Texans like Julia Trigg Crawford are rebelling against a
toxic combo of ignorance and arrogance.
Arrogance is an
unpleasant trait. When overlaid with ignorance, it really gets ugly.
Meet Arrogance:
TransCanada Corporation. The Calgary-based $1.3 billion pipeline giant is
now demanding a U.S. permit to run its Keystone XL pipeline right down our country’s
center to move toxic tar sands sludge some 1,700 miles from northern Canada to
export facilities on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The environmental threat of the XL pipeline — which would cross thousands of farms, suburbs, and water sources — has been widely reported. Less widely known is the fact that this foreign corporation is crudely bullying American farm families and anyone else who dares to oppose its poisonous pursuit of profit.
Now, meet Ignorance:
The Texas Railroad Commission. This state agency is already infamous for a
tail-wagging acceptance of any scam put forth by the corporations it’s supposed
to regulate.Texas law meekly hands the public’s power of eminent
domain to certain
pipeline companies, allowing them to grab people’s land, usually at a low-ball
price.
To get this
extraordinary power, however, the grabsters must be “common carriers,” meaning
their pipelines are essentially public, available to all users. TransCanada’s
line, however, exists solely for its own private gain. Clearly, it’s not
qualified to use eminent domain.
Nonetheless, the
high-handed Canadian outfit is using it. “Sell your property at our price,” TransCanada tells landowners, “or we’ll just take it.” How can it get away with
this arrogance?
Because the Texas Railroad Commission, supposedly a watchdog
agency, accepts any pipeline corporation’s word that it is a “common carrier.”
No questions asked.
The good news is that
Texans such as Julia Trigg Crawford are rebelling against this toxic combo of
ignorance and arrogance. To learn about her gutsy fight, go to
www.StandWithJulia.com.
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is
a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He's also editor of the
populist newsletter, The
Hightower Lowdown. OtherWords.org
