The two single things that Donald Trump is known for are lies & lawsuits.  I have long since lost count of the people and organizations he has threatened to sue just since his inauguration on 20 January 2017.  So the latest should come as no surprise to anyone … he is, once again, suing the State of California.  This is getting ridiculous, folks … he is wasting time and money – ours, I might add – to sue a state for trying to protect the environment.  He really needs to resign so that he can just play golf all day and think up people to sue by night, meanwhile allowing us to find a president who has a sincere desire to run this country the right way, in the best interest of the people.

Last October, the California legislature passed a law, known as Senate Bill 50, that requires the California State Lands Commission be given right of first refusal on any land transfer planned by the federal government.  What that means, in layman’s terms, is that if the federal government decides to sell a certain piece of land, the State of California has the right to purchase it, if it wishes, before it is offered to any other. The reason for the law, in case it isn’t already obvious, is that the Trump administration has announced plans to sell federal lands, including national parklands, to private entities for the purpose of real estate development, mining and drilling, all of which will completely destroy not only the beauty of the affected land, but also displace the delicate balance found in nature and have a negative effect on the environment.

Would you like to see this …Or this …U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a statement:

“The Constitution empowers the federal government—not state legislatures—to decide when and how federal lands are sold. California was admitted to the Union upon the express condition that it would never interfere with the disposal of federal land. Once again, the California legislature has enacted an extreme state law attempting to frustrate federal policy. The Justice Department shouldn’t have to spend valuable time and resources to file this suit today, but we have a duty to defend the rightful prerogatives of the U.S. military, the Interior Department, and other federal agencies to buy, sell, exchange or donate federal properties in a lawful manner in the national interest.” 

Pardon me, but … “the national interest”???  Is it in the national interest to destroy our land, our air and water?  Is it in the national interest to accelerate mining and drilling for fossil fuels which further destroy the environment?  The only ‘interest’ being promoted here, if we are honest, is that of the oil, gas, coal and real estate companies, certainly not the national interest, and absolutely not the interest of We The People!

I am not a lawyer, so I cannot state equivocally how this case will turn out.  Unfortunately, based on my limited knowledge of constitutional law, my take is that eventually the State of California will be over-ruled.  However, I am encouraged by the fact that the state is not backing down. According to California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra …

“California didn’t become our nation’s economic engine and the sixth-largest economy in the world by just sitting back. We blaze trails, we innovate, and we engage in smart stewardship of our precious public lands. Our public lands should not be on the auction block to the highest bidder. We’re prepared, as always, to do what it takes to protect our people, our resources, and our values.”

This will play out in the courts, cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, and all so that Donald Trump can keep the promises he made … not to us … but to his wealthy cronies who supported his campaign in exchange for the right to make money by ruining our planet.  Think about that one for a while.

This …. or This?

This …. or This?

This …. or This?