Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Smells Like Nirvana







6 comments:

Anonymous said...

OT . . .from the outhouse to blogger . . .via Uncle John's 4 ply bathroom reader, copyright 1988, page 519 excerpts:

BANNED IN THE U.S.A.
AND STAY OUT!
Bring us your tired, your wretched . . .etc.? Not in the early '50s. In 1952, at the height of our Cold War hysteria, a provision was addd to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to keep certain "undersirable" people from entering the U.S. The law, known as the McCarran-
Walter Immigration Act, was vetoed by then-President Harry S Truman, but overriden by Congress. Usually, "undersirable"meant "suspected Commies," although the 33 provisions included categories for people who engaged in espionage, polygamy and "deviant sexual behavior".
But the bill was actually a political tool, designed to keep people with controversial views out of the country. In 1984 alone -- 32 years after the act was passed -- 8,000 people from 98 different countries were banned from the U.S.A. under the auspices of the bill, because of their political beliefs.

Anonymous said...

continued:

WHO's WHO?
among the people banned from the U.S.A. since 1952 were actors, singers, writers, and politicians. Two examples:

Gabriel Garcia Marques, Colombian author and winner of the Nobel Prize. Marquez, a critic of US foreign policy, was denied a visa in 1963. Eight years later, he was allowed in temporarily to accept an honorary degree from Columbia University. The terms of Marquez's restricted visa included the stipulation that an FBI agent would accompany him everywhere he went.

Pierre Trudeau, future Prime Minister of Canada. He was denied entry because he had participated in an economic conference in Moscow in 1952 and was labeleed a "Communist sympathizer." Trudeau was eventually allowed to travel in the US after immigration officials interviewed him in Montreal and gave him "clearance".

Postscript: Congress finally repealed the law in January, 1990.

Is it too late to suggest reversing the repeal to resurrect McCarren-Walter Immigration Act?

Pastorius said...

Good idea.

Hey, do you have any idea why Gabriel Garcia Marquez was banned?

Anonymous said...

from the quoted material suggests the reason was:
". . . critic of US foreign policy"

. . .imagine that!

Anonymous said...

Wasn't this forum for commenting on Tori Amos and Lana Del Rey.
Allow me to be the first: horrible, pointless.

Pastorius said...

What kind of music do you like?