The religous fellow on 3944 who preaches that the Roman Catholic church is plotting the takeover of the world's governments was left speechless for a period of time tonight.
I was working on some cables, soldering connectors while I had the 746PRO monitoring that frequency when I heard all hell break loose.
The ringleader had been reading chapters from a book on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. One of the theories after Lincoln's death was that it was a Vatican plot (no lie!), and this fellow was reading lengthy passages from a fellow who wrote a book in the late 1800s with details “proving” the Vatican was responsible for both the Civil War and the assassinations of Lincoln, as well as Garfield, McKinley and yes, even Roman Catholic John F. Kennedy.
Well, a couple of fellows who frequent a nearby frequency dropped in and began loudly questioning just who on the frequency couldn't read a book and needed one read to them on the air. It became a shouting match, as the ringleader became enraged, proclaiming 3944 “his” frequency and demanding the others — whom he didn't approve of — leave immediately or face his wrath, which included his taping them as evidence of the incident which he would forward to Riley Hollingsworth.
He riled up the 4-land ham, who then decided he would stay a while and talk. I couldn't hear the guys he was QSO'ing with, but some of the usual 3944 group were talking with the guy, much to the ringleader's chagrin. As he explained, “if you talk to these guys, you're in QSO with them and we lose the argument they're interfering.”
The 4-land ham was joined by two or three others, one of which apparently was quite familiar with the ringleader, who lives in a Plains state. He explained to the 4-lander that the ringleader was mentally ill, and had been fired from his job some three years ago after his company felt like he was a threat to fellow employees. He added a few additional details that sounded authentic — and which silenced the ringleader for more than 10 minutes.
The 4-lander and his friends left. Bill, one of the ringleader's friends, started up the QSO again, talking about the Catholic church being behind the New World Order, etc., etc., blah blah.
The ringleader finally came back, sounding very down and dejected. They re-established their conversation, though the ringleader did not go back to reading to the group.
One interesting note .. the ringleader complains about every night that he and his group don't get started early enough. There's a group that gathers every night on 3945 or 3943, and he apparently hopes to get on frequency before they do, thereby they can “be first” and not have to wait until the others clear off the adjacent frequency.
One of his followers, a fellow from Texas, chimed in that he would make himself available for an earlier start — only to have his offer of help rebuffed by the ringleader! “You're a little light in your knowledge of Scripture, Bill,” the ringleader told him. “I need someone who knows the Bible as well as I do.”
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A couple of nights ago, the ringleader made reference to the fact he had received a notice a few months back from an OO for broadcasting. This is true, and what's also true is that while his transmissions may not sound like a typical part of a QSO, he stays within the rules by making sure he's in a QSO at all times.
He recently had an e-mail posted on a web site created by someone who shares his rather anti-Catholic view of history, where he details how he got started with his nighly discussions. His explanation sounds a bit like he intended to broadcast. You be the judge:
” …. When the reality of the Vatican and the Jesuit involvement in the purposeful infiltration and corruption and destruction of this Protestant Constitutional Republic finally sunk in, I knew I had to speak out. Unlike you and Eric and Tom and Nic and Richard, I didn't have a voice, other than my ham radio license. so I started a ham radio group for the purpose of positively identifying the Biblical Antichrist and his role in this country and the world and his New World Order from a Biblical scriptural perspective. I went out and bought a full legal limit amplifier so that I could be heard over the inevitable scoffers and hecklers. Now my voice and the Greg Szymanski/Eric Jon Phelps TRUTH is being heard undiluted in nearly every state in the lower 48, every night that I can get on the air. It has made me the single most hated and persecuted amateur radio operator on the planet, but a few people are finally beginning to listen. “My Word shall not return unto Me void.”
On any given night, there are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people in this country, including all amateurs and all shortwave listeners having single sideband capability, who can hear my voice. And the beautiful part is, there are no controlling owners, no censors, no sponsors, and it's FREE. The First Amendment still rules supreme on ham radio, Greg. And you can't get much cheaper than FREE! And people like you and Eric and Tom and Nic and Richard may be missing a GREAT opportunity in amateur radio. And if you want to listen in some night just to see what it's like, buy or borrow a portable shortwave receiver that has single sideband capability. String up a dipole antenna. Set the receiver on the Lower sideband mode, and dial up 3.944 MHz. We get started about 10 PM central time and sometimes go until 2 AM. And if I could just get people around earlier, I would start by 8 PM.
While I don't agree with his views, he does have one thing over some of the other guys who hold court nightly on 75 meters: You won't hear this group belching, farting and being childishly obnoxious (beyond hating Catholics, of course!).
As John Prine sings, “It's a Big Old Goofy World.”