Well, I may not have been able to get anyone on Facebook to take me up on my offer of a ride to Washington to join protesters opposing the Keystone XL-Pipeline, but Bill McKibben and Co. managed to convince 12,000 people to show up at the White House last Sunday! What an amazing turnout to turn President Obama's head toward the importance of killing this project and sending the message that he's really the pro-environment, clean-energy guy we thought we had elected.Thanks to my husband Jeff and my daughter Sylvia, I had company as we helped to form a human chain encircling the White House three-times over to let Obama know that if he wants his supporters from 2008 to put in the effort to get him reelected, he has got to do his part. President Obama apparently was out playing golf on what was a gorgeous day, but I think there were enough cameras, tweeters, bloggers and reporters in attendance to deliver him the message. (See my slideshow below). Last week, the president made it clear in remarks to the press, that he is seriously weighing the potential environmental damage against jobs that could be gained by his approval of the pipeline. So, what started out last summer as a longer-than-long shot chance to turn back big oil, is looking a little more now like a winnable battle. But that doesn't mean we should put our slingshots away. Goliath may be on his knees, but he's still out there. The day I was slated to picket the White House and risk arrest to block the Keystone XL Pipeline was instead the day I attended the funeral of an amazing woman, Elizabeth Bata, a Holocaust survivor who for 93 years stood tall for what she believed in. So after hunkering down for Hurricane Irene and then hosting my son Ben on his 21st birthday (down from his temporary gig in New Hampshire), I made my way to Washington to lend my voice to the outcry (see this post for the details on the issue). A few thousand protestors were in attendance in Lafayette Park on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend to support the people who were getting arrested for trespassing on the sidewalk bordering the White House. By and large, these were people who had, like me, gone door-to-door to get Obama elected in 2008. But after the president announced last Friday that he would abandon his recent efforts to toughen air-quality standards, these people were frustrated and angry. If Obama disappoints them yet again by approving this pipeline, they'll be sitting in droves --- not under Obama's nose on the sidewalk, but on the sidelines of his re-election campaign. Do I hear a movement afoot to draft Al Gore? (Renewable) Power to the People?And what if the pipeline took a turn and ran through the White House grounds, like this...?On the eve of my daughter Sylvia's graduation from college, I share with you a moment from her early literary education, which actually was optioned by America's Funniest Home Videos. Those of you who know her will recognize the spark, drive and stick-to-itiveness that still define her today. Love ya, Syl. |
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