#peter ng

There are two types of people on the Right Wing. (Yes, I know this is a simplification.) Some are Conservatives, which means they want to protect institutions and resist change. Others are Reactionaries, who want to turn things back. They also tend to be rather unhinged in many areas. Trump is a Reactionary, and so are many of his supporters. I’m stuck knowing a lot of them. Fundamentalists (Both self-described ones and many non-self-described ones, which is another topic) tend to be Reactionary.

Recently, I posted a post with thoughts on John Roberts, the Chief Justice. He’s going to be presiding over the impeachment trial. You may remember how he saved Obamacare from being destroyed by his vote. He holds numerous right-wing views, but he’s not like Thomas or Alito, who are intent on setting the system back. (Scalia and Gorsuch each had a few bright spots on certain issues, though I think Kavanaugh is likely to join Thomas and Alito, if he’s not impeached.)

I also found something from the past that could reflect on how he may rule on things in the Impeachment trial. As you may not know, like a lot of right-wingers, he got his start in the Reagan White House, working for Fred Fielding, Counsel to the President. This position helps advise the President on various legal matters. 

Now to the story. As you should know, Self-described Fundamentalists were among the major groups that helped elect Ronald Reagan in 1980. In return, they got influence in many areas of public policy, mostly on social issues. Some of them wanted more influence.

In 1983, a Singaporean Fundamentalist minister named Peter Ng was trying to stay in the USA. (He arrived as a visitor after his church was closed down in Singapore for a time, then switched to a H-1 Visa for teaching at a bible college in Kansas City as a missionary in residence.He then decided to demonstrate what he did for for his mission work, by working as a minister in Birmingham, Alabama. after his church was closed down in Singapore for a time. While Bob Jones III considered it to be a good idea, I don’t think it worked out very well for Pastor Ng, who wound up heading elsewhere.) He was having trouble with the INS, and Bob Jones III wanted to use his clout to continue a visa for him. The White House refused to provide help, saying that, “White House policy did not permit staff members to intervene on behalf of private parties concerning matters those parties have pending before agencies with adjudicative functions.” 

Jones was not used to not getting his way. He wrote a short but angry letter, accusing the Reagan White House of “the greatest human rights violations taking place in America” targeting Fundamentalists. You can read the letter below. (Note the subtle racism in Jones’s remarks.) 

So, John Roberts was asked to help draft a response. The response was diplomatic. Roberts’s notes were not.

Roberts pointed out that the Reagan Administration had provided support for both Fundamentalists in general, and Bob Jones University (Notably in arguing that the IRS should grant them tax-exempt status, despite their ban on interracial dating). Roberts may have been in sympathy with many of their views, but he was clear that rules needed to be followed. He also had no sympathy for Jones’s hot-blooded style. He let it out in his last paragraph.

For those who want to read the meat of the exchange, read here:

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/digitallibrary/smof/counsel/roberts/box-006/40-485-6908381-006-005-2017.pdf

For more materials on the case scattered among other files read here:

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/digitallibrary/smof/counsel/roberts/box-028/40-485-6908381-028-009-2017.pdf (Note a bit more subtle racism from Dr. Bob.)

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/digitallibrary/smof/counsel/roberts/box-028/40-485-6908381-028-010-2017.pdf (A brief letter in support of Pastor Ng from George Wallace, among others.)

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/digitallibrary/smof/counsel/roberts/box-013/40-485-6908381-013-011-2017.pdf

'Mr N Lamp’ - by Peter Ng - for Koncept ____

Peter C. Ng, a 29-year-old Asian male, vanished from San Francisco, California, on March 20, 1981.

He was approximately 6 feet tall, weighing between 140 and 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Despite being categorized as an endangered missing person, few specific details are known about his disappearance—he has never been heard from again.