X-Message-Number: 9226
Subject: "Trust in GOD!"
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 19:35:48 -0500
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <>

> From: L Hardy <>
> 
> > From: Thomas Donaldson <>
> >
> > Hi everyone!
> >
> > The notion of "God's Law" seems unlikely to work on the face of it. Without
> > going into lots of details, I will note that there is NO case in which
> > the government simply allows some traditional organization to continue ---
> 
> Thomas this statement is absurd, most of our statutory law is based
> on "maxims of law" which is derived from the scripture.  There are
> hundreds of Trust in existence that the government doesn't know
> exist at all, most of which are based on the Common Law of the Land,
> which in its essence, is Gods Law.

Just because I have some ideas way outside the mainstream (like the
idea that cryonics could work) doesn't make me an automatic believer
in every crazy idea that comes along. "My mind is open, not empty."

Myself, I don't know if you're a scam artist or a lunatic, or even
(unlikely) an unsung genius, but I personally don't want to have
anything to do with any organization you have even the slightest
peripheral involvement with.

I'm a New Yorker. People try to pull scams on me about six times a
day. "Just wire all your money to our bank in Nigeria and we'll hand
you A MILLION DOLLARS!". Lunatics claiming a direct telephone line to
"Jeeeezus!" come up to me about three times a day. (I must confess to
having perverse fun with the ones who actually seem to believe. I've
been known to explain to them that Jesus called *me* last week and
told me something totally different.) I've learned that, given my busy
schedule, blowing such individuals off is the safest policy unless I'm
looking for cheap entertainment. It simply isn't cost effective for me
to even bother analyzing the garbage handed to me -- the garbage comes
fast and furious.

I tend to do the same thing when I get cold called by almost
anyone. "Is this a solicitation?" I usually ask the phone
callers. When they continue with their script, I explain "I'm sorry,
but I'm too busy to speak to people who follow scripts." and hang up.

I'm also a libertarian. For some reason, scam artists seem to like
taking libertarian mailing lists and sending us mail that claims "All
you have to do is send us all the money you have and we'll make you
RICH!!!!", or "New! Secret law allows you to avoid paying taxes
forever! Learn Common Law the Government Wants To Hide From You!!!
Just send five boxtops to...", or "The government doesn't want you to
know about our NEW GUARANTEED IMMORTALITY PILLS!" sorts of
crap. (Everyone remember the constant resurections of Frederick "Con"
Mann? Sigh.)

My experiences with attempted cult recruitments have stopped amusing
me and started to get boring. A slightly deranged friend of mine
brought me to a "Forum" meeting once. During the high pressure
recruitment phase, I explained "I'm actually pretty happy. BTW, Didn't
Werner Erhardt change his name to something teutonic so no one would
know about his past? Doesn't he beat his wife, too?" Unfortunately,
they weren't as amused as I was.

Lastly, I'm sorry to say that I've lost a lot of respect over the
years for people that don't seem to come equipped with what Hemingway
called the "shockproof shit detector". For some reason, cryonicists
often seem to lack this vital device -- see the Olga Visser meltdown
and a hundred other examples.

All these thigns over the years have made me very wary of falling for
unmitigated crap -- there is so much of it around that one practically
needs an umbrella to stop having it hit you.

So, Mr. Hardy, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't even *CARE* to
discuss the details of your hallucinations, scam, or ingenius idea. I
don't have time. Maybe you're a genius, but long experience says
you're either a nut case or a scam artist or even both at the same
time. Sure, maybe I'm depriving myself of something wonderful, but
the risk/reward ratio of even trying to decipher your rantings isn't
likely to be high enough to make it worthwhile.

I'd just like to know who you have any links to so I can blacklist
them now. Maybe it is unfair. However, experience says otherwise. If
you could supply us all with information on who you've had dealings
with so we can avoid them from now on I'd appreciate it.


Perry

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