Progressive Democratic Workers for America: 11/18/14

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Keystone XL Violates Sioux National Border

When Congress voted to approve the Keystone Pipeline they committed an act of war against the Great Sioux Nation. Apparently they completely forgot to check with the Sioux who live on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, who in February adopted tribal resolutions opposing the Keystone XL project. Or maybe Congress didn't forget but rather chose to ignore them.

Of course the U.S. government has hardly ever taken Native American concerns seriously, so it would be a surprise if that happened now, but Rosebud Sioux (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) Tribal President Scott said his nation has yet to be properly consulted on the project, which would cross through tribal land. Concerns brought to the Department of Interior and to the Department of State have yet to be addressed, he said in a statement.

http://summitcountyvoice.com/...

Congress apparently also neglected to consider possible legal issues like, I don't know, maybe a treaty or two.

The proposed route of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline crosses directly through Great Sioux Nation (Oceti Sakowin) Treaty lands as defined by both the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties and within the current exterior boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

Tribal president Scott articulated the position of his people quite clearly.

“The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren,” Scott said. “We are outraged at the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people,” he said

Oh, snap!

But wait! The borders of a sovereign nation have never really been an impediment to the ambitions of oil companies and their bought and paid for U.S. government representatives. Until, perhaps, now. This seems like a problem that won't be going away anytime soon. It gives President Obama all the more moral and legal authority to veto the project if and when it is approved by both houses. And if there happen to be enough turncoat Democrats to override a veto then surely the issue will be taken up in court, probably all the way to the SCOTUS, where it would be hard to imagine Roberts wanting to soil his legacy any further by breaking a treaty with a sovereign nation. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.

I end this diary with the words of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate Tribal President Scott of the Great Sioux Nation.

“The Lakota people have always been stewards of this land. We feel it is imperative that we provide safe and responsible alternative energy resources not only to tribal members but to non-tribal members as well. We need to stop focusing and investing in risky fossil fuel projects like TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. We need to start remembering that the earth is our mother and stop polluting her and start taking steps to preserve the land, water, and our grandchildren’s future.”

Pass the USA Freedom Act

The USA Freedom Act: What's to Come and

What You Need to Know

Update, Nov 18: The USA Freedom Act does not renew the entirety of the Patriot Act, which consisted of over 100 sections changing numerous electronic surveillance laws. The USA Freedom Act does extend three provisions of the Patriot Act: the "lone wolf" provision, the "roving wire tap" provision, and a reformed Section 215.

The USA Freedom Act, the leading contender for NSA reform, is set for a vote this week. The bill has some problems, but is a major step forward for surveillance reform. That's why we're asking you to call your Senator and urge them to support the USA Freedom Act. Here's a rundown of what's to come, what you need to know, and what may happen this week:

What is the USA Freedom Act and How Did

we Get Here?

The USA Freedom Act is a bill that was first proposedlast year by Senator Patrick Leahy and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner. The original version of the bill limited the NSA's call records collection program, introduced aspecial advocate into the secretive court overseeing the spying, mandated much needed transparency requirements, and included significant reform of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act (FISAA), the law used to collect Americans’ communications in bulk.

It took several months, but the original version of the bill was finally taken up by the House of Representatives in May. Unfortunately, prior to a vote on the original bill in May, the House made significant, last-minute changes that watered down the bill’s privacy protections. Nevertheless, the House passed a new—weaker—“USA Freedom Act” against the protests of privacy advocates. In response, Senator Leahy vowed to move a stronger bill forward that provided meaningful surveillance reform.

What resulted is the current version of the USA Freedom Act, which was released in July of this year. The current version does many of the same things as the original bill except it doesn't offer significant reform of Section 702 of FISAA. The current version is the bill up for debate this week.

Where We're Going

The Senate will hold two major votes this week. On Tuesday night, it will vote whether or not to move forward to debate the USA Freedom Act. Senator Leahy needs 60 Senators to vote in favor of moving forward. After obtaining the 60 votes, the Senate will then begin to debate the bill and any amendments. After the debate, it will probably hold another vote on Wednesday or Thursday on the final bill text, but could also wait until the first week of December. Stay tuned.

There is a very real possibility that the Senate—just like the House—may try to weaken the bill. That's why when you call your Senator it's important to stress that Senators support the USA Freedom Act and oppose any amendments that would weaken the bill.

What You Can Do

Help us get to 60 votes by calling your Senator now. This is the most important step since the Senate must obtain 60 votes before it will begin to debate the USA Freedom Act. During the debate, we urge Senators to offer amendments that strengthen the bill. These amendments would:

Ensure the illegal "backdoor" search of Americans' communications ends;
Grant additional power to the "special advocate" in the secret FISA court;
Shorten the FISA Amendments Act sunset to 2015;
Enhance the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board powers;
Provide Americans a clear path to assert legal standing to sue the government for privacy abuses;
Ban the NSA from undermining commonly used encryption standards; and,
Fix the National Security Letter statute.

After the debate, a final vote on the final text will probably occur Wednesday or Thursday.

Time to Pass NSA Surveillance Reform

The first hurdle to overcome this week is the Tuesday vote. Once the Senate comes up with 60 votes, there may be a whirlwind of amendments altering the bill on Wednesday or Thursday. Stay tuned to our twitter account and home page for any analysis or statements on the amendments. A final vote on the bill will most likely occur Wednesday night or Thursday. And as we said last week when Senate Majority Leader Reid moved the USA Freedom Act forward: We urge the Senate to pass the bill without any amendments that will weaken it.

Privacy

NSA Spying

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The USA Freedom Act: What's to Come and What You Need to Know
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