I was temporarily heartened to read that a Republican congressman from California had introduced legislation to return badly needed irrigation to that state's Central Valley. Investor's Business daily, in an editorial noted that Representative David Nunes of Visalia is sponsoring HR 1837, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Water Reliability Act, which, according to Nunes:
"...restores the flow of water and establishes a framework for meaningful environmental improvements. It is a repudiation of the left's assault on rural communities, which began with the decimation of the West's timber industry and now is focused on Central Valley agriculture."
IBD notes that this bill marks the first time this matter of Central Valley irrigation rights has been addressed in Congress. For the uninitiated, federal courts, ruling in favor of the EPA, numerous environmental wacko groups and a fingerling fish called the Delta Smelt, long ago turned off the irrigation waters that flowed from northern California to the Central Valley, an area of such plentiful food production it has long been referred to as the nation's breadbasket. Productive farm lands by the tens of thousands of acres dried up and went dormant putting landowners into bankruptcy and workers in unemployment lines. Meanwhile, the Delta Smelt appears to thrive while his farmer nemesis looks towards extirpation.
I said temporarily heartened because of subsequently learning that our all-wise leader won't go along with this legislation which could put tens of thousands of American workers, primarily Hispanics, back in the job force. White House sources indicate he would veto the bill.
But not to worry, for there is additional information that indomitable human will is alive and well in the Central Valley, as is the spirit of American entrepreneurship. If you think all of those out-of-work folks are just laying around sucking up welfare, think again. They've got something new cooking and I do mean cooking. According to DoJ's Drug Intelligence Center Website, the Central Valley has one method of fighting economic malaise:
The Central Valley HIDTA region is the primary methamphetamine production area, not only in California but also in the United States. In 2009, 50 percent of all methamphetamine laboratories seized in California were located in the Central Valley HIDTA region. (See Table 2.) In addition, 7 of the 13 superlabse seized in California during 2009 were located in the Central Valley. The majority of these laboratories were controlled by Mexican DTOs and located in rural areas--typically on rented property (usually farms) or remote public lands.
HIDTA is a high intensity drug trafficking area. Oh, and for you federal judges and smug guardians of the environment, the narcs also have this little gem for you to masticate:
The environmental damage caused by the disposal of chemicals and chemical waste is substantial in the region. More than half of the state's remediation costs for contaminated methamphetamine production sites are incurred in the Central Valley. In 2009, cleanup of these laboratories cost the state more than $400,000, which accounted for approximately 53 percent of state expenditures to remediate methamphetamine laboratories and dumpsites.
My, my...and all that's from only the small fraction of meth labs they actually discover. Imagine the incredible amounts of poisons going into the earth and the water table so a few holier-than-thou types can feel good about themselves. I'm mindful of that proverb about giving a man a fish as opposed to teaching him to fish, although in the situation extant, I'm thinking the Smelt lovers should be thinking more in terms of saving the fish and teaching the man how to cook meth.
Nice work Barry; you go right ahead and veto that bill so good ol' American entrepreneurship can just keep 'em cookin' out there in Central Valley. And just think about all those laborers needed to bury those endless tons of toxic by-product chemicals.
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