Category Archives: News

Obama rejects Keystone XL

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This post will be updated as more news and and perspectives are released.

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected on Friday to announce he has rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ending a seven-years-long review that had become a flash point in the debate over his climate policies.

President Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he is seeking to build an ambitious legacy on climate change.

The expected decision comes ahead of a major United Nations summit meeting on climate change to be held in Paris in December, when Mr. Obama hopes to help broker a historic agreement committing the world’s nations to enacting new policies to counter global warming. While the rejection of the pipeline would be largely symbolic, Mr. Obama has sought to telegraph to other world leaders that the United States is serious about acting on climate change.

Press release from BOLD Nebraska.

Send a thank-you to the White House via BOLD Nebraska.

President Obama’s Statement.

Article from the Omaha World-Herald.

Article from the Lincoln Journal-Star.

Vox’s Brad Plumer on what this means going forward.

More next steps at 350.org

Watch a video thanks from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

 

Looking forward after TransCanada’s latest move on KXL

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From Jane Keeb of BOLD Nebraska:

TransCanada’s latest Hail Mary has many people scratching their heads.

For those of us on the ground, we see through their antics. Our formal press release is below, but I want to take this opportunity to peel back some of the curtain on TransCanada.

This is a LONG read! Before you dig in, make sure to RSVP to stand with landowners on Oct. 19th when they still go to court over eminent domain and the illegal routing process used by TransCanada.

Here is the bottom line: TransCanada cannot use eminent domain for at least 2 years because of a Nebraska law that makes it clear once you invoke eminent domain (which they did months ago) and then abandon eminent domain (which they did last week), you can not use those powers again for at least 2 years.

Read the full analysis.

Wind energy company says rules may force it to nix plans

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From the Lincoln Journal Star:

An attorney representing an energy company that has plans for a wind farm in Lancaster and Gage counties said proposed wind regulations being considered by both counties may prevent the company from building in either.

Meanwhile, at least two Lancaster County commissioners said they are concerned proposed wind energy regulations they are to consider later this month won’t do enough to protect landowners from being negatively affected by wind turbines.

But David Levy, a Lincoln attorney representing Volkswind USA, said those regulations go beyond protecting the safety and welfare of residents and will make it difficult, if not impossible, to develop wind turbines in Lancaster and Gage counties.

“Essentially, what they’re going to do is make Lancaster County and Gage County effectively off-limits for wind energy development,” he said.

Read the full story.

TransCanada abondons effort to use eminent domain

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From BOLD Nebraska:

TransCanada announced Sept. 29 that the company will pull out of the lawsuit filed by over 100 Nebraska landowners challenging their right to use eminent domain to seize land for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Facing mounting legal expenses and a likely loss in court, the company will instead go through the Public Service Commission (PSC) review process it had originally hoped to avoid.

The PSC process will take at least a year, and cannot move forward if and when President Obama rejects the federal permit for the pipeline.

“This is a major victory for Nebraska landowners who refused to back down in the face of bullying by a foreign oil company,” said Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska.

Read the full story from BOLD Nebraska.

Read related coverage in the Wall Street Journal.

Journal Star: Death penalty repeal appears to be on hold

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From the Lincoln Journal Star:

Nobody really doubted the death penalty referendum petition campaign would have enough signatures verified to hold up the Legislature’s repeal.

The campaign turned in nearly 167,000 signatures, when it needed 113,883, and a state-required cushion of slightly more than 125,000.

It’s not yet official, but the Secretary of State’s office said Friday it appears enough petition signatures have been certified and verified to stop the death penalty repeal from becoming law until a vote of the people in November 2016.

Chris Peterson, who co-managed the petition campaign along with Jessica Flanagain, a privately paid senior aide to Gov. Pete Ricketts, said they only were surprised at the speed with which county clerks and election commissioners were verifying signatures. They had until mid-October.

“I’m guessing that must mean the county reviews of the petitions haven’t encountered many hiccups. That’s a credit to the hard work of our circulators and our petition drive’s focus on compliance,” Peterson said.

The senator who brought the repeal bill to the Legislature — Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers — even said it was a forgone conclusion the signatures would be obtained. But he’s confident, he said, that the repeal (LB268) will take effect.

The election will not turn out the way the Ricketts family wanted, and what they financed, he said.

“I feel a deep, settled sense of serenity and peace about the whole thing,” he said. “I’ve never had the sense of confidence and serenity that I feel now.”

Read the full story.

Stand against the death penalty

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From Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

It won’t be official until the Secretary of State’s office confirms the signatures over the next 40 days, but it seems death penalty repeal will be on the November 2016 ballot. We are confident the more people learn about the death penalty the less likely they are to support it. Please stick with us through 2016 as we continue to spread the word about the realities of the death penalty.

Read the full statement from NADP.

 

Nebraskans for Peace reflect on atomic bombings anniversary

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From the Lincoln Journal Star:

For the sixth and final time, Noboko Tsukui joined in the lighting of the Lincoln lantern float.

“This has become something to live for,” she said as a crowd of 70 people gathered on the northeast shore of Holmes Lake Saturday evening.

It was the 32nd annual lantern float Nebraskans for Peace has held since a group of American peace workers, including one from Nebraskans for Peace, traveled to Japan in 1981 to discuss with the Japanese the dangers of the nuclear arms race.

From that assembly, the idea of the lantern float ceremony was carried across the globe to remember those who died in the U.S. atomic bombings of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. In traditional Japanese culture, lanterns are lit to guide the souls of the dead to rest.

Read the full story.

Jane Kleeb on Hillary and KXL

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Pipeline Fighter Jane Kleeb discusses Hillary Clinton’s climate proposals and the Keystone XL on MSNBC’s The Ed Show:

“On the one hand, we have Sec. Clinton saying she wants to be a climate champion and rolling out this renewable energy plan, and on the other hand, she says she’s ‘inclined to support Keystone XL’ — a pipeline that’s not only going to risk our land and water here in Nebraska, but is going to contribute to climate change 20 times worse than traditional oil. While I appreciate that she’s thinking about tomorrow, with solar panels, I need her thinking about today — about the risk on climate that tarsands brings to our country.”

Watch the full interview via BOLD Nebraska and YouTube.

Video: Jill Stein officially launches 2016 campaign

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From Democracy Now!:

In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Dr. Jill Stein officially launches her campaign as a Green Party candidate for the 2016 presidential race.

“I have a people-powered campaign,” Stein notes. “I am running with the only national party that does not take corporate funding.”

Stein, a physician and activist who first ran in 2012, outlines her platform. She joins the fray as the race for the Democratic Party nomination heats up. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has emerged as Hillary Clinton’s main rival for the party’s nomination, as his poll ratings have surged in recent weeks.

“Hillary is the Wal-Mart candidate. She has been a member of the Wal-Mart board. On jobs, on trade, on healthcare, on banks, on foreign policy, it is hard to find where we are similar.”

Watch the video.

Decline to Sign! Nebraskans for Public Safety gaining support

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From Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

Last week, we announced our membership in a new coalition to fight the referendum campaign called Nebraskans for Public Safety. Support for this new group continues to grow! Today, the ACLU of Nebraska announced that they secured $400,000 grantto fight the death penalty referendum. And in case you missed it, be sure to check out the ad that ran in the Omaha World Herald from murder victims family members disgusted with attempts to bring the death penalty back:

Death penalty die ad

The coalition includes victims family members, fiscal conservatives, and faith leaders who all know that the death penalty is broken beyond repair. The coalition launched their website this week. Check it out here to learn more and get signed up to volunteer with Nebraskans for Public Safety. Additionally, be sure to “like” their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter. We need to keep their numbers growing!

Many have asked what they can do about petition circulators. According to Amy Miller, NADP board member and Legal Director of ACLU Nebraska, if you spot a death penalty circulator doing something that concerns you, use the Nebraskans for Public Safety website to report fraud. THREE particularly important things to report if you see them: (1) Circulator not reading the object statement to each signer, (2) Circulator offering something of value to gain a signature, or (3) Unattended signatures left for people to sign with no circulator in charge. Remember: you have the right to film people in public. Film any circulator you find concerning, look for their identifying information and report fraud online at NE4PS website.

Thanks for your ongoing support. We can fight this referendum campaign together and show Nebraskans that repeal of the death penalty was the right step into history.