Why Even Let Citizens Speak?

It is so sad that it all falls on, clearly willfully, deaf ears! I would hope that a thousand Debra Figueroas, and other concerned and impassioned residents, could make a difference in the decision making process regarding fracking, but I think the game is rigged (pun intended) against the common people. But, at least none of the commissioners can wash their hands in innocence, although they'd like to!

They can not say, like many German people in WWII did, when questioned about the concentration camps, "Wir haben es nicht gewusst", which means "We didn't know". Well, many surely had an uneasy feeling about it, but willfully pushed that thought away, willfully chose to stay ignorant, but that did not change the reality and the facts. Nor can the commissioners (and all others who ignore concerns and pleas of the people they are supposed to serve) claim they didn't know of the dangers and health risks of fracking! They have been informed over and over again, but it falls on willfully deaf ears! 

 I commend all the residents who go to these meetings to speak out, even if it has no immediate effect. All they will ever hear is an insincere "Thank you very much", and then get to witness the authoritarian, unanimous vote against what they seek. There's nothing democratic about unanimity! 

But, the more elected officials get confronted with concerns, the harder it will prove for their conscience to ignore those, that is...if they have a conscience. After all, is it not unconscionable to allow oil and gas pads near home and schools?


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Watch Debra Figueroa address Adams County commissioners about a fracking moratorium:

Click on the video below and go to 5:41:30

"Your real investment are your children. If you do not have an educated, healthy society, you can't have the other things. So you can't have economic development if your people are sick and stupid."

"I have been listening to it all, but it is greed what I hear. We talk about, "Let's demand real science! Where is it? We have it, but you don't want to listen to it!"

Hear Phil Doe speak at 5:52:00

"If you look at the bill of rights, it says all government is derived from the people, is instituted wholly for the good of all."

Sadly, the reality is this, and it plays out over and over again to the frustration of all who come before boards or councils to 'petition', or share their grievances.

“[N]othing in the First Amendment or in this Court’s case law interpreting it suggests that the rights to speak, associate, and petition require government policymakers to listen or respond to individuals’ communications on public issues."

         See: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/petition-overview

Their Story is Your Story

"Their story is your story; even if you don't realize it yet"  

Compelling words for a compelling situation; namely that of the infiltration of Oil and Gas drilling by means of fracturing (fracking) within communities, close to your own backyards, and in some cases even in it against your wishes if you own the land but not the mineral rights! How fair is that?

Says farmer Rod Brueske in the trailer: "Our democracy is contaminated."

Watch, and read about the "Dear Governor Hickenlooper" campaign, started by residents in Patagonia, Colorado, and help raise awareness for their film project! 

"Does our system of self-government allow Americans to protect themselves from an industrial threat when the state and federal governments will not? Our short (12-15 minute) film explores this question through the lens of Longmont, Colorado. We are making the film to help a nonpartisan political campaign called “Dear Governor Hickenlooper.” 

The campaign, launching in May 2014, is designed to pressure Colorado's governor to restrict or ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of gas wells across Colorado. The question we’re considering—whether Americans can control their destiny at home—cuts across political, economic, social and ethnic boundaries. 

In 2012 citizens of the small city of Longmont voted to ban tracking inside city limits. The state of Colorado, asserting that Longmont had overstepped its authority, sued the city to overturn the fracking ban. If the state wins, then fracking will continue to expand rapidly across Colorado and America. If the city wins, communities will have a potent legal tool with which to draw a “keep out” sign for industry.  

Since the lawsuit was filed, several other Colorado communities voted to ban fracking, temporarily or permanently, in November 2013. These citizens, believing the government has let them down, are taking matters into their own hands to protect their air, water and health. The Longmont tracking ban vote precipitated a showdown with oil and gas interests—a legal battle years in the making. Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission v. City of Longmont is a legal test case. 

It will determine whether citizens can use the Constitution to defend themselves against industrial practices they believe to be dangerous to them, their children, and their land. It reaches beyond Colorado and beyond fracking to Americans’ deepest sense of self-determination. Our intent is to produce a short film that does the same thing."

 Source: The Powers Not Delegated