Networks Ignore Pipeline Protesters in Texas

There are reckless protesters in Texas chaining themselves to trees, houses, and halting precious jobs, but you won’t hear about that on ABC, CBS, or NBC broadcast news programs.

Extending the Keystone pipeline, which Obama blocked earlier this year, has actually been embraced by people on both sides of the aisle. According to a news story titled “Democrats Joining the G.O.P. on Pipeline” in The New York Times published on April 20, 2012, Democrats in the House joined with Republicans to back this project because of the strong union support and the many jobs that it would generate.

The little than the networks have talked about the pipeline extension, known as Keystone XL, has been negative. On March 13, 2012, CBS lamented on both their morning and evening news shows about Obama’s low approval ratings. That day Charlie Rose and Bob Schieffer declared there is nothing the president can do about gas prices … yet they forgot to mention the president’s decision to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project overwhelmingly popular with the American public that may have impacted gas prices.

Lefty environmentalists continue to fight against the existing Keystone pipeline, often with hyperbolic rhetoric. James Hansen, alarmist NASA scientist, said that the pipeline would literally be the end of the world in a piece for Alternet, appropriately titled “Why the Tar Sands Pipeline Will Be Game Over for Our Planet.”  NPR has been an opponent as well, airing shows almost completely one-sided against Keystone.

In Texas, protesters have run an ongoing campaign to blockade and halt the pipeline construction. There is even an entire site, Tarsandsblockade.org, run by the activists dedicated to documenting these protests and pipeline shutdowns. The latest of these protests happened on Oct. 1 when activist Alejandro de la Torre was arrested for locking himself in front of oncoming Keystone XL equipment.

Tarsandsblockade.org called the continual harassment of the pipeline workers “environmental justice.” In a video posted on Oct. 1, de la Torre gave his reasons for protesting and blockading saying, “This is a highly dangerous pipeline.” Of course, de la Torre failed to mention exactly why he believed the pipeline to be dangerous.

The escapades outlined on this anti-pipeline site also detail how the protesters are continually putting themselves in harm’s way. “Lifelong Texan Mary Germanati has climbed atop the pole and is refusing to come down until the Keystone XL pipeline is stopped for good.”

“The pole is a free standing structure that’s safely supported by numerous life-line ropes to keep it upright. If TransCanada moves to sever these support ropes, like their machinery was doing yesterday to the timber scaffolding wall, it could seriously injure Germanati. Now that we are livestreaming our hope is that the eyes of the world will prevent them from recklessly endangering peaceful protesters,” they continued.

These protesters have no problem with putting workers in an compromising position of hurting someone or doing their job … but that’s the point.