Time: Mon Jul 21 16:41:49 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id QAA12497 for [address in tool bar]; Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:29:41 -0700 (MST) by usr06.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id QAA24328; Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:24:07 -0700 (MST) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:23:36 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Racial Politics (fwd) <snip> > >CONGRESS ACTION: July 20, 1997 >================ > >RACIAL POLITICS: This week, the President's Advisory Board on Race held >its first meeting in the White House Conference Center. This is the >Clinton brainstorm, created to help the nation engage in "a candid >conversation on the state of race relations", which the president >announced on June 14. Monologue would be a more descriptive term than >conversation, because the term 'conversation' implies that more than one >point of view is presented, and that all sides will at least listen with >an open mind to perspectives with which they may not agree. > > A brief overview of the Advisory Board: > >JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN, Chairman, retired historian and educator, M.A. and >PhD. from Harvard University; who believes that everything is the fault >of whites: "The white side has been in control of virtually everything, >so they're the ones who need educating on what justice and equality >mean." >WILLIAM F. WINTER, the former Democratic Governor of Mississippi; >LINDA CHAVEZ-THOMPSON, an Executive Vice President with the AFL-CIO, a >self described Latina labor activist; >ANGELA E. OH, an attorney specializing in state and federal criminal >defense. Following the riots in Los Angeles, served as Special Counsel >to the Assembly Special Committee on the Los Angeles Crisis; >SUZAN D. JOHNSON COOK, Senior Pastor of the Bronx Christian Fellowship >Church, from 1993 to 1994, a White House Fellow working for the White >House Domestic Policy Council, served as a consultant to the U.S. >Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1994 to 1997; >ROBERT THOMAS, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation; >THOMAS H. KEAN, the former Republican Governor of New Jersey; >CHRISTOPHER EDLEY, senior advisor and consultant, a Professor at Harvard >Law School since 1981 and co-director of the Harvard University Civil >Rights Project, also served as Special Counsel to President Clinton. > > The Goals are formally described as follows: >1. To articulate the President's vision of racial reconciliation and a >just, unified America. >2. To help educate the nation about the facts surrounding the issue of >race. >3. To promote a constructive dialogue, to confront and work through the >difficult and controversial issues surrounding race. >4. To recruit and encourage leadership at all levels to help bridge >racial divides. >5. To find, develop and implement solutions in critical areas such as >education, economic opportunity, housing, health care, crime and the >administration of justice -- for individuals, communities, corporations >and government at all levels. > > Robert Thomas (Nissa CEO) and Thomas Kean (former Republican >Governor) are the tokens which Clinton expects to point to as >"conservatives" when he describes his Advisory Board as bipartisan; the >former simply because he is a corporate executive (which demonstrates >nothing), the latter because he is nominally a member of the Republican >party. Of course, getting elected governor of one of the more liberal >states in the nation guarantees that Kean's conservative vision is >decidedly moderate. As for Goal # 1, is there any doubt about the nature >of President Bill "mend-it-don't-end-it" Clinton's vision on race? >Nearly half of all blacks oppose affirmative action, yet Clinton wants >to retain it. A majority of Californians voted to end the racial spoils >system, yet Clinton wants to retain it. The Supreme Court has severly >restricted minority preferences in federal contracting and education, >yet the Clinton Justice and Education Departments continue to pressure >private employers and schools to violate those decisions. As opposed to >Bill Clinton's "vision of racial reconciliation", devoid of any >substance, consider Newt Gingrich's vision: "...treat individuals as >individuals." What a novel thought! > > Despite the obvious political persuasions of the members of the >President's Advisory Board, can it be that each and every one of them is >so totally blinded by liberal dogma that they fail to see the obvious >lack of any real conservative voices on the Board? They certainly take >themselves very seriously, but do they actually expect anyone else in >the country to take them seriously, given the way the Board is presently >constituted? Grant the members of the Advisory Board the benefit of >doubt, consider that they may in fact all be honorable men and women. Do >they actually believe that conservative voices are simply unworthy of >contributing to their effort, or has it simply escaped their attention >that there is a gaping hole in the perspective represented on the >Advisory Board? There are a wealth of conservative voices in this >country eminently qualified to speak about race relations, make positive >contributions to the Advisory Board, and turn the liberal monologue into >a true dialogue: Ward Connerly, who authored and led the fight for the >California Civil Rights Initiative; Thomas Sowell, who has written many >masterful books on race relations and civil rights; Clarence Thomas, >Supreme Court Justice; J.C. Watts, a well respected member of Congress; >Alan Keyes, former presidential candidate; Walter Williams, a well >respected economist. And these names barely scratch the surface of the >conservatives who would have much useful input to contribute to any true >dialogue on race relations. Unless the Advisory Board demands that some >true conservatives be immediately asked to join their deliberations, >they will be complicit in maintaining the Clinton charade, and whatever >conclusions they arrive at will be rightly ignored as irrelevant >partisan posturing. Because Bill Clinton has done more than ask >conservatives to move to the back of the bus -- he has thrown >conservatives off the bus completely. > > The approaching year 2000 census also has racial overtones. Many >government forms, including the census, have boxes in which the person >filling it out must indicate which racial category best describes them. >Due to the increasingly mixed nature of races and ethnic backgrounds in >this country, pressure is building to include a "multiracial" box which >people can check off, who don't fit neatly into any of the other boxes. >Census officials insist that the collection of such information is vital >for a variety of reasons (primarily calculating voting districts and >administering affirmative action programs) and that the multiracial box >will cloud such classification. Health officials insist that the >collection of such data is vital to track people and groups who are >susceptible to certain diseases. Calculating voting districts does not >require any racial determination. Although some people have pushed the >notion that the only way to attain true representation in Congress is to >be represented by someone of the same color, ethnic origin, or whatever >-- leading to gerrymandered voting districts created solely on the basis >of race, which have been struck down by the Supreme Court -- that type >of representation never has been either possible or desireable. "The >idea of an actual representation of all classes of the people by persons >of each class is altogether visionary. It is said to be necessary that >all classes of citizens should have some of their own number in the >representative body in order that their feelings and interests may be >the better understood and attended to. But we have seen that this will >never happen under any arrangement that leaves the votes of the people >free." -- Alexander Hamilton > > The other reason put forth for such racial counting is the >administration of affirmative action programs: the government handing >out racial spoils. If we are to be a truly multiracial society, where a >person's race or ethnic background do not matter, in other words, a >truly color blind society, isn't it time to abandon the official >government attempt to stuff people into racial categories? Why not >consider the startling idea of abandoning check-off boxes entirely? > > Finally on the race front are the campaign finance hearings, where >the bean counters struck again in the hiring of John Huang. That which >Senator Akaka called racial and ethnic harassment of Asians, turns out >to have been the result of Bill Clinton's attempt to "create a capable >and diverse administration that looks like America", according to >testimony from the former associate director of White House personnel, >Gary Christopherson. Of course, he insisted, Huang was totally >qualified. In fact, Huang was given an interrum security clearance prior >to the completion of his full field background investigation (a new >procedure with this administration), the completion of which was waived >because of the "critical need for his expertise...for Secretary Brown", >according to Paul Buskirk, Commerce Department's former Acting Security >Director. However, former Commerce undersecretary Jeffrey Garten said he >blocked Huang from having any role in China policy at Commerce because >Huang was "totally unqualified". > > One of the problems with the hearings thus far is the lack of >drama, despite having the CIA agent who briefed Huang testify from >behind a screen. But the testimony of most witnesses is bogged down with >rambling questioning by Senators who are painfully unfamiliar with even >the basics of interrogating a witness, yet who insist on the ego >gratification of hogging center stage, and haven't the good grace to >turn their time over to committee counsel or one of the other Senators >with legal training who can conduct an effective examination. Chairman >Thompson, himself a former actor, should appreciate the benefits of >staging high drama, especially in this era of media superficiality and a >public conditioned to view life as a TV melodrama. So for Senator >Thompson, a suggestion involving all the witnesses who have fled the >country or who have had their lawyers express their reliance on the >Fifth Amendment. A claim of Fifth Amendment protection should not be >asserted behind the scenes by a lawyer in a letter to committee counsel. >Thompson should schedule one day for all these witnesses, subpoena all >who can be found, and set up empty chairs for those who cannot. Then >call them all, one by one, establish their links to the Clinton campaign >and administration, and to the DNC, then have each one of them sworn in >and sit there before the public and assert the Fifth Amendment. There >are nearly 50 such witnesses, and even a jaded public and block-headed >media could not avoid the damning appearance of a massive stonewall and >cover-up. Which is exactly what the administration and committee >democrats, aided by a complicit media, are perpetrating on the public. >Senator Glenn will object to this, but its time the republican majority >started acting like a majority, instead of running like scared rabbits >every time the administration unleashes its demagoguery, and every time >the democrats cry partisanship while themselves engaging in rabid >partisan defense of the White House, not a search for facts. Indeed, >anyone watching the hearings will be struck by the democrats' fear of >actually uncovering facts. Hypocrisy is at home among the democrats. > >GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: On a lighter note comes the recommendation from >Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources. If the federal government is >serious about improving the environment, she said, it should close down >during the current heat wave and hazardous air pollution. "We believe >this circumstance requires that the federal government demonstrate its >commitment and leadership by closing for the day...". This wonderful >idea certainly requires a re-think of the whole global warming scam, in >conjunction with the EPA's new clean air rules (which were signed this >week), which will instantly put 280 counties in violation of the new >limits on ozone (nearly double the current number) and 150 counties in >violation of its soot standards (nearly triple the current number). If >the federal government shut down whenever the temperature climbs or the >air is dirty, then by all means bring the heat! > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Kim Weissman >BEVDAV@worldnet.att.net >CONGRESS ACTION newsletter is available on the Internet: >http://www.aimnet.com/~jbv/congress_action.html > <snip> ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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