Critics bash Mexican truck decision

[Yurt]

Critics bash Mexican truck decision

WASHINGTON - The news that Mexican trucks will be allowed to haul freight deeper into the United States drew an angry reaction Friday from labor leaders, safety advocates and members of Congress.

They said Mexico has substandard trucks and low-paid drivers that will threaten national security, cost thousands of jobs and endanger motorists on the northern side of the Mexican border.

The Bush administration on Thursday announced its plan to have U.S. inspectors oversee Mexican trucking companies that carry cargo across the border.

"This program will make trade with Mexico easier and keep our roads safe at the same time," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Friday. She announced details of the plan to let 100 Mexican trucking companies travel beyond the border area while she was in El Paso, Texas, at the Bridge of the Americas, which connects to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Said Teamsters President Jim Hoffa: "They are playing a game of Russian roulette on America's highways."

Access to all U.S. highways was promised by 2000 under the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, as was access through Mexico for U.S. carriers.

That aspect of NAFTA was stalled by lawsuits and disagreements between the two countries, though Canadian and U.S. trucks travel freely across the northern border.

The Bush pilot project will let Mexican truck companies travel from Mexico throughout the United States and back. No hazardous material shipments will be permitted.

According to the Transportation Department, U.S. inspectors will inspect every truck and interview drivers to make sure they can read and speak English. They'll examine trucks and check the licenses, insurance and driving records of the Mexican drivers. Inspectors will also verify that the trucking companies are insured by U.S.-licensed firms.

The first Mexican trucks are expected to drive into the United States beyond the border area in about 60 days, the Transportation Department says.

National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman questioned how the U.S. could spare sending inspectors to Mexico when only a tiny percentage of the hundreds of thousands of U.S. truck companies are inspected every year.

"They lack the inspectors to conduct safety reviews of at-risk domestic carriers," Hersman said. "That situation only gets worse if resources are diverted to the border."

One-fourth of all U.S. trucks are taken off the road after random inspections because they're so unsafe, she said. An even higher percentage of Mexican trucks are taken off the road at Texas border crossings, she said.

Mexican carriers insist their rigs meet U.S. standards. And according to the Transportation Department, 240 federal and 300 state government employees deal with Mexican truck issues.

Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, said inspections will be meaningless because the trucks won't have black boxes that record how long a driver has been behind the wheel.

"They have no way of telling how many hours these truck drivers have been driving before they get to the U.S., let alone when they get here," Claybrook said.

Sen. Patty Murray (news, bio, voting record), D-Wash., chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, announced a March 8 hearing to determine whether the arrangement meets safety requirements.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., chair of the House Highways subcommittee, said Congress will keep a close eye on the program.

Mexico responded to the U.S. announcement by saying it will allow trucks from 100 U.S. companies to travel across the border.

Business groups have wanted the border opened to avoid middleman costs of transferring goods from Mexican to U.S. trucks.

The American Trucking Associations said it supports the program, but wants to make sure that U.S. and Mexican truck companies are held to the same standards.

"We also are waiting to see that when US carriers are allowed to travel into Mexico that the regulatory and permitting process that U.S. carriers undergo is fair and transparent," the ATA said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/mexican_trucks

[Pale Rider]

This ought to make it MUCH easier for terrorists to get that dirty bomb into America.... :uhoh:

[Gunny]

This ought to make it MUCH easier for terrorists to get that dirty bomb into America.... :uhoh:

The gist of the article is corret, IMO. I see these smoke-belching relics of yesteryear trooping up I-35 on a daily basis. Why is it for the sake of destroying our national sovereinty Mexicans don't have to abide by the same anit-pollution laws we do?

[Dilloduck]

The gist of the article is corret, IMO. I see these smoke-belching relics of yesteryear trooping up I-35 on a daily basis. Why is it for the sake of destroying our national sovereinty Mexicans don't have to abide by the same anit-pollution laws we do?

I see the same ones wrecking here as they go thru Austin---btw--I wake up this morning and hear a thud and a moan---I look outside my bedroom window and see three dudes beating this dude over the head with a log !!!! I call the cops and go out to check on the guy and they're all gone---just left behind a money tansfer slip to Banco de Mexico----crazy.

[Gunny]

I see the same ones wrecking here as they go thru Austin---btw--I wake up this morning and hear a thud and a moan---I look outside my bedroom window and see three dudes beating this dude over the head with a log !!!! I call the cops and go out to check on the guy and they're all gone---just left behind a money tansfer slip to Banco de Mexico----crazy.

NAFTA sucks ass. It's political ass-kissing of the worst kind. Any and every vehicle and person that enters this country should be documented and subject to search.

Our borders are a f-ing joke.

[Dilloduck]

NAFTA sucks ass. It's political ass-kissing of the worst kind. Any and every vehicle and person that enters this country should be documented and subject to search.

Our borders are a f-ing joke.

When the crime starts happening 4 feet from my bedroom window and the cops don't do shit, it' gotten WAY outta hand !

[Gunny]

When the crime starts happening 4 feet from my bedroom window and the cops don't do shit, it' gotten WAY outta hand !

Lean out the window with a scattergun and tell them to take their shit elsewhere. I wouldn't hesitate.

If you ever come down here for any reason, DON'T stay on the West Side. An Iraqi neighborhood is downright peaceful in comparison.

[Dilloduck]

Lean out the window with a scattergun and tell them to take their shit elsewhere. I wouldn't hesitate.

If you ever come down here for any reason, DON'T stay on the West Side. An Iraqi neighborhood is downright peaceful in comparison.

I had my 9mm out but they bolted before I could get off the phone to 911. Some real gnarly looking bastards---there's still blood on the grass out here and the one cop the sent out didnt even want to know what thy looked like--she just asked if they were Mexicans.

[Gunny]

I had my 9mm out but they bolted before I could get off the phone to 911. Some real gnarly looking bastards---there's still blood on the grass out here and the one cop the sent out didnt even want to know what thy looked like--she just asked if they were Mexicans.

The PC ignoring the obvious, but cops know what's up. Most of the criminals around here are Mexicans as well. They'd rather buy that "La Raza" crap and emulate their favorite "gangsta" video than get a real job.

[Gunny]

I had my 9mm out but they bolted before I could get off the phone to 911. Some real gnarly looking bastards---there's still blood on the grass out here and the one cop the sent out didnt even want to know what thy looked like--she just asked if they were Mexicans.

BTW ... 9mm's are okay for what they're designed to do, but NOTHING historically is as intimidating as a double-barrelled twelve guage. There's just NO arguing with one, and they KNOW it doesn't matter whether or not you hit or miss.

[Dilloduck]

The PC ignoring the obvious, but cops know what's up. Most of the criminals around here are Mexicans as well. They'd rather buy that "La Raza" crap and emulate their favorite "gangsta" video than get a real job.

SO true---EMS just said that if the bloody stunned guy showed up I should tell him to go to the hosital

[Gunny]

SO true---EMS just said that if the bloody stunned guy showed up I should tell him to go to the hosital

:laugh2:

I didn't know you speak Spanish ....

[Abbey Marie]

:laugh2:

I didn't know you speak Spanish ....

Isn't it mandatory? :coffee:

[Dilloduck]

Isn't it mandatory? :coffee:

damn near---Texans need to get thier shit together and stop this crap. What the hell is wrong with us ?

[Gunny]

damn near---Texans need to get thier shit together and stop this crap. What the hell is wrong with us ?

I speak Spanish, but I won't. Always comes as quite a surprise whenever I get around a new bunch of guys and they start trying to talk shit in Spanish because they think all the gringos don't know what's up.

I usually reply to something in Spanish just to get that "deer in teh headlights" look when they know they got busted.:laugh2:

[Dilloduck]

I speak Spanish, but I won't. Always comes as quite a surprise whenever I get around a new bunch of guys and they start trying to talk shit in Spanish because they think all the gringos don't know what's up.

I usually reply to something in Spanish just to get that "deer in teh headlights" look when they know they got busted.:laugh2:

We need a damn seriously anti illegal govenor---the mexican invasion combined with NAFTA flowing right up the middle of Texas is insane !!

[Gunny]

We need a damn seriously anti illegal govenor---the mexican invasion combined with NAFTA flowing right up the middle of Texas is insane !!

The really sad part is Perry was actually the best of that bunch of lameasses last election, and he's a piece of shit. But who'd he run against? "Cowboy Bob" Friedman, and the Granny who was going to go Austin and show them "what's up."

Perry's a f-ing Dem in Republican's clothing. Hw'd you like that $1 a pack cigarette tax?

[Dilloduck]

The really sad part is Perry was actually the best of that bunch of lameasses last election, and he's a piece of shit. But who'd he run against? "Cowboy Bob" Friedman, and the Granny who was going to go Austin and show them "what's up."

Perry's a f-ing Dem in Republican's clothing. Hw'd you like that $1 a pack cigarette tax?

NOT ONE DAMN BIT !!! I agree on Perry----maybe Tancredo could come down here and be a carpet bgger govenor. Lord knows we need one.

[Gunny]

NOT ONE DAMN BIT !!! I agree on Perry----maybe Tancredo could come down here and be a carpet bgger govenor. Lord knows we need one.

IMO, it's the underlying reason for the conservative voters abstaining last election. Republicans aren't representing conservatives. Even as the left has coninued to shift left, so has the right.

[Dilloduck]

IMO, it's the underlying reason for the conservative voters abstaining last election. Republicans aren't representing conservatives. Even as the left has coninued to shift left, so has the right.

And Austin is just putrid with liberals :boom2:

[Abbey Marie]

Okay, Texas guys, can you tell me why Bush is so soft on illegals?
Did something happen to him in Texas to make him that way?

[Dilloduck]

Okay, Texas guys, can you tell me why Bush is so soft on illegals?
Did something happen to him in Texas to make him that way?

He pisses me off BIG time---I think he's paying off his cronies by allowing cheap labor to flood Texas.

[Gunny]

Okay, Texas guys, can you tell me why Bush is so soft on illegals?
Did something happen to him in Texas to make him that way?

Because you don't get to be Governator of Texas without the Mexican vote. And for some damned dumb reason, law-abiding, tax-paying Hispanic Americans vote on the issue with their emotions and not their brains.

Had Bush been tough on illegals, he'd have been a one-term governor, if that. He's used to appeasing the Mexican American community. Look how he caved to Fox's grandstanding. What was Fox going to do? Invade Texas?

[Abbey Marie]

He pisses me off BIG time---I think he's paying off his cronies by allowing cheap labor to flood Texas.

Lordy. Do you really think that's it? It's so beyond a state issue in its effect.

[Dilloduck]

Lordy. Do you really think that's it? It's so beyond a state issue in its effect.

So are his buddies. Big GLOBAL corporations. I think an experienced independent running on an anti-illegal platform could stand a good chance.

[Abbey Marie]

Because you don't get to be Governator of Texas without the Mexican vote. And for some damned dumb reason, law-abiding, tax-paying Hispanic Americans vote on the issue with their emotions and not their brains.

Had Bush been tough on illegals, he'd have been a one-term governor, if that. He's used to appeasing the Mexican American community. Look how he caved to Fox's grandstanding. What was Fox going to do? Invade Texas?

That makes perfect sense, but it doesn't really explain why he continued to be soft, even into his second term as President.

[Nienna]

That makes perfect sense, but it doesn't really explain why he continued to be soft, even into his second term as President.

I think he caved to pressure in many areas, just like many of the Republicans. They get so used to playing the game of trade-offs that they forget to stand up for what is GOOD or RIGHT. :(

[Dilloduck]

That makes perfect sense, but it doesn't really explain why he continued to be soft, even into his second term as President.

Which is what makes me very suspicious of him now. For someone who is so anti-terrorism to allow illegals to flow across the border is quite a contradiction. Obviously there are other agendas at play here. Even now he has nothing to lose by slamming the border shut. He doesn't need votes anymore.

[Gaffer]

Which is what makes me very suspicious of him now. For someone who is so anti-terrorism to allow illegals to flow across the border is quite a contradiction. Obviously there are other agendas at play here. Even now he has nothing to lose by slamming the border shut. He doesn't need votes anymore.

That's how I feel too Dill. He's got nothing to lose by shutting down the border so there has to be something else in the works, like cheap labor for big business. I support him on iraq but I'm pissed about the border.

[Gunny]

Lordy. Do you really think that's it? It's so beyond a state issue in its effect.

It has only recently become a front-page, "beyond a state issue." Those of us who live in the Southwest have watched this happen all our lives.

[Gunny]

That makes perfect sense, but it doesn't really explain why he continued to be soft, even into his second term as President.

For the same reason there's a group of people out there who are soft on the issue. Usually, it's the people who don't have to suffer the consquences of their actions who are most for something like this. Bush has his money and is set for life. People like that can afford to be magnanimous. They don't have to live on the West or South sides of San Antonio. Their health care is covered, if they get hit by an uninsured motorist they can pay cash for the fix, if their car is ripped off and taken across the border and chopped, they can just go buy a new one out of petty cash, and they send the butler to the grocery store.

They don't suffer the effects of overburdened social and financial infrastructure.

[Gunny]

That's how I feel too Dill. He's got nothing to lose by shutting down the border so there has to be something else in the works, like cheap labor for big business. I support him on iraq but I'm pissed about the border.

I think everyone but the PC, idealistic nimrods and politicians are pissed. This is DEFINITELY a case of government blatantly disregarding the will of the majority. A trend that seems to be becoming more and more prevalent.

[Pale Rider]

I see the same ones wrecking here as they go thru Austin---btw--I wake up this morning and hear a thud and a moan---I look outside my bedroom window and see three dudes beating this dude over the head with a log !!!! I call the cops and go out to check on the guy and they're all gone---just left behind a money tansfer slip to Banco de Mexico----crazy.

Where in the hell was your pistol?

[Gunny]

Where in the hell was your pistol?

Don't get 'Dillo to shooting Mexicans. We don't need any Rodney King riots around here.:laugh2:

[Dilloduck]

Where in the hell was your pistol?

I was running out the door with it after the 911 operator finally shut up---I'm catching those bastards first before I call next time !

[Pale Rider]

I was running out the door with it after the 911 operator finally shut up---I'm catching those bastards first before I call next time !

One time in Tampa, my girlfriend and I no more than shut the lights out and laid down in bed when someone started gimmying on the bedroom screen trying to pry it out. I grabbed my always within reach 44 mag revolver, held it up by the window, and in my best Clint voice said, "come on in, I got somethin' for ya", and cocked the pistol. I could HEAR the foot steps as this IDIOT took off like a rocket. I've thought that scenario over time after time since then, and if I had it to do over, I'd motion to my girlfriend to quitely leave the bedroom, and I'd have hidden and waited until the asswipe got in, then flipped on the lights and told him to freeze. If he didn't, I'd have splattered his brains all over the wall. This had to be the same son of a bitch that had broken in and robbed two other apartments right there.