I was doing a little poll watching in Denton this morning. It was a fine, cool morning unlike the previous days where I felt like I was melting. And the “Responsible Drilling” hired guns where not there misleading voters so things were quite pleasant.
I saw a man wearing a “Responsible Drilling” t-shirt and recognized him immediately from this video in which he goes on and on listing various farm animals but doesn’t seem to know much about fracking other than that he makes money from it. The man was Randy Sorrells a board member for Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy, the group opposing the ban in Denton and the group that accuses me of having ties with Russia.
I decided to ask him about that. Here’s how the conversation went:
Me: Hey, I want to ask you a question. Why do you have on your website that I am affiliated with Russia?
Sorrells: I don’t know.
Me: You don’t know why you accuse me of having ties to Russia? I don’t even know anybody from Russia.
Sorrells: All the studies I’ve read say that fracking is safe and my kids haven’t ever had one nosebleed.
Me: That is not what I’m asking you. I want to know why you say on your website that I am affiliated with Russia.
Sorrells: I don’t know. I didn’t put that up there.
Me: But it’s your website and you are a board member so you are responsible and I want it taken off.
Answer: I’ll look into it.
Like “Responsible Drilling,” saying I have ties to Russia is just something to say. It means nothing and there is nothing behind it. When asked for examples of “Responsible Drilling” the opposition, industry and our law makers do not offer one viable example.
UPDATE: to further illustrate this point.
I asked the nice man handing these pigs out at the polls what “Responsible Drilling” means. He said it means protecting the aquatic live when drilling in the ocean. I asked him what is means in Denton (where there is no ocean). He said he was out of work and this is just a job.
This journalistic service brought to you by me because no “real” journalist–that I know of–has asked this important question.
You are welcome.
It’s irresponsible to lie to the residents of Denton.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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That conversation would make a great video. It would seem that Mr. Sorrells has been fully indoctrinated by Industry.
1) Never directly answer a question.
2) If pressed, use deflection.
3) If further pressed, blame ‘the other guy’.
4) Keep the Energy In Depth and BSSEEC ‘talking points’ laminated card on you at all times.
Creating lies is not something these people seem to care anything about. It’s a typical ploy used by all doubt-casters. Make something up that seems conceivable for opponents of a given issue and then hope it sticks. Once the lie is out there it is free to bounce around until the cows come home with many poorly informed people.
You’d think with all those hundreds of thousands of jobs Industry has, the guy working temporarily for those ‘Responsible taxpayers’ could find a job….in Industry. Or, you could’ve asked him if he knew anything about regulatory enforcement because Darren Groth sure as hell doesn’t.