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DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER
Week of June 29, 2008
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Updated on a regular basis
Bulletin Board:
- The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,
- 640 Barret Avenue .
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Full Appropriations Committee Advances Yarmuth’s
$45 million for New VA Hospital
Louisville hospital is sole project to receive funding not requested by President
Congressman John Yarmuth’s (KY-3) announced today that a new Veterans
Administration (VA) Health Center in Louisville is one major step closer to
reality, with the full Appropriations Committee approving the $45 million he
requested for site acquisition and preparation to begin construction.
The future Louisville hospital was the only project not requested by the President to be included in the bill. This is the first time that money for the hospital has been secured.
“The committee was very sympathetic to the needs of Louisville veterans and were willing to work with me to address their needs,” Congressman Yarmuth said. “The coalition that I’ve built in Congress in support of this project will help ensure that Louisville offers the best possible care to area veterans and set the standard for medical excellence in the region.”
The funding is included in the FY09 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bilol, which will be voted on by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks. The Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to consider its version of the bill on July 17.
Late last year, Yarmuth called on President Bush to include funding for Louisville’s new VA hospital in his Administration’s FY09 budget. When the Administration failed to provide any money, the Louisville lawmaker sought his own funding for the Louisville VA through the House appropriations process.
Congressman Yarmuth Responds to
Northup's Gas Rhetoric
Anne Northup announced that she will continue to champion President Bush's
oil policies. Congressman John Yarmuth issued the following statement:
"Anne Northup needs to come clean on her energy position. Today, she
announced that she will continue to support the Bush policies that got us in
this mess in the first place," Congressman Yarmuth said. "She has over a half
a million dollars in gas, oil and energy company stocks and continues to make
a fortune off the high gas prices Louisville families are paying at the pump.
She has funded her campaigns with over $300,000 from big oil. I answer only
to the people of Louisville, and I will continue to put the needs of our
families first. We have already enacted the most comprehensive energy reform
policy in 30 years, and we will continue to advance innovative legislation
that combats high energy costs and shifts to a more energy efficient
economy."
THE FACTS
ANWR:
· Drilling ANWR would not yield usable oil for nearly a decade.
The Bush Administration estimates that drilling ANWR would lower gas prices
by a maximum of $0.03 per gallon.
'Use it or Lose it'
Big oil already has leases and permits to drill 68 million acres, which
they are not using. The total area is more than triple ANWR.
Congressman Yarmuth and his colleagues believe that before we consider
giving the oil companies more land to drill they should produce on the
properties they already control.
If oil companies tapped the 68 million federal acres of leased land it
would generate an estimated 4.8 million barrels of oil a day – six times what ANWR would produce at its peak.
80 percent of the oil available on the Outer Continental Shelf is already
open for leasing—but the oil companies have yet to drill there.
What You Should Know About America's
Next President
Louisville Young Democrats update: June 19, 2008
Yarmuth to open campaign headquarters Saturday
Congressman John Yarmuth will celebrate the opening of his re-election
campaign's headquarters, 900 E. Market St., with an open house from 10
a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturday.
The open house will include a cookout and activities for the entire family,
as well as appearances by the congressman, his campaign staff and local and
party leaders.
The event will take place rain or shine.
For more information, go to
www.yarmuthforcongress.com.
Lunsford needs your vote now in online poll
Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford is among nine candidates under consideration
to receive a contribution from Senator Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots
Fund. The fund's mission is to promote a progressive reform agenda and to
support Democratic candidates for office across the country.
The winner of an online poll will determine which candidate receives a
contribution from the fund. Go to www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/pickapatriot/vote-senate-challengers-1.html
and cast your vote for Bruce. The poll ends at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, June 23.
Why the AFL-CIO Endorses Barack Obama, By John J. Sweeney
If ever working families needed change we can believe in, it is now.
America’s promise to working families has been broken by the deliberate corporatization of our economy. The basic needs and dreams of our families have been sold to the highest corporate bidders—Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance industry, the giant mortgage lenders and the speculators.
With 80 percent of the public saying our country is headed in the wrong direction, it’s time to turn around America.
This primary season, we were blessed with a committed and talented group of working family champions running for the presidency. Each would have brought special strengths on our behalf to the White House. AFL-CIO unions embraced and campaigned mightily on behalf of former Sen. John Edwards and Sens. Chris Dodd, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
But now the AFL-CIO’s autonomous unions, representing 10.5 million working men and women from every walk of life, have come together to pledge our energy, our hearts and our grassroots strength to electing Barack Obama.
The reasons are many.
As the son of a single mother, as a Chicago community organizer and Illinois state senator, Obama saw first-hand and addressed the struggles of working families. And in his years in the U.S. Senate, he has earned a 98 percent record of voting on behalf of working families.
On the greatest priorities of America’s union movement and the millions of working people we represent, Obama’s record and proposals ensure he is the right choice.
Good Jobs and Wages: Obama proposes an "aggressive strategy to create good, middle-class jobs," including hundreds of thousands of jobs in the renewable energy sector. He opposed the Bush administration’s move to take overtime pay rights from some 10 million workers. He strongly supports Davis-Bacon wage protections and Project Labor Agreements and voted repeatedly to increase the minimum wage.
Health Care: Obama’s plan would provide health care for all, lower costs, improve quality and ensure no one could be denied care because of a preexisting condition or illness.
Employee Free Choice Act: Obama is committed to ensuring that workers can choose to gain a union voice on the job and bargain with their employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions—without employer harassment or intimidation. He cosponsored and voted for the Employee Free Choice Act and promises to sign it into law as president.
Fair Trade. Obama wants to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and will oppose new trade agreements unless more steps are taken to protect American jobs and the environment.
Fair Taxes. Obama's tax proposal would give families making between $37,595 and $66,354 a year an average tax cut of $1,042, compared with the $319 proposed by rival John McCain.
Retirement Security. Obama opposes privatizing Social Security and has a solid record of supporting Social Security and Medicare as well as opposing cuts in benefits. He also has fought to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.
An Economy That Works for All: Obama says working families' current economic hardships were not "inevitable." They resulted from irresponsible economic policies by the Bush administration that gave tax breaks to the rich while cutting working family priorities. Obama consistently has fought tax cuts for the wealthy and program cuts for working families.
As president, Barack Obama can lead the change working families need.
Find out more about Barack Obama and his positions on key working family priorities at www.MeetObama08.org. Then help us spread the word.
Comments:
None this week
DAILY GRILL
"There's not going to be a short-term response [to high gas prices]. And
it would be irresponsible for anybody to suggest there would be." -- White
House Press Secretary Dana Perino,
6/23/08
VERSUS
"[Expanded oil drilling] will reduce gasoline prices in the short term." --
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt
(R-MO),
5/12/08
Quotes of the Day
''You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.'' —President George W. Bush, interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006
Recent Senate Votes
Cloture
Motion; Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 - Vote
Rejected (52-44, 4 Not Voting)
The Senate again failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to proceed to debate
on this bill that extends a series of tax provisions.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO
Overriding the Veto of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
- Vote Passed (80-14, 6 Not Voting)
The Senate again voted to override the President’s veto of the farm bill, as
a second veto was necessary because of a print error in the first version of
the bill sent to the President.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES
Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES
Cloture Motion; Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008 - Vote Rejected
(51-43, 6 Not Voting)
The Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to move forward on this bill
intended to provide energy price relief and prevent price gouging.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO
Cloture Motion; Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 - Vote
Rejected (50-44, 6 Not Voting)
The Senate failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to proceed to a debate on
this House bill that "patches" the alternative minimum tax and extends a
series of tax provisions.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO
Cloture Motion; Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008
- Vote Rejected (54-39, 7 Not Voting)
The Senate did not get the necessary 60 votes to advance to debate on this
Medicare bill.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO
Recent House Votes
Overriding
the Veto of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 - Vote
Passed (317-109, 8 Not Voting)
The House voted to override the President’s veto of the farm bill again, as
a second veto was necessary due to a print error in the first version of the
bill sent to the President.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008
- Vote Passed (409-15, 9 Not Voting)
The House passed this bill to expand NASA operations and set the agency’s
budget for the next fiscal year.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act - Vote Passed
(278-146, 10 Not Voting)
The House voted to provide four weeks of paid parental leave to federal
employees who adopt or give birth to a child.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 - Vote Passed (268-155,
12 Not Voting)
The House approved this $165.4 billion bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq through FY2008 and the beginning of FY2009.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES
Rep. John Yarmuth voted NO
FISA Amendments Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (293-129, 13 Not
Voting)
The House passed this intelligence bill that would revise U.S. surveillance
laws.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act - Vote Passed
(311-104, 18 Not Voting)
The House passed a measure reauthorizing $14.4 billion in funding for Amtrak
over the next five years.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
Articles of Impeachment - Vote Passed (251-166, 16 Not
Voting)
The House voted to refer 35 Articles of Impeachment against President Bush
to the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008 - Vote
Passed (274-137, 23 Not Voting)
The House voted to extend unemployment insurance benefits for workers who
exhaust the current 26-week period of eligibility.
Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
HUMOR
"Hillary
Clinton is out campaigning with
Barack Obama. She says if it goes well, she'll consider making him as
her running mate." --David Letterman
"Well, you know, Barack Obama, he's started a fashion craze in Italy.
Italian designers have taken his look, and they're turning it into fashion.
It's an amazing thing. But don't sell John McCain short. He's also
influencing fashion. He has popularized the 'something on your chin' look."
--David Letterman
"Californians now driving across the border to get cheap gas in Mexico.
Here's another tip. Instead of gas, try using Rite Aid vodka. Much cheaper,
and about the same mileage." --David Letterman
"Hey, there was an interesting study released today which says that people
who live here in the state of California are less convinced that there is a
God than the people of any other state in the country. On an unrelated note,
more than 800 wildfires here in California are currently burning out of
control." --Jimmy Kimmel
"Arnold
Schwarzenegger met
John McCain today. And it was a very awkward moment when they shook
hands because McCain's hand broke off." --Craig Ferguson
"John McCain and Barack Obama have both laid out their energy plans. Obama
wants enough "green" energy to power the entire U.S. economy, and McCain
just wants enough energy to stay up past nine o'clock." --Craig Ferguson
"Both McCain and Senator Barack Obama are trying to woo voters who are
outside their natural demographic. In this election, for Senator Obama, that
means trying to reach working class, non-Muslim white women who love
America." --Jon Stewart
"Senator Obama also released his first national commercial, designed to
answer the age-old question: How many real American buzz words does it take
to convince swing states you're not elitist? [on screen: Obama's ad, with
'buzz words' highlighted]. Well done, Senator Obama. We also would have
accepted guns, corn, and/or boobs." --Jon Stewart
ETHICS -- WHITE HOUSE TO ARGUE IT IS IMMUNE
TO SUBPOENAS: Today, the refusal Bush administration's to honor House
Judiciary Committee subpoenas compelling White House Chief of Staff Josh
Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to testify, will be
considered today in federal court. The committee is seeking information
into the 2006 dismissal of nine
ADMINISTRATION -- WHITE HOUSE BLOCKS ARMY'S EFFORT TO INCREASE OVERSIGHT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTORS: Last fall, a blue-ribbon panel examining waste and fraud in defense contracts for Iraq recommended adding five active-duty generals to oversee purchasing and monitor contractor performance. Now that the Army is trying to implement the change, the White House's Office of Management and Budget has shot down the effort, giving no reason for rejecting the Army's proposal. The additional generals would add a mere $1.2 million a year in personnel costs. By contrast, a Defense Contract Audit Agency found $4.9 billion "in overpricing and waste" in Iraq contracts since 2003, a figure that doesn't include an additional $5.1 billion in "expenses charged without documentation." In other words, the White House is blocking a reform that would cost only .012 percent of the $10 billion already lost to contract waste. Last year, President Bush opposed legislation that would limit no-bid contracts and increase congressional oversight of the most lucrative contracts. Despite his opposition, the House passed the bill with 347 votes, and the Senate approved it unanimously.
SURVEILLANCE -- DODD AND FEINGOLD PLEDGE TELECOM IMMUNITY FILIBUSTER: Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) proposed an amendment yesterday to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation that would strip retroactive immunity provisions for telecommunication companies. They declared their intention to filibuster the bill, which passed the House 293-129 last week: We will oppose any efforts to end debate on this bill as long as it provides retroactive immunity." Speaking on the Senate floor last night, Dodd declared, "This is about illegal, unwarranted, unchecked domestic surveillance," adding, "I will not and cannot support this legislation." Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have also endorsed efforts to strip retroactive immunity from the bill, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) indicated he will support a filibuster. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that he would cosponsor the Dodd-Feingold Amendment but would not stop the bill from coming to a vote on the floor. The Senate is expected to vote on cloture on the bill as early as this morning.
ECONOMY -- FORECLOSURE FORCING MIDDLE CLASS INTO HOMELESSNESS: A study by the National Coalition for the Homeless shows that the real estate crisis has pushed thousands of formerly working- and middle-class Americans into homelessness or near-homelessness. There were about two million foreclosures in 2007, the highest rate since data was first collected in 1979 -- affecting many middle-class families "who scarcely expected to find themselves unable to afford their homes." According to the study, which allowed those surveyed to indicate multiple answers, about 54 percent of displaced homeowners "are moving to emergency shelters. About 40% are already on the streets." Since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, "nearly 61% of local and state homeless coalitions say they've seen a rise in homelessness." And around two million children will "be directly affected by the subprime mortgage crisis as their families lose their homes to foreclosures," according to the advocacy group First Focus. Still, plans to provide relief to struggling Americans have stalled: yesterday, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) blocked a Senate bill to "help troubled borrowers save their homes," even though it has broad bipartisan support and Ensign's home state of Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation
Think Fast
"Five years into the war in Iraq and nearly seven years into the war in Afghanistan, getting news of the conflicts onto television is harder than ever." Almost halfway into 2008, the three evening network newscasts have shown 181 weekday minutes of Iraq coverage, compared with 1,157 minutes for all of 2007. "That's about two minutes of Iraq coverage, per network, per week."
According to a new Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector's General report to be released today, high-ranking political appointees, beginning under former attorney general John Ashcroft, moved to "exert more control" more over the DOJ's prestigious hiring program. They reportedly tried to stock it with "young conservatives in a five-year-long attempt to reshape the department's ranks."
"For almost two years former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge failed to register a nearly half-million-dollar lobbying contract that he had with the government of Albania." Ridge, who just registered earlier this month, said he "didn't think it was [necessary] to register," even though federal law requires "agents to register with the DOJ within 10 days of signing a contract with a foreign government."
The flights of nearly 40,000 travelers were canceled or delayed at Heathrow Airport to accommodate President Bush during his stopover in London on June 15 and 16. British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh criticized the disruption, stating, "The decision to allow President Bush and his fleet of aircraft to fly into Heathrow rather than a military base was one all of Heathrow's users could have done without."
Yesterday, in a surprise victory, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill "to prevent a 10 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors that was scheduled to take effect July 1." Backers of the legislation warned that such a cut "would lead to many physicians opting out of treating Medicare patients."
CQ writes that the Senate may not vote on FISA reform until after the Independence Day recess. "There are two things we have to do before we go home for July Fourth: housing and Medicare," Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said Tuesday. "We do not have to do, if the Republicans don't want to do it, we don't have to do FISA and we don't have to do the supplemental" spending measure for the wars.
INTERESTING
Prejudice in the voting booth is wrong and dumb, By BERRY CRAIG
Apparently, some white Democrats didn’t vote for Sen. Barack Obama in the primaries because he is African American.
That’s wrong. It’s also dumb if you pack a union card.
“It’s been a long time since we had a president who stood up and said unions are good thing,” MSNBC quoted Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee. “It’s been a long time since we had a president who said workers are not getting their fair share.”
Pro-union deeds back up Obama’s pro-union words. He has a 96 percent positive labor voting record, according to the AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education. Few senators score higher.
Now that Sen. Hillary Clinton has conceded defeat to Obama, Sen. John McCain is wooing Democrats who voted for her. The “straight talker” Republican nominee would never admit it, of course. But the Clinton voters McCain thinks he’s most likely to get mainly are the white folks who rejected Obama because of his skin color.
At least Sen. McCain is color-blind when it comes to working class Americans, according to one top labor official. McCain shafts them all, no matter if they “are white, Black, Hispanic or otherwise,” says Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers of America.
The numbers support Gerard’s claim. McCain has a 16 percent pro-labor COPE score.
Jeff Wiggins, a Kentucky Steelworker leader, agrees with Gerard. “We’re on to McCain,” said Wiggins, president of the Paducah-based Western Kentucky Area Council, AFL-CIO. “He’s ‘John McSame,’ as in the same old anti-union policies of George W. Bush.”
Voting on race or gender is wrong, period. To have voted against Clinton because she is a woman is stupid, too, if you belong to a union. Her COPE score is 94 percent.
I’d bet the farm that Obama would be the first person to say it is also wrong for anybody to vote against McCain because he’s a white man. He may have said it already.
Anyway, I learned in the Presbyterian Church that racism and sexism are not what Christ taught. Jesus said we are all God’s children. Like a good parent, God loves us all the same. That’s in the Good Book, too.
In addition, Jesus admonished us to do unto others as we would have others do unto us. Christians call it the Golden Rule. But the same principle can be found in other religions, including Judaism and Islam.
For the record: Obama is a Christian despite the lies being spread by religious crazies, notably Internet nut jobs. One of my teaching buddies calls these wackos “the Christian Taliban.”
“You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it,” Obama said in one of his best known speeches. “You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away -- because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey.”
Wiggins added a Baptist “amen.”
“Unions believe in ‘do unto others,’” he said. “But we don’t just preach brotherhood and sisterhood. We practice it every day. In a union everybody is equal.”
The record backs him up. African Americans and women have been delegates to his council or on the council executive board for a long time. That’s true for other labor councils across the Bluegrass State, Wiggins said.
The W.C. Young Award, the highest honor the Western Kentucky Area Council bestows, is named for its first recipient, an African American and national labor and civil rights leader from Paducah.
“W.C. was a brother to those of us fortunate enough to have known him,” Wiggins said. “He is an inspiration to our younger brothers and sisters who didn’t know him.”
My guess is that very few white Democrats who voted against Obama on race are union members. I am confident Obama will do well among union voters from Paducah to Pikeville and, for that matter, from Palo Alto to Presque Isle.
Come November 4, most union members will do what they always do. They will vote for the candidate who will best protect their unions and their jobs. “That’s Barack Obama,” Wiggins said.
Author: Rove helped manage Swift Boat attacks on Kerry By Agence France Presse
Karl Rove may have left the Bush administration last summer, but he is never very far from the political spotlight, especially with former press secretary Scott McClellan due to testify today on Rove’s role in the outing of Valerie Plame.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe welcomed Paul Alexander, the author of Machiavelli’s Shadow: The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove, to dig through Rove’s legacy of scandal.
Alexander,
whose book is based on interviews with many sources who have never before
gone on the record, told Joe Scarborough that Rove was essentially fired by
George W. Bush. “My sources tell me that the president had sort of reached
the point where he wasn’t willing to deal with the scandals and the
controversies any more,” Alexander stated. “He basically told him to leave.”
Alexander explained further that “there were a number of issues that were still potential landmines,” including the US Attorneys scandal, “leftover” Abramoff stuff, and the Plame affair.
Asked by Pat Buchanan whether Rove had “a hand in the Swiftboat thing,” Alexander replied, “Sure, absolutely. He helped arrange the sort of message, arranged the funding. … That was probably the key smear in the 2004 campaign.”
Alexander said that Rove almost certainly knew Kerry suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which makes it very difficult for him to talk about his Vietnam experiences. “They attacked him in such a way that they knew he couldn’t respond in an effective manner. … He went 30 days without responding. … He didn’t know what to say or what to do.”
Although Buchanan and Scarborough expressed continuing respect for the electoral victories Rove achieved between 1994 and 2004, Alexander was far less impressed.
“Look at the legacy,” Alexander stated. “He has a president with the lowest sustained approval rating since Nixon, or maybe lower than Nixon. He’s putting John McCain, a highly electable candidate, in a position in the fall where he’s going to have to do everything he’s got to make himself electable, in part because the Bush legacy and the bad approval ratings are such a drain on the Republican ticket.”
“Rove isn’t responsible for all of Bush’s failures,” objected Buchanan. “Is he responsible for Katrina?”
“I think he’s responsible for the incredibly slow lag-time, the response time that took place down there,” Alexander answered. “I think he was playing politics behind the scenes.”
A chapter from Alexander’s book describing Hurricane Katrina and “how Karl Rove played politics while people drowned” is available at Salon
Buy American Mention of the Week
U.S. Grown and U.S. Owned, By Roger Simmermaker
George Washington was one of the first to advocate a Buy American policy, but it wasn’t only his actions as president that strengthened America’s economy. His personal decisions worked to the benefit of the American economy as well. In the 1760s, Washington’s lone cash crop was tobacco, most of which he exported to England, and he relied on an agent to use most of the profits to purchase imported finished goods.
But Washington eventually formed his own personal Declaration of Independence from England. This came about as a direct result of Washington being unable to audit his agent’s activities and being unable to determine whether he was being treated honestly. He switched from raising and exporting tobacco to raising corn and wheat, which were sold to local merchants, and he used the profits to buy finished goods from American craftsman. In his historical farewell address, Washington said, “There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favours from nations.”
In today’s more globalized economy, it’s important that our country once again focus on being self-sufficient in agriculture like our first president did in our nation’s infancy. Certainly citizens in other countries as well and the U.S. agree with the premise of agricultural independence. South Korean union activist Oh Jong Ryul, who led a hunger strike protesting the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea said, “It is a right for a country to feed its own people and a right for a country to produce its own food.” South Korea's average tariff on food products is 52%, compared with 12% in the U.S.
As agricultural exports from China surge, that country’s food problems become the world’s problems. As of June 2007, the Chinese government had closed 180 food factories and found 23,000 food-safety infractions where food manufacturers used industrial chemicals and additives in products from candy to seafood. China grows half of the world's vegetables, and China's total agricultural exports to the U.S. have risen to $2.26 billion in 2006 from $133 million in 1980. More than half of all apple juice imported into the United States now comes from China, up from 1% a decade ago. And about half of all garlic and garlic powder in the U.S. comes from China.
Even though the volume of imported food has tripled in the last 10 years, the percentage of food imports subject to FDA inspections has actually decreased. According to Rufus Chaney, a research agronomist at the USDA, “It's the luck of the draw, not preparation that's protected us.” If that’s true, then we had better do something to protect ourselves before our luck runs out. Food-related illnesses already cost America’s economy nearly $7 billion annually.
It might be more comforting to U.S. consumers if Chinese companies realized the scope of the problem, but according to a June 20, 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal, the Chinese don’t always get it. Zong Changbao, president of one of the Chinese companies that was forced to stop using diethylene glycol in Chinese-made toothpaste resulting from safety concerns said, “This problem doesn't exist. It's just a matter of U.S. standards, not a safety problem.” Mr. Zong further opined, “The FDA standard is used as a reference in many countries. If China were as powerful as the U.S., we could set the world standard.” Do we need any more reason to make sure that China does not become as powerful as the U.S. and have justification to set world standards? If we are going to work to ensure America remains the world’s economic superpower, then we’re going to have to stop sending so may dollars to China and start buying more goods produced within our own borders.
So what steps can we as consumers take to ensure that the food we consume, including beverages like apple juice, comes from U.S. sources? A great place to start would be to pay a visit to American owned www.usgrown.com. U.S. Grown was founded by Clifford DeMay, who was previously a Farm Division Manager for American-owned Seneca Foods. The mission of U.S. grown is quite simple. It’s to show consumers that they have a choice to purchase food products grown in the United States. U.S. Grown believes, as is evident from the statement on their patriotic-style labels, that to survive a nation must feed itself. U.S. Grown is devoted to reviving and supporting U.S. agriculture through a campaign focused on the labeling of foods, and their desire is to make consumer selection easier by giving consumers the ability to choose 100% U.S. grown products.
If we truly want homegrown food products, we need to ask for it from America’s retailers, and then they will see the benefits in stocking their retail store shelves with domestically grown food.
At www.usgrown.com, you’ll find canned goods that include U.S. grown peaches, pears, green beans, sliced carrots, sweet peas, whole kernel corn, and mixed vegetables. You can also buy premium apple juice from U.S. grown apples.
If polls are any guide, U.S. Grown could be onto something big. A June 2007 Consumer Reports magazine poll found 92% of Americans want country-of-origin labels on meat and produce. A nationwide poll conducted by Sacred Heart University in September 2007 found 68.6% of Americans now check labels for information like manufacturer, nation of origin or ingredients, compared to 52.9% the year before. On August 14, 2007 – the same day I was interviewed on Fox News Channel’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto” – results of a FoxNews.com poll asked if it was time to play it safe and buy American in light of the millions of recalled toys coming from China, and 96% of those surveyed said “yes.”
The time is now to buy American in areas from toys to food and beyond, and we should especially shun potentially dangerous products from China. Our health, our standard of living, and our sacred national independence are all at stake.
Roger Simmermaker is the author of How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism. He also writes “Buy American Mention of the Week” articles for his website www.howtobuyamerican.com and is a member of the Machinists Union and National Writers Union. Roger has been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, has been quoted in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal and US News & World Report among many other publications, and is a weekly contributor to WorldNetDaily.com.
GOOD NEWS
Americans gave to charities last year at about the same rate they did the previous year, holding steady on their donations in the face of a housing-market meltdown and a crisis in credit
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