September 27, 2005

Southern Poverty Law Center’s Heidi Beirich Goes Fishing

By  D.A. King

When my phone rang on Wednesday, August 17, almost exactly at noon, the caller ID display screen gave me a good idea of what to expect during the coming conversation.

"Southern Poverty Law Center" it read.

It was Heidi Beirich.

Yuck.

Here, let me advise the reader. Keep a recording device at the ready for just such calls.

To understate the obvious, these people are less than honorable.

When the phone rang, I was working on the "No More Deaths" page on The Dustin Inman Society Website.

Heidi began her conversation with me by identifying herself—and her affiliation—the SPLC "Intelligence Report."

Maybe she knows that her colleague Bob Moser’s approach when he called me—failing to mention his employer or that there was an interview in progress—only works one time with most people.

Heidi got to the subject at hand quickly. She wanted a comment from me concerning a rally on the steps of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery on June 3^rd this year. It seems that there was also a protest rally in front of the SPLC offices that day, as well as an event at the Capitol not far away.

She happily informed me that she had a photo of me standing on those steps "next to a Nazi, who was waving a Nazi flag."

A lie.

Because the topic here is Heidi Beirich and the SPLC, let me re-phrase that…another lie.

Since I haven’t been on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol since sometime around the 6^th grade, and have been nowhere near Alabama since May, I caught myself laughing at Heidi.

I told Heidi she was wrong…again, but was under no illusion that simply because the story she was sent after did not exist, it didn’t mean that I thought she would not create it and publish it in the fantasy fundraiser rag that her slick parasitic boss puts out quarterly.

Heidi also told me very smugly that they "had caught me" on tape taking photos of their offices in Montgomery in May. Ha.

Absolutely true…have camera, will travel. I did take photos of the SPLC building on Washington Street in May. They can be seen here and here.

It was May 23. Because of a death in the family, I was in Montgomery for a funeral and stopped by The Southern Poverty Law Center on my way out of town to see the "Poverty Palace" for myself. I was aware that there were video cameras around, but apparently, I was not aware of how extensive the SPLC’s office space truly is.

According to Heidi, the building that I snapped pictures of is only part of the SPLC headquarters. There is a very large office tower across the street where they have even more space. (See Heidi’s note further down.)

I will take some photos of that building the next time I go to Montgomery. Stay tuned.

Back to Heidi and her phone call to me.

It went something like this. (I do not have time to make a transcript from my tape Heidi, do you?)

Heidi asks me for a comment on something that did not happen, I make it clear that it did not happen, and she insists that it did…four or five times:

"We have people who will say that you were here, and we have a picture of you…"

"We have a picture of you standing next to a known Nazi on the steps of the Capitol, who is waving a Nazi flag…"

Me: " No, you don’t Heidi, because I do not associate with ‘Nazis,’ I was not there, and if you have people who say I was, it is because you paid them…if you have a photo it is because you doctored it..."

"We have tape of you doing surveillance ["surveillance?" why so dramatic Heidi? It was a $100.00 ten year old auto-focus film camera and it was broad daylight, 11:00 AM…I would describe my effort as more a gathering of evidence] on our structure…" [ Heidi is ever so dramatic… "structure"?]  

Me: "Heidi, I was in Montgomery in May, and proudly agree that I took photos of your building, but I was not even in the state of Alabama in June, and were it to become necessary, I can demonstrate my whereabouts…"

This seemed to slow her down, but only for a moment. She was soon back to insisting that I was on the Alabama Capitol steps in June, was in the company of "Nazis" on the Capitol steps and that she had photos and witnesses to prove it.

I get the impression that those at SPLC resent my having taken and posted photos of their Montgomery operation.

For the record…if someone carrying a Nazi flag ever comes within my reach, I will likely react with less than polite revulsion. I view such nutcases as repugnant…Heidi regards them as a source of income.

I ended my part of the conversation by outlining my plans to Heidi were she and Morris to publish the intentional fabrication she was trying out. I did take a moment to give Heidi a capsulated version of my personal opinion of her organization.

Heidi remarked that if the guy in the picture wasn’t me, it certainly looked like me.

She seemed disappointed.

She told me that she would e-mail me the photo as soon as we ended the very unpleasant phone conversation, and that we could talk after me seeing the photo that she claimed to possess.

I forgot to ask her why she hated her country.

We hung up.

I immediately took my second shower of the day.

Like I said…yuck.

More than an hour passed…no e-mail from Heidi. Maybe she misplaced the alleged photo? Maybe a meeting with her Comrades at the Ministry of Propaganda and Revenue in Montgomery to discuss strategy?

At 1:38 PM, an hour and a half after hanging up, her mail came. There was no photo, only this note [unedited]:

Dear Mr. King,
Based on your adamant denials and further investigation on our part, we
agree that your only visit to Montgomery was when you surveilled and
photographed our new Civil Rights Memorial Center on May 23rd (we actually
work across the street).

For us accuracy is always paramount. Thank you for taking my call.

Best,
Heidi Beirich

****************
Heidi Beirich, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Intelligence Project
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 956-8309

Hola! What about the "witnesses" and the photo?

I take the time to write this column for the next poor sap that gets a call from these creatures.

Tape the call. [VDare.com note: Tape it legally. Remember the persecution of Linda Tripp!] If you insist that we as a nation secure our borders, if you vocally insist that the rule of law on which the U.S. was founded apply equally, to everyone, even if they come from Mexico, expect the call.

Morris Dees has bills to pay. That fact is always paramount.

They don’t call him a slick parasitic huckster for nothing.