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<p><font face="arial" size="1"><i>does this e-mail look wrong, or can
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<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>Action Alert — July 2,
2007</b></font></p>
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<p><font face="arial" size="3"><b>Fast Track is Dead: But
We Can't Rest in Peace Just Yet</b><br>
<i>Bush Launches Final NAFTA Expansion Push Before
Negotiating Authority Expires</i></font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
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<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>This Independence
Day</b>, put your patriotism into practice by "bird-dogging" your
congressional representatives to make sure they oppose further NAFTA
expansion.<br>
<a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.citizen.org%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D3307"
target="_blank"><b>Take action!</b></a></font></p>
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<p><font face="arial" size="2">First off, here is the good
news. After five years of endless NAFTA expansion deals enabled by
"Fast Track" negotiating authority, George Bush's blank check trade
authority terminated June 30. And, Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic
leaders announced they have no intentions to give Bush more Fast Track.
Hallelujah!</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Okay. Now sober up for the
not-so-good news.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Right before Fast Track
expired, the administration released the final legal texts of four
proposed NAFTA expansion pacts with Peru, Panama, Colombia and South
Korea. This means they will try to use Fast Track's undemocratic
procedures to try to ram these left-over, bad-news trade deals through
Congress.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">So, we need to kick it up a
notch.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">This week is the <b>Independence
Day District Work Period</b>, and your representatives in Congress will
be back in your neighborhood attending July 4th parades and BBQs. It
will be the perfect opportunity to "bird-dog": that is, track down your
representative and senators and make sure they oppose those left over
NAFTA expansions - and Fast Track.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">For tips on how to bird-dog
effectively, to share news of any upcoming events, or to report on an
encounter with a congressperson, click here: <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.citizen.org%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D3307"
target="_blank"><b>http://www.tradewatch.org/birddog</b></a></font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
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<td style="padding: 10px;"> <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tradewatch.org%2Fbirddog"
target="_blank"><img src="cid:part2.07010508.08060508@aim.com"
style="margin: 0pt 10px 0pt 20px; float: right;" border="0" height="91"
width="90"></a>
<p><font face="arial" size="3"><b>What is
bird-dogging?</b></font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2"><i>bird-dog (bûrddôg)</i>
v.intr. To follow a subject of interest, such as a person or trend,
with persistent attention.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">One of the most
important things that you can do for fair trade is to "bird-dog" your
congressional representatives - which means following them around until
they publicly addresses your concerns "on the record." The best way to
do this is to attend a townhall meeting, a parade, a BBQ or some other
public event where your representative and senators will be talking or
participating.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Get started now! For
tips and talking points, click here: <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=6&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.citizen.org%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D3307"
target="_blank"><b>http://www.tradewatch.org/birddog</b></a></font></p>
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<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>Background:</b> Last
November, Americans loudly rejected the Bush administration's
more-of-the-same NAFTA expansion trade policy. President Bush had used
the undemocratic Fast Track trade negotiating authority to enact
NAFTA-style trade deals with Chile, Singapore, Morocco, Australia,
Bahrain, Oman, the Dominican Republic and 5 Central American countries
(CAFTA). The majority-making Democratic freshman class won the 2006
elections by committing to end Bush's trade war on the middle class and
force new rules for a fairer global economy.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">You would think that a
Democratic majority on Congress would mean no more Bush NAFTA
expansions could be passed. But, shockingly, on May 10th, Democratic
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the White House and congressional
Democrats and Republicans in charge of trade to announce a "deal" to
facilitate passage of several of those left-over Bush NAFTA expansion
agreements. The announcement came without the consent - or even the
prior knowledge - of the vast majority of congressional Democrats, who
have been outraged at both the process and the substance of the "deal."
Not one labor, environmental, consumer, faith, family farm or small
business organization supports the deal.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">You can read our original
May 11th action alert and initial talking points on the deal here: <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.citizen.org%2Fcontent.jsp%3Fcontent_KEY%3D2659%26t%3DBlankTemplate.dwt"
target="_blank"><b>http://action.citizen.org/content.jsp?content_KEY=2659&t=BlankTemplate.dwt</b></a></font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>This "deal" was designed
to facilitate passage of at least Bush's NAFTA expansions for Peru and
Panama.</b> It adds enforceable labor and environmental standards. But
unfortunately, it falls far short of de-NAFTA-fying those two trade
agreements by removing the bans on anti-offshoring and Buy America
policies, or the outrageous foreign investor rights that facilitate
offshoring and attacks on our health and environmental laws. It's a
scenario where a new roof has been added to building with rotten
foundations, walls and wiring.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">That means we face the same
Peru "free trade agreement" (FTA) that would lock in social security
privatization in Peru, chill environmental protections for the Amazon
basin, and keep the downward pressure on wages here in the United
States!</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Bush and other Republicans -
and even some Democrats - are pointing to the "deal" as a path towards
approval of not just the Peru and Panama NAFTA expansions (as some
reporting suggested), but also similar NAFTA expansions to Colombia and
South Korea, and even more Fast Track trade negotiating authority for
President Bush!</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Happily, Speaker Pelosi and
other Democratic House leaders have said they oppose the Colombia and
Korea deals and have no intention of giving Bush new Fast Track. But…
if the Peru and Panama deals are allowed to pass by wide margins, the
other NAFTA expansions and Fast Track would be given a new lease on
life. Every K Street lobbyist, CAFTA-15 Democrat and Bush
administration official will take it as the sign to launch a huge push
- which would send us right back to square one.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>Your members of Congress
will be home every weekend from now through the end of July, and the
entire month of August.</b> Don't let this time go to waste! We've made
huge progress in the nearly 15 years since the unfortunate passage of
NAFTA. We can't afford to let the newly empowered Democrats lose touch
with the key issue that put them in office in the first place.</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Practice real patriotism by
bird-dogging your representatives and senators. To get started, click
here: <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=8&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.citizen.org%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D3307"
target="_blank"><b>http://www.tradewatch.org/birddog</b></a></font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Yours in solidarity,</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">The Global Trade Watch Team</font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">p.s. If you haven't signed
our petition yet about the outrageous social security privatization
provision in the proposed Peru "free trade" agreement, please do so now
- and send it to all of your family and friends! You can sign the
petition here: <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=9&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.citizen.org%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D11998"
target="_blank"><b>http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=11998</b></a></font></p>
<font face="arial" size="2"> </font>
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<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b><a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=10&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcitizen.typepad.com%2Feyesontrade%2F2007%2F06%2Flong-overdue-fa.html%2523more"
target="_blank">Fast Track Obituary</a>: June 30, 2007</b><br>
<i>(featured post at <a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=11&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyesontrade.org%2F"
target="_blank"><b>Eyes On Trade</b></a> blog)</i></font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>Lori Wallach: Long
Overdue, Fast Track Finally Passes into History; Millions of Those
Harmed by Fast Track-Enabled Trade Deals Celebrate</b></font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2"><b>OBITUARIES: Fast
Track 1974-1995/2002-2007</b></font></p>
<a
href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=12&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcitizen.typepad.com%2Feyesontrade%2F2007%2F06%2Flong-overdue-fa.html%2523more"
target="_blank"><img src="cid:part3.09030601.09070608@aim.com"
style="margin: 0pt 0pt 5px; float: right;" border="0"></a>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">After a brief,
damaging existence, Fast Track was pronounced dead on June 30, 2007.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">The demise of Fast
Track allowed the U.S. Founding Fathers to stop rolling in their graves
over Fast Track's trampling of constitutional checks and balances. As
well, victims of Fast Track-enabled trade agreements welcomed the news,
given the anomalous procedure's record of damage despite having been
locked up and out of commission for blocks of time since its inception.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">In April 1973, America
first saw the faint glimmer in Father Nixon's eye that was to become
Fast Track when the Nixon administration - always eager to seize power
from the legislative branch - dropped the initial Fast Track
legislation. The young Fast Track - the product of a broken and abusive
home - had an unusually long gestation period, taking over a year and a
half to be unleashed by President Ford, who signed the first Fast Track
bill into law. Fast Track teethed on federalism and checks and
balances, shredding basic tenets of our democracy.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Fast Track delegated
away Congress' exclusive constitutional authority over trade - allowing
the executive branch alone to choose trading partners, set the
substantive terms of trade policy, and even sign trade agreements, all
before Congress ever voted. The controversial delegation mechanism
allowed Congress only a yes or no vote on trade agreements after they
had been negotiated and signed and by its very design shut out public
and congressional oversight.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Unleashed again in
1988, the troubled Fast Track became a violent adult with a
pathological disregard for the middle class, family farmers and the
environment. After enabling the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) in 1993 and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, Fast
Track found itself friendless when in 1995 its 1988-granted parole
ended.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">In 1998, members of
Congress explicitly voted to keep Fast Track locked away as the policy
and political damage of the Fast Track-enabled NAFTA and WTO began to
come home to roost. For only two years of the eight-year,
130-trade-agreement Clinton administration was Fast Track out and
about. The facts of President Clinton being able to pass several
controversial, major multilateral WTO agreements and the Jordan Free
Trade Agreement and China PNTR without Fast Track does not in any way
diminish the claim that it is impossible to do trade agreements without
Fast Track, said Gucci Loafers, a major K Street lobbyist.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">In 2002, after Fast
Track had been kept locked up for a quarter of its 27 years, another
power-grabbing president, George W. Bush, struggled through a two-year,
arm-breaking-for-votes campaign that featured a one-vote margin that
unleashed Fast Track one last time.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Fast Track's lifelong
philosophy was, "Just trust the president." Even after being kept in
chains for much of its existence, Fast Track's legacy includes millions
of peasant farmers who have been displaced by fast-tracked trade deals,
workers whose wages have remained stagnant since Fast Track's hatching
in the mid-70's, millions of Americans made ill by fast-tracked trade
deals that required food imports not meeting U.S. safety standards, the
evisceration of the U.S. manufacturing base, and much more damage. Many
Americans celebrated Fast Track's long overdue demise and joined a
national day of prayer for a better procedure that in the future could
replace Fast Track to ensure trade agreements would benefit the
majority.</font></p>
<p><font face="arial" size="2">Those deeply connected
to Fast Track, including President Bush and representatives of the
National Association of Manufacturers, the American Chamber of
Commerce, Pharma and other corporate lobbies, gathered at board
meetings and campaign fundraisers to mourn their loss.</font></p>
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