It was reported with glee that President Obama announced quietly on Monday that he was repudiating a campaign promise and would not press for new labor and environmental regulations in the NAFTA agreement.
Supposedly he was rebuked at the Summit of the Americas last weekend. Then the report went on to question his willingness to spend political capital to defeat protectionists in Congress.
In my mind this is a betrayal of his pledge to the American workers who only want a level playing field. I can remember Obama lauding the American worker during his campaign. When it comes time to put up or shut up he does that latter.
He can give billions to the capitalistic fat cats but cannot or will not take a stand to improve the lot of working people. The word ‘protectionist” is inflammatory. It implies a mind set of closing our borders to trade. I could state over again the unfair trade practices that have driven factories outside our country as the only way they can make a profit, but I won’t in this letter, except to say that with our trade imbalance so far out of whack anyone with a brain can see that we cannot continue down this road to bankruptcy. We already owe trillions to foreign governments to where they can dictate policy.
One last point, the issues that should be revised would improve the lives of workers and their families in Latin America, so it would be win, win. The only ones to lose would be the fat cats referred to previously. Once again they win while we all lose. Where is the “CHANGE” promised? Guess we will have to wait for the next candidate. Hope we are still a viable country at that time. I don’t think we will be. The clock is running out of sand.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 28, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Illegal Immigration Letter
Representative Gabrielle Giffords,
Dear Representative,
Employer Sanctions Issue
You were quoted in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper on April 24, 2009, as saying you were introducing legislation to overturn the Arizona law enacted by the voting citizens of Arizona. This offends me deeply. You, President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Senator McCain and the editorial editors of the Star are completely out of step with the majority of those of us who care.
Every chance we are given we have voted against illegal immigration. The business community spent considerable funds trying to trick us into weakening the law. They were defeated. To my knowledge no employer has been found guilty to date. The law went into effect two years ago. Since the sanctions only apply to new hires, I have no doubt that some employers knowingly still have illegals on their payrolls. I can live with that knowing that companies not using E-Verify are taking the chance that they could be put out of business.
With unemployment reaching 10% nationwide, what justification can you use to grant citizenship to over 12 million living here in violation of our laws? Work visas where labor is needed would be acceptable to me but granting citizenship is out of the question. In my opinion the US Government, including you, has no intention of stopping the continuing inflow particularly from Mexico and Central America. You look at these as voters who will keep you in power for decades to come. You give little thought to American citizens.
You state that immigration is a Federal issue and that States should stay out of it. Our law was carefully crafted to not violate Federal jurisdiction but still allow our State Government to have some influence on halting the constant inflow.
You should take the time to hike trails South of Tucson as I do. If you did you would discover mountains of trash from illegals crossing the desert on a daily basis. I believe you were quoted as saying they are just coning to flip burgers. The Border Patrol is just going thru the motions pretending to do their jobs. I don’t fault the Patrol Officers; I fault the direction they are given on how to do their jobs. I and other hiker friends frequently encounter illegals while on hikes. It should not be as difficult as it seems to stop the inflow, just follow the trash. How hard should that be?
You just don’t get it. All across America communities and States have tried to enact legislation or ordinances only to have to spend taxpayer dollars fighting the ACLU and Congress. We are fed up. You think it is fine to grant the children of illegals instate tuition denied to the children of Americans living in different States. While States are forced to lay off teachers due to shortfalls in tax revenues you continue to insist that children of illegals be given a free education as well as free medical services at our hospitals that are experiencing severe shortfalls in revenue.
You should find some other pet project to pursue and quit interfering with the citizens of Arizona who you should be supporting.
PS: I have sent copies of this letter to the newspaper and other interested people.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 26, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Dear Representative,
Employer Sanctions Issue
You were quoted in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper on April 24, 2009, as saying you were introducing legislation to overturn the Arizona law enacted by the voting citizens of Arizona. This offends me deeply. You, President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Senator McCain and the editorial editors of the Star are completely out of step with the majority of those of us who care.
Every chance we are given we have voted against illegal immigration. The business community spent considerable funds trying to trick us into weakening the law. They were defeated. To my knowledge no employer has been found guilty to date. The law went into effect two years ago. Since the sanctions only apply to new hires, I have no doubt that some employers knowingly still have illegals on their payrolls. I can live with that knowing that companies not using E-Verify are taking the chance that they could be put out of business.
With unemployment reaching 10% nationwide, what justification can you use to grant citizenship to over 12 million living here in violation of our laws? Work visas where labor is needed would be acceptable to me but granting citizenship is out of the question. In my opinion the US Government, including you, has no intention of stopping the continuing inflow particularly from Mexico and Central America. You look at these as voters who will keep you in power for decades to come. You give little thought to American citizens.
You state that immigration is a Federal issue and that States should stay out of it. Our law was carefully crafted to not violate Federal jurisdiction but still allow our State Government to have some influence on halting the constant inflow.
You should take the time to hike trails South of Tucson as I do. If you did you would discover mountains of trash from illegals crossing the desert on a daily basis. I believe you were quoted as saying they are just coning to flip burgers. The Border Patrol is just going thru the motions pretending to do their jobs. I don’t fault the Patrol Officers; I fault the direction they are given on how to do their jobs. I and other hiker friends frequently encounter illegals while on hikes. It should not be as difficult as it seems to stop the inflow, just follow the trash. How hard should that be?
You just don’t get it. All across America communities and States have tried to enact legislation or ordinances only to have to spend taxpayer dollars fighting the ACLU and Congress. We are fed up. You think it is fine to grant the children of illegals instate tuition denied to the children of Americans living in different States. While States are forced to lay off teachers due to shortfalls in tax revenues you continue to insist that children of illegals be given a free education as well as free medical services at our hospitals that are experiencing severe shortfalls in revenue.
You should find some other pet project to pursue and quit interfering with the citizens of Arizona who you should be supporting.
PS: I have sent copies of this letter to the newspaper and other interested people.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 26, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Federal Government Usurping States Rights
State Governments over the years have acquiesced by giving authority to the Federal government the right to interfere in States business. The writers of the Constitution clearly never had this in mind when it was approved. The Federal Governments authority was clearly defined.
I decided to put thoughts to paper after listening to the Governor of Texas yesterday rail at the loss of authority and proposing creating a Commonwealth separate and apart from the USA. This of course will not happen but what I hope it will do is energize State elected officials to begin to fight back with the positive result of curbing the abuses.
The reason it happened is quite simple. Only the Federal Government can print money. Most States have constitutional provisions which demands balanced budgets. The Feds have used the power of the purse to demand adherence to their requirements. There are myriad of examples. In the current stimulus package the States must use the funds provided as dictated. This is why the Texas Governor and other Republican Governors are protesting. The problem with this protest is that they are making their protest political, trying to denigrate President Obama’s program to score points with the electorate. Just once wouldn’t it be nice, if the countries good as a whole was the driving force, not partisan politics. Oh well, don’t hold your breath. Politics it seems is the life force that is all important. Sorry, I digress from my subject.
Transportation is another. The Feds don’t just allocate funds based on population or other criteria. They provide a huge bureaucracy to oversee and control how the States spend the funds. No Child Left Behind is a huge multi billion dollar bureaucracy that requires tabulation of results from the time children enter the school system until they graduate or drop out. This one in particular offends me. All school districts across America are making painful decisions to lay off teachers because of shortfalls in tax revenues. (This would be the first program to be cut if it were up to me.) What good are records if students are being deprived of the instruction necessary to develop? The only reason it exists is because of the funds provided.
I could go on and on but to what use? The Governors, together with their Legislators, must join forces to stop it. It can be done. Think of the costs that could be saved.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 16, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
I decided to put thoughts to paper after listening to the Governor of Texas yesterday rail at the loss of authority and proposing creating a Commonwealth separate and apart from the USA. This of course will not happen but what I hope it will do is energize State elected officials to begin to fight back with the positive result of curbing the abuses.
The reason it happened is quite simple. Only the Federal Government can print money. Most States have constitutional provisions which demands balanced budgets. The Feds have used the power of the purse to demand adherence to their requirements. There are myriad of examples. In the current stimulus package the States must use the funds provided as dictated. This is why the Texas Governor and other Republican Governors are protesting. The problem with this protest is that they are making their protest political, trying to denigrate President Obama’s program to score points with the electorate. Just once wouldn’t it be nice, if the countries good as a whole was the driving force, not partisan politics. Oh well, don’t hold your breath. Politics it seems is the life force that is all important. Sorry, I digress from my subject.
Transportation is another. The Feds don’t just allocate funds based on population or other criteria. They provide a huge bureaucracy to oversee and control how the States spend the funds. No Child Left Behind is a huge multi billion dollar bureaucracy that requires tabulation of results from the time children enter the school system until they graduate or drop out. This one in particular offends me. All school districts across America are making painful decisions to lay off teachers because of shortfalls in tax revenues. (This would be the first program to be cut if it were up to me.) What good are records if students are being deprived of the instruction necessary to develop? The only reason it exists is because of the funds provided.
I could go on and on but to what use? The Governors, together with their Legislators, must join forces to stop it. It can be done. Think of the costs that could be saved.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 16, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Federal Government Encourages Expansion of Jobs Overseas
In writing about this subject, I feel I am aping a broken record as I have railed against our government before for continuing to create a favorable climate for American business to move jobs out of our country. An article in the Arizona Daily Star on 4/9/09 got my attention. The title was,” Now More Than Ever, Lobbying Payoff Is Huge”. There were a number of examples. The one I am zeroing in on is where the lobbyists were able to convince our “leaders” in 2004 to push through a one time tax holiday on profits earned abroad. The lobbying expense was $282.7 million. The savings was about $100 billion which resulted in a 22,000% return on investment. Most of these savings were given to Pfizer, Merck, IBM, Hewlett- Packard and Johnson and Johnson. In 2004 the Republicans had total control so when they cry crocodile tears take it with a grain of salt. I really don’t expect anything better with Democrats in charge.
You can’t fault these companies from seeking improved profit but you can blame the Congress and Administration from failing to protect American jobs by continuing to make it more profitable to move jobs offshore. We are not talking about lower foreign wages or better quality workmanship, we are talking about our own government making it difficult to produce in our country by having high business tax rates here at home and lower tax rates for American companies operating off shore.
Tomorrow is tax day. Across the country people are organizing protests of high taxes by using tea bags to get government’s attention. It will be to no avail, as government will take it in stride and when the rallies are over, return to what they do best and that is to serve the interests of big business and foreign countries and continue to ignore American workers. All our workers can expect is balm in the form of unemployment compensation, temporary health cost relief and other giveaways, but not a new climate where real jobs can be created so Americans can feel proud of their support for their families and not the debilitating situation of living off the dole.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 14, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
You can’t fault these companies from seeking improved profit but you can blame the Congress and Administration from failing to protect American jobs by continuing to make it more profitable to move jobs offshore. We are not talking about lower foreign wages or better quality workmanship, we are talking about our own government making it difficult to produce in our country by having high business tax rates here at home and lower tax rates for American companies operating off shore.
Tomorrow is tax day. Across the country people are organizing protests of high taxes by using tea bags to get government’s attention. It will be to no avail, as government will take it in stride and when the rallies are over, return to what they do best and that is to serve the interests of big business and foreign countries and continue to ignore American workers. All our workers can expect is balm in the form of unemployment compensation, temporary health cost relief and other giveaways, but not a new climate where real jobs can be created so Americans can feel proud of their support for their families and not the debilitating situation of living off the dole.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 14, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Muslim Somali Pirates
We have had problems with Muslim pirates in our early history. It started when Jefferson was president and continued until Madison was president. The Navy and the Marines brought it to an end. The words in the Marine Hymn refer to it; “to the shores of Tripoli”. I used google to find information about the Barbary Pirates. The point is that force was required to stop piracy. I am convinced that force must be used in sufficient magnitude to stop it today.
Some have told me that the problem should be handled by the ship owners. That is probably right. There seems to be reluctance on their part. Over $200 million in ransom has already been paid and hundreds of crew men from many different nations are held hostage, with no end in sight. If there is a maritime rule that prevents merchant vessels from protecting themselves then perhaps it will take action from the United Nations. I believe all nations suffering from these pirates should come together and present a unified coalition. America does not have to do it alone.
Putting armed personnel on board with permission to repel hijackers with force would put a stop to this in short order. A better response would be to strike their bases wiping out their pirate “navy” and destroying facilities used to generate these attacks.
They are vowing revenge against America for the killing of three pirates and capture of the fourth. In my opinion that opens the door for America to use our naval forces to point out the futility of them carrying out their threat. As long as easy money can be made what other than force can put a stop to this outrage.
It is embarrassing to see us humbled by a rag tag collection of bandits.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 12, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Some have told me that the problem should be handled by the ship owners. That is probably right. There seems to be reluctance on their part. Over $200 million in ransom has already been paid and hundreds of crew men from many different nations are held hostage, with no end in sight. If there is a maritime rule that prevents merchant vessels from protecting themselves then perhaps it will take action from the United Nations. I believe all nations suffering from these pirates should come together and present a unified coalition. America does not have to do it alone.
Putting armed personnel on board with permission to repel hijackers with force would put a stop to this in short order. A better response would be to strike their bases wiping out their pirate “navy” and destroying facilities used to generate these attacks.
They are vowing revenge against America for the killing of three pirates and capture of the fourth. In my opinion that opens the door for America to use our naval forces to point out the futility of them carrying out their threat. As long as easy money can be made what other than force can put a stop to this outrage.
It is embarrassing to see us humbled by a rag tag collection of bandits.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 12, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
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