The DC Mind, Part 197,445

Y'all know about the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline which will bring petroleum resources to the US, right?

Good.

Our State Department found a beetle which may be in the way.

But that's only the beginning.

Now that the FEIS has been released, a review process begins “to determine if the proposed project is in the national interest,” according to the State Department. This “broader evaluation” involves eight other federal agencies and includes “economic, energy security, foreign policy and other relevant issues.”

And there are probably a number of State and local tripwires, too.

Oh, yes, there's lots more.

The Obama administration is spending $35 million to buy 30,000 acres of private property across the U.S. this year to make permanent homes for mice, fairy shrimp, mussels, prairie bushes and beetles.

Those are just some of the 70 critters and plants to benefit from the land purchases in a dozen states as part of the government’s habitat conservation plans for endangered species.

Clearly, the Feds don't have enough land, right?

The federal government owns more than 600 million acres of land.
 
The Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the habitat for endangered species, already controls 93 million acres.  That’s more than the National Park Service, which oversees 79 million acres.

(And the Fish & Wildlife Service now owns occupies most of Gibson Guitars' factory., too!!)

IT'S THE SPENDING, STUPID!