-Caveat Lector- Clark on the offensive April 18, 1999 BY ROBERT NOVAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Members of Congress who, during their spring recess, met in Brussels with Gen. Wesley Clark, the NATO supreme commander, were startled by his bellicosity. According to the lawmakers, Clark suggested the best way to handle Russia's supply of oil to Yugoslavia would be aerial bombardment of the pipeline that runs through Hungary. He also proposed bombing Russian warships that enter the battle zone. The American general was described by the members of the congressional delegation as waging a personal vendetta against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. "I think the general might need a little sleep," commented one House member. No `Pearl Harbor' An invitation by House Speaker Dennis Hastert for President Clinton to address a joint session of Congress before launching air strikes against Yugoslavia was quietly rejected by the White House. Senior Clinton advisers sent word to Capitol Hill that the president did not want to exaggerate the seriousness of the situation. One aide said there was no need for a "Pearl Harbor" scenario--a reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Dec. 8, 1941 speech to a joint session requesting a declaration of war the day after Japan's surprise attack. Many Democrats think Clinton should have delivered a comprehensive report to the nation long ago. Protesting a senator The determination by Sen. Phil Gramm, the new Banking Committee chairman, to scale back the Community Reinvestment Act requiring banks to make home loans in low-income areas hardened last Sunday when 13 busloads of protesters appeared at his Washington home--trampling his flower beds and littering his lawn. A distraught Gramm appeared at the weekly luncheon of Republican senators Tuesday to tell them about the protesters and ask each colleague for 10 minutes to explain his position. He considers the CRA a form of extortion and would exempt small rural banks from requirements. Clinton has made clear he will veto the Financial Institutions Modernization Act if it contains Gramm's CRA amendment. The hundreds of protesters who appeared at Gramm's house are members of the Chicago-based National People's Action. The senator declined to answer the door, and instead called the police, who broke up the demonstration. No tax-cut Lott Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott demonstrated the low priority he puts on tax reduction when he declined to participate in an April 15 anti-tax rally at the Capitol that was attended by House Speaker Hastert. The reason for his absence given by Lott's office was a conflicting meeting on the budget by the Republican congressional leadership. But that session was scheduled for 3:15 p.m., while the rally (which required only about 10 minutes of Lott's time) started at 1 p.m. The real reason, according to Capitol Hill sources, was that the majority leader wanted the tax-day emphasis on the budget, not taxes. Lott was to have been given a "friend of the taxpayer" award at the rally, as Hastert was. The emphasis at the event was a proposed constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority to pass tax increases. Honoring Henry Lobbyists and activists with business before the House Judiciary Committee are being urged to buy $10,000 tables for a dinner at Washington's Mayflower Hotel Tuesday honoring Chairman Henry Hyde and other Republican members of the committee who were managers in President Clinton's impeachment trial. The dinner is sponsored by the Independent Women's Action Project, a conservative organization, to pay tribute to Hyde and his team. But with tickets going slowly, pressure was put on last week to appeal to the special interests of possible buyers. A footnote: The testimonial dinner for Newt Gingrich in Washington Wednesday night fell about halfway short of its $1 million goal for the former House speaker's political action committee, despite late pleas to lobbyists to buy tickets. Robert Novak appears on the CNN programs "Capitol Gang" at 6 p.m. Saturday, and "Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields" at 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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