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The Money Pipeline
Author: BobR    Date: 11/19/2014 13:05:54

The new Republican-led Senate hasn't even started planning their legislative assault yet, and already the Democrats are helping them ease into it. They actually brought up a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline. Fortunately, it failed - by one vote:
The Senate's 59-41 vote Tuesday night was a nail-biter to the end.

The bill needed 60 votes to reach the White House. The House passed it overwhelmingly last week.
[..]
Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu pushed for the vote in an effort to save her seat in a Dec. 6 runoff election in Louisiana. She faces an uphill battle against Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, who authored the House bill.

Yes - they are willing to risk the environment and/or force President Obama to veto the bill just so Mary Landrieu can tout it as bringing more pollution to Louisiana? Does she really think all those people who voted for the 3rd place Republican are going to vote for her over the 1st place Republican? Does she think they won't be slightly repulsed by this blatant political action?

Fortunately for the U.S. environment, it looks like the corporation pushing for the pipeline has a plan "B" lined up:
In what may be the death knell for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, the Canadian government of Stephen Harper has approved a purely Canadian pipeline to transport the Alberta tar sands to ships waiting to send it overseas. By eliminating the pipeline which would run across the nations largest aquifer, the environmental concerns raised over Keystone XL would evaporate immediately. It handily avoids the aquifers in Canada to boot, being east of the Paskapoo Formation in Alberta, running north of the Oak Ridges Moraine Aquifer System near Toronto, and ending before reaching the Annapolis-Cornwallis Valley Aquifers in Nova Scotia. Clearly, TransCanada has learned from its mistakes in the handling of Keystone XL.

The name of this Keystone XL killer pipeline? Energy East.

So those 30-odd permanent jobs are going to Canada instead. Who cares? Well - some people will be financially affected by this. People who have money invested in TransCanada. People like - you know - House Speaker John Bohner:
During the debates over the Keystone XL pipeline, John Boehner casually neglected to mention his varied investments in 7 firms which would make a direct gain from the pipeline.

In the olden golden days of ethical responsibility, that would be known as "a conflict of interest". Nowadays, not even an eyebrow is raised.

Who says corporate money doesn't talk?
 

46 comments (Latest Comment: 11/20/2014 00:04:45 by Raine)
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