Join the last minute BLITZ against CAFTA!

[Carolab]

The adaption of CODEX into CAFTA will further tighten the noose
>around the neck of supplement manufacturers while making it easier
>for the Medical Industrial Complex to restrict your right to choose
>the modality by which you heal yourself. This is only one of many
>reasons to stand up now only days before the House vote to urge your
> representatives to OPPOSE CAFTA! Please Read and ACT. I did.-
>
>
>
>The House will likely vote on CAFTA between Wednesday and Sunday
>this week!!!
>The vote will be extremely close -- just like the vote was on the
>Medicare prescription
>-drug bill where House leaders were willing to resort to bribes and
>out-right threats to win.
>
>YOUR call to your House member can make a difference!
>
>Find YOUR elected officials:
>http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/
>
>CAFTA Information and Fliers from the Progressive Democrats of
>America
>
>http://www.pdamerica.org/tools.php#CAFTA
>
>Latest News: http://www.citizenstrade.org/caftanews.php#5
>
>Read and learn why you should oppose CAFTA ... and then DO IT! NOW!
>
>
>CAFTA is a "free" trade agreement that includes the United States,
>El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. The
>Dominican Republic may also be added to the group. Negotiations for
>CAFTA were complete in December and January.
>
>CAFTA must now be approved by the National Assemblies in each of the
> participating countries. The U.S. Congress will probably debate
>CAFTA in late spring or early summer of 2004, with a vote possible
>THIS WEEK.
>
>CAFTA is modeled after the North American Free Trade Agreement
>(NAFTA). NAFTA has been a disaster for small farmers and working
>people in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Hundreds of
>thousands of jobs lost, family farms foreclosed, and public interest
> laws overturned or challenged in secret NAFTA courts. Despite this
> dismal record, the Bush administration is seeking to expand NAFTA
>to Central America and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.
>
>From the beginning of CAFTA negotiations, the Bush administration
>has been clear that completion of CAFTA is crucial to move the Free
>Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations forward faster, by
>adding extra pressure to countries like Brazil, Venezuela and
>Argentina to either accede to U.S. demands, or be left out.
>
>The House will likely vote on CAFTA between Wednesday and Sunday
>this week!!!
>The vote will be extremely close -- just like the vote was on the
>Medicare prescription
>-drug bill where House leaders were willing to resort to bribes and
>out-right threats to win.
>
>IT'S TIME FOR A LAST MINUTE BLITZ!!!
>HELP US BURY WASHINGTON WITH CALLS, FAXES and EMAILS!
>
>If you've done it before...DO IT AGAIN.
>Fortunately the vote has been delayed, so we've had a couple of
>extra weeks
>to get the word out. Now this session is coming to a close and we
>are down to the wire!
>So let's give it all we've got! WE'RE TURNING UP THE HEAT!
>
>What's the vote count? According to Congress Daily, 105 House
>members will vote
>"yes" or are leaning to vote "yes" on CAFTA with 166 members who
>will vote "no" or
>are leaning to vote "no." That leaves 163 House members who are
>undecided or
>aren't saying. To stop CAFTA, we must convince at least 53 of those
> 163 members
>to vote against CAFTA.
>
>"According to the administration and House aides, the White House
>has authorized
>Republican leaders to secure votes with whatever is at hand, from
>amendments
> to the
>highway and energy bills
>to the still incomplete appropriations bills." (The Washington
>Post, July 21, 2005)
>
>So, the pro-CAFTA forces are working overtime. Deals are being made
> on highway
>projects, bridges, committee chairmanships, rides on Air Force One,
>dinners at the
>White House, campaign contributions, and countless pork projects
>that have nothing
>whatsoever to do with CAFTA or true free trade.
>
>Faced with all this, what can we do? Representatives who change
>their vote to
>support CAFTA in return for the promise of pork-barrel projects in
>their district or
>rides on Air Force One think they will impress the voters back home
>by "bringing
>home the bacon." You are that voter back home. It's up to you.
>Are you impressed?
>
>Only hearing from you can convince your representative that politics
> as usual won’t work this time. In fact, it stinks.
>
>Will you let your representative know there will be a price to pay
>for selling out?
>You do that when you contact his office and let him know you are
>informed and watching.
>That’s the only language most of our elected officials seem to
>understand.
>And that's why what you do right now is so important.
>
>Do you want to know where your U.S. representative stands on CAFTA?
> Check the
>recent Congress Daily vote check posted at http://
>www.thelibertycommittee.org/caftavotecount.htm .
>(See attached list of Arizona Representatives and where they stand)
>
>Now take action! Join the last minute WASHINGTON BLITZ!!!
>Handwritten messages get attention like nothing else, so fax a
>handwritten note to every Congressional Representative in your
>state.
>
>If your representative is against CAFTA, tell him "thank you, don't
>bend under pressure, I support you!"
>If he is for CAFTA, urge him to change his mind -- it is important
>you make
>it clear that you oppose CAFTA.
>If your representative is undecided, convince him to vote against it
> and tell him no matter what payoff he might be offered, there is
>nothing worth the damage CAFTA will do to America.
>========================================================================
>=================
>
>Sample Letter: (Use one of these paragraphs, or all three)
>
>Date
>Dear Congressional Representative:
>
>I'm affiliated with _______________ (Choose one….National Health
>Federation, Health Freedom USA, or other health freedom group). This
> organization speaks for more than 150 million dietary supplement
>consumers throughout America.
>"I oppose CAFTA because it puts U.S. citizens under international
>CODEX regulations that will devastate our health freedom of choice,
>demolish DSHEA, and destroy thousands of small businesses in the
>health foods and dietary supplement fields. No payoff you are
>offered is worth that kind of damage
>
>I’m strongly urging you to vote NO ON CAFTA.
>If you do not, I simply cannot vote for you in the next election.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Signature
>
>(Include address only if this is being sent to your own
>Representative.)
>
>NOTE: When you are affiliated with a group, your letter may have
>more impact. The Freedom groups we mention here are fine,
>honorarable organizations that speak for every American. In that
>sense, we can say we are are affiliated with them.
>
>You only need to write your letter once. Then fax it to every
>representative in your state.
>Prefer a Pre-written Letter addressing CAFTA ?
>The "Please Listen to Me" letter has been attached for you to print
>and fax.
>This letter also requests a NO vote on a second bad health freedom
>bill.
>
>Please also call U.S. Representatives for your state.
>To locate your state Representatives call the U.S. Capitol
>switchboard and give them your zip code. The toll free number is
>http://capwiz.com/liberty/dbq/officials/ 866-340-9281. You may also
>use our directory at http://capwiz.com/liberty/dbq/officials/ .
>(List of Arizona Representatives attached.)
>
> Please take time to do this...the health of America is at stake!
>There are several options here. You can fax a handwritten note or a
>pre-printed one. You can make calls or send an e-mail. The more of
>these things you do, the bigger the impact! If you can't do them
>all, do what you can...and Do it NOW! When you r supplements are
>gone, it will be too late.
>Send an E-Mail:
>1) For a one-step way to send a pre-written letter to your
>Congressman, go to: http://capwiz.com/lef/mail/oneclick_compose/?
>alertid=7739691, or
>2) Go to www.stopcafta.org for multiple choices of action from which
> to choose.
>3) PLEASE WATCH “We Become Silent” http://www.welltv.com to
>understand realities of the threat we face.
>
>CAFTA can be defeated in the U.S. House this week, but you must act.
> More than ever, what you do matters. Keep spreading the word by
>forwarding this message to everyone you know.
>
>Thank you for your help!
>Annabelle
>Phoenix, AZ
>[e-mail]
>
>P.S. If you are wondering what this is all about, here's what a
>Texas Statesman has to say:
>
>July 18, 2005: CAFTA and Dietary Supplements by Congressional
>Representative Ron Paul
>Pharmaceutical companies have spent billions of dollars trying to
>get Washington to regulate your dietary supplements like European
>governments do. So far, that effort has failed in America, in part
>because of a 1994 law called the Dietary Supplement Health and
>Education Act. Big Pharma and the medical establishment hate this
>Act, because it allows co nsumers some measure of freedom to buy the
> supplements they want. Americans like this freedom, however--
>especially the health conscious Baby Boomers. This is why the drug
>companies support WTO and CAFTA. They see international trade
>agreements as a way to do an end run around American law and
>restrict supplements through international regulations. For
>more....click here:
>http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2005/tst071805.htm
>
>http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/trade/2005/03foolmetwice.pdf

[pacalo]

1. Good news from my representative...

Bobby Jindal sent me a letter stating that he would be opposing the bill.

Shocking, considering he's the WH bootlicker who came up with the idea of inking the Repugs' index fingers as a show of support for * during his SOTU speech, which followed the election in Iraq.

[unlawflcombatnt]

2. Another Reason to Oppose CAFTA

Just when I thought CAFTA couldn't get any worse, another of its bad points comes out. This is the first time I heard about the "Codex" issue. CAFTA has so many shortcomings it's hard to keep track of them all.

Tonight on CSPAN there were was a presentation headed by Sherrod Brown of Ohio, where members of Congress opposing CAFTA spoke out. A poll by the Washington Journal was cited. It's poll on CAFTA had 147 in the House in favor of CAFTA, and 224 opposing CAFTA. It looks like there is a very good chance it will be defeated. But Bush and his henchman can be counted on to pull out all the stops to change votes.

There were also speeches on CSPAN from the opponents of CAFTA as well as the proponents. One of CAFTA's advocates mentioned the "opening markets" fantasy. He gleefully claimed that CAFTA countries have a $15 billion market that we could tap into. $15 billion? That's only a little more than 1/1000th of our $12 trillion GDP. If we captured their entire market it would make almost no difference. In contrast, CAFTA would add 20-40 million workers to the 140 million American workers that Corporate America can tap into. This increased supply of workers would reduce the "price" of labor, which means it would reduce wages. It not only causes job loss, it reduces the wages of those who still have jobs.

This is not about opening consumer markets. It's about opening foreign labor markets to further exploitation by Corporate America. And it's about making American workers compete against these low-wage, easily exploitable workers.

unlawflcombatnt

[Carolab]

3. Absolutely. It's the final nail in the coffin assuring global SLAVERY.

We MUST defeat it! Please continue to put the pressure on. This is VITAL!!!

[Carolab]

4. There's Nothing "Free" About the Central American Free Trade Agreement

http://info.sierraclub.org/c.html?rtr=on&s=arz,e7y6,o7l,5y65,904z,ydn,fghl

The House of Representatives vote on the Central American Free Trade this week is expected to be close. CAFTA, passed by the Senate on June 30, would extend the decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

But like NAFTA, CAFTA would allow multinational corporations to sue governments if a public health or environmental protection interfered with their business interests. To see what effect CAFTA would have on ordinary people view the "faces of CAFTA" at this link:

http://info.sierraclub.org/c.html?rtr=on&s=arz,e7y6,o7l,26hi,jxeo,ydn,fghl

and tell your representative to vote no on CAFTA -- "free" trade isn't free if it costs our environment!

http://info.sierraclub.org/c.html?rtr=on&s=arz,e7y6,o7l,5y65,904z,ydn,fghl

[Carolab]

5. From the AFL-CIO

Dear Working Families e-Activist,

Call Your Representative Now—It’s Urgent!


Please call your U.S. representative now and urge him or her to oppose CAFTA. The U.S. House will vote on CAFTA—NAFTA’s twin brother—this week. It’s now or never—make your voice heard.


CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
TOLL-FREE NOW AT:

1-800-718-1008



If we don’t stop CAFTA this week, we will be stuck with a job-killing trade deal just like NAFTA. President George W. Bush is lobbying hard for the House to pass CAFTA this week.


CAFTA—the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement—would extend NAFTA’s disastrous job loss, workers’ rights abuses and environmental damage throughout Central America.


Your U.S. representative needs to hear from you NOW. Urge him or her to oppose CAFTA by calling this number toll-free:

1-800-718-1008


Tell your representative:




“I strongly urge you to oppose CAFTA. CAFTA is based on the failed NAFTA and will expand NAFTA’s legacy of lost jobs, low wages and trampled workers’ rights to six more countries.”


Just like NAFTA, CAFTA does not include meaningful protections of workers’ rights—but it gives trade breaks to countries that violate workers’ rights. Highlight these points when you call your representative’s office:


CAFTA is based on the failed NAFTA, and it will expand NAFTA’s legacy of lost jobs, low wages and trampled workers’ rights to six more countries.
Under NAFTA and other failed U.S. trade policies, the U.S. trade deficit reached a record $600 billion last year as American companies relocated to take advantage of lower wages, weaker worker and environmental protections and improved access to the U.S. market. Even companies that didn’t destroy jobs used the threat of leaving the United States to break union organizing drives and win concessions at the bargaining table.
The NAFTA-related trade deficit cost U.S. workers nearly 900,000 net jobs through 2002—and the trade deficit only has grown since then, despite predictions by NAFTA supporters in the 1990s that the agreement would generate trade surpluses for another 15 years.
We can’t afford another NAFTA. Please call your representative now and urge him or her to oppose CAFTA.


Your U.S. representative needs to hear from you NOW. Urge him or her to oppose CAFTA by calling this toll-free number:


1-800-718-1008


Tell your representative:


“I strongly urge you to oppose CAFTA. CAFTA is based on the failed NAFTA and will expand NAFTA’s legacy of lost jobs, low wages and trampled workers’ rights to six more countries.”


Thank you for working to stop another job-killing trade deal.


In solidarity,


Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO

[sadiesworld]

6. kick

[Leilani]

7. Please call your Reps!

The vote is very close!

[Carolab]

8. Kicking for freedom n/t