INQUISITION IN AMERICA - PART ONE
“This Order has existed already in the most remote times and it has manifested its activity secretly and openly in the world under different names and in various forms: it has caused social and political revolutions and proved to be the rock of salvation in times of danger and misfortune. It has always upheld the banner of freedom against tyranny in whatever shape this appeared, whether as clerical or political or social despotism or oppression of any kind.” OTO Constitution
Eulis Lodge, circa 1988. OTO Members from Southeast USA. All are gone.
Unfortunately, by the early years of the 21st Century, OTO policies had rendered it a more and more bureaucratized, less effective, and, frankly, more dog-eat-dog body. It was destined for the usual one generation “old boy” system that tends not to last any longer than the generation that abuses its prerogatives. By the time I was prepared to speak at NOTOCON 2005 in Virginia, I was determined to draw a firm line by (A) Presenting a to-the-point talk, and insure I earned my keep as a four-time guest speaker at NOTOCONs; (B) Make a ‘fashion statement’ about the OTO I joined and the OTO today by wearing a tee shirt with “I JOINED FOR THE SEX MAGICK” emblazoned on its front; (C) To throw the best damn NOTOCON party ever. This was intended to make a ‘social statement’ about the true purpose of OTO, built around the themes of ‘the green goddess’ absinthe, and “Carnivale” and (D) Have a one-on-one meeting with “King” Dave Scriven. At this meeting, I intended to present him with what became my “Statement on the OTO” and resign all managerial offices in protest of failed and ill-developed policies. I was successful in all but the last, thrown off track by a very senior brother and friend who asked to speak with me privately, and told me of his own disillusionment. We agreed to see Scriven together on Sunday Morning, but after hours of searching for him, as I later found out, he had left town, and when I ran into Scriven, after a most demanding morning of a most demanding weekend, I was not up for doing my original plan at that time. This was August of 2005.
The same brother offered to pay my way to California for both of us to have the meeting in October. I couldn’t go at that time, but gave him my statement, and charts, and explicit warrant to speak for both of us. If he did what we agreed to, then I assume Scriven was clear on my point of view as of October 2005. I would believe this brother over Scriven in a heartbeat after the subsequent events.
My statement appeared on my widely read web site in February, 2006. I forthwith stepped down from all management positions in OTO not directly associated with initiation. There was no hand slap from Scriven, or anyone else. In fact, in subsequent months, I was given commendations for my work as Secretary for Correspondence and my long service as Most Wise Sovereign of Hagia Sophia Rose Croix Chapter (I was founding Sovereign and longest-sitting officer). In March and April 2006, I was explicitly given permission to perform a number of IV*/PI initiations, and, in May 2006, had a considerable exchange of correspondence with Scriven on a candidate for the KEW degree which he both approved and called upon me to perform, which I did. In June I had an extended meeting in person with Frater B., newly made Revolutionary and IX*. We covered a broad range of topics, but there was no mention of objection to my Statement or analysis.
In July I was invited to speak at the next Notocon (at Notocon 2007). The following exchanges of letters are all from a very short period of time from an e-list aimed at the Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the Order. Comments by third parties, other than King Dave and myself, are minimized for privacy and clarity. This illustrates the creation of ex post facto ‘decrees’ designed, as Scriven admits, with me in mind. It was a sudden and suspiciously belated stab at me, and other dissenters, which was immediately followed by a demand for my resignation. The implausible “reasons” stated for said suspension and demand for resignation were delivered, as you can see, heatedly, and based on false premises.
I had not defied any pre-existing order from King Dave, nor do I interpret either the charge of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General or the definition of “Sovereign” that King Dave suddenly produces here as definitive, nor in line with accepted standard definitions. Traditional rules are invoked which - as I have shown elsewhere - Grand Lodge freely interprets, and often ignores, and in general, oaths have been a stated matter of individual interpretation. It is certainly not customary to make such a demand suddenly and without prior warning or attempt at arbitration. Nor is it true (as Scriven seemingly asserts below) that one cannot perform as a representative of a National Grand Master while not considering him or her the best person for the job. To the contrary, Scriven tacitly acknowledged such when I explicitly told him, on the eve of my VII*, that I thought Bill Breeze was unfit to be Frater Superior of the Order. In full possession of that knowledge, he made me a Sovereign Grand Inspector General the next day, and for many years praised - often in writing - virtually all of my Work in that office, often on his specific orders.
BILL & DAVE, CHIEFS ETCHED IN STONE
All of it is a lie.
My statement had been publicly posted since February 2006. It was muted and non-personal, but was treated as if it were personal defamation, though the statement is explicit in saying it is a judgment about failure to perform in office, not a judgment of the heart or intent of either Mr. Scriven or Mr. Breeze.
Note that OTO claims to be a not-for-profit religious body under California law. With the arguable exception of Bill Breeze, it employs nobody. Almost all Work at all levels is done by volunteers on a gratis basis. Initiation per se is a separate issue, but the notion that I have ever been an “employee” of OTO subject to for-profit-business practices is absurd...or where ARE my paychecks and W-2s for the last twenty years?
I share this correspondence for those who have heard about this matter in edited form, without either seeing what was said or when, or in what manner. The day after the abrasive and personally abusive Frater Ad Veritatem admitted to what I always knew - that he was laying in wait for something like this, on the premise that I had “lied” about him and his future wife some dozen years before (untrue then and still untrue, btw...unpleasant truths were brought up in emergency circumstances, but truths unpleasant do not constitute lies).
A few notes. I hope some of you find this shocking. It could not have come at a worse time in my life, but I stood up and have continued to call this for what it is - a cultic purge of honest senior dissenters within OTO which further threaten the Order’s integrity and existence.
reference “Rule By Decree” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_by_decree
A “FLAT EARTH” VERSION OF OTO.U.S. GRAND LODGE HAS TEN YEARS OF NO NET GROWTH, DECLINE RELATIVE TO THE SOCIETY AROUND IT. NO GROWTH IS PROJECTED IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.
“An ex post facto law is a law passed after the occurrence of an event or action which retrospectively changes the legal consequences of the event or action.”
http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e086.htm
“aliquis non debet esse judex in propria causa” David Scriven cannot preside over an inquisition in which he is the object of the defendant’s alleged offense
AC’s Tribunal intent, from English Common Law
“nulla poena sine lege” - “no punishment without a law”-See also “nullem crimem sine lege”. It is more popular, if slightly less accurate in this form. Kokkinakis v Greece (1993) 17 EHRR 397, para 52; SW and CR v United Kingdom (1995) 21 EHRR 363, para 35/33
“nullem crimen sine lege” “No crime without a law.” Whatever you do, if there isn’t a law which says it is criminal, it isn’t a crime. This predates the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
http://www.swarb.co.uk/lawb/genLegalLatin.shtml
NOTE _ BLACK TYPE: TAG BLUE TYPE: EVERYBODY ELSE
FIRST HINTS OF TROUBLE-NOTE THE DATES -THE LULL BEFORE THE STORM
-----Forwarded Message-----
>From: gt_secretary
>Sent: Jul 14, 2006 2:11 PM
>To: USGL-GT@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [USGL-GT] Grand Tribunal 06 e.v. Agenda
>
>I. & J. S. K’s & D. K’s,
>
>Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
>
>The Agenda for the July 22nd, 2006 e.v. meeting of the Grand Tribunal
>has been uploaded into the “G.T. Meetings” file folder.
>
>Love is the law, love under will.
>
>In the Bonds of the Order,
>
>Dathan Biberstein, Secretary
>U.S. O.T.O. Grand Tribunal
Richard Kaczynski
Subject: Re: NOTOCON VI Workshop Proposal Form
Date: Jul 15, 2006 12:21 AM
93 Richard,
re
“As a Thelemic author and esteemed initiate of OTO, I’m passing along to you the Workshop Proposal form for NOTOCON VI, to be held next year in Salem, MA. Feel free to pass it along to anyone else you know who may be interested, with the proviso that they not post it in any public forum.”
Dear Allen,
93
Thanks for offering, but I’m going to try to find someone else to do
it. I’m busy preparing for the meetings and Sevenths this weekend,
but I’ll write to you later with more.
93, 93/93
David
-----Forwarded Message-----
>From: Craig Berry
>Sent: Jul 25, 2006 1:35 PM
>To: USGL-SGIGs@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [USGL-SGIGs] Another new officer
>
>On Tue, 25 Jul 2006, Sabazius wrote:
>
>> I’d also like to announce that the EC elected a Revolutionary on
>> Saturday. He’s on the list, so I’ll let him reveal himself if
he wants
>> to.
>
>What exactly is the policy regarding anonymity of Revolutionaries? It’s
>not really addressed in 194, and I can see reasonable indirect arguments
>supporting both openness and secrecy.
>
* 93s,
* Craig
Part One of Four Parts
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Eulis Lodge, circa 1988. OTO Members from Southeast USA. All are gone.
Unfortunately, by the early years of the 21st Century, OTO policies had rendered it a more and more bureaucratized, less effective, and, frankly, more dog-eat-dog body. It was destined for the usual one generation “old boy” system that tends not to last any longer than the generation that abuses its prerogatives. By the time I was prepared to speak at NOTOCON 2005 in Virginia, I was determined to draw a firm line by (A) Presenting a to-the-point talk, and insure I earned my keep as a four-time guest speaker at NOTOCONs; (B) Make a ‘fashion statement’ about the OTO I joined and the OTO today by wearing a tee shirt with “I JOINED FOR THE SEX MAGICK” emblazoned on its front; (C) To throw the best damn NOTOCON party ever. This was intended to make a ‘social statement’ about the true purpose of OTO, built around the themes of ‘the green goddess’ absinthe, and “Carnivale” and (D) Have a one-on-one meeting with “King” Dave Scriven. At this meeting, I intended to present him with what became my “Statement on the OTO” and resign all managerial offices in protest of failed and ill-developed policies. I was successful in all but the last, thrown off track by a very senior brother and friend who asked to speak with me privately, and told me of his own disillusionment. We agreed to see Scriven together on Sunday Morning, but after hours of searching for him, as I later found out, he had left town, and when I ran into Scriven, after a most demanding morning of a most demanding weekend, I was not up for doing my original plan at that time. This was August of 2005.
The same brother offered to pay my way to California for both of us to have the meeting in October. I couldn’t go at that time, but gave him my statement, and charts, and explicit warrant to speak for both of us. If he did what we agreed to, then I assume Scriven was clear on my point of view as of October 2005. I would believe this brother over Scriven in a heartbeat after the subsequent events.
My statement appeared on my widely read web site in February, 2006. I forthwith stepped down from all management positions in OTO not directly associated with initiation. There was no hand slap from Scriven, or anyone else. In fact, in subsequent months, I was given commendations for my work as Secretary for Correspondence and my long service as Most Wise Sovereign of Hagia Sophia Rose Croix Chapter (I was founding Sovereign and longest-sitting officer). In March and April 2006, I was explicitly given permission to perform a number of IV*/PI initiations, and, in May 2006, had a considerable exchange of correspondence with Scriven on a candidate for the KEW degree which he both approved and called upon me to perform, which I did. In June I had an extended meeting in person with Frater B., newly made Revolutionary and IX*. We covered a broad range of topics, but there was no mention of objection to my Statement or analysis.
In July I was invited to speak at the next Notocon (at Notocon 2007). The following exchanges of letters are all from a very short period of time from an e-list aimed at the Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the Order. Comments by third parties, other than King Dave and myself, are minimized for privacy and clarity. This illustrates the creation of ex post facto ‘decrees’ designed, as Scriven admits, with me in mind. It was a sudden and suspiciously belated stab at me, and other dissenters, which was immediately followed by a demand for my resignation. The implausible “reasons” stated for said suspension and demand for resignation were delivered, as you can see, heatedly, and based on false premises.
I had not defied any pre-existing order from King Dave, nor do I interpret either the charge of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General or the definition of “Sovereign” that King Dave suddenly produces here as definitive, nor in line with accepted standard definitions. Traditional rules are invoked which - as I have shown elsewhere - Grand Lodge freely interprets, and often ignores, and in general, oaths have been a stated matter of individual interpretation. It is certainly not customary to make such a demand suddenly and without prior warning or attempt at arbitration. Nor is it true (as Scriven seemingly asserts below) that one cannot perform as a representative of a National Grand Master while not considering him or her the best person for the job. To the contrary, Scriven tacitly acknowledged such when I explicitly told him, on the eve of my VII*, that I thought Bill Breeze was unfit to be Frater Superior of the Order. In full possession of that knowledge, he made me a Sovereign Grand Inspector General the next day, and for many years praised - often in writing - virtually all of my Work in that office, often on his specific orders.
BILL & DAVE, CHIEFS ETCHED IN STONE
All of it is a lie.
My statement had been publicly posted since February 2006. It was muted and non-personal, but was treated as if it were personal defamation, though the statement is explicit in saying it is a judgment about failure to perform in office, not a judgment of the heart or intent of either Mr. Scriven or Mr. Breeze.
Note that OTO claims to be a not-for-profit religious body under California law. With the arguable exception of Bill Breeze, it employs nobody. Almost all Work at all levels is done by volunteers on a gratis basis. Initiation per se is a separate issue, but the notion that I have ever been an “employee” of OTO subject to for-profit-business practices is absurd...or where ARE my paychecks and W-2s for the last twenty years?
I share this correspondence for those who have heard about this matter in edited form, without either seeing what was said or when, or in what manner. The day after the abrasive and personally abusive Frater Ad Veritatem admitted to what I always knew - that he was laying in wait for something like this, on the premise that I had “lied” about him and his future wife some dozen years before (untrue then and still untrue, btw...unpleasant truths were brought up in emergency circumstances, but truths unpleasant do not constitute lies).
A few notes. I hope some of you find this shocking. It could not have come at a worse time in my life, but I stood up and have continued to call this for what it is - a cultic purge of honest senior dissenters within OTO which further threaten the Order’s integrity and existence.
reference “Rule By Decree” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_by_decree
A “FLAT EARTH” VERSION OF OTO.U.S. GRAND LODGE HAS TEN YEARS OF NO NET GROWTH, DECLINE RELATIVE TO THE SOCIETY AROUND IT. NO GROWTH IS PROJECTED IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.
“An ex post facto law is a law passed after the occurrence of an event or action which retrospectively changes the legal consequences of the event or action.”
http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e086.htm
“aliquis non debet esse judex in propria causa” David Scriven cannot preside over an inquisition in which he is the object of the defendant’s alleged offense
AC’s Tribunal intent, from English Common Law
“nulla poena sine lege” - “no punishment without a law”-See also “nullem crimem sine lege”. It is more popular, if slightly less accurate in this form. Kokkinakis v Greece (1993) 17 EHRR 397, para 52; SW and CR v United Kingdom (1995) 21 EHRR 363, para 35/33
“nullem crimen sine lege” “No crime without a law.” Whatever you do, if there isn’t a law which says it is criminal, it isn’t a crime. This predates the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
http://www.swarb.co.uk/lawb/genLegalLatin.shtml
NOTE _ BLACK TYPE: TAG BLUE TYPE: EVERYBODY ELSE
FIRST HINTS OF TROUBLE-NOTE THE DATES -THE LULL BEFORE THE STORM
-----Forwarded Message-----
>From: gt_secretary
>Sent: Jul 14, 2006 2:11 PM
>To: USGL-GT@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [USGL-GT] Grand Tribunal 06 e.v. Agenda
>
>I. & J. S. K’s & D. K’s,
>
>Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
>
>The Agenda for the July 22nd, 2006 e.v. meeting of the Grand Tribunal
>has been uploaded into the “G.T. Meetings” file folder.
>
>Love is the law, love under will.
>
>In the Bonds of the Order,
>
>Dathan Biberstein, Secretary
>U.S. O.T.O. Grand Tribunal
Richard Kaczynski
Subject: Re: NOTOCON VI Workshop Proposal Form
Date: Jul 15, 2006 12:21 AM
93 Richard,
re
“As a Thelemic author and esteemed initiate of OTO, I’m passing along to you the Workshop Proposal form for NOTOCON VI, to be held next year in Salem, MA. Feel free to pass it along to anyone else you know who may be interested, with the proviso that they not post it in any public forum.”
Dear Allen,
93
Thanks for offering, but I’m going to try to find someone else to do
it. I’m busy preparing for the meetings and Sevenths this weekend,
but I’ll write to you later with more.
93, 93/93
David
-----Forwarded Message-----
>From: Craig Berry
>Sent: Jul 25, 2006 1:35 PM
>To: USGL-SGIGs@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [USGL-SGIGs] Another new officer
>
>On Tue, 25 Jul 2006, Sabazius wrote:
>
>> I’d also like to announce that the EC elected a Revolutionary on
>> Saturday. He’s on the list, so I’ll let him reveal himself if
he wants
>> to.
>
>What exactly is the policy regarding anonymity of Revolutionaries? It’s
>not really addressed in 194, and I can see reasonable indirect arguments
>supporting both openness and secrecy.
>
* 93s,
* Craig
Part One of Four Parts
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four