Another Voice To Be Ignored

(Cartoon by Daniel Kurtzman, published the week of 3/3/13, and found here.  Click on image to enlarge.)

As of 2:00 PM (PST) on Monday 2/17/14, President Obama still had not announced his decision on the Keystone Pipeline.  As I noted earlier (here), it's an admittedly difficult decision.  No matter what he decides, there will be plenty of screaming from one side or the other.  So, he's continuing to listen and to weigh the issue.

A group I'm reasonably sure his administration has not been listening to is one which has a major stake in the outcome:  the Native American population located near the proposed pipeline.  In many respects, their concerns are even more serious than the rest of the people living alongside the construction.

Various tribes are trying to get their message out, and at least one major national news outlet is paying attention.

From the 2/16/14 edition of McClatchy DC:

In South Dakota, home to some of the nation’s poorest American Indians, tribes are busy preparing for nonviolent battle with “resistance training” aimed at TransCanada, the company that wants to develop the 1,700-mile pipeline.

While organizers said they want to keep their strategy a secret, they’re considering everything from vigils to civil disobedience to blockades to thwart the moving of construction equipment and the delivery of materials.

“We’re going to do everything we possibly can,” said Greg Grey Cloud of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who attended a two-day conference and training session in Rapid City last week sponsored by the Oglala Sioux Tribe called “Help Save Mother Earth from the Keystone Pipeline.” He said tribes are considering setting up encampments to follow the construction, but he stressed that any actions would be peaceful. “We’re not going to damage anything or riot or anything like that,” he said. ...

Two weeks ago, an alliance of Native American groups approved a statement saying emphatically that no pipeline would be allowed in South Dakota and that tribes stand ready to protect their “sacred water” and other natural resources.

That includes Native women, who opponents of the pipeline say would become easy prey for thousands of temporary construction workers housed in work camps. According to the federal government, one of every three Indian women are either raped or sexually assaulted during their lifetimes, with the majority of attacks done by non-Native men. [Emphasis added.]

Now, me?  I would like the president to can the whole project, explaining to Canada and the rest of the world, that the US is finally ready to fully commit to energy sources that will not pollute in their use or transport.  Coupled with that announcement should be a proposal to fund further development and installation of alternatives to carbon-based fuel across the nation as a matter of national security. 

Far more permanent jobs would be created, and far fewer climate-changing chemicals would be dumped into the air, earth, and water.  Just as important, we would end our dependence on foreign oil and our foreign policy could be based on more rational and humane bases than it is at the present.

An old broad can dream, can't she?

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/02/17/218219/native-americans-vow-a-last-stand.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/02/17/218219/native-americans-vow-a-last-stand.html#storylink=cpy

Viewing Choice

(Click on image to enlarge and then please return.)

David Horsey had a fun column on the dilemma faced by news outlets on Tuesday evening:  which news story to cover.

What appears to be the fiery finale to Christopher Dorner's violent rampage across Southern California nearly upstaged President Obama's State of the Union address. As the seconds ticked down to the start of the speech, it seemed as though Anderson Cooper and the folks at CNN were awfully reluctant to break away from the burning cabin near Big Bear where the disgruntled, unhinged ex-cop from the Los Angeles Police Department appeared to be holed up.

Nevertheless, the cable news organizations did their duty and switched from the sensational to the substantial. They were rewarded with an unusually news-making speech from Obama. As police officials appeared close to confirming that the deadly Dorner saga had ended, the president was confirming that he is just getting started on an aggressive agenda for the coming year. ...

Tuesday was a big night for news. One story was like a action-packed cop show straight from Hollywood, the other was a bit like a political melodrama we have seen many times before. Still, the president gave a good performance and earned whatever audience he was able to grab from the police showdown in the Southern California woods.

Embedded in the column was a little mini-poll asking readers which of the two events they watched.  As of last night, more than half reported watching local coverage of the Dorner story.  I suspect that nation wide, that poll might not hold up, if only because of access.  This was a big story for Southern California, involving an oft troubled police department.  Even so, that poll and the ongoing discussions I've heard and read today which dealt more with the Dorner story than the Obama speech (and responses from Rubio and Rand) are troubling.

It's as if there is a complete disconnect between the general population and its national government.  Local stories are more important than grandiose speeches -- that I could live with, I suppose -- but national plans, national issues and how to resolve them seem to be off the radar.

And that I find quite disquieting.