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On Tuesday, March 7th, George W. Bush
effectively became the Republican
nominee. On the 6th of March he was in
Los Angeles, and visited the Simon
Wiesenthal Center's "Museum of
Tolerance". He was lead around the
Museum by it's Dean and Founder, Rabbi
Marvin Hier, who when asked in Late
August 1992 on a Los Angeles radio
station what he thought of the events at
Ruby Ridge Idaho-which had occurred just
days earlier-and specifically the
assassination of Vicky Weaver while
cradling her ten month old infant daughter,
replied: "Well, people who have hateful
thoughts and try to spread their hateful
ideas to others have to be dealt with in a
forceful manor." Vicki Weaver, as Rabbi
Marvin Heir knew at the time, was shot in
the face by an FBI "sharp-shooter". Her
other two daughters, small children who
today have a clear memory of what
happened, screamed as they saw their
mother's head explode.

George W. Bush listened intently as Rabbi
Marvin Hier talked of "The Holocaust" and
showed Bush a picture of Joerg Haider on a
wall captioned "Today's Demagogues".
George W. Bush was not silent throughout his
visit though, in fact he gave a speech in which
he said: " Racism finds new targets and opens
old wounds. Hate groups recruit on the
Internet and warp the souls of children."
Contrast this with what Rabbi Marvin Hier
said in the immediate aftermath of Ruby
Ridge. In case anyone had any doubt what
Bush meant he continued: "That is my
commitment to the people of this
country.and those who practice intimidation
and violence will have a determined enemy in
the president of the United States". Those with
fuzzy memories and who listen to Rush
Limbaugh may have come to believe that
Janet Reno had something to do with Ruby
Ridge, as Rush has repeated this many times
over the years. However, she was president
Clinton's third choice for Attorney General
and was not sworn in until a year after Ruby
Ridge. Bill Clinton was elected more than two
months after Ruby Ridge as Rush Limbaugh
surely knows. When Ruby Ridge occurred
George Herbert Walker Bush was president of
the United States. So when George W. Bush
says that White people "will have a
determined enemy in the president of the
United States", there is good reason to believe
him. At the end of the news piece about this
visit to the "Museum of Tolerance" printed
below, you will notice that George W. Bush's
father was also one of the museum's first, and
certainly most prominent visitors when he and
wife Barbara stopped by 12 years ago. George
W. Bush signed the guest book on the same
page as his Father and Mother.
--
Monday March 6 8:52 PM ET

Bush Preaches Tolerance at Simon Wiesenthal Center

By Patricia Wilson

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - George W. Bush (news - web sites), whose
presidential campaign has been haunted by his visit to a
college espousing anti-Catholic views, stood on stage at the
Simon Wiesenthal Center on Monday and condemned all forms of
religious bigotry.

After a tour of the museum with its chilling tableaux of Nazi-era
Germany and replicas of the tunnels leading to Auschwitz's gas
chambers, the Texas governor delivered a somber speech, declaring
that ``intolerance and hatred have no place in the policies of
government or the souls of citizens.''

Bush's appearance last month at Bob Jones University in
South Carolina, a fundamentalist Christian college whose
leaders have called the pope the anti-Christ, has dogged his
campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Rival Arizona Sen. John McCain (news - web sites) denounced the
visit and linked Bush to the ``intolerance'' of extremist
elements in the Republican Party.

Bush Speaks Of Tolerance And Faith

Bush, who wrote to Cardinal John O'Connor of New York saying he
regretted not speaking out against the school's policies during
his appearance there, spoke openly about tolerance and faith.

``We don't believe in tolerance in spite of our faith,'' Bush
said. ``We believe in tolerance because of our faith. And it
leads us to condemn all forms of religious bigotry.''

Bush pledged to give that conviction voice and force.

``That is my commitment to the people of this country ... and
those who practice intimidation and violence will have a
determined enemy in the president of the United States.''

He spoke of ``the contest of light an shadow'' in the world and
said racism could not be relegated to the past.

``Racism finds new targets and reopens old wounds. Hate groups
recruit on the Internet and warp the souls of children,'' he
said.

Bush was escorted around the museum by Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean
and founder of the center. They stopped in front of a wall with
photographs and inscriptions illustrating the power of words
for good and evil.

Among the pictures were the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein, former British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Nelson Mandela and Franklin Roosevelt.

Nearby, among a display of ``Today's Demagogues'' was a
photograph of Joerg Haider, the former leader of the far right
Austrian Freedom Party whose extremist views alarmed European
and U.S. officials.

Bush listened intently while Rabbi Hier explained how Haider
had visited the Simon Wiesenthal Center and requested his
picture be taken down.

``He came here, walked in and demanded it be removed,'' Hier
told Bush. ``We thought he was going to pull his name off
the wall.''

After the tour, Bush and his wife Laura signed the visitors'
book on the same page as his father former President George
Bush and his wife Barbara, who visited the site 12 years ago
and were shown a scale model of the then-planned museum.

``God bless this world,'' the Texan wrote, signing his name
and adding the date, March 6, 2000.

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