PA's Dept. of Homeland Security Shared Oil-Shale Protester Info With Companies

Western Pennsylvania's shale oil deposits have lately attracted interest not only from companies who have been extracting some of that oil, but from locals who object to what they perceive as sharp dealing by the companies involved, favorable treatment by the state government, and environmental degradation as a result of the extraction. Some of the most visible of those protesters, it turns out, have been tracked (including "Web traffic") by Pennsylvania's own Homeland Security department, and that information about them has been shared not only within the department, but with the oil companies themselves. Homeland Security director James Powers defended the information shared with the oil companies as part of a triweekly bulletin, saying "We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale Formation natural gas stakeholders while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against those same companies."

Comments

Re:Oh, Good, my state is in the news again.

[timothy]

Yep -- PA right now (in Dauphin County at the moment) has been having a week of insane beauty -- this is what early fall would be in an ideal world. And I have enough friends and family here for it to be a nice temporary home at least. I also savor the thought that it was here, in Philly in particular, that great and momentous (if imperfect) things were set in motion, and that the U.S. emerged as a result.

Philly: Business / occupational tax (incl. the recently publicized semi-scandal of going after bloggers with miniscule incomes therefrom) is ridiculous. Yep, underfunding on some things, but plenty of money for certain boondoggles. I love certain things about Philly, but the sore points are worth amputating. It's also the only city I've ever been explicitly asked if I might want to purchase some crack.

I have some friends who specifically moved out of state because the taxes are so high and so various. PA likes to grab taxes and fees at various levels, too; never lived any other state with such a web of municipal, county, township, fire district, school district, water district, boll-weevil district picayune little fiefdoms. (Whether it's a good idea or not, I can sympathize with the argument that 400+ school districts is worth at least reconsidering.)

I share the thought that the Federal regs are where most of the problems lie; correct, the states don't get as much choice as they of right should have when it comes to being laboratories of liberty. Things as trivial as reducing the intensity of the insane war on some drugs as used by some people draw serious Federal recrimination. On the other hand, if PA reformed (I know this is a pipe dream from a well-stocked pipe) its tax system to be more like that of TN, TX, or WA, it would leap onto my short list of places to settle and live. (Which I say about a lot of places, it's true, but I have some, and growing, sentimental attachment to PA.)

And on the state liquor store front, there are actually several places with state liquor stores, incl. Virginia, and (surprisingly) "Live Free or DIE!" New Hampshire and (also no-sales tax, slightly libertarian-bent) Washington. Maryland, more of a nanny state in many ways than PA, does not. The rules vary about what can be bought where, though: In WA, at least, the *hard stuff* is restricted to the state stores, but wine and beer are in groceries.

Cheers,

Tim