election aftermath
election aftermath
Date: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 4:35 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1583 -- 10/08/2006 >>>>>
One of the most disappointing aspects of the 2006 elections is that the
issues of H-1B and L-1 were ignored.
In this newsletter I will take a crack at being a political analyst by
trying to figure out why H-1B wasn't an issue, and then I'll explain why
things are worse for us today than yesterday.
A CNN exit poll may give some clues about the lack of debate on H-1B.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/special/issues/
According to the CNN exit poll, the economy was not high on the list of
important voter issues:
Iraq 49%
Terrorism 46%
Economy 33%
Illegal Immigration 29%
Most people that are concerned about H-1B, and there aren't many of them,
consider it an economic issue, not an immigration issue. I am one of the
few analysts that consider the two issues to be equally important and
intrinsically linked.
As you can see the economy wasn't as big as Iraq or terrorism in the minds
of voters. When people aren't worried about jobs they aren't worried about
H-1B. It's just that simple.
People should be worried about jobs. I'm including an article below that is
very scary but it's a message not many people have heard.
There is something else we can learn from those stats. While "illegal
immigration" was on the radar screen, "legal immigration" wasn't. That's
very significant. The debates on illegal immigration totally overshadowed
discussions about the effects legal immigrants are having on our economy.
There may be an even more basic reason that the public wasn't concerned
with jobs or legal immigration -- it's because there are no organized
efforts to make it part of the public debate. To this date, there are no
viable organizations that have both the desire and the capability to push
this issue into the forum of public debate.
One other factor that is probably not appreciated enough is the growing
voting power of the Asians that came to the U.S. on employment visas such
as H-1B and eventually became naturalized citizens. They vote in very large
numbers and unlike the general public, they do vote for politicians who
support H-1B. If that exit poll was done on Asians only the results would
be dramatically different.
I doubt that Hispanics and Asians worked together, but typically the
politicians that support "guest worker" amnesties also support H-1B. They
are allies even if they don't know it, and Hispanics political power is
rapidly growing.
I included an article about the power of the Asian vote. The article
doesn't have much quantitative information but it is probably accurate.
To summarize the reasons H-1B was off the radar screen in 2006:
1) Economic issues weren't a major factor in this election.
2) Legal immigration was off the public radar screen.
3) Lack of organization by American workers affected by H-1B.
4) The power of the Asian and Hispanic vote.
Election results didn't go well for us. It will be far more difficult to
resist an increase in H-1B once the new Congress convenes, and we still are
in extreme danger of the lame duck Congress sneaking the Skil Bill through
in the dark of night.
One of the few pieces of good news is that James Webb (D) of Virginia will
probably defeat George Allen by a very narrow margin. James Webb is one of
the few politicians in this election that openly opposed H-1B and the Skil
Bill.
The ouster of George Allen by Webb is very important because Allen is
co-sponsor of the Skil Bill. Allen's defeat may torch his chances for
running for president, but I doubt it will have much affect on the Skil
Bill in the Senate since it already passed by a wide margin.
Robert Byrd (D-WVA) as been one of the few Senators to stand up against the
Skil Bill. Fortunately he won by a large margin.
Lieberman's win in Connecticut as an independent is a disaster. He has a
long history of betraying US workers on the H-1B issue. I have written so
much about him that I will defer to the newsletter archive if you want more
information.
Unfortunately the bad news in this election outweighs the good. The House
is where our real battle is, and we took some bad hits there.
Hastert (R-IL) has been a solid supporter of H-1B but recently has been
very good on illegal immigration. He will be replaced as Speaker of the
House by Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who is terrible on all immigration issues.
Betterimmigration.com gives Pelosi grades of F in every aspect of
immigration, including guest worker visas. Basically we went from bad to
worse!
Nancy Johnson (R-CT) lost, and that is another blow for us. If you recall,
she assailed big insurance companies in Connecticut for hiring H-1Bs and
was heavily involved in reform bills. Losing her is a major setback.
In Arizona, the most hopeful candidate was Randy Graf (R). Graf attempted
to take Jim Kolbe's vacated seat. Kolbe is one of the "Three Stooges from
Arizona" (McCain, Flake, and Kolbe pushed for massive increases in H-1B).
Graf would have become the next Tom Tancredo, and that's why the Republican
Party snuffed Graf's election bid. I have talked to Graf many times and if
anything he is stronger against guest worker visas than Tancredo. The RNC
targeted Graf as their #1 enemy, and unfortunately they succeeded in taking
him down.
Sleazy politics took their toll on Graf when the RNC pulled 1 million
dollars from his election fund. That happened after they gave financial
support to Graf's primary opponent, who lost. RNC policy makers showed they
would rather allow a liberal Democrat to win in Arizona than support a
strong immigration reformer. I included some material about the Republican
attack against Graf because it's very important to see just how determined
the Republicans are to keep our border open, and how willing they are to
conspire with the Democrats to push globalism.
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) is somewhat of a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" on H-1B,
but he is a strong opponent of illegal immigration. He has voted for H-1B
increases in the past but recently started to clean up his act. He
definitely opposed the Skil Bill. His loss will hurt our fight against
comprehensive immigration reform and the Skil Bill.
In conclusion, yesterday was not a good day for opponents of H-1B. If the
lame duck Congress doesn't succeed in raising H-1B I think the new Congress
will. It's an ugly situation for us!
Aricles Included Below
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/immigrant-voters-show-might-in-us-polls/25725-2.html
Asians show might in US polls
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15440.htm
The Dollar's Full-System Meltdown
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0922graf0922.html
GOP cancels $1 mil in Graf ad support
http://www.nysun.com/article/39663
Graf Survives National Republican Opposition To Win for GOP
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/immigrant-voters-show-might-in-us-polls/25725-2.html
Asians show might in US polls
Indira Kannan
CNN-IBN
US POLL: In the US elections about one-third of voters were Asian
Americans, including Indian Americans.
New York: The elections in US saw a fair share of participation by
immigrant voters.
As Americans voted in the mid-term election across the US, polling stations
in Queens, New York, saw a fair share of voters from immigrant communities.
In neighborhoods like Woodside and Jackson Heights, about one-third of
voters were Asian Americans, including Indian Americans.
"I don't support any particular party. I support those who are doing a good
job in the administration," Indian American voter Kewal Sehjal said.
Organisations like the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(AALDEF) and South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT) were
conducting exit polls to study the voting behaviour of the Asian American
community.
"The war in Iraq, the economy and in particular healthcare, job and of
course immigration are always big issues for the community," AALDEF
volunteer Stephanie Hsu said.
"AALDEF had carried out a study in the 2004 poll and we found that the
turnout of South Asian voters is very high as compared to general American
voters and they are usually supporters of the Democratic Party, not so many
Republicans," says AALDEF volunteer Maheneen Alam.
While important state offices are also being decided, this year's mid-term
poll has been dominated by the Iraq war, the economy and cases of
corruption on Capitol Hill.
As for the Indian voters, issues particularly relevant to their community,
like healthcare and immigration seem to have influenced their voting.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15440.htm
The Dollar's Full-System Meltdown
By Mike Whitney
10/30/06 "Information Clearing House" -- -- The U.S. Dollar is kaput.
Confidence in the currency is eroding by the day.
A report in The Sydney Morning Herald stated, "Australias Treasurer
Peter Costello has called on East Asias central bankers to
telegraph their intentions to diversify out of American investments
and ensure an orderly adjustment.Central banks in China, Japan,
Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong have channeled immense foreign reserves
into American government bonds, helping to prop up the US dollar and hold
down interest rates, said Costello, but the strategy has changed."
Indeed, the strategy has changed. The world has come to its senses and is
moving away from the green slip of paper that is currently mired in $8.3
trillion of debt.
The central banks now want to reduce their USD reserves while trying to do
as little damage to their own economies as possible. Thatll be
difficult. If a sell-off ensues, it will start a stampede for the exits.
Theres little hope of an "orderly adjustment" as Costello opines;
thats just false optimism. When the greenback begins listing; things
will turn helter-skelter quickly.
In September, we saw early signs that the dollar was in trouble. The trade
deficit registered at $70 billion but the Net Foreign Security Purchases
(NFSP) came in at a paltry $33 billion. That means that our main trading
partners are no longer buying back our debt which puts downward pressure on
the greenback. The Fed had two choices; either raise interest rates
substantially or let the currency fall. Given the tenuous condition of the
housing bubble and the proximity of the midterm elections, the Fed did
neither.
A month later, in October, the trade deficit hit $69.9 billion but, then,
without warning, a miracle occurred. The Net Foreign Security Purchases
skyrocketed to a "historic high" of $116.8 billion; covering both months
shortfalls almost to the penny.
Coincidence?
Not likely. Either the skittish central banks decided to "stock up" on
their dollar-denominated investments or the Federal Reserve (and their
banking-buddies) is buying back its own debt to float us through the
elections.
This is exactly the kind of hanky-panky that people expected when Greenspan
stopped publishing the M-3 last March keeping the rest of us in the dark
about what was really going on with the money supply.
Are we supposed to believe that the skeptical central banks suddenly
doubled up on their T-Bills while theyre (publicly) moaning about the
dollars weakness and threatening to diversify?
Thats a stretch.
According to the Wall Street Journal the Chinese Central-bank governor Zhou
Xiaochuan stated unequivocally that "We think weve got enough." The
Chinese presently have nearly $1 trillion in USD and US Treasuries.
"Enough"?
The United States runs a $200 billion per year trade deficit with China. If
theyve "got enough" were dead-ducks. After all, it doesnt take a
sell-off to kill the dollar, just unwillingness on the part of the main
players to stop purchasing at the same rate.
Of course, everyone in Washington already knew that doomsday was
approaching. Thats the way the system was designed from the very
beginning. Its all part of the madcap scheme to "starve the beast" and
transfer the nations wealth to a handful of western plutocrats. Thats
explains why the Fed and the White House whirred along like two spokes on
the same wheel; every policy calculated to thrust the country headlong
toward disaster.
The administration never created a funding mechanism for the $400 million
tax cuts or for the 35% expansion of the Federal government. Defense
spending increased by leaps and bounds as did the "no-bid" contracts for
friends of the Bush clan. At the same time, interest rates were lowered to
rock-bottom to put as much money as possible into the hands of people who
couldnt meet the traditional criteria for a mortgage. And, if gluttonous
waste, reckless overspending and "Mickey Mouse" loans were not enough; the
Fed capped it off by doubling the money supply in 7 years; a surefire
prescription for hyper-inflation.
So, which one of these policies was not deliberate?
The financial crisis that we now face was created by design. It is intended
to destroy the labor movement, crush the middle class, quash Medicare,
Medicaid and Social Security, reduce our foreign debt by 50 or 60%, force a
restructuring of Americas debt, privatize all public assets and
resources, and create a new regime of austerity measures which will divert
more wealth to the banking and corporate establishments.
The avatars of neoliberalism invariably use crooked politicians to spawn
enormous "unsustainable" debt so that the nations riches can be
transferred to ruling elites. It works the same everywhere. Its a form
of corporate colonization, only this time the victim is the good old USA.
"The Phase of Impact"
According to Richard Daughty in his prescient article "The Phase of Impact"
the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Dept have already manned the
battle-stations. Heres an excerpt:
"Mr. Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury, is, by virtue of his ascension
to the throne, now the head of the shadowy Presidents Working Group of
Financial Markets (which was created by Presidential Order 12631) and he is
insisting that they meet more often, namely every 6 weeks!
This whole Working Group thing was originally set up as a fallback, ad-hoc,
if-then defense to deal with possible economic emergencies, but now they
are routinely meeting every 6 weeks. He has even ordered Jim Wilkinson, his
chief of staff, to oversee the creation of a Treasury Command Center to
track markets world-wide and serve as an operations base in a crisis"!
(Wall Street Journal) World-wide!! The American government is moving to
take control of the world-wide economy as the result of an anticipated
crisis? Yikes!"
Daughty goes on to say: "So a lot of the hubbub is obviously being caused
by some approaching upheaval, perhaps reflected in something sent to me by
Phil S., which is the Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin No8 which
reminded us that last May they predicted that the economy would have a
phase of acceleration that would begin in June, and it "would be
spread out over a period of a maximum of 6 months, which it subsequently
did. They said then, and are saying again now, that a phase of impact
will begin in November 2006, and that this impact phase would be the
explosive phase of the crisis.
This phase of impact that is due to begin momentarily is, they
explain, a period when a series of brutal crises starts affecting by
contamination the total system. This explosive phase of the crisis, which
will last 6 months to one year, will affect directly and very strongly
financial players and markets, the owners of investment schemes with fixed
incomes in dollars, pension funds and the strategic relations between the
United States on the one side, and Europe and Asia on the other." (Richard
Daughty; "The Phase of Impact" Kitco.com)
Predictions, of course, are rarely reliable and Daughtys scenario may be
a bit too apocalyptic for many. But if we accept the premise that the tax
cuts, the expansion of the federal government, the doubling of the money
supply, and the $10 trillion that was sluiced into the housing bubble were
not merely "honest mistakes" made by "supply side" enthusiasts; then we
must assume that this is all part of a loony plan to demolish the economic
foundation-blocks of the current system and remake society from the ground
up.
Domestically, that plan appears to involve the activation of the police
state.
In the last few weeks the Bush administration has passed the Military
Commissions Act of 2006 which allows the president to arrest and torture
whomever he chooses without charging him with a crime. Also, unbeknownst to
most Americans, Bush signed into law a provision which, according to
Senator Patrick Leahy, will allow the president to unilaterally declare
martial law. By changing The Insurrection Act, Bush has essentially
overturned the Posse Comitatus Act which bars the president from deploying
troops with the United States. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of
2007 (as it is called) also allows Bush to take control of the National
Guard which has always been under the purview of the state governors. Bush
now has absolute power over all armed troops within the country, a state of
affairs which the constitution purposely tried to prevent. The
administrations dream of militarizing the country under the sole
authority of the executive has now been achieved although the public still
has no idea that a coup that has taken place.
Internationally, the falling dollar means that Americas debt will be
reduced proportionate to the percentage-loss of the dollar in relation to
other currencies. This is a great deal for the U.S. First the Fed prints
fiat money to buy valuable resources and manufactured goods and then it
nabs a discount by depreciating its currency. Its a "win-win" situation
for Washington, although it will undoubtedly cheat unwitting
foreign-creditors out of their hard-earned profits. Its doubtful that
their interests will weigh very heavily on the money-lenders at the US
Treasury or the Federal Reserve.
The dollar faces a second crisis at home which is bound to play out
throughout 2007. The $10 trillion dollar housing bubble is quickly losing
air causing a precipitous drop in GDP. The housing industry is seeing its
steepest decline in 30 years and home equity is beginning to shrivel.
Housing has been the one bright spot in an otherwise bleak economic
landscape. With the housing market slowing down and prices decreasing, the
$600 billion of consumer spending which was extracted in 2005 from home
equity will quickly evaporate triggering an overall slowdown in the
economy. (Consumer spending is 70% of GDP)
By the Feds own calculations; "The total amount of residential housing
wealth in the US just about doubled between 1999 and 2006 up from $10.4
trillion to $20.4 trillion. ("Times Online") If these figures are accurate
than we can assume that much of Americas "perceived" growth has been
nothing more than the expansion of debt. In fact, that seems to be the
case. Wages have been stagnant since the 1970s, 3 million manufacturing
jobs have been outsourced, savings have shrunk to below 0%, and personal
debt is soaring. We have become an "asset-based" society and when the
principle asset begins to loose its value, we are in deep trouble. As
housing prices continue to decline through 2007 we can expect a full-blown
recession. If energy prices rear their ugly head again, (were they lowered
for the elections?) it will just be that much worse.
So, how will recession affect the dollar?
Capital has no loyalties. It follows the markets. When Americas bustling
consumer market stalls, well undergo capital flight just like everywhere
else. The 3 million lost manufacturing jobs, the 200,000 lost high-paying
high-tech jobs, the tax incentives for major corporations doing business
outside the country; all signal that corporate America has already loaded
the boats and is headed for more promising markets in Asia and Europe. A
sluggish consumer market could further weaken the dollar and force
Americans to begin saving again but, (and heres the surprising part) the
decision-makers at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Dept dont really
care if the face-value of the greenback goes down anyway.
What really matters is that the dollar retains its position as the
worlds reserve currency. That allows the Federal Reserve to continue to
print the money, set the interest rates, and control the global economic
system. The dollar presently accounts for 66% of foreign currency reserves
in central banks across the globe, an increase of nearly 10% in one decade
alone. The dollar has become the international currency, a de-facto
monopoly. This is the goal of the globalists and the American ruling elite
who dream of one system, the dollar-system; with us running it.
So, how will this cadre of plutocrats coerce the other nations to continue
to use the dollar while it plummets from its perch?
Oil.
As long as oil is denominated in dollars, the central banks will be forced
to stockpile American scrip regardless of its value. Its no different
than holding a gun to someones head. They will use our debt-plagued
greenbacks or their cars and trucks will sputter, their tractors and
factories will wheeze, and their economies will grind to a halt. Its
just that simple.
America cannot maintain its superpower status unless it continues to
control the global economic system. That means the linkage between the
dollar and oil must be preserved. The Bush troupe sees this as an
existential issue upon which the future of Americas ruling class
depends. By 2020, 60% of the worlds oil will come from the Middle East.
Bush will do everything in his power to control the resources of the
Caspian Basin, thereby expanding US dollar-hegemony and paving the way for
a new American century
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0922graf0922.html
GOP cancels $1 mil in Graf ad support
Jon Kamman
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 22, 2006 12:00 AM
The Republican Party canceled about $1 million in advertising support for
Randy Graf, a blow to his chances of winning the congressional race in
southern Arizona.
Graf, a conservative who has campaigned mainly on a platform of zero
tolerance for illegal immigration, vowed through campaign manager R.T.
Gregg to go it alone if necessary in the district once considered one of
the most competitive in the nation.
The ad pullback means Republicans recognize Graf's Democratic opponent,
Gabrielle Giffords, has "broad bipartisan support" across the district,
which runs from Tucson to the Mexican border, a Giffords spokesman said.
advertisement
Jim Kolbe, who is retiring, has represented the 8th Congressional District
for 22 years.
An independent political observer said yanking advertising support is "a
very powerful signal."
"It can mean either they're pulling out because it's hopeless, or they
think he's got it in the bag," said Gary Jacobson, professor of political
science at the University of California-San Diego.
Every indication is that the party is in full retreat, Jacobson said.
Gregg said Thursday that he had no specifics on what the National
Republican Congressional Committee was doing, "but I don't care."
"It doesn't matter. Our game plan is set, and we're well on our way to
raising the $1 million we need to win this race," Gregg said.
He said Republican leaders and the party's rank-and-file have contributed
generously to Graf since the Sept. 12 primary. Also, House Speaker Dennis
Hastert, R-Ill., will host a fund-raiser for Graf in Washington, D.C., next
week, Gregg said.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, chairman of the GOP
committee, said ads now running will continue through Oct. 3, but plans
beyond that are part of confidential campaign strategy.
Democrats said the date simply reflects that two weeks of notice is
required for cancellation of media buys.
Republicans had reserved about $1.4 million worth of broadcast time to
boost chances of keeping the seat in GOP hands.
The party spent $250,000 in the primary trying to derail a Graf victory and
had booked most of the remainder for closer to the Nov. 7 general election.
Democrats had budgeted about $1.7 million for the race. Both parties will
now be able to redirect most or all of the money to other races.
A poll released by Giffords on Wednesday suggested she holds a 19
percentage-point advantage over Graf, with a 4-point margin of error. Gregg
dismissed the poll as meaningless because the Giffords camp paid for it.
Giffords also has shown more fund-raising prowess than Graf. The $1.2
million she raised before the primary was more than twice as much as Graf
took in, and she entered the general election campaign with $300,000, about
three times as much as Graf.
"She's in good shape, and if the Republicans are pulling out a million
bucks, he's not," Jacobson said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.nysun.com/article/39663
September 14, 2006
Graf Survives National Republican Opposition To Win for GOP
BY ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN - Associated Press
September 14, 2006
TUCSON, Ariz. A former state lawmaker, Randy Graf, won the GOP primary
for an open U.S.House seat despite lobbying from the National Republican
Congressional Committee against his candidacy.
His closet rival, state Rep. Steve Huffman, received a late-campaign boost
from the committee, which in a rare move broke its neutrality in a primary
race by spending more than $122,000 on TV ads on his behalf. Party
officials had expressed concerns that Mr. Graf may be too conservative to
win the seat in November. But that move prompted a local Republican
backlash, drawing a joint letter and a joint news conference in Washington
by Mr. Huffman's four GOP opponents expressing their "unified outrage" at
the national committee.
With 95% of the southeastern Arizona district's precincts reporting early
yesterday, Mr. Graf led Mr. Huffman 22,861 to 19,674 or 43% to 37%.
One-time state party chairman Mike Hellon was next with 12%,and two others
lagged well behind. Mr. Graf's campaign focused on securing the Mexican
border and halting illegal immigration, banking that he would attract
rankled conservatives and independents.
"We stayed on the issue, kept our campaign on the up-and-up and talked
about the issues we've talked about for years, and the voters appreciated
that," Mr. Graf said.
Democrats, meanwhile, focused on the war in Iraq, health care, and
education during the primary, as well as advocating a comprehensive
solution to the border issue. A former state senator, Gabrielle Giffords,
cruised past a former local television anchor, Patty Weiss, and four other
challengers in the Democratic race, securing more than 54% of the vote
about 23% more than Ms. Weiss, who finished second.
Both parties battled to replace 11-term Rep. Jim Kolbe, a moderate
Republican, who announced his retirement. Republicans have only a slight
advantage in the district, which includes the Tucson area and spans the
southeastern corner of the state.
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