Repugnant realities behind Obamatrade's veil

Supporters of the TransPacific Partnership say the text of the agreement needs to kept secret because if the public knew what was in it they'd oppose it.

When it comes to this sweeping international regulatory agreement with 12 countries in Latin America and Asia, the administration has been performing a dance of the seven veils, suggesting tantalizing treats, promising pleasures to come, but never actually revealing anything.

We've now seen the chancres beneath the gossamer, and anyone with eyes will be repelled. The only chance Congress will have to reject the TransPacific Partnership will be the vote on fast track trade promotion authority that could come later this month.

Thanks to Wikileaks, we know that the TransPacific Partnership, aka Obamatrade, sets up U.N.-run tribunals with jurisdiction over the U.S. Under a provision in the agreement known as Investor State Dispute Settlement, or ISDS, China's Vietnamese cronies will be able to haul our local, state and federal governments before U.N.-administered "courts" in Geneva. These kangaroo courts will force American taxpayers to shell out money to foreign cronies who feel their "rights" under Obamatrade were violated. Of course, American citizens won't have access to these "courts" – nor will we be able to appeal their rulings.

These U.N. courts, staffed by unelected "experts" paid by the same global companies they'll be judging, are a corporate trial lawyer's dream come true – and the death knell for American sovereignty. The landmark decision Marbury v. Madison gave the Supreme Court the power to strike down laws passed by Congress or the states. Obamatrade gives the U.N. the same power, and more – the power to overrule even the Supreme Court.

TRENDING: The coup is failing

And there's more.

The U.S. trade representative's website says "temporary entry" guest worker visas are a "key part" of the TransPacific Partnership agreement. The concept of "temporary entry" visas brings to mind Milton Friedman who said, "Nothing is as permanent as a temporary government program."

The administration won't publicly disclose details of the "temporary entry" visas in the TransPacific Partnership, but we have every reason to be suspicious.

Guest workers visas top the wish list of Big Surveillance in Silicon Valley and the administration's other corporatist cronies pushing immigration reform.

The Obama administration used the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement as a vehicle to expand the L1 visa program, a category of visas companies use to transfer foreign workers into the U.S. L1 visas are notoriously abused to replace American workers with low-paid labor from overseas.

Speaking at an international corporate business summit in March, Obama said comprehensive immigration reform "would make America even more attractive to businesses." Fulfilling his promise to take executive action to further his immigration agenda, he announced "a new action I'm also taking to make it easier for global companies. … My administration is going to reform the L-1B visa category, which allows corporations to temporarily move workers from a foreign office to a U.S. office in a faster, simpler way. … [T]his could benefit hundreds of thousands of non-immigrant workers and their employers."

Lest you be misled by the weasel words, make no mistake: "non-immigrant workers" are not American workers. This is bureaucratic parlance for foreign workers not counted as immigrants ... yet.

Will this sovereignty-busting, immigration-enabling, regulation-loving agreement secretly negotiated by Obama and his cronies become the law of the land?

That will soon be up to Congress. Obama, Boehner, McConnell and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the same crowd who brought us executive amnesty, are asking Congress to pass fast track "trade promotion authority." Fast track makes it possible to pass the TransPacific Partnership with a simple majority vote in both houses of Congress, no amendments, no filibuster.

Why should we trust Obama and take a chance his misbegotten deal will pass on a simple majority?

Congress must vote no on fast track.