California, the golden state, is one of the most diverse, populous states in the country, producing half of the nations fruits, the most vegetables of any other state, with an economy, if it were a nation unto itself, ranking number 8 amongst other nations. Adding Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the black budget high tech industries to the mix, California has a major impact upon thought and culture far beyond its boundaries. The struggle for political control, as well as control over the resources, the water, the minerals, the airwaves, the people, the land of California is fierce. The state's capitol is located in Sacramento, not too far from where gold was discovered in 1848.
Blessed or cursed by the confluence of two rivers, the American and the Sacramento. Sacramento was a major port, developed rapidly, became the seat of the state government, suffered from floods and epidemics. Government remains the largest employer in the city, levees and canals have been built which carry the life giving water to farmers and developments far to the south. The delta which has been a home to countless fish, providing people with recreational opportunities, has also been a major point of contention, as public funds have been lavished on projects, levees, canals, which haven't always served the public interest. Fortunes have been made by those who have been able to control the political processes, the land, the water, the course of development.
Most recently Governor Jerry Brown gave a speech on the "State of the State" which in an Orwellian manner crusaded a massive project which he has been championing called "The Peripheral Canal." While citizens, environmentalists, fishermen have voiced strong opposition to the boondoggle which seems to clearly serve a very few at great public expense, causing untold ecological damage, the project has found some support among other legislators and could slip by if the public is kept in the dark, without any popular means to oppose stealth legislation. Dan Bacher has been a very vocal opponent of the project for sometime, he blogs at FishSniffer.com" ,Sacramento for Democracy and Alternet.org and has tried to warn the people of Sacramento and California about the political machinations taking place to further the enrichment of the few. However, Californians have already lost many battles, against many giant industries, beset by challenges on many fronts, it's hard to say how many Californians know about this project and the damning details which would kill it, if people were informed. Dan Bacher is able to cast much light on one of the darker corners of Californian politics, which mirrors, in many ways, the struggles faced in every state and every nation. His article on the recent turn of events is entitled State of the State: peripheral canal won't 'mend' anything.
Dan Bacher is a committed activist, as well as an avid fisherman.
To learn more about the campaign to stop the project and to restore the Sacramento Delta, see- Restore the Delta. See the new 3 minute video entitled Kill the Canal.