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
Offshore Drilling Is Coming Back With A Bang
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After years of uncertainty and stagnation, the offshore drilling market is
on the rebound and is in the early innings of an upcycle in investment and
activ...
Do You Think You Know Herschel Walker?
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A new 30-second ad released by the anti-Trump Republican Accountability PAC
includes footage of Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker's ex-wife
graphic...
France, Germany: Speed Cameras Sprayed Again
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[image: Spraypainted speed camera in France]By Richard Diamond/Staff Reports
In Germany, unknown vigilantes succeeded in disabling a pair of speed
cameras,...
Fluoridation Fails Los Angeles, California
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Fluoridation has been state mandated in California since 1995 and most of
Los Angeles has fluoridated decades before that. Yet in Los Angeles County:
6...
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.
Correction and apology to John Kennedy
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Folks, when I screw up, I have no choice but admit it and apologize. The
votes by Kennedy and Cassidy were to keep the $35 cap on the price of
insulin inta...
Police Jury Meets Tuesday
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The Lincoln Parish Police Jury will meet Tuesday, August 9, Lincoln Parish
Library, Jack Beard Room, 910 North Trenton. Here are the meeting times and
agen...
Say what?!
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When I check out I want to be have my ashes spread over the Caribbean Sea
off the coast of Falmouth, Jamaica. I want a very small gathering, and
very...
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...
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
Guess Which Religion Holds Abortion as a Sacrament?
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By Davis Carlton Seriously, you had to ask? This is the argument being
advanced by a Jewish synagogue in Florida in claiming religious based
exemptions fro...
Choose Life Not War: The Abortion Issue
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Recently, the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade case of 1973 that
allowed abortions. Now, the decision on this issue will go back to the
states...
Race, Church, and Society by Dr. Frank Smith
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Late last month, Dr. Frank Smith, author of the first history of the PCA
who is currently an RPCNA minister pastoring an inner-city mission church
in Atlan...
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...