Oh the joys of living alongside useful idiots with superiority complexes!

Allow me to set the stage, starting with a Canadian Press article two months ago, via MSN:

California Gov. Newsom backs dam removal projects to boost salmon. Critics say that’s not enough

Then the dams, along the Klamath River, came down…and the once-thriving fish populations (trout and salmon) suffered a mass die-off event, as the landscape was devastated by the change:

Klamath Dams Down: Will Ranches Survive?

Dam removal proponents claimed the project would help salmon, but steelhead trout are dead, and salmon spawning beds destroyed & four hydroelectric dams have been breached.@CaliforniaGlobe https://t.co/IZ3akWnGCc pic.twitter.com/dZyQDltezw

— California Globe (@CaliforniaGlobe) February 23, 2024

The fishing industry is a crucial part of the California economy, especially for the people of the local Indian tribes, so with essential fish populations headed toward “extinction,” Gavin Newsom reared his ugly oily head again, albeit through a proxy. (Where Newsom is, I have no idea.)

Yesterday, lieutenant governor of California Eleni Kounalakis dispatched a “Federal Fishery Disaster Request” to Gina Raimondo, Joe Biden’s Secretary of Commerce, soliciting “economic assistance” (billions of federal dollars) to fix the mess created by Newsom, his administration and its bureaucrats, and all the voters enabling this nightmare.

Oh, but allow me to clarify: Newsom and Kounalakis aren’t taking any responsibility whatsoever for the obvious cause of the disaster…they’re blaming climate change! From Kounalakis’s official letter to Raimondo:

Yesterday, the Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended a full closure of California’s commercial and recreational 2024 ocean salmon fisheries in response to near-historically low stock abundance forecasts for the fall Chinook runs of salmon originating from the Sacramento and Klamath rivers.

…

A host of factors have pushed these iconic and important fisheries to the point of collapse, including prolonged and historic drought, severe wildfires, impacts to spawning and rearing habitat…

Extreme climate disruption is compounding these factors and is now testing the resiliency of our salmon. In addition, the life cycle of salmon makes them extremely susceptible to environmental impacts as the salmon that are returning to California’s waters now were impacted by drought conditions three years ago on their initial journey out to the ocean.

…

Based on the projected 100 percent loss of direct fishery revenue, I am requesting an expedited determination of a fishery resource disaster for California’s SFRC and KRFC fisheries to enable fishing communities affected by this disaster to receive essential economic assistance.

“Impacts to spawning and rearing habitat”? Oh, you mean the destruction of the fish spawning beds because idiot greenies successfully leveraged idiotic policies through…none other than a radical Democrat government? Figures. Chalk this up as a defiant loser moment.

And a one hundred percent loss of “direct fishery revenue”? From an ecology report out today:

Salmon fishing in California typically generates around $1.4 billion each year, according to the Golden State Salmon Association.

And that’s only salmon fishing—nevermind the trout and other fish species harvested from California’s river system.

I mean, it’s enough to make people lose their minds, especially when they’re footing the bills. When speaking to the big government of California I often hear conservatives say something along the lines of, “Well, this doesn’t affect me because I don’t live in California, and California is free to spend its money as foolishly as it wants.” But…to those same conservatives: When California doesn’t have any money, which is now always the case as the state faces another historic deficit (one estimate predicts $73 billion in the hole), and runs to the federal government for “economic assistance,” it does affect you...and me...and my childrens’ future.

As goes California, so goes the nation? Good grief I hope not.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.