BARRACK COLUMN AT WORLD NET DAILY

Every once in a while - ok, more than once in a while - I get a burr under my saddle when I see injustice that is so blatantly egregious. The case of Les Kinsolving and how he was treated after being proven right about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple is a prime example.

Possibly the most inexplicable aspect to Kinsolving's efforts, which included an eight article expose' written six years before the mass suicide at Jonestown, was what his colleagues didn't say to him when he was proven right.

Via World Net Daily:

The Kinsolving Standard

Posted: May 11, 2010

By Ben Barrack
© 2010

When White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fields a question from Les Kinsolving, it is often coupled with some annoyance at having to answer. Kinsolving is an aged journalist, but he is still unquestionably sharp; he also has a history that should command undying respect. In the briefings, there is a contingent that seems to perceive him as more entertaining than credible.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As a writer for the San Francisco Examiner in 1972, Kinsolving wrote an eight-article exposé on the Peoples Temple, more than six years before the Jonestown massacre in Guyana finally revealed to the world how evil its leader, Jim Jones, was. Over 900 people collectively took their own lives on Nov. 18, 1978, in allegiance to Jones, a self-professed socialist Marxist who said he would "infiltrate the church" to "demonstrate (his) Marxism." On the day the third article was to appear, members of Jones' cult organized and marched outside the Examiner, ultimately intimidating the paper into not printing the remaining articles.

In addition to his employer succumbing to intimidation, Kinsolving's pleas to other media colleagues fell on deaf ears. The fourth estate in San Francisco had been effectively neutered by Jones, who was very politically connected – to Democratic politicians. The election of George Moscone as mayor of San Francisco in 1976 was both close and credited to Jones' efforts; charges of fraud were pervasive. Democrat Moscone owed Jones and even refused to investigate him in 1977, despite overwhelming evidence implicating him as a madman – evidence Kinsolving was fervently trying to present to the public and to authorities.

Another Democratic politician tied to Jones was then-California governor – and current attorney general of that state – Jerry Brown, who made multiple visits to Jones' Temple. With the availability of the three Kinsolving articles that did get printed in 1972, Brown's dereliction of duty with respect to his relationship with Jones should not only leave him with a disgraced legacy but have him nowhere near public office today. Brown's handling of the recent ACORN scandal is quite reminiscent of how he dealt with the Peoples Temple – he gave it a pass.

Other politicians that had some connection to Jones at the time included Ralph Nader and Willie Brown. Jones even met with Rosalyn Carter and Walter Mondale. He wielded significant power within the San Francisco political power structure. Yet, Kinsolving remained alone in his warnings, at one point finding himself No. 2 on Jones' hit list.

Ultimately, Kinsolving was proven right in horrific fashion. Apologies from his media colleagues, however, were not forthcoming; Brit Hume was the lone exception. It is truly an inexplicable phenomenon that people who didn't listen – some with blood on their hands – could be so prideful. It is a level of arrogant denial that may only be found in the aspects of human nature that lead to the spiritual abyss.

If ever there were a man who deserved to be the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, Les Kinsolving is that man. Yet, like those apologies, it never came. He's earned his stripes nonetheless. What he did in the field of journalism should be required coursework for every journalism student – a case study in what to strive for. His work relative to the Peoples Temple is the standard for investigative reporting regardless of the degree to which journalists and politicians today, as then, ignore it.

Les Kinsolving should be revered, respected and, most importantly, listened to.

Click HERE to hear my interview with Kinsolving on May 9th during which we discussed the Jonestown tragedy at length from Kinsolving's perspective.

Here is a video that might just provide some insight into the evil the media ignored in the 1970's.

BARRACK SHOW: MAY 9TH, INTERVIEW WITH LES KINSOLVING

I had the opportunity to interview Lester Kinsolving for the upcoming May 9th show. Those familiar with Kinsolving most likely know him as a member of the White House Press Corps. or as a writer for World Net Daily. However, what many may not know is that he was the only journalist in San Francisco who was reporting on the dangers of Jim Jones several years before the Jonestown massacre which happened on November 18th, 1978. Kinsolving, as a writer for the San Francisco Examiner in 1972, saw Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple as something that very much needed to be investigated.

We discussed the newly released book about him, titled "GADFLY: The Life and Times of Les Kinsolving - White House Watchdog", which was written by his daughter, Kathleen. Les wrote eight articles exposing Jones in 1972, with the first one published on the front page of the Sunday edition of the San Francisco Examiner on September 17th of that year. When Kinsolving showed up for work on Tuesday, September 19th - the day the third installment was to appear - he was greeted by an angry mob of Jones' supporters; community organizers might be the best way to describe them. Subsequently, the Examiner did not run the rest of the eight articles Kinsolving wrote.

In my interview with Kinsolving, we spoke extensively about his experience investigating the Peoples Temple as well as his being #2 on Jim Jones' hit list. It can be argued that the media's refusal to report on Jim Jones for so many years contributed greatly to the tragic end in Georgetown, Guyana. Kinsolving told one reporter that he had "Blood on his hands".

I find it incredibly unfortunate that Kinsolving is often portrayed by the media and even Robert GIbbs, White House press Secretary, as someone to be marginalized and considered a bit kooky. When you read about Kinsolving being the only reporter to so doggedly pursue Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, you will find yourself wondering why this man isn't the standard by which journalism is measured. Then you realize the state of media today and the senselessness of it all only makes it more surreal. Kinsolving should have as many Pulitzer prizes as Michael Phelps has gold medals. Instead, he's almost mocked as someone not to be taken seriously.

Please check out the May 9th show - either LIVE or via ARCHIVE podcast - as I ask Kinsolving about the entire experience. It takes up the bulk of the interview. In particular, I found most interesting, his response to my question about the reaction he received from other journalists after the mass suicide at Jonestown - journalists who had refused to listen to him for so many years.

On another note, has anyone in the media bothered to profile the ideology of Jim Jones? The answer is no but the reason is even more disturbing. Jim Jones was a Marxist and a Socialist. This video via the Anti-Communist website is a must-see. The multiple recordings of Jones and others in this video are bone chilling. Be sure to watch because what happened at Jonestown was a consequence of following socialism, as are the riots taking place in Greece right now.