Obama Blasts Agriprocessors!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mevater

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 5:50 pm

Obama Blasts Agriprocessors
August 25, 2008
5:40PM EST: The Des Moines Register reports: A day after drawing fire from Iowa’s governor, the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant took heat from a presidential candidate.

Democrat Barack Obama alluded to the controversial plant while answering an immigration question from a voter here today.

“We’ve got to crack down on employers who are taking advantage of undocumented workers,” he said. “When you read about a meatpacking plant hiring 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds – that is some of the most dangerous, difficult work there is. … They have kids in there wielding buzz saws and cleavers? It’s ridiculous. And the only reason they’re hiring these folks is because they want to avoid paying people decent wages and providing them decent benefits.”

Obama didn’t name Agriprocessors, but he was responding to a woman who asked about the situation in Postville. The plant has been accused of hiring underage and illegal-immigrant workers, though managers deny doing so knowingly.

Besides cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, Obama said the country should strengthen its borders while making it possible for longstanding residents who are here illegally to earn citizenship by paying fines and back taxes and learning English.

“We’re a nation of laws and we’re a nation of immigrants, and I think those two things can go hand in hand,” he said.

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com......html

bonitag1

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 8:21 pm

Am I the only one who finds these comments about Obama offensive??? And is it OK to castigate someone who criticizes a kosher meat processor for hiring (and allegedly mistreating) illegal and underage workers? Even if we disagree, at least let's keep the political discourse on imamother civil and not resort to calling our presidential candidates liars. Or is only one opinion acceptable here?

fish123

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 8:49 pm

[quote="bonitag1"]Am I the only one who finds these comments about Obama offensive??? And is it OK to castigate someone who criticizes a kosher meat processor for hiring (and allegedly mistreating) illegal and underage workers? Even if we disagree, at least let's keep the political discourse on Imamother civil and not resort to calling our presidential candidates liars. Or is only one opinion acceptable here?[/quote]

Bravo and thank you for saying what every woman on this board should have!

mugsisme

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 9:36 pm

fish123 wrote:

And I will be voting for him in Nov!

Well, if the worst happens, and others in the country feel the same and he gets elected, don't come crying to us when you have higher taxes to pay for all your free health care that covers nothing. Don't cry when you can't get a job because 12 million people were given amnesty. Just go break some laws and ask them to forgive you.

So glad that he can be judge and jury. Besides the fact he claims that the kids were shechting. From what I have heard, they were on the clean up crew. Was it wrong? Absolutely. Should he have brought it up? No. I laughed when I read that Rubashkin probably didn't give him a donation.

The guy has been hanging around with a racist preacher for the last 20 years. His best buds are terrorists. If this is who you feel should be leading our country, by all means go for it. Hopefully the rest of America will not.

Clarissa

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 10:33 pm

I'm assuming we don't find anything wrong with anything Obama said in this article that was posted, right? I mean, we have no grounds for disagreement, no matter who anyone is voting for. Nobody approves of any meat processing plant (this one or any other) employing minors, especially in possibly dangerous situations.

munya516

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 10:49 pm

I'm not sure if you guys are aware of the facts that happened in postville. Every single worker that was working for agri, gave in papers. Some of their papers may have been illegal, but that is not the company's problem. They had "social security" number for every worker. (also illegal ones) any person hired underage, on their papers had different ages.
So please before putting down a company that is run by such honest, nice, generous people please get your facts straight.

Clarissa

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 11:02 pm

Relax. He's not saying definitively whether this particular plant did it. He's answering a question that was posed to him, and going on information that was in the media. If it turns out to be false, there's still nothing wrong with him condemning any company that takes advantage of illegal labor, particularly children. If you put any other accused company in its place, you'd agree that these practices are wrong, no matter who does them.

I'll bow out of this now. Or I'll try to...

munya516

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 11:14 pm

I am not trying to change Obama's mind. I don't agree with most things he says. All I was saying was that the meat plant WAS NOT aware of their ages. On their "officially" legal papers, they had legal working ages. I just feel like I need to defend the meat plant, being that I personally know the owners and they are getting so much false slack, things made up about what happened, and its just really sad to see such a thing happen to them. The truth is that it's hard to realize because of all the media, that is why I feel the need to explain. Please don't take it offensively.

AGINY

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 11:18 pm

mugsisme wrote:

fish123 wrote:

And I will be voting for him in Nov!

I'm with you!

Bambamama

Tue, Aug 26 2008, 12:07 am

Clarissa wrote:

"When you read about a meatpacking plant hiring 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds – that is some of the most dangerous, difficult work there is. … They have kids in there wielding buzz saws and cleavers? It’s ridiculous. And the only reason they’re hiring these folks is because they want to avoid paying people decent wages and providing them decent benefits.”
-Barack Hussein Obama

The fact that he added "And the only reason they're hiring these folks is [because these Jews are too cheap to pay decent wages]" shows that he isn't only quoting the media. He's making a judgment, which in order to do that you must make the assumption that what you've heard is true. Obviously he's talking about Agriprocessors since he's directly answering a question about Agriprocessors. Rolling Eyes