AMERICAN WORKERS - TAKE A BACK SEAT TO DEMOCRACY-BUILDING

The United States spent two years in negotiations with Peru to settle terms of yet another free-trade agreement. These agreements have consistently been pro-corporation and pro-big business and anti-American worker. Yet our government - the President and the Congress - continue to ignore the needs of American workers in search of countries that may be exploited through the use of “Democracy-building” agreements based on our capitalistic economic system.

From the Heritage Foundation (a right-wing Think Tank):

Failure to complete the agreement would empower Latin America’s anti-democratic “21st Century Socialism” movement and strike a blow against pro-market, pro-democracy reformers in Peru and across Latin America. Approving the agreement would protect vital U.S. interests in the region and also send a strong message of hope to the people of Peru as they recover from a devastating mid-August earthquake that killed hundreds and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Peru (along with Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador) already has nearly complete access to the U.S. market under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) legislation. Indeed, over 90 percent of Peru’s exports to the United States currently enter duty-free. With this entrée to the U.S. market, the Peruvian economy has diversified, leading to healthy economic growth and job creation and providing alternatives to coca production and guerrilla activities, which have ravaged Peru in the past.

And the conclusion of the Heritage Foundation article says it all as to their own, warped philosophical bent:

Should Congress fail to approve the agreement as originally negotiated with Peru, the door will be open to Chavez and other populist demagogues as they pursue their damaging and aggressive economic and political assault on the American values that have produced unprecedented prosperity around the world. Failure to approve the agreement would also undercut the courageous pro-free-market leaders in Peru who have made the politically difficult decision to stand with the United States while opposing alternative regional models. Their political weakening would impact other U.S. efforts, including anti-narcotics cooperation.

Twenty-First Century Socialism is the greatest challenge the U.S. has faced in Latin America since the end of the Cold War. Congress must act to protect both the American people and the peoples of the Andean region from this destructive force.

Although this comes from the Heritage Foundation, which we would think would have this viewpoint, apparently our Congressional representatives in the House and the Senate must be buying into this warped philosophy. In the Senate, both Indiana senators, Lugar and Bayh, voted to pass the bill. Twenty-nine senators had the courage to vote against the bill. This didn’t include either one of the two front-running Democratic presidential candidates - Clinton and Obama just didn’t vote.

In the House of Representatives, the Indiana breakdown was two opposing, five in favor, and two no votes. The two courageous Democrats not supporting the agreement were Joe Donnelly and Pete Visclosky. Souder, Burton, and Pence voted in favor, which could be expected. Carson and Buyer did not vote. Of course, this would have been during the final days of Julia Carson’s illness, so we can understand why she didn’t vote. But Ellsworth and Hill - two more newly elected Democrats? Both voted for the Agreement.

All four Democrats capable of voting should have voted against this free trade agreement, but they didn’t. And on December 14, 2007, the United States - Peru Free Trade Agreement was signed into law by the president.

So yet another free-trade agreement comes into existence. Aren’t our elected officials hearing the pain of the American worker? Or is their fear of losing campaign contributions so great that they will ignore their own constituencies in promoting democracy-building throughout the world.

Here is a statement from the Whitehouse in reference to how good this will be for the Peruvian people:

By removing barriers to U.S. services and investment, the agreement will also help create a secure, predictable legal framework that will help attract U.S. investors.

These agreements are bad for the American worker. I say back to protectionism, if that’s what it takes to protect our workers. But that would require giving up many cheaply-priced goods from all corners of the world. Americans, you have to ask yourself whether or not you would support that trade-off. If not, then we are doomed to continue on the road of free-trade agreement, whether in the name of democracy-building or in the pursuit of cheap products.

Photo Credit - Wikipedia

DISRESPECTFUL - DISGRACEFUL - DISINGENUOUS - DISHEARTENING

In May 2004, VA Secretary Anthony Principi accepted the decision of the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission to close the inpatient beds at our VA Hospital.  The news triggered outrage and activism among area veterans and veterans’ groups.  Our group, Veterans for Better Health Care, was born of that outrage and activism, and we have now been together for almost four years. 

For almost four years, we have participated in parades, wrote letters, held a rally, and handed out thousands of flyers - all with the goal of keeping our inpatient beds open.  When a new study was announced based on updated and more accurate information, we had hope that our efforts were going to pay off. 

In November 2006, the firm of Booz, Allen & Hamilton came to Fort Wayne and held private hearings as well as a public hearing to gather our thoughts and input.  They returend to Washington, D.C. to prepare their report, and we breathed a sigh of relief.  We actually dared to hope that we had been taken seriously and that Booz, Allen & Hamilton would provide a fair report that would be presented to the new VA Secretary Jim Nicholson.

Photo Credit: Department of Veterans Affairs

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We were told that the report would be ready in about six months which would have been May 2007.  So we waited, and we waited.  May came and went.  Summer rolled into fall, and we received more discouraging news - Secretary Nicholson was leaving and a new secretary would be sought.  More delays.  Supposedly the report was ”on the desk.”  But if it was, it was buried under piles of bureacratic red tape.

The new secretary, James Peake, was nominated and confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate.  Still no report.  Then, out of the blue, an article appeared in the Journal-Gazette in February that another study would be done.  This one would be of the outpatient resources at our VA Hospital.   Another study?  The taxpayers already have footed the bill for $530,000 - half a million dollars - the price of the November 2006 study by Booz, Allen & Hamilton.

Something is wrong - very wrong.  The Journal-Gazette filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get to the study, but it has been met with a disingenous attempt to hide it by redacted - marking out - three-fourths of the document.  The table of contents was even marked out. 

Enough is enough.  The Bush administration and the Veterans Administration are playing fast and loose with the health and care of our veterans.   Perhaps this is simply a game to them.  Years have now gone by with no resolution of the inpatient bed issue at our VA Hospital.  Our area veterans need this hospital, and they have earned this hospital.

Disheartening, disrespectful, disingenous, but most of all disgraceful.   Every citizen in this area - veteran or not - should be hopping mad that the government is treating us with disdain.  And one more “D” word - determined.  We are determined to keep this alive, and we are determined to hold the government to its promise to provide health care to those who served our country.  For us, that means keeping the inpatient beds at our local VA Hospital.

THE CAYMANS - TAX SHELTER FOR TOP AMERICAN CONTRACTOR IN IRAQ

The nation’s top Iraq war contractor, and until last year, a Halliburton subsidiary, provides a shining example of how to avoid a fair share of its taxes and garner the benefits of political nepotism. Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies based in the well-known tropical tax haven.

About half the 21,000 workers hired by KBR are American workers - workers who should fall under the requirement to pay into Medicare and Social Security along with the requisite contribution by the employer, KBR. The Defense Department has known since 2004 that KBR was avoiding taxes by declaring the American workers as employees of the shell companies. And the reason this is acceptable? The maneuvering offshore allowed the corporation to perform work more cheaply. The practice is unusual enough that only one other major contractor in Iraq does the same thing.

KBR is the largest contractor in Iraq with eight times the work of its nearest competitor. The corporation was the beneficiary of a no-bid, lopsided contract awarded in 2002 when the Bush, Chaney crowd decided to favor those with ties to Halliburton. KBR has an estimated $16 billion in contracts - a nice hefty bonus for being part of Chenay’s Halliburton circle. Although Congress has consistently attacked the practice used to avoid paying taxes, it has failed to act with any authority.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, a Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, recently has introduced legislation to close loopholes for companies registering overseas. Let’s hope it passes although I would almost bet that the legislation will not get far. Corporations seem to have a lot more pull in Congress than we average taxpayers do.

KBR not only avoids federal taxes but also avoids paying unemployment taxes in Texas, its location of registration. Since it doesn’t pay into the unemployment pool, it is not responsible for claims of unemployment compensation filed by workers who return to the United States after they complete their work in Iraq.

Photo Credit: KBR website

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What a sweet deal, and many of the workers don’t even realize that they have been employed by a foreign company until they reach their destination in Iraq and are told by their foremen. And KBR’s competitors in Iraq have not gone to the same length to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. The likes of Bechtel, Parsons, Washington Group International, L-3 Communications, Perini, and Fluor - all corporations receiving contracts in Iraq - pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for their American Workers.

Over the past five years of the Iraqi occupation, KBR has avoided more than $500 million in tax liabilities. What an “in your face” assault on the average American taxpayer. While we struggle to pay ever-increasing tax burdens, the power of corporations in our “free-market” system once again proves that there is no free-market - that power is king and enough power buys a tax haven in a tropical paradise.

REBATE CHECKS - TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments - better known as tax rebates - to more than 130 million households. The stimulus payments will go out through the late spring and summer. The IRS will use the 2007 tax return to determine eligibility and calculate the basic amount of the payment. In most cases, the payment will equal the amount of tax liability on the return with a maximum amount of $600 for individuals ($1,200 for taxpayers who file a joint return) and a minimum of $300 for individuals ($600 for taxpayers who file a joint return).

The rebate issue is truly a joke. The checks won’t be mailed until May or June, so any instant lift to the economy has to wait until then. That will make another 5 months from the earlier warnings of an economic downturn. In addition to the tardiness of the rebate checks, it will cost $42,000,000 to mail an explanatory letter to the 130 million households before the checks are actually sent.

Photo Credit: White House photo by Chris Greenberg

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Keith Hennessey, director of the president’s National Economic Council, said the letters are being sent to explain the workings of the rebate. He explained the necessity for the letter this way:

“Any time you do something as a government tens of millions of times, there is ample room for people to get confused. And so if you’re going to have tens of millions of taxpayers getting checks, you want to get the information out so that you have as few people as possible confused about what’s happening, they understand what’s coming, and it reduces the number of incoming requests that IRS and Treasury have to figure out how to deal with it.”

I don’t know about you, but I think I can pretty well figure out the mechanics of a rebate check without a letter to tell me what’s going on. You get it, and you do something with it. My rebate check will be used to pay bills or perhaps put into my savings account - something that doesn’t seem to happen too much anymore. I won’t be running out to spend it on big ticket items.

But here’s a thought for those in our government who still think an explanation needs to be provided; why not just send the letter along with the check? You go to your mailbox, you pull out the envelope with the dreaded IRS in the upper left-hand corner, and you open it. Surprise, surprise, inside is a nice letter with a check tucked in its folds.

Personally, I think it is too little too late.

TAX ABATEMENT - NOT FOR FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS ANY MORE

I don’t get it. Why was Mitch Harper the only one who questioned the propriety of the tax abatement given to the new Harrison Square condo owners and had the wherewithal to vote against the proposal? Why would buyers who can afford the condos need a tax abatement?

I have always supported Harrison Square, but this goes too far. Councilman Pape mentioned that we need to be sure we can draw new development to the downtown. Pardon me, but I thought the condos had already been purchased. I also thought we were well on our way to building Harrison Square. Sounds to me like development is already being created.

Why would City Council need to give an abatement after the fact? Did the purchasers agree to buy the condos with the understanding that a tax abatement was in the air? Or am I missing something here?

First, Council provided tax abatements to such illustrious businesses as fast food restaurants which pay paltry wages and do not do much for the community, and now, it appears that certain lucky private property owners will get the benefit of a tax abatement. Okay - where is my abatement? Why shouldn’t I have the benefit of a 10-year abatement?

The following YouTube video is of Councilman Harper explaining why he voted against the tax abatement. And, you know what, he makes perfect sense.

WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN - NAVY TO SHOOT DOWN SATELLITE

The Navy has been ordered to shoot down a spy satellite hurtling toward Earth with a 1,000 pounds of deadly hydrazine onboard. The satellite spun out of control after being launched in December 2006. The exercise gives the Pentagon a chance to show off decades of controversial research into space weapons - and raises new concerns that it could cause an escalation of military competition in outer space.

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But shooting down the satellite is particularly sensitive now because of the controversy surrounding China’s anti-satellite test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites. The action drew immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

A key concern at that time was the debris created by Chinese satellite’s destruction—and that will also be a focus now, as the U.S. determines exactly when and under what circumstances to shoot down its errant satellite. So we protest China’s actions and then turn around and prepare to do the same thing - now that is hypocrisy. It also sounds like the old familiar “one-upsmanship” that permeated so much of the Cold War era.

However, the action not only raises the specter of increasing “spy-in-the-sky” games but also raises the issue of environmental damage that may be done to the area of the Pacific Ocean where the satellite will splash down, spewing out its toxic content. But Bush has never had much concern for the environment - why start now?

After all what’s a little environmental damage and a little “step over this line” diplomacy when Bush decides to put on his cowboy persona and once again flex his “my guns are bigger than yours” attitude.

THE NAFTA SUPERHIGHWAY - THE ROAD TO A NORTH AMERICAN UNION

On January 15, 2008, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) formally began a massive public reeducation and public relations effort in an aggressive and expensive attempt to stem the chorus of objections voiced thus far over the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC).

The Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) is a multi-lane highway system that would include toll roads for automobiles and rail lines and would run parallel to the eastern side of Interstate Highway 35 in Texas. Two corridors are being proposed, one parallel to I-35, named TTC 35, and another that will run from Northeast Texas down to Mexico, referred to as TTC 69.

 

Photo Credit: Texas Department of Transportation

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The Trans-Texas Corridor is the first leg of a new superhighway which will extend from Mexico to Canada so that the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA, can function even more “smoothly” to remove American jobs as if NAFTA hasn’t done enough already. The highway will take about half a million acres of Texas out of agricultural production – and according to opponents hasten the advent of a North American Union.

How does anything like the Trans-Texas Corridor impact us here in good, old Indiana? Think Interstate 69 from Indy to Evansville. The route is an extension of the Interstate which already runs through northeast Indiana. The website of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration has the following description of plans for the I-69 corridor:

Corridor from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, through Port Huron, Michigan, southwesterly along Interstate Route 69 through Indianapolis, Indiana, through Evansville, Indiana, Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Shreveport / Bossier Louisiana, to Houston, Texas, and to the Lower Rio Grande Valley at the border between the United States and Mexico, as follows:

1. 1. In Michigan, the corridor shall be from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, southwesterly along Interstate Route 94 to the Ambassador Bridge interchange in Detroit, Michigan.
   2. In Michigan and Illinois, the corridor shall be from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, through Detroit, Michigan, westerly along Interstate Route 94 to Chicago, Illinois.
   3. In Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, the Corridor shall–
      1. follow the alignment generally identified in the Corridor 18 Special Issues Study Final Report; and
      2. include a connection between the Corridor east of Wilmar, Arkansas, and west of Monticello, Arkansas, to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
   4. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the Corridor shall-
      1. include United States Route 77 from the Rio Grande River to Interstate Route 37 at Corpus Christi, Texas, and then to Victoria, Texas, via United States Route 77; [I-69 East]
      2. include United States Route 281 from the Rio Grande River to Interstate Route 37 and then to Victoria, Texas, via United States Route 59; [I-69 Central] and
      3. include the Corpus Christi North-side Highway and Rail Corridor from the existing intersection of United States Route 77 and Interstate Route 37 to United States Route 181, including FM511 from United States Route 77 to the Port of Brownsville.

 

Photo Credit: Smokescreendesign.com

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Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP):

The SPP is a Bush White House-led initiative among the United States and the two nations it borders - Canada and Mexico. The “goals” are to increase security and to enhance prosperity among the three countries through greater cooperation. The SPP is based on the principle that our prosperity is dependent on our security and recognizes that our three great nations share a belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic institutions.

The SPP outlines a comprehensive agenda for cooperation among our three countries while respecting the sovereignty and unique cultural heritage of each nation. The SPP provides a vehicle by which the United States, Canada, and Mexico can identify and resolve unnecessary obstacles to trade, and it provides a means to improve our response to emergencies and increase security, thus benefiting and protecting Americans.

The SPP is short for dumping on the American people again by the Bush Administration. Unnecessary obstacles to trade can be read to mean more profit for the large corporations as they whiz the jobs out of the United States via the superhighway. And, you can almost hear the hum of the truck traffic from Mexico bringing in cheap goods produced in a country ridden by poverty and lax on environmental standards as well as worker standards.

The only ones who will benefit from this NAFTA Superhighway are the corporate powers that have their hands in Bush’s pocket and their cash in Bush’s wallet.

 

HUCKABEE AND RELIGION - TAILOR CONSTITUTION TO GOD’S STANDARDS

Huckabee is getting desperate, and he is getting dangerously close to emulating the Islamic religious view of government. In Michigan, he made the following statement:

“[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it’s a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards,” Huckabee said, referring to the need for a constitutional human life amendment and an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Many Muslim countries base their governments and official duties on Islamic Law:

Saudi Arabia:

Sources of Law. - Word “law” in Saudi Arabia is understood to refer to Islamic law (in Arabic, Shari’ah). All secular regulations are subject to and interpreted in accordance with Shari’ah precepts.

Chapter 1 General Principles

Article 1

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion; God’s Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, God’s prayers and peace be upon him, are its constitution, Arabic is its language and Riyadh is its capital.

Pakistan:

Islam to be State religion

Islam shall be the State religion of Pakistan.

Iraq:

Chapter One: Basic Principles

Islam is the national religion and a basic foundation for the country’s laws; however, freedom of religion is upheld.

Iran:

Article 4 (Islamic Principle)

Article 4 is immutable and the Council of Guardians ensures that all articles of the Constitution as well other laws are based on Islamic criteria.

Afghanistan:

Chapter 1 The State

Article 2 Religions

(1) The religion of the state of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the sacred religion of Islam
(2) Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law.

Article 2 Law and Religion

In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.

These are just a sampling of the countries with Islam as the national state religion. Huckabee’s statements go against the very reasons many of our founders came to this country. The Constitution prohibits both an “establishment of religion” as well as the use of a “religious test” for public officials. The Huckabee clip is below.

Huckabee is the worst kind of presidential candidate. He is a cleric, he is fanatical, he campaigns with his eye to exploiting religion using his beliefs - whether sincere or not, and he sees his interpretation of the Bible and God as the correct one. When Huckabee says “We should amend the Constitution to follow God’s standards”, whose denominational standards would be talking about? Reviewing biblical passages reveals that the Bible does not mention “abortion” or “homosexuality.” But, of course, tailoring the Constitution according to God’s standards really means tailoring the Constitution to Huckabee standards.

ROBERT ROUSE- FIRST AMENDMENT SHUFFLE

Robert, of Left of Centrist, has outdone himself with this one. For those of you who are not familiar with the Constitution, it contains the Preamble, the Body (those 7 articles that established our federal government and its powers), and the 27 amendments. The First Amendment is one of the first ten amendments - better known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution was ratified in 1788 and the first Congress was held in 1789. One of the first items on the agenda was to pass a Bill of Rights to allay the fears of the citizens that their new federal government would be too powerful. The final offering was what is known as the Bill of Rights and prevents the federal government from infringing certain of our rights and liberties.

But it sure looks like Bush has all but forgotten about those rights in his rush to “Bushify” the rest of the world as well as trounce on us as citizens.

Anyway, here is the video. And I hope Robert does many more.

$736,000,000 BAGHDAD BEMEMOTH CALLED A “FIRE RISK”

The firefighting system in the massive $736 million embassy complex in Baghdad has potential safety problems that top U.S. officials dismissed with a “not to worry” attitude. In their rush to declare construction largely completed by the end of last year, officials ignored defects according to internal State Department documents, e-mails and interviews.

Some officials assert that in the push to complete the long-delayed project, potentially life-threatening problems have been left untouched. A State Department official who spoke anonymously because he feared retaliation said the problems are serious enough to get someone killed. The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg; no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant and other parts of the embassy complex, which will house more than 1,000 people and is vulnerable to mortar attacks.

Other sources involved in the project, also requesting anonymity, insisted that disputes involve technical paperwork issues, largely because the contractor had never built an embassy and did not realize that under State Department rules it needed approval for substituting certain materials. Much of that work needs to be reexamined and checked, delaying the project even further. A Congressional Services Research report provides the breakdown in expenditures accumulating under the Bush administration.

But, heck, what’s a billion dollars more when Bush has already sunk close to 500 billion dollars trying to make Iraq safe for the largest U.S. embassy in the world. Looks like Bush is anticipating an unending presence in Iraq and the Middle East.

Yep, build it, and we will stay.

The unfinished embassy in Baghdad

Photo Credit: MSNBC