Dobbs Crumbles When Pressed On His ‘NAFTA Super Highway’ Myth: ‘I Reject You!’
Dobbs Crumbles When Pressed On His ‘NAFTA Super Highway’ Myth: ‘I Reject You!’
Last Wednesday, Media Matters Action Network issued a report, which found that cable news commentators Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck regularly “serve up a steady diet of fear, anger, and resentment on the topic of illegal immigration.”
Last night on his CNN show, an edgy Lou Dobbs hosted Media Matters fellow Paul Waldman to discuss the report’s finding. Waldman asked Dobbs to provide evidence of the “myth” he often promotes — that there is a “secret plan” to build a “NAFTA Superhighway” from Mexico to Canada. Having trouble providing evidence, an exasperated Dobbs said finally, “You’re charging nonsense.” “I reject it, I reject you, and I reject your position,” he angrily added. From the exchange:
WALDMAN: So the question is, do you have — do you have actual evidence that there — that there is a plan that is going to take this all the way from Mexico to Canada? What is the evidence there? […]
DOBBS: The evidence is straightforward. … We haven’t enough time for this. … You are a left-wing advocacy group. You’re charging nonsense … I reject it, I reject you, and I reject your position!
Watch it:
In fact, Dobbs has a history of perpetuating myths on his show, previously linking undocumented immigrants with cases of leprosy, airing a report saying that the “invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans.” When CBS News confronted Dobbs and told him his claim was false, Dobbs simply replied, “If we reported it, its a fact.”
Last night, Dobbs similarly dismissed challenges to his fact-free claims, calling Waldman “an ideologue” and “a left-wing hack.”
“Where is your evidence?”
“You’re a left-wing hack!”
Says it all, doesn’t it?
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm“Where is your evidence?”
“You’re a left-wing hack!”
Says it all, doesn’t it?
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:37 pmand says it twice!
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:37 pmHey! Lou! Your gardener is mowing more than your lawn while you’re so busy pontificating!
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:38 pmIf one’s ego is huge enough, how dare one challenge it! Facts and evidence are Communist conspiracies!
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:42 pmas much as i hate dobbs, oreilly and beck it’s not a conspiracy reguarding theI-69 extension…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-69
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:42 pmBelieve it or not there was a time when I use to watch CNN and Dobb’s every day..That was before Katrina and when he was less a huge biget, if that;s possible..Blessings
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:43 pmI think it was John Adams who said, “The facts can be stubborn things” or something to that effect.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:48 pmIf only Dobbs would have as many anti-war activists on his program as he has anti-immigrant advocates. It would appear that Lou Dobbs believes that the issue of immigration is more important an issue than the number of Iraqis and Americans who have died for a less than noble cause.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:48 pmCould there be a more perfect demonstration of the intellectual disconnect needed to support the Reichwing?
“If you ask for evidence you’re anti-American”. “How dare you question our talking points?” “The sheeple aren’t smart enough to form their own prejudices”. “If you’re not a Republicriminal you’re position is irrelevant”. Etc.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm“..I reject it, I reject you…”
BACK SATAN! I REJECT YOU! YOU DEMON SCUM, YOU LEFT WING HACK!
Excerpt from “The Exocrcist IV: Cheney’s Revenge” nationwide release in June, 2008.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pmYeah, I hate dobbs, but seriously people, can’t we argue over their positions rather than their mannerisms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-69 The NAFTA superhighway exists, and we on the left should be very opposed.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:58 pmFacts are like Holy Water to republican fearmeisters….
I’m melting…..melting…oh, what a world what a world….
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:59 pmErroll - In Dobbs’ world, the Iraq war is a noble cause - the more Iraqis we kill the better (after all, they are occupying the country where OUR oil is). The ONLY people in this world with an actual RIGHT to exist are native-born, English speaking, white Americans - everyone else, be damned.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 pmLou demands that Waldman disprove Dobbs. When asked by Walman for Dobbs proof, instead of discussing Lous fact’s and Waldman’s Facts, Lou throws an ad homonym at Waldman…
p.s.
Nice effect with the waving flags in the background on those monitors. Let’s play count the flags…
I saw on on Lou’s breast and at least three on the monitors behind Walman. Is CNN turning into a flaggart, too?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 pmI can’t watch Dobbs any more. He has become a one-trick-pony and with his growing arrogance and know-it-all attitude, he is insufferable.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pmI understand he says he is advocating the middle class, but his methods and his arguments are unacceptable.
I wish he would direct some of his righteousness against Bush&Co; their criminal activity, their destruction of the Constitution, their endless war, their killing effect on the economy, and even his own bosses for allowing what passes for news on CNN.
As much as I find CNN useless in reporting the news, evidence does exist. It’s called the Ports to Plains Corridor and it’s being built in my backyard:
http://www.portstoplains.com/
Ports-to-Plains Mission Statement
“The Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor is a planned, multimodal transportation corridor including a multi-lane divided highway that will facilitate the efficient transportation of goods and services from Mexico, through West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma, and ultimately on into Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
Together, the communities along the Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor are becoming the Gateway to trade throughout the nation and with Mexico and Canada. The Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor will provide a vast number of benefits for communities along the corridor. The Trade Corridor will allow for the development of less congested ports of entry along the Texas/Mexico border. In addition, it will provide alternatives to other congested corridors that run through major metropolitan areas. In doing so, the trade between Mexico, Canada, and the United States will continue to dramatically increase and all three nations will continue to see a rise in their regional mobility and economic status.”
Oh yeah, Governor Ed Rendell just leased the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 75 years. Both Democrats and Republicans are jumping on the privatization train.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pmHow can Waldman be charging nonsense if he’s stating Dobb’s position?
Dobbs: There’s a superhighway planned between Canada & Mexico?
Waldman: What’s your proof that there’s a superhighway planned between Canada & Mexico?
Dobbs: First of all, there’s plenty of evidence, and second if all, who said I think there’s a superhighway planned between Canada & Mexico? J’accuse!
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:04 pmThat’s the best you can do against MM, Dobbs? Repeatedly talk over Waldman? Cut him off before he completes any sentences that challenge your position?
A high school debate coach would bounce you from the team for that style of questioning.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:07 pmjust flagged insync or whatever the troll at post 16 it calling itself. it’s off topic and has horrible taste in music
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:08 pmMeanwhile, Alternet has a great two-parter on the crimes being inflicted in Americans and others in the name of illegal immigration. More crimes in our name.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:09 pm16. boys2men Says: This site is a Propagandist machine…heehaw..hee haw…
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:10 pmYet, you post documented false rumors, sock-puppet, linking to proven, outright lies (one of which I busted you on when I bothered to read one of your incessant posts). You’re a scumbag liar.
I am in agreement with Dobbs concerning NAFTA leading to a NAFTA super highway which was signed by Bill Clinton and Hillary was in agreement until it became an election issue. Bush Sr. speech on New World Order, NAFTA, the direction of consolidation of corporations scares the hell out of me.
I do believe the corporate trend is a NAFTA super highway. My view is not anti immigration, but pro American.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 pmAs for a map of Congressional high priority corridors:
http://www.portstoplains.com/ maps/ congressional%20corridors.pdf
TXDot has it’s own initiatives which include La Entrada al Pacifico:
http://www.txdot.gov/ services/ transportation_planning_and_programming/ la_entrada/ default.htm
http://www.txdot.gov/ services/ transportation_planning_and_programming/ la_entrada/ project_map.pdf
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:12 pmMy local newspaper reported on TxDOT hearings in January 2008 for the Trans-Texas Corridor.
http://peureport.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ hearings-on-trans-texas-corridor.html
TxDOT has this on their website:
A report released by TxDOT studies the economic impact of the Trans-Texas Corridor. The report is titled “Moving Into Prosperity: The Potential Impact of the Trans-Texas Corridor on Business Activity in Texas.”
http://www.txdot.gov/ services/ texas_turnpike_authority/ ttc_impact.htm
It’s coming and the Bush Department of Transportation is pushing privatized roads. Are you ready to pay the toll?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:21 pmAfter reading the Dobbs/Waldman transcript, I believe Dobbs has morphed into O’Reilly. Waldman couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pmOT
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 pmClinton said today that the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968 is what is keeping her in the race.
WTF is she saying?!
We have already seen the magazine covers with Obama in crosshairs; we’ve already heard many veiled threats; in the past she has used the phrase “a potential act of god” may occur and she needs to stay in the race. The statement today is an outrageous and unacceptable comment.
The nutcases out there will always exist, but this comment from her is too encouraging.
Lou is an overgrown baby. Someone really needs to check his diaper.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:25 pmAll roads lead from Mexico to Canada.
http://www.onlineatlas.us/interstate-highways.htm
Any added ‘corridors’ are simply an extension of an already existing system.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:25 pmMary Peters and D.J. Gribben of Bush’s Transportation Department want privatized roads. Cheap Chinese goods can be even cheaper if they come through Mexico vs. unionized Western U.S. ports. Ship them on Mexican trucks and the price falls further. For a bit of history on Mr. Gribben click on the link below:
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 01/ transportation-privatization-train.html
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:25 pmThat’s why there are no high school debate coaches running news networks. Civilized debate just doesn’t move Chevy trucks or Vitorin. You need conflict, dammit!
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:26 pmWe’re not talking extending existing roads, we’re talking about multi-modal corporate controlled entities with preferred franchises.
The Trans Texas Corridor will include superhigways, rail, telecommunications and other utilities. Developers will operate tax free, so any businesses built along the way will not contribute to local governments. The state commits to giving the toll road a 10 mph speed limit advantage over any nearby state highways. The list goes on. To call this an extension of existing roads is way off the mark.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pmUm, good point, Roket. We already have an insterstate that runs from Mexico to Canada on the west coast. It’s called I-5.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 pmLou you can always look for facts in that cavernous butt of yours.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pmYou are a left-wing advocacy group. You’re charging nonsense … I reject it, I reject you, and I reject your position and I want my mommy!
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pmRoket Says:
All roads lead from Mexico to Canada.
http://www.onlineatlas.us/interstate-highways.htm
————————————————————–
Thanks for the map and the info……we out west already have a “Super Highway” that runs from Tijuana Mexico to Vancouver Canada….IT CALLED I-5…..but its getting more and more crowded especially in the Seattle area and parts of Cali. needs to be widened to at least 6 lanes ALL of the way.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:37 pmThe 5 and its predecessors have been around for almost 200 years…the GOP must not want any more liberal minded states popping up a century or two from now. That’s the real “threat” this newest Super Highway poses.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 pmHere’s what’s odd. Progressives should be concerned about diverting Chinese goods through Mexico to avoid union ports on the West Coast. Want to bet the Bush administration plans to deem any goods inspected in Mexico as OK to pass into the U.S.? Had enough of poisonous Chinese toys, pet food, toothpaste, cough syrup, or heparin? Care for more defective tires?
There is plenty of evidence of federal and state governments planning for new roads to move goods from Mexico and Pacific products shipped through Mexico. Significant information exists of the intent to corporatize many, if not most of these new roads.
I could care less about Lou Dobbs and CNN. It’s time for people to get informed.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:43 pmLet’s try some facts:
- MX wants to extend the TX highway being built now south through their country
- There are plans to extend the TX highway north through OK
- The CA gov has promoted the NAFTASuperhighway both under that name and as a “TranscontinentalTradeCorridor”
- In their report, MMFA admits that the NAFTASuperhighway as an existing system of roads
- In their report, MMFA take Bush admin officials at their word instead of looking into whether they’re telling the truth
So, what that leaves us with is that this site and MMFA are downplaying something… for what? Could it be that they’re simply downplaying something because Dobbs mentions it? Or, could something else be involved?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:52 pmAnd you Lou Dobbs are a nut-ladened fruit-cake. You should be fired if anyone at CNN had any guts.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 pmMarie Says:
OT
Clinton said today that the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968 is what is keeping her in the race.
WTF is she saying?!
While listening to talk radio - KGO, NOVA M, AAR - I have heard that fear coming from many in the black community. Most talk show hosts refuse to engage in conversation regarding that issue. Coming from you, I believe this is true as your posts have always been credible. Now, this is absolutely shocking. Rhand comes on next as we have delayed broadcasting in Oregon…. wonder if she picked up on it yet.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 pmI agree with your assessment of Lou Dobbs except for one thing. The term is ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS not undocumented immigrants. Your attempt to reframe the issue is disgusting.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:59 pmTo Lou’s crazy talk about plague-carrying immigrants, I pose “The Hispanic Paradox”, which shows that Hispanic immigrants are actually healthier than their economic status would lead us to believe, and healthier than their non-Hispanic counterparts. The causes are not well-understood, but the data is very compelling:
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pmhttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ html/ nationworld/ 2003233307_hispanichealth29.html
It is not a “secret” plan at all. Everyone in West Texas knows about it and is up in arms because it is coming from Ojinaga, Mexico up through the Big Bend area destroying some of the most fragile ecosystems in the country; running through Alpine, Texas which will cause massive displacement.
They are already widening the highway from outside of Alpine towards Fort Stockton to connect to the Nafta Higway.
I, too, am disgusted with Lou Dobbs and the others, but someone has got to put a stop to this outrage.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pmI must disagree, Oldfart. “Illegal immigration” is a conflict in terms since immigration is the legal process of acquiring residence in our country. “Illegal alien”, or, “foreign invader” would be a more accurate description.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:10 pmSorry, I left out some information. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Entrada_al_Pacifico
The first leg supposedly would end in La Mesa, but further construction would take it to the north.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:15 pmMarie,
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 pmYou were right…
HILLARY RAISES ASSASSINATION ISSUE
Taken directly from the TxDOT website: ABOUT I-69/TTC
http://www.dot.state.tx.us/ (which links to thier “Keep Texas Moving” public relations website)
http://ttc.keeptexasmoving.com/projects/i69/
ABOUT I-69/TTC
Interstate 69 is a planned 1,600-mile national highway connecting Mexico, the United States and Canada. Eight states are involved in the project. In Texas, I-69 will be developed under the Trans-Texas Corridor master plan.
General Location
The proposed I-69/TTC corridor extends from Texarkana/Shreveport to Mexico (possibly the Rio Grande Valley or Laredo). The initial study area is roughly 650 miles long.
TTC-35 (to parallel I-35) will also be a part of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:35 pmadd on to my #48 post:
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:36 pmPlans are underway in the States north of Texas. Kansas will be home to an “in-land” port for goods shipped from Mexico. From Kansas, goods will be distributed East, West, and North to Canada. China is currently funding deep-water ports on the West coast of Mexico. Massive amounts of imported goods will soon circumvent the unionized Longshoremen on the West coast. We taxpayers will subsidize the cost of these new corridors (that will make our Interstate system look like a farm-to-market road) with our toll road tax revenues. It’s already happening in Texas, and plans are projected to be implemented piece by piece over the next 50 years. As much as I disagree with Dobbs on many issues, there are very few people willing to bring this issue up. I don’t know if its a ’secret plan’ or a ‘conspiracy’ if the plans are right there on the website for people to look at, but we should be concerned about this issue, forget that silly Mr. Dobb’s..he’s just a media talking head. The NAFTA highway plan is indeed real. -Kelso in Austin.
Having re-read the post, I take it the issue revolves around the word “secret”. The plans are not secret in the least, as the many links posted confirm.
What might be secret is the move to form a North American Union along the lines of the existing European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Middle East.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7166549.stm
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:45 pmThe more I see of critical commentary on cable news, the less inclined I am to trust any of it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:14 pmAll Lou can do is repeat the same vacuous charges over and over again. You know, Lou, at least Joe McCarthy claimed to have a list.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:35 pmWhile the left-wing advocacy group attack by Dobb’s was lame, what’s equally lame is the Media Matters F.A. guy saying “do you have some sort of document?” I don’t think he has a clue as to what he’s talking about, while he’s accusing Dobb’s of mis-informing & spreading rumors, the man doesn’t come off as very well-informed himself. I check MMFA almost daily, but that little segment does nothing for the organization’s credibility, the only person worthy of representing the site on television is D. Brock, IMO.
Trying to watch TV in order to stay informed on issues is a complete waste of time, thank god for the google and the internet tubes.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:03 pmHowdy Folks,
Hard to believe but Lou Dobbs is correct on this one.
I’m sure Dobbs wasn’t prepared for Paul Waldman to question the reality of the NAFTA Superhighway. Every left-wing advocacy group, progressive group, hell, anyone that is to be affected by this NAFTA Superhighway should be questioning their government officials and searching for their own answers.
Several of the commenters here have given links to articles and websites that if you take the time to research I think you’ll discover that the NAFTA Superhighway is not a myth.
As was stated in earlier comments the NAFTA Superhighway will be implimented in sections over the next several years.
I believe the most important section is the Trans-Texas Corridor. Without it goods being shipped in to Mexico, to bypass our California ports, will have to be trucked up I-35 which is already overberdened. Traffic on I-35 which is already bumper to bumper slows to a crawl near Austin and San Antonio.
Here’s a link to the last article I posted concerning the Trans-Texas Corridor: Texans Battle The TTC
And below is a link to an article I posted about the TTC and the NAFTA Superhighway in 2006.
My Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), asks some questions of her own here: The Trans-Texas Corridor.
So folks, take the time to do your own research, find out your own facts and come to your own conclusions.
If you haven’t done that all you’re doing is giving your non-credible knee-jerk reaction.
I have to agree with ya this time Lou.
Troubled
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 pmI agree with kelso #53.
I was a little bit shocked when I read this ThinkProgress post - are you guys really saying the NAFTA Superhighway is a MYTH? Can you prove that?
Here are some links to documents that seem to completely shoot that MYTH theory down - even if some congresspeople deny it:
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/minetasp043004.htm
REMARKS FOR THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
NORTH AMERICA’S SUPERHIGHWAY COALITION TRANSPORTATION FORUM
FORT WORTH, TX
APRIL 30, 2004 8:20 AM
http://www.house.gov/ paul/ tst/ tst2006/ tst082806.htm
A North American United Nations? /August 28, 2006 / Ron Paul
http://www.house.gov/ paul/ tst/ tst2006/ tst103006.htm
The NAFTA Superhighway /October 30, 2006/ Ron Paul
http://thomas.loc.gov/ cgi-bin/ bdquery/ z?d110:HC00040:@@@X
H.CON.RES.40
Title: Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada.
So - is it TRUE or not? I don’t believe anything this current government says until I see the documented proof, and even then I want to see more than one source.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:24 pmLou Dobbs = One Trick Pony.
And will be gone like a big-assed bird when the elections are over. His ratings are going down faster than billo’s.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pmTP, please look into the issue before dismissing the contention outright. Dobbs himself may not have done his homework, but plans do exist. You’ve done this with Tancredo as well. You can’t be dismissive right off the bat just because the messenger is an asshat. Just look into it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 pmMarie,
I sense that Hillary brings up Robert Kennedy to indirectly benefit politically from Ted’s diagnosis. She’s moving into demented territory because she doesn’t know how to take a loss.
This is an unfortunate and I can’t help but feel sorry for her. I’m tired though and I would like to see her follow through on her lip service and get behind the nominee. Apparently she wants that to come with conditions. Hillary needs to stop or else she’s going to knock herself out of her senate seat.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:47 pmMcWars:
I’m also none too pleased at a righteous attack on a point the post doesn’t make. The pos is about Lou Dobbs not only not doing his homework, but acting like an 8-year-old when asked to produce said homework.
And, well, they’re building the Wall. They’re eminent-domaining people’s land and jackbooting environmental regulations to do it. So they’re building both the Road AND the Wall? Which insidious plot are we supposed to be more scared of? When the Road hits the Wall, what happens? Would the streamlined border crossing of I-Nafta neutralize the Wall, or does that big wall make that road more of domestic use than anything else?
And as we head straignt into a rip-roaring rcession, is any of this going to happen?
And I’m still unclear on the concept of why trade with Mexico is bad. Dobbs’s base see’s this as the way for the unwashed hordes to pour into America, make us eat tacos and watch hot babes on Univision, and build pyrsamids to Quetzalcoatl and drink unsweetened chocolate. But beyond that, are we supposed to be fair of competing with the Mexicaan economic juggernaut?
Just like the capitalists made the Irish and Italians hate blacks for competing for jobs, when the source of their oppression was somewhere else entirely, the problem to unionization is not competition from Mexico. It’s a century of union-busting by the Republican Party.
You know how to fix the problem? Unionize the Mexican factories. The Road will cease to be a problem. So will the Wall.
May 24th, 2008 at 3:58 amThe only thing shocking here is that Dobbs didn’t have the information at his fingertips. As pointed out above, the plan is neither a myth nor secret. But nobody mentioned the SPP - Security and Prosperity Partnership. A typical euphemistic name. Here is their “dispelling” myths.
http://www.spp.gov/myths_vs_facts.asp
“Myth: The U.S. Government, working though the SPP, has a secret plan to build a “NAFTA Super Highway.”
Fact: The U.S. government is not planning a NAFTA Super Highway. The U.S. government does not have the authority to designate any highway as a NAFTA Super Highway, nor has it sought such authority, nor is it planning to seek such authority. There are private and state level interests planning highway projects which they themselves describe as “NAFTA Corridors,” but these are not Federally-driven initiatives, and they are not a part of the SPP.”
So it is not part of their agenda, and there is no NAFTA superhighway, except that which is promoted by private and state interests and supported by the Federal government, though not “driven”.
Reading all their “myth busting” is instructive.
I think that NASCO has been mentioned.
“From almost immediately after the Jan. 1, 1994 entry into effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), NASCO has sought and backed Corridor-related initiatives to enhance border security, cargo safety and operational efficiency of existing transportation infrastructure. NAFTA’s reduction of import tariffs and trade barriers in North America powerfully stimulated trade that strengthened the economies of its partner nations and greatly increased cargo freight movement within the NASCO Corridor.”
http://www.nascocorridor.com/ faqsdetail.asp?id=2178&pageno=
also,
“The NASCO Corridor encompasses multimodal transportation infrastructure on or in close proximity to U.S. Interstate Highways 35, 29 and 94, and the significant connectors to those highways in Canada and Mexico. The effectiveness of cargo movements along the NASCO Corridor directly impacts North America’s continental trade flow, the largest in the world.”
May 24th, 2008 at 4:13 amNot to forget good old NAFTA, from the Economic Policy Institute:
“Despite its name, the primary purpose of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was not to facilitate trade among separate sovereign societies. Rather, it was to promote an integrated continental economy and establish the rules to govern it.
As a former foreign minister of Mexico once remarked, NAFTA was “an agreement for the rich and powerful in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, an agreement effectively excluding ordinary people in all three societies.” It should, therefore, be no surprise that NAFTA rules protect the interests of large corporate investors while undercutting workers’ rights, environmental protections, and democratic accountability. Hence, NAFTA should be seen not as a stand-alone treaty, but as part of a long-term campaign by the conservative business interests in all three countries to rip up their respective domestic social contract.”
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp173
May 24th, 2008 at 4:24 amI am amazed both that this site thinks the NAFTA superhighway is a myth and that Dobbs wasn’t better prepared.
Confiscating land through eminent domain and paving over it to build superhighways through Mexico up to Canada is still pretty much a pipe dream at this stage, but those doing the dreaming are big business, chamber of commerce types, the GOP, folks who are accustomed to having access to power and getting their friends elected to support their agendas. They haven’t been able to get it started yet, but they’re not likely to stop trying, either. And Bernarda is right, it may not be coordinated at the federal level, but it is being promoted at the local level and enabled at the federal level. The federal government plays a big role in financing road construction.
About all I can see that might put the brakes on this scheme are (a) an awakened and informed populace; (b) high gas prices; and (c) Mexico’s current descent into narco militia violence.
Listen to those Texans posting on this forum on this subject. They’ve been on the front lines of the “town meetings” and “commission hearings” that have been conducted in this state in the last couple years to “solicit public comment” on Governor Goodhair’s Trans Texas Corridor idea.
Finally,the promotion of superhighways designed to move goods through countries with minimal Customs involvement goes hand in hand with the promotion of privatizing the ownership and construction of our roads infrastructure. I quote former Clinton Transportation Secretary Federico Pena: “Road building is not a government monopoly any more. Those days are over.” — Transportation Research Board address, Washington DC, January 8, 1996. Mr. Pena campaigned as an Obama surrogate during the Texas Democratic primary and may play a role in an Obama administration.
May 24th, 2008 at 8:16 amHere’s a new nonsecret, the South American Union. It’s aimed at boosting economic and political integration in the region.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7417896.stm
May 24th, 2008 at 9:35 amI personally have heard of these plans to connect I-35 from Canada to Mexico for sometime now, even before Lou Dobbs reported it, from family as well as freinds who live in Texas, so it was no surprise to me, when this was first reported, what you people need to realize is that Mr. Dobbs’s principle interest is (and alway’s has been) for the good of this country and it’s citizens, he’s the only one with the guts enough to stand in front of Congress and make them see whats really going on in this Country, everything this man fights for holds merit in my opinion, and anyone who compares him to Bill Oreilly, has’nt got a clue of what their talking about
May 24th, 2008 at 11:27 amSomeone should tell Lou that name-calling is not an argument. But then he and the rest of the fear-mongering right, would have little, if anything, to say at all. And if Lou actually has documentary evidence of a plan to build a NAFTA Highway, what has prevented him from producing it heretofore? Perhaps he already knows that hysterical fear-mongering articles in right wing newspapers do not count as evidence.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:07 pmWith millions of web-sites concerning the North american
May 24th, 2008 at 1:19 pmunion, the constitution of the americas, the Amero, SPP,
NAFTA,CAFTA,National ID,EU,African Union, Arab Union (of
sorts) currently in progress,APEC and so on………..
It would be silly of the World Bank/IMF owned Federal
Government (public laws 89-719 and 94-564) to keep America’s
Infrastructure in the hands of American’s.
Paul’s question “…do u actually believe it’s going to stretch ALL the way to Canada?” and “where’s the evidence?” and keeps mentioning “from Mexico to Canada” “Mexico to Canada”… first of all the SPP and the recent amnesty bills attached to Iraq funding and the Trans Texas Corridor ARE the proof people, just open your eyes! So Mr. Waldman actually wants us to believe him, because it couldn’t possibly run from Mexico ALL THE WAY to Canada! So what? The NAFTA highway is going to stop just short of Canada and connect using some existing road or what? That is what I gleaned from this video…
May 24th, 2008 at 1:36 pmThe quicket way to get Dobbs and the like out of their tv jobs is to quit watching their shows. His attacks on immigrants have been as dead wrong as WMD in Iraq.
Olbermann has been killing o’really and as o’really goes down the tubes so does his rhetoric.
May 24th, 2008 at 4:45 pmI did further research on the NAFTA Superhighway & creation of NAU and was immediately disturbed that it seems most of the information circulating primarily originates from Howard Phillips [uber conservative],Jerome Corsi [J. Kerry Swiftboater], Phyllis Schlafly & Patrick Buchanan.
I’m equally disturbed that it seems those who deny its existence rely on quotes from bush that there are no plans for this Superhighway [I don’t believe anything this doublespeaking administration tells us.] So, it seems to me that BOTH sides of the argument are spawned by the GOP. Hmmm …
I found an interesting article: http://www.publiceye.org/ magazine/ v23n1/ the_conspiracys_kernel_of_truth.html
The Conspiracy’s Kernel of Truth - By Laura Carlsen
I have 2 thoughts — first of all, with the $130+ per barrel of oil and current gas prices which they say are destined to go to $10/gal., we need to be thinking of some way to haul goods that uses much less gas than 18-wheelers.
Secondly, I’m not happy about a North American Union, not because of xenophobia, but because it will serve to further westernize Canada and Mexico - Canada is already suffering from Walmartization - many small, local businesses have already gone under.
May 24th, 2008 at 4:48 pmCisco Says:
——————————————————————————–
I personally have heard of these plans to connect I-35 from Canada to Mexico for sometime now, even before Lou Dobbs reported it, from family as well as freinds who live in Texas, so it was no surprise to me, when this was first reported, what you people need to realize is that Mr. Dobbs’s principle interest is (and alway’s has been) for the good of this country and it’s citizens, he’s the only one with the guts enough to stand in front of Congress and make them see whats really going on in this Country, everything this man fights for holds merit in my opinion, and anyone who compares him to Bill Oreilly, has’nt got a clue of what their talking about
That’s phucking stupid!!! You appear to be the same….
May 24th, 2008 at 5:18 pmLet me get this right…Lou “I’m White and You’re Not” Dobbs is buying into the idea that a BIG WIDE-ASS ROAD (like connected Interstate Highways) running from TexAss to Canada through, what? Detroit…Chicago…is going to wreck the economy??
OH MY GOD WHAT WILL L.A. AND NYC DO TO FIGHT THIS HIGHWAY THAT STARVES THEIR CHILDREN AND RAPES THE PETS!!!!
HOW WILL BOTH COAST SURVIVE???
May 24th, 2008 at 5:31 pmI hate to tell many here this, but there are already highways that stretch from Mexico to Canada.
Maybe if you were to buy a map…?
May 24th, 2008 at 5:59 pmI live in Texas and you better believe the Nafta Super Highway isn’t a myth. Mexico has more input into this government than the citizens who are being overwhelmed by illegal aliens. Yes, that’s the correct term. Instead of bashing Lou Dobbs and the few senators who have some spine, you people follow like obedient dogs behind your presidential hopefuls and lick their amnesty boots.
Just because that lopeared Obama has told two blatant lies about Lou Dobbs and what he stands for doesn’t mean that Obama is any more truthful than the other pro amnesty, open border juggernauts who won’t stop until the U.S. looks like Mexico. That’s something to really look forward to.
May 24th, 2008 at 7:22 pmI can’t believe all the nastiness on this website. Did all the freepers go left?
Paul Waldman’s performance on Lou Dobbs program was pathetic. The following is an excerpt of an email I sent to Media Matters before the interview was even finished.
Mr. Waldman:
Media does matter. And because media matters, you should be terminated from the Media Matters group. In your opening attack on Lou Dobbs tonight, you mentioned a “superhighway running from Mexico to Canada” as some sort of ‘conspiracy theory’. You said you researched it and couldn’t find anything. Either you are a liar or a lousy researcher. I have my opinion but I’ll hold it.
Have you heard of the CANAMEX?
Document from the Arizona DOT - with a phone number you can call
You can also call Idaho Representative Jo An Wood. She was called back to Washington DC and was given a presentation on the entire plan by Mary Peters herself. Rep. Wood gave an account of the meeting to Republicans last year (I attended).
CANAMEX Trade Brochure
“The CANAMEX was one of the first north-south corridors designated as a high priority corridor under the National Highway Systems Designation Act.” Alberta initiated CANAMEX in the early 1990’s and has continued to seek US cooperation on harmonization of regulations.”
“The Corridor, a truly Pan-American route, parallels Interstate Route 15 in the United States and Serves Alberta, north-western Canada and Alaska at the north end, the States of Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, plus the western Mexican States, including Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Guanjuato, Queretero, Estado de Mexico and the Federal District.”
******
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 is loaded with references to an international highway.
After the NAFTA agreement was signed in 1993, the international corridor was called the NAFTA Superhighway to differentiate it from an Interstate. The reason for the ‘Superhighway’ designation is because the plan is for the highway to be fully loaded with surveillance, tracking, and data collection systems. Remote sensors will pick up RFID signals from vehicles, trucks and containers and the data will be transmitted to data center for dissemination to interested parties. You probably thought the tolls were to maintain the roadway. Nope… it’s to pay for all the technology that really only benefits the multinational corporations that import goods (freight tracking); and the gestapo who will be able to track your movements and bill you by the mile for your use of the road.
It’s amazing that liberals who normally are so concerned about civil rights would completely ignore the surveillance systems being installed on the high priority corridors. But then we do know that both Republicans and Democrats are owned by the same corporations don’t we?
May 24th, 2008 at 9:52 pmSorry, this link didn’t come through for some reason - probable operator error:
Document from the Arizona DOT - with a phone number you can call
Also, a friend of mine traced the history of the name ‘NAFTA Superhighway’. She documented her research here:
NAFTA Superhighway Memory Hole
May 24th, 2008 at 9:56 pmThe Nafta Super Highway is not myth, just do a little research.
“NASCO, North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, “officially amalgamated” by the North American International Trade Corridor Partnership “to promote the development of a trade corridor designed to expedite the flow of trade through the North American Continent,” according to Henry Lamb. “NASCO is a not-for-profit lobbying organization that has received $2.5 million in Congressional earmarks from the Department of Transportation to promote the corridor concept. Their 24-member board of directors includes county commissioners from four Texas Counties; an Oklahoma state senator, and a member of OK-DOT; two officials from the Texas DOT; attorneys, a couple of construction company officials, and an official of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.”
As far as Illegal-Immigration and allowing millions of undocumented aliens be granted amnesty is insane. Come on people look at the effect of this policy and what it has done to the American middle class? You don’t have to look any further then the construction industry. Once an apprentice was getting 15 dollars an hour now Mexican workers will do the same for 5 dollars an hour.
Media Matters, led by David Brock, doesn’t like to be called out on its association with billionaire financier, George Soros.
“A Cybercast News Service examination of Brock’s financial records and public documents showed that the heavily funded Soros liberal think tank, The Center for American Progress, was instrumental in getting Brock’s media group off the ground…. Soros has reportedly given $3 million to CAP and its senior vice president, Morton H. Halperin, is also the director of Soros’s Open Society Institute.” Added John Carlisle, director of policy for the conservative National Legal and Policy Center, “Clearly MMA worked very closely with Soros-funded groups.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:14 pmThanks for those links, eyeswideopen!
May 25th, 2008 at 12:27 amRelated to the superhighway issue is larger access given to Mexican trucking companies.
“WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is going ahead with a controversial pilot program giving Mexican trucks greater access to U.S. highways despite a new law by Congress against it.
The decision to proceed with the four-month-old program, which allows participating Mexican trucking companies to send loads throughout the United States, comes despite language in the recently signed catchall spending bill aimed at blocking it.
The Department of Transportation is taking advantage of a loophole in the new law, which prohibits the government from spending any money to “establish” the program. The government says the new rules don’t apply to the current program since it was started in September.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22507319/
Of course Labor opposes it. 100 Mexican trucking companies are to be authorized at first go.
“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.”
http://www.insurancejournal.com/ news/ national/ 2007/ 02/ 26/ 77196.htm
Both safety and wages are at risk.
“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.””
May 25th, 2008 at 2:28 amI disagree with Lou Dobbs on immigration and find his manner snarly and unpleasant. It’s a great pleasure to attack him on any number of issues. However, the Super Highway seems to be a real possibility and it’s an initiative that the left needs to watch carefully. There have been a bunch of good references here to the planning that has been going on to bypass the Port of Los Angeles and its labor unions for Mexico and its low wage environment. The road is to go right through the center of the country, through states deemed more sympathetic to big business than California. The Bush administration has been pushing privatized highways–their higher cost will be passed on to American drivers and consumers. And then there’s the issue of Mexican and Canadian trucks on US roads–a safety issue (trucks that are longer and heavier and operate with lower inspection standards) and a labor issue again–big trucking companies want to force drivers to drive monster vehicles that are inherently harder to manage at high speeds. Truckers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the country anyway. So listen, people who run this website, while attacking Lou Dobbs is fun, that doesn’t mean that everything he says is wrong–you really ought to check this issue out a bit more. This new road system is going to be rotten for union members who drive trucks and those who work in the ports and it will also be dangerous for other drivers on the road. We need to be moving away from a trucking environment, anyway, and back onto trains to carry our cargo.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:39 amLou and Billo have identical bowling shirts, and they look adorable.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:13 amMy excuses for anything I am confronted with in the future will be an abrupt response of “Were out of time! No time to explain, you lefty leftist, yucky activist!”
May 25th, 2008 at 9:35 amLest we forget that I-69 will be foreign owned. Just like
some of the roads in CO and PA currently under construction
or retrofit. The entire US water supply is up for
grabs this summer..for our protection of course.
And as for NAFTA. It’s not just the jobs lost. It’s the
excise tax base we would otherwise use to pay for our own
roads and water supply. And let’s remember that
all the manfacturing business we have left depends a lot
on water supply.
So gas will be 5-bucks, toll road will be a few more bucks,
May 25th, 2008 at 12:14 pmAnd should you drive a litle too fast by a camera then
International Monetary Fund gets the $$$ (94-564) and
pretty soon will have us running arround with a
wiretapped National Drivers License which will turn into
the implant. Quit protesting, hand over your firearms
and pay more taxes….OR DON’T DRIVE!
I have to disagree with this sites position on illegal immigration. We definitely need immigrants in this country, but they need to get in line with others if they want to enter this country. By entering lawfully, you are then protected from any abuse of a potential employer. Also, by controlling the flow of migrants into this country, you can meet the demand of industry but also allowing immigrants access to fair wages. With an influx of illegal immigrants crossing the border, you are allowing the low skilled labor pool to become diluted and hurting the lower middle class who depend on these jobs to raise their families. And there is a lot of Americans who want to do these jobs but not enough industries willing to pay fair wages, so they depend on Mexican migrants willing to work for peanuts. Thinkprogress.org really needs to take a more balanced approach to this issue based on whats fair for both migrants and low skilled Americans…we need CONTROLLED immigration reform, not the current broken system.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:43 pmNot being familiar with the details, I did a search on the topic and got a couple of hundred hits, most having to do with the Trans Texas Corridor, which is called the first leg of the NAFTA Super Highway. The fact Lou Dobbs could not/chose not to recite all this back hardly suggests he’s lied about it.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:20 pmHEY, FOLKS, ASK A CANADIAN ABOUT THIS.
Because this ‘NAFTA Superhighway’ thingy is supposed to be some sort of 3-nation trans-border customs union. Ask almost any Canadian - WE DON’T WANT a CUSTOMS UNION, LET ALONE A CURRENCY UNION.
Dobbs is nuts. Why would we erase our border and unite our healthy, rising, growing economy to the debt-ridden, recessionary USA?? Why would we unite our strong Canadian dollar (up more than 50% against the US buck in the past 5 years or so) to the falling US$??
Think about it, Mr. Dobbs, why the hell would Canada do such a stupid thing??
We produce in abundance the two things the world has become desperate for: oil and grains. Not to mention the world’s largest production by far of potash fertilizer, vast amounts of base and precious metals, iron ore, aluminum, wood products, coal, etc. Demand for these commodities has enabled governments, provincial and federal, to generate huge surpluses. Individual incomes in Canada are way up and the housing market is stable (and continues to grow in the West).
We don’t need your stinkin’ NAFTA Superhighway. It’s about as relevant to Canada as ‘Freedom Fries’ were to the French.
We’ve had NAFTA for 20 years. If Dobbs knew the first thing about trade issues, which he seems totally ignorant of, he would know that free trade with Canada has worked to the advantage of both countries, created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US, and has guaranteed equal access for Canadian energy supplies. That’s right, under the terms of NAFTA, Canada, which is now the biggest supplier of oil and gas to the US, can NEVER restrict oil imports to America.
The only place where NAFTA has failed is where it has allowed American protectionists to claim unfair trade, as with softwood lumber. Canada has proven its softwood case repeatedly in international courts and dispute panels, to no avail. This is not a sexy issue in the US, so Dobbs probably knows nothing about Canada’s legitimate trade conflicts with the US gov’t. Or he does, and he’s a liar and a flake.
Tell you what, Dobbs. Put your money where your mouth is. Get yourself elected to Congress or the Senate, and cancel NAFTA. The result will be the biggest energy crisis in history, because the Chinese will be very happy to lock up our energy resources.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:40 pmDobbs thinks that the Ho Chi Minh trail was a superhighway too!
May 26th, 2008 at 9:48 amI urge everyone to please do your homework regarding NAFTA and the North American Union. Its not about immigration. Its about the destruction of your country and what we believe in. If this North American Union is formed, and that Canada, USA, and Mexico is merged into one great union, variously liberties will be gone and our true identity a free nation will disappear.
This is a corporate sponsored bill that will make it easier for government to gain more control of your life and to take away your freedom. Canada and Mexico does not have a social security system. To alleviate this issue our government is thinking of implanting RFID chips into each baby born. This will eventually happen once the North American Union is in place.
Our Constitution, our rights to privacy, our identity as a free nation is at stake once NAFTA and the North American Union is formalized. We as patriots of our country need to look into this more before we all decide that its just an “anti-immigration” issue because its not.
May 26th, 2008 at 2:56 pmWhy in heaven’s name do people waste their precious time watching the antics of a bobble-head blowhard like Dobbs, and the other ratings-crave lunatics. CNN is not what it used to be, the most trusted name in broadcasting has been reduced to a content empty, Contemptuous News Network.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:36 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TShPYA-OuPs
May 27th, 2008 at 4:45 pmThe NAU will lead to a National Drivers Licence/verichip…
May 27th, 2008 at 6:50 pmPLAIN AND SIMPLE!!! And I’ve already got mine!
It’s no secret that the Rockefeller’s (bilderbergers) want
to keep these topics away from the spotlight.
Which is precisely why i keep them in the spotlight!!!!!!!!!
Cockaroaches hate the light…I love the light.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:14 amLou Dobbs is one of the most unpleasant people on TV–the louder he yells each night the worse he becomes. He is a right wing nut. CNN should fire him.
The globalists and corporatists are rushing the working Americans to the bottom the economic heap while escalating CEO compensation and advantages for the rich.
They use illegal immigration as a tool to break unions, lower wages, cut benefits and divide v. The only voice in the MSM that even talks about it is Lou Dobbs. Dobbs has fought it and the idiots crucify him for being racist. Globalists such as the ADL try and make him the villain, when it is they who are part and parcel of the problem by encouraging illegal immigration.
Make no mistake …it is no figment of imagination that the financial elitists and bankers want to increase their power by merging the interests of USA, Mexico and Canada via trade pacts and then total loss of sovereignty.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:55 pmYou can find documentation for a merger of North America on a U.S. Department of State website with an article explaining “the establishment by 2010 (behind schedule) of a security and economic community of North America, which is an ambitious but achievable goal that is consistent with this principle and…buttresses the goals and values of citizens of North America.” (Secretary Rice is a minister of the SPP)
Also, “the key recommendation was for the three nations (Canada, Mexico and the United States) to move toward establishing a common security perimeter (around North America) by 2010.”
This would open up the internal borders to the free flow of people and commerce throughtout the continent. It would also make it easy for deeper integration of North America.
All the immigration bills over the last two years have wording that mandates a common security perimeter around North America. John McCain (CFR) is responsible for the security portions on some of these comprehensive immigration bills.
At the bottom of the State Department article, click on “full text), a link to the CFR site, which contains the blueprint for the SPP. It’s called the CFR Task Force plan for Building a North American Community, which includes governing institutions. http://usinfo.state.gov/ wh/ Archive/ 2005/ May/ 18-799399.html
Or go to the homepage at http://thesigintreport.com and check out the resources on the right side of the page. And read the blog. You will find plenty of documentation.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:29 pmFord Motor Co. announced a $3 billion plant in Mexico City. They plan to build the Fiesta, their subcompact fuel efficient car. The BBC article stated:
The new factory, and other changes to Ford’s Mexican operations, are likely to create an estimated 4,500 jobs in Mexico, where car workers earn substantially less than their American counterparts.
It will be located near Mexico City and the plant is expected to start delivering the Fiesta to the US market in 2010.
They’ll need good roads or rails for U.S. delivery.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:50 amTo Judyinnm:
I was reading your statement (below) and at first I didn’t catch the “IN DOBBS’ WORLD” and I said “OMG!! the arrogance of this F…” until I re-read. :-)
but you are right some people in the US have that extreme level or arrogance and self-entitlement BEYOND BELIEF!!!
Dobbs is a DAVID DUKE who actually succeded in getting into a public pulpit (at an International level no-less!)to push his racist agenda, which benefits NO-ONE! included the intended beneficiaries. (US white people)
“judyinnm Says:
————————————————————
Erroll - In Dobbs’ world, the Iraq war is a noble cause - the more Iraqis we kill the better (after all, they are occupying the country where OUR oil is). The ONLY people in this world with an actual RIGHT to exist are native-born, English speaking, white Americans - everyone else, be damned.
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm“
Lou responds loud and clear
http://www.rightsidenews.com/ 200806091147/ border-and-sovereignty/ lou-dobbs-reports-on-the-nafta-superhighway.html
For your education..oh head in the sand ones….
http://www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/
June 10th, 2008 at 12:33 amWant more education boys and girls?
http://www.kcsmartport.com/ sec_corridors/ flash_cont/ cont_maps.htm
http://www.kcsouthern.com/ SiteCollectionDocuments/ system_map.pdf
http://findarticles.com/ p/ articles/ mi_m0JZS/ is_6_22/ ai_n24984155
There is plenty more…but I sure don’t want to shock you doubters with anymore facts.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:51 am