I rarely agree with anything the Sierra Club supports, does or has to say, but this time I am on their side. They, along with the Teamsters and most Americans, are opposing the plan to allow Mexican trucking companies to send trucks more than twenty five miles into the United States for the first time since 1982. There were a few reasons the Reagan administration curtailed their activities back then, not the least of which were safety issues, none of which, I am sure, have been addressed by the Mexican government.

The Bush administrations reversal of this regulation is a very bad idea. Mexico is notorious for its lax standards where everything(except illegal immigration INTO Mexico)is concerned, especially its transportation industry. I have seen trucks from Mexico that were, outwardly, fine, and I have seen them at the other end of the spectrum. There is no way to prove that the drivers are properly trained and licensed or that they, as stipulated in the new agreement, read and speak English. There simply isn't the regulation in Mexico that exists here. That's not to say that all trucks here would pass muster, but the vast majority will where the opposite is true for these Mexican rattletrap behemoths clamoring to be the next to crapshoot into our heartland. There is also the problem of these trucks being used to smuggle illegals and drugs into the country to points far enough north that the Border Patrol won't be there to bother with them and it won't be the industry itself doing the smuggling, but the drivers taking money for the jobs. It already happens regularly. Sorry Lionel Martinez and Reuben Navarrette, but it's just the way it is. It's not personal or racial, it's just that Mexican industry has a bad reputation for a reason and Mexican smuggling operations have been a reality for decades. They started and perpetuate the problems. I am not the one who caused it, but I will sound off about it.

President Bush is continuing to make terrible decisions where America's health is concerned in the name of, in my opinion, building an Hispanic voting base and all it is costing the rest of us, the middle class stiffs, is jobs, and ALL of us, our safety on the road and a contineing slide down the slope of drug problems and the violence inherent in that area. I guess that's not a bad trade off for Mexico, but what do we get out of the deal? Nothing, it would appear.

It will be interesting to see what happens after the one year "trial period" is up and what the next administration will about the issue, but I fear that as usual, nothing will be done no matter which side wins and for no other reason than they would rather keep winning than keep our roads, cities, kids and jobs safe here in America. Whatta sham!