Today I stood on the courthouse steps in Paris, Texas with the most interesting group of people who were protesting what has become the new normal in Texas: eminent domain abuse by a private, for profit company.
I will update this post with some pictures and video later. But right now I want to tell you what the Keystone XL attorney said regarding the landowner who is protesting having her farm that has been in her family since 1948, and the Native American artifact mounds on it destroyed for this pipeline that will carry tar sands oil from Alberta Canada. He said: “They can have their day in court, but they won’t stop this pipeline.”
Update: Another brilliant moment that stuck out was when this arrogant attorney handed the judge a letter signed by Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchinson and John Cornyn that detailed all the benefits from the Keystone XL. There were many eye rolls from the group of mostly conservative voters in the room. I think they have finally figured out that the Three Texas Stooges are not on their side.
When the attorney listed all the jobs building this pipeline would bring to Paris, Texas, he even listed Kinkos. All I can figure is he thinks the guys who build the pipeline are going to make a run on Kinkos for copies.
Also, the judge pointed out that the average person who works at the bank and makes $50,000/year is denied access to the court because the amount of bond required to file an injunction on the pipeline would be several millions.
Texans are sick of “Big Oil and Gas” and that was made clear to me today.
Here’s some press
Texans rally against Keystone XL oil pipeline easement
LA Times
“I never got a chance to go before a judge and say, ‘Judge, I don’t want to give them my land,’ ” Crawford said in an interview. “Not only do I think the landowners are being bullied, but now they’re saying they want to have the right to be able to start construction. And they don’t even have a permit!”
Nearly 100 taking part in morning Texas-style protest
Keystone XL Company Goes to Court Against Farmer
Keystone Pipeline Sparks Property Rights Backlash
TransCanada goes ahead with pipeline legalities despite permission denial news
More than 75 citizens – conservative property rights advocates, grey-haired landowners, environmental activists and even some Occupy protesters trooped into the small courtroom.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m glad to see both grassroots folks of the left and right taking on unchecked corporate power. They have more in common with each other than with many of their own supposed allies. More of this kind of alliance-building please.
There is still a huge chasm in getting to the big picture. This group largely supports Debra Medina who is against regulation of the oil and gas industry.
Big oil and gas sure know how to make friends don’t they? Rick Perry tried eminent domain in south Texas for a toll road and it did not go over so well, so Canada thinks they can come to Texas and ram a worthless pipeline up our gas holes? Having been raised in east Texas I can tell you Mr. Canadian attorney they will stop the pipeline one way or the other.
Industry sure is making easy to love them and their job creating, environmental poisoning, my or no way attitudes.
More fracking insanity, highlighted only by arrogance. And the fracker’s arguments are always the same…jobs, the economy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, tax revenue, apple pie and full page newspaper ads touting pure wonderful it is. Then you have gasholes like Matt Pitzarella, Kathryn Klaber, Ed Ireland, Artis Brown, Julie Wilson all talking about how ‘important’ it is to NATIONAL SECURITY. If I am a land owner, and I say ‘NO’, then I get called an ‘environmental extremist’. After all, someone having a job at my expense is way more important than my property rights, and the subsequent devaluation of my property is just part of the ‘necessary’ sacrifice.
I have a question for the above mentioned GASHOLES: If this is so important for jobs, national security, blah, blah, blah…and sacrifice is necessary, what sacrifice have YOU made?
So is the zero-sum game of shale gas extraction. Unlike other industries and economic development that is a net gain (i.e. more people benefit than suffer), in shale gas extraction, 1000’s suffer a loss so 1 or 2 can gain. Entire communities land development plans are turned upside down while valuations diminsh at the expese of the ENTIRE communities tax base. This is not the capitalism of our father’s and grandfather’s. Just like Trans-Texas, they don’t have an environmentalist problem, they have a Tea-Party individual property rights problem as evidenced by who is joining forces…..and when you have environmentalists and Tea-Pariers getting together, who DON’T you have against you on this one?
One of the Tea Party guys wrote a song about the Keystone XL and in the song he has a plea for clean energy.
NOTE to readers: natural gas does not qualify under the clean energy category.
More lies from BIG OIL & GAS exposed.
Cornell GLI Study Finds Keystone XL Pipeline Will Create Few Jobs
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/research/Keystonexl.html
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/tc_eminent_domain/?rc=fb_share1