Nostalgia - All of Us Have Some

Lorraine and Anita wrote to their fellow orphans about times in the Buckner Orphan's Home in Dallas during the sixties:

• Thanx Anita, something light is always good to start the day on., hope you are well and things are good for you. You always make my day brighter.Wish we could have known each other at BOH, but better late than never, and like I have said so many times before, we all know each other by heart........Your friend and sister, Lorraine

• Anytime, me too I wished I'd have known you too back then too, when ya'll are talking I try to imagine the time frame you were in and how it must've been stricter times than ours and I respect all of you so much for making it through it and braving that path for us younger ones and also some of the same stuff we went through, that's why I really enjoy hearing your stories and looking at pictures.Sometimes it feels like when your talking like your still the ages you were then-and it's like you don't even have to say anything and you understand each other-even us! It's a bond and love, so unexplainable, so innocent and pure! Innocent Hearts. Glad to know all of you, late than never! Love Anita

Dear Anita and Lorraine:

Regarding your nostalgia about Buckner’s Orphans Home in Dallas during the sixties…

My three youngest siblings (Norman, Debbie, and Claudia) lived at Buckner while I lived alone or with a friend in Dallas during my last year in high school. I narrowly escaped being sent to a similar orphanage on the Gulf Coast not far from Houston a couple of years earlier.

Because of that, I might have difficulty dredging up an emotional experience like the one you shared when you recounted your nostalgia over your childhood at Buckner’s.

Except for one.

After high school, I joined the Navy, went to Boot Camp in San Diego, Submarine School in New London, Connecticut, and then my first submarine assignment in Key West (see Web Cams), the USS Quillback (SS 424). Once assigned to the sub, I settled into whatever chores they assigned me, including learning enough about the “boat” to qualify “SS” Submarine Service sailor. After nearly a year, the Navy assigned me to another Key West boat, the USS Threadfin (SS 410).

Key West sat then as a tiny town with tons of sailors and locals who called themselves “Conchs.” I thought the place a tropical paradise, except of course for the dearth of females. Sailors had to share those local chicks who would deign to a tryst. Most worked as barmaids rather than church-going neighborhood sweethearts. In their spare time, most sailors sat around the bars, strolled the beaches hunting for “strange,” and wistfully fantasizing about boat rides to Jamaica or the Mediterranean to break the boredom.

Several submarines sat in side the quay walls at the west edge of the small Navy Base on Key West. A large ship called a Submarine Tender moored north and south at the Navy mole inside the quay, and submarines tied up along side it for repairs and refitting. The mile-long main drag Duval street, home of Sloppy Joe’s Bar, ran north and south just outside the main gate. I used to sit in that bar and sip a cheap beer while lusting for the barmaid and listening to a Leon Redbone precursor play 4-string guitar and sing old blues and ragtime songs on the tiny stage behind the bar.

I did make friends on boats aboard which I served, the USS Quillback and USS Threadfin, people I remember today with fond affection, like brothers.

Some of my ship mates had wives, but most enjoyed bachelor life the best they could. Because we could not all sleep in the boat’s bunking quarters at the same time, the salty sailors who had been in the Navy some years lived in barracks quarters while the boat sat in port. When we put out to sea the junior sailors “hot-bunked.” That is, we shared the same bunks. When one would be on watch, another would sleep in the bunk.

While at sea, we sealed the topside hatches, and the engine exhaust and diesel fumes unavoidably permeated the boat. All of us and our clothing smelled like diesel fumes because of the nature of the submarine environment. We did not notice the smell ourselves, but we heard remarks from others when we dressed in our white sailor suits and ventured into town for some excitement. Several of my shipmates grew fond of Canoe cologne because it covered up the subtle stink while making them smell like tropical flowers.

The SS qualified sailors whiled away their time on watch playing Acey-Deucy (backgammon) or cribbage. The unqualified spent all their spare time studying, learning about the boat’s propulsion, buoyancy, weapons, steering, oil, water, electrical, and other critical systems. We went through frequent drills to make sure we could handle emergencies like fire, flooding, or explosive that might arise. We got to know one another’s fortes, foibles, humors, moods, and sometimes secret yearnings.

During my first few months aboard the Quillback I worked as a messcook – a server in the mess hall and dishwasher in the galley (kitchen). I rather enjoyed the job, even though I had gone through school to learn how to set up, operate, and service the computers and other equipment used to aim and shoot guns, torpedos, and missiles (Fire Control Technician). I got to meet and interact with all my shipmates.

And sometimes for entertainment, I’d go topside while in port after taking out the garbage from the mess hall, and hook a piece of fat on a fishing line, toss scraps along with the baited hook into the water, and try to lure one of the flock of hungry seagulls to snag the bait. Inevitably, I’d catch one and reel it in dazed, confused, and squawking, to release it and try for another. One day when dropping the cylindrical stainless steel garbage cans down the hatch to my fellow messcook Swartwood, I failed to notice he had bent over to pick up the pen that had fallen out of his pocket, and the can bonked him on the head with a loud clang, putting a blood-spurting gash in his scalp. I felt so horrible about that because I loved Swartwood as I did nearly all of my shipmates.

We all lived a fairly confined, circumscribed life in a special community on the submarine, just as you did at Buckners. Our captain and officers regulated our schedules, chores, and group leisure and recreation activities, just as the adults regulated yours at Buckners. And I earned a whopping $80 or $90 per month, some of which I sent home to my mother.

We did take the boat to Guantanamo Bay, Jamaica, and various exercises at sea. I loved all those adventures, but shall save till a future note some of my juicy stories about native girls, island music, swapping cigarettes for services, and smoking weed in the bulrushes behind Port Antonio’s Sunset Lounge.

When at sea, I loved standing watch on the top of the sail as the boat seem to cut a swath through the sea with its pointy bow and porpoises (called dolphins) raced the boat and leaped across the bow wake. I loved the storms at sea, with the puffy gray clouds showering rain in the distance against a bright blue sky. I loved scanning the beautiful horizon with binoculars and talking with my fellow watch and the Officer of the Deck. I loved diving into the rich blue water of the Caribbean during swim call. I loved the fabulous food, the best I’d ever eaten. I loved the excitement of learning how the submarine operated and working with shipmates during the drills, then hearing the Captain call out a congratulations and well-done for our accomplishments. I loved driving and diving the boat, the double-ooogah of the diving alarm, flooding the buoyancy tanks and feeling the boat settle beneath the waves, and then the silent running underwater. I loved going to the sonar room and listening to the sounds various fish made, and tracking the navigation of other vessels at sea. I loved the brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures, the balmy breezes swaying palm trees, and even the crotchety provinciality of the community of Key West. I enjoyed the sense of danger sitting only 90 miles from Cuba in the early 60s when we had a terrible relationship with Castro.

And I remember the day of the assassination of JFK. The topside watch informed me about it as he and I saluted one another when I walked aboard after a sunny afternoon adventure in town on a day in late November, in 1963. I lived in Key West just short

In 1998, after not having seen Key west since leaving in the fall of 1964 for Polaris missile fire control school in Dam Neck Virginia, I returned with my wife to Key West. How the town had changed. The salty feel of a navy village had transformed by some magic into a teeming tourist trap visited every day by pleasure cruise ships that had ignored it earlier. Sloppy Joe’s bar had no more of its Hemmingway atmosphere, and had converted much of its space to retail store selling Key West and Hemmingway souvenirs. The Conch Train still takes tourists around the town, pointing out historical landmarks, vegetation, and areas to visit on foot. My favorite bar had disappeared, the Tomato Patch, where a barmaid had taught me the jitterbug, Texas Two-Step, and slow dancing to Buck Owens songs like “Together Again”. The dangerous Cuban expatriate saloons no longer existed. Captain Mel Fisher had built his a treasure museum.

We visited the remains of the Navy Base, called the “Truman Annex.” The CIA listening station at the south end of the base still bristled with antennas, and cars in the parking lot hinted that the CIA personnel were still tuned in to radio signals sneaking out of Cuba. We drove down to the quay where the submarines had lain at their moorings. None of the 7 or 8 boats sat where they had in those days of my youth a year after I had graduated from a Dallas high school. The government had sold the submarines to foreign Navies or scrapped them. The base, although well-groomed and lovely as it had been 34 years earlier seemed deserted - I didn’t see a single sailor anywhere.

I stood there on the concrete mole overlooking the submarine basin and let the waves of nostalgia flood my thoughts and sense of existence. This tiny Navy base had served as home to many submarine sailors, including me. All had lusted, loved, and indulged the obligations and benefits of life there. Now, nothing remained but the memories.

And those memories, while not real, surely seemed so intensely true. But only the tidy little white buildings and manicured lawn stood behind as a hint to the work and play of so many years ago.

Norman and Debbie visited the remains of Buckners a few years back, and mentioned that little remained there but rubble and memories. I know they felt the same nostalgia I felt in Key West, and the same you must feel now as you think of your childhood years.

Bob Hurt

Open Letter to Christian Evangelists

I appreciate your sharing your religious views with me. I often do not reciprocate because I wish to avoid unnecessary conflict, but you seem so intense that I shall provide you with comments from my heart to yours.

Jesus’ life and teachings have such importance that we can lift them out of the bible altogether and they can stand on their own as the only primary religious truths on this world. We do not need any associated writings by prophets, seers, historians, philosophers, or epistleers.

Jesus spent over 4 years living and teaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and encouraging his followers to follow his lead and embrace that gospel:

1. The reality of the sovereignty and Fatherhood of God – the Father loves us as his children.
2. The truth of the Brotherhood of Man – we must love and unselfishly serve others
3. Faith in the effectiveness of the supreme human desire to do God’s will – to be like God

Through the faith-embrace of our eternal relationship with our Heavenly Father, following Jesus’ guidance and inspiration, we shall engage in eternal adventures with the Father’s individuated spirit presences within us as our constant companions, both here on earth, and in heaven.

We have the divinely endowed purpose here to learn to show the nature of our loving Heavenly Father to the others around us – to develop balanced and majestic personalities like that of Jesus.

To the extent Christianity or any other religion falls short of the above concepts, it fails the mission the Father set for Jesus on this world, and it fails the Great commission Jesus gave his apostles before he disappeared from view for the last time on the morning of Pentecost.

The above principles of the gospel sit in the Bible for all to read and heed, woven through Jesus’ life and teachings, both public and private. And yet, when I ask my Christian brothers to tell me the gospel in a nutshell, they usually tell me anything but the above, and add other things that never comprised the teachings or focus of Jesus’ religious life.

I believe Christianity contains more of Jesus’ teachings than any other religion, but that it fell grossly short of the above ambitions because of cult practices, denominationalism, dogmatizing, formalizing, polluting, and crystallizing the religion OF Jesus into a religion ABOUT Jesus.

That distraction retarded the spread of the gospel at least 1500 years, paving the way for the rise of Islam. Had early Christians remained loyal to the gospel of the Kingdom of God as expressed by Jesus, Muhammad would have embraced it and Islam would not exist as we know it today – Islam (Submission to the Will of God) would constitute the religion of Jesus I outlined above. In that respect, Christianity shot itself in the foot, and produced militant Islam to terrorize the world today. In fact, Islam’s growth has outpaced Christianity’s growth for the past several years.

Some day, Christianity must reform itself and rejuvenate its interest, thrust, and focus on the gospel of the Kingdom of God without all the other ritualistic, denominational, and dogmatic trappings. When and as it does, it will attract far more converts from misguided religions than it does today.

The question: will YOU play a role in that reformation and refocus, or will you tune in only to fundamentalist dogma that distracts from the Great Commission?

As just one example of the wrong focus, people somehow mention how others are “bound for hell” because of not embracing Paul’s atonement doctrine. A person who embraces the religion of Jesus has no concern for hell. He does not enter his religion out of fear of burning, but out of desire to walk with God, accept the Father’s inner leading, feel Jesus’ personal spirit presence (the “comforter”), and show the nature of the Father to others. The truth-seeker cannot help feeling a craving for those things, and the gospel gratifies that craving.

Christianity focuses on Paul’s atonement doctrine: “Accept on faith that the death of Jesus constituted a human sacrifice that appeases God, atones for your sins, and allows you to have relationship with God, or you will burn in hell forever.”

That seems to ignore Luke 4:18, Luke 4:43, Matthew 6:14 and 15, Luke 10:25-28, Mark 12:29-31, and John 3:16, and to violate the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18:20 and Mark 16:15. In fact, Jesus started teaching the gospel before he ordained his apostles in the Sermon on the Mount, and he did not even mention his death till over 3 years into his public ministry. Therefore, neither his death nor any thing related to or derived from it had any role in the gospel teachings. Jesus’ gospel also did not concern his status as Messiah or a divine being, for he told his apostles to stay quiet about it. And yet, Jesus very clearly said he came here to teach the gospel of the Kingdom of God

Upon dedicing to start his public mission. Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…

After selecting the first apostles, but before ordaining them. Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

After ordaining his apostles. Luke 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

Over 3 years into his public ministry. Matthew 16:20-21 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Just 8 months before his death. Mark 9:9-10 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

You see from the above chronology that the gospel could not possibly contain any element of the Atonement Doctrine.

On top of that, Jesus’ very clear teachings about Love and Forgiveness, and God’s father relationship to us as his children constitute the essence of his teachings, and they also make the Atonement Doctrine impossible.

You receive the Father’s forgiveness you if you forgive others, but not if you don’t. Matthew 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

You live forever (in Heaven) if you love God and your fellow humans. Luke 10:25-28 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

You must believe Jesus’ teachings (which you will if you accept his authority to teach) in order to live forever. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He supplemented the Ten Commandments with a new one. John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

He made it clear that we already have the Father’s spirit within us. Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

He even claimed that his own spirit dwells with us. John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

He loyally taught the Gospel the Father sent him to teach. John 17:7-10 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

His last Commandment, the Great Commission. Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He claimed absolute divine authority from the Father. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

He said to spread his commands, not Paul’s atonement doctrine. Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

So now I ask: why would you take Paul’s atonement doctrine to heart above the direct unequivocal teachings of Jesus, particularly when Paul never met Jesus in person and never listened to his teachings? Paul’s letters caused much mischief in the spread of Christianity. They corrupted the simple gospel of the Kingdom of God with the personal religious philosophy of Paul.

For that reason, I encourage you as follows: refocus on the Gospel of the Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus.

Thanks for allowing me to share my views with you.

Bob Hurt.

Sunni, Shia, Atonement, the Gospel

In a recent message, my brother Norman provocatively asked:

Does anyone know the difference between a Suni and a Shia? From what I can gather they are lined up against each other in all the mideast. Why can't the Muslims just get along with each other? Of course, if they did, they'd unite against the rest of the world, right?

Sunnis believe the leader of Islam should show an honorable, religious nature, above all other qualities. Shi’as believe the leader should have descended from Muhammad, regardless of how honorable or religious he seems. I agree with the Sunnis. Saddam Hussein adheres to Sunni beliefs, as do most of his faction of followers in Iraq.

I would ask you why Christians didn’t get along with one another during the reformation and rise of Protestantism about 600 years ago, but I know you know the answer, so I won’t ask.

Religion, however crass, base, illogical, or primitive, means “devotion to supreme values.” Those values seem so supreme in the mind of the religionist as to compel one to believe the entire universe should embrace them wholeheartedly.

Let’s take Christianity in general as an example. The bulk of Christians, many of whose antecedents warred against one another over ideology, hold the common belief that

1. Jesus died on the cross as a human blood sacrifice to atone for man's sins, and that
2. Accepting that notion on faith somehow washes away their sins and allows them to go to heaven and enjoy eternal relationship with God (be saved), whereas
3. Not accepting that notion on faith will cause the unbeliever to burn in hell forever.

Many Christians espouse and push that atonement doctrine with all their hearts, stuffing it into every possible sensory orifice of every possible child and adult with all the vigor they can muster. If you argue against the notion, there will be hell to pay. And you never get your pesky questions answered, questions like these:

1. Since God ordered his children not to murder others as a major tenet of the 10 commandments, why would he break that rule in ordering the sacrificial murder of Jesus?
2. Why would the Father order a sacrifice of his only begotten son to pay for the sins of others when such an order violates principles of justice and fairness? Isn’t God always fair and just?
3. If the Father loves his imperfect, sinning children on earth and wants to save them, wouldn’t he love his only begotten sinless son at least as much?
4. Why would the Father order the death of a being nearly his equal? Since Jesus rose from the dead, doesn’t that put his sacrificial death in the category of a sham? If his death had a sacrificial nature, why didn’t he stay dead?
5. Isn’t the murdering of a human being as a sacrifice an effort to bribe God so that he will show favor to his children even though they do not deserve it? Can we bribe God?
6. Doesn’t the offer of a sacrifice to God as a bribe to keep him from punishing us sort of turn God into some kind of divine Mafia Chief?
7. If God is “no respecter of persons” why would he accept any bribe or sacrifice at all for any reason?
8. Didn’t Jesus show disdain for the concept of sacrifice by overturning the moneychangers’ tables, driving sacrificial beasts out of the temple, shunning sacrificial meat at his Passover feasts, and saying “love is greater than all the burnt offerings”?
9. What need or want could God have for sacrifice if he already has everything he wants and needs?
10. How can belief in sacrifice make man able to have relationship with God when at least 18 different bible scriptures clearly state that the Spirit of God indwells our minds? What could be closer than that? How can any other relationship possibly compare to our Father’s individuated presence in the human mind?
11. Didn’t Jesus teach in Matthew 6:14 and 15 that if you forgive the sins of others, your Father will forgive yours, but if you don’t, he won’t? Doesn’t this mean your forgiving others earns your Father’s forgiveness, even if you don’t believe the death of Jesus had a sacrificial nature? Doesn’t it also mean that even if you believe the death of Jesus had a sacrificial nature, you will not have your Father’s forgiveness so long as you refuse to forgive others who have sinned against you?
12. Didn’t Jesus teach in Luke 10:25-28 that if you love God and your fellow humans you live forever (you go to heaven after you die)? Doesn’t that stand true even if you don’t believe Jesus’ death had a sacrificial nature?
13. Didn’t Jesus say he was sent to this world in order to teach the gospel of the Kingdom of God?
14. If so, how does the concept of his sacrificial death fit into that gospel when Jesus taught the gospel early in his ministry, but never mentioned his death till over 3 years into his public ministry, and even then he told the apostles to stay quiet about it?
15. If the purpose of Jesus’ life on this world was to die a sacrificial death, why didn’t he teach about that atonement doctrine throughout his public ministry instead of NEVER mentioning it publicly, not even once?
16. If the belief in the sacrificial death of Jesus was so important to man’s salvation, why didn’t Jesus say so on the morning of Pentecost when he gave his apostles his final orders before ascending into Heaven?
17. Why did Jesus tell his apostles to go into all the world teach all he had commanded, and to spread his gospel to every creature, when neither his commands nor his gospel contained any words of reference to the atonement doctrine?

Many related questions exist which, answered honestly from the scriptures, will reveal, as do the answers to those questions above, the utter falsehood of the atonement doctrine. Very simply, Jesus never taught it, and he ignored it in giving the Great Commission to his apostles to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, not the atonement doctrine.

On the morning of Pentecost, Jesus delivered his Great Commission then disappeared from view for the last time during the apostles’ earth lives. And yet, that very afternoon, Peter forgot everything Jesus had said when he took the people in the upper room to the temple court and preached his fireball sermon on the history of the Hebrews, how they had killed their prophets and killed Jesus too, and the importance of the fact of the “risen Christ.” Peter did not mention a single fact about the Gospel of the Kingdom ofGod Jesus had labored so prodigiously and against such immense political opposition for more than 4 years to teach to the apostles and other followers and listeners.

Behavior like Peter's causes false beliefs to spread like wildfire. Bombastic but misguided orators alter the original truth to something of their own creation because of what they think has importance or relevance, ignoring what their master taught them. The apostle Paul carried the error even further by replacing the Gospel with his own personal religious philosophy – the atonement doctrine, something Jesus never taught.

And, if we’re honest about it, we must admit that the atonement doctrine propounded by nearly all Christian churches drives away people of good education and common sense. Just one byproduct of the focus on the atonement doctrine rather than on Jesus’ Gospel of devotion to the principles of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man (Norman and I call it FOGBOM – don’t bother, I already own the main domain names) lies in the religion of Islam. Islam still does focus on good things, in spite of horrible aspects like the insane belief that dying in holy jihad while battling infidels earns earthly treasures in heaven. Those good things include focus on devotion to God (praying 5 times a day), doing God’s will, helping the poor and downtrodden (like orphans and widows) through the poor tax, and religiously adhering to the specific teachings of their Prophet.

If Christians adhered as strongly to the specific teachings of Jesus, most likely Islam would never have started because missionaries would have taken the real gospel to Muhammad, and he would have become a greater proponent of the Gospel. As it is, he warned all Muslims in his recital (the Koran) to heed the gospel, the REAL gospel, even though he did not know what it was. Sadly, most Christians don't know either. Don't worry, if you can't enumerate the points of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, you will soon have a remedy for that problem.

I personally believe adherence to the atonement doctrine and other religious delusions of the apostle Paul set back the spread of Jesus’ real gospel at least 1500 years. As a result the world contains 2 billion Christians and a billion Muslims instead of 3 or 4 billion Jesusonians or Gospeleers. And the world faces daily and terrible crises at the hands of a violent, vituperative minority of Muslims who rush headlong for the destruction of the West and all infidels (including Christians and Jews) who resist Islam.

We would probably be right to blame that on Paul, but at least we can say Christianity did spread to 2 Billion because of the few teachings of Jesus that manage to peek through the shroud of the atonement doctrine. And that’s a good thing. Maybe Paul meant well, and maybe not. I feel inclined to give him rave reviews in his methods, and the benefit of the doubt as to his motives, but I have no doubt that he screwed up, big-time, in the content of his message.

Nevertheless, I believe Christianity faces a renaissance sometime in the next couple of hundred years as its leaders resurrect the real gospel from the bog Peter and Paul tossed it in nearly 2000 years ago, and breathe new life and liberty into it. Maybe a new kind of John the Baptist will arise to bring the Gospel back to the forefront of Christianity where it belongs.

I know that will happen. It’s only a matter of time.

Just remember that Christianity had a 600-year head-start on Islam, and it began from the enlightened teachings of a brilliant Son of God to flourish in the western centers of learning and culture and experienced birth amidst Jews who had 2,000 years of history in the growth and stabilizing of their religion. By contrast, Islam got started from the expressions of the illiterate orphan Muhammad who claimed a visionary connection to Gabriel (not to the Father himself, as did Jesus) in an exceedingly backward and primitive area of the world where the people still worshipped the moon and multiple deities.

Muslim factions fight now somewhat like Christian factions fought 600 years ago. Give Islam another 600 years to catch up, and it will reform itself significantly, as did Christianity.

Let us hope Christianity also reforms itself by resurrecting and putting at the forefront of their religious philosophy the Gospel of Jesus, obliterating the abhorrent and illogical atonement doctrine (no offense intended, but a spade is after all a spade).

And now, as a little treat for those of you with some curiosity as to how you can precisely enumerate the tenets of the Gospel, I present this excerpt from the very end of Paper 140 of my favorite book of religious truth. I encourage all of you truth-seekers and gospel advocates to memorize it, for it contains the very heart and soul of Jesus’ mission on and to this world.

The Urantia Book, page 1585.

This same evening Thomas asked Jesus: "Master, you say that we must become as little children before we can gain entrance to the Father's kingdom, and yet you have warned us not to be deceived by false prophets nor to become guilty of casting our pearls before swine. Now, I am honestly puzzled. I cannot understand your teaching." Jesus replied to Thomas: "How long shall I bear with you! Ever you insist on making literal all that I teach. When I asked you to become as little children as the price of entering the kingdom, I referred not to ease of deception, mere willingness to believe, nor to quickness to trust pleasing strangers. What I did desire that you should gather from the illustration was the child-father relationship. You are the child, and it is your Father's kingdom you seek to enter. There is present that natural affection between every normal child and its father which insures an understanding and loving relationship, and which forever precludes all disposition to bargain for the Father's love and mercy. And the gospel you are going forth to preach has to do with a salvation growing out of the faith-realization of this very and eternal child-father relationship."

The one characteristic of Jesus' teaching was that the morality of his philosophy originated in the personal relation of the individual to God--this very child-father relationship. Jesus placed emphasis on the individual, not on the race or nation. While eating supper, Jesus had the talk with Matthew in which he explained that the morality of any act is determined by the individual's motive. Jesus' morality was always positive. The golden rule as restated by Jesus demands active social contact; the older negative rule could be obeyed in isolation. Jesus stripped morality of all rules and ceremonies and elevated it to majestic levels of spiritual thinking and truly righteous living.

This new religion of Jesus was not without its practical implications, but whatever of practical political, social, or economic value there is to be found in his teaching is the natural outworking of this inner experience of the soul as it manifests the fruits of the spirit in the spontaneous daily ministry of genuine personal religious experience.

After Jesus and Matthew had finished talking, Simon Zelotes asked, "But, Master, are all men the sons of God?" And Jesus answered: "Yes, Simon, all men are the sons of God, and that is the good news you are going to proclaim." But the apostles could not grasp such a doctrine; it was a new, strange, and startling announcement. And it was because of his desire to impress this truth upon them that Jesus taught his followers to treat all men as their brothers.

In response to a question asked by Andrew, the Master made it clear that the morality of his teaching was inseparable from the religion of his living. He taught morality, not from the nature of man, but from the relation of man to God.

John asked Jesus, "Master, what is the kingdom of heaven?" And Jesus answered: "The kingdom of heaven consists in these three essentials: first, recognition of the fact of the sovereignty of God; second, belief in the truth of sonship with God; and third, faith in the effectiveness of the supreme human desire to do the will of God--to be like God. And this is the good news of the gospel: that by faith every mortal may have all these essentials of salvation."

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Jugito’s Vanilla Extract

Ingredients:

1. 40 ML 175-proof grain alcohol (corn whiskey) I purchased from a Kentucky Distiller.
2. 600 ML reverse osmosis water.
3. 28 seven-inch beans, cut into 1-inch pieces with scissors

Instructions:

1. Blend to complete mush in Vitamix at high speed for about 1 minute.
2. Pour into clean 1-quart cherry juice jar and cap lid tightly.
3. Store in cool dark closet and shake up once a day for one month.
4. Strain through fine mesh nylon bag and squeeze out all liquid into container.
5. Separate into dark brown 4-ounce bottles – this is Vanilla extract.
6. Perform a second operation on the mush

Discussion:

I purchased the Tahitian Vanilla beans here:

The Organic Vanilla Bean Company via E-Bay.
Cost: $30 for one pound including shipping - the cheapest no-dickering price I could find.

Why "Tahitian" beans? Well, all vanilla beans come from orchids, and vanilla orchids come in different varieties. The Tahitian variety, good for extracts, produces explosive flavor without much aftertaste. The "Bourbon" variety, preferred by bakers, produces a more suttle initial impact, but a longer aftertaste. Also, Bourbon beans contain more actual vanilla taste and flavor, while Tahitian beans have some vanilla flavor mixed with other aromatic compounds that provide an exotic taste experience. And, you will pay 50% more for Bourbon beans than you do for Tahitian beans.

I prefer to extract the aromatic, flavorful ingredients by pulverizing the beans without overheating, let them sit, and then squeeze all the juice out. It will be somewhat like thin syrup and will contain some pulp. You can filter it further if you don’t want flecks of pulp in the food, but I never worry about this because it wastes ingredients.

I have found that 35% alcohol and 65% water preserves the organic matter from spoilage while extracting the aromatic, flavorful ingredients. I have tried up to 50% mixes and believe that imparts an unpleasant alcohol taste (unless I’m making a Vanilla Liqueur, in which case, I’ll use 50% to 60% alcohol). 175-proof grain alcohol contains 87.5% alcohol and 12.5% water. I compensate for that when calculating alcohol percentage so I don’t add too much or too little water. So .875 x 400ML = 350ML = 35% of 1 Litre.

Kentucky Distillers offer much more reasonable prices on grain alcohol than do liquor stores. I bought 5 gallons of 175-proof corn liquor and had it delivered via UPS. It cost me $30 for delivery a couple of years ago, so it will cost more now. The liquor cost $35 per gallon, of which $8 was the cost of the whiskey, and $27 was the excise tax. The total came to $41 per gallon. I believe you’d pay double that in a liquor store.

I calculate 1 inch of vanilla bean per teaspoon of extract. The beans you sent me were 7 inches long. I wanted a quart of extract. A quart contains 32 ounces. Each ounce contains 6 teaspoons. So 32 X 6 = 192 inches /7 inches per bean = 27.4 beans. I rounded up to 28. That number of beans weighs a little less than 1/3 pound.

I use a Vitamix blender, which I consider to be “nuclear-powered” because it spins 3 times faster than normal blenders, so fast that it will heat a cold liquid to nearly boiling within 7 minutes at high speed. The friction of the blades against the ingredients causes the heat build-up. So I exercise care to ensure the ingredients do not overheat. I let it spin for only a minute. The resulting mixture has a gooey texture with thousands of tiny flecks of organic matter.

I keep the mixture out of sunlight because I do not want the sun adversely to affect the extraction process or degrade the organic materials.

I have a nylon mesh bag with a very fine mesh, something like a lady’s stocking, but much more durable. When I pour the “cured” mixture into it, I hold it over a ceramic bowl or glass pitcher and massage it to force all the liquid out. Then I squeeze it harder as it gets drier. Then I twist the bag so as to put more pressure on the pulp than I can by squeezing. This gets every possible drop of extract out of the pulp.

You can use the resulting pulp for cooking or for making a second pass at the extraction process. It still has lots of flavor and aroma left, but the second extract will not have as intense a flavor as the first. You can also save the pulp and drop a teaspoon full into your coffee grounds before brewing a pot, or you can put some into a pot of hot tea. You can drop some into a pot of oatmeal or cream of wheat or any cooked dessert like a custard (if you don’t mind the flecks). You can stir some into yogurt. You can use it to flavor adult beverages. And you can even mix it with crème rinse when you wash your hair.

# # #

Be You Therefore Perfect

Jesus said “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

- - - - - - -

A few years ago at a Sunday computer show, I saw a handsomely dressed black man walking around in shirt and tie, followed by a gaggle of four similarly dressed young black men. It was just after lunchtime. I figured the leader was a local preacher and the others his deacons, and they were on a buying mission for the church. I put my hand out in a gesture to get the leader’s attention.

“Hello, Pastor, have you been preaching the gospel this morning?” I asked with a smile.

“Oh, I’ve been spreading the Word,” he answered as he stopped to face me A golden tooth gleamed through his proud and expansive smile. His troops assembled behind him to watch him in action.

“What exactly is that gospel?” I inquired sincerely and expectantly, hoping for a good answer, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

“All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God,” he exclaimed. “Accept the Lord Jesus as your personal savior and your sins will be washed away. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Have you invited Jesus into your heart?”

“That I have, Pastor, and I’m glad for it,” I replied. “Tell me, Pastor, is it possible for a person to be perfect?”

“Oh, no,” he lectured. “Only one man has ever been perfect, and that’s Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

“Well, is it possible for a person to live according to Jesus’ teachings?” I wanted to know.

“Sure it is,” he instructed.

“Are you committing any sins or errors right this minute?” I asked?

“Well, er-uh, not right this minute, no,” he said. The glimmer of gold began to fade with his smile.

“How about for the past few minutes?” I inquired. The deacons angled themselves for a better look at the preacher’s face. He paused to gather his thoughts.

“No, I don’t believe so,” he replied.

“Me, too,” I responded, as I eagerly held out my hand. He automatically grasped it and began a friendly handshake.

“According to Jesus,” I continued with a huge grin, wishing I could gleam some gold back at him, “we can be perfect here on earth, relative to our individual capacities, just as our Father in Heaven is absolutely perfect. It’s great that we two brothers can share these moments of mutual perfection on this fine Sunday afternoon, isn’t it?”

The pastor just stood there grasping my hand, his grip weakening as his mental machinery pondered my conundrum, his facial expression frozen in puzzlement.

“Have a good afternoon, Pastor,” I said, as I released my hand. “And keep spreading that Word.”

I turned and walked away with a smile on my face and in my heart, hoping I’d just given the pastor some meat for his next sermon.

Then I spun on my heels and said with a wave and a smile, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor... that ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven. Remember Matthew 5:45, Pastor. According to Jesus, we're Sons of God too."

The pastor and his deacons seemed frozen in time as I turned around and continued on my rounds to spread the Gospel.

John asked Jesus, "Master, what is the kingdom of heaven?" And Jesus answered: "The kingdom of heaven consists in these three essentials: first, recognitionof the fact of the sovereignty of God; second, belief in the truth of sonship with God; and third, faith in the effectiveness of the supreme human desire to do the will of God--to be like God. And this is the good news of the gospel: that by faith every mortal may have all these essentials of salvation. The Urantia Book, 140:10.9

Tampa Bay Lawman Gets Hosed in Federal Court

Bad Strategy, Lack of Preparation, Lack of Counsel, or Just Plain Wrong?
By Bob Hurt, 20 May 2006

Yesterday (Friday, 19 May 2006) district federal court judge Richard A. Lazzara gave Tampa Bay Lawman James Enright a hosing, one that may cost James $172,000. That’s the amount IRS Agent Ashley (an “authorized” pseudonym) claims James owes in unpaid federal income tax. And, by the time the IRS gets through with him, Agent Ashley might claim he owes much more.

Although it did not seem to matter much, except to annoy the judge, James did not appear alone in court. Aside from two family members, 10 other Lawmen (see http://lawmenamerica) showed up to support him. Those twelve occupied the church pews in the gallery. I was one of them. We witnessed the spectacle with some astonishment and chagrin.

James, an entrepreneur, works hard at his job every day. The job apparently provides him with a decent income. For years, James felt convinced that he didn’t owe the IRS a penny because the implementation of a direct, unapportioned tax of individuals violates the constitution. So he stopped filing tax returns in 2000.

Using available information like 1099 forms submitted by others with whom James did business, the IRS calculated that James owed taxes for several years since then. They filed 1040 income tax forms on his behalf. Then they issued an assessment, slapped liens against his name and property, and summonsed him to bring his books and records so they could figure out how to collect the delinquent tax.

James showed up in their office, asked whether the information against him could be used in proceedings intended to deprive him of life, liberty, or property, and when Agent Ashley said it could be, he cited his 5th Amendment right not to incriminate himself, and refused to supply the information they wanted. They must have expected it because the day after the meeting, he received a subpoena to appear in Tampa’s US District Court to testify as to why the judge should not order him to give the IRS the records.

During the IRS’s efforts to get returns from James, James bought the book Cracking the Code from http://losthorizons.com, read it, and did his best to implement its suggestions. Accordingly, he filed his returns, stating zero tax due on them, based on the fact that he did not fit the definition of employee as defined in the IRS code (that is, a government employee or corporate officer), and so does not fall under the code’s definition of “taxpayer.” However, James did not enter those forms into the court record, and he did not bring them to court with him, so as far as the judge was concerned, they did not exist.

James’ defense had been carefully planned in advance:

1. Challenge the court’s and IRS’s territorial jurisdiction based on Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution, US Attorney’s Manual section 664, and by U.S. v. Lopez 514 US 549, 115 S.Ct 1624 (1995).
2. Challenge subject matter jurisdiction based on lack of substantive regulation for enforcement provisions of IRS code (Title 26 sections 7402 and 7604) as required by the Administrative Procedures Act and supported by Chrysler v. Brown and State of Ohio DHS v U.S. DHHS.
3. Invoke Fifth Amendment rights – By supplying all the information requested, James would be incriminating himself because it would or could be used in criminal proceedings against him.
4. Move for disqualification of the judge by reason of prejudice.

James was not prepared to argue against the content of the petition itself.

After the Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) claimed the IRS wanted the information in order to collect delinquent tax, the judge asked James to explain why he shouldn’t grant the IRS what it wanted.

James launched into his well-rehearsed arguments. The judge interrupted and said “I will not declare the income tax unconstitutional! This court has territorial, subject matter, and personal jurisdiction, and so does the IRS!” Thus, in one swoop, Lazzara wiped out strategies one and two.

The judge noted that James had invoked the fifth in his pleading, and brought out a case in which another judge had ruled that an in camera inquiry could determine, point by point, whether providing the requested items would tend to incriminate the IRS victim. So, he cleared the courtroom of all but the participants, and conducted the inquiry. When all were allowed to return, the judge ruled that none of the information would incriminate. He ruled that James’ pleadings had no merit. Good-bye strategy three.

James asked the judge to disqualify himself. The judge refused. James said he would appeal. Lazzara pointed out that he was free to do so, but meanwhile, he’d better show up at the IRS office and deliver the information or he’d be found in contempt and the overworked federal marshal would arrest him and throw him in jail. Adios strategy four.

Then he asked James for any other reason why he should not order James to deliver the requested material. James replied that he had submitted his tax returns. Opposing counsel claimed ignorance of them. The judge asked James for copies. James did not have them. The judge asked for any other reasons why he shouldn’t place the order.

Having no other answer, James said no, and Lazzara issued the order accordingly. While others drifted out into the hallway, James went to the front and paid the court reporter $257 for the transcript, then most of us drove to a restaurant for lunch and a postmortem discussion.

James concluded that he should have taken a seasoned attorney to court with him. Others commented at lunch as to what they might have said in response to various remarks by the judge or opposing attorney. Some said he might be able to do something yet to avoid giving up his records. One said he should destroy all records. Another said he should show up with the requested info then ask if any of it could lead to a charge of income tax evasion, and if the answer was yes, to invoke the 5th anew. Several agreed he needed an expert to go over the transcript with a fine-toothed comb so as to glean evidence for the next leg of his defense. One said he should have challenged the AUSA’s contention that he was a taxpayer. Another said he should have demanded to see the IRS agent’s driver’s license so as to ascertain her true identity on the basis that he has the right to know who his accuser is (most IRS agents use a fictitious name to reduce the likelihood that their victims will hunt them down and kill or harass them).

In the end, I wanted to help but was as useful as a blade of grass under cow plop. And I concluded that any such defendant should do the following (but this is not intended to be legal advice):

1. Prepare by intense study of all tax honesty documents available, including those available through sources like the following. You will have to decide for yourself which is most correct in various areas because they differ with each other, and the government is very active at finding ways to defeat every tax honesty argument propounded by the tax honesty movement).
a. Supreme Law Firm (http://supremelaw.org) – see comments below,
b. Lawmen (http://lawmenamerica.com),
c. We The People (http://givemeliberty.org),
d. To Congress (http://tocongress.com),
e. Cracking the Code (http://losthorizons.com),
f. Otto Skinner (http://ottoskinner.com),
g. David Bosset (http://bosset.com),
h. People’s Awareness Coalition (http://pacinlaw.org),
i. Family Guardian (http://famguardian.org).
2. File motions for a jury trial, even for the simplest of hearings that might result in loss of rights, for declaration that all rulings will be based only upon law and facts entered into evidence, not by rumor, and that the court will follow the constitution as the supreme law.
3. Have an expert counsel (not necessary an attorney) sitting along side as a coach
4. Prepare to challenge every possible comment - demand an explanation or justification for everything the opposing counsel or judge says that tends to classify or categorize the defendant, or that presumes anything not entered as fact-based evidence with a corroborating document or testimony of some kind.
5. Rally a support group like the Lawmen.

I believe James stood victim to a “Kangaroo Court”. The judge overreached his constitutional authority, and stomped all over James rights. James was not experienced enough to tear into and defeat the remarks of the judge and opposing counsel. He should have:

• Challenged the identity of the IRS agent
• Challenged the assertion that he was a taxpayer.
• Challenged the judge to show him the proof of jurisdiction by showing how the constitution was wrong.
• Come prepared to explain in detail how the order to reveal his financial records, phone number, business contacts, customers, and so on, constitutes a serious incrimination in violation of his 5th Amendment rights, and more vigorously defended his 5th and 4th Amendment rights (non-incrimination and privacy).
• Entered his tax forms into evidence.

He should have, but he didn’t. He did bravely follow his strategy, and now he can appeal the case. He might discover numerous challengeable points in the transcript that will help him in the appeal.

And if he does show all the requested information to the IRS, they might discover that they overlooked a lot of things, and amend the returns they wrote for him so as to assert that he owes two or three times what they say he owes in delinquent taxes. And because James did not do what he should have done, he faces the horrifying possibility of financial ruin and a career in federal prison. Certainly, if he does not show the IRS his private papers, he faces possible imprisonment under a contempt ruling.

Does James live in 2006, or has he returned to the days of 1750 when King George’s tax collectors invaded hearth and home and pillaged at will?

One citizen at a time, the IRS works to destroy the liberty and fortunes of individual Americans. We must work more furiously and effectively in support groups to educate ourselves and our fellows, and to turn all of our neighbors, families, and friends into activists against the evil and illegal IRS.

We supporting Lawmen did not seem to do much good James’ case, but his case is not over, and we are growing in number and wisdom with each passing week. Let the lessons we are learning from James’ case stimulate us to ever greater action, particularly in recruiting and training more members from our communities.

I learned a lot sitting in that court room, my first time in a federal court. I was sad for James, but scared for myself. Only good luck and the Grace of God have kept me out of his shoes. I know that what happened to him can happen to anybody who enters a court as defendant or “respondent.” And as those of you who’ve followed Mark Adams’ story know, it can happen even to an attorney for a plaintiff.

Bottom line, our judiciary is corrupt from top to bottom. I fear it. So should we all.

That fear should not leave us cowering and quaking in the corner of a dark closet. It must drive us into action to expose and terminate government corruption by whatever lawful means are available to us, lest someday we are driven to be outlaws in defense of our rights.


Bob Hurt


P.S. I sent a brief summary of the above to Paul Andrew Mitchell (http://supremelaw.org), and he replied. Here’s the interchange:

On 5/19/06, Bob Hurt wrote:

I sat helpless and watched a skilled federal judge skewer the respondent to IRS petition to order respondent to show books and records for collection.

Judge trounced over all jurisdiction and 5th amendment issues, and determined from in camera interview that nothing in the info requested would incriminate the Respondent. J said R ought to have had a lawyer, and ruled R better show up at IRS office with requested records.

I suggested he talk to an attorney, as Dave Bosset's approach wasn't followed well because of pressure.

I mentioned you. Somebody else mentioned Joe Izen.

Does this case interest you?

Paul Andrew Mitchell answered:

The judge can order the respondent to appear with books and records, but the judge cannot compel the respondent to be a witness against himself, nor can the judge compel the respondent to surrender his books and records in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Therefore, at the IRS summons hearing, respondent should appear with his books and records, but should then take the Fifth in response to every single question, e.g.:

Q: What is your name, please?

A: I decline to answer that question, because I cannot be compelled to be a witness against myself.

Q: Stand up, raise your right hand, and repeat after me.

A: I have not been ordered to be sworn in, and I cannot be compelled to be a witness against myself.


This is the proper way to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

The basic issue here is the Fourth Amendment, in point of Law, however. See this winning brief here, for detailed authorities:

http://www.supremelaw.org/cc/jetruman/oppososc.htm

Also, do investigate the judge to make sure he has all 4 of the credentials required of every federal judge: e.g. Clerk of Court must have legal custody of his APPOINTMENT AFFIDAVIT, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 2906, 3331:

http://www.supremelaw.org/rsrc/commissions/index.htm (database of missing credentials statewide California).

http://www.supremelaw.org/rsrc/commissions.htm
http://www.supremelaw.org/rsrc/oaths/federal.judges.htm


Joe Izen didn't do much for Lynne Meredith, now did he? See BOP's Inmate Locator, and search for "Bonita Lynne Meredith #24001-112"

The worst that can happen is that the respondent is ordered so show cause why he should not be held in contempt: in reply, he will state under duress that he attempted to comply by appearing with books and records, but he properly and timely invoked his fundamental Rights not to be a witness against himself, and to privacy of his books and records.

Meanwhile, he should have submitted a proper FOIA request to DOJ for the judge's COMMISSION, which should be in DOJ's custody (see cites above). And, that FOIA request should be entered into evidence in his court record, by way of Rule 201(d) of the Federal Rules of Evidence.

FOIA requests raise a federal cause of action, and the judge is necessarily a material witness to the existence, or absence, of his required credentials; therefore, he cannot preside on any hearing(s) to compel their disclosure. 28 U.S.C. 455.

If the "robe" turns up withOUT any one of the 4 required credentials, he should be formally charged with impersonation for violating 18 U.S.C. 912:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/912.html (a federal felony).

See also 18 U.S.C. 4, which creates a legal obligation to report such a felony.

Such impersonation necessarily implicates mail fraud too, so another remedy is to sue this impostor in State Court using Civil RICO remedies at 18 U.S.C. 1964:

http://www.supremelaw.org/decs/agency/civil.rico.htm
http://www.supremelaw.org/decs/agency/private.attorney.general.htm


See also:

http://www.supremelaw.org/sls/31answers.htm
http://www.supremelaw.org/sls/31Q&A.in.evidence.htm
(all opposing party(s) fell totally silent in all cases)

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, B.A., M.S.
Private Attorney General, Criminal Investigator and
Federal Witness: 18 U.S.C. 1510, 1512-13, 1964(a)
http://www.supremelaw.org/decs/agency/private.attorney.general.htm
http://www.supremelaw.org/index.htm
http://www.supremelaw.org/support.policy.htm
http://www.supremelaw.org/guidelines.htm
All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
B.H.
# # #

How to Make a Deputy Sheriff Sick

Quasi-Fiction © by Bob Hurt 17 May 2006. All rights reserved.

Yesterday afternoon Juan, Chuck, and I accompanied our friend Mark to Florida’s 2^nd District Court of Appeals in Lakeland to copy some court records. While Mark was making copies, I went to the men’s room.

On my way back I stopped to chat with the Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy. He was guarding the door to make sure nobody brought in a bomb or other destructive weapons, including a pen knife for cleaning one’s fingernails and opening mail. The obese deputy was nice enough but as the conversation proceeded, he began to look downright uncomfortable, and perhaps ill.

I asked him if he was a regular deputy or special one. He said regular. I asked if he served as a bailiff. No, he didn’t (as though the job were beneath him), and he was doing this door guard thing as a side job. I asked if he had the power to arrest people he witnessed violating the law. Yes, he did, so long as it was a law of the State of Florida or of Polk county. I asked if he had to swear an oath in order to become a deputy. Yes he did.

So far, so good. The deputy seemed in reasonably good spirits and willing to talk. But that was not to last.

I asked if he could arrest someone violating a federal law. No he could not.

“Really?” I asked. “Seems like everybody has to swear an oath. You have to swear an oath to become a registered voter. In your oath didn’t you swear to support the Constitution of the USA and the State of Florida? “

The deputy put his head in his hands as though I was giving him a headache. Presently he looked up at me.

“Yes,” he said.

“So,” I asked, “how can you support the constitution of the USA if, as a law enforcement officer, you don’t arrest someone you witness violating a provision of the U.S. Constitution he swore to support?"

Silence. Long silence. But I was patient, and stood silently, expectantly waiting for the revelatory answer.

More silence. Finally, I asked ”So, if you witnessed somebody violating the U.S. Constitution you are sworn to support, could you rightly arrest that person?”

“Probably,” he answered. I hid the smirk I was beginning to feel.

“So, what if you witnessed a District Court Judge violating the law or the constitution of the State or the USA?” I continued. “Could you arrest him for doing that?”

“Oh, no,“ the deputy demurred as he held up his hands. I almost expected a crucifix and wreath of garlic bulbs to materialize in his hands, as though warding off a blood-sucking vampire. “I’d have to call the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement),” he said.

“Why,“ I wanted to know. “Isn’t the Sheriff the top law enforcement person in the county?”

“Yes, but a judge swears him in.” he replied with self-assurance, as though that explained everything.

But apparently he hadn’t fully convinced himself. I see sweat beading on his corpulent countenance. This has made him feel uncomfortable. Or he has the flu.

“So?” I asked, not convinced myself.

“We WORK for the judge!” he exclaimed. “We can’t arrest him.”

“But,” I ventured undaunted, “if the Sheriff is the county’s top law enforcement officer, and he’s elected by the people, not by a judge, and you work for the sheriff, then how can you be working for a judge?”

Silence. Face in hands. Audible moaning. More sweat. The deputy looks utterly miserable. Clearly he’s tired of this light-hearted banter.

“Every situation is different,” he answered patiently as though explaining the intricacies of the chain of command for the county’s top cop to a child.

I drove my wooden stake home to the vampire heart of his ignorance, without mercy:

“Does it make sense to you that the U.S. and state constitutions don’t apply to judges, and that if you see a judge violating either of them, you should look the other way and let him off the hook, or pass the buck to the FDLE?”

More silence.

“So what’s the worst that would happen to you if you did arrest a judge you saw depriving a defendant of the assistance of effective counsel, or of the right to subpoena witnesses in his defense, or of the right to a fair trial by an unprejudiced judge?”

“Probably nothing,” he said with his head in his hands.

It sounded like it was coming from deep within a cave, weak and distant.

I concluded I’d given the deputy enough of a beating and I should show him a little mercy. It wasn’t his fault he’d been lied to and deceived by customary practice of treating judges as though they are gods. I knew, as he did that he was probably wrong. If he arrested a judge, his career would be over, simple as that.

I thanked the deputy for his kindness in talking with me and walked back into the Clerk’s office to share the story with my friends.

About 5 minutes later we walked back out into the lobby. I noticed the deputy was missing.

“Oh no,” I said to the girl behind the counter, and pointed to the empty chair.

“He wasn’t feeling too well and went to the bathroom,” she said. “I think he’s sick.”

Small wonder. Maybe he had caught a flu bug.

“Tell him I hope he gets to feeling better,” I said as we headed past the x-ray machine and out the door.

The girl at the counter puzzled over our fading laughter as our figures smalled in the distance. Most people leaving the courthouse feel no urge to laugh.

# # #

Copy and E-mail this to the Chief Judge NOW

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip
Your Phone
Your Email Address

Today's Date

Chief Judge David A. Demers
Florida 6th Judicial Circuit
545 First Avenue North
Room 400St. Petersburg, FL 33701
ddemers@jud6.org; courts@jud6.org

Re: Case #CTC97-32728-MMANO, State of Florida versus Jesse Toca

David Demers:

Florida Constitution Article II Section 24 and Florida Statute 119 entitle me to a physical copy of the recording of court proceedings in the form requested. I therefore demand a copy of the official public record document of the courtroom proceedings for the above listed case for the following hearing in its original electronic form:

March 29, 2006
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Pinellas Criminal Justice Center
Judge David Seth Walker
Courtroom 16

Provide this electronic public record on DVD or CD copied from the original CourtSmart digital audio recording. Note that a written transcript is not sufficient for my purposes, and that I am demanding an electronic recording copied from the original.

Within ten (10) days of receipt of this request, please send an invoice for the fee to me at the above physical or e-mail address.

Thank you,
Your Name