Flotsam and Jetsam - Democrats Go to War With Elon, Greenpeace Loses Bigly

Is it a good idea to go to war with the guy with more money than God, who build rockets, and catches them on the way down with chopsticks, and who rescues that astronauts your president left stranded in space long enough to conceive and bear a child just for politics? Probably not, but here they are. The Peacock, Teslas set on fire with Molotov cocktails and shot with gun in Las Vegas attack. "“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility," an assistant sheriff said. “We do believe that it is isolated at this time."" From Ace, Left Openly Conducting Terrorism Against Tesla and Elon Musk; Democrats Refuse to Condemn, "The antifa left needs to be dealt with, like Hamas -- once and for all" and Domestic Terrorists Firebomb Tesla Businesses as the Leftwing Media Makes Excuses for Insurrection, "#PunchAnAntifa." At TownHall, Leah Barkoukis notes The War on Tesla Gets Worse As Owners Nationwide Reportedly Doxed (well, to be fair, most of them are probably liberal), Neera Tanden Tried to Compare Tesla Attacks and J6. It Did Not End Well For Her and 'Becca Downs is amused when Rick Wilson Locked Out of X Account After Promoting Threatening Post Against Musk, Tesla. Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "BREAKING: Rick Wilson says he has been locked out of his X account for 30 days after he incited violence and terrorism. Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "Thousands of Tesla owners were doxxed and threatened. Dozens of Teslas were set on fire and vandalized. A bunch of Tesla dealerships were targeted with violence. Tim Walz hasn’t condemned this coordinated domestic terrorism. Instead, he’s practically celebrating and egging it on. Evil." Insty, TIM WALZ IS A COMPLETE MORON TO ME. "Well, yes:" Brigitte Gabriel@ACTBrigitte, ""Tim Walz is a complete moron to me." 77+ million Americans agree with that." The View from North Central Idaho, Violence is Not Speech. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, When the Masks Our Intellectual Superiors Wear Pretending to Be 'Better Humans Than You' Slip. Calling-all-RushBabes, This is Domestic Terrorism. Seth Dillon @SethDillon, "Why is domestic terrorism "inevitable" when the left doesn't get its way?" Quote Claire Lehmann@clairlemon, "I'm sorry but the world's wealthiest individual leveraging their wealth for political influence and power cannot claim victimhood when the inevitable backlash engulfs his business interests. The narcissistic entitlement here is off the charts." Dustin Grage @GrageDustin, "Well they SWATed my family and are doxxing Tesla owners. So yeah, very bad people." Quote Carl @History Boomer, "Elon constantly attacks the left, calling them "bad people" and "the party of violence and hate" when he's not labeling them "traitors" and saying federal judges are executing "coups." He's a firehose of extreme rhetoric and then whines he doesn't understand why people hate him. Show more."

ET, Democrats Wrestle With DOGE and Musk, "Democrats are unified in anti-DOGE messaging, but many want improper payments and the Pentagon scrutinized. For now, Democrats have little leverage over DOGE." Larry has a video at Hat Hair, There's a Target on Elon Musk. At Da Fetched, Elon Musk Says Corrupt Officials Want Him Dead: “I’m Taking Away Their Fraud.” Da Caller, Democrats Whining About Tesla Not Paying Income Taxes Have Only Themselves To Blame. VodkaPundit at PJM, Oh, Noes! DOGE Audits Aren't up to Government Snuff! If you do it the government way, you won't find much, and that's by design. Atop Da Hill, DOGE staffer appointed to leading role at USAID. Insty at his substack explains A Nation, Not A Side Quest, "Elon’s goal is to save humanity by dispersing it around the cosmos. It is merely our good fortune that he has determined that he must save America in order to pursue his larger goal. DOGE, and the rest of his political efforts, basically constitute a side quest."

Sundance at CTH reports President Trump Has “Very Good Call” with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

From the Dallas Express, RFK Jr. Launches ‘Operation Stork Speed’ To Protect Baby Formula After Shortages Rocked Biden.

At JTN, Greg Piper reports, Trump to sign executive order abolishing Department of Education Thursday: report. "Reportedly directs Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate" closure of agency and "return education authority to the States." Expecting a TRO from a Hawaiian judge today. From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog Another Useless Agency Bilking Taxpayers Uncovered, "Another day, another revelation of another useless government agency where bureaucrats lived like kings on the taxpayer’s dime."

From NewsMax reports a Judge Denies Trump Bid to Toss Columbia Student's Challenge to Arrest. Da Fetched, Obama Judge Who Blocked Trump’s Deportation Flights Tied to Radical Leftist Group. Sundance has More Background on Judge James Boasberg – The Fight Continues. Matt Vespa at TownHall, About That Judge Who's Trying to Save USAID... Sauron's Eye, Judge temporarily blocks EPA's effort to cancel $20 billion in climate grants. Susie Moore at RedState, 'You Can't Defy a Court Order': Trump Forgets He's Supposed to Be a Fascist Dictator. Rick Moran at PJM, Judge Temporarily Halts Trump EPA From Ending Climate Grant Fund. From Fox, Trump DOJ hammers judge's 'digressive micromanagement,' seeks more time to answer 5 questions, "'Defendants are currently evaluating whether to invoke the state secrets privilege as to portions of the information sought by this Court’s order,' Justice Department says." Tyler O'Neil at Da Signal, BETRAYAL: Chief Justice John Roberts Takes the Side of Deep State Swamp Creatures Against Trump. At Hat Hair Duane Patterson thinks Justice Alito Needs To Nail His 46 Theses To The Door of Chief Justice Roberts and John Sexton looks at The Trump Administration's War on Left-Wing Money and Legal Groups. Tyler O'Neil again, How Many Tax Dollars Bankrolled Union Efforts to Block Trump? Insty, at his substack, has "Some thoughts about what he's doing and what he might do," Trump and the Lower Courts.

Sarah Anderson at PJM, Caught! Another One of FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted' in Custody. NewsMax, Patel: FBI Nabbed Third Most Wanted Fugitive Since Jan. 20. It's amazing what you can do when you don't spend the time of the FBI on J6ers, Anti-abortion grandmothers, and parents of high school students. Jerry Dunleavy at JTN reports ‘Weaponization’: FBI whistleblower wants clearance back after punishment by Biden bureau leaders. "An FBI special agent was suspended and lost his security clearance "in reprisal" by the Biden FBI after he blew the whistle on "politicization and weaponization" inside the bureau. His lawyers are asking the Trump FBI, led by Kash Patel, to right the wrong."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair, JFK Files: What Have We Learned So Far? "It's a darn sight more than I expected. I thought the files would be a complete dud, but it turns out that there is ample information in just the first few things that people have discovered to fuel the fever dreams of every conspiracy theorist in the world three times over and to give the most Establishment-minded normie reason to feel disgust at his government," and Schlesinger in 1961: The CIA Is a 'State Within the State."

Matt Margolis at PJM has some interesting Legal Analysis: Biden's Autopen Pardons Are 'Invalid' and The Left Is Trying to Cover up That Biden Left Astronauts Stranded. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Musk: A 'Fact' That Biden Rejected Astronaut Rescue 'For Political Reasons.' 1989 News, Dothan man arrested again weeks after Biden commuted sentence. No Pasaran, Pure Jacobin hatred for anything pro-American: Every other decision in the Biden administration was intended to harm our country and destroy the United States as we know it" Hat Hair's Dave Strom wonders Does the Left Have a Modified al Qaeda Strategy to Defeat The West?. 

Capt. Ed again, hears from Axios: Schumer Popularity Among House Dems 'Between Elon and Ebola'. Da Fetched, Schumer Admits to Losing Sleep Over Trump’s ‘Trolling’. Da Caller, Pelosi Jabs Schumer For Second Time As Democrats Seethe Over Support For GOP Spending Bill. Beege Welborn adds Schumer's gonna look like Caesar pretty soon at the rate these 'pokes' are going. He'll hafta change his tunic. Stephen Kruiser at PJM has a Nagging Feeling That Chuck Schumer Isn't Going Anywhere.

Anxious is anxious that Stefanik to Finally Get House Hearing. Beege Welborn, Jeez, it's been so long I guess I sort of figured she was already there and just really quiet. Rob Henderson @robkhenderson, "Fascinating: White voters didn't shift at all in their voting preferences from 2016 to 2024, while nonwhite voters all shifted to the Republican side:" 

From Politico, Trump’s mass deportation plans hit riskier phase with legal immigrants, court fights. From OTP, Khalil Immigration Case Transferred To New Jersey "Furman said New Jersey is where Khalil was detained and the only place he could have filed his petition, dictating his case should be litigated there." From the Center Square PA, 26 attorneys general file brief in support of Trump's deportation of gang members. Drew Berquist, Trump’s White House Trolls Illegal Alien Gangs With Hilariously Brutal Video [WATCH]. Twitchy, Rachel Bitecofer Is SO TRIGGERED by Matt Walsh She Posts One of the DUMBEST Things We've Ever Read: Rachel Bitecofer@RachelBitecofer, America was literally born as the world's homeless shelter you dumbfuck." Quote Matt Walsh@MattWalshBlog, "I don’t want to give the Statue of Liberty to France but I do think we should remove that dumb poem about the “huddled masses” and send that to them. They can attach it to the Eiffel Tower or something. America is not an international homeless shelter." From Althouse, "You have a President who has sworn to get tough on the border and get tough on crime expelling from the United States — by his description — hundreds of criminal gang members." "And so that's an easy narrative to understand. You know, who in the world wouldn't want a bunch of criminal gang members kicked out of the country? And what kind of crazy liberal judge would order those gang members back into America? And if you watch conservative media, that's the argument they're putting out. You know, this judge wants these gang members roaming around the streets, attacking your family and loved ones. You know, obviously this is terrain the Trump administration chose carefully to fight on, and they believe in the court of public opinion, most people will be on their side of this issue." Says Luke Broadwater, in "Trump’s Showdown With the Courts," the new episode of the NYT podcast "The Daily.""

Tom Knighton at TAW, The educational system should burn, this is the tip of the iceberg as to why. John Sexton, With One Day Left, Columbia University Agrees to Discuss Trump Administration's Demands. From NewsMax, Trump Freezes $175M of Funds to Penn Over Trans Women. Beege Welborn, The Gayest of the Pride Parades Haz the #Sadz, as corporate donations dry up.

From WUWT, Breaking: Greenpeace Ordered to Pay Hundreds of Millions in Dakota Pipeline Protest Lawsuit. Climate Depot, Greenpeace must pay hundreds of millions over Dakota pipeline protests, says jury.

A jury in North Dakota has decided that the environmental group Greenpeace must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the pipeline company Energy Transfer and is liable over defamation and other claims over protests in the state nearly a decade ago.

Energy Transfer Partners, a Dallas-based oil and gas company worth almost $70bn, had sued Greenpeace for $300m defamation and orchestrating criminal behavior by protesters at the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016 and 2017, claiming the organization “incited” people to protest by using a “misinformation campaign”.


Greenpeace, which had denied the claims, said in a statement after the verdict that lawsuits like this were aimed at “destroying the right to peaceful protest”; constitutional rights experts had expressed fears that case could have a wider chilling effect on free speech.

The jury found for Energy Transfer on most counts.

The environmental group, which had expressed concerns before the trial about getting a fair hearing in gas and oil country, said that a loss and enormous financial award could bankrupt their US operation. Energy Transfer sought a payout and sued three Greenpeace entities, claiming that they are a single organization rather than independent members of the Greenpeace network.

I still have plenty of unused links at The Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.18.25 (Afternoon Edition) and In the Mailbox: 03.18.25 (Evening Edition), but I'm running out of time.  The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: A Week of Beatings up and garnering clicks at the Other McCain.

Dakota Access Pipeline On, Again

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, Appellate Court Puts Dakota Access Pipeline Back In Business

Just when you thought the entire brouhaha over the Dakota Access Pipeline was finished, last month we learned that a court had ordered the project to be shut down yet again. The stated purpose was yet another environmental review, though the pipeline has already received a clean bill of health in multiple such studies in the past. That put the nation’s oil producers into what analysts described as “a holding pattern” where production from the Bakken shale region was slashed by half a million barrels per day and oil prices sank below the break-even point.

That situation appears to have been resolved this week. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled that the plaintiffs in the case had not shown sufficient cause to grant the request. The three-judge appeals panel did, however, allow the new environmental review to move forward. The process is expected to take at least a year. (Associated Press)

A federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed a judge’s order that shut down the Dakota Access pipeline pending a full environmental review.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with pipeline owner Energy Transfer to keep the oil flowing, saying a lower-court judge “did not make the findings necessary for injunctive relief.”
But the appellate court declined to grant Energy Transfer’s motion to block the review, saying the company had “failed to make a strong showing of likely success.”
The appeals court said it expects the parties to “clarify their positions” in the lower court.

You can tell that all of this maneuvering has far more to do with politics than environmental concerns by the way the plaintiffs reacted to the ruling. The attorney for EarthJustice, the group representing several Native American tribes bringing the suit, described the court’s decision as containing “more to like than dislike.” He noted that the environmental review would move forward and there would be “a new permit during the next administration.”

The implication here is clear. The plaintiffs are anticipating a Biden victory in November and the departure of Donald Trump (a strong advocate for the pipeline) from the Oval Office. The Dakota Access pipeline was tied up in legal red tape for years under the Obama administration, with Joe Biden vigorously supporting his boss in blocking progress on the project. So they are no doubt anticipating a potential Biden administration taking up the battle once again and getting the EPA to shut down production. And they’re probably correct in that prediction.

But to be perfectly honest, they've almost given up pretending this about water or pollution, other than CO2. It's pretty much all about bringing down the economy.

Appeals Court Keeps Dakota Access Pipeline Running

Federal Court Allows Dakota Access Pipeline To Keep Pumping Oil, Dealing Blow To Environmental Activist

The multi-billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline can continue pumping oil for the time being, a federal court ruled Tuesday.

The U.S. Appeals Court’s ruling temporarily halts a lower court’s July 6 decision to shut down the project and order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a rigorous environmental review of the pipeline.

Local tribes in North Dakota and other activists have long opposed the $3.8 billion line, claiming that it poisons drinking water.

The ruling allows oil to continue coursing through the DAPL, which runs from North Dakota through the Midwest and on to Gulf Coast refineries. Nearly 600,000 barrels of oil flow through the project daily, making it a significant part of North Dakota’s economy.

Energy Transfer, the company behind the project, would lose as much as $3.5 million every day the pipeline is offline and roughly $1.4 billion if the line is permanently shut down throughout 2021, Dakota Access said, according to Reuters.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other American Indian tribes requested the shutdown, arguing that the pipeline harms the environment and tramples on tribal lands. . .

Obama blocke the pipeline on his way out of office, saying approving the pipeline would tarnish the U.S.’s image as a climate change crusader.

And of course, an Obama friendly "resistance" judge was selected to take the pipeline off line:

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg made the initial move to halt the DAPL, ordering the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in March to complete an Environmental Impact Statement on the pipeline, which could take upward of 13 months to complete.

Pipeline Protester Goes to Jail

Play stupid climate protester games, win stupid prizes

Red Fawn Fallis is the Dakota Access Pipeline protester who, back in 2016, fired a handgun when three police officers tried to arrest her.

The charges against her were the most serious stemming from any conflict during the pipeline protest.

Today a judge sentenced Fallis to more than four years in prison.

Bismark Times reporter Jack Dura was on hand for the sentencing and reported the results on Twitter:

Breaking: US District of ND Chief Judge Daniel Hovland imposes 57 months in federal prison for Red Fawn Fallis, with 3 years supervised release and credit for time served but not while in halfway house when she violated pretrial release.
— Jack Dura (@JackFromNoDak) July 11, 2018

Fallis has been in custody since she was arrested in October 2016. She was initially charged with attempted murder but those charges were later dropped to clear the way for federal charges.

Some of her time was actually spent at a halfway house but that arrangement was rescinded after she failed to show up for an adult learning class she was scheduled to attend.

Today the judge who sentenced her said she would not get credit for time served at the halfway house because of her subsequent arrest.

This January, Fallis pleaded guilty to “civil disorder and gun possession by a convicted felon.”

Despite her plea, and despite the fact that she had a previous record, there are still lots of people on the left who consider her a martyr.

A change.org petition demanding that charges against her be dropped has over 20,000 signatures.

The petition claims “Fallis is innocent of the charges she is facing” but doesn’t spell out what those charges are or why she’s innocent.

You have an absolute right to protest, you should have a right to carry a gun, unless you're a convicted felon, or in a few rare places.  Brandishing and firing a gun during a protest is too far.

Growing Push Back on Energy Lawfare

I was keeping the first of these in the browser, thinking about posting it, when the next two came along:

Energy Transfer Files Federal Lawsuit Against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Inc., BankTrack And Earth First! For Violation Of Federal And State Racketeering Statutes

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE: ETE) and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ETP) today filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Inc., BankTrack, Earth First!, and other organizations and individuals. The Complaint, which is Index number 1:17-cv-00173, alleges that this group of co-conspirators (the “Enterprise”) manufactured and disseminated materially false and misleading information about Energy Transfer and the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”) for the purpose of fraudulently inducing donations, interfering with pipeline construction activities and damaging Energy Transfer’s critical business and financial relationships. The Complaint also alleges that the Enterprise incited, funded, and facilitated crimes and acts of terrorism to further these objectives. It further alleges claims that these actions violated federal and state racketeering statutes, defamation, and constituted defamation and tortious interference under North Dakota law.

The alleged Enterprise is comprised of rogue environmental groups and militant individuals who employ a pattern of criminal activity and a campaign of misinformation for purposes of increasing donations and advancing their political or business agendas. The Complaint describes the Enterprise’s misinformation campaign that aggressively targeted Energy Transfer’s critical business relationships, including the financing sources for DAPL and Energy Transfer’s other infrastructure projects, by publicly demanding these financial institutions sever ties with Energy Transfer or face crippling boycotts and other illegal attacks. . . 

Cabot Oil & Gas Goes on Offensive Against Fracking Nuisance Lawsuits

. . . I was pleasantly surprised when I read that Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation didn’t just go into settlement mode when a landowner named Ray Kemble and his lawyers filed a nuisance suit against the company on allegations that had already been dealt with in prior litigation involving Mr. Kemble that was settled in 2012.

The easy thing to have done with such a case would have been to offer the plaintiff a token settlement, even though the company believed the case was clearly frivolous. Instead, Cabot’s management chose to challenge what it saw as a double-dip filing, and the judge rewarded the company by dismissing the suit in a summary judgment. In normal corporate behavior, that would have been the end of things.

But Cabot’s management had, in the words of company spokesman George Stark, “grown weary of this ‘sue and settle’ racket” that it believes this case represents. So, rather than just let the matter drop, Cabot’s management chose instead to file a counter-suit against Mr. Kemble and his lawyers. “We aren’t suing a landowner,” says Stark, “We’re suing a big law firm.”

What is cheapest in the first case may not be the cheapest policy in the long run. Something about the Danes and Dane-geld.

Judicial Watch Sues for Records on Obama Administration / Environmentalists Shut Down of Dakota Access Pipeline

Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense for all records from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding environmentalist groups’ attempts to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judicial Watch vs. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:17-cv-01282)).

The suit was filed after the Department of Defense failed to respond to a May 8, 2017, FOIA request seeking:

All records of communication between the Army Corps of Engineers and Greenpeace, Sierra Club, EarthJustice, or Friends of the Earth regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline or the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
All internal Army Corps of Engineers emails or communications discussing the efforts of Greenpeace, Sierra Club, EarthJustice, Friends of the Earth, or other environmentalist groups to halt or delay construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

. . .
“Barack Obama and radical—and often violent—environmentalists worked in hand-in-glove to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. We’re not sure why the Trump Defense Department would hide the facts about this scandal and force us to go to federal court to enforce FOIA,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

I would like to believe this the start of trend of greater stoutheartedness on the part of energy providers and conservative NGOs against the governmental/environmental anti-energy alliance.

D.C Judge Keeps Dakota Controversy Alive

Standing Rock Tribe Wins A Hollow Victory

A federal judge ruled in favor of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Wednesday, handing the tribe its first legal victory in its year-long battle against the Dakota Access pipeline.
James Boasberg, who sits on D.C. district court, said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to perform an adequate study of the pipeline’s environmental consequences when it first approved its construction. In a 91-page decision, the judge cited the Corps’ study of “the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice” as particularly deficient, and he ordered it to prepare a new report on its risks.
The court did not, however, order the pipeline to be shut off until a new environmental study is completed—a common remedy when a federal permit is found lacking. Instead, Boasberg asked attorneys to appear before him again and make a new set of arguments about whether the pipeline should operate.

On the one hand, this is a rather pointless victory for the tribe… at least for the moment. If the judge doesn’t order the pipeline to be shut down then nothing has been accomplished other than yet another round of administrative reviews and business continues as usual. But Boasberg clearly left the door open to the possibility of a shutdown by entertaining new arguments on that point.

Is Judge Boasberg part of "The Resistance"? D.C. District? Probably. And he used the term "environmental justice" so he's clearly a fraud.

This strikes me as having serious balance of powers issue. The legislative branch gave the power to make the decision to the administrative branch, which has a well developed, if not exactly perfect, arm to evaluate and make the decisions. There is no way for a judge, even if he sits in Washington DC, has the technical knowledge to understand, let alone supersede the Army Corps.

Reason #5559 That Trump Was Elected

Despite the left’s best efforts, the Dakota Access Pipeline is now delivering oil

Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline became an international news story last year. Progressives around the country rallied to the cause and held marches around the country. Over a million dollars was raised on social media to support the main protest camp and thousand of people traveled to remote Cannonball, North Dakota to become part of the effort to block the final mile of the nearly 1,200-mile long pipeline.

Protesters battled police on land and in the water and over several months hundreds, mostly from out of state, were arrested. One woman faces 10 years in jail for (allegedly) firing a gun toward police officers.

The Obama administration came to the protesters’ rescue when Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy overruled the Army Corps of Engineers recommendation that the pipeline be approved. Instead, she announced a new environmental study which would have taken up to two years to complete. The new study was officially announced just a couple days before President-elect Trump took office.

These transparently political moves were cheered by progressives, but not for long. On February 7th the Trump administration ended the new study and approved construction of the final stretch of pipeline. A few weeks later the main protest camp was cleared out by police. It cost over a million dollars to clean up the mess protesters left behind and prevent it from washing into the river they were supposedly there to protect. Dogs and puppies left behind at the frozen camp were also rescued.

A court challenge brought by the Native American tribes failed a few weeks later. Not all of the anti-pipeline protesters were content to go along with the rule of law. There were acts of sabotage in a few locations and some arson as well. Meanwhile, the pipeline was completed and being filled with oil.

Thursday, despite all the time, money and media savvy the left could throw at it, the Dakota Access Pipeline began making oil deliveries to customers.

Forget the chaos in Washington D.C. Trump is getting things done where it counts.

When Environmentalists Go Bad

Fire near Dakota Access Pipeline site ruled arson

You wouldn’t know it from the coverage by the major media but there have been numerous acts of sabotage including arson directed at the Dakota Access Pipeline over the past year. The lastest one happened Thursday in Newell, Iowa. The Pilot Tribune reports it caused nearly $150,000 in damage:

A fire on a Dakota Access pipe-line site near Newell Thursday night has been ruled an arson.
About $70,000 damage was done to a contractor-owned skid loader that was set on fire, and $75,000 to pipeline equipment. The fire, in a field near 180th Avenue north of Highway 7, was reported around 9:20 p.m. Newell firefighters responded, sheriff’s officials were immediately called in to investigate.

Last year, a similar fire caused up to $2.5 million in damage. The Pilot Tribune reported last November:

Six different pieces of heavy equipment were set on fire at 640th Street, a short distance off Highway 7. Investigation is continuing – no arrests have been made yet, but local and FBI officials are looking into whether there may be ties to other Dakota Access arsons elsewhere in the state, Buena Vista County Sheriff Kory Elston said.
Four excavators valued at approximately $400,000 each were considered a total loss, and a $600,000 bulldozer and $400,000-$600,000 side boom were also damaged.

The incident was determined to be arson and the FBI was involved in the investigation, but no one was ever arrested or charged in the case. The November arson took place about 4 miles from the one that happened last week.

These are not the only incidents of arson connected to the pipeline project. Last October, fires were also set near Reasnor, Iowa, causing up to $2 million in damage. At the time, the company behind the pipeline offered a $100,000 reward for information on the arson. There had also been a previous arson incident in the same location in August.

In March of this year, the company that built the pipeline reported two incidents of sabotage in which someone used a blowtorch to burn a hole in a shut-off valve. One of the incidents happened in Iowa, the other in South Dakota.

There's a certain irony in using gasoline to start fires to protest carbon emissions.

And Here I Thought Oil Spills Were a Bad Thing!

But I guess they're good when they serve "The Narrative!" Dakota Access Pipeline sabotaged in two states

The company which built the Dakota Access Pipeline says there have been “recent coordinated physical attacks” on the completed pipeline which is ready to begin delivering oil this week. At least two attacks taken place within the past month. Last week, someone took a blowtorch to an above-ground section of the pipeline in South Dakota. From the Duluth News Tribune:

In South Dakota, authorities received a report on March 17 that someone burned a hole through an above-ground section of an oil pipeline at a valve site just south of Sioux Falls, according to Chief Deputy Chad Brown of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
A torch may have been used to create the hole, causing about $30,000 to $60,000 in damage, Brown said. No suspects had been identified, Brown said. The incident occurred between March 15 and March 17, Brown said.

Because most of the pipeline is buried, the above-ground shut-off valves are the most easily accessible portions of the pipeline. A very similar attack took place earlier this month in Iowa.
. . .
No suspects have been identified in the two known cases of sabotage, but it’s not much of a stretch to suggest the apparently coordinated attacks were carried out by people opposed to its construction. This isn’t the first act of sabotage against this pipeline. Last October, fires were set that destroyed construction equipment in Iowa.

So whatever happened to Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, who committed vandalism on camera at a DAP protest? As of Sept, Google News only shows an arrest warrant out for her. Surely the case must either have advanced further or have been dropped.

Evil Bastards

Dakota Access Pipeline protesters left puppies behind at frozen camp

When police shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp last week in accordance with a deadline established weeks earlier, protesters left behind cars, loads of trash and also a number of stranded pets. KFYR in Bismark reports on the efforts of one local rescue shelter to round up the abandoned animals:

Two dogs and six puppies were found and rescued at the main Dakota Access Pipeline Camp by Furry Friends Rockin Rescue…
“Extremely sad being these guys were left behind. But we offer, Furry Friends offers hope. I mean there’s so much hope within Furry Friends as far as these puppies finding homes,” says Tiffany Hardy…
“It’s a mess down there, so it’s really, really hard to find these animals and get them,” says Julie Schirado.

According to the Furry Friends, the two adult dogs show signs of frostbite and have patchy fur. They posted this image of the animals on Facebook Saturday and were deluged with offers of help:

I don't care who you are, or what your deepest environmental goals are, there's no excuse for that.

Dakota Access Protesters Evicted, Leave Behind Scorched Earth

From Feb 22. Dakota Access Pipeline protesters burn structures as deadline looms

Some protesters have decided to end their time at the camp by burning down structures that were built on the site. From the Associated Press:

Some of the praying protesters said burning the structures — which appeared to include a yurt and a teepee — was part of the ceremony of leaving. As heavy rain turned to snow, some said they expected no trouble during the eviction, despite a heavy law enforcement presence.
“People are being very mindful, trying very hard to stay in prayer, to stay positive,” said Nestor Silva, 37, of California. “I am not aware of any plans for belligerence.”…
Dom Cross, an Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, said he planned to return home after living at the camp since September.
“There’s a lot of sadness right now. We have to leave our second home,” he said.

After months of showdowns with police, local law enforcement will finally clear the camp today. Authorities are being gracious to the exiting protesters. There will be buses provided to give them a ride to Bismark, ND. Each protester will be given food, a voucher for one night in a hotel and a bus ticket to take them anywhere in the United States. Fox News reports that authorities are even offering some kind of symbolic arrest aimed at giving the protesters something akin to an honorable way out of the protest. However, anyone who stays past today’s 2pm deadline and refuses the offer will be arrested and charged. One way or another, the camp will be cleared out today.

Once it is empty the work of cleaning up the mess left behind by up to 10,000 protesters will continue. The area where the camp is located is in a flood zone that washes into the local river. There is concern that abandoned cars, garbage and human waste could all wind up in the river if it is not removed before flooding takes place.

Now, that's some real environmentalism there.

Does anyone recall the origin of the standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge? I do.

In 2012, Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and Steven Dwight Hammond, 46, were both convicted of two counts of arson on federal land, in relation to two fires they set in 2001 and 2006. In a mid-trial settlement agreement, the Hammonds agreed to not appeal the arson convictions in order to have other charges dismissed by the government. The Hammonds were also told the prosecutor would seek the mandatory minimum sentence of five years. Ultimately, Dwight Hammond was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and his son Steven was sentenced to a year and a day's imprisonment, which both men served. However, in 2015, the sentences were vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which then remanded re-sentencing. In October 2015, a judge re-sentenced the Hammonds to five years in prison (with credit for time served), ordering that they return to prison on January 4, 2016.

The Hammonds were charged under anti-terrorism laws for starting brush fires on their own land that inadvertently spread into the adjoining wildlife refuge, fires which they put out after a few acres of brush were burned, with no help from the government. The Bundy's seized on this incident as an example of how the Federal Government was oppressing ranchers.

I'll bet none of these protesters will be charged under that law. Instead they get free bus tickets home. None of them were shot to death.

From yesterday's news The Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp is no more

Many of the 200-300 protesters remaining at the Dakota Access Pipeline main camp, known as Oceti Sakowin, packed up and left yesterday. Some chose to burn down shelters they had built over the past several months on their way out. But a few holdouts remained today so police moved in and cleared the camp one final time. From the Seattle Times:

Police moved on the camp Thursday morning in dozens of armored personnel carriers, as a helicopter and fixed-wing airplane circled overhead. Police moved tent to tent and shack to shack with guns drawn, clearing out demonstrators. By 2:09 p.m. Central Time, it was over.
As many as 100 demonstrators were in the camp, according to activists, but authorities estimated 50.

Apparently 39 people were arrested today. Authorities had previously offered anyone who wanted to leave some food, a hotel voucher and a bus pass to anywhere in the country. Total cost of the cleanup of the site is starting at $800,000 though it’s believed that could go as high as $1.2 million by the time everything is done. Meanwhile, environmental groups such as 350.org which supported the protest are vowing to continue the fight. . .

I hear the Indians were getting pretty tired of the filthy hippies.

Army Approves Dakota Access Pipeline

Army Corps to green-light Dakota Access pipeline construction

February 8, 2017 3:56 AM EST - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Feb. 7 that it will grant the final permit needed to finish construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The project has been intensely protested by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and environmental activists. (Reuters)

I wasn't a big Trump fan, but between his cabinet and other agency appointees and getting this going again, I could become a fan. Who cares if he tweets?

Of course, that's not going to stop the usual suspects from going on with their violence:  The Latest: Dakota Access protests held around the country

Opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline are protesting around the country in response to the Army saying it will clear the way for completion of the disputed $3.8 billion project to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.

Protesters posted an online list of nearly 50 events nationwide. There are large rallies, including one outside the White House, and smaller efforts, such as one in Des Moines, Iowa.

A group of protesters in Chicago targeted a bank. Another group went to an Army Corps of Engineers office in New York City, but protesters were asked to leave when they started filming without a permit.

Several people were arrested for blocking public access to a federal building in San Francisco.

Protest all you want, but break the law, or commit violence especially, and you should go to jail. And Jeff Sessions might just be the Attorney General to do it.

Now, onto the Keystone.

North Dakota Eyeing That Sweet Soros Swag

North Dakota wants hired pipeline protesters to pay state income taxes

After spending more than $22 million on the Dakota Access pipeline protest, North Dakota wants to make sure any paid activists remember to submit their state income taxes.

Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said his office is keeping an eye out for tax forms from environmental groups that may have hired protesters to agitate against the 1,172-mile, four-state pipeline project.

“It’s something we’re looking at. I can tell you I’ve had a number of conversations with legislators regarding this very issue,” said Mr. Rauschenberger. “[We’re] looking at the entities that have potential paid contractors here on their behalf doing work.”

It’s no secret that millions have been funneled into the six-month-old demonstration via crowdfunding websites, and that more than 30 environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, Indigenous Environmental Network, Food and Water Watch, 350.org and Greenpeace, have backed the protest . . .

Seems only fair.

Reason #5403 We Elected Trump

People in red states were tired of obstruction for the sake of symbolic environmentalism:Trump To Give Green Light To Keystone, Dakota Access Pipelines

President Trump on Tuesday is expected to give the go-ahead for construction of two controversial oil pipelines, the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access, a White House official tells NPR's Tamara Keith.

The pipelines had been stopped during the Obama administration. The State Department rejected a permit for the Keystone pipeline from Canada, and President Obama ordered work halted on the Dakota pipeline after Native American groups and other activists protested its route near culturally sensitive sites in North Dakota.
. . .
In remarks to automakers on Tuesday morning, Trump proclaimed himself an environmentalist, but added, "It's out of control, and we're going to make a very short process, and we're going to either give you your permits or we're not going to give you your permits, but you're going to know very quickly."

Wind Power Plans More Eagle Deaths

Wyoming wind project may get permit to kill eagles

One of the biggest wind energy projects under development in the U.S. got closer Thursday to securing a federal permit to kill a limited number of eagles without penalty.
A final plan released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would help ensure the Chokecherry-Sierra Madre wind farm in south-central Wyoming doesn’t kill too many bald and golden eagles with its hundreds of spinning turbine blades.

Power Company of Wyoming could get two permits as soon as January if Fish and Wildlife gives final approval to the plan. One permit would allow removal of unoccupied eagle nests during construction of the first 500 of potentially up to 1,000 turbines.

A five-year permit would allow up to 14 golden eagle deaths a year during operation. Power Company of Wyoming, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Denver-based Anschutz Corp., would offset those deaths by retrofitting existing power lines so they can’t electrocute eagles.

So, they could fix them so they wouldn't kill as many eagles but they haven't? It must not be that important, right?

The goal would be no net loss of golden eagles, if not a net benefit for the species.

“We know that golden eagles get electrocuted. There’s a way to estimate how frequently they get electrocuted by power lines that are not safe,” said Clint Riley, Fish and Wildlife assistant regional director for migratory birds.

“They have to fix enough power poles to try to match up the number of eagles that would be saved by those actions compared to those that would be taken by the wind farm.”

The permit would allow as many as two bald eagles per year to be killed. The company wouldn’t have to take measures to offset bald eagle deaths because bald eagles, as a species, are abundant enough to withstand those losses, according to Fish and Wildlife.

I suppose we could spare a couple from the Chesapeake Bay area. But they might be kind of lost without Ospreys to steal from for six months out of the year.

Aren't eagles supposed to be sacred to Redskins Indians Native Americans or something? Now that they're done with Standing Rock, maybe they could come protest this.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: The Week Before Christmas" ready for your viewing pleasure at The Other McCain.

White House Stops Dakota Access Pipeline

White House (not the Army) halts Dakota Access Pipeline work yet again

Throwing yet another wrench into what has long since been settled law in the courts, the Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) issued another conflicting announcement this weekend in which they claimed that an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to go under Lake Oahe would not be granted. This, of course, had the professional protesters in the area celebrating and the company building the project shaking their heads in disbelief. (CNN))

The Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works announced Sunday.
Jo-Ellen Darcy said in a press release she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. It was announced on November 14, 2016 that her office was delaying the decision on the easement to allow for discussions with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies 0.5 miles south of the proposed crossing.

The pipeline is done, except for the final mine, which crosses the river.

As NBC News was reporting yesterday, both Energy Transfer Partners (the owners of the project) and both of the state’s senators called foul and said that these delays and harassment would end once Obama leaves office.

Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the project, denounced the decision Sunday night as “a purely political action.”
“The White House’s directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency,” it said in a statement…
Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, said the decision”violates the rule of law and fails to resolve the issue. Instead, it passes the decision off to the next administration, which has already indicated it will approve the easement, and in the meantime perpetuates a difficult situation for North Dakotans.”

Just to be clear, this obviously wasn’t a move which was made in a vacuum by the CoE. This came straight from the White House with the backing of the Justice Department. It was over a month ago when the Army began making noises about “looking at an alternate route” in response to the protests. But keep in mind that the current route is the one which the Army already approved and it was that approval which formed the basis for the state Public Service Commission’s decision to provide final approval. That approval was twice challenged in court and upheld both times.

Rewarding thuggery only results in more. Jan. 20th can't come soon enough. This should be on the list of last minute Obama directives to overturn on Day 1 of the Trump era. He should go in reverse order. The more recent the Obama decree, the more quickly it should be revoked.

Army Corps Declines to Enforce the Law

Despite deadline, Army Corps of Engineers has no plans to remove pipeline protesters

Last Friday the Army Corps of Engineers sent protesters a letter informing them that the public land on which they have been camping for months already will be closed as of December 5th. That means that after that date everyone who remains at the main protest camp will, at least in theory, be trespassing and could be arrested.

However, it seems there is much less to the action by the Army Corps than it first appeared. Sunday the Army Corps of Engineers issued a statement saying it had “no plans for forcible removal.” In other words, the protesters may be trespassing in theory once the deadline passes, but no one is going to enforce it.

The Army Corps of Engineers “is basically kicking the can down the road, and all it is doing is taking the liability from the Corps and putting it on” the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said…
County and state officials have been seeking federal law enforcement help for months and were initially buoyed by the Corps’ order for protesters to move off the land. The agency’s later announcement that it would not forcibly evict any demonstrators dampened hopes that the issue would soon be resolved, Morton County Commission Chairman Cody Schulz said.
“It’s useless for local and state law enforcement, and the order from the Corps is self-serving and amounts to them limiting their liability,” Schulz said.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple criticized the move, telling the AP, “Clearly the responsibility of clearing that land now lies primarily with the Corps.”

What the feds won’t do the winter weather might. There was much consternation a week ago when police sprayed water on protesters who approached their line. At the time it was only about 20 degrees outside. But that could seem balmy by next month. There is a snow storm hitting the area this week and the current forecast is for a high of 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Cannonball, ND next Thursday. The low that night is forecast as -2 degrees. That will test the resolve of the protesters far more than anything the police can do.

It's one thing if the Feds are declining to enforce the law because they fear another shooting, like at Malheur, Oregon standoff, it's entirely another if administration is refusing to enforce the law because they sympathize with the protesters. I hope the former, but suspect the latter. I'd like to see the emails.

Army Announces End of Access Standoff

Army Corps of Engineers to close it's lands to all, including protesters.

The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe said Friday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to close an area where people have been camping for months to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Dave Archambault said in a statement that he received a letter from the Corps, dated Friday, which says all lands north of the Cannonball River will be closed Dec. 5.
. . .
The letter, provided by the tribe, says: "To be clear, this means that no member of the general public, to include Dakota Access pipeline protesters, can be on these Corps lands."

It says anyone on land north of the river after Dec. 5 will be trespassing and may be prosecuted. It also says anyone who stays on the land does so at his or her own risk.

The letter, from Army Corps of Engineers Col. John Henderson, says the closure is necessary to protect the general public from violent confrontations between protesters and authorities and to protect demonstrators from illness, injury or death during North Dakota's harsh winter months. It also says that the area does not have necessary first responder services or facilities to protect people during the winter.

The violence and vandalism carried out by the Indian and enviro-activist demonstrators of the Dakota Access Pipeline have been a stark contrast to the the blustery, but ultimately nonviolent and property respecting protesters at the Malheur standoff, much the way the filthy Occupy Wall Street protesters contrasted with the Tea Party demonstrations, who left their protest sites cleaner than before they arrived.
They have already promised to defy the Corps. Pipeline Protesters Vow to Stay on Federal Land

Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters will not follow a government directive to leave the federal land where hundreds have camped for months, organizers said Saturday, despite state officials encouraging them to do so.

Standing Rock Sioux tribal leader Dave Archambault and other protest organizers confidently explained that they'll stay at the Oceti Sakowin camp and continue with nonviolent protests a day after Archambault received a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that said all federal lands north of the Cannonball River will be closed to public access Dec. 5 for "safety concerns."
. . .
Standing Rock tribal members believe the land in which the encampment is on is owned by the Sioux through a more than century-old treaty with the U.S. government.

"We are wardens of this land. This is our land and they can't remove us," said protester Isaac Weston, who is an Oglala Sioux member from South Dakota. "We have every right to be here to protect our land and to protect our water."

But being leftist protesters, they don't likely fear an armed ambush.

More facts about the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy: The Protests Over The Dakota Access Pipeline Explained

Army Corps Renegs on Access Pipeline Decision

Army reverses course on Dakota Access Pipeline… again

Is it January 20th yet? When it comes to the Dakota Access Pipeline and the protests and politics surrounding it, the new administration can’t come fast enough. After finally settling the matter in court, Energy Transfer Partners attempted to move forward with construction only to be continually thwarted by violent protesters who destroyed construction equipment, set fires blocked access to work sites. And now they are once again facing off with the government because the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) has reversed itself and said that work on the Missouri River crossing can’t proceed without additional “input” from the tribes. Are you kidding me? (NBC News)

The Army Corps of Engineers dealt a blow to the progress of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline on Monday, saying in a letter that more analysis and discussion with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe is needed before construction can take place under the Missouri River.
The company behind the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, needs an easement, or permission, from the Corps in order to drill under Lake Oahe — on the Missouri River — to finish the oil pipeline along its proposed route.
Energy Transfer Partners had been waiting on a decision from the Army Corps since September when they launched a review of a requested easement.

With all the studies which have been conducted, all of the court hearings and general drama which has already taken place, what could possibly have caused ACE to throw the train into reverse at this point? Army Corps Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy gave us a rather vague, feel-good sort of answer.

“The Army is mindful of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s repeated dispossessions, including those to support water-resources projects. This history compels great caution and respect in considering the concerns that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has raised regarding the proposed crossing of Lake Oahe north of its reservation.”

Can you imagine this statement with the Malheur ranchers in mind?

This is simply crazy. If there is even a chance that the government will bow to the demands of the protesters, what happens to the tens of millions of dollars that Energy Transfer Partners has already dumped into this endeavor? A pipeline with a huge gap in the middle of it isn’t much use to anyone. The company acted in good faith on the assurance from the government that the project had a green light to move forward. This is essentially a breach of contract on the part of the government and you can just smell the fingerprints of the White House and their “keep it in the ground” friends all over it.

When you reward violence, you get more violence. I hope that the next President will kick some sense into the radicals in the Federal bureaucracy.



Horrible, if true. But, perhaps not surprising for the Obama era.

140 Arrested in Access Pipeline Protest Violence

Dakota Access Pipeline Standoff Lapses Into Violence

A standoff between Dakota Access Pipeline protesters and law enforcement degenerated into violence Thursday when two protesters opened fire in separate incidents, wounding a “private individual” and narrowly missing a sheriff’s deputy, according to North Dakota officials.

A man was shot in the hand after being “run off the road by protestors,” according to state Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong, who noted that the victim also was armed. A protester was taken into custody, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

In this HuffPo post, protesters claim the man fired on was a pipeline company employee and an armed "instagator." Protesters also burned his vehicle.

In a separate incident, a woman was arrested after firing three shots that almost hit a deputy, Fong said. As darkness fell, more than 100 protesters had been arrested.

“We do believe there are people down there that are peaceful and prayerful but we’ve also known from the beginning that there are some bad actors,” Fong said, referring to the hundreds of Native Americans and activists who’ve camped in protest of the oil pipeline for months. “The last thing we want is for anybody to get hurt.”

The violence erupted Thursday morning, when law enforcement began removing Native Americans and environmental activists from a protest camp they built on private land.  The site, known as Cannonball Ranch, will be used by Energy Transfer Partners for its 1,172-mile pipeline. 

There is another camp on federal land, which the authorities seem to be in no hurry to clear.

Also today, arrest warrants were issued for two protesters who threatened journalists and trapped them in their car until police arrived:

Authorities say the Oct. 18 attack on the journalists involved protesters taking a reporter’s microphone, blocking a vehicle in which the journalists locked themselves, and shaking and hitting the vehicle. Law officers eventually rescued the journalists after they called 911.

That incident involved Phelim McAleer and Magdalena Segieda, creators of the documentary film FrackNation. They published video of the incident online last week. . .

Now imagine the Federal government's response if the Malheur protestors had behaved in a similar way.