Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301100176
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY PARHAM and GERRIE FERRIS COX NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEWS
Q: Is it true that the method of contracting AIDS sexually is now 80 percent heterosexual.A: No. The method of sexual transmission is now 90 percent heterosexual, according to the World Health Organization.
Q: A friend told me that his cousin was in the U.S. Coast Guard in South America. Isn't the Coast Guard confined to U.S. territorial waters?
A: The Coast Guard has gone international. Its primary goal in South American countries is stopping drug trafficking. It also is in the Persian Gulf and the Adriatic Sea to help enforce economic sanctions against Iraq and the remaining Yugoslav republics. This year, it and the Russian border patrol plan to patrol the Pacific Ocean in a joint operation to enforce fishing laws.
Q: Who are the chaplains of the Senate and the House, and what are their religious and party affiliations?
A: The Senate chaplain is the Rev. James Ford, a non-partisan Lutheran. The House chaplain is the Rev. Richard C. Halverson, a Presbyterian. A spokesman for the Rev. Halverson said of his party affiliation, "He answers to a higher authority than either a Democrat or Republican."
Q: I read that Sen. Bob Dole wants the president to remove Lawrence Walsh as special prosecutor. Was he appointed by the president?
A: He was appointed by a special three-judge federal court panel and serves independently in the Justice Department. The attorney general can seek his removal, but only for reasons that will stand up in court. Short of that, he is beyond the control of the president or the Justice Department under a law passed following the Watergate scandal, during which President Richard Nixon fired Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox for his investigation of high-level misconduct, including Nixon's.
Q: What is Les Aspin's military background? Was he in Vietnam?
A: Aspin, nominated to be defense secretary, was in Army ROTC and then on active duty from 1966-68 after he received his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He achieved the rank of captain. He did not serve in Vietnam.
Q: Why was Jan. 20 chosen for the inauguration of a new president?
A: Originally, the Constitution set out March 4 as Inauguration Day. The framers were allowing plenty of time for the winner to travel to the capital after the election. By 1933, travel no longer was an issue, and four months from election to inaugration seemed an excruciatingly long time to sit around waiting. Congress then passed the 20th Amendment, making Jan. 20 Inaugration Day.
Q: Has any outgoing president not attended the inaugration of the new one?
A: All but four have failed to attend the ceremonies of his successor. John Adams was not at Thomas Jefferson's inauguration. John Quincy Adams missed Andrew Jackson's. Andrew Johnson missed U.S. Grant's, and Richard Nixon was not present at Gerald Ford's.
Q: What does the congressional chaplain do? How much are chaplains paid, and do they have staffs?
A: Both the Senate and the House have chaplains. Their salaries were raised recently from $115,300 to $119,000. They also get $300,000 a year for office and staff. Their job is to offer a prayer at the beginning of each legislative day, and offer counseling and guidance to the flock.
Q: It is my understanding that if a lake or a pond does not have a name, any person can name it. Is this true, and how is it done?
A: It's true that a person can name lakes, streams, creeks, summits or any other physical feature that would appear on a map. If it's to be named after a person, the person must be deceased for at least a year and must have had some direct and significant association with the feature. But before you name the creek in back of your house, you first have to find out if it already has a name. That requires looking at U.S. Geological Survey maps of the area. If it hasn't, you have to submit it to the Board of Geographic Names, which is part of the U.S. Geological Survey. If all is approved, the name likely will show up on federal maps.
Q: What did Lawrence Walsh do before he became special prosecutor in the Iran- Contra affair?
A: Before being appointed independent counsel to investigate the Iran-contra connection, he had a long and well-respected career in and out of government. In the late 1950s, he was appointed deputy attorney general by President Dwight Eisenhower and coordinated the desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Ark., a landmark civil rights action. He served as a federal judge in New York and was a federal prosecutor. In 1975 he was president of the American Bar Association. He was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Paris peace talks on Vietnam with the rank of ambassador. Before being tapped for Iran-contra, he was practicing law in Oklahoma City.
Q: Where does "turning over a new leaf" come from?
A: Literally, the phrase means to turn to a clean fresh page in a book, and dates from the 16th century with an early mention in Cervantes"s "Don Quixote." Figuratively, an open book often is used to represent a person's life.
Q: Has any president ever kept his entire Cabinet through a full four-year term?
A: The only president to retain his Cabinet for a full four-year period was Franklin Pierce.
Q: I would like more information about the list of ordinary people whom President Bush pardoned. How are they picked? How many apply? What is the procedure?
A: Hundreds usually apply, but few are chosen. The first step for an ordinary person seeking a pardon for a federal crime is to contact the Pardon Attorney, Department of Justice, 500 First Street N.W., 7th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530. From there it's a series of petitions, forms, investigations, affidavits, interviews and authorizations. If the individual's file survives through several levels of Justice Department handling, it is sent to the White House, where the final decision is made. The petitioner will be notified of the final decision, whatever the outcome.
Q: Who was the first president to be photographed?
A: James K. Polk was photographed by Mathew Brady in February 1849 shortly before leaving office. Still earlier, in 1843, John Quincy Adams was photographed but he was out of office.
Q: Why is the Cuban pilot who flew his wife and family into the United States without being detetected such a hero? A person from most other countries, especially Haiti, would be treated like an illegal alien and expelled.
A: Congress passed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which grants any Cuban, except criminals, the right to permanent residency in the United States after two years, no matter how they get here. Haitians and most other foreigners have no such law to protect them. They must show a well-founded fear of political persecution. Extreme poverty, lack of job opportunities, or other economic factors won't do the trick.
Q: Recently, Vice President Dan Quayle went to El Salvador and forgave its debt to the United States. What gives him or the president the authority to do this. Who takes the loss?
A: The president cannot wipe out debts of another country, but he can reschedule a debt. This power is derived from the fact that under the Constitution he has the authority to conduct foreign policy. When a debt is canceled, the Congress must vote on it, which it did in the case of El Salvador. The forgiveness was part of the administration's Enterprise for the America's initiative. The biggest forgiveness during the Bush years was $11.2 billion in 1991, most of which involved our allies in the Persian Gulf War. Specifically, the U.S. takes the loss when this is done, but it promotes growth, exports and foreign policy objectives.