Comments

  2. slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says

    Bravo!
    Caine walks the walk while I can only talk the talk.
    I ask Caine to be my proxy.
    Thank you.

  6. anbheal says

    And organize! Canvass, phone bank, cut the turf, work the doors, put up signage, pass out lit. Talk to every Latino you know, and if they can vote, get them an absentee ballot, in case they’re afraid to show up in person. Vote as early as your state allows, vote by mail, don’t wait until election day (a few races were lost in Iowa and Minnesota a couple of cycles back when a huge blizzard hit on election day). This is particularly true for the most disadvantaged among us, where a sick kid, a broken down car, a double-shift, etc., might keep them away from the polls.

    Stuff like the Bakken happens for a reason, and that reason is The Tea Party taking over state house after state house. In Iowa their governor, Terry Branstad, the guy who founded ALEC, declared eminent domain over several counties and landowners who wouldn’t accept the pipeline, and turned private property of Iowans over to his buddies in Dallas so they could make a huge profit. Eminent domain is supposed to be for public gain, not private gain for out-of-staters. It’s a travesty. But it’s a preventable travesty. Vote Democrat, up and down the ticket. Down-ballot races are just as important. Hit the pavement for some county and district candidates as well.

    Protests only go so far (and thanks Caine, by the way, you’ve probably got some heavy shit coming your way soon) — the only way to stop these things from happening in the first place is to stop focusing so much on national elections and instead focus on local elections, which is what ALEC has done so successfully for nearly 40 years, turning so many districts deep red. We’ve gotta claw our way back at the ballot box, and that means organize organize organize.

  7. rietpluim says

    If it wasn’t for Caine, many of wouldn’t even know about the pipeline. At least I wouldn’t, because our newspapers do not spend a single sentence on it. And this has been going on since April.

  9. says

    Hi, and thank you all! So far, in order:

    Camp.

    Standing Rock: First Camp Photos!

    Standing Rock: Camp Story.

    Standing Rock: Camp Story, Part 2.

    Standing Rock: Camp Story, Part 3.

    Camp Story, Parts 4 and 5 will be up in the morning. (Still working on 5, and I’ve been at this since 10 a.m.) Yes, the Nat Guard has been called out, ostensibly to assist with traffic on 1806, Standing Rock media statement is linked on Affinity. The whole thing is fishier than a tank full of zebra fish. Pretty much no one is traveling 1806 to the camps, ever since the cops plonked down the concrete barricades in August. We certainly didn’t, like everyone else, including people from other states, we took backroads to 21, then onto 6, straight into the No DAPL camp. Our governor is is glued down in oil’s pocket, and massively invested too, so this isn’t a surprise, but it’s a cowardly and despicable move.

    I will keep updating, but we won’t be back at the camps until sometime Saturday morning, most likely. We are obligated to meet a friend at Wacipi in Bismarck tomorrow, and we will do that, then it’s back home to Almont to take care of critters, pack up, and head out Saturday. I will be able to update from the camp, once we get settled back in.

    Everyone who can, come to the camps! We are not moving, we are not giving up. We stand strong, we stand with all tiospaye, extended family. We are all related. Join us.

  10. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    The US Government has stepped in to stop the pipeline project.

    The U.S. government moved on Friday to halt a controversial oil pipeline project in North Dakota that has angered Native Americans, blocking construction on federal land and asking the company behind the project to suspend work nearby.
    The move came shortly after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington rejected a request from Native Americans for a court order to block the project. The government’s action reflected the success of growing protests over the planned pipeline that have drawn international support and sparked a renewal of Native American activism.
    “This case has highlighted the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects,” the U.S. Departments of Justice, Army and Interior said in a joint statement released minutes after Boasberg made his ruling.
    Opposition to the pipeline has drawn support from 200 Native American tribes, along with celebrities and activists from across the globe.
    The Standing Rock Sioux, whose tribal lands are a half-mile south of the proposed route, say the pipeline would desecrate sacred burial and prayer sites, and could leak oil into the Missouri and Cannon Ball rivers, on which the tribe relies for water.

    About time.