State Senator Jim Smith, representing district 14 (Papillion/Sarpy County), just loves TransCanada. Smith stands with TransCanada not with Nebraskans who have valid safety concerns.   It is time for Smith to join his fellow bi-partisan state senators and ask Sec. Clinton for more time before deciding to grant or deny a permit to TransCanada.  It is […]

Update, June 4: AP is reporting the government has allowed TransCanada to restart pipeline under tight restrictions. We are waiting to see the memo from DOT to confirm. Original post from June 3: We just heard that the US Department of Transportation has shut down TransCanada’s first pipeline called Keystone I because of the risks and […]

State Senator Kate Sullivan is one of three brave elected officials who introduced common sense legislation that would provide safety regulations around oil pipelines.  Currently, Nebraska has NO state agency to regulate oil pipelines; no safety regulations in place; nothing to say where a pipeline can and cannot be placed; nothing to protect landowners from […]

We all hated when our little brothers or sisters would copy everything we did growing up. You know, when you started wearing the “Frankie Says” shirt, they had to go get one.  Well, turns out a few of our State Senators never grew out of their copy catting days. These copy catting state senators represent […]

Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont introduced a bill — and promised to make it his “priority bill” — that would cost our state millions, decrease voting and “answers” a problem that does not even exist. The so-called “voter-ID law” is widely seen as a voting suppression tactic and is often criticized on numerous levels.  Janssen’s […]

The Republican-led House of Representatives just voted to defund the health care law and to defund women’s health centers.  I am unclear why they did either of these votes since President Obama will surley veto them both (assuming GOP could muster the votes in the Senate which is just not going to happen).   Remember […]

The Nebraska Sierra Club, Bold Nebraska and the Nebraska Wildlife Federation today call attention to the fact that TransCanada’s ever-changing figures show that building the Keystone XL Pipeline would result in few jobs for Nebraskans and increased gas prices, which could range from 7 to 15 cents a gallon in the Midwest. “We are concerned […]

The Senate 2012 race in Nebraska has already begun and the only declared candidate so far on the GOP side is “Wrong Way” Jon Bruning. Repealing the health care law and using all the right-wing rhetoric of “Obamacare” is the main page in Bruning’s predictable playbook right now.  It is a short-sighted strategy because just […]

Investigative reporter Vince Wade gives an overview of the TransCanada pipeline and the link to China.  Landowners and advocates have been worried about this link for months, and Vince captures the concerns.  He also explores the concerns about TransCanada’s Emergency Response Plans. You can listen to the report on Mr. Wade’s blog (just hit the play […]

Update: DADT passes final vote in the Senate with help of Senator Nelson. The bill is headed to President Obama for signature into law. Senator Johanns voted no.  Rep. Terry, Smith and Fortenberry also voted against the repeal of DADT. Action: Send Senator Nelson “thank you” notes on Twitter or Facebook.  Send “shame on you” […]