Rieger Haley RHE 306 Research Summary 3
September 27, 2007
Topic: The Trans-Texas Corridor is only the first phase of a conspiratorial Superhighway that will gradually lead to the elimination of the United States of America. Shikha Dalmia and Leonard Gilroy. "The Conspiratorial Highway." Los Angeles Times. September 20, 2007: A23. In "The Conspiratorial Highway," Shikha Dalmia and Leonard Gilroy explain why they, among others, believe that the new Trans-Texas Corridor is the first step in a road project that they consider "the spearhead of a conspiracy to dissolve the United States of America."(A23) This new highway is a "proposed two-phase project meant to ensure that the Lone Star State has the transportation necessary to handle the growing international commerce coming across the border."(A23) Since the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted in 1994, trade between U.S. and Mexico has double and the trade is expected to increase even more when Asia starts to trade more through the recently expanded Panama Canal. (A23) The first phase of the corridor is a "600-mile section, planned to include such features as tollways, freight-rail and truck-only lanes, and will run parallel to Interstate 35 from the border town of Laredo to Oklahoma."(A23) The second phase contains plans to build "a similar highway from the western edge of the Mexico border to east Texas," which might eventually connect to "a separate, federally initiated eight-state expansion of Interstate 69, which currently runs between Port Huron, Michigan and Indianapolis."(A23) Jerome a Corsi, "Vietnam War veteran who helped lead the Swift Boat charge against John Kerry," has convinced others who share a hatred for foreigners that these various road projects will eventually link up to lead to the takeover of the United States as we know it. He believes that the corridor is only the "first leg of a secret federal project called the NAFTA Superhighway, a four-football wide monstrosity that would run from Mexicos Yucatan to Canadas Yukon." (A23) Even Rep. Ron Paul, "a libertarian Republican candidate for president, who youd think would be chanting hosannas for anything that facilitates free trade," fears that this superhighway is nothing but trouble. He believes that it is "part of a scheme created by foreign companies to erode U.S. borders and create a North American Union combining the United States, Mexico and Canada- complete with a single government and a common currency called the ,,amero."(A23) All of these ranting could just be dismissed as paranoia, but the idea of a fully integrated North America is starting to have a negative impact on public policy (A23). This summer, Montanas legislature passed a resolution "condemning the superhighway and any union of the three countries, and 18 other states are considering similar legislation."(A23) Likewise, the 2008 Transportation Appropriations Act was amended to "prohibit use of federal funds for any Security and Prosperity Partnership working group," and "Virgil H. Goode Jr. has introduced a House resolution against both the mythical superhighway and the fantasy union."(A23)