Stan, you expended a great deal of your valuable time supporting the Stitt family. Also, you appeared to give your approval to the involvement of Norm Olson and the Michigan Militia. Personally, I never felt these people deserved the positive input that a fellow of your character provided. Now, with the situation having developed further I would hope you would comment on your feelings. If we are to believe your information in the future, you should follow-up on this story. Ive gone out on a limb or two regarding the Waco situation and should I be proved to be in error you can count on my humble acceptance of the facts.

-- Truth (at@the.ready), September 12, 1999

Answers

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

That's a really confrontative post. I didn't see where Stan "gave approval" for the involvement of Norm Olson or the Michigan Militia. He reported that they had become involved. Just what, specifically, do you believe Stan said that should cause us do doubt "his information" in the future. I don't see that he led anyone astray. What is it about the current situation that indicates to you that Stan is "proved to be in error," please?

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), September 12, 1999.

A confrontational post? On this forum? Gee, Im sorry. Just looking for some input on a continuing story that Stan brought to us. I was hoping he would comment himself.

-- Truth (at@the.ready), September 12, 1999.

[url]http://www.freep.com/news/mich/qstitt8.htm[/url]

For educational and research purpose only

Family's beliefs fuel island feud

Neighbors using laws to retaliate, they say September 8, 1999

BY DAWSON BELL FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

BOIS BLANC ISLAND -- Michael and Christine Stitt thought God had a plan for their family when they moved to this Lake Huron island in 1996.

To them, it offered an outpost against the perfidy of modern life, a self-sufficient farm refuge from millennial apocalypse, and a place to witness for the Lord.

Unfortunately, God did not issue the Stitts a permit.

The Stitts say they now find themselves facing jail or exile in a showdown with local government officials over their refusal to bow to zoning ordinances restricting their farm activities.

The matter is likely to come to a head this week, in a special meeting of residents tonight or in a hearing in a Mackinac County courtroom Friday.

From the perspective of the Stitts, members of the Old Wesleyanfaith, they are victims of an anti-religious, pot-smoking, wife-swapping cabal of islanders out to get them. The island's good ol' boy network was determined to drive them from their 36-acre farm and trumped up flimsy zoning violations after the Stitts criticized their lifestyle, Michael Stitt said Tuesday.

Earlier this summer, the family enlisted members of the Michigan Militia to aid their cause. Militia commander Norm Olson visited Bois Blanc and issued news releases predicting the situation might end in a dramatic armed confrontation. Since then, the Stitts have asked the militia to back off, and said this week that the resolution to their plight -- whatever direction it takes -- will not include violence.

Township officials, for the most part, have declined comment. Township Attorney Lyle Peck said Tuesday that all the overheated rhetoric associated with the dispute is "nonsense."

The dispute, he said, "a simple zoning matter."

If so, then it is a simple matter with a complicated history.

When the Stitts arrived on Bois Blanc in 1996, they were almost instant celebrities. Curious crowds watched as they unloaded peacocks, emus and horses from the Cheboygan ferry. Later, islanders stopped by to purchase eggs, beets and tomatoes. Vacationers took oxen-drawn hay rides.

Christine Stitt gave birth to the first home-delivered baby on the island in 33 years. The Stitts, who previously lived in Hesperia, viewed their new lives as a mission. They offered Sunday school classes at home and planned to build a church.

But they also clashed with a neighbor, over an ox that repeatedly escaped its fencing and trampled about. That conflict led the Stitts to report the neighbor to police for his cultivation of marijuana. The Stitts said the matter was covered up, although the neighbor spent time in jail.

Christine Stitt said she also criticized a local teacher for smoking in front of her students and showing PG-rated movies in class. She removed her six children from the island school. She also said the sheriff failed to investigate drunken driving.

The family's enemies on the island have been "constantly harassing us," she said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Stitts' confrontation with local building officials escalated. Their property is not zoned for livestock, township officials said. Michael Stitt, a skilled timber framer, built a 15-by- 24-foot stable without a permit. He added auxiliary buildings without permission as well.

A June court order, to which the Stitts said they did not consent, ordered the removal of all the outbuildings, and livestock and farm equipment. The family responded by publishing notices in the local paper that they would not comply. They also posted notices on their property, announcing $5,000-a-day fees for any government official who came on official business.

Attorney Peck said the Stitts aren't being asked to leave, and are free to garden and keep livestock on the part of their property not zoned residential. But he said local officials couldn't ignore open defiance of the law.

Christine Stitt sounded ready to accept any outcome Tuesday. She said the "Lord brought us here; maybe He'll take us away."

Just in case, the 36-acre parcel is for sale, she said. With 108 feet of frontage on Lake Huron, house, root cellar and two wells -- $250,000.

-- Brenda Looney (blooney@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

They left *Hesperia*?

Good grief!

Hesperia ain't exactly the Cass Corridor. I live only a few miles from Hesperia -- *this* is where *we* "settled". It's a nice, rural, farming community. Why on earth they'd *leave* here for a summer tourist trap is beyond comprehension!

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), September 13, 1999.

"Ive gone out on a limb or two regarding the Waco situation and should I be proved to be in error you can count on my humble acceptance of the facts."

Really? Did I miss your comments on the liquified bodies or the reports withheld because of classified military information? Not even a hint of doubt yet?

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

Mumsie, hardly a day will pass without another reported element of the Waco story surfacing. It appears that there were many agendas at work here and the Danforth committee has a big job ahead of them. However, this committee has already been dismissed as a government tool so little that they say will be believed. What would you suggest as an alternative to this committee to bring us the truth? We all know that politics will take center stage so where can we turn for the justice that many are demanding? Although the report section on the gas canisters was omitted in the congressional hearings, it had been in the hands of all concerned regarding the criminal court proceedings against some Davidians. Why was this not made into a big deal way back when? You are obviously a very intelligent person and you can surely see how this is being used as a political weapon. Please, Im not excusing any actions, just expanding the thought process. If Vernon Howell can help rid us of the Klinton Klan, well, I could almost learn to like the guy.

-- Truth (at@the.ready), September 13, 1999.

I agree that there are many agendas at work. I may believe most of what this 'investigative' committee discovers, but that does not mean that I am not skeptical regarding their being selective as to what they 'discover'. What would I suggest as an alternative? First, some moral balls on the part of Congress, who should rise up and demand that Janet Reno step down. Then they should apply the same newly 'discovered' integrity in choosing her replacement. Let that new person appoint a gutsy honest person (who is not compromised by a mistress or some other form of blackmail) to head up the investigation. This is a more likely scenario to uproot (or even temporarily slow down and impede) the evil that is growing like a septic cancer in our goverment. The fact that Janet Reno was allowed to choose the investigative committee leader does not bode well for the outcome. She is one cold and scary old broad.

I am waiting for your humble honest nature to propel you to herald the "reported elements" surfacing, and be a part of the fight for the Truth, and not just for the "agendas" who would capitalize on the demonization of Koresh. You are obviously intelligent enough to separate the FACTS from the agendas.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

Mumsie, you have suggested

First, some moral balls on the part of Congress, who should rise up and demand that Janet Reno step down. Then they should apply the same newly 'discovered' integrity in choosing her replacement. Let that new person appoint a gutsy honest person (who is not compromised by a mistress or some other form of blackmail) to head up the investigation.

It looks like there is a ground swell of support in Congress for Ms. Reno to depart ASAP. If this takes place can you imagine how much time it will take for a new AG to be selected, confirmed, and get on- line? This process alone will take the publics focus away from the issues at hand and this might be just the ticket for the current administration. You must remember that we are entering the critical mass period of an election year. Hold all bets please.

Now, lets have a little fun and try to come up with that gutsy honest person that is unencumbered with the baggage you have mention.

(1). Jesse Ventura (2). Rep. Chris Cox (3). Judge Judy

BTW, I agree with your suggestions and my nominees are 66.666% serious.

-- Truth (at@the.ready), September 13, 1999.

Truth,

You have searched for me up and down this wide forum. You found me. And, no, I wasn't ignoring you. I hadn't seen your message. But I thought that most folks wanted me to shut up about the Stitts. At least, that was my impression. I appreciate your compliment and, yes, you are not in the minority (it seems) of those who thought I had misassociated myself with them. I'm still confused about why the Stitts were met by a lack of sympathy here for their misfortune. Could you spell it out for me?

I have made some initial reflections on the Stitt family's situation and have often compared it in my mind to Martin Luther King, Jr. at Birmingham. If Y2K is but a bump in the road, I may write a scholarly article making that comparison. So I am reluctant to give up my few thoughts on it now. Editors are also reluctant to publish insights that have already gone online. As for the follow-up, I have wanted to go and meet the Stitt family, but right now I don't have time and money to do so.

Beyond my intellectual interests and also prior to my intellectual interest in the Stitt family's misfortune, there is and remains the interest of my heart. In fact, I did not think that Norm Olson's involvement was best for the Stitt family, and I am glad they had courage enough to act upon their own misgivings before he put them in danger's way. It was my suspicion from the beginning that the Stitts were merely a means to his ends.

If you go back to my threads, you won't find that I had a high opinion of Norm Olson. You'll also find that Mrs. Stitt had misgivings about them. Neither Michael or Christine Stitt are members of Olson's militia nor were they ever members of the Michigan militia. Christine had no interest in things going to violence and gun fire, and it was not she who sought out Olson. It was Olson that offered the Stitts his public support.

And, perhaps, Olson deserves credit. In their dark hours when no one else was helping the Stitts, he offered help in the only way he knew how: guns and press releases. It is hard to give him credit, however, because his motivations seem mixed. He may have even been essential to helping the Stitts find some acceptable alternative to insistencies previously held by them. Olson was able to get some people interested in the Stitt story. But I also know his press releases did not adequately describe their situation.

But these are real people we are talking about; they are real people that have endeavor to prevail against real problems. I think a lot of folks could not keep from treating them like the object of a newspaper article. We don't feel much sympathy for things and objects. But maybe that's just a coping mechanism because people can not bear the sorrow for the daily losses of life, property, and dignity that is reported in the news. I was surprised at the time and I remain saddened by the reactions of some forum members.

They are family in trouble and a family that did no great wrong. They became victims of potentially unjust laws that were, in appearance, unjustly administered. Christine and Mike's apparent courage to refuse further assistance from Norm Olson can only speak well of the goodness in their hearts and an ability to make at least one good decision at a time of intense stress and danger... at a time that there was but a few friends to be counted upon.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), September 14, 1999.