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Kansas City Crime Address 1/23/90 [OA 4390] [1]
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25
6
7
2
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Kansas City, Missouri)
For Immediate Release
January 23, 1990
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO KANSAS CITY LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY
Kansas City Municipal Auditorium Music Hall
Kansas City, Missouri
1:40 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor
Berkley. Thank you very, very much -- all of you. Thank you very
much. But how did you know that our dog, Millie, was the most
popular person in the Bush family? (Laughter.) I'm delighted to be
introduced by my friend, Dick Berkley, and thank you for that warm
introduction. As he confessed, we go back a long, long time, and I'm
grateful to him for his friendship and his leadership.
I also want to thank and pay my respects to two that flew
out here with me on Air Force One -- our distinguished Attorney
General, Dick Thornburg; and our Drug Policy Czar -- why we use the
word in the United States, I do not know -- but our able Drug Policy
Director Bill Bennett, both here with me today. (Applause.) And
both doing a superb job for our country.
It's always good to see the Governors, and be with them,
of these two great states, both friends -- John Ashcroft, from
Missouri, and, of course, my friend, Mike Hayden, from just across
the line. I think it's just across the line. But both of them, side
by side with us, recognizing that the states must have considerable
influence, must take a lot of action if we're going to solve the
problems that I wanted to talk to you about today.
And, of course, we also had some other travelers with me,
friends of good standing flying out -- your two able Missouri
Senators, Jack Danforth and Kit Bond. Both -- whoops, they're here
-- here's one. Where's Kit? Over here. (Applause.) And, of
course, Congressmen Ike Skelton, my friend; and also Tom Coleman.
And let me just say about this group of representatives,
Senate and House -- all of them, all four, are taking leadership
roles in this fight against crime. And I know that your Congressman
from the district I just visited, Alan Wheat, wanted to be here. He
is attending to duties in Washington. I hope he's doing the right
thing back there, as Congress just reconvened. And, of course, so
many law enforcement and community leaders -- the Police Chief has
been at my side, and the respect with which he's held by people in
the communities is very clear and obvious. Commissioner Ray Price.
And, of course, I had a wonderful meeting with the Ad Hoc
Group. I've known the leader of the group because he is serving on
one of our most prestigious antinarcotics task forces in Washington,
presidentially appointed, working closely with Bill Bennett and me.
Al, we're just delighted that you are willing to not only do what you
are doing here, but take the time to be a part of that. Al Brooks --
an outstanding leader for this community. (Applause.)
Then I had a list -- not to read off, necessarily, but I
would be remiss if I didn't say how pleased I was with the briefing I
received out here -- the Ad Hoc Group. Inspiring presentations --
and I won't mention them all, but Dr. Daniels, Stacey Daniels; Dr.
MORE
- 2 -
Mark Mitchell, one a PHD psychologist, the other an MD. Cliff
Sargeon, who just hitchhiked a ride with us somewhere along the line.
I don't know where he is out there. And, of course, Ron Finley, and
Vic Syng, Majeeda Baheyadeen -- so many others that just made this
whole program come alive.
And now, before I get to my words, let me also salute the
Army, and thank the band from Fort Riley for that wonderful music.
Outstanding, as always. (Applause.)
And I can tell you, and mean it, that it is great to be
in the heartland, great to be back in Kansas City. And, you know,
Kansas City has so much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains than Paris. But you also know what
really sets Kansas City apart. It is not your parks. It's your
people.
They call it "the Kansas City spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed back
frontiers and brought the railroads west. Rebuilt a burned-down
Convention Hall in 90 days and survived three floods this century.
And, yes, it's a community spirit; a spirit that emphasizes the value
of collective well-being.
Norman Rockwell captured in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit" -- it pictures a brawny, sun-burned man,
feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant horizon. And
one hand clutches a blueprint and the other's rolling up his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that is very much alive
today. Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves, burning with a new form of
pain called crack. And crackling with a burst of gunfire not heard
in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. And took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas City, when one man
rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a
blueprint that's become a model for our cities, an inspiration to
people everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him, as I
alluded to earlier, and with his group, his group this morning, and I
know that many more than I mentioned are here with us this afternoon.
They're a group of homegrown, Kansas City heroes called the Ad Hoc
Group Against Crime, and the man's name -- you know him -- Alvin to
some; Al to me; Al Brooks. (Applause.)
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house by
house, family by family, child by child. Because each kid saved is a
victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in
force, gather by the dozen, using bullhorns, wooden coffins, street
rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street. They're not
subtle -- I just saw them in action out there -- but they are
determined, and they are united. And they are clearly making a
difference.
I spent a part of the morning here in the downtown,
inner-city area. I can't remember a more inspiring experience since
I've been President. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to
call the "Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug
dealers put up a basketball board to lure young children and cover up
their own deadly operations.
And it's still a rough area. Still not free of crime.
But a lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house carries the sign of victory,
MORE
- 3 -
Ad Hoc's six-word warning to the cowards of the night: "This
neighborhood fights back against drugs." (Applause.)
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in
effective, community-based initiatives like the Ad HOC Group here.
Also, cooperation between local and federal law enforcement is
essential, as we saw last Friday when Kansas City police combined
with federal agents to bust what may be the biggest crack ring in
town.
Another part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand
side, stopping drug use before it starts, and helping those who want
to stop. And our national drug strategy calls for record levels of
new funding for both education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions alone, important as they are,
will never be enough. There are people out there intent on doing
evil. Cowardly. Amoral. And when they spot someone vulnerable --
the school kid who has to cross a drug-infested corner to get home --
they see their fellow man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded
fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack
house. An 11-year-old kid gunned down outside another drug den,
allegedly at the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar,
a mother sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing leaves three
generations dead, including a grandmother and three little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas City, they are tragically familiar in
cities across America.
Strong families are an important element in a healthy,
respectful society. Many of life's most important lessons are
learned within the walls of our own homes, and we must do everything
we can to strengthen our families and help them cultivate character
in our children.
But let us also be clear about the role of personal
accountability -- of the responsibility of the criminal for his
actions. The fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of
life, his companions, the kind of crimes he commits. He's not the
victim -- he is the victimizer.
And you who have struggled, worked hard for safe streets
know this. It's time we protect the rights of our elderly, our kids
and our crime victims everywhere. (Applause.) The law-abiding
community that you represent has a duty to punish wrongdoers.
Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an unseemly indulgence in
revenge. Just punishment is a moral, civilized response to wrong.
Punishment is necessary not only as a deterrent to future crimes, but
for its own sake, which is to say -- for the sake of justice.
(Applause.)
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent human
life as precious, as unique. In Larry McMurtry's -- you remember it
-- classic Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an
end to a brutal gang's deadly rampage, and one of the outlaws turns
out to be Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is. He put himself in it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life
pioneers who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most
Americans believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb
to evil -- and yet always has the freedom instead to choose to do
good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in
their own homes. And we really have to change that. We have got to
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- 4 -
change it. The wrong people are behind bars.
Go to the community I came from. Talk to the lady and
her husband in a Christian home -- a cross and the Bible inside --
locked in for fear of what's on the outside.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like Bat
Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again need
the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new
federal troops that we asked for -- new agents, new prosecutors, new
prisons to catch, convict and contain those who prey on our cities.
But it's time for Congress -- reconvening this very day
-- to finish the job. Because it does no good to send the troops
into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a comprehensive
package to Congress to combat violent crime, to back up our new
lawmen with new laws -- laws that are fair, fast and final.
Fair -- an exclusionary rule designed to protect the
truth and punish the guilty -- and not good cops who have acted in
faith. (Applause.) Fast -- habeas corpus reforms to stop the
frivolous appeals that are choking our courts. And final -- fair,
constitutionally sound death penalty provisions. Because for any
drug dealer who kills a cop -- no penalty, in my view, is too tough.
(Applause.)
Major portions of our crime bill still await
Congressional action. But today there's another bill -- a Trojan
Horse -- standing at the gates of Congress. It's called S. 1970. It
looks like a real crime bill. It sounds like a real crime bill. But
look at it. Take a look at it. Go to the library and get it. In
actuality it will be tougher on law enforcement than on criminals.
And its so-called reforms of the exclusionary rule,
habeas corpus, the death penalty and the Justice Department itself
will only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and the red-tape
that disrupt honest law enforcement, and have angered the American
people for far too long. It must be defeated.
America needs a crime bill with teeth, yes, but this is a
sheep in wolf's clothing.
We don't question anyone's motives. One of the things I
don't like about politics -- maybe I should expect it -- get into the
arena as Teddy Roosevelt called it. It seems to be a charge and
countercharge. I propose one agenda and somebody else another. We
don't have to question the other person's motives or integrity in
making the proposal. But it is time to debate these differences
openly. We can't accept anything -- and I will not -- that rolls
back the clock on our ability to fight crime and punish wrong-doers.
And good legislation shouldn't have to wait until the final weeks of
an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988 -- just by
coincidence
And America wants it done right. And America wants it
done responsibly. And America wants it done now. (Applause.)
You in Kansas and Missouri -- right here -- have set a
personal example of courage in grappling with tough choices. In this
city, you fought back and you got involved and you refused to look
the other way. And you have my thanks and the gratitude of an
admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting that I mentioned earlier,
the man with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say
a young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father, "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man facing
MORE
- 5 -
-- west or east?"
The father's answer was pure Midwest: "Well, son, it
sort of depends on which way you hold the book." (Laughter.)
Of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold
that picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas City Spirit," always faces the same way --
forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
Thank you for an inspiring day. Thank you for this warm
greeting on this January day. God bless you all as we begin a new
year. God bless Kansas City and, especially, God bless the United
States of America. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.)
END
2:02 P.M. CST
AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
THANK YOU, MAYOR [[DICK]] BERKLEY, FOR THAT WARM
INTRODUCTION. AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR ATTORNEY
GENERAL, DICK THORNBURG, AND OUR DRUG POLICY DIRECTOR,
BILL BENNETT, WHO ARE HERE TODAY AND WHO ARE DOING SUCH
AN OUTSTANDING JOB.
AND IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE THE GOVERNORS OF THESE
TWO GREAT STATES -- JOHN ASHCROFT AND MIKE HAYDEN.
SENATORS JACK DANFORTH AND KIT BOND. CONGRESSMEN TOM
COLEMAN AND IKE SKELTON. AND SO MANY LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND COMMUNITY LEADERS -- POLICE CHIEF LARRY JOINER AND
POLICE COMMISSIONER RAY PRICE, AND [CAD HOC LEADER]]
ALVIN BROOKS. I'LL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT HIM IN A
MINUTE.
IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK IN THE HEARTLAND. IT'S
GREAT TO BE BACK IN KANSAS CITY. 11
KANSAS CITY HAS MUCH OF WHICH TO BE PROUD. YOU'VE
HEARD THE TALLY: GRASSIER THAN IRELAND. BUILT ON MORE
HILLS THAN ANCIENT ROME. MORE WATER, MORE FOUNTAINS,
THAN PARIS.
- 2 -
BUT YOU ALSO KNOW WHAT REALLY SETS KANSAS CITY
APART. IT'S NOT YOUR PARKS. IT'S YOUR PEOPLE. III
THEY CALL IT "THE KANSAS CITY SPIRIT." RESTLESS.
IDEALISTIC. DETERMINED. IT'S THE KIND OF SPIRIT THAT
PUSHED BACK FRONTIERS, AND BROUGHT THE RAILROADS WEST.
REBUILT A BURNED-DOWN CONVENTION HALL IN 90 DAYS, AND
SURVIVED THREE FLOODS THIS CENTURY. AND, YES, IT'S A
a
COMMUNITY SPIRIT, A SPIRIT THAT EMPHASIZES THE VALUE OF
COLLECTIVE WELL-BEING.
NORMAN ROCKWELL CAPTURED IT IN A PAINTING CALLED
JUST THAT -- THE "KANSAS CITY SPIRIT." IT PICTURES A
BRAWNY, SUN-BURNED MAN, FEET FIRMLY PLANTED ON THE
GROUND, EYES ON THE DISTANT HORIZON. ONE HAND CLUTCHES
A BLUEPRINT. THE OTHER'S ROLLING UP HIS SLEEVES.
AND, THANK GOD, IT'S A SPIRIT THAT'S VERY MUCH
ALIVE TODAY.
- 3 -
BECAUSE IN RECENT YEARS, IT'S NOT THE CONVENTION
HALL THAT'S CAUGHT FIRE, BUT THE STREETS THEMSELVES.
BURNING WITH A NEW FORM OF PAIN CALLED CRACK. AND
CRACKLING WITH BURSTS OF GUNFIRE NOT HEARD IN KANSAS
CITY SINCE THE OUTLAW DAYS OF THE OLD WEST.
BUT PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN REFUSED TO SURRENDER TO
THE DRUG PLAGUE. YOU TOOK BACK WHAT'S YOURS. TOOK
BACK YOUR KIDS. TOOK BACK YOUR STREETS. IIII
IT BEGAN LIKE THE SPIRIT OF KANSAS CITY, WHEN ONE
MAN ROLLED UP HIS SLEEVES AND STEPPED FORWARD WITH A
BLUEPRINT, A BLUEPRINT THAT'S BECOME A MODEL FOR OUR
CITIES AND AN INSPIRATION TO PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. I HAD
THE PLEASURE OF MEETING WITH HIM AND HIS GROUP THIS
MORNING, AND I KNOW MANY OF THEM ARE HERE THIS
AFTERNOON. THEY'RE A GROUP OF HOME-GROWN, KANSAS CITY
HEROES CALLED THE AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME, AND THE
MAN'S NAME IS ALVIN BROOKS. III
- 4 -
AD HOC RECOGNIZED EARLY ON THAT THE WAR ON DRUGS
MEANT UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE -- A BATTLE TO BE FOUGHT
DAY BY DAY, HOUSE BY HOUSE, FAMILY BY FAMILY, CHILD BY
CHILD.
BECAUSE EACH KID SAVED IS A VICTORY WON. III
WORKING CLOSELY WITH POLICE, AD HOC MEMBERS GATHER
IN FORCE, GATHER BY THE DOZEN, AND USE BULLHORNS,
WOODEN COFFINS, AND STREET RALLIES TO WARN DRUG DEALERS
TO GET OFF THE STREET.
THEY ARE NOT SUBTLE. BUT THEY ARE DETERMINED.
THEY ARE UNITED. AND THEY ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
IIII
I SPENT PART OF THE MORNING HERE IN THE DOWNTOWN,
INNER CITY AREA. WENT TO 33RD AND PARK. SAW WHAT THEY
USED TO CALL THE "DRUG TREE" -- AN ANCIENT, CURB-SIDE
OAK WHERE THE DRUG DEALERS PUT UP A BASKETBALL
BACKBOARD TO LURE YOUNG CHILDREN AND COVER-UP THEIR
DEADLY OPERATIONS.
- 5 -
IT'S STILL A ROUGH AREA. STILL NOT FREE OF CRIME.
BUT A LOT OF CRACK HOUSES ARE GONE. AND A LOT OF
PRIDE'S COME BACK.
AND BLOCK AFTER BLOCK, HOUSE AFTER HOUSE CARRIES
THE SIGN OF VICTORY, AD HOC'S SIX-WORD WARNING TO THE
COWARDS OF THE NIGHT: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK
AGAINST DRUGS." 1111
PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE DRUG MENACE LIES IN
EFFECTIVE, COMMUNITY-BASED INITIATIVES LIKE THE AD HOC
GROUP HERE. ALSO, COOPERATION BETWEEN LOCAL AND
FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IS ESSENTIAL, AS WE SAW LAST
FRIDAY, WHEN KANSAS CITY POLICE COMBINED WITH FEDERAL
AGENTS TO BUST WHAT MAY BE THE BIGGEST CRACK RING IN
TOWN.
ANOTHER PART -- AN ESSENTIAL PART -- LIES IN THE
DEMAND SIDE, STOPPING DRUG USE BEFORE IT STARTS, AND
HELPING THOSE WHO WANT TO STOP. AND OUR NATIONAL DRUG
STRATEGY CALLS FOR RECORD LEVELS OF NEW FUNDING FOR
BOTH EDUCATION AND TREATMENT. 11
- 6 -
BUT DEMAND-SIDE SOLUTIONS ALONE WILL NEVER BE
ENOUGH. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE INTENT ON DOING
EVIL. COWARDLY. AMORAL. AND WHEN THEY SPOT SOMEONE
VULNERABLE -- THE SCHOOLKID WHO HAS TO CROSS A DRUG
INFESTED CORNER TO GET HOME -- THEY SEE THEIR FELLOW
MAN THE WAY A PACK OF JACKALS SEES A WOUNDED FAWN.
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOY, SHOT DEAD IN A SUSPECTED
CRACK HOUSE. AN 11-YEAR-OLD KID GUNNED DOWN OUTSIDE
ANOTHER DRUG DEN, ALLEGEDLY AT THE HANDS OF A 14-YEAR-
OLD "GUARD." IN A DOWNTOWN BAR, A MOTHER SELLS HER
BABY FOR CRACK. AND A FIRE BOMBING LEAVES THREE
GENERATIONS DEAD, INCLUDING A GRANDMOTHER AND THREE
LITTLE KIDS.
THE HEADLINES ARE HORRIFYING, SICKENING,
OUTRAGEOUS. AND THOUGH THEY COME FROM KANSAS CITY,
THEY ARE TRAGICALLY FAMILIAR IN CITIES ACROSS AMERICA.
- 7 -
STRONG FAMILIES ARE AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN A
HEALTHY, RESPECTFUL SOCIETY. MANY OF LIFE'S MOST
IMPORTANT LESSONS ARE LEARNED WITHIN THE WALLS OF OUR
OWN HOMES. WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO STRENGTHEN
OUR FAMILIES AND TO HELP THEM CULTIVATE CHARACTER IN
OUR CHILDREN.
BUT LET US ALSO BE CLEAR ABOUT THE ROLE OF
PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY -- OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
CRIMINAL FOR HIS ACTIONS. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS,
THE CRIMINAL CHOOSES HIS WAY OF LIFE, HIS COMPANIONS,
THE KINDS OF CRIME HE COMMITS. HE IS NOT THE VICTIM --
HE IS THE VICTIMIZER. 11
YOU WHO HAVE STRUGGLED FOR SAFE STREETS KNOW THIS.
IT'S TIME WE PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF OUR ELDERLY, OUR
KIDS AND CRIME VICTIMS EVERYWHERE. THE LAW-ABIDING
COMMUNITY YOU REPRESENT HAS A DUTY TO PUNISH
WRONGDOERS. PUNISHMENT IS NOT -- AS SOME MAY SEE IT --
AN UNSEEMLY INDULGENCE IN REVENGE. JUST PUNISHMENT IS
A MORAL, CIVILIZED RESPONSE TO WRONG. PUNISHMENT IS
NECESSARY NOT ONLY AS A DETERRENT TO FUTURE CRIMES, BUT
FOR ITS OWN SAKE. WHICH IS TO SAY -- FOR THE SAKE OF
JUSTICE. 11
- 8 -
THIS TRADITION OF JUSTICE SPEAKS NOT OF A SOCIETY
THAT DISPARAGES HUMAN LIFE, BUT RATHER, ONE THAT
TREASURES INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE AS PRECIOUS AND UNIQUE.
IN LARRY MCMURTRY'S CLASSIC WESTERN NOVEL, LONESOME
DOVE, TWO RANGERS FINALLY PUT AN END TO A BRUTAL GANG'S
DEADLY RAMPAGE. ONE OF THE OUTLAWS TURNS OUT TO BE
JAKE SPOON, THE RANGERS' OLD PARTNER.
"IT'S A BAD SITUATION," SAYS CAPTAIN CALL, MOMENTS
BEFORE ARRESTING HIS OLD FRIEND. "BUT THERE HE IS...
HE PUT HIMSELF IN IT." III
MCMURTRY'S SAGA -- LIKE THE LIVES OF THE REAL-LIFE
PIONEERS WHO INSPIRED IT -- REVEALS SOME SIMPLE TRUTHS.
MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE EACH OF US FACES THE INNATE
TEMPTATION TO SUCCUMB TO EVIL -- AND YET ALWAYS HAS THE
FREEDOM TO INSTEAD CHOOSE TO DO GOOD.
TODAY, TOO MANY LAW-ABIDING AMERICANS ARE
PRISONERS IN THEIR OWN HOMES. WE'VE GOT TO CHANGE
THAT. THE WRONG PEOPLE ARE BEHIND BARS.
- 9 -
THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE WILL ALWAYS BE OUR LOCAL
LAW ENFORCEMENT. BUT, AS IN THE DAYS OF LEGENDARY U.S.
MARSHALS LIKE BAT MASTERSON AND WILD BILL HICKOK,
PLACES LIKE KANSAS CITY AGAIN NEED THE SUPPORT OF TOP-
NOTCH FEDERAL LAWMEN.
CONGRESS DESERVES OUR THANKS FOR PROVIDING THE NEW
FEDERAL TROOPS WE ASKED FOR -- NEW AGENTS, NEW
PROSECUTORS, AND NEW PRISONS TO CATCH, CONVICT AND
CONTAIN THOSE WHO PREY ON OUR CITIES.
BUT IT'S TIME FOR CONGRESS TO FINISH THE JOB.
BECAUSE IT DOES NO GOOD TO SEND THE TROOPS INTO BATTLE
WEARING HANDCUFFS.
SHORTLY AFTER TAKING OFFICE, I SENT A
COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE TO CONGRESS TO COMBAT VIOLENT
CRIME, TO BACK UP OUR NEW LAWMEN WITH NEW LAWS -- LAWS
THAT ARE FAIR, FAST, AND FINAL.
- 10 -
FAIR -- AN EXCLUSIONARY RULE DESIGNED TO PROTECT
THE TRUTH AND PUNISH THE GUILTY -- AND NOT GOOD COPS
WHO HAVE ACTED IN GOOD FAITH. FAST -- HABEAS CORPUS
REFORMS TO STOP THE FRIVOLOUS APPEALS THAT ARE CHOKING
OUR COURTS. AND FINAL -- FAIR, CONSTITUTIONALLY SOUND
DEATH PENALTY PROVISIONS. BECAUSE FOR ANY DRUG DEALER
WHO KILLS A COP -- NO PENALTY IS TOO TOUGH. III
MAJOR PORTIONS OF OUR CRIME BILL STILL AWAIT
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION. BUT TODAY THERE'S ANOTHER
BILL -- A TROJAN HORSE -- STANDING AT THE GATES OF
CONGRESS. IT'S CALLED "S. 1970." IT LOOKS LIKE A REAL
CRIME BILL. SOUNDS LIKE A REAL CRIME BILL. BUT IN
ACTUALITY IT WILL BE TOUGHER ON LAW ENFORCEMENT THAN ON
CRIMINALS.
ITS SO-CALLED "REFORMS" OF THE EXCLUSIONARY RULE,
HABEAS CORPUS, THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT ITSELF WILL ONLY ENTRENCH AND EXTEND THE
LEGAL LOOPHOLES AND RED-TAPE THAT DISRUPT LAW
ENFORCEMENT, AND HAVE ANGERED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR
FAR TOO LONG.
- 11 -
AMERICA NEEDS A CRIME BILL WITH TEETH -- BUT THIS
IS A SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING. 1111
WE DON'T QUESTION ANYONE'S MOTIVES. BUT IT IS
TIME TO DEBATE THESE DIFFERENCES OPENLY. WE CAN'T
ACCEPT ANYTHING THAT ROLLS BACK THE CLOCK ON OUR
ABILITY TO FIGHT CRIME AND PUNISH WRONG-DOERS. AND
GOOD LEGISLATION SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE FINAL
WEEKS OF AN ELECTION YEAR, AS HAPPENED IN 1984, 1986,
AND 1988. 111
AMERICA WANTS IT DONE RIGHT. AMERICA WANTS IT
DONE RESPONSIBLY. AND AMERICA WANTS IT DONE NOW. IIII
YOU IN KANSAS CITY HAVE SET A PERSONAL EXAMPLE OF
COURAGE IN GRAPPLING WITH TOUGH CHOICES. YOU FOUGHT
BACK, YOU GOT INVOLVED, YOU REFUSED TO LOOK THE OTHER
WAY. AND YOU HAVE MY THANKS -- AND THE GRATITUDE OF AN
ADMIRING NATION.
- 12 -
IN THE NORMAN ROCKWELL PAINTING I MENTIONED
EARLIER, THE MAN WITH THE BLUEPRINTS IS LOOKING SHARPLY
TO ONE SIDE. THEY SAY A YOUNG BOY SAW THE PICTURE IN A
BOOK, AND ASKED HIS FATHER: "DAD, KANSAS CITY IS IN
THE CENTER OF AMERICA. WHICH WAY IS THE MAN FACING --
EAST OR WEST?"
THE FATHER'S ANSWER WAS PURE MIDWEST: "WELL
SON -- IT SORT OF DEPENDS ON WHICH WAY YOU HOLD THE
BOOK." IIII
OF COURSE, THE TRUTH IS, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU
HOLD THAT PICTURE. BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT
IT, THE KANSAS CITY SPIRIT, THE REAL "KANSAS CITY
SPIRIT," ALWAYS FACES THE SAME WAY -- FORWARD TO A
BRIGHTER TOMORROW, FORWARD TO THE FUTURE AHEAD.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WARM GREETING ON THIS JANUARY
DAY. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AS WE BEGIN A NEW YEAR. GOD
BLESS KANSAS CITY -- AND GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
FACSIMILE TRANSMITTAL SHEET
NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 13
DATE 1/22/90
TO Joe Koss or Rich mooney
FAX NUMBER 816/421-5492
OFFICE NUMBER
COMMENTS There may be changes.
Ill call to let you know.
Gardner Will be the only one "
on the trip.
FROM Stephanie Saudner)
FAX NUMBER 202/456-6218
OFFICE NUMBER 202/456-2930
McNally/Simon
four
January 22, 1990
89 DEC 22 P7: 30
Draft Three (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
Thank you, Mayor [[DICK]] Berkley, for that warm
introduction. And I also want to thank our Attorney General,
Dick Thornburg, and our drug policy Director, Bill Bennett, who
are here today and who are doing such an outstanding job.
And it's always good to see the Governors of these two great
states - - John Ashcroft and Mike Hayden. Senators Jack Danforth
and Kit Bond. Congressmen Tom Coleman and Ike Skelton. And so
many law enforcement and community leaders -- Police Chief Larry
Joiner and Police Commissioner Ray Price, and [[AD HOC LEADER]]
Alvin Brooks. I'll have more to say about him in a minute.
It's great to be back in the heartland. It's great to be
back in Kansas City. \\
Kansas City has much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people. \\\
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
burned-down Convention Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods
this century. And, yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that
emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
2
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today.
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. Took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas City, when one man rolled
up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a blueprint
that's become a model for our cities and an inspiration to people
everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him and his group
this morning, and I know many of them are here this afternoon.
They're a group of home-grown, Kansas City heroes called the Ad
Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child.
Because each kid saved is a victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins, and
3
street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle. But they are determined. They are
united. And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city
area. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to call the
"Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug dealers
put up a basketball backboard to lure young children and cover-up
their deadly operations.
It's still a rough area. Still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house carries the sign of
victory, Ad Hoc's six-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS. "
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc Group here. Also,
cooperation between local and federal law enforcement is
essential, as we saw last Friday, when Kansas City police
combined with federal agents to bust what may be the biggest
crack ring in town.
Another part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand
side, stopping drug use before it starts, and helping those who
want to stop. And our national drug strategy calls for record
levels of new funding for both education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions alone will never be enough. There
are people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral.
And when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
4
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
An 11-year-old kid gunned down outside another drug den,
allegedly at the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown
bar, a mother sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing
leaves three generations dead, including a grandmother and three
little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas City, they are tragically familiar
in cities across America.
Strong families are an important element in a healthy,
respectful society. Many of life's most important lessons are
learned within the walls of our own homes. We must do everything
we can to strengthen our families and to help them cultivate
character in our children.
But let us also be clear about the role of personal
accountability -- of the responsibility of the criminal for his
actions. The fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way
of life, his companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is
not the victim -- he is the victimizer.
You who have struggled for safe streets know this. It's
time we protect the rights of our elderly, our kids and crime
victims everywhere. The law-abiding community you represent has
a duty to punish wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may
see it -- an unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is
5
a moral, civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary
not only as a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake.
Which is to say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
own homes. We've got to change that. The wrong people are
behind bars.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
need the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new federal
troops we asked for -- new agents, new prosecutors, and new
6
prisons to catch, convict and contain those who prey on our
cities.
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a comprehensive package
to Congress to combat violent crime, to back up our new lawmen
with new laws -- laws that are fair, fast, and final.
Fair -- an exclusionary rule designed to protect the truth
and punish the guilty -- and not good cops who have acted in good
faith. Fast -- habeas corpus reforms to stop the frivolous
appeals that are choking our courts. And final -- fair,
constitutionally sound death penalty provisions. Because for any
drug dealer who kills a cop -- no penalty is too tough. \\\
Major portions of our crime bill still await Congressional
action. But today there's another bill -- a Trojan Horse --
standing at the gates of Congress. It's called "S. 1970. " It
looks like a real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill.
But in actuality it will be tougher on law enforcement than on
criminals.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, the death penalty and the Justice Department itself will
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
disrupt law enforcement, and have angered the American people for
far too long.
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing.
7
We don't question anyone's motives. But it is time to
debate these differences openly. We can't accept anything that
rolls back the clock on our ability to fight crime and punish
wrong-doers. And good legislation shouldn't have to wait until
the final weeks of an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986,
and 1988. III
America wants it done right. America wants it done
responsibly. And America wants it done now.
You in Kansas City have set a personal example of courage in
grappling with tough choices. You fought back, you got involved,
you refused to look the other way. And you have my thanks -- and
the gratitude of an admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father: "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man
facing -- East or West?"
The father's answer was pure Midwest: "Well son -- it sort
of depends on which way you hold the book.' If
of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas City Spirit," always faces the same way
--- forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Kansas City --
and God bless the U.S.A.
McNally/Simon
January 22, 1990
Draft Three (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
Thank you, Mayor [[DICK]] Berkley, for that warm
introduction. And I also want to thank our Attorney General,
Dick Thornburg, and our drug policy Director, Bill Bennett, who
are here today and who are doing such an outstanding job.
And it's always good to see the Governors of these two great
states -- John Ashcroft and Mike Hayden. Senators Jack Danforth
and Kit Bond. Congressmen Tom Coleman and Ike Skelton. And so
many law enforcement and community leaders -- Police Chief Larry
Joiner and Police Commissioner Ray Price, and [[AD HOC LEADER]]
Alvin Brooks. I'll have more to say about him in a minute.
It's great to be back in the heartland. It's great to be
back in Kansas City.
Kansas City has much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people. \\\
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
burned-down Convention Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods
this century. And, yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that
emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
2
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today.
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. Took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas City, when one man rolled
up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a blueprint
that's become a model for our cities and an inspiration to people
everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him and his group
this morning, and I know many of them are here this afternoon.
They're a group of home-grown, Kansas City heroes called the Ad
Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child.
Because each kid saved is a victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins, and
3
street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle. But they are determined. They are
united. And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city
area. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to call the
"Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug dealers
put up a basketball backboard to lure young children and cover-up
their deadly operations.
It's still a rough area. Still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house carries the sign of
victory, Ad Hoc's six-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS.'
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc Group here. Also,
cooperation between local and federal law enforcement is
essential, as we saw last Friday, when Kansas City police
combined with federal agents to bust what may be the biggest
crack ring in town.
Another part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand
side, stopping drug use before it starts, and helping those who
want to stop. And our national drug strategy calls for record
levels of new funding for both education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions alone will never be enough. There
are people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral.
And when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
4
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
An 11-year-old kid gunned down outside another drug den,
allegedly at the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown
bar, a mother sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing
leaves three generations dead, including a grandmother and three
little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas City, they are tragically familiar
in cities across America.
Some would like to believe that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal. I don't agree.
Sure, there are many factors that probably do contribute to
crime. The dissolution of the family, to name one.
But it's time to shift the focus of this debate to personal
accountability -- to the responsibility of the criminal -- and to
the rights of our elderly, our kids and crime victims everywhere.
You who have struggled for safe streets know this. The fact
of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of life, his
companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is not the victim
-- he is the victimizer.
The law-abiding community you represent has a duty to punish
wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an
unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is a moral,
civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary not only as
5
a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake. Which is to
say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
own homes. We've got to change that. The wrong people are
behind bars.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
need the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new federal
troops we asked for -- new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons to catch, convict and contain those who prey on our
cities.
6
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a comprehensive package
to Congress to combat violent crime, to back up our new lawmen
with new laws -- laws that are fair, fast, and final.
Fair -- an exclusionary rule designed to protect the truth
and punish the guilty -- and not good cops who have acted in good
faith. Fast -- habeas corpus reforms to stop the frivolous
appeals that are choking our courts. And final -- fair,
constitutionally sound death penalty provisions. Because for any
drug dealer who kills a cop -- no penalty is too tough.
Our crime bill has awaited Congressional action since June.
But today there's another bill -- a Trojan Horse -- standing at
the gates of Congress. It's called "S. 1970.' It looks like a
real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill. But it's filled
with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, capital punishment and the Justice Department itself will
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
disrupt law enforcement, and have angered the American people for
far too long.
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing.
We don't question anyone's motives. But it is time to
debate these differences openly. We can't accept anything that
rolls back the clock on our ability to fight crime and punish
good bqis. shouldn't have townit
wrong-doers. And we can't table it until the final weeks of an
election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988. You can 't
table a crisis.
America wants it done right. America wants it done
responsibly. And America wants it done now.
You in Kansas City have set a personal example of courage in
grappling with tough choices. You fought back, you got involved,
you refused to look the other way. And you have my thanks -- and
the gratitude of an admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father: "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man
facing -- East or West?"
The father's answer was pure Midwest: "Well son -- it sort
of depends on which way you hold the book. "
of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas City Spirit," always faces the same way
-- forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 19, 1990
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
EDWARD McNALLY
EMV
SUBJECT:
REMARKS FOR KANSAS CITY ANTI-DRUG EVENT
I. SUMMARY
On Tuesday, January 23, you will travel to Kansas City,
Mo. to meet with local anti-drug leaders and tour a neighborhood
suffering from illegal drugs. At 1:30 p.m., you will address
approximately 1,500 community leaders and local law enforcement
officers in the Kansas City Music Hall and talk about the
importance of community involvement in the war against drugs and
the need for Congress to pass your Violent Crime Control bill.
II. DISCUSSION
This event is similar in message and substance to the
Acres Homes anti-drug event in Houston on December 7, 1989. The
speech points out that the root of crime is a choice made by the
criminal between doing good or doing evil.
This speech also continues on the theme of "unfinished
business." It includes a call for Congress to stop trying to
weaken your Violent Crime Control bill and pass it quickly.
The remarks will be teleprompted.
McNally/Simon
January 19, 1990
Draft Three (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
Thank you,
, for that warm introduction.
It's great to be back in the heartland. It's great to be
back in Kansas City. 11
Kansas City has much to be proud of. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people. \\\
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
burned-down Convention Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods
this century. And, yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that
emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today.
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
2
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. Took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas City, when one man rolled
up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a blueprint
that's become a model for our cities and an inspiration to people
everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him and his group
this morning, and I know many of them are here this afternoon.
They're a group of home-grown, Kansas City heroes called the Ad
Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child.
Because each kid saved is a victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins, and
street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle. But they are determined. They are
united. And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city
area. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to call the
"Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug dealers
put up a basketball backboard to lure young children and cover-up
their deadly operations.
3
It's still a rough area. still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house flies the flag of
victory, Ad Hoc's six-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS.
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc Group here. Another
part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand side, stopping
drug use before it starts, and helping those who want to stop.
And our national drug strategy calls for record levels of new
funding for both education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions will never be enough. There are
people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral. And
when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
An 11-year-old kid felled outside another drug den, allegedly at
the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar, a mother
sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing leaves three
generations dead, including a grandmother and three little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas city, they are tragically familiar
in cities across America.
and yes the dis
4
Some would like to believe that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal. Some say crime is caused by parents who
are too distant. Others say it's parents who pamper their kids
too much. Some say crime is caused by poverty. Others say it's
America's prosperity that's to blame.
some
T.V. violence. Boredom. Passionate impulses. Everything
and everyone is blamed. Except the criminal.
You who have struggled for safe streets know otherwise. The
going
fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of life, his
companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is not the victim
-- he is the victimizer.
The law-abiding community you represent has a duty to punish
wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an
unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is a moral,
civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary not only as
a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake. Which is to
say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
it."
me must do everything ml
can the strengther gun fam.
and to help them
cult. char. in
But let us also be alt. clear about the role
their children
final of personal resp. act. the - of the resp. resp. of for the actions his and crim.
strong form. are an imp.
about
element in a healthy,
the
respectful por.
rights
Many of lines most
imp. besons the are
learned w/ in
walls of our own
homes.
5
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
own homes. We've got to change that. The wrong people are
behind bars.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
need the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new troops we
asked for -- new agents, new prosecutors, and new prisons to
catch, convict and contain those who prey on our cities.
Tit
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
up.
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a package to Congress to
combat violent crime, to give our lawmen the tools they need.
moreific
But today there's a Trojan Horse rolling through the Senate.
It looks like a real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill.
But it's filled with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, capital punishment and the Justice Department itself will
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
not questionns midies. does
but what its it all under heading
of onti -
6
disrupt law enforcement and have angered the American people for
far too long.
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing.
I won't accept anything that rolls back the clock on our
ability to fight crime and punish wrong-doers. Let's debate
these differences openly. But let's not table it until the final
weeks of an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988.
You can't table a crisis.
America wants it done right. America wants it done
responsibly. And America wants it done now.
You in Kansas City have set a personal example of courage in
grappling with tough choices. You fought back, you got involved,
you refused to look the other way. And you have my thanks -- and
the gratitude of an admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father: "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man
facing -- East or West?"
The father's answer was pure Midwest: "Well son -- it sort
of depends on which way you hold the book.'
Of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas City Spirit," always faces the same way
-- forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
7
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
from Maryam McGettigan
6
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a comprehensive package
to Congress to combat violent crime, to back up our new lawmen
with new laws -- laws that are fair, fast, and final.
Fair -- an exclusionary rule designed to protect the truth
and punish the guilty -- and not good cops who have acted in good
faith. Fast -- habeas corpus reforms to stop the frivolous
appeals that are choking our courts. And final -- fair,
constitutionally sound death penalty provisions. Because for any
drug dealer who kills a cop -- no penalty is too tough. \\\
Portions of
stull
majorphy
Our crime bill has awaited Congressional action since June.
But today there's another bill -- a Trojan Horse -- standing at
the gates of Congress. It's called "S. 1970.' It looks like a
in actuality
real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill. But it's filled
with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
it will be tougher of law enforcement than on cumerals.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, capital punishment and the Justice Department itself will
the death penalty
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
disrupt law enforcement, and have angered the American people for
far too long.
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing. \\\\
We don't question anyone's motives. But it is time to
debate these differences openly. We can't accept anything that
rolls back the clock on our ability to fight crime and punish
McNally/Simon
January 16, 1990
Draft One (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, :00 .M.
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS] ]
Thank you,
, for that warm introduction.
It's a pleasure to be back in the heartland. It's a
pleasure to be back in Kansas City. \\
Kansas City has much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people. III
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined.
It's the kind of spirit that pushed back frontiers, and
brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a burned-down Convention
Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods this century. And,
yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that emphasizes the value
of collective well-being.
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today.
2
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to accept the drug plague as
inevitable.
You took back what's yours.
Took back your kids.
Took back your streets.
It began when a man stepped forward with a blueprint in
hand, a blueprint that's become a model for our cities and an
inspiration to people everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting
with him and his group this morning, and I know many of them are
here this afternoon. They're a group of home-grown, Kansas City
heroes called the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name
is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child. Because each kid
saved is a victory won.
Working closely with the police, Ad Hoc members gather in
force, gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins,
and street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle.
But they are determined.
They are united.
3
And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city
area. Went to 33rd Street and Park Avenue. Saw what they used
to call the "Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the
drug dealers put up a basketball backboard to lure young children
and cover-up their deadly operations.
It's still a rough area. Still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house flies the flag of
victory, Ad Hoc's four-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK.
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc group here. Another
part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand side, stopping
drug use before it starts, and helping those who want to stop.
And our national strategy calls for record levels of new funding
for drug education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions will never be enough. There are
people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral. When
they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to cross a
drug infested corner from the bus stop to their front door --
they see their fellow man the way a pack of jackals sees a
wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
An 11-year-old kid felled outside another drug den, allegedly at
the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar, a mother
4
sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing leaves three
generations dead, including a grandmother and three little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
they come from Kansas City, not New York city.
As such unspeakable acts reveal, a criminal thinks in a way
simply unlike that of any other person.
Some would like to believe that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal. Some say crime is caused by parents who
are too distant. Others say it's parents who pamper their kids
too much. Some say crime is caused by America's poverty. Others
say it's America's prosperity that's to blame.
TV violence. Boredom. Passionate impulses. Everything and
everyone is blamed. Except the criminal.
You who have struggled for safe streets know otherwise. The
fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of life, his
companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is not the victim
-- he is the victimizer. And it's about time to drive that
point home.
The law-abiding community you represent has a duty to punish
wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an
unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is a moral,
civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary not only as
a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake. Which is to
say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
5
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Texas novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is He put himself in
it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life Western
pioneers who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most
Americans believe that each of us faces the innate temptation to
succumb to evil -- and yet always has the freedom to instead
choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
own homes. I was saddened this morning to see how many windows
in the stores and houses downtown had to be protected by bars.
We've got to change that. The wrong people are behind bars.
[[CRIME PACKAGE INSERT]]
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. It's said a
young Missouri boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his
father: "Dad, Kansas City is in the center of America. Which
way is the man facing -- East or West?"
And the father answered: "Well son -- it sort of depends on
which way you hold the book. "
6
of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the real "Kansas
City Spirit" always faces the same way -- forward, to the future.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Nice plaginium p.)
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING REQUEST
SUBJECT: Presidential Remarks: Ad Hoc Group
RECEIVED/STAFFED (date/time): 1/19/90 8:30 A.M.
Against Crime
RESPONSE DUE TO DOSG (date/time) : 1/19/90 1:00 P.M.
(Even if "no comment", response should be called in to DOSG x3060)
DISTRIBUTION WITHIN OMB
Action FYI
Action FYI
Action FYI
DARMAN
GRADY
CLARK
DIEFENDERFER
HAUN
AL-SAMARRIE
ANDERSON
HOLEN
SCULLY
DUSAULT
MURR
CLAY
-
HOWARD
BASSO
FILE
DALE
MACRAE
BURMAN
DAMUS
HALE
HODSOLL
COMMENTS:
Document No. 105673
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/18/90
2:00 p.m. Friday 01/19
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
SUBJECT:
(01/18 draft two)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 01/19, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
January 18, 1990
1990 JAN 18 PM 5: 50
Draft Two (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]]
Thank you,
, for that warm introduction.
It's a pleasure to be back in the heartland. It's a
pleasure to be back in Kansas city.
11.
Kansas City has much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people.
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed
Playing
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
burned-down Convention Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods
this century. And, yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that
Gudy
emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
2
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. Took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas City, when one man rolled
up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a blueprint
that's become a model for our cities and an inspiration to people
everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him and his group
this morning, and I know many of them are here this afternoon.
They're a group of home-grown, Kansas city heroes called the Ad
Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child.
Because each kid saved is a victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins, and
street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle. But they are determined. They are
united. And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city
area. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to call the
"Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug dealers
put up a basketball backboard to lure young children and cover-up
their deadly operations.
3
It's still a rough area. Still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house flies the flag of
victory, Ad Hoc's four-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK.'
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc Group here. Another
part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand side, stopping
drug use before it starts, and helping those who want to stop.
And our national drug strategy calls for record levels of new
funding for both education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions will never be enough. There are
people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral. And
when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
An 11-year-old kid felled outside another drug den, allegedly at
the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar, a mother
sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing leaves three
generations dead, including a grandmother and three little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas city, they are tragically familiar
in cities across America.
Some would like to believe that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal. Some say crime is caused by parents who
4
are too distant. Others say it's parents who pamper their kids
too much. Some say crime is caused by poverty. Others say it's
America's prosperity that's to blame.
T.V. violence. Boredom. Passionate impulses. Everything
and everyone is blamed. Except the criminal.
You who have struggled for safe streets know otherwise. The
fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of life, his
companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is not the victim
-- he is the victimizer.
The law-abiding community you represent has a duty to punish
wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an
unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is a moral,
civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary not only as
a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake. Which is to
say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
5
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
own homes. I was saddened this morning to see how many windows
in the stores and houses downtown had to be protected by bars.
We've got to change that. The wrong people are behind bars.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
need the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new troops we
asked for -- new agents, new prosecutors, and new prisons to
catch, convict and contain those who prey on our cities.
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a package to Congress to
combat violent crime, to give our lawmen the tools they need.
But today there's a Trojan Horse rolling through the Senate.
It looks like a real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill.
But it's filled with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, capital punishment and the Justice Department itself will
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
have angered the American people for far too long.
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing.
6
I won't accept anything that rolls back the clock on our
ability to fight crime and punish wrong-doers. Let's debate
these differences openly. But let's not table it until the final
weeks of an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988.
You can't table a crisis.
America wants it done right. America wants it done
responsibly. And America wants it done now.
You in Kansas City have set a personal example of courage in
grappling with tough choices. You fought back, you got involved,
you refused to look the other way. And you have my thanks -- and
the gratitude of an admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father: "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man
facing -- East or West?"
The father's answer was pure Missouri: "Well son -- it sort
of depends on which way you hold the book."
of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas City Spirit," always faces the same way
-- forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Document No. 105673
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/18/90
2:00 p.m. Friday 01/19
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
SUBJECT:
(01/18 draft two)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH N/C
BATES
N/C
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
9
WINSTON
I
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 01/19, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
January 18, 1990
1990 JAN 18 PM 5: 50
Draft Two (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
Thank you,
/
for that warm introduction.
It's a great pleasure to be back in the heartland. It's a
pleasure great to be back in Kansas City. \\
of
Kansas City has much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people. \\\
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
burned-down Convention Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods
this century. And, yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that
emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today.
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
2
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas City since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. Took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas city, when one man rolled
up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a blueprint
that's become a model for our cities and an inspiration to people
everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him and his group
this morning, and I know many of them are here this afternoon.
They're a group of home-grown, Kansas City heroes called the Ad
Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child.
Because each kid saved is a victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins, and
street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle. But they are determined. They are
united. And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city
area. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to call the
"Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug dealers
put up a basketball backboard to lure young children and cover-up
their deadly operations.
3
It's still a rough area. Still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house of
flies carries the the flag sign of victory
victory, Ad Hoc's four-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK.
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc Group here. Another
part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand side, stopping
drug use before it starts, and helping those who want to stop.
And our national drug strategy calls for record levels of new
funding for both education and treatment.
alone
But demand-side solutions will never be enough. There are
people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral. And
when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
gunned down
An 11-year-old kid felled outside another drug den, allegedly at
the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar, a mother
sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing leaves three
generations dead, including a grandmother and three little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas City, they are tragically familiar
in cities across America.
Some would like to believe that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal. Some say crime is caused by parents who
4
are too distant. Others say it's parents who pamper their kids
too much. Some say crime is caused by poverty. Others say it's
America's prosperity that's to blame.
T.V. violence. Boredom. Passionate impulses. Everything
and everyone is blamed. Except the criminal.
You who have struggled for safe streets know otherwise. The
fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of life, his
companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is not the victim
-- he is the victimizer.
The law-abiding community you represent has a duty to punish
wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an
unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is a moral,
civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary not only as
a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake. Which is to
say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
5
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
find out learn
own homes. I was saddened this morning to see how many windows
in the stores and houses downtown had to be protected by bars.
We've got to change that. The wrong people are behind bars.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
need the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Federal
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new troops we
asked for -- new agents, new prosecutors, and new prisons to
catch, convict and contain those who prey on our cities.
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a package to Congress to
combat violent crime, to give our lawmen the tools they need.
But today there's a Trojan Horse rolling through the Senate.
It looks like a real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill.
But it's filled with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, capital punishment and the Justice Department itself will
disrupt law enforcement
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
and have angered the American people for far too long
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing.
6
I won't accept anything that rolls back the clock on our
ability to fight crime and punish wrong-doers. Let's debate
these differences openly. But let's not table it until the final
weeks of an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988.
You can't table a crisis.
America wants it done right. America wants it done
responsibly. And America wants it done now.
You in Kansas City have set a personal example of courage in
grappling with tough choices. You fought back, you got involved,
you refused to look the other way. And you have my thanks -- and
the gratitude of an admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father: "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man
facing -- East or West?"
Midwest:
The father's answer was pure Missouri: "Well son -- it sort
of depends on which way you hold the book."
of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas City Spirit," always faces the same way
-- forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Document No. 105673
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/18/90
DATE:
2:00 p.m. Friday 01/19
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
SUBJECT:
(01/18 draft two)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
A
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
de
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
>
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
9
WINSTON
I
FITZWATER
d
BENNETT
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 01/19, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
No comments.
1.2 : Olv
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 19, 1990
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
JIM PINKERTONX
SUBJECT:
Ad Hoc Group Against Crime Draft Speech
A powerful draft. We particularly admire the tough language
calling for a crime bill with teeth, the "Don't blame society,
blame the criminal" passages, and the explanation of crime as
evil. Characterizations of the crime bill as it now stands in
the Senate, e.g., "Trojan Horse, " "sheep in wolf's clothing" will
need to be checked with Legislative Affairs.
pg 6, para. 5, line 1
"
pure Missouri."
The fact that Kansas City straddles two states may suggest
that we avoid referring to Missouri alone. Perhaps "Midwest" and
"Midwestern" are safer fallbacks.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 19, 1990
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
ASSOCIATE NELSON LUND COUNSEL MY
TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Draft Presidential Remarks: Ad Hoc Group Against
Crime
At the request of James W. Cicconi, Counsel's office has reviewed
the captioned draft remarks. We have no legal objections.
We appreciate having had the opportunity to review these remarks.
CC: James W. Cicconi
91 :Ed 61 030 68
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 19, 1990
V
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Ad Hoc Group Against Crime
You requested my comments on the Presidential remarks before
the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime. The speech is well done and sets
exactly the tone we want. I have only two editorial comments for
purposes of clarification.
1. At page 5, in the paragraph that begins "Congress deserves
...", the word "federal" should be inserted between "new"
and "troops". We should make it clear that these are
federal resources.
2. At page 5, in the paragraph that begins "Its so-called
'reforms' " at the end of the sentence add "and disrupt law
enforcement."
heat rhetaric Fun to read. It
should go area well.
Roger
89 DEC 19 P2: 18
Document No. 105673
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/18/90
2:00 p.m. Friday 01/19
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
SUBJECT:
(01/18 draft two)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 01/19, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
January 18, 1990
1990 JAN i8 PM 5: 50
Draft Two (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]]
Thank you,
, for that warm introduction.
It's a pleasure to be back in the heartland. It's a
pleasure to be back in Kansas city.
Kansas City has much of which to be proud. You've heard the
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
Rome. More water, more fountains, than Paris.
But you also know what really sets Kansas City apart. It's
not your parks. It's your people.
They call it "the Kansas City Spirit." Restless.
Idealistic. Determined. It's the kind of spirit that pushed
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
burned-down Convention Hall in 90 days, and survived three floods
this century. And, yes, it's a community spirit, a spirit that
emphasizes the value of collective well-being.
Norman Rockwell captured it in a painting called just that
-- the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
his sleeves.
And, thank God, it's a spirit that's very much alive today.
Because in recent years, it's not the Convention Hall that's
caught fire, but the streets themselves. Burning with a new form
2
of pain called crack. And crackling with bursts of gunfire not
heard in Kansas city since the outlaw days of the Old West.
But people in this town refused to surrender to the drug
plague. You took back what's yours. Took back your kids. Took
back your streets.
It began like the Spirit of Kansas city, when one man rolled
up his sleeves and stepped forward with a blueprint, a blueprint
that's become a model for our cities and an inspiration to people
everywhere. I had the pleasure of meeting with him and his group
this morning, and I know many of them are here this afternoon.
They're a group of home-grown, Kansas city heroes called the Ad
Hoc Group Against Crime, and the man's name is Alvin Brooks.
Ad Hoc recognized early on that the war on drugs meant
unconventional warfare -- a battle to be fought day by day, house
by house, family by family, child by child.
Because each kid saved is a victory won.
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
gather by the dozen, and use bullhorns, wooden coffins, and
street rallies to warn drug dealers to get off the street.
They are not subtle. But they are determined. They are
united. And they are making a difference.
I spent part of the morning here in the downtown, inner city.
area. Went to 33rd and Park. Saw what they used to call the
"Drug Tree" -- an ancient, curb-side oak where the drug dealers
put up a basketball backboard to lure young children and cover-up
their deadly operations.
3
It's still a rough area. Still not free of crime. But a
lot of crack houses are gone. And a lot of pride's come back.
And block after block, house after house flies the flag of
victory, Ad Hoc's four-word warning to the cowards of the night:
"THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK."
Part of the solution to the drug menace lies in effective,
community-based initiatives like the Ad Hoc Group here. Another
part -- an essential part -- lies in the demand side, stopping
drug use before it starts, and helping those who want to stop.
And our national drug strategy calls for record levels of new
funding for both education and treatment.
But demand-side solutions will never be enough. There are
people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral. And
when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
A four-year-old boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
An 11-year-old kid felled outside another drug den, allegedly at
the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar, a mother
sells her baby for crack. And a fire bombing leaves three
generations dead, including a grandmother and three little kids.
The headlines are horrifying, sickening, outrageous. And
though they come from Kansas City, they are tragically familiar
in cities across America.
Some would like to believe that society is more to blame for
crime than the criminal. Some say crime is caused by parents who
4
are too distant. Others say it's parents who pamper their kids
too much. Some say crime is caused by poverty. Others say it's
America's prosperity that's to blame.
T.V. violence. Boredom. Passionate impulses. Everything
and everyone is blamed. Except the criminal.
You who have struggled for safe streets know otherwise. The
fact of the matter is, the criminal chooses his way of life, his
companions, the kinds of crime he commits. He is not the victim
-- he is the victimizer.
The law-abiding community you represent has a duty to punish
wrongdoers. Punishment is not -- as some may see it -- an
unseemly indulgence in revenge. Just punishment is a moral,
civilized response to wrong. Punishment is necessary not only as
a deterrent to future crimes, but for its own sake. Which is to
say -- for the sake of justice.
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
it."
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
5
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
own homes. I was saddened this morning to see how many windows
in the stores and houses downtown had to be protected by bars.
We've got to change that. The wrong people are behind bars.
The first line of defense will always be our local law
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
need the support of top-notch federal lawmen.
Congress deserves our thanks for providing the new troops we
asked for -- new Federal agents, new prosecutors, and new prisons to
catch, convict and contain those who prey on our cities.
But it's time for Congress to finish the job. Because it
does no good to send the troops into battle wearing handcuffs.
Shortly after taking office, I sent a package to Congress to
combat violent crime, to give our lawmen the tools they need.
But today there's a Trojan Horse rolling through the Senate.
It looks like a real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill.
But it's filled with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
Its so-called "reforms" of the exclusionary rule, habeas
corpus, capital punishment and the Justice Department itself will
only entrench and extend the legal loopholes and red-tape that
have angered the American people for far too long. of desrupt ment low-enfor
America needs a crime bill with teeth -- but this is a sheep
in wolf's clothing.
6
I won't accept anything that rolls back the clock on our
ability to fight crime and punish wrong-doers. Let's debate
these differences openly. But let's not table it until the final
weeks of an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988.
You can't table a crisis.
America wants it done right. America wants it done
responsibly. And America wants it done now.
You in Kansas City have set a personal example of courage in
grappling with tough choices. You fought back, you got involved,
you refused to look the other way. And you have my thanks -- and
the gratitude of an admiring nation.
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
young boy saw the picture in a book, and asked his father: "Dad,
Kansas City is in the center of America. Which way is the man
facing -- East or West?"
The father's answer was pure Missouri: "Well son -- it sort
of depends on which way you hold the book."
of course, the truth is, it doesn't matter how you hold that
picture. Because no matter how you look at it, the Kansas City
Spirit, the real "Kansas city Spirit," always faces the same way
-- forward to a brighter tomorrow, forward to the future ahead.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this January day. God
bless you all as we begin a new year. God bless Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE house
WASHINGTON
January 19, 1990
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
JIM PINKERTON
SUBJECT:
Ad Hoc Group Against Crime Draft Speech
A powerful draft. We particularly admire the tough language
calling for a crime bill with teeth, the "Don't blame society,
blame the criminal" passages, and the explanation of crime as
evil. Characterizations of the crime bill as it now stands in
the Senate, e.g., "Trojan Horse," "sheep in wolf's clothing" will
need to be checked with Legislative Affairs.
pg 6, para. 5, line 1
"
pure Missouri."
The fact that Kansas City straddles two states may suggest
that we avoid referring to Missouri alone. Perhaps "Midwest" and
"Midwestern" are safer fallbacks.
###
P : : Zd 61 ЭЗО 68
Document No. 105673
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/18/90
DATE:
2:00 p.m. Friday 01/19
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
SUBJECT:
(01/18 draft two)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 01/19, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702