In mid-April, under the banner of Democracy Spring, 1,400 demonstrators were arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, demanding Congress take action to end the corruption of money in politics. Few were aware of it because the mainstream press largely ignored it. Last Friday at noon, nine of us held up signs on the sidewalk by the Stripes gas station to let the public know how its billionaire owner, who also owns the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, spends some of his millions to influence our Texas legislators and Governor Abbott. He is not alone and it is happening nationwide. The State of Texas lacks rules to effectively regulate the oil and gas industry, because the rich and powerful have excessive influence on our politicians.. We see the results of that almost everyday in the Big Bend, where ranchers are being sued because they do not want to grant easements for the Trans Pecos pipeline. The power of eminent domain was given to the pipeline company by the Texas Railroad Commission by simply checking a box on a form saying they were a public utility. Last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a Presidential Permit allowing the company to bury the pipe under the Rio Grande River near Presidio, where it will join a gas pipeline being funded by Carlos Slim, the Mexican multi-billionaire and one of the richest men in the world. Whether that gas will benefit the people of Mexico or just be sent on LNG tankers to Japan or elsewhere remains to be seen. What we do know is it is part of the strategy to raise the price of oil and gas to consumers in the U.S. and ensure that industry receives immediate profits. Unfortunately, most regulatory agencies have been captured by those they regulate and cease to represent the public.

-Roger Siglin