By Earl Hatley

I was [s]orry I could not be in Cushing [on Thursday] as I had planned…

I don’t hate our President. In fact I defended him by chastising the fact that our Governor and other elected officials choose not to meet his plane. Last time Air Force 1 landed a tinker was for Kennedy and Nixon if my memory serves well. I think our officials met those arrivals. I am Chair of the Craig County Democrats, I will fight for Obama’s second term without hesitation.

That said, the pipeline project being debated is bad for our country and does not serve the Nation’s best interest. I have written extensively why this is on more posts than I can remember, so I won’t do that now unless you want me too.

Thing is, I stand for the First Nations in Canada who’s traditional lands are being destroyed to dig up the sand layer below. A precious boreal forest, the Amazon of the northern hemisphere, is being destroyed, people are dying from cancer and other diseases they never had there before and don’t exist other communities, or at the same rate of population. Several tribes in the lower 48 are also formally against it, and are being ignored by TransCanada.

Three tribes along the route here in Oklahoma have resolutions against this pipeline and all say they stand with their relatives in Canada who are suffering so much. As a member of Cherokee Nation I would think you could understand why I am doing all I can to stop the destruction by stopping the pipeline that will enable BP, Shell, Exxon/Mobile and more who are digging up the forests, and shipping shipping the tar to their own refineries in Houston. Much of the oil will either be sold directly to China (their largest customer) or will be exported as products.

The US is a net exporter of oil products, contrary to what we are told on the news. We export more oil products, amountiing to more oil than we import. Is it worth crimes in Canada, in order to have a pipeline here, to sell products elsewhere? Do you support taking the tops off of mountains in southeast, Alabama to Virginia?? Tars sands extraction is even worse. Making more people sick.

So, I like Obama and support him, I just disagree with the pipeline. By the way, I don’t hate anyone, nor do the people I organize with. They are also Obama supporters against the pipeline. No one hates him except the Tea Party crowed, who , unlike us were allowed to line the sidewalks of the motocade . Democrats who support Obama but not the pipeline and the Indian peoples that came there to speak were put in a park in a cage 6 miles away from our President. By doing this, you, he, whomever, saw hate from the Republican Tea Party not from our people, Most of whom are on my Facebook for you to read. You won’t find hatred here, you find frustration, determination and organization.

Earl Hatley, M.A. is a tribal consultant, Grand Riverkeeper and President of Local Environmental Action Demanded.  He resides at Vinita, Oklahoma.

Note:  No part of this was written by Fannie Bates.  If you see the name Fannie Bates anywhere on this article, it is a clerical error.

To learn more about Earl Hatley:  http://www.leadagency.org/EHBio.pdf