"pkurtz2" <pkurtz2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:UoxAf.43440$0G.19819@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "Lets Roll" <letsroll@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:7EvAf.3367$rH5.1644@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>> "Lets Roll" <letsroll@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>> news:jG_zf.10360$ZA2.6853@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=31707
>>>
>>> Our legislature is at long last endeavoring to stem the flood of
illegal
>>> immigration that is pouring over our border from Mexico. In December
>>> our Congress passed some very im****tant enforcement and border
security
>>> measures. The Senate will be taking the bill under advisement as
early
>>> as February.
>>> The American Horse Council has sided with illegal aliens against the
>>> security and sovereignty of America.
>>> Contact the American Horse Council and let them know what you think of
>>> their treasonous, anti-American, pro-terrorist, pro-criminal lobbying
>>> effort. Contact your senators and urge them to pass the enforcement
>>> legislation approved by Congress and prohibit any guest worker
>>> legislation from seeing the light of day.
>>>
>>
>> If you have any questions or comments regarding the AHC or its website,
>> please feel free to contact our staff and they will be happy to assist
>> you. The AHC staff and outside lobbyists have a combined 75 years of
>> experience in Congressional and regulatory matters affecting the horse
>> industry. We work hard to promote and protect the horse industry in
>> Wa****ngton, DC.
>>
>>
>> James J. Hickey, Jr.
>> President
>> 202-296-4031
>> ahc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>> Nicole D. Lamoureux
>> Chief Operating Officer
>> 202-296-4031 ext. 207
>> NLamoureux@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>> Kathie Luedeke
>> Director of Administration
>> 202-296-4031 ext. 203
>> KLuedeke@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>> Amy Mann
>> Director of Regulatory Affairs
>> 202-296-4031 ext. 201
>> AMann@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>> Derek Myers
>> Legislative Assistant
>> 202-296-4031 ext. 209
>> DMyers@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Kerry Thompson
>>
>> Staff Assistant
>>
>> 202-296-4031 ext. 210
>>
>> KThompson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>> American Horse Council
>>
>> 1616 H Street NW 7th floor
>>
>> Wa****ngton, DC 20006
>>
>> 202-296-4031
>>
>> 202-2961970--fax
>>
>
> This is a e-mail that I just sent to the Legislative Assistant of the
> American Horse Council. It read as follows:
>
> Mr. Myers,
>
> It has come to my attention that the American Horse Council is proposing
> we stop legislation that would be to the benefit of the United States as
a
> whole. The council is proposing that we lessen the requirements for
> foreign workers to come and work in the United States due to a lack of
> experienced personnel. All I have to say is that isn't the problem. The
> problem is slave labor. The major horse farm owners and operators don't
> want to pay the price to employ Americans. It would be cheaper for them
to
> employ immigrants from other countries. Well that is a load of bull. I
> read an article in a newsgroup, about a man that was injured while
working
> at a horse farm, and the farm REFUSED to pay the persons medical bills.
> This man is debilitated for life, and not only that, he was only paid
> $300.00/month to live, eat, and breath this horse farm. I can tell you
> now, that is not even minimum wage in the United States. I, along with
> being an avid horse lover, am also a veteran of the United States Navy.
I
> worked on a horse farm in Monroe, Wa****ngton called Moné Farms. The
owner
> of the business was a very good friend of mine. I, by my choice, worked
> there part-time for free, just because I love to be around horses that
> much. The owner, Danielle, did not take advantage of me. She actually
> insisted that I be compensated somehow. She did this by giving me
advanced
> horseman****p lessons, and allowing me to ride when I wanted. I did not
> have to worry about pay or medical because I was under the employ of the
> US Navy. However, if I had not had a safety net I would have at least
> required a decent wage of more than $20,000.00 a year, and workers comp
> insurance for injuries occurring at work. I think this should be a
Federal
> Law that this be required. In fact I think it is a federal law now. None
> the less, your members should know better than to hurt this country by
> outsourcing jobs to people of another country. If there is a lack of
> experienced personnel for the job, then provide training. I know
> personally in the state that I live in; there is only one university
that
> offers a specialty in equine studies. Why not instead of treating the
> symptoms, try to find a cure. It will be cheaper in the long run, and
> boost the American economy. I have read the letter that you propose
people
> send to their congressman/woman, and it is seriously flawed. And if all
> you are going to do is sup****t legislation for the minority of horse
> owners (the wealthy horse farm owners) then you aren't the "American"
> Horse Council, you are just another bureaucratic institution that
ignores
> the little man in this world. Everyone I know hates to see foreign
workers
> come into OUR country and take OUR jobs. Every foreign worker that you
> sup****t is one less American that you do not sup****t. This is not right,
> and you should not do it. I think this legislation is FAIR, and allows
for
> more jobs to go to American people by making it harder to get foreign
> workers into the American job market. Use your brains people, this
country
> is falling apart around us, and people like yourself who sup****t
> legislation like this, are not helping to rebuild it, only to destroy
what
> we have fought long and hard to preserve.
>
>
>
> Phil Kurtz
>
Thank you so much for your sup****t!
I kept thinking about this issue, and some of the people I knew and worked
for during my tenure in the business. One of the things I thought about
is
how often you see young people given the advice to do exactly what you did
if they want to get started in the business; volunteer for free labor at a
local farm or stable. I grew up on a horse, so I had plenty of unpaid
experience from the time I was in diapers, and didn't have to do volunteer
work. I always got paid a little something, even if it wasn't much.
I also started thinking more about the people I worked for and came into
contact with while working in the horse business. Without exception,
every
one of the people I worked for were independently wealthy, getting their
money from somewhere else entirely, with no part of their income dependent
on the horse business. The horse business was at best a hobby for them,
and
a valuable tax-write off. The man who paid me $300 a month owned banks,
real estate developments all over the country, oil leases, and had stock
investments, and I don't know what all else. He did not depend on the
ranch
for an income. Rex Cauble - remember him and Cutter Bill? He sure didn't
depend on the ranch for his money. At one ranch, we had steady stream of
celebraties and notables as visitors and clients. They included John and
Bo
Derek, George Burns, stabled and trained a horse for Robert Redford at one
time, the Firestone tire family, McDonald's hamburgers kids taking riding
lessons, and as corny as it sounds, Roy Rogers even paid a visit once; my
boss used to work with him on the set training all of the Triggers. You
sound like you are aware of the incredibly wealthy people who circulate in
and around the horse business: People who could easily afford to provide
living wages and at least bare basic health coverage for injuries or
emergencies. I know not everyone in the horse business is so wealthy as
to
be almost royalty, but most of the bigger breeders and farms are. With
the
vast number of young people who would love to work with horses, there is
no
need for any foreign labor if their employment practices were not outright
predatory.
I'm glad you mentioned the labor laws. Agricultural labor has never
fallen
under our labor laws, and the horse business is agricultural. I think
farm
labor was originally excluded from labor laws because of the small family
farms that did not have full time staffs and could not fiscally comply
with
labor laws. Another example of where the family farm is not applicable in
contem****ary economics is in the farm subsidy programs. The family farm
is
a thing of the past. Ironically, the farm subsidy that was supposedly
created to help keep them alive is in effect killing them, and tranferring
the lands into the hands of cor****ate farms. Currently, the farm subisidy
programs hand out over $20 billion a year, primarily to Fortune 500
companies. They use those funds to buy up even more small family farms.
And yet every year it is the agricultural industry we hear whining the
loudest about not having enough labor. Stats have it that more than 80%
of
the laborers in agriculture are illegal aliens. They busted some citrus
farms in Florida a couple years ago for engaging in slavery, including
enslavement of some hapless Americans who ended up in their clutches. The
reason the agricultural industry cannot keep even illegal alien labor is
because the illegal aliens bolt to the first job they can get other than
agriculture as soon as they can; construction, fast food, landscaping, day
labor, etc. Taxpayers are left to pick up the tab on all the social costs
like health care, schools, social services and infrastructures.
Cor****ations and wealthy aristocracy have managed to externalize all their
costs of operations onto the backs of American taxpayers, while privately
pocketing any and all the profits. It is an abomination.
And last but not least, there is Katrina. Our government conveniently
managed to scatter those poor people all over the country, far from their
homes and neighborhoods. I'm not buying it that none of those people want
to participate in rebuilding their communities and the Gulf Coast. Nagin
already took some heat because he complained about contractors descending
on
NOLA with a flood of illegal alien employees. Our government is effect
asking us to believe they have the integrity and competence to administer
an
international labor program when they can't even coordinate a domestic
program to help Americans return to work in their own neighborhoods.
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> "Op****tunity Arises From Performance"
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