The Ragged Edge On-Line Underground Bypassing Traditional Media, Anti-Government Groups Get Their Message Out Via Internet, Fax And Shortwave

More than 50 publishing houses rejected Jim Rawles’ book about America’s future collapse following a stock market crash.

So Rawles, who considers himself part of the patriot movement, put “The Gray Nineties” on the Internet.

“Right now, I’ve got people all over the world reading it,” says Rawles, 35, who lives on a 40-acre farm outside Orofino, Idaho.

Much of the anti-government rhetoric of the 1990s isn’t new. The mix of technology is.

The Internet, fax networks and shortwave radio allow people agitating against the government to bypass traditional media and reach supporters all over.

Consider the story of U.S. Army medic Michael New.

The 22-year-old from Conroe, Texas, refused Aug. 21 to wear the blue beret, blue helmet or armband of the United Nations when his unit was deployed to Macedonia.

The story peppered the Internet almost immediately. It didn’t appear in major newspapers for another two months.

Internet discussion groups painted New as a home-schooled patriot standing up for his country.

“His future looks bleak unless there is an outcry of anger from constituents to congressmen over this issue,” said an alert posted on the Internet. “Please ask your congressman to take a public stand on this issue - and to explain by what constitutional authority can an American citizen be forced to serve in the UN or any other foreign army?”

During the third week of October, Internet postings and fax alerts heated up. One listed every member of Congress who had signed a letter to President Clinton about New and the issues his story raised. The messages also were sent by electronic mail to government offices.

Several days later, Idaho’s two Republican senators co-sponsored legislation to prevent U.S. soldiers from having to wear the U.N. insignia.

The Internet messages cover everything from U.N. troops training in America to the president’s executive orders to federal agents trampling individual rights.

The news comes from different sources: C-News, a conservative news service out of Berkeley, Calif.; electronic versions of publications such as The Spotlight; the Associated Press and word of mouth.

By computer, readers also can apply for membership to the Oregon Unorganized Militia, order the Militia of Montana’s catalog, and read a list of Banned Media and Organizations.

“The traditional media is liberal,” says Bob Salnick, a Spokane man who’s been using the Internet for about five years. “What happened as a consequence of that is the explosion of talk radio. To some extent, the Internet provides the opportunity for anyone to have a forum…”

In rural areas where Internet access is costly, computer bulletin boards provide information and discussion for the cost of a phone call and a modem.

Wes Thomas started a bulletin board in Colville 1-1/2 years ago on land surveyor issues. Since then, the NorthEast Washington BBS has turned into a clearinghouse for computer issues and a forum “dedicated to the free exchange of information and protecting your rights!”

Part of the bulletin board is operated by Citizens For the Second Amendment in Colville. It has the Department of Justice report on Ruby Ridge, a discussion about FBI power and articles about the militia. News from the National Rifle Association’s bulletin board is copied to the Colville board.

On the Liberty Northwest bulletin board, run by Frank Reichert in Bonners Ferry, readers are warned about government and law enforcement indiscretions:

Sheriff’s deputies smashed in the door of a Beaver Dam, Wis., man, says one report. In Malibu, Calif., law officers and the National Guard shot a man dead in his home, says another. King County police raided a Federal Way, Wash., couple just before a Bible study group arrived, says a third.

The reports contain grains of truth - and some fantasy. Law officers in Malibu haven’t shot anyone for more than five years, a sergeant there says.

The Federal Way couple was evicted after failing to pay their mortgage. Police seized an SKS assault rifle, a .45-caliber handgun with Black Talon rounds, a .38-caliber handgun and a night-vision scope, says King County officer Jerrell Wills.

“They sent out a fax, a press release all over the country,” says Wills, who’s one of four officers being sued by the couple. “They’re trying to set up the whole thing like Weaver. It’s just not true.”

Chuck Cushman uses the 10 computers in his Western Washington office as fax machines.

At the press of a button, the machines spit out fax messages to as many as 18,000 groups and individuals at once.

“I got a phone bill the size of New Jersey,” says Cushman, executive director of the American Land Rights Association, a Wise Use umbrella group based in Battle Ground, Wash.

Faxing is quicker and often less expensive than direct mail. It’s also more secure than the Internet. Most senders know who’s getting their faxes.

There’s a patriot fax network, a National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action fax network, and Wise Use networks all over.

Shortwave radio provides another forum for discontent. Talk programs on WWCR World Wide Christian Radio - and World Harvest Radio offer air time to shows such as Norm Resnick, the “Voice of Liberty” and “United Slaves of America.”

WWCR features Christian programming with a dash of talk programs railing against alleged government abuses. The station broadcasts worldwide to millions of listeners.

“It’s programming that is hard to come by,” says George McClintock, manager of WWCR, based in Nashville. “There also is this mystique about shortwave, this ability to listen over long distances.”

On his North Idaho farm, Jim Rawles keeps his shortwave radio tuned to WWCR. The radio is just to the left of his computer.

“The Internet, and to a lesser extent the shortwave radio, are nothing short of a paradigm shift in the whole consciousness of the planet,” Rawles says.

“There are no more secrets. The government cannot keep a secret any longer, if it’s in the best interest of the public. No matter what, the truth will come out.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos

MEMO: These 2 sidebars appeared with the story: 1. INTERNET ADDRESSES These Internet discussion groups are aimed largely at people frustrated with government: news:talk.politics.guns news:misc.activism.militia news:alt.politics.usa.constitution news:alt.conspiracy news:spk.liberty_nw

These Internet sites cover the militia, the patriot movement and the Wise Use movement: Patriots Against the New World Order Totalitarianism Index - http://www.10pht.com/~oblivion/patriot.html Patriot Archives - ftp://tezcat.com/patriot The Den: Politics - ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ri/rivero/politics.html The Patriot’s WWW Page - http://www.kaiwan.com/~patriot/ Libertarian Web - http://w3.ag.uiuc.edu/liberty/libweb.html Journal for Patriotic Justice in America, links to “the Gray Nineties” - http://www.eskimo.com/~hmcom/4/a.html Alliance of America, a Wise Use umbrella group - http://home.navisoft.com/alliance/afaweb/afahome.htm

2. DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE YOUR NUMBER? A 3,500-word letter filtering through the Internet explains how to erase your Social Security number. It is supposed to be copied and sent to the Social Security Administration, six other federal agencies and the speaker of the U.S. House. “For those of you that are young enough, and are tired of being forced into paying for a ‘voluntary’ retirement insurance system (that’s broke by the way), this will help you on your way,” writes a Douglasville, Ga., who forwarded the letter to a computer bulletin board based in Bonners Ferry. The letter quotes court cases, President Reagan’s ousted chief of staff Donald Regan, congressional hearings from 1953, the Social Security card application, the Internal Revenue Service and Thomas Jefferson. Don’t expect results. “The one number you apply for is the one you’re going to keep,” explains L.M. Daly, a service representative in the agency’s Spokane office. “No, you can’t get rid of it.” The department receives about 6,000 requests a year to rescind Social Security numbers. Only in certain cases, such as people establishing new identities, are new numbers granted. “Nobody holds a gun to your head and forces you to use your Social Security number,” says Tom Margenau, an agency spokesman in Baltimore. “But if you don’t use it, you have to suffer the consequences. You’ll have a hard time getting work.”