George Radanovich

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate The VA Central California Health Care System on the outstanding score received with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. This organization is dedicated to improving government health care through voluntary accreditation. The VA Central California Health Care System, known as the VA Medical Center Fresno, received high scores on its accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO). Formed in 1951, JCAHO is dedicated to the improvement of America's public and private health care system through a process of voluntary accreditation. The accreditation serves as proof of an organization's commitment to providing quality health care on an ongoing basis. The mission of the VA Central California Health Care System is to deliver this commitment to its veteran patients. The JCAHO scores achieved by the VA Central California Health Care System were outstanding. For its Hospital Accreditation Program (HAP) a score of 96 was given. For its Ambulatory Care service a score of 100 was obtained. The VA also scored 100 for its Alcohol and Drug treatment program. The Long Term Care program received a 99 and the Home Care program was given a 98. Special recognition was received for the Infection Control and Performance Improvement Programs and the Computerized Pharmacy Processing System. All of the scores represent great accomplishments for this health care system. The hospital staff worked together to meet the challenge, scoring above the national average. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the VA Central California Health Care System on this outstanding accomplishment. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing the administration and staff of the VA Central California Health Care System congratulations on this achievement and many years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Matthew Jendian and Armen Devejian upon their ordination to rank of deacon for St. Paul Armenian Apostolic Church. The rank of deacon requires much effort and discipline; the responsibility is heavy, and the standards are high. Both men have risen to those standards. Deacon Matthew and Deacon Armen were previously ordained together as sub-deacons in 1991, and have been serving at the Holy Altar for the past 15 years. They served on the executive committee of the St. Paul Armenian Christian Youth Organization (ACYO) Chapter, were co-editors of the ACYO California in 1987, and currently teach the high school Sunday school class. Deacon Matthew is married to Pamela Manoogian. He teaches at California State University, Fresno in the sociology department, and is campus director of the American Numanics Program. He is currently gathering data on Armenian-Americans in Central California for his Ph.D. dissertation through the University of Southern California. Deacon Matthew enrolled in his father's altar servers class at age nine, later graduated from the St. Nersess Deacons' Training Program, and has been serving at the Holy Altar for 20 years. Deacon Armen is married to Paula Der Matoian. He is vice president of a construction and development company in Fresno, and is project manager of the New Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall which is currently under construction. In 1996, at the age of 26, he became California's youngest licensed architect. During his tenure as ACYO Central Council chairman, from 1994-1996, he helped establish the ACYO Mission Fund, the ACYO Camp Fund, and the Summer Camp ACYO Scholarship Program. Deacon Armen has been serving at the Holy Altar since 1983. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Deacon Matthew and Deacon Armen on their fine accomplishment of spiritual leadership. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing these men and their families a bright future and continued growth.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in congratulate Muriel Smittcamp, Violet Jensen, Geneva Shannon, Jane Logoluso, and Mildred ``Micki'' Parker, the recipients of the Common Threads Award. This award is presented to women in agriculture who have made a remarkable contribution to their community through volunteer work and philanthropy. Muriel Smittcamp, of Clovis, CA, began her career in agriculture, together with her husband Earl, in 1945, with the purchase of 200 acres. She has volunteered her time with many organizations including the Ranchero Guild of Valley Children's Hospital (V.C.H.), the Holiday Guild, and the Fresno State Bulldog Foundation, Muriel is also a California State University, Fresno Alumni member, contributor and worker, and donates her services to the Clovis Library, the American Cancer Society and 4-H. Violet Jensen, of Fresno, CA, became a farmer's wife when she married Oliver Jensen in 1948. She has actively particpated in all phases of farm management including tractor driving, tying vines and harvesting crops. She has been a member of the Farm Bureau for 50 years during which she has held several committee chairs. Violet has been active in Raisin Wives, La Tienda Guild for V.C.H. and Twilight Haven. She was very active with the Raisin Queen Pageant and the Farm Bureau Princess Pageant. Jane Logoluso Bautista, of Madera, CA, joined her father's farming operation in 1992. Prior to that she had a 20 year career in the health care industry. She is currently responsible for government relations, personnel, labor relations and special projects. Jane is vice-chair of the California Apple Commission, trustee for U.S. Apple Association and is secretary of the Nisei Farmers' League. She volunteers for the American Cancer Society and has served on the Kingsview Mental Health Corp. Geneva Shannon, of Visalia, CA, grew up on a farm in Waukena, Ca. She married Eric Shannon in 1980, and together they continued their farming interests. She was involved in 4- H and Future Farmers of America in school, and continues to support these organizations. Geneva served as president of the Tulare Kings Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, and also on the State Board. She is active in the Farm Bureau, and represents agriculture in the classroom. Mildred ``Micki'' Parker, of LeGrand, CA, taught at both Chowchilla and Merced High Schools. She was a sponsor of the American Field Service and advisor to Future Business Leaders of America. She and her husband Richard farmed almonds for many years. After her retirement from teaching, she actively participated in day-to-day farm operations. Micki has been active in the Merced area with the County Area Agency of Aging, Community Action Board, Women's Club and Farm Bureau. She is also a member of the Merced Chapter of California Women for Agriculture. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Common Threads Award winners. These women have shown outstanding involvement, not only in agriculture, but in strengthening their respective communities. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing these honorees a bright future and continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Wawona Frozen Foods, recipient of the 1998 Baker, Peterson & Franklin Ag Business Award. Wawona Frozen Foods is an organization whose achievements and impacts have significantly contributed to the Ag industry and the Central Valley. The Baker, Peterson & Franklin Ag Business Award honors a service or product-related agribusiness or farming entity, with headquarters in the central San Joaquin Valley. The Award recipient is selected by a committee representing the AgFRESNO Advisory Board, National Ag Marketing Association and the Agriculture department at Baker, Peterson & Franklin. Wawona Frozen Foods grows and processes California freestone peaches and strawberries into fresh frozen fruit products and baked fruit pastries. From a modest beginning 35 years ago, with 60 part-time employees the company has grown to 150 full-time and 1,200 seasonal processing facility to three state-of-the-art facilities. Annual revenue has grown 40 fold, now exceeding $40 million annually. Beginning as a supplier to solely food manufacturers, Wawona has grown their sales in other markets including food service distributors, restaurant chains, retail and warehouse stores, school food service and the USDA school lunch program. Wawona Frozen Foods is America's largest processor of California freestone peaches, shipping over 65 million pounds of the 110 million pound industry-wide crop of 80% of the entire national frozen production. The growth in sales of frozen peaches has a vital and positive impact on the entire freestone peach industry and makes the total peach marketing program more stable while contributing to the potential of higher prices for fresh market peaches. Wawona Frozen Foods is an exceptional corporate citizen. Its officers and employees participate in and financially support many community activities. Wawona is involved with the Clovis Unified School Foundation, Valley Children's Hospital, St. Agnes Hospital, Valley Teen Ranch and the National Hispanics Scholarship Fund, just to name a few. All of the Wawona principals are graduates of California State University, Fresno, and major grants have been given to the CSUF Ag and Food Science Departments as a commitment of their support. The company has also been a leader in state and national organizations such as the California Tree Fruit Association, National Restaurant Association and the American Frozen Foods Institute, of which Wawona's CEO is president emeritus on the board of directors. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Wawona Frozen Foods as the recipient of the Baker, Peterson & Franklin Ag Business Award. The Central Valley can be proud of the fine work done by this outstanding local company. I invite all of my colleagues to join me in wishing Wawona Frozen Foods many years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Bruch Obbink, recipient of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce Agriculturalist of the Year award for 1998. Mr. Obbink has been an active member of the agricultural community for many years. Bruce Obbink has served on the California Table Grape Commission since 1968, most recently as its president. The Commission is the promotional branch of California's fresh grape industry and represents 100 percent of the state's 700 table grape farmers. As president, Bruce is responsible for a budget that exceeds $13 million and for oversight of the Commission's key programs including advertising, communications, community service, international marketing, merchandising, and research. He has traveled extensively in the Asian, European, and South American markets successfully promoting the California fresh grape industry. Mr. Obbink lives in Fresno, California, and was raised in the Midwest. He is a graduate of Missouri State University and was a naval aviator from 1956 to 1962. He was director of education for the Council of California Growers and the Agriculture Education Foundation from 1962 to 1968. Bruch Obbink has generously served a number of Ag organizations. He is a member of the National Project to Develop a Strategic Plan for Changing the American Diet, has been appointed by Governor Wilson to serve on the Exotic Pest Eradication Task Force, is past president of the Cal-Ag Committee on International Trade, past chairman of the board of the Produce Marketing Association, past president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, and has participated in several Harvard Business School education programs. Bruce Obbink has been consistently recognized and honored for his service to the agricultural community. He was named Produce Marketer of the year by The Packer, a national produce industry publication, selected by Public Relations Quarterly as one of the 100 outstanding public relations executives in the United States, and received the Produce for Better Health Foundation's first-ever Outstanding Contributor Recognition Award. He was presented with the California Grape & Tree Fruit League's Mentor's Award for his service to the grape industry, and named the American Society for Enology and Viticulture's 1998 Merit Award recipient for recognition of his many contributions to the industry through his role with the California Table Grape Commission. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Bruce Obbink, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce Agriculturalist of the Year. The California Agriculture industry has been well served by Mr. Obbink's tireless dedication. I invite all of my colleagues to join me in wishing Bruce Obbink many years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dan Malcolm, recipient of The Viticulture and Enology Research Center Award. Dan Malcolm has been a strong supporter of the California grape industry for many years. Each year at California State University, Fresno, an outstanding individual in the California grape industry is honored on Grape Day. This year, The Viticulture and Enology Research Center proudly honored Dan Malcolm of Malcolm Media for his generous support of the program and his dedication to the California grape industry. Dan Malcolm grew up on a family farm near Sanger, California, where he gained a strong respect for agriculture. As a young man, he became interested in politics and agricultural education, which led him to become owner, publisher, and editor of the fastest growing agricultural publishing company in the Western United States. In 1992, Dan founded Malcolm Media Ag Publishing in Clovis, California. The first publication he and his wife Monica formed to help expand awareness of agriculture was American Vineyard, which was first published in early 1992. In just two short years American Vineyard became the highest circulated grape industry publication in the state. In 1995 American Vineyard became the most requested grape industry publication in the United States with over 10,000 readers. Today Malcolm continues to support agricultural education through scholarships to viticulture, and enology students throughout California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dan Malcolm, recipient of The Viticulture and Enology Research Center Award. Dan has been a vital part of the California grape industry. I urge all my colleagues to join me in wishing Dan Malcolm many years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Honorable Charles Harness on the occasion of his retirement from the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. The people of the Fourth District have been well served by Charles Harness for the past 8 years. Charles Harness was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1990, and was re-elected without opposition in 1994. In 1998, Supervisor Harness served as chairman of the board. As the Board's legislative advocate, Supervisor Harness successfully worked with State legislators to upgrade county services and promote innovative programs to better serve the people of Tulare County. In addition to his Board responsibilities, Supervisor Harness was a leader in numerous State and regional intergovernmental organizations. From 1993 to 1997, he was a member of the Governing Board of San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, and in 1996, he served as its chairman. Supervisor Harness also served on the Governor's Williamson Act Advisory Task Force. He is a member of the Government and Finance Operations Committee for the California State Association of Counties, while remaining active in the Tulare County Association of Governments. A native Californian, Supervisor Harness is married with two children and four grandchildren. He served in the United States Air Force from 1957 to 1961. He attended college at Mount San Antonio, CA State University Fresno, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Supervisor Harness is a retired farmer, building contractor, and land developer. He is a life member of the Alta District Historical Society, a member of the Cutler-Orosi Lions Club, past chairman of the board for the Dinuba Christian Church, and a former director of the Alta Hospital Foundation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Honorable Charles Harness on the occasion of his retirement. Charles Harness has served the people of the Fourth District for more than 8 years. I urge all my colleagues to join me in congratulating Charles on a job well done and to wish him many years of continued happiness and success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Vahan Tekeyan on the 120th anniversary of his birth and to the Tekeyan Cultural Association. Vahan Tekeyan was born in Constantinople, Turkey in 1878. He gained prominence as one of the most celebrated poets in Armenian history. Tekeyan is credited with contributing to saving the Armenian language through his vast writings. It is said that he gave poetry a melody all its own. Tekeyan is recognized both as a poet of the people and as a poet's poet. He courageously met and conquered numerous challenges during his lifetime. Vahan Tekeyan died in Cairo, Egypt at the age of 67. The Tekeyan Cultural Association was founded in Beirut, Lebanon in 1947 by Professor Parounag Thomasian, Kersan Aharonian and Harchia Setrakian, Esq. The association is headquartered in Watertown, MA and has chapters throughout the United States as well as in Armenia, Canada, France, Egypt, Argentina, Belgium and Greece. During the Armenian genocide of 1915-1923, the Fresno Chapter of the Tekeyan Cultural Association significantly contributed to the welfare and support of orphans. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I pay tribute to Vahan Tekeyan on the 120th anniversary of his birth and to the Tekeyan Cultural Association Fresno Chapter. Their dedication to preserving Armenian heritage and their significant support of numerous noble causes is to be commended. I invite my colleagues to join me in this recognition.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record the second major speech by my friend Balint Vazsonyi at the Heritage Foundation. This speech follows up on themes which Balint developed two years ago in ``Four Points of the Compass: Restoring America's Sense of Direction'' (Congressional Record, Feb. 13, 1997) and is aptly titled ``Following the Wrong Compass. The True State of the Union.'' In his first presentation. Balint discussed the four principles which form the basis of the American system of governance as adopted by the Founders--the founding principles of the rule of law, individual rights, the guarantee of property, and a common American identity for all of us. In this latest effort, Balint contrasts these founding principles with the current social agenda of the left--social justice, group rights, entitlement and multiculturalism. Balint shows how this alternative agenda is not only contrary to America's founding principles, but is in direct conflict with those principles. Mr. Speaker, I recommend to you and my colleagues that we read and consider the important thoughts contained in Balint Vazsonyi's speech, ``Following the Wrong Compass: The True State of the Union.'' [Given at the Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 1999] Following the Wrong Compass: The True State of the Union About two years ago, I gave a speech here with the title ``Four Points of the Compass: Restoring America's Sense of Direction.'' I would like to begin with a review of America's response to that compass. As some of you recall, the attempt was to condense the most essential, most indispensable aspects of America's founding principles into a practical tool--easy to remember, easy to apply. Much is said about the ways America was meant to be, and what the Founders had in mind. But usually it is couched in very loose terms, partly because fewer and fewer people these days take the trouble to actually reading what the Founders have written. Most disappointingly, members of Congress who actually take an oath upon the Constitution of the United States give us speeches day after day, and television interviews night after night, revealing in the process that if they ever read the Constitution, it was a long, long time ago. Of course, they might simply have a different edition. In any event, trying to sum up the most essential principles in a manageable number, gave me the idea two years ago of choosing four--because a compass has four points and, like a compass, these principles have provided America's bearings. And so, I proposed the rule of law--always point North--individual rights, the guarantee of property, and a common American identify of all of us. In these two years, the ``Four Points'' have been made part of the Congressional Record and printed in many places: as a Heritage Lecture, in Imprimis, in many newspapers and periodicals, as well as in Representative American Speeches. The Republican National Committee decided to publish a version of it as the cover story in Rising Tide and it became the foundation of the book ``America's 30 Years War: Who is Winning?'' We have held panel discussions on Capitol Hill, and town meetings around the country. There seems to be general agreement about their validity, and opposition comes only from those who have a bone to pick both with America's Founders and with the U.S. Constitution itself. Town meetings, and the ongoing conversation with the American people via radio and television talk shows in the last two years, have persuaded us that is a good path to follow. People find it helpful as a tool, not only in debates, but also for evaluating public policy. Here is how it works. Every time somebody proposes a new law, a new statute, or an executive order, you ask whether it passes muster when held against the standard of the ``Four Points.'' The answers are easy because they either do or they don't. If they don't, then they have no place in the United States of America. Without that compass, what would make us American? Taking the points one by one; Everybody seems to agree that the rule of law is a good thing. Alas, most people don't quite know what that means. One must read Article VI of the Constitution which says ``This Constitution . . . shall be the supreme law of the land.'' Then, the proposition becomes clear. Individual rights are more problematic because one of the developments during the last 30 years was the proliferation of all sorts of ``rights'' which masquerade as individuals rights even though they are, in truth, group rights. In other words, these rights are claimed by certain people because of their membership in a particular group. Of course, the Constitution does not permit any such thing. Advocates of group rights learned how to dress up their demands as individual rights, and it is alarming how often they get away with it. Yet the most troubling for all critics of the Founding is the third one, the guarantee of property. It is amazing how strong an emotional reaction it draws, which really proves what the English already knew when they wrote the Magna Carta in the year 1215: That the guarantee of property and the guarantee of liberty are joined at the hip. You either have both or neither. The absolute ownership of property is such a troubling idea for the other side that even the most benevolent among them is unable to stomach it. The common American identity is something to which, again, many pay lip service, while making the greatest effort to do away with it. One person who, to my surprise, recently paid lip service to it, was the President last night, toward the end of his State of the Union speech. And, of course, one wished for an opportunity to ask him when he was going to issue the next executive order to set women against men, black against white, children against their parents, and South Americans against Europeans. Because that is certainly what his administration has been doing in spades ever since 1993. By now, it must be clear that there is another compass in our midst, and perhaps the time has come to look at what that other compass is. It, too, has four points. Its North Star is the pursuit of social justice; instead of individual rights, it promotes group rights; instead of the guarantee of property, it advocates redistribution through entitlements; and in place of our common American identity, it favors what it calls multiculturalism. I think we need to examine these four points and try to understand what they mean. We need to, because of something the president said in his second Inaugural Address. On January 20, 1997, Mr. Clinton called for a new government for the new century. Given that in the entire history of our nation the only previous call for a new government was issued in the Declaration of Independence and not since, I thought then and I certainly think now that, on this occasion, we must take the President seriously. There is also every reason that such a new government would be guided by that ``other'' compass. What of its four points? First, social justice. The phrase sounds good, always has, always will. Social justice, after all, is justice isn't it? Well, the Preamble of the Constitution speaks about the establishment of justice. Does ``social'' add anything to that? If you look up F.A. Hayek, you find that he lists about 168 nouns that have acquired the qualifier ``social'' to the detriment of each and every one of them. But let's take social justice at face value, just for the moment. Is anyone willing to define what it actually means? To date, I have not been able to find a single person who can do that, because it means something different every day. (I have been offering a reward of $1,000 to anyone who can propose a lasting definition.) The Constitution, on the other hand, is the same--day in day out. There is nothing ambiguous about phrases like ``Congress shall make no law . . .'' or: ``The right of the People to . . . shall not be abridged,'' or: ``All legislative powers are hereby vested in a Congress of the United States.'' These are finite statements. For social justice to be a plausible replacement for the rule of law, it would have to offer comparable consistency, but of course it can not. It is almost painful to watch critics of the Constitution wrestling with this problem, desperately trying to claim that the rule of law and the pursuit of social justice can indeed live side by side. I submit they cannot and intend to demonstrate it. Group rights of course do not require too much explanation. Again, the Constitution of the United States offers absolutely no foundation for any kind of group right. In fact, it knows nothing about groups, only about individual citizens, or ``The People.'' There is nothing in between. Thus, every group right is in fact illegitimate. The tragedy is that not only judges and the executive branch, but Congress, too, participated in the enactment of various statutes that confirm rights upon groups. Worse yet, a Republican Presidential Candidate, Senator Bob Dole takes great pride in having engineered the Americans with Disabilities Act--one of the more recent creations of group rights. I suppose, some of you may say, ``don't disabled Americans have rights?'' Of course they do: exactly the same rights as every other American. They don't have rights because they are disabled, they have rights because they are Americans. And you can substitute anything else for ``disabled'' and come to the same conclusion. There is all the difference between pointing to certain people and saying: these Americans have not been given their full constitutional due. That's one thing. It is quite another to isolate a group and say, ``we must give these people their own, special rights.'' And what could be more different than the guarantee of property on one side and redistribution on the other? Property is everything we own--the shoes you wear, the salary you make. The other compass calls for its redistribution, because certain people are ``entitled'' to it. Here is another word: entitlement. Is there anything in the Constitution of the United States that entitles anybody to the fruits of the labor of another person? For that is what entitlement means, nothing less. The only way a person may be entitled to another persons's possessions is if we disregard the Constitution. And so we come to the last point, multiculturalism. If the suggestion is that we should look beyond our own borders and not merely read American literature or look at solely American paintings, then I would say every decent school for a very, very long time has taught World History, and World Literature, and World everything. We really didn't need a multicultural movement for that. If on the other hand the idea is that everything has the same value, and that those who have not produced literature should be given literature, and the rest of us be required to study it in order to give the appearance that every nation has literature worth reading--that's something entirely different. Multiculturalism claims to celebrate our diversity, so here is another question: ``What is there to celebrate?'' We didn't celebrate that we have arms and fingers, or other things we are born with. If you look around just this room, we have a lot to celebrate right here, because we are all different. It is just one of those nonsensical things, except that--while it is easy to make fun of it all--for many, it is deadly serious. It is serious for us, too, because this compass is likely to guide the 70% of Americans who give the President that approval rating. And if that compass is something to be taken seriously, we have to give it a name. Why not call the original one--the rule of law, individual rights, the guarantee of property and common American identity--the ``American way''? That is a fair designation because these are the essentials which define America. How do we find a name for the other compass? Let us work backwards. Multiculturalism is really another form of redistribution, only it is cultural goods being redistributed. Redistribution grows out of group rights, because certain groups are entitled to the fruits of redistribution, whereas others are not. And, of course, the whole idea of group rights grows out of the search for, and the pursuit of, social justice-- whatever that means. So, here we are, looking for a name. How should one call this doctrine, this compass? ``Multi'' does not suggest an all-purpose label, and ``entitlement compass'' just doesn't sound good. ``Good compass''? It does not make much sense. How about going back to its North Star: social justice. Of course, justice is something that the English already contemplated in the Magna Carta and, certainly, the Framers have established in the Constitution. We need to focus on the first word in this two-word construct. Perchance we could make a noun of the adjective? Words ending in ``-ism'' are often used for political programs. If we add this to the adjective, SOCIAL-ISM comes out as the logical designation for this compass. Are we in trouble! We will be advised immediately that this is not going anywhere--just look at where Joe McCarthy ended! But what if he didn't go about it the right way, because socialism was hurled at people as an accusation, as a pejorative, derogatory term? In any event, as an inflammatory word? Of course, then we were engaged in a war--cold most of the time, hot some of the time--against the Soviet Union, and we saw the Soviet Union as the representative of socialism. Even so, McCarthy came to grief. And now, when the Soviet Union is gone, most would think it ridiculous to invoke socialism. But what if the problem is the way we think of the word, and the way we look at what socialism is. That is really where I would like to get your ear today, and your active help in the future. Socialism, I believe, is the appropriate, scholarly, utterly unemotional designation of a grand philosophical idea in Western Civilization. Ever since Descartes started thinking about thinking, and other French philosophers followed in the 18th Century, then Germans picked it up where the French had left off, socialism has been in the making. For a long time, then, socialism has been with us as ``the other grand idea'' of Western Civilization, and will remain with us as long as there is an ``us.'' There is nothing derogatory about it, and there is nothing ``red'' about it. Socialism is an idea about interpreting the world, and charting the future, that has had the benefit of some of the best minds in the history of the planet, and has held--and continues to hold--tremendous appeal to vast numbers of people. It deserves to be taken seriously, and it needs to be engaged on philosophical grounds. In every sense of the word, it holds the opposite view of everything this country was built on. The ``Four Points of the Compass,'' presented to you two years ago, represented a set of principles. Our American way is built on principles. These principles were laid down to create a set of conditions within which the citizens of this country can pursue their individual happiness--not social justice--their individual happiness, least hindered, with the fewest possible obstacles in their path. Thus, principles create conditions which are simply there as a tent under which people are safe and secure in their lives--their livelihoods, their possessions--and are able to do their best. Socialism, as the four points of its compass demonstrates, has no principles. It has an agenda. The pursuit of social justice is an agenda. The creation of group rights is a continuation of that agenda. Redistributing the fruits of society's combined labors is an agenda. This is extremely important to realize because we have become very, very imprecise in our use of words. We ought not to speak of the legislative goals of the American side as an ``agenda'' because voters can say: ``well, he has this agenda, and she has that agenda and it's my right to choose which agenda I like.'' I don't believe that the American way calls for an agenda. There may be specific legislative initiatives, there may be needs of the nation to be met, but I don't believe that the Framers gave us an agenda. They gave us specific principles, articulated as laws, within which we are free to pursue to our benefit--and to no one else's detriment-- whatever is our life's dream. So first of all, we have to realize that there are principles on one side, and an agenda on the other. Principles provide the floor under your feet. An agenda pulls you in a certain direction. One is guided by principles, one is driven by an agenda. I am just trying to say this in as many ways as I possibly can. Socialism cannot coexist with the rule of law because the most important aspect of the rule of law is its consistency. Yes, the Constitution may be amended through a very specific process and that's an important aspect of it. But its fundamental tenets--lets make no mistake about that--will never change because, if we amend those, the result will no longer bear any resemblance to the Constitution of the United States. Thus, the rule of a law functions as a constant, whereas the pursuit of social justice demands that we change the law everyday in order to accomplish the agenda--which also changes everyday. I submit that the label ``socialism'' is the one tool we possess that we have not used, and that could be our salvation. Not only because truth in labeling always helps. Let us not think of it as labeling, but as truth. The truth always helps, especially against an adversary that always runs from the truth. To use the word effectively, we have to understand what socialism is, and what it is not. Socialism is not red, or any other single color. The Soviet Union was but an episode in Socialism's three-hundred-year history. It was a long one, a troublesome one. But goodness knows, Nazi Germany was most troublesome, even though that lasted only 12 years. Eventually, it passed, the Soviet Union passed, Mao Tse Tung passed away, and even Castro won't live forever. All these have been episodes. These are not our true adversaries. Our adversary is The Idea, this intoxicating idea that is able to dress up in local colors and plug into the deepest yearnings of any nation. In America, it did so in spades about 30 years ago. It found all the hot buttons of Americans, so there are millions of decent Americans today who honestly believe that the socialist agenda they have signed on to has American roots. Back to colors. Socialism may have been red in the Soviet Union, but it was black in Italy where it was called the Fascist Party of Mussolini, Mussolini's personal version of the Italian Socialist Party from which he had been expelled. It was brown in Germany under the National Socialists, but currently, in the same Germany, it is green. It wears blue at the United Nations. Want more colors? If you really want a Rainbow Coalition, look at socialism around the world. So, first let us not get stuck on color. Second, please let us not get stuck on a particular regime. There is all this confusion about socialism, communism, fascism. But we will know how to make head or tail of them once we realize that they all study the same books. Fascism was simply Mussolini's version for Italy, having nothing whatever to do with the National Socialist German Workers party--Hitler's party--which ruled Germany during the years of the Third Reich. It was Stalin who thought it might be just a little uncomfortable and embarrassing for the Soviet Union--the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics--to have Hitler, too, designated as a socialist. So he ordered everyone, including his American agents--you remember, the ones that McCarthy was so dastardly to expose?--to start referring to Hitler's Germany as ``fascist.'' It never was. It was a national socialist regime. And to point to minute differences between it and the Soviet Union doesn't make practical sense because the Soviet Union had 70-plus years to develop its ways. Hitler's Germany existed only for six years in peace time. After that it was engaged in a world war. Even during those six years, it was preparing the war, and so the various deviations from orthodox socialism really should not cloud the issue. We have to remember, also, that Karl Marx, already in the communist manifesto of 1848 differentiates among no fewer than seven versions of socialism, all of which he rejects in favor of his own, which he calls Communism. Communism is nothing other than the castle at the end of the climb for all socialists. And please believe me there is no difference between this socialist and that socialist, and social democrat, and democratic socialist, and progressive, and liberal, and ``people for the third way''--we are given different labels all the time. It is all socialism, and all of it leads to communism--yes, communism, and let us not be afraid of that word any longer. It will be a glorious time, we are told, for humanity when communism is established, and when social justice will have come to every man, woman and child in the world, for that's what communism is: One World, in which social justice has been accomplished. Other issues tend to be confusing as well. Generically, the American way can also be called the Anglo-American way of interpreting the world and charting the future. By the same token, the opposite view may be called ``Franco-Germanic.'' To begin with, only these four countries engaged in systematic thinking about these matters over the centuries. Individuals from other countries have made contributions, but only in these four countries--England, France, America, and Germany--have there been schools of political philosophy. The four schools resulted in two conflicting ideas. They are in conflict with regard to morality, law, and economic principles--in conflict all the way. Thus, the divider has always been the English Channel and not the Iron Curtain. Of course, the English Channel has been there all the time, whereas the Iron Curtain was a very temporary fixture--thank goodness. But if that is true, how is it possible that France and England were allies in both world wars? Not difficult. Philosophically, as the books in our libraries confirm, the permanent alliance is between France and Germany. But naturally, when France is attacked and is unable to defend itself--as it happened throughout this century--they reach for the people who are willing to die for them. And those were the British and the Americans. The alliance lasted as long as the French were in need. Read French philosophers, listen to French socialists and communists who are daily guests on our college campuses today. Like the Germans, they preach the socialist gospel. Exception: Voltaire. He admired the British political system and, when he openly said so in France, the authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. Let us, then, rid ourselves of these confusing images and understand that these two gigantic ideas have been, are, and will be fighting it out to the end. How does this affect the state of our nation? Last night, the President would have you believe that it was just wonderful. It might be a matter of your vantage point, I think. Certainly, the Dow Jones has never been higher, but don't let that fool you. Having lost the university decades ago, we then lost the high schools, and now we have lost the entire educational establishment, all the way down to the day care center. Our children are being brought up to be socialists. Nothing else. Our media is manned and womanned mostly by socialists. If you doubt that, just remember that last week not a single network carried the charges against the president on the Senate floor, but yesterday when the president's case was to be presented, all network programs were preempted. Congress accommodates a growing number of representatives and senators who think nothing of inventing entire new passages for the Constitution, or reveal themselves as nothing more than members of the phalanx that surrounds the executive branch. United States Senators have taken to announcing their verdict before, or right after, taking an oath upon being impartial jurors. If we really mean business, we have to use our chief asset. Yes, socialism is a great asset. We tend to engage in lengthy discussions about esoteric matters, like high taxes, low taxes, big governments, small governments. I say esoteric, because they are not tangible. What is high? What is low? What is big? What is small? Instead of interminable debates, which our side loses almost all the time, let us look Senator Kennedy, Senator Wellstone, Senator Boxer--the list goes on-- in the eye and say: ``What you are advocating Senator (or Mr. President, or Mrs. President) is covered by a very simple word, and the word is socialism. If you think it's great, why don't you tell us more about it?'' And: ``Why don't you tell us why you believe in it?'' ``Are you calling me a socialist, sir? I demand an apology.'' ``No, sir, I am not calling you anything. You are proposing a socialist agenda.'' Isn't that a great deal simpler than trying to explain why it is not mean-spirited to oppose the next federal education program? Isn't it a great opportunity to say: ``My position on the issue derives from America's founding principles; would you tell the country where your position derives from?'' Unless we will find it in our hearts to engage in this type of dialogue, unless we find the courage to fight the elections in 2000--possibly our last chance to divert a long-term disaster--by calling the compass of the other side what it really is, I don't think we should blame others, least of all the American people, for losing that election. Millions of ordinary Americans appear to have accepted, and be promoting, the socialist agenda. There is every reason to believe that many minds would be changed if they were brought fact-to-face with socialism as the doctrine they are following and advocating. We must explain that this is not ``hate speech,'' but simply the appropriate designation. If we de-demonize and re-legitimize the word socialism, and reintroduce it to its appropriate place, I guarantee the outcome is going to be different. So we at the Center for the American Founding are going to issue a call to all good people, especially those who care deeply, such as yourselves, to engage in retreats, and seminars, and discussions, so that our own side can understand anew what socialism is, and what it is not. And once we do that, we shall never look back.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, it is with great privilege to rise today to honor an outstanding American, Bill Creel. Bill is a civic leader and pipeliner, who is beloved by his family, friends, and state. He is a man whose devotion to family, friends, church and business of Bartlesville, Oklahoma is legendary. Bill is turning 70 years old on February 19th. Born in Bartlesville in 1929, Bill has devoted his life to bettering the town he so loves. His untiring work and generosity have earned him countless awards and recognition throughout his city and state. Bill was a pioneer in oil exploration and pipelining. His career took him from Bartlesville to oil fiends throughout the world including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. After 29 years of service, Bill retired in 1979 as President of H.C. Price Company International. Rather than enjoying a much-deserved retirement, Creel began his second career, turning his business and managerial skills toward helping his hometown of Bartlesville. Bill distinguished himself while serving as the President of the Bartlesville Area Chamber of Commerce by providing the necessary leadership to recruit new industries, develop tourism, and pass new sales tax legislation to fund economic development. His efforts on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, the Girl Scouts, the Public Library, the Oklahoma Mozart Festival, Junior Achievement, the Rotary Club, Jane Phillips Hospital, Woolaroc, and St. Johns Catholic Church as well as several historical sites throughout the area earned him statewide recognition through a dedicated ``Bill Creel Day'' in the state of Oklahoma. In addition, Bill was awarded the Governor's Art Award, Outstanding Citizen Award, membership in the Piepliner's Hall of Fame, Girl Scouts Green Angel, Boy Scout's Eagle Award, Civitan International Citizen of the Year Award, Junior Achievement Leadership Award, Centennial Award and Historian of the Year. Bill Creel is a great man, husband, father, friend and proud American. He deserves special recognition for the many contributions he has made to the advancement of civic improvement through the arts and education, commercial and economic development, and for accomplishing his lifelong goal of making the world a better place.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Deran Koligian and Judith Case on their election to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Koligian and Supervisor Case were sworn in on January 11, 1999. Supervisor Deran Koligian represents the First Supervisorial District on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. He represents a portion of the urban area of Fresno and a large agricultural region in western Fresno County. Deran Koligian was elected to serve as the 1996 Chairman of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Koligian has been an outspoken advocate for agriculture as a member of the Board of Supervisors of Fresno County--the nation's number one producer of agricultural products. In connection with his duties as Supervisor of District One, Koligian has served the community on numerous committees. Supervisor Judith Case is the Vice-Chairman on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and represents District Four. Supervisor Case has been mayor of Sanger for the past two years and was recently elected to the Board. Judy Case has spent the majority of her life serving the community in the health field. She was the Administrative Director and Director for St. Agnes Medical Center, Assistant Vice President of Valley Childrens Hospital, Director of the Selma District Hospital, Senior Health Planner for Central California Health Systems Agency in Visalia, Control Management Intern for Texas Instruments in Dallas, and a Registered Nurse at Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate Deran Koligian and Judy Case for their accomplishments and service to the community. They exemplify public service and dedication to their community and jobs. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing Deran Koligian and Judy Case many more years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Anne Speake for her service as president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Anne Speake's leadership and community involvement has had a profound impact on the advancement and quality of life on commerce in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Anne Speake is the owner and operator of the International English Institute. Anne started this business over 15 years ago, and is a successful business woman not only in the Valley but globally through the International English Institute. Most recently, she was selected to receive the Central California Women in Business Award by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Anne Speake is a role model for all women owning businesses. Mrs. Speake is deeply committed to our community and actively serves on several state and local organizations. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Fresno Business Council, as Vice Chair of the Fresno Revitalization Corporation, and as a member in the Economic Development Corporation. As Fresno Chamber of Commerce President, Anne Speake is viewed as a consensus builder and a leader. During her term as Chamber President, she sought to improve service to its 2,300 members and increase the internal efficiency within the Chamber. Under her leadership the Fresno Chamber of Commerce has played a central role in the revitalization of downtown Fresno and initiated several community and cultural improvement projects. In addition, she was an advocate of greater community involvement through Leadership Fresno, which graduated 31 students, and the Employment Competency Committee certified 500 students who worked with business people throughout the year. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I pay tribute to Anne Speake for her service as President of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Speake is a faithful public servant, who has shown care for small business and dedication to her community. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Anne Speake many more years of success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to place into the record a eulogy for my friend John Newman, who's life will be celebrated today in my home town of Mariposa, California. I cannot be there today to celebrate the life, nor mourn the passing, of my friend John Newman. John was a husband and father, a grape grower, a hard worker, a citizen of the community, and a friend. He was a leader with the Boy Scouts--Troop 94--and in his veterans organizations. I will never forget the time several years ago when John showed me how to build a Christmas Bon-fire--to stack the wood just so, to build a pyramid, to make it loose enough in the center so that it would burn, but with enough fuel; and how to light it so it burnt evenly. Even more important than the wonderful fire he built was the family spirit as he gathered his family together to lead us in Christmas song. John was a good man from this community, and those lucky enough to have known him are better off for it. That, Mr. Speaker, is the highest praise one can give.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, when I first ran for Congress I jokingly invited President Clinton into my district to campaign for my opponent. Clearly, we do not see eye to eye. I do intend to vote for his impeachment though, not because of this; not because he had a disrespectful relationship with a subordinate his daughter's age and not because he deliberately lied for months about their relationship to every American. I am voting for impeachment because he perjured himself twice, first in a civil case and then before a federal grand jury. These actions alone make him unfit for office. Perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power are clearly high crimes and misdemeanors. They are a direct assault on the foundation of America, the rule of law, and on the freedoms of every American. I don't want to do this, but I would cast this vote even if a President from my own party committed these acts. I don't appreciate having to be here on the House floor debating impeachment while our troops are fighting in the gulf. But it is the President who, by his own actions and misdeeds, brought a vote on impeachment to America for only the second time in our history. He alone must suffer the consequences.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to today to congratulate the Fresno Business Council on the occasion of its fifth Anniversary. This dedicated group of community leaders plays an important role in the community. The Fresno Business Council began with just seven members, pulled together by president Bob Carter, who set out to discuss the problems facing the community and what they could do to help. They began to organize and focus their efforts to assist the public sector in addressing the challenges faced by Fresno County. The Council currently has 125 members, each of whom is selected from the highest level of local executives in business or major institutions in the public sector. The Council operates four standing committees: Crime, Jobs and Economic Development, Education and Public Policy and Government Relations. As part of their work, Crime Committee members have assisted the Fresno Police Department in getting past political barriers to implement policies involving real property and burglar alarms. Through analysis and advocacy the Council provided merit-based arguments convincing the Fresno Bee not to pander to the public. In the coming year the focus of the council will be on consolidation of policing services whenever an improvement in efficiency or effectiveness can be demonstrated. The Jobs and Economic Development Committee has a number of leaders, each putting their own mark on the agenda. Under its first chairman, Roger Flynn, the committee helped to create the one stop permitting center and began an incubator project. With Rich Olsson as chairman, the committee began exploration of permitting issues and training dollars. Current chairman Claude Laval has recently taken over the committee and they are now focused on regional strategic planning and collaboration among organizations. The Education Committee has approached education in both comprehensive and specific ways. Committee members helped pass the Fresno Unified and Clovis Unified school bond measures, and sponsors Commission on the Future of Education in Fresno County with the County Office of Education. The Commission is studying all the aspects of how education is delivered in Fresno County. The fourth standing committee is the Public Policy and Governmental Relations committee. It is through public and private partnerships that the Council implements its Agenda. The committee has hosted numerous meetings with elected officials to increase communication and build relationships. Mr. Speaker I rise today to pay tribute to the Fresno Business Council in celebration of its fifth Anniversary. This group of leaders has done great things for the community. I urge all my colleagues to join me in wishing the Fresno Business Council many years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate John Harris on being named ``Livestock Man of the Year by the California State Chamber of Commerce. A longtime leader in the livestock and horse industry, John will be honored during ``Cattlemans Day'' at the fifty- fourth Grand National Rodeo, Horse and Stock Show. John Harris is being honored for his extensive involvement in agriculture. He serves as the vice chairman of the Cattle PAC. In the past John has served as a member of the Operating Committee of the Beef Board, chairman of the California Beef Council and a board member of the California Cattlemans Association. As a rancher John Harris heads one of the largest and most diverse farming operations in the Central Valley. Founded by his father Jack Harris in 1937, Harris Farms employs more than 1300 people. Harris Farms can feed more than 100,000 head of cattle at a time, as well as processes more than 200,000 head per year, from their well known Colinga location. Harris is also a leader in developing foreign markets for American beef. Harris Farms exports to many countries, particularly Japan. Harris Farms is also active in breeding and racing thoroughbred horses. It has produced more than 20 stakes winners and produced four California champions. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to John Harris as he is honored as Livestock Man of the Year by the California State Chamber of Commerce. John Harris has played a vital role in the business community and I ask all of my colleagues to join me in wishing him continued success in the future.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Poverello House on the occasion of its 25 year Silver Anniversary. the Poverello House is known throughout the Central Valley for its charitable work. The Poverello House was started in 1973 when Fresno newcomer Mike McGarvin began feeding 30 street people out of a van in Fresno's Chinatown. Today the Poverello House serves over 1000 meals a day at its downtown building. The program also distributes 65,000 meals a year to local churches. Mr. McGavins vocation has grown beyond feeding the hungry. Now the uninsured receive free medical and dental care. In addition, recovering alcoholics and drug addicts live at Poverello House and homeless men spend the day there. Mike McGavin's work with the poor began in the late 1960s in San Francisco, where he stumbled onto a coffee shop for the homeless. At the time he was a customer. With the help of the Franciscan priest who ran the program McGavin began volunteering. McGavin wanted to atone for the trouble he had caused as a teen in the Los Angeles gang and as a drug addict in San Francisco. Mike moved to Fresno and it is here that he began feeding the homeless of Chinatown. In 1981 a business man donated $60,000 that went towards the purchase of buying a building in Chinatown. A $1.3 million renovation doubled the building in 1992. The larger building now houses a resident program which allows 28 men to live at the house for a period of six months. In addition five men may stay at a halfway house northwest Fresno for as long as two years. Mr. Speaker I rise today to honor Mike McGavin and the Poverello House for 25 years of service to the community. Mr. McGavin has turned the atonement for his past into one of the finest charitable institutions in Fresno. I urge all of my colleagues to join with me in wishing Mike McGavin and the Poverello House many more years of continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, on May 15, 1996, this testimony on the Armenian Genocide was submitted to the House Committee on International Relations by Levon Marashlian, Professor of History at Glendale Community College, California: Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to speak before you on an issue which is intimately tied to American History and directly related to the welfare of Turkey and to the success of the United States policy in a region of the world which is critically important economically and strategically. In 1919, a political body called The National Congress of Turkey confirmed the overwhelming American evidence that the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire were victims of a mass destruction during World War I. The National Congress of Turkey declared that the ``guilt'' of the Turkish officials who ``conceived and deliberately carried out this infernal policy of extermination and robbery is patent,'' those officials ``rank among the greatest criminals of humanity.'' The official Turkish gazette Takvimi Vekayi published the verdict of the post-war Ottoman trials of those officials. The Turkish court ruled that the intention of the Ottoman leaders was :``the organization and execution'' of the ``crime of massacre.'' German Ambassador Johann Bernstorff, whose country was allied with Turkey, wrote about ``Armenia where the Turks have been systematically trying to exterminate the Christian population.'' Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word genocide in 1944, specifically cited the ``genocide of the Armenians.'' Those who today deny the Armenian Genocide are resorting to academically unsound revisionism, in order to prevent the moral act of remembering this crime against humanity. In the process, the deniers are doing a disservice to the majority of today's Turkish people. By keeping the wounds open with their stonewalling tactics, by making it necessary to have hearings like this, they force the Turkish people to continue wearing like an albatross the negative image earned by a circle of officials who ruled eight decades ago. A consideration of House Con. Res. 47, which remembers ``the genocide perpetrated by the governments of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923,'' would provide a good opportunity to draw a distinction between the guilty and the innocent Turks, to remember also the Turks of decency who opposed their government's policy of inhumanity. At a time today when so many people in our society too often shirk their individual responsibility to make personal choices based on principles and values, it is a good lesson for us to recall the years when American witnesses and Turkish civilians made the personal choice to resist a wrong and save human lives, when a few Turkish officials even chose to object, even though doing so could have endangered their own lives. One was an Ottoman Senator, Ahmed Riza. In December 1915 he courageously condemned the policy to destroy and deport Turkey's two million Armenian citizens and expropriate their assets, which authorities were carrying out under the cover of a legislative fig leaf euphemistically called the Abandoned Properties Law. ``It is unlawful to designate'' Armenian properties as abandoned, declared Senator Riza, because they did not leave their properties voluntarily. They were ``forcibly'' removed from their homes and exiled. ``Now the government is selling'' their possessions. ``Nobody can sell my property if I am unwilling to sell it. This is atrocious. Grab my arm, eject me from my village, then sell my goods and properties? Such a thing can never be permissible. Neither the conscience of the Ottomans nor the law can allow it.'' Mr. Chairman, during a debate on the Senate floor in February 1990, your colleague Robert Dole championed another resolution commemorating the Armenian Genocide (S.J. Res. 212), and declared, ``it's finally time for us to do what is right. Right. We pride ourselves in America'' for ``doing what's right, not what's expedient.'' In this case, doing what is right does not exact a big price. The frequently heard argument that a commemorative resolution will harm American-Turkish relations is not credible. It ignores the fact that the relationship is much more in Turkey's favor than America's. Not doing what is right, on the other hand, is tantamount to rejecting mountains of documents in our National Archives, testimonies that refute the denial arguments generated in Ankara and, most disturbingly, promoted in prestigious academic circles here in America. This denial recently spurred over 100 prominent scholars and intellectuals, including Raul Hilberg, John Updike, Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut, and Arthur Miller, to sign a petition denouncing the ``intellectually and morally corrupt . . . manipulation of American institutions'' and the ``fraudulent scholarship supported by the Turkish government and carried out in American Universities.'' A typical example of the powerful evidence in the US Archives is a cable to the State Department from Ambassador Henry Morgenthau: ``Persecution of Armenians assuming unprecedented proportions. Reports from widely scattered districts indicate systematic attempts to uproot peaceful Armenian populations and through arbitrary arrests'' and ``terrible tortures,'' to implement ``wholesale expulsions and deportations from one end of the Empire to the other,'' frequently accompanied by ``rape, pillage, and murder, turning into massacre . . .'' And the persecutions continued even after World War I ended in 1918. ``It was like an endless chain,'' reported Edith Woods, an American nurse, in 1922. ``The children would often be dead before I had taken their names. Forty to fifty of the older women died each day. . . . Their mouths were masses of sores, and their teeth were dropping out. And their feet, those poor feet, bleeding feet. . . . Deportation is sure death--and a far more horrible death than massacre. Unless one sees these things it is difficult to believe that such monstrous cruelty and barbarity exist in the world.'' Ms. Woods' testimony ripped to shreds the web of denial being woven by Turkish officials in the early 1920's. She also exposed the new atmosphere of intensitivity at the American Embassy in Instanbul which contradicted the overwhelming sentiment of American public opinion and the spirit of Congressional resolutions in favor of Armenians that were passed during those days. This American woman made the personal choice to speak up against the response at her own Embassy, a policy imposed by acting ambassador Admiral Mark Bristol, who, driven obsessively by commercial interests, was colluding in a cover-up crafted by Turkish authorities. Allen Dulles, the State Department's Near East Division chief (and later CIA Director), found it hard to keep things under wraps as Bristol requested. ``Confidentially the State Department is in a bind,'' Dulles cautioned in April 1922. Our task would be simple if the reports of the atrocities could be declared untrue or even exaggerated but the evidence, alas, is irrefutable and the Secretary of State wants to avoid giving the impression that while the United States is willing to intervene actively to protect its commercial interests, it is not willing to move on behalf of the Christian minorities. And the evidence mounted. In May 1922, four American relief workers, Major Forrest D. Yowell of Washington DC, Dr. Mark Ward of New York, Dr. Ruth Parmalee of Boston, and Isabel Harely of Rhode Island, were all expelled from their posts in Turkey because they too chose to do what is right, they protested the ongoing persecutions. Major Yowell said Armenians in his district were ``in a state of virtual slavery,'' with ``no rights in the courts.'' Dr. Ward quoted Turkish officials. One Turk declared: ``We have been too easy in the past. We shall do a thorough job this time.'' another remarked: ``Why do you Americans waste your time and money on these filthy Greeks and Armenians? We always thought that Americans knew how to get their money's worth. Any Greeks and Armenians who don't die here are sure to die when we send them on to Bitlis, as we always choose the worst weather in order to get rid of them quicker.'' Not all Turks were so cruel. A British diplomat reported that another American in Turkey, Herbert Gibbons, knew of prominent Turks who protested the ``unparalleled inhumanity:'' but they were ``beaten and sent away'' for intervening. The Mayor of the Black Sea city of Trabzon had no sympathy with the government's policy and did what little he could. The Governor also opposed the ``massacres and persecutions,'' but was powerless to stop it. His predecessor tried and was removed. Gibbons thought the government's policy was ``a calumny upon the good Turks, of whom there are many.'' Massacres never broke out spontaneously, since ``Christians and Moslems ordinarily get along very well.'' The massacres were ordered, as part of a plan ``to make Turkey truly Turkish.'' Yet there are ``humane and kind hearted Turks,'' Gibbons stressed, and there are ``Mohammedans who fear God and who are shocked by the impious horrors of the extermination policy.'' Revisionists today say in effect that Americans like Forrest Yowell, Mark Ward, Ruth Parmalee, Isabel Harely, Edith Woods, Herbert Gibbons, and Ambassador Henry Morgenthau were either liars or misguided. Remembering the atrocities against the Armenians would show respect for those Americans who spoke up, and respect as well for Turks like Senator Riza who also chose to oppose the injustice. A recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the US Congress would be a step toward helping erase this important ally's image problem, which Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet described in 1951 as ``this black stain on the forehead of the Turkish people.'' Encouraging Turkey to face the facts of its history would help lift the cloud of controversy which haunted it for decades. It would help eliminate the deep roots of Armenian- Turkish enmity, paving the way to normalized relations, and it would give Armenia the sense of security many Armenians feel is necessary if they are to respond to Russia's regional policies with more independence and balance. The prospects for American commerce and regional stability would be strengthened by a recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Acknowledging the Armenian Genocide also would show that Congress cannot condone the brazen contradiction of its own Archives and the dangerous corruption of America's academic institutions. It would send a strong signal to all deniers of genocide, especially to deniers of the Holocaust. Mr. Chairman, taking a stand against the denial of the Armenian Genocide would be entirely consistent with the successful resolution ``Deploring Holocaust Deniers'' which you so wisely introduced last December, in which you too did what is right, by calling denial efforts ``malicious.'' Such language is applicable to the denial of the Armenian Genocide as well. Mr. Chairman, when weighing the merits of the arguments on both sides of this issue, it would be useful to keep in mind a letter sent to Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes in 1924 by Admiral Bristol, a man who was called ``very pro- Turk'' by Joseph Clark Grew, Washington's first Ambassador to Ankara. Even the pro-Turk Admiral acknowledged ``the cruelties practiced upon the Armenians by Turks acting under official orders, and in pursuance of a deliberate official policy.'' For that policy, wrote Admiral Bristol, ``there can be no adequate excuse.''

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Fresno Sassoun Chapter of the Homenetmen on the occasion of their 25th Silver Anniversary. The Homenetmen are to be commended on the services they provide to the community. It is the mission of the Homenetmen to prepare exemplary and law abiding citizens by providing physical and health education, endowing the mind and soul with the finest spirit of sportsmanship and developing an understanding of responsibility and honor as they strive for individual and collective excellence. There are currently two hundred members of the Fresno Sassoun Chapter, these members consist of mothers, fathers, community members, athletes and scouts. The Fresno Sassoun Chapter currently has 100 athletes participating in different divisions and sporting events. This chapter fields basketball teams ranging from under 9 to over 30. The Fresno Homenetmen also have a soccer team competing in the Fresno City League. Fresno's Sassoun Chapter also has athletes participating in ping pong, tennis, track and field, and swimming. In addition to athletics the Fresno Sassoun Chapter has 75 members involved in the Boy and Girl Scouts. Scout leader Mano Handian and his troop are always busy planning activities ranging from camping and educational trips to community activities. This year 14 scouts from the Sassoun Chapter participated in the 1998 World Jamboree held in Yerevan Armenia. Mr. Speaker it is with great honor that I pay tribute to the Fresno Sassoun Chapter of the Homenetmen. This organization exemplifies leadership in athletics and community involvement. I ask all my colleagues to join me in wishing the Fresno Homenetmen a happy Silver Anniversary.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, in recent years, for the first time in their long and proud history, the Hmong and Lao people were honored by Members of Congress and U.S. officials at national recognition ceremonies in Washington, DC. Many people from the Central Valley and around the nation worked to organize and participate in these historic ceremonies. The Lao Veterans of America National Recognition Day ceremonies were held for the first time, in both 1997 and 1998, at the Vietnam War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. They were organized by the nation's largest non-profit Hmong and Lao veterans organization, the Lao Veterans of America, Inc., of Fresno, California, which is headquartered in my Congressional district. I was honored to participate and lend support to these important ceremonies in which many people from the Central Valley participated. Indeed, it has given me great pride to join with U.S. officials and American veterans to honor the courageous Hmong and Lao soldiers and their families for their crucial role in the U.S. ``Secret Army'' assisting American clandestine and military operations during the Vietnam War. In attendance were many Members of Congress as well as current and former State Department, Defense Department and CIA officials associated with the Hmong and Lao people. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank and recognize a number of important people from the Central Valley and across the United States who contributed to the enormous success of these national events including Major General Vang Pao, Major General Ron Markarian, Major General Paul Carroll, Colonel James Arthur, Colonel Wangyee Vang, Major Thai Vang, Captain Grant McClure, Captain Song Pao Yang, Colonel Thai Vang, Yer Vang, Cherzong Vang, Chong Bee Vang, Ying Vang, Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt and Philip Smith. The patriotic contributions of these individuals and many others, as well as the leadership efforts of the Lao Veterans of America and the Lao Family Community organization, helped to raise awareness among U.S. policymakers and the American people about the important wartime sacrifices of the Hmong and Lao combat veterans. I would, therefore, like to include in the Record the following article from the Washington Times. [From the Washington Times, May 14, 1997] Hmong Veterans to Receive Medals (By Ben Barber) Thousands of ethnic Hmong veterans who fought with the United States in Laos during the Vietnam War will receive congressional medals when they assemble at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the first time today. About 4,000 veterans--part of the 100,000 Hmong who came as refugees to the United States after the Communists took power in 1975 in Laos--are expected to participate at the ceremony. The Vietnam Veterans National Medal will be awarded to 2,500 people. Several congressmen and former CIA and Pentagon officials who fought with them will present the medals, said Philip Smith, Washington director of the Lao Veterans of America. The Hmong will then march across the Potomac River to Arlington National Cemetery to symbolize their exodus across the Mekong River to Thailand after the Communist victory in 1975. Tomorrow the Hmong will return to Arlington National Cemetery to unveil the first war memorial to the Hmong and Lao veterans and their American advisers. ``I think it is important because I think we are going to show that we have done some critical work for the United States, and this is the first and only time we get together and show it,'' said Xeng Ly, 41, who served as a field medic in the war. He said that after the defeat of the American-allied anti- Communist forces in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, he crossed the Mekong River and spent 15 months in a refugee camp at Nong Khai, Thailand, before coming to the United States. Five years later his family followed. They now live in Sterling, where three children are in school. Part of the reason that the Hmong are coming to Washington is the fear that many benefits are going to be cut under a stringent new immigration law limiting benefits to noncitizens, said Mr. Xeng. ``Some of the Hmong are elderly and can't speak English. They can't pass the citizenship exam and will be cut off from help,'' Mr. Smith said. Some of the Hmong will meet with congressmen and congressional staffers this evening. The Hmong also want the United States to withhold most- favored-nation trading status for Laos unless it permits international human rights observers to enter the country. The Hmong who remain in Laos--an estimated 300,000-- reportedly still face persecution. The Hmong-Americans also want the new U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia to add Hmong language programs to its broadcasts, Mr. Smith said. The Hmong served under a joint mission operated by the State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense and Agency for International Development. They served as spotters for bombings for Communist forces and in other combat roles. With the declassification of documents about the war era, from 1961 to 1973, more facts are coming out about the Hmong role. Mr. Smith estimates the secret army could have totaled 100,000 people. By the end of the war, because of many deaths, there were many young boys in uniform fighting for the secret army. President Reagan signed the bill authorizing the medals for the Hmong in 1986 to honor Vietnam veterans and those who served with them in Southeast Asia. But it took 11 years for the medals to be awarded because the Hmong remained, in some sense, still forgotten, said Mr. Smith. ``I think the Hmong are still suffering from the covert nature of the war,'' he said. The memorial to be unveiled tomorrow in Arlington will bear the following inscription: ``Dedicated to the U.S. Secret Army; Laos, 1961-73; In memory of the Hmong and Lao combat veterans and their American advisors who served freedom's cause in Southeast Asia.'' The memorial also says in Lao and Hmong language, ``You will never be forgotten.''

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Reverend Bernard Guekguezian. Reverend Guekguezian will be honored by the members of the First Armenian Presbyterian Church at a Harvest Banquet commemorating their 100th Anniversary. First Armenian Presbyterian is the oldest Armenian Church in California. Reverend Guekguezian has literally lived and ministered around the world. Born in Antioch, Turkey, the reverend emigrated to the Middle East in 1939. In 1952 he completed a combined course of study at the American University of Beruit and Near East School of Theology. He became a licensed pastor and served for two years in Alexandria Egypt before coming to the United States. He studied at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in Christian Education from the New York Theological Seminary. Reverend Guekguezian was ordained a Minister of the Word in 1959, by the Congregational Conference of Massachusetts. He went on to assume the pulpit of Americas oldest Armenian Church, the Armenian Congregational Church of the Martyrs in Worcest. Reverend Guekguezian engaged in doctoral studies at Clark University and in 1966 he accepted a call to the Armenian Presbyterian Chruch of Paramus, New Jersey where he served for 12 years. Guekguezian has served at the First Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno for 20 years, the longest of any pastor at the Golden States oldest Armenian religious institution. Reverend Guekguezian's tenure has been marked by outreach to native Californians as well as to Armenian immigrants from the Middle East and the Republic of Armenia. Reverend Guekguezian has officiated at 163 weddings, 212 baptisms, and more than 200 funerals during his time in Fresno. In addition to his pastoral duties Guekguezian has served as a Moderator of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, Vice-President of the Armenian Evangelical World Council, Vice-President of the Armenian Theological Students' Aid Inc., and member of the Presbytery of the San Joaquin New Church Development Committee. Reverend Guekguezian is married to the former Knar Kazanjian of Aleppo, Syria and they have two sons, Reverend Ara Guekguezian of Las Vegas, Nevada and Asbed Guekguezian Esq., of Boston Massachusetts, as well as three grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Reverend Bernard Guekguezian as honoree for the First Armenian Presbyterian Church, 100th Anniversary Harvest Banquet. Reverend Guekguezian has served the community well in his time in Fresno and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in wishing him many years of continued success and happiness.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the New York Times Obituary of Louis P. Martini. Louis Martini was a leading figure in the California business and he will be sadly missed. ``Louis P. Martini, a leading figure in the California wine business and chairman of the Louis M. Martini Winery in Napa Valley, died Monday at his home in St. Helena, Calif. He was 79. The cause of death was cancer his family said. The Martini family has been involved in the California wine industry for more than 70 years. Mr. Martini's father, Louis M. Martini, founded the family winery as the L.M. Martini Grape Products Company in 1922 in Kingsburg, near Fresno. The elder Martini, who never thought of Prohibition as anything more than a temporary aberration, began planning the expansion of his business while other wine companies were closing. In 1933, he moved to the Napa Valley and changed the company's name to the Louis M. Martini Winery. Louis Peter Martini was born in Livermore and grew up in Kingsburg, working in the winery and the vineyards as a boy. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1941 and spent four years in the Army Air Forces during World War II. He joined the winery as vice president in 1946 and became the winemaker in 1954; wines he made in the 1950's and 60's are still prized by collectors. At 6 feet 4 inches, Mr. Martini was a gentle giant, who worked in the shadow of his flamboyant father until the elder Martini's death in 1974. To an extent, the son's self-effacing nature is reflected in the winery's reputation. While he was a major producer of fine wine and an important behind-the-scenes industry leader, Mr. Martini avoided the well publicized social side of Napa Valley life, and his winery rarely appeared in trendy articles about the wine business. But his achievements were numerous. In the 50's and 60's, he helped improve grape quality by identifying and propagating superior grape clones. He developed vineyards in the Carenros district of the valley when it was considered useful only for grazing sheep, and he is credited with making the first Carenros varietal pinot noir in 1952. Today many of the best California pinot noirs come from Carenros. Mr. Martini also made the first varietal merlot wine in the United States with his merlot blend in 1968 to 1970. And he was a pioneer in the use of mechanical grape harvesting. From 1968 to 1985, he was president and general manager of the winery, which remains in family hands. His daughter is president and chief executive. Mr. Martini was a founder and former chairman of the Wine Institute and a charter member of the American Society of Enologists. Surviving, besides his daughter, are his wife Elizabeth Martinelli Martini; two sons Michael of St. Helena, the current Martini wine maker, and Peter, of Seattle, another daughter Patricia of San Francisco, and four grandchildren.'' Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Louis P. Martini. Mr. Martini was a great American businessman and patriot. I ask all my colleagues to join with me in expressing my sincerest condolences to the Martini family.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to John Wallace on his being honored as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Humanitarian of the Year. Mr. Wallace has distinguished himself as a dedicated member of the community and is a highly regarded member of the media. John Wallace grew up in San Rafael, California and went on to accomplish great things for himself and his community. A graduate of the University of Arizona, the College of Marin and the Borden School of Radio, John served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve before coming to the Central Valley and KYNO Radio. Currently the host of ``47 This Morning'' on KJEO-TV, John's Career has spanned 31 years and 15,000 broadcasts ranging from famine in Ethiopia to the Gulf War live from the Middle East. He and his wife Cheri have 5 children: Taylor, Carson, Cameron, Paige and Cassandra. Dedicated to excellence in journalism and with a strong devotion to his family, John finds the time to serve his community in numerous capacities. He currently is in his sixth term as President of the Foundation for Clovis Schools. Additionally, John is a board member of West Care Inc., the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Chairman of ``Journey into Sherwood,'' a Valley Children's Hospital benefit. In the past, Mr. Wallace had the honor of serving as President of the California Raisin Bowl, President of the Fresno State ``Time Out Club,'' and as a member of the Fresno Police Activities League. John Wallace is no stranger to honor, as he is continually receiving recognition for his outstanding dedication to community service. He was voted Leadership Fresno's ``Alumnus of the Year'' in 1989, in 1993 John was voted ``Clovis Citizen of the Year,'' and in 1996 received the Volunteer Bureau's ``Angel Award.'' John Wallace has proven himself a distinguished community leader. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I pay tribute to John Wallace for his selection as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Humanitarian of the year. His service to the people of the community is unsurpassed and I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing John Wallace many more years of success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Fresno County Sheriff Steven Magarian. Sheriff Magarian has been an inspirational role model to the law enforcement here in the 19th Congressional District. As Chief Executive Officer for the County of Fresno Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Magarian leads, directs and manages a highly sophisticated, diversified and complex organization. Operating throughout a 6,000-square mile area, he holds responsibility for meeting the needs of residents throughout Fresno County, with an annual Department budget in excess of $60 million and personnel of approximately 1,000. In his vital role, Sheriff Magarian has earned the public's trust, confidence, and support. Through his hard work, he established the department's primary mission. It is a mission that upholds fairness, justice and responsiveness to public needs and feelings while enforcing the law and protecting life and property. Sheriff Magarian's leadership has guided the efforts and demeanor of the Department to conform with the high standards expected by the public. In administering the Patrol, Detective, Jail and Administrative divisions, his underlying commitment is to maintain the integrity of the constitutional rights as established by the framers of our Constitution. Sheriff Magarian graduated from California State University, Fresno in 1972. In 1974 he received his Masters Degree in Criminology with distinction. Sheriff Magarian has worked hard in the law enforcement arena. He created and implemented a county-wide narcotic suppression program through acquisition of a $500,000 state grant. This grant has been increased to $900,000 and approved for its eighth consecutive year. He also developed a highly successful Tactical Unit within the Patrol Division which targeted property crimes and arrested dozens of criminals. At a cost of only $35,000, this Unit successfully recovered several hundred thousand dollars in stolen property and returned property to its legal owners. As noted above these are just some of the contributions Mr. Magarian has accomplished. Sheriff Magarian's 30-year career with Fresno County Sheriff's Department has been marked by significant law enforcement and management experience. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I pay tribute to Sheriff Magarian. I am honored to have Sheriff Magarian as a law enforcement official in the 19th Congressional District. I congratulate him on his lifetime of accomplishments and ask my colleague to join me in wishing him every success on his future endeavors.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate St. George Greek Orthodox Church for its 75 year anniversary in Fresno. St. George Church and its parish have established a strong foundation of moral guidance and deep religious Christian faith within Fresno's community. St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Fresno was established in 1924 by several Greeks who emigrated to the San Joaquin Valley and settled in the Fresno area during the late 1800's. The early settlers established farms and started family businesses. The Greek community of Fresno was formed by the growing families of these early settlers. Many men from the Greek community served and fought in World War II. St. George Church was established for the mutual benefit of the Greek community to preserve their religion, culture and language. The Church formed the first philanthropic society of women to assist the needy and to serve the community of Fresno. In 1955, St. George built a new church on a five-acre site and added a social hall shortly thereafter. St. George continued its expansion and built a school building for religious and cultural education and an audio-visual studio to support these educational activities. St. George Church has initiated educational programs to reach out to the children, youth, and seniors in the Fresno area. St. George also reaches out to the growing multicultural, non-Greek Eastern Orthodox following including other Americans, Russians, Armenians, Lebanese, Serbians, Eritreans, Bulgarians, and Asians. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Fresno for its 75 year anniversary. St. George Church and its parish have established a strong foundation of moral guidance and Christian faith in its service to the community of Fresno. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing St. George Greek Orthodox Church many more years of success.