That iconic poster, produced in 1885, no doubt lured hordes of opportunists to California. A present-day incident, described in the following article, should repel thinking Americans in equal numbers:
(CNSNews.com) -- The government spent at least $205,075 in 2010 to "translocate" a single bush in San Francisco that stood in the path of a $1.045-billion highway-renovation project that was partially funded by the economic stimulus legislation President Barack Obama signed in 2009.In the midst of our national economic crisis, this is pure madness.
The bush -- a Franciscan manzanita -- was a specimen of a commercially cultivated species of shrub that can be purchased from nurseries for as little as $15.98 per plant. The particular plant in question, however, was discovered in the midst of the City of San Francisco, in the median strip of a highway, and was deemed to be the last example of the species in the "wild."
Prior to the discovery of this "wild" Franciscan manzanita, the plant had been considered extinct for as long as 62 years -- extinct, that is, outside of people's yards and botanical gardens.
Caltrans agreed to transfer $79,470 to the Presidio Trust "to fund the establishment, nurturing, and monitoring of the Mother Plant in its new location for a period not to exceed ten (10) years following relocation and two (2) years for salvaged rooted layers and cuttings according to the activities outlined in the Conservation Plan."
Furthermore, Presidio Parkway Project spokesperson Molly Graham told CNSNews.com that the "hard removal" -- n.b. actually digging up the plant, putting it on a truck, driving it somewhere else and replanting it -- cost $100,000.
Caltrans also agreed to "Transfer $25,605.00 to the Trust to fund the costs of reporting requirements of the initial 10-year period as outlined in the Conservation Plan."
[Read the complete article here.]
The People's Republic of California is where fiscal responsibility goes to die, interred right next to Liberty. The state faces its own budget shortfall of $10 billion, so it has no problem squandering federal money -- my money, your money, our kids' money.
Although the Left Coast deserves every ounce of outrage we can muster, by no means should it be the sole target of our ire.
Consider that New York, New Jersey, Maryland and the southern New England states, among others, engage in the same assault on their citizens. See how corruption grows, entitlements blossom and individual liberties vanish in large cities, and how quickly these cancers spread to the suburbs and beyond.
Independent citizen-patriots are being pressed into "flyover country." It looks like we're going to have to make our stand -- practically and politically -- right here in the Heartland.
