GS: We hope that if we demonstrate intelligence, intelligence will respond. Much of the public already regards Manson as a philosopher king or messianic figure. I think Manson is held, in large part, because of his beliefs. And I think that the powers-that-be fear that he would be a threat to them if he was released. They might have good reason to be afraid. Manson can be pretty powerful when he wants to be, and they know it. They're already so afraid of him that they won't let him do anything. Anything he wants to do, they make a rule against it. Why are they afraid? They know the karma they've pushed out and they know what they have coming back.

RM: Under what circumstances can you envision the world's population actually welcoming the political leadership of Charles Manson?

GS: When they realize their lives depend on it.

RM: Do you seriously think the public would ever come to that conclusion?

GS: The way things are going I think it's inevitable and I think it's getting closer every day. Haven't you noticed how quickly things happen these days?

RM: Yeah, but don't you think things would really, really have to get out of hand for THAT to happen? Come on . . .

GS: Things are getting really out of hand.

RM: Well, I guess I can't disagree with that! Is Charles Manson actually interested in assuming political power or would he prefer to be seen as a wise old sage who world leaders would come to for advice?

GS: I asked him last night (5/25):

CHARLES MANSON: The brotherhood of the gun rules the world. I don't give a fuck about votes or getting elected into being a politician. And I don't give a fuck about playing no wise holy man. All I want is order. I want order in the perspective of the numbers. And if you give me order in the numbers, fuck the personality of it. I don't care about the personality of it. Get with the program or be destroyed. That's all that is."

RM: How much actual input does Charles Manson have on Access Manson's content?

GS: Overall the site is about Charles Manson and he is Charles Manson, so he has a lot of input just by existing. A lot of the content is his thought, and he did have a lot of input on that even if he didn't send the thought out with the web site specifically in mind. He did want the statement about his guitars on the site.

Since his last parole hearing he's been getting more specific about some things to do with the site. He's sent out thought about conditions in the prison that he'd like the world to know about. He wants me to put up more images. We may have to revamp the system to do the things he's talking about.

RM: Does Manson have any kind of web access in prison? He's seen your site, right?

GS: No, he doesn't have web access, but he has seen printed versions of Access Manson.

RM: Tell me about how your own interest in Charles Manson began . . .

GS: I began getting interested in his case after Lynette Fromme went to see President Gerald Ford in 1975 [Ms. Fromme (an alleged member of Manson's "Family") tried to assassinate Ford.]. I was reading a lot of true crime at the time, and so naturally I wanted to know about the "Manson Case". I started by reading the DA's book [Helter Skelter], then Ed Sanders' [The Family], Atkins' [Child of Satan, Child of God], Watson's [Will You Die For Me?], etc. etc. The more I read the less sense the "official" version made to me. It made me curious. Why would all these people want to lie about Manson?

RM: How were they lying?

GS: They lied about the motive for the murders, they lied about Manson's influence over his friends, they lied about events that occurred. Why did they lie? The DA lied to win a case, write a book, and launch a political career. Some of Manson's former associates lied to mitigate their own responsiblity for the events of August, 1969.

RM: How did you go about contacting him?

GS: I had written him two letters over the years that I did not really expect him to answer, and he didn't. Then I met some people who regularly corresponded with him and they enclosed one of my letters with theirs, sort of like a personal introduction. He responded and we began corresponding fairly regularly after that.

RM: When did you decide that you wanted to meet the man?

GS: I hadn't really considered meeting him until Sandra Good [Ms. Good is an alleged former member of Manson's "Family"] suggested that I begin visiting him. After trying to study the man for over fifteen years it seemed like a logical progression to meet him.

RM: What was your first meeting with him like? Were you nervous?

GS: I was anxious, but that was mostly due to the maximum security setting. Manson put me at ease pretty quickly. I've never been nervous around him.

RM: What's Charles Manson really like?

GS: Well, I've only seen Charlie in the visiting room at Corcoran, so I only know what he is like in that situation. He's a convict, that's for sure. But he's also so much more than that. If I said he was like the universe, that might be too general. I get along with him very well.

RM: What kinds of subjects do you and he bullshit about, anyway?

GS: We talk about current events, things we've done, things we are doing, things we want to do. We talk about what's going on in our lives, about people we both know. We talk about the moment. We play a lot of cards, and chess.

RM: What has the public's reaction been so far? Do you get a lot of fan mail or is it just hate mail?

GS: Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, like 90%. And little of the negative mail has showed much mind beyond just saying we're crazy. Positive responses have ranged from many-paged messages expressing empathy and a willingness to help, to messages that simply say "thank you".

RM: What sort of people are sending these letters? Is it mostly kids?

GS: A lot of different kinds of people from different walks of life have contacted us. We've heard from students, lawyers, blue collar people, people who are still affected by the counter culture, all kinds. And yes, we hear from a lot of young people, many who are not familiar with Manson and his case from their own memory of the time. Kids are fine. The people who were with Manson in 1969 were mostly kids.

RM: What sort of help do they offer? Working on the site? Monetary support? Forming a guerrilla army to bust him out of prison?

GS: Mostly they offer to do "anything I can". We've had a few offer to help with the site. We have several projects in the works right now, and if these projects go where we want them to we will have plenty of things for people to do. We're keeping a list of the people who have offered to help, and when the time comes we will be getting in touch with them.