There's only one expression of grief I've ever read which carried an uplifting message with it and to honor Minimus I'll recite it here.
_________________________________
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
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The author, Mary Elisabeth Frye was an orphan
who lived to be 98 years old.
Frye never copyrighted the poem, which leaves it in the public domain. Her explanation: "I thought it belonged to the world; it didn't belong to me. I still feel that way … it was written out of love, for comfort. If I took money for it, it would lose its value ... maybe I'm a nut."
Posts by Terry
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58No more Questions from MINIMUS
by was a new boy inminimus former jw, prolific poster on jwn died.. minimus.
joined 19 years ago.
started 4,139 topics.
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Terry
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What Do They Have in Common?: Covington/ Muhammed Ali / Disfellowship policy
by Terry incovington / muhammed ali / disfellowship (what do they have in common?
)“hayden c. covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of first amendment law.
beyond the numerous first amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the supreme court, he also prevailed on behalf of the witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and .
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Terry
These are all good clarifying points as the rugged and ragged history of the Legal
Department wound down under an ever more inebriated Covington.
We don't (I don't) give enough attention to how human weakness and pettiness have impacted so many rank and file JW's lives because of the push and shove at the top of our GB food chain.
Behind that curtain, there is a nasty smell... -
15
What Do They Have in Common?: Covington/ Muhammed Ali / Disfellowship policy
by Terry incovington / muhammed ali / disfellowship (what do they have in common?
)“hayden c. covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of first amendment law.
beyond the numerous first amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the supreme court, he also prevailed on behalf of the witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and .
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Terry
Theocratic Warfare
EdenOne
"From time to time letters are received asking whether a certain circumstance would justify making an exception to the Christian’s obligation, to tell the truth. In reply to these, the following is given: God’s Word commands: “Speak truth each of you with his neighbor.” ...
There is one exception, however, that the Christian must ever bear in mind. As a soldier of Christ, he is in theocratic warfare and he must exercise added caution when dealing with God’s foes. Thus the Scriptures show that for the purpose of protecting the interests of God’s cause, it is proper to hide the truth from God’s enemies. A Scriptural example of this is that of Rahab the harlot. She hid the Israelite spies because of her faith in their God Jehovah. This she did both by her actions and by her lips. That she had Jehovah’s approval in doing so is seen from James’ commendation of her faith." Watchtower 1960 Jun 1 pp.351,352 Questions From Readers"We must tell the truth to one who is entitled to know, but if one is not so entitled we may be evasive. ... As a soldier of Christ he is in theocratic warfare and he must exercise added caution when dealing with God's foes. Thus the Scriptures show that for the purpose of protecting the interests of God's cause, it is proper to hide the truth from God's enemies." Watchtower 1960 Jun 1 pp.351-352 A real historian has an MBA
_________titch
A real historian has an MBA!
I'm no historian, I just scour all the passages I can find and glue them together into some kind of timeline. I will probably have to correct several errors as I go along. -
4
The J W with the Golden Gun
by Terry inspillane, mickey spillane.
he pulled no punches and his pen was as fast as his gun.
after all, it took almost three whole weeks for mickey to type his first novel.
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Terry
That's funny!
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4
The J W with the Golden Gun
by Terry inspillane, mickey spillane.
he pulled no punches and his pen was as fast as his gun.
after all, it took almost three whole weeks for mickey to type his first novel.
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Terry
Spillane, Mickey Spillane
He pulled no punches and his pen was as fast as his gun.
After all, it took almost three whole weeks for Mickey to type his first novel
I, THE JURY.
MIKE HAMMER, whose private eye name is never written without somebody tacking on the phrase: “hard-boiled detective,” sold books galore to the delight of publishers about to discover a new phenomenon.
But wait--there’s more to Mickey Spillane than his success as a writer.
Spillane was a member of a puritanical, doomsday religious cult! (Jehovah’s Witnesses.)
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Mickey Spillane’s first novel, I, THE JURY, was also released in a new form, a new technology of the day called the “pocketbook” or paperback.
(Paperback books (small/cheap)---needed 3 elements to succeed:
Sensation, Sex, Simplicity.)
Mickey Spillane’s MIKE HAMMER was all that and more!
The hardback sold a respectable 4,000 copies.
The paperback version sold--not thousands--but millions.
More than 225 million copies of his books sold internationally.
Reading a hardback was for eggheads and respectable titles.
You could hide a paperback if somebody looked your way--get it?
A paperback was cheap, two-bits cheap, cheaper than a hardback. (Five bucks.)
Covers were garish, eye-catching, and lurid and married up perfectly with
Spillane’s antihero who could be a real blunt-force trauma of a man.
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Who was this guy, Spillane?
A tough Irishman?
Yep.
He’d joined the army right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and served as a flight instructor. When he mustered out, he tried creating...a comic book hero named MIKE DANGER...but Danger didn’t fly, bounce bullets, or have X-ray vision.
Besides, kids only like their eggs hard-boiled.
Spillane the man was terse, quiet, and matter-of-fact.
Surprisingly, he was also a Jehovah’s Witness.
This public and private persona may seem odd at first glance--but, once one myself, I can tell you leading a double life is what it’s all about.
Brother Spillane’s gritty prose was a necessary counterbalance to the straitlaced, puritanical side of the door-knocking evangelistic cult.
This was his gulp of “fresh air.”
Reality?Fictional reality!
Jehovah’s Witnesses see life as black and white and the narrative driving their Universe is a simple story of Good VS Evil. JW’s are a male-dominated religion of men who are the “head” of the family and the Sisters need to know their place in the grand scheme of things. God is a Big Kahuna who’ll strike down men, women, children, animals--hell, don’t get in his way!
(A subconscious MIKE HAMMER?)
I, THE JURY reflects such a worldview.
At the end of this novel, MIKE HAMMER does something to a woman which shocked readers at the time. It also titillated them. They wanted more.
A career was born which lasted into the late 1990s.
Every time a new MIKE HAMMER novel was published, a cub reporter was dispatched to track Mickey down and corner him with silly questions--always the same ones. Mickey always looked bored and cynical. He had a crew cut like a naval recruit and he smoked like a chimney.
The very picture of a Christian evangelist!
He’d tell the cub reporter he only wrote: “for the money.”
"I don't give a hoot about reading reviews. What I want to read is the royalty checks."
His style? Self-parody.
“He took off like a herd of turtles.”
Or, “Her breasts were laughing things.”
His view of homosexuals and blacks was gratuitous and mean-spirited. Nuanced? What’s a “nuance?”
As one writer remarked, “...the virgin/whore complex Hammer had towards women and particularly in regards to his peculiar relationship with Velda, his long-suffering secretary, was nothing short of just plain twisted.”
Heck--that’s just a Jehovah’s Witness viewpoint!
A reviewer observed, “Hammer novels possess a fierce, driving energy and white-hot passion that cannot be denied; one that drags the reader along in its wake and keeps them turning pages.”
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Mickey Spillane, the man?
"I'm actually a softie. Tough guys get killed too early... I've got a full head of hair and don't wear eyeglasses... And I've kept the smoke coming out of the chimney for a very long time."
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Spillane broke down the barriers, where sex and violence were concerned, and this pissed people off. Also, he was perceived as right-wing. The vigilante approach Hammer used turned the stomachs of many liberals... (Spillane) is number three, after Hammett and Chandler (in a list of the 10 most important detective novelists of the 20th century).
Anyone who doesn't recognize Spillane's importance is an idiot.
James Bond and Dirty Harry all rolled into one.
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Spillane’s writing tips?
1. Something’s got to happen.
2. Don’t take your reader where he wants to go. Tease them. Go against expectations.
3. Keep your sequels short and to the point. Forget inner dialogue and motivation. Move it along.
4. Let your Detective discover clues and identities he doesn’t share with the reader. It keeps them glued to the page.
5. Sex and violence, in their varying degrees, are really the only two colors on the writer’s palette.
6. Only write when you’re broke. Spillane only wrote when he needed money and spent the rest of his time deep-sea fishing
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As a Jehovah’s Witness, Spillane went door to door. He didn’t kick them in and force Bible study at the point of a gun. Nope, he was mild-mannered and polite. As publicity for or against the Watchtower Organization--the truth is this. He was a “man’s man” and that’s what JW men like to think about themselves. Married and divorced 3 times, Spillane remained a golden boy to Watchtower leaders
When he died of cancer, a memorial service was held July 29 at the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall near Spillane's Murrells Inlet home, about 80 miles northeast of Charleston.
Spillane had helped build that Kingdom Hall with his own two hands.
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I knew a JW Brother named Kurt Rossit.
He told me in the course of conversation that he knew Brother Spillane when he lived near Myrtle Beach, SC.
“When Brother Spillane was assigned a talk (sermon) in the Ministry School, he’d show up in a Hawaiian shirt. You couldn’t make him wear a necktie! How he got away with it--I don’t exactly know. His attendance was spotty. Spillane tooled around in bright white tennis shoes, wearing his military-style crew-cut which gave the gossipers a fit. He went his own way and was considered cool by the men in high places.”
Another time, Kurt told me a story I wanted to believe whether it was true or not.
“Spillane liked to hang out at the bars. He’d invariably get into a religious argument. One time he reached into his back pocket and counted out a thousand dollars in cash and bet everybody in the bar they couldn’t find one scripture in the Bible to support the Trinity.”
The Brothers in Spillane’s congregation loved to go water skiing with him or fishing. He was like the cool dad they wish they’d had. They could be themselves around him, cuss, talk dirty about women and sex and not feel like he’d rat them out.
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There has always been gossip among JW’s that Spillane “kept getting Disfellowshipped” for his trashy and prurient books. I have NEVER been able to verify this. Witnesses are among the biggest gossipers on earth, from my experience. If you know or think you know some juicy tidbit, you repeat it as though it were sworn testimony. As far as I know, Brother Mickey Spillane got off scot-free. If you know different (and can prove it) I’d love to see your evidence :)
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Personally, I never met Brother Spillane.
I met plenty of shady JW’s in my time--but not the creator of MIKE HAMMER.
More’s the pity--I think I’d have liked him!_______
I’m a writer, not an author.
“I’ll tell you, there were a couple of reasons why I knew it was going to be good. At the end of the War, I saw—and I forget where, I think it was an army place—a brand new paperback original. It was a novel that had just come out. When I looked at that thing, I said this is the newest trend in publishing, and this is going to be the biggest thing going. So when I wrote I, the Jury, I didn’t write it for hardback. I wrote it for the paperback reprint. Now the funny part was that I, the Jury was turned down by three or four publishing houses who thought, “Oh, you can’t put books like this out on the market,” and who as good as shot themselves to death later. There was nothing bad about I, the Jury. It wasn’t dirty. It was a little raunchy in places, but not bad.”_________________
Max Allan Collins:
Lee Child’s Jack Reacher is an obvious descendant, just as in Spillane’s day James Bond and Fleming was his. You see Mickey’s fingerprints all over everybody who followed him and Mike Hammer, from Peter Gunn and Billy Jack to Mack Bolan and Jack Bauer. Shaft was a black Mike Hammer, even initially advertised that way. Fleming was sold as the British Spillane. Any tough hero with emotion who breaks the rules can point back to Mickey and Mike. -
15
What Do They Have in Common?: Covington/ Muhammed Ali / Disfellowship policy
by Terry incovington / muhammed ali / disfellowship (what do they have in common?
)“hayden c. covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of first amendment law.
beyond the numerous first amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the supreme court, he also prevailed on behalf of the witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and .
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Terry
Thanks to one and all.
This was quite interesting to compile. Seldom is the curtain lifted in the throne room of OZ.
If you compare the Rutherford/Covington/Franz/Knorr governing body with today's TV GB
you have to double over with a belly laugh.
They don't build em like that anymore, do they? -
15
What Do They Have in Common?: Covington/ Muhammed Ali / Disfellowship policy
by Terry incovington / muhammed ali / disfellowship (what do they have in common?
)“hayden c. covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of first amendment law.
beyond the numerous first amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the supreme court, he also prevailed on behalf of the witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and .
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Terry
The above was a FIRST DRAFT and unfinished.
Below is the edited FINAL DRAFT .
__________COVINGTON / MUHAMMED ALI / DISFELLOWSHIP (What do they have in common?)
“Hayden C. Covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of First Amendment law. Beyond the numerous First Amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the Supreme Court, he also prevailed on behalf of the Witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and . . . also triumphed in dozens of lower federal court rulings.” Even so, we know relatively little about Hayden Covington. One will look long and hard to find his name in any First Amendment treatise or casebook…”
Hayden Covington was a lawyer, the vice-president of the Watchtower Society, and one of the most famous Witnesses for decades. A Bethelite – resident at headquarters – from 1939 to 1963 during which time he took about 44 Witness cases to the supreme court, winning an amazing 85 percent of them.A very imposing man, about 6'3'', quite extroverted and confident, he was impressively articulate. Covington lived in a well-kept, small brick house on Nichols Street in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. He owned hundreds of books, and at least thirty books on vocabulary building and how to use words effectively. (My kind of mensch).
Alcohol became a problem with Covington (and was part of the reason why he left Bethel). He idolized Judge Rutherford who himself was by reputation a famous opponent of Prohibition. The two were peas in a pod as the saying goes. Twin sons of different mothers. Brothers in Battle against the World. Both men had worked their way through law school the old-fashioned way: bootstraps.
At the time of their camaraderie, a good-old-boys culture pervaded the Watchtower organization in Brooklyn. Rutherford took no prisoners when it came to denouncing his enemies whether outside or inside the organization. He and Covington were strong men, fighters who never backed down from a fight.
Martyrs / Martyrdom were a price Rutherford was willing to pay and the policies he crafted as religious dogma provoked the burning hatred of every secular authority he could find.
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Covington: “I was originally in casualty insurance, defense, personal injury, and representing insurance companies in cases of damage suits; then bond forfeiture cases and bond obligation cases. Then, when I went to Bethel I was in a different area altogether. But, still, I had had enough trial experience in appellate argument and court experience that it was easy for me to shift into the position of defending Jehovah's Witnesses and it was good because I was able to do what I liked which was to defend my client. Also having got a righteous cause gives you a double barrel.”
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Nathan H. Knorr joined the Bethel ‘family’ in 1923 as a volunteer and close personal friend of Fred Franz. Six years later, push came to shove, as it were. Knorr was seen and regarded by Rutherford and Covington as less than manly and a distance of sorts began to widen between them because of a particular incident (Later related by Covington in an interview tape-recorded in his home.)
This incident involved a fight between Witnesses and Catholics at Madison Square Garden in 1939. Rutherford, at the time, staged public lectures in large venues denouncing churches, preachers, and religions in no uncertain terms.
He was surrounded by Brothers with hickory canes as weapons in case of trouble with mobs.
Fights did break out. Rutherford provoked these reactions on purpose.
In this instance, Covington’s opinion concluded that Knorr should have stayed and fought and "beat the s---t out of those bastards" (referring to unruly mobs of Catholics).
Knorr snuck out "like a coward" and was “unwilling to physically fight.” Complained Covington.
Nathan Homer Knorr wanted to reshape the organization more like a business and less like a Thunderdome deathmatch. He and Covington did not mesh on this.
At all.
Covington and Rutherford were viewed as Sampson incarnate. Knorr avoided conflict. Two sides to the same theocratic coin.Covington had no qualms about fighting physically. He said, "If someone looks at me the wrong way I'll beat the s---t out of him."
This is one reason why he did so well in court.
Covington freely used profanity, which could have been due to his Texas upbringing (his father was a Texas Ranger) although he was good with words, was very aggressive in court, and loved battering down his opponent’s arguments in defense of a righteous cause.
What were Covington and Rutherford’s winning strategy for Jehovah’s Witnesses?
The Watchtower defense plan covertly prepped the Brothers, telling them what to do and say when arrested - taking care not to mention they had been coached by Watchtower. Some congregations actually staged mock arrest trials on Thursdays at the service meeting. They stressed: be calm and cool, be polite, and don't get upset. Let them abuse you. This, of course, is good advice; don't give them an excuse to abuse you, but meekly submit and be arrested. Politely try to explain what JW’s are doing, the reasons, and the law (JW’s had cards they were given with court cases cited).
Final step: call an attorney (a list of attorneys who were sympathetic), and find someone to set bail. Being arrested and serving time was seen as great publicity advertising to the world at large JW’s had the true religion; faithful and uncompromising even to death.Covington looked for cases and people who were able to WIN.
They would interview a person testing how they performed under cross-examination and conclude, "He's not quite right. He loses his cool and is not very articulate."
They wanted people who had good reputations in the community, who were store owners, or shopkeepers that had a good chance of winning. They tried to eliminate all extraneous things that are brought up in court cases.
They wanted women, especially presentable, attractive women who were articulate and had children who they felt would elicit sympathy from the jury. They wanted jury trials so they could play on the jury’s emotions and argue that the victim was just a mother doing "God's will."
Most of the cases were ‘white’ (they thought they may lose if the Witness involved was Black in front of a prejudiced jury of white men. The strategy was heartless but - he felt - necessary to secure victory.)When they lost a case, they would analyze it, learn from it, and then try not to make the same mistakes in the future. They wrote letters to the local congregations, asking, "If any case comes up, be sure and let us know." Even if they did not defend a case, they wanted to be aware of it when looking for test cases. They had a lot of cases to pick from, so they would evaluate 300 cases, narrow it down to five, then down to one.
Headquarters would send people into areas they knew could cause problems. One case involved a large Catholic population where there had been opposition and a priest that was an active Witness opposer. They would smoke out the confrontation telling the Brothers, "You ought to go into this territory, it hasn't been preached in a while." Decisions about which communities to target were made at Bethel by the leadership and there was very little questioning by the Witnesses about where they were asked to go. Strictly don’t ask / don’t tell.
Rutherford and Covington were pushing, prodding, provoking the backlash to come and preparing a pretext for the legal cases to follow.
(Note: Rutherford established this pattern immediately after taking hold of the Presidency of the Watchtower. He sanctioned the writing, release, and publicity of a new book, THE FINISHED MYSTERY and it is this book that caused his imprisonment along with the Board of Directors.
On May 7, 1918, federal warrants were issued for President Rutherford, the general manager, the secretary-treasurer, the two compilers of The Finished Mystery, and three other members of the Society’s editorial committee for violation of the 1917 Espionage Act. They were charged with conspiring to cause insubordination in the military, conspiring to obstruct the recruiting service, attempting to cause insubordination in the military, and obstructing the recruiting service . . . The government’s evidence consisted primarily of the publications mentioned in the indictment and a record of a meeting of the society’s board of directors at which The Finished Mystery was discussed. The government avoided the difficulty posed by the fact that the book had been written before the enactment of both the Draft Act and the Espionage Act of 1917 by arguing that its continued sale after the acts’ effective dates was sufficient. The jury was convinced, and each defendant was convicted on every count.
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No one said, "They are sending us in here so we can get arrested" and if someone would have said that, the Society responded: "This is God's will, and God is fighting this battle.
We are just His instruments."
Winning in court meant finding the right people, not those that could mess up the case. From prepping the Witnesses going into the field, to choosing the location, it was all planned by Covington.
(Source: https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1369&context=lawreview )
KNORR ERA
As Rutherford approached death, he made known to all with voting proxies who his choice of President should be, Hayden Cooper Covington.
Knorr saw his chance and rounded up enough votes to counter this selection.
Covington remained Vice-President. Under Knorr. (Can you feel the tension?)
It didn’t take long before a change of policy by Knorr and Franz forced him out.
The policy change resulted in Covington's resignation from the Vice Presidency and departure from the board in 1945; however, he remained on staff as legal counsel. In 1950, he wrote the Watch Tower tract, Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News to advise Witnesses of their constitutional rights in the United States.
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After Rutherford passed and the businessman side emerged in Knorr, less and less demand for courtroom slugfests were needed. Less demand for Covington’s part as resident legal counsel.
In the early 1960s, straightforward draft cases of a procedural nature didn’t appeal to Covington’s temperament. His aggressiveness was less and less needed by the Watchtower Society. As a consequence, he began drinking seriously as he became more unhappy.
He was a crusader that needed a cause to fight for when Witnesses were heavily persecuted and were in the news a lot. He partnered up with Judge Rutherford and proclaimed, "I'm going to fight with these people and we're going to win."
He had so much respect for Rutherford that he would do whatever Rutherford asked and take anything that Rutherford gave him. But for most anybody else, he couldn't take direction without pushing back if it seemed a weak cause or approach.Just like Rutherford, he wasn't very diplomatic, but shined in court: there he could be very aggressive, but that kind of temperament doesn't help one do well outside of a court - or seeking compromise in a Board Meeting. Or representing conscientious objectors who refuse to fight but who hire pugnacious attorneys to fight for them.
At the very end of his life, Covington hit bottom. He drank and drank and ended up with health problems, and realized that, if he didn't change his life, he was going to die. He died and his memorial was at the Kelly Assembly Hall in California on November 28, 1978.
At his death, many articles came out about his work and what he accomplished with the lawsuits that the Society had fought and won. His cases have a far-reaching effect on the media today because the Watchtower cases extended the concept of free distribution. Internet and media freedoms today rely heavily on Watchtower cases.
He was near death when it was thought wise to reinstate him from disfellowship. Otherwise, his legacy and fame would become an embarrassment to the Watchtower Society.
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NOTE: “Between 1933 and 1951, there were 18,866 arrests of American Witnesses and about 1,500 cases of mob violence against them.”
“During one week in 1943, Covington argued fourteen cases before the United States Supreme Court.”
_________________MUHAMMED ALI and Covington’s follyRepresenting Cassius Clay could have been a door to civil rights work, but Covington never did enter that door. He simply was not a team player. He flew solo or not at all, brushing off Ali’s assembled team and grabbing the limelight.
My personal thoughts now follow.When the Muhammed Ali opportunity arose, the lure of springing into the limelight involving the Supreme Court again was too good to miss, attorney-at-law Covington chose a compromise suggesting Muhammed Ali accept a guilty sentence and serve 18 mos. Probation instead of the maximum 5 years in Federal prison.
Morton Susman, United States Attorney had the offer ready for signature. Covington talked Ali into requesting that the Judge sentence him immediately! (To circumvent a withdrawn offer.)This hasty suggestion frustrated and upset Ali's first-hired attorney, Quinnan A. Hodges of Houston. Quinnan saw the offer as a “starting” point for further negotiation. An angry reason Ali's handlers refused to pay Covington when all was said and done.
(Attorney M.W. Plummer and Attorney Chauncey Eskridge are the real legal heroes of the Ali story). You see, despite Covington - Ali never spent even one hour in jail.
This raises at least one question. How was Covington's approach to be viewed as being in his client’s best interest?
The judge's sentence was pronounced immediately at Clay's request (per Covington.)"I'd appreciate it," the 25-year-old boxer said, "if the court will do it now, give me my sentence now, instead of waiting and stalling for time."
Federal District Judge Joe E. Ingraham sentenced Clay to five years in prison and fined him $10,000. This was the maximum penalty for the offense as a felony.
Prosecutor Morton Susman and Hayden Covington worked out the deal, but IT WAS NOT BINDING on the Judge!
According to Covington: he was blind-sided at the very least - but at worst? He may have known all along it could go either way.
The Judge had apparently double-crossed him by refusing to grant probation. Or not. Who knows?New York Times news article: "Both Mr. Covington and Mr. Hodges asked Judge Ingraham to put Clay on probation. Failing that, said Mr. Covington, the former champion should not be given a sentence more severe than those given in similar cases. "That's 18 months," he said."
How then, did Muhammad Ali avoid serving even ten minutes of incarceration?
The appeals process allowed his highly competent attorney, M.W. Plummer, to pursue the real problem in the case:
Ali's Draft Board didn't consider him to be sincere as a real minister
2. Ali failed the Army's intelligence test and did not qualify to serve
The Supreme Court in Clay v. the United States reversed his conviction in 1971.
(Ali’s birth name was Cassius Clay.)“[T]he Department [of Justice] was simply wrong as a matter of law in advising that the petitioner’s beliefs were not religiously based and were not sincerely held,” the opinion said. Even though Ali prevailed 8-0 before the high court, Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong later reported in The Brethren that the justices initially voted against him, finding that he wasn’t really a conscientious objector and that he should go to jail. Apparently, one of Justice John Marshall Harlan’s law clerks loaned the justice a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Judge Harlan read the book and changed his views on Black Muslims.
________________The irony is this, most JW's ended up serving two years or more while Ali received NO prison time at all.
This is probably of little or no interest to anybody other than those of us Jehovah’s Witnesses
who faced prison and “served” in prison during the Vietnam War years.
It does satisfy my curiosity about why the Watchtower (with its record of success) failed to defend any of the Brothers in court. The entire governing board of directors didn’t want to end up in court again!
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HAYDEN COVINGTON and DISFELLOWSHIP POLICY
The history of the Watchtower Society until 1952 is one of opposition to Disfellowship.
The last article to appear in the Watchtower to make this opposition clear was in 1947.
Between 1947 and the reversal of policy - something happened inside the Headquarters in NY.
A clash of dispositions, let’s call it, between Covington and President Knorr and Fred Franz occurred and a strategy was developed to oust Covington.The question remains: WHAT HAPPENED between 1947 and 1952 that caused a 180 turn from established scriptural policies?”
In 1940, Hayden C. Covington—then the Society’s legal counsel and one of the “other sheep,” with the earthly hope—was elected a director of the Society. (John 10:16) He served as the Society’s vice president from 1942 to 1945.Hayden Covington was by all accounts an extraordinary force of nature and a natural fighter who never backed down from a confrontation either legal or personal. His hero was Watchtower Society President J.F.Rutherford who was also a staunch advocate of confrontation of one's foes.
In 1942, Rutherford was replaced by Nathan Knorr as the Society's leader.
According to Covington, it was he who "had the votes" to become the President. But, Knorr had "connived" him out of it.
An immediate clash of personalities resulted....at first UNKNOWN to Covington. Only gradually did the opposition become clear.
In an interview years later *, Covington referred to Knorr in pejorative terms. He called him "sneaky" and a "cobra" and called into question Knorr's courage because of having witnessed him back down from altercations with Catholics in a public forum.
Knorr did not want Covington as his vice-President. Rutherford insisted on his death bed that Covington be appointed. Knorr was poorly educated and Covington considered him ignorant.
Knorr was rankled by Covington's superior education and attempts to influence Society policy through intimidation. Consequently, Knorr engineered a change in policy to exclude non-anointed persons (other sheep) from serving as governing body members.
By 1945 Covington was forced out.A public relations spin was offered that Covington had "graciously declined to serve" in view of the new policy. Everybody who ever met Covington knew quite well he NEVER backed down or withdrew!
Knorr's champion and fellow conspirator, Fred Franz, created the new policy in order to install Franz in place of Covington. (No non-anointed as board members.)
Covington was retained as the legal representative, however, attaining Supreme Court case wins in 80% of the lawsuits filed with the last case being in 1953.
Two policies of Jehovah's Witnesses may well have been directly impacted by the personality of Covington and the discord with Franz and Knorr.
1st.The policy on Higher Education. Knorr considered Covington's irrepressible ego to be a direct result of "higher education" and a superior attitude.
As animosity grew, public statements by Covington embarrassed Knorr and Franz's sense of absolute rightness. (i.e. worried them that Covington might turn on the WT).
2nd. Walsh Case (See essay The Martyring of Matthew Barrie – A Study in Ethics), a chap who had some legal difference with the Organization and testimony by the vice-president of the Society. Hayden Covington was testifying on the stand and the line of questioning led them down the route of ‘false prophet,’ and he asked various questions regarding the Organization’s teachings and beliefs over the proceeding decades. (16:10)
Covington answered in the affirmative: ‘Is it conceded to be the case that your organization has made false prophecies? And he said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘Would that mean that you’re false prophets?’ And he said, ‘That is conceded to be true.’
How could either Knorr or Franz win any case with Covington testifying TRUTHFULLY?
If he were to be Disfellowshipped as an alcoholic - his bad standing and self-destructive habit might distance the Watchtower from his unfortunate opinions under oath.
He was safer outside the JW good-standing than inside until he was about to die._______
Cases argued before the Supreme Court (37 wins)Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 569 (1941)
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
Jones v. City of Opelika, 316 U.S. 584 (1942)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141(1943)
Jamison v. State of Texas, 318 U.S. 413 (1943)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
Taylor v. the State of Mississippi, 319 U.S. 583 (1943)
Largent v. Texas, 318 U.S. 418 (1943)
Follett v. Town of McCormick, 321 U.S. 573 (1944)
Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
Tucker v. Texas, 326 U.S. 517 (1946)
Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558 (1948)
Niemotko v. Maryland, 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
Fowler v. Rhode Island, 345 U.S. 67 (1953)
Poulos v. New Hampshire, 345 U.S. 395 (1953)
Dickinson v. the United States, 346 U.S. 389 (1953)
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15
What Do They Have in Common?: Covington/ Muhammed Ali / Disfellowship policy
by Terry incovington / muhammed ali / disfellowship (what do they have in common?
)“hayden c. covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of first amendment law.
beyond the numerous first amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the supreme court, he also prevailed on behalf of the witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and .
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Terry
COVINGTON / MUHAMMED ALI / DISFELLOWSHIP (What do they have in common?)
“Hayden C. Covington, one of the most influential figures in the history of First Amendment law. Beyond the numerous First Amendment cases he argued or co-argued in the Supreme Court, he also prevailed on behalf of the Witnesses in over “100 decisions handed down by various state supreme courts, and . . . also triumphed in dozens of lower federal court rulings.” Even so, we know relatively little about Hayden Covington. One will look long and hard to find his name in any First Amendment treatise or casebook…”
Hayden Covington was a lawyer, the vice-president of the Watchtower Society, and one of the most famous Witnesses for decades. A Bethelite – resident at headquarters – from 1939 to 1963 during which time he took about 44 Witness cases to the supreme court, winning an amazing 85 percent of them.A very imposing man, about 6'3'', quite extroverted and confident, he was impressively articulate. Covington lived in a well-kept, small brick house on Nichols Street in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. He owned hundreds of books, and at least thirty books on vocabulary building and how to use words effectively.
Alcohol became a problem with Covington (and was part of the reason why he left Bethel). He idolized Judge Rutherford who himself was by reputation a famous opponent of Prohibition. The two were peas in a pod as the saying goes. Twin sons of different mothers. Brothers in Battle against the World. Both men had worked their way through law school the old-fashioned way: bootstraps.
At the time of their camaraderie, a good-old-boys culture pervaded the Watchtower organization in Brooklyn. Rutherford took no prisoners when it came to denouncing his enemies whether outside or inside the organization. He and Covington were strong men, fighters who never backed down from a fight.
Martyrs / Martyrdom were a price Rutherford was willing to pay and the policies he crafted as religious dogma provoked the burning hatred of every secular authority he could find.
______
Covington: “I was originally in casualty insurance, defense, personal injury, and representing insurance companies in cases of damage suits; then bond forfeiture cases and bond obligation cases. Then, when I went to Bethel I was in a different area altogether. But, still, I had had enough trial experience in appellate argument and court experience that it was easy for me to shift into the position of defending Jehovah's Witnesses and it was good because I was able to do what I liked which was to defend my client. Also having got a righteous cause gives you a double barrel.”
_____
Nathan H. Knorr joined the Bethel ‘family’ in 1923 as a volunteer and close personal friend of Fred Franz. Six years later, push came to shove, as it were. Knorr was seen and regarded by Rutherford and Covington as less than manly and a distance of sorts began to widen between them because of a particular incident (Later related by Covington in an interview tape-recorded in his home.)
This incident involved a fight between Witnesses and Catholics at Madison Square Garden in 1939. Rutherford, at the time, staged public lectures in large venues denouncing churches, preachers, and religions in no uncertain terms.
He was surrounded by Brothers with hickory canes as weapons in case of trouble with mobs.
Fights did break out. Rutherford provoked these reactions on purpose.
In this instance, Covington’s opinion concluded that Knorr should have stayed and fought and "beat the s---t out of those bastards" (referring to unruly mobs of Catholics).
Knorr snuck out "like a coward" and was “unwilling to physically fight.” Complained Covington.
Nathan Homer Knorr wanted to reshape the organization more like a business and less like a Thunderdome death match. He and Covington did not mesh on this. At all.
Covington and Rutherford were viewed as Sampson incarnate. Knorr avoided conflict. Two sides to the same theocratic coin.Covington had no qualms about fighting physically. He said, "If someone looks at me the wrong way I'll beat the s---t out of him."
This is one reason why he did so well in court.
Covington freely used profanity, which could have been due to his Texas upbringing (his father was a Texas Ranger) although he was good with words, was very aggressive in court, and loved battering down his opponent’s arguments in defensive of a righteous cause.
What were Covington and Rutherford’s winning strategy for Jehovah’s Witnesses?
The Watchtower defense plan covertly prepped the Brothers, telling them what to do and say when arrested - taking care not to mention they had been coached by Watchtower. Some congregations actually staged mock arrest trials on Thursdays at the service meeting. They stressed: be calm and cool, be polite, and don't get upset. Let them abuse you. This, of course, is good advice; don't give them an excuse to abuse you, but meekly submit and be arrested. Politely try to explain what JW’s are doing, the reasons, and the law (JW’s had cards they were given with court cases cited).
Final step: call an attorney (a list of attorneys who were sympathetic), and find someone to set bail. Being arrested and serving time was seen as great publicity advertising to the world at large JW’s had the true religion; faithful and uncompromising even to death.Covington looked for cases and people who were able to WIN.
They would interview a person testing how they performed under cross-examination and conclude, "He's not quite right. He loses his cool and is not very articulate." They wanted people who had good reputations in the community, who were store owners, or shopkeepers that had a good chance of winning. They tried to eliminate all extraneous things that are brought up in court cases.
They wanted women, especially presentable, attractive women who were articulate and had children who they felt would elicit sympathy from the jury. They wanted jury trials so they could play on the jury’s emotions and argue that the victim was just a mother doing "God's will."
Most of the cases were white (they thought they may lose if the Witness involved was Black in front of a prejudiced jury of white men. The strategy was heartless but - he felt - necessary to secure victory.)When they lost a case, they would analyze it, learn from it, and then try not to make the same mistakes in the future. They wrote letters to the local congregations, asking, "If any case comes up, be sure and let us know." Even if they did not defend a case, they wanted to be aware of it when looking for test cases. They had a lot of cases to pick from, so they would evaluate 300 cases, narrow it down to five, then down to one.
Headquarters would send people into areas they knew could cause problems. One case involved a large Catholic population where there had been opposition and a priest that was an active Witness opposer. They would smoke out the confrontation telling the Brothers, "You ought to go into this territory, it hasn't been preached in a while." Decisions about which communities to target were made at Bethel by the leadership and there was very little questioning by the Witnesses about where they were asked to go. Strictly don’t ask / don’t tell.
Rutherford and Covington were pushing, prodding, provoking the backlash to come and preparing a pretext for the legal cases to follow.
(Note: Rutherford established this pattern immediately after taking hold of the Presidency of the Watchtower. He sanctioned the writing, release, and publicity of a new book, THE FINISHED MYSTERY and it is this book which caused his imprisonment along with the Board of Directors.
On May 7, 1918 federal warrants were issued for President Rutherford, the general manager, the secretarytreasurer, the two compilers of The Finished Mystery, and three other members of the Society’s editorial committee for violation of the 1917 Espionage Act. They were charged with conspiring to cause insubordination in the military, conspiring to obstruct the recruiting service, attempting to cause insubordination in the military, and obstructing the recruiting service . . . The government’s evidence consisted primarily of the publications mentioned in the indictment and a record of a meeting of the society’s board of directors at which The Finished Mystery was discussed. The government avoided the difficulty posed by the fact that the book had been written before the enactment of both the Draft Act and the Espionage Act of 1917 by arguing that its continued sale after the acts’ effective dates was sufficient. The jury was convinced, and each defendant was convicted on every count.
_________
No one said, "They are sending us in here so we can get arrested" and if someone would have said that, the Society responded: "This is God's will, and God is fighting this battle. We are just His instruments."
Winning in court meant finding the right people, not those that could mess up the case. From prepping the Witnesses going into the field, to choosing the location, it was all planned by Covington.
(Source: https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1369&context=lawreview )
KNORR ERA
As Rutherford approached death, he made known to all with voting proxies who his choice of President should be, Hayden Cooper Covington.
Knorr saw his chance and rounded up enough votes to counter this selection.
Covington remained Vice-President. Under Knorr. (Can you feel the tension?)
It didn’t take long before a change of policy by Knorr and Franz foreced him out.
The policy change resulted in Covington's resignation from the Vice Presidency and departure from the board in 1945; however, he remained on staff as legal counsel. In 1950, he wrote the Watch Tower tract, Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News to advise Witnesses of their constitutional rights in the United States.
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After Rutherford passed and the businessman side emerged in Knorr, less and less demand for courtroom slugfests were needed. Less demand for Covington’s part as resident legal counsel.
In the early 1960s, straightforward draft cases of a procedural nature didn’t appeal to Covington’s temperament. His aggressiveness was less and less needed by the Watchtower Society. As a consequence, he began drinking seriously as he became more unhappy.
He was a crusader that needed a cause to fight for when Witnesses were heavily persecuted and were in the news a lot. He partnered up with Judge Rutherford and proclaimed, "I'm going to fight with these people and we're going to win."
He had so much respect for Rutherford that he would do whatever Rutherford asked and take anything that Rutherford gave him. But for most anybody else, he couldn't take direction without pushing back if it seemed a weak cause or approach.Just like Rutherford, he wasn't very diplomatic, but shined in court: there he could be very aggressive, but that kind of temperament doesn't help one do well outside of a court - or seeking compromise in a Board Meeting. Or representing conscientious objectors who refuse to fight but who hire pugnacious attorneys to fight for them.
At the very end of his life, Covington hit bottom. He drank and drank and ended up with health problems, and realized that, if he didn't change his life, he was going to die. He died and his memorial was at the Kelly Assembly Hall in California on November 28, 1978.
At his death, many articles came out about his work and what he accomplished with the lawsuits that the Society had fought and won. His cases have a far-reaching effect on the media today because the Watchtower cases extended the concept of free distribution. Internet and media freedoms today rely heavily on Watchtower cases.
____
NOTE: “Between 1933 and 1951, there were 18,866 arrests of American Witnesses and about 1,500 cases of mob violence against them.”
“During one week in 1943, Covington argued fourteen cases before the United States Supreme Court.”
_________________Representing Cassius Clay could have been a door to civil rights work, but Covington never did enter that door. He simply was not a team player. He flew solo or not at all.
My personal thoughts now follow.When the Muhammed Ali opportunity arose, the lure of springing into the limelight involving the Supreme Court again was too good to miss, attorney-at-law Covington chose a compromise suggesting Muhammed Ali accept a guilty sentence and serve 18 mos. Probation instead of the maximum 5 years in Federal prison.
Morton Susman, United States Attorney had the offer ready for signature. Covington talked Ali into requesting that the Judge sentence him immediately! (To circumvent an appeal.)This hasty suggestion frustrated and upset Ali's first-hired attorney, Quinnan A. Hodges of Houston. Quinnan saw the offer as a “starting” point for further negotiation. An angry reason Ali's handlers refused to pay Covington when all was said and done.
(Attorney M.W. Plummer and Attorney Chauncey Eskridge are the real legal heroes of the Ali story). You see, despite Covington - Ali never spent even one hour in jail.
This raises at least one question. How was Covington's approach to be viewed as being in his client’s best interest?
The judge's sentence was pronounced immediately at Clay's request (per Covington.)"I'd appreciate it," the 25-year-old boxer said, "if the court will do it now, give me my sentence now, instead of waiting and stalling for time."
Federal District Judge Joe E. Ingraham sentenced Clay to five years in prison and fined him $10,000. This was the maximum penalty for the offense as a felony.
Prosecutor Morton Susman and Hayden Covington worked out the deal, but IT WAS NOT BINDING on the Judge!
According to Covington: he was blind-sighted at the very least - but at worst? He may have known all along it could go either way.
The Judge had apparently double-crossed him by refusing to grant probation. Or not. Who knows?New York Times news article: "Both Mr. Covington and Mr. Hodges asked Judge Ingraham to put Clay on probation. Failing that, said Mr. Covington, the former champion should not be given a sentence more severe than those given in similar cases. "That's 18 months," he said."
How then, did Muhammad Ali avoid serving even ten minutes of incarceration?
The appeals process allowed his highly competent attorney, M.W. Plummer, to pursue the real problem in the case:
Ali's Draft Board didn't consider him to be sincere as a real minister
2. Ali failed the Army's intelligence test and did not qualify to serve
The Supreme Court in Clay v. the United States reversed his conviction in 1971.
(Ali’s birth name was Cassius Clay.)“[T]he Department [of Justice] was simply wrong as a matter of law in advising that the petitioner’s beliefs were not religiously based and were not sincerely held,” the opinion said. Even though Ali prevailed 8-0 before the high court, Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong later reported in The Brethren that the justices initially voted against him, finding that he wasn’t really a conscientious objector and that he should go to jail. Apparently, one of Justice John Marshall Harlan’s law clerks loaned the justice a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Harlan read the book and changed his views on Black Muslims.
________________The irony is this, most JW's ended up serving two years or more while Ali received NO prison time at all.
This is probably of little or no interest to anybody other than those of us Jehovah’s Witnesses
Who faced prison and “served” in prison during the Vietnam War years.
_________
HAYDEN COVINGTON and DISFELLOWSHIP POLICY
The history of the Watchtower Society until 1952 is one of opposition to Disfellowship.
The last article to appear in the Watchtower to make this opposition clear was in 1947.
Between 1947 and the reversal of policy - something happened inside the Headquarters in NY.
A clash of dispositions, let’s call it between Covington and President Knorr and Fred Franz occurred and a strategy was developed to oust Covington.The question remains: WHAT HAPPENED between 1947 and 1952 that caused a 180 turn from established scriptural policies?”
In 1940, Hayden C. Covington—then the Society’s legal counsel and one of the “other sheep,” with the earthly hope—was elected a director of the Society. (John 10:16) He served as the Society’s vice president from 1942 to 1945.Hayden Covington was by all accounts an extraordinary force of nature and a natural fighter who never backed down from a confrontation either legal or personal. His hero was Watchtower Society President J.F.Rutherford who was also a staunch advocate of confrontation of one's foes.
In 1942, Rutherford was replaced by Nathan Knorr as the Society's leader.
According to Covington, it was he who "had the votes" to become the President. But, Knorr had "connived" him out of it.
An immediate clash of personalities resulted....at first UNKNOWN to Covington. Only gradually did the opposition become clear.
In an interview years later *, Covington referred to Knorr in pejorative terms. He called him "sneaky" and a "cobra" and called into question Knorr's courage because of having witnessed him back down from altercations with Catholics in a public forum.
Knorr did not want Covington as his vice-President. Rutherford insisted on his death bed that Covington be appointed. Knorr was poorly educated and Covington considered him ignorant.
Knorr was rankled by Covington's superior education and attempts to influence Society policy through intimidation. Consequently, Knorr engineered a change in policy to exclude non-anointed persons (other sheep) from serving as governing body members.
By 1945 Covington was forced out.A public relations spin was offered that Covington had "graciously declined to serve" in view of the new policy. Everybody who ever met Covington knew quite well he NEVER backed down or withdrew!
Knorr's champion and fellow conspirator, Fred Franz, created the new policy in order to install Franz in place of Covington.
Covington was retained as the legal representative, however, attaining Supreme Court case wins in 80% of the lawsuits filed.
Two policies of Jehovah's Witnesses may well have been directly impacted by the personality of Covington and the discord with Franz and Knorr. The first was
the policy on Higher Education. Knorr considered Covington's irrepressible ego to be a direct result of "higher education" and a superior attitude.
As animosity grew, public statements by Covington embarrassed Knorr and Franz's sense of absolute rightness.
Testifying in a legal case concerning Matthew Barrie we find the following from: http://thegoverningbody.org/matthew-barrie-jehovahs-witness-judicial-hearing-glasgow-scotland-4/
Walsh Case (See essay The Martyring of Matthew Barrie – A Study in Ethics), and it was a chap who had some legal difference with the Organisation and the vice-president of the Society, Hayden Covington was testifying on the stand and the line of questioning led them down the route of ‘false prophet,’ and he asked various questions regarding the Organisation’s teachings and beliefs over the proceeding decades. (16:10)
And Brother Covington answered in the affirmative: ‘Is it conceded to be the case that your organization has made false prophecies? And he said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘Would that mean that you’re false prophets?’ And he said, ‘That is conceded to be true.’
How could either of them win a battle with Covington in the court of public
_______
Cases argued before the Supreme Court (37 wins)Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 569 (1941)
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
Jones v. City of Opelika, 316 U.S. 584 (1942)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141(1943)
Jamison v. State of Texas, 318 U.S. 413 (1943)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
Taylor v. State of Mississippi, 319 U.S. 583 (1943)
Largent v. Texas, 318 U.S. 418 (1943)
Follett v. Town of McCormick, 321 U.S. 573 (1944)
Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
Tucker v. Texas, 326 U.S. 517 (1946)
Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558 (1948)
Niemotko v. Maryland, 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
Fowler v. Rhode Island, 345 U.S. 67 (1953)
Poulos v. New Hampshire, 345 U.S. 395 (1953)
Dickinson v. United States, 346 U.S. 389 (1953)
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3
Four Horsemen ...and an Apocalypse (a memoir)
by Terry infour horsemen ...and an apocalypse.
the bar sign on top of the ramshackle building reads: “the four horsemen”.. my best friend bob yells for me to hear him once we stepped inside the door.. “...hangout spot... motorcycle ‘club... the punishers...” that’s all i could hear because of the loud music.. jukebox music pounded my head.
the click-clack of the pool tables, outbursts of laughter, and loud voices filled my ears till they rang.. eventually, i learned that the punishers are a brotherhood of law enforcement officers, court officials, correctional officers; and like-minded individuals.. did the strange critters in this bar look like anything but worrisome outlaws?
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Terry
You have no idea how much I appreciate your kind word, Truth_b_known and BluesBrother!
I write and all is silent in the house. Win. Lose. or Draw.
Your comments are an opera house filled with white-gloves clapping.
Cheers! -
3
Four Horsemen ...and an Apocalypse (a memoir)
by Terry infour horsemen ...and an apocalypse.
the bar sign on top of the ramshackle building reads: “the four horsemen”.. my best friend bob yells for me to hear him once we stepped inside the door.. “...hangout spot... motorcycle ‘club... the punishers...” that’s all i could hear because of the loud music.. jukebox music pounded my head.
the click-clack of the pool tables, outbursts of laughter, and loud voices filled my ears till they rang.. eventually, i learned that the punishers are a brotherhood of law enforcement officers, court officials, correctional officers; and like-minded individuals.. did the strange critters in this bar look like anything but worrisome outlaws?
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Terry
Four Horsemen ...and an Apocalypse
The bar sign on top of the ramshackle building reads: “THE FOUR HORSEMEN”.
My best friend Bob yells for me to hear him once we stepped inside the door.
“...Hangout spot... motorcycle ‘club... THE PUNISHERS...”
That’s all I could hear because of the loud music.Jukebox music pounded my head. The click-clack of the pool tables, outbursts of laughter, and loud voices filled my ears till they rang.
Eventually, I learned that The Punishers are a brotherhood of law enforcement officers, court officials, correctional officers; and like-minded individuals.
Did the strange critters in this bar look like anything but worrisome outlaws? No way!
The question in my mind: “What’s really going on here?”
I’d find out later.
A long-standing tradition among Texas lawmen - believe it or not: investing in Saloons and Cathouses back in the 1890s frontier.
What better motivation could there be for keeping gambling and prostitution on the down-low than protecting your investment and reputation at the same time? Plus, you could keep an eye on strangers passing through.
I shrugged off my sense of dread and observed the young lady bartender approach and ask: “What’s your pleasure?”Bob orders our favorite: Killian’s Red Beer.
We plop on two barstools trying to blend with the crowd.
Right.
We’re “blending” about as well as ostriches in a chicken coop.
Bob is chatting up our tender bartender with natural ease.
Count on me to say something stupid.
I asked the dumb question.
“Is this bar named after some Bible prophecy?”
Amber, the over-bosomed tavern wench, blinks wide-eyed at me.
‘Wrong person to ask’. I make a mental note.
(Note to self: You ain’t funny; don’t even try.)
A scraggly beard galoot standing nearby leans his head in close and startles me.
His white beard jiggles. Z Z Top pops into my mind.
“I’m the Punishers... what’s left of the original four horsemen. Named it after us.”
His gnarled hand creeps out from his pocket.
“I’m Fast Eddy. Who the f**k are you?”
I tell him.
He stands measuring me with his eyeballs.
Ignoring my Note to self I ask:
“Who needs punishing today?”
Fast Eddy is clawing at his beard and tilting his head with curiosity.
Bob to the rescue--he’s great with animals.
Instantly the two of them are jaw-jacking and I relax.
Acrid smoke hangs like fog curtains. It takes me back to childhood when my mom took me into her favorite neighborhood bar. I’d play shuffleboard and drink a couple of gallons of Grapette. Now I’m physically much older but not emotionally.
Amber the barkeep slides a frost-cold mug toward Bob and me. Killian’s Red beer on tap in a pitcher! Happy hour is now happier.
The music is so loud - whenever a stranger says something to me - I understand nothing spoken--although, I’m wildly nodding sympathetically.
That’s my ‘non-versation’ technique.I fake it.
A live band arrives, sets up, and commences wailin’ rock n roll golden oldies.
Bob summons Amber.
“Who’s the best pool player around here?”
Fast Eddy, the old bearded gentleman tops her list.
We grab our frosty beer mugs and tap feet to the tune.
After refills of refills, Bob and I check out bathroom duty and what condition our condition is in. We go out in the back of the bar in a seating area to sniff the fresh air laced with god only knows what drug-du jour lingering around us.
A large prison bus stands in the middle of the property painted with a black background and white skull logo. Maybe it’s the tour bus for the band?The bar vibrates in a rumble of voices, laughter, coughing fits, clinking mugs, and clicking cue balls colliding with good old boy taunts.
After a bit, we’re back to our barstools, just in time to witness Fast Eddy and a runty dude in ostrich boots end their three-game ass-kicking pool match.
Word travels fast:
Fast Eddy lost? Horseman Down!
Fast Eddy peels off folds of green bills, passing it over to the winner.
Smirking, the little weasel unsnaps the breast pocket on his western shirt and deposits the wad.
He snorts.“Go again, Old man?”
Fast Eddy snuffles. . .smiles and shakes his head.
“Nope. You’re the better man.”
An invisible ripple of amazement passes around the room like a collective fart.
At that dramatic moment, the main door at the other end of the bar swings open, and a flash of brightness carries in a dark giant of a man.
A MAN WITH GIANT HANDS
The mood in the bar shifts.
“Hey, Ray--how they hangin’?”
This big fella is some kind of V.I.P.
Everybody’s acting like kids around the ice cream truck.
All hands reach straight out eager for shaking. Gold tooth grins gleam. Backs patted. Sports talk buzzes.
All with good grace; the impressive black man accepts his back slapped, hand-shaken, ears filled with happy horse shit.
Giant Moses parts the Red Sea of worshippers now lumbering on polished alligators, steady on toward me at the bar counter. He eases onto the stool as graceful as a butterfly on a tulip.
6 feet 7 inches and 265 pounds of Bigness.
Giant bigness.He’s IMPORTANT--spectacular--and he knows it. I’m probably the only person on earth who doesn’t know. I’m not a football fan. Boxing is my interest.
I didn’t want to offend by lack of worship - but - I simply confessed my deficit.
“I’m not a sports guy but I’m glad to meet you.”
He squints like I’m trolling or something. Then shrugs and declares himself.
“Rayfield Wright. Everybody knows me. I’m a Philanthropist & Humanitarian.
A Two-time World Champion Dallas Cowboy Super Bowl winner.”
He offers his meaty paw and - WOW - his grip is intense.
He catches me eyeballing his huge rings.
“Super Bowl Winner rings. I played in five Super Bowls as a Hall of Famer who retired at the age of 34. I was named M.V.P. ”
I nod enthusiastically showing no pain as I massage life back into my dead limb.
This BIG CAT pulls out a business card like he’s offering a hundred bucks to a third-world child. Me.
His card reads:
Rayfield Wright, Philanthropist & Humanitarian
To take the edge off--I said with a very straight face:
“Yeah--me too!”
We stared at each other until he decided I must be a troll.
His face blank, he says without feeling ...
“You’re a comedian.”
He slaps me on my shoulder with his hefty boxing glove-sized hand.
“You’re a jokester.”
First impressions are over.
I assess the damages.
One cracked hand and a bruised shoulder. Coach - take me outta this game!Fifteen minutes pass. I seem to be without small talk suddenly.
66-year-old Rayfield has knocked back four shot glasses of J&B.
He’s only warming up!
He heads toward the bathroom as Amber leans in toward Bob and me.
“He’s a Philanthropist & Humanitarian, ya know?”
I blurt, “Yeah, he’s got the handshake to disprove it!”
No, I don’t know why I say the things I say.
Amber rambles on about ‘her’ Big Cat. Eventually, I understand that means Rayfield.
I didn’t ask. She just wanted to show off.
She explains.Rayfield telephones her. Just about every week. If she needs money, he likes to help her out. (Hmmm.)
He also likes to ‘help out’ her girlfriends too. (Hmmmmm.)
The definition of Philanthropist & Humanitarian takes shape in my dirty little crow’s nest of a mind.
Why is a Super Bowl Champ in a biker bar? This biker bar.
Amber is still rambling…
“He invites us to his suite in town on business. He gives wonderful parties!”
Her blue eyes glisten with fairy dust as she purrs.
I squirm uneasily thinking, ‘TMI--this is too much information.’
Bob gives me a look. Yep. He’s thinking what I’m thinking. Rayfield is a player aside from football.
____________
DUEL OF THE TIGHT ENDsThe bathroom door swings wide.
(Something is about to go down.)
Fast Eddy’s world-beater in ostrich boots challenges Rayfield to a pool match.
Popcorn anybody?
Fast Eddy is grinning. A possum in a cinnamon tree. He tugs his beer gleefully.
Amber makes this sound you make in horror movies when the Creature from the Black Lagoon leaps out of the water with those webbed claws splayed.
She’s scared because (she whispers) “He’s racist.” I didn’t know if she meant Rayfield or the little fellow in the ostrich boots.
This half-pint, I soon discover, is made out to be the racist of the Southern variety.
“Rayfield can handle him,” Amber assures herself.
Too drunk to fall down; our two gladiators are hammered but eager.
Wall-eyed and wonky. These are the sort who imagine they know how to handle their liquor.
How smashed?
Ever watched a drunk lining up his shot to within a centimeter of dead-solid-perfect, only to miscue and send it rocketing off the table?
Yeah--THAT kind of smashed.
Rayfield Wright wins the break. He pumped the cue with supernatural grace.
Imagine a ballet dancer wearing skis. (Alcohol skis).
The question in my mind?
How does he do it? He is playing as though he’s stone-cold sober but little by little it becomes more obvious facilities are decaying.
Rayfield is a hardcore competitor.
His concentration is chilling. His is a determination & focus deeper than a Grand Canyon riverbed.
“Rayfield would rather let red ants eat honey off his nutsack than lose to a redneck racist.”
Fast Eddy says in my ear.
Just then, the half-pint challenger starts his trash talking.
“Hey Champ, how is sex for a man your age?”
Rayfield froze and stared down at him like he’d found a dog turd under his best shoes.
He snorted and grinned.“It’s like shootin’ pool with a piece of rope.”
Fast Eddy (watching with keen interest) belly laughs.
“Hey Champ, you ever won any money playin’ pool?”
“No. Have you?”
Half-pint glances over at Fast Eddy and winks; then brags.
“I always walk away with a little pile of cash.”
Rayfield snorted.
“Sure - by starting out with a big pile of cash.”
Fast Eddy again--another belly laugh.
What are we witnessing here--vaudeville or a duel to the death? From moment to moment the mood shifted. Jolly to solemn. Angry to giddy and back again. Whatever it is - all eyes are glued.
Every so often a clean shot would fire like a bullet, hit its mark and the targeted ball dropped like a coin in an old payphone.
Ding ding ding.
The half-pint came within a gnat’s eyebrow of running the table after his first break.
No such luck.
The moment passed with an awkward fumble and miscue.
The little guy’s face reddened and he stumbled backward onto a stool.
Rayfield stepped in and sent the rest of the remaining numbered circles whizzing and caroming off the cushions into the sweet little pocket like money from home.
End of Game 1 of 3.
SCORE:
Rayfield: 1
Ostrich boots: 0Rack em’ and stack em’
___________
As inebriated, lubricated, saturated, and decimated by alcohol as Rayfield is--he steps lightly back to the bar counter where Amber has topped off the shot glass with gleaming J&B--the elixir of the gods.
The maybe-racist half-pint fella is at the bar counter with a beer bottle in one hand and a glass in the other and he’s pouring it like a Biochemist afraid of an explosion.
Rayfield announces to the crowd watching:
“He pours his beer like an Albanian chicken farmer.”
We all burst out laughing. I don’t know what it means - but god - it’s funny!
The difference in size and weight of these two guys is day and night.
There is no way possible for a little man to match drink for drink with a man three times his size!
Suddenly, Rayfield stands up straight and announces to the whole joint:
“Drinks are on me! I’m a Philanthropist & Humanitarian!”
I decided to believe him. Every spectator orders the most expensive drink the human mind could conceive right on the spot.
The second game lasted forty-five minutes with half an hour spent bending down and picking up miscued balls off the filthy floor by both drunks.
Half-pint is now forced to use the rake on a tricky shot with a blocked ball toward the end of the table. Rayfield has set him up to fail. It is an impossible shot.
Half-pint squints and gulps. His eyes are swimming like guppies in a fishbowl. It’s not a certainty he can even see the pool table, let alone the ball.
Rayfield starts giggling like a schoolgirl with a cold hand up her dress. Half-pint froze and stood back from the table until things grew silent again.
“Hell--I beat Squirrelly Joe last Saturday and I was drunker than now.” He brags.
He suddenly took a deep lungful of air. Then - popped the cue into the white ball and set the spheres dashing like cockroaches when a kitchen light snaps on.
The crazy fool made the shot!
Rayfield stood and saluted. Fast Eddy yanks at his scraggly white beard and moans, “Well, f**k me!”
Bob and I squeal like teenage girls watching Elvis shake his hips.
Filled with confidence, booze, and raw ego--the half-pint goes for the kill. Each lineup is suddenly easy peasy like stringing pearls: blip - blap - blam.Score a win for the runt in the ostrich boots!
SCORE:
Rayfield: 1
Ostrich boots: 1
Rack em’ and stack em’
FINAL GAME
Fast Eddy never sits down. He makes the rounds of the bar emptying ashtrays and whispering something to each customer as he passes their table. He’s back in a flash as the final game is racked for a fast break.
Amber says something I can’t hear and Bob has to repeat it to me.
She says, “Fast Eddy is taking bets on the winner.” It’s not clear to me either man will remain conscious for the entire third game. If they were in bad shape for the first two games--they’ve been on a steep slide to ruination drink after drink.
Half-pint is full of himself, starting to get mouthy. Amber senses trouble brewing. (Her intuition as a bartender serving nasty men night after night is on over-drive.)
She shouts to Rayfield. Rayfield is half sitting, half standing next to his barstool. He’s barely upright at all.
“I’m brewing you a pot of black coffee, Ray Ray.”
His solemn face widens into a wide grin of appreciation up into his eyes.
“Thank you, Baby.”
The music in his voice says it all.
Half-pint feeds a handful of quarters into the jukebox. Too drunk to read the song titles.
He pokes and punches the letters and numbers blindly. He’s like a piano player with boxing gloves.The crackle of a 45 rpm single sizzles aloud, followed by Eric Clapton’s voice and guitar:
“If you want to hang out, you've gotta take her out, cocaine / If you want to get down, get down on the ground, cocaine / She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, / Cocaine. . .”
Meanwhile, Rayfield chugs a hot cup of black coffee like it's iced tea. His ears perk up like a hunting dog at the sound of a shotgun blast.
He stands, clapping his hands to the beat, shouting,
“Awwww Right! My man, Eric Clapton!”
Half-pint sneers and pulls his straw hat off and slams it on the floor with a disgusted shout.
“Damn it! I didn’t mean to play THAT--I wanted Waylon and Willie!”
Fast Eddy belly laughs as Amber starts singing along like a cat with its tail on fire.
Half-pint scoops up his hat and loses balance toppling over like a stack of poker chips.
Quick as a panther, Rayfield Wright snatched him off the floor like a wide receiver gaining possession of a fumbled ball. I suddenly realize I’m witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
His voice is way low and purring.
“Where ya goin’, my man--it ain’t over till the last ball drops?”
Half-pint is humiliated.
“Shit fire--I’m about to beat your ___ ass--let’s get er done!”
(We all think we know what word he left out. But at least he left it out.)
Now I’m realizing this little fellow hasn’t really said anything racist all evening.
A man this drunk--if he’s of that sort--is loose enough with his tongue to say anything if provoked.
Our little hero has been cool enough for Sunday school, start to finish. He’s not scared, he’s not smart and his ego is too big. But - I’m thinking whoever labeled him racist misjudged him.I let it go. Who cares at this point? I’d say the jury is out on that one.
Closing time at The Four Horsemen bar is coming on fast. Last Call is shouted out and free rounds pile up--two drinks each. Rayfield needs to win this game just to break even on the cost of the alcohol.
Right about now - the front door swings open and the air changes inside.
A little Mexican guy not more than five and a half feet tall creeps in carrying some kind of ice chest by its plastic handle. He walks up to each patron and offers to sell them the contents of the container.
Bob wonders aloud what the Cabellero has to offer.
The lid opens and homemade carne asadas are revealed. Sliced beef with marinade wrapped in a tortilla. A quick parlay and Bob gets one for me and one for himself. They are hot and delicious, filling a very large empty space in an empty belly.
“LAST CALL is OVER”
This pool match is dead even.
Roy Orbison is “Crying” on the jukebox, and Rayfield is suddenly as steady as the mast on a dinghy in a typhoon--which is to say--he’s about ready to tank. Comically, it’s been scratch after scratch, back and forth the entire game. Now, the last ball must be sunk and it’s Rayfield Wright--Philanthropist & Humanitarian for the win.
IF. . . and only if.
The biker “club” is huddled like a drunken football team around the pool table now and Half-pint grips a nearby stool against an impending faceplant.
All eyes on the giant Super Bowl hero. Rayfield is as blind as a dead skunk.
He grabs another red hot cup of java and lets it roar down his throat without touching his tongue. The crowd groans and cringes like it’s us on fire.
Amber leans across the bar counter with her ample bosoms pushing up like the twin moons of Mars. She smiles at Rayfield with the sweetest smile a master artist could paint on his best day.
I listen and think of Gene Hackman in the locker room of HOOSIERS.
“You are a World Champion, Ray Ray. Winning is what you’re all about. On your worst day, you win.”
With that vote of confidence, Rayfield Wright stands up taller than the Washington monument, strides over to the pool table, and lifts the half-pint’s cue out of the little man’s hand.
“Let me borrow this--will you, Son?”
He turns, lines up the shot, and--in one firm stroke sends the eight ball into the corner pocket after calling it.
The room echoes with deafening applause.
So let it be written-- so let it be done.
FINAL SCORE:
Rayfield: 2
Ostrich boots: 1Game, Set, and Match
Rayfield’s left hand shot out, palm facing up. He wiggled his fingers with an implied message saying, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.”
Instead of saying the words, Big Cat asked a question instead.
“Say Man--what name do you go by?”
Half-Pint, more unconscious than not, fumbled around for his shirt pocket.
Locating it, he unsnapped and fingered out a bill wad.
It was obviously Fast Eddy’s loser wad.
The small man’s tongue was snaking around his mouth and a teeny part of his brain was placing long-distance calls to his vocals cords.
The wad made its way out of the pocket, wavered in mid-air a bit like a dragonfly, and ended up in the catcher’s mitt-sized paw of the legendary Dallas Cowboy with the half-lidded eyes.
A grunt worked around in the loser’s throat - cleared away smoke and phlegm with an awful grating sound and he finally answered Rayfield’s question about his name.
“Weldon Swink. Glad to meet-cha.”
Then he teetered backward and landed on his butt right-solid on the nasty floor. His hand was still straight out as though to shake hands. He didn’t even wince. He just shook his head and answered nobody at all.
“Okay, I will.”
Rayfield pivoted and paid the liquor bill. He couldn’t read the numbers on his receipt, so he just handed the wad to Amber and said, “If there’s any left--it’s your tip, Baby.”
Bob started computing out loud…
“Fast Eddy owns this bar. He loses a wad of cash to the kid in the ostrich boots named Weldon Swink. Then Swink loses the same wad to Rayfield Wright who then pays his bar bill with that same wad and it goes back into Fast Eddy’s pocket! Who came out ahead?”
Fast Eddy is standing listening to this and bellows the answer to Bob’s question.
“What it means is that I just let everybody drink all night...FOR FREE!”
Amber tugged at Fast Eddy’s sleeve.
“What about your crowd bet? Who did you bet would win?”
Fast Eddy’s face went even whiter than usual.
“Oh Gawd…” he groaned and slumped onto the nearest barstool.
We all looked at each other and decided we didn’t want to know.
Everybody headed for the Exit.
_____
The following week Bob and I returned.Bob asked and Amber answered with a giggle.
“Well, Eddy had to sell his bus. Let’s just put it that way.”
The last of the Four Horsemen apparently met his Apocalypse.
_________
And that’s another memory for my book.
A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to Armageddon
