4th Stooge Goes to Arizona
4th Stooge Goes to Arizona
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 5:10 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
www.ZaZona.com
Arizona's "Three Stooges" (McCain, Kolbe, and Flake) got a visit from
the little known fourth stooge named Shemp - played by no other than
George Bush. Shemp taught Arizona's Stooges what real vaudeville acts
are all about. The climax of the comedy included a skit where Shemp,
Moe, Larry and Curly flew around in a helicopter while pretending to
talk about political issues but were mostly saying: Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk!
Bush's first task was to go to the fire scarred Mt. Lemmon in order to
blame the enivoronmentalists for all the blazes in the West. He stood
on Inspiration Point and decreed that there wouldn't be forest fires if
the Greenies would allow the logging companies to clear-cut the forests
(no trees = no fires). Bush said that he will allow lumber companies
to contract with the federal government so that corporations can turn
small trees into cardboard paper and cheap building material.
Standing on Inspiration point on a clear day it's possible to look
south over the city of Tucson and all the way to the Mexican border.
Nobody knows why Bush endorsed the guest-worker and amnesty bill that
the Three Stooges sent to Congress, but one rumor going around Pima
county is that he saw a few dozen illegal aliens bolting across the
desert towards Tucson and was reminded that his corporatist friends
want cheap labor. Another explanation circulating amongst the charred
ruins of Summerhaven is that Bush as he gazed towards Mexico remembered
that his golfing buddy, Vicente Fox, has been demanding immediate
action on amnesty.
One thing about the Shemp and the Three Stooges that can't be denied:
they have simple solutions for simple minds. To solve the forest fires
that have been ravaging the west they will cut down every tree that
stands, and to solve the illegal alien problem they will give them
guest-worker visas and amnesty.
Bush could only stay in Arizona for a short time because he had to go a
Colorado fund raiser where his rich supporters paid $2,000 each to eat
lunch. Over a million dollars was raised in just a couple of hours,
probably because the loggers and the cheap labor lobby were so happy
with Bush's performance at Inspiration Point.
Have you ever wondered who is fighting our fires? According to PBS
there is a massive shortage of firefighters and the only ones up for
the job are - ILLEGAL ALIENS:
private contractors have had a hard time finding
people who want to be firefighters. The work is seasonal,
it's difficult, it's dirty, and the hours are long. So
they've turned to a new labor pool: Migrant workers from
Mexico and Central America, many of them illegal aliens
who speak almost no English, who are in the U.S. with fake
ID cards purchased on the black market.
According to the PBS show, White Guys just can't handle the work that
the illegal Mexicans do, and that's why they need more of them. Mike
Cox hires firefighters for an Oregon contractor and he lays it on the
line:
MIKE COX: Given a choice, I'll always work with a Mexican
crew. And I've always picked it that way, and it stems from
the fact that I've worked with a lot of Caucasian crews that
just don't want to work anymore.
Now the puzzle sort-of fits together. Bush will allow logging companies
to import cheap workers from Mexico and Central America by using the
guest-worker bill proposed by McCain, Kolbe, and Flake. If a fire ever
breaks out in what was once a forest we will use the same workers to
put them out.
Shemp and the Three Stooges aren't so dumb after all. They plan to arm
aliens with chainsaws. These wood-cutters will save our forest and
protect our economy from labor shortages.
For more on Shemp, go to:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/01.16.97/cover/stooges2-9703.html
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/8_11_03immig_bush.html
Aug. 11, 2003
Bush says he supports Kolbe-McCain-Flake immigrant worker bill
DAVID PITTMAN
Tucson Citizen
President George Bush discussed more than the nation's forest fire
policy today during a visit to Tucson.
Bush, while flying by helicopter to the top of Mount Lemmon, discussed
the Border Security and Immigration Improvement Act with Sen. John
McCain and Rep. Jim Kolbe, two Arizona Republicans who introduced the
bill.
"The president was enthusiastic about the bill," said Kolbe. "He is
supportive and told us to take the legislation up with his staff."
The controversial guest-worker proposal would allow millions of
foreigners including illegal immigrants already in the United States
to live and work here with temporary visas.
Kolbe, McCain and the other sponsor, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., say the
bill would reduce migrant deaths on the U.S.-Arizona border, fill needs
for low-skilled labor nationwide and improve national security.
However, the issue dominating talk during the presidential visit was
the need to thin U.S. Forests. Bush believes his Healthy Forests
Initiative which calls for reducing red tape associated with thinning
public forests and allowing lumber companies to contract more freely
with the federal government is the answer to abating the recent rash
of rampant wildfires roaring across Arizona and the West.
"The president's remarks were right on target," said Kolbe. "We must
begin the process of thinning forests all over the United States and
not just near urban areas.
"By suppressing forest fires for so many years we have created a
monster."
Kolbe said overgrowth in the nation's forests is the result of decades
of neglect and that it will take decades to fix the problem. However,
he said the Bush administration is on the right track and that the
federal government has done twice as much forest thinning this year as
it did two years ago.
Getting timber companies involved means forest thinning can be
accomplished at no cost to taxpayers, Kolbe said. He said timber
companies will not be allowed to clear cut forests under the
initiative.
Kolbe said a healthy forest is much better able to fight off diseases
and other problems, such as the beetle infestation that has attacked
trees in Arizona.
Many people were on hand at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to see Bush
after he flew back from Mount Lemmon by helicopter. After getting off
the copter, Bush went over to the edge of the runway to meet and greet
onlookers.
"I was right up there. I got to shake the president's hand," said Bill
Underwood, a retired Air Force colonel. "He's a very charismatic
character."
Dick Steele, also a retired Air Force colonel, said he was "excited" to
see the president.
"We wish him all the best," said Steele.
Among those shaking Bush's hand before he departed on Air Force One
were Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and Tucson Police Chief
Richard Miranda.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=081203a1_bush_reax
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
President visits Mount Lemmon
Talk turns to migrants
Bush 'enthusiastic' about S. Arizona legislators' bill for guest-worker
program.
C.T. REVERE and DAVID PITTMAN
news@tucsoncitizen.com
President Bush came to southern Arizona yesterday to talk about forest
policy but also found himself in a discussion of immigration reform.
While aboard Marine One, a presidential helicopter flying from
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to Mount Lemmon, Bush discussed the Border
Security and Immigration Improvement Act with Sen. John McCain and Rep.
Jim Kolbe, the Arizona Republicans who introduced the bill.
"The president was enthusiastic about the bill," said Kolbe. "He is
supportive and told us to take the legislation up with his staff."
The controversial guest-worker proposal would allow millions of
foreigners - including illegal immigrants already in the United States
- to live and work here with temporary visas.
McCain said Bush has always considered immigration policy "a high
priority" and that the president assured him "he would be looking at it
very carefully and working with us."
Kolbe, McCain and the other sponsor, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., say the
bill would reduce migrant deaths on the U.S.-Mexico border, fill needs
for low-skilled labor nationwide and improve national security.
Once he stepped off the helicopter at Sollers Landing Zone high in the
Santa Catalina Mountains, however, the president's attention turned to
his plan to accelerate the thinning of forests as a remedy for
catastrophic wildfires.
"Forest-thinning projects make a significant difference about whether
or not wildfires will destroy a lot of property," Bush told about 100
listeners seated in the picnic grounds at Inspiration Rock. "We need to
thin our forests in America."
Bush believes his Healthy Forests Initiative - which calls for reducing
red tape associated with thinning public forests and allowing lumber
companies to contract more freely with the federal government -is the
answer to abating the rash of rampant wildfires that recently roared
across Arizona and the West.
"The forest policies of the past operated to discourage efforts to thin
forests. And, unfortunately, well-meaning people put policy in place
that made the health of the forests at risk, not better off. And so the
new initiative says we're going to take a new approach," he said,
appearing casual and rested from a vacation at his Crawford, Texas,
ranch.
Bush, traveling with Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and much of
Arizona's GOP congressional delegation, spent several minutes on
Inspiration Rock being briefed by Catalina District Ranger Ron Senn on
the Aspen fire, which scorched some 85,000 acres of forest and burned
more than 300 buildings earlier this summer.
Then he delivered a 25-minute speech praising forest managers and
firefighters and sharing his sympathies with Summerhaven residents who
lost homes and businesses.
"Too many communities like this have known too many hardships that fire
causes. We've got a problem in the country, a problem which has built
up over decades, and a problem we better fix before more people live
through the grief that the people of Summerhaven have gone through,"
Bush said.
Opponents argue that the Healthy Forests Initiative would undermine
decades of environmental law, circumvent public input into forest
projects and pander to timber companies.
Patagonia wildland firefighter Zay Hartigan said the administration's
proposal would allow the cutting of large, old-growth trees, which
could make forests more dangerous.
"That opens up the tree canopy and allows small trees and bushes to
spread fire," Hartigan said.
Larry Humphrey, a state Bureau of Land Management firefighter who was
the first of two Type 1 incident commanders on the Aspen fire, said
proper thinning requires removing a variety of trees.
"You have all ages in a healthy forest, from old trees to young trees.
And we need to take some of each to thin the forests out," Humphrey
said. "I think the president had a great speech, and he's got a great
initiative."
Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll said he was pleased to hear Bush say
that the plan calls for assessing forests on a case-by-case basis,
because the Catalinas are more likely to be thinned by Forest Service
projects than by private contractors.
"Geographically, this is a very tough place to do any logging, but we
will look at the other options, and this will continue to be a
priority," said Carroll, whose District 4 includes Summerhaven.
Bush's remarks were "right on target," Kolbe said.
"We must begin the process of thinning forests all over the United
States and not just near urban areas," Kolbe said. "By suppressing
forest fires for so many years we have created a monster."
McCain said Bush has become knowledgeable about the need to thin U.S.
forests.
"I think it's very helpful to have the president here to see firsthand
the effects of these fires and the necessity for passage of this
Healthy Forests Initiative," he said.
Don Underhill, whose Alpine Lodge in Summerhaven was destroyed by the
Aspen fire, said he was encouraged by the president's visit.
"It brought an increased sense of unity, if nothing else," Underhill
said. "He comes with a good message about how we need to do something
to resolve the interface problems between humans and the forest. And
the fact that he actually came to us on our little mountain is really
positive.
"We have a really good feeling about the whole thing, if he can find
the money to do it."
Bush's plan has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate
Agriculture Committee and awaits a vote by the full Senate.
Many people were at D-M to see Bush after he flew back from Mount
Lemmon by helicopter. After getting off the helicopter, Bush went to
the edge of the runway to meet onlookers.
"I was right up there. I got to shake the president's hand," said Bill
Underwood, a retired Air Force colonel. "He's a very charismatic
character."
Dick Steele, also a retired Air Force colonel, said he was "excited" to
see the president.
"We wish him all the best," said Steele.
Among those shaking Bush's hand before he departed on Air Force One
were Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and Tucson Police Chief
Richard Miranda.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/politics/article/0,1299,DRMN_35_2173595,00.html
Bush's agenda in Denver
August 11, 2003
President Bush comes to Denver today as part of whirlwind fund-raising
effort for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. No word yet on the menu, but in Omaha
last month, Nebraskans ponied up $400,000 to munch on meatballs and
melon chunks and have their pictures taken with the president.
Some information on the Colorado reception:
Cost: $2,000 per person - invitation only
When: 4:30 p.m. (doors open at 4 p.m.)
Where: Wings Over the Rockies museum, Denver
Hosts: Gov. Bill Owens and his wife, Frances, and former state GOP
chairman Bruce Benson and his wife, Marcy.
Dissenters: Colorado Young Democrats will hold a protest rally near
the museum; participants are asked to meet at East First Avenue near
Quebec Street.
Copyright 2003, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3016463,00.html
Bush Raises $1 Million in Colorado, Ariz.
Tuesday August 12, 2003 2:49 AM
By SCOTT LINDLAW
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) - President Bush added to his swelling re-election fund
Monday, scooping up $1 million in a half-hour speech here.
Bush hit two states that he won in 2000 but that had tilted to Democrat
Bill Clinton at least once. It was his first trip since starting a
monthlong break on his Texas ranch Aug. 2.
In Arizona, which Clinton won in 1996, Bush promoted his
forest-thinning initiative as a means to contain forest fires. Arizona
has 10 electoral votes
In Colorado, won by Clinton in 1992, he spoke in the Wings Over the
Rockies Museum, at the former Lowry Air Force Base.
``I need you to remind the people of this state - Republican, Democrat,
independent, don't care - that our message is hopeful for every single
citizen who lives in this state,'' Bush told nearly 400 people in
Denver. Colorado has nine electoral votes.
Bush rarely mentions the bitter recount that followed the 2000
election. But he joked about it Monday evening, comparing himself to
Rep. Bob Beauprez, who won Colorado's new House seat by just 121 votes
after a recount that ended last December.
``He didn't exactly landslide 'em last time,'' Bush said. ``But neither
did I.''
Bush predicted last week that the Democrats running for president would
sharpen their attacks in coming months.
He didn't mention the Democrats Monday, leaving that to Sen. Ben
Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., who called the opposition ``pretty
shallow.''
``They're not really offering alternatives to what the president's
trying to do,'' Campbell said. ``They're simply trying to build their
own image by basically destroying what he's trying to do in America.''
Bush returned the favor to Campbell, who like Bush is running for
re-election.
The president urged the donors here to write checks to Campbell, ``if
you've got a little something left in your wallet after tonight, and
you're looking for a good man to help.''
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec02/fire2_8-09.html
Betty Ann Bowser presents the second of two reports on fighting the
fires in the West.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: There are so many big wildfires burning this summer
that at least two western states have had to call out the National
Guard to fight them. That's because the U.S. Forest Service is running
short of firefighters in a wildfire season that started early. These
are the people needed to fight the fires: Hand crews that do much of
the grunt work, digging fire lines, chopping down smoldering trees,
putting out spot fires. Hand crews were once hired and trained by the
federal government, but because of budget cuts in the 1990s, many of
them are today recruited and trained by private contractors. And the
Forest Service's Jim Payne says the nation can't fight fires without
those contract crews.
JIM PAYNE: We literally do not have enough employees within the federal
and state agencies to adequately provide resources to wild land fires.
Our contractors are a vital part of to our protection program.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: But private contractors have had a hard time finding
people who want to be firefighters. The work is seasonal, it's
difficult, it's dirty, and the hours are long. So they've turned to a
new labor pool: Migrant workers from Mexico and Central America, many
of them illegal aliens who speak almost no English, who are in the U.S.
with fake ID cards purchased on the black market. They come to the
Northwest to train at a school like this one because they have heard
they can make $800 or more a week. The people in this group all
recently graduated from fire school in Philomath, Oregon. Most of them
are today working on fire crews in the West. Several told the NewsHour
they are in the United States illegally and, speaking through an
interpreter, described the risks they were willing to take to get here.
MAN (Translated): The risk he's taking was almost like death, because
he had not ate for, like, four days straight-- no food or water. The
risk he took was getting caught by the immigration, but some people do
make it on time. Some people get here quicker. Some people don't make
it at all.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: You mean they die?
MAN: Yeah.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Many private contractors say they've turned to
migrant workers from Mexico because they can't find native- born
Americans who want the jobs, and some say they prefer Mexican labor.
Mike Cox hires firefighters for an Oregon contractor.
MIKE COX: Given a choice, I'll always work with a Mexican crew. And
I've always picked it that way, and it stems from the fact that I've
worked with a lot of Caucasian crews that just don't want to work
anymore.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Keith Whithead fields two firefighting crews made up
entirely of men from Mexico. Some days he gets up at 3:00 in the
morning to take them for training.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: When you bring people in and sign them up, what do
they have to have to sign up?
KEITH WHITHEAD: They've got to have a green card and a social security
card, and if they happen to have a driver's license, we take all that
and document it down. We take photographs.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: How do you know if their documentation is legitimate?
KEITH WHITHEAD: Well, it's kind of hard. You know, you look at them,
ask them if it's good, and, you know, you just can't do much about it.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Do you think sometimes it's not good?
KEITH WHITHEAD: Yeah, probably so.
SPOKESMAN: Have the ones with no tools come by this truck and pick up
tools from Pete.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: When these firefighters work for the forest service,
their pay comes from the federal government, but private contractors
are responsible for equipping and training each worker, so a lot of
contractors in Oregon turn to retired firefighter John Berger.
SPOKESMAN: You're going to use these tools to cut with, or chop...
BETTY ANN BOWSER: With the help of a Spanish translator, he's put
thousands of people through a four-day, basic fire safety course
required by the federal government. The students learn about fire
behavior and how to hose down a forest fire.
SPOKESMAN: You're looking good.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: They're taught how to dig lines, or trenches, with
hand tools to keep forest fires from spreading. They have to walk three
miles with a 45-pound pack on their backs in three-quarters of an hour.
Berger knows a lot of his students are in the United States illegally,
but he has no qualms about training them to become firefighters.
JOHN BERGER, Northwest Firefighters, Inc.: Do I feel uncomfortable
about training them? Absolutely not. I don't care if they're from
Mexico or South America or Antarctica. I don't care where they're
from-- it's not my job to care. My job here is to make sure that they
go home to their families, wherever their families are, and not in a
bag.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: The Forest Service's Jim Payne is concerned that
illegal aliens are fighting fires, but says it's not his agency's job
to police them.
JIM PAYNE: We work with our contractors. It's their responsibility to
comply. It's not our role as an agency to police the hiring of legal
aliens, or illegal. It's INS' responsibility, and we fully cooperate
with them on that.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: In a written statement, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service confirmed it is the contractor's responsibility
to ensure its employees are legal workers, and said it would
investigate any contractor if it receives credible evidence of
immigration law violations.
SPOKESMAN: ...Mobilization with state fire marshal's office.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: John Jackson has been managing forest fires for the
state of Oregon and the federal government for 25 years, most of it as
an incident commander. He's concerned that having large numbers of
people on fire crews with limited English skills may compromise safety
if instructions are not understood.
JOHN JACKSON, Oregon Department of Forestry: We all know that if we get
really stressed... you know, it's those age-old behavioral skills and
cognitive skills that kick into gear, and so it's important for our
native English speakers to be able to communicate effectively with
folks who may be speaking English as a second language.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Do you worry about this?
JOHN JACKSON: Certainly. You bet.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Last week, 20 members of a Spanish-speaking fire
crew, supervised by an American crew chief, had to deploy emergency
fire shelters like these shown here in a training class. They were
fighting a fire in Oregon. The shelters are made of a material that
deflects the heat of the fire when the firefighters crawl into them.
This is such a serious emergency procedure that the federal government
requires an investigation whenever it happens. Although the
Spanish-speaking crew was not one of Mike Cox's, it's a scenario he's
thought about a lot.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Do you ever worry that in one of these fires four or
five of your guys get killed, and they start looking, and they find
that they're undocumented?
MIKE COX: I worry more about getting anybody killed than whether the
documentation's good or bad. That's... you know, we're doing what we're
required to do: Check identification, but more than that-- more
important than checking the identification-- is getting back to the
safe training, and the safe training is what keeps you from getting
hurt.
SPOKESMAN: Lay on the ground.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Nobody knows how many illegal aliens with limited
English skills are currently out fighting America's wildfires, but at
this school alone, more than 1,300 firefighters have been trained in
the past year. It's estimated about 1,000 of them came from Mexico, and
among that group, hundreds may be out fighting fires today.
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