How would you feel if your local airport was leased and operated by foreign companies?
I know – you think there's enough to worry about.
But that's because you're being distracted from a growing movement to sell the country right out from under you.  You probably never heard about it.
That's what makes this more insidious.
Even worse, it's all under the radar because of the presidential campaigning and political news. coverage. But when one story dominates headlines to the virtual exclusion of everything else, you should get nervous.
OK, get ready! Get nervous!
Would you want your interstate or toll road sold to a foreign company? How about your water company – or electric or gas company? How would you feel if your bridges or tunnels or parks – even national parks – were owned by or leased and operated by foreign firms? How about parking lots or meters or trash collections or the state lottery or anything else?
It's happening. The Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road have been leased, the deals coordinated by the Macquarie Group, an Australian investment consortium heavily invested in leasing U.S. infrastructure to foreign investment firms. It's big bucks. The Skyway toll bridge alone leased for $1.82 billion for 99 years.
Of course the first thing the company did was set up a plan for regular toll increases.
Thanks, Chicago.
Undergoing such plans are the toll operations on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, interstate highways in Virginia, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, New York's Holland Tunnel and operation of New Jersey's Garden State Parkway.
At least 21 states have signed on; more are lining up. Make note, this kind of thing is going on worldwide – including Bolivia, Mexico, Hungary, Chile and others.
WND reported last September that a Louisiana toll road is leased to an Australian consortium "underwritten by Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns."
Bear Stearns?!?!?! Uh oh.
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The feds call them "PPP's," public-private partnerships, and they're legal.
The tactic is supposed to solve city and state financial problems with an infusion of cold cash to fund deficits.
Unfortunately, like the cuckold husband, American citizens are the last to know.
When they do find out, the idea is sold to them as perfectly innocuous and wonderfully beneficial to the community.
Beware.
Now a new move is happening in Chicago, but you wouldn't know it by national headlines.
All we hear from Chicago is about three presidential hopefuls and a pastor with much more than 15 minutes of fame.
However, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other officials are setting up a deal to lease Chicago's Midway Airport, once the country's busiest. Six international financial consortiums have submitted their qualifications and are competing for the 50-year lease, which is estimated to bring the city $3 billion up front!
The Chicago Sun Times said the windfall is expected to "shore up under-funded city employee pension funds" with the rest "used to build libraries, parks, schools, museums, police and fire stations."
Those words always win public support.
Chicago's chief financial officer, Paul Volpe, says that taxpayers will see a substantial up-front payment that will be used to enhance the quality of life for Chicago residents."
Schmoozing citizens again!
What's de-emphasized is that the company running the airport will have free rein managing parking, concessions and airline facility charges. In 2006, according to the Sun Times, those airport revenues topped $130 million.          
After the change, that would go to the operating company. No doubt they'll increase it by more scheduled flights, higher concession rents, increased prices for food, retail and parking.
Result? The flying consumer foots the bill.
The typical political ploy – Chicago raises taxes on everyone without "raising taxes."
The countries applying for Midway are Australia, Spain, Germany,  France and Canada. It's imperative each be investigated to uncover behind the scenes ownership and influence since they'll be financed by other foreign investors.   
What about security?
Remember the Dubai Ports Deal in 2002 – the proposal to have a foreign government company operate six U.S. ports? The administration loved it. The American people, when they found out about it, didn't. Their anger rattled Congress and forced the idea to be dropped.
Bottom line: We're at war. The enemy is militant Islam, and the weapon of choice is inhuman terrorism. It smacks of insanity to allow foreign interests to have such intimate controls over ports of entry to our country, and that includes airports.  
The FAA requires that 65 percent of the airlines at Midway approve the idea. Aviation Week reports that Southwest, Delta, AirTran, ATA and Frontier agreed. Forget ATA now; they just declared bankruptcy. It's estimated the lease could be finalized within a year.
Midway would be the first major American airport privatized. Stewart International in Newburgh, N.Y., is now private. There'll be others. Count on it.
The FAA's airport pilot program involves five locations. Who knows how many after that.
Don't fall for assurances the feds would handle security with local police and fire departments doing their usual jobs. Given current security lapses, having foreign influence in operations leaves huge gaps in control that even a dumb terrorist could get through.
Given the attitude of this administration and Congress, none of this is surprising. Complicating the issue are the huge deficits facing virtually all municipalities and states, to say nothing of the federal deficit.  
It's easy to ignore the terrorism threat because "free money" is tempting.  
And stupid.
Questions for politicians:
Are "free dollars" enough to compensate for the potential security breaches that could result in another 9/11?
Is it patriotic and loyal to be willing to sell our infrastructure to foreign interests?
Why are you willing to undermine U.S. security and leave Americans at the mercy of companies over which they have no influence?
Politicians do it for dollars.
Judas did it for 30 pieces of silver.
There's no difference. 
Barbara Simpson, "The Babe in the Bunker," as she's known to her KSFO 560 radio talk-show audience in San Francisco, has a 20-year radio, TV and newspaper career in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
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