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Path: lll-winken!das!ed
From: ed@das.llnl.gov (Edward Suranyi)
Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa
Subject: Re: Wilhelm Reich (long)
Date: 10 Aug 89 05:27:55 GMT
References: <8908072131.AA10759@das.llnl.gov>
Sender: usenet@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV
Reply-To: ed@das.UUCP (Edward Suranyi)
Organization: Dept. of Applied Science, UC Davis at LLNL
Lines: 41


In article <8908072131.AA10759@das.llnl.gov> I quoted Martin Gardner: 

>written in recent years.  His daughter Eva Reich, a pediatrician in
>Hancock, Maine, is active as a lecturer in orgonomy.  Her father's
>rain-making device -- huge tubes that squirt orgone energy into the
>clouds -- is in her front yard. [Any Love-Hounds want to make a 
>pilgrimmage?]  For a while she was using orgone energy accumulators

     (As you see, Reich did have a daughter, Eva, as some posters have just
figured out.)

     I've seen some postings from people who are interested in trying 
to find the "cloudbuster".  It's way too far for me, but if anybody
goes, can you get pictures?  The above quote was written in 1981, and
I have no idea if it's still accurate.

     On the other hand, I have absolutely no interest in seeing the 
Wilhelm Reich museum at Orgonon.  As I've said before, "Cloudbusting"
is a great song, but a great song does not change the facts.  Wilhelm
Reich was an incompetent scientist and a medical quack to boot.  About
the only thing that can be said in his favor is that he probably did
not *mean* any harm.  IMHO, he was justly arrested and sent to prison
for the same reason that purveyors of Laetrile, copper arthritis
bracelets, and electronic dieting devices are today, when they
can be caught:  Charging patients for worthless cures is a crime.  It 
also leads to vast suffering by those who avoid orthodox medical
treatment which, in many early cases, could have helped.

    Of course, "Cloudbusting" is based on Peter Reich's story, not
his father's.  As far as I can tell, Peter is essentially blameless.
It worries me, however, to see Kate take Wilhelm Reich's ridiculous
theories so seriously.  In every interview I've seen of her in which
this song is discussed, she appears to really believe that his
cloudbuster worked!

    Just had to get it off my mind.

Ed
ed@das.llnl.gov