After state politicians insult the new President for three weeks, California now needs money for flood response.

Governor Jerry Brown recently spoke out against President Trump for his NASA-space focus and climate skepticism while asserting California’s independence.

The state’s legislatures have vowed to create a “Sanctuary State.” A day after Trump’s presidential victory, both state houses issued a joint letter that began, “Today, we woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land, because yesterday Americans expressed their views on a pluralistic and democratic society that are clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California.”

Less than three weeks after these displays of political hubris, Governor Brown is now asking the President for disaster relief in the wake of significant rainfall that has led to flooding and mudslides.

…The request could be an early test of relations between the Democrats who run the nation’s largest state and the new Republican administration. If California’s request is rejected, however, it might be difficult to pin it on a frosty relationship between the governor and the president, said Larry Gerston, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State. “It’s an easy claim to make, but a hard one to prove,” he said. FEMA considers many factors for disaster relief, including the severity of damage and cost, Gerston said. “It’s a very discretionary call by the president,” he said. Gerston added that Trump just might reveal his reasoning behind any decision. “This president is fairly transparent with his feelings,” he said.

The rainfall truly has been historic. A Northern California dam was forced to use its emergency spillway for first time in its nearly 50-year history, as water tops capacity.

The emergency spillway at California’s swollen Oroville Dam was activated Saturday, as water levels from heavy rains this week caused the reservoir to rise above its capacity during an unusually plentiful rain season. Saturday marked the first time the emergency spillway has been used in the dam’s 48-year history. Normally the dam would use its concrete-lined spillway to discharge water, but that primary channel is severely damaged. However, utilizing the emergency spillway—essentially an unlined hillside—is likely to send mud and other debris into the water of rivers and channels downstream. …The use of the emergency spillway follows a series of so-called atmospheric river storms that have dropped huge amounts of rain into Northern California—a region tracking to have its wettest year ever recorded.

Of course, the real reason for all the water is not being reported: All the liberal tears.



