Last week was pretty busy, but specific events warranted nearly every iota of the media's attention. The 'birther' controversy that Trump aligned himself with for a time was cast off in a press conference on Friday, Clinton's health issues and then her revelation that she had pneumonia. Despite these two issues being the biggest controversies of the week, I think the media missed out on quite a few other topics that I found rather interesting.
For starters, agencies halted construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), allegedly at the Obama administration's request, following a US District Judge's ruling against the Standing Rock Sioux, who had requested an emergency stay. A direct quote from the Judge's opinion was that the Army Corps "likely complied" with the required notification of the tribe. The irony that is really apparent to me is the fact that the pipeline is planned to cross the Missouri River very near the state capitol of Bismarck, and was moved over the exact same concerns which are now affecting the Standing Rock Sioux. In response to worries over the capitol's water supply, the pipeline was moved to a crossing which is around a half mile from the reservation. So it is okay to contaminate the reservation's water, but keep the capitol's water clean... I wonder what motivated this since racism isn't institutionalized anymore?
In other pipeline news, there was a significant gasoline spill in Shelby County, Alabama. That spill and the subsequent closure of the pipeline for repairs is likely to cause a jump in gas prices all along the east coast, by as much as 20 cents. This is the only information I have found on this spill, is the effect it will have on the prices of gasoline. I cannot find a single source that is talking about the projected environmental impact of the 250,000 gallons of gasoline that were spilled. So the real cost is in how much ill be paying at the pump in the next week or two, not in the effects this spill could have had on the environment for any amount of time.
Oh, but the week gets even better with Donald Trump Jr. defending his sarcastic remark that we should "warm up the gas chamber" by stating it was not about the holocaust, but about the death penalty. Gotta love mocking death, as long as you're mocking the correct death. Sean Hannity is considering suing CNN for slander in a likely unfounded case. Congress has not passed a spending bill yet, so watch out for another possible government shutdown on September 30. Police shot and killed a 13-year old in Columbus on September 15, but it was after the teen pulled a BB gun which was "nearly an exact replica of a police firearm". And Darren Sharper, a former safety in the NFL for the Saints, was nominated for the Hall of Fame despite the fact he is currently serving an 18 year sentence for drugging and raping multiple women. I am not even able to fathom what kind of organization would allow this guy to get nominated, but whatever.
These have been some of my favorite news stories this week that I saw get under-covered due to the two presidential candidates having controversial weeks.
