Remember, Remember the 5th (and 6th) of November

Hello to all and thanks for checking in,

November 5th/6th was a pretty big weekend in this country. Before we dig in, a quick explanation on today's title. "Remember, Remember the 5th of November" is a line taken from an old poem on the Gunpowder Plot. I know, you're wondering what the hell is the Gunpowder Plot. It is the name given to the attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament, in London, back in 1605. I know, you're wondering who the hell is Guy Fawkes. Well, he's the guy on the right and he inspired the famous mask you see on the left. Because, he tried to blow up the English equivalent of our Capitol building, his name became synonymous with anarchy, terrorism, social unrest, etc. He is still celebrated in England, till this day. They call it "Bonfire Night" now and firework shows are put on, throughout England. In honor of Guy Fawkes Day/ Bonfire Night, "Bank Transfer Day" was November 5th here in the States.

From early reports, the idea is a great success. Numbers from the 5th itself are still rolling in but 650,000 thousand moved their money to smaller Credit Union/ Community banks in October alone (myself included). The total of funds moved were in the neighborhood of 4.5 Billion dollars. And, 80,000 people committed to moving their money specifically on Nov. 5th, on the "Bank Transfer Day" Facebook page. Here's hoping the action wakes up politicians and banks alike. Just before Nov. 5th, Bank of America backed off their idea to charge $5 per month for having a debit card. We shall see what else happens from here, but an amazing start nonetheless. If you were curious of the full "Remember, Remember" poem, here it is:

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

I know what else you're wondering, what the hell happened on the 6th? I knew you'd say that. The 6th was pretty awesome here in the States. There was a massive protest outside the White House on 11/6. The reason was something called "Keystone XL." I don't think I ever mentioned Keystone XL (KXL) in a Hub, but please get acquainted with it. KXL would transport what's called "tar sand" oil from Canada all the way through the US, down to Texas, for shipment to the world market. Why is this bad? The Tar Sands in Alberta produce more than 8 times the carbon pollution as oil from Saudi Arabia. And, annual CO2 emissions are more than that of 145 nations. It's insane, right?

Scientists from NASA are saying that it is basically game over for the climate as we know it, if this CO2 is released into the atmosphere. The tar sands oil is much dirtier than that of the Middle East. If I go into depth on that, you'll be reading this post till Nov. 5th, 2012. But, trust me this isn't the stuff we get from our traditional oil suppliers. In addition, the pipeline would pass through water aquifers in the country's heartland. Any spills could contaminate the water sources for millions of people. Basically, there is no way this is worth the risk.

Why this is a part of great weekend around this country, is because people have stood up to this in an amazing way. Prior to 11/6 (over one week in September), about 1,200 people were arrested outside of the White House protesting KXL (all photos below). Why outside the White House? I just realized, I'm asking myself a bunch of questions in this hub. Anyway, since this pipeline would cross an international border, it has to be approved by the President (Congress is not needed for this).

It's a major test for Obama and one he can't farm this out to an ineffective Congress. On Nov. 6th, over 12,000 people returned to the White House and locked hands and lined up around it, to show their feelings about this project. At the time of posting this, over 28,000 have signed a petition registering their displeasure. Our friends in England are protesting in their own way as well. They've created a small replica of the White House and are encircling that. Our neighbors to the north got involved in a spectacular way, dropping a 70ft banner from Niagara Falls (complete with 2 people repelling down into the Falls). It was done in the pre-dawn hours to avoid authorities.

Best quote I saw from a DC protestor:

"We're still willing to consider the notion that Barack Obama is who he said he was."

Damn, they are not fooling around with Obama anymore. The love affair is over, no great speech will get him out of this.

So, as you can see, it was an amazing Nov 5th and 6th around the country and the world for that matter. It seems that the world has awakened and are not sitting idly by as these things happen. If you've read some of my hubs, you know I love this stuff. I think it's needed and overdue.

Thanks for checking in and see you next time,

James