Jonestown Revisited: Jackie Speier, a 40-Year-Old Audio, Heroism and Difficult Memories

rollcall ^ | November 118 2018

[ExNewsExSpook]

That was before my time. I have no idea if Ryan cleared his visit with the State Department. If I had to guess—and it’s only speculation—I’d say he didn’t. Ryan figured he knew Jim Jones and could “reason” with him. Took journalists along to document his expected “trimuph” in rescuing those who wanted to leave the People’s Temple. Ryan miscalculated all the way around; paid for his mistake with his life and took a lot of people with him, too.

Of course, the real story about Jim Jones (other than the mass suicide in Guyana) was his ties to the liberal establishment in San Francisco—links that were all-but-obliterated in the coverage that followed the tragedy. Took decades for reporters to go back and reconnect the dots, after most of those involved were dead or no longer running for office.

BTW, you’ll note that Congresswoman Spier’s “recollections” of the event made no mention of the ties between Ryan and Jones. As one of his top aides, she almost certainly knew of their connection. But even now, 40 years later, the media still covers for the liberal SF establishment that once counted Jim Jones as one of their own.