White House gives blessing to partial Keystone XL construction

[kpete]

White House gives blessing to partial Keystone XL construction
By Andrew Restuccia - 02/27/12 02:27 PM ET

The White House backed TransCanada Corp.’s bid to build a major portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline Monday, a move that could shield President Obama from growing GOP attacks over the project.

Obama's support for the southern portion of the pipeline gave the White House another chance to blunt GOP attacks by touting support for U.S. oil development. But it quickly re-opened a rift with the president’s environmental base, which condemned the project.


TransCanada, which has been working for years to win federal approval of Keystone XL, said Monday that it will begin construction on a section of the pipeline that runs from Cushing, Okla., to Texas.

The White House quickly reiterated its support for the pipeline segment, which would carry crude oil pumped from land in the Midwest and surrounding areas to refineries in Texas. The pipeline can't be extended to carry oil sands crude from Canada until the company receives a cross-border permit from the State Department, a permit the president rejected in January.

the rest:
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/212785-white-house-backs-major-segment-of-keystone-pipeline
(SHIT!, kpete)

[Jakes Progress]

1. Is that a camel's nose I see

peeping in the big tent?

[saras]

2. No, the whole caravan is in, you're just hidden under the covers and can't see them yet.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

25. It looks like a nose but...

[font size=1]...chin! not balls!...[/font]

[OnyxCollie]

27. Scarred for life, I am.

Thanks a lot, RiF.

[Swamp Lover]

3. This pipeline is going through and it always was...

...and believe me, you watn Obama's regulators administering the permits and not Romney's or Santorumn's.

[joeybee12]

4. It's not the pipeline that's the problem...it's the very dirty oil they're drilling for

and processing...it will increase global warming so badly no efforts in other areas will offset it...this sucks...Obama doesn't get it at all.

[Censor-Ready]

8. Syntax Alert

"Obama regulator" is an oxymoron.

And what is "administering permits"? Once the approval is given, industry is in self-reporting mode until something explodes and they want federal money for the cleanup.

[Swamp Lover]

22. That's just not true.

Makes a scary story though.

[daleanime]

36. How is it untrue?

Examples and history please.

[Swamp Lover]

42. Construction permits and operation permits will all require maintenance.

In addition, any problems will require investigation. Do you want the response to any reported complaints to be answered and acted upon by Obama or one of the idiots who are running from the other side.

[unapatriciated]

37. Yes, a scary story we have sadly experienced recently.

We are really good at forgetting our history lessons, but two years ago is not yet distant enough to be forgotten.
First they said this:

Than the injured parties sue to get justice and the courts said this.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/06/17/37457.htm
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/06/18/unbelievable-courts-rule-taxpayers-bp-transocean-liable-gulf-oil-spill-clean-costs-29071/

BP gets their ruling and starts the finger point so they can wiggle out the cost of their spill.
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-03/us/us_bp-halliburton-lawsuit_1_bp-and-halliburton-blowout-preventer-cameron-international-corp?_s=PM:US

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/us-bp-transocean-idUSTRE80Q00E20120127

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/us-bp-trial-idUSTRE81M1W520120223

More trials and more delays
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/bp-oil-spill-trial-settlement_n_1304403.html?ref=green

LONDON/NEW ORLEANS (Reuters/Tom Bergin and Jonathan Stempel) -- The trial to decide who should pay for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been delayed by a week, to allow BP Plc to try to cut a deal with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals affected by the disaster.

Less than 24 hours before the case was set to start in a New Orleans federal court, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier pushed back the date to March 5 from February 27.


Since this is not a story, but is current news it doesn't scare you enough.

[okieinpain]

14. thank you n/t.

[libmom74]

24. Seriously?!?

Just like how they dealt with the whole BP fiasco in the gulf.

[grantcart]

5. From Oklahoma to Texas, yeah that's a radical move.

[KansDem]

6. Might just be the beginning...

Build a pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas, then it's "Oh, lets extend it to Kansas! C'mon, what could possibly go wrong in Kansas?!!"

Then Nebraska, then South and North Dakota.

Then it will be, "C'mon, Mr. President. We're there! Won't you grant a permit to go across the US/Canadian border?"

[Jakes Progress]

7. Naive or purposefully blind?

Naive - believing that this isn't the first step to approval after the election.

Purposefully blind - pretending that this isn't the first step to approval after the election.

Sure. Trans Canadian oil is going to spend a few million dollars building a pipeline to move Oklahoma oil to Texas without any assurance (behind the curtain) that it will become a part of their design. Right nice of them.

Naive - trusting big oil to do the right thing.

Purposefully blind - supporting big oil and its agenda because it coincides with a particular celebrity politician.

[bvar22]

38. Also...

A great way to ensure PLENTY of Oil Dollars flow into the re-election coffers.

You know, we are almost there with this pipeline deal, but the opposition is stiff.
A little more incentive will get this deal done.
The polls ALL say Obama is going to WIN BIG in November,
so what can you do to help us out here and get this pipeline built?

...and people say the Obama Administration doesn't know how to "negotiate".

[RufusTFirefly]

9. No oil for us, very few or no jobs, almost certain leaks, and "game over" for the climate

What's not to like about this pipeline?

No oil for us. Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but transport Canadian oil to American refineries for export to overseas markets. Source: Tar Sands Action.

Very few or no jobs. Cornell GLI Study Finds Keystone XL Pipeline Will Create Few Jobs. Previous Studies Are Misleading; Project May Kill More Jobs Than It Creates. Source: Cornell University Global Labor Institute

Almost certain leaks. TransCanada predicted that the Keystone I pipeline would see one spill in 7 years. In fact, there have been 12 spills in 1 year. Source: Tar Sands Action.

"Game over" for the climate. NASA scientist James Hansen says if the oil sands were exploited as projected, the carbon emissions produced would mean it was "game over for the climate." Source: The Guardian

[proverbialwisdom]

10. Thanks for the succinct summary!

[FogerRox]

40. SO true, proposal to build supertanker port in Houston

and the proposal to expand the loading facility in Vancouver to handle supertankers (currently only Suezmax tankers can be loaded at Vancouver).

[JJW]

11. Game over for the planet

Insanity!

[ProfessionalLeftist]

12. They seemed to know it would happen, having been building/grabbing land for it

for quite a while now.

[Hotler]

13. ........

[leftyohiolib]

15. republibrats hold their breath stomp their little feet whine and cry and potus caves. wow what a

fucking surprise if the scotus wasnt so important i might just say fuck you to sir cavesalot

[boppers]

16. Time to slit our wrists.

Now there's nothing left to live for. It's all over.

[leftyohiolib]

17. a move that could shield President Obama from growing GOP attacks over the project.

what a charlie brown. the gop will never let him off the hook for ANYTHING. even if he built the damn thing himself, just like getting bin laden, he'll have done it too late or too early or both. they wont like the way he did it blah blah blah. for such a smart guy he acts (sometimes) like such a naive novice.

[leftyohiolib]

19. whats this, a commercial?

[savalez]

21. The plan does not require federal approval.

I doubt they could have stopped it anyway.

"The plans announced Monday do not require federal approval. In January the Obama administration rejected a more controversial proposal from TransCanada to build a pipeline from the Montana-Canada border through Nebraska."

More at CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/27/news/companies/keystone_pipeline/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3

[awoke_in_2003]

23. with all the oil disasters we have had in our history...

it amazes me we still cannot get more people behind solar, wind, and tidal power.

[BearsandBulls]

26. Obama is missing the point

Okay so now that we've accomplished increasing the number barrels of oil that is sent to refineries, can we focus on what everyone in America seems to blind to see. According to truebluenaturalgas.com We have enough natural gas to fuel America for 10 years with reserves that already exist, 82 years worth of gas that we know exists if we drill for it, and a nearly unlimited supply (possibly). So why on earth does every politician in America seem bent on not using it?

For that I have fewer answers. Maybe the lobbyists have a stronger grip on capitol hill than I thought, but let's go over the advantages to switching to American Natural Gas.

1. It would wipe out our dependency on foreign oil.
2. It would create jobs to drill for it
3. It's less expensive than gas
4. it's more environmentally friendly than gas

Am I missing something?

[link:http://www.truebluenaturalgas.org/how-much-natural-gas-does-the-us-have/|

[FogerRox]

41. AS long as we're talking about transitioning to renewables

Lets just start with wind power

1. It could wipe out our dependency on foreign oil by 2050.
2. It would create jobs
3. It's less expensive than nat gas
4. it's more environmentally friendly than nat gas

[patrice]

28. Extremely disappointing!

[Bainbridge Bear]

29. Certainly is

but not at all surprising. Also remember that BP has been issued new drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

[truthisfreedom]

30. If they build this segment, and never approve the rest of the pipeline, it will be one of the

sneakiest tricks ever played by a US President. What other use could it be put to, if no other path for the northern portion is approved? Transcanada is best known for its natural gas pipelines, not oil.

[nwliberalkiwi]

31. Fix Is In

The fix was in a long time ago. Hillary's former campaign manager is the lead lobbiest for the pipeline. I'm suprised the the POTUS didn't cave until after the election. I voted for Obama the first time, but now I'm writing in Bernie Sanders. I hope the Repukes carry the election and take both houses and the Presidency. This nation is dead! What a sell out!

[fasttense]

32. Obama always does things like this

He gives with one hand and takes away with the other then claims he's a centrist.

In a country that has been so destroyed by the 1%, bending to their wishes is not a centrist position. It is a position design to make it look as if he is progressive and maybe a little lieberal while all the time pushing the agenda of the uber rich.

He always does this. He gives a fraction of an inch to his liberal base on a social issue then promotes the right wing economic agenda. The right wing 1% got tax cuts for the rich, no public option, bailouts, no enforcment of finacial regulations, war, hiring freezes, reductions in heating oil assitance and free trade agreements. The liberals got the end of Clinton's Don't Ask Don't Tell.

[Le Taz Hot]

33. Well, as long as it

"could shield President Obama from growing GOP attacks over the project" that's what's important.

[progressoid]

34. NO WAY!

But DUers keep telling me that the President is on our side and not the oil companies.

[Hotler]

39. Stop picking on this president. He's doing the best he can.

Now that the XL pipeline is behind him he can focus in putting more pot smokers in prison.