Welcome to The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc.
My name is Susan DuQuesnay Bankston. I live in Richmond, Texas, in the heart of Tom DeLay's old district. It's nuttier than squirrel poop here.
I am honored and privileged to know Miss Juanita Jean Herownself, hairdresser extraordinary and political maven. Since she does not have time to fiddle with this internet stuff, I type her website for her and you can read it if you want to. If you don't, she truly does not give a big bear's butt.
A lot of what I post here has to do with local politics, but you probably have the same folks in your local government.
This ain't a blog. Blogs are way too trendy for me. This is a professional political organization.
In January the Dems who voted to help their colleague, the late Mary Landrieu, won’t be voting for Mitch McConnell. The next try is not a lock either.
1It might not pass in January — if the Democrats learn to use the filibuster like the Republicans have been doing for years now.
2And that Kenyan, Marxist, Communist, Muslim, Socialist Usurper will veto it then.
3Oh Ted, what a lovely thought that the Dems would suddenly grow a spine. But really, we all know that isn’t going to happen.
On a bright side, the pipeline is slated to run through a number of Native American nation lands, and they have refused permission. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. Perhaps they will be bought off (and good for them for getting some major money if that happens).
We want the native’s land. And I don’t know where else we can move them to steal it. A modern Trail of Tears won’t play so well in the internet, YouTube, Twitter age.
4@Mark J: re: buying off Native Americans so as to run the Teahadists’ holy pipeline through their lands:
5Wonder what the GOPs are willing to pay for a soul these days?
@Lynne +1
6We get nothing from that pipeline, except the bills to clean up the toxic spills. Let the Koch brothers move to Canada and filter that crap through their own kidneys, then fly it to China in their own bladders on their own private jet.
7As I understand it, the Native Americans HAVE been offered some big bucks to lay that pipeline across their sacred land and their aquifers and they have said ABSOLUTELY NOT!! They have vowed to fight to the death if necessary to keep that black snake off the land!!
I’m glad it has failed but you know the Repukes will keep trying … they just make me sick!!
8Some of these DINOs have already lost. Time to primary the rest of them, if they don’t respond to letters and e-mails explaining they need to get their sorry selves behind President Obama on the hot mess.
Begich (D-AK)
9Bennet (D-CO)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Hagan (D-NC)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Pryor (D-AR)
Tester (D-MT)
Walsh (D-MT)
Warner (D-VA)
@Micr & @Marcia, I know that the Native tribes have been offered major bucks to allow the pipeline to cross their land, and they have so far refused.
I also know that if history is any guide, conservatives aren’t going to let a little thing like Tribal sovereignty get in the way of white people making lots and lots of money. We’ll just use eminent domain to take the land for pennies on the dollar if we must.
So I hope, when the inevitable happens, the tribes at least get a very good slice of the tar sands pipeline pie.
10PKM, clearly you envision a Koch bladder as much larger that do I. But Rock on!
11Micr, those old boys claim to like growth and expansion. Let’s test them.
For those wanting to contact the DINOs: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Next DINO that contacts me begging for $$ will be told, “sorry, gave to the Lakota and Sioux to fight KeystoneXL.”
12Yeah, what PKM said!!
13A cartoon by David Horsey has McConnell holding up a sign that says “Majority Leader” and smirking, “Look what’s going on MY desk!” Obama in response holds up a VETO stamp and says, “And look what’s coming out of my drawer.”
No doubt the GOP will squall that Obama is vetoing more than any president ever, though he’s used it less than any president since… was it Andrew Jackson? Pierce? somebody about that long ago. But the GOP never let facts get in their way, as witness the magic number of jobs the Keystone pipeline is claimed to provide, and how it will magically lower gas prices rather than raise them, as it will.
More cartoons by Horsey, highly recommended:
14https://twitter.com/davidhorsey
If it does pass it can still be vetoed. I would hope that President Obama would not only veto it, but explain very clearly why: the fact that it creates few new jobs, most of them Canadian, and that the oil going through the pipeline is destined to be processed and exported. Obama should demand that any bill to approve Keystone has environmental and middle class job amendments.
15Rhea, thanks for sharing Horsey with us. I’ve seen his before but never really thought about the cartoonist.
And re: the Keystone and any other tar sands pipeline, they are going to greatly reduce the available potable water in Texas. We must get a bunch of folks who actually care about survival and not just the size of their bank accounts together and go through water issues with a fine tooth comb. San Antonio reuses 40% of their water. Austin reuses 5% of our water. And re: Canada and Kochs, lots of their business already exists in Canada. Hmm. Maybe we could get Cruz to go back there and manage the Kbros’ businesses. On the other hand, at least when he’s in Texas we occasionally have an idea what he’s up to.
16Best comment I’ve read on this vote:
There were more votes in favor of Keystone than the number of jobs it will create.
17Why don’t the freakin’ Canadians go through their own country to run the dratted pipeline?????
18“We had to destroy Bēn Tre I order to save Bēn Tre”
19Democratic leadership tried to pass Keystone to protect Landrieu’s job and Dem Senate viability. The NSA shreds the Bill of Rights to defend America, forgetting that the real key to America is not just the people but the ideals embodied in the Constitution. The Administration hands the managment of the financial crisis over to Goldman Sachs and turns the effort for low cost universal health care over to the insurance companies. We have privatized the War Industry and now bomb for profit. And this was the black, son of a single parent, “community organizer.” Just wait ’til the next round, it’ll be even worse. As highly as I think of Elizabeth Warren, her co-opting has already begun with her pre-election campaigning for political hacks who share not one iota of her philosophy and convictions. Campaigning for people you know suck is the first step. Me, I’m not taking that step anymore. Give me candidates I can proudly campaign for or look elsewhere for support. (Of course, they have already looked elsewhere and the deep pockets with deep agendas have generously responded)
PKM, of the names on that list who already got the boot, how many do you think will be working in fossil fuels come February? I’ve got 80%.
20Just asking- who could you unconditionally support in 2016? Who reflects your most deeply held beliefs and hopes for our country? Not who could win, but about whom you can unreservedly say, ” I support them and believe in them”
21Bernie Sanders and Senator Warren are the only two I can think of. Alan Grayson has said the right hinge but I don’t know enough about him other than that he’s abrasive.
Right things.
22SomedayGirl, make that number 100% of out going Senators will land cushy jobs related to their “service” in the Senate. Albeit, not all will be tied directly to fossil fuels, but will be lobbying or financial or from the sectors to which they have the biggest bridges. Only wager in their is if any will beat Eric Cantor’s speed record for how soon that happens.
23I read something yesterday that I found interesting. Apparently TransCanada is trying to get the go ahead from the Canadian government to build a pipeline from the Alberta tar sands east to St. John, New Brunswick. The pipeline would be less than 200 miles to tie in with an existing pipeline, which would then transport it to St.John, where there are already refineries. So TransCanada may decide not to build Keystone.
What I want to know is why didn’t TransCanada do this in the first place?
24Wa Skeptic, TransCanada tried to get a pipeline across Canada to the west coast, but British Columbia gave that a Hell No.
I don’t know why TransCanada didn’t then aim at New Brunswick but I assume it’s because the gulf coast is cheaper and closer to China, which is where they’re planning to sell a lot of dirty oil. Of course since the Arctic sea ice is melting, it may soon be cheaper to ship oil to the Pacific that way.
25Obama’s personal lawyers law firm represents Trans-Canada in Alaska’s KXL. Sioux tribes in South Dakota have forced KXL to go around tribal land and still vow to stop it even if it means war.
http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/07/16/keystone-xl-scandal-obama-bauer-dunn-perkins-transcanada
26Obama’s personal lawyers law firm represents Trans-Canada in Alaska’s KXL. Sioux tribes in South Dakota have forced KXL to go around tribal land and still vow to stop it even if it means war.
http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/07/16/keystone-xl-scandal-obama-bauer-dunn-perkins-transcanad
http://madvilletimes.com/2014/11/rosebud-sioux-say-congress-declaring-war-on-tribes-with-keystone-xl-vote/
27From what I’ve read, if it does get passed next year it might not get built anyway. You can give them the authority to build it but you can’t make them do it. If oil prices remain low it might not be economically feasible. The price of the project keeps multiplying and the demand for the product is dropping. All the refineries on the gulf coast already have all the oil they need and don’t need more.
28http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/19/why-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-probably-won-t-be-built.html
PKM, the Lakota ARE Sioux. KXL is banned from tribal lands on the Rosebud Rez, poorest county in the US.
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