From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #106 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Tuesday, April 7 1998 Volume 02 : Number 106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 16:32:41 -0400 (EDT) From: John Curtis Subject: Re: ANOTHER POLL (fwd) The aforementioned poll at : http://www.msnbc.com/news/156278.asp is currently running 76% against making the import ban permanent, 24% for. Go hit this poll. - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Apr 98 16:44:48 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Yet Another Gun Poll (fwd) On Apr 6, Posthill, John B. wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] ROCers: Please help us out in a poll we are having in North Carolina. We are losing badly. It is the usual question.... > The web site address is: http://www.wral-tv.com/ > > Pass the word to anyone else you think might vote appropriately. Thank you. John Posthill [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 09:02:57 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: CAS: NYT: Grand Jury Probes 2 Firms' Ties to China Missile Program (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 22:55:38 -0800 From: Ray Heizer To: members@cas Subject: CAS: NYT: Grand Jury Probes 2 Firms' Ties to China Missile Program April 4, 1998 Grand Jury Probes 2 Firms' Ties to China Missile Program By JEFF GERTH with RAYMOND BONNER WASHINGTON -- A federal grand jury is investigating whether two U.S. companies illegally gave China space expertise that significantly advanced Beijing's ballistic missile program, according to Clinton administration officials. But the officials said the criminal inquiry was dealt a serious blow two months ago when President Clinton quietly approved the export to China of similar know-how by one of the companies under investigation. The decision was opposed by Justice Department officials, who argued that it would be much more difficult to prosecute the companies if the government gave its blessing to the deal, the officials said. Under investigation, the officials said, are Loral Space & Communications of New York and Hughes Electronics, a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of General Motors Corp. The companies denied wrongdoing, but declined to discuss the investigation. Loral has numerous business deals with China and close ties to the White House. Its chairman and chief executive officer, Bernard Schwartz, was the largest personal contributor to the Democratic National Committee last year. Loral's vice president for government relations, Thomas Ross, said Schwartz had not spoken about the matter with Clinton or any other administration official. The federal inquiry stems from a 1996 incident in which a Chinese rocket carrying aloft a satellite built by Loral exploded shortly after liftoff. The two companies participated in an independent review of the failure, and reported to the Chinese on what went wrong. Those exchanges, officials believe, may have gone beyond the sharing of information the companies had been permitted, giving the Chinese crucial assistance in improving the guidance systems of their rockets. The technology needed to put a commercial satellite in orbit is similar to that which guides a long-range missile nuclear missile to its target. In February, with the investigation of this incident well under way, Clinton gave Loral permission to launch another satellite on a Chinese rocket and provide the Chinese with the same expertise that is at issue in the criminal case, officials said. A senior official said the administration recognized the sensitivity of the decision, but approved the launch because the investigation had reached no conclusions and because Loral had properly handled subsequent launches. The administration, he said, could still take administrative action against the companies if they were found to have violated export laws in their earlier dealings with the Chinese. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the launch President Clinton approved in February "will not contribute to Chinese military capabilities" because Loral, the company involved, has agreed to "stringent safeguards" to prevent unauthorized transfer of technology. Emery Wilson, public relations manager for Hughes Space & Communications, a division of Hughes Electronics, said the company had not been notified of any federal criminal investigation. "In response to a letter from the State Department," Wilson said, "we conducted a thorough review and concluded that no Hughes employee had engaged in the unauthorized export of controlled technology or equipment." The administration has been hoping to reach a broader agreement with Beijing that would make it much easier to launch U.S. satellites on China's rockets. Clinton is scheduled to visit China this summer in the first presidential trip to the country since the suppression of the pro-democracy movement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. There are huge commercial interests at stake. A host of companies, from cellular telephone networks to international television conglomerates, are waiting in line for low-cost satellites to be sent into orbit. An important bottleneck facing the companies is a shortage of rocket systems available to launch satellites. China is eager to offer its low-cost but not-always reliable services. For U.S. companies, there is a significant complication. All U.S. satellites sent into orbit by China's rockets require presidential approval, a waiver of the sanctions imposed after the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. Congress must be told of each waiver. Thus far, Presidents Bush and Clinton have issued 11 waivers for satellite launches. The policy under consideration by the Clinton administration would end the case-by-case waivers and would treat future launches of U.S. satellites like any other export of sensitive technology, which require government licenses. Critics in Congress argue that Clinton is putting commercial interests ahead of national security. They caution that China has yet to prove it will abide by previous pledges it has made not to share missile technology with countries like Iran. Few nations can deliver intercontinental ballistic missiles. China has lagged because, among other reasons, it lacks the guidance technology, also used in satellite launches, that allows multiple warheads to be sent from a single missile. Clinton signed the waiver to allow the Loral satellite launch by China on Feb. 18. The waiver states states that the deal is "in the national interest." "We are more engaged with China," said McCurry. "One area of that engagement has been commercial satellite technology which we perceive to be in our interests as well as that of China's." But law enforcement officials argued against the waiver, saying the license approval jeopardized their investigation because it sanctioned the export of essentially the same guidance expertise involved in the possibly illegal transfer two years ago, administration officials say. Administration officials said the inquiry is focused on the events following the Feb. 15, 1996, explosion of a Chinese rocket carrying a Loral satellite seconds after liftoff at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province in southern China. After the explosion, the Chinese asked two U.S. companies to help conduct an independent study of what went wrong. The team was led by Loral and included two experts from Hughes, according to Hughes. According to administration officials, the American experts provided crucial data and information to the Chinese to prevent future accidents. Later, Loral gave a copy of its written report on the incident to the State Department, which licenses the export of defense-related items, including technical assistance. Government officials immediately began to assess whether there had been a security breach. Last year, a criminal inquiry was begun by the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of Justice, officials said. Under federal export rules, U.S. companies are supposed to take careful precautions to safeguard classified technology when their satellites are launched by Chinese rockets. Satellites are shipped to China in sealed containers, and only U.S. officials can mount them the nose cones of the launch rockets. The Commerce Department approves the export of the satellite. But the more sensitive support activities must be approved by the State Department. That process is meant to ensure tight controls over the testing, repair and maintenance of the satellite so that the Chinese can not learn related classified information. The State Department license issued several years ago for the Loral satellite was silent on the issue of what role, if any, the U.S. experts could play in an analysis of a failed launch. After U.S. companies participated in more than one study of failed Chinese launches, the federal government changed its regulations and now requires companies to obtain a separate license to participate in any accident review, according to an administration official. - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 09:04:06 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: CAS: DN: Congress Dems investigating diGenova and his wife now (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 4 Apr 1998 08:05:24 -0800 From: Ray Heizer To: members@cas Subject: CAS: DN: Congress Dems investigating diGenova and his wife now [ CAS is still down. This is being sent manually. ] Not sure if CAS is up yet but I came across this item and thought it might be worth passing on. Apparently the Democrats on the Teamster election investigation are demanding to see diGenova and Toensing's time sheets. Remember that the fresh break-out of Palladino and IGI investigations were rumored to include diGenova and Toensing who are vocal opponents of the Clintons on the current events talk shows. Also note that Goodling has been given blanket power to issue subpoenas which will give him alot of flexibility. Among the Dem members of the committee is one Lorretta Sanchez, Dennis Kuchinich, Lynne Woolsey and Harold Ford (R-Tenn). Senior member is Bill Clay. On the Republican side is Ron Paul and Hoekstra and Goodling mentioned below (the committee web page is at http:///www.house.gov/eeo) - --- Jim Teamsters inquiry chairman also gets power for subpoenas without seeking approval By Richard A. Ryan and Bradley A. Stertz / Detroit News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- A congressional panel investigating the Teamsters was given clearance Wednesday to hire two ex-FBI agents to help uncover how the government could spend nearly $18 million to supervise the union's presidential election only to have it overturned a few months later. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce also made it simpler to obtain information from reluctant sources by giving its chairman, Rep. Bill Goodling, R-Pa., blanket power to issue subpoenas without seeking committee approval each time. "We are prepared to use the full force of the House's subpoena power, including contempt proceedings if necessary, to arrive at the truth about the flawed '96 union election," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland. The Michigan lawmaker is in charge of the Teamsters investigation. The committee agreed to hire Daniel Anderson, a 30-year FBI veteran who worked on many internal audits, and Daniel Sullivan, a 24-year veteran with experience in organized crime and white-collar investigations. The new hirings are the fifth and sixth staffers added to the subcommittee to assist in its probe. Earlier, the committee hired a forensic auditor, a spokesman, and the husband-and-wife law firm of Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, both former U.S. attorneys, as co-chief counsel. During Wednesday's contentious hearing, Democrats repeated their demand to see the time sheets of diGenova and Toensing. They insist House rules give them the right to see all committee documents. Hoekstra has refused to allow them to view the time sheets, arguing they will tip off targets of the investigation. Hoekstra has certified to Goodling, however, that the two lawyers have put in more than the 160 hours a month required by their $25,000-a-month contract. Hoekstra's investigations subcommittee is probing the 1996 Teamsters election in which Ron Carey won a narrow victory over Detroit labor lawyer James P. Hoffa. The election was later overturned because union funds were illegally diverted into Carey's campaign. Carey has been barred from running in a rerun election, now expected to be held sometime this summer. Copyright 1998, The Detroit News - -------- jhofmann@erols.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 08:29:20 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Nazi=22_strategy_in_'gun_control'_=3D_=22Sporting_Purpose=22?= (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 23:52:31 -0500 From: "Chris W. Stark" Reply-To: texas-gun-owners@Mailing-List.net To: texas-gun-owners@Mailing-List.net Subject: [ISO-8859-1] Nazi" strategy in 'gun control' = "Sporting Purpose" Posted to texas-gun-owners by "Chris W. Stark" - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ****JPFO e-mail Alert!**** Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Inc. Aaron Zelman - Executive Director 2874 So. Wentworth Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 Ph. (414) 769-0760 Fax (414) 483-8435 http://www.JPFO.org email: Against-Genocide@JPFO.org 04/07/98 -------- "Nazi" strategy in 'gun control' summed up in 2 words: "Sporting Purpose" by Richard Stevens JPFO Firearms Sentinel Editor "Gun control" is political strategy, not policy. President Clinton's administration proved it again on April 6 when he announced a broader ban on the importation of certain semi-automatic rifles because they did not meet the requirements for "sporting use." These rifles weren't for "sporting use," according to the administration, because they could be fitted with "large" magazines or clips. This "sporting use" strategy was used before. The Nazi Weapons Law (18 March 1938) forbade importation of weapons under substantially the same test. Section 25(1) of that Law proclaimed: "It is forbidden to manufacture ... and to import: Firearms which fold-down, break-down, are collapsible, or are speedily dismantled - -- beyond the common limits of hunting and sporting activities -- ..." Section 21 of the Nazi Law (and its enforcing regulations) employed the "sporting use" exception also where they permitted licensed persons to carry "firearms, designed for -- and usually used for -- the hunting of fair game." Clinton cleverly dovetailed his autocratic gun ban with fear of crime, played on urban Americans' ignorance of firearms, and distanced ordinary people from gun owners, saying: [O]ur administration has concluded that the import of assault weapons that use large-capacity military magazines should be banned. As everyone knows, you don't need an Uzi to go deer hunting. You don't need an AK 47 to go skeet shooting. These are military weapons, weapons of war. They were never meant for a day in the country, and they are certainly not meant for a night on the streets. Clinton's announcement achieved several "gun control" goals as explained here: TACTIC 1. Characterize ban as another anti-crime law. EFFECT ON "GUN CONTROL" DEBATE (a) Supports the view that guns are a cause another anti-crime of crime; (b) Gives credit for the recent drop in crime to "gun control" laws (rather than conceal- carry, citizen action, or harsher penalties). TACTIC 2. Sustain power of federal agency to define "sporting use" EFFECT ON "GUN CONTROL" DEBATE (a) Declares right of government to define what Americans consider "sports;" (b) Teaches people to accept government agency as protective nanny (rather than a "necessary evil"), TACTIC 3. Repeat the message that citizens should expect to have guns only for hunting EFFECT ON "GUN CONTROL" DEBATE (a) Drives wedge between city-dwellers and country-dwellers; (b) Links gun rights with hunting privileges, thus devaluing the rights (and hunting, too, is increasingly unpopular); (c) Weakens public understanding of legitimate self-defense and militia uses of firearms. To understand how the "sporting use" definition led to the Holocaust, how the same language was imported into the U.S. Gun Control Act of 1968, and how that language is bearing its vicious fruit now, get and read "Gun Control:" Gateway to Tyranny, available from JPFO at http://www.jpfo.org/GCA_68.htm When they brand us as "gun nuts" and "wackos" for standing up for our rights, remember an old friend whom nobody called a "right wing crazy." Among the most loved and popular liberal Democrats in modern American politics was the late Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. Senator Humphrey said: "Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be carefully used and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of the citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible." And isn't that what the Second Amendment means, MR. CLINTON? - -- To become a JPFO member, go to: http://www.jpfo.org/member.htm There you will see a printable member application, along with info on membership. If you wish, you can become a member using our on-line application as well. Membership IS open to ALL Law abiding citizens. ************************************************************** Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership Chris W. Stark - JPFO Director of Electronic Communications 2874 So. Wentworth Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 Ph. (414) 769-0760 Fax (414) 483-8435 e-mail: Against-Genocide@JPFO.org Visit our Web Page at: http://www.JPFO.org MEMBERSHIP IS OPEN TO ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS. "America's Most Aggressive Defender of Firearms Ownership." ************************************************************** TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-MAIL ALERTS, send an e-mail to: subscribe@JPFO.org ...and in the body of the message, type the word "subscribe". ************************************************************** - -- For help with Majordomo commands, send a message to majordomo@mailing-list.net with the word help in the message body. - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 08:48:21 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: Focus On The Cross, Not The X-Rated Bunny (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 22:18:01 -0400 (EDT) From: Exegesis Reply-To: Exegesis To: Exegesis Subject: Focus On The Cross, Not The X-Rated Bunny _________________________________________________=20 Exegesis=09=20 A Compass For Moral Excellence Published Worldwide From Washington =20 April 7, 1998=20 Focus On The Cross, Not The X-Rated Bunny It's Holy Week, time to focus on what is really important. First we must try to clear our minds. =20 It's said that ten percent of America is outraged by Judge Susan Webber Wright's dismissal of the Paula Jones lawsuit. It was too much to hope that Mrs. Jones could have had her day in court. Her case may have been flimsy, but that was the job of the jury to decide after the evidence had been presented, rather than for the judge to preempt. In Arkansas, it isn't apparently outrageous for the Governor to put his hand up the dress of an employee, unzip his pants, request oral sex and threaten her if she tells anyone. Are we to infer from the ruling that this kind of thing happens all the time? Nobody, including the judge, denies that the President is a sexual predator. By dismissing the case, she accepts that the incident took place. "Boorish and offensive" though it may be, she deems it not serious enough to deserve a court hearing, let alone an apology or compensation for the victim.=20 Mrs. Wright, a centrist Republican, is a former student of Bill Clinton who ought to have recused herself from this case. She failed to consider that Mr. Clinton is no ordinary man, "no Joe Six-Pack" as he readily admits. He was the Governor of the State. And that is why Alan Keyes, speaking in Washington last Friday, was right to call her decision "biased, incompetent and depraved". For the Paula Jones case is not about sex; it is about the abuse of power. Mr. Clinton says in this week's Time, "Having the case dismissed and putting this behind us is plainly in the best interests of the country." Plainly, it is not.=20 What message is he sending to the women of this country? A further ten percent of America is rejoicing that Mr. Clinton seems to be getting away with yet another outrage. Rejoicing? Yes, there are still people out there, both the sick and the deluded, who are easily captivated by the plastic smile of the crocodile. They are in for a profound shock. And the other 80%? Apparently, they don't care that the nation's leader has been exposed as a serial rapist, predator and adulterer as well as a bank robber, fraudster and much more. As one Chicago college student wrote to us this week: "Mr. Clinton can have sex with sheep for all I care, as long as he does his job properly."=20 Such a compartmentalized, distorted and depraved view of the presidency is Mr. Clinton's unsavory legacy to his country. And that, beloved readers, is the current state of America. So now what do we do? One benefit of recent events is that we have an accurate reading of how profoundly sick this great nation has become: it is wracked by hypocrisy, duplicity and fear; its legal system is corrupt and complex, and its Head of State is the most corrupt, dangerous man ever to rule a Western nation in modern times. Of course, most Americans are still largely in the dark about Mr. Clinton. He is popular, portrayed by his Stalinist media as a lovable rogue. He certainly isn't popular for his policies or achievements; he has precious few of either. But Mr. Clinton's popularity is simply an extension of the man himself: both are a superficial irrelevance. He is indeed dangerous - after all, over a hundred witnesses who could testify against him are dead - but the popular predator is, above all else, frivolous and peripheral. =20 Bill Clinton is as relevant to solving America's real problems as the Easter Bunny is to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord, which we observe this week. Actually, Mr. Clinton resembles the Easter Bunny with a machine-gun, a paradox which belongs in a black comedy or a book of horror tales. Unlike another famous bunny, it is unlikely that this one will keep going and going. This presidency has been shallow and irrelevant from the outset. If Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr succeeds in shaming him into resignation or proving that he lied under oath, we all may yet learn a lesson from this chaotic character. So what's next? Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr is preparing what the London Sunday Telegraph called "the legal equivalent of a nuclear strike at the presidency": charging Monica Lewinsky with perjury and naming Bill Clinton as an unindicted co-conspirator. That term has been rarely heard since President Nixon was named as one during the Watergate affair. It means that the person was involved in the crime, but has not been charged. If Miss Lewinsky were found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice, it would mean that Mr. Clinton were guilty too. His fate is absolutely linked to hers, even if he is not indicted. As the London Sunday Times commented: "In that case, Clinton will not have to wait much longer before knowing how history will receive him - as the guardian of economic prosperity or a sex-crazed, X-rated stain on the dignity of the office." For now, though, let us try to put these matters to one side. For an event much more important is about to be commemorated. It was to a nation burdened with a corrupt, top-heavy bureaucracy that Jesus came as the Messiah of the Jewish people and of the world. He devoted His ministry to illustrating that miracles could triumph over evil if faith in God were present. And into Jerusalem He rode on a donkey, on the day we know as Palm Sunday. As He did, exuberant crowds in the Mount of Olives villages waved palm branches and cried "Hosanna - - Save us!" and "Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai - Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord." Yet Jesus knew what lay ahead. And just as we weep over the state of America, He walked a few yards down the slope of the Mount of Olives, taking in the stunning view of the Temple, and wept over the City of Jerusalem. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate." (Matthew 23: 37-38) We now sense a similar desolation. The America in which we believe, which we love and which we long for once again, has been systematically raped of its values, morals and ethics over the past few years, most thoroughly by the present Rapist-in-Chief himself. And for what purpose? What good has it done? Is it not time for America to admit it is on the wrong road and to make a cultural, political and spiritual u-turn? The politically-correct view is that all religions are equal. The events of the days prior to the Crucifixion clearly show otherwise.=20 Jesus strode into the Temple Courts, angrily denouncing the corrupt religious leaders, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, blind fools full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Matthew 23). Were it Washington instead of Jerusalem, one can imagine Him sweeping across The Mall, similarly denouncing the ruling authorities in a way the media and Christian folk ought to have done long ago, proclaiming: "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." (Matthew 23:4) That sounds remarkably like the government to me. In reality, the only way we shall restore the America we love is to begin the process by changing ourselves: that process of change begins with accepting who we are, miserable sinners, forgiven only by the single greatest Event of History, the one that took place that Friday.=20 And after the betrayal, there it was, a simple piece of wood nailed to an Olive Tree, two robbers either side of Him, as Jesus made the sacrifice that would end all sacrifices and bring the Jewish religion to its logical completion. Was that the end of the story? As Tony Campolo says: "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming." =87 Steve Myers =D7 Editor ________________________________________________________________________ If you are located near Washington DC, we invite you to join us for our Christ in the Passover - Last Supper celebration on Maundy Thursday.=20 Please call for details. _________________________________________________=20 Later this week, in my other role as President of the Global Opportunity Foundation, a small non-profit educational and public affairs institute, I'm going to be making the Foundation's Easter Appeal. =20 Two or three times a year, I ask our readers to be generous in support of the educational programs of the Foundation. I know you'll respond as wonderfully as you always do. May the Lord be with you this Holy Week, and grant you His peace. _________________________________________________=20 =A9 Exegesis 1998=20 Post Office Box 789, McLean, Virginia 22101, USA Please Visit our Web Page at http://www.sm.org =20 =20 _________________________________________________ 0000,0669,4CCCWe welcome your letters to the editor. Please write to editor@sm.org _________________________________________________ =20 ExTel International Telecommunications Services Have you taken a look at ExTel recently? We'd like your telephone business. =20 * Low rates with MCI, FCI, LCI, Telco and other providers * Most under 10 cents a minute at all times. * Calling Cards at 15.9 cents a minute =20 * Prepaid Calling Cards at just 14 cents a minute * The lowest international rates anywhere. Whichever service you'd like to use, you'll find more information and a sign up form on our web page at http://www.sm.org/extel=20 ___________________________________________________ And if you'd like your own business, you'll find the answer at=20 http://www.sm.org/pp _________________________________________________ =A9 Exegesis 1998 Post Office Box 789, McLean, Virginia 22101, USA http://www.sm.org/exegesis ______________________________________ To subscribe, please send an email to: requests@talklist.com with SUBSCRIBE EXEGESIS in the BODY of the message. To unsubscribe please send an email to: requests@talklist.com with UNSUBSCRIBE EXEGESIS in the BODY of the message. Letters to the Editor should be addressed to: editor@sm.org For more information about Exegesis, please visit http://www.sm.org/exegesis - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 09:30:11 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: Clinton takes Catholic Communion breaking their rules NY POST April 6, 1998 HOLY HELL OVER PREZ COMMUNION By CHRISTOPHER FRANCESCANI and KAREN FOERSTEL - - ---------------------------------------------- It was "wrong" for President Clinton to receive Holy Communion from a South African priest last month, John Cardinal O'Connor said in a stunning Palm Sunday address yesterday "The action taken by the priest in South Africa, however well-intentioned, was legally and doctrinally wrong in the eyes of the Catholic Church," O'Connor told an overflowcrowd packed into St. Patrick's Cathedral for the start of the holiest week in the church year. The sacrament of Holy Communion cannot be given or received, he said, "merely as an act of courtesy or a spiritual gesture." "The Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith ... our way of life, the essence of our faith," he said. "To receive Holy Communion in a Catholic Church means one believes he is receiving not a symbol, but Christ Jesus Himself." O'Connor's comments were the strongest to date by any Catholic official in reaction to the furor created after the president, a Southern Baptist, and the First Lady, a Methodist, received Communion in a South African Catholic church on March 29. That Mass - during the Clintons' trip to Africa - drew widespread media attention after Clinton reportedly squirmed uncomfortably through a sermon about the evils of adultery. New York Catholics had flooded O'Connor's office with calls of concern after seeing pictures of Clinton receiving the sacrament, prompting the cardinal to respond, said spokesman Joseph Zwilling. "My office, practically all week, did nothing but take phone calls from people saying, "How can this be?'" Zwilling explained. O'Connor, the spiritual leader of New York's 2 million Roman Catholics, took great pains to stress that his comments were not a "political statement or a questioning of anyone's character," but that as a church leader, his "silence could otherwise mislead" the faithful. "My statement has nothing to do with the person of the president or his wife or any of the allegations concerning any alleged misbehavior ... it has everything to do with church law and the teaching about the Holy Eucharist, this rarest of gifts." Catholic doctrine states that only in a few very specific cases can non-Catholics receive Communion - in situations of "grave necessity," for example, such as imminent death. The receiver must also believe that he is receiving the actual body of Christ, not just a symbolic representation. The Vatican has made no formal comment. The White House said yesterday that Clinton's advance team had checked with the South African priest before the service, and the taking of Communion had been cleared with the South African church. A White House official told The Post that the South African church. Conference of Bishops has an "open Communion policy." "There's a great deal of confusion here. In the program, it said, "We encourage baptized Christians to take Communion.' This was checked beforehand. The president did not mean in any way to slight any Catholics." But the priest, the Rev. Mohlomi Makabane, indicated last week that he was taken by surprise when the Clintons lined up to receive the sacrament. He said, "Here you have the most powerful man in the world, and I can't embarrass Mr. Clinton by saying, "No, you go and sit down.'" O'Connor's comments came at the start of Holy Week, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, which culminates next Sunday with Easter. Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), who is Catholic, agreed with O'Connor's statements, but pointed out it could have been worse. "Theologically, Cardinal O'Connor is right. On the other hand, if a person means well and has good intentions, it would be more offensive to stop that person from taking Communion ... You have to be careful not to commit a greater offense in enforcing church law." # # # ========================================================================== This mailing list is for discussion of Clinton Administration Scandals. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send electronic mail to majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com. In the message body put: unsubscribe cas - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 10:35:01 +0500 From: "Brad Alpert" <1911a1@gte.net> Subject: Letter to my senator things and my Representative Dear Senator Ashcroft (and Bond and Rep. Ike Skelton): I am sickened, disheartened, and angry with President Clinton's preemptory and unilateral decision to ban another class of firearms. As you know, the foreign guns he targeted are completely legal for import under the rules his own administration made in the 1994 Crime Bill. I want to think that you will stand up and resist this latest encroachment. I want you to state that "sporting purposes" is unrelated to the Second Amendment; that the Founding Fathers weren't interested in protecting suitable-for-hunting sporting goods from government infringement. These incremental gun bans have got to stop. What will you do about it? Will you move to deny funds to enforce this bogus "Executive Order" or otherwise take action on behalf of American gunowners? Thank you, Brad Alpert - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Apr 98 16:44:48 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Yet Another Gun Poll (fwd) On Apr 6, Posthill, John B. wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] ROCers: Please help us out in a poll we are having in North Carolina. We are losing badly. It is the usual question.... > The web site address is: http://www.wral-tv.com/ > > Pass the word to anyone else you think might vote appropriately. Thank you. John Posthill [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 13:03:45 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: "Shameless Clinton Should Resign" - Texas house majority leader sez From: laissezfaire@nospamusa.net (Freedom) Newsgroups: alt.current-events.clinton.whitewater Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 05:43:14 -0700 Dick Armey rips 'shameless' Clinton COPPELL, Texas - House Majority Leader Dick Armey said President Clinton should resign because of the sexual misconduct allegations against him but won't because he has no shame. "I believe he's a shameless person," Armey told about 50 government students Monday at Coppell High School. "If it were me that had documented personal conduct along the lines of the president's, I would be so filled with shame that I would resign. "This president won't do that. His basic credo in life is, 'I will do whatever I can get away with."' Armey's remarks were some of the harshest yet by a top Republican since a federal judge dismissed Paula Corbin Jones' sexual misconduct lawsuit against the president last week. Asked Tuesday morning whether he agreed with Armey, House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he didn't. But he did tell NBC's Today show that "the president should tell the country the truth." "I think that the rest of us ought to be patient and wait for Judge Starr to report," Gingrich said, referring to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr. "Dick Armey is a very smart man, and he represents a lot of people who feel very deeply," Gingrich said. Since allegations surfaced that Clinton had an affair with a former White House intern and encouraged her to lie about it, Republicans have generally been restrained in their criticism, although many have said the president should resign if the allegations are proven true. "His ideology begins and ends with himself," said Armey, a Texas lawmaker first elected to Congress in 1984. "And, frankly, my own guess is the man spends very little time and effort in his life pursuing anything other than his own physical comforts." Deputy White House press secretary Joe Lockhart told The Dallas Morning News that the president was "entirely focused on doing the job that the American public sent him to Washington to do." "The strongest economy in history, falling crime rates and welfare rolls dropping to record-low levels do not allow the president to contemplate any suggestions from Mr. Armey," Lockhart said. By The Associated Press - -------Master Chief in charge of Political Incorrection----- ************VRWC Irregular Officer Training Corps****** - -- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #106 *************************