Crony Capitalism In Plain Sight
Check this out:
Ranjana Bhandari and her husband knew the natural gas beneath their ranch-style home in Arlington, Texas, could be worth a lot – especially when they got offer after offer from Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Chesapeake wanted to drill there, and the offers could have netted the couple thousands of dollars in a bonus and royalties. But Bhandari says they ultimately declined the deals because they oppose fracking in residential areas. Fracking, slang for hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method used to extract gas and oil.
Their repeated refusals didn’t stop Chesapeake, the second-largest natural gas producer in the United States. This June, after petitioning a Texas state agency for an exception to a 93-year-old statute, the company effectively secured the ability to drain the gas from beneath the Bhandari property anyway – without having to pay the couple a penny.
In fact, since January 2005, the Texas agency has rejected just five of Chesapeake’s 1,628 requests for such exceptions, a Reuters review of agency data shows. Chesapeake has sought the most exceptions during that time – almost twice the number sought by a subsidiary of giant rival Exxon Mobil, Reuters found.
Chesapeake says it only seeks exceptions to the Texas statute – called Rule 37 – as a last-ditch effort, and often because it cannot locate the land owner. The law, company spokesman Michael Kehs said, “protects the rights of the majority of mineral owners.”
In other words, the land you own may have oil or natural gas underneath it and may be worth millions of dollars. However, the good people over at CHK can get a judge, who is bought and paid for, to declare that YOUR PROPERTY can be drilled on (horizontally), extracting all resources for the direct and explicit benefit of this mighty fine oil and gas company.
What the fuck!
Are we so impotent as a people to just let this sort of stuff continue? Clearly, I am not out there in Texas protesting for landowners rights. But are these subjects ever broached? Do people even give a shit anymore?
In other news, get ready for the Romney-Obama debate, where they will talk about NOTHING of American importance, but stand there calling each other names and driving wedges between the country, all the while–ever so quietly, this type of shit happens.
66 Responses to Crony Capitalism In Plain Sight
Wtf is a ranch-style home?
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Seriously?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranch-style_house
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Only half the homes in America?
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LOL
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There is this new website called Google….
I’ve heard it has answers to many questions
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Oh such corruption! When is QE 4?
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Right before QEIV
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I believe Super Bowl XLVII is coming up.
How long before the QE Roman Numeral whatever catches up to the Super Bowl Roman Numeral?
Pardon me, but did you not hear? QE3 is QE infinity. There will never be another QE again, QE3 is unlimited, meaning all coming “programs” will be under the disguise of QE3, and will last until a new global currency regime is enacted via a hybrid SDR, expected shortly after the currency event that is on the horizon.
Sierra Water
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I drink your milkshake!
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lol
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The Federal bench would do no less (see Penn Central – from the old FDR sell out of the States into the “modern” USSA from the 1930′s).
Fracking isn’t controversial, it’s just tapping into pre-existing wells on a secondary drill. It’s not like these wells haven’t already been extracted before.
It’s just that fancier technology enables our drillers to get more minerals now.
All those videos on leach contamination is just more Commieganda.
Non-issue.
Serves this family justly that they didn’t take the generous crumbs initially offered.
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You’re an idiot. Fracking is HORRIBLE for the environment. Those bastard cocksuckers have serious issues with water run off. Clearly, you haven’t the slightest idea what you are speaking of.
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Right.
I’ve ONLY parsed through a number of carefully researched contractual prospecti (sic) from multiple outfits in the industry on “fracking.”
Relying on carefully researched data by hydrologists, geologists and experienced businessmen, I can assert this representation with accuracy whilst few others, I know, HAVE TAKEN the time to examine the info.
Fly. On this one, you’ve been malinformed and swayed by emotion, not information.
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Everyone has experts to support their claims. The hydrologists and geologists who support your idealism is offset by the exact opposite in the same profession.
There is no debating the fact the fracking is polluting well water and generally a really bad idea to live near a well.
If you are so adamant, feel free to buy up property that has been evacuated due to contamination and live there.
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1) The Bhandari family was “…feel free to buy up property that [was never] evacuated due to contamination and [stilldo] live there.”
According to the article at least.
They’re just dumb shits for not getting paid money.
2) The “‘offset’ by the exact opposite in the same profession” don’t produce… wait…
A
SINGLE
THING
But red tape.
OKAY. Fly. I will cease further points seeking peace.
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So if I understand you correctly, if the CEO of CHK offered to pay a lot of money to screw your wife and she refused, you’d be okay if he got a judge’s order to screw her against her will?
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too late:
BANNED
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Jesus Christ, what part of this do you not understand as being very fucking wrong? The difference between this and communism is that CHK determines who to take from for “the greater good” instead of an almighty central government that clears out a Chinese village to build a dam. America is based on the concept of ownership – I am thankful that I stumbled upon this, but am fucking pissed off now that I have.
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Non-issue until all the cows in your barn drop dead in a week from drinking the water contaminated by the chemical process, then you’re shipping water in, the tap explodes under matchlight, your wife is dying of cancer.. and you have no recourse on your destroyed property. I mean, obviously, fracking is a short, but still, don’t be ignorant, on purpose! ; )
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(I wonder if Lisa would like to put a “B.R.A.” ankle tattoo? It’s the in thing to do).
(“Cus I’m a flow; masta, debator. a cunning disaster manipulata’ [®])
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One of my kin’
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Excellent research, btw, almost had me going back to the doubt-grind.
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I can put you on your back.
But you might prefer a good lecturing to bent over my knee (preferably after you get B.R.A.’d first).
XD
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No BRA! ‘Less you get one first.
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you gonna don one, or what?
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I’m sure you have — I learned from the best.
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BRA has been banned for exhibiting EXTREME ignorance in these halls.
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Funky Prof
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..and the worst.
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HOBOma’s gonna get Rick Ross C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-E-D tomorrow.
Can’t wait for an adult to light the HOBOma up.
HOBOma will be reeling.
I cannot wait for all the errors, gaffes and mistakes.
No teleprompter for the HOBOma.
Let’s just “hope” Mitt’s not too classy and and continues to go for debilitating bone breaking after he bloodies HOBOma’s nose.
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Mitt is a vagina. Do you think for a second he’s going to bring up fast and furious, the unsustainable deficit, or even push back 0 when he blames the last 4 years on bush? Fuck no. Mormons are non confrontational. He’ll give us peanut butter and chocolate milk bullshit.
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As if it matters – both dudes are bought off by corporate interests. That’s modern Rome for you – your job is to fight on “Huff Post” or “Drudge” while you imbibe FAUX News or MBDEMNBC and think they give a damn about you. Meanwhile corporate lobbyists are raping you for small sums of money in the big scheme of things, and they could give a rats ass which figurehead sits at the top of the food chain since they own both.
LOL at the dog and pony show like debates. Debate about what? Who can be bent over faster to hand over the American people?
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No worries, Mitt’s a believer. Not in Mormonism particularly, but he’s out of time to convert.
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Pretty soon they’ll be taking those deer off your front lawn without permission.
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They are the kings deer. Even though they destroy your property you can do nothing. Just ask your local DNR (Department of Nerds and Retards)
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Fly,
When was the last time you hugged your garbage man?
The garbage guy should be hugging Fly.
He is probably making out like a bandit grabbing slightly used home furnishings, etc. and reselling on Ebay.
Apparently you guys located outside the swing states have not seen this video.
Can you believe Mitt doesn’t hug his garbage man?
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The only way Obama loses the election is if he pushed the wrong button and accidentally nukes New York City. Even then he’ll try and blame Bush and most people will believe him.
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Yep, lol,not me, cuz Politics is so boring……but, I agree, it does look like a Obama victory..
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If Romney will stand up during the debate and talk about things of American importance instead of just fighting, then I will be the most motivated voter I have ever been.
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BTW I will be leasing the office next to your so that I can siphon off your stock holdings through the vents. DRAINAGE
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nice
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You need to horizontal drill into Fly’s wine cellar…
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OSG on the daily high list. Indeud.
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In other news
This is some funny shit
Gotta love NOLA!
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/10/new_orleans_lawyer_cited_for_m.html
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How precisely does getting a court order to proceed with gas extraction relieve CHK from payment obligation to this couple?
If the government pulls an imminent domain move on you, they still have to pay you
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Apparently they don’t have to pay anything at all. The oil or milkshake is theirs to devour.
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When I bought my house, it was very clear that I was not getting the mineral rights with it. (I live in a state neighboring TX.) This is ‘normal’ here — you buy a house, land, but unless you specifically buy the mineral rights with it, someone else may come knocking some day…. That’s the law – and it’s largely how the west was won too. Sucks now, of course — point is the judges, if they were ‘bought and paid for’ were bought 100 years ago or more.
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Someone should frack the shit that comes out of Obama’s mouth!
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Thankfully none of our property was leased to those bastards when they were slinging $$ up here. It all looked too good to be true and shonuff twas..
I would pay good money to see the reception given to the O.I.L. guys should they set foot on some of the bigger farms around here again. The sport held in the Roman Coliseum would pale in comparison.
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But but but…Honey Boo Boo got renewed. Circus and bread bitchez….
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The judge was bot and paid for? You know this how? Fracking is a good thing. Thousands of feet deep. It is allowing much improved production of energy. There is no damage to ground water.
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I am terribly sorry to upset your idealism.
Yes, of course, the judge was being just by granting access to private property so a fucking oil company can steal their shit.
Also, when fracking, I am sure NONE of the contaminated water ever comes to the surface and seeps into well water, right?
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Exactly. There is no possible way they (the oil companies) can ever guarantee that 100%. There are faults in any layered geologic formation of rock. It is not one homogenous mass down there but rather layers of different types with seams one on top of another. The original Titusville well was drilled to a depth of only 69.5 feet before oil was found.
Fracking fluids will find those same faults. Especially under thousands of PSI. No one can argue differently because no one can prove differently. Some saying otherwise are liars or ignorant. Maybe even both.
True. For americans they have to have a scientific explanation, but if it’s in another country, it’s, like, ‘kill the infedel muslims’, and then bombs away, promote democracy–even on the residents who have no black or “clean” gol’.
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Poof! Your rights have vanished.
Sadly, what America used to at least stand for, is largely gone.
Re: fracking – fact, they’re going to do it. Fact – it causes environmental damage. The problem is, the big boys come in, extract what they can, f-up peoples land and leave it to Ranjana ranch-house to prove in court that there are any damages whatsoever.
Jana ranch-house vs CHK’s legal team. Who’s gonna win that one?
Thing is, it seems like a couple a’ hicks in bfe who got the problems, but next thing you know, ten years down the line, they’re horizontal contaminating the rest of the water, and then they bottle it and sell it as organic, on the commodities markets.
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To anyone interested, here is one of the places the GMO food industry is taking us.
Sounds good on paper but my gut tells me they don’t know what they don’t know.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-02/gm-cow-produces-allergy-free-milk/4291226
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Thx for the good times.
Make it a V.King day – every day!
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HCLP got a good write-up in the Toronto Globe and mail. Seems like more of a income investmen though I don’t know anything about it.
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People can’t stand up to protest anything cuz they are busy inline at AAPL stores buying phones with their Unemployment money.
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I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDVzmbtVZ6s
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Stupid plebians should have taken the money.
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I have earl and gas under my postage stamp sizes lot. Chesapeake came by and said “Lease us rights and we’ll pay you. If you don’t, we can sign enough of your neighbors inside the boundary and drill anyway, and you get fuck-all”. I’m sure these people got told the same thing. It wasn’t a surprise at any rate.
Idealism doesn’t get you much these days. Nobody cares about your ideals. Is the situation appalling, unfair and immoral? Yes, but your idealistic opposition can’t make any material impact. Look at Occupy WS. A year of idealism and not one damn thing happened from it. Idealism is dead. There is only a stark pragmatism of seeing the system and exploiting it as best you can.
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