Thursday, February 14, 2008

El grito de Boise

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

Fifty-ninth Legislature, Second Regular Session - 2008

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 9

BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.

We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:

WHEREAS, for some fifty years, the United States has severely restricted trade with the island nation of Cuba;

WHEREAS, although Cuba remains under the control of that totalitarian regime, its people and Americans desire to develop better relations;

WHEREAS, if there is any chance for Cuba to evolve from a totalitarian regime to a democratic government, the United States must engage that country;

WHEREAS, other nations, including Canada and China, have availed themselves of trading opportunities in Cuba, especially in the area of agricultural products;

WHEREAS, both Cubans and Americans are desirous of developing trading opportunities that might be afforded between both countries;

WHEREAS, Idaho producers of pulse crops, seed potatoes, vegetable seeds, livestock, dairy products and processed foods are ideally positioned to benefit from the market opportunities that free trade with Cuba would provide;

WHEREAS, greater interaction between the Cuban people and Americans through freer trading relationships and lessened travel restrictions can only enhance our mutual understanding and promote better economic relationships.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that Idaho supports the removal of all trade, financial and travel restrictions relating to Cuba, the lifting of trade sanctions and the establishment of permanent and normal trade relations with Cuba.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the Secretary of the Department of State, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.

10 comments:

  1. did you write it Phil?

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  2. The question I ask is:
    why is Cuba in need to purchase those things from Idaho, when they were produced in Cuba before the Revolution in great quantities? Could it be because the arable farm land is 50 per cent overgrown with marabu and the demonstrated ineptitude of the authorities to manage anything that relates to agriculture? The thought of bringing potatoes from Idaho to Cuba before the famous Revolution took place ,was like bringing lumps of coal to Newcastle.

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  3. "The lawn may be green
    but you better not be seen
    walkin' through the gate that leads you down,
    down to a pool fraught with danger
    is a pool full of strangers."
    - Private Idaho, B52s

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  4. I wonder how many of the people that signed that document even own a passport...

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  5. Uh, no, I do not write resolutions in the Idaho state legislature although it's a very nice piece of work and I like the old-school constructions ("in Congress assembled).

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  6. Let them eat potatoes. Isn't that one of those freedoms we all want??? Mashed potatoes, I don't want a life without them.

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  7. i wonder how many people signed it and how many just put an X on it...

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  8. I support you Boise! Awesome! Even though Cuba is indeed not free and needs liberated Americans (i.e. cuban mafia in miami) have NO right to tell me who i can trade with.

    Following the miami mafia logic, we shouldn't put gas in our cars - it lines the pockets of Middle east and Venz. dictators (who also supress human rights. And then there is China, not to mention Vietnam and even Saudia Arabia (where most of 9.11 terrorist come from).

    Oh , but i digrees, reality has a liberal bias.

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  9. ...and the scrap metal we sold Japan in the 1930s came back to us in the bombs at pearl harbor and Hitler's tanks ran on GM transmissions...and on and on it goes.

    a useful reminder on the utter folly of allowing our foreign policy to be dictated by commercial interests...

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  10. It reminds one of the true story of how during a Central Committe reunion when Lenin was assembled with his cohorts, the "wise" Vladimir Ilich said: "we will hang all those capitalists and their allies, the bourgeoisie".
    Karl Radek whose inquiring mind was awakend then asked him:
    But, Vladimir Ilich, where will we find so much rope to carry out that task?" And Lenin replied: well, Radek, they are so eager to trade with us, why they themselves will sell it to us"
    Nothing illustrates the folly of the USA than this anecdote. A recent exapmle comes to mind. Ford Motor Co. set up a plant in the defunct USSR and the following year the same trucks were sent to Afghanistan during the invasion of Dec. 1979. But we seem to have a very short memory, specially when money is involved. What next, air to air rockets to Bin Laden? But wait, I forgot, we already did that one.

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