Posted on 06/04/2003 9:36:32 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
I don't know if Eric Rudolph did all the terrible things they say he did, but I have my doubts.
Apparently, all those people who wore tee shirts bearing the message "Run, Rudy, Run" have had their doubts as well. Short of a confession by the man, I'll continue to hold on to those doubts.
Like many people, I followed his story closely, from his 1998 disappearance after an abortuary was bombed, to news that a massive manhunt by hundreds of law enforcement officials had failed to turn up one of "America's Most Wanted."
Five years later, they have their man. Or do they?
Rudolph's name was first linked to bombings after a shrapnel and nail device went off at The New Woman All Women abortuary in Birmingham. That blast seriously injured a woman and killed an off-duty cop. Someone said they saw Rudolph's truck nearby and a man fitting his description walking away from the scene. Weeks later his truck was found abandoned near the rugged hills of the Appalachian Trail. Rudy had run and was nowhere to be found, despite the high-tech search that ensued.
Two years, plus a million dollar bounty later, Rudy was like a ghost in those hills. The cops were feeling silly. What happened next doesn't pass the smell test. Not only was Rudolph charged with the Birmingham bombing but with a few other unsolved bombings as well. After all, why not dump all the other cases law enforcement wasn't able to solve on Rudy?
Remember how poor Richard Jewell was demonized and falsely-accused of the 1996 Olympic Park bombing? That quiet, gentle man had his life turned upside down by Keystone Cops desperate to find a culprit. Could it be that what they couldn't pin on Richard they decided to add to Eric Rudolph's list of sins? That list had grown over the years he was presumably hiding out in the mountains of western North Carolina to include additional bombings-another abortuary and a gay nightclub in Atlanta. The evidence against Rudolph? Nails. They say nails in the bombs were like nails found amongst his belongings.(Other than this, prosecutors are mum on the evidence they say they have linking Rudolph to all four bombings.)
Is this just a case of law enforcement feeling like fools because a simple country boy had eluded them all these years?
What should be cause for concern for all Americans is the way they've described this man: "…he studied the Bible, believed the United Nations was usurping U.S. sovereignty, held anti-government sentiment…was an anti-abortion crusader…questioned the Holocaust…was anti-gay, anti-foreigner" to name just a few of the phrases labeling him in the press. Here we go again- paint the man with those colors and he's…guilty! Such tagging is what most Americans accepted to excuse what happened to Randy Weaver and his family when they were the victims of an all-out blitzkrieg by the federal government in Ruby Ridge, Idaho some years back. Anymore, all you have to do is co-opt a willing media to go along with these categorizations and you can garner widespread approval for considering someone a dangerous criminal.
Now, maybe Eric Rudolph really was behind the crimes for which he stands accused. But, as I see it, there are some glaring inconsistencies in the whole thing.
First off, by all accounts, the man was not obsessed by the abortion issue. He didn't talk about it, rail against it or display any sentiment whatsoever about the gruesome practice. Most anti-aborts are well-known for their position. Certainly those who find the wholesale murder of babies abhorrent- talk about it. Rudy didn't. That may or may not be a clue as to whether he'd have a motive to blow up an abortuary.
Secondly, one of Eric Rudolph's brothers is gay. Again, not likely he'd be rearranging the floor plan of a gay nightclub.
Third, what possible vendetta could be behind the bomb left at Centennial Olympic Park?
Attorney General John Ashcroft wasted no time announcing the fine police work that netted this dangerous criminal 5 years after he went missing. Like most mothers whose sons are suspected of committing violent crimes, Patricia Rudolph doesn't think Eric's guilty. The Christian mother of six said "I pray the Holy Spirit will intervene and Eric will be exonerated, but once you're in the hands of the people who have power, it'll take a miracle."
Start praying all you "Bible-studying, anti-government, U.N.-bashing" zealots- those descriptions could mean you're the main suspects in unsolved crimes.
It’s surprising that a nice Christian couple provided names and surnames to a reporter after expressing an opinion that can be considered a tad controversial.
They must live on another twilight zone.
Sounds like a Good Democrat talking about X42.
Good thing that Mary Starrett wasn't on the OJ jury. By requiring a confession as the only acceptable evidence, Ms Starrett must be denying X42's involvement with Kathleen Willey et al (no confession.)
On another note, does Ms Starrett accept only freely given confessions (such as those by the Politburo members during the 1930s) or can one use a rubber hose?
The deal with the nails was a bit more than "the same kind of nails." The nails found in ERR's storage locker were allegedly from the same manufacturing lot as the nails found in the bombs. Apparently, these can be identified by the exact composition of the metals. It was the match between the B'ham shrapnel and the Olympic shrapnel that connected those bombings together. You've got an eyewitness in B'ham, and a supposed match between that bomb and the Atlanta bombs. The scuttlebutt over here is that they also have a voiceprint of the 911 call for the Olympic bombing that may seal the deal. I'm sure the Army of God letters will provide some forensic evidence as well. Guaranteed, it will be about a lot more than nails.
Also - I remember well when his name surfaced. He took off when he was wanted for questioning, before he was "accused." His flight will be used as evidence of guilt.
But, to me, what is so dang funny is that the big, bad Feral Govermint couldn't catch him for 5 years and they all act so proud he's caught. Heck, it took a "Barney Fife" to catch both him and Mc Veigh!!!
So catching Osama, Sadam, etc., will probably be best done by the likes of another "Barney Fife!"
Yet these vain Feral Bureaucrazys keep pattin themselves on the back... and the media keeps acting like they have SAMS, (Severe Acute Media Syndrome) instead of SARS...
Since 9-11, goverment is about the only growth industry this nation has!!!
By Jon Christian Ryter Author: The Baffled Christian's Handbook and the Soon-to-be-released book: Whatever Happened to America? ---EXCLUSIVE REPORT--- Copyright (c) 1998 All Rights Reserved On October 10, 1998 the following email was sent from Andrews, NC: "Report: We have now confirmed reports of multiple armored tanks being brought into the Andrews area and off loaded and taken up federal forestry roads into the mountains. Two trucks carrying tanks were seen arriving at approximately 11:30 pm (2330 hours) Wednesday. They were said to have pulled into the Federal Compound/Complex here in Andrews, NC. They were gone by morning. Over the last weekend, over 21 C-130s were seen flying over our area. We now have a report of a second federal complex being built a short distance to the South...Photos of everything except the tanks themselves have been [taken]. Their tracks, however, have been...Roving patrols around the perimeter fence, road guards with machine guns, and roving patrols in new Chevy Suburbans without any license plates...It is also widely believed that the spraying of chemicals into the air by aircraft is occurring..." Since that report, hundreds of similar calls and emails have poured from Andrews in a tidal wave of concern over a virtual shock wave of military personnel and what appears to be over a 100 federal officers that have converged on the western North Carolina community. Within two days, the citizens of Andrews were reporting the presence of troops outside their town. Two military "bases" were indeed being hastily constructed. Both were cordoned off; heavily armed guards manned both. Within them was some of the most sophisticated surveillance equipment available. Not at all surprising was the fact that the mainstream media had not touched the story about the true meaning of the phrase "a sleepy little southern town" after military helicopters spent night after night circling the town and flooding the homes of those trying to sleep with brilliant searchlights. Rumors and more rumors have abounded over the past month. Everyone is guessing, but not even the citizens of Andrews really know what is going on. Here, for the first time, is the story. A well-placed Justice Department source confided to this writer today what is happening in Andrews, and why it is happening. It is a shocking story. It's a story about black helicopters and conspiracy. A conspiracy on the part of the Reno Justice Department to provoke violence in North Carolina. On the surface, it is a story about the efforts of the Justice Department to track down and apprehend Eric Rudolph. As such, and if indeed that was the whole story, it is newsworthy of a vast amount of media attention. Yet, none exists. It does not exist because this is not the part of the story that the Clinton Administration wants reported since this is the part of the story that contains the elements of belligerent military and federal officials bullying a town into submission. That is not good press. It's a good news story...but, it is not the press that a President under investigation for abuse of power would want told. The story the media is waiting for is the first shot fired by the North Carolina extremists at the federal government who came to Andrews, according to the Justice Department's spinmeisters, to find and apprehend one of the most wanted men, if not the most wanted man, in America. The news story will begin when open warfare between the government and the various North Carolina militia groups begins. It will be a conflict provoked by the Clinton Justice Department, but those who are currently being harassed by their government will fire the first shot. Over the past few months, the media has orchestrated a well-conceived plan to demonize Eric Rudolph. He stands accused of an abortion clinic bombing. He may or may not be guilty of that crime. He now stands accused of several other acts of murder and mayhem. He may or may not be guilty of those crimes as well. It is unlikely, he will ever stand trial. He has been adjudged guilty by the media; and that makes him guilty in the eyes of the world. He is a dead man walking. So for that matter, in the eyes of the Justice Department, has Andrews also been adjudged guilty. When Rudolph surfaced around Murphy, North Carolina and borrowed a pickup truck, federal agents converged on Murphy and nearby Andrews. However, the citizens of Murphy, like the citizens of Andrews, were largely uncooperative with the Yankee investigators from the North. My source admitted that "...if Eric Rudolph walked down the main street of Andrews in the middle of the afternoon, not one person would likely pick up the telephone and turn him in." Is that because they agree with Rudolph's position on abortion? Not at all. According to the Justice Department source, most of the people in Andrews admitted they abhorred violence of any type. Most felt if Rudolph committed the crime, he should be arrested, tried, and in found guilty, imprisoned---or worse. But, to a person, they distrusted the federal government even more. To them, the federal government was the interloper ---and more. The investigation conducted by the FBI in both Murphy and Andrews began with threats, bullying, and other forms of intimidation. That did not bode well with the good folks of Andrews. It has now evolved into the open harassment of American citizens. The well dried up before the Feds could flush out one usable piece of information about Rudolph. What they did flush out, however, was more militiamen than they cared to meet on a warm, sunny fall afternoon in the Smokey Mountains. The feds were outnumbered and outgunned. From that point on---if it ever really was ---it was no longer about Eric Rudolph. It was about confiscating the weapons from what the Clinton Administration views as the most dangerous threat to the security of the United States---a well-armed American citizen. Justice Department data indicates that within a hundred-mile radius of Andrews, there exist more well- armed and ready to fight militia groups than anywhere else in the United States. Also in the Andrews area are two very large and very active Christian groups that they feel is fanning the fire of discontent in the United States. As such, Andrews has been, for quite some time---and long before the government had any interest in Rudolph---a planned target for what is currently happening there. Andrews is, at the moment, ground zero for the civilian uprising that the Clinton Administration hopes to use as the catalyst to declare martial law. Other areas in the South and the Far West are undergoing troop build-ups for the same reason In addition it was reported that my source recently learned that Reno's office assigned an "HRT" to Andrews. Not familiar with the term, I inquired what an HRT was. He replied that it was a Hostage Rescue Team. I replied that I thought it was strange that a hostage rescue unit would be assigned to Andrews since nobody was taking hostages. "The purpose of a hostage rescue team," he confided, "is not to rescue anyone. The HRT is an assassination team. Their job is to kill. It was a HRT that did the killing at Ruby Ridge; and it was an HRT that went to Waco. Wherever they go, people die. I don't want to see more women and children die."
Ironic that Rudolph was arrested by a rookie local police officer.
Mammoth sigh. I don't even need to discuss the "Thou Shalt Not Murder" part of the Ten Commandments.
One of the strongest Christian ladies I know (she lives in Raleigh, NC now) had the experience of watching CNN the night of the club bombing ... and saw her gay son milling around outside, and interviewed, too, I believe. She said that she was woken out of a sound sleep by the Father to see this ... so she would not see the news in the morning and experience the even momentary horror of believing her son might be dead.
There's more to the story, but let me just say that there was NOTHING good about this bombing. And no, she did not disavow her son. She did, however, meet with her son and his friends many times, and they spoke honestly about how she did not approve of their lifestyle, but loved her son, and his friends, as children of our Father. I wouldn't be surprised to hear if at least some of them have disavowed that lifestyle.
I think this is entirely possible as I watched carefully when they had finished grilling Jewell that Rudy fell into their laps. He could indeed be a scapegoat.
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