I have reviewed Senator Cornyn's (R-TX) PSA re the Law Of The Sea Treaty (LOST), including reference to President Reagan's 1982 objections thereto, and I find I can support Senator Cornyn's gravamen.

 

Some say that it would take such treaty to first ever recognize the open seas as the common heritage of all nations, but maybe that should be "some" nations, as the landlocked have never really been the seafaring sorts over human history. Further, for longer than anyone alive today has been around, there's been a common twelve miles from shore limit as to the waters belonging to any nation abutting seas or oceans; all the waters between such limits have always been held the open seas where no particular nation's laws apply. Thus, it seems silly to say or infer that anyone not glomming onto such treaty intent as LOST contains is a Nazi right-wing power monger bent on crippling the open seas for everyone. 

 

Then there's the LOST collateral issue that no subscriber nation can fail to pay taxes set at the United Nations and distributed without regard to rate of contribution; this is sold as Robin Hood "peacemongering", but in reality, China, Russia, and the USA, to name but a few nations, would have to pay and pay without necessarily receiving that much quid pro quo...taxation without representation, the adherence to which in any forms seems prohibited to the USA at least by or through its Constitution; to my readings thereof and dissertations from the founding fathers to date in the legal community, that the non-representative taxation comes at a tangent or in tertiary form upon USA nationals does not seem to render it immune to the Constitution.

 

Some will undoubtedly tell us this LOST treaty would somehow enhance our trade and jobs and peace, because it is U.N. driven; but for the peoples of the USA, China, Russia, and including but not limited to Great Britain, the Middle East, and Australia, it seems...given the distresses many still point to in Africa and other non-European nations despite similar programs...LOST would likely benefit mostly the European Union, without accountability to the peoples of any other nations not receiving benefits of monies raised. Such would hardly seem to spell a recipe for peace, except as a way for Europe to manage abilties for all nations to do anything about anything through setting and draining monetary capabilities. 

 

Wherefore, as Senator Cornyn has raised that LOST is a national sovereignty issue for the USA, and I agree while further saying LOST robs ALL member nations without much more constructive purpose than enrichment of those few who call for and count such monies, I remain in President Reagan's corner on LOST and respectfully submit the Senate should vote "no" to its adoption.