HealthCare Like WaterCare?

Our Central Valley is suffering 40% unemployment, in some areas 0% water usage even though they hold the water rights to it, and a man (govt)-made drought. This is very serious. You can live without a doctor for many years, but how long can you live without water?

The maximum one can live without water is 4 days. Okay, that's for human beings. Why don't you stop watering your plants? It's just an experiment. See how long it takes before they start turning brown or a different color that is unhealthy. Hey, maybe we can get some plant healthcare?

Anyway, my point is this. The govt has destroyed 1.5 Million acres of farmland with their obnoxious laws, regulations, and we have stood by and said nothing. AB 32 was passed 3 years ago, along with California Air Resources Bureau (CARB), This is killing California. There is a bill number AB 118 which is to be heard this week in California's state politics. Please support this bill. It will at least repeal AB 32.

For more information, I thought maybe you would like to put a human face on it. Here is a letter to the editor written by a farmer who lives on the eastside of the Valley.

Mayor was manipulated.
published September 4, 2009 in the Los Banos Enterprise.

I feel that Mayor Jones was manipulated by Congressmen Cardoza and Costa. I am not sure why the mayor allowed our Valley congressional delegation to use him. Now is the time to stop political posturing and to aggressively and effectively fashion a desperately needed situation to this "man-made" drought.

I would suggest that the mayor check his facts before giving adulation and blind support. The United States Bureau of Reclamation did indeed re-scheduling over 250,000 acre feet of federal water from 2008 to 2009.

Those of us that have been involved in Westside farming over the years know that about 150,000 acre feet of such rescheduling is routinely requested and granted by the United States Bureau of Reclamation on an annual basis.

What was different this year was the fact that San Luis Reservoir was only at about 30 percent (300,000 acre feet federal) of storage capacity going in to 2009. Granting the re-schedule request for over 250,000 acre feet meant that there would be virtually no water available in San Luis Reservoir to meet senior water rights holders' (such as Central California Irrigation District) irrigation demands.

At the time, most modeling projected that USBR would probably have to take water from Friant Dam to meet those demands, reducing water made available to Friant Water User Authority Districts on the east side. My thanks goes to the Friant Water Users Authority for asking the USBR to honor the re-scheduling requests, supporting west side districts facing a 0 percent supply this year, even at the risk of their own contract supply.

Addressing water transfers by state and federal agencies this year. The Drought Water Bank was planning to transfer up to 600,000 acre feet from the Sacramento Valley to south of delta this year, with about half of that destined to local desperate Westside districts. Only around 90,000 acre feet total will actually be made available, with only about 30,000 acre feet going to local Westside districts.

Even though these small amounts of water are greatly appreciated, meeting 15 percent of a very achievable goal is hardly a success.

What we need to survive is 100 percent support for real solutions. Congressmen Cardoza and Costa need to join with Congressman Devin Nunes in solving the man-made drought.

Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa have voted with the Democratic leadership of Pelosi and Miller. Their votes have kept the "Pumps" off! Their votes have enabled the removal of water, jobs, and farming on over 1.5 million acres of our valley!

Mayor Jones why are you enabling Cardoza and Costa to vote against our Valley families and farmers?

John Fawcett
Los Baños

This information came my way courtesy of Families Protecting the Valley. If you would care to educate yourself on this very important issue, you will want to read California's Man-Made Drought.

And this is the government you trust to take care of your healthcare? May I remind you that if your medication involves something that can declared endangered, you're screwed. Don't look at us. We tried to warn you. I guess it will just be too bad for you, too. After all, you didn't care when it wasn't your problem, right?

Oh, wait a minute! California grows and distributes 40-50% of all the food that feeds THIS country and others. Get ready for prices to go up, and don't ask why. We've just told you why. No product? More demand? Higher prices. Macro-Economics 101. The same thing will happen with healthcare.

More seniors, less product because they went out of business due to lack of PROFITS, higher costs to the government. Is the government supposed to give us healthcare in place of defending our Sovereignty? You should at least try to read our Constitution again!

The fight is not over. We have not lost. They have not won. We must keep the pressure on them to do the right thing. They are elected to protect the PEOPLE whom they represent. You have been great! I liked very much seeing you again on the 12th of September. Everyone have a blessed day.

Update: As I was sitting here pondering the consequences of the actions of Congress and environmental groups, I was intrigues with the proposition that there may be no food. No food? Then I realized what I was reminded of, Stalin's starvation of 65 million of his own people. No, I guess we don't need any death panels, do we?

HINT: I am not saying anything of the sort that Obama is Stalin. NO WAY. I am saying, however, we may find ourselves going down the same road. What is there to stop it from happening? That's correct, US. So back off with your racist comments. I reject them. Let's all agree to take our government back to the Constitution. Slavery has been eliminated and it was a horrible stain on us, but as they say, let's move on...