The Katherine Massey Book Club @ The C.O.W.S. hosts the 7th study session on Michael Meiers' Was Jonestown a CIA Medical Experiment. This infamous mass murder has countless parallels to our recent literary selections - Columbine, Michael Swango, and The Hart murder-suicide. The Rev. Jim Jones, a White man born in Indiana, took a thousand people from California to Guyana, South America. On November 18th, 1978, Jones killed nearly all 1,000 of his mostly black followers and orchestrated the assassination of Congressman Leo Ryan. Some were shot, but most were poisoned with cyanide, just like "Double-0 Swango." For nearly half a century, this event has been conventionally understood as a bunch of brainwashed black loons following a White charlatan to their demise in the jungle. Meiers' work suggests something far more nefarious. Last week, we learned about a number of suspicious deaths of Peoples Temple (PT) members that might be linked to Rev. Jones. The deaths of people like Maxine Harpe and Chris Lewis are often omitted from the standard narratives of Jonestown. Meiers suggests that Jones used his considerable political might in Mendocino County - which included PT members having local government jobs and Rev Jones' own employment as a school teacher and foreman on the Mendocino Co. jury - to squash unfavorably publicity and/or formal investigations of the temple. Gus denounced Meiers for mentioning the murder of 22-year-old Rory Hithe by PT member Chris Lewis, but failing to include that both black males were members of the Black Panther Party. In fact, Hithe was previously convicted for his involvement in the murder of Alex Rackley, who was reportedly accused of being an "agent" sent to spy on the Panthers. Hithe was released early for "excellent behavior." Lewis was found not guilty for killing Hithe, only to be murdered himself years later. Gus and listeners think Meiers fails to provide sufficient evidence and/or motivation for Rev. Jones killing some of these people. #COINTELPRO #TheCOWS15Years INVEST in The COWS – http://paypal.me/TheCOWS Cash App: https://cash.app/$TheCOWS CALL IN NUMBER: 605.313.5164 CODE: 564943#