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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 07:08 AM Feb 2020

Trump signs order diverting water to California farmers against state wishes

Source: The Hill

Trump signs order diverting water to California farmers against state wishes
Rebecca Beitsch 9 hrs ago

President Trump on Wednesday signed an order in California to reengineer the state's water plans, completing a campaign promise to funnel water from the north to a thirsty ag industry and growing population further south.

The ceremonial order comes after the Department of Interior late last year reversed its opinion on scientific findings that for a decade extended endangered species protections to various types of fish - a review that had been spurred by the order from Trump.

Trump said the changes to the "outdated scientific research and biological opinions" would now help direct "as much water as possible, which will be a magnificent amount, a massive amount of water for the use of California farmers and ranchers."

"It would be different if you had a drought," Trump added of restrictions. "You don't have a drought. You have tremendous amounts of water."


Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-signs-order-diverting-water-to-california-farmers-against-state-wishes/ar-BB10aQvX?li=BBnb7Kz

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Trump signs order diverting water to California farmers against state wishes (Original Post) Judi Lynn Feb 2020 OP
I would facepalm over his complete and utter stupidity but at this point we all know he is a moron. cstanleytech Feb 2020 #1
We all know......... MyOwnPeace Feb 2020 #2
State rights? Pachamama Feb 2020 #3
Not now! Now is time for revenge!! Vengeance! ...Revengeance!! Grokenstein Feb 2020 #8
It's a twofer not fooled Feb 2020 #11
Yeah right, gab13by13 Feb 2020 #4
More "bad science" from the GOP and Herr Cantaloupe. Ford_Prefect Feb 2020 #5
Trump diverts water to fill the swamp with his own creatures muriel_volestrangler Feb 2020 #6
The time has come for we Californians to absolutely ignore the Orange Menace Magoo48 Feb 2020 #7
How Dismal Is California's Snowpack? quaint Feb 2020 #9
I just finished driving from Portland to Los Angeles MurrayDelph Feb 2020 #19
Actually the majority of runoff goes straight to the ocean ripcord Feb 2020 #33
"Photos? Ha! We don't need no stinkin' science, or data or anything else... yonder Feb 2020 #21
:hi: , er Hi! quaint Feb 2020 #30
Amazing how the Rethug Polliticans Wellstone ruled Feb 2020 #28
Luckily, California can tell Trump to go pound sand in this case... MrModerate Feb 2020 #10
Exactly. Just ignore him. He'll be gone before any major changes could be done anyway oldsoftie Feb 2020 #13
My goats know more than trump Bayard Feb 2020 #12
Some clarification is needed jeffreyi Feb 2020 #14
And then there's this: jeffreyi Feb 2020 #15
What a fucking idiot. Northern California is experiencing a drought year. olddad65 Feb 2020 #16
I'm in San Diego County and we've had .25 of an inch of rain this month. Dem2theMax Feb 2020 #18
Trump said the changes to the "outdated scientific research and biological opinions" IcyPeas Feb 2020 #17
Coming soon DENVERPOPS Feb 2020 #24
Nullify it roamer65 Feb 2020 #20
The man loves being an asshole. Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Feb 2020 #22
Of course he did sakabatou Feb 2020 #23
Hasn't rained in a month Retrograde Feb 2020 #25
He knows he is universally DESPISED in Northern California. BigDemVoter Feb 2020 #26
He doesn't give a f**k about the farmers or environment. This is a pure political play. He knows still_one Feb 2020 #27
Meanwhile in the real world xxqqqzme Feb 2020 #29
K&R mountain grammy Feb 2020 #31
Yeah, its pretty incredible that the village idiot.. Maxheader Feb 2020 #32
Nunes' district needs water more than those Northern Cal liberals. JustABozoOnThisBus Feb 2020 #34

MyOwnPeace

(16,888 posts)
2. We all know.........
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 07:41 AM
Feb 2020

that IQ45 does not read, but if he even once did, perhaps he would have stumbled across this:

“It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.”

Yeah, Mark Twain wrote it, and IQ45 insists on proving its truth every single day!

Grokenstein

(5,707 posts)
8. Not now! Now is time for revenge!! Vengeance! ...Revengeance!!
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 10:19 AM
Feb 2020

Gavin Newsom defied the Generalissimo over sanctuary cities, so the state must suffer, and Californians will thank the Generalissimo for not using nukes to settle his butthurt. (Also, California is a major economy unto itself that helps support the rest of the nation, so of course it serves the Generalissimo's master Vladimir to wreck it.)

When some bunch of shit-kickin' good ol' boys down south want to build a monument to the KKK or execute people for practicing birth control or not saying "Merry Christmas," THEN the Republicans will start talking about "states rights" again.

not fooled

(5,791 posts)
11. It's a twofer
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 11:35 AM
Feb 2020

Screw CA for defying him and reward wealthy pistachio and other farmers / corporate entities that operate big tracts of thirsty orchard crops in the Central Valley and support red don.

Ford_Prefect

(7,830 posts)
5. More "bad science" from the GOP and Herr Cantaloupe.
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 09:17 AM
Feb 2020

State's Rights only apply when "we" say so? How very imperial of him.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,160 posts)
6. Trump diverts water to fill the swamp with his own creatures
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 09:18 AM
Feb 2020
During Wednesday's speech, Trump gave repeated kudos to Bernhardt, who has been mired in controversy for his past work for Westlands Water District, one of the groups pushing to expand water access for central California's ag industry.

Reporting from The New York Times found that Bernhardt continued to work for Westlands as late as April 2017, the month he was nominated to his previous role as deputy secretary of the department. He filed paperwork to end his status as a federal lobbyist in November 2016.

The Trump administration is moving to weaken protections on an imperiled fish population in California’s Central Valley, a shift that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt had previously called for when he lobbied on behalf of farmers.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced in a biological opinion Monday that the federal government is changing decades-old protections on the delta smelt, a small fish species found in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that has for nearly three decades been a source of conflict between farmers and environmentalists.

Separately, the agency also issued a biological opinion to lift protections on the chinook salmon, a reversal from findings issued in July and subsequently pulled by the administration.
...
The announcement is likely to further raise ethics concerns surrounding Bernhardt, who just before joining the administration lobbied on behalf of a farming group based in California to roll back protections on the delta smelt. Bernhardt is currently under federal investigation over several ethics concerns including complaints that he continued to push the efforts of his former employee, Westlands Water District, to advance policy at the Interior Department.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/466943-trump-admin-weakens-california-fish-protections-interior-secretary

Magoo48

(4,660 posts)
7. The time has come for we Californians to absolutely ignore the Orange Menace
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 09:26 AM
Feb 2020

and all his edicts. Forever. No matter what happens. This is not to say California’s farms don’t need water, but to say we must look to and keep our own counsel.

quaint

(2,514 posts)
9. How Dismal Is California's Snowpack?
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 10:44 AM
Feb 2020

These Photos Tell a Grim Story
The photos show the mountains covered in snow at this time last year following a conveyor belt of storms that brought steady snowfall throughout the winter. A photo taken Feb. 17 of this year illustrates the dreadful condition of the snowpack, which provides water for about 30 percent of California.

[link:?resize=850%2C478]

MurrayDelph

(5,281 posts)
19. I just finished driving from Portland to Los Angeles
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 03:47 PM
Feb 2020

Along the 5, in the Republican-activist areas, there are signs on farmland saying "Build More Dams."

They never seem to have an inkling that in order for dams to be useful, there has to be water to put IN them.

ripcord

(5,084 posts)
33. Actually the majority of runoff goes straight to the ocean
Fri Feb 21, 2020, 05:26 PM
Feb 2020

Holding dams, not dams that block rivers and streams, would be a good idea especially in Southern California where the rivers are cement lined and none of that water is saved or allowed to percolate down into the aquifer.

yonder

(9,631 posts)
21. "Photos? Ha! We don't need no stinkin' science, or data or anything else...
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 03:55 PM
Feb 2020

...to get in the way of our greedy, grabby interests."

Seriously, thanks and a hearty welcome to DU.

 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
28. Amazing how the Rethug Polliticans
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 05:06 PM
Feb 2020

as well as their King think. The 2000 drought actually started in 1997 and only increased in speed towards 2000 and beyond.

We are seeing a similiar mirror image this winter as we had in 1997. Our Rainfall total since Xmas is .03 inches,with the possibility of maybe another .04 inches of rain on Saturday. Last year at this time,we were at 2.67 inches of rain for the same time frame. Before the December Rain,we were some 104 days without rain,the second longest time in recorded history with out rain.

Again,you can not fix stupid,this so called EO was to placate Nunes and his Ilk .

 

MrModerate

(9,753 posts)
10. Luckily, California can tell Trump to go pound sand in this case...
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 11:04 AM
Feb 2020

And continue its data-based water management programs.

Bayard

(21,807 posts)
12. My goats know more than trump
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 12:24 PM
Feb 2020

Regarding environmental concerns.

People don't realize how much the big corporate farms in the middle of the state rule Calif. They simply don't care how the rest of the state is affected by their water greed.

I am sure they are big trump contributors.

jeffreyi

(1,934 posts)
14. Some clarification is needed
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 01:10 PM
Feb 2020

For me, anyway. Much of the water is controlled by the Bureau of Reclamation, Dept. of Interior. And probably a trainload of state water rights. So can the feds overrule the state in these matters?

olddad65

(599 posts)
16. What a fucking idiot. Northern California is experiencing a drought year.
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 01:51 PM
Feb 2020

I live in Sacramento. We are on the verge of having the first winter ever in Sacramento of having zero rain fall for the month of February.

Dem2theMax

(9,595 posts)
18. I'm in San Diego County and we've had .25 of an inch of rain this month.
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 02:29 PM
Feb 2020

It's 10:30 in the morning, I have all the windows open and it's hot outside. Wouldn't surprise me if it goes into the high 70s or 80s today.

Everything is blooming, and this shouldn't be happening until the end of March or the beginning of April. One day of rain in sight. The last time they predicted that, it didn't happen.

IcyPeas

(21,747 posts)
17. Trump said the changes to the "outdated scientific research and biological opinions"
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 02:10 PM
Feb 2020

LOL

NO WAY HE SAID THAT

DENVERPOPS

(8,679 posts)
24. Coming soon
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 04:25 PM
Feb 2020

to K-12 public schools near you: Trump's Secretary of Education will end any and all Science courses and history classes being taught, starting in the first grade.

Soon after that, the femNazi Secretary will announce Trump's personal vendetta against public education: math courses will no longer be taught beyond the first grade........

Beyond his normal tyrannical proclamations, this will also accomplish two added bonuses:

1) Since the number of classes will be shortened incredibly in the school day, he will no longer have to fund school lunch programs.

2) The new generation will be operating at Trump's own intelligence/knowledge level.



Retrograde

(10,073 posts)
25. Hasn't rained in a month
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 04:37 PM
Feb 2020

I think a drought cycle is staring. In a normal year it would be raining most of February

BigDemVoter

(4,149 posts)
26. He knows he is universally DESPISED in Northern California.
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 04:48 PM
Feb 2020

I live in San Francisco, and I have yet to meet ANYBODY who supports Pussy-Grabber. . . .

Just IMAGINE if Obama had done something nasty to Mississippi or one of those other typically repig states just for revenge. . . The news media would STILL be jabbering about it, and repigs would scream it to the heavens no matter what anybody else did. . .

Just watch. . . Pussy-Grabber is such a little, whiny man-bitch that he'll go around and try to find something nasty to "one-up" whatever state he decides has gotten too uppity with him. . .

This thing MUST go. . . I fucking hate him so goddamned much. . .

still_one

(91,967 posts)
27. He doesn't give a f**k about the farmers or environment. This is a pure political play. He knows
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 04:53 PM
Feb 2020

the San Joaquin valley is very conservative, (same area as nunes), and is political favoritism, perhaps hoping with our new same day Election Day registration hoping he can create political mischief in the Democratic primary

xxqqqzme

(14,887 posts)
29. Meanwhile in the real world
Thu Feb 20, 2020, 06:00 PM
Feb 2020

we had very little rain this winter. We'll get a freak storm in june but it will be negligible. We didn't get the snow pack this year. There is speculation it is the first year of a drought.

Maxheader

(4,366 posts)
32. Yeah, its pretty incredible that the village idiot..
Fri Feb 21, 2020, 03:02 PM
Feb 2020

is allowed to particpate in any legislation concerning envirnmental impact..

How much time and money is used to fight bullshit laws created by the wingers? During the time brownbak was guvnr of kansaas, the courts were tied up with voter registration laws that were illegal..unconstitutional and just stupid.

Hope they can defeat this attempt by the rich interests that promoted it...

"Like so many other of Bernhardt's orders, this one ignores the best available science," Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, an environmental watchdog group, said in a statement. "This attempt to harm the largest estuary on the West Coast will get tied up in court for years, and the Trump administration will keep losing until it decides to follow the law."
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