Protesters Hilariously Troll DINO Senator With Inflatable KXL Pipeline On Her Lawn

[Segami]

While Senate “Democrats” are busy selling us out to “save” Senator Mary Landrieu’s doomed seat by scrambling for pro-Keystone XL votes, No-KXL protesters have a better idea. ABC News reports that today, a few dozen folks pulled a hilarious stunt, by converging in front of the Louisiana DINO’s Washington, DC home with a giant, inflatable model of the KXL pipeline.

350.Org‘s Karthik Ganapathy declares:

“If she [Landrieu] wants this pipeline so badly, they can go through her front yard, not any one of ours.”

http://350.org/about/what-we-do/

And before you dismiss the No-KXL protesters as a bunch of starry-eyed hippie environmentalists, the next speaker to send a message to Sen. Landrieu should give you pause. Art Tanderup — a solid, middle-aged farmer from Nebraska and a spokesman for the Cowboy Indian Alliance – adds:

“For somebody who had the gulf oil spill, and the devastation that that brought to her state, as well as the entire Gulf [of Mexico] coastline and the Gulf [waters], she should understand how important it is that we don’t have these types of environmental disasters. And unfortunately, cleaning up the gulf was a piece of cake, compared to what it’s going to be to clean up a tar sands spill in the Ogalala Aquifer.”

http://rejectandprotect.org

Of course this comical KXL pipeline replica doesn’t pose nearly the threat of the real thing. But the motor for the generator that keeps it inflated is hopefully loud and stinky enough to annoy Landrieu and her neighbors. Meanwhile the Twitteratti express disgust at Senate Democrats selling out their constituents — the majority of whom are pro-environment and support reducing the use of fossil fuels to address climate change — just to save a “Democrat” whose views barely differ from those of her Republican challenger in Louisiana’s runoff election.




http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11/17/landrieu-protesters-kxl-pipeline-front-yard/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. A big, fat K&R!

[Ykcutnek]

2. LOL. nt

[UTUSN]

3. I guess one less Dem of whatever stripe is a win (not for me, just to be clear) n/t

[MADem]

18. Yeah, WTF, over? Didn't Obama say he was going to veto it? What's to gain by shitting on a

potential vote in the Senate that will follow the party platform 95 out of a 100 times?

It's better to slide a guy in there that will vote against us, every fucking time? What in hell are people thinking, here? There are two potential people who will warm one of the LA seats in the Senate--one is a Blue Dog Dem, the incumbent being hassled, here, and the other is a wingnut asshole who hates our party and everything it stands for.


Do the people here not realize she's in a run-off?

I don't think they do.

I mean, really--WTF????

[sabrina 1]

37. What do you mean by 'whatever stripe'?? A 'Dem of whatever stripe'? This Party must enjoy losing

because if they support this pipeline that is what is going to happen.

I guess yet another loss is worth betraying the voters yet again, so long as Corporations get what they want.

Do you still not understand why people vote for Democrats? Do you seriously think that voters are willing to go on supporting politicians who do NOT represent them?

[roguevalley]

39. wasn't her entire family crooks and conmen?

[former9thward]

41. Well to be fair, what LA politician does not have that history?

[AgingAmerican]

52. Lawrence Diffleman

nt

[Thinkingabout]

4. Looks like the protesters would live to have Landrieu's far RW oponent ro win.

Another strong vote for radical RW agenda.

[SoCalDem]

5. She will lose because she's not really a democrat

and since she would not be the one to give us a majority she will not really be that much missed..

It hurts like hell to lose a majority, but time after time, the ones who end up losing are usually blue dogs who are barely democratic.. Republican "replacements" are mostly MORE hard core, so their side continues to get stronger, as we get wimpier...

When we win the white house, we always manage to usher in a few future one-termers , who spend most of that term explaining why they do not agree with the party that elected them, and then they get all "angsty" when they struggle for re election..

Bye bye Mary..enjoy your family and relax a bit.. your services are no longer needed in DC

[Aerows]

12. It's really sad to me

to see someone use Ann Richards as their avatar, and oppose the very things she stood for.

[MADem]

19. If Ann Richards were alive and representing TX in the Senate, she'd be disappointing you big time.

Last edited Tue Nov 18, 2014, 09:32 PM - Edit history (1)

All politics is local, and TX is all about the oil and gas industry these days.

You shouldn't try to speak for dead people, anyway.

[Aerows]

20. Says

Person from MA, that always has had representation, to the person that lived in Houston when she was Governor.

Ann Richards was a gem. She wasn't a political football - she was the real thing.

[MADem]

22. Hey, Ann Richards campaigned in favor of equality, yet signed a bill into law that criminalized

Last edited Tue Nov 18, 2014, 09:31 PM - Edit history (1)

same-sex sexual conduct. Since you lived in Houston (a home to the oil and gas industry, and a real boomtown of late) during her tenure, you surely know this.

Ann Richards WAS a gem...but she was, like ANY politician, beholden to her constituency.

Don't try to canonize real people after-the-fact. She was a grand individual and her heart was in the right place, but she was constrained on this issue and that, JUST like Landrieu is.

You don't get reelected by ignoring your constituents.

[Aerows]

25. Oh, so now

you want to sully the name of Ann Richards.

Do you guys ever let up?

[MADem]

26. No--YOU brought her up and used her dead self to scold a poster here who had a different view

than you. Do YOU GUYS ever let up?

If you're going to wave her corpse around to "prove" an unprovable point, I'm going to show you (using actual FACTS, not suppositions) why doing that kind of thing is a bad idea. That's not "sullying," that's HISTORY. Actual, real life, oh-yes-she-did-it HISTORY.

I didn't say a word "against" Ann Richards. I told you what she DID do, and you know damn well that she did it if you lived in Houston, and I agreed that she was a gem, nonetheless. But you don't get elected to ignore those that brought you--that's just reality. Sometimes, you do things you'd rather not (like Ann did).

And that's Mary Landrieu's reality too.

Since Obama will veto, I don't understand the gleeful stomping on a DEMOCRAT fighting for her political life. It makes me wonder if I took a wrong turn on the information superhighway, frankly.

[Aerows]

27. MADem, I don't like Landrieu's situation any better than you do

She was a good advocate when we were suffering during Katrina.

That said, she has strayed WAY into the weeds on many things. I'm not a purist - I don't believe people are capable of being either black or white. We are all shades of grey, but if she loses, it's because she strayed too far to the right. Do you honestly think New Orleans is going to tolerate too sharp of a turn to the right? Baton Rouge?

[MADem]

32. Her POV on the pipeline just doesn't MATTER.

Having a wingnut warming her Senate seat, though, does.

She'll vote with us most of the time. On this vote, though, her voice won't matter, because Obama will veto the thing.

I think that Democrats -- regardless of how they feel on this particular issue -- should recognize the realpolitik aspect of her situation, and just not make life worse for her. But some people just don't see the Big Picture and so they're all chuckling and high fiving over the prospect of losing a Senate seat to a wingnut dangerous asshole who if he gets her seat, becomes "the incumbent" with all the portent of that label.

I just don't understand the yee-hawing and absolute GLEE over the position she finds herself in...if they think her wingnut opponent is going to want to plant daisies instead of lay pipe, they're frigging dreaming. He'd probably root for two or three pipelines.

I just don't understand this place, some days. This thread is a perfect example of the bifurcated nature of this message board. Not in a good way, either.

[Aerows]

34. Here is the deal

If you have a Senator that was once a good Dem, that turns into a Republican, Dems are going to ... What?

She changed. It's been about 8 years since she was acting like a Democrat. Am I required to support her when she acts like a Republican 8 years later?

[MADem]

35. Here's the better deal.

Harry Reid needs her to vote a particular way on a piece of legislation. She might not be so inclined.

He calls Jon Tester into his office. He tells Tester, go on and put the screws to Louisiana until the behavior is corrected.


Tester pays a call on her, shows her how much money she got from the DSCC the last time around and how that kept her in her seat, and warns her of (dare I say elephant-like) memories if she doesn't play ball the next time around. Not one thin dime, Mary, not even a tenth of a dollah!

If that doesn't move her, Reid starts playing checkers with the Senate committee/subcommittee assignments, and she finds herself out of key jobs that make her valuable to her constituents. She becomes a Dead Senator Walking.

There are lots of ways to get a Senator "in line." Not everyone has to use the Johnson arm-twist, but that works, too, if needs must.

[Aerows]

47. She is as likely to vote Reid's way

as she is to vote McConnell's.

She was excellent when we suffered through Katrina, stood up for us on the coast, and helped.

Somewhere along the way she lost it with Deepwater Horizon. That was not a "minor" issue. Not by a long shot.

[MADem]

51. When the vote doesn't matter, Reid doesn't demand party unity.

If Obama is going to veto, it doesn't matter how anyone votes.

They can play a little game to garner a little cheer amongst sectors of their constituency without having to suffer the consequences.

[aspirant]

66. Stop, in the name of...?

I see, we elect all right-wing Dems in every state so Reid can play games while Obama vetos. We play musical chairs with the committees on every controversial vote, so when 6 years are up they will have been on every single committee. Votes and dem values don't matter, because the games are our top priority. Just how many new jobs is Keystone bringing to La. that demands her support? Cassidy screams and hollers in the House for passage so Mary must now be his echo chamber, not much of a leader there. So here we are again with the 2 evils argument. Will this ever stop?

[MADem]

110. Where did you get that logic from?

No offense, but it is warped and wrongheaded.

You think you're going to elect a touchy-feely Republican in LA? I have a bridge to sell you.

Look, the worst Dem is better than the best Republican. In states that operate with overwhelmingly GOP governance, to have even one Senator in the "D" block, even if they are too conservative to suit you, beats the hell out of a teabagger on the far right introducing legislation and crafting alliances.

If you don't "get" that, you don't get how poliltics is played.

Keystone isn't bringing diddly to LA, because Obama's vetoing it. Keystone is Kabuki theater, it's a pointless excercise to provide cover and nothing more.

[bread_and_roses]

69. The "big picture" is the ecosystem - not the Dems

and before you bother, no, a R won't be better - but no worse either. On fossil fuels the Dems talk pretty and do pretty much nothing that really matters. Doing too little is no better than doing nothing. We end up in the same place.

Meanwhile, their fossil fuel paymasters laugh all the way to the bank.

In any case, the Senate Dems look like pathetic fools and hypocrites over this. Hardly anyone finds blatant pandering appealing. Those for whom the pipeline approval is the main issue are going to go with the R - the sure thing.

[MADem]

109. Yeah, well that "ecosystem" will be in extremis with an entrenched Republican legislature.

That's some big picture for ya....

[hobbit709]

55. Ann Richardson-who dat?

If you're going to badmouth Ann Richards then at least get her name right.

[Rex]

81. I guess it doesn't really matter.

Just the win counts, it is just a game for some.

[MADem]

111. Sorry--I mistyped - I'll correct it.

I got it right in the message body, not sure who was crossing my mind in the subject block!

[hatrack]

9. A core Democratic constituency (environmentalists) expect to get fucked by Republicans . . .

What they don't expect is to get fucked by their ostensible "friends" the Democrats.

If you cannot understand why a whole bunch of otherwise dependably Democratic voters might be a bit pissed off by the conduct of their "friends" and their farcical political theater, then you have my sympathy.

[Thinkingabout]

15. Do you reside in Louisiana and work in and for the oil industry?

She does, she is senator to many families who work in the industry, she would really have a lot of pissed off voters who live and vote on Louisiana and you can not understand why a senator who serves a state heavy in the oil industry would forget about the citizens of Louisiana and represent a bunch of enviromentist who do not live her state, where is your sympathy?

[hatrack]

16. There are considerations more important than representing the interests of Big Oil (& employees)

A rapidly destabilizing climate is one, shrinking supplies of clean water is another, and there's the whole thing about whether the state of Nebraska acted in accordance with the law when they authorized this particular project.

Maybe as the southern parishes of LA continue their steady slide into the rising Corexit-rich waters of the Gulf of Mexico, they might also come to believe that there are considerations more important than the oil industry.

Or they could be good patriotic Americans and CLAP FOR FUCKING TINKERBELL!!!!

[Thinkingabout]

30. Oh, has the far RW republican candidate promised to vote with your issues?

Now who wins this time.

[2banon]

73. Is Clean Water not so important to you? You think that Clean Water is a minor issue?

[2banon]

74. Well Said..

[Aerows]

21. Oh, I will enter this conversation

I am a native of LA. I live next door in MS. My first cousin ... well , I won't disclose that, but suffice to say, he is enmeshed in the oil industry. What is "pissing off" the rank and file voters that are fisherman is the desolation of the oyster beds, the fisheries and the shrimping.

A bunch of environmentalists all speak Cajun, from destroyed Grand Isle to Plaquemines.

Don't presume to speak for an area you clearly know nothing of, or how we feel and our politics.

[Thinkingabout]

29. Well, you are very very wrong on me not knowing the area, now that we have

Established, there appears to be some here who is so concerned about the environment but totally overlook the crude is being transported by rail, the cars are derailing and oil is spilled but they would rather to continue this dangerous transportation than go for a safer method, not concerned about the train cars spilling oil.

[Aerows]

33. Huh?

You have just now established ... I'm not certain what you have established but trains and derailing cars are pretty much not part of the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico.

I was addressing drilling in the Gulf. I have NO earthly idea what you are discussing.

[Thinkingabout]

36. OK, let's get back on subject. Landrieu wants a vote on the KXL, currently

The Canadian crude is being transported by rail and in recent time the cars have derailed, spilled etc causing havoc. The environmentists are pushing to stop the KXL but this means oil will still be traveling by rail and derailing because we have a rail system which needs upgrades and it is not happening. I have been against the KXL also but when left with a choice of rail vs pipeline I choose the safer method. BTW, the oil is going to refineries on the gulf coast if Texas.

[Aerows]

44. I'll be honest

I have no idea if you are FOR the Keystone XL Pipeline, or against it.

[Thinkingabout]

48. I was against the KXL at one time but when I saw the damage when the rail cars derailed

I had to look seriously at the situation. Now if I lived near the rails I would not like the chance of a derailment at any time and the rail system is in a state disrepair, they are not up to transporting the crude. The crude is arriving on the gulf coast of Texas, not building the KXL is not going to stop the transportation of the oil. I looked into which is the safer transportation of the crude, from what I can determine, the pipeline is the safer method. There needs to be some strong regulations placed on the pipeline but it still appears to the safer method of transporting the crude. So given the two choices it would be KXL.

[Aerows]

49. Are you Canadian?

I could understand it if you were. That was horrid - Lac-Mégantic rail disaster.

[Thinkingabout]

54. Canadian? Actually one more concerned about the environment than those

Opposing the KXL. I get their point they want to stop the tar sands production, it is not stopping the production, it is transported in a less safe manner than the pipeline and negates the environment argument, now they are pushing pollution with rail transportation.

[aspirant]

68. La.'s have a side dish of oil every day

See if I understand this. The filthy tar sands are going to Texas, not La., so not 1 job is created in La. The Louisianas are harvesting their own Gulf oil so the filthy tar sands oil would be competition for La.s Gulf oil. With Saudi Arabia dropping oil prices and the price of oil at the pumps falling, along with filthy tar sands arriving, what is the job security of all the oil workers in La.? How is this protecting Louisianians when a giant competitor enters the market? The native Louisianian poster says there are plenty of pissed off local coastal fishing and shrimpmen so whose asking for their vote? You talk about train screw-ups so why aren't you screaming at the train companies to spend money and upgrade their train cars? You seem to omit the huge disaster a spill in the aquifer would create for generations. You say you know this problem but when asked where you are from, you evade. To conclude, Mary must support the pipeline because we need to stop train spills while ignore pipeline spills and all La.'s love oil competition.

[Thinkingabout]

71. I would ask this question to the ones running in the front yard of Landreiu and why are they not

running in the fields of the tar sands or the RR. I am not running in the yards protesting. What difference does it make where I am from but to answer the question I am also native of Louisiana. If I was near the rails transporting the crude I would be upset because a safer transportation is available and it is tied up in a "environmental issues" but is still a big deal not to build the KXL.

[aspirant]

78. Brunch with oil tea

All politics are local, so locally where are you living now? KeystoneXl is a regional issue so if you are living in the affected native American lands do you consider this an act of war? Are you living close to the huge aquifer where your children and grandchild would be poisoned? Why are you so concerned about filthy Canadian tar sands oil and the way to get it to market?Are you making any money off this? If your not living in La., and are upset(by your adamant posts) are you living near the rails transporting the crude? Please answer my question of why your not hounding the rail companies to upgrade their rail cars? You say a safer option, I say a cheaper and still risky way to transport filthy oil. Many more tons can be crammed thru pipelines under high pressure per day than rail cars which equal higher Koch profits.Could it be these protesters, the runners, are living in D.C. and can't afford 1000's of dollars traveling back and forth to Canada? Are you serious in criticizing where protestors protest?

[Thinkingabout]

80. Have I hounded either the KXL, Landrieu, or rail, the same group who is happy to hound, why am I

ask, ask those who are protesting.

[aspirant]

85. Why don't the hounders, hound?

You're the one fear-mongering; Trains are blowing up, look out everyone living by the tracks, run for your life. We need the Keystone Xl pipeline to save us because no one wants to see children blown to pieces. This is part of your argument that Keystonexl is absolutely necessary because trains explode. Then you say ask the protesters who don't want this filthy oil in the first place no matter how it trickles down to the Koch brothers.

[Thinkingabout]

87. Admit it is about an attempt by some to halt the tar sands, it is not happening, running on the

lawn of Landrieu is not stopping the tar sands, whether the crude is transported by rail, tanker, trucks is going to continue. It appears what the "successful" outcome is going to be Landrieu will be defeated and replaced by a hard RW Republican. EOS

[aspirant]

89. Canadian bossmen

Are you saying Landrieu is a fire-breathing liberal? Again, the better of 2 evils argument. Stopping the tar sands, do you realize the tar sands are coming from Canada. Canada is not the USA, they have their own government. If they want to mine this filthy oil let them run it across their own lands. There are plenty of maps of pipeline routes across Canada, good luck to them. Your argument is since they're mining it and the USA can't butt in and stop them, then we must ship this poison across our lands. Why is that?

[Fred Sanders]

57. Third choice is leave the fucking tar oil in the fucking ground...we are not easily lied to.

[Thinkingabout]

60. Not building the KXL is not keeping the tar sands in the ground, they are still transporting the

crude.

[adirondacker]

63. Because pipelines are safe...

Just this last year...

2014

A 12-inch PSNC gas transmission pipeline exploded and burned in Asheville, North Carolina on January 10. The cause was that the pipeline was damaged during installation in 2003. There were no injuries, but, the costs of property damage was around $825,000.[455]
On February 10, a gas pipeline exploded and burned near Tioga, North Dakota. There were no injuries.[456]
A 30-inch diameter Columbia Gulf Transmission gas pipeline carrying natural gas exploded near Knifley, Kentucky on February 13, sending two people to the hospital with injuries, destroying two homes, and alarming residents, who saw flames from miles away. Later, it was determined that Hydrogen embrittlement had caused the pipe failure. [457][458]
On March 6, contractors working for Shell Oil Company hit Shell's Houston-to-Houma (Ho-Ho) crude oil pipeline near Port Neches, Texas, spilling 364 barrels of crude oil.[459]
On March 12, the East Harlem apartment explosion in New York City, New York. NTSB investigators found natural gas in the soil nearby, indicating that the gas leak had existed for a while before the explosion.[460]
A 20-inch Mid-Valley Pipeline Company pipeline failed in Hamilton County, Ohio on March 18, spilling at least 364 barrels of crude oil into the adjacent Oak Glen Nature Preserve. Animals in the area were affected.[461][462]
On March 18, a 3-inch, half-mile flare waste gas pipeline in a neighborhood in Arvin, California, was discovered leaking, a few blocks from Arvin High School, in a residential area. It had been leaking for as long as two years.[463]
A pipeline running to a Williams Companies LNG storage facility in Plymouth, Washington exploded and sent shrapnel flying that ruptured an LNG storage tank. Nearly 1,000 residents were evacuated and at least five employee at the facility was injured. [464][465]
A 12-inch Williams Companies gas pipeline failed at a weld in Moundsville, West Virginia. The following explosion and fire explosion scorched trees over a 2-acre area near Moundsville. Several homes were evacuated as a precaution. There were no injuries reported.[466]
On April 17, a private excavator accidentally cut a gas line while doing some work in Union Township, Licking County, Ohio on April 17. The man suffered second degree burns to the upper portion of his body. There was no damage to any buildings.[467]
On April 23, an explosion & fire hit a Williams Companies gas processing plant in Opal, Wyoming. All 95 residents of the town were evacuated, and part of US Highway 30 was closed for a time.[468][469]
On May 6, Sinclair Oil Company pipeline detected a pressure drop on a pipeline, with the problem being traced 2 days later to a leak in Knox County, Missouri. A mixture of gasoline and diesel fuel contaminated soil on a farm.[470]
3 workers from Plantation Pipeline inadvertently ruptured their pipeline at a pump station in Anderson County, South Carolina on May 12, causing a geyser of gasoline, and spraying the workers with it. There was no fire, but the workers had to be decontaminated at a hospital.[471]
On June 26, near East Bernard, Texas, a gas pipeline adjacent to a Kinder Morgan gas compressor plant blew out, destroying the roadway and catching a nearby truck on fire just south of Highway 59. Flames as high as 150 feet were shooting out of the pipeline.[472]
On July 10, a vent stack at a Williams Field Services gas pipeline compressor station in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania caught fire. Only minor damage was reported at other parts of the station.[473]
About 100 gallons of crude oil spilled from a pipeline at a tank facility at the Port of Albany in Albany, New York on August 20. Workers on a routine inspection of the above-ground pipeline noticed oil spraying out of a faulty gasket and shut off valves.[474]
On August 21, four workers were injured in a fire while a crew was performing maintenance on a natural gas pipeline in Garvin County, Oklahoma. The injured workers were treated and released from a hospital, and there was no explosion.[475]
On September 14, a contract worker performing routine maintenance on a Chevron offshore gas pipeline was killed, and two other workers were injured. The accident occurred 6 miles south of Timbalier Bay off the southeast coast of Louisiana.[476]
On September 16, more than 500 residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, were forced to leave their homes for 10 to 12 hours, after authorities discovered a leak on a 22-inch TransCanada Corporation gas transmission pipeline.[477][478]
On October 13, a gas transmission pipeline failed near Centerview, Missouri, causing an explosion and massive fire for several hours. There were no injuries.[479]
On October 13, a Sunoco/Mid-Valley crude oil pipeline ruptured, and spilled about 168,000 gallons of crude oil in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Wildlife was killed.[480]
A 24 inch gas transmission pipeline was hit by excavators on October 23, near Newport, Arkansas. 5 nearby homes were evacuated, and 2 highways and a railroad were closed for a time. There was no fire or injuries.[481]
On October 28, an 8-inch natural gas condensate pipeline exploded in Monroe County, Ohio. A large fire followed. There were no injuries.[482]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_the_United_States_in_the_21st_century

[Thinkingabout]

64. Is rail safe?

[Not Sure]

79. Safer.

Rail can be routed around sensitive areas; the KXL's route is precisely the problem.
A spill from a railcar would empty at most 30,000 gallons of crude; a spill from a pipeline would force vast quantities of crude under great pressure through the void in the pipeline until valves could be closed.
A railcar spills the oil on the ground surface where it can be contained in most cases; the pipeline is located underground and even a slow leak can easily go undetected doing great damage.

Accidents can and do happen with rail. New railcars are designed to withstand a greater impact than the cars involved in the Lac Megantic disaster. A number of rule changes have occurred since then that restrict how cars carrying dangerous goods are handled, including limiting the speed at which these trains travel. Additionally, new rules govern how these trains are secured when they must be left unattended.

Rail isn't a perfect mode to transport crude oil, chlorine, anhydrous ammonia or any other dangerous product. But it is the safest mode there is. Pipelines lose more product as a matter of course than railcars. A leaking railcar is easy to identify (all trains are required to have a visual inspection as they pass each other), where a leaking pipeline can allow product to seep into the ground and groundwater undetected for years. A catastrophic breach of a railcar is immediately obvious to the train crew or people nearby. A catastrophic breach of a pipeline may not be detected by the operator at all and instead may be discovered the hard way by people in the spill zone. See the Mayflower Oil Spill, where 5,000 to 7,000 barrels of crude oil (equivalent to 7 to 10 railcars) spilled: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Mayflower_oil_spill


A spill like Mayflower isn't just a scary potential, it is a certainty with KXL. There is no remediation for the Ogallala Aquifer when it occurs. I recognize this tar sands oil will get to market, but it needs to follow the least environmentally hazardous path possible. When the pro-KXL side is proven wrong, I don't want to see generations of Americans suffer the consequences of a bad bet made by willfully ignorant wingnuts whose only concern is profit. And from my perspective, the upfront cost to do this right isn't that much greater than to do it wrong. This is a matter of the public being forced to bend over and take it.

I designed pipelines for oil companies years ago. I've seen the checks that go to the landowners to compensate for the use of their land. I've seen the checks that go to the construction companies who install the pipeline. I've see the checks that go to the design engineer. I've seen how money is thrown at problems to make them go away. I've seen an entitled attitude of "ask forgiveness, not permission" permeate the industry, which leads to build it now, build it cheap and fix it later when it breaks. There is a lot of money available to ease the conscience of those who have doubts about whether what they are doing is ethical. After many years of single-handedly trying to hold various midstream clients' feet to the fire, I couldn't take it and changed careers.

Now I work for a railroad where one of the commodities I'm charged with transporting is crude oil. I am empowered to do my job safely and so are my union brothers and sisters. We take this job seriously and would rather not turn a wheel at all if it means we cannot do it without causing harm to each other or to the communities we travel through. I've worked in one kind of dangerous safety related job or another my entire adult life. This industry is the first where all the talk and action regarding safety aren't just ineffective window dressing to make the company look better. It's not perfect, but it is a far cry from the culture of deception, profit over safety and boom/bust get it done now! mentality of the oil industry.

[Thinkingabout]

82. The KXL protesting is more about the tar sands than the transportation, the oils are still

being taken, it appears to me they think if the KXL does not get voted in and it will halt the tar sands, is not happening and will not cease if the pipeline never develops.

[aspirant]

88. Tell us the truth.

So, who cares? I don't care if the tar sands halts or doesn't, it's not America's problem. The filthy oil would be processed by the Koch brothers and sent to China and "We the People " get nothing. Let the Canadians process this poison, why do we need to get involved? This would only create a handful of jobs with huge risks. Why are you so aggressively advocating for this?

[Thinkingabout]

93. The truth is here, just say you are protesting filthy oil and encourage ceasing the use of,oil, not

everyone feels the same way.

[aspirant]

95. An unbroken olive branch

I stand tall; I'm protesting filthy oil and are for phasing in renewables now. The question is why are you clinging to these old ways? I'm in my 60's and cling to older music but that harms no one.This oil dependency is not helping anyone, only adding to the coffers of the oil giants. Maybe it was my mistake for being to direct without the diplomacy needed, but I ask you to ponder on this please. Our children and grandchildren need our help here.

[Thinkingabout]

96. Go and use your time as you need, there are plenty of older folks who need my time.

[aspirant]

99. When you have nothing left...?

Which older folks, you mean the repubs who want to destroy the planet? You have ended up with nothing left to your arguments. First it was the safety issue and that blew up in your face. Then it was the protesters running around, in your opinion, in the wrong place, which is laughable. Lastly it was the unstoppable Canadian filthy oil mining which ended with you saying we just differ with no rational response at all. Then you send a dig on older folks as if were needy and you will spend your time with the older repubs who need your support of oil addiction. Believe as you choose because your posts are here for all to see.

[Thinkingabout]

100. Why are you accussing me of this, you are not changong my mind and you argument is not

valid to me. I choose to do with my life what I want, it is one of my rights, I stand behind my thoughts, go and tell someone else.

[aspirant]

102. Free as a bird

If my argument is not valid, I'm waiting for your rebuttals. If you have none then just admit it and say your beliefs are based on the tooth fairy. As long as you are posting on DU, it is my right to respond. Asking you to consider another point of view is not putting you in shackles.

[Not Sure]

107. I disagree with you on that.

The tar sands oil is in Canada. If people were concerned about tar sands oil, that's what they would be protesting, perhaps boycotting Canadian goods and services. Instead, people are protesting this specific pipeline because of where it is routed. Any spill of product in the aquifer would be a problem. The fact that it's this awful dirty tar sands stuff makes it even worse.

Other routes east and west through Canada are already proposed for the tar sands oil. It's going to get to market. I have no doubt about that. In fact, if the same product went to the Gulf via a different route or transportation mode, one that wouldn't put the environment in such immediate peril, I'd bet there would be much less protesting.

[susanwy]

98. Not Sure - can you answer

@Not Sure - Thank you for that very excellent explanation.

Tell me - is it more profitable to transport via pipeline or rail? I sense the issue is via rail, the PTB cannot ship the crude fast enough to the refineries to make maximum profit. Is this true when the price of oil is high? Low? What I'm getting at is that oil futures are traded as commodities, and thus heavily manipulated for profit gain (and drive the pace at which refineries refine crude). If this is true, it is about profit and speed to market, then why the hell don't the Dems make a campaign issue that promotes the idea of protecting the aquifer over profit - i.e the crude will still get to market, just not quite as fast and profitable - that is worth it to protect water!! Plus, what about those rail jobs, if we gain 50 permanent jobs from the pipeline, how many rail jobs do we loose? Of course I'm not a marketer, so how to get that into a sound bite that can convince voters, I have no idea.

I'd rather we keep shipping by rail if we are going to continue to harvest this filthy energy, then put a major aquifer in DANGER just to increase the fucking profit margins of the Koch brothers.

[Thinkingabout]

101. Its about the filthy oil, not about profits, not about rail, the tar sands continue, protests

will have to go elsewhere.

[susanwy]

103. No argument

I don't disagree, I'd rather see Tarsands not developed in anyway, it makes me sick for environmental reasons. But, the reality of the situation is more than likely the Tarsands will be developed, and profit is the motive, not meeting our energy needs. So can we attack the profit motive? Does that gain use votes politically? That might me more effective for Landrieu than some stupid vote that POTUS will veto and RW will bludgeon us over the head with politically anyway.

Plus, as usual, the party is focusing on the wrong pipeline.

http://www.newsweek.com/all-eyes-keystone-xl-another-canadian-tar-sands-pipeline-quietly-snakes-us-285256

[aspirant]

104. Whose rights

And where do the protests go? If you have your rights, why don't the protesters have the same rights. So now it's screw the protesters of their freedoms, while you merrily go along professing your rights.

[Thinkingabout]

105. Go and protest i do not care

[Not Sure]

106. I don't have access to any financial info/numbers as far as rail is concerned

I simply operate the trains. But I would guess that it is quite expensive to transport the oil via rail vs. pipeline. I think the producers like the idea of using rail because they aren't tied to a single customer at the end of a pipeline. Instead, they can send the oil wherever they believe they will get the best price for the oil.

Another factor is the lifespan of these fracked oil and gas plays. They produce really well at first, but quickly taper off. As the product is extracted, it becomes more difficult and more expensive to get it each time. This has led some to question the wisdom of installing a large pipeline network if the product cannot support it but for a short time. By comparison, rail loadouts are a little more flexible; they can be disassembled and reassembled at another location if the need changes.

[Kermitt Gribble]

92. Just curious.

Do you have any data on the spill size of the average derailing vs the average size of a pipeline burst/leak? Data for the frequency of each happening would be useful, as well.

[jwirr]

42. The same question could be asked of you. Do you live over the aquifer? The mistake she made is

introducing a bill (for the oil corporations) that most of us in the Midwest have been fighting against a long time. She did not introduce a bill that would effect LA only. That means the rest of us can contact our congress persons and ask them not to vote for her bill. I have already done that.

Had she gone ahead with this runoff and asked for the kind of help she would ordinarily get from Democrats it would have been one thing. This protest is because she elected to sell us out in return for that help. What she got was a rebellion.

I also suspect that this protest may very well cause more to vote for her in this red state. They will see her as standing up alone against all of us horrible liberals.

[2banon]

77. Well Done and a big THANK YOU!!

[sabrina 1]

38. Looks like voters are getting smart and can tell when someone isn't representing them on major

issues and will no longer hold their noses just to 'win' when in fact doing that has won very little for the voters.

[Aerows]

46. Can't vote for or against Landrieu this time around

though I have before when I lived next door (MS now).

She did well about 8 years ago when we were hit with Katrina, but she has failed us with the Deepwater Horizon disaster. I am ashamed that I have a first cousin that was also involved in it, but that does not change my opinion.

This is an example of someone that the left could embrace, turned her back and pushed the left away. I don't need rainbows and unicorns, I need leadership like she displayed when we were all devastated on the coast by Katrina.

Pissing on us after the fact isn't leadership - it is scorn.

[TBF]

56. We don't want your "third way"

corruption and co-opting. We know you are funded by the Koch Bros. Take it elsewhere.

[Phlem]

76. That's a fucking old and tired excuse.

I'm pretty sure you know that. Why did we just lose the election, because we didn't move right enough? Why in the hell would anyone vote for a Dem who will diligently vote along with the Republicans.

That is not a freaking win.

[Odin2005]

86. Is all you do is insult real Progressives?

[LeftInTX]

6. Do Ted Cruz & David Vitter have homes in Washington?

Although I think they deserve some real tar.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. i still hope she wins

[Fred Sanders]

8. What the party is doing in Lousiania is exactly what they were doing to lose the election...sending

mixed messages to voters who respond by not voting for the mixed message party.

[Aerows]

14. In a nutshell n/t

[Aerows]

10. I used to live in LA

But even since I've moved next door, I've *tried* to support Mary Landrieu. As a faithful Democrat, I have supported her, even when she let the party down and didn't support the party.

I'm not going to throw her to the wolves.

If the wolves get her, it's because she has been dressing up as a sheep and inviting them over.

[BeanMusical]

11. "cleaning up the gulf was a piece of cake"

And it's not even clean.

[Aerows]

28. This is part of the problem

Deep South Cajun fishers are pissed. They typically vote Democratic, but were screwed over with the BP "nobody is responsible, here's a pittance" ruling.

[MisterP]

90. all true Dems know that anyone saying the BP spill had an effect are GOP plants

heard it right on DU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x325338
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x326458

*facebludgeon*

[Cha]

13. Yeah, Mary.. and as the President says..

I think Mary would be much better than a repub but not on this important issue..

Mahalo Segami

[Segami]

17. Supporting this issue...

..would align us equally with Mitch McConnell.


In that case,...then who are we?

[MADem]

23. We don't have to support this issue. There's no need to "rub it in" to a Democratic senator

engaged in a run-off, when a Democratic president will veto anything that gets to his desk.

Kicking Democrats when they're fighting for their political lives is just not on.

I'm sure her GOP opponent is eating this shit up, though. ANYTHING to keep her voters home.

[sabrina 1]

40. She wouldn't be fighting for her political life if she had represented the people who elected her.

It really is that simple. People held their noses for her for way too long, now the public is done doing that AND done with the same old 'lesser evil' argument for keeping people in office who do not represent them.

Either the Dem Party finally gets that message, or they are going to continue to lose both elections and members. You can rail all you want on the internet, but the fact is, voters vote for people who represent them, who fight for them. She has been given chance after chance to start CARING about those who held their noses and kept giving her another chance. Clearly she has lost the faith of those who elected in the past. THAT is NOT on the VOTERS. This 'blame the voters' nonsense is having the exact opposite effect on people, it is driving them even further away.

The largest voting bloc in the country right now are Independents. Both parties are losing voters. A political shift is happening and and if Dems continue to ignore it, the voters will do what they did in this last election, they will focus on local elections and issues in order to get their concerns addressed. It worked for them this time. So it's likely to be the voters response to DC's bubble where their issues are dismissed, time after time.

[MADem]

43. Uh, she's neck and neck with a guy who was way to the RIGHT of her.

I don't think the whole leftward-drift thing is felt too strongly in Louisiana. Most of their Congressional delegation is Republican. Any state that could re-elect Diaper Boy Vitter after his shenanigans has their mind made up on ideological grounds. The anti-equality, sexist wingnut governor, Bobby Jindal, was re-elected in a 66 percent landslide last time around.

[sabrina 1]

45. You're missing the point. She would NOT be neck and neck with him if she had not lost many of

her Dem supporters. This is what gets me, do you think Republicans put in office? No matter how right wing a Dem is, Republicans will vote for the real thing. So why did she lose the support of the Dems she needs to win? I prefer to focus efforts on getting Dems who support Dem issues and fight for them wherever they are running.

There was a time when we used to support people like her just so we could win, then we saw what 'winning' meant. It means War and Pipelines we don't want, and Trade Agreements, and War criminals getting off scott free, and Wall St criminals not just getting away with their crimes, but being REWARDED for them.

How long did the Dem Leadership think voters would continue to ignore and be ignored, on major issues that directly affect their lives?

It's astonishing they had as much patience as they did. Now it is running out and people who vote against the people's interests are finding it harder to hold on to their jobs.

[MADem]

50. I don't think that's accurate.

Turnout was good--no, great--for Jindal's last election in 2011, and he took 66 percent of the vote.

Louisiana is more red than blue. There's only one district that can be counted on to be "reliably blue" year in and year out.

Since the Katrina diaspora, LA has lost a lot of those "likely Democratic voters" too.

LA is more right than left. Landrieu had to tack right to stay alive. If she loses her job, it will be because she didn't tack HARD right.

[aspirant]

72. Forgetting ,if you have a choice ot 2 repubs, the real one wins.

[MADem]

112. If the real one wins, WE lose.

A conservative Democrat still has to work with his or her caucus. There's horse trading that happens in those instances. We don't horse trade w/the GOP.

The worst Democrat is better than the best Republican.

[rhett o rick]

24. I appreciate his stand, just wished he'd have taken it a year ago. nm

[JI7]

31. the real problem is WHy do people in Lousiana and many Red(and purple) states support these things

people run for office and they want to win and something like this is a big issue for people and in many red states it's a big issue in FAVOR of it.

it's easier to just attack the politicians in red states than to actually start a campaign from low levels to get support among the people.

[Buns_of_Fire]

53. Funny thing is, Keystone doesn't even GO through Louisiana.

So it would appear that her support isn't based as much on her great love of her state and people as it is for the love of them big ol' juicy bucks from Big Oil.

Which I can somewhat understand, from her point of view. Living in Appalachia, I know that if you don't genuflect before the throne of the coal companies, you don't GET elected here.

[Vinca]

58. For the life of me I can't understand how she thinks a vote for the other guy's bill is a good thing

for her re-election. It's a good thing for his election.

[turbinetree]

59. Rosebud Sioux Nation

They consider this pipeline being forced on them from a foreign government across what land they have as an ACT of WAR and I support my Native American Brothers and Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins

Where is John Thune (R-SD)---no where to be seen, has done nothing for the Lakota people----nothing this right wing hypocrite

Where is newly elected Mike Rounds (R-SD) no where to be seen, nothing except be under investigation for work visas and nothing for the Lakota peole

Where is John Hoevan (R-ND) no where to be found---just a right wing hypocrite doing nothing

Where is Heidi Heitamp (D-ND) no where to be seen, blue dog democrat doing nothing

Where is Ben Sasse (R-NEB) no where to be seen another do nothing right wing hypocrite

Where is David Domani (D-NEB) no where to be seen another blue dog democrat doing nothing

Mary Landrieu (d-Louisiana) where is she, fomenting for her own self interests and is really a hypocrite that has been bought and sold for the blue dog democrat cause




Now Obama since you were made a Chief you have to uphold the tradition of the people who gave you this position.

[malaise]

61. ROFL

Adios Mary - no hail Mary pass for you

[DeSwiss]

62. Great protest idea!

- Won't do anything though. Makes everyone still believe in their ''free speech'' rights. For a while. The hardcore protesters will hang in there forever. Even if it's just by themselves. Eventually most all end up like the voters who didn't go to the polls last week.

Because money runs this thing of ours. Okay? Until you can take it out -- or change that in some way -- then nothing else is going to change. It'll only get worse. And they won't allow anyone to take the money out of politics, because that's how they got to own it. They bought it. And now it's theirs. It always was, really.

That's CAPITALISM with a BIG ''C.''



K&R

[aspirant]

75. Simply marvelous

Did you see the Nation's article on getting dark money out of politics. A simple Obama pen stroke saying all corps. with gov contracts must reveal all political donations, simple as that.

[HappyMe]

65. I didn't think she had a chance before.

Democrats selling out to "save" her is just plain lousy. She would not have my vote if I lived in LA. The glop and mess in the Gulf seems to have been forgotten.

[PatrynXX]

67. it did somewhat shock me she voted for it

in her state where people are still waiting for BP. She pulls that stunt? clearly she doesn't want the job

[KamaAina]

83. Did James O'Keefe steal it?

[Ilsa]

84. Isn't the majority of this oil going to China and India?

Why should we risk a more important resource (water) so China and India can beef up cheap industries and take American jobs? Landrieu has no problem with pulling the trigger of the gun that shoots our economy in the foot (or heart).

[aspirant]

91. Is she still blind to all Blue dog losses?

[LW1977]

94. And too think..

This was the "liberal" that James O'Keefe got in big trouble over..

[cheapdate]

108. The ACLU gave Landrieus's voting record a 100% rating in 2014.

NARAL Pro Choice America has consistently scored her pro-choice voting 100%.
Peace Action West scores her foreign policy voting 75%.

She votes strongly pro-union and pro-marriage equality.

She has a lot of conservative positions as well.

The Keystone pipeline would terminate in her home state. Opposing the pipeline would guarantee the GOP takes her senate seat.

I'd rather have a conservative Democrat (or "DINO" as you would say) from Louisiana than a Republican. A tree-hugging, progressive Senator might be an option in Vermont, but it's not in Louisiana.

[MADem]

113. Finally a voice of reason.

She can safely be "for" Keystone, because Obama will veto it if it gets to his desk.

I wonder how many Republicans can rack up a hundred percent ACLU approval rating. I'll bet not many!