by Gaius PubliusI was going to write about the collapse of the Democratic Party in the Senate (thanks, Harry Reid; you too, Patty Murray), but I think I'll save that. The other news is this — the battle over water in California. This isn't a drought story.
Tuesday the House passed David Valadao's misleadingly-named California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014, 230-182. It was co-sponsored by 6 clueless right-wing California Republican ideologues, Ken Calvert, Paul Cook, Doug LaMalfa, Kevin McCarthy, Tom McClintock and Devin Nunes, plus the most right-wing fake Democrat in the California delegation, Blue Dog Jim Costa.
McCain, Ayotte, Graham want to spend billions to provoke a war with Russia over UkraineMarcy Kaptur should be home demanding answers about why her constituents can't drink the water that comes out of their taps. (They can't brush their teeth or shower with it either and they can't let their pets drink it.
There's a horrible drought in California and I'm going to rip out my lawn and replace it with a rock and cactus garden, as several neighbors and friends already have. The city even offers a cash incentive for doing so. There are also serious drought conditions on northern Texas, western Nevada and southeastern Colorado. But not in Detroit-- nor anywhere in Michigan or Ohio (which is closer to Detroit than lots of Michigan itself is). Plenty of water there... except for people to use. Well, not all people.
If you were listening to NPR Saturday, you may have heard their report about water rights in the U.S. "Oil was probably the fluid of last century where there was a lot of turmoil, and I think water is the fluid of this century," explained Michael Walsh, a major general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
