March 17, 2006
To: Art Thompson, JBS Building Contributors, Council and Fieldstaff
This letter is in response to Art Thompson’s letter dated March 10, 2006, and, as indicated, I am addressing it to Art and the rest of you individually and separately.
This letter is about pointing out lies, and it’s about telling the truth. For 40 years I’ve been told that truth is our only weapon. Well, let’s see.
Art, your letter is full of lies, including the following:
Lie #1: “The real issue is whether the three men who resigned from the Council, two of whom are currently suing the JBS, should be allowed to control the JBS buildings instead of the JBS.”
Correction Please! Art Thompson repeatedly states that we, or others, are suing the JBS. No one is suing the JBS. The lawsuit by RWU over the control of RWU is not against the JBS, but against several individuals, who engaged in illegal actions. There was no involvement of JBS in these actions. And JBS members and donors should not countenance the use of JBS funds to defend these men in any lawsuit. The Council should demand to look at the JBS books to make sure this is not happening.
Lie #2: “How can they maintain that they are only working in the best interest of the JBS, while they are actively trying to win a large financial judgment against it...? … Many rumors are flying around about lawsuits, one of which is that the current leadership of the JBS initially sued the previous leadership and RWU. This is not true.”
Correction Please! If there are any rumors being spread about lawsuits, they are being spread by you, Art, and unwittingly (probably) by your staff.
Fact: In order to regain rightful control of RWU, we, the Plaintiffs, have initiated a lawsuit against Defendants Art Thompson, Jack McManus, and a few other individuals directly involved in seizing our building and attempting to control our bank accounts and fire several of our employees. We would have no reason to allege otherwise. Why would the Defendants initiate a lawsuit against RWU when they were already planning to steal it?
The John Birch Society was not named in the lawsuit, nor should it be so named. And no one is seeking a judgment (large or otherwise) against the Society. Breaking into a building under cover of darkness and organizing a team of volunteers, equipped with sleeping bags, to forcibly occupy it by means of a round-the-clock sit-in certainly are not among the dignified tactics the Society would have ever endorsed. On the other hand, Art, you and the others are trying to cast this as a JBS suit in order to use JBS funds to defend your personal illegal actions.
Lie #3: “One of the reasons that we are fearful of having our buildings controlled by this trust is that we know of nothing to stop them from charging us rent, or simply kicking us out.”
Correction Please! Art has several “free” lawyers plus the plain text language of the Covenant at his disposal. I’d like to think that Art is not that stupid! The Trust controls nothing but the Covenant and the Covenant only restricts the sale or mortgage of the buildings. Its purpose is clearly spelled out. This expressed fear of being charged rent or being kicked out is a lie likely invented to alarm and mislead.
Lie #4: “But the actions of literally a few people working with RWU and Mr. Smith are troubling since they are spending a great deal of time contacting our donors, not so much trying to solicit funds for RWU as they are trying to stop funds from coming to JBS.”
Correction Please! This is an easy lie to disprove. Those reading this can answer for themselves. Honestly, have any of you been contacted by Vance Smith or any of his staff at RWU and asked to stop sending funds to JBS? Please come forward if you have. On the other hand, have any of you been contacted by anyone on the JBS staff under Art Thompson’s control and asked to stop funding RWU? You can judge the truth on this issue.
Speaking of truth, let’s shift more specifically to that subject. Here are some truths about you, Art, that need to be told.
Truth #1: Art, do the donors, the Council, and the staff know that you were the first one to express alarm over Jack McManus’ anti- Jewish/anti-Masonic speeches and that you were the one who originally brought his activities to management’s attention?
Truth #2: Art, do they know it was you, first through your daughter and then through Hal Shurtleff, who ordered and received copies of the videos from the St. Benedict Center and turned them over to us?
Truth #3: Art, do they know of your memo (attached) of October 22, 2000 to Vance Smith — copies that were provided by Vance to the Executive Committee at the time — where you suggested that:
• Jack’s talks at these Catholic conferences have “been going on for at least 3 ½ years, at least with the anti-Semitic dialog”;
• Management get Jack to resign in order to avoid the potential backlash from his anti-Semitic remarks;
• Management put together an incriminating video comprised of short clips of Jack’s most offensive remarks;
• In an effort to keep his position, Jack could potentially bypass the Executive Committee by using the “incorporators,” turning the organization on its head (as your team recently did).
Truth #4: Art, do they know that, after years of working with Jack, we could not get him to back completely away from his statements and his extracurricular speaking, and that you were fully aware that in 2002 we were forced into a plan to gradually move Jack into the background and take from him the title of president?
Truth #5: Art, do they know that at the first Council Meeting following the Bulletin announcement that Jack was stepping down as president, your friend Cliff Wasem started a campaign to make you president in Jack’s place?
And my last questions to you, Art, are: Why? What has been your motive? Why the hypocrisy concerning Jack McManus? Why the well orchestrated smear campaign against Vance Smith, turning so many against the finest leader we’ve had since Robert Welch? Why the smear campaign against us on the Executive Committee who have given so much and so many years to the Society? Is it just a lust for power? Is it just so you can be CEO? Or, is it something more sinister?
Now my questions to the donors, the Council, and the staff:
Question 1: Do you understand that the Society has been taken over through lies and deception?
Question 2: Can you see that Vance Smith and the former Executive Committee did all that they could do to quietly deal with Jack McManus, and that now Jack must be removed from leadership to prove to the world that the JBS does not share his views on Jews and Masons?
Question 3: Can you now see that Art has manipulated JBS staff and Council members with lies and deception and that he must be removed from leadership immediately?
If you understand and act, then the John Birch Society can still be saved. Many of us have been in the Society for more than four decades. We know that it is the only organization that can possibly give leadership to the American people and stop the godless conspiracy. We have never sat idly by while the Insiders deceived relative to world and national issues. So will we now sit by and watch these men destroy our only hope — the John Birch Society? Well, I will not do that!
I am very proud of Walt Ruckel, Keith Van Buskirk, the former leadership team, Don Fotheringham, Allen Bubolz, and others who have stayed the course these last five months.
Under the terrible assaults on most of them, they could have easily and justifiably walked away from all this. But they did not – we did not. And you’ll never know the tremendous sacrifices made to help preserve the Society for you and for our nation.
Back to Art Thompson. If you were ever a Bircher — prove it. Admit what you have done and resign from all leadership positions. We have a country to save and you need to get out of the way.
Sincerely,
Wayne C. Rickert
|
|
