Thank You Note to Mickey Hart

Dear Mickey:

You don't know me, but since you and Carol moved to Occidental we've become neighbors. I live nearby in Camp Meeker and we both live just miles from the club you joined in the past few years—Bohemian Grove. When I first heard the rumors that you had visited and then joined, I attempted to send you some info that I had accumulated over the years assuming that perhaps as a newcomer you just weren't familiar with this very exclusive and power-oriented men-only club. Much to my surprise the packet which I had so lovingly gathered for you was returned to me as undeliverable. I'm sure it was just a mistake on the part of whoever receives your mail, but of course that explains why you wouldn't be aware of the 25 years of protest by hundreds of peace and justice groups—you know, the kind of people who have supported the Grateful Dead so loyally.

So when I recently received the newest membership list (2004) for the Bohemian Club and found your name in there I just assumed that since the progressive values represented by you and the Dead for so long are not represented by your fellow club members you must have joined so you could infiltrate and share with the people some of what gets discussed every summer at the Lakeside Talks. That you managed to join the Hillbillies Camp, home of both Don Rumsfeld and George Bush Sr., means you went the extra mile for us, unlike your pal Bob Weir who joined the lesser camp of Rattlers. They only have a few members like old General Electric CEO Edmund Littlefield. Obviously the good dirt will come out of Hillbillies with Walter Cronkite and William Buckley Jr. as well as Bush and Rummy.

We've always been interested in some of the Boho Talks like the ones in 1981 by Ferdinand Graf Von Galen on the WORLD BANK & INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEMS and Edward Teller (father of the H Bomb) on NUCLEAR ENERGY. That was the first year we protested and I must say we became quite curious. And the next year there was Caspar Weinberger, who was Reagon's Secretary of Defense, speaking on REARMING AMERICA. You can understand why any Grateful Dead fan would be intrigued. There was George Shultz in 1991 speaking on AGENDA FOR AMERICA as well as Richard Cheney from two Bush administrations speaking on MAJOR DEFENSE PROBLEMS OF THE 21st CENTURY. Similar talks are given year after year and if you or anyone else is interested you can look up the "Best of Bohemian Grove Lakeside Talks" over the past 25 years on our web page.

So you can see why this letter to you is one of gratitude. For 25 years I have had to disrupt my life every July in order to get out to the public just the names and topics that by themselves are enough to send chills up the spine of any peace and justice loving person. Now that you are up there and in one of the most prestigious camps no less, I can relax and enjoy summers with my grandchildren while you do the thankless work of sharing these tidbits with the people. It would be especially helpful if you could record some of the more relevant talks this year as these guys really do have a lot of insights and ideas to share that affect our future. You probably feel as upset as we do that major public policy talks are given each summer without any kind of public scrutiny. Also if you have any time left over could you run down the annual guest lists for us? They were very useful in doing research until they suddenly posted them under glass and made you guys have to walk down to the security office instead of having them floating conveniently around the camps.

You're a stand-up guy, Mickey. Looking forward to talking with you soon.

Mary Moore
Bohemian Grove Action Network

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