New California "budget deal" permits new oil drilling off Santa Barbara!

[villager]

WTF!

This was buried in the blog link provided by Liberal_in_LA, and was buried a few paragraphs down:

<snip>

In addition, tens of thousands of seniors and children would lose access to healthcare, local governments would sacrifice billions of dollars in state assistance this year and large numbers of state prisoners would have their sentences scaled back. Welfare checks would go to fewer residents, state workers would be forced to continue to take unpaid days off and new drilling for oil would be permitted off the Santa Barbara coast.

"There isn't a whole lot of good news in this budget," said Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

But the agreement does not "eliminate the safety net for California," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles).

Schwarzenegger emphasized the lack of new taxes in the package, and said he hopes the full Legislature will vote on it Thursday.

<snip>

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget21-2009jul21,0,5521044.story

[havocmom]

1. Hold the state hostage to get what they want. Yep all part of the plan

I FIRMLY believe BIG BUSINESS wants the US economy so bad off that workers will BEG Congress to end environmental protections, consumer protections, worker protections just so they can have some kind of employment. I FIRMLY believe the corporatist want to starve us to the point we will beg to be poisoned just for some crumbs off the table of the uber wealthy.

And middle management types are gonna be sorely hurt when they find out how they have been used to kill the working and middle classes then be tossed aside by the real powers. They will find out just what kind of rubbish they are to have spend decades enabling the destruction of any economic survival by most of the American population.

Fools. They are helping throw it all away.

I truly hope Arnold is the gov with the prominent wife that hooker was talking about. I want to see him face some come-uppance and sex seems to be the only thing that gets attention anymore.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. And we will be back next year to complete the mission

that includes... finish the gutting of public services.

[Tikki]

3. Never happen.....n/t

[wundermaus]

4. Anyone know what term best describes this type of action?

Shock Doctrine
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

[busybl]

5. oh Ahnold

wa already had this fight. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.

[Hekate]

6. As a Santa Barbarian, let me say this is not good. For "drilling," read: "screwed"!

[villager]

7. to the barricades, now, I think, in SB. That, or have black goo on your beaches

n/t