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"Drug Abuse is Life Abuse" Speech 3/2/90 [OA 4728]
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Speech File Draft Files
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13522-007
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"Drug Abuse is Life Abuse" Speech 3/2/90 [OA 4728]
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Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
DATE:
NOON Tuesday 02/27
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
A
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
>
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
P
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
>
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
1
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Thanks. Winston by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
OKs.R.
90 FEB 28 P12 : 02
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
1990 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ]]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" III
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [[RAMS OWNER]] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?!
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! \\\
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" III
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs.
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County. \\\
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea. 1111
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS. III
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death. \\\
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders. \\\
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. U-S-A. U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do.
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender."
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
DATE:
NOON Tuesday 02/27
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Thanks. Winston by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
All comment -
page :01v 6
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
L
2025622397
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-27-90 :11:32AM ;
# insert income misrake ams abuse in this
country is still far too widesgread. There 8
for lives." too much suffering, 6 for too unshA many wasted
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream. 11
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
It is our thinking that the speech is too
upbeat- it needs)a sentence like this to
and progress gets that much harder, not easier. A
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death. III
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
put it m purpective.
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
Z 20456621818
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-27-90 :11:32AM ;
Simon convents
Thank you, Jim [EVERETT, LA RAMS Q.B.]. There are some
people up here with me that deserve our thanks for making this
day possible: Sheriff Brad Gates, Mike Hayde [HAID], President
of "Drug Use is Life Abuse," and the Board of Directors of that
great organization, including Dr. Robert Schuller and Georgia
Frontiere. Also up here is some of Orange County's congressional
delegation: Bob Dornan, Bill Dannemeyer, and Chris Cox. And I
also have to salute one of America's best teachers: Jaime
Escalante.
714. 761-9015
Simon
McNally/Simon
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ]]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" \\\
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [[RAMS OWNER] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! \\
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! \\\
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" \\\
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
he said
He said: Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
^
be astonished."
literally
even
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs.
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County. \\\
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
seniors'
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS."
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
[KOO-ZEEN]
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
[KOO-BEEN]
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders.
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. U-S-A. 11 U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do.
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender." \\\
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Document No. 117306
1530
WHITE HOUSE STAAFFING MEMORANDUM
90 FEB 29 pl
II. /26/90
DATE:
NOON Tuesday 02/27
ACTION/CONCIURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PPRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUMNU
NEWMAN
SCOWUCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATEES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONNI
PINKERTON
R
DEMARREST
PETERSMEYER
>
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGNN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments: ´recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by Noon on Tuesday. 02/27, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
March 1, 1990
TO: CHRISS WINSTON
The NSC Staff Concurs, no further comment.
Brent BD Scowcroft
CC: James Cicconi
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
ISSO FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" III
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [[RAMS OWNER]] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! 111
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" 111
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs. 111
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids. 11
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
wast better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
Comunty. III
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
laongtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
= Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
hius simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
outher. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
yoou may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Warayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
lilife. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ARBUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
ittself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
time nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
LL.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Alabuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
tithousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS."
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders. 111
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. 11 U-S-A. 11 U-S-AI III
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do.
8
We will win the war on drugs because we MUST
And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. "The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only , enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender." '
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
February 27, 1990
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON and
FROM:
EDWARD McNALLY Euw
SUBJECT:
"DRUG USE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
Attached are draft remarks for Friday afternoon's
address, the keynote speech at an anti-drug rally in the Santa
Ana Bowl.
II. DISCUSSION
At 12:20 p.m. on Friday, March 2, 1990, you are
scheduled to arrive onstage at the Santa Ana Bowl, a large, open-
ended stadium holding a crowd of 10-15,000 people. Although the
community of Santa Ana itself includes a large population of
Hispanic-Americans, the audience is expected to be drawn from
throughout the Orange County area and include many students,
local government workers, and law enforcement personnel.
The address (15 minutes, TelePrompTer) emphasizes the
efforts of your Administration to wage the drug war on both the
demand-side and the supply-side, calls on every element of
society to participate, and calls on Congress to pass your anti-
crime bill now.
The text also notes some "scattered but hopeful new
signs" of progress, and salutes the efforts of many in Orange
County who have made a difference. Three of the heroes cited in
the text (L.A. math teacher Jaime Escalante, Police Investigator
Henry Cousin, and local anti-drug volunteer Rosa Perez) will be
present on the stage.
McNally/Simon
February 27, 1990
Draft Two (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG USE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:20 P.M.
Thank you Jim [Everett, LA Rams Quarterback]. And there are
some people up here with me that deserve our thanks for making
this day possible: Sheriff Brad Gates, Mike Hayde [HAID],
President of "Drug Use is Life Abuse," and the Board of Directors
of that great organization, including Dr. Robert Schuller and
Georgia Frontiere. Also up here is some of Orange County's
congressional delegation: Bob Dornan, Bill Dannemeyer, Dana
Rohrabacher and Chris Cox. And I also have to salute one of
America's best teachers: Jaime Escalante.
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim. I hear someone
asked Jim if he was excited about being with the President today,
and he said: "Not as excited as I'll be next year -- when we're
invited to the White House after the Rams win the Super Bowl!"
No matter what team you like, you've got to admit that
Georgia Frontiere [[RAMS OWNER]] has built one of the toughest
teams in pro football. Who says there's no role for women in
combat?!
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base!
2
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!"
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
blessed with some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of
the most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
Orange County is a special place, a place that boasts productive
lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one of the
youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
Things are happening so fast, he said, that "we have literally no
time even to be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
3
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs.
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County.
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In one of his classic western movies, John Wayne spelled it
out in his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne stood for right, he stood for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG USE IS LIFE ABUSE."
4
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Use Is Life Abuse"
patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year. "
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. III
"Drug Use Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
5
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of current drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought seniors' drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district in Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas city, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS.
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin [koo-ZEEN]. Although severely wounded in a drug raid
three years ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special
federal task force, and recently helped take down the biggest
drug seizure in Orange County history.
6
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer who was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if there were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin [koo-ZEEN].
Mrs. Rosa Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
Make no mistake. Drug abuse in this country is still far
too widespread. There is far too much suffering -- far too many
wasted lives. But we're going to beat drugs the same way the
Rams beat many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A
defense that refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -
- or a single child to these merchants of death.
7
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education, treatment, and criminal
justice.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
the rule of law and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently named Los Angeles
as one of the nation's five "high intensity drug trafficking
areas," a designation that means increased federal enforcement
manpower for the region. And nationwide, Congress has approved
funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new prisons we
asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's most dangerous
drug offenders.
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide tough laws to
deal with a tough problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
8
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. U-S-A. U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do.
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender."
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Document No. 117306
program A, Assue WHITE
HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
DATE:
NOON Tuesday 02/27
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
de
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATES
>
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
+
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston Thanks. by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
2d
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
1990 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ]]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" 111
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [[RAMS OWNER]] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! \\\
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" III
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs. III
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County. III
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE." 1111
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
current
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS.'
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
there
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education , and treatment, and criminal justice
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
the rule of law
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered. III
named
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
LVA r ngdes County region as one of the nation's five "high
trafficing designation
intensity drug afeas,
a
distriction/ that means increased federal
enfircionsentmanpower Shire yours And nationwide, Congress has
for the region.
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders. \\\
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem. 111
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. U-S-A. 11 U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do. 111
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender." 111
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
February 27, 1990
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER
RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse,
Santa Ana Bowl, CA
We have no comments from a policy standpoint and approve of
the draft in its current form.
CC: James W. Cicconi
21:2d
Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
DATE:
NOON Tuesday 02/27
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATES
>
UNTERMEYER
CARD
à
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Thanks. Winston by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
1990 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" \\\
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [ [RAMS OWNER] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! \\\
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" \\\
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs. III
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County.
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS."
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders.
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. U-S-A. 11 U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do. 111
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender." \\\
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
DATE:
NOON Tuesday 02/27
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
P
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Thanks. Winston by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE: see comment pg /
FEB as
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
IS90 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" \\\
we
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [[RAMS OWNER]] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they' 11 remember that I used to play
first base! \\\
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" \\\
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs. III
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids. 11
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County. III
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS."
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders.
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem. III
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. U-S-A. U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do.
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender."
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Date: 2/28/90
TO:
Chriss Wineton
FROM:
x6266 Office CLARK of KENT National ERVIN Service Cr
Action
Your Comment
Let's Talk
FYI
Attacked are are comments an
the Smta Ana speed.
Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
NOON Tuesday 02/27
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
X
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
P
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATES
>
UNTERMEYER
CARD
>
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
9
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Thanks. Winston by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
61 : 11v 06
91:11v gl :
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
IS90 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" \\\
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [ [RAMS OWNER] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! \\\
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" \\\
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
blessed with
2
boasts
of
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs. \\\
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County.
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
stool
Wayne voted for right he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
stood
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
=
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
Mc note
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages.
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
Sounds
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
like
Jesse
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
Medical
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea. 1111
selfish pastime
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message
it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
in
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS."
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
Acrea Home in Houston the citizen f that neighborhood in' Alexandria,
the activists in Karen City Henry Cousin and Rosa Perz in
printe of light Awn all. Coreer Each n ft America. is maling a difference their
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
$
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders.
designation
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious (tough) laws to
deal with a serious problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
tough
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. \\ U-S-A. \\ U-S-A!
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do. III
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender." \\\
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
the white flas of
Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
J
02/26/90
90 FEB 27 P2:23 23
NOON Tuesday 02/27
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
>
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
P
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATES
>
UNTERMEYER
CARD
à
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
N/C
2/27/90
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
McNally/Simon
1990 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [[EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" \\\
No matter what team you like, you got to admit that Georgia
Frontiere [ [RAMS OWNER] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! III
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" III
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
Orange County is a special place, a place that's been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
He said: "Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished."
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs.
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County. \\\
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
In his classic movie about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS.'
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
Cousin. Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream.
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier.
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatment.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered.
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug areas," a distinction that means increased
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders.
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious laws to
deal with a serious problem.
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. \\ U-S-A. \\ U-S-A! \\\
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do.
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender."
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Ntal Quarter house
Document No. 117306
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
02/26/90
NOON Tuesday 02/27
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE, SANTA ANA BOWL, CA
(02/23 Draft one)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
У
BATES
>
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
PETERSMEYER
FITZWATER
BENNETT
8
GRAY
WINSTON
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston Thanks. by Noon on Tuesday, 02/27, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Escalame
McNally/Simon
1990 FEB 26 PM 5: 08
February 23, 1990
Draft One (B:LA-BOWL)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE ABUSE" SPEECH
SANTA ANA BOWL, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1990, 12:45 P.M.
[[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS] OK Simon
Thank you for that warm introduction, Jim [EVERETT, L.A.
RAMS Q.B.]]. I hear someone asked Jim if he was excited about
being with the President today, and he said: "Not as excited as
I'll be next year -- when we're invited to the White House after
the Rams win the Super Bowl!" \\\
No matter what team you like, you Ive got to admit that Georgia
\
Frontiere [ [RAMS OWNER] has built one of the toughest teams in
pro football. Who says there's no role for women in combat?! 11
Although I follow football, my first love is pro baseball.
And if the Angels are looking for replacement players to get the
season started -- I hope they'll remember that I used to play
first base! III
Since my oldest son is now a part owner of the Texas
Rangers, I asked him if I could come try out for the club. He
said: "Sure Dad. You can come down and throw the ball around.
But don't give up your day job!" \\\
It's great to be back in Orange County.
Southern California is a place of both beauty and bounty,
blessed WITH
favored by some of the greatest wonders of nature and some of the
most wondrous works of man. It's home to many of America's
oldest traditions and newest ideas, the computerized pirate ships
of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys of the Irvine Ranch. And
2
boasts
Orange County is a special place, a place that S been blessed by
productive lands, productive minds, and productive people -- one
of the youngest and hardest working populations in the country.
And standing here today in Orange County -- leading the way
into a new decade and a new century -- it's easy to see why many
young people are looking to the future with a new sense of hope
-- and seeing a world of limitless possibilities.
Something is happening in the world. Something new,
something powerful, something wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
Havel -- who began the year as a prisoner and ended it as
President -- summed it up in his visit to Washington last month.
he said Sthat
He said: Things are happening so fast that we have no time to
be astonished.
literally
even
And today the wind rushing down from the mountains is not
the hot fierce menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the new
breeze I spoke of when taking office a year ago. It has swept
around the world, bringing new hope in Europe, new hope in
Africa, new hope in the Americas.
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela, free at last.
Nicaragua and Panama, free at last.
And just as people around the world are casting off the
oppression of dictators, so people across America are casting off
the oppression of drugs. \\\
Week by week, day by day, millions of Americans in thousands
of towns are standing up to make the same courageous choice:
Drug-free neighborhoods. Drug-free schools. Drug-free kids.
3
And anyone who thinks America lacks the will to win the drug
war better take'a look at the spirit we have here today in Orange
County. \\\
I know we'll win the war on drugs because you have what a
longtime resident of Orange County, John Wayne, had -- True Grit.
pool
western
In his classic movies about the liberation of my home state
of Texas, John Wayne stood before the Alamo and spelled it out in
?
his simple, all-American, point-blank style. He said:
"There's right, and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the
other. You do the one, and you're living. You do the other, and
you may be walking around, but you're as dead as a beaver hat."
As he did in the conduct of his own life, in that movie John
stood
stoocl
Wayne voted for right, he voted for life.
And today in Orange County, thousands of you have made that
same choice. You've stood up for right. You've stood up for
life. And you sum it up in a phrase: "DRUG ABUSE IS LIFE
ABUSE."
The slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the logo
itself is apt: In it, the word "LIFE" is literally torn apart,
just as the lives of our young are torn apart and destroyed by
the nightmare called cocaine.
While visiting Orange County last spring, I commended the
L.A. Rams for having every player wear a "Drug Abuse Is Life
Abuse" patch on his uniform -- a move that was copied by tens of
thousands of local fans and student athletes here.
4
The Rams wore the patches for a year. Then the N.F.L.
ordered them removed, saying the patches ran afoul of league
policies against "personal messages."
But a Rams spokesman said: "If it dissuaded one young man
or young girl from doing drugs, it was worth the whole year."
I agree. In order to win, America's war on drugs must be
total war. Waged from the boardroom to the classroom. From the
White House to your house. No element of our society is immune
-- certainly not the world of professional sports. And with all
due respect to the league, I still think the patches are a good
idea.
Fighting drug abuse isn't a personal message -- it's a
public service. And if, as they do, the Steelers and the Bears
can wear patches saluting the heroes of yesterday, then the Rams
ought to be able to wear patches saluting the kids of today. \\\
"Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse" is the right message because its
goal is not punishing those who are hooked on drugs -- but
deterring kids from ever getting started.
That message is beginning to sink in. By now just about
everybody knows this simple truth: Drugs aren't the answer.
They never were. And they never will be.
And recently, we have seen some scattered but hopeful new
signs of progress against the haze and horror of drugs.
It began last summer, when a major nationwide survey found
current
that the number of regular drug users in America had dropped by
almost 40 percent in just three years. Then just two weeks ago,
5
another new survey showed that the number of high school seniors
using drugs declined again last year, a long-term trend that has
sewor's
brought student drug use to its lowest level in 15 years.
There are other signs, visible in every city in America.
in
In my old Congressional district outside Houston, the people got
together and took back a park from the drug dealers.
In Alexandria, Virginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep the pushers away from
their kids. In the heartland, in Kansas City, I saw boarded-up
crack houses bearing the six-word victory banner of the local
activists: "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DRUGS." 111
And here in Orange County, thousands are doing their part.
I think of heroic cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator Henry
[Koo-ZEEN]
Cousin, Although severely wounded in a drug raid three years
ago, Henry wouldn't quit. He joined a special federal task
force, and recently helped take down the biggest drug seizure in
Orange County history.
And I think of heroic mothers like Mrs. Rosa Perez, who's
fought in Santa Ana for six years to rid her neighborhood of
pushers. One time, even though she was pregnant, Mrs. Perez went
who
to the aid of an officer that was struggling with a dope dealer.
But the battle isn't only being fought in the streets.
About a year and a half ago, I came to Los Angeles for one of the
most critical moments in the campaign -- the 1988 Presidential
there
Debate. They asked if their were any heroes left in America. I
named an astronaut. An AIDS researcher. A freedom fighter. And
6
I named a high school mathematics teacher from East L.A., a
teacher who helped his Hispanic students see beyond poverty and
neglect to the real potential of their own minds.
[KOO-ZEEN]
Jaime Escalante. Investigator Henry Cousin. Mrs. Rosa
Stet
Perez. Three heroes. Two cities. One dream. \\
All three are here today. And all three deserve our thanks.
We've covered a lot of ground in the drug war. But tough
challenges remain. It's like when the Rams offense crosses the
50 yard line: With every yard you gain, your opponent digs in
and progress gets that much harder, not easier. mentA
But we're going to beat drugs the same way the Rams beat
many of their opponents: Relentless offense. A defense that
refuses to give up a single yard to the opposition -- or a single
child to these merchants of death.
Against drugs, a good defense means reducing demand --
through efforts like the record funding my Administration has
devoted for increased drug education and treatmentx and climinal justice.
And a tough offense means an attack on all fronts.
Last month's Drug Summit in Cartagena marked a good day for
the me of law
law enforcement and a very bad day for the cocaine cartels.
President Barco's courageous crackdown has seized or destroyed
their cash, their homes, their labs, and their drugs. And 14
accused traffickers have been extradited to the United States and
now face American justice in courtrooms in Miami and Tulsa,
Atlanta and San Francisco.
7
The days of the druglords may not be over yet. But their
days are numbered. \\\
momely
Here at home, my Administration recently designated the
has Angelas
L.A./Orange County region as one of the nation's five "high
intensity drug tiafficing areas," a distinction designation that means increased federal
enfrecement
for the negron.
resources and manpower this year. And nationwide, Congress has
approved funding for the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
prisons we asked for to catch, convict, and contain America's
most dangerous drug offenders. \\\
But Congress also needs to act, and act soon, on my new
anti-crime proposals. Congress needs to provide serious tough laws to
deal with a serious tough problem. III
Working together, we can -- we will -- defeat this scourge.
Ten years ago last month, in a tiny town in upstate New
York, a group of American kids seized the American flag and went
out and did the impossible. They beat an unbeatable team -- the
Soviet Olympic ice hockey team. And from that arena in Lake
Placid a chant grew and swelled and boomed out across America:
U-S-A. \\ U-S-A. \\ U-S-A! \\\
They called it the upset of the decade. And many today mark
it as a first step, an early trumpet call on America's road back.
The lesson of that triumph is simple. And it stands the
test of time: In the United States of America, all it takes is
desire and a dream. Because what Americans can dream, Americans
can do. III
8
We will win the war on drugs because we must. And let no
one doubt the commitment we have in Washington. The White House
has declared war on the crack house. And the only enemy response
we'll accept is called "unconditional surrender."
Thank you for your warm greeting. God bless you. God bless
California. And God bless the U.S.A.
#
#
#
Mar. 2 / Administration of George Bush, 1990
Leo and Chuck, thank you for this oppor-
and others as well-Bob Dornan, Dana Roh-
tunity to address this exceptionally prestigi-
rabacher, Chris Cox, Dave Dreyer. And I
ous and influential group. And I am grateful
also have to salute one of America's best
to all of you. And thank you for all you're
teachers, my old hero-singled him out a
doing, and God bless you. And now I'll go
couple of years ago-Jaime Escalante.
over and try to represent you properly as I
Thank you, and Jim Everett, again, thank
meet the Prime Minister of Japan. Thank
you for that warm introduction. I heard
you very, very much.
that someone asked Jim if he was excited
about being with the President here today,
Note: The President spoke at 8:28 a.m. in
and he said, "No, not as excited as I'll be
the Los Angeles Ballroom of the Century
next year when we're invited to the White
Plaza Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to
House after the Rams win the Super Bowl."
Charles Fries, chairman of the Academy of
No matter what team you like, you've got
Television Arts and Sciences; Leo Chalou-
to admit that Georgia Frontiere has built
kian, president of the academy; Jerry Wein-
one of the toughest teams in pro football.
traub, chief executive officer of Weintraub
Who says there's no role for women in
Entertainment Group; Robert Iger, presi-
combat? I've got a confession. Although I
dent of ABC Entertainment; Arthur Hiller,
love pro football, my first love is pro base-
president of the Directors Guild of Amer-
ball. And if the Angels are looking for re-
ica; George Kirgo, president of the Writers
placement players, I hope they'll remember
Guild of America; and Sidney Sheinberg,
that I played first base. But I have a confes-
president and chief operating officer of
sion to all the Angels fans. My son is the
MCA, Inc.
managing owner or partner of the Texas
Rangers. And I asked him if I could come
try out for the club, and he said, "Sure,
Dad. You can come down and throw the
ball around. But don't give up your daytime
Remarks at an Antidrug Rally in Santa
work." [Laughter]
Ana, California
It's great to be back in Orange County.
March 2, 1990
Southern California is a place of both
beauty and bounty, blessed with some of
Thank you, Jim Everett. And let me say
the greatest wonders of nature and some of
how much I respect you and appreciate the
the most wondrous works of man. And it's
work you're doing to help the young people
home to many of America's oldest traditions
not just here but all across the country. You
and newest ideas-the computerized pirate
are an inspiration to all of us, and thank you
ships of Walt Disney, the real-life cowboys
very much for welcoming me. I'm also glad
of the Irvine Ranch. And Orange County is
to be with Governor Deukmejian, who has
a special place-a place that boasts produc-
done an outstanding job for the State of
tive lands, productive minds, and produc-
California-outstanding And I want to
tive people and one of the youngest and
thank Fred Travalena and my old friend
hardest working populations in the entire
and supporter, Chuck Norris, for being here
country. And standing here today in
with you all today. Great examples for the
Orange County, leading the way into a new
young people. And there are some people
decade and a new century, it's easy to see
up here with me that certainly deserve our
why many young people are looking to the
thanks for making this fantastic day possi-
future with a new sense of hope and seeing
ble-another friend of mine, a man I re-
a world of limitless possibilities.
spect, Sheriff Brad Gates, over here. And
Something is happening in the world-
Mike Hayde, the president of "Drug Use Is
something new, something powerful, some-
Life Abuse"-what a job he's doing. And
thing wonderful. Czechoslovakia's Vaclav
the board of directors of that great organi-
Havel, who began the year as a prisoner
zation, including Dr. Robert Schuller, Geor-
and ended it as President of Czechoslova-
gia Frontiere. Also up here is some of
kia, summed it up in his visit to Washington
Orange County's congressional delegation,
last month. Things are happening so fast, he
350
Administration of George Bush, 1990 / Mar. 2
ana Roh-
said, that "we have literally no time even to
Rams spokesman said, "If it dissuaded one
r. And I
be astonished." And today the wind rushing
young man or young girl from doing drugs,
ca's best
down from the mountains is not the fierce
it was worth the whole year." And I agree.
m out a
menace called the Santa Ana wind, but the
In order to win, America's war on drugs
te.
new breeze that I spoke about when taking
must be total war-waged from the board-
in, thank
office a year ago. It has swept around the
room to the classroom, from the White
I heard
world, bringing new hope in Europe, new
House to your house. No element of our
S excited
hope in Africa, new hope in the Americas.
society is immune-certainly not the world
re today,
Vaclav Havel, free at last. Nelson Mandela,
of professional sports. And I think the
as I'll be
free at last. And Nicaragua and Panama,
patches were a mighty good idea. Fighting
e White
free at last.
drug abuse isn't a personal message; it's a
er Bowl."
And just as people around the world are
public service. "Drug Use Is Life Abuse" is
ou've got
casting off the oppression of dictators, so
the right message because its goal is not
has built
people across America are casting off the
punishing those who are hooked on drugs,
football.
oppression of drugs. Week by week, day by
but deterring kids from ever getting start-
omen in
day, millions of Americans in thousands of
ed. That message is beginning to sink in. By
though I
towns are standing up to make the same
now just about everybody knows this simple
pro base-
courageous choice: drug-free neighbor-
truth: Drugs aren't the answer. They never
g for re-
hoods, drug-free schools, and drug-free kids.
were. And they never will be.
emember
And anyone who thinks that our great
And recently, we've seen some scattered
a confes-
country lacks the will to win the drug war
but hopeful new signs of progress against
on is the
better take a look at the spirit that we have
the horror of drugs. It began last summer,
ne Texas
here today in this stadium right here in
when a major nationwide survey found that
ild come
Orange County. It is fantastic. I know you'll
the number of current drug users in Amer-
d, "Sure,
win this war. You have what a longtime
ica had dropped by almost 40 percent in
row the
resident of Orange County, John Wayne,
just 3 years. And then just 2 weeks ago,
daytime
had-true grit. In one of his classic western
another new survey showed that the
movies, John Wayne spelled it out in his
County.
simple, all-American, pointblank style. He
number of high school seniors using drugs
said: "There's right and there's wrong. You
declined again last year, a long-term trend
of both
some of
gotta do one or the other. You do the one,
that has brought seniors' drug use to its
and you're living. You do the other, and you
lowest level in 15 years. Let's keep it going.
I some of
And it's
may be walking around, but you're as dead
There are so many other hopeful signs,
traditions
as a beaver hat."
visible in every city in America. In my old
ed pirate
As he did in the conduct of his own life,
congressional district in Houston, Texas, the
cowboys
in that movie John Wayne stood for right;
people got together and took back a park
County is
he stood for life. And today in Orange
from the drug dealers. In Alexandria, Vir-
; produc-
County, thousands of you have made that
ginia, I visited a neighborhood where they
produc-
same choice. You've stood up for right.
hold all-night vigils every Friday to keep
gest and
You've stood up for life. And you sum it up
the pushers away from the kids. And then
e entire
in a phrase: "Drug Use Is Life Abuse." That
in the heartland, Kansas City, I saw these
oday in
slogan-the power of that slogan-the
boarded-up crack houses bearing the six-
to a new
slogan is powerful in its simplicity. And the
word victory banner of the local activists—
sy to see
logo itself is apt. In it, the word "life" is
the words: "This neighborhood fights back
ig to the
literally torn apart, just as the lives of our
against drugs."
id seeing
young are torn apart and destroyed by the
And right here in Orange County, thou-
nightmare called cocaine.
sands are doing their part. I think of heroic
world—
While visiting Orange County last spring,
cops like Santa Ana Police Investigator
ul, some-
I commended the Los Angeles Rams for
Henry Cousin. Although severely wounded
S Vaclav
having every player wear a "Drug Use Is
in a drug raid 3 years ago, Henry wouldn't
prisoner
Life Abuse" patch on his uniform-a move
quit. He joined a special Federal task force
choslova-
that was copied by tens of thousands of
and recently helped take down the biggest
shington
local fans and student athletes here. The
drug seizure in Orange County history. And
0 fast, he
Rams wore the patches for a year. And a
I think of heroic mothers like Santa Ana's
351
Mar. 2 / Administration of George Bush, 1990
own Rosa Perez, who fought in Santa Ana
down has seized or destroyed their cash,
for 6 years to rid her neighborhood of push-
their homes, their labs, and their drugs.
ers.
And 14 accused traffickers have been extra-
But the battle isn't only being fought in
dited to the United States and now face
the streets. About a year and a half ago, I
American justice in courtrooms in Miami, in
came to Los Angeles for one of the most
Tulsa, Atlanta, and in San Francisco. The
critical moments in the campaign: the 1988
days of the drug lords may not be over yet,
Presidential debate up there at UCLA.
but their days are numbered. And we're
They asked if there were any heroes left in
going to keep up the fight on the supply
America. I named an astronaut, an AIDS
side.
researcher, a freedom fighter. And I named
You heard the Governor mention it, but
a high school mathematics teacher from
let me repeat it. Here at home, my adminis-
East L.A., a teacher who helped his Hispan-
tration recently named the Los Angeles
ic students see beyond poverty and neglect
Orange County as one of the nation's five
to the real potential of their own minds.
"high intensity drug traffic areas," a desig-
Jaime Escalante, Investigator Henry Cousin,
nation that means increased Federal en-
Mrs. Rosa Perez-three heroes; two cities;
forcement manpower for the region. And
one dream. All three are here today. And
nationwide, Congress-and bless these Con-
all three deserve our heartfelt thanks. No,
with your help, we've covered a lot of
gressmen here that are supporting our ef-
ground in the drug war. But tough chal-
forts-Congress has approved funding for
lenges remain. It's like when the Rams of-
the new agents, new prosecutors, and new
fense crosses the 50-yard line: with every
prisons that we asked for to catch, convict,
yard you gain, your opponent digs in and
and contain America's most dangerous drug
progress gets that much harder, not easier.
offenders. But Congress also needs to act,
Make no mistake. Drug abuse in this
and act soon, on my new anticrime propos-
country is still far too widespread. There's
als. Congress needs to provide tough laws to
far too much suffering, far too many wasted
deal with a tough problem. Working togeth-
lives. But we're going to beat drugs the
er, we can-we will-defeat this scourge.
same way the Rams beat many of their op-
America has earned her victories through
ponents: relentless offense, a defense that
determination and desire. And we will win
refuses to give up a single yard to the oppo-
the war on drugs because we must. Just 2
sition-or a single child to these merchants
nights ago, right here in Orange County,
of death. And I might add that I was de-
two cars were pulled over, carrying nearly
lighted to be greeted earlier on by so many
900 pounds of cocaine. And thanks to your
law enforcement officers from this area.
courageous antinarcotics efforts, four mil-
God bless them, and God bless those line
lion doses, with a street value of $30 mil-
officers out there in the streets, helping
lion, will not poison our kids. And that is
every one of you kids up here in the stands.
desire and that is determination. And let no
Thank you all. Against drugs, a good de-
one doubt the commitment we have in
fense means reducing demand-and
through efforts like the record funding my
Washington as well. The White House has
administration has devoted for increased
declared war on the crack house. And the
drug education, treatment, and criminal jus-
only enemy response we'll accept is uncon-
tice. And a tough offense means an attack
ditional surrender.
on all fronts.
Thank you for your warm greeting. God
Last month's drug summit in Cartagena,
bless you all. Keep up the fight. And God
Colombia, marked a good day for the rule
bless the United States of America. Thank
of law and a very bad day for the cocaine
you all very much.
cartels. I was glad I went to Colombia to
Note: The President spoke at 12:35 p.m. in
support that courageous President of Co-
the Santa Ana Bowl. In his opening re-
lombia who was trying to keep the drug
marks, he referred to Jim Everett, quarter-
dealers where they belong-in jail. [Colom-
back for the Los Angeles Rams; entertainer
bian] President Barco's courageous crack-
Fred Travalena; and actor Chuck Norris.
352