Schwarzenegger: Chertoff commits to touring Calif levees

ap on Riverside Press Enterprise ^ | 2/27/06 | Erica Werner - ap

[NormsRevenge]

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will visit California to tour Sacramento's levees and assess the need for federal help, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday after meeting with the secretary.

Schwarzenegger said Chertoff made the commitment during a meeting in which the governor pressed him to support a federal disaster declaration for the fragile levee system. Schwarzenegger on Friday declared a state of emergency for the river and delta levees to try to get quick funding to repair them.

"He said that he will help, that he will look into it," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with The Associated Press. "He has committed to come to California to take a tour with me."

"It's always easier if you see it," said Schwarzenegger, who toured the levees himself by helicopter several days before issuing the disaster declaration.

Largely because of weaknesses in the hundreds of miles of levees some built more than 100 years ago Sacramento has less than 100-year flood protection, the lowest of any large urban area in the nation. That's led to fears that an earthquake or flood could cause a Katrina-style catastrophe.

Schwarzenegger and Chertoff also discussed the need to ensure that the federal government would be prepared to respond to a disaster in the nation's most populous state.

In response to requests from Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Chertoff has said the federal government has no specific plan to respond to a catastrophic earthquake in California. Such a scenario would be covered by the government's National Response Plan, Chertoff said earlier this month in a letter to Boxer, and beyond that states are responsible for developing their own plans. Chertoff told Boxer Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are reviewing California's plan.

Schwarzenegger sat down one-on-one with Chertoff for 20 to 25 minutes before a meeting with President Bush and fellow governors at the White House. The governors are in town for the annual National Governors Association conference. Schwarzenegger also planned to discuss the levees issue with Bush.

On Sunday, Schwarzenegger appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" where he defended his record public works borrowing proposal as essential for California's future, characterizing it as an investment rather than a spending plan. It's his sixth visit to Washington since his election in 2003.

[ridesthemiles]

The biggest problem with the California levees along the Sacramento River and other locations is the Environazis.

The farmers for years kept the levees well maintained, because it was in their best interest to do so. They shot and poisoned the ground squirrels that make tunnels in the ground and "swiss cheese" the levees, causing failures.
They brought in rock and used their own equipment and workers to do the work.

Then the Greenies came along and the Environazis made it a felony to keep the population of gophers down. The farmers were kept from keeping other shrub and brush down along the riverbanks because "it would provide a shady pool in the river for a fish" that had survived in the river for hundreds of years. The farmers and ranchers who need the levees for protection of their land are the best stewards of the land they are farming.
This is the result of the outsiders making policy about someone else's property, and holding the high hand with threats of litigation the landowner cannot fight against.
Someone needs to get their head on straight. These farmers are the ones that feed you. Stop putting them out of business.

[Amerigomag]

farmers are the ones that feed you. Stop putting them out of business.

Here, here.

California's electorate will have some difficult decisions in November. It is likely that both the Republican and Democrat candidates for governor will support environmental causes. The Republican will probably champion relaxation of environmental restrictions during levee repair but reinstate the restrictions when the construction is complete. The Democrat candidate will probably suggest that farming operations in environmentally sensitive areas be halted.

I'd suggest that level heads have two choices in November. Reasoned capitulation or protest. Reasoned capitulation could take the form of either a third party vote, if a splinter party supports the suppression of environmental regulations at the state level, or the lesser of two evils from among the major parties. Protestation would be simple, voluntary disenfranchisement, casting no vote for governor. Not voting equates to no say in public governance.

In light of recent trends in California elections, a single vote in November will probably equate to about two votes if everyone eligible participated. This effective doubling of the personal influence over governance is attractive. Reasoned capitulation is suggested. The two major parties are counting on it.