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GREG: This has been part of Vern’s beat, so he’ll get to tell the story when and as he pleases. For now, we’re just letting you know that ABC has reported that the Army Corps of Engineers has blocked further construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). I think that people should be able to get access to the video from which this screenshot is taken HERE.
“But can’t Trump undo this?”, you may ask. Apparently not, because the hurry has been that after December 31 ends, people committed to the DAPL who would like to get the hell out of it can finally do so if the pipeline has not been fully completed — so the pipeline collapses for lack of funding. That’s why they’ve been in such a hurry to complete it — and why the Standing Rock Sioux have had the opportunity to complete it. The project should be dead before Trump is inaugurated. (Now, could he spend federal funds to do it anyway, just to gouge a thumb into the eyes of Native Americans and sympathetic protesters? Maybe — but he’d have to get it through Congress first, and that might be difficult.) I can’t find the cite for that right now, but I did read it within the past few days — and maybe someone else has a cite at hand.
VERN HERE. Yeah, it’s true. While it would have been nice to “kill the black snake” once and for all, they’re gonna go off and “explore alternate routes” instead of cutting through native lands and under the Missouri River reservoir Lake Oahe. And all it took, to paraphrase Angel VanStark, was hundreds of people injured and frozen, journalists arrested, over 3000 veterans showing up from all over the country, including the OC – hey! Let’s do this again soon! By the way, President Obama and 90% of Democrats (with a VERY few exceptions like Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard) get ZERO credit for making this happen. It was ALL grass roots, fighting through a media blackout too.
I’ll be back a little later with more details and reactions from our OC water protectors. We oscillate between elation and deep distrust. So far, BOAZ sez:
“Even if you say the snake is dead, WE AIN’T LEAVING!”
Here’s the report on the financing:
http://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-High-Risk-Financing-Behind-the-Dakota-Access-Pipeline_-NOV-2016.pdf
And (because you’re not going to read all of that) here’s its executive summary:
Sorry, Vern, read Barnies statement thanking Bambino for stopping the pipeline. I might remind you that the Corps is under the executive branch. Your pandering to the anti- Democratic Party forces in the OC has reached new lows. I am sure all the reasonable Republicans you know are willing to ignore your Latin blood just like they ignored Bambino’s blackness.
The President doesn’t generally exert much control over the civilian branch of the ACoE; Congress does it directly through appropriations. And even if they WERE sucking up to power, wouldn’t they be sucking up to the incoming rather than to the outgoing President?
I don’t know whether Obama influenced this decision at all. I’m pretty confident that he didn’t (and probably couldn’t, given the independence of executive agencies, some more than others) “order” the result.
The first way in which you’re full of shit is to suggest that I’m a knee-jerk self-hating Democrat. I love bragging on good things my Party does, when it does. I love tooting our horn. I just wrote a Thanksgiving Letter to Anaheim Democrats that was full of that. http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2016/11/thanksgiving-letter-to-anaheim-democrats/ But I gotta tell it like it is. I’m not sure who you might have me confused with.
Did the President have much if anything to do with this decision? I really had the impression it was more forced on the Corps by the spectacle of 3000 committed veterans digging in for the long haul. So Bernie sent Barack a thank you letter for this? And it wasn’t just ceremonial politeness? I will go look for that. You COULD have included a link with your snark. As far as I can tell, Barack has been ignoring this for half a year or so, while water protectors get injured and frozen. Was there some eleven-dimension-chess reason he had to wait till Dec. 4 to do or say anything, and then do it BEHIND THE SCENES? Sounds more like YOUR fantasy, but we’ll see.
Other Democrat politicians – as far as I know you can count ’em on one or two hands, the ones who uttered a peep about this. I wish I could tell a different story.
I’m sure Republicans were even worse on this, but I have higher expectations for my own Party, the Party of the People, and that’s as it should be.
Now I’ll go and look for that Bernie letter, oh and did I mention you’re full of shit?
Here it is.
“BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 4 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) congratulated President Barack Obama Sunday after the Army Corps of Engineers announced it will deny a federal permit needed for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
“I appreciate very much President Obama listening to the Native American people and millions of others who believe this pipeline should not be built. In the year 2016, we should not continue to trample on Native American sovereignty. We should not endanger the water supply of millions of people. We should not become more dependent on fossil fuel and accelerate the planetary crisis of climate change. Our job now is to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels, not to produce more greenhouse gas emissions.”
Wow, probative – NOT
Thanks for your lawyerly input ,Greg. For once I am willing to take Barnie’s word over someone who is so much more inside the Beltway.
Here’s Barnie’s blather:http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/308706-sanders-sings-obamas-praises-for-stopping-dapl
Yeah, dude. I already found it and posted it. That is politeness. You call it blather? And yet you somehow think it proves that Barack pulled all the strings. Get lost.
Hopefully @Disney #theIrvineCompany @cityofanahem and @citygardengrove are watching this #AMDG
*BLM…..Chief of the Dakota’s, Chief Red Cloud himself……we find nothing wrong with thanking the Army Corps of Engineers who do nothing without having their feet put into
the fire….much less….near it. We could say that someone got staked out on an anthill
but then, no one believes anything we say!