Yeah, we'll date the tape. This is the 30th of May, 19... I've been saying 88 all week. And we're gathered for a partial business meeting and just lots of things to go on today. It should be a fun meeting. I ask for just a minute to say a few things. I'm not even going to say what has been happening in this case or what came to fruition toward evening of last evening. And then I'm going to have to get out of the way because of some stuff that was sent to Commander H-A-T-A-N. Very very personal.

It's marked very personal, you know, on the front. And so you open it and to me it could not be more evil in its intent or its presentation. And I just didn't handle it well. I chose to ignore it, you know, for a while so that I wouldn't just come down here a blubbering idiot. And maybe all of you will wonder why I let it get to me responsibility nor anyone else's if there are sick people in this world. I guess we need to try to heal them, but there are some people so sick I can't even imagine trying to heal them. I guess God in his infinite wisdom can deal with it, me and my humanness, I can't. And so don't be jumping to conclusions that they're attacking us.

This particular person has written before and has literally attacked commander just for somebody who continues to put contact on their lawn. So when Ed gets here, commander is going to ask him to read this as editor-in-chief of this paper. And I'm sure he'll have his instructions for add as to an editorial to put on the front page with address and so forth because commander says to me this is such a sick individual that if they will even speak and write in the terms that this man has used they are extremely dangerous to everyone around and if there are children in the family, he wants the police contacted with a copy of the letter and have social services look into the probable abuse of children. I mean, this is really sick. It deals with animals, but specifically birds, but it is awful. could just kind of take the floor for a minute and read what he wrote to some of the people that that are on our email type of list and I want to tell you people I just cannot appreciate enough the things that have been happening to us sometimes it's been till 330 in the morning while we go through the and dig these depositions and things and painful as we spent night before last going through Scott Tip's deposition and then yesterday they even have witnesses once again George Green, Desiree Green.

and he has literally espoused it as truth in his interrogatory answers and so forth when everybody should remember everything that took place with EJ and I in the property case, which is the one in point, happened in the beginning. even a little bit earlier, but this was in May, May 24th of 1988. We went to purchase the house and it didn't seem like a big deal. We'd had certified notices. We go to the place at the time, we have witnesses, there was no sale. Now that was cut and dried. Now it's a little over 10 years. It is still an anathema or an enigma to us that it number one can still be going on.

Number two, we know this auctioneer did not have other sales after that for the ones that we could come up with. And of course Gene was instrumental in a lot of the work that was done and for a long period of time we had Scott Tips as our attorney and you who were in court will remember that the judge, Judge Chapin, said that it was the fault of our attorney for this agreement to have been so ill-written that the case was over, it was out. Everything went into in limine. You couldn't mention there was no sale. You couldn't mention Mr. Horn had been an attorney for everybody on the other side. They managed to remove in Lemony, they call it, everything. The case, just gone. So when you start trying to rectify and correct that error, you have to do it with Scott Tips, who has immediately, as nearly as I can tell, basically done himself in. And of course it was time for us to literally face it, stop dinking around, and press this to a jury trial.

And we started, to keep expenses down, we started in pro per with quote the new case. As we went along, Brad Ely really, really helped us as far as forming up motions and things like that. And then God stepped in and I don't know, Ely was at some kind of a lawyer seminar type thing up at Tahoe and met a man named Don Rhodes who was sitting there with him. This is a hand-trained Jerry Spence student. And to have spent the last couple of weeks with this man just boosts your... you just... this is it. This is what law ought to be. And yesterday this man hit the low. He said, if I weren't here, I just can't believe that all the things I heard about Kern County are actually so.

We were literally threatened by the judge. And the sum total of his threat was, oh, we won. I want everybody to know we won. But we were forced into a settlement, not into a trial, and this was Judge Wallace. Judge Friedman had tried to do the settlement conferences, and we're not even allowed, under an oath of secrecy, not to tell what the terms of the settlement actually are. But in their terminology, we won rather big. And the fear was, actually, on the part of Don Rhodes, he figured he could recover something. And of course, we're not to mention that there's any insurance or any malpractice or anything involved here.

That's a no-no also. So you're sitting, you try to talk about something that you can't, I mean you can't talk about it. And by the time we were dealing with these in limine things, once again the case was going. You know you can't mention the no sale, you can't, I mean come on. Well Judge Wallace didn't put up with it. He made us all work all afternoon to try to sort out some of these differences. differences and of course then when you have what are the final things to take to the judge for his decision Guess what he said these people well, I'm just going to paraphrase He was angry and he said these people will take this settlement And get this one or they will not even be allowed a trial for four years. I will make sure that nobody gets a cent because I'm sure that Mr. Tips has been able to hide all his money and everything in the agreement or whatever they might be awarded would be totally used up. They call them burn or wasting policies in this sort of thing, so that everything that is spent on defense is removed from the settlement period.

In other words, in this instance, and we wondered, we marveled, they did nearly $20,000 worth of copy work from the files. They were running up bills like 70 to 75 thousand in bills just to get here to the trial. And so Judge Wallace put a stop to it and I mean he did it through threat, coercion, it's going to be this way. And I think that Don Rhodes just was stunned. He said, well, this doesn't happen. Happens here all the time. I mean, where have you been? But I want to tell you, this man has got it together. And if we thought that we needed a law center to begin to turn around the system. I want to tell you this man is now dedicated. Dedicated. So we just have to move on and get to other things. And maybe EJ could read what little note he wrote while Commander gets here and then. And thank you Ed. I'm going to, I know that Commander is going to want you to read this and do an editorial on it and he'll tell you about it.

But I don't think I want you to see it till just a minute. Yeah, well, it's going to be spontaneous. You're going to have a breakdown. This is what I sent out last night To some of the people who get emails of our writings, Re SBS Santa Barbara Savings, the House Adam Drive case. It is over. We were forced to settle this afternoon by an overt threat to our lawyer, Don Rhodes, that Judge Wallace would trail, extend, and continue our case for four years if we did not agree to settle. The law is that a case must be tried within five years of being filed. In 1996 we were at the deadline since the case was filed in 1991. Such a deal! We won a lot of money.

All secret according to the settlement, but we can tell you that it is approximately one-fifth what we put into it in nine and a half years, according to Kern County standards. That didn't come out right. Well, try again. We won a lot of money according to Kern County standards. Those are in quotes. Everybody at the court seemed to be congratulating us, a little compared to themselves, for having assisted us in winning such a magnificent settlement. Hell, it won't even pay off the house, let alone pay back some of the wonderful people who have lent us money over these long years.

We know, of course, that this is okay and that it provides us three to four months of running room to raise some significant funding. We had hoped to secure the house so that that sword over our heads would be removed, but apparently it is not time for that yet. Sorry for the mixed news. Perhaps it will appear brighter tomorrow. Love to all, E.J. and Doris. And good afternoon. I am here, and I do thank you for coming on a Saturday. But we could not be sure that Ron and Melissa would be here for tomorrow.

And I know the ones that won't be here today are going to be sorry. Ron has been playing around with some more beneficial IRS use than we've had up to now. Excuse me, Commander. Yes. I'm sorry to interrupt. Many, many times in the past you have urged us to ask for proper identification. And on behalf of all of us here, I would like to ask for proper identification and if you do come to light. I come in light. Yorgo Seris Haton. Little H, Big A, T-O-N, little N. Thank you. I don't mind a challenge. No challenge at all.

It should be. So if you're not challenging me, then you're error. Always challenge your speaker. You can be gracious about it. So don't consider that you didn't challenge me because I accepted it as a challenge, because you weren't going to shut up until identified. And that's always a challenge. So be proud of yourself. And if a few more people would do that with their speakers, we wouldn't be in trouble. All the time. All the time. And as we move further along here, you're going to understand even better why that is so.

At any rate, we needed to meet on Saturday rather than Sunday, which is often more convenient for everyone, but it's necessary. And we were having to arrange for time for our people to be in 100% of the time in depositions, studying cases. And a lot of you are listed as witnesses, whether you've heard from anyone or not. So all of that is going to need to be changed now and corrected. And you can all heave a sigh of relief that the case at this point is off. The trial is off. I'm going to also ask that E.J. read what I have written because I don't want you people, just because you get fatigued, tired, and you feel disappointed because something didn't go as you had expected or are unable to finish what you have started. I told you months ago we had to begin to wrap up some of these distractions. Everything is moving so rapidly. Contacts that we have made are now in and out of such places as India and Pakistan who are trying their very best to blow each other up from underneath the ground.

They've done another one today. Tip for tap, five for five. And then, I'll do one better, says Pakistan, and blows off a sixth one. They each have delivery systems, and your government has given it to them. Oh, they're going to say, well, goodness, that's China for you. That's Iran for you. And the other side will say, well, Israel sells a lot of these weapons. You're in trouble people. And in just a minute I'm going to let you see the kind of mentality that flows. I think maybe we better read Before I go into this other matter, I'm going to talk about humanity. If I were a preacher, and if it were Sunday, I'd really hit it hard.

But you're going to be hit hard enough as it is. Ours is not the privilege of just being sacrosanct and religious piety pouring out of our pores. Ours is a job. And if it seems that we're erratic about our meetings and so forth, it's because it is intentional. It's necessary. And regardless of how you feel from time to time, we are not going to fold our tents and run away, run away. We're just now making real, in-depth headway. And it's frightening.

It's frightening for the ones hanging out there with big targets painted on them. But it also is offering the verification that we need. We need it also to close this case down, and I think as E.J. reads, you'll understand Judge Wallace is not as hard, mean, and cryptic as he seemed to be. judicial justice system for justice. That's beside the point. He made his point. I'm in the money business, and if they are interested in justice, in other words, they've come to the wrong place and ended up by saying if they need some mental soothing, they can go to a counselor or to their preacher. This is a judge, one of the chief justices in Kern County. But I'm going to show you why he did what he did, why he good it is for you. You won. Don't let it slip through your fingers. You finally won.

It may not have been as large or as fulfilling as you wanted, but I want to tell you that You won, and you won so big that you have no idea. They have thrown every bit of garbage they can find. They have sent their lying teams in, and they have flunked. They've been found out. And we're going to keep just walking right on through them. Because it's only begun again in Nevada. But this one's over. The judge made sure of it. This one is over. But what your Mr. Tips did for you is absolutely disallow any way to get back to bring the ones that are guilty of the crimes, even to have to face a grand jury. Now, how's that for a system? But this bit of this one is over.

And one by one, we'll get to my other topic and then you'll probably want a break. This is the writing from Saturday, May 30, 1998. Attitude Adjustments in Order. attitude adjustments in order. Even old seen-everything lawyers witnessed yesterday actions of judges and legal manipulations with shock, amaze and finally simply boggle the mind, which shock, amaze and finally simply boggle the mind to an extent of inability to actually realize what is taking place before you and to you. To say that your courts have lost all semblance of even pretending justice, or who did unlawful deeds upon the public, the railroad tracks remained polished and without rust on the way to the prison camps.

Lies, cheating, crime and corruption remain intact and flourishing. In our instance, be glad it is not a life we have in confrontation, only theft of property and lifestyle. We won? Yes, indeed. Eckers had a major win yesterday in the Kern County Court. After ten years of almost constant legal interchanges and confrontations, they actually won. What, you might ask, did they win? Nobody can tell. It is a top secret. But it doesn't even begin to start to match the outgo on the case nor the ability to recover even the amount of the property in point. Oh, indeed, you are correct. The trial was not even starting until the 8th of June, but the guillotine of the trial took place in the evening of May 29th. In a settlement offer from the opposing side, the judge simply told our lawyer that the Eckers would take the offer or he would not allow the case to come to trial for the span of four more years. He was angry and actually said that he would see to it that not one cent would be left for collection and quote, in my court I am interested in court economy. I deal in money and not in counseling. And if venting and justice were in point go to a counselor or church preacher and moreover this judge is considered the best judge in the system in this county he is also Roman Catholic and let's not pick on the Jews this morning I'll get there in a minute the man who has written this vile letter wonders why people might talk about the Jewish community.

He's a Jew. At least he was honest and he probably saved Eckers a bundle of additional funds before offing their heads. The point is to not allow anything to get to a jury trial. Period. The stakes in this case were so high that the expectation of years in appeals from the other side would take place and the possibility of recovering from people in the business of hiding assets would be all but impossible. The award would obviously be large from a jury and the facts of theft, corruption, conspiracy and all manner of perjury and cover-ups were finally on the table. So the message was actually, quote, get out now or end up in prison for annoying the court system.

After bleeding the turnip, then it is tossed in the compost heap. The agreements were about as stupid as are usually expected. A large sum of money will be snatched from an unidentified source without recognition of any liability, and it would not be noted that there was a burning or wasting clause in the whole thing. you know, you end up paying for outrageous charges and actions of the opposing parties, and on and on in the system of gotcha. All this and all that was necessary ten years ago was to hold a proper sale. So the criminals in the case go without even confrontation in a court of law, just because a judge is having a bad hair day or something as silly and unjust.

The thought left to the parties involved is stunned realization of injustice on all sides, even the opposing parties. Well, the judge said Eckers won a massive amount of money, and we suppose we the people should be happy with crumbs tossed from the tables of the wealthy, bury the evidence, and swear the players to secrecy so that the bad judicial tantrums are not made public. So be it. So what is the purpose? Well, to keep going and have ability to do so under difficult circumstances while we get some other things accomplished. After the sun is full, the flowers open their faces, and a bit of rest is accomplished, it will be seen as a very good thing that happened last evening. You can't be doing more than a dozen things at once without something being neglected and in legal manipulations it is a double-time task just to keep up with check writing if nothing else. What has been learned and experienced in Justice One Case is beyond a graduate degree course in the university. Let me example. Mr. D.R., the new lawyer for our team, is incredible in his own right.

He is a hand-trained Jerry Spence trial lawyer. We now have a head for what will be the largest and most notable legal training center in the world before we are through. This was the point of this exercise, Chelas. Not winning or losing a few shekels or even in combating crime. It is too late for the savings and loan debacle, and the Resolution Trust Corporation gorged itself to death and took the rest of the assets of millions of people and businesses. The system has to be corrected, and it has to begin with men of destiny attuned to the experienced problems, not someone just trying to make another dime for self in the same game of tactics and subterfuge. There are, however, funny things afoot at every turn, so don't dwell on the dreary. Smile, you're off-candid camera. The meeting yesterday was to take things from the case and each side would try to get things out of court and limits placed on things and people, etc., who would be brought to testify and about what they could speak. It was going to be fun, except that in this case there was not just a limit to what might be introduced in court, but a full limitation of even having a trial. But nothing in our case got tossed out except the trial itself. There was no argument over the object of a trial. It was considered an outstanding example of what should be tried in a court of law, even according to the gangsters. You do live and learn, don't you?

Another thing you will find being strange and amusing is that at the top of the opposing party's list of witnesses were George Green, Desiree Green, Leon Fort, Rod Entz, and on and on. They were going to totally destroy Gene Dixon, and that in itself was enough reason to shut the thing down on our side. And remember, readers, this was a case about an unlawfully held sale of a piece of property before any of these parties named were even heard of. There was even a focus on Cipapu Odyssey, the first penned novel by Doris. You see, Mr. Green at some point told everybody that he held a copyright, and it was all plagiarized by Ms. Maird, the pen name. The games are not over, my friends. George Green just entered another motion in Nevada court to get control and administration over David Overton's estate and the gold coins.

This, after four or five rulings against him by yet the Supreme Court of Nevada, and now a Texas court. If our people would have the tenacity and persistence of these outlawyers and outlaws, we could change the world in just a few days. They don't stop. You do. And yes, I know. Who has the money to endure the endless hassles? Nobody. To change the subject, but remaining on local focus, I am asked about the contract material running in contact. Well, those are public notices because the parties working with Russell Herman at the time of his interchange with Rick have surfaced and demand hearing. Some of these are not nice people, but they were not only privy to the exchanges, but were part of the transfer and assignment courier service. I don't have any intention of making focus out of these things. in a while to get packages to offer security to such as hand-delivered material to yes even those we consider national enemies ie General Colin Powell General Swartz coughing and even dr.

Sir, D Chopra right through our own little Diane and Jack is this remarkable? No, just structured to allow this I Remind especially the ones here locally of my child's lineage. And team, there is no place in our work for self-indulgence or jealous attitudes in any line of contact or work. I realize that you who are on the firing line every day are weary, frustrated. All right, watch out and listen. Dorma's going to try to slip out the door now. And team, there is no place in our work for self-indulgence or jealous attitudes in any line of contact or work. I realize that you who are on the firing line every day are weary, frustrated, and worn out with lack of seeming return for the massive input. But that is the test of leadership and teamwork. I suggest all and each be very careful about turning in your resignations and quitting.

Easy come and easy go. No, it is not easy coming or going, and anyone who will even threaten to walk out on his team is showing lack of maturity and or strength to fulfill a mission. Christ fulfilled his mission. Are ye lesser or greater? Anger and frustration need no venting or mind alterations in substance or voicing. Take it up with God where you claim to place your journey's direction and stance. And remember something else, something. To let somebody else is not acceptable. That stance is simply showing yourself accepted inability to feel secure that you can get a major task accomplished.

You would not have been given the task if you aren't capable of bringing it to favorable and abundant conclusion. Further, you who run for the wine bottle or the aspirin tablets every time there is a celebration or disaster, error. You are ruining your brains, hurting your own images and backsliding, and you will not succeed until you get sales under total control. When you do, things will flow nicely. I am not going to entrust my greatest responsibilities to any tipsy or self-pitying shareholders. And no, I make no exceptions for age, game, or status. This is for the team mate in Texas or Hawaii or right under your own nose.

Why would I bring this up again? Because you have a lot of celebrations coming up, and they must be safe and sane all the time, and not just when you consider it to be your do and owing. And though I'm not picking on anyone, I am reminding all of the responsibility you have accepted. If you cannot control self, you most certainly cannot handle responsibility for running God's empire. Don't leave yourself open or compromise your own control, self-control system, to the mercy of the pulse beamers. Your world today is at the brink of nuclear holocaust. Save the booze and painkillers for the injuries and radiation sickness. You knew it would be this way, so don't give me the old, I just didn't realize. If you can't see the positive opportunities in every circumstance, then let me count the ways. Sometimes things are so crucial and so urgently important that we cannot just share them around in responsibility passing. You will always have major and big opposition, Chelas. It is the war of good and evil, and when you falter terribly, you feed the other side with your energy in dissipation. We also need to free my hands and feet to be able to move on. This means we must dump these law cases that eat your very soul and time fragments, but as they close down you have to realize the circumstances that need change on a societal scale, and never mind your own little nerve endings. This too shall pass, and having passed, did you do a worthy job at that time period of service? You can only truly think clearly and in depth of one thing at a time.

So let us get focused on the important and big accomplishments and let the flack and trivia fall away. I like the parable of the apple. You can count the apples on a tree? But can you actually count the apples from all the trees which could come forth from one seeded apple? No, and one lawyer, one-on-one might change a case, but a dedicated and inspired lawyer teaching other students can change a world. So, everyone, get off your self-interest kick. Is my task to motivate and inspire you? No, but I like to do that when I can. My job is to bring you truth, insight, and wisdom if I can accomplish it. You must go forth and motivate self and other fellow travelers. And oh yes, you can. Hand in hand, literally, is the way we get to the goal. I don't care much for firewalking or pole climbing because those things give a false image of self and capability. However, if you need those crutches to help you walk within your gaining self image, go do it. But it is not the firewalking that makes the difference. It is the bond formed between the firewalkers that offers such enduring ties. It is the opportunity gleaned from the interchange with like-minded persons that offers the pathway to success. It is not being the center of something, it is the being in the center and bringing all others up to the same level of participation and respect as self. This is the blessing of accomplishment. But first you must build self-esteem within self to be qualified to even consider passing off your attitudes upon another.

Do not squelch the child lest you limit the adult. If you are a parent and the child is yet young, count your blessings every moment of the gift of time to recreate their self-esteem while giving unbounding freedom to your own self-perception. Showing off is not the same thing as being shown off as an example worthy of God's presentation. In the parting from the courtroom yesterday afternoon, E. J. couldn't bring himself to reach out and take the hand of the opposing counsel who was seeking some modicum of forgiveness. However it works, be careful, my children, for you are not thinking clearly when you refuse the attempts of another to bring settlement to an issue. You did, after all, win the battle and not just the little war.

Appreciate your teachers, and these opposing entities are your teachers, your testers, your own measure of self in both understanding and relative journeys. Be careful that you do not fall, do not fail, to respect your perceived enemy, for you do not have to become your enemy to live among your enemies. Accept your win and stop considering that your failure to get the guilty parties was somehow a loss. Let us even look at tips and horn as adversaries. You don't have to trim horn or tips. The loss yesterday was a loss against a major opponent, not yours. Mr. Tips lost a horn, and that is the most painful focus in a man's life at this moment. You don't even have to be at odds longer with either party.

And you know that you kept integrity, truth, and honor in everything you did, while they brought dirt, grime, lies, and pain to all they touched in these ten years of battle. Tips, Horn, Green, et al. will have to live with the realization of their own deceit for all of their lives remaining. This is what this game is about, not over a few worthless currency notes. You won the currency and the game, Sheilas, and you must celebrate every step, not just the end of life while passing to another life. Celebrate the joy of winning in honor and in respect from all present participants. The opposing attorney meant exactly what he said when he stated that Mrs. Ecker was intelligent and brilliant in all respects. He then said Mr. Ecker was outstandingly intelligent and honorable. What more do you want, Sheila? This man was not making fun or being sarcastic. He was stating his appreciation for his opponents. But he was serving his client to the best of his miserable capabilities and against all odds.

It was going to be over for them if a jury got the case, and all players knew it. Spiteful behavior, as with tips, will bring pain and sorrow for all the days of his life. We need not heap more upon the sinking heart and soul. What is missing here in feelings of accomplishment is that you couldn't bring justice within injustice, have parties meet responsibility of their own crimes. You can't accomplish that in a civil case where crime is at point and massive rewards are simply structured to be non-collectible. So do not do more than attend your thoughts, look at the win or losses as a step toward positive movement and release that which is now to be put aside except for the lessons And, my dear ones, those are major and massive.

By the way, look at what you uncovered in people you trusted and who came to destroy you. Hurtful and painful? Of course, but now you know, and sorting, my friends, is always hurtful and painful. You got proof of participation and conspiracy to destroy. What more do you want? Leave the rest to God, for nothing you can do to these people can measure that which God will allow them to heap upon themselves. Lawyers are but gamesmen, so don't fall for the inner attention of one or another, just playing their games in the way they are taught to win at all costs.

Yeah, we'll date the tape. This is the 30th of May, 19... I've about said 88. I've been saying 88 all week. And we're gathered for a partial business meeting and just lots of things to go on today. It should be a fun meeting. I ask for just a minute to say a few things. I'm not even going to say what has been happening in this case or what came to fruition toward evening of last evening. And then I'm going that was sent to Commander H-A-T-A-N. Very, very personal. It's marked, very personal, you know, on the front. And so you open it, and to me, it could not be more evil in its intent or its presentation. And I just didn't handle it well.

I chose to ignore it, you know, for a while so that I wouldn't just come down here a blubbering idiot and maybe all of you will wonder why I let it get to me when it's not my responsibility nor anyone else's, if there are sick people in this world, I guess we need to try to heal them. But there are some people so sick I can't even imagine trying to heal them. I guess God in his infinite wisdom can deal with it. Me and my humanness, I can't. And so don't be jumping to conclusions that they are attacking us, this particular person has written before and has literally attacked Commander just for somebody who continues to put contact on their lawn. So when Ed gets here, Commander is going to ask him to read this, as editor-in-chief of this paper, and I'm sure he'll have his instructions for Ed as to an editorial to put on the front page with address and so forth because commander says to me this is such a sick individual that if they will even speak and write in the terms that this man has used they are extremely dangerous to everyone around and if there are children in the family he wants the police contacted with a copy of the letter and have social services look into the probable abuse of children. I mean this is really sick. It deals with animals but it's specifically birds but it is awful.

Maybe EJ could just kind of take the floor for a minute and read what he wrote to some of the people that are on our email type of list. And I want to tell you people, I just cannot appreciate enough the things that have been happening to us. Sometimes it's been until 3.30 in the morning while we go through these and dig through these depositions and things. and painful as we spent the night before last going through Scott Tipps' deposition and then yesterday they even have witnesses once again George Green, Desiree Green. Tipps has gotten information from George Green and he has literally espoused it as truth in his interrogatory answers and so forth when everybody should remember everything that took place with EJ and I in the property case which is the one in point happened in the beginning was of course even a little bit earlier May 24th of 1988, we went to purchase the house and it didn't seem like a big deal.

We had certified notices. We go to the place. At the time, we have witnesses. There was no sale. Now that was cut and dried. And ten years later, now it's a little over ten years, There is still an anathema or an enigma to us that at number one can still be going on, number two we know this auctioneer did not have other sales after that for the ones that we could come up with. And of course Gene was instrumental in a lot of the work that was done and for a long period of time we had Scott Tips as our attorney and you who were in court will remember that the judge, Judge Chapin, said that it was the fault of our attorney for this agreement to have been so ill-written. That the case was over. It was out. Everything went into in limine. You couldn't mention there was no sale. You couldn't mention Mr. Horn had been an attorney for everybody on the other side. They managed to remove in limine they call it everything.

The case just gone. So when you start trying to rectify and correct that error you have to do it with Scott Tips who has immediately as nearly as I can tell basically done himself in. And of course it was time for us to literally face it, stop dinking around and press this to a jury trial. And we started, to keep expenses down, we started in pro per with quote the new case. And as we went along, Brad Ely really, really helped us as far as forming up motions and things like that. And then God stepped in and I don't know, Ely was at some kind of a lawyer seminar type thing up at Tahoe and met a man named Don Rhodes who was sitting there with him. This is a hand-trained Jerry Spence student.

And to have spent the last couple of weeks with this man just boosts your... you just... this is it. This is what law ought to be. And yesterday this man hit the low. He said, if I weren't here, I just can't believe that all the things I heard about Kern County are actually so. We were literally threatened by the judge. And the sum total of his threat was, oh, we won. I want everybody to know we won. But we were forced into a settlement, not into a trial. And this was Judge Wallace.

Judge Friedman had tried to do the settlement conferences, and we're not even allowed, under an oath of secrecy, not to tell what the terms of the settlement actually are. But in their terminology, we won rather big. And the fear was, actually, on the part of Don Rhodes, he figured he could recover something. And of course, we're not to mention that there's any insurance or any malpractice or anything involved here. That's a no-no also. So you're sitting, you try to talk about something that you can't. I mean, you can't talk about it. And by the time we were dealing with these in limine things, once again, the case was going.

You know, you can't mention the no sale. You can't, I mean, come on. Well, Judge Wallace didn't put up with it. He made us all work all afternoon to try to sort out some of these differences. And of course, then when you have what are the final things to take to the judge for his decision, guess what? He said, these people, well I'm just going to paraphrase, he was angry and he said, these people will take this settlement and get this one or they will not even be allowed a trial for four years. I will make sure that nobody gets a cent because I'm sure that Mr. Tips has been able to hide all his money and everything in the agreement or whatever they might be awarded would be totally used up.

They call them burn or wasting policies and this sort of thing. that is spent on defense is removed from the settlement period. In other words, in this instance, and we wondered, we marveled, they did nearly $20,000 worth of copy work from the files. 70 to 75 thousand in bills just to get here to the trial. And so Judge Wallace put a stop to it and I mean he did it through threat, coercion, it's going to be this way. And I think that Don Rhodes just was stunned. He says, well, this doesn't happen. Happens here all the time.

I mean, where have you been? I want to tell you this man has got it together and if we thought that we needed a law center to begin to turn around the system, I want to tell you this man is now dedicated. So we just have to move on and get to other things and maybe EJ could read what little note he wrote while Commander gets here and then and thank you Ed I'm gonna I know that commander is going to want you to read this and do an editorial on it and he'll tell you about it but I don't think I want you to see it for just a minute. Yeah, well, it's going to be spontaneous. You're going to have a breakdown. This is what I sent out last night to some of the people who get emails of our writings. Re SBS Santa Barbara Savings, the House Adam Drive case. It is over. We were forced to settle this afternoon by an overt threat to our lawyer, Don Rhodes, that Judge Wallace would trail, extend, and continue our case for four years if we did not agree to settle.

The law is that a case must be tried within five years of being filed. In 1996 we were at the deadline since the case was filed in 1991. Such a deal! We won a lot of money. All secret according to the settlement, but we can tell you that it is approximately one-fifth what we put into it in nine and a half years, according to Kern County standards. That didn't come out right. Well, try again. We won a lot of money according to Kern County standards. Those are in quotes. congratulating us, a little compared to themselves, for having assisted us in winning such a magnificent settlement. Hell, it won't even pay off the house, let alone pay back some of the wonderful people who have lent us money over these long years. We know, of course, that this is okay and that it provides us three to four months of running room to raise some significant funding.