Writer's Email: wesawthat@gmail.com
Fone WST... +1318.717.9017 Twitter:@wesawthat “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ~ Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
Oil Rally Stumbles On OPEC+ Uncertainty
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A rally that pushed oil prices higher than they were immediately before the
pandemic struck has faltered on uncertainty around OPEC+ and a stronger
dollar....
Cops: Ex-Con Used Cat To Clobber Man
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Woman faces felony charge in attack on 73-year-old roomie
Wendi Hird, 56, is behind bars after allegedly attacking the victim with a
cat during an argume...
Maryland, France, Germany: Speed Cameras Blasted
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[image: Spraypainted and burned speed camera]Vigilantes in Montgomery
County, Maryland, swiped a speed camera on Friday. The fully automated
device had bee...
Fluoridation Fails Marin County, California
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Marin County, California, where drinking water supplies are fluoridated in
large parts of the county
Marin Pediatric Dentist reports "I have personally...
Abdur Biswas (Sep 1, 1926 - Nov 3, 2017)
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Bangladeshi Statesman. He served as the 11th President of Bangladesh from
October 10, 1991 to October 9, 1996. He was educated at Dhaka University
where he...
tomato planting illustration photo courtesy: plow creek farm
Major Grower Ends Crop, Lacking Workers
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM – 4 days ago
CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. (AP) — Saying the nation's immigration system is broken, Pennsylvania's largest grower of fresh-to-market tomatoes announced Monday he will no longer produce the crop because he can't find enough workers to harvest it.
Keith Eckel, 61, a fourth-generation farmer and the owner of Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms Inc., said he saw a dramatic decline last summer in the number of migrant workers who showed up to pick tomatoes at his 2,000-acre farm in northeastern Pennsylvania.
He said Congress' failure to approve comprehensive immigration reform had hindered his ability to hire enough workers to get his crop to the market. Most of Eckel's workers came from Mexico.
"There are a number of workers hesitant to travel, legal or illegal, because of the scrutiny they are now under," said Eckel, whose tomatoes have been shipped to supermarkets and restaurants throughout the eastern United States. "So there are less workers crossing state lines."
Eckel, who planted 2.2 million tomato plants last year, said he also will stop growing pumpkins and will plant half as much sweet corn as usual, resulting in a loss of nearly 175 jobs.
Eckel, one of the largest growers of fresh tomatoes in the Northeast, said it cost him $1.5 million to $2 million to plant and harvest a tomato crop — too much of an investment to risk not having enough workers at harvest time.
"The system to provide our labor is broken and the emotion surrounding the immigration issue is standing in the way of those in the political arena moving forward to solve it," Eckel told a news conference at his farm in Clarks Summit.
Congress failed to pass legislation last year that would have allowed immigrants — some already in the country illegally and some who would come from abroad — to work through guest-worker and legalization programs.
Carl Shaffer, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, predicted other farmers would follow Eckel's lead and stop growing labor-intensive crops unless the government developed a reliable guest-worker program.
"The American consumer really needs to wake up to this issue," said Shaffer, who joined Eckel at the news conference. "It's not just an immigration issue, it's an issue that's going to affect everyone's food supply."
Eckel does not participate in the federal government's H-2A guest worker program, which allows farmers to bring in foreigners if they can prove that workers can't be found locally. Like many farmers, Eckel believes the program is too cumbersome. He said he wouldn't qualify for it anyway because his growing season is too short.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, U.S. farmers hired only about 75,000 H-2A workers in 2007 — while an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 workers in the United States were illegal immigrants.
The Labor Department has announced plans to overhaul the H-2A system, but the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is calling for a guest-worker program to be built from scratch that will provide a stable, legal supply of labor.
Though Eckel's tomato pickers made an average of $16.59 per hour last year, he said the relatively high wage is not enough to attract local labor to work the fields.
"A lot of people think with immigration that we're talking about immigrants taking jobs from others. Let me tell you, there is no local labor that is going to go out and harvest those tomatoes in 90-degree temperatures except our immigrant labor," Eckel said. "They come here to do a job that no one else will do in this country."
Eckel said he is scrupulous about asking workers for immigration documents. Nevertheless, he wants to avoid the risk of a federal immigration raid. He cited national surveys that found as many as 70 percent of U.S. farm workers are in the country illegally.
The acreage he previously devoted to tomatoes and pumpkins will be converted to field corn that is harvested by machines.
Ray Vega, 64, who came to the United States from Mexico as a boy and has worked seasonally at Eckel's farm since 1970, said many migrant workers "are scared to travel anymore" because they're afraid of being picked up by immigration authorities.
Setting the stage.
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Not all Republicans are racists, but all racists are Republicans. How many
times have we heard that one? And it's true. Not that some Democrats aren't ...
Cell Tower Approved for Tech Drive Location
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For the second time in less than a year, location of a cell phone antenna
tower became the focus of a lengthy discussion at a Ruston City Council
Meeting. ...
ZG is Going Dark
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“Build a man a fire, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and
he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.” “Light thinks it travels faster
than an...
What gets you through
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Maybe you knew Rick Tippie as a longtime chef at Arnaud's or more recently
at Killer Poboys or Liuzza's by the Track. Back in the day, he regularly
comment...
Anti-Maskers are Misguided Anti-Vaxxers
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THIS IS NONSENSE: “So, it’s a slippery slope. Stand up for freedom, before
it’s gone. Let me explain where this is going. In 2020 – a face mask is
required...
Here Comes The Boom
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Okay sports fans, here comes the boom! My Bossier is about to start back
up! Get Ready! Here it comes! The cold hard truth! Don't hate the player!
Hate the...
Welcome to the Alexandria Postcard Collection
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Postcards are an important medium in telling stories of the past. They are
historical masterpieces, showing life at points in time.
Greetings from Alexandr...
2:45 p.m., Voluntary Evacuation Area Removed
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Voluntary Evacuation Area Removed October 7, 2016 All areas once part of
the Mandatory and Voluntary Evacuation Order from the Bayou Corne Sinkhole
has b...
brief dashcam clip of alleged sex offender arrest
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brief dashcam clip of alleged sex offender arrest
some guy on a bicycle was allegedly looking at children through binoculars
across the street from the k...
Saying goodbye to our Old House
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I never thought this day would come. We had to say goodbye to the “Big
House”, the old house, the Hynson-Ringgold house (and many other names)….
We were tr...
57th presidential inauguration 21 january 2013
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57th presidential inauguration 21 january 2013
oath of office and speech + more.
From: wesawthat1
Views: 748
10 ratings
Time: 57:56 More in News & Politics
The SPLC’s Hatred of White Christians
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By Ehud Would Now that our Christian institutions have been bribed,
threatened, or otherwise cajoled into conformity with all the shibboleths
of Cultural M...
American Christians, Israel and Zionism
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In this video, our founder, Charles E. Carlson speaks about his solo
walk-in visit to the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip in March 2002.
There he...
Last Days Lunacy and End Times Madness
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Podcast: LAST DAYS LUNACY and END TIMES MADNESS (The following commentary
is a reprint of the chapter Bible Basics 101: Last Days/End Times and The
Second ...
[JTA] Loughner’s Jewish mother? Not so much
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The article/blog entry below from the JTA reminds me of the arguments about
Lenin's Jewish ancestry. Now that we can look at the records, we know that
Leni...