(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/20230615-California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report.pdf?_t=1686969093
A Note to Readers
Most of this week’s report are excerpts from my 2012 report, “The Fight to Build the Grand Coulee Dam and the Economic Revolution that Transformed the Nation.”
The Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington State, when completed was one of the wonders of the world. It was the largest man-made structure in human history, and remained the largest dam in the world for decades.
Completed in January, 1942 it began providing the power required to build the ships and planes to fight World War II.
The story of the fight to build that dam was an almost two decade battle led by one man, with a few others aiding him. James O’Sullivan for 18 years dedicated his life to make it happen.
His dedication, and success, demonstrates the quality of character that throughout American history has time and time again accomplished what most said could never be done.
Here is an example of the determination O’Sullivan demonstrated:
“We may not be able to get any financial support from those who should be the first to give it. We may be headed off almost everywhere by the emissaries of a great monopoly that are influential among the mighty. We will manage to get along with the sacrifices of the little band of Spartans in Grant County. We will win the battle for the Grand Coulee because we have on our side the engineering and economic facts, the mightiest of weapons. Already we have achieved amazing victories. We shall not cease until the flag of victory is unfurled on the ramparts of Grand Coulee.”
That is the kind of leadership our nation requires today. And like it or not, there is only one man who has for more than one-half a decade demonstrated that quality of determination and courage required. That is Donald Trump.
After Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday he gave a speech to his supporters. It was a call to mobilize and fight for the survival of the Republic. He said that he will never quit and that his enemies attempting to destroy him will fail. There is not another person in the country that, with the entire establishment unleashing fraud after fraud against him, could have or would have, stood his ground.
Because of Trump’s courage and the movement he has built, we now have the chance to finally defeat his and our enemies once and for all and rescue our Republic.
That was the character of James O’Sullivan. His story is our feature this week.
The rest of this week’s report
I shall skip the U.S. Drought Monitor map this week.
One report from California this week on the continued threat to farmers and their historic water rights, with three bills in the legislature.
On the Colorado River, the crisis and the virtual paralysis of the Interior Department in being able to work with farmers on an agreement for compensation for leaving farm land fallow, has farmers throwing up their hands and saying that maybe next year we will have a contract. But this year we are already going ahead with our planting and watering.
And demonstrating the paralysis, we have another example in a statement from the Department of Interior.
