New information on TransCanada's plans in relation to the rejected Keystone XL pipeline came out this week. According to TransCanada's press release, they are moving forward with just building an extension from Oklahoma to Texas in addition to saying they will submit for a new application for their (already rejected) Keystone XL pipeline that crosses our state.

Southern Extension

NPR's Guy Raz with All Things Considered features Nebraska landowners Randy Thompson and Suz Luebbe. This is a two-part series, we will post the link to the second part tomorrow.

Randy and Suz do a great job telling our story of fighting TransCanada and why we are doing everything we can to protect our land and water from this risky tarsands pipeline.

After sitting through the hearing for LB 1161, I am quite sure that Sen. Smith’s bill is unnecessary and harmful to Nebraskans and goes against the spirit and intent of laws passed during the Special Session.  Time after time at the hearing, when questioned on items of concern in his bill (and I use the term “his bill” lightly), Sen. Smith deferred to TransCanada representatives to answer for him.

The problem at hand is that TransCanada wants their “new” pipeline route (by the way, Gov. Heineman knows the new map but won’t tell Nebraskans) reviewed now,  and whatever TransCanada wants from our elected officials they get. TransCanada needs Nebraska’s stamp of approval ASAP so they can go to their shareholders, the press and future affected landowners and say “Nebraska is fine with this route, their elected officials and regulatory agencies support us, so we are moving forward with getting this pipe in the ground.”

Senator Janssen and Schilz are still pushing their voter suppression bill, LB 239. The bill not only will decrease the vote, it will cost taxpayers and local counties hundreds of thousands of dollars for a problem that doesn't even exist in our state. 

Senator Schilz has prioritized the voter ID bill which means it could come up for floor debate as early as Monday. You might also have seen Senator Janssen's misleading Facebook ads pushing his bill. It's time for us to make sure our state senators hear from us loud and clear that we need them to defend our right to vote. 

In case you missed the 20th Republican presidential debate, the Daily Show has a good wrapup. As the number of debates has increased, it seems the candidates' attachment to reality seem to have decreased. Here's your Roundup:

Editor's Note: This article written by Madeline Ostrander originally appeared online at YesMagazine.org. It is also the cover story for the 2012 Spring edition of YES! Magazine.

In modern life, a David versus Goliath conflict rarely ends as neatly as the story—especially when the Goliath is a $7 billion energy project backed by major oil-industry multinationals.

Our founding News Director Malinda Frevert is hittng the campaign trail. Malinda is joining CREDO's new project to elect more moderate and progressive candidates than what the "tea party wave" brought to Congress during the 2010 elections.

Her departure will leave a huge void on our team. Do you have the chops to fill her shoes?

The bills we're watching this week are all about implementing health care reform and pipeline oversight. To view the full schedule of bills that have hearings this week, check out the official schedule on the Unicameral's website.

If you're interested in what bills Bold is watching, our "Bill Roundup" covers lots more energy, accountability and healthy communities bills. You can go on the Bill Roundup page and get details on all the bills we are tracking, the ones below are for this week only.

First Lady Michelle Obama and first dog Bo surprised tourists visiting the White House yesterday. Michelle Obama told visitors she had a little extra time on her hands since President Obama is traveling across the country this week. Here’s your Roundup:

In a 24-hour period beginning at 11am CT yesterday, a coalition of over 40 organizations and businesses -- from CREDO Mobile to Bold Nebraska to Patagonia -- launched a 24 hour “signature bomb” with the goal of sending the Senate over 500,000 messages opposing Keystone XL and urging Senators to block any amendments that would reverse the President's pipeline rejection. The goal was surpassed with a total number reaching over 770,000.  Those signatures are being hand-delivered to Senator Reid and Senator McConnell today.

"Congressional Republicans might make sweetheart deals with Big Oil," said Jane Kleeb, Director of BOLD Nebraska and a leader of the movement against Keystone XL. "But folks in the Heartland and across America are focused on keeping this pipeline from risking Americans water supply, our climate, and our clean energy future."