Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Extra! Extra! Texas Blogger Down!

A Texas woman, Elizabeth Burns, who with her husband owns a 38,000-acre ranch in South Texas and has experienced countless problems with Exxon Mobil because of gas drilling, has been served with a gag order, forbidding her to blog about Exxon Mobil. For the past year or so, Mrs. Burns has been taking pictures and videos, and posting on her blog about the pollution she finds within plain view of her home. She is very diligent and thorough in her reporting. El Paso Corp. just got a totally unconstitutional protective order to interfere with her blogging. According to Mrs. Burns, the gas company claims that what she films on her own property or in plain view of her ranch is a trade secret.

Mrs. Burns is a house wife and she has just one pro bono lawyer, a very excellent one she says! She needs our support. We cannot tolerate our own independent news reporting being silenced! We have the right to tell our stories and document what is happening in our own backyards.

Visit Mrs. Burns' web site. She is a good writer, very entertaining, but fearless in her approach. Her story is truly remarkable! You won't believe what she has found out in her investigations. She's called the Spatula Blogger because she holds a spatula as a microphone when appearing in her videos. You'll enjoy her sense of humor, but most of all, you'll admire her for her sense of justice and her concern for the environment.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
TELL
EXXON MOBIL TO FREE MRS. BURNS!

3 comments:

splashdown said...

great post!
thank you!!!

mrs. burns said...

It's me. Mrs. Burns. I'm not shut down entirely.... There is a protective order and the XOM and EL Paso Corp can deem any of my material confidential.By definition, the fact that it's in my possession makes it NOT A TRADE SECRET. And, then I will be sanctioned. El Paso Corp has asked that I be sanctioned for trade secrets but the hearing is being scheduled. Really, they are just bullies. ExxonMobil is desperate for the truth about how they carry on not to come out. It's not just the environment... the rip off their partners and also the appraisal district and the school fund. Thanks for your support. Wish me luck.

Peacegirl said...

Mrs. Burns-
Thank you so much for giving us more details about your situation! You keep on with your excellent work and know we support you 100%. We do wish you luck! And may free speech and independent media live on forever!

Peacegirl