[hedgetrimmer]

"The upcoming vote on CAFTA promises a replay of mafia-style tactics used to coerce votes from reluctant House members," he said. "Already, arms are being twisted; deals and pork payoffs are being made with your tax dollars; political threats have been issued -- and that's only the beginning."

This is exactly what industry representatives and Washington insiders told me this week.

[hedgetrimmer]

Article 10.5.2 says international tribunals must use "customary international law" as established by "principle legal systems of the world" when deciding cases.

This is utterly and completely in violation of the foundation of our sovereign government, that the Constitution, is the supreme law for AMERICANS and that international tribunals must not take precedence over the United States legal system.

[xcamel]

CAFTA:

Communists And Fascists Taking America

[Torie]

All of this process stuff, is really just a desire for economic autarky. Paul is a hopeless nutter and kook. Trade agreements are often enfored by independent third parties. If one doesn't like how it pans out, then repeal the treaty. The disingenuous of this all is just killing me. What also is odd is just how much hand wringing there is over this rather insignificant event, from an economic perspective.

America is going to have to compete on the economic world stage without a nanny trade regime, or slowly wither away and die. America is more and more the planet itself in so many ways. There is no turning back. Deal with it.

[proudofthesouth]

Could it be that the Bilderberg Group are really the ones running our country?

[opinionator]

Wow! This reads like a DU thread. Maybe it's true that the political spectrum is shaped like a horseshoe, where those on the extreme right and those on the extreme left end up sounding a lot like each other.

[raybbr]

From another thread:“Cross-border trade in services or cross-border supply of services means the supply of a service…by a national of a party in the territory of another party.” The agreement goes on to say that the U.S. must ensure that, “measures relating to qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and licensing requirements do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services,” and are “not in themselves a restriction on the supply of the service.”

This also means that licensing standards here in the U.S. that any foreigner deems "unnecessary barriers to trade in services" will be challenged in the court of international law.

This opens the door for all plumbers, electrician, HVAC, doctors, teachers, nurses, etc. that think that our licensing standards constitute a barrier to their finding a job will challenge them. And, probably win. Do you want a Guatemalan wiring your home? Or an Ecuadoran nurse taking care of you in ICU? Neither of which have passed any kind of testing of their knowledge here in the U.S.?<

Tancredo Blasts CAFTA’s Back Door Immigration Provisions

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Snyder said the agreement will no doubt be decided "by as little as three or four votes."

Hopefully this time it's on the side of the American people and not the globalists.

[DLfromthedesert]

My Congressman, Jim Kolbe, was at our district meeting this morning. He stated that CAFTA was essential, and that the jobs created in Central America would prevent illegals from those countries from coming here seeking work.

Funny... I recall in 1993 when he said the same thing about illegal Mexicans and NAFTA. Boy, that sure worked out, didn't it.....

[_Jim]

Hey hedge buddy - from that same website, www.agweekley.com comes this article:

A Laborious Agreement
- 06/17/2005
by Dean Kleckner, Truth About Trade and Technology

I'm happy to announce that the U.S. House of Representative has delivered a resounding victory for free trade. Last week, by a vote of 338-86, members rejected a proposal to withdraw from the World Trade Organization. At a time when political sentiment in Washington seems to be swinging toward protectionism, it is encouraging to see more than three-quarters of the House come down squarely on the side of international commerce.

But the result of the vote was a negative accomplishment--i.e., it avoided a manifest catastrophe, rather than achieving a positive good. As we move ahead, Congress should build on its recent record of expanding free trade with Australia , Jordan , and Morocco . It can do this by approving CAFTA-DR, an important agreement between the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic .

President Bush recently identified CAFTA-DR as one of his top legislative priorities. He has linked its passage to national security interests. "CAFTA is more than just a trade agreement," he said on June 6. "It is a signal of the U.S. commitment to democracy and prosperity for our neighbors."

For anybody who remembers the 1980s--a time when our hemisphere was "divided by resentment and false ideologies," as Bush put it--the stability of Central America is nothing to take for granted. The United States must do everything it can to promote freedom in these fledgling democracies. Trade is an excellent way of doing that.

The enemies of CAFTA-DR don't talk about this key point, perhaps because it's so obvious and so indisputable. Instead, they concentrate on the question of labor rights--and their concerns deserve a careful response.

...

MORE - Visit link

[Loud Mime]

www.thotline.com

Let the congressmen know what you're thinking.

Steve