Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 31, 1993 TAG: 9301310254
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY PARHAM and GERRIE FERRIS COX NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEWS
Q: Does the law Congress enacted limiting a president to two terms say anything about a president skipping a term and then running again?A: The 22th Amendment to the Constitution says, "No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice." The amendment was proposed after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's lengthy tenure. It was ratified by the states in 1951.
Q: Robert Novak said on TV that President Clinton is breaking the law by putting his wife, Hillary, in charge of health policy. What is he talking about?
A: He was talking about a law passed in 1967 in response to John F. Kennedy's appointment of his brother, Robert, as attorney general. The law restricts the employment of relatives by public officials, including the president. It says that a relative of an official who is "appointed, employed, promoted or advanced is not entitled to pay, and money may not be paid from the Treasury to pay an individual" in this category. So unless Hillary Clinton gets a salary, there doesn't seem to be a legal problem with her handling assignments for the president.
Q: How many illegal aliens are caught and sent home each year? How many get in undetected? And how many Americans emigrate to other countries every year?
A: The last year tallied was 1989, when 954,119 illegal aliens were caught and sent home. The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that 500,000 get in undetected each year, and about 27,000 Americans leave the United States to live abroad.
Q: Is Iraq the only country under U.N. sanctions?
A: No. Others under sanctions are South Africa, Libya and the former Yugoslavia. A number of countries are in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, but sanctions are not necessarily imposed for all resolutions violations.
Q: What kind of crime is hiring an illegal alien - a felony or a misdemeanor?
A: Hiring undocumented aliens is a civil, not a criminal, offense. Employers are subject to penalties imposed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Under a 1986 law - the Immigration Reform and Control Act - the INS may fine employers up to $10,000 per illegal employee.
Q: How could the Peruvian chauffeur hired by Zoe Baird have a driver's license if he was here illegally?
A: Through an illegal network. Here's how it works in some states: The indocumento (a person here without documents) buys a forged Social Security card and an INS card and takes them to a check-cashing agency for a check-cashing card. That card is used to acquire a state identification card, which is then used to get a driver's license.
Q: How old is the Bushes' dog Millie?
A: Former first dog Mildred Kerr Bush is 5. The English springer spaniel became a mother of six at age 2 and a millionaire at 4 when her book, "Millie's Book," ghostwritten by her faithful companion Barbara Bush, became a best seller.
Q: Has Bill Clinton ever worked in the private sector?
A: He taught at the University of Arkansas from 1974 to 1976, and was a practicing lawyer in 1981 and 1982.
Q: When President Clinton took the oath of office, did he have his hand on a Bible open to a specific passage as has been traditional with other presidents? If so, what was the verse?
A: The King James Version of the Bible that Bill Clinton took the oath on was open to the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians. The verse he chose was Chapter 6, Verse 8: "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." The Bible was given to him by his grandmother.
Q: Did the heirs of Elvis Presley receive any money from the government for the use of his likeness on a postage stamp?
A: They received nothing from the government, but licensed products, like a T-shirt with a likeness of the stamp that says "Return to Sender" on it, make them some money.
Q: Where did the term "ethnic cleansing" come from? Is it a media term, or is it officially used by the Serbs to describe their policy against the Bosnians?
A: The first reported use of the term was in a July 1991 Reuter news service story that quoted a member of the Croatian Supreme Council. He said it while protesting Serb aggression.
Q: Where can I write to President Bush in Houston?
A: Write to President Bush, 10,000 Memorial Drive, Suite 900, Houston, TX 77024
Q: I read where four presidents didn't have a vice president. Which ones didn't, and why not?
A: John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson and Chester A. Arthur, all of whom replaced presidents who died, did not have vice presidents because they never were elected to a full term in their own right. A number of other presidents - including Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford - served at least part of their terms without a vice president. There was no provision to name replacement vice presidents until the late 1960s.
Q: Why do I keep hearing that this was the 52nd inauguration when there have been only 42 presidents?
A: Because a number of presidents have been re-elected.
Q: How much does a cruise missile cost, and how many have we fired off so far in Iraq?
A: There are several types of cruise missiles. The 45 Tomahawks fired recently at Iraqi targets cost about $1.3 million apiece.
Q: The newspaper said Bill Clinton, at 46, is the third-youngest president. I know John F. Kennedy was the youngest, but who was the second-youngest?
A: Actually, JFK, at 43, was second-youngest - but the youngest ever elected. Theodore Roosevelt, at 42, was the youngest president, taking office upon William McKinley's assassination in September 1901. By the time Teddy was elected in 1904 and inaugurated on his own in March 1905, he was 46 years, 4 months and 8 days. But he still beats out Bill Clinton, who was 46 years, 5 months and 1 day when inaugurated.
Q: Is George Bush a wealthy man?
A: You decide. Last year he was worth $1.29 million. In addition, his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, was valued at $2.19 million.
Q: Has the Rev. Billy Graham ever revealed his political party?
A: He says he is a registered Democrat.
Q: How much have the operations in Somalia and Iraq cost us so far?
A: The U.S. mission in Somalia will cost $560 million in its first three months alone. Figures aren't yet available on the cost of the most recent air strikes against Iraq.
Q: How many conflicts going on in the world today are basically religious wars?
A: There are about 110 armed conflicts going on in the world today, more than any other time since the 17th century, according to Joyce Neu of the Carter Center's Conflict Resolution Program. Most are civil rather than international. Of them, 32 are considered major, meaning that more than 1,000 people have died as a result. It's hard to pin down the principal reason for most of them, because they have a combination of causes. Certainly religious, racial, ideological, ethnic and linguistic differences play a role in a great many, often in concert with other factors, including disputes over territory and natural resources, class struggles, and power grabs.