----- Original Message -----
From: "John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 9:52 PM
Subject: Re: *DO* we share a civilization?
>
> Meanwhile, the most prominent politician in Washington who intends to have
> the United States unilaterally break one of its Treaty obligations is not
> Mr. Bush at all, but instead, is none other than Mr. Daschle. In fact,
> Mr. Daschle is keeping the Senate in extended session at this very moment
> to *ensure* that Mr. Bush does not have time to broker a compromise that
> does not involve violating our North American Free Trade Agreement. (per
> this morning's Washington Post.)
>
Well, let me quote one of the those nasty Democrats who voted with Mr
Dashele: Kay Bailey Hutchenson...er she's a very conservative Republican
from Texas...sorry :-)
"The idea that we would give up the right to ensure the safety of our
highways is a non-starter." explaining why she was one of the 19 Republicans
who voted with Daschle.
According the Houston Chronicle, the issue was that Bush wanted to allow
Mexican trucks to go on US roads uninspected for 18 months. If I understand
correctly, the problem isn't that there is a higher standard that they must
adhere to, its that they have been found to have a higher frequency of
failure than Canadian or US trucks when inspected. I can understand
grandfathering in another country's inspections, but it doesn't seem too
unreasonable for a country to cross check inspections to see if they are
comparable.
Do you think it is wrong to hold Mexican trucks to the same standards as US
trucks?
Another interesting point, the Hispanic caucus did not vote against
inspection standards in the House.
My guess is Bush is grandstanding and just blew it. He hasn't done well in
the House or Senate lately, that's for sure.
Dan M.
