Ben Gilmore

Mr. Gilmore, whose papers have had nationwide distribution, is also involved in education. The Principles of America’s true history and government are incorporated into his newspaper column. He and his wife founded ACH Study Groups and Parent Educators’ Resource Center, supplementing the efforts of home educators, As a staff member of Youth With a Mission, he and his family have been around the world. He is also active in local government, having been nominated several times for legislative office.

2022-01-27 Random thoughts

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2022

This is a letter to our friends –

Random thoughts

When an election is reported by the fake media to be “getting tighter”. Expect this to be code for, “We are about to steal this election.” Mike Lindell has overwhelming evidence that computer fraud is able to determine vote counts. Realize please, that – if we do not fix the vote fraud and return to local precinct, paper ballots, and accurate (not inflated) voter rolls – it doesn’t matter how you vote! I suspect the vote machine companies may have been charging high prices from incumbent politicians who fear a loss in an honest count.

Inspiring! —
https://gettr.com/post/prelb70c2a

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked the whole of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the commandments of God. The future and success of America are not in this Constitution, but in the laws of God upon which this Constitution is founded.” ~ James Madison

Regarding excessive amounts of military equipment stockpiled in Afghanistan – Who profits from replacing that equipment? I suspect – the same ones pushing the Ukraine conflict.

Good news! In Virginia a few men began gathering weekly to discus politics. The group grew quickly to over a hundred. It divided into 3 groups and grew. Now delegates are assigned to monitor & report on council and school board meetings. Citizens are getting involved.

Primary elections are where you choose (nominate) your candidates. General elections (in November) are where you choose between nominated candidates. It in important to nominate reliable, principled candidates. Once nominated, it becomes a numbers game to determine the majority party. Your mail box is about to be filled with slick “voter guides”. Most of them should be ignored! (A candidate can buy a recommendation from the guide’s publisher.) Rather, watch for voter guides that post answers to candidate position questions.
Down ticket candidates are important too. Try to attend debates. Invite them to come over and meet your neighbors.
Trump’s indorsements are significant. They usually flag the most reliable candidate AND their win builds Trump’s strength. If in doubt, I recommend going with Trump’s choice. There may be factors of which you are not aware.
Remember, liberals in both parties allow themselves to lie, cheat, and steal. Many may say they are indorsed. Few are chosen. Trust www.DonaldJTrump.com &
www.FrankSpeech.com
I hope you find these posts useful. These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2022-01-27 Random thoughts Read More »

2020-01-03 A Proverbs 31 wife

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Monday, January 3, 2022

This is a letter to our friends –

A Proverbs 31 wife

The other day, my dear wife said, “I want to be a Proverbs 31 wife.” What a blessing to have such a wife! My Frances lives up to the challenge. That makes me strive to be worthy. I want her to have the honor she deserves. —

Proverbs 31
10 Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,
So that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax,
And worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants’ ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it:
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength,
And strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
Her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle,
And her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
For all her household are clothed with hscarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
Her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Amen!
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2020-01-03 A Proverbs 31 wife Read More »

2021-12–28 Tree rings & space

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Tuesday, December 28, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

Tree rings & space

With news about the Webb Telescope (see NASA news) about to look at the origins of the universe, it seems appropriate to mention the Creator of the universe.

For those who replace a Creator with random chance over billions of years – I respond, “Please explain intelligent design, How can “random” produce a functioning eyeball?

The Bible has proven to be a reliable history book. The Bible appears to place creation at around 6,000 years ago. The first human, Adam, was placed in a garden in the area we know as Iraq. Suppose Adam had taken a chain-saw and cut down a tree in the garden. The stump would have had tree rings. Tree rings tell the history of the just-created tree. Adam was full grown. God created the universe with the image of age!

It requires a lot more “faith” to credit God’s handywork to random chance than it takes to acknowledge the God of the Bible!

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-12–28 Tree rings & space Read More »

2021-12-24 The laws of Nature and of Nature’s Godd

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Friday, December 24, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

“…The laws of Nature and of Nature’s God…”

This phrase from our Declaration of Independence is rarely “unpacked”. I believe it was well understood when it was written.

The laws of nature existed at the earth’s creation. The founders called them, “natural law”.

The laws of Nature’s God, the 10 Commandments for example, were called, “revealed law”, and are found only in the Holy Bible
according to William Blackstone (1723 – 1780), father of the Legal profession.

Natural law is discovered by observation and reason. Revealed law is learned by prayer and study. Both are from the same
infinitely wise source. There was a time when natural law seemed to say the earth was flat. Men were misinterpreting the data.

In His loving benevolence, God gave us His inspired words (The Holy Bible). The Bible is much harder to misinterpret.
while natural law incorporates everything that exists, revealed law focuses upon humanity. In truth, revealed law is only a part
of natural law. Since natural law is discovered by imperfect (i.e. human) observation and reason, and revealed law is by direct
inspiration from God, revealed law is much more authoritative. Since they are from the same source they will never be in conflict,

I find only three human organizations created and used by God in the Bible – – Family – Church – State (people groups). These are the elements of every civilization. A guy and a girl get together and make a baby. That is a family, the building block of every civilization. Every civilization has some sort of higher power. We call that relationship, “church”. We call the relationship between families and families, “state”,

It is interesting – When Christ was asked for the greatest commandment He responded, “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these.”

We are to love God (vertical) and love others (horizontal). Represented by the cross of Christ.

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-12-24 The laws of Nature and of Nature’s Godd Read More »

2021-12–04 Prophesy and encouragement Mk2

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Monday, December 6, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

Prophesy and encouragement
(2nd post)
Apparently some of these e-mail posts failed the first time.

Many of you will remember Jonathon Cahn who wrote “The Harbinger” a few years back. Recently, he gave an updated prophesy in association with Mike Lindell’s www.Frankspeech.com Report. I encourage you to listen to it. – –

https://frankspeech.com/tv/video/pastor-jonathan-cahn-joins-frankspeech-than ks-thon-special-message-america-and-americans

I choose to be optimistic. If anything be true, honest, just, pure and lovely, I am focused upon these things. They are as “real” as are the things presented to me in today’s news broadcasts! What profit is there in thinking America is going to fail? Where is the encouragement in that? Rather, I choose to believe that God will honor the prayers and faith of those who believe He can heal our land.

Some choose to raise the draw bridge and hunker down in the citadel waiting for Christ and His calvary to come charging over the hill and rescue us. I choose to lower the drawbridge and charge over it, trusting that I will have all that I need when I need it!

I am concerned when I hear people speak of the “sure thing results” in the next election. They are the same folks who ignore the evidence and believe that Gov. Newsome won the California recall. They don’t see that the establishment threw us a reassuring bone in the recent Virginia election.

Please understand this – Until the computer fraud of November 2020 (and likely years earlier) is corrected, there can be no confidence in election results. The sound documentation and proposed fixes are available for those who will get off their comfort zones and read. Invest the time to browse the data on www.Frankspeech.com. Listen to the “Lindell Report” (noon & 7pm eastern) whenever you can.

Side with those who say my views are “unfounded” and “dangerous” and you will help destroy our “light on a hill!” Do the homework, for yourself and your family. Gain confidence in what you learn and begin pushing back! Too many of us have begun depending on other s to do our thinking for us.

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-12–04 Prophesy and encouragement Mk2 Read More »

2021-12–04 Prophesy and encouragement

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Sunday, December 5, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

Prophesy and encouragement

Many of you will remember Jonathon Cahn who wrote “The Harbinger” a few years back. Recently, he gave an updated prophesy in association with Mike Lindell’s www.Frankspeech.com Report. I encourage you to listen to it. – –

https://frankspeech.com/tv/video/pastor-jonathan-cahn-joins-frankspeech-than ks-thon-special-message-america-and-americans

I choose to be optimistic. If anything be true, honest, just, pure and lovely, I am focused upon these things. They are as “real” as are the things presented to me in today’s news broadcasts! What profit is there in thinking America is going to fail? Where is the encouragement in that? Rather, I choose to believe that God will honor the prayers and faith of those who believe He can heal our land.

Some choose to raise the draw bridge and hunker down in the citadel waiting for Christ and His calvary to come charging over the hill and rescue us. I choose to lower the drawbridge and charge over it, trusting that I will have all that I need when I need it!

I am concerned when I hear people speak of the “sure thing results” in the next election. They are the same folks who ignore the evidence and believe that Gov. Newsome won the California recall. They don’t see that the establishment threw us a reassuring bone in the recent Virginia election.

Please understand this – Until the computer fraud of November 2020 (and likely years earlier) is corrected, there can be no confidence in election results. The sound documentation and proposed fixes are available for those who will get off their comfort zones and read. Invest the time to browse the data on www.Frankspeech.com. Listen to the “Lindell Report” (noon & 7pm eastern) whenever you can.

Side with those who say my views are “unfounded” and “dangerous” and you will help destroy our “light on a hill!” Do the homework, for yourself and your family. Gain confidence in what you learn and begin pushing back! Too many of us have begun depending on other s to do our thinking for us.

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-12–04 Prophesy and encouragement Read More »

2021-15-05 Buying Chinese

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Thursday, December 2, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

Buying Chinese
I received this in an email from a friend and thought it was very interesting.

Diane Sawyer’s special report was about all the items in our houses made in China. They removed ALL items from a typical, middle class family’s home that were not made in the USA.
There was hardly anything left besides the kitchen sink. Literally. During the special they showed truckloads of items, USA made, being brought in to replace everything and talked about how to find these items and the difference in price etc..
It was interesting that Diane said if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items for one year, it would create something like 200,000 new jobs.
When buying food at Walmart, often on the label it will say MADE IN CHINA or PRC. For example “Our Family” brand of mandarin oranges say on the label “Made In China”
I was shocked for a few more cents I could buy the Liberty Gold brand or the Dole brand made in California.
look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says ‘Made in China ‘ or ‘PRC’ (and that now includes Hong Kong), simply choose another product. Think about this: If 200 million Americans each refuse to buy just $20 of Chinese goods, that’s a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor, fast!!!
Most of the people who have been reading about this matter are planning on implementing this NOW.
Send this to everybody you know. Let’s show them that we are Americans and Nobody can take us for granted.
If we can live without cheap Chinese goods in our lives. Buy American made first!

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-15-05 Buying Chinese Read More »

2021-11-01 :ove Gratitude Grace

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Saturday, November 6, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

Understanding Chinese attack

It is important to understand what happened the night of November 3rd, 2020 (election night). It is easy to get lost in the details. This is my effort to make it easier to understand.

On election night almost every county-level election machine, in every state, was hacked. Votes were flipped from Trump to Biden. A group of “white-hat” cyber experts, suspecting what was afoot, prepared to document the theft of a national election.

Mike Lindell, the My Pillow guy, spent several months and big bucks confirming that documentation. It is solid. It is absolute and not subject to opinion. Because he has the funds and the platform, Lindell has taken the lead in exposing the situation. On next November 23rd, the Attorney Generals of several states will present the evidence to the Supreme Court.

Here is my understanding of what happened.

Every county has an election machine that gathers vote data and forwards it using the internet. That is where the votes were flipped.

Every computer connected to the internet has an IP address. That address shows the world-wide location and user. Internet messages are converted into computer language and broken into packets that stream over the net from sender to receiver. The “white-hat” cyber experts set up to capture copies of the packets (PCAP) on the county-level machines election night. This is a massive amount of data!

Note that a PCAP is like a photograph. It is what it is. I cannot be altered or changed. The PCAPS show the number of votes that were flipped in almost every county in the country. The location and user that sent the message. And the location and user of the machine that was flipped. Trump won by 20 million votes!

The reason the flips were spread over the whole country was to hide the situation. An almost supernatural event exposed the method.

We will call them the “Black-hats”. They started with the 2010 census data for each county. By 2020 many of those had moved or died. These names on the 2020 voter rolls were available as “ghost” voters. A complex formula (algorithm) was written for the computers to make it appear that Biden won a narrow race.

To illustrate that an algorithm did the voting – Take any county in any state. Look up the % turn-out for any age group, say 35 year-olds. You will find that the very same % of 35 year-olds turned out in every county in that state! It was all set up before election night. It did not matter how you voted.

Around 2am election night, the “black-hats” had a problem. The Trump turn-out was overwhelming the algorithm. They were running out of ghost voters. “Plan B” – stop the counting and create more ballots. Increase the Biden votes in the swing states.

What this shows is that we can not trust any elections using machines. We must return to paper ballots and voter ID. I suspect that this sort of “fix” has been going on for years, gradually shifting left. I suspect that Trump won 2016 because the turn-out was so unexpected that a “Plan B” was not in place.

For reliable updates www.frankspeech.com noon & 7pm eastern.

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-11-01 :ove Gratitude Grace Read More »

2021-11-01 :Love Gratitude Grace

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Thursday, November 4, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

Love, Gratitude, Grace

Your prayers in my behalf have meant so very much. My heart is bursting with gratitude. “Grace” is being blessed beyond what you deserve!

When the news that an infection in my hand sent me to the Emergency Room at the hospital hit the net, prayer support flooded in. The infection entered my blood stream. They put a pick-line in my arm and started powerful anti-biotics. Six days in the hospital. As they were preparing to send me home, a doctor noticed my arm was swollen and ordered an ultra-sound scan. They found blood clots.

I went home with lots of in-home help, plus tons of TLC! They had added blood thinner because of the clots. The second day home I grew weaker. Rapid events, 911 call, ambulance back to hospital, three units of blood to replace internal bleeding, scoped my upper GI track. Found a bleeding stomach ulcer (a surprise to me), fixed it, and spent two more weeks enjoying hospital hospitality.

Fran, son Guy, daughters Linda and Fawn were real troopers, getting me home again on Fran’s 89th birthday (10/31). I am weak after three weeks in bed, but gaining strength every day. I have had lots of time to pray and meditate. Even had an opportunity to read my own book about Biblical principles of government. I recommend it! www.FACE,net/PAG

I thought a lot about you, the ones on my blog mailing list. You are like family to me! I want to encourage you that God has not forgotten America. He has been teaching mankind how to love God and our neighbor for over 6,000 years. We are slow learners! It took Christ 1620 years to make a Pilgrim. America is the fruit of those efforts – a demonstration to the world of Christian self-government.

It would appear, that the demonstration has failed. But the real battle is unseen. A spiritual battle between good and evil. Evil will oppose everything God supports. I find only three human organization created by God, and through which He deals – Family, Church, State. God deals in individual nations. One world government (globalism) is rebellion against the only true global Monarchy – the Kingdom of God.

God’s grace has pulled undeserving man out of the mire over and over again. It isn’t over yet! Our part is to pray, seek His will, turn from our wicked ways, and trust that He is working for our good – – and His testimony to the world!

In that regard, the best visible effort I see is that of Mike Lindell. He has literally spent everything he has to save America. I urge each of you to make every effort to monitor www.frankspeech.com at noon and 7pm eastern for daily updates that are being blocked by the media.

Please know my love for each of you and my gratitude for your prayers.
These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
“Ben’s Blog”

2021-11-01 :Love Gratitude Grace Read More »

2021-09-28 A Connecticut story

ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
Tuesday, September 28, 2021

This is a letter to our friends –

A Connecticut story

Arizona Senator, Barry Goldwater [R], wrote a little book, “Conscience of a Conservative.” An over-night bestseller, it was a simple statement of common sense politics. We lived in Connecticut. I purchased a box of books and shared them with my neighbors. It was 1963.

Before television, mass mailers, or computers, the news that reached New England was dominated by only three radio networks, predominantly liberal Democrat. His book lifted Senator Goldwater as a presidential candidate across the country. I wanted to support his common sense. “Goldwater Clubs of Connecticut” was created.

I printed a folded paper the size of a dollar bill. The front had His picture and the club’s name. The back instructed supporters to add names and addresses of other supporters, enclose a dollar for each name and mail it to me. Wham!! Conservatives no one thought existed in New England came out of the woodwork! In only a few weeks I had the seeds of a club in most of the towns of Connecticut.

Bulk mailing was only pennies per address. We were able to send newsletters regularly to a growing list of conservative Connecticut voters. I could generate a crowd quickly, anywhere in the state. The Connecticut Republican party was dominated by RINO Republicans. They were supporting Rockefeller and Scranton as nominees to oppose Goldwater.

Each of Connecticut’s towns had a Democrat and a Republican committee. The committee chairmen were usually lawyers. Often the chairmen of each party were law partners! Though local committee meetings were open to the public, the public had little knowledge of them – until Goldwater Clubs of Connecticut! Every two years the GOP committees in each town would meet and elect delegates to the Connecticut Republican state convention in Hartford.

This is a fun story of events at the 1964 Republican State Convention in Hartford, Connecticut. A conservative sign specialist with a blueprint machine sawed off an 18-inch roll of blueprint paper from a longer roll.. He ran the whole roll through the machine using big bock letters spelling “Goldwater” plus a picture of the Senator. Another supporter recruited 8 nice looking convertibles. We printed hundreds of pictures of Goldwater the size of a business card.

My wife, Frances, recruited a group of conservative moms, dressed them with western hats, matching skirts and blouses plus a “Goldwater” sash. They could hold their own as conservatives and were trained a little with crowd control. Yet another supporter hired a Scottish marching band, bagpipes, drums, bugles – the works! Volunteers had worn Rockefeller and Scranton buttons and visited campaign and GOP offices all over the state collecting Visitor Passes to the convention. Others had been busy blowing up gas-filled balloons at Goldwater headquarters all day.

As the day of the convention dawned commuters crossing the bridge into Hartford were greeted with a giant picture of Goldwater hanging from a big red weather balloon on a rope anchored in the middle of the river. 50 – 60 teens were given handfuls of the business card photos and told to find places for them. Convention delegates, checking into hotels found them behind the glass certificates on elevator walls. Others stopping at coffee shops found every napkin in the dispensers came with a Goldwater picture! One lady reported trying on a new pair of gloves in a dress shop and finding a picture in each finger!

We taped 12-foot ling sections of the roll of “Goldwater” signs to each side of the convertibles and put one of the uniformed “Goldwater Girls” in the back seat of each. Goldwater Clubs of Connecticut sent congratulations to each convention delegate, inviting them to use our free taxi service while in Hartford. “Just step to the curb and flag down a cruising Goldwater convertible”. RINO leaders were disturbed to see “their” delegates riding and chatting with “Goldwater Girls”!

Two and a half hours before the Convention was to open, RINO state leadership hosted a large open-air patio dinner, across town from the convention center. The Scottish band was forming up in the empty park down the street from the Goldwater headquarters. Two guys with a broomstick were carrying the roll of signs. A “Goldwater Girl” took the first picture and walked. 12 feet later the next girl took a picture and walked.

As the sign snaked through the patio diners and out onto the streets, others joined, the snake sign grew!. There was a lot of joy and good humor, as several hundred feet of “Goldwater” sign snaked across downtown, stopping traffic. Volunteers flocked out of Goldwater headquarters carrying lots of gas-filled balloons on strings. They led the parade to the park and followed the band as it began to march.

In the meantime GOP leadership was in the convention hall placing Rockefeller and Scranton literature on all the delegate chairs. As the parade marched by the center, everyone came outside to see what the crazy conservatives were up to. They watched as the band continued into the residential neighborhood. The RINOs returned through the backstage door (now unlocked). The parade quietly made a U-turn and arrived at the stage door as the bagpipes began to roar and the parade marched onto the stage. Mass confusion reigned!

As the sign continued to snake in and onto the delegate floor toward the lobby, someone told the security cop to tear the sign and close the door. Each of the side doors in torn, mysteriously flew open allowing more of the sign to snake in. Soon the vacant lobby was packed with happy cheering conservatives. The band, having eventually been evicted (!), took its place on the steps outside the entrance to the center and played for the growing crowd outside, waiting to get in.

The volunteers with string balloons had quickly used the chaos to reach front-stage and release the balloons. As they floated to the ceiling, the strings unrolled and there were lots of “Goldwater” signs suspended out of reach. It would not be possible to take a wide-angle photo of the stage without a “Goldwater” sign! Each “Goldwater Girl” was equipped with several rolls of blue masking tape. Sections of the snake sign were all over the walls of the center. When it was time to open the visitors’ balcony, all of those in front of the line had tickets. As they reached the top of the stars a volunteer collected the tickets and recycled them to the lobby.

George Bruhns, my right-hand man, and I, had attended our city GOP caucus, along with a number of friends. We were voting delegates! I have no idea how many across the state did likewise. We had mailed out instructions. We took our place on the center aisle in the third row. The convention was about to begin.

A lady sang the National Anthem. The state GOP Chairman took center stage. As he was speaking, people started laughing and pointing. The state GOP had hired our sign guy to hang a picture of Lincoln and Eisenhauer to either side above the speaker. They were slowly disappearing, to be replaced by a picture of Goldwater! The chairman blushed, “Well! We are going to have an exciting convention.!”

I had given several floor-passes to share among the “girls”. Every 5 minutes, one of them was to come down the aisle and exchange paper notes with me. One of the ones I sent back – “Pass the word – Whenever I stand, make a wall of sound!” It worked well. One I received, “The radio says Scranton plans to try and stampede the
Convention in his behalf. I sent back, “Bring 100 stick-signs and put them in the space under the stairs where the leadership can see them doing it.”

What I think makes this story worth sharing is not the fun we all had doing it. I have since attended many political conventions. Knowing what I know now, I literally had control of that convention in my hands. The floor of a convention is sovereign! The takeaway from this story is what an inexperienced “Gideon” activist can accomplish.

These columns are archived since 12/10/09
See www.ACHStudyGroups.com
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2021-09-28 A Connecticut story Read More »

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Ben Gilmore 1929-2023

On March 30, 2023 Ben Gilmore, the co-founder of ACHStudyGroups (co-founded with his wife Fran), went to be with the Lord in Glory.

A Memorial: https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/BenGilmore/