The Texas political economy operates according to its own version of the golden rule. Those who have the gold make the rules. I’m talkin’ about black gold. Texas tea. Awl, y’all.*
That’s why I’m not surprised to read that Dallas-based Exxon Mobil’s CEO, Tex Rillerson, is strongly in favor of fracking while he’s at headquarters, but against it as soon as he gets home to his luxury ranch up near Denton.
Wait. I’m being told now that the man’s name is actually Rex Tillerson. I’ll try to remember that.
At headquarters, Tex runs the biggest oil company in the world. I’m not sure how many millions of petrodollars his company pipes into political campaigns, lobbying, and such, so as to buy laws favorable to the frackin’ business. The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case makes it nigh unto impossible for plain citizens to know what the big dogs are doin’ to American democracy.
In a clean democracy, the public’s business is done above board. In a plutocracy like Texas, politics is mostly under the table. That’s the golden rule in these parts.
Tex is a frackin' advocate at the office, but when he goes home to the ranch north of Dallas, his attitude towards frackin’ changes faster than a traffic light on crystal meth. Seems ol' Tex is joining his neighbors in opposing a water tower being built near his land. This Wall Street Journal story set loose a prairie fire of controversy last week when it reported that Tex and neighbors (including Dick Armey, as it turns out) have filed suit “to block the tower … , in part because it would provide water for use in hydraulic fracturing.”
The suit also alleges that truck traffic to and from the tower would create noise nuisances and traffic hazards, to say nothing of what it could do to property values in the area. We could get into pollution issues too, but I'm gettin' too choked up to talk about that now.
So you can see why rancher Rillerson would be against the frackin’ infrastructure when he’s at home on the range, but all for it when he’s back in his executive control tower.
It’s almost as though the old cowboy has two faces – his private sector face as CEO, and his even more private sector face as a property owner. What’s a feller to do? He's tied to two horses goin' in opposite directions, and it's tearin' him apart.
So say a prayer tonight for Texas, and for both Tex’s. This poor ol’ boy can’t get a public relations break, because he’s playin’ poker against his own self.
Danagram
;] … ornery as a hornet since 2011
*Few Texans actually talk this way nowadays, though Lt. Governor David Dewhurst pretends to, by droppin’ his “g’s” when he appears in folksy political commercials that use school children as stage props.
In memory of Molly Ivins.
That’s why I’m not surprised to read that Dallas-based Exxon Mobil’s CEO, Tex Rillerson, is strongly in favor of fracking while he’s at headquarters, but against it as soon as he gets home to his luxury ranch up near Denton.
Wait. I’m being told now that the man’s name is actually Rex Tillerson. I’ll try to remember that.
At headquarters, Tex runs the biggest oil company in the world. I’m not sure how many millions of petrodollars his company pipes into political campaigns, lobbying, and such, so as to buy laws favorable to the frackin’ business. The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case makes it nigh unto impossible for plain citizens to know what the big dogs are doin’ to American democracy.
In a clean democracy, the public’s business is done above board. In a plutocracy like Texas, politics is mostly under the table. That’s the golden rule in these parts.
Tex is a frackin' advocate at the office, but when he goes home to the ranch north of Dallas, his attitude towards frackin’ changes faster than a traffic light on crystal meth. Seems ol' Tex is joining his neighbors in opposing a water tower being built near his land. This Wall Street Journal story set loose a prairie fire of controversy last week when it reported that Tex and neighbors (including Dick Armey, as it turns out) have filed suit “to block the tower … , in part because it would provide water for use in hydraulic fracturing.”
The suit also alleges that truck traffic to and from the tower would create noise nuisances and traffic hazards, to say nothing of what it could do to property values in the area. We could get into pollution issues too, but I'm gettin' too choked up to talk about that now.
So you can see why rancher Rillerson would be against the frackin’ infrastructure when he’s at home on the range, but all for it when he’s back in his executive control tower.
It’s almost as though the old cowboy has two faces – his private sector face as CEO, and his even more private sector face as a property owner. What’s a feller to do? He's tied to two horses goin' in opposite directions, and it's tearin' him apart.
So say a prayer tonight for Texas, and for both Tex’s. This poor ol’ boy can’t get a public relations break, because he’s playin’ poker against his own self.
Danagram
;] … ornery as a hornet since 2011
*Few Texans actually talk this way nowadays, though Lt. Governor David Dewhurst pretends to, by droppin’ his “g’s” when he appears in folksy political commercials that use school children as stage props.
In memory of Molly Ivins.
No comments:
Post a Comment