Posted on April 1, 1998

O Tempora, O Mores! (April, 1998)

American Renaissance, April 1998

Puerto Rico Update

On March 4th, the House of Representatives voted 209-208 to pass HR-856, which sets the stage to make Puerto Rico our 51st state. Last month’s AR described this bill and its potentially disastrous consequences.

As predicted, Congress brought the bill up with little prior notice, though a hardworking coalition arose to challenge it. English First and the Council of Conservative Citizens continued their good work, and AR distributed copies of last month’s cover story to all 435 members of the house. The very day of the vote, AR editor Jared Taylor appeared on the cable program “Fox In Depth,” to explain to a national audience that a poor, Spanish-speaking Caribbean island has no place in the Union.

National Review opposed the bill, as did columnists Patrick Buchanan and Samuel Francis. They were joined by neoconservatives Linda Chavez and Cal Thomas and talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy. That the bill passed by only one vote is a sign that opposition had an effect. Sponsors thought the bill would sail through without problems, but it must now face the Senate, where opposition is likely to be stiffer. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott may not even bring up the bill this year. Of course, President Clinton says he will sign it if it passes.

Puerto Ricans who favor statehood have spent millions of dollars on the bill. According to the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, groups favoring the bill have poured eight times as much money into lobbying as those who are opposed. Puerto Rican groups are also reported to have given more than a million dollars to William Clinton’s reelection campaign. (Chris Hawley, Puerto Rico Pols Worked for Vote, AP, March 6, 1998.)

Fighting for Whites

A new organization dedicated to fighting discrimination against whites has caused a stir on the West coast. The European-American Issues Forum (E/AIF) was founded in March 1997, in San Jose, California, by Louis Calabro, a retired police detective and Dale Warner, a lawyer.

The E/AIF first made headlines when it was refused entry into a July 1997 conference in San Francisco called “National Voices for an Inclusive 21st Century.” In excluding the E/AIF from a gathering to celebrate “inclusion” and study hate crimes, conference chairman Barbara Bergen said, “. . . frankly, protecting Europeans against hate crimes is not the burning issue of the day.” The E/AIF has filed a complaint against Miss Bergen with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.

In February, the E/AIF staged a protest outside the San Jose meeting of President Clinton’s Race Initiative. Mr. Calabro and other E/AIF members made comments during the question and answer session that were broadcast by C-SPAN. Because of his remarks, the San Francisco Chronicle invited Mr. Calabro to write an editorial on the President’s initiative, which was published on February 19th.

Mr. Warner, the other founder, is gathering information for a possible suit against several prosecutors in California, who may be targeting whites for hate crimes prosecution. Earlier this year, E/AIF filed a similar complaint with the FBI.

The E/AIF has also established a Zebra Killings Memorial Committee, in memory of a series of scarcely-remembered black-on-white murders in the San Francisco area in 1973 and 1974. A group of Louis Farrakhan followers who called themselves the “Death Angels” believed that by killing whites — especially women and children — they would earn “points” towards becoming angels when they died. They managed to kill 71 whites before they were caught in 1974. The E/AIF will publicize these killings, hold a memorial service for the victims, and attend parole hearings of the murderers to make sure they are never released.

The group has helped form a European American Employee Association for San Jose public employees as well as a European American Correctional Workers Association. Some members are aiming to get on the San Jose Human Rights Commission, where they can have a say about who gets targeted for “racism” and “intolerance.” E/AIF hopes to expand its activities state-wide soon. It can be reached at (650) 952-8489.

On The Ropes

Ex-heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson made $112 million for six fights after his 1995 release from prison. He now owes $7 million in unpaid income taxes and, according to one report, is down to $150,000 in liquid assets.

Apparently he is taking his loss very hard. “He was hysterical, crying in my office,” says a friend of Mr. Tyson, “He kept saying, “How could they do this to me?’” The ex-champ apparently blames his manager, Don King, for his penury. In February, at a meeting in Los Angeles, Mr. King tried to calm Mr. Tyson but was rewarded with a slap, a shove, and several kicks to the face. Mr. King’s injuries forced him to cancel a press conference. “Don was pretty banged up,” says a boxing insider.

This is not the first time Mr. Tyson (apparently with the help of Mr. King) has squandered millions. Before he went to prison, the fighter’s $75 million fortune was so depleted, his managers had to cash in a $2 million trust fund to pay Alan Dershowitz, the appellate lawyer in his rape trial. (Wallace Matthews, Down For The Count, New York Post, February 4, 1998, p. 5.)

Home Field Advantage

In February a crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum that was 90 percent Mexican-American watched a soccer game between the national teams of the United States and Mexico. Any questions about divided loyalties were laid to rest when the crowd whistled and jeered during the U.S. national anthem. The stadium was so adorned with Mexican flags, that even the L.A. Times noted, “it’s safe to say the stadium hasn’t witnessed such a showing of national fervor since the 1984 Olympics.” The U.S. team lost 1-0 on a late goal by the Mexicans. In appreciation for a close, well played match, the fans pelted the U.S. players with beer cans, soda, food, and plastic bottles as they left the field. “It seemed like we were playing in Mexico City,” said one U.S. player, “but they treated us better there than they did here.” (Ted Leonard, Shower of Abuse from Mexico’s Fans Adds Insult to U.S. Defeat, L.A. Times, February 16, 1998.)

Heston on Race

In a December, 1997, speech given to the Free Congress Foundation, Charlton Heston said some surprisingly sensible things about race:

The Constitution was handed down to us by a bunch of wise old dead white guys who invented our country! Now some flinch when I say that. Why! It’s true — they were white guys! So were most of the guys that died in Lincoln’s name opposing slavery in the 1860’s. So why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is ‘Hispanic Pride’ or ‘Black Pride’ a good thing, while ‘White Pride’ conjures shaven heads and white hoods? Why was the Million Man March on Washington celebrated by many as progress while the Promise Keepers March on Washington was greeted with suspicion and ridicule? I’ll tell you why: cultural warfare!

Mr. Heston also criticized “feminists who preach that it is a divine duty for women to hate men,” and “blacks who raise a militant fist with one hand while they seek preference with the other.”(Charlton Heston, Fighting The Cultural War In America, speech given at Free Congress Foundation, December 6, 1997.)

Cultural Exchange

We reproduce this news story, verbatim and in toto:

Ventura, Calif. — A devout Hindu is suing Taco Bell, claiming he suffered extreme distress because he was served a beef burrito.

Hindus hold cows sacred and Mukesh Rai maintains that he carefully ordered a bean burrito at the Taco Bell in Ventura in April.

His lawsuit seeks damages for emotional distress medical expenses and loss of wages. Rai said he had to travel to purify himself by bathing in the Ganges River.

(Hindu Sues Over Beef Burrito, Lansing State Journal (Mich.), Jan. 26, 1998, p. 4A.)

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Blacks and whites have radically different tastes in television. Not one program on the top ten list for whites is in the top ten for blacks and vice versa. The only program that draws a similar response among both races is “Monday Night Football,” which is number six with whites and number twelve with blacks. Not one of the 10 most popular shows for blacks even make the top 100 for whites. The favorite program for blacks, “Between Brothers,” is 117th for whites.

UPN and WB, which show sitcoms with all- or mostly-black casts, are the favorite networks for blacks but are virtually unknown to whites. Blacks also watch more television than whites: 72.4 hours a week as opposed to 50.8. (Josef Adalian, Study Bares Racial Gulf In TV-View Habits, New York Post, Feb. 13, 1998, p. 3.)

First of Many?

Australian authorities have denied refugee status to a 39-year-old white South African woman and her two daughters. Cheryl Kennedy fled to Australia after she was robbed 12 times, mugged five times, had three cars stolen, and her house burnt down. One of her daughters had a gun held to her head and her father and brother have been shot — the brother fatally. Miss Kennedy also claimed that whites in South Africa face discriminatory affirmative action programs, and that blacks target them for crime because of race. She is still in Australia pending the results of an appeal of her rejection, but vows she will never go back to South Africa: “If they deport me, it will have to be to some other country.” (Agence France-Presse, White South African Woman Seeks Refugee Status, Feb. 19, 1998.)

More White Wickedness

A study conducted at Stanford University has found that white students are less critical of essays written by blacks than of essays written by whites. When asked to give grades or write comments to be delivered to the author, white students had more praise for essays if they thought they were written by blacks. This appears to be yet another burden whites place on blacks: “Positive feedback bias may present serious costs for minorities” since they may not get the mental challenge they need. (Kent Harber, Feedback to Minorities: Evidence of a Positive Bias, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 74, No. 3.)

It does not seem to have occurred to the author that whites have learned to go easy on blacks because they are likely to be accused of “racism” if they are honest.

City Life

A 35-year-old black woman — whom news accounts have not named — lived downstairs in her Detroit house and rented the upstairs to a single mother with two children. Recently, another women who also had two children moved in upstairs with the tenant, but without the downstairs-owner’s permission. After a number of arguments with the unwanted additional tenants, the owner decided to solve the problem once and for all. She offered to give a man in the neighborhood a Rottweiler dog if he would burn the house down. On the appointed day, she took her own children and a few belongings out of the house, and the arsonist got to work. The four children in the upstairs apartment, ages two through nine, died in the fire.

There are no indications of where the owner planned to live after her house was burned down. She, the arsonist, and dog are being held by the police. (Suzanne Siegel, Man set Fire That Killed 4 Kids to get free Dog, Police Say, Detroit Free Press, Feb. 19, 1998, p. 1.)

Cultural Enrichment

Ever since vaccination for it began in 1969, rubella, or German measles, has essentially disappeared from the native population of the United States. However, in February an outbreak was reported in Westchester County, N.Y. and in Fairfield County, Conn. The disease has appeared among immigrants from Latin America, and health officials are launching a massive vaccination drive. (Outbreak of Rubella Hits Hispanic Immigrants, New York Times, Feb. 5, 1998.)

Likewise in February, it was reported that a seventh grade student in a Queens, N.Y. high school was found to have tuberculosis. This has sent a scare through the community and hundreds of children who had contact with the girl have been tested for the disease. School authorities have released very little information about the girl, saying only that she is from South America. (Randal Archibald, Tuberculosis Case Leads City’s Health Dept. to test Students at Queens School, New York Times, Feb. 5, 1998.)

Like Rubella, tuberculosis has essentially been eradicated among native Americans, but is being reintroduced by immigrants. One hundred years ago it was a common and serious disease — in 1890 it was the leading cause of death in New York — but improved sanitation and public health brought it under control by the 1960s and 1970s. Yearly declines in the number of cases came to a sudden halt in 1984, with the disease reappearing in cities with large numbers of immigrants. The worst recent outbreak was in 1994, when 376 students at LaQuinta High School outside of Los Angeles were found to be infected.

Drug-resistant strains of TB have appeared, which are very hard to treat. New forms of the bacterium arise when antibiotic treatments are not continued for the prescribed period. A proper course of medication may last from six months to two years, but since patients feel much better soon after they begin treatment, many stop taking their medicine too soon. This is such a common problem among bums, drifters, and drug addicts that medical authorities have started what is called “directly observed therapy,” in which they take the medicine to sick people and watch them swallow it. Obstreperous “patients” are forcibly medicated, in a procedure that has added immensely to the cost and complexity of combating this Third-World disease. (Thomas DiBacco, Tuberculosis on the Rebound, Washington Post, Jan. 27, 1998, p. Z9.)

Race and Politics

As part of his campaign for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, Kirby Holmes, Jr. sent out a political flier criticizing affirmative action. The cover showed a black man putting on a surgical mask with the question: “Was he the best qualified applicant to go to medical school?” On the inside it read: “We wouldn’t have to ask that question if we abolished minority preference programs.”

The flier generated the usual shrieking but Mr. Holmes stood firm: “It’s provocative, but it’s not racist.” He went on to finish a close second in a GOP primary of nine people. (Janet Naylor, Political Flier Sets Off Firestorm, The Detroit News, Jan. 28, 1998, p. 1D. Kristen Storey, Sanborn Wins GOP Primary for Jaye Seat, The Detroit News, Feb. 4, 1998.)

Goodbye Shakespeare

A measure to go before the San Francisco school board would require that 70 percent of authors on required reading lists for students be non-white. “In a district that is nearly 90 percent students of color, the point of education is not to glorify Europe but to let students see themselves in the curriculum,” said board member Steve Phillips.

Although blacks are fewer than 16 percent of the high school population in the city, black board member Keith Jackson wants half the authors to be black. “If students are required to read 10 books a year, why not have five books by black authors?” The measure, which will go before the school board, met little opposition when it was introduced on March 5. (Julian Guthrie, San Francisco May Force Multicultural Reading Lists, Washington Times, Mar. 11, 1998 p. A12.)