...people who live in California's San Joaquin Valley have had their water turned off in order to protect a tiny fish called the delta smelt. As a result farm land that used to be prime agricultural land are now dust bowls. It devastated the economy as well, driving up the the unemployment rate in some areas to as high as 41 percent. Yet for months on end, President Obama said and did nothing to help the people in the Central Valley.
But now the president's health care reforms are on the ropes and the San Joaquin Valley's two blue-dog Democratic congressmen Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa have been reluctant to support the president's reforms. So imagine everyone's surprise when the Department of the Interior announced yesterday that it is dramatically increasing the water supply to the valley's parched lands. And what a coincidence, now the two California congressmen who were once "undecided" are being moved over into the "yes" column[.]
Well, there are other ways to obtain water, I suppose. Like, for example, disabling Gummint valves permanently.But a vote is less........aaahhhhh......disruptive.
What do you do when Obama turns it off again?
HT: Ace
It may be spitting in the wind, but I'm part of the crew from NC going to DC Saturday.
ReplyDeleteIf our area is any indicator, it should be a good turnout. The busses in our area sold out (yep, we buy tickets and brownbag it) in 18 hours.
Please Pray.
If I had known a bus was leaving from here yesterday, I'd have been on it. As it is....here I sit.
ReplyDeleteneomom: Report-out when you return. If we haven't been shut down.
Home, 20 hrs after leaving. Exhausted, voice ragged, but an amazing experience! Estimated 50K people there. Not bad for > 2 days notice. The anger was palpable. Met many Reps. Got interviewed by Jonathan Cohen at New Republic (that should be an interesting article to read). Got interviewed by Rep John Culberson (TX 7) for his web cast.
ReplyDeleteBest part? We walked upon some network (don't know which one) interviewing Jan Schakowsky and heard her telling the camera that "there is no funding for abortion in this bill".... After the lights went out on the camera I called her a liar and she came over to where 4 of us were standing (lights on cameras came back up and they started filming again at this point) and I kind of got in her face about it. She is shorter than me and I was literally looking down at her. I told her that we know what's in it and that 73% of the people want them to scrap the effort altogether or start over that they needed to start listening to us.
She rolled her eyes and walked into the Ways and Means Committee room and the Capitol Police requested that we move along.
Kill.The.Bill.
btw - We were across the street from where the CBC folks walked when they said they were called the "N" word.... There were probably 10K people in that area lining the streets and in front of the Congressional Office Building because that was the entrance Obama was supposed to have used. We boo'd them, we were shouting "Kill The Bill"..... If they heard any "N" words it was "No" or "November". Raucous? Yep. Rude? Maybe. Racist? Not even close. They got the same treatment every CongressCritter that walked through there did. Although the "No" voters were walking along talking, shaking hands, and thanking us for being there.
http://ow.ly/i/N45
ReplyDeleteIf you think that's 50,000 people you got an eye like a dead perch.
First of all... I was there, you weren't. 2nd. People were still streaming in. 3rd. Because of said people streaming in, it is virtually impossible to nail down an exact figure. What this pic doesn't show are the other several thousand people lining the streets in front of the Congressional Office Buildings.
ReplyDeleteSo. I guess.
Bite me.
Thanks for your report, which will be posted as a blogpost (above.)
ReplyDeleteAFP estimates the crowd as 30K--but with fluidity (in/out movement) it could have seen 50K.