Michael Fumento, a self-portrait of his darker side

Minnie Riperton brought us that immortal line: "La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, dootn-dootn-doo-doo, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!" Let’s not pick on her, since the poor thing died at 31 of cancer. But interesting, isn’t it, how many people detest a song about Lovin’ You? Likewise, what’s a nice, soft, cuddly of a guy like me doing getting so much hate mail? Perhaps a better question is, why do I reprint it on my web site? Just chalk it up as another mystery of the universe, kinda like how a lot of these letter writers manage to dress themselves in the morning – assuming they do.

Cancer Hate

What a Groucho!

groucho5102@[omitted]

Concerning your trashing of Samuel Epstein:
Would you kindly f**k off back to the planet you're from, and quit helping to f**k up ours?

Yours sincerely,

An Earthling

Dear Earthling,
Take me to your leader. You're obviously incapable of thinking for yourself.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento from Planet X

The trashing of Epstein was predictable, given the needs of your paymasters. Maybe it'd be more instructive all round [sic] if you were to take me to *your* leaders. Presumably Planet X is the planet of pseudointellectual slot machines.

Actually, I have an independently functioning brain, sir, one that isn't coin operated. I doubt that you can say the same.

Dear Grouchy,
You made my point in your first message. No sense in being redundant.

Sincerely,
Michael (ka-ching!) Fumento

Obesity Hate

Extra Wide Load

Sir,

I have recently read your article One Nation, Overweight. When Will We Take Action? June 23, 1998 [sic]

I wonder at your credentials.

I have rarely read a less enlightened piece.

Good Luck [sic] on expanding your depth as a person.

jimlynch@[omitted]

Sir:
Good luck at expanding your width as a person.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Agent Orange and GWS Hate

Say It; Don’t Spray It

From: lJohnson@[omitted]
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU WOULD ALLOW US TO SPRAY YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND WIFE WITH AGENT ORANGE EVERYDAY FOR ON [sic] SOLID YEAR. ALSO, WE WANT TO PUT IT IN YOUR DRINKING WATER AND PUT STRONG CONSENTRATIONS [sic] IN YOU FOOD YOU HAVE TO EAT.

THAN [sic] IN 5 OR 10 YEARS ASK YOU [sic] HOW YOU FEEL. THAN [sic] HAVE SOMEONE TELL YOU IT IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD AND YOU ARE NOT REALLY SICK.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. MAY GOD FORGIVE YOU SIR. BECAUSE THE VIET NAM AND DESERT STORM VETERANS NEVER WILL.

Dear Mr. Johnson,
I’m afraid I can’t take you up on your offer, since they stopped making and spraying Agent Orange in 1971. But you might be interested to know that there is a group of men who did drink it by the glass in Vietnam as an initiation rite. The group is in excellent health. As it happens, you’re really not setting up a very fair test. Testing of Vietnam veterans compared to U.S. civilians who never went to Vietnam indicated that the civilians actually had higher mean dioxin exposures than vets. The evidence is that very few vets had any exposure to Agent Orange whatsoever, much less the massive dosing you would ask me to undergo. That even goes for those who did the spraying, members of Operation Ranchhand. They are regularly studied by the Air Force and though they clearly have elevated dioxin levels, meaning relatively high exposure to Agent Orange, they are just fine and dandy, thank you. Finally, since Desert Storm didn’t begin until two decades after Agent Orange spraying stopped, I fail to see the logic in combining the two. All you’re really doing is supporting my contention that both Vietnam vets claiming AO-related sickness and Gulf vets claiming Desert Storm-related sickness are related only in the broad sense that there has been no identified cause for their ills and alleged ills. Thank you. AND STOP SHOUTING AT ME, DAMMIT!

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

DEAR SIR,
TAKE THE TIME YOU HAVE LEFT ON THIS EARTH AND USE YOU [sic] EDUCATION TO DO GOOD FOR PEOPLE. YOU COULD USE WHAT YOU KNOW IN A KIND WAY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE FOUND OUT. NOT BELITTLING PEOPLE AND RUNNING DOWN PEOPLE. [sic]

YOU WERE NOT THERE YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN VIET NAM YOU COULD HELP VETS WITH WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT.. [sic]

PEOPLE DRINKING AGENT ORANGE PLEEEEASE!!!!

I’m not belittling "people," I’m belittling a person, namely you, because you don’t bother to read things you rail against. It seems to me that telling vets the truth, that they have no higher level of disease than non-vets, that they are not ticking time-bombs, and backing this up with massive amounts of scientific evidence constitutes encouragement. But what do I know? And since you were so polite in commenting on the people drinking Agent Orange, with that long "PLEEEASE," I’ll answer you. It was an initiation rite for the Ranchhanders themselves. There’s a news clip of some of them drinking it on the video version of my book Science Under Siege.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Just Plain Old Agent Orange Hate

[Most of these letters came after somebody posted my July 2000 Reason article, "Vietnam Flashback – Does Agent Orange Cause Diabetes?" on a news group bulletin board of some seriously mentally ill Vietnam vets or faux vets. Somebody posted the article on their web site indicating that I was the one who did it. In fact, you can't post to their message board unless you are a member. Then they came under the impression that I was sending them letters with false names. In fact, there is no evidence this was the case. These people apparently not only imagine symptoms that don’t exist, but likewise for letters. Since I gave as good as I got from the flamers, the group’s head, Larry Birdsell, eventually went straight to my office head to try to get me fired.]

And What Color Is Your Ribbon?

Subject: VIETNAM FLASHBACK
I was very shocked when I read this story, why are you writing stories about Vietnam Vets [sic] that are suffering from diabetes and are dying from this illness. You have every right to do a article like this but as adiabetic [sic] vietnam [sic] vet I wanted you to know that this story is a slap in the face to all vietnam [sic] vets suffering from diabetes.

Gerry Fitzpatrick, Pres.
Agent Orange Diabetic Victims

Dear Gerry,
I’m terribly sorry. I was unaware that even though diabetes has become epidemic in this country, afflicting 16 million Americans, Vietnam vets were guaranteed that they would never get it. Therefore each and every one of our three million Viet vets who do contract the disease must have gotten it from Agent Orange, rather than primarily from bad diets and obesity like the rest of us.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Just Another One-Man Hospital Ward

I am a 52 year old [sic] Viet Nam Vet [sic] who WAS EXPOSED to Agent Orange. I find your article on the Agent Orange Debrief [sic] not only insulting but very offense [sic] to Viet Nam Vets? [sic] I have Adult Onset Diabetes [sic] and I stand 6' tall and 147 pounds. There is no history of the disease on either my mother or my fathers [sic] side of the family. I eat healthy, and exercise daily. They still cannot get my diabetes under control. The dioxin level in my body is shutting down my pancreas.[sic] I also have sever [sic] heart problems, neropathy [sic] in both feet and now moving into my hands. Now they are checking me for Non Hodkins Disease [sic]. Too [sic] top that off I have deterating [sic] lung walls.

Were you there when they sprayed us in Nam? Did you choke and vomit from inhaling this mythical spray? [No, but neither did those who drank it by the glass.] Were you there when I found out that my first child's lungs collapsed at birth? Did you help raise a little girl who was in a full body cast her first year of live [sic] because her hip joint failed to develop. Were you there when my first Grandson [sic] died of sever [sic] disformaties [sic] and Spina Bithida [sic] at 5 years old? If you cannot answer yes to these questions then how the hell can you criticize any Viet Nam Vet [sic]?

I want to add that I am one of the healthier Viet Nam Vets who was exposed to agent orange [Is it upper or lower case, guy?]. I am the founder of Fire-Base Hope a group of Agent Orange Vets [sic] fighting for our rights. I will be posting a link to your article on the message board there. Please feel free to visit this site because mine will not be the only email you get!

Larry Birdsell [Notwithstanding the opening sentence, at this point I hadn’t even responded yet! When I say they’re strange agents, I mean it.]

Hi Mike [sic] I just had to deleat [sic] your message off of our message board. Tell all of your other alias (aliases) I said Hi [sic]. Oh, yes we have just launch a nation [sic] Veterans Boycott [sic] of all publications put out by the Hudson Inst. until you are removed from there [sic] staff and the Rolling Thunder [the biker vets] wants [sic] to meet you too. I am publishing your name and address so all Vets [sic] know how to contact you. You have a nice Day [sic].

Larry Birdsell

"Highly inflammable, that’s what you are. Highly inflammable, though near or far . . ."

Willowflutes@[omitted] writes:

To you misguided few:
Michael Fumentois [sic] should be stuffed into a toxic waste disposal cannister, and buried for the next thousand years. I found his story highly inflammable, extremely misinformed, and personally injurious.

I experienced many similar sudden onsets of fatigue and illness upon returning from the Gulf. I couldn't even finish a two mile run! Since 1991, I have suffered many symptoms that the VA has outright refused to even recognize until now. Most serious of these appears to be the mysterious onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis [sic] like [sic] symptoms.

By the way, I was up by Kamasiyah. Some people masked, others who were more distant from the site did so only after realizing something was wrong. I remember looking through binoculars, and seeing a panicked frenzy, and thinking, "oh, oh."[sic]

The munitions, by the way, were mostly made in Jordan. The many supplies of beans and rice that we saw that had been shipped to Iraq in June of 1990, those were from the USDA. Fumentois needs to either get his facts straight (or stop the outright perpetuation of such obvious government lies) or shut up.

PSYOPer

Dear PSYCHOper:
The name isn't "Fumentois," it's "Fumento." My tag line always reads "Michael Fumento is" followed by an affiliation. It may say something about you that you you've converted that into a name. As to the VA not recognizing your symptoms until now, my guess is they still haven’t and never will. I would be delighted to see a copy of your medical records indicating otherwise. [Surprise of surprises, he didn’t offer to send them.] Finally, as to your inability to run two miles, try losing that beer gut and let me know how if that helps.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento (without the "is")

Deflaming the Vets

Subj: deflamation [sic] of charactor [sic] to all veterans

With these type [sic] of remarks this is not only a slap in th [sic] face to all veterans and peope [sic] that died in wars but you better read military hirtory [sic] after Korea the presidents made a general article [sic] to loose [sic] all wars in Se [sic] asia [sic]. Also the war was fought from washington [sic] not from the commanders and we didnt [sic] have the back up [sic] we needed to [sic] many rules put in place to keep us from fighting (sic, sic, sic)

SO one day mayne [sic] God can look you in the eyes and tell you abotu [sic] war and people who fight wars. I have books on wrs [sic] and military freedom though [sic] wars

mark

Dear Mark:
Too bad you can’t read those books, eh? And sorry about deflaming vets – of which I am one and you are not. Next time I guess I’ll just have to let them burn..

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

[Mark then sent this to my webmaster. I’m not going to bother with the "sic"s.]

Another Illuminating E-mail from a Advanced OCmputer User

I am a advanced OCmputer user so IM sending you a tag form a email I supoosedly received from Mr Fumento, about him Tearing up Vietname Vets, as a Veteranand a radios tation Owner I have delt with so called (MR.XXX) on veterans boards belittling people eho have lost children,sons daughters husbands and wives from war, I amd sending you the headers from one of his emails so you can do a log adate time check with his ISP and see if he is playing games or if someoen has been able to steal his email address which I doubt if the times and log sheet match I am d sending them as a attachment

Thnak you
mark

Stop Using those Damned Ficious Names!

SCHIFFER01@[omitted] writes:

Whatever you are,
In my opinion as well as any other veteran who may have come in contact with you ,you are a world class idiot. Where do you get the idea that you can ridicule disabled veterans who so loyally served their country in the time of war. I'm quite sure that you didn't serve and if you did they would have booted your ass out of the military. I wish you wouldn't hide behind ficious [sic] names so we would be able to find you and show you what veterans can do to jerks like you.

You don't have enough brain cells to realize that there really is somebody out there named "Michael Fumento," but you have taken upon yourself the mantle of representing all veterans and even deciding who is and isn’t one. Get a spell checker. Get some gray matter. Get a life.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

[Again, I ran into a "sic" shortage with this letter, so I left them out.

Would You Like Regular Chickenshit? Or Extra Crispy?

Sorry to tell ya bad news you yuppy---You might be educated , you might even be a decent person, But you really Donot know JACKSHIT when it comes to GWS--or the chemicals we have been exposed to. It takes a real man to admit his mistakes and you need to realize yours---what MOMMY didn't give you enough attention when you were a child? What I have is real and people like you just look for attention and like to run your mouth to try and make others lives like your pathetic, ego-tistical, selfserving,hypocritical, self

When Scud # 39 hit Saudi Jan 20,1991 where were you ? Thinking of away to become popular? Nothing better to do than to criticize people who put thier lives on the line for sorry asses like yourself,

Thier probably are a lot of fakers in this world unfortunately I'm not one of them. So before you run your mouth ask yourself this question----did i put my ass on the line, or am i just plain CHICKENSHIT and a COWARD to make myself feel better i think I'll Talk SHIT

"Son, we don't fry THAT part of the chicken."

P.S. Don't ever come to my property
I'd hate to do something you'd
regret.( YOU POS )

with sincerity
yours truly
TRENCH101st.

Dear Trenchmouth,
If you believed you were suffering from hair cancer and I established that this was not possible since there's no such thing, the proper response on your part would be a combination of relief and embarrassment. In your case, however, faced with a wall of evidence that regardless of what ailments you may have or think you have that there's no such thing as GWS, you lash out at me in the only way you can. Like many of your fellows, you use an e-mail name that shows that you are not able to leave the war behind, apparently because it was the only high point you ever had or hope to have. Finally, like many of your fellows, you threaten to do me bodily injury if I show up on your property. Do you really think I have nothing better to do than visit whacked-out vets or people who are convinced they were vets but never wore a uniform other than one that read "Burger King"?

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Never let it be said that I can’t let someone else have the last word – with just a note. Like the GWS moaners, this handful of vets can’t leave the war behind, as evidenced by such e-mail names as MikeForce or my friend from above, TRENCH101ST. Hey guys, the Vietnam War is over. We took the silver medal for second place. The average Viet vet is better-adjusted and makes more money than their counterparts who stayed home. Nobody blames the vets anymore for how the war was conducted. So get out of your damned news group sites and off your rumps and get a life!

Sir:

I have a few questions for you after reading one of your articles. Did you spend anytime in the Republic of South Vietnam? If so Where [sic] ? Are you aware that there are Vietnamese people still dying from Agent Orange, and they are not as advanced as we are, but they are smart enough to know what is killing them. From reading your biography, I believe you are a highly educated person and I respect your thoughts and opinions, however unless you have been sprayed with Agent Orange by airplanes and helicopters, and unless you have seen the after effects of Agent Orange on foliage I do not understand how you can belittle Veterans [sic] of the United States Militaries [sic] that served in Vietnam and their children, but then I do realize that Vietnam Veterans [sic] have been targets for whoever decides to take a shot at us. We went where we were told, when we were told and did what was expected of us. And for your information sir, WE the Vietnam Veterans or [sic] the World are still dying daily so people like you can freely voice your opinion, and walk the streets.

Dear Sir, Your article on agent orange and diabetis [sic] was totally groundless. You obviously aren't suffering from a disease which cannot be explained by any doctors. The only reason they can come up for many of our diseases is exposure to AO in Vietnam. You are wrong on [sic] assuming that the Ranch Handers were more exposed than any other troops in Vietnam. First of all sir, the Ranch Handers were exposed merely through handling the stuff. There were thousands upon thousands who were exposed through breathing the dioxin as well as being sprayed upon. There were other men and women who were exposed merely by flying through an area that had just been sprayed. I have been part of the Air Force Ranch Hand study since it's [sic] inception in 1980. I doubt that you were ever in vietnam [sic] or any other war for that matter so how do you think you can criticize those of us who are litterally [sic] dying because of our exposure to agent orange. If you would do some research you would find out that dioxin has been proven to be the cause of many many [sic] diseases that this study hasn't even touched on yet. Our government knew in 1946 what the risk of using such a chemical would be.

Artist's rendition of hell

[The first dioxin studies were in the 1960s.] Dioxin has been proven to cause many kinds of cancer as well as heart disease and diabetis [sic] to name just a few. Studies done in Europe and the US made the results of these studies [sic] available to our government years ago. You, sir, need to research some of these articles before you shoot off your BIG MOUTH and critisize [sic] veterans who are dying. I hope you are in good health but if your not maybe it's because of something you ate. Even if your doctors say it's not.

May you have a change of heart before you GO TO HELL,
Ray [omitted]

Fire Base Dope

[And finally, the letter to my office head. Notice that first he says I’ve been posting messages to his bulletin board (I posted none), chastens me for that, and then admits he’s the one who’s been posting them!]

Dear Mr. Weinstein:

My name is Larry Birdsell. I am a disable [sic] Viet Nam Vet [sic] who was exposed to Agent Orange. I am also the founder of a Web Based [sic] Veterans [sic] Organization [sic] called Fire-Base [sic] Hope. I want to inform you about a Senior Fellow in your organization. His name is Michael Fumento. This person is sick. He has been going on Veterans [sic] Messageboards [sic] and insulting Veterans [sic] all over the Internet. In those insults he uses the Vets [sic] Disabilities [sic] as a tool to hurt them. I have been posting some of the emails he has been sending to the vets on our messageboard [sic]. His insults are to the point that he his [sic] putting peoples lives in danger. You should know that a lot of the Vets with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] are very unstable and their tempers flair when they are insulted. I also have a Vet [sic] in our group who has had 70 [!] bypass and heart surgeries and when Mr. Fumento out [sic] this he has tried [sic] to upset this person.

[Nobody who wrote even claimed to have had what would surely be the world’s record for heart surgeries.]

In addition I have ask [sic] that All [sic] Vets boycott the Hudson Institute and your publications until Mr. Fumento is removed from your staff. [Ever try boycotting a think tank?] I will also be contacting all of the DC [sic] media exposing this disturbed individual. I don’t think that you would want to be know [sic] as his employer when we get through. I do have the backing of the major Vet [sic] Organizations [sic] in this matter. [Or at the very least, the American Legion of Loonies.] For further reference please feel free to visit our message board at the Message Center on Fire Base Hope.

Sincerely,
Larry Birdsell

Just Plain Old GWS Hate

The Power of Prayer

From VETM2@[omitted]
YOU ARE TRULY A MORON! I pray you never suffer like the Veterans [sic] who serve for [sic] this great country. You are a disgrace.

Gulf War Veteran

I was state side [sic] during the war. I received shots and have never been the same. Explain that HERO......

Let me get this straight M2, you are actually admitting that you call yourself a Gulf vet but never deployed there, and admitting that you call yourself a victim of GWS, again without having deployed there. Thanks for confirming what is clearly so often the case with other self-proclaimed "Gulf vets" and "GWS sufferers."

Sincerely,
Michael "The Moron" Fumento

What is your IQ anyway, HERO!!?

The only IQ test I ever took was right after I entered the Army. I scored 138 on the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). That puts me in the "genius" category, but I don’t brag about it like you guys do about your alleged ailments.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

First response:

OHO. Give me air. IM [sic] not impressed. I read what you had to say about our brothers and sisters in the military. You know, the people that keep this country free. That includes you hero genius or whatever. You obviously are not as intelligent as you think.

So drive on with your bad old genius self and next time do your homework because people like you make me sick.

Veteran that served in Kuwait for one year. Yes, I was there.

Now let’s see. You asked what my IQ was and I told you, giving you exactly the test taken, where it was taken, and the score received. Now you put me down for it. Sounds about par for the course, doesn’t it?

By the way, VET2, I know you’ll find this a real stunner, but can’t say I see much value in trying to impress you.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Parallel response:

You are truly an ill person if you think living this life is something to brag about. JUST LIKE TO EDUCATE IDIOTS LIKE YOU THAT SPEAK BEFORE HAVING ALL THE FACTS! Also you spread the same lies that our government has been for years because you don't know the whole story. If you are truly a genius you will seek out the truth and with that maybe you can help veterans and the family members who share some of the diseases. I challenge you to dig deeper. Connect with some of the medical staff in the middle east [sic]. Ask them about the health problems since the war and damage to land and animals. Contact Joyce Riley VonKleist, RN [sic]. BSN [sic] Captain, USAF, inactive reserve. 1-800-231-7631. Also Prof. Garth L. Nicolson, Chief Scientific Officer and Research Professor, Professor of Internal Medicine. [Where?!] 714-903-2900 Go to the research institute [sic] and look those people in the eyes and tell them what is killing them is an illusion. Be careful though because the illusion is communicable. Explain that one genius. Seriously! Come on MR. [sic] 138 lets see what you come up with. I'll be waiting to hear from you.

Concerned Veteran

Yes, "bragging" seems to be as good a term as any. Rather than get on with your lives, you losers get e-mail names like DSVet (for "disabled vet") or VETM2, celebrating a brief period in your life in which the closest you got to an enemy soldier was when you drove by a POW camp after the war. Rather than tell war stories to make yourself a false hero, like about the time you killed 20 Iraqis with just an entrenching tool, you’ve decided to go the victim route instead. I mean, after all, remember when they gave parades for the soldiers who were dumb enough to let themselves get captured during the Kosovo War? We live in an age not of heroes, but of victims, and you just want your piece of the pie.

As to your "experts," let’s see now. Would that be the same Joyce Riley who claims she has GWS but sometimes says she contracted it in the Gulf and sometimes says she got it in a hospital in San Diego? And would this be the same Joyce Riley that claims she has a copy of a government document ordering the invention of AIDS, dated 1970, when the first U.S. AIDS case has been traced back to 1969? As to Nicolson, would this be the same guy who claims men in dark sunglasses are out to kill him and his wife, whose articles appear in chiropractic journals, and whose studies linking GWS to a bacterium nobody else can replicate? You know, like cold fusion? But you do make one good point; illusions ARE communicable. That’s why individual nuttiness can become full-blown hysteria, which is exactly what GWS is.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

[And the last words go to our friend.]

Hey Moron,
People like you. TALK OUT OF BUTT TYPE. You will get yours hero.

Damn you really are stupid. Anyone can read a book and take a test. It takes a true patriot to put there [sic] life on the line for this country. Your [sic] just jealous becuse [sic] you never had the balls or the brains to be a true patriot. You don't know shit hero.

Drop Dead

A Victim of Pre-Gulf War Syndrome

I READ YOUR "GULF LORE SYNDROME" ARTICLE. ARE YOU STILL A NON-BELIEVER?

AGAPE, YANNO,

Z-MAN

SINE-PARI

Dear AYZMSP,
Well, considering the multitude of new studies that have come out since then showing that Gulf vets are no sicker than Gulf-era vets that didn't deploy, and considering these were done with both American and British soldiers, I'd have to say yes. But then, I don't believe in the Easter Bunny either.

Subject: Well they [sic] certainly are most certainly gov’t [sic] studies . . .

FUMENTO,

I HAVE SOME REAL STRANGE READINGS IN MY HEALTH CONDITION [sic] AND ALL THEY CAN SAY IS UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS? WHAT ABOUT (the) GAO REPORT FOR SQUALENE IN ANTHRAX VACCINE AND RECIPE IS EVEN MORE THAN ANTHRAX? METCALF REPORT AND GAO REPORT... P.S. IF YOU ARE NOT A BELIEVER ABOUT VACCINE, WHY DON'T YOU LET BIO-PORT [maker of the anthrax vaccine] GIVE YOU AN INNOCULATION [sic] ? YOU USED TO BE ARMY I HEAR... FEAR NOTHING, "AIRBORNE"... THE ONLY WAY TO NO [sic] FOR SURE IS TO EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF? [sic] ROLL-UP YOUR SLEEVE AND GET SOME! "I CHALLENGE YOU, AIRBORNE"... THEN THE TRUTH WILL HURT, "BROTHER AIRBORNE"...

AND, LASTLY [this is an extremely long "lastly"] THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE AND AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION BY WAY OF (DR. HALEY STUDY) ALL SAY SOME OF GWI SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN DUPLICATED AS TO THE JAPANESE SUB-WAY [sic] CIVILIAN ILLNESSES, BUT NOT ALL... BECAUSE, THE GULF WAR VETERANS ARE MORE NUMEROUS DUE TO, EXCESSIVE TOXICANTS [sic] IN THE BATTLEFIELD... ANOTHER CHALLENGE, "HAVE ORKIN TENT YOUR HOUSE WITH GAS AND YOU STAY IN THERE FOR 6-HOURS A DAY LATER AFTER MORBID AMOUNTS ARE GONE [sic] TO HUMANS... OR, FIND OLD ORKIN PERSONS WHO USED TO TENT HOMES AND FIND OUT IF THEY HAVE "gulf war syndrome-illness". FROM, PROLONGED MINUTE AMOUT [sic] EXPOSURE TO LOW-LEVEL TOXICITY WHILE TEARING TENT-OFF... HOMES? [sic] THEN, THE TRUTH WILL HURT, BROTHER "AIRBORNE"...

[102 words deleted to spare the reader.] CALL ME SOMETIME, I WILL EXPLAIN: [omitted] KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE? I WAS PART OF "OPERATION EARNEST WILL"-PART OF THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR SCENARIO? IT ENDED ON 1 AUG 90 AND OPERATION DESERT SHIELD STARTED 2 AUG 90... CAN YOU SEE MY TRUTH, I AM NO BRIAN MARTIN. OR, MR. BRAIN ORGANIC(BRIAN MARTIN) DUE TO CHEMICAL WEAPONS MELTING HIS BRAIN...

AGAPE, YANNO,

Z-MAN

SINE-PARI

Dear Agape, Yanno, Z-Man, etc.:

Yeah, I’ll BET you have some strange "readings" in your "health condition." Your letters read rather strangely, too. If you had actually partaken in "Operation Earnest Will," you would presumably know two things about it. First, it was entirely a seaborne operation directed against Iranian minelaying and general disruption of commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf. Second, it didn’t end in 1990; it ended in 1988. So assuming you actually took part in the operation (which is one hell of an assumption), you contracted Gulf War Syndrome two years before our troops even deployed to the region. As it now stands, that makes you the first person to contract GWS. Congratulations.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Mfumento,
OK KIND SIR, I WAS PART OF TASK-FORCE 160th S.O.A.R. (Delta-Aviation). BECAUSE, IT IS STILL PRETTY MUCH COVERT... [Yeah, that’s why he’s telling me about it in an e-mail.] THERE IS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE TO WHAT YOU KNOW? (sic0 HOW ABOUT OPERATIONS: "PRIME-CHANCE I & II", "PREYING MANTIS" and "SPIDERS WEB"... HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF "BLACK-OPS" or "BLACK-ICE"... WELL, SINCE YOU HAVE THE DATE-LINES I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU YOU ARE MISTAKEN? [sic] [330 words deleted to spare the reader.]

YOU EITHER, ARE HOLDING DOWN THE FORT FOR DOD OR ARE VERY NAIVE YOU TELL ME? BECAUSE, I WAS THERE BEFORE DESERT SHIELD-STORM -CALM and PEACE etc... ALL ENCOMPASSING BEFORE, "EARNEST-WILL" END-DATE 1 AUG 1990... I WAS NOT SICK AND SAW MORE, P.T.S.D., ETC. BUT NOT PHYSICALLY SICK BLOOD TEST ETC. NOW, I AM AFTER THE DESERT CAMPAIGN, WHAT IS THE COMMON DENOMINATOR? WAS, THERE BEFORE AND AFTER? BEFORE NOT SICK, THEN AFTER SICK PHYSICALLY...

AGAPE, YANNO,

Z-MAN (SEA-BAT)

SINE-PARI 1st S.O.C.O.M.

Okay guy, you’ve left plenty of mouths agape. Go away now little boy. You've convinced me that the only "uniform" you ever wore was white with extremely long sleeves that tie around you, and the closest you got to Delta aviation was when you flew to visit your grandma in Atlanta.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Biotech Hate

Why Must I Be a Teenager in Ignorance?

From Dave Lang
Organization: GRANT HIGH SCHOOL
Subject: genmodfoods

You are a fucking moron!!

Look kid, just because you've got acne so bad that blind people try to read your face, don't go blaming biotech foods.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Erin Brockovich Hate

Overexposure to Celluloid

From quiglerj@[omitted]
Subject: How Much from PG&E
Message:

[Apparently he forgot to write one.]

Second letter from quiglerj@[omitted]

If you really, REALLY believe your chromium-6 hogwash, intentionally ingest it for 10 years, then talk to us.

Oops, PG&E did not pay enough for that, now did they. Debunk? I guess that is a bed in the army.

Dear quiglerj:
As you know, I could not get my hands on any chromium-6 to drink. That said, the residents of Hinkley did drink it for more than ten years, and despite what you saw in your beloved movie, they have no excess rate of sickness. (Although I do understand that sending e-mails without messages has been linked to people who watched the movie and accepted it on its face.) I’ve never received a penny from PG&E, but a certain team of lawyers I know got $140 million from them.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Unsolved Mysteries

jim@[omitted] writes:

Showing now at a theater near you.

Has the thought occurred to you that Hinckley [sic], California residents' exposure to chromium 6 may have come from airborne water vapors?

Taking a hot shower in contaminated water would easily allow one to inhale airborne chromium 6 carried by the vaporized water. Breathing air near lawns being watered or fields being irrigated would yield the same result. Same thing goes with washing your car, inhaling splahed [sic] swimming pool water, and probably several other vectors I'm not even considering. All of these types of exposures, of course, would not affect the PG&E plant workers who lived outside of Hinckley [sic] but still drank water at the plant. Mystery solved.

If you're open minded enough to consider this possibility, are you also decent enough to apologize to Erin Brokovich [sic], her firm, and the residents of Hinckley [sic]? I don't regularly follow the publications that carried your discussion, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know if you change your position.

Regards, Jim [omitted]

Dear Jim:
Has the thought occurred to you that epidemiological studies indicate that even massive exposures to inhaled chromium 6 cause only three illnesses – lung cancer, nasoseptal cancer, and nose bleeds – while the list of ailments from Hinkley was longer than the Great Wall of China? Has it occurred to you that if Brockovich and pals thought that the inhalation route was remotely arguable, they would indeed have argued it instead of pretending they have "200 papers" showing that it's toxic when ingested – when they have no such papers? Why wouldn't these have any impression on your cranium? Can you solve that mystery?

If you're open-minded enough to consider that you should put brain in gear before letting fingers type, are you also decent enough to apologize to me, the readers of my hate mail page, and the residents of Hinkley whom Erin Brockovich and her lawyer pals needlessly terrified so they could rake in the millions?

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Flunked the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course

Viewing the Errin [sic] Brockovich movie prompted me to research the subject and I came across your articles. I realize that you cite a PG&E study of workers, but I can't find any health statistics for Hinkley's general population, or more specifically, the population known to live in the contamination zone.

Do you have evidence of the rate of disease, cancer and otherwise, for the town's population? If so, how do they measure against the national averages? If there are significant statistical health risks for the town's population, what would you speculate is the cause?

I know that if I had information or anecdotal evidence that suggested a population had a higher than average risk, I would not move into that population. For that reason, I check the records for hazardous waste sites, utilities, and other known sources of contamination before moving my family. [He makes it sound like he’s gone through this process of checking and moving several times.] There are many hidden threats that have yet to be conclusively identified, but that doesn't mean they don't exist or that they should not be avoided.

Thank you,
[omitted]

My articles cited studies of PG&E workers, of persons living near a Scottish landfill teaming with chromium-6, of animals, and indeed the entire lengthy EPA web page on the chemicals, yet all you gathered out of that was what you call "a PG&E study of workers." Sorry, I can’t be of service. If God only helps those who help themselves, what can you expect of me?

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Strange Mail

It has occurred to me, why should only hate mail go on this page? Why not other interesting letters? Like these.

The Jesus Diet

From: Don [omitted]
Here it is the issue is not Aids but that God is Love and Jesus diet [sic] for us sid [sic] is csused [sic] mostly bad lifestyle sex God will juded [sic] it so do a 1John 1 9 now (sic, sic, sic)

Dear Don,
Those are truly words to live by, though I’m distressed to learn that even 2,000 years ago people – even deities – were dieting. Thanks.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Glad He Didn’t Go after Caffeine

Subject: Narcotics
From: William D. [omitted]

Over the years I’ve come to realize cocaine and amphetamines stimulate a person’s paranormal ability to the point of being able to control our minds. I’ve written a poem trying to explain.

I believe we’ll all be safer when this information becomes common knowledge (an accepted truth.)

COCAINE AND AMPHETAMINES

Omniscient murdering fiends
Raping the root of thought and emotion
Reach having no bounds
Our minds, our very beings, controlled
Victims lives lost, possessed
Our children’s sake
God help us

Dear William,

Thanks for that edification. To tell the truth, the idea of being able to control my mind scares the hell out of me.

Sincerely,
Michael Fumento

Introduction to Hate Mail and Other Hate Mail Volumes

A Review of Michael Fumento's Hate Mail

Fumento Flambé