INTRODUCTION (rev. 12/27/19)
The John Birch Society article by Alex Newman (copied below) contains many falsehoods, misrepresentations, and sinister innuendos and insinuations—all of which are standard tactics employed by JBS writers.
My analysis and rebuttal to Alex Newman’s comments appear as numbered responses beneath each of his disingenuous and historically absurd comments. All of Mr. Newman’s comments are presented in italicized Century text and then my comments appear underneath his remarks.
It should be kept in mind that Mr. Newman is the Birch Society’s most prolific contemporary essayist. He appears to be about 35-40 years of age which partially explains his profound ignorance about the relevant history concerning the Birch Society’s associations with (and employment of) racial and religious bigots.
NOTE: An updated PDF copy of this Report appears at the bottom of this webpage
Future editions of this Report will appear online at: https://sites.google.com/site/aboutxr/home/jbs-newman
12/27/19 UPDATE:
I forwarded a link to this Report to Alex Newman via the “Contact Us” link on his organization’s website (Liberty Sentinel at https://libertysentinel.org/). I also posted messages on Twitter with a link to this Report as well as a link to my “Racism and the JBS-part 3” Report.
On 12/17/19, someone at Liberty Sentinel (I presume Alex Newman) replied on Twitter, as follows:
“@ernie1241 @EstherSolomon:
This from a guy who has explained and documented on many occasions that JBS has never been racist or anti-Semitic. LOL. I guess he's tired of being ignored. Why not mention that Revilo Oliver claimed JBS was actually controlled by Jews? Extreme dishonesty!”
Actually, the only “dishonesty” involved here is by Liberty Sentinel/Alex Newman--as will be demonstrated below.
Every time a JBS member or supporter makes this assertion about what I have written in the past, they NEVER bother to quote what I have previously written because it would totally demolish their argument.
I explained this two years ago in January 2018 in reply to another JBS member (Jim Smith) so I will just re-type what I wrote to Jim below.
However, first, it is necessary to briefly comment about the utterly defective reasoning being used by Liberty Sentinel (aka Alex Newman).
It is self-evident that rational people learn to adjust their views over time based upon new information or circumstances.
Nobody logical or rational expects viewpoints or judgments to remain static for all time. So, even if it were true that I wrote something a long time ago that claimed “that JBS has never been racist or anti-Semitic” (which I never ever wrote), it would be meaningless without understanding if, when, how, and why subsequent circumstances and developments might have changed my evaluations.
BUT this is a window into the JBS mentality because they actually do believe that adjusting one’s viewpoint over time is an indicator of moral and intellectual deficiency.
With that introduction in mind – here is what I actually wrote previously to Jim Smith-—which also applies to Alex Newman:
“It is true that in previous years, I defended the JBS against the charge that it was a racist organization. However, I never wrote that the JBS has “always been opposed to racism” because that is ludicrous!
The distinction which I attempted to make in the past is that many decent, honorable, and principled people joined the JBS over the decades so a fair-minded person should not make a broad pejorative generalization about the character of the entire JBS organization.
However, as Jim Smith knows, I have recently changed my mind about this matter and I have written several times that I will no longer defend the JBS against the charge that it is racist. There are 3 reasons why I changed my position:
(1) The behavior of JBS members like Jim Smith. Deliberately mis-representing what I have written makes it painfully obvious that Jim (and other Birchers) are NOT genuinely interested in any amicable or factual discussion about anything. And since other JBS members behave exactly the same way as Jim does, I no longer think it is wise or useful to defend the JBS.
(2) The Birch Society has NEVER retracted or modified its totally false assertions and conclusions about our civil rights movement. Instead, the Birch Society has CHOSEN to present a FALSE narrative for 6 decades which no mainstream conservative organization or publication believes. Consequently, it seems to me that it is time to draw the logical conclusion from their refusal to correct the historical record.
(3) Birchers like Jim Smith are profoundly ignorant about JBS history – as I have demonstrated above. But since they are NEVER willing to admit error, I see no point in defending them any longer.
Tuesday, 10 December 2019
In a column https://nypost.com/2019/11/29/an-utterly-unspeakable-wrong-new-right/ calling for conservatives and Republicans to distance themselves from racists and anti-Semites, neoconservative columnist Jonathan Tobin deceived readers of the New York Post and the fringe left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Writing about the dispute between the John Birch Society and National Review founder William Buckley, Tobin got the facts exactly backwards. In addition to lying about and demonizing the JBS with blatant falsehoods, Tobin praised Buckley as “conservatism’s intellectual leader,” completely ignoring Buckley’s controversial writings calling for whites, as the “advanced race,” to use force to keep blacks from voting in order to preserve “civilization” in the face of “Negro backwardness.”
1. It should be noted that Mr. Newman’s ad hominem slurs regarding Mr. Tobin are not unique. The Birch Society NEVER acknowledges that ANY adverse factual information about its history is legitimate-—even when that information originates with prominent JBS members.
2. Notice that Mr. Newman immediately resorts to character assassination by claiming that Mr. Tobin is “lying about and demonizing the JBS with blatant falsehoods.” This is typical JBS behavior. No JBS critic is ever considered decent, honorable, principled, intelligent or patriotic. ALL JBS critics are presented as liars and smear artists. Nobody is ever honestly mistaken nor is any JBS critic merely repeating something which they should have researched more carefully. Everybody is always “smearing” the JBS because they are intellectually dishonest and morally corrupt.
At first, it was not clear whether the blatant factual errors and the total reversal of reality by Tobin and the publications that picked up his smears were a result of mere ignorance or deliberate dishonesty. However, Tobin, along with his editors and associates, have all been repeatedly contacted by multiple people explaining and documenting the facts. Instead of running an immediate correction or letter mitigating the damage, as virtually every newspaper did in 2017 after a Washington Post columnist made a similar error, Tobin simply blocked the truth-tellers on social media and hung up the phone on concerned callers. One of the editors, Esther Solomon at Haaretz, responded with the most outlandish answer imaginable.
3. Here again, Mr. Newman insists that readers must ALWAYS accept the JBS interpretation of JBS history. No contradictory data is EVER acceptable or worthy of consideration.
4. It should also be pointed out that to the extent that mistaken or unfair conclusions are made about the JBS, Mr. Newman never considers the possibility that such errors are primarily because the Birch Society does not allow outside independent scholars and researchers to have access to JBS historical archives---including, for example, the personal papers and correspondence of JBS founder Robert Welch or any documentation concerning internal JBS disputes or controversies or any background information about JBS members. Lastly, the JBS has never identified or quoted the alleged 2017 “corrections” which were produced because of comments made by a Washington Post opinion columnist. In my experience, most “corrections” are usually the result of publications not having the time, resources, inclination, or pertinent knowledge required to refute whatever the Birch Society objects to. As an example, see my comments below which falsify Mr. Newman’s grave errors.
The version of the column picked up by the New York Post on November 29, under the headline “An utterly, unspeakable wrong new ‘right,’” claimed that in the early 1960s, “extremists from the John Birch Society peddled racism, anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories like those of today’s alt right.” The Birchers were also “establishing a foothold in the GOP,” Tobin wrote. Almost identical smears were made in the version of the column picked up by Haaretz, a notoriously left-wing Israeli tabloid with a reputation for publishing fake news. The original version, which appeared on a handful of fringe blogs, was even worse.
In reality, though, the truth was just the opposite of what Tobin claimed, and the historical record is absolutely clear on the matter. As Tobin would have known with even the most basic research, one of the members of the original National Council of the JBS, Alfred Kohlberg, was a prominent Jewish businessman. The JBS has had Jews on its National Council since its founding in 1958, and continues to have leading Jews on it today. National Council member Andy Dlinn, another Jew, even contacted Tobin and his editors seeking a correction and offering to submit a response — an offer that was ignored.
5. Mr. Newman is correct about the historical record being “absolutely clear”. The problem is that Mr. Newman is profoundly ignorant of that historical record. As you read what follows, keep in mind that Mr. Newman never informs readers about these points.
6. Mr. Kohlberg is often cited by JBS members or supporters as evidence of the inclusiveness of the JBS because Kohlberg was a Jewish member on the JBS National Council. However, Mr. Kohlberg died April 7, 1960, i.e. just three months after the first National Council meeting was held in Chicago in January 1960 at the Union League Club. It was a long time before another member of the Jewish faith was invited to become a National Council member. Significantly, there were no African Americans, or women, or Asians or Hispanics added to the Council during its formative years.
7. In January 1960, Robert Welch replied to a dinner invitation to honor JBS National Council member Alfred Kohlberg which Kohlberg's Secretary had sent to Welch. Welch accepted the invitation and he then recommended the names of other people whom Welch described as his "good friends in New York City who are also friends of Mr. Kohlberg (who) would be glad to honor him..." Among the persons whom Welch specified as among his "good friends" who should also be invited included: William F. Buckley Jr.! along with other conservative authors whose articles appeared in National Review magazine. [1/6/60 Robert Welch letter to Miss Anna E. Murray, Secretary to Alfred Kohlberg].
8. Furthermore, Mr. Newman (and the JBS) go to great lengths to berate and de-value William F. Buckley Jr’s contributions to the postwar conservative movement. It should be noted that Robert Welch was a major financial contributor to Buckley's National Review magazine. Welch made two $1,000 contributions to National Review, one in 1955 and another one in 1957. Welch’s total contributions are equivalent to about $18,760 in 2019 dollars!
ALSO: Welch responded to a portion of the 1963 California Subcommittee Report on the JBS which quoted a critical article about the JBS published in the 2/13/62 issue of National Review magazine. Welch observed:
“I have no wish to quarrel with National Review. It is in many ways an excellent magazine for the collegiate world, with a strong appeal to literate readers everywhere. And lately it seems to me to have been getting even better. We have always recommended it, and still do.” [Welch’s comment about National Review magazine appears in the July 15, 1963 American Opinion reprint of the Subcommittee Report, footnote 37:1 on page xviii]
9. In addition: Both Welch and the JBS recommended that JBS members subscribe to and support National Review magazine. Books authored by National Review contributing editors were recommended and sold by JBS bookstores! See, for example, the last 10 pages of the July 4, 1961 issue of the JBS Bulletin for its section captioned “Initial List of Approved Books” along with its list of recommended magazines.
10. The JBS likes to bring readers attention to the fact that Buckley had, at one time, expressed views which were evidence of racial bias. That is accurate.
11. However, UNLIKE Robert Welch and the JBS, Buckley gradually recognized his moral and intellectual error -- starting circa September 1963 when the Birmingham Church was bombed - killing 4 African American girls. Buckley told Time magazine, “I once believed we could evolve our way up from Jim Crow. I was wrong. Federal intervention was necessary.”
12. BY CONTRAST: The Birch Society never changed its arguments against our entire civil rights movement as nothing more than a Communist enterprise which "served only Communist purposes". In fact, in the April 1966 JBS Bulletin, Robert Welch referred to the “brainwashed American people who don’t comprehend the civil rights fraud.”
Even in the 21st century, the JBS continued to tell its membership that: "Just as the John Birch Society showed in the 1960's that the Communists basically ran both the civil rights movement and the KKK, the strategy was nothing new. The former was used to transfer power to Washington DC in the name of civil rights and the latter provided a pretext for transferring power to Washington. You cannot get a really good conflict started unless you control both sides of the argument." (May 2008 JBS Bulletin]
13. Furthermore, UNLIKE the Birch Society, Buckley never hired people for National Review magazine who were connected to the Ku Klux Klan or other white hate groups whereas the JBS welcomed them into the JBS as chapter leaders, section leaders, Coordinators, National Council members as well as paid speakers and writers. [See chapter 3 of my online report entitled “Racism and the John Birch Society” which contains numerous examples such as Sheriff Jim Clark and Rev. Ferrell Griswold and Gordon "Jack" Mohr]. https://sites.google.com/site/aboutxr/home/jbs-racism3
14. Even after Buckley made critical comments about Welch, Buckley continued to defend the Birch Society. Furthermore, Buckley's positions on public policy issues were mostly the same as those favored by the Birch Society. The first ad hoc committee which the Birch Society created was CASE (Committee Against Summit Entanglements). Among the first persons whom Welch contacted for support was none other than William Buckley Jr. -- who then enthusiastically supported Welch's new enterprise. In addition, other National Review writers also became endorsers of CASE. In addition, even after Buckley began criticizing Welch and the JBS, Buckley still defended the JBS when he thought Birchers were unfairly attacked such as during the Birchers-as-policemen controversy which erupted in 1965-1966.
Far from peddling racism or anti-Semitism, the record demonstrates that the JBS has been fighting those scourges since its founding in 1958 — an era in which racism was not just mainstream across much of America, but enshrined in law across the South.
15. This is one of the most serious misrepresentations made by Mr. Newman. As even he probably knows, falsehoods can be accomplished through acts of either omission OR commission.
In this instance, Mr. Newman chose to deliberately omit critical background information.
From its inception, Robert Welch solicited and welcomed racial bigots into the JBS. In fact, at least four members of the John Birch Society National Council were life-long racist segregationists (T. Coleman Andrews Sr. of Virginia, A.G. Heinsohn Jr. of Tennessee, Thomas J. Anderson of Tennessee and Dr. Thomas Parker of South Carolina.). All of these men also had a long history of being members (or endorsers) of various white supremacist organizations and movements and political parties.
For indisputable specific factual details, see the Chronology which is appended to Chapter 3 of my exhaustive online Report here: https://sites.google.com/site/aboutxr/home/jbs-racism3 Use control+F to search for all instances where their names appear in the Chronology.
NOTE: In 1956, T. Coleman Andrews Sr. was the Presidential candidate of the States’ Rights Party which sought to protect segregation and Jim Crow laws. Andrews was endorsed by many segregationist individuals and organizations. Robert Welch left the Republican Party in 1956 and campaigned and voted for Andrews in 1956.
Indeed, the only official investigation into the Society, undertaken by the California Senate in 1963, found that not only was JBS not racist or anti-Semitic, it specifically opposed racism and anti-Semitism. “Among other unjustified criticisms against the society is the charge that it is anti-Semitic,” the report found. “Our investigation leads us to the opposite conclusion. The organization is open to people of all religions, all races, all political persuasions except those deemed subversive.”
(16) This is another major misrepresentation by Mr. Newman. Below is the pertinent detail which Newman deliberately omits because it would not be convenient to his pro-JBS narrative.
THE 1963 REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA SENATE FACTFINDING
SUBCOMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
For decades, JBS members and supporters (like Alex Newman) have cited this 1963 California legislative report as definitive and indisputable evidence about the JBS. I am going to devote considerable space to discussing this matter because of the grave errors in both historical fact and interpretation which Alex Newman has made.
The quality, validity, and credibility of any report or study (regardless of its subject matter) depends upon its methodology as well as candidly recognizing its inherent limitations in terms of time, place, scope, and potential bias. Birchers like Alex Newman never discuss any of these factors because doing so would undermine and diminish their arguments.
The first thing to understand about the California Senate investigation and report (hereafter referred to as “CSR”, i.e. the California Senate Report) is why and how it began.
On March 15, 1961, California Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown announced that California was “looking into the activities of the John Birch Society in California”. [Los Angeles Times, 3/15/61, page 2, “State Probing Birch Society, Brown Says”]. BTW, this is the same Governor Brown whom Robert Welch described to his National Council in January 1960 as “almost certainly an actual Communist”.
On Tuesday, March 21, 1961, the Chairman of the Subcommittee (State Senator Hugh M. Burns) announced that his Subcommittee had been monitoring the JBS for several months, but it had no plans to conduct hearings into the JBS or to ask JBS members to testify.
However, Burns added that his Subcommittee had seen enough evidence to ascertain that the JBS was attempting to “upset our democratic processes”. [Los Angeles Times, 3/22/61, page 2, “State Senators Watch JBS”]
That same day, Governor Brown declared that he intended to meet with California Attorney General Stanley Mosk to discuss Mosk’s preliminary report on the JBS. Gov. Brown also observed that as long as the JBS did not violate any laws, “they have a right to take any position they want.” [Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1961, page 9, “State Senators Watch John Birch Society”].
For details concerning what California Attorney General Stanley Mosk reported to Governor Brown, see Mosk’s article entitled “The Birch Phenomenon Analyzed” which was published in the New York Times on Sunday, August 20, 1961, in NYT Magazine section, pages 88-90.
On Wednesday, March 22, 1961, JBS founder Robert Welch sent a telegram to Governor Brown with a copy to Senator Burns requesting an investigation of the JBS by the Burns Subcommittee.
Birch Society National Council member Paul H. Talbert of Beverly Hills, California released Welch’s telegram to the UPI wire service. The next day, Senator Burns sent a telegram to Robert Welch stating that his Subcommittee planned to invite Welch to appear sometime after the close of the current legislative session in June 1961. Senator Burns also issued a press release which pointed out that:
“Any movement, from the unbalanced right or the unbalanced left, which tears the country apart by rumor, slander, fear and doubt must necessarily be suspect.” [1963 CSR, page 2]
On March 23, 1961, Paul Talbert objected to the delay mentioned by Sen. Burns. Talbert inquired “If the danger from our Society is so imminent as some people have said, why not start the Senate hearing now? We want a chance to state our views now. Why not hold the hearing in the cool of the spring instead of waiting for the heat of the summer?”
Talbert was especially concerned about allegations which linked the JBS to fascism. There will be more details regarding Talbert’s role in this matter below. [Los Angeles Times, March 24, 1961, page 10, “Delay in Birch Society Investigation Protested”]
NOTE: A minuscule number of JBS critics attempted to link the JBS with fascism or neo-nazism. The only reason that assertion even came up for consideration is because of
(a) statements made by Robert Welch in the JBS Blue Book which expressed his hostility toward democratic institutions,
(b) Welch’s preference for a monolithic structure for the JBS with Welch as its authoritarian leader,
(c) the Birch Society’s strident opposition to internationalism as represented by the United Nations and NATO
(d) the involvement of some senior JBS members with the most extreme elements within the U.S.
For example: JBS National Council member Paul Talbert was a financial contributor to one of the most virulent and well-known racists and anti-semites in U.S. history, i.e. Gerald L.K. Smith’s Christian Nationalist Crusade! According to records filed with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, Talbert contributed $150 to Gerald L.K. Smith in 1959 (equivalent to about $1326 in today's dollars.)
On Saturday, April 9, 1961, Senator Burns announced that his Subcommittee would begin its hearings into the JBS after the legislature adjourned in June 1961. He also stated that the scope of his investigation was limited to finding out if the JBS was “tied to a foreign ideology” or based upon any “master race theory”. He also declared that the Subcommittee was “interested only in finding out whether the John Birch Society is un-American. If we find the John Birch Society is tied to a foreign ideology and advocating the forcible overthrow of the government, we will conclude it is un-American.”
Burns also noted that some people wanted his Subcommittee to investigate the JBS only “to see if it is safe to join” but that, Burns observed, was not the purpose of his Subcommittee because that would “make us the big brotherhood type of a clearinghouse” for all organizations. [Los Angeles Times, April 9, 1961, page A, “State Senate Group to Probe Birch Society”]
NOTE: IF the purpose of the Burns Committee investigation was actually only to determine if the JBS was tied to some foreign ideology or advocating the forcible overthrow of our government, then there was no need to even begin such an investigation because it was manifestly NOT guilty of either assertion and no serious critic was even claiming that it was.
Clearly, the predominant criticism of the JBS from its inception was based exclusively upon Robert Welch’s absurd and malicious statements regarding the purported disloyalty of President Eisenhower and the alleged disloyalty of many of the cabinet-level officials in Eisenhower’s Administration as well as Welch’s statements in the 1959 JBS Blue Book regarding the supposed dire current status of our internal security.
The CSR released in 1963 clearly was intended to address a much larger issue which Burns correctly identified when his Subcommittee’s report was published, namely, was the JBS tearing our country apart by rumors, slander, fear, doubt, and circulation of false and inflammatory statements?
Historical footnote which Alex Newman will NEVER report:
The Sacramento CA Union newspaper ran a multi-article series on political extremism in U.S. history from October 8 thru October 16, 1964 and then the paper published a 10-part series of articles about the JBS from October 18 - October 27, 1964. [Those articles are now online on my webpage at: https://archive.org/details/sacramentounion1964seriesofnewspaperarticlesonextremisminu.s.history ]
As part of that JBS series, the Union reprinted excerpts from a February 14, 1964 interview of California State Senator Hugh M. Burns, (the Chairman of the California Subcommittee) about the Subcommittee’s 1963 Report on the JBS -- because JBS members and supporters (like Alex Newman) FALSELY claimed that the CSR "exonerated" the JBS.
Burns declared during his February 1964 interview that:
"The John Birch Society definitely does not have any endorsement whatsoever from the California Legislature. If a person gets the Report, he should read it in its entirety, including the part critical of the Birch leader, Robert Welch.
Burns added that the JBS “is an extremist group, and like extremist groups from time immemorial, plagues our country. Extremists from the Know-Nothings on have served no useful purpose.”
When Senator Burns was informed about the Union's October 1964 series of articles he offered a new statement--which Birchers like Alex Newman should read:
"Some persons have attempted to use the Report of the Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities as a whitewash of the John Birch Society. It was never so intended."
"As I have stated before, the Report is highly critical of Robert Welch, making mention of his historical ignorance, his belonging to an organization started by Fabian Socialists, his organizing the Society along Communist lines, and his extreme statements against distinguished Americans. Since the Report was first prepared, other information has been brought to our attention which material-—until further investigated and reported-—makes highly undesirable and improper, any use of the Subcommittee’s name for seeming exoneration of the John Birch Society.” [Sacramento CA Union, 10/25/64, pages 1 and 5 which is Part 8 of a 10-part series of articles on the JBS. Part 8 is captioned "No Birch Whitewash; Anti-Semitism Exists."]
BTW, Burns was a Reagan Democrat. He retired from the California Senate in 1970 after 34 years in office. He then campaigned for Governor Reagan's re-election and he was appointed by Reagan to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board.
The Subcommittee’s Chief Counsel (Richard Ennis Combs) told the Los Angeles Times during a 1967 interview that:
"Combs considers emotional insecurity the major factor that draws people to extremist organizations, whether of the right or the left. 'A person attracted to the Birch Society or the KKK or Black Muslims or the Progressive Labor Party...usually feels rejected. He has resentments. His observations necessarily suffer from emotional distortion' says Combs.” [Los Angeles Times, 04/02/67, page A-33 = “California’s Lonely Secret Agent” by Mary Ellen Leary]:
Senator Burns also told the Los Angeles Times about his Subcommittee’s 1963 JBS Report that: “I don’t think it gave the Birch Society a clear bill of health. It’s an extremist group and that’s not healthy.” [Los Angeles Times, 06/26/63, page A-1, “Brown Denies Holding Up Birch Society Report”]
That same predicate is what motivated the FBI to begin its preliminary inquiry into the JBS in mid-1959 and 1960.
Once the FBI determined that the JBS was an anti-Communist organization that attracted support from prominent Americans in all walks of life, the FBI quickly concluded that the JBS was not subversive, but it was an example of a “right-wing extremist” organization that was “irrational” and “irresponsible” and, therefore, it was producing hysteria within our country and impeding legitimate anti-Communist activities. The Burns Committee (as will be seen) arrived at the same conclusion.
In September 1962, Paul Talbert re-entered the debate by claiming that a critical report about the JBS by California Attorney General Stanley Mosk “smeared” the Society by linking the JBS to such groups as the KKK and American Nazi Party which Talbert described as “the vilest form of the guilty-by-association tactic”.
Talbert then made a rather astonishing statement.
Talbert said that the Burns Subcommittee Report would vindicate the JBS. Furthermore, according to Talbert, the CSR “will prove beyond doubt that the Birch Society is an honest, open, patriotic organization made up of good Americans who believe in God, in law and order and in the Constitution of the United States.” [Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1962, page 22, “Mosk Accused of ‘Smearing’ Birch Society”]
The Chief Counsel of the Burns Subcommittee (Richard Ennis Combs) completed the first draft of the Subcommittee Report in early April 1962. That first draft was then sent to Chairman Hugh Burns for his review. This begs the question: How did Paul Talbert know (in September 1962) what conclusions were reached by the Subcommittee – when that Report was NOT publicly available until the summer of 1963?
The answer is as follows:
The first draft was completed April 1, 1962. However, that same week, one Subcommittee member died, and another was hospitalized. The California Senate adjourned before the Subcommittee (including one new member) could vote upon authorizing release of the Report. However, Paul Talbert obtained an advance copy.
On May 17, 1962, Talbert sent a letter to fellow JBS National Council member Cola G. Parker of Neenah WI with carbon copies to all other JBS National Council members. In his letter to Cola Parker, Talbert observed:
"I am convinced the report is good and too favorable to the John Birch Society. The natural conclusion is that it was too ‘hot’ to handle for an election year and too devastating against Governor Brown and Attorney General Mosk. I talked to the Chief Investigator for the Committee yesterday for an hour and am to meet him in Los Angeles next week for further consultation. Confidentially, I can state that he is 100% on our side." [The Chief Investigator was Richard E. Combs.]
This admission by Talbert legitimately calls into question just how “impartial” the “investigation” actually was and it helps explain the numerous errors and mis-statements contained in the CSR. Significantly, the FBI arrived at very different conclusions about the JBS as early as 1959 and 1960.
There is an obvious explanation for this discrepancy which can be understood by considering the methodology employed by the Burns Subcommittee.
(17) The California investigation was begun in June 1961 and was completed the first week of April 1962. It was limited to the state of California during that time period. The CSR was published in June 1963.
(18) Robert Welch stated that the JBS avoided publicity during its formative period. Serious news coverage about the JBS did not begin until July 1960 but that coverage was almost entirely in midwestern newspapers (in Illinois and Wisconsin).
(19) National news reports about the JBS did not commence until March-April 1961 – just a couple months before the California Subcommittee began its hearings. That national news coverage was predominantly focused upon the most sensational statements made by Welch in his unpublished manuscript about President Eisenhower as well as on Welch’s dire statements regarding the status of our internal security.
(20) The Burns Subcommittee formed its conclusions about the JBS based, primarily, upon affidavits submitted by JBS members in California and from review of JBS literature. There has never been any explanation regarding how JBS members were selected to provide affidavits nor is there any way to determine if the limited number of selected members were representative of JBS membership as a whole (either in California or nationally).
(21) More importantly, most of the factual evidence regarding JBS connections to racial and religious bigots was not being reported by our media during this early period – particularly since most JBS members never even announced that they were members!
(22) BY CONTRAST: FBI conclusions about the JBS were based upon a much longer period of inquiry (starting 6 weeks after the JBS was formed, i.e. starting in January 1959) and FBI files included numerous reports regarding racial and religious bigots who attached themselves to the JBS.
In addition, hundreds of concerned citizens (including JBS members) contacted the FBI to report their experiences and contacts with the JBS. The FBI also received intelligence reports about the JBS from other government entities – including military intelligence (such as G-2 Army Intelligence, and ONI = Office of Naval Intelligence) along with reports from prominent conservatives who had personal knowledge about Robert Welch and about the JBS. One such individual was former FBI informant Herbert Philbrick, of “I Led Three Lives” fame. Philbrick knew Robert Welch personally and he was also a Home Chapter member of the JBS.
(23) Significantly, Philbrick told the FBI in January 1961 that based upon his contacts with JBS National Council member Revilo Oliver in 1959, that he (Philbrick) considered Oliver to be “an extremist in anticommunist feelings and violently anti-Semitic.” [FBI-HQ file 65-45027, serial #29, 2/1/61 memo from F.J. Baumgardner to FBI Assistant Director Alan H. Belmont, page 2, which is in the FBI HQ file on Revilo P. Oliver; also in FBI-HQ file 62-104401 on JBS, serial #unrecorded, but just after serial #621].
Unlike the California Subcommittee, the FBI had access to contextual information from classified information appearing in thousands of its investigative files along with reports from hundreds of its informants inside both legitimate and subversive organizations plus contacts with city, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Although a copy of the CSR was sent to the FBI, there was no direct contact between the Chief Counsel of the Burns Subcommittee (Richard Combs) and the FBI. Consequently, the CSR was NOT informed by any sort of information-sharing between the FBI and the California Subcommittee. Nor does the CSR seem to have been informed by newspaper coverage about the JBS in other states. Incidentally, during the time period we are discussing, most major newspapers did not have a published index to their articles with one major exception (the New York Times).
One final pertinent bit of evidence:
(24) In 1965, the California Subcommittee updated its findings concerning the Birch Society. Birchers like Alex Newman NEVER provide this information (for obvious reasons).
In its 1965 updated Report, the Subcommittee reported about the JBS on page 174 that:
“It has, as we predicted, been beset by an influx of emotionally unstable people, some of whom have been prosecuted in the courts for their hoodlum tactics in disrupting meetings and heckling speakers with whom they disagree…We are more critical of the Society now than we were [in the 1963 Report] for the reason that it has, in our opinion, merited such criticism by reason of its activities as exemplified by the irresponsible articles by a member of its National Council, the re-publication of The Politician, the inexcusable actions of its minority of irresponsible members, and dangerous increase of anti-Semitism among a minority of the membership.”
Obviously, it would not be possible to perceive a “dangerous increase of anti-Semitism” unless it had been previously noticed as well.
Historical footnote:
In February 1963, the Western District Governor of the JBS (John Rousselot) stated in reply to criticism from a California Republican Party official that:
“We’ve asked only one-half of 1% of our entire membership to leave who were anti-Semitic or anti-Negro. I know of at least three chapters that were disbanded and re-organized because there had been tendencies toward anti-Semitic discussions.” [Los Angeles Times, 02/21/63, page A-1, “Rousselot Raps Hall in Birch Row”].
It is not clear if Rousselot’s comment was referring to just California or within the territory he supervised OR to the Birch Society nationally since his position (in early 1963) covered only a few of the Western states.
If his comment about expelled bigots was a reference to the entire country, then based upon total member dues payments data, the JBS apparently had approximately 17,000 members by early 1963 which would mean about 85 JBS members had been expelled for bigotry.
A JBS chapter normally had between 10 and 20 members so his reference to “at least 3 chapters” would calculate to about 30 to 60 expelled members.
However, Rousselot was obviously referring only to members whose activities were considered problematic at their local chapter level. At no time did the JBS consider expelling its senior leaders who were racists (such as its paid Coordinators or National Council members who were life-long segregationists. See more details below).
On page 174 of its 1965 Report, the Subcommittee concluded:
“According to reliable sources, we would estimate that the Society has grown so rapidly that it has attracted a lunatic fringe that is now assuming serious proportions. We find very little anti-Negro sentiment among the members, but we do find a growing incidence of anti-Semitism, although the Society as a whole is far from anti-Semitic.”
With respect to their comment about “very little anti-Negro sentiment”, it should be remembered that the White Citizens Council movement, and other white supremacist groups, did not have much of a presence in California. However, many members of the White Citizens Councils movement around the country (including several of its most senior leaders) were JBS members and many other white supremacist organizations endorsed and recommended the Birch Society (see examples below). [NOTE: In California, the organizer of the White Citizens Council of Los Angeles in June 1964 (Kent H. Steffgen) and the President of the Los Angeles chapter (Clyde G. Reynolds) were both JBS members.]
EXAMPLE: The Dallas TX Times-Herald newspaper published an article about the Birch Society in its March 26, 1961 issue – which made the following observation:
“Rev. Carey McDaniel, key figure in the White Citizens Council of Dallas, a white supremacy group, was lavish in his praise of the Birch Society when The Times Herald questioned him. ‘God bless all John Birch members’ he said. ‘Please say that the White Citizens Council is backing them 100 percent. I am thinking of joining.’ ”
Similar sentiments were expressed by JBS member Rev. James Parker Dees of Statesville NC. Dees was President of the North Carolina Defenders of States’ Rights, Inc. The Defenders was organized to perpetuate segregation and Jim Crow laws in North Carolina. Dees owned more than 1% of stock in Robert Welch, Inc., the publishing arm of the Birch Society. Dees also was a member of his local White Citizens Council and he served on the Editorial Board of the national publication of the Citizens Councils of America. According to Rev. Dees: “I think Gerald L.K. Smith is the greatest patriot in this country today. He is a profound Christian. I know him personally, and I have a deep respect for him…I feel like there are good Jews and bad Jews; to Mr. Smith they’re all bad. I’ve seen a lot of evidence that seems to substantiate his contentions.”
JBS National Council member Dr. Thomas Parker was the President of his local White Citizens Council chapter in Greenville SC. Medford Evans was a JBS Coordinator in Louisiana and Mississippi and a regular contributor to the JBS magazine, American Opinion. He also served as the Editor of the national Citizens Council magazine.
William J. Simmons was Executive Director of Citizens Councils of America and a JBS member. He also was Administrator of the Association of Citizens Councils of Mississippi.
During World War II, Simmons was discharged from the Navy as a security risk because of his association with Nazi groups in Europe.
The following quote is from FBI-HQ file 105-34237-33, serial #57, page 17, which is a 1/29/63 memo from SAC New Orleans to J. Edgar Hoover:
“Information contained in Bureau file captioned 'WILLIAM JAMES SIMMONS, Administrator of Citizens Councils of Mississippi, Racial Matters', Bureau file 157-817, New Orleans file 157-848, indicated that Simmons has a history of psychopathic state of schizoid type and was subject to strong emotional outbursts, temper tantrums, which finally resulted in his becoming catatonic. In this catatonic state, he had auditory visual hallucinations and lost his vision. Bureau case file entitled 'WILLIAM JAMES SIMMONS, Internal Security-G,' New Orleans file 100-5208, contained information regarding the above mentioned psychopathic history of SIMMONS and indicated that during 1942, SIMMONS was disgruntled with the Government of the United States and Britain for their failure to realize his ability as a potential intelligence officer and had threatened to commit sabotage all over the country.”
Page 19 also observes that: “Obviously an organization with such an individual in leadership capacity has a potential for violence.”
Simmons was also a member of the Silver Legion of America, commonly known as the Silver Shirts, which was an underground American fascist organization founded by William Dudley Pelley that was headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1963, Simmons stated during an interview that black Americans had different morals and were promiscuous by nature and should not be entitled to vote. {See FBI-New Orleans file 100-5208 on Simmons; Also see: FBI-HQ file 105-34237, serial #32 which is the FBI HQ file on the Citizens Councils movement.] Louis W. Hollis was a former JBS Coordinator in the Pittsburgh PA area. He then became Business Manager and later Executive Secretary of Citizens Councils of America.
For dozens of other examples regarding racists who joined the JBS and who often were also paid speakers and writers for the JBS, see the Chronology which is appended to chapter 3 of my online report on “Racism and the John Birch Society” https://sites.google.com/site/aboutxr/home/jbs-racism3
NOTE: Mr. Newman has previously written articles which recommended another California “investigation” of the JBS which was conducted by Efficiency Research Bureau of Anaheim CA.
However, Newman did not do his homework so he apparently doesn't know that the ERB “investigation” was fraudulent. For details see Chapter 12 of my JBS Report: https://sites.google.com/site/aboutxr/home/erb
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The official California investigation, undertaken at the request of JBS founder Robert Welch, also confirmed that fact that unlike the Democrat or Republican parties, the JBS has always had a policy of expelling any racists and anti-Semites who managed to infiltrate the Society. “There are many Jews on the Birch committees, many in the society; some members have been asked to resign because they were found to be disruptive with their anti-Semitic attitude,” the investigation found, adding that JBS founder Welch and various JBS coordinators were working with prominent Jewish groups to “squelch anti-Semitism.”
(25) In this example, Mr. Newman again resorts to a falsehood by act of omission. The Birch Society policy was to invite and welcome racists into its ranks (even as National Council members or as paid speakers and writers) as long as they did not embarrass the JBS or attempt to hijack their local JBS chapter. Their personal racial bigotry was not a problem for the JBS unless and until it jeopardized public perceptions about the JBS.
(26) For example: Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker of Dallas TX was one of the most prominent members of the JBS. He frequently was the featured speaker at white supremacist meetings including Ku Klux Klan and White Citizens Council meetings. [Note: since 1947, the KKK was listed on the U.S. Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations!] This never bothered the JBS and, in fact, the Public Relations Director of the JBS (John Rousselot) presented Edwin Walker with a plaque in 1963 which described Walker as our "greatest living American". [Los Angeles Times, 4/4/63, page 36]. This is the same Edwin Walker who declared during a June 1965 speech to the American Conservative Club in Harrisburg PA that: “I think I can match three good Americans in the KKK for every one in the Americans For Democratic Action or the Anti-Defamation League.” [Harrisburg PA Patriot, 6/21/65, page 1, “Liberals Lashed By General Walker” by Robert J. Hayes; FBI-Philadelphia file 157-1549, serial #6, 6/21/65]
Historical footnote:
In October 1965, Walker met with United Klans of America Imperial Wizard Robert Shelton in Shreveport LA at which time Shelton “offered General Walker the position of Grand Dragon of the UKA for the State of Texas.” [FBI-HQ file 157-370-2, serial #345; also see: FBI-HQ file 157-370-4, serials #328, 340X, 341, 377, 383]. “Later General Walker mentioned to someone that he was interested in the Klan position…” [FBI-HQ file 157-370-4, serial #341, 11/1/65 SAC Birmingham to J. Edgar Hoover re: United Klans of America, Inc., Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, page 1.]
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Jews quoted in the official report said they felt more welcome in The John Birch Society than in American society at large. The report quoted a Jewish member of the Society in Southern California, Jerome E. Linz, who explained his affection for JBS. “As a member of the John Birch Society and also a member of the American Jewish League Against Communism, I vehemently deny the allegations of persons or groups claiming that the John Birch Society is a fascist, or any other un-American, collectivist organization,” he testified. “It has been my experience, as a member of a so-called minority group, that I have felt in the society a very great sense of mutual co-operation and respect — a conviction of belonging far above the actual circumstance to be found in daily life outside the society.”
The report went on to discuss Welch and his views, too. “Welch is unquestionably not anti-Semitic, and wishes his organization to be open to people of all faiths,” the investigation concluded. The investigators also found, as Tobin and his editors know well, that Welch “has already acted to oust anti-Semites from the movement.” They also found that JBS as an organization rejected and opposed all racism. “At any rate, our investigations have disclosed no evidence of anti-Semitism on the part of anyone connected with the John Birch Society in California, and much evidence to the effect that it opposes racism in all forms,” the report concluded.
(27) See my previous comments regarding the limited time-frame and location which the CSR is based upon.
(28) Furthermore, Robert Welch made statements that are incomprehensible if one is going to pretend that he was not anti-Semitic. Welch praised Gerald L.K. Smith as an “earnest anti-Communist” in private correspondence.
Welch asked Verne Kaub (of the American Council of Christian Laymen) to become a JBS member. Kaub declined because he told Welch that he thought “too many Jews” were in the JBS. Welch inquired if Kaub would let his name be used as an official endorser of the JBS.
In a January 8, 1960 letter to Bircher Phoebe Courtney, Kaub praised Elizabeth Dilling and her book, "The Red Network" with these words: "No more valuable work on Communist infiltration ever has been published."
This is the same Elizabeth Dilling whom Welch identified in a 1959 issue of the JBS magazine, American Opinion, as a virulent anti-semite but Kaub’s praise of her did not bother Welch. Kaub also served on Willis Carto’s Liberty Lobby Board of Policy. Liberty Lobby was described by Cong. Larry McDonald (who succeeded Welch as leader of the JBS) as "an organization founded by Willis Carto who seeks to use American populist causes as the method to bring about a National Socialist (Nazi) regime.”
(29) Welch also told Kaub and another correspondent that he (Welch) believed that a “Zionist conspiracy” preceded and was subsumed by the Communist Conspiracy.
Welch’s letter to Verne Kaub made the following observations:
“Actually, and I am sorry to say, we do not have too many Jews in the JBS. This is partly because a smaller percentage of the Jewish people in America as a whole are true conservatives, than of the total population. But it is even more because of the greater pressures and dirtier pressures, which are put on them, against standing up for what they believe...But when you get into the Zionist picture, I repeat that you cannot think any less of the whole government of Israel or of the whole Zionist conspiracy than I do; except that I think its relative importance in the total importance in the whole picture has greatly decreased over the past three decades. Some day...I should be glad to exchange views with you...as to what has really taken place since around 1905 when I think the Zionist conspiracy -- and from then on for perhaps two decades --- was practically the father of the International Communist Conspiracy. Today I personally think that the relationship is almost exactly reversed, and that the child had now so far outgrown the parent in size and strength and importance that the parent is in a relatively minor position. But this does not make Golda Meir or Ben-Gurion or any of their extremist followers in this country any less culpable..." Robert Welch letter to Verne Kaub dated April 4, 1962. Also see same sentiments expressed in a February 10, 1961 Welch letter to Dr. Lawrence A. Lacey of Madison WI.]
Welch also stated that the Anti-Defamation League “actually (has) done more to cause and promote anti-Semitism than any other group in America” and, furthermore, “For many years, the Communists, using the ADL as a front, tried by extremely intensive and expensive propaganda to have the American people simply take for granted that the JBS was a racist and anti-Semitic organization.” [Robert Welch, JBS Bulletin, May 1993 - "If You Want It Straight" which reprints a speech made by Welch in 1969. "Promote" italicized in original document for emphasis.]
Incredibly, Tobin then went on to imply that Buckley attacked JBS as a result of the non-existent racism and anti-Semitism Tobin falsely claimed JBS was peddling. “It was at that moment that conservatism’s intellectual leader, the late William F. Buckley, made it clear that Birchers wouldn’t be welcome in the movement or the GOP,” declared Tobin. “Buckley ultimately succeeded, as the Birchers were forced to retreat to the fever swamps of American politics.”
In the real world, Buckley's attacks on JBS had nothing to do racism or anti-Semitism, something that Tobin would have known if he bothered to read Buckley's own writings on the subject. In reality, Buckley attacked Welch for holding opinions on Eisenhower that he disagreed with. What Tobin also failed to mention is that it was Buckley who had the racism problem, not JBS. In fact, in 1957, Buckley argued in his magazine National Review for denying voting rights to the “backward” blacks of the South in order maintain the supremacy of whites, whom he termed the “more advanced race.” Keeping blacks from power would help “preserve civilization,” Buckley wrote. This is just one of many such examples. Buckley did not repent of these writings until a few years before his death.
Tobin, the editor of a fringe blog styling itself the “Jewish News Syndicate,” initially published his diatribe on his own website, JNS.org. Slightly modified versions of the libelous column were then picked up by other outlets. One of the outlets that picked it up was the Christian Post, but after being made aware of the errors, the column was taken down.
(30) Actually, Buckley’s private correspondence reveals a more nuanced understanding than what Alex Newman presents. But Mr. Newman does not ever perform independent research. Instead he just parrots whatever the JBS tells him to believe.
For a greater understanding of what Buckley actually believed, read the very lengthy 10/19/65 article in National Review entitled “The John Birch Society and the Conservative Movement” along with well-researched biographies of Buckley such as Alvin S. Felzenberg’s 2017 book, A Man and His Presidents: The Political Odyssey of William F. Buckley Jr. (Yale University Press) and Carl T. Bogus’s 2011 book, William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism (Bloomsbury Press).
(31) One has to comment upon the irony of Mr. Newman describing Tobin’s article as “libelous”.
To my knowledge, Mr. Tobin has never lost a libel lawsuit. By contrast, the Birch Society has the “distinction” of being the only national conservative “educational” organization to have lost an historic precedent-setting defamation lawsuit which changed American libel law.
That lawsuit was brought against the JBS by Chicago lawyer Elmer Gertz. The lawsuit arose from an article published by the JBS in its magazine American Opinion which described Gertz as a "Communist fronter" and "a Leninist" who participated in "Marxist" activities and who was involved in a "conspiracy" against the Chicago police.
The JBS article was authored by Alan Stang. It was entitled, "Frame-Up: Richard Nuccio and the War on Police". [Incidentally, Richard Nuccio was a Birch Society member and JBS section leader -- and his family later harshly criticized the JBS for what they claimed was the lack of proper support by the JBS.]
Two juries upon two separate occasions found the Alan Stang article to be libelous and the second jury awarded Gertz $300,000 in punitive damages in addition to $100,000 compensatory damages. Because the JBS appealed the verdict, they accrued interest on the damages so they ultimately paid Gertz about $500,000. Ultimately, the Gertz matter wound up being heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. During the Oral Arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on 11/14/73, the Birch Society was represented by Clyde J. Watts (a JBS National Council member).
During those oral arguments, Clyde Watts was asked by a Justice: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1973/72-617
"I understand Counsel brought a petition to say that it had been conceded at the trial that the article was libelous - do you deny that?"
Watts observed that he did not think the article was libelous but he acknowledged that during the original trial... "It was conceded that some of the remarks in the article were false."
and Watts also admitted that:
"Under Illinois law, the inference and impact of the article, absent the New York Times concept, would be libelous in Illinois. I think the Court is accurate in that observation."
On 6/25/74, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell delivered the U.S. Supreme Court decision [docket number 72-617] which pertained to the appeal of the first Gertz trial verdict. Justice Powell stated that this case "involves a libel action by a reputable attorney against a magazine that falsely libeled him 'a Leninist' and a 'Communist-fronter'."
Also picking up the column was the New York Post, part of Rupert Murdoch's “News Corporation” empire, which has a history of attacking the John Birch Society and promoting Buckley. The company, which also owns Fox News, is a corporate member of the globalist Council on Foreign Relations, where Buckley and, more recently, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, were both leading members, along with multiple top Democrats. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted during a speech to the global government-promoting CFR that the organization told her what she should be doing and how she should think about the future.
(32) It is important to point out a common tactic used by JBS apologists like Mr. Newman.
Notice that Newman uses a paragraph to link the New York Post and Rupert Murdoch, plus Fox News to the Council of Foreign Relations and then Newman gratuitously mentions that William Buckley “and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, were both leading members."
Does anyone understand why Jeffrey Epstein was described as a “leading member” of the CFR? What made Epstein a “leading member”?
Epstein was not an official of the CFR. He never wrote anything for the CFR. He never represented or was a spokesperson for the CFR. According to news reports, Epstein attended only two CFR events during his time as a CFR member: a dinner in 1998 and a 2002 conversation with Paul O’Neill when he was U.S. treasury secretary during the George W. Bush administration.
BUT ... IF we are going to accept Mr. Newman’s attempt to link Epstein to CFR and then by innuendo and adverse inference link Epstein to all the other persons and entities which Newman mentions in the above paragraph, then it is entirely reasonable and fair to use the same tactic against members of the John Birch Society—right?
Which brings us to Rev. Richard Ginder, who was one of the earliest members of the John Birch Society. Unlike Epstein (and CFR), Ginder was a major official within the JBS. He served on its National Council starting in January 1960. The following item from a Pittsburgh PA newspaper gives additional background information regarding Ginder:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 28, 2004
“Rev. Richard Ginder: Former editor of prominent Catholic publications, including "Our Sunday Visitor," and official diocesan censor. Placed on 10 years' probation in 1969 after police searched his Squirrel Hill home and found photographs of teenage boys performing homosexual acts and diaries documenting his own acts. Stripped of priestly duties in 1976 after publishing a book criticizing church positions on sexual morality. In 1978, convicted of sodomizing two 16-year-old boys. Sentenced to up to four years in prison. Died at age 70 in a 1984 car accident.”
Which brings us to Revilo P. Oliver, a founding member of the JBS who also served on the JBS National Council starting in 1960. Oliver was also the primary author of the Birch Society’s annual “Scoreboard” issue of its magazine, American Opinion. That issue estimated the degree of “Communist influence and control” in most nations around the world. As noted above, former FBI informant Herbert Philbrick described Oliver in 1961 as “an extremist” and “violently anti-Semitic”. However, JBS founder and leader Robert Welch described Oliver in the March 1965 issue of American Opinion as “an authentic genius of the first water, and quite possibly the world’s greatest living scholar.”
After Oliver resigned from the John Birch Society in July 1966, Oliver associated himself with blatantly anti-semitic and neo-nazi organizations and publications such as neo-nazi George P. Dietz's magazine, Liberty Bell, and William Pierce's National Alliance. [Incidentally, Dietz was also a former JBS member. Prior to organizing the National Alliance, Pierce was the editor of the American Nazi Party journal, “National Socialist World”].
One article written by Oliver after he left the JBS, (excerpt quoted below) gives readers a glimpse into the mind of the person whom Robert Welch described as “an authentic genius of the first water”:
“My article on Nigger Superiority in the May issue of Liberty Bell was in print before events in Los Angeles gave it an emphatic confirmation. Niggers naturally loot and destroy when they see a good opportunity or have a suitable pretext for tribal festivities " [Revilo Oliver: “Prompt Confirmation” in June 1992 issue of Liberty Bell magazine]. http://www.revilo-oliver.com/rpo/confirma.htm
Which brings us to Eric Dudley Butler. Butler served as the “Far East Correspondent” for the JBS magazine, American Opinion. He also was a paid speaker for the JBS.
In his biographical sketch in American Opinion, Butler is described by the JBS as “National Director of the League of Rights, Australia’s most significant anti-Communist organization.” Butler founded the League and edited its publication, “New Times”. In the September 26, 1947 issue, Butler wrote:
“Ever since their active participating in the crucifixion of Christ, the Jewish leaders have worked ceaselessly to undermine and destroy the Christian faith. They have always believed and still believe in the Chosen Race idea; that the Jewish leaders are destined to rule the world.”
In the September 12, 1958 issue of New Times, Butler wrote:
“What is meant by the word gentleman does not exist among Jews. The genuine Jew fails in this innate good breeding…” and in 1960 Butler declared that “the constant repetition of the statement that the Germans murdered six million Jews is without doubt one of the most frightening examples of the successful use of the big lie technique…to exaggerate the number of Jews murdered in order to make it easier for the Political Zionists to try and justify their own murderous and totalitarian policies.”
Aside from his close association with the John Birch Society, Butler also worked with anti-Semites such as British fascist Arnold Leese as well as Gerald L.K. Smith in the United States. In January 19, 1964, Butler was a featured speaker at one of Smith’s Citizens’ Congressional Committee events in Los Angeles.
The Post, which in serious circles has a reputation as a trashy tabloid, often runs columns by Jonah Goldberg, a neoconservative “Never Trump” activist who has a peculiar obsession with JBS and Buckley. In February of last year, the Post even ran an editorial on “rebuilding conservatism” that cited Buckley's attacks on the “conspiratorial” JBS. But until the piece by Tobin, approved by Opinion Editor Sohrab Ahmari from Iran, the paper had not overtly lied about JBS. Ahmari did not respond to requests for comment. It was not clear whether he agreed with Buckley's rants from the 1950s and ’60s. Post staff told this writer that a letter setting the record straight was being considered for publication in the Sunday edition. However, by press time, it was not available online.
Haaretz, a left-wing Israeli newspaper that also picked up Tobin's column, ran a piece last year that included a similar error on JBS. However, after being made aware of it, editors promptly updated the article to avoid misleading readers too blatantly with outright falsehoods. Not opinion editor Esther Solomon, though.
(33) The only point to make here is to repeat that the JBS is never content with just presenting whatever they think is their best argument to refute whatever adverse assertions are made about the JBS. Instead, JBS writers always attack the character and integrity and motives of their critics. They also frequently refer to their opponents as “obsessed”.
“In his piece, Mr. Tobin notes: ‘In the early 1960s, extremists from the John Birch Society — who peddled racism, anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories…’,” she wrote in an e-mail sent to a concerned reader. “In your letter, you note, regarding the same period: ‘some members have been asked to resign because they were found to be disruptive with their anti-Semitic attitude.’ [Note: This was taken from the California investigation that explained that JBS opposed anti-Semitism]. Therefore, the comment that there were anti-Semitic extremists ‘from the John Birch Society’ is clearly a matter of record, and one that you yourself endorse.” She then provided links which she said supported Tobin’s view, but not a single one made any accusation of racism or anti-Semitism.
In a statement provided by the John Birch Society, Chief Strategy Officer William Hahn responded. “Unfortunately, Mr. Jonathan Tobin, editor of the Jewish News Service, has a history of labeling The John Birch Society as racist, anti-Semitic, and extremists,” he said. “He seems to have bought into the false narrative of Mr. William F. Buckley booting out Birchers of the mainstream conservative movement. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth.”
“For 61 years, the JBS has been advocating for the protection and restoration of American liberties and independence for all Americans, something that all Americans should be concerned about,” Hahn continued. “Our organization has been used as a punching bag for those that flout the Constitution and seek to divide the American people using common Communist tactics. The membership of JBS has been continuously blessed to include a diverse number of Americans from all walks of life, colors, and creeds. Haters have never been welcome in the organization. Our longtime policy of revoking and blocking membership to haters is very well-known to members.”
Hahn concluded by encouraging readers to learn about JBS for themselves. “We hope this intrigues others to learn the truth about JBS and to work with us in furthering less government, more responsibility, and — with God’s help — a better world,” he said.
Despite their well-known liberal bias, legitimate newspapers including the Denver Post, the Miami Herald, the Omaha World-Herald, Canada’s National Post, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and many more all acted promptly to set the record straight after inadvertently printing errors about the John Birch Society. However, the New York Post and Haaretz ignored basic journalistic ethics and common decency. They have proven themselves to be dishonest, and willing to deliberately mislead readers, by refusing to correct the record. Readers of those publications deserve to know the truth, but it is clear they will have to search elsewhere if they hope to find it.
Alex Newman is a foreign correspondent for The New American who has travelled the world reporting on the UN's climate agenda. He can be reached at anewman@thenewamerican.com or through Liberty Sentinel Media. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU or on Facebook.
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(34) Oddly, Mr. Newman includes a link in his final paragraph to a September 2017 JBS article which refers to publications which Newman says “all acted promptly to set the record straight after inadvertently printing errors about the John Birch Society”.
However, when you click on that link, there is no text which reports what “corrections” were made.
If Mr. Newman forwards to me one or more of those “corrections” I will address what they have written. However, as previously mentioned, most publications usually don’t have the accumulated historical knowledge to adequately refute what the JBS presents.
Therefore, I encourage all readers to review the Chronology which is attached to chapter 3 of my report on “Racism and the John Birch Society” before making any final conclusions regarding the history of the JBS.
Almost all of the documentation in my Chronology is based upon material appearing in FBI investigative files. More info: ernie1241@aol.com
