Governor A. Schwarzenegger revealed himself tonight as a complete pussy.
As governor of the largest state in the Union...as measured by economic output...he had a chance to tell the Feds to stick it.
We live in a federal republic. You'd think that some states would be willing to address the imbalance of a federally imposed
diktat that has no support by the agreement between the States and the national government that was put into law with our adoption of the Constitution.
There is no language in the 14th, 15th and the 16th Amendments that allow the Federal government to take the steps that it takes--and has taken--to enforce policy decisions upon the States that have left the people of California (especially the residents of the San Joaquin Valley) begging for the rudiments of survival.
As an Oregonian I know about the political distemper that exists when politicians decide that the only valid outcomes are those directed by a central authority. Oregon has a structural unemployment rate of twelve percent. Seasonal or short-term unemployment is currently around twelve percent, too.
That means that in Oregon, one in four Oregonians are unable to find full-time employment.
This is "Dust Bowl" era economics.
Unemployment in the San Joaquin is approaching 40 percent.
And the Governor of California has the power to tell those who control the pumps to turn them back on.
The Governor is the Commander of National Guard forces in the State of California. Because of the
posse comitatus laws on the books, the Federal government has no authority to draw upon the National Guard to end this dispute.
Now, there are some interesting comparisons between what California should do for its people and what has occured in our nation's history when it has come to confrontations between the Federal government and State governments.
The
Civil Rights Act was founded upon the Civil War Amendments to the Constitution. But the battle over water rights in California have nothing to do with the civil rights protected by these amendments with the current authority that a State has over its own natural resources. I can't think of any application of these amendements to the problem of an over-reaching Federal stance that it destroying the ability of persons living within a state to determine their own personal economic outcomes.
It is possible that you can find a Federal judge that could, in her opinion, make such a case. But the law simply doesn't support such application.
Which is why the Governator is a Pussy.
If he had a backbone he would tell the pump stations to turn back on. It might be the Fort Sumpter moment. It would tell our current "leaders" that there is a reason why the Constitution exists. And grabbing the value of the land through changes in water regulations is similar to the grabbing of the value of the land through changes in Land Use Policies.
And you know how we've been dealing with Measures 39 and 47 in Oregon.
WE THE PEOPLE must be compensated.
Duh.
Good luck, Californians, as you deal with your governor and your decimation by your political and environmental advocates. Your property is your property. If you fail to defend it, that is your failure. I don't wish you to fail. I just wish the Governantor was more Terminator.
That's all.
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