Liberty
Matters News Service
September 17, 2007
Senate Puts Brakes on Mexican Trucks
Pressured by the American people, the Senate approved an amendment to the Fiscal 2008 Department of Transportation appropriations bill to stop Mexican trucks from running over U.S. highways. The Bush administration unilaterally opened the United States to Mexican trucks when the first truck cruised across the border Friday, September 7, destination - North Carolina. Administration mouthpieces said the Mexican trucking firm, Transportes Olympic, was chosen only last week to be the first in line, but sources indicate that choice had been decided February 22, 2007, in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. "This is a sad day for America," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, upon learning Bush's plans. "This administration is hell-bent on opening our borders," DeFazio said, "but has failed to require that Mexican drivers and trucks meet the same safety and security standards as U.S. drivers and trucks." Todd Spencer, Executive VP of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the White House has long pursued a "stealth strategy" about the Mexican trucks. The decision was made long ago, "but the American public and Congress are being intentionally kept in the dark," Spencer continued. Spencer went on to say, "Since March, we have credible reports that the Bush administration has been telling groups in Mexico that the one-year pilot program is merely a formality [and] once the one year had elapsed, the border would be wide open to all Mexican trucks." In a February meeting in Nuevo Leon attended by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters; her Mexican counterpart, Luis Téllez;, and José Natividad Gonzáles Parás, the governor of Nuevo Leon; Gonzáles Parás said; "I want to let you know how much we in this border state have been working with our neighbor state of Texas, (notably Governor Rick Perry) making agreements which permit us to enrich what in Texas is called the 'Trans-Texas Corridor', but what we in Mexico know as the 'Logistical Corridor of North America.'" During that same February meeting, Transportation Secretary Telléz announced that Presidents Bush and Calderon had agreed to create "an economically integrated North America," news not reported by the U.S. media. North Dakota Democrat, Sen. Byron Dorgan offered an amendment to the Transportation bill that states; "None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to establish or implement a cross-border motor carrier demonstration or pilot project or program to allow Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border." The amendment passed 74-24. "Tonight, commerce - for a change - did not trump safety," Sen. Dorgan said, after the vote. "Tonight's vote…represents a turning of the tide on the senseless, headlong rush this country has been engaged in for some time, to dismantle safety standards and a quality of life it took generations to achieve." Dorgan's amendment is identical to language in H.R. 1773, the Safe American Roads Act of 2007 that passed 411-3 in May. "I expect this provision will not be altered in the House-Senate conference committee and that we have, effectively, stopped this pilot program," Dorgan said.
A VICTORY! US Senate pulls plug on
open borders for Mexican trucks!
1st Mexican truck rolls across border
under cover of darkness
Government ID Plan May Cause Cancer
An investigative reporter for the AP released a series of studies performed over the last decade indicating implanted microchips called Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) may cause cancer in animals. Studies of RFID implanted animals reveal that those devices may be the cause of aggressive, lethal cancers that were found in 10 percent of the study animals. The public has not been informed of the studies, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved implanting RFIDs in humans for identification purposes and to contain medical records. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has shown a similar lack of concern regarding the potential harmful effects of the devices on the millions of animals the government wants to enroll in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Under NAIS, every animal in the United States will be individually identified, down to the last chicken and kitten; and their owners' properties registered with each state and the federal government. Opponents believe the program is designed to line the pockets of RFID manufacturers and related tracking industries and will do nothing to stop an outbreak of disease in herds and flocks. Karin Bergener, an attorney with the Liberty Ark Coalition, says; "The NAIS is purported to be a system to aid officials in tracing back animal diseases to their source. But the government has produced no scientific evidence that it will aid in disease control. And now we have scientific evidence that it could actually cause disease in our animals."
Government plan may lead to cancer in both food animals and pets
Our Lies Are Protected by the First Amendment
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to overturn a 2005 verdict that ordered the environmental pest to pay rancher James Chilton $600,000 as the penalty for libeling him. The Center started the trouble in 2002 by protesting the Forest Service's 10-year renewal of Chilton's grazing permit on 21,500 acres of federal land. The group posted a link on its web site that pointed to pictures of the damage it claimed Chilton's cattle caused on the land in question. The photos were proven deliberately misleading, but CBD has tried to weasel out of the verdict ever since, even asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to overturn the jury's decision, to no avail. Kieran Suckling, CBD's Policy Director, said the photos should not be judged by themselves, as they were part of the appeal challenging the Forest Service's decision to allow the Chilton cattle to continue grazing. That means the photos were protected by the First Amendment, Suckling insists. Appellate Judge William Brammer disagreed, saying the Center's attorneys did not raise that issue during the 2005 trial. The Center also complained that the $500,000 punitive damage award is excessive, because it is a non-profit organization. Its 2005 annual report shows revenue of $3.5 million - mostly from grants (taxpayer dollars) and membership - and expenses of $2.4 million. Judge Brammer reminded the Center that it had admitted that four of the 21 photos were not even taken on federal land. Suckling dismissed that fact as "irrelevant." The photos had been taken by a former employee of CBD, Andrew Schneller, in an area where a three-week long festival had been held. CBD claimed the pictures depicted damage caused by overgrazing when in fact the site had been overrun by people, cars, and all-terrain vehicles. Judge Brammer said that because Schneller had attended the festival, a jury could conclude he had "actual malice" in taking the pictures as proof of damage by Chilton's cattle. The Supreme Court is scheduled to review the case September 25.
Group seeks to overturn jury
verdict
A Slice of Hypocrisy with My Caviar, Please
The planet Earth may well be on the verge of extinction if mankind does not reduce its demand for gas-guzzling vehicles and energy-consuming villas and mansions. At least that's what some of the very rich seem to believe. However, the lifestyles of the rich and famous often belie what they mouth. According to the Wall Street Journal, there are now more than 10,000 private jets swishing through American skies that burn 15 times as much fuel per passenger as commercial aircraft. The mega-yachts, favored by the wealthy, consume up to 80 gallons of fuel per hour. Apparently, some of the mega-rich are aware that their conspicuous consumption of energy is a bit hypocritical, so they attempt to make amends by purchasing offsets for their excesses. Eric Carlson, Executive Director of the nonprofit firm, Carbon Fund, works with companies and individuals to help them ease their consciouses. "Obviously, these people have different lifestyles from yours and mine," Carlson says. "We're trying to get to a market where the super wealthy are leaders in reducing their [carbon dioxide] footprint." Critics say it is a meaningless exercise. "Carbon offsets and these other things are feel-good solutions," says Lester Brown, founder and President of the Earth Policy Institute. "I'm always interested in people who buy a carbon offset for their jet to fly between their four big homes." To help ease the pain of being rich, Jets.com, a private jet service, has partnered with Carbon Fund to inform their customers how much carbon dioxide their flights used and what it would cost to buy offsets from the fund. For example; "a round-trip, private jet flight between Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Boston costs about $20,000. The offsets for the 13 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted would cost about $74.00." Trinity Yachts of Gulfport, Mississippi, has plans to install special oceanographic and atmospheric monitoring systems in all of its new boats. The system doesn't reduce emissions from the yachts, but what the heck, it's the thought that counts.
Living large while being
green
Is A Government-Induced Disease Pandemic Looming?
The "Big Three Leaders" meeting in Canada last month revealed little about what went on in secret talks concerning the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). However, Phyllis Schlafly writes that Presidents Bush and Calderon and Prime Minister Harper made plans to coordinate the three countries' resources in the event of an outbreak of avian flu or some other catastrophe. "The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza" could be the vehicle to strip the United States of what is left of its sovereignty by giving unprecedented authority to unelected "North American" bureaucrats in case some ill-defined disease hits this continent. The "Plan" or the "International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza," (IPAPI) as Bush called it, was first made public when he gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 14, 2005. At that time, IPAPI mandated "transparency in reporting of influenza cases in humans and in animals" and the "sharing of epidemiological data and samples." The "Plan" now demands government take control of U.S. citizens and public policy should a calamity occur. The 44-page document would impose a "comprehensive, coordinated North American approach" that would give authority to international bureaucrats "beyond the health sector to include a coordinated approach to critical infrastructure protection," including "border and transportation issues." The Plan provides for a "senior level Coordinating Body to facilitate the effective planning and preparedness with North America for a possible outbreak of avian and/or human pandemic influenza under the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)." The "decision-makers" can order "the use of antivirals and vaccines; social distancing measures, including school closures and the prohibition of community gatherings; isolation; and quarantine." Under the terms laid out, a foreigner (not American) will be the chair of this august body, two out of every three years.