[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 120 (Sunday, August 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT DID OCCUR ON AUGUST 21ST

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the gentleman from California, 
Mr. Dornan, is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I just could not pass this moment in 
history, because I do not feel any safer now, having passed this so-
called crime bill. I will go out on a limb here for historical 
purposes, Mr. Speaker, and suggest that 20 years hence, 30 years, even 
5 years hence, nobody is going to look back at August 21, 1994, and 
suggest that this was a date that this Chamber did something 
significant and that we immediately started to see a reduction in 
crime.
  This day in history is noted for some significant events worldwide. I 
will not bother everybody with world history on this date. But let us 
just take a few events on this day in American history.
  In 1831, Nat Turner led what was called the slave rebellion in the 
Commonwealth of Virginia. He paid for it with his life. He was a true 
hero, fighting for freedom in the American way. He was truly the 
Spartacus of this country. That was on this day. It will always be 
recorded in history.
  Take 1858, the Lincoln-Douglas debates began today, another date for 
this day to be remembered in history. August 21. They just have been 
reenacted beautifully in a very compelling way on C-SPAN television, 
all through that same area of the country with excellent actors 
portraying Lincoln and the little giant Douglas.
  On this date in 1878, this may be a mixed blessing for the country, 
but law professors, judges, and lawyers gathered in Saratoga Springs, 
NY, and founded the American Bar Association.
  Fast forward to this century. 1944, in this city, up in Northwest, in 
the area called Dumbarton Oaks, a meeting with those loyal to Chiang 
Kai-shek, Chinese, Americans, British, got together up there and began 
what has turned into the United Nations. A significant date in history.
  On this date, President Eisenhower, by Executive order, made Hawaii 
our 50th State and changed that beautiful flag behind my distinguished 
friend from Michigan, the Speaker pro tempore, Dale Kildee.
  This is the reason this date is remembered in history, for 
significant events. I repeat, it will not be remembered for this crime 
bill passed today, because I believe that Charlton Heston is a 
knowledgeable, solid citizen, not just a mouthpiece as he was called 
today.
  I notice when liberal Democrats want to turn to actors, they will 
even waste our time by bringing Jane Fonda, Sissy Spacek, and I forget 
the excellent actress who played in the remake of King Kong, she played 
a farm wife. They brought these three wonderful academy-award-winning 
actresses, wonderful in their talent, not wonderful in the radical left 
pro-Hanoi politics of Fonda, for example. But they are sitting over 
here at the Rayburn Building at the Committee on Agriculture lecturing 
about farm problems, and they are actresses.
  Well, if the Democrats can listen to Warren Beatty or have Rob Lowe 
come down to Georgia and embarrass the whole Democratic Party with his 
youth delegation, and then gets caught making porno films, give us a 
break. When a mature American who fought for his country in World War 
II and who is not, I repeat, not paid any stipend by the National Rifle 
Association, if he wants to tell us what he thinks is true, what I 
think is true, and what I guess 64 Democrats believe is also true about 
this noncrime bill, then let us give this great citizen, Charlton 
Heston, the benefit of the doubt.
  Yes, he played Moses up there looking down at you, and he did it very 
well. And I thought the best statement of the whole crime debate was my 
pal Duncan Hunter to my friend Charles Schumer, saying what does he 
think the movie should have been called instead of Ten Commandments, 
Old Pharaoh Knows Best?
  Well, I will close on this, Mr. Speaker. The reason we have violent 
crime out of control in this country, and I have said this on 
television in 1968, that is a long time ago, 26 years ago, it is not 
because of conservative schoolteachers like my brother, who would 
rather be tortured to death than smoke pot with his young students in 
junior high school. It is not conservative actors, conservative 
producers, conservative screen writers, conservative judges, 
conservative sociologists, conservative businessmen, the whole military 
is mostly conservative, so I will not even drag them into it.
  It is liberal schoolteachers, liberal judges, liberal criminologists, 
liberal sociologists, liberal Senators, liberal Congressmen, liberal 
mayors, liberal Governors. It is liberal philosophy that sowed the wind 
and has reaped the whirlwind of violence across this country. Liberal 
philosophy prevailing over the last three decades has ripped this 
country, caused this crime wave. You cannot pin this on conservative 
philosophy or conservatives in any level of public life, from 
entertainment to the courts.
  On that, I rest my case.
  To the gentleman from Michigan, Dale Kildee, your dad went to 
communion every day, just like my father. I remember your beautiful 
tribute to your father, Dale.

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