Amway's Second Letter to GeoCities
Edward Pierce, Esq.
Vice-President and General Counsel
GeoCities
1918 Main Street
Third Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90405-1030
Re: Kenneth Lowndes -- again
Dear Ed:
Our friend Ken Lowndes is back. The irrational and vicious rhetoric is the same. For example, at http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9118/index.html he says I should be disbarred for conspiring (with you?) against him: Amway and it's Washington, DC based Attorney, apparently in a total and abject Ignorance of the Federal "Equal Access Law," engaged in a flagrant Conspiracy together to acheive a substantial Violation of this Law. I am Officially calling upon the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC, the Federal Election Commission, as well as the Federal Communication Commisssion to Launch a Full and Complete Investigation of their recent concerted activities. I am also calling upon the Legal Bar Association of Washington, DC, as well as any others where this attorney may be admitted, to also Launch an Official Investigation leading up to and including the Dismissal of this Attorney from the Practice of Law, for the Disgrace he has brought upon his fellow Members of the Legal Profession, and for the Disgraces he continues to bring upon the Profession. He needs to be disbarred and denied all income he presently enjoys as a member of the Profession. Strong financial penalities may also be in Order.
Then he implicitly attacks you for enforcing GeoCities' content rules: This site was improperly removed after extreme and desparate intimidation tactics carried out by the Amway corporation. This POLITICAL site was the victim of CENSORSHIP - AND THIS HAPPENED, RIGHT HERE, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! EVEN THOUGH THE FOUNDING DOCUMENTS HAVE YET TO BE REPEALED! INCREDIBLE! Then, at http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9118/index2.html, Lowndes repeats his false accusations that Amway has committed crimes of violence against him and his family: With my son Jordan gravely ill and with no health insurance Amway's Crimes nearly cost our family his life. Other's have gone to prison for the type of criminal behaviour such as that displayed by corporate Amway. He returns to the "theft" motif at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9118/update.html: YO! Amway! No that we have all seen the "size" of your "big stick" ....Where are all your Carrots stashed? You know, the ones you bought with the STOLEN Lowndes' family $$$$ ! At http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9118/rape.html, after a hair-raising but anonymous rape story, he returns to his theme and repeats his libels that Amway is trying to destroy his family, and his personal attacks on me, including threats of disbarment: I personally DO KNOW the DANGERS in EXPOSING Amway: Once again, Amway corporate has been trying to DESTROY my Family! [Within just the last 45 days!] Amway corporate, by means of their most unethical attorney, (Whom I will be seeking to have disbarred for the disgrace to the profession he truly is), has already made truly outrageous, knowingly baseless accusations against yours truly. Then, at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9118/why.html, Lowndes embarks on a pseudo-religious rant, with statements such as the following: There is NO way that I would ever trade shoes with anyone at corporate Amway. I would NEVER want to go out into Eternity NOT HAVING RESOLVED A THEFT FROM A POOR FAMILY! NEVER! This attitude within corporate Amway makes chump change out of an Eternal Soul. Their own souls, that is! What the Bible is saying is that unless or until corporate Amway has made this GOD-IMPOSED MANDATED RESTITUTION, all of the money Amway founders have alledgedly "given," is in reality, STOLEN LOOT. AND, SINCE THEY STOLE IT FROM US, IT IS LOWNDES' FAMILY MONEY THEY "GIVE" AWAY! It is NOT THEIRS to "give" to anybody! Having said this, I OF COURSE fully expect corporate Amway to RE-PAY ALL of what they STOLE. Times Seven. The Bible instructs ALL true believers RESTITUTION. And all true believers, including Officials within corporate Amway, if that be the case, BELIEVE the conduct THEY engaged in was wrong; that THEFT, STEALING is sin. THEY KNOW! They have known all along! I will price out for everyone in a continuation of this page, precisely how much Amway has STOLEN, and CONTINUES to STEAL up to and including this very moment.
While much of Brother Lowndes' material is unintentionally self-parodying, and no doubt some of it is just honest, though delusional, disagreement, he continues to mix in significant amounts of vicious and defamatory material along with the absurd. I am a pretty thick-skinned fellow, so the disbarment stuff doesn't bother me much, and Amway is pretty thick-skinned too, since detractors have been calling them names for nearly forty years, while they grew to a multi-billion dollar company operating in about 60 countries. But for Lowndes to go on accusing Amway (and lil' ol' me) of stealing his millions and trying to kill his son and maybe being in league with the devil is a bit too much. As before, I am writing to ask you to require Mr. Lowndes to comply with GeoCities' published rules on content, particularly the ones having to do with harassment and hate. It would also be nice if he stopped infringing Amway's copyrights, as discussed in my letter of April 24, 1998. My efforts to engage in rational discourse with this fellow have failed. Perhaps you can have a talk with him (caveat locutor) and persuade him to introduce a little civility and stop the libel and infringement. I am not asking you to throw Lowndes out of GeoCities -you may do that if you like, but from our perspective he'll just reappear somewhere else on the Web. I am asking you to require him to live up to your firm's standards for conduct by its virtual tenants. Naturally, if I can do anything to help, just let me know. Thanks in advance for your help. If I get called before the D.C. Bar disciplinary committee for flaunting the "Founding Documents" I shall call on you as a character witness.
Sincerely,
John C. Peirce
cc: abuse@geocities.com
legend@austin360.com
lowndes2000@mailexcite.com
jcp