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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."
Oh, I'm sure that local Republicans would do the same thing if they were in the democrat's shoes here. Follow the money.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Cop walking the beat sees series of poorly xeroxed flyers affixed to several utility poles in neighborhood:
Vandalize Joe's Deli for being a capitalist pigdog! Contact Karl for organizing information.
Does the local police department be proactive, investigating Karl and reporting this issue to Joe, a private businessman?
Or does it wait for Joe to find his window busted?
Now what if the sign were just as poorly xeroxed, Karl just as big of a troublemaker, but the sign said "Protest" instead of "Vandalize"?
Where do you draw the line? It's a hard question to answer in a free society that also demands security, and given how much expensive and dangerous toys mining companies have in their possession, and how certain environmental "activists" and "protesters" like to carry tire irons and bold cutters in their arsenal of free speech, where do you draw the line now?
Just something to thing about before accusing your fellow Americans of being fascists and capitalist pigdogs.
I can't think of any other contexts where you might constantly hear that kind of claim uttered.
Take a look at /r/politics on reddit.com.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Curious -- what's the ranking system, and which are the four "winners" on that scale? I don't know enough to say that PA's #45 on my list of states in which to live (been there, done that, visiting's fine, thanks), but it's sure not in the top 10 right now :)
(Are you familiar with Harrisburg's incinerator debt? It's pretty astounding, when you divide by taxpayers ... )
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
That's why the Bill of Rights was written. That's why the weakening of the Tenth Amendment was treasonous behavior. That's why Franklin D. Roosevelt was a traitor to the American people. Government is not the solution to the problem, it is not part of the problem, it is the problem itself.
Oppose it.
He does nothing of the kind. Smith was an early proponent of free markets, whose ideas have been expanded upon and improved by later free-market economists like Mises, Rothbard, Hayek, and Friedman.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."