Remember how South Dakota public safety officials unapologetically labelled opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline and Powertech uranium mining projects terrorists out to kill your children? Kevin Woster jumps on the Bob Mercer bandwagon and says we had it coming:
As for Keystone XL, I don't expect to see the ranchers I know who oppose or question the pipeline running rampant over TransCanada property or threatening to burn down the homes of pipeline employees.
But emotions of opponents run high on Keystone XL. Some have implied that they were willing to take strong actions against the project. And the camouflaged clothing, masks and imposing demeanor of the protesters in the photo above sends a vague-but-ominous message.
If you want not to be misunderstood in your intent, it makes sense to be clear in your message [Kevin Woster, "Keystone XL and the Mixed Message of Environmental Protests," Mount Blogmore, 2013.07.15].
Woster's blog post includes no example of any eco-terrorist ever blowing up a school to achieve environmental ends, which was the thesis of the bomb-threat exercise in the Black Hills this spring. Instead, Woster cites the example of Wisconsin oil-exploration protesters cussing and threatening to burn down oil workers' houses. But in the only relevance to South Dakota environmental disasters in the making, Woster accompanies his blog post with the photo of two fatigue-wearing Keystone XL opponents making reporter Bob Mercer nervous at a September 2011 pipeline hearing in Pierre. Some protesters wear camouflage and look tough, and we can excuse the government labeling a whole political movement as terrorists. Of course, just as women who wear high heels and short skirts ought to be labeled whores and expect to be raped.
Look out, Kevin! There's one of those camo-wearing anti-Keystone, anti-Powertech extremists right behind you! And watch out—he's carrying a camera! Totally fits the TransCanada profile of a terrorist!
Update 13:32 CDT: Even Woster acknowledges that South Dakotans of good conscience don't plan or need to blow schools up to make their point that Keystone XL and Powertech pose serious risks to South Dakota's health. An excellent example of that sensible South Dakota opposition to Powertech: Ginger Heinzen of Hot Springs. She's not afraid of skinny guys in fatigues blowing up her school (and the Hot Springs school was among those labeling environmentalists as terrorists). She's worried foreign predators like Powertech will plunder our resources and ruin our precious water supply.
Friends and Neighbors:
On July 3rd my husband and I came home and found that we had almost no water in our water taps. First, I would like to thank the city of Hot Springs and the water works department for working so promptly to repair and restore our water.
Second, this got me to thinking about our water and how much we depend on clean, adequate water. What would it be like if our water was not clean and safe from harmful uranium compounds and other pollutants. Would you be comfortable bathing your child in that kind of water.
I urge you to step up and support our Grass Roots movement for keeping our water clean and safe.
How can you help: sign a petition for clean, safe water. Voice your opposition to Local and State elected officials and urge them to help keep our water safe and clean.
Join our Grass Roots group, we meet every other Wed., at 5:30 at the Hot Springs Library.
There are 2 very important hearings this Autumn and we will need your support . Please plan to attend.
The Large Scale Mining Permit Hearing is Sept. 23rd, starting at 8:30am, The Water Permits and Ground Water Discharge Hearing will be Oct. 7th, starting at 8:30 am. Both will be at the Ramkota in Rapid City.
The Governors phone number is 605-773-3212
It's All About The Water
Ginger Heinzen [letter to the editor, submitted 2013.07.11]
I've watched this issue closely from Montana to Texas and have not run across threats being made against people working on the pipeline, and I sat in on the Pierre hearing when the people in the photo walked in with their silly costumes. There was no threat made to anyone and can't imagine how any rational person would draw that as a serious conclusion.
TransCanada is no victim here but the people who were threatened with eminent domain -- even before the foreign corporation's project was approved by the State Department -- if they surrender their land are the ones who were transgressed.
The problem with Mercer's piece is at least partly corrected by Woster. I'm willing to admit there may be a handful of idiots out there who might be led into doing something dumb.
I think it is far more likely that some righty group or law enforcement agency would be planning something similar in order to discredit opposition to the Keystone pipeline. In fact, that's what all this "eco-terrorism" nonsense is about. People protesting, even in stupid outfits, connotes "terrorism" about as much as Halloween does.
If you want to have a more plausible scenario, I would think it far more likely that a Republican Governor or the extremist supporters of Keystone would engage in an attempt to provoke violence in an effort to justify taking more of our rights away. This may seem far-fetched, but it was contemplated by Governor Walker when the protests were going on here.
We should remember that XL and cohorts bought a lot of full-page newspaper ads in South Dakota. I suspect their hired subcontractor public relations specialists have put in a lot of time being friendly to SD press and columnists.
Woster apparently still hasn't looked at the CD's of data available from the US State Department or even the one I sent him with a convenient menu system.
The PowerTech scenario reminds me of the last state government led and approved fiasco in Western Fall River County. Anyone remember the Multi-State Landfill at Igloo project that our wise yet greedy republican controlled legislature approved and bonded some years ago. They didn't listen to the protests, they referred to opponents as whiners and ignorant pesants that didn't know what was good for them. The project went to a referrendum vote and the legislature got their fanny handed to them on a platter with a landslide vote. Then the State got sued for several million and the taxpayer had to pay up. Those that don't understand the past are doomed to repeat it...... We pay now or pay later but either way, we pay while the plutocrats with their grandiose ideas and notions skip to the Virgin Islands on holiday........
Oh, yes, John, we do remember that Edgemont fiasco. Plutocrats on parade... we need more citizens to stand up our leaders' corporate fawning.
Here's a mining company that hired masked mercs to ward off ecopatriots:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/07/walker-backed-mine-hires-militiamen-intimidate-protesters
Larry, those rent-a-soldiers make it clear who's really in the business of intimidation. The companies cry "Terrorists!" and thus justify intimidating the public with armed force. Disgusting.
Due to the inception of the paywall the blogmore hunt this year will probably consist of a party of one.....
I don't know, Bret. Maybe they'll let you preview five pheasants, but then you have to pay to shoot. ;-)
It seems ridiculous for Wooster to continue beating this out of tune drum carried by Mercer. There has been civil disobedience practices on the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. Sometimes by landowners, who get arrested on their own land. http://www.onearth.org/article/keystone-xl-texas-landowners-arrests
Certainly there were not schools or school children threatened in any of these examples.
So there's a big difference between terrorists and people protesting on their own land.
And just because Mercer gets a little scared when someone decides to attend a public hearing dressed up doesn't mean we all have to cry "terrorist".
Good Grief!
Based on the image at Blogmore, Mercer should be more worried about heart disease and obesity than clowns in camo. I am also wondering how many of the people setting up the exercise saw that photo or were at the same meeting and saw these guys.
If we want to see armed enforcement of pollution and if XL is actually put into pumping crude with solvents across the prairie and over water sources, aquifers, etc. just wait until there is a polluting leak and we are not allowed to view the spillage and the company is shielded from view by complicit Highway Patrol, National Guard, and Sheriffs.
County commissioners should get out of XL's lap and make sure they and their constituents never end up with tap water that catches fire and dead rivers and streams.
No doubt, Frank! We can find dangerous characters in any movement. Nothing presented yet justifies public agencies publicly linking specific citizens or specific public positions with terrorist threats in a simple emergency exercise.