What’s that smell? Keystone XL
http://blog.sfgate.com/mbrune/2011/10/12/keystone-xl/
... Keystone XL, after all, is a 1,700-mile pipeline that will do nothing for Americans except seize their land through eminent domain, expose them to catastrophic oil spills and toxic pollution, and make domestic gas more expensive — all so a foreign oil company, TransCanada, can ship its tar-sands oil overseas from our ports. It’s such a bad idea that, in Texas, the Sierra Club and the Tea Party actually allied to oppose it.
... The more Americans learn about Keystone XL and the big-money campaign behind it, the worse the whole thing smells. Whether or not to permit this travesty is still one of the most important decisions facing President Obama. It’s time for him to clear the air, kill this Koch brothers-backed pipeline, and let the State Department get back to issuing passports and visas. http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageNavigator/20111010_Nov6_TarSandsRallyRSVP.html
Koch Bros. Accused of Stonewalling Congress on Their Keystone XL Pipeline Interest
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/idUS336798587820110525... Representatives for billionaire brothers and oil magnates Charles and David Koch — major donors to GOP elections and influential conservative organizations — are evidently stonewalling the California Democrat about their possible financial interest in seeing the permit approved for TransCanada's proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline. ...
... "This pipeline and the legislation that supports it will enable the oil companies to charge American consumers more for their gasoline, while increasing carbon pollution and endangering precious water supplies," he continued. "We know who will lose. We also need to find out who will benefit." ...
... In February, the Los Angeles Times tallied up what kind of influence Koch might have on the House Energy and Commerce Committee via campaign contributions. Republicans, who gained a resounding majority in the lower chamber after the November midterm elections, started calling the shots at the House committee when the 112th Congress convened in January. L.A. Times reporters found that Koch donations to panel members outpaced even that of mega-energy companies such as Exxon Mobil. Records show that Koch and its employees gave $279,500 to 22 of the energy committee’s 31 Republicans and $32,000 to five Democrats. ...
... Is It All About the Money?
Koch Industries' representatives told Waxman's staff last week that their company has neither invested in Keystone XL nor taken a public stance on the pipeline project. But Waxman said they would not reveal if Koch would use the new pipeline to export oil from Canada, if the company has tar sands leases or if it has plans to produce oil from tar sands. "These are legitimate questions," Waxman pointed out. "Koch is a large political donor and a major backer of the tea party. Members and the public are entitled to know whether the company would be a prime beneficiary of this legislation." ...
... "There appears to be a significant discrepancy between the published reports that Koch Industries would be 'big winners' if the pipeline is approved and the statement of the Koch representatives that the pipeline has 'nothing to do' with Koch's businesses," Waxman and Rush wrote in their May 20 letter....
http://koch-industries-organized-crime.blogspot.com/2011/10/part-1-koch-company-declared.html
