe both. These are certainly possible, if not fact. It seems >> to me that >> it might be good to plant the idea that in the event that our current >> Government collapses, that the Constitution should survive it in toto. >> Further, that whatever Government is formed thereafter, darned well better >> see to it that it subscribes to, supports, adheres to, and defends the >> Constitution. If you come up with something better, fine, post >> it, but for >> the time being, I hereby place the following statement in the >> Public Domain, >> for use towards the above mentioned end, for use in .sigs, or >> wherever else >> might seem suitable. Pass it along. >> >> >> Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! >> - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 May 00 10:54:14 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Toll Free Numbers for Congress (fwd) Just a little reminder..... On May 28, RichSlick@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] CALL YOUR SENATOR or CONGRESSMAN 888-449-3511 800-972-3524 877-722-7494 800-456-1414 CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD: (Toll Call) 1-202-224-3121 [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 May 00 22:32:41 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Canada Massive Civil Disobedience (fwd) Well, three cheers for the Canucks, they're finally acting like they've got a pair. On May 29, RJK.Sr. wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Canada Massive Civil Disobedience Publication: Peterborough Examiner Date: April 30, 2000 By-line: Gary Ball Column: "Slow gun registration panicking Ottawa" Excerpt from Column: It seems that Ottawa has realized, way to late, that it may be facing massive civil disobedience over firearms registration. Canada and the United States, learned sad lessons about bad laws during Prohibition. Is Ottawa worried about the same sort of situation with firearms. Is that what the panic's about? Bruce Hutton, a former Mountie from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, heads the Law-Abiding Firearms Association (LUFA), which he says has 16,000 members across Canada. Two LUFA meetings in Ontario that I'm aware of drew about 400 gun owners, many willing to sign up at $20 a head. There were about 300 at a Sudbury meeting and about 100 in Apsley, north of Peterborough. Hutton and LUFA say, in a published plan, that they are advocating non-registration, non- compliance, civil disobedience. "When the first member of LUFA is arrested or charged, we will appoint his legal counsel. Then 10 or 20 or 30,000 of us will go into RCMP detachments across this country and tell them we have unregistered firearms without a licence," LUFA's website (www.lufa.ca) says. "This is an indictable offence so they will have to investigate. The RCMP doesn't have the manpower to handle it and the court system is already plugged. They will not be able to handle the load. We will also ask for legal aid as we are not financially capable of paying our lawyers' fees. We can tie the courts up forever." Yes, indeed, there's a whiff of panic in the air around the Department of Justice and the Canadian Firearms Centre. Gary Ball is a local award winning outdoors writer His e-mail address is: gball@kawartha.com The Peterborough Examiner Address Mailing Address 730 The Kingsway Peterborough, ON P. O. Box 3890 Peterborough, ON K9J 8L4 Phone: (705) 745-4641 Fax: (705) 743-4581 E-Mail: letters@ptbo.igs.n [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 May 00 09:20:49 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: CIA TWA VIDEO (fwd) On May 29, Odell Harwell wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Subject: CIA TWA VIDEO Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 01:16:54 EDT From: ChrisAire@aol.com We always knew that the CIA cartoon video was nothing but an effort to discredit all the eyewitnesses who saw a streak of light, but appendix FF to the NTSB's eyewitness reports proves it. May 26, 2000 OFFICIAL LIES ON TWA 800 EXPOSED by Reed Irvine The recently released FBI reports of their interviews of eyewitnesses to the downing of TWA Flight 800 contain enough dynamite to blow the lid off the FBI-NTSB-CIA-DOD cover-up of the cause of the crash of TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996. The FBI wouldnt even let the NTSB investigators see these reports for a long time. When they finally sent copies of 756 eyewitness reports to the NTSB, they were in great disarray, causing a further delay in their release to the public. The NTSB recently made them available, together with related documents, on a CD-ROM. These can now be found on Cmdr. William S. Donaldsons web site, www.TWA800.com. This is a treasure trove for anyone interested in getting the truth about the TWA 800 crash. Hundreds of eyewitnesses saw TWA Flight 800 crash off the southern coast of Long Island, and what they saw was widely reported by the print and electronic media at the time. The FBI took control of the investigation and refused to let the NTSB interview eyewitnesses. No eyewitnesses were permitted to testify at the NTSB public hearing on the TWA crash in Dec.1997, and the FBI would not permit any discussion of the 244 eyewitness reports it had shared with the CIA. The CIA used them to produce a video simulation of the crash. James Kallstrom, who headed the FBI investigation, said the questioning of eyewitnesses "would have the unintentional effect of undermining the CIAs work." Now the CIAs work is undermined by the FBI eyewitness reports, together with appendix FF, a transcript of an NTSB witness group discussion on how the CIA decided that all the eyewitnesses who said they saw anything resembling a missile were wrong. An unidentified CIA analyst said they had been trying to figure out what source there could be for the streak of light that 260 eyewitnesses said they had seen. At 10 p.m. on Dec. 30, 1996, he got the idea "that you can explain what the eyewitnesses are seeing with only the burning aircraft." Eureka! Claim that everyone mistook the burning aircraft for a missile that caused it to blow up, and that gets rid of the problem created by those 260 eyewitnesses who saw a streak of light. "Analyst" based his great idea on the FBI reports on their interviews of one eyewitness, who, he said, "may be one eyewitness" who saw the entire incident. That one eyewitness is Michael Wire, a machinery expert who was working on a new drawbridge on Beach Lane, a road running from Westhampton, Long Island, to the beach. Wires FBI report says that standing on the bridge, looking toward the beach, he saw a white light just above the rooftop of a house about 900 feet away, ascending from the ground at about a 40 degree angle. It "sparkled" and he thought it was fireworks. It "zig zagged" as it traveled upward and was going south- southeast when it "arched over" and disappeared from view. Two or three seconds later he saw an orange light that appeared to be a fireball in the sky about half a mile away. It was falling at about a 30-degree angle, with a fire trail burning behind it. According to Wire, the fireball disappeared behind a house two houses away from the one where he saw the white light. He then heard the first and loudest of four explosions. It shook the bridge. Eight or nine seconds later he heard two more explosions followed by a fourth a second later. "Analyst" says that Wire was one of the few eyewitnesses who saw TWA 800, minus its nose, climbing 3000 feet. That does not appear in Wires interview, and he told me that is not true. He said he saw the plane blow up and immediately go down. He believes that what he saw was a missile and that the theory that a fuel explosion initiated the crash is false. "Analyst" said that CIA=B9s analysis was driven largely by Wire, "who gave us reference points," the house behind which he had seen "a white light for about 15 seconds" and the other house behind which "a small fireball" disappeared from view. "He was an important eyewitness to us," he said. The CIA never showed Michael Wise the video they claim he inspired and asked if it portrays what he saw. They have never spoken to him. If they ever do, he will tell them what he told me. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #346 *************************