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Show Sun Advocate 14A Tuesday, May S6, 1SB7 Amnesty fiesta that wasn't What if America threw an amnesty party and nobody came? The turnout at legalization centers across the United States on the first day of amnesty, May 5, was closer to a trickle than a flood. For those who expected thousands of people to rush in for freedom, it was a disappointment. For those who predicted a melee, it was a relief. Many more people came to pick up forms than to deliver them. Thousands already have preregistered. But the low turnout cant be explained away. It should be taken seriously. Are undocumented families afraid to come into the offices? Do they know about the amnesty? Are people telling them to beware its a ploy to deport them? Some Chicano leaders are advocating that the undocumented not legalize. One leader said, In my opinion there is no amnesty. Just a massive ripoff. He claims amnesty is a way for the government, lawyers and doctors to fleece poor undocumented people of from $2 billion to $7 billion and then to deport them. Dan Munoz, publisher of the Spanish-languag- e newspaper, La Prensa San Diego, says his newspaper wont encourage the undocumented to come out of hiding and register because he suspects they will be rounded up and deported. In Los Angeles, the Spanish language newspaper La Opinion and the Los Angeles Times printed a joint guide for legalization. Chicano leaders views are sincere. They show the deep distrust of the Immigration and Naturalization Service among some Hispanics. The anger comes from a bitter history, dating back, in the view of some, to the conquest of Mexico City by American troops, which resulted in the incorporation of one-thiof Mexicos territory into the United States. Instead of immigration reform, he wants the government to honor the rights of the conquered Mexicans living in U.S. territory, as stated by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. If responsible people tell aliens that the government is only out to catch and deport them, then they will not apply. Representatives from Catholic Community Services viewed the initial legalization process and were impressed that the Immigration and Naturalization Service is truly committed to am--, nesty. That is our view. Skeptics about amnesty should go to the legalization centers and check them out before urging the undocumented not to apply. There are only 362 days left until the end of amnesty. rd New worries in South Africa Results of the recent parliamentary election in South Africa are encouraging those on the far right to seek tougher enforcement of apartheid, or racial separation, laws. Many blacks, who were not permitted to vote, are alarmed that the right gained strength in the elec- tions. White liberals who hope to eliminate apartheid also view the elections as a setback. It must be hoped that moderation will prevail in South Africa, but American liberals who forced this country to distance itself economically and otherwise from that troubled nation will be partially to blame if conditions get worse rather than better. President P.W. Botha whose government had made significant progress toward scrapping apartheid said the election results should convey to the countrys foreign critics that they cannot dictate to South Africa. It already has been demonstrated that as U.S. firms leave South Africa, equal opportunity hiring and other progressive policies are leaving with them. It now is being shown that by slapping sanctions on South Africa instead of sticking around to encourage progress toward racial harmony, the United States has reinforced racism. Words of a peacemaker IIs Pope John Paul suggestion that the Protestant Reformation may have been part of Gods plan was the statement of a peacemaker. He said that the reformation may have occurred in accordance with Gods unfathomable wisdom ... in order to lead the church to reflect on and review its original values. Romes reaction to the reformation was bitter and, at times, violent. The reformation was condemned at the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Martin Luther, John Calvin and other reformation leaders were considered heretics and sometimes depicted as devils. Religious differences led to persecution and wars, one lasting 30 years. Catholic and Protestant rulers burned each others cities. People who refused to recant were sometimes burned at the stake. John Paul made his statement at Augsburg, West Germany, where he participated in a service with Protestant clergymen. Before the Vatican Council in the 1960s, the Protestants had a head start in seeking ecumenical friendship. John Paul took an important step at Augsburg. His comments reflected an attitude far removed from the harsh condemnations of an earlier age. The new view is gracious and, at its heart, truly Christian. chucks waggin Happy birthday. Gust street and Shane and Jennifer were favorites, probably because they were By CHUCK ZEHNDER downtown all day then. Managing editor If he didnt find them playing around the old hotel, he would often stick his head inside GustSerrosis99. and ask for my little kids. Sometimes he Arva Smith had a story in last Thursdays the at about the nursing didnt have candy and each kid would get a birthday paper home. It was a good story and the picture of quarter to go buy some. I can remember seeing little kids walking Gust was good, too. down the street with Gust holding their To many kids, though, Gust is the candy hands and constantly circling the old genman. When we had the newspaper up in Helper tleman. He loved the little kids in Helper, but it some years ago, Gust was living in Ossanas was mutual all the kids loved him. The hotel above the old Strand Theater. on Chrismas eve one year my I remember the in was under a office storefront paper kids insisted on getting something for the hotel right on the corner. Gust, in those days, would walk down candy man and we had to buy some after Main Street checking out the games at a shave and then head to the hotel and up to couple of the local bars. There were some his room. Gust didnt talk a lot, but one day I big card games then. He always looked sharp; clothes clean and pressed and well remember sitting down with him and him coordinated. telling me about an incident in Salt Lake It was the good ol days people who are City many years before. I dont remember the location, but he told newcomers to Carbon County have heard me clearly where it was. He said he had about but cannot even really imagine. it finished a card game one night and walked But Gust loved the little kids in Helper outside in the early morning hours, a pretty was a weakness for a professional gambler. He usually had a pocket full of hard candy big winner. When he got to the corner about a half for any of the small children he met on the block from where the card game had been, he said two young men put a gun to his ribs and demanded his money. He lost several thousand dollars in cash. The next time he took part in a game at the same location, he said he carried his pistol with him. Nearly the same thing happened again but with one exception. ' Gust said he left the game, walked to the comer and was met by the same two. He beat them to his gun and shot and killed the one. Gust, you should get a medal for killing that guy, he said the sheriff told him later. Some people in Carbon County might not he had think he was too good a gambler been known to get into some pretty wild games and have to wire back here to get funds to get home, but Gust made a living at it. I defy anyone to find his name on the old employee lists of any of the coal mines in this area. No, Gust did all right at gambling for a living. And he dressed the part. Gust still looks great. I only wish I could have watched him play poker back in those earlier days. What an education he could have provided! Happy 99th, Gust. mike royko Will PTL survive A wise man once observed that, in our society, there are more horses rear ends than there are horses. And in the next few weeks, we will find out if he was right. The yardstick will be whether the PTL Club, now that it has apparently been looted by Jimmy and Tammy, will survive. Those who are now running it say that unless millions in fresh contributions pour in, the PTL yahoo amusement ministry park and all will go under. So they are hoping enough dippy old ladies and guys whose at their hairlines begin eyebrows are willing to part with another 20 or so. And while this is going on, my elderly friend Pops Panzcko sits in prison. I mention Pops at this point because I recently received a note from him in prison, where he is doing a four-yestretch for burglary. Here is a man who, while he is a crook, has always been an ar honest crook. Anytime you asked him what his profession was, he would say: I am a teef. And if you asked him why he was a thief, hed give you a frank answer: Being a teef is what I know how to do. He never once said that the devil made him do it, that dark and evil forces overwhelmed his better judgment. He would just shrug and say: It wasnt nailed down, so I grabbed it. And a judge gave Pops four years, without even one day off for openness and candor. d Jim Meanwhile, and his porky wife sit in their luxurious Palm Springs home, while accountants try to figure out what happened to about $92 million in church funds. We can guess where some of it went. As Tammy would put it, as she prepared to buy out another boutique: Oh, my shoppin demons are hoppin-- . And when the Bakkers shopping demons got to hoppin, it could result in anything from an $800 Gucci briefase to a d $600,000 Florida condo, toilet plumbing or an antique Rolls Royce, chartered Lear jets and an office Jacuzzi, silk underwear, minks, diamond earrings, gold Rolexes. If it sparkled, they By conservative estimates, Pops has been arrested more than 1,000 times for stealing, suspicion of stealing or just having a gleam in his eye when a jewelry salesman drove by. But not once did Pops every say: Uh, I popped the trunk on the salesmans car because the Lord wanted me to go to Harry the tailor and buy a couple of new suits. So hes in prison, but Tammy and Jim are riding around their California oasis in a chauffeur-drive- n Lincoln. baby-face- Now, the PTLs new hucksters, while admitting that they cant find $92 million in missing contributions, are asking those who gave them the $92 million to cough up another $30 million to tide them over. Even Pops didnt have that kind of gall. He never called a jeweler and said: Im the guy who cleaned you out last month. Could you tell me when youre going to get a new inventory, and would you leave the key under the mat? But without looking embarrassed, the PTLs new are putting the arm on those gullible enough to think that they can buy eternal gold-plate- full-leng- th Bible-thumpe- bought it. All in the name of Jesus. 'x as Pay The Loot - , , rs salvation with a check or money order. Theyre telling the bumpkins that the Lord wants them to send money so the work of the PTL can goon. What work? The last time they sent money, Tammy used some of it to have her breasts inflated with silicone because she wanted to look like Dolly Parton. Is that what the Lord wanted for both of Tammys cups to runneth over? No, I think that the Lords will is becoming pretty clear. He wants the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether Jim and Tammy should have been paying taxes on all the money they shoved into their pockets and purses. And if they didnt, the tax men should stick them with a bill. And all of you little old ladies should switch TV channels and put away your checkbooks. The PTL doesnt need any more of your pension. If anything, the PTL ought to start selling off its assets and giving refunds. Im not sure what they could do about Tammys silicone. Maybe they could just sell her to a computer company. |