AP INVESTIGATION: Palin pipeline terms curbed bids

Source: Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Gov. Sarah Palin's signature accomplishment—a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48—emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Beginning at the Republican National Convention in August, the McCain-Palin ticket has touted the pipeline as an example of how it would help America achieve energy independence.

"We're building a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline, which is North America's largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever, to flow those sources of energy into hungry markets," Palin said during the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate.

Despite Palin's boast of a smart and fair bidding process, the AP found that her team crafted terms that favored only a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited the winner, TransCanada Corp.

Read more: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=2008-10-25_D941KJ0O1&show_article=1&cat=breaking

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edit to correct title

Oct 25, 12:27 PM EDT

No guarantee gas pipeline will be built

By JUSTIN PRITCHARD and GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press Writer


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Contrary to Gov. Sarah Palin's campaign promises to "build a pipeline quickly," the massive project to send natural gas south is still no sure thing.

TransCanada Corp. has been awarded a state license, but still needs approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is years away. Canadian regulators must sign off on their portion. First Nation tribes in Canada are objecting to the proposed route. And even if it sails through financial and regulatory hurdles, TransCanada still has no obligation to build the pipeline.

If the company doesn't complete the project, it could still receive up to $500 million in state subsidies, with startup costs split evenly until the company tries to secure contracts to ship gas through the supply channel. Between the time TransCanada locks in shipping commitments and files for a federal permit, the state will pick up 90 percent of the tab even before ground is broken.

...

Should TransCanada win federal permission to start digging, U.S. taxpayers could be on the hook, big time. Included in the company's bid is a proposal for the federal government to absorb up to $75 billion in liability over a 25-year period if the major natural gas suppliers refuse to ship their gas through the line, the CRS report said. Such a measure would require congressional approval.

....

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PALIN_PIPELINE_PROSPECTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-10-25-12-27-56

This whole thing got a lot of press a few months ago, so when I heard Palin babbling about this, as if they had already started it, I just thought, :wtf:. She's such a bullshit artist; I hope she gets impeached so we don't have to go through more of this nonsense in four years.

to get what she wants. She is the loswest of the low...

Theocrats are amoral as their practical delusions place them above morality.

Palin is a person of Big Lies without objective awareness. Her followers -- followers of Theocrats in general -- perceive a pure mission that is evil and always in the Now.

She and the Christian Fundies are the biggest threat to our Nation, Constitution/Bill of Rights, world peace, and life on the planet.

Don't let the dress fool you, Sarah is a Ted Stevens protege!

Fueled by the "3 G's"

1. God (wills it according to Palin)
2. Good ol' Boys
3. Greed

Just stack the deck against competition and hope that public funds provide enough $$ to ramrod the project through. Conservative corruption to the core!

She's just another typical repuke... a perfect choice for McSames running mate... a counterfeit christian!

When rethugs die, they're so crooked you just screw em into the ground!
:kick:
CR

Expose the corrupt fraud ....

Is there any surprise here? Did anyone think that Palin would take the honest route on projects such as these? Let's not forget that this woman tried to abuse the power of her office to have her ex-brother-in-law fired. Fortunately for everyone, Palin's choice by McCain will only bring to light more such dealings. "Vetting" has become a word that has recently entered everyone's vocabularies; kudos to the McCain camp for not discovering this word and all that is associated with it until after the selection of Palin.

Hopefully she has destroyed her chances for a future run at the presidency.

:shrug:

Incompetent, corrupt, "religilous", scofflaw, narcissist, demagogue, serial liar -- you can take any and/or all of George W. Bush's myriad psychopathic traits and they fit Palin perfectly.

McCain is Bush by default. Palin is Bush in drag.

She's a true neocon, with an emphasis on the CON.

:hi:

common knowledge all along that the media has all but ignored. Rolling Stone reported this months ago in a story by Matt Taibbi. But the media has taken the bait by the RNC that Palin has been unduly criticized.