Native journalist Mark Trahant is angry

[Mike__M]

Normally one of the calmest and most fair-minded of commentators, his column today at TrahantReports is like a bulge in a boiler.

#StandingRock – Dakota pipeline schedule is one more story of injustice

This morning politics is crowded out by injustice.

Every preposterous and painful image from North Dakota is another reminder of injustice: The massive police, military-style occupation of Standing Rock Treaty lands, the rush to protect the frantic construction schedule for the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the brutal law enforcement march against people who are fighting for the simple idea that water is life.

I’m angry. How shall I say this without ranting?

He does get around to politics, calling out both candidates.

Donald Trump wouldn’t be much help. He’s in the same boat as most of the politicians in North Dakota. They hope to profit from this pipeline project and a future where oil remains more important than water. “Trump’s financial disclosure forms show the Republican nominee has between $500,000 and $1m invested in Energy Transfer Partners, with a further $500,000 to $1m holding in Phillips 66, which will have a 25% stake in the Dakota Access project once completed, The Guardian reported.

Now I’ll be polite: The statement by Hillary Clinton on Standing Rock was awful. The second I read it my heart dropped. I can see this being crafted at a table where folks weighed in from a variety of constituent groups and the writing was designed to not offend. “Secretary Clinton has been clear that she thinks all voices should be heard and all views considered in federal infrastructure projects. Now, all of the parties involved—including the federal government, the pipeline company and contractors, the state of North Dakota, and the tribes—need to find a path forward that serves the broadest public interest. As that happens, it’s important that on the ground in North Dakota, everyone respects demonstrators’ rights to protest peacefully, and workers’ rights to do their jobs safely.”

So in the spirit of reconciliation, Energy Transfer Partners put out its own statement, “all trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and removed from the land.”

There is a schedule to keep. Investors have been promised the pipeline will flow with oil soon. No matter what. Another story to tell. Injustice.

[Sorry for more than four paragraphs, but the writer's angry style doesn't really follow normal paragraph usage.]

[Stuart G]

1. k and r..nt

[MsMAC]

2. *

[niyad]

3. k and r and off to greatest with you for visibility