The Care, Feeding
and Preservation of Mud Puddles
By Roger Canfield
The Sacramento Bee blasted away at elected officials who
might possibly vote against its pretentious editorial claims. The Bee is the PC conscience of the River City and all
surrounding environs. The Bee threatened those elected officials who might vote wrongly—against
the Bee–out there on the “far right fringe of politics.” Why? What dastardly
deed was about to be done? Why ought these elected officials hang their heads
in shame and hide before the mighty Bee? Several county supervisors muttered a few modest words in defense
of common sense, decency, property rights, and due process, but none were
uttered against “lefty wing lunacy.” That deficiency is hereby corrected. The
wretched rag—that’s the Bee—really had little to fear.
A major issue was the possible taking and
devaluing of private property. The Bee said, “frankly we don’t care whether any
given landowner is happy with the outcome or not”
Over what grand purpose, what fundamental
principle or what collective benefit does the Bee get into such a spitting
frenzy of righteous indignation. Why is the Bee, other than its socialist
origins, so committed to violating property rights at any price?
The eternal care and perpetual protection of
mud puddles. Yep. That’s it.
Yes, that’s right–protecting uneven
ground—the low spots where water collects when it rains. Unless leveled with a
laser, in the rainy season you too have mud puddles in your own yard from
whence many life forms may emerge. Beware you may be harboring a danger to your
own health and property rights. We speak not of malaria, plague, E-coli. No
ticks. No rats (well maybe…).
Of course, these mud puddles–dry in warm
weather–are called vernal pools. And the venal folks who protect such insist
that even “unnatural vernal pools [provide] species habitat, such as tire ruts
and roadside ditches” AND these too warrant protection sez Center for
Biological Diversity v. Bartel. The Center is for all biodiversity that doesn’t
include Homo sapiens—that be you and me.
These seasonal wet spots provide a place for
species to live some of the year. Let’s be clear we’re not talking about
housing for Bald Eagles or our very own cute, cuddly connoisseurs of road
kill—the California Condor. Nope, we’re talking Fairy Shrimp. Not the kind that
appears under Saran@ wrap and tomato sauce at your local Stop and Rob. In fact,
you need very good optics to actually see these critters. Yes, they really
exist…so I’ve been told.
These teenie weenies have very powerful friends.
Environmentalists say they want to save endangered species.
Who knows what cures for cancer or hangnails may exist in
the DNA or the excretions of the Fairy Shrimp? Bogus. Bull as they say down on
the farm (where the enviros are busy criminalizing dirt, particulate matter, and cow
pies).
The real environmental agenda always turns
out to be the command and control of growth, housing, roads, bridges,
refineries, dams and power plants for our children and grandchildren, It’s to
demonize homebuilders, engineers, farmers, homeowners — the productive members
of our society. It’s to stir up class envy. It’s to take private property and
to put in the hands of government. It is government, which knows what’s better
for yours and mine than we do for ourselves. It’s a power grab pure and simple.
It reaches everything. When do we call it totalitarian? In the local instance
it’s a mere 60,000 acres costing $1.1 billion to expand further the publicly
owned/devalued land above the current 87% public ownership. It takes or
devalues private property.
So the pompously unchallenged Bee says,
“frankly we don’t care whether any given landowner is happy with the outcome or
not” and calls such an outcome “revolutionary.” How very precious and
progressive.
Sounds like that’s coming from the far, left
fringe. Ever heard of Karl Marx, well …Pol Pot, Hugo Chavez?
As is the nature of guvmint, the idea was
sent back for further study in this place not so far away. [EDITOR: names and
locations hidden truly to protect the innocent and the intimidated who are
forbidden to say bad things about the ugly naked thing.]