Maine Writer

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Sunday, February 07, 2016

Emminent domain and the Keystone Pipeline

A heated exchange about the concept of "emminent domain" caused the audience to engage in booing Donald Trump, at the Feb. 6th, Republican "political Punch and Judy show", in New Hampshire. Indeed, Donald Trump gets the "broken debate clock" award for his educational response to use of "emminent domain".
As a matter of fact, Donald Trump was right in his response - the use of emmient domain is important in advancing the greater good.

Emminent domain means compulsory purchase of property, typically for the purposes of development related to public use or municipal rennovations. Conceptually, Republicans are opposed to it, unless there's money to be made by the people who are in the path of the emminent domain. It's a hypocritical position. In fact, emminent domain is often an excellent way of improving the economy for everyone. Moreover, it's costly. Properties involved is purchased at fair market values and, frequently, taxes are raised to pay for the proposed projects. For example, President Eisenhower advanced "emminent domain" to promote the nation's important interstate highway system.  On August 2, 1956. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
Although Republicans respond to "emminent domain" like a cat recoils from water, the fact is, their support for approving the Keystone Pipeline system is reliant on the use of this compulsory purchase in mutiple states. In other words, Republicans despise "emminent domain" unless the end result means somebody gets rich as a result.
Keystone Pipeline Route
Imagine the "compulsory purchase" involved in building the Keystone Pipeline System!
Republicans support the Keystone Pipeline but, in fact, the system will never move forward without the use of emminent domain.
It doesn't take "rocket science" to figure out how emminent domain works to build the Keystone Pipeline System

The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010. It runs from theWestern Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma.

Three phases of the project are in operation. They are:
The Keystone Pipeline (Phase I), delivering oil from Hardisty, Alberta, over 3,456 kilometres (2,147 mi) to the junction at Steele City, Nebraska, and on to Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Illinois, and Patoka Oil Terminal Hub (tank farm) north of Patoka, Illinois, completed in June 2010. The Keystone-Cushing extension (Phase II), running 468 kilometres (291 mi) from Steele City to storage and distribution facilities (tank farm) at Cushing, Oklahoma, completed in February 2011. The Gulf Coast Extension (Phase III), running 784 kilometres (487 mi) from Cushing to refineries at Port Arthur, Texas was completed in January 2014, and a lateral pipeline to refineries at Houston, Texas and a terminal will be completed late 2015, going online a year later.

In other words, emminent domain is against the Republican way of doing things, unless, of course, they can figure out how to use public money to make fortunes.

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