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WOW.....

...a "Townhall" columnist who is not advocating open borders.....

Pipe Line

And the other point of the piece is that once again we are going to put American port workers and truck drivers out of a job by diverting this freight business through a Mexican port. "Who's getting kick backs here"? When is our Government going to wake up. When all that is left in the U.S. are low paying "Service jobs", Who are they going to be providing "Service" to? Our govt is leading us on a path of destruction.

Kansas City Port

Mrs. Schlafly has at least one of her facts wrong. She has obviously confused the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) with the Kansas City Terminal Railway. The latter operates only in the Kansas City area. KCS was never a terminal railroad. Prior to the acquisition of its Mexican lines, KCS (headquartered in Kansas City) had lines radiating in five directions out of its hub in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its major lines went to Kansas City, New Orleans, Port Arthur, and Dallas.

The concept of inland ports is not new. For example, there is one in Winchester, Virginia, just 30 miles from me. There may be issues to be resolved in connection with this particular proposal, but why should we pay higher prices to support $140,000-per-year longshoremen? Competition based on increased economic efficiency is a wonderful thing, and I'm all for it. It makes life better for us.

Good idea/Bad idea

By passing $140,000 a year manual laborers is a good idea, as is promotion of trade. Anything that destroys the power of the unions is a good idea.

Having the customs inspection in KC is a bad idea. I would love to read the detailed justification for putting the customs inspectors in KC and not at the Mexican port. Either way the inspection time should not be any different, no more facilities would be needed in one as opposed to the other. The containers could be inspected upon arrival in Mexico, sealed, and shipped, upline.

Not a Foreign Trade Zone

Foreign Trade Zones have been used for putting additional value or holding onto goods before entry into the US economy. However, the companies operating the Zones had to submit "paperwork" to US Customs when the goods left the zone. Those companies were responsible for those goods as well so when a problem arose, they had penalties.

Even shipments originating overseas had some modicum of inspection at those ports. If the first inspection occurs here in the United States by Mexican officials, US Customs is shirking its responsibility to the US citizens.

International companies have always sought to reduce material, labor, and compliance costs. It's no surprise it is being tried here.

Treason from the White House???

I am constantly amazed at the actions of George W Bush when it comes to Mexico. There is no logical reason for the schemes to turn this country in to a vassal of Mexico. The Kansas City port deal is an easy way for our enemies to bring in large quantities of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The Mexican government has no love for the American people. We should never forget that during WWI and WWII the Mexican government aligned itself with and aided the Germans.
The whole Bush Administration is a disaster. The only thing worse would be one run by Democrats. The Democrats commit their treason in public.. the Bush Bunch does it under the table.
I certainly agree with Tanabearand Lydia. For those who think differently.. I do not hide behind a cute username...

To Chaparral63 and Gary

Labor unions are responsible for the working conditions that are safer and better-paid. Remember the beginning of our Industrial Age and the sweatshops that killed, maimed and forced long hours for a pittance?

The fact that union leaders have become so corrupt doesn't seem like a legitimate reason to dump Americans who pay a heavy tax load in favor of illegals with junk equipment, no regulatory burdens, and wages low enough to suck that much more from a tax structure so far in debt already that the USA is realistically bankrupt.

The Mexican inspection station is the KC/Smart Port or something like that and the article points out the real dangers, something a disturbingly large amount of Americans prefer to ignore.

Competition is one thing, folks.
Foreign intervention under our own national leaders who swore to protect and defend our Constitution that requires national sovereignty is another.

Because of our loony environmentalism allowed by the same national leaders, our natural resources are locked up. Mexico is loaded with natural resources, so why should we be helping them? We bailed them out years ago and still send money. They are so grateful that they've invaded us and demand 'their' country back from the gringos - by the way, shouldn't we be offended by the word 'gringos'? It's said with disdain. I'd call that racism, hate speech, xenophobia directed at me. Should I complain to Kofi?

I don't know if the longshoremen make that $140,000 a year and have a hard time believing it, but if so, so what? Capitalism allows everyone to better themselves, IF you're willing to work your tail off.

Liberals have created a welfare, 'nanny' society that too many people have been happy to join. Clinton resurrected Jesse Jackson and class warfare that hadn't been heard of in years.

Enthuse about losing our country and living a third-world existence because you're jealous of someone working hard to pay a large part of your life support.

Why It makes Sense

China gets the jobs and America gets the wealth. That's the deal now-a-days. Why shouldn't China be able to ship us more of the goods we need without us being held up by the unions for transportation costs?

I've rung this bell . .

in every forum about our borders for the last three weeks, so why are some of you so dumbfounded?! This is not the first time this has been brought up, but everyone was tunnel-visioned on the fence and the amnesty, they never even aknowledged my posts, ( as recently as last night ).

That said, evrybody take a deep breath and ask yourselves the best question: WHY? I believe this started as a response to the European Union of the late eighties. There was much ballyhoo about what the EU would do to the global situation, and how it would dwarf the US economy and trash the value of the dollar. Breaking the longshoremen's stranglehold was not the original intent, but a percieved bonus by the architects of this plan. As to KC, . . what a bunch of idiots they would be NOT to jump at this economic boon to their community! If it was your town, you'd be behind it too, especially when the council told you it would just end up down the road in another community if you passed on it! So, let's not be too hard on the Kansans, its not their fault.

The best arguments against this are: 1. The EU is a dismal shell of what it was expected to become, and its member countries have even worse unemployment than my community, ( 9% ). The evil dreaded Euro is right about on par with the dollar, . . a little higher, perhaps, but far from burying it! Also, the members are always on the verge of dis-enrolling and the "constitution" tha holds it together is the most ridiculous conglomeration of pork and bull imagineable. The continued existence of the EU is FAR from guaranteed.
2. The NAU would require a tribunal to decide disputes, much as the NAFTA tribunal that recently ruled ( luckily ( in favor of the US, ( CA, in particular ), when a Canadian firm sued to force the market acceptance of a gas additive forbidden under California's strict pollution guidelines. Such a tribunal will trump even our Supreme Court, thereby directly undermining our sovereignty.
3. The borders would be more porous than ever. Mexico certainly has stricter penalties for illegal entry to their country than we do to ours, but Mexican government jobs practically come with a marquee sign for posting today's bribery exchange rates!
The solution is simple: say no with our votes and our letters to our representatives and , most importantly, PUSH FOR THE FAIR TAX on both the federal and our local levels. The passage of the fair tax would leave all the Eurasian markets in the dust, eliminate the unfair tax breaks given the black marketeers, money launderers, etc. and free up thousands of IRS workers for re-deployment to border security and immigration processing.
All that said, I don't believe this was a plot to fool us, so much as a plan conceived and believed in our best interests long ago, and we might never have seen it coming, were it not for 9/11 and our increased security conciousness! The crafters should step back and re-assess its neccessity and impact. I'm sure they can be convinced of their error or they will offer evidence to the contrary. The duplicity really only came about when border security came to the fore, and the plans were already in the works! Pray for wisdom to find our elected leaders!

Townhall.com's Format is terrible!

Phyullis Schlafly's column is appearing twice herein. And the comments are different in each.

check it out

Please don't take this wrong....

But I think several people who have commented here--as well as the author, I am sad to say--might do well to read a book on economics: Thomas Sowell has a very good book out "Basic Economics"--please pay particular attention to Part VI (The International Economy). Considering all the comments of 'Greedy' this that or the other thing, it would not be time wasted to read the whole book.

Shipping Corridor

To think I voted for Bush!! This corridor is all part of the very quickly pushed One World Government. Forget about shuting down one union. In the over all picture they are just peanuts. We are all sheduled to become a part of the lower class unless we are already members of the wealthy elite. I am solidly middle class but with the taxes going up to build the trans corridor across the entire nation and also to support all the illegals we will have very little remaining. I live in rural N. Tx and the trans corridor will come within 5 miles of us even with everyone in attendance adamently opposed to it. It will be 4 football fields wide with very few access roads. Think of all the crop land it will take. It to my knowledge it was ordered by executive order and not even voted on by the congress. Who wudda thunk we voted for a dictator.
Raven

Nuttyism vs. Conservatism

Schafly, et al, are getting perilously close to black U.N. helicopter sightings. The Howard Deanesque wing of the movement helps us not. By the by, Bush is not a conservative.

Oh, Lawd! Mescan customs in Kansas City? How can that be? The same way that there are U.S Customs people in Toronto. I've been frisked by them.

You Luddites wring your hands and nash your teeth all you want. But, for the greater good, traders will find a way around uneducated, manual laborers who make $140,000 a year. The only losers will be a few longshoremen. After all, free-market, democratic capitalism is about benefiting the greatest number of people possible, by the greatest amount possible.