|
The Ultimate Globalizer
Don't expect border security to be a big priority in any future Obama administration. In a campaign speech aimed at Americans but delivered in Berlin, Barak Obama told the adoring crowd of Germans he was a "proud American," but immediately declared he was also a "fellow citizen of the world." Between America and Europe, he asserted, “the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together.” He went went on to say it would be “the greatest danger” to allow “walls to divide us from one another. . . . The walls between countries with the most, and countries with the least, cannot stand. The walls between . . . natives and immigrants . . . cannot stand.” The title of his speech? "A World That Stands As One."
More Poison From Mexico
Two Hispanic federal plant inspectors were charged with allowing agricultural products infested with dangerous pests from Mexico to enter the U.S., threatening to damage America's entire agricultural production. "It's a big deal," said Ray Prewett, executive vice president of the Texas Vegetable Association. Federal prosecutors said Rafael Edmundo Melo Jr. and Jose Homero Reyes, who both worked as USDA inspectors, conspired with others to permit infested food and plants to come into the U.S. without proper fumigation. "We find this to be disturbing," said Prewett. "There are lots of ways we can get pest problems from Mexico, but it's a major concern when you have this kind of fraud in your inspection system." When pests are discovered on shipments entering the U.S., the Mexican shipper must send the product back or pay for fumigation under USDA supervision, including overtime charges for USDA workers. Reyes pleaded guilty, and Melo committed suicide after his indictment. Prosecutors alleged the conspiracy stems back to 2005. "People across the country ate those plant products infested with plant pests because of the crimes the defendants committed," said Assistant U.S. Attorney San Sheldon.
Red Chinese Deception After the dazzling opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing officials were forced to admit that the pictures broadcast to television viewers of giant fireworks footprints marching across the sky toward the main stadium were prerecorded, digitally enhanced, and inserted into video images beamed throughout the world. A day later, officials admitted another deception: Viewers didn't hear the voice of the picture-perfect cute young school girl who sang the national anthem as the Chinese flag entered the stadium. While she sang, her voice wasn't being broadcast. The voice viewers heard was that of another young girl whom the Communist politburo decided wasn't cute enough to be seen. But her singing voice was better, so the Communists directed that she sing off camera, while her voice was electronically substituted for the voice of the first girl. That is the same kind of deception uncovered when melamine -- a deadly poison that mimicks protein in chemical tests -- was found in Chinese-produced dog food that killed and sickened pets across the U.S. It is also the same kind of deception that killed and sickened hundreds of American patients who took the blood-thinning drug heparin manufactured with ingredients from China. FDA investigators said Chinese suppliers had substituted a cheaper ingredient that mimicked heparin's effects, but which caused deadly allergic reactions. Anybody see a pattern here?
Guns For Him, None For You
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daly in July announced a "Gun Turn In Program" that would reward city residents with a $100 pre-paid Mastercard for every gun turned in (whether operable or not) to various drop-off points, mostly churches, around the city. "Every gun turned in represents a life potentially saved," he solemnly intoned. No members of Daly's armed security detail, which travels with him wherever he goes, will be turning in their own guns, however.
|
Angling for a Fight
At a campaign stop in York, Pennslyvania, last month, John McCain said he told Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in a telephone conversation that "all Americans" back his fight against Russia. "I told him that I know I speak for every American when I said to him, today, we are all Georgians." Well, here's a news flash, senator: You don't speak for all Americans. Nobody elected you our spokesman. Maybe you speak for Arizona, but not for the rest of us. The election isn't until November. Furthermore, it was Georgian troops invading the disputed territory that triggered the Russian reaction, which does not at this time appear unreasonable. McCain's hair-trigger willingness to spit in Russia's face (with encouragement from the neocons) portends a new U.S.-sparked cold war -- or worse -- if the Arizonan gets into the Oval Office.
Hispanics in Obama's Pocket
Highly publicized efforts by the Republican Party and its leaders, especially President George Bush and Sen. John McCain, to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, have failed to win any friends for the party among Hispanic voters. Two-thirds of them intend to cast ballots for Democrat Barack Obama for president, according to a poll by the Pew Hispanic Center. Only 23 percent of survey respondents said they intended to vote for Republican John McCain. Among Hispanics of Mexican ancestry, Obama leads McCain by an overwhelming 70 percent to 21 percent. The poll parallels other studies that show 65 percent of Hispanics consider themselves Democrats compared to only 26 percent who say they are Republicans. Hispanics are roughly 15 percent of the population, but Hispanic voters are just 9 percent of the electorate.
Division in Diversity
Diversity hasn't proved to be much of strength in Los Angeles County. On the contrary, so-called "hate crimes" are on the rise, now that the county is a volatile mix of white, black, Asian, and Hispanic, with 64 percent of the county non-white. In the annual report from the county's Human Relations Commission, 763 hate crimes were reported in 2007, a 28 percent increase from 2006. The report noted that street gang activity is a major factor. The commission attributed 16 percent of all hate crimes to friction between black and Latino gangs. Racial and cultural diversity has achieved exactly just what common sense would suggest -- divisiveness.
Free Ride for Corporations
Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office. Collectively the companies reported sales in the trillions of dollars. The GAO study of 1.3 million corporations did not identify any company by name, nor did it explain why the corporations paid no income taxes. In addition, GAO said 7 of every 10 foreign corporations doing business in the U.S. also paid no taxes. It said some companies may have experienced operating losses. The study was requested by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, and Carl Levin, D-MI. Levin complained that corporations might be shifting income earned in high-tax jurisdictions such as the U.S. to low-tax foreign jurisdictions, blaming them for "tax trickery." Levin failed to note that Congress, of which he has been a member for 29 years, wrote the tax laws allowing it.
Obama or Die?
Politics in the new multicultural America are getting a little bit scary. Consider the recent political efforts of hip hop guru Sean "Diddy" Combs at the Black Entertainment Television awards in Los Angeles. "If we all register and vote, we will have the first black president in the history of America," he told an enthusiastic crowd at Shrine Auditorium. Then he led the audience in a chant of "Obama or die! Obama or die!" Whether that was a threat to make voters support Obama or a threat to others that Obama must win the election, was unclear.
|
