Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
323150863
label
Kansas City Crime Address 1/23/90 [OA 4390] [2]
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
323150863
contentType
document
title
Kansas City Crime Address 1/23/90 [OA 4390] [2]
citationUrl
identifierLocal
13517-002
collections
Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Draft Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
323150863
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
7f8f8813493d5bcd
ocrText
Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13517
Folder ID Number:
13517-002
Folder Title:
Kansas City Crime Address 1/23/90 [OA 4390][2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
25
6
7
2
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:
1/19
por
James W. Cicconi
ok
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.
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 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.
#
#
#
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
Document No. 105673
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
R
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: no Comment
22:33 61030.68 030
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.
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 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. 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 Missouri -- and
God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
7/27/89
July 26, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON as
FROM:
EDWARD E. McNALLY OMW
SUBJECT:
REMARKS -- FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE
I. SUMMARY
Attached for your consideration and review are draft remarks
for next Tuesday's keynote address at the Fraternal Order of
Police (FOP) convention in Oklahoma City.
II. DISCUSSION
At approximately 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 1, 1989 you
are scheduled to address the Fraternal Order of Police at the
State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, where you be introduced from
offstage. An audience of up to 10,000 F.O.P. delegates, police
officers and spouses is expected at the Jim Norick Arena (named
after the father of Ron Norick -- Oklahoma City's GOP mayor --
who will be onstage). Your remarks are expected to be prepared
for TelePrompter.
The suggested remarks not only offer a plug for the nuts and
bolts of your crime package -- but also seek to discuss crime and
punishment in a thoughtful way -- staking out the fundamental
principles that will always distinguish your Adminstration's
anti-crime philosphy from that of its critics.
By "laying down your marker" about the nature of crime and
punishment, this address can help underscore the "bright line"
distinction between those who believe the problem is with society
-- and that great majority of Americans who share your view that
the problem is with the criminal.
H.O.R. Fraternal Order of Police
Chriss - segis. affairs is
POTUS Comments
off track here.
Not only has POTUS
3
(who read Sonsome Dane
gang-controlled streets from the bus stop t and told Newsweek (?) it was
they see their fellow man the way a jackal
As such barbarous acts reveal, a crimi
he specifically approved
one of his favoute books), but
simply unlike that of any other person. So (never-delinerad Oklahoma
this language for the
believe that society is more to blame for C: speech - "I LIKE IT
- midh
criminal. Some say crime is caused by parents who are too
distant -- others say it's parents who pamper their children 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. Everyone -- except the criminal.
You who work the 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 rejects society and its
values. He is the victimizer -- not the victim.
And the law-abiding society 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 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
I
Western, Lonesome Dove, two pioneering lawmen finally put an end
it
Time
to a brutal gang's deadly rampage through the Oklahoma Territory.
4
One of the outlaws turns out to be Jake Spoon, the lawmen's old
partner.
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, in the 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 that each of us has an innate capability of succumbing to
evil -- but always the freedom to choose instead to do good.
We're talking about individual responsibility. We're talking
about character.
We must do a better job of cultivating character. We hear a
lot about what our rights are -- but not enough about our duties.
We need to rekindle a spirit of duty, decency and personal
responsibility. As always, Harry Truman spoke the truth when he
said: "We must not permit the existence of conditions which
cause our children to believe that crime is inevitable and
normal."
Only the American people can make this change in attitude,
this cultivation of character. It is not a federal problem for
which there is a simple federal solution. We won't do it by
looking to the government. And we certainly won't do it by
blaming injustice on abstract social forces.
But parents and teachers and religious and neighborhood
leaders can do it. They -- and probably only they -- can teach
our kids right from wrong.
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
R
DEMAREST
9
WINSTON
R
FITZWATER
a
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:
Please see eng gestions.
1/19/90
61 :2d 61 030 68
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 great to be back in the heartland. It's a grant
pleasure 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
more parks
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.
much asI
Dave,
oved Lonesome
This tradition of justice speaks not of a society that
disparages human life, but rather, one that treasures innocent
Not sure
human life as precious and unique. In Larry McMurtry's classic
would
I use this
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
hung
brutal gang's deadly rampage. One of the outlaws turns out to be
sporting -
Jake Spoon, the Rangers' old partner.
by
"It's a bad situation," says Captain Call, moments before
arresting his old friend. "But there he is
He put himself in
Fetan were and the net Rangus state.
it."
Eap. n b/c the this
McMurtry's saga -- like the lives of the real-life pioneers
who inspired it -- reveals some simple truths. Most Americans
td 5 in Hoc contust,
cold be press natud
by
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.
#
#
#
M.NALLY/SIMON/MARTIN
comments
McNally/Simon
January 18, 1990
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.
Christina worries about this because the slogan is painted
on the boarded-up doors - not, literally, on "flags." it
you think the poetic license too much, it could 68
changed to "bears the 3 banner of victory"
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.
Chriss
was
alone
But demand-side solutions will never be enough. There are
This called in I by
people out there intent on doing evil. Cowardly. Amoral. And
Justice
when they spot someone vulnerable -- the schoolkid who has to
they ple
cross a drug infested corner to get home -- they see their fellow
right. ant. is
man the way a pack of jackals sees a wounded fawn.
reads
A four-year-old gun-douned boy, shot dead in a suspected crack house.
better...)
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
Christeria
the may s no the streets are
5
believe each of us faces the innate temptation to succumb to evil
w/ fars..
-- and yet always has the freedom to instead choose to do good.
Today, too many law-abiding Americans are prisoners in their
hear (or "to born that
own homes. I was saddened this morning to 1ˢᵗᵉᵉ 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
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:
OK- GREAT SPEECH
Bruce 3am for SR
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.
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 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
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
1
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:
nice - for clothing the sheeps AA
LS Olv
on wolf's
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 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.
#
#
#
89 DEC 22 P6:31
McNally/Simon
January 22, 1990
Draft Three (B:KANSAS)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AD HOC GROUP AGAINST CRIME
31
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, JAN. 23, 1990, 1:20 P.M.
Thank you, Mayor [RICHARD] 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.
protect
Fair -- an exclusionary rule designed to seek the truth and
punish the guilty -- and not good cops who have acted in good
Corpus
to
the frivolous appeals
faith. Fast -- habeas reforms that put a stop to the endless re-
are
litigation that choking our courts. And final -- fair,
constitutionally sound death penalty provisions. MM because for
III
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
7
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.
#
#
#
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
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." IIII
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.
SOME WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT SOCIETY IS MORE TO
BLAME FOR CRIME THAN THE CRIMINAL. I DON'T AGREE.
- 7 -
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. 11
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." 111
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
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.
- 11 -
AMERICA NEEDS A CRIME BILL WITH TEETH -- BUT THIS
IS A SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING. IIII
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 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. III
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.
#
#
#
McNally/Simon
January 18, 1990
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.
last 10/31/89 strip
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
Kamans
city"
tally: Grassier than Ireland. Built on more hills than ancient
p.
9
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
Kamsas
back frontiers, and brought the railroads West. Rebuilt a
P.6%-64 City 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
Namsas
--
the "Kansas City Spirit." It pictures a brawny, sun-burned
City
man, feet firmly planted on the ground, eyes on the distant
P
horizon. One hand clutches a blueprint. The other's rolling up
61
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.
Check
Weller
Working closely with police, Ad Hoc members gather in force,
673-
25'2'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.
Shows the symbol
And block after block, house after house flies the flag of
six
victory, Ad Hoc's four-word warning to the cowards of the night:
AGAINST DRUGS
"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.
Alvin Brooks 1432
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
+
police the hands of a 14-year-old "guard." In a downtown bar, a mother
KC
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
Lonesome
Western novel, Lonesome Dove, two Rangers finally put an end to a
Dove
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
Fred
enforcement. But, as in the days of legendary U.S. Marshals like
Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, places like Kansas City again
307-9015
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.
speech
Shortly after taking office, I sent a package to Congress to
5-15-89
violent crime, to give our lawmen the tools they need.
But today there's a Trojan Horse rolling through the Senate.
DoJ
It looks like a real crime bill. Sounds like a real crime bill.
Game
Mastalli
But it's filled with an army of new loopholes and technicalities.
633-4600
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
Gracelli
weeks of an election year, as happened in 1984, 1986, and 1988.
633-4606
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.
"Kansas
In the Norman Rockwell painting I mentioned earlier, the man
city"
with the blueprints is looking sharply to one side. They say a
p.60
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.
Kansas City
#
#
#