construction of a commune called the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project.  Hundreds of his followers were dispatched there to work.  What they discovered was a South American gulag equal parts Werner Erhard and Pol Pot. The buzz about Jonestown persuaded Democrat Congressman Leo Ryan to check the place out.  When Jones found out about Ryan's impending visit, he resorted to the ultimate Democrat gambit -- race baiting.  He denounced Ryan as someone who had "voted sharply in racist terms and fascist terms" and began rehearsing his people for "White Night," the night when Ryan and other evil white people would come to kill them. In preparation for visits from outsiders, Jones had earlier issued proclamation #75,  "Give your original name when guest is here -- do not use your socialist names such as Lenin, Che Guevara, etc. . . " (87)  On his visit Ryan quickly saw through the subterfuge. When he attempted to fly back to civilization with inside dope on the commune, a Jonestown security team murdered him and four others on the runway. That night Jones put his well-drilled minions through a "White Night" exercise.  They had been through this before, drinking the proverbial Kool Aid and surviving.  They likely presumed that this was just another test of their loyalty.  It wasn't.  This time the drink was heavily laced with valium and cyanide.  Everyone who drank it died. Those who refused to drink it were injected with it.  As to Jones, he shot himself. Despite the tragedy, Democrats