stupid is as stupid does

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Yea, I know the article I am referencing below is about water issues in California, so why should we care…? In case you did not know or forgot, our neighbor to the West is that 900# gorilla which like it or not has its foot on our neck respecting Colorado River water, think not, guess again…?

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-water10-2008oct10,0,3193038.story
From the Los Angeles Times - excerpted - …As water level drops at Diamond Valley, rationing becomes more likely … With the lake -- intended as an insurance policy in case of natural disaster -- at only 60% capacity, the MWD board could start rationing Southern California cities as soon as 2009….By Tony Perry … Los Angeles Times Staff Writer …October 10, 2008

Diamond Valley Lake, the giant regional reservoir in Riverside County, has been tarnished by the water woes gripping Southern California. … was meant to be the major drinking-water storage facility for thirsty Southern California, as well as an insurance policy against a traumatic cutoff of water. It's the largest reservoir in Southern California. … As supply has decreased, water from Diamond Valley has been sent by the MWD to its customers to supplement their own declining allocations. … But the end may be in sight, hastening the day of rationing throughout Southern California. Estimating when Diamond Valley will no longer be able to ship water to local agencies is a mixed issue of hydrology and politics. … Drawing the reservoir down too far could leave the region in dire straits -- much like a person who stops paying his homeowner's insurance to save money just days before his house is hit by fire. … Diamond Valley was designed as an emergency source of water in the event of an earthquake or other disaster that could cut flows from the Colorado River and Northern California. … Reservoirs throughout the state are in similar predicaments as storage levels drop. Farms, cities and suburbs are all being hit. … In Los Angeles, the mayor has been pleading with residents and businesses to reduce consumption, backed up by a new "drought buster" ordinance. . … Soon the MWD board will consider plans for rationing.

I rise to query the political “leadership” of metro-Phoenix in particular:
 Is there a unified “water” policy that can be implemented when this area faces “dire” consequences…?
 And what constitutes “dire” consequences…?
 Does the Phoenix metro area have an emergency source of water remotely similar to the Diamond Valley Lake in Southern California…?
 Governor do we currently have a state-wide “drought buster” provisions in place…?

My gut tells me for the past 25 years in particular – Arizona – has chosen to sell its soul to unrestricted growth in the process paying little or no attention to the – unintended consequences – or the externalities of these choices. We are intent to defy the lessons of history and appear on the abyss of a potentially similar fate.

I would like to propose a change in the Arizona state bird from the Cactus Wren to the far more appropriate … ostrich … which is the position Arizona assumes whenever the topic of water is on the table.

You know – Forest Gump was right … stupid is as stupid does … means that stupidity is not just a surface thing derived from a person's appearance. Stupidity is a matter of deeds, not looks. Like other versions, it comes down to this: judge people by what they do, not by how they appear. I don’t know about you but our actions, individually and collectively, respecting – water – are unquestioningly stupid


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …