Taylor Swift's ex Conor Kennedy arrested at White House

Taylor Swift's ex boyfriend Conor Kennedy was arrested on Wednesday during a protest at the White House.

PICS: Candid celeb sightings

The protest (also involving Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Daryl Hannah, civil rights leaders and environmental activists) was an act of civil disobedience in reaction to the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Eighteen-year-old Conor was briefly linked to Swift last summer after the couple was snapped at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., as well as Cape Cod. Their relationship reportedly cooled off when he returned to high school.

Prior to the breakup, Ethel Kennedy revealed her fondness for Swift, telling The Associated Press that the Kennedys would be "lucky" to welcome her into their family.

The group of protesters is bringing attention to the Keystone XL pipeline because they believe it would "boost carbon pollution by triggering a boom of growth in the tar sands industry in Canada, and greatly increasing greenhouse gas emissions."

Conor and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were handcuffed and driven to a Park Police station. They have both been released after paying a fine.

[sheriwine]

Since when is not OK to peacefully protest in the United States of America?

[sneefa]

Since our government has become a haven for real terrorism

[KyleSager]

Headline is so tabloidish. Seems to enjoy making fun of the event. Among others not mentioned, a head of NASA's Goddard, Jim Hansen, and the chiefs of NRDC, Sierra Club, and 350.org...The ones who organized the event.

Instead, You lead with someone who was not even there, Taylor Swift, and you blather on childishly about about Ethel's fondness for Taylor. In December, protestors in Australia scaled a massive cooling tower and were dangerously chased around by bucket operators tried to pull them down. The protestors unfurled a huge 10' banner from the tower after evading capture. As if you could care...That is the importance that Robert and Connor were both appealing to, and you just made light of their message.

This summer, protestors in Texas were agressively abused with tasers by Texas police who were at beck and call of a Canadian corporation...to push the Keystone XL pipeline forward. The Texas police were allegedly protecting the "rights" of... a CANADIAN corporation, Enbridge, excercising eminent domain to take ("legally" steal) property from law-abiding TEXANS for Keystone XL. Do Texas judges even care about protecting their own citizens anymore? No, Texas judges are too busy protecting Canadian corporations. Since corporations are now, you know, according to our cartoonish Supreme Court: "People too."

Are you still missing the point? Peaceful civil disobediance globally is on the rise. You are busy leading with a story that does not even exist because you have basically become The National Enquirer. You are so fixated on cranking out papparazi-esque headlines that you can not even see the nascent global pattern unfolding...You will not go near it until somebody gets irreperably harmed. Even then you will probably find a way to make fun of it.

We can not say how fast: But this trend will definitely continue to escalate. Too many people now all over the globe care about this too much to let us destroy the environment without a fight. It is escalating because of you. Because you, CBS, treat stories like this so carelessly. Protesters will increasingloy risk physical pain and even possible death because you are turning American Journalism into a circus.

Perhaps you will understand this: It may take years; but the only way this story ends is "Gandhi Style." Does that do it for you? If protestors spend a little time doing a mind-numbingly stupid cowboy dance will you sit still long enough to listen to what they are saying?

No wonder people have to excercise civil disobedience to be heard. CBS News is now a cotton candy store. Congratulations, you've made to the big times, Tabloid Alley.

[HobartSchmenge]

Her ex is now a jailbird. Now there's no way in Hell they are ever, ever, ever, getting back together.

[prm777]

I'd love for these left-leaning celebrities to explain why it makes sense (even environmentally) for us to continue our dependence on foreign oil, which has to be shipped half way around the world (a huge energy consumption and risk of its own) and is produced by countries that have far less stringent regulations governing their environmental safety and conservation. It's easy for the rich and famous to jet around and protest these things without considering the impacts to American jobs, American security and independence as well as overall, global environmental impacts.

[KyleSager]

Well, first there's the huge symbolic importance. Then there is the truth that 500,000 barrels gotten by ripping up the Borreal Forest does zilch to meaningfully impact 19 million U.S. barrels per day, especially when it's refined at an export port. There's the fact that tar sand oil is inherently filthy to refine at a higher CO2 cost per barrel. Then there's the side-note that Canadian Corporations got Texas Judges to approve taking away U.S. citizen's lands by force in Texas by way of eminent domain before they even got approval for a completed pipeline. Then there's the growing $billions in terms of property damage and rising global property insurance rates, the GAO's finding that climate risks to United States are in the billions. Oh, and the recent finding that climate damage already costs the global economy $1.2 Trillion global gdp. But you keep right on telling yourself "Gee, those jobs look great!"

Maybe we should legalize crack cocaine on the basis it will create jobs.