Devvy Of course this is a well calculated stunt by the putative president/Pipeline March 22, 2012
From: Devvy's Email Alerts<[email protected]> Date: March 22, 2012 Subject: Links are generally posted at my web site http://devvy.net/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/alerts/800750226275/ March 23, 2012 http://devvy.net/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/alerts/242867682790/ TORONTO — "Canadian proponents of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline applauded Barack Obama's directive on Thursday to expedite the approval process for the southern leg of the pipeline. They also urged the U.S. president to approve the northern leg. "Obama directed federal agencies to expedite a 485-mile (780-kilometer) line from Oklahoma to refineries on Texas' Gulf Coast that would remove a critical bottleneck in the U.S. oil transportation system, backing a segment of the larger Keystone XL project that he rejected earlier this year. "Dave Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said while Obama's directive is a step in the right direction, it neglects the most vital leg of the pipeline for Canada. "I think the important thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't help move incremental volume out of Canada so we still need the northern leg of the pipeline to be built or some other alternative," said Collyer. Travis Davies, a spokesman for the association, said Obama's move reflects the findings of State Department that the large KXL project is in the national interest and has economic, energy supply and environmental merit for the U.S. "That said, while the project will help with the oversupply at Cushing in the near term, Canadian producers are obviously more concerned with getting oil from Canada down to the Gulf coast refining market via the full KXL project," he said. "American oil industry executives have also stressed Obama needs to greenlight the entire $7.6 billion pipeline, not just a portion of it. "The full proposed pipeline, which would cross the U.S. border in Montana, is designed to bring between 500,000 to 700,000 barrels a day from the Canadian oil sands region to refineries on the Gulf Coast. It would shortcut to an existing pipe that goes through much of Canada before cutting into the United States in North Dakota on the way to the oil storage center in Cushing, Oklahoma. "Approval of the southern part of the pipeline is not really the Obama administration's call because it does not cross borders. The northern portion of the pipeline needs administration approval because it would cross the Canadian border." http://devvy.net/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/alerts/242867682790/ Rest at link above. Once that Southern leg is under construction, we will hear: Tons of money is being spent building the southern leg of the pipeline, now it just makes sense to give approval for the entire project, right? Unless, of course, your property is in the way: Texasfarmer's response to Obama's support for Keystone southern leg March 22, 2012 "Julia Trigg Crawford, a Texas farmer who is challenging TransCanada's use of eminent domain to take an easement across her property for TransCanada's Keystone pipeline, issued the following statement in response to President Obama's Thursday morning press conference in Cushing, OK: "Today President Obama indicated he's taking an "All of the Above" strategy to his energy policy, and in doing so will expedite the Cushing to Houston leg of TransCanada's pipeline. While his decision was not unexpected, it is disappointing that this issue continues to be a political football during this election game." "Where I come from you're only as good as your word, and I am proud to stand by my principles no matter the pressure that's applied. And there's no doubt about it, TransCanada's applying pressure anywhere they can, from Washington D.C. to small towns along the proposed pipeline route, and not everyone can hold up." "I stand by my belief that TransCanada illegally asserts that its pipeline is a common carrier and is for the public good. My attorneys tell me we have a strong case and we are eagerly awaiting our day in court. Should we win, and I wouldn't be in this fight if I didn't think we would, I hope that our case will give strength to other landowners who are still fighting for their property, and to those being bullied by a company falsely wielding the club of eminent domain." "I'm just a farmer caring for a piece of good Texas earth, up against a foreign corporation with the power to bend the will of a President, so I'm under no delusion that this will be easy. I am reaching out to my fellow Americans and anyone who believes in an individual's right to private property to help me in this fight. You can go to www.standwithjulia.com to take action and to contribute to our legal defense fund so that we can face TransCanada on an even playing field." "So here is my 'All of the Above' strategy. Stand by one's principles, hold onto and protect those property rights afforded to every American by the United States Constitution, and never bow to pressure that runs contrary to the promises you've made." "Thank you and God bless." After I wrote my column on the pipeline (http://devvy.net/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/alerts/131489964435/), some guy sent me email with this statement: "There are easy means to ensure that the XL Pipeline is not an environmental threat and only a small nuisance to the landowners." Small nuisance to landowners? <?dada redirect url=" ?> "In Direct, Texas (a little bitty town near Paris, in NE Texas), farm manager Julia Trigg Crawford manages a 600-acre farm that’s been in her family since 1948. Canadian pipeline company, TransCanada, threatens her family’s health and their farm that is adjacent to the Red River. "Mega-corporation, TransCanada, the company proposing the Keystone XL project, wants to seize parts of the Crawford’s land to build a 36” pipeline that will pump corrosive tar sands -- at a pressure far higher than conventional oil – down to refineries in South Texas. When TransCanada came knocking to try and buy the Crawford family land, Julia Trigg did not want to sell. “One of my first concerns was, to go the path they had planned, they had to horizontally drill under the creek that I have water rights to... I didn’t exactly want this sludge being pumped underneath the creek.” —Julia Trigg Crawford "After the Crawford family refused to sell to TransCanada, the next step for this foreign company was to condemn their land. They legally had the power to do this because – and you’re not going to believe this – they simply checked a box on a “T4” form for the Texas Railroad Commission (the body that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas) that says ‘common carrier.’ Common carrier status carries with it the power of eminent domain – the right to seize property. Meanwhile, the Railroad Commission openly states that they have no regulatory authority to make sure that a private company does not abuse the power of eminent domain. And, guess what, the Commission filed an amicus letter stating that they wanted to keep things the way they are. "Julia Trigg Crawford is a 6’0” former star basketball player for Texas A&M – the Governor’s alma mater. So far, the Governor and our two US Senators, Cornyn and Hutchison, are siding with TransCanada and apparently see no problem with the abuse of eminent domain in Texas. "The point is that ordinary Texans do see a real problem with eminent domain and they are standing behind Julia Trigg Crawford and her family. "The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled in Texas Rice Land vs. Denbury Green decision that the T-4 permit granted by the Railroad Commission does not conclusively establish eminent-domain power. Ruling in favor of the Texas rice farmers, the court stated: “Private property cannot be imperiled with such nonchalance, via an irrefutable presumption created by checking a certain box on a one-page government form. Our constitution demands far more.” And: “The Railroad Commission’s process for handling T-4 permits appears to be one of registration, not of application... No hearing is held, no evidence is presented, no investigation is conducted.” People can donate on their web site or send a check to: Crawford Family Defense Fund P.O.Box155 Sumner, Tx 75486 http://www.standwithjulia.com/ We must stand together or we will all hang separately as Americans are picked off one by one for any reason by some government thug. “If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” Winston S. Churchill -- To join RichsRants, send email to: [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/richsrants?hl=en
