tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89207809965874590992012-02-01T05:54:08.596-06:00-A Satire-Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.comBlogger8891100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-46714144818694623272012-01-27T20:11:00.004-06:002012-02-01T05:54:08.603-06:00

Gee whiz, Pemex is really persistent and they want the money for all of the stolen oil and condensate that was trucked across the border and sold and piped thru the XOM AMI. ExxonMobil controls the access to the LACTS on the large HBP leases. ExxonMobil builds the roads, maintains the roads, and gives the thieves the access to the market. The majority of the  LACT units in Railroad Commission

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-38898083608556866622012-01-21T08:03:00.000-06:002012-01-23T07:01:58.087-06:00

Cattle Baron returned to the ranch to load his steers onto trucks and ship them off to greener pastures in Dalhart, Texas. (a mere 850 mile jaunt) For the first time in recent memory, I am currently not the subject of any ExxonMobil witness subpoenas. I figured it would be a good time to do some house cleaning. Upon the advice of Camera Shy, I called McGinnis Lochridge three times to make sure

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-3355736477292737302012-01-15T19:48:00.001-06:002012-01-16T06:35:51.344-06:00

When we moved to town, my husband leased the ranch to Cattle Baron to run his cattle. I've been pestering Cattle Baron about letting me tag along when he's rounding up cattle. He's always got some flimsy excuse like, "I'm working my 300,000 acre spread in Argentina this week." Last night, he came by to see Stephen and I heard him say, "I'll be out rounding up cows tomorrow out at your place." I

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-50707141533894428972012-01-13T09:04:00.004-06:002012-01-13T22:26:51.994-06:00

This is my family home in Cincinnati. What a dump, huh? You can see why I was so motivated to get my ass down to the Texas-Mexican border and set up camp next to Exxon's old Kelsey Gas Plant. The whole house is poured concrete - interior and exterior walls are all 18 inches thick. It sits on five acres of terraced gardens overlooking the Ohio River. When we bought the house, the original plans

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-34160585523611416972012-01-12T08:11:00.003-06:002012-01-16T11:39:57.753-06:00

Some of the Exxon guys that were tangled up in last year's plot to assassinate the Brooks County Deputy Benny Martinez plead guilty to using the Exxon - Chevron AMI to smuggle drugs. Hey, at least they had safety training to be around XOM's stuff. I love how the indictment states on page 11 that the Zetas control the AMI. (Thanks again, Pilar Grantham) This is just the run of the mill type of

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-53065368801104344552012-01-11T11:40:00.000-06:002012-01-11T14:24:10.171-06:00

This is my childhood home in Ohio. I moved away decades ago but my parents still live in the house. My father called me last summer and said" We are going to sell the house. You better come get all your stuff out of the attic." I've heard this mantra for the past 20 years. They want to move but it's such an undertaking and they were working all the time and didn't get around to it. Now, they

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-37464537099685055302012-01-06T12:43:00.002-06:002012-01-07T22:00:06.961-06:00

During local elections, results are reported across the bottom of the screen on the local TV channels. Last May, I noticed that lots of towns had double digit counts for entire cities and sometimes single digits. In one instance, it said something like "City of Primera, 8 votes for substantial tax increase 2 votes against, voting closed." Where is this Primera that only has 10 voters? I googled

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-68095864737504227352012-01-05T18:02:00.002-06:002012-01-06T07:40:08.891-06:00

The Border Patrol started tracking some pilgrims way down by the Puerto Rico turn off on 1017 this morning. Followed them all the way through the AMI... and then caught them about 5 p.m. on the McGill just when they were about to come out on 755. All OTM's - other than Mexicans. It's a smart strategy because the pilgrims are tired after a long day of walking and they don't run as fast.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-77949729859511876472012-01-02T19:30:00.000-06:002012-01-03T08:19:45.894-06:00

The weather has been gorgeous the last couple of days and I decided to drive out to the ranch. I figured things would be in complete disarray without me there to hold the fort. To my surprise, everyone seemed to be managing just fine. The hunters were hunting, the plugging rigs were plugging, the windmills were spinning, the fence builders were building fence, and Cattle Baron's herd was

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-76474020623858778262011-12-28T20:25:00.000-06:002012-01-02T20:12:11.381-06:00

El Paso Corp in-house counsel, Pilar Grantham, did zero homework. Imagine filing a lawsuit against a blogger claiming that her camera poses a safety hazard on THIS property. ExxonMobils properties in my area have always been graveyards. It wasn't until Pilar Grantham got involved that it escalated to really ugly stuff. I had the benefit of knowing what was going on, and I would write Pilar

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-52289219867788915792011-12-17T09:22:00.004-06:002011-12-30T07:44:58.222-06:00

To be fair, Exxon has made an effort to address my concerns. For instance, XOM requested all my GPS photos (of which there were about 7000) and they have crews out picking up, fencing off, decommissioning every single item in the photographs. Everything (except for the Kelsey Compressor Station, Caliche pit and the SWD well) featured in my youtube movies is GONE.  Exxon has had three plugging

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-20810684423751530992011-12-16T16:53:00.004-06:002011-12-16T17:08:51.127-06:00

Here are the transcripts from my pretty dull federal deposition. Chevron subpeoned me as a witness in some case I've never heard of. I had nothing to offer them. CLICK TO VIEW

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-494992867530575182011-12-13T21:18:00.004-06:002011-12-13T21:35:18.071-06:00

A lot of people are chanting this "boots on the ground" mantra and it is getting on my nerves. And, it's getting on Cattle Baron's nerves a little, too. The boots that come are federal agents who hang out on the public roads and push more smugglers on to ExxonMobil's private network of roads that bypass the Border Patrol checkpoint. ExxonMobils AMI is fraught with danger and evil. The criminals

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-55585594387284560722011-12-09T19:10:00.019-06:002011-12-12T10:23:01.449-06:00

What every Malulo is hoping to find under the tree the year! Gun rack in the front, big knife on the back. Nice matte black paint job for those that hunt at night in the ExxonMobil AMI. Not much room to carry home the kill... just the necessary space for the finger tips and teeth. Ninja costume not included.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-2221861593675936892011-12-05T20:07:00.006-06:002011-12-06T22:07:49.002-06:00

So, thinking of buying some old production from Exxon's radioactive dump sites, er, I mean HBP leases? Or, one of El Paso's compressor stations saturated with chlorinated solvents? Just be sure to read the fine print:CLICK TO VIEW

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-91981530141713938322011-12-02T13:31:00.007-06:002011-12-29T19:08:26.825-06:00

I talked to Coon Ass Counsel, John Carmouche, today. He said that he hasn't heard a peep from Chevron regarding a court order to seize all my movie material. So, I guess they have backed off on that. I talked to Joe Berlinger who made the movie Crude (Chevron managed to get his unedited footage by court order) about it. I asked him if it changed what he decides to make movies about and he said, (

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-85218568555483795872011-12-01T20:45:00.006-06:002011-12-02T07:38:29.925-06:00

Cattle Baron was buzzing about in his helicopter checking on his steers, and he noticed this dead buck on a heap of pipe on a McGill Bros. drill pad where a well had recently been plugged. Assuming that foul play was involved, Game Warden Royce Ilse was quickly dispatched to the scene. He did a field autopsy and determined that the buck was NOT the victim of poachers, but had been chased and

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-33438920307053687142011-12-01T09:08:00.008-06:002011-12-03T08:08:10.392-06:00

Pilar Grantham strikes me as just a young over-worked attorney who believed she wasn't responsible for her actions because she was under the umbrella of the El Paso Corp legal department. Over the years, I would send her notice that immigrants were being kidnapped on the El Paso lease. There was human trafficking, there was murder. I sent signed and sworn affidavits from law enforcement to Pilar.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-39466164040178442792011-11-29T13:02:00.006-06:002011-11-29T13:30:51.508-06:00

When I first heard that some gunmen ambushed a tanker truck of marijuana and killed the driver, I didn't blink. It's a regular occurrence on ExxonMobil and El Paso E&P leases around here. But, then I realized it happened in Houston and, well, that did seem newsworthy."Shortly before the marijuana delivery was to be made Monday, three SUVs carrying alleged Zetas Cartel gunmen seemingly came out of

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-87211767890557241572011-11-27T21:00:00.003-06:002011-11-28T07:28:16.473-06:00

I went to Clear Channel's Cincinnati HQ. I'll go back after my movie is released to do a talk show. I just went to see what radio is all about. Everyone was very friendly. (except the janitor who did not acquiesce to my demand to interview him.) Speaking of media reports.... remember the lovable Camilla Panhard? She wrote some piece about her visit to the ExxonMobil - Chevron AMI. She sent me a

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-50961569566809685612011-11-20T17:03:00.004-06:002011-11-20T18:27:04.230-06:00

It's November and that means quail hunting season is underway. Quail hunters crack me up. They fly in on Gulfstreams and then slum it in these really crappy old hunting camps. They love it. They keep their camps really dumpy so their wives won't tag along.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-33009468967719072762011-11-18T05:30:00.008-06:002011-11-19T07:02:36.011-06:00

Not that this most recent news will come as a shock to anyone living or working in the ExxonMobil AMI:CLICK TO VIEWThe reality is that the Mexican smuggling organizations are kicking ExxonMobil's butt across South Texas. ExxonMobil has the Texas Supreme Court, Judge Terrell, and the Railroad Commission under control.... but the Zetas control the surface of the ExxonMobil AMI in South Texas. They

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-83046723142140808342011-11-16T09:21:00.007-06:002012-01-05T09:08:23.049-06:00

I won't have the precise details of Monday's depo until I get the transcripts. I jotted down the highlights as I remember it going down. CLICK TO VIEW I asked Mr. Charpentier to ask Chevron to consider being in my movie. He said he will pass on the request. The nice thing about making a documentary is that it doesn't really matter the outcome on the issues - the story behind whatever the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-76767362984543847182011-11-14T15:30:00.007-06:002011-11-14T17:47:58.844-06:00

Here is an article that quotes Yours Truly.CLICK TO VIEWI feel totally over-shadowed in the story by another Elizabeth.... One named Elizabeth Ames Jones. Her quote about the "gold standard" is priceless! Who can compete with that?Next XOM jewel to enjoy the spotlight.... the bubbling caliche pit!

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-15110201593700861352011-11-14T12:59:00.016-06:002011-11-15T08:34:38.459-06:00

So, I had the Chevron Depo today. It was just me, the court reporter, and one of the partners from Chevrons hired counsel named Troy Charpentier (of Keen Miller Law Firm). I was kinda flattered they didn't send a rookie lawyer. I repeated my objections and cited my privileges and that was it. We were all very polite. Took about 35 minutes. Really boring. I was so excited to finally go to a

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-13246439014351788612011-11-13T12:16:00.013-06:002011-11-13T12:37:02.640-06:00

We moved the abandoned smuggler truck left on ExxonMobil's lease on Wednesday. We used the tractor to pull it out of the brush to a waiting flat bed tow truck. Border Patrol and the Sheriff's dept don't have tractors or manpower. They will send a tow truck and you have to deliver the vehicle to the tow truck. If you don't take the initiative, your ranch will be a junkyard with hundreds of

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-43828449296602917242011-11-11T14:05:00.028-06:002011-11-13T15:17:08.049-06:00

Hey, guess what... Border Wars, the TV show, shot a segment involving the rounding up of a big bunch of illegal immigrants by Border Patrol on ExxonMobil's McGill Bros. lease today. One of the hunters spotted a large helicopter landing in the middle of Exxon's ops and went to check it out. A closer inspection revealed that it was a camera crew brought in by the federal government! They were

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-28077345519532219122011-11-09T10:43:00.008-06:002011-11-10T08:23:07.163-06:00

Just like your local mall - the Kelsey Plant is extra busy as the holidays approach. The difference is that the visitors aren't buying gifts - they are hauling drugs on the back of slave labor (a.k.a. kidnapped migrants) around the Border Patrol checkpoint. The reason for this seasonal increase is harvest time for marijuana in Mexico. Bundles of narcotics are stored on the ExxonMobil property and

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-12892394260242899042011-11-07T09:14:00.023-06:002011-11-07T12:32:50.790-06:00

ExxonMobil is the dominant estate for the two million acres between the Rio Grande River and Corpus Christi. They have it all tied up in old leases. Only Exxon can control the access because only Exxon knows who they have joint ventures with. All of XOM's JV's are confidential. There is no coordination with landowners or law enforcement. Sending more federal officers to the border is pointless

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-85829385177638538432011-11-04T16:41:00.010-05:002011-11-07T12:27:27.236-06:00

Now that I live in town, I don't have a drill pad in the backyard to watch for entertainment. I'm kind of at a loss for blog posts until my big Chevron depo on the 14th. We are currently doing some construction, so I do have a bunch of workers hammering away and making a lot of noise. It's no drilling rig, but it is something to film.This propane tank was in the yard when we bought the house. The

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-23893043425333007042011-11-02T09:36:00.007-05:002011-11-02T11:11:15.031-05:00

I feel sorry for the Chevron stock holders because that company is just run by lawyers, PR firms, and PR firms that are lawyers. It's all smoke and mirrors. Here's the Edelman Public Relations firm blog reading stats - they seem to be really excited about my upcoming movie. Ecuador looks pristine when compared to the Texaco and Exxon pits across Texas and Louisiana. CLICK FOR THE VIEWING

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-40044660662328962632011-10-31T20:31:00.001-05:002011-10-31T20:34:30.872-05:00

Hi mr. Gregoire,I changed my mind and I will not move to quash the subpoena. I have never been to a deposition and I am curious to see what goes on in one. So I will see you (or whoever) on November 14 th at 10 a.m..Very truly,Elizabeth Todd Burnsp.s. Will you forward this to the guy at liskow and Lewis because I don't have his email. Or send me his email address?

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-68860374722462658752011-10-31T08:42:00.005-05:002011-10-31T08:50:58.465-05:00

I went to visit my parents in Cincinnati this summer. I was rummaging around in our library and I opened the closet featured above. My father told me, "Oh, those are all my books and notes from law school. I never throw anything out." He is a heart surgeon, but he considered a career change when he was in his 60s and went to law school. He passed the Ohio bar in 1993, but decided to stick with

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-66371204722880044262011-10-27T10:04:00.010-05:002011-10-30T12:07:19.951-05:00

Gee, don't make any unflattering youtube movies about Chevron because they will issue a federal subpoena to harass you! Doesn't the process server look like Cheech Marin?Here is the subpoena:CLICK TO VIEWand here is my response:CLICK to VIEWHere is the underlying Louisiana case in which Chevron claims I am a witness of some sort. I have never heard of this case and it has no relevance to my

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-32892331127580141282011-10-26T19:59:00.005-05:002011-10-26T20:33:11.258-05:00

People frequently ask me, "What does Stephen think of all this?" I think he's just glad that I have a creative outlet that keeps me busy and out of his hair.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-64054751330361498112011-10-24T11:29:00.005-05:002011-10-30T10:38:28.939-05:00

Oh, the drama! Judge Terrell has now refused to recuse himself from the family's Brooks County case. Judge Bañales is the judge assigned to review my request. He sent me a letter stating that I must file a "motion to recuse" with the court. Then, he will review it and decide if Judge Terrell will be removed. So, that's what I did this morning:CLICK TO VIEWOct 30,UPDATE: DeniedCLICK TO VIEW

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-78120355499155847802011-10-22T12:29:00.079-05:002011-11-07T12:50:43.210-06:00

This is how it went down.... Federal Government wants to look like they care about the national security. They hire more Border Patrol agents. More Border Patrol means more highway interdiction. More highway interdiction pushes the criminal element into the oilfields where law enforcement doesn't patrol. This makes it more dangerous for the ranchers, oilfield workers, the immigrants, and the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-13082820376140721502011-10-21T18:32:00.019-05:002011-10-22T12:41:20.160-05:00

Big announcement: XTO Energy (a subsidiary of XOM) is going to take over all of the Exxon's South Texas operations. This includes the Kelsey, Marshall, King Ranch, Mariposa, etc, etc, etc. Everything from Corpus to the Rio Grande River. I think that's good news. Anything is better than letting stuff rot, leak, and go to waste. I am totally for this plan. I don't know if it will work out well -

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-905563293250200192011-10-20T20:12:00.007-05:002011-10-20T21:14:22.912-05:00

Here are some more mundane details of my former life on the ranch.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-73309481685763938362011-10-20T08:06:00.005-05:002011-10-20T08:58:45.161-05:00

No, this is not a movie set, this is an ExxonMobil operation where I happen to be filming a movie. This lake of oilfield brine forms in ExxonMobil's caliche mining operation and drains - but it has no correlation to rainfall. It seems like it empties during the winter and is full the rest of the year. Must have something to do with the tilt of the earth. Here are the lab tests from Halliburtan on

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-46714640256983848372011-10-19T10:48:00.007-05:002011-10-19T19:37:20.021-05:00

Nicola and I spent last weekend at the ranch. I showed her the lay of the land and explained how the tiff with XOMan over an old shack led to the discovery of millions of acres of contaminated land, sick people, and dead bodies. (compliments of Chevron-Texaco, El Paso Corp, and ExxonMobil)The pros will do their own editing, color correcting, and sound mixing... I just took some compressed footage

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-59944223271797546362011-10-11T10:30:00.031-05:002011-10-12T14:19:09.127-05:00

The ebook project has brought up some fun memories of the simple times. Before lawsuits, produced water pits and surly teenagers were on my radar. I am embedding these little video montages into the ebook. We lived in Alice, Texas the first ten years of our marriage. On the weekends, we would park our travel-trailer on Mustang Island State Park's beach. We were always outdoors. I am a Pisces and

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-23613725488238885452011-10-11T07:03:00.007-05:002011-10-11T14:05:51.718-05:00

Scanning old documents for the book is such a walk down memory lane! I have tried all this crazy stuff over the past three years to get something done about the mess. Back in 2009, I wanted to file a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act. However, for a body of water to be covered by the Clean Water Act, it has to be under the jurisdiction of the US Corp of Engineers. I had no such water way. I

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-17115033432862689102011-10-09T15:52:00.019-05:002011-10-10T10:58:40.926-05:00

While the film makers are working on the film, I'm doing an ebook with text, pdf, photos and film embedded for Itunes. I filmed and photographed my adventure from the beginning. Here I am in September of 2008, my third month into the blogging. When you live 80 miles from a town, you have to come up with silly ways to entertain yourself - like writing a blog. I had no clue that things would spiral

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-18598548517071107182011-10-05T09:07:00.006-05:002011-10-05T11:14:29.952-05:00

We drove out to the ranch yesterday for the afternoon. Stephen and the kids shot a bunch of birds. It was nice to be back out there. The oilfield is gone. El Paso E&P's 33 new wells have been left to rot because they passed 200% payout. No one wants to buy them because, after 200% payout, XOM gets 50% of the working interest production and doesn't pay any working interest maintenance costs. Plus,

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-66671729095398062252011-10-04T06:43:00.014-05:002011-10-04T09:37:53.728-05:00

These old photos from the Exxon Kelsey show that truck drivers getting killed when they go to open a gate and the McGill north bump gate getting rammed is nothing novel. I keep hearing about violence in the oilfield like it's something new around here. South Texas is a vast rural unmanned region that has always been a very lawless place. Railroad Commission District #4 is a very poor area and

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-70296322197319785232011-09-28T07:11:00.012-05:002011-09-28T15:04:28.331-05:00

I finally got around to making my formal complaints about the lawyer and judge in the polyline lawsuit. Because of the the way they conducted themselves, no one knows the location and nature of the imminent danger, who is authorized to enter the property, the location of the pipelines, the location of hazardous pits. All deemed trade secret and confidential. Every time there is a big fire, the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-38750702568567661012011-09-25T15:58:00.038-05:002011-09-28T06:53:52.927-05:00

For the long version (45 minutes) of Mr. Templet's interview:CLICK HERE

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-26664087392892595652011-09-23T11:53:00.026-05:002011-09-25T21:10:01.613-05:00

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-9736998045760108382011-09-22T08:02:00.011-05:002011-09-28T14:04:20.599-05:00

I am here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana interviewing some people I met through this blog. Victor is the law partner of Coon Ass Counsel, John Carmouche. (Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello in Baton Rouge) CVX has Ecuador style pits all over this place! People are starting to figure that out. Ecuador is nothing in the big picture.Want to read Chevron's 1985 domestic pit survey?CLICK HEREFor the long version

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-21664262503943057292011-09-21T04:48:00.012-05:002011-09-21T05:33:52.538-05:00

I'm on a big road trip, rounding up the final interviews for my movie. Originally, the deadline to have all of these completed was October 4th. Now, because of a scheduling conflict with the pro camera crew, that date is pushed back to April. More time, more material. The big news is that Mr. Big Oil has consented to be interviewed in the coming weeks.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-61985296622465087402011-09-16T05:57:00.011-05:002011-09-21T07:27:41.611-05:00

I went to Austin this week to interview one of The Cronies. Here are the highlights in this youtube move. He has his own blog. Its a little different than mine. You can visit it here:CLICK TO GO TO JM's BLOGFor the complete interview on Vimeo:CLICK FOR LONGER VERSION

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-49453691189227434622011-09-12T18:43:00.006-05:002011-09-13T06:27:40.901-05:00

Just another one of the nice people I have met because of this silly blog.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-26840863097103825032011-09-10T10:48:00.022-05:002011-09-10T18:53:21.893-05:00

Oh the good old days - before those pesky OSHA bureaucrats arrived on the scene! This guy named Alan Menking worked for Heldt Bros. Trucking for 40 years. He's dead now. He photographed and kept meticulous albums of his life as a truck driver in the South Texas oilfields. When I saw the albums, I could totally relate to his interest in photographing things in his daily life. I think about how

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-14450114507280855402011-09-08T18:56:00.008-05:002011-09-09T07:50:45.335-05:00

This week, I went to Zapata to interview the sheriff. He's very nice.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-42686341104997876192011-09-05T10:03:00.005-05:002011-09-05T10:43:33.620-05:00

This weekend, I tagged along with Cattle Baron. After we moved the bulls from a ranch down the road to the McGill, I interviewed him about ranching in South Texas (among other things).

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-65679135430003903952011-09-03T18:38:00.010-05:002011-09-09T07:41:01.220-05:00

As I accumulate more video interviews - different perspectives - rough edits will be posted here: (these are compressed and the quality is not indicative of the final project)CLICK TO VIEWHere is a summary of my documentary:CLICK TO VIEWThe release date for the film is September 2012.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-7541961514365058682011-09-01T21:53:00.001-05:002011-09-01T21:54:33.705-05:00

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-60302313201225402422011-09-01T08:17:00.010-05:002011-09-02T15:56:48.519-05:00

Here's another one of my interviews with local peeps. And... the big news around here: The US Border Patrol has decided to put a sub-station in Delmita, Texas. That is four miles south west of our fence line on FM 1017. Ojala! The XOM-EP joint venture is about to get exponentially more dangerous. All that checkpoint is going to do is push more smuggling traffic into the XOM-EP AMI (

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-26122636731924972932011-08-30T19:09:00.010-05:002011-08-31T06:45:22.888-05:00

After months of pestering and badgering on my part, I'm finally getting the cronies to do anonymous cameos in my film project. And, I'm getting some celebrity V.I.P.'s to participate, too. This week I interviewed two nuns from Rio Grande City. They were so interesting. I will try to do a rough cut and post their chat soon. I'm so busy because I must have all the interviews done by October 1.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-29844727153755770782011-08-24T21:05:00.013-05:002011-09-04T07:15:30.330-05:00

I really don't understand all the drama about modern day fracking. Maybe it's bad but who knows whats going on 15,000 feet underground. Modern day fracking is the least of my worries. You know what I think contaminates a lot of water? Unethical water well drilling companies. Many of whom are subbed out by the oil companies to drill the water wells for drilling. The oil companies have no idea

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-50774657180220141192011-08-16T14:35:00.006-05:002011-08-17T20:18:35.024-05:00

I need more industry types to interview for my movie. I have met so many interesting people thru this blog: criminals, ranchers, law enforcement, attorneys, illegal immigrants, victim advocates, etc. I interviewed many for the film. However, I only have a few industry people. I want to tell the industry side, too. When I have the film done, I will have the complete interviews available on the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-18307025607479121332011-08-16T07:50:00.015-05:002011-08-22T17:02:12.501-05:00

I've been running around the countryside like mad to get the last bits of footage for my movie that tie together the story. I am supposed to have all the clips by October 14. Yesterday, I went to Falfurrias. I am debating with my partners about showing dead bodies and graphic interviews of victims of violence on the McGill Bros. lease. I think we should show it all - without a doubt. So many

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-79771033963602108802011-08-12T22:34:00.015-05:002011-08-27T17:15:08.846-05:00

I just had to make a post about this. (even though I am not getting sucked back into this ridiculous blog writing). What you see in these photos is Tennessee Natural Gas's old Dean Gas Plant in Nueces County between Agua Dulce and Banquete. TNG had a gas plant and compressor station adjacent to it. They shut down the gas plant in 1975 and now just run the compressor station. It's a big mess of

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-41250435060253678602011-08-10T15:47:00.015-05:002011-08-15T09:49:12.525-05:00

Well, no big shock here - another dead body in the XOM - EP AMI. El Paso Corp needs to do something about all these immigrants in their oilfield operations. It's dangerous. They can get hurt around the compressor stations and things. Yesterday, one of the oilfield workers found a girl from Honduras near death. She explained she was in a group of 40 that was dropped off on FM 1017 yesterday and

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-37313619451871334112011-08-05T19:01:00.024-05:002011-08-05T20:44:13.976-05:00

I know what you are thinking, "Oh, Elizabeth is back to the blog. Thank Goodness! We have missed her so, and she is so wonderful and fabulous." Or, if you are McGinnis Lochridge, you are adding to your bill, "August 6, Read plaintiff's daughter-in-law's blog. 10 minutes. $600, print out attachments from blog $250." All the money Exxon spends for their lawyers to read my blog could have had this

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-17382599269476272112011-07-27T06:40:00.003-05:002011-07-27T06:44:54.797-05:00

If you are an oilfield worker, lawyer, drug smuggler, coyote, whatever..... and you want to say something in my movie anonymously, just put a lamp shade on your head, talk into the camera, burn it on a disk as a quicktime or .mov file, and drop it in the mail:Elizabeth BurnsP.O. Box 2436McAllen, TX 78502(please use the highest quality compression and best sound available to you)

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-90913377488493661882011-07-26T06:40:00.025-05:002011-07-26T09:55:39.874-05:00

These photos are from ICE's collection of abandoned drugs on the EP-XOM-CVX Area of Mutual Interest in Starr-Hidalgo-Brooks counties. I think they are all from this year! According to an open records request, Border Patrol agents seized 1,059 TONS OF MARIJUANA341,178 Illegal Immigrantsfrom the Starr-Hidalgo-Brooks AMI on private ranch lands between highway 281-FM 1017, and highway 285 between

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-60870210788282352012011-07-06T17:53:00.008-05:002011-07-07T06:42:02.955-05:00

I'm going to end this blog because it's been going on for three years, not because it's at any logical stopping point. I wanted to demonstrate that ExxonMobil knowingly, willfully, and intentionally operates in a really cruddy fashion and misrepresents their liabilities and assertable claims to the financial markets. I hope I have accomplished that by showing one XOM oil and gas lease and all the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-21163999235801176672011-06-29T05:02:00.012-05:002011-06-29T08:05:20.176-05:00

Our old foreman from the 1960s still hog hunts at the ranch. Sometimes, we come across him and we get him to tell us funny stories about the old days. Some of the best stories involve stealing explosives from Exxon. I have heard these stories for years, but was never really clear on what Exxon was up to with the explosives. I would ask the foreman, and he would reply, "Oh they used to drop

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-80986247008351697612011-06-28T22:04:00.004-05:002011-06-28T22:07:24.976-05:00

To the RRCjune 28, 2011 It has come to my attention that Exxon Production Research did a pulse test on the waterflood zones four years into their waterflood project in the Kelsey Field. (probably in the 1960s) In this pulse test, they discovered that one of the four waterflood zones tested was not sealing. The results of this study (which was conducted on our ranch by Exxon) is in ExxonMobil's

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-13856812526724852232011-06-27T17:47:00.007-05:002011-06-27T20:48:46.047-05:00

It's me, Elizabeth Burns from ExxonMobil's Brooks-Starr-Hidalgo McGill Bros. oil and gas lease. I am concerned because we leased some land and several families constructed a hunting camp and have full time employees now living on the ranch. They constructed this camp at the site of previous hunting camp and are using the water well that was in existence. Recently, they started having problems

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-9795186310267944002011-06-26T13:34:00.016-05:002011-06-26T16:41:54.862-05:00

I've met a lot of interesting people while writing this blog. That aspect alone made the whole misery worth it. One of these people is Atilano Salas from Benavides, Texas. He discovered my blog randomly and started reading it. He said, "What do you McGills have to complain about? All that land and such." So, I invited him for a tour of the place and then he understood and we became

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-60712086489100043992011-06-25T14:05:00.009-05:002011-06-26T16:43:38.877-05:00

Here is the latest round of XOM split sample ground water tests from ExxonMobil's Tank Battery #4. It's crazy - their salt water flooding operation from the 1960's coupled with their current produced water disposal system is bringing it all gurgling up to the surface. It surrounds all these old well bores and the casing leaks and up comes the methane. It's such a mess, there is no way to fix it,

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-32355348661427322072011-06-21T12:38:00.002-05:002011-06-21T13:30:40.537-05:00

For many years, ExxonMobil had shifted it's focus to developing other regions in the world. But now, thanks to the shale extravaganza, ExxonMobil is coming back to Texas. Yipee. They set the bar high when it comes to prudent operation. You need look no further than our great ranch to see this tradition of ExxonMobil excellence. So, get excited. XOMan is bringing his special brand of loveliness to

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-4969231521890505862011-06-20T19:48:00.042-05:002011-06-21T12:42:03.876-05:00

Exxon doesn't pay the Brooks County Tax Office for the Kelsey Field condensate sold on the lease. Instead, they lie and say that all the condensate is sold at the tailgate of the King Ranch Plant in a different county. In reality, all of the liquid products and condensate from the Kelsey Plant never went to the King Ranch Plant. They have ALWAYS been piped over to Exxon's Brooks County central

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-62706815215146647842011-06-18T08:48:00.020-05:002011-06-20T08:08:03.187-05:00

I'm organizing my hundreds of hours of video footage for my meeting with the movie people. I'm having so much fun taking this walk down memory lane!Here's an interesting little clip. Sorry about this poor quality footage. This was shot back in 2007. That is when I first started filming my adventures living with ExxonMobil on the Tex-Mex border. I had no clue what I was getting into! We homeschool

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-60362050157401550382011-06-15T08:27:00.004-05:002011-06-16T15:06:12.472-05:00

It's so dangerous on the back roads. The oilfield guys have to drive to remote rural locations around South Texas. They get ambushed on the ranches, they get ambushed on the roads to the ranches. It's just so sad and there is really nothing that can be done by local law enforcement to stop it. CLICK TO VIEW

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-87803766709264180092011-06-12T21:34:00.010-05:002011-06-13T15:09:33.641-05:00

11:00 pm. The fire is contained. Will probably burns for a couple more hours. We had eight fire departments from the tri-county area on the scene. Cattle Baron showed up with his helicopter and dictated position and secondary fires from the sky. My husband drove the big tractor. Our trusty worker, Pedro, was on our small tractor, and the hunter's brought in a tractor from Falfurrias to disk more

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-34352228681702346662011-06-12T16:00:00.010-05:002011-06-12T16:29:57.818-05:00

via email at 3:58 pmDear Exxon and El Paso Exploration and Production:We just got a report of a fire in the vicinity of El Paso's McGill Bros. wells. It's growing and is on the McGill Bros lease, The yellow marker shows the location of the fire and the county lines and the white little squares are El Paso's and Exxon's well pads. The wind is blowing from the south and the fire is moving to the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-5288882746863961372011-06-09T20:54:00.012-05:002011-06-10T05:55:05.118-05:00

Here's the latest alerts for the Starr/Brooks/Hidalgo County XOM-EP AMI:1. The Hidalgo County Drug Task Force Chrysler 300 in midnight blue with all lights and police markings has been stolen and is now being used by pseudo cops in the Starr-Hidalgo area. Don't be fooled.2. A light colored pick-up attempted to hijack an oilfield mechanic on 681 north of McCook as he was heading south on 681 from

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-85180725977372412462011-06-08T13:01:00.010-05:002011-06-08T21:20:31.843-05:00

We had to get these beasts into this trailer. *The black cow belonged to our neighbor and somehow got over to our side of the ranch about a year ago. The cow was just prancing around the 30,000 acres because all of fences were burned in the big fire of 2008. *The red cow was on the highway back in November. When the Sheriff tried to catch it, it jumped our highway fence and took off into the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-43185383570582676522011-06-07T18:40:00.006-05:002011-06-07T22:32:24.112-05:00

Lee Bass's foreman had to hold ten Afghani pilgrims at gunpoint today that were walking up the power lines on El Coyote Ranch. (right on the Brooks - Hidalgo county line on the west side of 281) Border Patrol picked them up and hauled them off.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-21403574279149826842011-06-03T10:21:00.005-05:002011-06-03T10:30:50.817-05:00

This is the USA - Mexico border. People are so poor in these areas where ExxonMobil and Chevron makes tons of money. Where does it all go? This family was using an old tank for a kitchen. You drive thru these regions of old XOM and CVX fields and it's just poverty and cancer and despair. It's no wonder that people join gangs and cartels. They are just trying to survive.By the way, you shouldn't

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-61713201439759895172011-05-29T19:52:00.003-05:002011-05-29T19:56:23.490-05:00

Here's a nice oral deposition of Tom Sieh (of Shoreham) who learned everything he knows about running a pipeline company from his 12 years working for El Paso Corp. I offer this for entertainment. I love Sieh's multiple excuses, how he explains they have no safety department and describes his accounting staff as "not particularly competent".CLICK TO VIEWIn this lawsuit, the ranch got a judgment

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-60206249746802814562011-05-25T20:49:00.035-05:002011-05-26T13:37:43.830-05:00

Condensate theft has been a problem for a long time. Now operators are losing 25% - 50% of the lease product. It used to be 10% was the cost of doing business in RRC District 4. In the last three years, the whole border crime situation has gotten a lot more organized. There is a finder's fee of $3000 for anyone who notifies the "powers that be" of a trailer load that can be stolen. Landowners,

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-13793508380637011162011-05-24T16:41:00.017-05:002011-05-25T07:53:00.762-05:00

Well, that's latest from our trusty Brooks County chief deputy, Benny Martinez. The border counties get all kinds of federal and state funds for border violence. Brooks County is an inland county and gets none of that aid. Yet, Brooks County has the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint. So, there is all kinds of smuggling to get around that checkpoint. That smuggling goes through the oilfield.

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-57390849947956637392011-05-23T17:04:00.036-05:002011-05-23T20:06:36.371-05:00

Back in 2009, law enforcement sent the following notice to ExxonMobil:CLICK TO VIEWExxon did nothing. Things progressed. Things got worse. More violent. We moved away.This week has seen a big development in the smuggling corridor that goes through the Kelsey Compressor Station. Here's the news article on that:CLICK TO VIEWand here's the USA indictment for the key players now in custody. Doesn't

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-42640935326149789252011-05-18T22:48:00.008-05:002011-05-19T06:42:43.569-05:00

For months, there has been a story going around the oil patch about a pipeline crew being beheaded in Webb County in the Eagle Ford shale. Turns out this is such an exaggeration! It wasn't a pipeline crew, it was a couple of AEP guys checking a remote rural electrical meter. And they weren't murdered. They were just kidnapped. A cheap ransom was paid via Western Union and then the guys were freed

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-35422022209510496692011-05-16T20:06:00.023-05:002011-05-18T09:19:15.987-05:00

So, I was talking to that lovable Jerry Patterson today and he told me he will run for Lieutenant Governor of Texas in the next elections. I don't follow politics so this was news to me. I asked The Cronies why they didn't tell me about it. They said it hadn't been publicly announced. So, I decided to announce it on my blog because I like getting to announce things first. Personally, I am happy

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-57853263233252690362011-05-16T08:10:00.007-05:002011-05-16T11:11:25.282-05:00

This is a movie of bubbling road when ExxonMobil first started excavating it in the Kelsey Field. This is what it looks like under the XOM leases - lots of old pipes mixed in with new ones. We have this problem all over the McGill Bros. Enterprise and El Paso have their big lines going thru the old sludge and in the same easements as XOM's old leaking pipes. Really, so many of the big interstate

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-2184378491656070422011-05-15T06:00:00.051-05:002011-05-16T07:44:47.292-05:00

In so many ways, El Paso Corp reminds me of Pemex. Pemex is part of the Mexican government. They fostered a culture of corruption, lost control of the corruption, and sunk into anarchy. I think the whole Burgos Basin in Tamaulipas is shut in because of the theft and violence. Coincidentally, it was El Paso Corp that developed that region for Pemex. Mexican officials have their system of bonuses:

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-43400823898649970422011-05-06T20:15:00.006-05:002011-05-07T06:47:16.762-05:00

The pseudo cops that beat up some of El Paso E&P's crew are still on the loose. El Paso sent out an email to everyone warning them to be careful of fake law enforcement. Here's the local TV news report:CLICK TO VIEWAnd, there is an unofficial report of a massive gun battle forcing the evacuation of a drilling crew in the Eagle Ford around Cotulla. The rumor is that the drilling contractors have

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-40026360444143169782011-05-04T06:43:00.013-05:002011-05-04T07:29:16.221-05:00

El Paso Corp's potential partners in their 170,000 GLO leased Eagle Ford shale lands have left the building. The word is that the final straw was the murder of an entire pack of quail dogs on one of the corporate hunting leases that borders George Straight's ranch outside Carrizo Springs. This supposedly went down in the spring of 2010 during a hunt organized to schmooze some large

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-20944359584128149072011-04-29T13:16:00.031-05:002011-04-29T21:27:31.999-05:00

Breaking News...Just got a call from the El Paso Exploration and Production staff warning us that a white pick-up with a light bar (cop style lights) has been pulling over and hijacking El Paso contractors that exited the McCook EP leases on the public roadway - right by the Southern Disposal and El Paso's Monte Cristo office. This all went down before lunch today. Apparently, the fake cops were

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-89176253789669313772011-04-28T06:00:00.003-05:002011-04-29T18:36:44.255-05:00

Things are so crazy on our ranch that I often laugh at something and then think to myself, "You know, that isn't really funny. In fact, it's kind of sick." Like what, you ask? O.K. I will give you an example: Now, Border Patrol is just sticking to the highway because we've had too many assaults and we have too much oilfield traffic to make sense of anything in the ranch. Before, they used to

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-48361022667994759852011-04-27T10:08:00.002-05:002011-04-27T10:14:09.666-05:00

Oh, I just worry about the next big fire. It's the perfect storm brewing with the lack of rain, lack of humidity, and still no guidelines about responding to a fire from either XOM or EP.Here's the latest:CLICK TO VIEWThe trial for the last charred fire fighter is scheduled for this summer, in the great Judge Richard C. Terrell's courtroom. I'm named because I failed to warn the guy of the

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-82441339540112925222011-04-22T15:08:00.012-05:002011-04-29T14:22:35.624-05:00

Well, here's another video installment in my local culture series. Also, I have another installment in my "Interesting People I Have Met" literary series. Yup, I have now published my second book - available on Amazon Kindle and Itunes Ibooks. The photos look much better on Itunes, but you can read Kindle books on your computer. It's a trade-off.CLICK TO VIEWNow, I'm working on my third book

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-81403937804170781292011-04-21T06:41:00.029-05:002011-04-22T05:42:40.912-05:00

Ugghh. This is the latest on the search for bodies of kidnapped illegal immigrants in South Texas. Authorities believe the same kind of mass graves found in Tamaulipas will also be found in Starr, Brooks, and Hidalgo counties. Stratfor Global Intel did a little blurb about this today on the morning news. Wow, that would explain all those guys running around the McGill Bros. lease with machine

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920780996587459099.post-65199827798370106002011-04-15T21:53:00.014-05:002011-04-16T14:20:21.473-05:00

No, it's not Judge Terrell. Yet...It's Cameron County District Judge Limas. The feds released the plea packet which pretty much sums up the transactions. CLICK TO VIEW THE PLEA PACKET(By the way, the plaintiff firm involved in Racketeering Act 5 - the helicopter crash lawsuit mentioned in the plea agreement - was Rosenthal and Watson from Austin, Texas.)So, you see this corrupt judge thing is a

Elizabeth Todd Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18312722308890522531noreply@blogger.com0