Talk about minds hijacked by ideology at the expense of logic and objectivity, we currently have hate meeting opportunity. Trump, Vance, and a number of Congressional Republicans have seen fit to blame "poor governace by Democrats" for the LA wildfires. Some R members of Congress want to tie aid to CA to the adoption of "Republican" policies. Gentlemen, I give you: idiots talking out their azz.

Protecting the delta smelt in the lower Sacramento River and delta area are completely and totally unrelated to the delta smelt. Water is diverted from the lower Sac via the Central CA water project that sends water to CA's Central Valley. That water is not piped to LA because it isn't and never was meant to go to LA. LA gets its water via the Owens River water project that starts in the SE Sierra Mountains (and the people of the Owens River Valley would say that LA steals the water, but that's a different topic.) Fire hydrants went dry that were located at or near the ends of water mains that were feeding "upstream" fire hoses. Since Republicans don't believe in science, they would never study enough hydrology to understand that there is a maximum limit to the amount of water that can be sent through a pipe. The pipes are sized to serve neighborhoods, including fire fighting water. But no one ever dreamed that every pipe and hydrant would be maxed out all at the same time. Only a cretin could fail to understand that the natural forces of wind and fire absolutely overwhelmed the plumbing system. There are 16,000 professional fire fighters fighting the LA wildfires. They know how to fight fires. Republican critics only know how to talk out their asses.

Blaming Democrats for the LA wildfires is simply as stupid as it would be to blame Florida and Georgia Republicans for the hurricanes that damage the SE. Maybe those states should adopt some good Democratic policies going forward. Further, tying federal aid to changes in CA policies is beyond disingenuous. CA contributes 40% more money to the federal treasury than it receives back in federal money. CA, along with WA and several of the NE states literally subsidize those money-sucking red states that don't generate enough federal revenue to cover their costs in federal funds. Red states are a drag on the federal economy and budget. CA absolutely deserves federal aid for a natural disaster crisis with no strings attached. It's no wonder that level headed Democrats and liberals know that Republicans have lost their fvcking minds! Because they have.