Episode 23 – DAPL Protest Misinformation

Mark Geise Show – Mark Geise

In this episode, I discuss the Dakota Access Pipeline and the protests in my home state of North Dakota. I believe the facts of this issue have been distorted by the national reporting on the issue. Many people have professed their support for the protesters simply due to the fact that they see this as a battle between Big Oil and a small Native American tribe. However, we should not always assume that David is right and Goliath is wrong when David and Goliath battle. I believe this is one of those instances where Goliath has the better case. The Standing Rock tribe does not own the land that the pipeline is crossing, nor does it have evidence that this has a strong likelihood to negatively impact its water supply. We need to think about the implications of a policy that a project can be stopped simply because some people think that it could harm them at some point in the future. If people are harmed, then those that did the harming should be held fully responsible. But nothing would ever get done if we took this issue to its logical extreme.

Next, I discuss the New York Times’ minuscule $406,000 net profit in the third quarter, down from $9.4 million a year ago. I am happy to see the New York Times struggle due to the way it talks down to average people. Few writers better personify that elitism than columnist David Brooks, the token Republican on staff. In an interview on PBS, Brooks lamented that less educated whites are “going with their gene pool” by voting for Donald Trump with decisive percentages. I did not see Brooks lamenting the same thing when 93% of blacks voted for Barack Obama in 2012. Holding whites and blacks to different electoral standards will not drive more average people to the New York Times.

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mark-geise-show/Episode+23+-+DAPL+Protest+Misinformation.mp3

Suggested Reading/Referenced Articles:
“Obama: We’re examining options to ‘reroute’ ND pipeline” – The Hill
“Why a Previously Proposed Route for the Dakota Access Pipeline Was Rejected” – ABC
“DAPL Fact Sheet” – Dakota Access, LLC
“Checking the Facts Once Again” – Standing Rock Fact Checker
“On the Dakota Access Pipeline, let’s stick to the facts” – The Hill
“New York Times reports 95.7 percent fall in quarterly profit” – Daily Mail
“Shields and Brooks on rancor in the electorate and the future of the Supreme Court” – PBS
“How Groups Voted in 2012” – Roper Center for Public Opinion Research