Dear Friends,
LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM (co-hosted by Ed Fallon and Charles Goldman)
(02:00) Interview with pipeline attorney Katie O’Harra;
(21:32) The sorry state of the Democratic Party in Iowa and other rural states;
(31:00) Changes to child labor law is another Republican gift to big business;
(36:34) Assessing the Republican presidential primary and whether Ron DeSantis will drop out;
(52:46) The America-feeds-the-world myth.
Katie O’Harra and Ed discuss pipelines on the Fallon Forum
I’m a big believer in reaching across the political divide. My first guest this week, Katie O’Harra, seems to fit that bill.
Katie is a recently retired attorney for pipeline companies. You will, no doubt, be surprised to learn she doesn’t sport satanic horns and spew fire (see photo for confirmation). In fact, Katie and I agree on a wide range of concerns unrelated to pipelines.
Not surprisingly, we disagree on the use of eminent domain. Katie defends eminent domain as “a balancing of private rights and the public need,” though she agrees that “the net benefit goes to the producers who are selling and the consumers who are buying — and the people in the middle, not so much.”
And while Katie and I agree that climate change is an urgent matter, we disagree about the speed with which the problem can/must be addressed. Katie says that the company she worked for most recently “sees the writing on the wall and knows that pipelines aren’t the wave of the future.” She explains that the industry understands it has to eventually move beyond fossil fuels.
Good, but I’m not convinced the industry (or its supporters within the political class) are willing to evolve at the speed science indicates is necessary.
I learned a few things during our interview. I presumed that the primary focus of pipeline attorneys was to oppose the interests of landowners, farmers, Indigenous communities, and environmentalists. Wrong. Katie’s focus has been almost exclusively on managing the regulatory framework that guides the industry.
I also learned of an earlier pipeline build-out in response to Nazi Germany sinking 46 US oil tankers prior to our entry into WWII. The attacks led the US Congress to pass the Cole Act in 1941. The Act allowed eminent domain to be used to build pipelines that carried Texas oil to the Northeast. I found that fascinating, as I thought a simpler, less costly, and more conventional solution would have been to simply sink a bunch of German U-boats.
Just as detractors criticized me when I interviewed Iowa Trump voters on my talk show during the first 13 weeks of 2020, I anticipate some readers/listeners might say, “Ed, why do you waste your time talking to the enemy?”
First of all, I don’t regard Katie or any of the Republican lawmakers and Trump voters I’ve had on my program as enemies. We may have opposing views, but that doesn’t mean we have to hate or malign each other. The world is a lot more likely to make progress toward lasting justice if, instead of shouting down those we disagree with, our starting point is to listen and learn.
I’ll leave you with this quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.”
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. Like what you hear and read? Send a donation our way to help keep things rolling. Our work isn’t funded by big corporations or foundation grants. We rely on you!
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Ed Fallon