TransCanada prepares to hand Barack Obama a bill for $15B

From Hotair:

I’m sure our regular readers remember when Barack Obama went with his conscience (as opposed to boring old things like science) and shut down construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. At the time he claimed that it didn’t meet the test of combating climate change, though in reality he was running from a massive revolt on his Left flank if he’d approved it. But it took a long time to “get to No.” There was one review after another, coming from the EPA, the State Department, the Department of the Interior and the Federation of Urban Dog Walkers. (Okay… I may have made up that last one.)

During all of that time, TransCanada (the company working to complete the project) was running up some significant bills doing preparatory work, filing reports, paying for armies of lawyers and engineering talent… this was not a low cost, low risk endeavor. And all the while they were being assured that the plan would get a fair hearing and held obvious benefits for both the United States and Canada. Then the plug was unceremoniously pulled.

With all of that history as prologue, it may not be surprising that they would now like some of the money which was invested in good faith returned to them, and they’d like Barack Obama to sign the check. (Reuters)

TransCanada Corp is formally requesting arbitration over U.S. President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, seeking $15 billion in damages, the company said in legal papers dated Friday.

TransCanada submitted a notice for an arbitration claim in January and had then tried to negotiate with the U.S. government to “reach an amicable settlement,” the company said in files posted on the pipeline’s website.

“Unfortunately, the parties were unable to settle the dispute.”

TransCanada said it then filed its formal arbitration request under North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) provisions, seeking to recover what it says are costs and damages.

Yet another bill he's leaving behind AFTER he leaves office.

Mother Jones asks why ‘tank cars carrying oil keep blowing up’; Citizens point out the obvious

From Mother Jones:

Early on the morning of July 6, 2013, a runaway freight train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, setting off a series of massive explosions and inundating the town in flaming oil. The inferno destroyed the downtown area; 47 people died.

The 72-car train had been carrying nearly 2 million gallons of crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken fields. While the recent surge in domestic oil production has raised concerns about fracking, less attention has been paid to the billions of gallons of petroleum crisscrossing the country in "virtual pipelines" running through neighbor­hoods and alongside waterways. Most of this oil is being shipped in what's been called "the Ford Pinto of rail cars"—a tank car whose safety flaws have been known for more than two decades.

As many people have pointed out on Twitter via Twichy:

@MotherJones Because rail accidents happen frequently and "progressive" idiots won't let us build a pipeline to preserve Warren Buffett's $$
— crosspatch (@VictorB123) June 1, 2014

Because there's no fucking pipeline geniuses RT @MotherJones: Why do these tank cars carrying oil keep blowing up? pic.twitter.com/JTfwCRwGLM
— S.M (@redsteeze) June 1, 2014

@redsteeze @MotherJones If the Kochs owned these shitty trains instead of Warren Buffett, Harry Reid would have a torch mob gathered
— Poo Picker (@poo_picker) June 1, 2014

@GPollowitz @instapundit @MotherJones Because the administration won't approve KeystoneXL?
— ramechtly (@ramechtly) June 1, 2014

Liberals are REALLY that STUPID>

Obama passes on Keystone Decision once again, Democrats left scrambling.

From Breitbart's Big Government:

Once again President Obama has bowed to his environmentalist supporters and passed on making a decision for or against the Keystone XL Pipeline. But the President's refusal to make a decision has left several Democrats running for re-election stammering to explain to constituents why thousands of new jobs are still in limbo.

By constantly putting off any final decision these many years Obama has placated his extreme environmental activist donor base. However, in February the President said he'd have a decision "one way or another" in "a couple of months." Yet even as it is closing in on two months later, Obama is still refusing to make that final decision.

But by not approving the pipeline, thousands of jobs and millions in economic benefits have also been put in limbo and this loss of income and jobs is not sitting well with many.

Recently a large construction union warned Democrats that they would be targeted for defeat in the upcoming midterm elections due to this failure to approve the project.

Additionally, now that the President has again put off a final decision, several Democrats are finding that this inaction is coming back to haunt their election campaigns.

So the Dear Leader passes on yet ANOTHER HARD decision

Does this really surprise anyone?

The Week in Pictures -- The Royal Baby Edition

From the guys at Powerline Blog: