Jim Terry
Dark legacies
By Jim Terry
One of Lyndon Johnson's biographers writes about Lyndon as a student at Southwest Texas State Teachers College. According to his classmates, Lyndon would embroider the facts regarding almost anything. And when confronted by cohorts, he wasn't embarrassed or bothered that they knew he was lying. Instead, he continued to tell the same lies. The conclusion by his classmates was that they couldn't believe anything Lyndon Johnson said.
Has the office of president of the United States been haunted by Lyndon Johnson's ghost?
I was present in the Super Dome in New Orleans on August 18, 1988 when I saw and heard George H.W. Bush make his famous promise to thousands of cheering Republican delegates in the Dome and millions of Americans watching on television, "Read my lips, no new taxes." Those famous words probably won the election for him as the successor to Ronald Reagan.
In 1990, President Bush faced a crisis in the Middle East when Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. He won that war handily and was on his way to another term in the White House until he reversed his no new taxes pledge and agreed with congressional Democrats to raise taxes.
Ask anyone today to tell you something about George H. W. Bush's presidency. The one thing people remember is, "Read My lips, no new taxes." George H. W. Bush's legacy is not the war he won but the lie he told.
Most political analysts agree that Bill Clinton won the 1992 election because of Bush's broken tax pledge. But consider President Clinton's veracity meter. His legacy is the sleazy tryst with a young woman seven years older than his daughter and then the audacious lie to the American public, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
President Clinton then lied to a grand jury. His poor lawyering led to further questions in his failed attempt to justify the lies with the following, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the — if he — if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not — that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement."
Now we have George W. Bush who is in the process of destroying the Republican party and America with his stand on amnesty for 12-20 million foreign invaders. In his press conference May 24, the president defined amnesty when he said, "This bill does not grant amnesty. Amnesty is forgiveness without a penalty. Instead, this bill requires workers here illegally to acknowledge that they broke the law, pay a fine, pass background checks, remain employed and maintain a clean record."
Why then, do millions of Americans believe the current legislation in the U.S. Senate contains provisions for amnesty?
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (Simpson-Mazzoli Act (IRCA), Pub. L. No. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359 (Nov. 6, 1986) did not contain the word 'amnesty' in the legislation. But it was widely recognized as and described as legislation providing amnesty for 2-3 million illegal aliens when it was passed. And today, it is still remembered as the 1986 Amnesty legislation.
The president said that amnesty is "...forgiveness without a penalty." He also said that the bill provides for illegal aliens to "...acknowledge that they broke the law," and to, "pay a fine."
The 1986 amnesty bill contains the following language, "The alien must establish that he entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and that he has resided continuously in the United States in an unlawful status..." Sounds to me like that required the alien to acknowledge he broke the law.
The law under consideration states, "The alien shall establish that the alien was not present in lawful status in the United States on January 1, 2007..." I suppose that is a convoluted way of saying, "I broke the law." It reminds me of a bureaucrat who was once challenged by a policy maker who called the bureaucrat's plan, illegal. The bureaucrat responded, "This may not be legal but it's not illegal."
As for the fine, the language in the current bill mentions fees and penalties. It requires application fees not to exceed $1,500 and some penalties up to $1000, depending on the status of the alien.
The 1986 law says, "The Attorney General shall provide for a schedule of fees to be charged for the filing of applications for adjustment (of the alien's status). The current amnesty legislation contains a provision for aliens receiving Z-A visas to pay a $100 fine. Z-A visas allow non immigrant aliens to remain and work in the U.S.
In his drama, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams explores the idea of mendacity. Big Daddy Pollitt and his dysfunctional son, Brick have a heated discussion of the mendacious life they live. Mendacity is a word we don't hear much today. It has a harsh sound. But it is a good word to describe the state of politics in America.
The two presidents preceding George W. Bush will be remembered for their mendacity. Will mendacity also be George W. Bush's legacy?
© Jim Terry
One of Lyndon Johnson's biographers writes about Lyndon as a student at Southwest Texas State Teachers College. According to his classmates, Lyndon would embroider the facts regarding almost anything. And when confronted by cohorts, he wasn't embarrassed or bothered that they knew he was lying. Instead, he continued to tell the same lies. The conclusion by his classmates was that they couldn't believe anything Lyndon Johnson said.
Has the office of president of the United States been haunted by Lyndon Johnson's ghost?
I was present in the Super Dome in New Orleans on August 18, 1988 when I saw and heard George H.W. Bush make his famous promise to thousands of cheering Republican delegates in the Dome and millions of Americans watching on television, "Read my lips, no new taxes." Those famous words probably won the election for him as the successor to Ronald Reagan.
In 1990, President Bush faced a crisis in the Middle East when Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. He won that war handily and was on his way to another term in the White House until he reversed his no new taxes pledge and agreed with congressional Democrats to raise taxes.
Ask anyone today to tell you something about George H. W. Bush's presidency. The one thing people remember is, "Read My lips, no new taxes." George H. W. Bush's legacy is not the war he won but the lie he told.
Most political analysts agree that Bill Clinton won the 1992 election because of Bush's broken tax pledge. But consider President Clinton's veracity meter. His legacy is the sleazy tryst with a young woman seven years older than his daughter and then the audacious lie to the American public, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
President Clinton then lied to a grand jury. His poor lawyering led to further questions in his failed attempt to justify the lies with the following, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the — if he — if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not — that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement."
Now we have George W. Bush who is in the process of destroying the Republican party and America with his stand on amnesty for 12-20 million foreign invaders. In his press conference May 24, the president defined amnesty when he said, "This bill does not grant amnesty. Amnesty is forgiveness without a penalty. Instead, this bill requires workers here illegally to acknowledge that they broke the law, pay a fine, pass background checks, remain employed and maintain a clean record."
Why then, do millions of Americans believe the current legislation in the U.S. Senate contains provisions for amnesty?
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (Simpson-Mazzoli Act (IRCA), Pub. L. No. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359 (Nov. 6, 1986) did not contain the word 'amnesty' in the legislation. But it was widely recognized as and described as legislation providing amnesty for 2-3 million illegal aliens when it was passed. And today, it is still remembered as the 1986 Amnesty legislation.
The president said that amnesty is "...forgiveness without a penalty." He also said that the bill provides for illegal aliens to "...acknowledge that they broke the law," and to, "pay a fine."
The 1986 amnesty bill contains the following language, "The alien must establish that he entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and that he has resided continuously in the United States in an unlawful status..." Sounds to me like that required the alien to acknowledge he broke the law.
The law under consideration states, "The alien shall establish that the alien was not present in lawful status in the United States on January 1, 2007..." I suppose that is a convoluted way of saying, "I broke the law." It reminds me of a bureaucrat who was once challenged by a policy maker who called the bureaucrat's plan, illegal. The bureaucrat responded, "This may not be legal but it's not illegal."
As for the fine, the language in the current bill mentions fees and penalties. It requires application fees not to exceed $1,500 and some penalties up to $1000, depending on the status of the alien.
The 1986 law says, "The Attorney General shall provide for a schedule of fees to be charged for the filing of applications for adjustment (of the alien's status). The current amnesty legislation contains a provision for aliens receiving Z-A visas to pay a $100 fine. Z-A visas allow non immigrant aliens to remain and work in the U.S.
In his drama, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams explores the idea of mendacity. Big Daddy Pollitt and his dysfunctional son, Brick have a heated discussion of the mendacious life they live. Mendacity is a word we don't hear much today. It has a harsh sound. But it is a good word to describe the state of politics in America.
The two presidents preceding George W. Bush will be remembered for their mendacity. Will mendacity also be George W. Bush's legacy?
© Jim Terry
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
