#TPP — we're officially on a fast track to hell

Sen. Ron Wyden,
corporate whore

Yes, we're slouching yet further toward neoliberal Gomorrah, as both the House and Senate have given President Barack Obama "fast track authority" for the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Ross Perot wasn't totally right about "sucking sounds" in NAFTA, but the TPP appears to be not a lot more than a giant sucking sound for Beijing.

Oh, but there’s this pretty bit:

Senator Orrin G. Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had to agree to stringent requirements for the trade deal to win over Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the finance panel. Those requirements included a human-rights negotiating objective that has never existed in trade agreements, according to lawmakers involved in the talks.

Yeah, right.

Hey, Wyden, remember NAFTA and the environmental provisions? Well, the executive branch is who has to enforce those, and Slick Willie (let alone  Shrub) never did.

And, this isn’t even a provision. You’re just asking Obama to make it a trade negotiating objective, which you know China will never accept, unless it’s even more toothless than the environmental deal it inked with Dear Leader a few months back.

And, once again, people have to actually wonder why I vote Green whenever I have the chance? When the answer is right in front of your face?

Oh, folks, politics may involve compromise at times. It doesn’t require compromise all the time. And “capitulate” is not the same as “compromise,” either.

Labor and environmental standards were also part of NAFTA, too. And never enforced.

And, given that Wyden was in the House from 1981-1996, he knows all this. Mainly because he voted to approve NAFTA.

I mean, this is the same Ron Wyden on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has repeatedly claimed that he's wanted to reveal all about the NSA's snooping programs, but, somehow, despite the Constitution legally allowing him to spill the beans, since:

(F)or any Speech or Debate in either House, (members of Congress) shall not be questioned (as in criminally interrogated) in any other Place.

Wyden just hasn't gotten around to finding any guts in his body. Wyden, like Obama, exemplifies Teddy Roosevelt's dictum about not having the backbone of a chocolate eclair.

And, for the final sardonic laugh in that area, I have to go to the "about Ron" page of his Senate website:

Whether he’s taking on powerful interests, listening to constituents at one of his famous town hall meetings or standing up for Oregonians on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Ron Wyden is an effective leader on the issues that matter most.

Really?

He's a sellout to powerful interests. Per Puff Hoes, he's hurting his re-election chances by this, so he's obviously not listening to constituents and he's of course not standing up for Oregonians.

Sidebar to "Democrats first" types: This is why I don't believe what Hillary Clinton says. Why do you?

(That includes Democrats now thinking that Hillz might do differently than Obama on TPP when her husband not only signed NAFTA but pushed for it! I guess I must, once again, tell you to read Doug Henwood. Specifically, on labor issues, there's page 5, detailing how she and the Slickster picked a fight with the Arkansas teachers union; and there's page 8, which details how she was a primary backer of almost zero major legislation while in the Senate.)

You know the answer: Vote Green, or Socialist, every chance you get.

Oregon Dems propose Healthy Forests lite

I didn’t think Sen. Ron Wyden could be that much of a sellout, though “weak-kneeded” is an acceptable description; well, he and Rep. Peter DeFazio are proposing timbering bills that would cut logging companies a big break

Traditional National Forest Service sales contracts will be used for “thinning.” But:

In order for a federal timber sale to attract buyers, the timber companies must be able to make money on the sale. But most federal forests are remote and steep. This means high logging and log hauling costs. As a result, in order to create a timber sale that will actually attract buyers, Forest Service planners must either log the larger trees or they must reduce the forest canopy radically by having loggers removing most of the trees.

But when you remove that much canopy shade small trees and brush sprout and grow prolifically. Within 5 years or so the risk of catastrophic wildfire has dramatically increased. Also, immediately after logging the open canopy increases sunlight and wind on the forest floor. Forest fuels dry sooner and this also increases fire risk.

Furthermore, economic considerations often cause Forest Service planners to forgo requiring the timber company purchasing the timber sale to remove or burn slash - that is, the limbs and small trees left on the forest floor after logging.

The increased wildfire risk which result from excessive “thinning” will persist for 30 or more years until slash decomposes and trees grow enough to form a closed canopy which once again shades out highly flammable brush.

No wonder Wyden doesn’t want to talk about his own legislation.

Oh, let me take this chance to plug High Country News, the premier magazine on Western life and environmental issues.