Robert Fort:
CLASS OF 1987
Palestine High SchoolClass of 1987
Palestine, TX
Malakoff High SchoolClass of 1987
Malakoff, TX
Davy Crockett Junior High SchoolClass of 1983
Palestine, TX
Malakoff Middle SchoolClass of 1983
Malakoff, TX
Malakoff Elementary SchoolClass of 1981
Malakoff, TX
Robert's Story
POST-SR HI SUMMARY--UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2008. Since high school, I have become a serious Christian and libertarian. I am an electrical engineer who has worked in the area of radio circuit design, and to a lesser extent, antenna design. My brother Michael (PHS '90) and I live together in Plano, TX. Marriage has eluded me thus far, which has proven to be a blessing more than a curse, although it has been trying being single for so many years. I still enjoy exotic firearms, hot rods, and alternative rock, although my musical tastes are broader now. Reading a good book/article, watching a movie, engaging in a conversation of substance or eating a satisfying meal are the things I enjoy most. For more, see my profile on MySpace and LinkedIn.
Herein, are short bios for my years in:
K-12th grade
AIR FORCE
COLLEGE
CRUSADES
Bios for each Air Force base I was stationed at can be found at the COMMUNITIES area.
To those whom I've committed some injustice over the years or whose difficulties I have not shown adequate interest, I ask your pardon. In my youth I was arrogant, lustful, took my numerous blessings for granted, lived for my own glory and thought of myself far too often, as well as being blind to the problems so many folks have to live with.
CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY: 1987-Joined the Air Force and my '68 Firebird became drivable. 1988-Finished radio technical school at Keesler AFB, MS; started reading the Bible 1989-Certified on all radios & radars at Little Rock AFB (C-130 aircraft). BTW, I am not pro-military. I like the Swiss militia model; no standing army equals no ability to be the policeman of the world or temptation to create an empire (see AIR FORCE bio). My father dies at fifty from cancer; he is sorely missed. 1990-Honorably discharged, enrolled at Trinity Valley Community College. 1991-Joined the John Birch Society. The JBS is dedicated to constitutional government, a non-interventionist foreign policy, the gold standard, revisionist historical research, and more. However, as I was to eventually figure out, the JBS is not Christian--a major flaw. See CRUSADES. 1992-Moved to Longview to study ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING at LeTourneau Univ. 1993-Hired as a field coordinator for the John Birch Society for South/West Texas & part of New Mexico. 1995-Michael earns his BS in Mathematics at UT San Antonio. We return to Longview to start a mobile auto repair service, which failed, while working on product ideas. 1996-I went to work for NorthWest Airlines in Minnesota as a contract engineer converting a MD80 flight simulator to a DC9 type. Started doing machinist work. I was able to travel to NYC, Bay area, Amsterdam and the Black Hills. Enrolled at UT Dallas. 1997-Michael and I move to Carrollton. 1998-Finish my BSEE at UTD. Apprenticeships are superior to degrees (see COLLEGE bio). 1999-Spent five weeks on Saipan, near Guam, working at a HF radio site in my first post-degree engineering job. Later that year, I was hired as a radio circuit design engineer by a start-up developing a new type of wireless 2-way radio technology. 2000-My brother and I create a web site promoting the Christian libertarian position, although there is much of it that needs rewritten. 2001-The start-up went bankrupt and my 20,000 shares of stock become worthless. My mother, weary of living in Palestine alone for many years, moved in with us. 2004-We moved to a house in Plano w/ a large metal building. God willing, this will allow us to develop some product ideas. 2005-Did some interesting mechanical engineering work on SATCOM amplifiers. 2008-My mother nearly dies from bacterial meningitis in February. Fortunately, she's fine--due to unauthorized colloidal silver IVs (no thanks to hospitals, doctors or allopathic medicine). Since '93 I have had health issues based in part on thyroid hormone rejection. Treatment hasn't helped much. It has beat me down, but it has made me a better man and more empathic (see AIR FORCE bio).
K-12 SCHOOL BIO, 1974-87
Malakoff, TX years (K-7, 1973-82, near Athens)
My brother Michael (3.5 yrs younger) and I lived south of the railroad tracks on Kate Street near my best friend Grady Baker. We enjoyed: biking at the brickyard's clay pits, crawdad fishing, flying kites, building model cars/planes, setting off fireworks, creating a mini-golf course, shooting BB guns, basketball, baseball, football, Atari, our clubhouses, playing on the railroad tracks & parked railroad cars, walking home from school, attending Tiger sporting events, NWA (Von Erichs) wrestling, swimming at R.H. Lee Park--lots of good times. Other neighborhood kids: Ray Durmon ('81), Haney sisters, Johnny Jones ('83), John Costlow ('86), Leon Jones, Glenn Wheat & sister Anna Kochurik (6th grade). Joel Knox ('87) is my only current contact.
More memories: my mowing business, working on lawnmower engines, rehearsing pages of lines w/ my mother for the lead role (a sad clown) in the 5th grade play, my first gun in '79 (Marlin 781), my dad teaching me to solder and do electrician's work, target shooting, practicing Morse code for a ham radio license (didn't get it), Christmas parades, movies in Athens & Corsicana, Vacation Bible School, visits to my paternal grandparents in Groveton (TX), rodeos, maternal grandparents move to Star Harbor in '77, neighbors Jewell Green (mother of 5th grade teacher Bill Green) & Lila Humphries, attending First Methodist Church, Cub Scouts, Little League (Cowboys team--Steen Field), YMCA basketball, pinball at the Tiger's Den, the Garrisons, Grady's Game Room, Miss Smith's store, Kirby's, Pritchard's Barbershop, Tanner's Exxon, Phillip's Hardware, and Down Mexico Way in Athens.
6th grade was my funnest year (old, rock school). From Jr Hi I enjoyed Life Science w/ Tommy Speak, Texas history w/ Coach Cotton and playing football (one win: Brownsboro).
My father, Jim Fort, the guidance counselor at the high school, had hard conflicts with child beaters and corrupt law enforcement personnel (on two occasions he guarded our family all night, heavily armed due to death threats from law enforcement). Consequently, in April '82 the school board "re-assigned" him to the Jr Hi as a math teacher effective that fall. He resigned, of course. At the graduation ceremony, the salutatorian, Kyle Kilman, publicly rebuked the school board, which was thrilling (he was in my father's physics class--my dad taught it for no extra pay). For years I was bitter about leaving Malakoff, but I suspect the Lord saved the Forts from some bad trouble had we stayed.
Palestine, TX years (8-12th grade)
Our family moved to Palestine in July '82. I was part of the final 8th grade class at Davy Crockett Jr Hi and the last 8th grade football team to play at Luckett-Kolstad stadium (the A-team's one win: Carthage).
Sr Hi memories: Physics w/ Coach Gall, English 3 w/ Cathy Rotter, writing music reviews for The Chatter, running for student council president (thankfully I lost), hosting the Total Rock Hour at KLIS-96.7 FM w/ Colin Selden & Jay Banks, reading gun magazines, Kiss/Ratt/Motley Crue concerts in Dallas, building my 4' tall speaker cabinets (still in use 22 years later), working on my '68 Firebird w/ 455 engine, swimming at Green's Park and Lowerland Lake, the shooting range, taking the ACT in Athens, jogging the loop, working at the funeral home & cemetery w/ Jerry Lamb ('86) and Kevin Croft ('88), painting house numbers on curbs w/ my brother Michael ('90), Dogwood Trails Festivals; working at McDonald's w/ Bill Wolfe, Jack Camplain & Rodney Furnish (Westwood '87); re-modeling the Park Ave house, attending Grace Methodist (w/ Jerry Harris, Randy Smiley & Troy McGuire) and after early '86, 1st Christian Church.
More folks deserving a spot: Dean Jones (English 4), Trey Love (ran into him in Biloxi, MS in early '88!), Heath Gabbard (made me laugh), Jonathon Hicks (a fine man), Randy Adams (head banger, lunch at Mazzio's), Hung Lam (study sessions), Charlie Harper (a good man/teacher), Brian Sallee (drafting), Scott Oates (English 3 & 4), Wade Kludt (Westwood '86--RIP), Curt Thomas ('86, lunch at Church's), Billy Lanning ('86, thanks for the Eilenberger's Bakery work), David Boedecker ('86, thanks for the Herald-Press newspaper work), Jeremy Rollison ('88, running partner), David Kincaid ('88, thanks for "The New American" magazines--my introduction to libertarianism; see CRUSADES).
AIR FORCE BIO, 1987-90
My duty stations:
Shreveport, LA MEPS; Oct '87 (induction only)
Lackland AFB; San Antonio, TX; 3743rd Basic Military Training Squadron, Flight 028, Oct-Nov '87
Keesler AFB; Biloxi, MS; 3392nd Student Squadron, Nov '87 to June '88
Little Rock AFB; Jacksonville, AR; 314th Avionics Maintenance Squadron, June '88 to Mar '90
Three of the happiest days of my life were leaving boot camp, tech school, and being discharged from active duty.
I was an avionics technician (com/nav) servicing radio, navigation and radar equipment (Doppler, too) for the C-130E cargo aircraft. Security clearance level was Secret. Technicians at Little Rock AFB worked on the flight line and in the shop on the various avionics units from the aircraft. This led to a more knowledgeable technician, unlike most bases where one was assigned either to a flight line or shop unit.
The 314th AMS was part of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing--a component of Military Airlift Command (MAC), which was centered on cargo aircraft (C-5, C-9, C-130 & C-141). The other two large, defining major commands were Tactical Air Command (TAC: predominantly fighters: F-15 & F-16) and Strategic Air Command (SAC: ICBMs, bombers & tankers: B-1B, B-52, KC-135, KC-10). The C-17, F-22, F-117 and B-2 weren't in service in the '90s.
I am not pro-military. I like the Swiss militia model of defense; no standing army equals no ability to be the "policeman of the world" nor temptation to create an empire. The US hasn't fought a...Expand for more
war that met the Christian Just War criteria since our founding days (the South did: fighting the invasion from the North). Most of the wars the US have fought have had either an imperialistic goal, such as establishing military bases (Spanish-American War), or a Jacobin goal, such as "making the world safe for democracy" (WWI) or "eliminating evil from the world" (Operation Infinite Justice). A crusade for some goal via state-sanctioned violence is the essence of Jacobin thought (or neo-conservative or pro-war liberal ideologies), and the goal is often an issue of virtue or lies beyond the realm of local concern. Examples: creating a police state to fight crime/terrorism, enacting prohibition to fight drunkenness, destroying the South to keep the Union intact/abolish slavery, and invading Iraq to free it from dictatorship. Our war in Iraq represents both imperialistic and Jacobin aims.
FYI, I am not a pacifist, and I own several "fighting firearms". If you worry that people won't consider you manly if you oppose the war, let me tell you, real men are opposed to the murder of innocents--even if they have a different color of skin, speak a different language, or do not honor Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. A Christian should not be influenced by nationalist passions in analyzing foreign policy since we do not live for the "glory of the fatherland". Christians should be against the State in any form as it is a false, cruel god. The civil magistrate should be concerned only with God's law in a small, local sphere. For more, see me at MySpace.
The inoculations I received at boot camp and LRAFB have probably caused many of my health problems. A preservative frequently encountered in vaccines, thimerosal (ethyl mercury), can cause numerous problems. There are ways of removing mercury through the use of various chelators (if brain tissue permeation is suspected, use a combination of DMSA and lipoic acid taken orally). Mercury toxicity can cause many problems involving the liver, thyroid and brain, having the effect of making one feel fatigued and causing difficulty in concentrating and sleeping.
COLLEGE BIO, 1990-98
The religion of humanism & statism abounds at the university (and at public schools, too). We would be better off reading books, attending seminars, and working as apprentices under experienced mentors. As "good Will Hunting" told the Harvard under-grad, "You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library." Having said that, I needed a union card.
In June '90, I started at Trinity Valley Community College's Palestine campus. That fall, I read Milton Friedman's "Capitalism & Freedom" for Merl Estep's Pol Sci 101. It was weakly libertarian compared to the Austrian school of economics which Ron Paul advocates, but at the time I was impressed (Friedman is from the ¿Chicago School¿ of economics). In Sept '91, my brother Michael and I began commuting to Athens so we could take Physics and Calculus III/IV (the latter w/ my best professor ever, Alan Anthony).
In Aug '92, Michael and I moved to Longview to attend LeTourneau University, a private, evangelical college known for welding engineering. However, I was there for ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.
Slade Rinehart was my closest buddy at LeTourneau. Together we encouraged the College Republicans to ditch their party affiliation and become centered instead on paleo-conservative principles, hence, The New Americans club. We caused much controversy on the campus since statism abounded. LeTourneau President Alvin Austin didn't like us--he told us so. Michael & I also wrote regular columns in the campus newspaper "The Yellowjacket" which caused strife. During the spring I sat on the student senate.
Folks I enjoyed: Kevin Steiner, Sydney, Aaron Rupp, Brian Haupt, Scott Van Ek, Mike Good, Jim Mumaw, Marvin Foster (and the rest of the New Americans), Matt Polk, and newspaper editor Galen Steele. Some of my professors included Bill Graff, Don Knoup, Knouse and Erikstad.
I didn't like LeTourneau, but the atmosphere was desirable in many ways. Some of the professors were good at teaching, but overall the students were brutalized by the coursework, projects and petty policies. I hated going to the mandatory chapel session to hear some pietistic gush and happy-clappy music. Escapist theology (such as the "rapture"), Armianism, biblicism (random citation of biblical texts instead of systematic, Christian thought), moralism (instead of piety), mild gnosticism, and pietism were pandemic.
Sunday nights at Papacitas' Mexican restaurant were fun. The Longview shooting club we belonged to had a great range south of I-20. I was first exposed to the school of theology known as Christian Reconstruction while at LeTourneau, as well as Calvinism. During that year, I also became the John Birch Society chapter leader for Shreveport, and eventually section leader over additional chapters in Longview, Tyler & Palestine (see CRUSADES).
After a bad year at LeTourneau, I went to work for the Society. Due in part to a scholarship, I had elected not to go to UT Dallas or UT Arlington (UT Tyler didn't offer an EE degree till '97). After working for three years, I decided to finish my degree in '96.
This takes me to the University of Texas at Dallas, which is really in Richardson where I finished my BSEE in Aug '98. UTD is best described as a commuter college so there wasn't much of a social life. My three favorite professors: Cyrus Cantrell, Duncan MacFarlane & John Fonseka. My senior project was an inverting power supply that converted DC to 60 Hz AC, and I took a couple of graduate courses as electives. One of my grad class papers (co-written) was on antennas and antenna modeling (which embarrasses me now). My health issues manifested themselves greatly while at UTD.
CRUSADES & WORK: JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY, 1991-2006
The Forts were members of the JBS from Aug '91 to Oct '06. We resigned our life memberships when William Norman Grigg, one of the senior editors for the Society's magazine "The New American," was fired. I worked as a paid field staff member, a coordinator, from Aug '93 to Nov '94. After '94, Michal and I were no longer active in the Society, though still members.
The JBS is dedicated to states' rights federalism, restoration of constitutionally limited government, the 2nd Amendment (and all of the Bill of Rights), a foreign policy of nonintervention, free markets, the gold standard, revisionist history, non-state controlled education, opposition to central banking & Keynesian economics, all forms of collectivism (e.g. socialism), and a conservative moral code--all good things. However, the JBS is not explicitly Christian--a serious flaw (the Lord will not be denied His glory). They should focus on a Christian libertarian philosophy instead of trying to restore the Constitution. Patrick Henry and the other Anti-Federalists were right--the then-proposed Constitution and its federal government represented a dangerous concentration of power.
Trying to educate the people around you is commendable, but without establishing a thorough Christian world view, it is pointless. And tyranny won't be stopped by writing letters to Congress.
The JBS is overly focused on revisionist history, and I think some of their conclusions are incorrect. Such as, an on-going, master conspiracy has called the shots since shortly before the French Revolution. While flawed, it is still a superior view of history compared to the nihilistic/messianic-statist school held by most. Nevertheless, the belief that various secret & quasi-secret societies have wielded tremendous influence (which they have) does not equate to a rejection of statism. Ironically, the Society's revisionism is surprisingly weak in some areas. For instance, they do NOT: support 9/11 revisionism, condemn Talmudic Judaism (a religion whose adherents/fellow travelers helped form neo-conservative thought, Communism, and PC/cultural Marxism), or view Freemasonry as subversive (fortunately the Lodges are dying now).
Robert Welch, founder of the JBS, was a Unitarian, elitist, and probable Mason.
In 2000, I wrote a lengthy paper for Alan Stang's website detailing the philosophical and theological deficiencies of the JBS.
"The New American" had substance at one time, and the JBS used to publish some serious books. As a chapter leader, I thought coordinators did something useful. Instead, as a coordinator, I felt like I was helping an organization perpetuate itself. There was too much fund raising, hand holding, and too many phone calls to make. Volunteer leadership had nearly vanished. The JBS, too, was not selective enough in who it allowed to join; we had quite a few cranks and fools.
From my home base in San Antonio, I covered additional chapters in the Rio Grande Valley, El Paso, Midland & Odessa, Abilene and Austin. My territory included South, West & Central Texas as well as parts of New Mexico. I was in the Midland/Odessa region the first week of each month. The business chapter met in the restaurant/club on the 6th floor of the ClayDesta Center (next to Clayton Williams' oil company). The "Overview of Our World" seminar (Sept '94) was held at the Petroleum Club. Dorthy Wyvell and J. Evetts Hailey (historian & rancher) were two great members of the Society in the Permian Basin I was glad to meet before they died. Wyvell was the pediatrician for the Bush family in years past, but despised the Bush's neo-conservative beliefs. I received her autographed copy of Austrian economist Lugwig Von Mises' "Human Action" as a parting gift.
During my tenure, I gave radio interviews in several towns and a few speeches. G. Edward Griffin's speaking tour was the largest I was involved w/ after his book "The Creature from Jekyll Island" was published (a scholarly critique of the Federal Reserve).
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