be taken over by the salaried vampiresrnwho aKvays try to take things over. Butrnmaybe, just maybe, the murmurs wernheard throughout Middle America onrnEleetion Day were the rumbling auguriesrnof an empire-toppling earthquake.rn—Bill KauffmanrnETHNIC GROUPS were reportedlyrnhighly successful in registering new votersrnin the months before the 1992 nationalrnelection. In California, the Secretaryrnof State’s office was deluged withrnrequests for registration forms and, inrnat least two cases, countless thousandsrnof those forms were sent to businessesrnlike Domino’s Pizza and the 99 CentrnStore, which in turn used the greatestrnprivilege of American citizens (the rightrnto vote) as a promotional gimmick forrntheir products. In the case of the 99rnCent Store, full-page ads in the Los Angelesrnlimes extolled readers to get 99rncents-worth of free merchandise in exchangernfor their signatures on voter registrationrnforms at any of its 42 SouthernrnCalifornia stores, even after similarrntactics on the part of Domino’s Pizzarnhad been declared illegal. Although I’mrnproud to report that I helped to stop thisrnabuse of the voting process, there is nornaccurate way of knowing how manyrnnoncitizens and illegal aliens were registeredrnand ultimately used absentee ballotsrnto vote. What we do know is thatrnpowerful ethnic organizations likernMALDEF (Mexican American LegalrnDefense and Educational Fund) andrnLUI.AC (League of United LatinrnAmerican Citizens) were responsible forrnamassing hundreds of thousands of signaturesrnthroughout the country in largelyrnHispanic areas like Los Angeles andrnits surrounding cities.rnIf the circulation of counterfeit currencyrnin appreciable amounts will ultimatelyrndestroy the economy of a country,rnthen certainly the existence ofrncounterfeit votes will ultimately destroyrnthe right of American citizens to legalrnrepresentation in their country’s governmentrnat all levels. Therefore, voter fraudrnis something that American citizens canrnno longer afford to ignore. Unlike thernsevere penalties for counterfeiting, however,rnto my knowledge there has neverrnbeen a prosecution of a case of perjuryrnin connection with voter fraud.rnThis is frightening in view of the factrnthat absentee ballots and laxity on thernpart of voting officials in verifying eligibilityrnhave made possible the registrationrnof household pets. Yes, registering arncat to vote is as easy as registering thernPresident of the United States. In OrangernCounty, California, a man registeredrnhis pet cat to protest voter fraudrnand to warn his fellow citizens of thernunscrupulous tactics that are being usedrnby certain segments of our populationrnto gain political power. This incidentrnwas reported on ABC by Peter Jenningsrnjust once before the eleetion, more asrnan amusing anecdote than as the realrnand terrifying warning it should havernbeen to American citizens—a warningrnthat unless we have a complete overhaulrnof voter registration, which makes itrnmore difficult (not easier) for noncitizensrnand illegal aliens to vote and whichrnin particular restricts “absentee voting”rnto those who can prove a hardship inrnreaching polling places, we are doomedrnto the same corruption found in the BananarnRepublics and to the devastatingrnloss of the right to elect the candidate ofrnour choice.rnEfforts on the part of the aforementionedrnethnic organizations to striprnAmerican citizens of the exclusive rightrnto vote have already been successful inrncities like Takoma Park, Maryland, whererna referendum coerced through threatsrnof rioting was passed that allows noncitizensrnand illegal aliens not only to voternbut to hold office! In other parts of therncountry, like Long Beach, California,rnCambodian refugees who have becomernAmerican citizens and sworn loyalty tornour country’s flag and government arernpermitted to retain the right to vote inrnCambodia’s elections. Many even gornso far as to fly to Cambodia to cast theirrnballots. No doubt that inconveniencernwill be spared these Cambodian-“Americans”rnwhen they set up “registration locations”rnin American cities. For nowrnthey can vote by proxy.rnEven more of a mockery of America’srnnaturalization and voting laws isrnanother Cambodian refugee whose reasonsrnfor applying for American citizenshiprnare doubtful at best: Ceneral (yes,rnGeneral) Sak Sutsakhan, whose legalrnresidence for voting purposes in Americarnis Anaheim, California, but who currentlyrnheads up the fledgling LiberalrnDemocratic Party in Cambodia andrnwho reportedly tours the United Statesrnin an effort to bolster support in America’srnCambodian communities for hisrncause. Whatever his cause might be,rnwe can be certain that America’s futurernor the welfare of American citizensrnarc not included.rnIf this article seems to be a case ofrnclosing the barn door after the horse hasrnescaped, it is exactly the opposite, inasmuchrnas it means preventing “the rest ofrnthe horses” from getting out by alertingrnthe public to the need for more securernlocks on our voting laws. If the Americanrnpublic heeds this warning, then allrnfuture elections will be determined byrnthe votes of American citizens, and dualrncitizenship will be abolished. If a womanrncan’t be “a little bit pregnant,” thenrnsurely one can’t be “a little bit American.”rn—Ruth CoffeyrnG E O R G E BUSH’S offer of $10 billionrnin loan guarantees to help Israel resettlernSoviet and Ethiopian refugeesrnmay or may not have been a brilliantrnmove for American diplomacy andrndomestic politics. It rewarded PrimernMinister Rabin for partially halting settlementrnconstruction in the occupiedrnterritories and for showing greater flexibilityrnin negotiations. Will it also feed arnnegative Arab reaction? While designedrnto ease Bush’s problem with Israel’srnAmerican supporters, did the promise,rnin fact, help the former President in therneleetion?rnLeaving political considerations asidernfor the moment, what are the implicationsrnof the guarantees for chronicallyrndeficit American budgets? The pressrninitially gave us only sketchy or contradictoryrninformation because there wasrnno official clarity on how the guaranteesrnwould be structured. When the measurernpassed the House, it was treatedrnwith equal obscurity—buried in longerrnarticles and lacking details. For guidancernI called the State Department andrnmy congressman. He had voted for it,rnbut his staff knew few of the bill’s provisions.rnHere’s how I understand whatrnhappened.rnFirst, the Congress did not approvern$10 billion in guarantees in one lumprntransfer, but rather $2 billion a year overrnfive years. Are guarantees cost-free asrnthe press suggested? No. Apart fromrnthe obligation the United States wouldrnincur if Israel defaults, there is a legalrnrequirement that all United States internationalrnloan guarantees be “scored”rnwith a certain percentage that is setrnaside and deposited in a common poolrnto cover default by any future govern-rn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn