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To: alt.satanism
From: raven@solaria.sol.net (Raven)
Subject: Re: Helms-Marsh Papers (was: xepera-l)
Date: 20 Jan 1999 14:48:26 -0600

In , posted 17 Jan 1999,
August 1998 Kook of the Month and Victor Von Frankenstein "Weird Science"
Award winner Curio Karen Jones  wrote:

[Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), writing to Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh:]

| "I tried yesterday to reach you at your home through the White House
| switchboard, but learned that you are in Germany. When you get back,
| would you give me a ring? Maybe there's something I missed in translation,
| but I do not understand how the Army decided to "stand by" Colonel Aquino
| -- if indeed the newspaper account is accurate."
| 
| He's referring to a newspaper account about the allegations of child
| abuse against Aquino unless you think there's some other reason why
| Aquino would be making the news.

"Think"?  You mean you've just *assumed* that must be the only possible
"reason why Aquino would be making the news"?  What about the reactions
to Aquino appearing on TV as an Army officer and "Satanist" -- which is
what many newspaper stories (and the earlier letter from Helms's office)
*were* "referring to" --

     * "Army Says Constitution Lets Satanist Hold Top Secret Job" (San
       Francisco Chronicle") -- "The high priest of a San Francisco-based
       satanic church is able to keep his top secret security clearance
       because his activities are constitutionally protected, Army officials 
       said yesterday. // Lieutenant Colonel Michael A. Aquino, a highly
       decorated Vietnam veteran, is the founder and president of Temple of
       Set.... // Aquino, a psychological warfare officer who has worked
       in military intelligence, holds a top secret security clearance...."

Likewise:

     * "Occultic Officer poses no security risk" (Fresno Bee)

     * "Devil Worshipper holds Sensitive Army Post" (National Enquirer)

and, oh, yes, from 27 Dec 1988 (notice the title phrase Helms quoted):

     * "Army Stands by Satanist, Despite Cry from Public" (Washington Times)
       -- "Lt.Col. Michael Aquino has given the Army a devil of a time over
       the past few weeks. // He appeared on Geraldo Rivera's television talk
       show in late October. Looking like Dracula in 'satanic' clerical
       garb, he declared his belief in Satanism. Since then, Army officials
       have been bombarded by demands for his dismissal. // 'We've had
       hundreds of phone calls from people complaining about him, from all
       over the country,' said Army spokesman Lt.Col. Greg Rixon. 'At one
       count, we had 75 letters, more than we've had on any other issue.' //
       Col. Aquino told viewers that his firm belief in Satanism is as
       legitimate as anyone else's beliefs. He added that the Army does not
       object to his beliefs. // A few months earlier, Col. Aquino and his
       wife Lilith had made a similar appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show. //
       One of Col. Aquino's most vehement critics is an // Army recruiter in 
       West Seneca, NY. // Told by a potential recruit he no longer wanted an
       Army career because it harbored such men, Sgt 1st Class Robert Moak
       wrote the _Army Times_:  'Is this not the Army of "values"? It seems
       inconsistent with what I know of all the tenets of Devil worship for
       the Army to allow this practice. I know that religious freedom is
       fundamental to our form of government, but give me a break. The Army
       can certainly abridge such freedoms if they are found to be
       "prejudicial to good order and discipline".' // The Army steadfastly
       rejects such criticism. // 'Lt.Col. Aquino is protected by the U.S.
       Constitution. He serves admirably in his unit in St. Louis,' said
       Col. Rixon. 'I've known about him for two years. By all accounts he
       is an exemplary officer.' // 'I believe it would be impossible to
       make a case that Lt.Col. Aquino is a divisive influence. He is
       very careful to inform his commander of his activities relating to
       his religious beliefs. He practices nothing, to our knowledge, that
       interferes with his work.'"

(Again in http://www.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=434588542 Curio says:
"Helms specifically referred to an article about the Army 'standing by
their man.' That was about the accusations."  But it was the above article.)

If Helms's concern was child abuse, why is there no mention of that in his
letter?  See your own post: http://www.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=432260786

The *only* basis for concern he expresses is over Aquino being a "satanist":

     "... I ran across a December 27 clipping from The Washington Times about
     a Lt. Col. Michael Aquino who identifies himself as a 'satanist' and who
     claims that this is his 'Religion.' ...  This is not a matter of freedom
     of religion. Satanism is not a religion."

The earlier letter to Marsh from Helms's office likewise addresses only
Aquino's religion and not any allegations about the Presidio case:

     "October 26, 1988

     "The Honorable John O. Marsh, Jr.
      Secretary of Army
      Room 3E718, The Pentagon
      Washington, D.C. 20310-0100

     "Dear Secretary Marsh:

     "I am writing first as a citizen of the great nation of ours and
     secondly as an employee of our federal government, concerning a
     cancer in the military, specifically a cancer within the Army. 

     "Last evening I viewed a program hosted by Geraldo Rivera on Satanism
     and Witchcraft. I was appalled to learn that a Colonel Aquino of the
     United States Army was a founder of the Temple of Set, a satanic cult.
     I believe he is stationed in St. Louis. 

     "To my view, this is disheartening. Here is a military man who has
     taken an oath to defend God and country who practices a religion that
     is completely contrary to the oath he swore to uphold. If you or any
     member of your staff saw this telecast I am confident your reaction
     was identical to mine.

(Comment:  Army officers "do swear (or affirm) that I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign
and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that
I take this obligation seriously, without any mental reservation or purpose
of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the
office upon which I am about to enter."  Like the President, they swear to
defend the *Constitution*, not "to defend God".  The oath alleged in this
letter would have barred atheists like Col. Robert Ingersoll from serving
as officers.  It would be unconstitutional to have such an oath -- as it
would be to remove an officer only because of his religion... which is
exactly what this letter proposes.  See not only the First Amendment, but
Constitution Article VI: "... no religious test shall ever be required as
a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.")

     "This individual should not be allowed to remain in the Army, his
     military service record notwithstanding. I am respectful of any
     individual's right to his first amendment prerogatives to worship.
     However, I cannot believe the Constitution is intended to protect those
     individuals who have a belief system that espouses the killing and
     sacrifice of infants and the ritual torturing of children. 

(Comment:  Rivera's TV special on Satanism made lurid accusations.  "The
episode included discussions of:  butchered infants, breeding of babies for
later sacrifice during Satanic rituals, ritual sexual abuse of children,
mutilation of infants, drinking of blood, dismembered corpses, cannibal
cults and sex orgies." -- http://www.religioustolerance.org/geraldo.htm --
but these are generic accusations against all Satanism and Satanists.)

     "I would appreciate your looking into the existence of satanic worship
     in the Army and it's adherents. Perhaps it may be necessary to hold
     Congressional hearings to consider appropriate legislation in this
     matter. 

     "Kindest regards,

     "Sincerely,
     /s/ Wayne Ronald Boyles, III
     Wayne Ronald Boyles, III
     Legislative Assistant to Senator Jesse Helms"

(The brief from which Curio quoted adds the comment:  "The Army recognized
that Bowles was simply a surrogate for the Senator by responding directly
to Senator Helms and bypassing Bowles in a letter of December 8, 1988.
This letter represents a rational constitutional standard (Plaintiff's
Exhibit 1-H)."  It is in rebuttal to the Army's reply that Helms declares,
"This is not a matter of freedom of religion. Satanism is not a religion.")

                                      _._

NEWS FLASH 19 Jan 1999:  Mere possession of _The Satanic Bible_ may possibly
be used against a defendant at sentencing, according to this article in the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:  "'Satanic Bible' may figure in spree case".

     "A book regarded as a classic text in Satanism could help determine the
     punishment of a Burlington teen if he is found guilty of plotting to
     shoot up his high school. // Authorities say there is no evidence that
     'The Satanic Bible' led the boy and two other 16-year-olds to plan a mass
     slaying. The alleged scheme was foiled with the teens' arrests Nov. 15, a
     day before the shooting was to be carried out. // But the book, published
     by a California Satanist in 1969, was found in the possession of one of
     the teens after his arrest, lawyers involved in the case said. It is the
     type of evidence, they said, that could be presented to a judge who would
     sentence the youth, should he be found guilty of murder conspiracy or
     related charges. // Such material would provide 'insight into how the
     person thinks and what kind of danger he might pose in the future,' said
     Robert Jambois, the district attorney in Kenosha County."

See:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/99011935satanicbiblemayfigu.asp

Letters to the editor:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.stm

-- Raven              | "To know a person's religion  we need not listen to
                      |  his profession of faith but must find his brand of
raven@solaria.sol.net |  intolerance."  -- Eric Hoffer.       Aphorism 215,
                      |                 The Passionate State of Mind (1955)

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From: raven@solaria.sol.net (Raven)
Newsgroups: alt.satanism
Subject: Re: Helms-Marsh Papers (was: xepera-l)
Date: 20 Jan 1999 15:16:28 -0600
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In , posted 20 Jan 1999,
August 1998 Kook of the Month and Victor Von Frankenstein "Weird Science"
Award winner Curio Karen Jones  wrote:

| xeper@aol.com (Xeper) wrote:
|> kar1@my-dejanews.com wrote:
|>
|> [Raven]...  Senator Helms refers to no other knowledge of the
|> specific officer in question, such as his career or his personal
|> history (good or bad), or any other accusation against him.
|>
|> Wrong. Helms ... is referring to a newspaper account about the
|> allegations of child abuse against Aquino unless you think there's
|> some other reason why Aquino would be making the news. Aquino's
|> public presentation on Oprah and Geraldo in the middle of the
|> investigation was simply noted for the insanity that it was.
|>
|M> Another "Curio" falsehood. Neither of Helms' letters contained
|> any reference to the Adams-Thompson scam whatever, nor did
|> the SecArmy's written response to the first letter (the significant
|> one, as it prefaced the planning sequence for the start of the CID
|> black bag job in 11/88) refer to the scam in any way. The only
|> issue raised by Helms in both letters was my religion _per se_
|> and his demand that I be purged from the Army because of it.
|
| Helms specifically referred to an article about the Army "standing
| by their man." That was about the accusations.

Another "Curio" falsehood.  Helms was referring to the article titled:

       "Army Stands by Satanist, Despite Cry from Public"

That was in the 27 Dec 1988 Washington Times, as Helms said in his letter.

The article was about public reaction to the Geraldo Rivera TV show,
and the Army's refusal to remove an officer because of his religion:

       "Lt.Col. Michael Aquino has given the Army a devil of a time over the
       tpast few weeks. // He appeared on Geraldo Rivera's television talk
       show in late October. Looking like Dracula in 'satanic' clerical
       garb, he declared his belief in Satanism. Since then, Army officials
       have been bombarded by demands for his dismissal. // 'We've had
       hundreds of phone calls from people complaining about him, from all
       over the country,' said Army spokesman Lt.Col. Greg Rixon. 'At one
       count, we had 75 letters, more than we've had on any other issue.' //
       Col. Aquino told viewers that his firm belief in Satanism is as
       legitimate as anyone else's beliefs. He added that the Army does not
       object to his beliefs. // A few months earlier, Col. Aquino and his
       wife Lilith had made a similar appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show. //
       One of Col. Aquino's most vehement critics is an // Army recruiter in 
       West Seneca, NY. // Told by a potential recruit he no longer wanted an
       Army career because it harbored such men, Sgt 1st Class Robert Moak
       wrote the _Army Times_:  'Is this not the Army of "values"? It seems
       inconsistent with what I know of all the tenets of Devil worship for
       the Army to allow this practice. I know that religious freedom is
       fundamental to our form of government, but give me a break. The Army
       can certainly abridge such freedoms if they are found to be
       "prejudicial to good order and discipline".' // The Army steadfastly
       rejects such criticism. // 'Lt.Col. Aquino is protected by the U.S.
       Constitution. He serves admirably in his unit in St. Louis,' said
       Col. Rixon. 'I've known about him for two years. By all accounts he
       is an exemplary officer.' // 'I believe it would be impossible to
       make a case that Lt.Col. Aquino is a divisive influence. He is
       very careful to inform his commander of his activities relating to
       his religious beliefs. He practices nothing, to our knowledge, that
       interferes with his work.'"

-- Raven              | "To know a person's religion  we need not listen to
                      |  his profession of faith but must find his brand of
raven@solaria.sol.net |  intolerance."  -- Eric Hoffer.       Aphorism 215,
                      |                 The Passionate State of Mind (1955)