Can Lou Dobbs Define Sovereignty?

Yesterday, I dropped an angry comment on the blog www.yourrightsblog.com in response to a Lou Dobbs video they posted there. That blog labels itself as "Exposing true rights for Americans and Canadians." The comment appears not to be making it past the moderator approval process, so I will reproduce it here. I admit that I was not clever enough to save a copy, so this will not be a verbatim recitation of that comment.

Lou Dobbs is an idiot. CNN should fire him for that report. The report focuses on whether there is in fact a road construction project known as the NAFTA superhighway. It appears to be true that there are road and rail infrastructure projects going on in Texas. There is also even a surface transport hub proposed for Kansas City. Assume that is all true. What's the problem?

Throughout the report, the title at the bottom of the screen reads, "NAFTA Superhighway: Threat to Our Sovereignty." But nothing in the report discusses sovereignty. What makes a road construction project or other infrastructure improvements a threat to sovereignty? American consumers and businesses buy merchandise produced in and imported through Mexico. The road will facilitate the freer flow of merchandise. And, it seems CNN has not noticed that the road goes in both directions. If this is a threat to sovereignty, then so is the expansion of O'Hare Airport and so is a new bridge between Windsor and Detroit. The road project does not mean that Mexican troops will be stationed in the U.S. or that Canada Post will suddenly be delivering our mail.

If your response is that I am missing the fact that the super secret SPP is behind this, I am not. The Security and Prosperity Partnership is a framework for policy discussions between North American governments. Why? Because neighboring countries talk to one another. All three governments have an interest in security and prosperity. Of course they will talk about that.

But, you say, I don't understand that this is all controlled by the evil northeastern elite at the Council on Foreign Relations. Yes it is true that the academic wonks at the CFR have written and spoken on the efficiencies and benefits of greater North American integration. Somewhere along the way, someone even came up with the notion of a unified currency: the Amero. None 0f that discussion means the U.S. is moving any closer to giving up its sovereignty.

I'm not worried. Wake me when they close the U.S. Mint.

Comments

Anonymous said…
It was protectionist attitudes or the 19th century that contributed to our world wars of the 20th century. We don't learn our history very well.
Jun 27, 2008, 11:29:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I believe Lou Dobbs also reported on the "NAFTA Superhighway" in February shortly after the factcheck.org article on Ron Paul. If you're counting, that's twice in four months that he's felt the need to report on this. I would have included a link, but his reports on CNN.com only go back to late march.
Jul 8, 2008, 11:09:00 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CAFC Decision in Double Invoicing Case

The Federal Circuit has issued a decision on the merits in United States v. Inn Foods, Inc.  There had been a previous decision on jurisdiction, which was followed by a trial at the Court of International Trade and then this appeal on the substance. The initial issue is whether Inn Foods' invoicing practice amounts to fraud.  Inn Foods had been receiving an invoice from growers in Mexico that had a relatively low sales prices on it.  Subsequent to entry, Inn Foods created a second invoice at something more similar to market value, retaining the original invoice number, and paid at that higher amount.   Superficially, this looks like a standard-issue double-invoicing scheme.  But, in the age of reconciliation, is it really more like a provisional pricing mechanism?  It might have been possible to make that argument had Inn Foods adjusted its entries accordingly.  It didn't and the loss of revenue was approximately $624,000.  Based on testimony and evidence indicating both knowl
Read more

Ninestar and UFLPA Exhaustion

Image
Exhaustion is a key doctrine in administrative law. When applicable, it requires that a party unhappy with an agency’s determination complete the administrative appeal process before turning to the courts for judicial review. Requiring exhaustion typically promotes judicial efficiency by ensuring that disputes are resolved at the agency and, if they are not, that there is a complete record of the agency process. Exhaustion also ensures that the judiciary respects the executive agencies and their expertise.  There are, on the other hand, times when the courts will find that exhaustion is not necessary or appropriate. Such is the case in  Ninestar Corporation et al. v. United States  et al., a decision of the U.S. Court of International Trade.  Ninestar is also interesting because it is one of the first cases in the CIT involving the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, known as UFLPA. In my hiatus from active blogging, I missed the rise of UFLPA as a major compliance topic. So, let's
Read more

Precious Tritium

Image
One thing I have learned as a customs lawyer who does a lot of classification work is that there are millions of odd items moving in international trade the existence of which I am completely ignorant. Such is the case of the gaseous tritium light sources used in, among other things, firearm sights. These things use tritium sealed in a glass that has been coated in phosphor. The radioactive tritium decays, releasing beta particles, which interact with the phosphor causing it to emit light. In other words, it creates light with no external power source. Pretty cool.  Tritium is, of course, a real thing. It is an isotope of hydrogen. We know this from the excellent documentary "Spider-Man." This comes up in relation to the Court of International Trade decision in Trijicon, Inc. v. United States  in which the importer challenged the tariff classification of several versions of the gaseous tritium light sources ("GTLS"). The plaintiff uses them to make gun sights. The
Read more