went off (although this may not havernmattered, since McVeigh placed hisrntruck on the wrong side of the buildingrnwhere the daycare, not the BATF, wouldrnget the worst of it). BATF informantrnCarol Howe and federal informant Can,’rnGagen have also testified that theyrnwarned the authorities well in advancernthat an attack was going to take place inrnOklahoma City. On March 22, a U.S.rnMarshals’ memo had warned that bombrnattacks on a federal building were likely.rnTo get their story out, Kochendorferrnand Hammons held a press conferencernunder the auspices of Key’s OklahomarnBombing Investigadon Committee. OklahomarnCity news shows aired part of thernconference, and it provided fuel for debaternon KTOK’s Mike McCarville show,rnthe most listened-to talk radio program inrnthe state. After McCarville interviewedrnthe deputies. Key, and Istook, over 900rnpeople called in to voice their opinion,rnwith more than 55 percent siding withrnthe deputies.rnBut in other quarters, their testimonyrnmet with a different reaction. As Istookrncolorfullv put it, “It is garbage and a totalrnfabrication to suggest that I have informationrnthat the government supposedlyrnhad prior knowledge. . . . Any such suggestionrnis the product of somebody’s sickrnand warped imagination.” The DailyrnOklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper,rndid not report the press conferencernat all —despite the fact that its reporterrnDiana Baldwin had been seen at thernconference taking notes. Suspecting arnpolitical “spiking” of the story, the NewrnAmerican’s William F. Jasper called thernpaper’s city desk, explained that he hadrnattended the press conference, and askedrnwh- the state’s largest paper had not coveredrnit. He was told the story was “too bogus.”rnJasper then spoke with the paper’srnassistant editor, John Perry, who said thatrnany statement on why the paper did notrncover the news conference would havernto come from either the managing editorrnor the assistant managing editor, both ofrnwhom — as it turned out—had left for thernday.rnWith its coer story, the New Americanrnsucceeded in irritating Rep. Istook to thernpoint of having his press secretary, StevernJones, write a letter to the magazine characterizingrnhis boss as a “pit bull when itrncomes to justice and truth” and chargingrnthat the deputies were simply “in error.”rn(Istook, in media interviews, has reportedlyrngone much further, characterizingrnthe deputies as stupid slobs.) In his rejoinder,rnalso published in the New American,rnState Rep. Key asks why, if Istook isrnsuch a “pit bull when it comes to justicernand truth,” he had ignored the pleas ofrnKey and Glen and Kathy Wilburn,rnwhose grandchildren died in the blastrnand who desperately want someone tornget to the truth of the matter. Apparently,rnother Oklahoma City residents had alsornreported “being treated arrogantly andrnabusively” by Congressman Istook whenrnthev questioned the official line aboutrnthe bombing.rnTo make things stranger, a deputyrnbomb squad sergeant in Oklahoma hasrntestified under oath that a Tow missilernwas in storage inside the Murrah buildingrnat the time of the blast. According tornAmericans for Responsible Media, hisrnstatement is confirmed by a transfer reportrnfiled by the bomb squad. A.B. Magnus,rnchairman of the organization, saidrn”it is unconscionable that any federalrnagency could store heavy battlefield typernordnance in any public building —letrnalone one where a children’s daycare facilit’rnwas located.”rnSo wh- would the federal governmentrnstockpile ammunition at the Murrahrnbuilding? If it knew an explosion was imminent,rnwhy wasn’t the ammunitionrnmoved? And how exactly did the governmentrnlearn about the forthcomingrnbombing? Ambrose Evans-Pritchardrnhighlights the role of a German intelligencernofficer and bomb expert, AndreasrnStrassmeir, who was perhaps the government’srnagent provocateur who mastermindedrnthe bombing as part of a federalrnsting operation. Why is Strassmeir nowrnholed up in Germany? If there are anyrn”pit bulls” going after the answers tornthese questions, they seem to be AmbrosernEvans-Pritchard and the NewrnAmerican, not Congressman Istook andrnUncle Sam.rn(Copies of the New American’s Februaryrn16 issue can be ordered for $2.50 by callingrn920-749-3784.)rn—Michael WashburnrnI HE ROCKFORD SCHOOL DEsegregationrncase continues, but if the actionsrnof the federal magistrate’s supportersrnare any indication, the tide is turningrnin favor of the citizens of Rockford.rnStunned by recent electoral and courtroomrnsetbacks, the leader of the localrnN,A4CP, a Rockford alderman, the mayor,rnand the superintendent of schools (allrnblack) resorted to the last refuge of thernmodern scoundrel, and played the racerncard. What they didn’t realize, however,rnis that—after nine years of federal controlrnand $166 million —race no longerrntrumps rational discussion in Rockford.rnThe tide began to turn in November,rnwhen voters in the school board electionrnre-elected Patti Delugas, a veteran fighterrnon behalf of Rockford’s citizens, andrnelected Ted Biondo, a member of thernboard of directors of the grassroots organizationrnRockford Educating All Childrenrn(R.E.A.CH.). Although both facedrnwell-funded candidates who supportedrnthe court order (and consequently hadrnthe support of the mayor), both wonrnlandslide victories. With the addition ofrnBiondo to the board, a majority of boardrnmembers now oppose federal control ofrnRockford’s schools.rnThe day after the election, state circuitrncourt judge John Rapp ruled that thernmain funding mechanism for the desegregationrn”remedies,” the tort fimd, was illegal.rnUnder state law, all governmentalrnbodies are required to have a tort fund torncover the cost of paying damages in a civilrnlawsuit. But in the Rockford case, civilrndamages—which would be paid directlyrnto the plaintiffs—have never been levied.rnInstead, the school district and the federalrnmagistrate’s appointed master havernbeen given a blank check to remedyrndiscrimination. The result has beenrnthe destruction of Rockford, as those —rnwhite, black, and Hispanic —who canrnafford to move out of town have fled skyrocketingrnproperty taxes, while thousandsrnof children have been bused acrossrntown, and both test scores and housingrnvalues have plummeted.rnDespite Judge Rapp’s ruling, in Decemberrnfederal magistrate P. MichaelrnMahoney ordered the school board tornvote to levy $36.6 million more in tortrntaxes, and backed his order with thernthreat of jail, fines, and the possible removalrnof board members who didn’t voternfor the levy. Voting under protest, andrndecrying the loss of democratic self-rule,rnboard members Biondo, Delugas, andrnDavid Strommer-all staunch opponentsrnof the federal order—voted for therntort levy. They have since filed suit torngain intervenor status in the case, claimingrnthat the magistrate, by ordering themrnto vote a particular way, denied themrntheir basic rights as officeholders.rnShould they gain intervenor status, theirrnfirst action would be to have MagistraternMahonev removed from the case.rnMAY 1998/7rnrnrn