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The pipeline and jobs

| December 21, 2011 8:27 AM

If we build it, jobs will come. With the thousands of miles of pipelines in this country and modern technology to make it safe and able to be shut down within seconds, it's hard to believe we have halted one critical to putting thousands of people to work to help our crippled economy, and if we drag our feet too long, Canada will ship it to other countries via the ocean. Ever wonder what an environmental hazard that will be?

I wonder where we would be if the Alaska pipeline couldn't have been built because we thought it was unsafe or not necessary. If you think the price of gas is high now, and we stop the Canadian oil getting to our refineries, you haven't seen anything yet. How long are we going to be held hostage and keep shooting ourselves in the foot?

There is a simple solution - build refineries right at the border, and it can be shipped by rail and trucks, thus, eliminating the pipeline. But it would still create thousands of jobs building, maintaining and running the refineries. Also, all of the oil extracted from the Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming oil from the Bakken fields could be taken care of.

Results? More jobs, less cost and cheaper fuel for all of us for many years to come. I think it is time to start opening up the job market and quit depending on Mideastern oil, where they hate us with a passion.

Ron Rabidue

Martin City