As pictured in the tweet below, praying water protectors were Maced and fired upon with rubber bullets today at the site of the North Dakota protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. They had sought to cross the Cannon Ball River in order to pray on ancestral Sioux land. On Facebook, you can see video of the scene here and here.

Unicorn Riot reported at least 100 injured with triage overflowing.

Meanwhile, North Dakota regulators, known for their abject docility in the face of fossil fuel interests, showed just a touch of spine Wednesday when they decided to draft a complaint against Dakota Access LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, the builder of DAPL. The all-Republican, all-white state Public Service Commission is objecting to the company’s failing to inform the PSC of a cultural find on the pipeline right of way. Amy Dalrymple at the Fargo Inforum reported:

The company’s permit requires that the Public Service Commission also will be notified of unanticipated discoveries and give clearance to proceed with construction. The commission learned about the discovery from its third-party inspector and then requested information from the company, which formally notified the commission on Thursday, 10 days after the find. [...] The company said in an Oct. 27 letter the delay in notifying the PSC about the discovery was “a result of the find occurring simultaneously with Dakota Access officials coordinating an on-site visit for various officials,” including U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ district commander. That tour took place Oct. 20, three days after the find. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was not notified about the discovery or invited to participate in the evaluation of the site. State archaeologist Paul Picha said notifying the tribe was not a requirement of the unanticipated discovery plan.

So, let me get this straight. Dakota Access LLC knew about the cultural find, but it didn’t notify the PSC because it had to coordinate a tour...three days later? And, of course, while on that tour conveniently didn’t tell the Congressman or the tribal chairman of the find? That surely couldn’t be could it because announcing the find in such circumstances and company might possibly put more political pressure on them that would be favorable to the Standing Rock Sioux’s case? Nah! Of course not.

But hurrah! A $10,000 a day fine. So $200,000 for 10 days, right? Mere pocket change for the company, where, as at so many companies, the idea is that it’s better to violate the rules and pay the fine than follow the rules and maybe get delayed or blocked. Damage done culturally as the construction continues and other artifacts are potentially lost, burial grounds potentially desecrated, but progress on the project is made.

Well, $200,000 is better than nothing.

But, surprise, it won’t likely be $200,000. The PSC chairwoman says the maximum penalty probably won’t be assessed.

So, we’re left with the fact that the last time a PSC complaint was issued against a pipeline company was at least 28 years ago, according to Dalrymple. And now that they finally got up the gumption to do their jobs, the commissioners retreat immediately.

Pathetic.

Other deadlines: Maryland: Nov. 3 in person; North Carolina: Nov. 5 in person;

The following states allow people to register on Election Day: Colorado; Connecticut; Idaho; Illinois; Iowa; Maine; Minnesota; Montana; New Hampshire; Washington, DC; Wisconsin; Wyoming. No registration is required in North Dakota.

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At Daily Kos on this date in 2008—Internet surpasses newspapers as source for campaign news:

The internet is now second only to television as a primary campaign news source for Americans, according to a new survey released by Pew Research. Many more Americans are turning to the internet for campaign news this year as the web becomes a key source of election news. Television remains the dominant source, but the percent who say they get most of their campaign news from the internet has tripled since October 2004 (from 10% then to 33% now). While use of the web has seen considerable growth, the percentage of Americans relying on TV and newspapers for campaign news has remained relatively flat since 2004. The internet now rivals newspapers as a main source for campaign news. And with so much interest in the election next week, the public's use of the internet as a campaign news source is up even since the primaries earlier this year. In March, 26% cited the internet as a main source for election news, while the percentages citing television and newspapers remain largely unchanged. The editorial commentary here is being generous to newspapers; the internet doesn't simply rival newspapers in this study, it surpasses them by 4 percent, and demographics are most certainly breaking in the newer medium's favor. Nearly 50 percent of 18-29 year olds claim the internet as their first or second news source (behind television), and only 17 percent named newspapers. Even in the next oldest co-hort, 30 to 49-year-olds, 37 percent named the internet compared to 23 percent for newspapers. It's not until the over-50's are broken out that newspapers overtake the internet as first or second-choice source for election news.

On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Greg Dworkin checks on the dwindling number of polls, and the increasing disrespect for political norms. Joan McCarter discusses the Trump un-un-endorsement trend, the fracturing Freedom Caucus, and the critical election protection effort.

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